Law & Order (1990) s07e21 Episode Script
Passion
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.
Police operator 114.
Do you have a police emergency? Help me! What's wrong with you, ma'am? I'm hurt.
Please help me.
What's your name? Ma'am? What's your name? I need a two-seven car for a possible 54.
Two-seven Charlie.
You have the location? Female call for help.
Two-seven Charlie, responding.
Hello, ma'am, are you there? Are you there? Looks like she got it right here.
Then crawled to the phone, and died.
Who is she? I don't know.
She doesn't live in the building.
Who lives here? Mr.
Evans and Ms.
Posner.
Professional couple.
She's a lawyer, he's a professor.
Writes books.
"Charles Evans, Small Fortunes.
"A New York Times Best Novel of the Year.
" He gave me one.
Didn't make any sense.
So, what do you got? Joni Timberman.
Driver's license.
Health club.
Photo of a cat.
Cranial fractures? Looks like.
Clothes all in order.
No indication of sexual assault.
How'd she get in here? This key was in her coat pocket.
It fits the front door.
And you don't know who she is? Well, she must have been a friend of Mr.
Evans or Ms.
Posner.
And where are they now? She was around yesterday.
I saw him with a suitcase, day before, Friday.
Somebody picked him up in a car.
He said he'd be back tonight.
Detectives, we got something outside.
In the dumpster.
Right on top.
That could be blood.
Looks like a Giacometti.
If it is, it's valuable.
And heavy.
I bet it packs a hell of a wallop.
Yes, I know Joni Timberman.
She's an editor at East River Press.
She work with your husband? Charles? We're not married.
Yes, she's been his editor for the last few months.
Could this wait until I put my briefcase down, get a cup of coffee? Ms.
Timberman's been murdered.
Oh, my God.
The poor girl.
In your apartment.
What? Last night.
We've been looking for you and Mr.
Evans.
Well, he went to a Faulkner Symposium at Vassar.
Maybe he stayed over there.
Just let me try to call him.
Just a minute and we can all talk to him.
Now, we understand he was due home last night.
Well, so he stayed over.
I hope.
Ms.
Posner, you mind telling us where you were last night? Me? I was in Croton at our country house doing a corporate tax return.
I just drove in.
What happened to Joni, exactly? Were you by yourself? Yes.
What was she doing at our apartment? Why won't you tell me what happened? She was hit on the head and she died.
We were hoping you could tell us what she was doing there.
I have no idea.
She had a key.
She did? Maybe Charles could've given her one.
Your stay in Croton, did Mr.
Evans know you were gonna be there last night? And you think that he arranged an assignation with Joni Timberman? I have lived with Charles for three years.
That is not possible.
Excuse me.
Latent couldn't lift any prints off the sculpture, but it is the murder weapon.
Blood matches the victim's.
You find out what she was doing in that apartment? The lady of the house is dumbfounded.
Could be she shows up to work with Evans, some mope off the street follows her inside.
A book editor on a Sunday night house call? Evans' girlfriend says there couldn't possibly have been any hanky-panky.
Yeah, right.
Van Buren.
Thanks.
The wandering professor just got home.
Why can't I get into the apartment? Well, we're still sorting through a few things, professor.
We understand you were due back last night? Yeah, well, the symposium ran late.
I missed the last train.
I stayed at a friend's house in Rhinebeck.
Well, we'll have to confirm that with your friend.
He wasn't there.
He came back to the city ahead of me.
Is there anybody who can place you in Rhinebeck last night? You can't be serious.
Here's my train ticket.
Call Grand Central.
It arrived an hour ago.
Ms.
Timberman was killed with a piece of sculpture.
About three feet long, bronze.
She was hit with it? Just inside the door.
I inherited that piece from my father.
Where is it? Crime lab.
Will I get it back? Ms.
Timberman meant that much to you, huh? I liked and respected her.
I'm sorry she's dead.
Forgive me if I don't show it like some other people you deal with.
You "liked and respected"? Is that all? That's a lot.
I don't like and respect many people.
So she was special to you? Not in the way you're insinuating.
Then why'd you give her your key? I didn't give her the key.
I left it for her over the door.
She wanted to pick up a manuscript I'd just finished.
Joni was a very enthusiastic editor.
She started as my assistant right out of Brown.
She didn't have any family in New York, so mine adopted her.
Christmas, Thanksgiving.
When was the last time you spoke to her? Saturday afternoon.
She wanted a second printing of a literary novel.
She knew if we had more books out, we'd promote more.
She talked me into it, as usual.
Anything else? Well, she said she'd be at a Book Critics' awards dinner that night.
One of her authors was nominated.
But she didn't show.
And you don't know why? I never talked to her again.
Did she have a boyfriend? Well, I don't know of anyone special.
Money problems? No.
Angry or rejected authors? Did she use drugs? No.
She's too smart and ambitious.
She wanted her own imprint.
She would have had it.
With Charles Evans' help? His next book could be the big one.
Well, we've all been looking forward to it for two years.
His girlfriend told us Ms.
Timberman had only been his editor for a few months.
That's right.
He'd been with Timothy Stevens.
But, well, he switched.
The request came from his agent.
You think Charles was banging Joni Timberman? What do you think? I think she was the smartest editor at East River.
She appreciated literature, and she understood the market.
An author's dream.
Charles thought enough of her to switch after three books.
And just as he was ready to break out.
His next novel is terrific.
A mock-memoir about incest.
Was changing editors your idea or Evans' Hers.
Joni called me to see if Charles was interested in making the move.
Away from another editor in her company? Is that how publishing plays? Don't you steal good cases from other detectives? I try to get them to steal mine.
How did Evans' old editor like being poached? He didn't like it.
Timothy said, "If I went through with it, I'd be dead in this town.
" Could he ruin your career? That little pisher? Not unless he shot me.
I spot a short story in a literary quarterly, track down the writer, get him an advance, nurse him through two or three gem-like books that sell 4,000 copies.
He's finally ready to go uptown and suddenly it's Joni Timberman to the rescue.
And that's the way it went with Charles Evans? Charles Evans and Jeffrey Weiss and Josh Fields.
Ingrates.
I used to treat them to editorial lunches so they could take the leftovers home for dinner.
And what did Joni Timberman do? Buy them extra desserts? The world's greatest editor, right? Literary yet commercial.
Sensitivity plus dollars.
Well, that's what we heard.
Did you also hear she offered some authors services only a female editor could provide? Is that a fact? Not one I can prove.
But it would explain a few things.
Just for the record, where were you last night? Home.
Alone.
Reading the Kenyon Review.
I was talking to my rabbi all morning about why bad things happen to good people.
Thirty years on the job and I couldn't tell you.
Aren't you novelists supposed to have all the answers? Not since Henry James.
You must read a lot of old books, Detective.
Zane Grey.
He knew what was going on.
Mr.
Weiss, we were wondering about your relationship with Joni Timberman.
Close.
Joni was a wonderful editor.
She helped me find my voice.
Timothy Stevens didn't know where to look? He's smart, but my writing objectifies emotions.
I needed an editor with an emotional compass.
So you and Joni Timberman, your emotions just sort of meshed? I'm gay.
Our emotions meshed.
The other parts weren't compatible.
How did Timothy Stevens feel when you dropped him for Ms.
Timberman? His feelings were hurt.
How did he act? Did he make any threats? Just predictions.
He said Joni wouldn't know how to find marketing support for my book.
He was wrong.
What else did he say about Joni? I don't know.
She told me he'd followed her home from work one night.
They had some kind of an argument.
She was very upset.
My husband and I live upstairs.
Joni used to bring us books.
History for Mr.
Krinsky.
Mystery for me.
I'm taking care of the cat.
Poor thing.
You ever see this guy hanging around here? Yeah.
Who is that? A boyfriend? What makes you say that? I saw him arguing with Joni in front of the building last week.
I couldn't hear the words, but it looked like boyfriend-girlfriend.
I have a sixth sense for these things.
Did Joni ever talk to you about her personal life? I tried to fix her up with my nephew once.
She made an excuse.
He's a dentist.
We'll give you back the key as soon as we finish.
Oh.
Timothy and Joni? I don't think so.
Come on, Rey.
She's got a sixth sense about these things.
She wouldn't make this up.
Anything? About 6,000 books.
Where'd she get the time to read all these things? Looks like she had a little spare time.
Diaphragm.
"What you need to know before starting to take the pill.
" Suspenders and a belt.
Oh! I was just waiting to see if you needed anything else.
Tell me something, is that a new lock? Joni had that put in last week.
It cost $200.
I guess she was worried about something.
You follow her home and argue with her.
The next day she has a new lock.
What did you say to her, Timothy? I didn't follow her.
We bumped into each other by chance.
Yeah? Eight million people in this city.
That's quite a coincidence.
I was going to a restaurant in her neighborhood.
How about Sunday afternoon? Did you bump into her again outside of Evans' loft? I told you.
I was home that night.
Yeah.
Alone.
Doing my job.
Joni Timberman was kicking your ass at your job, and you couldn't take it.
Give me a break.
The only way you could justify losing out to her was to make up that story about her seducing your writers.
Joni wasn't screwing them, Timothy.
They were screwing you.
I saw Charles Evans' hand under her blouse.
I don't think he was looking for typos.
Why didn't we hear this before? Charles needs a new editor now.
I'd rather have him writing than fending off the police.
He needs a new editor because his old one is dead.
It's called a motive.
If I killed every editor I competed with, this would be a pretty small literary community.
Yeah.
Timothyville.
You'd like that, wouldn't you? This is insane.
If I'd wanted to kill Joni, I could have killed her Saturday afternoon in the convenience of my own office.
We were both working, and she borrowed my advance copy of the spring catalogue.
What did you say to her, Timothy? Did you threaten her again? I said, " There's the catalogue.
Bring it back when you're done.
" If you don't believe me, ask my assistant.
She was outside the door.
It was pretty intimidating.
Joni was only a couple of years older than me, and she was practically running this place.
I gather your boss was a little intimidated, too.
I'm trying to get reassigned.
He's not really interested in training new editors.
Did you see him with Joni Timberman Saturday afternoon? Yeah.
She went into his office.
I didn't hear what they said, but after a few minutes, Joni came running out.
She was pale white.
Was it something Stevens said or did? Maybe that, too.
I don't know.
What do you mean, "that, too"? I saw her in the ladies' room a few minutes later.
She was having a woman's problem.
Bleeding.
Took 20 minutes for it to stop.
I don't think Timothy was responsible for that.
No.
I want to talk to Timberman's gynecologist.
The diaphragm and the pill pamphlet.
A girl might change her birth control after she's had an accident.
You think she was pregnant? The heavy bleeding? I think she had an abortion.
I can't just give you a patient's history.
She was murdered, Doc.
You want us to wait in line in Surrogate Court for an order while her killer walks around town drinking cappuccinos? You think it was someone she was intimately involved with? She wasn't mugged.
She wasn't a drug dealer.
In cases like this, it's usually somebody close.
Did you meet the guy? No.
She came in for the procedure alone.
Not too many of my patients do.
She never mentioned a name.
How about the pregnancy test? Did she come in alone for that, too? Yes.
And she was more shaken up by that.
She didn't believe what the home test said.
It wasn't supposed to happen.
She got right on the phone and called somebody.
Yes.
She called me from the doctor's office.
To say hi? I won't insult you if you don't insult me.
She was pregnant.
I was the father.
You told us there was nothing going on between you two.
I didn't think my relationship with Joni was your concern.
A witness lies to me, it's my concern.
Diane didn't know about Joni.
She doesn't know about Joni.
I couldn't count on you to be discreet, could I? She doesn't know? So what're you doing camped out here? An old friend was kind enough to take me in while my carpets are redone.
The blood soaked clear through to the flooring.
Is Ms.
Posner staying here, too? No.
At her house in Croton.
She doesn't mind the commute.
You really think she didn't know? Hey, not everybody runs home and tells, Rey.
Women know these things, Lennie.
They can smell it.
We come down on her and we're wrong, we could be breaking up one very snooty couple.
It might actually ruin my sleep for minutes.
So, Joni Timberman has an abortion.
Charles Evans takes off one way, his other girlfriend takes off on her own because she has to work? Let's find out how busy she was.
Listen, Jane, I could really use your help here.
I told you, I never heard of this Joni Timberman.
And I just work for Ms.
Posner, we're not exactly girlfriends.
Yeah, but you see her every day.
You know what's going on.
And I got to say, you strike me as a very perceptive person.
It's a good thing you're good-looking, honey, if that's the best line you can come up with.
Sadly, it is.
All right, so help me out because I'm pathetic.
How were things going with Ms.
Posner and Mr.
Evans? Vacations in Tuscany, dinner at Elaine's.
She wasn't exactly suffering.
Anything unusual happen last Friday? He called in the morning, they talked for a while.
About what, I don't know.
Then she asked me to hold her calls for about an hour.
Was that unusual? Not really.
But then she gave me two tickets for Rent.
Saturday night.
Said she couldn't use them.
Wish you'd been around.
I had to take my cousin.
Those tickets are hard to come by.
That was a major change in plans.
I just talked to the organizer of that symposium Evans went to.
He didn't pre-register, he just showed up.
And now they're sleeping in separate bedrooms? In separate counties.
Well, Evans says they're still a committed couple.
Nothing like fathering another woman's child to cement a relationship.
Almost as good as panties in the glove compartment.
Posner spent the weekend at her country house? Take a ride to Westchester.
The dogwoods are in bloom.
We've known Diane ever since she was a little girl.
She used to come across the street to sled in our backyard.
Everything pink, boots to mittens.
Do her parents still live there? Walter died.
Evelyn moved to Florida.
Lake Worth, I think.
West Palm Beach.
I want to die up here, in the snow.
Thank you.
Evelyn gave the house to Diane, and she lived in it all the time she was married.
And then she got divorced, and she just took the boy and she went back into Manhattan.
I didn't see a kid's room in her apartment.
He's in boarding school now.
He could have gone to perfectly good public schools right here.
I don't get it.
What's wrong with the suburbs? That's what I always say.
Did either of you see Diane last weekend? Well, she comes up weekends sometimes, but never with that boyfriend of hers.
He told me crickets give him a headache.
I saw her on Saturday, in the village.
She walked right by me.
Deep thoughts, I guess.
What about Sunday? Well, I took over some carrot bran muffins around dinnertime.
But her car wasn't there.
She must have gone back early to beat the traffic.
Would you like to have some muffins? Oh, my goodness.
Your insides are gonna be thanking you for days.
Mmm! Great muffins.
So, Diane told us she didn't go back to town till Monday.
Maybe she just ran out for dinner.
Or back into town to murder Joni Timberman.
You know, there was a lot of blood at that crime scene.
Maybe some of it found its way into her car.
What happens when Ms.
Posner calls for her car? You tell her it's in police custody.
She's a lawyer.
She's gonna sue.
That's why we gave you a copy of the warrant.
This is bad.
Hey, Rey, isn't that one of those E-ZPasses they use for going through the tolls? Yeah, you ever see the lines coming back from a weekend in the country? On Monday mornings, I usually take a chopper.
The neighbor, the secretary, everything's consistent with a break-up.
Forensics are sorting through hairs and fibers from her car.
So far, no blood.
The E-ZPass log for Posner's Volvo.
Toll electronically paid Sunday night, 6:18, coming through the Henry Hudson plaza, in-bound.
Nine minutes after 10:00, toll paid going back to Westchester.
Bring her in.
I've been an attorney for 14 years, I've never seen the inside of a police station.
Well, we try to put in a few homey touches.
You'll have to try harder.
I'll give you five minutes.
That's all we'll need, if you tell us the truth this time.
All right.
I love Charles.
Charles loves me.
I don't know who killed Joni Timberman.
Okay? One out of three, Ms.
Posner.
In our business, that's not too good.
He dropped you for another woman.
Oh, here we go.
Joni Timberman had an abortion last week.
Charles Evans was the father.
That's ridiculous.
He admitted it.
Even if it's true, that doesn't mean he's dropping me.
Take a seat.
So what happened to your theater plans last weekend? I had work to do.
So you suddenly had work to do.
And he suddenly had to go pontificate about William Faulkner.
You're still not sleeping under the same roof.
We don't need to see each other every minute to maintain a relationship.
It hurts, I know.
He gave you the news, you got the hell away from him.
Then you stewed about it, then you drove back to try to patch things up.
And who strolls into your apartment? She does.
I was in Croton.
Well, your car was in Manhattan.
Do you want to see the toll records that prove that? It must have made you crazy when she walked in.
We can understand that.
You don't understand anything.
I'm going back to my office.
Diane, what's this all about? This is one of those good news-bad news things, Ms.
Posner.
This is your lawyer.
And we just got a report from forensics.
They found Joni Timberman's hair in your car.
This interrogation is over.
Now.
Right.
She's under arrest.
Lennie.
Diane Posner, you're under arrest for the murder of Joni Timberman.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do say can and will be Charles used against you in a court of law.
"Docket number 45298.
People against Diane Posner.
"Murder in the Second Degree.
" Not guilty, Your Honor.
People on bail.
The defendant is charged with intentional murder of her companion's mistress.
The People request remand.
My client is a member of the bar, Your Honor.
She has no intent to evade prosecution.
I give my word as an officer of this court.
This officer of the court crushed a young woman's skull.
She has assets sufficient to flee the jurisdiction.
$1 million, cash or bond.
If she has any assets, she can use them there.
We have her car in Manhattan.
We have the victim's hair in her car.
How's the motive? Well, if we can prove Evans dumped her, everything fits.
But she says he didn't, and he says he didn't.
He thinks he's protecting her.
Go convince him he's wrong.
All this from nothing.
I never set out to sleep with Joni.
It wasn't grand passion, just wine at lunch, you know? I don't drink at lunch.
And I don't kiss and tell.
Diane didn't know.
Maybe she found out another way.
Well, she's not one to suffer in silence.
I would have heard about it.
Mr.
Evans, we are going to convict your girlfriend of murder.
How can you if she didn't kill anybody? You don't believe that.
You're trying to help her anyway, but you're only hurting her.
I tell you she knew about Joni, I tell you she was in a rage.
That helps her? Yes.
It makes it a crime of passion.
It's a lesser offense.
She's going to jail either way.
The only question is for how long.
I told her that Friday.
She got hysterical.
It was pathetic.
Pathetic.
I don't believe you.
He told me about the break-up.
He'll tell a jury.
Charles loves me.
He's trying to help you.
Some help.
Even if a jury believes him, a break-up's a long way from murder.
Fine.
Go to trial.
You haven't given me an alternative.
Given your client's tenuous emotional state My what? Man one.
Maximum sentence.
What tenuous emotional state? Evans told me how you reacted.
He wrote the whole scene for you? We'll get back to you.
I didn't kill her.
Her hair was in your car.
Well, Charles uses my car.
Maybe he took her for a ride.
The E-ZPass records put you in Manhattan.
An E-ZPass isn't DNA, Jack.
It's more like a supermarket checkout scanner which last week charged me $11 for a quart of milk.
You weren't at your country house the night of the murder.
Your neighbors couldn't find you.
Do you want to know where I was? Diane, that's it for now.
No.
I was visiting my son at his school.
In Manhattan? In Connecticut.
I don't understand why I'm hearing this for the first time.
His mother is accused of murder.
I didn't want the police barging into his history class to interrogate him.
Can you understand that, Mr.
McCoy? Austin will be done with soccer practice in a few minutes.
The other students have seen the articles about his mother.
We've never had a situation quite like this.
How's Austin handling it? He's talking even less than usual.
We thought it might be best to send him home.
But home where? To whom? His father? Is dead.
Charles Evans? He's sort of a step-father, isn't he? I've never met Mr.
Evans.
I'm sure he never came to visit.
How about Austin's mother? Did she visit him the Sunday before she was arrested? I don't know.
I didn't see her.
I haven't seen her since Christmas.
When she picked Austin up? Well, actually, she just came to visit for an afternoon.
Austin spent the holidays with us.
I think his mother accompanied Mr.
Evans to a lecture in Glasgow.
I didn't know schools were open over the holidays.
Yes.
We have some foreign students who can't conveniently get home and some American students in special situations.
I think we can talk to him now.
She picked me up outside the library at 7:00.
We sat in her car and talked.
Did anybody see you with her? I don't know.
What did you talk about? Nothing much.
Charles Evans? No.
Mostly about me.
Should I apply for early decision at Wesleyan.
Do I have to answer any more of her questions? Only if you want to, Austin.
Well, I don't want to.
Loving son rallies to the mother's defense.
He's contradicted by the E-ZPass.
The E-ZPass won't look loyal and forlorn on the witness stand.
I did some checking after the headmaster told me nobody visits this kid.
Charles Evans moved into his mother's apartment and a few days later she ships the kid off to boarding school.
Not the first teenager handed a ticket out of town.
Up until then, he lived with his mother and attended school in the city.
No record of any problems.
You think Evans is behind it? "If you want me, you've got to get rid of the kid.
" The guy's got an ego the size of Central Park.
He wrote a first-person novel about his favorite bodily functions.
You read it? My ex thought it was great.
If she'd throw out her own son to please Evans, makes it easier to believe that she'd murder to keep Evans.
Lf.
How are you gonna prove that? Their friends won't talk.
But I've got a lead on Posner's former housekeeper.
She was beautiful, she was smart.
I never understood it.
I gather Charles Evans was considered quite a catch.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Big-time writer.
He put out his cigarettes in the china.
How'd he get along with Austin? He never talked to the boy.
It was terrible, she sent him away.
He was only 13.
He didn't want to go.
Evans made her do it? He didn't make her.
To be with that man, she wanted to.
She could have had 100 men.
She only had one child.
My son called me.
I want you to leave him alone.
Like you do, Ms.
Posner? I don't know what you mean.
Your son is in an empty school celebrating Christmas with kids from Hong Kong while you're hanging off the lapels of Charles Evans.
How I raise my son is my business.
And Charles Evans' business.
I gather he doesn't like children.
Charles is a very busy man.
He's written three novels in the past five years.
What's this about? Are you adding a count of bad parenting to the murder indictment? She can still plead to manslaughter.
I told you.
I am not pleading to anything.
And you're going to put your son on the stand as your alibi? If I have to.
You throw him out, you neglect him, and now you want to use him to lie for you.
It's not a lie.
I didn't kill Joni Timberman.
If you go to trial and put him on the stand, I'm going to have to go after him.
I'm sure that wouldn't bother Charles Evans.
But doesn't it bother you? Our witness list.
I think we should start with the 911 operator.
You take Evans.
It'll help with the female jurors.
And I want you to cross Posner if she testifies.
I can't believe she'd put her son through it.
She sacrificed him before.
The stakes are higher now.
You should see this kid, Jack.
He's miserable, and he's a lousy liar.
McCoy.
How is she? We're coming.
Diane Posner just tried to hang herself with a bed sheet.
A guard found her as the noose was tightening.
A minute more, we'd be talking over and out.
How is she? Minor neck abrasions.
She's under a suicide watch and she sees a psychiatrist in the morning.
This was in her cell.
Addressed to a Charles Evans.
Is that the writer? Thank you, Doctor.
I'll see that it's returned to my client.
Well, there was one for her son, too.
And he was here a little while ago.
I gave it to him.
Was that wrong? We'll need to get it back.
This one, too.
Not without a court order.
You know it's evidence.
It could be a confession.
Right now, all I know is it's Diane Posner's property.
You're not leaving with that.
Are you going to stop me? This is a jail.
There are bars on the doors.
Why don't we deposit it with the court? We'll put it in an envelope, we'll seal it up, and we'll walk it over to the judge together.
Mr.
McCoy represents the power of the state, but he is not Big Brother.
He is not entitled to see Ms.
Posner's personal correspondence, written at a moment of emotional crisis.
With all due respect, her emotional state is not an issue.
Ms.
Posner is a prisoner at Rikers Island.
As such, she has only a limited expectation of privacy for correspondence or anything else.
The courts have limited expectations, not eviscerated them.
In Wolff v.
McDonnell, a prisoner is not wholly stripped of constitutional protections.
So it's reasonable for her to expect privacy in her prison cell? I was writing to people that I love.
I thought that I was never going to see them again.
Nobody else was supposed to see what I wrote.
Ms.
Posner's intent is not relevant.
If it's reasonable, it is.
Rikers' has a policy not to open prisoners' outgoing mail.
My client was aware of that policy and relied on it.
This was not outgoing mail.
These letters were not stamped or sealed.
Aren't we getting a little over-technical here? If we are, so did the Court of Appeals.
In People v.
Garofolo, it ruled that " no expectation of privacy" attaches to unsealed letters in a prison environment.
The case appears to be directly on point, Ms.
Diamond.
Please don't let them read them.
Your Honor You want to ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider, be my guest.
In the meantime, the letters go to the District Attorney.
What is this supposed to mean? It's a subpoena for your mother's letter.
I'm not giving it to you.
You have to, Austin.
It's personal.
Between my mother and me.
It might be evidence in a crime.
And I really don't have to discuss this with you.
Well, I don't have it anyway.
I burned it.
Fine.
Then we won't find it when we get a warrant and search your room.
Mr.
Dalton, do I really have to let them? I think you do, Austin.
Where's my confession? Discreet even at death's door.
To her son.
"Dear, Austin.
I hope one day you'll understand "the painful choices I've had to make.
"They were never intended to hurt you in any way.
" She could be talking about sending him away or killing herself.
She was about to hang herself in a prison cell and she's still fawning over the great Charles Evans.
"Your brilliance overwhelmed me.
"My greatest desire was always your happiness.
"My greatest fear, losing your love.
" Goes to motive.
Killing the woman who got some of his love.
What about this? "With this final offering, "I hope you finally understand "the distance I will travel to protect you.
" Protect him from what? Airing his dirty linen at a public trial? This guy writes books about his dirty linen.
What do we know about his whereabouts on the night of the murder? He told the police he was at a friend's house in Rhinebeck.
Alone.
He was on a train back the next morning.
Trains run two ways.
What do you think? Would Diane Posner die to protect the great man from a murder charge? I wasn't at the house that night, but I invited Charles to stay there while we were driving upstate on the Friday.
What did you talk about during the ride? Nothing.
And I can usually at least rely on Charles to talk about himself.
Did he mention Joni Timberman? No.
Diane Posner? He said she was spending the weekend in the country.
I asked how she was doing.
I know them both.
He seemed uncomfortable talking about her.
Did he tell you they'd split up? They'd always had their ups and downs.
I figured this was one of those times.
Even at the symposium, Charles seemed distracted.
A fellow from Amherst called Faulkner a proto-magical-realist, and it didn't get a rise out of him.
Should it have? He considers Faulkner a naturalist.
He went through a bottle of my Red Label in less than a day.
I was worried about him.
I think Diane was, too.
How do you know that? She called me from Croton Sunday night, upset.
The police checked her phone records.
She didn't make any calls.
She said she was calling from a store.
She wanted to speak to Charles.
She asked for the phone number at my house.
Did you give it to her? I told her I'd call him and have him call her, in case he didn't want to be disturbed.
Charles didn't answer the phone.
I called Diane back and told her.
Third trip in a month, Jack.
Why don't you just book a cell here, save the city the cost of commuting.
Thanks for your concern.
This is my last trip.
I'm still not making any deals.
Neither am I.
I don't send innocent people to prison.
You didn't kill Joni Timberman.
Great.
When can I get her out of here? As soon as she tells us who did.
What are you talking about? You were in Croton when the murder was committed.
Peter Hilligan called you there.
We checked his phone records.
Diane, why didn't you tell me? Because she was protecting someone.
Evans? You read her letter to him.
I want them to leave.
I don't have to talk to them.
He doesn't deserve your loyalty.
You don't know what he deserves.
Yes, I do.
He made you give up your son.
He cheated on you with Joni Timberman and God knows who else.
And now he's willing to let you pay for his crime.
You don't understand him.
I understand him.
You, I don't.
I swear.
I know he didn't mean to kill her.
What happened? He came to Croton that afternoon.
I'd never seen him like that before.
His breath reeked of liquor.
He was a mess.
He said that Joni didn't want him anymore.
And he said he wanted me again.
I didn't know what to say.
It was all too much.
He took my car keys and he left.
Did he say where he was going? No.
I walked into town to look for him.
He wasn't there.
I called Peter Hilligan.
Charles came in later.
There was blood on his shirt.
He didn't mean to do it.
I won't testify against him.
I won't.
Are any of you bothered by Eliot's misogyny? I know I am.
Excuse us.
Excuse me.
I'm busy right now.
I'll talk to you later.
You got that part right.
Get your hands off of me.
Charles Evans, you're under arrest for the murder of Joni Timberman.
You have the right to remain silent.
Class dismissed.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Why exactly am I supposed to have killed Joni? Because she rejected you.
In case you haven't noticed, you have an ego.
So you don't like me.
Do you arrest everybody you don't like? Charles.
This is ridiculous.
I have no idea what I'm doing here.
Diane Posner told us what happened.
Diane did? What did Diane say? You killed Timberman.
She wouldn't say anything against me, even if there were something to say.
This is a jilted lover.
A woman accused of this crime herself.
Even if she weren't jilted, even if she weren't accused.
What upsets you more, Mr.
Evans? That we've got you for murder or that your love slave got uppity? Stupidity.
I'm always upset by stupidity.
It doesn't look like we're going to get a confession.
Why should he confess? You'll probably be arresting somebody else tomorrow.
Not if Diane Posner sticks to her story.
She said she wouldn't testify.
I think she will, if she told us.
Yeah.
How will you account for her not telling you sooner? She was in thrall to Evans.
I'll put on psychiatric experts.
Did he encourage her to cover for him? Did he thank her? A little evidence along those lines couldn't hurt.
I checked the visitors' log at Rikers.
He never went.
But her secretary was a regular.
She had me bring in her files twice a week.
She was trying to keep up on her work in there.
Did you carry anything for Charles Evans? No.
Are you sure? I wouldn't forget.
It's important.
I'm very organized about my work.
Here.
This is a list of everything I took to the jail.
Look at what Diane Posner was reading in prison.
"IRS letter rulings.
"New York Law Journal.
" Middle of the page.
"Search and Seizure, chapter 29.
" Examination of prisoners' mail.
So? She was helping her lawyer prepare for the hearing.
Look at the date.
The book was delivered three days before her suicide attempt.
Along with People v.
Garofolo.
The case that got us her letters.
She knew it would.
She set us up.
She wasn't covering for Evans.
I guess we now know why he liked her.
She's smart.
She's devious.
She wasn't protecting him.
And she wasn't protecting herself.
The phone call from Hilligan.
She was at Croton that night.
Right in front of us.
You arrested Charles.
Why are you still asking about my mother? Austin, would you like me to call her lawyer? No.
It doesn't matter.
My mother's cleared.
Actually, Austin, we're having second thoughts about that.
You are? We think she tricked us into suspecting Charles Evans.
No.
He did it.
She told me.
Told you when? The day of the murder? You told us you saw her.
Now she says she was 100 miles away with Evans.
I know.
When I said that, I thought it would help her.
She had an alibi.
The phone call she got from Charles Evans' friend.
I didn't know about that.
She did.
Why would she make up an alibi if she didn't need one? Well, you were accusing her of murder! Who knows why anyone would do anything? We're going to find out.
We're charging her with hindering prosecution at the very least.
No.
She's been through enough.
She's been playing games with us.
No.
I think Austin's been through enough, too.
Just one more question.
Austin, did your mother say that she was with you to give you an alibi? Why would I need one? You'd need one if you didn't have one.
Who saw you here that night? I don't know.
There's always people around.
Good.
Then we can ask them.
Mr.
Dalton, would you call for Austin's roommate? I wasn't in my room.
The library clerk.
I wasn't there either.
Who, Austin? Who should we send for? I don't know.
I'm not sure where I was.
If you were anywhere, we'll find out.
In a couple of days, we can talk to everyone on the campus.
I wasn't here.
Ah.
Then where were you? Somebody drove your mother's car into the city.
My mother called me.
I couldn't understand what she was saying, she was crying so hard.
But she finally got it out.
Charles Evans had dumped her.
I felt good.
I took a bus to Croton.
I figured it was just another one of their arguments.
But she told me about his new girlfriend, Ms.
Timberman.
I thought it was finally over with him.
But all she wanted to do was get back with him.
Why did you go to New York? To tell him how much he was hurting my mother.
I thought if I could get them back together again, it would make my mother happy.
And she'd see that I did it for her, and she'd like me more.
What happened in the apartment? Ms.
Timberman walked in.
She yelled at me.
She told me to leave.
Me.
In my mother's house.
In my house.
His girlfriend.
I went crazy.
I know it wasn't her fault.
I'm sorry.
It was all because of him.
Mr.
McCoy, are the People satisfied? Yes, Your Honor.
Pursuant to your plea to manslaughter in the first degree, and in the light of mitigating circumstances, I'm accepting the recommendation of the prosecution that you be sentenced to a minimum term of correctional facility.
Court is adjourned.
What do you think she wanted to say to him? "Thanks for ruining my life.
" "Please take me back.
"
These are their stories.
Police operator 114.
Do you have a police emergency? Help me! What's wrong with you, ma'am? I'm hurt.
Please help me.
What's your name? Ma'am? What's your name? I need a two-seven car for a possible 54.
Two-seven Charlie.
You have the location? Female call for help.
Two-seven Charlie, responding.
Hello, ma'am, are you there? Are you there? Looks like she got it right here.
Then crawled to the phone, and died.
Who is she? I don't know.
She doesn't live in the building.
Who lives here? Mr.
Evans and Ms.
Posner.
Professional couple.
She's a lawyer, he's a professor.
Writes books.
"Charles Evans, Small Fortunes.
"A New York Times Best Novel of the Year.
" He gave me one.
Didn't make any sense.
So, what do you got? Joni Timberman.
Driver's license.
Health club.
Photo of a cat.
Cranial fractures? Looks like.
Clothes all in order.
No indication of sexual assault.
How'd she get in here? This key was in her coat pocket.
It fits the front door.
And you don't know who she is? Well, she must have been a friend of Mr.
Evans or Ms.
Posner.
And where are they now? She was around yesterday.
I saw him with a suitcase, day before, Friday.
Somebody picked him up in a car.
He said he'd be back tonight.
Detectives, we got something outside.
In the dumpster.
Right on top.
That could be blood.
Looks like a Giacometti.
If it is, it's valuable.
And heavy.
I bet it packs a hell of a wallop.
Yes, I know Joni Timberman.
She's an editor at East River Press.
She work with your husband? Charles? We're not married.
Yes, she's been his editor for the last few months.
Could this wait until I put my briefcase down, get a cup of coffee? Ms.
Timberman's been murdered.
Oh, my God.
The poor girl.
In your apartment.
What? Last night.
We've been looking for you and Mr.
Evans.
Well, he went to a Faulkner Symposium at Vassar.
Maybe he stayed over there.
Just let me try to call him.
Just a minute and we can all talk to him.
Now, we understand he was due home last night.
Well, so he stayed over.
I hope.
Ms.
Posner, you mind telling us where you were last night? Me? I was in Croton at our country house doing a corporate tax return.
I just drove in.
What happened to Joni, exactly? Were you by yourself? Yes.
What was she doing at our apartment? Why won't you tell me what happened? She was hit on the head and she died.
We were hoping you could tell us what she was doing there.
I have no idea.
She had a key.
She did? Maybe Charles could've given her one.
Your stay in Croton, did Mr.
Evans know you were gonna be there last night? And you think that he arranged an assignation with Joni Timberman? I have lived with Charles for three years.
That is not possible.
Excuse me.
Latent couldn't lift any prints off the sculpture, but it is the murder weapon.
Blood matches the victim's.
You find out what she was doing in that apartment? The lady of the house is dumbfounded.
Could be she shows up to work with Evans, some mope off the street follows her inside.
A book editor on a Sunday night house call? Evans' girlfriend says there couldn't possibly have been any hanky-panky.
Yeah, right.
Van Buren.
Thanks.
The wandering professor just got home.
Why can't I get into the apartment? Well, we're still sorting through a few things, professor.
We understand you were due back last night? Yeah, well, the symposium ran late.
I missed the last train.
I stayed at a friend's house in Rhinebeck.
Well, we'll have to confirm that with your friend.
He wasn't there.
He came back to the city ahead of me.
Is there anybody who can place you in Rhinebeck last night? You can't be serious.
Here's my train ticket.
Call Grand Central.
It arrived an hour ago.
Ms.
Timberman was killed with a piece of sculpture.
About three feet long, bronze.
She was hit with it? Just inside the door.
I inherited that piece from my father.
Where is it? Crime lab.
Will I get it back? Ms.
Timberman meant that much to you, huh? I liked and respected her.
I'm sorry she's dead.
Forgive me if I don't show it like some other people you deal with.
You "liked and respected"? Is that all? That's a lot.
I don't like and respect many people.
So she was special to you? Not in the way you're insinuating.
Then why'd you give her your key? I didn't give her the key.
I left it for her over the door.
She wanted to pick up a manuscript I'd just finished.
Joni was a very enthusiastic editor.
She started as my assistant right out of Brown.
She didn't have any family in New York, so mine adopted her.
Christmas, Thanksgiving.
When was the last time you spoke to her? Saturday afternoon.
She wanted a second printing of a literary novel.
She knew if we had more books out, we'd promote more.
She talked me into it, as usual.
Anything else? Well, she said she'd be at a Book Critics' awards dinner that night.
One of her authors was nominated.
But she didn't show.
And you don't know why? I never talked to her again.
Did she have a boyfriend? Well, I don't know of anyone special.
Money problems? No.
Angry or rejected authors? Did she use drugs? No.
She's too smart and ambitious.
She wanted her own imprint.
She would have had it.
With Charles Evans' help? His next book could be the big one.
Well, we've all been looking forward to it for two years.
His girlfriend told us Ms.
Timberman had only been his editor for a few months.
That's right.
He'd been with Timothy Stevens.
But, well, he switched.
The request came from his agent.
You think Charles was banging Joni Timberman? What do you think? I think she was the smartest editor at East River.
She appreciated literature, and she understood the market.
An author's dream.
Charles thought enough of her to switch after three books.
And just as he was ready to break out.
His next novel is terrific.
A mock-memoir about incest.
Was changing editors your idea or Evans' Hers.
Joni called me to see if Charles was interested in making the move.
Away from another editor in her company? Is that how publishing plays? Don't you steal good cases from other detectives? I try to get them to steal mine.
How did Evans' old editor like being poached? He didn't like it.
Timothy said, "If I went through with it, I'd be dead in this town.
" Could he ruin your career? That little pisher? Not unless he shot me.
I spot a short story in a literary quarterly, track down the writer, get him an advance, nurse him through two or three gem-like books that sell 4,000 copies.
He's finally ready to go uptown and suddenly it's Joni Timberman to the rescue.
And that's the way it went with Charles Evans? Charles Evans and Jeffrey Weiss and Josh Fields.
Ingrates.
I used to treat them to editorial lunches so they could take the leftovers home for dinner.
And what did Joni Timberman do? Buy them extra desserts? The world's greatest editor, right? Literary yet commercial.
Sensitivity plus dollars.
Well, that's what we heard.
Did you also hear she offered some authors services only a female editor could provide? Is that a fact? Not one I can prove.
But it would explain a few things.
Just for the record, where were you last night? Home.
Alone.
Reading the Kenyon Review.
I was talking to my rabbi all morning about why bad things happen to good people.
Thirty years on the job and I couldn't tell you.
Aren't you novelists supposed to have all the answers? Not since Henry James.
You must read a lot of old books, Detective.
Zane Grey.
He knew what was going on.
Mr.
Weiss, we were wondering about your relationship with Joni Timberman.
Close.
Joni was a wonderful editor.
She helped me find my voice.
Timothy Stevens didn't know where to look? He's smart, but my writing objectifies emotions.
I needed an editor with an emotional compass.
So you and Joni Timberman, your emotions just sort of meshed? I'm gay.
Our emotions meshed.
The other parts weren't compatible.
How did Timothy Stevens feel when you dropped him for Ms.
Timberman? His feelings were hurt.
How did he act? Did he make any threats? Just predictions.
He said Joni wouldn't know how to find marketing support for my book.
He was wrong.
What else did he say about Joni? I don't know.
She told me he'd followed her home from work one night.
They had some kind of an argument.
She was very upset.
My husband and I live upstairs.
Joni used to bring us books.
History for Mr.
Krinsky.
Mystery for me.
I'm taking care of the cat.
Poor thing.
You ever see this guy hanging around here? Yeah.
Who is that? A boyfriend? What makes you say that? I saw him arguing with Joni in front of the building last week.
I couldn't hear the words, but it looked like boyfriend-girlfriend.
I have a sixth sense for these things.
Did Joni ever talk to you about her personal life? I tried to fix her up with my nephew once.
She made an excuse.
He's a dentist.
We'll give you back the key as soon as we finish.
Oh.
Timothy and Joni? I don't think so.
Come on, Rey.
She's got a sixth sense about these things.
She wouldn't make this up.
Anything? About 6,000 books.
Where'd she get the time to read all these things? Looks like she had a little spare time.
Diaphragm.
"What you need to know before starting to take the pill.
" Suspenders and a belt.
Oh! I was just waiting to see if you needed anything else.
Tell me something, is that a new lock? Joni had that put in last week.
It cost $200.
I guess she was worried about something.
You follow her home and argue with her.
The next day she has a new lock.
What did you say to her, Timothy? I didn't follow her.
We bumped into each other by chance.
Yeah? Eight million people in this city.
That's quite a coincidence.
I was going to a restaurant in her neighborhood.
How about Sunday afternoon? Did you bump into her again outside of Evans' loft? I told you.
I was home that night.
Yeah.
Alone.
Doing my job.
Joni Timberman was kicking your ass at your job, and you couldn't take it.
Give me a break.
The only way you could justify losing out to her was to make up that story about her seducing your writers.
Joni wasn't screwing them, Timothy.
They were screwing you.
I saw Charles Evans' hand under her blouse.
I don't think he was looking for typos.
Why didn't we hear this before? Charles needs a new editor now.
I'd rather have him writing than fending off the police.
He needs a new editor because his old one is dead.
It's called a motive.
If I killed every editor I competed with, this would be a pretty small literary community.
Yeah.
Timothyville.
You'd like that, wouldn't you? This is insane.
If I'd wanted to kill Joni, I could have killed her Saturday afternoon in the convenience of my own office.
We were both working, and she borrowed my advance copy of the spring catalogue.
What did you say to her, Timothy? Did you threaten her again? I said, " There's the catalogue.
Bring it back when you're done.
" If you don't believe me, ask my assistant.
She was outside the door.
It was pretty intimidating.
Joni was only a couple of years older than me, and she was practically running this place.
I gather your boss was a little intimidated, too.
I'm trying to get reassigned.
He's not really interested in training new editors.
Did you see him with Joni Timberman Saturday afternoon? Yeah.
She went into his office.
I didn't hear what they said, but after a few minutes, Joni came running out.
She was pale white.
Was it something Stevens said or did? Maybe that, too.
I don't know.
What do you mean, "that, too"? I saw her in the ladies' room a few minutes later.
She was having a woman's problem.
Bleeding.
Took 20 minutes for it to stop.
I don't think Timothy was responsible for that.
No.
I want to talk to Timberman's gynecologist.
The diaphragm and the pill pamphlet.
A girl might change her birth control after she's had an accident.
You think she was pregnant? The heavy bleeding? I think she had an abortion.
I can't just give you a patient's history.
She was murdered, Doc.
You want us to wait in line in Surrogate Court for an order while her killer walks around town drinking cappuccinos? You think it was someone she was intimately involved with? She wasn't mugged.
She wasn't a drug dealer.
In cases like this, it's usually somebody close.
Did you meet the guy? No.
She came in for the procedure alone.
Not too many of my patients do.
She never mentioned a name.
How about the pregnancy test? Did she come in alone for that, too? Yes.
And she was more shaken up by that.
She didn't believe what the home test said.
It wasn't supposed to happen.
She got right on the phone and called somebody.
Yes.
She called me from the doctor's office.
To say hi? I won't insult you if you don't insult me.
She was pregnant.
I was the father.
You told us there was nothing going on between you two.
I didn't think my relationship with Joni was your concern.
A witness lies to me, it's my concern.
Diane didn't know about Joni.
She doesn't know about Joni.
I couldn't count on you to be discreet, could I? She doesn't know? So what're you doing camped out here? An old friend was kind enough to take me in while my carpets are redone.
The blood soaked clear through to the flooring.
Is Ms.
Posner staying here, too? No.
At her house in Croton.
She doesn't mind the commute.
You really think she didn't know? Hey, not everybody runs home and tells, Rey.
Women know these things, Lennie.
They can smell it.
We come down on her and we're wrong, we could be breaking up one very snooty couple.
It might actually ruin my sleep for minutes.
So, Joni Timberman has an abortion.
Charles Evans takes off one way, his other girlfriend takes off on her own because she has to work? Let's find out how busy she was.
Listen, Jane, I could really use your help here.
I told you, I never heard of this Joni Timberman.
And I just work for Ms.
Posner, we're not exactly girlfriends.
Yeah, but you see her every day.
You know what's going on.
And I got to say, you strike me as a very perceptive person.
It's a good thing you're good-looking, honey, if that's the best line you can come up with.
Sadly, it is.
All right, so help me out because I'm pathetic.
How were things going with Ms.
Posner and Mr.
Evans? Vacations in Tuscany, dinner at Elaine's.
She wasn't exactly suffering.
Anything unusual happen last Friday? He called in the morning, they talked for a while.
About what, I don't know.
Then she asked me to hold her calls for about an hour.
Was that unusual? Not really.
But then she gave me two tickets for Rent.
Saturday night.
Said she couldn't use them.
Wish you'd been around.
I had to take my cousin.
Those tickets are hard to come by.
That was a major change in plans.
I just talked to the organizer of that symposium Evans went to.
He didn't pre-register, he just showed up.
And now they're sleeping in separate bedrooms? In separate counties.
Well, Evans says they're still a committed couple.
Nothing like fathering another woman's child to cement a relationship.
Almost as good as panties in the glove compartment.
Posner spent the weekend at her country house? Take a ride to Westchester.
The dogwoods are in bloom.
We've known Diane ever since she was a little girl.
She used to come across the street to sled in our backyard.
Everything pink, boots to mittens.
Do her parents still live there? Walter died.
Evelyn moved to Florida.
Lake Worth, I think.
West Palm Beach.
I want to die up here, in the snow.
Thank you.
Evelyn gave the house to Diane, and she lived in it all the time she was married.
And then she got divorced, and she just took the boy and she went back into Manhattan.
I didn't see a kid's room in her apartment.
He's in boarding school now.
He could have gone to perfectly good public schools right here.
I don't get it.
What's wrong with the suburbs? That's what I always say.
Did either of you see Diane last weekend? Well, she comes up weekends sometimes, but never with that boyfriend of hers.
He told me crickets give him a headache.
I saw her on Saturday, in the village.
She walked right by me.
Deep thoughts, I guess.
What about Sunday? Well, I took over some carrot bran muffins around dinnertime.
But her car wasn't there.
She must have gone back early to beat the traffic.
Would you like to have some muffins? Oh, my goodness.
Your insides are gonna be thanking you for days.
Mmm! Great muffins.
So, Diane told us she didn't go back to town till Monday.
Maybe she just ran out for dinner.
Or back into town to murder Joni Timberman.
You know, there was a lot of blood at that crime scene.
Maybe some of it found its way into her car.
What happens when Ms.
Posner calls for her car? You tell her it's in police custody.
She's a lawyer.
She's gonna sue.
That's why we gave you a copy of the warrant.
This is bad.
Hey, Rey, isn't that one of those E-ZPasses they use for going through the tolls? Yeah, you ever see the lines coming back from a weekend in the country? On Monday mornings, I usually take a chopper.
The neighbor, the secretary, everything's consistent with a break-up.
Forensics are sorting through hairs and fibers from her car.
So far, no blood.
The E-ZPass log for Posner's Volvo.
Toll electronically paid Sunday night, 6:18, coming through the Henry Hudson plaza, in-bound.
Nine minutes after 10:00, toll paid going back to Westchester.
Bring her in.
I've been an attorney for 14 years, I've never seen the inside of a police station.
Well, we try to put in a few homey touches.
You'll have to try harder.
I'll give you five minutes.
That's all we'll need, if you tell us the truth this time.
All right.
I love Charles.
Charles loves me.
I don't know who killed Joni Timberman.
Okay? One out of three, Ms.
Posner.
In our business, that's not too good.
He dropped you for another woman.
Oh, here we go.
Joni Timberman had an abortion last week.
Charles Evans was the father.
That's ridiculous.
He admitted it.
Even if it's true, that doesn't mean he's dropping me.
Take a seat.
So what happened to your theater plans last weekend? I had work to do.
So you suddenly had work to do.
And he suddenly had to go pontificate about William Faulkner.
You're still not sleeping under the same roof.
We don't need to see each other every minute to maintain a relationship.
It hurts, I know.
He gave you the news, you got the hell away from him.
Then you stewed about it, then you drove back to try to patch things up.
And who strolls into your apartment? She does.
I was in Croton.
Well, your car was in Manhattan.
Do you want to see the toll records that prove that? It must have made you crazy when she walked in.
We can understand that.
You don't understand anything.
I'm going back to my office.
Diane, what's this all about? This is one of those good news-bad news things, Ms.
Posner.
This is your lawyer.
And we just got a report from forensics.
They found Joni Timberman's hair in your car.
This interrogation is over.
Now.
Right.
She's under arrest.
Lennie.
Diane Posner, you're under arrest for the murder of Joni Timberman.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do say can and will be Charles used against you in a court of law.
"Docket number 45298.
People against Diane Posner.
"Murder in the Second Degree.
" Not guilty, Your Honor.
People on bail.
The defendant is charged with intentional murder of her companion's mistress.
The People request remand.
My client is a member of the bar, Your Honor.
She has no intent to evade prosecution.
I give my word as an officer of this court.
This officer of the court crushed a young woman's skull.
She has assets sufficient to flee the jurisdiction.
$1 million, cash or bond.
If she has any assets, she can use them there.
We have her car in Manhattan.
We have the victim's hair in her car.
How's the motive? Well, if we can prove Evans dumped her, everything fits.
But she says he didn't, and he says he didn't.
He thinks he's protecting her.
Go convince him he's wrong.
All this from nothing.
I never set out to sleep with Joni.
It wasn't grand passion, just wine at lunch, you know? I don't drink at lunch.
And I don't kiss and tell.
Diane didn't know.
Maybe she found out another way.
Well, she's not one to suffer in silence.
I would have heard about it.
Mr.
Evans, we are going to convict your girlfriend of murder.
How can you if she didn't kill anybody? You don't believe that.
You're trying to help her anyway, but you're only hurting her.
I tell you she knew about Joni, I tell you she was in a rage.
That helps her? Yes.
It makes it a crime of passion.
It's a lesser offense.
She's going to jail either way.
The only question is for how long.
I told her that Friday.
She got hysterical.
It was pathetic.
Pathetic.
I don't believe you.
He told me about the break-up.
He'll tell a jury.
Charles loves me.
He's trying to help you.
Some help.
Even if a jury believes him, a break-up's a long way from murder.
Fine.
Go to trial.
You haven't given me an alternative.
Given your client's tenuous emotional state My what? Man one.
Maximum sentence.
What tenuous emotional state? Evans told me how you reacted.
He wrote the whole scene for you? We'll get back to you.
I didn't kill her.
Her hair was in your car.
Well, Charles uses my car.
Maybe he took her for a ride.
The E-ZPass records put you in Manhattan.
An E-ZPass isn't DNA, Jack.
It's more like a supermarket checkout scanner which last week charged me $11 for a quart of milk.
You weren't at your country house the night of the murder.
Your neighbors couldn't find you.
Do you want to know where I was? Diane, that's it for now.
No.
I was visiting my son at his school.
In Manhattan? In Connecticut.
I don't understand why I'm hearing this for the first time.
His mother is accused of murder.
I didn't want the police barging into his history class to interrogate him.
Can you understand that, Mr.
McCoy? Austin will be done with soccer practice in a few minutes.
The other students have seen the articles about his mother.
We've never had a situation quite like this.
How's Austin handling it? He's talking even less than usual.
We thought it might be best to send him home.
But home where? To whom? His father? Is dead.
Charles Evans? He's sort of a step-father, isn't he? I've never met Mr.
Evans.
I'm sure he never came to visit.
How about Austin's mother? Did she visit him the Sunday before she was arrested? I don't know.
I didn't see her.
I haven't seen her since Christmas.
When she picked Austin up? Well, actually, she just came to visit for an afternoon.
Austin spent the holidays with us.
I think his mother accompanied Mr.
Evans to a lecture in Glasgow.
I didn't know schools were open over the holidays.
Yes.
We have some foreign students who can't conveniently get home and some American students in special situations.
I think we can talk to him now.
She picked me up outside the library at 7:00.
We sat in her car and talked.
Did anybody see you with her? I don't know.
What did you talk about? Nothing much.
Charles Evans? No.
Mostly about me.
Should I apply for early decision at Wesleyan.
Do I have to answer any more of her questions? Only if you want to, Austin.
Well, I don't want to.
Loving son rallies to the mother's defense.
He's contradicted by the E-ZPass.
The E-ZPass won't look loyal and forlorn on the witness stand.
I did some checking after the headmaster told me nobody visits this kid.
Charles Evans moved into his mother's apartment and a few days later she ships the kid off to boarding school.
Not the first teenager handed a ticket out of town.
Up until then, he lived with his mother and attended school in the city.
No record of any problems.
You think Evans is behind it? "If you want me, you've got to get rid of the kid.
" The guy's got an ego the size of Central Park.
He wrote a first-person novel about his favorite bodily functions.
You read it? My ex thought it was great.
If she'd throw out her own son to please Evans, makes it easier to believe that she'd murder to keep Evans.
Lf.
How are you gonna prove that? Their friends won't talk.
But I've got a lead on Posner's former housekeeper.
She was beautiful, she was smart.
I never understood it.
I gather Charles Evans was considered quite a catch.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Big-time writer.
He put out his cigarettes in the china.
How'd he get along with Austin? He never talked to the boy.
It was terrible, she sent him away.
He was only 13.
He didn't want to go.
Evans made her do it? He didn't make her.
To be with that man, she wanted to.
She could have had 100 men.
She only had one child.
My son called me.
I want you to leave him alone.
Like you do, Ms.
Posner? I don't know what you mean.
Your son is in an empty school celebrating Christmas with kids from Hong Kong while you're hanging off the lapels of Charles Evans.
How I raise my son is my business.
And Charles Evans' business.
I gather he doesn't like children.
Charles is a very busy man.
He's written three novels in the past five years.
What's this about? Are you adding a count of bad parenting to the murder indictment? She can still plead to manslaughter.
I told you.
I am not pleading to anything.
And you're going to put your son on the stand as your alibi? If I have to.
You throw him out, you neglect him, and now you want to use him to lie for you.
It's not a lie.
I didn't kill Joni Timberman.
If you go to trial and put him on the stand, I'm going to have to go after him.
I'm sure that wouldn't bother Charles Evans.
But doesn't it bother you? Our witness list.
I think we should start with the 911 operator.
You take Evans.
It'll help with the female jurors.
And I want you to cross Posner if she testifies.
I can't believe she'd put her son through it.
She sacrificed him before.
The stakes are higher now.
You should see this kid, Jack.
He's miserable, and he's a lousy liar.
McCoy.
How is she? We're coming.
Diane Posner just tried to hang herself with a bed sheet.
A guard found her as the noose was tightening.
A minute more, we'd be talking over and out.
How is she? Minor neck abrasions.
She's under a suicide watch and she sees a psychiatrist in the morning.
This was in her cell.
Addressed to a Charles Evans.
Is that the writer? Thank you, Doctor.
I'll see that it's returned to my client.
Well, there was one for her son, too.
And he was here a little while ago.
I gave it to him.
Was that wrong? We'll need to get it back.
This one, too.
Not without a court order.
You know it's evidence.
It could be a confession.
Right now, all I know is it's Diane Posner's property.
You're not leaving with that.
Are you going to stop me? This is a jail.
There are bars on the doors.
Why don't we deposit it with the court? We'll put it in an envelope, we'll seal it up, and we'll walk it over to the judge together.
Mr.
McCoy represents the power of the state, but he is not Big Brother.
He is not entitled to see Ms.
Posner's personal correspondence, written at a moment of emotional crisis.
With all due respect, her emotional state is not an issue.
Ms.
Posner is a prisoner at Rikers Island.
As such, she has only a limited expectation of privacy for correspondence or anything else.
The courts have limited expectations, not eviscerated them.
In Wolff v.
McDonnell, a prisoner is not wholly stripped of constitutional protections.
So it's reasonable for her to expect privacy in her prison cell? I was writing to people that I love.
I thought that I was never going to see them again.
Nobody else was supposed to see what I wrote.
Ms.
Posner's intent is not relevant.
If it's reasonable, it is.
Rikers' has a policy not to open prisoners' outgoing mail.
My client was aware of that policy and relied on it.
This was not outgoing mail.
These letters were not stamped or sealed.
Aren't we getting a little over-technical here? If we are, so did the Court of Appeals.
In People v.
Garofolo, it ruled that " no expectation of privacy" attaches to unsealed letters in a prison environment.
The case appears to be directly on point, Ms.
Diamond.
Please don't let them read them.
Your Honor You want to ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider, be my guest.
In the meantime, the letters go to the District Attorney.
What is this supposed to mean? It's a subpoena for your mother's letter.
I'm not giving it to you.
You have to, Austin.
It's personal.
Between my mother and me.
It might be evidence in a crime.
And I really don't have to discuss this with you.
Well, I don't have it anyway.
I burned it.
Fine.
Then we won't find it when we get a warrant and search your room.
Mr.
Dalton, do I really have to let them? I think you do, Austin.
Where's my confession? Discreet even at death's door.
To her son.
"Dear, Austin.
I hope one day you'll understand "the painful choices I've had to make.
"They were never intended to hurt you in any way.
" She could be talking about sending him away or killing herself.
She was about to hang herself in a prison cell and she's still fawning over the great Charles Evans.
"Your brilliance overwhelmed me.
"My greatest desire was always your happiness.
"My greatest fear, losing your love.
" Goes to motive.
Killing the woman who got some of his love.
What about this? "With this final offering, "I hope you finally understand "the distance I will travel to protect you.
" Protect him from what? Airing his dirty linen at a public trial? This guy writes books about his dirty linen.
What do we know about his whereabouts on the night of the murder? He told the police he was at a friend's house in Rhinebeck.
Alone.
He was on a train back the next morning.
Trains run two ways.
What do you think? Would Diane Posner die to protect the great man from a murder charge? I wasn't at the house that night, but I invited Charles to stay there while we were driving upstate on the Friday.
What did you talk about during the ride? Nothing.
And I can usually at least rely on Charles to talk about himself.
Did he mention Joni Timberman? No.
Diane Posner? He said she was spending the weekend in the country.
I asked how she was doing.
I know them both.
He seemed uncomfortable talking about her.
Did he tell you they'd split up? They'd always had their ups and downs.
I figured this was one of those times.
Even at the symposium, Charles seemed distracted.
A fellow from Amherst called Faulkner a proto-magical-realist, and it didn't get a rise out of him.
Should it have? He considers Faulkner a naturalist.
He went through a bottle of my Red Label in less than a day.
I was worried about him.
I think Diane was, too.
How do you know that? She called me from Croton Sunday night, upset.
The police checked her phone records.
She didn't make any calls.
She said she was calling from a store.
She wanted to speak to Charles.
She asked for the phone number at my house.
Did you give it to her? I told her I'd call him and have him call her, in case he didn't want to be disturbed.
Charles didn't answer the phone.
I called Diane back and told her.
Third trip in a month, Jack.
Why don't you just book a cell here, save the city the cost of commuting.
Thanks for your concern.
This is my last trip.
I'm still not making any deals.
Neither am I.
I don't send innocent people to prison.
You didn't kill Joni Timberman.
Great.
When can I get her out of here? As soon as she tells us who did.
What are you talking about? You were in Croton when the murder was committed.
Peter Hilligan called you there.
We checked his phone records.
Diane, why didn't you tell me? Because she was protecting someone.
Evans? You read her letter to him.
I want them to leave.
I don't have to talk to them.
He doesn't deserve your loyalty.
You don't know what he deserves.
Yes, I do.
He made you give up your son.
He cheated on you with Joni Timberman and God knows who else.
And now he's willing to let you pay for his crime.
You don't understand him.
I understand him.
You, I don't.
I swear.
I know he didn't mean to kill her.
What happened? He came to Croton that afternoon.
I'd never seen him like that before.
His breath reeked of liquor.
He was a mess.
He said that Joni didn't want him anymore.
And he said he wanted me again.
I didn't know what to say.
It was all too much.
He took my car keys and he left.
Did he say where he was going? No.
I walked into town to look for him.
He wasn't there.
I called Peter Hilligan.
Charles came in later.
There was blood on his shirt.
He didn't mean to do it.
I won't testify against him.
I won't.
Are any of you bothered by Eliot's misogyny? I know I am.
Excuse us.
Excuse me.
I'm busy right now.
I'll talk to you later.
You got that part right.
Get your hands off of me.
Charles Evans, you're under arrest for the murder of Joni Timberman.
You have the right to remain silent.
Class dismissed.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Why exactly am I supposed to have killed Joni? Because she rejected you.
In case you haven't noticed, you have an ego.
So you don't like me.
Do you arrest everybody you don't like? Charles.
This is ridiculous.
I have no idea what I'm doing here.
Diane Posner told us what happened.
Diane did? What did Diane say? You killed Timberman.
She wouldn't say anything against me, even if there were something to say.
This is a jilted lover.
A woman accused of this crime herself.
Even if she weren't jilted, even if she weren't accused.
What upsets you more, Mr.
Evans? That we've got you for murder or that your love slave got uppity? Stupidity.
I'm always upset by stupidity.
It doesn't look like we're going to get a confession.
Why should he confess? You'll probably be arresting somebody else tomorrow.
Not if Diane Posner sticks to her story.
She said she wouldn't testify.
I think she will, if she told us.
Yeah.
How will you account for her not telling you sooner? She was in thrall to Evans.
I'll put on psychiatric experts.
Did he encourage her to cover for him? Did he thank her? A little evidence along those lines couldn't hurt.
I checked the visitors' log at Rikers.
He never went.
But her secretary was a regular.
She had me bring in her files twice a week.
She was trying to keep up on her work in there.
Did you carry anything for Charles Evans? No.
Are you sure? I wouldn't forget.
It's important.
I'm very organized about my work.
Here.
This is a list of everything I took to the jail.
Look at what Diane Posner was reading in prison.
"IRS letter rulings.
"New York Law Journal.
" Middle of the page.
"Search and Seizure, chapter 29.
" Examination of prisoners' mail.
So? She was helping her lawyer prepare for the hearing.
Look at the date.
The book was delivered three days before her suicide attempt.
Along with People v.
Garofolo.
The case that got us her letters.
She knew it would.
She set us up.
She wasn't covering for Evans.
I guess we now know why he liked her.
She's smart.
She's devious.
She wasn't protecting him.
And she wasn't protecting herself.
The phone call from Hilligan.
She was at Croton that night.
Right in front of us.
You arrested Charles.
Why are you still asking about my mother? Austin, would you like me to call her lawyer? No.
It doesn't matter.
My mother's cleared.
Actually, Austin, we're having second thoughts about that.
You are? We think she tricked us into suspecting Charles Evans.
No.
He did it.
She told me.
Told you when? The day of the murder? You told us you saw her.
Now she says she was 100 miles away with Evans.
I know.
When I said that, I thought it would help her.
She had an alibi.
The phone call she got from Charles Evans' friend.
I didn't know about that.
She did.
Why would she make up an alibi if she didn't need one? Well, you were accusing her of murder! Who knows why anyone would do anything? We're going to find out.
We're charging her with hindering prosecution at the very least.
No.
She's been through enough.
She's been playing games with us.
No.
I think Austin's been through enough, too.
Just one more question.
Austin, did your mother say that she was with you to give you an alibi? Why would I need one? You'd need one if you didn't have one.
Who saw you here that night? I don't know.
There's always people around.
Good.
Then we can ask them.
Mr.
Dalton, would you call for Austin's roommate? I wasn't in my room.
The library clerk.
I wasn't there either.
Who, Austin? Who should we send for? I don't know.
I'm not sure where I was.
If you were anywhere, we'll find out.
In a couple of days, we can talk to everyone on the campus.
I wasn't here.
Ah.
Then where were you? Somebody drove your mother's car into the city.
My mother called me.
I couldn't understand what she was saying, she was crying so hard.
But she finally got it out.
Charles Evans had dumped her.
I felt good.
I took a bus to Croton.
I figured it was just another one of their arguments.
But she told me about his new girlfriend, Ms.
Timberman.
I thought it was finally over with him.
But all she wanted to do was get back with him.
Why did you go to New York? To tell him how much he was hurting my mother.
I thought if I could get them back together again, it would make my mother happy.
And she'd see that I did it for her, and she'd like me more.
What happened in the apartment? Ms.
Timberman walked in.
She yelled at me.
She told me to leave.
Me.
In my mother's house.
In my house.
His girlfriend.
I went crazy.
I know it wasn't her fault.
I'm sorry.
It was all because of him.
Mr.
McCoy, are the People satisfied? Yes, Your Honor.
Pursuant to your plea to manslaughter in the first degree, and in the light of mitigating circumstances, I'm accepting the recommendation of the prosecution that you be sentenced to a minimum term of correctional facility.
Court is adjourned.
What do you think she wanted to say to him? "Thanks for ruining my life.
" "Please take me back.
"