Law & Order (1990) s06e18 Episode Script
Atonement
In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Stop! Stop! Give me that! Somebody hold the guy! Hey, you! Get him! This guy stole my purse! We're gonna get you! Hold it right there! Come back here! Hey! Stay where you are! I tell you to stop and you stop.
I was trying to catch a cab.
Yeah, well, we'll give you a ride.
He put it in there.
I saw him.
Are you Sharon Lasko? No, I'm Mrs.
Dubinsky.
That's not mine.
That's mine.
Ah! Looks like you've been a busy boy.
Central, we've got a 10-22 on with a male in custody.
Do you have a previous 10-22 with a complainant named Lasko, Sharon, white female, 23? Checking.
Sir, this looks like blood.
I want to press charges.
Do I have to go down to the police station? Lasko, Sharon.
Reported missing three days ago.
Some kind of model.
Where is she? I don't know anything about that.
I was in rehab till last night.
And I see they did an excellent job.
Where'd you get the wallet? Okay, so exactly when? And exactly where? I got out of the clinic about 6:00.
We haven't checked that.
But we did.
I came over here to hang around.
What? To meet somebody? I needed to clear my head.
That rehab really messes it up.
All right.
So you're out here breathing the clean, fresh air.
Then what? It was around here somewhere.
You want me to call CSU? No, let's spread out a little bit.
Now, you're sure you never met this model someplace else before? Yeah, I was at the model's ball.
That's why I'm still wearing my tuxedo.
Hey, Lennie.
I got a jacket over here.
With more blood.
Lots more blood.
Monogrammed Sharon.
If she's lucky she'll just catch a cold.
Sharon Lasko's agent reported her missing three days ago.
She didn't show up for a meeting with an advertiser who was considering using her for some big commercial.
So what did Missing Persons get? These.
Her agent brought them in.
Her first calendar.
A still from her commercial for Green Apple Fizz and these are called head shots.
That's it? Well, plus the message on her answering machine said she was on a photo shoot.
But her agent checked the agencies that use her, and no one knows about any shoot.
You tend to remember somebody who looks like this.
That's got to help when you go knocking on doors.
Well, Missing Persons wouldn't know.
They told me they've been a little backed up.
What? Missing Persons is too backed up to investigate a missing person? Well, they figured a 23-year-old model, she runs with a fast crowd.
Her agent said last year she went off for a week with a Saudi Arabian prince.
Any family? Parents.
In Astoria.
She won a Miss Schoolgirl contest when she was in the third grade.
Her talents were singing and tap.
I called that guy at Missing Persons.
He acted like she was some party girl running around.
When did you talk to Sharon last? It's been a couple of weeks.
She's been so busy with work.
Do you know where? I think she was doing a catalog.
She used to call us every time she got a job, but she's so successful now.
Yeah.
They tend to drift away a little.
She comes to dinner at least once a month.
But she only eats vegetables now.
They have to be so thin, you know.
It's a full-time job.
The diet, the exercise, the make-up.
How about her friends? Do you know any of their names? She used to room with Monica Wickes.
You see her picture everywhere now.
Wait.
Here.
Here, here she is with Sharon when they did a Value Bin ad.
They were just starting out.
Detective, find her for us.
Please? What do you mean she's missing? Nobody's seen her for a few days.
Her parents are worried.
We understand she's done this once before.
Some Arab prince? Ahmad.
He met her backstage at a Bernilli show.
Took her to Prague for a weekend.
Is he still in her life? Not after that Monday.
He's a charter member of the Model of the Week Club.
Uh Well, could he have given her name to another member? I wouldn't know.
Her parents said you used to be roommates.
One room in Chelsea.
We were running around from agency to agency with portfolios we had taken in Queens.
Why'd you split up? We started making enough money to afford our own apartments.
Sharon always wanted one with a balcony.
So when's the last time you saw her? A couple of weeks ago.
I was out dancing with friends.
She was with a girl named Amber.
I talked to her on Thursday.
She wanted to borrow my aqua silk shoes.
She was going to a party at Psycho.
And that would be? The nightclub.
What's the matter? She didn't have enough shoes of her own? My thinking exactly.
I mean, she's Miss Green Apple Fizz and I'm still pushing Femme Elegante for a day job.
Look, I'm on commission here.
If either one of you is interested Hmm.
What's the fragrance? Radishes? You like it? I've got it in after-shave.
Do you splash it on personally? So this party, was it on Thursday night? Yeah, I told Sharon I was going myself, wearing those shoes.
So you saw her there? Her and everybody else.
Lots of models.
Some basketball players.
It went pretty late.
It was in the VIP room.
Was Sharon with anybody in particular? When I left she was talking to the owner of the club.
Something Scannell.
It looked pretty intense.
Frederick Scannell? Yeah.
He likes to hobnob with us beautiful people.
So you know this Scannell? Yeah, from OCCB.
His file's thick enough to use as a booster seat for my kids.
What? Rackets? Nah! Drugs.
Funnels the money through restaurants, nightclubs, you name it.
On paper he's a major entrepreneur.
So the money's clean.
You ever bust him? Not yet.
Fringe benefit of owning a club, the private parties.
Yeah.
Models, athletes.
I hate to be rude, but what do you bring to the table? Drugs? No drugs allowed here, Detective.
They're illegal.
It's my back room my guests like.
They don't have to mess with the rabble.
Just you.
I'm not so bad.
Sharon and I were getting along very nicely.
Yeah.
We heard you were having a very intense conversation.
Yeah, I was trying to get into her pants.
That's why I have these parties.
And did you? No.
The guy she came in with, Ken Soames.
The basketball player? Yeah, decided he wanted to leave the same way.
He interrupted us, rudely.
Yeah, he's slow, but no jump shot.
Warms the bench when he's not home on a drug suspension.
And he's a friend of yours.
What a coincidence.
First of all, he's no friend of mine.
Second of all, if I was in drugs, which I'm not, I wouldn't sell them retail to anyone, let alone a loser like Soames.
If he's such a loser, you must've been pretty upset when Sharon walked off with him instead of you.
It was only 5:00 a.
m.
The night was still young.
I ended up with a girl from Cats.
Very frisky.
Yo, I gotta get in the tub before this cools off.
This'll just take a minute.
Sharon Lasko was a friend of yours, am I right? Yeah, we went out for a while.
It was pretty fun, but it's over.
We heard you were keeping it alive at 5:00 a.
M.
At Scannell's place.
Those models, man, they keep hours like Dracula.
I just wanted to go home.
Don't you mean, you just wanted Sharon to go home with you? Yeah.
But she didn't.
We heard she did.
She went as far as the street in front of my building.
I went upstairs.
She went to her place.
Did anyone see you go your separate ways? What is this? You think I did something to her? Well, your last drug suspension led off with a DUI and a swing at a cop.
I mean, you're hotter off the court than you are on.
Up yours.
I went upstairs.
She went home.
If you don't believe me, ask the limo driver.
He went up alone, but he wasn't too happy about it.
So they argued? Well, they were all over each other at first.
You know, 6:00 a.
m.
, a little drunk.
Then he was like, " Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby.
" And what was she like? Well, she didn't want to.
He tried to drag her out of the car.
And you, being a good citizen I told him I'd call a cop if he didn't lay off.
And? She took care of it herself.
Almost slammed the door on his hand.
Too bad.
Might've helped his outside jump shot.
So where'd you take her after that? Home and then the aircraft carrier with the museum.
The Intrepid? Yeah.
I waited outside her place while she changed.
Then it was off to the river.
She was worried about how cold it was.
She was just wearing some skimpy dress.
Her message said she had a photo shoot.
Did you see a photographer? No.
She just got out of the car.
How the hell am I supposed to remember? Hey, I'd remember.
You don't take in Hey, Lennie.
Mr.
Nakiyama here thinks he saw her.
I sold her a double espresso.
I thought maybe she was Cindy Crawford.
Her name is Sharon Lasko, if this is the woman you saw.
Yeah.
I saw her.
No milk, four sugars.
I never heard of Sharon Lasko.
Well, maybe you've just seen her face.
Yeah.
I saw her here.
Was there anybody with her? What'd he look like? We don't know.
A man with a camera.
Ah! He paid for the espresso.
Did you get a good look at him? I don't remember.
Hmm.
So she was either with a photographer or some tourist taking pictures of the aircraft carrier.
She wouldn't drag herself down to the Hudson after an all-night party unless it was for a job.
Twenty-three years old.
She's into limos, jocks, drug dealers.
I guess you're planning a convent for your girls.
I'm planning to raise them right.
Hey, Rey, I got news for you.
All your advice is optional after the day they buy their first bra.
Yeah, I'll lock them in their room.
Then we'll arrest you.
Hey, look at this.
The Statue of Liberty? Oh! Is that that thing behind the red-head? Now, look at this.
Lady Liberty again.
Two different models, same photographer.
You see a pattern? Some guys have favorite places.
Yeah, see who's partial to big boats.
I'm new here.
I don't know whether that's under "aircraft carrier" or "Intrepid.
" Boats? Ships? Flat-tops? Oh, here we are, Intrepid.
Looks like a popular site.
Well, actually, a lot of these are done by the same guy.
Ew! Not your favorite? Well, I've been here long enough to hear of him.
Rick Kasteler.
We don't represent him anymore.
What'd he do? Screw up his f-stop? F-stop is right.
A model he was working with sued the agency.
Said he got up close and personal with more than his lens.
We noticed how often you like to shoot at the Intrepid, Mr.
Kasteler.
Yeah.
Well, it's just something about long legs against those big gun barrels.
It works.
Cindy, the nose.
They can't get me a kid without a cold? When was the last time you shot there? About three days ago.
With Sharon Lasko? Yes.
Why? She's missing.
Missing? Yeah.
Have you seen her? Let's take a break.
No.
You seem to be the last person to see her.
Except for whoever saw her after I left the Intrepid.
When might that have been? It was about 2:00 in the afternoon.
And what? You just left her sitting there among the big gun barrels? I was late to meet my wife and son.
He was in a school play, Peter and the Wolf.
Yeah, well, the thing is, Rick, we can't seem to find anybody who remembers hiring you to do a shoot with Sharon.
Nobody hired me.
I was doing her a favor.
What kind of favor? I know how to get these girls' composites ready for TV and movie people.
Sharon was looking to get into that area.
Curtis.
And these kids? You're advancing their careers with the Mister Mittens campaign? You never know, Detective.
You never know.
Okay, we're on our way.
They just found Sharon Lasko.
Carters unload dumpsters here.
That's probably how she traveled.
Dumpsters from where? East Side, West Side, all around the town.
This guy's pooch uncovered the body.
How messed up is she? A little banged up.
But there's a bloody dent in her skull.
I'm willing to bet that's pre-mortem.
Diet, exercise, make-up.
How do you like the photographer? Not much.
He makes his living shooting runny noses, but he says Sharon Lasko expected him to help make her a star.
He must've done a hell of a sales job on her.
Maybe it included a private session.
He gets too friendly with Sharon, she gets mad.
You think his career could handle another lawsuit? Well, find out exactly how he earned the last one.
He offered to take some intimate portraits, no extra charge.
Said they'd really open doors.
The only door he wanted open was mine.
Did he get physical with you? It started out he was touching me.
He said the camera would pick up my glow.
Then it got too personal.
And he wouldn't stop? No, he thought I was enjoying it.
I had bruises to prove it.
Well, sounds like you had a criminal case.
A body model topped up with silicone, alone with a cheesy camera-jockey shooting nudes? A jury adds that up and says it was my fault.
So where'd he take you? His place? No, he usually works out of his house, but his wife was around.
He had the key to an apartment an ad agency lets its visiting clients use.
Hmm.
Yum! After you've finished, they're gonna count all of these, Jenner.
Yeah.
Don't forget to search my shorts.
How long are you gonna be here? I've got a friend coming over.
Yeah.
Well, you might want to make a call and cancel her.
Now was this place cleaned up when you first got here? Not really.
I wasn't due to come in until tomorrow and I would have waited, I didn't know you guys were coming.
Well, you stand there, you don't touch anything else.
Can I put my clothes on? Yeah.
Please.
Swell place for a party.
Yeah.
The PBA ought to make R and R facilities like this an item in the next negotiation.
Yeah.
I'd settle for a raise.
Will you lighten up? Come on, picture this, "Detective Rey Curtis "on his afternoon break in a Jacuzzi with a hooker.
" Yeah.
Picture me lying dead in an alley with my wife standing over me.
Hey, what do you know? A bucket of trash.
Cigarette butts.
Now, do we know, did Sharon smoke? Most of them do.
Two ticket stubs.
Adult admissions.
The Intrepid Museum.
So you're still absolutely sure you left Sharon Lasko on that ship? Yes.
I already told you.
And you went right from the ship to the school play? Yes.
You sure you didn't stop at an apartment on East 52nd? Has your wife ever been to that apartment? I bet she'd really like that double tub.
I don't know anything about what happened to Sharon.
I didn't even know that she was missing.
Come on, Kasteler.
How'd it go down? Were you trying to make her glow for the camera? You know, you can stop lying about being there.
Forensics found your fingerprints and the fingerprints of Sharon Lasko at that little ad agency playpen.
So what? I'm married.
I don't advertise.
You got her there, right? You got her out of her clothes.
You got out the champagne.
So what's my motive? I was having too good a time? Maybe she wanted you to stop.
She would have gone all day.
Would have? So she did pull the plug on your little party? No.
She'd been up all night.
She said she needed some coke to keep her going.
I didn't have any.
So she said stop.
You got frustrated, right? You got mad.
No.
I got on the phone to a drug dealer I know.
I got his machine.
By then it was time to get to my kid's play.
Look, Sharon was in the shower when I left.
I swear to God.
She had intercourse within a few hours before she died.
Any signs of rape? No.
No tearing.
No bruising.
Just enough to kill her.
Well, standard rape MO doesn't include breaking the victim's skull with a bottle.
There was glass in the wound and some bruises on the neck.
He tried to strangle her first? She went down fighting.
There was skin under her nails.
A different blood type than the semen.
Whoever had sex with her didn't kill her.
You're sure of that? Sorry.
You're gonna have to catch the guy that actually did it.
Thanks for the tip.
Anything else? Yeah.
There was cocaine in her system.
Thanks again.
Kasteler said he didn't have any, and the rest of his story checks.
So what'd she do? Go back to Scannell? Well, if he did have drugs, he would've scored with her at the party.
But she walked out with Soames.
Who is also no stranger to the world of controlled substances.
I told you, I never saw her again.
I'm clean now anyway.
Yeah, and I can slam-dunk.
Look, man, look, when I first came into the league things were pretty crazy, okay? But I finally decided I'd rather keep making a million bucks a year than inhale cocaine.
I mean, you find that so hard to believe? So where were you making your money Friday afternoon? Right here.
Practicing.
But you're still the guy who would know where a girl could score some blow.
Look, Sharon wouldn't come to me.
She knew I was out of it.
So who? That limo driver, Johnny.
The one who drove you home from the party? Yeah.
The team uses that service.
Johnny's always trying to suck up.
Sharon and I did lines in the back seat once.
He told her if she ever wanted some more, just give him a call.
How come you never mentioned this before? What? I'm just gonna start talking to a couple of cops about drugs? Look, I didn't even know this had anything to do with Sharon getting murdered.
Passengers ask me for drugs, they ask me for prostitutes.
One guy even asked where he could buy a gun.
We're not talking about the asking, Johnny.
We're talking about the getting.
Ken Soames used to pack his nose during any ride that lasted longer than three minutes.
I don't know where he got his stuff.
What about a pretty girl like Sharon Lasko? If she wanted some? I'm sure she could get it.
But not from me.
Some people think it helps them perform.
I think it screws them up.
You were worried about her career? She rode in my car a few times.
We talked.
She said she was having trouble getting work after the Apple Fizz campaign.
What about Friday? You see her again after you dropped her off at the aircraft carrier? No, no.
I headed out for an airport run, I got caught in a jam on the Van Wyck.
You know, you guys are wasting your time talking to me when the guy who killed Sharon is still running around.
Kasteler's waiting for a written apology.
Just don't mail it to his wife.
The basketball player's alibi stands up.
What about the limo driver? He would have been an easy way for Sharon to feed her habit.
Traffic on the Van Wyck always sucks.
Five will get you ten he knows a shortcut through Brooklyn.
Yeah, he seemed a little funky.
Why would he kill her? It sounds like Sharon Lasko was a girl that was fun to do drugs with.
Hey, here we go.
Three outgoing calls while Kasteler was at the ad agency pad with Sharon.
Kasteler said he called a drug dealer.
Answering machine.
Jerry.
Give that to Narcotics.
Yeah, lmperial Palace? How's your mu shu? Okay.
He says it's very, very good.
Kasteler really knows how to treat a girl.
I'm sorry, wrong number.
East River Limo Service.
The one Johnny drives for.
All right.
Keep on it.
Two guys out with the flu.
A busted tranny.
And my mechanic was deported.
His papers looked kosher to me.
This was Friday afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, here we are.
Let's see.
Uh Okay.
Yeah, no.
If a Sharon Lasko got a ride in a limo, it wasn't one of ours.
Around 2:00.
She called you.
Hey, everybody who rides, it's in the book.
Well, she might have been looking for Johnny Stivers.
Johnny? This was a model? Good-looking? Right.
Not one of those ugly models.
I picked up a call from a girl.
She sounded so bad she must've been gorgeous.
But she's not in the book? Right.
She wanted to talk to Johnny directly.
I told her he was busy.
Airport runs back to back.
You're sure of that? Hey, it's in the book.
So who drove the girl? Nobody.
I just forwarded the call to Johnny's cellular.
Where's Johnny now? Far as I know, he's home.
And his car? It's out there.
I'll show you.
A normal good washing would've still left plenty, but this seat was steam cleaned.
You're not gonna find anything off the surfaces.
One point for Johnny.
Ah! But we do not stop at surfaces.
They do tune-ups, too.
Glass.
That's enough to compare with what we found in Sharon Lasko's head.
Yeah.
Now let's see how this baby likes UV light.
Glass and blood.
What is it? I thought you were done with me? Oh! It's just starting.
John Stivers, you're under arrest for the murder of Sharon Lasko.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Hey, where are you going? You also have the right to have incriminating evidence in your apartment.
A bloodstained suit would be nice.
Rey.
A shrine to the late Sharon Lasko.
You'd think the murder rate was at an all-time high, instead of the lowest in 10 years.
Pretty model, 15 minutes of fame tragically cut short.
So is our budget.
This have to go to trial? It won't be a long one.
She called Johnny Stivers for a ride just before she got killed.
Blood's in his car and we know he was infatuated with her.
An obsessed fan.
What was his motive? Trying to get her autograph and he slipped? The evidence is overwhelming that he killed her.
I don't mind letting a jury guess what it was he wanted from her and didn't get.
Hormones.
Offer to knock off a couple of years off the sentence.
He'll take a plea.
Twenty-to-life instead of 25? It's a gift.
It is? What do you give your girlfriends on Valentine's Day, Jack? Jewelry made out of twigs? Do you really want to go to trial, Deirdre? Her blood was in his car.
His blood was under her fingernails.
He can do the full term.
Actually, I was thinking of man one, say, three-to-nine.
Three years for a brutal murder? That's not thinking.
That's hallucinating.
We'll see.
Here's my notice of our affirmative defense.
Extreme emotional disturbance.
You walk in on your wife in bed with a lover, that's extreme emotional disturbance.
Not the violent act of some kind of obsessed fan.
That's not what it was.
Sharon and I had a relationship.
That's right.
You were her driver.
What happened? Did you get upset because she made you give up a parking space? She was doing it with that photographer.
I loved her.
She loved me.
She did? I'm not aware there were any photos of you above her bed.
Read the statute.
The reasonableness of a defendant's emotion is to be determined by the circumstances as he perceived them to be.
It's irrelevant whether or not his perceptions are correct.
Is there any indication that Sharon Lasko and Johnny Stivers were more than passenger and driver? Well, the police never looked.
They didn't have a reason to.
Well, we do now.
Does it really matter? Even if he mistakenly believed they had a serious relationship, he still qualifies for extreme emotional disturbance.
Mistakenly, not idiotically.
If there are no grounds for his alleged beliefs, the jury will see he's just lying.
We're not very close, but he is my little brother.
I'm not gonna say anything to hurt him.
He told us he killed her, Ms.
Stivers.
He said that? Yes.
The only question we have is why.
I don't know why he does anything.
I only see him a couple times a year.
I moved out of the house when he was still a kid.
Would you know if he had a girlfriend? Me and the rest of the world.
If Johnny had a girlfriend it would lead off the 6:00 news.
Not exactly Mr.
Popularity? When he was in high school he used to try out his lines on me to work up the nerve to For the real girl.
"I'm Johnny, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" "Did anyone ever tell you, you have nice eyes?" He saw that one in a movie.
He talked about her all the time.
He drove her once in a while, you know.
What did he say about her? That she was a good person.
Not stuck-up.
That she liked him.
Even though he was just a limo driver? Hey, I'm a limo driver, I do great.
No offense.
It just seems he was starstruck about her.
Yeah.
We were in a bar once, watching this ball game, her commercial came on.
He went nuts, telling everybody to shut up and watch.
Do you think they were intimate? I don't think so.
Did he say he did? He said it was gonna happen.
He had taken her on a date to the Ginger Club, said she got pretty hot.
He said he took her to the Ginger? Sure.
He took her there and dropped her off.
So there was nothing going on between them? Mmm.
She might have made nice with the guy once in a while.
Made nice? Talked nice.
I've seen the guy.
He's homely.
So she wasn't interested? Look, there was one interesting thing about that guy.
He had good cocaine, and he gave it to her for free.
Could he have believed that she loved him? Hmm? Did you ever want something from a guy you weren't interested in? Sure.
Smiled when you asked him for it? Let his arm brush against your boob? She led him on for drugs? No.
She wouldn't have gone to bed for it.
But I think she made a little sweet conversation.
It was pathetic.
He never had a chance with her.
She was using him.
When he finally realized that, it must've made him angry.
If you'll pardon my ignorance, isn't your theory of the case getting to be a little like theirs? They say he was an outraged boyfriend and you say he was an outraged would-be boyfriend.
There's a world of difference between a jealous lover and some horny bastard who's mad he can't get to first base.
Eloquent.
Can't wait for your closing argument.
Johnny Stivers' motive was garden-variety frustration.
If that qualifies as extreme emotional distress, then almost any murderer qualifies.
They're all upset about something.
Just be careful you don't have a killer who's more sympathetic than your victim.
We found her body in a landfill.
It had been thrown in a dumpster and carried there in a garbage truck.
Was it bloody? Yes, the skull was fractured through to the brain.
I see.
And when you first interviewed the defendant about her murder, did he seem upset by it? No.
He acted as if he barely knew her.
Did Mr.
Stivers say that he saw Ms.
Lasko on the last day of her life? Yes, he said he had driven her home from a party along with a basketball player named Ken Soames.
And did he say what she and Mr.
Soames did in his presence? He said they were all over each other.
In a sexual way? Yes.
Did he seem upset by that? No, he didn't.
When you searched Mr.
Stivers' apartment after his arrest, what did you find on the wall of his bedroom? All kinds of pictures of Sharon Lasko, ads cut out of newspapers, calendars, you name it.
He didn't just have a photo or two in a silver frame, like a man might have of his girlfriend? Objection.
Overruled.
No, it was a full-out shrine, like somebody obsessed.
Move to strike.
The witness is not a psychologist.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard the witness's last remark.
I have no more questions.
Detective Briscoe, is this one of the photographs that you saw on Mr.
Stivers' bedroom wall? Yes, one of the many.
Would you describe it, please? It's a glossy photo of Sharon Lasko with an inscription on the front.
Please read it.
"To Johnny, my main man in a big car.
Love, Sharon.
" Like the kind of note a man might get from his girlfriend? Objection.
He asked the same question.
And you objected.
And he overruled.
Counselors! The objection is overruled.
The witness may answer.
What was the question? Is that inscribed photograph the kind of memento a man might get from his girlfriend? Possibly, yes.
Mr.
Soames, were you ever in the presence of Sharon Lasko and Johnny Stivers? Yes.
He used to drive us sometimes.
And what kinds of things would she say to him? She'd ask him to drive her places.
She'd ask him to get her drugs.
And what kinds of things would he say to her? He'd try to make conversation, try to impress her by telling her about places he'd been, celebrities he'd driven.
And how would she react? When he wasn't around, she'd laugh about him.
She knew he liked her.
She thought it was funny.
She didn't think highly of him? She didn't think anything of him.
And he knew that? It was pretty obvious.
Thank you.
Mr.
Soames, we've heard testimony that on the day Ms.
Lasko died, you and she had sexual contact in the back seat of Mr.
Stivers' car.
It wasn't sexual.
What would you call it? It was just like some making out, some kissing, some petting.
And Mr.
Stivers could see you? If he looked in the rear-view mirror.
Did you and Ms.
Lasko have more extensive sexual contact in Mr.
Stivers' car? Yes.
What did you do? After another party once, we had sex.
Sexual intercourse? Yeah.
And Mr.
Stivers could see what Ms.
Lasko was doing? I suppose.
And she performed this act in Mr.
Stivers' presence after she knew how he felt about her? Yeah, I guess so.
If you were in his place, how would that make you feel? Objection! Withdrawn.
No further questions.
Well, I think her behavior with Soames should have made things pretty clear even to Johnny Stivers.
Men have a way of deluding themselves.
I hope you're not speaking from personal experience.
Not recent.
I hope.
She was having sex with another man in front of him, that's not exactly a valentine.
Yeah, but the defense brought it up to make him look like a victim.
She did him wrong.
He was practically a stranger.
How could she have done him wrong? Promiscuous women, Claire.
They still get put on trial even after they're dead.
Whenever I drove her, we talked.
She talked about her career and personal things, too.
Her family, her brother, he was having some trouble at school.
We've heard testimony that she just ordered you around, like a servant.
No.
She loved me.
Mr.
Soames was wrong? Well, he wasn't always with us.
She was dumping him anyway.
How did you know that? She told me.
That morning, when I brought them home from the party, she wouldn't go upstairs with him.
She didn't want to.
Did you think that was because you were there? Yes.
She wanted me to see that things were changing.
She asked me to meet her later.
Did she tell you why? Well, I had asked her for a coffee.
It was kind of a standing invitation.
She said she would.
And she said she wanted me to get her some coke.
What did you do? I got some for her, as a gift.
I knew she was tired.
Where did you get it? Tenth Avenue, in the 40s.
It's not very hard to find.
And that afternoon Sharon did call you? Yeah, I was just finishing up another job.
And I went right over and picked her up.
What happened then? I asked her if she wanted to have a coffee in Little Italy.
And she said she didn't.
She just wanted the coke.
Did she tell you why? Yeah.
She said nothing went better with sex than coke, and she had just had sex with that photographer.
What did you say to her? I thought we had a date.
She laughed.
What else did she say? "Home, James.
" And she laughed again.
She was very high.
What happened then? I got in the back seat with her.
I couldn't understand why she had changed.
She loved me.
She told me so.
I tried to kiss her.
We did that before, many times.
She slapped me, said that I made her sick.
And I felt my neck starting to get hot and I hit her with a bottle.
But I never, never wanted that to happen.
I loved that woman.
Quite a performance.
Everything but a chorus of "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille.
" You really think he got that cocaine for Sharon just as a favor? He thought he was gonna have a party with her, like all the other guys.
She said no, and he got mad.
Wait a minute.
He told the police that he was booked all that day on airport runs, and he was stuck in traffic on the Van Wyck.
When did he have time to cruise the West Side looking for drugs? He couldn't have been stuck in traffic too bad.
When Sharon called him, he got right to her.
Maybe he was hanging around waiting for her call.
He was obsessed with her.
So one of the airport runs was a phony? At least one had to be.
But why book a phony run? He could have just said he didn't have a job.
Because it doesn't create an alibi.
Premeditation.
Which makes his whole defense a crock.
Those airport runs, what do we know about them? I don't know about those names, the bookings go back a lot of months.
Your accountant doesn't make you keep a paper trail that long? I have a record of the charges, but the names of the passengers? I'm sorry.
Who paid for the limo? It's a corporate account.
Okay, then, I'll take its name.
I don't know, these are confidential business records.
This is a murder investigation.
I can have you subpoenaed.
Murder? If you don't cooperate, you could go to jail.
Wait a minute.
This is just some kind of little tax thing.
What is? Well, I don't really understand it.
The owner of the agency used to book a lot of dummy limousine runs with Mr.
Stivers.
To do what? I don't know.
That was between him and the owner, Mr.
Scannell.
Frederick Scannell was talking with Sharon Lasko at the party eight hours before she was killed.
The police thought he was trying to pick her up.
Scannell is a major drug dealer.
This Johnny Stivers works for him.
Stivers doles out drugs to Sharon Lasko.
Wild idea, but her death just might have something to do with drugs.
Which means something to do with Scannell.
Get the police back into it.
We know Scannell has a Colombian connection.
We know the stuff lands in the Southeast.
He's been laughing in my face for 10 years.
You can't make a move on him? We can't even stop him from getting a liquor license.
He's never within He uses cut-outs, couriers, safe houses rented by other people.
Couriers, a guy in a limo who fits in at the airport, that's pretty good cover for moving quantities.
Is there any correlation between the dummy runs Scannell booked Johnny Stivers for and Scannell's activities? Let's see, January 9th, Scannell was in Palm Springs.
February 1st, Lake Tahoe, and on and on.
And he worked pretty hard to not to be around while Johnny was running his errands.
The only time he was in the city was the day Sharon Lasko was killed.
Some sweetheart she picked to get mixed up with.
You think he booked the phony limo run to buy Johnny time to kill her? He booked the limo.
It didn't go anyplace.
And Johnny did kill her.
Why? What was Sharon Lasko to Scannell? He says just a potential roll in the sack who turned him down.
So he had her killed? I know some men who take rejection hard There's no evidence she was in the drug business with him.
And she's not in the surveillance.
Maybe she was new.
Maybe she was discreet.
Well, the way she ran around the last day of her life, she doesn't impress me as a very discreet person.
Go back to her friends.
Find out what the hell really happened.
Look, I've got closing arguments tomorrow.
Okay? I can't believe you people.
I've been reading about this trial.
Why don't you dig Sharon up and kick her around? Hey, we just want to bury her killer or killers.
Killers? You got that creep.
He was part of a major drug organization.
Oh, God.
Oh, what? Sharon was doing great.
And part of doing great in this business is going to the right places and being seen.
And at some of those places, there's drugs involved.
And Sharon didn't know how to just say no? Look, she had a great look.
But she was insecure, and with the drugs she felt more confident.
And the more confident you are the better you look, until you start showing up late and looking like hell.
You think drugs led Sharon into bad company? I don't know.
I had to get her out of my life.
It would really help us to know, could Sharon have been involved in the drug business? As a customer.
What about as a courier? Models travel.
Sharon always worked in New York.
Look, as far as I know, her biggest drug connection was her boyfriend, that basketball player.
Come on, Soames, we all know her modeling career was circling the bowl.
Look, I knew Sharon, okay? The last thing she would ever do is sell drugs.
Well, the last thing is what people do when they're desperate.
You always had a good supply.
Maybe she was selling drugs to you? That's ridiculous.
Where'd you get your coke? It's not hard, although I know you guys are working on it.
Smart guy.
We start poking around in your life and mail the results to the commissioner, you'll be hustling basketball on the playgrounds.
What are you fellows coming down on me for? Huh? I mean, you know I didn't kill Sharon.
You were at a party given by Scannell.
Your girlfriend was in a conversation with Scannell.
The guy that owns the club? So what? So how well did Sharon know him? She didn't.
She just met him that night.
How do you know that? She didn't even know who he was.
When we first walked in, she asked me if he was the spray-on hair guy from the infomercials.
So she had no connection with Scannell? No.
Look in her entire life she had that one short conversation with him.
It was about drugs, but it was stupid.
It was about drugs? It wasn't business.
She was drunk, telling him some story about how some jerk tried to impress her by showing her a whole trunk full of cocaine.
A trunk full of cocaine? Did Mr.
Scannell seem interested in that? He would have seemed interested to hear her hat size.
He wanted to do her.
Did she say who showed her the cocaine? I didn't even stop to listen.
I just wanted to take her home.
Was it Johnny Stivers? A limo driver? You said he was always trying to impress her.
Yeah, but where would he get that much blow? Well, I'm glad you've come to your senses, Jack.
Only the price has gone up since my client's appearance on the stand.
Man one.
Year, year pro.
The price has gone higher than that.
Our motion to amend the indictment.
Murder one? Killing a witness.
What are they talking about? Your murder of Sharon Lasko, Mr.
Stivers.
It was a crime of passion, like you said.
Only it was Frederick Scannell's passion, wasn't it? I don't know anybody named Scannell.
Think about it.
If Scannell talks first, he gets the deal, and you get to die.
My client and I have been reading the papers.
Someone else has confessed to this murder.
Someone who worked for Mr.
Scannell.
Here it comes again.
You guys never give up.
No, we don't.
I think Sharon Lasko had a very important conversation with you the night before she was murdered.
Yeah.
I said, " Do you want to come to my place?" She said, "Maybe some other time.
" She told you someone showed her a trunk full of cocaine.
Did she? Yes.
And I think it was your cocaine.
And that's not very likely.
I don't have any cocaine.
And you didn't like hearing that from some dizzy bimbo at a party.
Do you have a theory here, McCoy, or are you just spraying Cheez Whiz into the wind? Sharon Lasko was blabbing to strangers that Johnny Stivers showed her a large amount of cocaine that belonged to your client, in a vehicle that was regularly used by your client.
So your client ordered Mr.
Stivers to kill her before she blabbed to the wrong stranger.
And you're gonna prove this how? We have Mr.
Stivers.
The guy's about to get off with a slap on the wrist for manslaughter.
You think he's gonna confess to murder one? They're here.
Let's ask him.
We're leaving now.
That would be a mistake, Mr.
Scannell.
You'd miss your only chance to avoid a death sentence.
I thought we had the offer? First one to talk wins life in prison.
If I'm the master criminal you say I am, this guy wouldn't stay alive six months in prison if he talks.
Make another threat, you'll leave this office under arrest.
Don't exert yourself.
I don't care if you do kill me! Shut up.
Fred.
He knew I loved her, he thought that made it funny.
You're an idiot.
You can still walk out of here.
I got a call to go to a corner on the East Side.
He got into the car with two men.
He said Sharon had to be shut up and she was so stupid there was only one way to do it and it was up to me, because it was my fault.
I told him I couldn't kill her, I loved her.
He said fine, then they'd kill her and me.
One of the men took out a gun.
I was very scared.
I'm I'm so sorry.
Deal, Jack? Murder two.
The maximum.
Now you're gonna die.
I'm doing it for Sharon.
This kid falls in love with a girl he had no chance in the world to get.
And in a stupid, hopeless attempt to impress her, he shows her $1 million worth of cocaine.
Yeah.
I guess etchings don't work anymore.
And as a result, he ends up having to kill her.
It's a story for Sophocles.
Or Larry, Moe and Curly.
Yeah, I always loved those guys.
These are their stories.
Stop! Stop! Give me that! Somebody hold the guy! Hey, you! Get him! This guy stole my purse! We're gonna get you! Hold it right there! Come back here! Hey! Stay where you are! I tell you to stop and you stop.
I was trying to catch a cab.
Yeah, well, we'll give you a ride.
He put it in there.
I saw him.
Are you Sharon Lasko? No, I'm Mrs.
Dubinsky.
That's not mine.
That's mine.
Ah! Looks like you've been a busy boy.
Central, we've got a 10-22 on with a male in custody.
Do you have a previous 10-22 with a complainant named Lasko, Sharon, white female, 23? Checking.
Sir, this looks like blood.
I want to press charges.
Do I have to go down to the police station? Lasko, Sharon.
Reported missing three days ago.
Some kind of model.
Where is she? I don't know anything about that.
I was in rehab till last night.
And I see they did an excellent job.
Where'd you get the wallet? Okay, so exactly when? And exactly where? I got out of the clinic about 6:00.
We haven't checked that.
But we did.
I came over here to hang around.
What? To meet somebody? I needed to clear my head.
That rehab really messes it up.
All right.
So you're out here breathing the clean, fresh air.
Then what? It was around here somewhere.
You want me to call CSU? No, let's spread out a little bit.
Now, you're sure you never met this model someplace else before? Yeah, I was at the model's ball.
That's why I'm still wearing my tuxedo.
Hey, Lennie.
I got a jacket over here.
With more blood.
Lots more blood.
Monogrammed Sharon.
If she's lucky she'll just catch a cold.
Sharon Lasko's agent reported her missing three days ago.
She didn't show up for a meeting with an advertiser who was considering using her for some big commercial.
So what did Missing Persons get? These.
Her agent brought them in.
Her first calendar.
A still from her commercial for Green Apple Fizz and these are called head shots.
That's it? Well, plus the message on her answering machine said she was on a photo shoot.
But her agent checked the agencies that use her, and no one knows about any shoot.
You tend to remember somebody who looks like this.
That's got to help when you go knocking on doors.
Well, Missing Persons wouldn't know.
They told me they've been a little backed up.
What? Missing Persons is too backed up to investigate a missing person? Well, they figured a 23-year-old model, she runs with a fast crowd.
Her agent said last year she went off for a week with a Saudi Arabian prince.
Any family? Parents.
In Astoria.
She won a Miss Schoolgirl contest when she was in the third grade.
Her talents were singing and tap.
I called that guy at Missing Persons.
He acted like she was some party girl running around.
When did you talk to Sharon last? It's been a couple of weeks.
She's been so busy with work.
Do you know where? I think she was doing a catalog.
She used to call us every time she got a job, but she's so successful now.
Yeah.
They tend to drift away a little.
She comes to dinner at least once a month.
But she only eats vegetables now.
They have to be so thin, you know.
It's a full-time job.
The diet, the exercise, the make-up.
How about her friends? Do you know any of their names? She used to room with Monica Wickes.
You see her picture everywhere now.
Wait.
Here.
Here, here she is with Sharon when they did a Value Bin ad.
They were just starting out.
Detective, find her for us.
Please? What do you mean she's missing? Nobody's seen her for a few days.
Her parents are worried.
We understand she's done this once before.
Some Arab prince? Ahmad.
He met her backstage at a Bernilli show.
Took her to Prague for a weekend.
Is he still in her life? Not after that Monday.
He's a charter member of the Model of the Week Club.
Uh Well, could he have given her name to another member? I wouldn't know.
Her parents said you used to be roommates.
One room in Chelsea.
We were running around from agency to agency with portfolios we had taken in Queens.
Why'd you split up? We started making enough money to afford our own apartments.
Sharon always wanted one with a balcony.
So when's the last time you saw her? A couple of weeks ago.
I was out dancing with friends.
She was with a girl named Amber.
I talked to her on Thursday.
She wanted to borrow my aqua silk shoes.
She was going to a party at Psycho.
And that would be? The nightclub.
What's the matter? She didn't have enough shoes of her own? My thinking exactly.
I mean, she's Miss Green Apple Fizz and I'm still pushing Femme Elegante for a day job.
Look, I'm on commission here.
If either one of you is interested Hmm.
What's the fragrance? Radishes? You like it? I've got it in after-shave.
Do you splash it on personally? So this party, was it on Thursday night? Yeah, I told Sharon I was going myself, wearing those shoes.
So you saw her there? Her and everybody else.
Lots of models.
Some basketball players.
It went pretty late.
It was in the VIP room.
Was Sharon with anybody in particular? When I left she was talking to the owner of the club.
Something Scannell.
It looked pretty intense.
Frederick Scannell? Yeah.
He likes to hobnob with us beautiful people.
So you know this Scannell? Yeah, from OCCB.
His file's thick enough to use as a booster seat for my kids.
What? Rackets? Nah! Drugs.
Funnels the money through restaurants, nightclubs, you name it.
On paper he's a major entrepreneur.
So the money's clean.
You ever bust him? Not yet.
Fringe benefit of owning a club, the private parties.
Yeah.
Models, athletes.
I hate to be rude, but what do you bring to the table? Drugs? No drugs allowed here, Detective.
They're illegal.
It's my back room my guests like.
They don't have to mess with the rabble.
Just you.
I'm not so bad.
Sharon and I were getting along very nicely.
Yeah.
We heard you were having a very intense conversation.
Yeah, I was trying to get into her pants.
That's why I have these parties.
And did you? No.
The guy she came in with, Ken Soames.
The basketball player? Yeah, decided he wanted to leave the same way.
He interrupted us, rudely.
Yeah, he's slow, but no jump shot.
Warms the bench when he's not home on a drug suspension.
And he's a friend of yours.
What a coincidence.
First of all, he's no friend of mine.
Second of all, if I was in drugs, which I'm not, I wouldn't sell them retail to anyone, let alone a loser like Soames.
If he's such a loser, you must've been pretty upset when Sharon walked off with him instead of you.
It was only 5:00 a.
m.
The night was still young.
I ended up with a girl from Cats.
Very frisky.
Yo, I gotta get in the tub before this cools off.
This'll just take a minute.
Sharon Lasko was a friend of yours, am I right? Yeah, we went out for a while.
It was pretty fun, but it's over.
We heard you were keeping it alive at 5:00 a.
M.
At Scannell's place.
Those models, man, they keep hours like Dracula.
I just wanted to go home.
Don't you mean, you just wanted Sharon to go home with you? Yeah.
But she didn't.
We heard she did.
She went as far as the street in front of my building.
I went upstairs.
She went to her place.
Did anyone see you go your separate ways? What is this? You think I did something to her? Well, your last drug suspension led off with a DUI and a swing at a cop.
I mean, you're hotter off the court than you are on.
Up yours.
I went upstairs.
She went home.
If you don't believe me, ask the limo driver.
He went up alone, but he wasn't too happy about it.
So they argued? Well, they were all over each other at first.
You know, 6:00 a.
m.
, a little drunk.
Then he was like, " Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby.
" And what was she like? Well, she didn't want to.
He tried to drag her out of the car.
And you, being a good citizen I told him I'd call a cop if he didn't lay off.
And? She took care of it herself.
Almost slammed the door on his hand.
Too bad.
Might've helped his outside jump shot.
So where'd you take her after that? Home and then the aircraft carrier with the museum.
The Intrepid? Yeah.
I waited outside her place while she changed.
Then it was off to the river.
She was worried about how cold it was.
She was just wearing some skimpy dress.
Her message said she had a photo shoot.
Did you see a photographer? No.
She just got out of the car.
How the hell am I supposed to remember? Hey, I'd remember.
You don't take in Hey, Lennie.
Mr.
Nakiyama here thinks he saw her.
I sold her a double espresso.
I thought maybe she was Cindy Crawford.
Her name is Sharon Lasko, if this is the woman you saw.
Yeah.
I saw her.
No milk, four sugars.
I never heard of Sharon Lasko.
Well, maybe you've just seen her face.
Yeah.
I saw her here.
Was there anybody with her? What'd he look like? We don't know.
A man with a camera.
Ah! He paid for the espresso.
Did you get a good look at him? I don't remember.
Hmm.
So she was either with a photographer or some tourist taking pictures of the aircraft carrier.
She wouldn't drag herself down to the Hudson after an all-night party unless it was for a job.
Twenty-three years old.
She's into limos, jocks, drug dealers.
I guess you're planning a convent for your girls.
I'm planning to raise them right.
Hey, Rey, I got news for you.
All your advice is optional after the day they buy their first bra.
Yeah, I'll lock them in their room.
Then we'll arrest you.
Hey, look at this.
The Statue of Liberty? Oh! Is that that thing behind the red-head? Now, look at this.
Lady Liberty again.
Two different models, same photographer.
You see a pattern? Some guys have favorite places.
Yeah, see who's partial to big boats.
I'm new here.
I don't know whether that's under "aircraft carrier" or "Intrepid.
" Boats? Ships? Flat-tops? Oh, here we are, Intrepid.
Looks like a popular site.
Well, actually, a lot of these are done by the same guy.
Ew! Not your favorite? Well, I've been here long enough to hear of him.
Rick Kasteler.
We don't represent him anymore.
What'd he do? Screw up his f-stop? F-stop is right.
A model he was working with sued the agency.
Said he got up close and personal with more than his lens.
We noticed how often you like to shoot at the Intrepid, Mr.
Kasteler.
Yeah.
Well, it's just something about long legs against those big gun barrels.
It works.
Cindy, the nose.
They can't get me a kid without a cold? When was the last time you shot there? About three days ago.
With Sharon Lasko? Yes.
Why? She's missing.
Missing? Yeah.
Have you seen her? Let's take a break.
No.
You seem to be the last person to see her.
Except for whoever saw her after I left the Intrepid.
When might that have been? It was about 2:00 in the afternoon.
And what? You just left her sitting there among the big gun barrels? I was late to meet my wife and son.
He was in a school play, Peter and the Wolf.
Yeah, well, the thing is, Rick, we can't seem to find anybody who remembers hiring you to do a shoot with Sharon.
Nobody hired me.
I was doing her a favor.
What kind of favor? I know how to get these girls' composites ready for TV and movie people.
Sharon was looking to get into that area.
Curtis.
And these kids? You're advancing their careers with the Mister Mittens campaign? You never know, Detective.
You never know.
Okay, we're on our way.
They just found Sharon Lasko.
Carters unload dumpsters here.
That's probably how she traveled.
Dumpsters from where? East Side, West Side, all around the town.
This guy's pooch uncovered the body.
How messed up is she? A little banged up.
But there's a bloody dent in her skull.
I'm willing to bet that's pre-mortem.
Diet, exercise, make-up.
How do you like the photographer? Not much.
He makes his living shooting runny noses, but he says Sharon Lasko expected him to help make her a star.
He must've done a hell of a sales job on her.
Maybe it included a private session.
He gets too friendly with Sharon, she gets mad.
You think his career could handle another lawsuit? Well, find out exactly how he earned the last one.
He offered to take some intimate portraits, no extra charge.
Said they'd really open doors.
The only door he wanted open was mine.
Did he get physical with you? It started out he was touching me.
He said the camera would pick up my glow.
Then it got too personal.
And he wouldn't stop? No, he thought I was enjoying it.
I had bruises to prove it.
Well, sounds like you had a criminal case.
A body model topped up with silicone, alone with a cheesy camera-jockey shooting nudes? A jury adds that up and says it was my fault.
So where'd he take you? His place? No, he usually works out of his house, but his wife was around.
He had the key to an apartment an ad agency lets its visiting clients use.
Hmm.
Yum! After you've finished, they're gonna count all of these, Jenner.
Yeah.
Don't forget to search my shorts.
How long are you gonna be here? I've got a friend coming over.
Yeah.
Well, you might want to make a call and cancel her.
Now was this place cleaned up when you first got here? Not really.
I wasn't due to come in until tomorrow and I would have waited, I didn't know you guys were coming.
Well, you stand there, you don't touch anything else.
Can I put my clothes on? Yeah.
Please.
Swell place for a party.
Yeah.
The PBA ought to make R and R facilities like this an item in the next negotiation.
Yeah.
I'd settle for a raise.
Will you lighten up? Come on, picture this, "Detective Rey Curtis "on his afternoon break in a Jacuzzi with a hooker.
" Yeah.
Picture me lying dead in an alley with my wife standing over me.
Hey, what do you know? A bucket of trash.
Cigarette butts.
Now, do we know, did Sharon smoke? Most of them do.
Two ticket stubs.
Adult admissions.
The Intrepid Museum.
So you're still absolutely sure you left Sharon Lasko on that ship? Yes.
I already told you.
And you went right from the ship to the school play? Yes.
You sure you didn't stop at an apartment on East 52nd? Has your wife ever been to that apartment? I bet she'd really like that double tub.
I don't know anything about what happened to Sharon.
I didn't even know that she was missing.
Come on, Kasteler.
How'd it go down? Were you trying to make her glow for the camera? You know, you can stop lying about being there.
Forensics found your fingerprints and the fingerprints of Sharon Lasko at that little ad agency playpen.
So what? I'm married.
I don't advertise.
You got her there, right? You got her out of her clothes.
You got out the champagne.
So what's my motive? I was having too good a time? Maybe she wanted you to stop.
She would have gone all day.
Would have? So she did pull the plug on your little party? No.
She'd been up all night.
She said she needed some coke to keep her going.
I didn't have any.
So she said stop.
You got frustrated, right? You got mad.
No.
I got on the phone to a drug dealer I know.
I got his machine.
By then it was time to get to my kid's play.
Look, Sharon was in the shower when I left.
I swear to God.
She had intercourse within a few hours before she died.
Any signs of rape? No.
No tearing.
No bruising.
Just enough to kill her.
Well, standard rape MO doesn't include breaking the victim's skull with a bottle.
There was glass in the wound and some bruises on the neck.
He tried to strangle her first? She went down fighting.
There was skin under her nails.
A different blood type than the semen.
Whoever had sex with her didn't kill her.
You're sure of that? Sorry.
You're gonna have to catch the guy that actually did it.
Thanks for the tip.
Anything else? Yeah.
There was cocaine in her system.
Thanks again.
Kasteler said he didn't have any, and the rest of his story checks.
So what'd she do? Go back to Scannell? Well, if he did have drugs, he would've scored with her at the party.
But she walked out with Soames.
Who is also no stranger to the world of controlled substances.
I told you, I never saw her again.
I'm clean now anyway.
Yeah, and I can slam-dunk.
Look, man, look, when I first came into the league things were pretty crazy, okay? But I finally decided I'd rather keep making a million bucks a year than inhale cocaine.
I mean, you find that so hard to believe? So where were you making your money Friday afternoon? Right here.
Practicing.
But you're still the guy who would know where a girl could score some blow.
Look, Sharon wouldn't come to me.
She knew I was out of it.
So who? That limo driver, Johnny.
The one who drove you home from the party? Yeah.
The team uses that service.
Johnny's always trying to suck up.
Sharon and I did lines in the back seat once.
He told her if she ever wanted some more, just give him a call.
How come you never mentioned this before? What? I'm just gonna start talking to a couple of cops about drugs? Look, I didn't even know this had anything to do with Sharon getting murdered.
Passengers ask me for drugs, they ask me for prostitutes.
One guy even asked where he could buy a gun.
We're not talking about the asking, Johnny.
We're talking about the getting.
Ken Soames used to pack his nose during any ride that lasted longer than three minutes.
I don't know where he got his stuff.
What about a pretty girl like Sharon Lasko? If she wanted some? I'm sure she could get it.
But not from me.
Some people think it helps them perform.
I think it screws them up.
You were worried about her career? She rode in my car a few times.
We talked.
She said she was having trouble getting work after the Apple Fizz campaign.
What about Friday? You see her again after you dropped her off at the aircraft carrier? No, no.
I headed out for an airport run, I got caught in a jam on the Van Wyck.
You know, you guys are wasting your time talking to me when the guy who killed Sharon is still running around.
Kasteler's waiting for a written apology.
Just don't mail it to his wife.
The basketball player's alibi stands up.
What about the limo driver? He would have been an easy way for Sharon to feed her habit.
Traffic on the Van Wyck always sucks.
Five will get you ten he knows a shortcut through Brooklyn.
Yeah, he seemed a little funky.
Why would he kill her? It sounds like Sharon Lasko was a girl that was fun to do drugs with.
Hey, here we go.
Three outgoing calls while Kasteler was at the ad agency pad with Sharon.
Kasteler said he called a drug dealer.
Answering machine.
Jerry.
Give that to Narcotics.
Yeah, lmperial Palace? How's your mu shu? Okay.
He says it's very, very good.
Kasteler really knows how to treat a girl.
I'm sorry, wrong number.
East River Limo Service.
The one Johnny drives for.
All right.
Keep on it.
Two guys out with the flu.
A busted tranny.
And my mechanic was deported.
His papers looked kosher to me.
This was Friday afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, here we are.
Let's see.
Uh Okay.
Yeah, no.
If a Sharon Lasko got a ride in a limo, it wasn't one of ours.
Around 2:00.
She called you.
Hey, everybody who rides, it's in the book.
Well, she might have been looking for Johnny Stivers.
Johnny? This was a model? Good-looking? Right.
Not one of those ugly models.
I picked up a call from a girl.
She sounded so bad she must've been gorgeous.
But she's not in the book? Right.
She wanted to talk to Johnny directly.
I told her he was busy.
Airport runs back to back.
You're sure of that? Hey, it's in the book.
So who drove the girl? Nobody.
I just forwarded the call to Johnny's cellular.
Where's Johnny now? Far as I know, he's home.
And his car? It's out there.
I'll show you.
A normal good washing would've still left plenty, but this seat was steam cleaned.
You're not gonna find anything off the surfaces.
One point for Johnny.
Ah! But we do not stop at surfaces.
They do tune-ups, too.
Glass.
That's enough to compare with what we found in Sharon Lasko's head.
Yeah.
Now let's see how this baby likes UV light.
Glass and blood.
What is it? I thought you were done with me? Oh! It's just starting.
John Stivers, you're under arrest for the murder of Sharon Lasko.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Hey, where are you going? You also have the right to have incriminating evidence in your apartment.
A bloodstained suit would be nice.
Rey.
A shrine to the late Sharon Lasko.
You'd think the murder rate was at an all-time high, instead of the lowest in 10 years.
Pretty model, 15 minutes of fame tragically cut short.
So is our budget.
This have to go to trial? It won't be a long one.
She called Johnny Stivers for a ride just before she got killed.
Blood's in his car and we know he was infatuated with her.
An obsessed fan.
What was his motive? Trying to get her autograph and he slipped? The evidence is overwhelming that he killed her.
I don't mind letting a jury guess what it was he wanted from her and didn't get.
Hormones.
Offer to knock off a couple of years off the sentence.
He'll take a plea.
Twenty-to-life instead of 25? It's a gift.
It is? What do you give your girlfriends on Valentine's Day, Jack? Jewelry made out of twigs? Do you really want to go to trial, Deirdre? Her blood was in his car.
His blood was under her fingernails.
He can do the full term.
Actually, I was thinking of man one, say, three-to-nine.
Three years for a brutal murder? That's not thinking.
That's hallucinating.
We'll see.
Here's my notice of our affirmative defense.
Extreme emotional disturbance.
You walk in on your wife in bed with a lover, that's extreme emotional disturbance.
Not the violent act of some kind of obsessed fan.
That's not what it was.
Sharon and I had a relationship.
That's right.
You were her driver.
What happened? Did you get upset because she made you give up a parking space? She was doing it with that photographer.
I loved her.
She loved me.
She did? I'm not aware there were any photos of you above her bed.
Read the statute.
The reasonableness of a defendant's emotion is to be determined by the circumstances as he perceived them to be.
It's irrelevant whether or not his perceptions are correct.
Is there any indication that Sharon Lasko and Johnny Stivers were more than passenger and driver? Well, the police never looked.
They didn't have a reason to.
Well, we do now.
Does it really matter? Even if he mistakenly believed they had a serious relationship, he still qualifies for extreme emotional disturbance.
Mistakenly, not idiotically.
If there are no grounds for his alleged beliefs, the jury will see he's just lying.
We're not very close, but he is my little brother.
I'm not gonna say anything to hurt him.
He told us he killed her, Ms.
Stivers.
He said that? Yes.
The only question we have is why.
I don't know why he does anything.
I only see him a couple times a year.
I moved out of the house when he was still a kid.
Would you know if he had a girlfriend? Me and the rest of the world.
If Johnny had a girlfriend it would lead off the 6:00 news.
Not exactly Mr.
Popularity? When he was in high school he used to try out his lines on me to work up the nerve to For the real girl.
"I'm Johnny, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" "Did anyone ever tell you, you have nice eyes?" He saw that one in a movie.
He talked about her all the time.
He drove her once in a while, you know.
What did he say about her? That she was a good person.
Not stuck-up.
That she liked him.
Even though he was just a limo driver? Hey, I'm a limo driver, I do great.
No offense.
It just seems he was starstruck about her.
Yeah.
We were in a bar once, watching this ball game, her commercial came on.
He went nuts, telling everybody to shut up and watch.
Do you think they were intimate? I don't think so.
Did he say he did? He said it was gonna happen.
He had taken her on a date to the Ginger Club, said she got pretty hot.
He said he took her to the Ginger? Sure.
He took her there and dropped her off.
So there was nothing going on between them? Mmm.
She might have made nice with the guy once in a while.
Made nice? Talked nice.
I've seen the guy.
He's homely.
So she wasn't interested? Look, there was one interesting thing about that guy.
He had good cocaine, and he gave it to her for free.
Could he have believed that she loved him? Hmm? Did you ever want something from a guy you weren't interested in? Sure.
Smiled when you asked him for it? Let his arm brush against your boob? She led him on for drugs? No.
She wouldn't have gone to bed for it.
But I think she made a little sweet conversation.
It was pathetic.
He never had a chance with her.
She was using him.
When he finally realized that, it must've made him angry.
If you'll pardon my ignorance, isn't your theory of the case getting to be a little like theirs? They say he was an outraged boyfriend and you say he was an outraged would-be boyfriend.
There's a world of difference between a jealous lover and some horny bastard who's mad he can't get to first base.
Eloquent.
Can't wait for your closing argument.
Johnny Stivers' motive was garden-variety frustration.
If that qualifies as extreme emotional distress, then almost any murderer qualifies.
They're all upset about something.
Just be careful you don't have a killer who's more sympathetic than your victim.
We found her body in a landfill.
It had been thrown in a dumpster and carried there in a garbage truck.
Was it bloody? Yes, the skull was fractured through to the brain.
I see.
And when you first interviewed the defendant about her murder, did he seem upset by it? No.
He acted as if he barely knew her.
Did Mr.
Stivers say that he saw Ms.
Lasko on the last day of her life? Yes, he said he had driven her home from a party along with a basketball player named Ken Soames.
And did he say what she and Mr.
Soames did in his presence? He said they were all over each other.
In a sexual way? Yes.
Did he seem upset by that? No, he didn't.
When you searched Mr.
Stivers' apartment after his arrest, what did you find on the wall of his bedroom? All kinds of pictures of Sharon Lasko, ads cut out of newspapers, calendars, you name it.
He didn't just have a photo or two in a silver frame, like a man might have of his girlfriend? Objection.
Overruled.
No, it was a full-out shrine, like somebody obsessed.
Move to strike.
The witness is not a psychologist.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard the witness's last remark.
I have no more questions.
Detective Briscoe, is this one of the photographs that you saw on Mr.
Stivers' bedroom wall? Yes, one of the many.
Would you describe it, please? It's a glossy photo of Sharon Lasko with an inscription on the front.
Please read it.
"To Johnny, my main man in a big car.
Love, Sharon.
" Like the kind of note a man might get from his girlfriend? Objection.
He asked the same question.
And you objected.
And he overruled.
Counselors! The objection is overruled.
The witness may answer.
What was the question? Is that inscribed photograph the kind of memento a man might get from his girlfriend? Possibly, yes.
Mr.
Soames, were you ever in the presence of Sharon Lasko and Johnny Stivers? Yes.
He used to drive us sometimes.
And what kinds of things would she say to him? She'd ask him to drive her places.
She'd ask him to get her drugs.
And what kinds of things would he say to her? He'd try to make conversation, try to impress her by telling her about places he'd been, celebrities he'd driven.
And how would she react? When he wasn't around, she'd laugh about him.
She knew he liked her.
She thought it was funny.
She didn't think highly of him? She didn't think anything of him.
And he knew that? It was pretty obvious.
Thank you.
Mr.
Soames, we've heard testimony that on the day Ms.
Lasko died, you and she had sexual contact in the back seat of Mr.
Stivers' car.
It wasn't sexual.
What would you call it? It was just like some making out, some kissing, some petting.
And Mr.
Stivers could see you? If he looked in the rear-view mirror.
Did you and Ms.
Lasko have more extensive sexual contact in Mr.
Stivers' car? Yes.
What did you do? After another party once, we had sex.
Sexual intercourse? Yeah.
And Mr.
Stivers could see what Ms.
Lasko was doing? I suppose.
And she performed this act in Mr.
Stivers' presence after she knew how he felt about her? Yeah, I guess so.
If you were in his place, how would that make you feel? Objection! Withdrawn.
No further questions.
Well, I think her behavior with Soames should have made things pretty clear even to Johnny Stivers.
Men have a way of deluding themselves.
I hope you're not speaking from personal experience.
Not recent.
I hope.
She was having sex with another man in front of him, that's not exactly a valentine.
Yeah, but the defense brought it up to make him look like a victim.
She did him wrong.
He was practically a stranger.
How could she have done him wrong? Promiscuous women, Claire.
They still get put on trial even after they're dead.
Whenever I drove her, we talked.
She talked about her career and personal things, too.
Her family, her brother, he was having some trouble at school.
We've heard testimony that she just ordered you around, like a servant.
No.
She loved me.
Mr.
Soames was wrong? Well, he wasn't always with us.
She was dumping him anyway.
How did you know that? She told me.
That morning, when I brought them home from the party, she wouldn't go upstairs with him.
She didn't want to.
Did you think that was because you were there? Yes.
She wanted me to see that things were changing.
She asked me to meet her later.
Did she tell you why? Well, I had asked her for a coffee.
It was kind of a standing invitation.
She said she would.
And she said she wanted me to get her some coke.
What did you do? I got some for her, as a gift.
I knew she was tired.
Where did you get it? Tenth Avenue, in the 40s.
It's not very hard to find.
And that afternoon Sharon did call you? Yeah, I was just finishing up another job.
And I went right over and picked her up.
What happened then? I asked her if she wanted to have a coffee in Little Italy.
And she said she didn't.
She just wanted the coke.
Did she tell you why? Yeah.
She said nothing went better with sex than coke, and she had just had sex with that photographer.
What did you say to her? I thought we had a date.
She laughed.
What else did she say? "Home, James.
" And she laughed again.
She was very high.
What happened then? I got in the back seat with her.
I couldn't understand why she had changed.
She loved me.
She told me so.
I tried to kiss her.
We did that before, many times.
She slapped me, said that I made her sick.
And I felt my neck starting to get hot and I hit her with a bottle.
But I never, never wanted that to happen.
I loved that woman.
Quite a performance.
Everything but a chorus of "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille.
" You really think he got that cocaine for Sharon just as a favor? He thought he was gonna have a party with her, like all the other guys.
She said no, and he got mad.
Wait a minute.
He told the police that he was booked all that day on airport runs, and he was stuck in traffic on the Van Wyck.
When did he have time to cruise the West Side looking for drugs? He couldn't have been stuck in traffic too bad.
When Sharon called him, he got right to her.
Maybe he was hanging around waiting for her call.
He was obsessed with her.
So one of the airport runs was a phony? At least one had to be.
But why book a phony run? He could have just said he didn't have a job.
Because it doesn't create an alibi.
Premeditation.
Which makes his whole defense a crock.
Those airport runs, what do we know about them? I don't know about those names, the bookings go back a lot of months.
Your accountant doesn't make you keep a paper trail that long? I have a record of the charges, but the names of the passengers? I'm sorry.
Who paid for the limo? It's a corporate account.
Okay, then, I'll take its name.
I don't know, these are confidential business records.
This is a murder investigation.
I can have you subpoenaed.
Murder? If you don't cooperate, you could go to jail.
Wait a minute.
This is just some kind of little tax thing.
What is? Well, I don't really understand it.
The owner of the agency used to book a lot of dummy limousine runs with Mr.
Stivers.
To do what? I don't know.
That was between him and the owner, Mr.
Scannell.
Frederick Scannell was talking with Sharon Lasko at the party eight hours before she was killed.
The police thought he was trying to pick her up.
Scannell is a major drug dealer.
This Johnny Stivers works for him.
Stivers doles out drugs to Sharon Lasko.
Wild idea, but her death just might have something to do with drugs.
Which means something to do with Scannell.
Get the police back into it.
We know Scannell has a Colombian connection.
We know the stuff lands in the Southeast.
He's been laughing in my face for 10 years.
You can't make a move on him? We can't even stop him from getting a liquor license.
He's never within He uses cut-outs, couriers, safe houses rented by other people.
Couriers, a guy in a limo who fits in at the airport, that's pretty good cover for moving quantities.
Is there any correlation between the dummy runs Scannell booked Johnny Stivers for and Scannell's activities? Let's see, January 9th, Scannell was in Palm Springs.
February 1st, Lake Tahoe, and on and on.
And he worked pretty hard to not to be around while Johnny was running his errands.
The only time he was in the city was the day Sharon Lasko was killed.
Some sweetheart she picked to get mixed up with.
You think he booked the phony limo run to buy Johnny time to kill her? He booked the limo.
It didn't go anyplace.
And Johnny did kill her.
Why? What was Sharon Lasko to Scannell? He says just a potential roll in the sack who turned him down.
So he had her killed? I know some men who take rejection hard There's no evidence she was in the drug business with him.
And she's not in the surveillance.
Maybe she was new.
Maybe she was discreet.
Well, the way she ran around the last day of her life, she doesn't impress me as a very discreet person.
Go back to her friends.
Find out what the hell really happened.
Look, I've got closing arguments tomorrow.
Okay? I can't believe you people.
I've been reading about this trial.
Why don't you dig Sharon up and kick her around? Hey, we just want to bury her killer or killers.
Killers? You got that creep.
He was part of a major drug organization.
Oh, God.
Oh, what? Sharon was doing great.
And part of doing great in this business is going to the right places and being seen.
And at some of those places, there's drugs involved.
And Sharon didn't know how to just say no? Look, she had a great look.
But she was insecure, and with the drugs she felt more confident.
And the more confident you are the better you look, until you start showing up late and looking like hell.
You think drugs led Sharon into bad company? I don't know.
I had to get her out of my life.
It would really help us to know, could Sharon have been involved in the drug business? As a customer.
What about as a courier? Models travel.
Sharon always worked in New York.
Look, as far as I know, her biggest drug connection was her boyfriend, that basketball player.
Come on, Soames, we all know her modeling career was circling the bowl.
Look, I knew Sharon, okay? The last thing she would ever do is sell drugs.
Well, the last thing is what people do when they're desperate.
You always had a good supply.
Maybe she was selling drugs to you? That's ridiculous.
Where'd you get your coke? It's not hard, although I know you guys are working on it.
Smart guy.
We start poking around in your life and mail the results to the commissioner, you'll be hustling basketball on the playgrounds.
What are you fellows coming down on me for? Huh? I mean, you know I didn't kill Sharon.
You were at a party given by Scannell.
Your girlfriend was in a conversation with Scannell.
The guy that owns the club? So what? So how well did Sharon know him? She didn't.
She just met him that night.
How do you know that? She didn't even know who he was.
When we first walked in, she asked me if he was the spray-on hair guy from the infomercials.
So she had no connection with Scannell? No.
Look in her entire life she had that one short conversation with him.
It was about drugs, but it was stupid.
It was about drugs? It wasn't business.
She was drunk, telling him some story about how some jerk tried to impress her by showing her a whole trunk full of cocaine.
A trunk full of cocaine? Did Mr.
Scannell seem interested in that? He would have seemed interested to hear her hat size.
He wanted to do her.
Did she say who showed her the cocaine? I didn't even stop to listen.
I just wanted to take her home.
Was it Johnny Stivers? A limo driver? You said he was always trying to impress her.
Yeah, but where would he get that much blow? Well, I'm glad you've come to your senses, Jack.
Only the price has gone up since my client's appearance on the stand.
Man one.
Year, year pro.
The price has gone higher than that.
Our motion to amend the indictment.
Murder one? Killing a witness.
What are they talking about? Your murder of Sharon Lasko, Mr.
Stivers.
It was a crime of passion, like you said.
Only it was Frederick Scannell's passion, wasn't it? I don't know anybody named Scannell.
Think about it.
If Scannell talks first, he gets the deal, and you get to die.
My client and I have been reading the papers.
Someone else has confessed to this murder.
Someone who worked for Mr.
Scannell.
Here it comes again.
You guys never give up.
No, we don't.
I think Sharon Lasko had a very important conversation with you the night before she was murdered.
Yeah.
I said, " Do you want to come to my place?" She said, "Maybe some other time.
" She told you someone showed her a trunk full of cocaine.
Did she? Yes.
And I think it was your cocaine.
And that's not very likely.
I don't have any cocaine.
And you didn't like hearing that from some dizzy bimbo at a party.
Do you have a theory here, McCoy, or are you just spraying Cheez Whiz into the wind? Sharon Lasko was blabbing to strangers that Johnny Stivers showed her a large amount of cocaine that belonged to your client, in a vehicle that was regularly used by your client.
So your client ordered Mr.
Stivers to kill her before she blabbed to the wrong stranger.
And you're gonna prove this how? We have Mr.
Stivers.
The guy's about to get off with a slap on the wrist for manslaughter.
You think he's gonna confess to murder one? They're here.
Let's ask him.
We're leaving now.
That would be a mistake, Mr.
Scannell.
You'd miss your only chance to avoid a death sentence.
I thought we had the offer? First one to talk wins life in prison.
If I'm the master criminal you say I am, this guy wouldn't stay alive six months in prison if he talks.
Make another threat, you'll leave this office under arrest.
Don't exert yourself.
I don't care if you do kill me! Shut up.
Fred.
He knew I loved her, he thought that made it funny.
You're an idiot.
You can still walk out of here.
I got a call to go to a corner on the East Side.
He got into the car with two men.
He said Sharon had to be shut up and she was so stupid there was only one way to do it and it was up to me, because it was my fault.
I told him I couldn't kill her, I loved her.
He said fine, then they'd kill her and me.
One of the men took out a gun.
I was very scared.
I'm I'm so sorry.
Deal, Jack? Murder two.
The maximum.
Now you're gonna die.
I'm doing it for Sharon.
This kid falls in love with a girl he had no chance in the world to get.
And in a stupid, hopeless attempt to impress her, he shows her $1 million worth of cocaine.
Yeah.
I guess etchings don't work anymore.
And as a result, he ends up having to kill her.
It's a story for Sophocles.
Or Larry, Moe and Curly.
Yeah, I always loved those guys.