Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 6, Episode 1 - Bitter Fruit - 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.

Thirty-four metal,
twelve glass.

Thirty-four metal,
twelve glass.

Thirty-five metal,
twelve glass.

Thirty-five metal,
twelve glass.

Thirty-five-and-a-half
metal, twelve glass.

Thirty-five-and-a-half
metal, twelve...



Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Come on, Dorothy, click
your heels and wake up.

Come on. Come...

Oh, my God!
Help her! Help!

What do you mean, "How's it going?
" It's only been a month.

Come on, Lennie.

He's okay.

What? For a kid?

I've got ties older than him
and some shoes, too, I think.

I'd like it if you two
really became partners.

Well, I'd like it if both my ex-wives
got new partners. No more alimony.

And I'd like at least a token
effort at the chain of command.

Is that all?



That's all.
I'll see you in the morning.

Yes, I'll tell him. Go to bed now, okay?
I'll see you in the morning.

I love you.

My daughter says good night.

Right back at her.

She's funny.

She feels bad because you don't have
anyone to tuck you in at night.

Oh, yeah? Now, let me guess
where she got that idea.

Kids hear things
out of context.

Right, because my particulars

are the hot topic of conversation
at your dinner table.

Lennie, you're my partner.

My wife worries about who's
watching my back, that's all.

(PHONE RINGS)

Briscoe.

Yeah.

Got it.
We're up.

You know, it's a funny thing Rey,

while your wife worries about
your back, I worry about mine.

(SIREN WAILING)

One of our recycling kings found
her about a half hour ago.

He was looking for soda cans, lifted
up the plywood, and there she was.

Any ID?
No.

I got a team looking
for a schoolbag or purse.

Dietrich, what's the story?

Time of death, 6 to 10 hours.
Unknown cause.

We got a hematoma on the
right side of her head,

and abrasions on
the palms of her hands.

Oh, man. What
is she, 12, 14?

Somewhere in there.

Take a Polaroid,
show it around,

maybe somebody knows her
from the neighborhood.

Not this neighborhood.
This blazer's from Paul Stuart.

Kid's a long way from home.

What's that smell?

It's mothballs from this
sheet she was wrapped in.

All right. Bag her hands and roll her.
And tell whoever's working the day shift

I want this girl to be the
first cut in the morning.

(SIGHS)

Poor kid, from Paul
Stuart blazers to this.

Yeah. Not exactly what
her folks had in mind.

Come on, let's see if we
can scare up a witness.

(BABY CRYING)

I told you, I wasn't
looking outside.

I was trying to get my baby to sleep.

She's teething.
Yeah. I'm sorry.

Look, I've been there.
Take my card.

If you remember anything,
give me a call, okay?

Yeah, and who do I call to make a
complaint about waking up my baby?

(DOOR SLAMS SHUT)

Bunch of cigar-store Indians down there.
No see 'em, no talk 'em.

Sorry.

Wooden Indians are your culture,
Lennie, not my wife's.

Sorry to wake you, sir. I'm Detective Curtis.
This is Detective Briscoe.

If it's about that body they
found, I can't help you.

I was in bed watching TV.

Least till the
cavalry showed up.

You mind if I get myself
a glass of water?

I've been huffing up
these stairs all night.

Make yourself at home.
Water's in the kitchen.

Uh-huh!

Now what do you do
for a living, Mr...

Krutsky.

Alan Krutsky.
I'm retired from the postal service.

Disability, on
account of my feet.

Look, I wanna get
back to my breakfast.

Oh, be my guest.

So, you stay home
most of the time, huh?

That's right,
minding my own business.

Right. And sitting in this chair
and watching the world go by, huh?

It's a pretty nice
roost. Better than TV.

So did you happen to catch the play-by-play
action in the vacant lot last night?

Bums and drug addicts,
I don't wanna mess with.

Can you leave now?
I like eating in private.

Come on, Mr. Krutsky,
a little girl got killed.

You were a public servant once.
You wanna help us out here?

All I saw was a couple of
crackheads doing their thing.

They cleared out about 10:00.
That's when I went to bed.

Anything out of the ordinary?

Well, there was this van.

It came by two or three
times, just before 10:00.

I thought maybe they
were looking for drugs.

What kind of van?
A white van.

I couldn't make out
a license plate. Okay?

Goodbye now.

Off the bat, I don't see any
signs of sexual trauma.

I guess killing her
was traumatic enough.

Brain hemorrhage in
the right temporal lobe.

Judging by the rate of seepage, death
was within 20 minutes of the injury.

That being the bump on the
right side of her head.

Mmm-hmm.

Hematoma's about the size
of an adult fist,

but she didn't go
down without a fight.

There were bruises on her upper arms,
probably from being pinned down.

And she had bruises
on her knuckles.

So she got in a few
punches. Good for her.

Dietrich saw abrasions
on her hands.

I found glass shards embedded
in her palms and in her hair,

and that's it, gents,
quick and dirty.

Anything else you want to see?

They ran her through Missing Persons.
Nothing yet.

I'm not worried. Girl in a Paul Stuart blazer,
somebody's bound to report her missing.

What about the doer,
he leave a calling card?

Well, the rape kit's negative.

Forensics has the girl's
clothes and the sheet,

and there was a white
van reported in the area.

What about the sheet?

The label's from
a mail-order place.

Rey?

The sheet?

Oh!

Blue and white queen flannel
top sheet, part of a set.

The company stopped carrying
it about four years ago.

They don't have any records.

Maybe we can match up the MO.

Go back a year, attempted abductions,
reports of children being approached.

BRISCOE: Lot
of overtime.

Lucky you.

Start with attempts on girls
matching our Jane Doe.

These kinkos tend
to favor a type.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Detective Briscoe,
there's a call.

Thanks.

Detective, close the door.

This thousand-yard stare...

Anything behind it I
should be concerned about?

No. No. It's
just this kid.

I see her lying on the slab, and I can't
help thinking it could be one of my...

But it isn't. Look, if you're
going to bug out over every vic,

I can't use you.

Best therapy?
Clear the case.

Missing Persons got a hit.

Jody Gaines, 12, domiciled
at 450 East 88th.

Father reported her
missing last night.

Yes, that's her.

What happens now?

Well, there's some
forms to fill out.

Then we'd like to talk to you.

We'll also want to
talk to your wife.

My ex-wife.

She doesn't know. I wanted to wait
until I was certain it was Jody.

Is there a phone?

Yeah. In the hallway.

She can meet us
down at the precinct.

MR. GAINES: On Wednesdays, Jody
takes piano lessons after school,

on the West Side, on 76th.

The school bus drops her off.

How does she get home?

Her piano teacher calls
a car service for her.

Sounds like you
had her covered.

I tried to protect my daughter.

Then when I got home at
7:00, she wasn't there.

She was supposed
to go to your place?

MR. GAINES: She lives with me.
The court gave me custody.

Anyway, I called her music teacher.
He said she never showed up for her lesson.

I called the school.

The vice-principal said she remembered
seeing Jody get on the bus.

Mrs. Gaines, could she have skipped her
piano lesson and gone to visit you?

No, she knows I work late.
I'm a buyer for Bloomingdale's.

Anyway, she wouldn't miss her lesson.
She loved to play piano. She...

Did she ever mention that someone
was watching her or following her?

No.

She would've told me.

I warned my daughter about the kinds
of people that are out there.

Who else knew
about her schedule?

My housekeeper. Mr.
Behrens, piano teacher.

And the people at her school.

They have to be asking
themselves the question.

What question is that?

Well, if the family was still
together, maybe the girl'd be alive.

How do you figure?

Come on, divorced parents are so busy
making a new life for themselves,

the kids end up falling
through the cracks.

So, you think they should've toughed
it out together under the same roof?

Studies prove it, Lennie.
Kids are better off.

Or we might be talking about two
dead bodies instead of one.

Fourteen years on the job,
I never lost a kid.

When you catch up with
the pervert that did this,

I'd like a few
minutes with him.

Take a number.

Now, yesterday, where exactly on
76th Street did you drop her off?

Right in front of the building
where her piano teacher lives.

And you waited till
she went inside?

Yeah, sure.

I saw her open the door.

CURTIS: You didn't see
anybody else on the street?

No, I really didn't
pay attention.

Well, maybe the other
kids on the bus did.

It was just Jody and me.
She's my last drop-off on Wednesdays.

I do the East Side first, then I
cut across the park to Columbus.

And you didn't see anything unusual,
like maybe a car following you?

No. I went around the block to
Amsterdam, then up to 76th.

Just the usual traffic.

I swear to you
she never showed up.

Well, we have a witness who
saw her enter your building.

Well, I don't know what to tell you.
She wasn't here.

One of your students skips her do-re-mi's,
and you don't call her folks?

(SIGHS)

Well, the first time
that it happened, I did.

Jody went to FAO Schwarz
with her friends, you know.

She caught hell
from her parents.

What about the second
and third times?

Look, you know, I'm as
horrified as you are,

but if I thought that something had
happened to her, I would've called.

Just out of curiosity, what time was
your next appointment after Jody?

Right after her. Mrs.
Deutsch. All thumbs.

Unfortunately, she
never misses a lesson.

So the girl waits until the bus leaves,
then heads to the nearest video arcade.

Or any other favorite hangout for
your neighborhood chicken hawks.

When I was a kid growing up around here,
the worse thing that could happen to you

was skinning your knee
playing Johnny on the Pony.

Yeah, well, I don't remember things
being so rosy when I was a kid.

Well, when was that, last week?
Come on, let's see if anybody saw her.

So you've never
seen her before, huh?

Um...

No. She wasn't in here.

All right. Thanks.
No problem.

I got nothing, Lennie.

Yeah. Same
story here.

Nobody remembers seeing her.

Everybody's too busy.

Except those guys.

Hey, that's 75th.

Very good.

Now try reading that sign,
it says "Lunch Special."

No, Lennie, the bus driver
said he came down Columbus,

and went around the corner
to come back up to 76th.

Which means he
had to take 75th.

Hey, that's pretty good.

Mind if we tear you away
from your work for a minute?

Was this street open yesterday?
WORKER: No.

Broken water main.
The street was flooded all day.

Okay. Thanks.

I wonder if that bus driver
remembers swimming down the street.

I'm not sure, maybe I cut
across on 75th or 73rd.

73rd was blocked off.

Then I took 75th.

I don't know, Lennie, I'm pretty
sure the broken main was on 75th.

You know Rey, now that I
think of it, you're right.

Look, I just don't remember.

Oh, I sympathize with
your problem, Charlie.

When I was married, I could
never keep my lies straight.

Why you making such a
big deal out of this?

What difference
what street I took?

The deal is we think you took Jody
on a little magical mystery tour.

Now, I'm not a fan, but maybe
knee socks make you horny.

That's sick! I raised four kids
of my own, for God's sake.

That's a lot a mouths to feed.

And you chauffeur those little rich darlings
around for what, a puny 20-grand a year?

Is that why you grabbed
her, for the money?

No, no! Yeah!
You grabbed her.

Only she put up a fight.

And you had to hit her, only
it was a little too hard...

This is crazy!
No! I didn't do that.

Then lay it out for us, pal.
What happened?

This could cost me my job.

For openers.

Okay, look, I dropped her off on
the corner of 76th on Columbus.

The traffic was bad, she didn't want to sit
on the bus while I went around the block.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
That's your story?

It's true.

School policy is I drop
them in front of the house,

I wait till they're inside.

If I just did what
I was supposed to...

He's taking it pretty hard.

You believe him?

I ran his name up and down the system.
Nothing, not even a moving violation.

Well, on that note, I'll give him
some Kleenex and send him home.

Well, he told one lie.
He could be telling others.

I want to hold him until
we check out his story.

Hey, we questioned every animate object
in the neighborhood. Nobody saw her.

Look, he said he dropped the
girl at the corner on Columbus.

There's a bank there.
It's got a cash machine.

And cash machines
have security cameras.

I cued up the tape
to where you wanted,

but there was only one
customer during that period.

It's not your customers
we're interested in.

Here you go.

There, that's the bus.

BRISCOE: And
there she goes.

Well, that gets
him off the hook.

Wait, wait. Lennie.

A minute after the girl
walks down the street,

that white van driving
up 76th toward Columbus.

So, the mailman said he saw a white
van cruising the vacant lot.

There's gotta be a
million white vans.

You see the rack on the side of the van?
It's carrying some kind of window.

Yeah. It's a
glazer's truck.

The girl had glass
shards in her hands.

Same goobers built this
camera built the Hubble.

You get better optics
on an Instamatic.

Sorry, Richard Avedon
wasn't available.

First off, these are all side
shots, so no license plate.

I got the driver in
profile for one frame.

Dark hair, maybe,
caucasian or hispanic.

You even sure it's a he?

No, just a politically
incorrect assumption.

What about the lettering on the
side panel, behind the rack there?

SASABE: It's blurred because of
distortion from the glass in the window.

Probably cheap stuff.

CURTIS: I don't know about the glass,
but that window looks pretty expensive.

Can't be too many like it.

What this is, is an arch window
dating from the mid-19th century.

Nice looking piece.

It'd look good
in my living room.

If you could afford the
townhouse that goes with it.

You have a particular one in mind?

There must be nearly a hundred in
Manhattan with this kind of window.

Who fixes these
kind of windows?

Well, any competent
glazer can handle the job.

The trick is keeping
the materials authentic.

Take the panes, it's float glass.
Just like the original.

That's why you
have the distortion.

Going by the amount of waves, I'd
say this glass was mouth-blown.

Doesn't sound like something
a glazer would keep in stock.

It has to be special ordered.

There's only one local
distributor, in Queens.

Float glass?
Could be.

About a third of my
business is in restoration.

Yeah. The distributor said you ordered
three sheets of it a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah. That sounds
about right.

Any chance it found its way into
a 19th century arch window?

Uh-huh!

The job went out
a couple of days ago.

Why, you guys thinking about
remodeling the precinct?

We leave the redecorating
to our lieutenant.

Is this one of your trucks?

You guys want to tell
me what this is about?

We asked first,
Mr. Sullivan.

Yeah, it's one of my trucks.
So? What gives? Hit-and-run?

The driver might've been a witness
to a crime over on the West Side,

a couple of days ago.

We need to talk to him.

I've got over 30 employees,
and off the top of my head,

I don't know who
handled the job.

Why don't you give me your card?
I'll get back to you.

I see on the wall there you got a
certificate from the Gardner Clinic.

Yeah. I've been
sober for over a year.

BRISCOE: Well, then you know how important
it is to your self-esteem to do good works,

and helping your local
police certainly counts.

We'd really like
that information now.

You know the Gardner?

Yeah, I read their
brochure between shots.

Carlos, yeah, who did the
re-install on the Poundstone job?

(CLEARS THROAT)

Okay.

Nick Capetti. He lives in Brooklyn,
but he's on a job right now.

Sure, I was on 76th
Street speccing out a job.

Broken skylight.

Who'd you talk to?

Some old bag.
I don't remember her name.

But you wrote it down, though, right?

I threw it out.

She accused me of gouging, so I
told her, "Fix it yourself."

And where'd you go then?

The Poundstone
place in the Village.

Traffic is nuts,

so by the time I get down
there, it's way past 6:00,

so I bagged it for the day, and
headed for the Lincoln tunnel.

Oh, you took the scenic
route back to Brooklyn?

My mother lives in Newark.
She was expecting me for dinner.

Anybody else at
the dinner table?

No, just me and my mother.
You guys done interrogating me now?

BRISCOE: Hey, there's
no interrogation.

When we interrogate you,
believe me, you'll know it.

So what time did the party
break up at your mom's?

I don't know. I watched
the late news, and I left.

And I'm sure she could vouch
for your whereabouts, right?

Ask the Jersey State Troopers.

They gave me a speeding
ticket on the way there.

All right, then?

Mr. Capetti's been in and out
of the state bed-and-breakfast

for the past 20 years.

Attempted rape, burglary,
another attempted rape.

Killing little girls
wouldn't be a stretch.

The youngest victim here's 22.

Last conviction was in '89
for assault on a shopkeeper.

He was muscle for a
protection scam in Corona.

An all-round bad guy.

You confirm that ticket with
the Jersey State Police?

Lt'd take a few days
to put into the system.

If he even got a ticket.

He's got a dead or dying
girl in the back of his van.

Last thing he's gonna do is drive to
Jersey for his mama's cannelloni.

Hey, a guy's gotta eat, right?

Capetti's got history.

He was at the scene, that should be
enough for us to search his van.

Find a judge.

We went through the van
three times, gentlemen.

I just viewed the
material under the scope.

No fibers from
the flannel sheets,

no fibers from the girl's clothes,
not a strand of hair. Nothing.

Capetti's had some
experience with our methods,

and plenty of time to
clean up after himself.

The girl had cuts on her hands.
There must've been blood.

We didn't find any. Best
we came up with is this.

A teaspoon of glass.

Some of it's a general match
with what was found on the girl.

(CELL PHONE RINGS)

Thanks.

This is Rey.

What time?

All right. Thanks.

Confirmation on
the speeding ticket.

6:56 p.m. On the Turnpike,
coming from the Lincoln Tunnel.

Son of a bitch. They write him up,
and they don't even turn their heads

a half an inch to see what's
in the back of the van.

I don't get this guy, Lennie.

Hey. Hey, he panicked
when the girl kicked.

New plan, drive out to
Mom's and sort things out.

While he's there, why not just
ditch the body in Jersey?

What? Right in his mom's backyard?
Too easy to connect the dots.

No. Better to dump the body
in Manhattan after dinner.

Capetti put some
thought into this.

I wonder how much he
put into his alibi.

I made meatloaf.
Nicky loves my meatloaf.

You know what I like, Mrs.
Capetti? Meatloaf sandwich.

How about Nick, did he make
himself one for the road?

I don't know.
I went to bed.

CURTIS: About what
time was that?

After the news.

Which one do you like to watch, Mrs.
Capetti?

The Chinese girl on Channel 5
or the old guy on Channel 4?

(CHUCKLES)

They all got the same bad news.

Oh, wow! I bet the Giants come
in pretty good on this, huh?

Nicky gave that to
me for Christmas.

To watch the Jets.

What's in here,
Mrs. Capetti?

It's storage.
Just a lot of junk.

Junk made out
of wool? Mothball.

You want to show us what's
in the closet, Mrs. Capetti?

I don't have to.

Well, then you'd better
put on a pot of coffee.

We're gonna call
the Essex County D.A.

And wait for him to come
down here with a warrant.

We'll have to go room by room.
It'll be a hell of a mess.

Rey, flannel pillow
cases, fitted sheet.

The rest of the matching set.

Hey, you!
Hold it!

COP: He's going
around the back!

He's going around the back!

Hey!

(GRUNTING)

Where are you going?
Easy, man!

(SCREAMS)

This ought to bring back
fond memories, Nick.

You're under arrest, you have
the right to remain silent,

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

Why her, Nick?

Just dumb luck, she happened to be in
the right place at the right time?

Maybe you'd seen her before,
you staked her out, right?

CURTIS: A smart guy
like you would do that.

Pay attention, genius, because
now we are interrogating you.

I'm waiting for my lawyer.

Yeah. We're
looking for him.

But I gotta tell you, the only
thing that's gonna help you now

is your cooperation,
some kind of statement

you're sorry for what you
did to that little girl.

It's your only chance
to dodge the needle, Nick.

Yeah, right. You're bubbling over
with concern for my welfare.

We're just saying that if your
intent wasn't to kill her,

that changes things.

You know, last time I checked this was
still the land of the red, white and blue.

I got rights. Now,
get me my lawyer.

(BELL DINGS)

Mrs. Gaines.
Am I too late?

No. They haven't brought him in yet.
Now, why don't you have a seat.

ATTORNEY: My client is on welfare.
How is he expected to meet bail?

JUDGE: That's not my problem.
Bail is set at $50,000.

(GAVEL POUNDS)

Next.

"Case number 622395.
People v. Nicholas Capetti.

"Charges are murder in the first degree
and kidnapping in the first degree."

JUDGE: Give me a plea.

Not guilty.

Miss Kincaid, what are the
People looking for on this?

The victim's a 12-year-old girl, Your Honor.
The defendant has a prior...

(GUNSHOTS)

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

You bastard!

Call EMS!

MRS. CAPETTI: Do something!
Do something!

Are you all right?

No. I'm okay. I'm okay.

Are you sure? Yeah, I can't...
I didn't see what happened.

He killed Jody.

Karen, don't say another word.
I called the lawyer.

I'm sorry.

He's right, Mrs.
Gaines, listen to him.

Anything you say now puts
us in an awkward position.

Capetti's DOA.

What're you doing to her?

She's being charged
with murder. I'm sorry.

Curtis, Mirandize her.

Take her out the garage.
Karen Gaines, you're under arrest

for the murder of Nicholas Capetti.
You have the right to remain silent.

You have the
right to an attorney.

Wait for the lawyer, Karen.

If you can't afford an attorney...
That bastard killed Jody!

How in the hell did she get
that gun into the courthouse?

I don't know.
You don't know.

Well, somebody better find out.

Normal-looking people out there
taking the law in their own hands.

With eight million taxpayers
cheering them on.

They're lining up to pat
Karen Gaines on the back.

Right. Well, it doesn't
take much effort

to put yourself in her shoes.

Unfortunately, she's not the
first parent to lose a child.

That can't justify
premeditated murder.

You want to try
her for murder two?

She had the presence of mind

to smuggle a loaded
weapon into a courthouse.

I have 40 witnesses
who saw her shoot Capetti.

I don't see what
the problem is.

The problem is that your jury will
wish that they pulled the trigger.

If we don't come down
hard on Karen Gaines,

somebody else'll get
the idea that it's okay

to turn another courtroom
into the OK Corral.

And if she gets acquitted,
what message does that send?

I'm not taking that chance.
You're talking to her lawyer.

Mrs. Gaines serves a day in prison for this,
that'll be the day I turn in my license.

As soon as the jury gets a
look at Capetti's record,

at the evidence against him,

they'll line up to shake my
client's hand and send her home.

Only if they ignore the
fact she murdered someone.

Only one thing matters here.
Jody Gaines is dead

because the system failed to keep a piece
of crap like Nick Capetti behind bars.

Well, thanks to my client, Mr.
Capetti's crime spree is over for good.

A compelling
argument, Mr. Greer,

but not half as compelling as
the bullet that hit the wall

three inches from
the court reporter's head.

Mr. McCoy...

GREER: Karen, please.

All I could think about was the
last minutes of Jody's life.

How terrified she must've been.

If I could undo everything,
believe me, I would.

Man one. She
does six years.

We might go for man two.

One and a third years
in minimum security.

Fine, let's not be reasonable.

We're on the side of
the angels, Mr. McCoy.

You force a trial, and
you're in for a hard ride.

What if she pled to man one, and
we request a sentencing hearing?

CLAIRE: We let a judge
decide the sentence.

We'd go along with that.

I'll get back to you.

Karen.

Greer knows we don't want
this in front of a jury.

Neither does he.
I want her to serve time.

Man one carries
mandatory imprisonment.

Right, a big two years.

At a minimum.

But, Jack, don't you think
she's been punished enough?

For God's sake, Claire!
For shooting up a courtroom?

Thanks to her, you had
a near-death experience.

I'm surprised you're
so magnanimous.

CLAIRE: Where in the canon of ethics does
it say we can't show a little mercy?

Because Nick Capetti was
a man in need of killing?

It wasn't up to her to
give him what he deserves.

Then why not let a judge
decide what she deserves?

Okay.

Start working on the
sentence recommendation.

Nick was my only son.

He has three sisters.

After my husband died,

he took care of us
as best he could.

And thanks to that Mr.
Sullivan who gave him a job,

Nick was supporting me.

Your son was convicted
of committing violent crimes,

isn't that right?

He wasn't a saint.

I didn't say he was.

And if he had anything to
do with that little girl,

then he should've
paid by the law.

Now, I could live with
that, but not with this.

What gave you the right
to shoot him like a dog?

Mrs. Capetti, please,
address the court.

Her little girl is dead, and
that's a tragedy for her.

But who is she to kill my son?

What if she was wrong?

What if he didn't do it?

It took three years of
trying before we had Jody.

Karen called her our miracle baby.
She was very devoted to her.

At your divorce, isn't it true, the
court awarded you custody of Jody?

Yes. They found Karen
to be an unfit mother.

At the time, she was dealing with
an addiction to pain killers.

She needed time for herself.

She cleaned up to become
a better mother for Jody.

And after her recovery, what
kind of a mother was she?

She was fantastic.
Spent as much time with Jody as she could.

Then when the police called...

If Jody had died in an accident, we
would've found a way to deal with it.

But this...

He took our child.

And what did the police do?

Gave him a speeding ticket with our
Jody maybe still alive in his truck.

Karen had no faith in
the system, Your Honor.

Not a parent in the world
wouldn't have done what she did.

I'm only sorry I didn't have
the guts to do it myself.

I've heard the testimony, I've
read the pre-sentence report

and Mrs. Gaines' statement
expressing remorse,

but manslaughter in the first
degree is a serious offense,

and that's why the statutes
require mandatory imprisonment.

The defendant will rise.

Karen Gaines, it is
the sentence of this court

that you serve a term of imprisonment
of no more than two years.

Furthermore, this
court will recommend

that your sentence be served at a
halfway house in the city of New York,

and that you be allowed to participate
in a work-release program.

Your Honor...
Sit down, Mr. McCoy.

I'm within my discretion.

We're adjourned.

These are the witness statements
connecting Capetti to the van

and the lab reports connecting
the girl to the van.

It would've been a slam dunk.

Any evidence he had help?

No. And no evidence he'd ever even seen
the girl until the day he grabbed her.

And you're absolutely
sure he was the one?

Oh, yeah. I may not agree with
Mrs. Gaines' brand of justice,

but she did not shoot
an innocent bystander.

All right. Close the case and
send McCoy the final report.

It might cheer him up.

From the looks of this, he'll be
the only one gnashing his teeth.

Mrs. Gaines is
getting a lot of ink.

Rey, look at this.

She was treated for pill addiction
a year ago at the Gardner Clinic.

So she went to Gardner.
So did half of Manhattan.

Including Capetti's
boss, Frank Sullivan.

Yes, I remember Karen Gaines,
and I remember Frank Sullivan.

They underwent treatment during the
same four-week period last year.

Did they have much
contact with each other?

Sure. They were in my therapy
group, they shared meals.

During the group sessions, did
they discuss their personal lives?

Of course.

So Frank Sullivan
would've found out

that Mrs. Gaines had a daughter
and a rich ex-husband.

What are you getting at?

Well, we suspect he might be involved
in her daughter's kidnapping.

Whatever he knew
about her circumstances,

didn't have to come
from the group sessions.

The last couple of weeks
that they were here,

they started having an affair.
Something that we actively discourage.

I had a talk with them,

but they seemed pretty
taken with each other.

Look, the doctor was wrong
then, and he's wrong now.

There was nothing between us.

You gotta admit, it's a little strange you
never bothered to tell us you knew her.

Yeah. Well, I didn't
think it mattered.

Believe me, it matters.

How'd it go down, Frank?
Business a little slow?

You get behind
on your payments?

That's nuts.

You guys know Capetti did it.

Hey, the last time Capetti
had an original idea,

he left it swirling in the bowl.

You're the brain
who thought this up.

As far as we're concerned, Mr.
Sullivan, you're good for it.

You think because I had an affair
with her, that makes me a murderer?

This is unbelievable.

Grand juries don't
like coincidences.

(CHUCKLES)

Read him his rights.

Come on.
On your feet.

Wait a minute. Wait.

Look, you gotta understand,
this wasn't my idea.

Elvis spoke to you
through your car radio?

It was Karen.

Her ex is putting
her through hell.

Wouldn't let her
see her daughter.

Had her tied up with lawyers.
She asked me to help her, but I told her no,

but she keeps pushing.

So I gave her Nick's number.

Your friendly neighborhood rapist?

No, I swear, we did not
know about the rapes.

All she wanted to do
was teach her ex a lesson

about how it feels not to be
able to see your own kid.

I thought of Karen when
Jody first went missing,

but when they found the
body, I never imagined.

We're not saying she was involved.
We find it hard to believe she's capable of it.

Is it? My God, she shot
a man in cold blood.

Something you wished
you'd done yourself.

As I recall, Mr. Gaines, you vouched
for your ex-wife's good character

in front of a packed courtroom.

I said what her lawyer wanted
me to say, I had no idea.

What makes you think Frank Sullivan
isn't lying just to save his own skin?

No. It makes sense now.

Since the divorce, Karen's been
after me to hurt me anyway she can.

She blames me for her
addiction, for losing Jody,

her toaster doesn't
work, it's my fault.

She thinks I'm out to get her.

According to Sullivan, you were
keeping Jody away from her.

Oh, no. No. That's not true.
That was Jody's idea.

She didn't want to
see Karen anymore.

A couple of months ago, she
was late bringing Jody home.

About 12 hours late.

I was going out of my
mind, calling hospitals.

When she got home, Jody was in tears.
She wouldn't tell me why.

See, for the past year,

Karen's been playing head
games on both of us.

I had to send Jody to
a child psychologist.

I never thought
Karen'd go this far.

Like many kids
in her situation,

Jody was the designated
adult in her family.

Making adult decisions,
like not seeing her mother?

Yes. Jody loved
her very much.

And at one time, Mrs.
Gaines probably even deserved that love.

Mr. Gaines mentioned an incident
that took place two months ago.

Mrs. Gaines took Jody up to Tanglewood.
After, she refused to take her home.

They drove around all night.

Mrs. Gaines was on a tear about
her husband controlling her life,

and how he was turning
Jody against her.

Jody was still shaking
when she saw me.

I'm not surprised her
father got custody of her.

(CHUCKLES)

He can dish it out.

A few months ago, Jody was excited
about taking dance lessons

near Mrs. Gaines' work.

Mr. Gaines stopped it,
I think purely out of spite.

Two parents using their
kid to destroy each other.

Wonderful world.

Two bad parents, but only one
of them committed murder.

Whether she killed
Capetti for revenge

or to cover up her own involvement,
jeopardy's attached.

We can't touch her.

We can for her
daughter's murder.

You don't really think she intended
or even thought Jody would be killed.

JACK: She hired a felon to toss her
daughter into the back of a van.

That's kidnapping.

The daughter died as a result.

That's felony murder.

Abducting your own child.

It's not a predicate crime.

Well, you'll say kidnapping, her
lawyer'll say "custodial interference."

And motive separates the two.

Frank Sullivan will testify that she
did it to terrorize her husband.

That makes it kidnapping.

Uncorroborated
accomplice testimony.

That and a dollar-twenty-five
gets you on the subway.

Then we'll get corroboration.

I'm sure she told Capetti
what her intentions were,

and maybe he said
something to his mother.

You hope.

Mrs. Capetti, we
know what happened.

There's no sense protecting
your son anymore.

Leave him alone.

What good does it do anyway?
He's dead.

And the woman who killed him will
get away with another murder

unless you help us.

What do you mean?

Your son did tell you that Mrs.
Gaines hired him to kidnap her daughter?

He didn't mean
to kill the girl.

MRS. CAPETTI: It
was an accident.

He wanted her to be quiet.

JACK: I know.

Did he tell you why she
wanted her kidnapped?

Jack, she doesn't know...

Listen to me.

The more you can tell
us about her involvement,

the better chance we have
of putting her in jail.

Jack.

If your son said anything
at all about her, please,

tell me.

After the girl was hurt,

he said he called Mrs.
Gaines to tell her that the girl was in trouble,

and he wanted to take
her to the hospital.

The lady told him no.

The lady told him they would all
go to jail if anyone found out.

Nick was scared.
He did what she said.

Nick didn't want the girl to die.
It tore him up.

She told him not to go to the hospital.
It's depraved indifference.

Murder two.

It'll be perjury, Jack.

Mrs. Capetti had no idea Karen Gaines
was involved until we told her.

We can't confirm or deny her testimony.
I'm happy to take it at face value.

You practically put
the words in her mouth.

Now, Karen Gaines killed her son,
she has every reason to lie.

And she's very good at it.

I'm sure it's not the first time
she's had to lie for her son.

I can't believe
I'm hearing this.

Claire, I want two things,

justice for the dead and
respect from the living.

Mrs. Gaines has to
answer for what she did.

At any cost? You're talking
about suborning perjury.

Just between you and
me and the lamp post,

I have no intention of putting Mrs.
Capetti on the stand.

All I want to do is survive
a motion to dismiss.

As it is, unless we put the
fear of God into Karen Gaines,

she's gonna walk.

Have Curtis and
Briscoe pick her up.

The People's latest murder charge rests
solely on the testimony of Mrs. Capetti.

It's double hearsay, Your Honor,
and therefore, inadmissible.

I admire your stamina, Mr.
McCoy, but let me get this, straight.

You want Mrs. Capetti to tell
us what her son told her

the defendant told him?

I'd rather Nick Capetti
told us himself,

but the defendant made him unavailable
by shooting him in the back.

Even if he was here, his testimony
would still be hearsay.

Statements against penal
interest, exception to hearsay.

JACK: Even though Mrs. Gaines
knew her daughter was dying,

she told Mr. Capetti
not to seek medical help.

According to
Mrs. Capetti,

and there's not a shred of
evidence to support her statement.

Can we even prove
the call was made?

JACK: I don't have to.
I have a pile of evidence on my desk

to show that the defendant set in motion
a reckless and callous chain of events.

Letting her daughter die was
just the final depraved act.

JUDGE: Now, I've
heard enough.

I'm gonna let a jury decide if Mrs.
Capetti is telling the truth.

The hearsay exception applies.
Her statements are admissible.

JUDGE: Motion to
dismiss is denied.

My client is prepared to plead to
custodial interference. Period.

An E Felony?

I hurt myself more shaving.

You're swinging without
a net on murder two.

You think your star witness, Mrs.
Capetti, will hold up on cross?

When the jury hears

how your client paid a convicted
rapist to kidnap her own daughter,

they'll believe her
capable of anything.

He never called me.

How can you think for a minute
that I would let my own child die?

What kind of a mother
do you think I am?

You don't know
what I did for her.

For 10 years, I stayed
in a nightmare marriage

just so she could
have a real home.

I fought for custody for her, but
he had more money, more lawyers.

He turned me into an addict
and then used it against me!

That bastard, he stole
her away from me.

He told her lies about me.
He made her afraid of me.

I loved her.

But you hated
your husband more.

I never meant any
of this to happen.

At most, her conduct was reckless.

Man two. Tack on another year to
the time she's already serving.

Man one. She does six years.
And not one day of it in a halfway house.

Sorry.

It never ends. Mr. Gaines is suing
his ex-wife for wrongful death.

What does he want from her?

The dollar an hour she gets
folding prison laundry?

It's hard to believe
those two were ever in love.

Passionately, I'd say.

Where do you think
all the hate comes from?