The Listener Episode 1.03 A Voice in the Dark

Toby bumps into a wild-looking street kid we'll call Taz. Toby gets a flash of a young blond girl in trouble, and decides to follow Taz down an alley. Taz stops and turns, to offer another flash: the girl is locked in a strange cell that Taz can only access through a slot in the door. The girl begs him to let her out, but Taz slams the slot shut. Taz runs down the alley. Toby follows, but when he reaches a courtyard, Taz is nowhere to be seen.

At the hospital, Oz consults Olivia. He's worried about Toby's weird thousand-yard stare -- maybe he's having seizures? Olivia confirms that Toby's not having seizures, but Oz is on his own when it comes to figuring out Toby. After all, he knows Toby better than her. Oz is just protesting when Toby interrupts, claiming he needs to ask Olivia a question. She knows he wants to ask her out, but it's not a good idea. Their relationship is over. Turning on the charm, Toby convinces Olivia to think about meeting for just a drink, if dinner is too much.

On the way out, Toby notices a poster for a missing blond girl, Ashley Higgins, the girl from his flash on Taz. Toby heads for the police department, where Charlie is dumbfounded by his request. Toby wants her to call out the dogs on Taz based on a hunch? And what's Toby's interest in Ashley? Toby admits it might sound weird, but when he saw the poster, something about Ashley grabbed him. She went missing six months ago, when her mother dropped her off downtown. Mom Julia is convinced Ashley was abducted. Charlie understands how it might be hard for her family to accept, but Ashley fits the profile of thousands of other runaways.

Toby hits the streets, looking for Taz with no luck. Finally, he receives a distress beacon: Ashley is locked in a room that's set up like an apartment, and tearfully begging to be let out. Toby spies Taz, who waits for him to approach. When Toby tells Taz that he can help Ashley by letting her go, Taz shakes his head and runs off, dropping a bracelet. Taz runs into a warehouse containing the room where Ashley is imprisoned, opening the slot in her door to pass her a magazine. When Ashley pleads for release, Taz closes the slot.

Toby visits Ashley's mom, Julia. Even though the police think Ashley ran away, Toby and Julia agree that she didn't. Julia blames herself for dropping Ashley off downtown, but Toby assures her that it's not her fault. Julia cries when she sees the bracelet. It was her grandmother's, and she gave it to Ashley on her 13th birthday.

Back at the station, Oz effusively complements Ryder, who knows he is about to ask a favor. Oz confesses that he's concerned about a friend, who gets a certain zoned-out look. Thinking Oz is talking about himself, Ryder promises to hook him up with the department's psych resource. Meanwhile, Becker escorts Julia from his office, promising to do all he can to find Ashley. Becker hands the case to Charlie, then lays into her for not following up on Toby's lead. Charlie tries to explain it was only a hunch, then lays into Toby for not bringing the bracelet to her first.

Toby knows if he brought Charlie a random piece of jewelry, she wouldn't believe him, but she can't get over the coincidental nature of the whole thing. Toby claims that he was just following leads, but swears he has no more. Charlie wonders why every time Toby tells her the "whole story" it still feels like there's another whole story? Claiming he wants to keep the mystery in their relationship, Toby returns home, unaware that Taz has just been there. Taz watches through the skylight as Toby finds his loft filled with paper spirals, made from Ashley's missing poster.

Toby checks in with Olivia to see if she's made a decision about dinner. Olivia thinks the whole date thing is about Toby -- has it occurred to him that he's been acting odd lately? Even Oz thinks Toby has been obsessive and mysterious. Professing that he might be mysterious, Toby pleads for an hour over a glass of wine and a second chance to sweep Olivia off her feet. Warning Toby he has one last chance, Olivia gets back to work.

Toby accosts a newsstand vendor, who claims that he reads people. Toby must be looking for mackerel. Toby admits he's looking for a crazy-looking street kid. The newspaper guy identifies Taz, who's always stealing teen girl mags. Toby returns to the alley where he last saw Taz, to discover a guy named Donald power-washing graffiti outside his storage facility. Toby pretends he wants to rent a locker, so Donald reluctantly gives him a tour. Everything looks innocent enough, and no, Donald hasn't seen Taz.

Back at the station, Ryder introduces Oz to psychologist Dr. Melchior, who asks if Oz is the one experiencing blackouts, dizziness and bouts of inattention. Oz insists that it's his friend who spaces out and gets a look like he knows what people are thinking, but the doctor isn't buying it, and leads Oz away for a nice long talk.

Taz sneaks into the storage facility and opens locker 74, which contains the room that imprisons Ashley. Taz tries to pass the gift of a box of chocolates through the door, but Ashley pushes them back, spilling the box to the ground. She begs with Taz to call the police, but he simply shakes his head no and leaves her crying. Meanwhile, Charlie hits the phones, but can't scare up any new info on Ashley.

Ryder confronts Oz with the results of his psych evaluation. Apparently Oz is suffering from a disassociation from reality and thinks his thoughts are being read by other people. Oz protests, and Ryder claims he feels responsible, suggesting that Oz thinks he's the one who's reading minds. While Ryder does have to stay on top of his crew, he wouldn't want to read Oz's mind, even if he could. Oz finds this information insulting and strangely comforting at the same time.

On his date with Olivia, Toby explains that his childhood spent growing up in foster homes has prompted him to look for someone he can hold onto. He knows he scared Olivia off, but she claims she just wants to know what's going on inside his head. Toby is just saying that quiet times like this with no cell phones might have helped their relationship when he spies Taz and gets a flash on Ashley. Despite having almost won over Olivia, Toby leaves to chase Taz, knowing he's blown his last chance at reconciliation.

Toby calls Olivia before following Taz into a parking garage. He knows that Taz is scared and doesn't want to hurt Ashley -- Taz isn't the one imprisoning her. With his thoughts, Taz stuns Toby, asking him to help Ashley. When a cop car arrives, Taz runs, but falls while trying to escape, knocking himself out. Meanwhile, back at the storage facility, Donald accesses locker #74, disturbed to find the chocolates scattered on the floor. When Ashley won't tell where they came from, Donald threatens her not to lie to him.

At the hospital, Toby settles in for the night, prepared to wait until Taz wakes up. Toby apologizes for botching the date, but Olivia remains stoic, prompting Toby to flash back to his childhood. In their trailer, Maya and Toby admire his new baby brother. When a mysterious car pulls up, Maya tells Toby to run and hide. Toby is awakened from his dream by Ray, who informs him that Taz is a paranoid schizophrenic. Toby confesses the information gleaned from his dream -- he has a brother.

In the morning, Toby wakes up to find Charlie watching over Taz. Charlie informs him that Taz has been aphonic -- which means he can't speak -- since birth. So how did he tell Toby about Ashley? Toby claims he knows what he heard, but Charlie thinks she's chasing a lead that doesn't exist. Next time Toby has a hunch, he should keep it to himself. Meanwhile, Donald enters Ashley's cell with a roll of duct tape -- it's time to move. When Ashley tries to escape, he locks her back inside, disappointed that she doesn't share his conviction that together, they're a family.

When Taz finally wakes up, Toby asks him to think about Ashley's location. Taz flashes on Daniel standing outside locker #74. Toby runs out, as Donald inserts a fire hose into Ashley's cell and turns on the water. Oz lends Toby his car keys on the proviso that Toby tell all when he returns. Toby asks Oz to call Charlie and races to the storage facility to confront Donald, while reading his mind. Whatever happens, Donald shouldn't think about the combination for the #74's lock.

Donald runs off as Toby opens locker #74, stunned to find the locked door to Ashley's cell. Realizing that Ashley is near drowning, Toby manages to bust open the lock in the nick of time. Toby and Ashley emerge from the building, just as Charlie confronts Donald, who's wielding an axe, in the alley. When Donald raises the axe to strike, Charlie shoots him twice in the heart. Despite all the times she wanted to kill him, Ashley is sorry to see Donald dead. Toby assures her that none of it is her fault, and watches over Ashley's tearful reunion with her family. Toby flashes back to the scene with Maya and his baby brother, wishing the same sort of reunion was in the cards for him.

Later, Oz joins Toby on the roof of his apartment -- it's time for Toby to come clean about his crazy looks and secret missions. Toby explains that the reason he knows and does things that don't make sense is because he reads people's minds. When Oz scoffs, Toby tells him what he's thinking, word for word. Relieved to know that he's not the one that's crazy, Oz claims that it's a great turn of events. Now he can be Toby's right hand man, and get the inside track on hot women.