Law & Order (1990) s11e03 Episode Script
Dissonance
NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
I thought you said we were done? This is the last one.
(SPEAKING SPANISH) You don't like it, get your own job.
Until then el baño Ugh, and don't forget the towels.
Ah! Irma! What? There! (EXCLAIMING IN SPANISH) Calluses on the fingers of her left hand.
Brown discoloration on her jaw.
She's a string player.
Natalie Dreisner, 24, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra.
I take it she didn't slip in the shower.
One shot to the head.
Entrance wound's in the right temporal area.
BRISCOE: Singeing and smudging, up close and personal.
But the shell casing's over by the makeup table.
There's also some deep muscle bruising on the left side of her neck.
Defense wounds on the hands and the arms.
She put up one hell of a struggle.
So after he pops her, he drags her in here, covers her up and makes her comfortable.
Yeah, a real labor of love.
The cash is still in the wallet.
Jewelry's still in the box.
The violin's still here.
Anything appear missing to you? Like I said, I just patrol the grounds.
Uh, did you hear the gun shot? Rooms down here are soundproof.
Can't hear nothing from the outside.
Any service exits nearby? Two on the basement level.
All right.
Let's go.
Layout down there's like a maze.
Got lost a few months ago, was hollering and banging an hour before anyone heard me.
Well, we'll drop bread crumbs.
Any sign of sexual assault? Nope.
Based on stomach contents, M.
E.
puts the time of death between 11:00 and midnight.
Her last meal was seared ahi and edamame.
Eda-what? Japanese soy beans.
She was killed just after the reception.
Yeah, got a guest list? Mostly blue-hairs with season tickets.
Whoever did it knows his way around.
The place is like a catacomb.
Well, Byrne is running background checks on symphony personnel.
It's gonna take a while.
Between musicians and stage hands and tech personnel, you're talking over 200 people.
Well, any word on the murder weapon? Extractor and bump marks look like a SIG-Sauer.
We've got uniforms checking every dumpster and grate within a 10-block radius.
What's your next stop? We're gonna have a conversation with the conductor.
Four years ago.
That's when I first saw her at a Juilliard recital.
Even then, her playing was inspired.
Almost haunting.
It's a great loss to all of us.
Was your sense of admiration shared by the rest of the orchestra? They respected her virtuosity.
Well, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Everyone here has spent their childhood chained to an instrument.
They were each a star in their own small town.
Then they joined the orchestra.
All those fantastic individual gifts merged into one unified mass.
Seated by instrument, and told what to do.
As a whole they resent more than they admire.
Did any of them resent Natalie? Some did.
I doubt enough to foment murder.
Did Ms.
Dreisner ever complain about anybody harassing her? Any stalking fans? She had her share of fan letters.
Nothing ominous.
The classical audience is a rather staid group.
Were there any men in her life? Boyfriends, ex-boyfriends? None that I knew of.
Between rehearsing, performances and tour dates, she wouldn't have the time.
Frankly, the only quality time I share with my wife is during rehearsals.
She is a harpist with the orchestra.
What about the stage hands? I couldn't tell you.
Maybe one of them wanted to spend some quality time with Ms.
Dreisner.
There is one guy.
Good looking.
Seems like a real charmer with the ladies.
Whenever Natalie would get chilled, he'd run and get her a sweater.
What's his name? I think Brannigan.
Something Brannigan.
His father was a stage hand here.
Everyone is more or less in a state of shock around here.
I have to go back to the orchestra rehearsal if we have any hope of sounding halfway decent for our next performance.
Thank you, sir.
So where's Mr.
Brannigan now? Called in sick about a half hour ago.
Stomach bug.
Came on last night.
Had to let him go early.
What time was that? Oh, right after the show.
Around 10:20.
Here it is.
Jay Brannigan.
Punched out last night at 10:23.
Which doesn't mean that's when he actually left.
Anything goes wrong around here, it's always us, isn't it? What does that mean? Stagehands.
You got a hundred Looney Tunes working in this joint and you come to us.
Hey, save your speech for the union rally.
This is a homicide investigation.
I've known Jay Branningan since he was a kid.
He's not your guy.
Well, any idea who is? Take your pick.
Cellos, please remember I want a long, primordial groan until the second beat.
Then pull it out.
Forte.
Like the smell of the Earth.
Where do you want to start? Tuba's a lonely profession.
Hidden in the back, seldom written for, not utilized to a tenth of our ability.
Well that probably means you're in a good position to observe.
An orchestra's like a musical insane asylum.
Bassoon's the worst.
From years of blowing the double reed, pressure builds up in the brain.
Our first has a collection of firearms stashed in his basement.
First French horn's a real piranha.
He'd steal your wallet, your lunch, or your wife.
Plus, he's got a chronic marijuana habit.
Mr.
Hogart, did either of these two have any animosity toward Natalie Dreisner? No.
Good.
Now can you think of anyone who did? Well, she was young.
She was female.
She made it to second chair in the wink of an eye.
All the prima donna violins were jealous.
The one that hated her the most was Kessler.
Who's that? Raphael Kessler.
First chair violin, concert master.
The next Milstein to hear him tell it.
What was the problem between you and Ms.
Dreisner? I've been playing professionally since I'm 14 years old, I've been a member of this orchestra since 1979, she comes in out of Juilliard and a year later, she's second chair.
No.
Not the way it's supposed to work.
Where were you last night after the concert? So now I'm a suspect? I was in the ER at St.
Luke's.
Premature ventricular contractions.
Feel free to speak to my doctor.
Of all the musicians I could be playing next to, I get a pair of legs and a del Gesu.
What's a del Gesu? Her violin.
It's a del Gesu.
Monzina and Figli.
This is what she used for practice.
She had another violin.
Of course.
The del Gesu was used for concerts.
I admit, I'm pretty ignorant about musical things but if it doesn't say what it is, how can you be sure this isn't a del Gesu? Well, it's like asking how do you know it's a Rembrandt.
Or a Titian.
A del Gesu is a work of art.
I can't explain to you how.
It's everything.
It's the wood, the varnish, the expressiveness, the power.
It's It's gone.
I don't know how we could have missed it.
Dreisner played a J.
B.
Vuillaume del Gesu.
It's insured by Lloyd's for$1 million.
Whoever stole it murdered her.
$1 million dollars, that's a lotta money for a violin.
How does a 24-year-old swing that? Wealthy patrons and large corporations buy them.
Loan them out to promising musicians.
Hers was owned by a Swedish shipping company.
Mmm.
So, what's the market for a stolen one? Mmm.
Limited.
There are only 200 concert quality del Gesus in the world.
Unloading it would be like selling a Van Gogh or a Renoir.
Each instrument is numbered.
Documented.
No reputable dealer would touch it.
So we're talking about the black market? And there are plenty of wealthy people who'd like something like this for their private collection.
It was most probably stolen on order.
By someone with established channels.
Someone who knew where to look for one.
We should run a check on big ticket stolen instruments, see what comes back.
Well, we got a 1680 Amati cello, valued at 1.
2 million, lifted from the New York Philharmonic five years ago.
Recovered from an I guess he was a music lover on the side.
Wait.
Hold up.
Here's something a little closer to home.
In '98 a Stradivarius was stolen from the LA Philharmonic.
Customs seized it on a cargo ship in New York Harbor.
Bill of lading was in the name of Dmitri Andropovich.
International trading, Lower East Side.
I was new in country.
I make clerical error but all charges dropped.
Let me guess, now you're strictly legit, right? Look around, detective.
My life open book.
We ran your sheet.
possession of stolen goods, case still pending.
And you still got a criminal matter in the southern district.
You know, I call the US Attorney, he calls immigration, and you got a problem.
How's the weather in Minsk this time of year? Uh, there is a fence I know.
He's uh, he's always by Little Odessa.
He might've say something about a violin.
Okay? That's all I know.
Uh, really.
I'll call for back up.
(SIREN WAILING) Move, move, move, move, move.
Hey, what are you doing? (GRUNTING) You all right, Ed? I'm fine! Get up! Look, I did nothing.
Well, then you have nothing to worry about, Tovarisch.
I did nothing.
I don't know what the hell violin you're talking.
Assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest.
What kind of time is Mr.
Korsakoff looking at? Served consecutively, we're talking a bullet or more.
Oh, this like KGB with trumped-up charge.
Of course, you add to that accessory to murder, that's what, 25-to-life? Murder? What murder? The violin's owner was found with a slug in her head this morning.
Where're you going? We're wasting time.
I'm calling the D.
A.
to get a search warrant.
Wait, wait, wait.
Okay, okay.
Uh, I have violin.
But that's it.
The murder, I know nothing.
We're listening.
Uh, this morning a man came to me.
He had with him violin.
Said belonged to uncle.
He want to sell.
What'd he look like? Not tall.
Not short.
Uh, blond hair.
Pale eyes.
Oh, that guy.
All right, how'd you meet him? A friend of mine set it up.
Call your friend, tell him we need a name.
Jay Brannigan? Yeah.
Who are you? Police.
We have a search warrant.
Mind if we come in? You going somewhere? I thought I'd go up to Maine for a few days.
Do some fishing.
I thought you were sick.
Well, I'm feeling better.
Hey what the hell are you doing? Whoa! Price of worms must've gone through the roof.
You're under arrest for the murder of Natalie Dreisner.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
JAY: I always did things for her.
What kind of things? She'd forget her score, I'd bring it to her.
She'd want to eat in her dressing room, so I'd go to Yoshi's.
You know, this restaurant she liked, I'd get her sushi.
Mmm-hmm.
Ah, and then, like two weeks ago, I got her this charm bracelet.
It had silver violins dangling from it.
Well, she gave me a weird look.
Said it made her feel uncomfortable and wouldn't give me the time of day after that.
I hear you, man.
You try to do something decent and get slapped down.
Sure.
I can understand stealing her violin to get back at her.
Yeah.
And this guy I hang out with said he knew this fence.
So I figured I could make some cash, too.
Okay.
Is this when she walked in on you and things got complicated? She did not walk in on me.
She was at the reception.
So, you're telling us you stole the violin, then an hour later somebody else came in and killed her? That's right.
Okay, man, if you're gonna lie, be creative otherwise we get bored.
Look, just gimme the lie detector test if you don't believe me.
What time did you leave work? I get 10:15.
I put the violin in my gym bag, I told my boss I felt sick.
Then what? Went home, dropped off the bag.
Went to the Red Parrot.
Threw down a few with a couple of friends and stayed till closing.
I swear, that is the God's honest truth.
Brannigan's buddies confirm he was at the Red Parrot from 11:00 p.
m.
till closing.
His buddies? Bartender confirmed also.
The guys a thief, he's not a murderer.
Well, the ballistics report came back on the murder weapon SIG-Sauer P225.
What else you got? Besides a lot of time wasted on the wrong motive, not much.
Um, you know, the M.
E.
's report said that she ate Japanese the night she died.
Didn't Brannigan mention a sushi restaurant? Uh, Yoshi's.
Right.
Thank you.
Yeah, she was here that night.
I remember because she ordered sake.
Normally she drank Perrier before a concert.
And you said she was with somebody.
Yeah.
Well-dressed guy.
He'd been here before.
Now, did he seem upset about anything? Uh, no.
He was cool.
I remember he gave her roses.
I assume he paid.
Yeah.
Big tipper.
Cash.
No receipt.
Only the tip was cash He put the rest on a credit card.
ED: All right.
Jorgen Stern.
Thanks.
Natalie could have been the next Anne-Sophie Mutter.
She had it all.
Dazzling technique, musicality, charisma and outstanding talent.
So, what did you two talk about the night of the murder? Her career as a solo artist.
We had been pursuing her for months.
Unsuccessfully.
That night at dinner, she told me that she'd finally decided to sign with us.
Ironic, isn't it? She was leaving the Manhattan Symphony? Going solo would have put her on another level entirely.
Recording contracts, TV appearances, international tour dates.
Sounds great.
What was the problem? Carl Reger didn't want it.
I tried to talk with him.
Didn't get very far, though.
He said they were "joined to the hip.
" I knew from her that he had this Svengali-like control over her.
How so? Really not my place to say.
A subpoena can make it your place.
They were having an affair.
For how long? A year? Maybe more.
It was taking a huge toll.
On Ms.
Dreisner? And Mrs.
Reger.
She'd cornered Natalie a few weeks ago, read her the riot act.
Natalie said that was one of the reasons she'd agreed to sign with us.
She wanted to get away from it all.
Professionally and emotionally.
Did Mr.
Reger know about her decision? She said she was going to tell him that night.
(MUSIC PLAYING) Stop! Are you paying any attention at all to your rhythm? Because I can tell you it's totally non-specific.
It's not just staying out of the rests, it's how you come in at the dotted sixteenths.
If you're not prepared to render this with any kind of precision, please don't waste my time.
Sorry.
I'll try it again.
Don't try! Do it! What can I do for you? We need to ask you some more questions.
Anything I can do to help.
Of course, I knew about the solo offer.
I encouraged her to take it.
Not worried about losing her? (SCOFFS) I've been conducting for 20 years.
I've watched a lot of artists come and go.
Including artists you've been sleeping with? At the risk of sounding crass, she wasn't the first.
Is that why you neglected to tell us? That was out of respect.
For who, Ms.
Dreisner? And for my wife.
Oh, she knew? Marion is an exceptional woman.
I've always been candid with her.
Mind being candid with us about your whereabouts on the night of the murder? After the concert, I showered, changed and drove to Chappaqua.
ED: What time was that? About 11:15,11:30.
Marion was already home.
You and your wife drove separate cars? Marion is an early riser, I'm more nocturnal.
I sometimes like to go out after a performance.
Catch a little jazz.
Anybody see you leave? No one I remember distinctly.
Where's your wife now? He came home about 11:30, I think.
The news had just ended.
It took us about a half an hour to drive up here once we cleared the tolls, so what does it take you, about 45 minutes to an hour? Oh, we use the E-Z Pass, so it's a little quicker.
What was your husband's behavior when he came home? Well, he was tired.
It was a very difficult piece.
You know what, detectives, you're wasting your time.
My husband is not a murderer.
And considering his reputation, I find it rather insulting that you would think so.
What about his womanizing? Was that insulting, too? Is this really necessary? All right.
Carl is an artist.
His passion and his strength are tremendously attractive to other women.
He has certain needs.
He's very discreet.
I've learned to live with it.
And he always comes back to you.
It's been 19 years.
I don't expect you to understand.
Do you think that he was in love with Ms.
Dreisner? Oh, absolutely not.
So you didn't pull her aside, and have a little chat about the sanctity of marriage? Their affair was dividing the orchestra.
The other musicians felt she was accorded a special status.
She would show up late to rehearsals, she didn't bother to review the scores.
I had a bad day, I lashed out at her.
Mrs.
Reger, does your husband own a gun? Oh, I was raised in New York and so when we moved up here, I was very uneasy at night.
All that silence, it was deafening.
So Carl bought me a gun.
Mind if we take a look at it? I don't have it anymore.
You see, a few months ago a neighbor's house was broken into and he was shot to death with his own gun.
It just terrified me.
What did you do with it? I dropped it in the Hudson River.
She's covering.
Yeah, but for who? There's enough motive and opportunity for both of them.
Not to mention alibis.
I'm putting my money on him.
Why don't we go talk to the good people at E-Z Pass.
You know, Lennie, when I grow up, I wanna be as smart as you.
Car approaches the sensor, sends out an electronic pulse, automatically opens the gate.
That part we know.
It's cut down bridge traffic by 65%.
And the pulse contains code on each car? On each transponder.
Yeah.
You said Reger, right? Okay.
Here she is.
Marion Reger.
Jaguar.
Twelve hits in the last 30 days.
BRISCOE: What about the night of the 14th? Okay.
10:32 p.
m.
Outbound.
Okay, Carl Reger.
Same night.
Mercedes.
I have him inbound at 10:13 a.
m.
in the morning.
Nothing that night.
Sorry.
Don't be.
He commutes to work.
Uses the E-Z Pass every single morning, every single night.
With one glaring exception.
The night of the murder.
Right.
We figure he knew that if he used the E-Z Pass, the time would have been electronically recorded.
Would've blown his alibi.
What about a murder weapon? There was a gun that belonged to the wife.
She threw it in the Hudson three months ago So she says.
Told us that a neighbor of hers got shot to death with his own gun.
It spooked her.
She's lying.
We checked with the Chappaqua police.
There hasn't been a homicide there for four years.
So he shot her, drove home and then ditched the gun.
I'll get a search warrant.
This is an abuse of authority.
You have no right to be going through our home like this.
Just trying to do our jobs, ma'am.
But they are touching everything.
They're going through our linens, our clothing, I just can't stand it.
Is that my phone? Yeah.
Yeah, Lou.
Right.
Van Buren just called.
Carl Reger has a SIG-Sauer P225 registered in his wife's name.
Oh, that's a big surprise.
I found this button under the back seat.
Tiny brown spots.
Could be dried blood.
There's also a small, white fiber attached to it.
There's a 2 millimeter spot with a microscopic pattern of blood spatter surrounding it.
Type matches the victim.
You get enough for DNA? We sent it out.
What about the fiber? Yup.
High quality Italian-knit cotton.
White dress shirt of some kind.
I love it when it all comes together like this.
The chord progression here is almost an exact quote from Stravinsky's "Rite of spring.
" Yeah, that's just what I was thinking.
Carl Reger you're under arrest for the murder of Natalie Dreisner.
Hands behind your back.
My lawyer'll have your jobs.
Great.
Can we have his? You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
Mr.
Reger has admitted having an affair with the deceased.
Things get exchanged including bodily fluids.
An affair he conveniently omitted when first questioned by the police.
They didn't ask me.
He conveniently omitted having sex with a woman other than his wife.
Now, where have we heard that before? Ms.
Dreisner told Reger she was leaving him on the night of her murder, which adds motive to means and opportunity.
Come on, Carl, this is one big bluff.
That went well.
Brace yourself with William Wright on the bench it's only gonna get worse.
Judge Wright.
Glad you could work me into your schedule.
Of course.
How are you finding things? Well, it certainly is different from academics, that's for sure.
Although, you know, it's interesting no matter where you go you find the same personality types.
You know, there's the class clown and there's the earnest plodder, and there's the, uh, brilliant flake.
And the loose cannon.
Did you have anybody in mind? I guess I just tend to worry about the danger of doing things for effect.
What kind of things? Well, obviously if you have a solid case you want to proceed.
But anytime there's a high profile individual involved, you have to be on your guard that a prosecutor isn't a little too quick to seize an opportunity for grand-standing.
Any particular individual? I think this upcoming Reger case smacks of Jack McCoy going trophy hunting.
Have you found Jack McCoy guilty of that in the past? If I had, this wouldn't be the first you'd be hearing about it.
You need to understand that when it comes to trying someone for murder, particularly someone like Carl Reger, who's given so much of himself to this city, that Jack McCoy doesn't get a free one.
And you need to understand that veiled threats, disguised as friendly advice, sound an awful lot to me like judicial bias, especially when delivered ex parte.
I'll have a vodka tonic, please.
Sounds like he was too smart to hand us grounds for removal.
All implication and innuendo.
We file a motion to it, it'll be just have been casual banter between colleagues.
Get an indictment and go to trial.
If we put on a strong enough case, no matter how much he wants to, he won't be able to help Reger.
His hands'll be tied.
Thanks.
How'd it go? Nora'll be pleased.
The grand jury returned an indictment in less than 14 minutes.
That augurs well.
Be prepared for them to trot out free concerts in the park, the Young People's Symphony.
The jury will be looking at a defendant who's lovable as well as distinguished.
Ms.
Carmichael? Yeah? People v.
Reger, that yours? Yes.
Thank you.
Gold's moving to suppress the button.
The warrant was for the contents of the home.
Not the garage.
You're splitting hairs here.
The garage is part of the home.
It's a detached structure 50 yards from the house on a separate plot.
Even if we quibble about whether a garage is part of a house The warrant didn't specify the car, which is where the button was found.
Your honor If there'd been exigent circumstances, maybe.
But there was no reason why the officers couldn't have secured the area and gotten another warrant for the vehicle.
I'm suppressing the button.
You're excluding key evidence based on a lack of exigency? I'm excluding based on the law as I understand it.
In light of your honor's ruling, defense moves for a dismissal of all the charges.
Don't press your luck, counselor.
The case is tenuous, but there's enough meat on the bone for a jury to gnaw on.
But I'm warning you, Mr.
McCoy, you'd better not be wasting this court's time.
He went just far enough.
If he'd dismissed the charges, we could have appealed, including the suppression of the button.
Instead, he rips the guts out of our case and forces us to go to trial.
And he has just enough case law on his side to avoid having it look like bias.
(PHONE RINGING) Yes? Thank you.
The lab just got the DNA results on the button.
It's a perfect match with Dreisner.
First off, I don't have to justify my decisions to you.
And second, that sound you hear is the ice cracking underneath your feet.
With all due respect, your honor, you weigh more than I do.
I request that you recuse yourself in the case of People v.
Reger.
Request denied.
Then you can explain yourself to the grievance board.
You file a complaint against me, and your A.
D.
A.
's will never get to first base inside my courtroom, based strictly on the merits of their cases.
If you threaten me again, I'll report this conversation and our last conversation to the presiding judge of the appellate division.
And if you step over the line in court just once, I'll take you down.
And you won't get up again.
Incident report? Abbie, are you with me here? What? Yeah.
This is the fourth profile I've seen on Reger this week.
He's completely contaminating the jury pool.
An annoying by-product of the First Amendment.
He has an alibi, Jack.
Without that button we're We're going forward.
We don't have a choice.
If Carl Reger committed this murder, then Marion Reger is lying.
The police didn't get anywhere with her.
Well, maybe we should talk to her.
I have already been through this with the police.
Mrs.
Reger, we know this has been difficult for you, but the truth is going to come out in court.
If you had anything solid, you would not be here.
JACK: We know you're covering for him.
Over a speeding ticket, that might be understandable.
On the stand in a murder trial, it's called perjury.
Did you drive all the way up here to threaten me? We drove here to make sure you understood the gravity of the situation.
Oh, I understand full well the gravity of the situation.
JACK: Then you know what we threaten is real.
My husband is a kind, warm, generous man and over the years we have built a life together.
A good life.
And I'm supposed to stand here and watch you two destroy it.
I don't think so.
We've already had to sell our home in London to pay legal expenses.
Things are gonna get worse before they get better.
Don't you understand? He's my husband.
I have to get back to practice.
We'd been pursuing her for months.
Going solo was a very difficult decision for her.
JACK: What was standing in her way? Carl Reger.
Objection.
Speculation.
Sustained.
Did you ever speak to Mr.
Reger about Natalie's potential as a solo artist? Yes.
And what did he say? He remarked there are a hundred violinists in New York with greater technical ability.
He believed her strength lay in her expression and her emotion which only he could elicit.
He said he'd never let her go.
Describe the nature of the relationship between Ms.
Dreisner and Mr.
Reger.
It was common knowledge they were having an affair.
At first Natalie was flattered by the attention, but then Mr.
Reger became obsessed.
Tired to control her every movement.
That's when she decided to make a clean break.
Did she Express concern about Mr.
Reger's reaction? She knew he'd be angry, but in the end, her desire to leave him was greater than her fear.
JACK: Do you know when it was that she was going to tell him.
The night she was killed.
I have no further questions.
Isn't it true that you were not only wooing Ms.
Dreisner professionally, but romantically as well? We had a lot in common.
We enjoyed each other's company.
Is that ayes? We talked about the possibility of seeing each other romantically, yes.
She said she needed more time.
She was still getting over Mr.
Reger.
So he was standing in your way, too? That's absurd.
Weren't you so jealous of Ms.
Dreisner's relationship with Mr.
Reger that you would say anything to discredit him? Objection.
Sustained.
Withdrawn.
The relationship between a conductor and his string section is quite intimate.
In the best cases, there is an implicit trust, a deep level of communication and a shared passion.
I had all that with Natalie.
Overtime, it led to a sexual relationship.
Was there ever a violent nature to your relationship? Never.
She was like a delicate flower.
I gave her the freedom to bloom.
I nurtured her.
How could I destroy her? She was part of me.
GOLD: Mr.
Reger, will you describe what you did that night after the concert.
I went to my dressing room, showered, changed and drove home to my wife in Chappaqua.
And what time was that? About 11:30.
No further questions.
What was your reaction when Ms.
Dreisner told you she was leaving you? She never told me any such thing.
Mr.
Stern misunderstood what she told him she was meeting you to do? Either misunderstood or misrepresented.
Was it misunderstanding or misrepresentation when you failed to tell the police about the affair between yourself and Ms.
Dreisner? Neither.
It is that I didn't want to hurt my wife.
Wasn't the entire orchestra aware of this liaison? Isn't your wife a member of the orchestra? Private knowledge is one thing, public humiliation another.
I didn't want to subject Marion to any more pain.
You bought your wife a gun, a SIG-Sauer? Yes, but she got rid of it.
So the woman you were having an affair with, the woman who was leaving you, was shot dead with the make of gun registered to your wife on the very night she told you she was leaving.
Is that just a coincidence, Maestro? Objection.
Overruled.
The witness can answer.
Yes, it is.
It's pure coincidence.
It all comes down to his alibi.
If the jury believes it, we don't have a prayer.
He says he left that night after the performance at 10:45.
Got home by 11:30.
Mrs.
Reger confirms it.
Yeah.
He lies and she swears to it.
The only anomaly with his routine that night was that he didn't use the E-Z Pass lane.
Presumably not because his E-Z Pass account was out of money.
Well, his bank account was.
Mrs.
Reger told us they were hurting financially.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
The man makes $2 million a year and they're hurting financially? She said they had to sell their house in London to pay for legal expenses.
Why would she lie about that? We should take another look at their financials.
This doesn't imply that I've engaged in anything improper.
Absolutely not.
It simply entitles us to take a look at the books.
It might be easier if I took you through them.
That's not necessary.
Well, I say that, not because I'm looking to conceal anything, but just because it might make it easier for you to follow.
I'm pretty good deciphering financial records.
You understand that an accountant has a particularly intimate relationship with a client.
Intimate but not privileged.
The people who come to me expect a high level of confidentiality.
JACK: You've spoken to Mr.
Reger's attorney? Yes.
He's informed you that a subpoena compels you to turn over Mr.
Reger's financial records? Yes, he has.
Will you at least let Mr.
Reger know that I was forced to do this? We absolutely will.
There must be some mistake.
There's no mistake.
We contacted Alan Bostwick, your husband's CPA.
For the past three years, Carl's been actively selling off stocks and mutual funds.
He places the proceeds into a money market account then withdraws the cash and then wires the transfers to an offshore account in Switzerland.
No.
Here are the wire receipts and your husband's passport.
There are also numerous trips to Switzerland none of which correspond to tour dates.
And you thought you were broke.
(SCOFFS) Carl said we lost money in the market.
That's why he hired Alan.
Said he was a financial genius.
That he could make up the money that we lost.
Mrs.
Reger, Alan Bostwick's specialty is helping rich guys hide assets from women they're planning on divorcing.
(SCOFFS) Carl is not planning to divorce me.
Do the math, Mrs.
Reger.
$2 million socked away for three years, and you haven't seen a penny.
A year ago your husband transferred the deed on your house in London.
No.
We sold that house less than three months ago to pay for legal expenses.
Look at the deed of transfer.
He still owns the house.
It's just registered to his corporation.
I know how hard this must be for you.
No.
You don't.
He did all of this for her.
A girl died, Mrs.
Reger.
He's now involved you, not only in his infidelities, but in a murder.
How long are you gonna protect him? GOLD: This is a prosecutorial mugging, your honor.
Nowhere did I see Marion Reger's name on McCoy's witness list.
Until last night, she had no intention of being a witness.
Please, she just decided out of the blue to violate spousal privilege? What's she testifying to, Mr.
McCoy? What she saw, what she knows from her own observation.
Nothing that was communicated to her by her husband.
Pure hair-splitting, your honor.
It is a well-settled question that the sanctity of marital bond is held inviolate by the law.
Mrs.
Reger wants to testify on her own volition.
Nobody's forcing her.
Your honor, with all due respect, Mrs.
Reger wouldn't be asking to testify were it not for ex parte communications from the district attorney's office.
Mrs.
Reger is not the defendant in this case.
There's no rule against our communicating with her, ex parte or otherwise.
I should also say if she's prevented from taking the stand we'll seek leave to take immediate appeal.
GOLD: Pressure was brought to bear, your honor.
Pressure on a wife to take sides against her husband and I must register my objection to that sort of tactic being rewarded.
Register it you have, Mr.
Gold.
Mrs.
Reger can testify as to what she observed.
Privileged communication with her husband is deemed inadmissible, counsel is warned against referring to it in any way.
Bring in your witness, Mr.
McCoy.
She can testify.
He didn't take it under advisement? He heard me say "immediate appeal" and he got nervous.
Nora called it.
Marion Reger here? She's in our office.
She didn't want to run into her husband.
Judge says he wants to convene in half an hour.
Okay, I'll get her.
JACK: The orchestra gave a performance on the night of Ms.
Dreisner's death, is that right? Yes.
Rachmaninoff.
What happened after the performance? I went to Carl's dressing room to see if he was ready to leave.
He said Natalie needed to see him.
I told him I would wait.
JACK: Was it your habit to wait for your husband while he was seeing Ms.
Dreisner? I knew that Natalie wanted to talk to him about her leaving the orchestra.
I knew that Carl would be upset.
I waited to see what would happen.
Marion, please.
Be quiet, Mr.
Reger.
You're not conducting here.
Without revealing anything your husband may have said to you, was there anything unusual about his appearance as he came out? He was nervous.
Sheepish.
Objection.
After 19 years of marriage presumably she can answer the question.
Overruled.
He told me that Natalie wasn't leaving.
I told him to go home.
I told him that I would meet him there later.
For god's sake, Marion! Objection, spousal privilege.
MR.
REGER: Can we get a recess? Mr.
Reger, you will refrain from speaking out of turn.
I need to talk to my wife.
Think, Marion, think about what you're doing.
Mr.
Reger, for the last time you are not permitted to address the witness! I'd like a moment to confer with the witness, your honor.
Denied.
The witness may continue.
After he told me that she wasn't leaving, I knew what I had to do.
You can't do this.
I won't let you do this! That's it! Remove this man from the courtroom.
My husband did not kill Natalie.
I did.
MR.
REGER: She's lying! She's trying to protect me! I must be allowed to speak with her.
(GAVEL HAMMERING) I'll see everybody in chambers.
Now! The E-Z Pass records show that your car left the city before Ms.
Dreisner was killed.
My husband was driving my car.
I was having trouble with the brakes.
Carl took my car I took his.
You can check with our mechanic.
She's lying.
She's doing all this to protect me.
What about the button? It was my button.
I also wear a white dress shirt to perform.
Clearly we'll want a formal dismissal of all charges against my client.
Did you plan to kill this girl, Mrs.
Reger? Once the affair took on a life of its own, once Carl proved to me that he was unable to relegate it to the insignificant diversions the others had been.
Once Natalie indicated that she had no intention of abiding the ground rules that I had laid down, I felt I had no choice.
Marion, Please! That you are weak comes as no particular surprise to me, my darling.
(EXHALES) How can you leave me? I would like for you to arrange to have someone stay with Carl so that he doesn't hurt himself.
After that, I would like you to make whatever arrangements are necessary for me to begin serving my sentence.
We were conned.
Does it occur to anyone she might be conning us now? JACK: Carl Reger committed murder and this was all an elaborate charade to get him off the hook.
Can we prove that? No.
Not with what we've got.
Right.
We're sure one of them killed her, we're just not sure which one.
We're sure enough.
Let's close this case.
Move on.
These are their stories.
I thought you said we were done? This is the last one.
(SPEAKING SPANISH) You don't like it, get your own job.
Until then el baño Ugh, and don't forget the towels.
Ah! Irma! What? There! (EXCLAIMING IN SPANISH) Calluses on the fingers of her left hand.
Brown discoloration on her jaw.
She's a string player.
Natalie Dreisner, 24, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra.
I take it she didn't slip in the shower.
One shot to the head.
Entrance wound's in the right temporal area.
BRISCOE: Singeing and smudging, up close and personal.
But the shell casing's over by the makeup table.
There's also some deep muscle bruising on the left side of her neck.
Defense wounds on the hands and the arms.
She put up one hell of a struggle.
So after he pops her, he drags her in here, covers her up and makes her comfortable.
Yeah, a real labor of love.
The cash is still in the wallet.
Jewelry's still in the box.
The violin's still here.
Anything appear missing to you? Like I said, I just patrol the grounds.
Uh, did you hear the gun shot? Rooms down here are soundproof.
Can't hear nothing from the outside.
Any service exits nearby? Two on the basement level.
All right.
Let's go.
Layout down there's like a maze.
Got lost a few months ago, was hollering and banging an hour before anyone heard me.
Well, we'll drop bread crumbs.
Any sign of sexual assault? Nope.
Based on stomach contents, M.
E.
puts the time of death between 11:00 and midnight.
Her last meal was seared ahi and edamame.
Eda-what? Japanese soy beans.
She was killed just after the reception.
Yeah, got a guest list? Mostly blue-hairs with season tickets.
Whoever did it knows his way around.
The place is like a catacomb.
Well, Byrne is running background checks on symphony personnel.
It's gonna take a while.
Between musicians and stage hands and tech personnel, you're talking over 200 people.
Well, any word on the murder weapon? Extractor and bump marks look like a SIG-Sauer.
We've got uniforms checking every dumpster and grate within a 10-block radius.
What's your next stop? We're gonna have a conversation with the conductor.
Four years ago.
That's when I first saw her at a Juilliard recital.
Even then, her playing was inspired.
Almost haunting.
It's a great loss to all of us.
Was your sense of admiration shared by the rest of the orchestra? They respected her virtuosity.
Well, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Everyone here has spent their childhood chained to an instrument.
They were each a star in their own small town.
Then they joined the orchestra.
All those fantastic individual gifts merged into one unified mass.
Seated by instrument, and told what to do.
As a whole they resent more than they admire.
Did any of them resent Natalie? Some did.
I doubt enough to foment murder.
Did Ms.
Dreisner ever complain about anybody harassing her? Any stalking fans? She had her share of fan letters.
Nothing ominous.
The classical audience is a rather staid group.
Were there any men in her life? Boyfriends, ex-boyfriends? None that I knew of.
Between rehearsing, performances and tour dates, she wouldn't have the time.
Frankly, the only quality time I share with my wife is during rehearsals.
She is a harpist with the orchestra.
What about the stage hands? I couldn't tell you.
Maybe one of them wanted to spend some quality time with Ms.
Dreisner.
There is one guy.
Good looking.
Seems like a real charmer with the ladies.
Whenever Natalie would get chilled, he'd run and get her a sweater.
What's his name? I think Brannigan.
Something Brannigan.
His father was a stage hand here.
Everyone is more or less in a state of shock around here.
I have to go back to the orchestra rehearsal if we have any hope of sounding halfway decent for our next performance.
Thank you, sir.
So where's Mr.
Brannigan now? Called in sick about a half hour ago.
Stomach bug.
Came on last night.
Had to let him go early.
What time was that? Oh, right after the show.
Around 10:20.
Here it is.
Jay Brannigan.
Punched out last night at 10:23.
Which doesn't mean that's when he actually left.
Anything goes wrong around here, it's always us, isn't it? What does that mean? Stagehands.
You got a hundred Looney Tunes working in this joint and you come to us.
Hey, save your speech for the union rally.
This is a homicide investigation.
I've known Jay Branningan since he was a kid.
He's not your guy.
Well, any idea who is? Take your pick.
Cellos, please remember I want a long, primordial groan until the second beat.
Then pull it out.
Forte.
Like the smell of the Earth.
Where do you want to start? Tuba's a lonely profession.
Hidden in the back, seldom written for, not utilized to a tenth of our ability.
Well that probably means you're in a good position to observe.
An orchestra's like a musical insane asylum.
Bassoon's the worst.
From years of blowing the double reed, pressure builds up in the brain.
Our first has a collection of firearms stashed in his basement.
First French horn's a real piranha.
He'd steal your wallet, your lunch, or your wife.
Plus, he's got a chronic marijuana habit.
Mr.
Hogart, did either of these two have any animosity toward Natalie Dreisner? No.
Good.
Now can you think of anyone who did? Well, she was young.
She was female.
She made it to second chair in the wink of an eye.
All the prima donna violins were jealous.
The one that hated her the most was Kessler.
Who's that? Raphael Kessler.
First chair violin, concert master.
The next Milstein to hear him tell it.
What was the problem between you and Ms.
Dreisner? I've been playing professionally since I'm 14 years old, I've been a member of this orchestra since 1979, she comes in out of Juilliard and a year later, she's second chair.
No.
Not the way it's supposed to work.
Where were you last night after the concert? So now I'm a suspect? I was in the ER at St.
Luke's.
Premature ventricular contractions.
Feel free to speak to my doctor.
Of all the musicians I could be playing next to, I get a pair of legs and a del Gesu.
What's a del Gesu? Her violin.
It's a del Gesu.
Monzina and Figli.
This is what she used for practice.
She had another violin.
Of course.
The del Gesu was used for concerts.
I admit, I'm pretty ignorant about musical things but if it doesn't say what it is, how can you be sure this isn't a del Gesu? Well, it's like asking how do you know it's a Rembrandt.
Or a Titian.
A del Gesu is a work of art.
I can't explain to you how.
It's everything.
It's the wood, the varnish, the expressiveness, the power.
It's It's gone.
I don't know how we could have missed it.
Dreisner played a J.
B.
Vuillaume del Gesu.
It's insured by Lloyd's for$1 million.
Whoever stole it murdered her.
$1 million dollars, that's a lotta money for a violin.
How does a 24-year-old swing that? Wealthy patrons and large corporations buy them.
Loan them out to promising musicians.
Hers was owned by a Swedish shipping company.
Mmm.
So, what's the market for a stolen one? Mmm.
Limited.
There are only 200 concert quality del Gesus in the world.
Unloading it would be like selling a Van Gogh or a Renoir.
Each instrument is numbered.
Documented.
No reputable dealer would touch it.
So we're talking about the black market? And there are plenty of wealthy people who'd like something like this for their private collection.
It was most probably stolen on order.
By someone with established channels.
Someone who knew where to look for one.
We should run a check on big ticket stolen instruments, see what comes back.
Well, we got a 1680 Amati cello, valued at 1.
2 million, lifted from the New York Philharmonic five years ago.
Recovered from an I guess he was a music lover on the side.
Wait.
Hold up.
Here's something a little closer to home.
In '98 a Stradivarius was stolen from the LA Philharmonic.
Customs seized it on a cargo ship in New York Harbor.
Bill of lading was in the name of Dmitri Andropovich.
International trading, Lower East Side.
I was new in country.
I make clerical error but all charges dropped.
Let me guess, now you're strictly legit, right? Look around, detective.
My life open book.
We ran your sheet.
possession of stolen goods, case still pending.
And you still got a criminal matter in the southern district.
You know, I call the US Attorney, he calls immigration, and you got a problem.
How's the weather in Minsk this time of year? Uh, there is a fence I know.
He's uh, he's always by Little Odessa.
He might've say something about a violin.
Okay? That's all I know.
Uh, really.
I'll call for back up.
(SIREN WAILING) Move, move, move, move, move.
Hey, what are you doing? (GRUNTING) You all right, Ed? I'm fine! Get up! Look, I did nothing.
Well, then you have nothing to worry about, Tovarisch.
I did nothing.
I don't know what the hell violin you're talking.
Assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest.
What kind of time is Mr.
Korsakoff looking at? Served consecutively, we're talking a bullet or more.
Oh, this like KGB with trumped-up charge.
Of course, you add to that accessory to murder, that's what, 25-to-life? Murder? What murder? The violin's owner was found with a slug in her head this morning.
Where're you going? We're wasting time.
I'm calling the D.
A.
to get a search warrant.
Wait, wait, wait.
Okay, okay.
Uh, I have violin.
But that's it.
The murder, I know nothing.
We're listening.
Uh, this morning a man came to me.
He had with him violin.
Said belonged to uncle.
He want to sell.
What'd he look like? Not tall.
Not short.
Uh, blond hair.
Pale eyes.
Oh, that guy.
All right, how'd you meet him? A friend of mine set it up.
Call your friend, tell him we need a name.
Jay Brannigan? Yeah.
Who are you? Police.
We have a search warrant.
Mind if we come in? You going somewhere? I thought I'd go up to Maine for a few days.
Do some fishing.
I thought you were sick.
Well, I'm feeling better.
Hey what the hell are you doing? Whoa! Price of worms must've gone through the roof.
You're under arrest for the murder of Natalie Dreisner.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
JAY: I always did things for her.
What kind of things? She'd forget her score, I'd bring it to her.
She'd want to eat in her dressing room, so I'd go to Yoshi's.
You know, this restaurant she liked, I'd get her sushi.
Mmm-hmm.
Ah, and then, like two weeks ago, I got her this charm bracelet.
It had silver violins dangling from it.
Well, she gave me a weird look.
Said it made her feel uncomfortable and wouldn't give me the time of day after that.
I hear you, man.
You try to do something decent and get slapped down.
Sure.
I can understand stealing her violin to get back at her.
Yeah.
And this guy I hang out with said he knew this fence.
So I figured I could make some cash, too.
Okay.
Is this when she walked in on you and things got complicated? She did not walk in on me.
She was at the reception.
So, you're telling us you stole the violin, then an hour later somebody else came in and killed her? That's right.
Okay, man, if you're gonna lie, be creative otherwise we get bored.
Look, just gimme the lie detector test if you don't believe me.
What time did you leave work? I get 10:15.
I put the violin in my gym bag, I told my boss I felt sick.
Then what? Went home, dropped off the bag.
Went to the Red Parrot.
Threw down a few with a couple of friends and stayed till closing.
I swear, that is the God's honest truth.
Brannigan's buddies confirm he was at the Red Parrot from 11:00 p.
m.
till closing.
His buddies? Bartender confirmed also.
The guys a thief, he's not a murderer.
Well, the ballistics report came back on the murder weapon SIG-Sauer P225.
What else you got? Besides a lot of time wasted on the wrong motive, not much.
Um, you know, the M.
E.
's report said that she ate Japanese the night she died.
Didn't Brannigan mention a sushi restaurant? Uh, Yoshi's.
Right.
Thank you.
Yeah, she was here that night.
I remember because she ordered sake.
Normally she drank Perrier before a concert.
And you said she was with somebody.
Yeah.
Well-dressed guy.
He'd been here before.
Now, did he seem upset about anything? Uh, no.
He was cool.
I remember he gave her roses.
I assume he paid.
Yeah.
Big tipper.
Cash.
No receipt.
Only the tip was cash He put the rest on a credit card.
ED: All right.
Jorgen Stern.
Thanks.
Natalie could have been the next Anne-Sophie Mutter.
She had it all.
Dazzling technique, musicality, charisma and outstanding talent.
So, what did you two talk about the night of the murder? Her career as a solo artist.
We had been pursuing her for months.
Unsuccessfully.
That night at dinner, she told me that she'd finally decided to sign with us.
Ironic, isn't it? She was leaving the Manhattan Symphony? Going solo would have put her on another level entirely.
Recording contracts, TV appearances, international tour dates.
Sounds great.
What was the problem? Carl Reger didn't want it.
I tried to talk with him.
Didn't get very far, though.
He said they were "joined to the hip.
" I knew from her that he had this Svengali-like control over her.
How so? Really not my place to say.
A subpoena can make it your place.
They were having an affair.
For how long? A year? Maybe more.
It was taking a huge toll.
On Ms.
Dreisner? And Mrs.
Reger.
She'd cornered Natalie a few weeks ago, read her the riot act.
Natalie said that was one of the reasons she'd agreed to sign with us.
She wanted to get away from it all.
Professionally and emotionally.
Did Mr.
Reger know about her decision? She said she was going to tell him that night.
(MUSIC PLAYING) Stop! Are you paying any attention at all to your rhythm? Because I can tell you it's totally non-specific.
It's not just staying out of the rests, it's how you come in at the dotted sixteenths.
If you're not prepared to render this with any kind of precision, please don't waste my time.
Sorry.
I'll try it again.
Don't try! Do it! What can I do for you? We need to ask you some more questions.
Anything I can do to help.
Of course, I knew about the solo offer.
I encouraged her to take it.
Not worried about losing her? (SCOFFS) I've been conducting for 20 years.
I've watched a lot of artists come and go.
Including artists you've been sleeping with? At the risk of sounding crass, she wasn't the first.
Is that why you neglected to tell us? That was out of respect.
For who, Ms.
Dreisner? And for my wife.
Oh, she knew? Marion is an exceptional woman.
I've always been candid with her.
Mind being candid with us about your whereabouts on the night of the murder? After the concert, I showered, changed and drove to Chappaqua.
ED: What time was that? About 11:15,11:30.
Marion was already home.
You and your wife drove separate cars? Marion is an early riser, I'm more nocturnal.
I sometimes like to go out after a performance.
Catch a little jazz.
Anybody see you leave? No one I remember distinctly.
Where's your wife now? He came home about 11:30, I think.
The news had just ended.
It took us about a half an hour to drive up here once we cleared the tolls, so what does it take you, about 45 minutes to an hour? Oh, we use the E-Z Pass, so it's a little quicker.
What was your husband's behavior when he came home? Well, he was tired.
It was a very difficult piece.
You know what, detectives, you're wasting your time.
My husband is not a murderer.
And considering his reputation, I find it rather insulting that you would think so.
What about his womanizing? Was that insulting, too? Is this really necessary? All right.
Carl is an artist.
His passion and his strength are tremendously attractive to other women.
He has certain needs.
He's very discreet.
I've learned to live with it.
And he always comes back to you.
It's been 19 years.
I don't expect you to understand.
Do you think that he was in love with Ms.
Dreisner? Oh, absolutely not.
So you didn't pull her aside, and have a little chat about the sanctity of marriage? Their affair was dividing the orchestra.
The other musicians felt she was accorded a special status.
She would show up late to rehearsals, she didn't bother to review the scores.
I had a bad day, I lashed out at her.
Mrs.
Reger, does your husband own a gun? Oh, I was raised in New York and so when we moved up here, I was very uneasy at night.
All that silence, it was deafening.
So Carl bought me a gun.
Mind if we take a look at it? I don't have it anymore.
You see, a few months ago a neighbor's house was broken into and he was shot to death with his own gun.
It just terrified me.
What did you do with it? I dropped it in the Hudson River.
She's covering.
Yeah, but for who? There's enough motive and opportunity for both of them.
Not to mention alibis.
I'm putting my money on him.
Why don't we go talk to the good people at E-Z Pass.
You know, Lennie, when I grow up, I wanna be as smart as you.
Car approaches the sensor, sends out an electronic pulse, automatically opens the gate.
That part we know.
It's cut down bridge traffic by 65%.
And the pulse contains code on each car? On each transponder.
Yeah.
You said Reger, right? Okay.
Here she is.
Marion Reger.
Jaguar.
Twelve hits in the last 30 days.
BRISCOE: What about the night of the 14th? Okay.
10:32 p.
m.
Outbound.
Okay, Carl Reger.
Same night.
Mercedes.
I have him inbound at 10:13 a.
m.
in the morning.
Nothing that night.
Sorry.
Don't be.
He commutes to work.
Uses the E-Z Pass every single morning, every single night.
With one glaring exception.
The night of the murder.
Right.
We figure he knew that if he used the E-Z Pass, the time would have been electronically recorded.
Would've blown his alibi.
What about a murder weapon? There was a gun that belonged to the wife.
She threw it in the Hudson three months ago So she says.
Told us that a neighbor of hers got shot to death with his own gun.
It spooked her.
She's lying.
We checked with the Chappaqua police.
There hasn't been a homicide there for four years.
So he shot her, drove home and then ditched the gun.
I'll get a search warrant.
This is an abuse of authority.
You have no right to be going through our home like this.
Just trying to do our jobs, ma'am.
But they are touching everything.
They're going through our linens, our clothing, I just can't stand it.
Is that my phone? Yeah.
Yeah, Lou.
Right.
Van Buren just called.
Carl Reger has a SIG-Sauer P225 registered in his wife's name.
Oh, that's a big surprise.
I found this button under the back seat.
Tiny brown spots.
Could be dried blood.
There's also a small, white fiber attached to it.
There's a 2 millimeter spot with a microscopic pattern of blood spatter surrounding it.
Type matches the victim.
You get enough for DNA? We sent it out.
What about the fiber? Yup.
High quality Italian-knit cotton.
White dress shirt of some kind.
I love it when it all comes together like this.
The chord progression here is almost an exact quote from Stravinsky's "Rite of spring.
" Yeah, that's just what I was thinking.
Carl Reger you're under arrest for the murder of Natalie Dreisner.
Hands behind your back.
My lawyer'll have your jobs.
Great.
Can we have his? You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
Mr.
Reger has admitted having an affair with the deceased.
Things get exchanged including bodily fluids.
An affair he conveniently omitted when first questioned by the police.
They didn't ask me.
He conveniently omitted having sex with a woman other than his wife.
Now, where have we heard that before? Ms.
Dreisner told Reger she was leaving him on the night of her murder, which adds motive to means and opportunity.
Come on, Carl, this is one big bluff.
That went well.
Brace yourself with William Wright on the bench it's only gonna get worse.
Judge Wright.
Glad you could work me into your schedule.
Of course.
How are you finding things? Well, it certainly is different from academics, that's for sure.
Although, you know, it's interesting no matter where you go you find the same personality types.
You know, there's the class clown and there's the earnest plodder, and there's the, uh, brilliant flake.
And the loose cannon.
Did you have anybody in mind? I guess I just tend to worry about the danger of doing things for effect.
What kind of things? Well, obviously if you have a solid case you want to proceed.
But anytime there's a high profile individual involved, you have to be on your guard that a prosecutor isn't a little too quick to seize an opportunity for grand-standing.
Any particular individual? I think this upcoming Reger case smacks of Jack McCoy going trophy hunting.
Have you found Jack McCoy guilty of that in the past? If I had, this wouldn't be the first you'd be hearing about it.
You need to understand that when it comes to trying someone for murder, particularly someone like Carl Reger, who's given so much of himself to this city, that Jack McCoy doesn't get a free one.
And you need to understand that veiled threats, disguised as friendly advice, sound an awful lot to me like judicial bias, especially when delivered ex parte.
I'll have a vodka tonic, please.
Sounds like he was too smart to hand us grounds for removal.
All implication and innuendo.
We file a motion to it, it'll be just have been casual banter between colleagues.
Get an indictment and go to trial.
If we put on a strong enough case, no matter how much he wants to, he won't be able to help Reger.
His hands'll be tied.
Thanks.
How'd it go? Nora'll be pleased.
The grand jury returned an indictment in less than 14 minutes.
That augurs well.
Be prepared for them to trot out free concerts in the park, the Young People's Symphony.
The jury will be looking at a defendant who's lovable as well as distinguished.
Ms.
Carmichael? Yeah? People v.
Reger, that yours? Yes.
Thank you.
Gold's moving to suppress the button.
The warrant was for the contents of the home.
Not the garage.
You're splitting hairs here.
The garage is part of the home.
It's a detached structure 50 yards from the house on a separate plot.
Even if we quibble about whether a garage is part of a house The warrant didn't specify the car, which is where the button was found.
Your honor If there'd been exigent circumstances, maybe.
But there was no reason why the officers couldn't have secured the area and gotten another warrant for the vehicle.
I'm suppressing the button.
You're excluding key evidence based on a lack of exigency? I'm excluding based on the law as I understand it.
In light of your honor's ruling, defense moves for a dismissal of all the charges.
Don't press your luck, counselor.
The case is tenuous, but there's enough meat on the bone for a jury to gnaw on.
But I'm warning you, Mr.
McCoy, you'd better not be wasting this court's time.
He went just far enough.
If he'd dismissed the charges, we could have appealed, including the suppression of the button.
Instead, he rips the guts out of our case and forces us to go to trial.
And he has just enough case law on his side to avoid having it look like bias.
(PHONE RINGING) Yes? Thank you.
The lab just got the DNA results on the button.
It's a perfect match with Dreisner.
First off, I don't have to justify my decisions to you.
And second, that sound you hear is the ice cracking underneath your feet.
With all due respect, your honor, you weigh more than I do.
I request that you recuse yourself in the case of People v.
Reger.
Request denied.
Then you can explain yourself to the grievance board.
You file a complaint against me, and your A.
D.
A.
's will never get to first base inside my courtroom, based strictly on the merits of their cases.
If you threaten me again, I'll report this conversation and our last conversation to the presiding judge of the appellate division.
And if you step over the line in court just once, I'll take you down.
And you won't get up again.
Incident report? Abbie, are you with me here? What? Yeah.
This is the fourth profile I've seen on Reger this week.
He's completely contaminating the jury pool.
An annoying by-product of the First Amendment.
He has an alibi, Jack.
Without that button we're We're going forward.
We don't have a choice.
If Carl Reger committed this murder, then Marion Reger is lying.
The police didn't get anywhere with her.
Well, maybe we should talk to her.
I have already been through this with the police.
Mrs.
Reger, we know this has been difficult for you, but the truth is going to come out in court.
If you had anything solid, you would not be here.
JACK: We know you're covering for him.
Over a speeding ticket, that might be understandable.
On the stand in a murder trial, it's called perjury.
Did you drive all the way up here to threaten me? We drove here to make sure you understood the gravity of the situation.
Oh, I understand full well the gravity of the situation.
JACK: Then you know what we threaten is real.
My husband is a kind, warm, generous man and over the years we have built a life together.
A good life.
And I'm supposed to stand here and watch you two destroy it.
I don't think so.
We've already had to sell our home in London to pay legal expenses.
Things are gonna get worse before they get better.
Don't you understand? He's my husband.
I have to get back to practice.
We'd been pursuing her for months.
Going solo was a very difficult decision for her.
JACK: What was standing in her way? Carl Reger.
Objection.
Speculation.
Sustained.
Did you ever speak to Mr.
Reger about Natalie's potential as a solo artist? Yes.
And what did he say? He remarked there are a hundred violinists in New York with greater technical ability.
He believed her strength lay in her expression and her emotion which only he could elicit.
He said he'd never let her go.
Describe the nature of the relationship between Ms.
Dreisner and Mr.
Reger.
It was common knowledge they were having an affair.
At first Natalie was flattered by the attention, but then Mr.
Reger became obsessed.
Tired to control her every movement.
That's when she decided to make a clean break.
Did she Express concern about Mr.
Reger's reaction? She knew he'd be angry, but in the end, her desire to leave him was greater than her fear.
JACK: Do you know when it was that she was going to tell him.
The night she was killed.
I have no further questions.
Isn't it true that you were not only wooing Ms.
Dreisner professionally, but romantically as well? We had a lot in common.
We enjoyed each other's company.
Is that ayes? We talked about the possibility of seeing each other romantically, yes.
She said she needed more time.
She was still getting over Mr.
Reger.
So he was standing in your way, too? That's absurd.
Weren't you so jealous of Ms.
Dreisner's relationship with Mr.
Reger that you would say anything to discredit him? Objection.
Sustained.
Withdrawn.
The relationship between a conductor and his string section is quite intimate.
In the best cases, there is an implicit trust, a deep level of communication and a shared passion.
I had all that with Natalie.
Overtime, it led to a sexual relationship.
Was there ever a violent nature to your relationship? Never.
She was like a delicate flower.
I gave her the freedom to bloom.
I nurtured her.
How could I destroy her? She was part of me.
GOLD: Mr.
Reger, will you describe what you did that night after the concert.
I went to my dressing room, showered, changed and drove home to my wife in Chappaqua.
And what time was that? About 11:30.
No further questions.
What was your reaction when Ms.
Dreisner told you she was leaving you? She never told me any such thing.
Mr.
Stern misunderstood what she told him she was meeting you to do? Either misunderstood or misrepresented.
Was it misunderstanding or misrepresentation when you failed to tell the police about the affair between yourself and Ms.
Dreisner? Neither.
It is that I didn't want to hurt my wife.
Wasn't the entire orchestra aware of this liaison? Isn't your wife a member of the orchestra? Private knowledge is one thing, public humiliation another.
I didn't want to subject Marion to any more pain.
You bought your wife a gun, a SIG-Sauer? Yes, but she got rid of it.
So the woman you were having an affair with, the woman who was leaving you, was shot dead with the make of gun registered to your wife on the very night she told you she was leaving.
Is that just a coincidence, Maestro? Objection.
Overruled.
The witness can answer.
Yes, it is.
It's pure coincidence.
It all comes down to his alibi.
If the jury believes it, we don't have a prayer.
He says he left that night after the performance at 10:45.
Got home by 11:30.
Mrs.
Reger confirms it.
Yeah.
He lies and she swears to it.
The only anomaly with his routine that night was that he didn't use the E-Z Pass lane.
Presumably not because his E-Z Pass account was out of money.
Well, his bank account was.
Mrs.
Reger told us they were hurting financially.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
The man makes $2 million a year and they're hurting financially? She said they had to sell their house in London to pay for legal expenses.
Why would she lie about that? We should take another look at their financials.
This doesn't imply that I've engaged in anything improper.
Absolutely not.
It simply entitles us to take a look at the books.
It might be easier if I took you through them.
That's not necessary.
Well, I say that, not because I'm looking to conceal anything, but just because it might make it easier for you to follow.
I'm pretty good deciphering financial records.
You understand that an accountant has a particularly intimate relationship with a client.
Intimate but not privileged.
The people who come to me expect a high level of confidentiality.
JACK: You've spoken to Mr.
Reger's attorney? Yes.
He's informed you that a subpoena compels you to turn over Mr.
Reger's financial records? Yes, he has.
Will you at least let Mr.
Reger know that I was forced to do this? We absolutely will.
There must be some mistake.
There's no mistake.
We contacted Alan Bostwick, your husband's CPA.
For the past three years, Carl's been actively selling off stocks and mutual funds.
He places the proceeds into a money market account then withdraws the cash and then wires the transfers to an offshore account in Switzerland.
No.
Here are the wire receipts and your husband's passport.
There are also numerous trips to Switzerland none of which correspond to tour dates.
And you thought you were broke.
(SCOFFS) Carl said we lost money in the market.
That's why he hired Alan.
Said he was a financial genius.
That he could make up the money that we lost.
Mrs.
Reger, Alan Bostwick's specialty is helping rich guys hide assets from women they're planning on divorcing.
(SCOFFS) Carl is not planning to divorce me.
Do the math, Mrs.
Reger.
$2 million socked away for three years, and you haven't seen a penny.
A year ago your husband transferred the deed on your house in London.
No.
We sold that house less than three months ago to pay for legal expenses.
Look at the deed of transfer.
He still owns the house.
It's just registered to his corporation.
I know how hard this must be for you.
No.
You don't.
He did all of this for her.
A girl died, Mrs.
Reger.
He's now involved you, not only in his infidelities, but in a murder.
How long are you gonna protect him? GOLD: This is a prosecutorial mugging, your honor.
Nowhere did I see Marion Reger's name on McCoy's witness list.
Until last night, she had no intention of being a witness.
Please, she just decided out of the blue to violate spousal privilege? What's she testifying to, Mr.
McCoy? What she saw, what she knows from her own observation.
Nothing that was communicated to her by her husband.
Pure hair-splitting, your honor.
It is a well-settled question that the sanctity of marital bond is held inviolate by the law.
Mrs.
Reger wants to testify on her own volition.
Nobody's forcing her.
Your honor, with all due respect, Mrs.
Reger wouldn't be asking to testify were it not for ex parte communications from the district attorney's office.
Mrs.
Reger is not the defendant in this case.
There's no rule against our communicating with her, ex parte or otherwise.
I should also say if she's prevented from taking the stand we'll seek leave to take immediate appeal.
GOLD: Pressure was brought to bear, your honor.
Pressure on a wife to take sides against her husband and I must register my objection to that sort of tactic being rewarded.
Register it you have, Mr.
Gold.
Mrs.
Reger can testify as to what she observed.
Privileged communication with her husband is deemed inadmissible, counsel is warned against referring to it in any way.
Bring in your witness, Mr.
McCoy.
She can testify.
He didn't take it under advisement? He heard me say "immediate appeal" and he got nervous.
Nora called it.
Marion Reger here? She's in our office.
She didn't want to run into her husband.
Judge says he wants to convene in half an hour.
Okay, I'll get her.
JACK: The orchestra gave a performance on the night of Ms.
Dreisner's death, is that right? Yes.
Rachmaninoff.
What happened after the performance? I went to Carl's dressing room to see if he was ready to leave.
He said Natalie needed to see him.
I told him I would wait.
JACK: Was it your habit to wait for your husband while he was seeing Ms.
Dreisner? I knew that Natalie wanted to talk to him about her leaving the orchestra.
I knew that Carl would be upset.
I waited to see what would happen.
Marion, please.
Be quiet, Mr.
Reger.
You're not conducting here.
Without revealing anything your husband may have said to you, was there anything unusual about his appearance as he came out? He was nervous.
Sheepish.
Objection.
After 19 years of marriage presumably she can answer the question.
Overruled.
He told me that Natalie wasn't leaving.
I told him to go home.
I told him that I would meet him there later.
For god's sake, Marion! Objection, spousal privilege.
MR.
REGER: Can we get a recess? Mr.
Reger, you will refrain from speaking out of turn.
I need to talk to my wife.
Think, Marion, think about what you're doing.
Mr.
Reger, for the last time you are not permitted to address the witness! I'd like a moment to confer with the witness, your honor.
Denied.
The witness may continue.
After he told me that she wasn't leaving, I knew what I had to do.
You can't do this.
I won't let you do this! That's it! Remove this man from the courtroom.
My husband did not kill Natalie.
I did.
MR.
REGER: She's lying! She's trying to protect me! I must be allowed to speak with her.
(GAVEL HAMMERING) I'll see everybody in chambers.
Now! The E-Z Pass records show that your car left the city before Ms.
Dreisner was killed.
My husband was driving my car.
I was having trouble with the brakes.
Carl took my car I took his.
You can check with our mechanic.
She's lying.
She's doing all this to protect me.
What about the button? It was my button.
I also wear a white dress shirt to perform.
Clearly we'll want a formal dismissal of all charges against my client.
Did you plan to kill this girl, Mrs.
Reger? Once the affair took on a life of its own, once Carl proved to me that he was unable to relegate it to the insignificant diversions the others had been.
Once Natalie indicated that she had no intention of abiding the ground rules that I had laid down, I felt I had no choice.
Marion, Please! That you are weak comes as no particular surprise to me, my darling.
(EXHALES) How can you leave me? I would like for you to arrange to have someone stay with Carl so that he doesn't hurt himself.
After that, I would like you to make whatever arrangements are necessary for me to begin serving my sentence.
We were conned.
Does it occur to anyone she might be conning us now? JACK: Carl Reger committed murder and this was all an elaborate charade to get him off the hook.
Can we prove that? No.
Not with what we've got.
Right.
We're sure one of them killed her, we're just not sure which one.
We're sure enough.
Let's close this case.
Move on.