Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 5, Episode 1 - Second Opinion - full transcript

NARRATOR: In the
criminal justice system

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

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Let's go, let's go! We're
losing her! What do you have?

38-year-old female.
Unconscious 30 minutes.

Dr. Salinas!
Somebody find Salinas.

MAN: She was having
cramps and threw up.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Salinas to ER.
Code blue. Dr. Salinas to ER. Code blue.

SALINAS: Vitals? BP 60
over palp. Pulse 130 and weak.



Respiration shallow. IV with
lactated Ringers, wide open.

Let's move!

I'll need tox on her blood.
And have this vomitus analyzed.

(ECG FLAT LINING)

We've got a code.
One amp epi. Let's defib.

(WHIRRING)

Clear.

Nothing. One more
time. Bag her, Stevens.

What's that smell? Come
on, Stevens. Bag her.

That smell? It's
coming from her.

(POLICE SIREN WAILING)

What have you got?
Name is Ann Bennett.

Teacher at St. Andrew's Academy.

She vomited and passed out on
the floor of her fifth grade classroom.



She OD? Something.
HAZMAT evacuated the ER.

Health sealed her up.
Quarantine. No one goes near her.

Investigate a suspicious
death, but don't touch the body.

That's why you
guys get the glory.

SALINAS: The lady coded. I
tried to bring her back, but...

What about the smell? The nurse
said it was like dirty sweat socks.

That's what cyanide smells like.
I thought that was bitter almonds.

Either one. Victim's clothing.

Get it down to Forensics.
Full tox screen for poisons.

Did you get a
chance to take blood?

And blood, too. ASAP, huh?

It appears the chest compressions
forced the noxious fumes out.

That's what knocked
Stevens cold.

Hey, didn't this happen
in California? Yeah.

They said it was
the smell of death.

Five days for an autopsy.
Rodgers, you've got to be kidding me.

This lady emitted some
kind of noxious fumes.

The attending nurse was
unconscious for 20 minutes

and still suffers from
periodic spasms.

This can't be the first time
you've cut open a sick person.

HIV, small pox, TB...
That, we're prepared for.

The unknown, we've got
to take extra precautions.

Such as?

The body is already
in an isolation room.

We've got to contact Health and
HAZMAT to ensure proper safety.

Right. And that means drag
out the extra-large roll of red tape.

So, Rodgers, there's
nothing you can tell us now?

Pesticides, chemical warfare...

Hell, maybe she's
ET's first cousin.

VAN BUREN: Thanks.

You talk to next of kin?

Husband is an antique dealer.

He's upstate for the day adding to
his inventory and he can't be reached.

Wonder if he knew his wife
was from another galaxy.

It's a little medical
examiner humor.

In my opinion, this
is probably nothing.

Something made
that nurse pass out.

The patient regurgitated
all over herself.

I think an ER nurse
can handle that.

Yeah. Well, the nurse
said she smelled cyanide.

They got some
blood before the panic

and a full tox screen
will take a couple of days.

Could be suicide.

Cyanide?

I can think of less painful
ways of saying goodbye.

All right, until we know better,
we'll treat it as a homicide.

You said Mrs. Bennett passed
out at some private school, right?

(SCHOOL BELL RINGING)

REYNOLDS: The radio
said she was poisoned.

Why anybody would want
to hurt Ann is beyond me.

Well, we're not quite sure
how it happened, Father.

It's ironic. She dodged bullets
in the public schools for 10 years.

Two years ago she joined us,
said she'd stay here till she retired.

This is where she passed
out. I just can't believe this.

Did she ever have any problems
with any of the students or the faculty?

Something was wrong. She
was occasionally depressed.

She lost weight.

I approached her, but
she wouldn't talk about it.

REYNOLDS: I thought
something was wrong at home.

School cafeteria?
Doesn't open till noon.

Ann liked to come in early, so the
kids could talk to her before class.

We don't have vending
machines either.

Phosphoric acid, aspartame,
potassium benzoate, phenylalanine,

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

You always this thorough, Ryan?

What do you want in an
hour? You asked about cyanide.

And? None in here.

What about the Danish?
Prune, if I am not mistaken.

No cyanide on the
part she didn't eat.

I wish I could help, but from what
I've seen, nothing here killed this lady.

Hey, the husband called in. He's
waiting for us at his apartment.

Thanks, pal.

NICHOLAS: I was on my
way to see a dealer at Nyack.

Guy on the radio was talking
about a teacher from St. Andrew's.

I called from the
next gas station.

Did you see what they're
calling her? The Fume Lady.

She's my wife, not some freak.

Hey, nobody believes that stuff.

That doesn't mean
it doesn't hurt.

This is my daughter,
Lynn. Hi, Lynn.

I don't understand. Why can't I see
her? Why are the police involved?

There's a chance...

It did look suspicious,
Mr. Bennett.

Maybe poison. BRISCOE:
We're going to need an autopsy.

I don't believe this. Poison?

Ann died of breast cancer.
That's what killed her.

Well, in that case, you don't
mind if we see her doctor, do you?

Her name is Nancy Haas.
Over on the East Side.

Yeah. Police. Don't
put me on hold.

You know, I don't see the point.

You don't lie about
your wife having cancer.

If she was that sick, she
should have been in the hospital,

not dragging herself
to work every day.

Hey, my blood pressure shoots up
every year just before my physical.

Some people just don't
like doctors or hospitals.

Hello? Yeah. That's right.

Well, I'd like to
speak to Dr. Haas.

Uh-huh.

For how long?

Can you tell me what... Hello?

Get this.

The lady is about to croak,
her old man is out antiquing,

and her doctor is
on the lecture circuit.

Who else we got?

BRISCOE: He never
told you she was sick?

He never told me she was that
sick. I've known him for 15 years.

Maybe there were other
things he didn't tell you.

Wait a minute here.
You don't think Nick...

It's just part of the drill.

God, the man's suffered enough.

He loved his wife. He lost her.

What do you want from the guy?

Well, if you help us, we can
put this thing to bed real quick.

What can I tell you?

My wife and I had dinner with
them a couple of times a year.

As far as we could tell, they
were happy, even with the cancer.

Yeah. You know, I think
that's kind of strange.

He wasn't even
with her when she...

The man had his
hands full around here.

Well, no offense, but you
don't seem all that busy.

I'm twice as busy as I was six months
ago. Nick laid off two other salesmen.

So business isn't good,
huh? I thought it was fine, but...

Can you believe,
just last night,

I complained that my
paycheck bounced?

Nick Bennett used to be
one of our best customers.

Revolving credit line.
Never missed a payment.

We hear he's bouncing
checks now. I'm not surprised.

We had to terminate his
line of credit about a year ago.

He was using corporate funds
to cover personal expenses.

What kind of expenses?

He said he was paying
for his wife's doctor's bills.

And you didn't believe him?

Well, it didn't much matter.
It was a business loan.

The store stopped
buying inventory.

That meant the loan wasn't
properly collateralized.

Fancy private school like that, you'd
think they'd have health insurance.

When Ann was hired, she had to
have a physical for the group policy.

She had a history of
cancer in her family,

so our insurers insisted
on a complete work-up.

That's when they found the lump.

Which made it a
preexisting condition.

Which also meant that our
insurance plan wouldn't cover it.

She'd already lost her old policy
when she changed jobs, so...

So she had to pick up
the whole tab. Mmm-hmm.

You have to give Ann credit.

I mean, not only did she keep her condition
a secret from the rest of the faculty,

she kept working.

Well, wait a minute.

Wasn't she covered
by her husband's plan?

Unfortunately, he was
covered by Ann's policy.

Maybe Clinton's
right about something.

Yeah, not only is the wife
sick, she's breaking the bank.

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't
see the point in killing somebody

who's already dying.

Breast cancer?

My aunt lived 10 years
after she was diagnosed.

Maybe this lady didn't have
your aunt's Irish constitution.

Maybe nobody fed
my aunt cyanide.

Hey, cyanide is not exactly
the '90s weapon of choice.

Yeah, but it's a lot cheaper
than 10 years in the hospital.

(PHONE RINGING)

LOGAN: I got to tell you, Mr. Bennett,
I can really sympathize with you.

You work your whole
life to make something,

and then one day, it's gone.

These doctors take all your
money, and then some more.

If you ask me, that's
the real crime here.

The real crime is that my wife is
lying in the morgue and I can't see her.

That my daughter
has to go through this.

Yeah, well, when we figure out
what happened, we'll release the body.

She's not a body.

This is insane. You think I
killed my wife over money?

Ann was sick. She was dying.

Well, I know that
cancer treatment

is very expensive, and
you didn't have insurance.

Must have been
about, what, 50 grand?

Doctors, psychologists,
pharmacists... Try doubling that.

That's a hell of a lot of money.

Do I look stupid
to you, Officer?

If I was gonna kill my
wife to save the expense,

don't you think I would have
done it before I went broke?

Maybe it wasn't the money. Maybe
you just didn't wanna see her suffer.

Let me tell you about suffer.

Try looking at your
14-year-old daughter in the eyes

and telling her she's not
gonna die of cancer, too.

Husbands kill wives.

Especially the ones
that eat up their savings.

I don't suppose he's
about to confess.

Yeah, only to loving
her more than life itself.

He claims she died of
breast cancer. Breast cancer?

How come nobody
thought to tell me?

If she drank a cyanide cocktail,
what difference does it make?

I'm thinking the bartender may
have an MD next to his name.

Cyanide plus cancer,
it could equal Laetrile.

You been going to
med school at night?

Two kinds of
women in this world.

Those that have breast cancer, and those
that are scared to death of getting it.

Articles you skip on the
way to the sports page,

I cut out and keep in the
drawer next to my bed.

Yeah, well, even I know that
the Laetrile crap doesn't work.

Yeah, well, when somebody
is counting their days,

they may start believing
in magic potions.

Magic and illegal.

Hey, we're not even sure
there was any cyanide.

Yes, we are. Tox report
came in an hour ago.

I really appreciate
you coming here.

After a week away, the
office will be a madhouse.

About Ann Bennett, Dr. Haas?

Ann knew she was dying.

The surprise is
how long she lived.

When I first saw her, I told
her it was only a matter of time.

Shouldn't she have
been in the hospital?

Ann wanted to die with dignity,
not with tubes up her nose.

So she'd already given up, huh?

She did have cancer, Detective.

At a hospital, it's
slash, poison and burn.

Surgery, chemo and radiation.

Unfortunately for women,

the medical establishment
isn't interested in alternatives.

Dr. Haas, the
way I understand it,

you either have the
operation, or you die.

Everybody dies.

I'm more concerned
with the quality

of my patients' lives
while they are still with us.

Well, just exactly how do you
improve the quality of their lives?

I've developed an
all-natural metabolic therapy.

It eases the pain.

Sometimes actually decelerates
the spread of the cancer cells.

That sounds a
little bit like Laetrile.

Please. I'm a scientist,
not a witch doctor.

Mind if we have a
look at her records?

With the proper release
from Mr. Bennett, not at all.

I'm late. If you'll excuse me,
my maid will show you out.

First, I poisoned her,
now the doctors did it.

Ann died of cancer.

There was cyanide in
her blood, Mr. Bennett.

There's a chance that
her doctor might have...

So... So, search her office,
see what she gave Ann.

There's nothing we'd like better,
but we need probable cause.

Did your wife ever say anything?

It was two years
ago, August 7th.

Ann wanted to get
away for the weekend.

We rented a car,
drove to the Hamptons.

Best hotel, antique
shops, walks on the beach.

We got back to the city Sunday
night, Ann told me about the lump.

She wouldn't even let me go with
her to get the results of the biopsy.

She had the lumpectomy, and
that was the last time we discussed it.

She never wanted me to
know how sick she really was.

You never talked about it?

The woman was dying and
she had to hold me together.

I'm sorry.

Ann never said anything
about Laetrile to me.

Would you authorize the
release of her records?

I don't know what good it'll do.

Well, talk about denial.

The guy never even asked
his wife what she was taking.

She saw Haas twice a
week for nine months.

You'd think whatever she was
taking, she'd know it didn't work.

The doctor said it was too late.

If it was me, I'd have
the operation anyway.

Oh, really?

You have anything you'd
think twice about cutting off?

(SCOFFING)

Seventh grade, what's the first
thing you noticed about little Susie

sitting across the
aisle from you?

Come on. I was 13 years old.

Oh, and everything's
changed since then, right?

It's the first thing that made
little Susie feel like a woman.

And believe me, that
feeling doesn't change.

If you got the big C,
what would you do?

Have a cup of chicken soup and
put a rabbit's foot under your pillow?

VAN BUREN: Tell
you what I wouldn't do.

I wouldn't be sitting here,
eating cold pizza with you guys.

No offense, Mike.

But my final days, I'm going to spend
with my husband and my children.

And Mrs. Bennett kept working.

You think Bennett really
didn't know how sick she was?

It might be in
Dr. Haas' best interest

to have us think it was
cancer that killed her.

Talk to her old doctor. Find
out what his prognosis was.

I treated Ann about
two years ago.

A lumpectomy and
radiation therapy.

I recommended a mastectomy.
Ann wanted to save the breast.

So she skipped the
surgery? That's right.

Nine months ago, I
find a stage three tumor

with cancer in the lymph nodes.

So, how bad is that?

If treated properly,
there's a good survival rate.

But that means an operation
and follow-up chemotherapy.

Ann wanted a second opinion.

Well, there's got to be
some give and take, right?

I mean, doctors
don't always agree.

Mrs. Bennett didn't have
a tummy ache, Detective.

She needed the surgery.

Dr. Haas didn't
think so. Dr. Haas?

You want the lowdown
on Nancy Haas?

Talk to Valerie West, Margie
Doyle, Nancy McKinney,

three of my former patients
who chose Dr. Haas over surgery.

Where can we find them?

Try various cemeteries.
They're all dead.

The woman is a Class A quack.

If it were up to me, I'd have
closed her down years ago.

Who is it up to?

State Medical Board. Cancer
Society. It seems they can't do anything.

Haas has a Ph.D. in Molecular
Biology from Columbia,

a Master's in Organic
Chemistry from Stanford.

She was a Fulbright
Scholar, a year at Oxford,

followed by the
Boothe Chair in biology.

I didn't hear medical
school on that list.

That's because she isn't a
doctor. Not a MD, anyway.

Well, she's treating
cancer patients.

Technically, she's not
practicing medicine.

She calls what she does
nutritional counseling.

The Haas Institute is
a for-profit business.

Let me guess, it's not
regulated by the state.

We do our best to
close down the quacks

who promise a cure and
sell overpriced carrot juice.

So why is Haas
still in business?

Because she doesn't promise a
cure. She says, "I have an alternative."

And you let her slide
because of her sales pitch?

We print up fliers, publish articles,
publicize the issue on local TV,

but as long as she doesn't hold her
treatment out to be a cure for cancer,

we can't do anything about her.

It's real simple. Haas
is pushing poison.

The Cancer Society has said her
treatment wasn't FDA approved.

Not the same thing.

It's enough for a warrant.

We search her office, and find out
what she's cooking up in the basement.

She's got a full
column in Who's Who.

We can't just barge into
her office on hearsay.

The tox screen found
cyanide in Ann Bennett's blood.

Only a trace.

Look, the bottom line
is, without an autopsy,

we don't even know
what caused her death.

(PHONE RINGING)

Kincaid. Okay, thanks.

And now we may never know.

Nicholas Bennett just
filed a writ of mandamus.

And in English?

It's a motion to force the
state to release his wife's body.

Have you seen the newspapers?

Front page photographs of Mrs.
Bennett's body wrapped in a plastic bag.

Headlines reading, "Nobody
Will Touch the Fume Lady."

Her daughter is 14
years old, Your Honor.

CLAIRE: The DA's office has
no control over the tabloids.

And what about Mr. Bennett? Isn't
he entitled to properly mourn his wife?

CLAIRE: There is evidence
that Mrs. Bennett's death

may not have been from
natural causes, Your Honor.

The state is entitled
to conduct an autopsy.

HATCHER: It's been four
days now, with no end in sight.

I don't see what the problem is.

I don't either, Miss Kincaid.

Something emanating from the deceased
caused a nurse to lose consciousness.

The Medical Examiner...

Should put on a mask
or find other employment.

You've got 24 hours. After
that, the body goes in the ground.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Anderson,
report to Toxicology.

Dr. Anderson,
report to Toxicology.

I'll be out in a minute.

More coffee?

Another cup of that,
they can autopsy me.

It's 5:00 in the morning. With luck
we can arrest her before breakfast.

(DOOR BUZZING)

I must have lost about
20 pounds in there.

LOGAN: We're more
interested in the corpse, Rodgers.

Hepatic failure.
Cancer metastasized.

Ann Bennett died of liver
cancer. What about the cyanide?

No. Not enough to be fatal.

If it was, her tissues would have
been cherry red. They were clear.

The fumes in the ER?

The nurse may have smelled
something, but the fainting and spasms

were caused by panic, hysteria.

After that woman in
California, I'm not surprised.

Sorry, folks. This
ain't a homicide.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

JACK: Yeah?

(PHONE RINGING)

Claire Kincaid. Jack McCoy.

I spoke to Mr. Schiff. He
said you had requested me.

As soon as I heard Ben had
resigned. Your reputation precedes you.

As does yours.

Including your relationships
with previous assistants.

Three, in the past 24 years in this
office, and that includes an ex-wife.

Shall I be honest?
That would be helpful.

Those relationships were mutual.

I hardly think that I should apologize
for finding some of my co-workers

more stimulating than the
women I meet at the gym.

I just wanted to
make it clear. I got it.

I certainly don't
anticipate a problem.

Here we go.

Can we get to work now?

Of course.

It's a warrant to
search Dr. Haas' office.

For what? She
didn't kill Ann Bennett.

The autopsy found cyanide. If
she's treating her patients with...

The ME's report is clear.
Ann Bennett died of cancer.

I'm really not
interested, Claire.

If she is selling a form
of Laetrile, it's a felony.

We're supposed to put felons
in prison. Seems a little harsh.

It's against the law for a
reason, don't you think?

Lots of Vitamin E,
Vitamin A, seven grains,

including oat bran,
string beans, rice.

Then there's your fruit
groups. Apricots, pears...

Sounds like something
they'd sell at my gym.

Garden variety metabolic diet.

What about the
traces of cyanide?

Actually, you mean
the amygdaline.

It's a cyanogenetic glycoside, in
this case coming from apricot seeds.

Are you saying Laetrile?

No. Not a high enough
concentration, but same theory.

An enzyme in cyanide
attaches itself to cancer cells.

The rest of the goodies are
directed at cellular detoxification

and restoration.

Fry?

Is there any validity to it?

FDA sure doesn't think so.

Well, is Haas' concoction
actually harmful?

Only if you cut your hand
opening the can. But it's still illegal.

Apricot seeds?

My cousin distributes California
raisins. You wanna lock him up, too?

If it appears on the FDA's
list of unapproved substances.

There is nothing in
my client's treatment

that is not sold in every
health food store in the country.

The Penal Law is very clear.

If you sell apricot seeds as a treatment
for cancer, you've committed a crime.

So, you want to slap
her on the wrist now?

Your client is
looking at jail time.

Jack, I have always admired
your stick-to-itiveness.

I assume you came
here to talk deal.

Tell me, Mr. McCoy, does
the AMA have you on retainer?

Those frauds go to
conventions in Barbados

to discuss how the IRS is
closing down their tax shelters

while I'm trying to
save people's lives.

Those frauds follow
FDA guidelines.

Yes, I use apricot seeds.
But only as a catalytic agent.

They are hardly the
primary ingredient.

Why didn't you tell
that to the police?

They asked if I was
prescribing Laetrile. I'm not.

YOUNG: What's it
been, Jack, 20 years?

I mean, I've known you to get wet
and happy over murderers and rapists,

but selling fruit?

It's not the fruit that
concerns me, Counselor.

It's the selling of false
hope to unwitting victims.

Where did you get your doctorate
in biochemistry, Mr. McCoy?

YOUNG: Save yourself some time.

I'll give you 50 hours
of community service

and a solemn promise
not to do it anymore.

Not good enough.

Don't say I never offered.

The tox lab said Haas'
treatment is harmless.

Physically, sure. But
what about financially?

They paid her for a
cure, right? It was bogus.

Larceny? Exactly.

She's doling out a phony cure.
She's not doing it for free. It's a felony.

Only if she actually promised a cure.
We don't know what she told her patients.

Maybe we should find out.

Nicholas Bennett said
he never talked to her.

Then subpoena her patient
list and talk to everyone else.

Sure, I just saw
her this morning.

And you're on
her metabolic diet.

Never felt better.

Are you aware that it's
not approved by the FDA?

Look, I'm supposed to hold my breath
waiting for a bunch of men in Washington

to get off their butts?

It's my life, you know.

Did Dr. Haas say
she could cure you?

If I say yes, you'll
close her down, right?

Yeah. That's the law.

You see this?

I am wearing this to my high
school reunion next Saturday.

If I hadn't met Dr. Haas,
I couldn't wear it.

Who am I kidding? I wouldn't
be going to the reunion at all.

My friend Evelyn told
me about her a year ago.

Right after my other doctor told
me I had to have a mastectomy.

Dr. Haas said that I could live a
normal life without getting mutilated.

But did she ever say
she could cure you?

Twice a week for
almost six months.

She showed me medical
journals from Europe.

She said the
American bureaucracy

moves a lot slower
than cancer cells.

And you're still taking
her treatment? I wish.

(SIGHING)

My husband got nervous, dragged
me to a Park Avenue oncologist.

So you had the operation?

Oh, and what fun it was.

First, they put you on a
slab, naked, totally exposed.

Then they start taking pictures.

And we're just getting
going, Miss Kincaid.

There's a TV camera with a
monitor outside the room for all to see.

And then, when you're just
about ready to say the hell with it

and run for your
life, some man says,

"Don't worry, dear.
Everything will be okay."

It is not okay.

You're alive, Mrs. Hurst.

And with the reconstructive
surgery, I'm as good as new.

Only my husband
hasn't touched me since.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

There's a check mark beside the
names of the patients I talked to.

Most of them say Haas
just offers an alternative.

And you believe them?

Could be that's the answer they
were told to give if anyone asked.

The ones with two checks admitted
Haas said she could cure them.

Looks like about a dozen names.

Good enough to make
our case for fraud.

I'm sorry. I still don't
feel good about this.

You got something against
putting the bad guys in jail?

The ones who'd serve the
public better in a laboratory.

Haas has a wall full of credentials.
She's a legitimate scientist.

Who is fleecing her patients.

Maybe her patients
want to get fleeced.

There happens to be a lot of gray
between the black-and-white lines

of your precious Penal Code.

And where on this rainbow do
you suggest that we place Dr. Haas?

There's a chance the women she
treats live better lives than the ones

who were mutilated by
conventional members of the AMA.

By swallowing snake oil?

You're so sure that's
what it is? The FDA...

Oh, sure. Why not make a woman
wait 10 years for government approval

when she might only
have three years left to live?

Who are you defending here?
This woman isn't even a real doctor.

Neither was Louis Pasteur. Let
me ask you something, Claire.

The names on this list
without any check marks,

how come you
didn't talk to them?

A lot of them are dead, right?

They're all dead?

Your legitimate scientist
has some track record here.

She offers women a choice.

An alternative to
losing a breast. I don't...

But is it a fair choice?

If Ann Bennett had never heard
Haas' name, would she still be alive?

Okay, I don't know either.

So take all of Mrs.
Bennett's medical records

over to the head of Oncology
at St. Vincent's, and we'll see.

But if it turns out that she
died one day ahead of schedule,

I want Haas rearrested,
this time for murder.

Nancy Haas. I've attended
a half dozen of her lectures.

So, she's not a quack? On the
contrary, she's a very smart lady.

Five, six years ago, she
actually did some good work.

And now?

She drives an expensive car.
The big Mercedes, I think it is.

My doctor has a
40-foot yacht. So what?

Hopefully your doctor didn't
kill many patients to get it.

Please, sit down.

Haas charges $75,000
for a series of treatments

you could cook
up in your kitchen.

Our experts said
it was harmless.

Maybe. But Haas isn't.

There is nothing more destructive
in medicine than an overgrown ego,

and Haas has one that
could fill Shea Stadium.

Her patients are very sick,
very desperate women,

who are willing to pay
anything to avoid surgery.

Even at the risk of dying?

Some women can't see much
sense in living after breast surgery.

That's what makes
Haas so detestable.

How sick was Ann Bennett?

Once the cancer metastasized to the liver,
there's nothing anyone could have done.

So her death couldn't
have been prevented?

If I had a guess, by talking
her out of surgery and chemo,

Haas accelerated her
death by at least five years.

I guarantee you this, if she were
my patient, she'd still be alive.

Excuse me? Don't mention it.

Miss Haas. I'm with a patient.

She'll have to find
another doctor.

Nancy Haas, you're under arrest
for the murder of Ann Bennett.

You have the right
to remain silent.

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

Do you understand
that? Call my lawyer.

You have the right to an
attorney. If you cannot afford one...

You arrested Haas for
murder on whose authority?

She's been ripping off women with
a bogus cure. At best, that's larceny.

She prevented people
from extending their lives.

To me, that's the
same as killing them.

Only you have to present your case
in a courtroom, not a philosophy class.

We can't prosecute someone
for not doing something.

You need a guilty
act. She acted plenty.

Her murder weapon was
her lies. Ann Bennett bought it.

Ann Bennett. The
dead can't testify.

I don't need her.

Haas told patients, "I can
cure you." It's a pattern, Adam.

She murdered Ann Bennett,

and she may have murdered
a lot of other women, too.

Actus reus. It's
black-letter law.

For a conviction, the state has to prove
the defendant committed an overt act.

My client did not shoot a
gun. She did not wield a knife.

She lied. Your client's crap about
miracle cures killed Ann Bennett.

Cancer killed Ann Bennett.

If a defendant's culpable act
shortens a person's stay on this planet,

the law will not permit him to claim
that his victim would have died anyway.

The operable word being "act."

Dr. Haas did not do anything.

You can watch a drowning man
die, you're not liable for murder.

But if you tie a
rope around his feet

so that he can't reach
a life preserver, you are.

Excuse me, Counselor.

I don't see the metaphorical
rope in this case.

The defendant
promised Mrs. Bennett

she could cure her
cancer without surgery.

As Mrs. Bennett is deceased,
I for one would like to know

how Counsel intends to establish
that Dr. Haas promised anyone anything.

There's Lily Freed of Scarsdale,

Martha Conn of
Cold Spring Harbor,

and I could keep on
going, Your Honor.

Haas told at least
a dozen patients.

Prior bad acts, Your
Honor. It's inadmissible.

Not if it establishes a
pattern of illegal activity.

Haas tells one patient she's
got a cure, it's a little white lie.

She tells two patients,
it's unforgivable.

She tells three patients,
she's a murderer.

She tells four patients,

she's a damn murderer,
and it's all admissible.

We're not talking about a
serial killer here, Counselor.

Defendant's motion
to dismiss is denied.

But you will not mention any statements
made to patients other than Mrs. Bennett.

That understood, Mr. McCoy?

If Ianello ruled
out the pattern,

we can't prove Haas
promised Ann Bennett anything.

So we should give up?

We should just let her
go on killing people?

Millions of people believe in
holistic and homeopathic medicine.

Are they all wrong?
Are they all stupid?

Those who die needlessly, yes.

And you're qualified to
make that determination?

Well, I happen to
find it a little intrusive,

the government telling a
woman she has to have surgery.

This is not a privacy
issue. Of course it's not.

Constitutional issues
are defined by men.

I don't think this is
the time or the place

for a full-blown debate
about your latent feminism.

Number one, it's not latent.

Number two, since when did
privacy become a feminist issue?

Go to the movies. Read
a book. Open a magazine.

Maybe you'll see why these women
don't want to get a breast lopped off.

I think you're
overreacting. Really?

Is that why the Wonderbra is the
hottest selling product on the market?

Society forces women to seek
out people like Nancy Haas.

You're right.

It's a tits-and-ass world.

Men are pigs and we
should all rot in hell.

Unfortunately, that's
not my jurisdiction.

That is not what I'm
saying, and you know it.

If Haas killed Ann Bennett,
I don't want her to walk.

But you'd like it a whole lot
better if Haas were a man.

Isn't that what's
bothering you, Claire?

If it were Dr. Frank Haas,

you'd be the first one out
there with the tar and feathers.

But a woman actually taking
advantage of another woman,

that one doesn't show up in the
collected works of Betty Friedan.

Can we get a drink now?

FRIEDLAND: After the recurrence
of cancer in her left breast,

I advised Mrs. Bennett that a
mastectomy would be required.

And did you perform
the surgery? I did not.

You see, I encourage patients to
solicit the opinions of other oncologists.

Ann Bennett called my office and
asked that we forward her records

to a Dr. Nancy Haas.

And you did?

You can only plead
with a patient for so long.

I told her Haas wasn't
a medical doctor.

I told her that her only
chance of survival was surgery,

and that to forego it in favor of this
vegetable concoction would be suicide.

In your opinion, Doctor,
would Ann Bennett still be alive

if she had undergone surgery

rather than this
metabolic therapy?

The statistics show that
a patient like Ann Bennett,

with surgery and an aggressive
course of chemotherapy,

has approximately a 70%
chance of surviving five years.

So, I'd have to say,
yes, she'd still be alive.

Your witness.

So, Doctor,

any patient that refuses

traditional medical treatment
is committing suicide?

I didn't say that.

Sometimes a physician may
conclude a patient's death is inevitable.

But Mrs. Bennett's wasn't?

I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't recall
seeing a Nobel Prize on your CV.

JACK: Objection. Withdrawn.

Tell me, Doctor, would Mrs.
Bennett have suffered great pain

had she undergone the
traditional course of therapy?

It is major surgery.

And it's followed by chemotherapy,
which causes hair loss

and weight gain and
excessive vomiting.

Isn't that right?

For many, yes. But it's
manageable and certainly not lethal.

Oh, it is to the
dignity. Thank you.

Yes, my wife was seeing
Dr. Haas for about...

I don't know, maybe
four or five months.

And how much did
you pay her in that time?

Approach, Your Honor.

I renew my objection.

You have already excluded
all evidence relating to pattern.

I certainly am allowed to offer
evidence relating to motive.

You can dress it up,
Counselor, it's the same thing.

No, it's not.

Proceed, Mr. McCoy, but
be careful where you tread.

Answer the question.

On the first day in her office,
she had me write a check

for $25,000.

After that, it was $5,000
on the first of every month.

So, in all, you've paid
her about $50,000.

Well, that's not decided yet.

A judge will determine that.
Please explain, Mr. Hurst.

We cut the treatment short.

I got my wife to a real doctor.

But Dr. Haas says
I signed a contract.

She says I owed her the whole amount
whether Gail drinks her garbage or not.

How's your sex life, Mr. Hurst?

Okay, okay.

How was your sex life while
your wife was seeing Dr. Haas?

Maybe I don't have a sex
life. That's my problem.

But you know what?

What I do have is better
than hugging a gravestone.

Thank you.

NICHOLAS: She came
home from the hospital

after the lumpectomy,

she curled up on her bed,

she cried for three hours.

I had to give her a tranquilizer
prescribed by Dr. Friedland

just to get her calm
enough to speak.

So, as a layman, you
would characterize your wife

as being depressed
after the operation?

Definitely. How long
did this depression last?

About a year.

And then she started seeing Dr. Haas
and her whole attitude changed.

We started making love again,

and she started making
plans for the future.

Like she thought she was cured.

Objection. Withdrawn.

Tell me, sir, how much
did you pay Dr. Haas?

$75,000.

Nothing further.

Your wife was in a support group
for women who have breast cancer.

Is that right? Yes.

Is it possible that
this group could have

been responsible for
her change in attitude?

Maybe. I don't know.

Mr. Bennett, did
your wife ever tell you

that Dr. Haas said that
she could cure her cancer?

No. Thank you.

At a minimum, Young's
cross created reasonable doubt

as to Haas' promises
to Ann Bennett.

Key element of the crime. You
can expect a motion to dismiss.

Maybe I'm not done
putting on my case.

You've run out of witnesses.

I'm thinking about
redirecting Nicholas Bennett.

Young asked him if his wife ever
told him anything about Haas' promises.

He said no.

But she didn't ask him if he ever heard
the promises directly from Dr. Haas.

It's the logical next
question, isn't it? Play it out.

Young asks Bennett,

"Did Dr. Haas ever tell you
that she could cure your wife?"

What's he gonna say?

What he's been saying all along,
that he never actually spoke to Haas.

Exactly. Then Young moves for a
dismissal and probably gets one.

Heat of trial. She forgot. I
know Gwen Young. Unlikely.

The other explanation is that she knew
Bennett's answer was gonna be a lie.

And if she knowingly elicited
it, she'd be suborning perjury.

Believe me, that's
not Gwen either.

So her only alternative
was to not ask the question.

You're saying the husband
actually talked to Haas?

This doctor kills
Bennett's wife,

nearly puts him
in the poorhouse.

Why is he going
to lie to protect her?

I don't know yet.

Is she going to be
convicted or not?

Well, that depends, Mr. Bennett.
That's the best you can do?

You didn't let me finish.

You see, I'm gonna put you
back on the stand tomorrow.

Whether Dr. Haas is
convicted depends entirely on

whether you decide to tell the truth
about your conversation with her.

I never spoke to the woman. How
many times are we gonna go over this?

Until I get a little honesty.

They must be made of brass.

My wife is dead. You drag me
down here. The hell with you!

You know, Mr. Bennett, if it was my wife,
I'd come into the DA's office and say,

"She killed my wife! I
want her to go to jail.

"Tell me what I have
to say to put her there."

She wasn't your wife!

You have to admit,
Mr. Bennett, it's odd.

We're more interested in
convicting Haas than you are.

Give us a minute,
will you, Claire?

I think we both know what
happened, Mr. Bennett.

You wanted the
woman you married.

You wanted her whole.

So you believed it.

I don't know,

maybe in your shoes I would
have done the same thing.

This is tough stuff.

So...

You sit at the back of the courtroom
with your head down and you keep silent.

And how do you look your
daughter in the eyes every morning

with the guilt all
over your face?

What do you want from me?

Dr. Haas lied to your wife.

She lied to you.

She's relying on your
guilt not to expose her.

She knows all about human
weakness and she exploits it.

We trusted her.

(SNIFFLING)

I loved my wife.

If you haven't noticed, Jack,
I've got an acquittal in my pocket.

JACK: Past tense.

Mr. Bennett here has
more than enough proof

to put your client
away for Murder Two.

He's going to take the stand
again and change his story?

That makes him next in
line for the credibility trophy.

He doesn't have to
change his story, Counselor.

If you recall, neither of us asked him if
he was personally bamboozled by Dr. Haas.

You make it sound like I'm
some sort of confidence man

selling swampland in Florida.

Don't flatter yourself.

One in nine women, and
we still have to beg for money.

We notice cancer clusters
here on Long Island.

You know what the great
state of New York does?

It concludes there's a
relationship between breast cancer

and high levels of income.

Case closed. No
further studies warranted.

Looking at your patient list, it seems
you came to the same conclusion.

HAAS: You wait
until it happens to you.

Women have had it with politicians
and physicians who "there, there" them,

suggesting this
disease is under control.

It's murder by condescension.

Their condescension doesn't
come at $75,000 a pop.

Think what you want. At least
I'm looking for some kind of cure.

Well, Doctor, you should
have told your patients that

instead of claiming
that you had one.

Man One, Jack.

What do you think, Claire?

She does it all.

Fifteen years at Bedford, she'll
be selling her fellow inmates

a cold remedy made
from bread and water.

She'll need it.

After the civil suits, she won't
have anything left when she gets out.

I don't think there
will be any civil suits.

You don't think the widowers...

The same thing that drew them to
Haas will keep them off the stand.

Fear? Denial.

Speaking of which, I checked.

On what?

You've only had three
women assistants.

You were the one who
wanted to know the truth.