While the townspeople mourn the passing of Big Dave Duncan, Merritt and Henley scheme to take back the mysterious hammer that is once again in Peggy Haplin's possession. As Handsome Dan chases down leads in the Magic Man kidnappings with a suspiciously unabated fervor, Tommy thinks he smells a rat. Tommy Conroy also discovers that his mother's death, which he thought was caused by a stroke, might have a much darker origin. Meanwhile, the widows at the Meadows Boarding House don't hide their jealousy when Merritt accepts Peggy Haplin's party invitation at Weeping Wall; and landlady Dot Meadows comes to regret filing a police report after finding dead birds in the woods.