Abhiroop Das
Created by Ian Weir, Fox’s ‘Murder in a Small Town‘ tells the story of Karl Alberg, who takes a break from the big-city police life and arrives at the quaint coastal town of Gibsons. As chief of police, Karl becomes acquainted with the people around him, all of whom come with their own unique pasts, cultures, and perspectives. However, when a series of complex cases takes over, his expertise is called into use once again. The previous season ends with Karl catching the mysterious serial killer, Tommy Cummins, temporarily restoring peace in the town. Additionally, Kassandra regains clarity and decides to participate in the town council elections. The season 2 premiere, titled ‘Acts of Murder,’ shines a light on this new chapter in the duo’s lives, one that is more challenging than they expected. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Karl and Cassandra Make Big Progress in Life
The first episode of season 2 takes us back to the town of Gibsons, with the focus this time on Garrett Walker, who appears to be troubled about something he owes to someone. When his wife, Denise, tries to pitch in, he shuts her down before charging at her in a fit of rage. Denise, however, manages to grab hold of a frying pan just in time and lands a direct blow on his head out of self-defense. As Garrett lies motionless on the floor, blood begins to pool around his head, and Denise realizes that she is in deep trouble. Her first instinct is to call her sister, Marita, who arrives soon at the scene and believes that Garrett is already dead. The sisters’ next course of action is to dump his body in his own car, with Marita explaining that the murder can easily be pinned on the shady people he was working with. Leaving the car in a deserted location deep in the woods, they return home, with Denise contemplating whether she made the right call.
Elsewhere, Chief of Police Karl Alberg watches the news in anticipation, along with Cassandra Lee and her supporters in the election bid. The screen reveals good news, with Cassandra securing the majority count and bagging the role of town Counselor. This calls for a celebration, and she wakes up the next morning with hardly any recollection of the wild night she had. Luckily, Carl is there with her, and the couple prepares for a big day ahead. Carl’s crew at the police station has a new member, Corporal Laila Jackson, who announces that she will be here for a few weeks. As her first case of the day, she takes on a complaint about a person behaving violently under the influence, and that leads her straight to Denise’s doorstep. Although she manages to evade all the questions bout her husband’s whereabouts, Denise’s panic continues to rise. Meanwhile, the protagonist makes his way to the Gibsons Annual Art Fair, where we reunite with Isabella Harbud and Sergeant Sid Sokolowski, who are there to revel in the festivities.
Karl Takes Hold of the Reigns in the Garrett Walker Case
Out of the many paintings on display, one of them catches Karl’s eye, and we learn that it was created by none other than his mother, Sarah Lee Alberg. However, before he can learn any further about it, he is interrupted by Christie Holman, the recently reelected mayor of the town. She expresses her desire to increase his jurisdiction, while also establishing that there will be some hiccups on the way. Leila and her partner locate Garrett’s car and make note of his bloodied trunk. Surprisingly, however, the man himself is nowhere to be found, and the young corporal is forced to call in her superiors. Karl, along with Sid, assembles at the scene shortly after and posits that Garrett was likely in the trunk himself. From there, the team heads back to Denise’s house, where she has to feign shock at the news of this turn of events. Nonetheless, Karl quickly realizes that something is off, in large part due to the smell of bleach in the house.
At the local library, Christie’s paths cross with Cassandra, and sparks fly off in no time. The newly elected councilwoman plans to resurrect the town’s artistic spirits with a new art center, but Christie believes it might be an expensive part of her political campaign. Back at the police station, Laila interviews the person who filed the original complaint, who reveals that Garrett was a gambler, and his addiction had only recently accelerated, and that he might be affiliated with dangerous figures. Not long after, Garrett’s boat is located, burnt to a crisp, along with its owner. The forensics reveal that while Garrett had a blunt force injury on his head, along with multiple stab wounds, the real reason for his death was smoke inhalation. This sets Karl’s gears to work, and he tightens the investigation into Garrett’s last day alive. Denise is brought into the station, where the protagonist breaks the news to her, but not without a flavor of targeted suspicion.
As Karl probes deeper, he realizes that Garrett was likely involved in illegal activities, and that helped him buy an expensive boat. Additionally, the chief of police tries to interrogate Marita about the incidents, but comes up empty. Later that night, Denise and her sister aggressively discuss the imminent threat of being caught, but the latter assures her that the brunt of the investigation will be dedicated to locating the person who actually killed Garrett. In the conversation, Marita learns of her brother-in-law’s criminal history, and immediately becomes interested in the money he potentially left behind. With that, the two sisters have a new goal in sight: to find all the cash and keep it for themselves. The following morning, Karl meets Mayor Holman, who announces that several neighboring police departments will be reporting to him with regard to major crime investigations.
The Town Mayor Makes Karl Her Chess Piece
When Karl explains that he will be needing more staff to manage the doubled workload, Holman uses that information against him, explaining that she will give him what he wants if he convinces Cassandra to give up on the art center. Karl remains undeterred by this strong-arming tactic, and not long after, Laila makes a major breakthrough in the Garrett Walker case, placing him on CCTV footage hours after he was stuffed into his car. The footage goes even further, capturing his conversation with a woman named Susan Baylor. Without wasting a moment, the protagonist and his team bring her in for a conversation. Although she initially tries to lie her way out of it, Susan eventually admits that she was having an affair with him, and on the day of his death, he wanted shelter, which she had refused. We also learn that Susan has a nephew, Tony, who works at a nearby motor shop known as Coast Autobody, a fact that catches Karl’s attention.
Karl meets Cassandra and reveals Holman’s malicious tactic, and the two promise to work their way through their new challenges. Meanwhile, Laila hits another jackpot and reveals that Susan is the true owner of Coast Autobody and is directly affiliated with biker gangs, with a former biker named Renny Dufresne working as the de facto boss. As the team connects the dots, a potential reason behind Garrett’s murder begins to emerge, and their suspicions are only strengthened when Renny chooses to be evasive during the questioning. Shortly after Sid leaves the shop to prepare a warrant, Renny contacts Tony, confirming their involvement in Garrett’s death. Just then, Sid gets a call from the high school, which causes him to rush out in a hurry. Elsewhere, Denise and Marita get their hands on Garrette’s bag of cash at last and plan to leave town and start their lives elsewhere.
Garrett Walker’s Killer is Apprehended
However, not long after they leave, Tony, along with another biker, storms into the house, and realizes that their due is presently in the hands of the two women ahead. An intense chase ensues, with Tony right on Denise’s tail, desperate to get hold of the money. Meanwhile, Karl sits down for another round of interrogation with Susan, this time putting all the facts and theories on the table. He posits that Garrett brought in dirty money from neighboring cities and laundered it in Gibsons under Susan’s command, but had recently come under fire for stealing some of the money. Karl goes a step further, asserting that Garrett likely used that money for gambling and lost, leading to his present predicament. He claims that Susan was the one who tasked Renny with taking care of this mess, and the result was a charred corpse.
However, this reasoning does not exclude Denise, who played an active role in Garrett’s ultimate fate. These two scenes intersect when Denise decides to call Karl and ask for his help, and not long after, a road accident causes the two bikers to fall over, with the sisters narrowly avoiding harm. As all the proofs come to the surface, Renny is taken into custody, and Denise hands over the bag of money to the police. Back in the office, Sid explains the reason for his sudden absence, revealing that his youngest daughter was caught coming to school drunk and has since been suspended. The sergeant struggles to balance work and life, but Karl gives him a helping hand in the form of some time off for his family. Later that night, Karl returns to his family, with Cassandra reiterating the trust she has in their future, no matter what becomes of it. With this, the episode closes its opening mystery, while also setting the stage for a possible expansion of the protagonist’s duties, along with the scope of the narrative.
Read More: Is Murder in a Small Town a True Story? Is Karl Alberg Based on a Real Detective?
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