Drawn into a deadly game of chess with his former partner, Windom Earle, Cooper enlists the help of local chess master Pete Martell; he must play an unusual game... not only must he play to win, he must also play in a way that minimises the number of pieces lost as each lost piece will be a lost life! If that wasn't enough for Cooper to worry about Albert has found evidence linking Josie Packard with more than one killing; it won't be easy arresting his friend, the sheriff's, lover. Josie meanwhile learns that her husband is not dead as everybody had believed; something Thomas Eckhardt won't be happy to learn. Windom Earle isn't resting either; he appears to be lining up his next victim and the chief candidates are Shelly Johnson, Audrey Horne and Donna Hayward! Without giving too much away the episode ends with Cooper and the Sheriff with their guns trained on a suspect... who dies without a shot being fired after which Cooper sees Bob and the Dancing Midget... things are getting strange again.
This was another fine episode; it is nice to see things getting strange again with both Bob and the midget appearing again; this was a great final scene and it will almost certainly have consequences for the sheriff's character. Windom Earle's strange game of chess is getting more interesting not that it looks like the next victim could be a major character from the series not just another unknown; Kenneth Welsh does a fine job as the creepy Earle.
This was another fine episode; it is nice to see things getting strange again with both Bob and the midget appearing again; this was a great final scene and it will almost certainly have consequences for the sheriff's character. Windom Earle's strange game of chess is getting more interesting not that it looks like the next victim could be a major character from the series not just another unknown; Kenneth Welsh does a fine job as the creepy Earle.
