The second episode of Presumed Innocent ended with Rusty being granted bail by the court. Rusty was grateful to have his family by his side at court. He was shocked to find someone messaging him claiming to have seen him at Carolyn’s home, and saying they knew he killed her.
Spoilers Ahead
Did Rusty panic?
Rusty panicked the moment he received the message on his phone from an unknown number. He was not sure if this was a trap or a blackmail message being sent to him just to jolt him out of the comfort he got from being granted bail. He had to reveal to Barbara that he had met Carolyn on the night of the murder, and they had gotten physically intimate as well. All the bombshells kept hitting his wife, and she was devastated, as expected. Rusty approached Raymond on how to handle the matter. His counsel asked him to possibly let the police know about the message. Rusty decided to meet the person in the hope of finding out what they know of the night of Carolyn’s murder. The identity of the person threatening Rusty was crucial in this case. Raymond also hired an associate, Mya Winslow, a young attorney who had tremendous defense experience, in the hope that female counsel might help change the narrative around the case.Â
Why was Barbara fired from her job?
Barbara’s only hope was to stay focused on her job. She was an art dealer but her boss Kate was not keen on keeping her around bringing up negative publicity she would gather because of Rusty and the murder charges against him. Barbara claimed she found no reason to step away from work since she had gotten great business for the gallery and she needed this job as a distraction from her personal life. Kate, however, had decided to ask her to step away and did not care if the job might help at the time of adversity. Barbara, out of sheer embarrassment, began to flirt with a bartender at a local bar and shared the impulse of sleeping with him to Lorraine just to get back at Rusty. Lorraine, her best friend, was sympathetic to her feelings and acknowledged that Barbara was going through hell and that having those feelings for a stranger was normal.Â
Who was the person texting Rusty?
Rusty agreed to meet the person in the hope of getting his hand on the images. He was shocked to know it was Michael, Carolyn’s son, who had images of Rusty and his mother getting intimate with each other. Rusty could not process this, but he had to ask the young boy why he was behaving the way he was. Michael had been disturbed since his mother’s death, and he still believed, just like the prosecution, that Rusty was guilty. This was probably just his way to prove his thoughts right. Since the boy was young, he’d acted stupidly. Instead of blackmailing Rusty, he could have gone to the police with the evidence. Rusty knew he was innocent and was aware there was no way the images would show that he committed the murder.
Was the prosecution hiding crucial evidence?
The prosecution and the defense sat together to discuss who they planned to bring to trial and what kind of evidence would be presented. Raymond was quick to point out that the images Michael had should be included too. This rattled Tommy, who was aware of the evidence but had intentionally refrained from bringing it up. The judge who would be sitting on the case was stern and asked Tommy to present all kinds of evidence to her that would help the jury make a call. Tommy was quick to point out that the images were with the forensic team being cross-checked. The man knew Raymond was a sharp lawyer who would not allow his case to derail or make Tommy and Nico feel they might have a walkover.Â
Was Kyle afraid to lose his father?
Rusty made it a point to discuss the progress of the case with Barbara and his kids. Since his children were in their mid-teens, it was only necessary for them to be kept in the loop. This could be a sign of good parenting, as well as Barbara and Rusty wanting to treat their children as intelligent individuals. Kyle, however, was distressed upon hearing the kind of evidence the prosecution had collected, which could possibly send his father to prison for many years if he was found guilty over circumstantial evidence. Kyle suggested his father admit to the crime, which would reduce Rusty’s sentence to eight years.
Rusty was surprised to learn his own son thought he was guilty, which is why Kyle had suggested the option of admitting to the crime. The man was hoping his family would trust him, but Kyle’s words put him on the backfoot and made him wonder if everyone in the family had the same opinion. Barbara tried to pacify Rusty, and the son also apologized for steering away, as he wanted his father to be saved from this ordeal.
Did Tommy Want To Take Revenge Against Rusty?
Tommy and Nico had a conversation about the upcoming case. Nico sensed Tommy was going after Rusty because of their internal rivalry, and he was hell-bent on throwing him in prison. Nico was not sure if it was the hatred that was driving Tommy to go after Rusty, and he was worried if his junior would lose track of the case and make mistakes in his pursuit to put his rival down in court. Nico had begun to doubt Tommy and wanted him to focus on the case. Tommy, however, was happy to have gotten himself the tapes of the conversations between Carolyn and Rusty in which it was clear the victim had asked the accused to back off and not pursue her in the name of the love he had for her. Tommy was hoping this would be admitted as evidence in court.Â
How did Rusty know he was in love with Carolyn?
Rusty was asked by Raymond’s associate, Mya, about his feelings for the deceased Carolyn. She was quick to understand from the files that he was deeply in love with Carolyn after having had a casual affair for a long time. Rusty shared an anecdote regarding a sexual assault case that was handled by him and Carolyn. The victims were young children, and he was impressed by the manner in which she conversed with one of them. That moment made Rusty fall in love with her, and there was no turning back for him afterwards.Â
What was Raymond afraid of?
Raymond and Rusty were in Carolyn’s apartment, seeking evidence that would help them build the defense’s case. However, Raymond was afraid about the Bunny Davis case, which Rusty had unearthed. Rusty had learned the murdered woman had had another semen sample on her, which Carolyn ignored. If they imply Liam Reynolds killed Carolyn and that he might have had an accomplice, it would be upon the defense to look for the evidence to prove their theory right, or their case would fall apart, and Rusty would be convicted. As stated to Lorraine, Raymond was sure Rusty did not kill Carolyn. Rusty and Raymond had been colleagues for a long time, and he knew it in his bones: the man was innocent. Because Rusty went overboard with his obsession with Carolyn, it could be used against him, but the man was sure his colleague would not take an extreme step to hurt the woman he loved.Â
What did Rusty discover while going through the pictures clicked by Michael?
Rusty had asked for the pictures from Michael, which he claimed would prove he was guilty of killing Carolyn. Since these images were with the police for the analysis, he would rather have some details for himself in the process of preparing himself for the court and the questions that would be thrown at him. Rusty would go to any extent to prove himself innocent, and the images might or might not save him. On receiving the images, he realized most of them were blurred but clear enough to tell it was him and Carolyn on the night she was murdered. Most of the images were of them conversing and getting intimate with each other. This probably could not prove anything but the fact that their affair was on and off after a point. Rusty was a little relieved to know these images may give him a non-guilty verdict.Â
Presumed Innocent episode 3 ended with his sense of relief not lasting long after he came across the last image sent by Michael. The image had Kyle in his hoodie near Carolyn’s apartment, a detail he was not aware of. Kyle had never shared any details of him being near Carolyn’s apartment, which might make him the next suspect if Tommy and Nico get to the bottom of this. It also changes the direction of the case, as instead of the father, it would be the son who might get arrested. Rusty wouldn’t let that happen, for sure. The presence of Kyle in the vicinity could imply that he had been aware of the affair long before Rusty shared the news, and he might have killed Carolyn out of sheer anger and worry that the affair would break up his family. Regardless, the case might take an interesting turn, and Kyle will have a lot to say to Rusty before speaking to the lawyers.Â