The Closer (2005–2012): Season 5, Episode 9 - Identity Theft - full transcript

There she is.

Oh.

Mama, you look so wonderful.

Well, Brenda Leigh, you left so early.

And I was at work so late.
Y'all were asleep by the time I got home.

Oh, my goodness, Charlene,
you have grown.

It's Charlie now, Aunt Brenda.
No one calls me Charlene anymore.

Oh.

So are we going to Disneyland,
like we planned...

...or do you have to stay and testify
at some horrible murder trial?

Uh, no, Mama,
the defendant already confessed...



...and made a deal with the DA
while Fritz and I were on our honeymoon.

Now he just has to admit
to the killing in court.

So it's not a trial, it's an allocution.

So sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Run into all types, at court.

Why don't y'all have a seat?
And I'll be done here, lickety-split.

Ahem, I don't know what Lieutenant Tao
is so worried about.

- You should be off with your family.
- I agree, commander. But, um...

...since Russell Clark lawyered up...

...before y'all had a chance
to interview him properly...

...Lieutenant Tao asked me to be here today
and these things never take long.

- Excuse me.
- All right.

Dad. Dad. I'm back here.



I miss you.

- That's the defendant's son?
- James Clark, yes.

He doesn't look schizophrenic.

Oh, he looks a lot better
than the last time I interviewed him.

But, uh, I think he went back on his meds.

All rise.

Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated.

So I have the pre-plea probation report here.
Both sides ready to proceed?

Andrea Hobbs for the People, Judge.
We're ready.

Jeb Kelly for Russell Clark.
We're ready too, Your Honor.

All right, since you both agreed to waive the
formal reading of the defendant's rights...

...let's just jump in, shall we?

Mr. Kelly, I understand your client...

...is prepared to enter a plea of guilty
to murder in the second degree.

- Yes, Your Honor.
- Will the defendant rise?

Let's review the statement of facts here.

Mr. Clark, it says here that your son...

- James?
- James. Yes, sir.

Your son was receiving some
holistic treatment for schizophrenia...

...from Dr. Keith Milano.
Could you explain?

Yes, James was seeing
a psychiatrist...

...when my mother-in-law discovered
Milano's alternative cure for schizophrenia.

I was absolutely against
my son changing his therapy...

...but James is over 18,
and my mother-in-law offered to pay...

...so James went off of his medication...

...and started in with Milano's
outrageously expensive regimen.

And, uh, he got much, much worse.

So on February 26th of this year,
you appeared at Dr. Milano's office...

...where you confronted him about
your son's deteriorating mental condition.

You attacked him and killed him.
Is that true?

Yes, sir.

The notes also state
that you strangled Dr. Milano. How?

Sir?

I'm asking you how you strangled him.

I grabbed him around the neck
and I choked him to death.

- With your bare hands?
- Yes, Your Honor.

Okay, the defendant
has admitted his guilt.

I accept his plea.
Let's move on to the impact statement.

I understand that, uh, the victim's wife
and parents are here.

Your Honor, excuse me, please.
Permission to approach?

I would like to request
a continuance before sentencing.

- What? Why?
- I agree, Mr. Kelly.

- What? Why?
- Mr. Clark's statement...

...about how the victim was strangled
doesn't comport with physical evidence.

He says he strangled the victim
to death with his bare hands.

The autopsy photo indicates
that Dr. Milano was strangled...

...with an unidentified implement.

I must strenuously object.
We've had a plea deal...

Overruled. People have a right to nitpick.

But let's get it over with.

We'll all meet back here,
4:00 tomorrow afternoon...

...for victim-impact statements
and to pass sentence.

Why wasn't my husband's killer sentenced?
You said that this would be over.

Dr. Milano, I don't know what to say.

Sometimes there are unexpected delays.
Tomorrow, this...

How much longer are you gonna hold
our things? It's been months.

- I can't take this anymore.
- Let me review our evidence.

I'll give you back what we can
tomorrow afternoon.

Okay? I'm very sorry for your loss.
Pardon me.

Okay, this... This isn't my fault.

- Let me tell you what happened.
- That would be great.

I picked up Clark and his son
from the crime scene.

I brought them in for an interview.
Five minutes in...

...the father says, "I did it,"
and lawyered up.

Next thing I know,
the DA accepts his proffer for murder two.

And I have never seen
those photos before in my life.

- Chief, it's my fault, really. I should...
- It's the defendant's fault.

Whether to protect his son
or to get a lighter sentence...

...he definitely didn't tell the truth
in court today.

And I need to know why, so excuse me.

Um, I'm so sorry, y'all.

There's been a problem
with the defendant's confession...

...and I don't have a lot of time
to sort it out.

Y'all are gonna have to go
to the happiest place on earth...

...without me
and, uh, I'll meet up with you later.

You're the only one
who wanted to go to Disneyland.

Oh.

Yeah, we have one near us
and it's really hot outside today.

- We'd rather go to Venice Beach.
- Oh.

It's a poem.

My goodness. That boy.

Argh, he drew pictures of me.

That's bizarre.

Russell Clark lied during his allocution?

Either that or he forgot
how he killed the guy.

Anyone ever talk to the son?

Lieutenant Tao and Gabriel.

But James was off his meds at the time.

Not competent enough to understand
his rights as a suspect.

- Not coherent enough to be a witness.
- I pulled the evidence on the Milano case.

Good. Everybody grab a pile.

Lieutenant Tao, would you please
join me in Interview Two?

Mr. Russell Clark.
Thank you, lieutenant.

I'm Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson.

We never met before,
and, uh, you invoked your right to counsel...

...before my colleagues
got a chance to get to know you.

But since the judge
accepted your guilty plea...

...I thought now might be
a good time for us to chat.

About what?

I saw your son, James, in court today.

How's he feeling these days?

He's fine.
He's hoping to get back to MIT...

...where he had
a full academic scholarship.

And where he was arrested for...

...walking around campus naked, twice.

That was 16 months ago,
he's much better now.

Listen.

My wife died suddenly
just before James went off to college.

And he just broke apart.

And he's fought to pull himself
together, very hard.

He also fought very hard with your daughter
when he came home.

He seems awfully unstable, sir.

You know all about schizophrenics,
then, huh?

You think they're all violent?
You're wrong.

And James doesn't have
multiple personalities either...

...and he's not paranoid.
He's a disorganized schizophrenic.

And when he is on his medication,
he behaves very well.

This is about as far as I got with him
before he lawyered up.

He speaks three languages.

In the, uh, short statement you made after
you arrived here from Dr. Milano's office...

"Dr. Milano"?
Keith Milano was no doctor.

He and his wife are con artists
targeting people with incurable diseases.

But according to your statement...

...you had been talking and writing letters
to Keith Milano for months...

...begging him to stop
your son's treatment...

...and to give your mother-in-law
her money back.

And you said you went to Milano's house
the night before the murder.

"I appealed to his humanity...

...begged him to stop acting like
he could cure my son."

Then Milano asked you to
James' appointment the next day...

...because he finally agreed with you.

And he wanted your help
to convince James to go back on his meds.

That's what you said.

You people caught me with the guy
just after I'd killed him...

...so I had to make up some story
about why I was there.

I mean, what's the surprise?

- Milano's office was ransacked.
- File cabinets turned over.

Chairs upended. Holes punched in walls.

I was angry.
I had to make that clear to Milano...

Are you sure that your non-violent son
didn't do all that?

You two arrived separately.
Maybe you showed...

No, wait, wait. I got there first.
James came afterwards.

Now, you want me to say that my son
committed this murder...

...so that I can avoid going to prison.
And then you can ship him off...

...to some underfunded mental hospital,
where he'll be treated like a freak?

He'll die.

And he doesn't deserve that.
He is innocent.

He's innocent.

If you're guilty, then why can't you tell us
how you really killed him?

Because Keith Milano was not strangled
with anyone's bare hands.

And we haven't found the implement
that was used to choke him to death.

Why do you care so much about that?

Well, besides a passing interest
in the truth, sir...

...if you brought that implement
or weapon with you...

...intending to kill Dr. Milano,
that is premeditated murder...

...and the DA gave you a parole date
that you don't deserve.

And if you didn't kill Dr. Milano...

...and you're covering up for your son,
then I should really be talking to him, sir.

Well, you sound confused.

Tell you what? Why don't you find
this so-called implement?

Especially in the time that you have left
before I'm sentenced tomorrow.

You find it.
I hope it gives you some clarity.

In the meantime, if I'm not mistaken...

...I think I have the right
to go back to my cell. Don't I?

It's not my fault.

It really isn't.

So since you never saw
the crime scene...

...I had the office
Dr. Milano and his wife shared...

...completely reconstructed in here.

Oh.

Excuse me.

Chief, this is, um, a little smaller
than the Milanos' consulting room...

...but everything's about the same scale.

This is a little bigger. The room
looks smaller but we're a little bigger...

Thank you. Thank you, Buzz.

So both of the Milanos
worked out of the same office?

Kept the overhead low.

Keith Milano dealt mostly
with the patients.

His wife mixed the meds.

And we tagged everything
with Russell Clark's fingerprints. See here?

There was nothing from the office
matches the marks on Milano's neck.

Okay. What about money?

Well, ugh, we found, uh, $600
in Dr. Milano's desk drawer...

...and his wife had $2000 cash
in her little black bag here.

Oh. So robbery's out.

The receptionist had the day off.

The other Dr. Milano, the wife,
was out delivering their so-called meds.

For the record, neither Milano is an MD.

Their business license lists them
as holistic dieticians.

Which made it easy to grab their, uh...

Sorry. Grab their files.
Take a look at this, chief.

Five thousand for a month's supply
of their voodoo treatments.

Altogether, the Milanos were pulling in
about 300,000 a month.

Desperate people pay desperate prices.

Russell Clark said that
he arrived before his son.

- Any way to verify that?
- Uh, no witnesses.

No one else showed up at the crime scene
the entire time you were there?

Ah, well, the guy in the office next door
who called in to complain about...

...holes being punched through his wall.

What about the patients
who came to see the Milanos...

...before the Clarks,
and the ones who came after?

The Milanos were supposedly two
of the most successful witch doctors...

...in all of Los Angeles
and there were no other patients...

...the entire rest of the day?

- These are all good questions, chief.
- Well, thank you, detective.

By the time we would have asked them...

...Mr. Clark had lawyered up
and made a deal with the DA.

Now, that's exactly right.

Plus, Clark was telling the truth
about some things.

We have letters here
from him to Dr. Milano...

...going back two months before the murder,
begging him to stop treating his son.

- Does sound like motive, chief.
- But why won't he tell us how he did it?

I want to know what happened
to the other patients...

...the day Milano was killed.

And where his receptionist was, please.

Oh, and I wanna talk
to the suspect's son, James.

We know how to get ahold of him?

I'm working on getting James
in here for you.

The kid freaks out easily. Even on his meds,
he might still be a little confused.

Oh, and he doesn't like confined spaces.
Interviewing him won't be easy.

Talk him into sitting down with me.

And I'll worry about
how to get him to cooperate later.

Chief, this is the original interview
that Lieutenant Tao did with James Clark.

Thank you.

Good job, everyone. Good job.

Thank you, Willie Ray.
The chicken and dumplings look wonderful.

- Charlene, if you would...
- Charlie.

Charlie, if you would please
put that phone down while we eat...

...that would be the ladylike thing to do.
- One second.

So, Charlie, how are you liking
Los Angeles?

I'd tell you, but I'm really not allowed
to have my own opinions.

- Grandma?
- Ugh, she loves it here.

And that reminds me,
your father and I thought...

Well, Clay and I discussed this...

...and we thought it might be, oh, fun...

...if Charlene... Charlie...

...could stay with y'all
for the rest of the summer.

Really?

What on earth made you think that?

My parents hate me now.

Your parents do not hate you, Charlene.

- Charlie.
- They love you very much.

They hate my friends.

They hated the guy I was dating
till he dumped me.

They spy on me.

- What are you doing?
- I asked you to put away the phone...

...and I'm not used to asking
that kind of thing twice.

I'm sure Brenda and Fritz
don't use their cell phones at the table.

She's right about that.

See, during dinnertime, we usually...

Well, try to, uh...

Try to ignore the outside world
for a few minutes.

Usually we do that, but, um,
I really need to set up this interview.

And it'll just take one moment,
I promise. Pardon me.

Hello? Yes. Hello?

Your Aunt Brenda is working.

And she excused herself from the table.

It's okay. I'm used to adults making rules
for me they don't live by themselves.

Thank you so much, sergeant.
All right. Bye, now.

I'm so sorry about that.

Um, Charlie, you remember that boy
who drew pictures of you today in court?

- Yeah.
- Want to see what he's like...

...when he's off his medication?

- Okay, yeah.
- Good.

Uh, why don't you grab your dinner,
and I'll meet you in the bedroom, okay?

Just be a minute.

Pardon me.

Her, here? No.

Ahem, okay. What's really
going on here, exactly?

Charlene has decided she doesn't have to
obey her parents anymore.

- Mm-hm.
- And it's tearing Bobby and Joyce apart.

So Clay and I agreed
to take her for the summer.

Only Clay will not exercise
one ounce of discipline with her.

And her friends keep coming over
to our house...

...and we don't know...

I am not able...

She is uncontrollable right now.

Yeah, well, when you say
"uncontrollable"...

...what do you mean?

No, no, no!

No, no, no!

Wouldn't talk to me.
Wouldn't talk to me.

Wouldn't talk to me.

Who wouldn't talk to you, James?

Dr. Milano?

- Hey, where you going, James?
- To Grandmother's house.

Oh, no. You probably should
sit back down. Sit back down.

- That can't be the same kid.
- It is.

Wow.

What happened to your hand, James?

Looks like you hurt yourself.

Your grandmother dropped you off
at Dr. Milano's office.

You went upstairs into the waiting room.
Was your father there yet?

I don't know. It was dark.

It was dark in the room.
But I saw them, and she was gone.

Over the river and through the woods,
to Grandmother's house we go.

- What do you mean, "it was dark," James?
- It was dark this time in the office.

And there were no questions.
My friends kept telling me to run.

But I couldn't because he shut the door.

And we were all trapped inside.
He wouldn't answer my questions.

And Dad told me to sit back down.

And he wouldn't open the door.

The door is shut. Open the door.
You have to open the door.

My friends want out. They want out.

So your father was in the room
with Dr. Milano when you arrived?

Looking, looking in the dark.

- Why was it dark, James?
- No light, no sun.

Lids over the eyes of the building.
And he's looking.

- What were you looking for?
- He was looking!

He was looking and he won't
open the door while he looks!

Open the door!
You have to open the door!

- Open the door! Open the door!
- Hey!

Calm down!

So did James do it instead of the dad?
Did he strangle the guy?

I don't know,
but whether he did or not...

...he may have told us
that the murder was premeditated.

- When did he say that?
- When he said the office was dark.

No, Bobby, it's no trouble at all.

I just wanted to make sure
that Charlie's being here...

Okay, Charlene, then.

That Charlene's being here
was something that you wanted.

I promised your mother
we'd try it for a week or so.

And I'm trying to get us out of it. No!

Mama should have told you
that she was bringing Charlene out here.

My goodness. I don't understand her.

I mean, you're her parents.
It's like kidnapping, really.

Oh, no, no.
Bobby, don't be embarrassed.

Look, if there's anyone who can figure out
what's going on with Charlene, it'll be me.

Where, where, where are my keys?

I already know
what's going on with Charlie.

Shh...

No. No, no, no.
You tell Joyce not to worry.

This is all gonna work out.

Okay. All right, I love you too.

All right. Bye, now.

Bobby was no help at all.
He's probably lying...

...and knew exactly what Mama
was planning all along.

He can't handle anything that interferes
with his martini schedule.

What did Mama say
was going on Charlene?

- Charlie.
- Charlie. Charlie. Whoever she is.

Well, according to your mother...

...Charlie's parents
think she's been smoking pot.

And she may have had sex
with her ex-boyfriend.

And she's making some
not very good friends.

And you agreed to let her stay here?

Well, if she needs us...

And maybe...

...you know, we could think of it
as something of a dry run.

You know, how we are
with a child around the house.

She's not a child anymore.
She's a teenage girl.

Bobby's just gonna have to
get it through his head...

...that boys are naturally
gonna be attracted to her.

- Oh.
- What?

I already know someone
who's attracted to her.

And if Charlie's gonna hang around here,
she might as well make herself useful.

Charlie, you're up.

How would you like to go to work
with me today?

And watch another interview
with that boy?

- Really?
- Brenda, we're planning a day of culture.

And I don't think your brother Bobby...

...would want Charlene to be spending time
around a murder investigation.

Grandma, I have asked
you a 100 million times...

...to stop calling me Charlene.
It drives me crazy.

Oh, honey, I forget.

Mama, look, if Charlie's gonna be staying
here, then murder is part of the deal.

Brenda, she is not dressed
to go to work with you.

Fine. Why don't we let her decide?

Charlie, which would you rather,
museums with Grandma...

...or schizophrenic murder suspects
with your Aunt Brenda?

- Bye, Grandma.
- Okay.

Well, I've got a terrible deadline, so
we'll meet back up again for dinner, okay?

Love you. Bye.

Yummy biscuit. Yummy. Yummy, yummy.

So we looked up all the patients
on Milano's schedule.

Of the nine people originally set to see him
on the day he was murdered...

...three have died, cancer.
Four are in hospice care.

Their treatments are less successful
than their business.

Then there was the guy who was
supposed to come in after James Clark...

...Bob Geddes, MS.

He said his appointment was canceled
by none other than Milano himself.

- The victim told him not to come?
- Receptionist said the same thing.

Milano called her the night before
and told her to take the day off.

So Milano canceled all the potential
witnesses to his own murder...

...and left himself alone to meet
a schizophrenic boy and his angry father.

Why would he do that?

James Clark
wouldn't get on the elevator.

Sanchez is reading his rights
as they come up.

- He's almost here.
- Thank you.

I've got picture and sound.

Okay, uh, Lieutenant Tao,
please make sure that both doors are open.

Let's see how well James does
with glass.

Excuse me.

- Here we are.
- Yes, we're here.

I can go places by myself now.
I have a bus map.

- And did you find me well-behaved?
- Oh, yeah. You were great.

Chief Johnson, this is James Clark.

- Hello...
- Thank you for inviting me to visit.

- It's very nice of you.
- Oh.

You're welcome.
Um, we almost met in court.

Yes. Yes, I remember your hair
and your voice. It's odd.

Well, thank you. That's...

Thank you.

So, James, um, would you like to sit down
for a few minutes...

...and talk to me in my office...

...about what happened with Dr. Milano?
- Oh.

- Yes, I can do that. Yes.
- Good.

So, James, I hear that
you're fluent in three languages.

One of the voices I hear speaks French.

It's a little schizophrenic humor.

I can make jokes, so people
don't feel self-conscious about me.

My father taught me that. Yes.

- Do you remember my niece, Charlie?
- Um...

Thanks for the pictures you drew of me
yesterday.

Oh, you're very welcome.

People should draw pictures of you
all the time.

Okay, let's come on here into my office.

You can have a seat right here.

And here, have some chocolate.

Is that chair okay for you, James?

It's a very nice chair, yes.

- And I can eat your chocolate?
- You may.

And, um, I think I'll have some too.

So, James, do you remember much
about the day...

...that Dr. Milano was murdered?
- Oh, yes.

Not only do I remember things
that happened...

...I can also remember things
that didn't happen.

But I'm not good with chronology.
That's the order of things.

And sometimes, I dream awake.

But otherwise, I have a great memory.

So, uh, you were dropped off...

...and you went upstairs
to the Milanos' waiting room.

And then what happened?

There was no one else there.

The lady who usually sits behind
the sliding glass window was gone.

Or maybe she was invisible.

And Dr. Milano called me in.

- Dr. Milano called for you?
- Yes.

And I went in the office,
even though I didn't want to.

It was dark, and then all the blinds
were pulled down.

The blinds were usually up?

Yes, but not on that day.

And the lights were off too.

And Dr. Milano sat behind his desk.

And he wouldn't answer any questions.

I moved up next to him
because all my friends were telling me...

- Excuse me, your friends?
- That's what I call them.

When I'm off my medication,
I have friends.

My father says they're not good for me.
My friends will keep me from...

...getting back into college and managing
my mind. Have to get rid of them.

Hallucinations. No hallucinations.

Would it be considered bad behavior
to ask for another chocolate?

Not at all.

James, was your father there
with you and Dr. Milano in the dark?

Well, he was either there already or after.

But he was yelling and mad.

He trapped us
while he searched the office.

- By closing the door?
- Both doors, yes.

And I was afraid and upset. And I...

So you punched the wall?

Yes. I'm sorry.
I would never do that today.

James, you said that your father
was searching for something.

Do you know why?

Because Dr. Milano was dead.

So, Dr. Milano called you
into the office...

...and you sat by him...

...and then he was dead,
and then your father came in...

...and started searching for something?

Yes. Yes.
I'm not supposed to talk about it.

Are you sure it's okay
for us to discuss it?

Yes, it's absolutely okay. I promise you.

Do you know how Dr. Milano died?

I was standing next to the desk
and my father... My...

My father wanted to know...

Come on, James, you can tell me.
What did your father want to know?

My father wanted to know
why I strangled the doctor...

...and how I did it.

Jeez Louise.

How many people are gonna
confess to this murder, anyway?

And what did you say to him,
your father?

That I did it with one of my socks. I took
off a shoe, and I took off one of my socks.

I strangled Dr. Milano with it
and then I put the sock back on.

But my father kept looking for things
and wouldn't let us go.

He told me to stop talking to my friends.

That's when I punched in the wall
and cried a little bit.

Why did you cry, James?

Because my father
used to be so proud of me.

And now if I don't behave...

If I can't...

I must behave very well,
or I will be sent away.

I must make people
comfortable by smiling...

...and I can do that.

But also, I can make mistakes.
I can slip up.

So I must manage my drugs...

...get rid of my friends...

...and try to behave,
or I might be sent away.

But I think I am behaving
very well today. Yes?

Yes. Yes, today you behaved
very well, James.

All right, so...

And now what should we talk about?

But I took off a shoe,
and I took off a sock...

...and I strangled Dr. Milano with it.

Couldn't the kid be found not guilty?

No way. James Clark went off his meds
after attacking his sister...

...knowing he could be dangerous,
against doctor's orders.

That's reckless endangerment
and I'll try his ass for murder.

James' confession isn't supported
by the physical evidence...

...any more than his dad's.

Milano was strangled with something
heavier than a sock...

...and if you had just bothered to ask
about the weapon six months ago...

...we wouldn't be here today.
- I admit I settled fast.

But here we are,
and as far as I'm concerned...

...come 4:00, I'm going through
with the deal with Russell Clark...

...or arraigning his son for murder.
You decide.

Look, the father had motive.
He had opportunity.

Is there no way we can consider,
just for a second...

...that he may have been telling the truth
from the beginning?

You're absolutely right.

Russell Clark was telling the truth
from the beginning.

And if he was...

Uh... Excuse me. Pardon me.

Chief, what do you want us to do here?

Bring in Behavioral Science
and examine this kid? Arrest him for...

No, no, no.
Don't arrest him unless he tries to leave.

Make sure that Lieutenant Tao
stays with him in my office.

Dr. Milano's widow called.

She's on her way down here
to pick up the stuff we took.

Don't give her a thing until I get back.

Get another removal order
to have Russell Clark brought back.

We're gonna have to get
the father and son in the same room.

- Yeah.
- What about me?

Uh, just stay here and play
computer games or something...

...and wave to James every now and then.
You're doing a great job.

Great job of what?

Chief. Chief, where are you going?

- Shopping.
- Shopping?

I'm compelled to show the tape
of James confessing...

...to the defense before sentencing,
and I can't wait.

Is Chief Johnson going to come back and
interview Clark ever? What are we doing?

What you should have done
six months ago.

Chief, James is in your office.

His dad is in Interview Two.

The morgue sent over
these blown-up photos of Milano's neck.

- I guess you asked for them.
- Thank you.

Oh, there you are, finally.

Um, I need Lieutenant Tao in Interview One.
I've got minutes.

We have another problem.

Apparently, you promised Dr. Milano...

...that she could collect her belongings
from the crime scene.

I'm so sorry, Dr. Milano. We haven't
wrapped up your husband's murder yet.

Just tell me this, then. How long are you
legally entitled to hold our things?

Uh, you know what, I have just enough time
to return some of your things right now.

Why don't you come right this way?

And we will, uh, deal with the rest later.

Oh, you brought boxes. Good.
Lieutenant Tao. Okay.

Inside here.

Oh, my God.

Oh, I'm so sorry.
I had forgotten that it's...

We'll hurry this along.

We'll just, uh, do this quickly.

Let's just get some of your things
together here.

Why don't you hand me this?

Here are your, uh, patients' files.
You're gonna need those.

I can't imagine
what you're going through.

This must be horrible, just... Just horrible.

- It is awful.
- What is she doing?

- What is going on?
- Hold on a minute.

Russell Clark destroyed my life,
and he admitted to killing my husband.

So I don't understand
why he's not in prison.

Well, it's mostly because, uh, Mr. Clark
didn't know certain facts about the murder...

...that the killer would.
- Like what?

Like how he strangled your husband,
for one thing.

- Obviously, they fought.
- No one heard anything.

Until James punched through
these really thin walls...

...here, into the next office.
Your husband never called for help.

No, we think that most of the mess
that was created here...

...happened after the murder.

Clark entered the office
you shared with your husband.

He saw his son standing over the body,
so he started to look for the implement...

...James used to choke your husband.
That's why the office is like this.

But the weapon wasn't here.

Where'd it go, then?

Well, I'm guessing that you
must've taken it with you.

Excuse me? Taken it with me? How?

By removing the chain...

...that comes as a strap
on your handbag.

I was able to find one just like it.

And my mama has something like this.
Very versatile.

Can be used as a purse...

...a clutch...

...or, in your case...

...a murder weapon.

But that...

You're not suggesting
that I killed my husband, are you?

- Oh, I think I am.
- But why would I do that?

For the money, I'm sure.

Russell Clark was telling the truth
all along.

He had succeeded
in convincing the doctor...

...to stop his treatment for James.

- So Russell Clark didn't have a motive.
- But you did.

Because not only had your husband
decided to stop treating James...

...he was canceling all your patients,
shutting your entire practice.

Maybe even returning some of
the hundreds of thousands of dollars...

...y'all conned from sick people
on their way to the grave.

- You don't understand.
- Oh, my God.

We'll have more confessions
than we know what to do with.

Just have a quick seat here.

Just...

We have a witness.

James Clark.

James Clark said Dr. Milano
called him into the waiting room...

...but your husband was already dead.

So the only Dr. Milano who could have
called him into the office was you.

And before he came in,
you went out the back door.

No, no. Wait. Wait.

Keith and I were helping people
that had terrible health problems.

And because of Russell Clark,
Keith was going to abandon them.

See, Keith...

...he said that we were charlatans, frauds.

Yes, we argued about him
giving the money back.

And, yes, I tried to stop him,
and our argument, it got physical, and...

...somehow, I don't know
how it happened exactly...

...but the chain on my purse,
it wrapped around his neck...

...and I pulled...

He pulled...

It was... It was an accident.
I swear, it's the truth.

I just find that so hard to believe.

No, that is the truth, though.
I promise you.

No, I don't... I don't think it is.

See, James said that when he
came into the office it was dark...

...when it had always been light before,
with the blinds open.

A point I confirmed
with Mr. Bob Geddes...

...one of your few long-term patients
I was able to contact without a Ouija board.

As you can see,
from the photos of the crime scene...

...the shades are closed,
lights are turned off.

Because you didn't want anyone to see
you strangling your husband to death.

And that's premeditation, ma'am,
which means murder in the first degree.

Lieutenant Tao,
would you please do the honors?

Robin Milano, you're under arrest
for the murder of your husband.

- You have the right to remain silent.
- Oh, my. This confession is no good.

Chief Johnson didn't advise Dr. Milano
of her rights before questioning her.

I didn't hear the chief ask a question.

- Did you, lieutenant?
- Not one. As far as the law is concerned...

...the good doctor here
made a spontaneous confession...

...which should make you very happy.

It's called "strategy."

And the next time you wanna close a case
without asking any questions...

...this is the way to do it.

Do you understand?

Good evening, everyone.

Oh. Willie Ray, what a pleasant surprise.

Oh, it is so good to see you.

Oh, Lieutenant Provenza,
don't you look dashing?

Yeah, he's got a whole new wardrobe.

Check out the picture on his desk.

Oh, my goodness, isn't she beautiful.
Is she your daughter?

Well, no. No, Willie Ray,
actually, uh, she's my girlfriend.

Ah!

Ah! There they are.

What is Charlene doing
with that strange boy?

Just through this door. Back here.

Charlie, let's go.

Right this way, sir.

Thank you.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

So will James go back
to living with his dad now?

Looks like it.

And you're part of the reason why.

Well, thank you, Aunt Brenda.

Lieutenant, you'll handle
the paperwork on our end?

- Happy to, chief.
- Thanks. Oh.

Excuse me.

I'm almost afraid to ask...

...did I hear Charlene
say the words "thank you"?

Oh, Mama,
y'all are overreacting to Charlie.

She's just going through a phase.
Nothing I can't handle.

I so admire your confidence,
Brenda Leigh.

- Do you?
- Yes, I do, honey.

And the terrific thing here is that while
you're teaching Charlie about life and all...

...you're gonna learn a lot from her too.

I just know it. Mm-hm.

You are going to learn things now...

...that you're gonna remember
for the rest of your life.