We Are All Guilty Here

At the Huntsingers’, Emmy finds Adam “sitting at the kitchen table” with his “sawed-off shotgun” (357). Walton appears and tries intervening, but Adam demands he stay out of it. Adam holds that he had no involvement in Madison’s, Cheyenne’s, or Paisley’s disappearances. He then reveals that Dale often spent time on the property, but quickly shuts down and demands a lawyer. When he threatens Brett with his gun, the cops arrest him.

Afterwards, Emmy talks to Walton about the Walkers, Adam, and his sick wife Alma. Emmy has a bad feeling and starts to suspect Walton. She is even more suspicious when she notices that he has been using Adam’s wallet and expired license. She wonders if Walton is in fact involved in all of the disappearances and has been trying to frame his son. Walton excuses himself to check on Alma. Emmy calls Jude in the meantime and shares her theories about Walton. She also learned from Adam that someone planted a bloody hammer in his truck, and thinks it could have been Walton.

Emmy asks Walton more questions about the Broken Angels Case. He insists Adam has always been trouble and that he could never trust Adam when he spent time with Dale. He becomes increasingly nervous as the conversation continues, and excuses himself to check on Alma again. Emmy realizes she won’t break him now, but bags the hammer and wallet as evidence. Then she reconvenes with Jude and Cole. They try to decide how to handle the next steps.

Back at the station, Emmy visits the Evidence Room to drop off the hammer and wallet and check over the old Broken Angels case files. She ends up tripping and some boxes fall over. Inside one box, she finds documents that have been tampered with. She also discovers the girls’ missing jewelry, phones, and SIM cards. Since Virgil works in evidence, she realizes he was involved and must have faked the documents.

Virgil appears behind her with a gun. Emmy shares her suspicions with him. Virgil doesn’t deny the truth, admitting he took Paisley, too. Dale and Walton were also involved. When Virgil threatens to kill Emmy, she feels a sense of calm wash over her body; then she shoots him multiple times and kills him.

Emmy races outside and vomits on the grass. She talks quietly to her late father, asking for direction. Without his presence, she summons his encouraging voice. Then she races to Virgil’s house and bursts into the shed. She climbs up to the loft, where she finds Paisley’s battered body. Convinced she is dead, Emmy lies beside her, apologizing through tears. Then Paisley moves. Emmy calls for backup and an ambulance arrives. She promises she won’t leave Paisley.

Emmy and Cole watch Jude interrogate Walton at the station. He admits to everything, explaining how he, Virgil, and Dale were involved. He and Dale were always at Virgil’s behest because he was a cop and had power. He details Madison’s and Cheyenne’s kidnappings and murders; the account disturbs Emmy. He also used Adam’s identification to cover his own tracks, believing Adam was a genuinely bad person anyway. The men had originally planned to force the girls out of town, but Cheyenne had a video of them abusing the girls. Terrified that the truth would get out, Virgil and Walton murdered the girls.

Afterwards, Emmy sits with Cole and reflects on their relationship and work together. Emmy and Jude discuss their final theories about the case and their surprise over Virgil’s involvement. Jude also reveals that Hannah will be released from prison.

That night, Emmy meets up with Dylan. They share an intimate conversation about Emmy’s emotions. She opens up about her sorrow over Gerald and Myrna, and her regret over what happened with Hannah years prior. They have dinner and get ready for bed.

Later on, Emmy watches her bodycam footage of Gerald’s murder. She realizes that Paul lunged to shoot Gerald and that Hannah intervened and saved her life. Emmy destroys the footage, deciding to keep this secret between her and her friend.

Two days later, Jude sits near Myrna’s bedside, reflecting on her past. After Henry’s death, Jude ran away and got into some trouble. She got pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl, Emmy Lou. Unsure what to do, she took the baby home to her parents’ house. Gerald made a deal that she could leave Emmy with him and Myrna if she left. Emmy grew up believing that Gerald and Myrna were her parents, and has never known that Jude is her biological mother.

Jude visits Aunt Millie and asks her about the past. Millie explains how Gerald and Myrna tricked the town into believing that Emmy was their daughter. She suggests that Jude should consider telling her. Jude isn’t sure what to do because she doesn’t want to further complicate Emmy’s life.

Jude and Emmy meet up and have a long conversation about their pasts. Emmy seems skeptical of Jude’s actual reasons for returning home. They talk about Gerald, too, and his desire to make amends before his death. His dying words to Emmy were to tell her mother he was sorry. Jude realizes he meant her, and not Myrna. Looking into Emmy’s eyes, Jude guesses she understands this, too.