Law & Order Special Victims Unit s11e15 Episode Script
Confidential
NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous, In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit, These are their stories, Morning.
Weekend quiet, I hope.
Yep, except the blackouts Friday night on 58.
What the hell happened? Friedman and Sons.
Scheduled renovation rewiring.
Oh, yeah.
Cameras come back online okay? Tony's checking it now.
Boss, you better see this.
What's wrong? She's there.
Then the power went out.
Someone pulled her into the men's room.
Call the cops, Special Victims Unit, and let's search 58.
Hey, do you mind? Sorry.
Lady, come on! No evidence of a crime.
Look at the picture.
A guy pulled a woman into the men's room.
It screamed rape.
Well, you can't have a rape without a victim.
Thanks.
We're on it.
Cleaning woman, Valerie Martin, swiped her lD badge into the building Friday night at 6:00 p.
m.
but never swiped out.
Okay, could she have left without using her badge? No, she would have set off the alarm.
What floors does Valerie clean? This one and the one below.
Already searched 57, boss.
You check the storage rooms and utility closets? Yes, sir.
Any unoccupied office space? There's an empty suite, northeast corner.
Janitors use it for storage.
Ready? (VALERlE MOANlNG) STABLER: Rise and shine.
(VALERlE GASPS) Valerie Martin? Martin.
You've been here all weekend.
I got roommates.
Me and Hector needed some privacy.
Let's get them dressed and out of here.
TONY: All right, you two, let's go.
If that's Valerie, who's this? STABLER: And where the hell is she? So Jane Doe gets yanked into the 58th floor men's room.
Any video showing how she got up there? No record of her entering the building.
No video of her face.
No sign of her anywhere.
Other than the cleaning woman, anybody else spend the weekend here? All workers and visitors who entered the building Friday morning are on record as leaving.
How we doing on the canvass? Before 8:00 a.
m.
, Captain.
It's going to be a few hours until everyone's present and accounted for.
Get patrol to help you out.
Hopkins, what the hell is going on here? Richard Morgan, owns the building.
Police situation, sir.
There may be a crime victim missing on the premises.
I'm Captain Cragen.
These are Detectives Stabler and Benson.
They're not searching without a warrant, Richard.
Each of our tenants has a right to privacy.
Which we have no intention of violating, Ms Block.
Ingrid's my chief counsel.
Runs my life.
I'm telling you, Richard, if we let them traipse through every office, we could be in breach of our leases.
Mmm-hmm.
This woman is somewhere in your building.
Maybe hurt, barely alive.
We really need your cooperation.
You got it.
What else can we do? Put the word out to all of your tenants to get us the name of anybody who didn't show up for work.
Done.
Hopkins, keep me posted.
Updates every hour.
Yes, ma'am.
Unit one, please repeat.
What's up? CSU wants you on 58.
Men's room.
Blood smears all over this wall.
Nothing on the stalls or the sink.
Or on the floor.
How did the perp manage that? No idea.
Even if he cleaned up with bleach, there'd still be traces of blood.
Ghosts don't bleed, so she's got to be here.
Now you've got a bloody victim, five minutes of blackout to get rid of her.
What's the quickest way out? Service elevators in the trash room down the hall.
These elevators have a camera? Yeah.
They weren't affected by the power shutdown.
We checked the video.
Didn't see our perp or the victim.
Any cameras in the stairwell? Nope, they're never used.
Could he have gotten her out this way without setting off the alarm? Sure, if he knew the combination.
Ready when you are.
Do it.
Floors look clean.
Walls.
There's something on the trash can.
Yeah, we've got blood inside.
When and where does the trash go out? The dumpsters out by the loading dock.
Right about now.
FlN: Hey, hey! Whoa! Whoa! Stop that thing! Hey, hey! Drop it! Drop it! Police! BENSON: You find anything? Check it out.
Bloody paper towels.
Must have used it to clean up the bathroom.
Everybody grab a dumpster.
FlN: Whoa.
Don't even bother.
Oh, God.
(EXHALES) Wrapped her up nice and tight.
Hope he left trace evidence inside for Warner.
CSU combed the dumpsters.
Nothing other than the corpse.
How did the perp get into the men's room without being seen? Well, it had to be during the first blackout, which means he knew when the 58th floor was going to go dark.
Victim walks down the hallway.
He pulls her in a split second before blackout number two.
The timing is too precise to be a random grab.
He must have known her and lured her there.
Then what? He bashed her head in.
That explains the blood on the bathroom wall.
He laid down plastic so her blood wouldn't get on the floor.
Then he wraps her up.
He wipes up the blood.
Drags her down this hallway into the trash room.
He knew the blackout schedule, when the garbage got picked up, and his escape route.
Had to be an inside job.
We're interviewing all the maintenance and security employees.
It's amazing he pulled it off.
What's even more amazing, it happened before.
When? October 1987.
Nancy Pierce, 27.
Raped, strangled, and left to decompose in an air vent two blocks away at Trent Towers.
Perp got away with it? Perp got popped.
Daniel Hardy, maintenance man at Trent Towers, doing the full monty at Sing Sing for Nancy's murder.
So he's been in prison for two decades.
Can't be the same guy.
Unless he had an accomplice we never collared.
Well, hopefully, Jane Doe will tell us more when she's unwrapped.
Any word from Warner? She said she's swamped.
It's going to be a few hours.
Well, take a good book to the M.
E.
's, John.
Liv, Elliot, head up to Sing Sing.
See if Mr.
Hardy had help murdering Nancy Pierce.
I didn't have a partner, because I didn't kill Nancy.
STABLER: You're eligible for parole in three years.
Now, the board could let you go, you come clean.
I'm not going to admit to what I didn't do.
Then why won't you look at her? Because I loved her.
And she loved me.
BENSON: Until she didn't anymore.
So you raped her and choked her to death.
They found semen inside her that matched your blood type.
Except it wasn't mine.
I was convicted before there was DNA.
Take a swab from me.
Compare it.
It's not our job.
Call your lawyer.
Really? My lawyer gave up after the Supreme Court ruled we didn't have the right to demand DNA tests to prove our innocence.
If I raped Nancy, if I killed her, then why would I ask you to do this? CLERK: Here you go.
If we find the DNA from Nancy Pierce's murder, we should run it.
Because you think Hardy's innocent? (CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) Because I once put an innocent man away in prison before we had DNA.
Benson.
MUNCH: Liv, Warner's unwrapping Jane Doe now.
We'll send you a photograph.
She's got head trauma and a wide ligature on her neck.
Do you recognize her? Renee Simmons.
She was a secretary in Mr.
Morgan's accounting department.
BENSON: And why didn't you report her missing? Because she wasn't.
She wasn't speaking to you, Counselor.
I laid off Renee and 12 others Friday morning.
We collected their lD badges and swiped them out.
They all left the building immediately.
Is there a reason Renee would come back Friday night? Clean out her office? We did it for her.
I'll handle this, lngrid.
You don't have to answer to them.
Ingrid, please.
Renee is dead.
We're going to need to speak with her coworkers.
Maybe one of them knows who did this.
Well, anyone who knew Renee knows who did this.
Her husband, Matt Simmons.
Guy went nuts after she divorced him.
What do you mean "nuts"? Enough for an order of protection.
But we couldn't legally keep him out of the building.
He works for Friedman and Sons as a stockbroker on the 58th floor.
Simmons didn't swipe out.
Well, if Renee left the building after being laid off, how did her ex get her back in without being seen? FlN: Let's ask him.
Hey, Matt! Got a sec? FlN: Hey! Where are you going? He's closed.
Weed.
Felony weight.
At least eight ounces.
No wonder you had the munchies.
Please cut me a break on the weed, man.
The SEC will yank my trading license.
Your license? Your whole life is about to go up in smoke, pal.
Renee? Oh, my God.
Was she the one that was killed on the 58th floor? You should know.
Medical Examiner says you bashed her head in and strangled her.
No, I didn't do that.
Yeah, you did.
You wrapped her up, hauled her down the steps, and dumped her like some trash.
(STUTTERlNG) I didn't kill Renee.
I swear.
FlN: This was your big chance.
You knew they were going to cut the power to your office, and you knew she got laid off.
And you knew she needed money.
Is that how you lured her back, Matt? Offer to give her some? FlN: Had her creep in through the loading dock, walk up all those steps to the 58th where you snatched her in the men's bathroom? Please! Why would I kill her? The same reason she got a restraining order against you.
You're obsessed.
I was pissed.
She was banging that sleaze ball boss of hers, Morgan.
Richard Morgan? How do you know that? I followed them.
Lunch at the same hotel every Tuesday.
What they were eating wasn't on any menu.
I wanted Renee out of my life.
But not like this.
Richard Morgan, 56.
CEO of RichMo lnvestments.
Fifteen years on the Fortune 500.
Big philanthropist.
Martial arts enthusiast.
He teaches karate to underprivileged kids.
Also a tenant at Trent Towers in 1987 when Nancy Pierce was murdered there.
BENSON: Same MO as Renee Simmons, same murder weapon.
Ligature marks are identical.
Twenty-two years between murders is a long time.
If Morgan is our guy, why no similar killings? Maybe he just didn't need to.
Or we haven't found his other victims yet.
We think he was screwing Nancy way back when? He was having an affair with Renee Simmons.
He could have killed them both to cover up his dalliances.
Or some other secret they learned during pillow talk.
And Daniel Hardy takes the fall.
Anything in Nancy Pierce's case file that can help us? There are vouchers for blood and semen from her body.
I've got the property clerk looking for them now.
Well, I meant anything that could help us suss out Morgan's motive for killing Nancy.
Well, according to Morgan's testimony at Hardy's trial, it was all Hardy.
Let's see.
"Daniel Hardy had the master keys to the building.
" "Daniel Hardy had a temper.
" Ah.
Listen to this one.
"That night, I saw Hardy yelling at Nancy in the hallway.
"Next thing any of us knew, she had disappeared.
" Morgan was master of the universe.
I was a slave, a nobody.
I still am.
STABLER: Okay.
Nancy.
She was an accountant? She was a junior partner at a small firm.
Around the time she disappeared Did she seem nervous? No, the opposite.
She was excited.
She tells me she's gonna pay for me to go to college.
She was going to buy an apartment.
That she was going to be rich.
How rich? Half a million bucks.
From Morgan.
He was going to buy out her firm.
Nancy was gonna take her piece of the action and quit.
He flipped out.
Said she had to stay on to get the money.
The next day, goes back to the office to get her stuff.
And then, Sunday They find her dead.
Nancy was murdered Friday, October 23rd, 1987.
That was four days after the stock market crashed on Black Monday.
Now, the market tanks again.
Any cat with Morgan's kind of scratch must have taken a bath.
Well, that's reason to lay people off, not motive to murder two women.
Not if he had something to hide that both women knew about.
MUNCH: Like his money.
What do you got? Richard Morgan is broke.
Morgan's books show investments totaling almost But all his accessible bank accounts show that he only has $5 million on deposit.
So he would have been wiped out if one of his big clients cashed out.
Or a bunch of smaller ones.
We called some of them.
Morgan's been stalling on paying them back.
It sounds like he went to the Bernie Madoff school of investing.
Makes sense to me.
That's more than enough motive to murder Nancy Pierce and Renee Simmons.
They both worked in accounting.
They both had access to his books.
They must have stumbled onto his Ponzi scheme.
Renee didn't just stumble onto it.
Buddy at the lRS said she was their informant.
He found out, he whacked her, and he tried to blame it on the ex.
Old habits die hard.
And two women paid with their lives.
This guy knows we're onto him.
He's going to skip town.
Not if we clip his wings first.
MORGAN: Guy shows me the yacht he buys with his bailout bonus.
(BLOCK LAUGHS) And you know what he says? "Your tax dollars at work.
" (ALL LAUGHlNG) I'm done with you guys harassing my client.
We've only just started.
Stand up, Mr.
Morgan.
You're under arrest for Fraud and Grand Larceny.
You're ruining his reputation.
Save it for arraignment, Counselor.
It'll all work out.
Excuse me.
"Docket ending 2-4-5.
People v, Richard Morgan, "Charges are" Is this right? Two hundred and thirty counts each, Grand Larceny and Fraud in the First Degree, and 20 counts of lncome Tax Evasion? Your Honor, you're looking at Bernard Madoff, The Karate Kid edition.
That's prejudicial, Judge.
I want her censured.
MASKlN: I don't see any jury here, Ms.
Block, and she certainly isn't going to prejudice me.
How do you plead, Mr.
Morgan? Not guilty.
The defendant has a private plane and ample means to flee the country.
We request remand to Rikers.
Remand is excessive.
My client wasn't charged with a violent crime.
Yet.
Mr.
Morgan is also being investigated for rape and murder.
And when he's charged with either of those, he'll await trial in Rikers.
The defendant will surrender his passport and be confined to his home with an electronic monitoring device.
Bail is denied.
We're in recess.
Press is staked out at every exit.
News travels fast.
Boy, you're not kidding.
The US Attorney called.
They're indicting tomorrow.
Well, if we're going to get Morgan on those murders, it's now or never.
You're wasting my client's time.
BENSON: Well, your client better get used to having a lot of time on his hands.
But that's not all he has on his hands, though, is it? Is something about this funny? MORGAN: Well, I was just thinking about your accusation that I bilked my clients out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
You don't seem too sorry, considering you ruined a lot of lives.
Including the poor bastard who's sitting in prison for the murder you committed 22 years ago.
As memory serves, Daniel Hardy was convicted by a jury of his peers.
It's interesting that you remember his name.
I don't know what you mean.
If you had DNA to prove any of this, we wouldn't be having this little chat.
Unless you're going to arrest my client again, he's going home.
I am going to get Daniel Hardy out of prison.
And make sure he takes every cent that you have left.
Good luck on your hamster wheel.
Shall we? That bastard will do anything to protect his money.
Even the ice princess can't get him out of this.
MAN: You ruined me! (GUN FlRlNG) (PEOPLE CLAMORlNG) COP: Drop the gun! Drop it! Now! Okay.
Calm down, sir.
Get against the wall.
Get against the wall.
No pulse.
What the hell happened? We were taking Morgan out when the old geezer got off the elevator and shot him.
He stole everything from me.
All I've worked for my whole life is gone.
You okay? I'm fine.
BLOCK: I heard him the first time.
He pointed the gun right at me, and then he fired.
Twice.
I saw the blood on me and thought I was hit.
Well, that's really all I need from you.
Is there somebody that I can call to take you home? No.
But thank you.
I'm sorry about your client.
STABLER: The guy's name is Thomas Rooney, Wife recently died of cancer.
(PHONE RlNGlNG) Morgan would not give him his money back.
FlN: Tutuola.
Said he had nothing left to lose.
How did he know that Morgan was here? El, property clerk on two.
Yeah, Stabler.
I've got vouchers that say it is there.
Well, just Okay.
Yeah, thanks.
DNA from the Nancy Pierce case is gone.
Which means Daniel Hardy is now officially, eternally screwed.
He is staying in prison for the rest of his miserable life.
BENSON: Miss Block! Miss Block.
Everything okay? Yes.
I'm sorry.
I realized I just need to ask you a few more questions.
So, if you don't mind.
I've told you everything about the shooting.
BENSON: This isn't about the shooting.
This is about the pictures of the two women that your client murdered.
I saw how disturbed you were by the photos, Counselor.
And yet, when your boss of 25 years gets murdered in cold blood right in front of you, you seem relieved.
Why is that? I don't know.
Yes, you do.
You've known all along.
I don't know what you want me to tell you.
I just want the truth.
Did you help Richard Morgan carry out his Ponzi scheme? Absolutely not.
Did you know about it? No.
I had suspicions.
But I was his lawyer.
The attorney-client privilege forbade me from revealing anything Richard ever said to me.
That bastard stole millions of dollars.
He killed two women.
He never told me he planned to kill anyone.
Come on, Liv.
Ask her about Hardy.
I'm gonna rake it out of that bitch.
Hold on, Elliot.
You're not going anywhere.
BLOCK: What do you want from me? BENSON: Something that will help us free Daniel Hardy, I can't help you with that.
Well, you are his only chance.
Thomas Rooney made sure of that when he murdered your boss.
I have a duty to preserve my client's confidentiality.
He's dead.
The law says it doesn't matter.
Richard Morgan let an innocent man take the fall for a murder that he committed.
I took an oath.
You're protecting a corpse! My life was protecting him.
Don't you understand? If I betray him now, I betray everything I've stood for.
Ingrid.
Morgan's gone.
You don't have to cover for him anymore.
An innocent man is gonna spend the rest of his life in prison.
Unless you step up.
I realized Richard murdered Renee Simmons on Friday afternoon.
After he did it.
Because he told you? He didn't have to, but I knew.
Because I knew 22 years ago he murdered Nancy Pierce.
How did you know? Have you ever seen a shadow box? Sure, a small display case that you hang on the wall.
Richard had one in his office.
It held every karate belt he'd ever earned.
I didn't see that in his office the other day.
Because last Friday afternoon, Richard brought it to my office and asked if I could hold onto it for a while.
After he murdered Renee Simmons.
So, you're saying, that Richard Morgan did the exact same thing in Trent Towers.
Richard brought me the shadow box that day, too.
Said he was renovating and asked if he could leave it with me.
We were all in shock when Nancy's body was found, and Richard was busy with his renovation.
It got me thinking.
I knew he'd just bought out Nancy's accounting firm and that she wanted to leave, It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.
So several days later, I asked him if he had anything to do with Nancy's murder.
And he said "As a matter of fact, yes.
" I pleaded with him.
I told him, "Richard, Dan Hardy, the maintenance guy, "is going to jail for killing her.
" Do you know what he did? (SCOFFS) He giggled and said, "l know.
Isn't it great?" So, all these years You've known that Daniel Hardy is an innocent man, There isn't a day that goes by that I haven't thought about that poor man.
Yeah, boo-hoo-hoo.
She let him rot in prison for two decades.
What the hell is wrong with her? CABOT: If she had come forward, she would have been disbarred.
Maybe gone to prison.
For providing evidence that would set a wrongfully accused man free? Only Massachusetts allows an attorney to break privilege if he or she knows of actual innocence.
And since privilege doesn't die with the client, she just committed career suicide.
BENSON: So what did you do with the box after you realized why Morgan gave it to you the first time? I went home.
I couldn't sleep.
The next day when I came into the office, it was gone.
When I went to see Richard, it was already back on his wall.
BENSON: And now? Is it still in your office? BLOCK: Yes, In the back of the credenza, behind my desk, He wasn't lying.
I found Nancy's epithelial cells all over the belt.
And Morgan's.
Arrogant bastard didn't even clean it up.
He just hung it back on his wall like he was untouchable.
Lucky for us.
Lucky for us lngrid Block cleared her conscience.
She did us a huge solid.
Yeah, 22 years too late.
There's more.
I found Renee Simmons' DNA and blood on the belt, too.
That's why the ligature marks look the same as Nancy's.
The son of a bitch used the same belt to murder both women.
And now, we have bulletproof evidence that Morgan killed Nancy, and Daniel Hardy did not.
HARDY: You want to tell me what's going on? STABLER: You're getting out, Daniel.
That simple.
It's over.
Richard Morgan.
He killed Nancy.
Richard Morgan.
Are you sure about that? Both their DNA was on the karate belt that he used to strangle her.
The belt from his office? How did you find out? Because I gave it to them.
You? You're Morgan's attorney.
Until he was killed two nights ago.
Did you know Richard killed Nancy? Did you know that Richard killed Nancy? You knew.
You knew, and you didn't say anything.
The law says I couldn't.
(SHOUTS) The law? You had that power to get me out and you didn't say anything? You let me sit here? How do you live with yourself? Twenty years! Let's go.
DONNELLY: The English judge, William Blackstone, said, "Better that 10 guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.
" I am sad to say that in this case, our system fell far short of that standard.
This court can never repay you the years you were wrongfully imprisoned.
I can only apologize for this gross miscarriage of justice which made you a victim.
That said, Daniel Hardy, I am hereby setting aside your conviction of Murder in the Second Degree.
I order your record expunged and your immediate release from custody of the State Department of Corrections.
We are adjourned.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Thank you for everything.
I just wish there was more we could do.
There is.
Ingrid Block? Detective Stabler.
You're under arrest for facilitating a murder.
Elliot, what are you doing? I'm getting justice for Renee Simmons.
She put the murder weapon right back in Richard Morgan's hands.
So do you understand your rights as I've explained them to you? I've already told you everything I know, and I'll act as my own attorney.
Well, if I were you, I'd hire someone more ethical.
Detective Stabler, please, understand You can save that for a jury.
Do you have any idea what you've just done? The job I was hired to do.
You didn't clear this arrest with me or Alex.
You didn't even tell your partner.
(SlGHS) I followed the law.
We're not finished, Detective.
Though you're awfully close.
Captain, it was a good collar.
I read the facilitation statute.
Proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Morgan gave his lawyer the black belt he used to strangle his first victim.
She returned it to him.
Which she had a legal right to do to preserve attorney-client privilege.
Ingrid Block knew Morgan had killed once.
She knew he was capable of doing it again.
When she handed that belt back to him, she facilitated Renee Simmons' murder.
I am tired of defense attorneys hiding behind privilege to withhold evidence.
STABLER: Ms.
Block told us that in 1987, Mr.
Morgan confessed to her that he had strangled Nancy Pierce with the black belt from this box.
And how do you know Mr.
Morgan later killed Ms.
Simmons with the same black belt? His DNA was on the belt with both victims'.
Thank you, Detective.
Nothing further.
Detective Stabler, who is this man? Objection.
BLOCK: Goes to the witness' credibility.
Overruled.
Answer the question, Detective.
That is Victor Tate.
I arrested him in 1998 for rape.
Did you later learn he did not commit that crime? Yes.
Where is Victor Tate now, Detective? He's serving out his sentence in Sing Sing.
How is that possible if he's innocent? The only man that can prove he is innocent, the real rapist, committed suicide.
While in police custody.
So an innocent man remains in prison even though you did your job.
Yes.
Detective Stabler, do you believe I'm responsible for leaving Daniel Hardy in prison? Yes, I do.
But that's not the only reason you arrested me.
You did it to assuage your own guilt about Victor Tate, correct? CABOT: Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
As a lawyer, I took an oath never to reveal a client's secrets.
This trust is so sacred it is protected by law.
Which means that if you, you, or you are ever arrested, you can be sure I will maintain your confidentiality.
Attorney-client privilege is a fundamental basis to your right to a fair trial.
Richard Morgan gave this shadow box to me in 1987 and admitted using the black belt to strangle Nancy Pierce.
Because he knew I couldn't tell the police.
I agonized about it.
I knew I couldn't keep this, because I'd be guilty of obstructing justice by concealing evidence.
My only legal option was to give it back.
But before I could, the shadow box disappeared from my office.
To this day, I have no idea how Richard got it back.
Your witness.
So the belts were stolen and magically reappeared on Richard Morgan's office wall.
Did you ask him how it happened? Yes, he wouldn't tell me.
But of course, you have no way to prove this, do you? Because your only corroborating witness is Richard Morgan, and he's dead.
Correct? I'm telling the truth.
Really? Because you just told this court you had a sacred duty to protect client confidentiality, which you violated, did you not? To get an innocent man out of prison.
If you were so concerned about Daniel Hardy, why didn't you come forward 22 years ago? Every day, I wanted to come forward.
A wrongfully convicted man sat in prison because of my actions.
Until you decided to break your oath.
And you did break it, didn't you? Richard was dead.
There was no way my revelations could hurt him.
So, which is it? Keep the oath? Break the oath? Keep the belts? Give the belts back? I told you.
They disappeared from my office.
And into Richard Morgan's hands.
He used this black belt to murder Renee Simmons.
You're right.
I should have stopped him.
It's my fault.
Renee Simmons' murder is my fault.
No more questions.
You really took her apart in there.
I'll take that as a compliment.
Alex.
(SlGHlNG) This is wrong.
Am I missing something? The only reason we're in that courtroom is because you arrested lngrid Block.
I think I made a mistake.
I want you to drop the charges.
Too late.
McCoy certainly won't let me, and after what I just did in there, the jury has no choice but to convict.
Unless I give them one.
If I didn't owe you one, I'd never let you bring me back.
Why are we here? The guy with his back to us.
What about him? He's you.
What are you talking about? His name is Victor Tate.
I collared him Last year, I found out he didn't do it.
I screwed up.
He's going to be serving out his sentence.
Nothing you can do for him? No.
But you can for lngrid Block.
You want me to help her? Do you remember Richard's karate belts? What about them? I don't think lngrid gave them back to Richard after Nancy's murder.
Someone with access to her office did.
Block stole Revenge isn't going to get them back.
Helping that bitch going to get him out? What do you care? Her hands were tied by the law.
Listen, man, she should be punished for what she did to me.
Richard Morgan put you in here.
He's the one who stole those years from you.
Now if lngrid Block hadn't come forward, that would be you.
You'd be pushing a mop for the rest of your life.
Wednesday, October 28th, 1987 was my first day back to work after my girlfriend, Nancy Pierce's, funeral.
As soon as I came in, I got a call from Mr.
Morgan.
What did he want? He asked me to take the shadow box out of your office and put it back up on his wall.
Why would he send you? I was a building maintenance man.
I had a master key.
Did you carry out his request? Yes, I did.
Why didn't you tell me what you'd done? Mr.
Morgan said if I did, he'd fire me.
You didn't think that was unusual? When Mr.
Morgan asked, I delivered.
What did he do when you brought the box back to him? He smiled.
And then said, "When you've got a black belt, you can do anything.
" The next thing I know, I'm being arrested for Nancy's murder.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
No questions for this witness.
The defense rests.
Mr.
Hardy, you may step down.
Rebuttal, Miss Cabot? None, Your Honor.
Then the defense moves for a directed verdict of not guilty on the grounds the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt I facilitated the murder of Renee Simmons.
As reluctant as I am to take this decision away from the jury, it's clear that the defendant had absolutely no intent to commit a crime.
And for the record, it is abhorrent to me that a District Attorney would so blatantly use our system of justice as a means to a political end.
The defendant will rise.
Ingrid Block, I find you not guilty in facilitating a murder.
This court is adjourned.
(CLEARS THROAT) I owe you an apology, Counselor.
And I owe all of you thanks.
Miss Cabot, I represent Thomas Rooney on his murder charge.
He's 80-years-old.
He's sick.
Any way you can plead him out? I'll see what I can do.
Ingrid's a glutton for punishment, defending the guy who murdered her boss.
I get it.
It's her way of helping one of Morgan's victims.
If it were me, I'd move on.
Well, maybe she's grateful to Rooney for taking the monkey off her back.
Or she has a guilty conscience.
STABLER: You called Rooney two hours before he murdered Morgan.
BENSON: You told him that Morgan was here, didn't you? Did you tell Rooney to kill him, too? No, I just told him where Richard would be.
But you knew he was ready to explode.
You just lit the fuse.
All I did was make a phone call.
Knowing that we'd never be able to touch you.
Thomas Rooney did what I should have done I always hoped the law would catch up with Richard.
The law doesn't always guarantee justice.
But this time, I did.
Weekend quiet, I hope.
Yep, except the blackouts Friday night on 58.
What the hell happened? Friedman and Sons.
Scheduled renovation rewiring.
Oh, yeah.
Cameras come back online okay? Tony's checking it now.
Boss, you better see this.
What's wrong? She's there.
Then the power went out.
Someone pulled her into the men's room.
Call the cops, Special Victims Unit, and let's search 58.
Hey, do you mind? Sorry.
Lady, come on! No evidence of a crime.
Look at the picture.
A guy pulled a woman into the men's room.
It screamed rape.
Well, you can't have a rape without a victim.
Thanks.
We're on it.
Cleaning woman, Valerie Martin, swiped her lD badge into the building Friday night at 6:00 p.
m.
but never swiped out.
Okay, could she have left without using her badge? No, she would have set off the alarm.
What floors does Valerie clean? This one and the one below.
Already searched 57, boss.
You check the storage rooms and utility closets? Yes, sir.
Any unoccupied office space? There's an empty suite, northeast corner.
Janitors use it for storage.
Ready? (VALERlE MOANlNG) STABLER: Rise and shine.
(VALERlE GASPS) Valerie Martin? Martin.
You've been here all weekend.
I got roommates.
Me and Hector needed some privacy.
Let's get them dressed and out of here.
TONY: All right, you two, let's go.
If that's Valerie, who's this? STABLER: And where the hell is she? So Jane Doe gets yanked into the 58th floor men's room.
Any video showing how she got up there? No record of her entering the building.
No video of her face.
No sign of her anywhere.
Other than the cleaning woman, anybody else spend the weekend here? All workers and visitors who entered the building Friday morning are on record as leaving.
How we doing on the canvass? Before 8:00 a.
m.
, Captain.
It's going to be a few hours until everyone's present and accounted for.
Get patrol to help you out.
Hopkins, what the hell is going on here? Richard Morgan, owns the building.
Police situation, sir.
There may be a crime victim missing on the premises.
I'm Captain Cragen.
These are Detectives Stabler and Benson.
They're not searching without a warrant, Richard.
Each of our tenants has a right to privacy.
Which we have no intention of violating, Ms Block.
Ingrid's my chief counsel.
Runs my life.
I'm telling you, Richard, if we let them traipse through every office, we could be in breach of our leases.
Mmm-hmm.
This woman is somewhere in your building.
Maybe hurt, barely alive.
We really need your cooperation.
You got it.
What else can we do? Put the word out to all of your tenants to get us the name of anybody who didn't show up for work.
Done.
Hopkins, keep me posted.
Updates every hour.
Yes, ma'am.
Unit one, please repeat.
What's up? CSU wants you on 58.
Men's room.
Blood smears all over this wall.
Nothing on the stalls or the sink.
Or on the floor.
How did the perp manage that? No idea.
Even if he cleaned up with bleach, there'd still be traces of blood.
Ghosts don't bleed, so she's got to be here.
Now you've got a bloody victim, five minutes of blackout to get rid of her.
What's the quickest way out? Service elevators in the trash room down the hall.
These elevators have a camera? Yeah.
They weren't affected by the power shutdown.
We checked the video.
Didn't see our perp or the victim.
Any cameras in the stairwell? Nope, they're never used.
Could he have gotten her out this way without setting off the alarm? Sure, if he knew the combination.
Ready when you are.
Do it.
Floors look clean.
Walls.
There's something on the trash can.
Yeah, we've got blood inside.
When and where does the trash go out? The dumpsters out by the loading dock.
Right about now.
FlN: Hey, hey! Whoa! Whoa! Stop that thing! Hey, hey! Drop it! Drop it! Police! BENSON: You find anything? Check it out.
Bloody paper towels.
Must have used it to clean up the bathroom.
Everybody grab a dumpster.
FlN: Whoa.
Don't even bother.
Oh, God.
(EXHALES) Wrapped her up nice and tight.
Hope he left trace evidence inside for Warner.
CSU combed the dumpsters.
Nothing other than the corpse.
How did the perp get into the men's room without being seen? Well, it had to be during the first blackout, which means he knew when the 58th floor was going to go dark.
Victim walks down the hallway.
He pulls her in a split second before blackout number two.
The timing is too precise to be a random grab.
He must have known her and lured her there.
Then what? He bashed her head in.
That explains the blood on the bathroom wall.
He laid down plastic so her blood wouldn't get on the floor.
Then he wraps her up.
He wipes up the blood.
Drags her down this hallway into the trash room.
He knew the blackout schedule, when the garbage got picked up, and his escape route.
Had to be an inside job.
We're interviewing all the maintenance and security employees.
It's amazing he pulled it off.
What's even more amazing, it happened before.
When? October 1987.
Nancy Pierce, 27.
Raped, strangled, and left to decompose in an air vent two blocks away at Trent Towers.
Perp got away with it? Perp got popped.
Daniel Hardy, maintenance man at Trent Towers, doing the full monty at Sing Sing for Nancy's murder.
So he's been in prison for two decades.
Can't be the same guy.
Unless he had an accomplice we never collared.
Well, hopefully, Jane Doe will tell us more when she's unwrapped.
Any word from Warner? She said she's swamped.
It's going to be a few hours.
Well, take a good book to the M.
E.
's, John.
Liv, Elliot, head up to Sing Sing.
See if Mr.
Hardy had help murdering Nancy Pierce.
I didn't have a partner, because I didn't kill Nancy.
STABLER: You're eligible for parole in three years.
Now, the board could let you go, you come clean.
I'm not going to admit to what I didn't do.
Then why won't you look at her? Because I loved her.
And she loved me.
BENSON: Until she didn't anymore.
So you raped her and choked her to death.
They found semen inside her that matched your blood type.
Except it wasn't mine.
I was convicted before there was DNA.
Take a swab from me.
Compare it.
It's not our job.
Call your lawyer.
Really? My lawyer gave up after the Supreme Court ruled we didn't have the right to demand DNA tests to prove our innocence.
If I raped Nancy, if I killed her, then why would I ask you to do this? CLERK: Here you go.
If we find the DNA from Nancy Pierce's murder, we should run it.
Because you think Hardy's innocent? (CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) Because I once put an innocent man away in prison before we had DNA.
Benson.
MUNCH: Liv, Warner's unwrapping Jane Doe now.
We'll send you a photograph.
She's got head trauma and a wide ligature on her neck.
Do you recognize her? Renee Simmons.
She was a secretary in Mr.
Morgan's accounting department.
BENSON: And why didn't you report her missing? Because she wasn't.
She wasn't speaking to you, Counselor.
I laid off Renee and 12 others Friday morning.
We collected their lD badges and swiped them out.
They all left the building immediately.
Is there a reason Renee would come back Friday night? Clean out her office? We did it for her.
I'll handle this, lngrid.
You don't have to answer to them.
Ingrid, please.
Renee is dead.
We're going to need to speak with her coworkers.
Maybe one of them knows who did this.
Well, anyone who knew Renee knows who did this.
Her husband, Matt Simmons.
Guy went nuts after she divorced him.
What do you mean "nuts"? Enough for an order of protection.
But we couldn't legally keep him out of the building.
He works for Friedman and Sons as a stockbroker on the 58th floor.
Simmons didn't swipe out.
Well, if Renee left the building after being laid off, how did her ex get her back in without being seen? FlN: Let's ask him.
Hey, Matt! Got a sec? FlN: Hey! Where are you going? He's closed.
Weed.
Felony weight.
At least eight ounces.
No wonder you had the munchies.
Please cut me a break on the weed, man.
The SEC will yank my trading license.
Your license? Your whole life is about to go up in smoke, pal.
Renee? Oh, my God.
Was she the one that was killed on the 58th floor? You should know.
Medical Examiner says you bashed her head in and strangled her.
No, I didn't do that.
Yeah, you did.
You wrapped her up, hauled her down the steps, and dumped her like some trash.
(STUTTERlNG) I didn't kill Renee.
I swear.
FlN: This was your big chance.
You knew they were going to cut the power to your office, and you knew she got laid off.
And you knew she needed money.
Is that how you lured her back, Matt? Offer to give her some? FlN: Had her creep in through the loading dock, walk up all those steps to the 58th where you snatched her in the men's bathroom? Please! Why would I kill her? The same reason she got a restraining order against you.
You're obsessed.
I was pissed.
She was banging that sleaze ball boss of hers, Morgan.
Richard Morgan? How do you know that? I followed them.
Lunch at the same hotel every Tuesday.
What they were eating wasn't on any menu.
I wanted Renee out of my life.
But not like this.
Richard Morgan, 56.
CEO of RichMo lnvestments.
Fifteen years on the Fortune 500.
Big philanthropist.
Martial arts enthusiast.
He teaches karate to underprivileged kids.
Also a tenant at Trent Towers in 1987 when Nancy Pierce was murdered there.
BENSON: Same MO as Renee Simmons, same murder weapon.
Ligature marks are identical.
Twenty-two years between murders is a long time.
If Morgan is our guy, why no similar killings? Maybe he just didn't need to.
Or we haven't found his other victims yet.
We think he was screwing Nancy way back when? He was having an affair with Renee Simmons.
He could have killed them both to cover up his dalliances.
Or some other secret they learned during pillow talk.
And Daniel Hardy takes the fall.
Anything in Nancy Pierce's case file that can help us? There are vouchers for blood and semen from her body.
I've got the property clerk looking for them now.
Well, I meant anything that could help us suss out Morgan's motive for killing Nancy.
Well, according to Morgan's testimony at Hardy's trial, it was all Hardy.
Let's see.
"Daniel Hardy had the master keys to the building.
" "Daniel Hardy had a temper.
" Ah.
Listen to this one.
"That night, I saw Hardy yelling at Nancy in the hallway.
"Next thing any of us knew, she had disappeared.
" Morgan was master of the universe.
I was a slave, a nobody.
I still am.
STABLER: Okay.
Nancy.
She was an accountant? She was a junior partner at a small firm.
Around the time she disappeared Did she seem nervous? No, the opposite.
She was excited.
She tells me she's gonna pay for me to go to college.
She was going to buy an apartment.
That she was going to be rich.
How rich? Half a million bucks.
From Morgan.
He was going to buy out her firm.
Nancy was gonna take her piece of the action and quit.
He flipped out.
Said she had to stay on to get the money.
The next day, goes back to the office to get her stuff.
And then, Sunday They find her dead.
Nancy was murdered Friday, October 23rd, 1987.
That was four days after the stock market crashed on Black Monday.
Now, the market tanks again.
Any cat with Morgan's kind of scratch must have taken a bath.
Well, that's reason to lay people off, not motive to murder two women.
Not if he had something to hide that both women knew about.
MUNCH: Like his money.
What do you got? Richard Morgan is broke.
Morgan's books show investments totaling almost But all his accessible bank accounts show that he only has $5 million on deposit.
So he would have been wiped out if one of his big clients cashed out.
Or a bunch of smaller ones.
We called some of them.
Morgan's been stalling on paying them back.
It sounds like he went to the Bernie Madoff school of investing.
Makes sense to me.
That's more than enough motive to murder Nancy Pierce and Renee Simmons.
They both worked in accounting.
They both had access to his books.
They must have stumbled onto his Ponzi scheme.
Renee didn't just stumble onto it.
Buddy at the lRS said she was their informant.
He found out, he whacked her, and he tried to blame it on the ex.
Old habits die hard.
And two women paid with their lives.
This guy knows we're onto him.
He's going to skip town.
Not if we clip his wings first.
MORGAN: Guy shows me the yacht he buys with his bailout bonus.
(BLOCK LAUGHS) And you know what he says? "Your tax dollars at work.
" (ALL LAUGHlNG) I'm done with you guys harassing my client.
We've only just started.
Stand up, Mr.
Morgan.
You're under arrest for Fraud and Grand Larceny.
You're ruining his reputation.
Save it for arraignment, Counselor.
It'll all work out.
Excuse me.
"Docket ending 2-4-5.
People v, Richard Morgan, "Charges are" Is this right? Two hundred and thirty counts each, Grand Larceny and Fraud in the First Degree, and 20 counts of lncome Tax Evasion? Your Honor, you're looking at Bernard Madoff, The Karate Kid edition.
That's prejudicial, Judge.
I want her censured.
MASKlN: I don't see any jury here, Ms.
Block, and she certainly isn't going to prejudice me.
How do you plead, Mr.
Morgan? Not guilty.
The defendant has a private plane and ample means to flee the country.
We request remand to Rikers.
Remand is excessive.
My client wasn't charged with a violent crime.
Yet.
Mr.
Morgan is also being investigated for rape and murder.
And when he's charged with either of those, he'll await trial in Rikers.
The defendant will surrender his passport and be confined to his home with an electronic monitoring device.
Bail is denied.
We're in recess.
Press is staked out at every exit.
News travels fast.
Boy, you're not kidding.
The US Attorney called.
They're indicting tomorrow.
Well, if we're going to get Morgan on those murders, it's now or never.
You're wasting my client's time.
BENSON: Well, your client better get used to having a lot of time on his hands.
But that's not all he has on his hands, though, is it? Is something about this funny? MORGAN: Well, I was just thinking about your accusation that I bilked my clients out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
You don't seem too sorry, considering you ruined a lot of lives.
Including the poor bastard who's sitting in prison for the murder you committed 22 years ago.
As memory serves, Daniel Hardy was convicted by a jury of his peers.
It's interesting that you remember his name.
I don't know what you mean.
If you had DNA to prove any of this, we wouldn't be having this little chat.
Unless you're going to arrest my client again, he's going home.
I am going to get Daniel Hardy out of prison.
And make sure he takes every cent that you have left.
Good luck on your hamster wheel.
Shall we? That bastard will do anything to protect his money.
Even the ice princess can't get him out of this.
MAN: You ruined me! (GUN FlRlNG) (PEOPLE CLAMORlNG) COP: Drop the gun! Drop it! Now! Okay.
Calm down, sir.
Get against the wall.
Get against the wall.
No pulse.
What the hell happened? We were taking Morgan out when the old geezer got off the elevator and shot him.
He stole everything from me.
All I've worked for my whole life is gone.
You okay? I'm fine.
BLOCK: I heard him the first time.
He pointed the gun right at me, and then he fired.
Twice.
I saw the blood on me and thought I was hit.
Well, that's really all I need from you.
Is there somebody that I can call to take you home? No.
But thank you.
I'm sorry about your client.
STABLER: The guy's name is Thomas Rooney, Wife recently died of cancer.
(PHONE RlNGlNG) Morgan would not give him his money back.
FlN: Tutuola.
Said he had nothing left to lose.
How did he know that Morgan was here? El, property clerk on two.
Yeah, Stabler.
I've got vouchers that say it is there.
Well, just Okay.
Yeah, thanks.
DNA from the Nancy Pierce case is gone.
Which means Daniel Hardy is now officially, eternally screwed.
He is staying in prison for the rest of his miserable life.
BENSON: Miss Block! Miss Block.
Everything okay? Yes.
I'm sorry.
I realized I just need to ask you a few more questions.
So, if you don't mind.
I've told you everything about the shooting.
BENSON: This isn't about the shooting.
This is about the pictures of the two women that your client murdered.
I saw how disturbed you were by the photos, Counselor.
And yet, when your boss of 25 years gets murdered in cold blood right in front of you, you seem relieved.
Why is that? I don't know.
Yes, you do.
You've known all along.
I don't know what you want me to tell you.
I just want the truth.
Did you help Richard Morgan carry out his Ponzi scheme? Absolutely not.
Did you know about it? No.
I had suspicions.
But I was his lawyer.
The attorney-client privilege forbade me from revealing anything Richard ever said to me.
That bastard stole millions of dollars.
He killed two women.
He never told me he planned to kill anyone.
Come on, Liv.
Ask her about Hardy.
I'm gonna rake it out of that bitch.
Hold on, Elliot.
You're not going anywhere.
BLOCK: What do you want from me? BENSON: Something that will help us free Daniel Hardy, I can't help you with that.
Well, you are his only chance.
Thomas Rooney made sure of that when he murdered your boss.
I have a duty to preserve my client's confidentiality.
He's dead.
The law says it doesn't matter.
Richard Morgan let an innocent man take the fall for a murder that he committed.
I took an oath.
You're protecting a corpse! My life was protecting him.
Don't you understand? If I betray him now, I betray everything I've stood for.
Ingrid.
Morgan's gone.
You don't have to cover for him anymore.
An innocent man is gonna spend the rest of his life in prison.
Unless you step up.
I realized Richard murdered Renee Simmons on Friday afternoon.
After he did it.
Because he told you? He didn't have to, but I knew.
Because I knew 22 years ago he murdered Nancy Pierce.
How did you know? Have you ever seen a shadow box? Sure, a small display case that you hang on the wall.
Richard had one in his office.
It held every karate belt he'd ever earned.
I didn't see that in his office the other day.
Because last Friday afternoon, Richard brought it to my office and asked if I could hold onto it for a while.
After he murdered Renee Simmons.
So, you're saying, that Richard Morgan did the exact same thing in Trent Towers.
Richard brought me the shadow box that day, too.
Said he was renovating and asked if he could leave it with me.
We were all in shock when Nancy's body was found, and Richard was busy with his renovation.
It got me thinking.
I knew he'd just bought out Nancy's accounting firm and that she wanted to leave, It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.
So several days later, I asked him if he had anything to do with Nancy's murder.
And he said "As a matter of fact, yes.
" I pleaded with him.
I told him, "Richard, Dan Hardy, the maintenance guy, "is going to jail for killing her.
" Do you know what he did? (SCOFFS) He giggled and said, "l know.
Isn't it great?" So, all these years You've known that Daniel Hardy is an innocent man, There isn't a day that goes by that I haven't thought about that poor man.
Yeah, boo-hoo-hoo.
She let him rot in prison for two decades.
What the hell is wrong with her? CABOT: If she had come forward, she would have been disbarred.
Maybe gone to prison.
For providing evidence that would set a wrongfully accused man free? Only Massachusetts allows an attorney to break privilege if he or she knows of actual innocence.
And since privilege doesn't die with the client, she just committed career suicide.
BENSON: So what did you do with the box after you realized why Morgan gave it to you the first time? I went home.
I couldn't sleep.
The next day when I came into the office, it was gone.
When I went to see Richard, it was already back on his wall.
BENSON: And now? Is it still in your office? BLOCK: Yes, In the back of the credenza, behind my desk, He wasn't lying.
I found Nancy's epithelial cells all over the belt.
And Morgan's.
Arrogant bastard didn't even clean it up.
He just hung it back on his wall like he was untouchable.
Lucky for us.
Lucky for us lngrid Block cleared her conscience.
She did us a huge solid.
Yeah, 22 years too late.
There's more.
I found Renee Simmons' DNA and blood on the belt, too.
That's why the ligature marks look the same as Nancy's.
The son of a bitch used the same belt to murder both women.
And now, we have bulletproof evidence that Morgan killed Nancy, and Daniel Hardy did not.
HARDY: You want to tell me what's going on? STABLER: You're getting out, Daniel.
That simple.
It's over.
Richard Morgan.
He killed Nancy.
Richard Morgan.
Are you sure about that? Both their DNA was on the karate belt that he used to strangle her.
The belt from his office? How did you find out? Because I gave it to them.
You? You're Morgan's attorney.
Until he was killed two nights ago.
Did you know Richard killed Nancy? Did you know that Richard killed Nancy? You knew.
You knew, and you didn't say anything.
The law says I couldn't.
(SHOUTS) The law? You had that power to get me out and you didn't say anything? You let me sit here? How do you live with yourself? Twenty years! Let's go.
DONNELLY: The English judge, William Blackstone, said, "Better that 10 guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.
" I am sad to say that in this case, our system fell far short of that standard.
This court can never repay you the years you were wrongfully imprisoned.
I can only apologize for this gross miscarriage of justice which made you a victim.
That said, Daniel Hardy, I am hereby setting aside your conviction of Murder in the Second Degree.
I order your record expunged and your immediate release from custody of the State Department of Corrections.
We are adjourned.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Thank you for everything.
I just wish there was more we could do.
There is.
Ingrid Block? Detective Stabler.
You're under arrest for facilitating a murder.
Elliot, what are you doing? I'm getting justice for Renee Simmons.
She put the murder weapon right back in Richard Morgan's hands.
So do you understand your rights as I've explained them to you? I've already told you everything I know, and I'll act as my own attorney.
Well, if I were you, I'd hire someone more ethical.
Detective Stabler, please, understand You can save that for a jury.
Do you have any idea what you've just done? The job I was hired to do.
You didn't clear this arrest with me or Alex.
You didn't even tell your partner.
(SlGHS) I followed the law.
We're not finished, Detective.
Though you're awfully close.
Captain, it was a good collar.
I read the facilitation statute.
Proof that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Morgan gave his lawyer the black belt he used to strangle his first victim.
She returned it to him.
Which she had a legal right to do to preserve attorney-client privilege.
Ingrid Block knew Morgan had killed once.
She knew he was capable of doing it again.
When she handed that belt back to him, she facilitated Renee Simmons' murder.
I am tired of defense attorneys hiding behind privilege to withhold evidence.
STABLER: Ms.
Block told us that in 1987, Mr.
Morgan confessed to her that he had strangled Nancy Pierce with the black belt from this box.
And how do you know Mr.
Morgan later killed Ms.
Simmons with the same black belt? His DNA was on the belt with both victims'.
Thank you, Detective.
Nothing further.
Detective Stabler, who is this man? Objection.
BLOCK: Goes to the witness' credibility.
Overruled.
Answer the question, Detective.
That is Victor Tate.
I arrested him in 1998 for rape.
Did you later learn he did not commit that crime? Yes.
Where is Victor Tate now, Detective? He's serving out his sentence in Sing Sing.
How is that possible if he's innocent? The only man that can prove he is innocent, the real rapist, committed suicide.
While in police custody.
So an innocent man remains in prison even though you did your job.
Yes.
Detective Stabler, do you believe I'm responsible for leaving Daniel Hardy in prison? Yes, I do.
But that's not the only reason you arrested me.
You did it to assuage your own guilt about Victor Tate, correct? CABOT: Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
As a lawyer, I took an oath never to reveal a client's secrets.
This trust is so sacred it is protected by law.
Which means that if you, you, or you are ever arrested, you can be sure I will maintain your confidentiality.
Attorney-client privilege is a fundamental basis to your right to a fair trial.
Richard Morgan gave this shadow box to me in 1987 and admitted using the black belt to strangle Nancy Pierce.
Because he knew I couldn't tell the police.
I agonized about it.
I knew I couldn't keep this, because I'd be guilty of obstructing justice by concealing evidence.
My only legal option was to give it back.
But before I could, the shadow box disappeared from my office.
To this day, I have no idea how Richard got it back.
Your witness.
So the belts were stolen and magically reappeared on Richard Morgan's office wall.
Did you ask him how it happened? Yes, he wouldn't tell me.
But of course, you have no way to prove this, do you? Because your only corroborating witness is Richard Morgan, and he's dead.
Correct? I'm telling the truth.
Really? Because you just told this court you had a sacred duty to protect client confidentiality, which you violated, did you not? To get an innocent man out of prison.
If you were so concerned about Daniel Hardy, why didn't you come forward 22 years ago? Every day, I wanted to come forward.
A wrongfully convicted man sat in prison because of my actions.
Until you decided to break your oath.
And you did break it, didn't you? Richard was dead.
There was no way my revelations could hurt him.
So, which is it? Keep the oath? Break the oath? Keep the belts? Give the belts back? I told you.
They disappeared from my office.
And into Richard Morgan's hands.
He used this black belt to murder Renee Simmons.
You're right.
I should have stopped him.
It's my fault.
Renee Simmons' murder is my fault.
No more questions.
You really took her apart in there.
I'll take that as a compliment.
Alex.
(SlGHlNG) This is wrong.
Am I missing something? The only reason we're in that courtroom is because you arrested lngrid Block.
I think I made a mistake.
I want you to drop the charges.
Too late.
McCoy certainly won't let me, and after what I just did in there, the jury has no choice but to convict.
Unless I give them one.
If I didn't owe you one, I'd never let you bring me back.
Why are we here? The guy with his back to us.
What about him? He's you.
What are you talking about? His name is Victor Tate.
I collared him Last year, I found out he didn't do it.
I screwed up.
He's going to be serving out his sentence.
Nothing you can do for him? No.
But you can for lngrid Block.
You want me to help her? Do you remember Richard's karate belts? What about them? I don't think lngrid gave them back to Richard after Nancy's murder.
Someone with access to her office did.
Block stole Revenge isn't going to get them back.
Helping that bitch going to get him out? What do you care? Her hands were tied by the law.
Listen, man, she should be punished for what she did to me.
Richard Morgan put you in here.
He's the one who stole those years from you.
Now if lngrid Block hadn't come forward, that would be you.
You'd be pushing a mop for the rest of your life.
Wednesday, October 28th, 1987 was my first day back to work after my girlfriend, Nancy Pierce's, funeral.
As soon as I came in, I got a call from Mr.
Morgan.
What did he want? He asked me to take the shadow box out of your office and put it back up on his wall.
Why would he send you? I was a building maintenance man.
I had a master key.
Did you carry out his request? Yes, I did.
Why didn't you tell me what you'd done? Mr.
Morgan said if I did, he'd fire me.
You didn't think that was unusual? When Mr.
Morgan asked, I delivered.
What did he do when you brought the box back to him? He smiled.
And then said, "When you've got a black belt, you can do anything.
" The next thing I know, I'm being arrested for Nancy's murder.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
No questions for this witness.
The defense rests.
Mr.
Hardy, you may step down.
Rebuttal, Miss Cabot? None, Your Honor.
Then the defense moves for a directed verdict of not guilty on the grounds the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt I facilitated the murder of Renee Simmons.
As reluctant as I am to take this decision away from the jury, it's clear that the defendant had absolutely no intent to commit a crime.
And for the record, it is abhorrent to me that a District Attorney would so blatantly use our system of justice as a means to a political end.
The defendant will rise.
Ingrid Block, I find you not guilty in facilitating a murder.
This court is adjourned.
(CLEARS THROAT) I owe you an apology, Counselor.
And I owe all of you thanks.
Miss Cabot, I represent Thomas Rooney on his murder charge.
He's 80-years-old.
He's sick.
Any way you can plead him out? I'll see what I can do.
Ingrid's a glutton for punishment, defending the guy who murdered her boss.
I get it.
It's her way of helping one of Morgan's victims.
If it were me, I'd move on.
Well, maybe she's grateful to Rooney for taking the monkey off her back.
Or she has a guilty conscience.
STABLER: You called Rooney two hours before he murdered Morgan.
BENSON: You told him that Morgan was here, didn't you? Did you tell Rooney to kill him, too? No, I just told him where Richard would be.
But you knew he was ready to explode.
You just lit the fuse.
All I did was make a phone call.
Knowing that we'd never be able to touch you.
Thomas Rooney did what I should have done I always hoped the law would catch up with Richard.
The law doesn't always guarantee justice.
But this time, I did.