Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (2024) s01e10 Episode Script
Cul-De-Sac
1
[NARRATOR]: In Toronto's war on crime,
the worst offenders are
pursued by the detectives
of the specialized criminal
investigations unit.
These are their stories.
Surprised you're back so soon.
So? Tell me, yes or no?
Is this the necklace?
If I tell you, you won't be safe.
I'm already not safe. I need to know.
[GUARD SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
What should I do?
You take care.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
Mom, seriously, I have to go.
Promise me that you're going to be home.
Did you hear me, Erica?
Yes, I heard you, Willa.
- [SIGHS]
- Can you please not
"first name" me? I just really
need you to be home tonight.
[ERICA]: You know, just
because you decided
to become mother of the year
doesn't mean I have to drop everything.
I told you I have plans. I gotta go.
Erica, just
[SIGHS]
We have to be back for
English class in 40 minutes.
Do you want them or not, Penny?
Come on, it will be worth it.
Come on!
[CAR HONKING IN DISTANCE]
[CURTIS]: Your law firm
must take this seriously.
This is a clear and present threat.
- You need to be on high alert.
- Sorry, my call went long.
My advice: To refrain
from sharing personal
information with your clients.
Don't take the same route to court.
Install security at your home.
Good thing I got that panic room.
[CURTIS]: You need to
be vigilant. Alright?
These threats, these
affect you and your family.
I just need, like, an hour.
Or, actually, two.
What are you gonna wear?
Don't stress it, Pen. I'm
heading to Nicola's first,
I'll meet you there later. Okay?
Hey, Mrs. Wright.
Hey, Erica.
- Dumpster diving, Mom?
- Oh, I know.
I accidentally put some
recycling in the garbage.
Saving the planet one can at a time?
You know it. [CHUCKLING]
Ew, no! Get those garbage gloves off me!
- I can't hug you?
- No!
[LAUGHING]
- What's so funny, ladies?
- Mom's being gross.
- Aw, that's why we love her.
- Mmm. Japanese curry.
Yeah, you interested, cupcake?
Hmm. Tempting, but Erica and I
are heading to the ROM tonight.
So I gotta get ready.
Save me some leftovers?
Yes, it's always better the second day.
Noah.
I've looked everywhere. It's gone.
[SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
Erica? Honey? Are you home?
Erica?
Erica?
[DOG BARKING]
Shoot
[RELIEVED SIGH]
[DOG BARKING]
- Hi, Tom.
- Hey.
You can't be here.
Have you seen Erica? I
can't find her anywhere.
No, why? I thought she went out.
That's why I brought this.
- We could order some pizza
- I can't, I can't do this.
Okay, well, let's just
find another night, then.
No. This. Us.
We can't do this
anymore, okay? I'm sorry.
Whoa, whoa, hey, hang on a sec.
What's going on with you?
[SIGHS]
I can't even explain.
I need to find Erica.
But she'll turn up. Meet me later.
- I gotta go.
- Meet me later!
Wi
Willa!
[TENSE MUSIC]
[GUNSHOTS]
[GASPING]
[OPENING THEME]
[SIRENS WAILING]
Hey. Uh, victim was found
in this alley at dawn.
Female, 45, gunshot wound to the chest.
First, we thought it was a mugging,
but her purse is still here,
wallet, ID, everything.
And guess who she is.
Willa Fenwick.
Excellent defence lawyer.
[BRIER]: You know her?
Yeah, we had the pleasure
of being cross-examined
by Ms. Fenwick many times.
Charming woman. Ruthless attorney.
She made the bad guys look good.
[BRIER]: Well, not every bad guy.
Fenwick's law firm
thinks she was targeted
by a former client.
Remember Trevor Tavernes?
The drug trafficker.
He went to jail recently, if I recall.
Supposedly, he's mad that Fenwick didn't
keep him out of the clink.
He's been sending her death threats.
The law firm was concerned for Willa
and her 17-year-old daughter, Erica.
Officers just notified
her at their home.
- Thanks, Dana.
- Yeah.
[INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
- Well, it's all a bit odd.
- What, you mean the threats?
No, the casings.
They've been ejected from here,
but she was shot at close range.
Her killer was standing right
in front of her, and yet
- They missed. Twice.
- Yeah. So unless
Tavernes was using bargain muscle
I don't see this as a drug hit
or the work of a
career criminal. It's
erratic, emotional.
Well, gang or no gang,
someone had a problem with Willa.
Tavernes thought Willa
deliberately ruined his trial.
She wouldn't let him
put a surprise witness
on the stand to exonerate him.
And she knew it was perjury, bribery.
Exactly.
And without the lie, he
couldn't win the case.
- He was convicted.
- And then the threats began.
Yes.
At first, it was just
intimidation, but
then we got our first death threat.
Did Willa take any precautions,
get a security camera?
She didn't even get that far.
This whole thing escalated so quickly.
I I never thought Tavernes
would actually kill Willa.
I'm really worried about
the second chair on the case.
We'll get a security detail on them,
and look into Tavernes.
Drug Squad's got a whole file on him.
Thank you.
If you could tell us more
about Willa's relationships
with her clients, with her colleagues,
that'd really help us out.
She didn't have any other clients.
I'm sorry, I thought
Willa was a senior partner.
Yes, but about a month ago,
she said she needed to step back.
Something was stressing her out.
Before the first death threat?
Yes.
Willa used to be here all the time,
100 hours a week, easy.
And then, all of a
sudden, she started taking
all these personal days.
You know any top lawyers with
a great work-life balance?
Nope. And I've never heard of
any who are on partial leave
while preparing for their only case.
What would compel you
to leave the force?
Abandon me to this
glorious job all on my own?
Well, I'd like to say, "nothing," but
combine "single mom"
with "stressful job,"
who knows what could happen? [CAR BEEPS]
Well, we should see if Willa
was having some trouble at home.
Willa was more than a neighbour to me.
She was like family.
What was she even doing in that alley?
Oof
Hey, come here.
It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay.
[SUSAN SOBBING QUIETLY] It's okay.
This is my husband, Noah. [SNIFFLES]
- Hi.
- This is Detective Bateman
and Detective Graff.
They have some questions about Willa.
Yeah. Yeah. Hi. Of course.
[QUIET SOBBING]
So just to clarify,
you're looking after Willa's
daughter Erica, is that right?
Yeah, just until Renata
gets here. Uh Willa's sister.
We're also helping with
the visitation, but
there's just so much to do.
- [DOORBELL RINGING]
- Excuse me.
Susan, how long have you
lived beside Willa and Erica?
Ten years.
We've raised our kids together.
Penny and Erica are the same age.
[DOOR CLOSES]
What about Dad?
Callum was a total deadbeat.
They don't talk. He lives in Vancouver.
[GASPING]
This is, um this is
my neighbour, Margot.
And this is my husband, Tom.
Hi.
We were all so close friends with Willa.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
We were hoping you
could help us understand
what was going on in Willa's life
in the last month.
Her colleagues seem to think that, um
she had a personal issue.
Not that I can think of.
Uh, she had been
acting a little distant.
- Absent-minded.
- Hmm? What do you mean?
Well, she forgot Susan's birthday.
Showed up to mine three hours late.
We didn't take it personally,
we just figured that Willa
was trying to make more time
for Erica.
[SOBBING]
Poor kid.
Went out last night, had no idea
she'd never see her mom again.
Would you mind if we
speak with her a moment?
My mom wanted me to stay home,
but Penny and I had tickets
to the ROM Night Exhibit.
[SNIFFLING]
She called me a bunch of
times, I didn't even answer her.
What if she needed help?
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]
Erica.
When you came home,
did you notice anything strange?
No.
The house was quiet.
I thought she was asleep, I went to bed.
Had her behaviour changed
at all in the last month?
She barely let me out of
her sight, wanted to
drive me everywhere,
but then, she'd, like
[SNIFFLES]
pull over every five
minutes, wait for cars to pass us.
She thought we were being followed.
Drug dealers don't follow people, Graff.
Well, I know they don't,
which is why going through
this Tavernes file from Drug Squad
was an exercise in frustration.
Still, you gotta alibi his guys.
Already did. All his foot soldiers
were accounted for at the
time of Willa's murder.
11 p.m. Some all-night
wake down by the Bluffs.
Ex-husband?
Already cleared, as was
Willa's sister Renata,
and her colleagues. Her
death had nothing to do
with her case, her work, or her family.
So who was following her?
Well, could've been Jesse Meecham.
- Who's Jesse Meecham?
- Well, I don't know,
but he called Willa four
times on Thursday night.
It was the last call she ever answered.
I-I never met Willa Fenwick.
You haven't met her,
yet you spoke to her
for five minutes on
Thursday night at 10:15.
No, uh, Thursday
M-My phone got stolen around 10.
- You mean this phone?
- Yes, that's my
- that's my phone.
- We found this in the dumpster
near the alleyway where
Willa was shot to death.
- Did you kill her?
- No, no, no!
I-I did not kill anyone.
I swear, I did not kill
anyone. I was at a bar. Lokale.
I-I put my phone down
for a few seconds,
and someone took it.
Can anyone place you there?
Our bartender at Lokale confirmed it.
Jesse was definitely there.
He made a big stinker around 10
when his phone was stolen,
and then left at midnight.
They got any security cameras?
No. Our thief remains a mystery.
I think you mean our
killer. Mark's been doing
his due diligence. Look.
Lokale is a five-minute walk
from our crime scene, yeah?
So the killer steals
the phone at 10 p.m.,
and then travels across the alleyway
where Willa's body was found.
Now all four calls were made
to Willa from that location.
She picks up the fourth call at 10:15,
goes to the alley to meet the caller.
And gets shot at 11 p.m.
Someone lured her to her death.
Then threw the phone
away in the dumpster.
But why would Willa,
who's already stressed about safety,
take a call from a stranger,
then go meet them in
the middle of the night?
Well, what if it wasn't
a stranger at all?
Look at this.
I went through security
cameras in Willa's neighbourhood
to see if Tavernes' guys
were outside her place.
Look who I found instead.
Susan and Willa arguing about something.
I guess Susan didn't think
this qualified as a personal issue.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey. If this is too much,
we don't have to stay, okay?
[SOFT ORGAN MUSIC]
[SOBBING]
[SNIFFLING]
What are you doing?
Crying like this in front of Margot?
[SNIFFLES, CLEARS THROAT]
I'm not allowed to be upset?
You may think no one knows
what you did, but I do.
So if you don't wanna
ruin any other lives,
take the theatrics down a notch.
You may think you're a saint,
but I think you're a bitch.
[SINISTER MUSIC]
Mrs. Wright.
- Detectives.
- We need to have a word.
Come with us please, Susan.
I couldn't tell you about our fight.
Not in front of my friends and family.
Well, they're not here
right now, so go ahead.
Fill us in.
[HEAVY SIGH, CLEARS THROAT]
[COUGHS]
Get you anything? Any coffee, water?
No, I can't have coffee. I'm fine.
It's just a hard thing to talk about.
Willa was having an affair.
With Margot's husband, Tom. Hence the
avoidance of eye contact,
that lukewarm hug.
Am I supposed to welcome
him with open arms?
Margot is one of my best
friends, the guy is a jerk.
- [SIGHS]
- How did you feel about Willa?
Willa was a good person.
Sometimes, good people do bad things.
What about Tom? What
kind of person is he?
The kind who used to be in movies
and now makes furniture in his backyard.
I
told Willa she needed to end it.
On the night she died.
I wonder how Tom felt about that.
Willa Fenwick
was a lovely person.
Smart, kind.
I have no idea who
would want to hurt her.
Did you happen to see
her on the day she died?
No. No, why?
Ah, we were just canvassing the street.
It's quite a setup you got over here.
Now I consider myself
an enthusiastic amateur.
- Do you mind if I have a look?
- S sure.
I'm, uh, trying to turn a hobby
into a second career, you know.
You used to be an actor.
Yeah, how did you know?
Ah, we're talking to
people in the neighbourhood,
it came up.
Were you and Willa close?
No. Not really. I mean,
she's my wife's friend.
- [BATEMAN]: So just friends.
- Yeah.
Have you ever spent any
time alone with Willa?
- Just the two of you?
- No.
Never. What's this about?
Listen, I-I got nothing to hide.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Look, I'm telling you, I've
never seen this gun before.
Walther PPK.
It's a strange choice
for a murder weapon.
It's an antique.
You've kept it in
great condition, though.
Shaving off the serial
number, now that's clever
Stashing it in your own garage
maybe not so.
Look, I don't know how it got there.
I don't even know how to shoot a gun.
According to your IMDb page,
you played a cop a couple of times.
So unless you're a terrible actor,
you'd know how to pull a trigger.
Yeah, well, I may be
convincing on screen,
but it's not real.
Kinda like your marriage?
You were cheating on
your wife with Willa.
Does Margot know, or
had you convinced her
that your little affair
wasn't real either?
Who told you? Susan?
Doesn't matter.
How long have you been with Willa?
A few months.
At first, it was, it
was just fun. And
then it seemed like it might
be something more, and then
she just started to
pull away last month.
I didn't know why,
so I went to her house
- to talk to her and
- She broke it off with you.
On the day of the murder.
No, no, she didn't break it off!
She was just she was being strange.
She wouldn't let me in the house.
And break it off or
not, I didn't kill her!
If she wanted to end it,
fine, I can take it, I
I've been dealing with
rejection most of my career.
This wasn't me.
Something happened to her before
she got home. She was terrified.
- Of what?
- I don't know.
She wouldn't say, but she
was worried about Erica,
so she needed to deal with that first.
But I begged her to
come talk to me after.
So at the time of the murder
I was waiting outside our usual spot.
A hotel on the Beaches,
hoping against hope
that she'd show, but she didn't.
You knew, didn't you?
Of course I knew.
Tom is many things, but
discreet is not one of them.
I'd been onto him for a while.
That's quite the betrayal.
If you're thinking
this is a "scorned wife
kills the other woman"
thing, you're wrong.
Well, the evidence might say otherwise.
You do share a life with Tom, Margot.
And a house, and a garage,
where we found a gun.
And we confirmed with ballistics
the 9 mm bullets found
at the scene are a match.
Both of you had equal
access to the murder weapon.
He's telling the truth about
where he was that night.
I've been trying to catch
them together for weeks,
so on Thursday, when he made a pathetic
excuse to leave, I followed him.
We were in a hotel parking
lot from 9 to 11:30 p.m.
[SCOFFS]
Okay, so you're each other's alibis?
My insurance company
made me install a dash cam
after I got into my third fender bender.
I have footage of him waiting
in the parking lot that night.
This is from 11 p.m.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]
We'll get this verified.
Margot, do you make a
habit of following people?
I mean, did you ever follow Willa?
I followed her a couple of times. Yes.
Mostly when Tom said he
was going out of town.
Once, I followed her
all the way to Brighton,
but instead of meeting
Tom, she went to the prison.
Must have been meeting some client.
I wasted a whole day on the 401.
[MAN]: We're happy about the verdict.
Thanks for coming in so late.
Mark verified the dash cam footage.
Both Tom and Margot
were halfway across town
at the time of the murder.
We had to release him.
So you have a murder
weapon and no murderer.
No charge to lay?
Why did I come down here?
I guess I jumped the gun, counsellor.
- Thank you.
- So it's not her case,
it's not her work, it's not her family,
it's not her affair.
It was something we
never could have imagined.
On the 10th, Margot tailed Willa
all the way to Brighton Institution.
So she went to a max prison.
Maybe she was visiting a client?
Our senior partners don't
go all the way out there.
No, and her last client, Tavernes,
is still awaiting sentencing
at Toronto South Detention.
- So why go to Brighton?
- It wasn't for work.
I spoke to Willa's
assistant, on the 10th,
she took a personal day.
So I called the warden.
He has a record of
her visiting an inmate.
But our lawyer visits
are off the record.
Meaning Willa went there as a civilian.
Exactly.
And I know who she was meeting,
not just on the 10th, but
also on the day of her murder.
[SOFT POP MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[PENNY]: Hey, wanna know what I heard?
What?
Sabrina Carpenter will be
playing in Montreal next month.
So?
So you'll be living there
with your aunt by then?
I'll come visit, we can
make a weekend of it.
Only if you don't scream
along the whole time.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Can't make any promises.
"Brighton Institution"?
"Looking forward to your
next visit. Brad Turner"?
- What's this?
- This creep was writing my mom.
And you're not concerned? You
don't think he did anything?
No, Penny, it's fine.
The guy's in prison for life.
Like look.
[♪]
In the 90s, this Brad guy
and his wacko girlfriend,
Ruth, killed his mother.
They were our age.
- That's awful.
- Yeah.
And it was all because his
mom said they shouldn't date.
Like
Anyway, when the cops got
to them, Ruth was like,
"Brad forced me, I'll
tell you everything."
So they gave her a
deal, and then found out
that the whole murder
was basically her idea.
She goes to prison for five years,
he's in for life.
So I'm not worried about
him showing up. It's fine.
But what did he want with your mom?
I have no idea.
I didn't want anything from Willa.
Look, I don't even remember
much about our meetings at all.
If you're withholding information
You'll what?
Add another year to my sentence?
Toss it on the pile.
[WHISPERING]: Don't
try the stick with me.
It won't work.
[GRAFF]: How about the carrot?
I looked into your
library withdrawals, and
noticed you read a lot of Pablo Neruda.
Ever read Enigmas?
Our
collection is lacking.
Well, I happen to
own his collected works.
I'd be happy to donate it.
Deal.
Oh, yeah, deal.
Willa said she wanted to
write an article about me.
My side of the story
of my mother's murder.
Said she was a journalist.
When did you realize she wasn't?
[CHUCKLES]
Halfway through our first meeting.
Her questions all
became about Ruth Keller.
Yeah, everyone wants to know
about the killer who got away with it.
Yeah.
Started asking all these
random questions, like,
"Does Ruth have nervous habits?"
Or, "Is she allergic to caffeine?"
[SINISTER MUSIC]
Or was she diagnosed with OCD?
Yeah, which she was.
Did Ruth come to visit
you after her release?
If she did, I wouldn't recognize her.
Why's that?
After she got out, I
followed her closely.
Websites would track her
location to warn the public,
but in 2013, she just disappeared.
See, I think
she got a new face and name.
A whole new identity.
And the last time that Willa visited,
what did you two talk about exactly?
She wanted to show me something.
A necklace.
She was wearing it.
- A heart-shaped locket.
- Yeah.
She wanted to know
if it was the same one
my mom had on when she was killed.
I said it was a dead ringer.
[WHEEZING LAUGH]
When my mother died,
Ruth took her necklace.
Ruth said she liked the
photos inside, me and my mom.
She said
"We'll keep her in our hearts,
but we won't let her
mess with our lives."
Do not forget the book.
[TENSE MUSIC]
So Willa found out her
best friend and neighbour
was a killer in disguise.
And how far would Susan go to
keep that identity a secret?
[HOLNESS]: So Susan
Wright is Ruth Keller.
Same killer. Two different faces.
I never would've guessed.
Neither did her closest friends.
The only we found out was
through her Corrections File.
Stipulations of Ruth's release
compel her to list her address:
196 Saint-Leonard Avenue.
And that's where Susan lives,
right next door to Willa.
Did she move there after prison?
No, she was released in 2004,
moved around and then
landed in Timmins in 2006,
where she had her
daughter with a local guy.
But when the people there
found out who she really was,
they chased her out.
Seems nobody wanted to
live next door to a killer.
Yeah. So she roams around,
gets ousted from every place she goes
until she finally lands
in Calgary in 2012.
In 2013, she went from
a barely employable ex-con
to a Cinderella of
sorts when she gets a job
cleaning the house of
Noah Wright, her future husband.
Did he pay for her plastic surgery?
Yeah, later in '13, uh,
he helped her change
her face and her name.
And then, when all
traces of Ruth were gone,
he marries Susan in 2014.
He even adopted her
daughter Penny. What a guy.
So then they moved to Toronto
where Susan went from "reviled killer"
to "real housewife of Lawrence Park."
And they lived happily ever after,
until Willa figures out
who Susan really was.
And if that's not a
motive to kill Willa,
I don't know what is. You've
already spoken to Susan?
Yes. But I think it's
time we talked to Ruth.
I served my time.
And you got a nice new life.
And you didn't wanna lose it.
Willa was threatening to expose you.
Yes, she did.
But that's nothing new.
What, do you think every
time someone discovered me,
I just killed them? No. I moved.
And I moved again.
And it was exhausting.
[SIGHS]
And don't even know how she found out.
Well, I do.
I believe that's yours?
Actually, the necklace
belonged to the victim,
Laura Turner.
And Willa knew that too.
Oh, there were dozens of
true crime online forums
that suggest you took that necklace
before you and your
beloved buried the body.
Then I guess the rumours are true.
Willa brought this to Brad
Turner for confirmation.
So how did she find it?
About a month ago, Willa
came over for dinner.
While I was cooking, she lost
the back to one of her earrings.
I had five pots on the go,
so I just told her to go upstairs
and grab one out of my jewelry box.
She must've
she must've found the locket then.
So you just let her
go through your stuff?
I wasn't thinking.
I didn't even know it
was missing until
'til she started asking me questions.
Like, did I remember
this or that from 1999.
She was basically asking
me if I went to prison.
I thought I was being paranoid,
but when she started to pull away,
I just, I had this feeling that, um
I just had this feeling. "I
should check on the locket."
And sure enough, it was gone.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Thought I lost it myself somehow.
I thought I threw it
in the garbage, but no.
Willa showed up wearing it
the night she was killed.
Your trophy.
[WHISPERING]: It's not a trophy.
Then why did you keep it?
I kept it as a reminder of everything
that I can never
escape, and never forget.
I'm disgusted
that she visited Brad
in prison wearing that.
Well, we can only
imagine how Willa felt.
So what was your fight really about?
It started because she said
she'd entrusted a
"a sick and twisted
person" with her daughter.
She thought that I might hurt Erica.
I would never do that.
I would never do that!
Yeah. I was upset. [CHUCKLES]
I was upset. I I mean, I
tried to make a deal with her.
I just told her that I'd leave town,
I'd just never come back,
like always, like I always do.
[SNIFFLES] But she
She said she thought
that it was more important
that everyone know.
So I told her that if
she revealed my identity,
I would tell Margot
about her affair with Tom.
Right.
And where were you the
night of the murder,
Ruth?
[HEAVY MUSIC]
She went out to get
reusable moving bins?
Well, sometimes, the most
pedestrian of alibis are true.
I think she's a flight risk and a liar.
Yeah, Detective Graff.
We need a spin team
at the Wright residence.
196 Saint-Leonard Avenue.
This was a bad idea, Noah.
We should just go home.
I don't know what I was
thinking coming out here.
Come here, come here.
Look, nobody knows who
you are. Okay? You know?
You just gotta get out
of your head for a bit.
The best we can do right
now is to just act normal.
Look, we said that we would
never, ever lived scared. Right?
I know. I know, you're right, I just
[SIGHS] Why did Willa have to find out?
Look. What's done is done.
Okay? Come on.
Inspector.
I just got off the phone
with the moving company.
Susan's alibi is basically Swiss cheese.
She picked up bins at 8:30
on the night of the murder,
but she was only there for 15 minutes.
Which gives her ample time
to drive across town and kill Willa.
Yes. But we still don't
have enough to arrest her.
Unless we put the murder
weapon in her hand.
Now guess who inherited
a grandfathered pistol
from his uncle.
Susan's husband, Noah.
Yeah, Mr. Supportive and Sensitive.
And not just any pistol, a Walther PPK.
The exact same make and
model as the murder weapon.
We'll get a search warrant.
Whatever you think you're
gonna find, you won't.
[FEMALE OFFICER]: We'll
be out of here soon.
Safe's clear. Nothing there.
[SUSAN]: See? I told you.
That's hardly good news, Susan.
See, we already have your
husband's gun in our possession.
We were just checking to
see if the safe was as empty
- as we thought it would be.
- I told you,
I had nothing to do with Willa's death.
She's not lying.
I filed off the serial numbers.
I planted to gun at Tom's,
and I can tell you
exactly where you found it.
- Noah!
- I did it.
Dad, please stop talking.
I wanna sign a confession.
Okay, sure I love paper work.
- [PENNY]: Dad!
- What are you doing?
- Take him away.
- Come with me, please.
- Dad?
- Just stay here.
What is going on? [SUSAN]: Noah!
Noah, what are you
doing? What is happening?
- He's protecting someone.
- Yeah
and it's not Susan.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Let me get this straight.
You have an adult, Noah,
who's willing to sign a confession,
but you wanna drum up
a charge against Penny,
a teenage girl who you
have no evidence against?
Actually, we do.
We just got this back from Forensics.
Look at this right here.
That's the height of the shooter.
- Alright? 5'4".
- It's the same height as Penny.
- Same height as you, Bateman.
- I'm 5'6".
It's actually the average
height of most women.
Similar to Susan,
who actually has motive.
Susan has more reason to kill Willa
- than Penny or Noah.
- Yeah, but we know
- it's not her.
- How?
Because when she was confronted,
she chose to run, like she always does.
Look, she told me as
much, and I believe her.
I didn't realize you were
in the habit of taking
killers at their word, Graff.
Let alone a woman who lied to
the Crown to get a plea deal.
[GRAFF SIGHS]
Worse miscarriage of justice
since Homolka, in my opinion.
Look at her history, her psychology.
Time and time again, when she's exposed,
she chooses flight over fight.
Now she hasn't harmed anyone
in 20 years. Why kill now?
Because she has more to lose.
This is by far the longest
she's ever settled down
in one place. The longer you lay roots,
the harder it is to uproot.
And all of that is
true for Penny as well.
Fair point.
So what about her alibi?
This wouldn't be the first time
a teenage girl lied
about where she went.
But what are you talking about?
We can't just leave Dad!
I've already packed your things, Penny.
We have to go.
[NERVOUS BREATHING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
It's happening again, isn't it?
[SIGHS]
Willa found out about me.
I told her we'd leave, but
your father did a terrible thing.
He was only trying to
protect us, but now,
there is nothing we can
do, 'cause he confessed.
But you and I still
have a chance to leave
before everyone figures
out who I am, who you are.
- No. No, we can't.
- Penny, listen to me.
You were younger the
last time. Remember?
They had to blur your
face and redact your name.
It's different now.
And you deserve to be
more than my mistakes.
I already told you, I went
to the ROM Night Exhibit.
If you went last Thursday night,
you would've seen the Dale
Chihuly exhibit, right?
The glass sculptures Beautiful.
Yeah.
Well, the thing is, that
exhibit moved on years ago.
Come on, Erica. We just need to know
where you and Penny were that night.
Hon, no one's gonna be upset, I promise.
We just want your help.
[BATEMAN]: Your aunt's right, Erica.
We went to a bar.
It was my idea.
Penny and I had just gotten
our fake IDs that day,
and I wanted us to celebrate.
And where is this bar exactly?
Mrs. Wright.
I have nothing more to say to you.
Oh, we're actually
here to speak to Penny.
[SINISTER MUSIC]
I've never been to a bar, I'm 17.
That didn't stop me.
Erica's lying. I don't know
what she's talking about.
Penny.
Several people place you at Lokale.
A bar
just a few blocks away from
where Willa was murdered.
And Erica also mentioned that
you left early that night.
You said you were taking a cab home.
But instead, you lifted
a stranger's phone.
- You called Willa.
- No.
Um, did you ask her for a ride?
Did you
tell her you'd had too much to drink
and not to tell your mom?
- No
- She doesn't drink.
Well, whatever it was, it worked.
She raced over, because
she cared about you.
And you were waiting for
her with your dad's gun.
And after you shot her,
you called Noah on your phone,
we found the deleted logs in his cell,
because you knew he
would do anything for you.
And he did make the ultimate sacrifice.
He hid the gun,
and he would tell your
mom that he killed Willa.
All to protect you.
Look, Penny.
I know you didn't want to
hurt your best friend's mom.
Someone who cared for you, for Erica
But you just didn't
have any other choice.
No, you're wrong.
She didn't know about Willa.
I only just told her now.
[BATEMAN]: You know,
like most parents,
I think you might have underestimated
how much your kid hears of
private adult conversations.
You knew about Willa, right?
Yeah.
She's a liar.
You didn't tell her,
did you, Susan?
Penny, you don't know the
truth about Laura Turner.
You never told her
how complicit you were.
No, you're wrong.
[STAMMERS] My mom
didn't kill that woman.
She was manipulated by her
boyfriend, she's the victim
Penny, Penny. Not another word.
Which is your spot, Penny?
I mean, every family member
has got their favourite.
Mine was, uh, right in the
middle between my parents.
My mother to the left
of me, always beside me,
and my dad
down in his captain's
chair. More leg room.
See, as a kid, I, uh
I looked up to them. Literally.
To me, they were perfect.
Infallible.
But part of growing up is realizing
that our parents are flawed.
My father was suspected of
doing a terrible thing too.
When I heard about it,
my first thought was,
"They're all so wrong.
They just can't see the truth.
He's my father, not a monster."
That person
that they're all screaming about,
that wasn't my father.
Because what would that make me?
If he's a monster,
am I?
[QUIET SOBBING]
So we choose to rely
on cognitive dissonance.
We choose to believe that
our parents are good people.
Innocent people. It's
easier on the soul.
The past recedes and with
it, that awful nagging doubt.
And that works. For a while.
For a while, until that belief
is threatened by someone like Willa.
You see, I-I knew Willa.
I knew what it was like
to be caught in her glare.
She was like a dog with a bone
and she was gonna tell the
world who your mother was,
and it was gonna destroy your lives.
And you couldn't just sit there
and watch your world crumble.
[SIGHS]
Penny.
The worst part is that
after she was gonna remind the world
that your mother was a monster,
she wasn't gonna stop
until she convinced you.
What did your father do?
[TENSE MUSIC]
You have no idea what it's like.
Was your father in every paper?
Did people write books about him?
How many times were you
chased out of your school
by screaming reporters?
I was little, but I remember it all.
The TV vans tearing up our lawn.
People throwing paint at
our house. Spitting on us.
[GASPING]
Every friend I ever had
turned their back on me.
Until we got here.
I wasn't gonna go through that again.
If Willa talked, it would never stop.
Oh, Penny [SNIFFLING]
I made a deal with Willa,
she was never gonna say anything.
Yeah, for now!
What if she changed her mind? I mean,
we couldn't have that
hanging over our heads
for the rest of our life.
We worked too hard to start over.
And I couldn't go through that again.
[GASPING]
- I'm sorry, Mommy!
- What did you do? Oh, my baby.
- [SOBBING]: I'm sorry!
- It's okay.
[PENNY CRIES]
It's okay. It's okay.
I'm not going anywhere.
- I'm sorry!
- Don't take her.
Don't take her
Don't take her!
[PENNY SOBS] It's okay, baby!
It's okay, I'm right
here. I'm right here.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Don't worry.
About what?
You are nothing like your dad.
You know what they say.
The rot spreads.
But not with you.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]
[♪]
[NARRATOR]: In Toronto's war on crime,
the worst offenders are
pursued by the detectives
of the specialized criminal
investigations unit.
These are their stories.
Surprised you're back so soon.
So? Tell me, yes or no?
Is this the necklace?
If I tell you, you won't be safe.
I'm already not safe. I need to know.
[GUARD SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
What should I do?
You take care.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
Mom, seriously, I have to go.
Promise me that you're going to be home.
Did you hear me, Erica?
Yes, I heard you, Willa.
- [SIGHS]
- Can you please not
"first name" me? I just really
need you to be home tonight.
[ERICA]: You know, just
because you decided
to become mother of the year
doesn't mean I have to drop everything.
I told you I have plans. I gotta go.
Erica, just
[SIGHS]
We have to be back for
English class in 40 minutes.
Do you want them or not, Penny?
Come on, it will be worth it.
Come on!
[CAR HONKING IN DISTANCE]
[CURTIS]: Your law firm
must take this seriously.
This is a clear and present threat.
- You need to be on high alert.
- Sorry, my call went long.
My advice: To refrain
from sharing personal
information with your clients.
Don't take the same route to court.
Install security at your home.
Good thing I got that panic room.
[CURTIS]: You need to
be vigilant. Alright?
These threats, these
affect you and your family.
I just need, like, an hour.
Or, actually, two.
What are you gonna wear?
Don't stress it, Pen. I'm
heading to Nicola's first,
I'll meet you there later. Okay?
Hey, Mrs. Wright.
Hey, Erica.
- Dumpster diving, Mom?
- Oh, I know.
I accidentally put some
recycling in the garbage.
Saving the planet one can at a time?
You know it. [CHUCKLING]
Ew, no! Get those garbage gloves off me!
- I can't hug you?
- No!
[LAUGHING]
- What's so funny, ladies?
- Mom's being gross.
- Aw, that's why we love her.
- Mmm. Japanese curry.
Yeah, you interested, cupcake?
Hmm. Tempting, but Erica and I
are heading to the ROM tonight.
So I gotta get ready.
Save me some leftovers?
Yes, it's always better the second day.
Noah.
I've looked everywhere. It's gone.
[SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
Erica? Honey? Are you home?
Erica?
Erica?
[DOG BARKING]
Shoot
[RELIEVED SIGH]
[DOG BARKING]
- Hi, Tom.
- Hey.
You can't be here.
Have you seen Erica? I
can't find her anywhere.
No, why? I thought she went out.
That's why I brought this.
- We could order some pizza
- I can't, I can't do this.
Okay, well, let's just
find another night, then.
No. This. Us.
We can't do this
anymore, okay? I'm sorry.
Whoa, whoa, hey, hang on a sec.
What's going on with you?
[SIGHS]
I can't even explain.
I need to find Erica.
But she'll turn up. Meet me later.
- I gotta go.
- Meet me later!
Wi
Willa!
[TENSE MUSIC]
[GUNSHOTS]
[GASPING]
[OPENING THEME]
[SIRENS WAILING]
Hey. Uh, victim was found
in this alley at dawn.
Female, 45, gunshot wound to the chest.
First, we thought it was a mugging,
but her purse is still here,
wallet, ID, everything.
And guess who she is.
Willa Fenwick.
Excellent defence lawyer.
[BRIER]: You know her?
Yeah, we had the pleasure
of being cross-examined
by Ms. Fenwick many times.
Charming woman. Ruthless attorney.
She made the bad guys look good.
[BRIER]: Well, not every bad guy.
Fenwick's law firm
thinks she was targeted
by a former client.
Remember Trevor Tavernes?
The drug trafficker.
He went to jail recently, if I recall.
Supposedly, he's mad that Fenwick didn't
keep him out of the clink.
He's been sending her death threats.
The law firm was concerned for Willa
and her 17-year-old daughter, Erica.
Officers just notified
her at their home.
- Thanks, Dana.
- Yeah.
[INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
- Well, it's all a bit odd.
- What, you mean the threats?
No, the casings.
They've been ejected from here,
but she was shot at close range.
Her killer was standing right
in front of her, and yet
- They missed. Twice.
- Yeah. So unless
Tavernes was using bargain muscle
I don't see this as a drug hit
or the work of a
career criminal. It's
erratic, emotional.
Well, gang or no gang,
someone had a problem with Willa.
Tavernes thought Willa
deliberately ruined his trial.
She wouldn't let him
put a surprise witness
on the stand to exonerate him.
And she knew it was perjury, bribery.
Exactly.
And without the lie, he
couldn't win the case.
- He was convicted.
- And then the threats began.
Yes.
At first, it was just
intimidation, but
then we got our first death threat.
Did Willa take any precautions,
get a security camera?
She didn't even get that far.
This whole thing escalated so quickly.
I I never thought Tavernes
would actually kill Willa.
I'm really worried about
the second chair on the case.
We'll get a security detail on them,
and look into Tavernes.
Drug Squad's got a whole file on him.
Thank you.
If you could tell us more
about Willa's relationships
with her clients, with her colleagues,
that'd really help us out.
She didn't have any other clients.
I'm sorry, I thought
Willa was a senior partner.
Yes, but about a month ago,
she said she needed to step back.
Something was stressing her out.
Before the first death threat?
Yes.
Willa used to be here all the time,
100 hours a week, easy.
And then, all of a
sudden, she started taking
all these personal days.
You know any top lawyers with
a great work-life balance?
Nope. And I've never heard of
any who are on partial leave
while preparing for their only case.
What would compel you
to leave the force?
Abandon me to this
glorious job all on my own?
Well, I'd like to say, "nothing," but
combine "single mom"
with "stressful job,"
who knows what could happen? [CAR BEEPS]
Well, we should see if Willa
was having some trouble at home.
Willa was more than a neighbour to me.
She was like family.
What was she even doing in that alley?
Oof
Hey, come here.
It's okay, sweetie.
It's okay.
[SUSAN SOBBING QUIETLY] It's okay.
This is my husband, Noah. [SNIFFLES]
- Hi.
- This is Detective Bateman
and Detective Graff.
They have some questions about Willa.
Yeah. Yeah. Hi. Of course.
[QUIET SOBBING]
So just to clarify,
you're looking after Willa's
daughter Erica, is that right?
Yeah, just until Renata
gets here. Uh Willa's sister.
We're also helping with
the visitation, but
there's just so much to do.
- [DOORBELL RINGING]
- Excuse me.
Susan, how long have you
lived beside Willa and Erica?
Ten years.
We've raised our kids together.
Penny and Erica are the same age.
[DOOR CLOSES]
What about Dad?
Callum was a total deadbeat.
They don't talk. He lives in Vancouver.
[GASPING]
This is, um this is
my neighbour, Margot.
And this is my husband, Tom.
Hi.
We were all so close friends with Willa.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
We were hoping you
could help us understand
what was going on in Willa's life
in the last month.
Her colleagues seem to think that, um
she had a personal issue.
Not that I can think of.
Uh, she had been
acting a little distant.
- Absent-minded.
- Hmm? What do you mean?
Well, she forgot Susan's birthday.
Showed up to mine three hours late.
We didn't take it personally,
we just figured that Willa
was trying to make more time
for Erica.
[SOBBING]
Poor kid.
Went out last night, had no idea
she'd never see her mom again.
Would you mind if we
speak with her a moment?
My mom wanted me to stay home,
but Penny and I had tickets
to the ROM Night Exhibit.
[SNIFFLING]
She called me a bunch of
times, I didn't even answer her.
What if she needed help?
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]
Erica.
When you came home,
did you notice anything strange?
No.
The house was quiet.
I thought she was asleep, I went to bed.
Had her behaviour changed
at all in the last month?
She barely let me out of
her sight, wanted to
drive me everywhere,
but then, she'd, like
[SNIFFLES]
pull over every five
minutes, wait for cars to pass us.
She thought we were being followed.
Drug dealers don't follow people, Graff.
Well, I know they don't,
which is why going through
this Tavernes file from Drug Squad
was an exercise in frustration.
Still, you gotta alibi his guys.
Already did. All his foot soldiers
were accounted for at the
time of Willa's murder.
11 p.m. Some all-night
wake down by the Bluffs.
Ex-husband?
Already cleared, as was
Willa's sister Renata,
and her colleagues. Her
death had nothing to do
with her case, her work, or her family.
So who was following her?
Well, could've been Jesse Meecham.
- Who's Jesse Meecham?
- Well, I don't know,
but he called Willa four
times on Thursday night.
It was the last call she ever answered.
I-I never met Willa Fenwick.
You haven't met her,
yet you spoke to her
for five minutes on
Thursday night at 10:15.
No, uh, Thursday
M-My phone got stolen around 10.
- You mean this phone?
- Yes, that's my
- that's my phone.
- We found this in the dumpster
near the alleyway where
Willa was shot to death.
- Did you kill her?
- No, no, no!
I-I did not kill anyone.
I swear, I did not kill
anyone. I was at a bar. Lokale.
I-I put my phone down
for a few seconds,
and someone took it.
Can anyone place you there?
Our bartender at Lokale confirmed it.
Jesse was definitely there.
He made a big stinker around 10
when his phone was stolen,
and then left at midnight.
They got any security cameras?
No. Our thief remains a mystery.
I think you mean our
killer. Mark's been doing
his due diligence. Look.
Lokale is a five-minute walk
from our crime scene, yeah?
So the killer steals
the phone at 10 p.m.,
and then travels across the alleyway
where Willa's body was found.
Now all four calls were made
to Willa from that location.
She picks up the fourth call at 10:15,
goes to the alley to meet the caller.
And gets shot at 11 p.m.
Someone lured her to her death.
Then threw the phone
away in the dumpster.
But why would Willa,
who's already stressed about safety,
take a call from a stranger,
then go meet them in
the middle of the night?
Well, what if it wasn't
a stranger at all?
Look at this.
I went through security
cameras in Willa's neighbourhood
to see if Tavernes' guys
were outside her place.
Look who I found instead.
Susan and Willa arguing about something.
I guess Susan didn't think
this qualified as a personal issue.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey. If this is too much,
we don't have to stay, okay?
[SOFT ORGAN MUSIC]
[SOBBING]
[SNIFFLING]
What are you doing?
Crying like this in front of Margot?
[SNIFFLES, CLEARS THROAT]
I'm not allowed to be upset?
You may think no one knows
what you did, but I do.
So if you don't wanna
ruin any other lives,
take the theatrics down a notch.
You may think you're a saint,
but I think you're a bitch.
[SINISTER MUSIC]
Mrs. Wright.
- Detectives.
- We need to have a word.
Come with us please, Susan.
I couldn't tell you about our fight.
Not in front of my friends and family.
Well, they're not here
right now, so go ahead.
Fill us in.
[HEAVY SIGH, CLEARS THROAT]
[COUGHS]
Get you anything? Any coffee, water?
No, I can't have coffee. I'm fine.
It's just a hard thing to talk about.
Willa was having an affair.
With Margot's husband, Tom. Hence the
avoidance of eye contact,
that lukewarm hug.
Am I supposed to welcome
him with open arms?
Margot is one of my best
friends, the guy is a jerk.
- [SIGHS]
- How did you feel about Willa?
Willa was a good person.
Sometimes, good people do bad things.
What about Tom? What
kind of person is he?
The kind who used to be in movies
and now makes furniture in his backyard.
I
told Willa she needed to end it.
On the night she died.
I wonder how Tom felt about that.
Willa Fenwick
was a lovely person.
Smart, kind.
I have no idea who
would want to hurt her.
Did you happen to see
her on the day she died?
No. No, why?
Ah, we were just canvassing the street.
It's quite a setup you got over here.
Now I consider myself
an enthusiastic amateur.
- Do you mind if I have a look?
- S sure.
I'm, uh, trying to turn a hobby
into a second career, you know.
You used to be an actor.
Yeah, how did you know?
Ah, we're talking to
people in the neighbourhood,
it came up.
Were you and Willa close?
No. Not really. I mean,
she's my wife's friend.
- [BATEMAN]: So just friends.
- Yeah.
Have you ever spent any
time alone with Willa?
- Just the two of you?
- No.
Never. What's this about?
Listen, I-I got nothing to hide.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Look, I'm telling you, I've
never seen this gun before.
Walther PPK.
It's a strange choice
for a murder weapon.
It's an antique.
You've kept it in
great condition, though.
Shaving off the serial
number, now that's clever
Stashing it in your own garage
maybe not so.
Look, I don't know how it got there.
I don't even know how to shoot a gun.
According to your IMDb page,
you played a cop a couple of times.
So unless you're a terrible actor,
you'd know how to pull a trigger.
Yeah, well, I may be
convincing on screen,
but it's not real.
Kinda like your marriage?
You were cheating on
your wife with Willa.
Does Margot know, or
had you convinced her
that your little affair
wasn't real either?
Who told you? Susan?
Doesn't matter.
How long have you been with Willa?
A few months.
At first, it was, it
was just fun. And
then it seemed like it might
be something more, and then
she just started to
pull away last month.
I didn't know why,
so I went to her house
- to talk to her and
- She broke it off with you.
On the day of the murder.
No, no, she didn't break it off!
She was just she was being strange.
She wouldn't let me in the house.
And break it off or
not, I didn't kill her!
If she wanted to end it,
fine, I can take it, I
I've been dealing with
rejection most of my career.
This wasn't me.
Something happened to her before
she got home. She was terrified.
- Of what?
- I don't know.
She wouldn't say, but she
was worried about Erica,
so she needed to deal with that first.
But I begged her to
come talk to me after.
So at the time of the murder
I was waiting outside our usual spot.
A hotel on the Beaches,
hoping against hope
that she'd show, but she didn't.
You knew, didn't you?
Of course I knew.
Tom is many things, but
discreet is not one of them.
I'd been onto him for a while.
That's quite the betrayal.
If you're thinking
this is a "scorned wife
kills the other woman"
thing, you're wrong.
Well, the evidence might say otherwise.
You do share a life with Tom, Margot.
And a house, and a garage,
where we found a gun.
And we confirmed with ballistics
the 9 mm bullets found
at the scene are a match.
Both of you had equal
access to the murder weapon.
He's telling the truth about
where he was that night.
I've been trying to catch
them together for weeks,
so on Thursday, when he made a pathetic
excuse to leave, I followed him.
We were in a hotel parking
lot from 9 to 11:30 p.m.
[SCOFFS]
Okay, so you're each other's alibis?
My insurance company
made me install a dash cam
after I got into my third fender bender.
I have footage of him waiting
in the parking lot that night.
This is from 11 p.m.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]
We'll get this verified.
Margot, do you make a
habit of following people?
I mean, did you ever follow Willa?
I followed her a couple of times. Yes.
Mostly when Tom said he
was going out of town.
Once, I followed her
all the way to Brighton,
but instead of meeting
Tom, she went to the prison.
Must have been meeting some client.
I wasted a whole day on the 401.
[MAN]: We're happy about the verdict.
Thanks for coming in so late.
Mark verified the dash cam footage.
Both Tom and Margot
were halfway across town
at the time of the murder.
We had to release him.
So you have a murder
weapon and no murderer.
No charge to lay?
Why did I come down here?
I guess I jumped the gun, counsellor.
- Thank you.
- So it's not her case,
it's not her work, it's not her family,
it's not her affair.
It was something we
never could have imagined.
On the 10th, Margot tailed Willa
all the way to Brighton Institution.
So she went to a max prison.
Maybe she was visiting a client?
Our senior partners don't
go all the way out there.
No, and her last client, Tavernes,
is still awaiting sentencing
at Toronto South Detention.
- So why go to Brighton?
- It wasn't for work.
I spoke to Willa's
assistant, on the 10th,
she took a personal day.
So I called the warden.
He has a record of
her visiting an inmate.
But our lawyer visits
are off the record.
Meaning Willa went there as a civilian.
Exactly.
And I know who she was meeting,
not just on the 10th, but
also on the day of her murder.
[SOFT POP MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[PENNY]: Hey, wanna know what I heard?
What?
Sabrina Carpenter will be
playing in Montreal next month.
So?
So you'll be living there
with your aunt by then?
I'll come visit, we can
make a weekend of it.
Only if you don't scream
along the whole time.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Can't make any promises.
"Brighton Institution"?
"Looking forward to your
next visit. Brad Turner"?
- What's this?
- This creep was writing my mom.
And you're not concerned? You
don't think he did anything?
No, Penny, it's fine.
The guy's in prison for life.
Like look.
[♪]
In the 90s, this Brad guy
and his wacko girlfriend,
Ruth, killed his mother.
They were our age.
- That's awful.
- Yeah.
And it was all because his
mom said they shouldn't date.
Like
Anyway, when the cops got
to them, Ruth was like,
"Brad forced me, I'll
tell you everything."
So they gave her a
deal, and then found out
that the whole murder
was basically her idea.
She goes to prison for five years,
he's in for life.
So I'm not worried about
him showing up. It's fine.
But what did he want with your mom?
I have no idea.
I didn't want anything from Willa.
Look, I don't even remember
much about our meetings at all.
If you're withholding information
You'll what?
Add another year to my sentence?
Toss it on the pile.
[WHISPERING]: Don't
try the stick with me.
It won't work.
[GRAFF]: How about the carrot?
I looked into your
library withdrawals, and
noticed you read a lot of Pablo Neruda.
Ever read Enigmas?
Our
collection is lacking.
Well, I happen to
own his collected works.
I'd be happy to donate it.
Deal.
Oh, yeah, deal.
Willa said she wanted to
write an article about me.
My side of the story
of my mother's murder.
Said she was a journalist.
When did you realize she wasn't?
[CHUCKLES]
Halfway through our first meeting.
Her questions all
became about Ruth Keller.
Yeah, everyone wants to know
about the killer who got away with it.
Yeah.
Started asking all these
random questions, like,
"Does Ruth have nervous habits?"
Or, "Is she allergic to caffeine?"
[SINISTER MUSIC]
Or was she diagnosed with OCD?
Yeah, which she was.
Did Ruth come to visit
you after her release?
If she did, I wouldn't recognize her.
Why's that?
After she got out, I
followed her closely.
Websites would track her
location to warn the public,
but in 2013, she just disappeared.
See, I think
she got a new face and name.
A whole new identity.
And the last time that Willa visited,
what did you two talk about exactly?
She wanted to show me something.
A necklace.
She was wearing it.
- A heart-shaped locket.
- Yeah.
She wanted to know
if it was the same one
my mom had on when she was killed.
I said it was a dead ringer.
[WHEEZING LAUGH]
When my mother died,
Ruth took her necklace.
Ruth said she liked the
photos inside, me and my mom.
She said
"We'll keep her in our hearts,
but we won't let her
mess with our lives."
Do not forget the book.
[TENSE MUSIC]
So Willa found out her
best friend and neighbour
was a killer in disguise.
And how far would Susan go to
keep that identity a secret?
[HOLNESS]: So Susan
Wright is Ruth Keller.
Same killer. Two different faces.
I never would've guessed.
Neither did her closest friends.
The only we found out was
through her Corrections File.
Stipulations of Ruth's release
compel her to list her address:
196 Saint-Leonard Avenue.
And that's where Susan lives,
right next door to Willa.
Did she move there after prison?
No, she was released in 2004,
moved around and then
landed in Timmins in 2006,
where she had her
daughter with a local guy.
But when the people there
found out who she really was,
they chased her out.
Seems nobody wanted to
live next door to a killer.
Yeah. So she roams around,
gets ousted from every place she goes
until she finally lands
in Calgary in 2012.
In 2013, she went from
a barely employable ex-con
to a Cinderella of
sorts when she gets a job
cleaning the house of
Noah Wright, her future husband.
Did he pay for her plastic surgery?
Yeah, later in '13, uh,
he helped her change
her face and her name.
And then, when all
traces of Ruth were gone,
he marries Susan in 2014.
He even adopted her
daughter Penny. What a guy.
So then they moved to Toronto
where Susan went from "reviled killer"
to "real housewife of Lawrence Park."
And they lived happily ever after,
until Willa figures out
who Susan really was.
And if that's not a
motive to kill Willa,
I don't know what is. You've
already spoken to Susan?
Yes. But I think it's
time we talked to Ruth.
I served my time.
And you got a nice new life.
And you didn't wanna lose it.
Willa was threatening to expose you.
Yes, she did.
But that's nothing new.
What, do you think every
time someone discovered me,
I just killed them? No. I moved.
And I moved again.
And it was exhausting.
[SIGHS]
And don't even know how she found out.
Well, I do.
I believe that's yours?
Actually, the necklace
belonged to the victim,
Laura Turner.
And Willa knew that too.
Oh, there were dozens of
true crime online forums
that suggest you took that necklace
before you and your
beloved buried the body.
Then I guess the rumours are true.
Willa brought this to Brad
Turner for confirmation.
So how did she find it?
About a month ago, Willa
came over for dinner.
While I was cooking, she lost
the back to one of her earrings.
I had five pots on the go,
so I just told her to go upstairs
and grab one out of my jewelry box.
She must've
she must've found the locket then.
So you just let her
go through your stuff?
I wasn't thinking.
I didn't even know it
was missing until
'til she started asking me questions.
Like, did I remember
this or that from 1999.
She was basically asking
me if I went to prison.
I thought I was being paranoid,
but when she started to pull away,
I just, I had this feeling that, um
I just had this feeling. "I
should check on the locket."
And sure enough, it was gone.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Thought I lost it myself somehow.
I thought I threw it
in the garbage, but no.
Willa showed up wearing it
the night she was killed.
Your trophy.
[WHISPERING]: It's not a trophy.
Then why did you keep it?
I kept it as a reminder of everything
that I can never
escape, and never forget.
I'm disgusted
that she visited Brad
in prison wearing that.
Well, we can only
imagine how Willa felt.
So what was your fight really about?
It started because she said
she'd entrusted a
"a sick and twisted
person" with her daughter.
She thought that I might hurt Erica.
I would never do that.
I would never do that!
Yeah. I was upset. [CHUCKLES]
I was upset. I I mean, I
tried to make a deal with her.
I just told her that I'd leave town,
I'd just never come back,
like always, like I always do.
[SNIFFLES] But she
She said she thought
that it was more important
that everyone know.
So I told her that if
she revealed my identity,
I would tell Margot
about her affair with Tom.
Right.
And where were you the
night of the murder,
Ruth?
[HEAVY MUSIC]
She went out to get
reusable moving bins?
Well, sometimes, the most
pedestrian of alibis are true.
I think she's a flight risk and a liar.
Yeah, Detective Graff.
We need a spin team
at the Wright residence.
196 Saint-Leonard Avenue.
This was a bad idea, Noah.
We should just go home.
I don't know what I was
thinking coming out here.
Come here, come here.
Look, nobody knows who
you are. Okay? You know?
You just gotta get out
of your head for a bit.
The best we can do right
now is to just act normal.
Look, we said that we would
never, ever lived scared. Right?
I know. I know, you're right, I just
[SIGHS] Why did Willa have to find out?
Look. What's done is done.
Okay? Come on.
Inspector.
I just got off the phone
with the moving company.
Susan's alibi is basically Swiss cheese.
She picked up bins at 8:30
on the night of the murder,
but she was only there for 15 minutes.
Which gives her ample time
to drive across town and kill Willa.
Yes. But we still don't
have enough to arrest her.
Unless we put the murder
weapon in her hand.
Now guess who inherited
a grandfathered pistol
from his uncle.
Susan's husband, Noah.
Yeah, Mr. Supportive and Sensitive.
And not just any pistol, a Walther PPK.
The exact same make and
model as the murder weapon.
We'll get a search warrant.
Whatever you think you're
gonna find, you won't.
[FEMALE OFFICER]: We'll
be out of here soon.
Safe's clear. Nothing there.
[SUSAN]: See? I told you.
That's hardly good news, Susan.
See, we already have your
husband's gun in our possession.
We were just checking to
see if the safe was as empty
- as we thought it would be.
- I told you,
I had nothing to do with Willa's death.
She's not lying.
I filed off the serial numbers.
I planted to gun at Tom's,
and I can tell you
exactly where you found it.
- Noah!
- I did it.
Dad, please stop talking.
I wanna sign a confession.
Okay, sure I love paper work.
- [PENNY]: Dad!
- What are you doing?
- Take him away.
- Come with me, please.
- Dad?
- Just stay here.
What is going on? [SUSAN]: Noah!
Noah, what are you
doing? What is happening?
- He's protecting someone.
- Yeah
and it's not Susan.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Let me get this straight.
You have an adult, Noah,
who's willing to sign a confession,
but you wanna drum up
a charge against Penny,
a teenage girl who you
have no evidence against?
Actually, we do.
We just got this back from Forensics.
Look at this right here.
That's the height of the shooter.
- Alright? 5'4".
- It's the same height as Penny.
- Same height as you, Bateman.
- I'm 5'6".
It's actually the average
height of most women.
Similar to Susan,
who actually has motive.
Susan has more reason to kill Willa
- than Penny or Noah.
- Yeah, but we know
- it's not her.
- How?
Because when she was confronted,
she chose to run, like she always does.
Look, she told me as
much, and I believe her.
I didn't realize you were
in the habit of taking
killers at their word, Graff.
Let alone a woman who lied to
the Crown to get a plea deal.
[GRAFF SIGHS]
Worse miscarriage of justice
since Homolka, in my opinion.
Look at her history, her psychology.
Time and time again, when she's exposed,
she chooses flight over fight.
Now she hasn't harmed anyone
in 20 years. Why kill now?
Because she has more to lose.
This is by far the longest
she's ever settled down
in one place. The longer you lay roots,
the harder it is to uproot.
And all of that is
true for Penny as well.
Fair point.
So what about her alibi?
This wouldn't be the first time
a teenage girl lied
about where she went.
But what are you talking about?
We can't just leave Dad!
I've already packed your things, Penny.
We have to go.
[NERVOUS BREATHING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
It's happening again, isn't it?
[SIGHS]
Willa found out about me.
I told her we'd leave, but
your father did a terrible thing.
He was only trying to
protect us, but now,
there is nothing we can
do, 'cause he confessed.
But you and I still
have a chance to leave
before everyone figures
out who I am, who you are.
- No. No, we can't.
- Penny, listen to me.
You were younger the
last time. Remember?
They had to blur your
face and redact your name.
It's different now.
And you deserve to be
more than my mistakes.
I already told you, I went
to the ROM Night Exhibit.
If you went last Thursday night,
you would've seen the Dale
Chihuly exhibit, right?
The glass sculptures Beautiful.
Yeah.
Well, the thing is, that
exhibit moved on years ago.
Come on, Erica. We just need to know
where you and Penny were that night.
Hon, no one's gonna be upset, I promise.
We just want your help.
[BATEMAN]: Your aunt's right, Erica.
We went to a bar.
It was my idea.
Penny and I had just gotten
our fake IDs that day,
and I wanted us to celebrate.
And where is this bar exactly?
Mrs. Wright.
I have nothing more to say to you.
Oh, we're actually
here to speak to Penny.
[SINISTER MUSIC]
I've never been to a bar, I'm 17.
That didn't stop me.
Erica's lying. I don't know
what she's talking about.
Penny.
Several people place you at Lokale.
A bar
just a few blocks away from
where Willa was murdered.
And Erica also mentioned that
you left early that night.
You said you were taking a cab home.
But instead, you lifted
a stranger's phone.
- You called Willa.
- No.
Um, did you ask her for a ride?
Did you
tell her you'd had too much to drink
and not to tell your mom?
- No
- She doesn't drink.
Well, whatever it was, it worked.
She raced over, because
she cared about you.
And you were waiting for
her with your dad's gun.
And after you shot her,
you called Noah on your phone,
we found the deleted logs in his cell,
because you knew he
would do anything for you.
And he did make the ultimate sacrifice.
He hid the gun,
and he would tell your
mom that he killed Willa.
All to protect you.
Look, Penny.
I know you didn't want to
hurt your best friend's mom.
Someone who cared for you, for Erica
But you just didn't
have any other choice.
No, you're wrong.
She didn't know about Willa.
I only just told her now.
[BATEMAN]: You know,
like most parents,
I think you might have underestimated
how much your kid hears of
private adult conversations.
You knew about Willa, right?
Yeah.
She's a liar.
You didn't tell her,
did you, Susan?
Penny, you don't know the
truth about Laura Turner.
You never told her
how complicit you were.
No, you're wrong.
[STAMMERS] My mom
didn't kill that woman.
She was manipulated by her
boyfriend, she's the victim
Penny, Penny. Not another word.
Which is your spot, Penny?
I mean, every family member
has got their favourite.
Mine was, uh, right in the
middle between my parents.
My mother to the left
of me, always beside me,
and my dad
down in his captain's
chair. More leg room.
See, as a kid, I, uh
I looked up to them. Literally.
To me, they were perfect.
Infallible.
But part of growing up is realizing
that our parents are flawed.
My father was suspected of
doing a terrible thing too.
When I heard about it,
my first thought was,
"They're all so wrong.
They just can't see the truth.
He's my father, not a monster."
That person
that they're all screaming about,
that wasn't my father.
Because what would that make me?
If he's a monster,
am I?
[QUIET SOBBING]
So we choose to rely
on cognitive dissonance.
We choose to believe that
our parents are good people.
Innocent people. It's
easier on the soul.
The past recedes and with
it, that awful nagging doubt.
And that works. For a while.
For a while, until that belief
is threatened by someone like Willa.
You see, I-I knew Willa.
I knew what it was like
to be caught in her glare.
She was like a dog with a bone
and she was gonna tell the
world who your mother was,
and it was gonna destroy your lives.
And you couldn't just sit there
and watch your world crumble.
[SIGHS]
Penny.
The worst part is that
after she was gonna remind the world
that your mother was a monster,
she wasn't gonna stop
until she convinced you.
What did your father do?
[TENSE MUSIC]
You have no idea what it's like.
Was your father in every paper?
Did people write books about him?
How many times were you
chased out of your school
by screaming reporters?
I was little, but I remember it all.
The TV vans tearing up our lawn.
People throwing paint at
our house. Spitting on us.
[GASPING]
Every friend I ever had
turned their back on me.
Until we got here.
I wasn't gonna go through that again.
If Willa talked, it would never stop.
Oh, Penny [SNIFFLING]
I made a deal with Willa,
she was never gonna say anything.
Yeah, for now!
What if she changed her mind? I mean,
we couldn't have that
hanging over our heads
for the rest of our life.
We worked too hard to start over.
And I couldn't go through that again.
[GASPING]
- I'm sorry, Mommy!
- What did you do? Oh, my baby.
- [SOBBING]: I'm sorry!
- It's okay.
[PENNY CRIES]
It's okay. It's okay.
I'm not going anywhere.
- I'm sorry!
- Don't take her.
Don't take her
Don't take her!
[PENNY SOBS] It's okay, baby!
It's okay, I'm right
here. I'm right here.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Don't worry.
About what?
You are nothing like your dad.
You know what they say.
The rot spreads.
But not with you.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]
[♪]