Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You Recap Episode 4: Make Things Right
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- 5 min read
Dialogue has tells. For instance, as Rachel and David drove from New York to Boston, and David mentioned how he could tell during the trial that his father thought he did it, as soon as Rachel reassured him with ‘We’re gonna make things right’, I knew Lenny would be in danger. And right on cue, inside his home, whilst thumbing through an old case file of one Liam Fisher, someone came up from behind him and held a gun to his head.
It’s not predictability, it’s flow, and it is a testament to Hugh Thompson’s work that I found myself so invested in a character that I was sorely tempted to watch ahead just to see what happened to him. It was in that scene between Lenny and Cheryl that I appreciated the beautiful restraint in his performance. He was a man suffering from cancer, carrying with him a lifetime of ghosts and the possibility that he did his son wrong when he needed him the most. Yet, he spoke evenly, not unemotionally but carefully, with only the littlest hint of the weight he carried, the fatigue he felt.
David was home alone with Matthew on that fateful night because Cheryl was called in at work. She was needed because of a bus accident. Only, there was no incident report in Matthew’s case file, and Adam confirmed with a friend of his that no accident happened that night. The investigators at that time would have checked Cheryl’s alibi; it was the hospital administrator, Ronald, her now husband, who confirmed her alibi.
Cheryl dismissed Lenny’s concern as absurd, and Lenny was wise enough not to push his former daughter in law. Instead, he and Philip hired a former police colleague turned PI, Gerry, to look into Ronald. Cheryl’s husband had no criminal or police involvement except for once, six years ago, when his hospital was investigated by the FBI for Medicare fraud. Ronald was supposed to be the key witness against the man the FBI believed was behind the scheme, mobster Nicky Fisher, until just shortly before the trial when Ronald refused to cooperate. Someone clearly got to him. And Lenny knew why Nicky Fisher may hold a grudge enough to take his grandson Matthew and frame his son David for a murder.
Skunk, too, pointed David Nicky’s way. Hilde was indeed trying to make things right with David. She called Kyle Bergin at David’s request and told him she would meet David at Washington Square Park. Hilde evaded the police to get to the park, and calmly waited until she saw Bergin. David approached him from behind and held a gun to his back; this was Hayden’s gun, not Adam’s, we will get to this later.
Bergin was a mob enforcer, he could not be easily subdued with a threat. He pulled his own gun so fast and shot Hilde, then disarmed David. He and David were struggling with his gun when it went off. An injured Bergin ran off, and David followed him, all the way to a construction site where David proceeded to question (torture) Bergin about Matthew.
David was already convinced that Nicky Fisher abducted his son; what he did not know was why. Bergin taunted David to ask his father on what Nicky might have against their family. Before David could wring more details from him, the sound of sirens told him the police and the FBI were close. He would have been trapped in there had it not been for Rachel and Hayden’s help.
Rachel, who had refused to talk to the FBI, was about to be transferred to federal prison when a high priced lawyer paid a million dollar bond to get her out. It was her ex-boyfriend Hayden who helped her. It was also Hayden who gave David his own gun (after he left Adam’s gun in Hilde’s flat) and also drove David to the park so he could question Bergin. Rachel persuaded Hayden to help David; it was Hayden who spoke to the police and claimed a false sighting so David could slip into his car.
Hayden was unhappy with Rachel’s involvement and the very serious criminal charges she would face should she be caught with David, but he could not say no to her. When they needed a vehicle to drive to Boston and speak to Lenny, Hayden handed over his own keys. Was Hayden just another man who let the woman he loved go a long time ago and has never ceased to regret it? In a conspiracy involving the very wealthy, the very wealthy would always be suspect. Hayden just happened to be Gertrude’s son, the same Gertrude who was involved in David’s incarceration.
When the FBI questioned Bergin on his hospital bed, because he survived his gunshot wound and Hilde did not, Bergin claimed it was David who shot Hilde. Bergin also said that David was insane and that he thought his son Matthew was alive. The moment Max brought up Nicky Fisher’s name, Bergin clammed up and asked for a lawyer. Later, as Sarah stared once more at the photograph Rachel had been carrying, the one she thought had a connection but could not quite figure out what, her eyes finally zeroed in on the boy in the background, the boy who just happened to look like an older Matthew Burroughs, down to the birth mark on his cheek.
Rating: B+
Strays
🕵️Rachel made a point of clarifying that it was Hayden who broke up with her, not the other way around. He asked her to give him another shot, and Rachel said she did not want to lose what they had. I have missed watching Milo Ventimiglia on screen.
🕵️Again, Max and Sarah were quick on their feet, and did not buy Hilde’s story about David. Max outright asked her why she was lying to them. Sarah figured that since the fire escape David used could not be seen from the living room, Hilde helped him escape.
🕵️This is the second episode where Dr. Heller showed up and I feel I should mention him in case his character becomes involved in the main story later.
🕵️Ah to be rich with good lawyers. Hayden shrugged off potentially getting questioned about his gun ending up with David, and said he would simply say it was stolen. HIs mother’s man watched him and David leave his building, and later Gertrude was seen with a photo of the two men.
🕵️The FBI tried to warn Rachel that if Bergin caught up with David, it would not end well. I’m not sure that was a persuasive argument given that Rachel must have heard the gunshots police and FBI fired at David as they tried to apprehend him.
🕵️Rachel’s former editor Jim was pushing for the story, but Rachel kept saying no. She did not want the story to go national as it could put Matthew in danger. Jim pointed out the story would go national anyway, it was only a matter of who would break it and when.
🕵️Cheryl told her husband Ronald about Lenny’s questions about the bus crash. Ronald told her he would call Lenny. Later, whilst Cheryl was at the shower, Ronald saw that Lenny called and left a voice mail. Lenny said that he had new information on why Ronald might have lied about that night. Ronald deleted the voice mail.
Episode Writers: Heather Mitchell and Robert Hull and Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt
Episode Director: Maja Vrvilo
Original Release Date: June 18, 2026