Close to Home (2005) s01e17 Episode Script
116 - Land of Opportunity
What can I do for you today? I need to talk to the boss.
He's, um Is that him? Yes.
He's busy at the moment.
Why don't yo.
.
? Can I get your name? Burrows.
Wayne Burrows.
I'm surprised you don't remember me.
You probably didn't get those 50 messages I left.
Why don't you tell me what this is about? Like I said, I want to talk to the owner.
I just want some answers.
UhSir? If you have a complaint, I advise you to contact the Consumer Advisory I contacted them.
I've contacted the realtor.
I've contacted the bank.
Now I'm contacting you-- the appraiser.
Okay, I just think that maybe you should come back after you've calmed down a little.
You do? That's what you think? I do.
Yes.
If you go home, and you calm down, then you can come back when you have an appointment.
Good idea.
I'll come back.
Honey, I'm out of those, um you know, those, uh tabs you use to sign papers.
Finger tabs? Scott, I have that appraisal at noon, and I need you I'm running the comps right now.
They need it this afternoon.
Oh, my God.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Go in my office and dial 911.
( dinging ) Everybody okay? Is anybody hurt? Good.
I'm back.
Now that I've got your attention, may I please speak with the owner? Wayne Burrows.
Married, two kids.
Middle-class, working-class guy.
No criminal history.
In fact, this is the first time Mr.
Burrows is in trouble.
What set him off? Says he's upset about a fraudulent appraisal.
When he bought his house, the Birdseyes appraised it at $265,000.
But, when he went to sell it, an independent appraisal came in at only $182,000.
That cld get a guy upset.
So his first instinct is to drive through their front window.
Well, actually, Mr.
Burrows filed complaints all over the place.
The real estate business is basically self-policing.
The fox guarding the henhouse.
So Mr.
Burrows decided to get himself some justice.
Somebody could have easily gotten killed.
I don't care what Mr.
Burrows' problem is.
We can't have people driving trucks into buildings every time they feel ripped off.
Whatever way you look at it, it's criminal recklessness, assault with a deadly weapon-- in this case, a truck.
All yours.
JUDGE: How do you plead? My client pleads Guilty, Your Honor, Mr.
Burrows, please.
Judge, that's not Which is it, Counselor? Judge, I don't want to waste anybody's time.
I take full responsibility.
I know how lucky I am that nobody got hurt.
Mr.
Burrows, a plea of guilty means you will be automatically sentenced to a jail term.
Your Honor, may I speak? Keep it brief.
I want you to know that these appraisers here stole $83,000 from me and my family, and they did it by intentionally overpricing our house before we even bought it.
That wipes out my kid's college fund, our retirement I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Thank you for listening.
If I have to go to jail in order to be heard so be it.
Two years is outrageous.
It's way overreaching for a first offense.
What are you looking for? A suspended sentence and mandatory rage counseling.
Your client almost killed somebody.
Excuse me.
Miss Chase? Hold on a second, Mrs.
Burrows.
We'll get this worked out.
It's not that.
Miss Chase, we've tried everything-- every agency, called all sorts of people Mrs.
Burrows, I'm very sorry.
I bet half a dozen people on our street owe more on their mortgages than their homes are even worth.
That's what's got Wayne so upset.
We've lost our life savings.
I know he's done a stupid thing, but someone has to help us.
Just think about it,if Wayne Burrows telling the truth, they've lost $83,000 on their house.
This would be the same Mr.
Burrows you just put in jail for driving his truck through the front window of a real estate office? Appraiser's office.
Whatever.
This is not the kind of guy we should go out of our way to help.
You're a prosecutor-- somebody commits a crime, you put them in jail, you don't try to defend their actions.
But, Steve, Wayne Burrows bought a brand-new house in a brand-new neighborhood.
Okay, let's just say were overvalued by the same amount.
We're looking at I suck at math.
$3,320,000.
How did you do that? It's a gift.
But is there really a crime here? It's not illegal to sell houses for as much as the market can bare.
but it is a crime to falsify an appraisal.
Yes, but it's hard to prove.
But it didn't just happen once.
If the Birdseye brothers falsified 40 appraisals, all in the same development, that starts to smell like a conspiracy to commit fraud to me.
Which makes me wonder who they're conspiring with.
Exactly.
Okay.
We can look into it.
Canvass the neighborhood and see how widespread this thing actually is.
If you can establish a provable pattern of real estate fraud, we can consider bringing charges.
But you'll need copies of every single appraisal that was done on that development, plus credible victims and witness.
Do you happen to remember your appraisal company's name? Bird something.
You guys stay in the driveway! We just moved in here last week.
We absolutely love it.
Is there something I should be worried about? So you can't sell your house? Well, we thought we sold it, but the buyer's loan fell through because his appraisal showed the house wasn't worth anywhere near what we paid for it.
I got transferred, that's why we're selling to begin with.
I gave up my job here.
Now I haven't got a job, can't move, and I can't make the payment It's a mess.
What usually happens in a new development like this, is that the first appraisal is done on paper.
Meaning? Meaning we don't actually look at the property.
It sounds bad, but it's common practice.
You base theumber on the value of comparable homes in the area, acreage, square footage, etc.
So, in Wayne Burrows' case, you based the value of his house on comparable houses in this neighborhood? But didn't you appraise all these other houses as well? Most of them.
So then weren't you basing his price on prices you set yourself? Well, actually, that's true.
Yeah.
Jack, how much do we owe on our house? Last month, it was $78,500 something.
So, after that payment, it's going to be $77,000 something.
So how much do you think it's worth now? Why? You ready to move? No.
I'm looking into some crooked home appraisers.
Appraisers don't make the big bucks in real estate.
Who does? The developer.
He builds the house.
He pays for the house to be built.
And the appraiser? The appraiser, he sets the value in the beginning, which is the sale price.
Everybody wants it to be as high as ican be 'cause the realtor and the lender work on commission.
Right.
But the main pressure comes from the developer.
He wants it to be as high as it can be so he can make the most return on his investment.
Speaking of which, by the way, I have to meet with the developer in two minutes to go over schematics.
You trying to get rid of me? I just don't want you to arrest my boss.
laughing ) Yeah, that could get complicated.
Yes, it could.
Bye, baby.
Bye.
So follow the money.
Who's raking it in? The developer.
He owns a company named Heartland Castles, which is a subcorp of a company named Keystone Haven International.
Which also owns Dobson Dream Realty-- the listing agent.
Yeah, not to mention Heartland Castle Savings and Loan Company, and Keystone Haven Title Insurance So who owns Keystone International? Maurice Hardaker.
ANNABETH: Doesn't he look proud of himself? You'd be proud, too, if you were making money at every stage of the home sale, from building it to getting a 6% commission as the listing agent, to points as the lender.
And everything's inflated by the over-appraisal to begin with.
Steve, he's replicating this scam all over the state.
He's building hundreds of houses and raking in millions of dollars.
I mean, he's practically printing money.
And the State Regulatory Agency, where are they in all of this? Grossly under-funded and unrstaffed, effectively rendering them powerless.
Oh, the DA is gonna love this.
( cell phone ringing ) He's gonna eat this right up with a spoon.
Middle-class victims, middle-class voters.
Not that we do anything for political reasons, but hey, politics isn't always bad.
Especially when it means we actually get to do our jobs, and do a good thing.
Miss Chase, Maurice Hardaker.
I apologize.
I can only meet with you on the way out the door, but let's make the most of what little time we have.
What can I do for you? The Prosecutor's Office is investigating a string of real estate fraud, some of which involve one of your companies-- Keystone Haven International.
This is about the Birdseye Boys? Yes, it involves them, but Doing those blind appraisals? It's a quick way of making a lot of money, but in the end, it's just lazy.
Mr.
Hardaker, we have a number of people claiming to be the victims of systematic real estate fraud that appears to tie back to your company.
Miss Chase, I do sympathize with people's difficulties.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Chase.
Are you by any chance related to Jack Chase? He's my husband.
He's also one of the best young contractors around.
Used him often.
See, I just realized-- Chase.
I knew I'd heard that name before.
How about that? Are you aware that the houses in the Genesse Hollow Development were overvalued by 30%? Miss Chase, we have a saying in this business.
A house is worth whatever it sells for.
Now, listen, I'm more than willing to help out with your investigation, but I am running late, so, uh this is my lawyer.
He'll be glad to take all your questions.
The guy had an hour's notice I was coming to his office, which he spent digging in my personal background so he could charm me by knowing my husband's occupation.
I take it you were not charmed.
He's now officially in the crosshairs.
Yeah, well, he's very well-insulated.
He is, but that doesn't keep us from using the little fish to bring down the big fish.
It's time to talk to the Birdseyes again.
A lot of these people lostheir life's savings, thanks to you.
And from what I can tell, all you gained were some easy fees and more business.
I don't get it.
Hardaker was the one making all the money.
We need you to help us prove that he told you to do this to inflate the appraisals.
Oh, God.
If you can do that, we are prepared to offer you a deal of limited jail time, plus the applicable fines for appraisal fraud.
Otherwise, I promise you we will prosecute you on each individual count of fraud, and speaking conservatively, that adds up to 15 to 30 years behind bars.
Are you serious? I ink we need to talk to a lawyer.
Look, we're in way over our head here.
This isn't fair.
Like you said, we were just trying to keep working.
Hardaker's the one cashing in.
If we help you, we'll be blacklisted.
We'll lose everything.
Look, we understand Hardaker's got you scared.
That is nothing compared to how you'll feel when we show up at your office tomorrow with a subpoena and a truck, and a bunch of uniformed cops to box up every file and hard drive and put them under a microscope.
Somebody made millions of dollars here and you need to help us follow the money.
my guess these pricers got scared and blew up their office and all their files.
But that doesn't make any sense.
They know all their appraisals are a matter of public record.
There are copies of every transaction with the title companies and the Realtor.
My instincts told me to have a chat with our arson investigator.
And? And he said it could be an accident.
If somebody accidentally opened a gas valve on the furnace.
If somebody shut all the windows and doors to allow the gas to collect, and if somebody left behind a sparking device, which set the place ablaze.
The arson guys think it was activated remotely by phone.
So, definitely not an accident.
Just supposed to look like one.
GEORGE: Our research on Hardaker indicates that people who cross him have this cuous habit of getting into accidents.
So he's been investigated before? A riverboat casino project of his was opposed by a guy who accidentally drove his car off a bridge and into a river.
I've got other examples, but no evidence to tie it back to Hardaker.
The brothers must have told Hardaker that we were serving them with subpoena.
And he wanted to broadcast to the entire real estate community that anyone who wanted to cooperate had better think again.
It all sounds plausible, but is there any proof tying Hardaker to the explosion? That's going to be hard to come by.
The disposable cell phone and a sparking device are available at Radio Shack.
Besides that, there are only pieces.
Everything else was destroyed in the fire.
Maybe Hardaker's done us a favor.
How's that? He scared the crap out of the Birdseye Brothers.
They've got nowhere to run except to us.
They may not be able to help us with the arson, but we know they can help us get Hardaker on fraud.
If we can get this explosion to backfire on them, it'll be like using the accountant to bring down Al Capone.
Isn't it a little coincidental that your office happened to blow up the night before we were about to serve you with a subpoena for your records? We had nothing to do with it.
I've known these two all my life.
They would never do anything like that.
Mrs.
Birdseye, you're married to whom again? Brad.
That would be me.
And you work for the appraisal's office as well? I'm the office manager.
She has nothing to do with anything.
So who does? Because this fire was no accident, you know that.
Brad, was it Hardaker trying to send a message? Trying to send a message? I think he was trying to kill the messenger.
Don't say a word He already tried to kill us.
What do we have to lose? So it was Hardaker? He called us separately last night.
He told us to meet him there by 8:00.
When the building blew up.
And I would have been there, too, but I got stuck in traffic on the interstate.
What about you? I was a block away when I heard the explosion.
There's only one way to make sure this never happens again and that's to put him behind bars.
Now, I'm willing to make a deal if you'll agree to testify againsHardaker in our real estate frd case.
We can't do that.
Yes, we can, Scott.
We will.
You've arrested my client.
He'll be out on bail just as soon as he's arraigned.
But that will be too late.
You will already have succeeded in committing gross defamation.
You have two crooked appraisers who are trying to worm out of their crimes by dragging my client into the mud with them.
It's outrageous.
Actually, we have two appraisers who are willing to cooperate with us in our real estate investigation fraud.
So your client attempted to intimidate, if not eliminate them by blowing up their business.
It's hearsay.
It's ridiculous.
You're holding a pillar of the business community hostage, smearing his valuable name with all sorts of charges based on hearsay.
That and phone records that match their accounts.
He could have been calling them for a million different things.
They've been in business together, you know? We know.
They plan on telling the jury all about the business they've done together.
Excuse me, I think there's some misunderstanding.
I am in the business of putting hardworking people in their dream homes.
And while I feel very sorry for individuals like Wayne Burrows, who signed loan papers beyond their means, I'm afraid that's their responsibility, not mine.
We all take risks.
I take risks every day.
That's part of doing business.
You can't criminalize business in the land of opportunity.
No, but we can criminalize fraud.
And we intend to charge your client separately on each individual instance of deception.
That's six months to three years for each.
So, gentlemen, you might want to take out your calculators.
( knocks on door ) Steve, what do you think about working on getting Wayne Burrows an early parole? I guess I'm okay with that.
The more victims facese have in the gallery, the tougher it is for Hardaker to hide.
And Wayne was Hardaker's original victim.
Seems like he should be at the trial.
I'll see what I can do.
I'll make a few calls.
But you'll have to put all the paperwork together.
I already have.
And can you give us the content of the phone conversation you had with Mr.
Hardaker the night of the explosion? Sure.
He-he said if we cooperated with the investigation, that it would be bad for us.
We need his exact words.
Okay, um, he said He said we'd be out of the real estate business.
In all 50 states, that's right.
How many years were you in business for Mr.
Hardaker? We did work for him for about two-and-a-half years.
And did all those jobs involve false appraisals? No, I mean, at first it wasn't so I need a yes or no here.
Well, you're making us out to be complete crooks.
Scott, you broke the law.
And if we don't bring it up to the jury first, the defense will.
This way we have control.
Can I have a break? Can I, can I get some coffee or something? There's a pot in the kitchen.
Listen, I know you don't know us very well, and what you do know, well, it's not so good.
But we weren't always like this.
We didn't always do business this way.
We got into this because it made us feel good.
Not the money-- putting people into hses, I mean.
The American dream.
So where did you go wrong? A couple years ago we expanded the business and we went into debt.
So when Hardaker's development came along, we jumped at the chance.
At first it was, you know, "Do me aavor.
" And so we overvalued one house.
But then that became a comp for another house.
And so on, and so after a while you forget that all the comps are bogus.
I'm going to go see what Scott's doing.
It was my brother's job to meet with customers and speak with developers like Mr.
Hardaker.
My job was to do all the paperwork.
Did that include finding comparable home sales in order to determine a property's value? Yes, that's called "running comps.
" Did your comps always support the appraisals you made? Mr.
Birdseye? No.
No, they did not.
Why not? Because we always had to hit our number.
What does that mean, "hitting the number"? It means that a lender needs a home to be valued at a certain price in order for that loan to go through.
So, the seller, the developer in this case, of the home, can make his money.
You could say that.
What happens to appraisers who refuse to hit the number? Do they get blacklisted? Objection, Your Honor! She's leading the witness! Sustained.
What happens to appraisers who refuse to hit the number? Are they out of a job? I can't do this.
I Brief recess, Your Honor.
We're in the middle of a trial.
We're actually aring the end of our day, Mr.
Shank, so we'll reconvene in the morning.
But I expect that everyone will be ready to go at that time.
Yes, Your Honor.
It's just too much.
If, if Hardaker tried to blow us up before the trial, what's he goi to do after? What's he doing here? Wayne Burrows was financially ruined by your company and Ray Hardaker.
He's here to see justice done.
You are here to take responsibility for your part and to put annd to it.
Excuse me.
( indistinct murmur ) How's your brother holding up? You're scum.
You always were.
So when you get back to your mansion tonight, and you lay your head down on your pillow, you think about that, because you're going to be spending the rest of your days in jail after we get done with this trial.
( clears throat ) Not a good time to pick a fight.
Listen to me.
You're going on the stand tomorrow, right after Scott.
Now if we're going to put Hardaker away, I need you both to be in good shape in the morning.
Promise me you'll make that happen.
I'll make it happen.
What you doing? I'm starving.
I forgot to eat lunch.
How is that possible? I live for lunch.
The main witness was a mess.
It was all I could do to keep him in the building.
Hardaker's got everyone running scared.
Ugh! You know what we need? We need a wife.
Somebody has to go to therocery store.
How was your day? Oh, let's just say you may have to pull a little overtime in at the office.
Why, what happened? Well, I just got word today at the job site, that they're dropping a subcontractor-- me and my guys.
Seriously, you got fired? I got let go.
It happens.
Not to you, it doesn't.
I already lined up other work.
This is Hardaker.
He tracked you down and got to your boss.
Just let it go.
Honey, let it go? This is your job.
Seriously Annabeth, just let it go.
( phone ringing ) ( ringing continues ) Hello.
( sighs ) ( garbled police radio transmission ) Joyce Birdseye called in three hours ago, saying Brad was missing.
An hour later a couple kids found the body.
Shot once in the chest.
And just in case we didn't get the message, his tongue was cut out.
That's got to be Hardaker.
It's not Hardaker's MO.
It's more subtle than that.
His enemies disappear in accidents and suffer sudden financial catastrophes.
This is unmistakable.
This is skywriting.
This is My witness.
Miss Chase.
I just want you to know that whatever this looks like is not what it is.
Really? 'Cause it looks to me like your client had Brad Birdseye killed to keep him from testifying.
Think about that.
Why on earth would my client do that in the middle of his trial? Your client staring down the barrel of 30 years for fraud.
That does things to a guy.
Maurice Hardaker is not stupid.
He's not going to kill someone to influence the outcome of a trial that he was already going to win.
Having said that, I want you to know that I'm going to ask the judge, in light of these recent tragic developments, to dismiss this case.
Please do.
It's bound to annoy thhell out of him.
And in light of these "recent tragic developments," I'm sure he'll be very eager to give me a continuance.
Oh, and P.
S.
, I'm going to get your client for murder and fraud.
Okay, u got your continuance.
So how do you proceed with your case? I want to prove Hardaker killed Brad.
He sent his lawyer up here to throw us off, but I'm not buying it.
Right now Hardaker's out on bail plotting God knows what.
We should know who he's been talking to Who his lawyer's been talking to.
Well, a judge is ner going to grant us acce to the confidential conversations he's having with his lawyer, or wiretap his phones.
He's doing the same thing organized crime bosses do-- arranging everything through their attorneys.
There's always exposure-- someone in the middle.
Talk to his assistants.
Subpoena his attorney's financial records and look for any payments from Hardaker around the time of the arson or the murder.
Meantime, George, you've got some serious witness security issues to deal with.
We've lost one of our key witnesses.
I don't want to lose both.
ANNABETH: I can't imagine what Joyce and Scott are gointhrough.
She's lost her husband; he's lost his brother.
SCOTT: I can't believe this is happening.
My brother is dead.
My brother is dead! Miss Chase, I want to let you know I will do whatever it takes.
I appreciate that, Scott.
If Hardaker can kill Brad, what's to stop him from getting to Scott and me? Mrs.
Birdseye, you'll have protection for the rest of the trial.
No one takes a threat more seriously than the police department.
Yeah? Well, you guys didn't do such a hot job of that last night, did you? ANNABETH: Scott, I understand how upset you are.
But we're going to keep you safe.
Mrs.
Birdseye I need to know what happened after you left the courthouse.
There's not much to tell.
Brad was exhausted from the trial.
Then we had dinner.
When we got home he said he was going for a walk to clear his head.
Walking was a kind of ritual for Brad.
He went out at about 7:30, and he never came back.
Severe trauma to the heart and left lung, skull fractured.
Probably knocked out before he was shot.
Bullet came from a rifle, right? Yeah.
According to this report, the bullet was flattened by something substantial after exiting the victim's body.
Like mbe he was in a car when they shot him? Yeah, and that would explain this grease under the nails.
It's the kind used to lubricate car locks.
Maybe he was in the trunk, trying to get out from the inside.
Also looks like there might have been a struggle.
We found skin cells mixed in with the grease.
We're getting those cleaned up and DNA tested ASAP.
Good.
Let me know what you find t.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, what about the business with the tongue? Ah, it's just the tip of the tongue.
Almost like whoever did it maybe got a little squeamish.
Hey, I got some pictures.
You want to see? Maybe next time.
Hardaker's assistants must have trained at Fort Knox.
No luck? Like a brick wall.
From the subpoenaed financials, I camecross a very curious transaction.
From a Hardaker shell compy to his lawyer a couple of days after the arson.
Nice round number.
Remember the guy who accidentally drove his car into the river in Evansville? The casino riverboat incident? Yeah.
Same kind of financial activity around that time.
It's still hard to prove a quid pro quo.
What about around the time of Brad's murder? Absolutely nothing.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Burrows? We went down to the courthouse this morning and heard.
We're so sorry.
It's a bad situation.
I just wanted to Wayne wanted to volunteer as a witness, as one of Hardaker's victims, in case you needed help keeping the case going.
Mr.
Burrows, the case is just on a temporary hold.
And I'm afraid you really can't help, not with your history.
That's what I thought you'd say.
It's just, I can't stop thinking.
I started this whole thing off by driving through that window.
An-An-And now Okay, let me make something very clear here.
You are not responsible for Br Birdseye's murder in any way, shape or form.
Now, I appreciate how you must feel, but I don't want y to worry.
We wl get Hardaker for this.
The DNA looks identical, right? If you say so.
Remember the skin cells underneath the victim's nails? Now, at first we thought they were his own.
But then we took a closer look at the code and found variations here and here.
So they're not his? Nope, but somebody very close.
So close it has to be a male sibling.
How many Birdseye brothers are there? ( garbled police radio transmission ) ( distant siren wailing ) STEVE: Tape off the yard, the perimeter around this car.
Nothing gets touched until the CSIs get here.
Scott? Scott, look at me.
You played me.
We were on thsame team.
You and your brother were going to take a stand against Hardaker and everything he represents.
Brad put his entire life on the line to make things right.
And what do you do? You go get a gun and you shoot him in the chest and then you cut out his tongue to make us think Hardaker did it.
And then you stand in front of your brother's widow and accuse us of not doing enough to protect you? What was that-- 12, 14 hours after you shot your brother? I want to talk to a lawyer.
Yeah? Yeah.
Well, speaking as a lawyer who knows enough about you write a book You'd better get a good one why would man killed his own brother Maybe it's as simple as he didn't want Brad testifying in a fraud trial where he was implicated.
Maybe Hardaker got to him, somehow convinced him to take Brad out.
Except if that's the case, why did Scott make it look like Hardaker did it? ANNABETH: Scott was scared.
Scared to testify, of going to prison So he figures he'll get sympathy for his dead brother and that'll get him out of jail? That backfired, I'd say.
( phone ringing ) It's the DA.
He's breathing down my neck on this.
So where are we with Hardaker's trial? The judge granted a two-day continuance, But without the Birdseye boys, I'm in trouble.
You spent time with these brothers.
Did they get along? Brad was definitely the protective, older brother type, and Scott seemed to need that.
That kind of relationship can breed resentment.
We've already dug up lots of dirt on these boys, have we not? A pile.
Then let's sift through it again and see if there's so long-standing rivalry we missed.
We already know for a fact that Scott's a schemer.
Let's see if he was up to anything else.
You have no idea what a mistake this is.
You don't know Scott.
He couldn't have done this.
He loved his brother.
They were so close.
It was Hardaker.
Hardaker-- he's an awful man.
He's capable of anything.
He is the one who shld be in jail, not Scott.
You've got to let him go.
Joyce, that's not going to happen.
This is all wrong.
Please, you've got it wrong.
Sorry, I don't think we do.
I'm telling you, Maureen, I was with the woman the morning after her husband was killed and she just sat there on the couch.
Not a tear, not a catch in her voice.
Now Scott gets put in jail and she's frantic, bawling, pleading, anything to get him out.
Well, you know, some people are numb at first, and the emotion comes later.
No, I've seen that before.
But this was passionate.
Sct was in jail and her world was coming to an end.
She ran out of my office.
You think Joyce and Scott were up to something? I think we should look specifically at Joyce and Brad's marriage.
I think we've missed something.
So what am I looking at? Well, I sat down to go back over the Birdseye phone records.
This is from six months ago.
I noticed it at the time, but it wasn't germane to the corruption investigation.
These are? Joyce Birdseye's cell phone records.
Nine calls to Alexson & dmond? Indianapolis's finest divorce lawyers.
Six months ago it looks like she was thinking about dumping her husband.
Earlier today she stopped by trying to get Scott out of jail.
So instead of a divorce, they used the cover of the trial to get rid of Brad and make it look like Hardaker did it? The theory fits.
Yeah, but how do we prove that? We ask her lawyer to tell us about the divorce.
Attorney-client privilege? Good luck with that.
No, we should tell Scott Joyce admitted the affair-- admitted plotting to kill Brad, the whole deal.
You mean lie to him? You got a problem with that? Are you kidding me? This guy's lied to me six ways from Sunday.
If we can trick him into a confession, I call that sweet justice.
So were you aware that Joyce was looking to divorce Brad? If she was, that was their business.
Really? That's not what she told us.
You questioned Joyce Birdseye? We didn't have to.
The minute she heard Scott here was in jail, she came flying in, telling us all sorts of things.
Do you have a question? Were you having an affair with your brother's wife? No.
Of course not.
What would you call it, then? Friends with benefits? She said she couldn't keep her hands off of you.
Do not talk about her like that.
Because that's because that's my sister-in-law, and she would never say that.
Actually, Scott, the truth is, Joyce told us everything-- abouthe affair, about planning to kill Brad, l of it.
But you know, I know you, and I have a hard time believing this whole thing was your idea.
She says you hit him over the head, put him in the car, drove him out to the country, and you shot him on your own without any help from he I don't buy that.
I also know you loved your brother.
She must have had some incredible hold over you to get you to do something like this.
She's blaming the whole thing on me? Is that it? She's saying that she had nothing to do with it? Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
She had nothing to do with it, it was exactly like she said.
It was all me.
I didn't want to kill Brad.
I just wanted to be with her.
I just I loved her so much.
And you can't put her in jail.
Please, don't put her in jail.
I love her.
There's stuff that you don't know.
There's stuff that no one knows.
We wanted to let you know that we've charged your brother-in-law with the murder of your husband.
Now I know this is difficult to hear, but Scott has taken full responsibility for everything.
And because of the special circumstances, the careful planning, the mutilation of the body designed to cast suspicion on someone else, we're strongly considering the death penalty.
We need you to testify against him.
What would I say? You could tell the court the truth.
Scott has feelings for you.
He told us he loves you.
We believe those feelings drove him to kill his own brother in the hopes of being with you.
Joyce, you haven't slept with him, have you? Would at make a difference? Yes.
We need to be certain that he acted alone in order to build a case for the death penalty.
I don't want Scott to die.
Have you slept with him? Yes.
Tell me about that night.
Where were you? What were you doing? I told you, Brad wenfor a walk.
And he didn't come home, yes, we know that.
Did Scott tell you he was going to kill Brad? It was just a fantasy.
I never thought he would do it.
Did you help him in any way? All I did was encourage my husband to go for a walk.
You told him to take a walk, knowing that his brother, your lover, was out there waiting for him with a baseball bat, planning to knock him out, then kill him and cut out his tongue? I never thought he would actually do it.
Yet you lied to the police, you covered up for your lover, and now Scott is facing the death penalty, unless we can prove he didn't do it alone.
You don't want that now, do you, Joyce? No.
ANNABETH: Tell me about the phone conversation y had with Mr.
Hardaker the night your business was destroyed.
I told him that my brother was planning to testify against him, but that I didn't want to.
And what was his response to that? He said we had to find a way to shut him up.
I said I agreed.
The People would like to introduce into evidence this microcellular recorder.
Objection, Your Honor.
I object to the late inclusion of this evidence.
Your Honor, we shared this evidence with the defense as soon as it came into our possession.
Which was yesterday.
So we had no time to analyze it, or even to verify that it was my client's voice on the tape.
Your Honor, we have hours of routine conversations between this witness and Mr.
Hardaker on tape.
So you have to ask yourself what kind of person goes and records conversations behind people's backs? The same kind of person who has admitted to killing his brother to avoid implication in this case.
Why should we believe anything from this man's mouth, recorded or otherwise? Mr.
Shank, I will make sure that you have time to present whatever analysis you come up with.
But right now, I want to hear that tape.
Thank you, Your Honor.
HARDAKER ( on tape ): If the office blew up with Brad inside, you know what everybody'd think? SCOTT ( on tape ): What? Well, that he was in there trying to burn the pce down to destroy records, didn't get out in time.
I mean, maybe, but how would we even get him inside? I'll take care of that.
But you need to do me a favor.
What's that? Leave the backdoor unlocked.
And did you leave that door unlocked? I did.
Why? Why did you want your own brother dead? I was in love with his wife.
And when Mr.
Hardaker came to me and said he wanted my brother out of the way, I saw it as an opportunity to get rid of Brad.
But then Brad, he didn't show up for the explosion.
So then I just decided to kill him myself.
JUDGE: The defendant will please rise.
The jury finds the defendant, Maurice Hardaker, on the charge of conspiracy to commit fraud guilty.
On the charge of arson for hire guilty.
On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder guilty.
On the separate charge of fraud involving Mr.
Wayne Burrows guilty.
On the second separate charge of fraud involving Dawn Keller guilty.
( voice fading ): On the third separate charge of fraud involving Mr.
Ramone Burger guilty.
So Scott pled and is going to do life.
What about Joyce? Joyce is looking at 20 years for her part in the murder.
It was easier for Scott and Joyce to kill Brad than it was for her to divorce him? I don't think they were planning on killing him until the investigation started.
And then the trial, and it looked like they could pin it on the big, bad developer.
The ultimate crime of opportunity.
Mm I guess divorcing Brad and marrying Scott would have made for some pretty awkward family reunions.
I thought my Thanksgivings were bad.
How'd your new job go today? It was good.
You should have heard the guys blabbing about Hardaker going to jail.
And then the look on their face when I told them it was my wife that put him there.
What kind of look? Well, let's just say my stock went up.
The guy didn't have a lot of friends.
Promise me if you ev want to get a divorce, you'll hire an attorney, and not a hitman.
Baby, if I ever want a divorce from you, I'll hire a shrink to examine my head.
He's, um Is that him? Yes.
He's busy at the moment.
Why don't yo.
.
? Can I get your name? Burrows.
Wayne Burrows.
I'm surprised you don't remember me.
You probably didn't get those 50 messages I left.
Why don't you tell me what this is about? Like I said, I want to talk to the owner.
I just want some answers.
UhSir? If you have a complaint, I advise you to contact the Consumer Advisory I contacted them.
I've contacted the realtor.
I've contacted the bank.
Now I'm contacting you-- the appraiser.
Okay, I just think that maybe you should come back after you've calmed down a little.
You do? That's what you think? I do.
Yes.
If you go home, and you calm down, then you can come back when you have an appointment.
Good idea.
I'll come back.
Honey, I'm out of those, um you know, those, uh tabs you use to sign papers.
Finger tabs? Scott, I have that appraisal at noon, and I need you I'm running the comps right now.
They need it this afternoon.
Oh, my God.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Go in my office and dial 911.
( dinging ) Everybody okay? Is anybody hurt? Good.
I'm back.
Now that I've got your attention, may I please speak with the owner? Wayne Burrows.
Married, two kids.
Middle-class, working-class guy.
No criminal history.
In fact, this is the first time Mr.
Burrows is in trouble.
What set him off? Says he's upset about a fraudulent appraisal.
When he bought his house, the Birdseyes appraised it at $265,000.
But, when he went to sell it, an independent appraisal came in at only $182,000.
That cld get a guy upset.
So his first instinct is to drive through their front window.
Well, actually, Mr.
Burrows filed complaints all over the place.
The real estate business is basically self-policing.
The fox guarding the henhouse.
So Mr.
Burrows decided to get himself some justice.
Somebody could have easily gotten killed.
I don't care what Mr.
Burrows' problem is.
We can't have people driving trucks into buildings every time they feel ripped off.
Whatever way you look at it, it's criminal recklessness, assault with a deadly weapon-- in this case, a truck.
All yours.
JUDGE: How do you plead? My client pleads Guilty, Your Honor, Mr.
Burrows, please.
Judge, that's not Which is it, Counselor? Judge, I don't want to waste anybody's time.
I take full responsibility.
I know how lucky I am that nobody got hurt.
Mr.
Burrows, a plea of guilty means you will be automatically sentenced to a jail term.
Your Honor, may I speak? Keep it brief.
I want you to know that these appraisers here stole $83,000 from me and my family, and they did it by intentionally overpricing our house before we even bought it.
That wipes out my kid's college fund, our retirement I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Thank you for listening.
If I have to go to jail in order to be heard so be it.
Two years is outrageous.
It's way overreaching for a first offense.
What are you looking for? A suspended sentence and mandatory rage counseling.
Your client almost killed somebody.
Excuse me.
Miss Chase? Hold on a second, Mrs.
Burrows.
We'll get this worked out.
It's not that.
Miss Chase, we've tried everything-- every agency, called all sorts of people Mrs.
Burrows, I'm very sorry.
I bet half a dozen people on our street owe more on their mortgages than their homes are even worth.
That's what's got Wayne so upset.
We've lost our life savings.
I know he's done a stupid thing, but someone has to help us.
Just think about it,if Wayne Burrows telling the truth, they've lost $83,000 on their house.
This would be the same Mr.
Burrows you just put in jail for driving his truck through the front window of a real estate office? Appraiser's office.
Whatever.
This is not the kind of guy we should go out of our way to help.
You're a prosecutor-- somebody commits a crime, you put them in jail, you don't try to defend their actions.
But, Steve, Wayne Burrows bought a brand-new house in a brand-new neighborhood.
Okay, let's just say were overvalued by the same amount.
We're looking at I suck at math.
$3,320,000.
How did you do that? It's a gift.
But is there really a crime here? It's not illegal to sell houses for as much as the market can bare.
but it is a crime to falsify an appraisal.
Yes, but it's hard to prove.
But it didn't just happen once.
If the Birdseye brothers falsified 40 appraisals, all in the same development, that starts to smell like a conspiracy to commit fraud to me.
Which makes me wonder who they're conspiring with.
Exactly.
Okay.
We can look into it.
Canvass the neighborhood and see how widespread this thing actually is.
If you can establish a provable pattern of real estate fraud, we can consider bringing charges.
But you'll need copies of every single appraisal that was done on that development, plus credible victims and witness.
Do you happen to remember your appraisal company's name? Bird something.
You guys stay in the driveway! We just moved in here last week.
We absolutely love it.
Is there something I should be worried about? So you can't sell your house? Well, we thought we sold it, but the buyer's loan fell through because his appraisal showed the house wasn't worth anywhere near what we paid for it.
I got transferred, that's why we're selling to begin with.
I gave up my job here.
Now I haven't got a job, can't move, and I can't make the payment It's a mess.
What usually happens in a new development like this, is that the first appraisal is done on paper.
Meaning? Meaning we don't actually look at the property.
It sounds bad, but it's common practice.
You base theumber on the value of comparable homes in the area, acreage, square footage, etc.
So, in Wayne Burrows' case, you based the value of his house on comparable houses in this neighborhood? But didn't you appraise all these other houses as well? Most of them.
So then weren't you basing his price on prices you set yourself? Well, actually, that's true.
Yeah.
Jack, how much do we owe on our house? Last month, it was $78,500 something.
So, after that payment, it's going to be $77,000 something.
So how much do you think it's worth now? Why? You ready to move? No.
I'm looking into some crooked home appraisers.
Appraisers don't make the big bucks in real estate.
Who does? The developer.
He builds the house.
He pays for the house to be built.
And the appraiser? The appraiser, he sets the value in the beginning, which is the sale price.
Everybody wants it to be as high as ican be 'cause the realtor and the lender work on commission.
Right.
But the main pressure comes from the developer.
He wants it to be as high as it can be so he can make the most return on his investment.
Speaking of which, by the way, I have to meet with the developer in two minutes to go over schematics.
You trying to get rid of me? I just don't want you to arrest my boss.
laughing ) Yeah, that could get complicated.
Yes, it could.
Bye, baby.
Bye.
So follow the money.
Who's raking it in? The developer.
He owns a company named Heartland Castles, which is a subcorp of a company named Keystone Haven International.
Which also owns Dobson Dream Realty-- the listing agent.
Yeah, not to mention Heartland Castle Savings and Loan Company, and Keystone Haven Title Insurance So who owns Keystone International? Maurice Hardaker.
ANNABETH: Doesn't he look proud of himself? You'd be proud, too, if you were making money at every stage of the home sale, from building it to getting a 6% commission as the listing agent, to points as the lender.
And everything's inflated by the over-appraisal to begin with.
Steve, he's replicating this scam all over the state.
He's building hundreds of houses and raking in millions of dollars.
I mean, he's practically printing money.
And the State Regulatory Agency, where are they in all of this? Grossly under-funded and unrstaffed, effectively rendering them powerless.
Oh, the DA is gonna love this.
( cell phone ringing ) He's gonna eat this right up with a spoon.
Middle-class victims, middle-class voters.
Not that we do anything for political reasons, but hey, politics isn't always bad.
Especially when it means we actually get to do our jobs, and do a good thing.
Miss Chase, Maurice Hardaker.
I apologize.
I can only meet with you on the way out the door, but let's make the most of what little time we have.
What can I do for you? The Prosecutor's Office is investigating a string of real estate fraud, some of which involve one of your companies-- Keystone Haven International.
This is about the Birdseye Boys? Yes, it involves them, but Doing those blind appraisals? It's a quick way of making a lot of money, but in the end, it's just lazy.
Mr.
Hardaker, we have a number of people claiming to be the victims of systematic real estate fraud that appears to tie back to your company.
Miss Chase, I do sympathize with people's difficulties.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Chase.
Are you by any chance related to Jack Chase? He's my husband.
He's also one of the best young contractors around.
Used him often.
See, I just realized-- Chase.
I knew I'd heard that name before.
How about that? Are you aware that the houses in the Genesse Hollow Development were overvalued by 30%? Miss Chase, we have a saying in this business.
A house is worth whatever it sells for.
Now, listen, I'm more than willing to help out with your investigation, but I am running late, so, uh this is my lawyer.
He'll be glad to take all your questions.
The guy had an hour's notice I was coming to his office, which he spent digging in my personal background so he could charm me by knowing my husband's occupation.
I take it you were not charmed.
He's now officially in the crosshairs.
Yeah, well, he's very well-insulated.
He is, but that doesn't keep us from using the little fish to bring down the big fish.
It's time to talk to the Birdseyes again.
A lot of these people lostheir life's savings, thanks to you.
And from what I can tell, all you gained were some easy fees and more business.
I don't get it.
Hardaker was the one making all the money.
We need you to help us prove that he told you to do this to inflate the appraisals.
Oh, God.
If you can do that, we are prepared to offer you a deal of limited jail time, plus the applicable fines for appraisal fraud.
Otherwise, I promise you we will prosecute you on each individual count of fraud, and speaking conservatively, that adds up to 15 to 30 years behind bars.
Are you serious? I ink we need to talk to a lawyer.
Look, we're in way over our head here.
This isn't fair.
Like you said, we were just trying to keep working.
Hardaker's the one cashing in.
If we help you, we'll be blacklisted.
We'll lose everything.
Look, we understand Hardaker's got you scared.
That is nothing compared to how you'll feel when we show up at your office tomorrow with a subpoena and a truck, and a bunch of uniformed cops to box up every file and hard drive and put them under a microscope.
Somebody made millions of dollars here and you need to help us follow the money.
my guess these pricers got scared and blew up their office and all their files.
But that doesn't make any sense.
They know all their appraisals are a matter of public record.
There are copies of every transaction with the title companies and the Realtor.
My instincts told me to have a chat with our arson investigator.
And? And he said it could be an accident.
If somebody accidentally opened a gas valve on the furnace.
If somebody shut all the windows and doors to allow the gas to collect, and if somebody left behind a sparking device, which set the place ablaze.
The arson guys think it was activated remotely by phone.
So, definitely not an accident.
Just supposed to look like one.
GEORGE: Our research on Hardaker indicates that people who cross him have this cuous habit of getting into accidents.
So he's been investigated before? A riverboat casino project of his was opposed by a guy who accidentally drove his car off a bridge and into a river.
I've got other examples, but no evidence to tie it back to Hardaker.
The brothers must have told Hardaker that we were serving them with subpoena.
And he wanted to broadcast to the entire real estate community that anyone who wanted to cooperate had better think again.
It all sounds plausible, but is there any proof tying Hardaker to the explosion? That's going to be hard to come by.
The disposable cell phone and a sparking device are available at Radio Shack.
Besides that, there are only pieces.
Everything else was destroyed in the fire.
Maybe Hardaker's done us a favor.
How's that? He scared the crap out of the Birdseye Brothers.
They've got nowhere to run except to us.
They may not be able to help us with the arson, but we know they can help us get Hardaker on fraud.
If we can get this explosion to backfire on them, it'll be like using the accountant to bring down Al Capone.
Isn't it a little coincidental that your office happened to blow up the night before we were about to serve you with a subpoena for your records? We had nothing to do with it.
I've known these two all my life.
They would never do anything like that.
Mrs.
Birdseye, you're married to whom again? Brad.
That would be me.
And you work for the appraisal's office as well? I'm the office manager.
She has nothing to do with anything.
So who does? Because this fire was no accident, you know that.
Brad, was it Hardaker trying to send a message? Trying to send a message? I think he was trying to kill the messenger.
Don't say a word He already tried to kill us.
What do we have to lose? So it was Hardaker? He called us separately last night.
He told us to meet him there by 8:00.
When the building blew up.
And I would have been there, too, but I got stuck in traffic on the interstate.
What about you? I was a block away when I heard the explosion.
There's only one way to make sure this never happens again and that's to put him behind bars.
Now, I'm willing to make a deal if you'll agree to testify againsHardaker in our real estate frd case.
We can't do that.
Yes, we can, Scott.
We will.
You've arrested my client.
He'll be out on bail just as soon as he's arraigned.
But that will be too late.
You will already have succeeded in committing gross defamation.
You have two crooked appraisers who are trying to worm out of their crimes by dragging my client into the mud with them.
It's outrageous.
Actually, we have two appraisers who are willing to cooperate with us in our real estate investigation fraud.
So your client attempted to intimidate, if not eliminate them by blowing up their business.
It's hearsay.
It's ridiculous.
You're holding a pillar of the business community hostage, smearing his valuable name with all sorts of charges based on hearsay.
That and phone records that match their accounts.
He could have been calling them for a million different things.
They've been in business together, you know? We know.
They plan on telling the jury all about the business they've done together.
Excuse me, I think there's some misunderstanding.
I am in the business of putting hardworking people in their dream homes.
And while I feel very sorry for individuals like Wayne Burrows, who signed loan papers beyond their means, I'm afraid that's their responsibility, not mine.
We all take risks.
I take risks every day.
That's part of doing business.
You can't criminalize business in the land of opportunity.
No, but we can criminalize fraud.
And we intend to charge your client separately on each individual instance of deception.
That's six months to three years for each.
So, gentlemen, you might want to take out your calculators.
( knocks on door ) Steve, what do you think about working on getting Wayne Burrows an early parole? I guess I'm okay with that.
The more victims facese have in the gallery, the tougher it is for Hardaker to hide.
And Wayne was Hardaker's original victim.
Seems like he should be at the trial.
I'll see what I can do.
I'll make a few calls.
But you'll have to put all the paperwork together.
I already have.
And can you give us the content of the phone conversation you had with Mr.
Hardaker the night of the explosion? Sure.
He-he said if we cooperated with the investigation, that it would be bad for us.
We need his exact words.
Okay, um, he said He said we'd be out of the real estate business.
In all 50 states, that's right.
How many years were you in business for Mr.
Hardaker? We did work for him for about two-and-a-half years.
And did all those jobs involve false appraisals? No, I mean, at first it wasn't so I need a yes or no here.
Well, you're making us out to be complete crooks.
Scott, you broke the law.
And if we don't bring it up to the jury first, the defense will.
This way we have control.
Can I have a break? Can I, can I get some coffee or something? There's a pot in the kitchen.
Listen, I know you don't know us very well, and what you do know, well, it's not so good.
But we weren't always like this.
We didn't always do business this way.
We got into this because it made us feel good.
Not the money-- putting people into hses, I mean.
The American dream.
So where did you go wrong? A couple years ago we expanded the business and we went into debt.
So when Hardaker's development came along, we jumped at the chance.
At first it was, you know, "Do me aavor.
" And so we overvalued one house.
But then that became a comp for another house.
And so on, and so after a while you forget that all the comps are bogus.
I'm going to go see what Scott's doing.
It was my brother's job to meet with customers and speak with developers like Mr.
Hardaker.
My job was to do all the paperwork.
Did that include finding comparable home sales in order to determine a property's value? Yes, that's called "running comps.
" Did your comps always support the appraisals you made? Mr.
Birdseye? No.
No, they did not.
Why not? Because we always had to hit our number.
What does that mean, "hitting the number"? It means that a lender needs a home to be valued at a certain price in order for that loan to go through.
So, the seller, the developer in this case, of the home, can make his money.
You could say that.
What happens to appraisers who refuse to hit the number? Do they get blacklisted? Objection, Your Honor! She's leading the witness! Sustained.
What happens to appraisers who refuse to hit the number? Are they out of a job? I can't do this.
I Brief recess, Your Honor.
We're in the middle of a trial.
We're actually aring the end of our day, Mr.
Shank, so we'll reconvene in the morning.
But I expect that everyone will be ready to go at that time.
Yes, Your Honor.
It's just too much.
If, if Hardaker tried to blow us up before the trial, what's he goi to do after? What's he doing here? Wayne Burrows was financially ruined by your company and Ray Hardaker.
He's here to see justice done.
You are here to take responsibility for your part and to put annd to it.
Excuse me.
( indistinct murmur ) How's your brother holding up? You're scum.
You always were.
So when you get back to your mansion tonight, and you lay your head down on your pillow, you think about that, because you're going to be spending the rest of your days in jail after we get done with this trial.
( clears throat ) Not a good time to pick a fight.
Listen to me.
You're going on the stand tomorrow, right after Scott.
Now if we're going to put Hardaker away, I need you both to be in good shape in the morning.
Promise me you'll make that happen.
I'll make it happen.
What you doing? I'm starving.
I forgot to eat lunch.
How is that possible? I live for lunch.
The main witness was a mess.
It was all I could do to keep him in the building.
Hardaker's got everyone running scared.
Ugh! You know what we need? We need a wife.
Somebody has to go to therocery store.
How was your day? Oh, let's just say you may have to pull a little overtime in at the office.
Why, what happened? Well, I just got word today at the job site, that they're dropping a subcontractor-- me and my guys.
Seriously, you got fired? I got let go.
It happens.
Not to you, it doesn't.
I already lined up other work.
This is Hardaker.
He tracked you down and got to your boss.
Just let it go.
Honey, let it go? This is your job.
Seriously Annabeth, just let it go.
( phone ringing ) ( ringing continues ) Hello.
( sighs ) ( garbled police radio transmission ) Joyce Birdseye called in three hours ago, saying Brad was missing.
An hour later a couple kids found the body.
Shot once in the chest.
And just in case we didn't get the message, his tongue was cut out.
That's got to be Hardaker.
It's not Hardaker's MO.
It's more subtle than that.
His enemies disappear in accidents and suffer sudden financial catastrophes.
This is unmistakable.
This is skywriting.
This is My witness.
Miss Chase.
I just want you to know that whatever this looks like is not what it is.
Really? 'Cause it looks to me like your client had Brad Birdseye killed to keep him from testifying.
Think about that.
Why on earth would my client do that in the middle of his trial? Your client staring down the barrel of 30 years for fraud.
That does things to a guy.
Maurice Hardaker is not stupid.
He's not going to kill someone to influence the outcome of a trial that he was already going to win.
Having said that, I want you to know that I'm going to ask the judge, in light of these recent tragic developments, to dismiss this case.
Please do.
It's bound to annoy thhell out of him.
And in light of these "recent tragic developments," I'm sure he'll be very eager to give me a continuance.
Oh, and P.
S.
, I'm going to get your client for murder and fraud.
Okay, u got your continuance.
So how do you proceed with your case? I want to prove Hardaker killed Brad.
He sent his lawyer up here to throw us off, but I'm not buying it.
Right now Hardaker's out on bail plotting God knows what.
We should know who he's been talking to Who his lawyer's been talking to.
Well, a judge is ner going to grant us acce to the confidential conversations he's having with his lawyer, or wiretap his phones.
He's doing the same thing organized crime bosses do-- arranging everything through their attorneys.
There's always exposure-- someone in the middle.
Talk to his assistants.
Subpoena his attorney's financial records and look for any payments from Hardaker around the time of the arson or the murder.
Meantime, George, you've got some serious witness security issues to deal with.
We've lost one of our key witnesses.
I don't want to lose both.
ANNABETH: I can't imagine what Joyce and Scott are gointhrough.
She's lost her husband; he's lost his brother.
SCOTT: I can't believe this is happening.
My brother is dead.
My brother is dead! Miss Chase, I want to let you know I will do whatever it takes.
I appreciate that, Scott.
If Hardaker can kill Brad, what's to stop him from getting to Scott and me? Mrs.
Birdseye, you'll have protection for the rest of the trial.
No one takes a threat more seriously than the police department.
Yeah? Well, you guys didn't do such a hot job of that last night, did you? ANNABETH: Scott, I understand how upset you are.
But we're going to keep you safe.
Mrs.
Birdseye I need to know what happened after you left the courthouse.
There's not much to tell.
Brad was exhausted from the trial.
Then we had dinner.
When we got home he said he was going for a walk to clear his head.
Walking was a kind of ritual for Brad.
He went out at about 7:30, and he never came back.
Severe trauma to the heart and left lung, skull fractured.
Probably knocked out before he was shot.
Bullet came from a rifle, right? Yeah.
According to this report, the bullet was flattened by something substantial after exiting the victim's body.
Like mbe he was in a car when they shot him? Yeah, and that would explain this grease under the nails.
It's the kind used to lubricate car locks.
Maybe he was in the trunk, trying to get out from the inside.
Also looks like there might have been a struggle.
We found skin cells mixed in with the grease.
We're getting those cleaned up and DNA tested ASAP.
Good.
Let me know what you find t.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, what about the business with the tongue? Ah, it's just the tip of the tongue.
Almost like whoever did it maybe got a little squeamish.
Hey, I got some pictures.
You want to see? Maybe next time.
Hardaker's assistants must have trained at Fort Knox.
No luck? Like a brick wall.
From the subpoenaed financials, I camecross a very curious transaction.
From a Hardaker shell compy to his lawyer a couple of days after the arson.
Nice round number.
Remember the guy who accidentally drove his car into the river in Evansville? The casino riverboat incident? Yeah.
Same kind of financial activity around that time.
It's still hard to prove a quid pro quo.
What about around the time of Brad's murder? Absolutely nothing.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Burrows? We went down to the courthouse this morning and heard.
We're so sorry.
It's a bad situation.
I just wanted to Wayne wanted to volunteer as a witness, as one of Hardaker's victims, in case you needed help keeping the case going.
Mr.
Burrows, the case is just on a temporary hold.
And I'm afraid you really can't help, not with your history.
That's what I thought you'd say.
It's just, I can't stop thinking.
I started this whole thing off by driving through that window.
An-An-And now Okay, let me make something very clear here.
You are not responsible for Br Birdseye's murder in any way, shape or form.
Now, I appreciate how you must feel, but I don't want y to worry.
We wl get Hardaker for this.
The DNA looks identical, right? If you say so.
Remember the skin cells underneath the victim's nails? Now, at first we thought they were his own.
But then we took a closer look at the code and found variations here and here.
So they're not his? Nope, but somebody very close.
So close it has to be a male sibling.
How many Birdseye brothers are there? ( garbled police radio transmission ) ( distant siren wailing ) STEVE: Tape off the yard, the perimeter around this car.
Nothing gets touched until the CSIs get here.
Scott? Scott, look at me.
You played me.
We were on thsame team.
You and your brother were going to take a stand against Hardaker and everything he represents.
Brad put his entire life on the line to make things right.
And what do you do? You go get a gun and you shoot him in the chest and then you cut out his tongue to make us think Hardaker did it.
And then you stand in front of your brother's widow and accuse us of not doing enough to protect you? What was that-- 12, 14 hours after you shot your brother? I want to talk to a lawyer.
Yeah? Yeah.
Well, speaking as a lawyer who knows enough about you write a book You'd better get a good one why would man killed his own brother Maybe it's as simple as he didn't want Brad testifying in a fraud trial where he was implicated.
Maybe Hardaker got to him, somehow convinced him to take Brad out.
Except if that's the case, why did Scott make it look like Hardaker did it? ANNABETH: Scott was scared.
Scared to testify, of going to prison So he figures he'll get sympathy for his dead brother and that'll get him out of jail? That backfired, I'd say.
( phone ringing ) It's the DA.
He's breathing down my neck on this.
So where are we with Hardaker's trial? The judge granted a two-day continuance, But without the Birdseye boys, I'm in trouble.
You spent time with these brothers.
Did they get along? Brad was definitely the protective, older brother type, and Scott seemed to need that.
That kind of relationship can breed resentment.
We've already dug up lots of dirt on these boys, have we not? A pile.
Then let's sift through it again and see if there's so long-standing rivalry we missed.
We already know for a fact that Scott's a schemer.
Let's see if he was up to anything else.
You have no idea what a mistake this is.
You don't know Scott.
He couldn't have done this.
He loved his brother.
They were so close.
It was Hardaker.
Hardaker-- he's an awful man.
He's capable of anything.
He is the one who shld be in jail, not Scott.
You've got to let him go.
Joyce, that's not going to happen.
This is all wrong.
Please, you've got it wrong.
Sorry, I don't think we do.
I'm telling you, Maureen, I was with the woman the morning after her husband was killed and she just sat there on the couch.
Not a tear, not a catch in her voice.
Now Scott gets put in jail and she's frantic, bawling, pleading, anything to get him out.
Well, you know, some people are numb at first, and the emotion comes later.
No, I've seen that before.
But this was passionate.
Sct was in jail and her world was coming to an end.
She ran out of my office.
You think Joyce and Scott were up to something? I think we should look specifically at Joyce and Brad's marriage.
I think we've missed something.
So what am I looking at? Well, I sat down to go back over the Birdseye phone records.
This is from six months ago.
I noticed it at the time, but it wasn't germane to the corruption investigation.
These are? Joyce Birdseye's cell phone records.
Nine calls to Alexson & dmond? Indianapolis's finest divorce lawyers.
Six months ago it looks like she was thinking about dumping her husband.
Earlier today she stopped by trying to get Scott out of jail.
So instead of a divorce, they used the cover of the trial to get rid of Brad and make it look like Hardaker did it? The theory fits.
Yeah, but how do we prove that? We ask her lawyer to tell us about the divorce.
Attorney-client privilege? Good luck with that.
No, we should tell Scott Joyce admitted the affair-- admitted plotting to kill Brad, the whole deal.
You mean lie to him? You got a problem with that? Are you kidding me? This guy's lied to me six ways from Sunday.
If we can trick him into a confession, I call that sweet justice.
So were you aware that Joyce was looking to divorce Brad? If she was, that was their business.
Really? That's not what she told us.
You questioned Joyce Birdseye? We didn't have to.
The minute she heard Scott here was in jail, she came flying in, telling us all sorts of things.
Do you have a question? Were you having an affair with your brother's wife? No.
Of course not.
What would you call it, then? Friends with benefits? She said she couldn't keep her hands off of you.
Do not talk about her like that.
Because that's because that's my sister-in-law, and she would never say that.
Actually, Scott, the truth is, Joyce told us everything-- abouthe affair, about planning to kill Brad, l of it.
But you know, I know you, and I have a hard time believing this whole thing was your idea.
She says you hit him over the head, put him in the car, drove him out to the country, and you shot him on your own without any help from he I don't buy that.
I also know you loved your brother.
She must have had some incredible hold over you to get you to do something like this.
She's blaming the whole thing on me? Is that it? She's saying that she had nothing to do with it? Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
She had nothing to do with it, it was exactly like she said.
It was all me.
I didn't want to kill Brad.
I just wanted to be with her.
I just I loved her so much.
And you can't put her in jail.
Please, don't put her in jail.
I love her.
There's stuff that you don't know.
There's stuff that no one knows.
We wanted to let you know that we've charged your brother-in-law with the murder of your husband.
Now I know this is difficult to hear, but Scott has taken full responsibility for everything.
And because of the special circumstances, the careful planning, the mutilation of the body designed to cast suspicion on someone else, we're strongly considering the death penalty.
We need you to testify against him.
What would I say? You could tell the court the truth.
Scott has feelings for you.
He told us he loves you.
We believe those feelings drove him to kill his own brother in the hopes of being with you.
Joyce, you haven't slept with him, have you? Would at make a difference? Yes.
We need to be certain that he acted alone in order to build a case for the death penalty.
I don't want Scott to die.
Have you slept with him? Yes.
Tell me about that night.
Where were you? What were you doing? I told you, Brad wenfor a walk.
And he didn't come home, yes, we know that.
Did Scott tell you he was going to kill Brad? It was just a fantasy.
I never thought he would do it.
Did you help him in any way? All I did was encourage my husband to go for a walk.
You told him to take a walk, knowing that his brother, your lover, was out there waiting for him with a baseball bat, planning to knock him out, then kill him and cut out his tongue? I never thought he would actually do it.
Yet you lied to the police, you covered up for your lover, and now Scott is facing the death penalty, unless we can prove he didn't do it alone.
You don't want that now, do you, Joyce? No.
ANNABETH: Tell me about the phone conversation y had with Mr.
Hardaker the night your business was destroyed.
I told him that my brother was planning to testify against him, but that I didn't want to.
And what was his response to that? He said we had to find a way to shut him up.
I said I agreed.
The People would like to introduce into evidence this microcellular recorder.
Objection, Your Honor.
I object to the late inclusion of this evidence.
Your Honor, we shared this evidence with the defense as soon as it came into our possession.
Which was yesterday.
So we had no time to analyze it, or even to verify that it was my client's voice on the tape.
Your Honor, we have hours of routine conversations between this witness and Mr.
Hardaker on tape.
So you have to ask yourself what kind of person goes and records conversations behind people's backs? The same kind of person who has admitted to killing his brother to avoid implication in this case.
Why should we believe anything from this man's mouth, recorded or otherwise? Mr.
Shank, I will make sure that you have time to present whatever analysis you come up with.
But right now, I want to hear that tape.
Thank you, Your Honor.
HARDAKER ( on tape ): If the office blew up with Brad inside, you know what everybody'd think? SCOTT ( on tape ): What? Well, that he was in there trying to burn the pce down to destroy records, didn't get out in time.
I mean, maybe, but how would we even get him inside? I'll take care of that.
But you need to do me a favor.
What's that? Leave the backdoor unlocked.
And did you leave that door unlocked? I did.
Why? Why did you want your own brother dead? I was in love with his wife.
And when Mr.
Hardaker came to me and said he wanted my brother out of the way, I saw it as an opportunity to get rid of Brad.
But then Brad, he didn't show up for the explosion.
So then I just decided to kill him myself.
JUDGE: The defendant will please rise.
The jury finds the defendant, Maurice Hardaker, on the charge of conspiracy to commit fraud guilty.
On the charge of arson for hire guilty.
On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder guilty.
On the separate charge of fraud involving Mr.
Wayne Burrows guilty.
On the second separate charge of fraud involving Dawn Keller guilty.
( voice fading ): On the third separate charge of fraud involving Mr.
Ramone Burger guilty.
So Scott pled and is going to do life.
What about Joyce? Joyce is looking at 20 years for her part in the murder.
It was easier for Scott and Joyce to kill Brad than it was for her to divorce him? I don't think they were planning on killing him until the investigation started.
And then the trial, and it looked like they could pin it on the big, bad developer.
The ultimate crime of opportunity.
Mm I guess divorcing Brad and marrying Scott would have made for some pretty awkward family reunions.
I thought my Thanksgivings were bad.
How'd your new job go today? It was good.
You should have heard the guys blabbing about Hardaker going to jail.
And then the look on their face when I told them it was my wife that put him there.
What kind of look? Well, let's just say my stock went up.
The guy didn't have a lot of friends.
Promise me if you ev want to get a divorce, you'll hire an attorney, and not a hitman.
Baby, if I ever want a divorce from you, I'll hire a shrink to examine my head.