Prison guard Jordy comes up to a girl at a sorority house, saying that he’d like to secure their doors and windows as a precaution, even if Carroll was already caught. She lets him in, and he suggests that they start in a room at the end of the hallway.
Jordy tells the girl he has studied the house a lot, and pulls out a bag that he threw up there earlier. He calls it his “kit”, and says that it is important to have the right tools. He has been planning this for a long time, and lunges at the girl.
Denise (real name Emma Hill) and the two “gay” neighbors (real names Jacob Wells and Paul Torres) arrive at a house with Claire’s son Joey. She has told Joey that they are on an adventure, and his mother said not to call her.
Hardy is introduced to agent Deborah Parker, the new lead in the investigation. The old lead has been moved off the case for leaving Hardy alone with Carroll in the interrogation room, which led to Hardy breaking three of Carroll’s fingers.
Parker is questioning Hardy about his past when they are informed that there has been another murder. They arrive at the sorority house to find that 3 girls have been killed. The killer was very sloppy, and they are able to determine that is was Jordy based on all the fingerprints.
Claire goes to see Joe at the prison to try to determine the whereabouts of her son Joey. Joe makes her answer specific questions from his letter about her and Hardy. She admits that they had a two month affair after the trial and after she was divorced from Joe.
At the safe house, Joey finds a room set up exactly like his room at home, with all of the same toys and everything. He asks Denise why his Dad is such a bad man. Denise tells him that maybe his Dad isn’t bad; it’s just that people don’t understand him. She has a memory of meeting Joe at a book signing, and her mother flirting with Joe and embarrassing her.
In going through prison video footage, they are able to find Emma’s true identity, as well as an address. They go to the house, but no one is home. Hardy breaks in, and starts looking around. He finds all kinds of Poe items, including Poe masks, and Poe passages written on the walls. He picks up a copy of his book that is sitting on a chair, and as he is looking at it, one of the Poe masks moves and a man in a Poe mask attacks him.
The man has escaped, but the team conducts a thorough investigation of the house. Parker determines that it is a meeting-house for this cult, and that Poe’s works are a religion to them. She then informs Hardy that she works for the alternative religion unit and is a cult specialist.
A flashback is shown of Emma visiting Joe in prison, and Joe telling her about a boy she might be interested in meeting. She starts dating Jacob, and one night when he is at her house for dinner, Emma kills her mother. Jacob looks at her and says, “You did it. You really did it.”
Investigating in the upstairs of the meeting-house, they find a body in the wall, later identified as Emma’s mother. There are names of women all over the walls, all names of women that died in Poe’s works. Each name has a corresponding picture under it. One of them is Claire.
The team rushes over to Claire’s house to find her in no danger. Jordy takes out the officer assigned to watch Claire. He goes into Claire’s room and takes her hostage. As Hardy and the others arrive, Jordy will only talk to Hardy.
Jordy tells Hardy that Claire has to die with Hardy watching. If not, then Jordy has to die, and he isn’t ready to die. Hardy outwits Jordy, telling him that they can call Joe and ask him what to do. In his moment of dropping his guard, Claire pushes Jordy away, and Hardy shoots him.
Jordy survives, and Hardy goes to the prison to tell Joe that he is still alive. Joe calls Jordy a mere puppy that knows nothing. Hardy tells Joe he will be sure to let Jordy know that he said that.
There is an apparent rift between Emma and Paul. Paul has been living with Jacob for so long, that he is now jealous of all the time Emma and Jacob are spending together. Emma accuses Paul of actually being gay, while Paul tells Jacob that he is too good for Emma.
Agent Parker gives Joe a book of Poe to read in his cell, leaving (at least with me) the impression that Parker is either working with Joe, or at least making Joe think she is.
The episode ends with the masked Poe (now known just by the name of Rick) dousing a man on the street with gasoline and setting him on fire.
