Episode 5 of Dark Winds season 4 begins with Joe awakening to find himself tied up and interrogated by two men. They demand to know what he's doing in LA, and eventually he caves, revealing the reservation and his target. In the end, they dump him by the side of the road, threatening to kill him if he continues his investigation. Given the beating he's received, Joe winds up at the hospital... where Emma is there to check him over.
In the middle of patching him up, Emma tells Joe that she's happy here in the big city, and for the first time in 30 years, she's not worried sick about him. Chee comes down from his high and waits with Bern for Joe at the hospital. Joe brings up the men who were watching the party, believing they could be FBI. Of course, this means Chee could have a way in to smooth things over, and the trio show up at the FBI office.
Special Agents Toby Shaw and Frank Wells are actually fronting a big investigation into Sonny and his gang. These are the same men who attacked Joe last night, so he's obviously not happy to see them again. With cracked ribs, there's definitely tension between them.
They explain that a guy called McNair runs an import/export business, and the FBI got a tip last year that the company is less than squeaky clean with its dealings. Two months ago, they had enough evidence to make an arrest but the US attorney believes he may walk free due to witness testimonies falling off. And by "falling off," these men and women have been dying or suddenly changing their tune.
This ties into Billie and Albert, who are both key witnesses, and Joe immediately tries to negotiate with the officers for leverage. He knows how important it is that they find Billie. However, they don't help, and Jim Chee isn't happy.
Chee decides to dig deeper into Sonny's business and shows up to learn more about what he does. Chee shrugs off his night's antics, and things get tense when Sonny brings up Bern. Chee feigns ignorance, but whether Sonny buys it or not is anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, Agent Shaw arrives at the scene, carrying crucial information for Bern and Joe. It seems that someone is trying to tie up loose ends, including Shaw's former office buddy who was on the case before him. The official story is that he committed suicide due to alcohol-induced ineptitude, but Shaw isn't convinced.
The key piece of evidence here is the green van, which we know belongs to the assassin, Irene. If Joe and Bern can link this green van to the one from their case, Shaw will help them find Billie using his FBI resources.
Shaw takes them to the old agent's house, which is also where Irene appeared at the beginning of episode 5, stealing documents and murdering him. The red writing scrawled on the wall is a curious clue, while they also find a matchbox reading "Katenta Trading Post." This is actually an area from the reservation.
Joe starts to realize that these cases are definitely linked, and he spies a crucial clue outside - a ration key where the van was initially parked. These rations are exactly what Irene eats while she's on the job, and Joe explains that he also found something similar on the reservation.
Sonny continues his journey with Jim Chee, eventually arriving at The Pink Carousel, a late-night club. A girl questions Chee about Bern and his love life, but he skirts around the truth. However, things take a turn for the worse when Sonny suddenly comes bursting out from the back, evading gunshots from a man who is clearly angry and sporting a wound of his own.
As they race away, we see that Sonny has been shot, and Jim Chee takes him back home to get patched up. It's a pretty gnarly wound, and Sonny shrugs off heading to the hospital for stitches. Instead, it's up to Chee to do the business by hand.
When Sonny eventually blacks out from a combination of the pain and the drink, Chee takes his chance to look around the house for clues. He finds a hand-written note and a telephone book with Leroy's address and number. Curiously, there's also a word here in bold titled "Leroy."
After leaving a message for Joe, telling him to meet at 2113 Normandy, Apartment 7, Chee shows up to take a look around. Unfortunately, he runs right into Sonny, who points a gun at his face and demands to know who he is.
