R.J. Decker Finds A New Love Interest In Shantel VanSanten — And Did [Spoiler] Really Kill Victor?

Tuesday's episode of "R.J. Decker" ended with a dramatic arrest in the murder of Victor Ochoa, and we promise we'll get to that. But first, and far more importantly, does R.J. have a new love interest?

It all began when Emi asked R.J. to run the fingerprints of a man who had been stalking her for several days. R.J. turned to Mel, who connected him with her "favorite lab lady" Gertrude. "A bit odd, but hell, so are you," Mel said, setting the stage for a very flirty first meeting between the two.

When R.J. arrived at the lab to meet this quirky technician, imagine our surprise when none other than Shantel VanSanten — of "One Tree Hill," "FBI: Most Wanted," "Shooter," and countless other shows — was standing in the elevator, introducing herself as Gertrude "Trudy" Harris. 

Within seconds, we knew exactly why Mel described Trudy the way she did. For starters, Trudy insisted on discussing the situation in the elevator, slamming her hand on the emergency stop button for good measure. You might have thought she wanted the extra privacy due to the secrecy of R.J.'s request, but no. "If I take you down to the lab, my colleagues will think we're dating," Trudy explained, adding that R.J. is "very on-brand" for her dating life.

Trudy followed this up with not-so-subtle questions about R.J.'s "girlfriend," clearly sniffing around to see if he's already in a relationship. She also made a joke about having a husband of her own, but she was quick to clarify that she was "definitely kidding" and "very, very single." Oh, Trudy.

R.J. put more effort into his appearance upon his second meeting with Trudy, something Mel clocked immediately, though she wondered whether R.J.'s new look was for Emi or the "lab lady." It was clearly for Trudy's benefit, but she barely got a chance to eye R.J.'s new duds before running off in the opposite direction, leaving him understandably confused.

Trudy explained her strange behavior at the end of the episode, revealing that the prints he gave her were part of an ongoing investigation into Victor Ochoa's death, and that the feds now have a case against Emi. You know, that would probably explain why Emi was seen being arrested and hauled off by the authorities at the end of the hour.

On the topic of R.J.'s love life in Season 2, actor Scott Speedman recently told TVLine that he's excited to see his character date around, adding that R.J. and Emi pumping the breaks "works really well" for the show. "It's a pretty sharp 180 for the audience to take, but I think it works well in terms of freeing them up," Speedman said. "It allows for more story possibility as we go forward."

This leads us to the million-dollar question: did Emi really kill her own father? We're not technically federal prosecutors, but if we had to bet on this one, we'd wager that Emi is being set up. We know she has an alibi for the moment Victor was shot, because we all saw her slow dancing with R.J. at Wish's bar in the Season 1 finale, laughing it up without a care in the world. Even if she hired someone else to get the job done, do you really think she'd be so chill about it? That's not our girl.

As for who might be setting Emi up to take the fall, the possibilities are endless. We definitely have our eye on District Attorney Lake (played by Elaine Hendrix), whom we also met this week. Maybe it's the curious timing of the character's introduction, or maybe it's because Hendrix has a history of playing glamorous, duplicitous women. Either way, she's on notice.

OK, let's discuss: Do you think Emi killed Victor, and if not, who could be setting her up? And are you seeing sparks between R.J. and Trudy? Drop a comment with your thoughts on Tuesday's episode below.