Episode 6

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**Episode 6** is the sixth episode of the first season and the 6th overall episode of **Mindhunter**.

## Short Summary

Wendy considers an offer. Holden and Bill struggle to communicate the meaning of their findings to a judicial system in the baffling Altoona case.

## Full Summary

**Park City, Kansas**

The ADT serviceman's wife feeds and burps their baby. Nearby, he practices tying knots.

Wendy is meeting with Shepard, who asks her about her life in Boston. She tells him she has no husband and no children. He offers her the chance to take a permanent position at Quantico with the project. She says she can't because of her job in Boston. He tells her not to make a choice right away, to sleep on it first. He asks her not to tell Bill or Holden until she's made her decision.

Bill and Holden interrogate Benjamin. They ask what he was crying about last time they spoke. Then they ask why he'd do what he did to Beverly Jean. Bill gives an overview of what happened to Beverly's body. Benjamin says he didn't do it, so they say he's saying it was Frank and pack up their stuff to go.

Bill and Holden talk to Frank, who gives his own version of events which implicates Benjamin for the murder.

Bill and Holden are back with Benjamin, and Bill asks what kind of man would mutilate Beverly Jean's body. Benjamin's lawyer tries to stop him, saying his client is also a victim. Holden asks why he cut her. They tell him what Frank said and Bill demands to know from Frank how stabbing someone in the asshole makes him feel better. Benjamin finally snaps and says Beverly Jean slept with Frank. He walked in on them on the living room floor but didn't do anything when he found them. He says Frank always talked about how much he liked her hair, but Benjamin says he never cared about it and just said it to rile Benjamin up. Benjamin says Beverly Jean was too stupid to notice that. Bill asks if that's why he killed her and he says that he didn't kill her. She was already dead when Benjamin stabbed her.

Back with Frank, they ask him why he raped Beverly Jean in front of Benjamin. He refuses to answer but says he didn't see Benjamin kill Beverly Jean. Holden takes the tape recorder and leaves.

In the car, Bill tells Holden he hates Frank, but it's always the boyfriend. He thinks Benjamin did it, but Holden's not sure. They agree they're both tired of being in Altoona. Bill invites Holden to dinner with him and Nancy, who wants to meet him. Holden asks if he can bring Debbie and Bill says he can.

Wendy listens to the tape of Rose's interview. Wendy notices she said splashing, present tense, when she talked about the blood in the bathroom, meaning Beverly Jean was still alive when she got there. The three of them are in it together.

Debbie feels grown up getting ready to go to dinner with Bill and Nancy. Debbie looks at Holden and takes off his tie.

Bill and Nancy cheerfully greet Holden and Debbie and make introductions. Nancy takes Debbie with her to get wine and Bill takes Holden to get him a drink. Holden spots Brian and says hello. Bill prompts Brian to say hello back, but Brian stays quiet. Holden sits down next to Brian, who is building with Lincoln logs. Holden joins him until the tower falls over. Bill tells Brian it's almost time to brush his teeth and calls Holden away.

As they eat dinner, Bill says he's getting too old to be on the road all the time like he was. Nancy asks Holden where he's from and asks Debbie if Holden ever tells her things. Debbie says yes, Holden loves to talk. Nancy makes an aside comment to Bill that it's possible to talk about things together. Nancy guesses that Holden is from the Midwest, but he corrects that he was born in Brooklyn. The others laugh about that.

Debbie and Nancy wash dishes and talk about Brian. They don't know where he was before the orphanage. Debbie says she's not ready to have kids. Nancy says they tried before adopting. Debbie says she always thought that adoption was a beautiful way to help a child, but Nancy says she never thought of it that way. If she's honest, she did it for her own sake. She wonders often if they're doing it well enough or if he would have been better with someone else instead. Debbie says Brian's lucky to have her, but Nancy wonders how you tell. She wonders who Brian was before they got him, what he saw or heard. Debbie holds Nancy's hand. Nancy and Debbie then peek in on Brian, who is sleeping. Nancy wonders what goes on inside his head.

Bill tells Holden it's always the mothers. They always have a crazy, angry mother. Holden adds, "Or an absent father." Benjamin changed after his father left, so maybe it has nothing to do with the mother. Bill says all fathers are absent in some way. His own father was never around. Holden wonders how different Rose and Benjamin's lives would have been had their father not left. Bill's not sure much would have changed. Holden asks if Bill really never spoke to his father and Bill says he really didn't. When Holden asks if he speaks to Brian, he just asks Holden if he wants another drink.

Bill is on the phone with Mark. He learns that the prosecutor is only going after Benjamin for the crime. Bill hangs up and explains that to Wendy and Holden. Even though Frank is the most dangerous of the three, he'll get a plea deal, along with Rose. They need to talk to the local DA and get him to understand that that's not a good idea. Bill has a deposition and can't go anywhere until tomorrow, so Holden says he'll go. Bill sends Wendy with him.

**Altoona, Pennsylvania**

Wendy explains to the DA how the murder came about. The DA doesn't buy Frank's involvement in the murder. The DA asks who killed her and Wendy says all three of them are responsible for her death. Benjamin mutilated the body, two days after he and Frank dumped her there. The DA doesn't know how he'll prove any of it. Wendy says making the jury believe it is his job and she and Holden and Bill have done their part to help him. Wendy explains the whole thing to him again, how each of them participated. He says okay.

Holden says it went well, thinking the DA understood. Wendy thinks he was too intent on blaming Benjamin and she's not sure she was effective in convincing him otherwise. Holden says she did well and that they shouldn't worry. He asks her how commuting is, with her life being in Boston. It was hard on him traveling all the time when they were doing Road School. She asks if he deals with his anxiety using small talk and he says he supposes.

Wendy takes a plane and a cab to get back to Boston. She surprises Annalise Stilman in her office. She's a day early because her plans changed. Wendy goes over and they kiss deeply. Annalise says Wendy looks tired. Wendy says she's okay. Annalise suggests Wendy go home and freshen up because she has some things to finish up. Wendy says she wants to talk to Annalise about something tonight. Annalise asks her what it is.

Wendy and Annalise are sitting together on the couch and Wendy has finished telling Annalise about the DA. Annalise says they've reached their intellectual limits, though Wendy believes they're trying to understand. She tells Annalise she's having a hard time juggling everything and she's torn between the two. She believes she should be spending more time at Quantico. Annalise doesn't agree, but says Wendy knows best. She's not so sure, which is why she wanted to talk it over with Annalise. Annalise reminds her that her review is in three months and she's not tenured. Annalise believes she's wasting her time with the FBI and should focus on her career. Wendy says she's been offered a full-time position. Annalise can't believe she's considering it. Annalise asks if they know she's a lesbian. They don't, so Annalise says she'll be hiding half her life. Wendy says she does that in Boston, too, because Annalise doesn't want her talking about her FBI work with her friends. Annalise says she's meeting with some friends and wants Wendy to go with her.

William, Gore, and Annalise talk while Wendy watches. Wendy looks at her hand, which Annalise is grasping tightly, and excuses herself. She grabs her coat and leaves the bar.

Bill and Holden arrive, but Mark says they might be too late. Bill says it's not over until the fat lady sings. He is then shocked that the DA offered a plea bargain to Frank, who has pled guilting to third-degree murder. He'll be facing some time in a psychiatric hospital. The DA says they did a great job, but they got it wrong. It was Benjamin, not Frank. Bill says that's not true. The DA says Frank confirmed everything Wendy said but maintains that Benjamin raped her. They try to convince him that he has it wrong, but he won't hear it. Benjamin kept the breasts and they found them buried in his backyard. Bill says Frank shouldn't get off with five years in a mental institution. The DA excuses them. As they leave, they see Frank being led past in cuffs. He looks at them as he goes past.

Outside, Bill, Holden, and Mark talk about it. They think the DA just wasn't sure he could convince a jury, but Holden doesn't think he tried. The DA comes out and says all three of them will be behind bars and Benjamin will be executed for what he did. He thinks they got the most justice for the least cost. He offers to buy them a meal, but they decline, saying they need to hit the road.

Holden wonders what the point is of their work if they can't convince the people who matter. Bill's not sure. Wendy says they need to refine their work. They need more subjects. She says the way people kill is as unique as how they have sex. She gives them the file of Jerome Brudos. He cut off the breasts of two of his victims, like Benjamin did with Beverly Jean, but he made casts of the breasts and made paperweights. He also cut off another victim's foot. He used women's shoes for masturbation and owned a large collection of them. She wants them to start using the questionnaire so they can get all the information uniformly. She says he can use his instincts when he first gets there, but once the subject is talking, they need to ask the same questions. She tells them what is known about Brudos' escalation. However, they don't know about how he was thinking or his internal logic while he was killing. Brudos will be the next interview. She gestures to a nearby room and asks if she can have it as her office. She likes organizing her space. Bill and Holden realize that means she's staying.

A real estate agent shows Wendy an apartment with one bedroom. She says the building is full of mostly travelers and asks if Wendy is married, but Wendy says she isn't. She's thinking about month-to-month rental to start with. All the units are furnished, which is part of the appeal. They have activities if she's interested. Wendy says she'll be busy working and that she works at Quantico, doing research for the Bureau.

## Cast

* Holden Ford
* Bill Tench
* Debbie Mitford
* Wendy Carr
* Robert Shepard
* Nancy Tench
* Mark Ocasek
* Benjamin Barnwright
* Frank Janderman
* AnnaliseStilman
* Brian Tench
* Frank's Legal Rep (right)
* Benjamin's Legal Rep (right)
* Eugene Peterson
* William (left)
* Gore (right)
* Joanne Rader
* ADT Serviceman Dennis Rader
* Realtor
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### Main Cast

* Jonathan Groff as Holden Ford
* Holt McCallany as Bill Tench
* Hannah Gross as Debbie Mitford
* Anna Torv as Wendy Carr
* Cotter Smith as Unit Chief Shepard

### Also Starring

* Stacey Roca as Nancy Tench
* Alex Morf as Detective Ocasek
* Joseph Cross as Benjamin Barnwright
* Jesse C. Boyd as Frank Janderman
* Lena Olin as Annalise Stilman
* Zachary Scott Ross as Brian Tench
* John Walpole as Frank's Legal Rep
* Jason Davis as Benjamin's Legal Rep
* Dashiell Eaves as D.A. Peterson
* Evander Duck, Jr. as William
* Robert Sella as Gore

### Other Cast

* Katherine Banks as Wife
* Sonny Valicenti as ADT Serviceman
* Laura Poe as Realtor

## Music

 "Baby You're All I Got"
 "I Just Wanna Stop"
 "Albatross"
 "T.N.T"
 "I Don't Like Mondays"

## Quotes

“Goffman saw a connection between the kinds of acts or masks that people put on in their daily lives and in theatrical performances. In a social interaction, as in a theatrical performance, there's an onstage area where individuals, or actors as the case may be, appear before the audience. But there must be a backstage, a hidden, private area, where individuals can truly be themselves.” —Annalise Stilman