Justin Hartley’s Tracker Just Set Up a New Mystery for Its Velma Replacement

Justin Hartley’s Tracker introduced its newest team member last week. Before beginning production on Season 3, the show announced that it was saying goodbye to two of its series regulars, Eric Graise as Bobby and Abby McEnany as Velma. Chris Lee’s Randy has stepped into Bobby’s role as tech support, while he and Reenie send jobs Colter’s way.

Melanie Day was brought in to replace Velma in her capacity as office manager at Reenie’s law firm. When Reenie interviewed Mel, the bubbly new addition to the show revealed that her mother was murdered, and the case remains unsolved. Mel’s interest in Colter and his work may lead to a new mystery for the rewardist to solve.

Tracker’s Newest Team Member May Have an Ulterior Motive Working for Reenie

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In last week’s episode, “First Fire,” Reenie officially replaced Velma with her new legal assistant, Mel Day. During her interview for the job, Mel expressed some interest in Reenie’s work with Colter and was delighted to hear there would be overlap between Reenie’s legal work and Colter’s job. Mel had also casually mentioned that she was averse to the bureaucratic machine, like Reenie. When Reenie asked for an explanation, Mel shared her own tragic backstory with Reenie.

Mel’s mother, who worked as a logistics officer in the army, was shot and killed at a rest stop. Her murder remains unsolved. Mel added, “It just felt like the systems that were there to support her were more interested in protecting themselves.” That is something that Reenie understands well. It’s not likely the writers dropped that mystery in for no reason. Mel’s tragic backstory will probably come into play down the line. Perhaps Reenie will take a special interest in the case and look into it as a pet project, but Mel could be working up to asking Colter to look into the cold case.

In the latest episode of Tracker, “No Man’s Land,” Mel’s scene was centered around her interest in Colter. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, she asked Randy about how they found new cases for Colter. Randy explained he uses an algorithm to find posted rewards and alert him. It could have been to show the audience how Randy and Reenie had replaced Velma and Teddi as Colter’s handlers. It also introduced a new mystery and ulterior motive for Mel’s character. If Mel wanted to join Reenie’s firm to get access to Colter and his team, it would validate the fans who are suspicious of the chatty legal assistant and the true motivation.

It Wouldn’t Be the First Time Colter Cracked a Cold Case in Tracker

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Colter Shaw has solved the odd cold case or two in the course of his investigations. In Season 1’s “Aurora,” Colter was hired to find a missing teenage girl who had vanished years ago. The missing girl’s father was convinced he’d seen a photo of his daughter in a local paper. While the potential sighting was a good lead in the case, the big break came when Colter solved the murder of another teenage girl, killed on the same night as the first one went missing.

The local detective, Brock, was happy for Colter’s help, explaining that the case had gotten under her skin. She’d never been able to let go of it, and after the case was solved, she thanked Colter for helping her crack the case that haunted her. Colter told Detective Brock that he had a case like that. One he couldn’t shake. In the opener of season two, Colter visited the prime suspect in his white whale case as he did every year on the anniversary of Gina Pickett’s disappearance.

Gina had gotten off work from her job at Hot Topic and vanished, never to be seen again. Colter had a relationship with Gina’s older sister and agreed to look into Gina’s case. Over the years, he visited his suspect every year, looking for a new lead. When Colter meets a retired cop, Keaton, he helps catch Keaton’s white whale. Keaton offers to help Colter, and the rewardist asks him to look into Gina Pickett’s case. Keaton uncovers a vital clue that puts Colter on track to catch a serial killer.

Noah Dearview abducted troubled young men and brainwashed them into luring young women to him. Noah would film twisted interviews with his victims before he would torture and kill them. Colter’s prime suspect, Frank, was one of Dearview’s lures. When Colter confronted Frank with more information, Frank broke and admitted to luring Gina to a derelict barn under the guise of seeing her favorite band in an exclusive preview concert. When a new woman goes missing, Colter and Keaton track down Dearview, saving the woman and putting an end to his disturbing games.

Colter can often find clues that others missed. His ability to think critically and fit seemingly unrelated pieces of a puzzle together makes Colter a brilliant investigator. Coupled with Randy and Reenie’s resources, it’s likely they’d be able to make some headway on Mel’s mother’s case, especially if Mel was right about the original investigators being more interested in covering their own butts instead of solving a murder.

Tracker Introduced a Potential Romance for Its Velma Replacement

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Audiences will have to wait and see how Mel’s mystery will unfold, but she may end up finding more than a role model in a Reenie and closure for her mother. In “No Man’s Land,” Mel asks Randy about how he finds jobs for Colter, and Randy is a little too eager to show off for her. There could be a potential romance brewing for Randy and Mel. After he lays out his system for her, he’s more than a little pleased when she tells him how impressed she is with his setup.

Randy trips over his words a little bit when he offers to teach her how to code, saying, “Well… I mean, any of this stuff, anytime, I-I can show you if you ever want to learn.” Mel and Randy’s conversation was cut short when Reenie ambled in, wearing sunglasses and the same clothes as yesterday. Randy’s focus shifted to checking on the legal eagle, suspecting she may not be dealing with her trauma in a healthy manner. The slow-burning romance between Reenie and Colter has come to a standstill as both of them are still reeling from the events of last season, so Randy and Mel could add a little romantic tension to Tracker.