Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

Police Chief Jesse Stone of the quiet coastal village of Paradise, Massachusetts grows restless from a lack of serious crime and takes an unpaid consultant position with the Massachusetts State Police Homicide Unit, partly also to cope with the recent death of his dog. Lieutenant Sydney Greenstreet of State Police Homicide asks him to look into a case involving the so-called 'Boston Ripper,' a serial killer named Richard Steele who has been jailed for the slashing and disembowelment of three Boston-area prostitutes. Although the forensic signature of a fourth murder—that of a woman named Mavis Davies—matches the Ripper's method, Steele adamantly refuses to take credit for this killing, unlike his proud admission to the first three. Stone reviews the case files and notices inconsistencies, including a missing toxicology report, that convince him a copycat or separate killer is responsible for Mavis's death. Digging deeper, Stone learns that Mavis had been working as a high-priced prostitute and had been carrying on a secret affair with a police officer. His investigation ultimately leads him to Detective Dan Leary, who had originally arrested Mavis years earlier and later became her lover. Confronting Leary at a café, Stone intervenes when Leary threatens Amelia Hope, a former friend of Mavis who has become a key witness; gunfire is exchanged and Stone fatally shoots Leary, closing the case. Running parallel to the murder investigation is a subplot in which Stone takes an interest in Jenny, a troubled thirteen-year-old girl he discovers smoking marijuana in a park. Her home life is troubled by her mother's alcoholism and what amounts to a neglectful, abusive environment. Stone mentors Jenny and arranges for her to be placed in a refuge while her mother enters treatment for alcoholism. He also adopts Steve, the dog that belonged to one of the victims, giving both himself and the animal a new start. The film closes on a note of quiet resolution, with Stone at peace by the ocean alongside his new dog.

Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb (search snippet)