Caleb sat alone in the lobby of his hotel and looked impatiently at the watch his father had given him for his confirmation. He was one of the few students who even owned a wristwatch.

Most of his peers simply read the time off the display of their cell phones, which they looked at at least ten times an hour anyway.

The people around the unassuming boy took no notice of his presence, and Caleb looked almost lost on the prestigious couch at the front of the lobby.

The student had given Michaelson and his television colleagues precise instructions about the circumstances under which he had agreed to appear on camera without consulting his parents. The minor's face could not be shown for legal reasons, and his voice had to be technically altered. In addition, Caleb had insisted that the cameraman had to set up the image so that his T-shirt and wristwatch would be clearly visible. The student was also given clear instructions regarding the direction of the camera. The team had to film the conversation so that a slight outline of the city could be seen in the background through his hotel room window. The lamp on the desk also had to be in the picture, as if by chance.

Although he assumed that they would soon start observing him as part of the manhunt for Elizabeth, Caleb seemed to be free of stress. He stood up and left the hotel through the large revolving door, heading out onto the main street. It had long since become second nature to him to instinctively watch out for anyone following him or anything else that seemed conspicuous in his surroundings. So he moved attentively but calmly to the opposite side of the road.

It didn't take long for the young man to notice something. A dark VW Phaeton W12 in beryllium gray metallic with darkened windshields was parked directly ahead on the road in the absolute no-parking zone.

The figure behind the steering wheel activated the blinker and merged into the traffic flow to turn at the first available opportunity. The car now slowly approached Caleb from behind. Regardless, Caleb continued straight ahead along the road without moving away from the curb. It didn't take a minute before the Phaeton finally came to a halt next to him, and the passenger window was rolled down.

"Excuse me," a friendly voice sounded from the car. "I think we should have a quiet chat."

"Do you always approach strange men on the side of the road?"

"You can help Elizabeth prove her innocence," the person in the Phaeton ignored the question. "And I can do that too. We should join forces!"

With that, the strangely sympathetic figure held something up in the air, which, on closer inspection, turned out to be a USB stick. Caleb then turned to the car and moved closer to the open windshield. "Your playlist for the drive?" he asked mockingly.

"Much better! There's evidence of Elizabeth's innocence on this USB stick."

Caleb seemed suspicious. "And why are you telling me this and not the police?"

"Well," was his reply. "Because Elizabeth is very close to me, and I want her to go to her colleagues with this evidence herself."

"That doesn't sound very logical."

Another vehicle honked. The Phaeton had pulled over to the side of the road, but it was still obstructing traffic flow. "I'll be happy to explain it to you," the person behind the steering wheel promised, giving Caleb confidence. But not without Elizabeth. So, what is it? Are you coming with me?"

The teenager hesitated for just a moment. Then he finally opened the passenger door, got into the car, and fastened his seatbelt. "All right, let's get going. My name's Caleb, by the way."

"Caleb," the person repeated with an almost enchanted sound. "What a beautiful name."

"And you?"

"How rude of me!" the person apologized and smiled as she held out her hand to Caleb. "My name is Leonore!"

xxx

Maggie was sitting on Jane and Maura's couch with her face buried in her hands. Instead of going to her parent's house as she had said she would, she and Benjamin went there while searching to wait for the forensics team to leave.

But then, everything had turned out quite differently.

Andrew Kline had called his supervisor, Maura, on her cell phone. He told her that severed fingers had been found in Elizabeth's wine cellar and that the captain had overpowered Detective Julius Houston and her attorney, Rosalyn Vaughn, to escape.

Maggie began to shake her head and slowly looked up. "I can't take any more," she mumbled.

Jane lowered her cell phone from her ear and looked at her daughter-in-law with wide eyes. "Maggie," she began.

After Maura had learned of the developments at Elizabeth's house, Jane immediately called Mike and Nick to make sure the prosecutor hadn't blown things out of proportion. She knew all too well that Kline and Elizabeth would not be friends in this life. He had asked Maggie out too many times, knowing full well that the redhead was married to the captain of the homicide squad.

"Save it, Jane," Maggie replied bitingly, and the former chief pressed her lips together. The ME pointed towards the stairs, where Benjamin had disappeared upstairs after the news about her wife had broken. "First, Elizabeth gets arrested, then she says in court that she loves a teenager barely older than our son. And now Houston and my people find severed fingers in our goddamn wine cellar, after that --" she paused, pointing at herself as her eyes grew wide. "After that, my wife takes flight. How much more am I supposed to put up with, Jane? Isn't it enough that I've apparently lived with someone who killed four people for more than ten years?"

Jane looked closely at her daughter-in-law, opened her mouth, and slumped her shoulders without saying a word.

xxx

"She's just far too vain to let anyone help her. She used to be like that," Leonore said as Caleb sat in the passenger seat.

"How do you know Elizabeth?" the boy now wanted to know.

"We were together once. Sixteen years ago. So it was a long time ago. We were even going to get married."

Caleb nodded slowly and pursed his lips. "So, what's the plan? How do we get her out of her situation?"

Leonore nodded appreciatively. "A young man with clear goals, perfect! First, we'll meet Elizabeth in a place where the investigators won't suspect her. Then I'll give her the exonerating material."

"There must be a huge catch! Are you sure you're not a cop who wants to use me to find Elizabeth?"

"You're very suspicious!" Leonore said admiringly. "I like that!"

Caleb hesitated before replying, "If you think I'm stupid, I'll have to disappoint you," he finally said.

Leonore responded calmly. "On the contrary. You are a very remarkable person. Unlike most boys your age."

"Most boys my age don't know Elizabeth either."

Leonore nodded understandingly. Then she asked, "She'd do a lot for you, wouldn't she?"

Caleb looked out of the window, seemingly disinterested. Meanwhile, Leonore drove the car further and further out of the city center. The streets were becoming increasingly empty, and they were making faster and faster progress. "She's already done a lot for me. So much that I have to give her something in return."

"That's why the interview? And the witness statement?"

"Sure," the student replied, popping a piece of chewing gum into his mouth. "Sure," he replied. "So, what's on this USB stick now?"

"I'm only showing this to Elizabeth. You have to understand that."

With a slightly too theatrical gesture, the teenager sat upright in his seat. Then he looked at Leonore with a confident gaze from his gray-blue eyes. "That's not how it works," he clarified. "Anyone could come here! And why do you think I know where she is anyway?"

"Because she loves you," Leonore replied. "She loved me too. And I always knew how to reach her."

Caleb remained steadfast. "No proof - no Elizabeth!"

Leonore relented. "All right, you want to protect her, I get that. We both do, so why not?"

With these words, she handed Caleb the USB stick and pointed to the back seat, where a laptop lay next to two folded blankets. The student grabbed the computer and connected it to the storage medium. He opened the corresponding file and saw that it contained an entire folder full of videos and pictures.

"Can I watch some of the videos?" Caleb asked with a furrowed brow. "Are they really any good?"

"Take your time," the blonde Leonore replied as she looked at the road. "We're still driving a bit anyway. We can't meet Elizabeth here in the city. Too many cops."

Caleb typed something on the laptop and then clicked on one of the longer videos on the USB stick.

The video showed Levin Coppens sitting in front of a mirror, busy wearing a three-piece suit. He looked at a woman who looked very much like Elizabeth in her clothes. He laughed and said something to the camera, suggesting he would hire a car in his costume.

"Where did you get all that from?" asked Caleb, impressed, after quietly watching a few more videos. "These videos really do completely exonerate Elizabeth!"

Leonore held out her hand demonstratively and waited until Caleb had given her back the USB stick. Only after she had put it safely back in her bag did she reply: "Well, I'm really only going to tell you that when she's with us."

"Well, gt, you've convinced me," the boy admitted and reached for his cell phone, which he had switched off for safety's sake. He activated it again and noticed that he had received numerous calls from his mother. Without paying any further attention, he dialed the number of the cell phone that Elizabeth had borrowed from a schoolgirl at a bus stop shortly after her escape for considerable cash. She had promised the girl the same amount when she returned it if she didn't lock the cell phone for at least a day. Caleb hoped that the girl had kept to this agreement.

"It's me," he said with relief when Elizabeth answered the call shortly afterward.

He summarized the situation in a few brief words.

"You're with whom?" Elizabeth said so loudly that Leonore could hear it from the driver's seat.

"We have to meet. She can prove your innocence."

"CJ, things are getting out of hand. All of Boston is looking for me; I need help to come anywhere. Besides, there's a lot you don't know too!"

"Things got out of hand long ago," Caleb replied. "And right now, I know enough to advise you to meet with us!" Then he looked at Leonore. "Where do you want her to go?"