CBS’s Tracker season three, episode three, travels to the Wyndham, Massachusetts Psychiatric Detention Center on Halloween. Things get scary when the electricity goes out and the generator doesn’t kick in. The staff separate to check the inmates’ doors, and one worker discovers inmate Heston Koontz has escaped his room. Unfortunately, the employee in the breaker room doesn’t get the message. She turns and screams as a figure in a pig mask approaches.
(The following’s a recap of season three, episode three, and there are spoilers.)
Reenie (Fiona Rene) calls Colter (Justin Hartley) with details on the Wyndham murder case because Heston’s family wants him found. Heston Koontz (Samuel Hoeksema) was serving a life sentence for burning a family alive when he escaped, and his family’s concerned about what he’ll do next.
Colter meets Heston’s parents 12 hours after he escaped and suggests they let the police do their thing. Heston’s dad is convinced they need to find him because he never should have been transferred to a less strict facility. Heston’s mom explains that he changed in high school and used to stare and whisper to himself. He had waking nightmares and strange wounds on his body. And Heston killed their family dog.
They know most parasomniacs aren’t violent, but Heston was. They found his drawings and journals and learned he was obsessed with a girl named Emily from school. She was the only survivor of the fire he set. They had reported their concerns to the police before the fire, but the cops wouldn’t listen. Now, they need him back in custody before he kills again.
They told the police about his obsession with Emily and that they’re hiring Colter to find him. Detective Dundee (Derek Richardson) introduces himself and admits they screwed up 10 years ago. Dundee explains the storm took down the detention center’s cameras but the locks on the inmates’ rooms weren’t affected by the blackout. His door should have remained locked.
Dundee and Colter examine Heston’s room, and one wall is covered by Heston’s homage to Peter Paul Rubens’s “The Fall of the Damned” painting. Heston’s bible is full of news clippings and drawings of Emily. Dundee has a cop stationed at Emily’s place right now to protect her.
Colter believes Heston carefully planned his escape and that the power outage wasn’t a coincidence. He thinks the power line was cut, which would mean Heston had help. Colter also believes Heston went to the electric room to make sure the power wasn’t restored. He didn’t want the cameras to catch his accomplice.
The nurse was strangled with an employee’s lanyard. (It doesn’t have a key card attached.) Colter looks around and finds a vent that someone’s been trying to pry open recently. The missing key card is in the vent, and he snaps a photo. Now Colter thinks the accomplice used the key card to enter the building and then went to the electric room to make sure it was still off. He/she surprised the nurse who fought back, and the key card went into the vent during the struggle. The accomplice didn’t have time to retrieve it.
Dundee is going to question the staff again about the key card.
Randy (Chris Lee) does some quick research and discovers the key card was orderly Bill Prugalidad’s, but he wasn’t on the schedule last night. Colter heads to Bill’s address and hears a broadcast of someone preaching. He follows the sound to a shed and discovers Bill’s dead body under a sheet.
Meanwhile, Reenie begins interviewing potential assistants now that Velma’s gone. Melanie (Cassady McClincy Zhang), her 11am appointment, is early and they connect over their military family background. Reenie goes over her resume and it’s impressive, and Mel admits she’s followed Reenie’s career. She wants to work for a fearless lawyer who uncovers abuse and stands up against corporations. Also, she’s curious about Colter Shaw and thinks his job is really cool.
Mel claims she can handle whatever Reenie throws her way. Reenie asks her for details about her life that aren’t on her resume, and she admits she loves murder podcasts and TikTok witches. Mel also confesses she is against bureaucracy because her mom was shot and killed when she was 16 and they never found her killer. The family never got any justice.
Reenie makes an instant decision and hires her on the spot.
Dundee and Colter look around Bill’s shed and discover paperwork with the same logo that was on Heston’s bible. Bill’s been dead for days, so Heston isn’t the murderer. The accomplice stole Bill’s card and freed Heston.
Randy hacks Bill’s neighbor’s electric vehicle’s camera and learns a blue minivan left Bill’s house two days ago. He sends Colter the license plate, but the car was reported stolen. Randy does a quick search and finds it went through a toll station in East Millwood 30 minutes ago. Emily lives in East Millwood!
Dundee radios the police unit watching Emily’s house and no one responds. They race over and find the door open. The officer’s dead inside and Emily’s gone. The stolen minivan in the driveway was reported taken from the Sisters of the Sacred Fire church, which is the church on Heston’s bible.
Colter and Dundee head there next, as Reenie learns Heston had monthly visits from Sister Carlotta from the Sacred Fire church. That same nun visited him at the place Heston was housed before he was transferred to Wyndham.
Sister Barbara doesn’t think Sister Carlotta would have helped Heston escape, but she admits she wasn’t aware of Sister Carlotta’s relationship with Heston. Colter explains Heston has recently murdered a nurse and asks to see Sister Carlotta’s room.
They look through her personal items and Colter discovers a hidden storage area with a journal of her time working with Heston. Her final entry asks forgiveness for what they are about to do. There’s also a map of the Wyndham detention center. Sister Barbara can’t believe Sister Carlotta would do anything wrong, and Colter finds a photo of Sister Carlotta posing with four men. Sister Barbara confirms that’s the community outreach group and one of them is Jared, a man who seemed defensive when they arrived at the church.
Jared lives in the convent’s basement and Colter and Dundee enter, guns drawn. There are a variety of knives along with zip ties that have been cut, indicating two people are being held hostage. Dundee spots a used vial of propofol in the trash, and Colter spots the same shoe print they found in Heston’s cell.
Colter and Dundee now believe Heston was abducted from Wyndham. He’s actually a victim. Jared and Sister Carlotta are holding Emily and Heston hostage, and Jared probably killed the nurse and the cop. But why? Jared has a hidden altar, and Sister Barbara confirms it’s a splinter sect that hunted down “dark things.” The sect thought people were made to do evil and hunted down the hosts.
The scene shifts to show a camper driving down the road with Emily and Heston tied up and gagged in the back.
Jared’s gone and Colter tells Dundee the sect thinks they’re acting righteously, which makes them more dangerous. Since Heston’s sleep state made him hear voices, Sister Carlotta probably thinks he’s possessed by a demon. Emily was taken as the emotional tether for the ritual. The sect will need to kill both Heston and Emily to get rid of the demon.
Dundee believes the original site of the Sacred Fire church is probably where the sect has set up the ritual. Randy’s trying to track Jared’s movements, but it seems he’s moving away from the original church’s site.
Reenie introduces Mel to Randy who’s relieved to learn Mel knows about their work with Colter. He admits to being a little weirded out by this case and Mel knows just the right sage to burn to ward off the bad energy.
After Mel leaves for the day, Randy confesses he knew they would vibe.
Colter’s still confused as to why Jared’s driving away from the first church. He suddenly realizes that Sister Carlotta’s message to go to the first fire actually referred to the fire set by Heston. Dundee calls for backup at the Collins property.
Sister Carlotta begins the ritual, and Emily begs her to stop. Sect members spread gasoline in tinder around their feet as Heston struggles to get out of his bindings. Emily screams for help.
Dundee checks out the camper outside and is attacked and stabbed by sect members. Colter heads toward the house, gun drawn, as inside Sister Carlotta places a match to the tinder around Heston’s feet. Heston works himself free, tries to stop them, and gets shot in the arm. Colter rushes in and shoots the man who shot Heston.
Colter’s tackled and fights back as Sister Carlotta lights the fire around Emily. Heston didn’t flee and instead attacks Sister Carlotta and is gravely injured. Emily continues to scream as Colter finally manages to get the upper hand with his armed attacker, using the man’s knife against him.
Colter saves Emily and they race outside as the house is engulfed in flames.
Dundee survives the attack and assures Colter he’ll be fine. Emily’s also fine, thanks to their work. Unfortunately, Heston didn’t survive. His escape from the restraints saved Emily’s life, and Dundee is shocked the universe slipped up and did something good.
Colter praises Dundee’s work and commitment to the town. He turns down Heston’s parents when they want to pay him, instead suggesting they give it to Emily to do something good with.
Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” plays as Colter drives away.
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