Law & Order (1990) s13e03 Episode Script

True Crime

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.
As long as you dress to code and you watch the areas you're assigned, you're gonna do just fine.
Timberlands okay? Timberlands, HyTest.
But are those non-skid? I don't know.
Well, you better find out because we get a lot of spillage.
And if a bottle of bleach and chlorine collide, and you slip, it'll burn right through to the bone.
What was that? Mother of Boy, used to be we'd light a cigar, throw some cologne on a mask.
No perfume's gonna help this girl.
She's been marinating a while.
The victim's a Jane Doe, early 30s.
M.
E.
's guy said she's been dead since Friday night.
Driver picked her up this morning.
And where's the genius who moved her? (SIGHS) Supervisor went off to call me.
Driver went to puke.
That leaves the new kid.
Maybe he wanted to make sure she was dead.
One look would have told him that.
Ah, what are you gonna do? It was his first day on the job.
He wasn't expecting visitors.
So he blows our forensics? Not to mention he wakes me up every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
No, these guys only handle commercial zones.
City handles residential.
Well, does the new guy talk? I already tore him a new one, okay? Well, there goes my fun.
Detectives Briscoe and Green would like to pick your brains.
No ID, purse, anything.
Okay, we're gonna need the entire load separated so our techs can examine it.
You don't have to go through the whole thing.
She popped out the front.
Means I picked her up on the Lower East Side.
Probably somewhere along Essex Street.
All right, thanks.
Let's get a canvass started, see if anybody saw anything.
And have them examine all the commercial bins.
That's a tough first day on the job.
It's an even tougher last day.
BORAK: Single gunshot wound to the lower temporal regions of the brain.
Also found defensive wounds on the hands and arms, but most of the abrasions are postmortem.
Five tons of garbage will do that.
Slug's a.
38 caliber.
Pretty banged up.
Ballistics has it now.
Look at the track marks on her arm.
Tox screen shows both cocaine and heroin in her system.
Uh, speedball.
High's supposed to be like free-falling in an elevator for 30 stories.
Well, her loved ones will be glad to know she died with a smile on her face.
If we ever find them.
Well, maybe I can help you with that.
Oh, please tell me she's got her name and address tattooed somewhere.
Close.
Are those what I think they are? Well, they are not water balloons.
Saline implants.
Okay, so that narrows it down to every woman in every bar on 2nd Avenue.
Actually, they come with catalog and lot numbers.
The lab that manufactured them might be able to help you track down her surgeon.
MAN: Seriline Laboratories.
They were one of the first to make implants anatomical.
Most other implants were round, but seven years ago people were opting for anatomics because they looked less fake.
They have a more natural slope.
We appreciate the history lesson but we really just need to know this woman's name.
I'm sure you know that information's privileged.
Well, somehow I don't think she'll mind.
(TYPING) Here we are.
Jane Hunt.
I have a billing address.
Call me old-fashioned, but plastic cools my engine.
Well, you seemed to enjoy Shirley what's-her-name from the spaghetti joint.
Believe me, everything about Shirley was real.
I guess you two never went jogging.
And when did you become such an expert on what's real and what isn't? Man, I'm a regular René Descartes.
René? I think I got a lap dance from her once.
Therefore I am.
(CHUCKLING) Somehow I don't think she lived in this building.
(SINGING) And you come crawling back But I won't be around I must have been crazy ED: So Jane Hunt is Patty Voytek? Is that supposed to mean something to somebody? How about three million records sold? (SINGING STOPS) You're sure it was her? Oh, God.
I've been her agent going on six years.
Good old Patty, always with the great timing.
That sounds terrible.
ED: That is terrible, Mr.
Sanford.
Pierced Tongue, that's her band, has an album coming out in two weeks.
Their first in three years.
Three years? What happened, writer's block? No, she lost her husband, Shane Mallory.
He used to be the lead singer of Krisis.
Oh, is that the guy that took a header off the brownstone in Brooklyn? He's got an entire section of Prospect Park dedicated to him.
ED: When was the last time you talked to Patty? Not for a couple of weeks.
She was undergoing rehab at the Daylight House in Riverdale.
From what I hear, she was doing well.
Last time I saw her was around 7:00 Friday night.
She was on her way out of group therapy.
About an hour later, I was told she'd checked out.
Checked out? Is this rehab or the Four Seasons? The Daylight program is voluntary.
We don't force anyone to stay.
Do you know why she left? No.
It seemed like she was making real progress.
Especially given the circumstances.
What circumstances? She lost her mother when she was 15.
Her father physically abused her.
And her husband killed himself.
She hit the trifecta.
Something must have set her off.
Well, if there was something, she didn't share it during group.
What about visitors or phone calls? Not allowed.
The program depends upon isolation.
No television.
No radio.
We don't even permit our patients to carry money.
Well, if she didn't have any cash, how'd she get all the way downtown? We provide patients with a courtesy van.
Straight to her courteous dealer.
Our driver took her home.
After that, she's on her own.
DRIVER: Uh, Friday night, yeah.
She wanted me to take her home.
You sure she got there? I do my job.
Seeing as though you were the last person to see her breathing, maybe you should come with us.
Now, look, I don't want any trouble, okay? Around 7:30, I get buzzed to meet her with the car out front.
When I'm coming out of the garage I see Patty hopping into a town car.
And you didn't report this? I figured she called a car service.
Didn't think it was that big a deal.
ED: Even after you heard she was dead? I didn't know she got killed that night.
Well, how do you know it was a car service? You're not gonna say anything to Dr.
Zucker, right? That depends.
Black town car.
License plate, "star five.
" Yeah, sure I seen her.
What is that, Friday, Saturday? It was probably Friday.
That's right.
Mr.
D'Alleva, he was my real client that night.
I dropped him at a dinner party in Scarsdale at 7:00.
He told me I should pick him up at midnight.
And you figured you'd make a few extra bucks, huh? Sure, why not? As soon as I hit Riverdale, there she is.
Offers me a hundie to take her to the East Village.
All the way it's, "Faster, faster.
" Then we get there.
She tells me she's busted.
When am I gonna learn, right? You let her jump the fare? Hey, I'm nice, not stupid.
She says wait.
If she don't come down in five minutes with the cash I'm supposed to go up to, um, apartment 3-F.
So did she come down? Not her.
Some other freaky-looking chick.
All right, we need that address.
RAIN: I can't believe she's dead.
Hey, I'm sorry.
But if you could just tell us what she was doing here Friday night? Yeah, she was stressing, you know, about the new CD.
Damn critics waiting with a knife and fork.
She left rehab a week early to come down here and just talk shop? Yep.
I'm not buying that, Rain.
Look, kid, your friend wound up in a dumpster, junked up with a bullet in her brain.
Whoever helped her off the wagon may have killed her.
BOY: Mommy? Hey, Ricky, sweetie.
Listen, I'll be right in.
Just go back to bed, okay? All right, Patty was really In bad shape when she came here that night.
She said she needed to score, so, I hooked her up with a couple of grams of coke and some smack.
That you just happened to have lying around? I thought this was about Patty.
BRISCOE: Okay, what happened next? She took the stuff and she left.
So, I guess she wasn't all that stressed, huh? Hey, I loved Patty, but nobody gets high in front of my kid, okay? Did she say where she was going? Yeah.
To hell.
(CHUCKLES) That's what she said.
She could be dark like that sometimes, you know? Especially since Shane.
She said heroin was the only thing that could chill the demons in her head.
So, was hell anywhere near where she lived? Montauk? I doubt it.
Look, I was all for her getting clean.
It's just that when she called me ED: Wait.
Patty called you? When? Uh, an hour before she got here.
Around 7:00.
You sure it was that early? Yeah.
So, it turns out that Patty was a regular Chatty Cathy that day.
Here is the incoming phone call that the nurse mentioned.
You trace the number? Mmm-hmm.
It was a pre-paid cellular.
But the phone call that Patty made afterwards isn't.
But she called the guitarist.
What's her name? Rain.
And you're not gonna believe who the next phone call was from.
Let me give you a little hint.
Former NYPD detective turned best-selling author.
Mike Foster? Mmm-hmm.
Who happens to be writing a book about the death of Patty's husband, Shane Mallory.
Which was ruled a suicide, if I'm not mistaken.
My kind of book.
Short.
MIKE: Jumped or Pushed? How's that for a title? It's catchy.
But if he jumped, you don't sell many books.
(CHUCKLING) Are you kidding? There is no chance this was not a homicide.
Come on.
Rock stars today? They're like ballplayers in our time, right, Lennie? I mean, bucks, broads, booze, whatever you want.
Can you imagine Joltin' Joe whacking himself? Joe didn't have track marks running up and down his arms.
I mean, the best forensics team in the city said that Shane Mallory's death was a do-it-yourselfer.
Of course they did.
You know, what else are they going to do, you know, when they're clueless? So, enter the great and powerful Mike Foster, huh? I already solved three cases as a civilian I couldn't have as a cop.
Well, as a cop, that damn Constitution gets in your way.
I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about time.
I've got a lot more of it now than I did when I was carrying a badge.
I mean, the public, they want quick closure, emphasis on quick.
And civil servants are paid to oblige.
And you get paid a lot more.
Consider this.
Mallory spent half his Now, maybe he was depressed, maybe he was a psycho, whatever.
But don't you think he would have done the deed before he hit it big? Let's talk turkey.
You want to know why Patty called me Friday night.
Hey, I was a cop, remember? Okay, so what did you talk to her about? She did all the talking, actually.
She threatened to sick her lawyers on me if I kept interviewing her friends.
Let me guess, she was your prime suspect? Do I think she helped Shane off the ledge? No.
But I do think she knows who did.
Look, her husband, Shane, was worth millions.
And the rumors were that he was about to dump her.
Now that she's dead, the millions go to If she didn't have a will, dear, old Dad, who she happened to sue on more than one occasion.
She was a real sweetheart, this one.
It wasn't a lawsuit.
It was what they call an injunction.
I sold some of her childhood clothes and photos on eBay and she wanted me to stop.
I can't imagine why.
Hey, I paid for it all.
Well, now she can pay you back.
Oh, right.
I'd be elected Pope before I got a penny from her.
The rehab said that she got a call about a family emergency.
Not from this family.
We didn't talk to each other in two years except through our attorneys.
Must have made for a hell of a Thanksgiving dinner.
I'm gonna give it to you straight.
Jane had her screws loose, if you know what I mean.
She was a liar, a junkie and a whore.
She's also your daughter and she's dead.
Show some respect.
Yeah, and I'd be the only one.
You should read some of her fan mail.
"It should have been you who jumped off that roof.
" I don't think Jeffrey Dahmer got mail this bad.
"Slut, you ruined Shane and Krisis.
" I won't even read this one in mixed company.
Her daddy was right, ain't no love here.
She gets more hate mail than I get junk mail.
You know what? You might save yourselves some time by talking to someone who actually liked her.
MAN: Check.
Test one, two.
(FEEDBACK) Patty dies and we sell out for the first time in two years.
Maybe a lot of people loved her? Well, Patty couldn't have cared less.
She just wanted to make music.
And the thing with Shane, man, to the world, it was like she was Yoko busting up the Beatles.
She wasn't? Oh, look, Shane had his own crap to deal with long before he met Patty.
And now, it's like his dying is some kind of major conspiracy.
Like, Shane killed himself.
Accept it.
Can you think of anybody that had a particularly hard time accepting it? Actually, about six months ago, we were playing the Hammerstein.
And this freak in a Krisis T-shirt pushes his way to the stage and pulls a mike into the pit and starts ranting that Patty's a murderer.
Is there some reason you didn't tell us this before? Well, before, you were asking about drugs.
ED: Does this freak have a name? Your guys dragged him off.
Ask them.
Friday night? I was performing, bro.
Performing where? On the steps of the Brooklyn Academy.
Go ahead and ask them.
They made me sign a bunch of forms.
I don't know, Grant.
Patty Voytek seems to be the focus of a lot of your anger.
I'm not crying she's dead, if that's what you mean.
Why? Because she had something to do with Shane Mallory's death? "With a hook in her teeth and a string through her nose, "she's got rundown dreams, she's got rundown clothes.
"She stepped on the cracks, so she hopped on the trains "but there's no looking back from those heavens and chains.
" That's art, man.
That's poetry.
Shane touched a lot of souls.
She destroyed all that.
And that's why she's in the morgue right now? The guy boosts himself off a building with two grams of smack in his veins? No way.
Listen to his words, man.
Shane agonized over life but he never stopped treasuring it.
Yeah, I guess Forensics missed that CD.
Well, there's that expert that says that his, uh, what do you call it Trajectory off the building means that he was pushed.
You don't need to write it down, dude.
The other cop got all that.
What other cop? Hey, I work a case, I talk to everyone.
Not if you step on our toes, you don't.
All right, I'm sorry.
That's the last thing I want.
I left a message for you at the precinct this morning.
There's a guy, Travis Jones.
Are we supposed to know him? Only if you're a rock historian.
He was the original drummer for Krisis, you know? That is, until he introduced his girlfriend to his good buddy, Shane Mallory.
And the girlfriend was Patty Voytek? Uh-huh.
Yeah.
And Travis gets dumped by both the girl and the band in one fell swoop.
And Shane and Patty live happily ever after.
And Krisis goes on to fame and fortune without Travis.
Sounds like motive.
Exactly.
Travis is a major league doper now, but he has this old diary of Patty's that indicates she really never loved Shane.
That she only used him to further her own career.
Hot stuff, huh? For the book, you know.
Publisher's dream.
Only, at the last minute, Travis backs out.
It just pissed me off to no end.
Because I paid this guy, you know, you don't want to know how much.
So, I go to his place, well, he's not there, so I let myself in.
Oh, wait a minute.
You broke in? I'm not a cop anymore, okay? Hey, I paid him for the diary.
I wanted what was mine.
So did you get it? Oh, yeah.
But that's not all I got.
ED: It's a.
38? Mmm-hmm.
Under Travis' bed.
I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't let the papers know.
You know, let me break it in my book.
Hmm? TRAVIS: That's like history, man.
Past tense.
Me and Patty ended, like, years ago.
Yeah, time flies when you're dancing on the clouds.
I know that one.
That's the Ramones.
My partner's talking about the smack, Travis and how it may distort your sense of time.
It's an illness, man.
And we heard that you and Patty were giving each other first aid Friday night.
Patty! No.
Patty made her choice years ago, dude.
She wanted to tiptoe up the ladder of corporate madness.
Well, here's to you, Patty.
Oh, we got us one hell of a guy here, Ed.
Girl throws him out, leaves him crawling in the dirt for nickels and dimes and he wishes her nothing but the best.
Well, maybe it was me that realized I was wrong about her from the start.
And what about Krisis? (LAUGHS) Krisis is dead to me.
Yeah, so to speak.
Shane Mallory, "Mr.
Sensitive.
" "Mr.
Angst.
" I can't believe it, man.
That guy's a He's like a bad trip.
Do you own a gun? No.
What the hell would I do with a gun? Oh, geez.
So, I need a lawyer now.
We'll get back to you on that.
Do you believe him? I believe on a good day he couldn't find his ass with both hands.
He had the motive.
He lives two blocks away from the dumpster where Patty Voytek's body was found and he had a weapon.
And that's a whole other story.
Oh, come on.
You're gonna take the word of a dopehead over an ex-cop? An ex-cop who broke into a civilian's house.
And who may have planted that gun.
Oh, come on.
Look, we're just saying what a defense lawyer's going to say.
The fact is, Foster should have known better than to break the chain of evidence.
He was afraid if he waited, Jones would ditch the gun.
VAN BUREN: Speaking of which The serial number was filed off and Ballistics said the slug pulled out of the victim's body was way too damaged to analyze.
Well, I'll send it to the national lab in D.
C.
, see if they can work any magic.
In the meantime, does this Travis Jones have a sheet? Oh, yeah.
Three misdemeanors for possession.
One assault.
He slugged the band's road manager.
I'll start the paperwork for a warrant.
You go see if you can corroborate motive from someone other than Mike Foster.
Complete and total karma.
Man, if Shane knew about half the crap Patty pulled, man, blocking the release of our last album, trying to screw us out of royalties, he'd resurrect.
I take it you won't be sending Patty any flowers.
You got that right.
Just for the record, where were you two guys last Friday night? At the Spotted Pony, in Jersey.
ED: Hey, what can you tell us about Travis Jones? I can't even talk about him.
Well, he was a monster drummer.
I mean, like a metronome, man.
I mean, he knew what I was gonna do before I even did it, you know? Yeah, we tried to talk Shane out of axing him but Shane's your ticket.
Yeah, without him, we were like a punk-junk bar band.
You know, when he died, me and Zach, we tried to connect with T, but he just blew us off.
Said he was done with Krisis.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) He was through with the whole scene.
Excuse me.
You think Travis still blames Patty for getting him fired from the band? It's hard not to.
She had Shane wrapped around her finger.
More like her needle.
ED: Okay, thanks.
That was Forensics.
There was blood spatter on the gun.
It matches Patty Voytek's DNA.
One drug addict killing another.
Not something a lot of people are gonna lose sleep over.
Gee, Arthur, I never saw your compassionate side before.
Sure, let's legalize narcotics, put all the junkies on an island, let them kill themselves.
Don't tantalize me.
JACK: You're kidding, I hope.
Yeah, you're entitled to hope.
I've heard a few good arguments to legalize drugs but mass suicide wasn't one of them.
Well, with all the money we spend on the so-called war on drugs, we could buy all the poppy fields in the world and burn them to a crisp.
But do we do it? No.
And why? Because without a war on something, people in Washington wouldn't get elected.
Well, until Washington comes to its senses, we need to deal with Patty Voytek, sir.
She's a sort of rock star.
Oh, I have a granddaughter.
I know exactly who she is.
But, I also know that trying to build a case on an illegal break-in by a writer is like trying to do a kickflip without lifting your front foot off the skateboard.
Grandson.
Well, in any case, the cops trust this writer's work.
That's a shock.
SERENA: They think there's enough for an arrest.
We know this case will be high profile.
To avoid any taint, why don't we let a grand jury make that decision? There you go.
Pass the buck to the public.
Jack McCoy, right? Have we had the pleasure? Oh, not yet.
My name is Jeremy Cook.
I'll be representing Travis Jones.
You're a little early.
I haven't even convened a grand jury yet.
Oh.
Early bird, worms, and all that.
If we ever do arrest your client, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other.
That's the thing.
Mom always said, "Haste makes waste.
" Uh, no, that's not it.
"Be prepared.
" There you go.
And thinking back, that was Dad.
So, before one thing leads to another, and we get all tangled in that proverbial web, let's see what that judge thinks about that gun that supposedly belonged to my client.
You can't move to exclude evidence before we even know if there's going to be an arrest.
Of course you can't.
That's an order to show cause.
Why the gun should be presented to the grand jury.
Why Mike Foster should be allowed to testify at all.
Try the carpaccio.
It's to die for.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't really see what we're doing here.
JACK: Exactly my point, Your Honor.
Defense's motion, not only being without merit, is premature.
The prosecution is permitted to present any and all evidence to the grand jury.
Not when that evidence will irrevocably prejudice said grand jury, and thereby lead to a trial which would publicly slander my client's good name.
He's a drug addict and a murderer.
Who's being premature now? The fact is, the murder weapon had trace evidence of the victim's blood.
It was found in your client's apartment.
By a man whose procedure was, shall I say, questionable? Mr.
Foster's status as criminal suspect, indicted or otherwise, eliminates any possibility of full and fair testimony.
Excuse me? He broke into my client's apartment.
JUDGE: So, you're thinking he'll take the Fifth on cross? You read my mind, ma'am.
Only there is no cross-examination in a grand jury.
Look, we all know the prosecution can indict a ham sandwich if it wants to.
I'm looking ahead to trial, where Mr.
Foster won't be able to answer any of my questions without incriminating himself.
If he doesn't take the Fifth, he'll end up a defendant in his own trial.
Kudos on your creativity, Mr.
Cook.
The problem is there is no basis in law And that's why they keep adding new wings to the law library.
Your Honor, the idea that a writer was an agent for the State is absurd.
Perhaps, but I want to hear from witnesses, not lawyers.
Evidentiary hearing tomorrow, 2:00.
An evidentiary hearing preceding a grand jury presentation.
If anything, he's original.
He drew the right judge.
Yeah, one who wants to see the law expand to meet the times.
One who doesn't mind being reversed on appeal.
Perhaps.
You can't think there's merit in Cook's argument.
If Foster's allowed to testify and the gun is admissible I hear an "open the flood gates" argument coming.
Then the cops could hire cat burglars to find evidence for them.
The prosecution would then grant immunity, and the Fourth Amendment would be down the toilet.
First of all, nobody hired Mike Foster.
So, we don't give him money.
We just grant him immunity for breaking and entering.
I don't see the difference.
This is a unique set of facts we're dealing with here, Serena.
And it's also one that could set an unconscionable precedent.
That's a concern for judges, not prosecutors.
Really? What is our concern, then? Putting a particular killer behind bars.
Here are copies of your previous three years' tax returns.
Would you read what's listed as your occupation? Writer.
And what was your former occupation? I was a detective with the NYPD for almost 20 years.
But I've been retired for about six.
You no longer involve yourself in active criminal investigations? Of course not.
Look, retirement was boring.
I'd read the papers, I'd watch the tube.
I had to do something.
So, I looked into a murder that had been closed for over 10 years.
And then I wrote an article about it.
And one thing led to another and I had a three-book deal.
No further questions.
Did you have a key to Mr.
Jones' apartment? No.
Was the door unlocked when you got there? No.
So, uh How did you manage to get in? I know how to pick a lock.
Really? Mmm.
Where did you acquire such a useful skill? When I was on the force.
Which I'm not anymore.
That's what they tell me.
So, in plain English, you entered my client's apartment illegally.
I paid your client for a diary.
I entered the apartment to get what was mine.
That's nice.
Now, would you please answer the question? No, it wasn't legal.
Did you tell that to detectives Briscoe and Green? Yes.
I suppose they read you your rights on the spot? No.
They cuffed you? (SIGHS) No.
COOK: Oh.
Oh, I see Once a cop, the big blue wall, et cetera, et cetera.
The fact is, detectives Briscoe and Green let you get away with a felony, isn't that correct? Objection.
Withdrawn.
This is a copy of your last book, isn't it? Yes.
It covers the Amanda Daley murder in New Orleans.
That case was reopened based on your book, isn't that true? MIKE: I think the book had an impact, yes.
Well, the fact is, a suspect was apprehended and later convicted based solely on your work.
Well, I did uncover a few new leads, yes.
You brought a criminal to justice.
Sounds more like the job description for a cop than a writer.
I don't care what it sounds like.
I'm not a cop.
Maybe that's why they needed your help? My partner and I discovered that Patty Voytek had called Mike Foster the night she was killed.
We wanted to know why.
At any time in the course of your conversation with Mr.
Foster, did you ask for his assistance in searching Travis Jones' apartment? Not at all.
Mr.
Jones wasn't even a suspect.
Thank you, Detective Briscoe.
So, you were in a bind, and you went running off to Mr.
Foster for some help? I didn't say that.
You would have liked to get into my client's apartment, isn't that right? I didn't even know your client existed until Mike told me about him.
Move to strike.
Please answer yes or no, Detective.
Was there any time during your investigation that you would have found it pragmatic to enter Mr.
Jones' premises? Sure.
But, you didn't have probable cause for a warrant, isn't that right? He wasn't even on my radar.
Probable cause, yes or no? No.
You and Mr.
Foster go way back, isn't that right? Hey, you work on the force long enough, you go way back with everybody.
COOK: But you and Mr.
Foster worked together.
The Braddock case, wasn't it? The Braddock case was a triple homicide.
There were about My involvement was peripheral.
COOK: That's all.
I'm sorry.
It was a couple days on a case seven years ago.
I forgot.
You're human.
How bad is it? Two old buddies scratching each other's backs.
That's not how it was.
I know that.
You know that.
But Judge Steinman, she might not have our clarity.
I just got a call from Judge Steinman's clerk.
JACK: How bad? We can't use Foster or the gun in front of the grand jury.
It was an order to show cause, Jack.
The case hasn't even started yet, so an appeal wouldn't be interlocutory.
No.
It would be an exercise in futility.
The fact that Briscoe and Foster were friends Means they must have been in cahoots.
How did you get in here? The guard downstairs.
Now, he's an old friend.
I have nothing to say to you, Mr.
Foster.
And I'm sure you've got plenty to say to me, but, I truly appreciate your not saying it.
The truth of the matter is I'm here to talk.
All you have to do is listen.
Now, when I was in Travis Jones' apartment, looking for the diary Illegally.
Be that as it may.
I saw, um What should I call it? His tools of the trade.
Needles, baggies filled with curious white powder, a rubber hose.
It was in the top drawer of the nightstand beside his bed.
Now, it hasn't been that long since I carried a badge, so it looked a little Thank you, Mr.
Foster.
Anytime.
I'll give this to him, he doesn't give up.
Briscoe and Green.
They talked to the members of Shane Mallory's band, right? SERENA: Yeah.
They confirmed motive.
Motive gives us probable cause for a search.
You want to bust him on possession? If Travis Jones did shoot up with Patty Voytek the night she died, we might find some interesting fingerprints.
I'll get a warrant.
Jack? The cops searched Jones' apartment.
There was no heroin, but Probably celebrated after Judge Steinman's ruling.
There were plenty of prints, Jack.
On the nightstand.
On a baggie.
On the hypodermic.
Patty Voytek? A five-point match.
We don't need the gun.
The prints put her in Jones' apartment.
My prints put my head in the fridge.
It doesn't mean I finished the Cherry Garcia last night, especially if I hire this fellow, Cook, to prove otherwise.
No, we need more.
I don't think Jones is going to confess.
Why not? He's a hophead, right? Most of the time they don't know which way is up.
Only Cook's not gonna let him open his mouth in front of us.
You know, as far as I'm concerned, the case against Mr.
Jones died at his evidentiary hearing.
As such, we can talk to Mr.
Jones without his attorney present.
No judge is gonna buy that, Jack.
Unless we get a judge who wants to "see the law expand to meet the times.
" I don't want to talk about Krisis.
A lot of bad blood, huh? Look, I was there from the start.
Just me and Shane.
We sat together in math class.
The guy didn't know nothing about music then, man.
It was me that told him his poems were good.
I was the one that said, "Dude, we could do something with this.
" You know that song, Angel? Yeah.
That was about me.
I didn't know that.
Yeah.
He wrote it on that.
He wrote everything on that.
God, man, I died inside when he turned on me.
You know what that's like, dying inside? All because of Patty.
Me and Patty were like a prefect chord.
Now she's dead, she's gone.
But I still got that chord ringing in my brain.
Is that why you killed her, Travis? To get rid of that chord? I didn't kill her.
But you hated her.
Hell, if it wasn't for Patty, you'd still be the drummer of Krisis.
(SHOUTING) If that bitch didn't Didn't what, Travis? Come to your house the night she was killed? Yeah, she came, but, I didn't kill her.
No.
But you did try to ruin her life by selling her diary to Mike Foster.
I haven't seen that bitch in five years, man.
But, she comes down there and she's begging me for help.
"Please.
" Oh, I loved watching her suffer.
But, I didn't kill her.
And I didn't sell anything of hers.
Patty, I'd hurt her gratis.
(BREATHING HARD) Well, there's no need to thank me.
Make yourself comfortable there.
You hit it out of the park, Mike.
The place was filled with Patty's prints.
Well, there you go.
You know, I'm glad to help after You know.
So, you pick up Travis? We hit a little speed bump with that.
Oh, that wise-ass lawyer of his, right? That son of a bitch.
He should lose his license.
Tell me, Mike, how much money did you actually pay Travis Jones for Patty's diary? All right, so I told a little white one.
I thought it would help your case.
We don't work that way.
What? Don't give me that bull about the search for truth.
You know what the system is all about.
Maybe you should explain it to both of us.
Well, it's not about truth, that's for sure.
If it were, there would be no rules of evidence, there'd be no privilege, there'd be no warrants, there'd be no probable cause.
In this country, there are things that are more important than putting the guilty man behind bars.
That's exactly what I'm talking about.
The system could care less about innocence or guilt.
All it wants is a show.
No.
No, no, no.
What they want is the curtain to come down on the show.
Closure.
He did it.
He didn't do it.
It's all irrelevant to the system.
So, to beat the system, it's okay to commit perjury? Ends and means, right? Tell you what, Mike.
The world's a better place since you turned in your badge.
A true believer.
(CHUCKLING) I thought they all died out with Nicole Simpson.
Well, since you're so interested in putting the bad guys away, I'd appreciate it if I could see all your research on Shane Mallory's death.
What for? JACK: Inevitable discovery.
Hopefully, there's something there that would have led us to Travis Jones' gun independently of your breaking and entering.
Mmm, I'm sorry, I can't help you there.
I am a journalist, remember? Oh? I thought the Constitution didn't concern you.
I never said that.
No, I just think that the framers should have put down their pens after they finished amendment number one.
I can't believe this guy.
He'll perjure himself, he'll throw the Fourth Amendment out the window.
But, when it comes to his rights as a journalist, suddenly the Constitution becomes sacred.
Unfortunately, every court in the country would agree with him.
We can't force him to turn over his notes.
What do you think he's hiding? Probably dozens of illegal break-ins in the name of proving that Shane Mallory was pushed off that building.
Or, that the whole gun thing is a sham.
You think Foster killed Patty Voytek? The more I get to know him, the less I trust him.
Well, let me ask you both something.
Since when does the freedom of the press apply only to the nattering nabobs of negativism? Let's call the Daily News, get our friendly Mr.
Weiskopf on the phone.
(DOOR SLAMS) Well, we made the front page.
JACK: That was the point.
I realize Foster stunk up your case.
If you're interested, Ballistics down in D.
C.
Confirmed Jones' gun killed Patty Voytek.
Look, I said he screwed up.
But that's no reason to ruin his life.
The reporter asked the questions, I answered them as truthfully as I could.
Can you stop being a lawyer for a minute? You said that Mike Foster may have been involved in Patty Voytek's murder.
I never said that.
No, but you implied he had a good motive for wanting her dead.
What I said was that with Patty out of the picture, no one could contest the conclusions he draws in his book about Shane Mallory's murder.
Your old man was on the job, wasn't he? Yeah, he'd be real proud of you today.
That's not what gets me up in the morning, Detective.
Mike Foster was a good cop, Counselor.
Not anymore, he's not.
You might want to tell Mr.
Foster that Mr.
Weiskopf of the Daily News will be receiving similar reports every day, until he turns over his research.
In case you're interested, blackmail's against the law.
Arrest me.
Hey, well, look who's here.
Hey, Lennie.
Mike.
I heard you stayed out of places like this.
It's club soda.
I like to beat myself up.
(CHUCKLING) Johnnie Black, straight up.
Listen, I'm sorry about this mess.
Hey, guys like McCoy, they've got to take out their measuring sticks every now and again.
What are you gonna do? You sound pretty calm for a guy the newspapers called a murderer.
Just some lawyer on a soapbox, you know, speculating.
It's like a fly on my nose.
Now, if McCoy had any real evidence, then that would be a horse of a different color.
You didn't? Well, like McCoy said, I have motive and opportunity, and I already committed one felony that you know about.
You know, come to think of it, why wouldn't I just turn over my papers? You son of a bitch.
That, or maybe I just agree with the son of a bitch who said, "Any publicity is good publicity.
" (CHUCKLING) Don't wet your pants, Lennie.
I sent my stuff over to McCoy's office.
All of it? Well, that I won't confirm or deny.
But, I'll tell you, I did include a box of Metamucil.
You know, just to help them squeeze out whatever they can.
There's something to be said for the power of the press.
There's more to be said for the power of the old squeeze play.
Branch was right.
Foster had the combination to a wall safe in Patty's house in Montauk.
Transcripts of recordings of illegal wiretaps.
Jack, a letter from Travis to Patty, written two years ago.
"You ruined my life.
"If I see you, you'd better run, or I swear "I'll blow your brains across the room.
" Sounds to me like probable cause to search for a gun.
Call Van Buren.
Hi.
I know you.
That's right.
We're part of your fan club, Travis.
Yeah.
We're having a meeting tonight, and you're the featured speaker.
Hey, cool.
I excluded the gun once, Mr.
McCoy.
"Try, try again" doesn't apply in my court.
This letter indicates that Mr.
Jones was, in fact, in possession of a gun.
At best, it's a colorful metaphor.
At worst, an idle threat.
Perhaps, but certainly, any competent policeman would have followed up on such a threat, any reasonable judge would have signed a search warrant, and anyone with two eyes would have found the gun.
It's Monday morning quarterbacking, Your Honor.
Something our Supreme Court loves.
The gun is in.
The fact that you're here leads me to believe you have no plans to appeal.
COOK: It all depends on what's on the menu.
First course, man one.
He does it all.
I can do better at the Chinese joint around the corner.
He allocutes to everything.
I thought they use a needle now.
It just means you have to tell the judge everything you did.
(SIGHS) If it wasn't for me, there'd be no Krisis, man.
I understand.
It must be tough to get so close to musical history, and then be forgotten altogether.
I could have started another band, man.
Why didn't you? Me and Shane were like brothers.
You got any idea what it's like being betrayed by a brother? Huh? It's like Abel and Cain, man.
Abel and Cain.
Only you took your anger out on Patty Voytek.
TRAVIS: Well, she's the one who started it all.
She's the one that broke us up.
This story may be more biblical than we think, Serena.
Shane's guitar.
How did you get it? After he died, I No.
You said he wrote everything on that guitar.
But, you hadn't seen him in, what? Five years.
Not since both he and Patty dumped you.
You were there the night he died.
I think it's time for a coffee break.
You pushed Shane Mallory off that roof.
What happened, Travis? Patty came to your apartment that night to get her diary, she saw the guitar, and she knew.
(SCREAMING) They tossed me out like garbage, man! So, you did the same to them.
Now it's time for, uh, lunch.
What? I've got to keep his mouth shut somehow.
You win the Kewpie doll.
Tossed one pitch, knocked over two bottles.
Don't you mean tossed one illegal pitch? Bob Gibson made the Hall of Fame throwing a spitball.
"Rules or no rules," he said, "Pitchers are going to throw spitters.
It's a matter of survival.
" Why doesn't that comfort me?
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