Content Warning: This section of the guide references violence, abuse, rape, and homicide.

It is December 2019 and Holes drinks bourbon in a bar, trying to momentarily forget about his current case: Carla Walker, who attended a school dance and was later found severely beaten, raped, and strangled.

In March 2018, Holes packs up his office in preparation for retirement. He reflects on his first wife’s complaints that he was not mentally present for her and their family during their marriage. Holes has worked for the Contra Costa County Police Department—an area that spans the San Francisco Bay Area—since he was 22. During this time, he has worked numerous high-profile cases, including the death of Laci Peterson and the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard.

Holes explains that he has always been driven to work on cold cases (cases that are unsolved and no longer being actively investigated) and is most at home when he is occupied by a case’s puzzle. He recalls his older children from his first marriage complaining about him rarely being home and his second wife echoing the concerns of his first.

Holes closes the boxes of his belongings and prepares to leave the building, but he has one more task to complete first.