FRANK SENSES THAT BLETCHER’S KILLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A TEENAGED BOY.
In Oregon, a youngs man tunnels his way out of a farmhouse and escapes into the darkened countryside. He spots what appears to be an abandoned Chevy Impala parked alongside a road. As the youngs man attempts to jump start the car by opening the hood and hot-wiring the motor, it suddenly springs to life. The unseen driver runs over the youngs man’s legs, halting his escape. A dark female form and a Long-Haired Man approach their victim. The Long-Haired Man tosses the screaming body into the trunk of the car.
Meanwhile, at James K. Polk High School in Seattle, two 18-year-old friends, Landon Bryce and Howard Gordon, meet guidance counselor Teresa Roe. During the discussion, Bryce urges Gordon to apply to college–this despite Roe’s assessment that Gordon’s grade point average is too mediocre to worth bothering. The conversation escalates into a loud argument until Landon accuses Roe of being a failure. That night, an intruder breaks into the Bryce home. Gordon dies, and Bryce is kidnapped.
As Frank and Giebelhouse observe, a pathologist rules that Gordon died as the result of a coronary. But further neurological evidence indicates the heart attack was triggered by fear. Frank travels to the Bryce home, where he observes Landon’s bedroom. He is struck by internal visions of the Gehenna Devil and Lucy Butler, the woman who murdered Bletcher. Meanwhile, the Long-Haired Man drags a bound-and-gagged Bryce into the remote country farmhouse. The teenager is thrown into a room, where he is spoken to by the female form. The woman tells Bryce that she loves him. A short time later, Bryce realizes he has a cell mate–the Screwed-Up Guy who attempted to escape in the teaser.
Meanwhile, a concerned Frank attempts to contact Jordan by telephone, only to discover she is not at home. Frank tells Watts his concern stems from the fact that he sensed Lucy Butler’s presence in Bryce’s bedroom. Watts attempts to calm Frank’s concerns by noting that a Millennium Group member, Olson, has been monitoring Butler’s movements ever since she won release on suspicion of Detective Bletcher’s murder. A short time later, Frank and Watts travel to Lucy’s last known address–a rural farmhouse. But once inside, the pair discover Olson’s rotting corpse. The men realize that Butler had gained access to Olson’s Group files and then submitted her own surveillance reports.
Bryce, meanwhile, manages to rip loose a section of the door to his cell. But his escape is thwarted when the Gehenna Devil–which transforms into the Long-Haired Man–knocks him to the ground and then drags him back to the room. Lucy then cradles Bryce’s head in her lap… and begins the first stages of brainwashing him.
Frank decides the best hope of locating Bryce is by interviewing Teresa Roe, as the argument between her and the two teenagers was so loud it attracted the attention of others outside her office. During the conversation, Frank takes note of Roe’s use of the past tense whenever she mentions Bryce’s name. Afterward, Giebelhouse, Watts and Frank research Roe’s background. They realize that wherever she taught school, students disappeared. Frank concludes that all of the missing teenagers were just like Bryce–ordinary kids with average grades who exhibited signs of promise.
Meanwhile, Bryce manages to gain the confidence of the Screwed-Up Guy… who is so confused mentally that he cannot remember his own name. Bryce discovers the existence of a tunnel that runs beneath the farm, the same tunnel the Screwed-Up Guy used for his escape earlier. He convinces his cell mate to join him for a break-out. The pair make their way through the tunnel, but when they emerge on the other side, they are confronted by Lucy and the Long-Haired Man. Back in the cell, a demonic Lucy tells Bryce that he is mediocre–an ordinary teenager–and the sooner he understands this concept, the…