All language subtitles for Close To Home S01E17 Land of Opportunity 1080p WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-squalor_track3_[eng]

[Horn blaring in distance]

[Dramatic music]

What can I do for you today?

I need to talk to the boss.

- He's, um..
- Is that him?

Yes. He's busy at the moment.

Why don't you..
Can I get your name?

Burrows. Wayne Burrows.

I'm surprised you
don't remember me.

You probably didn't get
those 50 messages I left.

Why don't you tell
me what this is about?

Like I said, I wanna
talk to the owner.

I just want some answers.

Uh-uh, sir?

If you have a
complaint, I advise you

to contact the
consumer advisory...

I contacted them. Okay?

I've contacted the realtor.

I've contacted the bank.

Now I'm contacting
you, the appraiser.

Okay, I-I just think that
maybe you should come back

after you've
calmed down a little.

You do? That's what you think?

I do, yes.

If you go home, and you calm
down then you can come back

when you have an appointment.

Good idea.

I'll come back.

Honey, I'm out of those, um..

You know, those, uh,
tabs you use to sign papers.

Signature tabs?

Scott, I have that appraisal
at noon, and I need you...

I'm running the comps right now.

They need it this afternoon.

[Tires screeching]

(Male #1) 'Look out!'

oh, my god.

(Male #2) 'Get out of the way!'

[glass shatters]

[Woman screams]

I'm fine, I'm fine.

Go in my office and dial 9-1-1.

- 'Johnson, what happened?'
- 'Get over here!'

everybody okay?

Anybody hurt?

[Panting]

Good.

I'm back.

Now that I've got
your attention..

May I please speak
with the owner?

Wayne Burrows,
married, two kids.

Middle-class, working-class guy.

No criminal history.

In fact, this is the first time

Mr. Burrows is in trouble.

What set him off?

Says he's upset about
a fraudulent appraisal.

When he bought his house,
the birdseyes appraised it

at $265,000.

But when he went to sell it an
independent appraisal came in

at only $182,000.

That could get a guy upset.

So his first instinct is

to drive through
their front window.

Well, actually

Mr. Burrows filed complaints

all over the place.

The real estate
business is basically

self-policing.

The fox guarding the henhouse.

So Mr. Burrows decided
to get himself some justice.

Somebody could have
easily gotten killed.

I don't care what
Mr. Burrows' problem is.

We can't have people
driving trucks into buildings

every time they feel ripped off.

They'll be a lot of
smashed up buildings.

Whatever way you look at
it, it's criminal recklessness

assault with a deadly
weapon, in this case, a truck.

All yours.

- 'How do you plead?'
- My client pleads...

Guilty, your honor.

(Wayne) One hundred percent.

Mr. Burrows, please.

- Judge, that's not..
- Which is it, counselor?

Judge..

I-i don't want to
waste anybody's time.

I take full responsibility and..

I-i know how lucky I
am that nobody got hurt.

Mr. Burrows..

A plea of guilty
means you will be

automatically
sentenced to a jail term.

Your honor... May I speak?

Keep it brief.

I-I want you to know that

that these appraisers here

stole $83,000 from
me and my family

and they did it by intentionally
overpricing our house

before we even bought it.

That wipes out my
kid's college fund

our retirement..

I'm sorry, your honor.

Thank you for listening.

And if I have to go to
jail in order to be heard..

And so be it.

Two years is outrageous.

It's way overreaching
for a first offense.

What are you looking for?

A suspended sentence

and mandatory rage counseling.

Your client almost
killed somebody.

Excuse me, miss chase?

Hold on a second, Mrs. Burrows.

- We'll get this worked out.
- It's not that.

Miss chase, we've
tried everything.

Every agency, called
all sorts of people...

Mrs. Burrows, I'm very sorry.

I bet half a dozen people

on our street owe
more on their mortgages

than their homes are even worth.

That's what's got
Wayne so upset.

We've lost our life savings.

I know he's done a stupid thing

but someone has to help us.

[Instrumental music]

(Annabeth) Just think about it

if Wayne Burrows
was telling the truth

they've lost $83,000
on their house.

This would be the same
Mr. Burrows you just put in jail

for driving his truck through

the front window of
a real estate office?

- 'Appraiser's office.'
- Whatever.

This is not the kind of guy

we should go out
of our way to help.

You're a prosecutor,
somebody commits a crime

you put them in
jail, you don't try

to defend their actions.

But, Steve, Wayne Burrows

bought a brand-new house

in a brand-new neighborhood.

Okay, let's just say 40

of those homes were
overvalued by the same amount.

We're looking at..

I, I suck at math.

$3,320,000.

How did you do that?

It's a gift.

But is there really
a crime here?

It's not illegal to sell houses

for as much as the
market can bear.

But it is a crime to
falsify an appraisal.

Yes, but it's hard to prove.

But it didn't just happen once.

If the birdseye brothers
falsified 40 appraisals

all in the same development,
that starts to smell

like a conspiracy to
commit fraud to me.

Which makes me wonder
who they're conspiring with.

- Exactly.
- Okay.

We can look into it.

(Steve) Canvass the neighborhood

and see how widespread
this thing actually is.

If you can establish a provable
pattern of real estate fraud

we can consider
bringing charges.

And you'll need copies
of every single appraisal

that was done on
that development

plus credible victims
and witnesses.

Do you happen to remember
your appraisal company's name?

Bird, something.

You guys stay in the driveway!

We just moved in here last week.

We absolutely love it.

Is there something I
should be worried about?

(George) 'So you
can't sell your house?'

well, we thought we sold it

but the buyer's loan
fell through because..

His appraisal showed
the house wasn't worth

anywhere near
what we paid for it.

I got transferred, that's why
we're selling to begin with.

I gave up my job here,
now I haven't got a job

can't move, and I can't make
the payments. It's a mess.

(Scott) What usually happens
in a new development like this

is that the first appraisal
is done on paper.

Meaning, we don't
actually look at the property.

It sounds bad, but
it's common practice.

You base the number on the value

of comparable homes in the area

acreage, square footage, etc.

So, in Wayne burrow's case

you based the value of his house

on comparable houses
in this neighborhood?

But didn't you appraise all
these other houses as well?

Most of 'em.

So then weren't
you basing his price

on prices you set yourself?

Well, actually, that's..

True.

Yeah.

Jack, how much do
we owe on our house?

The last month, it was
$78,500 something.

So, after that payment it's
going to be 77 or something.

So how much do you
think it's worth now?

- Why, you ready to move?
- No.

I'm looking into some
crooked home appraisers.

Appraisers don't make
the big bucks in real estate.

- Who does?
- The developer.

He builds the house.

He pays for the
house to be built.

- And the appraiser..
- The appraiser.

He sets the value
in the beginning

which is the sale price.

And everybody wants
it to be as high as it can

'cause the realtor and the
lender work on commission.

But-but the main pressure
comes from the developer.

He wants it to be
as high as it can be

so he can make the most
return on his investment.

What speakin' of, by the way

I have to meet
with the developer

in two minutes to
go over schematics.

You tryin' to get rid of me?

I just don't want you
to arrest my boss.

Yeah, that could
get complicated.

Yes, it could.

- Bye, baby.
- Bye.

(Steve) So follow the
money, who's raking it in?

(George) The developer.

He owns a company
named heartland castles

which is a subcorp
of a company named

keystone haven international.

Which also owns dobson
dream realty the listing agent.

Yeah, not to mention heartland
castle savings and loan company

and keystone
haven title insurance..

So who owns
keystone international?

Maurice hardecker.

(Annabeth) 'Doesn't he
look proud of himself?'

you'd be proud, too, if
you were making money

at every stage of the home sale

'from building it to getting
a six percent commission'

as the listing agent,
to points as the lender.

(George) 'And
everything's inflated by'

the over-appraisal
to begin with.

Steve, he's replicating
this scam all over the state.

He's building hundreds of houses

and raking in
millions of dollars.

I mean, he's practically
printing money.

And the state regulatory agency,
where are they in all of this?

Grossly under-funded
and under-staffed

effectively rendering
them powerless.

Oh, the da is gonna love this.

He's gonna eat this
right up with a spoon.

Middle-class victims,
middle-class voters.

Not that we do anything
for political reasons

but hey, politics
isn't always bad.

Especially when it means
we actually get to do our jobs

and do a good thing.

Miss chase, Maurice
hardecker, I apologize.

I can only meet with you
on the way out the door

but let's make the most
of what little time we have.

What can I do for you?

The prosecutor's
office is investigating

a string of real estate frauds

some of which involve
one of your companies

keystone haven international.

This is about the birdseye boys?

Yes, it involves them, but..

Doing those blind appraisals?

It's a quick way of
making a lot of money

but in the end, it's just lazy.

Mr. Hardecker, we
have a number of people

claiming to be the victims of
systematic real estate fraud

that appears to tie
back to your company.

Miss chase, I do sympathize
with people's difficulties.

Wait a minute, wait
a minute, chase.

Are you by any chance
related to, uh, to Jack chase?

He's my husband.

He's also one of the best
young contractors around.

Used him often,
see, I just realized..

Chase, I knew i'd
heard that name before.

How about that?

Are you aware that the houses

in the genesse
hollow development

were overvalued by 30%?

Miss chase, we have a
saying in this business.

A house is worth
whatever it sells for.

Now, listen, i, I'm
more than willing

to help out with
your investigation

but I am running late, so, uh..

This is my lawyer.

He'll be glad to take
all your questions.

The guy had an hour's notice

I was coming to his
office which he spent

digging into my
personal background

so he could charm me by
knowing my husband's occupation.

I take it you were not charmed.

[Scoffs] He's now
officially in the crosshairs.

Yeah, well, he's
very well-insulated.

He is, but that doesn't
keep us from using

the little fish to bring
down the big fish.

It's time to talk to
the birdseyes again.

A lot of these people
lost their life's savings

thanks to you.

And from what I can tell,
all you gained were some

easy fees and more business.

I don't get it.

Hardecker was the one
making all the money.

(Annabeth) We need you to help
us prove that he told you to do this

to inflate the appraisals.

Oh, god.

(Maureen) 'If you can do that'

we are prepared
to offer you a deal

of limited jail time,
plus the applicable fines

for appraisal fraud.

Otherwise, I promise you

we will prosecute you on
each individual count of fraud

'and speaking conservatively'

that adds upto 15 to
30 years behind bars.

Are you serious?

I think we need
to talk to a lawyer.

Look, we're in way
over our head here.

'This isn't fair, like you said'

'we were just trying
to keep working.'

hardecker's the one cashing in.

If we help you,
we'll be blacklisted.

We'll lose everything.

Look, we understand
hardecker's got you scared.

That is nothing
compared to how you'll feel

when we show up at
your office tomorrow

with a subpoena and a truck

'and a bunch of uniformed cops'

'to box up every
file and hard drive'

and put them under a microscope.

Somebody made
millions of dollars here

and you need to help
us follow the money.

[Explosions]

[Car alarm beeping]

My guess is, the
appraisers got scared

and blew up their
office and all their files.

But that doesn't make any sense.

They know all their appraisals
are a matter of public record.

There are copies
of every transaction

with the title companies
and the realtors.

My instincts told
me to have a chat

with our arson investigator.

And he said it
could be an accident.

If somebody accidentally

opened a gas
valve on the furnace.

If somebody shut all
the windows and doors

to allow the gas to collect

and if somebody left
behind a sparking device

which set the place ablaze.

The arson guys
think it was activated

remotely by phone.

So, definitely not an accident.

Just supposed to look like one.

Our research on
hardecker indicates

that people who cross him

have this curious habit
of getting into accidents.

So he's been
investigated before?

A riverboat casino
project of his

was opposed by a guy
who accidentally drove

his car off a bridge
and into a river.

I've got other examples
but no evidence

to tie it back to hardecker.

The brothers must
have told hardecker that

we were serving
them with a subpoena.

And he wanted to
broadcast to the entire

real estate community
that anyone who wanted

'to cooperate had
better think again.'

it all sounds plausible,
but is there any proof

tying hardecker
to the explosion?

(George) 'That's gonna
be hard to come by.'

the disposable cell phone

and the sparking
device are available

at radio shack, besides that

there are only
pieces, everything else

was destroyed in the fire.

Maybe hardecker's
done us a favor.

How's that?

(Steve) 'He scared
the crap out of'

the birdseye brothers.

They've got nowhere
to run except to us.

'They may not be able
to help us with the arson'

'but we know they can help us'

get hardecker on fraud.

If we can get this
explosion to backfire on 'em

it'll be like using
the accountant

to bring down al Capone.

Isn't it a little coincidental

that your office
happened to blow up

the night before we
were about to serve you

with a subpoena
for your records?

We had nothing to do with it.

I've known these
two all my life.

They would never
do anything like that.

Mrs. Birdseye, you're
married to whom again?

- Brad.
- That would be me.

And you work for the
appraisals office as well?

I'm the office manager.

She has nothing
to do with anything.

So who does?

Because this fire was no
accident, you know that.

Brad, was it hardecker
trying to send a message?

I think he was trying
to kill the messenger.

- Don't say a word.
- He already tried to kill us.

- What do we have to lose?
- So it was hardecker?

He called us
separately last night.

He told us to meet
him there about 8:00.

When the building blew up.

And I would have been there, too

but I got stuck in
traffic on the interstate.

And what about you?

I was a block away when
I heard the explosion.

There's only one
way to make sure

this never happens
again and that's

to put him behind bars.

Now, I'm willing to make a deal

if you'll agree to testify
against hardecker

in our real estate fraud case.

We can't do that.

Yes, we can, Scott.

We will.

You've arrested my client.

He'll be out on bail just
as soon as he's arraigned.

But that will be too late.

You will already have succeeded

in committing gross defamation.

You have two crooked appraisers

who are trying to worm out
of their crimes by dragging

my client into the mud
with them, it's outrageous.

Actually, we have two appraisers

who are willing to
cooperate with us

in our real estate
investigation fraud.

So your client
attempted to intimidate

if not, eliminate them

by blowing up their business.

It's hearsay,
it's-it's ridiculous.

When you're holding a-a-a pillar

of the business
community hostage

smearing his valuable name

with all sorts of charges
based on hearsay.

That and phone records
that match their accounts.

He could have been calling
them for a million different things.

They've been in business
together, you know?

We know, they plan
on telling the jury

all about the business
they've done together.

Excuse me, I think there's
some misunderstanding.

I am in the business

of putting hardworking
people in their dream homes.

'And while I feel very sorry'

'for individuals like
Wayne Burrows'

who signed loan papers
beyond their means

I'm afraid that's their
responsibility, not mine.

We all take risks, I
take risks every day.

That's part of doing business.

You can't criminalize business
in the land of opportunity.

No, but we can
criminalize fraud.

And we intend to
charge your client

separately on each individual
instance of deception.

That's six months to
three years for each.

So, gentlemen..

You might want to
take out your calculators.

[Knock on door]

(Annabeth) Steve, what
do you think about working

on getting Wayne
Burrows an early parole?

I guess I'm okay with that.

The more victims faces
we have in the gallery

the tougher it is for
hardecker to hide.

And Wayne was
hardecker's original victim.

Seems like he
should be at the trial.

I'll see what I can do.
I'll make a few calls.

But you'll have to put all
the paperwork together.

I already have.

And can you give us the
content of the phone conversation

you had with Mr. Hardecker
the night of the explosion?

Sure, he-he said if we

cooperated with
the investigation

that it would be bad for us.

We need his exact words

'if I'm gonna prep you both.'

o-okay, um, he-he said..

He said we'd be out of
the real estate business.

In all 50 states, that's right.

How many years were you in
business with Mr. Hardecker?

We did work for him for
about two and a half years.

And did all those jobs
involve false appraisals?

No, I-I mean, at
first it wasn't so..

I need a yes or no here.

Well, y-you're making us
out to be complete crooks.

Scott, you broke the law.

And if we don't bring
it up to the jury first

the defense will, this
way we have control.

Can I have a break?

Can i-can I get some
coffee or something?

There's a pot in the kitchen.

Listen, I know you
don't know us very well

and what you do know

well, it's not so good.

But we weren't always like this.

We didn't always
do business this way.

We got into this because
it made us feel good.

Not the money.

Putting people
into houses, I mean.

The American dream.

So where did you go wrong?

A couple years ago we
expanded the business

and we went into debt.

So when hardecker's
development came along

we jumped at the
chance, at first it was

you know, "do me a favor."

And so we overvalued one house.

But then that became a
comp for another house.

And so on, and so..

After a while you forget
that all the comps are bogus.

I'm gonna go see
what Scott's doing.

(Scott) It was my brother's
job to meet with customers

and-and speak with
developers like Mr. Hardecker.

'My job was to do
all the paperwork.'

did that include finding
comparable home sales

in order to determine
a property's value?

Yes, that's called
"running comps."

Did your comps always
support the appraisals you made?

- Mr. Birdseye?
- No.

No, they did not.

(Annabeth) Why not?

(Scott) Because we
always had to hit our number.

What does that mean,
"hitting the number?"

It means that a lender
needs a home to be valued

at a certain price in order
for that loan to go through.

So, the seller, the
developer in this case

'of the home, can
make his money.'

you could say that.

What happens to appraisers

who refuse to hit the number?

'Do they get blacklisted?'

objection, your honor!
She's leading the witness.

Sustained.

What happens to appraisers
who refuse to hit the number?

'Are they out of a job?'

I can't do this.

I..

Brief recess, your honor.

We're in the middle of a trial.

We're actually nearing the
end of our day, Mr. Schenk

so we'll reconvene
in the morning.

But I expect that everyone
will be ready to go at that time.

Yes, your honor.

[Indistinct chatter]

It's just too much.

If-if hardecker tried to
blow us up before the trial

what's he gonna do after?

What's he doing here?

Wayne Burrows
was financially ruined

by your company
and by hardecker.

'He's here to see justice done.'

you are here to take

responsibility for your part

and to put an end to it.

Excuse me.

[Indistinct chatter]

How's your brother holding up?

You're a scum.

You always were, so when you
get back to your mansion tonight

and you lay your head
down on your pillow

you think about that,
because you're gonna be

spending the rest
of your days in jail

after we get
done with this trial.

[Annabeth clears throat]

Not a good time to pick a fight.

Listen to me, you're going
on the stand tomorrow

right after Scott.

Now if we're gonna
put hardecker away

I need you both to be in
good shape in the morning.

Promise me you'll
make that happen.

I'll make it happen.

- What you doin'?
- I'm starving.

- I forgot to eat lunch.
- How's that possible?

- I live for lunch.
- My main witness was a mess.

It was all I could do to
keep him in the building.

Hardecker's got
everyone running scared.

Ugh! You know what we need?

We need a wife, somebody
has to go to the grocery store.

How was your day?

Oh... let's just say you may

have to pull a little
overtime in at the office.

Why, what happened?

Well, I just got word
today at the job site

that they're dropping
a subcontractor..

Me and my guys.

Seriously, you got fired?

I got let go, it happens.

Not to you, it doesn't.

I've already lined
up other work.

This is hardecker.

He tracked you down
and got to your boss.

- Just let it go.
- Honey, let it go?

- This is your job.
- Seriously?

Annabeth, just let it go.

[Phone ringing]

Hello.

[Sighs]

(George) Joyce birdseye
called in three hours ago

saying Brad was missing.

An hour later a couple
kids found the body.

He was shot once in the chest.

And just in case we
didn't get the message

his tongue was cut out.

That's got to be hardecker.

It's not hardecker's mo,
he's more subtle than that.

His enemies
disappear in accidents

and suffer sudden
financial catastrophes.

This is unmistakable.
This is skywriting.

- This is..
- My witness.

Now he's dead.

Miss chase.

I just want you to
know that whatever this

looks like is not what it is.

Really? 'Cause it looks
to me like your client had

Brad birdseye killed to
keep him from testifying.

Think about that, why
on earth would my client

do that in the
middle of his trial?

Your client is staring down
the barrel of 30 years for fraud.

That does things to a guy.

Maurice hardecker is not stupid.

He's not gonna kill someone
to influence the outcome

of a trial that he was
already going to win.

Having said that

I want you to know that
I'm gonna ask the judge

in light of these recent
tragic developments

to dismiss this case.

Please do, it's bound to
annoy the hell out of him.

And in light of these
"recent tragic developments"

I'm sure he'll be very eager
to give me a continuance.

Oh, and ps, I'm gonna get
your client for murder and fraud.

Okay, you got your continuance.

So how do you
proceed with your case?

I wanna prove
hardecker killed Brad.

He sent his lawyer up here

to throw us off,
but I'm not buying it.

(Maureen) Right now
hardecker's out on bail

plotting god knows what.

We should know who
he's been talking to...

Who his lawyer's
been talking to.

(Maureen) Well, a judge is
never gonna Grant us access

to the confidential
conversations he's having

with his lawyer, or
wiretap his phones.

He's doing the same thing
organized crime bosses do

arranging everything
through their attorneys.

There's always exposure,
someone in the middle.

Talk to his assistants.

Subpoena his attorney's
financial records

and look for any
payments from hardecker

around the time of the
arson or the murder.

Meantime, George

you've got some serious witness
security issues to deal with.

We've lost one of
our key witnesses.

I don't want to lose both.

(Annabeth) 'I can't imagine what
Joyce and Scott are going through.'

she's lost her husband

he's lost his brother.

(Scott) I can't believe
this is happening.

My brother is dead.

My brother is dead!

Miss chase, I want
to let you know

I will do whatever it takes.

I appreciate that, Scott.

If hardecker can kill Brad

what's to stop him from
getting to Scott and me?

Mrs. Birdseye,
you'll have protection

for the rest of the trial.

No one takes a
threat more seriously

than the police department.

Yeah? Well, you guys
didn't do such a hot job

of that last night, did you?

Scott, I understand
how upset you are

but we're gonna keep you safe.

Mrs. Birdseye..

I need to know what happened
after you left the courthouse.

There's not much to tell.

'Brad was exhausted
from the trial.'

then we had dinner.

When we got home..

He said he was going for
a walk to clear his head.

Walking was a kind
of ritual for Brad.

He went out at about 7:30, and..

He never came back.

Severe trauma to
the heart and left lung

skull fractured, probably
knocked out before he was shot.

Bullet came from a rifle, right?

Yeah, according to this report

the bullet was flattened
by something substantial

'after exiting the
victim's body.'

like maybe he was in a
car when they shot him?

Yeah, and that would explain

this grease under the nails.

It's the kind used
to lubricate car locks.

Maybe he was in the trunk
trying to get out from the inside.

Also looks like there
might have been a struggle.

We found skin cells
mixed in with the grease.

We're getting those cleaned
up and DNA tested asap.

Good. Let me know
what you find out.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, what about the
business with the tongue?

Ah, it's just the
tip of the tongue.

Almost like whoever did it
maybe got a little squeamish.

Hey, I got some
pictures, you wanna see?

Maybe next time.

Hardecker's assistants
must have trained at fort Knox.

- No luck?
- Like a brick wall.

(Maureen) From the
subpoenaed financials

I came across a very
curious transaction.

From a hardecker shell company

to his lawyer, a couple
of days after the arson.

Thirty grand.

Nice round number.

And remember the guy
who accidentally drove his car

into the river in evansville?

- The casino riverboat incident?
- Yeah.

Same kind of financial
activity around that time.

It's still hard to
prove a quid pro quo.

What about around the
time of Brad's murder?

Absolutely nothing.

[Phone ringing]

Mr. and Mrs. Burrows?

We went down to the
courthouse this morning and heard.

We're so sorry.

- It's a bad situation.
- I just wanted to..

Wayne wanted to
volunteer as a witness

as one of hardecker's victims

in case you needed help
keeping the case going.

Mr. Burrows, the case is
just on a temporary hold.

And I'm afraid you really
can't help, not with your history.

That's what I thought you'd say.

I-i-i-it's just that, I-I
can't stop thinking.

I started this whole thing off
by driving through that window.

- And-and now..
- Okay.

Let me make something
very clear here.

You are not responsible
for Brad birdseye's murder

in any way, shape or form.

Now, I appreciate
how you must feel

but I don't want you to worry.

We will get hardecker for this.

The DNA looks identical, right?

If you say so.

Remember the skin cells
underneath the victim's nails?

Now, at first we thought
they were his own

but then we took a
closer look at the code

'and found variations
here and here.'

so they're not his?

Nope.

But somebody very close.

So close it has to
be a male sibling.

How many birdseye
brothers are there?

[Dramatic music]

[Indistinct chatter]

(George) 'Tape off the yard'

'get a perimeter
around this car.'

nothing gets touched
until the csis get here.

[Indistinct radio chatter]

Scott?

Scott, look at me.

You played me.

We were on the same team.

You and your brother were gonna
take a stand against hardecker

and everything he represents.

Brad put his entire life on
the line to make things right.

And what do you do?

You go get a gun and
you shoot him in the chest

and then you cut out his tongue

to make us think
hardecker did it.

And then you stand in
front of your brother's widow

and accuse us of not
doing enough to protect you?

What was that, 12, 14 hours
after you shot your brother?

I wanna talk to a lawyer.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Well, speaking as a lawyer
who knows enough about you

to write a book..

You'd better get a good one.

Why would a man
kill his own brother?

Maybe it's as simple
as he didn't want Brad

testifying in a fraud trial
where he was implicated.

Maybe hardecker got to him

somehow convinced
him to take Brad out.

Except if that's the
case, why did Scott

make it look like
hardecker did it?

Scott was scared.

Scared to testify,
of going to prison..

So he figures he'll get
sympathy for his dead brother

and that'll get him out of jail?

That backfired, I'd say.

[Phone ringing]

It's the da, he's breathing

down my neck on this.

'So where are we
with hardecker's trial?'

the judge granted a
two-day continuance.

But without the birdseye
boys, I'm in trouble.

You spent time with these
brothers. Did they get along?

Brad was definitely
the protective

older brother type, and
Scott seemed to need that.

That kind of relationship
can breed resentment.

We've already dug up
lots of dirt on these boys.

- Have we not?
- A pile.

Then let's sift through it
again and see if there's some

long-standing rivalry we missed.

We already know for a
fact that Scott's a schemer.

Let's see if he was
up to anything else.

[Keys clacking]

You have no idea
what a mistake this is.

'You don't know Scott,
he couldn't have done this'

he loved his brother.
They were so close.

[Breathing heavily]
It was hardecker.

Hardecker, he's an awful
man, he's capable of anything.

He is the one who
should be in jail, not Scott.

You've got to let him go.

Joyce, that's not gonna happen.

This is all wrong.

Please, you've got it wrong.

Sorry, I don't think we do.

[Sobs]

I'm telling you, Maureen,
I was with the woman

the morning after her
husband was killed

and she just sat
there on the couch.

Not a tear, not a-a
catch in her voice.

Now Scott gets put in jail

and she's frantic, bawling

pleading, anything
to get him out.

Well, you know, some
people are numb at first

'and the emotion comes later.'

no, I've seen that before.

But this was passionate.

Scott was in jail and her
world was coming to an end.

She ran out of my office.

You think Joyce and Scott
were up to something?

I think we should
look specifically

at Joyce and Brad's marriage.

I think we've missed something.

(Steve) So what am I looking at?

Well, I sat down to go back over

the birdseye phone records

and this is from six months ago.

And I noticed it at the
time, but it wasn't germane

to the corruption investigation.

These are..

Joyce birdseye's
cell phone records.

Nine calls to alexson
and redmond?

Indianapolis' finest
divorce lawyers.

Six months ago it looks
like she was thinking about

dumping her husband.

Earlier today she stopped
by trying to get Scott out of jail.

So instead of a divorce
they used the cover

of the trial to get rid of Brad

and make it look
like hardecker did it?

The theory fits.

Okay, but how do we prove that?

We ask her lawyer to
tell us about the divorce.

Attorney-client privilege?

Good luck with that.

No, we should tell Scott

Joyce admitted the affair

admitted plotting to
kill Brad, the whole deal.

- You mean lie to him?
- You got a problem with that?

Are you kidding me?

This guy's lied to me
six ways from Sunday.

If we can trick him
into a confession

I call that sweet justice.

So, were you aware that Joyce
was looking to divorce Brad?

If she was, that
was their business.

Really?

That's not what she told us.

(Ron) You questioned
Joyce birdseye?

We didn't have to,
the minute she heard

Scott here was in
jail, she came flyin' in

tellin' us all sorts of things.

(Ron) Do you have a question?

Were you having an affair
with your brother's wife?

(Scott) No.

Of course not.

What would you call it, then?

Friends with benefits?

She said she couldn't
keep her hands off of you.

Do not talk about her like that.

Because that's..

Because that's my sister-in-law

and she would never say that.

Actually, Scott, the truth
is, Joyce told us everything..

About the affair

about planning
to kill Brad, all of it.

But you know, I know you, and..

I have a hard time believing
this whole thing was your idea.

She says you hit him over
the head, put him in the car

'drove him out to the country'

and you shot him

on your own without
any help from her.

I don't buy that.

I also know you
loved your brother.

She must have had some
incredible hold over you

to get you to do
something like this.

She's blaming the
whole thing on me?

I-I-Is that it?

She's-she's saying that
she had nothing to do with it?

(Annabeth) 'Mm-hmm.'

[dramatic music]

Yeah.

Yeah, that's right.

She-she had
nothing to do with it

it was exactly like
she said, it was all me.

I didn't want to kill Brad.

I just wanted to
be with her, I just..

I loved her so much.

And you can't put her in jail.

Please don't put her
in jail, I love her, okay?

There's stuff that
you don't know.

There's stuff that no one knows.

We wanted to let you
know that we've charged

your brother-in-law with
the murder of your husband.

Now I know this
is difficult to hear

but Scott has taken full
responsibility for everything.

And because of the
special circumstances

the careful planning,
the mutilation of the body

designed to cast
suspicion on someone else

we're strongly considering
the death penalty.

We need you to
testify against him.

What would I say?

You could tell
the court the truth.

Scott has feelings for you.

He told us he loves you.

We believe those feelings
drove him to kill his own brother

in the hopes of being with you.

Joyce, you haven't
slept with him, have you?

- Would that make a difference?
- Yes.

We need to be certain
that he acted alone

in order to build a case
for the death penalty.

I don't want Scott to die.

Have you slept with him?

Yes.

Tell me about that night.

Where were you?
What were you doing?

I told you, Brad
went for a walk.

And he didn't come
home, yes, we know that.

Did Scott tell you he
was gonna kill Brad?

It was just a fantasy.

I never thought he would do it.

Did you help him in any way?

All I did..

Was encourage my
husband to go for a walk.

You told him to take a walk

knowing that his brother,
your lover, was out there

waiting for him with a baseball
bat, planning to knock him out

then kill him and
cut out his tongue?

I never thought he
would actually do it.

Yet you lied to the police,
you covered up for your lover

and now Scott is
facing the death penalty

'unless we can prove
he didn't do it alone.'

[sighs]

You don't want that now.

Do you, Joyce?

No.

(Annabeth) Can you tell us about
the phone conversation you had

with Mr. Hardecker the night
your business was destroyed.

I told him that my brother was
planning to testify against him

but that I didn't want to.

And what was his
response to that?

He said we had to find
a way to shut him up.

I said I agreed.

[Indistinct chatter]

(Annabeth) People would
like to introduce into evidence

this microcellular recorder.

Objection, your honor, I object

to the late inclusion
of this evidence.

Your honor, we shared this
evidence with the defense

as soon as it came
into our possession.

Which was yesterday, so,
we had no time to analyze it

or even to verify that it was
my client's voice on the tape.

Your honor, we have hours
of routine conversations

between this witness
and Mr. Hardecker on tape.

So you have to ask
yourself, what kind of person

goes and records conversations
behind people's backs?

'The same kind of person'

who has admitted
to killing his brother

to avoid implication
in this case.

Why should we believe
anything from this man's mouth

recorded or otherwise?

Mr. Schenk, I will make sure
that you have time to present

whatever analysis
you come up with.

But right now, I want
to hear that tape.

Thank you, your honor.

(Hardecker on recorder) 'If the
office blew up with, uh, Brad inside'

'you know what
everybody'd think?'

'well, that he was in
there trying to burn'

'the place down
to destroy records'

'didn't get out in time.'

(Scott on recorder)
'I-I mean, maybe, but'

'how would we
even get him inside?'

I'll take care of that.

- But you need to do me a favor.
- 'What's that?'

leave the backdoor unlocked.

And did you leave
that door unlocked?

I did.

(Annabeth) Why?

Why did you want
your own brother dead?

I was in love with his wife.

And when-when
Mr. Hardecker came to me

and said he wanted
my brother out of the way

I saw it as an opportunity
to get rid of Brad.

'But then Brad, he-he didn't
show up for the explosion.'

so then I just decided
to kill him myself.

Thank you.

'The defendant
will please rise.'

"the jury finds the
defendant, Maurice hardecker

"on the charge of conspiracy
to commit fraud... Guilty.

'"On the charge of
arson for hire... Guilty.'

"on the charge of conspiracy
to commit murder... Guilty.

"On the separate
charge of fraud involving

"Mr. Wayne Burrows... Guilty.

'"On the second separate
charge of fraud involving'

'"dawn Keller... Guilty.'

'"on the third separate
charge of fraud involving'

'Mr. Ramone burger... Guilty."'

so Scott pled and
is gonna do life.

What about Joyce?

Joyce is looking at 20 years
for her part in the murder.

It was easier for Scott
and Joyce to kill Brad

than it was for
her to divorce him?

I don't think they were
planning on killing him

until the investigation started.

'And then the trial,
and it looked like'

they could pin it on
the big, bad developer.

The ultimate crime
of opportunity.

Mm... well, I guess divorcing
Brad and marrying Scott

would have made for some
pretty awkward family reunions.

I thought my
thanksgivings were bad.

How'd your new job go today?

It was good.

You should have heard the guys

blabberin' about
hardecker going to jail.

And then the look on
their face when I told them

it was my wife
that put him there.

What kind of look?

Well, let's just say
my stock went up.

The guy didn't
have a lot of friends.

Promise me..

If you ever wanna get a divorce

you'll hire an attorney,
and not a hitman.

Baby, if I ever want
a divorce from you

I'll hire a shrink to
examine my head.

[Instrumental music]

[Theme music]