Murder in a Small Town season 2 episode 1 ending explained: Is Garrett Walker dead?

Murder in a Small Town Season 2 Episode 1 didn’t take long to introduce the viewers to the very first case in the town. The season opened a chapter of another murder case for Karl, with a lot of mysteries tied to it. The previous season ended with Tommy Cummins getting arrested for the series of murders he had planned out within the town. 

Episode 1, ‘’Acts of Murder,’’ brings new challenges for Karl and Cassandra, as they find it difficult to work next to the new Mayor of Gibsons, Christine Holman. The episode also brings victories for the duo as Cassandra wins the elections and steps into the world of politics by becoming a town councilor. On the other hand, Karl is getting praised for his exceptional investigative skills by the Mayor herself and announces that police departments from nearby towns will now report to him on major crime cases.

However, conflicts could possibly arise between the lovebirds as Holman offers a deal with Karl to somehow convince Cassandra to back off with her upcoming project of setting up a new Art Center in Gibsons. In return, she would assign more officers to his team, as Cassandra’s willingness to open the art center carries a heavy cost, and managing both of their requests is not possible for her. 

Karl is having a suspenseful and complex murder case on his page. The episode begins with a heated argument between Denise and her husband, Garrett Walker. He seems worried about the money he owes to someone. When his wife Denise tries to help, he snaps at her and gets violent. In the heat of the moment, Denise strikes him on the head with a pan out of fear and, in shock, assumes she has accidentally killed him.

Marita, Denise’s sister, arrives at the murder scene, and they assume that Garrett is dead as his blood was all over the kitchen floor. The sisters decide to put his body in his car’s trunk and leave it in the woods, hoping people will think the shady people Garrett was dealing with are responsible.

Garrett Walker is the new victim in Gibsons

The police first arrive at Denis’s doorstep, not because they have found his body, instead Laila, the newly joined officer, received a complaint about him from his neighbor for his violent actions with his wife. Denise feared the police had already uncovered the truth about Garrett’s death, but that wasn’t the case. They simply handed her a card, asked a few routine questions, and then let her go.

Later, Karl and his team discover Garrett’s car. But to their surprise, the trunk is empty, and the body the sisters had placed inside is missing. When they headed to Denise’s place to share the update, Karl felt something suspicious about the two sisters. He smelled bleach in their house, which they used for cleaning the blood the night she attacked Garrett Walker. 

Laila interrogated the neighbor who first filed a complaint about Garrett’s violent behavior, and he revealed that he was involved with some dangerous people in illegal business, and even used to gamble money for them. 

Soon after, Garrett’s boat is found completely burned, with his body inside. Forensics show that Garrett had a head injury and several stab wounds, but the real cause of death was smoke inhalation. So, the real killer beyond the two sisters is still roaming out there in the town. 

New suspect added! After being stuffed into his car’s trunk, Garrett Walker goes to meet Susan Baylor

Denise and Marita made a mistake in assuming that they killed Garrett Walker. He went to meet Susan Baylor, with whom he was having an affair. Police got the CCTV footage showing that Garrett was alive hours after his body was put in the car. The footage also shows him talking to a woman named Susan Baylor. Karl and his team quickly bring her in for questioning.

She revealed that the night he died, he came in for help. He wanted Susan to help him find a place to stay; however, she refused as she wanted to end things with him.  

Susan’s nephew, Tony, works at Coast Autobody, a local motor shop. Laila uncovers another big lead: Susan actually owns Coast Autobody and has ties to biker gangs, with a former biker, Renny Dufresne.

Before the police could bring in the arrest warrants and take them into questioning, Renny calls Tony, confirming they were involved in Garrett’s death. Meanwhile, Denise and Marita finally find Garrett’s hidden bag of cash and decide to leave town to start fresh lives.

The bikers who reach Garrett’s place find no money and then chase the sisters who ran out, taking the money. Denise, who got worried, called Karl for help. The bikers and the sisters were involved in a road accident as police attempted to stop the chase. Renny was arrested, and the money was handed over to the police. 

Karl is now suggesting that Susan would have ordered Renny to deal with Garrett Walker, as he stole that money, which would indirectly land them in trouble. 

Karl will now easily uncover the secret of the two sisters, and what happens to them will be revealed in the next episode. Meanwhile, it will also be revealed whether Susan and her men were the real killers or not who burned Garrett’s body.

The episode ends with Karl and Cassandra promising to deal with the Mayor’s tactics together; meanwhile, Sid struggles to balance his work and personal life. Karl asks him to take some time off as he gets the news that his youngest daughter came to school drunk and got suspended.