Damages s05e06 Episode Script

Previously on Damages I provide a safe haven for whistle-blowers who want to get information to the public.
We can guarantee your anonymity.
I don't know what you fucking did, Naomi but we're all dead.
Everything came out of your goddamn computer.
"Personal e-mails reveal trader's sexcapades.
" Last night Naomi Walling took her own life.
How did Ms .
Walling's information get out there? I don't know but it is very bad for my organization.
McClaren destroys my mother's life and he gets to just walk away? My mom told me that she and McClaren met.
Are you saying your mother had a sexual relationship with McClaren? Yes.
I met Naomi Walling twice.
We had absolutely no physical contact.
I did not assault her.
What can I do for you? Well, I just thought you should know that he wants to talk to you.
You look so much like your mother.
All the facts of the case are in question.
So if the facts won't win it or lose it, what will? One of us.
May I offer you a bourbon? No, thank you.
Are you sure? I'm sure.
Why did you call me? I didn't call you, Ellen, you called me.
I did? You told me you wanted to take a bath.
Why would I say that? I have no idea.
But let me be very clear I didn't invite you here.
You came on your own.
So why don't you just take a bath.
No.
Come on up.
Isn't this what you wanted? It's all right, Ellen.
There's nothing to worry about.
Ellen.
Ellen.
Come in with me.
I can't.
I was attacked.
You're fine.
You look beautiful.
You see? Now come in with me.
Little lamb When I am through with you There won't be anything left When I am through with you There won't be anything left When I am through with you It's good to see you again.
You, too.
Sorry about this.
I've learned it's better to be discreet.
No, I understand.
Thank you for coming.
Sit.
Do you want a drink or something? No, thanks.
Do you mind if I smoke? No.
Go ahead.
Okay we found him.
Who? The hotel guest that was staying in the room next to Naomi and McClaren.
Thomas Schultz? No.
You see, that's why we couldn't find him because Schultz was just the name that he used to check in with.
His real name is Thomas Weld.
Our investigator tracked him down.
Have you contacted Mr.
Weld? Well, I tried.
There's no response.
I mean, you've got to figure a guy who goes around using a fake name is in no rush to talk to lawyers.
So where can I find him? Okay, Thomas Weld.
Married, two children, insurance executive, works in a firm on 34th Street.
Apparently has lunch every day at a diner opposite his office.
Well, we owe Patty an updated witness list.
Here's our latest.
What happened to the guy at the hotel? The guest who was staying in the room next to Naomi Walling's? Oh, Thomas Schultz.
Mt.
Schultz has been impossible to find, and according to the manager at the hotel, he hasn't been back.
Either he doesn't want to talk to us or he's dropped off the face of the earth.
Keep looking.
What else have we got? The judge has granted us access to Naomi Walling's apartment.
I'm not sure what we would find there.
Well, it wouldn't hurt to look.
Rachel Welling hasn't sold it yet.
Naomi might've left something useful behind.
Naomi killed herself in the tub.
Yeah.
I'd like to look around.
See exactly where it happened.
Can I help you? If your name is Thomas Weld you can.
It is.
May I? Who are you? Patty Hewes.
I'm an attorney.
My office has been trying to get a hold of you.
Jesus Christ.
I want to talk to you about a night you spent at the Montclair Hotel.
Sorry, can't help you.
I've never stayed there.
Well, Thomas Schultz has.
Should I be talking to him? Mr.
Weld, I don't care why you checked into a hotel under a false name.
And I certainly don't care what you were doing there.
But you could be a very important witness in a case I'm trying.
I doubt it.
I've never seen anything unusual over there.
You were staying in a room next to an assault victim.
I just want you to come in and answer a few questions.
And if I don't? I'll subpoena you.
So one way or another you and I are going to have a chat.
If I talk to you, I want my attorney present.
Of course.
My office will set it up.
Feels strange being in this apartment knowing a woman killed herself in here.
Okay, where do we start? Look for Naomi's personal papers.
Anything in particular? Files, letters, receipts.
Maybe she kept a journal.
Okay.
I'll check it out.
I'm gonna look for the bathroom.
That's where Rachel found her.
Ellen? Ellen.
You okay? You okay? Yeah.
Did you hurt yourself? No.
Come on.
There you go.
You okay? Yeah.
Come on.
Let's get some air.
Do you want to sit down? No, I'm fine.
Did you have breakfast? Always knocks me for a loop if I don't have breakfast.
Oh, it's all right, really.
Come here.
Here.
Here, drink this.
You okay? Yeah.
Yeah.
Just Being in that bathroom Just have a bad memory.
This memory-- was it about your fiancé? I read about it.
Frobisher and I know you found David in the tub.
I'm sorry.
Shouldn't have brought it up.
It was a long time ago.
Sure you're okay? Yeah.
So, apparently, the Chairman of the Board is sleeping with not one, but two key operational managers.
No.
Here's one about falsified testing at a major vitamin manufacturer.
No.
Okay.
A national managed care facility is hiring illegal aliens.
Seriously, this is all that's coming in? Unless you've fielding anything.
No.
No one's contacted me.
I'm a fucking pariah.
This lawsuit's totally trashed our reputation.
Nobody trusts us.
This is all because of Naomi Walling.
I knew that cunt was trouble.
Well, then, you should have shown us your crystal ball.
She was a star fucker.
I'm going to talk to Ellen.
Let's settle this case.
So you want to offer her three million dollars? Yes.
And what makes you think that Patty Hewes is interested in settling? You said her case is weak.
It doesn't matter.
She's not after money.
I told you that before.
She wants to decimate you, put you out of business.
Forever.
Well, if we don't settle, she may get her wish.
Look, we are dead in the water.
Channing's exposure is killing our sources, which in turn, is killing our Web site.
Settling will only make things worse.
It'll look like you're paying someone off because you're guilty.
So what do you suggest we do then? Patty beats you by outlasting you.
Making you desperate, backing you into a corner.
We are in a corner right now.
Exactly.
Her case may be weak, but she's winning the mind game.
The fact that you're even considering paying Rachel Walling proves it.
My game plan is simple.
We take her punches, tire her out, outlast her, and then, we beat her in court.
It's the only way to clear your name.
Trust me.
I really needed this, so, thanks, guys.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Thank you so much.
This has been so wonderful.
Rachel.
Mr.
Davies.
I'm so sorry.
I-I-I I never got a chance to tell you how bad I felt about what happened to your mother.
Thank you.
How you doing? I mean, how you holding up? You keeping it together? I'm all right.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
Can I just get a minute? I just need a moment with Rachel, pretty please? Yeah? It's-it's okay.
He's a friend.
Oh.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right.
Oh, absolutely.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
Appreciate that.
Great.
Super.
Can you believe I just got out on bail? One point two million.
I mean, that's kind of hard to put together when all your assets are frozen.
It's not like I had sacks of money all around the house.
Mr.
Moneysack-ajuhweeuh.
Get it? You, okay, Mr.
Davies? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, this is a fucking nice spot.
Little expensive, though.
- Mr.
Davies, I really I should - No, no, no.
Uh, uh.
You deserve this.
You do.
What are you having to drink? What is that, a Cosmopolitan? Excuse me? Can we get another Cosmo for this beautiful young lady? No, I'm-I'm fine.
I insist.
It's on me.
All right? It's because I'm loyal.
It's 'cause I take care of people.
For example, your mom.
You know, I gave your mom her first job on Wall Street.
You remember that, right? Yeah.
Bet you I'd think twice about doing that again, huh? Yeah.
But your mother, no, she never thought twice about anything.
Or anyone.
She just took us all down.
Hey You know the difference between your mom and someone like me? All right, this is me.
A stupid chump.
For me, the money was just a way to keep score.
I mean, it could have been fucking puka shells.
You understand? But for your mom, whoa! Money was everything.
She's what we call a whore.
Sucking cock, counting cash.
Excuse me.
No.
I'm sorry that your big fat little inheritance isn't enough for you, Princess.
You had to go out and sue Channing McClaren? Let go of me.
I hope this suit wins you a barrel, a fucking fortune.
Fuck you.
Fuck you.
You're just like your mother.
Big twat.
You recognize this woman? Yeah, of course.
Naomi Walling.
Her sex life was all over the papers.
I've followed the case in the Post.
On the day in question, Ms.
Walling was staying in the room adjacent to yours.
Did you have occasion to see her, or speak to her? Go ahead.
I saw her briefly, very briefly, in the hallway.
Did you ever see this man? Jesus.
Channing McClaren? Was he there? We'll ask the questions.
Did you see him? No, never.
What about this man? Yeah.
Yeah, I remember this guy.
I-I think he went into Walling's room.
After you checked in, did you stay in your room the whole time? Yes.
Are you sure? Didn't wander out to the bar of go out for an Orange Julius? I'm sure.
I was in my room until I checked out the next morning.
May I ask what you were doing in there? Mr.
Weld is not here to discuss that.
We're here to establish if he can serve as a witness for you.
Let's move on.
During your stay at the hotel, did you hear anything coming from Ms.
Walling's room? What do you mean? Hotel walls can be thin.
You were next door.
Did you hear anything at all? No.
I don't think so.
Mr.
Weld, while you were in your room, Ms.
Walling was sexually assaulted.
Not long afterwards, she killed herself.
So, I'm asking you to think very hard about this.
Did you hear any sounds of an attack? Shouting, screaming, crying? Furniture breaking.
Something smashing against the wall.
Are you trying to feed my client testimony? No, of course not.
We're just trying to make sure that Ms.
Walling's assailant doesn't go unpunished.
Are you sure you heard nothing? Yes, I'm sure.
I heard nothing.
Hello.
This is Channing McClaren.
I was hoping we could talk.
Did Mr.
Davies threaten you? No.
Did he physically intimidate you, try to touch you in any way? He grabbed my arm, a little.
Were there any witnesses? I don't know.
Not really.
I promise you this won't happen again.
I'll get a restraining order from the court.
And if Mr.
Davies tries to come anywhere near you, he'll get thrown into jail.
That's not the point.
Bruce was my mom's friend.
They worked together for years.
She went to his dinner parties, we spent a vacation with his family once.
And now he's saying these things.
I understand how you feel but you've got to remember that Mr.
Davies is a criminal.
Your mother knew that.
That's why she was trying to turn him in.
It's not just him.
I get horrible e-mails.
Threats.
Things on my Facebook.
I spend half the day just deleting stuff.
Don't delete them.
Send them to my office.
We'll investigate.
It's still all over the newspapers, the Web Everyone is talking shit about my mom.
I just want it to stop.
Maybe I should just drop the case.
Rachel, I know what you're going through, but you just have to fight through it.
What is it? He called me.
Who? Channing McClaren.
He wants to meet me.
Explain his side of the story.
Absolutely not.
Under no circumstances are you to have any contact with Mr.
McClaren.
Do you understand? Rachel, do you understand? He attacked my mother.
Believe me, I have no desire to see him.
Listen to me.
We will win this case.
And I will put Channing McClaren out of business for good.
Hey, miss? Miss! Stop! What? Uh I'm late for work.
What do you want? I'm sorry.
Nothing.
Fucking moron.
I'm going to miss my bus.
Yeah, I think working at the V.
A.
hospital has been it's been good.
These other guys who come back, I see, you know, I see what they're struggling with every day.
I hear their stories and I think it gives me I don't know, some kind of perspective maybe that I didn't have.
Helping others sort through their problems, yeah, can be therapeutic.
What about your dreams? You know, it's not great.
I still get them.
I'm still a little jumpy from time to time.
We've, uh, spoken in the past about only feeling secure when you sleep with a firearm.
No, I stopped that.
I'm not I don't I'm not doing that.
Maybe because I started seeing someone.
So, um, not being alone at night helps? Absolutely.
That's a good note to end on I think.
I'll see you all next week.
Thanks, Chris.
- Hey.
- Hey.
I thought we were meeting at the restaurant.
Figured I'd come here.
All right, let me get my coat.
- Ellen.
- Hey.
What a nice surprise.
Thanks for sharing Chris with us.
He's a welcome addition.
You know, I haven't seen you in quite some time.
I know, must've been a few years at least.
Thought I'd stick my head in and say hi.
I'm glad you did.
How you doing? I'm good.
Really good.
Yeah, thanks.
It's nice to hear.
You ready? Yeah, I'm all set.
It's good to see you.
Yeah.
God be with you till we meet again by his counsels guide uphold you With his sheep securely fold you God be with you till we meet again Till we meet Till we meet Till we meet at Jesus' feet Till we meet Till we meet God be with you till we meet again God be with you till we meet again When life's perils thick confound you Put his arms unfailing round you God be with you till we meet again Till we meet Till we meet How did you learn to sing like that? Uh, I don't know.
My mom, I guess.
She loved music.
Are you religious? No, not really.
I just like singing.
So, can I take you for coffee or No.
No.
Look, I agreed to meet with you, uh, but whatever you want to say, say it here.
I wanted to talk to you face-to-face.
I am deeply sorry for what happened to your mother.
I read your deposition.
I know what she told you about us.
About me.
But that's not what really happened.
Bullshit.
It isn't.
Okay, so you tell me then what happened? Do you mind if I smoke? No, go ahead.
If I do this, what'll happen at Princefield after the news breaks? Well, the SEC will most likely investigate.
And your colleagues will naturally want to know the source of the leak, but they'll never find out.
And this whole process-- you oversee it yourself? I do.
Naomi, none of our sources has ever been exposed.
We've done this many times.
Everything's going to be okay.
All right.
You'll get the files.
I appreciate what you're doing.
I know it isn't easy.
No, I want to do it.
Thank you for your help.
I want to.
But I shouldn't.
Sleeping with you in Rome was a mistake.
Channing, really.
Come on.
No, I-- really I can't.
No.
Stop.
- It's okay.
- Stop.
Come on, it'll be okay, I promise.
Get off of me.
Get off.
Get off.
It'll be okay.
Get off! Get off me.
Fuck, fuck.
What the fuck is wrong with you?! I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean Sometimes I just You're lucky I don't call the police.
No, n-no, don't.
You don't want to do that.
Th-That would, that would be a, a mistake.
What's that supposed to mean? Just p-please don't talk about this.
It was a misunderstanding.
I was aggressive with her.
- But I thought - You thought what? I've never been good with people.
When I was your age my only friend was my PC and I liked it that way.
See, I-I misjudge people, I-I don't know how to read the signs.
My mother said you threatened her.
I didn't do that.
Why would she lie to me? I'm, I'm not saying that she lied.
If she told you that, she must have felt threatened.
She must have misinterpreted me.
But I swear to you there was no threat.
What about the personal files you stole from her? I would never steal from a potential leaker.
If I conducted myself that way, I would lose credibility.
You don't know me, so I don't expect you to believe me, but it was never my intention to hurt your mother, and that's what this case is all about.
Are you through? I didn't come here to tell you I'm a good person.
I'm not asking you to forgive me.
But if we leave it up to our lawyers, this case will go on for a long, long time and our lives will still never return to what they once were.
So what do you want from me? I can't undo the damage I've caused.
But maybe I can stop it from getting worse.
How? I need to tell you something.
What? The old case between Patty and me-- the one we talked about.
Yeah? Something has come up and it requires me to have contact with Patty.
Uh, I know.
I'm, I'm sorry.
I should have told you before.
At first I, I didn't want to bother you with it, but, well, I realize that was wrong.
Are you okay with me pursuing it? As long as it doesn't interfere with No, absolutely not.
I will only do it on my time and of course Um What happened? What? Are you okay? Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine.
I think we need to get you some lunch.
Yeah, let's do that.
When I saw you with Chris, I was glad to hear you were doing well.
Thanks.
Yeah, the thing is, I've, uh, I've just been kind of Kind of what? Tired, for one thing.
I, I can't sleep at night and I keep nodding off at my desk.
Well, in the news I've seen the case that you're trying.
I imagine you're working very hard.
Yeah, but I'm used to long hours.
Well, falling asleep during the day can be a sign of avoidance.
Is anything else going on? There's something I, uh, I never talked to you about.
What's that? The night David was killed I was attacked, too.
I'm so sorry.
Who attacked you? Um, a man I had never seen before.
D-Did the police ever apprehend him? No.
And I thought I saw him this afternoon on the street.
But th-the thing is, um, I could have been imagining it.
Why do you say that? 'Cause I've been, um, seeing things lately.
I've been having dreams, uh visions I guess you would call them.
Visions? Yeah, reliving things.
Why didn't you speak about the attack back when you were in group? David's death seemed more important at the time.
Right.
Imagining things, uh, reliving trauma-- that's all expected if you haven't dealt with the event.
You add to that the stress from your work, it's hardly a surprise that you're not sleeping.
Maybe this isn't the best time to be trying this case.
Maybe you should drop it.
I can't.
I told you not to meet with him.
I know.
But I wanted to hear what he had to say.
And he said he was innocent.
What a surprise.
He also offered me $3 million to settle the case.
And did you accept it? No.
Good.
But I've had some time to think about it and I've decided I'm going to.
So you believe his story.
I don't know what to believe.
But it doesn't matter.
He and I both want the same thing.
And what is that? For this to be over.
Rachel, do you really think your mother's life is worth only $3 million? And who is going to stop McClaren from ever doing this again to someone else? I've made up my mind, Ms.
Hewes.
I want the case settled.
Please draw up whatever paperwork is necessary.
Wonderful to see you again, Mr.
Schultz.
Thank you.
Two nights this time.
Special occasion? Well, they're all special.
Here's your key.
Thanks again.
Parsons and Associates.
Ms.
Franklin? This is Steve Matiello from the Montclair Hotel.
Yes? The man you asked about, he came back.
He'll be with us for the next couple of nights.
Thank you for the information.
You're very welcome, Ms.
Franklin.
You'll be taken care of.
Who was that? We have a new witness.
And now we just have to convince him to talk to us.
The information that you've provided here today will be extremely helpful, Mr.
Weld.
The fact that you didn't see or hear anything at the hotel will go a long way to bolster our case.
Glad I could be of help.
Are we through here, Ms.
Parsons? Actually, there's one last this I wanted to ask you.
What's that? Your reason for being in the hotel.
If possible, we'd rather not get into that.
I understand this may be a delicate matter, but as I've said, I'm on your side.
You're critical to my case.
Look, if you're worried I was breaking the law or something, I wasn't.
Certainly.
But given the opportunity, opposing counsel will cast you in as negative a light as she possibly can.
I need the facts, to prevent that from happening.
I assure you, I'm not asking for any other reason than to protect your privacy and credibility.
I have a friend in the city who I see from time to time.
We sit in the room and have drink or two.
And she spends the night.
Thank you for your candor, Mr.
Weld.
I have no more questions.
Miss Parsons, may I speak with you? I'll just be a moment.
Hewes & Associates just messengered this over.
Shit.
What's happened? The case is being dropped.
How? McClaren went behind my back and offered Rachel Walling a settlement.
And she accepted? Yeah.
There's a meeting with Judge Gearheart in 48 hours to sign off on the terms.
Shit.
Relax, Miss Parsons.
It's over; you won.
Come on, sit down, join us.
Congratulations.
This is not a win.
Not for me, and certainly not for you.
It's behind me now.
And that's all I care about.
You honestly think settling with Rachel Walling is going to restore your reputation? Well, not at first, maybe, but slowly the leaks will start coming in again.
And then we're back in business.
Look, I have a new witness.
The hotel guest that was staying in the room next to Channing and Naomi.
You found him? Yes, and he backs up your story.
He said he heard no sounds of a struggle coming from your room.
That's just one witness.
It's not a guarantee you'll win at trial.
No, but Patty's case is bad, and this witness will make it worse.
Look, I have no doubt that you could win.
But to start attracting leaks again, we have to stay relevant.
Which won't happen with a lawsuit going on.
Well, I've given you my legal opinion.
But you're the client.
Yes, he is.
And it's over.
Just as soon as Judge Gearheart signs off on the settlement.
Congratulations.
Three million doesn't seem like a lot for such a high-profile case.
It isn't.
So that's good for you, then.
This settlement does nothing for me.
I need to beat Patty in court.
I need to win.
Why? To make a name for myself.
To launch this firm.
Break out and do things my way.
I don't know.
Maybe if settle you might you might start sleeping better.
What do you mean? You think I haven't noticed? Just when I started sleeping better, now you're up and down all night.
Ellen Parsons.
Ellen, this new witness you've submitted, Thomas Weld, I want to depose him.
What's the point? Your client accepted a settlement.
Until the judge has officially signed off, there is still a case, and I have the right to depose your witness.
You're wasting your time.
Thomas Weld can't help your case, and you know it.
You already questioned him.
Maybe I asked him the wrong questions.
You say you saw the long-haired man enter Naomi Walling's room? Yes.
After he went in, did you overhear any sounds coming from her room? We had this conversation already.
Well, now you're under oath.
Did you hear anything in the room next door? No.
Nothing.
No raised voices, sounds of a struggle, nothing like that? Nope.
Place was quiet as a church.
Then I have to ask you, Mr.
Weld, why was it, that at 10:32, you placed a call to the front desk complaining about a loud argument in the room next door? I didn't.
This is a written statement from an employee of the Montclair Hotel.
It states that you called to complain about the noise and demanded that someone be sent to deal with it.
Does that refresh your memory, Mr.
Weld? I warned you both.
I didn't want to get involved in this.
Always in the wrong fucking place at the wrong fucking time.
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't excuse you from telling the truth.
All right, you want to hear the truth? I'll tell you the truth.
Mr.
Weld, I think you should just think about what No.
I'm sick of this shit.
I got my own life and my own goddamn problems.
Did you hear sounds of distress coming from the adjacent room? I heard a lot of goddamn distress.
God knows what that guy was doing to her, but the lady was terrified.
How do you know that? She was shrieking, screaming.
It sounded like furniture was being knocked over.
And then, he started cursing her, calling her a bitch, cunt, that kind of thing.
She kept begging for him to stop, but he wouldn't stop.
And then what? He threatened her.
He-he yelled something about, uh, getting even.
And then I heard a door slam, and he was gone.
And then I heard her sobbing, and then silence.
And that was the last I heard of her.
And this man was in the room right next door? Yes.
I'm sorry, Rachel.
But you need to know the kind of man McClaren really is.
You gave a good performance.
Didn't have much of a choice.
Sorry.
I don't like to use threats, but worked out for both of us.
I got what I wanted, and you get to keep seeing your lady friend without your wife finding out.
Why did you force me to lie? Have a nice day, Mr.
Weld.
Ellen, come in.
Would you like a drink? Uh, no, thank you, I'm good.
Well, that was enjoyable.
Mr.
Weld put on quite an act.
Did you show Rachel the videotape? Yes.
And? And she doesn't want to settle anymore.
So, you see, everything worked out.
Weld's still in my control, so if you try to use his testimony at trial, I'll have him recant.
I promised you I would not use his testimony and I won't.
You see what we can do when we work together? We're not working together.
Just for once, we happen to want the same thing.
To try this case in court.
Why are you standing in the doorway like that? Come on in.
Oh, I, I got to go.
You're not afraid of me, are you? Well, you looked like you were afraid.
Good night.
You know, I remember when you first were working for me.
You stood right in that doorway and you invited me to your engagement party.
Do you remember that? You were such a sweet girl.
You should really watch your drinking, Patty.
And now you're looking out for me.
I'm touched.
All rise.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York now in session.
Counsel are present, Your Honor.
Excellent.
There won't be anything left When I am through with you