Chase Episode 1.15 Seven Years

While Marco pesters Jimmy about his not-yet-scheduled wedding date, Annie pulls Luke into a private meeting. She wants to know why Daisy's been late four days this week. Luke admits that Daisy's been avoiding him too, and drowning her troubles in booze. Ever since pedophile Justin Tate escaped, Daisy's been a ghost of her former self. They decide Daisy might be staying with her brother Mark and his daughter. Inmates Danny Bottner and George Diaz escape Cypress State Penitentiary by jumping into the back of a garbage truck. Another inmate grabs onto the bottom of the truck but falls off on a dirt road. When the driver stops to look at the wounded inmate, Bottner and Diaz make a run for it.

Later, Annie and Jimmy question a prison warden who reveals that Bottner was in prison for rape while Diaz was in for armed robbery. The H.E.A.T. team must search the rugged terrain, but Marco is hesitant, explaining that he's terrified of snakes. Luckily, Annie arranges for a helicopter and they soon find Diaz hiding in the tall grass. There's no sign of Bottner. Back at H.E.A.T., Luke has alarming news for Annie: Daisy's been busted for a DUI and is currently in prison. Back on the field, Annie and her team search the high grass for signs of Bottner. Bottner, however, is one step ahead and manages to evade capture.

When Luke picks up Daisy from prison, she's expecting a lecture. Instead, Luke reveals that his mother had cancer and died when he was only 14. The emotional trauma drove his father to alcoholism. He tells Daisy that drinking won't fix things; it'll only make things worse. Moved, Daisy admits a music teacher molested her when she was only nine. The abuse lasted six years. At Cypress State Penitentiary, Marco goes undercover as an inmate to eavesdrop on Diaz. Diaz says the escape was Bottner's idea. Bottner said he wanted to get revenge on the people who put him in prison. Diaz was too scared to say no; after all, Bottner was known for gouging out another prisoner's eyes. Oddly, Bottner told Diaz he wanted his company for protection.

Annie guesses that Bottner's after Caroline Belkind, the woman who accused him of rape and put him away. Bottner's then-wife Lydia supported the story, saying she found the victim's earrings in her husband's pockets. Lydia claimed that when she said she wouldn't have sex with Bottner under the bleachers, he fulfilled his weird fantasy with an unwilling victim. Daisy interrupts the meeting to say that Bottner's former therapist, Dr. Alan Paxton, claims Bottner just left his office. Annie arrives at Paxton's office. Paxton says Bottner came to him for help so Paxton lent him his BMW, knowing full well it had LoJack installed. Paxton tells Annie that Bottner hates women. Years ago, Paxton thought Bottner was just kinky and should experiment with his wife; he had no idea the guy was capable of rape.

Bottner breaks into Caroline's house and holds a knife to her throat. Then he forces Caroline to go to the crime scene and repeat her testimony. The U.S. Marshals interview a shaken Caroline later that night. She says Bottner came for her because he knows she lied at the trial. Caroline reveals that since she couldn't remember details of her rape, she simply copied another rape victim's story. The other victim was too scared to take the stand against Bottner and the DA told Caroline that regurgitating the story was the right thing to do. Jimmy and Annie trade concerned looks; they better find this lawyer before Bottner does!

At H.E.A.T., Daisy arranges for Caroline to stay with her mother until Bottner's caught. Luke tells Daisy that he's discovered the name of her molester - Jared Porter. Luke wants to apprehend the twisted music teacher, but Daisy says the statute of limitations is up. A cleaned-up Bottner goes to the courthouse and hands the clerk a box of donuts. Meanwhile, Annie and Jimmy meet up with DA Bill Carter to tell him Bottner might be after him. Carter admits that he coached Caroline and told her to repeat another rape victim's story. Carter argues that the two rapes were nearly identical; both victims were tied to bleachers and had one earring savagely ripped out.

The clerk leads Bottner to records relating to his rape case. When Annie and Jimmy get word that someone is reviewing the file, they race to the courthouse, intent on nabbing Bottner. Sadly, they're too late. The file - and Bottner - are gone. Annie theorizes that perhaps Bottner was falsely accused after all. Perhaps he's after the first rape victim to find out why she framed him! In the dead of night, Bottner leads Megan Burroughs to the bleachers. He forces her to tell him the details of her rape and immediately finds a hole in her story: she remembers the rapist tying her to a pole before raping her. Interestingly, Bottner is much too short to reach the pole. He wasn't the man who raped Megan after all! Megan sees Bottner's haunted eyes and realizes she helped put the wrong man in prison for seven years.

Annie and Jimmy question Megan Burroughs. She has no idea where Bottner went, but she's certain he wasn't the man who raped her. He left her unharmed and said he was after the man who raped her. At a supermarket, Bottner surprises his wife Lydia. He tells her he didn't rape Caroline and that he desperately needs money so he can clear his name. Lydia pulls a gun on Bottner, but he manages to convince her he's telling the truth, so she gives him some money and her gun. Later, Jimmy and Annie force Lydia to tell them where Bottner's headed. Lydia says Bottner's going to meet up with Brian Podemski. Bottner believes the much-taller Podemski - a fellow bartender at Bottner's bar - is the man who raped Megan and Caroline. Was Bottner's best friend the man who framed him?

Bottner ambushes Podemski at a NASCAR track and pulls a gun on him. Podemski says he's innocent; he couldn't have raped anyone because of an injury he suffered during his military service in Iraq. Crushed that he still can't find the real rapist, Bottner allows Annie and her team to arrest him. At H.E.A.T., Annie can't shake the feeling that Bottner was framed. Someone taller than Bottner raped those women. But who knew about Bottner's sexual fantasies and who could've planted the victim's earring in Bottner's pocket? Suddenly it hits Annie: Bottner's therapist Dr. Paxton is the real rapist!

Annie and Luke interview Paxton and give him no indication they think he's the rapist. Annie asks Paxton to explain Bottner's motive for raping those women. When Paxton leaves, Annie tells Luke that she recorded the conversation. The video will perfectly reveal Paxton's motive! Annie and her team follow Paxton to a bar and subdue him right before he's about to attack his next victim! Annie arranges for Bottner to be set free and reunited with his family. Sadly, there isn't a happy ending for Daisy. When she visits her niece Clara, Daisy realizes Clara's taking lessons from the same music teacher who molested her.