 Felton ( Daniel Baldwin ) hesitates to take a new murder case because he fears it will be too difficult to solve , so it is taken on by his partner Howard ( Melissa Leo ) , who has recently experienced a perfect streak of solving 11 consecutive cases . They investigate the body of a man dead in a basement , and much to Felton 's bewilderment , Howard solves the case easily . The owner of the house , Jerry <unk> ( Jim <unk> ) , literally calls her at the house while she is investigating and agrees to a police interview , during which he acts extremely nervous and is eventually charged with the murder . 
