Law & Order Special Victims Unit s24e15 Episode Script
King of the Moon
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.
I'm sorry.
That's incorrect.
- Winnie?
- Perendinate.
P-E-R-E-N-D-E-N-A-T-E.
I'm sorry, Winnie.
That is incorrect.
Pence, the word is perendinate.
P p perendinate.
P p perendinate.
Can I have a definition, please?
To put off until the day after tomorrow,
that, which can be done today.
P-E-R-E
N D
I-N-A
T-E.
P perendinate.
Very good, and congratulations.
You are the new spelling bee champion.
Excuse me.
Why'd you let me win?
I don't know what you're talking about.
You knew how to spell that word.
I've never heard you speak
in front of everybody before.
There's a reason for that.
You hear them laugh.
I wanted to help.
I've read your story,
the one on the wall,
"The King of the Moon."
You read my story?
About the boy, who lived on the moon,
so he didn't have to talk to anyone.
Trust me, it's better that way.
Is it?
Winnie,
we have too many books.
Because of all your little gifts.
I suppose we could thin the herd,
including this.
Pence, don't you dare.
Read at your own risk.
What about the desks?
What about them?
Do we really need two?
You're the introvert.
You tell me.
I prefer not to be too far from you.
Well, that is an
easily-surmountable problem.
Oh, dear, look at the time.
I'd rather not.
Honey, you're gonna be late
for your ceremony.
Ceremony?
You are being awarded
the Lewis Thomas Prize
by Rockefeller University.
Yes
Almost forgot.
Forgot?
You are a brilliant man,
but you have no sense of other people.
I'll let you work while I get dressed.
Thank you.
- Where's Winnie?
- Playing tennis with your neighbor.
- Naomi.
- Ooh, that's very good.
You remember her name.
Now, what's mine?
Trash gets picked up tomorrow.
Oh, that's a terribly long name.
That's it.
Good boy.
Mm.
One more.
- Ah.
- Drinky-drink-drink.
Madam, anyone who ever loved you,
was wrong.
Hello?
Hello?
Winnie?
It's nothing.
Listen, go back to sleep.
I heard something.
Are you cheating on me?
- Is that it?
- Oh, sweetheart, no.
With whom?
Look at me.
Look, look.
Look.
You are, and always shall be,
my king of the moon.
Go go go back to sleep, my love.
P-E-R-E-N-D
Her eyes.
Hey, sir, I asked you a question.
What do you remember?
I did it.
I made love to her
And then I
I killed her.
I did it all.
I grew up just like you.
Saw a lot of people get murdered.
And the second my nuts dropped,
my boss puts a gun in my hand
and has me blow this guy away.
What do you think?
He's trying to flip Oscar
Papa's only living recruiter.
We were desperate,
so lying's fair game.
So a bit of theater?
Well, that's what I thought at first,
but, this double homicide
that he mentions later
in this recording, Fin,
is a real case.
- Unsolved?
- Two people, execution style, 2003,
right outside Fort Worth.
All this says to me is Velasco
did research on his lie.
That amount of homework
for some mid-level banger?
You have another explanation?
Fin, what exactly do
we know about Velasco?
He drives a motorcycle.
He grew up in Juarez.
He alluded to some misspent youth.
Exactly how misspent?
We could ask Muncy.
They're tight.
Yeah, I already had her listen to it,
and I'm keeping her away from this,
- for that exact reason.
- Muncy is loyal to Velasco.
I don't want secrets in my squad.
That who I think it is?
- Yeah, it's Tonie Churlish.
- From the Bronx?
Yeah, she volunteered to help us
drill down on the Velasco story.
You talked to McGrath about this?
- No, I haven't.
- Okay.
I think it's time I remind you,
you're the captain.
And the greatest gift I can give you
as your number two,
is plausible deniability.
So what do you suggest?
You let me and the
White Shield take the lead
and untangle this mess.
And how the hell
are you going to do that?
You leave that to me.
- And if McGrath asks?
- We never talked about it.
Carisi's waiting for me.
Look who it is, Captain America.
Velasco, go take a seat
in interrogation.
You, too, Churlish.
Who are we interrogating?
You.
- Is everything OK?
- Well, trust me,
if I answer that honestly,
you'd regret asking.
So, who's this?
This big-time neurologist,
Pence Humphreys.
Oh, the guy who writes
about rare brain disorders?
Yeah, yeah, so you know him?
I read one of his books a while back
about this conductor who could only
communicate through his piano
after he had a car crash.
I mean, it's quirky,
but he's brilliant.
Yeah, well, his latest book
is about dementia.
It's a subject that he
He knows something about.
The prefrontal cortex manages
all of our higher-level
executive functions.
I'm afraid that
Mine is slowly dying.
This has resulted in some
rather dramatic changes
in my personality
over the last few years.
I've become socially
disruptive, impulsive.
In a few months' time, I may
no longer be able to speak,
which is why
I need to record this today.
I raped,
and smothered
My, my dear wife.
The guy confessed to it?
Yeah, two days ago.
There's something about this
that's bugging me.
You don't think that he did it?
Something smells off.
OK, is this you speaking
as an ADA or an ex-cop?
Maybe it's me speaking
as a hopeless romantic.
Now, there's no signs of forced entry.
No valuables were taken.
Signs of sexual assault,
but there's no DNA.
And Homicide's ready to sign off?
Yeah, his lawyer is probably
going to go with
some kind of dementia defense.
So where is the hopeless
romanticism in this?
Him and his wife were
married for 40 years.
It was this fairy-tale love affair.
He wrote about it in one of his books,
"The Neurobiology of Love."
So now you're pulling on the one
good heartstring I have left?
Liv, I know you're busy,
but I could use another
set of eyes on this.
Yeah, OK.
I'll talk to him.
I grew up just like you.
Saw a lot of people get murdered.
And the second my nuts dropped,
my boss puts a gun in my hand,
and he made me blow this guy away.
And then what?
I did it.
You recorded me?
Relax, cowboy.
No, we should place
this mallrat under arrest.
For what?
It's a felony to record
a third party in New York
without permission.
Well, lucky for both of you,
you're not in the courtroom.
Then what the hell is this about?
Just trying to establish credibility.
So Benson heard everything
I said in this recording?
And she wants to know the truth.
The truth?
I was messing with the guy.
I made the whole thing up.
- You sure about that?
- Yeah.
Are we done here?
Recognize this?
It's a dime bag.
BX9 branding on the side.
Where did you get this?
I had a prison guard snag it off
that banger you gave it to.
Sit down.
Evidently, it tested positive
for heroin residue.
Do you know anything about that?
Residue from the dope
I emptied before I filled
the bag with powdered sugar.
Yeah?
What kind of sugar
can stop withdrawals?
You've never heard of a placebo effect?
Placebo this.
20 minutes outside of Fort Worth, 2003,
me and my friend blow this guy away.
We're about to leave,
and the guy's son
comes out of the other room.
Pow-pow.
We didn't have a choice.
You expect me to
believe that, you, a cop,
did a gang hit?
Trust me, this was no gang hit.
So much for credibility.
Happy?
If it comes back clean, I will be.
If you have any doubts, now
would be the time to say so.
Mr. Humphreys, this is
Captain Olivia Benson.
Nice to meet you.
You look familiar.
Well, I've actually
read some of your work.
You wanted a half hour
to exculpate my client,
so you have it.
He's prepared to recant
his confession if we do?
Well, he has dementia.
So recant or not,
he's not likely to do time.
What's with the chipmunk?
That belonged to a friend.
Belonged?
My condolences.
What would you like to know?
Well, how about we start
with what happened?
Isn't it obvious?
I smothered my wife.
This was our plan.
- Your plan?
- Self-checkout.
We loved each other.
We wanted to be together.
We wanted to leave together,
with dignity at a time of our choosing.
My crime is worse than murder.
What Mr. Humphreys means
is that he killed her,
and then didn't follow
through with taking his own life.
Back pedaled.
Abnegated.
Reneged.
And how were you planning
on killing yourself?
An expeditious taste of
shotgun-flavored mouthwash,
I'm afraid.
Do you own a shotgun?
If he does, homicide
detectives didn't find it.
What's with the chipmunk?
It belonged to a friend.
Well, he is the textbook definition
of an unreliable witness.
Well, he seems to believe
this murder-suicide story.
Did you?
For a minute, yeah.
I mean, the guy is sharp
until he's not.
Underneath his illness,
he is a man of science.
So if we're going to try to
convince him of his own innocence,
then it wouldn't hurt
to confront him with some evidence.
We'd better find something
before the arraignment.
I can't imagine these homicide cops
spending that much time
gathering clues.
Not when they have
a confession already.
Can you get a search warrant
for his apartment?
I've never had to convince a perp
of his own innocence before.
Well, first time for everything.
Well, you already got
a piece of my hair.
What's next, a polygraph?
If it comes to that.
What the hell is going on in there?
I'll tell you on the drive up.
Please state your name
and badge number.
No, I'm not going to answer her.
She's just a White Shield.
Who just spent a year in the Bronx
seeing what happens when guys like you
distort the values of this job.
You know, it's cops like you
that are the reason why
people are protesting
outside of city hall.
But since I have been on the job,
I have yet to see Black folks
marching against firemen.
Lying to one banger does
not warrant a drug test,
let alone a protest.
Explain how you know about
a double murder in Fort Worth,
and we're done.
That's if your drug test
comes back clean.
How do you know so much
about a dead father and son
in Fort Worth?
Velasco.
Because.
I was there.
They slept in separate bedrooms.
I can't say that I blame her.
I found this on Humphreys' night table.
- What is that?
- It's an apnea machine.
He must have been
quite an intense snorer.
- What are you doing?
- I'm looking for a shotgun.
Keep this between us?
- Snitches get stitches.
- That's right.
- What is that?
- It's not a shotgun.
- I thought they didn't have kids.
- They don't.
Pence Humphreys, signed 1973.
Oh, that's the only thing
in the locked drawer?
Yeah, her desk.
My guess?
She was keeping it safe for him.
I mean, look at this place.
It's like a
It's like a shrine to their love story.
I can barely find somebody
who's emotionally available.
Murder-suicide never looked so romantic.
Except he didn't do it.
CPAP has a digital log.
Homicide said that the murder
was at 11:00 PM.
This says he woke up
around 10:00,
and was up for one minute, 23 seconds.
That's not even enough time
to smother the vic,
let alone rape her.
How's that for facts?
I just need you to look at these times.
Do you understand these numbers?
That doesn't prove anything.
It proves that
he didn't murder his wife.
You need to be clear with me.
I need to under
Winnie is dead?
And I I didn't do it?
No, you didn't,
Mr. Humphreys.
I'm I'm sorry.
Is it possible he kept the machine on
while he committed the act?
How long do you think the
hose of a CPAP machine is?
It should It should have been me.
We We We had a pact.
- We made a commitment.
- No.
Do you understand?
The last face she saw wasn't mine?
She must have been terrif
I need
I need to know.
Who did, who did this!
She did not see my face!
She, she must have been
terr Who did this?
- We're doing everything
- Who Who did this?
- We're doing everything we can.
- Who would want to hurt her?
I I I don't understand.
Guys, guys, give Give us a moment.
- Thanks.
- Take all the time you need.
I don't I don't
- I don't understand where Where
- Hey, I understand.
I don't understand!
Poor guy.
We took his only comfort away.
He wishes he was brave enough
to do it himself.
- Jeez.
- Oh, my God.
Ah!
Jesus, call a bus.
Get away from me.
Leave me alone.
Hey, go get some help right now!
Mr. Humphreys,
what did you do?
Go Go get me some help.
- Oh, my God.
- Please let me go.
Here, come here.
Shh.
I don't want to be here anymore.
I don't want to live without her.
I know.
I know you don't.
Please let me go.
- Please.
- It's OK.
It's OK.
Doctor, how's he doing?
Cuts on his wrist were superficial.
Emotionally is another story.
We have him on anti-anxiety meds,
waiting for a psych eval.
He shouldn't be alone right now.
Don't worry, he's not.
He's with his caregiver.
Virginia Wise.
Homicide cops mentioned her name.
Is he lucid enough to speak with us?
An hour after sundown?
Usually when patients like him
are at their worst.
Right, thank you.
No, rest.
Mm.
My heart breaks.
He keeps trying to call Winnie.
So, I already told the homicide
detectives everything I know.
- Pence confessed to them.
- I thought he did it.
No, actually, he just
thinks that he did it.
So, the killer's still out there then?
That's a frightening thought.
Which is why we need to talk to you.
Can we do it later?
My husband's waiting for me in the car.
I've had little time
for a personal life.
Of course.
We understand.
No, don't go.
I do I don't want to be alone.
I know it seems cruel now, but,
in five minutes,
he won't remember I was even here.
Mr. Humphreys, how you doing?
I'm Captain Benson.
I never forget a gorgeous face.
Oh.
Or an hourglass figure.
Well, uh, the cafeteria
downstairs may have just added
a few extra minutes to it.
I'm sorry.
For what?
I am a terrible flirt.
Please don't tell Winnie.
Your secret's safe with me.
Who's this?
Just a lawyer.
You know why God created them?
So that toilet plungers would have
something to look down on.
That's That's good.
I haven't heard that one.
Well, we, uh
We just wanted to make sure
that you were all right, you know?
We were worried about you.
Winnie Winnie is worried, too.
I know she's expecting my call.
I would invite you to dinner,
but I don't want to surprise her.
We actually just ate,
downstairs in the cafeteria.
Why don't we, uh
We'll leave you in peace.
Yeah.
All right, we'll see you later.
An ass like the devil and
a face like Jayne Mansfield.
You're a lucky son of a bitch,
whoever you are.
So in the last two hours,
the guy recants his confession,
he tries to kill himself,
and forgets that his wife is even dead.
The jury is going to need
instant replay.
Yeah, well, it's their cross to bear.
But if he didn't kill her, who did?
Well, there's no sign of forced entry.
Did Homicide mention who has the key
to the Humphreys' apartment?
Well, far as the caregiver tells it,
Humphreys liked to wander.
Her and Winnie had the only keys.
Well, the caregiver is married.
Any chance that the husband did it?
They were at a family gathering
the night of the murder.
Homicide checked her alibi.
Well, at least they checked something.
Maybe she lost the key,
or it got stolen.
Is it possible that Winnie opened
the door to her own killer?
I'd like to think that Homicide
checked the lobby cams
in the Humphreys' building.
Like you said, Liv,
they had a confession.
I mean, how hard did they really look?
I'll call TARU, get the footage.
- So you were there?
- I already told you that!
Velasco, what were you doing
at a murder scene in 2003?
Do I got to get my union lawyer?
Because I feel like
I might need a lawyer.
No need for that.
All we want is the truth, all right?
Not half, not a trickle of it.
I was just a kid,
and I didn't have the benefit,
of growing up
middle class in Ann Arbor.
How do you know where I'm from?
And my parents were not intellectuals.
Wait, you looked into my background?
Duarte and I were talking about
how you got a stick up your ass.
- Don't talk about Duarte!
- OK, both you guys, shut up!
All right?
It's getting late.
Velasco, I'm not going
to ask you again.
How'd you wind up at a murder scene?
My first job was delivering
bread in Juarez, OK?
And one day,
I met a guy on my route that
offered me and my boy Chilly a job.
He said that if we go
through the training,
we'd be security guards.
It was $180 a week.
I was 15 years old.
You weren't even old enough to drive.
Like I said, we grew up different.
Let him finish, Churlish.
So they sent us to a camp.
Turned out to be a school for sicarios.
For hitmen.
The guy that recruited me
said that the only way
to leave was in a body bag.
So me and my boy Chilly,
we was there for three months
training how to use weapons.
And then as a final test,
they made us go to Fort Worth.
So I go, gun in hand.
And I was ready to do the hit.
And as soon as his son comes out,
I-I, uh
I lost my nerve.
I couldn't do it.
Chilly could.
He covered for me. with the cartel.
I didn't really belong.
So you ran?
Yeah, even here in New York,
I'm still checking my surroundings.
Is this the first time
you told that story
to someone other than that banger?
Yeah, it feels good
to get it off my chest.
Still, you're loyal to a killer.
Corey and Yvonne Barksdale,
apartment 8C,
coming home from visiting her parents.
Kay, keep going.
Larry Trimble, 11F,
- with his dogs.
- Yeah, we can see that.
- Want the dogs' names, too?
- OK.
Thank you.
Last entry into the building,
food delivery guy.
To which apartment?
You mean you didn't interview him?
We had a confession.
30 minutes to deliver takeout?
Did you check with DoorJet
to see if they had a delivery scheduled
to that building that night?
Mr. Humphreys, will you
just take another look?
Don't you think it's time
that you called me Pence?
Pence.
You have warm eyes.
Eyes are the window to the soul.
You know what?
Clichés are clichés for a reason.
It's because our brains
gravitate to what is familiar.
We want patterns,
things that fit together.
And I'm trapped in
a wilderness of ambiguities.
I wouldn't wish this
on my worst enemies,
not even the man on the security video,
whoever he is.
You expect my client to remember
if his wife ordered food
the night she was killed?
Well, nobody else in that building did.
You know how we know that?
Because we checked.
Then why didn't police find
any evidence
of takeout in the apartment?
I do know that man.
I do. I do.
It's
He delivered food to your apartment?
No, he
He
He came to
the apartment about a month ago
to pick up Virginia.
I remember it was snowing, and his
His, his galoshes tracked
puddles into the library.
Winnie bellowed like a bull-roarer.
That's Virginia's nephew.
That's Kevin.
You have warm eyes.
His are
They're cold.
What's your boy Chilly's real name?
Why, so you can call Dallas PD
and have them pick him up?
Maybe.
I'd rather not say.
So you're gonna keep
protecting a murderer?
Chilly is the only reason I'm alive.
Look, man, you're not half
a hitman from Juarez anymore.
You're a NYPD officer.
And why do you think I became
a cop in the first place?
Penance.
I get it.
I didn't kill anyone, Sarge.
We all make mistakes, OK?
And even in the NYPD,
there's room for redemption.
But you don't think
Benson sees it like that?
You're not asking for my advice,
but I'ma give it to you anyway.
Show your loyalty to her,
not me, not the NYPD,
and definitely not someone guilty
of an unsolved double murder
in Fort Worth.
So that's the nephew.
What do we know about him?
Kevin Wise, 20 years old.
He's unemployed.
And he has an alibi for the night of?
Yeah, he says he was
home alone on SugarFap.
He even thought ahead.
He left his computer open to some
cam girl who vouched for him, but then,
the unis found a checkbook
from the Humphreys' joint account
in a garbage bag under his bed.
OK, so enough to arrest.
Do we have enough to convict?
His DNA is not on the rape kit.
So what do you need?
Pence Humphreys to ID him.
I-I-I don't know.
Hold on.
Let's just slow down, Pence.
- I don't know.
- Can we take another look?
It's been five minutes, counselor.
He'll take as long as he takes.
Hey, Pence, look at me.
Look at me.
Just take a breath.
Now, look back.
Look back.
Do you see the man who tracked puddles,
into your apartment a month ago,
the man who made Winnie bellow?
Yeah, it's number one.
Number one. I'm positive.
That's, that's,
Virginia's nephew, Kevin.
He was in our apartment.
Winnie gave him a towel
to wipe off his galoshes.
It's, it's number one.
OK, I need a minute with my client,
and we will be making a motion
to dismiss all charges.
- That's not happening.
- Good luck, counselor.
What does that mean?
It wasn't him?
No, it wasn't,
but you know that.
- I do?
- Let me drive you home, Pence.
You know what?
I-I need a second.
Go ahead.
I'll be right there.
- Can we still make this case?
- I have to call the 8th floor.
We still have a few cards we can play.
Let's start with Kevin's Aunt Virginia.
You don't think she'll protect him?
Not if I charge her with obstruction.
Why did you lie?
This disease is like the teeth of God,
biting into a liqueur chocolate
and sucking all the memories
out of your head
like a maraschino cherry,
and there is no cure.
I'm afraid all days will
suffer the agony of breaking,
so I would rather go down like this,
in prison.
The moment those cell doors close,
I won't remember where I am, or why.
That stupid kid in there
He's going to remember everything.
Some memories are worse than prison.
Is that fair to Winnie?
Is that what she would want?
Winnie is still with me.
We have been more in love in
the last few years than ever.
Before, I-I was
I was logical.
I was objective,
"King of the Moon."
But since the diagnosis,
everything changed.
In different sliver of moon,
it's full
And maybe
Maybe even a little forgiving.
And Winnie knows that.
No one knows that more than Winnie.
We already explained those items.
Yeah, that they were given
to your client by his aunt?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, that's right.
No, not according to
her statement to the DA.
- She wants nothing to do with you.
- Oh, and there's more.
She IDed these rings,
and these bracelets,
as belonging to Mrs. Humphreys.
We found them in your
girlfriend's apartment.
It's over.
- I didn't mean to kill her.
- Kevin, stop talking.
Counselor, if this goes to trial,
the jury's going to hear about
the 40-year love story of a woman,
who was smothered without mercy,
and he'll get no mercy.
How did you get the key, Kevin?
I stole it from my aunt's purse.
She told me these stories about how
this guy was mad rich,
threw $40,000 in a trash chute,
by accident.
And you figured that nobody was
going to notice what you took?
I needed money.
DoorJet don't pay as much
as people think.
Tell me what happened.
Don't lie to me.
I waited for somebody to leave,
got into the lobby.
I went up to the Humphreys' apartment.
I was trying to be quiet,
but, she must have woke up.
She came out of the bedroom screaming.
I told her to be quiet,
but she wouldn't.
So I-I, pushed her down.
I put a pillow over her face.
She's old.
She just died.
The homicide detectives
said that they
They found her nightgown pulled up.
I didn't rape her.
I swear to God.
But you thought about it.
Kevin
We all build walls,
within ourselves, around
Around the ugly things that we've done.
And sometimes those walls
can be more, confining than
Than prison.
I need you to be honest
with us now, kay?
I have been.
Kevin, somebody put
that blanket over her
to preserve her dignity,
or maybe they were preserving
their own dignity.
From what?
From what you did.
It's OK.
OK, yeah,
I did it with her.
But
It was before she was dead.
And I used a condom.
- Close your case?
- The kid confessed.
Carisi is going for
rape and murder one.
- What about the husband?
- Pence?
He is in an empty apartment,
alone
For the rest of his life.
- Where's Velasco?
- Sent him home to take a shower.
- He tell you the truth?
- Yeah, he told me the truth.
He's ready to tell you.
And I think everyone
deserves a second chance.
I'll consider it.
I was impressed with Churlish.
Really, Fin?
Another stray?
Have her come see me tomorrow.
So Sarge catch you up?
He did.
You should know that
your drug test came back.
- And?
- It was positive.
Positive for what?
Powdered sugar.
You know, Captain, if my
loyalty was ever questioned,
- I think that
- I feel bad for you, Velasco.
Bad?
Bad how?
Because you're 180 pounds of water,
in the shape of a man,
and you take on the shape of anything
that you're poured into.
Duarte asked you to flip a banger,
and you end up playing
just as dirty as the guy
that we're hunting.
I mean, up until now, Velasco,
you've been living a performance,
not a life.
That changes now.
Understood?
What do you want me to do?
You owe a debt,
to the two people that were killed,
even though they were drug dealers.
It doesn't have to happen today,
and it doesn't have to happen tomorrow.
But you will find that friend,
and you will bring him to justice.
Captain, wait.
People change, you know?
Velasco,
being a cop isn't some sort of penance.
Putting your friend away for murder is.
So that's what it takes for
me and you to be all right?
That's what it takes,
for me and you to be all right.
"King of the Moon."
"Once upon a time,
there was a boy named Jack,"
"who lived on Earth."
"Jack loved looking
up at the night sky"
"and dreaming about
all the wonderful things"
"that might be out there."
"One night,
while gazing up at the moon,"
"Jack had a magical dream."
"In his dream,
he was transported to the moon"
"Where he found himself all alone."
"At first, Jack was a little scared"
"to be all by himself on the moon."
"But as he explored, he began to see"
"the benefits of being alone."
"There was no one to laugh at him"
"or to make fun of his stutter."
"So Jack decided to
make the moon his home."
"He built a fort made
out of moon rocks,"
"and he spent his days
exploring and having adventures."
"As the days went by,
Jack began to love living on the moon,"
"more love than he had found on Earth."
"And he was able to be himself"
"without anyone seeing all his flaws."
"But no matter how much fun he had,"
"Jack always knew,"
"that he would have to
return to Earth someday,"
"and he would need to find
someone who loved him,"
"the way he loved the moon,
despite its many craters."
"Eventually,
Jack's time on the moon came to an end,"
"and he had to say goodbye to his fort"
"and to all the adventures
that he had there."
Perendinate.
P-E-R-E-N
D-E
N-A-T-E.
"But even though he was back on Earth,"
"Jack never forgot his
time as king of the moon."
"And he knew, that one day,
he would return again"
"and reign as its king once more."
"But this time, this time,
with his queen by his side."
Goodnight.
Goodnight, Winifred.
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.
I'm sorry.
That's incorrect.
- Winnie?
- Perendinate.
P-E-R-E-N-D-E-N-A-T-E.
I'm sorry, Winnie.
That is incorrect.
Pence, the word is perendinate.
P p perendinate.
P p perendinate.
Can I have a definition, please?
To put off until the day after tomorrow,
that, which can be done today.
P-E-R-E
N D
I-N-A
T-E.
P perendinate.
Very good, and congratulations.
You are the new spelling bee champion.
Excuse me.
Why'd you let me win?
I don't know what you're talking about.
You knew how to spell that word.
I've never heard you speak
in front of everybody before.
There's a reason for that.
You hear them laugh.
I wanted to help.
I've read your story,
the one on the wall,
"The King of the Moon."
You read my story?
About the boy, who lived on the moon,
so he didn't have to talk to anyone.
Trust me, it's better that way.
Is it?
Winnie,
we have too many books.
Because of all your little gifts.
I suppose we could thin the herd,
including this.
Pence, don't you dare.
Read at your own risk.
What about the desks?
What about them?
Do we really need two?
You're the introvert.
You tell me.
I prefer not to be too far from you.
Well, that is an
easily-surmountable problem.
Oh, dear, look at the time.
I'd rather not.
Honey, you're gonna be late
for your ceremony.
Ceremony?
You are being awarded
the Lewis Thomas Prize
by Rockefeller University.
Yes
Almost forgot.
Forgot?
You are a brilliant man,
but you have no sense of other people.
I'll let you work while I get dressed.
Thank you.
- Where's Winnie?
- Playing tennis with your neighbor.
- Naomi.
- Ooh, that's very good.
You remember her name.
Now, what's mine?
Trash gets picked up tomorrow.
Oh, that's a terribly long name.
That's it.
Good boy.
Mm.
One more.
- Ah.
- Drinky-drink-drink.
Madam, anyone who ever loved you,
was wrong.
Hello?
Hello?
Winnie?
It's nothing.
Listen, go back to sleep.
I heard something.
Are you cheating on me?
- Is that it?
- Oh, sweetheart, no.
With whom?
Look at me.
Look, look.
Look.
You are, and always shall be,
my king of the moon.
Go go go back to sleep, my love.
P-E-R-E-N-D
Her eyes.
Hey, sir, I asked you a question.
What do you remember?
I did it.
I made love to her
And then I
I killed her.
I did it all.
I grew up just like you.
Saw a lot of people get murdered.
And the second my nuts dropped,
my boss puts a gun in my hand
and has me blow this guy away.
What do you think?
He's trying to flip Oscar
Papa's only living recruiter.
We were desperate,
so lying's fair game.
So a bit of theater?
Well, that's what I thought at first,
but, this double homicide
that he mentions later
in this recording, Fin,
is a real case.
- Unsolved?
- Two people, execution style, 2003,
right outside Fort Worth.
All this says to me is Velasco
did research on his lie.
That amount of homework
for some mid-level banger?
You have another explanation?
Fin, what exactly do
we know about Velasco?
He drives a motorcycle.
He grew up in Juarez.
He alluded to some misspent youth.
Exactly how misspent?
We could ask Muncy.
They're tight.
Yeah, I already had her listen to it,
and I'm keeping her away from this,
- for that exact reason.
- Muncy is loyal to Velasco.
I don't want secrets in my squad.
That who I think it is?
- Yeah, it's Tonie Churlish.
- From the Bronx?
Yeah, she volunteered to help us
drill down on the Velasco story.
You talked to McGrath about this?
- No, I haven't.
- Okay.
I think it's time I remind you,
you're the captain.
And the greatest gift I can give you
as your number two,
is plausible deniability.
So what do you suggest?
You let me and the
White Shield take the lead
and untangle this mess.
And how the hell
are you going to do that?
You leave that to me.
- And if McGrath asks?
- We never talked about it.
Carisi's waiting for me.
Look who it is, Captain America.
Velasco, go take a seat
in interrogation.
You, too, Churlish.
Who are we interrogating?
You.
- Is everything OK?
- Well, trust me,
if I answer that honestly,
you'd regret asking.
So, who's this?
This big-time neurologist,
Pence Humphreys.
Oh, the guy who writes
about rare brain disorders?
Yeah, yeah, so you know him?
I read one of his books a while back
about this conductor who could only
communicate through his piano
after he had a car crash.
I mean, it's quirky,
but he's brilliant.
Yeah, well, his latest book
is about dementia.
It's a subject that he
He knows something about.
The prefrontal cortex manages
all of our higher-level
executive functions.
I'm afraid that
Mine is slowly dying.
This has resulted in some
rather dramatic changes
in my personality
over the last few years.
I've become socially
disruptive, impulsive.
In a few months' time, I may
no longer be able to speak,
which is why
I need to record this today.
I raped,
and smothered
My, my dear wife.
The guy confessed to it?
Yeah, two days ago.
There's something about this
that's bugging me.
You don't think that he did it?
Something smells off.
OK, is this you speaking
as an ADA or an ex-cop?
Maybe it's me speaking
as a hopeless romantic.
Now, there's no signs of forced entry.
No valuables were taken.
Signs of sexual assault,
but there's no DNA.
And Homicide's ready to sign off?
Yeah, his lawyer is probably
going to go with
some kind of dementia defense.
So where is the hopeless
romanticism in this?
Him and his wife were
married for 40 years.
It was this fairy-tale love affair.
He wrote about it in one of his books,
"The Neurobiology of Love."
So now you're pulling on the one
good heartstring I have left?
Liv, I know you're busy,
but I could use another
set of eyes on this.
Yeah, OK.
I'll talk to him.
I grew up just like you.
Saw a lot of people get murdered.
And the second my nuts dropped,
my boss puts a gun in my hand,
and he made me blow this guy away.
And then what?
I did it.
You recorded me?
Relax, cowboy.
No, we should place
this mallrat under arrest.
For what?
It's a felony to record
a third party in New York
without permission.
Well, lucky for both of you,
you're not in the courtroom.
Then what the hell is this about?
Just trying to establish credibility.
So Benson heard everything
I said in this recording?
And she wants to know the truth.
The truth?
I was messing with the guy.
I made the whole thing up.
- You sure about that?
- Yeah.
Are we done here?
Recognize this?
It's a dime bag.
BX9 branding on the side.
Where did you get this?
I had a prison guard snag it off
that banger you gave it to.
Sit down.
Evidently, it tested positive
for heroin residue.
Do you know anything about that?
Residue from the dope
I emptied before I filled
the bag with powdered sugar.
Yeah?
What kind of sugar
can stop withdrawals?
You've never heard of a placebo effect?
Placebo this.
20 minutes outside of Fort Worth, 2003,
me and my friend blow this guy away.
We're about to leave,
and the guy's son
comes out of the other room.
Pow-pow.
We didn't have a choice.
You expect me to
believe that, you, a cop,
did a gang hit?
Trust me, this was no gang hit.
So much for credibility.
Happy?
If it comes back clean, I will be.
If you have any doubts, now
would be the time to say so.
Mr. Humphreys, this is
Captain Olivia Benson.
Nice to meet you.
You look familiar.
Well, I've actually
read some of your work.
You wanted a half hour
to exculpate my client,
so you have it.
He's prepared to recant
his confession if we do?
Well, he has dementia.
So recant or not,
he's not likely to do time.
What's with the chipmunk?
That belonged to a friend.
Belonged?
My condolences.
What would you like to know?
Well, how about we start
with what happened?
Isn't it obvious?
I smothered my wife.
This was our plan.
- Your plan?
- Self-checkout.
We loved each other.
We wanted to be together.
We wanted to leave together,
with dignity at a time of our choosing.
My crime is worse than murder.
What Mr. Humphreys means
is that he killed her,
and then didn't follow
through with taking his own life.
Back pedaled.
Abnegated.
Reneged.
And how were you planning
on killing yourself?
An expeditious taste of
shotgun-flavored mouthwash,
I'm afraid.
Do you own a shotgun?
If he does, homicide
detectives didn't find it.
What's with the chipmunk?
It belonged to a friend.
Well, he is the textbook definition
of an unreliable witness.
Well, he seems to believe
this murder-suicide story.
Did you?
For a minute, yeah.
I mean, the guy is sharp
until he's not.
Underneath his illness,
he is a man of science.
So if we're going to try to
convince him of his own innocence,
then it wouldn't hurt
to confront him with some evidence.
We'd better find something
before the arraignment.
I can't imagine these homicide cops
spending that much time
gathering clues.
Not when they have
a confession already.
Can you get a search warrant
for his apartment?
I've never had to convince a perp
of his own innocence before.
Well, first time for everything.
Well, you already got
a piece of my hair.
What's next, a polygraph?
If it comes to that.
What the hell is going on in there?
I'll tell you on the drive up.
Please state your name
and badge number.
No, I'm not going to answer her.
She's just a White Shield.
Who just spent a year in the Bronx
seeing what happens when guys like you
distort the values of this job.
You know, it's cops like you
that are the reason why
people are protesting
outside of city hall.
But since I have been on the job,
I have yet to see Black folks
marching against firemen.
Lying to one banger does
not warrant a drug test,
let alone a protest.
Explain how you know about
a double murder in Fort Worth,
and we're done.
That's if your drug test
comes back clean.
How do you know so much
about a dead father and son
in Fort Worth?
Velasco.
Because.
I was there.
They slept in separate bedrooms.
I can't say that I blame her.
I found this on Humphreys' night table.
- What is that?
- It's an apnea machine.
He must have been
quite an intense snorer.
- What are you doing?
- I'm looking for a shotgun.
Keep this between us?
- Snitches get stitches.
- That's right.
- What is that?
- It's not a shotgun.
- I thought they didn't have kids.
- They don't.
Pence Humphreys, signed 1973.
Oh, that's the only thing
in the locked drawer?
Yeah, her desk.
My guess?
She was keeping it safe for him.
I mean, look at this place.
It's like a
It's like a shrine to their love story.
I can barely find somebody
who's emotionally available.
Murder-suicide never looked so romantic.
Except he didn't do it.
CPAP has a digital log.
Homicide said that the murder
was at 11:00 PM.
This says he woke up
around 10:00,
and was up for one minute, 23 seconds.
That's not even enough time
to smother the vic,
let alone rape her.
How's that for facts?
I just need you to look at these times.
Do you understand these numbers?
That doesn't prove anything.
It proves that
he didn't murder his wife.
You need to be clear with me.
I need to under
Winnie is dead?
And I I didn't do it?
No, you didn't,
Mr. Humphreys.
I'm I'm sorry.
Is it possible he kept the machine on
while he committed the act?
How long do you think the
hose of a CPAP machine is?
It should It should have been me.
We We We had a pact.
- We made a commitment.
- No.
Do you understand?
The last face she saw wasn't mine?
She must have been terrif
I need
I need to know.
Who did, who did this!
She did not see my face!
She, she must have been
terr Who did this?
- We're doing everything
- Who Who did this?
- We're doing everything we can.
- Who would want to hurt her?
I I I don't understand.
Guys, guys, give Give us a moment.
- Thanks.
- Take all the time you need.
I don't I don't
- I don't understand where Where
- Hey, I understand.
I don't understand!
Poor guy.
We took his only comfort away.
He wishes he was brave enough
to do it himself.
- Jeez.
- Oh, my God.
Ah!
Jesus, call a bus.
Get away from me.
Leave me alone.
Hey, go get some help right now!
Mr. Humphreys,
what did you do?
Go Go get me some help.
- Oh, my God.
- Please let me go.
Here, come here.
Shh.
I don't want to be here anymore.
I don't want to live without her.
I know.
I know you don't.
Please let me go.
- Please.
- It's OK.
It's OK.
Doctor, how's he doing?
Cuts on his wrist were superficial.
Emotionally is another story.
We have him on anti-anxiety meds,
waiting for a psych eval.
He shouldn't be alone right now.
Don't worry, he's not.
He's with his caregiver.
Virginia Wise.
Homicide cops mentioned her name.
Is he lucid enough to speak with us?
An hour after sundown?
Usually when patients like him
are at their worst.
Right, thank you.
No, rest.
Mm.
My heart breaks.
He keeps trying to call Winnie.
So, I already told the homicide
detectives everything I know.
- Pence confessed to them.
- I thought he did it.
No, actually, he just
thinks that he did it.
So, the killer's still out there then?
That's a frightening thought.
Which is why we need to talk to you.
Can we do it later?
My husband's waiting for me in the car.
I've had little time
for a personal life.
Of course.
We understand.
No, don't go.
I do I don't want to be alone.
I know it seems cruel now, but,
in five minutes,
he won't remember I was even here.
Mr. Humphreys, how you doing?
I'm Captain Benson.
I never forget a gorgeous face.
Oh.
Or an hourglass figure.
Well, uh, the cafeteria
downstairs may have just added
a few extra minutes to it.
I'm sorry.
For what?
I am a terrible flirt.
Please don't tell Winnie.
Your secret's safe with me.
Who's this?
Just a lawyer.
You know why God created them?
So that toilet plungers would have
something to look down on.
That's That's good.
I haven't heard that one.
Well, we, uh
We just wanted to make sure
that you were all right, you know?
We were worried about you.
Winnie Winnie is worried, too.
I know she's expecting my call.
I would invite you to dinner,
but I don't want to surprise her.
We actually just ate,
downstairs in the cafeteria.
Why don't we, uh
We'll leave you in peace.
Yeah.
All right, we'll see you later.
An ass like the devil and
a face like Jayne Mansfield.
You're a lucky son of a bitch,
whoever you are.
So in the last two hours,
the guy recants his confession,
he tries to kill himself,
and forgets that his wife is even dead.
The jury is going to need
instant replay.
Yeah, well, it's their cross to bear.
But if he didn't kill her, who did?
Well, there's no sign of forced entry.
Did Homicide mention who has the key
to the Humphreys' apartment?
Well, far as the caregiver tells it,
Humphreys liked to wander.
Her and Winnie had the only keys.
Well, the caregiver is married.
Any chance that the husband did it?
They were at a family gathering
the night of the murder.
Homicide checked her alibi.
Well, at least they checked something.
Maybe she lost the key,
or it got stolen.
Is it possible that Winnie opened
the door to her own killer?
I'd like to think that Homicide
checked the lobby cams
in the Humphreys' building.
Like you said, Liv,
they had a confession.
I mean, how hard did they really look?
I'll call TARU, get the footage.
- So you were there?
- I already told you that!
Velasco, what were you doing
at a murder scene in 2003?
Do I got to get my union lawyer?
Because I feel like
I might need a lawyer.
No need for that.
All we want is the truth, all right?
Not half, not a trickle of it.
I was just a kid,
and I didn't have the benefit,
of growing up
middle class in Ann Arbor.
How do you know where I'm from?
And my parents were not intellectuals.
Wait, you looked into my background?
Duarte and I were talking about
how you got a stick up your ass.
- Don't talk about Duarte!
- OK, both you guys, shut up!
All right?
It's getting late.
Velasco, I'm not going
to ask you again.
How'd you wind up at a murder scene?
My first job was delivering
bread in Juarez, OK?
And one day,
I met a guy on my route that
offered me and my boy Chilly a job.
He said that if we go
through the training,
we'd be security guards.
It was $180 a week.
I was 15 years old.
You weren't even old enough to drive.
Like I said, we grew up different.
Let him finish, Churlish.
So they sent us to a camp.
Turned out to be a school for sicarios.
For hitmen.
The guy that recruited me
said that the only way
to leave was in a body bag.
So me and my boy Chilly,
we was there for three months
training how to use weapons.
And then as a final test,
they made us go to Fort Worth.
So I go, gun in hand.
And I was ready to do the hit.
And as soon as his son comes out,
I-I, uh
I lost my nerve.
I couldn't do it.
Chilly could.
He covered for me. with the cartel.
I didn't really belong.
So you ran?
Yeah, even here in New York,
I'm still checking my surroundings.
Is this the first time
you told that story
to someone other than that banger?
Yeah, it feels good
to get it off my chest.
Still, you're loyal to a killer.
Corey and Yvonne Barksdale,
apartment 8C,
coming home from visiting her parents.
Kay, keep going.
Larry Trimble, 11F,
- with his dogs.
- Yeah, we can see that.
- Want the dogs' names, too?
- OK.
Thank you.
Last entry into the building,
food delivery guy.
To which apartment?
You mean you didn't interview him?
We had a confession.
30 minutes to deliver takeout?
Did you check with DoorJet
to see if they had a delivery scheduled
to that building that night?
Mr. Humphreys, will you
just take another look?
Don't you think it's time
that you called me Pence?
Pence.
You have warm eyes.
Eyes are the window to the soul.
You know what?
Clichés are clichés for a reason.
It's because our brains
gravitate to what is familiar.
We want patterns,
things that fit together.
And I'm trapped in
a wilderness of ambiguities.
I wouldn't wish this
on my worst enemies,
not even the man on the security video,
whoever he is.
You expect my client to remember
if his wife ordered food
the night she was killed?
Well, nobody else in that building did.
You know how we know that?
Because we checked.
Then why didn't police find
any evidence
of takeout in the apartment?
I do know that man.
I do. I do.
It's
He delivered food to your apartment?
No, he
He
He came to
the apartment about a month ago
to pick up Virginia.
I remember it was snowing, and his
His, his galoshes tracked
puddles into the library.
Winnie bellowed like a bull-roarer.
That's Virginia's nephew.
That's Kevin.
You have warm eyes.
His are
They're cold.
What's your boy Chilly's real name?
Why, so you can call Dallas PD
and have them pick him up?
Maybe.
I'd rather not say.
So you're gonna keep
protecting a murderer?
Chilly is the only reason I'm alive.
Look, man, you're not half
a hitman from Juarez anymore.
You're a NYPD officer.
And why do you think I became
a cop in the first place?
Penance.
I get it.
I didn't kill anyone, Sarge.
We all make mistakes, OK?
And even in the NYPD,
there's room for redemption.
But you don't think
Benson sees it like that?
You're not asking for my advice,
but I'ma give it to you anyway.
Show your loyalty to her,
not me, not the NYPD,
and definitely not someone guilty
of an unsolved double murder
in Fort Worth.
So that's the nephew.
What do we know about him?
Kevin Wise, 20 years old.
He's unemployed.
And he has an alibi for the night of?
Yeah, he says he was
home alone on SugarFap.
He even thought ahead.
He left his computer open to some
cam girl who vouched for him, but then,
the unis found a checkbook
from the Humphreys' joint account
in a garbage bag under his bed.
OK, so enough to arrest.
Do we have enough to convict?
His DNA is not on the rape kit.
So what do you need?
Pence Humphreys to ID him.
I-I-I don't know.
Hold on.
Let's just slow down, Pence.
- I don't know.
- Can we take another look?
It's been five minutes, counselor.
He'll take as long as he takes.
Hey, Pence, look at me.
Look at me.
Just take a breath.
Now, look back.
Look back.
Do you see the man who tracked puddles,
into your apartment a month ago,
the man who made Winnie bellow?
Yeah, it's number one.
Number one. I'm positive.
That's, that's,
Virginia's nephew, Kevin.
He was in our apartment.
Winnie gave him a towel
to wipe off his galoshes.
It's, it's number one.
OK, I need a minute with my client,
and we will be making a motion
to dismiss all charges.
- That's not happening.
- Good luck, counselor.
What does that mean?
It wasn't him?
No, it wasn't,
but you know that.
- I do?
- Let me drive you home, Pence.
You know what?
I-I need a second.
Go ahead.
I'll be right there.
- Can we still make this case?
- I have to call the 8th floor.
We still have a few cards we can play.
Let's start with Kevin's Aunt Virginia.
You don't think she'll protect him?
Not if I charge her with obstruction.
Why did you lie?
This disease is like the teeth of God,
biting into a liqueur chocolate
and sucking all the memories
out of your head
like a maraschino cherry,
and there is no cure.
I'm afraid all days will
suffer the agony of breaking,
so I would rather go down like this,
in prison.
The moment those cell doors close,
I won't remember where I am, or why.
That stupid kid in there
He's going to remember everything.
Some memories are worse than prison.
Is that fair to Winnie?
Is that what she would want?
Winnie is still with me.
We have been more in love in
the last few years than ever.
Before, I-I was
I was logical.
I was objective,
"King of the Moon."
But since the diagnosis,
everything changed.
In different sliver of moon,
it's full
And maybe
Maybe even a little forgiving.
And Winnie knows that.
No one knows that more than Winnie.
We already explained those items.
Yeah, that they were given
to your client by his aunt?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah, that's right.
No, not according to
her statement to the DA.
- She wants nothing to do with you.
- Oh, and there's more.
She IDed these rings,
and these bracelets,
as belonging to Mrs. Humphreys.
We found them in your
girlfriend's apartment.
It's over.
- I didn't mean to kill her.
- Kevin, stop talking.
Counselor, if this goes to trial,
the jury's going to hear about
the 40-year love story of a woman,
who was smothered without mercy,
and he'll get no mercy.
How did you get the key, Kevin?
I stole it from my aunt's purse.
She told me these stories about how
this guy was mad rich,
threw $40,000 in a trash chute,
by accident.
And you figured that nobody was
going to notice what you took?
I needed money.
DoorJet don't pay as much
as people think.
Tell me what happened.
Don't lie to me.
I waited for somebody to leave,
got into the lobby.
I went up to the Humphreys' apartment.
I was trying to be quiet,
but, she must have woke up.
She came out of the bedroom screaming.
I told her to be quiet,
but she wouldn't.
So I-I, pushed her down.
I put a pillow over her face.
She's old.
She just died.
The homicide detectives
said that they
They found her nightgown pulled up.
I didn't rape her.
I swear to God.
But you thought about it.
Kevin
We all build walls,
within ourselves, around
Around the ugly things that we've done.
And sometimes those walls
can be more, confining than
Than prison.
I need you to be honest
with us now, kay?
I have been.
Kevin, somebody put
that blanket over her
to preserve her dignity,
or maybe they were preserving
their own dignity.
From what?
From what you did.
It's OK.
OK, yeah,
I did it with her.
But
It was before she was dead.
And I used a condom.
- Close your case?
- The kid confessed.
Carisi is going for
rape and murder one.
- What about the husband?
- Pence?
He is in an empty apartment,
alone
For the rest of his life.
- Where's Velasco?
- Sent him home to take a shower.
- He tell you the truth?
- Yeah, he told me the truth.
He's ready to tell you.
And I think everyone
deserves a second chance.
I'll consider it.
I was impressed with Churlish.
Really, Fin?
Another stray?
Have her come see me tomorrow.
So Sarge catch you up?
He did.
You should know that
your drug test came back.
- And?
- It was positive.
Positive for what?
Powdered sugar.
You know, Captain, if my
loyalty was ever questioned,
- I think that
- I feel bad for you, Velasco.
Bad?
Bad how?
Because you're 180 pounds of water,
in the shape of a man,
and you take on the shape of anything
that you're poured into.
Duarte asked you to flip a banger,
and you end up playing
just as dirty as the guy
that we're hunting.
I mean, up until now, Velasco,
you've been living a performance,
not a life.
That changes now.
Understood?
What do you want me to do?
You owe a debt,
to the two people that were killed,
even though they were drug dealers.
It doesn't have to happen today,
and it doesn't have to happen tomorrow.
But you will find that friend,
and you will bring him to justice.
Captain, wait.
People change, you know?
Velasco,
being a cop isn't some sort of penance.
Putting your friend away for murder is.
So that's what it takes for
me and you to be all right?
That's what it takes,
for me and you to be all right.
"King of the Moon."
"Once upon a time,
there was a boy named Jack,"
"who lived on Earth."
"Jack loved looking
up at the night sky"
"and dreaming about
all the wonderful things"
"that might be out there."
"One night,
while gazing up at the moon,"
"Jack had a magical dream."
"In his dream,
he was transported to the moon"
"Where he found himself all alone."
"At first, Jack was a little scared"
"to be all by himself on the moon."
"But as he explored, he began to see"
"the benefits of being alone."
"There was no one to laugh at him"
"or to make fun of his stutter."
"So Jack decided to
make the moon his home."
"He built a fort made
out of moon rocks,"
"and he spent his days
exploring and having adventures."
"As the days went by,
Jack began to love living on the moon,"
"more love than he had found on Earth."
"And he was able to be himself"
"without anyone seeing all his flaws."
"But no matter how much fun he had,"
"Jack always knew,"
"that he would have to
return to Earth someday,"
"and he would need to find
someone who loved him,"
"the way he loved the moon,
despite its many craters."
"Eventually,
Jack's time on the moon came to an end,"
"and he had to say goodbye to his fort"
"and to all the adventures
that he had there."
Perendinate.
P-E-R-E-N
D-E
N-A-T-E.
"But even though he was back on Earth,"
"Jack never forgot his
time as king of the moon."
"And he knew, that one day,
he would return again"
"and reign as its king once more."
"But this time, this time,
with his queen by his side."
Goodnight.
Goodnight, Winifred.