Episode list

Detective Holder and his new partner investigate the murder of a 16 year-old hooker who was stabbed and had her throat slit. The medical examiner determines that she has defensive wounds and the knife used had a serrated edge. He and his new partner have had a good year solving all seven murders they've investigated. Holder has also given up some of his bad habits and will soon be writing his sergeants exams. Holder notices a similarity between this death and one that Sarah Linden investigated a few years before. In that case, Ray Seward was convicted of killing his wife Tricia Ann and is now on death row awaiting execution. Holder visits her to discuss the case but she's not keen to reopen a case she solved three years ago. She now works for the Seattle ferry system and has a new boyfriend. All in all, her life is good. As she reviews Holder's case file however, she is slowly drawn in.

Bullet reports that Kallie Leeds is now missing and no one seems to have seen her after she left the shelter the previous evening. With Ray Seward opting for execution by hanging, correctional officer Francis Becker begins to review the procedures. Linden is disturbed by some of the coincidences she's found in Ashley Kwan's case and expresses some doubt about Seward's conviction to her former partner James Skinner. He's satisfied they did the right thing but Skinner's wife tells Linden to stay away from them. She next visits Seward's son Adrian who had drawn her a picture which she now recognizes. When she locates the site, she finds something that's quite grim. On death row Seward cons one of the correctional officers, Evan Henderson. into letting him make a phone call, supposedly to his lawyer. Becker is none too pleased and ensures Seward knows exactly what he's in for.

Adrian's drawing leads Linden to a killing ground where the police find a total of 17 bodies. All are of young women - some could be as young as 13 - and Linden, who accepts reinstatement as a detective, is put in charge of identifying the bodies. The coroner can give her little to go on but says it's possible the women were killed in the same way as Ashley Kwan. He can confirm that the women were all killed several years ago but over a short period of time. Since Kwan was held for several days before being killed, Holder begins looking for the missing Kallie Leeds. A distrustful Bullet points him in the direction of Goldie and while they don't find Kallie, they do find that Goldie is involved in kiddie porn. At the prison, Ray Seward has gotten his hands on a razor blade.

Linden and Holder aren't having much luck identifying the voice of the man who spoke to Kallie Leeds on the dvd they seized. The police raid the motel used by many of the prostitutes and a special room behind a false panel. Linden matches one of the 17 bodies to a girl in the video. She also finds one of the women on the dvds but she says she doesn't remember the man who questioned her. Linden thinks she's hiding something. Similarly, Kallie's mother says she never heard the voice on the recording but Linden thinks she's lying. Goldie turns the tables on the police and goes to the press who dub the killer the Pied Piper.

Kallie's mother Danette tells her boyfriend Joe Mills that she's starting to worry about Kallie. He tells her she has nothing to worry about. The police continue their search for Joe. Mama Dips denies even knowing him but Linden sees through her and determines the relationship between the two. They also learn that she twice called Joe at Danette's trailer. By the time they search Danette's trailer he is nowhere to be found. They get a solid lead when a teenager reports nearly hitting a badly injured girl with his car. They trace her steps and find a bloodied biohazard bag - but no victim. As they continue to search the city, they find blood evidence suggesting she may have gone to the teen shelter. There's no sign of her there but Bullet shows them where she might be staying. When they do catch up the girl, they find it's not Kallie. Danette's mother makes a horrifying discovery.

Linden and Holder question the girl they found, Angie Gower. She was badly beaten and had several of her fingers severed. She says her attacker was soft-spoken and said he was going to save her. She doesn't recognize any of the suspects' photos, including Joe Mills. Holder is beginning to think they're looking for the wrong guy. A terrified Danette Lutz goes to the police station to speak to them about what she's found. Linden has little respect for her but Joe Mills has disappeared. Linden wants to get permission for Adrian to visit his father in prison but his foster parents won't hear of it. Information from them lead Linden and Holder to the apartment where Seward's wife was killed and Linden is now convinced Adrian saw the killer. Skinner isn't impressed however. At the prison, Seward faces someone from his past and gets an unexpected visitor.

Linden and Holder now suspect Pastor Mike as the man responsible for the murders. They have no proof however. Kallie's mother is still looking for her and visits the pastor who tells her not to lose hope. She finds a note on her windshield. Bullet and Lyric hook up. Bullet tells Holder that there's no way Pastor Mike is the killer. They get an eyewitness who saw the pastor with Angie Gower and learn Pastor Mike has a secret. At the prison, Seward razzes Becker for missing his shift during the death on cell block. Linden's boyfriend - or former boyfriend - wants to know what she's doing but she tells him it's over.

With his secrets unveiled, Pastor Mike takes Linden prisoner and they drive around the city. Linden manages to keep her radio on and the police are able to locate them. Linden believes him when he says he's not the serial killer and forensic analysis of his car seems to suggest he is innocent. Bullet is frantic over the missing Lyric, convinced that Pastor Mike has taken her. She tells Holder Mike has taken her to the woods where they found the killing field. The police diverted resources to look for her and it's apparent Bullet lied when they find Lyric out hustling on the street. For Bullet, Lyric's reaction to what she's done for her isn't quite what she was expecting. She talks to Angie Gower. At the prison, Seward pleads with his lawyer to do something, anything, based on Linden's belief that he is not guilty of killing his wife. The lawyer says nothing can be done.

Kallie's mother Danette Lutz is still looking for her and returns home to find Joe Mills waiting for her. He beats her and is long gone by the time the police arrive. The police do get a break in the case when they learn Mills had a storage locker. Holder and Linden check it out and find that Mills has been living there. They practically wrap up the case when they find trophies belonging to several of the dead girls. They're not prepared for what they find in the trunk of his taxicab. Ray Seward's execution is fast approaching. Linden finally gets permission to interview Seward's son Adrian and he identifies the killer. It doesn't add up however. Twitch and Lyric find a new place to live.

It's now 12 hours to Ray Seward's execution and Linden is still trying to get a stay of execution for him. Seward identifies his wife's ring from among the trophies found in Joe Mills' storage locker but it is insufficient to convince the Attorney General. Adrian is also at the prison having been promised the opportunity to see his father. He has information for Linden as well but Seward can't shed any light on who might have killed his wife.

With the execution of Ray Seward and Joe Mills about to be charged with the death of the young women, Linden and Holder try to put their lives back together. Linden renews her relationship with an old friend. Holder attends Bullet's funeral and then tries to make things right with his girlfriend Caroline. He also makes amends with his old partner, Carl Reddick. The detectives are called to the scene of a murder after firemen find a body inside a burnt out car. The coroner identifies the victim as a female who died sometime the previous day from a gunshot to the head. Whoever did it took out all of her teeth - and her ring finger is missing though it's a somewhat older injury. They think they have found Angie Gower. Holder thinks the only person who would have known about Joe Mills and who could have planted the rings to frame Mills would be another cop. Linden figures out how Adrian Seward was able to complete his drawings. At the prison, Becker tells Henderson that he's decided to retire.

Holder and Linden now believe that a police officer framed Joe Mills for the murders of the young women found in the swamp. When they learn that an officer known to both of them lived next door to the first victim, they think they have their man. With Angie Gower having been killed, they fear for the worse when Adrian Seward goes missing as it seems the killer is now tying up loose ends. As Linden tries to tie things up, Carl Reddick is nowhere to be found, Holder is pulled in by Internal Affairs for questioning and Lt. Skinner's marriage has broken up forcing him to move out of his house. Linden finds the proof she needs to definitively identify the killer when she spots Kallie Leeds' ring.