Sher­iff Neal express­es frus­tra­tion over a news­pa­per pho­to depict­ing him with a blow-up sex doll, which has made him and his depart­ment appear fool­ish. Joe Pick­ett and Nate Romanows­ki, present in Neal’s office, are eager to leave after giv­ing their state­ments. Neal dis­cuss­es the legal fall­out involv­ing Les McK­night, who was injured by Joe’s daugh­ter dur­ing a raid. McK­night may sue the depart­ment, but Neal hopes to nego­ti­ate a set­tle­ment by drop­ping assault charges in exchange for dis­miss­ing the law­suit. Joe remains wary of the messy legal pro­ceed­ings, rec­og­niz­ing McKnight’s plau­si­ble self-defense claim.

Out­side Neal’s office, Joe notices a line of men wait­ing for con­struc­tion jobs at the Buck­brush wind farm head­quar­ters. Neal explains the eco­nom­ic ben­e­fits of the project, though Nate scoffs at the idea. Joe shifts the con­ver­sa­tion to Kate’s dis­ap­pear­ance, but Neal dis­miss­es the top­ic, sug­gest­ing Joe should also move on. Mean­while, Joe reflects on the recent surge in hos­pi­tal admis­sions, includ­ing McK­night, Joshua Teub­n­er (who suf­fered a gun­shot wound), and an elder­ly woman injured in a car acci­dent, rein­forc­ing the idea that trou­ble seems to fol­low him.

Joe receives a call from Jeb Pry­or, the own­er of a local lum­ber mill, who hints at hav­ing impor­tant infor­ma­tion. Before Pry­or can elab­o­rate, the call drops. Short­ly after, Steve Pol­lock, a for­mer game war­den, reach­es out, agree­ing to meet Joe in Cheyenne to dis­cuss undis­closed events in Sarato­ga. Pol­lock is hes­i­tant but agrees to a pri­vate con­ver­sa­tion at a pub, insist­ing Joe come alone. Nate, wary of Cheyenne due to his past expe­ri­ences, offers to inves­ti­gate Pryor’s con­cerns and keep an eye on Joe’s daugh­ter, Sheri­dan, while Joe is away.

Joe and Nate part ways, with Nate head­ing to the Wolf to switch vehi­cles and pur­sue his own leads, pos­si­bly relat­ed to Kate’s case or his con­spir­a­cy the­o­ries. Joe warns Nate against fur­ther vio­lent inter­ro­ga­tions, but Nate’s non­com­mit­tal response sug­gests he may not com­ply. The chap­ter ends with Joe prepar­ing to dri­ve to Cheyenne, uncer­tain of what Pol­lock will reveal but deter­mined to uncov­er the truth behind the chaos in Sarato­ga.