1.7 The Man in Number 9

Sheriff Alex sweeps the death of Shelby under the rug. This frees Norman and his mother to move on with their lives. Norman still tries to contact Bradley while Norma prepares her motel for opening day. Then suddenly, a mysterious man makes a reservation for room nine.

Plot Summary
Sheriff Alex Romero receives the distress call and heads over to the Bates Motel. When he finds Shelby dead on the ground, he becomes shocked and asks for an explanation. Norma gives him the full story, but Sheriff Alex changes the story around so that he was the one who had killed Shelby. He then tells them that his version will be the one on record and that they should not tell anyone what really happened. Norman and his mother are relieved that they no longer have this burden while Dylan is disappointed that he will take none of the credit.The next day, Dylan reminds Norma that he is going to move away when his arm heals. Norma becomes furious and asks him to take out the trash after she struggles to remove the bag from the can.

Dylan takes the bag to the dumpster and spots a mysterious man watching the Bates Motel. The man asks Dylan where the old motel is and Dylan points out that the Bates Motel is the one he is looking for. Then the man asks where he can find Keith Summers. Dylan informs him that Keith Summers is dead and the driver moves on. Later, the driver comes back and asks for room 9 of the motel. He then asks to make a deal with Norma where he would rent all the rooms every other month for the first week. Meanwhile, Norman has been trying to contact Bradley with no luck. Eventually, Norma takes out his frustration on Emma when he decides not to see her when she visits. Norma feels pity for Emma and asks to go on a car ride with her.

During the car ride, Emma briefly mentions that Norman is getting over a girl and Norma begins to aggressively inquire about her. Emma describes Bradley as the perfect girl, but Norma is skeptical. So, Emma drives to the yoga studio near her home and shows points Bradley out of the crowd. Norma instantly recognizes Bradley as the girl who had greeted Norman on his first day of school. Meanwhile, Norman finds a stray dog and grows close to it as the day goes on. At night, Norma has a talk with her son about sex. Norman explains that he actually likes Bradley, but Norma does not believe he has a real relationship. She then mentions that she had hired Emma to help out with the hotel. Norma becomes angry because he believes his mother is trying to pick his girlfriends. Fuming, Norman storms out of the house and heads to Bradley's place.

Norman knocks on Bradly's door and asks her if she and he confesses his feelings. Bradley rejects Norman's feelings and explains that what they did was just a fling. Full of rage, Norman runs off. Bradley chases after him and gives him a hug while giving him an apology. When Norman returns him, he sees Juno on the side. He calls for Juno and is shocked when a car runs over the dog. Norma runs out to see her son. Norman picks up the dead dog and tell his mother that he is heading over to Emma's place so her father can stuff the dog. Norman cries and admits that he was wrong about Bradley. Norma gets the car so they could drive to Emma's place while Norman holds the dog.