All language subtitles for Law & Order s12e03 For Love or Money.eg

NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system

the people are represented
by two separate yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

This is definitely
the right quadrant. I think.

No, wait.

I thought you said
your dad's car was black.

That was black.

That was green.

Hey, is yours
kicking in yet?

Oh, everything's
very bright right now.

Very...crisp.

Dude, this one is blue.

No, it's not.

Yeah, it is.
Very, very dark blue.

Whoa!

Talk about
a total buzzkill.

BRISCOE: How long's
he been here?

M.E. says based on
lividity and body temp, three or four hours.

Caught one in the head
and one in the chest.

I guess the head shot
was the finishing touch.

What's in the wallet?

Money's still here.

Hello. This guy's got
a driver's license for every day of the week.

"K.C. Sahl,
Gordon Sanders, Daryl Jefferson."

Matching credit cards.

What do you know, a pro.

Well, with any luck
we'll get a quick hit off the prints

and find out which
alias is his real name.

I want you to get
a hold of the manager.

We want the records
of every monthly, yearly, the works.

And then run down
the registrations

of any car that's
not accounted for.

That's disturbing.

I don't know.
We've seen worse.

No, that. $378
plus tax a month?

Like I always say,
parking in this city'll kill you.

BRISCOE:
His real name's Ronald Buck.

He did a deuce
at Sing Sing.

Got paroled
six months ago.

What's his sheet like?

Couple of
drug possessions,

burglary, assault,
tampering.

His last stint
was for breaking into an ATM on Halloween.

Disguised as an
upstanding citizen, no doubt.

Anyone on duty
at the parking lot?

It's self-serve
after 8:00. No witnesses.

And none of the cars
on the lot were his.

So, we know what
he was doing there?

Might've been trying
to boost a ride and got caught.

All right, talk to
his parole officer.

Let's find out what
Mr. Buck's been up to since he got out.

Well, to be honest with you,
Buck only showed up once since his release.

I don't exactly know
where he is right now.

He's an absconder?

We didn't see
anything about a warrant in his file.

I didn't write him up.

Well, maybe
we should write you up.

(SIGHING)

Look, he told me
he was going to stay at his sister's

till he got on his feet.

Well, did you get her
name and address,

or was that too much
trouble for you?

Angela McDowell.
Lives in Queens.

Ronnie moved out
three months ago.

Any idea where?

(CRYING)

I haven't heard from
him since he left.

Ange, what's going on?

(CRYING)
Ronnie's dead.

Figures.

Don't be like that.

Uh, this is
my husband, Tom.

You guys cops?
Homicide detectives.

Homicide, huh?
So what happened?

Your brother-in-law
was found shot

in a parking lot off
the West Side Highway.

So, what did he do,
mouth off to the wrong guy?

Did he have a habit
of doing that?

Ronnie had an
attitude problem.

Just 'cause you never
got along with him.

Nobody got along
with your brother.

We just need to know
the last time either of you saw him.

That'd be when I kicked him
the hell out of my house,

after I got him the job.

The job? Where?

Workers' Warehouse
in the city, over on Lafayette.

Where's my brother now?

ED: City morgue.

Is there, like, a number
or something?

I want to claim
his body.

I gotta pay for
the funeral, too.

Ronnie only showed up
for work two days,

and they weren't
consecutive.

Did he quit or
did you fire him?

(LAUGHS) I wouldn't
have fired that guy.

Why is that?

First day on the job,

this, uh, big dude
comes around asking for Ronnie, right?

Two of them have words,
somebody throws a punch it gets ugly fast.

Anybody get hurt?

The big guy.

You know what
the fight was about?

I gathered Ronnie
owed this guy's boss.

He say what for?

They didn't get
into details before they started dancing.

Maybe Ronnie fell behind
on his vig to some shylock.

You wouldn't happen
to get this big guy's name, did you?

Nah. But I heard
him tell Ronnie

he ain't welcome at
Donohue's no more.

Donohue's on
10th Avenue?

Not loan sharks,
bookies.

Some big-time
bookmaking up in here. You can smell it.

All I smell is beer
and its by-products.

Excuse me.

Get you something?

Yeah, man, I'm looking
for some action.

This guy told me
you could hook me up.

I don't place the face.

Rack your memory.

Ronnie Buck. So?

You tell me.

He likes to place
the odd bet.

Hoops and ponies.
Strictly recreational.

Hey, that goes
without saying.

Who runs his book?

You know I can't
tell you that. Hey, you don't have to.

I'll just go
get a warrant and a squad.

We'll come back here
and we'll turn this place upside down.

Who know
what we'll find.

Here's the guy
you're looking for.

I don't know nothing
about Ronnie.

I ain't seen him lately.

He probably took his
business elsewhere.

FREDDY: I never heard
of Ronnie Buck.

Workers' Warehouse
ring a bell? Never heard of it.

Witness says that
you were there

to pick up some money
that Ronnie owed you, and a fight broke out.

We heard he
cleaned your clock.

Never happened.

Just like the gun
we found in your jacket.

That never happened
either, right?

(SIGHING)
In my jacket?

It's The Sopranos.
Makes 'em think they can get away with anything.

You're looking
at a nickel on the gun, Freddy,

so why don't you
do yourself some good here?

Help yourself out.

My beef with Ronnie,

water under the bridge, okay?

Guy settled up.
Paid eight grand cash on the barrelhead.

Ask anybody.

BRISCOE: I don't suppose
you got a receipt.

I didn't whack
the guy, all right. He was a steady customer.

We just had
to keep him in line from time to time.

ED: You got an alibi
for last night?

Yeah. Pen?lope Cruz.

Pen?lope Cruz?

Yeah, I was home sleeping.
She was in my dreams.

(SIGHING)
Hold that thought.

Ballistics just
came back.

The gun that killed Buck
was a .22 Smith & Wesson.

Well, that clears
the weapon we found on Freddy here.

Well, I'm sure he has
plenty of others.

What's his alibi?

Home sleeping.

You find anything
else on him?

Just some cash,
betting slips,

and a couple
of OTB stubs.

We still like him or not?

Well, he claims
that Ronnie and he were square.

But Ronnie did
beat him up pretty good, in public.

Well, hold him on
the gun charge.

And check with OCCB.

See what else
they can give us on our friend Freddy.

Freddy Gallo.
Runs book in Hell's Kitchen for Johnny Robisi.

I thought the Robisis
were Jersey-based.

Been encroaching
on Manhattan

ever since Frank Polito
went to jail.

Frankie Threads?
Isn't he doing 30 years?

Yeah. But that doesn't
keep him from resenting Robisi's bad manners.

About six months ago

Polito put out the word
to start downsizing Robisi's client?le.

Literally killing off
the competition.

Great business plan.

It's working.

Four hits this year already.

Robisi's feeling the heat.

Word's getting around.
His customers are going elsewhere.

I would.

So, if Ronnie was
a Robisi customer...

Maybe Polito had
his ticket punched.

POLITO: Come on,
there's no way I'm good for this.

We know about
your turf war with the Robisis.

About the hits
on their client?le.

Maybe Ronnie Buck
was next on the list.

Ronnie Buck
was a bug not worth my time.

And besides,
the Feds monitor all my calls,

read my e-mail and
videotape my visitors.

You're breaking
our heart, Frankie.

The family's under new
management, all right.

I ain't calling
the shots no more.

Thirty-year stretch,
I can't blame 'em.

Let me run this
by you though.

My grandson just
started eighth grade.

He's having a tough
time, you know.

Puberty,
it's a delicate age.

These FBI humps
following him and his mother around,

taking pictures.

So he's got my last name,
he's gotta suffer?

ED: What's your point?

I help you out
on this thing, you talk to the FBI.

Get 'em to back off.

I thought you
didn't know who was behind this.

I know my share
of contract men in the city,

how they work and
what they leave behind.

Maybe I catch something
you missed.

Mmm. Used to take
that stench for granted, you know.

The deal was for
10 minutes, Frank.

Save the nostalgia.

We found him over here.

The shooter put
one in his chest...

This is where
it went down?

Yeah.
What's the problem?

Where's the escape route?

What're you gonna do,
jump in the river?

You've done this
before, huh?

What else?

Not for nothing,
but if it was me,

first thing I'd look for
is a more contained area.

There.
That's your kill zone.

See, this way
they gotta come at you to get away.

At that point,
it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

Neatness counts, huh?

Also, if your bullet
goes through his head,

it's gonna hit a wall,
flatten out like a pancake.

Hard to ID.

So, your professional
opinion is what?

I can't help you out
with a name, fellas.

Nobody I know
would ever crack an egg here.

Take a Federal prisoner
out for a picnic again,

and the two of you
will be doing desk duty until you retire.

Hey, the D.A.'s get expert
witnesses all the time.

Then go to law school.

In any event,

Buck's murder
doesn't look like family business.

Well, if it's
not mob-related, what else can it be?

ED: Well, everything
we know about this dude

indicates he was a tough guy.

It's most likely
not mugging.

There's no sign
of a struggle.

The shots were up
close and personal.

He probably
knew his assailant

and was trying to talk
his way out of a situation.

VAN BUREN: What kind of
a home life does he have?

Not much.
His mother's deceased.

His father's MIA
since before he was born.

It's just the sister
and the brother-in-law.

Gotta start somewhere.

We barely saw each other
the last few years.

Every time
I turned around

he was back in jail
for something.

Did you ever visit
him in prison?

Not too often.
I couldn't stand to see him like that.

Yeah, prison's depressing,
no doubt about it.

What about friends,
acquaintances?

Ronnie was
kind of a loner.

What about prison buddies?
He ever mention any names?

Not really.

Unless you count
the guy who stabbed him.

PRISON GUARD:
If he was stabbed, it should be in there.

Here it is. Estavo Cruz.
He still here?

Cruz? Yeah. He'll be here
till the next millennium.

He could have
friends on the outside.

Maybe Cruz reached out
to finish what he started with Ronnie.

What was the
fight about?

Contraband.
Doesn't say what.

If it was drugs,
it'd be in the report.

Most likely it was
cigarettes or food.

Something else
Buck wouldn't share.

Care package
from home.

Yeah, or maybe
a visitor slipped him a few extra smokes.

Well, from what we hear,
he wasn't likely to have too many visitors.

Well, that's easy
enough to find out.

By number.
Ending 2-8-0.

Hmm.

Nothing for months.

Must've been
something he said, huh?

Wait, here we go.

Sudden burst of popularity,
first week of March.

Hey! We need
to talk to you.

What about?

What's this?
Sign-in sheet from Sing Sing.

You met with your
brother-in-law

three times a month
before he was released.

So?

"So?" You gave us
the definite impression that you hated his guts.

Angie know about this?
Any reason she shouldn't?

Ronnie owed me money.
He was always mooching.

I even paid for his lawyer
last time he got tapped.

I just went up there
to talk to him about it.

How was he gonna pay
you back from prison?

Before he went away,
Ronnie'd been ripping off stores for awhile.

He had the stuff
stashed, you know,

for when he got out.

I only took
what I was owed.

Where's the rest of it?

(SHUTTER OPENING)

Looks like there's
some new stuff here.

Where'd he
get all this?

After he quit
the warehouse,

Ronnie and a buddy of his
worked at this carpet cleaning business.

They'd take the job,
and Ronnie and his friend would case the location.

Then they'd come back
a week later and rip 'em off.

What's the name
of the company?

Victory Carpet Cleaners.

They're in the Bronx.

I'm gonna call a car,
have 'em bring this in.

Look, I only took enough
to cover what I was owed.

I hadn't heard from Ronnie
in almost a month when you guys showed up.

And the guy Ronnie
pulled this scam with, what was his name?

Paul something.
They were cellmates at Sing Sing.

I had nothing to do
with Ronnie getting killed.

No? How's the carpet
cleaning business, Paul?

Yeah, we hear you're
quite the entrepreneur.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

We know you and Ronnie
did time together

and shared a place
when you got out.

We also know you and
Ronnie worked for that carpet cleaning company.

Only you were cleaning out
a lot more than carpets.

Oh, yeah?
Says who?

Says your signature
on the storage space agreement.

And that puts you
in possession of stolen property, genius.

ED: You're going
back upstate, Paul,

unless you start talking
about what really happened to Ronnie.

What went down?
He get a little greedy? Is that it?

PAUL: I had nothing to do
with Ronnie getting killed.

The night Ronnie
got clipped, I was in the hospital.

St. Vincent's.

I spend one night
a week there. Dialysis.

The dialysis defense.
That's a new one.

I'll check with
St. Vincent's.

We just got a hit
on some of your stolen merchandise

from the storage locker.

Serial numbers trace
back to an unsolved murder-robbery

at an electronics store,
July 5th. Alan Cobin.

This story just keeps
getting better, don't it?

Well, hold him on
the stolen property.

In the meantime,
see what you can dig up on this other homicide.

I'll call the 31st,
give them a heads-up.

LORRAINE:
I don't recognize either of them.

I'm sorry.

Did the store
ever use a carpet cleaning company

called Victory?

Oh, I wouldn't know.
Alan took care of all the store business.

Why?

These two men worked
for that company.

We think they may
have cased the store during the job,

and then come back
later to rob it.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Please excuse me.

How'd you find these guys?
ED: Green.

They were in possession
of property stolen from the store

during your father's murder.

Actually, he was
my step-father.

But he treated me
like his own.

Alan and I were together
almost five years.

It's hard to believe
he's really gone.

So, are these guys
in jail now?

The man we think
was responsible for your step-father's death

was shot and killed
earlier this week.

Look, if, uh, anything
jars your memory,

please give us a call.

I'm sorry I couldn't
be more helpful.

Thanks.

Okay, I gotta go.

Can you believe
this guy's luck?

The hospital confirms
Kasperski's treatment schedule.

He's in the clear
on both murders.

Perfectly good suspect.
I hate when that happens.

MILTON: Alan Cobin?
That one's getting cold.

Well, run it
down for us.

Millionaire owner
of a high-volume electronics store.

Fourth of July weekend,
goes in one night to finish some paperwork,

surprises somebody
helping himself to some free high-end stereo equipment.

It seemed like
a straight-up robbery-murder.

One in the face
with a .38.

No leads?
What, are you kidding me?

Wife put up
a $50,000 reward.

Hotline was burning up.

You ever come
across this guy?

BRISCOE: Ever hear
of a place called Victory Carpet Cleaners?

Who are they?

Couple of employees
had a burglar scam going.

You know, casing places
and then robbing them later.

Yeah, we checked
out the regular maintenance crew.

Mind of we take a look
at your files?

Yeah, be my guest.

Can you believe
what a high-definition TV goes for?

Ten grand.

Instead of high-def,
they ought to call it outrageously high-def.

Here it is.
Work order for Victory Carpet Cleaners.

Let me see that.

That puts Ronnie
in the store a week before the murder.

That's only half of it.
Look who signed the invoice.

Cobin's widow.

Sweet Lorraine.

SERENA: A $7 million estate

and no one considered her
a suspect before this?

Well, the wife
was looked at,

but all the evidence
pointed to a robbery-homicide.

No one made the connection
between her and Buck

until we noticed her name
on the work order.

So, she's the one
who let the fox into the henhouse.

Where was she
at the time of her husband's murder?

Out with friends.
Elizabeth and Andrew Dumas.

They saw a show.

Pretty cool customer.

Footlights of Broadway
while hubby takes one in the head.

And three months later,
Buck winds up with a bullet in his brain.

Hard to buy as coincidence.

So Mrs. Cobin hires Buck
to hit her husband,

and then disposes
of Mr. Buck.

How did she
manage that?

We're still running that down.

Buck's partner in
the cleaning scam

has alibis for both murders,

but we think he knows
more than he's letting on.

How so?

His car was on the list
of registrations we ran

from the parking lot
the night Buck was killed.

Where is he now?

Rikers. We're holding him
on stolen property charges.

There were 240 cars

at A and N Parking
the night Ronnie Buck was killed.

One of them
was registered to your client.

Sol loaned Ronnie my car?

We can link Ronnie Buck
to the robbery of Alan Cobin's store

through the stolen property.

Stolen property
in your possession.

He has an airtight alibi
for that night.

But not for the night
he and Mr. Buck cased the store.

That is the
crew assignment

for the night Cobin's carpets
were supposedly cleaned.

If you look close,
you'll see your name there.

JACK: Co-conspirators
don't have to be present

at a crime scene,
Mr. Kasperski.

Which means alibi or not,

we can link you
to Cobin's homicide.

Can they do that?

JACK: We can and we will.

Once that happens,
you're looking at life in prison.

And if he cooperates?

If his information's good,

the charges
remain E felonies.

I had nothing to do with
anybody getting capped.

Ronnie borrowed
my car that night.

He said he had some
business to take care of.

What sort of business?

Couple of months ago,
when we were at the electronics store,

I thought we were
casing out a regular job.

But only Ronnie tells me
he's doing this one solo.

Why?

Told me he was getting
10 grand to kill the owner.

From who?

Some woman.

But you don't know who.

All I know is
that the night that Ronnie got killed,

he was supposed
to be meeting her in the parking lot.

JACK: Why?

I don't know.

I guess
he was shaking the broad down.

He always was
a greedy bastard.

SERENA: So instead
of bringing money, she brings a gun.

According to Kasperski.

What about
the work order?

You'd need more
than that to connect Buck and Mrs. Cobin

to her husband's murder.

If she is involved,
there's got to be a link to Buck somewhere.

Well... Phone records?

We already ran IUDs
from the Cobins' home,

Buck's sister's house
and Kasperski's place.

Not a single call
between them.

She could have
used a middle man.

SERENA: Mr. Dimmick,
we know that Lorraine Cobin and Ronald Buck

both placed calls to you
the week before Alan Cobin's murder.

I'll have to check
my records.

I already did.

I also know that
you represented Mrs. Cobin in her matrimonial action,

Mr. Buck in his
criminal matters.

It's a general practice.
Please, tell a friend.

What about the calls?

Correct me if I'm wrong,

but I don't think
dispensing legal advice to two legitimate clients

constitutes
a criminal offense.

Well, it's the timing
that concerns me.

Ronnie had
a parole problem.

Lorraine was considering
purchasing a summer home.

I'm pretty sure
they're not the only clients I spoke with that week.

Mr. Dimmick, you're
the only common link

between Lorraine Cobin
and Ronnie Buck.

I don't respond
well to threats, Ms. Southerlyn.

Especially
when they're empty.

What about questions
in front of a grand jury?

How do you
respond to those?

In this case,
I'll invoke so many privileges

you'll be on your
second face lift by the time I'm through.

I'm surprised
he didn't invoke attorney-client privilege

the minute you walked
in the room.

Well, I guess I have
a way with shysters.

LEWIN: It's pretty shrewd,
going through a lawyer, hmm?

What else do we
know about her?

She was born
Lorraine Strickland, Yonkers in 1959.

Married twice.

She has a 20-year-old
daughter, Melissa,

who's a junior
at Pierce College.

Briscoe and Green
spoke to Alan Cobin's sister in Florida.

According to her,
Lorraine's sole ambition in life

has been attracting
wealthy men to support her.

What else did Alan's
sister have to say?

Just that she felt bad
for the daughter.

Lorraine was so busy
clawing her way up the social ladder,

she apparently never
had much time for her.

What do we know about
the first husband?

NICK: Never thought
I'd get married,

much less to a woman
with a half-grown kid.

Melissa's not yours?

Lorraine got pregnant
in her twenties.

Guy ran off on her.

Melissa was nine
when we got together.

How long were you married?

Four years.

What happened?

When I met Lorraine,
business was booming.

I bought a big Victorian,
found a nice school for Melissa.

I thought we were happy.

What changed?

Real estate market
went south,

Lorraine went with it.

You think she was
only interested in your money?

When the woman you love

uses her daughter
to make false allegations in court

to get a bigger piece
of the pie...

What sort of allegations?

Allegations that
involved her daughter?

They weren't true.

Lorraine had this lawyer,
a real bottom-feeder.

Guy named Dimmick.

He and Lorraine
got Melissa to say I was abusive.

But as God as my witness,

I never laid a hand on her.

Or Lorraine.

You believe him?

My gut reaction, yes.

He also said
the first time the abuse came up

was when he opposed
Lorraine's financial demands in the divorce.

Let's assume
it was a fabrication.

It was a successful strategy.

Why not use
another trumped up charge against Cobin?

Why kill him instead?

Pre-nup.

Lorraine was limited
to one hundred grand for every year of marriage.

Small change compared
to seven million.

I also did some digging
in her financials.

Look at this wire transfer.

$50,000 to Elizabeth Dumas.

The woman
Lorraine was with

the night her husband
was murdered.

We were at their house
having coffee

when Lorraine found
out about Alan.

It was horrible.

Mrs. Dumas,
Mrs. Cobin wired $50,000

to your account
a few weeks after Mr. Cobin's death.

A loan for
our restaurant.

The recession hit us hard.

Do you have
a promissory note? Any sort of contract?

Lorraine and I
are close friends.

She never asked me
to sign anything.

What is this about?

Do you know a man
named Ronald Buck?

No, I don't.
Why are you asking me these questions?

You've never seen
this man before?

No. I just told you,
I hadn't...

Mrs. Dumas?

Actually, I have seen him.

Where?

Look, I don't want
to cause any trouble for Lorraine.

And I assume
you don't want to cause any trouble for yourself.

It's nothing really.

We were playing tennis
one day over at the piers.

Afterwards,
I went to get the car.

When I came back,
she was talking to this man.

What about?
I don't know.

I was in the car.

But when she got in,
she seemed very upset.

I asked her
if everything was all right,

and she just said
he was some business associate of Alan's.

That's it.

Thanks.

This is ridiculous.
I have done nothing but cooperate with the police.

And tell a few fibs.

MELISSA:
My mom's not a liar.

Honey, maybe you
shouldn't be here.

No, I want to be here.

BRISCOE: Any luck?

Luck with what?

Oh, a .22 caliber
Smith &Wesson.

You happen to
remember where you hid it, Mrs. Cobin?

Help us a lot if you did.

I don't own a gun.

We've never had
a gun in this house.

Lennie...

Found this
under the front seat of her car.

Oh, a parking stub
from A and N.

The lot where
Ronnie Buck was killed.

You didn't find
that in my car, you put it there.

I knew these fake
parking stubs

would come in
handy someday.

Lorraine Cobin,
you're under arrest for the murder of Ronnie Buck.

Whoa, this is a mistake.

Honey, it'll be okay.
Tell them this is a mistake.

Melissa,
it will be fine.

Okay, listen, just
call Ray Dimmick

and tell him I need
a lawyer right away.

My client forgot to mention
a work order for a carpet cleaning company.

Her husband
had been murdered, for God's sake.

JACK: She also said
she'd never met Ronald Buck.

We have a witness
who puts them together arguing.

I can explain that.

As I understand it,
your witness was 20 feet away in a car at the time.

SERENA: We also have
the parking stub.

Dated a month before
Buck was killed.

I can explain that to
a jury half a dozen ways.

And I'll explain
it this way.

Buck was blackmailing
your client,

and she was making
the payoffs in the parking lot.

Except for the last time,
when she decided enough was enough.

My client has an alibi
for the night Buck was killed.

She was with her daughter
at the apartment all night long.

Can anyone else
verify that?

A daughter's alibi
won't carry much weight with a jury.

Uh, we ate dinner,
we watched TV, we went to bed.

You live on campus,
don't you?

Yeah. I needed
to do laundry at my mom's house.

And I slept over.

Melissa, you're
going to have to testify under oath.

Do you understand
what that means?

Well, I'm not an idiot.

If you're lying,
you could be charged with perjury.

And what about you?

What do you get
charged with for ruining my mother's life?

If she's guilty,
your mother brought this on herself.

You know, you
wouldn't say that

if you ever saw her
around Alan.

I mean, her whole life
revolved around him.

And she loved him.

She loved Nick Clauson, too.

No witnesses,
no murder weapon, and no money trail.

We have a widow
who stood to gain $7 million

from her husband's death.

We have a work order that
she signed and lied about,

that places the hit man
at her husband's store,

and the murder of
that hit man only three months later.

And we also know
from Kasperski

that the person
who hired Buck was a woman.

Can't all be
coincidences, Nora.

It still sounds to me like
you're half a story short

in each case.

You've got murder
without a motive and motive without a murder.

I'm preparing a motion
to consolidate both homicides.

Tie them together.

Two murders, one trial.

Just enough evidence
to go around?

And only
a daughter's alibi to disprove it.

You better nail down
her timeline.

Break the alibi.

SERENA: How long
have you guys been roommates?

Suitemates.
Since sophomore year.

What can you tell me
about Melissa's relationship with her mother?

I guess
they're really tight.

You're not so sure?

Sometimes it just seems
a little one-sided, that's all.

Like Melissa makes
all the effort, you know.

In what ways?

Like during
Christmas break.

Melissa was the only one
with parents in the area

who stayed
in the dorm.

Her mother was off skiing.

What about that night
that we talked about?

I told you on the phone,

Melissa left around seven.

Didn't come home
till breakfast.

Was that unusual?

She isn't exactly
a party animal,

if that's what you mean.

No, I meant
her taking her laundry there

and spending the night
at her mother's.

What do you mean
her laundry?

So, I made a mistake
about the laundry.

It's been a rough time,
with my step-father and everything.

JACK: It's not
just a mistake.

It's tied to an
official statement

you gave to
Ms. Southerlyn

about why you went over
to your mother's apartment that night.

MELISSA: I was there.

The doorman saw me
leave in the morning.

Only you weren't
with your mother the whole time, were you?

SERENA: Look,
we understand. She's your mother.

You want to protect her.

But we know
you're lying, Melissa.

No.

JACK: How much do
you think it's going to help your mother

if you tell this story
about an alibi,

and I rip it apart
in front of the jury?

It's called perjury.

When that happens,
not only does your mother go away,

you go with her.

She's using you.

Just like she did
with Nick Clauson, Melissa.

You don't know my mother.

She's not like that.

She's just had
a tough life.

I went out shopping.

When I came back,
she was home.

Do you understand?

She was home.

When was that?

11:30-12:00.

If you were counting
on your daughter to bail you out,

you can forget it.

She admitted the
night Ronald Buck was killed

she went shopping.

She didn't get back
to the apartment

until sometime
after 11:30.

Leaving your client
plenty of time to commit the murder.

There won't be any
alibi, Mrs. Cobin.

AXTELL: ls there
a deal on the table?

No. No deal.

We're prepared to
go as low as eight and a third-to-25.

Lorraine?
I said no.

You could get murder one
if this goes to trial.

I did not commit murder.

AXTELL: Maybe
we should take some time to think about this.

There's nothing
to think about.

I will not plead guilty.

I brought this along
just in case.

A motion to dismiss
the charges arising out of Alan Cobin's murder.

The People's case
in the Cobin murder rests on a statement

allegedly made
by Mr. Buck to his former cell-mate.

No, Paul Kasperski
participated with Buck

in casing out
the store a week before Cobin's murder.

Yeah, but unfortunately
Mr. Buck is not around

to confirm or deny that
statement or anything else, for that matter.

And if I allow
Mr. Kasperski to testify,

your client
can't cross-examine her accuser.

The only reason
she can't is because she murdered him.

AXTELL: Last time
I checked,

she had not been
tried or convicted of Buck's murder.

If Kasperski testifies,

I got a built-in
Sixth Amendment issue on appeal.

Your Honor can't seriously
entertain the notion that a defendant

can benefit in one murder
by killing the witness, by committing another.

I didn't draft
the Constitution, Mr. McCoy.

No, but you can
interpret it.

These two cases are
inextricably linked.

What's the good of proving
that the defendant had an opportunity to kill Buck

if I can't show
the jury why?

You raise a good point.

Your Honor, any mention
of the Cobin murder

would prejudice
the jury irreparably.

Which is why I won't
allow these two homicides to be tried together.

Your Honor...
However,

what I will do

is allow the People
to present evidence of Alan Cobin's murder,

only in so far as
it pertains to motive in the murder of Ronald Buck.

(SIGHING)

Ooh, I always know
I'm right when neither party's happy.

We were cleaning carpets at
Super Al's electronics store on 26th and Broadway.

Me and Ronnie Buck.

At that time what,
if anything, did Ronald Buck say to you

about a murder for hire?

He told me
he was getting ten grand to kill the owner.

JACK: Did Mr. Buck
say who hired him?

He said it was a woman.

I thought maybe
it was, uh, you know, a wife, a girlfriend.

AXTELL: Objection.

Sustained.
Jury will disregard.

JACK: Did that
subject arise again in a later conversation?

Yeah, a month or so
later we were having a couple of beers,

and, uh, Ronnie told me
that he was having trouble with her.

What kind of trouble?

He was shaking her down
for more money,

and she was
getting tired of it.

No further questions.

Mr. Kasperski,
did Ronnie Buck ever tell you

Lorraine Cobin hired him?

PAUL: No.

Just some woman.

Right, that's what
he said. A broad.

And when he said
he was having trouble with her,

did he mention
a name then?

No.

Oh, by the way,
did you ever go to the police

with any of
this information, Mr. Kasperski?

No.

Not till they
offered you a deal.

JACK: Could you describe
the relationship between Mrs. Cobin and her husband?

They had their good days
and their bad days, like any other marriage.

They were both committed
to making it work.

Mrs. Dumas,

do you know
the man in this photo,

Ronald Buck?

His hair was
a little longer,

but that is the man
I saw arguing with Lorraine

the day we played tennis.

Nothing further.

When you say
you saw Mrs. Cobin arguing with this man,

you didn't actually
hear what was being said, did you?

ELIZABETH: No.

And when she
got back in the car,

she told you the man
and Alan Cobin

had some business
disagreement.

Isn't that also true?

That's what she said, yes.

Now, on July 18th

Lorraine Cobin loaned you
$50,000 for your restaurant?

That's right.

Why didn't you
go to the bank?

The bank would not
loan us the money.

Because your husband
had recently declared bankruptcy,

isn't that right?

Yes.

In fact, your husband
has a history of bankruptcies.

One in 1987 and
another in 1994,

which also resulted in
a fraud conviction, correct?

Objection. Relevance.

I'll allow it,
subject to connection.

$50,000.
That's a sizable debt, Mrs. Dumas.

Isn't that why
you're here testifying?

I don't understand.

Didn't your
husband tell you

that if Lorraine Cobin
were convicted of this crime

that debt
would disappear?

Absolutely not.

JACK: Objection.
JUDGE: Sustained.

Have you paid
any of this money back, Mrs. Dumas?

No.

Oh.

I was waiting
on the sidewalk for Elizabeth,

when this man came up
and started yelling at me.

Ronald Buck.

I never knew his name.

I'd never
seen him before.

You say he was
yelling at you?

He was saying
something about

him and Alan
having some sort of business arrangement,

and that Alan
owed him money.

I told him that
I didn't know anything about it.

Then, thank God,
Elizabeth drove up, and I just got in the car.

I never saw him again.

Showing you what's
marked as People's Five in evidence.

A work order for
Victory Carpet Cleaners.

Is that your signature?

It looks like it, yes.

AXTELL: Yet you
told the police you were not involved

in the day-to-day
business of your husband's store.

I wasn't.

It was near
the Fourth of July

and Alan was
doing inventory day and night.

He was so tired,

and he asked me
if I would help him out a little.

I guess I just
didn't remember.

AXTELL: Mrs. Cobin,
did you hire Ronald Buck

to murder your husband
in order to inherit his money?

No.

Alan and I had
a wonderful life.

I admit money
was part of it.

We'd grown up poor,
so we both appreciated

the comforts
it afforded us.

But I loved Alan,

not his money.

And I would never
do anything to hurt him.

Never.

Nothing further.

Your love didn't
prevent your husband

from asking you to
sign a pre-nup, did it?

A lot of second
marriages have pre-nuptial agreements.

Only yours limited you
to $100,000 a year.

A far cry from
seven million.

That didn't concern me.

It never concerned you

because you knew
that the death of your husband

would put that money
into your hands.

No.

That's why you had
to act when Ronald Buck threatened you.

You saw that money
slipping away.

That's not true.

Over 150 invoices,
Mrs. Cobin,

and your name appears
on only one of them.

The one that
put Ronald Buck

in your husband's store.

I told you about
that already.

That you forgot.

Yes.

What about the parking stub
found in your car?

I've never been
in that parking lot.

And certainly not the night
of Ronald Buck's murder,

because you were
with your daughter all that night.

Isn't that what
you told the police?

LORRAINE: Yes.

Only that was
a lie, wasn't it?

I was scared.
I... I didn't know what else to do.

And that's what you do
when you don't know what to do,

isn't it, Mrs. Cobin?
You lie.

No.

$7 million in your hand

and only Ronald Buck
standing in your way.

That's not what happened.

The work order,
the parking stub, the alibi,

your argument
with Ronald Buck.

One lie after another,
and all leading to the truth.

That you hired Ronald Buck
to murder your husband,

and then killed him
to cover it up.

I didn't.

All these lies, Mrs. Cobin.

What other reason
could there be?

Nothing further.

JUDGE: Anything,
Mr. Axtell?

Mr. Axtell?

What time did Melissa
leave the house

to go shopping that
night, Mrs. Cobin?

Your Honor, I'm going to ask
that you instruct the witness to answer my question.

You have to answer,
Mrs. Cobin.

Don't do this.

AXTELL: She left
sometime before 8:00, didn't she?

Didn't get back till
just before 12:00.

Objection. ls defense counsel
impeaching his own witness?

AXTELL: The woman's on trial
for her life, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Mrs. Cobin?

Lorraine, what happened
that night?

Don't you see?

I was never there for her
when she was growing up.

I was always too busy
being a wife.

But she needed me.

I just didn't
understand how much.

AXTELL: Melissa
wasn't covering for you, was she?

You were covering for her.

You're still
covering for her.

She came into my room,
and she just stood there.

I asked her what was wrong,
but she wouldn't answer.

She came over to my bed

and she laid down
next to me,

like she used to do
when she was as child,

and I put my arm
around her

and she started to cry.

There was blood.

There were little
specks of blood.

I know what she did was wrong,

but it wasn't her fault.

Do you understand?

Mothers are
supposed to be there for their children.

I'm the one
you're supposed to find guilty.

Please,

just take me.

Madam Foreperson,
has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

JUDGE:
Will the defendant please rise.

What is your verdict?

We the jury in
the charge of homicide in the first degree

find the defendant
not guilty.

Such a beautiful morning,
and that's how you dress?

What do you
expect me to wear?

I told you,
we're celebrating.

Celebrating what?

Just have
some champagne and stop pouting.

Doesn't that
look scrumptious?

Thank you, Josh.
We'll be ready for lunch in a half hour.

JOSH: Yes, ma'am.

All right,
why the long face?

What's wrong?

"What's wrong?"

How about the fact
that my mother takes the witness stand

and basically
accuses me of murder?

You know if something
would've happened,

I would have protected you.

Mommy would never
have let them put you away.

How could you
have killed him?

The man was a thug.

Every time I turned around,

he was there
with his hand out.

I'm not talking about Buck.
I'm talking about Alan.

And I thought
you loved him.

Sweetheart, you didn't have
to sleep with him.

Let's just drop this
whole subject, okay?

That part of our lives
is over with.

You're wrong.

What are you
talking about?

Look at the dock, Mother.

You little bitch.

I had a good teacher.

LORRAINE: This is
such a colossal waste of time.

Last I checked,
I was acquitted.

Double jeopardy
prevents me from being tried again.

You were tried
for the murder of Ronald Buck,

not your husband.

Once they hear
that conversation with your daughter,

I doubt the jury
will buy your act the second time around.

Careful. Don't want
to hurt that hat.

I thought
the black widow spiders

were the only ones
that killed their mates

and ate their young.

Apparently not.

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