Sally Jenkins is found in a dumpster, strangled. Steve suspects her violence-prone ex Ed. LAPD detective Harry Trumble, whose retirement closes down after 15 years the task force which never caught the Clown Killer whose elaborate MO included painting a clown's face on the victim, claims it's his work, only he got interrupted. When Steve discards that, Harry falsifies a claim letter from the murderer and authenticates it on TV, causing a panic and high-profile resurrection of the task force, under Harry, who gets a call from the murderer, who already killed again. Now Harry shows Mark his theory the killer never stopped but worked in various oil-producing countries, painting clown-type faces according to local traditions, but Steve nails Sally Jenkins's killer, which compromises Harry's theory, yet captain Walter Newman won't even take him off the task force. Despite Harry resenting his only fiancée marrying Mark instead, they follow up on the travel theory. Oil company executive Howard Weber tells them which harassment-prone employee fits the travel pattern, so Steve and cancer-terminal Harry stake him and that is only the beginning...
—KGF Vissers
