Law & Order Special Victims Unit s20e24 Episode Script

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.
There's no reason for you to be scared, honey.
I don't bite.
Do I look scared? You could sit a little bit closer.
How's this? Are you ready for some fun, Daddy? Call me Adam, I don't need the whole Daddy shtick.
What do you need? How 'bout seeing what you look like underneath this dress, huh? That can be arranged.
Ooh.
Oh! God, you're hot.
How old are you? It's not polite to ask a lady her age.
Good morning.
Is it? You tell me.
Considering I've barely closed my eyes since Rob Miller got out of prison.
He's targeting me, Fin.
He wants me to know that he has all the power.
Liv, we have a unmarked car on your block, one in front of Noah's school.
There's no way he can get at you.
There's no way he can get at me? He walked right into that restaurant and introduced himself to Noah.
I should have shot the son of a bitch.
No, not so loud.
Stone is in your office, okay? I called him in.
Okay.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Wish I had better news.
Please don't tell me it's worse than Rob Miller making bail.
Feds dropped the charges.
Damn.
He blackmailed the judge, he threatened witnesses, he threatened Nikki Staines.
We have him on tape saying, "No Nikki, no case.
" A federal judge ruled that statement didn't rise to the legal standard.
- What now? - What about Nikki's rape? There's nothing there.
Nikki's scared.
She's claiming it was consensual.
I'll talk to her.
Oh, my baby.
It's gonna be okay.
Why don't you go to your room and lie down? What kind of person? What? Miller killed my daughter's dog.
- Are you sure? - Yeah, I'm sure.
This is Penny's ashes right there.
The vet said that it was rat poison.
Now, the landlord didn't put down any rat poison, and I sure didn't put down any rat poison.
So how? My daughter said that there's this woman that offered Penny a treat on their walk last night, and she thought it was okay, right? And then.
.
and then this morning, the dog was Oh, Nikki, I'm so sorry.
Listen, the woman said, "Say hello to your mom.
" Why? Rob Miller knows that I wasn't gonna testify.
So that's why I'm here.
We need you to testify, Nikki.
Listen to me.
The Feds dropped the charges.
No.
No, no, no, no.
Absolutely not.
Okay, Nikki, just hear me out.
- Hear me - No! Just hear me out.
I understand.
So talk to me about the Wally Stevens case, the underage girls.
Miller obviously thought that he'd be implicated, and that's why he stole your phone.
For nothing! There is not a word on that phone that connects him to the case.
So why? What was he afraid of? Can Wally put him at those sex parties? - Tell me, what did he - I can't! Attorney-client privilege, right? Ever heard of it? I'm not about to risk getting myself disbarred.
Listen, I am incredibly appreciative of what you've done for me, Olivia, but you gotta go now.
Go now.
There has to be a way to tie Rob Miller to Wally Stevens to the sex parties.
He blackmailed a judge, he stole Nikki Staines' phone; has to be connected.
What are we missing? We've gone over the case forwards and backwards.
- It's fallen apart.
- No.
The three 16-year-olds, that we put at the party are all backing off their story.
They're claiming that nothing happened.
Right, because he got to them or got to their parents.
Check the bank accounts.
This guy doesn't leave a fingerprint on the knife.
Fin, we have half a dozen witnesses We had witnesses.
They all lawyered up.
Exactly! That's my point.
Judge Leonard retired to the Maldives.
This Wally Stevens guy's untouchable, Double Jeopardy.
I know, Fin.
I was there, thank you.
Lieu, listen, I hear you on all of this, but we got something from the Harbor Unit that we have to deal with right now.
A young female washed up at a pier on the Hudson River.
Let's go.
Can't be more than 15, 16; naked, no ID.
How long was she in the water? My guess, a couple of hours, day at the most.
The ME can give you a more accurate time frame.
Did she fall off a boat? Looks like every bone in her body is broken.
Her organs are liquefied.
This girl fell out of the sky.
I just wanted to let you know, that a uniformed officer will be with the sitter, when she picks Noah up from school today.
Great.
Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
How is Noah doing? Ah, he's thrilled.
He gets to ride to and from school in a squad car, but the school administration, - not so much.
- Miller's a bad guy, but do you really think that he would go after - a Lieutenant's kid? - Rollins, I don't know, what he's capable of.
The prelim report from the ME on our Jane Doe.
No water in her lungs, so she was dead before she hit the river.
- So cause of death? - OD.
China White, highly-concentrated fentanyl.
This girl wasn't an addict.
There's no trace in her hair or nails, no needle marks.
So she was given a hot shot.
The ME's ruling it undetermined for now, but they also found the presence of semen from two different men.
No DNA hits.
And there's no matches with Missing Persons? Not yet.
This girl is healthy, she has expensive dental work, she had parents, I mean, they have to be looking for her.
Well, it's only been 24 hours.
We'll keep checking.
The ME just finished the autopsy.
Go.
Go.
From the condition of the body, I'd say she fell at least 2,000 feet.
All right, so small plane, maybe a helicopter.
That's your department.
I can tell you that she was in the water less than 15 hours before she washed ashore.
All right, great.
So we get a grid of the tidal pattern from the Coast Guard, we find out where she hit the water, we cross reference that with the FAA, for aircraft in that area So we know, where, when, how we still don't know who.
Just getting to that.
At first, I was at a loss for this little mermaid.
No tattoos, breast implants, but then I found these.
What is that, a contact lens? Two of them.
It's a miracle they stayed on the eyeball through the fall.
Right, so we can contact the manufacturer, but the phrase "needle in a haystack" comes to mind.
If you let me finish these lenses have a unique prescription.
The left eye corrects 20/40.
The right, 20/400.
That kind of difference in visual acuity from eye to eye is one in a million.
Narrow it down enough for you? Hmm.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Lindsay Parker, 16.
Her ophthalmologist confirmed the contacts lens prescription.
She lived here with her parents, Vanessa and Hugo Parker.
And they didn't file a Missing Persons report - for a 16-year-old girl.
- Well, she's 16.
These days, that's pretty independent.
I mean, who knows if they even realize she's missing.
Yeah, this never gets easier, does it? No.
Yes? I'm Lieutenant Benson, this is Detective Rollins.
We're from the Special Victims Unit.
So you found her? Please tell me you found her.
- Can we come in? - Of course.
Vanessa, it's the police.
Where's Lindsay? Where's my baby? Lieutenant, Detective.
What are you doing here? I'm just here to help, Lieutenant.
I can assure you.
Rob's been our family attorney for ten years.
When Lindsay didn't come home, he was my first call.
We need to speak with you about Lindsay.
Lindsay was spending the weekend at her friend Brooke's house in Sag Harbor.
When she didn't answer her phone, we called the house.
The parents told us their daughter told them that she was with us.
Okay, we're gonna need their contact.
Oh, of course.
We didn't call the police.
They're teenage girls and Lindsay's been to parties before and come home late.
And we just we didn't wanna embarrass her.
So we called Rob to hire a private detective if it came to that.
So, Mr.
and Mrs.
Parker we are so very sorry.
Wait, Lindsay's all right, isn't she? - No.
- I'm sorry.
Is this your daughter? Oh, my God.
Yes, wha what? No.
No, that's not Lindsay.
I mean, that's not That's not Lindsay.
What happened? Was this some kind of accident? We're still investigating.
We wanna find out what happened to Lindsay, so we're gonna need her phone records, access to her social media - I can get you all of that.
- Okay.
Again, we're so very sorry.
If there's anything that we can do to help you Her body.
what are we supposed to do? Where is she? We'll help you make arrangements.
Yeah.
So, we'll give you some time, and we'll be in touch.
If you have any questions, feel free.
I can show you out.
Anything the police need, obviously, I'm here to help.
You know what? I'm gonna meet you outside.
- You sure? - Yep.
I'm good, Amanda.
I'll be out front.
I realize this is awkward.
I don't even know where to begin with you.
Do your clients know that you're a criminal? They're aware that I was falsely charged.
Their daughter is dead; shouldn't that be our priority? Well, that's my top priority, believe me.
But what is your role in all of this? Excuse me? Well, their 16-year-old daughter was murdered one week after you are released from federal custody.
Do you hear yourself? This is just a tragic coincidence.
I don't believe in coincidences.
What you're saying right now is clear evidence of police bias, your bias.
Okay.
Are you angry because I figured out your little CSU ruse at the bar two months ago? Yeah, I'm angry.
I'm very angry, but not because of that.
Or maybe because I declined to pursue our relationship.
Don't flatter yourself.
If there weren't two grieving parents in the next room, I'd break your jaw.
You'd regret that, Lieutenant.
Stay away from me.
Stay away from my son.
Because if you don't, I promise you, I will do something that we both regret.
Okay.
We don't wanna get you in trouble, Brooke, but your friend is dead.
I know.
I can't believe it.
Okay, when's the last time you saw Lindsay? We were at this party.
- Where? - Uh, somewhere in the city.
We took a car service from Sag Harbor.
Lindsay had the address.
I was pretty wasted.
What happened at this party? I don't wanna tell you.
Brooke, I'm sorry, but you have to.
I'm scared.
Honey, I know you're scared.
Listen, none of this is your fault, okay? We just need to figure out what happened to Lindsay.
This wasn't a party with your friends, was it, Brooke? It's okay.
But you need to tell us the truth.
- There were men there.
- Mm-hmm.
Lindsay and I, uh sometimes they treated us like adults.
You know, champagne, coke It was exciting.
One guy even gave me a Birkin bag.
Please don't tell my parents.
Lindsay's cell phone went dead at 2:36 a.
m.
Sunday morning.
- Where? - The signal was picked up by a cell tower in Tribeca.
We can pinpoint a five-block radius.
So run every single building in the zone.
I'm already on it.
I'm checking car services that made trips from Sag Harbor to Manhattan that night.
Okay, so, this may be a long shot, but I want you to show this girl a picture of Wally Stevens and everyone else that we've picked up at an underage sex party in the last six months.
There has to be a connection, and Rob Miller is at the center of it.
And just let us know if you recognize anybody.
No.
No.
Oh, that's Wally.
We met at The Maidstone.
He was really nice.
Did he invite you to the party? - Yes.
- Okay.
Anybody else? No.
No.
Mm-mm.
Are you sure about that? I don't know.
I guess he looks familiar.
From the party? No, maybe I saw him on TV.
Okay.
Anybody else? Wait, go back.
- I know him.
- How do you know him? He was at a party in the Hamptons last September.
He was with this girl, an Italian foreign exchange student.
Do you know her? Brooke.
She was adorable.
You're not helping yourself here, Alex.
I didn't have sex with her.
What about this girl? She looks familiar.
Familiar, how? Did you see these two girls go to a party in the Hamptons last September? Are you kidding me, almost a year ago? Tell them what you know, Alex, if you wanna get out by 70.
Fine, I recognize them, but I didn't have sex with either of them.
- I swear.
- Did he? I I don't know who that is.
The way you're twitching, pal, I don't believe you.
Is there a question here? Yeah.
Does he know her? I can't say.
Well, you should know she's dead.
I had nothing to do with that.
I think you should listen to your lawyer and tell us what you know.
If you wanna get out of here by 70, you'll still have a little life left; 90, not so much.
If you saw this guy with this pants down, if you saw him within five feet of these two girls, if you saw him so much as light up a cigarette in a no smoking area, then we can work with you.
But you have gotta tell us how you know him.
Okay.
Okay.
Maybe I saw him at that party in the Hamptons.
But I am not testifying against Rob Miller.
I'll take my chances inside.
Hey, Jim.
You looking for Noah, Ms.
Benson? Yeah, where is he? - There must be some mix up.
- What? He got checked off for early pickup.
Not by me.
How could you not know? Two uniformed officers said that they had authorization for No, I didn't send them.
Signed off, Lieutenant Olivia Benson right there.
- That wasn't me.
- Oh, jeez, I'm sorry.
- Amanda.
- Yeah, Liv.
Amanda, I need you to put out an all-city alert.
Somebody's taken Noah.
No.
No, Noah's here.
I've got him.
Two unis from the 21st dropped him off.
They said you asked for a pickup.
No, I didn't, Amanda.
It was Rob Miller.
It had to be.
He he's sending me a message, Amanda.
He's sending me a message that he can take my son whenever he wants.
Just don't let him out of your eyesight, okay? Okay.
Liv, it's all right.
I've got him.
Okay? He's safe.
You son of a bitch.
Take it easy.
Noah's fine.
Stay away from my son.
Or what, you'll shoot me? Take my advice, make life easier on yourself.
Drop this case.
Go to hell.
So Rob Miller and Wally Stevens.
Rob Miller stole Nikki Staines' phone, because he was scared that Stevens would implicate him in the underage sex case.
There was nothing on the phone.
The charges against Stevens were dropped, but that's how we know that Rob Miller got to Judge Leonard.
Which we also can't prove.
What about the girls? Well, okay.
So, Brooke Davis, was with Lindsay Parker the night she was killed.
Brooke ID'd Alex Kay, who put Miller at a sex party last September in the Hamptons, but now refuses to testify against Miller.
So here's my working theory.
Rob Miller runs into Lindsay, who just happens to be his clients' daughter, at a party Saturday night.
Miller panics because he thinks that Lindsay can ID him.
He gives her a hot shot.
Okay, I know that there are definitely a lot of dots to connect I'd say that's an understatement, Lieutenant.
He's a man, not a supervillain.
He had to have made a mistake.
If he did, I don't see it.
My office, Counselor.
Whose side are you on? Not Rob Miller's.
Doesn't look that way.
You're accusing me of something.
I'm just asking.
I know that Rob Miller is guilty.
- How? - How? Because he had unis pick up my son from his school.
He was clearly threatening me.
He looked me in the eye and he told me to drop the case.
When were you gonna tell me this? That's irrelevant to the investigation.
Olivia, it is completely relevant to the investigation.
He's threatening Noah.
Anything you find out, his lawyer will claim you have a personal vendetta against him.
Peter, I'm worried that he's going to hurt my son.
Rob Miller is a criminal, Peter.
He's a rapist, he's a murderer and we got nothing.
And he's gonna get away with all of this.
Hey.
- Oh.
- Thanks for meeting me.
Look, I am only here because you swore you wouldn't ask me to testify.
I'm not.
So, what do you want? Same thing you want, Rob Miller behind bars.
How the hell are we gonna do that? We're gonna break a couple of rules.
Brooke, you can come on in.
Just leave your stuff there.
Have a seat on the couch.
You got a judge to sign off on an arrest warrant.
- I did.
- With what evidence? Just trust me.
Do I have a choice? Parkers are here.
- With their lawyer? - Yeah.
- Mr.
and Mrs.
Parker.
- You have a break in the case? Yes, we have a suspect in your daughter's murder.
- Who? - Actually, it's your lawyer.
- What? - Rob Miller.
You're under arrest for the murder of Lindsay Parker.
Get him out of here.
So you're just gonna keep me in the dark? Well, the fisherman shouldn't worry about what the chef is gonna do with his catch.
I love metaphors, Peter, but not so much when it involves a rapist/murderer's day in court.
And even less when the State's case is Circumstantial? Only circumstantial.
For all I know, all we have is a bunch of arrows on a corkboard signifying a whole lot of nothing.
Do you think Rob Miller raped Nikki Staines? Of course.
Do you think he murdered Lindsay Parker? - You know that I do.
- Good.
You caught the fish, now let me cook it.
At first we thought it was weird, you know, partying with old guys, but But? I mean, we could hook up with guys from our school, but they don't They don't give you Birkin bags? I mean, it's not like we were whores or anything.
No, no, of course not.
You were 16-year-old girls who were taken advantage of by rich, horny old men.
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
And tell me, Miss Davis, was one of these men, the defendant? I'm not sure.
I've never seen his face before.
So it's just a coincidence, that you and Mr.
Miller ate lunch at BLT Steakhouse? I've never been to the BLT.
That's odd because your phone was.
These are GPS records from two cell phones.
Do you recognize the 631 number? Yes, that's my number.
Where was your phone located on Tuesday, May 13th between 1:17 p.
m.
and 2:34 p.
m.
? 106 East 57th Street.
The same place during the same time as the 914 number.
- That's what it looks like.
- Good.
In case you're wondering, that number belongs to the defendant, Rob Miller.
And the location is BLT Steakhouse.
The exact one, the same place that you swore you'd never eaten at before.
Now tell me, at that lunch, did Mr.
Miller give you any money? No, I told you.
I've never been to that restaurant.
- This is nonsense.
- Sit, Mr.
Miller.
Be that as it may, has Mr.
Miller ever given you any cash? No.
Miss Davis do you recognize this document? Yes, that's my bank statement.
Direct your attention to transaction on May 13th.
That's impossible.
What happened at 3:40 p.
m.
on the 13th, Miss Davis? There was a deposit for $9,500, but I've never had that much cash.
I didn't make that deposit.
So you didn't deposit the money on the same day you didn't have lunch with the defendant? - Objection.
- Withdrawn.
You know what it looks like to me, Miss Davis? It looks like Mr.
Miller paid you to un-remember his face.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
Nothing further.
Let me ask you something, Brooke.
Did you ever meet Rob Miller? No.
- Did he ever give you $9,500? - No way.
Thank you.
No, he's not a member.
As a matter of fact, I have no idea who he is, and I've been working for the club for 27 years.
You just let anyone in? No, he was looking for a member, so I said he could wait in the lobby.
Which member was he looking for? Mr.
Miller.
I've never even seen this guy.
That's two strikes, Mr.
Miller.
- Now that's him, isn't it? - Yes.
And that's Mr.
Miller's guest leaving.
Do you notice anything different about him? He came in with an envelope, he left without one.
And that was 15 minutes after Mr.
Miller arrived.
17, if you look at the time stamp on the video.
Huh.
Mr.
Burton, did you actually see.
Mr.
Miller greet his so-called guest? No.
Did you actually see him take the envelope from his guest? No.
That's Lamar Jackson.
Have you had occasion to meet Mr.
Jackson? Yeah, he's a con.
I arrested him in 2014.
- For what? - Selling narcotics.
Have you ever heard of China White? Yeah, that's the street term for fentanyl.
That's what he was selling when I busted him.
Where is Mr.
Jackson now? I wouldn't know.
Would it surprise you if Mr.
Stone asked him to take the stand? Nothing surprises me anymore.
Well, I'll tell you this much, it'd surprise me, because that would mean.
Mr.
Stone was suborning perjury.
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
I have no more questions for the witness, Your Honor.
The People rest, Your Honor.
Mr.
Biegel? The Defense calls Nikki Staines.
On the afternoon of May 13th, did you make a visit to the Commerce Bank of Manhattan? I did.
You remember how much money you deposited? It was $9,500.
Into your personal account? - No.
- No.
Because you don't have an account at Commerce do you? - No.
- I didn't think so.
Can you tell me into whose account you made a deposit? It was Brooke Davis' account.
$9,500.
Whoa.
Feeling generous, were you? - Objection.
- Sustained.
Ms.
Staines, can you tell me why you would deposit money into a complete stranger's account? I was trying to frame your client.
Excuse me? I was trying to frame Rob Miller.
I'm speechless, Ms.
Staines.
Speechless.
Why would you try to frame the defendant, Ms.
Staines? Because he threatened me.
How did he threaten you? I was in the middle of a contested custody battle, and Rob Miller had compromising photos of me that he threatened to turn over to my ex-husband.
And you were scared you would lose custody of your daughter? He's evil.
He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants no matter who it hurts.
Are you still scared of him? Um, I don't know.
She was completely blacked out.
She doesn't remember anything.
What if she does? What if Benson convinces her to testify? It'll be taken care of.
- How? - No Nikki, no case.
Do you recognize those voices, Ms.
Staines? That was Chief Dodds and the defendant.
Which one of them said, "No Nikki, no case.
"? That was Rob Miller.
I'll ask again.
Are you still scared? He killed Lindsay Parker, didn't he? Objection.
The jury will disregard the witness' last statement.
In fact, you were so scared of Rob Miller that you manufactured circumstantial evidence in order to trick the jury into convicting him.
Yes.
You were so scared that you risked your career and your freedom to put him in prison.
I have a daughter.
He would be a threat to me for the rest of my life if I didn't do anything.
What the hell? I shouldn't be talking to you.
Oh, I see.
Now you worry about ethics.
Haven't you learned by now that people that screw with me typically don't have happy endings? Endings I want.
Endings I control.
It's called power, Lieutenant.
Good night.
I've got it.
You pissants don't comprehend it.
You'll see, when the dust settles, you, your friend Nikki Staines You okay, Liv? Get this piece of dirt away from me.
Do not touch me.
A word to the wise, Lieutenant.
You're a tiny fish.
Tiny fish always get eaten by the bigger fish.
Like it or not, it's how the world works.
Somebody's freaking out.
You were at the trial? No, but I heard Nikki put on quite a show.
What, Nikki? What are you doing? Oh, my God, stop it.
What I did, I didn't just do it for me, you know.
Whoa.
I would have never agreed to this.
Yeah, that's why we didn't say anything to you.
"We"? Who's "we"? Stone knew about this? Christ, Liv.
It was his idea.
You and Stone tried to frame Miller? Yeah.
He is guilty.
You could both be disbarred for this.
Oh, God.
You know what? There are things that are more important than a license to tap dance around a courtroom.
Oh, my God.
We've been doing this a long time, Liv.
And we don't say it out loud or when the lights are on, but there are times in the dark when we whisper, "Sometimes the law's" "just not good enough.
" And a threat to my child's safety is one of those times.
At least I won't have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
Oh, and guess what.
Neither will you.
No.
No.
I am not part of this.
Yeah, you are.
Have you reached a verdict? We have.
What say you? On the sole count of the indictment, Murder in the Second Degree, we find the defendant, Robert Alan Miller, guilty.
Wait, what? - You've gotta be kidding me.
- Rob, that can't Rob.
Rob, hold on a sec.
Son of a bitch.
You set me up, you son of a bitch! You set me up! Order! Order! I don't even know what to say.
Congratulations? I mean, you won the case without a single piece of evidence.
I proved Miller was a bad guy, and the jury put him away for that alone.
For once the arrow on the wheel of justice - stopped at the right place.
- Yeah, with a little help.
Everybody needs a little help, Liv.
Even me.
Actually, you're the one person who could probably - make it on her own.
- Okay, well, let's take it easy.
We both know that's not true.
Yeah, I do, but that's not what most people wanna hear, is it? Peter.
- Thank you.
- Why? Because I put my integrity and my career and everything I believe in in jeopardy for a good friend? Yes.
Yes.
And I didn't ask for this.
I know you didn't ask for it.
I did it anyway.
I was always gonna do it.
I hope you find someone like that again.
What does that mean? Look at what I just did in there.
Now, I don't regret any of it for a minute, none of it.
I simply lost perspective.
This is on me.
It's a it's a weakness and it's a crack in my character.
But the fact is, you became more important to me than the case I was trying and that is not me, Liv.
You can look at a case with an open heart.
I can't do that.
I have no, stop.
I have to look at a case through clear eyes.
- Hold on, hold on.
- I will risk Stop, just listen.
I have to move on.
I have to go or risk getting blinded again.
Wait.
You take care of yourself, Liv.