All language subtitles for Law and order S14E24 - C.O.D.

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.

There's a reason you have an alarm clock.
I'll take the subway to school.

Not by yourself, you're not.

[Doorbell Rings]

Just sign for it right here,
ma'am.

Nice day, huh?
You don't have a 13-year-old daughter.

This, too, shall pass. Before you know
it, you'll be crying at her wedding.

No doubt. Thanks.
You bet.

Do we know a Mary Johnson?
Who?

[Three Gunshots]

Vick name is John Byrne. Just delivered
a package to this brownstone.

On the way back to his truck,
somebody blew him away.

A robbery?
Wallet's still in his pocket,
along with the keys to his truck.

Anybody see anything?
Woman that lives here called it in.

A Louise Hamilton.
That's her up on the stoop.

Okay, get a canvass going on the block.
We'll get her statement.

You got it.
Thanks, Sarge.

Mrs. Hamilton,
what can you tell us?

I was making breakfast for my daughter.
I opened the door to sign for the package.

I went back inside, and the next
thing I know, I hear gunshots.

Scared me to death.

Did you notice anybody hanging out
around here while you were at the door?
I wasn't really looking.

Tell them about the package, Mom.

First of all, I don't even know
the woman who sent it to me.

Second, the envelope?
It was empty.

Somebody had opened it?
No, it was sealed.

Where's the envelope now?
We're gonna need to take it with us.
Sure.

It's right inside.

That's pretty strange. Guy delivers an
envelope... there's no letter in it.

Something tells me
the message was for him.

Victim was shot twice with a
.38-caliber revolver, not recovered.

No eyewitnesses
and nothing taken from the truck.

A random shooting?
Well, that or a setup.

What makes you think that?

John Byrne worked for RME Express
for six years.

He was on his regular route.
The package he delivered was empty.

They knew where he'd be
and what time he'd be there.

Ed's checking with the company
about the package right now.

Have you told him yet?

Ah, I just haven't found
the right moment.

So what's it been for you and me, 11 years?
Something like that.

That's the longest
I was ever with any woman.

Now, that's pitiful.

The sender was listed
as a Mary Johnson.

The return address on the airbill does not exist.
[Van Buren] What a surprise.

Did Latent get any prints
off the envelope?

Just Byrne's and the recipient.
It was sent from one of their
retail locations in the city.

So maybe they could track a payment
or give us a description
of this Mary Johnson.

You don't need an account or a
credit card to send an RME package.

Nice to know someplace
still takes greenbacks.
You don't require I.D. either, right?

Right.
So no questions asked.

Nope.
Just like the post office.

Except we get it there faster.

Now, maybe you remember
this woman... Mary Johnson.
That doesn't 't ring a bell offhand

Let me see the tracking number.

Monday. Busiest day of the week.

We had over 400 walk-ins
at this location.

Tell you the truth, the only thing
I remember is this guy who spilled
coffee all over the floor,

And this knock-out blonde...
knee-high boots, fishnets.

I should really call her.

She gave you her number?

Got it off her package.

Ah, the male libido knows no bounds.

The dude I used to partner with
when I was a rookie?

If he saw a hot girl in a car,
he'd run her plates to get her number.
That'd go over big with the I.A.B.

Anyway, cash payment,
fake address, fake name.

This is sounding more and more
like a textbook case of how to set up
an RME delivery guy.

When you absolutely, positively
have to kill somebody overnight.

It's unbelievable.
Just a day like any other.

Then the call comes.
Whole world changes.

We're real sorry about your husband, Mrs. Byrne.
Thank you.

How long have you been married?

Seven years.
Happily?

Very.

Any financial problems
or romantic ones?

Romantic?
You know, seven-year itch?

No. Just the usual married stuff.

Whose parents we were gonna visit
over the holidays.

Nothing serious.
Can you think of anybody
that would want to hurt your husband?

I can't imagine.

John was the sweetest guy, really.

Everybody loved him.

- John owe anybody any money?
- No, of course not.

Uh, just our car payments.

I mean, we weren't exactly on easy street.
We both had to work.

[Green] You work for RME also?
Parks Department.

You work for the city.
We know what that's like.

John had to put in a lot of overtime
for us to make ends meet.

He worked so hard.

Byrne was a real decent guy.

Everybody liked him, got along good.

As a worker, not the best,
not the worst.

You sound like you had some reservations
Nothing like that.

Just a tad lazy. You know the type.

Calls in sick when he gets the sniffles,
can't wait to punch the clock
every afternoon.

Wait a minute. His wife told us he
worked his share of overtime.

Overtime? There's no such thing here.
You're either on the early shift or the late.

Who was he tight with?
I mean, somebody he might have
hung out with after work.

Joe Rodriguez.
He's out on his route now.

I can get you his 20
if you wanna talk to him.

You get the guy who did this to Johnnie?
We're working on it, man.

Do me a favor... when you
pick him up, give me five minutes
with the son of a bitch.

You two were close, huh?
I'm carrying the casket at his funeral.

Me and some
of the other drivers.

Maybe you can tell us what he was
doing in his spare time after work.

What are you talking about?

We know he was involved in
some extracurricular activity that he
was keeping a secret from his wife.

Really? News to me.
Come on Mr. Rodriguez

If you're serious about helping us
find your friend's killer, step up,
tell us what you know.

Johnnie always played his personal life
pretty close to the vest,

but I know he had a definite thing
for one of the girls on his route.

One of the girls on his route?

One of the secretaries
where he made a pickup every day
[Green] You know her name?

Gloria.
The Kent Foundation.

And they were getting it on?

Wednesdays and Fridays... whew...
Johnnie couldn't wait to get off work.

[Phone Rings]

Can I help you gentlemen?
We're looking for Gloria.

Is she here today?
Yeah.

Gloria, can you come up here
a minute, please?

What's this about?
[Green] It's just routine.

- Yeah?
- This is about John Byrne.

- John Byrne?
- Delivery guy, RME Express.
He's here every day.

Oh, yeah. John.
What about him?

He was shot yesterday.
He's dead.

Oh, my God.

Could we go somewhere else?

Where did this happen?
[Green] On his route.

From your reaction back there,
I guess he was delivering
more than packages.

You don't have to be crude
about it.

[Green] So you were seeing him?
For a while.

We'd go to a motel after work
a couple of days a week.

We're gonna need the name
of the motel. You married?

Yeah. Uh, look,
I'm not proud of what I did.

- Where was your husband yesterday morning?
- In Atlanta, on business.

And he doesn't know, okay?

Besides, I stopped seeing John
two months ago.

Let me guess... the guilt finally
won out over the excitement?

Not exactly.

I loved Johnnie, but he was a dog.

I found out he had another girlfriend.

And who would that be?
I have no idea.

But I know that the scratch marks
on his back weren't mine,

and from the way Johnnie talked
about his wife,

I know they weren't hers.

I turn the same room around
four, five times a day. How am I
supposed to remember anybody?

This guy was probably a frequent flyer.
No, I don't recognize him.

And I don't suppose
you require I.D. to check in, huh?

Does this look like the Plaza?

Okay, your security cameras on the landings...
do they work?

My rooms might be inexpensive,
but I run a safe establishment.

Do you keep the tapes?
Ninety days.

I want to thank you guys
for all the cool videos.

Hey, anything interesting?
There's a couple of things so far.

[Green] There's our boy John Byrne.
Dog!

[Woman] Can we go in tighter on that?

- [Green] Can we print that?
- Wait. Here's where it gets exciting.

Nine minutes later...

Nine minutes? These young guys
have no staying power.

On, look at the happy couple.

Can you freeze
on where she's kicking him?

Yeah, back it up.

Now, how close can you get
on her shoes?

[Briscoe]
What's the big deal with the shoes?

Those are Dada Vipers.
They're limited-edition sneakers.

The only place you can get them here
is on Amsterdam in the 70s.

Now I know
where all your overtime goes.

We have an exclusive deal
with Dada.

There was a line around the block
when the Vipers came in.

We sold out of those puppies
in a day.

You recognize her?
Yeah, that's Blair. Boy, she looks pissed!

She one of your customers?
She works here. She's in the back.

Yo, Blair.
Uh, was Blair working here Tuesday morning?

We don't open till noon.

What?

We need to talk to you
about your kicks.

You want to talk about my shoes?
We want to talk about who you
were kicking with them.

I don't know what you mean.
John Byrne.

You know, the dude
that you were wrestling with
at the Twilight Motel.

What'd he say about me?
He didn't say no thing. He's dead.

What? Dead? How?

Somebody shot him.
So what was the melodrama about
at the motel?

How do you know so much about this?

That bitch follow us?

What bitch?
His wife.

Whoa, wait a minute.
His wife knew about the two of you?

What do you think me and Johnnie
were fighting about?
Why don't you tell us?

Adele called my house.
She was off her freaking rails.

I told Johnnie about it
that day at the motel...

that I wasn't gonna keep doing him
if that psycho ever contacted me again.

That charming little story leads me to ask,
where were you Tuesday morning?

- I was getting a bikini wax.
- Okay.

So she called you. What'd she say?

She said I'd better
stay away from her husband.

And if I didn't, she was gonna
do something about it.

The shoe salesgirl
copped to sleeping with Byrne,
but we had to cut her loose.

Her alibi panned out?
In a manner of speaking.

Turned out she was getting a bikini wax.
It was something called a Sphinx.

Don't ask. I wish I hadn't.

The upshot is Byrne's wife lied to us
about the state of her marriage.

- Said it was all hearts and flowers.
- Which moves her up to the top of your list.

Number one, with a bullet.

Don't bring her in just yet.
Soft-sell it, see if you can
lock her into a story.

I'm sure there are more lies
where the first one came from.

[Motor Roaring]

Mrs. Byrne!
[Motor Tums Off]

Are you making any progress,
Detectives?

- It's still early, but we got
some leads we're working on.
- A suspect?

A pretty good candidate.
Really? Who?

- On, your husband know
a woman named Blair?
- No.

Is she somebody John worked with?

Somebody he knew.
Is she your suspect?

Well, it's a little too soon to tell.

- You said you were working
the day your husband was shot?
- That's right.

Where were you exactly?

Doing grounds maintenance
here in Riverside Park,
around 81 st Street. Why?

- That's where you were when you
got the call about your husband?
- My supervisor came and found me.

We're gonna need his name
so we can verify that.

Do you mind if I ask why?

Our lieutenant's a stickler
for paperwork.

By the way, do either you
or your husband own a gun?

No.

I guess that about covers
everything for now.
We may need to talk to you again.

[Green] You think of anything else,
you give us a call, all right?

Adele was definitely at work
the day her husband got shot.
I remember that.

Where was she
around 10:00 that morning?

Working on one of the ball fields
up here by the boat basin.

I got a call that the cops
wanted to talk to her,

rode up there,
brought her back to the office.

- How'd she take it?
- How do you think? Pretty damn hard.
Wouldn't stop crying.

Was anybody working with her
at the ball field?

No. The way it works is
my crew fans out in the morning.

They each do their assignments,
and then they move on to the next one.

If somebody wanted to play hooky
for an hour or two, there's nobody
watching the classroom.

I suppose,
but Adele's Miss Dependable.

Besides, earlier that morning,
about 8:30, 8:45,

I cruised by the field she was working on
with a new valve for one
of the water fountains.

I saw her out there,
grooming the infield.

Okay. Thanks, man.

If she did it herself,
she'd have had to be on
a pretty tight timetable.

Tight, but not impossible.
Or maybe she found somebody
that had a more flexible schedule.

What, a hired hit?
Let's check her financials.

These people led
the all-American life.

Two paychecks every two weeks,
rent payments, utilities.

No two and a half kids
and a dog.

- They didn't need a dog.
The husband was one.
- I can't wait till you get married.

Seeing as how we answer
each other's phones, you'll probably
find out about that before I will.

There is nothing unusual
in these bank statements.
Yeah.

There's not much in the Byrnes'
credit card records either.

She eats three times a week
at Gardner's Café.

He goes bowling every Sunday...

and buys his underwear
from a sporting goods catalogue.

Wait a second.

Gas station charges on her account
up and down I-91, three days apart.

Could have been visiting friends.
Or making a down payment
on a hit man.

There's a $500 cash advance
from a private A.T.M.
in Bennington, Vermont.

Be nice to find out
to who, what and where.

Vermont's a four-hour drive.
Not if we go lights and sirens.

You sure this is the right place?
50 West Main Street.

[Briscoe]
Home of Murray's World of Guns.

Of all the A.T.M.'s in the world,
she picks one in a gun shop.

Let's see what 500 bucks
buys in Vermont.

Her name is Adele Byrne.
She came up here from New York.
She used your A.T.M. a few months ago.

A lot of people drop in
just to use the cash machine.

I don't pay much attention.

Well, start focusing.
Her husband was shot.

I couldn't sell to a New York
resident even if I wanted to.

Vermont law.

Then you don't mind if we take a look
at your sales records for that day?

You guys got a warrant?
No.

But we can get one.
Ed, where do you think the A.T. F.
regional office is around here?

See, Murray, it's not us
you have to worry about.

An illegal gun sale
could get you a federal charge.

What day was this?

March 17.

I sold a Smith & Wesson .38 to myself.

As a cutout for her?
Yeah.

I wouldn't do something like this
if she had a record, you know?

I told her I'd buy the gun
in my name,

but she still had to wait a couple of days
till I did a background check.

A lot of good that did.

Can you give us the serial number
for that gun, please?

This is ridiculous.
It's the middle of the night.

Funny. That's the same thing
the judge said.

I don't know what you think you're gonna find.
How 'bout the gun you bought in Vermont?

Why didn't you just ask?
It's not here.

Don't be insulted
if we don't take your word for that.

Lennie, the place is clean.
You told us you didn't own a gun.

I don't.
The gun I bought was stolen.

Somebody grabbed my handbag.
I reported it to the police.

She filed a report with the 1-8
a month before her husband was shot.

She said a kid came out of nowhere,
snatched her purse and took off.

She didn't say anything
about a gun being in it.

Yeah, and just by coincidence,
there were no witnesses to this event.

It doesn't mean it didn't happen.

You also said she was working
the day of the shooting.

Yeah, and her work
is roaming around Riverside Park
by herself all day blowing leaves.

Riverside Park.

If she ducks out to take care of business,
you know where she ditches the gun.

The Hudson River.

[Lennie] Underwater metal detectors.

Back when I got my gold shield,
there weren't even such things
as fax machines or cell phones...

or even computers.

Did everything
with your own two eyes.
Checked ballistics, fingerprints.

And a microscope
like we used to have
in junior high chemistry class.

Think I've stayed on this job
just to see what comes next.

I hear we're getting
blackberries next year.

Yeah, next year.

What is up with you?

I'm putting in my papers, Ed.

What?
It's time.

Wha... Really?
What are you gonna do?

I don't know. Play golf, shoot pool,
lay around in the sun.

If I get bored,
maybe I'll try the D.A.'s office,

pick up an investigation
here and there.

Ahh.

Damn, Lennie, you...

[Man] Hey!

Same serial number as the one
she bought in Vermont.

Three spent shells.
Wow.

She hit him two out of three.
Not bad for an amateur.

Adele Byrne.
You're under arrest
for the murder of john Byrne.

What the hell is going on?
She'll take this to go.

Just because my husband
slept with somebody
doesn't mean I would kill him.

"Slept with somebody”
doesn't 't do it justice.

Your husband had sexual narcolepsy.
He kept falling into bed.

You found out what he was up to;
then you took that little road trip
to Vermont to buy that gun?

- I bought that gun
because I didn't feel safe.
- So why did you buy it illegally?

The same reason anybody does.
An ordinary person can't get
a gun permit in this city.

What about the spent shells
in the cylinder?

I don't know who used the gun.

Probably the kid who stole my purse.
It wasn't me.

You lied to us about your marriage.
You didn't tell us about your husband's affairs.

Because I knew you'd bring me
down here and accuse me of this.

And you lied about the gun.
You asked me if I had a gun.
I told you I didn't.

Right. It was stolen by some mystery punk,
so you could cover your ass.

You know something?
I don't want to say anything else
until I talk to a lawyer.

The woman's got an answer
for everything.

Well, there's one thing
she won't be able to squirm out of...

ballistics.

The police spoke to Adele Byrne's supervisor.

She was at work the day of the murder.
All morning?

He thinks so.
It's not ironclad.

She may have had a window
to slip away unnoticed.

And wait for her husband
to deliver the phony package.

What about the gun
the cops fished out of the river?
It's hers.

She made a special trip out of state
to get it through a straw buyer.

And the motive evidence is solid.

It's the oldest one in the book...
a cheating spouse.

She denied knowing
anything about it to the police,

but the girlfriend says
that Adele threatened her and Adele's
cell phone records show several calls.

More than enough to charge her.
[Cell Phone Rings]

Southerlyn.

I'll be right there.
[Beeps]

Ballistics.
This should sew it up.

We got a problem.
I don't understand. It's her gun.

Okay. Now, here's
the Smith & Wesson .38 you gave me.

It couldn't have been in the river
more than a couple days at most.
It's still operative.

This is a bullet
I test-fired from it.

Five lands and grooves with a right twist.
Standard on a Smith &Wesson.

And this is one of the bullets
taken from John Byrne's chest,
also five right.

So it's our murder weapon.
Look at the striations.

They don't match.

Which means this gun
wasn't used to kill Mr. Byrne.

Are you 100% sure?
Look, striations don't lie,
Ms. Southerlyn.

Odds are the murder weapon
was a Smith & Wesson .38.

Just not this one.
Right.

You have your doubts now?
Don't you? Adele Byrne's got a solid alibi.

Her gun isn't the murder weapon.
Maybe she got another .38
we ain't found yet.

Why would she travel out of state to
buy a gun if she already had one?

Three spent shells in the cylinder.
Somebody fired at something.

Or someone.

Any other shootings
in that part of town recently?
We'll check it out.

Later.

Hey. Ed Pachuco. He just got
transferred to Manhattan South.
He should be able to hook us up.

You mind running
that one down by yourself?

I got some paperwork at One P.P
I gotta take care of.
Don't worry about it. I got it.

Sorry to duck out on you.
Don't even worry about it, man.
Go and do what you gotta do.

We've got drawers full of open cases.
Depends on how far back you wanna go.

The gun we're looking at
was purchased three months ago.

That should narrow it down.

All right, here we go.

This guy was capped
during a drive-by.

Gunned down with a Tech-9.
Dealer named Ramon Padilla.
That's not it.

A 33-year-old black male
shot three times
while jogging in Central Park.

What'd the shooter use?
A .38 revolver.

Vic's name is Randall Gardner.

Gardner. Gardner.
You know anything about him?

He was loaded.
He was into real estate.

His wife runs some kind
of high-end coffee shop
as a hobby.

Yeah. Gardner's Café.
Right.

You look at her?
The first thing we thought of.

But she was alibied real tight,
and we could not make it a for-hire.

Let me get a look at the ballistics.

So, you familiar
with this Belinda Gardner?

Yeah. We arrested our suspect
in her coffee shop.

I'll fill you in, but I gotta
give the D.A. a heads-up.

My husband and I left together that morning.

I went to my yoga class
Randall went running
in Central Park.

When I came back home,
the police were waiting for me.
It was awful.

Did he run the same time every morning?
That's right.

I already told all of this
to the police, Ms. Southerlyn.
Three or four times, in fact.

There was a woman
who was arrested at your café.

Adele Byrne.

Did you know her very well?

Not outside the cafe.
She's a regular customer.

We chat.

She lost her husband too.
Yes.

I gather the police
think she might have had
something to do with his death.

He was shot the same week
that your husband was.

I know.
Quite a bizarre coincidence.

Turns out her husband
was having an affair.

What are you implying?

Just wondering if that might be
another thing that you share with Ms. Byrne.

My husband was absolutely
faithful to me, Ms. Southerlyn.

Neither of us ever strayed.
We took our vows quite seriously.

Adele Byrne and Belinda Gardner
knew each other from Gardner's Cafe.

Their husbands were shot
four days apart.

I take it you think
this can't be a coincidence.

By itself, maybe.

But here's the kicker:
Adele Byrne's gun wasn't the one
that killed her husband.

I had Ballistics run the slug
that killed Randall Gardner.

That slug is a dead-on match.
It definitely came from Adele Byrne's gun.

So Adele Byrne killed Randall Gardner.

A man she didn't know
and had absolutely no occasion
to cross paths with.

I'll bet you all a steak dinner
that Belinda Gardner killed John Byrne.

Two women who don't know each other
meet in a cafe and agree
to kill each other's husbands.

It's something
out of Alfred Hitchcock.

We know Adele's Byrne's motive...
she caught her husband cheating on her.

Why did Belinda Gardner
want Mr. Gardner dead?

That's the part
we haven't figured out yet.

Randall bought me this place
when he flipped the building.

It's pretty cool, right?

Your brother must have been
a very generous man.
He was the best.

Trying to make it as a painter,
but I've sold, like, three pieces.

If it wasn't for Randall,
I'd be living in a rented room
somewhere in bridge-and-tunnel land.

Oh, and studio space?
Yeah. Forget it.

Was he as generous with his wife?

Belinda?

Depends on who you ask.

Doesn't sound like
a ringing endorsement.

I'm sorry. I just never
really liked that woman.

She married Randall for his money.

- How can you be so sure?
- She met him in Vegas
at a real estate developers' conference.

[Chuckles]
Happy coincidence?

Well, if you ask me,
she targeted him.

For her it wasn't a marriage
so much as it was a business transaction.

Do you think she was unfaithful?

She liked my brother's money too much.
She wouldn't 't risk getting prenuppeed
in a divorce.

She's one of those women
whose real profession is shopping.

Clothing, jewelry?

And when she wasn't
buying $800 sandals,

it was massages, facials, fancy spas.

How did she manage that regimen
and her cafe at the same time?

Randall bought her that place
to keep her out of Bendel's.

When that didn't work, he got fed up
and put her on an allowance too.

Really put a crimp in her lifestyle.

She's gonna walk away with
a big chunk of his estate now.

I'm sure you told all of this
to the police who investigated
your brother's murder.

Believe me, I did.

But she had an ironclad alibi.
Sol guess the bitch just got lucky.

I talked to Randall Gardner's
T&E lawyer.

Belinda stands to inherit half of his estate.
Which is how much?

Her share comes to $13 million
after taxes.

Okay, but it's not like she was cutting
coupons while Gardner was alive.

Despite his best efforts.
He was trying to keep her
on a short leash financially.

So Belinda wanted off the leash,
and Adele Byrne wanted to punish
her cheating spouse.

They solved
each other's problems.

Quid pro quo.

It's a pretty ingenious plan.
I'll be damned
if they're gonna get away with it.

Pick her up.

Jack, why drag me down here
if you're convinced Adele
didn't kill her husband?

That doesn't mean
we're not gonna prosecute her.

She cut a few corners to buy her gun.
Okay, we surrender. What's the fine?
You take credit cards, right?

We're charging your client
with the murder of Randall Gardner.

I didn't even know Randall Gardner.

Why would Adele murder
a man she doesn't know?

She conspired with Belinda Gardner.

They murdered each other's husbands.

The slugs in Mr. Gardner
came from your client's .38.

I've never even met the man.
I don't know anyone named John Byrne.

His wife is a regular customer of yours.

And that's a crime?

You don't have a murder weapon,
and you have absolutely no forensics.

For the last time,
that gun was stolen from me.

You have absolutely no proof
she's the shooter.

Our motion to dismiss will be on
your desk end of business.

This is a house of cards,
Your Honor.

The prosecution against Adele Byrne
is predicated on the one
against Mrs. Gardner.

And the prosecution
against Mrs. Gardner is meaningless
without Mrs. Byrne.

You seem to have
a catch-22, Mr. McCoy.

You can't prove one murder
without proving the other first.

But we can prove them both
at the same time.

C.P.L. 200.40 permits joinder of defendants
where there's evidence of a common scheme.

Two murders, one trial.

You can't consolidate two cases
that couldn't have been
brought individually.

We can if we add a conspiracy
count to both indictments.

Where's the criminal agreement,
Mr. McCoy? Where's your proof?

He has none.
It's all speculation.

- You're gonna dismiss two murders?
- Who said anything about dismissing?

Apart from the defense lawyers,
I mean.

If Mr. McCoy thinks he can prove
one murder independent of the other,
I'm more than willing to let him try.

Separate trials.

- Your Honor...
- Let the games begin.

Can you convict 'em
if you try each woman separately?

I can prove Adele Byrne
shot Randall Gardner.

You can prove somebody
used her gun to shoot him.

The bigger problem is the gun
that Belinda Gardner
used to shoot John Byrne.

You don't have it.

Because she did a better job
ditching it.

Which is why I'll try Mrs. Gardner last.

That case will go a lot easier
after Adele Byrne gets convicted.

What if she gets acquitted?
Have you thought about that?

I mean, if you lose
there's not a jury in the world
that'll convict Belinda Gardner.

You think I'm putting
all my eggs in one basket.

Consecutive trials make the first
one an all-or-nothing shot.

So why not try them
simultaneously?

Just explain to me how I can be
in two courtrooms at once.

Keep it as simple as you can.

Adele Byrne's bullets
ended up in Randall Gardner.

What about you?
At least I have a murder weapon.
I have motive and opportunity.

The circumstances
speak for themselves.

Did you notice an Arnold Barker
on their witness list?

The director of the Kent Foundation.
Why is he on their list?

That's where John Byrne's
girlfriend worked.

Belinda Gardner's lawyer's gonna make
an issue out of John Byrne's infidelities.

Create reasonable doubt?

When all else fails,
blame the other woman.

Do you recognize
what's been previously introduced
as People's six, Mr. Gundrozach?

Yeah, that's the gun I sold.
A Smith & Wesson .38.

Is the person you sold the gun to
in the courtroom today?

She's sitting right there.

Let the record reflect the witness is
indicating the defendant, Adele Byrne.

Do you have sales records
reflecting this transaction?

Kind of. My records show
that I sold a gun... to myself.

Why did you do that?

She really didn't want to buy it
under her own name,

so I bought it for her.

Did you recommend
this model to her?

She came in asking for that particular gun.

S&W .38.

She was real specific.

Initially, we suspected the victim's wife, Adele,

because she purchased
the Smith & Wesson .38 in Vermont.

But you didn't charge her with Mr. Byrne's murder.

Our ballistics established
that her gun didn't match.

It did, however, match
the bullet found in Randall Gardner.

[McCoy] The husband of the defendant.

How did this change your theory
about John Byrne's murder?

Well, we considered the possibility that
the two wives killed each other's husbands.

What connection, if any, were you able
to establish between the defendant
and Adele Byrne to support that?

Well, one thing is,

Mrs. Byrne goes to
the defendant's café
three times a week.

The other thing is,
the defendant's husband was killed
the same week as Mr. Byrne.

- How?
- He was shot.

Also with a .38.

So, Detective, by your logic,

since I also frequent Gardner's Cafe,

if my wife turns up dead
I can expect a visit from the police.

You can if you purchased
a murder weapon.

Well, did you find the gun...

that you allege my client used
to kill John Byrne?

No.

Oh, so, in other words,
the only evidence that you have
against my client...

is that Adele Byrne bought a gun,

a person who is not
on trial in this courtroom.

Tell me, Detective,

um, did Mrs. Byrne offer
an explanation for that purchase?

She said she bought it for protection.

There's been a lot of stuff in the papers
lately about home invasions, rapes.

John worked late a lot.
I was home alone. I was scared.

Had you ever fired a gun before?
No.

And I still haven't.
The gun was stolen a few weeks after I got it.
I reported it to the police.

The prosecution contends
you used it to shoot Randall Gardner

I never even met the man.
And Belinda Gardner?

Sure, I... I went into her café.

But the only time I ever talked to her
was to order coffee.

Mrs. Byrne, did you conspire with her
to kill each other's husbands?

Absolutely not.

And where were you at the time
Randall Gardner was shot?

I was at work in Riverside Park.

Where the police
found the murder weapon?

It's a big public park,
Ms. Southerlyn.

So it's just a coincidence
that Randall Gardner
was killed with your gun.

It's a violent city.
That's why I bought the gun
in the first place.

The gun that you claim was stolen.
It was.

I filed a report with the police.

Yeah, you covered all of your bases.
Objection!

[Adele]
I don't know what you're talking about.

There's nothing in that report about a gun.
You reported that your purse was stolen.
Why didn't you mention the gun?

I didn't want to admit
that I'd bought a gun illegally.

So that's one felony
you admit to lying about.

Does it get easier the second time around?
Objection!

Sustained.

Manners, Ms. Southerlyn.

Actually, that's not
the only lie you told, was it?

You also told the police
that you didn't know your husband
was being unfaithful to you.

I didn't think John's infidelities
had anything to do with his murder.

Except to give you
a motive to kill him.

[Attorney] Your Honor!

Do you know a woman
named Gloria Regelson, Mr. Barker?

She's a secretary who works with me
at the Kent Foundation.

And, um, what was her relationship
with the victim, John Byrne?

John delivered packages to our office
on a daily basis.

I've since learned that Gloria was
having a romantic relationship with him.

Did you ever see them together,
Mr. Barker?

I saw them leaving the building together once.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but in
retrospect they were acting... rather friendly.

Ah. I, um, want to direct your attention,
Mr. Barker, to April 20.

That's the day after
the victim in this case was murdered

Anything unusual happen
at the Kent Foundation?

A member of our custodial staff
came to me...

and reported that
he'd found a gun in a trash can.

It had been stuffed in the bottom of the can,
wrapped in a brown paper bag.

Did Gloria Regelson have access
to this trash can?

- Of course.
- I see. What, if anything,
did you do with this gun, Mr. Barker?

The only thing I could think to do.
I reported it to the police, and they took it.

Your Honor, at this time the defense moves
to compel the People to produce the gun...

seized by the N.Y.P.D.
at the Kent Foundation.

- Defense hasn't established relevance.
- A simple ballistics test will do that.

However, since I do not have access
to the gun and the police do...

The People will see to it that the gun found at
the Kent Foundation's offices...

will be produced for ballistics testing.

[Gavel Bangs]

So, where the hell is this gun?
We were able to locate the gun
at the property clerk's office.

A .38 Smith & Wesson.

Great.
What'd the ballistics test show?

Just what the defense wanted.

The gun found at the Kent Foundation
was used to shoot John Byrne.

- Can we tie it to Belinda Gardner?
- Believe me, I tried.

The trash can where the gun was found...

was in an area open to the public
that got a lot of foot traffic.

So Belinda Gardner
could have planted the gun.

If only I could prove it.
None of the staff remembers seeing her.

I'm sure the gun's untraceable.

The serial number was filed off
Probably bought on the street.

You gotta give these girls credit for one thing...
they sure weren't standing behind the door
when the good Lord handed out the brains.

Gloria Regelson is the perfect patsy.

She had an affair with Byrne,
and now the murder weapon
turns up at her workplace.

A fact that I'm sure you'll address on cross.
For all the good it'll do.

I hope your trial's going better.

It'd be hard for it not to.

How about a continuance
to buy yourself time to prove
that Belinda Gardner planted the gun?

They don't grant continuances
just because you're getting your butt kicked.

It's time for both of you
to face the music.

Mr. Foreperson,
has the jury reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

We find the defendant,
Adele Byrne, guilty...

of second degree murder.

[Spectators Murmuring]

Has the jury reached a verdict?
[Woman] We have, Your Honor

In the matter of the
People v. Belinda Gardner,

we find the defendant
not guilty on all counts.

[Spectators Murmuring]

I suppose you're about to say
the glass is half full.

You knew it was gonna be
a tough case from the start, Jack.
Don't count me out yet.

I've still got one more at-bat.

The ink on the verdict is barely dry
and here you are gloating.

We're not here for that.
This isn't quite over yet.

You're damn right it isn't.
I've informed Adele she has
numerous grounds for appeal.

I'm hard-pressed
to think of a single one.

The only hope your client has
is leniency at sentencing.

Belinda Gardner, on the other hand,
is celebrating at the Four Seasons.

[Attorney] We're not conceding
any relationship with Mrs. Gardner.

Too bad.

I was hoping to get a question answered.

Specifically, how'd they choose
Belinda Gardner's gun as the one to plant
at the Kent Foundation...

when they could just as easily
have planted Adele's?

How'd that work, Ms. Byrne?

Belinda Gardner gets the patsy,
while the working girl gets 25-to-life?

Does that seem fair to you?

I suppose...

you can always
take your chances on appeal.

What do you want to know,
Mr. McCoy?

Your Honor, this is outrageous.
Double jeopardy protects my client
from further prosecution.

Jeopardy only attached
as to John Byrne's murder.

We're indicting Mrs. Gardner
for the murder of her husband.

Which is even more ridiculous,
considering Belinda Gardner
didn't murder her husband

A jury just concluded Adele Byrne did.

Mrs. Gardner didn't have to pull the trigger.

In fact, we're going to up the ante.
We're charging her with murder, first-degree.

Oh, this should be good
In fact, it'd better be.

First-degree murder
includes murder-for-hire...

and applies to both the shooter
and the contracting party.

Where the murder is for,
and I quote, “pecuniary gain,"
which means money.

Or did the laws change while I was asleep?

People v. American Motor Club,
and I quote:

“The benefit of pecuniary value
need not be money. It includes
any service with monetary value

Oh, so murder-for-hire is a service?
Is that what you think?

No. I've prosecuted enough hit men.
I know for certain.

And there is no requirement
the service be legal.

Contract killings in exchange
for drugs, for example.

[Judge] I have to agree.
Motion granted.

They've got you, Mr. Solomon.

[Gavel Bangs]

When Adele Byrne
comes up for sentencing,
we're recommending 20-to-life.

What's good for the goose.

Sure beats life without parole.

Fine.

Twelve people still acquitted me.

Yeah.

That's gotta burn.

Once that guilty verdict came in...

Belinda Gardner had to know that
Adele Byrne was gonna give her up.

That was the fatal flaw in their whole scheme...
they were strangers.

Well, it's nice to go out on a win.

[Grunts]

Lieu.

[Inaudible]

[Howling]