Shark s02e04 Episode Script

Hello? I'm here.
 Yes, of course I'm alone.
All I want is your side of the story.
Good.
I'm on my way.
Hello? - What was that for? - Giving trevor a chance.
He's not a bad kid.
Maybe a little lost.
Come on, dad, didn't you ever have doubts about what to do with your life? Now that you mention it, no, never.
Admit it: You liked him.
I'm reserving judgment.
Well, he liked you.
I paid for dinner.
What's not to like? Oh, hey, you want some cuban tonight? I can swing by versailles.
I can'T.
Let me guess.
Romantic dinner with lover boy? Not exactly.
that's my ride.
Don't tell me it's another guy.
Bye, dad.
Dr.
Laura fields, case No.
22457, subject is a 32-year-old female found lying on her side with several heavy contusions to the back of the head.
Nice day for a ball game.
Not if you're victoria pearson.
From the L.
A.
Chronicle? Yeah.
Editor said she was on deadline and left the newsroom around 9:30 last night.
Grounds crew found her body about an hour ago.
She hounded me day and night on the calison case.
Hell of a reporter though.
Apparently she finally asked the wrong question.
What do we got, laura? No sign of sexual assault.
The attacker came up from behind.
Massive contusion to the head, severe internal hemorrhaging.
What the hell was she doing out here in the middle of the night? During the election, I used to get e-mails from her at 2:00-3:00 in the morning.
She never stopped.
Her colleagues are going to go to town on this one.
If you have any information, you're asked to call the police department.
We are reporting from the coliseum not exactly the way victoria wanted to make the front page.
SHARK 204 I assigned this case to the high profile crime unit under the supervision of sebastian stark.
You'll know when we know.
I thought victoria pearson was a pain in the ass when she was alive.
You're the da now, leo.
Try to fake a little compassion at least, okay? When I prosecuted calvin rivers for embezzlement back in '04, she practically accused me of being incompetent.
You let a corrupt billionaire go and he walked.
What would you call that? America.
Are we any closer to an arrest? She was an investigative reporter.
Bin laden's got a bigger fan base.
I don't care who they arrest.
Just make it stick.
I don't need to lose the L.
A.
Chronicle my first year.
Not to mention your deep desire to see justice served? Yeah, yeah, that too.
Our guest tonight, victoria pearson of the L.
A.
Chronicle.
Victoria, what's the story everyone will be talking about this week? I'm working on a follow-up to a recent series on human growth hormone in professional sports.
We intend to name names.
As a result, congress may finally be forced to hold public hearings on that was victoria pearson on L.
A.
News beat 48 hours before she was killed.
Sounds like that hgh story was about to piss a lot of people off.
- Yeah.
- And muscle heads aren't known for talking things out.
I called a friend of mine at the chronicle.
Everyone's in a state of shock.
Anyone got a theory? Victoria worked on a lot of big stories, all of them controversial.
We need access to her notes and phone logs.
And let's find out who she was targeting.
Anyone victoria was putting in the hot seat.
I'll work up a timeline.
Madeleine, since you're so cozy over there at the chronicle, talk to victoria's colleagues and bosses.
Someone's got to know who the hell she was meeting at the L.
A.
Coliseum in the middle of the night.
Go.
Any word from your friend there, dr.
Laura? She's expediting the autopsy - and we are first in line at the lab.
- This has got to be top priority, jess.
I got 50 reporters on my call sheet.
Like you're complaining.
Dealing with the press is part of my job.
Your favorite part.
The phrase "no comment" leaps to mind.
Sounds familiar.
Can you hum a few bars? I keep expecting her to walk in that door pitching a story.
Been her editor five years.
She was the best.
It looks like victoria got her share of death threats.
Came with the territory.
Victoria always saved them.
Made jokes about them.
Several of these arrived recently.
Right after she wrote the first of her hgh stories.
Latest was on don kipling, serious a-list trainer.
 So this guy kipling would provide professional players with human growth hormone? Yeah, brought it up from mexico.
One of his mules got caught at the border.
Victoria documented the whole scam.
He had a lot to gain by keeping victoria quiet.
Not just him, a lot of big-time athletes would want to kill this story.
But we need to consider other theories.
You told the police you and victoria were romantically involved.
Not here.
Must have been complicated sleeping with your star reporter.
We did our best to keep our relationship outside of the office.
How'd your wife feel about that? Jen and I are separated.
Look, I was in love with victoria.
Where were you last night, mr.
Gorham? My apartment.
I get my kids on thursdays.
It's ironic.
Victoria lived for stories like this.
- hey.
- Hey.
How's it going? It's coming together.
How was your blind date last week? Don't ask.
Come on.
That bad? I have got cadavers down here with more personality than that guy.
You're just too picky.
That's the problem.
- Please, pot-kettle white.
- Fine.
- So we're close on pearson? - Let me guess.
Stark is getting impatient.
You know, it's like you're psychic.
If you really want to speed things up, you can get that new da off my back.
Cutler's calling you? I can't believe you lost to that guy.
Oh, nice.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for reminding me.
I'm just saying it's not the same around here anymore.
Yeah, well, we still have a job to do.
Well, I will figure out who did this, but not for stark, and not for cutler.
Now get lost and let me work.
Thank you.
I'm going through the L.
A.
Chronicle archives online.
Victoria pearson covered a lot of territory.
Such as? The spector trial, calison, the catholic church abuse scandal, every major story in the last five years.
What about this editor she was sleeping with? Gorham's story checks out.
He was with his kids the night of the murder.
And the ex-wife? At a fund raiser for county meum.
A dozen people saw her there.
From what I read in victoria's article, that trainer kipling is definitely capable of bashing someone's head in.
According to t-mobile, pearson made several calls to corcoran penitentiary.
That's where scardino, kipling's partner in the hgh scandal, is doing ten years.
Growth hormones everywhere.
Pros, college, even high school.
The mexican mafia's into it big time.
You think pearson was killed for messing with their business? Trust me.
These guys kill for a lot less.
Let's check into it.
Push it.
Good job.
Keep working.
- Donald kipling? - I'm busy.
Take a break.
What the hell's your problem? I'm with a client.
Right.
We're with the da's office.
I already talked to the cops.
So now you get to talk to us.
We hear you weren't a very big fan of victoria pearson.
You wouldn't be either if the bitch published a bunch of lies about you.
You sent her some pretty pissed-off letters.
I didn't kill her.
Though I'm not exactly heartbroken.
She was doing another story on you.
Interviewed your ex-business partner kevin scardino up at corcoran.
That's news to me.
She was gonna out some of your biggest clients.
Let me explain something to you guys, okay? Kevin scardino's a liar and a con man.
Anything he told that reporter about me or those athletes is a damn lie.
Where were you last night, donald? You know what? Go to hell.
You won't provide an alibi? That's fine.
How about a dna sample, huh? You're an innocent man.
You shouldn't have a problem with that.
Then you get out of my face? Just like that.
have a nice day.
I was able to recover tissue from under the victim's fingernails.
She fought back? Definitely wasn't ready to die.
Don kipling's dna.
I would have preferred saliva, but your guys said he whipped out his business before they could specify.
Yeah, pushing cooperation a little too far.
Well, lucky for us, kipling's urine contains sufficient proteins for analysis.
Check this out.
We've got a match at 13 alleles.
What are the odds he's not the killer? Approximately one in a trillion.
I'll take that bet.
Come on.
Pick it up! You're slowing down! Let's go.
I said pick it up.
Pick it up.
One more, one more.
What the hell do you guys want? We hear you're the guy to see for buns of steel.
I'm not talking.
All right, then just listen.
Don kipling, you're under arrest for the murder of victoria pearson.
You got to be kidding.
Hey, but don't worry.
I hear there's a huge demand for personal trainers up at corcoran state.
Get your damn hands off me! cuff him! Now I know how barry bonds hit all those damn home runs.
Those are allegations.
Allegations ??? my ass.
violation of mr.
Kipling's civil rights, and that's just for starters.
Nice ponytail.
How was woodstock? Was it necessary to arrest mr.
Kipling in front of his client? Why did we do that again? He killed victoria pearson in cold blood.
- Oh, right.
- Oh, right, one problem: You don't have a case.
The medical examiner found mr.
Kipling's dna under the victim's fingernail.
That sounds like a pretty good case to me.
Yeah, well, my client was 125 miles away when that murder was committed.
I was down in san diego working with a client.
We would, of course, need a name.
That's confidential.
Ever since that bitch linked me to hgh in the paper, my clients are scared to be seen with me.
From what I hear, that bitch caught you selling juice red-handed.
This is a murder case.
An anonymous alibi is not going to cut it.
My alibi's one of the most famous athletes in this country.
That's all I can say.
Geez, I admire your integrity.
I'll see you in court.
Mr.
Kipling was at petco park all day thursday with a client.
He had dinner with the athlete and his agent at a local steak house until 11:15 P.
M.
Ms.
Pearson's murder happened at, what, 10:45 P.
M.
At the L.
A.
Coliseum? Go ahead.
Talk to the waiters.
Talk to the busboys.
Dozens of people saw him there.
Then why are you just telling us this now? Because my client made me sign a nondisclosure agreement.
We'll check it out.
The ???me screwed up.
I want to bring in mike wong.
You you can't just bring someone in from the outside.
Watch me.
Sebastian that didn't sound like a bluff in there, jess.
Now, there's only one option, and you know it.
Laura fields knows what she's doing.
I know she's a friend of yours, and I respect that.
Oh, like hell! Well, it sounded good.
Look, laura told us that this guy kipling was a trillion-to-one shot.
She's out.
This is gonna be ugly.
Laura and I go way back.
You want me to do it? No.
God, no.
Well, if it helps, you know, make me the bad guy.
That's a given.
Everything all right? Not so much.
There are some questions about your lab work.
What kind of questions? Kipling has an alibi for the pearson murder.
Well, that's impossible.
He was in san diego thursday night.
It checks out.
Dna doesn't lie, jess.
That test is 99.
9% accurate.
Yeah, well, looks like this one falls into that pesky .
1%.
And you're positive his alibi's legit? Okay, so it was a lab error.
Let me get into it.
Stark wants to bring in a fresh pair of eyes.
You're kidding, right? Look, jessica, I may have accidentally contaminated a sample, but that does not justify sidelining me on this.
If we keep you on, a good defense attorney is gonna make it all about the lab work.
We're bringing in mike wong.
I have 16 years on this job, and you're letting him bring in a hired gun? Look, I understand you know what it's gonna look like if you pull me off this case.
Can't you do something? I'm not the da anymore, laura.
I mean Stark's my partner now.
Oh, you have always hated this guy, and now you're gonna back him over a friend who's covered your ass a hundred times.
I'm sorry.
You have a visitor.
I don't care if it's god, get rid of him.
Actually, god sent me.
He wants to know if you'll take over.
Hey, what are you doing here? Oh, don't ex-wives get visitation rights? Hello.
Wow, new york's treating you well.
You should see me without makeup.
I have.
Not lately.
have you seen julie yet? Yeah.
I saw her last night for dinner.
Oh, so you were her secret date.
I wonder why she didn't tell me.
I asked her not to.
I wanted to talk to you myself first.
Did larry fly out with you? Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.
Oh.
Is it bad? It's over.
Wow.
I knew you guys were having problems larry's a great guy, but, um, he's married to his work, and I've seen that movie before.
I'm really sorry, claire.
Well, thank you.
never thought I'd be a two-time loser.
As I recall, I think i was the loser the first time, wasn't I? Oh, you landed on your feet.
Mm.
So, what's the game plan? well, I've given this, um sorry.
A lot of thought and the thing is, I really miss julie.
Right.
And, um, new york's great, but it's not home.
Wait, I'm sorry.
Uh are you thinking of moving back here? Yeah.
Ah.
I'm staying at the four seasons until I find a place.
Now, look, I know that you and julie are working things out, and I really don't want to get in the way of that are you kidding? Our daughter is in love with a high school dropout who looks like brad pitt.
I need all the help I can get.
- welcome back.
- Aw, okay.
according to phone records, victoria pearson got a collect call from corcoran penitentiary the day she died.
Scardino dropping a dime on some ball player for doping? No, that's what I thought, but scardino's cooperating with the fbi.
They transferred him out of corcoran days before that call was made.
Let's find out.
Mr.
Tobias.
How you doing? I'm danny reyes.
This is madeleine poe.
With the L.
A.
District attorney's office.
And? We understand a reporter from the L.
A.
Chronicle came to see you last week? I have nothing to say.
Yeah, well, you better, because victoria pearson was killed shortly after she talked to you.
It's not like I could've killed her.
We're not here to make trouble, mr.
Tobias.
We actually need your help.
She was gonna write my story.
And what story is that? That I'm doing life for a murder that I didn't do.
Let me guess, you were framed? You better watch your mouth.
I'm sorry.
Sometimes my colleague talks before he thinks.
Who framed you, greg? you guys.
What, the da's office? The medical examiner lied, man.
They said they found my dna at the crime scene, but I was never there.
Do you remember this me's name? Dr.
Laura fields.
She's the reason why I'm here.
I spent the entire morning on this.
Doesn't look good.
Give me something I can use, mike.
Come on.
That's the problem: The whole autopsy's contaminated.
You got to be kidding.
Back to square one.
I know I'm reluctant to impeach a colleague, but I have a lot of questions for dr.
Fields.
You're gonna need to stand in line.
The thing is this woman didn't die of a head injury: The blow wasn't severe enough.
Wait.
What are you talking about? I found a needle mark between the shoulder blades.
My guess: She was injected with epinephrine.
Which would be untraceable.
A good on-site me would have found that needle puncture.
Well when did the cops find pearson's body? 6:30 A.
M.
Doesn't your friend fields live in the west valley? So? Yeah, so how long is the drive from there to the coliseum? 45 minutes, an hour with traffic.
- Minimum.
- I've known laura for 12 years.
We got the call at the same time; how the hell did she get to the coliseum before I did? She couldn't have.
What's wrong now? Drop the attitude; I'm here to help you.
That's a switch.
There's a problem with the timeline on the pearson crime scene.
Yeah? You got there too fast.
What the hell are you saying? I'm telling you that stark's asking questions, and I don't have any answers.
What kind of questions? Apparently, mike wong said that head trauma didn't kill victoria pearson.
He's wrong.
He found a puncture mark on her back.
It's possible that she was injected with something that didn't show up in your report.
That's absurd.
Stark's ordered a second autopsy.
It's scheduled for 8:00 A.
M.
Tomorrow.
Why are you telling me this? You said you've covered my ass hundreds of times.
Now we're even.
forget something? You set me up? And now you're going down.
Laura fields, you're under arrest for the murder of victoria pearson.
How far would you go to protect a secret? I'd like to think that most of the people in this room wouldn't resort to murder.
But as the facts of this case are revealed to you, you will come to understand that laura fields isn't like the rest of us.
Dr.
Fields had a secret that she kept hidden from even her closest friends and colleagues, a secret that she hoped and prayed would stay buried forever.
And it almost did.
Until a very talented young woman, a reporter named victoria pearson, heard a rumor and started digging.
It wasn't long before she hit pay dirt.
Inmate 553798a, formerly known as greg tobias.
The evidence in this case will show that laura fields, abusing her possession in the medical examiner's office, doctored evidence in mr.
Tobias's 2002 murder trial, sending an innocent man to prison for life.
It will also show that ms.
Pearson discovered this secret and was about to expose it to the world.
Now, what did dr.
Fields do when she heard what was coming? She decided to protect her secret at all costs.
She lured ms.
Pearson to the L.
A.
Coliseum, murdered her in cold blood, and then used her position and her expertise to throw investigators off the trail.
You know what the worst part of this is? Dr.
Fields didn't work for some faceless bureaucracy.
She worked for me, and she worked for you.
We gave her our trust and she betrayed us.
She committed murder in our name.
Don't let her get away with it.
As you just witnessed, prosecutors can be pretty persuasive, but the fact remains that you won't see a single shred of physical evidence linking my client to the death of victoria pearson.
No murder weapon, no eyewitness, no proof that dr.
Fields was anywhere other than at home in bed at the time of the murder-- eerily similar circumstances to the trial of greg tobias in 2002.
Now, that prosecutor, like this one, was determined to get a conviction.
When dr.
Fields expressed profound doubts about the dna evidence against mr.
Tobias, that prosecutor told her to keep her mouth shut and to say only what was necessary to win the case.
Now, that prosecutor happens to be with us in this courtroom here today: Jessica devlin.
When victoria pearson was killed in what was clearly a random act of violence, ms.
Devlin knew that the trail would lead back to pearson's recent interview with tobias, back to her flagrant abuse of power in 2002.
So what did ms.
Devlin do? She set up dr.
Fields to take the fall.
My client may indeed be guilty of questionable judgment.
She probably should have blown the whistle on miss devlin when she had the chance to, but she is clearly not guilty of murder.
Are you telling me you had no idea this was coming? No, I was completely blindsided.
Which is, frankly, even more pathetic than you railroading some loser in a murder case.
- She didn't railroad greg tobias.
- Laura's lying through her teeth.
She acted on her own.
Oh, I see.
So you prefer the jury believe you were clueless rather than corrupt? Go to hell.
I'm already there.
Bottom line: They're gonna claim that you ordered laura to commit perjury in 2002 and frame kipling for killing victoria pearson.
I'm simply saying if you're gonna sabotage me, I prefer an old-fashioned sex scandal.
Oh, trust me: You couldn't handle it.
Well, I could die trying.
I could take the stand.
- It'll be my word against laura'S.
- I'm not so sure that's a good idea, jess.
Yes, you would be putting the entire office on trial.
This is my reputation on the line here.
Not to mention your career, but it's my call.
Sheesh! Do we even have a shot? Uphill battle.
If the jury buys that fields sabotaged the autopsy, they'll believe that she murdered victoria pearson we hope.
Jurors do love to take down politicians, in this case former politicians.
We can still win this thing, leo.
You better, 'cause if somebody burns for this, it's certainly not gonna be me.
- A dida vantiste or something maybe - That's so not true.
It is true.
- I've always worn stuff like that.
- No, since you started seeing that hot trevor, the world's been seeing a whole lot more of you, missy.
Take that back.
Mothers never take anything back.
How was dinner? Mom thinks I dress like a slut.
I think "slut" is a little strong.
Tramp? Better.
Mm-hmm.
I think I liked it better when you two were on opposite coasts.
Sorry, but your days of divide and conquer are over.
You hungry? We got you a doggie bag from carmen'S.
Osso bucco? Extra sauce.
My cardiologist calls-- I had a salad.
Okay.
I better get going.
Oh, well, can't you at least stay for coffee? No, it's late, darling.
Dad? Why don't you just stay here with us till you find a place? Who wants to stay in a hotel? It's a great idea.
Sebastian, that's really sweet, but I couldn'T.
Sure you could.
No matter how many other guys you marry, we're still a family.
Sort of.
Come on, mom.
Well, do I get a curfew? Not as long as you behave.
Mr.
Tobias, did you have a series of phone conversations with victoria pearson after you met with her in person? Yes.
You told her you felt the defendant provided false testimony against you in your murder trial? Yes, that's right.
Did ms.
Pearson tell you what she intended to do? She said if my story checked out, she'd publish a piece on me and put it in the paper.
And did she believe the evidence dr.
Fields presented at your trial was flawed? She had the dna evidence reevaluated, and it proved I was telling the truth.
Thank you.
No further questions.
This is quite a day for you, mr.
Tobias.
Your future depends on the outcome of this trial.
Isn't that right? Yes, I guess so.
It's pretty obvious if you discredit dr.
Fields, it's like a "get out of jail free" card.
Objection.
The jury should understand the witness's stake in this proceeding.
I'll allow it.
Mr.
Tobias? Yes, if people find out that she's a liar, then, yeah, I'll have a right to a new trial.
Thank you.
You're up here claiming that dr.
Fields is a liar, but in point of fact, you're the one with the history of transgression.
This is a copy of your prior criminal convictions.
Objection: Irrelevant and prejudicial.
Credibility, your honor.
Overruled.
Armed assault, attempted murder, resisting arrest, possession of an unlawful weapon.
Was the evidence against you trumped up in those cases, too? That lady said i raped and murdered a girl.
I have never done anything like that! No reason to get upset.
One last question.
Did anyone from the da's office offer to expedite your appeal in exchange for helping protect jessica devlin? Objection! Withdrawn.
Thank you, mr.
Tobias.
The jury recognized it for what it was.
It was a cheap stunt.
Yeah, maybe, but this is just the beginning.
I mean, Wright is gonna hammer me every chance he gets.
The problem is they made Tobias look like a liar with a nasty temper.
So we'll have to nail them with forensics.
How? There's no evidence of ephedrine.
It was absorbed into her body.
Well, then we bett hope Wong plays his A game.
This thing's coming down to dueling MEs.
But Laura's brilliant.
She's gonna get on that stand and dazzle the jury with technical jargon and they're not gonna to know what hit them.
I just got off the phone with the warden at Vacaville.
Victoria Pearson conducted a number of interviews with inmates up there.
- So? - So I ran the names of the guys that she talked to.
Fields testified against all of them at trial.
Victoria is trying to show Fields had a pattern of false testimony.
Two of them were cases that you prosecuted.
This is gonna open you up to a lot of scrutiny.
Keep digging.
Pull every case Fields testified in the last ten years.
Let's finish Victoria Pearson's story.
I can't believe Laura would do this.
People suck, Jess.
The sooner you accept that, the happier you're gonna be.
She lied, Sebastian.
In case after case.
How could she do that? It's like cheating at cards: you do it once, it's easier the next time.
These guys were guilty, Jess.
Not Tobias.
Well, Fields thought he was.
So what, you break the law to convict him? You know, your case is on the bubble, you think you got the right guy, the guy with blood on his hands you doctor evidence.
Not on my watch.
Go ahead.
Ask me.
- I don't have to.
- Ambitious DA wants to prove she's as good as any man.
- Jess.
- Ask me.
Fine.
Did you know what she was up to? No.
Good, see? I trusted Laura and she lied to my face over and over again.
Hey, you want to play true confessions? This is nothing compared to some of the stuff I've done.
Don't remind me.
I want you to put me on the stand.
No chance.
You go up there, it's career over.
Probably over anyway.
Not if we offer them a deal.
Laura killed that reporter in cold blood.
Then let her pay for it.
She pleads to manslaughter, your name stays out of it, we retrial the old cases and you know, live to fight another day.
Sebastian, I appreciate what you're trying to do, really.