Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s03e13 Episode Script
Pas de Deux
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.
Okay, everyone.
Let's get ready to rumba.
I'm new.
I'm afraid I Relax.
Nobody's watching.
I don't think I / Don't.
Don't think.
Just follow my lead.
There, you see.
You're very good.
I'm not.
Trust me.
You're perfect.
We're in business.
It's tailor-made.
I'm kind of backed up.
Uh-huh.
Hey, you know, about what you said last night you put your neck out, you deserve a bigger cut.
Unless, you're still backed up.
No.
Well, I'll work it out.
To playing hooky.
If anybody knew we were here Don't tell 'em.
Oh, some green tea, please, and an ashtray.
I'm sorry, sir.
You have to smoke outside.
Bloomberg rules.
Come with? I didn't know you smoked.
I don't.
We're cutting out.
What? You're not serious.
Serious as cancer.
Let me get a hot chocolate.
This one.
/ Oh.
It's, um Oh, it's too expensive.
I can't let you buy this for me.
- I wasn't going to.
- Well Oh, Donny.
No, I can't.
You can do anything.
Just follow me.
Please, just do what the note says.
Police.
! Freeze.
! Hands up now.
! Don't shoot! - They got me wired! - Step out! Keep your hands up! Please, help me.
They put a timer on me.
They said they'd Law & Order CI He shows the device.
Goes, "Don't shoot.
They wired me.
" - Then he blows.
- Anyone else hurt? No.
And we were close.
No keys, no wallet, no phone.
You guys track him from the bank? We were on regular patrol when we got the call.
- Saw him hop down those stairs.
- He hopped down? Right.
Then he headed over here.
Anybody in the coffee shop know him? Not that they remember.
Here's his note.
"There's a bomb.
Put the money in the bag.
No dye packets.
" - It fits a coercion scenario.
- And the M.
O.
Of three other bank jobs in the last six weeks: Male perp claiming somebody wired him with a bomb.
Looks like this one had a day job.
Shoes are creased.
His pant knees are shiny from kneeling.
And his forearms.
Looks like old burn scars.
His fingers, stained with, uh, ink.
Maybe a copy repairman? Citrus.
Some kind of solvent.
He was probably on the job this morning.
So where's his repair case? He'd need a stash, maybe change back into his street clothes, head out that way.
Excuse me.
Uh, bathroom key, please.
- I'm gonna get the bomb guys.
- There's an I.
D.
Tag on the handle.
It's B&C Copier Systems.
Ernie Dominguez.
It's so nice to be back.
Apartment Of Ernie Dominguez Tuesday, January 6 Racing forms, O.
T.
B.
Chits.
Bets on long shots.
No wonder why he had to rob banks.
Four black pants, four white shirts.
Three ties clip-ons.
In case they get caught in the rollers of the copier.
He's careful.
He should have worn a clip-on bomb.
It's an insurance policy.
One month ago 50,000.
Beneficiaries Angel Dominguez.
- His wife.
- Oh, ex-wife.
Unless this is your idea of a woman's touch.
Bingo.
Ernie's our bomb maker.
In case he gets caught.
Doesn't wanna go to jail, so he straps on a live bomb.
Pretends somebody made him do it so his wife can collect the insurance.
He's very considerate.
He packed black powder into a used ink cartridge.
He recycles.
What a good boy.
Put the cartridge in here with the open side against his chest.
To limit the field of damage.
The timer was preset for 20 minutes.
That's what set off the device.
He set the timer.
He had 20 minutes to get to the coffee shop.
Ah, he would have made it if he hadn't been stopped.
He was playing Russian roulette with a bomb instead of a gun.
There's There's no way my husband did this to himself.
Somebody must have forced him.
Your ex-husband, right? We still cared about each other.
He was always all happy.
How could somebody do this to him? The ring.
You remarried? Engaged.
That had to be tough on Ernie.
Did he get all depressed? No, no, no.
He wouldn't suicide himself.
He was so happy always.
Someone tell you that if Ernie suicided, you can't collect on the insurance? Why shouldn't I get the money? I never got nothing from Ernie.
What'd you get from your fiance? Those scars around your eye? That was a car accident.
Frank was a little drunk.
He ran into a parked car.
And you got bills.
Frank's gotta pay restitution.
And Ernie knew? Yeah.
Someone else must have bought the insurance in Ernie's name.
Someone who didn't know the money was gonna go to Angel's fiance.
Maybe an accomplice.
If Ernie got killed, we'd find the policy and think Ernie was acting alone case closed.
The jury just came in.
Harland's over there.
I hope Nicole likes the scones at Bedford Prison.
Okay.
Thanks.
Not guilty on all counts.
She's got her husband's money to thank.
- That's too easy.
- These came in.
The other bomb jobs.
Tapes and photos on the way.
Is that Ernie? / Yeah.
He enters the bank from the lobby.
Watch his hands.
- He's playing with his watch.
- The people behind him, they're adjusting their belts, fixing their watches.
Metal detector? Just to get into a bank? Or into the building the bank's in.
Ernie hit this bank three weeks ago.
It's in the same building that houses the Israeli bond office.
To get in the lobby, you have to go through a metal detector, which Ernie did.
And the bomb that killed him had metal plates, wires.
If he was wearing it here, it would have set off the detector.
So this bomb here was a fake.
Yeah.
Now, he was seen hopping down stairs.
That's not the way somebody behaves when they know they're wearing a live bomb.
His partner set him up.
Three fake bombs, then a real one.
Then blew him up.
Maybe to get a fresh start, a new partner.
Please, no alarm.
And hurry, before he blows us all up.
The bank has the same layout as the ones Ernie hit.
And it's next door to a coffee shop with a bathroom with a locking door.
Okay, so it's not a copycat.
Our guy finds people, people like Ernie, with no priors, and what, turns them into John Dillingers? Yeah, our guy saw potential in Ernie.
Maybe he saw something in this woman.
Well, it's a good bet the clock's ticking on her too.
Let's not lose her.
The morning of each robbery, Ernie's work sheethad him on a maintenance call near the target bank.
The calls were booked just four days in advance.
So Ernie's schedule didn't leave him enough time to case each bank.
Meaning the partner did it.
We'll need tapes of the four days before each robbery.
There he is again.
- The same guy.
- He's quick on his feet.
See, he's taking photos of the tellers with his phone.
It's hard to make out his face.
He knows where the cameras are.
His case is too thin to be a briefcase.
You see the hinges on the top and the bottom? It's open on both sides.
It's got four folding panels.
Sample case for a salesman.
Yeah, the samples carpeting, flooring.
Or linoleum.
Apartment Of Ernie Dominguez Monday, January 12 The super said the building didn't install it, but if we wreck it, we have to pay for it.
The material, it's, uh, springy.
Like they use at my gym.
That's what he does.
He sells flooring.
That's how we find him.
Just what I've been dying to do shop for a new floor.
This one's on its own private bay.
There they are.
They won't stay more than three minutes.
Watch.
Are you gonna be there on Friday? I'll try.
Got a lot left to do.
I've never even been to Mexico.
Let's keep our eyes on the prize.
The Floor Shop Wednesday, January 14 Gray-black, reversible, semi-sprung calendered vinyl.
- Very nice.
- Yeah, well, it came with the place.
In the kids' room.
We've been all over town trying to match it.
Next time start with the best.
We just did a big install of this at Juilliard.
Juilliard.
You hear that, honey? What I hear is our budget going out the window.
Top-rated flooring is always expensive.
But those big jobs? Sometimes there's some overage.
Oh, you mean, like it fell out of a truck or something.
Easy.
My boss doesn't need to hear the details.
Which are, you pay cash, no invoice, no sales tax.
I mean, it's not like we'd be the first ones in on a deal like this, right? Good to know who wears the pants in the family.
I just wear the badge.
Uh, it's not really no sales tax.
Whatever.
You sell any to this guy? Johnny? He's a jobber.
Buys odd lots for resale.
He walked in a couple of months ago.
Said he was looking for some Marley floor.
Marley floor.
That's what he called it? Uh, that's a dance term, isn't it, for this type of springy floor? Th-That's his angle.
He said he goes to dance studios, takes a couple of lessons, sells them a new floor.
I have 12 studios.
Have you tried across the street? We've been everywhere.
He might have tried to sell you a Marley floor.
Oh, Johnny, the floor guy.
Nice man.
He comes in a couple of times a week to take rumba or tango.
Same time each week? Anytime between 12:00 and 3:00.
Wednesdays and Fridays usually.
Fridays? Like today.
Okay, everyone.
????? - May I have the honors? - Thank you.
Just, um, one dance before you go? Oh, I'm I'm supposed to meet someone.
So is everyone.
Who you waiting for, Prince Charming or Valiant? Come on.
Just until he comes.
I've been looking forward to dancing all day.
Great.
I'm Robert.
I'm Margie.
Oops, I'm clumsy today.
No, you're doing good, Margie.
I guess you've been coming here for a while, you and your prince.
I try to take a class or two a week.
I don't have the time.
I'm on the clock.
If my boss found out I was here, I'd be fired.
Then don't tell him.
You know, you're right.
Here we go.
Ooh.
Ooh.
Oh, don't make me dizzy.
Is it dizzier than when you dance with your friend? It's all I can do to follow his lead.
It's not so hard.
You just do what he does.
Yeah, and backwards and in high heels.
I'm jealous of your prince.
Well, tell me his name? At least I should know who my competition is.
Ah, whatever his name is, he's a lucky man.
Another dance.
Come on.
- Or a coffee? - Um, I'd I'd better go.
Oh, well, thank you, Margie.
Well, it's her.
Right height, right build.
And she follows you wherever you lead her.
That would be what Johnny liked best.
Ms.
Marjorie Timmons.
Two kids and a husband who got home at 8:00 from his job in Connecticut.
Where does she find time to rob banks? The Kiddie Gym said she used to drop her kid off Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Then a month ago, she switched to Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Which gives her enough time to meet the Marley floor man at a class or a bank.
This woman has no record? Just a half dozen parking tickets.
No one upstairs is buying "the soccer mom bandit" angle.
I need something solid.
Well, we don't have anything solid.
Just the way she dodged my small talk.
The way she tensed up when I mentioned her partner.
The way she, uh, you know, followed my lead when we danced.
Detectives, I'm sorry about Nicole Wallace.
But I'd hate to see us compensate by hounding an innocent woman.
We are not hounding Marjorie Timmons.
You know, we're trying to save her life.
Bring me probable cause and I will try with you.
You know I'm good for the ride, Bobby, but I saw her, and I'm not sure either.
Her parking tickets, four Mondays in a row last month.
She used to drop her kid off at the Kiddie Gym on Monday mornings.
In Madison.
These tickets are all on the same street in Fort Lee.
Well, maybe that's where the Marley floor gets laid.
U Can Paint! Fort Lee, New Jersey Monday, January 19 Um, Margie.
Sure.
She used to take the Monday class.
- Is she all right? - She's fine.
She collected a bunch of parking tickets outside your studio.
Well, I hope she thought it was worth it.
No, see, your class ended at 11:00, and she was ticketed around 11:30.
Okay.
Maybe I encouraged her to stay behind.
But nothing happened.
She was like a statue waiting to be brought to life.
Did she leave any of her paintings behind? She left them all here.
Probably because she never finished any of them.
This is interesting.
The bag, it's it's almost fauvist.
- Your suggestion? - No.
That's the bag she carries everywhere.
Looks like she gave up the bag in the painting for this one.
Looks like you'd practically have to rob a bank to afford it.
Depending how she got it, might give us probable cause.
B&C Equities Stamford, Connecticut Tuesday, January 20 Uh, a handbag? My-My wife just has the same purse she's always had for years.
This would be a newer bag tan leather with gold trim, made by Malespeina.
No, I've never seen this.
Why are you asking? Your license plate came up in our surveillance of a stolen designer goods ring.
Marg Margie wouldn't buy stolen things.
The person who sold it to her said they met her at a dance class.
Dance class? Uh, Margie doesn't dance.
Yeah, Midtown.
Wednesday, Fridays.
I And I don't know what you're imagining about Margie, but, you know, she was a high school chemistry teacher, for God's sake.
- Our mistake.
- Yeah.
Not that Malespeina bag.
You found it? It was stolen.
We filed a report three weeks ago.
Do you recognize them? Yes.
It's never the ones you think.
You watched them? You saw how they acted together? He seemed to be calling the shots.
She didn't seem to mind.
Calling the shots.
He picked out the bag.
And made her try it on.
And then I had to answer the phone.
Excuse us.
They hit another bank.
Female, white, dark wig, sunglasses, bomb strapped to her chest.
I don't know where Margie is.
I got a call at work.
She didn't show to pick up Phoenix at Kiddie Gym.
- Your wife's dresser? - Ri-Right here.
I tried her on her cell, but no answer.
Did you tell her about the conversation we had last night? Hey, why don't you go and watch videos with your brother, okay? I just asked her about the bag.
She told me she got it at a church sale.
Are Are you gonna tell me what's happened to Margie? We're not sure.
She always keep the closet this neat? Yeah, she's compulsive about it.
Hey, th-that's not how it's supposed to be.
This drawer is empty.
Does your wife have an overnight bag? Yeah, it's up on the shelf.
Oh, God.
This was in the bottom drawer.
Sketchbook and these.
You planning a trip to Mexico? No.
I mean, Margie used to talk about it, but we can't afford it.
What is happening? We're gonna need to look in your car.
She's running away with him.
That doesn't sound like Johnny's M.
O.
Dollar coins.
There must be $50, $60 in here.
Mr.
Timmons, do you or Margie ever play video poker or slot machines? What, you mean gamble? No.
Your kids ever have a cat back here? What? A cat? No.
Smells like ammonia.
It smells strongest over here.
It's ammonia and calcium carbide.
He used this to make silver acetylide.
It's a primary explosive.
He planted this here and the coins to, uh, tell us a story.
The bomb-building bank robber with a gambling problem.
- Same plot as Ernie.
- Only Margie gave it a twist.
She packed her bags and left her husband.
She wasn't supposed to do that.
And we weren't supposed to find this stuff until after the next job.
The job that ends with a bang.
All these sketches, they tell a story.
She draws a picture of her daughter.
She leaves the face blank.
A landscape, it's mostly clouds.
She's depressed.
Numb, you know.
She wants to feel something.
You know, these sketches at the end of the book here a man's hand around a mug, salt and pepper shaker, napkin holder.
From a coffee shop.
And this letter "F," followed by these numbers 1/11, 1/15, 2/37.
- These could be times.
- "F" could be Friday.
These could be scheduled deliveries, armored car deliveries.
He'd wanna hit the bank after they leave.
We've got till Friday to match a bank to those numbers.
The Sandwich Store Friday, January 23 Yeah, sure, the, uh, sketchbook.
She was here.
She was a decaf latte.
He was a Chai tea with soy.
They were here together last week.
And then he was here a couple of days ago and sat by the window.
The Chai with the soy, he ask for the bathroom key? Mm, yeah.
A lot.
Margie could put her disguise on in here, but this is too small to stash her street clothes in.
Uh, this tile here is loose from its bracket.
Well, there's plenty of room up here.
We need to post teams at other restaurants in the area, just in case.
Now we need to intercept her before she straps on that bomb.
There goes the last delivery.
Bank closes in 20 minutes.
If they were gonna make their move, Margie'd be in the john changing her clothes by now.
Clothing store.
Changing rooms.
You get the bank.
Margie? Donny, is that you? - No, no, let me go.
- No, you stop it.
It's over.
Where is he, Margie? It's not real.
It was never real.
Police.
! Put your hands up.
! - I didn't do anything.
- Put the case down.
And take your hand out of your pocket now.
Good boy.
Now the other hand.
- I have something for you.
- Let it go.
- I said let it go! - Donny.
! We've got Margie.
Gun.
! - Move in.
Go! Go! - Take his hands! A starter's pistol.
I was gonna shoot him over a starter's pistol.
/ Hey, are you okay? What are they doing here? They weren't on the schedule.
Maybe not on a bank schedule, but the O.
T.
B.
's.
Great.
More guys with guns.
Well, I told you it wasn't real.
It's Play-Doh.
I made it myself.
I, uh, saw that other guy on the news, and I thought, "How hard is that?" Margie, we know that you had an accomplice.
You called me by his name Donny.
No, no, no.
He's just a friend.
We took a dance class, and then he walked me to the clothing store.
He has nothing to do with this.
Are you in love with him? L Well, I don't know.
I care about him.
We care about each other.
Left your husband to be with him.
You, uh, wanted to run away with him.
That's between me and my husband.
Margie, let me, uh, show you what this man is like.
This man who's become your lover.
No, we are Donny is a gentleman.
We're not lovers.
And I believe you.
Now here.
It's Donald DePalma.
Right? He's been in prison five times for bank robbery.
He always works with a partner.
You know, the first time that he danced with you, he saw how numb you felt inside.
That you were ready to try anything.
The handbag that he helped you steal, that was a test.
Mm-mmm.
You're wrong about Donny.
You were a chemistry teacher.
Now, what can you make with these things? We found these in your minivan.
Yeah, he put them there.
So that when he switched the Play-Doh with the real thing and blew you up, everyone would think that you made the bomb yourself.
No.
This is all lies.
You put these things in my car.
Margie, come on.
Don't throw your life away for this guy.
No, Donny didn't do it.
I did.
L-I planned everything.
Uh, everything.
Like today.
Waiting until closing time to hit the bank? Huh? When the place was filled? That was your bright idea? But there was an armored car, and I had to wait for them to leave.
Well, then you could have gone in earlier.
I was going to, but then Donny was late for our dance class, so I had to change my plans.
Ms.
Timmons, this is Ms.
Shapiro.
She's your attorney.
I didn't ask for a lawyer.
Your husband hired me.
- My client's done talking.
- Breaking news, counselor.
She's admitted sole responsibility for two bank robberies.
I was just trying to get my hand out of my pocket.
I wasn't gonna do anything stupid.
I carry the thing because for protection.
- I work in a lot of bad neighborhoods.
- That's funny.
You're outside a bank with a fake gun.
Margie's across the street with a fake bomb.
A bomb? Margie? Come on.
Look.
Margie and I have been having an affair.
Th-That's all.
Okay? Now can I go to the john? Don't fall in.
The Play-Doh bomb.
Looks like you've been thrown a curve, Detective.
Look.
He planned on killing her.
He would have no other reason to put the chemicals in her car.
Maybe he changed his mind after she left her husband.
I guess up until Ernie's death, he never had a history of violence.
Never used a weapon.
Never hurt anyone.
Now all of a sudden, he's strapping live explosives on his partners.
All those hours they spent staking out the bank, you know, making notes on the armored car deliveries, then he almost walks her into the delivery at the O.
T.
B.
And tries to pull a starter's pistol on me.
Now, he said that they had an affair, but she denies that they were ever lovers.
She calls him a gentleman.
All the trips to the john, the soy milk, the green tea.
The insurance he took out for Ernie.
He would have had to submit a blood sample when he applied.
He would have used his own blood.
What are you suspecting? Uh, well, we thought Ernie was suicidal.
Right pathology, wrong man.
He must have got lost on a doughnut run.
I heard that.
Actually, we were just getting a statement from your girlfriend.
Now we just need to check a few things with you.
And then, well, we'll do that doughnut run.
My client's not gonna respond to a statement he hasn't seen.
He doesn't have to respond.
Did you ever see these in her car? No.
Do you know what they are? I can read labels.
- How 'bout what they're for? - Ammonia? Cleaning pools.
Not this stuff.
That's why there's a skull and bones on the label.
She has a perfectly serviceable and you're, what, 55? I'm more than just serviceable.
You know how to unlock those, uh, pent-up suburban passions.
I helped Margie rediscover parts of herself.
Okay.
Just, uh, gimme a minute.
Did you hear what he said, Margie? Is that what you mean by a gentleman? I don't know why he said that.
We never We were never intimate.
It just didn't matter.
I mean, why would he need to lie about it? What's he hiding? Wouldn't you like to ask him? Margie.
Are you all right? I mean, they told me some cockamamy story about a bomb.
You should hear the one she told us, about the soccer mom bandit, who robs banks and makes her getaway in a minivan with a baby seat.
I didn't tell you because I didn't want to involve you.
But he was involved.
No, I wasn't.
Oh, sure you were.
Uh, if you hadn't How'd you put it? Um helped her rediscover parts of herself, well, then, she wouldn't have had the confidence to pull it off.
I just offered her my friendship.
Friendship.
You mean, um, a-a new life, the moment that you took her into your arms.
You know, I'd like to see how you did that.
Can you show me? - Get outta here.
- No, come on, show me.
I wanna learn your dance technique.
So you took her hand, and what'd you do with it? You held her hand, right? Her palm snug in yours, right? And then what? What did you do? Did you put it against the small ofher back? Huh? You hold her tight against you? Quit it.
/ Tighter? So she could feel your life flowing into her? Filling her up.
Except it wasn't life.
Was it, Donny? It was sickness.
Hmm? Come on.
Your sickness, right? This dance, was it a dance of death? Get away from me! You don't know what you're talking about.
Blood doesn't lie, Donny.
The sample you gave when you got Ernie's insurance, they found high levels of prostate-specific antigen.
In a young guy, that might mean he just had sex, or he has extra testosterone.
A man Donny's age usually means one thing.
Especially with all the green tea, the trips to the john, the soy milk.
Stage four prostate cancer.
That's probably already spread to his kidneys.
It's a lot of crap, Margie.
Even if you had wanted him to make love to you, he couldn't.
But he can't accept that.
He can't admit it.
That's, um, probably why he lied about having an affair with you.
Why didn't you tell me? That would have spoiled his plans.
I mean, he didn't care that you were lovely and special.
He cared that he could use you and discard you.
You see? That's why he planted these chemicals.
But then you dumped your husband for a new life with Dancing Donny.
No clean get away this time.
New plan.
Two days ago, he went back to stake out the bank without you.
That's when he saw there was an armored car delivery to the O.
T.
B.
Next door.
The delivery that you didn't know about.
And that's why he changed the time, so you would run right into those armed guards.
And he would have been right there with his starter's pistol.
The two of you wouldn't have stood a chance.
It's called "suicide by cop.
" The big finale.
You see, he's looking at a bad death.
But he can't face it, because he's a coward.
I mean, who else is gonna send a mother of two to rob a bank for them? Not a word of it, Margie.
Not a word of it is true.
I'm not suicidal.
Margie, don't believe him.
If you let him walk outta here, he's just gonna find someone else to fill his dance card.
Someone like you.
Unless you stop him.
Come on! I don't believe them.
I just don't believe them.
All right.
Let's get Donny back to his holding cell.
You deserve better, Margie, you know.
But we can't twist your arm, right? But you deserve better.
Hold on a second.
There were 17 tablets here.
Now there's only 13.
I don't see 'em.
Don't look at me.
- Empty your pockets.
- I didn't take 'em.
Four is more than a lethal dose.
Empty your pockets.
This is bull.
All right.
Now search him.
It's a trick, Margie.
- L-I didn't take those.
- You see? Huh? When we were all just sitting here, see what he was thinking about? - I'm not crazy and I'm not suicidal.
- But he's dying.
And all he wants to do is to kill, to be killed.
Kill himself.
Oh, my God.
What have I done? - Donny, you really were going to - Shut up! You really were going to kill us both.
You were going to kill me? You have no idea what it's going to be like for me, do you? I don't deserve this! Whenever you're ready, my client's willing to make a statement against Mr.
DePalma.
It's Vitamin "C.
" I watched you very carefully, Detective, but I missed you slipping them into his pocket.
Maybe because you watched the wrong detective?
These are their stories.
Okay, everyone.
Let's get ready to rumba.
I'm new.
I'm afraid I Relax.
Nobody's watching.
I don't think I / Don't.
Don't think.
Just follow my lead.
There, you see.
You're very good.
I'm not.
Trust me.
You're perfect.
We're in business.
It's tailor-made.
I'm kind of backed up.
Uh-huh.
Hey, you know, about what you said last night you put your neck out, you deserve a bigger cut.
Unless, you're still backed up.
No.
Well, I'll work it out.
To playing hooky.
If anybody knew we were here Don't tell 'em.
Oh, some green tea, please, and an ashtray.
I'm sorry, sir.
You have to smoke outside.
Bloomberg rules.
Come with? I didn't know you smoked.
I don't.
We're cutting out.
What? You're not serious.
Serious as cancer.
Let me get a hot chocolate.
This one.
/ Oh.
It's, um Oh, it's too expensive.
I can't let you buy this for me.
- I wasn't going to.
- Well Oh, Donny.
No, I can't.
You can do anything.
Just follow me.
Please, just do what the note says.
Police.
! Freeze.
! Hands up now.
! Don't shoot! - They got me wired! - Step out! Keep your hands up! Please, help me.
They put a timer on me.
They said they'd Law & Order CI He shows the device.
Goes, "Don't shoot.
They wired me.
" - Then he blows.
- Anyone else hurt? No.
And we were close.
No keys, no wallet, no phone.
You guys track him from the bank? We were on regular patrol when we got the call.
- Saw him hop down those stairs.
- He hopped down? Right.
Then he headed over here.
Anybody in the coffee shop know him? Not that they remember.
Here's his note.
"There's a bomb.
Put the money in the bag.
No dye packets.
" - It fits a coercion scenario.
- And the M.
O.
Of three other bank jobs in the last six weeks: Male perp claiming somebody wired him with a bomb.
Looks like this one had a day job.
Shoes are creased.
His pant knees are shiny from kneeling.
And his forearms.
Looks like old burn scars.
His fingers, stained with, uh, ink.
Maybe a copy repairman? Citrus.
Some kind of solvent.
He was probably on the job this morning.
So where's his repair case? He'd need a stash, maybe change back into his street clothes, head out that way.
Excuse me.
Uh, bathroom key, please.
- I'm gonna get the bomb guys.
- There's an I.
D.
Tag on the handle.
It's B&C Copier Systems.
Ernie Dominguez.
It's so nice to be back.
Apartment Of Ernie Dominguez Tuesday, January 6 Racing forms, O.
T.
B.
Chits.
Bets on long shots.
No wonder why he had to rob banks.
Four black pants, four white shirts.
Three ties clip-ons.
In case they get caught in the rollers of the copier.
He's careful.
He should have worn a clip-on bomb.
It's an insurance policy.
One month ago 50,000.
Beneficiaries Angel Dominguez.
- His wife.
- Oh, ex-wife.
Unless this is your idea of a woman's touch.
Bingo.
Ernie's our bomb maker.
In case he gets caught.
Doesn't wanna go to jail, so he straps on a live bomb.
Pretends somebody made him do it so his wife can collect the insurance.
He's very considerate.
He packed black powder into a used ink cartridge.
He recycles.
What a good boy.
Put the cartridge in here with the open side against his chest.
To limit the field of damage.
The timer was preset for 20 minutes.
That's what set off the device.
He set the timer.
He had 20 minutes to get to the coffee shop.
Ah, he would have made it if he hadn't been stopped.
He was playing Russian roulette with a bomb instead of a gun.
There's There's no way my husband did this to himself.
Somebody must have forced him.
Your ex-husband, right? We still cared about each other.
He was always all happy.
How could somebody do this to him? The ring.
You remarried? Engaged.
That had to be tough on Ernie.
Did he get all depressed? No, no, no.
He wouldn't suicide himself.
He was so happy always.
Someone tell you that if Ernie suicided, you can't collect on the insurance? Why shouldn't I get the money? I never got nothing from Ernie.
What'd you get from your fiance? Those scars around your eye? That was a car accident.
Frank was a little drunk.
He ran into a parked car.
And you got bills.
Frank's gotta pay restitution.
And Ernie knew? Yeah.
Someone else must have bought the insurance in Ernie's name.
Someone who didn't know the money was gonna go to Angel's fiance.
Maybe an accomplice.
If Ernie got killed, we'd find the policy and think Ernie was acting alone case closed.
The jury just came in.
Harland's over there.
I hope Nicole likes the scones at Bedford Prison.
Okay.
Thanks.
Not guilty on all counts.
She's got her husband's money to thank.
- That's too easy.
- These came in.
The other bomb jobs.
Tapes and photos on the way.
Is that Ernie? / Yeah.
He enters the bank from the lobby.
Watch his hands.
- He's playing with his watch.
- The people behind him, they're adjusting their belts, fixing their watches.
Metal detector? Just to get into a bank? Or into the building the bank's in.
Ernie hit this bank three weeks ago.
It's in the same building that houses the Israeli bond office.
To get in the lobby, you have to go through a metal detector, which Ernie did.
And the bomb that killed him had metal plates, wires.
If he was wearing it here, it would have set off the detector.
So this bomb here was a fake.
Yeah.
Now, he was seen hopping down stairs.
That's not the way somebody behaves when they know they're wearing a live bomb.
His partner set him up.
Three fake bombs, then a real one.
Then blew him up.
Maybe to get a fresh start, a new partner.
Please, no alarm.
And hurry, before he blows us all up.
The bank has the same layout as the ones Ernie hit.
And it's next door to a coffee shop with a bathroom with a locking door.
Okay, so it's not a copycat.
Our guy finds people, people like Ernie, with no priors, and what, turns them into John Dillingers? Yeah, our guy saw potential in Ernie.
Maybe he saw something in this woman.
Well, it's a good bet the clock's ticking on her too.
Let's not lose her.
The morning of each robbery, Ernie's work sheethad him on a maintenance call near the target bank.
The calls were booked just four days in advance.
So Ernie's schedule didn't leave him enough time to case each bank.
Meaning the partner did it.
We'll need tapes of the four days before each robbery.
There he is again.
- The same guy.
- He's quick on his feet.
See, he's taking photos of the tellers with his phone.
It's hard to make out his face.
He knows where the cameras are.
His case is too thin to be a briefcase.
You see the hinges on the top and the bottom? It's open on both sides.
It's got four folding panels.
Sample case for a salesman.
Yeah, the samples carpeting, flooring.
Or linoleum.
Apartment Of Ernie Dominguez Monday, January 12 The super said the building didn't install it, but if we wreck it, we have to pay for it.
The material, it's, uh, springy.
Like they use at my gym.
That's what he does.
He sells flooring.
That's how we find him.
Just what I've been dying to do shop for a new floor.
This one's on its own private bay.
There they are.
They won't stay more than three minutes.
Watch.
Are you gonna be there on Friday? I'll try.
Got a lot left to do.
I've never even been to Mexico.
Let's keep our eyes on the prize.
The Floor Shop Wednesday, January 14 Gray-black, reversible, semi-sprung calendered vinyl.
- Very nice.
- Yeah, well, it came with the place.
In the kids' room.
We've been all over town trying to match it.
Next time start with the best.
We just did a big install of this at Juilliard.
Juilliard.
You hear that, honey? What I hear is our budget going out the window.
Top-rated flooring is always expensive.
But those big jobs? Sometimes there's some overage.
Oh, you mean, like it fell out of a truck or something.
Easy.
My boss doesn't need to hear the details.
Which are, you pay cash, no invoice, no sales tax.
I mean, it's not like we'd be the first ones in on a deal like this, right? Good to know who wears the pants in the family.
I just wear the badge.
Uh, it's not really no sales tax.
Whatever.
You sell any to this guy? Johnny? He's a jobber.
Buys odd lots for resale.
He walked in a couple of months ago.
Said he was looking for some Marley floor.
Marley floor.
That's what he called it? Uh, that's a dance term, isn't it, for this type of springy floor? Th-That's his angle.
He said he goes to dance studios, takes a couple of lessons, sells them a new floor.
I have 12 studios.
Have you tried across the street? We've been everywhere.
He might have tried to sell you a Marley floor.
Oh, Johnny, the floor guy.
Nice man.
He comes in a couple of times a week to take rumba or tango.
Same time each week? Anytime between 12:00 and 3:00.
Wednesdays and Fridays usually.
Fridays? Like today.
Okay, everyone.
????? - May I have the honors? - Thank you.
Just, um, one dance before you go? Oh, I'm I'm supposed to meet someone.
So is everyone.
Who you waiting for, Prince Charming or Valiant? Come on.
Just until he comes.
I've been looking forward to dancing all day.
Great.
I'm Robert.
I'm Margie.
Oops, I'm clumsy today.
No, you're doing good, Margie.
I guess you've been coming here for a while, you and your prince.
I try to take a class or two a week.
I don't have the time.
I'm on the clock.
If my boss found out I was here, I'd be fired.
Then don't tell him.
You know, you're right.
Here we go.
Ooh.
Ooh.
Oh, don't make me dizzy.
Is it dizzier than when you dance with your friend? It's all I can do to follow his lead.
It's not so hard.
You just do what he does.
Yeah, and backwards and in high heels.
I'm jealous of your prince.
Well, tell me his name? At least I should know who my competition is.
Ah, whatever his name is, he's a lucky man.
Another dance.
Come on.
- Or a coffee? - Um, I'd I'd better go.
Oh, well, thank you, Margie.
Well, it's her.
Right height, right build.
And she follows you wherever you lead her.
That would be what Johnny liked best.
Ms.
Marjorie Timmons.
Two kids and a husband who got home at 8:00 from his job in Connecticut.
Where does she find time to rob banks? The Kiddie Gym said she used to drop her kid off Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Then a month ago, she switched to Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Which gives her enough time to meet the Marley floor man at a class or a bank.
This woman has no record? Just a half dozen parking tickets.
No one upstairs is buying "the soccer mom bandit" angle.
I need something solid.
Well, we don't have anything solid.
Just the way she dodged my small talk.
The way she tensed up when I mentioned her partner.
The way she, uh, you know, followed my lead when we danced.
Detectives, I'm sorry about Nicole Wallace.
But I'd hate to see us compensate by hounding an innocent woman.
We are not hounding Marjorie Timmons.
You know, we're trying to save her life.
Bring me probable cause and I will try with you.
You know I'm good for the ride, Bobby, but I saw her, and I'm not sure either.
Her parking tickets, four Mondays in a row last month.
She used to drop her kid off at the Kiddie Gym on Monday mornings.
In Madison.
These tickets are all on the same street in Fort Lee.
Well, maybe that's where the Marley floor gets laid.
U Can Paint! Fort Lee, New Jersey Monday, January 19 Um, Margie.
Sure.
She used to take the Monday class.
- Is she all right? - She's fine.
She collected a bunch of parking tickets outside your studio.
Well, I hope she thought it was worth it.
No, see, your class ended at 11:00, and she was ticketed around 11:30.
Okay.
Maybe I encouraged her to stay behind.
But nothing happened.
She was like a statue waiting to be brought to life.
Did she leave any of her paintings behind? She left them all here.
Probably because she never finished any of them.
This is interesting.
The bag, it's it's almost fauvist.
- Your suggestion? - No.
That's the bag she carries everywhere.
Looks like she gave up the bag in the painting for this one.
Looks like you'd practically have to rob a bank to afford it.
Depending how she got it, might give us probable cause.
B&C Equities Stamford, Connecticut Tuesday, January 20 Uh, a handbag? My-My wife just has the same purse she's always had for years.
This would be a newer bag tan leather with gold trim, made by Malespeina.
No, I've never seen this.
Why are you asking? Your license plate came up in our surveillance of a stolen designer goods ring.
Marg Margie wouldn't buy stolen things.
The person who sold it to her said they met her at a dance class.
Dance class? Uh, Margie doesn't dance.
Yeah, Midtown.
Wednesday, Fridays.
I And I don't know what you're imagining about Margie, but, you know, she was a high school chemistry teacher, for God's sake.
- Our mistake.
- Yeah.
Not that Malespeina bag.
You found it? It was stolen.
We filed a report three weeks ago.
Do you recognize them? Yes.
It's never the ones you think.
You watched them? You saw how they acted together? He seemed to be calling the shots.
She didn't seem to mind.
Calling the shots.
He picked out the bag.
And made her try it on.
And then I had to answer the phone.
Excuse us.
They hit another bank.
Female, white, dark wig, sunglasses, bomb strapped to her chest.
I don't know where Margie is.
I got a call at work.
She didn't show to pick up Phoenix at Kiddie Gym.
- Your wife's dresser? - Ri-Right here.
I tried her on her cell, but no answer.
Did you tell her about the conversation we had last night? Hey, why don't you go and watch videos with your brother, okay? I just asked her about the bag.
She told me she got it at a church sale.
Are Are you gonna tell me what's happened to Margie? We're not sure.
She always keep the closet this neat? Yeah, she's compulsive about it.
Hey, th-that's not how it's supposed to be.
This drawer is empty.
Does your wife have an overnight bag? Yeah, it's up on the shelf.
Oh, God.
This was in the bottom drawer.
Sketchbook and these.
You planning a trip to Mexico? No.
I mean, Margie used to talk about it, but we can't afford it.
What is happening? We're gonna need to look in your car.
She's running away with him.
That doesn't sound like Johnny's M.
O.
Dollar coins.
There must be $50, $60 in here.
Mr.
Timmons, do you or Margie ever play video poker or slot machines? What, you mean gamble? No.
Your kids ever have a cat back here? What? A cat? No.
Smells like ammonia.
It smells strongest over here.
It's ammonia and calcium carbide.
He used this to make silver acetylide.
It's a primary explosive.
He planted this here and the coins to, uh, tell us a story.
The bomb-building bank robber with a gambling problem.
- Same plot as Ernie.
- Only Margie gave it a twist.
She packed her bags and left her husband.
She wasn't supposed to do that.
And we weren't supposed to find this stuff until after the next job.
The job that ends with a bang.
All these sketches, they tell a story.
She draws a picture of her daughter.
She leaves the face blank.
A landscape, it's mostly clouds.
She's depressed.
Numb, you know.
She wants to feel something.
You know, these sketches at the end of the book here a man's hand around a mug, salt and pepper shaker, napkin holder.
From a coffee shop.
And this letter "F," followed by these numbers 1/11, 1/15, 2/37.
- These could be times.
- "F" could be Friday.
These could be scheduled deliveries, armored car deliveries.
He'd wanna hit the bank after they leave.
We've got till Friday to match a bank to those numbers.
The Sandwich Store Friday, January 23 Yeah, sure, the, uh, sketchbook.
She was here.
She was a decaf latte.
He was a Chai tea with soy.
They were here together last week.
And then he was here a couple of days ago and sat by the window.
The Chai with the soy, he ask for the bathroom key? Mm, yeah.
A lot.
Margie could put her disguise on in here, but this is too small to stash her street clothes in.
Uh, this tile here is loose from its bracket.
Well, there's plenty of room up here.
We need to post teams at other restaurants in the area, just in case.
Now we need to intercept her before she straps on that bomb.
There goes the last delivery.
Bank closes in 20 minutes.
If they were gonna make their move, Margie'd be in the john changing her clothes by now.
Clothing store.
Changing rooms.
You get the bank.
Margie? Donny, is that you? - No, no, let me go.
- No, you stop it.
It's over.
Where is he, Margie? It's not real.
It was never real.
Police.
! Put your hands up.
! - I didn't do anything.
- Put the case down.
And take your hand out of your pocket now.
Good boy.
Now the other hand.
- I have something for you.
- Let it go.
- I said let it go! - Donny.
! We've got Margie.
Gun.
! - Move in.
Go! Go! - Take his hands! A starter's pistol.
I was gonna shoot him over a starter's pistol.
/ Hey, are you okay? What are they doing here? They weren't on the schedule.
Maybe not on a bank schedule, but the O.
T.
B.
's.
Great.
More guys with guns.
Well, I told you it wasn't real.
It's Play-Doh.
I made it myself.
I, uh, saw that other guy on the news, and I thought, "How hard is that?" Margie, we know that you had an accomplice.
You called me by his name Donny.
No, no, no.
He's just a friend.
We took a dance class, and then he walked me to the clothing store.
He has nothing to do with this.
Are you in love with him? L Well, I don't know.
I care about him.
We care about each other.
Left your husband to be with him.
You, uh, wanted to run away with him.
That's between me and my husband.
Margie, let me, uh, show you what this man is like.
This man who's become your lover.
No, we are Donny is a gentleman.
We're not lovers.
And I believe you.
Now here.
It's Donald DePalma.
Right? He's been in prison five times for bank robbery.
He always works with a partner.
You know, the first time that he danced with you, he saw how numb you felt inside.
That you were ready to try anything.
The handbag that he helped you steal, that was a test.
Mm-mmm.
You're wrong about Donny.
You were a chemistry teacher.
Now, what can you make with these things? We found these in your minivan.
Yeah, he put them there.
So that when he switched the Play-Doh with the real thing and blew you up, everyone would think that you made the bomb yourself.
No.
This is all lies.
You put these things in my car.
Margie, come on.
Don't throw your life away for this guy.
No, Donny didn't do it.
I did.
L-I planned everything.
Uh, everything.
Like today.
Waiting until closing time to hit the bank? Huh? When the place was filled? That was your bright idea? But there was an armored car, and I had to wait for them to leave.
Well, then you could have gone in earlier.
I was going to, but then Donny was late for our dance class, so I had to change my plans.
Ms.
Timmons, this is Ms.
Shapiro.
She's your attorney.
I didn't ask for a lawyer.
Your husband hired me.
- My client's done talking.
- Breaking news, counselor.
She's admitted sole responsibility for two bank robberies.
I was just trying to get my hand out of my pocket.
I wasn't gonna do anything stupid.
I carry the thing because for protection.
- I work in a lot of bad neighborhoods.
- That's funny.
You're outside a bank with a fake gun.
Margie's across the street with a fake bomb.
A bomb? Margie? Come on.
Look.
Margie and I have been having an affair.
Th-That's all.
Okay? Now can I go to the john? Don't fall in.
The Play-Doh bomb.
Looks like you've been thrown a curve, Detective.
Look.
He planned on killing her.
He would have no other reason to put the chemicals in her car.
Maybe he changed his mind after she left her husband.
I guess up until Ernie's death, he never had a history of violence.
Never used a weapon.
Never hurt anyone.
Now all of a sudden, he's strapping live explosives on his partners.
All those hours they spent staking out the bank, you know, making notes on the armored car deliveries, then he almost walks her into the delivery at the O.
T.
B.
And tries to pull a starter's pistol on me.
Now, he said that they had an affair, but she denies that they were ever lovers.
She calls him a gentleman.
All the trips to the john, the soy milk, the green tea.
The insurance he took out for Ernie.
He would have had to submit a blood sample when he applied.
He would have used his own blood.
What are you suspecting? Uh, well, we thought Ernie was suicidal.
Right pathology, wrong man.
He must have got lost on a doughnut run.
I heard that.
Actually, we were just getting a statement from your girlfriend.
Now we just need to check a few things with you.
And then, well, we'll do that doughnut run.
My client's not gonna respond to a statement he hasn't seen.
He doesn't have to respond.
Did you ever see these in her car? No.
Do you know what they are? I can read labels.
- How 'bout what they're for? - Ammonia? Cleaning pools.
Not this stuff.
That's why there's a skull and bones on the label.
She has a perfectly serviceable and you're, what, 55? I'm more than just serviceable.
You know how to unlock those, uh, pent-up suburban passions.
I helped Margie rediscover parts of herself.
Okay.
Just, uh, gimme a minute.
Did you hear what he said, Margie? Is that what you mean by a gentleman? I don't know why he said that.
We never We were never intimate.
It just didn't matter.
I mean, why would he need to lie about it? What's he hiding? Wouldn't you like to ask him? Margie.
Are you all right? I mean, they told me some cockamamy story about a bomb.
You should hear the one she told us, about the soccer mom bandit, who robs banks and makes her getaway in a minivan with a baby seat.
I didn't tell you because I didn't want to involve you.
But he was involved.
No, I wasn't.
Oh, sure you were.
Uh, if you hadn't How'd you put it? Um helped her rediscover parts of herself, well, then, she wouldn't have had the confidence to pull it off.
I just offered her my friendship.
Friendship.
You mean, um, a-a new life, the moment that you took her into your arms.
You know, I'd like to see how you did that.
Can you show me? - Get outta here.
- No, come on, show me.
I wanna learn your dance technique.
So you took her hand, and what'd you do with it? You held her hand, right? Her palm snug in yours, right? And then what? What did you do? Did you put it against the small ofher back? Huh? You hold her tight against you? Quit it.
/ Tighter? So she could feel your life flowing into her? Filling her up.
Except it wasn't life.
Was it, Donny? It was sickness.
Hmm? Come on.
Your sickness, right? This dance, was it a dance of death? Get away from me! You don't know what you're talking about.
Blood doesn't lie, Donny.
The sample you gave when you got Ernie's insurance, they found high levels of prostate-specific antigen.
In a young guy, that might mean he just had sex, or he has extra testosterone.
A man Donny's age usually means one thing.
Especially with all the green tea, the trips to the john, the soy milk.
Stage four prostate cancer.
That's probably already spread to his kidneys.
It's a lot of crap, Margie.
Even if you had wanted him to make love to you, he couldn't.
But he can't accept that.
He can't admit it.
That's, um, probably why he lied about having an affair with you.
Why didn't you tell me? That would have spoiled his plans.
I mean, he didn't care that you were lovely and special.
He cared that he could use you and discard you.
You see? That's why he planted these chemicals.
But then you dumped your husband for a new life with Dancing Donny.
No clean get away this time.
New plan.
Two days ago, he went back to stake out the bank without you.
That's when he saw there was an armored car delivery to the O.
T.
B.
Next door.
The delivery that you didn't know about.
And that's why he changed the time, so you would run right into those armed guards.
And he would have been right there with his starter's pistol.
The two of you wouldn't have stood a chance.
It's called "suicide by cop.
" The big finale.
You see, he's looking at a bad death.
But he can't face it, because he's a coward.
I mean, who else is gonna send a mother of two to rob a bank for them? Not a word of it, Margie.
Not a word of it is true.
I'm not suicidal.
Margie, don't believe him.
If you let him walk outta here, he's just gonna find someone else to fill his dance card.
Someone like you.
Unless you stop him.
Come on! I don't believe them.
I just don't believe them.
All right.
Let's get Donny back to his holding cell.
You deserve better, Margie, you know.
But we can't twist your arm, right? But you deserve better.
Hold on a second.
There were 17 tablets here.
Now there's only 13.
I don't see 'em.
Don't look at me.
- Empty your pockets.
- I didn't take 'em.
Four is more than a lethal dose.
Empty your pockets.
This is bull.
All right.
Now search him.
It's a trick, Margie.
- L-I didn't take those.
- You see? Huh? When we were all just sitting here, see what he was thinking about? - I'm not crazy and I'm not suicidal.
- But he's dying.
And all he wants to do is to kill, to be killed.
Kill himself.
Oh, my God.
What have I done? - Donny, you really were going to - Shut up! You really were going to kill us both.
You were going to kill me? You have no idea what it's going to be like for me, do you? I don't deserve this! Whenever you're ready, my client's willing to make a statement against Mr.
DePalma.
It's Vitamin "C.
" I watched you very carefully, Detective, but I missed you slipping them into his pocket.
Maybe because you watched the wrong detective?