Episode 3 of "Criminal Record" kicks off with a harrowing scene: a young boy is shot at a bustling park, leaving everyone in shock. Hegarty, the Senior Investigating Officer, swiftly arrives on the scene, sensing a gang-related conflict as the boy unfortunately falls victim to the crossfire. Accompanying him is DS Kim Cardwell, another determined detective determined to solve the case.
Meanwhile, Lenker is busy printing out posters asking, "Do you know this woman?" She's following a promising lead from an unidentified caller, but her focus is interrupted by a call for volunteers to assist with the boy's shooting investigation. Seizing the opportunity to get closer to Hegarty, Lenker agrees to join the team.
Back at the crime scene, tension mounts as it's revealed that the boy has miraculously survived, but with a bullet lodged dangerously in his head. Hegarty, though reluctantly, gives Lenker the green light to join the investigation. DS Kim Cardwell introduces himself to Lenker as she arrives for work, and Hegarty himself approaches her to officially welcome her to the team.
Lenker later meets with Sonya to discuss the perplexing Errol Mathis case. Sonya offers her the evidence box related to the case, but Lenker politely declines, intent on focusing on the mysterious caller. However, she relents and takes the box when Sonya insists, knowing it might hold crucial clues.
Elsewhere, Hegarty stumbles upon the posters Lenker has been printing and confronts DS Tony Gilfoyle about them, hinting at a brewing tension within the investigation team.
Lenker cautiously unwrapped the evidence box, her eyes fixed on the crime scene video and tapes of interviews with Errol's son, Patrick. She dialed Sonya's number and played devil's advocate, pointing out that the situation looked increasingly unfavorable for Errol. Despite the absence of a clear motive, the police's theory that his hasty departure with Patrick and subsequent crash constituted a murder-suicide attempt rang hollow. The truth was, he was headed to visit his mother, Doris.
Sonya suggested a bold move, urging Lenker to meet with Errol in prison. She revealed that she could arrange the visit without Hegarty's knowledge. Shortly after, Hegarty's call interrupted their conversation, asking Lenker to rush to the hospital to comfort the shooting victim's distraught mother, who had specifically requested her presence. Lenker obliged, offering solace as Hegarty observed from a distance.
Following the emotional encounter, Lenker and Hegarty convened in his car. As Hegarty took a call, Lenker's attention was drawn to a business card advertising Hegarty's chauffeur services. Curious, she slipped it into her possession.
Later, Lenker arrived at the prison, feigning a meeting with a man named Sampson Michaels. This ruse was merely a ploy, as Sonya awaited her in the waiting room. When Michael's name was called, Sonya stepped forward, leaving Lenker to face Errol Mathis alone.
During their tense conversation, Lenker introduced herself as a friend of Sonya's and probed Errol about his alibi and confession. Errol attributed both to the influence of drugs, his voice filled with regret. After their meeting, Lenker and Sonya convened to discuss their findings, Lenker raising the intriguing question of Hegarty's moonlighting as a chauffeur and wondering about his ulterior motives.
Lenker receives a urgent call and is compelled to depart as the police believe they have located the shooter. Cardwell arrives at the crime scene along with the others, while Lenker arrives tardily and is sternly reprimanded by Cardwell. The armed officers are stationed at the suspected gunman's residence. They forcibly break down his door, but he has already fled, leaving his girlfriend as the only occupant.
Meanwhile, Gilfoyle contacts Hegarty to inform him that he has received word of Lenker's visit to Errol Mathis while the search for the gunman is underway. Hegarty observes on the CCTV footage that the suspect is approaching Lenker, brandishing a gun. He hesitates to warn her, considering that this could potentially solve his problems and rid him of Lenker's scrutiny. Despite being fired upon, Lenker manages to evade the bullet unscathed, and Hegarty arrives at the scene shortly after.
Later, Lenker explains to Hegarty that she was conducting a prison interview, which explains her absence from the briefing about the lead on the suspect. However, she chooses to conceal the identity of her meeting's subject. This conversation is abruptly interrupted by news that the police have discovered the firearm used to shoot the boy.
As the episode draws to a close, Hegarty prepares for a press conference, instructed to include Lenker in order to satisfy diversity quotas. Lenker receives a call from the officer handling Patrick's drug case, revealing the reason for his evasion of arrest. Apparently, a Glaswegian-accented CID officer had been shielding him from prosecution.
