That Terrible Swift Sword - Recap

A figure wearing a raincoat and rubber boots stalks the alleyways of a city. The figure finds a prostitute and kills her with a cleaver. Nearby, Sister Allison MacKenzie is at a revival tent and talks with Reverend Dixon. She goes outside and notices the police cars, and goes to the murder scene where she tries to get through the police lines. She's unaware that the crusade's security chief, Lee Osborne, is following her.



Allison arranges a meeting with Ray at a pier and explains that in the last month each city the crusade has stopped in, there's been a prostitute murder. She doesn't want to bring bad publicity to the crusade and needs to hire Ray rather than go to the police. Ray agrees in return for "payment" and asks hers to get him into the crusade. He asks if Reverend Dixon has an assistant and when he finds out Dixon does, Ray calls in a favor with televangelist Dr. Jimmy Monroe and has him hire the assistant away.



Allison introduces Ray to Dixon as an admirer and a fellow preacher, and Ray expresses his interest in getting a few pointers. Needing a warm up, Dixon hires Ray. Allison introduces Ray to Lee Osborne, who is suspicious of the newcomer. Lee then sneaks into Ray's trailer and searches his belongings. He finds Ray's faked papers and has his assistant run a background check. Lee then opens a briefcase filled with newspaper clippings about the serial killings.



Later, Lee ambushes Ray in the crusade tent then claims he mistook him for a trespasser. The head of security then warns Ray to leave the crusade. Ray goes to lunch with Allison and she gently tries to convert him. Allison claims that Lee is harmless and as they go back to the crusade, she explains that her parents died in an accident with a drunk driver when she was eight. Since then she's been with Reverend Dixon.



That night, Ray gives a stirring sermon and irritates Dixon by telling everyone not to donate. Allison is impressed but DIxon warns him not to make any financial decisions as the crusade desperately needs the money to stay active. Ray then meets with another favor-owing friend, Morgan, who works in a newspaper office as a researcher. Ray has Morgan run a background check on Dixon's financial records and lee's background. He returns to the crusade where the police are waiting: they've searched his trailer and found a pair of bloody boots. The lead detective, Kennedy, takes Ray to San Diego for a police lineup. Ray asks for them to stop for food along the way and ends up handcuffed to a highbacked chair. He asks Kennedy to get him some cigarettes and when the detective leaves, Ray drops his coat and has a waiter put it back on the chair behind him. He then switches chairs and slouches down, and when Kennedy returns it appears that Ray has escaped. Kennedy calls it in while Ray picks the handcuff and frees himself.



That night, Lee escorts Allison to her trailer and warns that she won't be seeing Ray again, and that Ray was the killer. Inside, Allison finds Ray waiting for her. He says that he'll be taking to the streets to track down the serial killer. Dressed as a homeless man, Ray hears a scream and arrives at a new murder scene. He chases the raincoat-wearing figure through the alleyways but loses him in the steam.



Ray checks in with Morgan who reports that Dixon's financial record is clean and that all of his money goes into supporting the crusade. Lee has a record for police brutality with the Chicago PD, and the rest oft he crusade staff check clean. However, Morgan notes that Allison's father was arrested for child abuse when she was five, and then murdered his wife two years later. Ray goes back to the crusade and searches Allison's trailer. He finds a scrapbook with an article on the father's murder case and a photo of Allison. Lee comes in and prepares to kill Ray, saying that Allison is more perfect and worthy than either one of them deserves. Ray convinces him to read the scrapbook, which has pictures of women with red writing saying "Sinners" and "Murder." Realizing that Lee is in love with Allison, Ray briefly pats him on the shoulder then goes back to the crusade tent. Finding that Allison is gone, he goes into the streets and finds Allison, wearing the raincoat and boots. He arrives just in time to stop her from killing another prostitute and chases her through the alleyways until he finally captures and disarms her.



Later, Allison goes to the psychiatric hospital where Allison is locked up in a padded room. The woman is displaying a split personality, one moment gentle Allison and the next a raving lunatic who insists she's the holy one chosen to kill all the sinners. Ray can only look on in horror as a confused Allison pleads with him for help one moment and threatens to kill everyone the next. Finally both of her personas insist that he go and he has no choice but to leave, driving away.



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