Jim Ellis didn’t know whom to trust—was the new FBI agent, Nina Hayes, telling him the truth, or was she simply playing him to gather intel on Saxton? Did the man his family trusted blindly for decades betray them—did Saxton murder Joey? He was not yet ready to suspect Saxton, but then again, he felt the desperate need to get to the bottom of the truth. In the previous episode, Nina had submitted the residue she had collected from Joey’s van to forensics, and the report showed that the residue tested positive for industrial-grade C4. In Duster episode 3, when she showed Jim the evidence, he realized that Nina was right: his brother didn’t die in an accident; he was murdered. But that was not enough to prove that Saxton was involved in his death. Jim decided to dig deep, and the truth left him feeling unsettled.
Spoiler Alert
Who was Paris Guilford?
Jim knew that the only person who would help him untangle the mystery was his father. Wade Ellis had worked closely with Ezra Saxton back in the day, and he knew pretty much everyone in business. When Jim asked him who could’ve possibly supplied C4 explosives, Wade replied that Paris Guildford was the woman people called if they needed industrial-grade C4. He had her contact number, but before handing it over to Jim, he wanted to know what he aimed to do with it. Jim told him that he was trying to find the truth behind Joey’s death, and he was a little surprised when Wade stated that he’d always suspected that Joey was murdered. A faulty propane tank could not result in a blast that big, and an explosive made a lot more sense to him. Wade asked Jim to always remember to protect Saxton because he was family and he suspected that Nina was simply playing Jim. He also added that if he found Joey’s murderer, Wade wanted Jim to brutally kill him.
Why did Nina end up at the psych ward?
When Nina’s boss, Nathan Abbott, warned her to not rely on Jim completely, she realized he was right. While Jim had signed the informant form, it didn’t guarantee that he would be loyal. Nina figured she had to find another source, and she believed Leland Breen could help her solve the mystery behind Saxton’s missing files. Even though everyone who knew what Nina was up to warned her not to delve too deep into the case, she refused to give up. It was clear that Saxton had connections to powerful individuals, making it nearly impossible to bring him down. Leland Breen lost his grip on his sanity while investigating Saxton, and that says a lot about how dangerous it could get for Nina. But she was unafraid and driven by her goal to bring justice to her father and all of Saxton’s victims.
Awan was quite invested in the case, especially because he was truly blown away by Nina’s confidence. He’d always wanted to make a significant contribution in his field of work, but none of his White colleagues took him seriously. Nina saw the potential in him, and he was grateful to her for that. But the more he learned about Saxton’s influence, the more he wondered if he was doing the right thing. People from his community didn’t make it to the FBI every day, and he wondered if he was risking his job for something that was almost unachievable. He expressed his concern to Nina, but she didn’t think not taking an action was ever an option. She decided to meet Leland Breen at the sanatorium he was admitted to. Even though Nathan had strictly asked her not to meet Leland, she didn’t pay heed to it and went anyway. When she showed up there, she was told that Leland was kept in confinement and he was not in any condition to meet anyone. But Nina never took no for an answer. She noticed a Black man working at the hospital, and it was evident that he wasn’t well respected. Nina struck up a conversation with him and offered him cash, on the condition that he help her speak to Leland.
The man offered Nina the key to the former agent’s room. Nina changed into a nurse’s outfit, while Awan put on a staff uniform to blend in. It was a risky move, but Nina was convinced it was necessary. Awan waited outside while Nina entered Leland Breen’s room. The second Nina stepped in, she realized that Leland’s condition was extremely serious. He lacked coherence and was extremely triggered when Nina mentioned Saxton. When he realized that the door was open, he escaped. Nina started searching for him, and all of a sudden, when she entered the kitchen, Leland grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her neck. Nina begged him to let her go, but he wanted her to answer a very specific question to prove that she was indeed an FBI agent. When she answered correctly, Leland loosened his grasp. When Nina asked him where the Saxton files were, he simply asked her to follow the numbers. Nina couldn’t make sense of what he’d stated, and when she tried to get him to clarify, Leland left the room. Awan intentionally crashed into Leland and he collapsed to the floor. He didn’t have a choice, since he couldn’t let Leland escape.
Nina and Awan managed to leave before the authorities got hold of them. Later, Nathan confronted Nina. The authorities at the mental institute had figured out about Nina’s involvement, and Nathan was informed about it. Nina begged Nathan to keep Awan out of it, and she took the blame on herself. Surprisingly, Nathan agreed to give her another chance. He explained that his wife appreciated Nina, and she strongly believed she was a trailblazer. Nina agreed that meeting Leland didn’t help her case; whatever little he said didn’t make much sense, and it was just a waste of her time and effort.
Did Saxton plot Joey’s murder?
After talking to his father, Jim was all the more determined to find out if Saxton was involved in Joey’s murder. He learned from Saxton’s designated driver that he had a meeting that day in Tucson. He deliberately sabotaged his limousine so he could give Saxton a ride to the meeting. As expected, he received a call from Saxton’s driver, and he arrived at his boss’ house in his Duster. During their journey to the meeting location, Saxton expressed how deeply he admired Jim and that he was the only person he could completely trust and speak his mind to. This made Jim wonder if Nina was wrong. Nonetheless, Jim slipped quietly into the hotel where Saxton’s meeting was underway. From a glimpse of the meeting, Jim concluded that the other members were Russian, and he noted down the little information that he could gather on his notepad to later update Nina. Saxton returned within thirty minutes and stated that his meeting went well. He wanted to have a celebratory drink, and they ended up at a racist pub. From the bartender to the customers, everyone stared at Saxton in a demeaning way. He didn’t pay heed and continued to drink with Jim. He explained that if his deal with the Russians went smoothly, he could live without a care in the world. Jim was moved when Saxton raised a toast for Joey, the young man he loved like his own son, and who left them too soon, and he also added that he had every intention of making Joey his number 2, but unfortunately he didn’t get the time to do so. Jim, by then, was convinced Saxton didn’t murder his brother, and he was a little relieved. While Jim was in the washroom, Saxton got into an altercation with the bartender that escalated into a fight. Jim and Saxton overpowered the men in the pub and made sure that the bartender never dared to mess with a Black man again.
After they left the bar, at the very end of Duster episode 3, Saxton enthusiastically told Jim about the last time he had such a great fight. He mentioned he was in Detroit meeting Paris Guilford at the time. The mention of Paris Guildford triggered Jim, and to verify his suspicion, he contacted Guildford using the number his father had handed him. When he mentioned that he worked for Ezra Saxton and they needed the same equipment that was used for the Joey Ellis job, she simply stated that it could be arranged. Jim now knew that, behind that friendly mask, Saxton was a ruthless man who’d killed his brother. Without any hesitation, he dialed Nina’s number and shared with her Paris Guildford’s contact number, and added that she was the C4 supplier. If he could, Jim would perhaps have strangled Saxton that very night, but he didn’t want to rush it. He made up his mind to work closely with Nina to ensure that there was no way Saxton could get away. And he believed it would make his wait worthwhile.
