CBS’s Tracker returns for the second half of season two with episode nine, “The Disciple.” Episode eight ended with retired cop Keaton (Brent Sexton) finding an important clue in Colter’s white whale case. They meet at a diner and Keaton asks Colter (Justin Hartley) to walk him through everything he remembers about the day Gina Picket was last seen.
Colter explains that 19-year-old Gina Picket was working at a Hot Topic at the mall on October 15, 2014. She left the building at 6:10pm after her shift, and the surveillance video saw her heading to her car. However, she disappeared while in the camera’s blindspot.
Her sister, Camille, looked for her the next day, and only Gina’s car was found. The mall cameras didn’t catch anyone following her. However, Gina told her manager about a strange man hanging around a week before she disappeared. That man is Frank Whales, the guy Colter has tried to get information from for years since Gina’s disappearance. Frank had priors for sexually assaulting a teenager and was at the mall every day for a week leading up to the day Gina vanished. He wasn’t there that day and never returned after she was gone. Both Colter and Keaton are certain Frank was involved.
Why did it take her 10 minutes to head to the parking lot after clocking out? Neither Colter nor Keaton can figure that out.
Colter asks Camile (Floriana Lima) if Gina ever mentioned Alex Silva. The name doesn’t ring a bell, and Colter explains Alex was friends with Frank Whales and knew things about Gina. Camile just can’t deal with this anymore and thinks this is probably just another dead end.
Keaton is stuck on Alex’s statement that Frank “lured” Gina in. Maybe someone took her from a place she willingly went to. The question is, what did Frank use as bait?
Colter and Keaton break into Frank’s place in the dead of night. Colter holds him at gunpoint and demands to know why Alex said he lured Gina away from the mall. Frank (Ryan Dorsey) is shocked when Keaton wants information on The Teacher.
Colter’s searched Frank’s house multiple times but has never searched Frank’s wallet. He does so now and finds a sparkling hairpin that belonged to Gina. Colter knows she was wearing it when she left the mall. Keaton hits Frank across the face with his gun, certain it’s a trophy. Frank claims he keeps it to remind him of something he regrets.
Frank confesses he was with Gina, but The Teacher was in charge. The Teacher snatched him 11 years ago and put him to work finding girls. Frank knew Gina was his boss’s type and The Teacher had him follow her to learn what she liked. He told her he worked for a band she loved, and on the day she disappeared, he parked in the surveillance camera’s blind spot. She got into the car, believing he was taking her to a private show where the band would try out new material.
Frank drove her to The Farm and she accidentally left her hairpin in the car. Frank regrets not telling her she dropped it; she may be safe now if he had. He claims not to know what happened next, but Colter doesn’t buy it.
Keaton wants to kill him, but Colter believes they need to get more on The Teacher first.
Bobby (Eric Graise) has been researching The Teacher and has found little. He located a post on a crime chat forum from someone who says he was a victim of The Teacher and helped him lure girls. But the person’s last post was a while ago. However, some internet sleuths posted that Hannah Olson from St. Louis, taken three days ago, sounds like The Teacher’s MO. Bobby’s going to keep digging.
Colter and Keaton force Frank to take them to The Farm. Frank reveals he hasn’t heard from The Teacher in six months since The Teacher sent a bag of dirt from the field where he buried his victims. It was a warning to keep his mouth shut. Frank continues to claim he didn’t have a choice. The Teacher slit the throat of someone who saw them take a girl and made him watch, so Frank knows what’s he capable of.
They arrive at the farm in the middle of the night and although it looks deserted, Colter and Keaton are careful when they search the grounds. Colter discovers a silo with a wall of wood that looks different from the rest. He busts it down and finds a human skeleton chained to the wall. There’s a bucket peeking out of the ground containing camcorder tapes labeled with women’s names. One of them is Gina’s.
The cops arrive, and after a while, Keaton’s learns the body is a young male. Frank’s arrested and taken away. An ID’s located of a guy reported missing from Arkansas five years ago. Colter thinks the dead guy was Frank’s replacement.
Colter and Camile watch Gina’s tape at the sheriff’s station and see her tied to a chair, promising to do anything her kidnapper wants. The Teacher says she can save herself if she tells him about Camile. Someone was taken from him when he was younger, and he’s going to do the same to Gina. She refuses to say anything about her sister.
Keaton learns Frank has refused to talk since being arrested. However, the sheriff will let them have six hours before turning him over to the FBI. Colter’s team is working on finding the barn’s owner, and Keaton will try to find a connection between the dead guy, Alex Silva, and Frank Whales. Keaton will also talk to some of The Farm’s neighbors.
Gina changes her mind and wants Colter to do whatever it takes to find The Teacher.
Colter asks Reenie (Fiona Rene) to speak with Frank, hoping he’ll be more forthcoming with a lawyer who’s on his side. Reenie can’t believe Colter wants her to do something unethical, like pretending she’s defending him just to get information. Instead, she’ll take him on as an actual client and try to convince him that cooperating with the investigation is his best option.
Velma’s been looking into the barn’s ownership and finds it’s in an old trust that’s not online. The county dug up the paperwork for her, and it turns out the owner is Patrick Campbell. Campbell has a record as a peeping tom but never served time.
Reenie informs Frank that if he flips on The Teacher, she might get his sentence reduced. Frank finally agrees after Reenie says The Teacher’s taken another girl. Apparently, The Teacher grabbed him when he was young and forced him to work for him. The Teacher had a strange power over him that he can’t explain.
Patrick Campbell lives in town and Colter heads over to a private nursing home. Patrick’s daughter, Kayla, and her husband, Noah, are visiting, and Colter explains a dead body was found in Patrick’s barn. Patrick has Alzheimer’s and has been living in the nursing home for 15 years. Kayla lives in Chicago and pays the taxes but doesn’t actively care for the property. Patrick refused to sell it so it’s possible squatters live there.
Patrick makes a noise and Kayla asks if he let someone live in the barn. He stands up and says it was Colter … so this is basically a dead end.
Keaton discovers Alex, Frank, and the dead guy are all on the sex offender registry. Colter believes that’s how The Teacher found and recruited them. The Teacher used the registry as a hunting ground.
Keaton learns from the sheriff that 21-year-old Brandon Stokes, also on the sex offender registry, was reported missing by his mom a week ago. (The episode opened with The Teacher kidnapping Brandon from a grocery store parking lot.) If they find him, they might find The Teacher. They subpoenaed Brandon’s cellphone records and are awaiting the phone’s location.
Reenie tells Frank about Brandon, suggesting he can save him from The Teacher. Frank clams up and Reenie says if he pleads the 5th, they’ll blame Gina’s death on him. Frank agrees to talk but only to Colter.
Keaton gets Brandon’s cell phone location and takes off while Colter prepares to speak with Frank. Reenie’s certain Frank’s still protecting The Teacher and warns Colter to be careful.
Frank reveals he knows where The Teacher kept Gina and can take him there. Frank believes this is his second chance; his day of reckoning. He also admits The Teacher saw him for what he was and said he was perfect. But when he got too old and saw too much, The Teacher released him–at least physically.
The sheriff agrees to allow Colter to take Frank out. They arrive at an old hospital at night, alone, without any backup. Colter leaves Frank handcuffed in his truck and goes in alone, even though Frank begs to come with him.
Gun drawn, Colter searches the hallways and finally hears muffled screams. He finds Hannah tied up and gagged. After cutting her loose, he assures her she’s safe. He calls Keaton with an update and with info on his location and asks for an ambulance.
Keaton found Brandon’s phone on the side of a road. They still don’t know where Brandon is.
The Teacher shows up outside the room where Hannah’s being held and releases gas. They gag and escape just as Brandon attacks Colter. Before Brandon can finish him off, Frank comes up from behind and shoots Brandon.
Frank then finds The Teacher and tells him he’s there to kill him. Only then can he be free. The Teacher removes his gas mask and it’s Patrick Campbell’s son-in-law, Noah. By speaking calmly, he gets Frank to lower his gun. Noah stabs him and Frank fires off a shot before collapsing.
Colter gives chase and easily catches up to Noah. He demands to know what he did to Gina.
Back at the station, Colter and Reenie fill Gina’s sister, Camile, in on Noah. Turns out he’s a traveling anesthesiologist who found his victims in multiple states. Once he got too old to get his own women, he recruited disciples to lure them in for him. He was never a suspect since he never went to any of the crime scenes.
Noah confessed to killing Gina and told the police where he buried his victims. They’re all behind the old hospital. Colter believes that without Gina, they would never have found Hannah. Camile smiles, acknowledging her sister helped save Hannah.
Camile speaks at Gina’s funeral and afterward she thanks Colter for not giving up on her or her sister. Camile’s going to spend some time traveling and gives Colter a friendly kiss. Once she’s done traveling, she’ll reach out and reconnect.
Colter thanks Keaton for all his help, certain he wouldn’t have cracked the case without him. They part friends. If Colter ever needs him, Keaton’s ready to help.
