Trama

A man living in an open marriage is abducted during a date with another partner.

After a prominent Algonquin Bay politician, Sheila Gagne, reports her prosecutor husband missing, Cardinal and Delorme quickly discover that the man has been abducted. A botched extortion attempt results in the death of their only suspect in the case, but they can't find a connection between the victims. Whoever has taken Sheila Gagne's husband sends her a video of him begging for his life but doesn't ask for ransom. Delorme tells Cardinal that she's taking a job in Toronto, and they both struggle with the idea of parting ways.

While John Cardinal moved out of his and his late wife's home to a city apartment, bugged by their daughter Kelly, his deputy accepted a Toronto job after their latest case. Algonquin Bay MP Sheila Gagne paid a ransom behind the police's back for her earlier missing-reported husband, integer prosecutor Robert Quillen. The couple discretely had an 'open marriage', and Robert was abducted from his love nest, but the ransom demand proves fake, the abductor's demand for a public love declaration only leads to his 'release' as a corpse, frozen and bled to death trying to pull the log he was tied to in a snowy plain. The clumsy fake ransom claimant Wade Kleiss is daringly eliminated by the elusive real kidnapper, knocking unconscious the accompanying junior detective.—KGF Vissers

S4 E1

John Cardinal video chats to his daughter as he settles into a new apartment. Lise Deslormes takes a personal call, stepping outside. Cardinal drives up and says they have a case.

Jerry Commanda introduces them to Sheila Gagne, wife of Robert Quillen and missing since yesterday morning. Jerry is a friend but as a Provincial cop doesn't have jurisdiction here. The couple have an open marriage, he had a date. DesLormes asks more questions, Sheila admits she takes anxiety meds.

They go to a resort hotel and enter Quillen's room; his wallet, phone and shoes are still there. A white feather is on the dresser. Cardinal suspects he was dragged out from the tracks in the snow. The Forensics team takes over the site. They have an ID on the man's date, she comes to the Station.

Abby Harris is upset. She left the hotel at 1:30 am after sex. The feather is a mystery. Cardinal and Deslormes are called away to Gagne. She had received a kidnapper's call requesting a ransom. Gagne went to the drop site and left a bag of money with her old cell phone hidden inside.

A man takes a hockey bag to a pickup, the police arrive at his street , order him out at gunpoint. The man denies knowing Quillen even as Deslormes finds the cell phone. A young Detective is told to take the prisoner to the Station.

Someone listens to the police radio traffic then drives away. As the Detective goes to take the prisoner out of the back seat a figure approaches from behind, knocking the cop unconscious. The assailant then stabs and kills the backseat prisoner, and walks away tossing the knife in a dumpster.

In the car, DesLormes tells Cardinal she heard back from her friend in Toronto about the job, he congratulates her, they arrive at the Station and see the crime scene in the parking lot.

Commanda tells Gagne what happened. Another call comes in from the kidnapper.

The assaulted cop is interviewed by Deslormes and Staff Sergeant Noelle Dyson. He thinks the two men know each other from brief words he heard. Cardinal sees the killer kept his face hidden from CCTV. Maybe two partners in crime had a falling out. Sheila Gagne and Commanda arrive, Sheila wants to make a public announcement. Jerry has permission to be involved in the case and Sheila trusts him. SSgt Dyson meets with Gagne, saying her two best are on the case. Gagne steadies herself in the washroom, then makes a televised announcement pleading for her husband. A watcher records the TV broadcast and replays it. Commanda brings Gagne back to her home. The OPD detective will wait outside until a guard unit arrives.

Sheila has a drink, the gets an email. She sees a video of her husband pleading for his life.

Deslormes and Cardinal wonder about the connection between the dead kidnapper and Quillen, there wasn't one in the case files. She invites Cardinal in to her house but they both get a call before going any further.

The cops watch the email video. They discuss the details of the scene and the possible cell phone and email leads. Cardinal notices tree stumps in the background. In the morning Commanda's OPD flies a drone and other cops search on snowmobiles for a logging site.

The dead man, Wade Kleiss, seems to be a paid accomplice for a prison buddy, explaining why he had more cash than Gagne gave him. The cops are then called to a logging site, as they arrive Jerry is just leaving, to let Sheila know. A man is dead, with no coat and frozen on his knees, wired to a log. The cops wonder why the killer did it this way, it seems to be a cruel and personal way to have Quillen suffer. Commanda tells Gagne the bad news.

The killer sits in his van and watches a man shovel his driveway, he recalls the previous night when he dropped Quillen off at the logging site, fully clothed and alive. Deslormes leaves Cardinal alone as he inspects the Quillen murder scene.