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...
...I 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 I?
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 12 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...
...I 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.
555-3469.
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...
...I 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 18 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...
...I 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...
...I 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.