ABC pulls out the big guns in this week’s episode of Big Sky: Deadly Trails with two legendary country singers as guest stars – Darius Rucker and Lyle Lovett. While they don’t have a scene with Reba McEntire and Rex Linn, their appearance here is sure to be a fun moment for country music fans. Whether or not they’ll appear in future episodes is anyone’s guess, but for now, let’s recap “Come Get Me,” the 7th episode of Season 3.
(ABC/Michael Moriatis)
Denise (Dedee Pfeiffer) arrives at Dewell & Hoyt to start her day and the first sign that something is wrong comes when she notices the agency’s open/closed sign on the ground outside the front door. She pokes her head inside and calls for Cassie. Nobody responds and as she moves deeper into the office, she notices that papers and files are scattered on the floor, along with broken glass from a cabinet. Following the trail, she hears rustling in the back room. Peeking inside, she sees a man in a ski mask rummaging through file boxes. She quietly rushes to her desk and hides underneath, holding her breath. We see the man’s grey sneakers and the bottom of his dark jeans. His shoes face the wall away from the desk, then turn around, stepping towards the desk Denise hides under. Thankfully, they then turn to the door and carry the intruder away. When the coast is clear, Denise comes out from her hiding spot and sees that the intruder has posted papers related to the Bleeding Heart Killer along with a message written in blood – “Come get me.”
Mary (Sofia Embid) hits the ground dead as Sunny Barnes (Reba McEntire) asks her husband Buck (Rex Linn) why he killed her. He says that he thought Mary was trying to hurt Sunny, revealing that he knows that Sunny is the one who buried Paige’s bag, presuming that Walter must have killed her. Sunny says she doesn’t know if her son Walter did kill Paige, but that it’s possible. She turns her attention back to the coverup at hand. “You know whose been spending time with that girl?”, Sunny asks Buck, motioning to Mary. “Luke.” They both already believe that Luke is lying about Paige’s whereabouts and decide to frame him for Mary’s murder.
Police investigate Dewell & Hoyt following the break-in. Beau Arlen (Jensen Ackles) discovers that the security footage doesn’t get anything identifiable about the suspect, but since the intruder didn’t wear gloves and wrote with his own blood, they will be able to run DNA tests on the evidence. Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) notes that the person was only interested in files related to the Bleeding Heart Killer. Beau consoles a shaken-up Denise while Jenny tells Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) that she can work in her office at the Sheriff’s Department for a while, as the break-in has triggered memories of the night her father was murdered in the office. Denise reveals that the office was likely targeted because she posted in a forum of unsolved mysteries about the murdered backpacker found near the same place as the Bleeding Heart Killer’s victim from 20 years prior. When Denise steps outside to calm down, we see that someone is watching her from a parked black truck.
Tonya (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and Donno (Ryan O’Nan) enjoy a drink at the bar at Sunny Day Excursions discussing the job they took to track down Luke and Paige, who they’ve since learned are wanted for stealing $15 million and hiding it in an account locked with a key phrase. Since Donno recently saw another man in the woods watching the camp, Tonya believes that someone else is also looking for Luke and his missing girlfriend, fearing that another bounty hunter has been hired. Avery (Henry Ian Cusick) interrupts, complimenting Donno’s skill with a bow and arrow. Tonya says Avery is the one who was hitting the bullseyes. He steers the conversation to Luke, asking why they’re spending so much time with him. Tonya is suspicious of him, saying “Why don’t you ask what you wanna ask?” Avery smiles while he responds, saying “You’re clearly not here for the camping.” Tonya asks Avery what he knows about Luke. “I know he’s in trouble, seems like you’re part of that.” Avery warns Tonya and Dono that he’s watching them as he leaves the bar.
Sunny and Buck have moved Mary’s body to a new location closer to the trail, positioning her next to Paige’s missing bag. Sunny suggests that with tonight’s supermoon, she will lead a nighttime hike to see it during which the campers will find Mary’s body with Paige’s bag and jump to the obvious conclusion that Luke is responsible for both. Sunny leaves Buck to go back to camp and plant Paige’s cell phone in Luke’s tent. As she leaves, Buck crouches down and runs his fingers through Paige’s hair, commenting how she was smart and he admires that. He stands up and looks at his blood-covered hands. He pulls out a handkerchief to wipe it off, but stops, bringing his fingers to his nose and breathing in the coppery smell, seemingly enjoying it.
At the Sheriff’s Department, Beau sets up a board for the Bleeding Heart Killer case, including a picture of the victim that coined the murderer’s name, Blaire Lucan. She was just 18 years old in May of 2002 when her body was found in the woods with her heart cut out of her body shortly after prom. Jenny hands Beau a folder with three other unsolved murders that predate Blaire’s, all of which have similarities to her case. As she looks through the original suspect files, she discovers that one of them is missing for Person of Interest D. The last person to check it out was a retired detective named Roman Cobb. Beau suggests they pay him a visit. Cassie is present during this conversation and she picks up a photo from Blaire’s file of a tree with a heart carved into it decorated with red. She mentions that she found a fresh one near the burned Suburban and several others in the wood, including near the backpacker’s body. She’s been plotting all of the ones she found on a map and suggests this could be the killer’s calling card. Cassie announces that she’s going back to the trail and Beau asks her not to go alone.
In her tent, Sunny peels back a rug and lifts up a floorboard to access her secret hiding spot. She retrieves Paige’s cell phone and is in the process of putting the rug back when her son Cormac (Luke Mitchell) enters. She pretends to have been looking for a missing earring. She asks him to go back to town to get Buck’s blood pressure medication from the pharmacy and he seems suspicious of the sudden request, especially since she is now leading a nighttime hike and doesn’t want him around to help. When Sunny leaves the tent, Cormac goes to the spot she was bent over on the rug. He taps his foot around and we hear a hollow sound when he taps the loose floorboard.
Tonya and Donno discuss their conversation with Avery in the privacy of their tent, with Tonya worrying that Avery knows everything about Luke. Donno suggests that they bail on this job, saying that he’s never had anything like his relationship with Tonya or the two businesses they run to protect before. Tonya says they risk too much by bailing but suggests they approach their boss and ask for double the money given all of the new information. Donno has a gift he was waiting to give Tonya for her birthday but figures she could probably use it now. She unwraps the blue handkerchief and finds a handgun with a pearl handle. “It’s beautiful, Donno,” she smiles.
Retired detective Roman Cobb (Dorian Harewood) is loading up his truck to go fishing when Jenny and Beau arrive to ask about the missing file. He is instantly distrusting of them, revealing that he took the file to protect it. “We wanna solve this case, Mr. Cobb, and I think you do too,” Beau says to convince him as Jenny reveals that it looks like the killer is at it again. Roman reluctantly pulls an iPad from his bag and pulls up the digitized file, showing it to them. The missing suspect is Joe Walker, Blaire’s boyfriend and prom date who was also the son of former chief commissioner Hyrum Walker. The chief tried to bribe Roman to destroy the suspect file. “Hyrum Walker was ruthless,” Roman says, sharing that his wife lost her job of it and he was put on desk duty for the rest of his career. From the file, Jenny and Beau learn that Joe Walker and Blair reportedly had a fight at the dance. Joe’s alibi following her murder is that he got drunk and passed out in his truck. There were no witnesses to corroborate his story. As Jenny and Beau leave, Jenny calls Deputy Poppernak (J. Anthony Pena) and asks him to look up Joe Walker’s address.
Cassie and Denise search the woods near where Blaire’s body was found 20 years ago. Using the photo of the heart-carved tree, Cassie manages to find the exact spot based on the rocks nearby. The carved heart is now feint, but still somewhat visible in the trunk. Cassie believes the hearts create a map that can lead them to the killer. Denise notices something sparkly in a bush next to the tree, a gold necklace with a charm of a bee on it. They believe it belonged to Blaire and that the killer kept it as a trophy, recently placing it there to taunt them.
Buck returns to Sunny Day Excursions with his horse just as Cormac is heading out. He notices that his dad is all wet and he tells him he got muddy and had to wash it up. Cormac asks if he really needs this refill of blood pressure medication tonight and he says yes, making a joke that he needs it for romantic reasons with his mother. Cormac brings up the night hike and how they’ve never done one before, asking if he can stay and help out. “I think we’ve got it covered, but I’ll see you when you get back,” Buck sends his son away. Cormac still looks suspicious of his parents.
(ABC/Michael Moriatis)
The mysterious man in black (West Liang) working for Ren Bhullar sits in The Boot Heel with three other men, one of whom is playing the guitar when Tonya and Donno enter for their meeting. The man in the suit rented the bar out for privacy and when Tonya asks about the other men, they are introduced. Tex (Lyle Lovett) is the finest tracker west of the Mississippi, Possum (Darius Rucker) got his nickname because he does his business at night, and the third man is named Winston (Alex Fernandez), who is so effective at his job that he needs no introduction. The meeting begun, Tonya and Donno ask for their fee to be doubled, bringing up the fact that other people are seemingly looking for Luke and Paige. Their employer asks for more info and Tonya refers to Avery McCallister as a “Shady finance guy.” She offers to hand over Luke now, but they don’t know what happened to Paige. The boss suggests instead that they simply kill Luke, who doesn’t know the passphrase to the account and just focus on finding Paige. Tonya tells him that killing wasn’t part of the agreement. “Businesses burn down so easy these days,” the boss threatens. “Sometimes with the owners inside.”
Emily (Cree Cicchino) finds Luke (Anirudh Bisharody) in the commissary at Sunny Day Excursions stuffing his backpack full of snacks. She tells him she saw his best friends, Tonya and Donno, head into town, referring to them as “beauty and the creep.” Their departure was news to Luke and he nervously asks Emily if they were coming back. When she tells him that Tonya said she’d be back for the night hike, he finishes zipping up his bag and Emily notices that Luke looks scared. “Listen, there are some bad people on this trip,” Luke warns. “If you want my advice, get the hell out of here. I know I am.” He takes off towards the entrance of the camp and Emily calls after him.
Beau and Jenny arrive at the remote cabin of Joe Walker, finding that his door was ajar. Inside the living room, they find a meth lab. Calling out and announcing that they’re with the sheriff’s department, they begin searching the cabin with their guns drawn. Inside a bedroom, they hear a noise from the ceiling. Beau grabs a rifle propped against the wall and uses it to poke a sagging spot. The drop ceiling tiles give way and Joe Walker (Daniel Di Tomasso) falls to the floor from his hiding place. Cut to an interrogation room where Beau and Jenny question Joe, who thought they brought him in about his lab. It’s news to him that somebody broke into Dewell & Hoyt or that there’s been a murder similar to that of his girlfriend 20 years prior. “I didn’t kill Blaire,” he swears, “I loved her.” Jenny brings up the fight from the report and Joe says they weren’t fighting, he was trying to console her.
Sunny leaves her tent and begins to head towards Luke’s when she is stopped by Carla (Angelique Cabral), who can’t find her daughter Emily. Sunny promises to keep an eye out for her. When Carla walks away, Sunny moves towards Luke’s tent, but stops when she hears voices inside. Tonya and Donno are inside discussing Luke’s possible whereabouts, noting that his bag is gone. Believing he made a run for it, Tonya asks Donno to go track him while she stays behind to look for Avery. They leave the tent, unaware that Sunny was hiding around the corner listening. With the coast clear, Sunny sneaks inside and plants Paige’s cell phone under Luke’s mattress.
Beau shows Joe a photo of him and Blaire from the prom and Joe points out that Blaire kept a hoodie on the whole night to cover up bruises on her arms. He remembers how her parents pretended to be happy for Blaire while they took their prom pictures, but how anxious they were to let her go. He says that Blaire was afraid of her parents and was planning to leave after graduation. He tried to tell this to the police after Blaire’s murder, but nobody would listen. “Detective Cobb, he had it out for me,” Joe adds. Joe’s theory is that Blaire’s father murdered her.
Cassie pulls up to the Lucan home and knocks on the door, calling for Blaire’s dad Joe and announcing that she left him a voice message. Looking around, the sees a shed across the property and heads toward it. She doesn’t know that a black truck pulled up and parked behind hers. We only see the feet of the driver as they get out of the truck. They’re wearing dark jeans and grey sneakers.
Stepping out of the interrogation room, Jenny pulls out her phone and sees a text from Cassie from 20 minutes ago announcing that she was paying Joe Lucan a visit. She tells Beau and Deputy Popernak hears, saying “Uh oh.” He just got the DNA results back from the Dewell & Hoyt break-in. The intruder was Blaire’s father. Jenny tries to call Cassie and the call goes to voicemail.
Inside the shed, Cassie finds a board full of information about Blair’s murder and details about the Bleeding Heart Killer. Freaking out, Cassie moves to leave and finds that her exit is now blocked by Joe Lucan, who holds a rifle in his hand and points it at Cassie. She pulls her gun out in response and he slams the door behind him, telling Cassie that she’s trespassing. She notices that his right arm is bandaged up. “You’re the one who broke into our office,” she says. Joe reveals that he saw Denise’s post online about the Bleeding Heart Killer. Cassie asks if he planted the bee necklace by the tree and he says it was a gift he gave Blaire for her 12th birthday, but she stopped wearing it. He’s impressed that it took Cassie less than 4 hours to find him after he broke into her office and left the message. “Why did you kill Blaire?”, she asks. Joe’s eyes instantly fill with tears. “You think I killed my daughter? No… My God, no, I loved her. I loved my little girl. I would never hurt her.” Tears turn to sobs as he describes what happened to his daughter 20 years ago, adding that the police forgot about her so he kept investigating on his own. Beau and Jenny barge in behind Joe, but Cassie calms them both down. “The killer’s still out there,” Joe says.
The sun has set and the supermoon is out. Emily has become lost in the woods in her search for Luke, calling out his name as she tries to find her bearings. She stops when she notices a pair of women’s underwear on the ground. Those then lead her to a cheetah print bag – Paige’s – and then a body – Mary’s. She screams and runs in horror away from the scene, yelling for help. The sight of a flashlight reveals Buck walking along the trail with his horse. A frantic Emily tells him that Mary is dead. Buck remains calm, asking Emily to take him to her.
Cassie finishes taking photos of Joe Lucan’s suspect board. Lifting up a newspaper clipping, she finds a police sketch of a young man who bears a resemblance to the man she saw driving the Suburban before it was burned. She brings it to Joe and asks who it is. “That’s some kid they saw in the woods the night of the after-party, the night Blaire was killed,” he says. The teenager was never seen again. Cassie pulls up a photo of the sketch she had made of the suspicious driver, noticing that although 20 years have passed, the eyes look the same. “It’s him,” she declares.
Sunny corrals everyone for the super moon hike. Pat (Amy Puente) wants to wait for her sister Mary, but Sunny says they can’t wait as the moon is already out. Sunny begins passing out flashlights, saying “The moon’s gonna brighten up the trail quite a bit, but you’ll want one, trust me.” Carla is also upset that Emily hasn’t returned yet, seemingly frustrated that Avery isn’t more concerned. It’s been two hours since Emily was last seen and Carla is on the verge of calling her ex-husband and Emily’s father, Beau. Avery reminds her that Emily is responsible. Sunny also tries to calm Carla down, sharing that Buck is doing a safety trek on the trail and that if Emily is out there, he’ll find her. Moments later, Buck is seen arriving back at the camp with a body draped over his horse. “Call the sheriff, somebody killed Mary,” he declares. Pat rushes forward frantically to look at her dead sister. Emily is behind Buck carrying Paige’s bag. Carla rushes to her daughter to ask if she’s okay. “I don’t know,” Emily replies as she hugs her mom. Avery asks where Luke is. “That’s a good question,” Sunny responds, her plan seemingly working despite this minor hiccup. Tonya looks suspicious of this whole turn of events.
We see Luke running through the woods, paranoid that he’s being followed. Indeed, Donno is in pursuit, using tracking skills like sniffing for freshly broken sticks to try and find him. As Luke runs, he almost trips and then stops when he sees somebody. “Hey baby,” Paige (Madalyn Horcher) taunts. Luke looks like he’s seen a ghost. “Miss me?”, Paige asks. Her eyes move to look behind Luke. Unbeknownst to him, Luke has someone behind him – Walter (Seth Gabel), who wields a hatchet and seems ready to strike.
What happens next? ABC is going to leave us in a bit of suspense for an extra week, with the next episode scheduled for November 16th. Titled “Duck Hunt,” the preview for the next episode shows Walter threatening to kill Luke as he begs Paige to leave with him, Sunny scolding Buck for bringing Mary’s body back to camp, Cassie showing Buck the police sketch of Walter asking if he’s seen this man (Buck appears to answer “Yeah”), and Sunny looking in Walter’s cabin window at night, saying “Walter, run!”