The Night Shift

Ella remembers that her manager at Blockbuster, Steve, helped Katie to practice for her driver’s test. Katie passed the test the day before she was killed. Now, when Ella drives Jesse home, they see several police cars in front of the house. Jesse insists on going in alone, then takes off running in the opposite direction.

Ella packs her things at Brad’s apartment. She takes one book, A Farewell to Arms, which her father gave her after the Blockbuster tragedy. The bookmark is a photo strip that was taken before the murders, featuring the young Ella and a boy who was her first love. Ella texts Mr. Steadman and asks him to meet her so that she can learn more about Jesse.

Keller and Atticus meet with Candy’s mom, Tawny. Tawny says that before Candy was killed, she often talked to her about the other girls at Blockbuster and revealed that one of them (Katie) got pregnant. Tawny reports that Katie’s boyfriend was an “older guy” (151) who was obsessive and abusive. Candy and Mandy planned to tell him to leave Katie alone. Tawny thinks that this is the reason why they were all killed.

Mr. Steadman meets with Ella and tells her more about Jesse’s history. The principal of Jesse’s prior school told Mr. Steadman that her parents died in a car accident when she was in middle school, but he would not tell Mr. Steadman the details of “the incident” (155) that caused her to switch schools this year. However, Mr. Steadman tells Ella that the gossip mill claims that the incident involved a teacher. He suggests that Ella compare faculty rosters from last year to this year to see if any teachers have been fired.

Keller and Atticus meet with Katie’s parents. Mrs. McKenzie seems timid, but Mr. McKenzie refuses to talk to them at all and slams the door in their faces. Keller notes the similarity between Mr. McKenzie’s reaction and that of Mandy’s father. Suddenly, Atticus gets an alert that Arpeggio’s team has just made an arrest in the case.

Chris learns of the arrest while he is at work at the public defender’s office. A high school student has been arrested, and all of Chris’s colleagues hope that they will not be assigned as defense counsel. Chris surprises himself by volunteering to take the case. His friend Julia, whom Chris characterizes as idealistic, also volunteers.

Chris thinks about the implications of being on the defense team and reflects on the idea that he, Vince Whitaker’s brother, is now defending another person accused of mass murder. He thinks it is possible that nobody will make the connection because he changed his last name when he was adopted. Now, Chris, Julia, and their boss Henry prepare to meet with their new client.

Ella notices that Chad Parke was on last year’s faculty roster at Jesse’s prior school but not this year’s roster. Chad was an English teacher who also ran the school newspaper. Now, he owns a landscaping company. Ella visits him and says that she needs help in understanding Jesse so that she can help the girl as a therapist. Ella also threatens to reveal why Chad got fired if he refuses to talk to her.

Chad insists that he never had an inappropriate relationship with Jesse, but nobody believed him. He explains that she became obsessed with him and stalked him, and Chad’s ex-fiancée found Jesse naked in his bed when he wasn’t home. The principal received an email with a picture of Jesse in Chad’s bed, supposedly sent by his fiancée. However, his fiancée denied sending this picture, and Chad believes her.

Chris’s new client shows no emotion when his team meets with her. The judge joins them in her cell to avoid a media circus, and she pleads not guilty. Bail is denied. The defendant’s name is finally revealed to be Jesse Duvall. She tells her defense team that she will talk about what happened, but only to Ella Monroe.

Julia tries to get Jesse to talk to her but is unsuccessful. Chris tries next. He gives Jesse a speech about taking her situation seriously and tells her that he and Julia are the only ones who are willing to help her. Jesse still refuses to talk about the murders to anyone but Ella. However, she tells Chris that she knows he is really Chris Whitaker, Vince’s brother.

Ella watches a press conference on the news about the arrest in the Creamery murders. The name of the suspect is not released because she is a minor, but a few details lead Ella to think that the suspect might be Jesse. Arpeggio explains that another student gave them a tip, which led them to evidence connecting the suspect to the crime. Ella gets in her car and finds Jesse’s cell phone under the passenger seat.

Chris’s boss leaves Ella a voice message and asks her to talk to Jesse. He learns from reporters that the police found texts from Jesse threatening one of the victims. They also found another victim’s cell phone hidden in Jesse’s hospital room, and at her foster home, they found a file with research on the Blockbuster case.

Keller and Bob talk about the case while walking their dog. Keller says that she is probably not needed on the case anymore since a suspect has been arrested. They transition to talking about baby names for the twins. Keller still plans to join the Secret Service raid on Rusty Whitaker and the counterfeit cigarette ring that night.