'Ridley's' "The Hollow Tree" Concludes with Justice Done But Families Broken

A cold case reopened, two – or more – dysfunctional families, and one murder keep Alex Ridley busy in conclusion to Ridley's second mystery of Season 2. The episode opens with David Hadderly, drinking and whining to his brother Andy that he’s a marked man; Jean Dixon, the original investigating officer when his wife Kathy disappeared, has it in for him now Kathy's body has been found, upgrading it from "missing person" to murder case. Despite his brother’s attempts to stop him, David drives off to "clear his head."

Meanwhile, Dixon is back in the office, having reluctantly agreed to join Ridley’s team. However, she’s rediscovering her skillset and independence, and it's doing good things for her mental health. Honestly, her mental health has improved due to escaping her abusive partner, Ross Enderby, even if it's just for an eight-hour workday. Errrr... well, it would improve her mental health if she hadn't then gone home at quitting time to find Ross dead from a fracture to the skull. There are signs of a struggle, and a large knife is found under the kitchen counter.

Jean calls Ross' death in and waits for her coworkers, finding herself now on the other side of the questions. She explains that there wouldn't be signs of a break-in since no one locks their doors in this area since there's almost never anyone around. However, she pulls out the threatening note from the end of last week and shows it to Ridley, saying she thinks she might have been the intended victim. Ridley offers to send a police car to watch the house, which she accepts. He then heads home for therapy, where his psychiatrist is pleased with his progress but not yet done with him.