Murder in Small Town X: Finale, Part 1

The season finale of Murder in Small Town X begins with 8 suspects and 4 investigators remaining. How these numbers were to be whittled down was a question only the show's producers knew the answers to, but that didn't stop the endless speculation on the web. On this site alone, two writers described some truly imaginative theories about the happenings in this small New England town, and last week I put in my two cents as well. In these final two episodes, all was promised to be revealed, but in the end perhaps more doors were left opened than closed. You be the judge.

Part one of the season finale opens with Prudence Connor towing General DeBeck's wrecked town car up to her garage. As she begins to beat it with a crowbar, Fredo explains to the team at Headquarters that blood and brain tissue were indeed found at the scene of DeBeck's car accident. He can thus be crossed off the board (so much for any resurrection theories). Jeff then realizes that DeBeck's murder must be the reason that there are no more sweepers left in town. It seems that Mind Science was held together almost entirely by the will of Hayden DeBeck alone. Continuing with his briefing, Fredo tells the team that Rev. Rusty was in fact the one driving DeBeck when the accident occurred. Since he is now missing, it will be the team's job to find him.

As the day begins, Fredo informs the team of a minor rule change. The lifeguard must now go out on the tracks with the investigators. The lifeguard will still be immune from going out on the black envelope missions, however, and will retain all of the coordinational duties he (or she) has been responsible for in previous episodes. That being said, Fredo now plays Kristen's video will. It comes as no surprise that Kristen has selected Angel as the lifeguard, especially after Angel admits (to us, not the other players) that he promised to vote Jeff out until he died. With that pleasantry out of the way, Jeff now gets to tell the group about the killer clue, in this case, a flaming sword with the letters OSL emblazoned across it. Also, a piece of paper was found confirming that the symbol is indeed some type of coat of arms. Fredo now tells the team that they will ask Mayor Bowden about the symbol, even though they questioned C.R. Flint the last time they needed help from a town elder. (We'll see later that C.R. probably would have been a little reluctant to reveal much on this particular topic. Convenient.)

Track 1: Killer Clue Team

1. Talk to Mayor
2. Find out about the OSL logo

The second team will be investigating the murder of Hayden DeBeck.

Track 2: DeBeck Murder Team

1. Search DeBeck's limo
2. Find and question Rev. Rusty Crandall

As Track 1 begins we see that it is Angel and Jeff who will be questioning the mayor. That leaves Alan and Katie to look into DeBeck's murder. When Angel and Jeff ask Bowden about the OSL, he immediately begins to look fearful. He tells the team that they're scaring him now. The mayor then explains: a man from his childhood had a tattoo with the letters OSL on his arm. This man committed many violent crimes and was in fact placed in an institute for the criminally insane in New Hampshire. When he was released he became the caretaker for the very building in which he had been incarcerated. His name is Orlando Wist. The two return and tell Katie what they have discovered. The phone then rings, and Fredo tells Angel and Jeff that he has arranged a flight for them to New Hampshire to meet with Mr. Wist. We see the two taking off as Katie and Alan head to Connor's garage.

Track 2 now focuses on Alan's efforts to dismantle DeBeck's car in any way possible. In a separate interview he admits that Connor could have killed DeBeck in order to keep the money she blackmailed from Nate, but it seems clear (to the viewer if not to Alan) that she has little motive for the other murders. As Alan tears the car apart, Connor tells Katie that she could have cared less whether DeBeck lived or died. Alan then winds down, admitting that he had found all of what he was looking for: a .357 casing.

Track 1, meanwhile, has changed its venue to New Hampshire. There, Angel and Jeff meet one Ernest Talman, a representative of the bank which owns the deed to the now defunct mental institution. In front of the most obvious product placement I have yet seen in reality TV (and, yes, I do watch Survivor), a banner advertisement for Taco Bell, the two introduce themselves to Mr. Talman. After this brief introduction the group gets a hankering' for some chicken burritos and are thus compelled to take us inside. (And I'm sorry, but the Taco Bell just doesn't work as an establishing shot.) After having their meal given to them in a courteous and sensitive fashion (by a woman who looks to have come from the Vaseline school of beauty pageant smiles), the three sit down to talk in earnest (or to Ernest as the case may be). In the course of the discussion (although barely audible over the din of happy Taco Bell customers), Talman tells the duo that Mr. Wist is an eccentric fellow who apparently is fairly protective of his "home," the institution. In order to bargain with him, Talman provides the duo with a bottle of liquor which will hopefully assuage him of any desire to cause harm.

Back on Track 2, Alan and Katie have begun to search for Reverend Rusty. Since the Reverend was last seen driving the General through the darkened streets of Sunrise, the two decide to head to DeBeck's compound to see if Rusty has returned there. Once at the compound, the team is escorted by a sad looking Mary Elizabeth Merchant. Alan and Katie can do nothing but follow as they observe the havoc that has followed the General's death. The compound is in a shambles and the sweepers are out of control. The Mind Science cult is all but finished. As Mary Elizabeth escorts the pair into the logic tower, we see Rev. Rusty kneeling on the ground. When the team approaches him, he asks them if they have a message for him. When they say they do not, Rusty yells at Mary Elizabeth, shouting to her to leave him alone. Then the reverend tells the team about his vision. We see cuts of the roll-over accident the night before as Rusty describes the events therein with a definite religious bent. The light that pushed him from the road, he claims, was the blinding light of his faith returning to him. When he regained consciousness, the water dripping on him from above was his baptism. He has regained his faith. Thus when he sees a figure hovering over Gen. DeBeck he calls it an angel, and the bangstick which killed him is the angel striking him down with a brilliant flash. Upset by this clear case of insanity, both the team and Mary Elizabeth quickly leave the compound. The good reverend has survived but he just might provide more questions then answers.

In New Hampshire, Jeff and Angel enter the dilapidated mental institution. Jeff admits that it is the kind of place that is still spooky even in broad daylight. As the two explore the basement they become aware of a figure peeking out at them from behind a support column. Jeff offers their contact the liquor he was given and the questioning begins. Mr. Wist tells the team that OSL stands for the Order of the Scarlet Lupin. This was an organization in the 1930's and 40's which was comprised of almost every important player in the town of Sunrise. They had the power to control the town completely, going so far as to expel those who were not needed. (Expelling...whom do we know that was thrown out of town?) After Wist tells the team the meaning of OSL he ushers them from his "home." Jeff, however, will have none of it. He's flown too far to leave now, and he insists that they ask him more about this secret order. Angel finally relents and the two go back to Mr. Wist and ask him about the flowers they have found at every killer clue. Wist then tells them that these flowers were a sign of the Scarlet Order and that they were all over their meeting hall. He then tells the team of the meeting hall's location. It seems that Jeff has proved to be useful after all. At least for now.

Some time passes and night falls on the town of Sunrise. In the First Church of Sunrise the reborn Rev. Rusty Crandall is telling his congregation of the evil which he has endured. He tells them that he sits on the right hand of God just as he had once sat at the right hand of DeBeck. God sent his angel to smite DeBeck, though, when the General began to think that he was God. The murders are God's work. He concludes his manic ramblings by claming the Flint murders as his own. The good reverend wants the whole town to know that he is the Sunrise Killer. That, as they say, is that.

The next day, Fredo tells the team of the reverend's recent bout with hysteria, and his imprisonment by the upright Dudley Duncan. Then Angel recaps his group's findings, explaining to the team that they now have the address of the OSL's headquarters. Its investigation will be team 1's primary goal.

Track 1: Killer Clue Team

1. Investigate OSL headquarters and membership
2. Investigate abandoned truck (with the abandoned truck being the one which was run off the road in the previous episode)

Track 2, meanwhile, will interrogate Rusty about the murders themselves. Fredo reminds the team that there are certain characteristics in each of the murders that only the killer would know. The team can use this to determine whether the reverend is telling the truth.

Track 2: DeBeck Murder Team

• Interrogate Rev. Rusty Crandall

When Katie and Alan arrive at the police station on Track 2, Duncan informs them that only one will be allowed to question Rusty at a time. The other will wait outside and communicate with the questioning investigator through an earpiece. Alan elects to do the interrogating while Katie listens in. At first Alan focuses on keeping the reverend calm. The two talk about the churches they grew up in and the importance that upbringing has had on their lives. Rev. Rusty then tells Alan that, "Justice will bring joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers." It's a quote from the Book of Proverbs.

As team 1 approaches the address they've been given, we hear Fredo explaining that the team has been given expert training in the art of "entry techniques" (A.K.A. breaking and entering). As Angel methodically opens the locks of the building in question, Jeff becomes more and more impatient. Finally when Angel is momentarily stopped by a deadbolt on the inside door of the building, Jeff decides that enough is enough. He violently tears the door from it's frame and begins to look very much like he did during his "raid" of DeBeck's compound on the previous black envelope mission. Angel tells the camera that he thinks the stress of the investigation is getting to Jeff. The two, however, are immediately calm as they size up the room in which they now find themselves. It is a dusty barren meeting hall, which looks as if it hasn't been used in decades. Angel says it reminds him of a courtroom, but whatever it is it hasn't been used in a very long time.

In the interrogation chamber, Alan has finally begun to ask Rusty about the specifics of each of the murders. The reverend is all too willing to oblige as he regales the team with tales of his shaving of Leita Rose-Blodgett. Unfortunately when he gets to describing the murders themselves he very clearly has no idea. He tells the team that he murdered Leita with a phone cord, Thibodeaux with a shovel, and Abby Flint with a knife. The reverend definitely knows some things about the crimes but not how the murders themselves were perpetrated. On the other side of Sunrise, Jeff and Angel have discovered a tape of the final meeting of the OSL. They quickly snatch it and the recorder which they believe can play it. Dudley, meanwhile, has no choice but to release the reverend, telling the team that it's not illegal to be crazy.

Incidentally, there has been some grumbling about how Rusty could have known the things he knew if he was not the killer. It seems to me that the answering machine tape he received contained all the information anyone would need regarding the shaving of Leita, and the other facts were relatively common knowledge. Thus while Rusty cannot be eliminated just yet, he certainly cannot be held as the killer on just the information he provided.

Next, Angel and Jeff must follow up on the truck which crashed as it was being pursued from the Trekker's Motor Lodge. The driver of this truck had allegedly stolen some things from the room in which the burnt man had been staying in 1971. Since the truck crashed, those things are now all over the road. It's Angel and Jeff's job to try and recover these items. When Angel and Jeff first look into the blue pick-up they find a 16mm camera and infrared tape (the only thing more obvious would have been a neon sign: Killer Was Here). As the two backtrack along the road, they see a portrait way out in the woods. When Jeff goes to recover it he notices that the backing has been torn. Inside he finds a black envelope. Only this time it's not a mission to retrieve the killer clue. Instead it is an old black and white photo of a family standing around a dinner table. The youngest is circled. On the back is an inscription: Duchamps, 1940.

Back at headquarters, all four of the investigators are looking over the old photo when they hear a ring at the door. It's Mary Elizabeth come to tell them that she can't believe they have let the reverend loose upon the town. Apparently she's staying with C.R. at the Flint house and she believes that they are both in danger. She then asks Katie and Alan to come spend the night at the Flint house in order to protect them. The two willingly agree and are soon sent packing. When the two arrive, they are informed that Mary Elizabeth would like to give them a fashion show in C.R.'s room. As the two sit down and watch Mary Elizabeth come in and out, Alan begins to believe that Mary is in fact trying on all of Abby's old clothes. When C.R. tells Abby (speaking to Mary) how beautiful she is, Alan becomes more than a little creeped out.

As Alan goes out to survey the perimeter from his stakeout point in the taxi, the girls get down to some serious gossip. When Alan tries to call Katie on her walkie-talkie, he becomes alarmed when there is no response. The girls meanwhile have begun to discuss Alan's chest and how adorable he is. When he enters the room to tell Katie to turn on her walkie-talkie, the giggles ensue. A short time later, we see through the green-tinted eyes of the infrared killer-cam. He is working his way through the streets and past Alan. Upstairs, C.R. has begun to convulse and Mary Elizabeth rushes to get his medicine. From outside Alan hears a bangstick blast, and he and Katie immediately begin to search for Mary Elizabeth. When they can't find her they tell Angel to send Dudley and the police. It's only then that Katie notices that the backdoor she has been checking is surrounded by a pool of blood. A .357 bullet casing lies in its depth. When Dudley arrives he wastes no time in telling the investigators they're doing a bad job. Fredo later tells them that Dudley is more than a little stressed out about the exponential increase in the number of homicides in his small town.

The next day, Fredo tells the team that the experts have matched the pool of blood to Mary Elizabeth Merchant. She is no longer alive. When he presses Alan and Katie about the reverend, they admit that they can neither confirm nor deny that he is in fact the killer. Angel then recaps about his group's findings. Fredo confirms that the film they found in the truck was most probably the killer's. The Duchamps photo is then officially entered into evidence. Jeff posits that the burnt man is in fact the youngest Duchamps. Angel admits that there must be a connection between the Duchamps, burnt man, and OSL, but that they don't yet have the glue to put it all together.

Fredo then informs the team that Sam Larabee has discovered this week's set of envelopes. This week's red envelope question: What Bible chapter is, "Justice will bring joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers." The team isn't stupid. They grab a Bible and start looking. Eventually Alan discovers the verse in chapter 21 of the Book of Proverbs. The answer is correct and Emerson Bowden is eliminated from contention. Next comes the black envelope vote. With only three people voting, the decisions of each become ever more strategic. The producers try to emphasize this by not actually showing the vote for a much longer time than in other episodes. As Alan wrestles with his decision, it is quite evident that both Katie and Jeff have voted for each other. Thus when Fredo shows the group that Katie has been voted out, it becomes quite clear that Alan is voting as strategically as ever. If he had voted for Jeff, Angel almost certainly would have sent him out, so his best option was to vote for Katie and let Angel choose Jeff. Nevertheless, when Katie gets in the booth to read her final statements she is utterly surprised by Alan's voting her out. Alan has almost certainly lost what could have been a position at lifeguard from Katie, but since he knew that Katie would never go out without his vote he had no other choice.

The two leave in relatively cheerful spirits, Katie to Sunrise High, and Jeff to the Kingfisher Cannery. X-Ray reminds Katie that she is the only girl left, while Moe wishes Jeff the best of luck. When Jeff arrives at the cannery he continues his tradition of kicking random objects and pretty much behaving like a hooligan. Katie on the other hand searches through the girl's locker room with much trepidation (as many a mischievous teenage boy has done before her). At Headquarters, Angel is engaged in some not-so-silent prayer, hoping against hope that "his little girl" can find away home. Alas, Katie's return is not to be. Godzilla has found the killer clue, in this case a vault marked by the OSL logo, and bashes away at it until he is convinced that no killer lurks inside. Katie, meanwhile, has found a fake clue. With a scream and flash her dreams and being are shattered. Such is the way of reality TV. As Jeff proclaims that it is a good night for dying, just not for him, Angel tells Fredo why he doesn't want Jeff to come back (as if he needed to explain himself). When Jeff bounds up those stairs wrapped in his bubble of machismo, all Angel can do is put his head in his hands and lament the loss of his "little girl."

As the show closes we get to see what a tight knit group the remaining three has become. Jeff is quick to criticize Angel for "his personality," and the night ends with Angel basically stepping up and saying "you talkin' to me." As the night wears on we are left wondering what the second half of the finale might hold. Does Rusty really know more than he's letting on? What relationship is the burnt man to the Duchamps? Is the killer in some way related to the burnt man? All of these questions have been answered in some way or another by the writers of both this and other sites. But almost all of their theories are in for a rude awakening as the curtain rises on the final chapter of Murder in Small Town X.

To be concluded...

Richard Hoeg is an Economics major at Hillsdale College and very thankful that he won't have to propose to his girlfriend on an imac in the Outback with Jeff Probst breathing down his neck.

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