In a narrative as complex as Cross, there are seemingly unrelated threads woven into the plot at arguably odd angles. Season 1 Episode 3, “The Good Book,” opens with an unknown blonde woman making her way through a haphazard wonderland of second-hand belongings lit only with strewn fairy lights.
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She unlocks a door to an equally cluttered space, where she opens a cubby and pulls out her stash. As she’s smoking her drugs, there’s a knock at the door. Opening it, she finds a sealed box outside. Inside the box is a gun and a card that reads, “Kill Alex Cross.”
Cross, The Good Book
At the Cross house, Alex (Aldis Hodge) remembers Maria (Chaunteé Schuler Irving) helping him get dressed for an occasion, helping him tie his tie and humming the whole while. In the present day, he sits on the edge of their bed with no tie at all. He sees Janelle (Melody Hurd) and Nana Mama (Juanita Jennings) in the yard picking flowers in the snow.
He comes downstairs dressed very formally. Janelle gives him the flowers to lay on Maria’s grave. Nana Mama advises he spend some time talking to her.
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He gets to the gate of Glenn Creek Cemetary and stands there, holding Janelle’s flowers. Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa) arrives. He stands quietly next to Cross. Cross hands him the flowers. Sampson takes them into the cemetery alone. Cross turns away and leaves.
In Ed’s Lair
Shannon (Eloise Mumford) awakens in the basement laboratory, restrained to a chair with a detoxing face mask applied. She begins to panic. Ed (Ryan Eggold) arrives and tries speaking to her in gentle tones. When she continues to panic, he adopts a sterner tone to get her attention and takes a photo
Cross plays the voicemail from Emir Goodspeed (Donovan Brown) for Judge Matlof (Von Flores). The judge asks why the autopsy still says Goodspeed died by accidental overdose. Until the medical examiner states a crime was committed, the judge won’t give him a warrant for the Price St. address mentioned in the voicemail.
Strike One
As Cross walks through a parkade, the blonde woman from the teaser starts following him. They get into an elevator together. She reaches into her bag for the gun slowly, but the elevator stops just then, and several other people, all police officers, get in. The opportunity’s lost. Cross exits with the officers, leaving the woman behind alone.
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Wu (Jason Rogel) chases after Cross when he arrives at work with information on the Price St. address. He tells Cross and Sampson that the address used to be the Egyptian embassy, a bank, and a brothel, but currently they don’t know who owns it because they’re aggressively covering their tracks. Cross, disgruntled over the judge’s ruling, snaps at him.
He and Sampson step into a meeting room. Sampson informs him that the DNA from the hair on Maria’s scarf is in. Before he’ll tell him the name, Sampson tells Cross that he’s not managing very well and he’s concerned, citing what happened at the cemetery as evidence. It’s Cross and Maria’s anniversary.
Sampson refuses to give Cross the name until he calls the therapist and makes an appointment. Cross flies off the handle. Sampson is resolute and insists Cross make the appointment in front of him on speaker.
They Killed Her Dog
The DNA belongs to ADA Susan Kowaleski (Shannon DeVido). Cross goes to her office. She jumps to the conclusion he’s there for a favor. She’s not happy because he was supposed to take a quiet suspension and she’d slowed the processing of a citizen’s complaint against him for that purpose. He explains about the intruder and tells her her DNA was on the scarf.
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Ed calls Bobby Trey (Johnny Ray Gill) while Bobby’s waiting for his lunch. Bobby tells him the judge wouldn’t give Cross a warrant but recommends Ed get out of town while his luck holds. Ed declines and goes back to mixing hair dye for Shannon.
In her office, Susan theorizes the intruder must’ve killed her dog. With the dog out of the way, they would’ve been able to get into her house to get her hair. Realizing they’re probably being targeted by someone affected by a case they worked together, she thinks of Jerry Cooper, a man they convicted of sexual assault who swore he’d get revenge.
In Lieutenant Massey’s (Sharon Taylor) office, Sampson argues for changing Goodspeed’s cause of death to murder so they can get the warrant. Chief Anderson (Jennifer Wigmore) and Detective De Lackner (Stacie Greenwell) argue that he died of an accidental drug overdose on drugs supplied by Tavio Lemmons (Demani D. Sease) who was then killed by Goodspeed’s associates in retaliation. Anderson forces Massey to accept this report and dismisses Sampson.
Affecting Change
Ed tells Shannon about Aileen Wuornos as he bleaches her hair and eyebrows blonde. She wants to go home, but he warns her thoughts like that will just torture her.
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Cross meets Sampson at Ben’s Chili Bowl where Sampson’s rage-eating a tableful of food over Anderson’s stunt. He shows Cross De Lackner’s report states that the Price St. address is a drug den. Cross realizes that gives them cause for a warrant and takes it back to the judge who grants it.
In his laboratory, Ed blowdries Shannon’s hair and then steps back to admire his work. As he’s going over the next steps in the process, he notices a rash on her neck and freaks out. She explains she has a skin condition. Ed answers his phone, and it’s Bobby Trey telling him Cross has the warrant and urging him to get out. Unconcerned, Ed tells him that just because they’re coming into the house doesn’t mean they’ll find him.
On the monitors at his desk, Ed and Shannon can see the police roll up and enter the house. Shannon believes she is going to be rescued. Cross and Sampson come in, followed by an irate house manager. In the lab, Shannon starts to shout for help. Ed joins in, proving how insulated and soundproofed the space is. The search upstairs is unsuccessful. De Lackner arrives to gloat that there was no evidence of murder on site. Massey’s there too. Sampson points out there are no drugs there either. Massey sends Cross home and warns Sampson he needs to get Cross on track or get out of the way.
The Love Zone
Cross returns home, morose. He turns on the radio show “The Love Zone,” one he used to listen to with Maria. As he listens, he reminisces about the best times with Maria. He calls into the show, identifying himself as Isaiah, and makes a request for Maria for their anniversary. He tells the host about losing Maria and requests, “Love Me Still.”
Sampson wakes him up from a drunken sleep with coffee and some meds. There’s a lead on a car suspected of being a part of the break-in at Susan’s. It was ticketed by the old Jefferson School.
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The Jefferson School is the building the blonde in the teaser was squatting in. It’s home to many unhoused people who also use it to throw raves. The blonde approaches Cross and offers him a pill. He declines but asks if she’s seen Jerry Cooper. She says he drops in and out and directs Cross to the back of the camp spaces. Once he’s gone through the door, she takes a different route to ambush him.
Sampson is scoping out the rave when he hears shots. He races towards the sound and finds Cross kneeling over the dead blonde. Massey arrives and takes Cross’s statement then sends him home. Sampson tells her about the stalker. He swears the blonde shot first but admits he didn’t see it. Massey warns him that Cross could take him down with him if Sampson isn’t careful.
The Morning After
Damon finds Cross on the couch holding his head the next day. He tells his dad he smells. Cross admits he’s let himself go and asks why Damon’s up so early. Damon says Miss Nancy (Karen Robinson) says the difference between being good and being the best is how hard you work when no one’s looking. He’s up so he can practice his piano. Cross is impressed with Damon’s drive.
While Damon’s practicing, Massey arrives and sits down to talk. She says that Internal Affairs has cleared him. The would-be killer, Brenda Leeland (Kiran Friesen) still had the “Kill Alex Cross” note in her room. Massey also tells him that the bullets in Brenda’s gun were tampered with to ensure that every shot she took would be a misfire. Whoever ordered the hit was setting Brenda up to be killed by Cross.
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He assures Massey he can deal with the stalker and remain on the Goodspeed case. Massey is relieved and lets him know Leeland’s car was found at the wharf. He and Sampson head down, and the forensic team shows them a map of Glenn Creek Cemetary that they found in the car. Maria’s plot is circled.
Connections
Sampson and Cross race to Maria’s grave. There’s a dress hanging from a tree nearby. Cross says it isn’t Maria’s, but he recognizes it.
Ed sits in his office watching a web feed of Shannon in captivity. He logs into a site displaying the logo from the front of his book and sends a message stating that the last piece has fallen into place and he’ll be in touch soon.
At the precinct, Cross and Sampson go over what they know about the Price St. address. Cross starts to piece together the information and makes a connection between the building’s history as a brothel and how it could be used by the serial killer.
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Bobby Trey is watching the Price St. address and sees Cross pull up. Calling Ed, Bobby moves his car. Ed is ignoring the call because he’s in a meeting with Senator Caitlin Goldman (Marion Adler). He leverages photos and videos he has of her pedophile husband to get his project back on the Senate’s agenda.
As Caitlin leaves, Ed sees Bobby Trey in the room with Shannon. He picks up the next call from Bobby, who tells him Cross is back at the house. Ed directs him to get Shannon out alive. Bobby’s not sure he’s taking orders anymore.
Warrants Don’t Expire, People Do
Outside the house, Sampson arrives with a sledgehammer. He checks with Cross about how sure he is about moving forward with this plan. Cross tells him the brothel had a secret exit in case they got raided. He intends to find it.
In the laboratory, Shannon begs Bobby Trey not to kill her. He ignores her and searches the space. Finally, he waves his phone at the camera.
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In the house, the same irate man from the raid is hassling Cross and Sampson and is very nervous about the sledgehammer. Cross finds a wall panel that sounds different when tapped and gives Sampson the go-ahead. The man grabs the handle of the sledgehammer in protest, exposing a tattoo on his inner wrist that matches the logo on Ed’s book. Sampson warns him about getting in the way, and he lets go. Sampson takes out the panel.
Take a Look, It’s in a Book
Ed answers Bobby’s call, and Bobby demands 2.2 million dollars. Ed tries to negotiate, but the hammering noises are loud, and Bobby holds a knife to Shannon’s neck. Giving in to Bobby’s demands, Ed insists Bobby get Shannon (he calls her Aileen) to safety with the book. Bobby agrees.
Upstairs, the sledgehammer has revealed a hidden stairwell. The panel was actually a door. They descend to the laboratory, but Bobby’s already hoofed it with Shannon. She starts screaming for help. Bobby stops to gag her and drops the book. Cross and Sampson emerge from the escape tunnel too late. Back in the laboratory, they find evidence that Emir was a victim of the same killer. Flipping through the book, they realize the killer’s plan and what the current victim looks like.
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Bobby Trey meets up with Ed to turn over Shannon. When he tells Ed that he lost the book, Ed is furious. Bobby points out that he can always make another scrapbook. Ed tells him nothing matters without the book. He won’t pay the money he agreed on until he has the book.
Cross is currently streaming on Prime Video.
