Law & Order Special Victims Unit s20e13 Episode Script

1 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.
The ambulance is on its way, sir.
How far apart are the contractions? No, ma'am, that is not considered an emergency.
You should call your local precinct.
911, what's your emergency? [SOBBING.]
- Hello? - Are you there? A man broke in.
He tried to make me and my sister have sex.
He's hurting my dad.
Okay, stay on the line.
I'm showing you at 697 West 140th street.
- What apartment? - 2B.
[CRASHING.]
No Dad? Oh, my God, help.
- The police are on their way.
- No, Dad.
He's got a knife.
Can you describe what's happening? - Don't hurt him! - [SOBBING.]
No, no, no! Dad! Hello? Hello? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
So what are we looking at, Detective? Male perp was average height, weight.
Maybe white, maybe black, in a ski mask.
- What about a doorman? - Nope, no doorman.
What about cameras? Still checking, but don't hold your breath.
Victim was stabbed in the jugular with a kitchen knife.
Perp left the weapon.
The girls? Traumatized, in shock.
They're with a neighbor till the ambulance arrives.
There's no mother in the picture? Apparently not.
[SIGHS.]
They had to see their father's dead body.
You deal with kids all the time.
I don't know how you do it.
Sometimes I don't either.
[SIGHS.]
I'm Lieutenant Benson.
This is Detective Carisi, Special Victims Unit.
Greg Callahan.
This is Susan.
Thank God you're here.
Oh, the girls are right there.
I was just trying to keep them calm.
They're watching TV and I put a blanket on them.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Um, Britney, Laura? I'm Olivia and this is Sonny, and we're here to help you.
You need to help my little sister.
We will, honey, we're gonna We're gonna get you to the hospital as soon as the ambulance gets here, okay? I just wanna go home and stay with my daddy.
Daddy's dead.
Tell her.
He's dead.
[SOBBING.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
Hey, Liv.
You had a long night.
Rollins, you shouldn't be here.
At this point, I'm better off at a hospital than I am at home.
- Any leads? - There's no sign of this guy.
And the two daughters? I don't know how you get over something like this.
The rape kits? Britney is is negative, but Laura has genital trauma.
Okay, and it's just the two of them and the father.
Well, we're checking with ACS, but so far, there's no next of kin, the grandparents are deceased and the mother committed suicide two years.
That's rough.
Hi.
The girls can talk.
Um, as their acting guardian, I should be in the room.
Yeah, you know, if you would just give us a couple of minutes, I would so appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
I was doing homework.
I heard this smash.
I looked up and there was this man on the fire escape and he opened the latch to the window and I-I-I screamed for Britney.
And where was she? She was in her room.
She ran out yelling at him to get away, but He was already inside.
Then what happened? He went into the kitchen and he grabbed a knife He put it up to my neck And then he said he he said he was going to [SOBBING.]
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
Laura, I know how how difficult this is, but you really need to tell us what he did.
[SNIFFLING.]
He he kissed me And he put his fingers inside me.
And I just I couldn't move.
And then my dad came home.
The man started going towards my dad with a knife, and my dad told us to run, so We ran into my room and locked the door.
I should've went out there and tried to save him.
What happened next? It got quiet.
We opened the door.
And then I saw my dad on the couch.
And then I tried to over to him and stop the bleeding, but It was he was already [SIGHING.]
Sweetie, I'm so sorry.
Oh, my God.
Attend the tale of Douglas Moore.
Allegedly, he walks in on the assault, fights back, gets killed.
That's what the daughters told us.
I have three problems with that.
Number one, there's no defensive wounds.
- So he didn't put up much of a fight? - If any at all.
Problem number two, the stab was shallow.
Any adult with wherewithal would put pressure on the wound, call 911.
- But he didn't? - No, he didn't.
He didn't have wherewithal, which leads me to problem number three, I found undigested wine in his stomach and a whopping blood alcohol level.
So he could've been passed out.
At the very least, extremely drunk.
Maybe we went to the bar before he came home.
Or the daughters aren't telling us the whole story.
The lab says the wine in the bottles in the kitchen matches the wine in the glass.
And the saliva from the glass matches samples taken from Doug Moore.
So he was home drinking.
Crap.
He bled out on the couch, right? Well, he just so happened to fall straight back after he was stabbed.
Or he was already on the couch.
Crap.
So the perp smashed the window, undid the latch from the inside.
Yeah.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTING.]
[GRUNTING.]
Nope.
Look, the angle from this hole to where that latch is, that's not humanly possible.
Crap.
Hey, thanks for coming in.
The girls were just getting settled.
Do you have a lead on the case? We just have to ask you a few more questions.
We need to talk to you alone first.
I have a few more questions for you.
So, Britney, the medical examiner told us, um, something that we're just trying to figure out.
What? That your dad was pretty drunk when he was stabbed.
My dad likes to go to bars.
Britney, we know he was drinking at home that night.
And you told us that your father came in and interrupted the man that was assaulting you and your sister.
So now you're calling me a liar.
No, no, no, we're not.
We're just we're just trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Like how the window got broken.
There's just some things that don't make sense.
I don't care.
You know why? 'cause my father's dead.
Okay, my father is dead.
So I-I don't really understand what difference it makes who killed him.
Okay, if somebody else was in that apartment, if if things happened differently Listen, you're not in trouble.
Britney, I can see that you're an honest person, but if you're trying to protect someone or you're afraid of someone we can help you.
Nobody can help me.
What does that mean, honey? I had to.
You had to what? I had to protect my sister from my own father.
My own father was raping my sister.
I had to kill him.
[SOBBING.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
Britney, this is Alexis Farrow.
Here, Alexis, why don't you have a seat? Thanks.
Any questions you're uncomfortable with, check with me first, okay? When did Laura first tell you she was being abused? A few weeks ago.
We usually come home from school together, except for Thursdays 'cause I have band practice.
So that Thursday, I came home and the bathroom door was locked and I heard her inside crying, so I told her that she had to tell me what was wrong.
What did she say? It started after New Year's.
January.
It was only a few times on Thursdays.
[SNIFFLING.]
Before Britney came home.
Laura told me that when he was drunk, he would go into her room at night.
We'd lay on the couch, he'd unzip his pants Then he'd put his penis inside me.
It hurt, but he said that's what people who love each other do.
[SNIFFLING.]
I never should've told Britney.
I didn't want him to die.
And did you tell anybody else about this? I-I told Britney.
We know you told Britney.
But did you tell anybody else? And, Laura, it's really important that you tell the truth right now, okay? Ask Greg.
He he knows.
Greg, your neighbor? You told him? Yeah, I-I tried to tell him.
Do you remember when you talked to him? [SNIFFLING.]
Uh, after New Year's.
Sunday.
What's going to happen to them now? Uh, the girls will spend the night in custody at the ACS facility.
I'm assuming, given the circumstances, the DA will be open to a plea.
Okay, we'll be in touch.
So now what? We vet the story.
Laura told us that she tried to disclose to the neighbor, Greg Callahan.
We met that guy.
We'll follow up.
And I'll have the lab run the father's DNA against Laura's rape kit.
And check the bed sheets, the towels, and the clothes in the hamper.
What's your relationship to the girls? I met them two years ago.
I didn't exactly want two teenagers hanging around, but Doug worked long hours and they seemed lonely, and I work from home mostly, so it wasn't that big a deal.
Laura ever say anything about Doug? She'd get pissed at him.
[CHUCKLING.]
When he wouldn't let her watch TV, play on her phone, stuff like that.
Why? Laura alleges she was sexually abused by her father.
What? Oh, my God.
Are you sure? D-Doug wasn't around a lot.
He drank, but he he loved those girls.
Do you remember the Sunday after New Year's? Laura told us that she she came over here.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Um she said Doug was hungover and Britney had been sleeping in.
She seemed upset, but What'd she say to you exactly? She said that she was mad at her dad and that she didn't want to live at home anymore.
Was that what she was trying to tell me? Oh, my God.
Did, uh, did Britney and Laura ever say anything more specific? No, no, I would've gone straight to the cops.
You really think that he I can't believe it.
I feel sick.
DA is not interested in charging Britney as an adult.
I'm gonna contact Corporation Counsel, talk plea.
Okay, the neighbor did confirm that Laura went over to his apartment that Sunday and she was upset.
- Any physical evidence? - Not from the rape kit, but Doug's DNA was all over the girls' rooms.
He's their father.
He's not here to tell us his side of the story.
Is there any inheritance in play here? - Life insurance? - Not that we found so far.
I mean, we're trying to untangle his personal and his legal affairs, find the next of kin.
We don't even know if he has a will.
Sergeant Tutuola's here to see you.
Fin, everything okay? We just heard back from Doug Moore's boss.
They had a staff meeting every Thursday from 3:00 to 6:00.
Doug led it.
He never missed one.
So he couldn't have been home sexually abusing his 13-year-old daughter.
[SIGHS.]
Who puts chickpeas in tuna salad? You want me to get you something else? No, no, I'm not hungry, I guess.
Ugh.
[CELL PHONE BUZZING.]
Hey, what's up, Lieu? Okay, I got it.
I'm on it.
So Liv wants us to bring Britney and Laura back.
We got to go over the story again.
Hey, are you are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine, I'm I'm going into labor.
[SIGHING.]
I feel a little light-headed.
- That's normal.
- You're going to have a baby.
You're doing great, Amanda, but you've got plenty of time, so don't worry.
How are you holding up, Papa? - Oh oh, no, I'm not the - Doctor, they need you in 10-17.
We don't have a room for you yet, so just give us a few minutes.
Uh, what about the epidural? Or a lobotomy.
[CHUCKLING.]
[SNIFFLING.]
Oh.
You're doing okay.
[SIGHING.]
Just don't leave me.
I'm not going anywhere.
Amanda? - Al, what what are you doing here? - The hospital called.
You you you go into labor and you don't tell me? - Oh, well - Things happened pretty fast.
- Yeah, sure.
- [STUTTERING.]
Thank you for being here.
Carisi, right? - Yeah, that's right.
- I appreciate it.
Don't mention it.
I just wanna take a deep breath.
Good idea, but we might not have a whole lot of time.
Second babies can be a surprise.
- Thanks, Al.
- Uh, in fact, better safe than sorry.
Um, uh let's see, uh Hmm.
Uh, huh.
This is not exactly how I saw this happening.
But, uh before the baby comes, I would like to make you an honest woman.
[GENTLE MUSIC.]
No, that's, uh that's okay.
No, the no, no, no, no.
It's it's okay.
- I should go.
- No, no, stay.
- No, no, no, no.
- Stay, stay.
I want the whole world to hear this.
Amanda, we created a life together.
Now it is my greatest wish that you, me, Jesse, Frannie, and Baby Pollack create a family together.
Amanda Rollins, will you marry me? [GASPING.]
Rollins is fine.
Turns out the baby's not coming any time soon.
- She's not in labor.
- Not yet.
They're keeping her at the hospital for observation.
Carisi's there and Dr.
Al.
[SCOFFING.]
What could possibly go wrong? - Dr.
Al proposed.
- What? She said she'll think about it.
Wow.
Wow, um Okay, so, uh, where are we on talking to Laura and Britney? Actually, nowhere.
Their new lawyer says no more questions.
What, why? Well, it turns out Doug Moore did have Deed of Guardianship.
He named Greg Callahan the girls' legal guardian.
Mr.
Callahan, our investigators show a clean background.
We have statements from Britney and Laura Moore confirming that they wish to stay with you.
Thank you, Your Honor.
The circumstances are atypical, but given the girls' situation and their father's wishes, I grant a provisional Order of Guardianship while the court completes its investigation.
[LOW DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
- Thanks.
- I'll be right back.
Greg.
Oh, hey, Sergeant, you must be as shocked as I am.
I just heard from Doug's lawyer yesterday.
- You didn't mention it.
- No, I got the call after you left.
I just wanted to get those girls out of this ACS facility as soon as possible.
You're taking on two teenage girls, man.
That's not something I'd want to try to do.
Yeah, believe me, it is the last thing I need, but ACS told me the next step would be foster care or going to strangers.
I I just can't let that happen to them, you know? Look, I admire what you're doing, but we still need to talk to Britney and Laura.
Yeah, I know, ACS mentioned that, but I was being told that Britney was being charged as a juvenile and and taking a plea.
Uh, the killing was justified given what happened.
Look, is everything all right here? I'm Avi Meyer, Mr.
Callahan's attorney.
I'm Sergeant Tutuola, I'm investigating Doug Moore's murder.
They just want to question the girls, but Doug told me he wanted me to look after them.
Yeah, let me be the bad guy here, Greg.
The girls are now wards in Mr.
Callahan's care.
He reserves the right to decline a police interview.
Is the lawyer right? Yeah, we can't talk to the girls - without their guardian's consent.
- Okay, they may have plotted to murder their father.
Greg Callahan's involved.
Is anybody still buying his "nice-guy-next-door" act? Any evidence to indicate otherwise? The only ones who can tell us more are the girls, who we can't talk to as long as he's their legal guardian.
So what you need to do is find a way to challenge the guardianship itself.
[SIGHS.]
I went through the document looking for red flags.
Check this out.
Britney's middle name is Katherine.
It's spelled K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E.
All right, look at her birth certificate.
[SCOFFING.]
Cathryn with a C and a Y.
Even bad parents know how to spell their child's middle name.
Doug didn't fill out that deed.
Salt of the earth, Doug Moore.
I was horrified to hear he'd been killed.
Um, how how long were you his attorney? - Huh? - Uh, a couple of months.
Oh, God, such a nice guy.
You know, most clients do things by email nowadays, - but - He used to come in here himself? - Uh, yeah.
- Several times.
Yeah, we talked about his wife's passing and how he had to get his affairs in order for his daughters, you know? [SQUISHING.]
Is that him? - Who's that? - Doug Moore.
No, it's not.
What about him? That's Doug Moore.
That's the guy who signed the Deed of Guardianship? That's right.
Does this guy not look a little young to be a 50-something father with two teenage daughters to you? Well, he had a photo ID and he had his daughter's IDs.
He paid with a credit card, what Why would somebody lie about that? [TENSE MUSIC.]
Why are we doing it this way? The girls are getting scared.
You should be scared.
I don't understand.
We just got here.
I know, I'm sorry, Laura, but we have to take you back.
- Laura, take your coat.
- Look, I can explain.
Let's go, man.
Don't make me cuff you in front of these girls.
Just let me get my jacket.
- What is happening? - Just call my lawyer.
Have him meet me.
Laura.
- Hey.
- Greg, please please don't let them take us.
We're gonna get it all figured out, okay? - Let her go, let her go.
- Laura, come on.
We got to go now.
- Stop! I'm not going! - Laura, it's going to be okay.
Greg! I love him! - Okay? - I'm staying! [PANTING.]
Greg, tell them.
Please.
Come on, honey.
We have to go now.
- Greg.
- We have to go, honey.
Come, come, come.
Come, come, come.
Come on.
Uh, tell Liv if she needs me, though, I can FaceTime in.
I-I know I'm having a baby, Carisi.
I don't think the baby knows that yet.
Are you telling me what to do? Okay.
Okay then.
Bye.
[GROANING.]
They really could use me on this case.
Man, I need to get back to work.
What? [CHUCKLING.]
I guess I was kinda hoping you might take a nice, long maternity leave or even quit.
Quit my job? I love my job.
Amanda I want to take care of you.
I know you do.
Um The thing is, Al, I can't marry you.
Why not? I don't love you.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
Okay.
Okay? I'm disappointed, but one of the only good things about getting older is that you get used to it.
I'm glad I met you, Amanda, that we made a baby together.
Um, I'll always be grateful.
[SIGHING.]
Thank you, Al.
Thank you.
Now let's have this kid already.
What do you say? [CHUCKLING.]
You lied to those girls.
You lied to the court.
Did you think you could get away with that? My client admits that he's guilty of fraud, but there were compelling reasons.
We're all ears.
I had to forge the document.
On New Year's Day, Douglas told me he was gonna kill himself.
- You have proof of that? - No, but I believed him.
He he'd been drinking heavily.
He was depressed.
So you're a psychiatrist now.
He he'd say things like, "My wife figured out an exit strategy," and now in hindsight with what he was doing to Laura, he was obviously consumed with guilt.
I tried to get him help.
Okay.
Tried, uh, how exactly? I begged him to get counseling, to think of his daughters, but he was dead set on his plan.
I couldn't stand the idea of the girls going into the foster care system.
Well, guess what? You made things a lot worse for them.
Look, Britney and Laura want to be with me.
Britney is almost 16.
She can decide for herself.
Did you know Britney was going to kill her father? No, I swear to God! What's up with Laura? She said she loves you.
What's that all about? She loves me like a big brother or an uncle.
It's not romantic.
That is ridiculous.
Not from where we're sitting, it's not.
If anything, it was a a schoolgirl crush.
I'm in love with my girlfriend.
You can ask her.
We will, while you're getting arraigned for fraud, forgery, kidnapping, and endangering a minor.
[SIGHS.]
Stone says that he can charge kidnapping, but unless the girls testify, it's gonna be tough to convict.
So this guy does a year for forgery? Come on.
He had something to do with this murder.
We got to talk to Britney.
We got to talk to Laura again.
They won't turn on him.
He's probably been grooming them for years.
So get me evidence of that.
What you're doing to Greg, it's just not right.
He committed forgery and perjury.
He had to.
When he told me what Doug was doing to Laura Hold on.
- When did he tell you that? - A few weeks ago.
And you didn't go to the police? Greg was trying to get proof to make sure Doug would go to prison.
How long have you two been involved? Uh, almost a year? We talked about me moving in, but now with the girls, it's it's not a good time.
Huh.
- They need him.
- That's what Greg told you? That's what I know.
He's been there for them, more than their own father.
He made them dinner, listened to their problems, helped them with school, uh, exposed them to art, music, literature.
- I'm sure he's a great tutor.
- He is! Greg and Laura are reading Shakespeare together.
"Romeo and Juliet"? Sure.
"From Romeo to my Juliet.
" Did Greg write this? So what if he did? [SCOFFING.]
W-whatever you're thinking [UNEASY MUSIC.]
You're wrong.
Laura.
Laura, we need to talk.
Greg said we didn't have to.
Well, it's not up to Greg.
Shakespeare, it's it's pretty grown-up stuff.
- I am grown up.
- Well, good, because because I have a grown-up question.
You said that you love Greg.
I meant like a brother, family.
Did Greg tell you to say that? Because I know that you two are reading "Romeo and Juliet" together He helps me with my English homework.
But I saw the inscription.
You are Juliet and he's Romeo.
So you two are in love.
- You think I'm too young to be in love.
- No, not at all.
Not with someone your own age.
Juliet was 13.
My mother, she killed herself.
I'm not like other girls, playing with baby dolls.
I am a real woman.
Is that what Greg said? Because he told us That it was a schoolgirl crush.
That's a laugh.
That's a lie.
- Greg wouldn't say that.
- He did say that.
Juliet fell in love with someone who she wasn't supposed to.
We're star-crossed lovers even when it hurts, because that's what people Who love each other do? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Laura, I know that it wasn't your father who had sex with you.
I know that it was Greg.
I would never betray him.
Honey, but he betrayed you.
He wouldn't do that.
But he did.
He told us that he was in love with Susan.
No.
You you're wrong.
Susan doesn't even have a ring on her ringer.
- That's not what love is.
- How would you know? You don't have a ring either.
But I do.
What? [RUSTLING.]
See? [SIGHS.]
Greg proposed.
As soon as I turn 18, we're getting married.
No.
No, my father he's the one that was having sex with Laura.
That's why I had to kill him.
Britney, your sister lied to you.
She lied to you about your father.
She lied to you about her and Greg.
- No, she wouldn't do that.
- Not on her own.
But Greg Greg manipulated her.
Greg was the one who was abusing her.
Britney had no idea of any relationship between her sister and Greg Callahan.
We believe that, but we need to hear it from her.
There was no relationship between them.
So, Britney, your sister told you that your father was abusing her at night, and she told us that it was on Thursday afternoons when you were at band practice.
So when you came home was your father there? Or was Laura at Greg's apartment? Look, none of this is possible.
Greg has a girlfriend.
Was Susan at Greg's apartment on those Thursday afternoons? [SIGHS.]
I I don't know.
Greg didn't care about Susan.
He was after your sister.
He manipulated her.
He convinced her that she was in love with him.
He even went so far as To propose to her.
He asked her to marry him? Yes.
It's that stupid ring.
That's why she's been so happy.
What did she say? What what did she tell you? That, um, that me and her and Greg, we were gonna all live together, you know, and everything was gonna be okay.
And then she'd just been been babbling on about, like, this "Romeo and Juliet" stuff, which I Oh, my God.
What did she do? What did I do? This isn't your fault or Laura's.
This is one person's fault and that's Greg, and we will make sure that he never hurts you or your sister again.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Hey, Britney, how's it going? So my lawyer said they were gonna drop the charges, but I'm still not really supposed to talk to you or Laura until everything gets sorted out.
But Laura won't stop crying.
- I'm worried.
- She's gonna be fine.
I'm scared she's gonna kill herself.
Like my mom.
Like Juliet.
What did Laura tell you? She look, you know how she makes things up.
- Son of a bitch.
- The undercovers are close by? A booth away.
- She'll be okay, Liv.
- [SIGHS.]
She showed me the ring.
The one you gave her.
Okay, yeah, I got her a ring.
It was just to make her feel better.
Did you ask her to marry you? - What? - No, of course not.
So you're calling Laura a liar.
She lives in a fantasy world.
Look, just hang in there, Britney.
I'm gonna get guardianship back and we're all gonna live together.
You, me, and Laura.
And the baby? What? Look, I think Laura's pregnant.
We didn't tell her to say that.
She's going off script, winging it.
- You want me to stop this? - I'm worried.
No.
No, let's let's give her a minute.
- Pregnant? - Why would you think that? Okay.
Okay, let me think.
Look, I-I think we need to get Laura to a doctor, get her tested, and see if it's my dad's.
- Just hold on.
- [CHUCKLING.]
Unless, uh, unless it's your baby.
What did Laura tell you? We're sisters.
We don't have secrets.
Okay.
Look, I love her, - and maybe this is for the best.
- Dude, she's 13.
She's had to grow up fast.
You and I both know that.
She told me that my father was forcing her to have sex, - but you know what? - Let's move.
Now.
- It was you! - Stop, Britney! I killed my father for you! [GROANING.]
Help me, I'm bleeding! - Shut up! - She should've killed you.
You're under arrest.
[WHIMPERING.]
Britney, put the knife down, honey.
There you go.
[SHUSHING.]
It's okay.
- [SOBBING.]
- It's okay.
I got you, honey, I got you.
Greg took a plea.
Twenty-five years for rape of a minor, conspiracy to commit murder.
And Laura and Britney? Family Court Judge agreed to probation.
Mandatory counseling for both.
[CELL PHONE BUZZING.]
All the counseling in the world.
Yeah, you're telling me.
- Oh! - What is it? Rollins had her baby.
[CHUCKLING.]
Look at that.
Mm.
She's early, but she's healthy.
- Thank God.
- You did great, Rollins.
She's she's so beautiful.
- Thanks.
- What's her name? - Billie.
- Billie? Nice.
- [CHUCKLING.]
Yeah.
- Jesse and Billie.
You like your new sister, Jesse? I love her! [LAUGHTER.]
- Hey! - [BABY COOING.]
There you are! And what did I miss? - Look.
- [GASPING.]
She's perfect.
[TENDER MUSIC.]
Just us.
Just family.
Hello, hello.