The Sun Down Motel

Viv has the yearbook, a choir list, and her telephone. She scans the list of the girls in the choir and looks them up in the yearbook. She identifies the girl Simon has been watching as Tracy Waters. Viv calls the high school and asks for the principal, claiming to be a student’s mother concerned about her daughter’s security. She says she was at Choir Night and saw a strange man with no wife or child looking at the girls. The principal dismisses the claim and says he could be a relative of one of the girls. Viv says the man was watching Tracy Waters, and the principal asks what she wants him to do. She tells him to pay attention and tell the staff to keep their eyes open. He says she is probably overreacting and he hasn’t heard anything from Tracy’s family. A frustrated Viv tells him that if anything happens to Tracy, it will be his fault.

At midnight, Viv is at the Fell police station. Alma is at her desk looking at Viv’s notebook. Alma asks about Cathy Caldwell and the door locks. Viv tells her that Cathy and her husband bought door locks from the salesman before she died. Alma says that isn’t possible. Viv mentions the schedule being erased and how he’s covering his tracks, but Alma says that doesn’t mean anything. Alma recognizes that Viv has done a lot of work on this. Viv says she thought about getting a job with Westlake and trying to get access to the books, but it would take too long; however, there’s only so many times she can phone them pretending she’s Alma. Alma is shocked and says it’s illegal to impersonate a police officer. Alma says there was a thorough investigation into every salesman in the area after Betty’s death and that there was no salesman in Betty’s neighborhood that day.

Viv says that the woman in the scheduling department said sometimes salesmen go back for unrecorded follow-up visits. She says Simon could have seen Betty earlier and then gone back. Even if Simon didn’t sell her locks, Betty was a teacher, and Simon has a daughter who is about 10: Maybe his daughter goes to Betty’s school. Viv can’t access those records but Alma can, and she pleads for Alma to help her find the connection. Alma says she needs inarguable evidence: She can’t risk losing her career over this when there are so many holes in the story. Viv feels alone. Alma knows she’s upset her and feels bad. Viv brings up Betty’s ghost, and Alma says she needs to see a doctor. Viv kicks back her chair and says she knows Alma has seen Betty’s ghost too. Viv thinks to herself the only hope is the warning letter she sent to Tracy’s parents.

In Carly’s timeline, Carly learns that Tracy Waters’s murder occurred in November 1982 after she left a friend’s house on her bike. Heather and Carly are sitting in a diner on the North Edge Road. They read that police arrested a homeless man who had Tracy’s backpack but then dropped the charges and set him free. Her parents said they had received a letter warning them that someone was following Tracy. Tracy’s mother hasn’t given up on the case and started a website for tips in 1999. Heather and Carly read the anonymous letter, which came in the mail a week before Tracy’s murder, on this page online. The principal told Tracy’s mother about the phone call, and Heather and Carly know a woman wrote the letter because Tracy’s mother had the handwriting analyzed. Carly texts Alma as Nick is finishing getting the negatives developed. Carly tells Heather the Sun Down is haunted. She tells her Betty Graham’s ghost is there and that Nick has seen her too.

Nick comes into the diner and puts the photos on the table. The photos show a barn. There’s a TV tower in the background, and Nick knows where the tower used to be. They agree they should find out where the barn is and why Marnie didn’t develop the negatives or not give the photos to Carly. They drive around and find the barn. Nick checks it out and says it’s empty, beckoning Heather and Carly in. It looks like an abandoned property.

Under a tarp inside the barn is an old car. Something smells and is leaking from the back trunk. Carly, weeping, asks Heather to call the cops because they think there’s a body in the trunk. Carly is convinced it’s her aunt. Nick takes Heather home and returns, and Carly waits as the police investigate. She knows it is Simon Hess’s car. An officer tells that there is a body in the car but that it’s a man. The officer turns to Nick and tells him to make sure she gets home. Nick says to Carly that Simon didn’t get away with his crimes in the end. He asks where her aunt is, and Carly says she thinks Viv did a very bad thing.

In Viv’s timeline, she’s at her apartment alone. Everything is a fog, and she barely remembers leaving Alma’s office. Jenny is gone, and Viv guesses she’s visiting her parents. Viv turns the news on and sees Tracy Waters was reported missing two days prior and her body has now been found. Viv sinks to the floor. She feels like a complete failure but changes her clothes, puts makeup on, and considers the knife before putting it back in her purse. At the motel, Johnny is complaining about how the door to room 103 keeps blowing open: He wrote a note to Janice, who hasn’t done anything. Viv can’t pay attention to anything he’s saying.

Jamie Blaknik walks into the office and says he needs a room. He flirts with Viv a bit and tells her she can knock on his door anytime. She hears banging on the door to room 103 and a man yelling the name Helen. Robert is pounding on the door telling Helen to open it. When he sees Viv, Robert asks where Helen is, and she says she’s not there. He doesn’t believe her. Viv says she doesn’t know anything about Helen or the blackmail that Robert’s talking about. Robert asks who took the photos and accuses Viv of taking them. He thinks Helen called his wife. His wife and kids left him and now he has nothing because of the phone call.

Robert grabs Viv’s neck and orders her to tell him the truth. She says she doesn’t know anything. He threatens to kill her. A car pulls in: It’s Helen, but she quickly leaves. Robert takes an envelope of money out and shoves it down Viv’s sweater. He tells her to take Helen’s money, and if she sees Helen again to tell her he’ll kill her. Viv falls to the ground and thinks of Victoria Lee. Upstairs, one of the motel doors flies open, and then another. Robert grabs the front of Viv’s jacket. She tries to fight him off but he is too strong. Simon Hess approaches them and asks Robert if he is assaulting this young lady. Robert says it’s a private matter. Simon says he’s tired, needs a room, and would appreciate getting one. Robert tells Viv he’s leaving and warns her not to say another word.

Simon offers a hand to Viv, but she scrambles away as Simon asks about a room again. He asks her if she remembers him and she says yes. He tells her he needs a room for a night or two. She moves towards the office, limping a little. Simon asks if she is all right and tells her he didn’t need to intervene; he knows where the room keys are, but that didn’t seem right, and Viv seemed to have made that man very angry. He says he recognizes her, and Viv keeps a hand in her purse on the knife. He seems suspicious but says goodnight and exits the office. Viv calls out to Betty that Simon’s there. He hadn’t signed the guest book. She puts the envelope of money in the key drawer and smells cigarette smoke. The lights flicker and come back on.

Vivian closes the door behind her and heads for the stairs. Mrs. Bailey isn’t in her usual room. Viv runs to Jamie’s room and bangs on the door. The lights and doors are opening and turning on and off. He asks what’s going on, and she kisses him and asks if he will do something for her. She tells him to leave and not come back that night: Something bad is going to happen, but she can handle it, and it is best if he isn’t there. He offers to help and says he can’t leave her. She insists that he must go but says he can do one favor for her. He says he’ll do anything she asks.

Jamie leaves and the motel is quiet. The phone rings and Viv hears soft breathing. Viv asks if it’s Betty and then says she’s going to take care of it. Betty tells her to run and hangs up. The phone rings again, and Jamie asks Viv to transfer the call to room 212. She does, and Simon says hello. Jamie says he knows what he’s done. Simon says he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jamie tells Simon to meet him at the corner of Derry Road and Smith Street and says that he saw Simon with Tracy. If he isn’t there in 20 minutes, he’ll tell everyone about Tracy and the others. Simon thinks Jamie must be the one who’s been following him.

Viv is alone at the motel after Simon drives away except for Mrs. Bailey, who has passed out. Viv looks through the drawer for a master key. Inside Simon’s room, there’s nothing in his suitcase helpful to her. She finds a map she doesn’t recognize. The lights switch on and off and she knows it’s a warning from Betty. Viv is fastening the latches of the suitcase when Simon asks what she’s doing. He realizes Viv has been following him and blocks the doorway. She plays dumb and says she’s doesn’t know what he means. He asks her who else she’s told that he killed Tracy.

Viv says he’s just angry because he’s caught, and he tells her she’s wrong. He challenges her to call the police: There’s nothing to prove. Viv says she saw him following Tracy. Growing more furious, she tells Simon none of the women he killed ever did anything to him. She asks why he did it and why he keeps coming back to the Sun Down. Betty calls out for someone to help her from the corridor. Simon says he’s there because Betty is.

Simon tells Viv Betty was the only person he ever loved. Viv goes to the door, and Simon asks what she’s doing. She tells Simon she’s letting Betty in. He calmly asks Viv if she thinks she’s leaving, and Viv says she isn’t going anywhere. All of the motel lights go out. Betty screams. Viv pulls the knife from inside her sweatshirt, takes it from its holster, and sinks it into Simon’s chest.

The wind howls through the open door and footsteps run past. The little boy cries out that Viv got him. Viv can’t see anything but hears Simon’s gasps. She leaves the knife stuck in Simon’s chest. All of the doors in the corridor are open and banging. There are two thumps inside the room. Viv can still hear him breathing. She kneels down and crawls towards the sound. She grabs what she thinks is his knee, and he grabs her wrist. He shoves her so she lands on her side, hitting her head on a piece of furniture. She thrashes and kicks Simon, and he grabs her again. Viv smells something rotten and hears heels walking down the corridor.

Simon wheezes on his back as Viv feels along his torso. She asks why he killed Betty. He grabs Viv by her hair, but his strength is failing. He says that Betty was his. Viv asks about Cathy, and Simon, trying to laugh, tells her his daughter went to the dentist’s office where she worked. He says Cathy meant nothing to him, and it was easy because she was alone. He wanted to know if he could do it again.

Viv asks about Victoria, which he says was a mistake. Victoria was there when he sold her mother a lock system, but the crime was too hasty and exposed. Viv asks about Tracy Waters, listing everything that she lost when her life was taken. Simon laughs and says Viv hasn’t caught on: None of the women ever did him any harm. He did it because nobody stopped him and because he could. Viv asks him how many others there were, and he’s quiet. She questions him about the map and grabs the handle of the knife. She tries moving it, but it’s stuck deep in his chest. Simon sounds afraid as he says Betty’s name. Pushing on the knife, Viv says Betty doesn’t love him; she haunts the motel because she hates him. Viv tells him that she’s the one he didn’t kill as she pulls the knife from his chest and then stabs him again.

In Carly’s timeline, Carly’s phone is ringing. She has just woken up at home, and Callum MacRae is calling her. Carly sees it’s 6:30 p.m. Callum tells her the police found a body in a barn just outside of Fell. She tells Callum it’s not her aunt. He tells her the police have already identified the body and cause of death, and he asks her to meet him at the coffee shop across from the library.

Carly wonders where Heather is: She’s supposed to be sleeping, and Nick should be back at the Sun Down sleeping too. She finds a note from Heather saying she went to visit her parents and that she left the phone records Carly was looking for on the table. There is a record of an outgoing call from the Sun Down to the Fell Police Department. Carly’s brother texts her but she ignores it. She is about to text Heather when Marnie calls and says she’s a smart girl to have found the barn: They hid Simon well and he was there for a long time. Carly asks Marnie why she photographed the barn. She says she wanted to be able to find the place again in case they had to move him. Carly asks who killed Simon. Marnie says it’s complicated and asks if she found the notebook left for her: It’s in the candy machine at the Sun Down. Marnie tells Carly to read the notebook and then meet her at Watson’s Diner.

Carly meets Callum at Finelli’s Café, which is otherwise empty. He says he has a family disappearance too: His grandfather went to work one day and never came home, and his grandmother, humiliated by the abandonment, never called the cops or filed a missing persons report. He asks her to imagine what it must have been like for his grandmother and mother. He thinks maybe Viv and Simon ran off together.

Carly feels uneasy. She says she needs to go and slides her chair back, saying that he lied to get her there. Callum says he already knows who the body in the trunk is and asks her if she does too. Carly leaves without responding. He tells her to call Alma Trent because she knows who it is too. Carly goes to her car and calls Nick, leaving a voicemail saying there’s a notebook hidden in the candy machine. Callum exits the coffee shop and waves at Carly as if nothing were wrong. Carly looks in the rearview mirror as she’s driving: Callum is directly behind her in his car.