Law & Order (1990) s05e22 Episode Script
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NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Okay.
Waiting room.
Deal is anything on the floor or in the couch, we keep.
One time, I found a $50 bill.
My last trainee, he told one of the doctors.
You notice he isn't my trainee anymore.
Got it? Yes, sir.
You see here? Two quarters and a dime.
Now, the doctor's office, that's a different story.
If you find a penny on the floor, you vacuum around it.
You got that? Yes, sir.
Sanchez, I think we're gonna get along fine.
(GRUNTING) What the (CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO) The victim is a shrink.
A Dr.
Lillian Hampton.
She's on staff with the clinic.
The cleaning crew found her about 8:45.
Anybody else in the building? There was another cleaning crew on the fourth floor, but that was it.
We called the director of the clinic, a Dr.
Latham.
What about her family? Well, Latham said she had an ex in Westchester.
We called, but there was no answer.
Thanks, Joe.
Probably busy working on his second wife.
Somebody tried to shrink her head the old-fashioned way.
Three strikes, she was out.
One on the forehead, two on the left side.
We found blood on the walls.
The perp probably ended up wearing some.
Cleaning crew entered the building at 8:20.
They didn't see anybody leave.
No sign of a struggle.
Could've been somebody she knew.
Somebody who didn't want her money.
Credit cards, $40.
Lady liked to sweat.
"Toughen-Up Gymworks.
" Not tough enough.
Detectives, looks like our murder weapon.
Bits of hair and blood on the sharp edge.
(SIGHING) "With gratitude from the Coalition of Mental Health Clinics.
" Should've given her a plaque instead.
I'm still in shock.
It was a horrible loss.
Lillian was a brilliant therapist.
We saw the diplomas stacked on the wall.
Lot of talent for a free clinic.
Well, she could have made a lot more money in private practice, but she preferred working here with the schizophrenics and delusionals.
I mean, anybody our colleagues on Park Avenue refused to take.
What time was her last appointment? I have the master schedule here.
She had a 7:00.
With who? Client records are confidential.
We just need the name, Doc, not the whole work-up.
Megan Nelson.
But I believe Dr.
Hampton had somebody else in the office after her.
Why would you believe that? Well, when I left a little after It was a very intense session.
He was yelling something like, "How could you do that?" Someone's yelling, you don't check it out? We hear a lot of that in the clinic.
Well, if he was in the waiting room, maybe Megan Nelson saw him.
You know where we can find her? Yeah.
This is very upsetting.
Dr.
Hampton was everything to me.
A year ago, I couldn't get out of bed, forget about holding down a job.
She gave me a new life.
We're very, very sorry for your loss.
Yesterday, you were her last appointment.
What time did you leave? It was 7:50.
Dr.
Hampton's very strict about the 50-minute hour.
That was good for me.
The structure, I mean.
So, now, as you were leaving, did you see anybody in the waiting room or maybe hanging around downstairs? No.
I was in a hurry to get to work.
I don't like to be late.
Try to remember, Megan.
We're thinking there might have been a man waiting to see her.
A man? There's Julio.
He works in the parking lot.
And there was a man in a green car.
He pulled in to park.
You remember anything about this man? He honked his horn at Julio.
He seemed very impatient.
That's all I remember.
The jerk in the green Jag? Yeah, he was here.
Honked at me 'cause I didn't take his money quick enough.
He drove in and parked in the corner, like he always does.
Is he a regular? He's been here a few times.
So, what's he do after he parks, break out a deck of cars? Usually the drill is Dr.
Hampton comes down to talk to him.
So, who is this guy, the boyfriend? Hey, none of my business.
Last night, any change in the drill? I don't know.
I left at Well, while you were minding your business, did you happen to notice anything else about this guy? Like height, weight, color of hair? Salt-and-pepper hair.
Polo shirt.
You know, the golfing type.
He has a sticker on the visor.
Crestmont Club.
Okay, thanks.
Crestmont.
It's up in Westchester.
I got 5 bucks that says it's the ex.
They got a couple of nice par fives there.
Wonder how hard he swings his driver? Yeah, I was there last night.
About 10 minutes.
I never left the car.
Why not? Do you like the smell of exhaust? I don't like psychodramas in the middle of a skid-row outhouse.
I take it you don't approve of your wife's job.
Pro bono psychiatry.
Lillian thought she was doing something good.
Maybe she was.
Which brings us back to what you were doing there, Dr.
Hampton.
I was doing penance for missing two alimony payments.
Now I bring the checks in person.
$10,000.
When she didn't come down to get it, I left.
You never called up? Why should I? And no disrespect, but I jumped through enough hoops for her.
Well, right now, it's only your word that you never went upstairs.
I was on my cell phone to my girlfriend the whole time.
I was still talking to her when I drove out.
She has a very nice voice.
Must've been a lovely marriage.
A guy like that, she should have been paying him to stay away.
You talk to his girlfriend? Yeah.
She is Becky Price.
She does have a nice voice.
IUDs confirmed they were on the phone.
Twenty minutes later they were sitting at the River Cafe.
Doesn't give him much time to smack his wife around and then get the blood off his golf shirt.
Well, we know about the girlfriend.
What about Dr.
Hampton? Any man in her life? Yeah, but his name's Fluffy, and he's been neutered.
Other than that, her social calendar's pretty light.
Hey, look, if it's a choice between work and play, my bet is the work killed her.
(SIGHS) Yeah, but without the patient records, we have no way of knowing which kernel was getting ready to pop.
Could be it's popped before and got arrested.
Let's wait and see if Latent comes back with prints.
(HORNS HONKING) What are you smiling about? We got hits on two sets of prints.
Paul White, felonious assault, and Edward Brennig, attacked a police officer.
My kind of guy.
Either one of them leave a print on the murder weapon? It was wiped clean.
So, which one of the mentally challenged do you want to talk to first? Brennig or White? Oh, Brennig.
Let's see if he's changed his opinion of police officers.
Edward Brennig? Nice badge.
What do you want? For starters, you could put the can down.
Any other tricks I can do for you? Yeah, instant recall.
Last Tuesday night, between 7:00 and 8:30.
I was home, watching Court TV.
Picking up pointers for the next time you beat up a cop? Come on, give me a break, all right? I got into a bar fight.
I didn't mean to hit the cop.
I love cops.
Yeah, it shows.
Maybe you can tell us why we found your prints at the Amsterdam Clinic.
What'd I do, forget to vacuum underneath the couch? Vacuuming? Is that part of your therapy? Therapy? Hey, I ain't one of those fruit loops, all right? The company that cleans the place, they hire me when they're shorthanded.
Last time was two weeks ago.
We straight now? Do I look like the type to hit somebody? As a matter of fact, Mr.
White, you do.
I just pushed the dude.
I didn't like the way he was looking at Alex.
Well, fill us in.
Who's Alex? My cat.
Dr.
Hampton at the Amsterdam Clinic, I heard she looked at Alex funny, too.
Alex and her don't get along.
So, you did see her recently.
Maybe it was Tuesday night.
No, that was the night I got my prescription adjusted at the outpatient pharmacy, Bellevue Hospital.
Well, I see it says Tuesday, but it doesn't say what time.
Oh, well, I was there all night waiting.
They're not very organized there.
Alex was very upset with them.
Alex was upset with Dr.
Hampton, too, huh? Yeah, yeah.
That's why I called her and left a message on her machine to say I wasn't coming back.
Sounds good to us.
Meantime, why don't you come on down to the precinct? We'll get you a nice hot meal.
You got something for Alex? Oh, sure, sure.
As long as he likes day-old donuts.
Well, nix on the donuts for Alex.
Bologna was a big hit, though.
Yeah, well, nix on Mr.
White as our suspect.
Bellevue remembers him and Alex.
The orderly's got the scratches to prove it.
White said he left a message on Hampton's machine.
I didn't see a machine in her office, so it must have been voice mail.
Okay.
Now, our guy isn't in the appointment book.
Suppose he needed an emergency tune-up from Dr.
Hampton.
He calls late, leaves a message.
Bingo.
WOMAN: Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Miss Schwab.
Another woman.
Next.
MAN: Lillian, it's Dr.
Morris.
I have the speech sketched out for the association.
I'm faxing it over.
(TAPE REWINDING) (SIGHING) Hey, Mike, when we get to some heavy breathing, I'll wake you up.
WOMAN: Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Jeanine at the Vertical Club.
Just confirming your personal workout session.
Hey, wait a minute.
Go back.
(TAPE REWINDING) Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Jeanine at the Vertical Club.
Wasn't that gym bag in Hampton's office from someplace else? Yeah.
Toughen-Up something.
You have the inventory from the bag? Here we go.
Sweatshirt, sweatpants, socks, swipe card.
No name.
Check with the club and get a name.
BRISCOE: We've got a swipe card.
This isn't the Y.
Our members expect a little privacy.
Well, this member may have crushed a woman's skull.
Please don't make us get a warrant.
Okay.
Give me the card.
In case you're interested, we got a two-years-for-the-price-of-one special going.
You ought to think about that, Mike.
I'm definitely thinking about it.
Here he is.
Bobby Walker.
He lives at 49-A Horatio Street.
(BABY CRYING) Detectives, I guess you have some more questions for me.
Are you roommates with Bobby Walker? Not really.
Well, was Walker not really with you at Dr.
Hampton's the other night? That's impossible.
MAN: Keep it down.
Okay, where is he? He's not here right now.
We can see that.
Where can we find him? He's in here.
I'm Bobby.
Megan, how long are we gonna have to sit here listening to you say that you're a guy named Bobby? You think I'm making this up? I think you have a very unique imagination.
Bobby.
Is that some kind of nickname for Roberta? No, Bobby is a he.
He's who I am sometimes.
Dr.
Hampton diagnosed me with Multiple Personality Disorder.
Okay.
I'm gonna play along.
Now, tell me what Bob did last night.
I can't.
When I switch, I don't remember what the last alter did.
Alter? Alternate personalities.
I have two of them, not including me.
There's Bobby and Nancy.
Dr.
Hampton was helping me integrate them.
Okay, can we talk to Bobby? It's not like I can turn a dial.
Believe me, if Bobby did something terrible, I want to help you.
Why don't you tell us what you do remember? Now, you said you left Dr.
Hampton's office just before 8:00.
Yes.
I remember being in the office.
And then I saw the clock in the lobby.
This is very stressful.
You're not kidding.
She got a Multiple Personality Disorder diagnosis from her doctor? That's what she says.
This only happens on Oprah, right? It's a diagnosis that's caused a lot of controversy.
Some doctors say that it's caused by a childhood trauma.
Others say that it's caused by ideas planted in the mind of the patient by the therapist.
Oh, the therapist tells her she's crazy, so she acts crazy.
She's not acting.
Give her a lie detector.
Chances are she'd pass.
She says she blanks when this Bobby personality comes out.
That's probably true.
Unless the different personalities are communicating with each other, she wouldn't have any memory of what each one's doing.
Well, do these personalities talk to each other? There are therapists who have their patients keep a journal, so that each personality can write their thoughts during the switch.
That way, they can leave notes for each other.
Yeah, fat chance Megan's just gonna hand us her journal.
Well, we know we don't have enough to get a warrant to look for it.
She said she went straight to work from Hampton's office.
Yeah, Miss Punctuality.
With all that blood spatter at the scene, some of Hampton's blood must've gotten on her clothes.
What'd she do, run through a car wash on her way to work? Megan's been working here nearly a year.
Always on time, keeps the orders straight.
Best of all, she doesn't burn up the phone with personal business.
When she came in on Tuesday, how did she seem? She seemed okay.
Far as that goes for her.
Meaning sometimes she wasn't okay? Well, some days she wants to be called Bobby.
Other days, it's Nancy.
All the same to me.
Whatever the name, she does great work.
So, Tuesday, did you notice anything unusual about her clothes? No.
Coat and a dress.
She say anything? Yeah, she said "sorry" a million times.
She was late.
Not normal for her.
Among other things.
So, how late was she? She punched in at 8:52.
Excuse me.
Clinic's 15 minutes away.
That leaves about 45 minutes.
Sounds like probable cause to search her place.
I'd like to know which personality's into this.
That would be Nancy.
She's a personal favorite of mine.
I bet.
Your boss know you could be charging for two roommates? Hey, Miss Nelson, she pays her rent on time.
She's quiet.
Why should I make trouble for her? Hey, Mike, look at this.
Computer disks.
Look at the titles.
"Megan.
Nancy.
Bobby.
" Let's put Bobby in.
Looks like some kind of diary.
Yeah.
We'll get it printed up.
So, what is it she did, anyway? We don't know if she did anything.
You see her last Tuesday night? No, I didn't.
You ever talk to her when she calls herself Bobby? Bobby, now, he's a piece of work.
He chewed up that bunch upstairs for playing the music too loud.
Anybody ever complain about her? No, like I said before, she was quiet.
Except when her father came around.
They had a couple of blowouts right out here.
You happen to hear the topic of conversation? Yeah.
She said he was harassing her, and if I ever saw him around the building, I should call the cops.
She had a restraining order against him.
It was all her therapist's idea.
She thought I was interfering with Megan's progress.
And were you? I was trying to keep my daughter from going completely off the deep end, which is where Dr.
Hampton was sending her.
Well, no offense, but it looks to me like she's already there.
My wife died when Megan was three.
I raised her by myself.
Granted, she was troubled.
Then a year ago, she saw Dr.
Hampton.
All of a sudden, she was three troubled people.
I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.
That must've been pretty tough to live with.
I could have managed, but Hampton insisted that Megan needed to move out and be on her own.
At first, I went along with that.
Then Megan refused to see me.
She wouldn't take my calls.
Another one of the doctor's ideas? That's right.
She was controlling my daughter.
Using her to prove some quack theory.
Megan was holding down a job, paying her rent.
Sounds like a solid citizen to me.
Minimum wage, plus tips? A dump in the West Village? That is not a life.
Did you ever discuss your feelings with Dr.
Hampton? I discussed them with her answering service.
She refused to talk to me about it.
Megan's a complicated kid.
Raising her by himself can't be that easy.
Yeah? Well, I don't buy that father-knows-best routine that Nelson gave us last night.
Especially with some doctor butting in.
Hey, when I was drinking, my kid had a therapist who kept telling her what a lousy father I was.
I didn't like the message, but I never thought about killing him.
Your kid didn't get a restraining order against you, Lennie.
Why don't you find out why Megan did? I'll see if they got her diaries printed out.
All right.
Bobby's diary, the day before the murder.
"Nancy left a note for me.
She called me a liar.
" "That bitch better watch herself.
" Sounds like a nice guy.
Nancy's diary.
"I can't trust Bobby or Megan.
" "They promise to clean the kitchen, and they don't.
I hate liars.
" Sounds like one big happy family.
Got the court records on the restraining order.
The judge issued two the same day.
One to keep Mr.
Nelson away from his daughter, and another to keep him away from Dr.
Hampton.
Why? Because he harassed her voice mail? Turns out he faced off with her a couple of times outside the clinic.
I'm with Nancy.
I hate liars.
Hey, it gets worse for Mr.
Nelson.
Here, in Bobby's diary, the day of.
"I gotta make sure Megan remembers" "her old man has to be at the appointment tonight.
" Let's see if Megan remembered.
Here we go.
"I talked to Dad.
He promises he'll be there.
" "I'm worried, but Dr.
Hampton says it's necessary for him to come.
" Okay, so, if Nelson was there, the screaming that the clinic director heard could have been him, right? Okay, Dr.
Latham, tell us if you recognize any of these voices.
Number one, go ahead.
How could you do that? Number two.
How could you do that? Number three.
How could you do that? Could he say that louder? Number three, say that again louder, please.
How could you do that? That's him.
Thank you, Dr.
Latham.
Well, that's a positive ID.
Of what? A booming voice, originally heard through a hardwood door? Excuse me while I share a good laugh with my client.
If it's not enough to hold him, is it enough to get us into his apartment? To find what? Well, for openers, how about some of Hampton's blood on one of his Armani suits? I'll talk to Judge Walters.
He should be back from lunch by now.
My second wife always wanted a walk-in closet.
Now I finally got one.
Trouble is, I live in it.
I got something in the kitchen.
The luminol brought up trace blood smudges around the sink.
There's two, each less than five millimeters wide.
All right, is that enough to run a match? No problem.
Mr.
Nelson.
Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm on a call to China.
You're gonna wish you were in China.
Frank Nelson, you're under arrest for the murder of Dr.
Lillian Hampton.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You understand? You have the right to an attorney.
Trace amounts of Jo.
-negative? By the time I'm finished with your blood evidence, I'll have the jurors convinced it was their blood you found.
The fact is, it's Dr.
Hampton's blood.
His daughter's diaries place him at the scene.
He was heard screaming at Dr.
Hampton.
He was heard raising his voice, period.
You have this all wrong.
I had no reason to kill her.
She was worried enough about you to get a restraining order.
She didn't want to be accountable for what she was doing to my daughter.
And you care so much for your daughter that you'd kill anyone who got between you, is that it? You don't believe him, then talk to his daughter.
They left together, and Dr.
Hampton was still alive.
I remember leaving with my father.
Dr.
Hampton was still alive.
Then why didn't you tell the police your father was there? I guess I forgot.
We read in your diary that you were worried about what might happen at that session.
Why? I don't remember what happened in session.
Anyway, I don't have to tell you anything that happens in therapy.
That's private.
You do, if you expect me to believe that your father didn't kill Dr.
Hampton.
I'm not feeling very well.
I think you should go.
First she avoids him like the plague.
Now she's lying to protect him.
Doesn't make a lot of sense.
It does if she's scared of him.
I didn't get the feeling that she was.
She seemed more confused than anything.
With three personalities at the wheel, who wouldn't be? Maybe the one who's running scared is Frank Nelson.
He interfered with her therapy.
Could be he felt threatened.
I went through her diaries.
As far as churning up family secrets, the sessions seemed pretty tame.
The juicy stuff would be locked up in Hampton's medical records.
Which you can't get to without her consent.
Was Hampton her first therapist? According to her father, she has a history of mental illness.
But no one's volunteered the names of the other therapists.
Until she moved out, her father was paying her bills.
Including the medical ones.
Subpoena his bank records and get a name.
Megan had already been through Freud and Jung, with little result.
Well, you think your therapy was more effective? More flexible.
I use talk therapy, rebirthing, hypnosis.
Whatever works for the particular patient.
What worked for Megan? You know I can't get into that with you.
All I will say is she had trouble with the therapy.
Meaning? She had a bad session, and then she just stopped coming.
Did you find out why? I called her, but I only spoke with her father.
He said she'd decided to stop therapy.
Do you think he had anything to do with why she stopped? He just told me he wanted her file sent to a Dr.
Coleman.
Well, Mr.
Nelson is the one who retained my services after he spent an hour grilling me on my credentials.
What did he want? Oh, anything that worked.
But it had to be conservative treatment.
No New Age therapies.
I fit the bill, so he sent Megan here.
At that time, did she have these multiple personalities? No.
I don't subscribe to that kind of diagnosis.
Megan had one very borderline personality.
We worked on it once a week for two years.
I take it she wasn't cured? We came close to a breakthrough.
Then Megan backed away.
She decided to stop coming? Yes.
Sometimes dredging up a painful memory can be too difficult to face, even when a patient wants the therapy to work.
This painful memory, did it have something to do with Frank Nelson? Even if I were free to tell you, I don't know what it is.
But, yes, I believe it does have something to do with her father.
A painful memory? What are we talking about, child abuse? They wouldn't say.
I spoke to four doctors.
I got four versions of patient privilege.
All they would say was Megan's the one who pulled the plug on the therapy.
This time it was Frank Nelson.
One doctor suggested he was the cause of her trauma.
But unless Megan confirms it or hands over her medical records, that's as much as we're going to know.
Maybe we could force her hand.
She's providing her father with an alibi.
We could turn that into a charge of conspiracy.
How does that get us her records? Her lawyer has a client with Multiple Personality Disorder.
What defense does that suggest? An insanity plea.
Right.
She puts her mental state at issue, she waives privilege and has to hand over her medical records.
Let's pick her up.
Two of you? We're getting something to go.
Sorry, folks, we're going to need your waitress.
Megan Nelson, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Nice technique, McCoy.
Squeeze my client's head hard enough, maybe her memory'll come back.
Well, it seems to come and go.
She forgets her father was there.
She remembers Dr.
Hampton was alive.
She forgets what they talked about.
She has Multiple Personality Disorder.
She can't help it.
She blanks out.
And we're supposed to take her word for it? Claire, you're going to have a hard enough time proving the underlying crime, let alone a conspiracy.
And from what I hear, your case against Frank Nelson is far from made.
I'll make it when I put her on trial with her father.
Given her psychiatric history, don't you think a trial would be a waste of time? Well, send her medical records to our expert.
If she thinks she's insane, we'll talk.
Here.
February 22nd.
Hampton reports that Megan has a recurring vision of her father standing at the top of the stairs, quote "looking down at her like a giant.
" A memory of child abuse? No.
This isn't about child abuse.
A couple of weeks later, Hampton wrote that the Nancy personality was urging Megan to tell the truth about her mother's death.
And then this, a week before she was killed.
"A painful session.
" "Megan struggled, resisted.
" "Finally, the memory became clear.
" "She's three years old.
She's in her bedroom.
" "She hears her parents argue.
" "She runs out of her room.
She hears a scream.
" "She sees her father push her mother down the stairs.
" "She sees her mother lying at the bottom, not moving.
" She witnessed her mother's murder.
At the very least, she thinks she did.
And they dropped the bomb on Mr.
Nelson during the last session.
According to Dr.
Hampton's notes, that's what they intended to do.
So, two people knew what he did.
One's dead, and the other can be dismissed as a lunatic.
See what records you can find on her mother's death.
I was the fourth officer on the scene.
Carol Nelson was on the bottom landing.
She'd gone ass-over-teakettle down two flights of stairs.
Any indication she got a little help? Yeah, from a half quart of 18-year-old Scotch.
Mrs.
Nelson was one of the more colorful characters on the beat.
So, she had a drinking problem.
Lovely lady.
I mean, really a very happy drunk.
She liked to sing show tunes in her skivvies from her bedroom window.
Mr.
Nelson must've loved that.
Well, I heard they had arguments.
Was he there the night she died? He was home, best I can remember.
I wasn't the investigating officer.
Who was? Arnie Wallace, God rest his soul.
Fall in the home resulting in accidental death.
A hat trick.
Could've been filed under accidental, homeowners, or through the life policy.
I'll need a year and name of the insured.
Here you go.
Carol Nelson.
$500,000 payout on the life policy.
What was the cause of death? Accidental fall.
Blood alcohol level was 0.
18.
Is that all there is? Once the claim is paid, we wait five years, then we purge the files.
Adjuster's reports, witness statements, medicals, they're all destroyed.
I pulled the files from the police and the insurance company.
The death was ruled accidental.
Based on what? Frank Nelson's say-so? Who knows? The police filled in the right boxes then dumped their reports.
The insurance company cleans out their files every five years.
Thumbnail version, Carol Nelson had a blood alcohol of 0.
18.
She tripped and fell.
"My wife's drunk.
She slipped on the stairs.
" Haven't you heard that before? SELIG: By now, I'm sure your expert agrees my client was legally insane.
Your client's sanity isn't relevant at this point.
I've dismissed the charges against her without prejudice.
I'm waiting for the other shoe.
I want her to testify against her father.
I've read your medical records.
I know why your father killed Dr.
Hampton.
I want to know why you are protecting the man who killed your mother.
That's what you believe, isn't it? I happen to believe it, too, Megan.
You want to know what really happened, you ask me! Who am I talking to? Bobby.
I'm Bobby.
You were there? Yeah, I was there all right.
Tell me what happened.
It's all Dr.
Hampton's fault.
Did Frank Nelson kill Dr.
Hampton? No.
Hampton was trying to get rid of me.
She wanted me to leave Megan.
She didn't give me a choice.
I had to kill her.
It's the father.
It's the daughter.
It's Bobby.
You need a scorecard to keep track.
This confession sound right to you? No.
Male personalities are protectors.
If Bobby's taking the rap, he's trying to protect Megan.
From what? A fate worse than prison? Maybe he's trying to protect her from having to testify against her father.
That'd make sense if her father threatened her.
So, Bobby gives her a way out.
(PHONE BUZZING) Yes? Thanks.
Nelson's attorney.
He wants to meet.
Of course he does.
Satisfied, Jack? My client did not kill Dr.
Hampton.
Really? Did he kill his wife? I did not kill my wife.
Megan saw you do it.
Dr.
Hampton uncovered the memory.
Talk to the police.
Read the reports.
We tried to.
There's nothing left.
I'll tell you the same thing I told Megan and that therapist of hers.
Talk to my wife's sister in Poughkeepsie.
She was there.
She saw what happened.
Fine.
You're saying what Megan remembers is false.
Of course it's false.
I told Megan her mother was a drunk.
I am the only one who ever cared about my daughter.
Seems to me you just lost your motive.
On the contrary.
Dr.
Hampton convinced Megan you were a killer.
Would it make you any less angry that it was a lie? You try explaining that to the jury.
I'll settle for Bobby's confession.
Bobby isn't competent to testify.
You don't think so? File a motion.
Multiple personalities? Switching? Forget competency, Mr.
Weaver.
Are you sure your witness is even sane? It makes no difference, Judge.
In Barker v.
Washburn, even if the witness is legally insane, if they understand the oath and can give a correct account of what happened, they can testify.
That only begs the question, who are they calling as a witness? Megan, who may be insane, or Bobby, a figment of her imagination? It makes no difference that Bobby confessed to the crime? What matters is that Bobby doesn't exist.
Our expert can establish that Bobby can form and remember impressions and can talk about them intelligently.
That is the standard for competency.
Mr.
McCoy, isn't the only issue here one of credibility? It would be like asking a jury to judge the credibility of a Martian.
It's beyond their experience.
That's why we have experts.
Who I want to hear from in the morning before I decide if I'm going to turn this witness loose on a jury.
DR.
OLIVET: When Megan takes on the persona of Bobby, she's in an altered mental state.
She uses it as a crutch to cope with the outside world.
JACK: So, in your opinion, Bobby doesn't exist? Bobby is a distorted reflection of Megan's inner feelings, memories, fears.
The fact that she's given him a name doesn't make him any more real.
And would Bobby's testimony be reliable? No.
Like testimony derived through hypnosis or truth serum, it's elicited from a hyper-suggestible state.
Thank you.
When Megan switches, she's not suddenly rendered unconscious, is she? No.
No.
Megan just takes on a new identity, which can walk and talk like anyone else.
That's correct.
So, Bobby could go to the movies, drive a car, or even commit a crime.
But it would be Megan doing all those things.
She just believes it's Bobby.
But there's no reason why Bobby couldn't tell us about it, is there, Doctor? In theory, no.
Bobby comes out during the dissociative process.
He takes both physical and psychological control of Megan's body.
Is Bobby aware of what's happening to him? Bobby is just like any of us, a functioning person with all of his faculties.
Bobby has a memory? Oh, yes.
And if we could bring Bobby out, he'd be able to convey those memories to us.
Certainly.
Thank you, Doctor.
Would you characterize Bobby as a protector personality? Well, that's the typical role of the male personality in the female patient.
If Megan can't handle the stress of a particular situation, Bobby does the coping for her.
Yes.
Bobby would do whatever it took to protect Megan.
That's his role, as long as it helps Megan.
So, he would even lie for her, wouldn't he? I suppose he might.
In your opinion, Doctor, can Bobby be brought out on command? Switching can be triggered.
Mr.
McCoy inadvertently did it.
I believe we could, using a comparable stimulus.
If you think you can bring Bobby out, Dr.
Cantrel, then I want to hear from him.
You know, Megan, Mr.
McCoy thinks you're trying to protect your father, a man who killed your mother.
I told him I'm not.
Well, he says you're afraid to tell us what really happened.
I can't.
Come on, Megan.
What are you afraid of, the truth? Or is it something else? Come on, Megan, admit it.
It's all an act, isn't it? There is no Bobby.
There is no Nancy.
You're just hiding behind them so we'll feel sorry for you.
So you can lie and do whatever you want, and you won't be responsible.
Why don't you just leave her the hell alone? Is that you, Bobby? Who does it look like? I understand you killed Dr.
Hampton.
Is that true? Yeah.
Like I told them, Dr.
Hampton wanted me gone.
She didn't understand how much Megan needs me.
And that's why you killed her? I'm the only one who sticks by Megan.
Tell me what happened, Bobby.
How did you kill Dr.
Hampton? It's just me and that bitch.
She's rocking back and forth in her chair, chewing on a pencil.
So smug.
Telling me I'm bad for Megan.
What about her? What did you do, Bobby? That's when I did it.
I pounded her in the head.
I had to.
It was either me or her.
Thank you, Bobby.
I have one question for the witness, Your Honor.
Go ahead, Mr.
McCoy.
You said you struck Dr.
Hampton while she was seated at her desk.
Is that correct? That's how it happened, yeah.
Thank you.
The witness is lying.
If that's what you think, you have the opportunity to cross-examine at trial.
Dr.
Hampton was struck while she was standing at the door of her office, not at her desk.
Bobby didn't know that because Bobby didn't kill her.
Then how does Bobby know so many details of the crime? Maybe Bobby read the paper, but not the case file.
As a matter of law, Bobby can't testify because he wasn't there.
I have to agree with Mr.
McCoy.
Judge.
If I allow this witness to testify, I'd be suborning perjury.
That's my ruling.
I'm not letting Bobby testify.
I give Weaver an hour before he calls looking for a deal.
What, it's not good enough? We proved Bobby wasn't there.
What's bothering me is, why wasn't he? Megan has a restraining order against her father.
They're having a confrontation about him killing her mother.
It escalates to the point of murder.
Where's Bobby, her protector? Maybe her psyche's not as fine-tuned as a Ferrari.
We assumed that Nelson was furious at the doctor for convincing Megan he was a killer.
But suppose Megan believed her father? Then he'd have no reason to kill Dr.
Hampton.
What changed Megan's mind? He told her to check out her story.
What was it he said? Call the mother's sister in Poughkeepsie.
Oh, that was a long time ago.
Things were bad between Frank and my sister.
I mean, Carol was thinking about moving out.
That's why I was there that night.
Was Frank ever violent with her? No.
I mean, they argued, slammed a few doors, but that was it.
Megan was just a little three-year-old caught in the middle.
It's understandable why she thought he killed her.
Megan called.
She was so upset.
I mean, crying, you know.
I kept, you know, reassuring her that I'd been there.
That Frank did not kill her mother.
And she believed you? Yeah.
I thought it would make her happy, but she seemed even more upset.
She said she had to find her father and apologize.
Where was her father? I don't know.
Oh, she was in her doctor's office.
Said she had to go and find him.
I see.
Now you're saying the father didn't do it.
You ought to take this roller coaster to Coney Island.
The sister confirms it.
Now we know Frank Nelson left Hampton's office while she was still alive.
Maybe this Bobby confession is for real.
We proved that personality wasn't there.
In other words, you have no idea who committed this crime.
It has to be Megan.
She was seeing Hampton for over a year.
Do you have a motive? Megan's unstable.
I'm not sure she knows she did it, let alone why.
Find out.
We know you were alone with Dr.
Hampton.
That leaves only one person who could have killed her.
You.
JACK: We'd like to see you get some help, Miss Nelson, but you have to tell us the truth.
I told you, I don't remember.
How about you, Mr.
Nelson? How's your memory? CLAIRE: She must have gone to your condo.
That's how the blood got there.
Frank, don't say anything.
No one can protect you anymore, Miss Nelson.
Not your father.
Not Bobby.
Now, tell us what happened.
I can't tell you what I don't know.
Jack, please, the girl needs help.
Come on, Megan, talk to me.
No more lies.
I'm a liar? You're calling me a liar? She's the one who lied.
Who lied, Megan? Leave Megan out of this.
You're talking to me.
And nobody lies to me.
Including that idiot doctor.
What did Dr.
Hampton do? She thought she could fool me.
Said she made a mistake.
Maybe Frank didn't kill Megan's mom.
Did she think I was stupid? What she meant was she lied to Megan.
Megan trusted her.
And you killed her? Yes.
Me.
What's your name? Nancy.
I saw that stupid award she's so proud of.
She didn't deserve any awards.
So I gave it to her with gratitude.
If we ever need to justify letting people plead insanity, Megan Nelson fits the bill.
So, she goes into the hospital as three people, and we hope that she comes back out as one.
And regardless, her father will be there waiting.
These are their stories.
Okay.
Waiting room.
Deal is anything on the floor or in the couch, we keep.
One time, I found a $50 bill.
My last trainee, he told one of the doctors.
You notice he isn't my trainee anymore.
Got it? Yes, sir.
You see here? Two quarters and a dime.
Now, the doctor's office, that's a different story.
If you find a penny on the floor, you vacuum around it.
You got that? Yes, sir.
Sanchez, I think we're gonna get along fine.
(GRUNTING) What the (CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO) The victim is a shrink.
A Dr.
Lillian Hampton.
She's on staff with the clinic.
The cleaning crew found her about 8:45.
Anybody else in the building? There was another cleaning crew on the fourth floor, but that was it.
We called the director of the clinic, a Dr.
Latham.
What about her family? Well, Latham said she had an ex in Westchester.
We called, but there was no answer.
Thanks, Joe.
Probably busy working on his second wife.
Somebody tried to shrink her head the old-fashioned way.
Three strikes, she was out.
One on the forehead, two on the left side.
We found blood on the walls.
The perp probably ended up wearing some.
Cleaning crew entered the building at 8:20.
They didn't see anybody leave.
No sign of a struggle.
Could've been somebody she knew.
Somebody who didn't want her money.
Credit cards, $40.
Lady liked to sweat.
"Toughen-Up Gymworks.
" Not tough enough.
Detectives, looks like our murder weapon.
Bits of hair and blood on the sharp edge.
(SIGHING) "With gratitude from the Coalition of Mental Health Clinics.
" Should've given her a plaque instead.
I'm still in shock.
It was a horrible loss.
Lillian was a brilliant therapist.
We saw the diplomas stacked on the wall.
Lot of talent for a free clinic.
Well, she could have made a lot more money in private practice, but she preferred working here with the schizophrenics and delusionals.
I mean, anybody our colleagues on Park Avenue refused to take.
What time was her last appointment? I have the master schedule here.
She had a 7:00.
With who? Client records are confidential.
We just need the name, Doc, not the whole work-up.
Megan Nelson.
But I believe Dr.
Hampton had somebody else in the office after her.
Why would you believe that? Well, when I left a little after It was a very intense session.
He was yelling something like, "How could you do that?" Someone's yelling, you don't check it out? We hear a lot of that in the clinic.
Well, if he was in the waiting room, maybe Megan Nelson saw him.
You know where we can find her? Yeah.
This is very upsetting.
Dr.
Hampton was everything to me.
A year ago, I couldn't get out of bed, forget about holding down a job.
She gave me a new life.
We're very, very sorry for your loss.
Yesterday, you were her last appointment.
What time did you leave? It was 7:50.
Dr.
Hampton's very strict about the 50-minute hour.
That was good for me.
The structure, I mean.
So, now, as you were leaving, did you see anybody in the waiting room or maybe hanging around downstairs? No.
I was in a hurry to get to work.
I don't like to be late.
Try to remember, Megan.
We're thinking there might have been a man waiting to see her.
A man? There's Julio.
He works in the parking lot.
And there was a man in a green car.
He pulled in to park.
You remember anything about this man? He honked his horn at Julio.
He seemed very impatient.
That's all I remember.
The jerk in the green Jag? Yeah, he was here.
Honked at me 'cause I didn't take his money quick enough.
He drove in and parked in the corner, like he always does.
Is he a regular? He's been here a few times.
So, what's he do after he parks, break out a deck of cars? Usually the drill is Dr.
Hampton comes down to talk to him.
So, who is this guy, the boyfriend? Hey, none of my business.
Last night, any change in the drill? I don't know.
I left at Well, while you were minding your business, did you happen to notice anything else about this guy? Like height, weight, color of hair? Salt-and-pepper hair.
Polo shirt.
You know, the golfing type.
He has a sticker on the visor.
Crestmont Club.
Okay, thanks.
Crestmont.
It's up in Westchester.
I got 5 bucks that says it's the ex.
They got a couple of nice par fives there.
Wonder how hard he swings his driver? Yeah, I was there last night.
About 10 minutes.
I never left the car.
Why not? Do you like the smell of exhaust? I don't like psychodramas in the middle of a skid-row outhouse.
I take it you don't approve of your wife's job.
Pro bono psychiatry.
Lillian thought she was doing something good.
Maybe she was.
Which brings us back to what you were doing there, Dr.
Hampton.
I was doing penance for missing two alimony payments.
Now I bring the checks in person.
$10,000.
When she didn't come down to get it, I left.
You never called up? Why should I? And no disrespect, but I jumped through enough hoops for her.
Well, right now, it's only your word that you never went upstairs.
I was on my cell phone to my girlfriend the whole time.
I was still talking to her when I drove out.
She has a very nice voice.
Must've been a lovely marriage.
A guy like that, she should have been paying him to stay away.
You talk to his girlfriend? Yeah.
She is Becky Price.
She does have a nice voice.
IUDs confirmed they were on the phone.
Twenty minutes later they were sitting at the River Cafe.
Doesn't give him much time to smack his wife around and then get the blood off his golf shirt.
Well, we know about the girlfriend.
What about Dr.
Hampton? Any man in her life? Yeah, but his name's Fluffy, and he's been neutered.
Other than that, her social calendar's pretty light.
Hey, look, if it's a choice between work and play, my bet is the work killed her.
(SIGHS) Yeah, but without the patient records, we have no way of knowing which kernel was getting ready to pop.
Could be it's popped before and got arrested.
Let's wait and see if Latent comes back with prints.
(HORNS HONKING) What are you smiling about? We got hits on two sets of prints.
Paul White, felonious assault, and Edward Brennig, attacked a police officer.
My kind of guy.
Either one of them leave a print on the murder weapon? It was wiped clean.
So, which one of the mentally challenged do you want to talk to first? Brennig or White? Oh, Brennig.
Let's see if he's changed his opinion of police officers.
Edward Brennig? Nice badge.
What do you want? For starters, you could put the can down.
Any other tricks I can do for you? Yeah, instant recall.
Last Tuesday night, between 7:00 and 8:30.
I was home, watching Court TV.
Picking up pointers for the next time you beat up a cop? Come on, give me a break, all right? I got into a bar fight.
I didn't mean to hit the cop.
I love cops.
Yeah, it shows.
Maybe you can tell us why we found your prints at the Amsterdam Clinic.
What'd I do, forget to vacuum underneath the couch? Vacuuming? Is that part of your therapy? Therapy? Hey, I ain't one of those fruit loops, all right? The company that cleans the place, they hire me when they're shorthanded.
Last time was two weeks ago.
We straight now? Do I look like the type to hit somebody? As a matter of fact, Mr.
White, you do.
I just pushed the dude.
I didn't like the way he was looking at Alex.
Well, fill us in.
Who's Alex? My cat.
Dr.
Hampton at the Amsterdam Clinic, I heard she looked at Alex funny, too.
Alex and her don't get along.
So, you did see her recently.
Maybe it was Tuesday night.
No, that was the night I got my prescription adjusted at the outpatient pharmacy, Bellevue Hospital.
Well, I see it says Tuesday, but it doesn't say what time.
Oh, well, I was there all night waiting.
They're not very organized there.
Alex was very upset with them.
Alex was upset with Dr.
Hampton, too, huh? Yeah, yeah.
That's why I called her and left a message on her machine to say I wasn't coming back.
Sounds good to us.
Meantime, why don't you come on down to the precinct? We'll get you a nice hot meal.
You got something for Alex? Oh, sure, sure.
As long as he likes day-old donuts.
Well, nix on the donuts for Alex.
Bologna was a big hit, though.
Yeah, well, nix on Mr.
White as our suspect.
Bellevue remembers him and Alex.
The orderly's got the scratches to prove it.
White said he left a message on Hampton's machine.
I didn't see a machine in her office, so it must have been voice mail.
Okay.
Now, our guy isn't in the appointment book.
Suppose he needed an emergency tune-up from Dr.
Hampton.
He calls late, leaves a message.
Bingo.
WOMAN: Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Miss Schwab.
Another woman.
Next.
MAN: Lillian, it's Dr.
Morris.
I have the speech sketched out for the association.
I'm faxing it over.
(TAPE REWINDING) (SIGHING) Hey, Mike, when we get to some heavy breathing, I'll wake you up.
WOMAN: Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Jeanine at the Vertical Club.
Just confirming your personal workout session.
Hey, wait a minute.
Go back.
(TAPE REWINDING) Hi, Dr.
Hampton.
It's Jeanine at the Vertical Club.
Wasn't that gym bag in Hampton's office from someplace else? Yeah.
Toughen-Up something.
You have the inventory from the bag? Here we go.
Sweatshirt, sweatpants, socks, swipe card.
No name.
Check with the club and get a name.
BRISCOE: We've got a swipe card.
This isn't the Y.
Our members expect a little privacy.
Well, this member may have crushed a woman's skull.
Please don't make us get a warrant.
Okay.
Give me the card.
In case you're interested, we got a two-years-for-the-price-of-one special going.
You ought to think about that, Mike.
I'm definitely thinking about it.
Here he is.
Bobby Walker.
He lives at 49-A Horatio Street.
(BABY CRYING) Detectives, I guess you have some more questions for me.
Are you roommates with Bobby Walker? Not really.
Well, was Walker not really with you at Dr.
Hampton's the other night? That's impossible.
MAN: Keep it down.
Okay, where is he? He's not here right now.
We can see that.
Where can we find him? He's in here.
I'm Bobby.
Megan, how long are we gonna have to sit here listening to you say that you're a guy named Bobby? You think I'm making this up? I think you have a very unique imagination.
Bobby.
Is that some kind of nickname for Roberta? No, Bobby is a he.
He's who I am sometimes.
Dr.
Hampton diagnosed me with Multiple Personality Disorder.
Okay.
I'm gonna play along.
Now, tell me what Bob did last night.
I can't.
When I switch, I don't remember what the last alter did.
Alter? Alternate personalities.
I have two of them, not including me.
There's Bobby and Nancy.
Dr.
Hampton was helping me integrate them.
Okay, can we talk to Bobby? It's not like I can turn a dial.
Believe me, if Bobby did something terrible, I want to help you.
Why don't you tell us what you do remember? Now, you said you left Dr.
Hampton's office just before 8:00.
Yes.
I remember being in the office.
And then I saw the clock in the lobby.
This is very stressful.
You're not kidding.
She got a Multiple Personality Disorder diagnosis from her doctor? That's what she says.
This only happens on Oprah, right? It's a diagnosis that's caused a lot of controversy.
Some doctors say that it's caused by a childhood trauma.
Others say that it's caused by ideas planted in the mind of the patient by the therapist.
Oh, the therapist tells her she's crazy, so she acts crazy.
She's not acting.
Give her a lie detector.
Chances are she'd pass.
She says she blanks when this Bobby personality comes out.
That's probably true.
Unless the different personalities are communicating with each other, she wouldn't have any memory of what each one's doing.
Well, do these personalities talk to each other? There are therapists who have their patients keep a journal, so that each personality can write their thoughts during the switch.
That way, they can leave notes for each other.
Yeah, fat chance Megan's just gonna hand us her journal.
Well, we know we don't have enough to get a warrant to look for it.
She said she went straight to work from Hampton's office.
Yeah, Miss Punctuality.
With all that blood spatter at the scene, some of Hampton's blood must've gotten on her clothes.
What'd she do, run through a car wash on her way to work? Megan's been working here nearly a year.
Always on time, keeps the orders straight.
Best of all, she doesn't burn up the phone with personal business.
When she came in on Tuesday, how did she seem? She seemed okay.
Far as that goes for her.
Meaning sometimes she wasn't okay? Well, some days she wants to be called Bobby.
Other days, it's Nancy.
All the same to me.
Whatever the name, she does great work.
So, Tuesday, did you notice anything unusual about her clothes? No.
Coat and a dress.
She say anything? Yeah, she said "sorry" a million times.
She was late.
Not normal for her.
Among other things.
So, how late was she? She punched in at 8:52.
Excuse me.
Clinic's 15 minutes away.
That leaves about 45 minutes.
Sounds like probable cause to search her place.
I'd like to know which personality's into this.
That would be Nancy.
She's a personal favorite of mine.
I bet.
Your boss know you could be charging for two roommates? Hey, Miss Nelson, she pays her rent on time.
She's quiet.
Why should I make trouble for her? Hey, Mike, look at this.
Computer disks.
Look at the titles.
"Megan.
Nancy.
Bobby.
" Let's put Bobby in.
Looks like some kind of diary.
Yeah.
We'll get it printed up.
So, what is it she did, anyway? We don't know if she did anything.
You see her last Tuesday night? No, I didn't.
You ever talk to her when she calls herself Bobby? Bobby, now, he's a piece of work.
He chewed up that bunch upstairs for playing the music too loud.
Anybody ever complain about her? No, like I said before, she was quiet.
Except when her father came around.
They had a couple of blowouts right out here.
You happen to hear the topic of conversation? Yeah.
She said he was harassing her, and if I ever saw him around the building, I should call the cops.
She had a restraining order against him.
It was all her therapist's idea.
She thought I was interfering with Megan's progress.
And were you? I was trying to keep my daughter from going completely off the deep end, which is where Dr.
Hampton was sending her.
Well, no offense, but it looks to me like she's already there.
My wife died when Megan was three.
I raised her by myself.
Granted, she was troubled.
Then a year ago, she saw Dr.
Hampton.
All of a sudden, she was three troubled people.
I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.
That must've been pretty tough to live with.
I could have managed, but Hampton insisted that Megan needed to move out and be on her own.
At first, I went along with that.
Then Megan refused to see me.
She wouldn't take my calls.
Another one of the doctor's ideas? That's right.
She was controlling my daughter.
Using her to prove some quack theory.
Megan was holding down a job, paying her rent.
Sounds like a solid citizen to me.
Minimum wage, plus tips? A dump in the West Village? That is not a life.
Did you ever discuss your feelings with Dr.
Hampton? I discussed them with her answering service.
She refused to talk to me about it.
Megan's a complicated kid.
Raising her by himself can't be that easy.
Yeah? Well, I don't buy that father-knows-best routine that Nelson gave us last night.
Especially with some doctor butting in.
Hey, when I was drinking, my kid had a therapist who kept telling her what a lousy father I was.
I didn't like the message, but I never thought about killing him.
Your kid didn't get a restraining order against you, Lennie.
Why don't you find out why Megan did? I'll see if they got her diaries printed out.
All right.
Bobby's diary, the day before the murder.
"Nancy left a note for me.
She called me a liar.
" "That bitch better watch herself.
" Sounds like a nice guy.
Nancy's diary.
"I can't trust Bobby or Megan.
" "They promise to clean the kitchen, and they don't.
I hate liars.
" Sounds like one big happy family.
Got the court records on the restraining order.
The judge issued two the same day.
One to keep Mr.
Nelson away from his daughter, and another to keep him away from Dr.
Hampton.
Why? Because he harassed her voice mail? Turns out he faced off with her a couple of times outside the clinic.
I'm with Nancy.
I hate liars.
Hey, it gets worse for Mr.
Nelson.
Here, in Bobby's diary, the day of.
"I gotta make sure Megan remembers" "her old man has to be at the appointment tonight.
" Let's see if Megan remembered.
Here we go.
"I talked to Dad.
He promises he'll be there.
" "I'm worried, but Dr.
Hampton says it's necessary for him to come.
" Okay, so, if Nelson was there, the screaming that the clinic director heard could have been him, right? Okay, Dr.
Latham, tell us if you recognize any of these voices.
Number one, go ahead.
How could you do that? Number two.
How could you do that? Number three.
How could you do that? Could he say that louder? Number three, say that again louder, please.
How could you do that? That's him.
Thank you, Dr.
Latham.
Well, that's a positive ID.
Of what? A booming voice, originally heard through a hardwood door? Excuse me while I share a good laugh with my client.
If it's not enough to hold him, is it enough to get us into his apartment? To find what? Well, for openers, how about some of Hampton's blood on one of his Armani suits? I'll talk to Judge Walters.
He should be back from lunch by now.
My second wife always wanted a walk-in closet.
Now I finally got one.
Trouble is, I live in it.
I got something in the kitchen.
The luminol brought up trace blood smudges around the sink.
There's two, each less than five millimeters wide.
All right, is that enough to run a match? No problem.
Mr.
Nelson.
Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm on a call to China.
You're gonna wish you were in China.
Frank Nelson, you're under arrest for the murder of Dr.
Lillian Hampton.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You understand? You have the right to an attorney.
Trace amounts of Jo.
-negative? By the time I'm finished with your blood evidence, I'll have the jurors convinced it was their blood you found.
The fact is, it's Dr.
Hampton's blood.
His daughter's diaries place him at the scene.
He was heard screaming at Dr.
Hampton.
He was heard raising his voice, period.
You have this all wrong.
I had no reason to kill her.
She was worried enough about you to get a restraining order.
She didn't want to be accountable for what she was doing to my daughter.
And you care so much for your daughter that you'd kill anyone who got between you, is that it? You don't believe him, then talk to his daughter.
They left together, and Dr.
Hampton was still alive.
I remember leaving with my father.
Dr.
Hampton was still alive.
Then why didn't you tell the police your father was there? I guess I forgot.
We read in your diary that you were worried about what might happen at that session.
Why? I don't remember what happened in session.
Anyway, I don't have to tell you anything that happens in therapy.
That's private.
You do, if you expect me to believe that your father didn't kill Dr.
Hampton.
I'm not feeling very well.
I think you should go.
First she avoids him like the plague.
Now she's lying to protect him.
Doesn't make a lot of sense.
It does if she's scared of him.
I didn't get the feeling that she was.
She seemed more confused than anything.
With three personalities at the wheel, who wouldn't be? Maybe the one who's running scared is Frank Nelson.
He interfered with her therapy.
Could be he felt threatened.
I went through her diaries.
As far as churning up family secrets, the sessions seemed pretty tame.
The juicy stuff would be locked up in Hampton's medical records.
Which you can't get to without her consent.
Was Hampton her first therapist? According to her father, she has a history of mental illness.
But no one's volunteered the names of the other therapists.
Until she moved out, her father was paying her bills.
Including the medical ones.
Subpoena his bank records and get a name.
Megan had already been through Freud and Jung, with little result.
Well, you think your therapy was more effective? More flexible.
I use talk therapy, rebirthing, hypnosis.
Whatever works for the particular patient.
What worked for Megan? You know I can't get into that with you.
All I will say is she had trouble with the therapy.
Meaning? She had a bad session, and then she just stopped coming.
Did you find out why? I called her, but I only spoke with her father.
He said she'd decided to stop therapy.
Do you think he had anything to do with why she stopped? He just told me he wanted her file sent to a Dr.
Coleman.
Well, Mr.
Nelson is the one who retained my services after he spent an hour grilling me on my credentials.
What did he want? Oh, anything that worked.
But it had to be conservative treatment.
No New Age therapies.
I fit the bill, so he sent Megan here.
At that time, did she have these multiple personalities? No.
I don't subscribe to that kind of diagnosis.
Megan had one very borderline personality.
We worked on it once a week for two years.
I take it she wasn't cured? We came close to a breakthrough.
Then Megan backed away.
She decided to stop coming? Yes.
Sometimes dredging up a painful memory can be too difficult to face, even when a patient wants the therapy to work.
This painful memory, did it have something to do with Frank Nelson? Even if I were free to tell you, I don't know what it is.
But, yes, I believe it does have something to do with her father.
A painful memory? What are we talking about, child abuse? They wouldn't say.
I spoke to four doctors.
I got four versions of patient privilege.
All they would say was Megan's the one who pulled the plug on the therapy.
This time it was Frank Nelson.
One doctor suggested he was the cause of her trauma.
But unless Megan confirms it or hands over her medical records, that's as much as we're going to know.
Maybe we could force her hand.
She's providing her father with an alibi.
We could turn that into a charge of conspiracy.
How does that get us her records? Her lawyer has a client with Multiple Personality Disorder.
What defense does that suggest? An insanity plea.
Right.
She puts her mental state at issue, she waives privilege and has to hand over her medical records.
Let's pick her up.
Two of you? We're getting something to go.
Sorry, folks, we're going to need your waitress.
Megan Nelson, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Nice technique, McCoy.
Squeeze my client's head hard enough, maybe her memory'll come back.
Well, it seems to come and go.
She forgets her father was there.
She remembers Dr.
Hampton was alive.
She forgets what they talked about.
She has Multiple Personality Disorder.
She can't help it.
She blanks out.
And we're supposed to take her word for it? Claire, you're going to have a hard enough time proving the underlying crime, let alone a conspiracy.
And from what I hear, your case against Frank Nelson is far from made.
I'll make it when I put her on trial with her father.
Given her psychiatric history, don't you think a trial would be a waste of time? Well, send her medical records to our expert.
If she thinks she's insane, we'll talk.
Here.
February 22nd.
Hampton reports that Megan has a recurring vision of her father standing at the top of the stairs, quote "looking down at her like a giant.
" A memory of child abuse? No.
This isn't about child abuse.
A couple of weeks later, Hampton wrote that the Nancy personality was urging Megan to tell the truth about her mother's death.
And then this, a week before she was killed.
"A painful session.
" "Megan struggled, resisted.
" "Finally, the memory became clear.
" "She's three years old.
She's in her bedroom.
" "She hears her parents argue.
" "She runs out of her room.
She hears a scream.
" "She sees her father push her mother down the stairs.
" "She sees her mother lying at the bottom, not moving.
" She witnessed her mother's murder.
At the very least, she thinks she did.
And they dropped the bomb on Mr.
Nelson during the last session.
According to Dr.
Hampton's notes, that's what they intended to do.
So, two people knew what he did.
One's dead, and the other can be dismissed as a lunatic.
See what records you can find on her mother's death.
I was the fourth officer on the scene.
Carol Nelson was on the bottom landing.
She'd gone ass-over-teakettle down two flights of stairs.
Any indication she got a little help? Yeah, from a half quart of 18-year-old Scotch.
Mrs.
Nelson was one of the more colorful characters on the beat.
So, she had a drinking problem.
Lovely lady.
I mean, really a very happy drunk.
She liked to sing show tunes in her skivvies from her bedroom window.
Mr.
Nelson must've loved that.
Well, I heard they had arguments.
Was he there the night she died? He was home, best I can remember.
I wasn't the investigating officer.
Who was? Arnie Wallace, God rest his soul.
Fall in the home resulting in accidental death.
A hat trick.
Could've been filed under accidental, homeowners, or through the life policy.
I'll need a year and name of the insured.
Here you go.
Carol Nelson.
$500,000 payout on the life policy.
What was the cause of death? Accidental fall.
Blood alcohol level was 0.
18.
Is that all there is? Once the claim is paid, we wait five years, then we purge the files.
Adjuster's reports, witness statements, medicals, they're all destroyed.
I pulled the files from the police and the insurance company.
The death was ruled accidental.
Based on what? Frank Nelson's say-so? Who knows? The police filled in the right boxes then dumped their reports.
The insurance company cleans out their files every five years.
Thumbnail version, Carol Nelson had a blood alcohol of 0.
18.
She tripped and fell.
"My wife's drunk.
She slipped on the stairs.
" Haven't you heard that before? SELIG: By now, I'm sure your expert agrees my client was legally insane.
Your client's sanity isn't relevant at this point.
I've dismissed the charges against her without prejudice.
I'm waiting for the other shoe.
I want her to testify against her father.
I've read your medical records.
I know why your father killed Dr.
Hampton.
I want to know why you are protecting the man who killed your mother.
That's what you believe, isn't it? I happen to believe it, too, Megan.
You want to know what really happened, you ask me! Who am I talking to? Bobby.
I'm Bobby.
You were there? Yeah, I was there all right.
Tell me what happened.
It's all Dr.
Hampton's fault.
Did Frank Nelson kill Dr.
Hampton? No.
Hampton was trying to get rid of me.
She wanted me to leave Megan.
She didn't give me a choice.
I had to kill her.
It's the father.
It's the daughter.
It's Bobby.
You need a scorecard to keep track.
This confession sound right to you? No.
Male personalities are protectors.
If Bobby's taking the rap, he's trying to protect Megan.
From what? A fate worse than prison? Maybe he's trying to protect her from having to testify against her father.
That'd make sense if her father threatened her.
So, Bobby gives her a way out.
(PHONE BUZZING) Yes? Thanks.
Nelson's attorney.
He wants to meet.
Of course he does.
Satisfied, Jack? My client did not kill Dr.
Hampton.
Really? Did he kill his wife? I did not kill my wife.
Megan saw you do it.
Dr.
Hampton uncovered the memory.
Talk to the police.
Read the reports.
We tried to.
There's nothing left.
I'll tell you the same thing I told Megan and that therapist of hers.
Talk to my wife's sister in Poughkeepsie.
She was there.
She saw what happened.
Fine.
You're saying what Megan remembers is false.
Of course it's false.
I told Megan her mother was a drunk.
I am the only one who ever cared about my daughter.
Seems to me you just lost your motive.
On the contrary.
Dr.
Hampton convinced Megan you were a killer.
Would it make you any less angry that it was a lie? You try explaining that to the jury.
I'll settle for Bobby's confession.
Bobby isn't competent to testify.
You don't think so? File a motion.
Multiple personalities? Switching? Forget competency, Mr.
Weaver.
Are you sure your witness is even sane? It makes no difference, Judge.
In Barker v.
Washburn, even if the witness is legally insane, if they understand the oath and can give a correct account of what happened, they can testify.
That only begs the question, who are they calling as a witness? Megan, who may be insane, or Bobby, a figment of her imagination? It makes no difference that Bobby confessed to the crime? What matters is that Bobby doesn't exist.
Our expert can establish that Bobby can form and remember impressions and can talk about them intelligently.
That is the standard for competency.
Mr.
McCoy, isn't the only issue here one of credibility? It would be like asking a jury to judge the credibility of a Martian.
It's beyond their experience.
That's why we have experts.
Who I want to hear from in the morning before I decide if I'm going to turn this witness loose on a jury.
DR.
OLIVET: When Megan takes on the persona of Bobby, she's in an altered mental state.
She uses it as a crutch to cope with the outside world.
JACK: So, in your opinion, Bobby doesn't exist? Bobby is a distorted reflection of Megan's inner feelings, memories, fears.
The fact that she's given him a name doesn't make him any more real.
And would Bobby's testimony be reliable? No.
Like testimony derived through hypnosis or truth serum, it's elicited from a hyper-suggestible state.
Thank you.
When Megan switches, she's not suddenly rendered unconscious, is she? No.
No.
Megan just takes on a new identity, which can walk and talk like anyone else.
That's correct.
So, Bobby could go to the movies, drive a car, or even commit a crime.
But it would be Megan doing all those things.
She just believes it's Bobby.
But there's no reason why Bobby couldn't tell us about it, is there, Doctor? In theory, no.
Bobby comes out during the dissociative process.
He takes both physical and psychological control of Megan's body.
Is Bobby aware of what's happening to him? Bobby is just like any of us, a functioning person with all of his faculties.
Bobby has a memory? Oh, yes.
And if we could bring Bobby out, he'd be able to convey those memories to us.
Certainly.
Thank you, Doctor.
Would you characterize Bobby as a protector personality? Well, that's the typical role of the male personality in the female patient.
If Megan can't handle the stress of a particular situation, Bobby does the coping for her.
Yes.
Bobby would do whatever it took to protect Megan.
That's his role, as long as it helps Megan.
So, he would even lie for her, wouldn't he? I suppose he might.
In your opinion, Doctor, can Bobby be brought out on command? Switching can be triggered.
Mr.
McCoy inadvertently did it.
I believe we could, using a comparable stimulus.
If you think you can bring Bobby out, Dr.
Cantrel, then I want to hear from him.
You know, Megan, Mr.
McCoy thinks you're trying to protect your father, a man who killed your mother.
I told him I'm not.
Well, he says you're afraid to tell us what really happened.
I can't.
Come on, Megan.
What are you afraid of, the truth? Or is it something else? Come on, Megan, admit it.
It's all an act, isn't it? There is no Bobby.
There is no Nancy.
You're just hiding behind them so we'll feel sorry for you.
So you can lie and do whatever you want, and you won't be responsible.
Why don't you just leave her the hell alone? Is that you, Bobby? Who does it look like? I understand you killed Dr.
Hampton.
Is that true? Yeah.
Like I told them, Dr.
Hampton wanted me gone.
She didn't understand how much Megan needs me.
And that's why you killed her? I'm the only one who sticks by Megan.
Tell me what happened, Bobby.
How did you kill Dr.
Hampton? It's just me and that bitch.
She's rocking back and forth in her chair, chewing on a pencil.
So smug.
Telling me I'm bad for Megan.
What about her? What did you do, Bobby? That's when I did it.
I pounded her in the head.
I had to.
It was either me or her.
Thank you, Bobby.
I have one question for the witness, Your Honor.
Go ahead, Mr.
McCoy.
You said you struck Dr.
Hampton while she was seated at her desk.
Is that correct? That's how it happened, yeah.
Thank you.
The witness is lying.
If that's what you think, you have the opportunity to cross-examine at trial.
Dr.
Hampton was struck while she was standing at the door of her office, not at her desk.
Bobby didn't know that because Bobby didn't kill her.
Then how does Bobby know so many details of the crime? Maybe Bobby read the paper, but not the case file.
As a matter of law, Bobby can't testify because he wasn't there.
I have to agree with Mr.
McCoy.
Judge.
If I allow this witness to testify, I'd be suborning perjury.
That's my ruling.
I'm not letting Bobby testify.
I give Weaver an hour before he calls looking for a deal.
What, it's not good enough? We proved Bobby wasn't there.
What's bothering me is, why wasn't he? Megan has a restraining order against her father.
They're having a confrontation about him killing her mother.
It escalates to the point of murder.
Where's Bobby, her protector? Maybe her psyche's not as fine-tuned as a Ferrari.
We assumed that Nelson was furious at the doctor for convincing Megan he was a killer.
But suppose Megan believed her father? Then he'd have no reason to kill Dr.
Hampton.
What changed Megan's mind? He told her to check out her story.
What was it he said? Call the mother's sister in Poughkeepsie.
Oh, that was a long time ago.
Things were bad between Frank and my sister.
I mean, Carol was thinking about moving out.
That's why I was there that night.
Was Frank ever violent with her? No.
I mean, they argued, slammed a few doors, but that was it.
Megan was just a little three-year-old caught in the middle.
It's understandable why she thought he killed her.
Megan called.
She was so upset.
I mean, crying, you know.
I kept, you know, reassuring her that I'd been there.
That Frank did not kill her mother.
And she believed you? Yeah.
I thought it would make her happy, but she seemed even more upset.
She said she had to find her father and apologize.
Where was her father? I don't know.
Oh, she was in her doctor's office.
Said she had to go and find him.
I see.
Now you're saying the father didn't do it.
You ought to take this roller coaster to Coney Island.
The sister confirms it.
Now we know Frank Nelson left Hampton's office while she was still alive.
Maybe this Bobby confession is for real.
We proved that personality wasn't there.
In other words, you have no idea who committed this crime.
It has to be Megan.
She was seeing Hampton for over a year.
Do you have a motive? Megan's unstable.
I'm not sure she knows she did it, let alone why.
Find out.
We know you were alone with Dr.
Hampton.
That leaves only one person who could have killed her.
You.
JACK: We'd like to see you get some help, Miss Nelson, but you have to tell us the truth.
I told you, I don't remember.
How about you, Mr.
Nelson? How's your memory? CLAIRE: She must have gone to your condo.
That's how the blood got there.
Frank, don't say anything.
No one can protect you anymore, Miss Nelson.
Not your father.
Not Bobby.
Now, tell us what happened.
I can't tell you what I don't know.
Jack, please, the girl needs help.
Come on, Megan, talk to me.
No more lies.
I'm a liar? You're calling me a liar? She's the one who lied.
Who lied, Megan? Leave Megan out of this.
You're talking to me.
And nobody lies to me.
Including that idiot doctor.
What did Dr.
Hampton do? She thought she could fool me.
Said she made a mistake.
Maybe Frank didn't kill Megan's mom.
Did she think I was stupid? What she meant was she lied to Megan.
Megan trusted her.
And you killed her? Yes.
Me.
What's your name? Nancy.
I saw that stupid award she's so proud of.
She didn't deserve any awards.
So I gave it to her with gratitude.
If we ever need to justify letting people plead insanity, Megan Nelson fits the bill.
So, she goes into the hospital as three people, and we hope that she comes back out as one.
And regardless, her father will be there waiting.