Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 11, Episode 20 - All My Children - full transcript

NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

BOY: Steven Leder
takes the subway.

Steven Leder didn't move
to New York six months ago.

Nobody else gets
walked to school.

That's not true.

I know for a fact Stacy Lake gets
walked to school by her mom.

(SIGHS) Stacy Lake is a girl.



So is her mom.

(BELL RINGING)

What's the matter?

It's sticky.

Let me see.

Wait right here.

What is it?
I want you to go on in.

You're not gonna walk me in?

Do as I say.
Right now!

Kid and his father found
him this morning.

Do we know who he is?

No wallet. No ID.

Took a slug to the chest,
near the neck, close range.

Looks like a second
bullet grazed him.



ED: Stickup gone bad.

Well, let's set up
a 100-foot perimeter.

Maybe we'll get lucky
with ballistics.

There's a lot of this
red dust on his clothes.

CSU OFFICER: Probably
from this wall over here.

The school just finished
sandblasting the facade.

ED: There's a key on
the end of this chain.

BRISCOE: Don't suppose
his address is on it?

CSU OFFICER: Make it
easy, wouldn't it?

He looks too young
to be a teacher.

Headmistress was at a board
meeting this morning.

She's on her way.

Headmistress?

As schools go,
Wilshire is the Ritz.

Yeah, well, somebody better tell 'em
they just lost their four-star rating.

He's not from the school. Not a
parent either, as far as we know.

So, how would he get
on the school grounds?

Gate's closed
around 5:00,

but the nighttime custodian keeps the
side door open until just after 8:00.

Paul Miller, Justin Menkies.
Your homeroom teacher's waiting.

Any discipline problems
we should know about?

If there's any problem
in this neighborhood,

I can assure you
it's not at Wilshire.

Meaning?

Meaning we've had trouble since the city
opened that residence around the corner.

A homeless shelter?

A transitional center for
recovering substance abusers.

We had a teacher mugged
not two months ago.

Maybe somebody
had another relapse.

Every time somebody trips
in this neighborhood

we get a visit from you guys.

We heard that one
of your residents

got popped for robbing a teacher
a couple of months ago.

How come nobody runs for cover

when they see our guys picking
litter off the ground?

Maybe because people don't
know who they really are.

How about last night? Anybody
from the center out and about?

Curfew's 8:00.

So, you do a bed check?
What?

It's not a correctional
facility, Detective.

ED: Meaning what?

We work on the honor system.

We're gonna need a list
of all your residents.

We're already into it,
Chief. That's right.

Thank you.

Well, it seems that
concerned parents

at the Wilshire School
carry some weight.

Anything turn up
at that shelter?

Transitional residence.

Almost all of their guys have sheets.
Mostly drug related.

Well, I guess their
concerns are justified.

The director swears they
were all in for the evening.

What about
the M.E.'s findings?

Kid was shot
with a .38.

Alcohol level over the limit.

Ed, got that forensics report.

They might be able to lift a set of
partials from that pack of smokes.

Also, may have gotten
something on your key.

Not just a house key
Detective. A Medeco.

Yeah, it's a good lock. So?

Every one of them
is cut differently.

Some even require
ID cards to replace.

See this stamp?

Means it's part of
a master key system.

So, there's gotta be thousands
of those floating around.

Yeah, but this one's
a real granddaddy.

So, you're saying we can actually
trace this back to its owner?

Maybe halfway.

I called Medeco. They say the
key was part of a shipment

to Fields Hardware back in '72.

Here's a faxed copy
of the order slip.

Look, can we make this quick?

I'm 30 yards short
on a concrete pour.

Okay, we're just trying to
track down a set of locks

you guys purchased
through Fields Hardware.

Fields?
Uh-huh.

My old man did
business with them.

They've been out of
business probably 20 years.

Yeah, we know. But we traced this
order for some locks to you guys.

Look, the last time
I cooperated with you guys,

I got 17 union violations.

Hey, we're not interested in who's
buried in the meadowlands, Mr. Panero.

(SIGHS)

.72?

My old man
ran the business then.

An order this small would have
been for a residential building.

We put up a bunch of post-wars around that time.
Mostly near Union Square.

Could have belonged to any
one of 100 apartments here.

And that's just
in this building.

You know, there's four others just
like it in this neighborhood.

All of them use Medecos.

Yeah, we know.
We've been.

Hey:
Hmm?

You recognize this kid?

I can't say I do.
I recognize the T-shirt.

ED: The T-shirt?
The logo.

A few years ago, a theater
group threw a benefit.

I helped them put up some posters.
It looked just like that.

What's that lady's name,
the one who runs it?

The one who lives down the
block on Gramercy Square?

Mrs. Dubow?
That's the one. Yeah.

They're called
Booth Scholarships,

so underprivileged kids
can study theater.

Edwin Booth. Greatest
American actor of his day.

His brother killed
Abraham Lincoln.

John Wilkes.

Never the actor Edwin was.

Yeah, but a better shot.

Is this kid one of the
scholarship winners?

My God. That's Peter and
Johanna Wilder's boy, Scott.

Peter Wilder, the real
estate developer?

What happened to him?

You say Scott's body was
found in the school yard?

ED: That's right.

Maybe he was coming home.

Scott attended school at
Wilshire when he was younger.

The truth is, we haven't
seen our son in some time.

This was him
the day he graduated.

Good-looking kid.

(SIGHS) Why is it you haven't
been in contact with him?

Scott dropped out of
college a few years ago,

refused to take any real job.

He was having a hard
time finding himself.

My wife liked to make
excuses for our son,

but it was pretty obvious that
by continuing to support him,

we were just preventing
him from growing up.

So you stopped?

I don't know if either
of you ever had a child

make decisions you
knew were destructive.

It was the hardest thing
lever had to do,

to tell him
he couldn't stay with us.

It was almost two years ago.

Do you have any idea what
Scott did to support himself?

The last time I spoke to him,
he was working at a bike shop.

A place on Canal and Sixth.

I gave him this key
the day he left.

I told him, no matter what, no matter
what was happening in his life,

he could always use it
to come home.

(SOBBING)

Scott? No, Scott hasn't
been by in over a month.

Why? Something happen?

No, he just didn't show.

The way it worked was,
he'd come by mostly weekends,

re-valve a few shocks,
straighten out a few derailers.

I gave him cash all the time,

depending upon how many bikes he
did, but it wasn't a regular thing.

Do you have a number for him,
some place you could call?

I think he lived with a girlfriend,
but I never got a number.

What about these guys back there?
Anybody friendly with him?

Maybe, check it out.

So you don't even know
his girlfriend's name?

No, man, we just worked
together sometimes.

So the subject of chicks
never came up?

Yo, man, if he's getting buck, you
know, why am I gonna want her number?

This guy's like
a real gentleman.

Yeah, his piece, right?

Besides, Scott
was real personal.

I don't think he'd even
like me talking about it.

I don't think
he'd mind too much now.

Oh, yeah?

ED: Scott's dead, Adam.

So if you do know who
he was hooked up with,

we'd appreciate it
if you told us.

Her name is Karen.

I don't know where she lives, but
I know where she might work.

How? How'd it happen?

BRISCOE: He got shot.

You don't seem too surprised.

I knew something like
this could happen.

Now why would you think that?

When I first met Scott,
he was a mess.

His dad kicked him out of his
house, did you know that?

From what we heard, Scott was pretty
much responsible for his own problems.

Scott did things to get
back at his father.

ED: What kind of things?

He used drugs, sold drugs.

Scott thought his father
was this big fake.

A guy who pretended to be a big
family man, a big charity giver,

but would just never
deal with his own son.

So, by destroying his own life,
he gets even with his father.

Sounds like a great plan.

I thought Scott finally got
it, was ready to move on.

ED: But?

(SIGHS) A few weeks ago, I come home
and find some money in a drawer.

$1,000.

Did you ask him
where he got it?

He wouldn't tell me.

Sol used the money to pay the
rent, and told him to leave.

Sounds like you
did the right thing.

Where did he go?

I don't know.

(CELL PHONE RINGS)
Excuse me. Green.

What about other people
Scott worked with?

No, I mean, way back, there was this
one guy, Richie, but since then...

Richie have a last name?

We never met.

ED: Yeah, thanks.

Lennie, that was Forensics.

They got a match on the partials
from the pack of cigarettes.

Okay.

If we have any other
questions, we'll be in touch.

Do his parents know?

Yeah.

Did they even care?

ED: Greg Carter?
GREG: Yeah?

You wanna stop sweeping.
We'd like a word with you.

What's this about?
You recognize this guy?

No. His body turned up at
that school over there.

Yeah, well, I wouldn't
know anything about that.

Well, what about your prints being on a
pack of cigarettes we found in his pocket.

What do you know about that?
You smoke, Greg?

What happened, Greg?
You get a little craving?

You need a little
money for something?

Sure, robbery gone bad.
Happens all the time.

My problem's with the bottle, man.
I don't touch that other stuff.

ED: (SIGHS) Tell us what
you did with the gun.

I told you, kid gave me a cigarette.
I didn't have any gun.

BRISCOE: What time was that?

(SIGHS) Look, I'm out after
curfew, I could lose my room.

You could lose a whole lot more than
that if you don't tell us the truth.

Look, I tell you what I saw, you'll make
it right for me? I mean, at the program?

You'll have to make this
right on your own, Greg.

I was having
a hard time that night.

It gets like that
for me sometimes.

I had to get out, you know?

Anyway, I see this kid out by
the school having a smoke,

so I stopped and
asked him for one.

I hope for your sake that's
not the end of the story.

No, no. I went into this little store
across the street, right? Bought a soda.

When I come out, I see this
kid arguing with somebody.

Okay. What did this
somebody look like?

It was a girl. White
About his age.

Tall, short brown hair.

He said she was carrying a dark
backpack with reflective strips.

Yeah, is there a Richie there?

Thanks, sorry to bother you.
What about his ex?

Short blonde hair.

And we think this guy's
telling the truth?

He seems like a drunk trying to
make the grade, can't hack it.

What about this other angle?
This Richie?

Well, we been going through the
girlfriend's phone records, making calls.

So far, all we know is that they ordered
a lot of takeout, but no Richie.

Lieutenant, there's a Detective
Lopez here to see you.

VAN BUREN: How can
we help you, Detective?

You tell me. Somebody paged
me about an hour ago.

ED: You plain clothes?

Narcotics. How'd you
guys get my number?

Yeah. That's the kid. I met him once
in Central Park by the bandstand.

Made a small buy.

Why didn't you arrest him?

You know how it is. We were
waiting on a bigger fish.

How big a fish you after?

That's Peter Wilder's son.

The real estate guy?

I'm gonna crack Richie's skull.

Richie?

LOPEZ: Punk CI.

He's the one who
brought me this kid.

Why. You guys know him?

We're waiting to
be formally introduced.

You been a bad boy,
Richie. Look at me.

Didn't I tell you there couldn't
be any secrets between us?

Look...
No, no, no, no. You look.

You're gonna talk to these homicide
detectives about this dead kid.

I hear you held back, Richie,

I'm gonna make arrests
you don't want me to make

on complaints
you don't wanna sign.

You understand?

This is all yours.

Make me proud, Richie.

He thinks you cost him
a promotion.

I guess nothing works
out the way you hoped.

Yeah, things didn't work out too
good for Scott Wilder either.

I don't know
anything about this.

Fine by us.

Look, all I know is,

I don't hear from Scott
for, like, a year,

and then suddenly he calls me up and
pushes me to help him move some coke.

BRISCOE: You sure
it was him pushing you?

He said he needed money.
Right away.

So you hooked him up?

We used to run together.

Then he got out.
Least, I thought he did.

Then I get this call, and he
shows up with his girlfriend.

What'd this girl look like?

Maybe 20, 21.
Short brown hair. Pretty.

BRISCOE: What was she wearing?

Suede jacket, brown.

ED: She carrying
a backpack?

Yeah. Now you say it,
I think so.

Does she have a name?

This girl didn't say anything.

I got the feeling
she didn't wanna be there.

ED: Where'd this little
meeting take place?

McDonald's. Boerum Hill.

Scott said
he was staying nearby.

So you got him back on coke, then you
introduced him to an undercover,

that about the size of it?

Hey, I don't make the introduction.
I breach my agreement.

But I never told Lopez who Scott was,
and I kept the sale under an ounce.

ED: Karen, we think that Scott
was seeing another girl.

We also think she might have been
involved in what happened to him.

I know this is tough, but

any chance you throwing him out
had anything to do with her?

He really broke my heart,
you know?

Yeah, I do.

So you do know about her?

Not who she is,

but when I found the money,
I also found this.

I don't know why I even carry
the damn thing around with me.

"Alan Rosenbeck
OB/GYN."

It's an appointment card.

I take it the appointment
wasn't for you.

And the writing on the
back, it's not Scott's.

I'm afraid all I can say is that
Scott Wilder was a patient.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Doc,

but as far as I can tell, Scott
Wilder couldn't have been pregnant.

And if he just accompanied some girl
here, that doesn't make him a patient.

Look, I'm just not comfortable

getting into specific
treatments with you.

All right, how about you just
tell us the girl's name?

Look, from what you been telling me,
I understand what's at stake, but...

What if we got written
consent from the parents?

That's only half the equation.

I can't violate one patient's
privacy at the request of another.

I really am sorry.

A guy goes to see an OB/GYN
for one of two reasons

Either he wants to be a
father, or he doesn't.

Hard to believe fatherhood was
at the top of this kid's list.

Either way,
without a steady job

he'd have had a hard time
paying for one on Park Avenue.

Yeah, well, enter drugs
as a career opportunity.

And Karen seizes the
proceeds to pay the rent.

Maybe he swallowed his pride.

Well, the parents said
they hadn't seen him.

I don't care how much
you hate your father,

you still go see him
when you're in trouble.

My daughter never did.

Wait a minute.
Hold on a second.

Hey, how you doing, man?

You mind if I ask you
a couple of questions

about your building's
sign-in sheet?

What do you need?

Scott was seen arguing with her at the
crime scene the night of the murder.

From all accounts, it wasn't
the woman he was living with.

The doctor wouldn't tell
you anything about her?

Not without the other
patient's consent.

We might have a grandchild
out there somewhere.

You don't have
any idea who she is?

This is the sign-in sheet
from the doctor's lobby

the day your son
had an appointment.

We're hoping you
recognize the name.

We told you,
we hadn't heard anything

about our son
in over two years.

We understand what
the situation was,

it's just, sometimes it's tough keeping
such a hard line with your kid.

A woman did call once
looking for Scott.

ED: When was that? JOHANNA:
Maybe eight weeks ago.

You never told me that.

I just didn't want to start all
that again with you and Scott.

I thought we agreed.
You agreed.

We both did.

That counselor told us
we had to let him go.

That it was the only way. Don't
re-write history, Johanna.

Did you get a name?
A number for this girl?

JOHANNA: We only spoke
for a moment or two.

When I told her Scott wasn't
here, she just hung up, so...

Wait, wait. Here. Jessie
I think that's it.

Wilder didn't sign in,
and from the handwriting,

it could be like a Jessie Lucas,
Logan, it's hard to tell.

Well, those are
pretty common names.

The handwriting matches the one on
the back of the appointment card.

If it's the same girl he took
with him to see Lopez's Cl,

she probably lives
somewhere near Boerum Hill.

What's the D.A.'s position on
a subpoena for the doctor?

They're working on it.

Okay, in the meantime, let's get some of
our people on the Brooklyn phone books,

and have DMV
run all the possibles,

see if we can get an address on
anyone matching our description.

Twelfth time's a charm.

Jessie left for the store about 15 minutes ago.
She'll be back any second.

Is this your daughter,
Mrs. Lucas?

BRENDA: Yes.

ED: She still wear
her hair like this?

No, it's shorter. Look, you guys haven't
told me what this is all about?

BRISCOE: We just
need to talk to her.

Mom? What's going on?

These are police officers. They
want to ask you some questions.

About what?
Scott Wilder.

Jess?

BRISCOE: Maybe we should
talk someplace else.

Am I under arrest?

What for?
What'd you do?

I didn't do anything.

We got a witness who puts you at
the crime scene arguing with him.

I didn't kill him.

We know you made a drug
buy with him, Jessie.

Yeah, a drug buy you didn't
seem too happy about.

ED: What happened, he rip you off?
Is that it?

It was nothing like that.

Then what was
the argument about?

I mean, it wouldn't
have anything to do

with a doctor's
appointment, would it?

BRISCOE: You know
what I think?

I think he got you pregnant,

and that he didn't
want the baby.

That's sick.

ED: Or maybe
he didn't want you.

I mean, he's sleeping with you.
He's living with another woman.

That couldn't
make you feel good.

Will you please just stop!

Then you find out
that he won't pay,

only you know about his family.

You know that he comes from money.
No!

You called his
parents' house one day.

ED: What was that,
a shakedown?

No. You don't understand.

Scott wasn't my lover
or my boyfriend.

We were brother and sister.
Okay? Brother and sister.

And I want a lawyer.

Brother and sister? So much for our
theory about a lovers' quarrel.

And she lawyered up.

But my detectives did some
digging on the Internet,

and it seems this doctor authored
several papers on kinship analysis.

Kinship analysis?

Yeah. It's a paternity test when
the parents aren't available.

Yeah. But I just haven't
heard of too many cases

where the mother doesn't know.

Well, it looks like
she was trying to prove

Peter Wilder as her father
using his son to do it.

So why kill him?

It's gotta have something
to do with that test,

but her physician is refusing
to release her file.

So, we were hoping you
could nudge him a little.

Yes. I love litigating
in the dark.

JUDGE: Ms. Carmichael.

Your Honor, we're requesting a subpoena
releasing Scott Wilder's medical file.

I see I have a written waiver
from the deceased's parents.

What's the complication?

Release of these records would violate
my client's doctor-patient privilege.

His client shouldn't be allowed to control
the medical information of anyone else.

Judge, the results of
the kinship analysis

contains physical data
contributed by my client,

which means you
can't release one

without revealing information
about the other.

CARMICHAEL: Your Honor,
even if that's true,

she gave up any privilege
when she volunteered

the results of the
analysis to the police.

Her statement to the
police wasn't voluntary.

It was the product
of interrogation.

There's also the issue
of self-incrimination.

The D.A.'s just trying
to get these records,

so they can find a motive to a crime
my client isn't even charged with.

What about it,
Ms. Carmichael?

We're just trying to ascertain
the facts, Your Honor.

Sounds more like
you're fishing for them.

In any event, at this point,

she's not a defendant,
and without a charge,

I'm afraid the People
have not met their burden.

Subpoena denied.

(BANGS GAVEL)

So now, all we
have is a witness

who puts her at the
school arguing with him.

And we still don't know what
the argument was about.

Not to mention a lawyer who
won't let her say a word.

Maybe she doesn't have to.

Say it's true.

Say you just discovered you're the
daughter of a very wealthy man,

what would you want from him?

Acknowledgment.
Money. Contact.

So where would you start?

You feeling like
a little man to man?

My purpose in asking these questions is
not to pry into your life, Mr. Wilder.

You think this girl killed him?

A witness places her
with your son that night,

another puts her with Scott
at a drug buy.

At this point, she's a suspect.

It's all so incredible.

Is she your daughter?

I honestly don't know.

I had an affair with her
mother a long time ago.

And you've never taken
a paternity test?

We advised against it.

But I've given this woman whatever
financial support she's asked for.

Submitting to a paternity test

results in a loss of control over the
situation, even with small odds.

I wasn't about to play Russian
roulette with child support.

Look, my wife knows
nothing about this.

Were you aware that Jessie had
made contact with your son?

PETER: No.

But about six months ago,
I'm sitting at my desk,

and a receptionist calls me and tells
me my daughter's on line three.

You spoke to her?

The truth is, we just
hoped she'd go away.

What other contact
did you have with her?

PETER: Never face to face.

After all these years,
what was the point?

But, she kept calling.

So what did you do?

I contacted her mother.

Brenda had no idea what
her daughter was doing.

She made a promise
that it would stop.

It didn't.

That's a letter that Mr. Wilder
received from Jessie.

In it, she threatens to sell
her story to the tabloids.

Unless you pay $250,000.

I decided to let
my lawyers handle it.

JACK: His lawyer
told Jessie Lucas

she'd be committing a felony if
she persisted in her demands.

Well, just what a girl wants
to hear from her father.

Wilder also threatened to terminate his
financial support for Brenda Lucas.

Nothing like pouring
gasoline on a fire.

Which might explain why
she'd kill Peter Wilder.

But his son? By all accounts,
Scott Wilder was helping her.

Well, maybe she didn't want to share
any of her newfound inheritance.

Or maybe he was
part of the plot,

and in the end, somehow,
tried to double-cross her.

Why not revenge? Or any other
reason, for that matter.

We could pick her up.

I'm not arresting her for
homicide based on speculation.

An arrest could give us leverage
with her or her mother.

Ms. Lucas.
Is your daughter home?

She's in her room.

Would you ask her
to come out, please?

Why?

Mom?

Jessie Lucas, we have a
warrant for your arrest.

My daughter did not
kill Scott Wilder.

The charge isn't murder, Ms. Lucas.
It's extortion.

I came here on my own.

You can't force me to testify
against my own daughter.

CARMICHAEL: Actually, we can.

What purpose would that serve?

Peter Wilder tells us you knew of your
daughter's efforts to contact him.

Peter Wilder is a bastard.

Well, being a bastard
isn't a defense to blackmail.

Yeah, well, it ought to be.

It ought to be a defense
to anything she did.

Including murder?

Peter Wilder would
never agree to anything.

He always threatened me
with money.

And all this time,
my daughter is growing up

believing that he's her father.

You know, he could
have put a stop to this

a long time ago if he'd just...

Jessie didn't kill his son.

Scott was helping her,
for God's sake!

Helping her extort her father?

You can answer
our questions now,

or you can answer them later, in
front of a Grand Jury, Ms. Lucas.

I was a different person
when I knew Peter.

I was dating several men.

It's a little difficult to tell
your daughter you don't know...

What did you tell her?

One day she saw me looking at a
newspaper photograph of Peter.

He was standing there
with his wife and Scott.

Anyway, Jessie just asked me,

"Is that my daddy?"

She was eight years old,

and the look in her eye...

She needed my answer to be yes.

Can you understand that? I couldn't
deny her that. I just couldn't.

Only I didn't know then
that it wasn't true.

I can't believe
she gave you this.

JACK: You believed this man was
your father for a long time.

Until the kinship analysis
told you he wasn't.

It must have come
as quite a shock

when you discovered Peter
Wilder wasn't your father.

CARMICHAEL: Only you
weren't going to let that

get in the way of a little
extortion, were you?

Don't answer her.

It has to have been difficult

seeing this family sailing
through life year after year,

while you and
your mother struggled.

But none of it was real.

You knew that the moment
you saw the test results.

Which means Scott knew, too.

Killing him would've been the only
way the truth would never be known.

You're charging her
with murder?

We have motive,
we have opportunity.

The only thing we don't
have is a murder weapon.

Jess, you have to tell them.

I can't.

I've already done enough.

How does being convicted of a crime
you didn't commit help anyone?

(SIGHS)

Counselor, if there's something
to say, now would be the time.

Jess, please.
Just tell them.

I was wrong, about all of it.

About Peter Wilder being my
father, Scott, all of it.

I just wanted to
make him notice me.

Peter Wilder?

I really believed
he was my father.

I mean, I would
look at his picture

and just know
that he was my dad.

And I couldn't understand

why he didn't love me.

I couldn't understand
what was wrong with me.

How my own father could just
pretend I didn't exist.

Finally, I realized that money was
the only thing important to him.

So you had Scott help you
blackmail his father?

But I was wrong
about Scott, too.

He wasn't happy. Not
the way I'd imagined.

Scott hated his father.

What happened that night?

Scott and I were supposed
to meet him at the school.

But standing there,
knowing the truth,

I wanted nothing from this man.

So I told Scott I couldn't
do it, and then I left.

Scott wasn't the one who
backed out that night. I was.

If Jessie's telling the truth,

she and Scott arranged to meet
Wilder at the school that night

to receive the payoff.

Only, once the kinship analysis
proved that he wasn't her father,

she couldn't
go through with it.

JACK: Apparently, the son
still wanted to go forward.

His relationship with
the father is that bad?

Wilder himself admitted
that he hadn't

spoken with his son
in over two years.

Okay.

The boy's on drugs, obviously
nothing else is working.

I mean, what could be more
painful for any parent

than to tell their
kid to get out?

He seemed to have no problem
doing it to Jessie Lucas.

He wasn't her father.

But he never knew that.

And by his own admission, he
fought against ever finding out.

All that time, leaving
this girl growing up

with the delusion
that he was her father.

Why would Wilder kill his boy?

My guess? Wilder couldn't
stand the betrayal.

LEWIN: Why didn't she say
this to the police

the first time
she was questioned?

Well, if not for the lawyer,
she probably would have.

In any event, she would have
been admitting to extortion.

And there was always Wilder's
threat to cut off the mother.

Do we have anything
to corroborate her story?

Two days before
Scott Wilder's death,

Mr. Wilder withdrew $250,000
from a brokerage account.

The same amount
of the extortion demand.

And Mr. Wilder has a .38 caliber
handgun registered in his name.

Get a warrant.

I don't understand how you
can come into our home,

and make these accusations?
He was our son.

Do you understand?
Our only child.

How could you even think we
had anything to do with this?

Just calm down.
It's going to be okay.

No, it's not. Nothing's ever
going to be okay again.

Do you have any safes in the house, Mr. Wilder?
Any private lock boxes?

PETER: No.

It's just that we don't like to destroy
personal property unless we have to.

I told you no.

Mr. Wilder, would you
mind coming here.

We need you to show us the
clothes you were wearing

the night of your son's death.

I don't think I can remember
what I was wearing that night.

Well, do you wear the same coat every day?
The same shoes?

Well, the same coat. A gray overcoat.
It's here in the closet.

There's a few different shoes
I could've been wearing.

They're upstairs.

Bag the coat. I'm gonna check
upstairs for the shoes.

CROWELL: Peter? Johanna?

Stephen, thank God you're here.

I came as quickly as I could.

I'm Mr. Wilder's attorney.
What's going on?

We have a search warrant.

I'd like to see it,
if you don't mind.

They're going
through everything.

They want his coat, his shoes.

For what purpose?

It's not because
we're cold, Counselor.

They think Peter killed Scott.

Based on what?

Well, for openers, your
client can't produce

a .38 caliber handgun that's
registered in his name.

I already told them I purchased
that gun over eight years ago.

I didn't even know it was
missing until today.

ED: Lennie.

What do you got?

Red dust.

You been to any construction
sites lately, Mr. Wilder?

Peter, don't say a word.
Not a single word.

What do we hear?

CARMICHAEL: Briscoe and Green
couldn't find the gun.

Great.

I thought you fixed
this damn thing.

They also couldn't
find any record

of Wilder reporting
the gun stolen either.

Still means you don't
have a murder weapon.

We've tried homicides
without one before.

We'll make the case.

In front of
a Grand Jury, maybe.

You really think
atrial jury's gonna believe

that Peter Wilder
killed his own son?

This guy was happy to
see Jessie Lucas charged.

Difficult or not, I think we
have an obligation to prosecute.

We also have a burden of proof.

And since it's gonna be my ass
they'll use as target practice,

I'd like to test that proof.

Get a preliminary hearing?

Get a judge
to back our position,

to agree that there's probable
cause to indict Wilder.

I lived with Scott
almost two years.

And in that time, how would you describe
his relationship with his father?

They didn't speak.
Why?

Objection. The witness
is being asked to testify

as to the mental state
of another person.

The witness lived with the
victim for almost two years.

Certainly she knew his mind.

I do think I need
a little context here.

I'll allow it,
if the witness knows.

Scott's father
was bigger than life.

Everything about him,
even the buildings he put up.

Scott always felt like he could never measure up.
No matter what he did.

I think he just wanted
to get even that night.

The dust found on Mr. Wilder's
shoes is from fireclay brick.

JACK: What's the
significance of that?

It's the same brick used
at the Wilshire School.

Our analysis of the dust also showed
other variables unique to the site,

including chemicals used in
the sandblasting process.

So the dust on Mr. Wilder's shoes
can be identified with the school?

It's an exact match.

Your evidence indicates that my client
was present at the school yard?

DENSON: Correct.

But when, you don't know?

No.

So, had my client gone to the school
yard on a subsequent morning,

doing what any grieving
parent might do,

visiting the site
where his child died,

that would be consistent with
your findings, wouldn't it?

Yes, it would.

No further questions.

JACK: When did you first make
contact with Scott Wilder?

About eight months ago,

through a private investigator.

Why were you so interested
in meeting him?

At the time, I thought Peter
Wilder was my father.

Why make contact with his son?

Because he wouldn't see me.

He wouldn't even speak to me.

I had been told about a type of
paternity test, a kinship analysis,

and that test can verify whether
two people share a common parent.

What was Scott's
reaction meeting you?

He wanted to help.

The night of Scott Wilder's
murder, you were with him?

Yes.

Tell the court why.

We'd arranged to meet
Mr. Wilder to get money.

Money for what?

To keep Scott and me quiet about
the fact he was my father.

And did you in fact meet
Mr. Wilder that night?

No. I did not.

Why not?

Because I found out
I wasn't his daughter.

And finding out just
made me understand

that whatever it was
I was looking for from him,

I wasn't ever going to find it.

And I needed to get on
with my own life.

Did Scott Wilder agree
with your decision?

No. In fact,
he got angrier.

See, Scott...

See, Scott thought that he was finally
going to be able expose his father,

and when I told him that I wasn't his
sister, he just couldn't let it go.

He thought that if he did that his
father would just get away with it.

With the affair and everything.

And I just couldn't convince
him to leave with me.

And where did
all this take place?

At the Wilshire School.

Scott said that was the place
that it had all started.

The beginning of all
the disappointments.

And he thought
it should end there.

Thank you.

You spent a long time on this quest
to find your father, didn't you?

All my life.

You hired a lawyer
and a private investigator?

He wouldn't talk to me.

And you're not one to take no for
an answer, are you, Ms. Lucas?

Not from my father, no.

But he wasn't your father.

I didn't know that.

So you called Mr. Wilder

and you told him that you'd
gotten his son to help you?

Yes.

But, even when you knew,
when you knew for a fact,

that he was not your father,

that didn't stop you from trying
to blackmail him either, did it?

I didn't go through with it.

But Scott did?
Yes.

Scott, the son who stood
to inherit everything,

and you, the rejected
child with nothing.

But it was him, he was
the one that did it.

That's what we argued about.

You argued?
Yes.

But it wasn't about Scott wanting
to go through with it, was it?

The D.A.'s
report indicates

that you told them that you were
responsible for Scott's death.

That's not what I meant.

CROWELL: Scott Wilder was in
possession of information

that would forever put to rest your
obsession that his father was yours,

that would turn off,
forever, the money spigot.

You knew that the only way that
your plan could succeed now

would be if Scott
were to keep his mouth shut,

and that's why you
killed him, didn't you?

No.

And now you dare
come into this courtroom,

and blame his father
for his death.

Haven't you done
enough to this family,

without dragging them
through all of this?

LEWIN: The press won't
be kind to us tomorrow.

Wilder's people
will see to that.

JACK: It won't be the first time
we've taken a hit in the headlines.

It's the first time I have.

If we can get Wilder
to take the stand...

LEWIN: No, he won't testify.

Not now. Why should he? His
lawyer did all the work for him.

This guy always gets his lawyers
to do the work for him.

And he always plays to win.

LEWIN: What's your point?

Jessie Lucas had been going
after that money for months.

Why suddenly fold
your hand that night?

And why go down
there by yourself?

Something made him
change his mind.

Or he never changed
his mind at all.

He went down there because he
had no intention of paying.

I hope this meeting is to inform
us you're withdrawing charges.

No, I'm afraid not.

What's this?

CARMICHAEL: Those are
the phone records

from your client's
place of business.

I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Phone records of what?

Will you explain it to her,
Mr. Wilder, or should we?

Your husband called
Brenda Lucas several times

in the days before
Scott was killed.

JACK: We know she told you
Jessie wasn't your daughter,

but your son was still willing
to betray you, wasn't he?

He was still willing
to fleece his old man,

and you just couldn't let him
get away with that, could you?

It wasn't like that.

You sat there and allowed your lawyer
to accuse that girl of murder.

What else could it be?

You did it.

You killed him.

Listen to me, Johanna.
Listen to what?

How to turn our son
out into the streets?

CROWELL: All right. I'm
gonna need an adjournment

to have these records examined.

No. Let's get it over with.

This is not wise, Peter.

What the hell's
left to protect, Stephen?

I've been running from
this thing for too long.

I went to meet Scott.

Yes, I was angry, but I thought
if I could just talk to him.

Just to talk to him, Jo.

Why can't you people
just leave it alone?

What happened that
night, Mr. Wilder?

He was waiting for me
in the school yard,

the same way he did
when he was a boy.

(LAUGHS) He was
so sure he had me.

When I told him
I knew the truth

it was like his whole world
just fell in on him.

Like the only reason for his
being alive was to show me up.

That's when I saw the gun.

He must've taken it at some
point when he was in the house.

I don't know.

At first, I thought
he was going to shoot me,

but then he pointed it...

He pointed it at his own head.

He started to cry.
He said,

"This is what you wanted
all along, isn't it?"

"What you always wanted."

I could see he was going to do it, too.
Just to get back at me. So stupid.

So I just reached for it,

but he wouldn't let go.

The gun went off twice.

When I looked down,
his eyes were open.

And, God...

God help me, I just picked
up the gun and I ran.

I would never hurt him.

Whatever you may think of
me, Johanna He was my son.

We gave up the right
to call him our son

a long time ago.

Can I assume you won't be going
forward with the murder charge?

If we can verify
it was a suicide.

CARMICHAEL: One child starved
for his recognition,

the other crushed under the
weight of his disapproval.

With a father forced to admit
complicity in his son's suicide.

There are worse
places than prison.