Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up

**"Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up"** was the sixth episode of the first season of *Joe Pickett*. Though originally broadcast on Spectrum Streaming in the fall of 2021, its Paramount+ re-debut was in May 2022.

## Synopsis

Joe begins to wonder if there's anyone in this town who isn't connected to the deeply rooted corruption, and Marybeth works around the clock to try to free Nate.

## Plot Summary

A driver in a white van drives down the road. He gets out of the van and opens the back door to free several dogs.

Joe Pickett wakes up to his alarm, set for 4am. He gets up to find Marybeth alone in the bathroom, with Nate Romanowski’s case file. She tells Joe that Nate comes on too strong and will end up dead if he doesn’t learn how to back down sometimes.

Missy is researching real estate listings in Saddlestring. Sheridan begins to panic when she has a flashback of her encounter with Wacey. He threatened her life if she tells Joe what happened. Joe grabs her arms and kisses her on the head. She pushes his hand away when he tries to touch her head. Raising her voice, she says I’m not hungry and rushes out the front door. Joe follows her outside to the swing set and asks what is happening. She says Saddlestring is not different, and she hates it.

Marybeth arrives at Jeannie Keeley’s house. April answers the door because Jeannie is asleep on the sofa. Marybeth plans to file an injunction to let her and April stay in their home for a couple of months. Jeannie says it will be just in time for the birth of her baby. Marybeth says they have to fight and Jeannie breaks down sobbing.

Vivian and Violet Bouvier arrive home to find their emus dead. Joe heads over to the Bouvier Ranch to investigate what happened. Vern Dunnegan is there when Joe pulls into the farm. They ask why a wolf killed every one of the emus. Joe doesn’t believe it was a wolf because of the significant damage and the emus were not eaten. Joe asks if someone recently tried to acquire their property. Attorney Spencer Stone inquired about their property.

Cricket reads the newspaper to Nate Romanowski. His horoscope is about feeling trapped. He asks if the newspaper is only available in print. She says no, it has been around since 2014. He warns her that they will be coming for him soon.

Joe burns the emu corpses. Vivian says she hopes he kills whoever is responsible for the emus. He has a flashback of recent events and his father before grabbing his gun and heading out to search for the suspect.

Marybeth continues to review Romanowski’s case file while Missy greets the girls when they arrive home from school. Marybeth meets April outside, where she is with her dad’s horse. She asks to see where Joe found Ote Keeley. Marybeth escorts her to a pile of firewood. She tells April about her father dying in a helicopter crash. Sometimes they forget their fathers died. She says the pain will never go away, but it will subside. April lays a bouquet of flowers on the ground. Marybeth takes April and Sheridan for a horse ride.

Marybeth tells the girls that she hated Wyoming. Her first horse, Layla changed her mind. Sheridan suggests calling the baby Layla. Joe arrives at the Scarlett house to drop off a dead emu. Hank Scarlett demands to know the purpose of Joe’s visit. He alerts them of their dogs being confiscated in connection with the death of the Bouvier’s emus. Arlen Scarlett calls Joe negligent.

Vern tells Hank there was no need to kill the Bouvier’s emus. He wants out. They bet their ranch on the deal. Opal and Arlen believe Joe is close to discovering their secret.

Joe gets drunk while putting the baby crib together. In a flashback, Joe's dad George forces young Joe to fight his brother, Victor. He thinks there are better ways to handle situations than fighting. Victor is ordered to hit Joe. He punches him in the face twice as he cries. Joe takes his down and beats him in the face until he is out cold. George tells Joe that he is no better than him. Joe says I never apologized for hitting you. Victor says, there is a lot we didn’t talk about.

Marybeth excitedly wakes up Joe to tell him about her discovery. Ote’s autopsy report reveals he died from complications of poison, not an arrow. He reads the name of the poison, Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine “TETS”, in the autopsy report and says it matches the poison found in a vulture at Crazy Woman Creek. He says they need to connect the poison to the Scarlett family and Sheriff Barnum.

Joe visits Taylor Maldonado at a reservation to ask about the poison from Ote’s autopsy report. She tells him that the scat sample was inconclusive. The International Database wants to run another test. Joe ignores a call from Vern and asks her about TETS if it can be homemade. She writes down a list of over-the-counter products, including acetone, to make TETS. It is much more deadly than cyanide.

Marybeth visits Romanowski in jail to tell him about Ote’s autopsy report. She will file to have the case thrown out later today. He hopes it is soon enough. Joe is driving down the road when Vern starts blowing his horn. He puts his gun in his pocket before getting out of his truck. Vern questions why he hasn’t been answering his phone. Joe admits to being busy and asks if he can do something for him. He suggests Joe take the InterWest job offer. Joe warns if he is connected to the Scarlett family, he better get out before it is too late. Vern asks if he is talking about him. He accuses him of trying to start a range war. Joe asks if he is aware of endangered species in Twelve Sleep. Vern reminds him of the local workers in Saddlestring who would be out of work. The feds would order everything to be shut down. He recommends killing any endangered species and not telling anyone.

Marybeth walks in as Missy and Deputy McLanahan in bed. She tells them, the girls will be home in 20 minutes. He says that is all he needs and he leaves.

Joe arrives at a local pharmacy to ask if they sell acetone. Dwayne Barrett says it is not a chemical company while adjusting his wild animal taxidermy mount. A female worker suggests fingernail police, which has an acetone base. Joe asks if a customer purchased a lot of acetone recently. Barrett suggests keeping his nose out of other people’s business if he wants to be an insider. The female worker says Ote purchased three cases of fingernail polish before he died.

Marybeth struggles with her outfit for court. Missy slits the back of her shirt, so it will fit. She recommends a blazer to hide it. He believes Ote had conspired with the Scarlett family to make homemade TETS. Sheridan tosses the weasels some food and orders them to leave because they are not safe here.

Joe visits Jeannie to ask about Ote and his relationship with the Scarlett family. He didn’t like them. He tells her about Ote making poison. She says it is something he did this past April.

US Marshall Jerry Kelmeckis arrives to pick up Nate. He congratulates Deputy McLanahan for arresting a very dangerous man. Cricket snatches up the document asks why he is taking custody of Romanowski. He is believed to have been responsible for the death of two federal agents. Deputy McLanahan asks him to stay until Romanowski returns from his arraignment.

Marybeth asks the court to dismiss Romanowski’s case based on the autopsy report. Romanowski sees Kelmeckis walk into the courtroom. He approaches the bench to show the warrant to the judge.

Joe gathers Ote’s stuff when he notices a falcon mount. The falcon belonged to Romanowski. Ote told her, he had something on him. Joe finds a newspaper article about a Montana man who is wanted for killing two federal agents.
Marybeth and Romanowski are escorted into the judge’s chamber until they decide what to do about the warrant. Joe tries to call Marybeth to tell her Ote was blackmailing Romanowski, not the Scarlett family. When Marybeth permits him to feel her baby move, he grabs her and puts his hand over her mouth. A report of a hostage situation at the courthouse captures Joe’s attention, however the dispatcher doesn't identify the hostage.

## Cast

### Main

* Michael Dorman as Joe Pickett
* Julianna Guill as Marybeth Pickett
* Sharon Lawrence as Missy Vankeuren
* Paul Sparks as Wacey Hedeman
* Mustafa Speaks as Nate Romanowski
* Skywalker Hughes as Sheridan Pickett
* Kamryn Pilva as Lucy Pickett
* David Alan Grier as Vern Dunnegan

### Recurring

* David Cubitt as Jerry Kelmeckis
* Leah Gibson as Jeannie Keeley
* Benjamin Hollingsworth as Ote Keeley
* Chad Rook as Deputy Kyle McLanahan
* Rachel Colwell as Taylor Maldonado
* Aadila Dosani as Cricket Ludlow
* Cassie Dzienny as Sadie Pickett
* Brendan Fletcher as Arlen Scarlett
* Roger LeBlanc as Hank Scarlett
* David LeReaney as Dwayne Barrett
* Kyle Mac as George Pickett
* Jacqueline Robbins as Violet Bouvier
* Joyce Robbins as Vivian Bouvier
* Zebastin Borjeau as Young Joe Pickett
* Chris Bullough as Prosecutor Edwards
* Vivienne Guynn as April Keeley
* Larry Hoffman as Judge
* Karen Johnson-Diamond as Greta
* Oliver Mandelcorn as Young Victor Pickett
* Evie Marsten as Julie Scarlett
* Joshua Morettin as Victor Pickett (18 yrs)
* Chelsea Restall as Bailiff