Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–2011): Season 1, Episode 16 - Phantom - full transcript

Narrator: In New York
City's war on crime

the worst criminal offenders
are pursued by the detectives

of the Major Case Squad.

These are their stories.

The bus to the city,
where do I catch it?

She moved.

Said she wanted
to be closer to work.

What? She got a new job?

A jewelry store.

She sent us a
spoon for the baby.

It came in a fancy
blue and gold box.



Barber: Blue and gold box, huh?

I don't know about
those fancy jewelry stores.

They're all up on Fifth Avenue.

Woman: The buyers are
coming in the morning.

I really do need those
brochures by tomorrow.

Okay, but what I really want to
know is what leader of the free world

did your mystery man
have lunch with today?

The president of Harvard,
Lawrence Summers.

Oh, I've heard that name before.

Oh no, I'm thinking
of Donna Summers.

Anyway, at least one of
us is leading an exciting life.

- Tomorrow.
- Tomorrow. Taxi!

We did get a day outside Nairobi
to visit the old coffee plantations.

It nearly made up
for the seminars.



"Realistic Debt Consolidation."

We met with...
Oh, that rock star,

the one who's campaigning
to cancel Third World debt.

Gerry, your work
is so interesting.

You're lying, but I love it.

Gerry...

have you thought
any more about...

taking our relationship
to the next level?

Charlotte, you know
how I feel about you,

but I also believe that...

sex is a sacrament of marriage.

Tonight could be so special.

I can't. I promised Larry Summers
I'd meet him for dessert at the Waldorf.

He's having a bunch of the old gang
from the London School of Economics over.

I'll go with you.

- No, it'll be so boring.
- I want to meet your friends.

Just let me go home and change.

Give me five minutes.

(door opens)

- Hey, hey, hey, what...
- Shut up.

- You must be the boyfriend.
- Who are you?

Never mind about
that, just drive.

Something the
matter, Ms. Fielding?

Did someone come in and
leave a message for me?

No, no messages.

So now I'm eating like
a primitive man, right?

Lamb, fish, lots of
kale and broccoli...

All the cruciferous vegetables.
It's awesome, it's like...

Whoa. Check it out.

I'm calling 9-1-1.

(theme music playing)

Man: Body was discovered
at the Botanical Gardens.

Frank Raymond Caspari.

Paroled out of Sing
Sing two days ago.

Did six years for armed robbery.

I thought since Major
Case handled that back then

you'd do me a favor
and catch this one, too.

That's what I live for, Valdez,
to make your life easier.

I take it you'll be by
later to wash my car?

Multiple stab
wounds to the chest.

Knife was recovered
in the bushes,

only fingerprints were Caspari.

Killed with his own knife.

Caspari and two
accomplices jacked an OTB

for 1.2 million bucks.

400 grand each. The
money was never recovered.

And the two accomplices?

Caspari never gave them up.

The body was dumped
off a service road.

Very isolated,

no foot traffic.

A hundred bucks.
Smells like perfume.

That's Barbicide.

The blue stuff they use to
disinfect combs in barber shops.

He's got a new haircut.

It's not prison issue.

Fresh manicure.

Maybe a friendly barber
lent him the money.

He's got scuff marks
on the back of his shoes.

He was dragged to
where they killed him?

- No defensive wounds.
- Here.

1985 Caspari was arrested
for fencing stolen jewelry

out of the back of a barber
shop owned by Benny Franconi.

If Caspari loaned you a few bucks,
we might be able to see you get it back.

It was about a thousand bucks.

It was 50 bucks.

It was $100, missy,
and not a penny less.

He came by yesterday.

He said he was
going to pay me back.

He was always good
about that sort of thing.

Pay you back from his
share of the OTB job?

That's none of my business.

Frank being murdered
is not your business?

What kind of friend are you?

What are you talking about?

We think his accomplices
on the OTB job killed him.

He kept his mouth
shut for six years...

this is the thanks he gets?

Mikey Squiers, Dave Vonder.

One's doing life at Five Points.

The other OD'd on
junk two years ago.

How about where
Frank was staying?

I don't know.

He used to see a girl in
Queens named Connie Moran.

Asked me a couple of
times about a jewelry store

that used blue and gold boxes.

Figured he had a date.

Last time I saw Frank, there
was a piece of glass between us.

That was six years ago.
I haven't cared since.

- (children arguing)
- Don't make me come up there!

So what's Frank done now?

He got killed two
days after he got out.

Oh, Jeez, Frank.

I guess I care now, don't I?

You fell hard for him.

He was a crook,

but he made me feel special.

Six years in jail
was too long a wait.

I would've waited. Problem
was, I had company.

- He had a girl on the side?
- Yeah.

Secretary at his lawyer's office

told me he was writing
letters to this other woman.

You know her name?

Charlotte. Charlotte Fielding.

I'm baking cookies and schlepping
them up to Sing Sing every week,

and he's writing her letters.

You know where
we could find her?

No. Why does it matter?

Frank's share of the
OTB heist is still missing.

I wish he left it with me.

- I don't know a Frank Caspari.
- He wrote letters from prison
to a Charlotte Fielding.

- You're the only Charlotte Fielding
in the phone book.
- My number isn't listed.

It is in our phone book.

You made a mistake.
Now I'm going to be late.

Frank Caspari was murdered
a couple of days ago.

So now do you know him?

I did, a long time ago.
But I'd lost contact with him.

This was an
intimate relationship?

It was very short-lived.
I was slumming.

But he wrote you from prison?

He wanted my help,

to talk to the right people,
get him a better lawyer.

He thought you had those kinds of
connections with influential people?

Well, friends,
husbands of friends.

You went to school with those
people, grew up with them?

Well, yes.

What school... Brearley, Spence?

Brearley.

Are you wearing
those invisible braces?

Because you keep running your
tongue over the back of your teeth.

Yes, I am.

I'm thinking about getting my
teeth fixed. Are they comfortable?

You get used to
it. Now, please, I...

Those are... those are lovely
earrings. Are they family heirlooms?

- They're from Harry Winston.
- The place that uses the blue
and gold gift boxes?

I work in their corporate sales.

The day he was killed, Caspari was
asking about blue and gold gift boxes.

Sounds like he was
trying to find you.

Well, he didn't.

Her and Caspari...
I don't see it.

Maybe it wasn't
as big a step down

as she'd like us to think.

Her teeth...

Brearley girls get their
teeth fixed when they're 14,

not 34.

They asked all
sorts of questions.

Why didn't you tell
me Frank was dead?

I didn't know. I told you, he
jumped in the car, he had a knife,

he told me to drive around.
A cop car pulled up next to us

and he jumped out. I
could've been killed.

I really need to see you.
Couldn't you take a later flight?

I can't, I'm pulling into the
airport now. I have to go.

- I'll call you from Rome, okay?
- Charlotte: I already miss you.

Gerry: I'll call you, I promise.

Daddy!

- Dad!
- Hey!

Hey, what's in the bag?

It's candy from the
Turkish Minister of Finance,

but I told him my
children don't like candy.

You can each have
one piece before dinner.

Now go wash your hands.

How's my best girl?

She's just happy you're home.

I missed you so much today.

Autopsy came in. We have
two types of stab wounds.

Deep ones through
the heart and lungs,

and shallow ones barely
penetrating the skin.

Hesitation marks.

The killer didn't know how
much force to use... first-timer.

Tox screen was
negative for drugs.

And here's why Caspari
didn't put up a fight.

- Burns from a stun gun.
- High on his left thigh.

He might've been sitting in
the passenger seat of a car,

the driver reached
over and zapped him.

Ohh.

From the Office
of Public Records...

Until seven years ago,

Charlotte Fielding
was Charlene Caspari.

Frank's little sister.

A legal name change.

Right after Frank was
arrested for the OTB heist.

She was trying to
outrun his notoriety.

It looks like she was
trying to outrun him.

She had an apartment
on Jane Street.

And then three months ago,

she unlisted her phone number,

and moved to a
sublet at the Wendicott.

Three months ago is when Frank
found out he was being paroled.

Yes, if he'd left the
heist money with her,

maybe she wasn't
eager to give it back.

She got somebody
to kill him. A first-timer.

A boyfriend.

One thing this line of work teaches
us is that guys will do anything for love.

And money.

I never seen this guy. No way.

You ever seen Ms.
Fielding with other men?

I never saw Ms. Fielding with a guy,
but, yeah, she goes out every other week,

comes back in a
good mood usually.

- Last Tuesday night?
- Yeah, she went out all dressed up.

She came back 10 seconds
later, she was pissed.

She asked me if somebody
had left her a message.

She got stood up. She friends
with anybody in the building?

Frank Caspari? No, she
never mentioned the name.

I really don't know Charlotte very
well. I met her at the gym, we had coffee.

- She seems to be from a good family.
- Bouillabaisse.

Yeah, for my husband's birthday.

I gave the cook the
night off, but my culinary

skills are challenged
to say the least.

You just need to
reduce the stock.

My, what do they teach
you at the police academy?

Your doorman thinks
she has a boyfriend.

If you can call him that.
Apparently he travels a lot.

I've heard that excuse before.

Charlotte's very
protective of him.

I barely got his first name out of her.
I've never even seen a photo of him.

Do you know what
he does for a living?

He's some sort of an
economist, I think at the UN.

At least he can help her
balance her checkbook.

He's doing more than that. She
gave him her savings to invest.

She's brave. How much
money are we talking about?

Substantial, I think. She
said it's family money.

Here, try this.

The only money I
ever got from my family

was the 50 bucks my dad
gave me for my prom dress.

Was that the same year you were
selling apples in front of the city hall?

It was matchsticks,
and it was snowing. Yes?

Okay. Thank you.

No sign of Frank's loot.

Charlotte's savings account's stayed
put at four grand for the last five years.

- Her phone records.
- Talk about mishegas.

I just got off the
phone with the UN.

They need more than a first name
before they open their employment rolls.

I'm not seeing any calls here to
anyone named Gerry or to the UN.

Same here. But the
night Frank was killed,

she made a dozen calls to a
pager registered under her name.

She was paging herself?

Well, let's find out.

This is Detective Robert Goren of
the New York City Police Department.

We're curious why
Charlotte Fielding

would call this pager number
the night Frank Caspari was killed.

If it's not too much trouble,

could you call us
back at 555-0146?

Thank you.

Eames: You ready?

Yeah... let's play.

Here she comes.

- You're early.
- No. They told me 1:00.

My...

Watch?

It stopped.

Uh, come in. Sit down.

I'm sorry we had to play phone
tag the last couple of days.

It's just been
crazy around here.

And now you're here,
you have our full attention.

First of all, I want you to stop
interrogating my neighbors.

- I live in a very
conservative building.
- We tried to be discreet.

And I want to know how
you got my pager number.

It's just one of these things we're able
to do when we're investigating a murder.

I told you, I have not seen nor
heard from Frank Caspari in years.

I believe you. Okay?

I come from a family of cops.

But why did you
call your own pager?

I lent it to a married friend.

She uses it so her
boyfriend can call her.

That Tuesday night,

you called it 11 times.

This friend, this
married friend,

had set me up on a blind date.

I was stood up...

and I was upset.

I'm sure you can understand.

Everything okay?

Yes, I...

You weren't
supposed to see this.

Now you know we know.

Charlene "Cookie" Caspari.

Frankie's little sister.

Actually, he was the first
one to see through your act.

It's your teeth.

Well...

Charlotte Fielding would've
had them fixed 20 years ago.

You had your nose fixed.

And you had really
big hair back then.

Screw you.

Ooh.

Well, you can take the
girl out of Bensonhurst,

but you can't take
Bensonhurst out of...

I bet that you
had a vocal coach.

I don't have anything
to prove to you.

- We're not putting you down, Cookie.
- Stop calling me that.

You were a good
student at John Jay.

Debating team, volleyball
team, beautician's club.

All those people you fooled,

they all must've been very
impressed by your stories.

Like this boyfriend, Gerry...

what... what... what's-his-name?

You told them he
was an economist?

- Probably a $20
an hour bookkeeper.
- He's not.

He works for the United Nations.

You met at a seminar on
Keynesian market theory?

No, at Harry Winston,

during our exhibit of
antique cigarette holders.

- He's a collector.
- Oh, stop!

You really lay it on
thick there, Cookie.

I told you not to...

It must've been a shock
when Frankie showed up.

- Threatening to blow your cover!
- There's no cover to blow.

Cookie doesn't exist,
she's gone and I'm here.

The proof I'm no longer that
big-haired, gum-popping, home girl

is the fact that this man
you morons call my boyfriend

is a successful, intelligent,

Columbia PhD, London
School of Economics graduate,

who just last week had lunch
with the president of Harvard.

This sophisticated,
cultivated man of the world

loves me and wants
to make a life with me!

Charlotte Fielding,
not Cookie Caspari!

(sighs)

You played me.

Good cop, bad cop.

(Brooklyn accent) I
shoulda remembered...

All cops are bad cops.

(mimics accent) She
"shoulda remembered."

Charlotte: They didn't
ask about the money,

but I'm sure they
suspect something.

I think we're lost.

Do you have Mr. Annan's
phone number?

I'm not calling the Secretary General
of the United Nations for directions.

Check the glove box. I think
I have a better map in there.

You didn't tell them
anything about me?

No, but they're
bound to find out.

What's this?

I was going to wait, but...

Oh, Gerry. Does this mean...?

With all my heart.

This person would've had lunch
with Mr. Summers last week.

He'd be in his late 30s or 40s,

with a PhD from Columbia.

It could've been
New York or Boston.

Is there anyone else in the
alumni office I should speak to?

Thanks, anyway.

The president of Harvard's
been in Africa the last three weeks.

Gerry likes to make up stories
about knowing famous people.

(ringing)

Major Case, Detective Eames.

Which hospital?

Doctor: She's in a coma.

She's lucky to be alive. If the
state troopers hadn't found her...

- Eames: What's the prognosis?
- She could remain like this indefinitely.

- Goren: Bruises on the neck.
- They're consistent with
manual strangulation.

The perp might've been
interrupted in the act.

Look, same place as Frankie's.

Doctor: I didn't know
what those were.

Stun gun burns.

Charlotte's book only
has his first name.

No address, no
home or office number.

She noted every date
that she had with him.

And his itinerary.

Gerry in Geneva, Gerry in Milan,

Gerry in Hong Kong.

No pictures of him.

It's a handbook
from a conference.

"Realistic Debt
Consolidation" in Nairobi.

My boyfriend went to Kenya and
all I got was this lousy brochure.

This guy knows the
way to a girl's heart.

Souvenirs he brought her.

Wooden shoes, geisha doll.

What's that?

It's a UN schedule
of conferences.

So far they match Gerry's
travel dates in her day-timer.

We get the list of attendees,
maybe we can find Gerry.

The day-timer has
Gerry in Johannesburg

for something called
the Mkunga conference.

"Mkunga" is
Swahili for midwives.

What's an economist doing
at a conference on midwives?

Woman: Maybe our legal
office wasn't clear with you.

I have to contact the organizing
committee at each conference locale.

Only they have a
final list of attendees.

It could take
weeks if not months.

I was told you could inspire
people to do the impossible.

These are the conferences
we're interested in.

Your economist attended these?

We matched his travel schedule
with a calendar of conferences.

You must have been
working off an old calendar.

There have been amendments.

You should've come to me sooner.

If I'd only known how charming
the experience would be.

This conference on
trade tariffs in December,

that was moved from
Hong Kong to Shanghai.

And this banking conference in Milan,
that was canceled for security reasons.

The man we're looking for
gave his girlfriend this handbook

from a conference
in Nairobi last month.

Is there any way he could've gotten
it without attending the conference?

Yes, from our
publications office.

The publications office
got a request two weeks ago

from someone saying
he was a reporter.

It was left at the
reception desk.

They know exactly what
day it was picked up.

We're looking at security
tapes of the lobby.

How many candidates so far?

Caucasian males, late
30s to 40s... about eight.

There's still four
hours of tape.

Once you have all the
pictures, where're you going?

We'll start at the Botanical Gardens
where the body was dumped.

Goren: Then the jewelry store
where Charlotte Fielding worked.

His first name is Gerry.

He might've been in the
company of this woman.

Wait. Here, this guy.
I've seen him here.

- When?
- A bunch of times.

- He sits right over there.
- Oh, yeah right, that's him.

He comes in here
almost once a week.

- The weekends?
- No, during the week. Different days.

When's the last time?

It's been at least a
couple of weeks for sure.

He spends whole days here.

Usually brings a sandwich.
He reads the paper or a book.

Yeah. Sometimes he sits
in the greenhouse, snoozing.

- You ever talk to him?
- Just to say hello, that's all.

- He's not a talker.
- I heard him talking to himself once,
out by the rose garden.

Saying what?

I don't know, he
sounded pissed off.

One time I heard him
say it wasn't his fault.

He said that a few times.

You know how he
gets here? A Bus, car?

Car. I've seen him
out in the parking lot.

Silver Volvo. Had
a few years on it.

License plate?

- No, sorry.
- All right, thanks.

My witnesses did
better than yours.

Jersey plates, last
two numbers are 3-5.

Looks like the closest
Gerry's been to Kenya

are the African violets
in the greenhouse.

Girl: Keep on going.

Boy: A little bit to the
right. Yeah, there we go.

- Watch out for the log!
- I hope someone's navigating her.

- Boy: Now to the left. Left.
- You're making me nervous.

Okay. Right. Getting warm.

Getting very warm.

Boy: You can look now!

I love it. What is it?

It's a wall of remembrance,

of all the great
things you've done.

Here's where you carried me home
from the hospital in the snowstorm,

when I was a baby.

That's where you saved my
cat when it was up on the roof.

And that's you and
Papa duck hunting.

And that's you flying around
the world and helping people.

The kids have been
working on it for a month.

Happy Birthday, sweetie.

Gerry: I don't think any father
ever had a better birthday.

Okay, time for cake.

Children: Yes!

Those kids just adore you.

I'm very proud of you, son.

Listen, I'm thinking of taking your
mother on a cruise this summer,

but I have to book it now.

I'm going to need some
money out of our savings.

- How much?
- 10,000 should do it.

I don't know, Dad, isn't
a cruise a little risky?

Ah, it'll be fun.

Your mother and I haven't
been away for years.

I'll need the check by
the end of the week.

Okay. I'll have
the bank wire it.

Here's hoping for another
satisfied Volvo owner.

- Tessa Rankin?
- Yes?

We're from the New
York City Police.

We're investigating an
accident in the city last week.

Do you own a silver Volvo,

license plate number EVZ 135?

I think that's ours, but I didn't
notice any damage to our car.

The person driving might've
witnessed the accident.

Well, my husband uses the car.

He works in the city.
He has an office there.

If you leave me your
card, I can ask him.

Be better if we asked him.

- Where does he work?
- At the United Nations.

In the Office of
Economic Development.

He's an economist.

What's his name?

Gerald Rankin.

Yes, I think I
might've heard of him.

That wouldn't be surprising.

Do you know where specifically
he has his office in the UN building?

Well, no, I don't
know what floor.

I've never been there.
It's a high security area.

Could we have his office number?
Maybe we can find him that way.

It just goes to his voice mail.

- He's always in meetings.
- What about his secretary?

Gerry doesn't have one.
He doesn't trust them.

I just leave a message and
he always calls me right back.

That's a good system.

You do that when
he travels overseas?

Yes. Those foreign
hotels are unreliable.

They don't always speak English.

- You got that right.
- (chimes ring)

We'll call him. Thank you.

Gerry: What
exactly did they say?

Just that there was
some kind of car accident.

- You didn't tell me.
- There's dozens of silver Volvos
with Jersey plates.

They got the numbers mixed up.

- I'll look into it when I get home.
- When's that going to be? I miss you.

I have to get the money for Mom
and Dad's cruise, then pick up the kids.

No, you don't have to
do that. Just come home.

I'll pick 'em up.

And we'll all come home.

I'll see you soon.

The UN doesn't have a Gerald
Rankin working for any of it agencies.

The phone number's for a cell phone
registered under the wife's name.

The bills go to a PO box.

He did go to Columbia for eight
years as an Economics major,

but he never graduated.

The state tax office says he hasn't
reported any income for the last 16 years.

He has no bank accounts,
no credit cards, no gas cards.

Nothing but the
footprints in the snow.

Hard to believe the guy's
never popped up on our radar.

Three years ago he
testified at a Medical

Examiner's inquest into
his father-in-law's death.

Slip-and-fall following
a heart attack.

- Carver: Yes, I'm still here.
- Gerry was alone in the house
with the old man.

- They're faxing us the final report.
- Carver: Good to hear.

The Essex County DA

will issue their own material
witness warrant for Mr. Rankin.

And they'll post officers
to watch his house.

However humble his
lifestyle, how did Mr. Rankin

manage to support
his family for 16 years?

Frank Caspari's 400
grand's a good start.

Here's something. According
to the county clerk in Essex,

his father and his father-in-law

gave Gerry limited power
of attorney 10 years ago.

Limited to what?

Money transfers, purchase
of securities and real estate.

That's interesting.

So he makes up all these tall
tales just to swindle people?

Well, I haven't
figured the guy out yet.

Medical report on the
father-in-law's slip-and-fall.

Right here, in the bruise
under the right arm.

Those two marks, what are they?

(knocking)

Eames: We're back,

this time with a search warrant.

You can't just
come into my house.

I'm sorry, ma'am, just read
the warrant. Brayder. Morelli.

Mrs. Rankin? Mrs. Rankin?

It'll be all right.

If we could just sit over here.

Have you spoken to your
husband since we were here?

Yes, why?

Did he say where he
was, where he was going?

He was stopping to
get money for his father,

and then he was picking up
the kids and coming home.

He was lending his
father some money?

No, it's for a cruise. Gerry
manages their savings.

Is that what this is all about?

Gerry said it was all legal.

What is?

Because of his work at the UN,

Gerry's able to put
money in a Swiss bank

at a very high rate of interest.

Does he do that
for a lot of people?

He invested my father's savings,

till Dad died three years ago.

That money's for our kids now.

Before he died,

was your father planning on
taking some of the money out?

He was talking about
getting a cottage by the shore.

If Gerry did something wrong
by putting money in that bank,

I'm sure he didn't know.

He was just trying
to help the family.

That's the most
important thing for him.

Oh, the children made
that for his birthday.

It's got his whole life up here.

Bringing the baby
home from the hospital...

Columbia.

Gerry was the first one in his
family to graduate from college.

The kids think the world of him.

He must feel very loved.

He must feel very loved.

Your kids, how did
they get to school today?

Gerry decided to drive them.

Mrs. Rankin, I need
you to call the school

and ask about your kids.

- Why? They're in class.
- Please call the school.

Hello. Hi, this is Tessa Rankin.

I'm calling about my
children Jason and Natalia?

Oh.

Right.

He said what?

Thank you.

Gerry called them...
already this morning,

and he told them the
children had the flu

and they were staying
home from school.

But they must
have misunderstood.

Oh God, my children.

What's happening?
What's wrong with Gerry?!

What matters are your kids.

You need to call Gerry.

When he calls back, you need
to find out for us where he is.

Okay? You can't tell
him that we're here.

Look, you have to
ask about your kids.

You have to make sure
you call them by name.

Mrs. Rankin...

he can't know you
suspect anything's wrong.

(cell phone ringing)

Yes, sweetheart?

Hi, honey.

I just called to see when you
think you'll be coming home.

Gerry: I don't know.

Well, the school called.

Are Jason and Natalia with you?

- Yes, they're here.
- Can I say hi?

Umm, no. They're sleeping now.

This early? Are they sick?

No, we had a big
day. We went skating

and we went swimming downstairs.

They were so tired, they
fell asleep in the room.

Well, where are you?
Maybe I can come over.

No, I don't think so.

Well, then just
come home, honey.

I have dinner waiting for
you and Jason and Natalia.

They're very tired.

I'm sorry, I have
to get off the phone.

I won't be able to
talk to you anymore.

No, Gerry, wait. Gerry,
please, for God's sakes!

He won't let me talk to them.

Did he say where he was?

It's some kind of hotel, it had
a pool. He seemed to know it.

Probably the place he stays when
he's supposed to be out of town.

Did he ever bring any
souvenirs from a hotel, soap or...?

The little shampoo bottles.

Natalia uses them on her dolls.

The Paris Park Suites.

It's by the Newark Airport.

Get your husband back on the phone.
Keep him talking as long as you can.

If he hangs up, call him back.

They can set up a sniper team, but under
no circumstance should they rush this guy!

They need to
keep their distance!

Lauren, get me the Jersey
troopers in Union County.

There's a... what's-his-name?

Blundell, Captain Blundell. Tell
him Jimmy Deakins is calling.

Try him again.

(cell phone ringing)

(airplane roars overhead)

Goren: Gerry? Gerry Rankin?

The maid gave me a pass key.

I'm Robert Goren.

Go away.

I just want us to talk.

I'm going to...

I'm going to stand right here,

like this.

I've learned a lot
about you, Gerry.

About the events
that brought you here.

How you've been
caught up in the...

tentacles of circumstance.

Everything has been done to you.

None of it has been your fault.

Like when you were at Columbia,

you missed your finals...

You were tired, you were sick,

or maybe you just didn't want
to be an economist after all.

It was too late.

You were carrying the burden
of your parents' expectations.

You couldn't disappoint them.

So you lied to them
about graduating.

It wasn't your fault.
You did it for them.

Right?

I didn't have any choice.

For them and for Tessa...

who has all her
hopes pinned on you.

You had to invent
a life for all of them.

The pressure of
that must've been...

unbearable.

And then your father-in-law,

if he hadn't wanted to
buy that stupid little cottage!

You had responsibilities!

You had to do
something to stop him!

It wasn't your fault!

And then Charlotte
and her crooked brother.

If he hadn't wanted to
come after that money,

if he hadn't forced you to...

To make these...
tough decisions,

like having a relationship with Charlotte,
like breaking your marriage vows.

I mean, you were pushed
into it by circumstance.

You shut up! You don't
know anything about me!

- Gerry...
- No, you don't know!

Just get out of here!
I'm going to do this!

- Now get out!
- Oh, of course!

Of course you didn't
break your vows!

Of course you didn't sleep
with Charlotte Fielding!

Of course! My God, Gerry.

The one time that you
had a choice to make,

you chose the moral thing,

no matter the sacrifices
that you had to make!

No matter how
alone that you felt,

you didn't give
in to temptation.

You're a hero, Gerry.

You did what heroes do.

You played the hand
that you were dealt...

because you wanted
the best for your family.

Because you wanted to
spare them the disappointment,

especially these
two precious children.

The thought of them...

looking at you with
anything less than admiration

would be too much to bear.

But now, Gerry, now...

they're able to...

To take the true measure...

of the sacrifices
that you've made.

Nothing you've done up
to now has been your fault.

If you do what
you're thinking...

that will be your
fault. Your choice.

No one will ever forgive you.

No one will ever love you again.

Okay?

- So just let go.
- (Sobbing)

- Clear!
- Get down!

Down! Get him
down! Get him down!

Let me see your hands
behind your back. Now!

I didn't hurt them. I
would never hurt them.

(sighs)

Only two shells.
One for each child.

He was planning to walk away.

Charlotte Fielding's lucky.

She'll never know what a worm
her white knight turned out to be.

(theme music playing)