The latest Chicago P.D. episode, I Was Here, is arguably one of the most powerful instalments in the entire series. The episode opens with Officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Officer Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) discussing their plans for the immediate future. It turns out Ruzek is moving into Burgess’ place. With the two of them no longer working together, because Burgess has been assigned to an emergency call centre, they part company.

Burgess, assigned to desk duty, is seen taking emergency phone calls. Burgess tracks the emergency call and dispatches uniformed officers. Wanting to get a read on a specific call she took, Burgess drops in at District to speak with the responding police officers, O’Malley (Sean Ramey) and Jeffries (Billy Rude), about their findings. The officers don’t take kindly to Burgess questioning their professionalism.

O’Malley, when he references Burgess being pregnant, immediately steps into hot water with Desk Sergeant Trudy Platt (Amy Morton). Platt’s body language, not gone unnoticed by O’Malley, is the only indicator he needs to stop talking.

Not happy with what she had heard, Burgess decides to follow up on the call herself. Platt immediately picks up on the vibes Burgess is giving off. Noting that Burgess is assigned to light-duty, Platt reminds her she can’t be doing follow-ups. Burgess, not taking no for an answer, asks the desk sergeant if she’s going with her. Regardless of what Platt does, even though Burgess is on light-duty, it doesn’t look like the officer has any intention of standing down.

With Burgess not giving Platt a choice, because she knew the officer was going with or without her, the desk sergeant accompanied her. Arriving at the apartment building, Burgess and Platt find the elevator seemingly out of order so they use the stairwell to get to the correct floor.

Getting in response from the apartment occupants, even though Burgess called out George Weller’s name a few times, Platt tries the door and finds it unlocked. After entering the apartment, Burgess and Platt find evidence of a crime. Platt immediately notes the presence of blood. In another room, Burgess finds more blood. The desk sergeant orders a couple of units and a mobile lab to her location.

The neighbour, behaving like a classic looky-loo, catches Burgess’ attention. Even though the woman apparently hadn’t seen anything unusual, she did reveal that the couple fights all the time. As the neighbour tries to use the elevator, it occurs to Burgess and Platt to check the building basement. In the basement, blocking the elevator door from closing, Weller’s body is discovered. Could Anne Weller have killed her abusive husband in an act of self-defence?

When Sergeant Henry “Hank” Voight (Jason Beghe) arrives at the crime scene, the mobile lab people are already busy with cataloguing the evidence. Burgess and Platt brief Voight on what they found. As Platt exits the apartment, she exchanges a brief look with O’Malley and Jeffries. O’Malley and Jeffries, the officers that had initially spoken with the Weller couple, show up at the crime scene. Voight, wanting to speak with the officers, gets them to tell him what occurred earlier that day.

Noticing the file Burgess is holding, O’Malley asks the officer if he can see the file. Burgess tells him that the image on the file is Anne Weller’s current DMV photo. As O’Malley and Jeffries look at the photo on the file cover, Voight asks them what’s going on. O’Malley reveals, when he and Jeffries at the apartment earlier, the pictured woman was not the Anne Weller they spoke with. It was a younger woman. The Anne Weller pictured on Burgess’ file is blond. The woman the two uniformed officers spoke with was a brunette. Will the real Anne Weller please stand up?

After O’Malley and Jeffries, Voight takes a moment to ask Burgess what it was that made her do the initial follow-up. Burgess tells Voight that it was a feeling. She heard something in the woman’s voice.

Returning to the basement elevator door, we see Ruzek and Officer Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez) working the scene. Weller died where he was found. It looks like a fight occurred in the elevator. The killer was in the elevator with Weller. Because you need a remote, as Rojas states, not everyone can access the garage.

Officer Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) shows up at the secondary crime scene and informs Voight the real Anne Weller is with Detectives Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) at District. She was apparently at work all day.

Burgess asks Voight if it’s ok with him if she works the case. She promises to ride the desk the whole time. Because her instincts caught the case, Voight tells Burgess she should work it.

Image Credit: IMDb.com

Meanwhile, at District, we see the real Anne Weller (Ashley Clark) speaking with Halstead and Upton. She tells the detectives that her husband has a liking for prostitutes. The brunette at the apartment, the one that self-identified herself as being Anne Weller, was a prostitute. Who was running the prostitutes?

Ruzek, with Burgess having reminded him she’s on desk duty, takes Rojas with him to see the tech centre. The tech expert worked Weller’s cell from top to bottom. It hardly ever stays on for more than an hour. Shortly thereafter, we find Ruzek, Halstead, and Upton reviewing security footage when Burgess enters the room.

Halstead, noting that the guy is smart, sees the suspect checks for traffic cams before pulling over. Concealing himself under a bridge, even though he tries to hide within the shadows, there is enough for facial recognition software to do its thing. The suspect is identified as one Daniel Lopez (). He’s apparently wanted for trafficking all over the Midwest.

Sergeant Marie Stilman (Kerry Cahill), along with her FBI team, make their presence felt at District. Voight and Stilman, with them having met years ago, have history. Voight worked a case where the body of a young girl was found down by the river.

Stilman introduces Voight to FBI Special Agent O’Brien (Sean Blake). He’s part of her team. Not wanting to do introductions, Stilman reads the Intelligence unit in on what her team has been working on. She tells them that they have had the misfortune of landing in a cell of what has been named Operation Cold Country. The investigation pertains to a midsize human trafficking network operating in the Midwest. The ring looks at recruiting homeless teenagers and runaways. Referencing Lopez, Stilman tells us that he’s a trusted midlevel trafficker. He’s likely to be lying low. There is however one viable lead for the Intelligence unit to follow up on.

Looking through various imagines on her computer screen, Burgess identifies 20-year-old Mira Davis (Brianne Tju). Davis managed to get out of the ring. When Voight brings her to District, not that we wouldn’t expect anything else, she’s running her mouth. It didn’t look like she was in any mood to give investigating officers any information.

Burgess speaks to Davis about her recent history. Davis doesn’t believe the police can save the girls and women that are being trafficked across state lines. “They’re already gone,” Davis tells Burgess. Whilst Davis wasn’t prepared to cooperate, Burgess is seen fighting against the FBI’s decision to charge her. Voight sides with Burgess. Burgess tells Davis her life story. Even though Davis is initially unwilling to help Burgess, the officer finally gets her to give her something she can use. Davis identifies Lopez as the pimp.

Based on information Burgess gets from Davis, Voight has Atwater, Rojas, Halstead, and Upton work the neighbourhoods. A corner store worker references a black van filled with girls. Whilst the girls apparently work at a bar, the store worker suggests it’s more of a brothel. With the van being in the area every day, the Intelligence unit decides to wait for it to show up. When the van shows up, Voight has Atwater plant a tracking device on it.

Elsewhere, as much of the unit is out in the field, Burgess monitors the situation from District. Voight wants everyone that enters the bar identified. Burgess would rather be doing anything but desk work. She keeps track of the investigation.

After Intelligence unit tracks the van back to a house, Voight has his people raid it. Eighteen girls were found at the house. None of the girls discovered in the house matches the one Burgess was looking for. Where is the girl that called 9–1–1?