Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s01e19 Episode Script

In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad.
These are their stories.
She's everywhere.
A whole article on her.
Like she's the only Mafia daughter in New York City! - Like I'm not still famous! - Ilana, "Daughter of a Russian Don" was a terrific book five years ago.
Or haven't you noticed your royalty checks got smaller? Noah, please, can't you call one of your influential friends, get me a little job? Little jobs have little salaries.
You want the big money again, bring me another book.
Mr.
Yushka, you think a life sentence is fair? - Are you going to appeal this? - Papa! You are not his daughter.
Life in prison.
Life in prison, because of you.
Because of you! Oh, God, Kenny.
Ice.
I need ice.
I couldn't go home.
I don't want Martha to see me like this.
I have a broken rib.
I will take you to the hospital.
Don't be an idiot.
You are so rude.
I was going to ask you how it went today, but if you're going to be a bitch I'm allowed to be a bitch today.
My father will die in jail.
Your book had nothing to do with it.
It was the most liberating thing you've ever done.
I don't understand why you don't write another one.
I will take it.
Are you sure you can afford it? I'm a writer, Sasha.
When writers need money, they write.
And I will write a new book.
She was spending money at Osternsky's.
Bragging about a new book.
That bitch, she's going too far.
There will be no more books.
Oleg, clear it with the old man.
You tell his agent that for 15% he can bloody well edit the book himself.
What's that? - Shouldn't we have it xrayed? - It's from llana Yushka.
- Feels like a manuscript.
- What? If she's been holding out on me Oh, dear God! Call the police! Now! Law & Order CI Now give me a big closeup of this smudge on her forehead.
I spoke with her yesterday afternoon.
She said she had an idea for her next book.
- A big idea.
- Which was? She wanted to tell me in person to see the look on my face.
But what else could it be? The Russian mob's all she knew.
The messenger service said they picked up the box at 319 Hudson.
- Is that her address? - Chinese restaurant next door.
Her building doesn't have a doorman.
All pickups and deliveries go there.
I really need to speak to them they're with Legal.
You lose a contact lens? I need long tweezers.
There's something in her mouth.
Take pictures.
What do you think this means? Robbery wasn't the motive? Apartment Of Ilana Yushka Thursday, April 9 It's a receipt for a necklace from two days ago.
She was already spending her advance.
Ostrensky's in Brighton Beach.
Nothing like rubbing it in their faces.
She's got legal pads filled with her handwriting.
She still wrote in Russian.
If you tell me you can read Russian oh, brother.
The restaurant owner downstairs says a blonde woman dropped the package off yesterday.
So someone who knew llana's routine maybe a friend? Yeah.
A friend who was buzzed in with the killer.
Might explain why there was no forced entry.
Assuming she was killed here.
Not just killed.
That's lye.
She went down the drain.
Only the bones would be left.
The decapitation, the disposal of the body, it has all the characteristics of a Russian mob hit, Mr.
Yushka.
This is what we're talking about.
The rest of your lovely daughter was turned into pudding and washed down a sewer pipe.
We know that it's not what you wanted.
We know you had no choice.
He doesn't know what you're talking about.
If you had said no, they would have done it anyway.
And the rest of your family would have been next.
In the long run, it makes no difference.
They know it's going to eat at you.
They know you're going to want revenge.
They won't wait.
They'll come after you.
Make the first strike, Mr.
Yushka.
Give us the names of the people who did this! You have nothing better to do than harass an old man? We can always harass you.
According to the visitor's log, you visited Mr.
Yushka one day before his daughter was killed.
You were accompanied by a Mr.
Oleg Namirov? He's a translator for Mr.
Yushka.
You signed out at 2:40.
Mr.
Namirov didn't sign out until 2:50.
He spent 10 minutes alone with Mr.
Yushka.
We're curious, what was he translating? Federal Bureau Of Investigations Friday, April 10 Oleg Namirov's a suspect in half a dozen mob hits.
Unfortunately, he always seems to be on an airplane the day of the murders.
What about Wednesday? Well, let's see what the reports say.
The Bureau has him under surveillance.
Well, 24/7 is a little more than we can manage right now, but we do bed checks.
Wednesday, 8:15, his car was parked outside his mistress's apartment in Sheepshead Bay.
His mistress, she's blonde, right? Oleg was here Wednesday.
We stay in, we watch TV, we eat dinner.
When you stayed in, you mean you stayed in llana's Yushka's apartment? What are you talking about? The time it took your boyfriend to liquefy her body in the bathtub.
That is lie.
Oleg was here, with me.
You just came back from a trip? No.
/ I'll bet I can guess where you and Oleg went.
South.
And you left Wednesday night.
You're wrong, smart guy.
We were leaving tonight to Hawaii.
That is west.
The airline confirms Oleg Namirov bought tickets for Hawaii two hours after visiting Boris Yushka in prison.
The tickets were for tonight.
If Mr.
Namirov was true to form, he was going to do the hit on llana tonight and then jump on a plane.
Well, we were right about one thing.
The Russian mob was planning to kill her.
Except somebody beat them to it.
Hey, gorgeous.
You feeding the fishies? You going to be feeding the fishies all night long? Oh, jeez.
My mistake.
Ilana had these photos on her desk.
Probably old friends from high school.
Maybe that was her next project: "I was a Russian Homecoming Queen.
" This is her on her prom night.
"Ilana and Kenny, the Waldorf, 1982.
" For what it's worth, the feds aren't convinced this wasn't a mob hit.
Tell them to keep an open mind.
That's what we do.
What are you opening your minds to here? Translations of llana's writings.
Maybe her new book wasn't about the mob.
Maybe she found a whole new group of people to piss off.
Here, it looks like titles for a book.
"Academy of Horrors," "Unusual Punishment," "Tales Out of School.
" All right, this looks like copies of Child Welfare cases filed in 1979.
All with the same respondent, the Chase Academy.
Ilana mentioned it in her first book.
It was a private school for troubled teenagers.
Rich troubled teenagers.
We've got Kennedy cousins, we've got George Tate, publisher of "The Ledger," Arthur L Korrigan Jr.
Child Welfare went after the school for beating the students.
I smell a bestseller.
I smell a motive for murder, especially if there was more to it than just beatings.
Word must have gotten out she was writing a book.
Maybe she talked to one of the other students.
We can always ask the heir to the Strick real estate fortune Kenneth "Kenny" Strick.
Her prom date.
Home Of Martha & Kenneth Strick Tuesday, April 14 If any place deserved an expose, it was Chase.
That place was a horror.
That's one of the titles llana was working on.
"Academy of Horrors.
" If she'd told me she was planning a book, I'd have warned her to be careful.
Some of the staff at Chase were sadists.
- Am I exaggerating? - No.
Is that where you two met? Us? No.
We've known each other much longer than that.
Martha's my sister.
I went to Le Roset in Switzerland.
It's Kenny who was a handful.
That's why our stepfather sent him to Chase.
I'm sorry for the confusion.
You were still in touch with llana? Chase was a bonding experience.
We spoke now and then.
The last time was when her father was sent to prison.
She was very upset.
The book was the furthest thing from her mind.
Is there anyone else she might have talked to? Possible.
I don't know.
What about George? George? You mean George Tate, the publisher of "The Ledger"? He and Ilana had a thing the summer after they graduated from Chase.
I thought that you were her prom date? I had other plans.
Ilana found George hanging around the punch bowl.
And now, I'm going for my walk.
Ilana's death was shocking.
If there's anything else we can do, please call.
Well, she never talked to me about a book.
Frankly there wasn't enough going on at Chase to sustain one.
Physical abuse wasn't the tip of the iceberg? No, it was the iceberg.
Believe me, if there had been anything more, my father, who owned several newspapers, would have been all over it.
Maybe llana's expose wasn't about the staff at Chase.
Maybe it was about the students.
What are you talking about? A coed boarding school full of troubled teenagers I'm getting flushed just thinking about it.
Oh, get a grip, Detective.
Ilana knew better.
She had her own indiscretions to worry about.
You can't mean indiscretions with the opposite sex? Those wouldn't worry her.
But another girl at the school? She wouldn't write about it, so drop it.
Ilana needed money.
She had nothing to lose, Maybe this other person does.
Which one was she? This girl here, or this one? Ursula Stovitz.
Who's Ursula Stovitz? I'm sure you've read her holiday tips in her magazine: "Anna's Gracious Home.
" This is Anna Llewellyn? Is there any proof she had an affair with llana? The story is Anna and llana broke curfew one Friday night November, 1978, I think they were arrested by the local sheriff while joyriding in the headmaster's car.
And that means they were having an affair? They were seen kissing and fondling each other in the parking lot of a bar.
I was very saddened when I heard about llana.
She and I shared some difficult times at Chase.
Where were you last Wednesday night? Here, waiting for a limo to take me to the airport.
Alone? Yes, Mark and the children were in Connecticut.
Don't tell me I'm a suspect? We think Ms.
Yushka was putting together a book about her years at the Chase Academy, a book that might have been embarrassing for your wholesome image For heaven's sake, not those rumors again.
I assure you, I'm not gay.
- I believe her.
- Thank you.
It's not just because you're flirting with me, it's the way that you're flirting.
It's very subtle.
So, now we've established that I'm straight.
I still could have had a fling with llana.
When you were 15? I'll confess to a schoolgirl crush on llana.
We held hands, we kissed a little.
That's as far as it went, and it lasted all of two weeks.
Did that include joyriding in the headmaster's car? That wasn't me.
I wish it was.
Sounded like llana and that other girl had a lot of fun.
You know who the other girl was? No, I just remember seeing our local sheriff drop llana off at school early the next morning.
Miss Llewellyn? If you'll excuse me.
I wonder if the local sheriff remembers it the way she does? Sheriff's Office Adler Township, New York Thursday, April 16 The Chase Academy? It was always one thing or another with those kids.
They closed the place down, you know.
We know.
This was on a Friday night in November, '78.
One of the girls was Russian Ilana Yushka.
A Russian accent? I vaguely remember her.
If you say her name was llana Yushka, I'll take your word for it.
What about the other girl? I don't remember there being another girl.
That's a nice watch.
Thanks.
I'm sorry I can't help you out on that.
You keep rubbing it.
Is that a Rolex? Yeah.
Okay, well, it was nice talking to you.
Oop it's loose! Don't let it fall off! It's a Rolex Gold Shell.
You see, it's got a little higher profile than other models.
Somebody must like you a lot, Sheriff, to give you a gold watch.
The boys got it for me for the years of service.
They gave it to you brand new? Well, yeah.
A couple of years ago.
Really? This is a vintage watch.
You see, they stopped making it in 1979.
Another thing you should know is Rolex never made your watch in solid gold no matter what they told you, Ilana Yushka's been murdered.
What happened that night might have something to do with it.
The other girl, what happened to her? The Russian girl, she didn't want her folks to find out.
But the other one, soon as I brought them in, she made a call.
from Bedford, Chester Barrows, comes in to collect her on behalf of her parents.
He convinced you to leave her name out of the report in exchange for a watch? Well, it wasn't exactly the crime of the century.
Strick.
Her name was Martha Strick.
Did she show you ID? No, but Barrows said that's who she was.
Excuse me.
Martha Strick was supposed to be at school 3,000 miles away in Switzerland.
Maybe she was.
Ken Strick doesn't have any other siblings.
I know.
Family sends a lawyer out in the middle of the night, they bribe a sheriff, to cover up what? Little Kenny in a dress.
The Chase angle is a smokescreen.
The police are afraid of the Russian mob.
And apparently so is "The Ledger.
" That's not fair, Kenneth.
We ran a piece the day after llana was murdered.
It was a trademark Russian mob hit.
Ilana told me she was thinking of doing a followup to her first book.
So why is the NYPD steering the investigation away from the Russians? Ilana was your friend and mine, but that shouldn't influence you.
Neither should the fact that Strick Realty is one of your biggest advertisers.
But George, shouldn't someone be asking these questions? Excuse me.
I wouldn't have brought them here, sir, but the flight from Toronto got in early.
Drive them around for an hour, then meet me there.
The male suspect who cut off llana Yushka's head with one blow and the woman who left the package at the Chinese restaurant? Kenneth Strick, one and the same.
That's a hell of a theory.
Is crossdressing something people kill for these days? Transvestitism could be a symptom of deeper pathology.
I don't know what drives Ken Strick, but we should find out.
There's a deeper secret here and that's probably what Ilana was writing about.
It'll take more than psychological gleanings to get a search warrant for a blonde wig and size 14 dress.
Have you read today's "Ledger"? Since when do we pay attention to bad press? The article quotes an "unnamed close friend" who says Ms.
Yushka was planning a followup to her first book and feared for her safety.
The same close friend who probably manipulates the media.
Ken Strick he went to school with the publisher of "The Ledger.
" Detective I guess we're not getting our search warrant? Not based on a 20yearold joy ride and not until you can tell me with certainty that Martha Strick was not in that car with Ms.
Yushka.
Well, of course it wasn't me.
I wasn't even in the country.
You can contact Le Roset.
They keep excellent records.
I only came home for the summer holidays.
Must have been rough on you.
Didn't you miss your parents? Our mother had passed away.
There was only our stepfather.
Anyway, Kenny would come visit during Christmas.
What about Kenny? He ever get into trouble with the police when he was at Chase? No.
I really don't understand your fascination with ancient history.
Don't you people read the paper? That phony article your brother cooked up with his buddy George Tate? I resent that.
My brother doesn't abuse his relationships.
Instead of giving anonymous quotes to the newspaper, he should have had the guts to talk to us.
What my brother did took guts and he paid for it.
Paid for it? I think you should leave now.
Is he wearing only one boot? Why would you say that? Well, because there's only one lonely boot here.
Is there a reason he's not wearing it? Did something happen to his leg? Is that what you meant by "paying for it"? He came home late last night.
He was limping.
He said he'd been mugged.
I wanted to call the police but he said no and then I understood.
What's that? The people who killed llana they found out Kenny talked to the newspaper.
Office Of Kenneth Strick Friday, April 17 My sister has a vivid imagination.
Some thug took my wallet, pushed me down and that's how I sprained my ankle.
So you didn't get "worked over" by the Russian mob? I've said everything I have to say.
You say one thing to us, you say another thing to the newspapers.
I didn't talk to the papers.
That's pure conjecture on Martha's part.
Don't put it on your sister.
It's you.
You're the one that's trying to steer it towards the Russians.
I'd be a fool to try.
You steer it wherever you want, Detective.
Okay.
Do you know a Chester Barrows? No.
He was a lawyer in Bedford.
Your stepfather hired him in 1978? I wouldn't know.
The sheriff in Adler Township said that Mr.
Barrows showed up the night of November 12th and bailed out someone named "Martha Strick.
" I doubt that very much.
Because Martha was away in Switzerland? She most certainly was.
And you were fast asleep in your room at the Chase Academy? I most certainly was.
What? Well, it's just what I thought.
You pluck your eyebrows.
Did you tell Kenneth Strick he plucks his eyebrows? Yes.
He does, right? He complained to the mayor.
Now the Chief of Detectives wants this turned over to the FBI.
It's not a mob case.
They planned a hit on llana Yushka.
They put a beatdown on Kenneth Strick.
When the Russians put a beatdown on someone, it shows.
Strick didn't have a mark on his face or his hands.
So what's he doing limping around with a cane? Strick is a straight guy who can only get excited wearing women's clothing.
That usually goes hand in hand with masochism.
I learn something new every day.
A guy like Strick probably hires a pro to give him a workout.
Here, on his Amex bill.
A couple of days before he was injured Strick bought two tickets on Air Canada from Toronto to New York.
Maybe he hired outoftown talent? Royal Canadian Mounted Police Toronto, Canada Tuesday, April 21 Okay, so now it's a big crime to go down to the States? The Free Trade Act doesn't actually allow prostitutes to cross the border to ply their trade.
It's still a felony that you can get extradited for and your government won't lift a finger to help you.
He's right about that, missy.
Better answer their questions and be smart about it.
So, okay.
My girlfriend and me went down to New York for work.
That's the guy.
And how did these sessions with him play out? He likes being made to dress up in women's clothes.
The whole kit, from high heels to a wig and makeup.
Then what did you do? Did you smack him hard? Yes.
He likes being smacked around.
You got carried away the last time? I stepped on his foot by mistake, but he didn't mind much.
The words.
The words what were the words he had you say to him while this was going on? We had to call him "Kenny" and tell him he's a bad boy who's getting what he deserves.
What were the words that he used? The exact words.
It's important.
"I didn't mean it.
I'm sorry, Mommy.
Don't go away, Mommy.
" - Like that.
- Then what? Well, after he got smacked around good, he was ready for the big finish, so we took care of that and went back to the hotel.
Is there a computer I can use? Sure.
The officer will show you.
Thank you.
- You're being silly.
- You were gone for an hour.
Joshua's just a bit of fun.
And really, Kenny, do I question you when you disappear to Godknowswhere with Godknowswho? Don't change the subject.
The subject is loyalty and truthfulness.
I had to find out from the police you dragged my name into some adolescent criminal prank.
I told you, it was llana.
She's the one who used your name.
I don't know, Kenny.
I have to wonder what other secrets you keep from me.
You're not being fair! I'm going to bed now.
Martha, I'm sorry.
Please don't go to sleep angry.
I swear I'm not hiding anything.
Please say something, Martha.
I need you to trust me.
Martha? I'm sorry.
Martha, please, I didn't mean it.
Don't be mad at me.
I'm not.
I can never stay mad at you not my big brother.
The girl said Strick paid her and her friend five grand each.
And here I thought hockey players and maple syrup were Canada's biggest exports.
His mother, Eloise Strick, died in 1974.
A suicide in the kitchen of the family home.
From eating ant poison.
The only witness was her 10yearold son, Kenneth.
Eloise Strick, death by suicide, August 1974.
Here you go.
Where's the rest of it? Anyone check out this file recently? No.
There was a reporter asking for it a couple of weeks ago.
I told her she'd have to file an application.
This her? Russian accent? Yes.
/ What about the lead detective on the case, Alan Forbes? You didn't misplace him, did you? Alan passed away three years ago.
And John Nemetz, what happened to him? Who? The crime scene photographer.
We're looking for photos of a suicide Eloise Strick, 1974.
That would be under "Famous people suicides.
" Of course, the family wasn't famous then.
Mr.
Strick just started his real estate business.
That's the glass that had the ant poison.
She took it with lemonade.
Her son was the only witness? Yeah.
The nanny Miss Mendoza, something like that she'd gone to the store with the daughter.
The stepfather was out of town on business.
Poor little kid.
You see that cupboard there? That's where we found him.
When the mother started dying from the poison, he ran in there.
I can't imagine what that poor kid went through, seeing his mother go like that.
Do you have a magnifying glass? In the dining room, there's a big box of soda crackers open on the table.
Was somebody eating there? The boy said Mrs.
Strick was before she took the poison.
Eating soda crackers on a hot summer morning? Morning sickness.
That's right.
That came out in the autopsy.
She was two months pregnant.
Home Of Mrs.
Mendez Long Island, New York Thursday, April 23 The people who bought this place aren't going to be thrilled to hear what happened here.
May I help you? Good afternoon, ma'am.
New York City Police.
We're investigating an incident involving one the previous owners of this house.
What previous owner? I've been living here for almost 25 years.
The incident occurred in 1974.
I don't know anything about that.
Sorry.
We'd just like to take a look at the kitchen.
No, you can't go in.
It's Mrs.
Mendoza, right? Mendez.
/ You were the nanny for the Strick kids? - Yes.
- You bought the house from them? No.
They kept it in the family.
I just lease it from them.
It's a tragedy what happened to Mrs.
Strick.
I can't imagine how those poor kids felt, losing their mother and maybe a little brother or sister.
Oh, no.
They didn't know Mrs.
Strick was going to have a baby.
She hadn't told them.
Why's that? I don't know.
She just told me she didn't want them to know yet.
I'm sorry.
At the funeral, how did the children behave? Oh, Mr.
Kenny, he was very brave, like a little man.
He stood up very straight, holding his sister's hand.
What did Martha do? She broke my heart.
She put her favorite teddy bear in Mrs.
Strick's coffin, so Mrs.
Strick "wouldn't be afraid of the dark.
" Has anyone been around recently asking questions? You mean snooping? Yeah.
There was this lady She parked the car across the house and she was taking pictures.
A blonde lady? Yeah.
I hope you told Mr.
Strick about it.
Oh yeah, I did.
Good for you.
Thanks.
We need a search warrant for the suicide house.
Search for what? Motive.
I don't see where it specifies what you're looking for.
Right there.
Cutting instruments, lye.
But why that house? I only came to inform you of the warrant as a courtesy, to give your representatives an opportunity to be present during the search.
It's Saturday.
Contrary to what you may think, I don't have lawyers standing by on call.
Either of you is welcome to observe.
They're not entitled to be there.
Why are we kowtowing to these people? Detectives, please.
Does this search have to be done today? Yes.
It doesn't matter anyway.
The older lady's there every day.
Mrs.
Mendez? Has she been told you're coming? She'll find out when we get there.
I have to go.
She's by herself.
She'll be very upset.
We're not going back there.
I'll be fine.
You stay here.
I'll go, Mr.
Carver.
Fine, just her.
Let's go.
I'm going with you.
We can't all fit in our vehicle.
Miss Strick can ride with me.
Home Of Mrs.
Mendez Long Island, New York Saturday, April 25 What we're interested in is in here.
This place is like a time capsule.
Same fridge same stove same floor, right? Well two hours you were hiding in there? You must have been terrified.
I'll wait for Martha outside.
Terrified they'd find out.
We found duplicate photos of the crime scene.
"Crime scene," because that's what went on in this kitchen.
I'm warning you, Detective, stop this right now.
Your mother, sitting there eating crackers to settle her stomach.
She had morning sickness.
She was pregnant by your stepfather.
You didn't like that? You were scared your mother wouldn't love you anymore.
That's not true.
We didn't know she was pregnant.
She didn't tell us.
Martha knew.
She put her teddy bear in the coffin.
Not for your mother, for the baby.
Martha was probably excited about the baby.
But you you wanted it to go away just a little bit.
"If Mommy only got sick, just a little bit.
" Just enough to throw up the baby from her stomach.
No, no, no.
Your mother was thirsty, from the crackers.
She asked you to bring her a lemonade.
You poured the glass there.
You you mixed in the ant poison.
Spilled some on the floor.
The bitterness from the lemonade it masked the taste.
Almost right away she started getting sick.
And she took one look at you and she knew.
No She came at you.
The glass fell out of her hand there.
And you backed away.
"I didn't mean it, Mommy.
I'm sorry, Mommy.
" And she collapsed.
She reached out her hand for you.
You hid in the cupboard.
Your mother died.
And no one ever knew the truth.
No one except your partner in crime at Chase, Ilana, who you shared your most shameful secret with.
because she became desperate for money and fame, she decided to write a book about it.
You couldn't let that happen.
Never mind the whole world finding out what a sad, misguided little boy did to his mother, you couldn't let Martha find out.
The one person who looks up to you who loves you whose hand you held at your mother's funeral.
The only family you have.
You couldn't afford to lose her.
And that's why you killed llana! You're you're wrong.
This is all an incredible web of lies.
Kenny, you're running out of time.
When Martha gets here, she's going to learn why you killed llana.
The truth.
She'll never believe it.
Or a convenient fiction? Like, llana was writing a scathing expose of Eloise Strick, the selfish, unstable divorcee who cared so little for her children she committed suicide in front of her only son scarring him for life.
And you became enraged by what this book could do to your family, so you did what was necessary to stop it.
Truth fiction.
Kenneth? I'm sorry about the delay.
I took the wrong turn off the LIE.
Are they finished? We just having a long talk with Kenneth about Ilana Yushka.
We also talked to him about your mother her - her tragic death.
- Martha, I told them I killed llana.
Oh, my God, Kenny! She was writing a book about Mother a book of lies and distortions.
I tried to reason with her, but couldn't talk her talk her out of it.
I kept thinking of you.
I don't know what came over me.
I killed her.
I'm so sorry.
It'll be all right, Kenny.
I didn't mean it.
I didn't mean it to happen.
I'll get the best lawyer, Kenny.
I'll take care of everything.
Thank you.