Law & Order Special Victims Unit s26e09 Episode Script
First Light
1
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
A-N-H-E-D-O-N-I-A.
Mm.
Anhedonia.
Ah.
It's the pangram.
Did you get it yet, sweetie?
I did not, I'm embarrassed to say.
Well, if you really
wanna see me happy,
you will tell me the
words that you found,
because I am two away from Queen Bee.
All I got is "dodo."
[CHUCKLES] Some
English professor you are.
A pity kiss.
- That's all I get?
- [LAUGHS] I gotta go.
I got a 10:00 with a new writer.
Yeah?
Young?
Handsome? Upcoming? Brilliant?
Well, he thinks so.
Please try not to
fall in love with him.
[LAUGHS]
Why don't I take you?
I'll take you.
- Let's fire up the MG.
- Mm.
And, my first class isn't until noon.
So what do you say?
Sounds good to me.
If I had a dime for
every leering spouse
- who corralled you at a party
- Honey, you're
- You always think that, but
- There wouldn't be
a dime left in New York.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
Harris.
What is this?
Call the police.
No.
Let me get the painters
over here right away.
Who would do this?
Do you think it's one of
the neighborhood kids?
Well, in the meantime,
leave the door up.
♪
[BELL RINGING]
Can I help you, sir?
Uh, yeah, can I get a
I'll get a coffee and a
buttered bagel, please.
Get away from the door.
Over here!
It's your turn, sweetheart.
- [GUNSHOT]
- [SCREAMS]
Why did you do that?
What kind of bagel do you want?
Everything.
And a coffee, light and sweet, please.
What's this?
Coffee's self-serve.
Self-serve, huh?
Keep your cup.
I'm gonna find someplace else.
It's not a total rewrite, Emily.
Please look at it.
Thank you.
Sorry to interrupt.
Oh, I'm glad you did.
This came in the mail for you.
What, unsolicited?
No return address?
Want me to send it to Legal?
Eh, it's probably Ethan.
It's well past deadline.
The man is a Luddite.
I could print it out.
No, uh, thank you,
Monique. I-I have it.
♪
[PHONE BUZZING]
Hello?
Honey.
I-I need to talk to you.
That's a woeful understatement.
I just got this, um, thumb drive.
So did I.
You mean
What's going on here, Katharine?
Who is this guy?
Who is this guy in our house?
[CRYING] I don't know.
I swear, I don't know.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
You wanted to see me?
Carisi.
Yeah.
How you doing?
I'm good.
Okay, am I supposed to
pretend like that's true, or
- Could you?
- [SCOFFS]
Uh, no.
So Amanda told me what
happened with the kid at the bodega,
that he got himself some
sort of pro bono lawyer?
A white shoe attorney with a case
of Christmas spirit, apparently.
And he changed
his plea to not guilty.
Two months of pushing this case,
being a thorn in Baxter's
side the entire holiday season,
all for what?
Justice?
Deonte took part in a robbery,
a rape, and a double murder.
Does a plea deal
sound like justice to you?
I'm sorry.
Captain.
I got a couple here, and
they seem pretty shaken up.
The woman's crying, so
I put them in your office.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
Hi.
Captain Benson.
This is ADA Carisi.
What can we help you with?
We think that Katharine was raped.
Okay, and what makes you think that?
This morning, we
found the word "whore"
painted on our garage.
And then Harris and I were
both sent these videos at work.
Videos of the assault?
Yeah.
A man she's never met before.
Somehow, he was inside my bedroom.
- You have separate bedrooms?
- We do.
- I'm a light sleeper.
- Okay.
Um
Do you have any idea how
how he got in?
In the video, he just
walked in the front door.
I must not have been home.
Okay, Mr. Vernon, um
I'm gonna have you
speak with my sergeant
and Mr. Carisi.
Mr. Vernon, come with me.
Will you have Curry
come in here, please?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
I'm sorry. My my
hands are shaking.
I don't even know how
to start talking about this.
I think the best place
is always the beginning.
♪
The attacker reaches
for the doorknob,
seems to know it's unlocked,
and then he goes
straight to your bedroom.
Believe me, I know how this looks.
It looks like he knows
the layout of your house.
Mrs. Vernon, are you absolutely sure
that you don't recognize him?
I have never seen this man before.
I swear I have no memory
of him being in my home.
No violence, no coercion.
The guy is acting like he knows you.
You think I'm crazy.
No, I think there has to
be some kind of explanation.
Couldn't hurt to send it to TARU.
You know
And I know this is a long shot
but while you're there,
see if they can pull some prints
off the thumb drive.
Okay.
Was I raped?
So at this stage, it's
gonna be very difficult
to prove a lack of consent.
Because it looks like I cooperated.
That doesn't mean that
you weren't assaulted.
But, what do you think this is?
So, Mrs. Vernon, I have to ask you.
Do you ever take medication
before you go to sleep?
Some nights, yes. Why?
Because with some
of these medications,
you can talk and walk,
and move, and,
even have sex,
without being aware of it.
How often do you and Katharine
leave your door unlocked?
In New York?
Never.
And you weren't there?
I already told you,
I'm a light sleeper.
If I'd have been there, I would
have heard the guy come in,
and I would have protected her.
Do we have to
can you turn this thing off?
This looks like it was filmed
from the rooftop across the street.
Do you have any idea
who might have done that?
I'm assuming the same person
who spray painted our garage door.
Could be somebody
trying to do you a favor.
How do you mean?
Trying to alert you
to your wife's infidelity.
Obviously, the thought
crossed my mind.
How is your
how is your marriage in general?
Our marriage is good.
I think.
I thought it was good.
Well, I wouldn't call the
divorce attorneys just yet.
Why don't you go
home and get some rest?
- It's been a rough day.
- Thank you.
We'll get to the bottom
of this, one way or another.
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
[SIGHS]
Okay.
We'll be in touch.
Okay?
What are we looking at here?
Maybe your first
case back in the saddle.
Grand juries hate a mystery.
No mystery to me.
His wife cheated, got caught,
and now she's lying about it.
Okay, well, let's start
with the evidence, Fin,
starting with whoever
spray-painted their garage.
Does the paint tell you anything?
Semi-gloss, durable
run-of-the-mill spray paint.
All right, so who
are we looking for?
Someone with a one-word vocabulary?
- Yo, Curry.
- Yeah.
- Look what I found.
- Okay, where was it?
In the sewer, up the block.
Neighbors give you anything?
Well, according to them,
the Vernons are a perfect couple.
Well, someone
obviously didn't think so.
You know, we got a
Ring cam across the street.
Had to pick something up.
Well, we found our spray-painter.
Yeah, complete with a license plate.
Annette Gallagher from
Elizabeth, New Jersey.
And her husband, Tommy.
Huh.
Look familiar?
The guy from the video.
And that seems like she was trying
to send Mrs. Vernon a message.
Yeah, to stay away from her husband.
So is there any other
connection to the Vernons?
No friends in common.
No professional connections.
Curry, go talk to her.
Okay.
Carisi, you wanna go with?
Uh, no, I was gonna go home.
It might be a good idea
to just ensure the public interest.
She has a point.
All we can prove
is criminal mischief,
and even that's a stretch.
You know what's not? Rape One.
That's an accusation that's gonna be
tough to substantiate.
That's why I need it
by the book, Counselor.
Come on.
I'll drive.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
- Can I help you?
- Annette Gallagher?
I'm Captain Renee Curry
with Manhattan SVU.
This is ADA Dominick Carisi.
Is your husband home?
What's this about?
Does the word "whore" ring a bell?
So you're not denying it's you.
No.
It's me, so what?
Why'd you do it?
Because that whore was
sleeping with my husband.
Okay, so you followed him,
and then filmed the video
from across the street?
No, I hired a PI.
There.
Does that look like rape to you?
She's touching me.
Her eyes are open.
Well, here's the
problem, Mr. Gallagher.
Katharine Vernon says
she doesn't recall any of this.
Then I'm grateful Annette hired
a private eye to follow me,
because if this crazy bitch
is accusing me of rape,
it proves I didn't do it.
Look, I understand
that you were hurt, okay?
You thought that your
husband had cheated on you.
He did cheat. You saw the video.
Well, actually, Mrs. Gallagher,
he may have done
a lot worse than that.
I don't understand.
The woman that you went after?
She might have been incapacitated.
- On what?
- On a popular sleep aid.
[LAUGHS] Is that
what she's claiming?
Is Tommy in trouble?
He could be.
Do you wanna help your husband?
Then tell me what
led to your suspicion
of him and Mrs. Vernon.
I woke up a few months back,
and Tommy wasn't in bed.
So the next couple
days, I check his phone
while he's in the shower,
and
I find messages,
between him and this skank.
Okay.
And what did you do
after you found them?
I hired a private investigator.
When was this?
A few weeks ago.
How did you and Katharine meet?
On a forum for dead bedrooms.
It's for married couples
who don't have sex no more.
So you and Annette, you're not
We got two young kids.
What do you think?
Keep going.
I'm listening.
Me and Katharine started talking.
She says she wants to be taken,
like some kind of
Sleeping Beauty fantasy.
So you didn't break into her house?
You wanna know how I got in?
How I knew the door would be unlocked?
She invited me.
[SIGHS]
So Rollins says it
was a late night for you.
Yeah, I had a lot of reading to do.
Banana nut muffin?
Uh, not
Not now.
All right, Carisi, so
what are we looking at?
Okay, we're looking at
the world's saddest book
on how to keep a marriage together.
"Roommate Syndrome"?
An online forum for married couples
who've stopped having sex.
You got a judge
to expedite a warrant
for Tommy Gallagher's electronics?
I didn't need to.
This guy offered 'em up to me.
Now, Tommy Gallagher claims
that he and Katharine Vernon
met on this forum.
And you believe him?
Based on what I see, yeah.
Well, I believe Katharine.
Thought you might
say that, which is why
I invited your friend here.
Sorry I'm late.
- Amanda.
- Yeah.
Carisi asked if I could
use some of my contacts
to see who has been
writing back and forth
with this Gallagher guy on the forum.
Carisi asked you that, huh?
Handles on the forum
are all anonymous.
The only thing is, we need to find
a sample to compare it with.
Well, that shouldn't
be a problem, I mean,
Katharine Vernon has been
cooperative since the beginning.
But, if she's lying
and I did say "if" for your benefit
you might find her slightly less so.
And if she isn't, then
you might be trying
your first case in months, Counselor.
Well, let's not all
get too excited just yet.
Just get me that sample of
Katharine Vernon's writing.
Okay.
These look amazing, by the way.
I appreciate what
y'all are doing for him.
Well, you're the one that
had to be up with him all night
- reading an adultery forum.
- [SIGHS]
At least he's
excited about something.
He did come dangerously
close to a smile
on our drive back from Jersey.
- You have something for us?
- Yeah.
We've been looking into that
IP address that you asked about.
The one you pulled from
Roommate Syndrome?
Turns out all the posts
came from the same address.
Do they come from
Katharine Vernon's computer?
No, that's the thing.
They came from the Vernons'
shared home computer.
So they could have
been written by Katharine.
No way to tell.
What time of day were they sent?
Mostly between 10:00 in the morning
and 3:00 in the afternoon.
Not at night?
Never.
Any other pattern?
99% of the messages
were sent on Mondays and Wednesdays.
So most messages were sent
on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Yup, middle of Harris's day.
What is this?
His class schedule.
So he's had Mondays
and Wednesdays off
for the past two semesters?
Mm-hmm, and
Katharine's assistant says
that she's at her office
every day from 9:00 to 7:00.
You thinking what I'm thinking?
That the real perp might
be a lot closer than she thinks?
Yeah.
Did you and Harris have a fight?
Last night, after Harris found out
the handyman can't paint
the garage until Tuesday.
We just passed it,
and it was painted over.
Well, because he did it himself.
[SCOFFS]
An exercise in forgetting.
But, there is not a coat
of paint thick enough
to erase what he saw in that video.
And what's all this?
My sleeping pills, all of them.
Katharine, you didn't
take any of these, did you?
- No.
- You're throwing them away?
I don't want them around anymore.
They've caused me enough damage.
You mind if we take these with us?
Yeah, couldn't hurt
to get them tested.
Suit yourself.
So I assume you got the writing
samples that I emailed you?
Yes, I did.
Um
I'm hoping that maybe
you can save us some time.
What is that?
Well, this is part of
the reason we're here,
is I wanted to ask you if you
If you remember writing that.
"I wanna be taken by
a man with big hands.
I wanna be dominated by him"?
No, I didn't write that.
Where is it from?
An online forum called
Roommate Syndrome.
You recognize this site?
No, I've never seen this.
Well, someone created
a handle for you on it,
complete with an avatar,
and used your email
account to set it up.
What?
[LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
That doesn't make any sense.
Well, so there are two
possibilities here, right?
One is that you created this account,
on a site that you've
never even heard of,
under the influence of sleeping pills.
And shared messages
with dozens of men
- looking to cheat on their wives.
- Or
Or somebody
else set up the account.
So, Katherine, does your
does your husband have
access to your emails?
- Yes, of course.
- Okay.
Katharine
Is it possible that,
he may have sent those messages
and invited Tommy
Gallagher into your house?
To to to sexually assault
me while I was sleeping?
That's
That's insane.
That's insane.
You know, Katharine,
if you think about it,
it's more likely than
the alternative, right?
Of you setting up this account?
[SCOFFS]
We just need to prove it.
Just get out, get out.
Get out.
Katharine, will you listen to us
Harris loves me.
He would not give me away,
to-to some stranger.
He would not let me be hurt.
I want both of you out of here!
- Just now!
- Katharine,
I'm so sorry.
We already have enough
evidence to get a search warrant.
Then get one.
Because from now on, we are
only speaking through a lawyer.
Okay.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
She'd rather believe a palatable lie
than a truth so devastating
that it would rip her life apart.
Tommy Gallagher
can't be the first guy
that this sick bastard arranged
to have sex with his wife.
Scour the forum.
Find out who else was invited
into Katharine's bedroom.
I'll call Carisi for a warrant.
I'm not letting Harris Vernon
cover up anything else.
So you want me to pursue a case
where the alleged
victim blames herself
for her own sexual assault?
Carisi, Katharine is
being gaslit by her husband.
That may be true,
but as of right now,
she's blaming her sleep meds, correct?
Because she's confused.
If I had enough to arrest Harris
and I put her on the
stand, in order to maintain
this illusion of a happy marriage,
her story is gonna be
that she left the door open
- for Tommy Gallagher.
- Maybe not.
So my authorship
attribution specialist, right?
He compared the
grammar, syntax, punctuation
of the messages on the
Roommate Syndrome forum
against one of Harris
Vernon's short story collections.
- And?
- Harris was faking
Katharine's writing
voice on that forum.
Harris wrote those messages
- to Tommy Gallagher.
- Yeah, that's exactly
what it's looking like.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
We need more witnesses.
Round up all the guys
who thought that
they were
communicating with Katharine.
- And tell them?
- That they were communicating
with Harris instead.
That's who I was
exchanging fantasies with?
Some old dude?
He was the one pretending
to be Sleeping Beauty.
Did you ever actually
go to her house?
I never went over there.
According to what we read, it
seems like you were about to.
There's a difference
between reality and fantasy.
Her husband doesn't
seem to know that.
So how was this supposed to go down?
She said she'd leave the door open.
Lying asleep in bed.
You mean "he."
Well, I'm glad I
never went over there.
What stopped you?
I was on my way.
Then my wife's work trip got canceled,
so I turned around and drove home.
And that's the last of them.
A dozen of these guys,
we can't place any of them
at the Vernon townhouse?
The neighbors' Ring
cams from the last year
confirmed that they're
all telling the truth.
So Harris sets up
a handle for his wife
on Roommate Syndrome a year ago,
and all he came up with
was Tommy Gallagher?
- How is that possible?
- It's probably not.
But we have no proof that there were
any other arranged meet-ups.
So we know this
kind of behavior doesn't
just spring up overnight.
So maybe it started someplace else.
This guy does work at a college.
A lot of access to
a lot of young men
willing to do just
about anything for sex.
I'll have Silva and
Velasco start canvassing.
You're Derek Poole, right?
You work with Dean Harris?
Yeah, I work with Dean Harris.
What's this about?
Well, we're investigating
a possible sexual assault
against Harris's wife.
- Katharine?
- Yeah.
From what we hear around campus,
you and Katharine were cozy.
What's that supposed to mean?
Well, something about
a conference in Boston.
One of your colleagues mentioned it.
Am I in some kind of legal trouble?
You're talking to
two SVU detectives.
What do you think?
Look, what happened
between me and Katharine,
it was all Harris's idea.
See, that's a good start.
So, why don't you tell us
exactly what happened?
And you don't mind
if I record, do you?
[SIGHS]
We were at this conference in Boston,
and Harris told me his
wife found me attractive.
Meaning what?
He asked me if I wanted to
hook up with her while he watched.
It was a fantasy of his, evidently.
Was Mrs. Vernon
aware of this fantasy?
I thought so.
How many times did you
have sex with Mrs. Vernon?
Just the once.
So Derek Poole.
Do you know him?
He's a young professor
who works under Harris.
You remember him?
I met him at a faculty party.
We chatted.
- That's it?
- Yes.
I swear.
Well, you heard what
he told my detectives.
I'm so sorry for the
way I reacted yesterday,
- throwing you out of my house.
- Katharine, please,
I can understand not wanting to face
what your husband did to you.
How am I gonna face it now?
You're gonna tell your side in court.
My marriage is over.
But it's been over for a while.
You're just finding out now.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Anything you say can
be used against you.
If you can't afford an attorney,
- one will be
- I didn't do anything!
I got two kids.
How the hell am I supposed
to pay the mortgage?
I'm really sorry, Mrs. Gallagher.
I really am.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
How dare you embarrass
me at my place of work?
You have the right to remain silent.
You almost had me fooled, Professor,
with that pity play about
your wife cheating on you.
She let him in.
I want my lawyer.
Yeah, call him on
your way to booking.
Always good to see
a scumbag in cuffs.
Yeah, well, this guy's
sticking to his story,
and the vic doesn't
remember being assaulted.
So you got your work
cut out for you, Counselor.
Yeah, well, most of my
evidence is about fantasy,
so why should this
trial be any different?
Captain Benson, how did this video
come into police evidence?
It was sent anonymously
to Katharine Vernon
and to her husband, Harris Vernon.
And who shot this video?
Um, a private investigator
that was hired
by the wife of the man in
this video, Tommy Gallagher.
And how did the Vernons react
to this video when they saw it?
Katharine was devastated,
as she had no memory at all
of the encounter, and Mr. Vernon
insinuated to one of my detectives
that his wife was having an affair.
What did your investigation conclude?
That this rape was
engineered by Harris Vernon.
Can you explain
that to the jury, please?
So Harris sent
messages to dozens of men
on an online forum,
impersonating his wife
through text in an effort to lure them
into the Vernon family home.
To the best of your knowledge,
Katharine Vernon was entirely unaware
of these encounters, correct?
According to her statement, yes.
Thank you, Captain.
Nothing further.
Didn't Mrs. Vernon
initially tell you that
she may have gone
on to the forum herself
and invited Tommy Gallagher over,
all while under the
influence of a potent cocktail
of self-administered
sleeping medications?
Yes, but after we presented her
with the actual evidence,
she concluded that she
wasn't complicit in any way.
So she changed her story.
Yes, which is not
uncommon for victims.
As a career-long
sex crimes investigator
with a track record
of believing victims,
is it possible that you might just be
a little bit biased as to what story
- you choose to believe, Captain?
- Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
Dr. Silva, you are a
pharmaceutical psychiatrist?
Specializing in sleep disorders.
- And you examined Katharine Vernon.
- Yes.
And what did you
find when you analyzed
those medications, the same ones
that were tested by the NYPD?
They had been opened
up and tampered with,
overpacked with nearly
twice the prescribed dose.
And in your professional opinion,
on those meds at that dose,
did Katharine Vernon
have any cognitive ability?
At those dosages, I wouldn't
expect Katharine Vernon
to have any cognitive ability at all.
Thank you.
Drug manufacturers are
hardly perfect, are they?
They are held to a
certain standard by the FDA.
Would it surprise you
to hear that the factory
that manufactured
Mrs. Vernon's Dozexal
failed inspection twice?
That would be surprising.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
I first met Katharine
Vernon two years ago
at a university staff party.
We talked a lot at that party.
How did Harris respond to that?
When he pulled me
aside later that night,
I was worried I overstepped.
What did he say to you
when he pulled you aside
once the party was over?
He asked me if I knew what
the word "compersion" meant.
Can you define that for the jury?
It's the feeling of joy
that comes from celebrating
someone else's
happiness, even if it doesn't
directly benefit you.
It's often described as
the opposite of jealousy.
So that night at the party,
what did you take
that to mean exactly?
That he liked
seeing her flirt with me.
How did your relationship
with the Vernons evolve
after that?
A few months later, we
were at a conference in Boston.
Harris and I had several
drinks at the hotel bar
while Mrs. Vernon excused herself.
And then?
Harris told me his wife wanted to
have sex with me up in the room.
Did you?
Yes.
And did Mrs. Vernon
participate in this?
She was almost entirely passive,
but I thought it was
part of the arrangement.
Harris said she had a
Sleeping Beauty fantasy.
Where was Harris
while you were having
sex with his wife?
He was in the room, watching.
You didn't find that to be odd?
Not at first.
But
After a few minutes,
Katharine opened her eyes
in kind of a vacant stare.
So what did you do then?
I told Dean Vernon I couldn't
in good conscience participate.
And you never had
sex with Katharine Vernon
ever again after that?
No.
In fact, I avoided her completely.
Is it fair to say
that you felt guilty?
Yes.
Thank you.
Mr. Poole, you say
that you felt guilty,
but, not guilty enough
to call the police?
Not guilty enough to tell Mrs.
Vernon what was happening?
As I've said, Dean
Vernon is my boss.
And you were gunning for tenure.
That may have
been a small part of it.
In fact, you were given a
tenure deal later that year.
Must be some kind of record
for such a young professor.
Not sure where this is going.
I wonder, were you given
a similar such favorable deal
by the DA's office
to testify here today?
I'm not being charged
for the rape he made me do,
- if that's what you mean.
- Just to be clear
so the jury understands,
the DA agreed to drop
your own rape charge
in exchange for your
testimony here today.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
Dean Harris raped her.
Not me.
Never fails to amaze
me how the threat of prison
can warp a man's perception.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Nothing further.
♪
Mrs. Vernon, the
jury has seen the video
between you and Tommy Gallagher,
the one left for you
on the thumb drive.
Were you surprised by that
video when you first saw it?
I was completely shattered.
And what about your sexual
encounter with Derek Poole?
Do you remember any of that?
I remember talking to him
that night, but not the rape.
So it's fair to say
that you never gave
your husband consent.
No.
And you never shared with him
any kind of Sleeping
Beauty fantasy at all?
- No.
- In fact,
up until this came to light,
you believed that you
were in a happy marriage.
Now I know that
was the real fantasy.
Thank you, Mrs. Vernon.
Mrs. Vernon, we can all
see that you're unhappy now.
But you didn't seem to be unhappy
flirting with Mr. Poole at
the faculty party, were you?
Who said I was flirting?
By Mr. Poole's own testimony,
your husband certainly seemed
to think you were.
Did you also ever use fantasy
to liven up your marriage?
♪
We may have.
A lot of sexual fantasy is
up for interpretation, isn't it?
- What?
- Objection.
It's important to contextualize
the couple's private life.
I'll allow.
Did you ever establish
strict rules, boundaries,
limitations with respect
to your fantasy life
with your husband?
- No.
- No safe words?
Never.
Mrs. Vernon, isn't it true
that like a lot of couples
who've been married
for as long as you and Harris have,
that you started to behave
more like roommates
instead of lovers?
I'm not even gonna dignify that.
So seeing the word "whore"
painted on your garage,
you weren't embarrassed?
Yes, of course I was.
Maybe even humiliated?
Yes.
And isn't that the real reason
why you went to the police?
Because admitting that you
willingly participated in sex
with other men while
your husband watched
wouldn't sit so well with
your neighbors, your family.
After all, in your circles,
it isn't exactly cocktail
banter, now, is it?
Objection.
Badgering.
I'll allow.
I was humiliated then.
But being here right now, up here,
I don't have the luxury of
being as modest as I once was.
The crime committed by
my husband against me,
that sought to so
thoroughly degrade me,
made sure of that.
And now I know,
the degradation is not mine.
It's his.
♪
You hate what your husband did.
Yes.
Enough to lie on the stand?
- Objection.
- Overruled.
I don't have to lie anymore.
Or is it you hate
what the police
convinced you that he did?
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
♪
Mr. Carisi?
Mr. Carisi?
Come on, Ali!
[CRYING]
I'm sick and tired of
listening to your big mouth!
Um, prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Then we're adjourned for today.
Defense begins at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Thank you, Your Honor.
♪
That lawyer made me out
to be some sort of frigid WASP
bent on revenge.
Okay, Katharine, look.
She was just doing her job.
Oh, a damn good one she did!
Why didn't Mr. Carisi do his?
No, I don't think that's necessary.
[SIGHS]
Officer, would you give us a second?
- Thank you.
- Understood.
Counselor.
That was DA Baxter on the phone.
He heard about me
flaming out in court today,
asked if I wanted to
be taken off the case.
Did he pose it as a
question or an order?
Tough to read between the silences.
I let Katharine down today.
And there is, uh
There's no coming back from that.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I can't even smile when
my kids are opening
their Christmas presents, Liv.
Maybe I don't have any feelings left,
and the jury can sense that.
You know, you need passion
if you wanna win a case.
- You sound angry.
- You're damn right I'm angry!
Not to state the
obvious, but that's a feeling,
isn't it, Carisi?
- Yeah, I guess it is.
- Okay.
So, all those years of night school?
You went from being a
detective to a prosecutor.
You worked your ass off.
You're gonna let some manipulator
like Harris Vernon take that from you?
Liv, what the hell
do you want from me?
I want you to wake up!
Come back.
Wake up, Carisi.
♪
Come on.
Thank you for agreeing
to meet me, Mrs. Gallagher.
Take a seat, please, right here.
Yeah, well, I'm
here at the courthouse
every day anyway.
I don't know how you people do this.
- It must be a nightmare.
- Well, sometimes it is.
I can't imagine how
you're feeling, though.
[SCOFFS]
My husband's stupid,
but he's not a rapist.
Listen, we've given him
every opportunity to make a deal.
He just he won't do it.
Because he believed
that professor's line of crap.
What line of crap?
[SIGHS]
Tommy told me to keep it quiet,
but I am so angry
at what
happened to that poor woman,
all because of what I
painted on her door.
No, you did Katharine
Vernon a favor.
Her husband's a monster.
There's no telling how long
this torment would have lasted
if you hadn't brought it to light.
But Annette, if you know something
that's gonna help me take
this pompous ass down,
I would be grateful.
One blue-collar kid to another.
A few days before the trial,
the pompous ass drove
all the way out to Jersey,
met Tommy in a mall parking lot.
To tell him what?
Convinced Tommy
that if they stuck together,
they'd both get off.
Turns out Mrs. Vernon
has a lot of family money.
Her husband offered
to pay off our mortgage.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
You wanna see
Harris Vernon convicted?
Is that what you want?
After what he did?
He watched his wife be assaulted.
I'd like to see him burn in hell.
Well, how does 25 years
behind bars sound to you?
It's a start.
What do I have to do?
Get your husband to take a deal.
♪
What kind of time
are we talking about?
Your client's not gonna walk free,
but I'll give him options.
If I testify against Harris.
It'd go a long way with the judge.
But just so we're clear,
I had no idea that woman was drugged.
I don't believe that for
a second, Mr. Gallagher,
and neither do you.
The question is, do you want
me to prove that in open court?
You want your family to see that?
He was there.
In the room.
He drugged her.
You wanted to talk?
Let's talk.
Whatever Tommy
Gallagher is willing to testify to
doesn't help your case.
Well, as soon as the jury hears
that your client offered
a substantial bribe
to a potential witness,
all they'll see is his guilt.
No one truly knows what
goes on inside a marriage.
Yeah.
Sometimes not even the
people in the marriage.
Do you honestly think that
Katharine would have come
into your precinct if someone hadn't
spray-painted her personal business
all over our garage door?
See, you're still sticking to
that same story, aren't you?
You know, your wife
took her power back in that courtroom.
How'd that make you feel?
Did you call us down
here just to waste our time?
No, I called you down here
because I'm gonna
give you two choices.
Now, you can either
sit in the courtroom
while I ask about every detail
of the nauseating little
catechism of perversion
that your life has descended into
- since that night in Boston.
- Or?
Or your client can stop
lying, admit what he did.
To your wife.
Why would I do that?
To give you that feeling of joy
that comes from another
person's happiness,
even when it doesn't
directly benefit you.
Hold on, there's a
word for that, isn't there?
How's that for compersion?
♪
Harris agreed to the deal.
He'll do 15 years.
- And Tommy?
- Seven.
It's over?
It's over.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
I'm late for dinner with my kids.
I'll see you tomorrow, Benson.
[SIGHS]
How are you doing?
My life will never
be the same again.
No.
Your life will not be as it was.
But, from where I'm standing,
that's a glorious thing.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You want that last piece?
Um, no, I'm full.
No?
More for me.
♪
Hey.
We're gonna be okay.
Yeah, we are.
♪
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
A-N-H-E-D-O-N-I-A.
Mm.
Anhedonia.
Ah.
It's the pangram.
Did you get it yet, sweetie?
I did not, I'm embarrassed to say.
Well, if you really
wanna see me happy,
you will tell me the
words that you found,
because I am two away from Queen Bee.
All I got is "dodo."
[CHUCKLES] Some
English professor you are.
A pity kiss.
- That's all I get?
- [LAUGHS] I gotta go.
I got a 10:00 with a new writer.
Yeah?
Young?
Handsome? Upcoming? Brilliant?
Well, he thinks so.
Please try not to
fall in love with him.
[LAUGHS]
Why don't I take you?
I'll take you.
- Let's fire up the MG.
- Mm.
And, my first class isn't until noon.
So what do you say?
Sounds good to me.
If I had a dime for
every leering spouse
- who corralled you at a party
- Honey, you're
- You always think that, but
- There wouldn't be
a dime left in New York.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
Harris.
What is this?
Call the police.
No.
Let me get the painters
over here right away.
Who would do this?
Do you think it's one of
the neighborhood kids?
Well, in the meantime,
leave the door up.
♪
[BELL RINGING]
Can I help you, sir?
Uh, yeah, can I get a
I'll get a coffee and a
buttered bagel, please.
Get away from the door.
Over here!
It's your turn, sweetheart.
- [GUNSHOT]
- [SCREAMS]
Why did you do that?
What kind of bagel do you want?
Everything.
And a coffee, light and sweet, please.
What's this?
Coffee's self-serve.
Self-serve, huh?
Keep your cup.
I'm gonna find someplace else.
It's not a total rewrite, Emily.
Please look at it.
Thank you.
Sorry to interrupt.
Oh, I'm glad you did.
This came in the mail for you.
What, unsolicited?
No return address?
Want me to send it to Legal?
Eh, it's probably Ethan.
It's well past deadline.
The man is a Luddite.
I could print it out.
No, uh, thank you,
Monique. I-I have it.
♪
[PHONE BUZZING]
Hello?
Honey.
I-I need to talk to you.
That's a woeful understatement.
I just got this, um, thumb drive.
So did I.
You mean
What's going on here, Katharine?
Who is this guy?
Who is this guy in our house?
[CRYING] I don't know.
I swear, I don't know.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
You wanted to see me?
Carisi.
Yeah.
How you doing?
I'm good.
Okay, am I supposed to
pretend like that's true, or
- Could you?
- [SCOFFS]
Uh, no.
So Amanda told me what
happened with the kid at the bodega,
that he got himself some
sort of pro bono lawyer?
A white shoe attorney with a case
of Christmas spirit, apparently.
And he changed
his plea to not guilty.
Two months of pushing this case,
being a thorn in Baxter's
side the entire holiday season,
all for what?
Justice?
Deonte took part in a robbery,
a rape, and a double murder.
Does a plea deal
sound like justice to you?
I'm sorry.
Captain.
I got a couple here, and
they seem pretty shaken up.
The woman's crying, so
I put them in your office.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
Hi.
Captain Benson.
This is ADA Carisi.
What can we help you with?
We think that Katharine was raped.
Okay, and what makes you think that?
This morning, we
found the word "whore"
painted on our garage.
And then Harris and I were
both sent these videos at work.
Videos of the assault?
Yeah.
A man she's never met before.
Somehow, he was inside my bedroom.
- You have separate bedrooms?
- We do.
- I'm a light sleeper.
- Okay.
Um
Do you have any idea how
how he got in?
In the video, he just
walked in the front door.
I must not have been home.
Okay, Mr. Vernon, um
I'm gonna have you
speak with my sergeant
and Mr. Carisi.
Mr. Vernon, come with me.
Will you have Curry
come in here, please?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
I'm sorry. My my
hands are shaking.
I don't even know how
to start talking about this.
I think the best place
is always the beginning.
♪
The attacker reaches
for the doorknob,
seems to know it's unlocked,
and then he goes
straight to your bedroom.
Believe me, I know how this looks.
It looks like he knows
the layout of your house.
Mrs. Vernon, are you absolutely sure
that you don't recognize him?
I have never seen this man before.
I swear I have no memory
of him being in my home.
No violence, no coercion.
The guy is acting like he knows you.
You think I'm crazy.
No, I think there has to
be some kind of explanation.
Couldn't hurt to send it to TARU.
You know
And I know this is a long shot
but while you're there,
see if they can pull some prints
off the thumb drive.
Okay.
Was I raped?
So at this stage, it's
gonna be very difficult
to prove a lack of consent.
Because it looks like I cooperated.
That doesn't mean that
you weren't assaulted.
But, what do you think this is?
So, Mrs. Vernon, I have to ask you.
Do you ever take medication
before you go to sleep?
Some nights, yes. Why?
Because with some
of these medications,
you can talk and walk,
and move, and,
even have sex,
without being aware of it.
How often do you and Katharine
leave your door unlocked?
In New York?
Never.
And you weren't there?
I already told you,
I'm a light sleeper.
If I'd have been there, I would
have heard the guy come in,
and I would have protected her.
Do we have to
can you turn this thing off?
This looks like it was filmed
from the rooftop across the street.
Do you have any idea
who might have done that?
I'm assuming the same person
who spray painted our garage door.
Could be somebody
trying to do you a favor.
How do you mean?
Trying to alert you
to your wife's infidelity.
Obviously, the thought
crossed my mind.
How is your
how is your marriage in general?
Our marriage is good.
I think.
I thought it was good.
Well, I wouldn't call the
divorce attorneys just yet.
Why don't you go
home and get some rest?
- It's been a rough day.
- Thank you.
We'll get to the bottom
of this, one way or another.
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
[SIGHS]
Okay.
We'll be in touch.
Okay?
What are we looking at here?
Maybe your first
case back in the saddle.
Grand juries hate a mystery.
No mystery to me.
His wife cheated, got caught,
and now she's lying about it.
Okay, well, let's start
with the evidence, Fin,
starting with whoever
spray-painted their garage.
Does the paint tell you anything?
Semi-gloss, durable
run-of-the-mill spray paint.
All right, so who
are we looking for?
Someone with a one-word vocabulary?
- Yo, Curry.
- Yeah.
- Look what I found.
- Okay, where was it?
In the sewer, up the block.
Neighbors give you anything?
Well, according to them,
the Vernons are a perfect couple.
Well, someone
obviously didn't think so.
You know, we got a
Ring cam across the street.
Had to pick something up.
Well, we found our spray-painter.
Yeah, complete with a license plate.
Annette Gallagher from
Elizabeth, New Jersey.
And her husband, Tommy.
Huh.
Look familiar?
The guy from the video.
And that seems like she was trying
to send Mrs. Vernon a message.
Yeah, to stay away from her husband.
So is there any other
connection to the Vernons?
No friends in common.
No professional connections.
Curry, go talk to her.
Okay.
Carisi, you wanna go with?
Uh, no, I was gonna go home.
It might be a good idea
to just ensure the public interest.
She has a point.
All we can prove
is criminal mischief,
and even that's a stretch.
You know what's not? Rape One.
That's an accusation that's gonna be
tough to substantiate.
That's why I need it
by the book, Counselor.
Come on.
I'll drive.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
- Can I help you?
- Annette Gallagher?
I'm Captain Renee Curry
with Manhattan SVU.
This is ADA Dominick Carisi.
Is your husband home?
What's this about?
Does the word "whore" ring a bell?
So you're not denying it's you.
No.
It's me, so what?
Why'd you do it?
Because that whore was
sleeping with my husband.
Okay, so you followed him,
and then filmed the video
from across the street?
No, I hired a PI.
There.
Does that look like rape to you?
She's touching me.
Her eyes are open.
Well, here's the
problem, Mr. Gallagher.
Katharine Vernon says
she doesn't recall any of this.
Then I'm grateful Annette hired
a private eye to follow me,
because if this crazy bitch
is accusing me of rape,
it proves I didn't do it.
Look, I understand
that you were hurt, okay?
You thought that your
husband had cheated on you.
He did cheat. You saw the video.
Well, actually, Mrs. Gallagher,
he may have done
a lot worse than that.
I don't understand.
The woman that you went after?
She might have been incapacitated.
- On what?
- On a popular sleep aid.
[LAUGHS] Is that
what she's claiming?
Is Tommy in trouble?
He could be.
Do you wanna help your husband?
Then tell me what
led to your suspicion
of him and Mrs. Vernon.
I woke up a few months back,
and Tommy wasn't in bed.
So the next couple
days, I check his phone
while he's in the shower,
and
I find messages,
between him and this skank.
Okay.
And what did you do
after you found them?
I hired a private investigator.
When was this?
A few weeks ago.
How did you and Katharine meet?
On a forum for dead bedrooms.
It's for married couples
who don't have sex no more.
So you and Annette, you're not
We got two young kids.
What do you think?
Keep going.
I'm listening.
Me and Katharine started talking.
She says she wants to be taken,
like some kind of
Sleeping Beauty fantasy.
So you didn't break into her house?
You wanna know how I got in?
How I knew the door would be unlocked?
She invited me.
[SIGHS]
So Rollins says it
was a late night for you.
Yeah, I had a lot of reading to do.
Banana nut muffin?
Uh, not
Not now.
All right, Carisi, so
what are we looking at?
Okay, we're looking at
the world's saddest book
on how to keep a marriage together.
"Roommate Syndrome"?
An online forum for married couples
who've stopped having sex.
You got a judge
to expedite a warrant
for Tommy Gallagher's electronics?
I didn't need to.
This guy offered 'em up to me.
Now, Tommy Gallagher claims
that he and Katharine Vernon
met on this forum.
And you believe him?
Based on what I see, yeah.
Well, I believe Katharine.
Thought you might
say that, which is why
I invited your friend here.
Sorry I'm late.
- Amanda.
- Yeah.
Carisi asked if I could
use some of my contacts
to see who has been
writing back and forth
with this Gallagher guy on the forum.
Carisi asked you that, huh?
Handles on the forum
are all anonymous.
The only thing is, we need to find
a sample to compare it with.
Well, that shouldn't
be a problem, I mean,
Katharine Vernon has been
cooperative since the beginning.
But, if she's lying
and I did say "if" for your benefit
you might find her slightly less so.
And if she isn't, then
you might be trying
your first case in months, Counselor.
Well, let's not all
get too excited just yet.
Just get me that sample of
Katharine Vernon's writing.
Okay.
These look amazing, by the way.
I appreciate what
y'all are doing for him.
Well, you're the one that
had to be up with him all night
- reading an adultery forum.
- [SIGHS]
At least he's
excited about something.
He did come dangerously
close to a smile
on our drive back from Jersey.
- You have something for us?
- Yeah.
We've been looking into that
IP address that you asked about.
The one you pulled from
Roommate Syndrome?
Turns out all the posts
came from the same address.
Do they come from
Katharine Vernon's computer?
No, that's the thing.
They came from the Vernons'
shared home computer.
So they could have
been written by Katharine.
No way to tell.
What time of day were they sent?
Mostly between 10:00 in the morning
and 3:00 in the afternoon.
Not at night?
Never.
Any other pattern?
99% of the messages
were sent on Mondays and Wednesdays.
So most messages were sent
on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Yup, middle of Harris's day.
What is this?
His class schedule.
So he's had Mondays
and Wednesdays off
for the past two semesters?
Mm-hmm, and
Katharine's assistant says
that she's at her office
every day from 9:00 to 7:00.
You thinking what I'm thinking?
That the real perp might
be a lot closer than she thinks?
Yeah.
Did you and Harris have a fight?
Last night, after Harris found out
the handyman can't paint
the garage until Tuesday.
We just passed it,
and it was painted over.
Well, because he did it himself.
[SCOFFS]
An exercise in forgetting.
But, there is not a coat
of paint thick enough
to erase what he saw in that video.
And what's all this?
My sleeping pills, all of them.
Katharine, you didn't
take any of these, did you?
- No.
- You're throwing them away?
I don't want them around anymore.
They've caused me enough damage.
You mind if we take these with us?
Yeah, couldn't hurt
to get them tested.
Suit yourself.
So I assume you got the writing
samples that I emailed you?
Yes, I did.
Um
I'm hoping that maybe
you can save us some time.
What is that?
Well, this is part of
the reason we're here,
is I wanted to ask you if you
If you remember writing that.
"I wanna be taken by
a man with big hands.
I wanna be dominated by him"?
No, I didn't write that.
Where is it from?
An online forum called
Roommate Syndrome.
You recognize this site?
No, I've never seen this.
Well, someone created
a handle for you on it,
complete with an avatar,
and used your email
account to set it up.
What?
[LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
That doesn't make any sense.
Well, so there are two
possibilities here, right?
One is that you created this account,
on a site that you've
never even heard of,
under the influence of sleeping pills.
And shared messages
with dozens of men
- looking to cheat on their wives.
- Or
Or somebody
else set up the account.
So, Katherine, does your
does your husband have
access to your emails?
- Yes, of course.
- Okay.
Katharine
Is it possible that,
he may have sent those messages
and invited Tommy
Gallagher into your house?
To to to sexually assault
me while I was sleeping?
That's
That's insane.
That's insane.
You know, Katharine,
if you think about it,
it's more likely than
the alternative, right?
Of you setting up this account?
[SCOFFS]
We just need to prove it.
Just get out, get out.
Get out.
Katharine, will you listen to us
Harris loves me.
He would not give me away,
to-to some stranger.
He would not let me be hurt.
I want both of you out of here!
- Just now!
- Katharine,
I'm so sorry.
We already have enough
evidence to get a search warrant.
Then get one.
Because from now on, we are
only speaking through a lawyer.
Okay.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
She'd rather believe a palatable lie
than a truth so devastating
that it would rip her life apart.
Tommy Gallagher
can't be the first guy
that this sick bastard arranged
to have sex with his wife.
Scour the forum.
Find out who else was invited
into Katharine's bedroom.
I'll call Carisi for a warrant.
I'm not letting Harris Vernon
cover up anything else.
So you want me to pursue a case
where the alleged
victim blames herself
for her own sexual assault?
Carisi, Katharine is
being gaslit by her husband.
That may be true,
but as of right now,
she's blaming her sleep meds, correct?
Because she's confused.
If I had enough to arrest Harris
and I put her on the
stand, in order to maintain
this illusion of a happy marriage,
her story is gonna be
that she left the door open
- for Tommy Gallagher.
- Maybe not.
So my authorship
attribution specialist, right?
He compared the
grammar, syntax, punctuation
of the messages on the
Roommate Syndrome forum
against one of Harris
Vernon's short story collections.
- And?
- Harris was faking
Katharine's writing
voice on that forum.
Harris wrote those messages
- to Tommy Gallagher.
- Yeah, that's exactly
what it's looking like.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
We need more witnesses.
Round up all the guys
who thought that
they were
communicating with Katharine.
- And tell them?
- That they were communicating
with Harris instead.
That's who I was
exchanging fantasies with?
Some old dude?
He was the one pretending
to be Sleeping Beauty.
Did you ever actually
go to her house?
I never went over there.
According to what we read, it
seems like you were about to.
There's a difference
between reality and fantasy.
Her husband doesn't
seem to know that.
So how was this supposed to go down?
She said she'd leave the door open.
Lying asleep in bed.
You mean "he."
Well, I'm glad I
never went over there.
What stopped you?
I was on my way.
Then my wife's work trip got canceled,
so I turned around and drove home.
And that's the last of them.
A dozen of these guys,
we can't place any of them
at the Vernon townhouse?
The neighbors' Ring
cams from the last year
confirmed that they're
all telling the truth.
So Harris sets up
a handle for his wife
on Roommate Syndrome a year ago,
and all he came up with
was Tommy Gallagher?
- How is that possible?
- It's probably not.
But we have no proof that there were
any other arranged meet-ups.
So we know this
kind of behavior doesn't
just spring up overnight.
So maybe it started someplace else.
This guy does work at a college.
A lot of access to
a lot of young men
willing to do just
about anything for sex.
I'll have Silva and
Velasco start canvassing.
You're Derek Poole, right?
You work with Dean Harris?
Yeah, I work with Dean Harris.
What's this about?
Well, we're investigating
a possible sexual assault
against Harris's wife.
- Katharine?
- Yeah.
From what we hear around campus,
you and Katharine were cozy.
What's that supposed to mean?
Well, something about
a conference in Boston.
One of your colleagues mentioned it.
Am I in some kind of legal trouble?
You're talking to
two SVU detectives.
What do you think?
Look, what happened
between me and Katharine,
it was all Harris's idea.
See, that's a good start.
So, why don't you tell us
exactly what happened?
And you don't mind
if I record, do you?
[SIGHS]
We were at this conference in Boston,
and Harris told me his
wife found me attractive.
Meaning what?
He asked me if I wanted to
hook up with her while he watched.
It was a fantasy of his, evidently.
Was Mrs. Vernon
aware of this fantasy?
I thought so.
How many times did you
have sex with Mrs. Vernon?
Just the once.
So Derek Poole.
Do you know him?
He's a young professor
who works under Harris.
You remember him?
I met him at a faculty party.
We chatted.
- That's it?
- Yes.
I swear.
Well, you heard what
he told my detectives.
I'm so sorry for the
way I reacted yesterday,
- throwing you out of my house.
- Katharine, please,
I can understand not wanting to face
what your husband did to you.
How am I gonna face it now?
You're gonna tell your side in court.
My marriage is over.
But it's been over for a while.
You're just finding out now.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Anything you say can
be used against you.
If you can't afford an attorney,
- one will be
- I didn't do anything!
I got two kids.
How the hell am I supposed
to pay the mortgage?
I'm really sorry, Mrs. Gallagher.
I really am.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
How dare you embarrass
me at my place of work?
You have the right to remain silent.
You almost had me fooled, Professor,
with that pity play about
your wife cheating on you.
She let him in.
I want my lawyer.
Yeah, call him on
your way to booking.
Always good to see
a scumbag in cuffs.
Yeah, well, this guy's
sticking to his story,
and the vic doesn't
remember being assaulted.
So you got your work
cut out for you, Counselor.
Yeah, well, most of my
evidence is about fantasy,
so why should this
trial be any different?
Captain Benson, how did this video
come into police evidence?
It was sent anonymously
to Katharine Vernon
and to her husband, Harris Vernon.
And who shot this video?
Um, a private investigator
that was hired
by the wife of the man in
this video, Tommy Gallagher.
And how did the Vernons react
to this video when they saw it?
Katharine was devastated,
as she had no memory at all
of the encounter, and Mr. Vernon
insinuated to one of my detectives
that his wife was having an affair.
What did your investigation conclude?
That this rape was
engineered by Harris Vernon.
Can you explain
that to the jury, please?
So Harris sent
messages to dozens of men
on an online forum,
impersonating his wife
through text in an effort to lure them
into the Vernon family home.
To the best of your knowledge,
Katharine Vernon was entirely unaware
of these encounters, correct?
According to her statement, yes.
Thank you, Captain.
Nothing further.
Didn't Mrs. Vernon
initially tell you that
she may have gone
on to the forum herself
and invited Tommy Gallagher over,
all while under the
influence of a potent cocktail
of self-administered
sleeping medications?
Yes, but after we presented her
with the actual evidence,
she concluded that she
wasn't complicit in any way.
So she changed her story.
Yes, which is not
uncommon for victims.
As a career-long
sex crimes investigator
with a track record
of believing victims,
is it possible that you might just be
a little bit biased as to what story
- you choose to believe, Captain?
- Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
Dr. Silva, you are a
pharmaceutical psychiatrist?
Specializing in sleep disorders.
- And you examined Katharine Vernon.
- Yes.
And what did you
find when you analyzed
those medications, the same ones
that were tested by the NYPD?
They had been opened
up and tampered with,
overpacked with nearly
twice the prescribed dose.
And in your professional opinion,
on those meds at that dose,
did Katharine Vernon
have any cognitive ability?
At those dosages, I wouldn't
expect Katharine Vernon
to have any cognitive ability at all.
Thank you.
Drug manufacturers are
hardly perfect, are they?
They are held to a
certain standard by the FDA.
Would it surprise you
to hear that the factory
that manufactured
Mrs. Vernon's Dozexal
failed inspection twice?
That would be surprising.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
I first met Katharine
Vernon two years ago
at a university staff party.
We talked a lot at that party.
How did Harris respond to that?
When he pulled me
aside later that night,
I was worried I overstepped.
What did he say to you
when he pulled you aside
once the party was over?
He asked me if I knew what
the word "compersion" meant.
Can you define that for the jury?
It's the feeling of joy
that comes from celebrating
someone else's
happiness, even if it doesn't
directly benefit you.
It's often described as
the opposite of jealousy.
So that night at the party,
what did you take
that to mean exactly?
That he liked
seeing her flirt with me.
How did your relationship
with the Vernons evolve
after that?
A few months later, we
were at a conference in Boston.
Harris and I had several
drinks at the hotel bar
while Mrs. Vernon excused herself.
And then?
Harris told me his wife wanted to
have sex with me up in the room.
Did you?
Yes.
And did Mrs. Vernon
participate in this?
She was almost entirely passive,
but I thought it was
part of the arrangement.
Harris said she had a
Sleeping Beauty fantasy.
Where was Harris
while you were having
sex with his wife?
He was in the room, watching.
You didn't find that to be odd?
Not at first.
But
After a few minutes,
Katharine opened her eyes
in kind of a vacant stare.
So what did you do then?
I told Dean Vernon I couldn't
in good conscience participate.
And you never had
sex with Katharine Vernon
ever again after that?
No.
In fact, I avoided her completely.
Is it fair to say
that you felt guilty?
Yes.
Thank you.
Mr. Poole, you say
that you felt guilty,
but, not guilty enough
to call the police?
Not guilty enough to tell Mrs.
Vernon what was happening?
As I've said, Dean
Vernon is my boss.
And you were gunning for tenure.
That may have
been a small part of it.
In fact, you were given a
tenure deal later that year.
Must be some kind of record
for such a young professor.
Not sure where this is going.
I wonder, were you given
a similar such favorable deal
by the DA's office
to testify here today?
I'm not being charged
for the rape he made me do,
- if that's what you mean.
- Just to be clear
so the jury understands,
the DA agreed to drop
your own rape charge
in exchange for your
testimony here today.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
Dean Harris raped her.
Not me.
Never fails to amaze
me how the threat of prison
can warp a man's perception.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Nothing further.
♪
Mrs. Vernon, the
jury has seen the video
between you and Tommy Gallagher,
the one left for you
on the thumb drive.
Were you surprised by that
video when you first saw it?
I was completely shattered.
And what about your sexual
encounter with Derek Poole?
Do you remember any of that?
I remember talking to him
that night, but not the rape.
So it's fair to say
that you never gave
your husband consent.
No.
And you never shared with him
any kind of Sleeping
Beauty fantasy at all?
- No.
- In fact,
up until this came to light,
you believed that you
were in a happy marriage.
Now I know that
was the real fantasy.
Thank you, Mrs. Vernon.
Mrs. Vernon, we can all
see that you're unhappy now.
But you didn't seem to be unhappy
flirting with Mr. Poole at
the faculty party, were you?
Who said I was flirting?
By Mr. Poole's own testimony,
your husband certainly seemed
to think you were.
Did you also ever use fantasy
to liven up your marriage?
♪
We may have.
A lot of sexual fantasy is
up for interpretation, isn't it?
- What?
- Objection.
It's important to contextualize
the couple's private life.
I'll allow.
Did you ever establish
strict rules, boundaries,
limitations with respect
to your fantasy life
with your husband?
- No.
- No safe words?
Never.
Mrs. Vernon, isn't it true
that like a lot of couples
who've been married
for as long as you and Harris have,
that you started to behave
more like roommates
instead of lovers?
I'm not even gonna dignify that.
So seeing the word "whore"
painted on your garage,
you weren't embarrassed?
Yes, of course I was.
Maybe even humiliated?
Yes.
And isn't that the real reason
why you went to the police?
Because admitting that you
willingly participated in sex
with other men while
your husband watched
wouldn't sit so well with
your neighbors, your family.
After all, in your circles,
it isn't exactly cocktail
banter, now, is it?
Objection.
Badgering.
I'll allow.
I was humiliated then.
But being here right now, up here,
I don't have the luxury of
being as modest as I once was.
The crime committed by
my husband against me,
that sought to so
thoroughly degrade me,
made sure of that.
And now I know,
the degradation is not mine.
It's his.
♪
You hate what your husband did.
Yes.
Enough to lie on the stand?
- Objection.
- Overruled.
I don't have to lie anymore.
Or is it you hate
what the police
convinced you that he did?
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
♪
Mr. Carisi?
Mr. Carisi?
Come on, Ali!
[CRYING]
I'm sick and tired of
listening to your big mouth!
Um, prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Then we're adjourned for today.
Defense begins at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Thank you, Your Honor.
♪
That lawyer made me out
to be some sort of frigid WASP
bent on revenge.
Okay, Katharine, look.
She was just doing her job.
Oh, a damn good one she did!
Why didn't Mr. Carisi do his?
No, I don't think that's necessary.
[SIGHS]
Officer, would you give us a second?
- Thank you.
- Understood.
Counselor.
That was DA Baxter on the phone.
He heard about me
flaming out in court today,
asked if I wanted to
be taken off the case.
Did he pose it as a
question or an order?
Tough to read between the silences.
I let Katharine down today.
And there is, uh
There's no coming back from that.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I can't even smile when
my kids are opening
their Christmas presents, Liv.
Maybe I don't have any feelings left,
and the jury can sense that.
You know, you need passion
if you wanna win a case.
- You sound angry.
- You're damn right I'm angry!
Not to state the
obvious, but that's a feeling,
isn't it, Carisi?
- Yeah, I guess it is.
- Okay.
So, all those years of night school?
You went from being a
detective to a prosecutor.
You worked your ass off.
You're gonna let some manipulator
like Harris Vernon take that from you?
Liv, what the hell
do you want from me?
I want you to wake up!
Come back.
Wake up, Carisi.
♪
Come on.
Thank you for agreeing
to meet me, Mrs. Gallagher.
Take a seat, please, right here.
Yeah, well, I'm
here at the courthouse
every day anyway.
I don't know how you people do this.
- It must be a nightmare.
- Well, sometimes it is.
I can't imagine how
you're feeling, though.
[SCOFFS]
My husband's stupid,
but he's not a rapist.
Listen, we've given him
every opportunity to make a deal.
He just he won't do it.
Because he believed
that professor's line of crap.
What line of crap?
[SIGHS]
Tommy told me to keep it quiet,
but I am so angry
at what
happened to that poor woman,
all because of what I
painted on her door.
No, you did Katharine
Vernon a favor.
Her husband's a monster.
There's no telling how long
this torment would have lasted
if you hadn't brought it to light.
But Annette, if you know something
that's gonna help me take
this pompous ass down,
I would be grateful.
One blue-collar kid to another.
A few days before the trial,
the pompous ass drove
all the way out to Jersey,
met Tommy in a mall parking lot.
To tell him what?
Convinced Tommy
that if they stuck together,
they'd both get off.
Turns out Mrs. Vernon
has a lot of family money.
Her husband offered
to pay off our mortgage.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
You wanna see
Harris Vernon convicted?
Is that what you want?
After what he did?
He watched his wife be assaulted.
I'd like to see him burn in hell.
Well, how does 25 years
behind bars sound to you?
It's a start.
What do I have to do?
Get your husband to take a deal.
♪
What kind of time
are we talking about?
Your client's not gonna walk free,
but I'll give him options.
If I testify against Harris.
It'd go a long way with the judge.
But just so we're clear,
I had no idea that woman was drugged.
I don't believe that for
a second, Mr. Gallagher,
and neither do you.
The question is, do you want
me to prove that in open court?
You want your family to see that?
He was there.
In the room.
He drugged her.
You wanted to talk?
Let's talk.
Whatever Tommy
Gallagher is willing to testify to
doesn't help your case.
Well, as soon as the jury hears
that your client offered
a substantial bribe
to a potential witness,
all they'll see is his guilt.
No one truly knows what
goes on inside a marriage.
Yeah.
Sometimes not even the
people in the marriage.
Do you honestly think that
Katharine would have come
into your precinct if someone hadn't
spray-painted her personal business
all over our garage door?
See, you're still sticking to
that same story, aren't you?
You know, your wife
took her power back in that courtroom.
How'd that make you feel?
Did you call us down
here just to waste our time?
No, I called you down here
because I'm gonna
give you two choices.
Now, you can either
sit in the courtroom
while I ask about every detail
of the nauseating little
catechism of perversion
that your life has descended into
- since that night in Boston.
- Or?
Or your client can stop
lying, admit what he did.
To your wife.
Why would I do that?
To give you that feeling of joy
that comes from another
person's happiness,
even when it doesn't
directly benefit you.
Hold on, there's a
word for that, isn't there?
How's that for compersion?
♪
Harris agreed to the deal.
He'll do 15 years.
- And Tommy?
- Seven.
It's over?
It's over.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
I'm late for dinner with my kids.
I'll see you tomorrow, Benson.
[SIGHS]
How are you doing?
My life will never
be the same again.
No.
Your life will not be as it was.
But, from where I'm standing,
that's a glorious thing.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You want that last piece?
Um, no, I'm full.
No?
More for me.
♪
Hey.
We're gonna be okay.
Yeah, we are.
♪