Some news footage plays on a television. The footage shows Johnny besieged by a phalanx of reporters. A talking head comes on and opines that Johnny is "the link in human evolution." An announcer voice-overs that Johnny has been keeping it on the down-low since his recent abduction, but that his "legions of fans" have been bombarding Faith Heritage Alliance with letters and calls, and that Cleaves Mills is becoming a tourist destination for "looky-loos." Hee! I love that a news reporter said "looky-loos." Pan over to see Bruce and a lady friend (his wife? I just realized I have no idea if he's married, but you think it would have been mentioned) watching the footage. The woman asks Bruce what Johnny is really like. Bruce says that Johnny isn't "the link in the evolutionary chain," but that he's just a regular guy.
Johnny is sitting at his dining-room table when the gate buzzer rings. Johnny uses his new security system to see that he has a visitor whom he appears to know named Raul, and he buzzes Raul in. Raul turns out to be the grocery delivery guy, and Johnny is really, really happy to see him. They make small talk while Raul unpacks the groceries. Raul announces that he found "those missing capers," explaining that they were delivered to the wrong address. They went to "some old guy named Grissom" who is "a shut-in" and acts like he wants Raul to stick around and play chess. Johnny empathizes, "Yeah, it's a shame when you've got to look forward to getting groceries being delivered to get a little company." Johnny looks down, knowing that he is that guy. Johnny signs for the delivery, and then Raul asks him to sign a copy of a tabloid for his "personal Johnny Smith collection." Raul makes to leave, but the security alarm goes off when he opens the door. Johnny waves Raul out and resets the alarm.
Once Raul is gone, Johnny asks himself, "Dinner for one, Mr. Personality? Defrost a little veal to go with my capers? For a nice piccata? Catch up on the third season of X-Files?" Man, I wish I had the third season of X-Files to look forward to. There's something to be said for being in a coma for a while and then, when you get out, being able to pick and choose only the good TV to watch. Johnny picks up the capers and gets a vision of an old man (played by Robert Culp) wandering around his house and talking to himself, finally asking, "Where have I gone?" Johnny snaps out of it and says that he feels sorry for the old guy and might give him a call. Johnny looks in the mirror and notices that something is missing. Specifically, his left thumb. He just has a nub on his hand. Johnny reacts with horror, and suddenly his left ring finger is missing as well. Johnny closes his eyes and tells himself it's a vision, but when he opens his eyes again, his right ring and pinky finger are gone. Johnny picks up the phone and uses one of his few remaining fingers to call 911. Suddenly, the hand holding the phone disappears and the phone drops to the floor. The operator picks up and Johnny drops to the floor. Johnny yells that he needs help, because he's disappearing. An overhead shot reveals that both of Johnny's arms and legs are gone. He should change his name to Matt. The operator asks Johnny if he's taken any drugs. Heh. Johnny continues to ask for help, but all that's left of him is his head on the floor. Finally, Johnny snaps out of it and comes to, still holding the capers. He checks to make sure all of his parts are there (they are), and tries to shake off that creepy, creepy vision.
Johnny visits his doctor. He explains that he's worried about synaptic deterioration and a number of other brain problems. The doctor guesses that Johnny has been looking things up online again, and tells him that his brain hasn't changed. She thinks that his vision triggered some anxiety, and that he needs to get out of the house and have some fun, because "it's hard to disappear when you're around people." Johnny agrees and asks if she has any plans that night. She apologizes and says she does, but asks him to try again sometime. She says that Johnny must have someone who would enjoy his company. Johnny says he actually does.
Cut to Johnny knocking on Mr. Grissom's door. Grissom opens it and Johnny introduces himself. Grissom laughs and asks how Johnny knows his name. Johnny explains about the Great Capers Caper. Grissom asks the deliveryman's name and guesses that Johnny was going to make veal piccata; he then asks if Johnny knows how they get veal, like what is he, in PeTA or something? Grissom says he returned the capers, and then asks if Johnny plays chess. Johnny says he does, so Grissom invites him in.
Johnny and Grissom walk into the house. Grissom says he was afraid Johnny was the mailman, and then explains that he doesn't like the mailman because when all your friends are dead, you only get junk mail. Well, that's cheery. Grissom says that Johnny is "awfully young to need one of these," and holds up his own walking stick. Johnny explains about the car accident, but leaves out the coma and the visions and such. Grissom offers Johnny some wine ("a dry Rioja"), but Johnny wants a Diet Pepsi. Grissom shoots him a look, so Johnny agrees to the glass of wine. Grissom pours it while babbling that he debates opening bottles of wine since he lives alone and won't finish them. Johnny notices a record playing some '40s-type music. When Johnny takes the glass of wine, he has a vision of Grissom disappearing in much the same way Johnny did earlier. Johnny snaps out of it, and Grissom asks if anything is wrong. Johnny explains that since his accident, he "go[es] away for a few moments from time to time." Grissom laughs and agrees. Johnny examines his glass of wine and then studies a framed photograph on a table. Grissom explains that it's a picture of the house where he was born, and that he retired to Maine in hopes of finding it again, but then his health began to fail and he never got the chance. Johnny offers to help Grissom look for it.
Just then, someone walks in the door, and a woman's voice calls out. Startled, Johnny spills a drop of wine on the floor. Grissom asks the woman what she's doing there, and says they were about to play chess. She is surprised to see that Grissom has company. She recognizes Johnny from television, and introduces herself as Alma, Grissom's nurse. She tells Grissom that Johnny is famous. Johnny humbly says that he has "sort of a psychic ability to see things." Grissom has heard of Johnny, and describes him as "the coma victim" who "touches things." Alma asks what Johnny is looking at, and Johnny explains about the photo. Alma grabs it and asks Grissom if he's giving his things away again. Grissom says that Johnny offered to help find the house. Alma explains that Grissom gave his watch to the refrigerator repairman last week. Grissom asks Alma why, since she claims she can't help him find the house, Johnny can't try. Grissom acts like a chastened child. Alma quietly asks Johnny to leave, because Grissom "has had enough excitement for one day." Johnny and Grissom exchange a look. Johnny stands to leave, but doesn't pick up his walking stick. Grissom extends his own cane, and Johnny touches it. Johnny goes into a vision where he is walking the streets of Paris in the 1940s. Vision Johnny walks up to the window of a nightclub where he sees a woman singing a torch song at a piano. He watches her, smoking a cigarette, and she turns and starts singing right to him. Johnny snaps out of it and apologizes for picking up the wrong cane. Alma tells Grissom to say goodbye, and he does. Johnny says that Grissom still owes him a game of chess, and turns to leave. Grissom looks happy and hopeful. Alma shoots Grissom a look like she's going to punish him for some infraction.
Johnny goes to a local museum, and the curator tells him that the windows in Grissom's photograph are typical of a builder named Winchell. Johnny asks if the guy can narrow it down, and the curator promises to give Johnny the name of the communities where Winchell commonly built houses. Johnny tells Bruce that Grissom might recognize the town's name. Bruce wonders if Grissom is up for a field trip, and Johnny says it's important to Grissom because he thinks he's disappearing. Bruce asks if that's the reason for Johnny's freaky visions, and Johnny says that the isolation takes its toll on old people. Bruce pointedly says that it takes its toll on not-so-old people too. The curator returns and says that most of the homes were in the Litchfield area. Johnny thanks him and leaves.
Johnny and Bruce go to Grissom's house. A woman answers the door, a little girl standing behind her. Johnny asks for Grissom, but the woman says he must have the wrong address. Johnny gives a quick description, but the woman says there's no one like that living there, and explains that she lives in the house with her husband and daughter. Johnny stares at her for a minute and then tells her that she's lying. Bruce starts laughing and tries to smooth things over, but Johnny accuses the woman of lying again and asks what she did with Grissom. He moves toward her and she threatens to call the police and slams the door. Johnny turns to Bruce and says that the woman didn't want him to touch her. Bruce isn't surprised that Johnny is being so weird, and says that a lot of the houses look alike. Johnny touches a window nearby and the little girl peeks out and yells to her mom that the man is touching their house. Bruce tries to pull Johnny away. Johnny says that he doesn't care if the woman calls the police, and then decides that he's going to call them himself.
Johnny and Bruce walk into the police station. Johnny walks into Walt's office and says that Grissom has disappeared. Walt asks who that is. Johnny gives the address and says that Grissom was there yesterday and is gone now. Walt already knows the story, because the woman at the house -- whose name is June Stade -- already called them. Walt asks whether Johnny has any evidence of Grissom. Johnny insists that he saw him and that he's not crazy. Walt points out that Johnny has visions. Johnny is frustrated. Bruce points out that maybe Grissom used to live in the house, or is going to live there in the future. Johnny explains that he doesn't talk to visions or drink wine with visions. He asks, "You think I don't know the difference between the real world and a vision?" Walt and Bruce exchange a look. Johnny starts explaining about the capers and then realizes that Raul saw Grissom, and takes off. Bruce and Walt follow.
At the grocery store, the manager informs Johnny that Raul was deported. Johnny can't believe it. The manager explains that Raul had a fake driver's license. Johnny thinks that "they" turned Raul in as a cover-up. Johnny asks the manager whether they keep a record of deliveries. The manager pulls up the file on the computer and scrolls through until he finds the address in question. Johnny asks who signed for the delivery, and the manager shows him that it was June Stade. Johnny asks him to check every delivery to that address for the last year. The manager does, and scrolls through to show that June Stade signed for every delivery. Walt gently suggests that they take Johnny to the doctor for a check-up. Johnny insists that Grissom exists. He speculates that the nurse was involved somehow. Bruce says he knows all of the home care nurses in the county and asks her name. Johnny says it was Alma, and Bruce says it must have been Alma Peterson, because she specializes in home care for the elderly. Johnny asks where they find her.
Johnny, Bruce, and Walt walk into a hospital and of course, Alma is standing right there when they walk in. Bruce points her out, and from the back, it appears to be the same woman Johnny saw when he visited Grissom. Johnny walks up and starts to ask her what she did with Grissom, but when the woman turns, Johnny realizes it's not the same woman. Walt asks if there are any other nurses named "Alma" in the county, and Alma says she doesn't know of any. Bruce asks if she's seen Johnny before, and she says she's seen him around the hospital. Walt says that Johnny has a problem with his head. Bruce asks if Alma was working with a client yesterday, and Alma says she wasn't. Walt apologizes for bothering her. Johnny says he needs one more favor from them, and races off. That walking stick sure isn't slowing him down any! Walt and Bruce exchange yet another look and follow.
Walt, Johnny, and Bruce go back to the Stade home. Mr. Stade answers the door and Walt asks if they can come in, because Johnny insists that he was there the other day. Mr. Stade says that Johnny was there this morning, and tried to grab Mrs. Stade. Johnny says he tried to touch her, which is different. Walt promises that Johnny won't grab anyone, and Johnny says that he'll only touch inanimate objects. Walt promises that it will only take a few minutes, and Mr. Stade reluctantly steps aside so they can enter.
Once inside, Walt asks for and gets permission to take a look around. Mrs. Stade insists that the whole thing is ridiculous as Johnny starts waving his hands over objects in the room. Johnny tells Bruce that everything is different, and that they must have replaced everything to make it more difficult for Johnny to get a vision. Bruce snorts derisively. Johnny points out where the photograph of the house was, and explains about the wine. Bruce looks embarrassed. Johnny remembers that he spilled a drop of wine on the floor, and looks at the spot, where some wine residue remains. He kneels down and touches it, and goes into a vision of Grissom being taken out of the house on a gurney, and then a team of people clearing the place out and bringing all new things in. Walt returns and says that he didn't find anything unusual. Johnny sarcastically comments that everything is perfectly normal. Johnny continues that he's not going to let go of this, and that he will find Grissom. The little girl woodenly says that "the mean man is scaring [her]." Johnny says, "You ain't seen nothing yet, kid. If she really is a kid." Man, I hope Johnny is right about this, because otherwise he's being a huge asshole.
Bruce and Johnny drive down the road. Bruce goes over what they've learned: that all of the official records state that the Stades have lived in that house for over a year, and that there are no official records of Grissom anywhere. Johnny asks whether Bruce is having a hard time believing this. Bruce insists that he believes Johnny because "[he] dances with the girl [he] came with." Johnny laughs and says he told Bruce what he saw. Bruce asks why he should trust the fact that there are no official records anywhere and just take Johnny's word for it. Johnny asks again if Bruce doesn't believe him. Bruce says he does, and then says that he just wants Johnny to be okay. Johnny says he is, and that he hopes Grissom is, too. Bruce and Johnny start humming a song. Johnny says that a singer in Paris sang that song to Grissom one time. Bruce stops the car to let Johnny out at his house and says he'd like to meet Grissom. Johnny promises he will.
Johnny walks up to unlock his front door, but when he touches it, he has a vision of shadowy people moving around inside. He enters the house cautiously, touching things along the way to try to get more clues. In one doorway, he gets another vision of shadowy people moving around his living room, searching for something. Johnny snaps on a light, and then walks out. He goes down the basement stairs and, when he touches the railing, has another vision of shadowy people. One of them investigates Johnny's Stillson Stalker Wall. Johnny turns on the basement light, but everything is undisturbed.
Johnny calls Walt at the police station. Walt puts him on speakerphone, and Sarah listens in. Johnny says that someone has been in his house. Walt asks whether it was burglars, and Johnny says that it was weirder than burglars, and that they took pictures of everything. Sarah asks whether it was more obsessed fans. Johnny says that they went into his desk and his computer, and then cleaned up after themselves. Walt says that means there's no evidence they were actually there. Johnny says he knows that's been happening a lot lately. Sarah asks how they got past his "new million-dollar security system." Johnny says that's a good question. Walt asks if anything is missing. Johnny doesn't know. Walt promises to have the crime-lab guy go over the house in the morning. Sarah doesn't think Johnny should stay in the house. Walt agrees, and tells Johnny to check into a hotel -- or better yet, go to the hospital for a check-up. Johnny insists that he's fine. Walt picks up the phone and says he'll call Johnny if the crime-lab guy finds anything. They hang up. Walt tells Sarah he liked it better when she called him instead of her. I'm glad they've downplayed the whole Johnny/Sarah thing lately.
Johnny walks out to his car. When he touches it, he has a vision of a small tracking device underneath it, and then a surveillance van parked out on the street. He gets in his car and drives out to the road. The surveillance van follows. Inside the van, the woman who we know as Alma the nurse checks a handheld GPS system and says that Johnny is stopping. Johnny goes into a convenience store. Inside the van, Mr. Stade watches him with binoculars. Alma says that her dogs are getting hungry and that she wishes Johnny would just land for the night. Mr. Stade scans the store and says he doesn't see Johnny. Alma is sure he's in there, but Mr. Stade says he isn't. Alma rolls down her window to check something, and suddenly Johnny appears and grabs her arm. He has a vision of Grissom being loaded into an ambulance and taken to Aroostook County, where he is put into another house. Johnny snaps out of it as the van pulls away. Johnny calls after them that it's too late.
Johnny returns to his car while talking on the phone about "Elvis, JFK, and Amelia Earhart." Apparently, he's talking to a reporter of some sort. As he talks, Johnny reaches under his car and removes the tracking device, sticking it to the bumper of another car nearby. The tracking device has a red light and it beeps. Wow, that's stealthy of them. Johnny drives to Aroostook County, and finds the house from his vision. When he walks onto the porch, Grissom opens the door. Johnny says that Grissom is "a sight for sore eyes," and Grissom says that it took Johnny long enough. Johnny walks into the house.
Grissom sits down at a chessboard. Johnny asks who Grissom is and why someone wants to make him disappear. Grissom says that he disappeared a long time ago. Johnny asks whether Grissom is being kept there against his will. Grissom moves a chess piece but doesn't answer. Johnny makes reference to Grissom's nurse, and Grissom says that she's not a nurse. Johnny says that she had Raul deported. Grissom says he didn't know that. Johnny says that they broke into his house and put a transmitter on his car. Grissom says they're afraid he's working for the other side. Johnny didn't know there were sides. Grissom says that there always are, and hands Johnny a chess piece. Johnny touches it and goes into a vision of a younger Grissom going through French Customs. Or should that be Freedom Customs? Wouldn't want to be unpatriotic. That scene gives way to a Customs montage, and each time Grissom presents a passport, it has a different name.
Johnny snaps out of it and asks Grissom whether he works for the government. Grissom can neither confirm nor deny. Johnny asks what you do with a spy when he retires. Grissom says the point is, what do you do with his knowledge? Johnny guesses that you make him disappear. Grissom stands and starts talking about his record player and the superiority of vinyl over CDs. He's kind of like a teenager with his no-meat vendetta and his love of vinyl. Johnny asks who the singer in Paris was. Grissom smiles and says that Johnny is good. Grissom says that the government uses psychics, and that they may have an interest in Johnny. Johnny asks again who she was, and Grissom slides his cane over so that Johnny can touch it. Johnny does and goes into the same vision of the streets of Paris from before. This time, the modern-day Grissom is there, and he says that she was the last woman he ever loved as Jeff Grissom, so she stayed with him forever. He says her eyes haunt him, and that he hears the song over and over. Johnny turns and sees a street sweeper who was in the vision before, but this time the street sweeper leaves a package in a nearby garbage can. Grissom says that the singer betrayed them, and several people died as a result. Gunshots go off inside the club, and Johnny/Grissom walks away. Regular Grissom repeats, "There are always sides."
Johnny snaps out of it. Grissom says that's when he became "the man who never was," with a thousand identities, none of them his own. Grissom wonders whether he ever really existed, like the house he grew up in. Johnny says he doesn't know if the house still exists, but he does know where to look for it. Alma and the Stades walk in. Alma says that they don't have time for that right now. Johnny makes a snotty remark about the Stades' kid. Grissom is pissed that they had Raul deported, and Alma says they had to protect him. Grissom says they are just trying to protect his knowledge, and that house arrest is not protective custody. Alma says that they have to move again. Grissom doesn't want to, because Johnny can help him find his house. Mrs. Stade says that Johnny will be coming with them. Grissom says that's not necessary, because Johnny doesn't know anything. Mr. Stade says that they're just going to follow Johnny home, debrief him, and ask him to take an oath of silence. Grissom growls, "They're lying." Alma says it's not like the old days. Grissom says he wants to talk to the Secretary. Alma says that she already did, and orders Grissom to say goodbye. Grissom tells Johnny that he's "a threat to national security," and all of his friends think he's been behaving erratically. Mr. Stade interrupts to insist that Johnny come with them. Grissom says that Johnny will either end up dead from a car accident in the woods or not be discovered at all, but either way, he will disappear.
The doorbell rings, and Mrs. Stade looks out the window to see a ton of reporters outside. Johnny says that he invited a few media people over, because he wanted someone else to see Grissom this time. Johnny says that he and Grissom need to go look for a house, and Grissom chuckles. The two men walk out. Reporters clamor, asking Johnny whether he really knows where Hoffa and Amelia Earhart are. Johnny thanks them for coming and asks for some room to get to the car, promising to tell them more later. Dana sidles up and asks what's going on. Johnny asks for help getting out of there, and tells her to stay with them. Dana announces that the press conference has been moved, and that they should all follow Johnny's car. Grissom whispers to Johnny that if it'll help, he can tell them what happened to Amelia Earhart. Johnny says no and hustles Grissom into the car. Aw, come on. Isn't he a little curious? Alma and the Stades wonder what they do now, and Alma says they need to follow along.
Johnny leads a caravan down the road. Grissom asks him to slow down, since it's been a long time since he took a ride in the country. In another car, Alma talks to someone on the phone and promises to take care of it personally. Johnny enters Litchfield, and Grissom starts to recognize his surroundings, although everything has changed. Grissom spots a church and tells Johnny that if there are railroad tracks ahead, he should take a right about a mile beyond them. Johnny finds the turn, and pulls onto a dirt road which dead-ends in some woods. Grissom gets out of the car, but there is no house nearby. Grissom says that there's supposed to be another road. Johnny apologizes. Grissom walks toward the woods. Dana runs up and asks Johnny what's going on. Johnny asks her to hold off the reporters a little longer. Dana asks how she's supposed to do that. Johnny suggests that she tell them he needs to go into the woods to find something amazing, and he runs off. Dana walks over to the reporters and tells them to set up their cameras, and that Johnny will make a statement shortly.
Grissom and Johnny peer through some brush and see Grissom's house. They tear through it and walk up to the house, which appears to have been abandoned for some time. Grissom emotionally asks Johnny to wait for him there. He puts his hand on Johnny's shoulder, and Johnny has a vision of Grissom's parents standing on the porch. Grissom walks into the house. Alma and the Stades walk up. Johnny says they must not have tried very hard to find Grissom's house, because it wasn't that hard. Alma says that Grissom was their top operative during the Cold War, and until today, twenty-two countries had proof that Grissom died sixteen years ago. Johnny says that sixteen years is a long time to spend in any kind of prison, and then asks if they were really going to try to kill him. Alma says that Grissom has always had a flair for the dramatic.
Johnny walks into the house and calls out to Grissom that it's time to get going. Alma and the Stades walk through the house. Mr. Stade calls Alma over and points out an open window in the back. Alma calls Johnny a "dumb son of a bitch," and says that he's done more damage than he knows. Alma and the Stades walk out. Johnny notices Grissom's cane leaning against a wall. He walks over and picks it up, and goes into a vision of Grissom at French Customs, getting his passport stamped. Johnny snaps out of it and smiles, and then walks out using Grissom's cane and laughing.
week: Walt gets pissed at Johnny about something. Johnny's Stillson obsession comes to light. And then there's something about bribery or corruption and Johnny getting arrested.