The Darkest Bayou — Day 8

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Premise: After getting his soft-spoken client acquitted of an accessory-to-murder charge, New Orleans public defender Jack Keats discovers that he may actually have just helped a serial-killer evade detection. As the lawyer begins to investigate and dig deeper, his former client takes notice, and turns his attention to Jack and his family, setting a deadly game of cat and mouse in motion.

Plot: Jack Keats is a public defense attorney for the city of New Orleans. He is assigned to defend Lester Watts, a soft-spoken caretaker for Audubon Zoo, who is suspected of not helping a dying police officer whom he found gunned down on a deserted New Orleans street. There isn't enough evidence to convict Lester as an accessory to the crime, so Jack prevails and his client is acquitted. But as a result of the win, the lawyer becomes an instant pariah with the New Orleans Police Department, who now vent their rage for their fallen officer and lack of other suspects on him.

Act 1 turning point: As the acquittal comes through, the soft-spoken Lester opens up to Jack. Without naming any specific victims, he confesses to having committing many, many murders, and says he's been at it for years. He thanks the attorney for helping him stay free to do his "work."

At first, Jack isn't sure if he believes Lester or not, and he tries to put it out of his mind. It seems implausible that New Orleans would have had a prolific serial-killer on its hands for so many years without somebody noticing a pattern of victims, or missing persons. But Jack can't shake the feeling that Lester was telling the truth. Tortured by the idea that he may have just set a serial-killer free to kill again, Jack betrays betrays his oath as public defender and sets out to dig deeper into Lester's claims.

As Jack begins his investigation, Lester takes notice, and turns his attention first to Jack, and then to Jack's family. Jack and his family begin to feel like prey, as Lester becomes an ever more encroaching presence in their lives and strange events start occurring, such as a break-in to their home and the brutal death of their family dog. When Jack goes to the police for help they dismiss him and his claims of a serial-killer with a sneer, reminding Jack that he has already proved his former client to be an innocent and gentle man. Jack is on his own.

As the dangerous game of cat and mouse escalates, Jack must pursue his investigation to the end, prevent any more serial-killings, and keep his family safe, all before the unassuming monster he set free closes in.