The Forgotten Episode 1.03 Football John

When the body of a man with a broken neck is found under a pile of trash, it's up to our favorite amateur detective, Alex Donovan, and his team at the Forgotten Network to clean up the mess and I.D. the victim.

John Doe had a key in his pocket. A bag of hamburgers was found near the body. After seeing a photo of the greasy grub, Walter immediately identifies it as coming from Nate's Bar & Grill. The man knows his burgers! Walter discovers that the original Nate's is the only place that uses crinkle cut pickles, and those are the kind seen on the victim's burger. The man knows his condiments, too!

Alex meets Walter at Nate's where a waitress recognizes the victim as one of her regular customers. She doesn't know his name but does remember he had a cool money clip with a football on it. She also tells them he recently got into a fight with another loudmouth regular.

Tyler does an Internet search and finds a money clip matching the description of the victim's. It's something pro football players were given. The victim was a big guy whose autopsy revealed he had multiple injuries in the past but received high-end care. Sounds like a pro football player to us. Alex asks Tyler to sketch a photo of the victim as to how he would have looked during his playing days.

The team believes the victim's football injuries required continued treatment, so they visit local doctors. Walter comes across a chiropractor who determines from X-rays that the injuries are consistent with those of a lineman and the damage was predominately on one side of his body. Walter deduces that the reason he may have left one side unprotected was because he was bracing himself with one arm while clutching the football with the other. Football John was a center. Hike!

The man Football John argued with at the burger bar has an alibi, as other regulars confirm that he was playing a trivia game there the night of the murder. Alex asks the trivia buffs to identify this former pro player. Once again, Walter comes through in the clutch when he sees an old football photo on the wall featuring their victim. The name underneath: Tom Bryant.

While Lindsey, Candace and Tyler try to find Tom Bryant's next of kin locally, Alex and Walter head to Cincinnati to meet up with Tom's old team. A former coach tells them about his career-ending injury and his plans to open up a restaurant with another ex-lineman named Wayne Wilmers. The business tanked and Wayne's still bitter, but he hadn't seen Tom in six months.

Walter cons his way into Tom Bryant's apartment and finds a note that reads, "Watch your back." Unfortunately, this is what's known as an illegal search. Alex goes off on Walter. Because of his actions, this new evidence could be thrown out and Tom Bryant's killer could walk. The big guy is totally humbled.

The team discovers Tom was working as an assistant football coach at a local high school. Alex and Lindsey check out his locker and find a championship football game flyer that matches the paper used on the threatening note. The date on the flyer is the same day Tom was killed. It's also the day Tom benched the team's star quarterback, Billy York. The team won with an angry Billy sitting on the bench.

Alex meets up with Billy's uncle, Ray, who says Tom benched his nephew because he had a knee injury. A video from the game shows Tom and Billy arguing. The video also shows Tom arguing with the head coach, who is also Billy's chemistry teacher. Turns out the coach sold the answers to a test to Uncle Ray so Billy could remain academically eligible to play. Tom promised to bench him if Billy failed his classes. Tom found out about the cheating and had it out with Ray. But there's still no proof Ray killed him.

Alex suggests Walter "unofficially" talk to Billy. Walter knows kids and he knows Tom Bryant. It's clear that Tom had an impact on Billy. He believed in him as a player and as a student. Billy never looked at the test answers, but he does say he watched as his uncle killed Tom. Thanks to Walter and Alex, he's now ready to do the right thing and bring his coach's killer to justice.

At Tom's memorial service, we learn that he promised to give Billy the contents of a locked box if he passed all his classes. Lindsey gives Billy the key found in Tom's pocket. He opens the box to find Tom's championship ring. Billy tries on the ring. It's a good fit; much like Tom was with the kids he coached.