- A haunted Josiah is the prime suspect in a string of grisly murders, and Nathan has mixed emotions when Rain announces that she's about to marry.
- A Pinkerton detective, Cyrus Poplar, arrives in Four Corners looking for a serial killer. Josiah acts suspiciously, and all the evidence points to him. Cyrus soon suspects that Josiah is guilty, as do the rest of the Seven.Meanwhile, Rain travels to town to tell Nathan that her village has picked a husband for her.—Gislef
- The McCormick Brothers Traveling Competition rolls into Four Corners, and the Barker invites anyone to compete and win a new Winchester rifle. The Seven come out to watch them, and J.D. and Buck joke about which of them will win. Josiah rides up, hitches his horse, and J.D. points out that they haven't seen him around recently. Ignoring him and the others, Josiah goes into the saloon. Nathan says that something must have happened in Vista City, where Josiah said he was going to.
That night, a drunken Josiah comes out of the saloon talking about hellfire and death. He falls over and hits his head, and sees two men confronting a woman, Miss Irene Dunlap, on the boardwalk. She tries to pass and they grab her, and Josiah comes over, shoves one down to the street, and draws his knife and puts it to the other man's neck. He tells the man that he owes Irene an apology, and Mary look out from her office door and sees the confrontation.
Josiah shoves his prisoner away, and offers to take Irene home. Shocked, Irene walks away and Mary goes back inside. Josiah staggers off down an alleyway, and Irene continues on her way. As she goes into her apartment, someone grabs her from behind and cuts her throat with a knife.
The next morning, Chris rides into town and finds a crowd gathered around Irene's body. He goes over and Nathan identifies Irene as a seamstress living in town. Mary comes over, and Ezra examining the body confirms that the killer placed silver dollars over Irene's eyes and the coins are dated six years old. Cyrus Poplar rides up and immediately tells everyone not to touch anything and clear the crime scene. He rattles off a description of Irene being unmarried and runs her own business, and says that he's been hunting the killer for two years and traced his every move.
Cyrus shows Chris his paper identifying him as a Pinkerton detective. He says that it's the seventh murder, and there'll be an eighth if he doesn't catch the killer because his pattern has been to kill two girls in close proximity. Ezra brings the undertaker, who takes the body away. Meanwhile, Cyrus tells Mary that he recently came from Greeley where the killer struck, and the detective almost had him. Cyrus has deduced that the killer is heading due south with the railroad, and has never seen him. He recommends that they set a patrol, and Mary says that she saw the McCormick brothers harassing Irene the previous night and Josiah was there.
Mary directs Cyrus to the church, and the detective, Chris, and Vin go there. A hungover Josiah is sleeping in a pew, and Cyrus relates what Mary told him and that Irene was murder. Cyrus notes that Josiah has an injury on his head, and asks if he can account for his whereabouts. Josiah says that he was with Irene, and offers to walk her home. He's apparently shocked that Irene is dead, and mutters "God forgive me."
At the undertaker's, Ezra and Nathan look on at the body. Nathan says the killer had large hands, is strong, used a sharp knife, and is possibly left-handed. Cyrus comes in, is impressed with Nathan's expertise, and checks the body for bruises. Rain from the Seminole village comes in, sees the body, and leaves in nausea.
Nathan goes after Rain, and she admits that it's been a long time. As Nathan starts to say that he was going to come up to see her at the village, the Barker starts his spiel again. Rain asks Nathan if that he's prefer to life, with all the activity going on, and Rain suggests that he think about it. She says that her village has found a man for her to marry. Meanwhile, the Barker invites anybody to race against Pace McCormack to win the Winchester.
Buck comes out as J.D. returns from telling Irene's parents what happened to their daughter. He goes in to the saloon when Buck offers to buy him a beer, and Sledge McCormick ropes Buck's hat off with his lasso and says that it doesn't look like he thinks he has what it takes to race. Buck takes a lasso and ropes Slade, who isn't impressed. When Sledge challenges him, Buck says that he wasn't going to race out of respect for the dead, but Sledge needs a lesson. He goes over and signs up for the race, as does J.D. J.D. says that Buck won't be the problem, but he will be.
Vin and Josiah leave the church, and Vin tells Josiah that climbing back into the bottle won't make the problem go away. Cyrus comes over and says that he has more questions for Josiah. When Josiah refuses to talk, Vin suggests that Cyrus talk to the members of the traveling show, and that Josiah has watched his back in gunfights. Cyrus isn't impressed, saying that he promised the girls he'd bring their killer to justice.
That night, Nathan finds Rain on the balcony of his office. She says that all she wants is to know more about Nathan. Nathan says that talking about himself doesn't come easy to him, and Rain jokingly says that she didn't know that about him. He suggests that she get some sleep in his office while he goes out to patrol, and he'll sleep in a haystack. Rain says that she'd feel better is he slept on a bedroll in his office with her, and Nathan agrees and says that he won't let anything happen to her.
Chris finds Vin and tells him that Sledge harassed Irene and that they should go out to the show's camp and talk to Sledge. Vin agrees, and Christ tells him that he hasn't been able to keep Josiah from drinking. Chris suggests to Vin that it's hard to be impartial when it's one of them, and Vin warns that letting Cyrus have free rein to investigate could hurt Josiah. Vin remains silent when Chris asks how well he really knows Josiah.
Mary comes out of her office and walks home. A man with a knife grabs her and tries to pull her into an alleyway, and Mary breaks free and runs off. Chris and Vin see her, and she tells them what happened. The Seven and Cyrus come out, and J.D. goes to get Billy. The others go to the alleyway but there's no one there. The killer dropped his knife, and Chris identifies it as Josiah's.
Cyrus confronts Josiah in the saloon, and Josiah says that he didn't even know it had gone missing. Mary is there, and tells Cyrus that Josiah would never attack her. Vin advises Josiah to talk freely, but Josiah just quotes scripture and drinks. Cyrus tells Josiah that silver dollars won't buy him penance, and points out that Josiah just got back from Vista City. Greeley is between there and Four Corners, and he found two dead girls in Greeley. Cyrus yells at Josiah to tell him what he'll find in Vista City.
Josiah goes for his knife, and Chris and Vin hold him back. The ex-preacher yells at Cyrus that he'll be his sacrificial lamb, and says that his sins are between him and his God. He storms out with Vin following him, and Chris stops Cyrus from going after him. Cyrus says that Josiah belongs in jail and he has the authority to arrest him, but Chris says that he won't in his town.
Nathan goes into the room where Rian is sleeping, and assures her that it's just him. She tells Nathan that she can't stay there too long, and he says that he's never stopped thinking about her. Rain says that he should do something and they kiss.
The next day, the race goes through Main Street, Buck versus Pace. Pace wins, and Buck notices that Ezra bet against him. Buck isn't thrilled, and complains that his horse fell asleep on him. Pace rides up and says that Buck can't blame his loss on anyone but himself, and Ezra says that the horse was fed laudanum. Buck confirms Ezra's diagnosis and notes that Ezra knew it and didn't say anything so he could win the bet. Ezra offers to share his winnings, and Buck demands all of it. The gambler has no choice but to hand it over, and Buck goes to beat up Pace. Ezra secretly reveals that he pocketed some of the money and suggests that Buck use the same trick on Pace.
Cyrus goes to the church, and Nathan says that Josiah is sick and can't answer the detective's questions. A Chris and Vin ride up, Josiah comes out of the church and invites Cyrus in to search the place. Cyrus goes in and Josiah angrily turns over the furniture to "help" Cyrus. The detective finds a bag of silver dollars, and Chris has no choice but to arrest Josiah. Josiah prays to God, saying that atonement is finally at hand.
Later, Chris, Vin, and Nathan discuss Josiah. Chris observes that Josiah is acting like a guilty man and going to get himself hung. Vin rides off to Vista City to see what he can find, while Chris, Nathan, and J.D. ride to the camp. Chris finds Pace eating, and tells him that he's looking for Sledge. Pace tells him that his brother isn't a killer, but Chris insists on looking around. J.D. spots Pace running and the other show workers try to stop the trio. J.D. draws his guns and cover them, while Chris grabs Pace. Pace insists that he's innocent, and he hurt his leg when he fell of a bronc a month ago. Nathan checks his injury and confirms that Pace's injury is real, and that he couldn't have chased down Irene and Mary.
Chris demands to know why Pace ran if he's innocent, and Pace says that he figured they'd blame him. He admits that he's done some bad things, but he didn't kill any women. Chris asks if Pace's last performance was in Greeley where the other two women were killed. A man watches from his tent, then puts on his wig and dress so he can act as the show's showgirl.
Vin rides into Vista City and goes to the convent there. He asks the nun working there about Josiah, and she initially denies any man was there. Vin says that Josiah is in trouble, but she says nothing further. A local boy watches from nearby, and Vin speaks to him in Spanish and pays him for information. The boy leads Vin away.
Chris tells Nathan and J.D. that Pace didn't do it, and he's just a dumb cowboy. Nathan figures that Josiah in jail won't keep women safe, and tells Chris about Rain. The ex-slave admits that he's got feelings for Rain but he's not ready for marriage, and says that everyone he ever got close to ended up dead or sold off. Chris asks if Nathan is sorry he ever had them, and Nathan nods in agreement.
The boy takes Vin to a church in the convent and runs off. A woman, Hannah is praying while painting a mural on the wall. Vin asks if she knows Josiah, and the woman starts pounding on the walls. The nun comes in, tells Vin to go, and tries to comfort Hannah. Vin leaves, and goes back to Four Corners and visits Josiah. When Vin tells his friend what he's done, Josiah says that Vin had no right to see Hannah.
Vin demands to know who Hannah is, and Josiah only says that Hannah is a soul in torment. He yells at Vin to stay away from her, and Josiah finally says that Hannah is his sister. She used to be full of life, but her father said she was on the road to destruction and tried to rein her in. Hannah grew wilder, like she had a demon inside, and started drinking and going off with men. Her father beat her and sent her away, and Josiah left to save himself. Every time he came back home, Hannah was worse. All of Josiah's money goes to taking care of her, and seeing her tears him up.
When Josiah says that he needs to find peace, Cyrus comes in and says that he will. Cyrus figures that it all adds up to Josiah being the murderer, and when Vin threatens to intervene Cyrus draws a gun on him and says that he's hunted the killer too long to let him slip through his walk away. The detective says that the judge will decide Josiah's guilt, and Josiah tells Vin to leave rather than get himself killed. Vin says that he'll be back with the guilty man and leaves.
Buck and Ezra wait outside the saloon, after having slipped Pace some Ipecac. He runs to an alley to throw up, and J.D. sees it all and asks what his friends did. J.D. says that he could win the race on his own, and the showgirl says that she needs an escort now that Pace is gone. Buck accepts and leads the showgirl off on his arm.
As Buck escorts the showgirl to her wagon, the wind blows off her will. J.D. and Buck both see the man, and Buck laughs and walks off.
In the jail, Cyrus asks Josiah why he killed the women. He asks if Josiah sees Hannah in the girls Josiah kills, and says that he can see the rage in Josiah's eyes. Josiah wonders if the girls are paying for someone else's sins, and gets Cyrus to say that a woman abandoned him for other men. Cyrus says that the woman loved the silver dollars that he's holding, and the miners gave them to her.
Josiah reaches through the bars and grabs Cyrus, who cuts his hand with Josiah's knife that he took earlier. Freed, Cyrus goes out and walks away. Rain is outside and goes to the livery to get her horse and ride back to the village. Cyrus finds and grabs her.
Nathan hears Rain's muffled screams and goes to investigate. He runs to the livery and tackles Cyrus, and Cyrus runs out while Rain begs Nathan not to leave her. Meanwhile, Cyrus finds Mary with the crow fathering for the race between J.D. and Pace. He asks Mary to come with her, just as Josiah manages to throw one of his boots through the jailhouse window. Chris notices it and goes inside, frees Josiah, and Josiah runs outside and says that Cyrus is the killer.
J.D. sees Cyrus trying to lead Mary off. The race starts and J.D. rides while Vin and the others run over to Cyrus and Chris yells at Mary to get away from the detective. J.D. grabs Mary and sweeps her up behind him, and Cyrus runs. The Seven cut off his escape, and Cyrus draws Josiah's knife. Josiah says that the women torment Cyrus, and tells him to pay his penance and be free, and give him the knife. Cyrus smiles and stabs himself in the stomach before Josiah can stop him,. Josiah kneels, picks up the silver dollars that fell out of Cyrus' pocket, and puts them on the body's eyes.
Later at the church, Vin tells Josiah that what Josiah said about Hannah is just between the two of them. Josiah says that saying it loud made it a little easier to bear. But he's never free and clear of what happened to his sister.
Rain prepares to ride out of town, and tells Nathan that she's not going to marry the man the village chose for her. She says that she didn't find out all she wanted to, but she did learn that Nathan is crazy about her. Nathan admits that he is, and Rain gives him her necklace then rides off. He rides after her and suggests that he might ride a while with her and they could talk about each other. Rain says that it could be a long talk, and Nathan just says that they have a long ride.
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