Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 8, Episode 9 - Burned - full transcript
Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate a possible murder when a woman hears an answering machine message saying they're responsible for killing someone by the name of DeeDee. The first suspect the phone's owner, Stan Kaminski but the police realize the message may have been intended for Roy Lawlor. Two years ago, a drunken Lawlor fell asleep with a lit cigarette and set fire to his apartment killing his daughter Diane, aka DeeDee. They trace the incoming call to the home of Carl Anderton, Lawlor's former father-in-law. From the voice on the tape, they suspect Anderton's grandson 15 year-old Terry Lawlor - DeeDee's half-brother - to be responsible. Once the boy is arrested, the powerful and politically connected Anderton pulls out all of the stops to get the case dropped including threatening to withdraw his support from Adam Schiff who faces re election in a few months. DA McCoy consults Dr. Emil Skoda who thinks the boy may be bipolar but Terry's grandfather flatly refuses to let the boy undergo a psychiatric examination. It turns out Anderton may have something of his own to hide.
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.
I've been lied to by experts.
Like I said, no wife, no
roommates, no live-ins.
No problems, baby.
Oh.
Red lipstick?
My mother's.
You want a drink, baby? Wine?
Uh-huh. A glass of
red wine would be nice.
All right.
Are you sure you're not married?
Last time I checked.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
Here we go.
I just remembered, there's
someplace I gotta be.
Oh, Come on, baby.
What's the matter?
No.
Stop it! Stop it! Come on.
What?
Come on.
Hey, what did I
do? Come on, now!
The message
said, "I killed her."
Are you sure you heard right?
I mean, you said yourself,
you'd had a few drinks.
This guy had someone killed.
It said so on the machine.
And where can we find him?
You know that big building on
the corner of Riverside and 114th?
Well, that's where he lives.
Okay.
What's his name?
Stanley.
He said he was a fashion
photographer, but I don't know where.
Okay, let me see
if I got this straight.
Stanley somebody, who's a
fashion photographer someplace,
lives in some apartment, probably
in a building at 114th and Riverside
and has a message about
the murder of somebody
who might be named Dee-Dee.
That's right.
Yeah, thanks for coming in.
You think you could describe
him to our sketch artist?
Yes. Good.
You wait here.
We'll bring someone.
Oh, this is gonna
be a slam dunk, Rey.
I got Stan Arnold, Stan Hudson,
except he's in New Mexico
till the end of October.
Stan Kaminski...
Why don't you take
a look at the picture.
Our Stanley is a photographer.
About my height, dark hair,
likes to pick up women in bars...
Kaminski.
Did you see him with
anyone last night?
When the Rangers play, I don't
see anything except the television.
Where can we find him?
He works in a lumber
store, West 88th.
She had dark hair, skinny.
I don't remember her name.
Does the name
"Ellen" ring a bell?
Something happen to her?
Just tell us what went on.
We go back to my place.
One minute she's warming up,
next thing it's a no-hitter.
But I didn't touch her.
She saying I touched her?
No.
You return all the calls you got on
your answering machine last night?
I haven't checked the messages.
Do you know a girl by
the name of "Dee-Dee"?
What's this got to do with
my answering machine?
She says someone left a message
on your machine about Dee-Dee.
This chick listens to my answering
machine, invading my privacy,
and I'm the one
getting the third degree?
Who's Dee-Dee, Stan?
I don't know any Dee-Dee.
Good, then you won't mind
us listening to your messages,
we'll clear this up,
and we'll be on our way.
Come on, man, I'm working
here. What do you want from me?
We'll square it with your boss.
And I'm leaving with two cops?
Well, look at the
bright side, Stan,
you're not wearing handcuffs.
Number of messages
received, two.
Hi, this is Kristin, from
the clam house last Friday.
I'm off the whole weekend.
Have bikini, will travel, if you still
wanna go to your place in Jamaica.
The number's 555-0137. Bye.
Friday, 11:20 a.m.
You're a busy man.
Mr. Kaminski, this is
Mr. Lee from OK Cable.
Could you give us a call
regarding your outstanding balance?
Friday, 12:47 p.m.
End of final message.
So, which one of these is
supposed to be from Dee-Dee?
The tape rewinds after
the last message plays?
Yeah.
Then, we're gonna need
to take the tape with us.
Let me just get a pen.
555-0137.
What?
Have bikini, will
travel, 555-0137.
The loudness of
the original message
and the high-frequency
left a print-through.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
- The number is 555...
- Thursday, 7:37 p.m.
Sounds young. Probably
female. Early 20s.
Maybe he got one of his
girlfriends to kill Dee-Dee.
This guy's good-looking, but
not that good-looking. Thanks.
Don't you have crimes with
actual bodies to investigate?
It could be, she just
wants to rattle his chain.
Hey, if she just wanted to make trouble
for him, she could've yelled "rape."
Okay. Stanley Kaminski,
1995, assault three, probation.
And last April, a Dina Perucci
got an order of
protection against him.
Dina... Dee-Dee?
Go see if Dina's
still alive and kicking.
Miss Perucci? Who are you?
I'm Detective Briscoe,
this is Detective Curtis.
I'm Theresa Green.
Dina's not home.
Do you know when she'll be back?
She hasn't been
around since Monday.
Is that unusual for her?
We're flight attendants.
Do you know her
boyfriend, Stan Kaminski?
Oh, that guy?
What did he do now?
Well, she had a protection
order against him.
Dina breaks up with him, one
week later, 2:00 in the morning,
he comes banging on our door.
When's the last
time you saw her?
Monday morning. I had a flight,
and when I got
back, she wasn't here.
How many times do I have to
tell you, I don't know this Dee-Dee.
How about Dina Perucci. You
know who she is, don't you?
What's she got to do with this?
She had an order of
protection against you.
Dina overreacted.
You like playing rough
with women, Stan?
I knocked on Dina's
door. What's the big deal?
The big deal is the murder
confession on your answering machine.
Where's Dina?
I haven't seen her in months.
She jammed you up
with that restraining order.
Maybe you wanted
to jam her, too?
Maybe the message was
a mistake, a wrong number.
When I first got this number,
I used to get a lot of
calls for some other guy.
This other guy got a name?
Ray or Roy.
"Ray or Roy,"
that's all you got?
Come on. Let's go.
What about this other guy, Ray?
When you remember anything
more about him, like his last name,
tell lock-up,
they'll let us know.
Hey, we heard from Worldwide.
Dina Perucci's in Athens on a layover.
So, Dina's not Dee-Dee.
Or she is, and the phone
call was just a prank.
Or she isn't, and the
call was for this guy, Roy.
Listen, send Mr. Kaminski home.
Uh-huh.
We don't have
the budget for this.
Do you have a current address?
All right. Thanks.
Roy Lawlor, he had the
number before Kaminski.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
Do you recognize the voice?
No idea.
You don't know anybody
named Dee-Dee, huh?
No.
Diane? Dina? Doris?
Maybe somebody you
met along your route?
The only people I meet are
named Roberto and Jacques.
Oh, yeah, and Joe the barber. And
they're not killing each other over me.
Hey, two packs a day?
Ever since I quit drinking.
You a friend of Bill W.?
Yeah, when I quit,
I went half nuts.
I went into the program
when my marriage broke up.
It's still a struggle.
One day at a time, huh?
Sure. One long day.
Roy's out in the
field most of the time.
What does he cover?
The Bronx, uptown
Manhattan to Lincoln Center,
East Side to 86th Street.
You guys are from the 15?
No, 27.
You know anybody at the
15? I got parking problems.
Four tickets in the past month.
My guys pull up outside,
double-park for two minutes to restock,
by the time they get back
to the car, there's a ticket.
Listen, is Lawlor close with
any of the other salesmen?
No, he doesn't spend much
time with the other guys.
Most of them work out
of town, the tri-state area.
Lawlor has to stay
pretty much in the city.
How come?
I couldn't get insurance on him.
Our carrier said
he was a liability.
What's his problem? DUIs?
Something under the influence.
Two years ago, he got drunk,
passed out, and started a fire.
Killed somebody.
Who?
His daughter, Diane.
Dee-Dee.
So, what should I do
with the parking tickets?
Pay them, like we do.
Five-year-old kid asleep on a
daybed in a corner of the room.
Fire company got there in the early
stages, but the windows were shut.
Smoke inhalation.
Father recovered. Kid didn't.
EMTs worked on her for 45
minutes, but she was already dead.
How did it start?
With a cigarette
in the living room, near the
couch where we found Lawlor.
Says here it started
three feet from the couch.
Now usually, if someone
drops a cigarette,
doesn't the fire start
on or near them?
That's a good point.
There were cigarette
butts all over the floor.
I guess the investigator figured
one of them hit some newspapers.
Who called it in?
Neighbor's dog
started going crazy.
She went into the
hall, smelled the smoke.
And Lawlor says
he started the fire?
After he came to.
He was out when they found him.
Because of the smoke inhalation?
That, and his blood alcohol
was .25. He was loaded.
Where was the
mother at the time?
Upstate, Saratoga.
Awfully big memory lapse, Roy.
You try dealing with
something like this.
Who made the phone call?
I don't know. Somebody's
trying to spook me.
Now who'd do that?
I don't know. You want a list
of the people I've
pissed off, pull up a seat.
Why don't we start
with your ex-wife.
Come on.
Don't go re-hashing it with
her. She's been through enough.
She a drinker, too, Roy?
You wanna tell us
where to find her?
I don't know where she is.
Oh, you don't keep
in touch with her?
Like I said, she's
been through enough.
You used my Social Security
number to look up where I work?
And your boss sent us here.
Can't even drink
in peace anymore.
Mrs. Lawlor...
Call me Sandra.
And you can call me Sandy.
Mrs. Lawlor, we need to ask you some
questions about your daughter's death.
What? We're just following up.
The report said you
were up in Saratoga.
I was at a conference.
What about last Thursday, around
11:00 or 12:00 in the afternoon?
Do you remember where you were?
I was still asleep. I
didn't get up till 1:00.
It's my day off.
Sleeping off a late night?
All my nights are late.
Did you try calling your
ex-husband that day?
No, why?
Somebody left him a message
at his old number.
Why would I call his old number?
Last time I spoke to
him was September 25th.
You remember the exact date?
It would've been
Dee-Dee's seventh birthday.
I pulled the LUDs off
Sandra Lawlor's phone.
No calls to Kaminski,
but she did make some late
night calls to Roy's new number.
Hmm. All calls
were a minute long.
Yeah, just long enough
to get the answering
machine and hang up.
Lawlor was screening his calls.
Yeah, and she also made about
a dozen one-minute late night calls
to another number.
Get this, this number is registered
to an Elaine Anderton Lawlor.
Another Mrs. Lawlor?
This one's on Park Avenue.
Could be a sister, or an aunt.
Well, whoever it is, I
pulled their LUDs, too.
The confession was
made from their phone.
Roy?
We got divorced eight years ago.
He moved to the West
Side six, seven months ago.
I haven't talked to him since.
What about Sandra Lawlor?
His second wife?
That drunk calls at all hours, complaining
about me, complaining about him.
Is Roy in some kind of trouble?
We're looking into the
death of his daughter, Diane.
Uh-huh. And?
Someone left a message on an
answering machine confessing to the arson.
Well, what does that
have to do with me?
The call came
from this apartment.
That's impossible.
Introduce me to
your friends, Elaine.
Daddy, these are
police detectives.
Oh, is there a problem?
They're saying someone used our
phone to confess to killing Roy's daughter.
Well, someone's
pulling your leg.
Be that as it may, the
phone records show the call...
In my business, I
only trust records
that I can prove haven't
been tampered with.
Well, why would somebody want
to tamper with your phone records?
My daughter is no longer
married to that drunk.
If you have questions about
the fire, talk to him. He set it.
He destroyed one life, he
nearly destroyed my daughter's.
Now, this is my lawyer. You can
talk to him to your heart's content.
Now, if you'll please
leave, I'd appreciate it.
Thank you.
Who works for the Andertons?
Yeah, you got two housekeepers,
Elsie Ruiz and Anne Ryan,
the cook, Emma Hooper,
the chauffeur, a secretary,
people going in
and out all the time.
Ages?
Ruiz is around 60.
And Ryan?
50s. Hooper, maybe 40, 45.
Anybody else?
No, just Mr. Anderton,
his daughter and her kid.
Her kid?
Yeah, Terry.
Him and his mother have lived
with Mr. Anderton since her divorce.
How old is Terry?
Teenager, like 14, 15.
High-pitched voice? Yeah.
Where is he now? He's at school.
Their chauffeur brings
him home around 4:00.
All right, thanks. Sure.
The kid? The kid.
I doubt the Andertons are gonna
volunteer him for a voice sample.
Maybe he'll
volunteer one himself.
Hey, kid! We're looking for
the Metropolitan Museum.
Yeah, take a left right there,
go three blocks over,
and go straight up Fifth.
Okay, right there, and
then three blocks over?
No, no, no. First
left. Go to Fifth
and go all the way up to
the 80s. You can't miss it.
Oh, thanks, nice talking to you.
The kid's voice barely
registers 50 decibels.
Even with a filter, 60%
match is what I can do.
Thanks.
60% is about 20%
short of an arrest warrant.
Let's take a look at
the arson evidence.
Five cigarette butts,
some newspapers,
a couple of matchbooks.
The Connaught Hotel, London.
Yeah, my first wife wanted
to stay there one night.
I figured out we
could afford one hour.
That seem like Roy
Lawlor's kind of place?
Not the Roy Lawlor I saw, but
it's right up Carl Anderton's alley.
Where was it found?
On the floor, in the hallway.
Was it ever checked for prints?
No.
Huh.
Geniuses. The cardboard
has an acetate finish.
It's not too damaged. They
should have been able to lift a print.
Maybe they still can.
Latent found a print on the
matchbook. It's not Roy's.
Whose?
Well, the size of the print
looks like it could belong to a kid.
What else do you got?
A 60% voice match
on the phone call.
Only 60%? Carl Anderton sits on
the Mayor's re-election committee.
Hey, if he sat in a booth collecting
tolls for the Lincoln Tunnel,
we'd be arresting
his grandson by now.
What's that supposed to mean?
You've got... BRISCOE:
We've got a print,
we've got a confession.
Motive?
It's the kid's half-sister.
You don't have to be
a genius to come
up with something.
Then come up with something.
What about the father?
He's had plenty of opportunities
to implicate his
son, but he hasn't.
The little girl's mother?
If she had anything to
say about Terry and the fire,
she would've said it by now.
What about the people
who live with the boy?
I'm sure there's no shortage of
household help at the Andertons'.
Yeah. If they worked there two
years ago, if we can find them,
and if they'll talk to us.
I have confidence in you.
When I worked for Mr. Anderton,
he had me sign a
confidentiality agreement.
Well, he can't stop
you from talking to us.
A little girl died in a fire
we think Terry might've set.
He makes all his
employees sign one.
This girl was five years old.
Come on. You gonna
wait for a subpoena?
Sooner or later, you're
gonna have to talk to us.
After the fire, Terry
stayed in his room,
drawing pictures
of that poor little girl.
Did he talk about her?
Only to his father.
Terry would call him in
the middle of the night.
I could hear him from the
other room, talking on and on.
About what?
Well, Terry could only see
his father on the weekends.
He blamed the little girl.
What else did he say about her?
He said she was trying to
turn his father against him.
A little girl. It was crazy.
I thought maybe he was on drugs.
After the fire, Terry
stopped calling him.
Did Terry use drugs?
I don't think so.
Do you know where he
was the night of the fire?
I don't know.
Two weeks after the fire,
I checked through a bag of
clothes for The Salvation Army.
Why would you do that?
Well, they throw things
out. Lots of stuff is still good.
So, you looked in the bag...
I found a shirt.
And?
You could still smell the smoke.
Was it one of Terry's shirts?
Come on, sweetie.
Terry Lawlor.
What do you think you're doing?
We have a warrant
for your son, ma'am.
Terry Lawlor,
you're under arrest
for the murder of Diane Lawlor.
Mom... It's okay. It's
a misunderstanding.
You have the right
to remain silent.
You have the
right to an attorney.
You can talk to my
lawyer about this.
We'll be happy to talk to you and
your lawyer down at the precinct.
Getting in?
You bastards.
Well, I don't like it,
my grandson having to wear some
sort of electronic monitoring device
while he's out on bail.
All due respect, if he
weren't your grandson,
he might not even
be out on bail.
With all due respect, Mr. McCoy,
if he weren't my grandson,
he wouldn't even have
been charged with the crime.
Mr. McCoy, Terry
Lawlor's a good kid.
Whose prints were found at an
arson that killed another good kid.
Well, that's not enough
to prove that my grand...
We have enough for a trial.
Or could we talk about a plea?
No, no. We're here to talk
about dropping the charges.
We'll talk about a plea
with the boy's mother.
I'm his guardian.
I make all decisions concerning
him. You'll talk to me, Mr. McCoy.
The arson squad closed
this case two years ago.
A drunk named Roy Lawlor did it.
This case is not
about Roy Lawlor.
Nor, for that matter, is it
about you, Mr. Anderton.
Oh, it certainly is about me.
No way you'll prove
Terry set that fire.
We have his confession on tape.
Not for long.
It's a motion for an
audibility hearing.
A 60% voice match is
crap, and you know it.
Six reports
from three different
nationally recognized experts
comparing the tape to my client's
voice and to five random samples.
My wife's voice was a 50% match.
We're not offering a
conclusive match, Your Honor,
but a probable one in
light of the other evidence.
Your Honor, the tape
was altered in the lab.
The call to the answering machine
came from his client's home.
That may be so,
but whether or not
my client made
the call is the issue.
Mr. McCoy, the
tape was enhanced,
and produced a voice
match disputed by experts.
By defense experts.
I also heard your experts.
I listened to the tapes
and I can't tell that the two
voices are from the same person.
Given the inflammatory
nature of the tape's content,
I'm going to suppress it.
Carl Anderton's grandson.
Carl's a good man.
We worked on the
Lindsay campaign together.
We're not prosecuting him.
The boy obviously feels
repentant for what he did.
He called his father, didn't he?
You offered a plea?
We got turned down.
What kind of plea?
We didn't get that far.
He turned down
the idea of a plea.
Adam, why are we
pussyfooting around?
The man has a $4 billion
war chest. Three years ago,
the Atlantic-Star Cable merger,
he took on the SEC and won.
He's rich, he's powerful.
Maybe we should let
Robin Leach try the case.
Carl Anderton brought
down a governor,
put senators in office, and now
he's fighting for his grandson.
I'm not kissing his ass, Adam.
I want you to treat
him with respect.
He gets the same from
me as everybody else.
I don't care who he is.
Bobby Kennedy sat right
in that chair over there,
smoking Monte Cruise,
right after we signed the
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Agreement.
Remember? Yeah.
You were sitting at...
I stood right over there.
Yeah. That's right. You
want something, Adam?
No, thank you.
You know why I'm here.
We've been through some
rough times together, Carl.
This is gonna be another one.
It's just gonna end
up a bloody mess.
Adam, if you wanted to,
you could make it go away.
Your grandson confessed.
No, that was no confession.
Terry was just trying to
make his father feel better.
The boy has a good heart.
There's other evidence. A plea
bargain is the best way to go.
When is your term up?
Is it next spring, what?
What are you implying?
Don't misunderstand me.
We go back a long way.
It was a different city.
But you know, the important
things, loyalty and friendship,
they haven't changed.
No, they haven't.
He's my only grandson, Adam,
and you were at his
mother's wedding.
I've got pictures of you holding
the boy when he was a baby.
I'm sorry, Carl. There's
a plea offer on the table.
Take it, don't take
it, it's up to you.
Adam, you deny me
this personal request?
I can't do this, my friend.
I won't.
A fingerprint on an old
matchbook and a smelly shirt,
not the strongest case
I've ever taken to trial.
It might help if we could tell a jury
what turned Terry into an arsonist.
He was angry at his father.
That's an emotion I can understand.
Something pushed
him over the edge.
The nanny suspected drugs.
It'd be nice to be able to prove it.
I checked the school records,
medical records, insurance,
there's no sign he ever
had a drug problem.
What about friends?
I haven't found any.
And I can't get anybody at his
school to say anything bad about him.
They're afraid of losing
a future endowment.
What about other
schools the boy attended?
Selwyn Academy. The prep
he was at when the fire occurred.
They won't talk to me either.
That their yearbook?
Mmm-hmm.
Looks pretty harmless
in a jacket and tie.
You all do.
Yeah. Oh, look, here.
They had a school counselor.
If the kid was doing drugs,
maybe she'll know about it.
Drugs weren't his problem.
Maybe he would've been
better off if they were.
What was his problem?
His real problem?
I never got the
chance to find out.
But his behavior in
school was something else.
A handful?
Depending on when
you caught him.
He could be a charmer one week,
and then an absolute
monster the next.
He'd get in these funks, and I
could hardly get a word out of him.
Given his home life, wouldn't
you expect him to be moody?
It wasn't about that.
He decided to run for Student
President of the middle school.
He had a very well-articulated
platform, posters, the whole bit.
A week before the
election, he withdrew.
I asked him why. He
went into a diatribe
about the other candidate sabotaging
his campaign, planting spies.
Was it true?
He said he could hear them
whispering through the walls.
Paranoia, schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder...
You expect me to
make a diagnosis
based on the observations
of an amateur?
Yeah. You got a
problem with that?
Okay. He can't relate to others,
has low tolerance for frustration,
he's unpredictable...
So far, that's my kid.
Now, the fear and suspicion,
the whispering through the walls,
sounds like he's in the early
stages of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder.
Alternating cycles of
depression and mania.
Periods of feeling
better than normal,
brighter and more
energetic and charming,
hyper-sexuality
and poor judgment.
Then, suddenly
irritability, aggression,
delusions of persecution,
hearing voices.
That's what's going
on with this kid?
It's a third-hand diagnosis.
Take it for what it's worth.
But it might explain
why the kid's a fire bug.
If he's crazy, why
isn't his lawyer
going for an insanity defense?
Good question.
Bipolar disorder?
I think you need your
head examined, Mr. McCoy.
We didn't just pull
this out of thin air.
We talked to a former school
counselor, to his friends...
People with impeccable
credentials in the field of psychiatry.
The behavior they observed
can't be explained any other way.
Mr. Anderton, I don't have any
interest in prosecuting your grandson
if he has a mental disease.
There is nothing
wrong with Terry.
Then, you won't mind if our
psychiatrist examines him.
So you can gather
evidence against him?
I don't think so.
It would be off the record.
You have nothing to lose.
Mr. Anderton, your grandson
needs treatment, not prison.
The way your case is going, he
doesn't have to worry about prison.
Sir, your grandson
killed that little girl.
Either in prison or in a psychiatric
hospital, he's going to answer for it.
At the end of this, Mr. McCoy, my
grandson is coming home with me.
We'll see what a judge has to say
about that. I'm moving for a 730 exam.
Your Honor, I've brought this
motion in the interest of justice.
Aren't the defendant's best
interests served by his counsel?
Unless counsel refuses to
acknowledge the obvious.
What obvious?
Your Honor, the defendant
hasn't been howling at the moon
or ripping his hair out.
He's not crazy.
If there's nothing wrong with
his client, then a 730 exam can't...
A pointless proceeding that can
only be to my client's detriment.
The prosecutors can question
him in violation of his rights.
Mr. McCoy, if his client's
mental condition is so obvious,
then it should be
apparent if I talk to him.
I'll question him in chambers
and decide if your motion has merit.
I'd like our
psychiatrist to observe.
Absolutely not.
I'll decide what goes on in
my chambers, Mr. Weaver.
Mr. McCoy's psychiatrist can observe,
but I'll be the one asking the questions.
The court is back in session.
Judge Jane...
So you understand
everything that's happened
in this case so far?
Yes, ma'am.
And how do you
feel about all this?
Scared.
Understandable. And
how is it for you, at home?
Well, I've been playing
a lot of Nintendo.
I can't really rollerblade
with this thing on.
Thank you for coming in. You
can wait for Mr. Weaver outside.
He seems like a
normal teenager to me.
With all due
respect, Your Honor,
I would have asked
different questions.
That's why you were allowed
here only as an observer.
Your Honor,
Dr. Skoda's point is...
Mr. McCoy, I don't
care what his point is.
I'm satisfied that the
defendant is of sound mind.
Your motion for a
730 exam is denied.
I'm not a mind reader, Jack.
"Hi, how are you?" is
not a diagnostic question.
You can't tell me anything?
He likes rollerblading
and Nintendo. So do I.
I don't get it. They should've
jumped at a chance for the exam.
They think they're going to win.
The way things are going, they're
probably right. So now what?
We go to trial.
If they won't use his mental
state to get him acquitted, fine,
we'll use it to convict him. He
set the fire because he's deluded.
If he has a mental disease, he
doesn't belong in prison, Jack.
Maybe it won't
come down to that.
And what if it does?
That's what they pay us for.
After Dee-Dee was born, Terry
became aggressive with her.
In what way?
Squeezing her too
hard, for one thing.
Did you discuss this
with your husband?
I told Roy I didn't
want Terry around her.
I was afraid he
might do something.
We cut his visits to just
weekends, when I could be there.
Why didn't you tell the
police any of this before?
I didn't think it mattered.
Roy said the fire was his fault.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mrs. Lawlor, were
there any witnesses,
other than yourself, who
saw Terry hug Diane?
No.
Do you drink?
Objection. Relevance.
Goes to credibility.
Overruled. Answer the question.
I have a few drinks every day.
And isn't it true that on two
occasions you and your husband
got into a fight so severe
neighbors had to call the police?
Yes, but...
That this was an example of the
kind of home you and Roy Lawlor kept,
and it was Terry's
mother and grandfather...
Objection.
Who curtailed
Terry's visits, not you,
because they
feared for his safety?
He's testifying, Your Honor.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard
Mr. Weaver's last remark.
No further questions.
On certain occasions Terry told me
he thought he was being persecuted.
For example, toward
the end of the school year,
Terry was convinced that the other
students were conspiring against him.
Did he tell you
how he knew this?
Objection. Hearsay.
The testimony isn't offered to
prove the truth of the statement,
but to demonstrate the
defendant's state of mind at the time.
Overruled. The
witness will answer.
He said he could hear
the other students...
Your Honor, may we
approach the bench?
This witness is a
high school counselor.
She's not accredited by any
graduate school of psychiatry
or psychology...
She isn't being asked to
offer a professional diagnosis,
but only to describe observed
behavior, which any lay person can do.
He's right, Mr. Weaver.
Your Honor, in her
capacity as school counselor,
anything she was told by my
client falls under patient privilege.
He can't have it both ways.
Either she's a qualified mental
health practitioner or she isn't.
You really can't,
Mr. Weaver. Now step back.
Ms. Garey, please answer
Mr. McCoy's question.
He told me he could
hear the other students
whispering about
him through the walls.
What, if any, other behavior
did you notice around this time?
Your Honor, we request a recess.
For what purpose?
To consult with
the District Attorney.
Mr. McCoy?
We have no objection.
Very well. Court
is now in recess.
We will reconvene at
10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We're prepared to plead to
second degree manslaughter.
That fire was an accident.
There was no premeditation.
And Terry certainly
didn't mean to hurt anyone.
You'd let him go to jail?
We're talking minimum
time in a juvenile facility.
Prison is prison.
Mr. Anderton, do you really think
that's where your grandson belongs?
That's where you
want to send him.
You heard the testimony. Your
grandson needs psychiatric help.
Absolutely not!
I don't understand
you, Mr. Anderton.
We're offering him... What?
The chance to
stay in a loony bin
till some state employee
decides he can leave?
I know what this is really
all about, Mr. McCoy.
You're going after my
grandson to embarrass me.
Yes! Personally,
professionally, publicly.
I know your type. You think
that to bring down a man
who's accomplished
something in life, it builds you up.
You're not gonna
get away with it.
I put a fair offer on the table.
You turn it down, I'll go
public and I'll expose you
for the vindictive, envious
little man you really are.
Mr. Anderton? Can
you give us a statement?
What were you talking to
the D.A. about, Mr. Anderton?
Tell Mr. Anderton we'll
think about his offer.
I don't get it. Is he
waiting for a better offer?
Is he setting us
up for an appeal?
What did Skoda say?
Charming one minute, aggressive
and paranoid the next. Sound familiar?
Carl Anderton. Like
grandfather, like grandson?
Maybe that's the
conclusion he's afraid of.
Get everything you can on him.
In 1951, he was taken out of Andover
in the middle of the school year.
Got homesick.
He finished out the rest of
the year at Austen Riggs,
the Boy's Town of
the rich and famous.
He spent the next two
years at home with tutors.
Carl was always high-spirited.
This wasn't high spirits, Adam.
I've tracked his press
clippings over the last 30 years.
There are unexplained absences,
or he checked
himself into a hospital,
suffering from exhaustion.
Next.
Last April, he made a surprise
take-over bid for Commonwealth Airlines.
One week later,
he withdrew the bid
and accused the FAA and the
stockholders of conspiring against him.
It's classic
manic-depressive behavior.
Doesn't make sense. Runs
a Fortune 500 company.
So did Howard Hughes.
He could be fully
functional, if he's medicated.
I don't want you
to humiliate him.
He's standing between his own
grandson and an appropriate disposition.
I want him to get
out of the way.
Maybe his daughter can
talk some sense into him.
My father loves my son.
If Terry were sick, don't
you think he'd get him help?
Unless he's afraid
it'd trace back to him.
Trace what? The mental illness.
I told you, my father's
in perfect mental health.
He's a public figure.
People would've noticed.
Not if he's taking medication.
And maybe they have
noticed, Mrs. Lawlor.
Look at how the
media describes him.
Colorful, eccentric,
mercurial, unpredictable.
This is not a smear. To a
psychiatrist it's code for unstable.
See for yourself. Check
his medicine cabinet.
If he's taking Tegretol,
Risperdal, valproic acid, lithium...
My father only takes
medication to help him sleep,
to calm him down.
His days are very stressful.
Or to control his
unpredictable mood swings.
Look, did your father tell you
that he offered
to let Terry plead
to Manslaughter in
the Second Degree?
Our offer is, he pleads not
guilty by reason of mental disease,
he goes to a psychiatric
facility instead of to prison.
My father is Terry's guardian.
I don't have any
authority. I can't...
I don't know what to do.
What are you doing here?
Adam, what is
this, some kind of...
I invited her, on the off-chance
that someone in your family
would act in your
grandson's best interests.
What's that supposed to mean?
Mr. Anderton, let's just find
out what McCoy decided.
You thought about our offer?
Man two? Out of the question.
The choice is man one or not
guilty by reason of mental disease.
Back to that?
When are you going to get
it through your thick skull.
My grandson doesn't
belong in a hospital.
Daddy, he does need help.
You wait outside
until we're through.
She's staying.
Outside. ELAINE: No.
It doesn't matter what
she thinks. I'm his guardian.
That can change, Mr. Anderton.
You've got to
agree to this, Carl.
We're gonna petition
to have her appointed
Guardian ad Litem
of your grandson.
What? On what basis?
Mental competency.
Whose?
Yours.
We know about your
stay at Austen Riggs,
the private tutors, hospitals...
It was exhaustion. That's all.
Once we start proceedings,
issue subpoenas, everyone'll know.
I'm sorry, Carl.
You trust these people over me?
Huh?
Oh, they finally got to
you, didn't they, Adam?
After all these years,
you finally caved, huh?
Ah, this thing,
this accusation...
Don't you see
they've used it before,
the newspapers, the networks...
You've seen the hints, the way
Commonwealth tried to smear me.
You know why? Because
they were always afraid of me.
'Cause of my energy.
It's the way I got things done!
You let them do
this, it will never stop.
Once it starts...
Starts! It never stops.
And then... It's okay.
And then... It's okay, Daddy.
Adam,
Adam, please, please, please,
don't let them do this to me. Please.
Please.
I remember thinking
that my step-sister
had some kind of
a demon inside her.
A demon?
It had to do with why
my dad was an alcoholic.
I had this idea that if I built a
fire, I could scare the demon away.
I read in some book that Native
Americans use fire to purify the innocent.
I just wanted my
dad to stop drinking.
I wanted that
more than anything.
Why didn't you tell
anyone you set the fire?
I did.
I told my grandfather
when I got home.
He told me not to talk about it.
That he'd make sure that
I wouldn't get in trouble.
Mr. McCoy?
The People are
satisfied, Your Honor.
Very well.
Terence Lawlor, you're hereby
remanded to a secure facility
to be designated by the Commissioner
of the Department of Mental Hygiene
until such time as a panel
of doctors has determined
you're no longer a danger
to yourself or to society.
We're adjourned.
Sorry about your friend.
Save your sympathy. We
haven't heard the last of him.
Living with that
secret all these years,
it must have taken
enormous will power.
Yeah. Carl always had that.
Whenever he did something bold,
the Lindsay campaign,
take-over bids,
the op-ed pundits would call him
crazy, and Carl would just smile.
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.
I've been lied to by experts.
Like I said, no wife, no
roommates, no live-ins.
No problems, baby.
Oh.
Red lipstick?
My mother's.
You want a drink, baby? Wine?
Uh-huh. A glass of
red wine would be nice.
All right.
Are you sure you're not married?
Last time I checked.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
Here we go.
I just remembered, there's
someplace I gotta be.
Oh, Come on, baby.
What's the matter?
No.
Stop it! Stop it! Come on.
What?
Come on.
Hey, what did I
do? Come on, now!
The message
said, "I killed her."
Are you sure you heard right?
I mean, you said yourself,
you'd had a few drinks.
This guy had someone killed.
It said so on the machine.
And where can we find him?
You know that big building on
the corner of Riverside and 114th?
Well, that's where he lives.
Okay.
What's his name?
Stanley.
He said he was a fashion
photographer, but I don't know where.
Okay, let me see
if I got this straight.
Stanley somebody, who's a
fashion photographer someplace,
lives in some apartment, probably
in a building at 114th and Riverside
and has a message about
the murder of somebody
who might be named Dee-Dee.
That's right.
Yeah, thanks for coming in.
You think you could describe
him to our sketch artist?
Yes. Good.
You wait here.
We'll bring someone.
Oh, this is gonna
be a slam dunk, Rey.
I got Stan Arnold, Stan Hudson,
except he's in New Mexico
till the end of October.
Stan Kaminski...
Why don't you take
a look at the picture.
Our Stanley is a photographer.
About my height, dark hair,
likes to pick up women in bars...
Kaminski.
Did you see him with
anyone last night?
When the Rangers play, I don't
see anything except the television.
Where can we find him?
He works in a lumber
store, West 88th.
She had dark hair, skinny.
I don't remember her name.
Does the name
"Ellen" ring a bell?
Something happen to her?
Just tell us what went on.
We go back to my place.
One minute she's warming up,
next thing it's a no-hitter.
But I didn't touch her.
She saying I touched her?
No.
You return all the calls you got on
your answering machine last night?
I haven't checked the messages.
Do you know a girl by
the name of "Dee-Dee"?
What's this got to do with
my answering machine?
She says someone left a message
on your machine about Dee-Dee.
This chick listens to my answering
machine, invading my privacy,
and I'm the one
getting the third degree?
Who's Dee-Dee, Stan?
I don't know any Dee-Dee.
Good, then you won't mind
us listening to your messages,
we'll clear this up,
and we'll be on our way.
Come on, man, I'm working
here. What do you want from me?
We'll square it with your boss.
And I'm leaving with two cops?
Well, look at the
bright side, Stan,
you're not wearing handcuffs.
Number of messages
received, two.
Hi, this is Kristin, from
the clam house last Friday.
I'm off the whole weekend.
Have bikini, will travel, if you still
wanna go to your place in Jamaica.
The number's 555-0137. Bye.
Friday, 11:20 a.m.
You're a busy man.
Mr. Kaminski, this is
Mr. Lee from OK Cable.
Could you give us a call
regarding your outstanding balance?
Friday, 12:47 p.m.
End of final message.
So, which one of these is
supposed to be from Dee-Dee?
The tape rewinds after
the last message plays?
Yeah.
Then, we're gonna need
to take the tape with us.
Let me just get a pen.
555-0137.
What?
Have bikini, will
travel, 555-0137.
The loudness of
the original message
and the high-frequency
left a print-through.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
- The number is 555...
- Thursday, 7:37 p.m.
Sounds young. Probably
female. Early 20s.
Maybe he got one of his
girlfriends to kill Dee-Dee.
This guy's good-looking, but
not that good-looking. Thanks.
Don't you have crimes with
actual bodies to investigate?
It could be, she just
wants to rattle his chain.
Hey, if she just wanted to make trouble
for him, she could've yelled "rape."
Okay. Stanley Kaminski,
1995, assault three, probation.
And last April, a Dina Perucci
got an order of
protection against him.
Dina... Dee-Dee?
Go see if Dina's
still alive and kicking.
Miss Perucci? Who are you?
I'm Detective Briscoe,
this is Detective Curtis.
I'm Theresa Green.
Dina's not home.
Do you know when she'll be back?
She hasn't been
around since Monday.
Is that unusual for her?
We're flight attendants.
Do you know her
boyfriend, Stan Kaminski?
Oh, that guy?
What did he do now?
Well, she had a protection
order against him.
Dina breaks up with him, one
week later, 2:00 in the morning,
he comes banging on our door.
When's the last
time you saw her?
Monday morning. I had a flight,
and when I got
back, she wasn't here.
How many times do I have to
tell you, I don't know this Dee-Dee.
How about Dina Perucci. You
know who she is, don't you?
What's she got to do with this?
She had an order of
protection against you.
Dina overreacted.
You like playing rough
with women, Stan?
I knocked on Dina's
door. What's the big deal?
The big deal is the murder
confession on your answering machine.
Where's Dina?
I haven't seen her in months.
She jammed you up
with that restraining order.
Maybe you wanted
to jam her, too?
Maybe the message was
a mistake, a wrong number.
When I first got this number,
I used to get a lot of
calls for some other guy.
This other guy got a name?
Ray or Roy.
"Ray or Roy,"
that's all you got?
Come on. Let's go.
What about this other guy, Ray?
When you remember anything
more about him, like his last name,
tell lock-up,
they'll let us know.
Hey, we heard from Worldwide.
Dina Perucci's in Athens on a layover.
So, Dina's not Dee-Dee.
Or she is, and the phone
call was just a prank.
Or she isn't, and the
call was for this guy, Roy.
Listen, send Mr. Kaminski home.
Uh-huh.
We don't have
the budget for this.
Do you have a current address?
All right. Thanks.
Roy Lawlor, he had the
number before Kaminski.
I did it. You don't
have to worry anymore.
I killed Dee-Dee.
Do you recognize the voice?
No idea.
You don't know anybody
named Dee-Dee, huh?
No.
Diane? Dina? Doris?
Maybe somebody you
met along your route?
The only people I meet are
named Roberto and Jacques.
Oh, yeah, and Joe the barber. And
they're not killing each other over me.
Hey, two packs a day?
Ever since I quit drinking.
You a friend of Bill W.?
Yeah, when I quit,
I went half nuts.
I went into the program
when my marriage broke up.
It's still a struggle.
One day at a time, huh?
Sure. One long day.
Roy's out in the
field most of the time.
What does he cover?
The Bronx, uptown
Manhattan to Lincoln Center,
East Side to 86th Street.
You guys are from the 15?
No, 27.
You know anybody at the
15? I got parking problems.
Four tickets in the past month.
My guys pull up outside,
double-park for two minutes to restock,
by the time they get back
to the car, there's a ticket.
Listen, is Lawlor close with
any of the other salesmen?
No, he doesn't spend much
time with the other guys.
Most of them work out
of town, the tri-state area.
Lawlor has to stay
pretty much in the city.
How come?
I couldn't get insurance on him.
Our carrier said
he was a liability.
What's his problem? DUIs?
Something under the influence.
Two years ago, he got drunk,
passed out, and started a fire.
Killed somebody.
Who?
His daughter, Diane.
Dee-Dee.
So, what should I do
with the parking tickets?
Pay them, like we do.
Five-year-old kid asleep on a
daybed in a corner of the room.
Fire company got there in the early
stages, but the windows were shut.
Smoke inhalation.
Father recovered. Kid didn't.
EMTs worked on her for 45
minutes, but she was already dead.
How did it start?
With a cigarette
in the living room, near the
couch where we found Lawlor.
Says here it started
three feet from the couch.
Now usually, if someone
drops a cigarette,
doesn't the fire start
on or near them?
That's a good point.
There were cigarette
butts all over the floor.
I guess the investigator figured
one of them hit some newspapers.
Who called it in?
Neighbor's dog
started going crazy.
She went into the
hall, smelled the smoke.
And Lawlor says
he started the fire?
After he came to.
He was out when they found him.
Because of the smoke inhalation?
That, and his blood alcohol
was .25. He was loaded.
Where was the
mother at the time?
Upstate, Saratoga.
Awfully big memory lapse, Roy.
You try dealing with
something like this.
Who made the phone call?
I don't know. Somebody's
trying to spook me.
Now who'd do that?
I don't know. You want a list
of the people I've
pissed off, pull up a seat.
Why don't we start
with your ex-wife.
Come on.
Don't go re-hashing it with
her. She's been through enough.
She a drinker, too, Roy?
You wanna tell us
where to find her?
I don't know where she is.
Oh, you don't keep
in touch with her?
Like I said, she's
been through enough.
You used my Social Security
number to look up where I work?
And your boss sent us here.
Can't even drink
in peace anymore.
Mrs. Lawlor...
Call me Sandra.
And you can call me Sandy.
Mrs. Lawlor, we need to ask you some
questions about your daughter's death.
What? We're just following up.
The report said you
were up in Saratoga.
I was at a conference.
What about last Thursday, around
11:00 or 12:00 in the afternoon?
Do you remember where you were?
I was still asleep. I
didn't get up till 1:00.
It's my day off.
Sleeping off a late night?
All my nights are late.
Did you try calling your
ex-husband that day?
No, why?
Somebody left him a message
at his old number.
Why would I call his old number?
Last time I spoke to
him was September 25th.
You remember the exact date?
It would've been
Dee-Dee's seventh birthday.
I pulled the LUDs off
Sandra Lawlor's phone.
No calls to Kaminski,
but she did make some late
night calls to Roy's new number.
Hmm. All calls
were a minute long.
Yeah, just long enough
to get the answering
machine and hang up.
Lawlor was screening his calls.
Yeah, and she also made about
a dozen one-minute late night calls
to another number.
Get this, this number is registered
to an Elaine Anderton Lawlor.
Another Mrs. Lawlor?
This one's on Park Avenue.
Could be a sister, or an aunt.
Well, whoever it is, I
pulled their LUDs, too.
The confession was
made from their phone.
Roy?
We got divorced eight years ago.
He moved to the West
Side six, seven months ago.
I haven't talked to him since.
What about Sandra Lawlor?
His second wife?
That drunk calls at all hours, complaining
about me, complaining about him.
Is Roy in some kind of trouble?
We're looking into the
death of his daughter, Diane.
Uh-huh. And?
Someone left a message on an
answering machine confessing to the arson.
Well, what does that
have to do with me?
The call came
from this apartment.
That's impossible.
Introduce me to
your friends, Elaine.
Daddy, these are
police detectives.
Oh, is there a problem?
They're saying someone used our
phone to confess to killing Roy's daughter.
Well, someone's
pulling your leg.
Be that as it may, the
phone records show the call...
In my business, I
only trust records
that I can prove haven't
been tampered with.
Well, why would somebody want
to tamper with your phone records?
My daughter is no longer
married to that drunk.
If you have questions about
the fire, talk to him. He set it.
He destroyed one life, he
nearly destroyed my daughter's.
Now, this is my lawyer. You can
talk to him to your heart's content.
Now, if you'll please
leave, I'd appreciate it.
Thank you.
Who works for the Andertons?
Yeah, you got two housekeepers,
Elsie Ruiz and Anne Ryan,
the cook, Emma Hooper,
the chauffeur, a secretary,
people going in
and out all the time.
Ages?
Ruiz is around 60.
And Ryan?
50s. Hooper, maybe 40, 45.
Anybody else?
No, just Mr. Anderton,
his daughter and her kid.
Her kid?
Yeah, Terry.
Him and his mother have lived
with Mr. Anderton since her divorce.
How old is Terry?
Teenager, like 14, 15.
High-pitched voice? Yeah.
Where is he now? He's at school.
Their chauffeur brings
him home around 4:00.
All right, thanks. Sure.
The kid? The kid.
I doubt the Andertons are gonna
volunteer him for a voice sample.
Maybe he'll
volunteer one himself.
Hey, kid! We're looking for
the Metropolitan Museum.
Yeah, take a left right there,
go three blocks over,
and go straight up Fifth.
Okay, right there, and
then three blocks over?
No, no, no. First
left. Go to Fifth
and go all the way up to
the 80s. You can't miss it.
Oh, thanks, nice talking to you.
The kid's voice barely
registers 50 decibels.
Even with a filter, 60%
match is what I can do.
Thanks.
60% is about 20%
short of an arrest warrant.
Let's take a look at
the arson evidence.
Five cigarette butts,
some newspapers,
a couple of matchbooks.
The Connaught Hotel, London.
Yeah, my first wife wanted
to stay there one night.
I figured out we
could afford one hour.
That seem like Roy
Lawlor's kind of place?
Not the Roy Lawlor I saw, but
it's right up Carl Anderton's alley.
Where was it found?
On the floor, in the hallway.
Was it ever checked for prints?
No.
Huh.
Geniuses. The cardboard
has an acetate finish.
It's not too damaged. They
should have been able to lift a print.
Maybe they still can.
Latent found a print on the
matchbook. It's not Roy's.
Whose?
Well, the size of the print
looks like it could belong to a kid.
What else do you got?
A 60% voice match
on the phone call.
Only 60%? Carl Anderton sits on
the Mayor's re-election committee.
Hey, if he sat in a booth collecting
tolls for the Lincoln Tunnel,
we'd be arresting
his grandson by now.
What's that supposed to mean?
You've got... BRISCOE:
We've got a print,
we've got a confession.
Motive?
It's the kid's half-sister.
You don't have to be
a genius to come
up with something.
Then come up with something.
What about the father?
He's had plenty of opportunities
to implicate his
son, but he hasn't.
The little girl's mother?
If she had anything to
say about Terry and the fire,
she would've said it by now.
What about the people
who live with the boy?
I'm sure there's no shortage of
household help at the Andertons'.
Yeah. If they worked there two
years ago, if we can find them,
and if they'll talk to us.
I have confidence in you.
When I worked for Mr. Anderton,
he had me sign a
confidentiality agreement.
Well, he can't stop
you from talking to us.
A little girl died in a fire
we think Terry might've set.
He makes all his
employees sign one.
This girl was five years old.
Come on. You gonna
wait for a subpoena?
Sooner or later, you're
gonna have to talk to us.
After the fire, Terry
stayed in his room,
drawing pictures
of that poor little girl.
Did he talk about her?
Only to his father.
Terry would call him in
the middle of the night.
I could hear him from the
other room, talking on and on.
About what?
Well, Terry could only see
his father on the weekends.
He blamed the little girl.
What else did he say about her?
He said she was trying to
turn his father against him.
A little girl. It was crazy.
I thought maybe he was on drugs.
After the fire, Terry
stopped calling him.
Did Terry use drugs?
I don't think so.
Do you know where he
was the night of the fire?
I don't know.
Two weeks after the fire,
I checked through a bag of
clothes for The Salvation Army.
Why would you do that?
Well, they throw things
out. Lots of stuff is still good.
So, you looked in the bag...
I found a shirt.
And?
You could still smell the smoke.
Was it one of Terry's shirts?
Come on, sweetie.
Terry Lawlor.
What do you think you're doing?
We have a warrant
for your son, ma'am.
Terry Lawlor,
you're under arrest
for the murder of Diane Lawlor.
Mom... It's okay. It's
a misunderstanding.
You have the right
to remain silent.
You have the
right to an attorney.
You can talk to my
lawyer about this.
We'll be happy to talk to you and
your lawyer down at the precinct.
Getting in?
You bastards.
Well, I don't like it,
my grandson having to wear some
sort of electronic monitoring device
while he's out on bail.
All due respect, if he
weren't your grandson,
he might not even
be out on bail.
With all due respect, Mr. McCoy,
if he weren't my grandson,
he wouldn't even have
been charged with the crime.
Mr. McCoy, Terry
Lawlor's a good kid.
Whose prints were found at an
arson that killed another good kid.
Well, that's not enough
to prove that my grand...
We have enough for a trial.
Or could we talk about a plea?
No, no. We're here to talk
about dropping the charges.
We'll talk about a plea
with the boy's mother.
I'm his guardian.
I make all decisions concerning
him. You'll talk to me, Mr. McCoy.
The arson squad closed
this case two years ago.
A drunk named Roy Lawlor did it.
This case is not
about Roy Lawlor.
Nor, for that matter, is it
about you, Mr. Anderton.
Oh, it certainly is about me.
No way you'll prove
Terry set that fire.
We have his confession on tape.
Not for long.
It's a motion for an
audibility hearing.
A 60% voice match is
crap, and you know it.
Six reports
from three different
nationally recognized experts
comparing the tape to my client's
voice and to five random samples.
My wife's voice was a 50% match.
We're not offering a
conclusive match, Your Honor,
but a probable one in
light of the other evidence.
Your Honor, the tape
was altered in the lab.
The call to the answering machine
came from his client's home.
That may be so,
but whether or not
my client made
the call is the issue.
Mr. McCoy, the
tape was enhanced,
and produced a voice
match disputed by experts.
By defense experts.
I also heard your experts.
I listened to the tapes
and I can't tell that the two
voices are from the same person.
Given the inflammatory
nature of the tape's content,
I'm going to suppress it.
Carl Anderton's grandson.
Carl's a good man.
We worked on the
Lindsay campaign together.
We're not prosecuting him.
The boy obviously feels
repentant for what he did.
He called his father, didn't he?
You offered a plea?
We got turned down.
What kind of plea?
We didn't get that far.
He turned down
the idea of a plea.
Adam, why are we
pussyfooting around?
The man has a $4 billion
war chest. Three years ago,
the Atlantic-Star Cable merger,
he took on the SEC and won.
He's rich, he's powerful.
Maybe we should let
Robin Leach try the case.
Carl Anderton brought
down a governor,
put senators in office, and now
he's fighting for his grandson.
I'm not kissing his ass, Adam.
I want you to treat
him with respect.
He gets the same from
me as everybody else.
I don't care who he is.
Bobby Kennedy sat right
in that chair over there,
smoking Monte Cruise,
right after we signed the
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Agreement.
Remember? Yeah.
You were sitting at...
I stood right over there.
Yeah. That's right. You
want something, Adam?
No, thank you.
You know why I'm here.
We've been through some
rough times together, Carl.
This is gonna be another one.
It's just gonna end
up a bloody mess.
Adam, if you wanted to,
you could make it go away.
Your grandson confessed.
No, that was no confession.
Terry was just trying to
make his father feel better.
The boy has a good heart.
There's other evidence. A plea
bargain is the best way to go.
When is your term up?
Is it next spring, what?
What are you implying?
Don't misunderstand me.
We go back a long way.
It was a different city.
But you know, the important
things, loyalty and friendship,
they haven't changed.
No, they haven't.
He's my only grandson, Adam,
and you were at his
mother's wedding.
I've got pictures of you holding
the boy when he was a baby.
I'm sorry, Carl. There's
a plea offer on the table.
Take it, don't take
it, it's up to you.
Adam, you deny me
this personal request?
I can't do this, my friend.
I won't.
A fingerprint on an old
matchbook and a smelly shirt,
not the strongest case
I've ever taken to trial.
It might help if we could tell a jury
what turned Terry into an arsonist.
He was angry at his father.
That's an emotion I can understand.
Something pushed
him over the edge.
The nanny suspected drugs.
It'd be nice to be able to prove it.
I checked the school records,
medical records, insurance,
there's no sign he ever
had a drug problem.
What about friends?
I haven't found any.
And I can't get anybody at his
school to say anything bad about him.
They're afraid of losing
a future endowment.
What about other
schools the boy attended?
Selwyn Academy. The prep
he was at when the fire occurred.
They won't talk to me either.
That their yearbook?
Mmm-hmm.
Looks pretty harmless
in a jacket and tie.
You all do.
Yeah. Oh, look, here.
They had a school counselor.
If the kid was doing drugs,
maybe she'll know about it.
Drugs weren't his problem.
Maybe he would've been
better off if they were.
What was his problem?
His real problem?
I never got the
chance to find out.
But his behavior in
school was something else.
A handful?
Depending on when
you caught him.
He could be a charmer one week,
and then an absolute
monster the next.
He'd get in these funks, and I
could hardly get a word out of him.
Given his home life, wouldn't
you expect him to be moody?
It wasn't about that.
He decided to run for Student
President of the middle school.
He had a very well-articulated
platform, posters, the whole bit.
A week before the
election, he withdrew.
I asked him why. He
went into a diatribe
about the other candidate sabotaging
his campaign, planting spies.
Was it true?
He said he could hear them
whispering through the walls.
Paranoia, schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder...
You expect me to
make a diagnosis
based on the observations
of an amateur?
Yeah. You got a
problem with that?
Okay. He can't relate to others,
has low tolerance for frustration,
he's unpredictable...
So far, that's my kid.
Now, the fear and suspicion,
the whispering through the walls,
sounds like he's in the early
stages of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder.
Alternating cycles of
depression and mania.
Periods of feeling
better than normal,
brighter and more
energetic and charming,
hyper-sexuality
and poor judgment.
Then, suddenly
irritability, aggression,
delusions of persecution,
hearing voices.
That's what's going
on with this kid?
It's a third-hand diagnosis.
Take it for what it's worth.
But it might explain
why the kid's a fire bug.
If he's crazy, why
isn't his lawyer
going for an insanity defense?
Good question.
Bipolar disorder?
I think you need your
head examined, Mr. McCoy.
We didn't just pull
this out of thin air.
We talked to a former school
counselor, to his friends...
People with impeccable
credentials in the field of psychiatry.
The behavior they observed
can't be explained any other way.
Mr. Anderton, I don't have any
interest in prosecuting your grandson
if he has a mental disease.
There is nothing
wrong with Terry.
Then, you won't mind if our
psychiatrist examines him.
So you can gather
evidence against him?
I don't think so.
It would be off the record.
You have nothing to lose.
Mr. Anderton, your grandson
needs treatment, not prison.
The way your case is going, he
doesn't have to worry about prison.
Sir, your grandson
killed that little girl.
Either in prison or in a psychiatric
hospital, he's going to answer for it.
At the end of this, Mr. McCoy, my
grandson is coming home with me.
We'll see what a judge has to say
about that. I'm moving for a 730 exam.
Your Honor, I've brought this
motion in the interest of justice.
Aren't the defendant's best
interests served by his counsel?
Unless counsel refuses to
acknowledge the obvious.
What obvious?
Your Honor, the defendant
hasn't been howling at the moon
or ripping his hair out.
He's not crazy.
If there's nothing wrong with
his client, then a 730 exam can't...
A pointless proceeding that can
only be to my client's detriment.
The prosecutors can question
him in violation of his rights.
Mr. McCoy, if his client's
mental condition is so obvious,
then it should be
apparent if I talk to him.
I'll question him in chambers
and decide if your motion has merit.
I'd like our
psychiatrist to observe.
Absolutely not.
I'll decide what goes on in
my chambers, Mr. Weaver.
Mr. McCoy's psychiatrist can observe,
but I'll be the one asking the questions.
The court is back in session.
Judge Jane...
So you understand
everything that's happened
in this case so far?
Yes, ma'am.
And how do you
feel about all this?
Scared.
Understandable. And
how is it for you, at home?
Well, I've been playing
a lot of Nintendo.
I can't really rollerblade
with this thing on.
Thank you for coming in. You
can wait for Mr. Weaver outside.
He seems like a
normal teenager to me.
With all due
respect, Your Honor,
I would have asked
different questions.
That's why you were allowed
here only as an observer.
Your Honor,
Dr. Skoda's point is...
Mr. McCoy, I don't
care what his point is.
I'm satisfied that the
defendant is of sound mind.
Your motion for a
730 exam is denied.
I'm not a mind reader, Jack.
"Hi, how are you?" is
not a diagnostic question.
You can't tell me anything?
He likes rollerblading
and Nintendo. So do I.
I don't get it. They should've
jumped at a chance for the exam.
They think they're going to win.
The way things are going, they're
probably right. So now what?
We go to trial.
If they won't use his mental
state to get him acquitted, fine,
we'll use it to convict him. He
set the fire because he's deluded.
If he has a mental disease, he
doesn't belong in prison, Jack.
Maybe it won't
come down to that.
And what if it does?
That's what they pay us for.
After Dee-Dee was born, Terry
became aggressive with her.
In what way?
Squeezing her too
hard, for one thing.
Did you discuss this
with your husband?
I told Roy I didn't
want Terry around her.
I was afraid he
might do something.
We cut his visits to just
weekends, when I could be there.
Why didn't you tell the
police any of this before?
I didn't think it mattered.
Roy said the fire was his fault.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mrs. Lawlor, were
there any witnesses,
other than yourself, who
saw Terry hug Diane?
No.
Do you drink?
Objection. Relevance.
Goes to credibility.
Overruled. Answer the question.
I have a few drinks every day.
And isn't it true that on two
occasions you and your husband
got into a fight so severe
neighbors had to call the police?
Yes, but...
That this was an example of the
kind of home you and Roy Lawlor kept,
and it was Terry's
mother and grandfather...
Objection.
Who curtailed
Terry's visits, not you,
because they
feared for his safety?
He's testifying, Your Honor.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard
Mr. Weaver's last remark.
No further questions.
On certain occasions Terry told me
he thought he was being persecuted.
For example, toward
the end of the school year,
Terry was convinced that the other
students were conspiring against him.
Did he tell you
how he knew this?
Objection. Hearsay.
The testimony isn't offered to
prove the truth of the statement,
but to demonstrate the
defendant's state of mind at the time.
Overruled. The
witness will answer.
He said he could hear
the other students...
Your Honor, may we
approach the bench?
This witness is a
high school counselor.
She's not accredited by any
graduate school of psychiatry
or psychology...
She isn't being asked to
offer a professional diagnosis,
but only to describe observed
behavior, which any lay person can do.
He's right, Mr. Weaver.
Your Honor, in her
capacity as school counselor,
anything she was told by my
client falls under patient privilege.
He can't have it both ways.
Either she's a qualified mental
health practitioner or she isn't.
You really can't,
Mr. Weaver. Now step back.
Ms. Garey, please answer
Mr. McCoy's question.
He told me he could
hear the other students
whispering about
him through the walls.
What, if any, other behavior
did you notice around this time?
Your Honor, we request a recess.
For what purpose?
To consult with
the District Attorney.
Mr. McCoy?
We have no objection.
Very well. Court
is now in recess.
We will reconvene at
10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We're prepared to plead to
second degree manslaughter.
That fire was an accident.
There was no premeditation.
And Terry certainly
didn't mean to hurt anyone.
You'd let him go to jail?
We're talking minimum
time in a juvenile facility.
Prison is prison.
Mr. Anderton, do you really think
that's where your grandson belongs?
That's where you
want to send him.
You heard the testimony. Your
grandson needs psychiatric help.
Absolutely not!
I don't understand
you, Mr. Anderton.
We're offering him... What?
The chance to
stay in a loony bin
till some state employee
decides he can leave?
I know what this is really
all about, Mr. McCoy.
You're going after my
grandson to embarrass me.
Yes! Personally,
professionally, publicly.
I know your type. You think
that to bring down a man
who's accomplished
something in life, it builds you up.
You're not gonna
get away with it.
I put a fair offer on the table.
You turn it down, I'll go
public and I'll expose you
for the vindictive, envious
little man you really are.
Mr. Anderton? Can
you give us a statement?
What were you talking to
the D.A. about, Mr. Anderton?
Tell Mr. Anderton we'll
think about his offer.
I don't get it. Is he
waiting for a better offer?
Is he setting us
up for an appeal?
What did Skoda say?
Charming one minute, aggressive
and paranoid the next. Sound familiar?
Carl Anderton. Like
grandfather, like grandson?
Maybe that's the
conclusion he's afraid of.
Get everything you can on him.
In 1951, he was taken out of Andover
in the middle of the school year.
Got homesick.
He finished out the rest of
the year at Austen Riggs,
the Boy's Town of
the rich and famous.
He spent the next two
years at home with tutors.
Carl was always high-spirited.
This wasn't high spirits, Adam.
I've tracked his press
clippings over the last 30 years.
There are unexplained absences,
or he checked
himself into a hospital,
suffering from exhaustion.
Next.
Last April, he made a surprise
take-over bid for Commonwealth Airlines.
One week later,
he withdrew the bid
and accused the FAA and the
stockholders of conspiring against him.
It's classic
manic-depressive behavior.
Doesn't make sense. Runs
a Fortune 500 company.
So did Howard Hughes.
He could be fully
functional, if he's medicated.
I don't want you
to humiliate him.
He's standing between his own
grandson and an appropriate disposition.
I want him to get
out of the way.
Maybe his daughter can
talk some sense into him.
My father loves my son.
If Terry were sick, don't
you think he'd get him help?
Unless he's afraid
it'd trace back to him.
Trace what? The mental illness.
I told you, my father's
in perfect mental health.
He's a public figure.
People would've noticed.
Not if he's taking medication.
And maybe they have
noticed, Mrs. Lawlor.
Look at how the
media describes him.
Colorful, eccentric,
mercurial, unpredictable.
This is not a smear. To a
psychiatrist it's code for unstable.
See for yourself. Check
his medicine cabinet.
If he's taking Tegretol,
Risperdal, valproic acid, lithium...
My father only takes
medication to help him sleep,
to calm him down.
His days are very stressful.
Or to control his
unpredictable mood swings.
Look, did your father tell you
that he offered
to let Terry plead
to Manslaughter in
the Second Degree?
Our offer is, he pleads not
guilty by reason of mental disease,
he goes to a psychiatric
facility instead of to prison.
My father is Terry's guardian.
I don't have any
authority. I can't...
I don't know what to do.
What are you doing here?
Adam, what is
this, some kind of...
I invited her, on the off-chance
that someone in your family
would act in your
grandson's best interests.
What's that supposed to mean?
Mr. Anderton, let's just find
out what McCoy decided.
You thought about our offer?
Man two? Out of the question.
The choice is man one or not
guilty by reason of mental disease.
Back to that?
When are you going to get
it through your thick skull.
My grandson doesn't
belong in a hospital.
Daddy, he does need help.
You wait outside
until we're through.
She's staying.
Outside. ELAINE: No.
It doesn't matter what
she thinks. I'm his guardian.
That can change, Mr. Anderton.
You've got to
agree to this, Carl.
We're gonna petition
to have her appointed
Guardian ad Litem
of your grandson.
What? On what basis?
Mental competency.
Whose?
Yours.
We know about your
stay at Austen Riggs,
the private tutors, hospitals...
It was exhaustion. That's all.
Once we start proceedings,
issue subpoenas, everyone'll know.
I'm sorry, Carl.
You trust these people over me?
Huh?
Oh, they finally got to
you, didn't they, Adam?
After all these years,
you finally caved, huh?
Ah, this thing,
this accusation...
Don't you see
they've used it before,
the newspapers, the networks...
You've seen the hints, the way
Commonwealth tried to smear me.
You know why? Because
they were always afraid of me.
'Cause of my energy.
It's the way I got things done!
You let them do
this, it will never stop.
Once it starts...
Starts! It never stops.
And then... It's okay.
And then... It's okay, Daddy.
Adam,
Adam, please, please, please,
don't let them do this to me. Please.
Please.
I remember thinking
that my step-sister
had some kind of
a demon inside her.
A demon?
It had to do with why
my dad was an alcoholic.
I had this idea that if I built a
fire, I could scare the demon away.
I read in some book that Native
Americans use fire to purify the innocent.
I just wanted my
dad to stop drinking.
I wanted that
more than anything.
Why didn't you tell
anyone you set the fire?
I did.
I told my grandfather
when I got home.
He told me not to talk about it.
That he'd make sure that
I wouldn't get in trouble.
Mr. McCoy?
The People are
satisfied, Your Honor.
Very well.
Terence Lawlor, you're hereby
remanded to a secure facility
to be designated by the Commissioner
of the Department of Mental Hygiene
until such time as a panel
of doctors has determined
you're no longer a danger
to yourself or to society.
We're adjourned.
Sorry about your friend.
Save your sympathy. We
haven't heard the last of him.
Living with that
secret all these years,
it must have taken
enormous will power.
Yeah. Carl always had that.
Whenever he did something bold,
the Lindsay campaign,
take-over bids,
the op-ed pundits would call him
crazy, and Carl would just smile.