Original subtitles

[ theme music playing ]

[ woman ]: I have two kids Still in school.

I'm only coming forward Because I'm scared it's going To happen again.

I know. I think you Have an important Story to tell.

And I'll protect Your identity.

I give you my word.

All right.

Any time.

My part in it was That I had arranged For her to come home.

She was weak, Still alive Of course,

But in a lot of pain, And afraid.

[ coughing ]

Hang on. Hang on.

I was afraid Of this.

[ hacking ]

- [ retching ] - [ woman ]: there Isn't any more.

She can't keep it down Anyway.

Get me a plastic bag.

I can't. I can't. I don't want to do this.

I have to leave.

In my bag.

I know it took a lot Of soul-searching to do this.

I think you've done The right thing.

[ woman on radio ] I think it's a choice, And it was her choice

- to die that way. - we going to see leon?

Yeah, in a while. He's not home yet.

[ radio host ]: Euthanasia, what are Your thoughts?

Line three, You're on the air.

[ caller ]: I saw that t.V. Show.

It made me sick.

You want to talk About mercy killing?

I think we should Bring back capital punishment

For these guys.

I agree With that citizen.

[ caller ]: no, that's it. I just think they should all,

You know-- these doctors Who perform these things--

I don't want to be In a system

Where if I fall asleep For too long,

Somebody's going To pull the plug on me Because they want my dough.

You don't have any dough.

I'm going to change That in a minute. Pull over here.

[ danny ]: what is this?

You guys brought me here To scope a speedy cash?

- I'm not into this. - you got another Source of cash?

Leon!

Come on, one deal, We make more than this place Puts together in a year.

It takes time to put A deal together.

Somebody ought to put you guys Out of your misery.

I'm booking.

- we need three guys. - mañana.

[ siren blurts ]

What?

Hey, dominic.

Gentlemen.

How do you feel About mercy killing?

There's been days I've had a hangover That bad

That I would have Begged one for one,

But I guess I have to say I'm glad they're not Readily available.

- apparently they are. - there was a story On the news last night

About some guy having Helped somebody along.

So what's so special About this one?

The way the reporter Describes it,

This victim, the woman That they were doing such A huge favor for,

- was suffocated With a plastic bag. - that's hard to prove.

Anyway, if that's The way it happened,

That's your jurisdiction, It wouldn't be mine.

- I know, but we need the body. - or a place. Even a time.

You could subpoena The reporter.

She could cough up A name or a place.

Every time Someone suspected A mercy killing,

I'd have to call An inquest.

- I would have no budget Within a week. - nice.

Is that what You're going to tell John q. Public?

"Sorry, the coroner's Short this month, Can't do it.

If you die when Our coffers are full,

Then you've got A chance of getting A full service." like that?

Okay, I'll tell you what, You give me a body,

And I'll order An autopsy. How's that?

In the meantime You know what I'm going to do?

I'm going to focus on These investigations

In the cases Where people Didn't want to die.

You might want to check With pathology.

- something might have Come through there. - yeah.

I've got some Other business.

She was supposed To have been suffocated With a plastic bag.

That's not necessarily Going to show up at autopsy.

If it was believed That a natural disease Caused her death,

There's no reason For it to come to us.

The doctor Would just sign The death certificate.

What if somebody Asked for an autopsy?

If this person was already So weak they couldn't commit Suicide themselves,

It's not going to take Much to suffocate them.

You're talking about A technique that's used

Specifically because It's hard to see.

People who aid suicides Know this.

Anyone who wants to have Instructions can just Surf the internet.

What if there's some misguided Self-appointed angel of mercy

Out there Helping nature along?

Does that Bother you at all?

Depends on What you call nature.

We intervene with technology, Antibiotics, all the time.

[ sunny ]: They used to call pneumonia "The old man's friend--"

The lungs fill up, It's relatively peaceful.

Yeah, but a plastic bag? That's nobody's friend, That's a weapon.

I'll check our database To see if we saw anyone similar Come through here.

- give me a time frame. - as soon as I get one.

- all right. Thanks. - see you.

Bye.

How are you guys doing On this mercy killing?

Leary's on that. I'm still working On the joseph thing.

How's that going?

Surveillance swears He never had any visitors,

And they didn't see him leave. Same thing with the neighbors.

Nobody saw him After 3:00 a.M.

Cause of death?

Pathology says most likely Somebody had him by the hair

And smacked his head Into a wall.

He ran into a hooker And her pimp, maybe.

I got a feeling There's a lot more questions We've got to ask on that one.

Keep me up to speed.

Oh, yeah. Will do.

Be good if you could Close a case sometime soon, leo.

"D," a mr. Withers called About his son who died of aids.

The bulk of his estate Went to his male nurse.

Now dad's concerned That maybe the nurse Helped him along a little bit.

He'd like you to order Another autopsy.

Oh, happy to.

As soon as I figure out a way

To turn ashes back Into flesh and bone.

Mr. Withers had His son cremated, As I recall.

Mm-hmm. Mrs. Commons called. She was wondering

If you could exhume Her husband's body.

She didn't get A good feeling About the care

He was getting At the home.

Oh, bad vibe About a relative-- beautiful.

- so we just dig him up? We'll dig everybody up. - mm-hmm.

Aren't you sensitive And caring today?

A little more sensitive Every time someone runs A story on this.

Hello? Yeah, I know I'm late.

Look, I've got to say Something first.

I resent being threatened With an investigation

Every time I report On a sensitive issue.

If there's been A suspicious death, I'm compelled to investigate.

You're a vet. You knew that going in.

I'll make you a deal.

You show me a list Of your confidential Informants

And I'll show you mine.

I'm not asking For your informant.

I'm asking For the name Of the deceased.

I never asked, They never told.

Were you present At the incident?

No.

So you don't really know If it went down the way You reported it?

Are you suggesting I made the whole thing up Or just fabricated parts of it?

All I'm saying is In my experience,

Informants have an agenda. They want something.

[ sighs ] Okay.

I got a telephone call,

And I agreed To meet the source.

We talked awhile.

She was pretty nervous.

And she needed assurances Before she spoke

That I wouldn't reveal Her identity.

Hang on. Were you recording The interview?

No.

It was just An exploratory meeting.

She was In so much pain On a daily basis,

I thought at the time

I was doing The right thing.

- and now? - I'm coming forward Because I...

Had a change of heart.

[ leary ]: Maybe she was just scared She was going to get caught.

She was using you to set up Her own self-serving spin On the story.

Yeah. Or maybe she was Just compassionate.

Look, I can see You're not sympathetic To the issue.

My issue is homicide.

I need to find The name of the victim,

- and determine whether it Went down as described. - all right.

I'll give you a name.

My lawyer.

Good day.

Hello?

I'd like to leave a message For detective leary, please.

Tell him danny's in town.

Thank you.

Do you have any Other indications That it's a homicide?

- not yet. - well, you know The argument, gentlemen,

If we don't do something, People will be encouraged

To take euthanasia Into their own hands.

They see it on the late news. Grandma's been snoring Too loud,

So let's break out The sandwich wrap And do her in?

I don't think so.

Well, like it or not, people do. So let's go to inquest.

We don't even Have a body.

Is this the case To deal with it?

It's the only one We have.

No, it's the one The media has.

They're setting Our agenda.

I can assign Someone else.

No. I can control The damage.

Maybe you should be there, Then if something comes up During testimony,

- then you can Write it down, okay? - okay.

- hi. - hey.

- just me. - I know.

I'm just going To pick up gabrielle.

- I'm gonna take her out And see dad, okay? - oh, yeah, sure.

Um, I'm sorry, I've been trying To get over there all week.

Yeah. Ma said you called.

Yeah yeah.

You know, it's...

It's hard for me to stop Thinking of him as family.

Well, dad wouldn't like that.

Neither do I.

Well, um, give him my love, And tell him I'll see him soon.

Right.

He'll like that.

Bye.

[ da vinci ]: He's sleeping, honey.

He's not going To be able to hear you.

- maybe. - [ elevator dings ]

- he gave this to you. - yeah.

He used to read it To me too...

Back before Television.

"Midway through My life's journey,

I came to myself Within a dark wood..."

Where are you Going, daddy?

I'm just... I'm going to go Talk to the doctor.

"Midway through My life's journey,

I came to myself Within a dark wood

Where the straight Way was lost."

[ lawyer ]: I talked to ms. Martin's lawyer Again last night.

She's not prepared To give up any names.

She'll face A contempt charge first.

All we need is The name of the deceased.

We don't want To send her to jail.

If we can get a date, And a location Of the hospital--

If it was a hospital death-- We can work backwards From there.

There's a weak link here Somewhere.

Morning.

[ da vinci ]: Now the purpose Of this inquest today

Is to determine Who the deceased was...

When the deceased Came to her death,

Where the deceased came To her death,

How the deceased Came to her death,

And by what means The deceased came to her death.

The examination Of each witness

Will be conducted By coroner's counsel.

Now, ms. Martin described In a news report

The circumstances Surrounding the death

Of an unknown female.

The source of this information Met ms. Martin

At an undisclosed location.

According to her report, The source then described A further meeting

In which the alleged Suicide facilitator

Met the deceased In hospital,

And then became Concerned about her care, And about her comfort.

How are you feeling? How's the pain?

If it was up to me, I'd do it today.

I don't want to cause Any trouble though.

I'd like to die Peacefully...

At home In my apartment.

If you're having Trouble sleeping,

I can prescribe Something.

Yes, I'm having trouble Sleeping.

I'll try and make You comfortable.

[ man ] Norman lord.

I'm an executive producer With channel 12 news.

Do you recall Ms. Martin's story As it ran?

I do, yes.

And did you disguise The identity of the deceased

- or the source? - none of those things Were known to me.

- no. - weren't you concerned

That the story Might be fictional?

Absolutely not.

Hope has done A number of stories

That shielded The sources,

And her integrity Has never been in question.

Yet it was sometime after The story first came to you

That you decided To run it?

Yes.

I believe it was six months Before we ran it.

I thought it was worth Taking the time

To tell the story well.

- ms. Martin, a quick word? - is this a good idea?

You're not afraid I'm going To turn you into a story?

"Coroner pressures Reporter to talk."

I was going to tell you A story, actually.

Oh good. Does it have A happy ending?

You decide. It reminded me Of a situation

I came across A few years back.

A friend of mine, a cop, Much respected, truckload Of integrity,

- not dissimilar to you. - our hero.

- he wanted to do The right thing. - don't they all?

He took the stand.

He defended his informant Because he was convinced By him

- that he was telling Him the truth. - right.

So the cop clams up, Gets charged with contempt,

- spends nine months in jail. What a coincidence. - a year later,

He meets up with the snitch, And the snitch informs him

That he made the whole thing up Because he got burned On some drug deal.

Jeez, what a sad story.

I'm just trying To offer you an easy Way out here.

- an easy way out? - that's right.

Well, that's the whole Question here, isn't it?

What would you do If someone close to you Was suffering

And wanted to die? Would you give them An easy way out?

I don't know what I'd do. I've not been in that Situation.

Well, it takes A lot of courage. That's what I know.

It also takes a lot Of courage to go to jail For your principles.

And to send me there.

[ elevator dings ]

Hello there.

I'm detective leary With vancouver homicide.

How can I help you?

I'm looking into a possible Homicide of an aids patient

- who had lived On this ward here. - I'm sorry.

You're going to have to go Talk to the administrator.

Yeah, he's expecting me.

I just wanted To let you know

If you have any staff members Who know anything about this,

They can talk to me On a confidential basis.

I'll just leave you Some of my cards, All right?

I thought you said You were going to help me.

All I can do Is make you

As comfortable As possible.

What are you saying? I have to do it myself?

How can I be guaranteed That nobody will come in And interfere?

I can't help You there.

You lose your nerve?

Perhaps a friend Can help you.

I don't have a friend.

All I have is you.

I'm going To prescribe something--

- enough to kill me? - --to help you sleep.

Is it enough To kill me?

No. It isn't Enough to kill you.

I'm sorry. It's all I can do.

I have to be careful. I'm under a lot of pressure.

There's an inquest being held About this issue.

Don't just expect me To forgive you, doc.

I mean,

Who the hell else Am I supposed to get to help me?

I can't see, I can't walk. What do you expect me To do?

Mom, I'm just grabbing A few things he needs.

What things?

Well, you know... Slippers and that--

- just walking around things. - walking around?

Is he going somewhere? He's flat on his back.

- he's had a stroke. - oh, ma.

He's going to come home. He's going to need Some things.

What I if somee Steals them?

Who's going to steal This stuff?

- you got the insurance papers? - not that robe.

- he hates that robe. - give it to me, I'll do it.

No, no, no! I've been doing for him For 50 years.

Don't take that away from me.

Sorry, mom.

You having Any luck with that?

Not looking at these. Most of them are cremations.

If we ever do find out Who it was,

The chances of finding A body to examine?

Forget it.

Yeah, well, If we're ever out there, And I get plugged,

- I won't be asking you To finish me off. - ask me.

[ telephone ringing ]

Shannon here.

On the way.

Hey, we got a shooting.

Sounds like a good one.

I've got to wade through this.

Come on, angie.

[ rings ]

Leary. Homicide.

When did you get in?

Yeah, a couple of hours.

Okay.

Yeah, the car was reported Used in a robbery,

Corner of caroll And pender an hour ago.

Manager says They got maybe $1400.

- two guys reported? - yeah, just two.

They fit The description.

The way I see it,

These two Get in the car,

Their buddy, The driver maybe decides He doesn't want to share.

Betrayed by a campadre, The buck-fifty bandit Bites the dust.

You looked these guys Over pretty good

When you got here, Detective?

Because this guy was Alive for a while After he got shot.

He was dead when I got here. Taxi called it in.

Well, we're going to want To talk to him.

You take a good look, son. This is what happens when You start smoking reefer.

Now get your ass Back to school.

Hey danny.

- brother. - how's it going?

You wanted To talk to me?

Yeah, I did.

I've got a problem.

What's going on?

You all right?

What's that?

It's a track.

I can see that.

That's my problem.

Aw, jeez.

I need some help.

I can't seem To do it alone.

I figured I could-- Could I hole up here

And kick?

[ monitor beeping ]

Okay?

[ toilet flushing ]

- you got my Cell number, huh? - yeah.

Give me a call If you need anything?

- all right. - all right.

- you going to be all right? - yeah.

- you sure? - I appreciate this.

24-7, huh?

You can't protect her anymore. I want you to call her To the stand this morning.

- and if she refuses to answer? - charge her with contempt.

Great. So we go Through all this For nothing, jimmy,

- except that she goes to jail. - we send a message.

The message being That you better Shut the hell up

If you have knowledge Of a questionable death, Because you,

Not the perpetrator, Is going to be the one Crucified.

No. If you aid A suicide, it's illegal And you'll be investigated.

Which makes Anybody considering Go further underground.

Is that your intention Of calling this inquest?

Call her. Now.

Whoops.

Can you get my bag For me, please?

Julie?

Julie?

I have to call dr. Brown.

Close your eyes. Julie, no one has to know.

- julie, don't. - I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm not going to tell Anybody, julie.

I'm not asking you To be an accomplice. I...

Julie, please.

My name is hope martin.

I'm a news reporter With channel 12,

And I'd like To make a statement.

Go ahead, Ms. Martin.

As a member of both the media And the public,

I'm given the privilege,

The liberty, And the responsibility

To express what concerns me.

If I am to be constrained By threats of incarceration,

Then what happens To the public voice?

Who will be left to bring issues Into an open forum,

And how can we expect people To make an informed choice

If the media Can no longer expose them To all the facts?

Well, thank you.

But this inquest

Is not about The role of the media In a democracy.

It's solely focused

On the death Of an individual

Whose identity we're Trying to discover.

Ms. Martin, you spoke to A woman who told you this story?

Yes.

Can you tell us Where this event Took place?

I don't know.

I asked. They chose Not to reply.

- did your source say when? - no.

So you don't know What year this happened?

That's right.

Ms. Martin, do you know the name Of the deceased person?

She won't be answering That question.

The question Must be asked

Before we know if She'll not answer it.

Ms. Martin, I think Before we ask the next question,

Which will be do you know The name of the source--

She'll not be answering That question either.

I think that it's The time to advise you

That if you do not Answer that question,

You will Breach the terms Of the coroner's act,

Which makes you A compellable witness,

Which means that if You refuse to answer,

You can be charged With contempt of court,

And that's punishable By a jail term.

Yes, I understand.

I'd like to consult With ms. Martin for A moment, please.

I think that's An excellent idea.

[ telephone ringing ]

Detective leary.

[ woman ]: I don't want the wrong person To go to jail.

Nobody does. What can you tell me?

Can you guarantee me Anonymity?

- how are you involved? - what if I was involved,

But I wasn't aware of The entire situation?

What if I wasn't aware of The need for the plastic bag?

I don't know If I can make that deal or not.

If you can stop The court proceedings Before ms. Martin

Is held in contempt, I'll give you the name Of the deceased.

[ dial tone ]

All right. Thank you.

Are you even aware Of the name of your source?

I know the name Of the source, yes.

And are you prepared To tell us who that is?

No, I cannot Answer that.

Is your refusal To answer

Because of your promise To your source

To protect Their anonymity?

I gave them my word That I would protect Their identity.

Ladies and gentlemen, We're going to take A short adjournment.

Detective leary.

The inquest has been adjourned.

Yeah. We need That statement As soon as possible.

Just make it clear all we need Is the name of the deceased.

I've done All I've said I would.

You're going to have to Come forward now.

My client had agreed With the other party

To cooperate In assisting the deceased.

Now, it was suggested That her being--

Excuse me.

Can we hear this In her own words?

Um...

I'd assisted in making The patient comfortable

The day she returned To her apartment.

I made sure She had a comfortable bed,

Enough liquids, and so on Like that.

When the other party arrived, I said my goodbyes,

And I put on my coat to leave.

Could you stay awhile?

Oh, honey, I really don't think I can.

[ doctor ]: She's got to leave now, adele.

[ woman ]: You have to understand

That I can't know anything About all this.

Then you should go.

Thank you for everything.

- [ coughing ] - hang on, hang on.

We've got a problem here. Get me a plastic bag.

I can't. I can't stay.

In my bag.

I don't know What happened after that.

Can you tell us The name of the deceased?

The deceased only. No other party.

Adele corbett.

Again, thank you.

And I think You did the right thing

By coming Forward with this. I really do.

It's a police investigation now.

Thank you.

- [ man ]: is this necessary? - [ leary ]: I'm afraid so.

I need the name Of adele's physician.

I'm not sure if I have That information.

Look, I've buried My daughter.

She was suffering. This man gave her comfort.

I know this Must be difficult.

Really? You know that, do you?

Do you have Personal experience?

The circumstances surrounding Adele's death aren't clear.

- what do you mean? - we have information she May have been suffocated.

Were you aware of that?

My daughter tried To spare me my pain.

If I give you This doctor's name, What will happen to him?

I can question him, Clarify the facts.

- if he doesn't cooperate? - we may have to exhume The body.

No. I refuse To let that happen.

If I can't get the doctor, I may have no choice But to go that route.

Let me talk to The doctor.

The death certificate Is signed by dr. Brown.

- is that adele's Regular physician? - yes.

Did he call you To tell you of Her passing?

He asked me to go Over to the apartment.

He'd gone in to check On her and found her dead.

Thank you.

- [ patricia ]: When was she buried? - 11 months ago.

We might be able to find Whatever drugs she was given,

And establish that--

Traces at any rate-- But whether it was a lethal dose

Or just within the parameters Of pain management

Could be problematic.

- this is the last resort. - absolutely.

I'm looking For the doctor.

He's got patients On the ward where Adele resided.

I requested a list. I also asked The staff members

To get him a message To call me.

I tried his beeper, I tried his home, He hasn't called me back.

Hey, what about Suffocation?

It's going to depend upon The state of the body,

But it's very unlikely.

And if she's buried At the wet end of the cemetery,

- you're not going to Establish a damn thing. - right. Thanks.

[ rings ]

Detective leary. Homicide.

Yes?

Do you happen To have the number?

Perfect.

37.

Do you have any more information On the patient?

All right.

Thank you. You've been very helpful.

Bye-bye.

[ dialing ]

Yeah, this is detective leary

With the vancouver Homicide squad.

I'm looking for A wheelchair cabbie

Who had a pickup this afternoon At the vancouver district Hospital.

[ angie ]: No I.D. On this guy.

This one was joey pulio.

He had 13 cents And a library card for I.D.

His prints were on file.

They match prints Recovered from the back seat, The front seat, and the trunk.

He's out of montreal.

Bank robbery, heroin possession With intent to distribute.

And we've got Two other sets of prints From the car.

One of them's Probably that guy. The other set--

Maybe the shooter, Who was driving, most likely.

Looks that way. We have powder burns On the temple here,

Straight reach ahead, Then swings around to get The guy in the throat,

As he comes forward Maybe to grab the gun.

[ sighs ] We're still looking For that third man.

Okay.

Hey, danny! Comment ca va?

[ door opens, shuts ]

[ knocks ]

I really appreciate you Doing this, doc.

God bless you.

I'm afraid dr. Brown's Not able to make it.

He's not coming?

I don't think so.

I'm a detective With the vancouver Homicide squad.

I'm going to call an ambulance.

- we should get you Back to the hospital. - [ sighs ]

I'm sorry.

Dr. Brown, I need to clear up A few discrepancies

We have with the information On this case.

We have a statement That puts you

In adele corbett's apartment At the time of her death.

I was there.

Did you administer Any substances?

No.

Did you in any way Aid in her death?

I was there to comfort her.

We have a witness who says You asked her for a plastic bag.

What was that going To be used for?

I was alone with her At the time of her death.

As I wrote On her death certificate, She died of natural causes,

A result of complications Due to the advanced state Of her disease.

She'd been dying For a long time.

Why don't you Recall the events for me?

We'd had many hours Of discussion.

It was her wish to die at home, And we mutually agreed To arrange that.

I'm thirsty.

- I'll get you A glass of water, dear. - no. You can go now.

I'll get it.

Good night, adele.

[ dr. Brown ]: I left the room momentarily, And while I was out,

She may have taken some pills, But I didn't see it.

Will you read to me? I've chosen a passage.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child.

I understood as a child,

I thought as a child,

But when I became a man,

I put away Childish things.

For now we see Through a glass,

Darkly, but then, Face to face.

Now I know in part, But then shall I know

Even as also I am known.

And now abideth Faith, hope, charity,

These three, but the greatest Of these is charity."

When I stopped reading, I realized that she was No longer breathing.

You told adele's father She was dead when You arrived.

We have a witness Who contradicts that.

In fact, you just Contradicted it.

Are you confused?

No. I'm not confused.

I know exactly What happened.

My client Has cooperated.

You've got the number Of my office.

The only way we're going To find out

The straight story Of what happened is to Exhume the body.

Yeah, fine. We'll dig 'em all up-- Every patient the doc had

That you think suffered one Minute less than The law allows.

Don't you think She suffered when he Suffocated her?

Dominic, he's a doctor. He's supposed to give comfort.

What he did...

It's murder.

If we find anything To charge him with,

It would be administering A noxious substance.

It puts him out of business.

Sure, mick. Congratulations.

You stopped your man.