Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 8, Episode 14 - Grief - 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.

Come on, Gillian. You're
already a half hour late.

I don't care.
I hate soccer.

STEVE: Gillian.
Gillian.

Dad. He's all bloody.

(GROANING)

CURTIS: Was he
a regular?



JARELL: Wasn't dressed
like one.

The park's people
couldn't ID him

on account of his face
being scrambled.

How bad?

Like he went 15 rounds
with a gorilla.

Thanks.
Mmm.

BRISCOE: Okay. So you
came through at 8:00.

Now, did anybody
see him earlier?

MAN: No.

Come on, folks. The tunnel's
the only way down here.

I came through
a little before 8:00.

And you didn't notice a man
marinating in his own blood?

What are you hawking us for?

There's always someone in there
marinating in something.



Lennie.

Guy's at St. Luke's
in critical condition.

They're not sure if
he's gonna make it.

The good citizens here
will be devastated.

GIDAMAL: Your victim's
name is George Harding.

His wallet's in there with
the rest of his property.

We'll need our forensics
unit to pick up his clothes.

We know the routine, Detective.

What's the damage?

He's lost a lot of blood.

Broken nose, three fractured
ribs, severe concussion.

This time, they were
trying to kill him.

This time?

He sustained some bruises and
lacerations earlier this week,

I'd say two or three days ago.

Don't talk too long. He just
regained consciousness.

Check it out,
Lennie. PD 521.

Property clerk's receipt?

He was arrested three days ago.

CURTIS: You want to tell us
who beat you up, Mr. Harding?

Nobody. I fell
off my bike.

This have anything to do

with you getting arrested
a few days ago?

Leave me alone.

Listen, if you don't
cooperate with us,

we're going to assume
you have something

you don't want us
to find out about,

and then we're gonna have
to start investigating you.

(SIGHS)

Harding won't give
you any explanation?

He says he fell off his bike.

(SCOFFS) Bike must be
about 10 stories tall.

Hey, if this guy won't talk, there
are real cases we can work.

Well, what do we
know about him?

New York State
driver's license,

employee card from
York Psychiatric Hospital.

Harding was collared
in the 23 on Thursday,

assaulting a police officer.

Somebody on our
team took payback?

Could be why he dummied up.

Maybe he deserved it.
Yeah. Maybe he didn't.

And maybe it wasn't a cop.

If it was, we'll turn it over to Internal Affairs.
For now, run with it.

Thursday night, Harding comes
tearing around a corner,

sees me on the beat,

hauls off and
slugs me in the face.

No reason.

What'd you do?

Cuffed him and took him in.

Easy or hard?

Where you guys going with this?

Last night, somebody
beat the crap out of him,

left him for dead
in Riverside Park.

Well, it wasn't me.

The doctor said he had some
injuries from earlier in the week.

Do you know
anything about that?

Like maybe he banged his head
getting into your squad car?

Look, you guys
got this all wrong.

This Harding was running away
from a couple of guys.

I figure it was either
get himself arrested

or take what
they were bringing.

Where were you last night? Home.

Alone.

These two guys that were chasing Harding.
Could you ID them?

It was dark.

They bounced as soon as
they saw my uniform.

What about your partner?
He get a good look at them?

She.

She's in there.

BRISCOE: Thanks.

I didn't see the two guys.
I was getting coffee.

How much coffee do you drink?

CURTIS: What
did you see?

Loomis was hooking up the perp.

He rough him up any?

Define "rough."

"Rough" is you talking
to IAB instead of us.

(SCOFFS) What's wrong
with you guys?

You want to know
who pounded that jerk,

go find the two guys
that were chasing him.

Yeah, the two guys nobody
saw except Loomis.

You calling him a liar?

Hey, take it easy. You're getting
a little caffeine rush there.

Does anybody know where
Harding was coming from

before he ran
into your partner?

I know where he said he'd been.

I don't know nothing
about nothing.

You sound proud of it.

Sustaining ignorance
is hard work.

And were you, uh,
sustaining your ignorance

around 9:00, 9:30
last Thursday night?

Diligently.

Anybody here less
diligent than you?

Yes, there were
two guys hassling him,

and, yes, I'm sure
it was Thursday night.

So what were they
hassling him about?

I don't know.
I was reading.

You sure it was George
Harding they were hassling?

Yeah, I see George three,
four times a week.

BRISCOE: And
the two guys?

Them I never saw before.
Two peas out of the same pod.

Dark, hyper, Italian,

maybe Jewish.

Would you know them
if you saw them again?

Everything's in here.

Except what's not.

Russo, Joseph H.

Our barfly says he was one of the two
guys giving the victim a hard time.

She say what the
hard time was about?

She was reading.
It's what she does.

Convicted 03196,
assault two. He's out?

Couple weeks ago.

Well, let's pick him up.

What?
Well,

the lab found three different blood
types on the victim's clothes.

One of them is the same
as Officer Loomis'.

Rey's hot to pull in the IAB.

Well, let's pull in
Russo, Joseph H., first.

(CHUCKLES) I think we already
wore out our welcome.

(KNOCKS ON DOOR)

Please don't wake her up.

Her?

Yeah. You have no idea
how crabby she gets.

We're looking for Joseph Russo.

He went to prison.
She's the new tenant.

Yeah. Well, Russo got out.
You know where he is?

No.

Oh...

When you find him, could
you give him his mail?

She just dumped it on the
floor by the mailboxes.

No problem. Thanks. Thank you.

Bills, computer dating service.

Look at this.

"To Joseph Russo from
York Psychiatric Hospital."

Isn't that where
George Harding works?

Somehow, I don't think
we're gonna need the IAB.

His sister is here,
Leslie Russo.

Did Joe Russo have any
contact with George Harding?

George? St. Luke's called us.
Is that what this is about?

We're checking.
Do they know each other?

I really don't know.

That's Leslie, the one
in the plaid jumper.

CURTIS: What's
wrong with her?

For that, you need
to talk to her family.

Okay. You got a current
address for Joe?

Uh, we have one for Frank.
The other brother.

They look alike? Joe and Frank?
Two peas in a pod?

There's a family resemblance.

Are they protective
of their sister?

Frank is.
He's the one I know well.

Nice guy. Visits his
sister every Sunday.

Very gentle with her.

I wish all our patients
had such caring families.

Yeah, seems to make
all the difference.

Yeah, who is it?

Frank Russo? Police.

Yeah?

Can we come in and talk to you?

What about? You got
something to hide?

Dirty underwear.

You got three seconds
to tell me what you want.

One...
Where's your brother?

...two, three.

Where's your brother?
Don't know.

What happened to your eye?

Lennie, you smell something?

You smoke?

(COUGHING) Who's in there?

Let me guess, you've got
a dog with emphysema.

FRANK: Joe,
come on out,

and don't do
nothing else stupid.

We didn't do nothing,
and we want a lawyer.

And apparently, he can't
go more than 30 seconds

without a smoke,
so here they are.

We are not answering any questions
until Mr. Jamison gets here.

VAN BUREN: Hey!

Nobody's asking you
any questions.

And we didn't beat up anybody.

Between them,
we have 14 scraped knuckles,

one swollen wrist, six bruises.

The doctor's gonna tell us
they were in a fistfight

and the lab's gonna tell us their
blood is on Harding's clothes.

CURTIS: The woman in the bar can ID
them as the two mooks with Harding.

And the beat cops will tell
you they were chasing him

a couple of nights before
they finally caught up to him

and beat the crap out of him.

So, it's attempted murder.

Plus aggravated assault. And
assault with intent to kill.

So, say, 25-to-life,
without mitigation.

CURTIS: They didn't
offer any mitigation.

They just beat the guy
for no reason.

I'll call the D.A.

You want a reason?

That bastard Harding
raped our sister.

That's right. And the hospital
wouldn't do a damn thing about it.

And that is all we're saying
till our lawyer gets here. Okay?

Her brothers told us she
told them she'd been raped.

By George Harding?

They didn't say by whom.

Did you believe them?

Leslie Russo suffers from
disorganized schizophrenia.

Her perceptions are
turbulent and fragmentary.

Simply put, she's delusional.

The perfect victim because
nobody believes her.

Well, I'm not implying disbelief.
We did investigate.

Leslie wouldn't repeat
the allegation to us.

Our gynecologist did a pelvic
exam, it was inconclusive.

We checked the staff records to
see who was on duty that night.

Frank Russo was
definite about the date.

Harding, Jimmy Baxter,
and Gianni Lupo.

Personnel can give you
their addresses.

We talked to them. But, again,
everything was inconclusive.

Why didn't you call the police?

We had nothing. Not
one shred of evidence

that anything untoward
had happened.

You mind if we talk to her?

Try not to be put off by the incoherence
and the inappropriate affect.

Don't worry, we won't.

CURTIS: George Harding, Leslie, did
you tell your brothers about him?

I talk to them all the time.

I talked to them this morning.

You did?

Oh, yeah, I did. Once an
hour, on the quarter hour.

Did you tell your brothers
that George Harding hurt you?

Didn't he?

We don't know.
Did he?

My brother Frank knows. He has
the key to the blue room.

The blue room?

Physical therapy. Jane
Fonda works out with us.

Isn't it time to eat?

Leslie, one more time.

Did you tell your brothers
that George Harding raped you?

Do you want to
have lunch with me?

I like chicken with red
sauce and one vegetable.

Leslie. Just one. Mom says
that's the way to eat.

The cops didn't have any right
to push Leslie around like that.

I mean, we ought to sue that
crummy-ass hospital, Frank.

They talked to her. They
investigated your claim.

So did the hospital. There's
no evidence of a rape.

(SCOFFS) I don't see a reason

to reduce from
attempted murder.

JOE: What is wrong
with you, lady?

I mean, you think it's all
right to rape crazy people?

That son of a bitch
did my sister,

and nobody gives a damn but us!

Give me something I can
believe, and I'll give a damn.

Counselor, my clients are
concerned about their sister.

They don't want to do anything
to exacerbate her trauma.

It's a risk
they'll have to take.

We went to visit. I noticed
these marks on Leslie's neck.

When I asked her about
them, she got hysterical.

She just kept saying
over and over again,

"Didn't have sex, didn't
have sex, didn't have sex."

I mean, Frankie had
to calm her down.

She said it was Harding.

That could mean anything.

Yeah, so I asked her,
"What about Harding?"

She said he made her do it.

Now maybe you don't call that
rape, but I sure as hell do.

Listen, how much police time
do you expect me to waste

trying to prove
the Russo boys' defense?

Let them prove it. I need my
officers for other things.

We've got
an allegation of rape.

That's what police time is for.

An allegation that
can't ever be proved.

Okay. We'll talk to the other
guys on Harding's shift.

If we don't get a smoking
gun this time, that's it.

In a hurry? I'm
giving a deposition.

Your lawsuit against
the department?

News travels.

Kick butt.

Yeah, I was on duty that night,
but I wasn't on the floor.

I was downstairs doing
paperwork with my supervisor.

You know George Harding
pretty well?

Not really.

George spends most of his
time with the patients.

They seem to like him.
Yeah? Why is that?

Well, he does stuff. Like, if
he knows you like biscuits,

he'll slip you an extra one.

He ever slip them
anything else?

Not that I know of.

CURTIS: Is Jimmy Baxter
here today?

He's around somewhere.

You're the second York employee
we've seen who got beat up.

What's it to you?

We don't like coincidences.
So who did it?

A couple of guys, okay?

A couple guys
named Russo, maybe?

If you already know, why ask?

They put George Harding
in intensive care.

How come you got off so easy?

I told those guys it wasn't me.

I didn't rape
their nut-job sister.

Then why'd they think you did?

I wonder how they got from
you to George Harding.

CURTIS: You told
them, didn't you?

What if I did?

They beat him into critical
condition on your say-so.

Hey, I didn't pull his
name out of the air.

If anybody did it, it was him.

The last place he worked,
somebody got raped there, too.

Where's that?
Park West.

It's a long-term
care facility.

They had some big
rape investigation.

BRISCOE: And they
put it on Harding?

All I know is he
worked there, too.

You're the ones who
don't like coincidences.

The Russos said
their sister accused Harding.

They lied about that.

Doesn't mean they
lied about the rape.

Wendy Singer. She's been
here about two years.

Head-on collision
on the Taconic.

Bad road.
(SCOFFS)

Her husband died on impact,

as did the five-month-old
fetus Wendy was carrying.

Well, we'll try
not to tire her out,

but we do have some
questions for her.

(CHUCKLES) I didn't make
myself clear, I guess.

Wendy Singer has been in an
irreversible coma since the accident.

Then who made
the rape complaint?

We didn't need one.

Mr. and Mrs. Singer, this is
Detective Briscoe, Detective Curtis.

Didn't the police
already look into this?

They're following up,
Mrs. Singer.

Doctor, uh, could we
talk in your office?

Mrs. Singer told us Wendy missed
her period the last week of June.

Why wasn't the
pregnancy terminated?

The Singers refused to consent.

Religious convictions?

Wendy is their only child

and after the initial
shock wore off,

they realized they were going
to have a grandchild after all.

They've already chosen names.

We'll need the names of the detectives
who investigated, all right?

We did everything by the book.

All our staff were questioned.

The police made every male
employee submit a blood sample.

Including George Harding?

Harding wasn't here then.

He'd moved on to a new job
about six weeks prior.

Any suspects?

The police concentrated on the two
employees who refused to give blood.

One was Dean Goldberg,

but you can cross him off your list.
He died two months ago. AIDS.

I guess I'd refuse
to give blood, too.

So who's the other one?

I refused 'cause
I'm an addict, okay?

I'm trying to
get hooked up here,

which is not gonna happen with
two cops standing around.

Well, talk to us about George
Harding and we'll fade.

Harding wasn't there anymore.

But you want him to be the daddy?
Fine with me.

Hold on a minute.
We're still talking.

The doctors loved Harding
'cause he sucked up.

The patients loved him because he'd bring
them little extras if they paid him.

You leaving now?

Yeah. Well, we could
toss you for works.

Then you could
come along with us.

You ever see Harding
around after he quit?

A couple of times,
late at night.

He had a thing going
with one of the nurses.

He'd take her to the PT room.

Just so we're clear, he was
having sex with a nurse

in the physical therapy
room at Park West?

That's why he worked nights.

He said he liked
doing it on the mats.

He probably liked the mats
in the blue room at York.

Leslie, you remember the
last time we were here?

I've been taking my
medication. I have.

So you can't arrest me for that.
CURTIS: That's right.

We just want to talk to you about
what happened in the blue room.

The physical therapy room.

I told you already.
I told you seven times.

Are you some kind of sex
pervert or something?

Did anybody ever
take you there for sex?

They have these phone
lines you could call,

but they block
the numbers here.

CURTIS: Leslie.

I'm not going to tell you who messed
with me, if that's what you think.

I'm not that kind of girl.

But you know who it was.

I confessed to my spiritual advisor,
that's all that's required,

I don't have to tell you.

Now. We know it was
somebody in the hospital,

one of the orderlies.

I'm in big trouble now.

No, you're not. Just
answer their questions.

George Harding's
kind of a nice guy, huh?

He is nice.

BRISCOE: Nice looking.

I like his eyes.

Did he ever take
advantage of you a little?

There was no advantage
taken in the blue room.

It was totally
mutual and sensual.

(WHISPERING) I didn't tell that
part to my spiritual advisor.

CURTIS: But it was George
in the blue room.

Leslie?

Yeah.

Okay?

Hey, now I know why patients
never eat their Jell-O.

If I ever see another bowl
of that crap wobbling at me,

I'm gonna puke. Where you're going,
they serve a lot of Jell-O.

Stand up.
You're under arrest

for the rape of Leslie Russo.

You have the right
to remain silent.

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

Leslie Russo's statement? This is
the only evidence we have of rape?

That, and her
original accusation.

Made to her hoodlum brothers a
week after the alleged incident?

Are we back to
disbelieving the victim?

There's nothing wrong with a
little healthy skepticism

when the victim is an
institutionalized schizophrenic.

That's just the point. She's
incapable of consent. Rape one.

What I'm talking about is

whether the rape is a
figment of her imagination.

Who is this spiritual
advisor she confided in?

I talked to her therapist.

Apparently, he's part of
her delusional system.

I'm sorry, Jamie. This is in
no shape for a grand jury.

Harding's co-worker at Park West
implicated him pretty strongly.

Sex in the physical therapy
room was Harding's signature.

You're using a rape you can't
prove Harding committed

to bootstrap a rape you're
not even sure happened.

Two jobs, two helpless victims.

It's not a coincidence.

Harding wasn't even
working at Park West

when the Singer
woman was raped.

So maybe he snuck back
into the facility.

Or maybe the timeline
got screwed up.

Well, find out before we dig ourselves
a hole we can't climb out of.

Good morning!

The HMO I'm contracted with
sent me to Park West.

My only patient there
is Wendy Singer.

ROSS: When was the last
time you examined her?

Just last week.

It's a high-risk pregnancy, so I try
to see her every 10 days or so.

She was doing remarkably
well, considering.

Can you tell
when she conceived?

Hmm. It's difficult to pinpoint
conception even in a healthy woman.

Her mother said she missed
her first cycle in June.

Six months?

Well, that would be consistent
with my physical examination.

Is there a way
to tell for sure?

Well, I ordered an ultrasound
last time I was there.

Can I take a look?

Without a release
from her parents?

I can go back downtown
and get a court order.

If all you want to see
is the sonogram,

I guess the fetus won't object.

Ah!

There's a view of
the head. Let's see.

Biparietal diameter
is about seven centimeters.

Thirty weeks.

Seven months.

GRETA: You saw
the sonogram?

Your grandchild is
due in two months.

Mrs. Singer, you
told the doctors

your daughter missed
her period in June.

The police based their
investigation on that.

Is it possible
you made a mistake?

(SIGHS) When she missed her period
in May, I didn't say anything.

I thought it was because
of her condition.

So you kept her
pregnancy a secret?

You have to understand, Ms. Ross,
I struggled with this.

My daughter wanted a baby
more than anything.

I thought if I said something,

they might give
Wendy an abortion.

Any idea who did this to her?

I just assumed
it was Chris Ryan.

The one who quit rather
than give his blood.

How about George Harding?

You ever notice him paying special
attention to your daughter?

He took care of Wendy.

(STAMMERING)
But not what you mean.

Think about it,
Mrs. Singer.

The police ruled him out because
of the information you gave them.

(DISMISSIVELY)
It couldn't be George.

I remember saying to him
after the accident,

it was a blessing in disguise
that Wendy miscarried.

The doctors said that carrying a
child would probably kill her.

I just hope they're wrong.

A crazy woman, a coma patient.

Two defenseless victims, not
one viable case between them.

We have a circumstantial
case against George Harding.

Turns out the Singer woman misstated
the date of her daughter's rape.

Why should she do that?

She didn't want to terminate her daughter's
pregnancy so she kept it hidden.

Yeah. This'll sell
papers for weeks.

"Rape victim
has coma baby."

The parents had a hard choice.

Wendy Singer will
never get better.

This baby's their only
link to their daughter.

If the baby is that
important to them,

they may be reluctant
to cooperate.

We don't need them.
We have the sonogram

to pinpoint
the onset of pregnancy.

The proof of rape
is self-evident.

You can't say the same
for the Russo girl.

Tie it up in a package.

Make Harding an offer
if he'll plead to both cases.

You'll get an indictment.
You'll never get a conviction.

Mr. Harding left
a trail of helpless victims.

I'm counting heavily
on the pariah factor.

BELL: It has shock value.
That's about all.

And 25 years worth of exposure.

Twenty-five years?

ROSS: Once we get a DNA
sample from Wendy Singer.

If your client wants to make
a deal, now's the time.

Two for the price of one?

If he pleads to both.

Break it down to
sex abuse. City time.

First-degree rape.
Ten-to-20 concurrent.

That's a nice bargaining position.
What's the real offer?

I don't haggle with rapists.

Have a nice day,
Mr. McCoy.

Who do we present first to the grand jury?
Singer or Russo?

Russo. At least we've got
a victim who can testify.

That's a matter
of interpretation.

Skoda examined Russo.

He thinks she can carry the
ball in front of a grand jury.

I read his report.
He hedged his bets.

(BANGS ON GATE)
(DOOR BUZZER DRONING)

So we're back to Wendy Singer
and proving paternity?

You want to wait and
get DNA from her baby?

Harding will be long gone.

If Wendy Singer
had an amniocentesis,

there might be a DNA sample
right in her file.

You call her doctor.

I'll get Russo in front
of the grand jury.

JACK: Ms. Russo,

could you tell us
what happened to you

in the physical therapy room
at York Psychiatric Hospital?

You want me to tell you
about the sex thing?

Yes.

And this is all
being written down?

The stenographer is taking
down what we say, yes.

So I can't lie.

If I lie, all these people
will be angry with me.

You already took an oath
to tell the truth.

You said you understood
what that means.

The whole truth,
so help me God,

or it goes down on
my permanent record.

Did you have a sexual
encounter in the blue room

with George Harding?

Roger said there was nothing
wrong with doing it.

Who is Roger?

My sexual encounter.
He's on D ward.

He says he can
smell me from up there.

JACK: Ms. Russo.

(ENUNCIATING)
Did you tell the police

that you had sexual intercourse
with George Harding,

an orderly at the hospital?

I don't think I said that,

but if I did say that,
I didn't mean to say that.

But is it true?

Leslie?

It was true,

but now it's not.

So you lied to the police?

There was no Bible,
or any other religious icons.

My spiritual advisor says if
you say what's in your head,

it cleanses your brain.

So you can't put that
on my permanent record.

Maybe I should
get a good lawyer.

MAXWELL: You won't be
in any trouble, Roger.

They just need to know the
truth about you and Leslie.

(EXHALES NERVOUSLY)

I've been here three years. Guy
like me's gonna get horny, right?

So, you did have
sex with Leslie?

Yeah.

Yeah. A few times.

Where did you and Leslie go?

PT, mostly. At night,
when nobody was around.

The blue room?

(CHUCKLING) Yeah.

Yeah. We call it that.

How did you get in?

George Harding gave me the key.

He made me pay him
10 bucks for it.

Recommend to
the assigned A.D.A.

two counts of assault
against the Russo brothers.

If Harding didn't
rape Leslie Russo,

why did he want to plead to it?

To cover the one he did commit?

Wendy Singer?

How'd you make out
with her OB/GYN?

She confirmed that
Wendy had an amnio.

She won't give me the records
without a release from the Singers.

Let's get one.

ROSS: The only way we can prove
our case against George Harding

is with a DNA match.

We need your permission
to get the results

of your daughter's
amniocentesis.

But I'm sure
George isn't the one.

Well, then the records
will exonerate him.

We'd prefer not to find
out who the father is.

You don't want to know
who raped your daughter?

We're putting that part
behind us now, Ms. Ross.

For all we know,

the man can put some kind of
paternity claim on the baby.

If we don't identify
this man, Mrs. Singer,

he may assault
other innocent victims.

All we need are the records
to prove our case.

You already saw the sonogram
without our permission.

We talked to a lawyer. He said
you're invading our privacy.

We don't have to consent.

ROSS: The records we are requesting
are critical, Your Honor.

We've already obtained a court-ordered
DNA sample from George Harding.

Wendy Singer's test results will allow us
to determine if he fathered the child.

The Singers don't want to
know who fathered the child.

I can't understand
that, Mr. Baum.

Well, they don't care to dwell on
how their daughter became pregnant.

As far as they're concerned, it's
a matter of divine intervention.

They can believe
whatever they want.

We still have
a rapist to prosecute.

We need the DNA
to prove our case.

BAUM: That's not my clients' problem.
It's a matter of privacy.

They don't have to divulge their
daughter's medical file to the State.

Your Honor, the Singers' right to privacy
is outweighed by public interest.

There's a dangerous sex
offender on the street.

George Harding's in jail.
Not for long.

If we don't get these
records immediately,

we can't obtain a timely indictment.
He'll have to be released.

That's a point.

I have to balance
all of these facts.

I respect the Singers' desire to keep the
government out of their personal business.

But in this case,

the State's interest
in obtaining these records

is extremely compelling.

I'm ordering the results of Wendy
Singer's amniocentesis be disclosed.

(BANGS GAVEL)

The DNA results came
back from Lifecodes.

Based on the RFLP analysis,
Harding's the father.

When can I put this
in the win column?

It's set for
the A.M. grand jury.

(SIGHS) Wendy Singer had
an emergency cesarean.

She died on
the operating table.

And the baby?

A girl.
Five weeks premature.

She was rushed to
a pediatric ICU.

Send a letter of condolence
to the Singer family.

Then amend the complaint against
Harding to include a murder charge.

Felony murder won't fly.

Death didn't occur "in furtherance of the
crime or immediate flight therefrom."

Harding's rape
got her pregnant.

Her pregnancy caused her death.

But how can we argue that
that's what Harding intended?

Leaves us with
depraved indifference.

No problem showing that Harding knew he
ran the risk of getting her pregnant.

After that, it's a push.

Unless he knew
the risks of a pregnancy.

Wendy's doctor
told Mrs. Singer

that the miscarriage after the
accident was a blessing in disguise.

She said she told Harding.

Notify Harding's lawyer
we're amending the charge.

Murder two?

I knew you were tough. I didn't
know you were vindictive.

Is this because the Russo
case fell through?

No. When Mr. Harding raped
Wendy Singer, he killed her.

The charge is
proportional to the harm.

There is your sense
of justice, Mr. McCoy,

and then there's the law.

The law says that if he acted
with disregard to the risk,

he can be charged
with the consequences.

Risk requires foreseeability.

How could he possibly
foresee she'd get pregnant,

go into premature labor,
and die in childbirth?

He's a trained health care professional.
He raped an infirm woman.

Your client took his chances.

My client changes bed pans.
The jury won't buy it.

They will when they
hear from Mrs. Singer.

She told Mr. Harding
how dangerous it would be

for Wendy to carry
a child to term.

She'll testify to
their conversation.

If that's your best evidence,
we'll take our chances.

We need you to testify to what you
told me during our investigation,

that you told Harding how risky it
would be for Wendy to carry a child.

Did I say that?
I really don't remember.

It was the first
time I was here.

You told me the doctors
said how fortunate it was

that Wendy had miscarried after the accident.
I recall that part.

That it was
a blessing in disguise.

Yes, but I can't remember
telling Mr. Harding.

How can I testify?

This is very important
to our case, Mrs. Singer.

We told you before, Ms. Ross.
We're tired of all this.

Wendy is dead.

Just... Just
leave us out of it.

Uh-oh. I know that look.

It's the Harding case.

I need you to dig up everything
you can on his finances.

Bank accounts,
credit card bills...

We got his blood.
We got the kid's DNA.

I thought this was a gimme.

Just get me the records.

Harding's financials.

You going to challenge his right
to a court-appointed lawyer?

Mrs. Singer did a 180 on her
conversation with Harding.

Now she doesn't remember telling him
about the risks of Wendy's pregnancy.

How will Harding's
bank account jog her memory?

The week after
Wendy Singer was raped,

Harding put a down payment
on a Harley-Davidson Softail.

Nice bike.

And a few days after Mrs. Singer
reported her daughter pregnant,

Harding bought a 46-inch
projection television.

They paid him, Jack. They paid him
to impregnate their daughter.

It explains why
she stonewalled me.

And why they wouldn't
release the amnio.

She's covering for Harding.

He's a cooperative guy.

Maybe he'll cooperate with us.

The Singers lost two things
in that car crash.

They lost their daughter Wendy,

and they also lost the
child she was carrying.

It's a sad story. What's it
got to do with my client?

It's a story Mr. Harding's
heard before.

No, I don't know what the
hell you're talking about.

Then I'll finish it for you.

In their sorrow
and desperation,

the Singers made
a deal with the devil.

They paid Mr. Harding
to father a grandchild.

You raped Wendy Singer,
you bought a motorcycle.

When she became pregnant,
you bought a television.

That's quite a scenario.

I think we're done here.

Fine.

I'll try you as a sex fiend
who rapes unconscious women.

We can splash it all over the papers.
I'm not like that.

I'm willing to entertain
that possibility.

Come on, George.

(SIGHING) Wait.

It was the mother's idea.

She paid me.

$3,000 up front,

and $2,000 more
if I did the job.

You want him to testify to that,
you'll have to drop the murder count.

I'll think about it.

So she paid him to be
with her comatose daughter.

To impregnate her.

The 20th century
is passing me by.

Two parties in cahoots
to make a baby

and a victim
who's not cognizant.

Is this a case we
need to prosecute?

Harding raped a comatose
woman for profit.

I won't make a deal with him.
How about the mother?

She sold her own
daughter to a stranger.

She acted out of despair.
Harding acted out of greed.

Harding was just fulfilling
the mother's wishes.

Instead of protecting
her daughter,

she turned her into
a baby machine.

This can go back and forth all night.
How do we make it go away?

We've got Harding dead-to-rights
on the rape charge.

The murder is
a little trickier.

If we charge Harding
with murder,

we need Mrs. Singer to testify she told
him the risks of Wendy's pregnancy.

If we charge Mrs. Singer with murder,
or even as an accomplice to the rape,

we need Harding to
testify she paid him.

Two snakes eating
each other's tails.

Pry one of them loose.

No irregularities in the
Singers' bank accounts or IRA.

You think Harding lied?
I'm hoping he did.

We're gonna have to make a deal with
one of them to implicate the other.

Well, Mrs. Singer isn't inspiring
too much pity on my part.

It's the ultimate
betrayal, Jack.

Wendy Singer was helpless. Her
mother was supposed to protect her.

And Harding? He took the money,
he pushed Wendy's IV aside,

he removed her catheter
and climbed on top of her.

That's monstrous.

Look at this.

An appraisal to Mr. Harry Singer
from Fulton Coin and Stamp.

US commemorative
sheets, $6,200.

And it's dated April.

The same month Wendy
Singer was impregnated.

Mrs. Singer financed
her daughter's rape

with her husband's
stamp collection.

I wonder if he knows.

Why do you care
about my stamps?

You didn't deposit
any of the proceeds.

Greta used it
to pay the doctor,

the neurologist who
came to look at Wendy.

Do you remember his name?

Dr. Ashburn.

I didn't really want
to hire the man.

Had to pay to fly him
in from Chicago.

Greta said he worked
wonders with coma patients

at his hospital.

Just as well have thrown
the money out the window.

Your daughter was never examined
by a doctor named Ashburn.

Well, I'm sure of the name.

Greta kept saying Dr. Ashburn
was Wendy's last chance.

Why you asking me
all these questions?

There's no good way
to say this, sir,

but your wife used the
money for another purpose.

She paid George Harding
to father Wendy's child.

That couldn't be.

What kind of a doctor
do you pay in cash?

Is my wife in trouble?

Yes.

We could prosecute her
together with Mr. Harding.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

Tell them, Greta.

The money was for
the neurologist!

Do you have a receipt?

No.

How about the doctor's
phone number?

We can call him and put
this to rest right now.

(SIGHS)

(INCREDULOUSLY)
It's like they say.

You gave that money to Harding.

Harry, stop.

Tell them, Greta.

We have our granddaughter now.

Let's put an end to the lies.

I want the truth,
Mrs. Singer.

You paid him to
rape your daughter.

It wasn't rape. You had
no right to allow it.

If I tell you,
will I go to jail?

No promises.

Then I can't let her
talk to you.

If she doesn't cooperate, I'll
make a deal with Harding.

Well, then it's off the record.

You want it under oath, it'll
cost you a no-jail plea offer.

BAUM: Go ahead, Mrs. Singer.

You have to understand,
Mr. McCoy.

Wendy called us the day she found
out she and John were expecting.

That baby was all
I could think about.

Then one night,
we got a phone call.

John was killed.

That was when
Wendy lost the baby.

Harry stopped going
to the hospital.

I just couldn't
see her like that.

GRETA: I cried
all the time.

I had daydreams Wendy was fine.

We were in the park,
with a stroller,

everyone saying,
"What an adorable baby."

What about Harding?

I used to watch him
bathe Wendy,

(SIGHS)

and I finally got up the nerve

to ask him.

To ask him what?

To...

To make a baby with Wendy.

And he agreed?
If I paid him.

I wouldn't at first.

But then he said how Wendy's
life was just going to waste.

He was right.

(SIGHS)

So, yes, I gave him the money.

I know you don't believe this,
but I loved my daughter.

Then you should have
taken better care of her.

I did.

I did!

It was God that
didn't take care of her.

God took Wendy and John.
God took our baby.

And God owed me
a grandchild, Mr. McCoy.

God owed me!

Greta Singer
told us everything.

We're going to make a deal with
her to testify against you.

How can you make a deal with her?
The whole thing was her idea.

You could have said no.

This is
mind-boggling.

You want to hold my client to a higher
standard than Wendy Singer's own mother.

Your client raped
a comatose woman

for a motorcycle
and a television.

Mrs. Singer was driven by
her grief and her despair.

So make her a saint. I'm the
one who did her a favor.

She came to me, all right.
All crying and everything.

I told her "Forget it," about 10 times.
The lady wore me down.

(SCOFFS)

You were able to
penetrate her daughter.

It can't have been
that repulsive to you.

I felt sorry for her, you know?

I mean, what was I gonna do?

Harding is a predator. I don't buy his
Good Samaritan routine for one second.

Mrs. Singer's the one who lied
to us every chance she got.

What she did was reprehensible.

As a prosecutor,
I can't excuse it.

As a human being, I feel pity.

Haven't we been here before?

There's no damn solution, Adam.

I still can't make out murder
against either one of them

unless I cut a deal
with the other.

Greta Singer won't testify against
Harding unless she gets a walk.

I can console myself
with the vague notion

that Mrs. Singer's conduct
was excused by her grief.

Grief? She's a
narcissistic monster.

Harding does
25-to-life.

Fifteen.

What if you lose?

I won't lose the rape count.

Either way,
Mrs. Singer does zero.

She lives happily ever after
with her granddaughter.

Maybe not happily.

ROSS: It's too high
a price, Jack.

I don't like the alternative.

Solomon said, "Divide
the child in half."

JACK: You plead to rape one.
Four-to-eight.

How could I rape
my own daughter?

You solicited Mr. Harding
and you provided access.

You're an accomplice.

You might just as well
have held her down.

What about
Mr. Harding?

He's going away for rape, also.

And the murder?

We're dropping
the murder charge

against your client
and Mr. Harding.

It's the deal of the century.

HARRY: With all
that's happened,

what good will this do?

JACK: Mr. Singer.

Your wife and Mr. Harding
plunged into a moral quagmire

that the law can
only begin to address.

Maybe they'll both drown in it.

From Greta Singer's lawyer.
She's accepting the offer.

What's wrong, Jack?

The Singers' granddaughter,

Harding's parents
are petitioning for custody.

The parents of the man
who raped her?

I pity the judge who
has to make that call.

I'll save my pity
for that baby,

no matter where she ends up.