Law & Order Special Victims Unit s11e20 Episode Script
Beef
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, FREDDY: Damn, baby.
I don't want to miss that concert.
Okay, well, you try walking in these shoes.
(DOG WHlMPERlNG) Aw! Hold on, Freddy.
Hi, Chuey.
Sweetie, what are you doing out here so late? Gina, no.
Not again.
He lives right down the hall.
Show starts in 20 minutes.
Well, I've got to get Chuey home.
Come on.
Come on, puppy.
First time Son de Cuba ever, ever plays in this country, and we're going to miss it? I swear to God, Gina, I'll kill you if we're one second late.
Okay, here it is.
Hello? Hello? (GASPS) Oh, my God.
The victim's Laura Santiago, 24.
Bled out from a cut jugular.
Throat slit from left to right with a very sharp knife.
Panties down.
Fluids on both sides.
Time of death? From the rigor, I'd say between (BlRDS CHlRPlNG) If only they could talk.
Well, I'm no Dr.
Doolittle, but a swab of the dog's mouth might tell us if he bit the perp while trying to protect her.
STABLER: Need a vet? No, I can do it.
Come here, boy.
Good boy.
(SlGHS) You all right? Yeah.
He's just a dead ringer for my dog, Petey.
I didn't know you had a dog.
Yeah, with my job, it's great to come home to something breathing.
MUNCH: Yeah, we had a dog once.
My father tripped over her one night and brought her back to the pound the next day.
Lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Lie down with men Nothing disturbed inside the apartment, no sign of forced entry.
She must have known the perp.
Plates soaking in the sink.
She probably made him dinner.
Yeah, then he cut her throat for dessert and took the knife as a souvenir.
Well, let's just hope he's not out looking for his next meal.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Super says she didn't hear a thing.
(SANDRA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) SANDRA: How do I know the boyfriend's name? Do I got time to know my tenants' business? You know that they went to Whole Foods.
You saw Laura coming and going with the same guy.
Not always.
MUNCH: What does that mean? Sometimes, he came in by himself.
Had his own key.
I found the victim's laptop.
Nothing on it.
MUNCH: You mean nothing suspicious.
No, I mean nothing at all.
That's suspicious.
I'll get Morales working on it.
Also found her cell.
Bunch of recent calls from a Jan.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Yeah, that's him.
Could I have that? I mean, she don't need it anymore.
Wait for Santa.
It's evidence.
Does the phone have an address for Jan? East 83rd Street.
SANDRA: Oh, yeah.
Be careful.
Some guys, the softer the outside, the harder the inside.
Don't know until you squeeze.
I just saw Laura a couple of hours ago.
She was fine.
Fine.
(SNlFFLlNG) This isn't possible.
I loved Laura so much.
Until she made you angry.
JAN: Oh, my God.
You You don't think I killed I don't even kill cockroaches.
I take them outside.
Being nice to bugs is not a defense for murder.
So, how did you and Laura meet? I teach Anusara yoga.
Laura took my class.
Anusara is about celebrating the heart.
Okay.
Let's go.
Are you taking me downtown? It would be downtown from here, yeah.
Can I just feed my dog first? Make it quick.
Molly.
Come.
(WHlSTLES) (SlGHS) I'll be back in just a minute, okay? Don't you worry.
What happened to Chuey? He's at the pound.
Is it a no-kill shelter? I need to go get him.
He needs me now.
Well, we have first dibs.
What time did you leave Laura's apartment? Around 9:30.
Why so early? Have a fight? I didn't always spend the night.
Laura and I respected each other's space.
Besides, I had to go home and walk Molly.
Sounds like you're one of those guys that's more comfortable with dogs than you are with women.
What does that mean? Well, dogs are easier to control.
They come when you call.
They give unconditional love.
So? BENSON: So, maybe Laura wanted to end things, and you didn't.
And when she wouldn't roll over, you raped and killed her.
Laura was raped? STABLER: Well, we found fluids on her.
How much do we want to bet that they're yours? I never forced Laura to have sex.
That was her choice.
She didn't choose to have her throat slit.
Somebody must have come in after me.
Anybody see you walking Molly tonight? JAN: Yeah.
I had a Well, not a fight, a discussion with a neighbor.
Which apartment? She lives in 4A.
Now, I've got to get to the pound.
STABLER: Sit.
Stay.
Fin.
Do us a favor.
Check out PETA Pan's alibi? Happy to.
Anything on the dog's swab? I'm waiting to hear from a veterinary pathologist.
But this surprised me.
I found two blood types in the semen.
Laura had sex with two men tonight.
Must have been quite a show for Chuey and the parakeets.
Thanks.
Well, we know that Jan has a key.
He walks in on Laura's other boyfriend, the guy takes off, Jan stays and teaches her a lesson.
You don't need to sell me.
I'll never trust a guy who wears drawstring pants.
Laura had another boyfriend.
Which means that you were getting sloppy seconds.
If I would have known, I would have respected her freedom.
All right, let's drop the act, Gandhi.
You surprised Laura and her other man in bed together.
What were they doing? A little downward-facing dog? No.
I told you.
So, you kicked his ass out, then you took out all your rage on Laura.
And with you, there is so much rage bubbling up under all that "Love all God's creatures" persona.
No! I told you.
I'm sick of your macho tactics.
Both of you.
I want a lawyer.
BENSON: He invoked.
And now, he's meditating? A little tranquility before he hits the Tombs.
Well, unfortunately, he won't.
Fin called.
Yogi's neighbor saw him outside of his apartment at 10:15.
They got into an argument because he forgot to scoop the poop.
So, what, we fine him and cut him loose? Get his DNA before he goes.
Well, since Jan has an alibi, the other guy's got to be our killer.
Maybe Laura's parents know boyfriend number two.
MR.
SANTlAGO: This country,,, It was bad enough she was dating the americano, But two men? We believe that she had a second boyfriend, yes.
MRS.
SANTlAGO: She would never If she did something like that STABLER: You'd be extremely upset.
(CRYlNG) Of course he's upset.
He just lost his daughter.
Please go now.
Just a few more questions, Mrs.
Santiago.
What happened to your hand? I had an accident.
He works in a restaurant.
And where were you last night, Mr.
Santiago? MRS.
SANTlAGO: He was out with his friends.
We'll need those names.
You think I killed my own daughter? What's wrong with you people? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) She is the reason we came to this country, you know? For her to have a chance.
She went to college.
Four years.
And then She should have come home to her family.
But no.
She goes from job to job, working with those kind of men Where was Laura working? In a store called Bella Moda.
But she lost her job.
Well, our aim here is to sell things.
To show you how these boots can tell the world who you really are.
Tough but sexy, with a take-no-prisoner sass.
Or how, if you will present this to your wife, she will forgive all your transgressions at least for the weekend.
Okay.
So, I take it that Laura Santiago did not live up to your levels of salesmanship.
Well, Laura was lovely at first.
She had the kind of enthusiasm that could convince an ordinary 60-year-old that the right scarf could make her Meryl Streep.
So, you said "had.
" Something bad happen? (SlGHS) Honey, that's an understatement.
It's horrible, It's a horrible, wretched purse, One day, she came in different.
LAURA: That's disgusting! Don't buy that! Please! All of you! Go! Get out of here! Don't buy anything here! Go! Go! VlNCENT: I was in the back.
I heard her yelling.
I tried to get her to take a Xanax.
So, what was she so upset about? I have no idea.
She ran out, and I never saw her again.
Ciao and good riddance.
Well, that didn't make sense.
Laura works at the place for a month, and one day just freaks out? Did you see the prices in there? Maybe the blatant consumerism set her off.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) Yeah, but enough to send her over the edge? Well, not just that.
But, I mean, she was dating two men on the down low, plus dealing with her parents' traditional expectations.
Stabler.
Okay.
Yeah, we'll be right there.
Morales found something off Laura's computer.
Anything juicy? About 10 gigs worth of women's butts.
BENSON: You weren't kidding.
That's a lot of butts.
Was Laura a lesbian? STABLER: Had a couple of boyfriends.
Could have gone both ways.
Maybe she sent photos in to one of those fetish websites.
BENSON: An entire website devoted to women's butts.
Something's wrong with that? Laura's father's alibi checked out.
He was at a bar till midnight with two friends.
Okay, so, Laura was seeing two guys, she's into women's butts, and she went postal at an overpriced boutique.
Who would want a nice girl like that dead? Maybe the same person who wiped her computer.
Or thought he did.
It took some time to pull those photos.
Anything else salvageable? MORALES: Just these.
BENSON: Cockfighting? MUNCH: Birds on steroids, for the amusement of boys on tequila.
Now, there's a party.
Look at the legs.
They call them short knives.
Half inch blades.
Wait a minute.
That's Laura's old man.
I'll blow it up.
You're right.
That's Mr.
Santiago.
MORALES: There's a street sign.
On Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn.
I love my birds.
I love my birds.
Well, I love my wife, but I don't put blades on her toenails to watch her gouge out her girlfriends' eyes.
He forgot to mention that he came here after the bar last night.
Bird gave him a peck.
So, I was out having a little fun.
Yeah? Did Laura have fun here, too? Laura hated the fights.
Then what was she doing tagging along and taking pictures for? Spending a little quality time with Daddy? Her mama told her l was still coming here.
She just showed up.
She was real angry.
Yeah, well, cockfighting is illegal.
A guy could go to jail for it.
You had to stop her from snitching? No.
We just argued.
She took that picture three weeks ago.
The last time I saw my daughter.
So, why was Laura so upset about the fights? Was she scared that you were going to get into trouble? Laura loved the birds.
She said till I started treating them right, I was no longer her father.
Okay.
So, Laura loved animals.
She was dating PETA boy.
All those displays that she knocked over at the store, purses, boots, all made of leather.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) So our girl is an animal rights activist.
But what do the butts have to do with it? Warner.
Texted us the results from the dog's mouth.
There were fibers from two different pair of pants.
Chuey did try to protect her.
Pant fibers.
One's blue polyester, the other's hemp.
Blue polyester.
There's our mystery man.
The hemp? No mystery at all.
Yeah.
Chuey bit me.
He kind of got jealous when Laura and I had sex.
You had sex with your pants on? Is that a crime? Not in this country, and neither are women's butts.
But cockfighting is, and Laura liked to take pictures of both.
Where did you find these? FlN: On her computer.
Dozens of them.
You know your girl was a shutterbug? She dabbled in documentaries, but she didn't like to talk about it.
She said it was bad for the creative process, and I respected that.
Of course you did.
I knew she was interviewing people, though, because she was less available.
MUNCH: Which you respected.
Anything else you can think of? Yeah.
Laura and I were supposed to eat at our favorite raw foods restaurant this afternoon.
After a book signing in Tribeca.
Our society views women and animals pretty much the same.
As cuts of meat.
Meat eating and the patriarchy work hand in hand.
We can't end the objectification of women until we stop eating our four-legged brothers and winged sisters.
Hmm? (AUDlENCE APPLAUDlNG) Thank you.
Thanks.
Haven't we seen this ass before? Yes, Laura found all the photographs for my book.
She was a student of mine at NYU.
Very savvy.
She would have gone on to do great things.
Like her documentary.
What kind of documentary? Well, she was filming an unflinching expose on meat.
I was her first interview.
Do you know of anyone who would want to stop the project? Macho boyfriend? Carnivore? She was seeing a vegan.
And maybe someone else.
Anyone else you know that she was interviewing for her film? Well, Dean Jones, of course.
Now, there's a man full of rage.
You're damn right I have rage.
Last Fourth of July, I barbecued a burger out here.
Next thing I know, my kidneys are failing and I'm having seizures.
You got that sick from having one burger? DEAN: It was loaded with E.
coli.
Gave me hemolytic uremia.
I was in a medically-induced coma for 10 weeks.
He will be in that chair for the rest of his life.
Hey, at least I'm here, right? A four-year-old kid had a burger last summer.
First, her lungs failed, then her kidneys, then her heart and brain.
We're trying to sue the supermarket chain.
They're blaming the companies that supply their meat.
You didn't get sick? No, she had a tofu dog.
It's the only good thing about that barbecue.
That's why Laura wanted you in her film.
DEAN: She wanted to show everything.
Do you know that a thousand cows can go into one single burger? And we're taking bacteria from all of them and just sticking it on a bun.
But, hey, no worries, right? Because a lot of these companies treat their meat with ammonia.
Okay.
So, she was trying to be the Michael Moore of meat patties.
It's all thanks to Jake Bradshaw.
BENSON: Is that a friend of hers? No, Laura called him her godfather.
Yeah, I heard about Laura.
It's too bad.
Nice kid.
Whoa! Hope that's not a beef taco.
Whoa! Life is full of risks.
Like the one that Laura took by making her film.
So, how did you two meet? At a rally to stop the sale of contaminated beef.
Yeah, yeah.
You became her godfather? I tried to mentor her, yeah.
And, of course, she interviewed me for her film.
Ah, I guess I didn't make the final cut, huh? She get anybody from the big meat companies? Any lobbyists? You think the film would have angered some of them? All of them.
From the guys who grow the corn to feed the cows, to the folks who process the beef.
Even the USDA, whose job it is to supposedly protect you from your dinner.
STABLER: Well, look.
The last thing I want is the government controlling my right to eat what I want.
I take it Laura's film pushed your buttons, too.
Actually, we're looking for someone pissed off enough to kill.
Well, maybe I could be more helpful if I had a look at the film.
We'll get back to you.
Thanks.
(SPEAKlNG FRENCH) That was pretty uninformative.
Guy might not eat meat, but he's acting like the cat who ate the canary.
He knows there's something in Laura's film.
BENSON: I don't know where else she could have hidden it.
If that documentary film was here, we would have found it by now.
Or at least the camera Laura shot it on.
I want to see what's on that film.
Yeah, well, so does your cat who ate the canary.
Maybe Bradshaw killed her here while he was looking for it.
So, why would he agree to meet us if he murdered Laura? Throw us off.
I don't know.
He acted like he never saw the film.
(CELL PHONE BEEPlNG) He also acted as if he would kill to get his hands on it.
Okay.
So, let's get a warrant for his DNA so we can rule him out.
Let's check with Fin first.
He just texted me that he has a bead on Bradshaw.
Bradshaw's people put him in the office when Laura was murdered.
He's no killer, but he's out for blood.
Check out his articles.
"Behind the Kitchen Door at Ten Top Restaurants.
" "Playing with Death: How Toy Companies Endanger Our Kids.
" BENSON: So, Bradshaw's an expose guy.
Whistleblower or muckraker.
That's like freedom fighter or terrorist.
Depends which side you're on.
Here's another article.
BENSON: "The New Underground Railroad: "How Big Meat Companies Recruit lmmigrants From Mexico.
" Well, there you have it.
Laura is the daughter of an immigrant.
Spanish speaker, animal rights activist.
He recruited her to do his dirty work.
Your girl had the guts to take on the big boys.
It wouldn't be the first time Bradshaw used that to his advantage.
His paper fired him two years ago for hiring a kid to go undercover driving race cars.
Kid got killed in a crash.
How's Bradshaw still in business? He settled with the parents.
Case is sealed.
So, then, how did you get it? I kind of sweet talked it out of a clerk.
Bradshaw now works for an lnternet news site, called, guess what, The Real Version, Yeah.
It's about time he gives it to us.
I told you.
Laura Santiago did not work for me.
No, you said that you were her mentor.
I helped her out a little.
You're obstructing a police investigation.
Look, she asked for my help.
I told her where to go, I told her who to interview, I gave her advice on what kind of cameras to use.
Oh, really? How was the movie? I don't know.
She was going to show me a rough cut this week.
Listen.
If you get the film, I'm doing a story.
On Laura.
Don't you think she'd want what she discovered to be told? BENSON: With your name on it? I'm a journalist.
I'm after the truth.
And I believed in what Laura was doing.
Like you believed in that kid who got killed stock car racing? All right, Bradshaw.
It's time for the real version.
What exactly was Laura doing that got her killed? Laura was undercover at Donna Rosa Meats.
A processing plant.
She wanted to see how bad the conditions really were.
She was going to call her film Inside the Slaughterhouse, Except she's the one who got slaughtered.
My name is Rosa Doletti.
And every Sunday night, my family comes to dinner, and we enjoy the same meatballs and sausages I've been making at Donna Rosa's Meats for 50 years.
And now, you can enjoy our products at your house.
(SPEAKlNG lTALlAN) And cut! Great, Rosa, great.
MUNCH: I'd buy her meatballs.
Must be nice, working for a family business.
Yeah, I've been here for 16 years.
It's good, but it's tough work.
Lot of turnover, Mr.
Reilly? Yeah.
People come and go, so I don't get to know much about the workers.
But you hired Laura Santiago? Yeah.
Nice girl.
Got along with the others because she spoke Spanish.
Do you mind if we speak to some of her coworkers? Be my guest.
Laura was very nice.
Said hello every morning.
Did she have problems with anyone? No, she was muy amable, Nobody wants more pay or less hours? No, we very happy here.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Laura trabaja aqui dos o tres weeks.
But si, the people like her okay.
And somebody like her a lot.
Yeah? Who was that? Jorge Vargas, papi chulo, Thinks he's a real ladies man, you know? Yeah, I know the type.
Everybody knows Vargas.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Es bueno with the ladies, we hear.
Anytime a new chica comes to work here, he's like the welcome wagon.
You know if Laura Santiago told him to take a hike? They seemed pretty close, if you ask me.
How close? Put it this way.
If a girl was spaghetti, Vargas wanted to be the meatball.
Yeah, Vargas was a player.
Always flirting with the female workers.
Got grabby sometimes, too.
We can't afford to have a distracted meat cutter on the job.
When did you show him the door? Just a few days ago.
You have his address? Sure.
MUNCH: How did he take being fired? Oh, man.
(LAUGHS) He was pissed.
Just took off.
Didn't even clean out his locker.
You mind if we take a look? Vargas a baller? Some of the workers shoot hoops in the court down the block on breaks.
This guy get any work done between the b-ball and playing grab ass? (SCOFFS) Let's just say he never made Worker of the Month.
(MEN CHATTERlNG) (LAUGHS) $20, Molina.
And you still owe me for the last game.
Jorge Vargas.
You look tired.
Why don't you take five? This is a mistake.
I've got a work permit.
We're not la Migra, And we're not doctors either, but that looks like a pretty nasty cut on your arm there.
I work in meat packing.
Until you got canned.
MUNCH: You sure that's not a dog bite? (SlGHS) I don't have a dog.
Just a big crush on a dog lover, Laura Santiago.
Laura? No, we are friends.
Yeah.
But you wanted it to be more.
That's why you raped her.
Rape? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) What are you talking about? Laura is my friend.
You've got to work on your English, papi, She was your friend.
Laura's dead.
Laura was helping me.
With my English, my papers.
She had me come to her apartment.
Where you saw she had another friend.
Her boyfriend, Jan? (SCOFFS) Who? Yeah.
That's when you got jealous.
You raped and killed her.
No, I didn't.
Okay.
Where were you Friday night between Me and my wife had an argument after dinner.
I went for a walk.
A walk.
Anyone see you? No.
I was upset.
I just walked and walked.
Yeah, well, you're going to be walking to a jail cell, Jorge.
Your DNA matches the fluids found in Laura.
DNA? I didn't give you no DNA.
No, your stinky sneakers did.
You really ought to wear socks.
No, te juro, I wasn't with Laura.
Yeah, well, your chile sure was.
How? I mean, Laura was very pretty.
But I never touched her.
That's the truth.
Ask my wife.
I went for a walk.
Let's nail this bastard.
Pay the wife a visit.
Find out who wears the blue polyester pants in the family.
VANESSA: His pants are right here, I wash all of them.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Every week.
Okay, we just need the blue ones.
You want his shirts? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Just the pants.
(VANESSA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) He's in trouble and we want to help.
(VANESSA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) You can help him move out.
You two splitting up? He was with another woman.
I'm throwing him out.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) What's wrong? He threw out some pants a few days ago.
They were torn, had blood on them.
You still have them? The blue fibers in the dog's mouth match Vargas' pants.
So, Mr.
Polyester is no longer a mystery.
Neither is the blood on them.
It's Laura's.
We got the son of a bitch.
Not so fast.
I also found something odd lurking in those pants in a sweat stain on the inseam.
Vargas' DNA.
The DNA from the perspiration.
They don't match.
WARNER: Or pop an lD in the system.
But definitely male.
BENSON: How can that be? Someone else was wearing Vargas' pants? We have a new mystery man.
DNA from sweat stains? So, now you've got to watch where you sweat.
The wonder of science, babe.
Okay, what do we know? We've got semen inside Laura Santiago from Jorge Vargas and Jan Eyck.
And we have the fibers in the dog's mouth from two different pair of pants.
Vargas' blue polyester and Eyck's hemp.
All right.
How do we explain a third man's sweat in Vargas' pants? Either Vargas is renting out his pants, or somebody is setting him up for murder.
Someone who'd have access to his semen if need be.
And is pissed off at his philandering.
Like Mrs.
Vargas.
BENSON: Two hours before Laura Santiago was murdered, you left to go where? How did you get this? Liquor store across the street has a security camera.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) I went on a picnic with a friend.
Really? At night? I didn't do nothing wrong.
Not like he was doing to me.
Hey.
His infidelities don't excuse you setting him up as a killer.
I know, I would never.
He was cheating on me.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) And before that, with somebody else.
STABLER: You take these pictures? VANESSA: No.
A woman sent them to me with a letter.
"l only found out about you after I was seeing him.
"But the fact is, Jorge doesn't want either of us anymore, "now that he's planning to run away with Laura.
"How can we let him do this?" So, you had to do something.
The woman, she say if I give her one of his shirts and a pair of his pants and some of his (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Semen? BENSON: "l will cry rape and get him into a whole lot of trouble.
"We will teach him a lesson, and he'll never cheat on anyone again.
" (CRYlNG) He came home one night.
He wanted to do it.
He always uses a condom.
So, you put that in the ice chest, along with his pants.
The woman, she say to leave it under a bench in the little park next to my church.
So, what, you could go in and repent? I didn't know he would be accused of murder.
The next day, she dropped off Jorge's pants in a box outside my door with a note.
She say, "Give it to the police if they come by.
" So, you're saying you've never met this woman in the letter in person.
And she signed it Jane Smith.
That's got to be fake.
Can you please take Jorge out of the jail now? Can he come home? Well, it's not going to do you any good since you won't be here.
Vanessa Vargas, you are under arrest for obstruction.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney You're free, lover boy.
What about my wife? She framed you for murder, Jorge.
You want to take her back, you can bail her out of the Tombs.
No, thanks.
Guy's the perfect patsy.
Trouble at home, eyes for the ladies.
Killer used him and his wife to cover his tracks.
But why go after Laura to begin with? Maybe she saw something at Donna Rosa's Meats that somebody didn't want her to.
So, maybe it's time to check this place out for ourselves.
You'll start by cleaning.
And if you do good, we'll move you up, okay, Tanya? Yes.
Very good.
Thank you.
Hey, say something in Russian, baby.
(SPEAKlNG FORElGN LANGUAGE) I like it.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Okay, Mister Call me Kiki.
Okay.
Kiki.
Hey, what did you say to him? Go swing an elephant's balls.
Nice.
This place is disgusting.
Filthy.
Cockroaches.
Mmm.
You're making me hungry.
Rat droppings everywhere.
(DOOR OPENlNG) Someone's coming, I've got to go, (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Sorry.
No Spanish.
Is always so dirty here? Yes.
Well, except when the inspectors come.
Many cucaracha, Ah, you get used to it.
No worry.
But maybe it get into the meat? I see leak in freezer.
Don't ask too many questions.
A girl used to work here and then, she start to take pictures.
Pictures? Si, with a camera.
And then, he sees her and take it away.
Next day, she don't come in.
The big guy? Kiki? No, the foreman.
I have to get back to work.
Sounds like Reilly caught Laura in the act.
I'm going to go up to his office and look around, What are you doing in here? I'm cleaning.
RElLLY: Yeah? BENSON: It's okay, Looks like snooping to me.
(GROANS) (GRUNTlNG) Police! Let her go.
(GROANS) Mr.
Reilly, you're under arrest.
For what? She was trespassing.
For assaulting a police officer.
And as soon as we get your DNA, murder.
You think I murdered Laura? STABLER: No, I think you slit her throat, put Jorge Vargas' DNA inside her, and wiped her computer clean.
So, what was she filming, Reilly? That pig sty that you call a meatpacking plant? We run a clean operation.
Oh, please.
I was there for an hour and I almost puked.
STABLER: You are going to prison, pal.
And there, you're going to be the fresh meat.
(SCOFFS) Lucky you guys have such good imaginations, since you have no proof.
Stand up.
Why? Take off your pants.
Hey.
If you want to see my ass, you've got to start with a little foreplay.
Drop them.
(SCOFFS) Turn around.
(RElLLY SlGHS) There's no bite marks.
Wife's not into that.
Nice lrish girl.
No dog bite at all? Both legs were clean.
Chuey must have gotten hold of the pants and no flesh.
And we just lost a chunk of our case against him.
He'll plead out on the assault by claiming he thought you were stealing from him.
Right after he conveniently smashed Laura's footage to bits.
If Morales can't salvage any of it, we're screwed.
Then sink your teeth into this.
The DNA on Reilly's toothpick matches the DNA from the sweat on the pants.
So, Reilly was wearing Vargas' pants.
And Laura's blood was all over them.
That puts Reilly in her apartment that night.
Go tell our guest he's dead meat.
Folks, he's in custody.
You're going to have to wait a moment.
Please, Mr.
Police.
You have my foreman here.
Mr.
Bailey.
You mean Mr.
Reilly? Forgive the intrusion.
Mrs.
Rosa is very upset.
And you are? Alberto Sarafini.
The company's attorney.
I'd like to see my client.
Got your pants on, Reilly? Your lawyer's here.
Mr.
Sarafini.
Is Mrs.
Rosa here? Please let me see him.
I'm sorry, but Mr.
Reilly is with your lawyer now.
But I don't understand.
He was always a good employee.
Worked hard, did everything we asked.
All respect, Mrs.
Doletti, but when you first walked in here, you didn't even know his name.
But I know him.
He's a good man.
If he did something bad, there has to be reason.
We think Laura Santiago found problems in your plant that Mr.
Reilly was trying to cover up.
If that's true, he'll tell me.
He'll listen to Donna Rosa.
Donna Rosa's concerned about you, Mr.
Reilly.
Well, she should be.
We have evidence placing him at the crime scene.
What? Just relax.
They're trying to scare you.
(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR) Mrs.
Rosa.
Tell them the truth, Mr.
Reilly.
Please.
If you did something, if you hurt that poor girl, you have to tell them because only the truth will make it right.
Please.
Mr.
Reilly, please.
Reilly, listen to her.
You've ruined that woman's life.
Now is your chance to be a man.
Just tell us.
I did it.
Mr.
Reilly, be quiet.
I killed Laura.
Shut up.
Laura was in there filming us.
I am instructing you.
She was going to get us shut down.
I can't afford to lose my job.
My wife just had twins.
For the last time Laura was going to take everything away from us.
(CRYlNG) She was going to ruin my life.
I have been working at Donna Rosa's Meats for three weeks now, I had one hour of safety training, With my hidden camera, I filmed everything you're about to see, The water from this leaky freezer could contain a deadly bacteria called listeria, Not to mention the rats running around, I've seen harmful things going into the grinder to make hamburger, Insects, glass, beef trimmings splotched with cow feces,,, Decided to take in a movie? Yeah.
Morales kind of pieced it together.
I figured somebody should watch it.
Yeah.
LAURA: There is a saying, "You are what you eat, " Cows were never meant to eat corn, They can't digest it, But corn is cheap, And we inject them with antibiotics to prevent them from getting too sick, And hormones to make them grow faster, The same hormones and antibiotics that are being ingested by our kids, Come on, Pick it up! We're losing money here! MUNCH: There's our lady killer.
BENSON: Big man at work, but a wimp in interrogation.
I still don't get it.
He just folded.
I mean, you and Elliot didn't even tell him that we matched his DNA.
Get out of the way, This is how you carve a carcass, Rivera, Hold on.
Play it again, but slow it down.
This is how you carve a carcass, Rivera, BENSON: Do you see what I see? MUNCH: Reilly's left-handed.
Warner said that Laura's throat was slit from left to right.
Which means our killer has to be right-handed.
We know Reilly was at the crime scene.
Someone else was there.
Someone who had the most to lose.
ROSA: Please.
Come in.
Maybe you'd like to stay for dinner.
Every Sunday, I make dinner for my whole family.
Yeah, that's very kind of you, Mrs.
Doletti.
But no, thank you.
Not to mention the fact that it's Tuesday.
Well, I'm an old woman.
I get confused.
We'd like to ask you some questions.
Well, I'm not giving you my recipes.
(LAUGHS) It's about Laura Santiago's murder.
Oh! Terrible.
Horrible.
I can't believe Mr.
Reilly would do such a thing.
What a coincidence, neither can we.
ROSA: Well, I hope you find out who did it before somebody else gets hurt.
Oh, we're getting closer.
In fact, we think that it's somebody who's related to Reilly.
You see, at first, he denied everything.
And then, suddenly, just out of the blue, he confessed.
The minute you showed up.
It was almost as if he was trying to protect you.
(LAUGHS) Protect me? Why? Why? Because he's your son.
Look.
Here he is in a shot of you holding his twins, your grandkids.
And here's his wedding picture.
Now, that's sort of odd, for you to have his wedding picture up if he's just your foreman.
Okay.
Johnny's my kid.
By my late husband, rest his soul.
The family name is Reilly.
You're not even ltalian.
Oh, please.
Black lrish.
We took Doletti because people like meatballs better if they think they're made by lties.
So, what other interesting things are we going to find here, Rosa, huh? The typewriter that you wrote Vanessa Vargas' letter on? I ain't got no typewriter.
Come on.
I'll bet a little old lady like you never took a cotton to computers.
You like to do things the old-fashioned way.
Isn't that the big lie that your business is built on? What do you think you're doing? Where's your typewriter, Rosa? You keep out of my things! Or what? You going to murder us like you murdered Laura? For coming into your world and uncovering your little secrets? Hey, look at this.
(GASPS) Another dirty lie exposed.
Where are you going, Rosa? (BREATHlNG HEAVlLY) Look at that, Munch.
She went straight for the knife.
Yeah, and she got it with her right hand.
Just like Laura's murderer.
ROSA: Johnny was too weak.
He's always been too weak.
I never could stand him, always sniveling.
So, I gave him to my sister to raise.
But you hired him.
That little worm always did whatever Mama Rose told him to do.
Except when it came to cutting Laura's throat.
You both went to that apartment.
But he couldn't kill her when you ordered him to.
I've been cutting meat all my life.
I'm a butcher's daughter.
I do what I've got to do to protect what I worked for.
And now, you're going to protect yourself by putting down that knife.
What about my dinner? The meatballs aren't cooked.
My family's going to be here any second.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, I'm sure they're going to enjoy dinner just fine without you.
As long as they don't know what's in it.
I don't want to miss that concert.
Okay, well, you try walking in these shoes.
(DOG WHlMPERlNG) Aw! Hold on, Freddy.
Hi, Chuey.
Sweetie, what are you doing out here so late? Gina, no.
Not again.
He lives right down the hall.
Show starts in 20 minutes.
Well, I've got to get Chuey home.
Come on.
Come on, puppy.
First time Son de Cuba ever, ever plays in this country, and we're going to miss it? I swear to God, Gina, I'll kill you if we're one second late.
Okay, here it is.
Hello? Hello? (GASPS) Oh, my God.
The victim's Laura Santiago, 24.
Bled out from a cut jugular.
Throat slit from left to right with a very sharp knife.
Panties down.
Fluids on both sides.
Time of death? From the rigor, I'd say between (BlRDS CHlRPlNG) If only they could talk.
Well, I'm no Dr.
Doolittle, but a swab of the dog's mouth might tell us if he bit the perp while trying to protect her.
STABLER: Need a vet? No, I can do it.
Come here, boy.
Good boy.
(SlGHS) You all right? Yeah.
He's just a dead ringer for my dog, Petey.
I didn't know you had a dog.
Yeah, with my job, it's great to come home to something breathing.
MUNCH: Yeah, we had a dog once.
My father tripped over her one night and brought her back to the pound the next day.
Lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Lie down with men Nothing disturbed inside the apartment, no sign of forced entry.
She must have known the perp.
Plates soaking in the sink.
She probably made him dinner.
Yeah, then he cut her throat for dessert and took the knife as a souvenir.
Well, let's just hope he's not out looking for his next meal.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Super says she didn't hear a thing.
(SANDRA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) SANDRA: How do I know the boyfriend's name? Do I got time to know my tenants' business? You know that they went to Whole Foods.
You saw Laura coming and going with the same guy.
Not always.
MUNCH: What does that mean? Sometimes, he came in by himself.
Had his own key.
I found the victim's laptop.
Nothing on it.
MUNCH: You mean nothing suspicious.
No, I mean nothing at all.
That's suspicious.
I'll get Morales working on it.
Also found her cell.
Bunch of recent calls from a Jan.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Yeah, that's him.
Could I have that? I mean, she don't need it anymore.
Wait for Santa.
It's evidence.
Does the phone have an address for Jan? East 83rd Street.
SANDRA: Oh, yeah.
Be careful.
Some guys, the softer the outside, the harder the inside.
Don't know until you squeeze.
I just saw Laura a couple of hours ago.
She was fine.
Fine.
(SNlFFLlNG) This isn't possible.
I loved Laura so much.
Until she made you angry.
JAN: Oh, my God.
You You don't think I killed I don't even kill cockroaches.
I take them outside.
Being nice to bugs is not a defense for murder.
So, how did you and Laura meet? I teach Anusara yoga.
Laura took my class.
Anusara is about celebrating the heart.
Okay.
Let's go.
Are you taking me downtown? It would be downtown from here, yeah.
Can I just feed my dog first? Make it quick.
Molly.
Come.
(WHlSTLES) (SlGHS) I'll be back in just a minute, okay? Don't you worry.
What happened to Chuey? He's at the pound.
Is it a no-kill shelter? I need to go get him.
He needs me now.
Well, we have first dibs.
What time did you leave Laura's apartment? Around 9:30.
Why so early? Have a fight? I didn't always spend the night.
Laura and I respected each other's space.
Besides, I had to go home and walk Molly.
Sounds like you're one of those guys that's more comfortable with dogs than you are with women.
What does that mean? Well, dogs are easier to control.
They come when you call.
They give unconditional love.
So? BENSON: So, maybe Laura wanted to end things, and you didn't.
And when she wouldn't roll over, you raped and killed her.
Laura was raped? STABLER: Well, we found fluids on her.
How much do we want to bet that they're yours? I never forced Laura to have sex.
That was her choice.
She didn't choose to have her throat slit.
Somebody must have come in after me.
Anybody see you walking Molly tonight? JAN: Yeah.
I had a Well, not a fight, a discussion with a neighbor.
Which apartment? She lives in 4A.
Now, I've got to get to the pound.
STABLER: Sit.
Stay.
Fin.
Do us a favor.
Check out PETA Pan's alibi? Happy to.
Anything on the dog's swab? I'm waiting to hear from a veterinary pathologist.
But this surprised me.
I found two blood types in the semen.
Laura had sex with two men tonight.
Must have been quite a show for Chuey and the parakeets.
Thanks.
Well, we know that Jan has a key.
He walks in on Laura's other boyfriend, the guy takes off, Jan stays and teaches her a lesson.
You don't need to sell me.
I'll never trust a guy who wears drawstring pants.
Laura had another boyfriend.
Which means that you were getting sloppy seconds.
If I would have known, I would have respected her freedom.
All right, let's drop the act, Gandhi.
You surprised Laura and her other man in bed together.
What were they doing? A little downward-facing dog? No.
I told you.
So, you kicked his ass out, then you took out all your rage on Laura.
And with you, there is so much rage bubbling up under all that "Love all God's creatures" persona.
No! I told you.
I'm sick of your macho tactics.
Both of you.
I want a lawyer.
BENSON: He invoked.
And now, he's meditating? A little tranquility before he hits the Tombs.
Well, unfortunately, he won't.
Fin called.
Yogi's neighbor saw him outside of his apartment at 10:15.
They got into an argument because he forgot to scoop the poop.
So, what, we fine him and cut him loose? Get his DNA before he goes.
Well, since Jan has an alibi, the other guy's got to be our killer.
Maybe Laura's parents know boyfriend number two.
MR.
SANTlAGO: This country,,, It was bad enough she was dating the americano, But two men? We believe that she had a second boyfriend, yes.
MRS.
SANTlAGO: She would never If she did something like that STABLER: You'd be extremely upset.
(CRYlNG) Of course he's upset.
He just lost his daughter.
Please go now.
Just a few more questions, Mrs.
Santiago.
What happened to your hand? I had an accident.
He works in a restaurant.
And where were you last night, Mr.
Santiago? MRS.
SANTlAGO: He was out with his friends.
We'll need those names.
You think I killed my own daughter? What's wrong with you people? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) She is the reason we came to this country, you know? For her to have a chance.
She went to college.
Four years.
And then She should have come home to her family.
But no.
She goes from job to job, working with those kind of men Where was Laura working? In a store called Bella Moda.
But she lost her job.
Well, our aim here is to sell things.
To show you how these boots can tell the world who you really are.
Tough but sexy, with a take-no-prisoner sass.
Or how, if you will present this to your wife, she will forgive all your transgressions at least for the weekend.
Okay.
So, I take it that Laura Santiago did not live up to your levels of salesmanship.
Well, Laura was lovely at first.
She had the kind of enthusiasm that could convince an ordinary 60-year-old that the right scarf could make her Meryl Streep.
So, you said "had.
" Something bad happen? (SlGHS) Honey, that's an understatement.
It's horrible, It's a horrible, wretched purse, One day, she came in different.
LAURA: That's disgusting! Don't buy that! Please! All of you! Go! Get out of here! Don't buy anything here! Go! Go! VlNCENT: I was in the back.
I heard her yelling.
I tried to get her to take a Xanax.
So, what was she so upset about? I have no idea.
She ran out, and I never saw her again.
Ciao and good riddance.
Well, that didn't make sense.
Laura works at the place for a month, and one day just freaks out? Did you see the prices in there? Maybe the blatant consumerism set her off.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) Yeah, but enough to send her over the edge? Well, not just that.
But, I mean, she was dating two men on the down low, plus dealing with her parents' traditional expectations.
Stabler.
Okay.
Yeah, we'll be right there.
Morales found something off Laura's computer.
Anything juicy? About 10 gigs worth of women's butts.
BENSON: You weren't kidding.
That's a lot of butts.
Was Laura a lesbian? STABLER: Had a couple of boyfriends.
Could have gone both ways.
Maybe she sent photos in to one of those fetish websites.
BENSON: An entire website devoted to women's butts.
Something's wrong with that? Laura's father's alibi checked out.
He was at a bar till midnight with two friends.
Okay, so, Laura was seeing two guys, she's into women's butts, and she went postal at an overpriced boutique.
Who would want a nice girl like that dead? Maybe the same person who wiped her computer.
Or thought he did.
It took some time to pull those photos.
Anything else salvageable? MORALES: Just these.
BENSON: Cockfighting? MUNCH: Birds on steroids, for the amusement of boys on tequila.
Now, there's a party.
Look at the legs.
They call them short knives.
Half inch blades.
Wait a minute.
That's Laura's old man.
I'll blow it up.
You're right.
That's Mr.
Santiago.
MORALES: There's a street sign.
On Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn.
I love my birds.
I love my birds.
Well, I love my wife, but I don't put blades on her toenails to watch her gouge out her girlfriends' eyes.
He forgot to mention that he came here after the bar last night.
Bird gave him a peck.
So, I was out having a little fun.
Yeah? Did Laura have fun here, too? Laura hated the fights.
Then what was she doing tagging along and taking pictures for? Spending a little quality time with Daddy? Her mama told her l was still coming here.
She just showed up.
She was real angry.
Yeah, well, cockfighting is illegal.
A guy could go to jail for it.
You had to stop her from snitching? No.
We just argued.
She took that picture three weeks ago.
The last time I saw my daughter.
So, why was Laura so upset about the fights? Was she scared that you were going to get into trouble? Laura loved the birds.
She said till I started treating them right, I was no longer her father.
Okay.
So, Laura loved animals.
She was dating PETA boy.
All those displays that she knocked over at the store, purses, boots, all made of leather.
(CELL PHONE RlNGlNG) So our girl is an animal rights activist.
But what do the butts have to do with it? Warner.
Texted us the results from the dog's mouth.
There were fibers from two different pair of pants.
Chuey did try to protect her.
Pant fibers.
One's blue polyester, the other's hemp.
Blue polyester.
There's our mystery man.
The hemp? No mystery at all.
Yeah.
Chuey bit me.
He kind of got jealous when Laura and I had sex.
You had sex with your pants on? Is that a crime? Not in this country, and neither are women's butts.
But cockfighting is, and Laura liked to take pictures of both.
Where did you find these? FlN: On her computer.
Dozens of them.
You know your girl was a shutterbug? She dabbled in documentaries, but she didn't like to talk about it.
She said it was bad for the creative process, and I respected that.
Of course you did.
I knew she was interviewing people, though, because she was less available.
MUNCH: Which you respected.
Anything else you can think of? Yeah.
Laura and I were supposed to eat at our favorite raw foods restaurant this afternoon.
After a book signing in Tribeca.
Our society views women and animals pretty much the same.
As cuts of meat.
Meat eating and the patriarchy work hand in hand.
We can't end the objectification of women until we stop eating our four-legged brothers and winged sisters.
Hmm? (AUDlENCE APPLAUDlNG) Thank you.
Thanks.
Haven't we seen this ass before? Yes, Laura found all the photographs for my book.
She was a student of mine at NYU.
Very savvy.
She would have gone on to do great things.
Like her documentary.
What kind of documentary? Well, she was filming an unflinching expose on meat.
I was her first interview.
Do you know of anyone who would want to stop the project? Macho boyfriend? Carnivore? She was seeing a vegan.
And maybe someone else.
Anyone else you know that she was interviewing for her film? Well, Dean Jones, of course.
Now, there's a man full of rage.
You're damn right I have rage.
Last Fourth of July, I barbecued a burger out here.
Next thing I know, my kidneys are failing and I'm having seizures.
You got that sick from having one burger? DEAN: It was loaded with E.
coli.
Gave me hemolytic uremia.
I was in a medically-induced coma for 10 weeks.
He will be in that chair for the rest of his life.
Hey, at least I'm here, right? A four-year-old kid had a burger last summer.
First, her lungs failed, then her kidneys, then her heart and brain.
We're trying to sue the supermarket chain.
They're blaming the companies that supply their meat.
You didn't get sick? No, she had a tofu dog.
It's the only good thing about that barbecue.
That's why Laura wanted you in her film.
DEAN: She wanted to show everything.
Do you know that a thousand cows can go into one single burger? And we're taking bacteria from all of them and just sticking it on a bun.
But, hey, no worries, right? Because a lot of these companies treat their meat with ammonia.
Okay.
So, she was trying to be the Michael Moore of meat patties.
It's all thanks to Jake Bradshaw.
BENSON: Is that a friend of hers? No, Laura called him her godfather.
Yeah, I heard about Laura.
It's too bad.
Nice kid.
Whoa! Hope that's not a beef taco.
Whoa! Life is full of risks.
Like the one that Laura took by making her film.
So, how did you two meet? At a rally to stop the sale of contaminated beef.
Yeah, yeah.
You became her godfather? I tried to mentor her, yeah.
And, of course, she interviewed me for her film.
Ah, I guess I didn't make the final cut, huh? She get anybody from the big meat companies? Any lobbyists? You think the film would have angered some of them? All of them.
From the guys who grow the corn to feed the cows, to the folks who process the beef.
Even the USDA, whose job it is to supposedly protect you from your dinner.
STABLER: Well, look.
The last thing I want is the government controlling my right to eat what I want.
I take it Laura's film pushed your buttons, too.
Actually, we're looking for someone pissed off enough to kill.
Well, maybe I could be more helpful if I had a look at the film.
We'll get back to you.
Thanks.
(SPEAKlNG FRENCH) That was pretty uninformative.
Guy might not eat meat, but he's acting like the cat who ate the canary.
He knows there's something in Laura's film.
BENSON: I don't know where else she could have hidden it.
If that documentary film was here, we would have found it by now.
Or at least the camera Laura shot it on.
I want to see what's on that film.
Yeah, well, so does your cat who ate the canary.
Maybe Bradshaw killed her here while he was looking for it.
So, why would he agree to meet us if he murdered Laura? Throw us off.
I don't know.
He acted like he never saw the film.
(CELL PHONE BEEPlNG) He also acted as if he would kill to get his hands on it.
Okay.
So, let's get a warrant for his DNA so we can rule him out.
Let's check with Fin first.
He just texted me that he has a bead on Bradshaw.
Bradshaw's people put him in the office when Laura was murdered.
He's no killer, but he's out for blood.
Check out his articles.
"Behind the Kitchen Door at Ten Top Restaurants.
" "Playing with Death: How Toy Companies Endanger Our Kids.
" BENSON: So, Bradshaw's an expose guy.
Whistleblower or muckraker.
That's like freedom fighter or terrorist.
Depends which side you're on.
Here's another article.
BENSON: "The New Underground Railroad: "How Big Meat Companies Recruit lmmigrants From Mexico.
" Well, there you have it.
Laura is the daughter of an immigrant.
Spanish speaker, animal rights activist.
He recruited her to do his dirty work.
Your girl had the guts to take on the big boys.
It wouldn't be the first time Bradshaw used that to his advantage.
His paper fired him two years ago for hiring a kid to go undercover driving race cars.
Kid got killed in a crash.
How's Bradshaw still in business? He settled with the parents.
Case is sealed.
So, then, how did you get it? I kind of sweet talked it out of a clerk.
Bradshaw now works for an lnternet news site, called, guess what, The Real Version, Yeah.
It's about time he gives it to us.
I told you.
Laura Santiago did not work for me.
No, you said that you were her mentor.
I helped her out a little.
You're obstructing a police investigation.
Look, she asked for my help.
I told her where to go, I told her who to interview, I gave her advice on what kind of cameras to use.
Oh, really? How was the movie? I don't know.
She was going to show me a rough cut this week.
Listen.
If you get the film, I'm doing a story.
On Laura.
Don't you think she'd want what she discovered to be told? BENSON: With your name on it? I'm a journalist.
I'm after the truth.
And I believed in what Laura was doing.
Like you believed in that kid who got killed stock car racing? All right, Bradshaw.
It's time for the real version.
What exactly was Laura doing that got her killed? Laura was undercover at Donna Rosa Meats.
A processing plant.
She wanted to see how bad the conditions really were.
She was going to call her film Inside the Slaughterhouse, Except she's the one who got slaughtered.
My name is Rosa Doletti.
And every Sunday night, my family comes to dinner, and we enjoy the same meatballs and sausages I've been making at Donna Rosa's Meats for 50 years.
And now, you can enjoy our products at your house.
(SPEAKlNG lTALlAN) And cut! Great, Rosa, great.
MUNCH: I'd buy her meatballs.
Must be nice, working for a family business.
Yeah, I've been here for 16 years.
It's good, but it's tough work.
Lot of turnover, Mr.
Reilly? Yeah.
People come and go, so I don't get to know much about the workers.
But you hired Laura Santiago? Yeah.
Nice girl.
Got along with the others because she spoke Spanish.
Do you mind if we speak to some of her coworkers? Be my guest.
Laura was very nice.
Said hello every morning.
Did she have problems with anyone? No, she was muy amable, Nobody wants more pay or less hours? No, we very happy here.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Laura trabaja aqui dos o tres weeks.
But si, the people like her okay.
And somebody like her a lot.
Yeah? Who was that? Jorge Vargas, papi chulo, Thinks he's a real ladies man, you know? Yeah, I know the type.
Everybody knows Vargas.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Es bueno with the ladies, we hear.
Anytime a new chica comes to work here, he's like the welcome wagon.
You know if Laura Santiago told him to take a hike? They seemed pretty close, if you ask me.
How close? Put it this way.
If a girl was spaghetti, Vargas wanted to be the meatball.
Yeah, Vargas was a player.
Always flirting with the female workers.
Got grabby sometimes, too.
We can't afford to have a distracted meat cutter on the job.
When did you show him the door? Just a few days ago.
You have his address? Sure.
MUNCH: How did he take being fired? Oh, man.
(LAUGHS) He was pissed.
Just took off.
Didn't even clean out his locker.
You mind if we take a look? Vargas a baller? Some of the workers shoot hoops in the court down the block on breaks.
This guy get any work done between the b-ball and playing grab ass? (SCOFFS) Let's just say he never made Worker of the Month.
(MEN CHATTERlNG) (LAUGHS) $20, Molina.
And you still owe me for the last game.
Jorge Vargas.
You look tired.
Why don't you take five? This is a mistake.
I've got a work permit.
We're not la Migra, And we're not doctors either, but that looks like a pretty nasty cut on your arm there.
I work in meat packing.
Until you got canned.
MUNCH: You sure that's not a dog bite? (SlGHS) I don't have a dog.
Just a big crush on a dog lover, Laura Santiago.
Laura? No, we are friends.
Yeah.
But you wanted it to be more.
That's why you raped her.
Rape? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) What are you talking about? Laura is my friend.
You've got to work on your English, papi, She was your friend.
Laura's dead.
Laura was helping me.
With my English, my papers.
She had me come to her apartment.
Where you saw she had another friend.
Her boyfriend, Jan? (SCOFFS) Who? Yeah.
That's when you got jealous.
You raped and killed her.
No, I didn't.
Okay.
Where were you Friday night between Me and my wife had an argument after dinner.
I went for a walk.
A walk.
Anyone see you? No.
I was upset.
I just walked and walked.
Yeah, well, you're going to be walking to a jail cell, Jorge.
Your DNA matches the fluids found in Laura.
DNA? I didn't give you no DNA.
No, your stinky sneakers did.
You really ought to wear socks.
No, te juro, I wasn't with Laura.
Yeah, well, your chile sure was.
How? I mean, Laura was very pretty.
But I never touched her.
That's the truth.
Ask my wife.
I went for a walk.
Let's nail this bastard.
Pay the wife a visit.
Find out who wears the blue polyester pants in the family.
VANESSA: His pants are right here, I wash all of them.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Every week.
Okay, we just need the blue ones.
You want his shirts? (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Just the pants.
(VANESSA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) He's in trouble and we want to help.
(VANESSA SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) You can help him move out.
You two splitting up? He was with another woman.
I'm throwing him out.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) What's wrong? He threw out some pants a few days ago.
They were torn, had blood on them.
You still have them? The blue fibers in the dog's mouth match Vargas' pants.
So, Mr.
Polyester is no longer a mystery.
Neither is the blood on them.
It's Laura's.
We got the son of a bitch.
Not so fast.
I also found something odd lurking in those pants in a sweat stain on the inseam.
Vargas' DNA.
The DNA from the perspiration.
They don't match.
WARNER: Or pop an lD in the system.
But definitely male.
BENSON: How can that be? Someone else was wearing Vargas' pants? We have a new mystery man.
DNA from sweat stains? So, now you've got to watch where you sweat.
The wonder of science, babe.
Okay, what do we know? We've got semen inside Laura Santiago from Jorge Vargas and Jan Eyck.
And we have the fibers in the dog's mouth from two different pair of pants.
Vargas' blue polyester and Eyck's hemp.
All right.
How do we explain a third man's sweat in Vargas' pants? Either Vargas is renting out his pants, or somebody is setting him up for murder.
Someone who'd have access to his semen if need be.
And is pissed off at his philandering.
Like Mrs.
Vargas.
BENSON: Two hours before Laura Santiago was murdered, you left to go where? How did you get this? Liquor store across the street has a security camera.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) I went on a picnic with a friend.
Really? At night? I didn't do nothing wrong.
Not like he was doing to me.
Hey.
His infidelities don't excuse you setting him up as a killer.
I know, I would never.
He was cheating on me.
(SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) And before that, with somebody else.
STABLER: You take these pictures? VANESSA: No.
A woman sent them to me with a letter.
"l only found out about you after I was seeing him.
"But the fact is, Jorge doesn't want either of us anymore, "now that he's planning to run away with Laura.
"How can we let him do this?" So, you had to do something.
The woman, she say if I give her one of his shirts and a pair of his pants and some of his (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Semen? BENSON: "l will cry rape and get him into a whole lot of trouble.
"We will teach him a lesson, and he'll never cheat on anyone again.
" (CRYlNG) He came home one night.
He wanted to do it.
He always uses a condom.
So, you put that in the ice chest, along with his pants.
The woman, she say to leave it under a bench in the little park next to my church.
So, what, you could go in and repent? I didn't know he would be accused of murder.
The next day, she dropped off Jorge's pants in a box outside my door with a note.
She say, "Give it to the police if they come by.
" So, you're saying you've never met this woman in the letter in person.
And she signed it Jane Smith.
That's got to be fake.
Can you please take Jorge out of the jail now? Can he come home? Well, it's not going to do you any good since you won't be here.
Vanessa Vargas, you are under arrest for obstruction.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney You're free, lover boy.
What about my wife? She framed you for murder, Jorge.
You want to take her back, you can bail her out of the Tombs.
No, thanks.
Guy's the perfect patsy.
Trouble at home, eyes for the ladies.
Killer used him and his wife to cover his tracks.
But why go after Laura to begin with? Maybe she saw something at Donna Rosa's Meats that somebody didn't want her to.
So, maybe it's time to check this place out for ourselves.
You'll start by cleaning.
And if you do good, we'll move you up, okay, Tanya? Yes.
Very good.
Thank you.
Hey, say something in Russian, baby.
(SPEAKlNG FORElGN LANGUAGE) I like it.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Okay, Mister Call me Kiki.
Okay.
Kiki.
Hey, what did you say to him? Go swing an elephant's balls.
Nice.
This place is disgusting.
Filthy.
Cockroaches.
Mmm.
You're making me hungry.
Rat droppings everywhere.
(DOOR OPENlNG) Someone's coming, I've got to go, (SPEAKlNG SPANlSH) Sorry.
No Spanish.
Is always so dirty here? Yes.
Well, except when the inspectors come.
Many cucaracha, Ah, you get used to it.
No worry.
But maybe it get into the meat? I see leak in freezer.
Don't ask too many questions.
A girl used to work here and then, she start to take pictures.
Pictures? Si, with a camera.
And then, he sees her and take it away.
Next day, she don't come in.
The big guy? Kiki? No, the foreman.
I have to get back to work.
Sounds like Reilly caught Laura in the act.
I'm going to go up to his office and look around, What are you doing in here? I'm cleaning.
RElLLY: Yeah? BENSON: It's okay, Looks like snooping to me.
(GROANS) (GRUNTlNG) Police! Let her go.
(GROANS) Mr.
Reilly, you're under arrest.
For what? She was trespassing.
For assaulting a police officer.
And as soon as we get your DNA, murder.
You think I murdered Laura? STABLER: No, I think you slit her throat, put Jorge Vargas' DNA inside her, and wiped her computer clean.
So, what was she filming, Reilly? That pig sty that you call a meatpacking plant? We run a clean operation.
Oh, please.
I was there for an hour and I almost puked.
STABLER: You are going to prison, pal.
And there, you're going to be the fresh meat.
(SCOFFS) Lucky you guys have such good imaginations, since you have no proof.
Stand up.
Why? Take off your pants.
Hey.
If you want to see my ass, you've got to start with a little foreplay.
Drop them.
(SCOFFS) Turn around.
(RElLLY SlGHS) There's no bite marks.
Wife's not into that.
Nice lrish girl.
No dog bite at all? Both legs were clean.
Chuey must have gotten hold of the pants and no flesh.
And we just lost a chunk of our case against him.
He'll plead out on the assault by claiming he thought you were stealing from him.
Right after he conveniently smashed Laura's footage to bits.
If Morales can't salvage any of it, we're screwed.
Then sink your teeth into this.
The DNA on Reilly's toothpick matches the DNA from the sweat on the pants.
So, Reilly was wearing Vargas' pants.
And Laura's blood was all over them.
That puts Reilly in her apartment that night.
Go tell our guest he's dead meat.
Folks, he's in custody.
You're going to have to wait a moment.
Please, Mr.
Police.
You have my foreman here.
Mr.
Bailey.
You mean Mr.
Reilly? Forgive the intrusion.
Mrs.
Rosa is very upset.
And you are? Alberto Sarafini.
The company's attorney.
I'd like to see my client.
Got your pants on, Reilly? Your lawyer's here.
Mr.
Sarafini.
Is Mrs.
Rosa here? Please let me see him.
I'm sorry, but Mr.
Reilly is with your lawyer now.
But I don't understand.
He was always a good employee.
Worked hard, did everything we asked.
All respect, Mrs.
Doletti, but when you first walked in here, you didn't even know his name.
But I know him.
He's a good man.
If he did something bad, there has to be reason.
We think Laura Santiago found problems in your plant that Mr.
Reilly was trying to cover up.
If that's true, he'll tell me.
He'll listen to Donna Rosa.
Donna Rosa's concerned about you, Mr.
Reilly.
Well, she should be.
We have evidence placing him at the crime scene.
What? Just relax.
They're trying to scare you.
(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR) Mrs.
Rosa.
Tell them the truth, Mr.
Reilly.
Please.
If you did something, if you hurt that poor girl, you have to tell them because only the truth will make it right.
Please.
Mr.
Reilly, please.
Reilly, listen to her.
You've ruined that woman's life.
Now is your chance to be a man.
Just tell us.
I did it.
Mr.
Reilly, be quiet.
I killed Laura.
Shut up.
Laura was in there filming us.
I am instructing you.
She was going to get us shut down.
I can't afford to lose my job.
My wife just had twins.
For the last time Laura was going to take everything away from us.
(CRYlNG) She was going to ruin my life.
I have been working at Donna Rosa's Meats for three weeks now, I had one hour of safety training, With my hidden camera, I filmed everything you're about to see, The water from this leaky freezer could contain a deadly bacteria called listeria, Not to mention the rats running around, I've seen harmful things going into the grinder to make hamburger, Insects, glass, beef trimmings splotched with cow feces,,, Decided to take in a movie? Yeah.
Morales kind of pieced it together.
I figured somebody should watch it.
Yeah.
LAURA: There is a saying, "You are what you eat, " Cows were never meant to eat corn, They can't digest it, But corn is cheap, And we inject them with antibiotics to prevent them from getting too sick, And hormones to make them grow faster, The same hormones and antibiotics that are being ingested by our kids, Come on, Pick it up! We're losing money here! MUNCH: There's our lady killer.
BENSON: Big man at work, but a wimp in interrogation.
I still don't get it.
He just folded.
I mean, you and Elliot didn't even tell him that we matched his DNA.
Get out of the way, This is how you carve a carcass, Rivera, Hold on.
Play it again, but slow it down.
This is how you carve a carcass, Rivera, BENSON: Do you see what I see? MUNCH: Reilly's left-handed.
Warner said that Laura's throat was slit from left to right.
Which means our killer has to be right-handed.
We know Reilly was at the crime scene.
Someone else was there.
Someone who had the most to lose.
ROSA: Please.
Come in.
Maybe you'd like to stay for dinner.
Every Sunday, I make dinner for my whole family.
Yeah, that's very kind of you, Mrs.
Doletti.
But no, thank you.
Not to mention the fact that it's Tuesday.
Well, I'm an old woman.
I get confused.
We'd like to ask you some questions.
Well, I'm not giving you my recipes.
(LAUGHS) It's about Laura Santiago's murder.
Oh! Terrible.
Horrible.
I can't believe Mr.
Reilly would do such a thing.
What a coincidence, neither can we.
ROSA: Well, I hope you find out who did it before somebody else gets hurt.
Oh, we're getting closer.
In fact, we think that it's somebody who's related to Reilly.
You see, at first, he denied everything.
And then, suddenly, just out of the blue, he confessed.
The minute you showed up.
It was almost as if he was trying to protect you.
(LAUGHS) Protect me? Why? Why? Because he's your son.
Look.
Here he is in a shot of you holding his twins, your grandkids.
And here's his wedding picture.
Now, that's sort of odd, for you to have his wedding picture up if he's just your foreman.
Okay.
Johnny's my kid.
By my late husband, rest his soul.
The family name is Reilly.
You're not even ltalian.
Oh, please.
Black lrish.
We took Doletti because people like meatballs better if they think they're made by lties.
So, what other interesting things are we going to find here, Rosa, huh? The typewriter that you wrote Vanessa Vargas' letter on? I ain't got no typewriter.
Come on.
I'll bet a little old lady like you never took a cotton to computers.
You like to do things the old-fashioned way.
Isn't that the big lie that your business is built on? What do you think you're doing? Where's your typewriter, Rosa? You keep out of my things! Or what? You going to murder us like you murdered Laura? For coming into your world and uncovering your little secrets? Hey, look at this.
(GASPS) Another dirty lie exposed.
Where are you going, Rosa? (BREATHlNG HEAVlLY) Look at that, Munch.
She went straight for the knife.
Yeah, and she got it with her right hand.
Just like Laura's murderer.
ROSA: Johnny was too weak.
He's always been too weak.
I never could stand him, always sniveling.
So, I gave him to my sister to raise.
But you hired him.
That little worm always did whatever Mama Rose told him to do.
Except when it came to cutting Laura's throat.
You both went to that apartment.
But he couldn't kill her when you ordered him to.
I've been cutting meat all my life.
I'm a butcher's daughter.
I do what I've got to do to protect what I worked for.
And now, you're going to protect yourself by putting down that knife.
What about my dinner? The meatballs aren't cooked.
My family's going to be here any second.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, I'm sure they're going to enjoy dinner just fine without you.
As long as they don't know what's in it.