Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

The search doesn’t go well, as Finn only has first names and physical descriptions to go by. She has forgotten some names, and some of the women seem to have deleted their social media profiles altogether.

Finn had given Vero the day off for a midterm, but she comes back in the afternoon and hands over a brick of money: half the sum promised by Irina, minus Vero’s cut. Vero met with her earlier that day and collected the half upfront. A horrified Finn reveals what she has learned about Andrei.

Although slightly worried, Vero nevertheless insists they can use the money to get a better divorce lawyer. They also cannot return the money, as Vero has already used her cut to buy a new car; there was no way to cover up the presence of a corpse in her trunk, so she sold her old car for parts to her cousin Ramón.

Sylvia, who has been trying to get a hold of Finn for days, finally calls the house phone. Finn’s editor is demanding to see what Finn has so far, and left with no choice, Finn sends across her draft of the Harris story.

Finn, Vero, and the kids visit the animal shelter from Patricia’s pictures, hoping to find clues to Patricia’s whereabouts. They meet Aaron, the volunteer from the picture, who lets Delia pet one of the dogs, named Sam, using his belt to wedge the hinge and prop open the self-closing kennel door. As Delia plays with Sam, Aaron hands out an application form for Finn to fill, and she puts in Steven and Theresa’s details.

Finn tells Aaron she spoke to Patricia about a specific dog, describing the one from the photo; she asks to speak to Patricia, but Aaron reveals the dogs have been adopted, and Patricia hasn’t come in since last week. The police have been at the shelter, and even searched her locker, but seemed more interested in her husband. Aaron confides in Finn that he and some of the volunteers didn’t think Harris was a very good husband.

Vero steals Aaron’s keys and lets the animals loose to create a diversion so Finn can head to the back and check Patricia’s locker in the employee lounge. It is covered with police tape and, besides pictures of animals, holds the business card of a detective named Nicholas Anthony. Finn looks around the room for other clues and sees a picture of Patricia in a team photo, seated next to Aaron, with her wedding band missing from her finger. As Finn leaves, Aaron addresses her as “Theresa” and asks if she has seen his keys, and Finn slightly regrets putting Theresa’s name down on the form.

Finn receives a call from Sylvia early in the morning, informing her the draft was so good, Sylvia personally bought her out of her contract and negotiated a new deal with her editor. The offer is now for two books, with an extension for the draft, and an advance of $75,000 per book. The books will be released under a penname, “Fiona Donahue;” Finn has 30 days to complete the draft. Vero insists on celebrating with champagne, and even agrees to Finn’s demand that they give back Irina’s advance.

Steven arrives early the next day to pick up the kids, letting himself in with his copy of the key. Finn objects to this, and Steven retorts that his name is on the deed. Vero appears and snatches the key from Steven, dropping it into the Diaper Genie. She asserts to a furious Steven that she is Finn’s accountant and business manager; Finn’s rent is in the mail, and as per the rental agreement, Steven cannot enter the house without announcing himself.

To Finn’s revelation that Vero is living with them, and Finn is paying her, Steven contemptuously states that Finn could not have made enough from selling two “crappy books.” Incensed, Finn shows Steven the terms of her new contract, and he is struck dumb. Finn challenges him to reconsider the custody suit, as she now has the financial resources to fight it. After Steven leaves, Finn asks Vero why she chose to help her that night with Harris, and Vero responds that she liked Finn’s odds; Vero’s mother was also a single mother like Finn, and Vero would always bet on someone like her.

On Sunday afternoon, the doorbell rings, and Finn panics to see a police car parked outside, with a handsome plainclothes cop on her doorstep. However, he has been sent by Georgia, who thinks Finn can help him on a case. He introduces himself as Nick Anthony.

Nick is working the Mickler case and tells Finn that Harris was seen leaving The Lush with a woman the police have identified as Theresa Hall; she is part of the social networking group Harris belongs to, and her name matches the description given by the waitstaff. A stunned Finn remembers that she was wearing a blonde wig and told Julian that her name was Theresa and she worked in real estate. Finn had never checked to see if anyone she recognized was part of Harris’s social networking group online.

Nick also reveals Harris’s phone was located a few miles from Theresa’s house on the night he disappeared, though Finn knows it was because Harris was in her garage, right down the street from Steven and Theresa’s. When Nick questioned Theresa, she vehemently denied being at The Lush that night, but she has no verifiable alibi; Nick believes Theresa is hiding something.

When Finn questions Theresa’s motives, Nick reveals the police found the photographs on Harris’s phone. Although Theresa was not one of the women, an anonymous woman had called the police tip line a year ago, stating she had been assaulted after having drinks with Harris, who was then blackmailing her. She refused to come forward and identify herself in fear of Harris ruining her marriage.

Nick asks Finn for help to find out what is going on, as Harris’s case is now a murder investigation. Finn takes his card and agrees to try, secretly resolving to ensure Theresa doesn’t take the fall for Finn’s crime.

Finn’s minivan stops working, so she sends it with Vero for Ramón to fix, instructing her to also take out a loan to pay back Irina on the way. Finn steps out with Georgia and the kids to get dinner, and Georgia asks her about Nick. She confesses that Nick is keeping an eye on Finn for Georgia, but also admits to it partly being a set-up. Finn assures Georgia she doesn’t need to be taken care of, telling her about the book deal, and Georgia is thrilled for Finn.

Back home, Finn finds a navy sedan parked in the driveway, which Ramón has loaned out until he fixes the minivan. The van requires a lot of work, but Vero claims they have enough money, displaying a Ziploc bag with cash in the freezer: She met with Irina and tried to pay her back, but Irina simply doubled the amount and refused to take no for an answer. She also threatened that if they don’t finish the job in two weeks, she will tell Andrei that Finn and Vero stole the money and send him after them.

Finn goes to Patricia’s fitness club, hoping to meet Irina and persuade her in person. She sneaks into a spin class Irina is attending and attempts to convince her this has been a mistake; however, Irina refuses to listen, insisting that based on Patricia’s recommendation and Harris’s fate, Finn is perfect for the job. She also believes Feliks won’t care about Andrei’s disappearance. Andrei has gotten so sloppy recently; he is lucky Feliks hasn’t killed him himself. When Finn suggests it will be dangerous for everyone if the police find Patricia, Irina insinuates there is nothing left to find: “Patricia Mickler no longer exists. I made certain of it” (206). As the class ends, Finn makes a last-ditch attempt to catch up to Irina and return the money and runs into Julian instead. He asserts that she looks familiar, but Finn manages to escape before he places who she is.

Finn confides in Vero her conclusion that Irina had Patricia killed. Together, they stake out Theresa’s office, hoping to figure out where she was the night Harris died. They see her exit with Feliks, who gives her a kiss on the cheek before he leaves. Disguised once again, Finn pretends to be Feliks’s assistant and sneaks into Theresa’s office. As she collects a file with Feliks’s name on it, she spots a picture on Theresa’s desk of her and another woman, who looks vaguely familiar.

As they look through the file at home, Vero suggests Theresa is having an affair with Feliks. Finn finds a note in the file in Steven’s handwriting, saying that he is meeting a client at the farm, and asking Theresa to run over and close Finn’s garage door: “TAKE AIMEE WITH YOU. YOU’LL NEED SOMEONE TO GRAB THE DOOR WHEN IT DROPS” (217). Finn remembers the woman in Theresa’s picture, and realizes she was one of the women on Harris’s phone; “Aunt Amy” is actually spelt “Aimee.”

Finn looks up Aimee on Harris’s social networking group, but she is one of the women whose profile had gone blank; the date of her last post was over a year ago, around the time the anonymous call came into the tip line. Finn suggests to Vero that Theresa and Aimee were the ones who killed Harris, since the two of them knew how to close the garage door without making any noise. However, in a bid to keep Theresa out of the cops’ hands, she texts Nick that Theresa is having an affair, giving her an alibi.