Original subtitles

[Instrumental music]

♪ You know I love you baby ♪

♪ you are what I need ♪

♪ you know I love you baby ♪

[Indistinct]

♪ Only got what's left ♪♪

[Bell ringing]

The bidding is closed.

♪ You know I need you baby ♪

♪ that's the way it should be ♪

♪ only got what's left ♪

♪ why don't you? Why don't you? ♪

♪ Why don't you love me? ♪

[Beeps]

♪ Ah ♪

♪ why don't you? Why don't you? ♪

♪ Come on baby ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ why don't you.. ♪♪

[Siren wailing]

[Indistinct chattering on radio]

[Dramatic music]

(Ray) 'The victim's name is Peter dewhurst.'

single dad, his kid's in second grade.

Found his body this morning in a classroom at Archer elementary.

Coroner puts the time of death between 10 and 11 last night.

Near the end of the annual school fundraiser.

Head trauma, blow from a blunt object.

Suspect's in custody. Archer parent named Sally marin.

- The blunt object? - Children's art project chair.

The murder weapon was a class art project?

Mrs. Marin won it at the silent auction.

Paint flakes, head wound all match up with the chair.

'Blood on the chair and on her dress'

'same type as the victim's.'

lab's working up definitive DNA.

Got skin from under the victim's nails. Running that too.

What do we know about Mrs. Marin?

Married, eight-year-old daughter, second grade.

(Ray) 'Typical soccer mom.'

except for the homicidal tendencies.

There was a note in the victim's wallet.

'Mrs. Marin's stationary.'

"thank you for being you. You are my rock.

You've opened my eyes to the nightmare I've been living."

Sounds like an affair.

If it's an affair why aren't we looking at the husband?

Mr. Marin has an ironclad alibi.

A seminar 90 miles away with 50 other people.

Were victim and suspect seen together last night?

The security camera time stamped 9:55 P.M.

Just before the murder.

Looks like a lover's quarrel to me.

- 'Annabeth.' - Casey.

How's private practice?

Credit cards are paid off, mortgage is up to date.

Life's grand. How's that baby?

- Cute as a button? - Cuter.

- Sixteen months next week. - Oh, yeah?

You gearing up for that preschool frenzy?

- What frenzy? - Are you kidding me?

My wife has us on every list in town.

Well, Phoebe's what, like not even a year old?

But you gotta get a jump on these good preschools.

We called little red wagon from her hospital bed.

[Chuckles] Seems excessive. What's the rush?

Annabeth, you apply when they're one

so you get in when they're three.

Are you serious?

If I were you, i'd make that appointment.

Now, could she look any more innocent?

Funny, in our justice system

looking innocent doesn't actually count for anything.

They quarreled.

She struck Mr. Dewhurst with a chair.

I never even went in that classroom last night.

The chair was out in the hallway.

I-I picked it up and took it home.

A guilty person would've destroyed the evidence.

She just paid $2,000 for it. She wasn't just gonna throw it away.

Wipe off the chair, take the dress to the cleaners

everything's back to normal.

Except Peter dewhurst is dead

and his eight-year-old son is an orphan.

I would never do anything to hurt Peter or his son.

What were you and Mr. Dewhurst fighting about?

Fighting?

Just before 10 o'clock in the hallway.

A security camera caught it. You were arguing vehemently.

He grabbed your arm and you stomped off.

- That doesn't prove anything. - It was nothing.

Uh, school stuff, trivia.

We were just exhausted last night

from working on the auction.

Peter and I

we were very close friends.

- Very close friends? - Yes.

He was your rock?

What?

"The nightmare I've been living."

Your marriage?

My marriage is fine.

It was something else, a personal situation.

You and Mr. Dewhurst were having an affair.

No!

This situation is the nightmare.

I'm innocent.

Talk to your client.

She tells the truth, we can talk about a plea.

Otherwise, I'm charging her in the death

of her very close friend.

Think it over, Mrs. Marin.

Whose idea was it to ruin my week

by arresting the city's most popular soccer mom?

Had a few calls?

I thought dealing with the mayor and the governor was tough.

They're nothing compared with the parents

of the Archer elementary school pta.

What do we have on the victim?

Peter dewhurst, widower

single father to a second grader at Archer.

The lone dad on the pta executive committee

and according to his legion of female fans

Peter was a pta rock star.

- All the moms loved him. - Loved him? How much?

Ms. Marin obviously had some kinda relationship with him.

They called each other 10 to 15 times a day

and exchanged thousands of emails.

It'll take us days to go through them.

Hundreds of phone calls, thousands of emails?

They saw each other every day.

What could they have to talk about? Had to be an affair.

Clearly, you've never been on a pta committee.

And you have?

No, but my ex-wife was.

I was gonna say, you don't look like the pta type.

Does Mrs. Marin have a criminal history?

- None. - Forensics?

Uh, recovered a plastic fragment from the rug

in the kindergarten classroom

apparently off the bottom of a woman's satin heel.

Are we checking Mrs. Marin's wardrobe?

Yes and we're still waiting on DNA

from skin under the victim's nails.

Let's hold off charging her until we get the results.

Okay. In the meantime, I will talk to the suspect's husband.

Ed's canvassing some of the mothers who were at the auction.

Well, hopefully he's wearing his kevlar.

Did you notice any tension between

Sally marin and Peter dewhurst that night?

Definitely. They were barely speaking all night.

Well, it's understandable. That event was insane.

All the committee people, they work so hard.

They love it. They're all addicts.

- Fems. - What's a fem?

- Formerly employed moms. - That is so mean.

They quit working to be stay-at-home moms.

But they still need adult stimulation

so now they just run their kids' lives instead.

You think Sally marin and Peter dewhurst were having an affair?

Oh, gosh, no. I mean, I can't even imagine...

Peter was a babe. I would have jumped him.

'Andrea.'

the truth is, if they'd been sleeping together

I think we would've known.

When miss Heather and the science teacher hooked up

the whole school knew in a week.

Then again, I mean, if you're not in the inner circle

I bet we don't know the half of it.

- Inner circle? - Pta is like anything else.

You've got the movers and the shakers

you've got the worker bees.

- And you're worker bees? - Definitely.

Well, I'll need the buzz on that inner circle.

[Laughing]

Hello.

I'm Maureen Scofield with the prosecutor's office.

- I'm here to see Mr. Marin. - Oh, yes, um..

Hold on, just a second.

Hey, Lily. Go finish your soup.

I don't feel so good.

I know, but eat your soup. It'll make you feel better.

- Okay. - Kelsey, keep her company.

- But, mom.. - Kelsey.

I'm sorry.

Poor Lily. She has been so upset about her mom.

I'm sorry. Are you a neighbor or a relative?

I'm Caroline cummins. I'm Sally's best friend.

I'm just helping out Kevin and Sally until this gets resolved.

- May I ask you a question? - Sure.

- You're her best friend? - Yes.

Did she confide in you about her relationship with Mr. Dewhurst?

I don't understand.

We think they were having an affair.

Peter and Sally? That is ridiculous.

No, they were friends. We were all friends.

Look, this whole thing has just been a terrible mistake.

It's a tragedy

and you people have compounded it by arresting Sally.

When will you let her go?

I'm sorry, that's not up to me.

Well, she did not kill Peter.

There's a lot of evidence that she did.

- Mr. Marin is this way. - Thank you.

We think Peter dewhurst and your wife

were having an affair.

You're wrong.

They called each other every day, all day long

emails, text messages.

- They were doing the auction. - Is that all they were doing?

You're right.

She was cheating on me. Alright?

But not with Peter dewhurst.

With the pta.

Of course it bothered me she was spending so much time with him.

Eleven at night in bed, im-ing Peter on her laptop.

What are the best juice boxes to buy for the may fair?

Who's working the bake sale? The pecan festival..

I... I'd had it.

- I wanted out. - Out of the marriage?

Out of the school.

How did your wife feel about that?

Sally was upset. Begged me to change my mind.

She loves Archer, but I insisted.

I told her I want my family back.

(Female #1) 'The blow fractured his skull, causing a subdural hematoma.'

the attacker was close to the same height as the victim.

- At least 5'8". - Mrs. Marin is not that tall.

She's like 5'3", 5'4" at the most.

She could've been standing on something, a step, a riser.

There was nothing like that in the report.

What about the DNA results?

Skin under the victim's nails is not a match for the suspect.

Okay, sounds like we have a problem.

[Dialing]

Annabeth, you and ray better meet me at the crime scene.

This is where they found the heel fragment?

Yeah, it's from a woman's cosmo brand red satin pump.

As opposed to a man's red satin pump, I guess.

- Cosmo, huh? - Is that good?

Very nice, very elegant, very expensive.

Mrs. Marin was in black that night.

- Right. - Meaning what?

She wouldn't be wearing red pumps.

She wouldn't? How would you know?

Unless she tied it in with something else.

Yeah, a-a red belt or a red scarf.

What is this, some kinda rule?

(Both) Yes.

It's called the law of accessories.

I'm used to a different kinda accessory

like... an accessory after the fact.

We should be able to find her.

There were 400 parents at that auction

more than half of them women. It's a needle in a haystack.

For you, maybe, but we have our working theory.

Red belt, red scarf, red pumps.

There could've been more than one woman

that night wearing red pumps.

Yes, but red satin cosmo pumps?

Not likely.

Here's a red dress.

Would you wear red heels with that?

I wouldn't. I'll put it in the "maybe" pile.

Wrap dress, fur shrug.

Probably vintage Mary janes.

Check this one out with the peasant blouse.

- Not a chance. - Why not?

She's wearing leopard print and burgundy.

So?

She's probably wearing beaded slippers or strappy sandals.

Beaded slippers, man. Get with the program.

It's funny, I don't remember covering formal footwear

at the academy.

Met this woman at the marin's house.

Said she was Sally's best friend.

- 'Caroline cummins.' - She's wearing a red belt.

I'll bet she had red shoes on.

Sure. Ties the whole look together.

Exactly.

Worker bees told me she co-chaired the auction

with Mrs. Marin.

- Let's check her out. - I'll get a warrant.

You need probable cause for a warrant, which this is not.

- It will be. - 'How?'

- we need a female judge. - With a sense of style.

- Judge Stevenson? - Tres chic.

(Caroline) This is absurd.

Don't pull on that, please.

That's cashmere. Pashmina.

You'll save us some trouble if you just hand over

the clothes you were wearing that night at the auction.

Fine.

[Caroline sighs]

Here. Happy?

This is short sleeve. And this is not the same skirt at all.

Oh, I... I spilled wine on that outfit.

- Had to throw it out. - You do that a lot?

Throw away an expensive dress

instead of taking it to the cleaners?

Got the shoes. Red satin pumps.

These look like cosmos to you?

- Yeah. Cosmos, definitely. - You're getting good at that.

Hey, you're not the only one with a sense of style.

Oh, and look, there's a little piece missing off the heel.

Luminol that puppy.

What are you doing? What are you spraying all over my shoes?

It'll show us if there's blood on 'em.

Well, if there is, I don't know how it got there.

Bingo.

I'm not discussing anything until we get an attorney.

Wait a minute! What are you doing?

Sir, step back. Your wife's under arrest.

Joe, call a lawyer.

Don't worry, honey, I'll call Jim Thompson.

Call Sally. Get someone from her lawyer's firm.

Got it. Not a criminal mastermind.

She should've thrown them out instead of trying to clean them.

Oh, shoes like these, you don't throw out.

Not if you can help it.

- Best friends, huh? - 'So she said.'

she was still gonna let Mrs. Marin take the rap.

We released Sally marin

and charged Caroline cummins with manslaughter.

You got a motive yet?

No, but the physical evidence is incontrovertible.

Victim's blood on her shoe

heel fragment at the scene and DNA.

It was her skin under the victim's fingernails.

This case, without a motive

manslaughter's a stretch for a jury.

Better plead it down to reckless homicide.

- And if I can find a motive? - 'Better find one quick!'

why aren't you helpin' him?

E-mail trees, they're connected.

It's like an ecosystem.

It's better for one person to read them.

He lost the coin toss, didn't he?

What can I say? I've always been lucky.

Guys, help me out here. I need a motive.

- Why'd she kill him? - Why do people kill each other?

Hundreds of reasons. Money, blackmail, extortion, drugs.

You guys are still on the streets.

Think pta moms in the suburbs.

I'll take a dealer with a rap sheet

as long as your arm any day.

Well, something set her off. Anything in the e-mail so far?

Well, in the first 5,000 or so I've read

maybe something brewing in paradise

between dewhurst and Mrs. Cummins.

Like what?

Disagreements over the auction planning.

What's the theme gonna be? Should we have a deejay or not?

- Exciting stuff. - Don't gloat.

Motive for murder... I don't think so.

The other parents you canvassed didn't mention

anything about problems between those two?

They wouldn't have necessarily known.

Who would?

I gave my list of the pta's inner circle to Maureen.

She's talking to 'em for me, including the ex-pta president

who threw up her hands in disgust over the whole thing.

I can think of someone else who probably knew something.

You mean the woman I accused of killing her closest friend?

On your way over, you might wanna practice

that apology in the rearview.

[Sighs]

I quit and never looked back.

- Too much work? - Too much drama.

Pta politics was something else.

I felt like a UN negotiator.

Our kids are at stake or so people tell themselves

but do you think it really matters

what font we use on the auction flier?

[Laughs]

Now the principal at Archer mentioned

there was some hostility between Caroline and you?

Oh, it was between Caroline and everyone

but for me, the final straw

someone sent an anonymous complaint

about how Peter was running the meetings.

It was absurd and he was mad as hell.

How do you know it was Mrs. Cummins?

Peter joked that he was gonna hire a private investigator

but I recognized Caroline's handwriting.

I heard Caroline threaten him once.

She said it like a joke, but it sure sounded angry to me.

[Dramatic music]

Mom! Someone's here for you!

(Sally) 'Lily, I can hear you all the way in the back.'

Go play, honey. Okay?

Okay.

What are you doing here?

Mrs. Marin, please accept my apologies.

I made a huge mistake.

I'd like you to leave, please. Right now.

I've to talk to you about Caroline cummins.

You were wrong about me. You're wrong about her.

We were mistaken about you and you can hold it against us

or you can help us.

We know she and Peter weren't getting along.

That kinda friction is normal in...

I know I should've called.

Kelsey is in the car, she's dying to see Lily

'i thought the girls could have a playdate.'

Caroline, this is not a good time.

(Caroline) 'What are you two talking about?'

(Sally) 'We'll do it some other time, okay?'

'I'll call and arrange something for the girls.'

please.

I'll call you later, sweetie.

[Dramatic music]

She's out on bail for killing one of your closest friends

and she just drops by like it's nothing out of the ordinary?

Well, that's Caroline for you. Nothing fazes her.

Um..

Could we do this another time, please?

I can't..

This is all starting to hit me.

Hard.

Of course.

I'm standing in Sally's living room, in walks Caroline

get this, the living rooms are exactly the same.

How weird is that?

Same curtains, same shade of green paints, same furniture

same photo of the two of them wearing the same outfit.

Creepy. I wonder what it means.

It's like they're leading doppelganger lives.

Yeah, but who's copying who?

So I combed through Caroline cummins' past

took me a few days.

Campus security reports from 15 years ago are hard to get.

- Where was this? - Oregon. Grad school.

She was a ta.

One of her students accused Ms. Cummins of stalking her.

Said cummins started showing up

uninvited to her apartment, parties.

Borrowed some of her laundry and wore it around campus.

She finally asked for a disciplinary hearing.

Anything come of it?

No. She got sick over spring break, couldn't fly home.

Guess who shows up at her front door with soup?

Caroline cummins?

Student was too out of it to see straight.

She lets her stalker take care of her.

You got it. She gets better, is grateful, drops the charges.

What if this whole thing was about the two women?

If Caroline was obsessed with Sally...

Then she kills Peter dewhurst

because he's coming between them.

And people think the pta is about the kids.

(Sally) Poor Peter. I haven't even had time to cry over him.

This kinda grief, someone so close, out of the blue..

It's very hard.

I know.

How can I help you, Ms. Chase?

You can tell us in detail what you know of their relationship.

Were they having an affair?

Oh... lord, no.

- How can you be so sure? - He didn't have the time.

He spent it all with me.

You said you and Peter weren't..

We weren't sleeping together..

But we were that close

that intimate emotionally.

We believe Caroline was jealous

of your friendship with Peter dewhurst.

She could be a little possessive.

Was she in love with you?

Caroline?

No, not exactly.

It's hard to explain.

Sally, you're not the first woman she stalked.

Excuse me?

Caroline stalked another woman in college.

Uh... julie gardner.

Caroline never mentioned her.

Miss gardner eventually lodged a formal complaint

with campus security.

We moved here a year ago.

I met... Caroline in line at the market.

'She helped me find a gym'

a baby-sitter.

And I was thrilled that Lily made a new friend.

Lily's shy. Changing schools midyear was brutal.

Caroline would arrange playdates for the girls.

It meant the world to me.

- So you became friends? - We did.

And then it started to get weird.

'Caroline redid her living room'

to look exactly the same as mine.

She started dropping by at all hours.

She was the nightmare you referred to

in the note to Peter, wasn't she?

When Peter was killed, why didn't you

tell us about her behavior?

Who would believe me?

What would I tell the police?

That this pta mom was acting like a teenager?

'Hanging around the market for hours'

so she'd accidentally run into me?

'No one would take that seriously.'

Peter... was my closest friend in the world.

If..

If Caroline killed him..

She did.

It was because of me.

So finally a motive for Caroline cummins.

She was obsessed with Sally marin.

Jury's gonna wanna know how and why that night

what happened to make her snap.

A psychologist is coming today

to look at Sally's video statement.

Has ed gotten through the e-mails?

He's close.

He's at the point where she tried

to get dewhurst kicked off some pta committee.

Well, a pattern of ongoing antagonism

would establish her existing mental state.

It would get around the defense claim that it was sudden heat.

Sudden heat knocks you back to reckless homicide.

- Which is what you've wanted. - It's what's easier.

If you can prove intent

then you'll get your manslaughter conviction.

- That's what I want. - I know.

(Sally on screen) Caroline started redoing her living room

so it looked like mine.

She got Kelsey the same hair clips Lily likes.

[Laughs] I could go on and on.

I tried to pull away, but..

'...Caroline just got more and more needy.'

here's where I see evidence of what is called a girl crush.

Is it sexual?

Not overtly.

It's a passionate friendship, strictly platonic.

Common in middle and high school.

Most teenage girls go through a girl crush phase.

Wendy wellman, my best friend in eighth grade.

We sat next to each other in class and when I

got home from school we were on the phone.

Part of the reason Mrs. Marin allowed Caroline's behavior

is because it enabled her to carry on

her emotional affair with Peter dewhurst.

So Sally marin tolerated

Caroline cummins having a girl crush on her.

Oh, she knew her relationship

with Mr. Dewhurst was inappropriate.

But as long as she could tell herself

it was all under the guise of handling the Caroline situation

they could avoid feeling guilty about

'spending so much time together.'

explains why Sally didn't tell us

about Caroline from the beginning.

A girl crush can be as passionate

as a love relationship.

So if Sally rejected Caroline for Peter..

Oh, Caroline could feel the same kind of jealousy

anger, feelings of betrayal

as if she'd been rejected by a boyfriend.

The late-night phone calls

bitter recriminations, screaming

hysterical fights on prom night.

You sound as if you have some experience in this area.

I was very intense in my youth.

(Ed) Ten thousand e-mails. I read every single one.

Very impressive.

Half the time the parents are planning barbecues together

the other half slamming each other.

But no outright threats between Caroline and anyone.

Which means we can't prove intent

which means no conviction.

Can we track any underlying antagonisms

between Caroline cummins and Peter dewhurst?

Well, they're all over the place.

And I'm not sure Mrs. Marin understood the depth of it.

Turns out Peter dewhurst

actually did hire himself a private investigator.

After the stunt she pulled at the pta meeting?

Dewhurst had a handwriting expert

confirm the anonymous note was from Mrs. Cummins.

He also looked into getting a restraining order.

- For himself? - For Sally marin.

- No sign she knew. - He was protecting her.

Okay, that's our approach then.

We can't point to a specific e-mail as being threatening

but the totality of e-mails paints a picture

of Caroline cummins's pervasive hostility toward Peter dewhurst.

Like the neighbors who squabble over the fence for years

until one finally shoots the other one

and claims it was in sudden heat.

Because they have a history of fighting..

The sudden heat defense doesn't apply.

It's the pervasiveness of their

squabbling that speaks to intent.

Hope the judge sees it that way.

Motion people vs. Caroline cummins. Ladies?

Motion to exclude the testimony of Julie gardner.

Your honor, the defendant

stalked and harassed Ms. Gardner.

It goes towards motive and a pattern of predatory behavior.

12 years ago, in college.

It was an isolated incident, not a pattern.

- Prior acts are not admissible. - But mos are.

How is the stalking relevant, Ms. Scofield?

The stalking shows the obsessive nature

of the defendant's relationships with other women.

One other woman 12 years ago.

I agree with the defense.

It's a singular incident... Not a pattern.

The testimony is excluded. Next.

Your honor, the defense would also like to exclude

all of Caroline cummins's pta correspondence.

These e-mails are more prejudicial than probative.

These e-mails clearly track

Mrs. Cummins' antagonism towards the victim.

She's not on trial for being a bitch.

Ms. Brokaw. Please.

The sum of these e-mails make it clear.

Mrs. Cummins had a long-running

and pervasive hostility towards the victim.

Mcewing vs. State upheld

a pattern of hostility can be used to prove intent.

Do the e-mails contain any

explicit threats toward the victim?

There's an undercurrent of rage.

That's your interpretation.

(Judge Jenkins) 'E-mails are excluded.'

if you find a threat, I'll review it in camera.

- Your honor... - We're done.

Trial starts Friday.

[Instrumental music]

(Maureen) 'First the judge ties our hands'

then he fires the starting pistol and yells "go."

It's a tough case to make without the e-mails.

You realize trial starts tomorrow.

I'll begin with the ex-president of the pta

to establish Caroline's state of mind vis-a-vis Sally and Peter.

This is a truly twisted triangle.

Caroline and Sally carpooled. Their kids were friends.

They talked on the phone several times a day.

Did Caroline appear to be obsessed with Sally?

Objection. Witness is not qualified to speak to that.

Sustained.

[Sighs]

Did you witness an argument

between Caroline and Peter on October 12?

In the pickup line at school.

(Maureen) 'Did you hear what it was about?'

Peter was taking Lily and his son to the lake house

for the weekend to help Sally out.

Caroline was angling to keep Lily

but no way was Peter letting that happen.

Then I heard her say

"I'm so jealous you're keeping Lily.

You're lucky I don't slash your tires."

Objection. Approach?

Your honor, this is an eyewitness account

of a threat made by the defendant.

It was a joke, not a threat.

If slashing tires isn't a threat, I don't know what is.

I'll allow it.

When Caroline said this, did you think she was serious?

I did. Her tone of voice... It was disturbing.

- And how did Peter react? - 'He was shocked.'

you thought he took it seriously.

Very.

Your witness.

I knew Caroline was becoming too possessive.

She tried to oust Peter from the pta

so we wouldn't... couldn't spend so much time together.

- Did that strategy work? - It backfired, actually.

He and I spent even more time together.

He became a buffer between Caroline and me.

I wanted it that way.

You never confronted Mrs. Cummins. Why?

(Sally) I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

And... i thought I could manage her.

Nothing further.

If you thought Caroline was an unstable person

why didn't you break off your friendship?

I tried to pull away, but..

I'm not a confrontational person.

I didn't want conflict.

So you tolerated Mrs. Cummins.

I tried to be nice to her, as nice as I could be.

- Did you trust her? - Not really.

She was... So erratic.

Then why'd you allow her to take care

of your daughter when she was sick?

You frequently left your daughter in Caroline's care.

In September, you left her with Caroline for... 36 hours.

My mom broke her hip, it was an emergency.

You more than tolerated Caroline cummins.

You relied on her.

(Sally) 'I wanted Peter to take Lily for the weekend.'

but Lily got sick and she couldn't go.

So Caroline pitched in.

So you did, in fact, trust her

with your most precious possession

'your only child.'

Miss Sarah, hi. It's annabeth chase.

Thank you so much for scheduling an interview tomorrow.

We'll be there at 8:30.

Uh... no, actually, he passed away last spring.

So, uh, it's just gonna be the two of us.

That's okay.

Okay, thanks. Bye-bye.

[Laughs] Uh, preschools.

Haley has an interview tomorrow.

How do you interview a toddler?

Good question.

Apparently, if I want Haley

to go to a good feeder school

I gotta start applying now.

It seems prestigious private grade schools

are harder to get into than Harvard.

(James) Wait for high school.

Jessie's on the student council, playing three sports

and working with food banks just to bolster her college apps.

And she's got a 4.0.

My two cents, let 'em have a childhood.

- It's over soon enough. - I know.

I heard what happened with our star witness.

I'm not so sure we're making our case.

You know, from where I sit it's a jump ball

and I'm sure Becky brokaw

is as uncertain as to which way the jury's leaning as we are.

You want me to offer reckless homicide.

I think it's the smart play, I really do.

Alright.

Go for the Max.

Eight years for killing someone?

The jury doesn't know everything you do about this case.

Start with eight, settle for what you can get.

[Instrumental music]

We'll take reckless homicide, two years suspended, no more.

Your client could face 20 years in prison

if the jury finds her guilty.

If you thought they'd come back guilty

you wouldn't be here.

Is Mrs. Cummins willing to take the chance?

If she loses, her daughter will be grown up

and outta the house long before she gets out.

Okay, four years.

With good behavior it'll be two, tops.

Annabeth?

Agreed.

We want a confession for the record.

It was an accident.

My whole life I've taken care of people.

When they're sick or when they need a friend.

I never meant to hurt Peter.

Hey.

How'd the interview at pleasant corners go?

I put it off for a couple days.

Listen, I've been thinking.

Annabeth, the sentencing is next week. You can't undo it.

Just hear me out.

Caroline cummins said something.

She takes care of people when they're sick.

Mm-hmm, a regular Florence nightingale.

Sally marin testified that when her mother broke her hip

her daughter was supposed to go for the weekend with Peter.

'Mm-hmm, Lily gets sick'

and Caroline takes Lily for the weekend instead.

Sound familiar?

Just like her last stalking victim.

Julie gardner had been trying to ditch Caroline

and then she got violently ill

some intestinal thing she's never had before or since.

Caroline made her soup, brought it to her dorm.

Caroline cummins made Lily soup

the day I interviewed Kevin marin.

People in Caroline's life eventually start

to pull away from her 'cause she's crazy.

And then they get violently ill and she magically cures them.

And voila, they're filled with gratitude

and best friends again.

Maureen... is there a chance she made them sick... On purpose

so she could cure them?

If I can prove it, I don't need to undo the plea.

This is a new charge and she'll be looking at another ten years.

[Dramatic music]

[Dramatic music]

This is crazy.

Why can't you just leave my family alone?

What the hell is this?

A subpoena to depose your daughter.

She's eight years old.

You want her to testify against her own mother?

We want her to tell the truth.

If you influence her to lie, you could go to jail too.

- Then Kelsey would have no one. - You wouldn't do that.

She'll be sentenced to four years and with time served

and early release, will be out in two.

Two years for killing Peter... Doesn't seem right.

No, it doesn't.

I wanted to ask you.

My colleague said Lily's been ill recently?

Nothing out of the ordinary.

She got sick when I was arrested.

Some kind of stomach bug.

What do you know about pinworms?

They're like head lice.

One of those things that go around in even the best schools.

Huge pain in the ass, but no big deal.

They're parasites, easily transmitted

that cause a full-blown parasitic infection.

Itchy, uncomfortable, sometimes stomach cramps.

The symptoms often seem like the flu

so you might not even go to the doctor.

What are you getting at?

We found cookies in Mrs. Cummins' refrigerator.

The frosting contained live pinworm eggs.

Are you saying..

She infected Lily... Deliberately.

Oh, my god.

We think she did the same thing in college

to a woman she was stalking.

Why? W-Why would she do something like that?

To play the hero.

It's a form of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Make someone sick and then cure them.

She deliberately made Lily sick?

And then gave her something to make her better

so you would be grateful to her.

Soup.

There was leftover. I put it in my freezer.

Lily was not my best friend, even at all.

She was really annoying.

But if I let her be my recess buddy

mommy lets me paint my toenails with her.

If Lily asks my mom for a playdate

I get a cupcake before bed.

Does your mom ask you to keep secrets with Lily?

Mom sometimes packs special cookie treats in my lunch

to give to Lily.

[Rustling]

- 'Like this one?' - Yeah.

Only I'm not allowed to have the ones with the ribbons.

Did you tell anyone?

No, because Lily's mom would take them away.

(Kelsey on screen) So I'd take it

in my lunch box to school

and sneak it to her under the picnic tables

so the teachers can't see.

We can't share food at school

because Bethany has a peanut allergy.

Well, the plea's already been entered, annabeth.

Trying to influence the judge

to throw out our agreement before sentencing.

These are new charges.

Your client deliberately infected Lily marin

with an intestinal parasite.

You're manipulating my child.

You're evil.

We tested the cookies, Mrs. Cummins.

Sally marin froze some of her soup.

The lab found a drug in it that cures pinworms in one dose.

- What's on the table, annabeth? - Ten years.

She pleads to child endangerment.

- Concurrently. - In addition to the four.

Fourteen years?

I have a daughter.

And I feel very sorry for her, but not for you.

The alternative is we go to trial

and everybody finds out what you did

to eight-year-old Lily marin.

I'd like a moment to confer with my client.

Mrs. Cummins, in the charge of one count of child endangerment

against Lily marin, do you accept the charges?

Yes, your honor.

But I would like to make a statement.

Proceed.

Pinworms are not fatal.

'They're a very common childhood ailment'

'and they're easily cured.'

I always had a supply of the soup ready, just in case.

Mrs. Cummins, your lack of remorse is noted.

In the death of Peter dewhurst

do you accept the charge of reckless homicide?

Yes, but it was not my fault.

- Please elaborate. - Peter was the possessive one.

(Caroline) Sally and I were as close as two people could be.

And then he turned her against me.

He said that... She only put up with me..

For Lily's sake.

Somehow he knew that I was making Lily sick

so that I could spend time with Sally.

I told him that I would stop

if he just promised not to tell Sally.

But when I did, it was like

he finally had the proof he needed to ruin our friendship.

He said he was gonna tell Sally what I'd done.

I didn't mean to kill him.

I only picked up the chair

because I was so hurt and... Angry.

(Judge Jenkins) 'As stipulated in the agreement'

'between the people of Indiana and the defendant'

for one count of reckless homicide

the court sentences you to four years in prison.

For one count of child endangerment

the court sentences you to ten years in prison.

'These sentences are to be served consecutively'

for a total of 14 years.

'Bailiff, you can take the defendant.'

'this court is adjourned.'

[bangs gavel]

[Instrumental music]

(Annabeth) Okay, great, thank you.

That was pleasant corners. Haley's in.

- Congratulations. - Thanks.

But if I hold off, magic meadows might have a spot.

What are you gonna do?

I don't know. It's overwhelming.

If I make the wrong choice now

it could affect her whole life.

Wait, this is preschool we're talking about, right?

- Three mornings a week? - Yeah.

I think you may be overreacting.

You think?

Yeah.

Yeah, I guess so.

All these decisions, you know?

I guess I never imagined i'd be doing all this on my own.

Well, you are.

And you aren't.

[Instrumental music]

(Female narrator) Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode.

[Theme music]

[Music continues]