All language subtitles for Law and order S23E07 - Balance of Power

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.

Come on. Don't be shy.

Slow down a minute.
Where are we going?

My friend's party,
I told you.

You said you wanted
to make friends.

She's not gonna believe
I found you at some random bar.

- What are you talking about?
- You're, like, famous.

- I'm really not.
- Well, I recognized you.

Is that the only reason
you talked to me?

No.

I talked to you because you
seemed like the only nice guy

in a bar full of
finance bro losers.

You have really kind eyes.

What's your name?

Mallory.

I'm Jonah.

I know. Let's go.

What--what's going on?

You ruined my life.
That's what's going on.

What the hell, man?

Don't! No.

Vic's name is Jonah Barlowe.

Owns the place.

Cleaning lady found him
when she showed up for work.

Cause of death appears
to be blunt force trauma

to the head,
probably with that.

Atlas, the Greek god

with the weight of the world
on his shoulders.

Time of death?

Uh, based on temp
and rigidity,

I'd say between midnight
and 2:00 a.m.

Cameras?

Newly installed,
but not activated yet.

We've got people out
right now canvassing the block.

Any sign of forced entry?

Nope.
Door and windows intact.

So presumably,
he let his killer in.

Seem like a robbery?

Vic had his wallet on him.

Cash, cards all there, so.

Gold Rolex on the table here

and the gold statuette.

You find any cell phones, laptops?

No, but we'll keep looking.

Good work.

"The Nobody Who Took On
Wall Street and Won."

Doesn't seem like a winner now.

Don't touch
anything in there.

You're gonna need
a warrant for that.

Whoa. Whoa. Hey, hey.
Excuse me.

Who the hell are you?

I'm Nicholas Baxter.

I was just sworn in
as district attorney--

30 minutes ago, to be exact.

Uh, Detective Jalen Shaw.

It's a pleasure to meet you,
Detective.

- Vincent Riley.
- Pleasure.

Uh, it's a pleasure
to meet you, sir,

but with all due respect,
we got this.

This is our crime scene.
- I understand.

I was just walking uptown
and I saw the swirling lights,

and I got excited,
thought I'd pop my head inside.

Haven't been to a crime scene
in over 30 years.

Couldn't help myself.

And I'm sorry to interfere.

Please, get back
to what you were doing.

There was one more thing.

I want you all to know
that I'm gonna do everything

in my power to create
a constructive

and transparent relationship
with the police.

That's it.

No prints on
the murder weapon,

but our techs found
a single blonde hair

on our vic's right sleeve.

It's obviously not his,
so it's at the lab right now.

Street cam footage
shows someone

in an oversized black jacket

fleeing Barlowe's building
at 12:14 a.m.,

but it's too grainy
to make an ID.

What about the vic's
missing cell phone?

We tried pinging it,
but no luck there.

The killer either turned it off
or just dumped it.

All right, so what do we know
about Barlowe?

Single, married?

Yeah, divorced,
no kids, lives alone.

Ex-wife lives in London.

We reached out to her,
but no luck yet.

Who is this guy?

I mean, where did he make
all his money from?

Oh, he made a ton of money
from that Reels Rental stock.

Loo, come on.
You got to remember that one.

That became a big deal.
- You know what?

I don't really follow
the stock market.

But I don't understand.

How does he get rich
off of investing in a company

that rents videos?

I mean,
isn't that a dying business?

So these short sellers,

they're all banking on
the stock to tank, right?

Barlowe comes along and
starts posting about it

on social media, saying
"These rich Wall Streeters

"are trying to kill
this little company.

"We got to make a stand,
so everybody start buying it."

And it works.

People start buying
shares like crazy.

He played on the heartstrings
of the common man.

David versus Goliath,
that kind of thing.

Starts off with 20 grand,
ends up with 75 million.

Wow. All right.

So we have some single
rich stock market dude.

It's a Friday night.

What's he doing?

Found a receipt in his pocket
for a bar near Wall Street.

Looks like he closed his tab
an hour before the murder.

Well, let's start there,
see what he was up to

and, more importantly,
who he was with.

Here's the security footage
we pulled from the camera

outside the bar.

That's your car,

that's you, and that's Barlowe.

Who's now dead.

Ah, don't want to talk, huh?

Well, we can always parade you
past your colleagues in cuffs,

take you downtown.

Maybe that'll make you
more comfortable.

Okay. Okay.

Son of a bitch cost me
a lot of money.

I bet against Reel's Rentals.

I was short, like really short.

And then this idiot starts
posting all this nonsense,

and the stock goes
through the roof.

Tanked my entire portfolio.

How much you lose?

$280 million.

- Whoa.
- And then I got fired.

That's how I ended up here
at this, uh, bucket shop,

making cold calls
to doctors and lawyers.

But when I saw him in the bar,
I figured I'd, uh,

express my feelings to him.

Got my girlfriend to lure him
outside so we could talk.

I was drunk, blowing off steam.

So where'd you go after that?

Well,
my girlfriend got pissed

that I tried to beat him up,

thought I was just gonna
threaten him.

So she took off,

and I kept drinking.

Okay, I think that you
followed Jonah home

and finished the job.

No.

I parked on the street
and fell asleep in my car.

A cop woke me up this morning.

Dominic Sargento did,
in fact, sleep in his car.

Traffic cam footage
confirms that.

So he's not our guy.

No, he's not our guy.

We're not actually
looking for a guy at all.

So lab results came back on
the hair on Barlowe's clothes

and turns out,
there's no hit in the system.

But DNA confirms we're looking
for a woman, Caucasian,

likely with green eyes
and blonde hair.

So is there anyone
in Barlowe's life

that fits that description?

The ex-wife.

Did a little digging.

Turns out she didn't get a dime
in the divorce.

I thought she was in London?

Yeah, lives in London,
currently in New York.

Checked into the Soho Grand
the same day

that Barlowe was murdered.

All right.

Bring her in.

I would never kill Jonah.

I loved him.

Loved him?

That man screwed you
out of a lot of money.

What are you talking about?

We know that you didn't
get anything in the divorce.

Correct.

That's because
I didn't want any money.

Said no one ever.

The money is why I left.

It was great at first,
but then something changed.

He changed.

Changed how?

It--it was like he felt
guilty or something,

like he didn't deserve it.

And he became
a completely different person.

We tried therapy,

but we just couldn't connect.

And so I--I had to leave.

Okay.

And now you're back

on the very day
that he turns up dead.

Pretty big coincidence.

No.

Jonah asked me to come,

said he wanted to try again,

said he'd had a wakeup call.

Ma'am,

would you consent
to a DNA swab?

Of course.

I don't know
if this is helpful,

but Jonah alluded to some drama
with another woman.

Do you know
who this woman is?

No, he didn't say.

Just that he wanted to
put it all behind him

and get back to us.

You should check his laptop.

Jonah kept meticulous notes.

If there was someone
he was seeing,

there'd be dates on his
calendar, dinner receipts.

I mean, he kept track
of everything.

We'd love to do that,
but we haven't been able

to locate the laptop.

Did you find the safe?

There it is.

We're in.

Well, no laptop.

But there's this.

External hard drive.

Looks like this thing
is full of video files.

Videos of what?

They are not for
the faint of heart.

Uh, but I think you should
see one in particular.

Did that hurt?

- Yes.
- Yes what?

Yes, ma'am.

What about this?

I'm gonna destroy you

like the greedy little nothing
you are!

Find out who this woman is

and go and talk to her
right now.

Melissa James.

Yes?

NYPD.

Your assistant told us
we'd find you here.

We want to talk to you
about Jonah Barlowe.

- Melissa, everything okay?
- It's fine.

Unfortunately, I don't know
who you're talking about.

- Oh, we think you do.
- Yeah.

We got some
pretty compelling video

that supports
our point of view.

I have nothing to say to you.

Well, in that case,
you're coming with us.

I'm gonna destroy you

like the greedy little nothing
you are!

Everything in that video
was consensual.

We were role-playing.

You know,
I'd like to believe that.

I really would.

Except Jonah Barlowe's
now dead,

and that's a video of you

saying that you're gonna
destroy him.

I said
what Jonah asked me to.

You told us you
didn't even know Jonah.

Why'd you lie to us?

I was with my boss, okay?

What I do recreationally
in the privacy of my own home

is my business
and no one else's,

including you.

Well, when your boyfriend
winds up dead,

it actually becomes
our business.

Well, I had nothing to do
with what happened to Jonah.

We met online in a forum
for people who are into BDSM.

It was purely consensual
and legal.

When's the last time
you saw him?

About a month ago.

We broke up.

Why's that?

He started giving me money.

And that was a problem
for you?

I'm not a prostitute.

We were dating.
The money offended me.

But he wanted to pay you?

Not at first.

But after a few weeks,
he made it all about the money.

He wanted me to insult him
for being rich,

call him worthless,

begged me
to take his credit card

and buy myself things,
demand he give me gifts.

So where were you
two days ago, around midnight?

I got a new boyfriend.

It was his birthday,
and we were celebrating.

There was cake.

Melissa James' boyfriend
confirmed their alibi.

We sure he's not
covering for her?

He showed us a timestamped
video of the birthday party.

Cake was used for a role
other than what you'd expect.

So she's not the killer?

No, but she did tip us off
to an alternate profile

that he uses when he
was trolling the internet

for his own personal interests.

Yeah, and after
Melissa James dumped him,

it looks like Barlowe
found his way to a forum

for men looking for
a financial dominatrix.

Excuse me?

I hadn't heard of it, either,
but there are all these

online discussion groups
full of women

who call themselves "findoms."

They dominate men
through their finances.

Dominate how?

He hands over control
of his bank accounts

and his credit cards to them,
and then they control

when and how
he spends his money.

Okay, so did he actually find
one of these findoms?

Yeah,
he struck up a conversation

with a woman who goes by
the handle MoneyMama.

And check this out.

I've been going over
Barlowe's financials

the day before he was murdered.

$25 million was transferred
from his account

to a bank in Panama.

That's a hell
of a lot of money.

- Mm-hmm.
- Do we know what he used it

for or who's got control
of it now?

No, it's a black box
as far as we're concerned.

The appeal of offshore banking.

Okay,
so Barlowe gives a stranger,

who he met on the internet,

access to all
his bank accounts,

and now $25 million
just disappears?

And his head gets bashed in.

But we need to find
this MoneyMama.

Do we know
what her real name is?

No.
But I do know,

after going through
their messages,

that two weeks ago she demanded
Barlowe buy her a Range Rover,

and he did.

All right,
we need to find the dealer

where he bought the car,

get the license,
the registration,

then put out an I-card
on the vehicle.

Because once we find the car,
we're gonna find MoneyMama.

You Officer O'Brien?

Yep.
You the ones who called in

the I-card on the Range Rover?

- That's us.
- Sure thing.

Got the car right here.

Spotted the license plate
over on Mercer, female driver.

- Blonde?
- Yeah.

I followed her about six blocks
or so until she parked.

Notice said not to approach,
so I called it in.

- Good work.
- Thank you.

I don't think
she'll be here long.

Car's unlocked.
Cell phone's in the cup holder.

Yeah, she actually went in
that store right over there.

All right. Stay here.

Secure the vehicle
and its contents,

especially that phone.
- Sure thing.

Oh, there she is.

NYPD!

Is there a problem, officers?

All right.

Let's start with an easy one.

Why'd you kill Jonah Barlowe?

I didn't.

I liked Jonah.

Ms. Reese,
you were his findom, correct?

We had an arrangement, sure.

It's not against the law.

That means you had access
to his bank accounts.

Yes, but--

Did you ever move money
without his permission?

No. We had rules.

It was just role-playing.

Is that right?

So you never transferred
$25 million of his money

into an offshore account?

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

Are you sure about that?

'Cause we sent a subpoena
to the bank in Panama,

and they're gonna tell us
whose name's on that account.

How would you feel about
submitting to a DNA test?

I want a lawyer.

Hey.
How'd the arraignment go?

Defendant was held
without bail.

Judge agreed
she's a flight risk,

given her potential access
to the stolen 25 mil.

Now we just need to prove

she's the one
who stole the money.

- Yeah.
- Hey, good luck, Drew.

Let us know where you land?

- It's happening already?
- Yeah.

Baxter started calling
senior staff in

for meetings this morning.

I know it's not uncommon
for an incoming DA

to make changes, but this guy
is not wasting any time.

I don't think
you need to worry.

Jack assured me he left you
a glowing recommendation.

Well, it doesn't mean
the new guy has to honor it.

That is true, but your
track record speaks for itself.

Yours too.

We'll see.

Well, it's kind of like--
I think that stripping it

might be too much,
I'm not sure.

We're gonna to have
a budget on that.

The stripping
would take a while,

and you wouldn't be able
to work in here.

And I don't want
people in here

for the next six months.

What we can do
is lighten the blinds.

Light is definitely
better than darker.

Yeah.

It's a bit like
the Metropolitan Club.

All right. Good.

Well, you'll send me
some images?

- Absolutely.
- Great.

Thank you for coming by.
I appreciate it.

Yeah. Okay.

Take care. Nick Baxter.

- Nolan Price.
- Yeah.

Sorry it took a minute
to get some face time.

Have a seat.

Jack McCoy speaks highly
of you.

Uh, how--how are
you settling in?

Yeah, good. Good.

Lots to do.

I'll make this office
feel more contemporary.

I suppose it's gonna
take some time

to figure out how to do that.

Jack McCoy was an icon.

He was here for, what,
30 years?

Uh-huh.

He also made a lot of waves
on his way out,

ruffled some
political feathers.

I heard you had a bit
of a disjuncture

with the mayor yourself.

I wouldn't call it
a disjuncture.

What would you call it?

Difference of opinion.

Mm-hmm.

I respect your indifference
to politics.

We were just trying
to get the right result

in a complicated case.

Which is the most important
thing, always.

But a top priority of mine
is gonna be

to get people
back on the same page.

This office is part
of a system,

and that system works
most effectively

when it works together,

especially when it comes
to my senior staff.

I need to know
that I have a team I can trust,

that we look at society
through the same prism.

Yeah. I understand.

So fill me in.

Where are we
with the Jonah Barlowe case?

Defendant's name
is Jessica Reese.

She was Barlowe's
financial dominatrix.

Which I still
don't quite get.

But the evidence is strong?
- Yeah.

Location data, DNA,

plus Barlowe and the defendant

had moved their communications
to WhatsApp.

The texts are encrypted
or only accessible

if you have one
of their devices.

Police recovered her phone,

giving us messages that
establish she stole $25 million

from Barlowe's account
and that he was planning

to file a police report.

Which is the motive
for killing Barlowe?

And we're sure these texts
weren't part

of their whole financial
domination role-play thing?

"25 million. Are you insane?

"This is not a game anymore.
You stole that money.

I'm going to the police."

Defendant responded
shortly thereafter,

said she was on her way over
to talk about it.

45 minutes later,
Barlowe was dead.

This is my first at-bat,
Nolan.

I need to make sure
I get on base.

Yeah. I understand.

I look forward
to working together.

- How did it go?
- Unclear.

- What's that mean?
- I don't know.

It's hard to explain.

But he didn't fire you?

Not yet anyway.

Let's just focus on the case,
control what we can control.

Yeah, well,
I have bad news on that front.

Defense filed a motion
to suppress the evidence

acquired
from Jessica Reese's phone.

Cell records show a call was
answered on my client's phone

while it was in police custody,

but prior to a search warrant
being granted.

Your Honor,
when detectives approached

the defendant to question her,
she ran from them.

Before pursuing her,
they assigned a patrol officer

to secure her car
and her belongings

until a search warrant
could be obtained.

A warrant he obviously
didn't wait for.

And while the phone
was in his possession,

it started ringing.

He tried to silence it

and accidentally hit
the wrong button.

If you look at
the phone's logs,

you can see that
the call in question

lasted for only three seconds.

It doesn't matter.

The settings on
Jessica Reese's phone

are such that answering it
unlocks it,

giving police access
to its content.

We have no way of knowing
what the officer saw

or how long
he was looking through it.

I have a sworn affidavit
from Officer O'Brien

attesting to the fact
that he never looked

at the contents of the phone.

Oh, well,
as long as he attests,

there's nothing to worry about.

Your Honor, police can't open
a suspect's locker

or desk drawers
and then get a search warrant

for whatever's inside
after the fact.

And the Supreme Court ruled
in Riley v California

that the content
of digital devices

is protected
by the Fourth Amendment,

making all evidence

stemming from Jessica Reese's
phone inadmissible.

Your Honor,
we're talking about excluding

the most vital piece
of evidence in this case

because of a harmless
three-second mistake.

Harmless or not,
it was a mistake.

The defense's motion
is granted.

Hey.

Just got off
with the bank in Panama

where Reese wired the money.

They're refusing to honor
our subpoena.

So there's no way to tie Reese
to the stolen money.

Which means we have no way
to prove motive.

So what's your plan?

Oh, we go hard
on opportunity,

make it clear to the jury

that Reese is the only person
who realistically

could have killed Barlowe
that night.

Your call.

Detective Riley,
according to the crime lab,

the defendant's DNA
matches the blonde hair

found on Jonah Barlowe's body?

That's correct.

What about the defendant's
cell phone data?

Were You able to triangulate
her location

around midnight
when Jonah Barlowe was killed?

Yes, her cell phone pings
placed her

in the immediate vicinity

of the apartment at the time.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Detective,
is there any way

for you to ascertain
when my client's hair

got on Jonah Barlowe's sleeve?

No.

Presumably that day,
since it was on his clothing.

Perhaps it was on his couch

or when she was in his
apartment days earlier

and transferred onto his sleeve
at some point that evening.

That's just as possible?

I don't know
if it's just as possible,

but it's possible, yes.

And these cell phone pings,
as you call them,

how geographically accurate
are they?

In a range
of about ten city blocks.

So if Ms. Reese
was getting takeout

from her favorite
Thai restaurant that night,

eight blocks
from Jonah Barlowe's apartment,

that could account for the data
you testified to.

Midnight's a little late
for dinner.

Detective, were you aware
that prior to his relationship

with my client,
Jonah Barlowe had been seeing

a woman named Melissa James?

Yes.

And are you aware that,
unlike my client,

Melissa James had
a sadomasochistic relationship

with Jonah Barlowe

that involved torture
and physical abuse?

Ms. James was transparent
and forthright

about the nature
of their relationship.

So she admitted
to being his dominatrix,

the torturing
and the battering?

We only discussed
their sex life

as it pertains to the case.

And more importantly,
we confirmed her alibi.

Ms. James did not kill
Mr. Barlowe.

But it's clear
Mr. Barlowe liked

to engage
in risky sexual behavior

with strangers he met online.

Objection.

Ask a question, Mr. Banks,
or sit down.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

This is ridiculous.

They're turning Jonah
into some sort of freak.

He's the victim here.

I understand.

We are doing the best we can.

He wasn't perfect,

but he was a good man,
a really good man.

And that monster in there,

she exploited his kindness

and his insecurities.

Like Nolan just said,
we are doing the best we can

to get justice for Jonah.

Thank you.

She's right, you know.

Reese saw
that Barlowe was vulnerable

and spun him upside down.

It's obviously her MO--

find vulnerable men,
get access to their money,

and then steal it.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.

So let's find these guys,

the other vulnerable dupes
she exploited.

We can establish
a pattern of behavior

which will give us motive.

I'm gonna look into
Reese's financials.

I'm not sure
how I can help you.

Um, Mr. Parker,

from November of 2022

to June of last year,

you were depositing
several thousand dollars

into Jessica Reese's bank
account on a monthly basis.

Yeah, she was--

she did some
consulting work for me.

In what capacity?

I'm sorry.
What is this about?

We've noticed that
your last payment to her

was a significantly larger sum,

and you never sent her money
again after that.

Right, well, the project

that she was helping me with
ended earlier than I expected,

so I paid her out
for the rest of her contract.

Would it be possible for me
to look at that contract?

What do you want from me?

Mr. Parker--

Derek...

Did Jessica Reese steal
from you?

I said

and did things with her that--

you know.

And then she showed me
all these screen grabs

she had taken
of our text messages.

She told me that
if I didn't give her $50,000,

she would send them
to everyone I'm friends with

on social media.

My mother is on Facebook.

I didn't have a choice.

I don't expect you
to understand.

I don't even know
if I understand.

But I've always been
worried about money.

It rules my life.

It felt good to give up control

for a minute, anyway.

We need you to testify.

No. No. No, no, I can't.

Then everyone will know that--

She killed someone, Derek.

So get up on that stand,

take your power back.

"How do you think
your female coworkers

"are gonna feel when they see
the filthy things you like?

"I'm in charge,
and you're gonna do what I say.

Pay me,
or I will ruin your life."

And in response
to these messages,

did you pay the defendant
the $50,000 that she demanded?

Yes.

She was ruthless, cruel.

I should have reported her
to the police.

Given what we now know about
how she would have responded,

I'm glad you didn't.

- Objection, Your Honor.
- Withdrawn.

No further questions.

We have no questions
for this witness at this time.

Witness is excused.

I'm going to adjourn
the court for lunch.

We'll resume at 2:15 p.m.

We'd like to, uh,
discuss a deal.

I'm sure you would.

But, uh, unless it
involves pleading guilty

to second-degree murder,
there's no point.

My client is in possession
of some valuable information--

very valuable.

What the hell
are you talking about?

One of the biggest actors
in the world

told her he brutally raped

at least ten women.

And she has proof.

Evan Connelly, the actor,

confessed to raping ten women?

At least ten.

According to Jessica Reese, anyway.

I don't understand.
Why would he confess to her?

Well,
they apparently connected

on some online forum for BDSM.

They eventually hooked up,
and, um,

well, Reese claims that
Connelly likes to be punished.

As part of their role-play,
Connelly confessed

to all kinds of
shocking and horrific things.

Connelly got off
on graphically describing

how he raped
and tortured these women.

Can she prove any of this?

Is there any
corroborating evidence?

Do we have names?

Right now, all she says
she has are videos of their,

uh, encounters
and some incriminating

text messages from Connelly.

So why haven't any of
these women come forward?

He's a powerful guy.

I mean,
he makes $20 million a movie.

Intimidation, money--
it's all at his disposal.

Still, no lawsuits?

No "Vanity Fair" articles?

Well, there have been rumors
swirling on social media

ever since he made it big.

And if we've learned anything
in the last few years,

where there's smoke,
there's fire.

So let's pursue it.

See if there's anything more
than just smoke.

If there is, make her a deal.

Man One, ten years.

Ten years?

If you can get more, great.

But ten years seems fair to me.

Fair?

She murdered an innocent man
in cold blood.

If Reese is telling the truth

and Connelly really has
raped ten women,

he's a far bigger threat
to public safety.

You know what I think?

Jonah Barlowe deserves better.

Yeah, but if Reese is
telling the truth, then--

Well, exactly. "If."

She's a con artist.

What are the odds
she's not hustling us?

But Baxter wants headlines.

No.

He was appointed DA.

It means he's got
an election to win.

I mean, he said it himself.

One of his top priorities is
mending fences with the mayor.

Translation,
"I'm gonna kiss his ass,

hope like hell
he supports my candidacy."

No, I--I understand
what you're saying,

but it doesn't mean
that Baxter is wrong.

I think taking down
a serial rapist--

a violent serial rapist--
is a good thing,

something the DA should be
trying to do.

But nothing trumps murder,
Sam,

nothing.

That was one of
McCoy's favorite lines.

But we have a new boss now.

He wants to do things his way.

I can't blame him for that.

Tell me what you did.

When I was done raping her,

I made her bleed with a knife.

What else?

I made the cuts
where people won't see

when she's wearing clothes.

Oh!

And I've done so much worse
to the others.

That's enough.

- Yeah?
- I've lost co--

The things he describes doing
in these messages--

He is a very sick man.

And my client will hand him
to you on a silver platter

if you reduce the charges
to negligent homicide,

four years.

Man One, 12 years.

No.

Not even close.

Best I can do is 10.

Okay.

We have a deal.

If we can verify
what your client is alleging.

What are you talking about?
You saw the video.

I did. It's meaningless.

It is a confession
without evidence of a crime.

We need to talk
to these alleged victims,

confirm they are real,

confirm that what Connelly
is saying really happened.

We need a continuance,
Your Honor.

I've already given you
48 hours, Mr. Price.

What's the holdup?

We're attempting to assess
the veracity of materials

proffered by the defense,

but the suspect
is out of the country.

He's filming a movie.

We've been unable to reach him.

And detectives are trying
to track down

the alleged victims,
but the identifying details

provided are vague.

It's gonna take time.

Our client is ready to
make the deal, Your Honor.

Time's up, Mr. Price.

Make the deal,
or continue with this trial.

I--I understand,

but I need to make
a quick phone call.

Any luck?

Well, Baxter finally
texted me back,

says he will call me
later today.

Did you explain
the situation?

Of course.
I sent him about ten texts.

I told him
that the judge is pressuring us

to make a decision,
but we haven't been able

to verify the evidence.

This isn't an accident, though.

He is trying to avoid me,
in case I make a wrong move,

so that he can
claim ignorance--

plausible deniability.

- Come on, Nolan.
- Look.

If we agree to the deal

and Reese's info
turns out to be fake,

we are screwed.

The deal stands,
we will have no recourse,

and we'll get crucified

for cutting a sweetheart deal
with a murderer.

If we don't agree to it,
we legally can't follow up

on anything she shared with us.

We won't be able to investigate
Evan Connelly, and Baxter's--

We don't have a choice, Sam.

Nolan, please.

Baxter wants to pursue
Evan Connelly.

He told us that.

You can't just ignore him.

There's no way
I'm letting Jessica Reese

play me for a fool.

This case all comes down
to one thing--

control.

Jonah Barlowe ceded it
to the defendant

in an act of intimacy,

trusting her with access
to his bank account

in an attempt to satisfy
a private desire

within himself.

And whether or not you can
understand that desire,

what is unquestionably clear
is that the defendant

took advantage of it

and stole $25 million from him.

And when he demanded
she returned the money,

she then tried to control him
using shame.

She threatened to out the
details of his personal life.

She did the same to one of her
other clients, Derek Parker.

But Jonah Barlowe
refused to submit.

And the defendant,
in a desperate attempt

to reclaim control
of the situation,

violently attacked
and murdered him.

And now,
ladies and gentlemen...

it's up to you.

This case is now
in your control.

Madam Foreperson,
has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

On the charge of murder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant
Jessica Reese guilty.

Thank you.

I've been trying
to contact you.

Congrats on the win.

I called you several times.

I know.

And I apologize
for being unavailable,

but it sounds like you did
what you thought

made the most sense
given the circumstances.

I did.

Then that's all that matters.

I suppose.

We don't know each other,

but you should know that
I take this job very seriously.

And I feel the weight
each and every trial,

and I try my hardest

to do what is in the best
interests of the victim.

Always.

But if that
isn't good enough...

Are you tendering
your resignation?

I'm just telling you
who I am.

I'll see you tomorrow, Nolan.