Prized Possessions – As this episode of Murder in a Small Town begins, a woman wakes up Charlie with a point in his face. She asks why he’s doing this to her. Charlie O’Brea (Toby Levins) asks Emma O’Brea (Erica Durance) to put the gun down before it is fired. Six months later, Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland) and Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk) continue working on Karl’s deck. Karl mentions that Holly is coming tomorrow. They talk about the fact that Holly got kicked out of school for smoking pot. Karl admits he hasn’t found the right moment to tell Holly about their relationship. Cassandra is ready to meet her whenever the time is right. She leaves moments later. Later, the charity auction for the art center will begin after dinner. Cassandra hangs out with Emma who says Charlie couldn’t make it.

They talk about Sadie Whitaker (Vic Michaelis) running the Lighthouse Theater. Emma didn’t realize it was still open. Cassandra begins telling the girls about Karl and his deck. She thinks Gibsons needs a community art hub. Emma believes that’s on par with the charitable work she and Charlie support. Cassandra hasn’t named it yet since she’s worried she’ll jinx it. Emma decides to auction off the naming rights for the art hub. Outside, Cassandra laughs at the name they picked, The Wilbur and Ethel Woodcock Center for the Arts. She thanks Emma for helping her get funding. Emma wishes Cassandra and Karl every happiness. She just hopes Karl isn’t a workaholic like Charlie who never leaves the office. When Emma goes inside, she begins screaming. Cassandra rushes into her house to find out what’s going on. Karl arrives and learns it is Charlie.

He asks Emma to leave everything where it is. Karl checks out the crime scene with Andry Kendrick (Fritzy-Klevans Destine) and Edwina Yen (Mya Lowe). They theorize about what might’ve happened. Edwina says the room has no personality. Karl admits the one room Charlie can call his own feels like a showroom. In the bedroom, Karl removes a picture of Emma and Charlie. He finds a bullet hole behind it. Outside, Sid Sokolowski (Aaron Douglas) tells Karl that Emma and Cassandra went to the station. The landline cables have been cut and the security cameras are blacked out. The side door at the back has a window broken. They question why only the office has blood. Karl suspects there were at least two people involved. At the station, Karl gets ready to interview Emma who says Cassandra promises she could trust him. Karl asks about the bullet hole in the bedroom wall.

She claims Charlie had a gun that was accidentally discharged six months ago. She gave the gun to her brother because she didn’t want it in the house. Emma left the bullet hole as a reminder to Charlie. She mentions the items that were stored in the safe including money and passports. They don’t wear jewelry because it is ostentatious. Emma insists they weren’t having difficulties in their marriage. Moments later, Karl wakes up Cassandra and says Emma was taken to her brothers. Cassandra says she only invited Emma together because she was hoping for donations for the art center. They’re not really that close anymore. Cassandra says Emma was sheltered and came from money. She tells Karl about Charlie and the fact that Emma couldn’t have children. Cassandra wasn’t surprised when Charlie skipped last night’s dinner. Emma barges in and hears Edwina and Andy talking about a body.

Later, Isabella Harbud (Savonna Spracklin) says Emma’s brother, Blake Windsor (Jason Gray-Stanford) is out front because he wants to know what type of police force they’re running. Blake comes in and complains about the statements made about Charlie’s disappearance. Karl argues that Emma shouldn’t have been at the scene. Blake reveals that Charlie was anemic so he’s likely dead. He explains that Charlie was employed by the family firm. Blake pleads with him to find Charlie alive or dead because Emma is not built for this uncertainty. He agrees to hand over the gun Emma gave him. Sid is told to check out Blake’s alibi. Karl rushes out so he can pick up Holly. He isn’t happy to learn that Holly (Dakota Guppy) took a ride from a stranger. He gives her an early birthday present, her grandmother’s camera. Karl offers to show her how to develop images at home. Holly isn’t eager to talk about getting kicked out of school.

She just wants to go home. Karl says he’ll find someone to give her a ride. Sid confirms Blake’s alibi checks out. He also believes the gun hasn’t been fired in months. In the morning, Karl offers Holly a ride to school. Cassandra calls Karl to tell him something about Emma. When she ran into Emma, she says Emma seemed different. Emma said Charlie had done something, but she wouldn’t say anything else. Cassandra thought she saw a flicker of rage for a moment. At the station, Karl overhears Andy and Edwina talking about Charlie having another office. He wants the officer at the investment firm searched. They take a computer and a thumb drive with a fingerprint sensor lock. Karl thinks the office seems lived in. He also finds it odd that there are no photos of Emma. Karl finds a picture of Charlie giving blood.  He decides to do the same so he can speak to the nurse in charge.

Karl asks her about Charlie. He notices a picture of Tonya Helgenberger (Brandi Alexander) and remembers her from the photo in Charlie’s office. Karl learns that Tonya has phoned in sick the last couple of days. He theorizes that Charlie threw his blood all over the house to fake his death. He believes Tonya might’ve been an accomplice. Karl wants to see if they can find Tonya and Charlie. Meanwhile, Charlie looks through his photos and tells Tonya it’s not there. He believes he left the drive in the drawer. Tonya suggests the right drive would be in his desk, but Charlie insists they cannot go back. Blake ends up running into Charlie when he’s in his office. Charlie pleads with him not to tell Emma because she’s in danger. Blake asks what he’s really doing there. Charlie can’t do this and can’t feel like a failure all the time. Tonya attacks Blake and prevents him from calling the police.

She tells Charlie that they can’t leave him alive. She gives Charlie a pillow and tells him to smother Blake. Charlie kills him. Edwina tells Karl that forensics managed to get into the USB thumb drive. They find information about investment accounts. It’s all fake. O’Brea has been embezzling from the family business. The oldest account is from six months ago. Karl wants to speak to Blake. They find his body. Edwina suspect Charlie came back for the drive and thought $2 million was worth killing for. Emma receives the news. She learns that Charlie may have killed Blake. Cassandra gets her to talk about the day they bumped into either other. Emma eventually says the gun went off accidentally. She is adamant that Charlie wouldn’t kill Blake. Emma admits to pulling the trigger and causing the hole in the bedroom wall. She explains that Charlie had an affair. Charlie thought they needed a divorce six months ago.

Emma wanted him to understand that you don’t end a marriage because of one mistake. Emma asks them to leave. Karl calls Sid to ask him to get a warrant for access to the GPS tracker in Emma’s car. Cassandra doesn’t know how Karl does that every day. Edwina tells Karl about the fake investment account names. One is linked to a plane at Riverway. Tonya and Charlie are ready to flee to Hawaii. Charlie asks if it bothers her that she killed a man. Tonya claims she stabbed him by accident and Charlie is the one who killed him. Emma approaches Charlie. She tells him he always hated it there because he called it low rent. Charlie asks why she can’t just leave him alone. Emma claims she gave him everything and this is how he repaid her. She pulls out a gun. When Karl arrives, Emma points the gun at Tonya. Karl hears a gunshot. Karl rushes over and tries to stop Emma. She doesn’t shoot anyone.

Tonya and Charlie are arrested. Karl tells Edwina she can do the interviews. Sid tells her that means Karl sees something in her. Karl returns home and tells Holly about his day. He says everyone wants to run away sometimes. He might’ve done that, but he insists he didn’t run away from her. Holly asks if he was ever going to tell her about Cassandra. She accuses him of abandoning them for her. Karl insists that wasn’t the case. Holly questions whether he even wants her there. Karl knows he messed up. He apologizes. They agree to call it even as long as Holly tells her mother that Karl grounded her. Karl says he wants her to meet someone. They join Cassandra moments later.

 

Murder In A Small Town Review

The fourth episode of Murder in a Small Town was okay although a bit more farfetched than some of the others. There were too many twists along the way that ended up making the story unbelievable. Once again, the show is really all about the dialogue instead of showing us the investigation.

It would’ve been neat to see how the forensics team got past the fingerprint sensor. I am not even sure they were shown collecting blood or other evidence from the scene. That bit was quickly skimmed over. The series would be a lot better if it would find ways to separate itself from other shows of the genre.

Instead, it’s really more of a soap opera than an actual crime drama. That’s not really surprising though since most shows fit that description. Some of the performances in this episode were pretty weak from the side characters. Nevertheless, Murder in a Small Town is entirely watchable with the right expectations.

This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Murder in a Small Town can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.