3. The Poet's Fire

Complete story — includes the ending

Ryan Hardy and his team obtain video footage of the immolation incident and he recognizes the victim (Todd Faulkner) as a literary critic who gave Joe Carroll's book a scathing review. Emma, Paul and Jacob continue to keep Joey at the house, but Paul confronts Emma about her relationship with Jacob, and she cuts his arm. He leaves the house and picks up a convenience store worker, Megan (Li Jun Li), later knocking her out to kidnap and hold her hostage at the house. Rick Kester (Michael Drayer), who is responsible for killing Faulkner, is also uncovered as another of Joe's followers. His wife, Maggie (Virginia Kull) is found by Hardy and his team and brought in for questioning. She claims to be separated from Kester because he was abusive, having stabbed her on a previous occasion. Kester kills the dean at the college where Joe worked as revenge for his having denied Joe tenure. Maggie returns home under protection by FBI agent Reilly. Meanwhile, special Agent Parker interviews Jordy to try to discover Joey's whereabouts. Jordy says that he does not know where Joey is but that Kester's wife does because she helped plan the abduction, revealing Maggie to be involved. While at Maggie's home, her phone receives a text message from Kester. Agent Reilly reads the message to Maggie out loud that says "now", and she fatally stabs him. Kester arrives, ready to flee with Maggie. Hardy shoots him but Maggie escapes. Jordy, upset because he revealed important information to the FBI, kills himself by swallowing and choking himself on his own bandages. Claire receives a disturbing video of Joey being goaded into killing small animals by Jacob.