Gary is in the basement of his house in Wilmington, Delaware, reflecting on how he imagined kidnapping Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. when he was 12 (first mentioned in the Prologue). The fantasy helped him through his troubled childhood, through the many times he was locked in a cellar for disobeying his stepmother. He believes no one truly understands the Lindbergh kidnapping, just like no one has solved Michael and Maggie’s kidnapping. Law enforcement officials also haven’t solved Gary’s previous murders. He hopes they are ready for what he has planned next.

Missy Murphy is in the kitchen baking cookies, worried about her husband, Gary. She is afraid he is about to lose his job even though he works for her brother, Marty, at Atlantic Heating. When she met Gary while attending the University of Delaware, she thought he was brilliant. Everyone warned Missy not to marry him because he was odd, but she did anyway. Now, she’s embarrassed and worried because this wouldn’t be the first time that Gary has lost a job.

Pittman calls Alex into his office after he returns from Florida. He is angry because the FBI are blaming Alex and the Washington, DC, police department for the failed ransom drop-off, and Thomas Dunne is following suit, blaming them for failing to save Maggie.