All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S07E22.Past.Imperfect.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

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.

They wanted Mark Messier
for the Tommy Boy spread.

Can you imagine?

I mean, Messier's a hunk,
but he's way too
butch for that market.

Now, Gretzky...

For her entrance,
Hello Dollyor Mame?

Oh, don't be so obvious.
Can't we just get by
with Happy Birthday?

Everybody, in the kitchen.

False alarm.

Come in.

Everybody, Richard.

Hello, Richard.

God, where is she?
Probably trying on
every outfit in her closet.

Good to see you,
Richard.

Chrissie? Dinner's ready.

Chrissie?

I'm sure your hair's perfect
and your outfit's to die for.

Chrissie?

Chrissie?

Dear God, no!

The Christine Sandler.

You remember her?

Who wouldn't?
Twiggy was all bones.

This one was all there.
I always wanted to meet her.

Well, you're about
six hours too late.

And she didn't look
like that anymore.

Yeah. I heard she
fell on hard times
for a while there.

No harder than
the edge of this table.
Looks like she took a header.

Probably took half
an hour to bleed out.
Check this out.

Dried blood smudge,
under here.

From somebody
grabbing the table.

She tried to
pull herself up?

No. No blood on her hands.

But there's no way
to know how long that
blood's been there.

Half a day, half a year.

Very helpful, Ed.

Dilantin. Hundred milligrams.

Uppers?Anti-seizure medicine.

She was supposed to
come over at 8:00.

I was busy cooking.
If only I'd got there sooner.

When was the last
time you saw her?

This morning,
on my way to work.

She was going for her jog.
She looked fine.

Rey, found these
in her apartment.

Anti-seizure pills.

Chrissie had epilepsy.

She had a grand mal seizure
once in my apartment.

That's why she gave
me a key to her door.
Just in case.

And the pills
weren't helping?

When she took them,
Chrissie was
a very energized woman.

Dilantin slowed her down.

Hey!Craig, what's
going on?

Is it my mother?
Is she okay?

You're Miss Sandler's son?

Yes. What happened to her?

Doug, why don't we
go into my apartment?

No, I want to see
my mother.

Your mother's
had an accident.
I'm sorry. She's dead.

Why don't you take
Mr. Holland up
on his offer?

Some surprise party.

I don't get it.

My mother said
she had the seizures
under control.

Did she live
with anybody?

No, nobody.
She was alone.

How about your dad?
He around?

Not around here.

He divorced her
when I was 10.

I went to live with him.
My choice.

But now you've
been seeing her
pretty regular?

Yeah, for about
the past six months.

We were just getting
to know each other.

Did she have any
problems with anyone?

A boyfriend, maybe?

No, there was nobody.

I thought you guys said
this was an accident.

Sure, but there's
always a possibility
it might be something else.

Something to do
with drugs, for instance.

I don't mean
to be insensitive,

but your mom did get
into trouble over that.

No, it was old stuff.
She's been clean for
the last four years.

She went straight and
she was getting work.

This was a stupid
seizure because she
wouldn't take her pills.

I worked up
a Dilantin blood level
for your model.

She had an eight point nine.

On a scale of what?

Well, 10 to 20
is the safe range,

but an eight could've
kept her seizure-free.

So she could have
seized, or maybe not.

What about other drugs?

The tox screen
will take a week.

If she had a seizure,
there'd be biting on
the lips or tongue.

There'd be signs of choking
and flailing injuries.

I didn't see any of that.
But I did find bruises
on her upper arms.

Christine Sandler
had type B blood.

The blood on
the table was type O.

And it could've
been left there

by the guy who
made the table.

Or the perp who cut
himself on the
broaches on her jacket.

There were traces
of that type O blood
on her lapel.

Diamond broaches
from Tiffany's?

Didn't Christine
Sandler hit the skids
with a cocaine habit?

Well, she just
signed on as spokesmodel

for New Beginnings
Face Cream.

Well, it's comforting
to know even 50-year-old
models have groupies.

Drugstore in
my neighborhood's

had her picture in the window
for the last month.

Mmm-hmm. I'm very sorry
for your loss, Lennie.

So, aside from bruises
and dried blood,
anything else?

Maybe a suspect?

Nobody that sticks out.

Well, she ran
with a wild crowd, right?

She used to.
According to her son,
that was all behind her.

Well, maybe that's what
she wanted him to believe.

What did she
tell her friends?

Wild? Come on!

You saw the
people at my party.
That was her crowd now.

Just your ordinary,
everyday folks, huh?

Lucille and Sara
knew her from A.A.

James and Laura
were from C.A.

She met Elaine,
that's her bookkeeper,
at some Buddhist retreat.

Chrissie used to
chant every day.

She got into it
because of Tina Turner.

Now, when she moved
in across the hall,
she was a very lonely woman.

Not much money
except for some residuals

from a series
she did in the '80s.

One season, then out.

How'd she get back on
her feet financially?
A fairy godmother?

Well, you're half
right there, Detective.

One of the agencies
I work for was
looking for someone

for their New Beginnings
campaign.

I looked across the hall,
and there was Chrissie.

She was lucky to have you.

I was her only family.

What does that
make Douglas Burke?

Family in name only.

Don't get me wrong.

She wanted to make
it all up to the kid,
but they argued all the time.

About what?Old issues.

He caused her a lot of pain,
and I don't mind
sharing the news,

but what can you expect?
An acorn doesn't
fall far from the tree.

I assume you're
referring to his dad.

Jimmy Burke.

Chrissie told me
some stories
about him, too.

Poster boy for Wife
Beaters Anonymous.

Jimmy Burke.

Wasn't he in that old band,
China something?

China Creek.
Listen to you. Old band.

They were playing
on my 8-track
when I lost my virginity.

Is that right?

I never heard of them.

Did Burke ever drop
in on Miss Sandler?

I doubt it.

He was the one
that started her
on drugs and booze

and then dumped her
when she reached 40.

Guys like him
don't die, you see.

Just people like Chrissie.

Tommy Lee has Pamela,
David has Iman,

and I had Chris.
You're a rock star,
you gotta have the model.

You guys thirsty?
I know I am.

No, thanks.
So this is how
a rock star lives, huh?

Yeah, when they play bass
and don't write the songs

and don't get royalties.

You sound real broken up
over Christine's death.

Well, I suffer
in my own way, man.

I internalize.
You understand.

It's a curse.
Chris was a fine woman.

So what did she
see in you?JIMMY: Me?

I was "it," man. Dig this.

I started the whole
tattoo thing,

and Chris had
some exciting tats
in some exciting places.

When I first met her,
she was a sweet piece, man.

She was only 22.

And what happened?
She didn't age well?

Well, women in their 40s,
you know, it's like money.

You change them for two 20s.

When did
you see her last?

Not for a long time.

Which for you could've been
about five minutes, right?

What about last Thursday?
Where were you?

Uh, last Thursday, man.
I had some gig to go to.

And did you?

Probably.

Uh...

Here.

2:00. See?
I worked a session.

Some mattress company
jingle. I was there.

For how long?

Forever, man.

I needed the money.

And the name of
the recording studio?

He was here. Barely.
I was lucky he showed at all.

I mean, he can play,
you know,

but the man does
not own a watch,

and his answering
machine's, like,
always broken.

How close to
2:00 did he show?

2:00?

Burke didn't get
here till, like, 4:00,

moaning and
groaning about how

some chick
wouldn't let go of him.

What chick?

Sheila Mullins.

Anyone with a guitar
knows her, man, and I qualify.

You want to hear
me play Louie Louie?

He was there, at my place.
He's helping me get my break.
I sing.

Do you remember
what time he left?

Is this about his ex?
The dead model?

Miss Mullins...He didn't have
anything to do with that.

We have a saying
in Meadville,

"Never kick a gift
horse in the mouth."

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
She was supporting him?

I guess she
helped him out.

He said he was
gonna get some money
from her that day.

So, what time
did he leave you?

2:30.

He didn't kill her, you know.

Maybe once he tore
up a few hotel rooms,

but he's way too
screwed up to hurt anyone.

Miss?Excuse me a sec.

He showed up with
his bass at 4:00.

Screwed up or not,
even he could land
a punch in two hours.

What two hours?

What, are you brain-dead?

You were two hours
late for your gig.

I got there, didn't I?

I didn't have
enough money for a cab,
so I walked.

People still walk,
you know.

You walked over to
your ex-wife's place,

you hit her up for
a year's worth of carfare.

Yeah, when she
turned you down,
you got pissed off!

You think I killed Chris?

I don't think you'd
remember if you did.

That is
such a lie, man.

Look, we're just
wasting our time, Rey.

Why don't you take
a walk and leave me
alone with him, huh?

Jimmy, you don't
want to be left alone
with this guy.

He had a big
hang-up on her once.

But I didn't kill her!

You didn't mean to?
You lost your head?
Is that it?

I'd go with losing my head.
You could sell
that to a jury.

I wasn't there.
I didn't kill her.
That part's all true.

And what part isn't?

She was giving
me money, okay?

Yesterday you said
you hadn't seen her
or talked to her.

You're lying again, Jimmy.

I hadn't talked
to her in years.

My kid Doug asked her
to loan me some money.

She gave the money
to him to give to me.

Not a whole lot.
Two hundred bucks.

Once? Twice? What?

A couple of times.

Doug was supposed to ask her
for a couple of grand

so I could get
myself out to the coast.

Turn myself around.
The way she did.

But I'd never kill her.

Maybe we are
making a mistake, Jimmy.

Take a blood test,
prove us wrong.

If this guy Burke
says he wasn't in
the victim's apartment,

believe him.

Nothing matches.
Not his blood,
hair, or prints.

Well, not to sound
ungrateful, Ellis,

but you could
have told us that
over the phone.

That's not why I
called you down here.

Those two blood
types we lifted?

The B and the O?Right.

They may not be
the same type,

but they share
one common allele.

And in human
talk that means...

It's a DNA pattern.

The donors
may be related.

Exactly.
Very good, Detective.

After I spotted
the similarities,

I ran five different markers
to eliminate any coincidence.

The donors are related.

The type O blood
comes from a relative
of the victim?

Blood relative, yes.

They always argued,
and he was late to the party.

Sounds like Douggie
still had issues
with his mama.

Thanks.

First my father, then me.
You guys think
murder runs in our family?

Well, so far,
mooching from your mother
seems to be genetic.

It's hard being
a musician, okay?

Dad thought Mom was loaded.
He said she wouldn't
mind helping out.

But I wasn't gonna
ask her for the money.

So, are you calling
your father a liar?

No.

I gave him my own money.
I just told him
it was from her.

Oh! That's sweet.

But see, we found blood
all over her dining table,

and you got cuts
all over your hands.

I install custom stereos.

Digging around behind walls.
I'm always cutting myself.

Doing what?
Bouncing your mom
off the walls?

What'd she do,
tell you the well ran dry?

That your old man
was gonna have to pay
for his own damn drugs?

That's a lot of crap,
and if you think I killed her
then you're full of crap.

Tell me something.

You have aunts and uncles
on your mother's side?

There's my grandmother.
She's sick. It's Alzheimer's.

She's in some home in Jersey.
We haven't seen her
in a while.

Well, then we got
a big problem, Douggie.

See, there were
two types of blood found
at the crime scene.

Now, through the miracles
of modern medicine,

we know that the two
people they belong to
have to be related.

So, unless somebody else
falls out of your
family tree...

You're it.

Take a blood test,
you can be cleared
in a minute.

I cannot believe this.
It's not my blood.

I think I better
get a lawyer.

We went through
Christine's apartment,

her personal belongings,
talked to her friends.

Unless Grandma got
out of her rubber room,
Douggie's our boy.

Well, here's something.

Latent found some
unidentified prints
all over the kitchen.

Really?
Five-to-one they're his.

I'll add it to
our application.

Okay, so you do
the dance with his lawyer,
what do we do with Douglas?

Find out what other
lies he's telling.

Well, he said
he never took money
from his mother.

Let's check it out
with her bookkeeper.

I told you
on the phone,
she never talked

about giving
money to Douglas.

But she might
have helped him out.

Nickels and dimes, maybe.

I kept Christine
on an allowance.

I knew exactly what
she spent and
where she spent it.

What about this
check here for $2,500,

made out to cash
a few weeks ago?

Oh, yes. I asked her
about that.

What was her story?

I was worried
she was going back
to her old habits.

She swore it was
nothing like that.

Said some old
friend of the family
turned up out of the blue

and needed some cash.

What about
the canceled check?
It had to be endorsed.

Check number 1356.

I can't read
the endorsement.

I don't
understand this.

The teller who
cashed this check

is usually very efficient,
and very careful.

We don't want to get
her in any trouble.
The check was good.

This is Sonja Harland.

They're with
the police, Sonja.

Is something wrong?

It seems you cashed a check
drawn from another bank

without taking proper ID.
The endorsement's illegible.

This is not the way
we conduct business, Sonja.

It didn't bounce, did it?

That is hardly
the point here.

I'm really sorry,
Mr. Abrams.

I'm sure I called
the issuing bank
and got an okay.

What's this about?

These are detectives.
What do you think?

Excuse me, Mr. Abrams.
This isn't about fraud
or anything like that.

We're just trying to find out
who cashed that check.

Do you remember
if it was either of these men?

No, I don't think so.

I made a mistake.

I'm sure I saw some ID,
I just forgot
to write it down.

I'm sorry.
It won't ever happen again.

We'll talk later, Sonja.
Thank you.

Well, I guess she's
not gonna make
"Employee of the Month."

Why would Christine
lie to her bookkeeper

about giving
the check to Douggie?

I mean, the bookkeeper knew
they were trying to make up.

She gave 2,500
bucks to an "old friend."

Wish I had an old
friend like that.

Yeah, an old family friend.
Let's ask her family.

Who? Her ex-husband?
He barely remembers
being married to her.

No, I mean Christine's mom.

Oh, even better.
She's got Alzheimer's.

I hate going to Jersey.

Does Mrs. Sandinsky
know about her
daughter's death?

We told her right away.

Sometimes she remembers,
sometimes she doesn't.

It goes with the territory.

Sarah, these gentleman
are here from the city.

They want to ask
you a few questions.

How are you,
Mrs. Sandinsky?

How nice of you boys
to come for a visit.
So nice.

Are you here about Chrissie?

Yes. We're sorry
about your loss, ma'am.

Thank you.

We were wondering
if you knew of
any old friend

who might have been
in touch with her lately?

Or have any
family friends come by
to visit you lately?

Yes.Could you tell
us who that was?

Oh, certainly.
It was Chrissie.

Chrissie? Are you sure?

Oh, yes! It wasn't
very long ago.

Oh? We heard that
she hadn't been by
to see you in awhile.

Well,
that's just not true.

Oh, she looked so young,
so pretty.

What a lovely...

What is that you're wearing,
with pockets?

My husband had so many.

A jacket?

Yes.

I'm getting tired.

Is that okay?

Yes. That's just fine.
Say goodbye to the gentlemen.

Goodbye.Thank you.

I was hoping
she'd be more helpful.

Did you see Miss Sandler
when she came here?

No. The last time was
just around Christmas.

But I've talked
to her on the phone
a few times since then.

She never said anything
about coming to visit.

Well, maybe Mrs. Sandinsky's
confusing her with
somebody else.

Well, we had to sign in.
Maybe we could take
a look at the book?

Mmm-hmm.

Well, look here.

Our "Employee of the Month,"
Sonja Harland.

The bank teller?

Two months ago.
Gee, you think
there's more than one?

Bye.Good night,
Sonja.

Miss Harland.
We need to talk.

Talk about what?About that check
you cashed.

I'm sorry. I made a mistake.
It's really no big deal.

It really is a big deal.

So why don't you
tell us about it?

What are you
doing to me?

What was going on
between you and
Christine Sandler?

Christine Sandler? Nothing.

You can cut the
Meryl Streep, Sonja.
We know you knew her.

I cashed her check.
That doesn't mean

we had a relationship
or anything.

Right, and my banker
visits my mom in Florida.

What are you talking about?

Your visit to
Mrs. Sandinsky in New Jersey.

Maybe we
ought to talk about it
down at the precinct?

I didn't do anything wrong.

Before
she was killed,

Christine Sandler
wrote a check and
you cashed it,

violating about
a half a dozen
banking regulations.

Then we find out you
visited the victim's
mother in a nursing home.

You think I killed her?

What? You knew her
and you just forgot
to tell us about it?

You can see why
we're concerned.

Look, I didn't kill her.

Well, what was going
on between you two?

She was my mother.

I couldn't tell you.
I couldn't tell anyone,
out of respect for my mother.

What? She told you to
lie to us in a seance?

She was 18
when she gave me
up for adoption.

It's not something
she was proud of.

She wasn't ready to
tell her family yet.

Then after she died, I...

After she was murdered.

I just didn't want
to cause anyone
any embarrassment.

I'm sorry.
It was stupid of me.

No. Stupid is
lying to us now.

I'm not lying.

That's why Christine
wrote the check to cash.

That's why she wanted me
to disguise my signature.

She was afraid her bookkeeper
would find out about me.

Then you were afraid somebody
would find out you
were blackmailing her.

Why would I do
that to my own mother?

I don't know,
those 20 wonderful
years in foster homes?

No. I loved her.

I don't know,
Lennie, I believe her.

I mean, why would she
go to all this trouble
of finding her mother

just to kill her?
Assuming, of course,
you are her kid.

I can prove it.
I have my birth
certificate at home.

It says Christine
Sandinsky's my mother.

Give me 50 bucks.

I'll bring back
a birth certificate
that says he's my mother.

I did not make this up.

What do you do?
Cruise rest homes,
chat up the old ladies,

find one with a daughter
who has a kid out of wedlock?

Believe me,
it's been done.

I don't care
what you think.

I am her daughter.

Well, there's one
sure way to prove it.

We put your blood
under a microscope.

Forget it, Lennie.
She was running
a scam on this woman.

That's not true.
I'll do the test.

I'll take her to the lab.

Nice. You must
have sold bridges
in a prior life.

She's gonna kick herself

when we match it
to the blood
in the apartment.

What's the backup
at the lab?

It's a few days for
the full DNA screen.

In the meantime,
track her movements
the day of the murder.

That's her
in the middle,
in the white blouse.

The side angle
camera shows her

leaving the bank
a minute later.

Then...

An hour later, she's back.

New blouse
and a purse.

So? She went
shopping at Saks.

She went shopping at Mom's.

We showed a still of the tape
to Christine's neighbor,
Craig Holland.

He said she owned
a purse just like it.

It's missing
from her apartment.

Who's he?

Grant Silverman.
A loan officer.

The rumor around
the coffee machine

is that he's been
stamping her bankbook
for the past few months.

The other camera
shows him leaving the bank
at 4:00 with the purse.

I hope I'm not the only one
who thinks there was
a white blouse in it.

A white blouse
stained with blood.

Get a search warrant
for the girl's place,
and Silverman's.

The time she was
absent from the bank

roughly corresponds
to the timeframe

during which the ME says
the victim was killed,

and we can reasonably assume
she changed blouses
to conceal evidence.

Or mustard stains
from the deli special.
But I see your point.

You're good for
the Harland premises.

What about
the Silverman place?

On what basis?She gave him the purse,
Your Honor.

The inference is obvious.
The blouse was in it.

I must've left
my x-ray glasses
in my other suit.

I saw a purse.
I didn't see a blouse.

For all we know,
she went home to change
before coming back to work.

Your Honor, the purse
belonged to the victim.

Why else would
Sonja Harland take it

if not to put
the blouse in it?

Can you positively
identify the purse
from that tape?

Not positively.
It's similar.

Similar to the one
my wife bought at Bendel's.

Your application
for the Silverman
premises is denied.

It's been a pleasure.

Same here.

She had a chain letter going
with every children's agency
in the tristate area,

starting eight years ago.

Sandinsky, state by state.
They were fruitful,
they multiplied.

Letters from
detective agencies,
county clerk's offices.

No wonder the post office
has been turning a profit.

She had a dozen
light-colored blouses
in her closet.

None with blood-red accents.
This was in her
laundry hamper.

This is a size 10.
Sonja Harland's
a size six, if that.

You know
who was a size 10?

Excuse me.

Miss Harland,
you mind coming out
from behind there?

Don't make me come
back there and get you.

Excuse me.
Someone else will help you.

Grant Silverman?Yes?

I'm Detective Briscoe.

We'd like you to come down
to the 27th precinct.

Are you arresting me?

No, but we need
to talk to you.

About what?

This.

Sonja Harland,
you're under arrest

for the murder of
Christine Sandler.

You have the right
to remain silent.BRISCOE: Mr. Silverman?

Anything you say
can and will be used
against you in a court of law.

Uh, yes. Let me
get my coat.

You have
the right to an attorney.

It was gym clothes.
They were drenched in sweat.

She was working late.
She wanted me to
take them home.

Did you see
what was inside?

No. She told me.

So, she went to
the gym during lunch,
is that it?

Maybe she went
in the morning
on her way to work.

I don't know.You don't know?

You don't sound very close.

Well, we're not planning
on getting married
or anything like that.

Well, what did she do
with the purse later?

I don't know.

Again with "I don't know."

Look, if I thought
that that bag

had something to
do with a murder,

do you think I'd be
stupid enough
to take it from her

in front of a security camera?

Doesn't look to us
like she gave you
much of a choice.

This doesn't prove anything.
I went shopping.

I found something on sale.
I felt like wearing it.

We found that blouse
in your apartment.

You were in my apartment?

It was a size 10.

Are you planning
to put on weight?

That's not the same blouse.

That blouse was
a gift from my mother.
She didn't want it anymore.

What about this purse?

She gave me that, too.

She didn't
want it anymore?That's right.

What she didn't want was you.

That's not true.
She was glad I found her.

She gave you money to
go away, didn't she?

No.CURTIS: It must've been
very painful.

Being tossed back twice.

Mothers are supposed
to love their daughters.

You had to be angry...

No, she did love me!

Let me explain
something to you.

There's maybe a dozen
reasons why your girlfriend
killed her mother.

Some of them could get her
a few years in jail,

some could get her life.
Now, you can help her.
And yourself.

See, this picture
doesn't make you
look too good.

I mean, you're not
under arrest, but that...

That could
change in a second.

You're gonna make
a very sympathetic
defendant, Miss Harland,

but they will convict you.
Now, if you'd give
us a statement,

I'm sure the D.A.
can be persuaded
to go easy on you.

And Mr. Silverman.

I'd jump on it, Sonja.

The D.A.s haven't been
very generous lately.

I want to talk to my lawyer.

If that's the way
you want to go...I want my lawyer.

Give me his number,
I'll call him.

You've got him
down the hall.

I swear to God,
I did not know
what was in there.

She never told you?

Not at the bank.

Um...

When I went home,
I looked in the bag.

It was her blouse,
and it was covered in blood.

What did she say
about it?

She said her mother
had an accident.

Did he tell you
he was her attorney?

Him? No.

Mr. Silverman,
are you a lawyer?

Yes. I mean, I passed
the bar nine years ago.

But you work as
a loan officer?

Yeah, for the last
couple of years. So what?

Are you Miss Harland's
attorney?

Yeah. I represent her.

Mmm-hmm.

She wants to talk to you.

This should make
Albany think twice

about opening up
birth records willy-nilly.

Nine out of 10 kids
find their parents,

say hello, and
get on with their lives.

And we have to deal
with the tenth one.

What do you want first,
the bad news or
the worse news?

Work your way up.

Sonja Harland
retained Marjorie Larson.

Good choice.

She'll convince the jury
that Christine Sandler

took parenting lessons
from Susan Smith.

I guess Sonja
gave Silverman his
walking papers?

Which brings us
to the other news.

Larson is moving to exclude
everything Silverman told us.

Yeah, sure.
Attorney-client privilege.
Good luck.

Grant Silverman
graduated from New York
Law School in '88.

He was admitted in
the first department

in the spring of
the following year.

And he stopped paying
his bar dues in 1994.

That's of no consequence,
Your Honor.

Short of disbarment,
he's still an attorney.

And by the way,
as of yesterday,
he's current with his dues.

Nice of you to
lend him the money.

Nachman v. Nachman.

The only relevant fact
is what the client
believed to be true.

And Miss Harland thought
he was an attorney?

She knew it for a fact.

They were coworkers,
Your Honor.
They were lovers.

So she knew he wasn't
a practicing attorney.

Quite the opposite,
Miss Ross.

Miss Harland
actually benefited

from Mr. Silverman's
legal expertise

in tracking down
her long-lost mother.

This is ridiculous,
Your Honor.

If Silverman
thought for a second

that he had
confidential information

he would have kept his mouth
shut from the get-go,

or he would have
told the police

that he was
acting as her attorney.

Unfortunately,
he doesn't have
as sophisticated

a legal mind as
those present.

It doesn't take
a sharp legal mind
to lie to the police.

I am sorry, Mr. McCoy.
Whether you or I think
this is bootstrapping

or plain old unethical
behavior is irrelevant.

All that matters
is what Sonja
Harland thought,

and if she thought
she was communicating to him

as her attorney,
then it's privileged.

Without
Silverman's statement,

the case is all
circumstantial.

Even after finding
Sonja Harland's blood

in Christine
Sandler's apartment?

That's a hell
of a circumstance
for her lawyer to deal with.

She cut herself
helping Mom bake
an apple pie.

Everything points to her,
and everything can
be explained away.

Except for one thing.
Motive.

Well, we still
think it's blackmail.

That's why I'm here.

Hey, guys.
Tell me you've
got something.

Well, other than
the 2,500, the rest
of her money looks legit.

Yeah, and she hasn't
been wearing out
the plastic either.

If she got any other
money from Christine,
she didn't spend it.

Unless she paid cash.

Well, if she did, we'd know.
I mean, look at this.

Taxi receipts from 1994.
Who keeps taxi receipts?

Same person who keeps
five-year-old
Christmas cards.

Check this out.
Old valentines,
thank you notes.

Here's a sweet 16 card
from her caseworker
at the foster agency.

Looks like Silverman
really was her attorney.

He's been writing
letters to hospitals for her.

Let me see that.

It's dated last month.

"Dear Mr. Silverman,

"We are in receipt of
your letter with regards

"to your inquiry
about tissue biopsy.

"We have referred
your letter to St. Marks
Legal Department.

"Please address all further
correspondence to them."

You think
she was sick?

St. Marks, right?

She had a whole
collection of clippings
about Harold Lancer.

Lancer?

You know,
Profaci worked security
at his funeral last year.

Profaci and the Forbes400?

And all of them
on a boat.

The guy was cremated
and sprinkled over
Long Island Sound.

Right, right.
St. Marks Hospital.

That's where
Harold Lancer died
from melanoma.

Too many
vacations in the sun.

Yes. Mr. Silverman called
me a few days after
he got our letter.

What did you
talk about?

Well, specifically,
he wanted to know

about the biopsied tissue
taken from Harold Lancer.

What about it?Whether the tissue
had been preserved.

And?

I referred him to
the firm representing
Mr. Lancer's estate.

We have to be very careful
about inquiries like
Mr. Silverman's.

We never know where
the next lawsuit's
going to come from.

You mean, you do
actually preserve tissue
from your patients?

That's where our
labs get cancer cells
for their research.

When Lancer died,
he left an estate
worth nearly $250 million.

I'm ahead of you.
Harold Lancer and
Christine Sandler?

Christine apparently
told Sonja she was
Lancer's love child.

How convenient for
Christine to say
it was a dead man.

Silverman's legal advice?

He was all over this one.

He went and
informed the attorney
for Lancer's estate.

Since Lancer was cremated,

the only way to prove
paternity is to test
the biopsy tissue.

Lancer didn't have
an ironclad will?

No. He left his
entire estate
to a few charities,

his wife and quote,
"my children,"
end quote.

He didn't specify
his kids' names?

No. Amazing what
a poor choice of words
can open up.

The girl had him
up against the wall.

She probably expected them
to throw her a few
bucks to go away.

Silverman told them
his client wanted
the paternity test.

She was going
for an equal share.

She would've
needed her mother's help
to pursue her claim.

Maybe they
couldn't come to terms.

Only three people
would know.

One's dead, one won't talk,
and one can't,
courtesy of Judge Yee.

When the jury hears
about the $250 million,

they'll draw
their own conclusions.

Through her lawyer,
Grant Silverman,

Sonja Harland contacted me
as the attorney for
the Lancer estate.

They claimed Harold Lancer
was Miss Harland's
biological father.

What, if anything,
did you reply?

That paternity
could only be determined
through a DNA test

of the tissue at
St. Marks hospital.

Did Mr. Silverman
ask you to arrange

for such a test
to be performed?

Yes, but if we acquiesced,
we'd be opening
the floodgates.

Fortunately, the law provides
that no test be granted

without a viable
legal basis for a claim.

Can you give us
an example?

I'll tell you what
I told Mr. Silverman.

The estate
requested an affidavit
from the biological mother

as to the details
of conception.

Did you ever
receive such an affidavit
from Mr. Silverman?

No. I never
heard from him again.

Thank you.

Mr. Arbitman,

wouldn't it be stupid
to kill the only person

who could provide
the legal basis
for your claim?

Objection.

I withdraw the question.

Mr. Arbitman,
how many heirs
did Mr. Lancer have?

Legitimate heirs?

Yes.

He left two adult
children and a widow.

And if Christine Sandler
had provided an affidavit,

by how much would
Miss Harland's claim

have reduced their
share of the estate?

If the claim was successful?

Of course.

$53 million.

Were the legitimate
heirs aware of that?

Yes. I told them.

Please tell the court
how they took to the news.

They were less than thrilled.

They must've been
relieved when Christine
Sandler was found dead.

Objection.

Withdrawn.
Thank you, Mr. Arbitman.

Well, of course
I wanted to know
who my father was,

but it was easier
to trace my mother.

And when did you
find out who your
biological father was?

My mother finally told me,
and she told me
exactly who he was.

And how soon after
that did you decide

to pursue a claim
against the estate?

Maybe a week.

And whose
idea was that?

My mother's.

She said that I was
entitled to something,
after all I've been through.

Did she know
that she'd have to
sign an affidavit

in order for you to prevail?

Yes.

She wanted to
tell her son Douglas
about me first.

She would've signed it.

She would've done
anything to help me,
if someone hadn't killed her.

Thank you, Sonja.
Your witness.

I'm sure everyone
in this courtroom

understands the hardship
you've been through,
Miss Harland.

Hasn't been easy.

I bet it hasn't.

Miss Harland, were you aware

that once Mr. Lancer's
will was probated
and the assets distributed,

it would be near
impossible for you
to win your claim,

with or without
the affidavit?

Mr. Silverman told
you that, didn't he?

Yes. He said we had
a few months left.

You were
getting impatient.No.

It had been two weeks
since you'd been told

that you needed the affidavit.

Why hadn't your
mother signed it yet?

I told you,
she was working up
to telling her son.

How long were you
willing to wait?

It was up to her.

If she didn't sign it,

you were ready to walk away
from $50 million?

First of all, as my lawyer,
Mr. Silverman gets a third,

and I would've been
happy to have given
some to my mother,

and yes, if I had to,
I was ready to walk away,

but there was no reason
why she wouldn't sign.

I can think of two.

She didn't want to
alienate her son,
or she asked for more money

than you were
willing to pay.That's not true.

That's what you argued about
that afternoon, isn't it?

No.You went to see
your mother that day

to get her signature
on that piece of paper,
no matter what.

No.She refused,

so you became enraged
and so you killed her,
isn't that right?

No. My mother loved me!

How?

You were nothing to her.
You were an accident.

No. Stop.

She loved her son. Not you.

Your Honor, this is cruel.

Mr. McCoy.

She's performing, Your Honor.

The jury will disregard that.

Mr. McCoy, if you
have any actual questions,
ask them.

Otherwise...I'm through, Your Honor.

Nice going.
You made her cry.

That should win you points
in the jury room.

Sure.

She had a rotten childhood
and I feel sorry for her.

If she hadn't left
her mother to bleed to
death on the floor,

I'd give her a big hug.

She's a fraud.ADAM: Yep.

You know it, she knows it.
Doesn't do you any good.

You forgot Silverman.
I almost feel sorry for him.

He was one signature away
from collecting
a $17-million fee.

I wonder what he thinks
of his girlfriend now?

Even if he wanted
to tell us, he can't.

What's the exception
to attorney-client privilege?

The communication
took place in front of
a third party or...

The lawyer was
an accomplice to his client.

Right.Silverman conspired
with the girl?

How you gonna prove that?

He's gonna help us.
Call the police.
Have him arrested.

Mr. McCoy, I don't
know where you came up
with this murder charge.

It's ludicrous.

Your client had
a vested interest

in having Christine Sandler
sign that affidavit.

Sonja told him
she was gonna
get her signature

by whatever means
necessary, even force.

He did nothing to stop her,
and after she killed Sandler,

he helped dispose
of the evidence.

The more I hear it,
the better it sounds.

At minimum, it's attempted
grand larceny.

Sonja never told me
anything of the sort.Grant, please.

Mr. McCoy, I assume
you have some evidence.

He's going to testify to it
at Miss Harland's trial.

What?

Even if it were true,
which it isn't,

why would I do something
as stupid as that?

I can think of 17
million reasons why.

What're you talking about?

Your contingency fee
if Sonja gets her
share of the Lancer estate.

Our theory of the crime
is based on the belief

that she is Harold
Lancer's daughter.

As soon as she's
convicted of murder,

that belief becomes fact,
as far as New York
state is concerned.

Her conviction would
provide the legal basis

you need for her
paternity test.

You get your money,
we get our conviction.

One problem.
There's not much
to buy in Attica.

I'd let him
plead to misdemeanor,
attempted grand larceny.

Five years probation.

He could still practice
law in his spare time
if he wanted to.

Give us a minute.

All this time, I thought
it was defense
attorneys who were sleazy.

It's buying his testimony.

I just motivated
him to tell the truth.

Against my advice,
Mr. Silverman

wants to take you
up on your offer.

Sonja's mother had
no idea what she's like
when she doesn't get her way.

She had so much
hate inside her.

Her mother
should've just signed
the damn papers.

It's very interesting.
And it's still privileged.

No way a jury
hears any of it.

He stopped being her attorney
the minute he helped
her destroy evidence.

That's what he says.
My client sees
it differently.

The only thing that matters
is how Judge Yee sees it.

That stupid weakling!

Sonja.

What's the offer?

Man one, 12-and-a-half-to-25.

Man two.

Go home, Marjorie.
Start preparing your
cross of Mr. Silverman.

Wait.

Sold.

What happened, Miss Harland?

She wouldn't sign the paper.
She wouldn't give me a reason.

That's why you killed her?

Then why?

When I was in foster care,
no one wanted to adopt me.

People were afraid
I inherited my
mother's epilepsy.

It wasn't my fault.
People didn't want me.

She finally told
me that afternoon
why she wouldn't sign.

She was a call girl
when she met Lancer.

That's how she
supported herself,

before her
modeling career took off.

She was an 18-year-old
hooker who got knocked up.

She thought she'd
gotten rid of me for good.

She was afraid
everyone would find out,
especially Douglas.

I even told her
there was enough
money for everyone.

She didn't care.

Can you imagine?
Dangling all that
money in front of me,

and not lifting
a finger to help me?

So you hit her.She wanted
me to leave.

It was her birthday.

Her friend Craig
was making her dinner.
Of course, I couldn't come.

But Douglas, he was invited.

He walked out on her
to live with his father,

but that's who she wanted.
Him! Not me!

That bitch.

Silverman got
the paternity test.

Turns out Sonja Harland
was Lancer's kid.

She gets her $50 million.

Good for her.

And Silverman
collects his
$17-million fee.

No wonder everybody hates
the legal profession.

Make sure Douglas Burke
gets a full transcript

of Sonja Harland's
allocution.

This way there'll be
something to collect

when he sues her
and Mr. Silverman

for his mother's
wrongful death.

Lawyers.