Original subtitles

I'm James Patterson.

Be honest now, did you ever want to knock off your spouse?

I know I have.

Sorry, honey, just kidding.

But our friend Frank, well, he's not kidding.

You see, Frank will do whatever it takes to terminate his relationship.

But he is forgetting one little detail. And we all know the devil's in the

details. Take it from me, truth can be stranger than fiction.

And remember, this really happened.

You're good to go.

How's lunch?

It's okay.

So?

I got a call out of nowhere from some guy.

He said his name's John.

What'd he want?

He wanted me to kill somebody.

His wife.

What did you tell him?

I told him I'd put a crew together.

So you agreed to do it?

Nah.

What I agreed to do, Detective, was to make a ton of money.

So why don't you tell me about John?

Hey, yes we are.

Welcome home, honey.

How you doing?

Well, the engravers misspelled Brianna's name on the invitation, so we've had a

little drama.

We should have never used those guys.

I've got to go out. Do you want me to fix you something before I go to Bible

study? Oh, that'd be great.

You look like an atheist.

Thanks, we are.

Over here.

You mean you're here?

I wanted to surprise you for Valentine's.

You did.

Where are you staying?

Downtown.

I'm wearing leather.

I'm not wearing...

You know that.

I will, I promise.

Yeah, I think I can rearrange my schedule and make time for you around

I'll call you when I get to the office to confirm.

What? We heard.

You going in today?

Got to.

But it's Valentine's Day.

But it's not a work holiday.

Look at that. That looks so good.

I was hoping we could spend the day together.

And you've been promising me you'd help me with the wedding plan.

And I will.

I promise.

Tonight, over dinner, I reserved our favorite table.

Oh, my gosh.

Thank you.

Time for a quick drink.

A quick drink?

Just my bottle.

I was hoping you would stay for a bit.

You know there's nothing I'd rather do than that.

Hold that thought.

Oh, hey.

Yeah, we're just wrapping things up here.

If I come all the way home to get you, we're going to be late for a

Oh.

We've got to take separate cars.

Separate cars?

Yeah. Yeah, I've got to come back to the office after. You know how crazy it's

been. Yeah, come on.

Yeah.

Okay. Okay.

I'll see you there.

Love you. I hate you.

Valentine's dinner with your wife.

I know you don't like it.

You're going to Jill's tonight, right?

You are lucky that I have friends who live in town or I'd be really pissed at

you.

I gotta get cleaned up.

Yeah, she'll be there tonight.

You still good?

I said it'll be done.

You gonna tell me what this is about?

About you keeping your mouth shut and not getting paid.

So you're saying you never shot anyone?

No.

I just went where John told me to go in case he asked me any questions.

It was a perfect scam.

I never would have shot the church lady.

Doing that meant the end of the money. I never wanted that.

How much money we talking?

Millions, man.

I mean, this was going on for two years already.

All I had to do was keep stringing him along.

I'm telling you, you're going to meet like this.

How much more do I have to give you?

Try, John.

No more excuses.

You've got to get done.

I have given you a ton of money.

For nothing.

Nice work, man.

Professional crew.

Any details off the whole thing falls apart.

Why do you have to kill her?

Why not just divorce her?

Oh, man.

Well, from what I understand, he was stealing money from his company to pay

his life with his other chick.

If he got divorced, all that'd come out.

I'm in.

Mr. Howard.

I know I'm new and still figuring out how things work here.

What's the problem?

There are a few numbers in the Rayleigh account that don't line up.

Well, that account is very complicated.

I'll take a look.

Don't need to worry.

Thanks, Mr. Howard.

Everything was going great.

The money was flowing in.

We had him.

And what was he going to do? Call the cops?

For me and my crew, it was one non -stop party.

That's when everything went to hell.

Think that's over 200 grams?

Yes, for God.

What's this?

Welcome to Class A felony here, Billy.

I mean, serious time.

So, you get arrested, and then you call John to see if he could arrange bail.

He died before I figured it was worth a shot.

But this time it was real piss.

You've got to be kidding me!

I can't.

I'm not bailing you out again.

You got money. I just gave you.

Who's that?

Yeah, that's impossible.

And I can't be compensating my cash.

You are such an idiot.

You can rot in there.

John. You're the lawyer, man.

That's the only way I'm getting out of here.

God.

Unbelievable.

This is a nice surprise.

Mom and I just got back from trying on dresses.

Did you find one you like? I did, and it's perfect.

You should see her in it.

Well, show me.

Well, we didn't buy it.

We wanted to check with you first.

It's kind of expensive.

Rihanna, it's your wedding dress.

Get the one you want.

Thank you, honey.

You're home early.

Yeah.

I need a break.

I know it seems complicated, but we set the account up that way for your

protection.

It seems overly complicated to me, Frank.

I'll dive into the whole thing.

See if there's any clerical errors.

If you want, I can go over every deposit and disbursement with you so you know

exactly what we're doing.

That won't be necessary.

I expect you to straighten it out.

I don't pay you this kind of money to make mistakes.

Understood?

Yeah.

Understood.

I told you my divorce is complicated.

I've been divorced, remember?

How complicated can it be? If I move forward aggressively, they're going to

into my finances.

That'll expose everything.

What do you mean, everything?

Your house, the condo, the gifts, the jewelry, the trips, all of it. It'll all

come out anyway, Frank.

How do you not know that you're an accountant?

I almost forgot.

Megan's tuition is due at the end of the month.

I'll take care of it.

Like always.

I'm going to fix lunch.

No. Wait for me.

Go here.

You're quite impatient.

I will figure this out. I promise.

I miss you.

Yeah.

I could use a smoke.

Not gonna happen.

So, how did your guys get his number?

They all had it.

Why?

I don't use banks.

So when John wanted to wire the money, I had to use one of our crew's accounts.

You just call them directly with the numbers.

I'm gonna need a list of everyone who got wired money.

Sure. Whatever.

John. Yeah.

Michael? That's right.

Billy sent you?

I'm part of his crew.

It is enough already.

I am tired of playing games.

I'm not here to waste your time, man.

The quicker I get it done, the more money I make, right?

Look.

My money source is dried up, okay? I got maybe 5 ,000 left. That's it.

5 ,000.

Okay, hey, hey.

I'll tell you what.

You finish the job, you actually do something, and I'll get more money.

I've arranged a little job.

I could use some help.

What kind of job?

You know, a job.

I'm up for whatever.

Well, it's too late to take these donations over to the senior center.

You'll be glad to have them whenever you can drop them off.

Hey, since Frank's away, why don't you come have dinner with us?

Thanks. I'm just going to grab something on the way home.

You okay?

I'm just stressed about the wedding stuff and Frank not being around.

What can I do?

You can help me find my keys.

I'll check your pockets.

What is it?

Frank's just been really different lately.

Distance.

Even when he's home, it's like he's not.

Every couple of the rough patch or two.

I'm sure he'll work it out.

Just keep us in your prayers.

Of course.

Night. Night.

Hey, how much longer are you going to be?

I'm almost ready.

My head is bleeding.

Well, take an aspirin.

We're out.

Hey, can you run out and buy some for me?

I'll be right back.

We're good to go.

The PURSE!

Yeah.

Ready? Yeah.

Go, Monica!

Okay, place to bend.

Brianna, hi.

Dad, something terrible's happened.

What is it?

Brianna, what's wrong?

Mom's been shot.

What?

That's bad.

How bad?

Is she, uh, is she dead?

He has to come home.

Hold on.

Be there as soon as I can, sweetheart.

Love you.

Mr.

Howard, I was just telling your daughter.

This is a miracle.

Yes, it is.

The surgery went well.

Is she from that gunshot?

Will she be herself?

Are you asking if there's permanent damage?

She did lose her left eye.

But the bullet traveled through her sinus cavity, down her throat, and

her right lung.

It never penetrated her skull, so there's no brain damage.

I'm Detective Jackson from the Carrollton Police Department.

May I?

Please.

So how's your family holding up?

It's been tough.

Are you able to answer a few questions?

Sure.

Okay.

Can you tell me where you were when your wife was shot?

I was in Reno.

Is there anyone who can confirm that for us?

Yeah.

Yeah, there is.

The thing is, I was in Reno with my girlfriend.

You have a girlfriend?

Yeah.

I mean, I did.

It's over.

I mean, now that this happened, my wife needs me.

What is your problem?

I come home from work and you're drunk.

I get up to go to work and nothing's changed.

We got bail to pay.

Where's the money from the drywall job you did with Michael?

That wasn't what he hired me for.

So what the hell kind of job was it?

You didn't rob someone again.

Word.

You better tell me.

Tell me.

You heard about the church lady who got shot?

You

bastard.

I swear.

I gotta tell you something, Nance.

We had an affair.

I'm so sorry. It was so wrong.

I don't know what I was thinking.

Please, forgive me.

Right now, we need each other.

to get through this.

Misty?

Detective Romero.

Do you have some information for me?

I know who shot that church lady.

Okay.

I held up my end of the agreement. You got the whole story.

So you're going to talk to the DA and help him with the drug charge, right?

In a word, you're not going to believe this.

A lady came in, says she knows who shot Nancy Howard.

Is the name on here?

Yeah,

Lawrence Speck.

That's Johnny.

He's the guy I met with.

And he told you where to go to shoot his wife?

That's right.

And he paid you?

Yeah, a little.

He said I'd get more.

That concludes my interview with Michael Speck.

1 ,600 hours.

So let me get this straight.

Over the course of three years, you paid them over $3 million.

They were blackmailing me about the affair.

How'd they find out about it?

Doesn't seem like you rolled in the same circles, Frank.

I don't know.

But they did.

Why'd you use burner phones to talk to them?

I was afraid.

You saw those guys.

I didn't want to give them my real phone number.

So how'd it work?

The payoffs, I mean.

Did you meet?

No.

Why would I meet with them?

They scared me.

They were constantly calling me, asking me for money.

And when I told them I couldn't pay them anymore, they

shot Nancy.

So going back, how did the money exchange hands?

They would call and demand that I wired into bank accounts.

Sometimes they wanted cash at drop -off point. I wasn't going to argue.

I did what they said.

We got a problem, Billy.

What kind of a problem?

Frank Howard, a .k .a. John, tells a pretty compelling story.

And he's got an answer for everything.

Look, I believe you.

But we're up against it here.

Now, Frank says you were blackmailing him, threatening him.

He was scared, and that's why he paid you.

My old crew can back up my story.

We went to every meeting place you told us about, Billy.

Couldn't find a single security camera.

He says he never met with you, and we can't prove he did.

So what now?

I can't pit your crew against a guy like Frank Howard in court.

Not in this part of Texas.

I mean, who would you believe?

Sorry, Billy.

But the deal's off.

They pulled the deal.

What happened?

Frank said that we never even met.

We were blackmailing him the whole time.

So that's it? He's gonna walk?

Yeah, I guess so.

Without that deal, I'm looking at 20 years.

What are you doing?

Hang on.

Frank Howard, you're under arrest.

or the attempting murder of Nancy Howard.

You have the right to remain silent.

Peace.

Peace.