Law & Order (1990) s09e22 Episode Script
Admissions
NARRATOR: 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.
There's no way I'm doing this.
Oh, come on, Alana.
Everybody's going to be there.
Running nude through campus? What idiots thought this up? Uh, the idiots at Princeton and Stanford.
(SIGHS) But I'm freezing.
Here.
This'll warm you up.
Whoa.
What? ALANA: Oh, no.
She was strangled.
Cut up some.
Been out here since last night.
Probably between Name's Sarah Kincaide.
What, you found her purse? No, student ID was in her pocket.
One of her shoes was over near the library.
Drag marks lead from there to here.
Has campus security showed up? Yeah, guy on duty at the library is tracking down his boss.
Who called it in? The two in the trench coats.
What, they out for their morning flash? Just missed the annual campus nude run.
Too bad.
That door open when you got here? Yes.
Like it is now.
We recovered a few strands of hair from the stairwell in there.
We'll cross it against the victim.
Any blood? No.
Took her outside before he cut her.
Didn't want to mess up the library.
Must be a book lover.
University campus.
That narrows it down.
Smokers disable the alarm, we reconnect, they disable 'em again.
How many guards were on duty last night? Two.
Al Canfield and Joe Winick.
That all? Worst we get on campus here are drugs and alcohol.
Never anything as vicious as this.
Does the library have security cameras? University keeps promising, but Students and professors show ID cards.
Outsiders have to check-in at the front desk for a temporary pass.
Do you keep a list of who comes and goes? No.
But I can give you names of people who signed out books.
Well, how many people come through on any given day? Well, we're in exam period.
The library's open 24 hours.
I'd say we get four or five hundred.
Was Sarah Kincaide a regular? Yes.
She spent a lot of time here.
She used a work station on the third floor.
"Line Search Algorithms"? "Probability Convergences"? Sarah was working on her master's in mathematics.
Yeah, and her tennis game.
Rey, look If she went out back for a smoke, what are these doing here? I was there from 8:00 until a little after 11:00 Um, with students calling my office for last minute help.
It's the only place I can get some quiet.
Did you know Sarah Kincaide? No.
She was on the third floor last night.
Um, I was buried in George Herbert Mead.
My own little world.
Did you hear or see anything unusual? Uh, it's fairly deserted up on three.
But, I I did see one man on my way to reshelf a book.
BRISCOE: A student? Yes, it could have been.
What was he doing? It beats me.
Uh He went into the stairwell.
Maybe 30, 40 seconds later just came back and left.
Can you describe him? Mid to late 20s, uh Brownish hair.
Entitled.
Entitled to what? KROESCHEL: To everything.
What was he wearing? Uh, chinos, polo shirt, running shoes.
You remember what time that was? KROESCHEL: It was around 11:00.
BRISCOE: Could you pick him out of line-up? Definitely.
When I tried to pass him in the hall, he wouldn't let me fit my chair through.
You get a sense about these things.
Uh, it was deliberate.
Thirty seconds in and out of the stairwell.
Couldn't be the killer.
Didn't have time.
Came up empty on the two guards who were on duty last night.
They didn't see a thing.
We got a list of people who checked out books or who were issued temporary library passes.
How many? Eighty checked out books.
It's exam time, and security was pretty lax.
The guy could've come in the back door.
You run the MO? Yeah.
One name popped.
Eddie Clayman.
Did 10 years for rape and attempted murder.
Sexual assault, strangulation, stabbing.
Suspected in a string of campus attacks.
Clayman was paroled to the city two months ago, and he lives three blocks from the campus.
Rape aversion therapy.
So much for rehabilitation.
Find him.
How the hell am I supposed to know where that damn fool son of mine is? Parole office says Eddie's staying here with you.
Is that true? If showing up when he damn well pleases qualifies, yeah, it's true.
I haven't seen him since the weekend.
Has Eddie been taking his Depo-Provera? Them pills to keep his mind off the ladies? 'Cause if we find out he's not, and he's messing with the college girls again What? He'll get into big trouble? The whole neighborhood will be very happy to hear that.
Do you have any idea where Eddie was last night after 10:30, 11:00? Last night, every night.
Playin' poker with them lowlife friends of his.
When he could have been having cocktails with Martha Stewart.
Yeah, it was an all-night game.
Eddie wasn't here too long.
From when to when? Got here a little before midnight.
Left around 1:30.
He run out of money? More like he ran out of luck.
What's that mean? He came late.
Tried to catch up.
Yeah, so he was dealing seconds and we discussed it with him.
He leave on his own two feet? He had an accident on his way out.
We looking at hospitals or the morgue? Well, we tapped him a little Hey, we paid his cab fare to Mercy Cross.
BRISCOE: Eddie Clayman? Yeah.
You been released? Yeah, but I'm feeling kind of bad again.
Where you goin'? Put your hands up against the wall.
Why? Put your hands up against the wall or you're gonna be feeling a lot worse.
I'm the injured party here.
I gotta sit down.
Well, then, sit down.
BRISCOE: Where were you before the poker game? Why you asking me that? Where were you? I was shopping on 14th Street.
You buy some fresh melons in Union Square? Yeah.
And a nice pair of legs to go with 'em.
You're gonna have to do better than that.
Why don't you bring in Nick and Tony? They're the ones who beat the crap out of me.
Maybe you deserved it.
I wasn't even cheatin'.
For killin' the girl.
What girl? Hudson University.
That's what this is about? What else? It sure looks like your handiwork.
I did my time for that.
Yeah, right.
You've been rehabilitated.
Yeah.
I'm not into that rough stuff anymore.
I got my medication.
CURTIS: You taking it? CLAYMAN: Hell, yeah.
You can check with my clinic.
Then why are you chasing hookers down 14th Street? Come on, man.
It's springtime.
Those pills don't work so good.
Yeah, we know.
That's why you've been stalking co-eds at Hudson University.
So, what happened? This medicine give you a little performance problem, so you took it out on the girl? I don't have no performance problem.
You're not helping yourself here, Eddie.
If your therapy wasn't working, you could have a medical defense.
This is screwed up.
I wasn't at Hudson.
So this hooker that you were supposed to be with on 14th Street.
You get her name? You gotta be kiddin', right? What'd she look like? White.
About 5'5".
That's it? Well, I wasn't concentratin' on her face.
You two get a room? She had a spot in the park.
(SIGHS) She wasn't one of Heidi Fleiss' girls, you know what I'm saying? I gotta tell you something, Eddie.
It's looking bad.
What do you want from me? Some straight answers.
I'll tell you one more time, and then I want a lawyer.
I didn't lay a hand on that college girl.
He was out on parole? He'd done this before? We're not sure he's the man who killed your daughter.
You're not sure? We're showing his picture to potential witnesses, and the lab's going over the evidence.
And what? My daughter's dead.
You have kids? I know what you're going through.
KINCAIDE: Sarah was everything to us It's all such a waste.
Was Sarah having any problems with anyone? A boyfriend maybe? No.
Uh, she, uh She didn't have time to date.
Is there a phone I can use? I'd like to call my wife at the hotel.
VAN BUREN: You can use mine.
Bruising around her neck.
Windpipe was crushed.
Whoever did this had big hands.
Most likely a man.
You got a time of death? Between 11 and midnight.
Cause of death, asphyxiation.
Not the knife wounds? The cuts were probably inflicted post-mortem And no defensive wounds.
She wasn't trying to protect herself.
Maybe she was unconscious.
I think she'd have come to.
CURTIS: What kind of knife? Four, five inch.
Smooth-edged.
Was she raped? No.
And no evidence of recent sex But she was nine weeks pregnant.
You sure there was no connection between Clayman and the dead girl? Just the connection of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He's not your man.
Mind sharing how you know that? The killer knew her Draped a scarf over her face.
Wanted her to preserve some dignity.
Dignity? Best he could do under the circumstances.
Like that carjacking a couple of years ago.
But then why cut her up? Make it look like a lunatic had done it.
See these cuts? They're hesitation marks.
He was having a hard time at first.
Got bolder as he went along.
So you're saying he staged the whole thing? Do you think Eddie Clayman could have put all this on to throw us off the track? I think you got the wrong guy.
Hold Clayman on parole violation till we sort all this out.
Whoever killed Sarah Kincaide knew her and cared about her.
Have you talked with her boyfriend? Her father said that she wasn't seeing anybody regularly.
She was pregnant.
So she did something with somebody nine weeks ago.
So how long were you and Sarah roommates? Since the beginning of the year.
Did you know she was pregnant? Sarah was pregnant? That's not possible.
We checked with Health Services.
She found out last week.
I can't believe it.
I can't believe she didn't tell me.
Were you two close? She wasn't even seeing anybody.
How about a couple of months ago? No.
Sarah never went out much Dr.
Clemente kept her pretty busy.
Dr.
Clemente? He's the big cheese in the math department.
Sarah's advisor.
Was there anything going on between them? Oh, no.
Not a chance.
He's old, and she didn't even like him.
What's his problem? He's full of himself.
Believe me, Sarah had better sense.
When did you last see her? We met for coffee the night she was killed.
Uh, 6:00 to 6:30.
CURTIS: What'd you talk about? I did most of the talking.
Wedding plans.
I'm engaged.
Congratulations.
CURTIS: Where did you go when you left Sarah? I went to my dad's office.
He's the Dean of Students.
You know where Sarah went? She met with a few of her undergrads.
My parents are totally freaked about what happened to Sarah.
They're calling me every day to see if I'm okay.
You have any idea who killed her? We're working on it.
So, she met you that night? Yeah.
We both had a problem with the calculus midterm, so Sarah gave us some extra credit work.
She said she'd strike our worst grade.
She was really nice about that sort of thing.
Did she seem upset? Worried about anything? KIKl: No, she seemed fine.
She ever talk about a boyfriend? She talked about math.
That was all.
BRISCOE: What time did she leave you? Around 10 She had a tennis game.
We had a regular game Wednesday nights at 10:30.
That's kind of late, isn't it? That's the only time we could all meet.
Sarah was my doubles partner.
She show up last Wednesday? No.
And it was weird, because she called my cell phone told us she was on her way.
What time was that? A little after 10:30.
When she didn't show up, I knew something was wrong.
She never missed a game.
I think tennis was her only outlet.
So she wasn't dating anyone? I doubt she could find the time.
Did you know she was pregnant? No.
No, I didn't.
Wow.
When Sarah called you, did she tell you what held her up? Yeah, she got stuck at her office with Dr.
Clemente.
Sarah saw my light was on.
Stopped by to say hello.
When was that? Lanie, would ring Professor Ruben for me? Tell him I'm running a few minutes late.
LANIE: Right away.
This is a terrible thing.
Any idea who killed her? Well, we'd like to talk to her boyfriend, but we understand she didn't have one.
I don't know how she would have found the time.
Yeah, we heard you kept her pretty busy.
Sarah was one of the best math minds of her generation.
She was busy.
She have any enemies? Anybody who might have been jealous of her achievements? She was a second year master's candidate.
Nice.
Easygoing.
Hardly a threat.
She stood her ground in theoretical debates but no one faulted her for that.
What time did she stop by? CLEMENTE: I think it was a little after 10:00.
We got to talking about my Kent Institute grant report.
She was the only student I have who could discuss my work intelligently.
How long was she here? About half an hour.
So 10:30? about right.
She was off to a tennis game.
Did she use your phone to call her tennis partner? No.
Gentlemen, anything else? Well, that makes it unanimous.
Everybody says she was going to play tennis.
But she winds up clear across campus at the library.
Something changed her mind.
CURTIS: We went by her office.
The message light on her phone was lit, but we didn't have the password.
Well, I can circumvent that.
Okay, here we go.
COMPUTER: Voice call received, 11:43 p.
m.
Wednesday, April 19th.
GIRL: (ON MACHINE) Sarah, are you still stuck with Clemente? We just finished playing.
We're going to the Brown Jug for a drink.
Meet us.
Bye.
So just the one message she didn't retrieve? Yes.
Can the system retrieve old messages? Well, it stores a log of all calls and voice mail activity.
BRISCOE: Forever? A month.
CURTIS: Did she get any other messages that day? Yes.
She retrieved another message at Deleted it at 10:34.
Can we hear that one? Once it's deleted by the system user, it's gone for good.
It was an intra-university call.
Will an extension help? It's horrible.
Sarah was a good kid.
Would you give us a minute? Yeah.
Uh, I'll meet you over at the econ building.
No, Pete, hold on.
This won't take long.
Mr.
Michaels, you left a message on Sarah's office phone the night she was killed? Yeah.
She retrieved it.
An hour later, she was dead.
Makes us wonder why you called her.
I was looking for my fiancée.
The Dean's daughter? Melissa Slater.
I thought Sarah might know where she was.
Why would she? They were roommates.
Did, uh, Sarah call you back? She leave a message? No.
CURTIS: Was Sarah seeing anybody? Uh, not that I know of.
And where were you Wednesday night after 10 o'clock? Me? Uh, I was drinking with Peter.
Can you think of anybody who might've wanted to hurt her? I know she was having trouble with Dr.
Clemente.
What kind of trouble? Something about his grant report.
How do you know that? I overheard a phone conversation she was having with him.
What'd she say exactly? She was in her room with the door closed.
I didn't hear the words.
Then how do you know it was about the grant report? Well, they'd locked horns on it before.
Look, all I know is she sounded pretty mad.
Dennis and I were at Hanratty's practically all night.
From when till when? Uh, about 9:30 till closing, 3:00 a.
m.
That's a lot of drinks.
Hey, it's exam week, you know.
We needed to unwind.
Okay? Yeah.
Dr.
Clemente forgot to mention a screaming match he had with Sarah Kincaide.
What about? That grant report, apparently.
Kent Institute? What did she have to do with it? CURTIS: "Counting Characteristics.
" "Golden Section Algorithms.
" These all Sarah's? Yes.
My file cabinet's over here.
You know where I can find the Kent Institute grant papers? Sorry.
You know, I took about five minutes of calculus my freshman year, then I dropped the class.
Too analytical? Too early.
8:00 a.
m.
Was Sarah a friend of yours? Sarah was kind of private.
We talked mostly about work, students, the professors.
What'd she think about Dr.
Clemente? Before or after? Before or after what? Before or after she got to know him.
She could have gone anywhere, but she came here because of Dr.
Clemente.
He's incredibly smart.
But his idea of teaching students is to belittle them.
CURTIS: Sarah, too? Everybody.
Well, I got nothing here but class lists, exams she was grading.
Lennie, Kent Institute, Miguel Clemente, Ph.
D.
How much was this grant worth? I think about four million over the course of five years.
What language is this? Some kind of 3D math.
It's beyond me.
The annotations are Sarah's notes.
It looks like here Dr.
Clemente made some mistakes.
Could that affect his grant? Well, it might.
If she's correct in her assumptions.
Four million's a lot to lose.
Not to mention the seven years he spent on the project.
Were you around the night Sarah was killed? No, sorry.
I wish I could help.
Anyone else who might have been in the building? Sure, I was here.
I'm here every night, Did you know Sarah Kincaide? Oh, she was the only one who ever bothered to ask my name.
How about Dr.
Clemente? Dr.
Clemente? He treats me like a piece of furniture.
Last Wednesday night, did you see Sarah or Dr.
Clemente? You mean the night she was killed? Yeah.
No, but before that, they had a big argument.
Oh, yeah? When was that? A few days before.
What about? I don't know.
But I heard yelling from behind his door, and then she came out crying.
CURTIS: Sorry to pull you in so late.
We, uh, appreciate you coming down.
Can we get you a cup of coffee, Dr.
Clemente? If you're so concerned with my comfort, why couldn't this wait till tomorrow? We, uh, found this in Sarah's office.
We weren't quite sure what those notes meant.
I don't expect you were.
Was Sarah Kincaide disputing your conclusions? She thought one of my assumptions was flawed.
I showed her she was mistaken.
Are you suggesting I killed her because she wasn't as smart as she thought she was? My God.
Try this on for size.
She was nine weeks pregnant.
Were you teaching her something besides algebra? What the hell are you thinking? I'm thinking a paternity test is on the agenda.
It never stops, does it? No matter how successful we are, we always fit the profile.
Spic with a knife.
I didn't kill Sarah, and I'm not answering any more questions.
A professor who might have killed his student who might have found errors in his work.
According to the cops, Dr.
Clemente has a chip on his shoulder the size of a boxcar.
Not good enough.
Getting calls from the Board of Regents, worried parents.
The place is a tinder box.
Well, the cops couldn't find anyone else with a grudge.
Clemente says he didn't have a grudge.
Well, what else would he say? He was the last one to see her alive.
Where's the evidence? JACK: Doesn't seem to be any.
No prints.
No witnesses.
Skoda said early on they should be looking for a boyfriend.
Any indication it's Clemente? The cops asked him for a DNA sample.
He refused.
Did he have a reason? Outrage.
He says the suspicion of him is racist.
Sure.
Only Hispanic professor on a white campus, could be he's right.
Could be he did it.
JACK: Let's make sure we're not trashing this man's reputation just because he's uncooperative.
But let's not let it go just because he's screaming racism.
I don't need the Hispanic community up in arms.
I don't want the campus to explode.
Whoever did it, get proof.
Dr.
Clemente's a bastard.
He drives us till we drop.
He expects perfection on the first try.
And he's a lousy teacher.
Anything going on between him and Sarah Kincaide? He put his hand on her shoulder a lot.
She didn't knock it off.
He's Latin.
So it didn't mean anything? Hell, I don't know.
Why isn't anybody doing anything? Why don't you arrest him? We don't know he did it.
Did you see his paper on analog relationships? I wouldn't have known what I was looking at.
His reasoning's so dense it's impenetrable.
Could Sarah Kincaide have penetrated it? Well, I heard she told him his grant report had flaws.
Could she have found errors? She was smart, but she wasn't that smart.
It wouldn't have mattered.
He'd have gone ballistic anyway.
You don't challenge Dr.
Clemente.
And how does he deal with students who do challenge him? Humiliates them till they slink away.
Maybe Sarah didn't slink fast enough for him.
He puts his hand on her shoulder, you think he's a murderer? I'm asking if they were romantically involved.
I heard she was pregnant.
But I'm not sure that Miguel has anything going on south of his brain.
He probably hasn't even noticed that his wife left him four years ago.
Not exactly well-rounded.
He lives entirely in his head.
You've no idea how brilliant he is.
A second-year grad student found errors in his work.
There are maybe two dozen people in the world who can follow Miguel's reasoning.
I doubt Sarah Kincaide was one of them.
She questioned his conclusions.
What would his reaction have been? He's unpredictable.
He might have given her a tongue lashing or he might have calmly explained his reasoning.
You can't think he killed her over that.
You're the first person I've found who defends him.
Miguel had to kick down a lot of barriers to achieve what he's accomplished.
I know there's more to him than that arrogant façade.
Nobody has a clue if Clemente and Sarah Kincaide were an item.
Small community.
Hard to believe they could have achieved total discretion.
How about her questioning his work? Well, one of his colleagues said his reaction would depend on his mood.
Everyone else said he'd rip her a new eye socket.
So you have two contradictory motives, and not much evidence to support either one.
Well, there's no other suspect.
Unless it's some maniac striking randomly, and Skoda ruled that out.
Skoda's been wrong before.
Dr.
Clemente's attorney filed an order to show cause.
Claims we've been harassing his client.
I'm having a hard time disagreeing with him.
They've suspended him from teaching classes.
Why? There's no evidence.
He hasn't even been charged.
(PHONE RINGS) Carmichael.
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Briscoe and Curtis have a witness who can put Clemente in the library.
Yeah, I was out Wednesday night when the girl got murdered, and I saw Professor Clemente storm into the library.
He looked mad enough to, well, kill somebody.
Where were you? Uh, at a table in the main reading room.
What time did you see him? Somewhere between Are you sure it was Dr.
Clemente? Oh, yeah.
I have to sit through his incomprehensible lectures twice a week.
Well, not any more, I guess.
Was he alone? Just him and his ego and that black coat he wears everywhere.
Where did he go? Upstairs.
Didn't even slow down.
People had to jump out of his way.
Why didn't you come forward sooner? I went camping right after my last final.
Didn't even know it had happened till I got back.
Thank you, Mr.
Conway.
We'll be in touch.
Arrest the genius? We've talked to 74 people who were in the library.
How come this kid's the only one who remembers seeing him? How many did you talk to who knew him by sight? Not many.
And they all left way before 10:30.
Arrest the genius.
At least now we can get an answer to the paternity question.
(CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO) I did not kill her.
Yeah, we hear that a lot.
Do you have to make such a spectacle? We couldn't get the car up the stairs.
You're humiliating me.
Watch your head, Doc.
One witness in 400 puts him on the scene.
CARMICHAEL: We'll make a note of your outrage, Mr.
Meyer.
This man is pre-eminent in his field.
You can't possibly think he killed a student.
Dr.
Clemente has a short fuse, they had at least two screaming arguments, and he was there.
I wasn't at the library.
So what happened? She broke up with you, you couldn't take it? You people are all over the map.
He loved her, he hated her.
Or maybe he just got so confused he wanted her dead.
Did you father her child? You might as well answer the question, Dr.
Clemente.
They're running the test now.
(WHISPERING) Sarah was the first woman I ever met I could talk to.
She and I were together for five months.
I broke it off because it was against university rules.
She was upset.
We had a couple of fights.
She threatened to make it public? She never would have threatened my reputation.
She just tore apart your grant proposal.
She was wrong.
But it showed me she had a spark.
A potential most of them don't have.
You didn't ream her out about it the night she was killed? I stayed at my office for a half hour after Sarah left.
Then I went home.
So our witness is lying? He's mistaken about the date.
I did go to the library the night before, and I was angry at the time.
CURTIS: Why? I went over to see if the monograph I had ordered was there.
They hadn't even processed it.
Maybe you could check with the librarian before you ruin a man's life.
He was infuriated.
Of course, he's usually angry about something.
Everything's an injustice with him.
And you're sure it was the Tuesday, not the Wednesday? Oh, yes.
It was my husband's birthday.
Dr.
Clemente made me late getting home.
Does this mean that he didn't do it? Not necessarily.
Most of the girls are so frightened that they've stopped coming here at night.
I was hoping that the arrest would bring everything back to normal.
No, it was that Wednesday.
A couple of hundred people in and out of there that night.
You're the only one we can find who saw Clemente.
Well, I can't help that.
Were you at the library any other night that week? I was there every night until the exams were over.
The librarian says it was Tuesday that Clemente came in.
I was getting four hours sleep a night that week.
I thought it was Wednesday.
You thought? Hey, I was just trying to help.
Well, it only helps if the information is accurate.
Here.
We're trying to get his tenure yanked.
I faxed Sarah Kincaide's notes to Dr.
Ramesh Kapoor in Calcutta.
He says she was very bright, but not bright enough to follow Dr.
Clemente's calculations all the way through.
DNA results.
Clemente's not the father.
(SCOFFS) So the witness changed his story and you have no motive.
Have you released Dr.
Clemente? He's out on bail.
We'll drop the charges.
Are we any closer to knowing who killed this young woman? We're only left with Skoda's opinion.
Someone who felt close to her.
Let's see if the lab can tell us anything about the real father yet.
DNA tests peg the father as having Greek ancestry.
Pretty specific.
He has a blood disorder.
Beta-thalassemia.
Only occurs in Greeks.
There's no obviously Greek names in the case file.
Thank you.
Let's talk to Sarah Kincaide's roommate.
I told the police I don't know who the father was.
I didn't even know she was pregnant.
The medical examiner ran some tests on the fetus.
It was determined that the father was of Greek origin.
Greek? CARMICHAEL: Yeah.
Did Sarah know any men of Greek ancestry? Well, I I don't know everybody that she knew.
Do you know anybody that might fit the bill? Why do you think that I would know anything about this? Because you're biting your lip so hard it's going to start bleeding soon.
There are a lot of Greek-Americans at school here.
This one has a blood condition.
He'd be taking medication for it.
Tell us who he is.
He He couldn't be the father.
He would He would never do that to me.
Who? My, uh (BREATHES DEEPLY) My fiancée.
Dennis Michaels.
Michaels? It used to be Michaelanos.
There's about 400,000 Greeks in New York City.
We can clear this up easily enough with a paternity test.
I didn't kill Sarah.
I told the police I was with my friend Peter Kelly.
She went to Health Services on campus, learned that she was pregnant.
They offered to give her the name of a doctor who performs abortions.
She wasn't interested.
When did she tell you she was going to have the baby? You got it all wrong.
Clear it up for us.
Some guy dumped her.
She needed comforting.
And you comforted her by knocking her up? I didn't even know about the baby.
Why would I kill her? You were worried she'd tell your fiancée about your relationship and screw up your plans to marry the Dean's daughter.
It wasn't a relationship, okay? One mistake.
We both felt bad.
Thank you for coming in, Mr.
Michaels.
Think you were a little tough on him, Jack? We just destroyed one innocent man.
Let's see if Mr.
Michaels' alibi is vulnerable before we go for two.
Look, I've already been through this.
I was at Hanratty's with Dennis from maybe Try again.
What, you want me to repeat myself? Both of you were regulars.
Bartender says you weren't there.
Other patrons don't remember seeing either of you.
Six weeks ago.
Who remembers? I'm giving you a chance to back out of a lot of trouble, Mr.
Kelly.
Why don't you take it? Look, if you had anything on Dennis, he'd be under arrest and you'd have a subpoena in your hand.
The police have a witness who saw you on the quad at 11:30 that night.
Dennis Michaels wasn't with you.
That the same witness who saw Dr.
Clemente in the library? If you insist on testifying that Michaels was with you.
We'll slam you for perjury.
I'm not some junkie on Welfare that you can scare with your little speeches.
I'm going to the Grand Jury this afternoon.
I wanted to give you a chance.
So nice of you to stop by.
No, this isn't the man I saw go into the stairwell.
Did you see him at all that night? No.
What happened to the case against Dr.
Clemente? Sometimes our first indications point in the wrong direction.
Oh, I bet that's a big comfort to him.
He's been on indefinite, unpaid leave, you know.
Have you remembered any details at all about the man you saw, Professor Kroeschel? Just what I said.
Uh, brown hair Uh, college polo shirt.
College? Cal Central.
Peter Kelly had a Cal Central pennant in his living room.
I showed Professor Kroeschel his yearbook picture, and he ID'd him as the man he saw go in the stairwell.
Did you talk to Kelly again? No.
I think we need to discuss a plan of attack.
Kelly must have witnessed the crime.
Now he's protecting Michaels.
Michaels sleeps with his fiancée's roommate, kills her to keep her quiet.
Why would Kelly cover for him? Well, they're in the same graduate program.
They're supposed to be best friends.
That's some friendship.
Damon and Pythias.
More like Leopold and Loeb.
Maybe we can nail Kelly as an accomplice, get him to roll on Michaels.
Kelly was in and out of the stairwell in a matter of seconds.
But if he watched it go down and didn't do anything about it, he's as bad as Michaels.
Which gives him a good reason to go to the mat for Michaels.
We need a wedge to bust them apart.
Dennis told me this is all a huge mistake.
Was sleeping with your roommate also just a mistake? Sarah came on to Dennis after he'd had a few drinks.
I was out of town.
He's really sorry about it.
Why didn't he tell you about it after it happened? He killed your roommate, Miss Slater.
I don't believe that.
Dennis went out drinking that night with Peter.
Peter Kelly is covering for him.
Why would Peter lie? He's from a prominent family.
Dennis told me Peter's father owns an entire shipping company.
Sounds like Dennis was impressed.
No, Dennis isn't like that, Mr.
McCoy.
He's worked very hard to get into the university.
And he had a lot to lose if Sarah Kincaide told you about their problem.
You, your father's influence.
Your fiancée's alibi is worthless, Miss Slater.
An eyewitness put Peter Kelly in the library that night.
I don't know.
There must have been a good reason why Peter would go out on a limb for Dennis.
Dennis did get Peter through a few rough spots.
I still don't believe it.
What kind of rough spots? At school.
Helped him with his thesis.
He He wrote a few papers for him.
You're making our case for us, Miss Slater.
I don't care what you say Maybe Peter's making up this alibi because you're trying to frame Dennis.
You can't honestly believe we'd do that.
Why not? You already tried it with Dr.
Clemente.
We just talked to Melissa Slater.
She says you'd lie to protect your friend.
I've told you where I was.
I've got nothing to add.
You went into the library stairwell at around 11:00 p.
m.
Why did you turn around and come right back? Wasn't there.
You saw Dennis Michaels there with Sarah Kincaide.
What were they doing? You witnessed the murder.
Why don't you people just admit that you don't have a clue? I'm getting a material witness order.
You'll be arrested.
You'll be held at Rikers Island.
I'm calling my father.
His lawyers will have me out in an hour.
You do that.
(SIGHS) Pretty thin, Jack.
We had more than this on Dr.
Clemente.
So? Make it sound thicker when you apply for the order.
And then what? Kelly's figured out we've got nothing.
He's better off hanging tough.
Couple of weeks sleeping with his back to the wall may change his attitude.
I'm moving to vacate the material witness order, Your Honor.
I have a university professor who places Mr.
Kelly at the scene of the crime.
My client's already told the D.
A.
He didn't see anything.
The statute requires reasonable cause to believe Mr.
Kelly will refuse to testify in our case.
We have cleared that hurdle.
What case? They haven't indicted their suspect.
They haven't even arrested him yet.
This is third-rate arm twisting.
Mr.
McCoy, if you don't even have enough evidence to arrest Mr.
Michaels you're not leaving me much choice.
I'm having Mr.
Kelly arrested today.
What? He'll be arraigned on a murder two charge with Dennis Michaels.
This is outrageous.
Judge JUDGE: Who are you? I'm his father.
Sit down, Mr.
Kelly.
Your son has a lawyer.
What is Mr.
McCoy's theory? He acted as Mr.
Michaels' accomplice.
My son was not mixed up in that.
Last warning, sir.
I can't stop the D.
A.
From making arrests.
He hasn't got a shred of evidence against my client.
Then the Grand Jury will no-bill it.
Until Mr.
Kelly's been arraigned, there's nothing I can do.
(GAVEL BANGS) Kelly and Michaels were arraigned this morning.
For murder.
They're locked up? Michaels is.
Kelly's father posted bail.
That'll lessen the damage award when he sues for false arrest.
He watched Michaels strangle that girl.
All he did was turn and walk away.
If that's what happened, it's still not a crime.
Hell of a moral lapse.
Can't we find something to nail this guy with? ADAM: Not in this state.
Accomplice charge won't stand.
Just trying to loosen his tongue.
You're using the authority of this office like a foot on the neck.
We've done that before.
You usually have one leg to stand on.
Fine, Adam.
JACK: I'll call Kelly's lawyer.
We're cutting Kelly loose? We're arranging a meeting with Michaels.
I'm throwing the dogs into the pit.
Let's make sure Kelly's father is there, too.
I don't know what you think this will accomplish, Mr.
McCoy.
I'm hoping to parcel out responsibility for Sarah Kincaide's murder.
Well, you have nothing about me.
I'm not saying anything about Dennis.
(DOOR OPENS) What are you doing here? Mr.
McCoy asked me to come.
What for? If you're going to cover up this woman's murder, I want your father to hear it.
You saw him kill her.
That's what they say.
Don't feed me crap, Peter.
CARMICHAEL: Professor Kroeschel was in my office.
Your father just spoke to him.
He's positive he saw you there, Peter.
They still can't touch you.
This is what you're protecting? He's my friend.
Oh.
Your friend strangled a pregnant woman with his bare hands.
He sliced up her body with a pocket knife.
KELLY SR: I'm so glad you went to graduate school.
Look, not everybody's obsessed with making money, Dad.
You don't want my money? That's right.
I guess you don't want the bail I posted for you.
I'd like to withdraw my bail bond, Mr.
McCoy.
That can be arranged.
That's not what I meant.
What do you mean? KELLY SR: It's time you stopped covering up for your nice college friend.
You want to stay out ofjail, you tell Mr.
McCoy what he wants to know.
Dad This is the way it's done in the real world.
It's time you stepped into it! Officer, call your supervisor.
Arrange for Mr.
Kelly's transportation to Rikers.
Wait.
Peter, what are you doing? Let's hear it, Mr.
Kelly.
I went to the library that night looking for Dennis.
I can't believe this.
I thought he might be up there with Sarah.
What, this is how you pay me back? What do you want me to do, Dennis? Keep your damn mouth shut.
I saw them in a stairwell.
I thought he was having sex with her.
You son of a bitch! I didn't know he was choking her, I swear.
Oh, yeah, right.
You knew exactly what was happening.
You watched me do it to her, and you didn't have the guts to say anything until daddy here came and cut you off.
Take Mr.
Michaels out.
(DOOR CLOSES) Are you prosecuting my son, Mr.
McCoy? I wish I could.
Let's go.
JACK: Michaels will plead to murder two, 20-to-life.
Sarah Kincaide's father is looking into a wrongful death suit.
There will be a hue and cry in Albany for a Good Samaritan law.
No way to make it constitutional.
Well, at least Hudson University has settled down.
Dr.
Clemente is back on campus.
Peter Kelly's been expelled.
What does he care? He'll probably go into the family business.
As long as it doesn't require a conscience.
These are their stories.
There's no way I'm doing this.
Oh, come on, Alana.
Everybody's going to be there.
Running nude through campus? What idiots thought this up? Uh, the idiots at Princeton and Stanford.
(SIGHS) But I'm freezing.
Here.
This'll warm you up.
Whoa.
What? ALANA: Oh, no.
She was strangled.
Cut up some.
Been out here since last night.
Probably between Name's Sarah Kincaide.
What, you found her purse? No, student ID was in her pocket.
One of her shoes was over near the library.
Drag marks lead from there to here.
Has campus security showed up? Yeah, guy on duty at the library is tracking down his boss.
Who called it in? The two in the trench coats.
What, they out for their morning flash? Just missed the annual campus nude run.
Too bad.
That door open when you got here? Yes.
Like it is now.
We recovered a few strands of hair from the stairwell in there.
We'll cross it against the victim.
Any blood? No.
Took her outside before he cut her.
Didn't want to mess up the library.
Must be a book lover.
University campus.
That narrows it down.
Smokers disable the alarm, we reconnect, they disable 'em again.
How many guards were on duty last night? Two.
Al Canfield and Joe Winick.
That all? Worst we get on campus here are drugs and alcohol.
Never anything as vicious as this.
Does the library have security cameras? University keeps promising, but Students and professors show ID cards.
Outsiders have to check-in at the front desk for a temporary pass.
Do you keep a list of who comes and goes? No.
But I can give you names of people who signed out books.
Well, how many people come through on any given day? Well, we're in exam period.
The library's open 24 hours.
I'd say we get four or five hundred.
Was Sarah Kincaide a regular? Yes.
She spent a lot of time here.
She used a work station on the third floor.
"Line Search Algorithms"? "Probability Convergences"? Sarah was working on her master's in mathematics.
Yeah, and her tennis game.
Rey, look If she went out back for a smoke, what are these doing here? I was there from 8:00 until a little after 11:00 Um, with students calling my office for last minute help.
It's the only place I can get some quiet.
Did you know Sarah Kincaide? No.
She was on the third floor last night.
Um, I was buried in George Herbert Mead.
My own little world.
Did you hear or see anything unusual? Uh, it's fairly deserted up on three.
But, I I did see one man on my way to reshelf a book.
BRISCOE: A student? Yes, it could have been.
What was he doing? It beats me.
Uh He went into the stairwell.
Maybe 30, 40 seconds later just came back and left.
Can you describe him? Mid to late 20s, uh Brownish hair.
Entitled.
Entitled to what? KROESCHEL: To everything.
What was he wearing? Uh, chinos, polo shirt, running shoes.
You remember what time that was? KROESCHEL: It was around 11:00.
BRISCOE: Could you pick him out of line-up? Definitely.
When I tried to pass him in the hall, he wouldn't let me fit my chair through.
You get a sense about these things.
Uh, it was deliberate.
Thirty seconds in and out of the stairwell.
Couldn't be the killer.
Didn't have time.
Came up empty on the two guards who were on duty last night.
They didn't see a thing.
We got a list of people who checked out books or who were issued temporary library passes.
How many? Eighty checked out books.
It's exam time, and security was pretty lax.
The guy could've come in the back door.
You run the MO? Yeah.
One name popped.
Eddie Clayman.
Did 10 years for rape and attempted murder.
Sexual assault, strangulation, stabbing.
Suspected in a string of campus attacks.
Clayman was paroled to the city two months ago, and he lives three blocks from the campus.
Rape aversion therapy.
So much for rehabilitation.
Find him.
How the hell am I supposed to know where that damn fool son of mine is? Parole office says Eddie's staying here with you.
Is that true? If showing up when he damn well pleases qualifies, yeah, it's true.
I haven't seen him since the weekend.
Has Eddie been taking his Depo-Provera? Them pills to keep his mind off the ladies? 'Cause if we find out he's not, and he's messing with the college girls again What? He'll get into big trouble? The whole neighborhood will be very happy to hear that.
Do you have any idea where Eddie was last night after 10:30, 11:00? Last night, every night.
Playin' poker with them lowlife friends of his.
When he could have been having cocktails with Martha Stewart.
Yeah, it was an all-night game.
Eddie wasn't here too long.
From when to when? Got here a little before midnight.
Left around 1:30.
He run out of money? More like he ran out of luck.
What's that mean? He came late.
Tried to catch up.
Yeah, so he was dealing seconds and we discussed it with him.
He leave on his own two feet? He had an accident on his way out.
We looking at hospitals or the morgue? Well, we tapped him a little Hey, we paid his cab fare to Mercy Cross.
BRISCOE: Eddie Clayman? Yeah.
You been released? Yeah, but I'm feeling kind of bad again.
Where you goin'? Put your hands up against the wall.
Why? Put your hands up against the wall or you're gonna be feeling a lot worse.
I'm the injured party here.
I gotta sit down.
Well, then, sit down.
BRISCOE: Where were you before the poker game? Why you asking me that? Where were you? I was shopping on 14th Street.
You buy some fresh melons in Union Square? Yeah.
And a nice pair of legs to go with 'em.
You're gonna have to do better than that.
Why don't you bring in Nick and Tony? They're the ones who beat the crap out of me.
Maybe you deserved it.
I wasn't even cheatin'.
For killin' the girl.
What girl? Hudson University.
That's what this is about? What else? It sure looks like your handiwork.
I did my time for that.
Yeah, right.
You've been rehabilitated.
Yeah.
I'm not into that rough stuff anymore.
I got my medication.
CURTIS: You taking it? CLAYMAN: Hell, yeah.
You can check with my clinic.
Then why are you chasing hookers down 14th Street? Come on, man.
It's springtime.
Those pills don't work so good.
Yeah, we know.
That's why you've been stalking co-eds at Hudson University.
So, what happened? This medicine give you a little performance problem, so you took it out on the girl? I don't have no performance problem.
You're not helping yourself here, Eddie.
If your therapy wasn't working, you could have a medical defense.
This is screwed up.
I wasn't at Hudson.
So this hooker that you were supposed to be with on 14th Street.
You get her name? You gotta be kiddin', right? What'd she look like? White.
About 5'5".
That's it? Well, I wasn't concentratin' on her face.
You two get a room? She had a spot in the park.
(SIGHS) She wasn't one of Heidi Fleiss' girls, you know what I'm saying? I gotta tell you something, Eddie.
It's looking bad.
What do you want from me? Some straight answers.
I'll tell you one more time, and then I want a lawyer.
I didn't lay a hand on that college girl.
He was out on parole? He'd done this before? We're not sure he's the man who killed your daughter.
You're not sure? We're showing his picture to potential witnesses, and the lab's going over the evidence.
And what? My daughter's dead.
You have kids? I know what you're going through.
KINCAIDE: Sarah was everything to us It's all such a waste.
Was Sarah having any problems with anyone? A boyfriend maybe? No.
Uh, she, uh She didn't have time to date.
Is there a phone I can use? I'd like to call my wife at the hotel.
VAN BUREN: You can use mine.
Bruising around her neck.
Windpipe was crushed.
Whoever did this had big hands.
Most likely a man.
You got a time of death? Between 11 and midnight.
Cause of death, asphyxiation.
Not the knife wounds? The cuts were probably inflicted post-mortem And no defensive wounds.
She wasn't trying to protect herself.
Maybe she was unconscious.
I think she'd have come to.
CURTIS: What kind of knife? Four, five inch.
Smooth-edged.
Was she raped? No.
And no evidence of recent sex But she was nine weeks pregnant.
You sure there was no connection between Clayman and the dead girl? Just the connection of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He's not your man.
Mind sharing how you know that? The killer knew her Draped a scarf over her face.
Wanted her to preserve some dignity.
Dignity? Best he could do under the circumstances.
Like that carjacking a couple of years ago.
But then why cut her up? Make it look like a lunatic had done it.
See these cuts? They're hesitation marks.
He was having a hard time at first.
Got bolder as he went along.
So you're saying he staged the whole thing? Do you think Eddie Clayman could have put all this on to throw us off the track? I think you got the wrong guy.
Hold Clayman on parole violation till we sort all this out.
Whoever killed Sarah Kincaide knew her and cared about her.
Have you talked with her boyfriend? Her father said that she wasn't seeing anybody regularly.
She was pregnant.
So she did something with somebody nine weeks ago.
So how long were you and Sarah roommates? Since the beginning of the year.
Did you know she was pregnant? Sarah was pregnant? That's not possible.
We checked with Health Services.
She found out last week.
I can't believe it.
I can't believe she didn't tell me.
Were you two close? She wasn't even seeing anybody.
How about a couple of months ago? No.
Sarah never went out much Dr.
Clemente kept her pretty busy.
Dr.
Clemente? He's the big cheese in the math department.
Sarah's advisor.
Was there anything going on between them? Oh, no.
Not a chance.
He's old, and she didn't even like him.
What's his problem? He's full of himself.
Believe me, Sarah had better sense.
When did you last see her? We met for coffee the night she was killed.
Uh, 6:00 to 6:30.
CURTIS: What'd you talk about? I did most of the talking.
Wedding plans.
I'm engaged.
Congratulations.
CURTIS: Where did you go when you left Sarah? I went to my dad's office.
He's the Dean of Students.
You know where Sarah went? She met with a few of her undergrads.
My parents are totally freaked about what happened to Sarah.
They're calling me every day to see if I'm okay.
You have any idea who killed her? We're working on it.
So, she met you that night? Yeah.
We both had a problem with the calculus midterm, so Sarah gave us some extra credit work.
She said she'd strike our worst grade.
She was really nice about that sort of thing.
Did she seem upset? Worried about anything? KIKl: No, she seemed fine.
She ever talk about a boyfriend? She talked about math.
That was all.
BRISCOE: What time did she leave you? Around 10 She had a tennis game.
We had a regular game Wednesday nights at 10:30.
That's kind of late, isn't it? That's the only time we could all meet.
Sarah was my doubles partner.
She show up last Wednesday? No.
And it was weird, because she called my cell phone told us she was on her way.
What time was that? A little after 10:30.
When she didn't show up, I knew something was wrong.
She never missed a game.
I think tennis was her only outlet.
So she wasn't dating anyone? I doubt she could find the time.
Did you know she was pregnant? No.
No, I didn't.
Wow.
When Sarah called you, did she tell you what held her up? Yeah, she got stuck at her office with Dr.
Clemente.
Sarah saw my light was on.
Stopped by to say hello.
When was that? Lanie, would ring Professor Ruben for me? Tell him I'm running a few minutes late.
LANIE: Right away.
This is a terrible thing.
Any idea who killed her? Well, we'd like to talk to her boyfriend, but we understand she didn't have one.
I don't know how she would have found the time.
Yeah, we heard you kept her pretty busy.
Sarah was one of the best math minds of her generation.
She was busy.
She have any enemies? Anybody who might have been jealous of her achievements? She was a second year master's candidate.
Nice.
Easygoing.
Hardly a threat.
She stood her ground in theoretical debates but no one faulted her for that.
What time did she stop by? CLEMENTE: I think it was a little after 10:00.
We got to talking about my Kent Institute grant report.
She was the only student I have who could discuss my work intelligently.
How long was she here? About half an hour.
So 10:30? about right.
She was off to a tennis game.
Did she use your phone to call her tennis partner? No.
Gentlemen, anything else? Well, that makes it unanimous.
Everybody says she was going to play tennis.
But she winds up clear across campus at the library.
Something changed her mind.
CURTIS: We went by her office.
The message light on her phone was lit, but we didn't have the password.
Well, I can circumvent that.
Okay, here we go.
COMPUTER: Voice call received, 11:43 p.
m.
Wednesday, April 19th.
GIRL: (ON MACHINE) Sarah, are you still stuck with Clemente? We just finished playing.
We're going to the Brown Jug for a drink.
Meet us.
Bye.
So just the one message she didn't retrieve? Yes.
Can the system retrieve old messages? Well, it stores a log of all calls and voice mail activity.
BRISCOE: Forever? A month.
CURTIS: Did she get any other messages that day? Yes.
She retrieved another message at Deleted it at 10:34.
Can we hear that one? Once it's deleted by the system user, it's gone for good.
It was an intra-university call.
Will an extension help? It's horrible.
Sarah was a good kid.
Would you give us a minute? Yeah.
Uh, I'll meet you over at the econ building.
No, Pete, hold on.
This won't take long.
Mr.
Michaels, you left a message on Sarah's office phone the night she was killed? Yeah.
She retrieved it.
An hour later, she was dead.
Makes us wonder why you called her.
I was looking for my fiancée.
The Dean's daughter? Melissa Slater.
I thought Sarah might know where she was.
Why would she? They were roommates.
Did, uh, Sarah call you back? She leave a message? No.
CURTIS: Was Sarah seeing anybody? Uh, not that I know of.
And where were you Wednesday night after 10 o'clock? Me? Uh, I was drinking with Peter.
Can you think of anybody who might've wanted to hurt her? I know she was having trouble with Dr.
Clemente.
What kind of trouble? Something about his grant report.
How do you know that? I overheard a phone conversation she was having with him.
What'd she say exactly? She was in her room with the door closed.
I didn't hear the words.
Then how do you know it was about the grant report? Well, they'd locked horns on it before.
Look, all I know is she sounded pretty mad.
Dennis and I were at Hanratty's practically all night.
From when till when? Uh, about 9:30 till closing, 3:00 a.
m.
That's a lot of drinks.
Hey, it's exam week, you know.
We needed to unwind.
Okay? Yeah.
Dr.
Clemente forgot to mention a screaming match he had with Sarah Kincaide.
What about? That grant report, apparently.
Kent Institute? What did she have to do with it? CURTIS: "Counting Characteristics.
" "Golden Section Algorithms.
" These all Sarah's? Yes.
My file cabinet's over here.
You know where I can find the Kent Institute grant papers? Sorry.
You know, I took about five minutes of calculus my freshman year, then I dropped the class.
Too analytical? Too early.
8:00 a.
m.
Was Sarah a friend of yours? Sarah was kind of private.
We talked mostly about work, students, the professors.
What'd she think about Dr.
Clemente? Before or after? Before or after what? Before or after she got to know him.
She could have gone anywhere, but she came here because of Dr.
Clemente.
He's incredibly smart.
But his idea of teaching students is to belittle them.
CURTIS: Sarah, too? Everybody.
Well, I got nothing here but class lists, exams she was grading.
Lennie, Kent Institute, Miguel Clemente, Ph.
D.
How much was this grant worth? I think about four million over the course of five years.
What language is this? Some kind of 3D math.
It's beyond me.
The annotations are Sarah's notes.
It looks like here Dr.
Clemente made some mistakes.
Could that affect his grant? Well, it might.
If she's correct in her assumptions.
Four million's a lot to lose.
Not to mention the seven years he spent on the project.
Were you around the night Sarah was killed? No, sorry.
I wish I could help.
Anyone else who might have been in the building? Sure, I was here.
I'm here every night, Did you know Sarah Kincaide? Oh, she was the only one who ever bothered to ask my name.
How about Dr.
Clemente? Dr.
Clemente? He treats me like a piece of furniture.
Last Wednesday night, did you see Sarah or Dr.
Clemente? You mean the night she was killed? Yeah.
No, but before that, they had a big argument.
Oh, yeah? When was that? A few days before.
What about? I don't know.
But I heard yelling from behind his door, and then she came out crying.
CURTIS: Sorry to pull you in so late.
We, uh, appreciate you coming down.
Can we get you a cup of coffee, Dr.
Clemente? If you're so concerned with my comfort, why couldn't this wait till tomorrow? We, uh, found this in Sarah's office.
We weren't quite sure what those notes meant.
I don't expect you were.
Was Sarah Kincaide disputing your conclusions? She thought one of my assumptions was flawed.
I showed her she was mistaken.
Are you suggesting I killed her because she wasn't as smart as she thought she was? My God.
Try this on for size.
She was nine weeks pregnant.
Were you teaching her something besides algebra? What the hell are you thinking? I'm thinking a paternity test is on the agenda.
It never stops, does it? No matter how successful we are, we always fit the profile.
Spic with a knife.
I didn't kill Sarah, and I'm not answering any more questions.
A professor who might have killed his student who might have found errors in his work.
According to the cops, Dr.
Clemente has a chip on his shoulder the size of a boxcar.
Not good enough.
Getting calls from the Board of Regents, worried parents.
The place is a tinder box.
Well, the cops couldn't find anyone else with a grudge.
Clemente says he didn't have a grudge.
Well, what else would he say? He was the last one to see her alive.
Where's the evidence? JACK: Doesn't seem to be any.
No prints.
No witnesses.
Skoda said early on they should be looking for a boyfriend.
Any indication it's Clemente? The cops asked him for a DNA sample.
He refused.
Did he have a reason? Outrage.
He says the suspicion of him is racist.
Sure.
Only Hispanic professor on a white campus, could be he's right.
Could be he did it.
JACK: Let's make sure we're not trashing this man's reputation just because he's uncooperative.
But let's not let it go just because he's screaming racism.
I don't need the Hispanic community up in arms.
I don't want the campus to explode.
Whoever did it, get proof.
Dr.
Clemente's a bastard.
He drives us till we drop.
He expects perfection on the first try.
And he's a lousy teacher.
Anything going on between him and Sarah Kincaide? He put his hand on her shoulder a lot.
She didn't knock it off.
He's Latin.
So it didn't mean anything? Hell, I don't know.
Why isn't anybody doing anything? Why don't you arrest him? We don't know he did it.
Did you see his paper on analog relationships? I wouldn't have known what I was looking at.
His reasoning's so dense it's impenetrable.
Could Sarah Kincaide have penetrated it? Well, I heard she told him his grant report had flaws.
Could she have found errors? She was smart, but she wasn't that smart.
It wouldn't have mattered.
He'd have gone ballistic anyway.
You don't challenge Dr.
Clemente.
And how does he deal with students who do challenge him? Humiliates them till they slink away.
Maybe Sarah didn't slink fast enough for him.
He puts his hand on her shoulder, you think he's a murderer? I'm asking if they were romantically involved.
I heard she was pregnant.
But I'm not sure that Miguel has anything going on south of his brain.
He probably hasn't even noticed that his wife left him four years ago.
Not exactly well-rounded.
He lives entirely in his head.
You've no idea how brilliant he is.
A second-year grad student found errors in his work.
There are maybe two dozen people in the world who can follow Miguel's reasoning.
I doubt Sarah Kincaide was one of them.
She questioned his conclusions.
What would his reaction have been? He's unpredictable.
He might have given her a tongue lashing or he might have calmly explained his reasoning.
You can't think he killed her over that.
You're the first person I've found who defends him.
Miguel had to kick down a lot of barriers to achieve what he's accomplished.
I know there's more to him than that arrogant façade.
Nobody has a clue if Clemente and Sarah Kincaide were an item.
Small community.
Hard to believe they could have achieved total discretion.
How about her questioning his work? Well, one of his colleagues said his reaction would depend on his mood.
Everyone else said he'd rip her a new eye socket.
So you have two contradictory motives, and not much evidence to support either one.
Well, there's no other suspect.
Unless it's some maniac striking randomly, and Skoda ruled that out.
Skoda's been wrong before.
Dr.
Clemente's attorney filed an order to show cause.
Claims we've been harassing his client.
I'm having a hard time disagreeing with him.
They've suspended him from teaching classes.
Why? There's no evidence.
He hasn't even been charged.
(PHONE RINGS) Carmichael.
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Briscoe and Curtis have a witness who can put Clemente in the library.
Yeah, I was out Wednesday night when the girl got murdered, and I saw Professor Clemente storm into the library.
He looked mad enough to, well, kill somebody.
Where were you? Uh, at a table in the main reading room.
What time did you see him? Somewhere between Are you sure it was Dr.
Clemente? Oh, yeah.
I have to sit through his incomprehensible lectures twice a week.
Well, not any more, I guess.
Was he alone? Just him and his ego and that black coat he wears everywhere.
Where did he go? Upstairs.
Didn't even slow down.
People had to jump out of his way.
Why didn't you come forward sooner? I went camping right after my last final.
Didn't even know it had happened till I got back.
Thank you, Mr.
Conway.
We'll be in touch.
Arrest the genius? We've talked to 74 people who were in the library.
How come this kid's the only one who remembers seeing him? How many did you talk to who knew him by sight? Not many.
And they all left way before 10:30.
Arrest the genius.
At least now we can get an answer to the paternity question.
(CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO) I did not kill her.
Yeah, we hear that a lot.
Do you have to make such a spectacle? We couldn't get the car up the stairs.
You're humiliating me.
Watch your head, Doc.
One witness in 400 puts him on the scene.
CARMICHAEL: We'll make a note of your outrage, Mr.
Meyer.
This man is pre-eminent in his field.
You can't possibly think he killed a student.
Dr.
Clemente has a short fuse, they had at least two screaming arguments, and he was there.
I wasn't at the library.
So what happened? She broke up with you, you couldn't take it? You people are all over the map.
He loved her, he hated her.
Or maybe he just got so confused he wanted her dead.
Did you father her child? You might as well answer the question, Dr.
Clemente.
They're running the test now.
(WHISPERING) Sarah was the first woman I ever met I could talk to.
She and I were together for five months.
I broke it off because it was against university rules.
She was upset.
We had a couple of fights.
She threatened to make it public? She never would have threatened my reputation.
She just tore apart your grant proposal.
She was wrong.
But it showed me she had a spark.
A potential most of them don't have.
You didn't ream her out about it the night she was killed? I stayed at my office for a half hour after Sarah left.
Then I went home.
So our witness is lying? He's mistaken about the date.
I did go to the library the night before, and I was angry at the time.
CURTIS: Why? I went over to see if the monograph I had ordered was there.
They hadn't even processed it.
Maybe you could check with the librarian before you ruin a man's life.
He was infuriated.
Of course, he's usually angry about something.
Everything's an injustice with him.
And you're sure it was the Tuesday, not the Wednesday? Oh, yes.
It was my husband's birthday.
Dr.
Clemente made me late getting home.
Does this mean that he didn't do it? Not necessarily.
Most of the girls are so frightened that they've stopped coming here at night.
I was hoping that the arrest would bring everything back to normal.
No, it was that Wednesday.
A couple of hundred people in and out of there that night.
You're the only one we can find who saw Clemente.
Well, I can't help that.
Were you at the library any other night that week? I was there every night until the exams were over.
The librarian says it was Tuesday that Clemente came in.
I was getting four hours sleep a night that week.
I thought it was Wednesday.
You thought? Hey, I was just trying to help.
Well, it only helps if the information is accurate.
Here.
We're trying to get his tenure yanked.
I faxed Sarah Kincaide's notes to Dr.
Ramesh Kapoor in Calcutta.
He says she was very bright, but not bright enough to follow Dr.
Clemente's calculations all the way through.
DNA results.
Clemente's not the father.
(SCOFFS) So the witness changed his story and you have no motive.
Have you released Dr.
Clemente? He's out on bail.
We'll drop the charges.
Are we any closer to knowing who killed this young woman? We're only left with Skoda's opinion.
Someone who felt close to her.
Let's see if the lab can tell us anything about the real father yet.
DNA tests peg the father as having Greek ancestry.
Pretty specific.
He has a blood disorder.
Beta-thalassemia.
Only occurs in Greeks.
There's no obviously Greek names in the case file.
Thank you.
Let's talk to Sarah Kincaide's roommate.
I told the police I don't know who the father was.
I didn't even know she was pregnant.
The medical examiner ran some tests on the fetus.
It was determined that the father was of Greek origin.
Greek? CARMICHAEL: Yeah.
Did Sarah know any men of Greek ancestry? Well, I I don't know everybody that she knew.
Do you know anybody that might fit the bill? Why do you think that I would know anything about this? Because you're biting your lip so hard it's going to start bleeding soon.
There are a lot of Greek-Americans at school here.
This one has a blood condition.
He'd be taking medication for it.
Tell us who he is.
He He couldn't be the father.
He would He would never do that to me.
Who? My, uh (BREATHES DEEPLY) My fiancée.
Dennis Michaels.
Michaels? It used to be Michaelanos.
There's about 400,000 Greeks in New York City.
We can clear this up easily enough with a paternity test.
I didn't kill Sarah.
I told the police I was with my friend Peter Kelly.
She went to Health Services on campus, learned that she was pregnant.
They offered to give her the name of a doctor who performs abortions.
She wasn't interested.
When did she tell you she was going to have the baby? You got it all wrong.
Clear it up for us.
Some guy dumped her.
She needed comforting.
And you comforted her by knocking her up? I didn't even know about the baby.
Why would I kill her? You were worried she'd tell your fiancée about your relationship and screw up your plans to marry the Dean's daughter.
It wasn't a relationship, okay? One mistake.
We both felt bad.
Thank you for coming in, Mr.
Michaels.
Think you were a little tough on him, Jack? We just destroyed one innocent man.
Let's see if Mr.
Michaels' alibi is vulnerable before we go for two.
Look, I've already been through this.
I was at Hanratty's with Dennis from maybe Try again.
What, you want me to repeat myself? Both of you were regulars.
Bartender says you weren't there.
Other patrons don't remember seeing either of you.
Six weeks ago.
Who remembers? I'm giving you a chance to back out of a lot of trouble, Mr.
Kelly.
Why don't you take it? Look, if you had anything on Dennis, he'd be under arrest and you'd have a subpoena in your hand.
The police have a witness who saw you on the quad at 11:30 that night.
Dennis Michaels wasn't with you.
That the same witness who saw Dr.
Clemente in the library? If you insist on testifying that Michaels was with you.
We'll slam you for perjury.
I'm not some junkie on Welfare that you can scare with your little speeches.
I'm going to the Grand Jury this afternoon.
I wanted to give you a chance.
So nice of you to stop by.
No, this isn't the man I saw go into the stairwell.
Did you see him at all that night? No.
What happened to the case against Dr.
Clemente? Sometimes our first indications point in the wrong direction.
Oh, I bet that's a big comfort to him.
He's been on indefinite, unpaid leave, you know.
Have you remembered any details at all about the man you saw, Professor Kroeschel? Just what I said.
Uh, brown hair Uh, college polo shirt.
College? Cal Central.
Peter Kelly had a Cal Central pennant in his living room.
I showed Professor Kroeschel his yearbook picture, and he ID'd him as the man he saw go in the stairwell.
Did you talk to Kelly again? No.
I think we need to discuss a plan of attack.
Kelly must have witnessed the crime.
Now he's protecting Michaels.
Michaels sleeps with his fiancée's roommate, kills her to keep her quiet.
Why would Kelly cover for him? Well, they're in the same graduate program.
They're supposed to be best friends.
That's some friendship.
Damon and Pythias.
More like Leopold and Loeb.
Maybe we can nail Kelly as an accomplice, get him to roll on Michaels.
Kelly was in and out of the stairwell in a matter of seconds.
But if he watched it go down and didn't do anything about it, he's as bad as Michaels.
Which gives him a good reason to go to the mat for Michaels.
We need a wedge to bust them apart.
Dennis told me this is all a huge mistake.
Was sleeping with your roommate also just a mistake? Sarah came on to Dennis after he'd had a few drinks.
I was out of town.
He's really sorry about it.
Why didn't he tell you about it after it happened? He killed your roommate, Miss Slater.
I don't believe that.
Dennis went out drinking that night with Peter.
Peter Kelly is covering for him.
Why would Peter lie? He's from a prominent family.
Dennis told me Peter's father owns an entire shipping company.
Sounds like Dennis was impressed.
No, Dennis isn't like that, Mr.
McCoy.
He's worked very hard to get into the university.
And he had a lot to lose if Sarah Kincaide told you about their problem.
You, your father's influence.
Your fiancée's alibi is worthless, Miss Slater.
An eyewitness put Peter Kelly in the library that night.
I don't know.
There must have been a good reason why Peter would go out on a limb for Dennis.
Dennis did get Peter through a few rough spots.
I still don't believe it.
What kind of rough spots? At school.
Helped him with his thesis.
He He wrote a few papers for him.
You're making our case for us, Miss Slater.
I don't care what you say Maybe Peter's making up this alibi because you're trying to frame Dennis.
You can't honestly believe we'd do that.
Why not? You already tried it with Dr.
Clemente.
We just talked to Melissa Slater.
She says you'd lie to protect your friend.
I've told you where I was.
I've got nothing to add.
You went into the library stairwell at around 11:00 p.
m.
Why did you turn around and come right back? Wasn't there.
You saw Dennis Michaels there with Sarah Kincaide.
What were they doing? You witnessed the murder.
Why don't you people just admit that you don't have a clue? I'm getting a material witness order.
You'll be arrested.
You'll be held at Rikers Island.
I'm calling my father.
His lawyers will have me out in an hour.
You do that.
(SIGHS) Pretty thin, Jack.
We had more than this on Dr.
Clemente.
So? Make it sound thicker when you apply for the order.
And then what? Kelly's figured out we've got nothing.
He's better off hanging tough.
Couple of weeks sleeping with his back to the wall may change his attitude.
I'm moving to vacate the material witness order, Your Honor.
I have a university professor who places Mr.
Kelly at the scene of the crime.
My client's already told the D.
A.
He didn't see anything.
The statute requires reasonable cause to believe Mr.
Kelly will refuse to testify in our case.
We have cleared that hurdle.
What case? They haven't indicted their suspect.
They haven't even arrested him yet.
This is third-rate arm twisting.
Mr.
McCoy, if you don't even have enough evidence to arrest Mr.
Michaels you're not leaving me much choice.
I'm having Mr.
Kelly arrested today.
What? He'll be arraigned on a murder two charge with Dennis Michaels.
This is outrageous.
Judge JUDGE: Who are you? I'm his father.
Sit down, Mr.
Kelly.
Your son has a lawyer.
What is Mr.
McCoy's theory? He acted as Mr.
Michaels' accomplice.
My son was not mixed up in that.
Last warning, sir.
I can't stop the D.
A.
From making arrests.
He hasn't got a shred of evidence against my client.
Then the Grand Jury will no-bill it.
Until Mr.
Kelly's been arraigned, there's nothing I can do.
(GAVEL BANGS) Kelly and Michaels were arraigned this morning.
For murder.
They're locked up? Michaels is.
Kelly's father posted bail.
That'll lessen the damage award when he sues for false arrest.
He watched Michaels strangle that girl.
All he did was turn and walk away.
If that's what happened, it's still not a crime.
Hell of a moral lapse.
Can't we find something to nail this guy with? ADAM: Not in this state.
Accomplice charge won't stand.
Just trying to loosen his tongue.
You're using the authority of this office like a foot on the neck.
We've done that before.
You usually have one leg to stand on.
Fine, Adam.
JACK: I'll call Kelly's lawyer.
We're cutting Kelly loose? We're arranging a meeting with Michaels.
I'm throwing the dogs into the pit.
Let's make sure Kelly's father is there, too.
I don't know what you think this will accomplish, Mr.
McCoy.
I'm hoping to parcel out responsibility for Sarah Kincaide's murder.
Well, you have nothing about me.
I'm not saying anything about Dennis.
(DOOR OPENS) What are you doing here? Mr.
McCoy asked me to come.
What for? If you're going to cover up this woman's murder, I want your father to hear it.
You saw him kill her.
That's what they say.
Don't feed me crap, Peter.
CARMICHAEL: Professor Kroeschel was in my office.
Your father just spoke to him.
He's positive he saw you there, Peter.
They still can't touch you.
This is what you're protecting? He's my friend.
Oh.
Your friend strangled a pregnant woman with his bare hands.
He sliced up her body with a pocket knife.
KELLY SR: I'm so glad you went to graduate school.
Look, not everybody's obsessed with making money, Dad.
You don't want my money? That's right.
I guess you don't want the bail I posted for you.
I'd like to withdraw my bail bond, Mr.
McCoy.
That can be arranged.
That's not what I meant.
What do you mean? KELLY SR: It's time you stopped covering up for your nice college friend.
You want to stay out ofjail, you tell Mr.
McCoy what he wants to know.
Dad This is the way it's done in the real world.
It's time you stepped into it! Officer, call your supervisor.
Arrange for Mr.
Kelly's transportation to Rikers.
Wait.
Peter, what are you doing? Let's hear it, Mr.
Kelly.
I went to the library that night looking for Dennis.
I can't believe this.
I thought he might be up there with Sarah.
What, this is how you pay me back? What do you want me to do, Dennis? Keep your damn mouth shut.
I saw them in a stairwell.
I thought he was having sex with her.
You son of a bitch! I didn't know he was choking her, I swear.
Oh, yeah, right.
You knew exactly what was happening.
You watched me do it to her, and you didn't have the guts to say anything until daddy here came and cut you off.
Take Mr.
Michaels out.
(DOOR CLOSES) Are you prosecuting my son, Mr.
McCoy? I wish I could.
Let's go.
JACK: Michaels will plead to murder two, 20-to-life.
Sarah Kincaide's father is looking into a wrongful death suit.
There will be a hue and cry in Albany for a Good Samaritan law.
No way to make it constitutional.
Well, at least Hudson University has settled down.
Dr.
Clemente is back on campus.
Peter Kelly's been expelled.
What does he care? He'll probably go into the family business.
As long as it doesn't require a conscience.