“This city has buried too many of its children.”
The hour kicks off with a sneaky misdirect—a man, Ernest Williams, suspiciously grabs a gun and heads outside, looking super twitchy the whole time. He gets on a bus and my first thought was, we’re going to hear some shots. He’s a war vet, so I’m thinking, PTSD? Don’t do it! You have so much to live for! You’re a hero! Thankfully, my fears subsided when he was simply going to turn in the gun to a gun buyback, hosted by none other than Antonio and Laura.
Williams found the gun under his nephew’s mattress. His nephew, Andre, is a great kid and obviously not one to commit murder…so who is he covering for? Ah, there’s the twist—the gun has blood residue on it and happens to be the missing weapon in the active murder case of Laura Hailey, currently being tried by Peter and Anna. Yikes. Peter is convinced Chris Stackhouse, the defendant, is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. But does the murder weapon support that theory? Not exactly. It makes you wonder how many innocent people are currently behind bars, and how many criminals roam free…
Peter and Anna are granted a continuance to sort through the new information, which leads to Chris Stackhouse being riddled with bullets after being escorted home for house arrest. He doesn’t die, but it certainly makes matters worse. A gang war has broken out amidst the Laura Hailey trial, and the State’s Attorney’s office is powerless to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, Peter and Anna investigate how Andre came to have the gun. Williams reveals his sister’s son Keo brought the gun over—and Keo is in a gang. The crew enlists the help of PD’s Officer Atwater, who Keo is unbelievably rude to. Do you have eyes, Keo? Do you see the size of his arms? He could snap you in half. Show some respect. They might not have gotten much out of the “discussion”, but one thing’s for certain—Keo is a turd. But is he a killer?
Back to the gang war that continues to wage, Peter comes up with a clever idea—shut down the devices used to incite the violence. Thanks to a clause in service provider’s agreement (only Peter would actually read that), service providers can shut off devices if they are used to perform illegal activity. Against all odds, Peter is granted the win in an order that demands the service providers shut off the devices of over thirty potential gang members.
While the phones are off, Peter and Anna turn their attention solely to the murder case. Andre pleads with Peter and Anna, as Keo is closing in on knowing he had something to do with the cops sniffing around him. Keo will be charged with murder, but will Andre and Ernest pay the price? Ernest refuses to let Andre testify, and I’m honestly not that mad about it. The murder weapon should be evidence enough—Andre’s life is in serious danger if he testifies.
Leave it to Peter to cleverly work his way around that lack of testimony. Peter convinces the judge and opposing counsel, Carrie, to keep Chris Stackhouse as the defendant to lure Keo to the stand—essentially setting a trap to catch the real killer. He succeeds! On the stand, Keo releases the gun, the gun that had been deemed broken, perfectly. Why? Because he knew how to use it—he killed Laura Hailey.
All seems right in the world—Carrie, the opposing counsel, got her feet wet and helped put away a real killer. Keo, that little turd, is going away for good. And sweet Andre and his protective uncle didn’t have to testify.
Sadly, life isn’t always that fair. After their incredible win, Peter and Anna are called to a crime scene by Antonio and Laura. Presumably the work of Keo’s gang, the hour closes with Ernest lying dead in the street. My heart dropped! What an incredibly sad ending.
Here's what I’m loving about this show—Peter is unconventional. Not only that, but he butts heads constantly with Mark Jefferies, his boss, which will explode eventually. He also has fundamentally different beliefs and thoughts than Anna, who he also frequently disagrees with. And yet, all three fight on the same side. Love it.
What did you think of the episode? Share your thoughts below!
