A person wearing gloves cuts articles about crime out of the paper while watching a tape of John's appearance on America's Most Wanted. Glove Man (they don't reveal the person's gender yet, but let's just cut to the chase) pauses the tape and then uses a marker to outline John's head on the screen, which is kind of funny, but also a good way to ruin a television. So clearly, Glove Man is crazy. The outline of John's head looks a great deal like Charlie Brown's. Glove Man uses the marker (pressing really hard so that it squeaks a lot) to scribble inside the outline until John's face is covered with red magic marker. As bored as I get with this show at times, I've never been tempted to do that. Yet.
Glove Man walks through John's darkened apartment building using night vision goggles. He breaks into John's apartment and enters the office, where a computer displays John's mug shot. Glove Man walks over to a cookie jar and takes one out, then eats it. Crumbs drop on the floor. Um, that's a really good way to get ants, dude. He passes a chessboard and removes the queen. He does a little soft shoe, and then walks into the bedroom, where John is sleeping. Glove Man traces the scar on John's chest. How could you not wake up during that? John must be a seriously sound sleeper. I'm a pretty deep sleeper, and I think I would wake up if someone even entered the room. Also, with all of the money John dropped on his furnishings and such, he doesn't have an alarm system or anything? Glove Man takes out a digital camera and snaps a picture of John's chest. Perv.
The morning, Frank and Lt. Bosslady arrive at a crime scene. Lt. Bosslady begs Stu (Stu!) to tell her that this killing is unrelated. Stu says that the victim was a petite brunette who worked as a driver for Night Rider Limo. What a cheesy business name. Unless the limousines actually talk. Then it would be cool. Stu says it's the same M.O. as the killings, so they must have a serial killer on their hands. Stu says that the victim was killed within the hour. Frank says that at least they are getting closer, but Lt. Bosslady can't be placated, because she's afraid the story is about to go national. No mention of hoping to prevent other innocent people from dying, though. Frank says that the killer left behind another pink envelope, and hands it over. Lt. Bosslady asks if the cryptologist has been able to figure out what the symbol on the envelope means. Frank says they have no idea. Lt. Bosslady studies the envelope, which, of course, bears the same symbol that is on John's chest.
John poses like Rodin's The Thinker as Karen sculpts him. John complains about how long he's had to hold the pose. There's a knock at the door. Karen runs over and lets Frank in. John seems embarrassed that he was posing shirtless, which is weird, because why was he posing shirtless, but wearing pants? Was that some sort of compromise that he and Karen reached? Because if memory serves, the subject of the original is completely naked. I don't know. Karen realizes that Frank and John need to talk, so she says she needs more clay and leaves. And thus ends the Karen portion of the program, thank God. Frank tells John that they have a serial killer. John has already heard about the killer, who has been dubbed The Mourner due to his penchant for leaving sympathy cards in pink envelopes at the crime scene. Frank says that they are stuck until they find another corpse with a pink envelope. Frank shows John the symbol written on all of the envelopes. John looks at the symbol and stammers that he doesn't understand, but doesn't remind Frank that he has the same symbol on his chest. Frank, oblivious, says that the envelopes contain clues, and shows one to John that says "1857 R Thomas 23." John searches his brain for a connection, and comes up with "Reginald Thomas." Frank says that name isn't on his list of suspects. John explains that Reginald Thomas was the original architect of the Seacouver sewer systems, and that 23 refers to the number of the sluice gate near Lake Union. Frank says that they've got the location, but now they need a day and time. Frank thinks that 1857 might be military time, which translates to 6:57 PM. John realizes that's the time that Gate 23's valves open and fill the outflow tunnel. I've stopped trying to nitpick what John does and doesn't know, because clearly the answer is that he does know what is convenient for the plot, and he doesn't know anything else. Frank and John run out.
Frank and John walk through the sewers, and this set was so leftover from Dark Angel. John says that it's 6:58 PM and the water level is starting to rise. Frank worries that they are too late. John spots a pink envelope hanging nearby, and they run over to find a guy hanging upside down with his upper body underwater. John lifts the guy, and he sputters and spits out water.
The almost-victim, one Lenny Pesco, walks through the police station while being questioned by Lt. Bosslady. She asks if he got a good look at the killer. Pesco deflects the question. Frank asks if Pesco can give them an approximate age or height, or recall anything the killer said. Pesco says that the guy came out of nowhere, but he might be around thirty, balding, and a little shorter than him. The camera keeps focusing in on Pesco's hands, and I can't figure out why. Lt. Bosslady asks Pesco if he's okay. Pesco gulps down some coffee and says that he could have died. Lt. Bosslady promises to take good care of him, and then asks him to tell them anything else that he remembers.
Lt. Bosslady stalks into her office and picks up the ringing phone. She fills her boss in on what happened and promises that they have their best people analyzing the newest card. John, still wet and shivering from his adventure in the sewers, walks into her office as she hangs up. John grabs the newest clue, which reads "Blue Light Special, ATF, PR." Lt. Bosslady thinks "Blue Light Special" must refer to K-Mart. John starts babbling about K-Mart, and then guesses that "ATF" stands for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Lt. Bosslady asks about "PR," and John lists off a few things, but none of them seem to fit. Lt. Bosslady yells for someone to bring John a blanket. John protests, but Lt. Bosslady says that she doesn't want him to get sick. Because she needs him for the investigation, or because she looooooves him? John seems to wonder that too, and then he must decide that she loves him, because he takes off his sweater. Lt. Bosslady gets an eyeful, and then moves in closer when she notices his scar. She says, "What the?" Hee! I've never heard anyone actually say that out loud. It sounds dumb. Lt. Bosslady compares John's scar to the killer's symbol and asks what is going on, and if John is the killer. John denies it. Lt. Bosslady wonders why John didn't tell them about it before. John says that he was afraid of what it might mean, because it could represent a cult or serve as a tracking device. Lt. Bosslady clearly thinks John is crazy. John yells that he doesn't know, and that the scar might be a result of something that was done to him. Lt. Bosslady asks if John thinks the killer did it, and if the killer is trying to target John somehow and send him a message. John says if he knew the answer to those questions, he'd tell her. With kisses! Lt. Bosslady asks how some "whack job honing in on [John]" would have ever seen the scar on his chest. John doesn't know, but adds that if the killer is trying to get his attention, he's succeeded.
Stella! My second favorite tertiary character after Stu. John walks into Stella's office. She congratulates him on saving Pesco's life. John says that it was a team effort. Stella asks John what he thinks about some computer thing, and John thinks she seriously wants to know, so he answers. Stella says that there's a symposium this weekend, and wonders if John would want to go. Ladies love mysterious John! Isn't she a little young for him? She should go out with Stu. Before John can answer, Frank calls him to "the situation room," like, is this the White House or what? John excuses himself without actually telling Stella if he'll go on a date with her or not.
Lt. Bosslady yells out instructions that include evacuating all local K-Marts, testing Pesco's clothing for fingerprints, and contacting the ATF. John looks at the clue, which has been written on a whiteboard, and says that there's a bar called The Blue Light in Lubbock, Texas. Lt. Bosslady doesn't think that's it. Frank says that they're going to release Pesco. Pesco reads the whiteboard and says in a "I'm going to pretend I'm talking to myself, but I'm going to say it loud enough so that people will ask me about it" way that "blue light special" means two-for-one lap dances. Lt. Bosslady asks him to repeat that, and Pesco says it was nothing. Frank asks him again, and Pesco "reluctantly" says that he heard the phrase at a topless joint. He explains that he was at a buddy's bachelor party when he heard about it, and he doesn't go to the places regularly or anything, but the phrase stuck with him. Pesco remembers that the place was called Sir Galahad's. John asks what PR stands for. Pesco says that it stands for "Pervert Row," which is what the strippers call the seats closest to the stage, since they allow the customers to look up and see -- well, you get the picture. For someone who has only been to a strip bar once, this guy sure knows a lot about them. Lt. Bosslady tells Frank and John that they have to go. Pesco is hustled away.
Sir Galahad's. After like ten minutes of gratuitous stripper footage, Frank, John, and Lt. Bosslady burst in and tell everyone to freeze. Lt. Bosslady asks if they think the killer will go after one of the dancers . John reminds them that Pesco said that ATF stands for "All Time Favorite," which refers to a particular chair in PR. He did? When? Why didn't they show that part? They must have had to cut that exchange in order to fit in more stripper footage. Well, it is FOX after all. Why have plot when you can have boobies? Lt. Bosslady starts checking out the various chairs in the front row. John suggests that the owner of the club might be able to point out some of the regulars. Lt. Bosslady finds something and tells John, "The victim? It's us." John checks out what she found, which is a bomb strapped underneath the stage.
Lt. Bosslady radios in for the bomb squad. The owner struts out and asks what's going on. Lt. Bosslady shows him the bomb and then orders everyone to file out calmly. As the patrons and strippers start to leave, a robot voice comes over the PA and orders everyone to retake their seats because their lives depend on it. He calls on John Doe. John takes Lt. Bosslady's radio and talks into it. Is the voice coming through her radio? Because it really sounds like it's coming over the loudspeakers. So why does John have to talk into the radio? I don't know. John asks the killer to let the innocent people go. The killer refuses, because he wants to play a game. Lt. Bosslady asks Frank how the killer got on a secure frequency, and Frank says that either he's an insider or he stole a police radio. Hmm -- what outsider has been in the police station recently? Who could it be? John asks how to disarm the explosive. The killer says it's not an explosive; it's sarin gas. In order to keep it from being activated, John has to "create a rainbow." The killer also knows that John is color-blind. John wonders how the killer knew that, but the killer ignores him to explain that there are four strippers wearing differently colored lingerie on stage, and John has to arrange them in rainbow order. John can't ask for or receive help with the colors, and the game will end when the song does. If the strippers aren't in proper order, the gas will be released. Hee! Gas being released.
The music starts, and John mumbles about our old pal, Roy G. Biv. Which always bugged me as a kid, because I had no idea what color indigo was. I got blue, and I got violet, but indigo threw me for a loop, until I realized that it was the shade in between blue and violet. Duh. John looks at the first stripper's outfit, and recalls that it only comes in two colors: black and red. Since there is no black in the rainbow, it must be red, so she goes first. The stripper thinks the whole thing is bullshit, so John yells out that their lives are in danger. Way to keep them calm, John. Lt. Bosslady orders Frank to have the bomb squad on standby and clear the area outside the building. John figures out that the second stripper is wearing yellow boots and she confirms that her boots match her outfit, so she goes second. Lt. Bosslady asks the owner if there is anyplace in the club where the killer could be hiding. Cut to the killer, in a back office, watching John on a monitor. The final stripper whines that she's too young to die, because she turns nineteen in two months. John realizes that her birthstone is amethyst, which is purple, and asks if her outfit matches her earrings. How he knew her earrings were amethyst for sure, I don't know. I mean, does everyone only wear jewelry with his or her birthstone in it? John places her fourth in line, so we never do get to find out how he figured out that the third girl was wearing blue, but whatever. The song ends. The gas canister stops beeping, and the killer congratulates John. Lt. Bosslady busts into the back office, which is now empty. Frank says, "Damn it. This guy's everywhere." Lt. Bosslady adds, "Yeah. And nowhere." Hee! Sometimes the dialogue is so bad that I just have to giggle. The camera pans down to reveal a police radio left on the chair. So I guess the voice was coming over the radio and not the PA. Well, it sure was loud and non-staticky.
Lt. Bosslady fields questions from a phalanx of reporters. She tells them that the killer is not randomly targeting the community, and is not motivated by money or revenge. A reporter asks how she knows that, and Lt. Bosslady says she can't tell them that, but she can tell them that the killer is male, in his early thirties, a recluse with a superior intellect, and he won't stop until he finds what he's looking for. What does that last part mean? Was it a code meant for the killer? Or did the writers just have no idea how to end that sentence? Lt. Bosslady excuses herself as the reporters continue to yell questions after her. Frank asks John how the killer knew that John is colorblind. John doesn’t know. Some flunky tells Frank that he has a visitor. Pesco pops up and says that he wanted to get them a thank-you gift for saving his life, but he didn't know what would be appropriate. Frank assures him that he doesn't have to. Pesco says that he saw on the news that his information led them to the strip club, so he figures he kind of saved their lives too. It was at this point that I knew for sure Pesco was the killer. I actually thought it when they pulled him out of the sewer, but I have this annoying tendency when watching crime shows to accuse pretty much every character of being the killer, like on Law & Order, Briscoe will walk on screen and I'll be like, "He's the killer!" So I've learned to keep my theories to myself until I'm sure, and this was the point where I yelled out, "Pesco's the killer!" Mostly because I saw that episode of Homicide where Steve from Sex & the City was trying to help them catch a sniper and then he turned out to be the sniper himself.
Anyway, as Pesco continues to talk to John, Frank's phone rings. The robot voice asks for John. Frank slowly turns towards John, who is patiently listening to Pesco go on and on about how he could quit his sewer job and become a consultant for the police force. Frank yells at Pesco to go home. John takes the phone and listens as the killer says that his prize for solving the puzzle earlier is underneath the copy machine. You'll note that the killer did not ask or answer any questions. Because it was totally a recording. Not to ruin it for you, but it's easier to just tell you that now than to wait until it's revealed at the end of the episode, and then you have to hit the back button and reread the scene in question with your new knowledge in mind, kind of like how you had to watch The Others again after seeing the end to see if it held together. So I'm saving you the trouble and just telling you that it was clearly a recording. Pesco asks if it was The Mourner on the phone. John pops open the bottom of the copier to find a package wrapped in pink paper, and on top is a pink envelope with the symbol. Frank yells out that they need to evacuate all nonessential personnel. Lt. Bosslady orders them to lock the place down and clear a one-block perimeter. How did she even know what was going on? She just stomped out of her office and started ordering people around. Which is totally what I would do in her job, but that's neither here nor there. Everyone evacuates the building, and a bomb squad guy comes in and removes the package. He quickly realizes that it doesn't contain a bomb.
Frank dons some gloves and opens the card. He reads the message inside, which is addressed to John, out loud: "Black and white, you'll see the light. You have 'til sunrise or both lose the fight." Lt. Bosslady comes over and checks out the contents of the box -- thousands of puzzle pieces, all white. John says that sunrise is at 6:27 A.M., so they have less than eight hours to put the puzzle together. John says he needs a big table with lots of light.
Various people crowd around the table and work on the puzzle. Shouldn't someone be trying to figure out how the killer got the package into the station? You'd think in a busy station like that, someone saw something happening. No wonder these cops can't solve a crime without John Doe's help. After a period of time, only John and Lt. Bosslady are left working on the puzzle. That is total bullshit -- I would be ordering people to work on it in two- or three-hour shifts around the clock, so that there were always like eight people working on it. But no -- we have to give John and Lt. Bosslady time to bond. Lt. Bosslady talks about how terrible she is at jigsaw puzzles, and then says that it's 4:00 AM and she's losing it. John puts a piece in, and Lt. Bosslady says that she thought he'd be able to whip the thing together in ten minutes. John says that his knowledge doesn't apply when the shapes are random. John pounds the table in frustration and says that the killer seems to be able to exploit his weaknesses. Lt. Bosslady says that John has never come clean with any of them about his amnesia, and that the time for secrets is over. And why hasn't he come clean? I still don't get why he couldn't be like Leonard Shelby in Memento and open every conversation with, "I have this condition…" Of course, that didn't work out so well for Leonard.
Anyway, John tries to think of where to begin, but before he can say anything, Frank busts in, followed by Digger, who has brought coffee and food. God bless Digger. Unfortunately, Digger has grown a cheesy high school moustache since last we saw him. Yuck. Lt. Bosslady says that it's two hours until sunrise. Frank says he's contacted many puzzle manufacturers, but none of them have heard of an all-white puzzle. Because it's just not possible to either make one yourself, or paint an existing one white. Duh. Digger asks if he can help, and Frank hands him a pair of gloves.
It's 6:10 AM. Frank complains and John spouts useless facts. Frank pats in the final piece. Lt. Bosslady asks what the puzzle is supposed to mean. John repeats the part of the clue that says, "Black and white, you'll see the light." He asks for a black light. Once one is provided, Frank waves it over the puzzle and they all see the words "Spicy Pan Seared Pawn." John realizes that it's an item on the menu at Cho Fat, a Chinese restaurant. Digger has heard of it too, and supplies that there was a typo on the menu (because they actually serve prawn) and they never fixed it. John says that it's on the corner of Fourth and Denny. Lt. Bosslady remembers the rest of the clue: "You have 'til sunrise or both will lose the fight." Frank asks who "both" are, and Lt. Bosslady says she doesn't know, but they have ten minutes to get over there and find out.
Multiple cop cars pull up to the restaurant, sirens blaring. They discover two cops, bound and gagged, sitting back to back on some crates in the middle of the street. In addition, there are bombs strapped to each cop. Lt. Bosslady calls in the bomb squad, who are certainly earning their pay this week. Lt. Bosslady's phone rings, and the killer asks if she really thinks The Mourner is an appropriate name, since he's not really sad. Lt. Bosslady tries to be sassy, but the killer wants to talk to John. Frank says that he'll get Stella to do a triangulation trace. John grabs the phone, and the killer does that serial-killer taunting thing for a while before describing the two captive cops. One is a male, who is "pathetically single," "does a lot of one-handed typing in chat rooms," and lives with his mother. The other is female, speaks fluent Russian, Ukrainian, and English, and is supposed to get married on Saturday. The killer says that both cops are sitting on pressure-sensitive switches. One will detonate a bomb when released, and the other will disarm both switches. The killer urges John to "choose the right cop." Frank urges Stella to give them the killer's location. The killer tells John that when the traffic signal turns red, if John hasn't made a choice, he will detonate the bomb anyway. The killer hangs up, and Frank says that they didn't trace the call. Because it's coming from inside the house! Sorry.
John explains his task to Lt. Bosslady. He runs through the number of letters in each name and the number of marriages on Saturdays and then says that there are too many variables and he can't figure it out. The light turns yellow. John chooses the male cop, and then changes his mind and chooses the female cop because she's "getting married and starting a family." First of all, how annoying that he thinks she's more valuable because she's getting married, and how even more annoying that he thinks that because she's getting married, she must be starting a family. Anyway. John vacillates some more, and Lt. Bosslady realizes that it means the cop on the right-hand side. Before they can launch into a discussion of whether it means their right or the cops' right, Lt. Bosslady runs out and tackles the male cop. Nothing explodes. Lt. Bosslady explains why she chose the male cop. The phone rings, and John picks up. The killer says, "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin-eater. time, no help." Pumpkin-eater? What is he, eight years old? The killer is in elementary school!
John stands around at the crime scene, then shakes his head and starts to walk away. Lt. Bosslady asks where he's going. John says that he could have caused someone's death and he can't do this anymore. Lt. Bosslady points out that they made it in time, and no one died. John thinks that his presence is creating the problem, and stomps off. Lt. Bosslady is like, "But I love you!" Okay, I might have made that last part up.
John stands across the street from a church and sighs. He enters, and for some reason there is music even though it doesn't look like there's anyone in the organ loft. Maybe they pipe it in. John walks down the aisle and sits in one of the pews. Lt. Bosslady sits directly behind him. John spouts off some facts about the church. Lt. Bosslady says that he just saved two lives. John says that they didn't catch the killer and the whole thing won't stop. Lt. Bosslady tells him to have faith. John asks if she has faith. Lt. Bosslady says that she has faith they'll catch the killer and that they're saving people instead of finding bodies. John asks if she has faith in "this place." Lt. Bosslady tells about how she used to go to church with her fiancé every Sunday, and then they would go out to breakfast in a diner. She adds that while she never found faith inside the church, she "sure did in those breakfasts with him." At least until he was killed in the line of duty and the killer escaped. Man, what a bummer. Hey, do you think Pesco killed her fiancé? It seems odd that they would bring up that the killer escaped now. John says he doesn't know what he believes in. Lt. Bosslady tells him to believe in what he can control. John says that he can't control any of this, and Lt. Bosslady advises him to keep going until he can. What does that even mean? I don't know. She has a lot of lines that make no sense.
At the police station, Digger admonishes a cop for hogging all the food. Frank paces and rubs his eyes. Lt. Bosslady studies a map upon which they've marked off all the killer's locations. John points out that they didn't get any pink envelopes this time. Frank asks what the rules of the games are, and if Stella has found a link between the victims yet. Stella hasn't found any connection or pattern. Lt. Bosslady thinks the killer is too deliberate and methodical not to have a pattern. John says that it might literally be a game, and he stands up and draws a grid on the map. Frank is all, "Cut this shit, Doe!" which earned a laugh from me. John reminds them that the first victim worked for Night Rider Limo, and he writes "Night" in that square. Then, he adds a K to the front of it to make it "Knight." The incident happened at Sir Galahad strip club, and Sir Galahad lived in a castle. Yeah, but he was also a knight. Who rode a horse. It seems a bit arbitrary to assign castle to him. Couldn't the writers have come up with a better clue for the first victim so that Galahad could correspond to Knight? Bad writing, there. Also, the limo driver wasn't the first victim, because Lt. Bosslady said on her arrival that she hoped the killing wasn't related to the others. Sigh.
John says that the third clue contained the word "Pawn," and he writes that word in the appropriate square on the map. John reveals that the killer is playing chess, and grins widely. He's a little too happy about that. Stella says that the entire city is the killer's board. John says that the victims are just pieces in the game. Frank says that if they know the game, they can predict the killer's move. Stella says she'll get on the computer and try to find a famous game that matches the positions of the pieces, and she runs out of the room. John immediately spouts off the matching game, like, couldn't he have called Stella back at that point? Lt. Bosslady asks what the move is. John says that it should be QE8, and the killer is going for checkmate. John puts a pin in the appropriate map square. Lt. Bosslady walks up to the map and realizes that the police station is in that square. She turns and orders everyone evacuated in sixty seconds. You'd think they'd be getting good at that whole evacuation thing by now. What is this, the third time this episode?
A random cop runs up and calls out to Lt. Bosslady. John and Frank follow her into Stella's office and…Stella is missing! No! Why couldn't it have been Karen? John spots a pink envelope clipped to the computer monitor, and sees Stella's glasses sitting on the keyboard. The robot voice says, "Queen to Bishop Eight, John Doe. Check." John talks into the computer microphone and asks where Stella is. The killer refuses to give that info up, so John slams his hand on the desk real hard! I guess that desk won't be messing with John anymore.
John sits at a computer and zooms in on some surveillance footage of the killer grabbing Stella. Lt. Bosslady points out that the abduction happened seven minutes ago, but the killer never appeared on any of the exterior cameras. Because the call is coming from inside the house! Sorry again. Frank yells that the killer must still be inside the building. John can tell from the footage that the killer is left-handed and no taller than five foot nine inches. Wow, that's helpful. Lt. Bosslady orders the cops standing around to start searching the building. Frank says that the killer must have known where the cameras were, because he made sure they never got a clear shot of his face, so it must be someone with internal access. John reads the clue, which says, "Make it to the other side. Little pawn, reclaim your queen." John remembers that there's an occult shop called The Other Side on the opposite side of town. Lt. Bosslady wants to get some cops over there just in case. John says that the killer wouldn't move his playing piece there, because it would violate the rules.
Digger walks up and asks if he can throw in his two cents. Why not? Digger points out that the map only shows two dimensions, but the killer might be playing his game in three. Digger concludes that the reason no one saw the killer exit the building is because he's below it. Lt. Bosslady realizes that means he could be in the sewers. Digger says that it's a great way to get around the city, and he knows that because he worked there in his youth. Wow, what a coincidence! Good thing Digger was there, and eavesdropping on the conversation! Frank asks if that's why they call him Digger, and Digger says no. Heh. Lt. Bosslady asks how the killer got into the sewers. Digger says they have to figure out where the station's drainage line hooks up with the sewer system. John thinks it must be the morgue. Frank asks how the killer could have slipped down there undetected. Lt. Bosslady says that he could have snuck in during the evacuation. Frank and Lt. Bosslady head to the morgue. John asks Digger what he thinks, and Digger says that he thinks he can find another way down there. Of course he can.
Digger takes John to an emergency exit shaft that's not even on the map, and conveniently comes out in the police station. John climbs down. Digger hands him a flashlight. John tells Digger to tell Lt. Bosslady where he is. John walks through the tunnels and calls Stella's name. He walks by a giant fan that makes me sure this is part of the old Dark Angel set. John walks into a large room and trips over a rope stretched across the entrance. This causes a valve to open. Stella is at the other end of the room, bound and gagged, inside a tank that is filling with water. Then again, it's the sewer, so I hope that's water. Ew. Stella screams. John sees that there is a grid of ropes throughout the room. He tries to cross the room without tripping over any more of the ropes as he explains that when he gets nervous, he tends to spout random facts. So he spouts random facts. Then he realizes that the cable used on Stella is the same that was used to tie up Pesco, and Pesco had access to those cables. John realizes that Pesco tied himself up so that John would save him and he would get access to the investigation. So Pesco's the killer. Which I already told you, and if you watched the episode, you had surely figured out by this point. And John's supposed to be the smart one?
The lights go out. Pesco appears and tells John that he knew John would figure it all out. Pesco is wearing his night vision goggles (which must be issued to all serial killers), so he can see John, but John can't see him. John asks about the call that came into the station while Pesco was there. Um, maybe you should worry less about solving every piece of the puzzle and worry more about saving Stella? Pesco plays the tape of the call. Good thing he just happened to carry that tape around with him at all times in case this situation arose. John tells Pesco to give up because he's caught. Pesco says that you can't catch what you can't see. John tells Pesco to let Stella go because this is between the two of them. Pesco says that John is the genius detective and he is the brilliant crook. John yells out that it isn't a game and Pesco is killing people. Um, maybe a little less talking and a little more saving Stella? Pesco says that they are mere pawns on a chessboard, and there's a fine line between genius and madness. John says he's nothing like Pesco, but Pesco says they are more alike than John knows. The lights come on, and John sees that Pesco is right beside him. They scuffle, and Pesco pulls his shirt aside to reveal his scar -- the same symbol that John has. John makes the crazy eyes. Pesco says that this is to be continued, because Stella is almost dead, and we see that the water level has risen above her head. Pesco says that John will have to decide whether to chase him or save Stella, and then he runs off. John pauses for a minute, and then grabs a pipe off the wall and smashes Stella's tank so that all the water flows out. He unties her and carries her out. She coughs and sputters, but is clearly alive and well. Yay! John looks down the tunnel, but Pesco is gone. Then he looks real hard for about five more minutes, like, cut the scene already unless Pesco is going to pop up out of the water like Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. Which he's not.
At the station, John drapes a blanket around Stella's shoulders. Frank asks Stella if she's okay, and Stella says she's been better. John sits on the stairs to Stella and starts using a towel to dry her hair, like she's a dog or something. Stella gets his attention, and he thinks she means that he was rubbing too hard with the towel. Stella says that actually, she was wondering if he wanted to go to the symposium. John asks if she's an analog or digital kind of girl. Stella jokes, "Whatever gets the circuits going." Then she starts crying as she says that she thought she wasn't going to make it and she wants to say thanks. John sits down and says that he's always thought Saturdays were great days for symposiums. Stella chuckles. A cop walks by with a hooker. I don't know.