Shelley Ganz, the treasurer of an exclusive housing co-op, is murdered in the building's parking lot. The initial suspect is Steven Tashjian, who owes a lot of money in business loans. He'd asked to use his apartment as collateral, and if Shelley refused, he'd have to repay all the loans in full. Briscoe and Curtis figure out that Shelley was killed by mistake; the intended target was Tashjian's wife. The detectives arrest Enrique Flores, who was seen following her just before Shelley's death. But soon afterwards, Mrs. Tashjian is murdered too.
Both Tashjian and Flores owe money to Beechwood Loans, which holds life insurance policies on all customers including the Tashjians. Not only that, but Beechwood's owner Sam "Bunny" Russo is a loan shark with a history of violence. Three other people who defaulted on their loans with Beechwood have died in unsolved homicides, and one victim had recorded that Flores' car was following him. When Flores is told he'll be charged with two murders, he has a heart attack. At the hospital, he confesses in front of Curtis to killing two people. But the defence gets this excluded under doctor-patient privilege.
Since Flores was in jail when Mrs. Tashjian died, Russo is clearly using other customers as killers. The DAs find evidence that Tashjian murdered one of his own friends just to get his debt reduced. Tashjian denies this, and wants a deal for immunity in exchange for his testimony against Russo. Ross is disgusted at the idea of letting a murderer go free, but McCoy points out Russo is more dangerous. They can't make a case against Tashjian, so it's Russo or nothing.
In court, McCoy forces Tashjian to admit to the murder and that Russo had others killed too. Russo accounts for the deaths of Shelley; Mrs. Tashjian; and the three other victims. He won't say anything about his "investors" (all of whom are powerful mobsters) and is sentenced to life without parole. McCoy says that he doesn't regret making the deal with Tashjian, and points out that Tashjian still owes Beechwood half a million dollars. Ending titles state that Tashjian was murdered shortly after the trial, and his share of the co-op was used to settle his debts.
Tropes in this episode:
- Deal with the Devil: McCoy grants immunity to someone he suspects is a murderer to convict a Loan Shark who put the murderer up to it.
- Greater-Scope Villain: It's hinted that the real evil behind Beechwood is its investors (a mafia family); and after Russo is jailed, they almost instantly have Tashjian murdered to collect on the money he owed them.
- Insurance Fraud: The Loan Shark at the center of the episode hires clients to murder other clients so he can collect on the insurance claims he's taken out on them.
- Mistaken Identity: The first murder results from one.
- Never the Obvious Suspect: Zigzagged. The detectives initially suspect the second victim's husband murdered her for the insurance. It turns out he did commit a murder but not his wife. A loan shark put him up to murdering a previous victim, and said loan shark later had his wife killed.
- Quip to Black:Curtis: One shot to the back. No robbery, no sexual assault. You know what this looks like?Briscoe: Yeah, looks like somebody gets a parking space.
- Racist Grandma: Shelley's elderly parents owned the co-op, and had an unspoken policy of not allowing Latinos to join.
- Too Dumb to Live: The second victim has just been told the first murder victim was likely a case of Mistaken Identity, and she was the target. She continues with her normal routine and is promptly murdered outside the gym she regularly visits.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: In a rare example for this series, the viewer is informed that Steven Tashjian was murdered after testifying for the prosecution against Sam Russo.
