The Lying Game (2011–2013): Season 1, Episode 18 - Not Guilty as Charged - full transcript

EMMA: A few months ago, I
discovered I had a twin sister.

And then she she asked me
to take her place,

keep the secret, find our real mother

and try to stay alive.

Put yourself in my shoes.

How long could you keep up
the lying game?

You keep surprising me.

JUSTIN: Hey, Laurel.
LAUREL: I'm betraying

my whole family by staying with you.

So we're breaking up?
Yeah.

Yeah, I was there the night
that Derek got killed.



The guy I saw, he's
the District Attorney.

Alec Rybak.

The night Derek died,
you two had a date.

And you were there all evening?
Yeah.

I want to know what's going on
with you and Rebecca.

Nothing is going on.

I want you to stay away from my
family. Stay away from Sutton!

EMMA:
Sutton is with Ethan right now.

No idea where.
But I trust Ethan.

I'm just wondering
if you can trust Sutton.

I love you.
I always have.

FBI! Freeze!

OFFICER: Ethan Whitehorse,
you're under arrest

for the murder of Derek Rogers.



(siren whooping)

(crowd murmuring)

Ethan? Ethan. Hi.

Ethan, we're going to
get you out, I promise.

I love you.

(reporters clamoring,
camera shutters clicking)

♪ Uh, uh-uh ♪

♪ Uh, uh-uh-uh, uh ♪

♪ Watch out for this girl ♪

♪ She's got a gun
for a tongue. ♪

♪ When the time has come
for my soul to take ♪

♪ If I confess my sins ♪

♪ It would be too late, oh ♪

♪ Look away, look away,
look away, oh, God ♪

♪ When the truth ain't said,
but the lie is told ♪

♪ When the water runs red
from this knife I hold... ♪

So do you have an attorney, son?

No. I want to call
Sutton Mercer.

Could I have a minute
with him, please?

Come on, you know
it's against regulation.

Yes, I know that, but he's a minor,

and I'm his guardian.

Two minutes.

Don't worry. We're going to get
you through this, all right?

Thanks, man.
Just be careful,

keep your head down,
and watch that temper.

How's Sutton holding up?

Actually, Ethan, I had her all wrong.

She's been a rock.

ALEC: We're going to ask

for a juvenile waiver, so we can
try the suspect as an adult.

Crimes don't come any more
grown-up than murder.

There's no reason
to put on kid gloves now.

I'll take a couple of questions.
Chris, what do you got?

Will you be handling
this case yourself?

Oh, that's a big no can do.

I don't think it's any secret
that the victim who...

died so senselessly
was a friend of mine.

Because of this relationship,

I'll have to recuse
myself from the trial.

However, my office will continue
to make this a top priority.

We will not rest
until justice is served.

What kind of bail will you ask for?

Bail?

I have a problem with
bail on this one,

seeing as how the suspect's
already run once.

What do they say?

"Fool me twice, shame on me"?

All right, guys.
Thanks for your time.

(reporters clamoring)

Okay, people are staring at me.

It's probably that "A"
you got on your history final.

Or, you know, the fact that

your boyfriend just got
arrested for murder.

It's definitely one of the two.
Ethan...

did not kill anyone.

It was all a misunderstanding.

Hey, I know that.

But good luck convincing Mom and Dad.

They're in "concerned
parent" overdrive.

I'll try to cover for you,
but no promises.

Hey.

I saw you talking with your sister.

Is she doing okay?
I think so. Um...

Thanks for asking.
What about you?

I know it's always
a drag after a breakup.

I'm okay.

Mercer girls are tough.

Well, hey, listen, if you feel like

clearing your head or anything,

we're gonna be working on
a couple new songs later.

Yeah, I don't know if now
is, like, such a great time.

It's just that we just got some really

amazing news today.
So share.

That demo that we sent out...

Well, some people at Coachella
really dug it,

and they want us
to play at the festival.

Wait, we're playing Coachella?

I mean, technically,
we'd be alternates.

At the Oasis Dome, which is,
like, the smallest venue there,

and of course we could
get bumped if, like,

Modest Mouse shows up.
Oh, my God, Baz!

No, that is amazing!
I have an uncle

in Palm Springs who said
that we could stay with him.

He can call your parents...

Damn it. No.
Who am I kidding?

No, they would never let me go.
Especially now.

They're not exactly
in a permissive mood.

But just think about it, okay?

'Cause this a mad cool opportunity.

You deserve it.

So... brace yourself.

I just talked to Thayer.

He's on his way to get Sutton

and bring her back from the ranch.

Oh. Great timing.
Yeah.

I'm not thrilled, either.

Sorry, I don't mean to be petty.

It's just that this separation
has been so hard,

and it's the longest Ethan and I
have been apart since we met.

And then to know that
she was there, with him...

Well, maybe she's changed.

Yes, I realized
how ridiculous that sounded

the second I said it.

Hey, it's her life.

I'm not surprised
that she wants it back.

(birds singing)

(horse whinnies)

Hey, thank you for the coffee.

It really hits the spot.

It was already made.

Well, I appreciate it.

(rooster crows)

It's a beautiful country out here.

Compared to what?

Well, it's just nice, that's all.

I took some pictures
to remember our visit.

Here, take a look.

I watched my son

dragged off in handcuffs.

For murder.

I think I'll remember the visit.

I will just get my stuff, then.

Yeah.

Listen, I don't know what
you've heard or imagined,

but Ethan's innocent.

Let me ask you something.

Does an innocent man run?

Well, he had no choice;
he was going to be framed.

I taught him to stand
and fight his battles.

This time, he ran.

Maybe I don't know my son at all.

Or maybe I'm as naive
as his girlfriend out there.

Girlfriend?

Are you talking about Sutton?

That's... that's not
his girlfriend.

(chuckles)

Well, I'm not as naive as you.

I left the bedding
in the laundry shed.

(sighs heavily) Everything okay?

Better get on the road...
if you want to beat traffic.

SUTTON:
Okay...

Thank you.

Wait.

Tell Ethan to... be strong.

And, when he gets through this,

he's welcome here.

Tell him to come back.

You, too.

Too bad you're a little late.

You just missed a hell of a show.

Target practice? Really?

The chief prefers
we practice on our own time

rather than on the job.

I thought you'd maybe
be doing something

a little bit more important, like...

I don't know, finding your
brother an attorney?

I'm not careful, I could
be looking for one myself.

I told Ethan to skip town;
I gave him money to do it.

Well, you were protecting
your brother.

Or aiding and abetting
a fugitive from justice.

It's one of those, uh...
tomato-tomahto things.

You can't give up on him now.

He needs you.
He has a court-appointed attorney.

I don't know what else
I can do for him.

I have seen those
court-appointed attorneys

in action. They barely

read the case, and half the time,

they just tell their
client to take a plea

just so they can
lessen their workload.

How do you know so much about that?

I...

Look, Mads told me that Alec

assigned his star prosecutor
to this case.

Ethan needs a legal genius

to beat these charges.

Well, legal geniuses
don't work for free.

And I just checked under
my couch cushions, and...

I happen to be a little light.

Unless Ted and Kristin are gonna
pony up for a retainer.

God, this is so unfair.

You got that right.

(sniffs)

(sighs)

Look...

There might be one person I can call.

Hey, can you hand me the lug wrench?

You know I have no idea what that is.

That thing right there.

Here.

So, anyway, Emma freaked

when Mads told her
about what my dad said.

That they've assigned
Ethan's case to this pit bull.

- Emma's working on finding
a better defense attorney. - Mm-hmm.

I mean, they could've just given
him a court-appointed lawyer,

but Emma said that she's
seen these people work

in foster care trials,
and they can be super lame.

Emma said that sometimes,
it depends on who...

And eleven.
What?

Oh, I was just counting
the amount of times

you began a sentence
with "Emma."

You hit double digits.

Why don't you just give her a break?

All she's tried to do is help.

Oh, 'cause that's what she does,
is it?

Just helps everybody?

You seem to have gotten
pretty cozy with her.

The minute Ethan left town.

Sorry. I...

I'm just in a weird mood.

Are you?
Just, up at the ranch,

you're just so far away,

and you reexamine everything
in your life...

I don't know. It's just
kind of hard to go back.

Oh. Really?

So what exactly happened?

Why, did Ethan say anything?

No. I mean, it's not like

we could talk to him,
but... you know.

Yeah. No. I-I shouldn't...

say anything.

Well, no, it's fine, you can.

I mean, if you want to.
Well, it's just...

you know, when you're away
from all the BS, you...

I just saw a side of Ethan

that I don't think
any of us have ever seen.

What is this, casual Fridays

at the Scottsdale PD?
No.

It happens to be my day off,

and I thought that you
might like this look.

It brings out my rugged

yet soulful masculinity, yeah?
(laughs)

I think you look good
in just about anything.

Always bugged the crap out of me.

You don't look so awful yourself.

I, uh...

I really appreciate
you coming down here.

Well, I figured it
must be pretty important

for you to pick up
the phone and call me

for the first time
in what, seven years?

Seven years, five months,

and roughly, a couple of weeks, but...
(laughs)

who's counting, right?

Right. So tell me,

why does Alec Rybak's
protégé-slash-whipping boy

find himself in the need
of an A-list defense attorney?

Alec is actually part
of the problem here.

Alec? I'm stunned.

Oh, gosh, here we go

with the lecture again.
No, I mean, if only someone

would have warned you
to break away from him

when you graduated the academy
with that superhot girlfriend.

I mean, whatever
happened to her, anyway?

She got even hotter.

All right, here's the deal.

I assume that you're familiar
with the Derek Rogers murder?

Yeah, the high school kid;
drug dealer.

Sounds like they caught the killer.

Some classmate, right?

They got the wrong guy.

And Alec is trying to
railroad the thing through.

He's trying to get a quick conviction,

looking tough on crime.

Never mind that an innocent
kid is going down.

Innocent kids go down
all the time, Dan.

System's not perfect.

Wh-Why is this one so important?

This kid's my brother.

Not... Ethan?

Only one I got.

Oh, my God, the last time
I saw him, he was...

he was in Little League.

Well, he's in the big leagues now,

that's for damn sure.

(sighs) Explain to me why I
have to stay here, again.

Oh, come on, it's not that bad.

It's just until we find a good time

to make that switch with Emma.

Mads. Hey.

There's, uh, extra blankets
in the other room.

Well, you two catch up.

Sutton, try to get some rest,

okay?

(door opens)

How's school?

And there's food and soda
in the fridge.

Okay, you're obviously mad at me,

so let's just have it out.

Is this because of the Ryan thing?

If you're asking me,
am I still mad at you

for hitting on him, yeah, still am.

Oh, come on, I was
doing you a favor--

vetting him, he passed,

so... moving on.

Is this because I didn't
tell you I had a twin?

Do you seriously have to ask me that?

I was going to tell you eventually.

I was just waiting
for the right moment.

How about any of those hundreds

of moments when
I was feeling like a fool

for not understanding why my
best friend was shutting me out?

I said I was sorry.
You did?

When? 'Cause
I must have missed it.

And you know what I
feel really bad about?

The times that I got mad at stuff

that you did and I ended up
taking it out on Emma,

who's been nothing but kind
to me since I've known her.

Which has been what,
like, a few weeks?

Well, long enough to know

that Emma's a friend for life,

which might be more
than I can say for you.

(door closes)

KRISTIN: Sutton!

Where have you been?

We've been starting to worry.

I thought you'd be in bed.
As I told them

they should be, since you
were probably at the library.

I was at the jail trying to see Ethan.

Huh.

See, now, that
I wouldn't have guessed.

TED: Well, I can't say
that I'm surprised.

I saw you on TV this morning;
a lot of folks did.

I was just trying to support him.

He's totally alone.

SUTTON: Do you have any idea
what it's like to be dragged

in there in handcuffs in front
of all those news cameras?

Well, having never been
arrested for murder,

no, I can't say that I do.
Ted.

Okay, well, none of my friends think

that Ethan could've murdered someone.

TED: Laurel, honey,
I think it's time

for you to turn in--
this is between Sutton and us.

Okay.

Love you, sis.
Hang in there.

- Thank you. - Good night.
- Good night.

KRISTIN: Okay, I think the one
thing we can all agree on is,

the trial could be all-consuming.
TED: And very public.

Everyone will be watching this.
I think we need

- to come up with some ground
rules that we can all agree... - Yeah,

like not hanging around the city
jail half the night, huh?

Sutton, we're just
trying to protect you.

The police have already brought
you in for questioning.

I think maybe you do need
to distance yourself.

I know you don't like him.

This isn't a question of us
It's not about that...

disapproving of a boyfriend.

He is a murder suspect!
Then isn't he entitled

to a fair trial?
Oh...

People are innocent
until proven guilty.

Sutton, listen to me...

No, I'm sorry, I just,
I need to go to bed.

Oh, what, so now this is my fault?

I was trying to reason with her like an
adult, and you kept... She's not an adult.

That's the point.
...interrupting and lashing out!

You are the one that
is gonna drive her away!

Oh, is that so? Okay.

Is that so? So
I just can't

seem to do anything right
around here, then, huh?

That is not what I am saying.
Well, that's what it feels like.

TED: You know that?

You're second-guessing
me left and right.

I mean, sometimes it feels
like I'm the one on trial!

- So, when you and Thayer
arrived at the body shop... - No.

Sutton. Thayer wasn't there.
Are you sure?

I could've sworn
that I saw Thayer's name.

Okay. So Thayer was with you
when you went to Derek's house.

Thayer, house, Sutton, body shop.
T-H-S-B-S.

I'll just, I'll come up with
a mnemonic or something.

Uh, now, how long have you and
Mr. Rogers been acquainted?

(keys jingling, gate unlocking)

Theresa Lopez.

I don't believe it.

I'll be taking your case now.
(clears throat)

I beg your pardon?

Uh, who do you think that I am, then?

The guy my client
was just about to fire.

(laughs softly)

Well, often they'll wait a few
days before the arraignment

so that the suspect

can get an idea
of what prison would be like.

That's awful.

THERESA (chuckles):
Yeah, but it works.

Especially if the kid
is nervous and scared;

by the time he gets
in front of the judge

he's ready to cop a plea.

That's not Ethan.

Well, good, because
that's not me, either.

Listen, I'm sure you
don't hear this often,

but we should probably wrap this up,

- or your crack legal team here is
gonna miss first period. - All right, look,

I've been over the evidence--
their case is weak.

They don't have a murder weapon,

and it's hard to get
a conviction without one.

Okay, so what should we all be doing?

Well, right now I'm looking at Ethan

as a person of interest,
so we need to think

of other persons of interest.

Who else would've
wanted this kid dead?

(sighs) Not this again.

Mads, you think this is easy for me?

I hate this.
Then don't do it.

Hey, come on, now,
don't keep things from me.

I'm on your side here.

There was this... frat guy.

He went to buy weed
from Derek that night

and... saw someone there.

In silhouette, from a distance,
and it was dark.

THAYER: Apparently it wasn't
that dark. We tracked

the guy down at this frat house party

and asked him about that night.

Once again, the night that
he was out buying drugs.

Yeah, so what if he was, Mads?

He definitely saw who was there.

He was a hundred percent certain.

That's huge!

That's great!

EMMA: I'm not so sure.

The guy he saw was Alec Rybak.

EMMA: It was just, like,

one minute we were all working
on the case together,

and then the second
I mentioned his name,

she just lost all of her
confidence and got scared.

She said that it was too dangerous

and that we should back off.
Okay,

because of Alec?

(laughs) Tell me you're joking.

You know, we shouldn't
even be talking about this.

S-Sutton,
he is... family.

In fact, I think Mom and Dad

even signed some
guardianship agreement

that, like, they get killed in a
car crash, Alec would raise us.

And now, what,
you think he killed Derek?

I mean, that's just kind of insane.

I'm just telling you what she said.

She said, "Let this go.
I know this guy."

Be very, very careful."

LAUREL: Uh-huh.

Oh, looks like I'm not the only one

with some mystery in my life.

No, it's just a joke.

A joke that made you blush.

Stop. You were
talking about Alec.

Are you gonna confront him or what?

No, not directly.

I already tried,
and it didn't really work.

But I may have

a way in.

I went to the frat,
and I talked to that kid

and I heard his story, and
I know that he isn't lying.

But how, how do you know?

I mean, for all we know,
this kid could be

brought up on charges and trying
to lessen his sentence

by making outlandish claims.

I just feel it in my gut.

And the truth is, I...

(sighs): Never mind.

It's... nothing.

Sutton...

I'm not gonna say anything to anyone,

and I want you to feel safe
saying what's on your mind.

There's just something
about Alec that I don't trust.

I get this feeling
when I'm around him,

and I've had it for a while now.

But is it enough?

You come out in the open with this,

you could ruin
his reputation, his career.

You could destroy his life.

And what about Ethan's life?

Does nobody care what happens to him?

You really love this Ethan, huh?

More than anything in the whole world.

I'm gonna help you, Sutton.

Alec-- leave him to me.

I promise it'll work out.

You'll see.

Obviously, you two didn't get the note

that this is a very bad idea.

What, potentially implicating
my father in a murder charge?

Trust me, I know what
a bad idea it is.

Here's my dad's cell phone
records for the last two months.

23 calls to Derek, seven from him.

There's also a written description
from Jesse, the frat guy,

about what my dad was
wearing that night.

It matches.

What, no surveillance videos?

I'm gonna be honest.

If I would've known

that the only way
to get this guy off is

to somehow bring down
the district attorney,

I might have run the
other way from this case.

Maybe Ethan needs
a better lawyer, then.

There isn't one.

But we're dealing with
a powerful guy here,

and if he finds out
that I'm snooping around

his personal life
with-with his own kids?

This could get ugly.

We're not backing down
until Ethan's set free.

Sutton, do you have a sec?

I-I have a
message for you.

Ethan wanted me to
tell you that he's okay,

and that he's counting down
the minutes until he sees you.

God, it's unbearable.

I know exactly how you feel.

I don't think you do.

Trust me.

I used to call him Danny back then.

You're not the first girl to
fall under the Whitehorse spell.

If I could just see him...

for, like, a minute.

Let me see what I can do.

Delicious, hon.
You've really outdone yourself.

It's really good.

I wish Sutton were here.

She loves salmon.

I think she said something
about a... tennis meeting,

that it might run late.

I think I can guess where she is.

KRISTIN: Ted,
please, let's not...

Oh, like it's a secret. Come on.

We all saw her throwing herself
at the kid on the news.

We expect her to show up
for family dinners?

Not when you... lay into her
when she finally does show up.

What am I supposed to I do,
coddle her? Buy her a pony?

I'm sure she'll be home soon.

And you need to stop covering
for her, okay?

It does her no good.

Okay, okay.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to snap.

It's a tough time for everyone.

We haven't even asked you
about your day.

How was, you know, school?

How's the band?
How is that going?

Well, we... got
this amazing opportunity

to play at this huge
music festival in California.

California. Yikes.

It's one of the most prestigious
festivals in the country.

It's, like, three days and nights

of nonstop music
from all over the world.

Yeah, I think I've heard of it.

It's called Parents Worst
Nightmare-apalooza.

Actually,

it's really well-organized,

and Baz's uncle has a place
right there that we could stay.

You're not actually
thinking about this, are you?

You're 16 years old.

It's just a weekend.

KRISTIN:
I think it is a long time

to go unchaperoned.

TED:
Yeah, you're not kidding.

Look, sweetie, you guys are great.

You keep at it,
you will get something great.

Something local.

I'm sure you will.

Yeah.

That's what I thought.

And we're gonna have a verdict

by the end of the month,
and that's good.

(clears throat): It's great
for the district, you know.

People want safe streets.
I know. I read the polls.

This could be a
stepping stone, you know.

Lot of bigger blue-chip

political careers have been launched

with far less fanfare.

Aren't you just a little concerned

that you might have an innocent man?

Ethan Whitehorse is a bad egg.

He's always been a bad egg.

You look up

"bad egg" in the dictionary,

there's a picture of Ethan Whitehorse.

Yeah, but that doesn't
make him a murderer.

WAITER: I'm sorry
to disturb you.

It seems someone has left
a message for you

with our hostess.

Okay, thanks. That's odd.

No one knows I'm here.

What is it?

(sighs)

(laughing)

That's just... silly.

That doesn't upset you?
Nope.

But if it makes you feel better,

I'll go try and find out who left it.
No.

Whoever sent it is probably
long gone by now.

Look, I pissed somebody
off, that's all.

(sighs) Now they're trying to
intimidate me with a scary note.

It's not gonna work.

Who would want to do this to you?

A lot of people.

That's a long list.

I work with the dregs of society.

I lock 'em up and
hope they lose the key.

Doesn't exactly endear
me to a lot of people.

I've got a whole steamer trunk
full of hate mail I...

Look, why don't we just let it go?
(sighs) How do you know

this has nothing to do
with Derek Roger's case?

I'm not sure I follow
your line of questioning.

Well, I'm-I'm just saying.

I mean, that's the case

that you're working on
right now, right? What...?

What if somebody knows something?

What are you trying to say?

Well, I could see how you could
be so quick to accuse Ethan.

Tell you what.

We both had a little bit to drink.

(clears throat) Maybe I should
just get the check.

That way,

neither one us

might say something
we'll regret later.

I'm telling you, it's like
a minefield back there.

Ted and Kristin are so
freaked out by this trial.

Mm-hmm. Sounds like
someone is trying

to keep me from taking my life back.

Hey, if you think you're up for it,

be my guest.

It's just not gonna be easy for you.

They don't know how to deal with it.

The other night, they got
in a huge fight about me.

You. You-You know.

Really?
I'm just saying, if you say the wrong thing,

you might get shipped
off to boarding school.

Ugh! Uniforms. Okay.

Well, I guess you can keep being
me until the trial is over.

I mean, I need

to decompress after the ranch...

Right.

I'm sorry. That was insensitive.

But if it's any consolation, Ethan

was talking about you
the whole time we were there.

Really?

Oh, yeah. We would go on these

really long rides--

you know,
to exercise the horses--

and he just kept going on and on

about how much
you would love it there.

Sounds amazing.

It's just like a whole
other world out there.

It's just so beautiful and

spiritual.

I don't know.
Compared to Phoenix,

it's just so much more real.

You'll get there someday.

(phone ringing)

Well, okay, I have to fly, because...

that was a parental warning call.

Ugh, they need to get a life.

They care about you.

I know, I know.

I have to confess,
I'm a little envious

that you got to spend so much
time with Ethan at the ranch.

Meet his father.

Oh, you would love Ben.

(phone chirps)

Uh, he and Ethan have
a very rough relationship.

Although, I have to say,

I think I may have actually
brought them closer together.

I don't know, Emma.
I think you're rubbing off on me.

Well, I'm glad to hear that.

Good. Now maybe you can help me
repair my friendship with Mads.

I'm sure it'll be fine.

It'll just take some time.

Okay, be safe.
Mm-hmm. Hey!

Don't forget your phone.

(sighs)

Hi.

Sorry I'm late.

Hey. It's okay.

I was starting to think
you were gonna stand me up.

So unlike you, and so like Sutton.

Okay, she's not entirely bad.

Please. You should have
seen her with me,

pretending she had no idea

why I'd be furious with her.
Well, sometimes

she just acts that way.

If it helps, she did say

she feels awful about what
happened with you guys.

Really?
Yes.

In fact, she asked me if I
would help make things right.

Hmm.

I don't know.

Things are just crazy
for everyone right now.

And how are you holding up?

Well, Theresa said she would text me

about getting in to see Ethan,
but I haven't heard from her.

Guess it just didn't work out.

THERESA:
Sutton?

You ready?

Yes. Let's do this.

(baton clanking on bars)

You have five minutes.

(clears throat) Oh.

I don't believe this.

I left a file in my car.

It's in the lot right
across the street,

Yeah, okay.
Make it snappy.

You, stand behind the yellow line.

Romeo,

keep your hands inside.

(exhales)

I missed you.

Is everything okay?

There's something I have to tell you.

When I was on my dad's ranch
with Sutton, something happened.

Mm, it almost happened.
It was stupid.

Okay.

Well, I understand.

I mean, you and

Sutton have a... have a past.

No.

No. It-it was a mistake.

Okay, I regretted it
the second it happened,

and I felt sick about it ever since.

Are you sure that's how you feel?

Emma,

you have to believe me.

Sutton means nothing to me.

Nothing.

I see.

You know, there's something
that I have to tell you.

When I...

When you were away, I was...

scared.

And...

lonely, and...

Thayer was there for me.

And neither of us meant
for it to happen, but

we couldn't...

Thayer and I slept together.

I just think when it seems like
we're not on the same page,

it sends a confusing message.
I understand, I get it.

Knock-knock.

Am I interrupting?

No.
No, no, come sit.

What do you know?

She still lives here.

I guess I lost that bet.

(chuckles) I'm kidding.

Can I make you some breakfast,
like an omelet, egg whites?

No, thank you.

I just want to apologize

for not checking in with you guys.

Well, yeah, we do... We do
need to know where you are,

but we also appreciate that...

That you understand that
that's an expectation.

No, I do.

But the other night,
I overheard you arguing,

and I felt

really bad.

Sutton, it's o... it's okay for
couples to have disagreements.

This was worse than that.

You guys were fighting,
and you never fight.

And I know it was because
of me and this trial, and...

I don't want to do that to you.

Honey, that-that wasn't
your fault.

Your mother's right. Look,

we should be apologizing
to you for the other night.

I mean, we came on way
too strong; I did, especially.

We both did,

and we know how hard this it for you,

and mostly, we just...
we want you to be happy.

That's all we've ever wanted.

We understand
your heart is with Ethan,

and honestly, you were
right, we should have

presumed he was innocent;
he deserves that.

If you want us to be
with you at court,

we will be there.

Wow, thank you.
That means a lot.

But you don't have to go to court.
Okay.

I just... I really,
really love Ethan.

And if we could have a relationship

as strong as yours,

how great would that be?

I can't believe they're okay with it.

I know, they were so cool.

They even offered to go
to Ethan's arraignment with me.

Ew.

I know, but it was nice

that they offered.

That's so weird, though.

They were acting so 1950s
strict the other night.

Who knows?

Maybe they knew I wasn't
gonna back down on this

and thought it wasn't worth the battle.
Hmm.

LAUREL: Baz, wait up.

So, guess who's gonna be joining

the band at Coachella 2012?

Get out.

Oh, I'm totally stoked!

How did the elders
finally come around?

Maybe they knew I was
not gonna back down on this.

Wasn't worth the battle.

Hardball. I like it.

And by the way, if you have any
nervousness about the travel

or, like, accommodations or whatever,

you can relax.

I have no intention
of taking advantage

of your newly-
broken-up status.

No intention of taking
advantage how exactly?

Oh, you know.

Like the old
movie-theater yawn

turns into an arm around you.

Or the "I'm-late-
for-class, see you"

suddenly becomes a little gratuitous

peck on the cheek.

Like so.

Well, I am late for class.

See ya.

REBECCA: Thank you
for the breakfast invitation.

ALEC: Hey, I'm glad we were able

to clear things up
before the arraignment today.

I'm sorry that I
doubted you last night.

It's all right.

It's totally understandable.

It's pretty crazy stuff.

Yeah.

Important thing to learn
is not to panic.

Well, I feel a lot better
about things now.

I'm glad to hear it.

(phone chirps)

What's up?

Nothing.

It's just a shoe sale or
something; I'm on some list.

Shoe sale?

I could use a new pair of wing tips.

Okay, clearly, it's a prank.

It's a setup; it's got to be.

Why would they send it to you?
How should I know?

Why aren't we calling the police?

Do that reverse dial thing
you do, will you?

Do that again.
I've done it like five times.

It's disconnected;
there's no point.

Well, clearly, somebody's playing me.

But who?

It can't be Dan;
he's not smart enough.

Why didn't you tell me that you were

at the scene of the crime that night?

You never asked.

Look, I didn't want
to muddy the investigation.

That's it.

It's muddy now.

Okay.

I was there.

Derek Rogers

had left me five or six
text messages that afternoon,

saying it was
a life-and-death emergency.

He had to see me.

I went down there
to talk to him about it,

he denied ever sending
any text at all.

He started getting all shaky.

He said that Ethan Whitehorse
had attacked him that afternoon.

I grabbed him by the shirt,
and I told him to knock it off.

Keep me out of it.

But that was it.

So, why are you holding the tire iron?

Am I on trial here?

I told you what happened.

He said that Ethan came down there

and had attacked him.

Now, when I got down there,

I saw him with the tire iron
in his hand,

and I took it away from him;
I disarmed him.

When Ethan came back,
he must have picked it up

and used it to bash Derek's head in.

You're so sure

of everything.

But how would they know?
Know what?

About the murder weapon.

We haven't released
that information to the public.

So, how would they know?

We're not calling the police,

Why?

'Cause the arraignment's today.

Baby, we can't risk this.

Your prints are probably
all over that thing.

You know, if-if this...
if this gets out...

Damn it.

I'm sorry,

I-I have to ask you this,

and... and I promise I'll
never bring it up again,

but I... I need you
to be honest with me.

Did you kill Derek Rogers?

Nervous?

Oh, terrified.

What if he gets denied bail

and is thrown in jail indefinitely?

These things have a way
of working themselves out.

Sometimes, you just
have to be patient.

Wait long enough,

and your day will come.

Come on.

JUDGE: Are you certain this is
how you want to proceed,

Mr. District Attorney?

Ms. Lopez?

Will the defendant

please stand?

In the matter of
People v. Whitehorse,

the case is dismissed
for insufficient evidence.

(gallery gasps)

Bailiff,

release the defendant.

Well, Mr. Whitehorse,

looks like you're free to go.

(gavel bangs)

Thank you.

You're welcome.

You did it; I don't know how,
but you did it.

Thank you.

Not so sure

about that, Danny.

I'm not so sure at all.

What did I tell you?

Sometimes an older person knows best.

Can you give me a ride home?

Yeah.

What was that about?

Well, maybe Ethan was overwhelmed

by the moment, and that's
why he was distant.

Sweetie, I'm so sorry.

I'm here if you need me.

(sighs)

Hey, sis.

What are you doing here?

Well...

I heard how weird Ethan was to you

at the courthouse,

and I think I know why.

I was really hoping Ethan and I...

could put this behind us,

but obviously...

(sighing):
Oh, man, this is hard.

Just say it.

I don't know why it happened...

but one night, we lit a fire,

and...

got cozy.

And we were talking,

and one thing led to another, and...

Ethan and I slept together.

I know.

Ouch, right?

I was really hoping that
we could get past this.

I mean, after all,

we're sisters.