The Finder Episode 1.05 The Great Escape

A magician named Preston arrives at Leo's bar. He wants Walter to find his assistant, Angelica, who disappeared while they were performing a trick called the Phoenix at a local casino.

The trick involved placing Angelica inside a box, which Preston would "levitate." He then would use an incantation to set it aflame and a second incantation to extinguish the blaze. But that night the fire became larger, and the audience panicked. Preston opened the trapdoor on the stage under the hanging box, and Angelica was not inside! Walter thinks that magic is just tricks, but since he believes a crime took place, he takes the case.

Meanwhile, Timo exits Willa's trailer, saying that his lover needs $250,000 in bail money and Uncle Shadrack wants Timo to contribute $10,000 to get her out. Timo will fence bonds he got from selling fake cemetery plots to raise this, but Willa fears that he'll get caught, so she says that she'll steal the money from Walter's vault. Leo sees Timo hugging Willa, and he tells Isabel about it.

Walter, Leo, and Preston visit the charred showroom. There Walter discovers that the trapdoor is connected to a passageway housing electrical conduits - the wire to the alarm was cut - and the passageway leads to the casino's office. The desk clerk, Johnny, who was last seen getting arrested for selling knockoff shoes, complains, but Preston cracks the safe, which is still full of money.

Back at the bar, Leo asks Willa about Timo being in her trailer. She says that he's her cousin and he slept on the floor. Meanwhile, Isabel interrupts Walter - who's using dolls to reenact the Phoenix trick - to explain that all gypsies call each other "cousin."

Walter asks Isabel to accompany him to the casino and force Johnny to open the safe. When he does, Walter tosses the money into the air. The bills all land face down because they're counterfeits that were switched during the heist, so they call the Secret Service.

Special Agent Judy Green, who met Walter when he found an ambassador's kidnapped child last year, arrives. Green explains that Angelica is using the identity of a long-dead woman. She then arrests Johnny and Preston, who gives Walter his journal so that his magic secrets remain safe.

When Walter reads the journal, he realizes that Angelica booby-trapped the trick with an accelerant; she then used the diversion to switch the bills. Green gives Walter records of who bought the paper used to make the counterfeit bills, and he discovers that a local art student paid cash for 200 pounds of it. Meanwhile, Leo asks Isabel to give Willa some relationship advice.

Walter arrives at the art school and learns that a student there recently dropped out. Using a landscape drawing that he left behind, Walter determines that the student lives in a high-rise condo. When he and Leo go there, they find that the young man has been poisoned - and they see Angelica disappear over the side of the balcony!

Meanwhile, Willa is refusing to take Isabel's advice when they're interrupted by Walter. He asks Isabel to remove a diamond ring from his vault so that they can bail out Preston. Willa overhears Walter give Isabel the vault's combination.

When Preston learns that Angelica is a murderer who used him as a pawn, he wants to quit being a magician. Walter then dreams of being an artist with Johnny, Timo, and Preston as models who offer useless advice. Then Willa appears on Walter's blank canvas, saying, "Some things can't be taught; they only come with time and experience."

When Walter awakens, Isabel repeats Willa's line and realizes that this should be her message to Willa. Walter then returns to the art school with Leo and Green and finds paper jammed in a printer. Green won't let Walter see what the paper says, so he distracts her and determines that it's a bus ticket to North Dakota for someone named Drew Skeetor.

Meanwhile, Isabel tells Willa that her relationship with Walter is complicated. She explains that she wants to be invited to the White House someday and Walter will never achieve that, so neither she nor Willa should settle for anything less. Willa confesses that she's been betrothed to Timo since childhood, but Timo loves someone else and to cancel the arranged wedding, Timo has to pay Shadrack $10,000. Willa says she is afraid that Timo will do something dangerous to get the money, and she cries on Isabel's shoulder.

Walter realizes that "Drew Skeetor" is an anagram for "Derek Towers" and the ticket's destination is more misdirection, so he and Leo decide to head in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Willa enters Walter's vault, and exclaims, "Oh, my God!"

When Walter, Leo, and Green arrive in Texas, Walter finds Derek Towers' suitcase, but it's empty. He then realizes Angelica has disguised herself as a boy. When he spots her, she runs. Walter catches her and stuffs her into the luggage.

As Willa tells Timo that there was nothing valuable in Walter's vault, Isabel, Leo, and Walter arrive. Willa explains about the arranged marriage, and Walter enters the vault and gives Timo a pair of earrings that'll cover the money he owes Shadrack. Walter also tells Willa to hand over what she took from the vault, so she gives Isabel a photo of Walter shaking hands with President Obama at the White House, which stuns Isabel.

Walter then says that Preston is free to go, but Preston still wants to quit magic. Walter tells him how to improve the Phoenix trick, and he reluctantly agrees to continue. When he leaves, Walter expects him to disappear in a puff of smoke - and he does!