Lila Crane (Vera Miles)’s Timeline and Summary

Lila returns from a business trip to discover that her sister has disappeared, and has perhaps stolen money.
She goes to Fairvale California to see if Sam Loomis, her sister's boyfriend, is involved.
Detective Arbogast shows up and tells Lila and Sam that he is going to find Marion and the money on behalf of Marion's boss.
Arbogast agrees to work with Lila and Sam. After looking around town, 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 the Bates Motel, but can't find Arbogast.
Lila and Sam contact the local sheriff, who does nothing. So they 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.
Norman returns to the house, forcing Lila to hide in the fruit cellar.
There she discovers Mrs. Bates' corpse. She screams, and Norman, dressed as his mother, bursts in with a knife to kill her.
But Sam appears at the last minute and disarms Norman.
Norman is taken into custody. Sam and Lila listen to the psychiatrist explain Norman's pathology.
Lila learns that her sister is dead. The psychiatrist isn't very gentle about telling her… but it's not a gentle movie.