Franc Ross

Katherine Rutherford walks out of her apartment and notices the elevator is out of order again. A man comes up behind and also notices. Being heavyset, it will take her a while to get down the stairs so she tells the man to go ahead of her, but instead he pushes her down the stairs, where she breaks her neck and dies. The killer breaks a necklace with beads to make it look like she tripped. The next day while checking out the scene, Stottlemeyer and Disher discover the beads. At the scene, they also discover a pin with the number '25' on it. Turns out that Katherine Rutherford is a nurse who worked at the free clinic in Berkeley where Monk also went to school.

With her newly acquired power, Nancy is finally ready to grow her business. Much to Celia's dismay, Isabelle is recruited to model for a plus-sized children's clothing line. Silas and Megan deal with the consequences of their "sex-capade." Andy takes a despondent Shane to a massage parlor for a... happy ending.

In the Season Three finale, the camp turns out to vote--but as Bullock notes, the election may already have been decided. In light of the populace's mood, Langrishe delays the opening of his theater, and ponders his future in Deadwood. After detouring at Nuttall's Number 10, Hawkeye arrives at the Gem with "almost 18" men to complement Wu's contingent. Alma works out a deal for her claim; Utter Freight receives a special delivery for Hearst; and Harry gets his fire engine. Stubbs reaches out to a frustrated Tolliver, who finds himself with a folded hand as the action heats up. Through Farnum, Hearst issues his conditions for departure, forcing Swearengen to finish what Burns can't.

Bullock holds an impromptu morning meeting to determine which emergencies warrant wiring him in Sturgis, where he and Harry are delivering campaign pitches. The first summons doesn't take long, as Hearst follows up Alma's close call with one that's decidedly more on-target. In the aftermath, Alma takes refuge at the Gem, again, while Trixie decides to take matters into her own hands. Langrishe has a falling out with Hearst, giving him little time to huddle with his new lineup of actors. Dismissing the likelihood of ever seeing 23 mercenaries promised by Hawkeye, Swearengen turns to Wu to deliver more reliable, if not quite weapons-tested, reinforcements from Custer City.

As Deadwood is overrun by Hearst's men, Bullock issues contingency plans to Martha. Wu, caught in a Pinkerton stampede, delivers a cryptic message to Swearengen; it takes Burns, of all people, to decipher it. Barrett makes Merrick pay for embarrassing Hearst in The Pioneer; Morgan Earp calls out one of the "Pistoleros"; Commissioner Jarry arrives from Yankton to solicit Hearst; Aunt Lou gets some bad news; and Joannie survives an encounter with her former boss. As night falls, Langrishe mines Deadwood's talent pool with an amateur-night performance in front of his future theater, financed in part by a loan from Alma's bank.