Law & Order (1990) s15e21 Episode Script

NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Come on, we're gonna be late.
Hang on, this is when she comes out.
She does yoga, and she's got all these awesome outfits.
Sometimes you can even see her nipples.
Dude, you are so sick.
I know, right? There she is! The second window over! Come on, what's she doin'? Well, she's just lying there.
I think there's blood on her.
Elevator's out.
You gotta take the stairs.
You know what they say, Earl.
No pain, no gain.
Some suit up there is asking for you.
Falco? Nick.
You're Joe Fontana.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, sorry about your partner.
How's he doing? Well, he's on the mend, thanks.
Brooklyn North? They keep you guys busy out there.
Yeah, I figure a few weeks, Manhattan South Homicide, like a paid vacation.
So, uh, how you wanna do this? Well, me, I'm all about the work, no muss, no fuss.
Me, too.
Good deal.
So, what do we have? Samantha Savage.
One in the chest.
Samantha Savage, the porn star? It's kind of hard to tell with her clothes on, but yeah, one of the uniforms recognized a tattoo on her neck.
A broken heart.
Must be a close student of her work.
Who found the body? Kid who lives across the street.
Him and his buddy saw her through the window with binoculars.
Said they were doing a little bird-watching before school.
I'll bet they were.
The porn world is gonna be in mourning tonight.
Iwonderwhat they fly at half-mast? Now, this may come as a surprise, but I know all about Samantha Savage.
Why, Lieutenant.
Please.
I've got two teenage boys.
She's huge on the web.
Atop-tier adult video star.
Her autobiography came out a couple of months back, bestseller.
Next thing you're gonna tell me, she's on Oprah's Book Club.
You ever seen her billboard in Times Square? Real name is Jackie Norrell, California driver's license.
Toluca Lake.
What's she doing in New York? According to the landlord, she had a six-month sublet on the apartment.
Time of death? M.
E.
says between There were signs of a struggle, but no forced entry, so she probably let the shooter in.
Any help from the neighbors? We canvassed the whole building, got negative results.
What about our two young birdwatchers? Well, they claim they never saw anyone else in the apartment.
The bullet they pulled is a .
380.
Iran her through NCIC.
She applied to NYPD last month for a pistol permit.
I checked with LA County Sheriff's.
Out there, she has a permit for a .
380.
So, it's possible she got killed with her own gun.
How about next of kin? Haven't found one yet, and she lists her manager as an emergency contact.
Well, it's late enough, you can call California.
Him, too.
Personally, I think all these people should stay in LA.
Samantha came into town to do publicity for her book.
Decided to stay a while.
Is it possible she was trying to get away from someone on the West Coast? Someone in her industry? Iwouldn't know.
I didn't handle that side of her business.
We'll have to look at all her crazy fan mail.
Most of it's e-mail nowadays.
I'll get it printed out for you.
She had a permit to carry a gun in Los Angeles.
She had a stalker out there, some guy who broke into her house.
Well, she applied for a permit to carry a gun out here, too.
Maybe she was worried about her father.
He showed up last month at one of her book signings, bugging her for money.
She had a restraining order against him in California, but, you know what that's worth.
What's his name? Elston Norrell.
He started doing the rounds on talk radio about five minutes after her body was found.
First stage of grieving.
The media interview.
I loved Jackie with all my heart.
Oh, really? When was the last time you saw her? About a month ago.
We heard you were asking her for money.
I got medical issues.
I might have asked her for a little help, uh Is that a crime? Your daughter had an order of protection against you, so, yeah.
That wasn't her idea.
That was the people around her, trying to turn her against me.
You must have been pretty pissed off.
She didn't pony up with the money, ungrateful kid.
If you think I had anything to do with her death, you're wrong.
I would never hurt my little girl.
Where were you last night between 8:00 and 10:00? I got back to the Y about Stayed in my room the rest of the night.
Look, it's like I told those other detectives.
What other detectives? Those two guys that told me I had to stop calling her.
They were pretty rude about it, too.
When'd they tell you this? About a month ago, after I saw Jackie at her book thing.
Like, the next day, they were all over me.
You remember their names? They gave me their card.
I checked out Norrell's alibi.
The Y confirms that he came in a little before 8:00 on the night of the murder, and no one's seen him leave.
That's not what I'd call airtight.
What's this about two other detectives? Mark Wiley and Rick Conlon.
I talked to Wiley, and he said somebody asked him to lean on Norrell.
Who? You're gonna love this.
Arnie Maclaren.
The commissioner? Ex-commissioner, yeah.
And future Chief of Domestic Security.
I couldn't believe when the President nominated him for that job.
Didn't he do enough damage running the department? I heard he tried to get the Police Academy to make his autobiography required reading.
So, why would he call Wiley, what's the connection? They worked Street Crime together.
Did Maclaren told Wiley why he wanted them to lean on Norrell? Just said he would consider it a favor.
We heard he's very big on favors.
You want us to call him? No, I'll talk to him first, let him know you're coming.
Maclaren's not a guy you wanna blindside.
Falco and Fontana? Yes, sir.
I got a car waiting, let's walk.
I met Samantha Savage at her book party.
We share the same editor.
You guys got a copy of my book? I don't read.
I do.
Dave, signed copies to the detectives.
No problem, sir.
Well, Miss Savage told me her father was giving her a hard time, so I said I'd see what I could do.
I put in a call to Wiley, asked him to tell the old goat to leave her alone.
If you don't mind my saying, sir, that's a pretty big favor for somebody you barely know.
Come on, put yourself in my place, Detective.
You're at a cocktail party, you're drinking Dom Perignon.
Samantha Savage in a very little, very tight, black dress, her balcony out to here, is asking you for a favor.
Trust me, you're gonna do it.
I guess.
What are you, gay? You're Ed Green's partner, right? FONTANA: Yes, sir.
How's he doin'? Better every day.
Yeah, well, tell him I hope he's back on his feet soon.
I will, sir.
It's kind of funny, seeing you at that desk.
I can work somewhere else.
No, it's fine, really.
What is all of this? Cyber fan mail.
Printouts of messages posted on Samantha Savage's website.
Well, she was popular.
before she was killed.
These are Samantha Savage's telephone records.
Do you remember that editor that Maclaren mentioned worked on both their books? Her name is Helen DeVries, and she called Samantha Savage six times on the day she was killed.
Samantha Savage was a home-video hooker who couldn't write a sentence if you spotted her the noun and the verb.
I came up with the idea for the book, found the ghostwriter, edited the manuscript, chose the cover art.
I took that silicone-stuffed bimbo and turned her into a bestselling author.
How does she repay me? By taking her follow-up how-to sex manual to Knopf.
You made her a success, and she runs off to the competition.
In a nutshell.
Would have made me mad as hell.
Oh, you have no idea.
Celeste! Helen? The catalog's supposed to sell the books, not put people to sleep.
Stop thinking here, start thinking here.
You see the difference? Yes, ma'am.
(sums) When did you find out she was planning to change publishers? Her pissant manager called me on Tuesday.
Yes, the day she was killed, hence the flurry of phone calls.
What did you and Samantha talk about? Oh, she was too much of a wimp to pick up the phone.
You can bet I left messages.
Sent her some e-mails, too.
What did you do that evening, after work? You mean, where was I when Samantha was killed? I left the office a little after had dinner with my son.
Where's home? Westchester, Dobbs Ferry.
Look, guys, I'm flattered.
But kill a writer? Only in my dreams.
So, you think Helen DeVries killed Samantha Savage over a book? No, no, not a book.
A book deal.
Savage's next book could have sold a couple of million copies.
DeVries would have been losin' out on some serious cash.
And she was pissed.
We pulled the messages she left on Savage's voice-mail.
DEVRIES ON TAPE: You think you're gonna get away with this, you bitch? You whore! I'm gonna burn you to the ground, you and that bottom-feeder agent of yours.
They all like that? Pretty much.
I ran DeVries through NCIC, she took an assault collar four years ago, punched an employee during a staff meeting.
Pled out to a misdemeanor, and got probation.
Point being, she shows a propensity for violence.
DeVries says she left work at 7:00 and went straight home, which the garage confirms.
The parking lot attendant remembers because her car's in the shop, and when she left, she was driving someone else's.
We dumped her home phone.
She got a call from her office a quarter to 9:00, her son answered, told her assistant she was just that minute walking through the front door.
An hour and forty-five minutes from Midtown to Dobbs Ferry.
Could've been traffic.
Could've been.
Could been she stopped at Samantha Savage's first.
All right.
Talk to her assistant again, see if you can get a detailed description of what went down in the office that day.
If you work for Helen, you're either a bitch or a moron.
And which are you? Uh, both, at this point.
I'm surprised people put up with it.
I've been there seven months, and I'm the senior staff member.
She's a brilliant editor, though, I'm learning a lot! It's just a tough education.
Is Helen gonna know I talked to you? She'd have my head on a pike.
Oh, no, this is strictly between us.
Well, she was pretty pissed off about Samantha jumping to Knopf, but it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before.
So, what happened later? It was the end of the day, she was in her office, and she just went ballistic.
I have never heard her that angry, I mean, not even close.
She says why? No.
But you could hear her all the way down the hall, cursing Samantha out.
(PHONE RINGING) Excuse me.
Was there anyone with her in her office? No.
She get a phone call, maybe? Not that went through me.
She could've gotten a call to her cell, or an e-mail.
Something must've set her off.
It's Lieutenant Van Buren.
She wants us back at the house.
Thank you very much.
This is Detective Pete Milligan, Street Crime.
Nick Falco.
Hi.
Joe Fontana.
How ya doin'? He may have something on your case.
Walter Parks.
Collared him this morning with a quarter ounce of coke, a few blocks away from where Samantha Savage was killed.
Walter thinks he might have saw something.
What did you see, Walter? Am I gonna get a deal for this? VAN BUREN: We'll make sure the D.
A.
knows you helped us out.
A little after 8:00, I was making a delivery across the street from where that porn chick got killed.
How do you know what building that was? Been in all the papers.
So, I see this white lady tear down the steps.
She runs to the corner, throws something in the trash, runs back, gets into her car, takes off.
You check out what she threw in the garbage? Sure I did.
It was a gun.
And I'm sure Walter, being the kind of fella he is, just didn't want a free gun sittin' around, is that right, Walter? I asked Walter that same question.
Well, there ya go.
A .
380.
BORGIA: Sounds a little thin.
We know DeVries was angry at Savage forjumpin' ship.
She has a history of acting out violently, and she can't really account for her whereabouts at the time of And did we mention the fact that we have witness that puts her at the scene of the crime? A small-time drug dealer looking to stay out of jail.
The gun the guy found is Savage's, and Ballistics says it's definitely the one that was used to kill her.
Are DeVries' prints on the gun, at least? The only prints of any value belong to this guy Walter Parks, who found the gun in the trashcan.
Look, we would love to have her standing over a warm body with a smoking gun in her hand, but we don't.
So, what are you looking for? Well, the M.
E.
told us that there are powder burns near the entry wound.
We figure Savage and DeVries argued, maybe Savage went for her gun.
They struggled, it went off.
It happened in close.
So, you're looking for Savage's blood? On DeVries' shoes or clothes.
I think I can get you a search warrant for that.
We'll need to get in her car, too.
Helen? What the hell took you so long? They're taking my clothes, Charlotte.
They think I killed Samantha! Detective, Charlotte Swan, Ms.
DeVries' counsel.
What's going on? We have a search warrant authorizing us to remove these items from the premises.
Helen, this seems to be in order.
I don't care! Stop them, it's outrageous! I can't.
I want you to know I'm holding you personally responsible for keeping these items clean and orderly.
Believe you me, I know exactly how you feel.
Not a wrinkle, I promise.
What about my civil liberties, huh? Detective, can I see you a minute? What do we have? We haven't started yet.
Why not? He told us to wait.
Nick, what's the problem? Remember the garage attendant told us DeVries was driving someone else's car that day? Yeah, he said it was a gray Mercedes.
Not a silver BMW.
Which isn't on the warrant.
All right, look, the, uh, garage attendant made a mistake on the make and the model, it's no big deal.
Open it up! Hold it! I ran the plates, it's registered to Doug DeVries, her brother.
So he loaned her his car, so what? It's not on the warrant! You know, you're beginning to sound like a broken record.
Who are you on the phone to? A.
D.
A.
Borgia.
She's on the other line with the judge, trying to get him to approve entry into this car.
See, this is what comes of goin' to law school at night.
I'd hate to see whatever we find in there get thrown out because we didn't go the extra mile.
Yeah Great, thank you.
We're in.
The judge is extending the warrant to cover this one.
Well, hallelujah.
Open it up.
What the hell's going on? We're searchin' your car, what does it look like we're doin'? OFFICER: Detectives! We've got something that looks like blood.
Couple of drops on the armrest.
Enough for a match? Oh, yeah.
Well, that's great.
Let's collect it and get the hell outta here.
Aren't you glad we waited? Yeah, I'm ecstatic.
CLERK: "Docket number 45789, ”People of the State of New York v.
Helen DeVries.
"Charge is Murder in the Second Degree.
" I think I heard a little somethin' about this one.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty, Your Honor.
Your Honor, Ms.
DeVries has substantial means at her disposal.
We believe there's a strong chance she'll flee if she's released.
SWAN: Your Honor, my client has deep roots in the community.
What's more, thanks to the press-friendly practices of the D.
A.
's office, she's the best-known defendant since Michael Jackson.
Where could she go? I really don't think celebrity constitutes insurance that the defendant will appear.
And her history suggests a personality that could charitably be described as impulsive, Your Honor.
I'm with the People on this one.
Defendant is remanded.
I thought you were a mensch, Jack.
JACK: My offer is man one, How many times do I have to say it? I didn't kill Samantha.
If you're convicted of murder at trial, the alternative's 25-to-I ife.
Life? Are you retarded? What did I just say? SWAN: Helen You're not helping yourself by calling me names, Ms.
DeVries.
Let's think about this, Jack, what's the motive here? A book contract? Please.
Other authors have left Helen.
And lived to tell about it.
I'm glad to hear you're not a serial killer.
We have a witness who puts you at the scene.
With more priors than I have gray hairs.
Give me ten minutes with him on cross, I'll bury him.
There's the DNA evidence from her car.
The jury will never hear about it, I'll have it suppressed at a map hearing.
Your cops took a shortcut.
SWAN: When the police sought permission to gain entry to the car where the blood was found, they misrepresented the situation, Your Honor.
All they had was a vague description that didn't match the car in front of them! The description they had was more than adequate to identify the car, Your Honor.
Yes, it varied in a few details.
The color and manufacturer are details? The difference between silver and gray, and two high-end luxury automobiles, I'd call those details! The police ran the license plates and determined that the car belonged to Ms.
DeVries' brother.
They spoke to a judge.
He agreed to extend the warrant to cover the car.
I don't know how they could have been more conscientious.
The police knew the car didn't match the description they'd been given, they knew it didn't belong to Helen DeVries.
You're earning your fee today, Ms.
Swan, but I don't buy the argument.
The police acted legally.
I'm denying the motion.
Will Your Honor at least consider revisiting the issue of bail? My client represents no flight risk, and has a 13-year-old son who's suffering significant hardship because his mother's in custody.
I'm willing to discuss it.
Bail's not the issue here, Your Honor.
You won the motion, Mr.
McCoy, don't get greedy.
Bail is set at two million dollars, cash or bond.
I'm grateful he didn't throw out the case.
Hey, Jack, check this out.
I ran Doug DeVries' car, the car Helen DeVries was actually driving that night.
Got a parking ticket on Hudson Street at 7:45.
That's more than 50 blocks from Samantha Savage's apartment.
DeVries never mentioned going down there.
There's more.
During the day, Helen DeVries sometimes uses a car service.
According to their records, they dropped her off at a Hudson Street address six times in the last two months.
Near where she got the parking ticket? Across the street! And get this, the bodyguard service Samantha Savage used, their records show they dropped her off at the same Hudson Street address a dozen times in the six weeks before she was killed.
Both women went to the same address.
Were they ever there at the exact same time? Never even on the same day, not that I can find.
Have the cops check out the building.
No doorman, no security cameras.
So why should it be easy? I was wondering if you'd ever seen either of these women in the building.
No, I'm sorry.
Thank you for your time.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Can I help you? Dave, right? You work for Maclaren? Yeah.
Detective Falco, Detective Fontana.
Oh, right, right.
Hey, did you get the books? What's going on? Detectives, what can I do for ya? The city rented the apartment after 9J11 because of its proximity to ground zero.
I used it as an office during rescue and recovery, and I still do from time to time.
Arnold, we have a few questions, if you don't mind.
Shoot.
Did you ever meet Helen DeVries at that apartment? We worked on my book there a few times.
Did you meet her there the night that Samantha Savage was killed? I didn't see Helen that night.
Did you ever meet Samantha Savage at that apartment? I met Samantha Savage exactly once, at her book signing party.
Helen introduced us.
We know that Samantha Savage went to that building on a number of occasions, all subsequent to that party.
I don't know what to tell you.
She must've known someone else who lived there.
I never saw her there.
Look, guys, I'm facing Senate confirmation.
If the press can find any excuse to put me and Samantha Savage together We're investigating a homicide, Commissioner.
It takes us where it takes us.
I understand that.
Just don't drag my name through the mud on the way.
We'll be as discreet as circumstances allow.
I appreciate it.
Nobody's more connected than Arnie Maclaren.
So make damn sure whatever you got on him is rock solid.
Absolutely.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) BRANCH: Come in.
Sorry to interrupt.
JACK: What is it? Helen DeVries was just shot to death in a parking garage in Midtown.
FALCO: Anyone see it happen? OFFICER: No witnesses.
What about the attendant? He's two floors up.
They gotta have video.
We're gettin' the tapes.
One in the back, one in the head.
Still got her watch.
I bet you her wallet's still in her purse.
What's that? "For Samantha, R.
l.
P.
" I thought you said he didn't take anything.
I don't think he did.
She still had her money, credit cards, watch.
This is where he hears someone comin'.
What did the note say? "For Samantha, R.
l.
P.
" Some wacko fan, maybe.
Nah.
The shooter knewjust where to stand so the camera wouldn't see him.
Knew where she parked her car.
This wasn't some wacko fan bent on revenge.
Start closer to home.
Yeah.
We were married for 12, but were only together for about eight.
Divorce took a long time.
We heard it was pretty rough.
It's like getting beaten over the head with a baseball bat every day for four years.
We saw her house, it was very nice.
Yeah, if you like livin' in the burbs.
No thanks.
Still, it looks like she got the better deal, financially-speaking.
The real issues between us were over custody.
I didn't care that much about the money.
Well, then you would be the first.
Where were you yesterday, about noon? Having lunch with a friend of mine.
Mexican place, 16th and 8th.
I still got the receipt, if you want.
We'll need to see that.
Look, we were tryin' to get along, for our son's sake.
She had a new boyfriend.
She wasn't supposed to tell me who, but she couldn't resist.
Who was that? You guys must know him.
He used to be police commissioner.
I'm supposed to be catching a train to Washington.
I've got a meeting with the chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee.
Explain what held you up, I'm sure he'll understand.
What is this about? Commissioner, we know you were having an affair with Helen DeVries.
From where I stand, your options aren't great.
Tell your story to a Grand Jury and risk self-incrimination.
Or take the Fifth, which looks terrible from a public relations point of view.
Or talk to us now.
Yes, I was seeing Helen DeVries.
At the apartment on Hudson Street? Yes.
Did you meet her there on the night Samantha Savage was killed? I told you before, no.
What about Samantha Savage, did you have sex with her in that apartment, too? I answered this question before, too.
I only met her once.
She just happened to go to the very same address more than a dozen times? A lot of people in that building, she could have been there to see any one of 'em.
These are the records of the security company Ms.
Savage employed.
They brought her to the Hudson Street address on 14 separate occasions.
These are affidavits from all the other tenants in the building, not one of whom ever had any contact with Ms.
Savage.
These are the phone records for the building going back six months.
Not a single call to Ms.
Savage from any of the tenants.
You're the only person in that building who ever met Samantha Savage.
Yet it's your contention that she went there repeatedly to see someone else? I can't tell you why she went there, but it wasn't to see me! We'd like to believe you, Commissioner.
But you don't.
You haven't exactly been forthcoming up till now! My affair with Helen had nothing to do with the murder of either woman.
And I didn't tell you because I couldn't.
For obvious reasons! You're married.
Your wife is expecting.
Exactly! Look, I have made mistakes in my personal life, which I regret.
I've caused my wife pain, which I also regret.
But this job I'm being offered concerns the safety of the nation.
And this can't get out.
Frankly, Commissioner, it's hard to see now how it wouldn't.
Ballistics just came back on the bullet that killed Helen DeVries.
It matches one from a gun that was used in an armed robbery in the Bronx seven years ago.
What about the robber, do we know where he is? Died in Coxsackie two years ago, and the gun was never recovered.
But the arresting officer was Pete Milligan.
Pete Milligan? The guy that brought us Walter Parks? The same.
Maybe it's time we had a talk with our friend Pete.
Talk with Mr.
Parks first, see if you can shake his story.
FONTANA: We sat down with your pal, Walter Parks, again.
He says you planted that coke on him, then told him he would do time for it unless he fingered Helen DeVries for the Samantha Savage murder.
Come on, guy's tryin' to get out from under a coke bust.
I didn't plant nothing on nobody! You laid out the whole thing for him.
You gave him a story, you showed him Helen DeVries' picture, you told him where to find the gun! Walter is a coke dealer and a junkie.
You believe him before you believe me? You know, the gun used to kill Helen DeVries was a throwaway.
So? Well, you took it off a bad guy in the Bronx seven years ago.
FALCO: You know how much trouble you're in.
Best thing you could do for yourself now is to tell us everything.
Yeah, right.
I wanna talk to my rep.
And a lawyer.
That's fine with us.
You'll wait here, we'll call Internal Affairs.
In the meanwhile, we're gonna go search your apartment.
Fontana called.
They found the gun Milligan used to kill DeVries.
And the clothes he wore when he did it.
They placed him under arrest.
Good.
Now I'd like to know why he did it.
ANNOUNCER ON TV: Now we go five to Commissioner Arnold Macfaren.
Maclaren making his statement? Just starting.
MACLAREN: Unfortunately, when my wife and I employed this fine woman to take care of our children, we neglected to pay her payroll taxes.
Now, the mistake was unintentional, but the responsibility is mine.
And so, I have regretfully informed the President that I must withdraw my name from consideration for the post of Director of Domestic Security.
Thank you.
I'll answer more questions a bit later.
I don't know about you, but I feel safer already.
JACK: We know you killed Helen DeVries, Mr.
Milligan.
We know you tried to frame her for Samantha Savage's murder.
The question is, why? We couldn't find any connection between you and the murdered women.
If you'll give us who you were working for, I'm ready to offer man one for the DeVries killing, We were thinking a little differently.
Man two, five years.
JACK: Forget it.
No, you forget it.
I won't do more than five.
I don't care what the extenuating circumstances were, or who else was involved, you pulled the trigger.
Man two or no deal.
You want the big fish, this is the little fish.
Not that little.
Trust me, in the scheme of things, Pete is plankton.
I been a cop a long time.
I seen lots of guys done worse than me get better deals than what you're offering.
Man two, or you get nothin'! That's not true, Mr.
Milligan.
At the very least, I get you! Have you checked Milligan's personnel file? Any blemishes? Nothing we can use as leverage.
Maclaren was Milligan's C.
O.
He must have something on him.
Talk to Milligan's partner.
Pete really killed that lady? Yes, he did.
He's always been a hard luck guy.
I'd say the real hard luck here belonged to Helen DeVries.
True.
Milligan ever mention Maclaren to you? He said you could reach out to him if you got jammed up.
Anything else? He said once that Maclaren saved his life.
HOW? I think it was back when Pete was drinking.
Which he used to do pretty hard.
Something to do with his ex-wife.
Do you know where I can find her? She's on the job.
She works at One P.
P.
Her name's Haywood now.
It was when he was in Maclaren's squad.
I was in uniform over at the 21.
Pete was drinkin' a lot, he was comin' home from work drunk.
He was drinking onthejob? Oh, yeah.
Maclaren bailed him out more than once.
So, one night he starts up with me and our son got in the middle of it, and Pete hit us both.
I called 911.
Maclaren came to see me the next day, he said Pete's job was on the line.
One more strike.
He said he could make the whole thing go away if I chose not to pursue it.
He was putting the pressure on.
Well, plus he offered me a deskjob downtown, which he knew I wanted, because I hated being on the street.
So, Maclaren fixed it.
Pete stayed on the job, I got a desk here.
We got divorced.
Pete quit drinking a couple of years later, which is why I hate like hell that this is happening to him now.
Your ex-wife told us about the favor Arnie Maclaren did for you and your family, Detective.
What about it? It was completely illegal.
So charge me.
Not you, your ex-wife.
What are you talking about? BORGIA: She took a bribe.
Maclaren offered her a betterjob if she declined to press charges, she accepted the offer.
It could get her as much as seven years.
More time than you're willing to spend inside.
Son of a bitch.
You'd really do that? She'd lose her job, her pension.
Will you come down a little, Jack? Man one, ten years.
Tell them what happened.
It was Maclaren.
The whole way.
lowed him.
You killed Helen DeVries for Arnie Maclaren because he saved your job? He did a lot more for me than that.
MILLIGAN: Maclaren said he needed me to find a guy to say he'd seen someone come out of a certain building and throw away a gun.
He gave me a picture of the woman the guy was supposed to have seen, showed me the building, gave me the gun.
Was this the gun? Yes.
Which we've already established belonged to Samantha Savage.
And the building? It's where Samantha Savage was living when she was killed.
And did you find a person to do this for you? To lie to the police? His name is Walter Parks.
Who was he supposed to say he'd seen exiting the building with the gun? Helen DeVries.
Did Mr.
Maclaren ask you to do anything else? He gave me a shirt with some of Samantha's blood on it.
I was to transfer some of the blood to an armrest in Ms.
DeVries' car.
He was asking you to plant evidence? Yes.
And did you? Yes.
Anything else? He came up to me a few weeks later and said things weren't going right.
We had to take her out.
By take her out, he meant? Kill Helen DeVries.
He said if I didn't do it, he'd make sure I went to prison for the things I'd already done for him.
Kept remindin' me of what I owed him.
He was very persistent.
So at Arnold Maclaren's behest you went to Ms.
DeVries' parking garage? Yes, and I shot her.
Twice.
Once in the back, and once in the head.
You killed Helen DeVries because Arnie Maclaren asked you to? That's right.
Because he threatened you? Yes.
And because you owed him? He saved my job.
Helped get my ex-wife a transfer she wanted.
Mr.
Maclaren helped you, he helped your ex-wife? Yes.
And what about your son? What about him? Isn't it true several years ago, your son was involved in a hit-and-run accident? Yes.
He had been drinking? I blame myself for that.
He fled the scene? And the other driver was seriously injured? Like I said, that was my fault, I drove him to it, my behavior at home.
Be that as it may, these are serious offenses.
Were charges ever filed? No.
Why not? Maclaren made 'em go away.
You pled to a lesser sentence in exchange for your testimony in this case.
Yes.
What else did the District Attorney do to secure your cooperation? Objection.
Sustained.
Did the District Attorney threaten to charge your ex-wife with receiving a bribe? Yes.
And what about your son? Did you tell the District Attorney's office about the hit-and-run accident? Yes.
And what was their response? They agreed to let him plead to a number of lesser charges.
Prison time? Probation.
Probation? I'd like to know how they knew about our discussions with Milligan.
I think there's a good chance Maclaren's got someone in our office feeding him information.
How did he manage that? He knows where all the bodies are buried.
He should, he put them there.
Putney did a pretty good job of making it look like we put the screws to our own witness.
That Milligan'd say anything to save his wife and kid.
The night Samantha Savage was murdered, DeVries got aticket near Maclaren's Hudson Street apartment.
Maybe she was down there looking for Samantha Savage.
Maybe she found out about the affair.
I think you have to take another run at Charlotte Swan.
See if Helen DeVries confided in her.
All right.
Better take some bicarb with you, you might have to eat some crow.
If you hadn't let Arnie Maclaren lead you around by the nose I know.
Helen DeVries would never have been charged with Samantha Savage's murder, and I personally think she'd still be alive.
We regret that error very much.
You think Maclaren killed Samantha Savage, too? He may never have to answer for it, but if we can convict him of Helen's murder And you'd like my help with that.
I know it's an unusual request.
I did receive something from Helen.
I think it was an image from her cell phone.
You said the cell phone was lost.
For all I knew, it was.
I never saw the phone, Helen assured me she'd lost it.
You knew that we were looking for anything related to that phone.
If this is material, you were obliged to turn it over.
It was an attachment to a communication from my client.
That made it privileged.
That privilege died with Helen DeVries.
Gray area.
Not to a judge! I don't wish to get a reputation as defense attorney who works for the D.
A.
's office.
But the last thing I wanna see is your case against Maclaren collapse.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Maclaren, but I don't think this photograph of you and Ms.
Savage was taken at her book party.
Where is it from? Helen DeVries forwarded it to her lawyer from her cell phone.
DeVries received it as an e-mail attachment the night Samantha Savage was killed.
Who sent it to her? Samantha Savage.
Oh, come on, it's a fake.
You could put Britney Spears together with the pope, it doesn't mean squat.
Arnold.
So Samantha sent Helen a picture, so what? You still deny you were having an affair with Samantha Savage? I guess there's no point any more.
Thanks to you, my career in public service is in the toilet.
That's where you put it, Mr.
Maclaren, we didn't.
PUTNEY: What are you offering? Hey, hey, hey, the hell with that! If there is an offer on the table, we should hear it.
Two counts of murder two, one for each woman, 25-to-life.
To run concurrently.
PUTNEY: Come on, Jack, he's 56 years old.
He'll come out in a body bag.
Man two for Savage.
No.
He didn't go there to kill her! I didn't go there at all! Man one for Savage, ten years.
Murder two and 20 years for DeVries.
To run concurrently? Twenty years? I'll be 76.
And you've got nothing.
I've got two ex-mayors, a governor, and an archbishop.
And what do you got? A drunk, a bad cop, who says I did this and I did that, and he's tryin' to save his own ass and his son's! And a picture! A prank! A prank? Helen had no idea I was seeing Samantha on the side.
And Samantha, dumb bimbo, thought it'd be funny to send Helen a picture of us in bed.
Why'd you let her send it? I didn't let her send it! I was asleep! First I knew about it was when Helen showed up banging on my door an hour later, out of her mind.
By that time, Samantha had gone home, so you went to Samantha's apartment to get the phone.
I told you I never went there! Did she go for her gun and you overpowered her, is that what happened? I never went there! You don't even have the cell phones, you can't connect the dots, you've got bull.
Arnold! We should take the deal.
Shut up, Quentin, we're not takin' any deal.
We're gonna go back in that courtroom, and we're gonna let the jury decide.
And you.
You're gonna wish you never screwed with me.
JUDGE: Have you reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
How do you find? On the count of murder in the second degree, we find the defendant guilty.
Get your hands off me! He was going to have this huge job in Washington, and she would have something to hang over his head forever.
He should have taken our offer.
Instead, he's doing Now, speaking of Washington, I've had a number of calls commending us on our work in the Maclaren case.
His powerful friends are washing their hands of him.
He's finished.
Order's restored.
All's right with the world.