All language subtitles for Law and order S15E15 - Obsession

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.

If you want your children
to say no to drugs,

no to premarital sex, no to
so-called alternative lifestyles,

then you have to give them
a strong moral foundation.

And that foundation
begins at home.

One more question.

How do we counteract
corrosive cultural forces

like the internet, and
television, and the media?

It's not easy.

You can start
by buying my book.

(LAUGHING)

Thank you all for coming.

And God bless
to all of you.

LAURIE:
Unbelievable.

The guy's being sued
for sexual harassment,

and he has the gall to stand up in
public and preach family values.

Hasn't stopped people
from buying his book.

We're almost sold out.

And I thought we were
living in a blue state.

I guess there's no such
thing as bad publicity.

(WOMAN SCREAMS)

Somebody, please! Call
911, somebody's been shot!

Victim's Larry Shea.

The talk show host?

Book signing. Stepped outside
around 9:00 p.m. and bang.

That's one way to get out of a court date.
What's up, Brody?

Single gunshot wound
to the back of the head.

From the stippling, I'd say the shooter
was one to two feet behind him.

CSU found a nine-millimeter
casing over by the fire hydrant.

Any witnesses?

Uh, Shea's limo driver.

That's it?
So far.

Thanks. Friday night, Union
Square, thousands of people,

and there's one witness.

FONTANA: Wanna tell us
what you saw, Sir?

I was by the car,
waiting, uh, for Mr. Shea.

And he comes out of the store, I go
around to open the door for him,

I hear a shot.

I look around, and he's
lyin' on the sidewalk.

I see someone break out of the
crowd, run into the subway.

What'd this person
look like?

Uh, darkjacket, uh, red ski cap
with, like, a white patch on it.

Short, tall, fat, skinny, black,
white, male, female, what?

I don't know,
kinda average?

I'm sorry.
It all happened so fast.

That's okay. Look, how did Mr.
Shea seem to you?

What do you mean?

Well, was he nervous, what
kind of a mood was he in?

Oh, he was in a great mood.

Even gave me an autographed
copy of his book.

That's one that won't have
a happy ending.

ED: We found
a nine-millimeter pistol

near the 17th Street
entrance to the park.

It's a Luger.

A Luger?
A real German Luger?

It's a World War Two
souvenir.

Doesn't have a serial number,
but it does have a print.

We're trying
to match it now.

Oh, well,
that's a start.

We also have a unit
going through the trashcans

and combing Union Square

in case the shooter
dumped somethin' else.

We're circulating flyers
at the dorms in the area.

So what do we have here?
Celebrity stalker?

Mark Chapman
and John Lennon?

Or maybe somebody who disagreed
with Shea's politics.

And then there's his wife, if he
was hitting on his co-workers.

You talkin' about the
sexual harassment lawsuit?

You think
the woman's lying?

Well, I think
he's an easy target.

High profile, successful TV
show, and rolling in moolah.

I might sympathize if he
wasn't on TV every night

telling women their place
is in the kitchen.

Preachin' them
old school politics.

Yeah, like Neanderthal.

Let's start with the wife,
work from there.

Get out of here.

I keep expecting him
to walk through the door.

ED: Ah, well,
we're really sorry

to intrude like this,
Mrs. Shea.

I understand.
Please, sit.

So, uh, this is just
for the record, but,

we need to know where
you were last night.

I took my son to Barney's
to buy him some clothes.

I can't believe we were
out shopping while...

Larry was bleeding to death
on some sidewalk.

Mom, I'm goin' out
for awalk.

Okay, honey.
I'll see you later.

Will worshipped
his stepfather.

Larry adopted Will
when he was 10.

He treated him
like his own.

Now, Mrs. Shea, we know that
this is a sensitive issue,

but we have to
ask some questions

about the sexual
harassment lawsuit.

Melinda Phelps?

She made that whole thing up
out of whole cloth.

For the money?

Not just for the money.

Larry said that
the trouble started

when he promoted a male
producer instead of her.

The lawsuit was
settled last week.

We didn't hear
anything about that.

It hasn't come out yet.

Trust me,
she did very well.

Did he have any problems with,
um, hate mail, things like that?

I wouldn't know.

All his mail
came to his office.

People don't like someone, how
hard is it to change the channel?

It's New York. Everybody
has at least one opinion.

Hey, most of it's harmless.

Anything in particular
raise a red flag?

There's this independent
filmmaker named Tyler Browning.

He's making
a documentary.

He sent Mr. Shea
a number of letters.

Some of 'em were pretty
confrontational, shall we say?

Just letters?

He showed up
at the studio last week,

tried to force his way
into ataping.

What happened?

We asked him to leave.
He wouldn't,

so my guys had to escort
him out of the building.

Let me get you
his letters.

Larry Shea's TV show is part of
the right-wing noise machine

that's trying to take this
country back to the Dark Ages.

That's the reason you
used to crash his show?

I wanted to confront him
on camera.

Make him answer some tough
questions, for a change.

Look, you wrote, "You're
a miserable lying liar.

"Crawl out from under
the rock you came from,

"and tell the truth
to the American people,

"or I'll make your life
a living hell."

I thought if I could made him
mad enough, he'd lose his cool,

so I could get him having a
meltdown for my documentary.

Well, did it work?

Man had no shame. Just
kept blowin' me off.

So you threatened
to make his life miserable?

I just meant I'd follow him
around with my camera crew

until he fessed up.

Shea was always portraying
Afghanistan like this Holy War.

You know the real reason
we invaded that country?

Have you been downtown lately?
Seen that hole in the skyline?

Bin Laden was the excuse
they were waiting for.

This administration
wants to build

an oil and gas pipeline
from Tajikistan...

Tajikistan, Afghanistan, as long as
the gas finds its way into my Benz,

I don't really care
where it comes from.

ED: All right, all right.

Why don't you tell us where you
were Friday night around 9:00?

On a plane. Coming
back from Houston.

Rupert Murdoch was speaking
at a media convention there.

What airline?

I always fly American.

Hey, Ballistics confirmed the
Luger you found at Union Square

is the murder weapon.

All right, later, Walt.

So now all we need to do is
find somebody to connect it to.

Yeah, but there are
no hits on the fingerprint.

The wise-ass documentary guy
didn't pan out?

Airline confirmed that he was
on flight 420 from Houston,

landed at La Guardia,

(CELL PHONE RINGS)
11:00 p.m. Friday night.

Yeah? Vvhatabout Miranda Shea?

Barney's confirmed that she
and her son were shopping

until well after
closing time.

And she has her own
personal shopper, by the way.

All right, thanks.

Hey, Canvass found an NYU law student
who might have seen the shooter.

And when the police
came around,

I suddenly remembered this
woman I saw on the subway.

She had on
a red ski cap.

Did it have any markings
on it or anything?

Yeah, like a white oval, uh,
some kinda logo on it, maybe.

And you're sure
it was a woman?

Ah, I was getting off the
train, and she was getting on.

She was in such a hurry, she
practically knocked me down.

What train?

R train, Union Square.
Around 9:00.

Can you describe her?

It's hard to say, she had
on this bulky down jacket.

And I couldn't see her hair
because of the ski cap.

Hey, if anything
comes of this,

you think you could
identify her in a line-up?

Mmm, it all
happened so fast.

I didn't get a good look
at her face.

Look, I have a class in,
like, five minutes.

FONTANA: Yeah.
Is it okay if I...

FONTANA: Thanks. Well done.
All right.

A woman? There's gotta be plenty of
women that wanna see Larry Shea dead.

Startin' with the one who filed
a harassment suit against him.

Melinda Phelps.

We should go to his office,
get some background on her.

I can't imagine who could
have done this to him.

How long did you
work with him?

Ten years.

So you know
Melinda Phelps?

Melinda worked here
for two years.

Talented woman.

What happened between
her and Larry Shea?

Larry was from
a different generation.

He grew up in
a different time.

His views about women were
a little old-fashioned.

Well, there's a bit of a leap from
old-fashioned to sexual harassment.

All I know is they worked
together very closely,

and everything seemed
to be going fine and then...

I couldn't believe it.
She hated him.

How did Mr. Shea react when he found out
she was filing charges against him?

I've never seen
him so angry.

He accused her
of extortion.

We heard he settled.

The network settled.

ED: What do you mean?

It was their money.

They gave it to him
so it wouldn't look like

they were giving in
to threats.

Sets a bad precedent.

How much was it?

Three and a half million.

Well, if there was nothing
to the allegations,

and the network didn't want to set a
precedent, why would they settle?

There were rumors that she'd recorded some
of the things he said to her on tape.

Personally, I never
believed the tapes existed.

I have
a confidentiality clause.

I can confirm the suit was settled
a few days ago, but that's it.

So you weren't
happy with that?

I'd be happier if the whole
thing had never happened.

If someone handed me three
and a half million dollars,

I'd be on the first plane
to Tuscany.

This wasn't some hobby for
me, this was my career.

I worked hard
to get this far.

So you just
get anotherjob.

Ever hear of
the old boy network?

Everything in my field
is run by men.

It's like I'm on some
blacklist now.

And you blame
Larry Shea for that?

Who else?

And how'd you know the
amount of the settlement?

A little bird told us.

It also told us that you threatened
Shea with tapes you made.

Yeah, you recorded him
hitting on you?

All I can say is that I could
prove everything I said he did,

and that's why
they settled.

It just doesn't
seem fair to me

that you can't get a good job comin'
off with somethin' like this.

I know where you're going
with this, Detective.

You can't possibly think I had
anything to do with this.

Come on, Miss Phelps. You just
admitted that the guy blacklisted ya.

ED: Where were you
on Friday night?

My apartment.

I came home around 5:00
and stayed in all night.

She says she was alone,
nobody saw her.

When we were going through
her bank records,

we found an ATM
withdrawal at 7:05 p.m.

This was after she told us she came
home at 5:00 and stayed in all night.

Three and a half million is a lot of
incentive to shut up and be happy.

So what's her motive?

Well, she claims
since she filed the suit,

she's been persona non
grata in the TV industry.

She blames Shea for
ruining her career?

More like
her whole life.

She claims that
he blacklisted her.

All right, I'll get you a subpoena
for the ATM surveillance tapes.

What was the time
of the withdrawal?

7:05.

ED: Can you stop
right there?

Nah, she's not
wearin' the ski cap.

Is she hailin' a cab?

Mmm-hmm.

Can you get close up
on the medallion number?

Yeah, I think I can
help you with that.

Ah? Now we can find out
where she went.

(sums)

Chanterelle?
Mmm-hmm.

Never been there.

Really?

'Cause the cab driver
remembers

dropping you off there
Friday night at about 7:30.

And the maTtre d'
lD'd your photo.

Said you were havin'
dinner with some guy.

Brown hair, in his 40s. Any of
this ringin' a bell with you?

You know what
I think, Detective Green?

I think that
her boyfriend is married

and she doesn't want
his wife to know.

That's ridiculous!

It was a business dinner.

Then why did you lie to us? You
said you were home all night long.

Ah, come on, Miss Phelps,
give us the guy's name!

Why does it matter?

Because you have a credibility
issue with us, okay?

I did not kill Larry Shea!

You had motive,
you lied about your alibi,

and come to find out you were at a
restaurant right near the crime scene.

His name is Greg Esterman.

He knows an editor
at The Daily News.

I gave him the tapes

of Shea hitting on me.

What about all of this
confidentiality agreement stuff?

People thought he was this
moral, righteous man.

They thought I made
the whole thing up.

I had to set
the record straight!

You should've thought about all of that
before you took the three and a half million.

I deserved
every cent of money!

And why would I kill him?
I wanted him alive.

I wanted him to have
to face the music!

I wanted everyone in the world to know that
Larry Shea was a hypocritical dirt bag.

My only regret is that he won't
be around tomorrow morning

to see the headlines.

Looks like Phelps
got the last word.

It's gonna cost her a bundle.

We're workin' on gettin'
the full transcripts now.

Lord knows what
we're gonna find.

What about her alibi?

Greg Esterman confirmed that he had
dinner with her the night of the murder.

Afterwards they went back to her
apartment, she gave him the tapes.

(PHONE RINGING)

Van Buren.

Where is it now?

Okay, thanks.

Maintenance found a red ski cap
at the 23rd Street Station.

ED: Find anything
besides subway grime?

A single strand of
bleached blond hair.

Please tell us
it had a root.

Intact.
It's at the DNA lab now.

So what about this cap?

Uh, the material is
a wool and acrylic blend.

And the combination of
waffle and honeycomb weave

helped me narrow down
the manufacturer.

Did they mention anything about
this insignia? "Serenity 2004?"

I mean, it seems like some
sort of specialty advertising.

Well, the manufacturer said
it was ordered by a company

in Jersey called
Venture Treks.

Uh, they organize
wilderness retreats.

We do over 100 retreats
a year, so,

all our inventory
is on the computer.

You said 2004?

Yeah, uh, March.

Here we go. We did a
retreat for Danford House.

The Serenity ski cap was
part of their package.

Danford House?
Isn't that a drug rehab?

Wejust supply
the guides and the gear.

We need a list of everyone
who was at the retreat.

Okay, just take a look while
I print out a hard copy.

All right, thanks man.

Hey, Joe, look at this.

Never figured her
for a dope fiend.

Or a nature buff.

A few years ago,
I had back surgery.

Pain ended,
but the Vicodin didn't.

Before I knew it,
I was up to 30 a day.

ED: So, when did you
check into Danford House?

Last March. I did 30 days
of outpatient treatment,

and a six-day retreat in upstate New York.
Been sober ever since.

We understand that they gave you
a red ski cap at the retreat?

They gave us a knapsack
full of promotional gear, why?

Do you still
have the cap?

I use it when ljog.

It should be in the front closet.
Let me check.

What does the ski cap have to
do with my husband's murder?

Well, we think that the
killer wore one just like it.

This one?
Yeah, that's it.

Well, it doesn't make
any sense.

Those people
never even knew Larry.

Did you develop any personal
relationships when you were up there?

I was there to get sober,
not to make friends.

How about afterwards? You
keep in contact with anybody?

I was just happy
to be home with my family.

I had a lot to make up for.

You know, if we start nosin'
around the Danford House,

all we're gonna get is that
doctor-patient privilege thing.

Well, we still have
the list from Venture Treks,

so let's see who else
was on that retreat.

I didn't really hang out
with Miranda Shea.

Why's that?

She's a phony.

She only gave you the time of
day when she wanted something.

Was she close
to anyone on the trip?

This Karen woman.
Karen who?

I don't remember
her last name.

Was it Karen Nix?
Nix, yeah, that's it.

She and Miranda
shared atent.

So, they were friends?

If you could call it that.

Miranda just
sat around complaining

like the spoiled
rich bitch she is

while Karen lugged
all their gear around.

It was like she was
Miranda's personal Sherpa.

Yeah, Miranda's great.
She made rehab bearable.

Have you seen her
since then?

I don't think her husband wanted her
hanging out with anyone from rehab.

It didn't seem to fit
his media image.

Did Miranda
tell you that?

Well, she didn't have to. I mean,
have you ever seen his show?

He was a pompous ass.

Miss Nix, uh,

where were you Friday night
between 8:00 and 10:00?

Just because I called him a pompous
ass, you think I killed him?

We've been
interviewin' everyone.

And you're not the only person
with that opinion of Larry Shea.

No, there must be millions
of people who think that.

I was here working.

Place closes at 8:00.

And I was working late,
catching up.

I'll let you know as soon as
I have something. Okay.

Press is all over me on this.
What's up?

We ran a background check
on Karen Nix.

She had a restraining order
taken out on her

two years ago
by another woman.

"Alana Sinclair. No written, verbal
or physical contact of any kind."

Do we know why?

We're about to go talk to her now.
She works in Midtown.

What else do we have
on Nix besides the fact

that she was at this retreat
with Miranda Shea?

She's got bleached blonde hair like
the sample we found in the ski cap.

Well, let me know what this
Sinclair woman has to say.

Some friends of mine had
this woman's tennis group.

One night someone
brought Karen along.

She was a great
doubles partner.

Did you socialize
after that?

Played tennis a few times,
went to a couple movies,

but after awhile
I got the impression

she wanted more than
just a friendship.

You sayin' she's gay?

I guess because I'm straight I didn't
pick up on the signals at first.

Told her I wasn't interested,
she didn't want to hear it.

What happened then?

She started calling me
five times a day,

inundating me with emails,
sending me letters.

Did she ever threaten you?
No.

But she showed up here
at the office with flowers.

I think she was drunk.

She kept going on and on about
how we were soul mates.

How we knew each other in another life.
Scared me half to death.

That's when I got
the restraining order.

Did that put an end to it?
Yes.

You mentioned that Karen sent you
some letters. Do you still have them?

Turned them all
over to my lawyer.

Bingo. The DNA from Nix's
letters to Alana Sinclair

matches the hair
we found in the ski cap.

So, we can prove
she was wearin' the ski cap.

But what about prints?
She's not in the database.

There were fingerprints
all over those letters.

Latent matched one to the
fingerprint on the gun.

Works for me.

KAREN: Who is it?
NYPD.

Karen Nix?
What's going on?

You're under arrest for
the murder of Larry Shea.

What? That, that's crazy!

You're gonna have to
come with us, ma'am.

Can I at least
get my coat?

Tell me where it is,
I'll get it.

It's in the bedroom closet.

Hey, Joe! Come here.

Wow.

We were hoping
for a plea.

Somewhere in the vicinity
of Man Two.

Man Two?

We have your client's
fingerprints on the murder weapon

and her DNA on...

I'm aware of the evidence. I'm talking
about mitigating circumstances.

BORGIA: Such as?

Such as, Karen Nix
committed this crime

to protect Miranda Shea
from her husband's abuse.

Justification?
You can't be serious!

My client and Miranda have been
romantically involved for over a year.

Miranda told Karen
she was afraid

her husband
was gonna kill her.

You have any proof? If we're
talking about physical abuse...

It was emotional.
He was into humiliating her.

Trying to break her spirit.

In what way?

Like, he would force her
to have sex,

and then he would tell her
that she was repulsive.

He would taunt her
about getting older.

He told her that the reason
he was into that Phelps woman

was because at least
she didn't need surgery

to make her breasts pretty,
evil stuff like that.

Why didn't she leave?

He would fly into
these violent rages,

and threaten to kill her
whenever she tried to leave him.

Is there any proof of that?

Did she ever call the police? Report
the alleged abuse? The threats.

Miranda said that
nobody would believe her.

And this alleged affair between the
two of you? Can anybody confirm that?

Most affairs are shrouded in secrecy.
This was no exception.

Most affairs leave
a trail of evidence.

Hotel bills.
Gifts, phone calls, letters.

If this really happened, you
should be able to offer proof.

JACK: Is that another no?

For now.

You're gonna have to do a lot
better than that to get a deal.

This is insane. I shared
a tent with the woman.

That's it! Period.

So there was no affair?

Don't be ridiculous.

What about the abuse
allegations?

I don't know what she's talking about.
There was no abuse.

Larry was a very loving person.
A very kind man.

He would never try
to hurt me.

Why do you think Miss Nix
would make up these stories?

Maybe she went off
her medication?

Medication?

She told me that she had
some emotional problems,

and she needed to take medication
in order to keep it under control.

Where'd she get
the pictures of you?

(SIGHS)
For her so-called shrine?

Ah, she must've taken them
at the retreat.

'Cause that's the only time
that we were ever together.

(DOOR CLOSING)

You must be Will.

Hi.

MIRANDA:
Where are you going, darling?

Out.

Do you have your cell phone?

(DOOR CLOSES)

(SIGHS) He's been
so angry since Larry died.

WILL: Snake River, Idaho.
We'd go there every summer.

Fly-fishing?
Yeah. You fish?

I do.

So, why are you here,
anyway?

I just thought
we could talk.

About what?

When I saw you at your
mom's apartment earlier

you seemed upset.

Yeah, well,

things are kind of rough
for me right now.

There's been an allegation that your
father may have mistreated your mom.

Where'd you hear that?

Did my mother say that?

Is it true?

It is totally not true!

Nothing like that ever happened!
He loved her.

Did your mom ever mention
a woman named Karen Nix?

My mom has a lot of friends.

Look, I'm gonna be late.

Do you know if your mom ever saw
anyone else while she was with Larry?

Saw?

Did she ever have an affair?

I think we're done here.

I mean, these are my parents
you're talking about!

I'm sorry.

I know how difficult it is.

Just leave me alone.

You were asking a teenager about
his mother. What did you expect?

I thought
it was worth a try.

I finally finished checking
Miranda Shea's credit card bills.

And?

There were several charges
to the Millennium Hotel.

If she was there with Karen
Nix, I'll buy you lunch.

Here we are.
Miranda Shea.

She's stayed with us
several times.

Was she ever
with this woman?

We get hundreds of people
in here every day.

What about a credit card?

All of the charges were
put on Mrs. Shea's card.

Oh, wait, there's
a restaurant charge here

which was signed to the
room by someone else.

Do you have a name?

A Thomas McGrath.

McGRATH: I was
Miranda's trainer.

When I read
about her husband,

I knew it was only a matter
of time before it came out.

Yeah, we had a fling.

For how long?

Lasted about seven months,
called it quits last summer.

What happened?

It was mutual.

You know, the spark
was gone and all that.

Did Miranda ever mention
being with anyone else?

She told me
she was married.

There was also
some chick she was with.

She ever mention
this chick's name?

She might have.

I must've blocked it out, you
know, I'm not into competition.

What about from
Miranda's husband?

He was 30 years older than she is.
What do you think?

She told us she had a pretty
good relationship with him.

With him or his money?

What do you mean by that?

She told me she had
this recurring dream

where he got in some kind of accident,
left her with all his dough.

How did you interpret that?

Truthfully, it scared
the hell out of me.

So when McGrath
didn't take the bait,

Miranda moved on
to Karen Nix?

From what I can see she was working
'em both at the same time.

Miranda had been married
to Shea for eight years.

What caused her to decide
to get rid of him now?

Well, the sexual harassment suit
could've been the catalyst.

Her husband's attention
was beginning to stray.

Maybe she was afraid he would leave
her for another younger woman.

They had a pre-nup.
In the event of divorce,

her payout would have been
about half a million dollars.

Instead of the 20 million
she now stands to inherit.

I think it's time we had a
heart-to-heart with Karen Nix.

You still owe me lunch, Jack.

We can confirm Miranda was having an
affair, but it wasn't with Miss Nix.

It was with her fitness
trainer, Tom McGrath.

That's a lie.
Miranda wasn't into men.

She didn't even
sleep with her husband.

Karen, please.

I met with Mr. McGrath.

He and Miranda saw each
other for seven months.

Steadily. And that
affair we can p TOVQ .

This was at the time she was
professing her love for you.

You'rejust trying
to mess with my head.

Here are the receipts from
the hotel they stayed at.

Miranda paid, of course.

JACK: You know what
Miranda told us?

That you made this all up
because you're mentally ill.

I can't believe
she's doing this to me.

She said that
we were in this together.

She said that
she was gonna help me.

Has Miranda come by
to visit you?

Ever tried to contact you,
even once?

She doesn't want anyone
to see us together.

Why?
So Larry won't find out?

Larry's dead, Miss Nix.
You killed him.

Miranda said that Larry

was doing a bunch of public
appearances around his new book,

and that it was just
a question of waiting

for, for the right moment.

She said that
the police would think

that it was someone
who hated Larry's politics.

Where'd you get the gun?

My grandfather has, um,
an antique gun collection.

And she said to use
one of those.

So no one would be
able to trace it?

I had to do it,
do you understand?

She said that
he was gonna kill her.

She pleads to Man One and
testifies against Miranda Shea.

Ten years.

She's gonna hand you the person who
masterminded the murder, Mr. McCoy.

She's the one who pulled
the trigger. Miss Nix?

Miranda planned
the whole thing.

She said that if I really loved
her, I would do this for her.

(SOBBING)

(sums)

Our star witness is a confessed
killer with a mental disorder.

She's been
on medication for years.

It's under control.

The defense will
point to that,

as well as her record
of stalking,

and her obsession
with Miranda Shea.

Her history of mental illness is a two-edged
sword that works for us, as well.

Karen Nix was
avulnerable woman,

Miranda Shea manipulated
her to kill her husband.

So now, it's not actually a
conspiracy, but a manipulation?

She formulated a murder plan with the
shooter. I'd call that a conspiracy.

Well, I hope that's gonna
fly with the jury.

I know I'm threading
the needle here, Arthur.

Karen Nix is my whole case
against Miranda Shea.

Miranda and I met
at a drug rehab facility.

JACK: Could you tell us
about your friendship?

We hung out a lot
during rehab.

At some point,
things turned physical.

We fell in love.

When was that?

During a camping trip.

We shared a tent.

Did you know
that she was married?

Yes. To a much older man.

What did she tell you
about him?

That he had a bad temper.
That he abused her.

Abused her. Physically?

No, emotionally.

How did that make you feel?

I wanted to protect her.

I didn't understand how he could hurt
someone as wonderful as Miranda.

Did you ever ask her why she
never filed for divorce?

She said that he would
come after her if she did.

She said that the only way out of
the marriage was if Larry was dead.

Did Miranda Shea ask you
to kill her husband?

She begged me to.

What do you think
about that now?

I think that

she lied to me
about everything,

including being in love
with me, and that

I took a man's life
for no reason.

You're, uh, currently taking
medication for a mental illness.

Uh, Borderline Personality
Disorder, isn't that right?

I hate that term.

It sounds a lot worse
than it actually is.

It's more like
a mood imbalance.

Has this "mood imbalance" ever caused
you to have impaired judgment?

Not since I've been
on my medications.

And were you on medication
when you met Miranda Shea?

Yes. Were you on medication
when you killed Larry Shea?

Yes.

Do you think you exercised good
judgment when you did that?

No! I regret doing that!

So if your judgment
wasn't impaired,

what gave you
the impression that

Miranda was romantically interested
in you when you first met?

She sent signals.

Signals? Like the ones
you got from Alana Sinclair?

I thought Alana was
interested in me.

Not only was she
not interested in you,

she took out a restraining
order against you.

That's a pretty clear signal of
not interested, don't you agree?

That was different.

Really?
Because I see a pattern here.

You fall in love with a woman.
They don't love you back.

So, you stalk them!

Objection, argumentative.

Sustained!

In fact,
you killed Larry Shea

because you wanted him
out of the way,

so that you could have Miranda all
to yourself, isn't that right?

That's not true.

The funny thing
about truth, Miss Nix,

is that everybody seems
to have their own version.

No further questions.

We'd get together when her husband
was out of town or working late.

Did Miranda ever mention
to you that she was gay?

She told me she was bisexual,
she'd slept with women before.

In fact, she told you
she was seeing a woman

at the time
she was seeing you?

That's correct.

Mr. McGrath,

did Miranda Shea ever tell you that
she wished her husband was dead?

Not in so many words.

What did she say?

She kept talking
about this dream she had

where he disappeared,
and left her all his money.

She said that would
make her life perfect.

No further questions.

Miranda Shea made the decision to
end your little tryst, didn't she?

I didn't have
a problem with that.

Really?

That watch, that suit,
the shoes you're wearing.

Didn't Miranda buy
all those for you?

Uh, not the shoes.

You asked her for money even
after she stopped seeing you?

I was hoping to open up my own gym.
So, I asked her for a loan.

Which she refused?

Yes.
And that made you angry.

I wasn't asking for much.

So now you've found a way
to make her pay.

By coming in here
and making false accusations!

Objection!

JUDGE: Mr. Wills, re-phrase.

I'm done with this witness,
Your Honor.

Larry and I had a strong, stable marriage.
I loved him very much.

Nonetheless, you admit to having
an affair with Tom McGrath?

It was a mistake.

I know it's not an excuse, but I
was on painkillers at the time.

Have you ever had
any other affairs?

Once was enough.
I couldn't take the guilt.

Have you ever been romantically
involved with Karen Nix?

Absolutely not.

Are you gay or bisexual?

No.

Have you ever been sexually
involved with another woman?

No.

Well, that's not what
Tom McGrath said you told him.

That's Tom's little fantasy. I
only told him that to turn him on.

And how do you
explain her story?

I think Karen lives
in her own little world,

aworld that
doesn't really exist.

It's actually very sad.

In your version of events,
everyone else is lying.

Karen Nix. Tom McGrath.

Is that right?

Yes.

You testified that you and your husband
had a strong, stable marriage?

That's true.

Then why did you cheat on him?

When the sexual harassment charges
were filed against Larry,

it almost destroyed me.

I guess I just was looking to
hurt him as much as he'd hurt me.

You told the police you thought
those charges were untrue.

Did you, or did you not,
believe them at the time?

I think somewhere deep down

I, I thought that Melinda
Phelps was telling the truth.

Did you ever
confront him about that?

No.

Mrs. Shea, under the terms
of your prenuptial agreement,

what would you get
in the event of a divorce?

Five hundred thousand dollars.

And in the event of
your husband's death?

The entire estate.

Twenty million dollars?

This trial's beginning to
look a little like Rashomon.

I'm not sure the jury knows
who to believe at this point.

It'd be easier
if we could prove

Karen Nix and Miranda Shea
had an affair.

How did our
star witness hold up?

I think she lost
a little credibility

when Wills introduced
the restraining order.

Who else is
on the defense list?

Just a few
character witnesses.

Well, nothing pulls
at ajury's heartstrings

like a child testifying
on his mother's behalf.

Actually, Will Shea's
not on the list.

Now that sounds
a tad unnatural to me.

I haven't even seen him in the
courtroom since the trial began.

Maybe we ought to call him.

Alexandra, go and talk to the boy.
See what's on his mind.

I'm not taking sides.

I think you already have.

What am I supposed to do?

My mother is on trial
for murdering my stepfather.

I can't imagine
what that feels like.

It must be

horrible.

You know the day I came
to your dorm room,

and you showed me those photos
of you and your stepfather?

Fly-fishing.

My father and I were

very close, too.

I can't imagine
how I would feel

if something like this
happened to him.

Some secrets
shouldn't be kept.

JACK: Mr. Shea, tell us
why you're here today.

Because you subpoenaed me.

But you understand you're still
sworn to tell the truth?

Yes.

We heard testimony
from your mother,

in which she admitted to having
an affair with Tom McGrath.

She also testified that that
was the only affair she had

whilst she was married
to your father, Larry Shea.

To the best
of your knowledge,

was her testimony
truthful and accurate?

Objection!

The defendant herself
opened the door.

Overruled.
You may answer the question.

Was your mother's testimony
truthful and accurate?

No.

In what way?

She lied.

How do you know?

Because
I saw something one time.

What did you see?

Mr. Shea,
please answer the question.

It was Thanksgiving.

Uh, I came home

a day early.

I walked into the apartment
and I heard something.

What did you hear?

Voices.

My mom's and someone else's.

What were they saying?

They weren't talking.

They were, uh,

like, moaning.

What did you do?

I walked toward my mom's bedroom
to see what was going on.

What did you see?

Answer the question, son.

I saw my mother having sex
with another woman.

Do you recognize
the woman in this photo?

Yes.

She was the one that was
in bed with my mother.

Karen Nix.

What did you do after you
walked in on them?

I took off.
Went to a friend's.

Did you ever tell anyone
about what you saw?

No.

Not until, uh, Miss Borgia came
and talked to me yesterday.

Isn't it a fact, Will, that if your mother
is convicted of killing Larry Shea,

you stand to inherit
his entire fortune?

I've been told that, yes.

Twenty million dollars?

And you're
the sole beneficiary.

Yes.

But...
No further questions.

JUDGE: Has the jury
reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant
please rise?

You may read the verdict.

FOREPERSON: "In the
case of People v. Shea,

"on the count of Murder
in the Second Degree,

"we find the defendant,
Miranda Shea, guilty."