Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s10e02 Episode Script
The Consoler
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.
- All right, Theresa.
Your turn.
- Tell everybody to duck.
- [Laughs.]
- Wow.
Nicely done.
- Thanks.
- The priest sent me an apology note.
As though I'm supposed to absolve him.
For years I carried the shame of that abuse without telling a soul.
And I can't do it anymore.
It's-it's time to come clean.
- Guess what I found out today.
Oh.
Hello.
[Sobbing.]
- But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly father, for he makes the sun rise on the bad and the good.
And causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
- All right, talk about the blind date from hell.
First he takes me to a blood bank to donate plasma, then Tequila shots.
What? [Sighs.]
Theresa, why? - Monsignor, at your convenience, I'd love the chance to talk.
- Oh, it's taken care of.
- Excuse me? - John, relax.
It's all taken care of.
- I'm not supposed to let you in.
- I know.
I really appreciate it.
Theresa? [Cat meows.]
Theresa? You awake? I'm coming in.
Name's Theresa Esperna.
None of the neighbors hears the shot.
No security cameras in the building.
We found this tucked in the folder of her iPad case.
It's why we called.
- Wire transfer from bank salerno to a numbered offshore account.
- Uh, who Who moved the body? - Nobody.
Her friend and the building super found her like this.
There's no forced entry.
It looks self-inflicted.
- Thanks, detective.
- Well, we have an entry wound.
Below the right ear, right under the hairline.
But the gun is over there.
Gun powder.
There's flakes under her fingernails.
Both hands.
- Soap? - Maybe.
Has a sweet smell, but not a common fragrance.
It-it's unusual, like, uh, balsam.
- Some kind of botanical? - I'm not sure.
Can we bag both her hands? - You're not thinking suicide.
- You are? - The gun could have bounced when she fell.
Suicide that looks like a murder? - Or a murder that looks like a suicide.
- We were supposed to meet for breakfast.
She said she needed my advice.
- About what? - Uh, probably a man.
When she didn't answer her cell, I came by.
Why would someone kill Theresa? - What makes you think it was murder? - Because suicide's a mortal sin, and your friend was old school catholic.
She has a crucifix in her room, catholic dating service on her iPad.
- Um, Tess was raised in a super strict family.
- Notice there's not much paper in this apartment.
She-she was a techie? - Yeah, on her iPad 24-7, 365.
- We did find one scrap of paper.
A wire transfer from bank salerno? - That's where she worked.
- It's horrifying.
Theresa was a Saint.
- What time did she leave your office last night? - Just after 6:00.
Said she had a business meeting.
Didn't say with whom.
- You know, I notice the papal crest just after the alcove there.
That's a obvious display of faith.
Aren't you afraid that might alienate clients? Unless, of course, the client is the catholic church? - We'll know for sure once we subpoena your records.
This isn't Switzerland.
- Theresa was senior v.
P.
In charge of the victims settlement account established by the archdiocese of New York.
- Victims of abuse by priests.
- Yes.
- Now, aren't there any better jobs in this bank for a woman of, you know, her skills? - Theresa felt very strongly about remunerating victims.
She wanted to make amends and restore the good name of the church.
- So the wire transfer was a settlement to bn individual? - Yes.
- She have any help with that account? - I helped Theresa manage the settlement money in the accounts.
Kept it in t-bills, risk-free bonds.
- So you were close? - She was one of my best friends.
- We found a disbursement receipt for $2.
7 million.
- Um, that was for Alice garvey in mount Vernon.
- That's a pretty big payout.
- She was molested dozens of times over five years.
- This is a mediation DVD, right? I mean, that's what these are, aren't they? The victim tells their story in front of a camera, and then a professional mediator and Theresa, they determine the settlement amounts? - Can't be easy watching those stories.
- Yeah, we watched every single one of 'em together.
They're tough to take.
- College all-star.
- I had a tryout with the Phillies.
They told me I'd make a great banker.
- Wow.
Hey, you got little league and you got college, but there's no high school.
- Yeah, those were my awkward years.
I guess I'm ashamed.
- Right.
That's a catholic word.
You know, "ashamed.
" - Speaking of which, we found a catholic dating service on Theresa's iPad.
- Catholic crush.
The ad said that they would find her God's perfect match.
- Did they? - Nobody on that site could measure up to Theresa.
And God wasn't availle.
- [Clears throat.]
- Chief of the detectives office just called about those psych evals.
You know, those shrink sessions are non-cancelable.
- Yeah, you got it, captain.
- Spare me the attitude, all right? - You know that it's a waste - I know how non-negotiable these sessions were to get your ass back behind this desk.
They still think you're crazy upstairs.
You know this.
- Okay, thanks.
I spoke to her father in Mexico.
She came when she was went to Georgetown, got a Harvard mba.
Senior v.
P.
On wall street at 28.
- Immigrant success story.
Devout catholic.
She runs a fund to help victims.
She's lonely.
No boyfriend.
- "God's perfect match in 60 days or your money back"? - Wonder if I'm too old for Catechism class.
- Lab's analyzing the soap flakes under her fingernails.
This is from ballistics.
- We got a hit on the.
22 beretta.
- All right, so anyone tell me what an elephant sounds like? [Children imitate elephant.]
Right! Very good.
All right, what do we got down here? - Lizards.
- Lizard.
- Monsignor? - Monkey.
- Hi.
- Can we have a moment please? - Yep, that's my gun.
I took her to the gun range to show her how to fire it.
And I gave it to her for protection.
- Protection from who? - Well, a couple of months ago there was this out-of-state abuse victim, and His parish declared bankruptcy, so he made threats.
Luckily, nothing happened.
- So it's safe to say you're not big on "turn the other cheek"? - I realize giving her the gun was a Terrible mistake.
- We're curious about your relationship with her.
- Cordial.
Not personal.
I oversee settlements on behalf of the archdiocese.
- You mean like the one to Alice garvey.
- Yes.
But, as you know, I'm not at liberty to speak about that.
Confidentiality agreements and all.
- Monsignor, we're ready.
- Okay, I'm coming.
Look, I've got a whole ward full of kids that need my help today, so if you don't mind - Sure.
- The wound's consistent with female gunshot suicides in one respect behind the ear, below hairline.
- She wanted an open-casket funeral.
- No note, no motive for suicide.
- Only one in six leave a note.
You know that.
- Uh, we found two varieties of soap flakes under her fingernails.
Her skin's very exfoliated.
Heavy scrubbing on the inner thighs.
- Looks like she used a pumice stone.
- There's no pumice stone in her shower.
But her washcloth was wet.
- She showered at home, and also somewhere else.
She felt unclean.
You do a rape kit? - Yeah.
She did have sex the night of the murder, but there's no tearing, no bruising, no signs of force.
Her partner used a condom.
It looks consensual.
- Olive oil on the skin? - Yeah, balsam too.
- Mixed with olive oil Makes myrrh.
So she had sex.
She showered twice.
Scrubbed herself raw.
And anointed herself with holy oil.
[Elevator bell dings.]
- Two showers? Well, maybe she's got o.
C.
D.
- Captain, the lab broke down the soap residue under her nails.
This isn't commercial.
It's custom, luxury soap.
Distributor says only three hotels in Manhattan use it.
- So she was sitting here? - Yes, the waiter said she bought an orange juice.
She seemed nervous.
Security just downloaded lobby camera footage.
Here's where the gentleman you see on the screen showed up.
- Can you freeze that? Cordial, not personal.
Checked the floor indicator.
It stopped at two and four and now seven.
- The hotel manager said the monsignor registered under the name Mr.
Jenkins.
- Did they leave together? - There she is.
Alone.
- She has wet hair.
- Shower number one was here, number two was at home.
- Mm.
- The toxicology found 800 micrograms of Diazepam, and blood alcohol was.
04.
- Means she was putty.
The killer could have put a gun in her hand, made it look like suicide.
- Well, before we jump to conclusions, let's find out more about our monsignor.
- Monsignor mcteal started soup kitchens, food banks, orphanages.
He's dynamo.
- We saw him at children's hospital.
- In church circles, they call him "the consoler.
" - Does he also console women in their time of emotional need? - But no official complaints against the monsignor? - There was an unrelated complaint we passed on to his office.
Someone said that they hadn't received their settlement from the archdiocese.
- Alice garvey? - For years, I carried the shame of that abuse without telling a soul.
And I can't do it anymore.
It's-it's time to come clean.
It feels good.
Hiding a secret like that Festers.
Makes you rotten inside.
- I'm Ilana, Alice's niece.
- She's in here? - Yes.
- She was in a car accident a couple months ago.
Traumatic brain injury.
She could be like this the rest of her life.
- Body of Christ.
Body of Christ.
- Amen.
The body of Christ.
- I know what you did.
- Last year she won a ten-year legal battle with the church.
That was before the accident.
- The money never c came.
- Hmm.
Does it look it? - So she won a legal battle, but then lost her mental faculties before she could collect? - Did you file a complaint with monsignor mcteal's office? - He represents the archdiocese.
They said the money was paid, but that's just not true.
- Monsignor.
- Detectives.
- You met Theresa at the St.
Regis after business hours.
- Yes, we worked together on a settlement account.
- And what was Mr.
Jenkins doing? - My anonymity is sometimes necessary for sensitive discussions.
- And midnight trysts.
- We discussed business.
- In the shower.
- I'm sorry.
Should I know what you're talking about? - Yes, you should.
She took a shower.
The business that you, uh, discussed, was that Alice garvey's settlement? 'Cause we just met her niece.
- A relative of Alice garvey's filed a complaint that she had not yet received her money.
So I looked into it.
Theresa's pass code was used to wire Alice garvey's money into an offshore bank.
- Theresa embezzled $2.
7 million? - Well, I didn't ask her to confirm or deny.
I just told her that she had five days to put that money back into the account.
- Spends her career helping victims and then she steals a settlement? - She found out garvey was non compos and grabbed the opportunity.
- Well, if she stole the money, she-she had to have a reason.
- Greed? - Yeah, but she lives within her means.
I mean, she had three pairs of shoes in her closet.
- Maybe she was sick of it.
- I.
T.
Retrieved and catalogued everything on Theresa's home and office computers.
This was erased from her iPad.
We had to pull it off the server.
- "To whom it may concern.
I took the money.
" Theresa's suicide note? - Looks like your case just closed.
We don't buy it.
We need to go further before we can close this as a suicide.
- Why, because the note's on an iPad? - Because of the embezzlement.
- With that suicide note, no D.
A.
In his right mind would file.
Joe, don't be a moron.
We have legit suspects.
- You give us the room a minute? Bobby, I appreciate you coming back.
I really do.
But this doesn't work.
I know what you do.
And you know what I do.
I've got your back, and you respect my face and don't get in it.
- Detective goren? I'm Paula geisen.
Come on in.
- Sorry I'm late.
- Well, it's tough to get away from your job.
- No excuse.
Your office, it's, uh, striking.
- Thank you.
- These two doors, they remind me of a riddle.
You know the one? Two identical doors.
Two identical guards.
One guard is an angel guarding heaven, he always tells the truth.
And the other guard is a devil guarding hell.
He always has to lie.
You have one question to ask to get into heaven.
What would that question be? You'll never get it.
It'sYou'll - Give me time.
- Uh, also the missed appointments, I apologize.
- I'm sure you had good reasons not to come.
- You don't have to do that.
- How do you mean? - Empathize with me.
- Is that what you think I'm doing? - Yeah, "I'm sure you had reason not to come.
" You know, "your job is too tough To get away from.
" You're trying to gain my trust.
- I don't think that would be that easy to do.
- Is that what it says in my file? - That? That's only part of your file.
- Did you accept to do this before or after you read it? - After.
- And after the more experienced psychiatrists begged off? - I didn't have to fight to get you.
And it wasn't only the files.
Seven employer-mandated sessions with someone As challenging as you - You were gonna say "crazy," weren't you? - Why do you think that? - Do you think I'm crazy? - I think you are a person who is aware that the world is a dangerous place.
You found a way of surviving, but your way can make other people feel uncomfortable.
- "Challenging" and, you know, "uncomfortable.
" You're walking on egg shells with me, aren't you? - Isn't that how you like it? Hmm? It's part of your skill set, like being able to read people quickly.
- It's my job.
- Sure.
It's protected you.
But it's also taken its toll on those around you and on yourself.
You are exceptional at analyzing others.
Exceptional.
So what is it that you think will happen if you start looking at yourself? - I didn't tell you about the embezzlement because I didn't know.
- So overseeing accounts isn't part of the job description? - Oversee, not monitor every transaction.
- 2.
7 million didn't warrant your attention? - It's a great deal of money, but it's not an atypical settlement.
- Plus we thought we'd settled with Alice garvey.
We sent her the papers.
- You said that you watched mediation DVDs with Theresa.
- Yeah, I did.
- She was looking for God's perfect match.
Maybe you were it.
- She was my boss.
We were just friends.
- We are gonna let our lawyers handle things from here on in.
Obviously, we'll be doing our own investigation.
- So will we.
There was a lamp on this table, and her pictures are gone.
- Johnny let a friend of hers come in and take some of her personal effects.
- Is that Natalie? - Uh, yeah, they were buddies.
- You let someone remove possible evidence from an ongoing investigation? - We're bankers, not police.
- Uh, I went to her office to box up her things for her parents.
I ran into Johnny.
We talked a little.
- Googled you.
You were 57th in the tennis rankings at 18.
- Oh, ancient history.
- Then drug possession and petty theft in your 20s.
And now you're over $70,000 in debt.
- 73,600, to be exact.
- That's a cute cat.
- Oh, um, name's pyewacket.
- Pyewacket? That's from a Jimmy Stewart film.
Yeah, the cat, it was Kim novak's best friend.
It's a funny movie.
I think the cat was a wizard.
Not very catholic.
- It's a cat.
- So you and Theresa were roommates at Georgetown.
Very catholic.
- She got me into rehab.
Back into the church.
- Did you know that- that Theresa was accused of, uh, stealing millions of dollars from the church settlement account? Yeah, I know, it Doesn't make sense.
But there must have been a reason.
She didn't have a lot of experience with men, did she? - How many straight, single men in their 30s are still practicing catholics and not total weirdoes? - Johnny's pretty cute.
How about him? - She was his boss.
No way.
- You're lying.
- Okay.
I mean, maybe they hooked up once or tw&e, but it-it was casual.
- They were friends, though.
I mean, she liked him, though.
- Yeah.
A lot.
- You lied to us, Johnny.
- Johnny.
You slept with your boss.
- All right, I'll be honest with you, I didn't want to admit it in front of kilpatrick.
- Can't be that dumb.
I mean, lying to two cops in a homicide investigation? Really? Did you just cop to a felony? - We hooked up a month ago.
It was no big deal.
Once, maybe twice.
- So the pillow talk wasn't about where to stash the 2.
7? - This sounds like I need a lawyer.
- Do you need a lawyer? I don't know.
Right now you're just a you're a person of interest.
Lawyer up, well, that takes you straight up to maybe suspect.
- You guys, I didn't steal the money.
[Sighs.]
The night Theresa died, she called me and told me that monsignor mcteal accused her of embezzlement.
The next day Natalie told me he asked Theresa for sex in exchange for giving her five days to replace the money.
- What was your reaction? - I wanted to kill the bastard.
I figured it had to be an accounting mistake.
- No, no, no.
She stole it.
There's no question about that.
- No.
You're wrong.
We both felt the same way.
The only people that deserved that money are victims.
- So the monsignor forced Theresa to have sex quid pro quo for giving her five days to return the money? - She's so remorseful, she kills herself.
- Five days to return the money, she goes home and kills herself.
You know, look at this.
Uh "What I have now done was the only path left for me.
" - So formal.
- Yeah.
- Here all night? - You bring bagels? - See, men, women, they leave different markers when they write suicide notes.
Women seem to rely more heavily on expression of feelings, like, um, thanking someone.
You know, polite speech.
Apologizing.
- She was close to her parents, and they're not even mentioned.
- Yes.
"I acted out of greed and poor character.
" See, now that's a direct admission, but there's no reference to God or the Bible, or any misgivings for breaking the eighth commandment.
- The $2.
7 million question is Why was it erased? - Yeah, I don't know.
But I do know that she didn't write it.
The killer wants her death to look like a suicide, but he puts the gun four feet away from the body.
Doesn't make any sense.
- The cat.
- Yes, I have pyewacket.
I decided to keep him.
- You ever feed him when Theresa worked late, or when she was out of town? - Um, can I get back to my lesson? - So you have your own key to her apartment? - No.
- Is that why you asked the building super to let you in? - Right.
- You wanted him to corroborate you finding the dead body.
But you already knew she was dead.
- I don't have a key.
- Well, we got a warrant.
We searched your apartment.
- Fine.
I had a key.
- Neighbor says she saw you heading up the stairs at 8:15.
Constantine says you got him at 8:35.
Maybe you found a way to access Theresa's account at work.
When Theresa tipped onto it, you killed her.
- That's ridiculous.
She was my best friend.
- Uh, now she turned your life around.
Didn't she? And you'd do anything to protect her.
And in the eyes of the catholic church, a suicide is the same as murder.
- When Tess didn't answer, I let myself in.
I found her on the floor of the bedroom, and she'd shot herself.
She wouldn't be able to have a mass or be buried in consecrated ground.
- So you kicked the gun away and you repositioned the body.
- She committed suicide, but the monsignor was responsible.
- That's why you erased the suicide note on her iPad.
- What suicide note? Natalie admits she dutched the crime scene.
That's obstruction.
- So who erased the suicide note? - Not Natalie.
The killer? - Why? - As a fail-safe.
Police close the case as a suicide, then he's home free.
If not, then he knows that they'll scrub her computers and find the note.
- Natalie said Hugh mcteal extorted Theresa.
- She didn't realllly say that, captain.
- Maybe not word for word, but close enough.
Let's bring him in and sweat him for suspicion of rape.
- Did you rape Theresa esperna? - Absolutely not.
Is that why you brought me in here? - Look, if your strategy is to drag the church through the mud - we have no agenda against the church.
For every story you hear of misconduct, there are thousands of stories of good works.
- Well, that's the first true thing you've said all day, detective.
- You know, I was thinking, you know, an episcopalian priest can well, they can have a wife, and a lutheran pastor, they can date a playmate.
You have, uh, vows of chastity.
- Mm.
A vocation demands sacrifice.
- Jeez, it must be Frustrating.
- Temptation is a test that God gives all of us.
- Well, it seems to be a test you're failing.
- I'm no different from any other man.
How about you, detective goren? Any frailties of your own? - Look, we're within a minute of walking if we don't hear a charge.
- You can Love the church for their good works, or you can hate the church for theirHypocrisy.
Tick tock.
Ti- how much time do I have left? Go ahead.
No.
How much? But both sides agree Thou shalt not kill.
- I did not kill Theresa.
- Okay, forget about the murder.
Theresa's friend says you forced her to have sex.
- Never happened.
- Well, there's no way we can prove it forensically, because you're careful, and used a condom.
Oh, I forgot.
That's another sin, isn't it? You're The consoler? - Don't push it, detective.
- You take advantage of vulnerable women.
Isn't that the basis of the scandal? Priests taking advantage of the vulnerable.
- I'm not a molester.
- But you broke your vows.
- I feed 35,000 orphans in five boroughs.
- Yeah, and you're held to a higher standard.
- I built a cancer hospital last year.
- Did you know that Theresa showered twice after visiting you at the St.
Regis? Twice.
What do you think about that, monsignor? As evidence of a guilty mind or a tortured soul? She was disgusted by you.
She scrubbed every place that you touched her.
- Hmm.
Well, you got me, detective.
Yep.
I occasionally have sex with women.
Consenting women.
It's a flaw that I'm not proud of.
That does not, however, make me a murderer.
Cardinal.
I, uh - I'll see you in my office in the morning.
- You got some hail Marys coming.
- Slime.
- But smart.
Picked on women who aren't gonna go after the settlement.
He'll stick to his story that Theresa was embezzling the money.
- Johnny admitted Theresa told him about the embezzlement before she died.
- But not the sex.
- She told Natalie about sex with the monsignor.
- But not the theft.
- A confession in two parts.
- Either way, she betrayed her faith.
- This is about her faith.
She did it for someone.
Uomeone who she thought deserved the money.
Sorry.
Let me just, uh Whoo! Okay.
Two weeks ago, the monsignor gave a gun to Theresa, because of an angry abuse victim who felt that he was cheated out of, uh His payoff.
- Uh, he was harmless.
Just angry.
- Now, that was around the same time that you and Theresa were Uh You know, knocking boots.
- That's crassly correct.
- What's your point, detective? - Well, I think that That you told Theresa something That you never told another soul.
.
451.
Freshman year's batting average.
I mean, wow.
I think that's amazing.
You know.
All right, look.
I mean, you must have been, what? .
451? You must have been in great shape.
Freshman year.
I have, uh, this marked here.
There's father Duffy.
Now, he was the varsity baseball coach who was fired for For improper relations.
- I remember father Duffy.
- Do you know how much the Franklin county settlement was to each abuse victim? After the parish went bankrupt? Do you know? It was $11,000.
So Alice garvey got 2.
7 million, and you got 11 grand.
- I wasn't molested.
- Come on, Johnny.
Come on.
You of all people know that denial is common among Abuse victims.
I mean, that's why you didn't have any baseball pictures from Franklin catholic in your office.
Did you know that abuse victims, they try and attach themselves, in many cases, to their abuser.
Like a man who works in a bank, whose main client is the catholic church - I took the job because the church is helping victims of abuse.
- Yes, that's right.
Right.
Ãso there Theresa is.
Now, she's writing multi-million dollar settlement checks.
Every day.
Uh, helping people that she didn't even know.
And you got stiffed in Franklin county.
- I wasn't molested.
- Giving you a fair settlement was impossible.
You know, what was she gonna do? You know, write you a check? When did you find out about Alice garvey's car accident? Was that the night that you hooked up with Theresa? You slithered into this lonely woman, this woman who had sympathy for the abuse you suffered.
- That's not what happened.
- There's absolutely no proof that he was - come on, Johnny! Come on! What could you do? I mean, you weren't gonna give the money back.
You deserved it.
Right? You deserved it for the vile and disgusting things that father Duffy did to you.
And Theresa was the only one that knew the truth.
And the truth would die with her.
So what'd you do? You went over there, you opened a bottle of wine, you popped a pill in her glass.
She drank it, she got wasted.
And boom! - No.
- Father Duffy took advantage of you.
You took advantage of Theresa.
And the abused became the abuser.
The iPad note? Remember that? You know, I always knew that that she didn't write it, but I-I was up all night trying to figure out what it really was.
Your confession.
"To whom it may concern.
"I took the money.
"I acted out of greed "and poor character.
"Shame was too much to bear.
"What I have now done was the only path left for me.
"I had no choice.
Johnny.
" - I didn't mean to kill her.
I didn't want to kill her.
[Crying.]
- No, you didn't mean to.
You didn't want to.
But you did.
These are their stories.
- All right, Theresa.
Your turn.
- Tell everybody to duck.
- [Laughs.]
- Wow.
Nicely done.
- Thanks.
- The priest sent me an apology note.
As though I'm supposed to absolve him.
For years I carried the shame of that abuse without telling a soul.
And I can't do it anymore.
It's-it's time to come clean.
- Guess what I found out today.
Oh.
Hello.
[Sobbing.]
- But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly father, for he makes the sun rise on the bad and the good.
And causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
- All right, talk about the blind date from hell.
First he takes me to a blood bank to donate plasma, then Tequila shots.
What? [Sighs.]
Theresa, why? - Monsignor, at your convenience, I'd love the chance to talk.
- Oh, it's taken care of.
- Excuse me? - John, relax.
It's all taken care of.
- I'm not supposed to let you in.
- I know.
I really appreciate it.
Theresa? [Cat meows.]
Theresa? You awake? I'm coming in.
Name's Theresa Esperna.
None of the neighbors hears the shot.
No security cameras in the building.
We found this tucked in the folder of her iPad case.
It's why we called.
- Wire transfer from bank salerno to a numbered offshore account.
- Uh, who Who moved the body? - Nobody.
Her friend and the building super found her like this.
There's no forced entry.
It looks self-inflicted.
- Thanks, detective.
- Well, we have an entry wound.
Below the right ear, right under the hairline.
But the gun is over there.
Gun powder.
There's flakes under her fingernails.
Both hands.
- Soap? - Maybe.
Has a sweet smell, but not a common fragrance.
It-it's unusual, like, uh, balsam.
- Some kind of botanical? - I'm not sure.
Can we bag both her hands? - You're not thinking suicide.
- You are? - The gun could have bounced when she fell.
Suicide that looks like a murder? - Or a murder that looks like a suicide.
- We were supposed to meet for breakfast.
She said she needed my advice.
- About what? - Uh, probably a man.
When she didn't answer her cell, I came by.
Why would someone kill Theresa? - What makes you think it was murder? - Because suicide's a mortal sin, and your friend was old school catholic.
She has a crucifix in her room, catholic dating service on her iPad.
- Um, Tess was raised in a super strict family.
- Notice there's not much paper in this apartment.
She-she was a techie? - Yeah, on her iPad 24-7, 365.
- We did find one scrap of paper.
A wire transfer from bank salerno? - That's where she worked.
- It's horrifying.
Theresa was a Saint.
- What time did she leave your office last night? - Just after 6:00.
Said she had a business meeting.
Didn't say with whom.
- You know, I notice the papal crest just after the alcove there.
That's a obvious display of faith.
Aren't you afraid that might alienate clients? Unless, of course, the client is the catholic church? - We'll know for sure once we subpoena your records.
This isn't Switzerland.
- Theresa was senior v.
P.
In charge of the victims settlement account established by the archdiocese of New York.
- Victims of abuse by priests.
- Yes.
- Now, aren't there any better jobs in this bank for a woman of, you know, her skills? - Theresa felt very strongly about remunerating victims.
She wanted to make amends and restore the good name of the church.
- So the wire transfer was a settlement to bn individual? - Yes.
- She have any help with that account? - I helped Theresa manage the settlement money in the accounts.
Kept it in t-bills, risk-free bonds.
- So you were close? - She was one of my best friends.
- We found a disbursement receipt for $2.
7 million.
- Um, that was for Alice garvey in mount Vernon.
- That's a pretty big payout.
- She was molested dozens of times over five years.
- This is a mediation DVD, right? I mean, that's what these are, aren't they? The victim tells their story in front of a camera, and then a professional mediator and Theresa, they determine the settlement amounts? - Can't be easy watching those stories.
- Yeah, we watched every single one of 'em together.
They're tough to take.
- College all-star.
- I had a tryout with the Phillies.
They told me I'd make a great banker.
- Wow.
Hey, you got little league and you got college, but there's no high school.
- Yeah, those were my awkward years.
I guess I'm ashamed.
- Right.
That's a catholic word.
You know, "ashamed.
" - Speaking of which, we found a catholic dating service on Theresa's iPad.
- Catholic crush.
The ad said that they would find her God's perfect match.
- Did they? - Nobody on that site could measure up to Theresa.
And God wasn't availle.
- [Clears throat.]
- Chief of the detectives office just called about those psych evals.
You know, those shrink sessions are non-cancelable.
- Yeah, you got it, captain.
- Spare me the attitude, all right? - You know that it's a waste - I know how non-negotiable these sessions were to get your ass back behind this desk.
They still think you're crazy upstairs.
You know this.
- Okay, thanks.
I spoke to her father in Mexico.
She came when she was went to Georgetown, got a Harvard mba.
Senior v.
P.
On wall street at 28.
- Immigrant success story.
Devout catholic.
She runs a fund to help victims.
She's lonely.
No boyfriend.
- "God's perfect match in 60 days or your money back"? - Wonder if I'm too old for Catechism class.
- Lab's analyzing the soap flakes under her fingernails.
This is from ballistics.
- We got a hit on the.
22 beretta.
- All right, so anyone tell me what an elephant sounds like? [Children imitate elephant.]
Right! Very good.
All right, what do we got down here? - Lizards.
- Lizard.
- Monsignor? - Monkey.
- Hi.
- Can we have a moment please? - Yep, that's my gun.
I took her to the gun range to show her how to fire it.
And I gave it to her for protection.
- Protection from who? - Well, a couple of months ago there was this out-of-state abuse victim, and His parish declared bankruptcy, so he made threats.
Luckily, nothing happened.
- So it's safe to say you're not big on "turn the other cheek"? - I realize giving her the gun was a Terrible mistake.
- We're curious about your relationship with her.
- Cordial.
Not personal.
I oversee settlements on behalf of the archdiocese.
- You mean like the one to Alice garvey.
- Yes.
But, as you know, I'm not at liberty to speak about that.
Confidentiality agreements and all.
- Monsignor, we're ready.
- Okay, I'm coming.
Look, I've got a whole ward full of kids that need my help today, so if you don't mind - Sure.
- The wound's consistent with female gunshot suicides in one respect behind the ear, below hairline.
- She wanted an open-casket funeral.
- No note, no motive for suicide.
- Only one in six leave a note.
You know that.
- Uh, we found two varieties of soap flakes under her fingernails.
Her skin's very exfoliated.
Heavy scrubbing on the inner thighs.
- Looks like she used a pumice stone.
- There's no pumice stone in her shower.
But her washcloth was wet.
- She showered at home, and also somewhere else.
She felt unclean.
You do a rape kit? - Yeah.
She did have sex the night of the murder, but there's no tearing, no bruising, no signs of force.
Her partner used a condom.
It looks consensual.
- Olive oil on the skin? - Yeah, balsam too.
- Mixed with olive oil Makes myrrh.
So she had sex.
She showered twice.
Scrubbed herself raw.
And anointed herself with holy oil.
[Elevator bell dings.]
- Two showers? Well, maybe she's got o.
C.
D.
- Captain, the lab broke down the soap residue under her nails.
This isn't commercial.
It's custom, luxury soap.
Distributor says only three hotels in Manhattan use it.
- So she was sitting here? - Yes, the waiter said she bought an orange juice.
She seemed nervous.
Security just downloaded lobby camera footage.
Here's where the gentleman you see on the screen showed up.
- Can you freeze that? Cordial, not personal.
Checked the floor indicator.
It stopped at two and four and now seven.
- The hotel manager said the monsignor registered under the name Mr.
Jenkins.
- Did they leave together? - There she is.
Alone.
- She has wet hair.
- Shower number one was here, number two was at home.
- Mm.
- The toxicology found 800 micrograms of Diazepam, and blood alcohol was.
04.
- Means she was putty.
The killer could have put a gun in her hand, made it look like suicide.
- Well, before we jump to conclusions, let's find out more about our monsignor.
- Monsignor mcteal started soup kitchens, food banks, orphanages.
He's dynamo.
- We saw him at children's hospital.
- In church circles, they call him "the consoler.
" - Does he also console women in their time of emotional need? - But no official complaints against the monsignor? - There was an unrelated complaint we passed on to his office.
Someone said that they hadn't received their settlement from the archdiocese.
- Alice garvey? - For years, I carried the shame of that abuse without telling a soul.
And I can't do it anymore.
It's-it's time to come clean.
It feels good.
Hiding a secret like that Festers.
Makes you rotten inside.
- I'm Ilana, Alice's niece.
- She's in here? - Yes.
- She was in a car accident a couple months ago.
Traumatic brain injury.
She could be like this the rest of her life.
- Body of Christ.
Body of Christ.
- Amen.
The body of Christ.
- I know what you did.
- Last year she won a ten-year legal battle with the church.
That was before the accident.
- The money never c came.
- Hmm.
Does it look it? - So she won a legal battle, but then lost her mental faculties before she could collect? - Did you file a complaint with monsignor mcteal's office? - He represents the archdiocese.
They said the money was paid, but that's just not true.
- Monsignor.
- Detectives.
- You met Theresa at the St.
Regis after business hours.
- Yes, we worked together on a settlement account.
- And what was Mr.
Jenkins doing? - My anonymity is sometimes necessary for sensitive discussions.
- And midnight trysts.
- We discussed business.
- In the shower.
- I'm sorry.
Should I know what you're talking about? - Yes, you should.
She took a shower.
The business that you, uh, discussed, was that Alice garvey's settlement? 'Cause we just met her niece.
- A relative of Alice garvey's filed a complaint that she had not yet received her money.
So I looked into it.
Theresa's pass code was used to wire Alice garvey's money into an offshore bank.
- Theresa embezzled $2.
7 million? - Well, I didn't ask her to confirm or deny.
I just told her that she had five days to put that money back into the account.
- Spends her career helping victims and then she steals a settlement? - She found out garvey was non compos and grabbed the opportunity.
- Well, if she stole the money, she-she had to have a reason.
- Greed? - Yeah, but she lives within her means.
I mean, she had three pairs of shoes in her closet.
- Maybe she was sick of it.
- I.
T.
Retrieved and catalogued everything on Theresa's home and office computers.
This was erased from her iPad.
We had to pull it off the server.
- "To whom it may concern.
I took the money.
" Theresa's suicide note? - Looks like your case just closed.
We don't buy it.
We need to go further before we can close this as a suicide.
- Why, because the note's on an iPad? - Because of the embezzlement.
- With that suicide note, no D.
A.
In his right mind would file.
Joe, don't be a moron.
We have legit suspects.
- You give us the room a minute? Bobby, I appreciate you coming back.
I really do.
But this doesn't work.
I know what you do.
And you know what I do.
I've got your back, and you respect my face and don't get in it.
- Detective goren? I'm Paula geisen.
Come on in.
- Sorry I'm late.
- Well, it's tough to get away from your job.
- No excuse.
Your office, it's, uh, striking.
- Thank you.
- These two doors, they remind me of a riddle.
You know the one? Two identical doors.
Two identical guards.
One guard is an angel guarding heaven, he always tells the truth.
And the other guard is a devil guarding hell.
He always has to lie.
You have one question to ask to get into heaven.
What would that question be? You'll never get it.
It'sYou'll - Give me time.
- Uh, also the missed appointments, I apologize.
- I'm sure you had good reasons not to come.
- You don't have to do that.
- How do you mean? - Empathize with me.
- Is that what you think I'm doing? - Yeah, "I'm sure you had reason not to come.
" You know, "your job is too tough To get away from.
" You're trying to gain my trust.
- I don't think that would be that easy to do.
- Is that what it says in my file? - That? That's only part of your file.
- Did you accept to do this before or after you read it? - After.
- And after the more experienced psychiatrists begged off? - I didn't have to fight to get you.
And it wasn't only the files.
Seven employer-mandated sessions with someone As challenging as you - You were gonna say "crazy," weren't you? - Why do you think that? - Do you think I'm crazy? - I think you are a person who is aware that the world is a dangerous place.
You found a way of surviving, but your way can make other people feel uncomfortable.
- "Challenging" and, you know, "uncomfortable.
" You're walking on egg shells with me, aren't you? - Isn't that how you like it? Hmm? It's part of your skill set, like being able to read people quickly.
- It's my job.
- Sure.
It's protected you.
But it's also taken its toll on those around you and on yourself.
You are exceptional at analyzing others.
Exceptional.
So what is it that you think will happen if you start looking at yourself? - I didn't tell you about the embezzlement because I didn't know.
- So overseeing accounts isn't part of the job description? - Oversee, not monitor every transaction.
- 2.
7 million didn't warrant your attention? - It's a great deal of money, but it's not an atypical settlement.
- Plus we thought we'd settled with Alice garvey.
We sent her the papers.
- You said that you watched mediation DVDs with Theresa.
- Yeah, I did.
- She was looking for God's perfect match.
Maybe you were it.
- She was my boss.
We were just friends.
- We are gonna let our lawyers handle things from here on in.
Obviously, we'll be doing our own investigation.
- So will we.
There was a lamp on this table, and her pictures are gone.
- Johnny let a friend of hers come in and take some of her personal effects.
- Is that Natalie? - Uh, yeah, they were buddies.
- You let someone remove possible evidence from an ongoing investigation? - We're bankers, not police.
- Uh, I went to her office to box up her things for her parents.
I ran into Johnny.
We talked a little.
- Googled you.
You were 57th in the tennis rankings at 18.
- Oh, ancient history.
- Then drug possession and petty theft in your 20s.
And now you're over $70,000 in debt.
- 73,600, to be exact.
- That's a cute cat.
- Oh, um, name's pyewacket.
- Pyewacket? That's from a Jimmy Stewart film.
Yeah, the cat, it was Kim novak's best friend.
It's a funny movie.
I think the cat was a wizard.
Not very catholic.
- It's a cat.
- So you and Theresa were roommates at Georgetown.
Very catholic.
- She got me into rehab.
Back into the church.
- Did you know that- that Theresa was accused of, uh, stealing millions of dollars from the church settlement account? Yeah, I know, it Doesn't make sense.
But there must have been a reason.
She didn't have a lot of experience with men, did she? - How many straight, single men in their 30s are still practicing catholics and not total weirdoes? - Johnny's pretty cute.
How about him? - She was his boss.
No way.
- You're lying.
- Okay.
I mean, maybe they hooked up once or tw&e, but it-it was casual.
- They were friends, though.
I mean, she liked him, though.
- Yeah.
A lot.
- You lied to us, Johnny.
- Johnny.
You slept with your boss.
- All right, I'll be honest with you, I didn't want to admit it in front of kilpatrick.
- Can't be that dumb.
I mean, lying to two cops in a homicide investigation? Really? Did you just cop to a felony? - We hooked up a month ago.
It was no big deal.
Once, maybe twice.
- So the pillow talk wasn't about where to stash the 2.
7? - This sounds like I need a lawyer.
- Do you need a lawyer? I don't know.
Right now you're just a you're a person of interest.
Lawyer up, well, that takes you straight up to maybe suspect.
- You guys, I didn't steal the money.
[Sighs.]
The night Theresa died, she called me and told me that monsignor mcteal accused her of embezzlement.
The next day Natalie told me he asked Theresa for sex in exchange for giving her five days to replace the money.
- What was your reaction? - I wanted to kill the bastard.
I figured it had to be an accounting mistake.
- No, no, no.
She stole it.
There's no question about that.
- No.
You're wrong.
We both felt the same way.
The only people that deserved that money are victims.
- So the monsignor forced Theresa to have sex quid pro quo for giving her five days to return the money? - She's so remorseful, she kills herself.
- Five days to return the money, she goes home and kills herself.
You know, look at this.
Uh "What I have now done was the only path left for me.
" - So formal.
- Yeah.
- Here all night? - You bring bagels? - See, men, women, they leave different markers when they write suicide notes.
Women seem to rely more heavily on expression of feelings, like, um, thanking someone.
You know, polite speech.
Apologizing.
- She was close to her parents, and they're not even mentioned.
- Yes.
"I acted out of greed and poor character.
" See, now that's a direct admission, but there's no reference to God or the Bible, or any misgivings for breaking the eighth commandment.
- The $2.
7 million question is Why was it erased? - Yeah, I don't know.
But I do know that she didn't write it.
The killer wants her death to look like a suicide, but he puts the gun four feet away from the body.
Doesn't make any sense.
- The cat.
- Yes, I have pyewacket.
I decided to keep him.
- You ever feed him when Theresa worked late, or when she was out of town? - Um, can I get back to my lesson? - So you have your own key to her apartment? - No.
- Is that why you asked the building super to let you in? - Right.
- You wanted him to corroborate you finding the dead body.
But you already knew she was dead.
- I don't have a key.
- Well, we got a warrant.
We searched your apartment.
- Fine.
I had a key.
- Neighbor says she saw you heading up the stairs at 8:15.
Constantine says you got him at 8:35.
Maybe you found a way to access Theresa's account at work.
When Theresa tipped onto it, you killed her.
- That's ridiculous.
She was my best friend.
- Uh, now she turned your life around.
Didn't she? And you'd do anything to protect her.
And in the eyes of the catholic church, a suicide is the same as murder.
- When Tess didn't answer, I let myself in.
I found her on the floor of the bedroom, and she'd shot herself.
She wouldn't be able to have a mass or be buried in consecrated ground.
- So you kicked the gun away and you repositioned the body.
- She committed suicide, but the monsignor was responsible.
- That's why you erased the suicide note on her iPad.
- What suicide note? Natalie admits she dutched the crime scene.
That's obstruction.
- So who erased the suicide note? - Not Natalie.
The killer? - Why? - As a fail-safe.
Police close the case as a suicide, then he's home free.
If not, then he knows that they'll scrub her computers and find the note.
- Natalie said Hugh mcteal extorted Theresa.
- She didn't realllly say that, captain.
- Maybe not word for word, but close enough.
Let's bring him in and sweat him for suspicion of rape.
- Did you rape Theresa esperna? - Absolutely not.
Is that why you brought me in here? - Look, if your strategy is to drag the church through the mud - we have no agenda against the church.
For every story you hear of misconduct, there are thousands of stories of good works.
- Well, that's the first true thing you've said all day, detective.
- You know, I was thinking, you know, an episcopalian priest can well, they can have a wife, and a lutheran pastor, they can date a playmate.
You have, uh, vows of chastity.
- Mm.
A vocation demands sacrifice.
- Jeez, it must be Frustrating.
- Temptation is a test that God gives all of us.
- Well, it seems to be a test you're failing.
- I'm no different from any other man.
How about you, detective goren? Any frailties of your own? - Look, we're within a minute of walking if we don't hear a charge.
- You can Love the church for their good works, or you can hate the church for theirHypocrisy.
Tick tock.
Ti- how much time do I have left? Go ahead.
No.
How much? But both sides agree Thou shalt not kill.
- I did not kill Theresa.
- Okay, forget about the murder.
Theresa's friend says you forced her to have sex.
- Never happened.
- Well, there's no way we can prove it forensically, because you're careful, and used a condom.
Oh, I forgot.
That's another sin, isn't it? You're The consoler? - Don't push it, detective.
- You take advantage of vulnerable women.
Isn't that the basis of the scandal? Priests taking advantage of the vulnerable.
- I'm not a molester.
- But you broke your vows.
- I feed 35,000 orphans in five boroughs.
- Yeah, and you're held to a higher standard.
- I built a cancer hospital last year.
- Did you know that Theresa showered twice after visiting you at the St.
Regis? Twice.
What do you think about that, monsignor? As evidence of a guilty mind or a tortured soul? She was disgusted by you.
She scrubbed every place that you touched her.
- Hmm.
Well, you got me, detective.
Yep.
I occasionally have sex with women.
Consenting women.
It's a flaw that I'm not proud of.
That does not, however, make me a murderer.
Cardinal.
I, uh - I'll see you in my office in the morning.
- You got some hail Marys coming.
- Slime.
- But smart.
Picked on women who aren't gonna go after the settlement.
He'll stick to his story that Theresa was embezzling the money.
- Johnny admitted Theresa told him about the embezzlement before she died.
- But not the sex.
- She told Natalie about sex with the monsignor.
- But not the theft.
- A confession in two parts.
- Either way, she betrayed her faith.
- This is about her faith.
She did it for someone.
Uomeone who she thought deserved the money.
Sorry.
Let me just, uh Whoo! Okay.
Two weeks ago, the monsignor gave a gun to Theresa, because of an angry abuse victim who felt that he was cheated out of, uh His payoff.
- Uh, he was harmless.
Just angry.
- Now, that was around the same time that you and Theresa were Uh You know, knocking boots.
- That's crassly correct.
- What's your point, detective? - Well, I think that That you told Theresa something That you never told another soul.
.
451.
Freshman year's batting average.
I mean, wow.
I think that's amazing.
You know.
All right, look.
I mean, you must have been, what? .
451? You must have been in great shape.
Freshman year.
I have, uh, this marked here.
There's father Duffy.
Now, he was the varsity baseball coach who was fired for For improper relations.
- I remember father Duffy.
- Do you know how much the Franklin county settlement was to each abuse victim? After the parish went bankrupt? Do you know? It was $11,000.
So Alice garvey got 2.
7 million, and you got 11 grand.
- I wasn't molested.
- Come on, Johnny.
Come on.
You of all people know that denial is common among Abuse victims.
I mean, that's why you didn't have any baseball pictures from Franklin catholic in your office.
Did you know that abuse victims, they try and attach themselves, in many cases, to their abuser.
Like a man who works in a bank, whose main client is the catholic church - I took the job because the church is helping victims of abuse.
- Yes, that's right.
Right.
Ãso there Theresa is.
Now, she's writing multi-million dollar settlement checks.
Every day.
Uh, helping people that she didn't even know.
And you got stiffed in Franklin county.
- I wasn't molested.
- Giving you a fair settlement was impossible.
You know, what was she gonna do? You know, write you a check? When did you find out about Alice garvey's car accident? Was that the night that you hooked up with Theresa? You slithered into this lonely woman, this woman who had sympathy for the abuse you suffered.
- That's not what happened.
- There's absolutely no proof that he was - come on, Johnny! Come on! What could you do? I mean, you weren't gonna give the money back.
You deserved it.
Right? You deserved it for the vile and disgusting things that father Duffy did to you.
And Theresa was the only one that knew the truth.
And the truth would die with her.
So what'd you do? You went over there, you opened a bottle of wine, you popped a pill in her glass.
She drank it, she got wasted.
And boom! - No.
- Father Duffy took advantage of you.
You took advantage of Theresa.
And the abused became the abuser.
The iPad note? Remember that? You know, I always knew that that she didn't write it, but I-I was up all night trying to figure out what it really was.
Your confession.
"To whom it may concern.
"I took the money.
"I acted out of greed "and poor character.
"Shame was too much to bear.
"What I have now done was the only path left for me.
"I had no choice.
Johnny.
" - I didn't mean to kill her.
I didn't want to kill her.
[Crying.]
- No, you didn't mean to.
You didn't want to.
But you did.