In the rec center of a crummy part of town, a distressed man is shown beating his stress away on a punching bag. When asked about his issues by a young boy whom he sponsors, the man states he is about to deal with the problems himself. Three days later, in an apartment building undergoing renovation, the man’s body is found dead and with serious decay.
In the lab Henry discovers the man’s name is Raul and, despite evidence that he died of a drug overdose, he quickly determines it to be a frame job to hide the evidence of blunt force trauma. Henry and Lucas scour the crime scene for evidence to link the drug to a manufacturer in hopes of determining the identity of the murderer. Noticing some rats scurrying around that had nibbled on the victim causes Henry to task Lucas with retrieving a rat for study. He then proceeds to purchase some heroin from a nearby dealer as another potential lead and, not too surprising, ends up in police custody. Lucas shows up soon after though, and they both look into their separate leads.
Neither turn over any useful information however, which causes Henry and Detective Martinez to question Raul’s partner at the rec center. He points them in the direction of a land developer named Tommy Delgros who Raul had some rather harsh dealings with. They also speak to the owner of a nearby convenience store who confirms that Delgros has been making offers on all the buildings in the neighborhood, which upset Raul as it would mean the rec center being torn down.
At one of Delgros construction sites, Henry finds evidence which links Raul’s body to the scene and even finds his lost cell phone. The last call on it happens to have been to none other than Mr. Delgros himself. Despite all this evidence, however, Delgros cannot be charged for anything and it is only by Detective Martinez suggesting they tail a known criminal associate of Delgros which gets them back on the trail.
This associate is seen entering the rec center with a brown baggie given to him by Delgros and quickly leaves after placing it inside. Henry and Jo discover the bag inside the locker of Raul’s partner. After questioning him they learn he was accepting the payoffs in exchange for convincing others in the neighborhood to sell, a fact which made Raul none too happy and lead to them having a fight shortly before his death.
Troubled by these facts, Raul’s partner corners Delgros about the circumstances surrounding his friends death while wearing a wire in hopes of getting a murder confession. This doesn’t pan out but causes Henry to link a young boy, who Raul mentored, as being at the crime scene. After a bit more deduction he realizes this boy knows who the killer is, but the boy is abducted before they can question him.
Realizing it wasn’t Delgros’ associate that the boy was scared of, but instead it is revealed to be the convenience store owner. This new realization causes Henry and Jo to rush to the scene and end up saving the boy in the nick of time. The shop keeper bolts with Henry in close pursuit, only for the chase to be brought to a sudden end when the murderer runs out into the street and struck down by a passing truck.
With lack of evidence, the department is unable to pin the murder on Delgros, though they are able to charge him with an indictment for bribery. Over a rooftop dinner with Jo and Abe, Henry mulls over the events of the case and determines that, though history does have a tendency to repeat itself, he has noticed a change for the better… despite everything that goes wrong in life.
Surrounded by good company and a great view, the trio relaxes as one more case is closed.
