Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s06e06 Episode Script
Masquerade
The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.
In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad.
These are their stories.
It's all set.
Simon Fife's in custody of the Ho Chi Minh city police.
They'll hand him over to us at gate 3 in ten minutes.
Then what's our suspect doing up there? Is that live? Do you know where that is? Pardon us.
Excuse us.
Mr.
Fife, did you kill Amberleigh Harner? Amberleigh is still with us if we're pure enough to hear her.
Why did you kill Amberleigh? She died inadvertently.
In a moment of intense love.
Excuse us.
Out of the way! Mr.
Fife, tell us about your love.
NYPD! Look, folks, move out of the way.
There's no more questions.
Thank you, please.
Did he kill her? Are you sure? Simon Henry Fife? NYPD.
He's in our custody now.
Simon, are you ready? - How are you feeling? - Back off! Autumn in New York? It's time I go home.
- All right.
- Excuse me, stand back.
Out of the way.
Law & Order CI Keep this on ice.
Simon? Simon? You must not fly much.
You haven't taken your eyes off the window.
I've flown many times.
I just haven't numbed myself to the miracle.
Sit down, or I'll throw you off.
Reporters.
No shame.
The pain they caused Beth.
Beth.
Amberleigh's mother? Mr.
Nate Royce helped me understand the pain she went through.
Nate Royce.
That's their next door neighbor.
Beth's protector, and my email confidant for the last three months.
He turned me in, didn't he? The DA didn't brief us.
We found out about this thing an hour before we got on the plane.
The time had come.
Sorry, time? To confess? The time the world heard the story of a pure love, and of a world so corrupt, it had to force that love into darkness where it perished.
They all look sweet when they're sleeping.
But this is one sick puppy.
He is Simon Henry Fife, and tonight he is in NYPD custody.
After 14 years, the Halloween murder of Amberleigh Harner this angel, killed in the basement of her Brooklyn home, has at last been solved.
Bethany Harner, Amberleigh's mother, are there any words? I have waited so long for justice, Faith.
She was my star.
Your neighbor, Mr.
Nate Royce, led them to the killer.
Without your perseverance, Fife would still be in Vietnam.
If you haven't lost your lunch yet, here's another photo.
Nate, how did you trap this predator? He emailed me about three months ago.
Because of your book? He wasn't the first sicko to reach out, but something in his emails unsettled me.
I wonder what it was.
I stopped reading when I got to Fife's line about how he made love to Amberleigh while commingling their blood.
There was no blood in the basement, except for Amberleigh's.
How much champagne did you let him drink? Hope you got something good out of him.
Well, he idealizes children, he demonizes adults.
He was most likely abused by a parent.
I don't suppose you asked him if he was in Brooklyn on Halloween night, 1992? Well, that's not exactly a first interview question.
Detective, I don't care about Fife's childhood pain or his world view.
Brooklyn homicide botched this case.
That's why it was kicked to us.
- I was just trying to gain his trust.
- That's why it was kicked to us.
Before Fife lawyers up What do you want me to do, go old school, slap him around with a phone book until he confesses? I want the same thing you want, to be absolutely sure he killed Amberleigh.
Oh, he killed her.
The detail in his emails, his knowledge of her home Amberleigh's become an icon since her death.
There's a lot of information out there.
Yes, I know, detectives.
And hundreds of people confessed to killing the Lindbergh baby, - but Hauptmann did it.
- Okay, fine.
Is there anything linking Fife to the scene of the crime? NYPD never secured the crime scene.
A dozen people tramped through that basement before her body was found.
So that's a no? There was a ransom call from a phone booth at night.
A woman's voice, right? "Feminine," I believe, is the word.
And Fife? Well, you've met him.
Any proof Fife ever met Amberleigh, stalked her? Our investigators are looking into it.
In the meantime, let's arraign him.
In the meantime, let's not.
He's comfortable in our custody.
The longer we hold him, the more he talks, the better you look when you convict.
- I'd have to talk to - Go ahead.
We'll wait.
A 14-year-old unsolved case, Maybe someone close to Amberleigh can place him.
It won't be easy, the mother hasn't spoken to NYPD since the night of the murder.
And the ex-husband? Away on business the night of the murder, remarried, and moved out west.
Pay a visit to Amberleigh's mother.
Find out if she had ever seen Fife before he crawled out of his Vietnamese sewer.
She's away, detectives.
You're Nate Royce, the author? The friend and neighbor.
Beth disappears around Halloween, too many gawkers coming by the house.
I'm surprised she kept this home.
It's been hard for her to move on.
I think now she'll be able to.
You mean, if Fife is guilty.
Did you ever see Fife watching Amberleigh? No, but he knew about the blood on the couch, the open dryer door.
Yeah, but still, you know, her murder, this home invasion homicide, it was bold.
And, uh, you've been fooled by his whimsical child/man character.
You think it's an act, a persona? That he might have created this love affair he has with Amberleigh? I think he's pathological, not creative.
Well, you'd know.
He creates characters.
You were a novelist, weren't you? I was, until that awful night.
You found a way to be of service.
Your book, website.
I did what I could for Amberleigh.
It's been it's been hell.
My wife died four years after Amberleigh, and I've had to raise our young son alone.
Well, Beth Harner is very lucky to have you.
And we need to get in touch with her.
She won't talk to NYPD, you know that.
Mr.
Royce, we know that mistakes were made.
I could try to talk to her.
She'll be angry if she knows I even let you walk on her property.
It's the captain.
Fife is getting antsy.
He wants to speak to you.
Where's Bobby? He believes me.
He does, I don't.
You ask me, you made the whole thing up.
- That's crazy.
- You said it.
She was my girlfriend.
Right.
And you met her where? We met at her school.
I worked as a nurse.
And on Halloween night I made love to her.
There were no signs of love-making.
You don't believe me.
You want proof? How about her stomach contents? Halloween? You're gonna guess candy.
Just sesame logs.
She loved them.
I'm checking, checking.
They blacked it out.
She gorged on sweet honey sesame candy while I made love to her on the night she left us.
The ME confirmed it.
Amberleigh ate sesame candy in the last hours of her life.
That was kept out of the autopsy report.
Never published, never leaked.
The department of Ed confirms Fife worked as a nurse at Amberleigh's school for two weeks that September.
A lot of people worked at her school.
I told the DA we'd strengthen her case.
You've done that.
The DA told you that we had 24 hours.
We haven't been into the crime scene.
We haven't interviewed Beth.
You know the DA's office.
This case collapses, they'll spin it so everybody thinks we botched it again.
And this case collapses how? The ransom demand.
The caller said, "we have your whore daughter.
" Fife thinks he made gentle love to Amberleigh.
Different fantasy.
Okay.
Keep the clock running.
Get a search warrant for the Harner home.
Track down the detective who first responded to the scene.
It wasn't a detective.
She was a rookie, Linda Bonnardi.
Right, I forgot.
She'd just graduated.
Four months out.
A year later, when I went to the academy, they were using her as an example in class, to prove that women were too emotional to be cops.
She left the force in disgrace.
Find her.
Happy Halloween.
she's totally hysterical.
Said she heard the kid scream, ran to her bedroom.
Kid's gone.
she gets a ransom call.
"We have your whore daughter.
" "We'll call back at 6.
Don't tell anyone.
" That's when she called us.
And you searched the house? And Matt interviewed Beth.
Big mistake.
Beth had made phone calls before we arrived.
So while I'm searching, people keep showing up.
People? The Royces.
You mean Nate and Madeline? And their kid.
Weird, right? And you didn't call for backup? I thought it was a prank.
But there was a ransom call.
I didn't believe her.
You get a call like that, "we have your whore daughter, don't tell anybody," and you invite ten friends over? Mm-hmm, I see your point.
And the caller, she said she'd call back at 6.
At 6, Beth is on the phone.
I tell her, "hang up.
" That 6 o'clock call should've been all she was thinking about.
Who went into the basement? I did, with Beth.
Nothing's changed.
That cellar door wasn't open, but it was not in its locked position.
You noticed that? No.
Beth did, uh right away.
Then I noticed the dryer door ajar.
The light is on.
I open it.
For a second, I thought she was sleeping.
You let Beth take the body out.
I let her lead me to the body.
She killed her daughter.
And because of me, she got away with it.
Thank you.
Don't let her get away with it this time.
She was a female rookie, wanted to prove herself, ended up making it harder on the rest of us.
Yeah, Beth Harner's behavior was very, very strange that morning but, it's another rookie cop's mistake to think that strange behavior equals guilt.
Nate's still on duty.
Mm-hmm, and he's on the phone.
I wonder who he's talking to.
No.
There is nothing else.
The DA has copies of everything.
You're not writing a new book about the case, are you? I'm just polishing it now, actually.
Put you back on that bestsellers list.
I am on your side.
Then put us in touch with Beth Harner.
- She would kill me, if I - What if I just hit the "redial"? Put that down! Please.
I'm sorry, I just try to protect her.
Look, she told me she had never met Fife.
We like to get our information firsthand.
And you wouldn't want something to delay the publication of your book, like, say, a subpoena of your notes? Dad.
Jamie, I thought you had a meeting.
Hello to you too, dad.
Everything okay? Yes, I'm just helping these detectives get in touch with Beth.
I am surprised you even want my opinion.
The New York police department never believed a word I said.
And that's the guy.
I never saw him in the schoolyard, but that's the guy.
You took your daughter to school? I took my daughter to school every day.
Unless, of course, she was, please don't touch anything.
Unless, of course, she was working.
And then, we would run lines together for her auditions.
You'd run lines? You were an actress too, right? Oh, no, uh, no.
Amberleigh was truly gifted.
I was, well, I danced in the chorus of a couple of shows, and weak knees ended that dream.
Oh, your knees look fine.
And your talent wasn't wasted.
You gave it to Amberleigh.
Thank you very much.
But it wasn't just me.
I mean, we had Jenna.
Jenna? Yes.
Amberleigh's acting coach for all of her commercials, even the last one that she did in September in L.
A.
Sep, September? Yes, right before You know, Amberleigh loved acting.
She loved Hollywood.
Sweet and juicy.
Her last commercial, it never aired.
As you can see, the camera loved her.
Did she love the camera? That's a lot of pressure on a young girl.
Amberleigh was a professional.
Even when she was unhappy, she never projected it on-screen.
Unhappy? Her mother said that she loved acting.
Oh, she did.
This is the only time I heard her complain.
The shoot kept getting postponed.
She was nervous about missing the start of school.
Do you happen to remember the dates? It's on the box sleeve.
First two weeks, September 1992.
Amberleigh was miserable.
But you never saw it on her face.
Sweet and juicy.
Sweet and juicy.
I jimmied the lock on the cellar door.
That's how I got in.
Simon, that door wasn't jimmied.
The door was unlocked.
No.
That can't be.
I snuck in through the cellar door.
We'll put that aside for a moment.
What do you do, usually, on Halloween? I stay home, hand out candy.
And it must be your favorite night of the year, these little girls, dressed in costume.
Princesses, fairies with sparkling wings, ribbons in their hair Your favorite night of the year.
Why did you go out? I mean, you must have went out.
You said that you were with Amberleigh that night.
That's right.
/ Do you remember what she was dressed as? She was a little Genie.
You remember everything about Amberleigh, don't you? First day of school, she wore a yellow dress, and little white ankle socks with white shoes.
You can see that, can't you? I mean, you can see it in your mind's eye, the little yellow dress? Skipping at recess.
So beautiful.
Simon, you and Amberleigh were never in that school together.
Amberleigh was in Los Angeles for the first two weeks of school, and you were fired before she came back.
She was in Los Angeles? - Then what about the sesame candy? - I don't know.
Maybe somebody told you.
Maybe you read it.
It must have been Beth, in one of her emails.
Amberleigh's mother sent you an email? She made me promise not to tell anyone.
No one knows, not Nate Royce, not the DA.
You won't tell anyone, will you? He may not have murdered Amberleigh, but I wouldn't let him within a hundred miles of my nieces.
Well, for what it's worth, Fife has agreed to enter a monitored program.
And the ADA says we ruined her investigation, so now it's on us to solve.
We have to ask Beth Harner about these emails she sent to Fife.
Not me.
He's the one she was making goo-goo eyes with.
What's your take on her? Well, she's off, at times, in her affect.
You know, she smiles when she's upset.
She craves attention.
You can see why people made her as a suspect.
A suspect without a motive.
She was living through her daughter.
If Amberleigh ever balked at Beth's dream for her You said she craves attention.
Give her some.
You gained Fife's trust, gain hers.
¢Ü When me and my Alice were playing the palace in '45 ¢Ü ¢Ü there wasn't a word of they hadn't heard of that thing called jive ¢Ü ¢Ü when we did our dance there was only one dance ¢Ü ¢Ü the world, it was alive we gave them the old soft shoe ¢Ü Coming! Wel Oh, I wasn't expecting the both of yous.
Actually, I was just dropping my partner off.
Yeah, well, maybe next time.
Come in.
Call me, if you need a ride home.
Bye.
I'm sorry you haven't had closure.
But the case will remain open, right? Yeah, the case will stay open.
No, I don't mean that.
I mean you'll be the one who calls me, who tells me things, who keeps me updated? - Okay.
- Okay? You know, you seem like a man who is dedicated to his work.
Too much maybe.
Like you were to Amberleigh.
All right, I did it.
I mean, I pushed her.
But Amberleigh wanted to stop acting.
A few months before she died, she told me that it wasn't fun for her anymore.
What? The auditions, watching her weight? Yes.
Halloween how did, how did you handle the candy? Amberleigh was allowed to keep ten pieces and then she had to give the rest away.
To her friends.
The names of these kids that went trick-or-treating with her, you remember them? Of course I remember.
- Brianna.
- Okay.
From down the street.
You know? She, oh, she worshipped Amberleigh.
She worshipped Amberleigh.
And the Perlman twins.
And Jamie, Nate's son.
Nate Royce's son, who lived next door? - He still does.
- Okay.
Detective Goren I've never told this to anyone before.
The night that my baby was murdered, she wanted to eat an extra piece of candy, just one more little piece of candy.
And I wouldn't let her have it.
She went to bed, she was crying.
She was angry with me.
I didn't even kiss her good night.
There's a book, okay? It's about grieving.
And I'm sorry, but I can't remember the name of it, but it could, it could help.
I could email it to you.
Thank you.
But I don't have, um, the internet.
You don't have an email account? No.
If someone wants to send me a sympathy note or anything like that, you know, they, um, email it, or send it, or whatever it's called, to Nate, and then Nate brings it to me.
Okay.
Happy Halloween! Oh, what has you guys get tonight? Anything good? Stop, Amberleigh.
Stop tickling me.
Tell us what your costumes are.
I'm a Genie.
And I'm a prince.
Oh, a prince! Isn't he handsome, Amberleigh? Isn't Jamie a handsome prince Charming, huh? Yeah.
So Beth told me she didn't email Fife about Amberleigh's stomach contents.
And she didn't know about Amberleigh's candy binge.
I wonder if prince Jamie did.
I was at Amberleigh's for the candy swap, and then my parents took me home.
What kind of candy did Amberleigh get at the swap? Sesame logs.
She got, like, 30 of them 'cause nobody else liked them.
Halloween, the anniversary.
It must hard for you.
Well, it's two anniversaries for me, so, yeah, I guess.
My mom died on Halloween too, four years after, in a car wreck.
She was drinking, but she didn't hurt anybody else.
But that must have hurt you a lot.
I'm, I'm okay.
I gotta go.
I got a meeting.
- Faculty? - Teach? No.
Uh, I'm still a student, but this is a meeting, meeting.
- AA? - NA.
Alcohol led to drugs.
How long have you been sober? But I was addicted for 14 years.
What step are you on? Fifth.
Five to admit the exact nature of your wrongs, to stop lying.
Are you ready to do that? Yeah.
Yeah, I am.
Halloween night, Amberleigh looked so pretty, and she kept trying to tickle me.
I misunderstood.
That night, later, I couldn't sleep.
I snuck into her house.
I said we should go to the basement and eat all our candy.
Okay.
You ate candy.
Then? Um, I tried to kiss her, and she screamed.
I tried to cover her mouth, but I hit her nose instead.
She started to bleed.
She was really crying.
I pushed her face into the couch to keep her quiet.
I was so scared, you know? I didn't mean to kill her.
Then you put her body in the dryer.
No, I went home.
And there was blood on my shirt.
My mom told me to go to bed, let her handle it.
And I thought she was gonna explain it to Beth.
I waited at my window.
Um, mom got in the car and drove off.
She probably went to make the ransom call.
Why do you think she did that? I think she meant to get rid of the body.
She must've panicked and hid Amberleigh in the dryer.
I know you're gonna tell Beth.
If she'll let me, I'd like to speak to her.
You care about Beth.
Jamie, why did you email Simon Fife pretending to be Beth? I don't remember doing that.
But all those years of drug use, you know, I have gaps.
Um, they have meetings in jail, right? They do.
Do you think your dad blames himself for what happened to you after Amberleigh's murder? My dad didn't know about any of this.
He was asleep.
We never told him.
He thought that I lost it 'cause of my mom.
Um, she was a bit of a self-medicator.
I know the type.
Another day, another confession.
You buy it? Not the part about emailing Simon Fife.
The question completely surprised him.
Wouldn't be the first time drugs addled memory.
Well, except that these emails to Fife were sent in the last three months, and Jamie's been sober that whole time.
Well, if he didn't write them, maybe his dad did.
I don't see how a 12-year-old boy and a drunk mom could have kept a secret from Nate.
Try to reach Beth.
Maybe she'll meet with the kid.
He lied to us about a few things.
I don't think he'll lie to her.
I haven't been able to reach Beth.
She might be having a bad day.
It's Halloween.
Keep trying.
In the meantime, we should charge Jamie.
He says he did it, his mother covered.
You don't believe a mother would protect her 12-year-old boy? There's a piece missing.
Jamie's maybe he's protecting his dad.
It doesn't sound like his dad protected him.
Jamie has a case file in the Portland, Oregon department of child services.
He was living on the street there when he was 16.
The Royces let their son turn homeless.
Well, his mom was probably in her own world by then.
Nate made a career out of protecting Beth.
Why wouldn't he get his son help? I don't know.
No.
He didn't want him to get help.
I mean, that's, that's the whole point, isn't it? Therapy is talk, right? A kid goes into therapy, he ends up talking about Amberleigh's murder.
When did Nate and Fife start emailing? Three months ago.
Jamie told us that he was sober for 14 weeks.
You know, sobriety, that must have been Nate's worst nightmare.
'Cause when his kid is out of control, he could control him.
But if his kid's in a program Nate was afraid his son would end up telling somebody what actually happened that night.
All right.
Fife emailed Nate about his obsession with Amberleigh.
Nate reeled him in.
Jamie's walking a fine line, confessing to his sins, not his father's.
Jamie won't turn on his father, but Nate, he's loyal to himself.
Rich, can you find Faith Yancy's producer? Tell them it's, uh, the DA's office.
Nate Royce, your own son has confessed to this crime.
Did you ever, ever see this coming? I really shouldn't be showing you this.
- Never in my wildest dreams, Faith.
- Thank you.
Mr.
Royce, I have some news that may shock you.
An anonymous source at the DA's office tells me that they believe your son sent many emails to Simon Fife, pretending to be Beth Harner, giving him information that only the killer would have.
Faith, my wife Madeline was a very sick woman, and I fear that she has passed that on to my son.
I was looking for him in the holding cell.
Detective Goren reached Beth.
She's willing to meet you.
Tonight.
Tonight? It's all right, my baby.
It's over.
It's all over.
Go to sleep now.
I love you.
Mama loves you.
We all miss you, Amberleigh.
Are you ready, hmm? How dare you come here, detective? Jamie wanted to pay his respects.
No.
No, Beth's had enough stress.
No, it's all right, Nate.
Come in, Jamie.
Beth I'm so sorry.
You were a little boy, Jamie.
I didn't mean to.
It was an accident.
I know.
I know.
Oh, you were so young.
You were such a little boy.
I forgive you.
And so does Amberleigh.
Now, come on.
Come on.
I wish I could take your place here.
We'll drive you home, Beth.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, I'd like to stay, and, and, and talk everything over with Jamie.
- No, Beth.
- It's okay, dad.
I'm ready to take responsibility now.
This isn't about making amends, Jamie.
There are serious issues here.
He already confessed, Nate.
But you know that.
Faith Yancy told you all about it on national TV.
Jamie and I watched.
You need help, son.
That's why I went on TV, so that the public doesn't turn on you.
Help.
He needs help? He's getting help.
He's sober.
He needed help 14 years ago, the night Amberleigh died.
I knew nothing about that.
My wife never told me.
Even so, the drugs, the alcohol you must have seen your boy was in trouble.
Madeline refused.
I was worried about Jamie, but she didn't care.
Wait a minute, that's not true, Jamie.
Your mother, your mother cared so much about you.
She was a drunk, Beth.
Please.
You know nothing about my private struggles.
But Jamie does.
When you were in Portland, homeless, you had a case worker.
Wait a minute, you were, you were you told me he was away at school.
Your caseworker remembers you, Jamie.
Do you know why? 'Cause your dad called him to request that you not get counseling.
Dad, why would you? 'cause he didn't want to risk you telling your therapist your family secret.
Isn't that right, Nate? When Jamie found sobriety, you found Fife? You tricked him, didn't you, into confessing? They're lying, Jamie.
Fife had information about the murder only the killer could've known.
Fife thought that Beth was emailing him.
Beth, you weren't emailing him, were you? No.
It was Jamie.
He, he doesn't remember.
I didn't email him, dad.
You know I love you.
I have always protected you.
Protected? The only one you protected in all this was yourself.
Your son could have gotten help, but you told him he'd do hard time.
Don't listen to them, listen to me.
Listen to you? You've been lying to me for 14 years.
Madeline made the ransom call.
Tell them, Jamie.
You came home, mom panicked.
Tell them.
Jamie, is that true? Jamie, Beth needs to know what really happened.
No.
It wasn't mom's plan, it was dad's.
They had a big fight.
I watched from the window as mom got into the car and drove off.
Dad went into the house.
And I saw the light go on in the basement, and he was down there for awhile.
And then the cellar door opened, and lights went on upstairs.
Did you turn the lights on, Beth? Yes, when I heard Amberleigh scream from my bedroom window.
Bedroom window, which is where? It's two floors above the cellar door.
She screamed, oh, my god, did she scream.
She was alive, Nate? No, no, no, no.
She was gone, Beth.
The screams were from when Jamie was with her.
So you were there.
Jamie, do you remember what happened after the lights went on? The cellar door closed, and a few minutes later, dad came out the back door.
He's got it wrong.
This was his mother's idea after Jamie killed Amberleigh.
Jamie, you told me that you gave Amberleigh a bloody nose.
Did you hit her hard? No, I hit her nose by mistake, and she sat down and started crying, and I that's when I tried to stop the noise.
And you suffocated her.
But her head her head didn't hit anything.
Amberleigh's autopsy, it's in your book.
It's all there.
She suffocated.
And her brain had bruising, front and back from head trauma.
I didn't hit her head.
All Jamie did was give her a bloody nose.
He doesn't know what he did.
No, but you do.
Right? You saw Amberleigh in the basement.
You thought she was dead, just like Jamie did.
You were gonna carry her body out, and hide it.
But something happened.
What was it? Did she wake up? Did she? Nate, what did you, what did you do? She start crying? She start crying, Nate, is that what happened? You heard Beth moving upstairs, and you panicked, just like your son did? But Jamie ran for help from you.
You smashed her head, and you threw her body into the dryer.
Beth, Jamie didn't kill Amberleigh.
- You did.
- I never meant It was an accident, and I swear that.
It was an accident, huh? You sure you weren't just trying to weigh your options? You know, her life, your reputation? And then you decided to finish her off.
I was trying to protect my son.
From what? You told me it was my fault, told me to act dumb.
And that's what I did for the next 14 years! How could you, Nate? How could you? Look at me.
Nate, look at me.
Look at me.
All right, get him out of here.
Look at me! You took everything.
In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad.
These are their stories.
It's all set.
Simon Fife's in custody of the Ho Chi Minh city police.
They'll hand him over to us at gate 3 in ten minutes.
Then what's our suspect doing up there? Is that live? Do you know where that is? Pardon us.
Excuse us.
Mr.
Fife, did you kill Amberleigh Harner? Amberleigh is still with us if we're pure enough to hear her.
Why did you kill Amberleigh? She died inadvertently.
In a moment of intense love.
Excuse us.
Out of the way! Mr.
Fife, tell us about your love.
NYPD! Look, folks, move out of the way.
There's no more questions.
Thank you, please.
Did he kill her? Are you sure? Simon Henry Fife? NYPD.
He's in our custody now.
Simon, are you ready? - How are you feeling? - Back off! Autumn in New York? It's time I go home.
- All right.
- Excuse me, stand back.
Out of the way.
Law & Order CI Keep this on ice.
Simon? Simon? You must not fly much.
You haven't taken your eyes off the window.
I've flown many times.
I just haven't numbed myself to the miracle.
Sit down, or I'll throw you off.
Reporters.
No shame.
The pain they caused Beth.
Beth.
Amberleigh's mother? Mr.
Nate Royce helped me understand the pain she went through.
Nate Royce.
That's their next door neighbor.
Beth's protector, and my email confidant for the last three months.
He turned me in, didn't he? The DA didn't brief us.
We found out about this thing an hour before we got on the plane.
The time had come.
Sorry, time? To confess? The time the world heard the story of a pure love, and of a world so corrupt, it had to force that love into darkness where it perished.
They all look sweet when they're sleeping.
But this is one sick puppy.
He is Simon Henry Fife, and tonight he is in NYPD custody.
After 14 years, the Halloween murder of Amberleigh Harner this angel, killed in the basement of her Brooklyn home, has at last been solved.
Bethany Harner, Amberleigh's mother, are there any words? I have waited so long for justice, Faith.
She was my star.
Your neighbor, Mr.
Nate Royce, led them to the killer.
Without your perseverance, Fife would still be in Vietnam.
If you haven't lost your lunch yet, here's another photo.
Nate, how did you trap this predator? He emailed me about three months ago.
Because of your book? He wasn't the first sicko to reach out, but something in his emails unsettled me.
I wonder what it was.
I stopped reading when I got to Fife's line about how he made love to Amberleigh while commingling their blood.
There was no blood in the basement, except for Amberleigh's.
How much champagne did you let him drink? Hope you got something good out of him.
Well, he idealizes children, he demonizes adults.
He was most likely abused by a parent.
I don't suppose you asked him if he was in Brooklyn on Halloween night, 1992? Well, that's not exactly a first interview question.
Detective, I don't care about Fife's childhood pain or his world view.
Brooklyn homicide botched this case.
That's why it was kicked to us.
- I was just trying to gain his trust.
- That's why it was kicked to us.
Before Fife lawyers up What do you want me to do, go old school, slap him around with a phone book until he confesses? I want the same thing you want, to be absolutely sure he killed Amberleigh.
Oh, he killed her.
The detail in his emails, his knowledge of her home Amberleigh's become an icon since her death.
There's a lot of information out there.
Yes, I know, detectives.
And hundreds of people confessed to killing the Lindbergh baby, - but Hauptmann did it.
- Okay, fine.
Is there anything linking Fife to the scene of the crime? NYPD never secured the crime scene.
A dozen people tramped through that basement before her body was found.
So that's a no? There was a ransom call from a phone booth at night.
A woman's voice, right? "Feminine," I believe, is the word.
And Fife? Well, you've met him.
Any proof Fife ever met Amberleigh, stalked her? Our investigators are looking into it.
In the meantime, let's arraign him.
In the meantime, let's not.
He's comfortable in our custody.
The longer we hold him, the more he talks, the better you look when you convict.
- I'd have to talk to - Go ahead.
We'll wait.
A 14-year-old unsolved case, Maybe someone close to Amberleigh can place him.
It won't be easy, the mother hasn't spoken to NYPD since the night of the murder.
And the ex-husband? Away on business the night of the murder, remarried, and moved out west.
Pay a visit to Amberleigh's mother.
Find out if she had ever seen Fife before he crawled out of his Vietnamese sewer.
She's away, detectives.
You're Nate Royce, the author? The friend and neighbor.
Beth disappears around Halloween, too many gawkers coming by the house.
I'm surprised she kept this home.
It's been hard for her to move on.
I think now she'll be able to.
You mean, if Fife is guilty.
Did you ever see Fife watching Amberleigh? No, but he knew about the blood on the couch, the open dryer door.
Yeah, but still, you know, her murder, this home invasion homicide, it was bold.
And, uh, you've been fooled by his whimsical child/man character.
You think it's an act, a persona? That he might have created this love affair he has with Amberleigh? I think he's pathological, not creative.
Well, you'd know.
He creates characters.
You were a novelist, weren't you? I was, until that awful night.
You found a way to be of service.
Your book, website.
I did what I could for Amberleigh.
It's been it's been hell.
My wife died four years after Amberleigh, and I've had to raise our young son alone.
Well, Beth Harner is very lucky to have you.
And we need to get in touch with her.
She won't talk to NYPD, you know that.
Mr.
Royce, we know that mistakes were made.
I could try to talk to her.
She'll be angry if she knows I even let you walk on her property.
It's the captain.
Fife is getting antsy.
He wants to speak to you.
Where's Bobby? He believes me.
He does, I don't.
You ask me, you made the whole thing up.
- That's crazy.
- You said it.
She was my girlfriend.
Right.
And you met her where? We met at her school.
I worked as a nurse.
And on Halloween night I made love to her.
There were no signs of love-making.
You don't believe me.
You want proof? How about her stomach contents? Halloween? You're gonna guess candy.
Just sesame logs.
She loved them.
I'm checking, checking.
They blacked it out.
She gorged on sweet honey sesame candy while I made love to her on the night she left us.
The ME confirmed it.
Amberleigh ate sesame candy in the last hours of her life.
That was kept out of the autopsy report.
Never published, never leaked.
The department of Ed confirms Fife worked as a nurse at Amberleigh's school for two weeks that September.
A lot of people worked at her school.
I told the DA we'd strengthen her case.
You've done that.
The DA told you that we had 24 hours.
We haven't been into the crime scene.
We haven't interviewed Beth.
You know the DA's office.
This case collapses, they'll spin it so everybody thinks we botched it again.
And this case collapses how? The ransom demand.
The caller said, "we have your whore daughter.
" Fife thinks he made gentle love to Amberleigh.
Different fantasy.
Okay.
Keep the clock running.
Get a search warrant for the Harner home.
Track down the detective who first responded to the scene.
It wasn't a detective.
She was a rookie, Linda Bonnardi.
Right, I forgot.
She'd just graduated.
Four months out.
A year later, when I went to the academy, they were using her as an example in class, to prove that women were too emotional to be cops.
She left the force in disgrace.
Find her.
Happy Halloween.
she's totally hysterical.
Said she heard the kid scream, ran to her bedroom.
Kid's gone.
she gets a ransom call.
"We have your whore daughter.
" "We'll call back at 6.
Don't tell anyone.
" That's when she called us.
And you searched the house? And Matt interviewed Beth.
Big mistake.
Beth had made phone calls before we arrived.
So while I'm searching, people keep showing up.
People? The Royces.
You mean Nate and Madeline? And their kid.
Weird, right? And you didn't call for backup? I thought it was a prank.
But there was a ransom call.
I didn't believe her.
You get a call like that, "we have your whore daughter, don't tell anybody," and you invite ten friends over? Mm-hmm, I see your point.
And the caller, she said she'd call back at 6.
At 6, Beth is on the phone.
I tell her, "hang up.
" That 6 o'clock call should've been all she was thinking about.
Who went into the basement? I did, with Beth.
Nothing's changed.
That cellar door wasn't open, but it was not in its locked position.
You noticed that? No.
Beth did, uh right away.
Then I noticed the dryer door ajar.
The light is on.
I open it.
For a second, I thought she was sleeping.
You let Beth take the body out.
I let her lead me to the body.
She killed her daughter.
And because of me, she got away with it.
Thank you.
Don't let her get away with it this time.
She was a female rookie, wanted to prove herself, ended up making it harder on the rest of us.
Yeah, Beth Harner's behavior was very, very strange that morning but, it's another rookie cop's mistake to think that strange behavior equals guilt.
Nate's still on duty.
Mm-hmm, and he's on the phone.
I wonder who he's talking to.
No.
There is nothing else.
The DA has copies of everything.
You're not writing a new book about the case, are you? I'm just polishing it now, actually.
Put you back on that bestsellers list.
I am on your side.
Then put us in touch with Beth Harner.
- She would kill me, if I - What if I just hit the "redial"? Put that down! Please.
I'm sorry, I just try to protect her.
Look, she told me she had never met Fife.
We like to get our information firsthand.
And you wouldn't want something to delay the publication of your book, like, say, a subpoena of your notes? Dad.
Jamie, I thought you had a meeting.
Hello to you too, dad.
Everything okay? Yes, I'm just helping these detectives get in touch with Beth.
I am surprised you even want my opinion.
The New York police department never believed a word I said.
And that's the guy.
I never saw him in the schoolyard, but that's the guy.
You took your daughter to school? I took my daughter to school every day.
Unless, of course, she was, please don't touch anything.
Unless, of course, she was working.
And then, we would run lines together for her auditions.
You'd run lines? You were an actress too, right? Oh, no, uh, no.
Amberleigh was truly gifted.
I was, well, I danced in the chorus of a couple of shows, and weak knees ended that dream.
Oh, your knees look fine.
And your talent wasn't wasted.
You gave it to Amberleigh.
Thank you very much.
But it wasn't just me.
I mean, we had Jenna.
Jenna? Yes.
Amberleigh's acting coach for all of her commercials, even the last one that she did in September in L.
A.
Sep, September? Yes, right before You know, Amberleigh loved acting.
She loved Hollywood.
Sweet and juicy.
Her last commercial, it never aired.
As you can see, the camera loved her.
Did she love the camera? That's a lot of pressure on a young girl.
Amberleigh was a professional.
Even when she was unhappy, she never projected it on-screen.
Unhappy? Her mother said that she loved acting.
Oh, she did.
This is the only time I heard her complain.
The shoot kept getting postponed.
She was nervous about missing the start of school.
Do you happen to remember the dates? It's on the box sleeve.
First two weeks, September 1992.
Amberleigh was miserable.
But you never saw it on her face.
Sweet and juicy.
Sweet and juicy.
I jimmied the lock on the cellar door.
That's how I got in.
Simon, that door wasn't jimmied.
The door was unlocked.
No.
That can't be.
I snuck in through the cellar door.
We'll put that aside for a moment.
What do you do, usually, on Halloween? I stay home, hand out candy.
And it must be your favorite night of the year, these little girls, dressed in costume.
Princesses, fairies with sparkling wings, ribbons in their hair Your favorite night of the year.
Why did you go out? I mean, you must have went out.
You said that you were with Amberleigh that night.
That's right.
/ Do you remember what she was dressed as? She was a little Genie.
You remember everything about Amberleigh, don't you? First day of school, she wore a yellow dress, and little white ankle socks with white shoes.
You can see that, can't you? I mean, you can see it in your mind's eye, the little yellow dress? Skipping at recess.
So beautiful.
Simon, you and Amberleigh were never in that school together.
Amberleigh was in Los Angeles for the first two weeks of school, and you were fired before she came back.
She was in Los Angeles? - Then what about the sesame candy? - I don't know.
Maybe somebody told you.
Maybe you read it.
It must have been Beth, in one of her emails.
Amberleigh's mother sent you an email? She made me promise not to tell anyone.
No one knows, not Nate Royce, not the DA.
You won't tell anyone, will you? He may not have murdered Amberleigh, but I wouldn't let him within a hundred miles of my nieces.
Well, for what it's worth, Fife has agreed to enter a monitored program.
And the ADA says we ruined her investigation, so now it's on us to solve.
We have to ask Beth Harner about these emails she sent to Fife.
Not me.
He's the one she was making goo-goo eyes with.
What's your take on her? Well, she's off, at times, in her affect.
You know, she smiles when she's upset.
She craves attention.
You can see why people made her as a suspect.
A suspect without a motive.
She was living through her daughter.
If Amberleigh ever balked at Beth's dream for her You said she craves attention.
Give her some.
You gained Fife's trust, gain hers.
¢Ü When me and my Alice were playing the palace in '45 ¢Ü ¢Ü there wasn't a word of they hadn't heard of that thing called jive ¢Ü ¢Ü when we did our dance there was only one dance ¢Ü ¢Ü the world, it was alive we gave them the old soft shoe ¢Ü Coming! Wel Oh, I wasn't expecting the both of yous.
Actually, I was just dropping my partner off.
Yeah, well, maybe next time.
Come in.
Call me, if you need a ride home.
Bye.
I'm sorry you haven't had closure.
But the case will remain open, right? Yeah, the case will stay open.
No, I don't mean that.
I mean you'll be the one who calls me, who tells me things, who keeps me updated? - Okay.
- Okay? You know, you seem like a man who is dedicated to his work.
Too much maybe.
Like you were to Amberleigh.
All right, I did it.
I mean, I pushed her.
But Amberleigh wanted to stop acting.
A few months before she died, she told me that it wasn't fun for her anymore.
What? The auditions, watching her weight? Yes.
Halloween how did, how did you handle the candy? Amberleigh was allowed to keep ten pieces and then she had to give the rest away.
To her friends.
The names of these kids that went trick-or-treating with her, you remember them? Of course I remember.
- Brianna.
- Okay.
From down the street.
You know? She, oh, she worshipped Amberleigh.
She worshipped Amberleigh.
And the Perlman twins.
And Jamie, Nate's son.
Nate Royce's son, who lived next door? - He still does.
- Okay.
Detective Goren I've never told this to anyone before.
The night that my baby was murdered, she wanted to eat an extra piece of candy, just one more little piece of candy.
And I wouldn't let her have it.
She went to bed, she was crying.
She was angry with me.
I didn't even kiss her good night.
There's a book, okay? It's about grieving.
And I'm sorry, but I can't remember the name of it, but it could, it could help.
I could email it to you.
Thank you.
But I don't have, um, the internet.
You don't have an email account? No.
If someone wants to send me a sympathy note or anything like that, you know, they, um, email it, or send it, or whatever it's called, to Nate, and then Nate brings it to me.
Okay.
Happy Halloween! Oh, what has you guys get tonight? Anything good? Stop, Amberleigh.
Stop tickling me.
Tell us what your costumes are.
I'm a Genie.
And I'm a prince.
Oh, a prince! Isn't he handsome, Amberleigh? Isn't Jamie a handsome prince Charming, huh? Yeah.
So Beth told me she didn't email Fife about Amberleigh's stomach contents.
And she didn't know about Amberleigh's candy binge.
I wonder if prince Jamie did.
I was at Amberleigh's for the candy swap, and then my parents took me home.
What kind of candy did Amberleigh get at the swap? Sesame logs.
She got, like, 30 of them 'cause nobody else liked them.
Halloween, the anniversary.
It must hard for you.
Well, it's two anniversaries for me, so, yeah, I guess.
My mom died on Halloween too, four years after, in a car wreck.
She was drinking, but she didn't hurt anybody else.
But that must have hurt you a lot.
I'm, I'm okay.
I gotta go.
I got a meeting.
- Faculty? - Teach? No.
Uh, I'm still a student, but this is a meeting, meeting.
- AA? - NA.
Alcohol led to drugs.
How long have you been sober? But I was addicted for 14 years.
What step are you on? Fifth.
Five to admit the exact nature of your wrongs, to stop lying.
Are you ready to do that? Yeah.
Yeah, I am.
Halloween night, Amberleigh looked so pretty, and she kept trying to tickle me.
I misunderstood.
That night, later, I couldn't sleep.
I snuck into her house.
I said we should go to the basement and eat all our candy.
Okay.
You ate candy.
Then? Um, I tried to kiss her, and she screamed.
I tried to cover her mouth, but I hit her nose instead.
She started to bleed.
She was really crying.
I pushed her face into the couch to keep her quiet.
I was so scared, you know? I didn't mean to kill her.
Then you put her body in the dryer.
No, I went home.
And there was blood on my shirt.
My mom told me to go to bed, let her handle it.
And I thought she was gonna explain it to Beth.
I waited at my window.
Um, mom got in the car and drove off.
She probably went to make the ransom call.
Why do you think she did that? I think she meant to get rid of the body.
She must've panicked and hid Amberleigh in the dryer.
I know you're gonna tell Beth.
If she'll let me, I'd like to speak to her.
You care about Beth.
Jamie, why did you email Simon Fife pretending to be Beth? I don't remember doing that.
But all those years of drug use, you know, I have gaps.
Um, they have meetings in jail, right? They do.
Do you think your dad blames himself for what happened to you after Amberleigh's murder? My dad didn't know about any of this.
He was asleep.
We never told him.
He thought that I lost it 'cause of my mom.
Um, she was a bit of a self-medicator.
I know the type.
Another day, another confession.
You buy it? Not the part about emailing Simon Fife.
The question completely surprised him.
Wouldn't be the first time drugs addled memory.
Well, except that these emails to Fife were sent in the last three months, and Jamie's been sober that whole time.
Well, if he didn't write them, maybe his dad did.
I don't see how a 12-year-old boy and a drunk mom could have kept a secret from Nate.
Try to reach Beth.
Maybe she'll meet with the kid.
He lied to us about a few things.
I don't think he'll lie to her.
I haven't been able to reach Beth.
She might be having a bad day.
It's Halloween.
Keep trying.
In the meantime, we should charge Jamie.
He says he did it, his mother covered.
You don't believe a mother would protect her 12-year-old boy? There's a piece missing.
Jamie's maybe he's protecting his dad.
It doesn't sound like his dad protected him.
Jamie has a case file in the Portland, Oregon department of child services.
He was living on the street there when he was 16.
The Royces let their son turn homeless.
Well, his mom was probably in her own world by then.
Nate made a career out of protecting Beth.
Why wouldn't he get his son help? I don't know.
No.
He didn't want him to get help.
I mean, that's, that's the whole point, isn't it? Therapy is talk, right? A kid goes into therapy, he ends up talking about Amberleigh's murder.
When did Nate and Fife start emailing? Three months ago.
Jamie told us that he was sober for 14 weeks.
You know, sobriety, that must have been Nate's worst nightmare.
'Cause when his kid is out of control, he could control him.
But if his kid's in a program Nate was afraid his son would end up telling somebody what actually happened that night.
All right.
Fife emailed Nate about his obsession with Amberleigh.
Nate reeled him in.
Jamie's walking a fine line, confessing to his sins, not his father's.
Jamie won't turn on his father, but Nate, he's loyal to himself.
Rich, can you find Faith Yancy's producer? Tell them it's, uh, the DA's office.
Nate Royce, your own son has confessed to this crime.
Did you ever, ever see this coming? I really shouldn't be showing you this.
- Never in my wildest dreams, Faith.
- Thank you.
Mr.
Royce, I have some news that may shock you.
An anonymous source at the DA's office tells me that they believe your son sent many emails to Simon Fife, pretending to be Beth Harner, giving him information that only the killer would have.
Faith, my wife Madeline was a very sick woman, and I fear that she has passed that on to my son.
I was looking for him in the holding cell.
Detective Goren reached Beth.
She's willing to meet you.
Tonight.
Tonight? It's all right, my baby.
It's over.
It's all over.
Go to sleep now.
I love you.
Mama loves you.
We all miss you, Amberleigh.
Are you ready, hmm? How dare you come here, detective? Jamie wanted to pay his respects.
No.
No, Beth's had enough stress.
No, it's all right, Nate.
Come in, Jamie.
Beth I'm so sorry.
You were a little boy, Jamie.
I didn't mean to.
It was an accident.
I know.
I know.
Oh, you were so young.
You were such a little boy.
I forgive you.
And so does Amberleigh.
Now, come on.
Come on.
I wish I could take your place here.
We'll drive you home, Beth.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, I'd like to stay, and, and, and talk everything over with Jamie.
- No, Beth.
- It's okay, dad.
I'm ready to take responsibility now.
This isn't about making amends, Jamie.
There are serious issues here.
He already confessed, Nate.
But you know that.
Faith Yancy told you all about it on national TV.
Jamie and I watched.
You need help, son.
That's why I went on TV, so that the public doesn't turn on you.
Help.
He needs help? He's getting help.
He's sober.
He needed help 14 years ago, the night Amberleigh died.
I knew nothing about that.
My wife never told me.
Even so, the drugs, the alcohol you must have seen your boy was in trouble.
Madeline refused.
I was worried about Jamie, but she didn't care.
Wait a minute, that's not true, Jamie.
Your mother, your mother cared so much about you.
She was a drunk, Beth.
Please.
You know nothing about my private struggles.
But Jamie does.
When you were in Portland, homeless, you had a case worker.
Wait a minute, you were, you were you told me he was away at school.
Your caseworker remembers you, Jamie.
Do you know why? 'Cause your dad called him to request that you not get counseling.
Dad, why would you? 'cause he didn't want to risk you telling your therapist your family secret.
Isn't that right, Nate? When Jamie found sobriety, you found Fife? You tricked him, didn't you, into confessing? They're lying, Jamie.
Fife had information about the murder only the killer could've known.
Fife thought that Beth was emailing him.
Beth, you weren't emailing him, were you? No.
It was Jamie.
He, he doesn't remember.
I didn't email him, dad.
You know I love you.
I have always protected you.
Protected? The only one you protected in all this was yourself.
Your son could have gotten help, but you told him he'd do hard time.
Don't listen to them, listen to me.
Listen to you? You've been lying to me for 14 years.
Madeline made the ransom call.
Tell them, Jamie.
You came home, mom panicked.
Tell them.
Jamie, is that true? Jamie, Beth needs to know what really happened.
No.
It wasn't mom's plan, it was dad's.
They had a big fight.
I watched from the window as mom got into the car and drove off.
Dad went into the house.
And I saw the light go on in the basement, and he was down there for awhile.
And then the cellar door opened, and lights went on upstairs.
Did you turn the lights on, Beth? Yes, when I heard Amberleigh scream from my bedroom window.
Bedroom window, which is where? It's two floors above the cellar door.
She screamed, oh, my god, did she scream.
She was alive, Nate? No, no, no, no.
She was gone, Beth.
The screams were from when Jamie was with her.
So you were there.
Jamie, do you remember what happened after the lights went on? The cellar door closed, and a few minutes later, dad came out the back door.
He's got it wrong.
This was his mother's idea after Jamie killed Amberleigh.
Jamie, you told me that you gave Amberleigh a bloody nose.
Did you hit her hard? No, I hit her nose by mistake, and she sat down and started crying, and I that's when I tried to stop the noise.
And you suffocated her.
But her head her head didn't hit anything.
Amberleigh's autopsy, it's in your book.
It's all there.
She suffocated.
And her brain had bruising, front and back from head trauma.
I didn't hit her head.
All Jamie did was give her a bloody nose.
He doesn't know what he did.
No, but you do.
Right? You saw Amberleigh in the basement.
You thought she was dead, just like Jamie did.
You were gonna carry her body out, and hide it.
But something happened.
What was it? Did she wake up? Did she? Nate, what did you, what did you do? She start crying? She start crying, Nate, is that what happened? You heard Beth moving upstairs, and you panicked, just like your son did? But Jamie ran for help from you.
You smashed her head, and you threw her body into the dryer.
Beth, Jamie didn't kill Amberleigh.
- You did.
- I never meant It was an accident, and I swear that.
It was an accident, huh? You sure you weren't just trying to weigh your options? You know, her life, your reputation? And then you decided to finish her off.
I was trying to protect my son.
From what? You told me it was my fault, told me to act dumb.
And that's what I did for the next 14 years! How could you, Nate? How could you? Look at me.
Nate, look at me.
Look at me.
All right, get him out of here.
Look at me! You took everything.