Bull (2016) s05e10 Episode Script
The Boy Who Cried Murder
1
(CRIES SOFTLY)
JAI: Izzy.
I don't care if I get sick.
(CRYING): Oh, God.
I miss her so much.
I'm so sorry.
Jason's sorry, too.
He wanted to be here.
How can it be that she's-she's gone? When you called yesterday, uh We were gonna have lunch next week.
You know she was always wearing that shirt you lent her in college.
Don't tell the imam, but we buried her in it.
(CRIES) ARIN: Hey, Aunt Izzy.
Hi, honey.
I am so sorry.
(CRYING): I miss your mom so much.
Aunt Izzy? (CRIES) (BOTH CRYING) She loved you both so much.
Aunt Izzy? Taj, honey, are you all right? Are you going back into the city? Are you okay? You mean am I clean? Am I on anything? I wish I was.
Seven months sober.
Still.
Did they tell you how she died? Your dad did when he called.
It was an accident.
Just She was changing a light bulb, fell off the ladder, cracked her head on the marble floor.
Look you've known my mom longer than anybody else.
Longer than my dad.
Have you ever seen her change a light bulb? Have you ever seen her even climb a ladder? - What are you trying to tell me? - Look, the night before last, my mom came upstate to visit me at school.
She was supposed to stay until Sunday, but then suddenly, she-she had to go back a day earlier.
Anyway, the way Dad tells it, he didn't know she was coming home.
He went to bed early, and to the best of his knowledge, she never even made it upstairs.
He says he found her in the morning on the living room floor, beneath the ladder, coat on the chair, bag on the dining room table, already I'm sorry, Taj.
I I just I'm not clear on what you're trying to tell me.
This morning before the funeral, I went into my mom and dad's room.
I just wanted to be near her again.
I was looking at a photo of my mom and me when I accidentally dropped it.
And-and when I got on the floor to clean up the glass, I found this wedged in the heating grate on the floor.
My mom was wearing these earrings when she left my place the other night.
Look, if my mom never went upstairs that night, then how did the earring that she was wearing that day, that I saw her wear that day, end up in the bedroom that she shares with my father? And why is my dad lying about it? IZZY: Apparently, his parents had a Persian rug in the bedroom, and all of a sudden, it's gone.
Yeah, and so that means that he killed Maryam? That he killed the boy's mother? I'm not saying that.
Taj is saying that.
(SCOFFS) Right, the younger one.
The, uh the drug addict.
Maryam told me about a month ago, she thought Jai was having an affair.
And then there's the money.
(SIGHS) What money are we talking about? Maryam's.
Their money Maryam's and Jai's Is really Maryam's money.
Her parents died when she was a teenager, and she inherited a fortune.
- I-I told you about this.
- Right, right.
I mean, there were all sorts of lawyers involved when she married Jai, and long story short, if Maryam had divorced Jai, he wouldn't have gotten a penny.
Right.
She was my best friend, Jason.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS) So we spoke with the officers who were called to the house upon the discovery of Maryam Malani's body.
We spoke with the coroner, we spoke with everyone we could.
- And? - And they all said the same thing.
It was clearly an accident.
Have Benny meet me in my office.
Hey, how long would you say a typical autopsy takes in a case like this? Typical? I don't know.
A couple of hours.
Because it says here that Maryam's began at 1:20 and concluded at 2:05.
That's 45 minutes.
That's surprising but it's not shocking.
I mean, the sad truth is, the New York Medical Examiner's Office is chronically understaffed and overworked, so, I'm sure it's probably just that.
You think it would be crazy if we filed a petition to exhume the body, dig it up, take another look? A petition of exhumation? Uh, I mean, that can get pretty ugly if the entire family's not on board.
You really want to open up that Pandora's box? I just want to be able to go back and give the kid some options.
Okay, I hear you.
Well, you should warn him, if he does decide to go down that road, he only has two possible outcomes, and neither of them is terribly pretty.
He's either gonna find out his father is a murderer, or he's gonna have to spend the rest of his life knowing that he falsely accused his only surviving parent of a heinous crime.
Lucky me.
Thank you for hearing our petition, Your Honor.
I just need to emphasize to the court that Maryam Malani's autopsy was completed in less than 45 minutes.
Far shorter, by a factor of three, than the typical examination of a body following an unattended death.
Now, this brief examination could have easily have missed the DNA of a perpetrator, some defense wounds on the victim's body, or even some other evidence that could very well point to foul play.
You all right? BENNY: Now, in light of all of these questions and concerns, we respectfully ask the court to grant our motion to exhume.
Thank you, Mr.
Colón.
I understand that other members of the Malani family object to this petition.
Yes, Your Honor.
Jai Malani, husband of the deceased, and Arin Malani, son of the deceased, both strongly oppose this exhumation.
I would like to reiterate how important Jai and Arin's Muslim faith is to them.
How important it was to Maryam herself.
It's the reason why she was buried so quickly after her death, as is the custom for followers of Islam.
And there's simply no valid justification here.
The death has already been investigated by both the NYPD and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, both highly professional and capable organizations who determined that it was a tragic accident.
Your Honor, it is our position that Maryam Malani deserves to rest in peace.
Thank you, Ms.
Peterson.
Thank you, Your Honor.
And if Your Honor wouldn't mind, Jai Malani would like to address the court.
Proceed.
(CLEARS THROAT) I love my children more than anything in the world, so it goes without saying that it pains me deeply to see my youngest son's grief has misled him to believe that I could have had a part in my cherished wife's death.
We may never understand why she was taken from us so abruptly.
But I strongly believe that her disinterment would only add suffering for everyone who had the privilege to know and love Maryam.
Including Taj himself.
Anything further from either party? - Not at this time, Your Honor.
- No, Your Honor.
Both parties have compelling and reasonable arguments, but I find myself agreeing with Mr.
Colón.
And in light of what was clearly an unusually fast autopsy, I feel that it's in the best interest of justice to exhume.
Permission to exhume Maryam Malani's body is granted.
How do you feel? Like I've either done a really important thing, or a really stupid thing.
Taj? You need to go back in there and make them stop this, Taj.
No.
I'm-I'm sorry.
That story about Mom falling off a ladder you believe that? Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.
Just because you're a world-class liar, doesn't mean everyone else in this family is.
Your mother is dead.
Now you're determined to kill your father? Oh, my God.
Arin, stop it! Just, the two of you, just stop it.
Come on, Aunt Izzy.
Mom never told you about all the times Taj lied to her about being high, about where he was going, who he was hanging around with? She'd be ashamed of both of you.
This line is what we call a linear fracture.
This is what I would have expected Maryam's skull to look like, had she simply fallen backwards from a ladder and onto a marble floor, as stated in the police report.
But that's not what I found.
What did you find? This is the actual X-ray of Maryam's skull that I took during my examination.
This is what we call a depressed fracture.
We typically see these when the head is struck by a dense object that caves in a part of the skull.
The injury indicates that the object that made contact with her head had a rounded shape.
Very different from a flat stone floor.
Wow.
So the forensic evidence strongly suggests that Maryam did die at the hands of an attacker.
Okay.
So maybe this isn't all for naught.
And, by his own admission, Jai was the only one at home - when she arrived that night.
- TAYLOR: Actually, I don't think Jai was the only one home when Maryam got there.
This is Linda Campbell.
She's a professor of linguistic theory at Columbia, where Jai teaches, and I suspect she's also his mistress.
Great.
And how did you arrive at that suspicion? I live with someone who will be highly invested in the answer.
I read hundreds of text messages.
And when I said I suspect, I was being generous.
These two have been intimate going back at least a year.
MARISSA: And you have proof that she was at the house the night Maryam was murdered? - Danny? - Well, someone other than Jai was definitely at the house that night.
Taylor was able to hack into the home's security system brain and determine that the Malanis' front door was accessed with a passcode roughly an hour before Maryam's death.
MARISSA: Yeah, but couldn't that have been Jai or Maryam herself, for that matter? TAYLOR: Both Jai and Maryam have fingerprint access, so neither of them would have needed to enter a passcode.
Okay, so what are we saying Are we assuming that it was this Linda who let herself in with the passcode and then Maryam returned home and caught her with her husband? Seems like the most obvious narrative.
Who knows maybe Maryam threatened to divorce Jai, take all her money with her.
Uh, that's a pretty good theory.
After 20 years of living in the lap of luxury, Jai would have to live in New York City on a professor's salary.
Now it's starting to sound like a motive.
So he grabbed the closest heavy object and smashed his wife over the head with it? I just don't buy it.
These are sophisticated people.
They don't clock each other with statuary - to settle their differences.
- MARISSA: Okay, so maybe it wasn't Jai.
If the mistress was there, it might have been her who struck and killed Maryam.
I actually floated that trial balloon with Dr.
Rainey.
- And? - And, she said, given Linda's height She's maybe five feet tall It would be unlikely that she would have generated the force needed to create the impact necessary to do the damage we're seeing on the X-rays.
Not to mention, Maryam was a good six inches taller than Linda, so the angle doesn't really work either.
Unless Maryam was sitting down when she hit her.
Unless Maryam was sitting down when she hit her.
MARISSA: Okay, so, Jai or this Linda struck Maryam, then realized what they'd done, panicked and moved the body downstairs to stage the accident.
I think that about sums it up.
Bull, you seem upset.
No, I'm fine.
I'm just imagining the pillow talk tonight.
What is wrong with men? So, are they gonna charge Jai with murder? (SIGHS) Are they gonna charge somebody with murder? I have no idea.
This all just came together tonight.
I'm thinking we file a wrongful death suit against Jai.
We can petition the court to get into his home, and that way we can hire detectives and forensic specialists to go in there and look for evidence.
And then maybe, just maybe, we'll find something that will prove he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
You know, my boss is gonna be here any minute.
I'd really love to give him a sense of how all of this is going.
So far, the only thing we've found is a few drops of blood.
May not even be hers.
Drops.
Nothing like you would expect to see from her kind of head wound.
Could be from a cut, from shaving anything, really.
Can we also test the statue for blood? Something about the round base Seems like the right shape to do the necessary damage to Mrs.
Malani's skull? Already did.
No blood detected, but we did see traces of sodium hypochlorite on that one.
Bleach? Why in the world would anyone clean a piece of art with bleach? Well, unless you're trying to be sure there's no trace of blood or bones or brain on it.
CHUNK: If I was representing the other side, I'd just argue that the maid made a mistake, she messed up.
She didn't know she shouldn't clean the statue with bleach.
Oh, come on.
That's a ridiculous defense.
To which I'd argue: How likely is it that the maid only cleaned one statue incorrectly and not the other? Well, Benny's right the statue fits as the murder weapon, but that means nothing if we can't put it in Jai's hands.
CHUNK: Look, husband kills the wife so he can stay with the mistress, keep the wife's money.
The jury's gonna eat that up.
Hmm.
Maybe the right jury.
How do you mean? A jury of people who like to hear a good story.
A jury of narrative thinkers.
Folks who have an inclination, when they're presented with bits of information, to tie them all together into a nice little story.
A story that then builds to the irrefutable conclusion that Jai did it, even if we don't actually have any proof that Jai did it.
Okay, is anyone here a sports fan? You, sir.
What is your favorite sport? Uh uh, baseball, I guess.
Okay.
And is there any player or team in particular that you follow? Truthfully, I-I usually just follow whoever's performing best for my fantasy baseball league.
(CHUCKLES) Carter Finch he's an actuary for an insurance company.
Stats guy, through and through.
BULL: Ah.
Not for us.
He's way too invested in hard data.
Your Honor, we'd like to thank and excuse juror number five.
And you, sir What's your sport? Me? I'm a football guy.
College, pro, whatever.
If they're tossing a football and wearing pads, I'll watch it.
All right.
And what's your favorite team? The Saints, I guess.
It's actually less about the team and more about their former quarterback, Drew Brees.
And what is it about Brees? JUROR: I don't know.
It's hard to say.
The guy's just a fighter, you know? I thought he was done when he tore up his shoulder playing for the Chargers.
But he just put his head down, got back to work with the Saints.
And he made it all the way back.
Super Bowl MVP, baby.
And, of course, he retired now.
But it's just a great story.
This kid Juror number nine He's drawn to the personal story of this one player.
The very definition of a narrative thinker.
Andrew Valentin.
Loves biographies.
Streams three or four movies a week.
Big country music fan, because he says the songs are always about people in situations he can relate to.
Mm.
Your Honor, this juror is acceptable to the plaintiff.
And after you performed this extensive eight-hour re-examination of the body, what conclusion did you come to? That Mrs.
Malani's death was definitely a homicide.
BENNY: A-And could you please tell the court how you believe she was killed, exactly? Blunt force trauma.
She was struck on the head from behind with a hard, heavy object.
BENNY: Anything else you can tell us about what this object might have been? RAINEY: It's clear from the nature of the injury that whatever it was had a curved or spherical aspect to it, because the injury to the skull took the form of a curved indentation.
(CLICKS TONGUE) Ah.
Like the Like the base of this statue that we recovered from the defendant, Jai Malani's, bedroom? RAINEY: Well, I certainly don't know if that is the actual murder weapon, but it is definitely consistent with the injuries the victim sustained.
Thank you, Doctor.
I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
(SIGHS) Damn.
I told the nanny I would be home 20 minutes ago.
Okay.
You take the car.
I'm gonna go confer with Benny.
I'll take a cab.
Aunt Izzy, can I talk to you for a second? I'm running really late, Arin.
I'm s You need to put a stop to this.
(SIGHS) Arin.
No, I'm trying to help you.
I'm trying to help everyone.
You need to talk to your boyfriend and you need to get him to put a stop to this.
Or, failing that, talk some sense into my brother.
Did you not hear the pathologist just now? Your mom did not fall off a ladder.
Okay.
She didn't fall off a ladder.
But whatever happened to her, I promise you, my dad had nothing to do with it.
Well, then you have nothing to fear from this trial, and neither does your dad.
No, it's not my dad I'm worried about.
It's Taj.
Taj? He's testifying tomorrow.
And I've been in the meetings and I know what our side is planning to do to him, and it's not pretty.
We need to stop this thing, Aunt Izzy.
You know what, Taj is stronger than you think.
Taj is gonna be fine.
Everybody is gonna be fine.
We just have to get through this.
We just have to get to the truth.
Your mom deserves that.
Mr.
Malani, I'm so sorry for your loss.
I'd-I'd like to change the subject for a moment.
I'd like to talk about money.
You okay with that, young man? You can ask me anything.
Now, is it true that when your mother Maryam passed, your father inherited all of her money? That's my understanding.
Now, would that include control of your trust fund, which you'll not inherit until your 30th birthday? Yes, I believe that's true.
Now, on the other hand, if this jury finds your father liable for your mother's death, don't you stand to come into millions? You wouldn't have to wait until you're 30.
Everything you have coming to you would come to you now? Yeah, I-I mean, I guess so.
I haven't really thought about that.
This isn't about the money for me.
This is about my mother and my and my brother and-and her friends.
We all deserve to know the truth.
Not about the money, huh? No.
So was it about the money when you stole your father's Rolex? Sold it to score some heroin? Yes I did steal from my father.
And my mother.
And my brother.
But it wasn't about the money, per se.
It-it was about drugs.
I was an addict.
So I stole.
I-I I lied.
I did a lot of bad things.
But I've been clean seven months now.
I go to my meetings, I have a supportive sponsor.
I don't do drugs.
And I would never implicate my father for money.
Never.
PETERSON: So when you say you've been clean for seven months, are you testifying that you haven't taken any substances during that entire time? Yes.
Like I said, I've been clean for seven months.
Your Honor, I'd like to enter a video into evidence.
Objection, Your Honor.
The first time we've heard of this video.
We haven't seen this video.
It hasn't even been authenticated.
The plaintiff can authenticate it.
He's the subject, after all.
Is that you, Mr.
Malani? - Yes.
- The time stamp on this video indicates that it was recorded three nights ago.
Is that your recollection, as well? It is.
How do they have this? They must have hired someone to follow him.
PETERSON: Mr.
Malani, can you please tell us what it is you purchased from that man and put in your pocket? It's heroin.
(TAKES DEEP BREATH) But I I didn't use it.
Look, I was just in a bad place.
Losing my mom By the time I got back to my apartment, I thought about her.
I thought about what she would think of me, and I flushed it all down the toilet, I swear.
Well, I guess we'll just have to take your word for that.
But the fact is, you could buy a lot more heroin if your father wasn't standing between you and all that money.
Isn't that right? BENNY: Objection! Counsel is badgering the witness.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard counsel's last statement.
We picked a jury that loves a good story.
Unfortunately, the defense just told a better one than we did.
Your Honor, the defense would like to call Linda Campbell to the stand.
Ms.
Campbell, what is your relationship with the defendant, Jai Malani? Jai and I are colleagues at Columbia University.
And is that the full extent of your relationship? No.
We also had have a romantic relationship.
(MURMURING) PETERSON: So, on the night in question, were you at the home of Mr.
and Mrs.
Malani as the plaintiff has alleged? No.
I was not.
I was in Connecticut that night.
I drove up to see my sister in the hospital.
PETERSON: Your Honor, I'd like to enter into the court record a certified copy of the Connecticut Presbyterian Hospital visitor's log for the night of Maryam Malani's death.
Is this highlighted signature yours? Yes, it is.
And how far would you say this hospital is from the Malani home? It's about a two-hour drive.
And this log indicates you arrived there shortly before 8:00 and didn't leave until after about 11:30.
- That's right.
- And I assume you went to your home after your visit, not to the Malanis'? Yes.
My home.
And I got there around 2:00 in the morning.
PETERSON: And at any point during your drive or after you got home that night, did you communicate with Mr.
Malani? Did he communicate with you? Not that night.
No.
He called me the next day.
Told me how he'd found his wife.
He sounded very upset.
Said his sons were both very upset.
I know he was frantic, trying to put together a funeral.
They're Muslim.
It's important to get the body in the ground as soon as possible.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Mr.
Colón, your witness.
Hello, Ms.
Campbell.
I-I appreciate you being here.
Now, according to your testimony, you got home at 2:00 in the morning.
Right? Any way you can prove that? That you went to your apartment and not Jai's townhouse? I live in a security building.
There are cameras in the lobby, a doorman.
I'm sure there's a record of it somewhere.
Oh.
Right.
And likewise, the building would have record of the fact that you didn't leave again until the next day? - I would assume so.
- Okay.
Are you aware that the vast majority of your boyfriend's wealth came from an inheritance his wife received when she was a teenager? Money he would have no access to if his marriage ended in divorce? I was aware of that.
Yes.
But I'm curious.
How did you come to know that? Jai told me.
BENNY: No, of course, but in what context? What prompted the question? Conversations about one's personal finances? Conversations about a spouse's personal finances? What prompted such a thing? We're both college professors.
I had a fair idea of what he was being paid.
And yet we lived very different lives.
It was sort of the elephant in the room for a while.
And then one day, he was telling me about a family vacation they were about to take.
And I think he saw the look on my face.
Private jet, a villa on the beach.
I did my best to look nonchalant, but I guess my best wasn't good enough.
Now, you've never had the kind of money that Jai has now, have you? No.
So then, I mean, isn't it fair to say that you stand to benefit if he wins this lawsuit? I mean, come on.
You'd be with a very, very wealthy man, perhaps even live in a beautiful home, maybe even live a lavish lifestyle you've never had the taste of.
You're making assumptions I'm not prepared to make.
Jai is in mourning.
He loved his wife.
I'm not denying that we had feelings for each other, but I doubt he's contemplating a future with me or anyone else at the moment.
I believe he just wants to be there for his boys.
That's a great answer.
She's been very well prepped.
Ms.
Campbell, the fact is, you have no idea whether Jai killed his wife or not, do you? I can tell you what I believe No, I know what you believe.
I asked you what you know.
So, can you swear under oath that Mr.
Malani did not kill his wife? I cannot.
Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Nice work, Benny.
Oh, please.
I got her to admit she couldn't swear he didn't do it.
If you're a juror, that's next to nothing.
(PHONE RINGING) Yeah.
Marissa? We found something.
What are you talking about? Well, we know someone entered the house that night and punched in a code to do it.
So, we went back through Jai's call log to see if he might have invited someone over or called an accomplice the next day.
And? MARISSA: And it's who he didn't call.
The morning that Jai found Maryam's body, he called a lot of people.
Taj, Izzy, his girlfriend Linda and then Maryam's sisters in India.
But he never called Arin.
And the only reason you wouldn't inform your son that his mother was dead Is if he already knew.
Hey.
Wow.
What's all this? These are the fruits of the all-nighter Danny, Marissa and I pulled.
What are we looking at here? That's a copy of a receipt.
Turns out Arin, the older brother, parked his car at a charging station a block from his parents' home, minutes before the front door's passcode was entered.
Good work.
And if you look at the bottom of the receipt, you'll see he left shortly after midnight.
So, we've got him at his parents' house at almost the exact same time his mother was murdered, even though Jai keeps insisting he was alone that night.
Well, man was trying to protect his son.
Now, would you happen to have a motive in there? I might.
Hello, Arin.
Now, my colleagues and I have been doing a little research on you, and it turns out that you are quite the entrepreneur.
First a cigar import business.
Then an automotive customization company.
And now, we've got your latest venture A luxury watch website.
Ooh! Very, very impressive.
Did I get it all right? - Yes, you did.
- Okay.
Good, good.
Uh-oh.
But I also see that there have been some money problems.
I mean, the first two businesses ultimately had to close, and this new one I believe, at one point, you were on the brink of bankruptcy.
I don't think I'd characterize it that way.
We had some troubles.
It's the nature of being an entrepreneur.
Right.
Um, do you recognize this e-mail? Yes.
BENNY: And it's an e-mail you sent to your business partner? - Yes.
- Okay.
Can I trouble you to read it out loud to the jury? Objection.
Your Honor, this e-mail, whatever it is, has yet to be authenticated, and, uh, I'm at a loss to understand what any of this has to do with the case at hand.
BENNY: Arin can authenticate it.
In fact, he just did.
And for its relevance, Your Honor, I think that will become obvious very, very soon.
Overruled.
Mr.
Malani, please read the e-mail.
ARIN: "John, "please stop overreacting.
We're not going to lose the business.
" Oh, please continue.
I think the most relevant sentence is coming up.
From where you left off.
"You have to trust me.
"I've got this under control.
I'm going to have the hundred K by Monday.
" "Hundred K by Monday.
" (SNIFFLES) I believe this was sent roughly 12 hours before your mother's death, wasn't it? I believe so.
Yes.
Okay.
Arin, by any chance, did you go by your parents' house that night to ask them for money? ARIN: No.
I did not.
As I told the police, I wasn't there that night.
I was home by myself, cleaning, cooking, watching TV.
Okay.
So then, where were you planning on getting this $100,000 that you apparently needed? A bank.
A bank loan.
Y-You were hoping to get a bank loan for $100,000 approved on a Sunday? ARIN: I have a friend.
A classmate from Harvard that works at a major bank.
I was gonna call in a favor.
Okay.
So, did you do that? Did you call your friend? Because that would be an easy thing for us to verify.
Well, no.
I decided to wait to call her on Monday.
But then my mom died.
(WHISPERS): Oh, right.
Yeah.
But then your mom died.
Of course.
You want to hear a really weird coincidence? You know that Indian statue? The one we believe your mother was hit on the head with? What do you think that thing is worth? I would have no idea.
Why would I know that? Well, because it's my understanding that it was actually left to you by your maternal grandfather.
It becomes yours when you marry.
Isn't that true? Yeah, I guess that might be the case.
It's not something I think about a lot.
There's been so much tragedy lately.
Mm-hmm.
You didn't answer my question.
I'm sorry? How much do you think it's worth? It turns out your parents had it appraised as part of their homeowners policy.
What number do you think - the insurance company put on it? - PETERSON: Objection.
Asked and answered.
He said he didn't know, and now Mr.
Colón is asking him to speculate.
Objection sustained.
Move on, Mr.
Colón.
Absolutely, Your Honor.
The plaintiff would like to enter into evidence the Malanis' homeowners policy and would like to point out to the court that the statue in question was valued at actually $111,000.
Oh, my God.
It's Arin? Shh.
BENNY: So, explain this to me.
Did you already have a buyer lined up for it, or did you figure you'd attend to that later? - I don't know what you're talking about.
- BENNY: Oh, I think you do.
PETERSON: Your Honor, the attorney is badgering the witness.
- Mr.
Colón.
- BENNY: I apologize, Your Honor.
Mr.
Malani, you do understand the penalty for perjury, don't you? Yes.
Okay.
So, I will ask you again.
Is it still your testimony that you were home alone that night? Yes.
Your Honor, the plaintiff would like to enter into evidence this parking receipt from a parking lot about a block away from Mr.
Malani's parents' home and five and one-half miles away from his.
The receipt indicates that Mr.
Malani's car entered the parking lot shortly before 11:00 p.
m.
on the night of his mother's death and exited shortly after midnight.
So, again, I will ask.
Where were you on the night of your mother's murder? Stop it! My son isn't on trial here.
I am! The defendant will take his seat, or I will find him in contempt and have him held at the county jail.
Jai, take your seat.
BENNY: Mr.
Malani, what happened that night? You were there.
You know.
Your Honor, uh, may I at least have a moment to advise Mr.
Malani of his rights? That's not necessary.
I know my rights.
Arin! Please.
What's the point, Dad? They know.
They obviously know.
I didn't ask my mother for money.
And I didn't steal that statue.
As you already pointed out, it was mine.
Or would be when I married.
I guess I thought of it as a kind of advance.
But my mother wasn't having any of it.
She said I shouldn't squander my inheritance on another doomed business.
Doomed.
But the way she said it Like I was the failure in this family.
Like I hadn't dedicated myself to making my parents proud.
I hadn't been in and out of rehab six times since the ninth grade.
Another $100,000 out the window every time you'd slip.
Anyway, I've got the damn thing in my hand, and I'm thinking I'll just walk out the door with it.
I mean, what's she gonna do? Try and take it from me? But then she did.
And we struggled.
And my father kept screaming, "Stop it, the two of you.
" And I swung it at her head, thinking she'd step out of the way.
But she didn't.
(VOICE BREAKING): And it caught her in the back of her head.
Dad, you tried to save me, and I'm grateful.
Thank you.
And, Taj, I'm so sorry.
I know you loved her the most.
And why not? She loved you the most.
And I took her away.
I didn't mean to.
I just did, and I'm sorry.
And, Aunt Izzy (SNIFFLES) I think she really thought you two were sisters.
And maybe she was right.
I mean, who else but a sister would try so hard to find out what really happened? No further questions, Your Honor.
In fact, the plaintiffs rest their case.
(SIGHS) Benny's giving everything we have to the D.
A.
They're gonna charge Arin with second-degree murder.
Probably Jai, too, for perjury, accessory after the fact, whatever else they can get on him.
God.
I should have just left it alone.
Then they would still have each other.
Now Taj has no one.
(SNIFFLES) You tried to tell me.
And Benny, too.
Hey.
I was wrong.
We were wrong.
Taj will build a new life for himself.
Seven months sober.
Sounds like he's already started.
They were such cute boys.
Maryam was so proud of them.
I thought she was the best mother in the world.
Now I What kind of chance do I have? Hey, don't do that.
You are the best mother in the world, and I'm the best dad in the world.
At least, until we hear otherwise.
Let's make a pledge to ourselves.
To do everything we can to make sure that our little girl has a childhood she doesn't have to recover from.
Hmm? (SNIFFLES)
I don't care if I get sick.
(CRYING): Oh, God.
I miss her so much.
I'm so sorry.
Jason's sorry, too.
He wanted to be here.
How can it be that she's-she's gone? When you called yesterday, uh We were gonna have lunch next week.
You know she was always wearing that shirt you lent her in college.
Don't tell the imam, but we buried her in it.
(CRIES) ARIN: Hey, Aunt Izzy.
Hi, honey.
I am so sorry.
(CRYING): I miss your mom so much.
Aunt Izzy? (CRIES) (BOTH CRYING) She loved you both so much.
Aunt Izzy? Taj, honey, are you all right? Are you going back into the city? Are you okay? You mean am I clean? Am I on anything? I wish I was.
Seven months sober.
Still.
Did they tell you how she died? Your dad did when he called.
It was an accident.
Just She was changing a light bulb, fell off the ladder, cracked her head on the marble floor.
Look you've known my mom longer than anybody else.
Longer than my dad.
Have you ever seen her change a light bulb? Have you ever seen her even climb a ladder? - What are you trying to tell me? - Look, the night before last, my mom came upstate to visit me at school.
She was supposed to stay until Sunday, but then suddenly, she-she had to go back a day earlier.
Anyway, the way Dad tells it, he didn't know she was coming home.
He went to bed early, and to the best of his knowledge, she never even made it upstairs.
He says he found her in the morning on the living room floor, beneath the ladder, coat on the chair, bag on the dining room table, already I'm sorry, Taj.
I I just I'm not clear on what you're trying to tell me.
This morning before the funeral, I went into my mom and dad's room.
I just wanted to be near her again.
I was looking at a photo of my mom and me when I accidentally dropped it.
And-and when I got on the floor to clean up the glass, I found this wedged in the heating grate on the floor.
My mom was wearing these earrings when she left my place the other night.
Look, if my mom never went upstairs that night, then how did the earring that she was wearing that day, that I saw her wear that day, end up in the bedroom that she shares with my father? And why is my dad lying about it? IZZY: Apparently, his parents had a Persian rug in the bedroom, and all of a sudden, it's gone.
Yeah, and so that means that he killed Maryam? That he killed the boy's mother? I'm not saying that.
Taj is saying that.
(SCOFFS) Right, the younger one.
The, uh the drug addict.
Maryam told me about a month ago, she thought Jai was having an affair.
And then there's the money.
(SIGHS) What money are we talking about? Maryam's.
Their money Maryam's and Jai's Is really Maryam's money.
Her parents died when she was a teenager, and she inherited a fortune.
- I-I told you about this.
- Right, right.
I mean, there were all sorts of lawyers involved when she married Jai, and long story short, if Maryam had divorced Jai, he wouldn't have gotten a penny.
Right.
She was my best friend, Jason.
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS) So we spoke with the officers who were called to the house upon the discovery of Maryam Malani's body.
We spoke with the coroner, we spoke with everyone we could.
- And? - And they all said the same thing.
It was clearly an accident.
Have Benny meet me in my office.
Hey, how long would you say a typical autopsy takes in a case like this? Typical? I don't know.
A couple of hours.
Because it says here that Maryam's began at 1:20 and concluded at 2:05.
That's 45 minutes.
That's surprising but it's not shocking.
I mean, the sad truth is, the New York Medical Examiner's Office is chronically understaffed and overworked, so, I'm sure it's probably just that.
You think it would be crazy if we filed a petition to exhume the body, dig it up, take another look? A petition of exhumation? Uh, I mean, that can get pretty ugly if the entire family's not on board.
You really want to open up that Pandora's box? I just want to be able to go back and give the kid some options.
Okay, I hear you.
Well, you should warn him, if he does decide to go down that road, he only has two possible outcomes, and neither of them is terribly pretty.
He's either gonna find out his father is a murderer, or he's gonna have to spend the rest of his life knowing that he falsely accused his only surviving parent of a heinous crime.
Lucky me.
Thank you for hearing our petition, Your Honor.
I just need to emphasize to the court that Maryam Malani's autopsy was completed in less than 45 minutes.
Far shorter, by a factor of three, than the typical examination of a body following an unattended death.
Now, this brief examination could have easily have missed the DNA of a perpetrator, some defense wounds on the victim's body, or even some other evidence that could very well point to foul play.
You all right? BENNY: Now, in light of all of these questions and concerns, we respectfully ask the court to grant our motion to exhume.
Thank you, Mr.
Colón.
I understand that other members of the Malani family object to this petition.
Yes, Your Honor.
Jai Malani, husband of the deceased, and Arin Malani, son of the deceased, both strongly oppose this exhumation.
I would like to reiterate how important Jai and Arin's Muslim faith is to them.
How important it was to Maryam herself.
It's the reason why she was buried so quickly after her death, as is the custom for followers of Islam.
And there's simply no valid justification here.
The death has already been investigated by both the NYPD and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, both highly professional and capable organizations who determined that it was a tragic accident.
Your Honor, it is our position that Maryam Malani deserves to rest in peace.
Thank you, Ms.
Peterson.
Thank you, Your Honor.
And if Your Honor wouldn't mind, Jai Malani would like to address the court.
Proceed.
(CLEARS THROAT) I love my children more than anything in the world, so it goes without saying that it pains me deeply to see my youngest son's grief has misled him to believe that I could have had a part in my cherished wife's death.
We may never understand why she was taken from us so abruptly.
But I strongly believe that her disinterment would only add suffering for everyone who had the privilege to know and love Maryam.
Including Taj himself.
Anything further from either party? - Not at this time, Your Honor.
- No, Your Honor.
Both parties have compelling and reasonable arguments, but I find myself agreeing with Mr.
Colón.
And in light of what was clearly an unusually fast autopsy, I feel that it's in the best interest of justice to exhume.
Permission to exhume Maryam Malani's body is granted.
How do you feel? Like I've either done a really important thing, or a really stupid thing.
Taj? You need to go back in there and make them stop this, Taj.
No.
I'm-I'm sorry.
That story about Mom falling off a ladder you believe that? Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.
Just because you're a world-class liar, doesn't mean everyone else in this family is.
Your mother is dead.
Now you're determined to kill your father? Oh, my God.
Arin, stop it! Just, the two of you, just stop it.
Come on, Aunt Izzy.
Mom never told you about all the times Taj lied to her about being high, about where he was going, who he was hanging around with? She'd be ashamed of both of you.
This line is what we call a linear fracture.
This is what I would have expected Maryam's skull to look like, had she simply fallen backwards from a ladder and onto a marble floor, as stated in the police report.
But that's not what I found.
What did you find? This is the actual X-ray of Maryam's skull that I took during my examination.
This is what we call a depressed fracture.
We typically see these when the head is struck by a dense object that caves in a part of the skull.
The injury indicates that the object that made contact with her head had a rounded shape.
Very different from a flat stone floor.
Wow.
So the forensic evidence strongly suggests that Maryam did die at the hands of an attacker.
Okay.
So maybe this isn't all for naught.
And, by his own admission, Jai was the only one at home - when she arrived that night.
- TAYLOR: Actually, I don't think Jai was the only one home when Maryam got there.
This is Linda Campbell.
She's a professor of linguistic theory at Columbia, where Jai teaches, and I suspect she's also his mistress.
Great.
And how did you arrive at that suspicion? I live with someone who will be highly invested in the answer.
I read hundreds of text messages.
And when I said I suspect, I was being generous.
These two have been intimate going back at least a year.
MARISSA: And you have proof that she was at the house the night Maryam was murdered? - Danny? - Well, someone other than Jai was definitely at the house that night.
Taylor was able to hack into the home's security system brain and determine that the Malanis' front door was accessed with a passcode roughly an hour before Maryam's death.
MARISSA: Yeah, but couldn't that have been Jai or Maryam herself, for that matter? TAYLOR: Both Jai and Maryam have fingerprint access, so neither of them would have needed to enter a passcode.
Okay, so what are we saying Are we assuming that it was this Linda who let herself in with the passcode and then Maryam returned home and caught her with her husband? Seems like the most obvious narrative.
Who knows maybe Maryam threatened to divorce Jai, take all her money with her.
Uh, that's a pretty good theory.
After 20 years of living in the lap of luxury, Jai would have to live in New York City on a professor's salary.
Now it's starting to sound like a motive.
So he grabbed the closest heavy object and smashed his wife over the head with it? I just don't buy it.
These are sophisticated people.
They don't clock each other with statuary - to settle their differences.
- MARISSA: Okay, so maybe it wasn't Jai.
If the mistress was there, it might have been her who struck and killed Maryam.
I actually floated that trial balloon with Dr.
Rainey.
- And? - And, she said, given Linda's height She's maybe five feet tall It would be unlikely that she would have generated the force needed to create the impact necessary to do the damage we're seeing on the X-rays.
Not to mention, Maryam was a good six inches taller than Linda, so the angle doesn't really work either.
Unless Maryam was sitting down when she hit her.
Unless Maryam was sitting down when she hit her.
MARISSA: Okay, so, Jai or this Linda struck Maryam, then realized what they'd done, panicked and moved the body downstairs to stage the accident.
I think that about sums it up.
Bull, you seem upset.
No, I'm fine.
I'm just imagining the pillow talk tonight.
What is wrong with men? So, are they gonna charge Jai with murder? (SIGHS) Are they gonna charge somebody with murder? I have no idea.
This all just came together tonight.
I'm thinking we file a wrongful death suit against Jai.
We can petition the court to get into his home, and that way we can hire detectives and forensic specialists to go in there and look for evidence.
And then maybe, just maybe, we'll find something that will prove he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
You know, my boss is gonna be here any minute.
I'd really love to give him a sense of how all of this is going.
So far, the only thing we've found is a few drops of blood.
May not even be hers.
Drops.
Nothing like you would expect to see from her kind of head wound.
Could be from a cut, from shaving anything, really.
Can we also test the statue for blood? Something about the round base Seems like the right shape to do the necessary damage to Mrs.
Malani's skull? Already did.
No blood detected, but we did see traces of sodium hypochlorite on that one.
Bleach? Why in the world would anyone clean a piece of art with bleach? Well, unless you're trying to be sure there's no trace of blood or bones or brain on it.
CHUNK: If I was representing the other side, I'd just argue that the maid made a mistake, she messed up.
She didn't know she shouldn't clean the statue with bleach.
Oh, come on.
That's a ridiculous defense.
To which I'd argue: How likely is it that the maid only cleaned one statue incorrectly and not the other? Well, Benny's right the statue fits as the murder weapon, but that means nothing if we can't put it in Jai's hands.
CHUNK: Look, husband kills the wife so he can stay with the mistress, keep the wife's money.
The jury's gonna eat that up.
Hmm.
Maybe the right jury.
How do you mean? A jury of people who like to hear a good story.
A jury of narrative thinkers.
Folks who have an inclination, when they're presented with bits of information, to tie them all together into a nice little story.
A story that then builds to the irrefutable conclusion that Jai did it, even if we don't actually have any proof that Jai did it.
Okay, is anyone here a sports fan? You, sir.
What is your favorite sport? Uh uh, baseball, I guess.
Okay.
And is there any player or team in particular that you follow? Truthfully, I-I usually just follow whoever's performing best for my fantasy baseball league.
(CHUCKLES) Carter Finch he's an actuary for an insurance company.
Stats guy, through and through.
BULL: Ah.
Not for us.
He's way too invested in hard data.
Your Honor, we'd like to thank and excuse juror number five.
And you, sir What's your sport? Me? I'm a football guy.
College, pro, whatever.
If they're tossing a football and wearing pads, I'll watch it.
All right.
And what's your favorite team? The Saints, I guess.
It's actually less about the team and more about their former quarterback, Drew Brees.
And what is it about Brees? JUROR: I don't know.
It's hard to say.
The guy's just a fighter, you know? I thought he was done when he tore up his shoulder playing for the Chargers.
But he just put his head down, got back to work with the Saints.
And he made it all the way back.
Super Bowl MVP, baby.
And, of course, he retired now.
But it's just a great story.
This kid Juror number nine He's drawn to the personal story of this one player.
The very definition of a narrative thinker.
Andrew Valentin.
Loves biographies.
Streams three or four movies a week.
Big country music fan, because he says the songs are always about people in situations he can relate to.
Mm.
Your Honor, this juror is acceptable to the plaintiff.
And after you performed this extensive eight-hour re-examination of the body, what conclusion did you come to? That Mrs.
Malani's death was definitely a homicide.
BENNY: A-And could you please tell the court how you believe she was killed, exactly? Blunt force trauma.
She was struck on the head from behind with a hard, heavy object.
BENNY: Anything else you can tell us about what this object might have been? RAINEY: It's clear from the nature of the injury that whatever it was had a curved or spherical aspect to it, because the injury to the skull took the form of a curved indentation.
(CLICKS TONGUE) Ah.
Like the Like the base of this statue that we recovered from the defendant, Jai Malani's, bedroom? RAINEY: Well, I certainly don't know if that is the actual murder weapon, but it is definitely consistent with the injuries the victim sustained.
Thank you, Doctor.
I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor.
(SIGHS) Damn.
I told the nanny I would be home 20 minutes ago.
Okay.
You take the car.
I'm gonna go confer with Benny.
I'll take a cab.
Aunt Izzy, can I talk to you for a second? I'm running really late, Arin.
I'm s You need to put a stop to this.
(SIGHS) Arin.
No, I'm trying to help you.
I'm trying to help everyone.
You need to talk to your boyfriend and you need to get him to put a stop to this.
Or, failing that, talk some sense into my brother.
Did you not hear the pathologist just now? Your mom did not fall off a ladder.
Okay.
She didn't fall off a ladder.
But whatever happened to her, I promise you, my dad had nothing to do with it.
Well, then you have nothing to fear from this trial, and neither does your dad.
No, it's not my dad I'm worried about.
It's Taj.
Taj? He's testifying tomorrow.
And I've been in the meetings and I know what our side is planning to do to him, and it's not pretty.
We need to stop this thing, Aunt Izzy.
You know what, Taj is stronger than you think.
Taj is gonna be fine.
Everybody is gonna be fine.
We just have to get through this.
We just have to get to the truth.
Your mom deserves that.
Mr.
Malani, I'm so sorry for your loss.
I'd-I'd like to change the subject for a moment.
I'd like to talk about money.
You okay with that, young man? You can ask me anything.
Now, is it true that when your mother Maryam passed, your father inherited all of her money? That's my understanding.
Now, would that include control of your trust fund, which you'll not inherit until your 30th birthday? Yes, I believe that's true.
Now, on the other hand, if this jury finds your father liable for your mother's death, don't you stand to come into millions? You wouldn't have to wait until you're 30.
Everything you have coming to you would come to you now? Yeah, I-I mean, I guess so.
I haven't really thought about that.
This isn't about the money for me.
This is about my mother and my and my brother and-and her friends.
We all deserve to know the truth.
Not about the money, huh? No.
So was it about the money when you stole your father's Rolex? Sold it to score some heroin? Yes I did steal from my father.
And my mother.
And my brother.
But it wasn't about the money, per se.
It-it was about drugs.
I was an addict.
So I stole.
I-I I lied.
I did a lot of bad things.
But I've been clean seven months now.
I go to my meetings, I have a supportive sponsor.
I don't do drugs.
And I would never implicate my father for money.
Never.
PETERSON: So when you say you've been clean for seven months, are you testifying that you haven't taken any substances during that entire time? Yes.
Like I said, I've been clean for seven months.
Your Honor, I'd like to enter a video into evidence.
Objection, Your Honor.
The first time we've heard of this video.
We haven't seen this video.
It hasn't even been authenticated.
The plaintiff can authenticate it.
He's the subject, after all.
Is that you, Mr.
Malani? - Yes.
- The time stamp on this video indicates that it was recorded three nights ago.
Is that your recollection, as well? It is.
How do they have this? They must have hired someone to follow him.
PETERSON: Mr.
Malani, can you please tell us what it is you purchased from that man and put in your pocket? It's heroin.
(TAKES DEEP BREATH) But I I didn't use it.
Look, I was just in a bad place.
Losing my mom By the time I got back to my apartment, I thought about her.
I thought about what she would think of me, and I flushed it all down the toilet, I swear.
Well, I guess we'll just have to take your word for that.
But the fact is, you could buy a lot more heroin if your father wasn't standing between you and all that money.
Isn't that right? BENNY: Objection! Counsel is badgering the witness.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard counsel's last statement.
We picked a jury that loves a good story.
Unfortunately, the defense just told a better one than we did.
Your Honor, the defense would like to call Linda Campbell to the stand.
Ms.
Campbell, what is your relationship with the defendant, Jai Malani? Jai and I are colleagues at Columbia University.
And is that the full extent of your relationship? No.
We also had have a romantic relationship.
(MURMURING) PETERSON: So, on the night in question, were you at the home of Mr.
and Mrs.
Malani as the plaintiff has alleged? No.
I was not.
I was in Connecticut that night.
I drove up to see my sister in the hospital.
PETERSON: Your Honor, I'd like to enter into the court record a certified copy of the Connecticut Presbyterian Hospital visitor's log for the night of Maryam Malani's death.
Is this highlighted signature yours? Yes, it is.
And how far would you say this hospital is from the Malani home? It's about a two-hour drive.
And this log indicates you arrived there shortly before 8:00 and didn't leave until after about 11:30.
- That's right.
- And I assume you went to your home after your visit, not to the Malanis'? Yes.
My home.
And I got there around 2:00 in the morning.
PETERSON: And at any point during your drive or after you got home that night, did you communicate with Mr.
Malani? Did he communicate with you? Not that night.
No.
He called me the next day.
Told me how he'd found his wife.
He sounded very upset.
Said his sons were both very upset.
I know he was frantic, trying to put together a funeral.
They're Muslim.
It's important to get the body in the ground as soon as possible.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Mr.
Colón, your witness.
Hello, Ms.
Campbell.
I-I appreciate you being here.
Now, according to your testimony, you got home at 2:00 in the morning.
Right? Any way you can prove that? That you went to your apartment and not Jai's townhouse? I live in a security building.
There are cameras in the lobby, a doorman.
I'm sure there's a record of it somewhere.
Oh.
Right.
And likewise, the building would have record of the fact that you didn't leave again until the next day? - I would assume so.
- Okay.
Are you aware that the vast majority of your boyfriend's wealth came from an inheritance his wife received when she was a teenager? Money he would have no access to if his marriage ended in divorce? I was aware of that.
Yes.
But I'm curious.
How did you come to know that? Jai told me.
BENNY: No, of course, but in what context? What prompted the question? Conversations about one's personal finances? Conversations about a spouse's personal finances? What prompted such a thing? We're both college professors.
I had a fair idea of what he was being paid.
And yet we lived very different lives.
It was sort of the elephant in the room for a while.
And then one day, he was telling me about a family vacation they were about to take.
And I think he saw the look on my face.
Private jet, a villa on the beach.
I did my best to look nonchalant, but I guess my best wasn't good enough.
Now, you've never had the kind of money that Jai has now, have you? No.
So then, I mean, isn't it fair to say that you stand to benefit if he wins this lawsuit? I mean, come on.
You'd be with a very, very wealthy man, perhaps even live in a beautiful home, maybe even live a lavish lifestyle you've never had the taste of.
You're making assumptions I'm not prepared to make.
Jai is in mourning.
He loved his wife.
I'm not denying that we had feelings for each other, but I doubt he's contemplating a future with me or anyone else at the moment.
I believe he just wants to be there for his boys.
That's a great answer.
She's been very well prepped.
Ms.
Campbell, the fact is, you have no idea whether Jai killed his wife or not, do you? I can tell you what I believe No, I know what you believe.
I asked you what you know.
So, can you swear under oath that Mr.
Malani did not kill his wife? I cannot.
Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Nice work, Benny.
Oh, please.
I got her to admit she couldn't swear he didn't do it.
If you're a juror, that's next to nothing.
(PHONE RINGING) Yeah.
Marissa? We found something.
What are you talking about? Well, we know someone entered the house that night and punched in a code to do it.
So, we went back through Jai's call log to see if he might have invited someone over or called an accomplice the next day.
And? MARISSA: And it's who he didn't call.
The morning that Jai found Maryam's body, he called a lot of people.
Taj, Izzy, his girlfriend Linda and then Maryam's sisters in India.
But he never called Arin.
And the only reason you wouldn't inform your son that his mother was dead Is if he already knew.
Hey.
Wow.
What's all this? These are the fruits of the all-nighter Danny, Marissa and I pulled.
What are we looking at here? That's a copy of a receipt.
Turns out Arin, the older brother, parked his car at a charging station a block from his parents' home, minutes before the front door's passcode was entered.
Good work.
And if you look at the bottom of the receipt, you'll see he left shortly after midnight.
So, we've got him at his parents' house at almost the exact same time his mother was murdered, even though Jai keeps insisting he was alone that night.
Well, man was trying to protect his son.
Now, would you happen to have a motive in there? I might.
Hello, Arin.
Now, my colleagues and I have been doing a little research on you, and it turns out that you are quite the entrepreneur.
First a cigar import business.
Then an automotive customization company.
And now, we've got your latest venture A luxury watch website.
Ooh! Very, very impressive.
Did I get it all right? - Yes, you did.
- Okay.
Good, good.
Uh-oh.
But I also see that there have been some money problems.
I mean, the first two businesses ultimately had to close, and this new one I believe, at one point, you were on the brink of bankruptcy.
I don't think I'd characterize it that way.
We had some troubles.
It's the nature of being an entrepreneur.
Right.
Um, do you recognize this e-mail? Yes.
BENNY: And it's an e-mail you sent to your business partner? - Yes.
- Okay.
Can I trouble you to read it out loud to the jury? Objection.
Your Honor, this e-mail, whatever it is, has yet to be authenticated, and, uh, I'm at a loss to understand what any of this has to do with the case at hand.
BENNY: Arin can authenticate it.
In fact, he just did.
And for its relevance, Your Honor, I think that will become obvious very, very soon.
Overruled.
Mr.
Malani, please read the e-mail.
ARIN: "John, "please stop overreacting.
We're not going to lose the business.
" Oh, please continue.
I think the most relevant sentence is coming up.
From where you left off.
"You have to trust me.
"I've got this under control.
I'm going to have the hundred K by Monday.
" "Hundred K by Monday.
" (SNIFFLES) I believe this was sent roughly 12 hours before your mother's death, wasn't it? I believe so.
Yes.
Okay.
Arin, by any chance, did you go by your parents' house that night to ask them for money? ARIN: No.
I did not.
As I told the police, I wasn't there that night.
I was home by myself, cleaning, cooking, watching TV.
Okay.
So then, where were you planning on getting this $100,000 that you apparently needed? A bank.
A bank loan.
Y-You were hoping to get a bank loan for $100,000 approved on a Sunday? ARIN: I have a friend.
A classmate from Harvard that works at a major bank.
I was gonna call in a favor.
Okay.
So, did you do that? Did you call your friend? Because that would be an easy thing for us to verify.
Well, no.
I decided to wait to call her on Monday.
But then my mom died.
(WHISPERS): Oh, right.
Yeah.
But then your mom died.
Of course.
You want to hear a really weird coincidence? You know that Indian statue? The one we believe your mother was hit on the head with? What do you think that thing is worth? I would have no idea.
Why would I know that? Well, because it's my understanding that it was actually left to you by your maternal grandfather.
It becomes yours when you marry.
Isn't that true? Yeah, I guess that might be the case.
It's not something I think about a lot.
There's been so much tragedy lately.
Mm-hmm.
You didn't answer my question.
I'm sorry? How much do you think it's worth? It turns out your parents had it appraised as part of their homeowners policy.
What number do you think - the insurance company put on it? - PETERSON: Objection.
Asked and answered.
He said he didn't know, and now Mr.
Colón is asking him to speculate.
Objection sustained.
Move on, Mr.
Colón.
Absolutely, Your Honor.
The plaintiff would like to enter into evidence the Malanis' homeowners policy and would like to point out to the court that the statue in question was valued at actually $111,000.
Oh, my God.
It's Arin? Shh.
BENNY: So, explain this to me.
Did you already have a buyer lined up for it, or did you figure you'd attend to that later? - I don't know what you're talking about.
- BENNY: Oh, I think you do.
PETERSON: Your Honor, the attorney is badgering the witness.
- Mr.
Colón.
- BENNY: I apologize, Your Honor.
Mr.
Malani, you do understand the penalty for perjury, don't you? Yes.
Okay.
So, I will ask you again.
Is it still your testimony that you were home alone that night? Yes.
Your Honor, the plaintiff would like to enter into evidence this parking receipt from a parking lot about a block away from Mr.
Malani's parents' home and five and one-half miles away from his.
The receipt indicates that Mr.
Malani's car entered the parking lot shortly before 11:00 p.
m.
on the night of his mother's death and exited shortly after midnight.
So, again, I will ask.
Where were you on the night of your mother's murder? Stop it! My son isn't on trial here.
I am! The defendant will take his seat, or I will find him in contempt and have him held at the county jail.
Jai, take your seat.
BENNY: Mr.
Malani, what happened that night? You were there.
You know.
Your Honor, uh, may I at least have a moment to advise Mr.
Malani of his rights? That's not necessary.
I know my rights.
Arin! Please.
What's the point, Dad? They know.
They obviously know.
I didn't ask my mother for money.
And I didn't steal that statue.
As you already pointed out, it was mine.
Or would be when I married.
I guess I thought of it as a kind of advance.
But my mother wasn't having any of it.
She said I shouldn't squander my inheritance on another doomed business.
Doomed.
But the way she said it Like I was the failure in this family.
Like I hadn't dedicated myself to making my parents proud.
I hadn't been in and out of rehab six times since the ninth grade.
Another $100,000 out the window every time you'd slip.
Anyway, I've got the damn thing in my hand, and I'm thinking I'll just walk out the door with it.
I mean, what's she gonna do? Try and take it from me? But then she did.
And we struggled.
And my father kept screaming, "Stop it, the two of you.
" And I swung it at her head, thinking she'd step out of the way.
But she didn't.
(VOICE BREAKING): And it caught her in the back of her head.
Dad, you tried to save me, and I'm grateful.
Thank you.
And, Taj, I'm so sorry.
I know you loved her the most.
And why not? She loved you the most.
And I took her away.
I didn't mean to.
I just did, and I'm sorry.
And, Aunt Izzy (SNIFFLES) I think she really thought you two were sisters.
And maybe she was right.
I mean, who else but a sister would try so hard to find out what really happened? No further questions, Your Honor.
In fact, the plaintiffs rest their case.
(SIGHS) Benny's giving everything we have to the D.
A.
They're gonna charge Arin with second-degree murder.
Probably Jai, too, for perjury, accessory after the fact, whatever else they can get on him.
God.
I should have just left it alone.
Then they would still have each other.
Now Taj has no one.
(SNIFFLES) You tried to tell me.
And Benny, too.
Hey.
I was wrong.
We were wrong.
Taj will build a new life for himself.
Seven months sober.
Sounds like he's already started.
They were such cute boys.
Maryam was so proud of them.
I thought she was the best mother in the world.
Now I What kind of chance do I have? Hey, don't do that.
You are the best mother in the world, and I'm the best dad in the world.
At least, until we hear otherwise.
Let's make a pledge to ourselves.
To do everything we can to make sure that our little girl has a childhood she doesn't have to recover from.
Hmm? (SNIFFLES)