I am a prosecutor.
I'm a part of the business of accusing...
...judging...
...and punishing.
I explore the evidence of a crime...
...and determine who is charged...
...who is brought to this room...
...to be tried before his peers.
I present my evidence to thejury...
...and they deliberate upon it.
They must determine
what really happened.
If they cannot...
...we won't know if the accused deserves
to be freed or to be punished.
If they cannot find the truth...
...what is our hope ofjustice?
Where's Nat?
Burying a goldfish.
That he forgot to feed.
Kid's gotta learn responsibility.
He's nine.
When you were nine,
you fed the animals on the block...
...and made dinner,
did everyone's homework...
...and, in your spare time,
you practiced law.
I didn't practice law until I was ten.
Listen to this.
"ln their first face-to-face debate,
Nico Della Guardia...
"...appeared to throw
Raymond Horgan off stride...
"...with an opening swipe
at the prosecuting attorney's...
"...twelve-year tenure as
'an uninterrupted retreat from reality...
"'...and slow-motion surrender to thugs,
punks and hand-wringing liberals."'
The guy's unbelievable.
I'm finally starting to get used to that rug
on Della Guardia's head.
Don't eat standing up. Sit down.
Food goes down easier.
It has the help of gravity.
Oh, God.
Yet another lawyer.
I won't be home till late.
I got a game after school.
Like his father, he doesn't come home
till he has to.
If Raymond loses this election,
I could be home a lot.
Rick, I looked this over last night.
Top count, max.
It's a first offense!
No plea to anything
but the A-1 felony. Period.
On all of them?
All of them.
And no promises on the sentence.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
This is for you.
Someone put it under the door last night.
I found it when I came in.
Mr. Big Cheese wants to see you now.
I'll be right along.
He said "now," now.
What's wrong?
Carolyn Polhemus was murdered last night.
Her cleaning lady found the body
this morning.
Some creep got into her place
and strangled her.
It looks like she was raped.
He tied her up...
...he beat her with some instrument
and strangled her.
No weapon. No sign of forced entry.
Unless you want me here,
I'm supposed to meet the coroner.
That's all right. Go on, get out of here.
I can hear Della Guardia now.
"lf Raymond Horgan can't protect his own
attorneys, how can he protect citizens?"
Tommy Molto's secretary said
he wasn't coming in today.
Some fucking Acting Head of Homicide
he turned out to be, the little creep.
I should have fired him when we fired Nico.
If I had balls, I'd do it now.
I want you to handle this case personally.
I will assign it to somebody.
Who will you assign it to? Homicide?
Tommy Molto? For Christ's sake!
Della Guardia would love that.
Molto would tip him off on everything.
They're so close you can see Molto's nose
sticking out of Nico's bellybutton.
Listen to me.
What a waste.
Beautiful, sexy gal. Hell of a lawyer.
That's her ending. That's her au revoir.
The first thing we got to think about...
...is what the public thinks
in the middle of an election.
Take charge of this one for me, okay?
If you care about my health.
You're the only around here I can trust.
Greer's a good investigator, but I'd prefer
someone I'm used to working with.
Lipranzer.
Whatever you want.
Just catch me a bad guy.
So, I'm here.
What the hell was she doing with a B file?
Bribery of elected officials.
The case number is on her computer.
But the case itself isn't among
the papers in her files.
Why? Did she take it home? What?
Maybe it was taken?
Check the apartment.
What do you got here?
Bunch of pictures of a dead lady.
-No weapon found, yet?
-Nada.
It's a weird one.
She was strangled by the ropes
but by the way he tied her...
...it's like he put himself
between her legs and pumped...
...so they tightened up like he was trying
to let his weight strangle her.
Like he was trying to fuck her to death.
Look at the next one.
Check the computer for sex offenders
and cross match on Carolyn's name...
...or this business with the ropes.
Find out which of the creeps she put away
is out on parole.
I never did understand why you put her
in charge of rape and all that sicko shit.
She wanted it. And she was good.
Yeah, too good, maybe.
I'm not grabbing this, yet.
You worked with this broad.
She wouldn't leave her fucking door
and windows wide open.
She was drinking with him. She gave him
a glass of beer, like she was entertaining.
-Fingerprints on the glass?
-Yeah.
Greer sent it down to the lab.
You mean somebody she let in opened
the windows so it looked like a break-in?
She wasn't going to let some sex maniac
she sent to jail in for a beer.
On the other hand, we're talking Carolyn.
Mac...
...tell me what Carolyn Polhemus
was doing with a bribery file.
I had no idea Carolyn was interested
in crimes above the waist.
It's on her computer,
but not on mine or the department's.
That makes no sense.
Why don't you ask Raymond?
Ready for something else?
Molto's left.
His secretary came back from lunch
and found his desk cleaned out.
Exercise?
Masturbation.
The refuge of the lonely housewife.
Missed the 8:35. I tried to call,
but you weren't here.
Nat had dinner at Josh's,
and I was at the university.
I tried to get in a little extra time
on the mainframe.
Get anything done?
Who am I kidding?
Still working on my dissertation at my age.
It's ridiculous.
You were the best mathematician
in your class.
Second best just made
full professor at MIT.
All I've made are beds.
And now, the Channel Six local news.
Carolyn Polhemus, assistant prosecuting
attorney in Raymond Horgan's office...
...was found brutally murdered
in her Southside apartment.
Police are about to release a statement
about the circumstances of her death....
You hear?
Eugenia was thrilled to be messenger
of bad tidings.
Yeah, I'll bet.
From top to bottom
we are riddled with cruelty.
We must expose and punish it...
...especially when inflicted
upon the impotent and the ignored.
You sound like a woman with a mission.
I am.
The murder of Ms. Polhemus--
You have a suspect?
We have diddly-shit.
So Dan Lipranzer and Rusty Sabich
will work night and day for two weeks...
...to catch Raymond a killer.
That's the strategy.
You're in charge of this investigation?
Raymond insisted I take it on.
With 1 50 lawyers, they couldn't find one
who didn't fuck her to put in charge?
Did you tell Raymond?
This is a conflict of interest.
Is that professional?
Barbara, I'm Raymond's chief deputy.
You are so predictable.
It's your way of reliving the whole thing.
She's dead and you're still obsessing.
Rusty.
Nico.
She was just....
-Splendid.
-That's it. Very good.
Raymond's pressing hard
on that case, I imagine.
Raymond presses hard on every case, Nico.
You know who would've been hard
to beat? You.
You would've been tough. Very tough.
You are really something.
Where's Tommy Molto?
Molto?
I thought he'd come to the funeral
of his favorite colleague.
You must really have him scrambling.
Judge.
Who's that with Raymond?
I'm told that's her ex-husband.
I didn't know she had one.
Teaches college someplace.
Carolyn Polhemus worked for me.
I hired her...
...over the objections of...
...many of our prosecutors
who felt shejust didn't have the stuff.
I see those prosecutors here today...
...along with thejudges she defied...
...and the defense attorneys she defeated.
Why are they all here?
They're here because Carolyn Polhemus
stood for something.
She stood forjustice.
The Prosecutor's Office,
under my leadership...
...has a conviction rate of over 91 percent.
Mr. Della Guardia, or...
...as he is known to those of us
who have had to work with him, "Delay"--
There's food here for 1 00 people.
A lot of no-shows.
They smell a loser.
-Good speech.
-What the hell is happening with Carolyn?
Everything's in the works.
I reassigned her cases, and this afternoon
I gotta deal with Molto's stuff.
What's with this reassignment shit?
Goddamn it, Rusty!
I told you to give this investigation
top priority.
Nico is eating me alive with this thing.
The election is in ten days.
If you don't find Carolyn's killer,
we are both history.
Turn all of that administrative bullshit
to Mac.
Mac has more than she can handle.
And let me remind you,
we lost two key PA's in one day.
You only have time for the election.
I've got to run the office.
Fuck the office!
Don't you see what's happening?
If you don't find me a killer,
there is no fucking office!
I want you right on top
of Carolyn's case, understand?
Run out every ground ball and do it
in an orderly goddamned fashion!
Start acting like a fucking professional!
The campaign is a total disaster.
Haven't taken a poll in two weeks.
We don't know where the hell we are.
You're ten minutes late
for the bar meeting on criminal procedure.
Call them and tell them I'm on my way.
Did you assign a bribery case to Carolyn?
There's a file missing.
Loretta, find my driver.
Tell him to be ready to leave.
She had a case on her computer
we can't account for.
It was logged in as a B file.
Nobody knows where it came from.
Nobody knows where it went.
Where the hell is my speech?
It was right here on my desk.
Cody has it.
You're giving me a runaround.
Cody, pull the car around.
I'll meet you down in front.
Give me a straight answer, will you, Boss?
There's the B file, Tiger.
Read it, and we'll talk.
"Dear Mr. Horgan.
"This is about a deputy prosecuting
attorney who is taking bribes.
"Five years ago,
a person I'll call 'Noel' got arrested.
"l gave him $1 ,500 to pay somebody off.
"We went out to North Branch.
A secretary who seemed to know Noel...
"...took him into the PA's office, where
a man he could not see talked behind him.
"Ten days later, Noel went to court
and a lawyer from the PA's office...
"...told the judge that
the case was dismissed.
"l can't remember the lawyer's name.
I hope you get him.
"l hope you get Noel, too.
He has let me down."
-Unsigned.
-Unsigned.
Five years ago.
That guy must write real slow.
"Noel equals Leon."
This is Carolyn's handwriting.
Looks like she went to North Branch
to see Kenneally.
You'll love what I got from Painless.
There's this guy's semen
inside her vagina...
...but there's nothing outside.
Painless figures she didn't spend
much time on her feet after sex.
He says, normally,
he'd see the guy's little thingies...
...swimming upstream in the womb,
when he looked under the microscope.
Instead, this guy's was all dead.
Nothing went nowhere.
So Painless figures he's sterile.
He's got blood type A.
My very own.
I thought of that. But you got a kid.
Anything from hair or fiber?
No hair or skin fragments under her nails.
Carolyn would've fought back.
Maybe she was playing sex games
with the wrong guy.
The rope is K-Mart, Sears, Walgreen's.
You name it.
They found carpet fibers
from some other location. Zorak V.
It's only the biggest seller.
You call the Fingerprint Lab
on the bar glass?
Oh, I forgot.
You are a class-A fuck-up, you know?
They ain't going to expedite it for me.
I got the phone company printout
on her apartment.
I notice that one of the numbers
that comes up is yours a number of times.
At the office.
We were working cases together.
No, she's calling your home.
She never called me at home.
I made these calls...
...to Barbara from Carolyn's apartment.
"Late again, kid."
"This trial's a bitch.
I'll catch dinner in town."
I'd just as soon you'd let it go.
If Barbara sees a phone company
subpoena, now, she'll bust a gut.
Under the circumstances,
if you don't mind...
...l'd appreciate it.
I gave Barbara...
...enough pain.
Polhemus was bad news.
Know what they're calling you
and your partner downtown?
Spare me.
"Mission lmpossible."
Guerasch, bring that shit in my office.
So you're figuring what? The guy
she was having cocktails with did her?
I figure it was somebody who knew
what he wanted it to look like.
Cop. PA. A private dick.
Remember that lady PA
who was here four months ago?
Yeah, nice set of lungs.
This kid's gonna make a copper.
Never forgets a bra size.
He wants to know
what she was looking for.
She was looking for someone
by the name of Noel.
It took me a week to find this crap.
Five years back,
they booked 1 50 a day then.
Public indecency.
They were cleaning out the faggots.
Back when Raymond got some balls
for a day and a half.
-She find anything?
-I don't know.
When I gave these files to her,
they were in nice order.
The bitch just trashed them.
She never gave a shit
about anybody else's work.
One's completely missing. Look.
See right here? It skips a number.
Tommy Molto been looking at these?
What does Molto have to do with this?
Would there still be a court file
on this case?
That far back, it'd have to be in storage
on microfilm by now.
You don't want to say
what this is about, maybe?
Gee, Lionel, I can't.
She used to ask about you, you know.
Five, six years ago when she worked
out here as a probation officer.
-Five years ago I didn't know her.
-Sure you did.
The night you brought the Night Saints in.
You were hot stuff. A regular fucking hero.
Breaking the meanest guy
this side of Watts.
There was a lot of talk
you'd end up in Horgan's job.
She wanted to know what you were like.
I told her you didn't fuck around.
Dad, look who's here.
-How are you?
-Good. Mom's in a good mood.
How'd you know I'd be on this ferry?
Took a chance.
How was your day?
Well, I figured out today,
it's ten years this week...
...that I'm working on my dissertation.
I thought we'd celebrate.
Going to take us to dinner?
Why don't you just give up
on that dissertation?
It makes you miserable.
Your mom's not a giver-upper.
Maybe that's her problem.
I sure wouldn't do math unless I had to.
You got my genes in the math department.
If not for your mom,
I'd still be taking algebra.
I had to be good at something.
You were good at everything.
School.
Did you ever cheat?
Like borrow someone else's homework?
Copy it and pretend it was mine?
Why do I have the feeling that question
has some personal relevance?
I didn't say I did.
It's all right, kid.
It's good to see you guys happy.
Pretty.
It's new.
It's very pretty.
Mr. Polhemus? I'm Rusty Sabich.
Seems so strange to be talking about her
after all these years.
You hadn't had much contact
with her, then?
None since she left.
What about her family?
I have no idea where she came from.
She lied her way into the university.
Made up some kind of background.
She was very good at playing roles.
When she left me, I lost all pride.
I begged her not to leave.
The last time she looked at me,
it was with disgust.
Disgust that somebody she'd looked up to
could be so weak.
At that moment, I had the most
desperate wish that she were dead.
Maybe she made a man feel like that
who actually acted on his fantasy.
Would you like to see what she looked like
at that time?
Yes, I would.
They were taken at about the time
we were married.
This isn't just work?
No.
On the Polhemus thing, what the fuck
is happening to the fingerprints report?
Don't give me that computer crap!
You know I don't understand that shit.
They want to know how big a field
you want it run against?
We could do convicted felons...
...anybody ever fingerprinted,
county employees, etc.
Just do felons.
We'll do the rest if we need them.
Do them all. I may never get back on.
Do everybody. How soon?
What the fuck takes a week?
The man has the biggest murder case
in the city...
...and he has to kiss your ring?
I know. I know.
We don't have jurisdiction
over the computer.
-A week. Probably ten days.
-I need them yesterday.
I'll push, but I don't think
you'll see them any sooner.
Have your copper get the glass back
from Evidence and down to the lab...
...in case they need it for anything.
Ah, Mr. Sabich.
Real important stuff.
We got the chief deputy with us.
Lipranzer and I were wondering,
on your report...
...are you indicating the guy bashed her
after she was strangled by the ropes?
Read the fucking report.
This report?
No, not that report. My report.
The autopsy.
See anything with bruises on the wrists...
...bruises on the ankles,
bruises on the knees?
Are you saying she was raped
and then tied up?
Tied up last, yeah.
She already died
from multiple head injuries.
Rape? Now I'm thinking...
...no.
Why?
Read the fucking report.
-This report?
-No.
This report? The chemist's report?
Yeah, the chemist's report.
She had a two percent solution
of nonoxynol-9 in her vagina.
A spermicide used with a diaphragm.
That's why his sperms were dead.
Diaphragm? You missed a diaphragm
in the autopsy?
No. You've been to autopsies.
You slice her wide open.
No diaphragm in that lady.
What happened to it?
Somebody took it.
I think it's a setup.
This man...
...is her lover. He comes over.
They have drinks.
This lady has intercourse with him.
Real nice. Okay?
But he's an angry guy.
Picks up something, kills her.
Tries to make it look like rape.
Ties her up.
Pulls out the diaphragm.
That's what I think.
What does Tommy Molto think?
You got his phone number right there.
Want to jot it down in case you need it?
Next time you talk to him...
...tell him to call me so I can find out...
...what's going on
in my own fucking investigation.
Painless...
...you tell Molto, and you tell Nico, too...
...that this is cheap, cheap politics.
Cheap Police Department bullshit.
God better help them and help you, too.
I can't make a case for tampering.
Our poll shows Della Guardia's leading
Horgan by four percent. Eight days left.
At least it's made somebody happy.
I don't want to see you out of here.
Come on, pal. We're old news.
I'd miss you. Who else here can talk
morality and ethics and not break me up?
Voters smell an exhausted man who's lost
sight of all the important issues.
Issues? Bullshit.
The only issue is Raymond Horgan
has respect for the law...
...and Nico Della Guardia will fuck the law
for politics. That's the issue.
Rusty....
Have you ever been to an lrish wake?
Come on over and pull up a glass.
Know what Della Guardia
is going to find out?
You run for office because...
...you think you can make people do things,
make things better.
But you can't.
Nobody can.
You get a few potholes filled,
keep the lid on the best way you can.
But in the end...
...all you can do is try to hang on
to the fucking job.
I never used to drink when I started here.
Then, you still believed
you could make a difference.
Funny, part of me still does.
A guy as tough as you are...
...you're still hanging on
to the shreds of your ideals.
The shreds are all I got.
You're a good man, Rusty.
God bless you.
So, tell me, who's our bad guy?
It could be a boyfriend.
Some guy she picked up.
Whoever it is knew enough about her
to know what to make it look like.
Could be a law-enforcement type.
Jesus.
One of us.
You and Carolyn have a thing?
Don't beat around the bush.
Just come right out and ask the question.
I'll say that the decedent and I
were both single and both adults.
I had a thing with her.
She thought like everybody else thought...
...that I wasn't going to run again.
That I could just hand the mantle over
to anyone I chose...
...so why not a broad?
Why not her?
One more question?
I gave her the B file
because she asked me for it.
Because I was fucking her.
Stupid, huh?
She went over to Northside...
...shoveled through the records.
There wasn't anything there.
At least that's what she told me.
What are you going to do now?
Once the party's over?
I don't know.
I got an idea.
Suppose we try to get you on the bench.
I should still have enough clout
to pull that off. What do you say?
Why don't we just see
what the future holds.
Would that have satisfied her?
What's that?
A judgeship.
I wonder if a judgeship
would've satisfied Carolyn Polhemus.
Rusty!
Come say hello to Carolyn Polhemus.
Have you met?
I've seen Rusty.
I want to bring Carolyn on board
as a prosecuting attorney.
She's been working probation, Northside,
and she just passed her bar exam.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
She comes very highly recommended.
Why don't we see if we can find
a nice place for her.
I'd like the lndex Division.
That's not a job, it's a jail sentence.
Rape, sex crimes, child molestation.
We can do better than that.
It's hard to get a conviction on a rape.
It's a dead-end for someone ambitious.
So you get the worst attorneys
trying the hardest cases?
Listen to this. We got another idealist
in the office.
He's five years old.
The doctors found 23 healed fractures
from old wounds.
Victim of his own beloved mother.
I need your help.
Your wife called.
Why don't you fire her?
Civil service. They're here forever.
Why don't you give this to Nancy.
You haven't had experience with kids.
Nancy's not available.
And, besides,
I'd like to try this case myself.
With your help.
Outline it for me.
About a month ago...
...the mother brought him
into the West End Pavilion Hospital.
The boy was unconscious
from severe head injuries.
She said he fell.
The doctor says...
...the head wounds were too symmetrical
to be the result of a fall.
He told me...
...he was treating a child whose mother
had crushed his head in a vise.
We have any proof it was the mother?
You got the vise?
Just the testimony of the child.
When he sees the mother in
the courtroom, he'll recant. An iffy case.
I've examined him several times and...
...l think he's begun to trust me.
Look, how many child abuse cases
does this office handle in a year?
Over a thousand.
Every one of them terrible.
Every one of them heartbreaking.
But I can't stop everything else
to take care of one case.
You're going to have to get somebody else
to help you.
You don't like me, do you?
I think you've turned out to be
a damn good prosecutor.
You're angry I didn't have to go
through the channels like everyone else.
Clearly, you're not like everyone else.
You think I got this job because
I fucked some fat-cat friend of Raymond's.
Look, it's late....
Come on, I'll drive you to your ferry.
This is not the way to the ferry.
I want you to meet somebody.
Wendell, this is Rusty Sabich.
He's a very important man in our office.
He's going to help me
when we go to court.
Remember what I told you about court?
Yeah.
Now, tell me.
There's a judge and some nice people.
They're called a jury.
And you're gonna ask me questions.
About what?
About what happened.
When?
When I got hurt.
What else did I tell you?
You said that if I told what Mommy did...
...the judge and the nice people
will protect me...
...and Mommy wouldn't hurt me anymore.
Do you think you can do that?
Answer my questions in court?
And tell what Mommy did to you?
I think you can.
Mommy will be there.
She can't hurt you.
She can't even talk to you.
You'll be completely safe.
You promise?
I promise.
His father got to him last night.
Told him God would put him in hell
if he testified against his mother.
He's terrified.
If you're not ready, we'll ask the judge
for a couple more days.
No.
We've got to do it now
or we'll lose him for good.
Your mommy took you to the hospital
because you were hurt.
What part of you was hurt?
My head.
How was it hurt?
Wendell, how did you hurt your head?
I don't remember.
Have you ever seen this?
Yes.
Where?
-In the cellar.
-At home?
Yes.
Did somebody put your head inside it?
Wendell?
What did you say when somebody
put your head in the vise?
You told me you screamed
when your head was put in the vise.
Remember?
You told me.
"l promise...
"...l'll be a good boy.
"l'll be a good boy."
Did somebody answer?
Mommy.
Mommy said I was a bad boy
and I deserved to die.
And then what did Mommy do?
She made it tighter and tighter.
On your head?
She hurt my head.
My mommy hurt my head.
No further questions, Your Honor.
The doctors have told us...
...that the wounds...
...that Wendell suffered
could not have come from a fall...
...as the defense would have you believe.
The police told us they found a vise
at the home of the defendant.
Medical experts have testified...
...that the size and the shape
of the jaws of that vise...
...exactly match the size and the shape
of the wounds to the little boy's head.
And this evidence is clear...
...and uncontested.
But the most compelling evidence
in this trial...
...comes not from doctors,
or police officers...
...or other expert witnesses.
The most damning testimony...
...comes from an abused
and frightened child...
...who overcame his fear and his pain...
...to tell you, in his own words...
...what really happened.
If you're to remember nothing else
as you begin your deliberations...
...remember Wendell's words:
"My mommy hurt my head."
"My mommy hurt my head."
"My mommy hurt my head."
Congratulations.
It's gonna be so good.
You're still in love with her.
It was never love.
What was it, then?
It was never love.
What did she have
to make you feel so much?
Ladies and gentlemen...
...Raymond Horgan.
Thank you. Thank you.
I wanted to come down
and say a few words...
...before I call Mr. Della Guardia
and congratulate him on his victory.
No, no, no. Come on.
Of all the wonderful things
that have happened to me in 12 years...
...the best has been...
...knowing and working with all ofyou.
Wait till you hear what's going down.
It's strange.
Someone's fucked up over at the Hall.
It's way wrong.
-Why?
-I get a message.
I'm supposed to be in the chief's office
By Molto.
No discussion. Interview.
It's like they're after me, right?
Another thing. When I came back tonight...
...they took all the receipts
of the evidence I inventoried on Polhemus.
No questions asked.
Sounds like you're off the case.
Sure. Fine, but figure this in.
I'm at the North Branch before 5:00,
going through the microfilm.
All of this hits by 6:00, 6:30.
Look what I picked up
while I was out there.
The case number matches
the complaint number...
...that was missing
when you saw Kenneally.
Five years ago. Bingo.
And look who's listed
as Leon's probation officer.
"Carolyn Polhemus."
Wait. Here's the best.
Who do you think was the deputy
handling the case?
Tommy Molto.
You keep this because I don't know
what the fuck is happening with me.
Tommy Molto.
Tommy Molto once worked here,
but we think he might be dead.
Raymond's inside.
We've been waiting for you.
Rusty.
Molto and Delay...
...have questions about
the Polhemus investigation.
This should not be handled this way.
You should speak with Rusty alone.
What's this about?
You were at Carolyn's apartment
the night she was killed.
Bullshit.
What was it, a Tuesday night?
Barbara was at the university.
I was babysitting.
Keep your fucking mouth shut.
We got the fingerprint results...
...the ones that you could never remember
to ask for.
They're your prints all over the bar glass.
Yours, Rozat K. Sabich.
Five feet from where the woman
was found dead.
Or maybe you didn't remember
that all county employees get printed.
This is absurd.
The phone records
you told Lipranzer not to get?
We had the phone company
pull them this morning.
You were calling her all month.
There's a call from your house
to hers that night.
My God, you're serious.
Tommy, for Christ's sake!
Sabich.
I want you to know one thing. I know.
Sure you do.
Go ahead, play cool. I know.
You killed her. You're the guy.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah, you're right. You're always right.
They think I killed her.
They're going to charge me.
Don't be seen with me, man.
They'll fucking bury you.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.
Are you sick?
Nico and Molto are charging me
with Carolyn's murder.
They found my fingerprints
on a glass of beer in her apartment.
What does this mean?
Grand jury investigation.
They will or they won't indict me.
If they do, there'll be a trial.
It's not going to go that far.
I'm going to need a lawyer.
A very, very good lawyer.
Expensive lawyer.
It could break us financially.
We can mortgage the house.
Or sell it if we have to.
What time does Nat get home?
Nat?
Oh, Rusty!
A lot ofpeople think Raymond
shouldn't run again.
If he agrees to step aside, the party
will let him decide who will take his place.
They know he won't hand it all to Nico.
That's for sure.
Who would he choose?
Somebody from the office.
Carry on his traditions.
You?
Mac, maybe.
She'd make a great candidate,
in that wheelchair.
That chair is not very telegenic.
I think he'd pick you.
You're the natural.
Rusty...
...if you let him know you want it,
it'll be you.
I should just tell Raymond his time is up?
-You could be tactful.
-No.
Why not?
I'm not going to bite that hand.
If Raymond wants out, that's up to him.
He's still the best candidate around,
against Della Guardia.
Without Raymond,
Nico doesn't have an issue.
Pull the party's people and Raymond's
people together behind somebody else...
...that person would walk
into the PA's office.
It wouldn't be close.
You've thought a lot about this.
He just needs a push.
Push him yourself. It's not in me.
What?
Were you all set on being chief deputy?
Carolyn...
...if I can get away tonight
shall I get some take-out?
I like you, Rusty, but I think it's over.
It's just not right for me now. It's over.
I don't accept that.
You don't accept it?
Do I have a say?
I don't want us to end up enemies.
Mac said it was all right.
Have it your way.
Someone's in my office.
What is it, Rusty?
I wanted to talk about this rapist
you habitualized.
There's some problems.
I'm late for an appointment.
I would appreciate it
if you could put it in a memo.
You keep avoiding me.
You communicate through memos.
You skip meetings I'm supposed to go to.
It's affecting work.
My work?
My work.
I tried to make it easier for you.
You make me feel uncomfortable.
I just want to be with you.
Can't we just talk about it?
I'm involved with someone else.
Since when?
What is it you want from me?
What do I have to do?
Grow up.
Rozat K. Sabich?
Rusty, I don't like to be here.
A search warrant for these premises.
Come on in.
They're taking swatches from your suits.
They'll try to match threads
from my clothing and the carpet...
...with fibers they might find
at her apartment.
They're not looking for a murder weapon?
I wouldn't be stupid enough
to bring it home.
If they look for it and don't find it,
they'll have to admit that in court.
I'll have to give a blood sample.
If you refuse?
They've got a warrant.
It's all routine.
I'm going to ask Sandy Stern
to take my case.
Hi, Sandy.
I realize you would like to avoid
public places at a time like this...
...but I don't think it is wise
for you to go into hiding.
I'm flattered that you want me
to represent you in this case.
You have been my toughest adversary.
Did you get my subpoena
from the grand jury?
This morning.
Clearly, we will not let you testify.
Sandy, you expect me
to take the Fifth Amendment?
Of course.
That I cannot do.
You don't want to prepare the prosecutor
by giving him pretrial statements.
Sandy, I don't think this case
is ever going to go to trial.
If I take the Fifth and refuse to testify
before the grand jury...
...it could destroy my reputation.
The results of the blood tests
have come back.
They have identified you as someone
who secretes A-type antibodies...
...just like the man who had last been
with Ms. Polhemus.
Chances of this being a coincidence
are one in ten.
So, I believe you will be charged
and that you will go to trial.
Have you anything to tell this grand jury
about the death of Carolyn Polhemus?
On the advice of counsel,
I decline to answer.
Wouldn't it be fair to say you were rather
well acquainted with Ms. Polhemus?
On the advice of counsel,
I decline to answer.
Weren't you, in fact,
intimate with the lady?
On the advice of counsel,
I decline to answer.
You are under arrest.
"You have the right to remain silent.
"Anything you say can and will
be used against you.
"You have the right to have a lawyer
present during questioning.
"lf you cannot hire a lawyer,
one will be appointed to represent you.
"You may stop answering questions
at any time."
Do you understand the rights
I have explained to you?
Call Sandy Stern to make bail.
Sandy should be available in a few hours.
Let's see what they got.
Can't believe there could be
any more surprises.
That's when they come.
That's why they're called surprises.
Do we now understand
Della Guardia's case?
Yes, I think I do.
Let me hear it.
Sabich is obsessed with Polhemus.
She ditches him for another man.
Sabich becomes enraged.
He can't let go.
One night, knowing his wife is out...
...he calls her and begs her
to see him again.
Carolyn finally agrees.
She rolls around with him
for auld lang syne.
Then something goes wrong.
Sabich is jealous. He wants more
than she's willing to give.
He blows it.
Gives her what for
with some heavy instrument.
Decides to make it look like rape.
Sabich is a prosecutor,
knows there'll be dozens of suspects.
He ties her up.
Opens the latches to make it look
like someone slipped in.
And this is the diabolical part...
...pulls out her diaphragm
so it looks like rape.
But in his haste and confusion,
he makes mistakes.
He forgets the glass he drank from.
He doesn't think the forensic chemist
will be able to ID the spermicide.
But we know he did evil to this woman...
...because he lied about his presence
in her apartment the night she was killed.
His fingerprints on the glass...
...his blood type A identified from semen...
...fibers from the carpets in his home,
tell us he was there.
Very convincing.
But their evidence of motive is weak.
That's where we must attack.
Is there any proof of prior
amorous relationship between the two?
A few telephone calls.
They can be accounted for
by business needs.
-Any diary?
-No.
No note that came with flowers?
No lovers' correspondence?
-No.
-Good.
Gossip will not be admitted.
There are calls from my home to Carolyn's
in October of last year.
You were trying the case
of Wendell McGaffney then.
Reason enough for calling her.
Why did I tell Lipranzer not to get
my home phone records?
I take it for granted that a person
of an innocent state of mind...
...would rule himself out as a suspect...
...and save a busy detective
from wasting time.
Clearly, they hope to win the case
on the strength of their physical evidence.
I'd like to look at that glass.
It could help me.
List a motion for production
of physical evidence.
I want an inventory of everything
in that apartment.
Where's the contraceptive jelly...
...the chemist is saying he finds present?
ln her medicine cabinet?
I don't know.
I'll hear worse in court.
I never asked her what she was doing.
One word of caution.
We do not want to lead Della Guardia...
...to evidence he has not thought to obtain.
Best we conduct a search ourselves
without disclosing our intentions.
Also, your mention of Carolyn's
personal habits leads to this thought.
We should subpoena her doctors.
Who knows what we might discover.
There's one big surprise, however.
Raymond Horgan's on their witness list.
Why?
It's a hell of a way to impress
my new partners.
I'm here three days
and I get a grand jury subpoena.
I was wondering what we might expect,
in terms of your testimony.
I'm going to testify about Rusty's conduct
of the Polhemus investigation.
-How he volunteered to handle it.
-Just a second.
You insisted I take it on.
I don't remember it that way.
What are you trying to do to me?
What am I trying to do to you?
What are you trying to do to me?
I thought I had your loyalty.
Why didn't you tell me
about you and Carolyn?
Under the circumstances,
I have to advise Rusty not to respond.
Clearly, he would like to.
Let me ask you something.
Why were his fingerprints
all over that goddamn glass?
That's what I'm going to testify.
That he wanted the case.
That I had to chew his ass
to get him to move on it.
He seemed more interested in if,
when and how...
...l was fucking Carolyn Polhemus
than in his own investigation.
When push came to shove,
he stood in my office...
...he told us he'd been nowhere near
her apartment the night she was killed.
That's what I'm going to testify.
And I'll be goddamned pleased to do it.
How can you think
that I could do a thing like that?
You always had the cork in too tight.
We all saw that.
When you blew, you blew.
Come on, Rusty.
When did this relationship take place
between Raymond and Carolyn?
Just after she stopped seeing me.
Delay's got his motive.
What if I told you Raymond secretly
assigned a bribery case to Carolyn?
Some poor son of a bitch
on a public-indecency charge...
...paid off a PA to have his case dismissed.
Turns out, the guy's probation officer
is Carolyn...
...and the deputy assigned to the case
is Tommy Molto.
Day after I find this out,
I'm charged with Carolyn's murder.
Before we venture down the road
into actual accusation...
...we must consider the matter
very carefully.
It can't be a coincidence
it lays out this way, Sandy.
I mean, I'm innocent.
God, I made a fool of myself today
with Sandy.
How?
I told him I was innocent.
I thought he would've asked you that
by now.
No, it's axiomatic.
Defendants rarely tell the truth.
Lie to the cops, lie to your lawyer,
lie to the jury that tries your case.
Leave the bastards out there
with a grain of doubt.
You never asked.
If you're innocent?
You want me to?
Please draw a name.
"Judge Larren Lyttle."
I have some motions from the defense.
Mr. Stern, you want to examine
the scene of the crime?
Yes, Your Honor.
To evaluate the physical evidence...
...to see if it actually proves
what the prosecution claims.
Mr. Della Guardia?
With proviso that nothing be removed,
nothing disturbed.
-No objection.
-Granted.
Mr. Stern, anything further?
We notice that Mr. Molto is listed
both as a prosecutor...
...and as a witness for the prosecution.
We object to that.
I take it you are speaking
of where Mr. Sabich...
...responds to Mr. Molto's accusation
of murder by saying: "You're right."
"Yeah, you're right."
Your Honor, the man admitted the crime.
Come on, Mr. Delay Guardia. Really.
Tell a man he's engaged in wrongdoing
and he says, "Yeah, you're right."
Everyone knows that's facetious.
We're all familiar with that.
Shit, if Mr. Sabich had come
from my neighborhood...
...he would've said, "Your momma."
But, in Mr. Sabich's part of town
I would think they would say:
"Yeah, you're right."
And what they mean is, "You are wrong."
Just to be polite.
Your Honor, isn't that a question
for the jury?
On the contrary, Mr. Delay Guardia,
it is first a question for the court.
If you use Mr. Sabich's statement
and risk my ruling it out of order...
...then I will bar Mr. Molto
from prosecuting.
But if he is the prosecutor...
...then Mr. Sabich's statement
may not be offered.
And I'll see you in court in three weeks.
Ernestine, show in the next bunch.
What the fuck are you doing with those?
We don't want Molto thinking fingerprints
we leave here today are from before.
We're not going to plant anything,
if that's what you're worried about.
The law's the law.
Yeah, I know, Glendenning.
Diaphragm?
I don't know. The bathroom?
Where?
Nothing.
Fucking cops always forget something.
What is it?
Her phone book.
Check with her doctors
on the contraceptive stuff.
Carolyn never seemed worried
about anything like that.
She's got them under "D."
Jesus, she's got a lot of doctors.
If the chemist says spermicide is present,
and it's not seized from here...
...then you tell me where it's at?
I don't know. Maybe I took it
when I took the diaphragm.
It doesn't make sense.
You got to remember,
I wasn't thinking very clearly.
If I had been, I wouldn't have left
my fingerprints on the glass.
You were a former chief deputy prosecutor.
How does it feel to be on the other side?
Think you might be a political scapegoat?
Sorry, we're not about to try this case
on the courthouse steps.
How do you feel about your husband, now?
All rise.
The Superior Court for the county
of Kindle is now in session.
The Honorable Larren L. Lyttle,
judge presiding.
Draw near and give your attention
and you shall be heard.
God save the United States
and this honorable court.
The People vs. Rozat K. Sabich, for trial.
May it please the court.
The State's evidence will show
that on or about April 1 ...
...Carolyn Polhemus, a deputy prosecutor
in Kindle County...
...was brutally murdered.
The proof will show that this murder
was perpetrated by her colleague...
...Rozat K. Sabich.
How are we to answer this,
Rusty Sabich and l?
Mr. Della Guardia's case involves no facts
but supposition upon supposition.
Guess upon guess.
When you listen to the evidence,
ask yourselves...
...why Rusty Sabich...
...the finest prosecutor of this county...
...a man who has devoted his life
to preventing...
...and punishing criminal behavior,
not to committing it...
...sits here as the accused.
Why?
The State calls Detective Harold Greer.
May we have a word with the bench?
This witness will testify about a bar glass.
They have no bar glass.
What about this?
I learned the first time last night,
from Tommy....
Hold it right there. Inside, gentlemen.
I request that Mr. Sabich join us
in chambers.
He is an integral part of the defense.
Where is the fucking glass?
Police Evidence Room was where it
was supposed to be, but they can't find it.
We won't be talking about evidence
that nobody can find. Not in my court.
We don't object to the photographs,
just to testimony about fingerprints.
I will reserve decision, gentlemen.
A stroke of luck. Their disorganization
will help us with the jury.
They'll find the glass. They always do.
Ladies and gentlemen,
these photos depict horrors...
...you may be expected to react to
with disgust.
But I am instructing you,
that in themselves...
...they are proof of nothing
except the nature of the crime.
How you doing?
-They making it tough on you?
- Those cupcakes? Come on.
Is there anything you need?
Yeah, I got to find this guy, Leon.
Leon Wells.
The guy who's supposed to have bribed
the PA at the North Branch.
I wouldn't ask, but it might really matter.
Think Molto's kinky on this?
Set you up to keep you from looking?
You want to hear me say
I think it might be possible? I do.
Okay, after I testify.
They got their eyes on me.
When I'm off the stand, they'll ease up.
I'll work on it then. Hard.
You're a pal.
Is he gonna help?
After he testifies.
Might be too late by then.
I think it's going well.
The jury's gonna remember pictures
of Carolyn tortured to death.
They'll want somebody to pay
for what they saw.
Tomorrow, Raymond...
...my friend and mentor,
will testify he thinks I'm guilty.
Then come the physical proofs:
Fingerprints. Fiber. Bodily fluids.
They all point to me.
You know the defendant, Rozat Sabich?
Sure, I know Rusty. I've known him
since he was a law student.
He was my second in command.
Would you identify him?
That's him.
You assigned Mr. Sabich to supervise
the investigation in this case?
He volunteered.
And I accepted.
He promised to pursue it vigorously.
Did he?
Not to my way of thinking, no.
I got the feeling he was stalling
on the investigation.
I let him know that I wasn't happy
about that.
He brought in his own detective
to replace Harold Greer.
Then he gave his new partner instructions
to ignore evidence...
...about telephone calls
between his house and Carolyn's.
He tried to limit the scope of
the fingerprint search to exclude his own.
He was more interested in whether I had
been intimate with Carolyn Polhemus...
...than in the facts surrounding her murder.
What did you tell him
about you and Ms. Polhemus?
I told him the truth.
That we'd been together
for about three months.
This, of course, was after I was divorced.
At that time, or any other time...
...did he inform you
of his personal relationship with her?
There is no proof in the record
of any relationship between them.
I'll let the question stand.
But Mr. Della Guardia is asking a question
based on his assumption...
...that something was going on
between Mr. Sabich and Ms. Polhemus.
Just because he thinks it's so...
...doesn't make it so.
Proceed.
I never would've let him handle
the investigation...
...if I thought he'd been intimate
with the victim.
Nothing further.
Have you any...
...personal knowledge...
...that there was ever a relationship
between Mr. Sabich and Ms. Polhemus?
That's the point. He didn't tell me.
Please answer the question I asked you.
Do you remember the question?
I do.
But you chose not to answer it.
I apologize, Mr. Stern.
I have no personal knowledge
that such a relationship ever existed.
Assuming there was something
to disclose...
...you believe he should have informed
anyone in a responsible position?
I do.
Certainly you would give any information
you had on a case...
...to your investigating staff?
Certainly.
Mr. Horgan...
...you removed a file, a so-called B file...
...from Ms. Polhemus's office after
the investigation of her murder began?
What's the relevance of this?
The witness has testified
on direct examination...
...that Mr. Sabich did not bring
to his attention information...
...that he regarded as pertinent.
The defense is entitled to explore
Mr. Horgan's standards in this regard.
Subject to a later connection, I'll allow it.
Continue, Counselor.
And you gave that B file to Mr. Sabich...
...only after he informed you it was missing
from Ms. Polhemus's office?
That's true.
You've told us that you
and Carolyn were lovers.
For a short time, yes.
B-file cases...
...cases involving bribery
and official misconduct...
...are normally assigned
to the assistant deputy.
At the time, Mr. Sabich. Is that not true?
That was the usual practice, yes.
You gave this highly sensitive matter
in this B file...
...to Carolyn Polhemus
while you were sleeping with her?
That appears to be the time frame.
The answer to the question is yes.
Weren't you concerned, in the midst
of a nip-and-tuck election campaign...
...about word leaking out
that you had secretly given a file...
...that was in Mr. Sabich's area
of authority...
...to an assistant with no experience
in such matters...
...with whom you were sleeping
at the time?
It may have crossed my mind.
Who knows? It was not an ideal situation.
Far from it.
And, sir...
...you come to this courtroom...
...where the life of a man...
...who served you faithfully for 1 2 years
now hangs in the balance...
...and you tell us
you withheld evidence from him...
...that might have assisted
in his investigation?
All right.
Is it fair to say...
...that the chief deputy is the person
in the office...
...in whose judgement you place
the greatest confidence?
I regarded him as the best lawyer
for the job, yes.
And you gave Mr. Sabich the authority...
...to decide when and where
to fire Mr. Della Guardia?
Gentlemen...
...let's stop right there.
What is the relevance of who fired who?
Judge, it's our theory that Mr. Sabich
is being framed in this case.
-I don't believe it.
-Your response has been noted.
If Mr. Stern is truly going to endeavor
to prove...
...that the case against Mr. Sabich
has been manufactured...
...then this history of antagonism
is relevant for those purposes.
What about this missing B file?
We believe it's being withheld
because it contains evidence...
...that is necessary to the defense.
So, we intend to pursue this matter...
...until we have a full understanding
on how it bears on the truth.
I don't know where this will lead us,
but I'll tell you two things:
You'd better be prepared
for the prosecution's response...
...because he is going to be entitled
to a great deal of latitude in answering.
'Cause I am going to give him that.
Do you recall we spoke about a B file
that you assigned to Ms. Polhemus?
I'll remember it for quite some time.
-Was Mr. Molto involved in this case?
-Objection!
Objection sustained.
Mr. Stern, you're playing with fire.
Do you know what investigation, if any,
Mr. Molto pursued--
I'll answer that! He took no action.
He wasn't going to chase
Sabich's red herrings.
Mr. Della Guardia, you will remember
you're the prosecutor...
...not the witness.
Perhaps we can all learn something
about red herrings and scapegoats.
That is all.
This court is adjourned for the weekend.
I don't understand what you're doing.
You're alienating the judge.
When I said they manufactured a case,
you wanted nothing to do with it.
Clearly, I changed my mind.
On the basis of what?
Instinct.
If you don't like it,
you can always come home.
I wanna go.
All my friends will be there.
I'll be okay.
Come here. Sit down.
Look, I'm accused of doing something
I didn't do.
This trial is gonna give me a chance
to clear myself.
-That's what's gonna happen.
-Of course.
Of course.
Here are the postcards. Use them.
-Don't forget to write.
-They make me.
What about me?
Did Mr. Sabich ever tell you...
...he had a personal relationship
with Ms. Polhemus?
No.
Did Mr. Sabich, at any time...
...order you not to get phone records
of calls from his home?
He never ordered me. He asked me.
He asked you not to get those records?
Did you oblige him?
I was taken off the case
before I got to those records.
-You did or did not get those records?
-I did not.
We had a lot of higher-priority items
on our mind.
A high-priority item...
...was the analysis of fingerprints found
in Ms. Polhemus's apartment.
Who talked with the Fingerprint Lab?
Mr. Sabich.
Did you ask him to expedite the reports?
Yes, sir, I did.
What did he say, if anything?
He said he forgot.
He forgot?
Rusty forgot.
Would it be fair to say the two of you,
by working together...
...have formed a personal friendship?
I suppose so, yes.
Were you assigned initially?
Harold Greer initially handled the case.
Has Mr. Sabich ever expressed to you...
...any reservations about
Harold Greer's abilities?
Everybody that I know thinks
of Harold Greer as a top-grade cop.
Do you know who decided to replace
Harold Greer and bring you on this case?
Mr. Sabich.
Do you feel....
Withdrawn.
To your knowledge, does the defendant
have a closer personal relationship...
...with anyone on the police force
than he does with you?
Not that he's mentioned, no.
So it's fair to say, Detective...
...that you are the police officer
least likely to suspect him of murder.
I would never believe that. Never.
Thank you for your cooperation
and answering...
...what must have been painful
and difficult questions for you...
...considering your relationship
to the defendant.
Nothing further.
You made reference to a theory
you were developing that...
...Ms. Polhemus might have been
the victim of a revenge killer.
Someone she had once sent to jail.
Yes, sir. We thought of that
as our most likely case.
To identify possible suspects...
...you reviewed cases she had prosecuted,
and was currently prosecuting...
...going back several years? Correct?
Yes, sir.
Were you able to find all those files?
No, sir. A file was missing.
This is the so-called B file...
...that was withheld
from you and Mr. Sabich...
...until Mr. Sabich requested it personally
from Mr. Horgan?
Yes, sir.
It involved allegations--
Let's move on.
You've been warned about riding off
in all directions.
No further questions.
No redirect, Your Honor.
We need subpoenas for Carolyn's doctors...
...and for phone company records...
...to check for errors.
I don't think we need to bother with that.
You said there was something wrong
with the phone records.
That you never called Polhemus
the night of the murder.
Jamie, I'd like a moment alone
with my client.
-Sure.
-Thanks.
I used to call Carolyn's apartment
after it was over.
I'd call...
...just to hear her voice.
Then I'd hang up, like a goddamn kid.
I'm not sure I called that night or not.
I don't remember.
Contrary to my original hopes,
we will have to present a defense.
My first instinct is...
...to put Barbara on the witness stand.
No.
She's an attractive woman
and there are five men in the jury.
She can also support your alibi
quite effectively.
It's not negotiable, Sandy.
When I was a prosecutor...
...l always knew I had a winner
when the defendant refused to testify.
All I want to do is to tell the truth.
The jury wants to hear me say
I didn't do it.
And that, you will do very well.
But with every word, you will confirm
what the prosecution is saying.
That you were overwhelmed
with a sexual obsession...
...that took a wrong turn into rage
when she ended the affair.
You will have gone a long way
to eliminating the jury's reasonable doubt.
The State offers as evidence...
...from the defendant's suitcoat...
...a hair identified by the Police Crime Lab
as that of the deceased.
The skirt of the deceased contaminated
with fiber identified as Zorak V...
...a carpet fabric found
in the home of the defendant.
Chemist's identification of blood type...
...and semen from the vagina
of the deceased as type A.
Results of a blood test of Rozat Sabich...
...identifying his as blood type A.
The shirt of the deceased,
contaminated with the fiber Zorak V...
...carpet fabric used
in the defendant's home.
The State calls
Detective Morris Dickerman.
This relates to missing evidence.
I hope you're not considering
allowing them...
...to proceed with the fingerprint evidence
in the absence of the glass.
If so, we would like to be heard
on that question.
I understand that.
You may want to do some research
into this issue.
You hit the books tonight
and I'll listen to you tomorrow.
And if I were you...
...l'd roll up my shirtsleeves
and go to the Evidence Room...
...and find that glass.
You're not going to get any sleep again.
That glass is the strongest piece
of physical evidence that I was there.
If I can find solid precedents to keep it
out of evidence, their case will fail.
Get something to eat
and don't drink too much coffee.
Thanks.
For what?
For hanging in there.
What did you expect?
Yeah, just a sec.
It's your uncle.
My uncle?
We got something
on that very important matter.
I'm downstairs, in the lobby.
We're working to keep the glass
out of evidence.
Fuck the glass. I found Leon.
Feature this. He's a Night Saint.
Leon!
Answer the door.
Open up, Leon! It's the police!
We just want to talk, Leon.
On the floor!
-Don't even breathe!
-What the fuck you doing?
I'm Detective Lipranzer.
This is Mr. Sabich
from the prosecutor's office.
We have a few questions, Leon.
If you're straight with us,
we're gone in five minutes.
Five, six years ago,
you paid off a deputy PA...
...$1 ,500 to make some trouble
you had go away.
Jack Friedman, you ask for.
What the fuck he do that for?
He wants your complete attention.
Rusty Sabich is getting on the phone,
he will tell your present associates...
...that five years ago you paid off a PA
to get off a rap on molesting an officer.
To wit:
Trying to get paid to suck his cock
in a public place.
Now, Leon....
How about five minutes of your time?
This blonde bitch...
...my probation officer, set it up.
In the PA's office.
Man standing behind me.
And she be telling me, when I come in:
"Just don't turn around.
"Just do what the man say."
He said:
"Just leave the money in the top drawer."
Fifteen hundred dollars.
You never saw him?
But he knows who it was.
Judge Motherfucker.
That's what we all call him.
Larren Lyttle.
I bet Larren was porking her...
...and taking the money
to keep her in style.
Sometimes I hate being a cop.
Sorry, pal. You were counting
on it being Molto.
If you leak this stuff we got on him
to Larren, he might dismiss your case.
Okay, it was just a thought.
All rise!
This court is in session.
Judge Larren Lyttle presiding.
Where's Kemp?
We just received the medical examiner's
files on the reports from her doctors.
He's going over them right now.
We may have a surprise
in the medical testimony.
Mr. Molto, you have completed
your search?
Your Honor...
...the police have not been able
to locate the glass.
All right.
Mr. Stern, I have studied your arguments.
You are about to hear the testimony
of a fingerprint expert...
...concerning evidence that he claims
to have identified on a certain glass.
I am instructing you as a matter of law
that you are entitled to consider...
...the prosecution's failure to make
the glass available to the defense.
I am not telling you what to do.
But it is permissible
for that one fact alone...
...to raise a reasonable doubt
that would require Mr. Sabich's acquittal.
Mr. Stern's objection is overruled.
His exception is noted for the record.
Proceed.
I'm sorry.
He's right, under the law.
Based on the lateral slash
on the anterior portion of the fingerprint...
...the distinctive center whorl...
...and the exact match on the top swirl...
...l am certain the fingerprint on the glass
from Polhemus's apartment...
...is identical to that contained in
the employment file of Rozat K. Sabich.
Very good.
We are calling Dr. Kumagai,
the county coroner.
There are three depression fractures...
...like from a heavy, blunt instrument.
Maybe a hammer.
Here...here...and here.
This, and this over here, are...
...sharp, deep penetrations
of the skull and of the brain...
...like with a hatchet, or maybe
a meat cleaver.
I call to your attention the results
of the forensic chemist's analysis...
...State's exhibit 63.
I think we might just nail this sucker.
That report states the specimen of semen
taken from Ms. Polhemus's body...
...has been identified as being
of Mr. Sabich's blood type.
You are correct.
It also indicates the presence
of chemicals...
...consistent...
...with the use of a birth-control device.
A diaphragm.
It does.
Your opinion is that this was...
...a staged rape?
That is my opinion.
And the way it was done...
...suggests...
...the knowledge...
...of investigative techniques?
That's what I told Mr. Molto.
All of these deductions depend...
...on the presence of spermicidal jelly...
...in the specimen you sent
to the forensic chemist?
Yes, sir.
How many autopsies do you perform
in a week, Dr. Kumagai?
One, two...
...ten. It all depends.
Would it surprise you to know
you performed 1 8 autopsies...
...in the two weeks surrounding
Carolyn Polhemus's death?
No, sir.
Sounds about right.
Given that number,
isn't it fair to say that...
...the specifics of any one examination
may slip your mind?
I take notes while I do the autopsies.
Notes, yes.
These notes led you
to tell Detective Lipranzer...
...that the murderer was sterile?
Looking back, you must have thought
you were a fool...
...to have escaped something so obvious
as the use of a contraceptive spermicide.
All the sperm were dead.
I didn't have the forensic chemist's report
about the spermicidal jelly.
In the absence of any other explanation,
I thought the guy was sterile.
Do you recognize your notes
of your autopsy of Ms. Polhemus?
Yes, sir, my signature.
Unless there is any objection...
...would you please read the short passage
marked by the paper clips?
Page two, Counsel.
Read it out loud, please.
"The Fallopian tubes...
"...are ligated and separated.
"The fimbriated ends appear...."
That's not right.
Your own autopsy notes?
You dictate them
as you perform the procedure.
But not right.
I show you the records of Dr. Lubin,
a gynecologist...
...who performed this procedure
on Ms. Polhemus six and a half years ago.
Would you explain to the jury
what a "tubal ligation" is?
Would you explain, in layman's language...
...what a "tubal ligation" is?
She had her tubes tied.
Is it possible for a woman
with this procedure to conceive a child?
No way.
Can you think of any reason...
...for a woman who had her tubes tied...
...to use a spermicide?
No reason.
No medical reason.
I think of nothing.
Does it not follow, given these facts...
...that the specimen you sent
to the chemist...
...was not taken from the body
of Carolyn Polhemus?
I can't account for it.
So you don't know what happened.
Wherever you got
that specimen from, Doctor...
...you sent it to the chemist...
...while you were secretly communicating
with Mr. Molto...
...behind Mr. Sabich's back. Am I right?
Do you accuse me, Mr. Stern?
Sit down, Doctor.
I think we have had enough...
...unsupported accusations for one case...
...Dr. Kumagai.
You may step down, Doctor.
Do I take it, Mr. Delay Guardia,
that the State rests?
Judge, may we approach?
We would like Mr. Molto to testify.
No.
Judge, you said we would be entitled
to some leeway...
...if the defense proceeded
with this frame-up theory.
Yes, but I did not know then,
Mr. Della Guardia...
...that your evidence would disappear
after last being seen with Mr. Molto.
I didn't know that Mr. Molto...
...and the chief pathologist
would manufacture evidence...
...and testimony.
And I tell you, that is a fair interpretation
of the day's events.
I'm still considering the question
of what happens to Mr. Molto...
...but what isn't gonna happen...
...is him getting up on the witness stand
and making matters worse.
Withdraw, gentlemen.
On behalf of the people
of Kindle County, the State rests.
This court is adjourned.
You should savor today, Sandy.
No lawyer gets many crosses like that.
What a colossal blunder.
Tomorrow I will make the motion
for a dismissal.
If the dismissal is not granted,
we must proceed with the defense.
I need to know
if you still insist on testifying.
Of course, you know my strong objections.
Why is he so against your testifying?
He's afraid I'll tell the truth
about my relationship with Carolyn...
...thus giving the prosecution
the motive they've been lacking.
One could argue...
...if the jury feels I'm being truthful
about something so painful...
...they should believe me when I say
I didn't commit the murder.
What would you think?
If I were a member of the jury?
And I heard you admit
how much she meant to you?
I think I'd conclude you were guilty.
I want to testify.
What would you say?
I'd say you were the only man I ever loved.
And I still do.
Before we begin our presentation,
I would like to--
Make a motion for dismissal?
Yes, Your Honor.
Sit down, Counselor.
I have reflected on this case at length,
ladies and gentlemen.
I understand...
...the prosecutors have suspicions.
Perhaps Mr. Sabich was there that night.
The State might be granted that.
And if the prosecutors
had ever found that glass...
...l might be more convinced.
Maybe before yesterday...
...l might have said there were
reasonable grounds for those suspicions.
But now, I'm not so sure.
So after yesterday...
...there is no proof of motive here.
There is no concrete evidence that
there ever was an intimate relationship.
There is no effective proof,
so far as I am concerned...
...that would give a reasonable person
grounds to believe that...
...Mr. Sabich had carnal relations with
Ms. Polhemus on the night of her death.
In point of fact...
...there's not one shred of direct proof...
...that Mr. Sabich murdered Ms. Polhemus.
Under these circumstances...
...l cannot allow this trial to continue.
Mr. Sabich...
...you are discharged, sir.
I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am...
...that any of this has taken place.
Not even the pleasure of seeing you free...
...can make up for this...
...this disgrace to the cause of justice.
I wish you Godspeed.
Case dismissed.
Hey, Rusty! Come on.
Give the missus a big hug.
Nobody can say anything adequate
at a time like this.
We're very grateful,
very pleased it's all over.
I want to go home, now.
I'll talk to Nat. I'll phone him, tell him.
For the record, I have the highest regard
for Rusty Sabich.
You think you're out of a job?
You're the very best.
How'd you know what was behind
Larren's fear of the B file?
You question the judge's integrity?
With just cause, wouldn't you say?
You knew that file didn't have
a damn thing to do with my case.
Yet you let Larren know you'd drag it in
at any opportunity.
That it would come out
that he was taking bribes.
That Carolyn was the courier.
You blackmailed him, Sandy.
We speak now tonight...
...and these things
are never spoken of again.
Agreed?
Larren's divorce left him
in a state of disorder.
He was drinking too heavily and fell
into a relationship with a beautiful, but...
...self-serving woman.
The fact is...
...Larren himself grew suicidally depressed.
He wanted to resign from the bench.
Raymond Horgan talked him out of it.
Raymond knew he was taking bribes?
Larren told him.
Raymond cleaned up the Northside,
as you recall...
...and he also rescued
a distinguished mind...
...and a career that does honor
to the bench.
I believe Larren today did
what he thought was just.
You tell me, Rusty.
Was justice done?
How are you doing?
Christmas present.
Jesus....
You're hanging your ass out
a good long way on this one.
It was them that fucked up.
Remember, they came around,
they grabbed all the evidence.
The glass wasn't there.
I took it down to Dickerman.
The very next day I get a call from the lab.
The test is done. I can pick up my glass.
When I went down there, Molto had signed
a receipt, "Returned to Evidence."
The idea was that I'll put it back in.
Only I got nowhere to put it...
...since it ain't my goddamn case anymore.
So I tossed the thing in my drawer.
I figured, sooner or later
somebody's got to ask me.
Nobody did.
You think I killed her.
The lady was bad news.
That makes it okay I killed her?
Did you?
Oh, pal.
Nat!
Where's Mom?
Upstairs in the bathroom
throwing up when I saw her.
She's got her university interview today.
What's the big deal?
No eggs for me, thank you.
That looks nice.
You think?
That dumb old college would be lucky
to have you teaching there.
You tell her, kid.
I'll do some work around the house
while I still have time.
I've lived to see the day.
Give me a hand with the fence
when you get home.
I can't. I got a game after school.
Good luck, Mom.
Go get them, kid.
I did it.
I fooled them all.
The interview.
They think I'm qualified.
You understand what happened
had to happen.
It couldn't have turned out any other way.
A woman's depressed...
...with herself...
...with life...
...with her husband, who had made life
possible for her until he was...
...bewitched by another woman.
A destroyer.
Abandoned...
...like someone left for dead...
...she plans her suicide.
Until the dream begins.
In the dream, the destroyer's destroyed.
That's a dream worth living for.
Now, with such simplicity...
...such clarity, everything falls into place.
It must be a crime...
...that her husband can declare unsolved
and be believed by all the world.
She must make it look like a rape.
But she must leave her husband clueless.
Once he discovers who it was...
...he'll put the case into the file
of the unsolved murders.
Another break-in by some...
...sex-crazed man.
But all his life...
...he'll know that it was her.
She remembers a set of glasses
she bought for the woman...
...some time before, a housewarming gift
from her husband and his office.
She buys another set.
Her husband has a beer one night...
...doesn't even comment on the glass.
Now she has his fingerprints.
Then on a few mornings...
...she saves the fluid that comes out
when she removes her diaphragm.
Puts it in a plastic bag.
Puts the bag in the basement freezer...
...and waits.
She calls the woman and asks to see her.
Stops first at the U
and logs onto the computer.
Now she has her alibi.
She goes to the woman.
The woman lets her in.
When her head is turned, she removes
the instrument from her bag and strikes.
The destroyer is destroyed.
She takes a cord out...
...that she brought along...
...and ties her body...
...in ways her husband described
perverts do.
She feels power...
...control...
...a sense that she's guided
by a force beyond herself.
Takes a syringe and injects
the contents of the Ziploc bag...
...leaves the glass on the bar...
...unlocks the door and windows...
...and goes home.
And life begins again.
Until a trial...
...when she sees her husband suffer...
...the way she never...
...intended.
She is prepared to tell the truth.
Right up to the very end.
But magically...
...the charges were dismissed.
The suffering was over.
They were saved.
Saved?
The murder of Carolyn Polhemus...
...remains unsolved.
It is a practical impossibility
to try two people for the same crime.
Even if it wasn't...
...l couldn't take his mother from my son.
I'm a prosecutor.
I have spent my life
in the assignment of blame.
With all deliberation and intent...
...l reached for Carolyn.
I cannot pretend it was an accident.
I reached for Carolyn...
...and set off that insane mix
of rage and lunacy...
...that led one human being to kill another.
There was a crime.
There was a victim.
And there is punishment.
SOFTITLER