‘Chicago P.D.’ Investigates Grisly Drug-Trafficking Murder on Wednesday Night

This week’s sneak peek of Chicago P.D. shows officers following an almost invisible lead back to a night club.

The preview opens with two bodies in the autopsy room, one identified and one not. The John Doe lies under a sheet, while the woman is named Gloria Sanchez. Judging by the conversation between detectives Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) and Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), Gloria was found after a cocaine overdose. The autopsy found that she had a bag of the drug hidden in her stomach, but her digestive system had corroded the plastic, leaking the powder directly into her system.

Gloria has been mercilessly cut open by her associates to retrieve the drug. However, the officers had one clue as to how to find them: a stamp on Gloria’s hand. Under a blacklight, she had the clear silhouette of a scorpion on the back of her hand — the kind that is often given for admission to a night club.

Sure enough, more information soon comes in from customs confirming that both Gloria and the John Doe — Miguel Lopez — have recently worked at a place called the Scorpion Club. Miguel was listed as a dancer, while Gloria was listed as a dancer. Detective Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) finds that the logo for the club even matches the hand stamp.

That is all the team needs to move in on the club for further investigation. Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) orders them to run background checks on the establishment, the owner “and every employee,” hoping to get as big a conviction as possible.

“This is a homicide now,” he points out. “We bust the guy moving the drugs, we can nail him for murder too.”

Knowing Chicago P.D., this is likely the tip of the iceberg for this week’s mysteries. The show is now five episodes into its sixth season, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Outside of police business, there are plenty of personal things to work out in this week’s episode as well. Detective Ruzek’s father is returning to the show, played by Jack Coleman. In addition, his relationship with Upton continues to be a point of contention, as fans are dying to see him tell his former fiance about it.

The show’s advertising has been leaning heavily on the promise of this drama going into Wednesday. Unlike most procedurals, the Chicago franchise is not afraid to trust fans with some arcs that take several episodes to develop. Judging by the response — not to mention the ratings — that trust is paying off.

Chicago P.D. airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.