Sam Loomis (John Gavin)’s Timeline and Summary
- Sam divorces his wife; the alimony payments mean he's deeply in debt.
- As a result, he can't marry his new girlfriend Marion. She's unhappy about this state of affairs, and tells him so during one of their lunch-break trysts.
- Some days later, Lila, Marion's sister arrives at his business and tells him Marion has disappeared.
- Detective Arbogast shows up and tells Sam that Marion is believed to have stolen some money.
- Arbogast agrees to work with Lila and Sam. After some investigation, he calls them and tells them he's traced Marion to the Bates Motel.
- Arbogast then disappears. Lila convinces Sam that the two of them need to act.
- Sam goes to try to find Arbogast at the Bates Motel, but he isn't there.
- Sam and Lila contact the local sheriff, who does nothing. So Lila and Sam go to the Bates Motel, pretending to be man and wife.
- Sam distracts Norman while Lila searches the house.
- Norman gets suspicious and knocks Sam out.
- But Sam wakes up in time to prevent Norman, in his mother's clothes, from killing Lila in the house.
- Sam and Lila listen to the psychiatrist explain Norman's pathology.
- This is where Sam learns that Marion was killed, though you don't get to see his reaction, really.
- Presumably he's upset, though.