As she races to clear her brother’s name, Sam discovers a deal made between Cara and Detective Frye from years ago that leads to the name of a new suspect.
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Solve Presents the Missing Babysitter Part three listeners. Richie wants me to keep investigating, so he must be innocent, right, he wants me to clear his name. Right. I feel like I'm just talking into space. When radio was invented, it connected people all across the world. But I'm here alone in my closet, very alone. I missed hearing Richie snores through the wall last night. Sometimes it keeps me up, but not hearing them was worse. I wonder if that's how care his parents feel. Is their house as quiet as mine right now? Didn't Care's mom call out of work like my mom did? Is her dad pacing the living room like I'm walking back and forth in this closet? It. I started reading Kara's diary from the beginning. It starts on the date Mr Bernard gave me April. She was my age. My mom was right, she was into some stuff. In fact, it was our favorite condescending detective that caught her. Well, well, well, miss Winger, you've been up to some mischief. I'm sorry. You were carrying cocaine, marijuana and acid? Was that all for you? I was going to a party. Oh so you were just going to give out hundreds of dollars of drugs to be nice. I don't know. I want my mom. Your mom is on the other side of that glass. She's about ready to call a lawyer for you. But I wanted to make you an offer first. Para. You're just a kid. You might be selling some of this stuff, but you aren't where it's coming from. Tell us who's giving it to you, testify against them. Give us the big fish, and you little fishy get to go back home and straighten up, become a model citizen, and make something of your life. We'll keep your name out of it. I'm guessing you aren't the only ones selling for him. I can't tell you everyone I don't even know. That's fine again, we don't want the little fish. I mean, sure, some might get caught in the net along with a big guy, but there are too many of you. No one will be able to figure out where the information came from. Can I think about it? No, this is a limited time offer. You say yes now, and we talked for a little while and you leave. You say no, I go get an ink patch so we can take your fingerprits and get you booked. I don't know. Is this guy worth throwing away? Your whole life? Is fear worth it? Okay, I'll tell you good choice. Kid. Don't call me kid? Okay, Kara, Now give me a name. Mr Howard. He lives in my neighborhood. Is that how you know him? His son introduced us a few months ago. At first I was just using and Mr Howard said I owed him money for what I used and I had to sell. He said they'd hurt my parents. They're not going after anyone else after this. How do you know? He says? What I do? Care I catch the bad guys. You're gonna be safe. I promise it's okay to help with someone in jail. This Mr Howard? Why does that sound so familiar? I don't know anyone in town with that name? Then, Sam, what are you doing in their closet? Science? Okay, do you want to talk honey? Yeah? What do you know about? Mr? Howard? I meant, do you want to talk about what's going on with your brother? Nope? Sam, I need you to be an adult here. I am barely holding this together. I've been on the phone with lawyers all morning. I can't get ahold of Mr Bernard. Why are you trying to find Mr Bernard? He has experience with kids in trouble with the police. I thought he might have some advice for Richie. But Richie's innocent. I know that, and you know that. But there are people who just want to blame someone for a young woman's death. So in any case, we need to prepare here for the worst. What if we tracked down the witness. They can't be sure it was Richie. It was the middle of the What did I say about this? You have to let the police handle it. The police arrested the wrong person. Sam, I forbid you to poke your nose into this. I already have a child in prison. I don't want to be driving around town looking for you. Okay, okay, okay, give me a hug. I have to go into the lawyer's office. I promised to stay here. Please, I promise. Don't let anyone in listeners. I know it looks bad. I know to an outside perspective that my brother is sneaking out of the Garcia's house that night and lying about it seems really really bad. But I know Richie, it can't be him. When Kara was having a rebirthday, after life of drugs. He was just playing stupid video games, and I forgot when Kara was having a ree birthday. A zero four to three HiT's Kara's pass code? I'm in wait. Mr Donard was texting her. Weird, He said, carre his address last week. Hey, Lisa, I need a ride. There are people who just wants to blame someone for a young woman's death. So in any case, we need to prepare for the worst. Should I ask you how you're doing? Since Richie is like, you know, he didn't kill Kara, I just can't figure out why he lied about going to see her that night. That might be my fault. How I sent him an email from a maide up account telling Richie she was cheating on him. You want to confront her? What did you leave the note on his windshield too? She thought that was Elena. I thought she spilled about my real address, and I was mad, and I thought she was screwing a guidance counselor, which was gross. She wasn't, and she didn't tell anyone about your address. She didn't, So I, yes, screwed with your best friend's relationship for no reason. I have to apologize to Richie. You can apologize by helping me clear his name, which is what we're about to do. You're playing detective again. Now you have arrived at your destination. I'm just going to see my guidness counselor. This sussets Mr Bernard Seth whatever. Why are you giving students your home address? Sam? Get back in the car. I am certain I did not give you my address, Samantha. It's Sam. You gave it to Kara. I give it to all my students in the program. Sometimes kids don't feel safe after what they've been through and they need to talk to someone they know where to go. But you've been working with Care for years and you just gave her your address a few days before she disappeared. What changed? Is everything okay out here? Harrison? Hey Lisa? Are you Harrison as an Elena's boyfriend? You're old two? What are you doing here? I was invited? What are you doing here exposing a murderer? Does your mother know where you are, Samantha? I was just on the phone with her. Why did you give care of your address? I just moved. I sent her my new one. Look, I'm still unpacking. Harrison is here to help I just wanted to return the favor for all the advice says given me. That's so nice. Enjoy unpacking, Sam and I are going to go now, but I'm not done. We are going. Hey, Sam, sorry to hear about your brother. How do you know about him? Elena told me she thought he was a really good guy. He is? Are you crazy? What do you think Harrison meant when he said he was sorry about Ritchie, Probably that he was sorry about Richie. It's not a coat. Harrison went to juvie for selling drugs. Okay, that's yet another reason to stop snooping around him and Seth. Do you think he was one of Mr Howard Steelers one of the ones that went down with Care testified against him? Who is Mr Howard? What are you talking about? Before you moved here, before you met Kara? She used to deal drugs or Mr Howard? Detective Fry offered her a deal to testify against him and she got to go free. You guys were best friends. Didn't you tell each other everything? Kara didn't really talk about her past. If Harrison is out of prison, maybe Mr Howard is too. Maybe he came back to find Care and take events. What are you doing. I have to get to the Garcia's two baby said, I'm dropping you off here at the police station. This is where your mom asked me to bring you. You told my mom on me seriously. If it isn't Nancy Drew, I know, can't you come up with in your reference? Your mom is with your brother and his lawyer. You can have a seat. I think Mr Howard is back. Your mom will be out in a minute. Come on, it's a lead. Don't you want to check if the Guidecare testified against this out of prison? Okay? First off, I don't want to know how you know about that case. But whatever you did to find out forget it. Fine. I will if you check it out, great because I already did. It was the first thing I looked into. He died in prison last year, So unless you're a big believer and ghosts, he's not our guy. There has to be someone else. Okay. I know it's hard to think that someone you love could do something so terrible, but my job is to look at things objectively, and objectively, I don't think Howard Lawson could have committed murder from the grave. Howard Lawson Charri called him Mr Howard in her diary, as she always called the Delts by Mr. Or Miss and their first name Samantha Anne Duel. Is she bothering you, Detective Fry, not at all. You've got a bright kid. If you'll excuse me, you are grounded for eternity. Pretty sure it can only be into lemmy. You underestimate me, young lady. Can I talk to Ritchie? No visiting hours are over, We're going home. I have to ask it. Am I have spent the day in the police station, sitting across from my son and handcuffs. If you have no regard for the police, this investigation or me, think about your brother. You aren't doing him any favors by singing everyone off, and you aren't doing yourself any favors either. Where are the two places? But all of your most private things? The phone? In a diary? Right? I mean? I have karrasphone, I have her diary. Why can't I crack this? What am I missing? I found an entry in the diary about me. I didn't know if I should read it. But Kara starts by saying, I don't have a little sister, but if I did, I would want her to be like Sam if I had a big sister, I would have wanted it to be Kara. But I do have a big brother, and I'm not going to lose him to Okay, no matter what my mom or Fry say, I have to keep going. Fry said that care of referred to adults the same way that the Garcia kids do. I wonder if they learned from her. Sam. Are you crashing all of my babysitting gigs now? Sorry, Lisa, It's just things aren't looking good for Richie and I don't know who else to talk to. Yeah, I understand. Well, the kids will be down for the night soon. I'm just gonna go run them at bath. Do you mind watching them for a minute? Sure, no problem. Hey Mara, Hey Reina, Hi, Miss Sam do you want to play gymnastics with us? Actually I want to play detective. I'll be a robber. No, you'll both be witnesses. I'm just gonna ask you some questions. First question, the last time Miss Kara was babysitting you, what did you guys get up to? We we ordered pizza and watch the movie. And did did you see anybody talking to Ms Kara? Um? Mr Ritchie Richie? Right? Oh? And Mr Howard. Mr Howard, that's that's impossible. All right, My little gymnasts up to the bath, go Lisa. The kids say they saw Mr Howard talking Kara. But Howard Lawson, the guy care helps send it prison is dead. They're a little kids. Sound they make stuff up, or they get confused, or maybe they didn't. Wait. I thought you wanted to talk. Oh we did. Thanks, here we go, listeners. I can crack this. Kara met with Elena, then went to babysit. They ordered pizza, watched a movie. Richie came over, left the ten PM. That's when Mr Howard must have come. Oh my god, I've been looking at this whole wrong. I know who killed Kara Elena. You can't keep getting in my face like this, Sam, this is harassment. Funny that you should mention harassment. Do you think Kara ever felt unsafe in this town? I don't know. We didn't exactly talk about our feelings. Maybe it's because someone was in town, someone from her past. I don't like riddles Harrison. What about him? He knew care from her day's dealing. He was the one that got her into it. I served my time for that kid. What are you doing coming over here bringing that up. But your dealing days aren't over, are they. That's how you're able to get a Lena her riddling. I guess delivering pizzas doesn't pay enough. That's Elena's medicine. Who cares where I got it from. You work a lot of late nights, a lot of overtime. What are you getting at? You were the one that saw Richie. You're the witness. You're right. I'm sorry. I saw him leaving the garcia as while I was delivering pizzas. I had to tell someone except Richie left at ten pm and the pizza place closes at eight p m. You must have every times wrong. I don't. I'm very detail oriented. If you were, you might not be in this mess. What messes? That? Murder? Howard Harrison? What is she talking about? That's your first name, right? You're Howard Harrison Lawson Jr. The son of Howard Lawson, the man that Care testified against four years ago. There wasn't Mr Howard there that night. It's not the one I thought. This is insane because that Mr Howard is dead. Leave my dad out of it. That's why you did it right. Your dad died because of Kara, so you decided to kill her. I said to leave him out of it. Hers get off her, Hey, step away and put your hands up, Detective Fry, I would, Lawson Jr. You're gonna have to come with me. What is this, Detective Fry? How did you explain at the station? What's going on? Where are you taking him? All? Right? Anything else? Detective Duel, I want you to let my brother go. One of my offers as is already on it. And your mother is waiting outside to take you both home. Does she look mad? She doesn't look happy. You know you're gonna want to thank your brother for saving your neck. By the way, while he was in lock up, he listened to your little radio show the entire time. When you went off to try to catch a murderer on your own, he tattled on you. At least they had one listener, and you could have gotten yourself seriously hurt or even killed. But I am grateful to you. I promised Carol that she would be safe, and I didn't fulfill that promise. But no more police work until you're old enough to join the academy. Understood, understood? I think from now on I just want to get back to my science projects. Anyway, I thought Maple, New Jersey was boring, then it is, but it also has brave people at Kara. Every day of her life she walked outside knowing that she had done something dangerous and brave, and that she had made enemies. But she worked hard to create a life for herself. And that's what I'm going to do. I won the Science Fair with this radio. I'm going to the Smithsonian and then I'm going to go to one of the summer camps Mr Bernard told me about after I apologized for accusing him of murder. There's even one program in crime scene forensics if mom will let me go and hear anything resembling detective work. But for now, this case is solved, and I'm going to do something I never thought i'd do, play some stupid video games with my big brother. This is sam Duel signing off. Mm hmm. Samantha Duel was played by Gesel Torres. Care Winger by Valerie Rose Loman, Richie Duel by Eric Shewitt, Lisa Hayes by Jaden Jeron, Detective Fry by Philip Anthony Rodriguez, Atlantic Ker by Audrey Boss, Mr Bernard by Michael John Pollock, Sylvie Duel by Aaron Young, Harrison by Adam Weber. This episode of Solve was written by Alex Rubin, directed by Corey Serge Executive produced by Corey Serge Executive produced by Walt Palmer and Sterling Barnett. Casting by Daisy Laura. Audio production and post production by Salt Audio production manager Liz Lamay. Recording engineers Hope Brush and John Schmidt. Original music and score by Nathan Turchon, Edited and mixed by Zach Jurich. Assistant editor shy han Zu. Sound designed by Eric Rachelson. Script supervisor Marilyn Miller.