Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 2, Episode 11 - His Hour Upon the Stage - full transcript

After the body of a Broadway producer is found in a dumpster in the Meat Packing District, Cerretta and Logan discover that the body had been in a freezer since 1986. As the investigation continues, the detectives are led to a shady Broadway show producer, the man's ex-fiancée and a song writer, who may be linked to his possible murder and the motives behind it.

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.

"Rich, handsome,
lvy League grad..."

You putting
that one in again?

(grunts)
He wants a devoted
20-year-old.

(laughs)
He should get
himself a horse.

Hey, Wilson!

C'mere!



Logan:
It's like the wild, wild West.
Everybody's packing now.

Hey! Whoa!

Every joker
and his uncle's
got an assault rifle.

So what's that mean?
Every rookie's gotta have
a semi-automatic?

You ban submachine guns,
I'll be happy with my.38.

Tell it to your
congressman, will ya?

The body's really wet.
I think he was drowned.

Well, they drown them
in the Hudson,

then they pull them up
and dump them here, see?

If he'd have been
drowned in the Hudson,
he'd have dissolved.

Well,
they soaked him
in something.

Ahhh...

everything makes sense.

Shot then drowned.



Male, 35-40.
Shot with a.22.

One in the chest,
went right through.

Two to the right side
of the head.

Afraid they'd
miss the brain, huh?

- Whew! Ripe one.
- Breathe through your mouth.

The slugs went
to ballistics.

Did you get a label
for the tux?

Yeah. Tailor-made.
Sugarman, Fifth Avenue.

- Prints?
- Sent them out,
but wouldn't count on them.

The body was a popsicle.

Ice crystals
in his organs.

- He was frozen.
- Frozen?

- How long?
- That party
he was dressed for?

I'd say he was on his way
four or five years ago.

(theme music plays)

Five years
and they got nothing?

Skinny guys, yeah.
Big guys, Missing Persons
has zip.

The tailor who made
the tux is dead.

- There's no records.
- Wearing a tux, not homeless...

no one cared enough
to miss him?

Somebody cared enough
to freeze him.

15th Street,
meat packing district...
meat freezer?

They don't freeze meat.
It goes out fresh to grocery
stores and restaurants.

10 block radius
of that dumpster,
let's do all the restaurants.

After five years,
what are we even
looking for?

Well, how about something
that might place the body there?

You got a better idea?

- And if we don't find anything?
- We do the next 10 blocks.

Cerreta:
If I have to look into
one more restaurant freezer,

I'm never going
to eat out again.

This place, they kiss each other
on both cheeks and you need
a gun to make a reservation.

I got the gun...
I don't do cheeks.

Yo! Yo! You don't mind
I take a look, do you?

Yeah, okay.
But the condenser's busted,
it's gotta be replaced.

You know, this really
ain't a good time.

That right?
What time's it gonna be,
we have to get a warrant?

I know what you guys
are lookin' to do...

you want the health inspectors
to throw my food away, right?

- Take it easy.
- Tell him to get
outta there, huh?

My orange juice
is gonna go bad.

- (chuckles)
- Yeah, laugh! It's funny, huh?

You guys don't know
when to let up.

You always make
your orange juice
wearing a tux?

The man's in
the restaurant business.

He doesn't stow bodies.

You know, the Forcelli family
disposes of more bodies
than fettuccini.

A stiff turns up in your freezer
and you don't know
anything about it?

Cerreta:
Your father
ran numbers,

your uncle
is under indictment
for racketeering...

I got an ID
on the prints.

A Mr. Joshua Foster,
Broadway producer.

File's coming
from Midtown South.

That's great! Why the hell
didn't Missing Persons
have something on him?

Why does it always
rain on my birthday?

Somebody screwed up,
don't take it out on me.

What about this guy?

Well, he can't be too high
on the Forcelli family ladder.

No felonies.

What are you
pushing me around for?

Mario?

Do you have any pals
on Broadway?

Yeah, the counterman
at the deli on West 47th Street.

Yo! What is this crap?

I'm in Curacao
working on my tan,

I come back, they find
a stiff in my freezer,

- I freaked out
a little bit, okay?
- Disposing of a body?

That's obstruction
and accessory to murder.

What's wrong with you guys?
I called around...

"Anybody hit last week
what's in my fridge?"

Wait a minute... he's gonna
whack someone then stick them
in his own freezer?

Let me tell you guys something
for the last time, okay?

This ain't ours.
We didn't whack this guy.

We want your employee records
for the last five years.

And then maybe we won't
hit you with obstruction,
do understand me?

Wash your hands of this.

Thank you,
I thank you very much.

- (slams phone)
- You break it, you pay for it.

This is an investigation?
Three detectives on here,

they were all sleeping,
I guarantee you.

Mario's busboys and waiters,
most of them don't have records.

No guns, no homicides.

Let's start with the sister,
she's the one who reported
him missing.

She's a high school
teacher.

Maybe she's with
the Forcelli mob.
Good.

What side of the bed
did he get up on?

The side
with five-year-old cases
you're not going to break.

I always expected
a phone call.

- "We found your brother."
- Cerreta: Hmmm?

In other words, you thought
somebody had killed him?

No, I mean before
he disappeared.

I always thought they'd say
he was in a gutter,
on the Bowery.

What, a big
Broadway producer?

He was only successful
after he died.

After "Bleak House."

Before that,
Josh did three.

They all ran for a total
of 11 nights.

Sometimes I even
had to pay his rent.

He was a failure...
he couldn't even get
a date in high school.

I mean, he was
finally normal.

He was... he had this big show,
he was in love.

Who was he
in love with?

Who else? An actress...
Leslie Hart.

Without Joshua,
I don't know where I'd be.

I... wasn't much
of an actress.

He told me
I could be a producer.

That was his way...

fixing everybody's life.

Did he have debts?
Mr. Foster... did he gamble?

He gambled
on the theater.

And me.

The play, "Bleak House"...
a friend of mine wrote it...

we were kids.

He just waved
his magic wand.

"Close your eyes. Wish.

I'll make it happen."

Did he seem at all
preoccupied to you? Worried?

About the show?

Wedding?

Could we do it
after the opening?

Crazy things... should we
serve shrimp or lobster?

In the first investigation,
you told the police

that you weren't concerned
that he didn't come
to rehearsals.

Other projects, meetings.

It wasn't unusual.

Mr. Foster have any connections
to organized crime?

You mean the mafia?

Yeah.

Joshua hardly had
any friends.

How about his partner...

Mr. Wallace?

Gary would know.

Man:
...five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four...

Hey, where's
your attitude, folks?
We'll take it again.

Alan...
10 minutes?

Okay, take 10 guys.

Well, like I told
the police five years ago,

I... hardly knew him.

You invested with a man
you hardly knew?

Detective, I have people...
doctors, dentists...

they like owning part
of a Broadway musical.

Me, I wouldn't
invest my own money
in the Second Coming.

The day before his sister
reported him missing,

did you happen
to talk to Foster?

Five years?
It's hard to remember?

Well, you told
the police, quote:

"My driver left me
at the theater.

I expected Mr. Foster,
but he never arrived."

If that's what I said,
I'm sure it's true.

Your partner disappears,
it seems like

you might remember
when you last talked to him.

Either you're not very subtle,
or I'm very paranoid.

Am I a suspect?

I'm just testing
your memory.

He brought me
a property, I produced it.

I had no reason
to hurt him.

So he hardly knew
Mr. Foster, huh?

That makes sense... didn't
know him, couldn't kill him,
right?

What about the girlfriend?
How old is she?

29. So?

Five years ago,
she's 24, he's 39.

Yeah, well, May-December
romance is not exactly
unheard of.

Yeah, but December usually
comes with Santa Claus.

Mmm?

Foster didn't have a dime.
He's poor, she's beautiful.

She's an actress... she's got
guys hangin' all around her.

She's gonna fall
for Mr. Big Dreams?

This Ms. Hart
and this partner
who doesn't know him...

if those are
his friends, well...

Where are you goin'?

Jimmy, Phil.

Pull some yellow sheets
for me, will you?

You're buying this?

Wallace and Foster
were partners, but
they were strangers?

Then there's
the girlfriend.

Foster's sister tells us

he couldn't get a date
at the senior prom.

This actress latches on,
he disappears.

Fellas, I'm not
arguing with you,

but a motive
would be nice.

I wouldn't trust either
one with my laundry.

Oh, great, absence of trust...
that'll get you an arrest.

No, but this might.

"Hart, Leslie:
Soliciting for
prostitution."

She was 22... no time.

Year later,
criminal possession,
coke.

Plead down
to a misdemeanor.

Sweet, innocent kid.

Okay, it's a start.
The writer of this show...

Hyland... he went
to college with her.

Try stimulating
his memory.

Barbara Streisand... hey,
Neil Sedaka would've been okay.

I just wanted
to sell a song.

Did Foster miss a lot
of these rehearsals?

A new third act... I was
surprised he didn't come.

Well, now, Mr. Hyland,
you told the police
five years ago

that you weren't surprised...
so, I mean, which is it?

Cerreta:
Your old college friend,
Leslie Hart...

did she
seem worried?

Uhh... I suppose so.

Suppose...
you didn't ask her?

You write songs,
make up lyrics.

Try writing a melody called
"Accessory After The Fact."

(huffs)

That week, we were
supposed to rebuild some sets.

They didn't do it.

Josh said they were
runnin' out of money.

The day he disappeared...
did you talk to him?

Look, I didn't want
to accuse anybody.

The show... if it didn't happen,
I would've been nowhere.

If you withhold evidence,
you're gonna be somewhere,
and not this nice.

Gary and Josh
were seeing new investors.

Josh said he'd be at rehearsal
that night with good news.

He never came
to the theater.

So did Wallace come up
with the good news?

Gary came late.

He looked sick...
said it was bad seafood.

Said he never saw Josh,
didn't know where he was.

You believed him?

I made mistakes.
I was young.

You make a right turn
from the left lane...
that's a mistake.

Prostitution
and drug dealing?

I was broke.

It was an escort service,
not sex for money.

No, drugs for money.

Can we tie
something down here?

- The night
Mr. Foster disappeared...
- I told him, all of it.

The drugs, everything.

You were
at rehearsal?

I guess.

Five years ago.

I've lived
a lifetime since then.

- Mr. Wallace was
with you that night?
- He probably would have been.

He was not with Mr. Foster
looking for new investors?

Your production... we heard
they were cracking open
the piggy banks for it.

They were
running out of money.

Josh and Gary never told me.
I... maybe...

I know that week he was seeing
a woman named Marilee Katz.

She books
charity parties.

They were
running out of money.

Why do you think
they came to me?

You don't look like
a banker.

Theater charity
parties, Detective...
you don't need a banker.

I take your show
to the United Way
for their annual benefit,

they fill
your entire theater.

Did you sell tickets
for "Bleak House"?

Do I look like
I'm crazy?

I don't book a show if I don't
think it's gonna open.

Everybody knew that that show
was in financial trouble.

The night you talked
to Wallace...

you want to open your diary now
and tell us when he was here?

The IRS,
they tell you seven years.

After two field audits,

I keep
my diaries forever.

Gary Wallace...
he produced more dogs
than a mongrel in heat.

Do you really think
that Gary could have done it?

Whoever killed Josh Foster,
it wouldn't have been
somebody like Gary...

The time he was here...
please, ma'am, thank you.

Sorry.

I saw him 6:00 p.m.,

had a dinner reservation,
Denovi's in the Village, 8:00 p.m.

Had to be out of here
by 7:00.

7:00 to 9:00, Wallace
could have been anywhere.

- It doesn't nail him.
- What else have we got?

We don't know
where Wallace was,
we don't know where Hart was.

The original investigation...
that could've been in Swedish
for all it tells us.

Too many
young detectives.

Gentlemen.

Now, for me, if I was
gonna get shot,

I'd like to be
wearing a tux.

You'd hit
all the big parties,
would ya?

For this kind
of occasion, I'd rent.

The blood splatter...
see how it's pooled?

He was sitting down.

On what?
Something soft.

I'd say a cushion, sofa,
could have been a bed.

How about
a car seat?

Possible.

Maybe.

Young detectives.

Again?

Logan:
We love the theater.

That rehearsal, the one
that Mr. Foster missed...

you were there
all night?

You remember where
you were five years ago?

Yeah, I remember I wasn't
in business with a man
who disappeared.

Look, you said you were driven
to the theater, right?

So? It's a crime
to ride in limousines?

Use a service,
your own car?

- I had a driver.
- Still got him?

I fired him.

He used to leave a shot
of bourbon on the dashboard.
It made me nervous.

You remember his name?

(chuckles)

Yeah, it was Danner.

Lloyd Danner... I hired him
from some service.

He worked for me
maybe six months.

And do I remember
anything else about him? No.

Cragen:
"Danner, Lloyd.

Dannemora, five-to-15,
criminal possession two.

A knife fight.
Died in the yard."

That's convenient...
Mr. Wallace remembers

his driver, who just
happens to be dead.

The cellmate, Paul.

It's our only shot...
cons talk to cellmates.

Let's offer
this cellmate a deal.

Yeah... Pollard.

Major narcotics.

Judge McKay says he should
stay in his cell till he rots.

Come on,
we don't cut this guy a deal,
there's no use talkin' to him.

This crime is
five years old, Paul.

McKay says if it's
absolutely necessary.

I'll drive.
Good.

Okay, so you spent
a year in a cell with Danner
and you might remember.

Lloyd had his fingers
in a lot of pies...

what flavor
do you want?

I saw the papers.
Body in a dumpster?

You can read...
that gets you a diploma,
not a deal.

How about frozen pie?

Newspapers say anything
about a freezer?

I got two years yet.

I want to be out
by my wedding anniversary.

That's next week.

You have the right information,
your sentence might get
reduced to time served.

- Write me a ticket.
- Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.

Before anything
gets written on paper,
you tell us about that freezer.

Paid hit.

Lloyd kept calling him
the Frozen Fat Man.

Paid by who?

How'd they get rid
of the body?

Lloyd's brother-in-law.
Stuck it in the freezer.

Gabe Hunt.

Sound familiar?

Gabriel Hunt,
works at Mario's
as a dishwasher?

Yeah, Mario's.

Where's my ticket?

Lawyer: Come on...
crap from some con
you made a deal with.

- Cerreta: Mr. Hunt
worked at the restaurant.
- With 20 other people.

You never know
what a grand jury's
gonna do.

Hindering prosecution...
third degree.

No, no... the DA says
hindering two,

and the deal dies if
it turns out Mr. Hunt
held back.

Lloyd calls me,
meets me at the restaurant.

Stiff in the backseat.

Why he got dead,
I don't know.

You pry open
that bench in the freezer?

Lloyd had
to ditch the guy quick.

You know, he figured
we'd go back.

Two days later,
Mario fires me.

I figured, what the hell,
who'll find him?

It must have done wonders
for the car upholstery.

We cleaned it up,

took it back
to the dealer.

Come up with a name.

Big place, 12th Avenue.

Eisenstein.

Mr. Gary Wallace...
leasing here for years.

Always Cadillacs?

Cadillacs...
that's the United States
of America. Like Columbus.

Columbus was Italian.
Cadillac was French.

Five years ago,
October...

Mr. Wallace returned a car
and we sold it.

Yes, I have the owner.

I know the law.

Why you have
to dismantle my car, Constable?

Answer me that now.

I'm sorry, Mr. Rowley,
at the moment this car
is a crime scene, not a car.

Lot of customers
won't travel gypsy cab.

She's not a luxury model.
She take my entire savings!

I know that.

The slugs from the body
match the slug from the car.

Dried blood
inside the seat.

It's too old for DNA,
but it's a match on Foster's.

Antigens, proteins and enzymes...
85% it's the same.

Inside the seat,
wool from the tuxedo,
and it's a perfect match.

And no motive.

Come on, Paul, this case
is five years old.

We make an arrest,
maybe we shake
a motive loose.

If Foster wasn't killed
in Wallace's car,

somebody in the same tux
with the same gun was.

- You can't put
Wallace in the car.
- Hey, his alibi stinks.

I don't know.

If it doesn't shake out,
we look imprudent.

If we don't arrest,
we're gonna look worse.

If that driver starts
talking about his car,

somebody's gonna
add it up.

Call Rikers,
get Mr. Wallace a cell.

Judge:
Have we got a clerk here?

Is he on break,
or what?

The People
versus Gary Wallace.

The charge is murder,
second degree.

Is the defendant ready
to enter a plea?

Your Honor,
if it please the Court...

Mr. Cobb, you couldn't
please this Court

if you danced an Irish jig
on your fingertips.

Can we get a plea?

Not guilty.

Somebody talk to me
about bail.

Your Honor,
a five-year-old crime.

My client
is a respected
businessman...

Whose car was used
in the crime, Counselor.

Mr. Robinette?

The People request 200,000,
Your Honor. All cash.

Mr. Robinette, do you know me
to be vindictive?

Bond'll be fine.

300,000.

Where's my clerk?

Five years and a slug
in a car seat?

That's a murder case?

It's grounds
for an indictment.

One plus one
equals zero.

No motive plus no witness
equals no case.

Josh Foster
was my friend.

Friend?

You told the detectives
you barely knew him.

Get an indictment...
I'll have it dismissed
before it's typed.

He's not gonna
give us a motive.

Somebody had
to have a motive.

Leslie Hart lied to the cops,
and she has a record.

Joshua was so innocent,
you wanted to make sure

he wore his overcoat
in the winter.

He didn't wear it
when he was shot.

I didn't see him
that night.

- And Mr. Wallace?
- Gary wouldn't kill Josh.

It was that driver,
what's-his-name?

He was like
out of a gangster movie.

You know about gangsters?
Drug-dealing gangsters?

I dealt drugs
because I was poor.

The night
Mr. Foster disappeared,

you told police
that you were in rehearsal.

We can't find anyone
who saw you there before 9:00.

This Lloyd,
whatever his name is...

he killed the man
I was gonna marry.

And I didn't come here
to be accused.

You should've held off
on the arrest, my friend.

Getting us where?
The case was high profile
before we touched it.

You have an old crime,
you have no motive.

What do you mean,
no motive?

A lot of money floating around
before Foster died.

I go looking for motive,
I find the old standbys...
ambition and greed.

Unfortunately, you'll need
something a little more
specific for a jury.

I had a call
this morning from Bart Sharman,
Producers Alliance.

He says Wallace
isn't respected,

but nobody thinks
he's a murderer.

What is this,
a trial by popularity poll?

I don't know
who gave the order,

but Hart and Wallace
were there.

One of them ordered
that driver to kill Foster.

I'd bet my shoes on it.

Hart may be a candidate,

but the hit man was
Wallace's chauffeur.

What kind of record
did he have?

His yellow sheet
started in the womb.

Does somebody want
to tell me how an ex-con
keeps a chauffeur's license?

Thanks.

Six months
before Foster disappeared
the driver had a hearing.

Taxi and Limousine
Licensing Board.

- He lost his license.
- And got it back...
character testimony.

- Gary Wallace?
- And Leslie Hart.

God bless her.

She kept calling him
what's-his-name.

Couldn't remember him,
but testified for him.

Third character witness...
Hyland, the songwriter.

Hart and Wallace,
we'll never break them.

But Hyland,
we may have a shot.

Leslie asked me
to do it.

Danner seemed
perfectly nice.

A violent ex-con?

Manners out
of Amy Vanderbilt, I'm sure.

I didn't know
about his record.

It was a character hearing,
not a meeting of his fan club.

You have
to understand,

Leslie...

she's... persuasive.

What did she
persuade Foster of?

I will call you
as a witness.

I will ask you,
why did you testify for Danner?

If I find
one iota of evidence,

you'll find yourself
indicted as a co-conspirator.

The afternoon before
Josh disappeared,

he asked me if Leslie
was cheating on him...
with Gary Wallace.

Wearing tuxedos
all the time,
hangin' on Leslie.

He was so pathetic.

He said if Leslie was using him,
he wouldn't go through with it.

- Go through with what?
- He wouldn't raise more money.

He'd let the show die.

She cheats on him,

and he's ready
to toss away $7 million?

All I know is,

they're out of money,
Josh disappears,

and then...
everything's fine.

Foster disappeared
and all the problems
went with him.

If we can find out
where Hart and Wallace got
the money, we may have a motive.

Ben, I've checked
the bank records...

Hart, Foster, Wallace,
the partnership.

Which partnership?

The musical,
the general partners.

Find out if there's
a separate account

for the limited partners...
Foster and Wallace.

Two checks,
$500,000 each,

from different
holding companies,

deposited to the
partnership account
in Hart's name

two days after
Foster disappeared.

- Who controls the companies?
- Cocaine dealer named Ketcham,

- now he's into heroin.
- Cocaine, Ketcham...

Leslie Hart's
drug bust eight years ago...
Ketcham was busted with her.

The money she invested in
the show, the million dollars...
he did a deal with her, right?

He's done well for himself...
townhouse on East 83rd.

And guess who else
he was in business with?

The dead chauffeur,
Danner.

Let's find out
who his lawyer is.

This is a discussion
of his finances?

Your client has
the wrong friends.

Josh Foster's murder?
Oh, please.

Mr. Ketcham was in the drug
business with the hit man.

Trumped up...
I didn't serve a day.

Neither did
Mr. Foster's girlfriend.

Leslie?
I lent her some money.

There's no record
she paid you back.

I'm generous.

Whattya got?
Loose threads.

Which we'll turn into a rope
to hang your client.

The "Bleak House" money,
your client's checks...

the money was
invested in Leslie Hart's name.
That's a Title 18 felony.

You have nothing.
Lending money isn't a crime.

Neither is having
the wrong friends.

Next time you want
to make my life unpleasant,
do it over the phone.

I said Title 18 felony,
he didn't blink.

Adam: Why not?
That's what
I asked myself.

A clear
securities violation,
he's not worried?

- There's only one answer.
- Bigger problems on his mind.

He's already
under federal indictment...
racketeering, drugs, extortion.

He gets convicted of that,
he goes up for 30 years.

If I'm about to hear
what I think...

Call the US Attorney's
office... Herb McCann.

Forget it, they're
not doing us any favors.

Adam, please...
this woman uses people
like Kleenex.

I don't want her to walk.
Get McCann to help us.

Oh, I tell you...

Elliot Ketcham?
He gets a deal
over my dead body.

We have a dead body
with three holes in it.

10 months, 2,000 man-hours
into Mr. Ketcham.

I make a deal with him,
my staff guys will revolt.

I have a five-year-old case,
doesn't break without him.

What's in it for me?

One less defendant
to convict.

You want to use Mr. Ketcham,
here's the plea.

He testifies against
his co-conspirators,

three federal counts,
three years on each count.

- Nine years?
- What are you, his lawyer?

I'm not bargaining here.
Nine years.

Ketcham'll
never go for that.

Yeah,
that's your problem.

You want
to make a deal?

I'll testify for you.

The feds drop everything.

Where are you planning
to retire, Mr. Ketcham?

(laughs)
I'm too young
to think about it.

Think about Kansas.

The feds add Title 18
to your indictment,

your golden years'll
be in Leavenworth.

Suppose the feds'll
take a plea.

- Suppose you already
talked to them.
- Suppose I did.

You testify
against your co-conspirators,

three counts,
six years each count.

18 years?

Mr. Ketcham will
take his chances at trial.

You want
to get back to us...

Stone:
Make an offer.

You give us
immunity on this case.

On the three
federal counts,

three years each,
nine years total.

Nine years?

It's hard to imagine
the US Attorney'll settle for that.

Well, it's hard to imagine
my client'll help you
if they don't.

Make your call.

How long should
this imaginary call take?

Let 'em stew.

10, 15 minutes
should do the trick.

Nine years...

you cooperate,
it's a done deal.

Lloyd Danner calls me,

says Leslie wants
to move 70, 80 pounds of coke.

- She tell you why?
- She wants to buy
into this show,

get this fat man
Foster off her back.

She says if she owns
a piece of it...

she can get rid
of him.

Call Cerreta
and Logan.

You know, there's
a lesson in this...

never fall in love
with an actress.

Rex Harrison said it...
they never stop acting.

Logan: Ms. Hart.

Leslie Hart, you're
under arrest for the murder
of Joshua Foster.

- Is this some kind of a joke?
- A sketch for your new show.

Will you put
some cuffs on her
and get her in the car?

Hands behind
your back, please.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say
can and will be used
against you in a court of law...

Leslie and me,
when we were younger,

we sold
some drugs together.

Now, on this occasion,
five years ago,

when Ms. Hart asked
you to purchase cocaine,
did she tell you why?

Objection...
calls for hearsay.

Overruled. Utterance
in furtherance of a conspiracy.

Judge:
Mr. Ketcham?

Ketcham:
Some people had
fronted us some coke.

She wanted to put some
of her own money in the show.

Otherwise, she'd have to marry
this fat slob to get anything.

When the narcotics
were delivered,

did Mr. Foster say
anything to you?

Ketcham:
He was nervous, shaking.

I think this jerk doesn't know
cocaine from shoe polish.

He's watchin'
Leslie unload the trunk

and he says real loud,
"She's beautiful, isn't she?

But if she did
anything to hurt me,
I'd call the cops on her."

Did Ms. Hart hear
what he said?

She heard,
and she didn't
like it at all.

Mr. Ketcham, did you
recommend that Ms. Hart

hire Mr. Danner
as a driver?

She wanted muscle.
She said you never knew,
it might come in handy.

Thank you.
No further questions.

Who paid
Mr. Danner's salary?

As far as I know,
Wallace.

Hanley:
So Ms. Hart
never hired him?

No. No,
not really, no.

Mr. Ketcham,
this federal indictment...

in your plea bargain, you agreed
to how many years in prison?

Nine years.

What was
the maximum sentence?

30 years,
give or take.

You saved yourself
21 years...

is that an inducement
to tell the truth?

- Objection.
- Withdrawn.

I have no questions
of this witness.

Have you ever
seen the defendant,
Gary Wallace, before today?

About a year ago...
the visitors room in Dannemora.

He came to see Lloyd.

What was Mr. Danner's mood
after that visit?

Pollard:
Lloyd went nuts.

He said they knew
he was up for parole,

and they were
talkin' about that he
better watch his back,

and not talk
about the fat man
if he got out.

Thank you.
No further questions.

Mr. Pollard...

what crime did you commit
that put you behind bars?

- Dope dealin'.
- Is that all?

Was there
an assault conviction

for beating up
a 56-year-old woman?

That was
my sister-in-law.

Well...

that certainly
makes it acceptable.

No further questions.

I waited
for Josh to show up.

He said that
they'd be there
with a new investor.

Stone:
At this rehearsal,
were either

Mr. Wallace
or Ms. Hart present?

Mr. Wallace...
he said that he would
be there about 8:00.

He got there
about 9:30.

And Leslie showed up
about a half an hour later.

Now, this conversation
with Mr. Foster,

when you told him
that Mr. Wallace and Ms. Hart

were not romantically involved...
did he say anything?

He said he thought
I was lying.
Thank you.

Mr. Hyland...

were you ever romantically
involved with Leslie Hart?

We... I'm...
briefly, in college.

Hanley:
Did you ask Ms. Hart
to marry you?

Yes, I did, but...

Were you jealous
of her other relationships?

Did you speak of your jealousy
in front of other people?

- (scoffs)
- Are you testifying today
out of anger?

No, no.
I was over her.

Thank you.
No more questions.

A spurned lover...
wonderful.

- He didn't tell us.
- And two dope dealers... better.

This isn't the style page
of the "New York Times," Adam.

- Yeah.
- Scummy case,
you get scummy witnesses.

- Right.
- What if I offer Hart man two?

Offer whatever
you want...

dinner in the Rainbow Room,
roundtrip ticket to Paris.

If I were her,
I'd wait for the jury.

Hart rolls,
Wallace takes the plea,
we can all go home.

Yeah? Maybe not.

If you don't put Wallace
or Hart next to the gun,

forget a conviction.

Conspiracy two...
she testifies Wallace paid
the driver to kill Foster.

Ms. Hart, I must be dumb.
You dealt the drugs,

you got the money,
but Wallace gave the order?

It was Gary's idea.

I loved Josh.

I was a kid,
for God's sake.

You loved him, but you
didn't call the police?

I was afraid
they'd kill me, too.

Danner was
afraid you'd kill him,
you were afraid he'd kill you.

I think you're confusing
fear with greed.

Manslaughter one.

Mr. Wallace smells bad
to that jury, not my client.

Conspiracy one.

Maybe Wallace has
a better story.

Whose story is
the jury gonna believe?

Mine.

One ex-con, okay.
I underestimated
how bad two would look.

Hyland didn't help.

"I loved Josh.
I was just a kid."

She's a better actress
than she gives herself
credit for.

Without someone
who saw Wallace or Hart
in the car with the body...

We could call a medium.
The driver can testify
from the grave.

Maybe he can.

Danner was paid
for the hit.

His brother-in-law
put Foster in the freezer.

- So?
- The brother-in-law, Hunt...

doesn't he ask
for a piece of the action?

If Hunt was paid
and lied to us...

You think he's stupid enough
to leave a trail?

An intellectual giant
he's not.

This man cooperated.
We had a deal.

- If he told the truth.
- You never told us
they paid you.

- How do you know?
- Shut up.

Mr. Hunt...

you knew about the hit
in advance,

that makes you
an accessory to murder.

Paul?

Two days after
Foster disappeared,

Mr. Hunt deposited
$10,000 in his checking account.

Lucky at Belmont?

Healy:
You can't prove where
that 10 grand came from.

If I have to find everyone
he so much as had coffee with

in the past five years, I will,
and I won't be in the mood
to take a plea.

I wasn't there
when they killed him...

That's enough.
Accessory to man two.

He enters the plea
after he testifies.

You can get the testimony
and change the plea.

You have to trust me
on this one.

Lloyd and me put the body
in a dumpster in the alley.

Stone:
What did you tell Mr. Danner?

I said "Come back,
2:00 in the morning.

We'll stow it
in the freezer."

Was anyone else
in the car?

This guy came out,
didn't say anything,

ran and flagged a cab.

Is that man
in the courtroom today?

He's sitting over there.

Let the record show
that the witness is pointing
at the defendant, Mr. Wallace.

- Let the record so indicate.
- Thank you.

Mr. Hunt, have you plead
guilty to a felony

in exchange
for lenient treatment
and your testimony today?

No.

Wait a minute...

I have the record.

Your Honor,
may we approach?

A copy of the plea,
as entered.

Vacated, yesterday.

- And you have
a new one in place.
- No, I don't.

(laughs)

Are you gonna let him
get away with this?

With what, Mr. Cobb?

If there's
no guilty plea in place,
the witness answered truthfully.

No further questions.

Mr. Hunt...

you testified you saw
Mr. Wallace leave the alley.

Did you also see
Leslie Hart?

No.

Have you ever
seen her before today?

- No.
- Thank you.
No more questions.

It's a good story.

It's the truth.

Criminally negligent homicide,
six months.

Negligent?
You left a loaded gun around
and it went off by itself?

Manslaughter one,
six years.

Manslaughter two,
two years.

(sighs)
Mr. Wallace, you knew
she'd kill him, you did nothing.

Accessory to man one,

still six years...
take it or leave it.

That lunatic bitch,

I should never have
gotten in the car.

Wallace:
We left the drugs, and started
driving back to the theater.

Stone:
And then what happened?

Wallace:
Josh looked
at me and Leslie.

He said...

"You two think I'm stupid."

And he...
called Leslie a whore,

and said he was
going to call the cops...

tell them he knew where the...
where the money came from.

And how did
Ms. Hart respond?

She told Lloyd
to stop the car.

And what did
Mr. Foster do?

He tried to get out.

Lloyd blocked the door
from the front.

Leslie said...

"Do it now."

Lloyd shot him
in the chest.

Once?

Leslie said,
"He's still breathing.

Shoot him again."

And Lloyd bent over,
shot him in the head.

Twice.

I begged Gary
not to do it.

He told me
if I said anything,

he'd have me
killed, too.

Did you tell Lloyd Danner
to kill Joshua Foster?

No. No, I didn't.

I was in love
with him.

No more questions.

Ms. Hart...

you testified
that you didn't know

Mr. Wallace's driver well,
is that correct?

That is correct.

That you had no personal
relationship with him.

He was Gary's driver,
not mine.

No further questions.

Anything more,
Counselor?

No redirect.
The defense rests, Your Honor.

Permission to call
a rebuttal witness, Your Honor?

The Taxi and Limousine
Licensing Board always
holds a hearing.

If you're convicted
of a felony,

you can't keep
a vehicle-for-hire license.

Ms. Radley, did you
secure a recording

of Mr. Danner's hearing
for the District Attorney?

- Yes, I did.
- Your Honor,
People's Exhibit 31.

- Permission to play the tape?
- Objection!

Sidebar, please.

Prosecution
held that tape back.

We asked
for all such records
under discovery.

We never had any of them
in our possession.

We made no copies
of the transcripts
or the recording.

He's right, Ms. Hanley.
This is a badly drafted
discovery motion.

Overruled.
You may play the tape.

Leslie's voice:
I've known Mr. Danner

for more than a year.
He's a close friend.

Radley's voice:
Do you wish to make a statement
concerning his character?

Leslie:
Despite his record,
I believe Lloyd to be

reliable and conscientious.
I'd trust him with my life.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

Mm-hmm.
Thank you.

Leslie Hart's filing
an appeal based on
the withheld tape.

She'll lose.

Three lovers,
none of whom she loved.

They didn't even
exist for her.

No one's real to her.
We're all actors in her play.

Foster didn't die,
he just left the stage.

(theme music plays)