RJ Decker episode 2 kicks off with a spine-tingling find. A young boy watering Venus flytraps is interrupted by police responding to a report of suspicious activity. A routine search soon takes a turn for the worse as officers discover a dismembered body and a bag of human remains.
The next day RJ catches up with Darius to mentor him. But their session is cut short when Catherine reveals she’s found the cabinet keys. RJ also shares a story about meeting Wish, who soon hires him to help out Marcus, the son of one of his old cellmates.
RJ goes to prison to hear the other side of Marcus’ story. Marcus says Clem Crayshaw hired him to care for Venus flytrap plants. There’s a room full of body parts, but he says he never knew about it because it was always locked. Marcus thought he was feeding the plants mealworms and only called Clem when supplies ran low. Now he suspects Clem might have killed a John Doe and used the plants to dispose of the body. Marcus, desperate to get back to his pregnant girlfriend Kelly-Lynn, begs RJ to find Clem.
RJ tries to get more information at the police station but Mel refuses to help as the case is not hers. Meanwhile, Wish visits Kelly-Lynn and tells her about Waylon’s history. RJ has the opposite luck, finding Clem’s ex-wife, who provides information on Clem that could identify him, such as tattoos on his body.
Later RJ speculates that the unknown victim could be Clem himself, making proving Marcus’s innocence even more difficult. Wish begs RJ to check Marcus’ Snapchat messages, sure that Marcus isn’t the one behind the deed.
RJ continues to dig, and turns to Emilia for help getting info from the DEA and police. At the same time, Kelly-Lynn shows a more manipulative side, admitting to lying about being pregnant to pressure Marcus into making money.
The investigation leads RJ to Gary, a florist who occasionally worked with Clem but who doesn’t have a lot of useful information. Finally Emilia is able to confirm that the victim was indeed Clem and that he had a history with his brother-in-law, Brody.
RJ shows up at a strip club where he finds Brody, and learns more about Clem’s involvement with a company called Venusian Health. Clem thought the company’s products could cure cancer and he tried to get Brody’s wife, Lacey, to use them. After Lacey’s death, Clem started to question the company and tried to expose it.
With Catherine’s help, RJ lands an interview with Remington, the CEO of Venusian Health. The conversation quickly becomes tense as Remington becomes defensive when questioned about suspicious activities and possible falsified reports.
As the case progresses Marcus is ready to take a plea deal believing he has no other options. But RJ suddenly remembers an important detail about the exact amount of food the plants need. He realizes that part of Clem’s body is still missing.
RJ calls the police, and they show up at Remington. Teeth and a bullet fragment found in the company’s drainage system confirm that Remington was involved in Clem’s murder. Finally Marcus is cleared and released.
In the fallout, Wish encourages Kelly-Lynn to leave town, thinking she is not the right girl for Marcus. Emilia makes a brief appearance at Marcus’s celebration but expresses concerns over the complications that her relationship with RJ might cause. RJ still does not know what the future holds and he admits he does not have all the answers.
Episode Summary
This episode is very graphic so it may not be to everyone’s taste but it is still a quick and entertaining story. The series continues to be a loud proponent of itself as part of the police procedural genre.
That said there are some things that are a stretch. RJ’s access to police resources and involvement in sensitive investigations does raise the question of realism. His development into a competent investigator is intriguing, but the series might benefit from rendering these progressions more plausible.