Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 16, Episode 5 - Life Line - full transcript

In the criminal justice system

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

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Come on.

Come on, papi, you need to
buy me another drink first.

Oh, no more drinks, mamacita.
I want you. Get off.

You gotta pay for that, fool.

L Pay.

$20? That's it?



It's all I have.

Y cu know what SN
gas you, homes'?

That was a rolling meat house.

Pimp thugs broke in with liquor and
girls, set up shop for a few days

and then blew out.

That ain't the first brothel that's
moved through this building.

First homicide.
Is the super gone?

Everybody is, can't get one witness.
All the Johns are illegals.

Day laborers. Gang spreads the
word down at the laundromat,

"Come get liquored up and laid."

Bleed 'em to death before they
can send their paycheck home.

Juanita Doe.

She was shot
three times from behind.

Stippling and powder burns
on the back of her hand,



last bullet was point blank.

She tried to cover up.

Any shell casings?

No, it could've been a revolver
or the shooter picked them up.

Uniform fished it
out of a dumpster.

Undisturbed pool of blood,
no scuff marks.

Yeah, she was shot right here.

Cosmetics,
not bad stuff, either.

And one of those music players?

Yeah, but check out these tats.

"Lil' T?"

That's gang ink, right there.

Well, she's wearing blue
and white, L-12 colors.

"Locotes Doces."
It's a West Coast gang.

Weren't they all at one time?

Let's get her photo
over to Gang Intelligence.

Maybe she's a wannabe
or a property of this gang.

Hold on. Check this out.

Tat's a fake?

I wonder what else.

All three bullets
entered from behind.

Last one went clean through her
hand and fractured the skull.

Any other defensive wounds?

Just the bruise on her left arm.

Assailant probably grabbed at
her as she attempted to flee.

No signs of the usual wear
and tear of a hooker?

No tracks, no STDs,
no rectal tearing.

If she was a hooker, she's
the first one I've met

who wears better
underwear than me.

You ever seen
fake tats like that?

Plenty of L-12 tattoos, just
never phonied up like that.

It's henna with
the chemical PPD.

Makes the ink darker,
last longer.

Excuse me.

Bullet also took out a
piece of her upper jaw

along with two incisors
and some first rate veneers.

First-rate veneers? That's
strange for a gangbanger.

I had a forensic dentist
take a look at her teeth.

She's 24 years old.

Latent's got a match. Her
prints popped up on AFIS.

Teresa Richter?
What's that, German?

Yeah. Arrested four years ago.

New Haven Police Department.

She even gave them
a Yale student ID.

Yale? What was she arrested for?

Human rights protest.

"Justice for
the women of Juarez."

Yeah, that's where all those Mexican
girls went missing at the border.

That look like
the same girl to you?

This girl looks heavier,

and the skin tone's off, but
that could just be the lighting.

It is a four point match
on the prints, though.

Well, she called her parents
after she was arrested.

The number comes back to an
apartment in the West Village.

See if you can get some answers.

Teresa's abroad. My wife just
spoke with her the other day.

Where was she, Estela? Budapest?

Prague, but that was on Tuesday.

She was on her way to Budapest.

What's going on, Detective? Ls
she in some kind of trouble?

No, her name came up
in an investigation.

Do you have a recent photo of
your daughter, Mrs. Richter?

We could give you
her voice mail.

She usually calls in
every day or two.

That would be great.

Does Teresa live here with you?

Our daughter's way too
independent, Detective.

She has a sublet
studio over on Clinton.

If you could give us
that address, also.

That's Columbia, right?

Grad school, journalism.
She went to Yale undergrad.

Is she a journalist? Aspiring.

She had a job at the New
Yorker as a fact checker,

but she felt it wasn't making
enough of a difference.

These were taken
at Christmas time.

Can't you tell us what's
really going on, Detective?

Mr. and Mrs. Richter, I think
you should take a seat.

Girl comes and goes
at all hours.

Haven't seen her around
in awhile, though.

Only late with the
rent once, I remember.

She ever bring anybody
up here, a boyfriend, maybe?

Never seen nobody. She kinda
kept to herself, though.

All right, man,
we got it. Thanks.

She must be a journalist.
Take a look at this mess.

Ah, she left her cell phone.

Check this guy out.

"Locotes-12."

The Feds been deporting those
dudes by the truckloads.

Drugs, auto theft rings,
extortion, you name it.

Must be a dozen
stories here about L-12.

Newspaper clippings, photos...

Well, obviously, she lied to her
parents about going abroad.

And all this gang research...

Well, if she was putting
together a story,

who was she working for?

I'm not sure, but look at this.

Caller ID, Village Weekly.

Same thing I tell
every kid her age.

Get out and write something
while you still remember

why you want to do it
in the first place.

So you didn't hire
Teresa Richter?

She actually pitched me
one interesting idea.

I told her to go
for it, you know?

Send me the first 1,000 words.

What kind of story?

A Latino gang story,
sex trafficking.

She seemed to know all about it.
L-12.

You sent this girl undercover
to do a story about L-12?

You ever stop to think
what they might do to her

if they found out that she was a
reporter doing a story on them?

Last I checked, we were talking
about an adult professional

writing a story on spec.

A minute ago she was a green
kid looking for a break.

You have any idea how
dangerous these people are?

Yeah, if they weren't,
it wouldn't be a story.

Who knows, if they're
as dangerous as you say,

maybe she'll get a
book option out of it.

We're gonna need
whatever she sent you.

What's going on here,
is she under arrest?

She's dead, jackass.

What?

Oh, my God.

You're serious?
Yeah, we're serious.

Who introduced her to this gang?

I don't know.

She met a girl through
gang counseling

at a church affiliated program.

Everything you've got,
go get it.

She said she was running
away from somewhere?

All these girls are always
running away from something.

I wasn't about to turn her away.

They always come to me when
they get scared or knocked up.

So when did Teresa quit?

She stopped coming to group
counseling about a month ago.

I'd hate to think now
she used me to get access.

She get to know anyone
in group counseling?

There was one chica.
Dolores, Lola.

Strong one, you know?

Like she could do anything,
a natural leader.

Teresa gravitated to her,
encouraged her.

Encouraged her to what?

Sell her own line of
street wear, Vato Chic.

Lola knew some way to get around a
vendor license over on Spring Street.

Do you have a phone number
for Lola?

No, see, they told me I didn't need
no permit out here on weekends.

This is not about a permit.

But we do have some questions
about your partner, Teresa.

Why you gotta hassle me
in front of customers?

You gonna answer that?

It's nobody.

Maybe it's your partner, Lil' T?

She ain't my partner.

Me and my couz Flaca here trying
to run a straight up business.

I ain't seen Lil'
T in like a week.

Well, the way we hear it, you two
were going into business together.

You see her around?

She might've helped me
get my stuff out here,

but she ain't into
clothes like me.

Why, what's up with her?

I don't know. You tell me.

Oh, my God.

Who did that to her?

That's what we're
trying to figure out.

So why don't you come
downtown with us

and help us sort
this whole thing out.

Okay.

Oh, damn!

Lola, we know you're in there. Now,
come out slow with your hands up.

Come here. Come here.

You know, you really ought
to change that ring tone.

Where were you last night, Lola?

I said I was over at my aunt's,

ironing all my clothes
to sell this morning.

I ain't even seen Lil' T
in like a week.

And we ain't had no bad blood.

It's Dolores, right?

Dolores,

how's your little boy?

What's that got
to do with anything?

NYPD Gang Unit

keeps track of these things,
like, who your son's father is.

Alberto Torres,

Locotes-12, alpha dog.

So?

Beto's his daddy, but
it ain't like he's around.

No, he's finishing
a nickel upstate,

and he still considers you
his lady.

But you know, Dolores, that doesn't
make you his piece of property.

What you mean?

Girl, you racked up quite a
record before you were 18.

Maybe now you're trying
to turn things around.

But I'm going to tell you,

you go down for a
conspiracy murder charge,

you won't hold your son
again until he's 28.

Conspiracy, what?

You were the one
who brought Teresa in.

You introduced her to the vatos.

Hey, some chica
want to come hang out,

homies ain't gonna
push her away.

Until they found out
who she really was.

What you mean, who she was?

Teresa Richter,
the undergrad years.

Teresa what? Who's that?

Lil' T was a journalist,
Dolores.

Hell, no.
She used you to get inside.

To get a story,
L-12's criminal activities.

Didn't nobody
use me for nothing.

You vouched for her, Dolores.

Uh-uh! I didn't
vouch for that girl.

And she betrayed you.
Homies for life?

That stops right here,
right now.

Unless you want your son
to be raised by the state.

Whoa! Hold up.

This is crazy.

You think I killed her?

You didn't have to.

You New he: Cover to
Beta or some other vato,

they threw her out
with the trash.

I didn't do that.

And I want a lawyer, now.

We already got two calls
from Shepard and Goldberg,

asking if we had her in custody.

We tried stalling them, but
they're already on their way.

That's a big time law firm.

Who hired them?

Maybe Beto found out that we were
holding the mother of his child.

Well, if you leave now,

you can beat the rush
hour train to Ossining.

Your gang hierarchy.

That's Beto in the
middle, Alberto Torres.

First thing he did was
organize all the L-12 cliques.

Hasn't been a problem
on his cellblock since.

What about the bald one
sitting to the left?

Oscar Diablo Morales.
His lieutenant.

Does all his dirty work
for him now.

Oh, yeah? Why's that? Beto's
up for parole in four months.

He's gotta keep his nose clean.

Don't know her.

The mother of your child did.

She was hanging out with L-12
for the last few months.

I miss out on
a lot of fine chicas.

Down side of being locked up.

Lola never mentioned
her name to you?

No.

She never said nothing.

Turns out that this girl was a writer.
And that L-12 was her story.

For real? That's good.

I been encouraging Lo
to reach out,

make new friends.

Meet better people.

She wanted to expose
the organized activities

of your little gang.

Like the trafficking of underage
girls for prostitution.

All news to me.

She was going to name names.

You mind if I keep this?

Here's how it works, Alberto.

You give us whoever shot this
girl in the back three times,

we take him in and that's that.

You play games, we run
Lola through the system

and good luck getting your
kid back from Child Services.

No way I green-lit this girl.

You think I need this kind of heat
when I'm about to walk out of here?

Better her dead
than the story comes out.

Nah, you ain't ringing
me up for this.

Five months, I walk.

CO.

On the gate.

Don't get too comfortable.

You're taking a ride out
to Long Island.

Teresa Richter's phone dump?

Yeah, she cut off almost all
contact to pursue her story,

but she received one phone call about
an hour before she was killed.

Short duration, 516 area code.

Who'd the phone come back to?

A disposable cell.

Criminals' delight. Yeah.

TARU traced the point of purchase
to a Fleetmart in Malverne.

We don't sell
too many of those phones.

So I remember 'cause
he bought two with cash.

White guy. Anything else?

Minutes cards, too. All cash.

No, I mean, anything
other than white guy?

You know, just like
a businessman.

Brownish hair, I don't know, 50?

Doesn't sound like
you remember him at all.

It was over $300 in cash.

Guys like that charge
everything over 20 bucks.

You mean white guys over 50.

Yeah, frequent fliers.

Here we go. Same serial numbers.

Around 7:30 Tuesday.

Hey, does that thing work?

There, that's him.

Well, he's a white
guy, all right.

Wait a second.

Did this guy stop at a pump?

Yeah, I think so.

He pay cash for that, too?

No, credit card at the pump.

I'm sorry, Kevin's
not home right now.

Did you say NYPD?

Yes, ma'am. That's right.

Do you know where we can
get a hold of Mr. Drucker?

He's at work.

Is this regarding the car?

Well, yes, ma'am,
it is regarding the car.

- Oh, you found it?
- No, ma'am.

Did you file the report?

My husband did, it was his car.

It was stolen from
right here off the street.

It's just been
this huge nightmare.

We understand.
Anything else stolen?

Well, his wallet was in the car.

This is all in
the police report.

What time's your husband
usually get home?

Around 7:30. He takes the train.

But you should
really talk to him.

Now, if we can get his cell phone
number, that would be great.

Unless that was stolen, too.

No, thank God,
that wasn't in the car.

He's in commercial real estate.

It's his lifeline.

Right. If we can get his phone number
at work, that would be great, too.

I had to cancel all my cards,
replace my driver's license.

Oh, I know, it's a huge
pain in the neck.

But you still have
your cell phone, right?

Oh, yeah. I'd be in a
real pickle without that.

It's the one thing
I didn't lose.

We thought maybe you
purchased a replacement.

You know, one of those
disposable ones?

Disposable?

Yeah, you know, like those little burners
that they sell at the Stop-N-Robs?

Like Fleetmart.

NO, sorry, guys-

Maybe they used my credit
card before I canceled it?

This one was
purchased with cash.

And it was used to call a certain
young lady night before last.

You recognize her?

No. Afraid I can't
help you, guys.

You know, her apartment
is not too far from here.

We thought maybe you met before.

No, I've never seen her
before in my life.

Or maybe she threatened to call
your wife and tell her otherwise.

Whoa, now you are
way out of bounds.

Do I need to talk
to a lawyer here?

Only if you've done
something wrong.

I just told you I never
called that girl.

Does your insurance company
provide for a rental vehicle?

Yeah, it's sitting
in the parking lot

at the Long Island
train station,

where I leave it every morning.

You mind if we
take a look at it?

I think you need
a warrant for that.

I'm sure we can get one,
if you'd like.

What was the name
of the rental company?

You know what, I got
nothing to hide here.

Here, go ahead.
Check out the damn car.

You want my MetroCard, too?

No, but if we can get the number
off of it, that would be fine.

Thank you.

Just got off the phone
with the boys at the garage.

Drucker's rental is clean.

There was a new charge that popped
up on his new VISA this morning,

from the rental car company.

We're looking into it.

Drucker took the train
home last night.

He swiped his MetroCard
at 1800 hours.

He could have turned around,
drove back into the city.

You check his E-ZPass?

It's listed as stolen
on the report for the car.

I'll check his pass tag, but this guy's
been paying cash for everything.

So, outside of an errant phone
call, we can't prove anything.

L think he's our guy
and he's lying.

Hey, Drucker switched out
his rental car this morning

from an SUV to a sedan.

Now, they haven't
washed the SUV yet,

and I told them
not to go near it.

Too clever by half.

So what did he do,
wipe down the upholstery?

Yeah. Some sort of
disinfectant wipes.

But Luminol revealed a few
specks of uncontaminated blood

on the doorjamb and the carpet
of the passenger side floor.

Just a few specks of blood?

Spatter, likely
from the first shot

after the victim
tried to flee the car.

Do we know the blood type?

Same as Teresa Richter. And the
M.E.'s agreed to rush the DNA.

All right. Thanks, Beck.

Last call to the victim was from
Drucker and her blood is in his car.

Yeah. But, no murder weapon, no witnesses
and no readily apparent motive.

Yeah, but the D.A.
loves a challenge.

I'm calling the Lieutenant.

I sincerely hope this
is an apology, Detectives.

Sorry to have to
do this here, ma'am.

- On your feet. On your feet!
- What?

Mr. Drucker, you're under arrest
for the murder of Teresa Richter.

Murder? Kevin, what
are they talking about?

It's a mistake. It's a mistake.
I swear it.

It's always a mistake.

Call my lawyer. Call him now.

Docket number 58432.
"People v. Kevin Drucker."

"Charge of Murder
in the Second Degree."

How would your client
like to plead?

Everything all right, Counselor?

He pleads not guilty,
Your Honor.

Voila. People on bail?

Your Honor, given
the gravity of the crime

and Mr. Drucker's
high net worth,

the People ask that
the defendant be remanded.

The State vastly overestimates
my client's assets,

most of which are non-liquid.

Mr. Drucker has
no criminal record

and no intention
of leaving his wife

or his good standing in the community
behind. He poses no flight risk.

So, pick a number, Counselor.

We request that bail
be set at $50,000.

That amount is hardly
commensurate with.

Mr. Drucker's
access to resources.

How much do you want?

Excuse me, Mr. Drucker?

I'm very sorry, Your Honor.

The prospect of incarceration is just
a bit overwhelming to my client.

Good. Just tell him that one
further outburst like that

and I'll make sure
he's remanded without bail.

Terribly sorry, Your Honor,
it won't happen again.

I'm going to set bail
at half a million dollars

and the defendant will
surrender his passport.

Get your client together
for trial, Counselor.

Any scent of a plea?

Klein says Drucker is not interested in
any deal that involves him doing time.

Then he's got a serious problem.

You don't think
we're shy a few pieces?

We've got the victim's blood
in the defendant's car.

A rental car that was no longer
in Drucker's possession.

He swapped out a bloody car.
What else do you want?

Murder weapon,
witnesses, motive?

My guess would be
an affair with the victim.

I've pored over
every phone record.

It's weird, his record's clean.

But he got a few collect calls from
County to his home over a year ago.

Who does Drucker know in jail?

Possibly no one now, the
calls stopped a year ago.

Find out. Maybe it's not
just prison he's afraid of.

We found other calls from Westchester
County to Drucker's cell.

Ossining area code.

Sing Sing?

Patterson Drucker?

Drucker's son.

Twenty-two-year-old kid doing
two to six on a drug sentence.

How'd you find him?

Calls came from an unidentified
disposable cell phone.

The latest in prison contraband.

It's the same type Drucker
used to call the victim.

And according to his E-ZPass,

he's been making trips
upstate every other weekend.

There's more than one number here
from the Ossining area code.

We think Drucker was smuggling cell
phones into Sing Sing for his son.

My dad's locked up?

He's out on bail.
At least until the trial.

You know who this is, Patterson?

That's who he killed?

She was a journalist.

We believe your dad shot her three times.
Any idea why?

My dad's got his problems,
I got mine.

Why don't you ask his new wife?

We think you and your dad may be
sharing the same big problems.

Here's two of them.

Same cellblock as you.

It might interest you to know
we just searched their cells.

Found a cell phone in Diablo's.

Beto managed to flush his before
they could confiscate it.

The same kind of phone they
found hidden in your cell.

Your father's
smuggling them in to you.

Contraband for L-12.

In exchange for protection?

Doesn't seem to be working.

You've been in the infirmary three
times in the last six months.

The nurse said you won't
file assault charges

against whoever came after you.

That would not
help my situation.

It could mean
protective custody.

People like you should
spend one week in here.

Then maybe that would
actually mean something.

There's a connection
here, Patterson.

This gang, you and your
father, this girl's murder.

And you want my help?

You want my help?
Get me out of here.

Otherwise, get lost.

Drucker allowed $20,000
worth of cash advances

on his debit card before an ATM
confiscated it from this woman.

Who is Josefina Morales?

Diablo's sister.

The gang was
bleeding him dry, Jack.

For all we know, he could have
just let them take his car.

And Drucker never
contacted the police?

They had his son. And they
wanted Teresa Richter dead.

So they trust a commercial real estate
broker from Long Island with the hit?

Well, they had
this guy on a string.

We have enough evidence to prosecute
Kevin Drucker for murder.

What about L-12?
We just let that go?

Let Klein argue that his
client acted under duress.

If he wants to elaborate
on their involvement.

But what if
Drucker won't let him?

Won't let him?
It's Drucker's life.

They have his son, Jack.

Who's a possible
conspirator to murder.

We should release him in the hopes
that his father will talk to us?

I didn't say that.

At the very least, we
should secure his safety.

Well, we can only consider a deal in
exchange for Drucker's testimony.

We know your son was assaulted
inside prison, Mr. Drucker.

We know you received cell
phone calls from him

and L-12 gang members
inside prison.

From phones that you
purchased and activated.

You also deposited money into
the canteen of Diablo Morales.

And allowed his sister to withdraw
thousands of dollars from your account

over a period of six months.

Where you going with all this?

The victim had ties to L-12. We have
reason to believe they wanted her dead.

Were they threatening
your son, Mr. Drucker?

Was this some misguided attempt
on your part to help him?

Were you coerced into doing
this gang's bidding?

My client's not admitting
to anything here.

If he tells us what happened,
we may be able to help.

If the criminal acts were
committed under duress...

What are you offering?

Man One, 20 years. In exchange
for his testimony against L-12.

You allocute to your crime, then
you testify at the ensuing trial.

What makes you think I'll make
it to that trial, Mr. McCoy?

We've arranged for
protective custody.

Do you know who they are?

And what about my son?

We won't prosecute
your son for conspiracy.

He'll be eligible
for parole in two years.

If I testify,
he won't live that long.

We've already recommended that he be
transferred to a different facility.

You can't protect me or my son
in there and you know that,

but you don't really care.

See, you're negotiating
in bad faith, Mr. McCoy.

I'm not sure what else
we can do here.

Please explain to your client
that there isn't a better deal.

Your deal will kill my son.

You understand what you're facing, Mr.
Drucker?

Life in prison.

Actually, I think I understand it
better than you do, Mr. McCoy.

Teresa Richter
was only 24 years old.

An Ivy League graduate
who aspired to be a writer,

to make a difference,

to help women
less fortunate than her.

But now, that will never happen.

As Teresa attempted to flee from the car
that had been rented by Kevin Drucker,

he shot her in the back.

She fell and he shot her again.

She tried to crawl

and cover herself,

but he shot her a third time,

at close range,
in the back of the head.

This was a cold-blooded
execution, ladies and gentlemen.

The evidence in this case
will prove to you,

beyond a reasonable doubt, that
the defendant, Kevin Drucker,

brutally murdered
Teresa Richter.

Mr. Klein?

Defense waives opening,
Your Honor.

All right, then. Mr. McCoy, you
may call your first witness.

The blood that was found
in the car, whose was it?

Teresa Richter's.

The DNA analysis
was a 13 loci match.

What exactly does that mean?

Meaning the statistical
probability that the blood

belonged to somebody else is
more than a trillion to one.

More than a trillion.

More than the number
of people on the Earth?

There haven't been that many people on
the planet since the beginning of time.

Dead or alive.

Thank you, nothing further.

Did you obtain the rental
car from my client?

No. The detectives obtained the
vehicle from the rental car company.

So you have no idea
who else drove the car

before or after
my client, do you?

That's correct. But surely
there were other drivers.

Did you find any other
prints or DNA in the car?

No, but as I said...

Right. As you said,
you didn't even find

my client's prints
in the car, did you?

No, I did not. What about
prints on the murder weapon?

I did not recover any prints
from a murder weapon.

Nor any prints or DNA from
any other witness or suspect

in a gang-infested neighborhood.

That's enough!

Mr. Klein, would you like a
moment to speak with your client?

Yes, thank you, Your Honor.

Nothing further, Your Honor.
Thank you.

Drucker's sabotaging
his own lawyer.

Could be a tactic, a back
door to a duress defense.

Or that he's so completely
under this gang's thumb.

At this point, I don't even know
who's driving the bus anymore.

We gave them every
opportunity to make a deal.

You want me to go back to Drucker,
see if he's willing to concede?

Let's just wait until
after he's convicted.

Some people need the Sword
of Damocles to see the light.

No further witnesses, Your Honor.
The Prosecution rests.

Witnesses for the Defense?

I'm sorry. One moment,
please, Your Honor.

Right now.

I don't want it.

Your Honor, the Defense rests.

Rests?

Yes, Judge.

Both sides, in chambers.

Am I missing something,
Counselor?

Is there a defense for
these charges?

Reasonable doubt, Your Honor.

In accordance with my client.

Then I want it on the record that
this was a strategic decision.

To prevent this case
being overturned

because of ineffective
assistance of counsel.

I was prepared
with a vigorous defense,

but my client no longer
wants to proceed.

Is that true, Mr. Drucker?

Yes, Your Honor.

Mr. Drucker, you do understand

that you have a right
to offer evidence?

To call witnesses, even to
testify on your own behalf?

I choose not to, Your Honor.

All right.
Your life, Mr. Drucker.

Summations tomorrow morning.

Man One, 20 years. In
exchange for his testimony.

He doesn't care
about the weight, Jack.

Department of Corrections is transferring
your son into protective custody.

Best I can do.

He's convinced his
son will die in prison.

You're wrong, Mr. Drucker.

It'll be you who dies
in prison. Of old age.

Mr. McCoy,

I don't care anymore.

You believe this guy?

Vacate a sentence?
Is that you, Jack McCoy?

Drucker's son has already served

the majority of his sentence
for drug possession.

Right, what's another drug
dealer back on the street?

To hell with consistency
and finality.

He's a non-violent
offender, Arthur.

Last we talked, that kid was the one
who started this whole ball rolling.

Conspiracy to murder.

As long as his son
is still in prison,

Kevin Drucker will not
testify against L-12.

And a killer goes to prison
for the crime he committed.

I'm not gonna lose
any sleep over that.

And let this gang that ordered
the hit go soot-free?

To what end? L-12 is becoming
as big a menace as the mob.

Why let the big fish
wriggle off the hook

when we can land them all?

Which fish would that be?
Torres? Morales?

We can prosecute Diablo Morales
right now with Drucker's testimony.

We get Diablo, we may be able to
keep Beto Torres behind bars.

What about Beto's
girlfriend, Lola?

She flips, we won't have
to release anybody.

Shut down and unreliable.

We don't even have
enough to prosecute her.

Well, how do we know that Drucker's
testimony is even worth anything?

We hold the son until he
testifies, he won't dare burn us.

Getting his son out is
all that matters to him.

Drucker's going to prison,
no matter what.

We need his testimony.

Father goes in, son comes out.

It's still a good deal.

Teresa Richter deserves justice.

Okay, Jack. Go fish.

I have to name names?

Absolutely. As co-conspirators,

not a backdoor
to a duress defense.

The D.A. is willing to
terminate your son's sentence.

It's the best
they can do, Kevin.

When will you release my son?

Only after you testify.

Things just got so out of hand.

I want the nightmares to stop.

I want to apologize.

To her parents.

There'll be an opportunity to
make a statement of remorse.

And I want to talk to my son.

After allocution.

I'll draw up the papers.

What happened to your ear, Pat?

What's all this?

Just sit down.

You talked to these guys?

Do me a favor, once, will you?

Just sit down and
shut up and listen.

I got something to tell you.

It is over.

L told them. Everything.

Oh, my God.

Just listen to me.
How could you do this?

They're going to let you go.

What do you mean, let me go?

The state will transfer you
to protective custody.

After I testify, they are going
to let you walk out of here.

Did they put you up to this?

How could you let him do this?

Your father killed someone.

We didn't open
the doors on that.

I killed an innocent girl, Pat.

I got to answer for that.

I'm going away for a long
time, no matter what.

You finger these guys, you
won't last 20 minutes in here.

You let me worry
about that, okay?

They're getting you out of here.

You're free.

So that's it, then.

You're on your own.

I can't help you anymore.

No, don't worry about me.

Hey, Pat?

You try to do something
with your life, will you?

They're gonna kill you in here.

I died the day
I killed that girl.

How many times did the
defendant call you, Mr. Drucker?

Half a dozen times.

Did he identify himself
when he called?

Only once, by his gang name.

Diablo.

After that, I recognized his voice
and the number from there on out.

That's it.
Secure the defendant, please.

Mr. Morales, you do that again,
you'll watch your own trial

inside a cell on
closed circuit TV.

Clear?

How did Mr. Morales
get your number?

My son is on the same cell
block with him in prison.

He told me all about Diablo

and the gang that he
is a member of, L-12.

What did the defendant
want with you?

Money, mostly.

I gave it to them in the hopes that
they would leave my son alone.

It didn't work.

Records show that the defendant

called you two days before the shooting.
What was that about?

A girl named Teresa.

He gave me her number

and said that I should call her

and tell her I had information
about L-12 for her.

Quiet!

Remove him from the courtroom.

One more outburst like that
and I'll clear the courtroom.

Teresa Richter?

The young lady that you shot?

What did the defendant tell you?

He told me

that if I didn't kill her,

they would kill my son.

You're dead, holmes.

You're a dead man!

That's it! Clear the gallery.

What are you offering?

Murder two, 25-to-life, to run
concurrent with his present sentence.

All you really have
is a phone call.

If anyone else was involved, now's
his chance to help himself.

Much as it pains me,
he'll get protective custody.

What you think?

I'm some kind of punk bitch?
Like that kid we turned out?

I really don't want to be in this room
with your client any more than I have to.

What's it going to be?

Hey, what you going
to do to me, hmm?

Put me back inside?

That's where
we run the show, holmes.

Where we recruit.

Your client doesn't seem to
care if he rots in prison.

You ain't noticed, there ain't
nothing I can't already do inside.

I can get to anybody,

inside or out.

Even you.

What's this?

Transcripts of recordings
by Teresa Richter

for an article she was writing,

with extensive
interviews with Lola.

The mother of Beto's child.

Least that's what Lola told
Beto after her son was born,

when he was in prison.

She lied.

Lola was too scared to tell
Beto that the kid wasn't his.

That she cheated on him
right after he got sent up.

With you.

Lola panicked when she found out

she'd been
talking to a journalist.

So she called you.

Beto didn't even know you
wanted Teresa dead, did he?

But he will know,

as soon as Teresa Richter's
story comes out on the news.

Good luck with your recruiting
drive after your boss finds out

the kid he's been supporting
is really yours.

You didn't really think Diablo
would take a deal, did you, Jack?

I figured I'd offer him
a fighting chance.

The next few months
are going to be hell.

Maybe Teresa Richter's story will
do some good for those girls.

Maybe. Thanks for
all your hard work, Alex.

“N 'm.

See you tomorrow. Night, Jack.

Excuse me, miss?

You tell your boss
we were that close.