'Ridley' Recap: Season 2 Episode 5

Ridley airs Sundays at 7:00 pm on WTTW and is available to stream. Recap the previous episode.
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Farman finally has some free time at home, so she makes breakfast for Jack and sits down with him to hear about his life. She and her wife Geri are worried about him, but he gets upset and leaves when she starts asking about his friend – in particular, a sketchy-seeming one named Jordan who drives a flashy car.

Farman is constantly occupied with work – like the shooting of Oliver Grant in the cellar of a property under development by his family company. Oliver was the CFO of the company, and had just been announced as his mother Sarita’s successor as CEO. He left his engagement party after receiving a phone call to go to the property, where an underground rave was taking place. He was found the next morning by one of the partygoers who was searching for his phone.

There’s evidence that Oliver was engaged in a struggle before being shot. Drugs with a distinctive green frog on them are found nearby. The partygoer who found Oliver says that the dealers of the drugs weren’t from the local university, although that’s where most of the ravers are from. He heard of some connection to a go-kart track.

He also shares the social media handle of the organizer of the rave, which is one of a number that have recently taken place in properties under development. The detectives trace the social media account to Ava Tunstall, a model and influencer. She knew Oliver because she had done photoshoots for his company’s brochure, but she didn’t know he was at the rave. She would have shut it down if she knew, since he owned the property. She doesn’t know anything about the drugs, as she herself stays away from them.

Oliver didn’t. His autopsy indicates near-fatal levels of cocaine, and his nose reveals heavy long-term use of the drug. His fiancée Amelia admits that he had recently relapsed – badly. She found pills (the frog-stamped ones) and cocaine in his coat and took a photo so that he couldn’t deny it, then went to his brother Lewis for help.

But Oliver was the golden boy of the family and the company – the detectives notice there are far more photos of him than Lewis in Sarita’s house. Lewis resented Oliver’s elevation to CEO – he tells the detectives that he recommended putting security in their properties to prevent the underground raves, but his suggestions were often ignored.

Instead of helping Oliver, Lewis used Amelia’s evidence of him taking drugs as blackmail to try to get him to refuse Sarita’s offer of CEO, which she had just made. But Oliver stood up to Lewis, and they fought. Sarita never wanted to talk about Oliver’s addiction; she thought he could turn his life around, especially as now that he was engaged.

While the gun that killed Oliver hasn’t been found, there was a bullet casing at the scene. DNA testing shows up a strong match to Oliver, so the forensics team looks at relatives – and finds it matches Lewis even more. Furthermore, Lewis has a drunk driving conviction on his record.

Lewis admits that he went to the rave with Oliver and took the family gun with him, because Oliver was in with a rough crowd and Lewis was trying to protect him. But Oliver didn’t want Lewis to stay, so Lewis drove home in the new car Oliver had received as a gift for his coming promotion to CEO. He doesn’t know what happened to the gun.

Oliver’s car was seen at a local go-kart track earlier in the day before Oliver was killed – and the track was mentioned in connection with the frog-logo drugs found at the rave, which resemble some that have been seen in Manchester. The track’s manager Matt Brandon denies any knowledge of drugs or Oliver Grant, but his accent identifies him as from Manchester. He wants to keep kids out of trouble; that’s why he offers them free rides at the track.

Ridley is hoping to help Farman keep Jack out of trouble. He asks Jack to help him with his boat, in exchange for some cash. Before they do that, however, Darren finds Jack’s friend Jordan among the people who attended the underground rave, thanks to a perusal of social media accounts provided by the organizer Ava Tunstall. Jordan’s account shows him at the go-kart track, while a video of Jordan at the rave includes Jack.

After working on the boat with Jack, Ridley asks him about Jordan and the rave. Jack reluctantly tells Ridley that Jordan asked him to go to the rave, and that he’s currently in Manchester but is coming back on the bus that day.

Ridley tells Farman and Goodwin about Jack, Jordan, and their presence at the rave. He argues that Jack is not a person of interest but Jordan is, given his presence at the go-kart track and frequent trips back to Manchester – maybe he’s running drugs. Goodwin is skeptical, but allows the police to approach Jordan as he gets off the bus from Manchester. Jordan tries to flee and hit Darren and is thus arrested. The drugs with the frog on them are found in his bag, along with cocaine. And his phone is the burner phone that called Oliver before Oliver went to the rave.

Jordan has had a rough life, in and out of various foster homes, so the detectives are kind to him. He eventually admits that Matt, the manager of the go-kart track, made him call Oliver that night. Jordan was Oliver’s drug dealer, and he worked for Matt; Matt was upset with Oliver about money. But Jordan never saw Oliver at the rave.

Oliver’s bank account shows lots of withdrawals in the previous month, but they are balanced out by money coming in. He also made a big payment two months ago that seems related to his business, but it’s odd that it came from his personal account rather than the business.

Jack is upset with Farman for arresting Jordan. He accuses his mother of neglecting him in favor of work and his new baby sister Meadow, even though he’s still traumatized from being held at gunpoint in a previous case.

Matt has previous drug offenses, and phone records show numerous calls between him and Jordan. But he denies any involvement when Ridley and Farman approach him. As the detectives are leaving, he pointedly asks Farman about Jack – he has connected their last names, and knows Jack from the go-kart track.

Farman wants to arrest Matt for intimidating her and obliquely threatening Jack, but both Goodwin and Ridley argue that they don’t have evidence to do so. Goodwin promises to organize regular patrols to keep Jack safe, but that doesn’t satisfy Farman. So Goodwin takes her off the case and puts Ridley in charge.