Tracker Episode 5: “St. Louis” Recap With Spoilers

CBS’s Sunday night hit Tracker returned this week with its fifth episode, “St. Louis”. taking Justin Hartley’s Colter to the Gateway City on a case that’s a little outside his normal work — and one that leaves a man’s freedom in the balance if a mysterious witness can’t be found. Here’s everything that happened in this week’s episode. WARNING: This article contains full spoilers for Tracker’s latest episode! Continue reading at your own risk…

Colter is headed to South Dakota when he gets the call that there’s a job for him in St. Louis. He’s being hired by a 16-year-old who is looking for a missing witness in her father’s criminal case. Colter changes his plans and heads to St. Louis to meet with the girl. Once there, she meets with the Porters — but Deborah, the wife, is worried that they won’t find anything. The daughter, Stephanie, still has faith and tells him about an anonymous message. She says it is the only chance to save her father’s life and prove he didn’t kill anyone. He agrees to take the job.

Colter starts looking into things, but even Reenie thinks Clay Porter is guilty. Colter admits the probability he’s innocent is low but she realizes that this is personal for Colter. Reenie reluctantly admits that she’s in. Colter meets with Clay and asks him about what happened between him and the victim, Avery, his business partner. Clay tells him his side — that he found Avery running an illegal poker game in a house they were supposed to being a job on and he was mad, but he didn’t kill him. He says that Avery had always been involved in shady things but he and Avery talked it out and he went home with Avery still alive.

Teddi and Velma do some digging on the anonymous message trying to track it and the directions sound a bit like getting into a clandestine poker game. Colter manages to get himself in. A high stakes game ensues but as it progresses and just before things get really interesting, the authorities show up and arrest everyone. Reenie bails him out and she explains his strategy trying to figure out if one of them is the mystery witness. He approaches one of the players, a woman, who gets very serious when Colter asks her about things. It is indeed her, she’s the mystery informant. She says she doesn’t want to get involved, but she tells him who the witness is, a woman named Mallory who saw the murder go down — and the murder got a look at her so she fears for her life.

Colter, this time with Reenie, goes back to the prison to speak with Clay. Turns out that Mallory was Avery’s girlfriend. Clay says he only met her once and she drove a Dodge Challenger but that’s all he really knows about her. Teddi and Velma track Mallory down via her car and it turns out that she disappeared and went on the run. Mallory sold the car outside of Kansas City so Colter is on the move, too. Meanwhile, in prison, Clay is attacked.

Colter visits Clay in the hospital. He updates his wife on the search for the witness. She says that what happened to Clay in the prison is because of the investigation and she begs him to find the witness because it’s the only way to protect him now. Reenie pays Clay’s lawyer a visit and he doesn’t really seem all that interested in helping Clay — or rather he’s overwhelmed as a public defender. Turns out he knows about the witness in Kansas City because the daughter told him what Colter found but he’s not willing to follow up on it because he doesn’t believe in his client’s innocence at all.

Colter heads to Kansas City and goes to where Mallory sold her car. The guy clams up when Colter asks about things so he shoves him into a car and goes and takes the information he needs, getting Mallory’s address. Reenie tells Colter about what happened with the other lawyer and she tells him that she has a bad feeling about things. Colter finds Mallory but when he goes to talk to her, someone comes from behind and hits him in the head.

Colter wakes up tied to a chair being questioned by Mallory and the man who hit him. He tells her about the anonymous tips sent to Clay’s daughter. Mallory tells Colter that Cesar Ashford killed Avery and that’s who she’s afraid of. She tells Colter what she witnessed and how Avery died. Colter says he thinks that Cesar is on his way to Kansas City to kill her now so the man, Uncle Max, unties him and they start to come up with what to do next. Colter says he’s not going to let Cesar kill her.  Colter informs Teddi and Velma and Cesar is a very bad dude.

It’s back to St. Louis, but on the way, Cesar shows up. Colter gets proactive and shoots at his car, disabling it before taking off. Reenie lets him know that it turns out that Clay’s attorney is actually working with Cesar but as she’s talking to Colter, the attorney attacks Reenie. The lawyer calls Colter on Reenie’s phone and wants to trade Reenie for Mallory and gives him an address for where to make the trade. Colter realizes that the corrupt lawyer is tracking his phone and Colter is going to go to the location — he asks Mallory to trust him.

The lawyer tells Reenie that he initially thought Clay was guilty and then he realized differently, but then Cesar bribed him. Cesar shows up as well and tells Reenie he’s going to kill her no matter what. Cesar and the lawyer realizes that they’re there and Colter executes his plan. They put Colter’s phone in one place, Mallory hides, and Cesar is exposes. But Mallory accidentally makes a noise exposing herself and Cesar shoots at her. A chase ensues. Reenie frees herself and Colter goes after Cesar and Mallory. Colter jumps Cesar. They fight, but Cesar ends up going over the roof. It’s over.

Clay recovers in the hospital. A new lawyer files to have Clay’s conviction overturned based on Mallory’s testimony. Mallory gets a new name, new location, and new life. Colter heads back out on the road.