Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 2, Episode 17 - Folly - full transcript

After several male escorts are assaulted and one murdered the team find a link to a couple who's sexual fantasy may have turned violent.

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.

Lisa, Ira, look a little bit
towards me. Okay?

You know what Lisa, turn
a little bit more towards Ira.

How much longer is this
going to take, Leo?



Just a sec.

I order pink headpieces for the
flower girls, they deliver white.

How could they screw that up?
Try to relax.

They would have looked better
if I'd made them myself.

Okay. Everybody look towards
me and smile. Good.

What the hell?
Help me.

How is he?
Unconscious.

Ten people saw the victim and no one
else come out that door. Any I.D.?

Not yet. Who was here first?
Me.

On foot, post around the
corner when I heard the call.

He say anything?

Something about getting it on
upstairs, before he conked out.

They had one just like it last week,
a couple having sex, she whacks him...

Yeah, we're gonna need
the 61 on that.



Name's Thomas Dowd, 21,
address in Queens.

I.D., credit cards still there,
no cash. Where'd you find it?

Upstairs, the real party
was in his room.

Coat, shirt, shoes, pants, underwear,
bed. Didn't waste any time with small talk.

So, they are going at it.

She grabs the ashtray,
whacks him over the head.

He falls out of the bed.

Probably got hit again,
crawls out for his life.

I'd say Mr. Dowd picked
himself up a pro, got rolled.

Find any fluids?
We were just about to look.

Ready, Charlie?
Yeah.

Show time.

Man, it's everywhere.

Don't people have sex
in bed anymore?

Apparently our victim did.
Check the sheets.

The earth moved.
Then he saw stars.

We canvassed the floor. These
folks may have heard something.

Hi, I'm Detective Benson. This
is my partner, Detective Stabler.

Joe and Amanda Woodward
from Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Our friends warned us
to be careful here.

We came out of the elevator...

on our way to our room, when
we heard someone screaming.

Yeah, it sounded like a woman.
What time?

We went to the matinee and then
had dinner, so it had to be 8:30.

You have any idea where
the screams came from?

We couldn't tell from where
we were. We called security.

Yeah, they came right away,
but it stopped.

They said there was...
It was someone's TV set.

You see anybody coming or going?
No. Nobody. The hallway was empty.

This kind of thing happen
a lot around here?

City's never been safer.
Enjoy the rest of your stay.

Okay. Thank you.

The room was in
Mr. Dowd's name.

Were you here when
Mr. Dowd checked in?

He registered
just before 8:00.

Yes, I would have been here.
Was he alone?

I don't personally
check guests in.

You are welcome to ask
the clerk who registered him.

We'll need to talk to all
the clerks who were on duty...

and get copies
of your security tapes.

We'll also need the names
of your guests.

On that floor?
All the guests.

Who's adjacent to Mr. Dowd?

Both rooms were vacant.

It's the off-season.

What's all this?
Asbestos testing.

It's in every building
constructed before 1970.

I am not staying in here with all those
tiny cancer-causing particles flying around.

Stop worrying.
As an African-American...

you're statistically
far more likely to die...

of diabetes, high blood
pressure or heart disease.

Or a bullet.
All right, where are we?

Checking the guest list
and waiting on the DNA.

Turns out that Thomas Dowd
was victim number two.

Victim number one was
a businessman from St. Louis.

Picked up a woman named Samantha
last week at the Midtown Arms.

They go up to his room,
they have sex...

after which she buries a
telephone receiver into his head.

Cash was stolen, wallet and I.D.
left behind. We talk to this guy?

Yeah. He hung up on me. He said
that his wife was in the next room.

So, we got a pro who likes
to get violent.

Maybe. One thing
stood out on the 61.

Here it is."Victim says assailant
wanted him to get rough with her...

"he got nervous.

"He tried to leave."
That's when she crowned him.

So, she's leaving a trail of
bloody men at high-end hotels.

This case has vice
written all over it.

Rule out a bona fide sex crime, I
will hand the file to them myself.

Great. Thank you.

Let's see what Thomas Dowd
says. He woke up an hour ago.

On his way home, gets mugged
and beaten in the streets.

Ma, please.

Right on 5th avenue.
Nobody's safe.

Mrs. Dowd, we just need a
few minutes alone with Tommy.

I'll go get a cup of tea.
Thank you.

You told your Mom
you were mugged.

You think I want her to know I was
in a hotel room with some woman?

Where did you pick up
your date?

In the bar at the Decameron.

My buddy Frank was...

supposed to meet me there for
a few beers and the Knick game.

Why the Decameron?
Frank suggested it.

Doesn't like the smoke
in the sports bars.

Didn't matter. He never
showed. But you stayed?

I didn't want to miss tip-off.

I am sitting there, she comes
over to me. Real nice-looking.

Name?
Jill.

Jill. And...

how much did Jill want?
It wasn't like that.

We start talking.
We hit it off.

She suggests we go upstairs. So I
go to the front desk and register.

And? Then what?

She says she's a little shy.

I should give her the key, wait
five minutes and follow her up.

I get up there, open the door,
she's waiting in bed for me.

Yeah, we saw your trail of clothes.
You two didn't waste much time.

I get in there
and she grabs me.

Pulls me on top of her and we go
at it like there's no tomorrow.

Next thing I know, some guy in a
tuxedo is standing over me in the lobby.

Can you describe Jill?

Blonde...

buff...

looked like
she was in her thirties.

We will have a computer sketch artist
come on down. Did she say anything to you?

She wanted me
to fight her for it.

Said she liked it rough.
So I went along.

Did she at any time
tell you to stop it?

She told me to slap her
harder, make it hurt.

I said that's not my scene,
but...

she wouldn't take no
for an answer.

Maybe Jill has second thoughts
when guys fight too hard.

She picked both men up at hotel bars.
Let's see if the bartenders remember her.

Yeah, he was here.

Nursed the same drink for an
hour and forgot to leave a tip.

Anyone here with him?
Some blonde.

Didn't hang out long, though.
How long?

Five minutes, tops. He hands
her a room key. She leaves.

He heads out a few minutes later.
That's not a lot of get-to-know-you time.

He ever step away from the bar
before that? If he did, I missed it.

What time did they hook up?

8:30.

End of the first quarter
of the Knicks game.

You must know some of the local
businesswomen who hang out here.

She wasn't one of them.
But I've seen him here before.

Alone?
Always with a different woman.

Good looking young guy
like him, I don't get it.

Get what?

Some of his dates are
old enough to be his mother.

Yeah.

What's up, Doc?
I am not taking any chances.

They haven't done
anything yet.

This is out of control.
Where's my desk?

I'm having the desks moved out
into the hallway.

All right, everybody upstairs.
Grab your case files.

Olivia, what've you got?

Tommy Dowd lied to us.

He already had the hotel room
when he met our Jill.

Bartender says Tommy was hanging
with women who had 20 years on him.

So, either he's got an Oedipus
complex or he's the pro.

You should run him through the
computer before you go back to see him.

One arrest, prostitution.

What really happened
last night?

Cut out the games, Tommy...

and start separating out fact
from fiction for us, okay?

Client offered me $1,000
to sleep with her.

How'd she find you?

I work for an escort service.

It's legitimate.
I needed the money.

What for?
For my mother.

Come on. You're gonna have to
do better than that.

It's the truth.

My father died last year.

I go to City University.

I had to drop out to help Mom run our
dry-cleaning store out in Elmhurst.

Dad liked to play the ponies.

We didn't know how much
until after he was gone.

So he left you in debt?

We lost the store,
almost lost the house.

And you moonlight as a pro.
Escort. Walker.

Rent-a-date
for the over-50 set.

Take them out and make sure
they don't fall asleep.

Lot's of guys do it in college.
They need the money, too?

$600 an hour, minimum
three-and-a-half-hour date...

we take home 40%.

You are almost guaranteed
$1,000 a night.

Any of them get arrested
for prostitution?

Client offers me
an extra $500 cash...

to spend the night,
how do I know she's a cop?

Didn't stop you
from doing it again.

Last night?
Yeah.

Jill offered me
an extra $1,000.

Look, none of this changes
what happened to me.

It does if you forced Jill
to have sex.

I did what she wanted.
I didn't rape her.

I don't know what set her off.

Tommy's one of my most requested
escorts. Witty, charming, down-to-earth.

The ladies love him because
he's not just arm candy.

You ever have complaints about him? He
wouldn't be working here if there were.

Do you employ a lot
of college kids like Tommy?

It's a win-win.

I get the handsome, nice
young men my clients want...

And they get 40%?

My clients are among the wealthiest
and most influential women in New York.

Widows or women whose
husbands travel for business...

who don't want
to be seen out alone.

My escorts accompany them to the
theater, opera, museums, parties.

Good deal
for a college student.

They are exposed to culture and
class while providing companionship.

What about sexual favors?
Do your escorts provide that?

I find out about it, I fire
the escort and drop the client.

Reputation is everything
in my business.

You are not saying Tommy...

We are not implying anything, it's
just part of our investigation.

Here it is. Hotel Decameron,
8:00, wedding escort.

And the client's name?
Jill Lessard. A first-timer.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, thanks.

That was the hotel. No one named
Lessard on the wedding invitation list.

Perp could've got that off the
list of events at the lobby.

Yeah, I am still here.
What about security tapes?

Midtown Arms recycles
after one week.

The camera on the fifth floor
of the Decameron wasn't working.

Yeah. All right.

Jill Lessard was 1,000 miles
away from here two nights ago.

Where?
Kewanee, Illinois.

Hog capital of the world.

Somebody stole
her credit card number...

then used it to book
the escort at Man About Town.

So our perp's racked up one
identity theft and two assaults.

Make that three.

What have we got?

Unidentified male,
looks mid-twenties...

was wearing a condom
when hotel security found him.

The perp picked the whole
wallet this time. Deja vu.

Right down to the victim.
Another pretty boy.

You find anything else?

Tonight's weapon of choice.

Just had to reach over
to the night stand.

She do as much damage to the
victim? He's in dreamland.

EMS rushed him out of here.
They said it's likely he'll die.

I will bet my vacation we've
got another escort.

We ran his prints. Name is Victor
Coe, 26, address on Riverside Drive.

Three arrests
for prostitution.

We showed a sketch of Jill to
the bartender at the Beaumont.

He I.D.'d her
as Coe's companion.

Bartender also saw
the foreplay.

He passes her the key, then waits
five minutes before he follows her up.

Coe still likely to die?

He's been upgraded to critical,
but he can go either way.

The businessman she picked up from St.
Louis wouldn't play into her fantasies.

So, she buys herself some escorts
thinking the customer is always right.

They will do
whatever she wants.

Perp got Dowd from Man About Town.
Bet she got Coe from there, too.

Pay Leslie Desantis
another visit.

We got a pattern here.
Check with NCIC, VICAP.

Maybe Jill played her fantasy
out in some other city...

before she took her act
on the road.

Coe have any family here? A
brother, a high-powered art dealer.

He owns the apartment on
Riverside Drive where Victor lives.

Persuade him to let you
take a look around.

When did you last see Victor?

It's been months.
We were both too busy.

Now he's in some hospital bed on a bubble.
Nice place. What does your brother do?

He's a starving actor.
How's he afford this?

I enable him.

Victor pays a little rent
when he can.

It's hard to do on his income
off those off-off Broadway plays.

Wish I had a brother like you.

These chairs are Alvar Aalto,
1929. I admire your taste.

I didn't buy any of this.

Victor had all hand-me-down
furniture the last time I was here.

Mr. Coe, were you told
how your brother was attacked?

No. Does it matter?
It might.

Victor was arrested several
times for prostitution.

My God.

We think whoever did this
to him was a client.

And there is a way you can help us. How?

Let us take a look around.

There could be something that lets us
know who Victor met up with last night.

Where do you want to start?

I fired Victor three months ago.
Why are you asking about him?

Because he was beaten
the same way Tommy Dowd was...

only Victor may not make it.

I screen my clients.
Apparently Victor didn't.

Your concern is overwhelming.

I treated him well. He thanked me
by taking money out of my pocket.

Is that why you fired him?

Client complained when Victor
offered her his services...

the whole night
for $1,000 dollars.

I boot him,
he steals my clients.

So, I guess you wouldn't be too
sorry if Victor went out of business.

I would delight in it.
But I wouldn't hurt him.

Any of your rivals
out to hurt you?

This is a competitive business,
Detective. Not cutthroat.

The list from Victor Coe's Palm Pilot is
a who's who of the city's finest ladies.

Anybody stand out?

One whose husband's office
number is also tucked inside.

Claudia Baines Marshall.

Wife of Merchants Commerce
Bank chairman, Darien Marshall.

Isn't he up
for some ambassadorship?

If Coe was servicing the most
prominent women in town...

then Mrs. Marshall's number makes
sense, but Mr. Marshall's doesn't.

Unless Coe attached a price to
Mrs. Marshall's indiscretion.

Blackmail.

Coe's bank statement
from the apartment.

Someone wired $75,000 into his
checking account six months ago.

One day later, Coe cuts Dowd
a check for $5,000.

So Dowd could be
in on this, too.

You two, talk to Mrs. Marshall.
You two, go talk to Mr. Marshall.

And I am sure I don't have
to tell you to tread lightly.

These people probably have their own
dresser drawer in the Lincoln bedroom.

Can I have Inez
bring you something?

No, thank you.

Then how can I help you, detectives?
Victor Coe. Do you know him?

And if I told you I didn't?

Mister Coe was found nearly beaten
to death. Your number in his Palm top.

Is Victor okay?
He's hanging on.

Why come to me?

We need to know the extent of
your relationship with Victor.

Is this necessary?

If word gets out...

It doesn't have to
leave the room.

I've spent 30 years
of my life...

reassuring my husband he was
capable of becoming the man he is.

I gave him children,
reared them...

stood by his side through
things you can't imagine.

All I asked in return was his loyalty.
It was the one thing he wouldn't give me.

Is that why you went
to Victor?

When I found out
my husband was...

reassuring himself with 20-somethings
who stroke him like a rabbit's foot...

I decided I was entitled
to my own diversions.

Wouldn't your husband have
been angry if he'd found out?

No.

Darien knows about Victor.

Our marriage has long since disintegrated
from one of love into one of convenience.

He needs me, and I need him.

How did you meet Victor?

Through the escort service...

after they sent several men
who were not up to par.

Tommy Dowd one of them?

Tommy was a child.

A nice young man,
but not terribly adventurous.

Your husband's office number
is also in Victor's computer.

It is?
Any idea why?

You'll have to ask him.

I have no idea how my number
got into his computer.

Did you meet Mr. Coe?

I haven't had the pleasure.

Talk to my wife.

So, you're aware
of their relationship?

It must upset you.

Recessions upset me. The collapse
of the dot-com economy upsets me.

My wife's dalliances do not.

You're not concerned that public
knowledge of your wife's trysts...

could derail
your diplomatic ambitions?

Claudia wants this
ambassadorship as much as I do.

I have always been able to
count on her to be discreet.

Did you pay Victor Coe so you
could count on his discretion?

Excuse me?

Someone transferred $75,000
into his account.

After we get the subpoena...

it will only be a few hours
before we know where it came from.

Mr. Coe made me an offer
I couldn't refuse.

What's your guarantee
he sticks to it?

A notarized
confidentiality agreement.

He reveals anything in our
transaction or the details therein...

he has to return the money.

But if that happens, the damage
to your reputation's already done.

Maybe you wanted
a more permanent agreement.

Gentlemen, if I wanted
Victor Coe dead...

he'd be in his grave by now.

Everything's a transaction to
that guy, including his marriage.

$75,000 is pocket change.
Marshall spends at least that on...

lobbyists greasing the congressional
wheels for his confirmation hearings.

Is there anything
you're not suspicious about?

No. Including
what's in this hot dog.

Tutuola.

I'm on it, Captain.

We got to pick up Tommy Dowd.
What'd he do now?

Paid off a $43,000 dollar debt
six months ago.

Maybe I should become an
escort. Don't quit your day job.

$26,000 dollars
for your mother's mortgage...

and another $17,000
for your two credit cards.

We have the $5,000 check
Victor Coe wrote you.

What are you talking about?

Wow. That whack on the head
must have given you amnesia.

You and Victor blackmailed
Darien Marshall, didn't you?

Blackmail?

You both slept with Marshall's
wife. I never slept with her.

I escorted her twice. She
asked Leslie to replace me.

So you figured you could make a
quick buck at Marshall's expense?

You thought it up, Victor carried
it out. Is that how it went?

That $5,000?

Victor owed it to me for
bailing him out a few times...

when he couldn't take
an assignment.

Fine. Where'd you get
the rest?

My boss loaned it to me.

Leslie Desantis?
Yeah.

With interest?

I perform personal
services for her. Sex?

I was desperate.

My mother was about to lose the house. I
told Leslie and she offered me the money.

Swore I'd pay back every cent.

She didn't tell me I had to
sleep with her until afterwards.

I did for a while, until
Leslie wanted me all the time.

So, what did you do?

We had a huge fight.

I say I am going to quit she says
she's going to call in my loan.

I had to stay.

So, how long ago was this?

The night before she sent
me out with Miss Fantasy.

Tommy dumps Leslie, Victor steals from
her. They both end up in the hospital.

She teaching them a lesson?
Could be.

Both were hit on the back of
the head. Faces weren't touched.

Don't damage
that merchandise, baby.

That still doesn't explain our
businessman from St. Louis.

So, maybe it's not the same
perp. Maybe I can help you.

How? Vice just busted a
pro matching the sketch.

Clubbed her john
with a baseball bat.

Bring her in for a lineup.

Do you recognize
any of these women?

Number three.
From where?

She's a regular. I've seen
her with a couple of guys.

Did you see her with Victor
Coe? Come on, counselor.

Thanks for coming in.

Mr. Dowd, do you recognize
any of these women?

She's not there.

You barely looked.

He said she's not there,
Captain. We heard him.

Are you sure?
Yeah. I'm sure.

Tommy, wait for us outside.

Are we through here?
Here, yes.

But Vice has her
for assault one.

That was a bust.
Which leaves us right back...

where we started.
Maybe not.

Lab just called. Says they
got something to show us.

The semen on the sheets from the Hotel
Decameron came back as two distinct types.

She had sex with two men. Because
it's a hotel, we can't be certain.

But check this out. Look at the
fingerprint pattern on the ashtray.

The perp's a lefty.

All the wounds were on the
left side of the victim's head.

Now, I reach with my left hand for
the ashtray, I am holding it like this.

Pattern of the wounds only fit the edge
of the ashtray next to the heel of my hand.

That's impossible.
Exactly.

It's even more pronounced with the
telephone. The attacker grabbed it with...

the thumb on top of the receiver,
fingers underneath the cradle, like this.

There's no way that she could do
that from her position underneath...

and cause that wound pattern on
the left side of Victor's head.

Meaning somebody else
was in both rooms.

Prints on the phone and
the ashtray are identical.

So she had a partner
in her little game.

Judging from the second
semen stain, yes.

So, he saves his damsel in distress from
her would-be rapist and then they have sex?

While the victim lays
bleeding on the floor.

What kind of fantasy is that?

CSU found prints
in the closets...

of both hotel rooms,
and the prints match up...

with the ashtray
and the phone.

They also found semen
in both of the closets.

The DNA is identical to one of the two
stains found on each of the hotel beds.

Whoever Jack and Jill are,
they're not in the system.

So Jack warms up for the big event as
he watches Jill and the victim get it on.

Everybody has fantasies.
Most of them don't run amok.

You know, guy wants to
sleep with Miss October...

his wife wants
to spend 45 minutes...

with the buff construction worker
she sees outside her office window.

Remember that case we worked last
year? The guy had a baby fetish...

he wore diapers
underneath his clothes.

We go to his place. Second
bedroom is set up as a nursery.

Custom-built crib for four.
That's twisted.

If we're done with our trip down memory
lane, can you tell me what else we have?

We canvassed the bellmen
and the doormen.

Nobody remembers a woman
matching the sketch.

We don't know what
her partner looks like.

Tommy Dowd and Victor Coe
got pretty bloodied.

There's no way the perps
didn't get some on themselves.

But the bathrooms
weren't used.

Meaning they had their own
room to clean up and lay low.

Anything on the guest lists?
Still cross-checking.

I'll call Skoda.

If he can tell us about
this couple's pathology...

maybe we can figure out
who they are.

Ever heard the phrase
'Folie a deux'?

Deux is two.
Folie is madness.

Shared madness. I tell you I see
little green men everywhere...

you love me so much,
you start seeing them, too.

That's what this is?

It's like that, except with the
sexual perversion thrown in...

we'd call it
a shared psychotic disorder.

So, I bring you into my sexual
fantasy, and you make it your own.

She gets him
to enter her delusion.

She pretends to be assaulted, he gets
to play the knight in shining armor.

How does something like this get
started? Probably by accident.

Couple's making love, she fights
him a little bit. It excites her.

He fights her back,
it excites her even more.

Turns out to be the best sex they
ever had. Until the fantasy wears thin.

And then they get somebody
else to play the part.

And the husband gets to be the
hero. Maybe they start with a friend.

Or they pick up a businessman
from St. Louis...

only he doesn't want
to play along.

So, then they turn to male escorts.
And when the fantasy evolves?

It becomes such a part of their sexual
ritual, it's the only way they can get aroused.

Their last victim is in a coma.
So, it progresses to violence.

As they sink deeper into the
delusion, the madness escalates.

They become addicts, they
need a stronger fix more often.

Listen, we are going to have
to cut this short.

What's up?

Maid at the Broadway Hotel found
a body in another room. Same M. O...

except this one's dead.

This is getting old.

Gregory Moore, 21, address in
Peekskill. M.E.'s on the way.

Murder weapon?
Crystal vase.

Hit him so hard,
there's brain matter on it.

Somebody must have heard that.

See the pointy edges?

Perp came down hard enough on the victim
with that, one blow would shut him up.

I guess they wanted to make sure
that they got it right this time.

Lab confirms the DNA and prints
match the other two scenes.

We know what escort service
Moore worked for?

He didn't. Moore had no
record with us, either.

But his parents say he was
a student at City University.

That's where Tommy Dowd went
before he dropped out.

Half the city goes there. I
don't believe in coincidences.

Pick Tommy up.

It's too bad Tommy got
himself involved in all this.

He had a choice. He knew
what he was doing was wrong.

I don't know if he wanted to.

It seems like he was just trying
to help his mom save their house.

There are other ways to
make money than prostitution.

What's he going to do, flip burgers
in a fast food joint for minimum wage?

Come on, Elliot, if peddling your
body is okay, what about selling coke?

It's not the same thing.
What do you mean?

All I am saying is that we
shouldn't be worrying about...

who's jumping into the sack
with who, for how much.

The truth is, no matter how we feel about
it, if it's illegal, it is our business.

Leslie called
yesterday afternoon.

Said she needed me right away.

Last minute booking.

I had to meet with lawyers about
the back taxes we owe on the store.

So I called Greg...

asked him if he wanted
some easy money.

What was the job?

Accompany some woman
to a Broadway premiere.

I don't know how they wound up
at that hotel.

Did Leslie know that you
were finding a substitute?

No.

Leslie doesn't know Greg.

He's a buddy from college.

He'd been bugging me for a
chance to try to be an escort.

Now, Tommy, you were the one

who was supposed to be out
on that job.

You think that's
a coincidence?

Leslie's all about business.

I still owe her $28,000.
Killing me makes no sense.

It does if she thought
that you can hurt her.

Can you?

Leslie says she runs a legitimate
escort service. But she's really a pimp.

How often was sex
part of the package?

Client pays an extra $200 an hour,
she gets whatever she wants...

as long as
the escort's willing.

Victor Coe in on that?

Until he got greedy.

Decided if he was performing the
service, he should keep the money himself.

Did Leslie call Victor Coe
the night he was attacked?

She told me
she couldn't find anyone else.

She hired him back
for the night.

I can't believe
she did this on purpose.

Anything?

Victor's LUDs confirmed the call from
Leslie Desantis the night of the attack.

We checked all three hotels'
registration lists. No matching names.

You think Desantis knows
who these people are?

Maybe she helps them
fulfill their fantasies.

Pimps don't just supply
client lists.

They are supposed to provide
protection and screen out the freaks.

So you think she intentionally
sent her escorts to the slaughter?

She sent Tommy Dowd
to these people twice.

I think she knew what she was doing.
That's not enough to arrest her.

It's enough for a search warrant.
But you serve it and she's tipped off.

You're left with pimping
and...

one uncorroborated statement
from a co-conspirator.

Any suggestions, counselor?
We're open to them.

Maybe Tommy Dowd will agree
to wear a wire.

We have nothing to offer him.

Except the chance
to do the right thing...

especially if he feels he's
responsible for his friend's death.

I'm not wearing a wire.

Leslie killed your friend, Tommy.
She tried to kill you twice.

You have no proof. You argued
with her, you got beaten up.

Your friend Victor stole from
her, and now he's in a coma.

That doesn't mean she knows
who this couple is.

Leslie expected you to be in that
hotel room, not your friend Gregory.

If we don't stop her, she's
going to kill someone else.

Water's almost ready.
I'll get the linguine.

What's wrong with you tonight?
You seem so quiet.

Say something, Tommy.
Greg's dead.

Thank God it wasn't you.

He was supposed to escort a woman to
the theatre. Not to the Broadway Hotel.

Client wants you to
spend the night...

it's part of the job.
You get well paid for it.

Getting bludgeoned
isn't part of the job.

Greg's dead,
Victor's still in a coma.

I am sorry about your friend. As
for Victor, he got what he deserved.

Got her.
What about me?

I never meant for you to get hurt. You
think I wouldn't protect my investment?

Come over here.
I'm not in the mood.

What is this?
It's my walkman.

She found it.
Let's move.

You ungrateful little bastard!

Go! Open it! Go!

Police.

Show me your hands!

SVU, detail, 10-54.
We've got severe burns.

Rush a bus
and notify the burn unit.

You know, murdering a witness
is a death penalty crime.

He dies, so do you.
Screw you.

Hang in there, Tommy.
You hang in there.

How bad is he?

Second degree burns on head,
neck, face, arms and hands.

Why did she do it?
She discovered the wire.

Couldn't get to him fast
enough. What do we tell her?

I'm working on it.

Mrs. Dowd, this is our boss,
Captain Cragen...

and the Assistant
District Attorney, Cabot.

We cannot tell you how sorry
we are about this.

How did it happen?

Your son was helping us in the
investigation into who attacked him.

He volunteered to...
You allowed Tommy to do this?

We felt it was the only way...
You should have found another way.

We have the person
who hurt him.

And she's being charged
with attempted murder.

If my son survives, I am sure he will
be glad to hear that. Who approved this?

I did.

Mrs. Dowd, I am...
Look what you did to him.

What do you want us to do?

I need your fives typed and ready
before the inquisition begins.

I am sorry about your friend.

As for Victor,
he got what he deserved.

They're just words.

Which establish a motive
for the attack on Victor Coe.

You can't prove intent.

Can't I?
No.

Tommy Dowd was beaten.

He would've been murdered if Gregory
Moore hadn't filled in for him.

I had nothing do with that. Ask
your attorney to explain it to you.

You set Dowd up, Moore was killed in
his place. That makes you responsible.

Tommy Dowd with his disfigured face
should be a very compelling witness.

He won't testify against me.

Why do you think
he agreed to wear a wire?

He knew you were trying to kill
him. I didn't try to kill anyone.

It was just business.
Leslie...

These women don't know if
someone loves them or their money.

I provide companionship.

You are nothing
but a high-priced pimp.

And like a pimp, you use violence
to keep your stable in line.

I still haven't heard
the word "Deal."

Man one on Gregory Moore and she
gives me the couple who killed him.

She didn't kill him.
Assault two on Dowd.

No deal on Dowd. It's man one
or nothing. Take it or leave it.

Listen to me. I have no idea
who those people are.

Why should I believe you?

Check my records.

All three times, they called in
a different credit card number.

Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman.
I didn't know it was the same couple.

Leslie's not lying. Second and
third escort reservations...

were also made with
stolen credit card numbers.

We checked the names against the
guest lists in both hotels. No matches.

The perps had to get
the numbers somewhere.

Common denominators?

All of the cards were used within
the last month for purchases from...

different
mail order companies.

That doesn't sound promising.

Except that the companies
operate out of the same warehouse.

Scott Distributing,
Dutchess County.

So, whoever's billing the credit card
companies is stealing the numbers.

Their accountants handle the billing.
A powerhouse firm on 3rd Avenue.

I'll help you any way I can, detectives,
but I'm sure nobody here is responsible.

Who can we talk to about
the Scott account?

Gary Sutton's the senior who runs
it, but I think he left early today.

In the middle of tax season?
Even accountants have a life.

It's his anniversary. I think they
were going to a show and dinner.

Is there any way that
we could reach him?

I doubt his cell phone is on
if he's in the theatre.

Is this Mrs. Sutton?

Darlene.
Olivia, she look familiar?

The couple from the hotel.

From Altoona.
You got it.

Is something wrong?

We are going to need
Mr. Sutton's home address.

Sure. Let me get that for you.

Playbills.

Like the theatre.

Look at this, on the night table.
Didn't even bother to hide them.

Check out the one on top.

Joseph Woodward. Our friend
from Altoona, Pennsylvania.

An accountant, he has rich
clients, pays their bills.

He can order himself
a credit card in their names.

The ones he doesn't
have cards for...

he uses over the phones.
We got to run these numbers.

Have Munch and Fin meet
us there. Find anything?

One of the numbers was used to book
an escort. 7:00, Madison Terrace Hotel.

That's 15 minutes from now.

Excuse me.
Be with you in a second.

Police. Now.

What is it?
She in here tonight?

She was with that guy
over there. Just walked out.

He still here?
Fortunately for him.

Meeting someone?

Who are you?
Police.

What room is she in?
What are you talking about?

Come on.
You are an escort, right?

You just gave this woman
the key to your room?

She told you to
wait five minutes...

and follow her.
You were about to go up?

And if I was? Then this is
the luckiest day of your life.

We need your room number
and your room key.

526.

Is someone there?
What do you want with me?

Police! Show me your hands!
Don't shoot!

Help me, Gary!
Hands behind your back now!

Fantasy's over, Darlene.
Get up.

Let's see the hands. Up now.
You didn't save me, you bastard!

Here, put the robe on.
Let's go.

I get home one night...

I hear noises.

Go into the bedroom.

Some guy's on top of Darlene.

They're struggling.
I thought he was raping her.

What did you do?

Yanked him off.

Roughed him up.
Did you call the police?

Darlene told me
he was a delivery guy.

She invited him in.

She knew I was coming home.

I was her hero.

I saved her.

It turned me on.

We let the guy go.

Were the escorts
your idea or hers?

Hers.

She picked up some guy from out of town,
but he didn't want to play the game.

Darlene figured we'd get what
we want if we paid for it.

You went along with this?

Don't you understand?

I love her.

She's got a problem.

She kept picking up these men.

You could've stopped
playing her game. No.

She needed me to do this.

I didn't mean to kill anybody.

I got drawn into it.

It just happened.

I don't believe this.

Maybe murder two and
two counts of assault one...

will bring him back
to reality.

It's not him
I'm worried about.

She will get a lawyer who will come
up with some designer psych defense.

She's just as guilty as he is.
But he's the killer.

She'll sell him out.

So she walks,
and he does 25 to life.

I wonder what
he's fantasizing about now.

Gary said...

he would kill for me.

It was the most powerful
aphrodisiac I've ever felt.

He saved my life.

Who did he rescue you from?
The men.

In the store, on the subway,
in the street.

They would look at me.

I knew if they had the chance,
they would ravage me.

I told Gary.

It made him...

wild.

An animal.

That...

businessman, he wouldn't play,
but...

the escorts...

they would do anything
that I wanted.

All the time...

I'd be thinking about Gary.

The brave...

strong man...

how he would save me.

Take care of him for me.

Can I go home now?

You're not going home,
Darlene. You're going to jail.

I can't go to jail.

The inmates, the guards...

what would they do to me?

You will protect me.

Won't you?