Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 21 of GhostsAlmost 40 episodes later, audiences watching CBS’ Ghosts finally got their answer as to who killed Alberta Haynes. On Thursday night and ahead of the Season 2 finale next week, the Joe Port and Joe Wiseman sitcom got to the bottom of the mystery surrounding 1920s prohibition-era jazz singer, Alberta Haynes’ death — played magnetically and winsomely by Danielle Pinnock. In a revelation that has no doubt shaken up the dynamics at Woodstone, it was discovered the murderer was known to one of the mansion spirits who kept it secret for more than 90 years.
In the penultimate episode of Season 2 titled, “Whodunit,” Sam (Rose McIver) is told by her new boss (Michael Boatman) at the Ulster County Review that Alberta’s murder podcast, hosted with Todd Perlman (Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll) has been canceled due to budget reasons. Offering her the chance to tie up loose ends, Sam jumps into detective mode with the help of her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambukdar), the house ghosts Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long), Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), Sasappis (Román Zaragoza), and a very intricate “murder board” to get to the bottom of the decades-long mystery.
After it was discovered in “Alberta’s Podcast” that the mansion’s favorite jazz singer did not die of a heart attack but was rather murdered, the series created an arc this season that has deservedly given Pinnock’s charming character the spotlight. Following the reveal of the case’s first suspect noted as Clara Brown (Mercedes Morris), Alberta’s rival performer who Isaac and Sass recognized from a photograph shared by Todd, the answers were finally getting somewhere. However, with Thursday’s discovery, it’s one no one foresaw — but might have even been hinted at in an earlier episode.
Who Murdered Alberta Haynes?
In a wild turn of events that no one could have imagined, it was discovered Alberta was actually murdered at Woodstone Mansion on New Year’s Eve, 1928 by none other than Hetty Woodstone’s son, Thomas Woodstone (Daniel Rindress-Kay). In a reveal that drew out a Higgintoot-sized gasp among the ghosts and a reveal possibly more shocking than Trevor’s (Asher Grodman) missing pants, Thomas was having an affair with Earl Boudreaux, Alberta’s bootlegging boyfriend, and wanted him to leave her. With the two fighting in what the ghosts assumed was an argument about a bootlegging deal gone wrong during the party as witnessed by some of the spirits, it was actually Thomas confronting Earl about his feelings.
But how did Alberta die? And how did she end up with the bottle of booze laced with strychnine, also known as the main ingredient in rat poison? After she and Earl share an intimate moment with Sass and Isaac watching on, Earl tells her he will see her after the next set as he needs to take care of some things. After he leaves, she hears a knock at the door and finds a note that says, “Good luck” and a bottle of whiskey. Stating she doesn’t need luck, she decides to drink the booze instead, with that being her fatal mistake. As Sam and Jay trace back the evidence with the ghosts, Jay reminds everyone of the note they found lodged in the walls during the episode, “The Liquor License,” which read, “My dearest Earl, I can’t wait for us to be together once we get rid of you know who” and was simply signed, “T.” With evidence pointing to Theresa after it’s discovered in “Alberta’s Descendant” that Theresa had married Earl after her death, Alberta is still in denial and doesn’t believe her sister could do such a thing. But when it comes to the bottle of whiskey laced with poison, Theresa was involved but just not in the way it was believed.
After Alberta rejected Al Capone and similarly to her interaction with Pete by giving him a slight palm to his face, the Chicago gangster was looking to end his life and found rat poison in the basement where the cholera ghosts had spotted him. Mixing the poison into a bottle of booze, Al Capone was soon saved by a woman who prevented him from taking his life and warned him to pay his taxes – this was none other than Theresa, as spotted by Nigel. While Alberta suggests it still might be Clara who she previously ratted out for bootlegging, Nigel says the woman who took the bottle from Al Capone did not wear a hat, which Clara had been wearing the whole night. With the other ghosts chiming in about how Clara was only arrested for a night prior to the New Year’s Eve event, it came to their understanding that she must have been cooperating with the cops to get Alberta and Earl arrested for their own bootlegging deals.
Alberta, stunned by the results, now believes it’s her sister and is pained by the reveal as she was the last person seen by the Woodstone ghosts with the bottle. However, troubled by the emotional upset and grief felt by Alberta, Hetty reveals it was not Theresa, but rather her son Thomas who had killed her. Ashamed he would be that kind of person, Hetty says she saw everything, including how Theresa told Thomas about Al Capone’s attempt with the bottle and asked him to dispose of it. Naturally, with Thomas looking to remove Alberta from the Earl equation, he decided to knock on the door of her room and left the bottle there, knowing she would drink from it.
Where Do Hetty and Alberta Go From Here?
Hetty goes on to share how ashamed she is of her son’s actions, hence her never speaking up even if it meant she would keep the secret to herself in the afterlife. With Thomas Woodstone being Alberta Haynes’ murderer, the jazz singer is heartbroken and angry as Hetty admits Earl and Thomas had been lovers for a long time and the argument earlier that evening spotted by the ghosts was not over a bootlegging deal. It was Thomas pleading with Earl to break things off with Alberta. With Earl not budging, Hetty says Thomas lashed out at the woman he blamed for his discontent over the relationship he wanted most.
Alberta, furious over the reveal, says she’s glad it wasn’t her sister but is disappointed in Hetty — someone whom she considered a sister all these years in the mansion – to have betrayed her over such a secret. While Hetty admits there was never a right time to bring it up and is scared she has now fractured their relationship to a point of no repair, Alberta states the circumstances of her death have pained her for more than 100 years, and she will not forgive her. Unable to get over it, the two are at a crossroads, leaving Alberta frustrated by Hetty’s secrets. With this strain going into the season finale next week, there is no telling what could happen between these two.
Did the Series Hint About Thomas Early On?
No, while we might not have explicitly known about Thomas being Alberta’s murderer throughout Season 2, there was a hint about the Woodstone son not being happy in his relationship. In a moment from the episode, “The Family Business” where Hetty has warned Sam about getting close to their B&B assistant, Freddie (Mike Lane), the mansion matriarch makes a confession that she was “not the best mother” as she delegated the care and raising of her children to others.
In addition to missing out on being a part of their lives, she tells Sam she had to watch her children become adults in the house, while being unable to guide them to good decisions and witnessed “generations of Woodstones make mistakes” like Thomas, whom we now learn killed Alberta, and her great-great-great-grandson, David Woodstone, who helped dispose of Trevor’s body with his Wall Street buddies. In a flashback, we see Thomas asking his mother specifically what he should do — “Should I marry this girl? Is she the one?” — possibly hinting that he was not ready to marry her and was hiding his true self. Of course, Thorfinn plays with the lights and Thomas believes that to be the sign from his mother, much to Hetty’s upset, and decides to marry the girl.
The Ghosts Season 2 finale airs May 11 on CBS at 8:30 pm EST. The series is now streaming on Paramount+.