Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Stocks & Bondage - full transcript

In the criminal justice system,
sexually-based offenses

are considered
especially heinous.

In New York City, the
dedicated detectives

who investigate these
vicious felonies are members

of an elite squad known
as The Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

Sex Crimes? Benson: Yep.

Take a look at this.

Girl hanged herself from
the bed. Name's Layla Briggs.

Neighbors said she was
generally a quiet, good tenant.

Looks like she killed herself.



- Anything she didn't pierce?
- So much steel in her it must
set off metal detectors.

Not to mention the burn marks.

Could be self-inflicted.
We got reasons to believe

this is anything
other than a suicide?

Yeah. The robe was
tied over her folded arms.

That's not impossible. I'm no
Houdini, but... how hard is that?

Wait a minute. The robe
was open. Did you open it?

I was told it was a suicide.
I had to examine the body.

Did any of your men
disturb the body?

My first instinct was suicide.

The second I thought
different, I called you guys.

(theme music plays)

I don't get S & M. I mean,
"Hurt me, that turns me on"?

Come on, what's up with that?



Munch: It starts with the
tattoos. Once you get the ink,

it's a matter of time before you're
begging to be tied up and spanked.

Tattoos are just the gateway to
the sexual dark side, my friend.

You guys have finally
figured me out, huh?

Seriously, did you get off
on the tiny pinpricks of pain?

- I get that from
working with you.
- Jeffries: Please.

Hey, Benson, your prelim
on the Briggs victim...

You omitted a suspected
cause of incident.

The first-flush COD
was death by hanging,

but there were so
many irregularities,

we wanted to wait
to talk to the M.E.

- So homicide or suicide?
- We need more information.

They had a baby M.E. at the
scene and he disrobed the body.

Where do they get these people?

The vic had several
self-inflicted wounds...

Or at least "willingly
endured" wounds.

Which raises the possibility this
is neither suicide nor homicide.

Rough sex gone awry?
That's the kind of explanation

you get from defense attorneys.

It happens. This girl was into
some pretty serious paraphilias.

She was pierced
from head to toe.

- Cragen: You're telling me
she works on Wall Street?
- Investment analyst.

Those two worlds overlap
more than you might think.

What worlds? S &
M and high finance?

Yeah, the all-consuming obsession
to destroy political competitors

is no different than the compulsion
to harm one's fellow man.

Or woman.

Why don't you guys
talk to the family?

Munch, Cassidy... find
out where she worked.

What does this mean,
"Special Victims Unit"?

We investigate
sexually-based offenses.

What happened to Layla?

We're hoping that
you can help us.

I had no idea.

Mrs. Briggs...

you probably knew
her better than anyone.

If you can shed some
light on that aspect...

What aspect? Piercings.

Scars on her body. They
threw up a red flag for us.

She kept me at arm's
length about things like that.

Her father died when she was 15.

I guess after that she
and I kind of drifted apart.

When was the last
time you spoke with her?

A week ago. She was
chipper and upbeat.

- Benson: Any signs
of depression?
- No.

Certainly not
suicidal. She was...

happy the way her job was going.

Was there anything you noticed?
Any changes in her behavior?

I didn't talk about
anything personal with her.

- Maybe that was wrong.
- Stabler: You do what you can.

You can't stop a child from
doing what she's going to do.

When she was in 10th grade,
she was in the shower once,

and I was bringing
her fresh towels.

And I saw it.

Saw what?

Metal rings through
both her nipples.

I guess that's when it began.

What did you say to her?

I thought if I pitched a fit

it would only encourage her...

Give her something
to rebel against.

Maybe make it worse.

I guess...

nothing worse can happen now.

Woman: Layla was
the alpha analyst

for our derivative
financial instruments.

Amy, let's pretend this is
economics for non-majors, okay?

Insurance companies
collect premiums.

Some money is used to pay claims,
other money is held in a cash reserve.

Layla helped figure out
how to invest the rest.

How much is that?

The cash flows she
handled were in the billions.

Billions. Did that create
enemies for Layla?

No, why would it?

We're talking about the
concentration of power.

My little insurers renter's
check joins another and another

until the trickle of
money becomes a flood.

That kind of wealth is a threat to
the people that want you to stay in line.

That could create enemies.

First of all, that's
not how it works.

And second of all,
Layla was well-liked.

Amy, we're actually more
interested in Layla's state of mind.

Was she depressed? Was
there a crisis going on in her life?

- Not that I saw.
- Munch: What is it you
do here, Amy?

I manage the office. My boyfriend,
Mr. Martin, owns the company.

Did you and he have any
day-to-day contact with Layla?

Very little. Who did?

Our head of finance, a woman
named Sho-Ling Fu worked with her,

- but she's not in today.
- We're going to need
her number.

We frown on incoming calls.
They distract from the task at hand.

In our line of work, we
frown on obstruction of justice.

COD is asphyxiation from
a ligature around the neck.

- Just as it appeared.
- It's a fairly straightforward
cause of death.

Yeah, but a cause isn't
always an explanation.

What's your gut on it?
Homicide, suicide or accident?

I'm not going to declare until I
have more information from you.

Was she sexually assaulted?

Assault is hard to determine.

She was penetrated, but
we recovered no bodily fluids.

Also, the kind of scarring and sexual
injury this woman endured for years

would send someone to
prison except for one thing...

It was self-inflicted.

- Perhaps.
- Maybe the terminal injury
was self-inflicted.

An auto-erotic fatality?

I could see that.

But look at this.

- The robe
she was wearing.
- Yeah.

It's perfectly clean.
No sweat, no soiling.

Someone re-dressed her?

Remorseful killer?

You know, sometimes family
members clean up the scene.

Layla may have been
experimenting sexually.

We're going to
spare you the details,

but if that's the case it
means that it wasn't a suicide.

It was an accident.

- Layla was a good girl.
- Mrs. Briggs, this doesn't mean
she wasn't a good girl.

But if you know something
more, you got to help us out here.

Help us find out what really did
happen to Layla in this apartment.

I was bringing her cake.

I didn't want to be
nosy. She didn't like that.

I was just going
to let myself out...

and then...

And then you walked
into her room...?

You think it can't be
true when you see it.

I felt dizzy. I laid
down on the floor.

I didn't know what to do.

I wanted to call someone.

I thought I should
call my minister,

but I didn't want him
to see her like that...

Not if I wanted a service.
Then everyone would know.

You were embarrassed
for her. We understand that.

She was wearing
this weird leather thing

and other things... I don't
even know what they are.

I got rid of all that.

I put a robe over her shoulders

and then I called the police.

Tell me, where did you put these
things you found in her bedroom?

In a blue plastic bag.
I threw all that filth

in the dumpster
behind the building.

Man: The best I can tell,

this is the outfit she
wore when she died.

Bodily fluids in all the right
places. Hers and a man's.

I sent semen traces
out for DNA comparison.

She had a partner during
her final performance.

How's that work?
She's got a whipping boy

with her for some rough sex
and he gets carried away?

That's one way to look at it. Or it's
a homicide meant to look like that.

So the whipper boiled over?

Except no one got whipped.

I tested this for epidermal
traces... skin from users...

But it came back negative.

It's in "as-new"
condition and... it rattles.

Stabler: That's odd.

Let's open it up, see
what's making that sound.

I heard they're pinning this
on auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Terminal sex.

Yeah, except auto-erotic
implies one person.

- And?
- Benson: The victim
wasn't alone.

We recovered the
outfit she was wearing.

Seminal fluid was
found on the outside of it.

- DNA hasn't come back yet.
- And we found a whip

filled with half a million
dollars’ worth of diamonds.

- (whistles)
- Cragen: Half a million?

You should be able to find
out where they came from.

Go to the Diamond District,
show her photo around.

We also have her credit
card records. She frequented

a number of sex
and fetish shops.

Follow up on these.
See if you can get

the names of any
of her sex partners.

I know her. But
for obvious reasons

we try to protect the
privacy of our customers,

because the world can be so
judgmental of human behavior.

Not us. We leave
that to the prosecutors.

What was your sense of
Layla? My sense of her?

First-timer. She
was a little shy.

A yuppie with a wild streak.
Not much more than that. Why?

We found her dead,
trussed up like a latex turkey.

My God.

We talked about "code words,"
safe-play techniques and so on.

I guess that lesson
didn't stick so well, did it?

Did you know any
of her partners?

She came in one time
with her boss' girlfriend,

but other than that, no.

- A big redhead?
- No, a brunette. Why?

I guess we met a
different girlfriend.

(buzzing)

Pretty girl, but I've
never seen her.

We believe she
recently purchased

about a half million
dollars’ worth of diamonds.

The only people dealing
with those quantities

are crooks or professional
diamond dealers.

I would never sell that much to
someone I didn't know personally.

Reputation is everything
in this business.

Why would that
hurt your reputation?

Diamonds are the travelers'
checks of the underworld.

They're valuable,
compact, impossible to trace.

Once you sell to one creep, all the
rest come beating a path to your door.

You know anyone
who's less scrupulous?

One man, he will
sell to anyone...

Large, small quantities,
he doesn't care.

David McKuin. He's in this
same building, suite 505.

Layla Briggs. Sure, big buyer.

Came in two weeks ago.

She's dead.

What happened?

That's what we're trying to find
out. She buy diamonds from you?

A big order. How big?

Nine million,
416,000 and change.

She wanted 10 million worth. I
couldn't come up with it in time.

Nine and a half million dollars’
worth of diamonds? Wow.

Do you know what she
was doing with them?

She said it was for
her work... high finance.

I don't understand it.

And you don't ask questions
when you can make a quick buck.

- I resent that.
- You'll really resent it

if we file a stolen
property inquiry.

I didn't steal anything.

That doesn't mean they
can't turn your life upside down

and scare away
some of your dealers.

Think about that and tell us whether
she bought any diamonds for personal use.

No, it was for her business.

She even paid with
a corporate check.

Could I get a copy
of that check? Sure.

If I were ripping off my company,
I'd want this jeweler as my guy.

You think that's what
she was doing? Maybe.

Someone wanted
a cut of the action?

They still have to cash
them out. Um-hmm.

There. Check's from
Martin Global Fund.

Signed by her
supervisor, Sho-Ling Fu.

Okay. Someone might want to try
and fence these same diamonds.

If they come in wanting
to move a large amount,

you'll call us, won't you?

Yes, I'll call. Thanks.

Yeah, I got it. Okay.

Thanks. Yeah, a
redhead and a brunette.

Thanks for the description.

Munch says this Martin guy
has two very stunning girlfriends.

Keeping his options
open, I guess.

We have many accounts
in many currencies.

It's nearly a $10 million check,
and you don't remember it?

I sign a transaction that
big several times a week.

What was it for?

Layla used it to
purchase diamonds.

She did some
commodities hedging.

Once in a while you take
a delivery of actual goods.

Warren Buffet has
four London vaults

filled with tons of
silver collecting dust.

- So where are they?
- How would I know?

Because you're in
charge of finances?

Stabler: And we're
investigating a murder.

Mr. Martin's office is where?

Down the hall. It's marked.

Thank you.

Stabler: We're looking
for Frank Martin.

Who are you?

We're detectives.
Benson and Stabler.

Oh, sorry. I was just
fixing one of the computers.

It crashed. But better the
machine then the market, right?

Computers will always
break down on you,

but the most important piece of
equipment is the nut behind the keyboard.

- Mr. Martin?
- I started this company

in my garage on this
very same computer.

Now it's a multi-billion
dollar empire.

The U.S. capital
markets are the greatest

wealth-creation engine
the world has ever known.

The compounded power of the
bull market is a force of nature.

I have surfed it
very successfully.

I keep that old computer to
remind myself of where I started.

That's sweet. How long did
Layla Briggs work for you?

A couple of years. It's a terrible
shame what happened to her.

How much of her personal
life were you aware of?

- You mean the sex stuff?
- Yes, the sex stuff.

Her predilections were
pretty well known around here,

but she always kept
it out of the office.

You ever have a
problem with theft?

I've had to fight off a few
teenage hacker savants.

No, I meant Layla.

She purchased thousands
of dollars’ worth of sex gear

on your corporate credit cards.

Oh... that. Well...

what's the difference between paying
for a membership to a golf course,

and you know,
paying for her habits?

Jack Nicklaus never
died from playing golf.

You're right. I want to do everything
I can to find out what happened.

Layla purchased nearly
$10 million worth of diamonds

two weeks before her death.

Mm-hmm. That
was a financial move.

We were betting on
diamond futures going up

in anticipation of Y2K anxiety.

- Was that common knowledge?
- The diamond future play?

No, that she took
delivery on the goods.

It's in the financial report.

Anyone who knows how to read
them would know she had the jewels.

What's the
distribution list on that?

Everybody here in the office

and the board of directors of
the charity get a weekly report.

Charity? On Wall Street?

Yeah, we're not all vultures.

We invest a large fund for
the New Vision Endowment.

They give books and
eyeglasses to poor children.

- When was the last time
you saw Layla?
- Early last week.

She brought the
quarterly reports in person.

Once again, they were stellar.
What did she do for you again?

She managed our endowment.

What did that entail?

Non-profit charities, such as ours, we
don't actually spend all the money at once.

An endowment keeps
us going from year to year.

Kind of like an investment pool?

Yes, and the better the returns,
the more money we can put to work.

Layla was very skilled at
making our money work very hard.

She ever mention anything to
you about purchasing diamonds?

No, but she did make some exotic financial
returns, but generally they paid off.

"Exotic" kind of puts your
entire endowment at risk.

I didn't ever understand
what Layla was doing.

Hedge funds,
commodities futures...

But I didn't care, as long
as it brought in the funds.

You were risking
the entire endowment.

I gave power of attorney
to her company. Who?

The owner, Frank Martin. he
gave me his personal guarantee

that if anything went
south, he would bail us out.

It was a shrewd financial move

predicated on the ebb and
flow of the commodities market.

Half a million dollars’ worth of
diamonds was found with Layla's body.

Layla may have had
some strange habits,

but she was scrupulously honest.

She had no need to steal.

Could she have afforded that
quantity of jewels on her own?

Sure, many times over.

She made millions
while she worked here.

Sometimes it's not about
money. Was she angry at you?

Martin: No, we had a
good working relationship.

- Was it ever sexual?
- No.

There's a fine line between tolerating
sexual behavior and encouraging it.

(computer beeps)

Oh, the Hang Seng just
opened up 49 points. Yes!

- If you'll excuse me...
- The Hang Seng can hang.

- Who's Layla dating?
- I don't know.

Oh, come on, you
must have some idea.

If you raise those
questions in the workplace,

you set yourself up for
a big lawsuit nowadays.

So, I don't ask. (beeps)

Where are you on
the Layla Briggs case?

It looks like a lot of high
finance and low urges.

She bought the kinky stuff
with corporate credit cards,

and everyone she works
for seems to know about it.

On the other hand,
she was a financial whiz.

She managed a fund
for a charity foundation.

Charity begins at home, people.

For every dollar that goes in the
can, 90¢ ends up in somebody's pocket.

- Well, that's cynical.
- Cragen: That's life.

The records of a non-profit
are public information.

So let's find out what
they were really doing.

What's that?

The financial records
for your foundation.

It seems out of the
$18 million you took in,

less than one million
went for charitable works.

No. No, you're reading it wrong.

Here. Look.

14 million for glasses.

Kelp, anyone can
print up a report.

We talked to the bank.
There is no such account.

They've never even heard of you.

What are you saying?

Benson: You and Layla
had a little scam going.

She embezzles the money,
you sign off on the reports.

But she gets greedy.

Are you suggesting
that I killed Layla?

That's not what happened.

I knew about the
financial irregularities,

but I never benefitted.

Come on, please. It's true...

At least not financially.

Layla would make
certain... donations.

I would then invest the
proceeds with her company.

Martin was laundering
money, Layla was his bagman.

I presume.

All I had to do was
look the other way.

Why did you allow her to
use your charity as a front?

What was in it for you?

We shared certain compulsions.

I tried, but I was never able to
entirely relieve myself of them.

Layla knew me as
"The Human Ashtray."

We met on the circuit.

The non-profit world is very
concerned with appearances.

And she threatened
to expose you.

Unless I helped her.

When I helped her once, that
was the thin edge of the wedge.

What's the "circuit"?

Various people. The only one
with a regular gig is Anna Faust.

Did she know Layla?

Oh yeah, oh yeah. She
knew Layla very well.

I haven't seen Layla
for four months.

But she was part of the circuit?

"The circuit"? The
underground bondage scene.

(laughs)

She came to my parties...
Until she was banished.

What did she do? It
wasn't what she did...

She was a submissive...

But her master violated my rules

and so both were informed

that they were no
longer welcome.

And this "master" was...?

A Wall Street financier
with a mean streak.

His name is Frank Martin.

We know him. How'd he cross you?

- He hurt one of my girls.
- What's her name?

If I tell you, do you
promise to give him

the punishment he
so richly deserves?

Sure, that's what we hope to do.

Good boy.

Are you with Immigration?

No, no, I don't care about that.

I just want you to tell
me about Frank Martin.

I met him at a party where
I was a paid submissive.

He asked if I
enjoyed "air games."

You mean high-risk sex?

That's what he wanted.

I told him, "No,
I don't do that."

Two days later, I get a call...

He says he knows
I'm here illegally.

He says if I like
living in New York

I should "meet him
for some games,"

and if I don't, I'll get "a
free trip back to Vietnam."

Meaning, he would turn
you over to Immigration?

I said, I would do "anything,

anything," if he would
not send me back.

What did he do?

He wants to try choking me.

I didn't understand, at first.

I was scared.

But he promised
it would be okay,

so he took me...

and puts a belt around my neck.

I blacked out.

When I woke up, he was gone.

I see.

(Munch whistles)

A shredding party... a page
out of the Oliver North playbook.

The feds don't give a
damn about the dead girl.

It was the financial fraud
that got their motor running.

The powers that be always protect
themselves and the FBI is their hired guns.

Fronting for the Trilateral Council,
the World Bank, and the Mansons.

Masons. We're still sitting on a
homicide, Martin is still our top guy,

so how do you propose
we go about finding him?

Follow the money,
what little is left of it.

Little... Nine
million is little?

Nine million in diamonds... that's
an albatross if you can't cash 'em out.

- So canvass
the diamond dealers.
- Hey, I pulled some strings.

I woman whose case I worked is
over at the state insurance company,

and when I told her what this
jerk did to the victim, she unloaded.

We're not the only
ones investigating him.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and
Insurance was all over him like a cheap suit.

Did you get a number?
Better... I got an address.

They were so skeptical about this guy Martin,
they sent up an auditor four months ago.

Yeah.

Martin Global Fund
had a controlling interest

in the Tennessee Valley
Teachers' Retirement Fund.

Their third quarter financials
showed irregularities,

- and I was sent
to perform an audit.
- What'd you find?

It's what they didn't find that
made them send me to New York.

There were some irregular
investments in oil fields,

which might or might not
have been outside the charter.

Which is it? Aggressive,
but not illegal.

I checked into the assets
and they were right on the line.

You see, if they default...

The State of Tennessee
is on the hook. Yes, ma'am.

Any obligation is large
enough that I've been looking

for some legal reason to
have the State take it over.

Frank Martin is missing.

We thought you may have come across
something that may help us find him.

The man's a weasel.

Look, I've been in this city
five months... I know he's dirty.

I still can't find
the smoking gun.

- (cell phone rings)
- Benson.

Any associates you might have come across
in your audits who might be sheltering him?

Everything he does is
just barely legitimate.

If I gave you one address,
I'd have to give you 50.

I'll tell you what, why
don't you give us 50?

You got it.

Look, I've been trying to nail
Martin down for five months.

When you catch him... give
me a few minutes with him.

Ready for this? Go.

That was Munch.
McKuin got a call

from a woman who wanted to
sell a large quantity of diamonds.

If there's anything Martin has going
for him, it's women that do his bidding.

(door buzzes)

Where's McKuin?

(false accent) Who are you?

Sho-Ling Fu.

Now answer my
question... Where's McKuin?

- I sent him on an errand.
- McKuin runs errands?

He does what I tell him...
Most people in the industry do.

What industry?

You've never heard
of John DeMunch?

You're John DeMunch?

Let me put it this way... I can
make a call to Johannesburg

and release so many
diamonds onto the market

that whatever it is you're carrying wouldn't
be worth the price of a pack of gum.

How do I know I can trust you?

I'm a businessman.

I don't think anyone
has ever trusted me.

Your move.

(normal voice) Hell of a job you got,
Sho-Ling. What is it exactly that you do?

I manage Martin Global.

A multi-billion dollar
investment powerhouse.

And to prepare for that,
you did what exactly?

None of your business.

You worked there a year, suddenly
you're a wizard of Wall Street, huh?

I'm a fast study. Yeah.

Sho-Ling, we're not
the financial guys,

we don't really care about
your financial scams...

I can't balance my checkbook... we just
want you to tell us where Frank Martin is.

I told you, I don't
know where he is.

There were diamonds found with
Layla's body. This is starting to look bad.

They were a gift from a
friend. Care to mention a name?

"James Bond"... there's a name.

Cassidy: You're starting to
tread on thin ice, Sho-Ling.

We're gonna start visiting your friends, and
when we find the one that was so generous,

we're gonna pass along
a nice, warm thank you.

- "Lunch, David."
- Give that back.

"Dinner, David.
David, David, David."

David Kelp... that charity,
the New Vision Endowment,

nominal purchasers of $9
million worth of diamonds?

Cassidy: He's not a good
friend of yours, is he, Sho-Ling?

Last chance to talk.

Okay. Your coffee sucks.

Bye, Sho-Ling.

Sho-Ling didn't
have much to say,

but her daybook did
some talking for her.

David Kelp... the charity guy.

The diamond-hedge
charity guy's her boyfriend.

You gonna pick him up?

You mind if I beg off? I got an
appointment with my phrenologist.

Your phrenologist?

Yeah, it's like fung
shui for the head...

It takes seven months to get
in... I don't want to miss this.

- Wouldn't want you
to miss that.
- Me neither.

Thanks, guys.

Martin's employees
are pawns in this con,

and Kelp gives the shady
diamond purchase legitimacy

by helping the poor
and downtrodden.

Who did Layla cross?

Everybody?

Kelp!

Stabler: Kelp, we've
got some questions.

You keep me here any longer,
I'll strap a lawsuit on this city

that'll bring both
of you down with it.

Oh, you're right,
we're stalling.

We're frustrated because
we wanted David Kelp

to be a witness at your trial.

But the bullet through his forehead
kind of put a damper on our plans.

What?

He's dead.

(Sho-Ling sobbing)
He did it. Frank Martin?

Frank Martin never
followed through

on one thing in his
entire life until now.

You're saying Frank
Martin killed David Kelp?

He told me if I ran

or if I went to the cops,
he would kill my boyfriend.

What else did
Frank Martin tell you?

Frank came to me four hours ago

carrying a bag...

Only this clear plastic
bag was full of diamonds.

He told me to cash them out.

Martin trusts you enough to
have you cash out his diamonds?

No, Frank doesn't trust anyone.

He knew David and I were close.

So he threatened David?

Yeah.

He asked for a favor. In the same
breath, he threatened someone's life.

- Classic Martin.
- Sounds like you
know him really well.

When I first met Frank,
I was dancing in a cage

with fluorescent
green paint all over me.

He liked me,

even though my name
was "Angela Torres" then.

It was his idea to
change it to "Sho-Ling."

That's what he gave
me... An exotic ideal.

Tell us where you were
planning to meet up with Frank.

(beeping)

- Stabler: Police!
- Benson: Freeze!

- Tucker?
- Evenin'.

Where's Frank
Martin? I don't know.

Who was sleeping
in your bed? I was.

Who was sleeping in
the other bed? I was.

What's that supposed to
mean? I always get two beds...

Better chance of
getting a decent mattress.

Layla's death is at your
feet unless we get Frank.

It's not a pretty life,
Tucker. It's dark all the time.

And the mattresses suck.

He left about an hour
before you knocked.

Where'd he go? I don't know.

What happened the night
Layla died? I don't know.

You do know.
No... not specifics.

He called me after... by the time I
got there, he already had her strung up.

What did Martin say
when he called you?

He told me to get over to Layla's
apartment. Did he give you directions?

No.

So you'd been there before.

Layla was one of the best...

That's what I was expecting.

Wait... you expected to have
sex with Layla with Frank there?

Frank helped her do things...

Do things right.

That's how he got
me the first time.

When? The same
time as the audit.

Coincidence, right?

Look, he gave me a taste
of life I never had before.

What, a chance to hang
out with the popular kids?

No.

It wasn't that.

It was the look on the face of the
first woman he introduced me to.

She wanted me.

That's a powerful feeling.

And that was enough?

That and the money.

Look, I'm not very
good around women...

I'm awkward, my pits sweat,

chew my lower lip.

The women that Frank
introduced me to were not beautiful,

but, well, they
were beautiful, but...

- What about the money?
- Cash, cars, free time.

I'd go back home
and life was d-u-I-I.

Layla was anything but.

What happened when
you entered her apartment?

When I saw she was dead,

I high-tailed it out of there.

You didn't try to help
Martin cover it up?

No.

Stabler: Why didn't
you leave town?

There was some
money... Hush money.

Benson: The diamonds?

Yeah.

Guess what? We have them.

Where'd Martin go?

He didn't have a penny on him.

He hated being without money. It
reminded him of when he was growing up.

So he's broke, he's a
fugitive... who would he turn to?

Someone he could trust.

Amy... Amy what's-her-name.

He still trusted her.

Amy, the office manager?

That's she.

Amy, who did this to you? Frank.

What happened?
Frank came in all sweet...

Asked if he could borrow money.

I said, "I don't have any, Frank... all
I have are the cards you gave me."

He exploded, said I owed him.

I was terrified.

He hit me and he
tore the place up.

Then he finds some
old, unused airline ticket.

- He got real crazy.
- Crazy, how?

He holds me down,

he calls the airline
desk in some hotel...

Gets me to say I'm an invalid,

I'm sending my friend to change
the ticket. They said, "Okay."

When was that? Not long ago.

Frankie went too far.

He finally went too far.

- (electronic beeps)
- I'm still having trouble
with your card, sir.

You might want to try a cheaper
class. Our Business class is very nice.

Fine, whatever... just
get me on the next plane.

Need a lift? Would you?

Sure.

What time are you supposed
to be at your brother's office?

Whenever... as soon
as we wrap this up.

What line of work
is your brother in?

Stocks, bonds, little
of this, little of that.

I'd be happy to give
him a few pointers.

That's great... I tell you,
it won't take long here.

We just need to verify you're
authorized to use the credit cards.

Which we assume you are,
since it is Martin Global, right?

Was. You know, that
was just an S-corp.

But hell, the ex is still running
up charges on it, and these days,

you never know whose getting into
your private affairs and personal finances.

- You want a sparkling water,
something like that?
- Bubbles give me gas.

Maybe a cappuccino? You
got a cappuccino machine?

No, but we could
order out, right?

We're not beat cops
here, Mr. Martin.

We're more like... what?

- Investigative bean counters.
- (chuckles)

It's like that thing with
what's-her-name? Layla...

That's a little out
of our wheelhouse.

We just came in because there
was a little financial twist there.

Benson: Because of
the diamonds, you know.

Which, by the way, your friend
Tucker has some crazy story about you.

(laughs)

Me, what?

It's nothing, it's ridiculous.

- Southerners though... great storytellers.
- Yeah, Freddie's a born liar.

- Can I make a phone call?
- Sure, let me just get you
an outside line.

That's okay. Look, can I go now?

Soon... we're just waiting for the
computer to pull up your platinum card.

What time did you call him?

- Who?
- Your friend,
"Freddie the liar."

- He said you called him
to come to Layla's house.
- When?

- Stabler: That night.
- What night?

- "Who? When? What?" We should hire this guy.
- (chuckles)

I need to call my lawyer.

They said I wouldn't get
into trouble if I told the truth.

Amy was the go-to gal when the Martin
interplanetary folk were short of mad money.

I'll see to it that you're
given full immunity.

I met Frank at Maxwell's
one happy hour.

Businessmen hung
there until their trains left,

so me and my friends
would go there for free drinks,

try to score a job from
some sloshed executive.

- Was Martin sloshed?
- No, he was always in control.

Little did I know.

He got off on
eroto-asphyxiation.

Strangling girls for kicks.

Did he ever try that with you?

Hell, no.

See, I don't mind a little
"recreational spankies,"

tying up... playful stuff.

So he quickly
lost interest in me.

He liked the thrill of controlling
women who struggled against him.

The sick bastard.

He said that he and
his "homeboy," Tucker

used to tie farmgirls to trees,

then sit in the
woods, just laughing,

getting off on
watching them struggle.

Martin was from Tennessee, too?

Yeah, but they
never got into trouble

because they were
minors at the time.

Besides, as he says, "They
were only colored girls."

The chivalry part comes in where they
let them go rather than leave them there

and let them die of
exposure and humiliation.

And I know this is hard for you,

but this doesn't help us with
the murder of Layla Briggs.

This will.

No, Frank, you called
Tucker. He called me.

No, Frank, you called...
8:22. You called him.

I told you that was about a problem
with the Tennessee regulators.

As soon as I got to the office,

I had my executive assistant
page Mr. Tucker to set up a meeting.

Do you think we're
from "Pea Patch," Frank?

'Cause this...
this isn't a farm,

but you are in some
pretty deep horse manure.

The call that we're talking about
is at 8:22 p.m., Frank, not a.m.

8:22 in the evening,
New York City time.

Like I said, my
assistant will verify...

Frank, stop with the CEO routine,
okay. We're all plain folks here.

Hey, you don't
have to get nasty.

Benson: Nasty?

Nasty is putting
out your cigarette

on your executive
assistant's thigh.

Nasty is cheating little old ladies
from Tennessee out of their life savings

and choking the air out
of Layla Briggs' windpipe,

then leaving her corpse for her
mother to find. That's definitely nasty.

I am not going to participate any
further until I speak with my lawyer.

You called him three hours
ago... He hasn't returned your call.

You think he
checked your credit?

Sho-Ling has turned you in.

Amy has turned you in.

Looks like the rats
have jumped ship, Frank.

- You choked her, didn't you?
- I didn't choke her... Tucker did.

Because of the stolen diamonds?

We didn't even know about
that. It was strictly for kicks.

For kicks? Yeah.

I was doing her,

and Tucker started
squeezing her throat,

just massaging it, really.

She liked it, but then
her eyes said, "Stop."

"Stop"? So why didn't he?

I don't know.

He'll claim it was
for my benefit, right?

But the truth... the truth is, that
was the biggest turn-on for him.

Not the sex part, the
seeing how far you can go.

And he went all the way.

- That's not what we heard.
- What did you hear?

Stuff about you tying
up the ladies down home.

(chuckles) That was nothing.

(chair bangs)

Nothing?!

We were kids...

15, 16.

You and Frankie? Minors.

Besides, that's just
the way it was then...

down there.

So it was just a slight cultural
difference, torturing women?

Torturing? Where
did you get that from?

With pleasure, I mean...
They must have liked being

left out there in the woods...
The solitude, the mosquitoes.

(laughs) (door opens)

It broke the boredom.

The boredom of sitting on a porch, eating
watermelon and having babies, you mean?

You're not a public defender.

No, I'm Detective Jeffries.

I only came in to
see the redneck

under the facade
of the "New South."

Now I'm kind of sorry I did.

Oh... Martin rolled on him.

What'd she mean? Sit down!

What the hell does that mean?

You have been Mirandized. If you'd
like to write a statement, it might...

I emphasize, might... help
in mitigating your sentence,

depending on whether the District
Attorney's office will even entertain

the option of a plea
bargain, which I doubt.

What the hell is he
talking about, son?

It means you and
Frank are gonna hang.

(theme music plays)