Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 19, Episode 11 - Lucky Stiff - full transcript

A con artist is convicted in the death of one of his "business partners." But when he and his wife are killed after his conviction, a new motive--and new suspects--emerge in the original crime.

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.

No. The problem is I've got too
many damn trucks off the street.

That's the problem.

It was freezing last night.
This is what happens.

The fuel filter clogs.

So change it.

We're going through
filters like toilet paper.



I used the last one an hour ago.

Go pick up another
case at Auto Mart,

and from now on, just fill
the tank with the regular stuff.

You're the boss.

I gotta go.

(CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)

I take it he didn't
get hit by a bike.

Yeah, a .45 caliber Schwinn.

Two to the back.

No powder residue,
it wasn't close range.

Running from a mugging?

No, his wallet was
in his back pocket.

But check out that wrist.

Hmm.



Yeah, somebody
ripped off his watch.

Vic Russell, President,
Westside Express.

"We're quicker than you think."

Wrong.

Yeah, that... That's Vic.

Oh, my God.

Oh, we're sorry, miss.

Was Mr. Russell married?
Did he have a family?

No. He never mentioned any.

What's going to
happen to the company?

I don't know. Was
there a manager?

I answered the phones,
routed the drivers.

But Vic ran everything,
40 trucks, day and night.

Including last night?

He left early, around 6:00.

He say where he was going?

That would have been a first.

We operate on a
need-to-know basis around here.

Klein, 6:30. Got
any idea who this is?

Oh, Mr. Klein.

Vic? God! I thought these
things don't happen anymore.

They still happen.

We understand he came
to visit you last night.

He was right here.

He was one of my
carbon-offset contractors.

We thought he
ran delivery trucks.

That's right.

People today are very concerned

about the greenhouse gases
produced by their consumption.

Some of them buy carbon
offsets to balance things out.

I bring them together
with businesses

that need financial help
to run clean and green.

Hmm. Why bother to
turn off your own lights

when you can pay someone
else to turn off theirs?

That's not exactly
the way I would put it.

Okay, so, uh, Vic Russell was one of
the companies that needed financial help?

He ran a fleet of trucks. I
paid him to convert to biofuel.

It's good for the planet,
it's good for everybody.

You know, the average
American is responsible

for the emission of 45,000
pounds of carbon dioxide every year.

What kind of car do you drive
to work, a compact, sedan?

I take the C train to the Four.

(CHUCKLING) What was
Mr. Russell doing here last night?

We were talking about
renewing his contract.

It was working
great for him, for us.

Did he mention where
he was going when he left?

He said he was going to dinner.

He invited me to come,
but I had to get home.

It was my wife's birthday.

Russell's last meal
was a pricey one.

M.E. said his stomach was full of
caviar and some kind of dumpling.

Now we just need to
find who he ate it with.

Vladimir Rezanov.

That was Russell's dinner date?

That was Russell, his real name.

He immigrated from
Russia 15 years ago.

OCID's had him on
their radar for a while.

BERNARD: Russian mob?

I thought they were
way past trucking.

Into counterfeiting,
identity theft...

Well, this recession
is tough on everyone.

OCID say who he ran with?

Uh, yeah, Abramovich
in Brighton Beach,

Pavluchenko out of
Sheepshead Bay...

Alex Arshavin, he's a loan shark

who works out of the Samizat
Restaurant, West 39th Street.

That's a few blocks
from the body. Uh-huh.

I bet they serve caviar there.

Just don't try to expense it.

Vic? Sure.

I know him a long time.

When's the last
time you saw him?

You're kidding.

No, I'm not kidding.

Okay. It was last night. Here.

We had dinner.

Were you talking about a loan?

We know how you make a living.

Okay.

Vic owes me money.

We were talking about
repayment, but nicely, nicely.

He was getting some money soon,

making big payment.

There was no reason for you to
kill him? That's what you're saying?

Sure.

Who's going to pay me
back if he's dead, worms?

What time did
Rezanov leave here?

Come on. You know all this.

We do?

Vic walks out that door, cop
across the street is watching,

gets in his car, follows.

There was somebody
following Rezanov?

Somebody, yeah. NYPD,
FBI, there's always somebody.

Last night, it was black SUV.

(CHUCKLES) Very
subtle. Ooh, I'm so fooled.

What?

You mean wasn't cop?

No, no, nose was
bigger, like from Tomsk.

There. Yes.

Didn't we have that
nose 30 minutes ago?

With different ears. It don't
look right, was different ears.

I called OCID, the FBI,
DEA, DHS and ICE.

Some of them have surveilled
Arshavin and his friends in the past,

but no one was on him
or Rezanov last night.

No, more forehead, like Putin.

He's been going around
in circles for an hour.

Do you think he's
making this up?

He popped Rezanov himself?

Well, he says no way.

He says Rezanov owed him money.

He was about to pay him back.

Does that make sense?

What do Rezanov's books show?

Well, the trucking company
was scraping bottom.

What about the money he was
getting from Klein to go green?

It's not in here. But there
are some, uh, coded entries.

There! Yes! It's him!

Hey, hey, Lupes.
Look at what we got.

Klein. BERNARD:
Keep an eye on him.

It's Klein.

So Klein's payments to
Rezanov are missing or in code,

and he was following
Rezanov before he got killed.

Okay, we go see Klein again.

Not without ammunition.

Follow the money trail first.

Go see his customers.

WOMAN: Red velvet?
Fresh this morning.

Yeah, thanks.

I joined up with Zero Sum as
soon as I heard about it. Nah.

To really help save the
planet, it's exhilarating.

So you do more
than hang the sign.

Hey, don't knock the sign.
It's been great for business.

Even at an extra
quarter a cupcake

to offset the transportation
of the flour and the sugar.

Did Mr. Klein say where those
extra quarters were going to?

Uh, I had my choice
between windmills in Alberta

or a methane capture
in West Virginia,

but I wanted something local.

So he told me about these trucks
that we could convert to biofuel.

At Westside Express?

That's right. I even
got a tour of the lot.

Stan told me that my contribution
was personally responsible

for getting 20
trucks off fossil fuel.

Not everyone who buys a trip
decides to offset their emissions.

But offering the option is
part of our image promotion.

Green marketing works.

Did Klein tell you what programs

your customers'
payments would subsidize?

I insisted on it.

He took me to this lot
where a fleet of trucks

was waiting to be
converted to biodiesel.

Westside Express?

Yeah. It cost $2000 a truck,

but I could see that it
would have a real effect.

I took the entire fleet.

WOMAN: Mr. Walcott?

Excuse me. Mmm-hmm.

This is math I
can do in my head.

Okay, this guy pays
to convert 40 trucks.

Mary Cupcake pays
to convert 20 trucks.

The total fleet is 40.

So 40 plus 20 equals 40, right?

Not in my neighborhood. Mmm-hmm.

Yeah, the boss ran tours
through the lot all the time

for that tree-hugger Klein
and his bleeding hearts.

I mean, this global
warming thing,

there was an ice age before
we had cars and stuff, right?

So what caused that?

Uh, we'll look into it.

Hey, what were your boss and
Klein selling to those people?

They told them their money was
going to convert these trucks to biofuel,

fermented soybeans,
I don't know.

It clogs the fuel pumps
when it gets cold,

so we pretty much
stopped using it.

You know how many
people signed on to the deal?

Not my department, but Klein
must have been through here,

eight, ten times.

Did your boss and Klein
get along pretty good?

I guess. Until a
couple of days ago.

One of the geeks asked me how
come it cost 2 grand to convert a truck.

Vic was standing right there.

He was a little surprised
when he heard 2 grand.

Then he took
Klein into the office.

I heard some shouting.

(MEN EXCLAIMING) Aw, crap!

MAN 1: Turn it off!
MAN 2: All right, I got it.

Hmm.

You know, there was an ice age

before we had cars and
carbon emissions and stuff.

What did cause that?

(CHUCKLES) I'll buy you the
Al Gore movie for your birthday.

BERNARD: The
fraud's a slam dunk.

Klein sold those 40
trucks 10 times over.

God only knows how many times

he sold the
windmills in Alberta.

Well, we can arrest Klein for
fraud, but you like him for murder?

Well, we had an accountant look into
the coded entries in Rezanov's books.

Klein was paying
him $300 per truck.

Rezanov just found out
Klein was getting 2000.

Hardly seems fair.

Well, the night of the murder,

Rezanov told his loan shark that he'd
be getting a big chunk of money soon.

He had just been to see Klein.

You think he was
shaking Klein down?

And Klein had a better idea.

He follows Rezanov,
gets him in his car.

Rezanov sees what's
up, he makes a break.

Does Klein have a black SUV?

Well, in his name
there's a Prius,

in his wife's,
there's a black SUV.

Ah! Hypocrite and a crook.

I will get you an arrest
warrant for the fraud

and a search warrant
for the house and car.

Two warrants in one
trip? That's fuel-efficient.

We do what we can.

This is a mistake.

Right. Do you own
a gun, Mr. Klein?

Our lawyer's on his way.

Well, if he misses us here,
we'll all be at the precinct.

My husband's not a
crook. He's won awards.

I'm not saying anything
till he gets here.

He says he lives here.

What's going on? Who are you?

Who are you?

Hey, that's my computer.
That's my room up there!

This is Chad, Stan's son.
He's been staying with us.

You'll get that back
when we're done with it.

That SUV you pulled up
in, that's your mother's?

Stepmother's. Yes, it's mine.

Keys. We'll be
searching that, too.

There was no weapon in the
house and the car was clean.

But Klein's thumbprint did
match a latent on Rezanov's wrist.

Well, that's something. Yeah.

You know, I never been on
this side of the glass before.

It's very interesting.

Is regular part of your job?

Do you recognize the man you saw
outside the restaurant, Mr. Arshavin?

He's the one killed Vic?
Cost me big money?

Number four.

Connie?

Book him, fraud and murder.

Connie, ooh! I
love this country.

You were ripping off
Rezanov, collecting 2000 a truck

and only giving him 300.

Even if that's true, how's it
supposed to be a motive for murder?

Rezanov wanted more.

Mr. Klein preferred
killing him to paying him.

He's not a thug.

He's a member of the New York
Council on Environmental Awareness.

His thumbprint is
on Rezanov's wrist,

and we have a witness who
saw him stalking the victim.

What witness, a mobster?

No, no. Uh, please.

We've hired a forensic team
to deconstruct that thumbprint.

How did it get there?
Is it really my client's?

Is there no one else in New
York with a similar thumb?

We've got investigators digging
up your witness's criminal history

on two continents.

Our accountants are examining
Rezanov's so-called books.

I hope your office has
the resources to sustain

a lengthy and complicated trial.

We do.

CONNIE: Lovely!

He steals a fortune, and
then uses it to fight conviction.

He may not start
the trial broke,

but we can make sure
he ends up that way.

Forfeiture proceedings?
Those take forever.

Let's make it automatic.

We can argue that the murder and
fraud were part of a single corrupt scheme.

We can roll them into a
charge of enterprise corruption.

If we convict, he goes to jail

and we get his
assets, automatic.

Enterprise corruption
is a conspiracy charge.

Who are we saying
that Klein conspired with?

Rezanov. They
ran the con together.

So we're going to put a dead
man on trial for murdering himself?

Why not?

JUDGE DELANEY: A
superseding indictment, huh?

CONNIE: Yes, Your Honor.

The People are merging the previously
charged counts of fraud and murder

into a single count of
enterprise corruption.

The purpose of that statute is
to prosecute organized crime,

not environmental entrepreneurs.

Some of the People's witnesses

more closely resemble the
statute's intended targets.

You don't get to escape the
law because you drive a hybrid.

You realize that if you fail to
prove enterprise corruption,

double jeopardy will prevent you

from retrying Mr. Klein
on the underlying offenses?

The People accept that risk.

Very well, then. Bail?

Remand. The defendant has significant
resources and may be a flight risk.

Mr. Klein will
surrender his passport

and is prepared to post bond in any
amount the court deems appropriate.

How nice for him.
Bail is $1 million.

The defendant is subject to home
confinement with electronic monitoring.

Anything else?

(WHISPERING)

Oh, uh, just that my client
has a new home address

that differs from
the one in the file.

He and his wife have separated.

Condolences.

He's confined to
whatever home he has.

You'd think the wife
would give him an alibi,

not kick him out of the house.

Maybe she wasn't comfortable
sharing her bed with a murderer.

I don't believe Stan killed
anyone. It's preposterous.

So this sudden separation had
nothing to do with the murder?

Of course it did.

Stan needs to concentrate
on preparing his defense.

We have reporters
calling the house.

Our friends don't
know what to think.

There are some details
of our personal life

that I don't believe
I'm required to...

(STAMMERING)

Mom, you don't
have to talk to them.

Maybe you should leave.

Okay, but I'm not
hearing an alibi here.

Your husband told the police that
he was home the night of the murder

because it was your birthday.

It was, but I wasn't well.

I took a sleeping pill
and went to bed early.

So you don't know
if he was here or not.

I know he's not a murderer.

What about you, Alicia,
were you here that night?

I live in a dorm at NYU.

I gave my mom her
present the next day.

Chad, right?

You're helping your
father move out?

He's already out.
I'm moving, too.

Did you see your father
the night of the murder?

I wasn't here. I was out.

Look, you people really believe
my father killed somebody?

Yeah, we do.

Wow.

Dad.

ARSHAVIN: That's the guy.
He was outside restaurant.

When Vic walks out, he
gets in his car and follows.

And that's the same man

you picked out of a lineup
shortly after the murder?

Yeah. Absolutely. He's
got that forehead like Putin.

(ALL SNIGGERING)

So, um, if I understand
it, you were here.

That's right.

And this mystery man with
the SUV was standing here.

Mystery man is the
one sitting at your table.

So you say, but the nearest
streetlight is way over here.

There are lights on
buildings. I could see.

What business are
you in, Mr. Arshavin?

Gardening supplies.

You don't also make loans?

Sometimes I try to
help out some friends.

Like Arkady Stenov?

I don't think so.

You don't remember lending
$80,000 to Arkady Stenov in 2006?

I can play surveillance tapes
where you talk about the loan.

Okay. I did.

Where is Mr. Stenov today?

I heard he passed away.

He was found shot four
times in December, 2006.

Objection. No connection
has ever been established

between that incident
and Mr. Arshavin.

Stenov owed this man
money. He was shot.

Rezanov owed this
man money. He was shot.

The objection is
sustained, Mr. Feldman.

The jury will
disregard your analogy,

for which no
groundwork has been laid.

No more questions.

How much money did
Mr. Rezanov owe you?

$113,000.

And did you ever get it back?

I never going to get it back.

I going to send that man a bill.

Clogged oil filters
were the least of it.

We had blown transmissions,
cracked engine blocks.

We were holding trucks
together with chewing gum.

Why didn't Mr. Rezanov
get them fixed?

Business was off.

We used to run a lot of stuff
around for Wall Street guys.

But the day
before he got killed,

Vic told me to start
ordering new parts.

Why, he suddenly had money?

He said he had some coming
in and he was going to get it.

Now, was this before or after

he heard from one
of Mr. Klein's clients

how much they were
paying to convert his trucks?

After.

Thank you.

Uh, Mr. Rezanov never told you
he was going to get that money

from Mr. Klein, did he?

No. It just seemed
pretty obvious.

To you.

But you don't like
Mr. Klein, do you?

What's to like?

Every time he came by the yard,

he'd make us run his stupid
little Prius through the truck wash.

Never a tip, not one time.

So he's a bad tipper.

That doesn't make him a killer.

He had enough nerve.

The whole damn family.

The morning after the murder, his
son shows up in the other car, the SUV,

and runs it through the wash.

The morning after Vic gets
killed, they're using his facilities!

We get it. Uh, no
more questions.

That's why there was no evidence
in the SUV. Chad cleaned it up.

Maybe he cleaned up the
murder weapon, too. Get a warrant.

My dad's the one on
trial, not me, remember?

Did your father
have a gun, Chad?

No. I never saw one.

Your dad ask you to
wash the car that morning?

I didn't even see him.

I borrowed it to
meet some people.

I don't like to
drive a dirty car.

Hey, if I was washing brains
off the dashboard or something,

you think I'd be stupid enough
to take it to that truck place?

I don't know.

Why did you take it there?

Because it's free there.
12 bucks anywhere else.

And I'm just getting
my business going.

Yeah, real estate, right?

CHAD: Great time to buy.

Look, I'm getting some
investors together...

Hey, look at this.

What's this?

That's my watch.

These aren't your
initials on this watch.

I got it used.

The band's broken.

That looks like that could be
a speck of blood on the link.

What? You think
it's the dead guy's?

His initials weren't
"B.P." either.

In the Russian alphabet, a
"B" is a "V" and a "P" is an "R."

V.R., Vladimir Rezanov.

You mind telling us how you
happen to have the dead guy's watch?

You're making that up.

Maybe we arrest you as
an accomplice to the murder

and figure it out later.

No. I... I didn't know.

Where did you get this?

I found it in my father's car.

CUTTER: The black SUV that
was registered to your stepmother?

My dad drove it mostly.

I know he had it
the night before.

I went to borrow it
and it wasn't there.

The night before being the night

that Vladimir Rezanov
was murdered?

Yeah, I guess.

And the next morning, when
you found Mr. Rezanov's watch,

was the band broken like this?

Yes.

And this spot that's been
identified as the victim's blood,

was that there, too?

(STAMMERING) I don't know.

I was just cleaning up the car.

I was going to meet a girl.

I found it under
the passenger seat.

I didn't know anything
about any murder.

I just took it.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, Dad.

Madame forewoman,
have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

JUDGE: On the single count of
enterprise corruption, how do you find?

FOREWOMAN: We find the
defendant, Stanley Klein, guilty.

Pending sentencing,

we request the current bail terms
and home confinement be continued.

Your Honor, he now has
every incentive to flee.

JUDGE: We've got his passport.
He keeps the bracelet on.

Bail is continued.

(GAVEL BANGS)

One more?

CONNIE: Hmm.

Connie, we lose
too many close ones.

I learned a long time ago
to celebrate my victories.

Your victory?

(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Our victory. Another beer?

Yeah.

Uh-oh. You'd
better make it to go.

GIBBON: We called
as soon as we realized

you had an interest in
this guy Stanley Klein.

Apparently, he rented this
place after he and his wife split up,

but she was visiting.

Then her daughter came
by to pick her up for dinner.

She got pretty upset.
EMS had to treat her.

This is what she found.

They gave her a shot.

She was still freaking
out when I got here.

So you weren't with her
when she found the bodies?

She called me
after she called 911.

I'm her next of kin.

We're the only kin
each other's got now.

We're very sorry
about your father.

You wanted him to go to jail.

To jail, not this.

Hey, you mind if we
talk to Alicia alone?

It's okay.

I'll be right over there.

(SIGHS)

Can you tell us what happened?

My mother wanted to talk to him.

To your stepfather?

Do you know what time
she came over here?

I don't know.

She wanted me to meet her.

I saw him first,
lying on the floor.

I thought he'd had a heart
attack, and then I saw the blood.

Was anyone else around? Did
you see anyone leave the building?

And the door,

it was locked?

I don't know. It was
shut. I had a key.

We're very sorry.

He was talking.

Who? Your stepfather?

He said, "The Russians.

"It was the Russians."

And then he stopped talking.

He stopped everything.

We been partners so far. I thought
you're going to give me a badge.

Mmm-mmm. No badge.

See, we're thinking

that you've been jerking
us around from day one.

I been your number-one witness.

So be it again.

Help us find the Russians
who killed Klein and his wife,

and maybe we can get Connie to
come in here and take your statement.

No, I don't know nothing.

Maybe it was you then.
Maybe you killed them.

Me? (LAUGHING) I
don't even know Klein.

BERNARD: Who did? Hmm?

If Rezanov wasn't the only Russian working
Klein's scam after Klein got convicted,

somebody wouldn't
want him naming names.

Was he going to
name your name, Al?

We show your picture
around the truck yard again,

we gonna find out you
were in on the deal?

Maybe Rezanov made you a
partner when he couldn't pay you back.

(MUTTERING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

What did you say about my momma?

I said, "My mother told
me never talk to the police."

Yeah, okay.

It's not him. OCID was sitting at a
nightclub in Brighton Beach yesterday,

(CHATTERING) and our
friend there was visiting

when the Kleins were murdered.

So maybe one of his friends.

BERNARD: Or maybe not.

How did the Russians
get access to Klein's gun?

Ballistics shows the gun that
killed the Kleins was the same gun

Klein used to kill Rezanov.

Well, unless Klein
didn't kill Rezanov.

I mean, could we
be wrong about that?

Could this be all
Russian on Russian?

No. Klein killed Rezanov.

Okay, so Klein's gun
drifted off to where?

Don't ask me. No
one ever found it.

We figured he was smart
enough to throw it in the river.

You know, Klein's son, Chad,
has a habit of picking things up.

CONNIE: Yeah, but you
searched his apartment.

There was no gun,
only Rezanov's watch.

Yeah, but he didn't
know it was Rezanov's.

He didn't know he
needed to hide it.

The gun, he would
know he needed to hide.

Chad was with the
girl at the crime scene

when she told you Klein
said the Russians did it, right?

She didn't say anything about
Russians to the first officers there.

Because she was so hysterical.

Or because it didn't happen.

Chad could have
asked her to tell a story.

Well, the kid's a bum.

He's dropped out
of four colleges,

he's sponging off his
dad and his stepmom.

You know, before we go
down that road, talk to the M.E.

Let's find out if the dead man
could really have been talking.

LUPO: Well, we just
want to know if it's possible.

You mean, like in a movie,

where a guy gets shot and
then gives a whole long speech

before he dies?

Yeah, like that.

Yes.

Yes?

Yes. Klein was
shot in the torso.

A wound like that,

if the bullet doesn't hit
your heart or a major vessel,

while you're bleeding out,
you can talk for half an hour,

give the world your
parting thoughts,

remind your wife
to buy the buttermilk,

whatever's on your
mind. (BOTH CHUCKLE)

Thanks.

We need to know
what he said exactly.

I told you, "The Russians.
It was the Russians."

Only one time, or
more than once?

One time.

I don't know...
(SIGHING) Maybe two.

The thing is, Alicia,

you didn't
mention this at first.

I don't remember what I said.

I don't even remember
dialing 911, but I did.

Did you discuss what your
stepfather said with Chad

when he got there?

I might have. (SIGHS)
What does it matter?

Were Chad and his
father having problems?

Chad had just
testified against him.

That was probably a problem.

How about the other way around?

How did Chad feel
about his father?

I don't know. I don't
see Chad that much.

I'm in school and he's...
(SIGHS) Wherever he is.

LUPO: "Vulture Investing.

"How to Profit from
Real Estate Calamity."

This yours?

No. It belongs to a friend.

Who?

I'm not sure.

She has a friend
interested in real estate.

Yeah. Just can't remember who.

Let's see if one of
her roommates can.

I've seen Chad there.
He comes to visit.

Alicia said that she
didn't see him much.

Is that a fact?

I'm not really sure.

This is a murder
investigation, Sarah.

It's a crime to lie to us.

(SIGHS) It's just...
It's just so weird.

I didn't even know they
were brother and sister at first.

Oh? At first what?

Well, when they first started...

You know.

No.

Alicia told me it wasn't like
they were raised together.

Their parents just got
married a few years ago.

When Alicia was
14 and Chad was 20.

Oh, yuck. Yeah.

So the two of them
were pretty regular?

Hot and heavy. But
they kept it quiet.

They didn't want
their parents to know.

Alicia told me they were
really mean and would, like,

disinherit them or something.

LUPO: You ever kissed
your sister like that?

Not on camera.

She's not my sister.

All right, then why keep it a
secret from mom and dad?

Well, her mom thought
Alicia was a little girl

who needed protection from boys.

All boys.

Not from you in particular?

No. Not from me in particular.

She was 14 when you moved in
together. That's kind of a little girl.

We didn't move in
together. Our parents did.

Why are we talking about this?

All right? Someone
killed my father.

Yeah, with his own gun.

You didn't happen
to pick that up

while you were picking up
Rezanov's watch or washing the car?

I didn't know my
father had a gun.

Did he find out
about you and Alicia

and threaten to cut you off?

Tell Alicia's mother
to cut her off?

He did find out.

But he wasn't
going to do anything.

Rezanov told him.

Rezanov?

He saw me fooling around with
Alicia at his car wash one day.

He told my dad,
my dad didn't care.

Until Rezanov threatened to
tell Alicia's mother about us.

My dad knew she'd freak out,

and he didn't want anything
to upset his marriage.

It was pretty profitable.

So we had Klein's motive wrong?

He was worried about Rezanov telling
his wife that their children were...

We knew... We knew Rezanov
was shaking Klein down.

We just never said exactly how.

Anyway, the kid could be lying.

It's a way for Chad to say he
had no motive to kill his father.

But how would he even
know all of that stuff?

Well, if it is true, it gives Chad
a motive to kill his stepmother.

She was the one with the money.

He was worried that
she would cut Alicia off.

No, no, no. We can't even
get our own story straight.

Did he go there to kill his
stepmother or to kill his father

and she just happened to
be wrong place, wrong time?

WOMAN: Mr. Cutter?

CONNIE: But kill
his father, why?

Mr. Klein didn't have
money anymore.

He'd been convicted.
All his assets were seized.

CUTTER: Or not.

A motion from Klein's attorney

to void all proceedings
against his late client.

Abatement.

You see, Klein never had a chance
to complete the appeals process,

so the only fair thing is to throw
out his indictment and conviction.

That's the argument.
We can fight it.

But the jury found him guilty.

Well, if this motion wins,
that never happened.

And his money?

He gets to keep
it or his heirs do.

And that would be Chad,

who's trying to get his real
estate business off the ground.

I think we can get
our story straight now.

FELDMAN: It's simple fairness.

Mr. Klein had not exhausted
the judicial process.

The New York
precedents are clear.

His prosecution must be considered
void ab initio, from the beginning.

In the cases cited, the convicted
parties died after they'd filed appeals.

Mr. Klein did
not file an appeal.

He didn't have a chance
to. He was murdered.

Are you suggesting he
might not have appealed?

I don't know what
Mr. Klein would have done.

He might have accepted
the jury's verdict.

He might have negotiated
for a reduced sentence

in exchange for some
kind of cooperation.

He might have flown to
the moon in a pink tutu.

He was going to appeal. I
was drawing up the papers.

It seems the only
issue here is money

that would otherwise
have been forfeited.

Money that Mr. Klein swindled.

It hardly seems just to let
his heirs retain stolen loot.

Heirs who may be
suspects in his murder.

JUDGE: That is another
case entirely, Mr. Cutter.

It is logical to assume that Mr. Klein
would have appealed this one,

therefore the
precedents are binding.

His indictment and
conviction are void.

(GAVEL BANGS)

Thank you, Your Honor.

They get away with
murder and inherit $2 million.

The American dream.

You think she was in on it
with him from the beginning?

I'd guess no.

But when she was the one
that discovered the bodies,

he figured, hey, why
not get some insurance

and fed her the story
about the Russians.

CUTTER: All we've got to
do now is get her to tell it.

It's always about
money with this family.

Let's go take a look
at their parents' wills.

I don't want to talk to you.

CUTTER: Well, you don't have to.

We just think there's something
you should know about this house.

What?

This house was
your mother's, right,

before she married Mr. Klein?

I grew up here. So it's
mine now, unless I sell it.

I might want to
travel for a while.

Well, you'll be flying coach.

You mother didn't leave this house
to you, Alicia. She left it to Stan Klein.

She wouldn't do that.

He was a con man, remember?

He got your mother
to change her will.

It doesn't matter. He's
dead. I'm still her heir.

Well, you would have
been, but she died first.

What?

When you found them, he
was talking and she wasn't.

That stuff about the Russians.
That's what you said, right?

Yeah.

So, by your testimony,
he was still alive.

It's fair to assume that he
lived longer than she did.

Only a few minutes.

Long enough.

When she died, he inherited
everything, including this house.

And when he died
a few minutes later,

it all passed to his heir.

Chad?

Are you sure your
stepfather was talking

when you got to the scene?

Yes.

It doesn't matter anyway. I
love Chad and he loves me.

So everything is for
both of us no matter what.

CONNIE: She's on the edge.

So let's give her a push.

This goes to Surrogate's
Court for probate now.

What kind of standing do we
have to get involved over there?

Not much.

Good enough.

I must say I'm not
accustomed to having

district attorneys
join our sessions.

This is not a normal
session, Your Honor.

We believe that one of
the potential legatees here

should be barred
from inheriting,

since he murdered the deceased.

That's an outrageous accusation.

Mr. Klein hasn't been convicted
of anything or even charged.

That does seem to be a matter
for the criminal courts, Mr. Cutter.

We do wills here.

That includes deciding
who is entitled to inherit.

I just want to ask a few
questions at a fact-finding hearing.

This is a back-door attempt to revive
a meritless criminal investigation.

But it does go to
an inheritance issue.

Mr. Klein can plead
the Fifth if he wants.

I won't hold it against him.

And, Miss Carson, you'd
better get your own attorney.

Just to keep things kosher.

Congratulations. Now what?

The M.E.'s final report
hasn't come out yet, has it?

I don't think so.

Let's see if there's
an early draft.

CUTTER: Mr. Klein,
did you kill your father?

No.

Did you kill your stepmother?

No.

I was home that night, reading,

until I got the
call from Alicia.

Alicia, that's your stepsister

and your lover?

Yes.

How did your father
react when he found out

that you and your
stepsister were intimate?

He didn't care.

We were all grown up.

Your Honor, where is this going?

He's apparently not going to confess
to a double homicide, Mr. Cutter.

Do you have
anything else to ask?

I do.

Now, before you dropped
out of college for the last time,

did you take a course called
Introduction to Criminal Law?

Yeah. I thought it might
be fun to be a lawyer.

Is this the course syllabus?

It looks like it.

Do you see where
it covers abatement?

That's the doctrine under
which your father's murder

will allow you to
inherit a fortune

that would otherwise have
been seized by the state.

That was week 12.

I'd stopped going
to class by then.

I was wrong about
the law. It was boring.

(SCOFFS)

No. Chad didn't tell
me to lie about anything.

My stepfather said
what I said he said.

And you never thought
to mention that to anyone

until after you'd
talked to Chad?

I was out of my mind that night.

You were communicating.

You called 911. You called Chad.

I had just seen my
mother's dead body.

So it's even more
appalling that you would lie...

Your Honor, my client
has answered the question.

I'm going to stop
this, Mr. Cutter.

You have the police
department at your disposal

if you want to pursue it,

but nothing I've heard here bars
either of these people from inheriting.

The only issue left to
determine is who died first,

Mr. Klein or Mrs. Klein.

MILLS: I believe that's been
established by this witness's testimony.

While Mr. Klein
was still talking,

Mrs. Klein was already
unconscious, probably dead.

KARR: Not necessarily.

I've seen a draft copy of the
Medical Examiner's report.

Just because Mrs. Klein was
unconscious doesn't mean she was dead.

An autopsy found more
blood in her chest cavity

than was found in Mr. Klein's,

which means she bled
longer before she died,

which indicates
she died after he did.

In fact, Mr. Klein's talking
may have hastened his death.

We'll all need to
see that report.

It's on its way, Your Honor.

KARR: It's pretty clear Miss
Carson inherits the entire estate.

(WHISPERING)

MILLS: That will
have to be litigated.

Medical evidence of this type is
subject to varying interpretations.

What does that mean?

We have to sue each other?

If I may suggest, that kind of
litigation can be very painful.

The parties could compromise.

Just split everything 50-50,
the house and the money.

That's good on our end.

(WHISPERING)

We don't agree to that.

Chad?

MILLS: Mr. Klein wants
what's rightfully his.

But... Chad.

Don't worry, Alicia. We're
going to share everything.

It's just simpler this way.

You're going to fight me in
court for my mother's house?

Chad?

That is his right.

And he has a good case,
thanks to your testimony.

Look, we're going to be together,
sweetie, okay? That's all that matters.

No.

Sweetie...

He asked me to lie.

He said otherwise that the
police would suspect him.

I didn't understand
it, but I did it.

She's confused.
That night was crazy.

You just wanted the money.

That's all you ever wanted.

What lie did he ask
you to tell, Alicia?

That Stan was talking.

That he said the
Russians did it.

Stan didn't say
anything. He was dead.

They were both dead.

You killed them.

Didn't you?

Didn't you?

Don't worry, pal. You have
the right to remain silent.

I hope you rot!

I hope you rot!

(SOBBING)

This is the draft report that
was leaked to the girl's attorney?

CUTTER: Apparently.

My name's not even spelled
right. I have a "D" in "Rodgers."

So I guess it didn't
come from you.

You forged one of my reports.

No. A report by someone
named "Rogers" without a "D."

It never went into evidence.

I wouldn't have let it.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hey, McCoy just got back from
Washington for his campaign kickoff.

His secretary baked a cake.

Now?

Yeah, he's on his way up.

Does he know about this?

He has so much on his mind.

What happened to Chad Klein?

We gave him a chance to
show his greed and it did him in.

His girlfriend's testimony
puts him away for two murders.

Don't do it again.

Unless we have to.

Right.

Cake?

In a minute.

MAN 1: Welcome back, Mr. McCoy!

WOMAN: Welcome back!
MAN 2: Good to see you.

Congratulations!

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

(PEOPLE CLAPPING)

(PEOPLE SINGING HAPPY TUNE)