All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.Criminal.Intent.S01E21.WEB-DL.x264-ION10

[no sound]

In New York City's war on crime

the worst criminal offenders
are pursued

by the detectives
of the Major Case Squad.

These are their stories.

WOMAN:
Make a left
up here at this light.

MAN:
We're driving
in circles.

You think
that's going to fool me?

You know how Erica feels
about her privacy.

Why? You ever ask yourself that?

I don't need to.

Now, pull up to this driveway
on the left.

Erica is just real upset

about this, Doug.

I mean, think about it. It's as big an
insult as you can give another person.

If that's the way she feels,
she can tell me to my face.

I deserve at least that much.

It's making her sick

on top of everything
she has to deal with.

I just want to talk to her.

She agreed.

MAN:
You're going
to talk to her.

She said she'd talk to you,
didn't she?

Then what's the problem?

She wants you to sign something.

What kind of a game is this?

You come here,
you make all your demands.

You want to talk to her,
you just sign that.

This is ridiculous.

I'm out of here.

Are you threatening me?

Please, we're only making
things worse for Erica.

He's the one
making the problems.

I came all the way
out here to see her

and now you're laying this...
crap on me?!

You bet I'm going
to make problems.

I'll talk to her.

Toby, you, too.

Why are you being
so difficult?

Don't be a fool,
Christine.

This whole house of cards
is coming down.

I gave all of you
your opportunity.

Douglas...

Get yourself a lawyer.

Erica is extremely
disappointed in you, Doug.

Do I get to talk
to her or not?

Go home.

She just wants
you to go home.

Maybe if I talk to her.

Erica says we have to let him do
whatever he needs to do.

You can't stop someone

from walking
into their own hell.

Hey. It's five-something.

Let's go.

This guy,
you should have heard him.

More rules
than the NFL playbook.

I'm, like, "Why do you have
to make it so complicated

"you fat moron?

"Last time I checked,
all the parts fit together.

It don't have to be
so damn complicated."

(gasping)

Oh, my God!

Fire! Help!

Help, there's
somebody on
fire here!

Call 911!

The fire set off
this can of butane

in Mr. Lafferty's
coat pocket.

That accounted
for the fireball.

Fire died down
pretty quickly.

Lucy Hotpants there

thinks the guy died of
spontaneous combustion.

Right after he was spontaneously
hit in the head.

I count three impact wounds
in the right side of his skull.

What started
the fire?

They put a match
to his coat.

Fire marshal
said it smelled

like it was soaked
in acetone.

Nail polish remover.

His wallet's
missing.

We I.D.'d him off
his press badge
in the glove box.

There's blood and scalp tissue
on the tip.

The perp was... seated here.

Rammed it into his head.

He wasn't murdered

in this location.

This bloodstain

didn't spatter here
when he was killed.

It most likely came...

when his head was resting
against the door.

His body was moved
into the passenger seat

after he was killed.

The killer then
drove him here

and put him back
behind the wheel...

and set him on fire

to destroy evidence
he was killed elsewhere.

But "elsewhere"
where?

Well, we start where he started.

There's a garage door opener
on the end of his key chain.

Looks like part
of the umbrella.

Probably fell out
of the car when
the killer got out.

Make-up products.

I need a bag.

Nail polish, emery boards,
manicure clippers.

Everything
but nail polish remover.

Looks like he was killed
in the garage.

Somebody de-fragged
his computer to
wipe out files.

The family silver's
all accounted for

including Mr. Lafferty's
gold watches

and diamond cuff links.

And Pulitzer Prize...

for his coverage of the
Tet Offensive in 1968.

This guy was a war correspondent
before he owned a magazine.

Tough old bird.

Newsmagazines.

Newsmagazines...

but no hobbies,
no special interests.

I spoke too soon.

It's a catalog
for medical equipment.

Probably for his late wife.

She died last year.

And he still
keeps her things

in the garage.

Tough, sentimental old bird.

Maybe not that sentimental. His bank
statements for the last three months.

He was withdrawing cash
on a regular basis.

Big chunks--
seven grand, ten grand.

He found himself
a high-maintenance hobby.

116 grand in the last
six months to who--

a bookie, a girlfriend?

The guy was
a lonely widower.

If he had a girlfriend

we couldn't find
any trace of her.

His address book
and appointment
book are missing.

His computer disk
was wiped clean.

We're still waiting
on his phone records.

DEAKINS:
You don't like
the girlfriend angle?

I'm open to anything.

Let's say the... perpetrator
was a woman.

She had excellent
improvisational skills.

She created
an incendiary device.

She relocated the body
to a high-crime area.

For all the good
it did her.

She might as well
have left him

in the garage.

Uh, that's the point.

She over-thought the event.

She was careful, but almost...
neurotically anxious

about hiding her tracks.

Lafferty might have been
the target of her anger

but he wasn't
the object of her passion.

She wasn't
emotionally involved...

with him.

DEAKINS:
She was emotionally
involved

with his bank account.

Lafferty had two kids, right?

A son and daughter.

They're coming in for the I.D.

I invited him
to join my wife

and some friends
for dinner

but he wanted
to stay in.

Did you suspect
he had other plans?

Since Mom died,
Dad's been a little difficult.

He's been grieving.

Ms. Lafferty,
any time you want to jump in...

It's obvious, isn't it?

Look at where you found
my father-- on 11th Avenue.

He turned into

a sex addict.

She's right.

A couple
of weeks ago

I was in Bulgari's
with my kids

shopping for Mother's Day.

Dad was at the jewelry counter.

Did you talk
to him?

Yes. He wasn't too happy
to see me.

As soon as the salesperson came
back with his receipt, he left.

I... thought he was buying
jewelry for some girlfriend.

Did you see what he bought?

No.

The salesperson told him
to come back

and pick it up in a week.

He was having it inscribed.

Mr. Lafferty
bought a ladies' watch in gold.

Lucky lady.

He had
some engraving done?

It's on the next page.

"To Erica, for giving me
a reason to go on. Douglas."

So romantic,
don't you think?

You don't want to know
what I think.

Which model is it?

This one.

Oh, uh... this watch
has a clasp on the band.

It says on the receipt
that Mr. Lafferty

switched it
with an expansion band.

It's easier to take on and off.

He said that the lady might find
a band with a clasp

too difficult to use.

I think she had a little
handicap with her right hand.

Thank you very much.

We're going to Queens.

The medical equipment
catalog in Lafferty's den--

that's where they
have their store.

Erica needs more.

We have to move.

Re-think this, Barb--
please-- for Erica's sake.

We know what's best.

I don't know how we're going
to make due with this.

Tell me where
you're going.

I'll see what I can do.

I'll tell Erica.

I know you're trying to help.

She'll call you, okay?

MAN:
We supplied Mr. Lafferty
with a wheelchair

when his wife was sick.

Then, three months ago,
he ordered another one.

It had to be motorized
with a joystick control.

A left-handed joystick?

Yes. The young lady

had lost the use
of her right hand.

He said she might eventually
need a mouth control stick.

Where were you supposed
to deliver the wheelchair?

To an Erica Windemere.

I don't have
the address.

Mr. Lafferty was
going to tell me

when he came in to make
the last payment.

It's been ready now
for three weeks.

This chair's for a child.

Mr. Lafferty said

she is 14,
and weighs only 90 pounds.

The new love
of his life--

a little girl in a wheelchair.

Wheelchair, respirator,
heart monitor...

Over $30,000 total, just
in medical supplies.

Who is this girl,
a relative?

His kids have
never heard of her.

She's somebody he met
in the last six months.

Maybe he's involved
with her mother.

It's about what's
inscribed on the watch.

His wife is dead,
his kids don't like him.

Helping this girl
filled a void in his life.

His phone records
came in this morning.

No calls to anyone
named Windemere

but a lot of calls

to numbers that never showed up

before six months ago.

Check them out.

I was blown away when I heard
what happened to Doug.

He was just
such a decent guy.

Where did you
know him from?

We had, you know,
common interests.

You mean Erica?

You know Erica?

We're trying to get
in touch with her.

Just leave a message for her
on the Web Site.

Erica W.

There's a chat room
and everything.

That's how I met Doug.

We need to actually
talk to her.

I can't help you
with that.

You're worried about, Erica?
So are we.

She's already
been through a lot.

I mean, you read the book.

Yeah, sure, the book.

My partner hasn't.

You should.
It's so right on.

He's been after me
to get into it.

What's it called again?

Through the Darkness.

What did you like most
about her?

She never gives up.

My sister died of breast
cancer three years ago.

She left behind
two kids.

Erica's book helps me
to talk to them.

You've got
to read it, okay?

MAN:
Since it came out last fall

it's been
one of our biggest sellers

which surprised me.

It was pretty raw
when we got it.

Thank God
for editors.

Christine?

These detectives
need some information

about Erica Windemere.

Oh, one of
my favorite authors.

How can I help you?

We're investigating the murder
of Douglas Lafferty.

CHRISTINE: Oh, yes. In fact,
Erica e-mailed me yesterday

telling me how upset she was
about his death.

EAMES:
They were good friends?

Yeah, she was
very fond of him.

I just got the book.

Oh, so she has ALS?

Yes.

Lou Gherig's Disease.
That's degenerative.

"Your body's destroyed while...

BOTH:
...your soul stays intact."

That's what
it says here on the cover.

That's the least

of what she's had to face
in her short life.

She could
teach us a lot.

And we have a lot to learn.

We need
her address and phone number.

You know she's just
a bedridden little girl?

Well, she might
know something

she doesn't even know she knows.

She sounds like the kind
of person who'd want to help.

Yeah.

I don't have
a phone number for her

but I can give you her e-mail.

Uh...

is that how you
worked on the book with her

through her e-mails?

Yes, and she
calls me.

She can't give out
her address or her phone.

The book explains why.

How about her book royalties?

How do you get
the checks to her?

Her foster mother

Barb, comes to the office.

She doesn't live
with her parents?

No, child welfare
took her from them.

Is there a foster father?

There's Toby.

He's the physical therapist.

And she has you.

I'm sorry for all the secrecy.

It's just that it's the only way
to protect Erica's safety.

You really do need
to read the book.

EAMES:
Okay, thanks.

Two days for the subpoena

couple more days for
the e-mail account information.

GOREN:
Probably another dead end.

This kid
doesn't want to be found.

She writes she's
been dodging death threats.

Her parents were members
of a violent drug gang

that sexually abused her.

Sexually abusing
a kid with ALS.

Lovely.

That was before
the ALS

kicked in at age 11.

Her father is serving ten years
for the sex abuse.

Her mother vowed to kill her
if she ever finds her.

What are
you writing?

I'm sending her an e-mail. That's how
everybody else gets her attention.

"Dear Erica, I just finished
reading your book.

"I've met a lot of people in my
line of work, but I've never

met anyone with your courage
and power to forgive."

You get the idea?

And then I tell her I want
to talk to her about Lafferty

and I include my phone number.

Well, while you're waiting
for an answer

let's see if child welfare
knows where she is.

Child welfare has no record
of a girl with ALS

going through their system
in the last five years.

No record of a girl being used
as a sex toy by a dope gang.

No record of foster parents
named Barb and Toby.

But people have talked
to this girl, right?

The editor of the book?

We found a few people through her Web
Site who said they got calls from her.

They all described
the same thing:

A sweet girl with a bad disease
and a positive attitude.

(phone rings)

Captain Deakins.

Erica Windemere.

For you. You want
to take it here?

Hello, Erica?

This is Detective
Alexandra Eames.

Hello, Detective.

Call me Alex.

Am I on a speakerphone, Alex?

Yes, I'm here
with my boss

Captain Deakins,
and my partner,
Detective Goren.

We're all anxious
to speak with you.

Okay.

I was so glad you wrote me.

If there's any way I can help,
of course I want to do that.

When's the last time
you spoke with Mr. Lafferty?

We spoke all the time,
about his children.

He wanted to have

a better relationship with them

and he was
such a big support to me.

Erica, is there
any way that we could meet

and talk to you in person?

It depends on my health.

I've had
so many bad days lately.

Alex, do you have any kids?

No.

Your voice reminds me
of my kindergarten teacher.

It's a very warm voice

like you spend a lot
of time talking to kids.

I hope you have some someday.

Erica

your book says
you contracted ALS

when you were just 11.

That's pretty rare, isn't it?

Yes.

You still have the use
of your right hand?

No, I don't.

But you have the use
of your left hand.

Yes.

Well, that kind
of asymmetric disability

is unusual for ALS sufferers,
isn't it?

I don't know what usual is.

What's happening to me
is what's usual for me.

One more thing.

How has ALS
affected your menstruation?

I...

you mean...

I don't want to embarrass you.

In your book, you're very frank
about your development

as a young
woman.

If it makes you
uncomfortable, I...

It's not that.

How has
your condition affected you?

I...

Is this something
that you have to think about?

I-I can't believe I'm being
attacked like this.

Alex, people can't destroy you
unless you let them.

(phone jostling)

WOMAN:
What did you people
say to Erica?!

Uh, who's this?

This is her foster mother.

Erica's crying right now.

How could you people

take five minutes
of whatever precious time

she has left on this planet

to do this to her?

Shame on you.

(phone disconnects)

If I hadn't heard it
with my own ears...

Well, it was a legitimate
question.

She was just trying to come up
with the right answer.

The right answer is whatever's
happening to her body.

She shouldn't
have to think about it.

That's why Doug Lafferty never
took delivery of the wheelchair.

She's a fake.

And he found out.

I remember my wife telling me
about this book.

It made some talk show
book club selection.

They called her
the next Anne Frank.

Except Anne Frank
actually existed.

No one's ever
met this girl?

Maybe someone has. This is from the
introduction by Professor David Cantler--

"Erica's easy smile
hides a will of iron

which refuses to succumb
to the ravages of life."

Her easy smile wouldn't
be easy to see over
the telephone.

Cantler-- the geneticist
with the best-seller?

Two best-sellers and four wives.

Apparently, the professor
likes the ladies

and vice-versa.

You know us-- we like men who play
with the building blocks of life.

EAMES:
Professor Cantler...

Hello.

I'm a graduate...

Sorry, Alex Eames,
in Social Work.

I'm a graduate student.

What can I do for
you, Alex Eames?

My thesis is on survivors
of child sex abuse

and I know you wrote
the introduction to...

Through the Darkness,
yes.

You see, I want to interview Erica for
my thesis and if you could help me...

Yes, well, I have
a confession to make.

Um, it wasn't possible
to actually meet with her.

But your introduction...

Yes, I know-- a little
poetic license.

I went to meet her, but
her health was so fragile

she just wasn't
strong enough...

But you got to see
where she lived.

Yes, I did
that, but, uh...

My thesis partner.

Hi. I'm Detective
Robert Goren.

How you doing?

Did Alex mention
she's a detective, too?

And her thesis? That's actually
a subpoena that we need to serve

on Erica and her...
foster parents.

Uh, look, I actually don't know
where she lives.

Uh, they had me drive out
to a gas station on Long Island

and this man Toby picked me up
and drove me around in his van
for about a half an hour.

You know what the house
looks like, right?

We'll just drive around
until we find it.

There's still food
in the fridge.

Whoever lived here
must've just moved out.

Gravel from
the driveway.

I waited to meet with Erica
right here in this living room.

She was in the bedroom.

She was too sick to come out.

Hook, line and sinker,
Professor.

I can't believe
you fell for this.

Erica exists.

She's a gentle, loving soul

who's been through great trials
in her very fragile life.

I've spoken to her many times.

On the phone.

You're a scientist.

I don't have to stick
my fingers in the wounds

to believe, Detective.

There's a theorem-- Godel's
Great Incompleteness Theorem:

"Every axiomatic system
will contain truths...

...that cannot be proven."

But the absence of proof
can be proof.

This was Erica's bedroom?

Uh... the bed was in here?

I don't see any marks

or indentations
on the carpet or the wall.

That's not conclusive.

I don't see a 220-volt hookup
for the respirator

Doug Lafferty bought for Erica.

Doug Lafferty bought
her a respirator?

You bought her one,
too, didn't you?

I'm sure they made a nice profit
selling the equipment.

I've been a fool.

It's... Wanting to help
someone is not foolish.

But now you have to help
us find these people.

There's a pharmacy.

Sometimes they ask me
to pay for her prescriptions.

GOREN:
I'm a friend
of David Cantler's.

He was supposed to drop
off some money

for a kid's prescription--
Erica Windemere?

He asked me to
take care of it.

Uh, is that okay?

Sure, I guess so.

How much is it?

Well, let's see...

She's on the Rilutek in addition
to the Zanaflex and the Roxanol.

That's, uh, $800
for all three.

Eight hundred dollars?

This girl never heard
of medical insurance?

She doesn't have any;
that's all I know.

Uh, I don't mean to be rude,
but how do I know

you're going to actually...
send her the drugs?

Uh, we do this all the time.

Somebody pays for the drugs

and I call Erica's foster mother
to come get them.

Can you show me Erica's
prescriptions for the drugs?

Why would I want to do that?

Well, because I'm a cop.

And you're five seconds away
from being arrested

for selling prescription drugs
without a prescription.

I-I just pass it on
to Bob for Erica.

It's a donation.

After you take a handling fee?

Okay, Murray, this is
what you're going to do.

You're going to call Barb

and tell her a big donation
just came in

and that you need her to come by
before you close.

Have you ever seen her?

Have you, Christine?

I've never seen
J.D. Salinger either

but that doesn't make me
doubt his existence.

Go ahead and be flip.
I'm just telling you--

if you publish any further
editions of the book

I want my introduction
excised.

This is just happening
because of Barb.

She's too overprotective.

Erica would be happy
to meet with people

if Barb would let her.

Christine, you got taken
and I got taken.

Let's just hope
that when this hits the papers

we don't look
like total idiots.

I'll tell you what I hope.

I hope that I never lose
faith in one of the kindest

most spiritual human
beings I have ever met.

I feel sorry for you.

Well, feel sorry
for yourself.

You're not just

betraying Erica,
you're betraying all children.

Erica is safe where
we left her-- with friends.

We found your motel room.

There were none of Erica's
personal belongings there

not even a picture of her.

We know what
she looks like.

We don't need
a picture of her.

And all of her things
are with her.

Uh, Toby's in the next room.

You sure he's telling
the same story?

Yes, I'm sure,
because it's the truth.

What's wrong with you
that makes you want

to destroy someone
good like Erica?

Um... I'm-I'm just
a natural-born skeptic.

Maybe I haven't had
enough tragedy

in my life...
like Doug.

His wife is gone.

His kids hate him.

Death staring him in the face.

Doug was full of love.

Erica opened his heart.

EAMES:
Not to mention
his wallet.

I'm not even going
to speak to that.

Doug had doubts.

Huh?

Isn't what why...

he was at the house...

(clattering)

(bag rustling)

the night that he died?

He wasn't there.

GOREN:
This is gravel.

From your driveway.

Gravel... it gets around
all the way to Manhattan.

This is the same
kind of gravel.

We found it in the tires
of Doug's car.

He did come out that night.

He and Erica needed
to talk, and they did.

Well, now we know one thing--
you're not above lying to us.

I'll do whatever I need
to protect Erica.

Including killing an old man

who threatens
to destroy you?

People can't destroy you
unless you let them.

I've heard that before...

from Erica.

Did she teach you that?

Yes, she did.

Strength of character,
strength of will--

these are the tools
you've been given

to make yourself
what you would be.

And you made Erica into
what you'd like yourself to be.

Erica made herself. I was just lucky
enough to meet her in her time of need.

(laughing)

Ah, you're quick.

Just like Erica.

Do you ever get jealous

about all the attention
that she gets?

No.

Because some of it
falls on you, right?

I'm just there to help Erica.

You take care of Erica.

You control access to Erica.

That makes you
a very important person.

Isn't that what this
is really about?

(door opens)

Mr. Jacobs here has been hired
to represent the Windemeres.

( door closes)

GOREN:
Now, some people
pretend to be sick

for the attention and the love.

Some women,
they make their children sick

for the same reason.

Some women kill their babies.

But this woman...
she invented a sick child

for the attention,
for the love.

But if somebody like Doug
Lafferty gets in the way...?

She's not violent.

She believes that she can talk
her way out of anything.

These people are con artists...

but I don't think
they killed Lafferty.

GOREN:
Someone showed
Doug Lafferty

the way to the house
and then drove back

to the city with him.

Someone Barb
and Toby trusted.

We got thousands
of e-mails to Erica
cataloged here

from every state and
all of the replies.

This was a full-time job.

Full-time salary, too.

These are drafts
of the book

with handwritten
revisions.

Looks like most of the
book was rewritten.

Not just rewritten,
transformed.

This paragraph here

about Erica being told
she had ALS...

The original's, uh...

I think the word
you're looking
for is "awful."

But the new material,
it breaks your heart.

Whoever made these changes

it was a labor of love.

What you've done is
cruel and heartless.

Arresting Barb
and Toby?

That puts Erica
in terrible danger.

Have you talked to her
since their arrest?

No. She's probably too
afraid to call me.

Well, maybe you're hoping
she doesn't.

After all, she might ask you
to take care of her.

I would do that without
a moment's hesitation.

It doesn't intimidate me.

It should: You're single,
no one to help you

you have a
full-time job.

Erica would be
my full-time job.

GOREN:
You have no doubt

that she's a flesh-and-blood
little girl?

No, I don't.

You had a scare

last summer.

One of your coworkers told us
you had a bad Pap smear.

I had a precancerous
cervical condition

which I was treated for

not that it's
any of your business.

GOREN: But did it raise the question
of whether you'd ever
have your own children?

Is that the void
that Erica filled?

Erica restored your faith
in the human spirit.

She gave you courage
in the face of evil.

No one was going to tell you
she doesn't exist.

To deny her was to deny you.

Okay, this
is ridiculous.

Is it?

I don't know where Erica ends
and you begin.

You are insane!

This is all her!

This is her!

This is her life!

These are
her thoughts!

Douglas Lafferty's faith
wasn't as strong as yours.

He wanted proof...

didn't he?

Is that why you took him
to the house?

Maybe Doug Lafferty's suspicions
weren't appeased

and he was
going to make trouble.

No.

Maybe driving back
to the city

you tried to reason
with him.

You told him how much
Erica meant to you.

The closer you got
to his home

the more frantic
that you became...?

I stayed home all night.

I never left the house.

We checked the logs

of the messenger service
your company uses.

That night, they tried

to make deliveries to you
at 9:00 and midnight.

There was no answer either time.

CARVER:
We don't doubt

the sincerity of your beliefs,
Ms. Wilkes.

You were taken advantage of.

And I'm willing to take that
into consideration

if you will tell us the truth.

I stayed home all night.

I went to bed early

and that is why I didn't hear
the buzzing.

Now, if you'll excuse me

I would like
to leave.

The power of faith.

GOREN:
No, she really believes
Erica is real.

You know, maybe a little faith
in Erica

isn't such a bad thing.

JACOBS:
Look, they freely admit

that Douglas Lafferty was
at their house that night.

They wouldn't admit that unless
they had nothing to hide.

Or they wanted
to create

an impression they
had nothing to hide.

I might have been
more pliable a
few days ago

but now that the
insurance policy
has come to light...

JACOBS:
What insurance policy?

Ask your clients.

Um, four months ago,
Douglas Lafferty changed

the beneficiary
on his insurance policy

naming Erica
Windemere

to receive a payout

of $2 million.

We didn't know
anything about that.

Oh, really?

The money was to be held
in trust

with your client as trustee.

EAMES:
$2 million

to spend any way she wanted.

GOREN:
The best part
of it is

you would have been able
to keep all of it

without ever having to prove
that Erica exists.

CARVER:
A murder
conviction

will, of course,
void the policy.

Crime isn't
supposed to pay.

We didn't kill Doug.

We swear.

Well, if not you, then who?

WILKES:
I just found out

that the District Attorney
is seizing

Erica's book royalties.

That is inhumane.

What is she supposed
to live on?

What's the D.A.
supposed to do?

We did find
new evidence

implicating Barb in
Doug Lafferty's murder.

Okay, I am not defending
what Barb did.

I am just here to protect
Erica's interests.

She sent you here
to talk to us?

No, no, I e-mailed her. I told her
it was urgent I speak with her.

I don't even know if she
has a computer anymore.

You see, this is

the precarious
situation she's in.

Without those book royalties,
she has nothing.

I thought that she has
hundreds of people
sending her money.

She's in hiding.

How do you expect
them to get the
money to her?

Well, Barb said
she was safe.

Barb is a liar.

Barb needs to be kept away
from Erica.

Oh.

Oh, you know
what's best for her?

Yes, I do.

There's a call
for Ms. Wilkes.
It's her office.

Oh, my God.

Tell them she's busy.

They said it
was important.

They're holding
a call from an
Erica Windemere.

(sighs)

Uh, put it through
in here.

(phone rings)

WOMAN:
Christine?

Erica!

Yes, it's me.
I'm here.

Hi.

I'm so happy
to hear your voice.

I am too, Erica.

I'm here with the
police right now.

So, tell me how
you're doing.

All right,
but I'm very scared.

I am taking care
of everything.

You don't have to
worry about anything.

I'm not going to let...

Did they tell you about Doug?

Barb told me on the phone
that he had insurance.

I don't understand these things.

(quietly):
He had a life policy

that left Erica
$2 million.

Oh, that's incredible.

That's a miracle.

Only now, I won't get it

(voice breaking):
because of Barb

(sobbing):
and what she did to Doug.

Since Erica's the trustee
and she killed Doug

the policy's void,
and Erica gets nothing.

What's going to happen
to me, Christine?

"The people I'm
with can't afford
to take care of me.

"We don't have
any money.

Barb had it all."

Erica?

Listen to me, sweetheart.

Nothing bad
is going to happen to you.

(quietly):
She has no health insurance.

I'm going to end up in a home.

No, no, you're not.

I'm going to make sure of that.

(quietly):
How? With what money?

I mean...

(aloud):
Erica's at the end of her rope.

Isn't that right, Erica?

I'm sorry, Christine.

I try to be brave...

(sobbing):
but... but losing Barb
and Tony...

Erica...

It's just too much.

You taught me so much
about accepting loss

and uncertainty and hardship

and appreciating

what is beautiful
and hopeful in life.

Beauty won't help.

Her disease is going
to get worse.

That's what she has
to look forward to.

More hardship, loss
and uncertainty.

Erica, you know

that I would sacrifice
everything for you.

You better mean it

because she's got
no one else.

You're the only person
I have left, Christine.

I know.

(phone disconnects)

What? Erica?

Erica?

Erica?

Erica?

Erica!

Erica!

Erica!

What are you going
to do, Christine?

That money could change
everything for her.

It could save
her life.

Whatever you did, you...

you did to... defend
your faith in her.

Your heart was pure.

Now it's time
to take the final step

to give Erica
the greatest gift.

You need to do this...

or your faith in Erica
will have been...

a lie.

I did it.

Not Barb.

I killed Doug.

Tell me what you did.

I killed him
in his garage.

I used nail polish remover,
and I set him on fire.

He was going to hurt Erica.

He kept saying she wasn't real

and I couldn't let him say that.

You know, I just couldn't
let him say that.

(sniffling)

So now I get
the insurance money, right?

When do I get it?

I'm sorry.

What?!

Erica isn't the
only thing that
doesn't exist.

You lied?

You lied to me?

I helped you, and...

You ruined everything.

Erica will be
so disappointed in them.