Mitch and Abby meet at a restaurant for dinner, but Mitch determines the place is too crowded and has Abby sneak out the back so they can eat somewhere else. At the new place, Mitch explains that he believes they are being watched and that the house might be bugged. He tells Abby that Wayne met him at lunch again, but that he brought Rick Acklin, an old classmate of Mitch’s who is an FBI agent. Wayne and Rick told him that he was being watched, but wouldn’t tell Mitch what they want from him. Mitch warns Abby to be careful.

On Christmas Day, Abby drives to her parents’ home alone. Mitch drives to Panama City Beach, Florida with his dog, Hearsay. He searches for a home in a trailer park but doesn’t approach the door. He takes a hotel room and makes several phone calls until he locates the Waffle Hut that employs a woman named Eva Ainsworth. He hires a taxi and sits outside to watch her, telling the driver Eva Ainsworth is his mother. Mitch never goes inside. The next morning, he jogs on the beach with Hearsay and drives to Brushy Mountain to see his brother.