Shark s02e15 Episode Script
One Hit Wonder
Ladies and gentlmens, the Playboy Mansion would like to welcome the artists of Palladium Records.
Abby, don't be such a stupid bitch.
You want to go back to singing in coffee shops? Get your hands off of me! Fine.
Just come as soon as you can, okay? Bye.
No! Please.
Please For me? You shouldn't have.
Very funny.
Ahh Let me guess.
Trevor.
Aren't they gorgeous? Just please tell me he didn't write a cheesy love poem.
Trevor is not cheesy.
He didn't even send a note.
Hmm.
I just kinda thought that, you know, once he moved to Boston Don't start.
He's only there for a few months working for his brother.
It seems to me that you might be a little young for a long-distance relationship.
I don't expect you to understand.
Just to keep my mouth shut.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Where? Be right there.
What do you think? Beautiful.
Like you.
What have we got? Abigail Coleman.
22.
Passing car spotted her around 5:00 a.
m.
She's only been in L.
A.
a couple of years.
She's an up-and-coming singer.
A single on iTunes and a CD coming out.
Any clue on a murder weapon? They're looking for it right now.
Well, somebody really did a job on this kid, didn't they? Multiple blows to the head.
Assailant was seriously pissed off.
Yeah, looks like she's missing an earring.
Yeah.
It was probably ripped out during the struggle.
They have a time of death yet? The ME puts the time of death between midnight and 4:00 a.
m.
But we do know she was at a party her record company threw last night at the Playboy Mansion.
Oh, which explains why Hugh Hefner left a voicemail on my cell phone.
Maybe he wants her to be Miss July.
Hit song.
Album coming out.
She could have been a star.
Ladies and gentlemen Abby Coleman has left the building.
Shark 215 Hef is a great guy, so let's just put the feminist attitude on hold, shall we? Hef! Long time no see.
Jordan! I didn't know you were gonna be here.
Oh, it's so great to see you, Hef.
Thank you for coming, Sebastian.
Anytime, Hef.
Uh So, anyway, this was a music industry party last night? Palladium Records.
And all the music executives were here? Yes, the usual circus.
So, what? It's agents, A&R people, producers, musicians? Yes, and this girl was one of our guests.
I want whoever did this caught.
We'll do whatever we can to help.
I appreciate that.
Well, I hope I see you soon.
Well, we're having a party here next week.
The Playmate of the Year.
You're both invited.
How great is it to be you? It doesn't suck.
Thank you.
Bye.
And you know Hef how? Wouldn't you like to know? Iwouldlike t Hi.
Hey.
So, the valet guy said the place was mobbed last night.
He's checking with his crew.
That was the victim's sister in Winnipeg.
All she knows is that Abby was dating some musician named Donny.
And look at this.
The victim placed a call from her cell phone to a guy named Donald Garland at midnight, and another one an hour later.
It's the last call she ever made.
I think we better bring Mr.
Garland in for a chat.
This is crazy.
I just talked to Abby last night.
What time was that? She called around midnight.
I was in the middle of a session.
What did she say? She sounded upset.
She was at that party and she wanted me to go pick her up, but we still had one more track to lay down.
Well, what time did you finally get out of there? Well, about 1:00 a.
m.
She called back.
Didn't leave a message, so I called her.
She didn't pick up.
And so I just went home.
Your girlfriend is at the Playboy Mansion, and you're okay with her just finding her own way home? She was there for work.
Okay? Abby wasn't like that.
How were you two getting along? Fine.
Great.
Wh You think I killed Abby? You do have a criminal record, Mr.
Garland: possession of cocaine with intent to distribute? Yeah.
Sure.
I used to supply the sessions.
I need the money, but I've been clean for six years.
I loved Abby.
I shoulda left the damn session the moment she called, but, I swear to God, I didn't kill her.
The record company limo dropped Abby off at the Playboy Mansion, but she never took the return trip.
So, if the boyfriend didn't pick her up, who'd she leave with? ME's office narrowed down the time of death to a two-hour window, sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 a.
m.
Which means Garland doesn't alibi out.
He got out of his session at 1:00.
That leaves him plenty of time.
I talked to some of the other musicians.
They said Donny was pissed at Abby.
He thought she was seeing somebody else.
Who? Rupert Stone.
The record producer? Yeah.
Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones Abby Coleman.
Yup.
He's Palladium's go-to guy for promising female musicians.
He was at the party.
According to some of the party guests, Stone's got a really bad rep with women.
They say he's seriously twisted.
That may be why he won't talk to us without his lawyer.
Okay.
Anybody else who could shed light on the relationship between Stone and Abby? Yeah, Gina Romero.
She's the executive at Palladium.
She put Stone and Abby together.
All right.
Go talk to her.
Abby was sleeping with this creep.
Hey, uh, Gina Romero? Uh Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
Thank you.
I love these guys.
You a music fan? We're from Pasadena.
We'll be back in a bit.
Ah, a little bit.
I used to mess around on the drums.
You know, most people wouldn't know good music and then those people end up running record companies.
So, I was hoping to ask you about Abby Coleman.
I still can't believe it.
Were you two close? I discovered Abby.
Open mic at the Rainbow.
I signed her on the spot.
She was a sweet kid.
Kind of naive, but she was something special.
Her MEbum was gonna be amazing.
Is this the album that Rupert Stone was producing? Yeah.
Although, that wasn't my decision.
Isn't Stone supposed to be some kind of a musical genius? He is.
These days, if your first record doesn't sell, you don't get a second shot.
That's why the company uses Rupert.
He delivers.
So what's the problem? Let's just say Rupert can be difficult to deal with.
Especially for female artists? Yeah.
Look Abby's boyfriend thought she was sleeping with Stone.
You know anything about that? If you're asking me as a representative of Palladium Records, the answer's no.
Fair enough.
What about the party at the Playboy Mansion? Yeah, it's our biggest event of the year.
I was there all night.
Did you notice any tension between Abby and Stone? Look, I know that you're in a tough position, but I really need your help to find out what happened to Abby.
Abby and Rupert were arguing, which isn't unusual when you're making a record, but this did seem pretty intense.
I was worried about Abby.
Every day, I meet kids who are willing to sell their souls to become famous.
Abby was different.
She was all about the music.
I was supposed to take care of her.
I have to say, Mr.
Stone, I am a little surprised you felt the need to bring your attorney with you.
Cut the crap, Sebastian.
What happened at the party? I stayed till 12:30.
I drove home alone and went to bed.
You left out the part where you and Abby Coleman argued in the grotto.
It was a creative dispute.
Ah.
Care to elaborate? Well, without getting too technical, we disagreed about the tempo of the title track.
I have 12 platinum records, which is 12 good reasons to do it my way.
And Abby wasn't happy about that? Abby's job was to be a star.
No one said she need to be happy.
And now she's dead.
As we've already established.
Well, since you drove home alone, I'm sure you won't mind if we search your car.
No.
Not as long as you can get a warrant.
Good luck with that.
Luck is for losers.
If the shoe fits.
We're done here.
She's right.
We don't have enough for a warrant.
Don't need one.
Okay.
I would like to have a career after this case.
You worry too much.
Hold it.
Hey, hey, hey, hey! an exception to that whole warrant thing: Exigent circumstances.
Such as when someone's about to destroy evidence by cleaning out their car.
You got to be kidding me.
Got something! Found this in the upholstery on the passenger's side.
Same one we took off Abby Coleman's body.
Get him out of here.
Get you hands off of me! The search was illegal.
Mr.
Stark created the exigent circumstances by threatening my client.
It's immaterial, Judge.
Mr.
Stone ordered the driver to clean the car and destroy evidence.
Which included a bloody earring and a scrap of the victim's clothing.
All of which is fruit of the poisonous tree and inadmissible.
Ms.
Westlake, last I recall, you were prosecuting the forfeiture of Mr.
Stark's home.
I don't see the relevance.
Mr.
Stark likes living on the edge, and I'm just troubled to find you out there with him.
But I'm more troubled by the defense's blatant attempt to destroy evidence.
The search is creative, but I'll uphold it.
Thank you, Your Honor.
And as to our request for a warrant to search the defendant's home? You've got your warrant, but I caution the prosecution, you keep pushing the envelope, and I will push back hard.
That's all.
I ran security tapes.
Stone's car left the mansion around 12:30 a.
m.
and you can see Abby in the car.
Nice.
Anything else? Yeah.
The ME found shards of metal embedded in the victim's skull.
Narrows down the possibility on the murder weapon.
Okay, but the problem is we searched every inch of the canyon from the crime scene at Stone's place and we have nothing.
Well, here's a warrant.
Whatever he used to kill her, let's hope he took it home with him.
Find a weapon? No, not yet, but you definitely need to see this.
Oh, my God! A sex dungeon? I guess Stone likes a little S&M with his R&B.
It's hard to believe people get off on this stuff.
Don't knock it till you try it.
Just found this in the garage outside.
That's blood.
Time for Stone to face the music.
Okay, somebody had to say it.
So you're kind of a freak, Rupert.
Different strokes.
You invite Abby down into that little chamber of horrors you got in your basement? Unfortunately, Abby wasn't into that, despite my best efforts.
Let's, uh, get on with it.
What did you and Abby really fight about that night? And forget the crap about creative differences.
She wanted to end our relationship.
There's a shocker.
She say why? She was dating some session musician.
Hmm, how'd you take that? Honestly? I laughed.
I could have done a lot for her, but she preferred to sleep with the band.
Sounds like a step up to me.
So if Abby was dumping you, why'd she go home with you? She called her true love to pick her up, but he couldn't be bothered.
I'm nothing if not a gentleman.
And how do we get to the part where she ends up dead by the side of the road? My client didn't kill her.
Her blood is in your car, Rupert.
Things got rough.
What, did you hit her? Maybe.
Maybe? Fine.
I hit her.
I'd been drinking.
Abby was going off about the record, whing about how it was distorting her voice, which is total crap.
It got physical, I pulled over, kicked her out of the car.
But she was alive when I left.
You left a young girl on the side of Mulholland in the middle of the night? Yeah.
I'm a real son of a bitch.
But I'm not a murder.
What about that bloodied love hammer we found in your garage? That has nothing to do with this.
Until we match Abby's DNA to the bloodstains.
You know what? I think I've had enough, so 25 to life.
We'll call it a crime of passion and keep your client off death row.
Otherwise, I get up in front of a jury with pictures of your torture chamber.
You in a thong with a mace.
Like it? No deal.
So far everything we've got is circumstantial.
So we build the best circumstantial case known to man.
Starting with what? Stone's got a sex dungeon in his house.
That means more girls.
Or boys, possibly farm animals.
Okay, so we need one who will testify that this guy is a violent psychopath.
Question is, where do we look? Well, when a big shot record producer beats up a girl, who do you think cleans up the mess? The record company.
Hey, give the lady a Grammy.
That record exec you met, she know where the bodies are buried? I don't know.
Find out.
Nice putt, Gina.
We meet again.
This is the last place You want to play with the big boys, you come where the big boys play.
Who's your friend? Jordan Westlake.
I tee off with the president of the label in ten minutes.
So what can I do for you, Jordan? Well, you could tell us about Rupert Stone's history with women.
No comment.
Look, Gina, we're hearing lots of rumors, claims of sexual harassment, abuse.
All settled quietly by the lawyers from Palladium Records.
Rupert has his issues, but he's a major asset to the company, and we protect our assets.
Excuse me.
Gina, hold on.
I took a risk talking to you in the first place.
I don't appreciate being put in this position.
I know, and I'm sorry, but Abby Coleman was murdered.
I know you cared about her.
Don't you think I want to help you? I can't.
Just trust me, Gina, all right? I won't make you testify against your company's star producer, but I need a name.
How did you meet Rupert Stone? I was a dancer in a music video he produced.
After the shoot, he invited me to come back to his place.
I was pretty drunk, and, um, Rupert took me downstairs into his basement.
I never saw anything like that before.
After a while, I told him that I had to go, and he got angry, abusive.
He slapped me around, and I Stone was coked out of his mind that night.
I thought he was gonna kill me.
But you never pressed charges? Palladium Records paid me to drop it.
And I just wanted to forget it ever happened.
Test came back on the flail positive for blood.
None of it belongs to Abby Coleman.
Great.
We know this guy Stone's a sicko.
We have no murder weapon.
We still have Laurel Hasbrook, the girl Stone assaulted before.
It's not enough.
We need to throw the kitchen sink at this wack job.
All right, back to square zero.
Isaac, I need you to get on SID and forensics.
We know there's something missing.
Find out what.
Raina, Madeleine, talk to everyone who was at that party: guests, workers, bunnies.
I don't care who they are, find out everything that happened that night, okay? Danny, so how's your relationship with this Gina Romero? She trusts me.
Good, because I need her to testify about Stone's history with women.
Look, I promised her she wouldn't have to do that.
And I promised my ma I'd be a priest, but hey, things change.
Hey, look, without a murder weapon, we need every witness we can get.
Make it happen.
Gina? Gina?! I'm out here! Hey.
Hey.
Maybe I should just come back.
Or come in.
The water's fantastic.
I didn't bring my suit.
Even better.
You wanted to see me.
Well, here I am.
Look, Gina, this is tough, and I'm really sorry, but I'm gonna need you to testify against Rupert Stone.
I told you I can't do that.
I'm afraid you don't really have a choice.
If you don't agree, my boss will subpoena you.
I'll say I don't know anything.
Trust me, you don't want to do that.
Look, Stone killed Abby, okay? You can't just let him walk away.
You think I want that? Then help me take him down.
Hand me that towel, will you? Thank you.
Look, I understand your situation.
No, you don't.
You know how many girls have been hospital visits, police stations? You should put a stop to it.
I'm a cog in the machine that Rupert Stone feeds, and a machine will do anything to keep him churning out the hits.
Plus, Stone knows I have dirt on him.
You want me to end up like Abby? I can protect you.
Yeah? Like you kept me off the stand? Just do the right thing, for Abby and yourself.
I should go.
Danny I can think about 500 reasons why this is a really bad idea.
Yeah, I know, but right now, I can't think of one.
Marcy Danner? We're from the DA's office.
Can we ask you a few questions? About what? You were the catering manager the night of the Palladium Records party at the Playboy Mansion? Yeah, I work all their music parties.
Is this about Abby Coleman? Do you rember seeing her at the party? Yeah, she was with that creep Rupert Stone.
You should hear the stories about that guy.
Trust me.
We have.
Did you hear them arguing? Yeah, it's pretty hard to miss.
He called her an ungrateful bitch, then Gina came over.
Gina Romero? Do you know her? I used to be a musician.
Everybody on the scene knows Gina.
She discovers you, you go places.
So after Gina came over, what happened next? Stone dragged Abby out.
A few minutes later, Gina left, too.
She left? Are you sure about that? Yeah, she was parked by the service gate to avoid the mob scene at the valet.
There's no video surveillance at the service gate.
Which is why we don't have any footage of her leaving.
Do you know how long she was gone? I don't know.
Maybe an hour or so.
She could have been there when Abby was killed.
Yeah.
Danny.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
Where have you been? We tried to reach you all night.
Uh, yeah, sorry, my phone died.
You talked to Gina? Yeah.
Yeah, she'll testify.
We're all good.
No, we're not.
Gina left the party that night around the same time as the murder.
Came back an hour later.
Are you sure? Well, we've got a witness and Gina has a history of covering for Stone.
If she's helping Stone, then why the hell is she cooperating with us? That's what I'd like to know.
Danny? I'll call you back.
Everything okay? Actually, no.
You said you were at the Mansion all night.
What are you talking about? You left the party.
Then you came back, Gina.
Hey, look, Danny, you have to understand I understand that you lied to me.
I'm sorry, okay.
I was scared.
I still am.
I mean I know what was going on between Stone and Abby.
I knew what he was capable of.
Where'd you go? I was headed to Stone's to get Abby out of there before something happened.
But I was too late.
I found her on Mulholland.
You found her dead and you just left her there? I didn't know what else to do.
You could have called the police, Gina.
I know, I know, but I panicked.
Listen, I know what I did was wrong, but I'm trying to make up for it.
And you'll get your chance.
Because you're testifying to all this, or you're looking at obstruction of justice.
And that's just for starters.
Danny! Jules, you in here? Reading my mail now? I'm sorry.
It's okay.
It just came today.
He finally got to the poetry.
"She walks in beauty.
" Not exactly cheesy.
That's because it's Lord Byron.
Still no signature.
I think it's romantic.
Yeah You know, Jules, I know how you feel about Trevor.
What happened between you two was a big deal.
What are you talking about? Oh, my God.
Mom told you, didn't she? She didn't have to.
I saw the way you looked at him.
I heard you talk about him.
I was young once, too.
In a previous millennium.
I don't know what to say.
Are you ashamed of me? Ashamed of you? God, no, honey.
No.
I mean, don't get me wrong: I wish it hadn't happened in my lifetime.
I love him, Dad.
I know you do.
But he's 3,000 miles away, and you don't even know when he's coming back.
It doesn't change the way I feel.
I just don't want to see you hurt; that's all.
The people have no murder weapon, no eyewitnesses, and no physical evidence to prove Mr.
Stone committed this crime.
The defense moves for immediate dismissal.
The victim's bloody earring was in the defendant's car.
And we will produce a witness who will provide very pertinent testimony.
When? Tomorrow, Your Honor.
Very well, I'll postpone ruling on a dismissal until we hear this earth-shattering testimony.
All I can say is, your little pal better deliver.
Yeah, look, about that-- there's something I got to tell you.
Hello.
What? No, look, you calm down.
You just wait there.
I'll be right over.
I never saw the guy before.
He just came out of the kitchen.
Did he say anything? Yeah, he said that this was a message from Rupert Stone and that next time he would be more persuasive.
Look, we're going to get the son of a bitch, okay? I told you what he was capable of.
You said that you would protect me I can try, but I've been down this road before.
There are no guarantees.
Damn it! Maybe you shouldn't testify.
What are you doing? Screw him! He sends some goon to my house to threaten me.
What's this? This is my history of covering Rupert Stone's ass.
Hospital reports, expunged police records, payoffs to girls he hurt.
I kept a record of all of it.
Put this bastard away.
She scanned everything into her computer, including documented complaints from female victims.
What does she want? Immunity.
Forget it.
She's open to charges of accessory after the fact.
For finding a dead body and not reporting it, you're damn right she is.
I know someone else who did that once.
my conduct is not the issue here, and B: what is it with you and this woman? The other night-- when you sent me over there to talk to her Come on.
You've got to be kidding.
Look, I just did what you told me to do.
I told you to get information, not play hide the salami with a material witness in a murder case.
You've done worse.
Call LAPD.
Put someone on Gina Romero.
Go home.
You're off the case.
Aw, come on Now.
Beat it.
Look, you've got every right to be pissed off, but she did give us everything we need against Stone.
Yeah, that's my problem.
Everything we know about Stone we got from Gina Romero.
We've seen exactly what she wants us to see.
Now it's time to find out what shedidn'twant us to see.
The lab recovered the deleted files from Gina's home computer.
Don't we need a warrant to dump someone's computer? Not when they're in protective custody.
Gina Romero agreed to have LAPD in her home.
We found payments from Gina to two different women.
One of them's our victim; the other one's name is Marcy Danner.
The caterer that Madeline and I interviewed? She used to be a musician and Gina signed her to Palladium Records four years ago, but the label dropped her eight months later.
What was the money for? Rent, car payments.
Gina pretty much supported these girls.
Yeah, but all these are from Gina's personal account.
There's no record of Palladium being billed for any of this.
You need to see this.
Red light camera on Ventura five miles past the murder site.
That's Rupert Stone's car headed home and he's alone.
Fascinating.
What is the point? Look at the time stamp: 12:56 a.
m.
Abby Coleman called her boyfriend Donny Garland at 12:58 a.
m.
Which means she was still alive after Rupert Stone dropped her off.
And why didn't we know this sooner? Well, it's the defense attorney's job to alibi Rupert Stone.
Wrong.
It's your job.
You want to win? You build your case andtheir case.
Stone still could have gone home and come back and killed her.
Doesn't make sense.
Look, whoever killed this girl was in a rage.
There is no way that he dropped her off, drove all the way down the hill and then back up to kill her.
And we have no evidence on her boyfriend.
Which leaves us with one viable suspect we can actually place at the scene of the crime, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is our star witness who Danny happens to be schtupping.
I was better off when I was disbarred.
All right, you're saying that Gina killed Abby.
But then who beat up Gina? Anything can be had at price.
Even a beating.
My clients did it.
More than once.
Why am I not surprised? Look, the question here is motive.
Why would Gina Romero kill Abby Coleman? Okay, guys, that was the lab.
They narrowed down the metal fibers they found in the victim's skull.
Uh, composite graphite and titanium.
Titanium.
Like a golf club.
What's going on, Danny? Why haven't I heard from you? I'm off the case.
But I know Stone alibi'd out, which means Stark's coming after you.
You were giving money to Abby and someone named Marcy, Gina.
Yeah.
Marcy Danner, she was a singer.
It didn't work out.
And why were you paying her rent out of your own pocket? Because that's what I do when I believe in someone.
I support them.
Look, I really want to believe you.
I do.
But I need you to tell me the truth.
And I promise you, I'll do whatever I can to help you.
I am telling you the truth, Danny.
I swear.
Okay.
All right, I'll do what I can.
But I need you to sit tight till you hear from me, all right? Gina, what are you doing here? Just came to give you a heads-up.
There'll be some DAs coming to talk to you about me.
And you would really be doing me a big favor, if you just kept it simple.
You are a singer.
I signed you.
It didn't work out.
End of story.
Sure, Gina.
I miss you.
You know what? You play this right, maybe I get you another shot at the label.
Are you serious? You help me, I help you.
That's the way it works, right? Did you really think you'd slip past him? I said I'd help you.
You should have listened to me.
Just remember, Danny, I go down, you go down with me.
No, please! You think that Gina was attracted to Abby the way she was to Marcy? It's the only thing that makes any sense.
We got the results back on Gina's golf clubs.
Now, there's no blood, and the clubs are pretty well-used except for the driver.
which is brand-new.
Which means she dumped it.
Well, we searched the canyon, and we came up empty.
So we're back to circumstantial case.
Marcy Danner's testimony will show a pattern of behavior.
Let's just hope that's enough.
I was singing in a coffee house in Hollywood.
Gina gave me her card.
Did she want to sign you? Yes, but the record company didn't want to give me a contract until I had a demo.
Did your relationship with Gina turn into a romantic attraction? Yes.
And did you return her affections? Gina was She's sweet, um She's really nurturing.
not like most of the people you meet in the record business.
But after a while, it's like she got more and more obsessed.
It became less about the music and more about me.
So you broke it off? Yeah.
And how did Miss Romero react when you ended the relationship? She freaked out.
Did she physically harm you? When we broke up, she she grabbed my throat Luckily, we were in her office.
If we'd been alone, I don't Miss Danner, why didn't you come forward with this earlier? I was scared.
Look, if there's anything I've learned from this experience, it's that when Gina's mad, she's capable of anything.
Mr.
Reyes, can you tell the jury who you work for, please? I work for you.
I'm a deputy district attorney in a high-profile crime unit.
And under what circumstances did you first meet the defendant Gina Romero? I interviewed her in connection with the death of Abby Coleman.
And at that time were you gathering evidence against another suspect? Yes, the victim's record producer Rupert Stone.
And did Gina Romero give you information that was helpful in building a case against Mr.
Stone? Yes.
Did you, uh, subsequently see her again? Yes, I did, several times, the last being at her home.
And what occurred at that meeting? We had sex.
Wouldn't you agree that to have sex with a material witness would constitute at least the appearance of impropriety? Yes, sir.
It was unethical and poor judgment, and I'm ashamed at my behavior.
Mr.
Reyes, did your relationship with the defendant have any impact on the decision of this office to prosecute the defendant for murder? Absolutely not.
Nothing further.
Hang on.
It's going to get bumpy.
You say that when you first went to Miss Romero's home, it was not to have sex with her, is that right? That's right.
Did you find her attractive? Yes.
What was Miss Romero wearing when you arrived at her home? She wasn't wearing anything.
She was naked? Yes, she was.
Did you offer to leave, or did you force her to dress in front of you? Objection.
Overruled.
Answer the question.
I didn't force her to do anything.
No? You go over to the home of an attractive female witness in the middle of the night to make her testify? I call that coercive.
I'm sorry.
Is there a question here? Did you at any point threaten Miss Romero? No.
But you said you'd subpoena her if she didn't testify.
You say that to every witness.
But not every witness is standing in front of you naked.
You deliberately took advantage of my client when she was at her most vulnerable, using the authority of Come on, man.
That is not how it was Your Honor, I'd like to request a recess.
Denied.
You accuse my client of lying to you.
Is that correct? Yes, I did.
And then you again tried to force her to have sex with you.
What? Objection.
Foundation.
I'm about to present one.
Defense exhibit A, Your Honor.
Mr.
Reyes you tried to force my client into having sex with you.
And when she refused, you beat her.
Your Honor That is not how it happened all right? She said Your Honor Rupert Stone sent somebody over there to attack her.
I'll see counsel in chambers right now.
Even if there's no truth to the defendant's accusations, Mr.
Reyes' actions amount to blatant prosecutorial misconduct.
Agreed, Your Honor.
However And if thereisany truth to it, we are talking about a criminal offense.
In light of Mr.
Reyes's admissions, we move to strike the testimony of Marcy Danner.
On what possible grounds? The DA's office only learned of the existence of Marcy Danner until Mr.
Reyes's inmidation.
He forced Miss Romero to reveal the contents of her computer.
No, our techs found that information in files the defendant had deleted.
But you only searched the computer because Mr.
Reyes told you what was on it.
It's closed, but I'm granting the motion.
Your Honor We also move to strike all evidence obtained from the computer, including records of payments from my client to the victim or Miss Danner.
Granted.
With all due respect, Judge, why don't you just dismiss our whole case? It's funny you should mention it.
They can't even contrive a motive.
We move a dismissal.
Mr.
Stark? The People will request time to reassess our case.
You have 24 hours.
Find something that justifies moving forward, or I dismiss with prejudice.
Either way, I am recommending the DA's office immediately terminate Daniel Reyes from his position.
The judge won't allow the testimony or the payment records; what else is there? It's a circumstantial case, and now we can't even present the circumstances.
You need some piece of direct evidence.
Yeah, right, a murder weapon would be nice.
Well, they searched the canyon for three days and came up empty.
Hold on.
When they were searching, we were on Rupert Stone.
What difference does that make? Well, because they were searching the area between the murder scene and Stone's house.
But Gina Romero didn't go right for Stone's house.
She went back the way she came-- to the Playboy Mansion.
We've been looking in the wrong place.
.
You want to search the other side of the canyon? That could take days.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
So why are we here? So your client can take a plea deal and skip the whole lethal injection thing.
25 to life with parole.
Given that Judge Woodruff is gonna dismiss this case in, uh 18 minutes, why exactly would we do that? Because we found the murder weapon where you threw it, Gina: in the canyon off Mulholland.
Look familiar? Hmm Don't worry.
I'm not contaminating evidence.
Forensics already confirmed it had Coleman's blood.
This is ridiculous.
Is it? This, coupled with your credit card charge for a brand-new, identical driver the morning after the murder.
You got 16 minutes.
I give you half that to make up your mind.
What is that, like fruit coloring or something? Molasses.
Gives it texture.
Nice touch.
She'll take the deal.
On one condition.
She wants to talk to you.
Alone.
You know, being a woman in my business, you have to have a certain image.
People wanted me for what I could do for them.
And you never used anyone, right? I didn't say that, Danny.
But Abby was different.
She was real I fell in love with her.
You have a really funny way of showing that.
I left that party that night to protect her from Rupert Stone.
And when I found her, she was so sad and scared.
I've been holding back how I felt for her for so long.
But seeing her there I was supposed to protect her from the predators in this business.
And when I showed her how I felt Oh, my God! Abby! she treated me like I was some kind of freak.
Leave me alone.
You're just like Rupert.
Don't say that.
Like all I wanted to do was use her.
Like I was like all the others.
I just couldn't take it.
You could have walked away, Gina.
I should have.
But I was hurt and I was angry and I I just lost it.
I'm not asking you to forgive me, Danny.
I just want you to understand how I felt.
I don't care how you felt.
Didn't give you the right to kill her.
Thanks for talking Cutler out of firing me.
You put the entire team in jeopardy.
I know.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, well, I saved your ass this time because maybe some of this was my fault.
Next time, there won't even be a conversation.
Look I probably have no right to preach to you.
I set a lousy example.
But understand this.
There are some lines you cross, some you don't.
The tough part: figuring out the difference.
And that's a call you gotta make for yourself.
What do you mean you didn't send them? Of course No, Trevor, I don't know.
I I really thought they were from you.
Hey, um, I'm gonna have to call you back, okay? Yeah.
Love you, too.
Bye.
"To Julie.
Comptant les jours.
" Counting the days.
Maison de Chocolat.
Well Made in Paris? These bad boys ain't cheap.
They're not from Trevor.
And he didn't send the flowers or the poem.
He's been gone all this time, didn't send me anything.
Well, he did.
I don't know.
Abby, don't be such a stupid bitch.
You want to go back to singing in coffee shops? Get your hands off of me! Fine.
Just come as soon as you can, okay? Bye.
No! Please.
Please For me? You shouldn't have.
Very funny.
Ahh Let me guess.
Trevor.
Aren't they gorgeous? Just please tell me he didn't write a cheesy love poem.
Trevor is not cheesy.
He didn't even send a note.
Hmm.
I just kinda thought that, you know, once he moved to Boston Don't start.
He's only there for a few months working for his brother.
It seems to me that you might be a little young for a long-distance relationship.
I don't expect you to understand.
Just to keep my mouth shut.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Where? Be right there.
What do you think? Beautiful.
Like you.
What have we got? Abigail Coleman.
22.
Passing car spotted her around 5:00 a.
m.
She's only been in L.
A.
a couple of years.
She's an up-and-coming singer.
A single on iTunes and a CD coming out.
Any clue on a murder weapon? They're looking for it right now.
Well, somebody really did a job on this kid, didn't they? Multiple blows to the head.
Assailant was seriously pissed off.
Yeah, looks like she's missing an earring.
Yeah.
It was probably ripped out during the struggle.
They have a time of death yet? The ME puts the time of death between midnight and 4:00 a.
m.
But we do know she was at a party her record company threw last night at the Playboy Mansion.
Oh, which explains why Hugh Hefner left a voicemail on my cell phone.
Maybe he wants her to be Miss July.
Hit song.
Album coming out.
She could have been a star.
Ladies and gentlemen Abby Coleman has left the building.
Shark 215 Hef is a great guy, so let's just put the feminist attitude on hold, shall we? Hef! Long time no see.
Jordan! I didn't know you were gonna be here.
Oh, it's so great to see you, Hef.
Thank you for coming, Sebastian.
Anytime, Hef.
Uh So, anyway, this was a music industry party last night? Palladium Records.
And all the music executives were here? Yes, the usual circus.
So, what? It's agents, A&R people, producers, musicians? Yes, and this girl was one of our guests.
I want whoever did this caught.
We'll do whatever we can to help.
I appreciate that.
Well, I hope I see you soon.
Well, we're having a party here next week.
The Playmate of the Year.
You're both invited.
How great is it to be you? It doesn't suck.
Thank you.
Bye.
And you know Hef how? Wouldn't you like to know? Iwouldlike t Hi.
Hey.
So, the valet guy said the place was mobbed last night.
He's checking with his crew.
That was the victim's sister in Winnipeg.
All she knows is that Abby was dating some musician named Donny.
And look at this.
The victim placed a call from her cell phone to a guy named Donald Garland at midnight, and another one an hour later.
It's the last call she ever made.
I think we better bring Mr.
Garland in for a chat.
This is crazy.
I just talked to Abby last night.
What time was that? She called around midnight.
I was in the middle of a session.
What did she say? She sounded upset.
She was at that party and she wanted me to go pick her up, but we still had one more track to lay down.
Well, what time did you finally get out of there? Well, about 1:00 a.
m.
She called back.
Didn't leave a message, so I called her.
She didn't pick up.
And so I just went home.
Your girlfriend is at the Playboy Mansion, and you're okay with her just finding her own way home? She was there for work.
Okay? Abby wasn't like that.
How were you two getting along? Fine.
Great.
Wh You think I killed Abby? You do have a criminal record, Mr.
Garland: possession of cocaine with intent to distribute? Yeah.
Sure.
I used to supply the sessions.
I need the money, but I've been clean for six years.
I loved Abby.
I shoulda left the damn session the moment she called, but, I swear to God, I didn't kill her.
The record company limo dropped Abby off at the Playboy Mansion, but she never took the return trip.
So, if the boyfriend didn't pick her up, who'd she leave with? ME's office narrowed down the time of death to a two-hour window, sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 a.
m.
Which means Garland doesn't alibi out.
He got out of his session at 1:00.
That leaves him plenty of time.
I talked to some of the other musicians.
They said Donny was pissed at Abby.
He thought she was seeing somebody else.
Who? Rupert Stone.
The record producer? Yeah.
Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones Abby Coleman.
Yup.
He's Palladium's go-to guy for promising female musicians.
He was at the party.
According to some of the party guests, Stone's got a really bad rep with women.
They say he's seriously twisted.
That may be why he won't talk to us without his lawyer.
Okay.
Anybody else who could shed light on the relationship between Stone and Abby? Yeah, Gina Romero.
She's the executive at Palladium.
She put Stone and Abby together.
All right.
Go talk to her.
Abby was sleeping with this creep.
Hey, uh, Gina Romero? Uh Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
Thank you.
I love these guys.
You a music fan? We're from Pasadena.
We'll be back in a bit.
Ah, a little bit.
I used to mess around on the drums.
You know, most people wouldn't know good music and then those people end up running record companies.
So, I was hoping to ask you about Abby Coleman.
I still can't believe it.
Were you two close? I discovered Abby.
Open mic at the Rainbow.
I signed her on the spot.
She was a sweet kid.
Kind of naive, but she was something special.
Her MEbum was gonna be amazing.
Is this the album that Rupert Stone was producing? Yeah.
Although, that wasn't my decision.
Isn't Stone supposed to be some kind of a musical genius? He is.
These days, if your first record doesn't sell, you don't get a second shot.
That's why the company uses Rupert.
He delivers.
So what's the problem? Let's just say Rupert can be difficult to deal with.
Especially for female artists? Yeah.
Look Abby's boyfriend thought she was sleeping with Stone.
You know anything about that? If you're asking me as a representative of Palladium Records, the answer's no.
Fair enough.
What about the party at the Playboy Mansion? Yeah, it's our biggest event of the year.
I was there all night.
Did you notice any tension between Abby and Stone? Look, I know that you're in a tough position, but I really need your help to find out what happened to Abby.
Abby and Rupert were arguing, which isn't unusual when you're making a record, but this did seem pretty intense.
I was worried about Abby.
Every day, I meet kids who are willing to sell their souls to become famous.
Abby was different.
She was all about the music.
I was supposed to take care of her.
I have to say, Mr.
Stone, I am a little surprised you felt the need to bring your attorney with you.
Cut the crap, Sebastian.
What happened at the party? I stayed till 12:30.
I drove home alone and went to bed.
You left out the part where you and Abby Coleman argued in the grotto.
It was a creative dispute.
Ah.
Care to elaborate? Well, without getting too technical, we disagreed about the tempo of the title track.
I have 12 platinum records, which is 12 good reasons to do it my way.
And Abby wasn't happy about that? Abby's job was to be a star.
No one said she need to be happy.
And now she's dead.
As we've already established.
Well, since you drove home alone, I'm sure you won't mind if we search your car.
No.
Not as long as you can get a warrant.
Good luck with that.
Luck is for losers.
If the shoe fits.
We're done here.
She's right.
We don't have enough for a warrant.
Don't need one.
Okay.
I would like to have a career after this case.
You worry too much.
Hold it.
Hey, hey, hey, hey! an exception to that whole warrant thing: Exigent circumstances.
Such as when someone's about to destroy evidence by cleaning out their car.
You got to be kidding me.
Got something! Found this in the upholstery on the passenger's side.
Same one we took off Abby Coleman's body.
Get him out of here.
Get you hands off of me! The search was illegal.
Mr.
Stark created the exigent circumstances by threatening my client.
It's immaterial, Judge.
Mr.
Stone ordered the driver to clean the car and destroy evidence.
Which included a bloody earring and a scrap of the victim's clothing.
All of which is fruit of the poisonous tree and inadmissible.
Ms.
Westlake, last I recall, you were prosecuting the forfeiture of Mr.
Stark's home.
I don't see the relevance.
Mr.
Stark likes living on the edge, and I'm just troubled to find you out there with him.
But I'm more troubled by the defense's blatant attempt to destroy evidence.
The search is creative, but I'll uphold it.
Thank you, Your Honor.
And as to our request for a warrant to search the defendant's home? You've got your warrant, but I caution the prosecution, you keep pushing the envelope, and I will push back hard.
That's all.
I ran security tapes.
Stone's car left the mansion around 12:30 a.
m.
and you can see Abby in the car.
Nice.
Anything else? Yeah.
The ME found shards of metal embedded in the victim's skull.
Narrows down the possibility on the murder weapon.
Okay, but the problem is we searched every inch of the canyon from the crime scene at Stone's place and we have nothing.
Well, here's a warrant.
Whatever he used to kill her, let's hope he took it home with him.
Find a weapon? No, not yet, but you definitely need to see this.
Oh, my God! A sex dungeon? I guess Stone likes a little S&M with his R&B.
It's hard to believe people get off on this stuff.
Don't knock it till you try it.
Just found this in the garage outside.
That's blood.
Time for Stone to face the music.
Okay, somebody had to say it.
So you're kind of a freak, Rupert.
Different strokes.
You invite Abby down into that little chamber of horrors you got in your basement? Unfortunately, Abby wasn't into that, despite my best efforts.
Let's, uh, get on with it.
What did you and Abby really fight about that night? And forget the crap about creative differences.
She wanted to end our relationship.
There's a shocker.
She say why? She was dating some session musician.
Hmm, how'd you take that? Honestly? I laughed.
I could have done a lot for her, but she preferred to sleep with the band.
Sounds like a step up to me.
So if Abby was dumping you, why'd she go home with you? She called her true love to pick her up, but he couldn't be bothered.
I'm nothing if not a gentleman.
And how do we get to the part where she ends up dead by the side of the road? My client didn't kill her.
Her blood is in your car, Rupert.
Things got rough.
What, did you hit her? Maybe.
Maybe? Fine.
I hit her.
I'd been drinking.
Abby was going off about the record, whing about how it was distorting her voice, which is total crap.
It got physical, I pulled over, kicked her out of the car.
But she was alive when I left.
You left a young girl on the side of Mulholland in the middle of the night? Yeah.
I'm a real son of a bitch.
But I'm not a murder.
What about that bloodied love hammer we found in your garage? That has nothing to do with this.
Until we match Abby's DNA to the bloodstains.
You know what? I think I've had enough, so 25 to life.
We'll call it a crime of passion and keep your client off death row.
Otherwise, I get up in front of a jury with pictures of your torture chamber.
You in a thong with a mace.
Like it? No deal.
So far everything we've got is circumstantial.
So we build the best circumstantial case known to man.
Starting with what? Stone's got a sex dungeon in his house.
That means more girls.
Or boys, possibly farm animals.
Okay, so we need one who will testify that this guy is a violent psychopath.
Question is, where do we look? Well, when a big shot record producer beats up a girl, who do you think cleans up the mess? The record company.
Hey, give the lady a Grammy.
That record exec you met, she know where the bodies are buried? I don't know.
Find out.
Nice putt, Gina.
We meet again.
This is the last place You want to play with the big boys, you come where the big boys play.
Who's your friend? Jordan Westlake.
I tee off with the president of the label in ten minutes.
So what can I do for you, Jordan? Well, you could tell us about Rupert Stone's history with women.
No comment.
Look, Gina, we're hearing lots of rumors, claims of sexual harassment, abuse.
All settled quietly by the lawyers from Palladium Records.
Rupert has his issues, but he's a major asset to the company, and we protect our assets.
Excuse me.
Gina, hold on.
I took a risk talking to you in the first place.
I don't appreciate being put in this position.
I know, and I'm sorry, but Abby Coleman was murdered.
I know you cared about her.
Don't you think I want to help you? I can't.
Just trust me, Gina, all right? I won't make you testify against your company's star producer, but I need a name.
How did you meet Rupert Stone? I was a dancer in a music video he produced.
After the shoot, he invited me to come back to his place.
I was pretty drunk, and, um, Rupert took me downstairs into his basement.
I never saw anything like that before.
After a while, I told him that I had to go, and he got angry, abusive.
He slapped me around, and I Stone was coked out of his mind that night.
I thought he was gonna kill me.
But you never pressed charges? Palladium Records paid me to drop it.
And I just wanted to forget it ever happened.
Test came back on the flail positive for blood.
None of it belongs to Abby Coleman.
Great.
We know this guy Stone's a sicko.
We have no murder weapon.
We still have Laurel Hasbrook, the girl Stone assaulted before.
It's not enough.
We need to throw the kitchen sink at this wack job.
All right, back to square zero.
Isaac, I need you to get on SID and forensics.
We know there's something missing.
Find out what.
Raina, Madeleine, talk to everyone who was at that party: guests, workers, bunnies.
I don't care who they are, find out everything that happened that night, okay? Danny, so how's your relationship with this Gina Romero? She trusts me.
Good, because I need her to testify about Stone's history with women.
Look, I promised her she wouldn't have to do that.
And I promised my ma I'd be a priest, but hey, things change.
Hey, look, without a murder weapon, we need every witness we can get.
Make it happen.
Gina? Gina?! I'm out here! Hey.
Hey.
Maybe I should just come back.
Or come in.
The water's fantastic.
I didn't bring my suit.
Even better.
You wanted to see me.
Well, here I am.
Look, Gina, this is tough, and I'm really sorry, but I'm gonna need you to testify against Rupert Stone.
I told you I can't do that.
I'm afraid you don't really have a choice.
If you don't agree, my boss will subpoena you.
I'll say I don't know anything.
Trust me, you don't want to do that.
Look, Stone killed Abby, okay? You can't just let him walk away.
You think I want that? Then help me take him down.
Hand me that towel, will you? Thank you.
Look, I understand your situation.
No, you don't.
You know how many girls have been hospital visits, police stations? You should put a stop to it.
I'm a cog in the machine that Rupert Stone feeds, and a machine will do anything to keep him churning out the hits.
Plus, Stone knows I have dirt on him.
You want me to end up like Abby? I can protect you.
Yeah? Like you kept me off the stand? Just do the right thing, for Abby and yourself.
I should go.
Danny I can think about 500 reasons why this is a really bad idea.
Yeah, I know, but right now, I can't think of one.
Marcy Danner? We're from the DA's office.
Can we ask you a few questions? About what? You were the catering manager the night of the Palladium Records party at the Playboy Mansion? Yeah, I work all their music parties.
Is this about Abby Coleman? Do you rember seeing her at the party? Yeah, she was with that creep Rupert Stone.
You should hear the stories about that guy.
Trust me.
We have.
Did you hear them arguing? Yeah, it's pretty hard to miss.
He called her an ungrateful bitch, then Gina came over.
Gina Romero? Do you know her? I used to be a musician.
Everybody on the scene knows Gina.
She discovers you, you go places.
So after Gina came over, what happened next? Stone dragged Abby out.
A few minutes later, Gina left, too.
She left? Are you sure about that? Yeah, she was parked by the service gate to avoid the mob scene at the valet.
There's no video surveillance at the service gate.
Which is why we don't have any footage of her leaving.
Do you know how long she was gone? I don't know.
Maybe an hour or so.
She could have been there when Abby was killed.
Yeah.
Danny.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
Where have you been? We tried to reach you all night.
Uh, yeah, sorry, my phone died.
You talked to Gina? Yeah.
Yeah, she'll testify.
We're all good.
No, we're not.
Gina left the party that night around the same time as the murder.
Came back an hour later.
Are you sure? Well, we've got a witness and Gina has a history of covering for Stone.
If she's helping Stone, then why the hell is she cooperating with us? That's what I'd like to know.
Danny? I'll call you back.
Everything okay? Actually, no.
You said you were at the Mansion all night.
What are you talking about? You left the party.
Then you came back, Gina.
Hey, look, Danny, you have to understand I understand that you lied to me.
I'm sorry, okay.
I was scared.
I still am.
I mean I know what was going on between Stone and Abby.
I knew what he was capable of.
Where'd you go? I was headed to Stone's to get Abby out of there before something happened.
But I was too late.
I found her on Mulholland.
You found her dead and you just left her there? I didn't know what else to do.
You could have called the police, Gina.
I know, I know, but I panicked.
Listen, I know what I did was wrong, but I'm trying to make up for it.
And you'll get your chance.
Because you're testifying to all this, or you're looking at obstruction of justice.
And that's just for starters.
Danny! Jules, you in here? Reading my mail now? I'm sorry.
It's okay.
It just came today.
He finally got to the poetry.
"She walks in beauty.
" Not exactly cheesy.
That's because it's Lord Byron.
Still no signature.
I think it's romantic.
Yeah You know, Jules, I know how you feel about Trevor.
What happened between you two was a big deal.
What are you talking about? Oh, my God.
Mom told you, didn't she? She didn't have to.
I saw the way you looked at him.
I heard you talk about him.
I was young once, too.
In a previous millennium.
I don't know what to say.
Are you ashamed of me? Ashamed of you? God, no, honey.
No.
I mean, don't get me wrong: I wish it hadn't happened in my lifetime.
I love him, Dad.
I know you do.
But he's 3,000 miles away, and you don't even know when he's coming back.
It doesn't change the way I feel.
I just don't want to see you hurt; that's all.
The people have no murder weapon, no eyewitnesses, and no physical evidence to prove Mr.
Stone committed this crime.
The defense moves for immediate dismissal.
The victim's bloody earring was in the defendant's car.
And we will produce a witness who will provide very pertinent testimony.
When? Tomorrow, Your Honor.
Very well, I'll postpone ruling on a dismissal until we hear this earth-shattering testimony.
All I can say is, your little pal better deliver.
Yeah, look, about that-- there's something I got to tell you.
Hello.
What? No, look, you calm down.
You just wait there.
I'll be right over.
I never saw the guy before.
He just came out of the kitchen.
Did he say anything? Yeah, he said that this was a message from Rupert Stone and that next time he would be more persuasive.
Look, we're going to get the son of a bitch, okay? I told you what he was capable of.
You said that you would protect me I can try, but I've been down this road before.
There are no guarantees.
Damn it! Maybe you shouldn't testify.
What are you doing? Screw him! He sends some goon to my house to threaten me.
What's this? This is my history of covering Rupert Stone's ass.
Hospital reports, expunged police records, payoffs to girls he hurt.
I kept a record of all of it.
Put this bastard away.
She scanned everything into her computer, including documented complaints from female victims.
What does she want? Immunity.
Forget it.
She's open to charges of accessory after the fact.
For finding a dead body and not reporting it, you're damn right she is.
I know someone else who did that once.
my conduct is not the issue here, and B: what is it with you and this woman? The other night-- when you sent me over there to talk to her Come on.
You've got to be kidding.
Look, I just did what you told me to do.
I told you to get information, not play hide the salami with a material witness in a murder case.
You've done worse.
Call LAPD.
Put someone on Gina Romero.
Go home.
You're off the case.
Aw, come on Now.
Beat it.
Look, you've got every right to be pissed off, but she did give us everything we need against Stone.
Yeah, that's my problem.
Everything we know about Stone we got from Gina Romero.
We've seen exactly what she wants us to see.
Now it's time to find out what shedidn'twant us to see.
The lab recovered the deleted files from Gina's home computer.
Don't we need a warrant to dump someone's computer? Not when they're in protective custody.
Gina Romero agreed to have LAPD in her home.
We found payments from Gina to two different women.
One of them's our victim; the other one's name is Marcy Danner.
The caterer that Madeline and I interviewed? She used to be a musician and Gina signed her to Palladium Records four years ago, but the label dropped her eight months later.
What was the money for? Rent, car payments.
Gina pretty much supported these girls.
Yeah, but all these are from Gina's personal account.
There's no record of Palladium being billed for any of this.
You need to see this.
Red light camera on Ventura five miles past the murder site.
That's Rupert Stone's car headed home and he's alone.
Fascinating.
What is the point? Look at the time stamp: 12:56 a.
m.
Abby Coleman called her boyfriend Donny Garland at 12:58 a.
m.
Which means she was still alive after Rupert Stone dropped her off.
And why didn't we know this sooner? Well, it's the defense attorney's job to alibi Rupert Stone.
Wrong.
It's your job.
You want to win? You build your case andtheir case.
Stone still could have gone home and come back and killed her.
Doesn't make sense.
Look, whoever killed this girl was in a rage.
There is no way that he dropped her off, drove all the way down the hill and then back up to kill her.
And we have no evidence on her boyfriend.
Which leaves us with one viable suspect we can actually place at the scene of the crime, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is our star witness who Danny happens to be schtupping.
I was better off when I was disbarred.
All right, you're saying that Gina killed Abby.
But then who beat up Gina? Anything can be had at price.
Even a beating.
My clients did it.
More than once.
Why am I not surprised? Look, the question here is motive.
Why would Gina Romero kill Abby Coleman? Okay, guys, that was the lab.
They narrowed down the metal fibers they found in the victim's skull.
Uh, composite graphite and titanium.
Titanium.
Like a golf club.
What's going on, Danny? Why haven't I heard from you? I'm off the case.
But I know Stone alibi'd out, which means Stark's coming after you.
You were giving money to Abby and someone named Marcy, Gina.
Yeah.
Marcy Danner, she was a singer.
It didn't work out.
And why were you paying her rent out of your own pocket? Because that's what I do when I believe in someone.
I support them.
Look, I really want to believe you.
I do.
But I need you to tell me the truth.
And I promise you, I'll do whatever I can to help you.
I am telling you the truth, Danny.
I swear.
Okay.
All right, I'll do what I can.
But I need you to sit tight till you hear from me, all right? Gina, what are you doing here? Just came to give you a heads-up.
There'll be some DAs coming to talk to you about me.
And you would really be doing me a big favor, if you just kept it simple.
You are a singer.
I signed you.
It didn't work out.
End of story.
Sure, Gina.
I miss you.
You know what? You play this right, maybe I get you another shot at the label.
Are you serious? You help me, I help you.
That's the way it works, right? Did you really think you'd slip past him? I said I'd help you.
You should have listened to me.
Just remember, Danny, I go down, you go down with me.
No, please! You think that Gina was attracted to Abby the way she was to Marcy? It's the only thing that makes any sense.
We got the results back on Gina's golf clubs.
Now, there's no blood, and the clubs are pretty well-used except for the driver.
which is brand-new.
Which means she dumped it.
Well, we searched the canyon, and we came up empty.
So we're back to circumstantial case.
Marcy Danner's testimony will show a pattern of behavior.
Let's just hope that's enough.
I was singing in a coffee house in Hollywood.
Gina gave me her card.
Did she want to sign you? Yes, but the record company didn't want to give me a contract until I had a demo.
Did your relationship with Gina turn into a romantic attraction? Yes.
And did you return her affections? Gina was She's sweet, um She's really nurturing.
not like most of the people you meet in the record business.
But after a while, it's like she got more and more obsessed.
It became less about the music and more about me.
So you broke it off? Yeah.
And how did Miss Romero react when you ended the relationship? She freaked out.
Did she physically harm you? When we broke up, she she grabbed my throat Luckily, we were in her office.
If we'd been alone, I don't Miss Danner, why didn't you come forward with this earlier? I was scared.
Look, if there's anything I've learned from this experience, it's that when Gina's mad, she's capable of anything.
Mr.
Reyes, can you tell the jury who you work for, please? I work for you.
I'm a deputy district attorney in a high-profile crime unit.
And under what circumstances did you first meet the defendant Gina Romero? I interviewed her in connection with the death of Abby Coleman.
And at that time were you gathering evidence against another suspect? Yes, the victim's record producer Rupert Stone.
And did Gina Romero give you information that was helpful in building a case against Mr.
Stone? Yes.
Did you, uh, subsequently see her again? Yes, I did, several times, the last being at her home.
And what occurred at that meeting? We had sex.
Wouldn't you agree that to have sex with a material witness would constitute at least the appearance of impropriety? Yes, sir.
It was unethical and poor judgment, and I'm ashamed at my behavior.
Mr.
Reyes, did your relationship with the defendant have any impact on the decision of this office to prosecute the defendant for murder? Absolutely not.
Nothing further.
Hang on.
It's going to get bumpy.
You say that when you first went to Miss Romero's home, it was not to have sex with her, is that right? That's right.
Did you find her attractive? Yes.
What was Miss Romero wearing when you arrived at her home? She wasn't wearing anything.
She was naked? Yes, she was.
Did you offer to leave, or did you force her to dress in front of you? Objection.
Overruled.
Answer the question.
I didn't force her to do anything.
No? You go over to the home of an attractive female witness in the middle of the night to make her testify? I call that coercive.
I'm sorry.
Is there a question here? Did you at any point threaten Miss Romero? No.
But you said you'd subpoena her if she didn't testify.
You say that to every witness.
But not every witness is standing in front of you naked.
You deliberately took advantage of my client when she was at her most vulnerable, using the authority of Come on, man.
That is not how it was Your Honor, I'd like to request a recess.
Denied.
You accuse my client of lying to you.
Is that correct? Yes, I did.
And then you again tried to force her to have sex with you.
What? Objection.
Foundation.
I'm about to present one.
Defense exhibit A, Your Honor.
Mr.
Reyes you tried to force my client into having sex with you.
And when she refused, you beat her.
Your Honor That is not how it happened all right? She said Your Honor Rupert Stone sent somebody over there to attack her.
I'll see counsel in chambers right now.
Even if there's no truth to the defendant's accusations, Mr.
Reyes' actions amount to blatant prosecutorial misconduct.
Agreed, Your Honor.
However And if thereisany truth to it, we are talking about a criminal offense.
In light of Mr.
Reyes's admissions, we move to strike the testimony of Marcy Danner.
On what possible grounds? The DA's office only learned of the existence of Marcy Danner until Mr.
Reyes's inmidation.
He forced Miss Romero to reveal the contents of her computer.
No, our techs found that information in files the defendant had deleted.
But you only searched the computer because Mr.
Reyes told you what was on it.
It's closed, but I'm granting the motion.
Your Honor We also move to strike all evidence obtained from the computer, including records of payments from my client to the victim or Miss Danner.
Granted.
With all due respect, Judge, why don't you just dismiss our whole case? It's funny you should mention it.
They can't even contrive a motive.
We move a dismissal.
Mr.
Stark? The People will request time to reassess our case.
You have 24 hours.
Find something that justifies moving forward, or I dismiss with prejudice.
Either way, I am recommending the DA's office immediately terminate Daniel Reyes from his position.
The judge won't allow the testimony or the payment records; what else is there? It's a circumstantial case, and now we can't even present the circumstances.
You need some piece of direct evidence.
Yeah, right, a murder weapon would be nice.
Well, they searched the canyon for three days and came up empty.
Hold on.
When they were searching, we were on Rupert Stone.
What difference does that make? Well, because they were searching the area between the murder scene and Stone's house.
But Gina Romero didn't go right for Stone's house.
She went back the way she came-- to the Playboy Mansion.
We've been looking in the wrong place.
.
You want to search the other side of the canyon? That could take days.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
So why are we here? So your client can take a plea deal and skip the whole lethal injection thing.
25 to life with parole.
Given that Judge Woodruff is gonna dismiss this case in, uh 18 minutes, why exactly would we do that? Because we found the murder weapon where you threw it, Gina: in the canyon off Mulholland.
Look familiar? Hmm Don't worry.
I'm not contaminating evidence.
Forensics already confirmed it had Coleman's blood.
This is ridiculous.
Is it? This, coupled with your credit card charge for a brand-new, identical driver the morning after the murder.
You got 16 minutes.
I give you half that to make up your mind.
What is that, like fruit coloring or something? Molasses.
Gives it texture.
Nice touch.
She'll take the deal.
On one condition.
She wants to talk to you.
Alone.
You know, being a woman in my business, you have to have a certain image.
People wanted me for what I could do for them.
And you never used anyone, right? I didn't say that, Danny.
But Abby was different.
She was real I fell in love with her.
You have a really funny way of showing that.
I left that party that night to protect her from Rupert Stone.
And when I found her, she was so sad and scared.
I've been holding back how I felt for her for so long.
But seeing her there I was supposed to protect her from the predators in this business.
And when I showed her how I felt Oh, my God! Abby! she treated me like I was some kind of freak.
Leave me alone.
You're just like Rupert.
Don't say that.
Like all I wanted to do was use her.
Like I was like all the others.
I just couldn't take it.
You could have walked away, Gina.
I should have.
But I was hurt and I was angry and I I just lost it.
I'm not asking you to forgive me, Danny.
I just want you to understand how I felt.
I don't care how you felt.
Didn't give you the right to kill her.
Thanks for talking Cutler out of firing me.
You put the entire team in jeopardy.
I know.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, well, I saved your ass this time because maybe some of this was my fault.
Next time, there won't even be a conversation.
Look I probably have no right to preach to you.
I set a lousy example.
But understand this.
There are some lines you cross, some you don't.
The tough part: figuring out the difference.
And that's a call you gotta make for yourself.
What do you mean you didn't send them? Of course No, Trevor, I don't know.
I I really thought they were from you.
Hey, um, I'm gonna have to call you back, okay? Yeah.
Love you, too.
Bye.
"To Julie.
Comptant les jours.
" Counting the days.
Maison de Chocolat.
Well Made in Paris? These bad boys ain't cheap.
They're not from Trevor.
And he didn't send the flowers or the poem.
He's been gone all this time, didn't send me anything.
Well, he did.
I don't know.