A traffic incident occurs when a man driving a stolen vehicle stops an ambulance, the driver of the stolen vehicle, wielding a shotgun, demanding morphine from the paramedic. After the incident, the driver of the stolen vehicle flees on foot, leaving the vehicle behind. The ambulance delay causes the death of the elderly woman being transported. Fingerprints retrieved from the stolen vehicle indicate the driver is probably Douglas James Shelby, who kidnapped his young daughter, Jennifer, from his estranged wife, with Shelby and Jennifer in tow currently on the run. Shelby's wife hired Lawrence Doan, a private investigator, to track her husband and daughter. Doan has tracked Shelby to a local motel. When Shannon and Williams, the two working on this case for Homicide, arrive at the motel, they learn why Shelby stopped the ambulance in the first place. Meanwhile, Da Vinci investigates the death of a painter, who was found on fire on a mechanized swing stage, the platform on the ground at the time the death occurred. Da Vinci eventually finds a second building painter, also dead, on top of an adjacent trailer. It looks as if he was electrocuted. Da Vinci later learns that the painting company has a history of problems, one with the swing stage which may have led to the deaths. Elsewhere, Kosmo and Leary continue their sting on Curtis. They question Marla, who vows to "stay clear" when Curtis is eventually taken down. During this process, Curtis pulls a fast one on Prentice. And Da Vinci learns that Bill Jacobs has always had every intention of running for the Chief of Police job, despite telling Da Vinci the exact opposite. Da Vinci also learns the reason for Constable Charlie Klotchko's bad mouthing of him, which is related to Jacobs' run for the top cop job.
—Huggo