Cryer attends the scene when a prostitute is slashed across the face with a machete and subsequently hospitalized. The prime suspect, Alvin Morton, was released from prison just ten days previously, and Cryer is determined to send him back there. Meanwhile, when the prostitute retracts her statement, and Alvin's girlfriend provides him with an alibi, Santini mishandles the situation and gives Alvin's location to two of her friends who have vowed revenge on her attacker. When Alvin is shot and doubly kneecapped, Cryer is curious to learn just how they found out where Alvin was staying. A box of matches with Alvin's address written in it then surfaces during interview, landing Santini in deep trouble.