All right, Earl.
Next. Come on, step right through.
Sir, I need you to take your belt off and go back through.
- Good, Mick. - Hello.
Mick! Mick, I was just calling you.
Hey, I was just calling you at the office. I gotta talk to you.
- Come on, stick with me. - How long are you gonna be here today?
Depends on when the judge calls my client.
See, what does it say about me that I let you treat me like this, huh?
I'm giving you a big chance to move up in the world and help me.
- My daughter's about to go to surgery. - I've heard it all before, Val.
Come on, baby, talk to me. What do you got?
Okay, I got something big for you. This guy's gonna be the big money.
It's in Inglewood.
But the problem is that he goes up before the judge at noon, okay?
- You listening to me? - I'm listening.
So the client, his mother and his mother's lawyer
comes to my office at 8:00 a.m. In the morning...
- He's already got a lawyer? - Just listen.
Listen, it's not criminal, it's just real estate, okay?
And I made them so crazy about you
that now they want to put up their Malibu beach house against a million.
- The bail's a million? - Yeah.
- What did they book this guy for? - I say it's a romantic tiff.
The cops are saying he beat up the girl really bad.
They want assault with a deadly weapon, throw in a GBI.
- Has the DA filed yet? - Yes, he did.
See, I take care of my friends. I even take care of you, bubba.
Inglewood by noon.
You could do it, man. Go through some red lights,
- break the speed limit. - Be honest with me, Val. Is this real?
Don't bullshit me. Is this gonna stick?
Of course it is. Would I lie to you? And you're gonna take care of me, right?
Make them forget the beach house and go for my bond.
- What's his name? - Louis. Louis Roulet.
R-O-U-L-E-T, like the wheel.
That's not how you spell the wheel, but got it.
Roberto!
Do you mind checking that list, seeing where my man Harold Casey is on it?
Don't go that low.
I got a case across town at noon I gotta get to.
Do you mind just bringing him down? I'll only be a second.
- Reynaldo. - Pardon me?
My name's Reynaldo, not Roberto. Us bailiffs all look alike, right?
- Your man white? - Yeah, he's white.
- I got blacks down here right now. - All right, listen, Reynaldo.
My bad on your name. I took a wild-ass guess. I was wrong.
But I didn't forget you at Christmastime, did I?
Remember that jar of nuts with the prize inside?
"Happy holidays. Your friend, Mick."
- I went through those pretty fast. - All right, let's make it two this time.
Okay. I'll bring your body down, but you better make it quick.
Gracias, Reynaldo.
Harold Casey. Yeah, bring him down.
Harold. You shouldn't be running from your lawyer. It's bad form.
Now, you know what I want to talk about.
In a minute, Judge Powell's gonna call us down.
He's gonna want to know if we're ready for trial.
- We are. - We are not. And you know why not.
Rule one, I get paid or I don't work.
- Don't worry, I got your money. - Exactly. You got it, I don't.
It's coming. I talked to my boys.
Listen, Harold, I looked on the list of people I trust. You're not on it.
The law says you can't just quit. The judge won't let you. I looked it up.
Pay close attention.
Michael Haller for the defense, Your Honor. If I may, I'd like to carry this over.
Do you have a reason, Mr. Haller?
I'm having trouble locating a witness, Your Honor, an indispensable witness.
A Mr. Green?
- How much time do you need? - That's hard to say.
- Does the state object? - No, Your Honor.
All right, I'm gonna hold this over pending notification from counsel.
- That was some bullshit, man. - Yeah. I expect to hear from you, Harold.
Inglewood, Earl. Keep it on the surface streets.
Earl, headphones.
- This is Haller. - And this is your office.
Actually, I'm in my office, Miss Lorna, on my way to the courthouse in Inglewood.
Listen, jot down to remind me to give Reynaldo,
the bailiff over in San Fernando, 200 bucks for Christmas, all right?
Got it. Hey, did Val reach you about his customer?
Yeah. "I got something big for you, Mick." Every time. Any other calls?
No, just some odds and ends.
A few DUIs. I just quoted them the house number.
- Gloria Larson called from county lockup. - She got popped again?
The usual with a complication, cocaine possession.
- Her first appearance is right after lunch. - Look, tell her I'll try.
So, I was thinking, boss, you know, when you get your license back or whatnot,
maybe I can stay on, like, a permanent thing or something, you know?
I got my license back three months ago, Earl.
Hey, boss. Do you want me to do something about that? 'Cause I can.
No, just keep doing what you're doing.
Boss.
All right. Pull over up here.
- Counselor. - Eddie.
- How's it hanging? - A little to the left, my man. How about you?
Not bad.
Your ride's a little messy.
Yeah, the maid doesn't come till Tuesday. What can I do for you, big man?
Our boy Harold called from the pen,
said you're stalling his case till you see some more green.
- I don't get paid, I don't work. - We paid you. $5,000.
That's long gone, Eddie.
Look, I could tell you that half of it went to an aerial-photo expert.
He's gonna blow the state's case by showing that the DEA
violated the airspace over Harold's farm by flying too low.
I could also tell you that I gotta fly that guy in from New York City, get him to testify,
put him up in a hotel and all that kind of stuff,
but you don't need to know that. All you need to know is that we had a deal.
It's time to refill the tank.
- What, another five grand? - Ten.
He wants to fly business, wants a first-class hotel.
And we want Harold back on the farm.
He's our best farmer, if you know what I mean.
I don't, and I don't want to.
Now, look, either pay me or go with a public defender.
He won't know much about airspace, but...
- Ain't you gonna count it? - I just did.
Keep that rubber on the road, Eddie.
Let's roll, Earl.
So, this expert flying in from New York,
do you want me to pick him up at the airport?
- There's nobody coming in. - What?
The best camera experts in the world are right here in Hollywood.
Nice.
You know what? You would've done all right on the streets.
Shit. Where do you think I am, Earl?
- Louis Roulet? - Yes.
I'm Michael Haller.
Mr. Haller, I called you because I need someone.
This whole thing is a setup.
I made a mistake with that woman, and she was setting me up.
Keep your voice down. Hear me?
Don't say anything about the case until I get you out on bail.
- I understand your family lawyer's in court. - Yes. His name's Cecil Dobbs.
He's here somewhere.
I'll find him. Tell me about yourself. How old are you?
Thirty-two.
Ties to the community? Did you grow up here?
Yeah, Beverly Hills. I went to USC. I work for my mother's business.
- How about your father? - He died when I was two.
- How much did you make last year, Louis? - My taxes said $600,000.
I want a lawyer, too. My name's Corliss, two "S's". Do you got a card on you?
Listen, buddy, they'll have a lawyer for you out there.
Right now I need you to back away and give us a little space.
Can you do that, pal?
- I'm backing, boss. - There we go.
Okay.
There we go. There we go.
Listen, they've put some heavy charges on you, Louis.
The DA's probably going to ask for no bail.
- Wait, no bail? - I said they're gonna ask for it.
When was the last time you were arrested?
Never.
- So, if I checked your record... - You'd find parking tickets.
Are you gonna get me out of here?
I'm gonna try, Louis.
Are you the prosecutor who used to have the Roulet case?
- Haller! Son of a bitch. - Rules are rules.
I wanted this one. Okay, okay, I'll go quietly.
But after today's hearing, if you don't object.
- It depends. Are you going for no bail? - That won't change with the prosecutor.
Not after what your guy did.
- If he did it. - Sure, if.
They only picked him up in her home with blood all over him.
I love it when you get sarcastic.
Can I at least see the arrest report?
You get it from whomever takes over. No favors on this one.
How's Hayley today?
- She's good. - Good.
I'll pick her up the usual time on Saturday.
Because of the seriousness of the offense, the financial resources of the accused,
the state requests no bail.
Your Honor, there's no way the state can claim that my client is a flight risk. He's not.
With resources like this man has, flight is always a risk.
- Are there any priors? - No, Your Honor.
Then I'm going to reduce the risk of flight by ordering him to wear a tracer anklet
and I'm going to set bail at $1 million.
- Judge, have you seen the photo? - Miss McPherson, bail is set.
Thank you, Judge.
Mick. Feeling compelled to thank me and speak well of me,
'cause this one's gonna be the money, I'm telling you.
- We'll see, we'll see. - There's his lawyer right there. Cecil Dobbs.
Hey, Mick, don't forget our deal.
A possibility, but... He's here now. I'll talk to you later.
- Cecil Dobbs. - Mr. Haller.
It's depressing to see the boy caught up in that cattle call.
The boy?
I've represented the family for a long time.
Listen, my advice is, let Val fix you up with a bond.
Then you take the boy home.
But we were thinking of putting up property, Mrs. Windsor's beach house.
The mother's name is Windsor?
Her second husband's name. He's dead now.
Assessing the house will take days.
Trust me, you don't want the boy in the clink for even that long.
So tap Val, take Louis to your office. I'll meet you there at 4:00.
Here, let me give you my business card.
Oh, boy.
Media? Yeah, they're already on us.
Mrs. Windsor is sensitive about the press,
but I guess there's not much we can do about that.
Let me see. Say, bub, come here. Come here.
I saw you filming in there. What's your name?
- The name's Rob Gillon. They call me Sticks. - Sticks, you freelancing on this?
Yeah, your client's got profile. I figure I'd sell it to local news.
- How much? - How much what?
How much they pay you for what you shot in there?
That depends. $700, $750.
Yeah? How about we take it off your hands for $800?
No? Too short?
- All right, let's make it a grand. Deal? - It's yours.
Sold.
- I can expense this, right? - Of course. Absolutely.
- Thank you, Sticks. - Thank you.
You know, Mr. Haller, you weren't my choice.
I'll bet I wasn't. A firm like yours must have some heavy hitters on call.
We do. But Louis insisted.
Frankly, I've never heard of you, but maybe I should have.
- Did you say I was Louis' choice? - Yes. He'd read about a case you handled.
I'll need 100 grand up front, working off $550 an hour. Another 100 if we go to trial,
more if we go past a week. Appeals, we start over.
I take it none of that's a problem.
- No. - See you at 4:00.
- Where we headed now? - We're gonna go meet Sticks at Jim's.
That same spot? All right.
There he is.
There we go. Eight for me, two for you. Thank you, Sticks.
Anytime. Hey, my tape.
- You don't look good, girl. - Thanks.
Something new,
booked on possession of coke, plus the usual.
I know, it was dumb.
This guy paid me with it, and I had it on me when I went to the next.
- And the next was a cop. - Yeah.
Look, can't you get me into one of those rehab places that gets you straight?
We did a pretrial rehab last time. The DA's never gonna go for it again.
You may have to do some jail time, Gloria.
- Mickey, I can't. - Yes, you can.
Yes, you can.
Hey.
They have programs in jail, too. Now, look, you've had a long run.
Maybe after this, you can get out of the life.
Yeah. Housewife of the year, that's me.
Maybe I can turn some tricks with the PTA.
It's not funny.
I'd like to see that. All right, give it to me.
All right, I did a guy at the Travel Inn on Santa Monica.
The guy who paid you with coke instead of money?
Yeah, and he had a shitload of coke in there. I saw.
Do you know him?
No, he reached me through my Web site. He was...
- He was Mexican or something. - Did you screen him?
Don't I screen them all?
Okay, with what? He had his driver's license?
No, his passport.
Damn, what was his name?
- His name was Hector. - Hector what?
What's his last name? Think, Gloria, think.
Hector "Arrande" Moya is what you get if you run a trace.
He's a fugitive from a grand jury down in Florida.
The DA wants him for drug trafficking. And Leslie? They want him a lot.
- And your girl's looking to trade? - She'll give you his hotel and room number.
- She'll also have to testify on the coke. - No, location only.
Your guys take it from there. My investigator says Hector hasn't checked out yet.
And in exchange?
You drop all charges. All she does is a pretrial rehab.
The facility at USC Med would be nice.
Or I can take it to the Feds. They'll cut this deal in a minute.
- All right, you fucking asshole. - After you.
- You'd go head first? - I'd give it a shot if I was gonna do it.
- Why? - Style points.
You're so vain. Nobody cares if you kill yourself.
It'd look cool.
What do you think the last thing to go through your mind would be?
- Your asshole. - Yeah.
- Mr. Haller. - Louis, good morning.
- Thank you. - It's just a start.
This is Frank Levin. Frank's my investigator.
- Louis Roulet. - Good to meet you.
We're in here.
- I got a... - Tracer anklet.
A present from your friend Mr. Valenzuela, by order of the court.
As if I'd go anyplace before this thing's over.
- Gentlemen, welcome. - Mr. Dobbs.
- Mr. Haller. - Good to see you. This is Frank Levin.
Mr. Levin is my investigator. His fees are in addition to mine.
Of course.
Gentlemen, this is Mary Windsor. She's Louis' mother.
- Mr. Haller. - Mrs. Windsor, pleasure to meet you.
How do you do?
I'm fine, thank you. This is Frank Levin, my investigator.
How do you do?
The charges against my son are ridiculous, and so is that woman.
Here's a check for you, Mr. Haller.
This is going to have to come from your son, Mrs. Windsor.
You can give him the money, he can write the check,
but it must come from him.
He's my client, and that has to be clear from the start.
I can't thank you enough for being here.
Sincerely, it's good to know that you're gonna be there.
- When we need you. - But not now, is that it?
No, ma'am. The DA could make you testify about what you hear.
Attorney privilege does not cover you.
I'll see you at home.
Mary, I'll call later.
- She's not used to being told what to do. - I can believe that.
So, how fast can I go to trial? I want this behind me.
Are you sure? You can stretch it out, enjoy your freedom. Most clients choose...
Guilty clients, you mean.
Okay, then I insist on going to trial right away.
Or perhaps it never goes to trial at all.
My firm can bring considerable influence to bear.
Don't kid yourself, Cecil.
There's no way the state's dropping these charges.
As a matter of fact, they've already upped them
to improve their negotiating position.
There won't be any negotiating. No plea bargain, no nothing.
I'm not going to jail for something I didn't do. I'm innocent.
And if there is a trial, I want to take the stand and tell the jury that I'm innocent.
Now, if that's a problem, we can part company right now.
Time to tell me what happened.
I was having a drink at the Association.
The Association?
That's the bar on 6th Street, the one with a lot of young women?
Right. It's good for pick-ups.
What's the file say about the girl, Frank?
Regina Campo, known as "Reggie."
Twenty-six years old, part-time actress, part-time office temp.
And hoping to retire after suing my client.
- Did you know her before last night, Louis? - No.
I'd seen her around, but we'd never spoke.
She was always with another guy. Last night, too.
I got it that she wasn't too into her date.
She brushed by me on her way to the bathroom.
I hope I see you tonight.
And she basically just laid her address on me.
On a napkin. She said she could get rid of him by 10:00.
Do you still have it? What she wrote down?
No. I didn't keep the napkin.
Frank, check that file. See if the police report has any of this.
Frank here has already worked us a little miracle.
He happened to score us a copy of the discovery file.
Everything the DA has.
They would have had to turn it over eventually, but it would have taken awhile.
No, they don't have the other guy. They don't even have the bar.
So, what, all they've got is Louis shows up at her apartment
- and she gets beaten? - That is such bullshit!
Just keep telling me your story.
Okay. I got there early and waited until he came out.
- Did you see what he was driving? - A blue Mustang.
All right, so he comes out, you go in.
She saw it was me and opened the door.
The hallway was tight,
so I had to walk past her so she could close the door.
So my back was to her,
- and that was it. - What was it?
She hit me with something.
I went down, and everything got black fast.
- Show me where she hit you. - Like, right here.
It still hurts.
And that blow knocked you out.
Just keep him down! Can someone get the police?
Next I know, two fags are sitting on me holding me down.
Police report has it.
- "Homosexual couple from across the hall." - Like I said, faggots.
I stand corrected. "Faggot couple from across the hall."
- Go on, Louis. - I was still foggy when the cops came.
Ma'am, my name is Officer Maxwell. I just need to ask you a few questions.
- Can you tell me your full name, please? - Reggie Campo.
Do you know this gentleman? Have you met him before?
- No. - And that's when I saw she'd set me up.
- Set it up how? - She put blood on my hand. My left hand.
He said he was gonna rape me. And kill me.
And then he said he was gonna come back here
and rape me again.
You said she left the door open a crack. Did you happen to see her face?
Not all of it. Mainly her eye.
- Wait, her left eye? - Yes.
All right, so she already had the injuries to the right side of her face.
She opens the door, conceals that from him, and as he enters, she clobbers him.
So, our case is, what, she beat herself up?
If she already had the injuries, she either did just that or she had her boyfriend do it.
Yeah, she must have. I mean, she saw Louis' Maserati, his watch.
It's known the family has money.
I'll wager she'll be filing in civil court the moment this is over.
Let's hear the police report. How's Reggie tell it?
Okay. "According to the victim, she was at home alone
"when the suspect presented himself at the door as someone she knew.
"Upon letting him in, she was immediately struck."
Does it say he knocked her down?
Yes. "There was a struggle that continued from the hallway to the stairs."
Come back here!
"He held the victim by the neck and forced her down.
"The suspect maintained a position behind her, holding a knife
"against the left side of her throat."
- That's not my knife. - Are his prints on here, Frank?
Well, it stands to reason, if she put blood on his hand, she put his prints on the knife.
- I just told you, though, that isn't my knife. - Keep talking, Frank.
"As Miss Campo ran for the stairs, they fought,
"and she kicked the intruder backwards.
"Realizing her attacker had her cornered, she fought free
"and seized a nearby bottle of vodka."
- And that's when she clonked him. - That's her story.
Those are all lies.
Look, if everything she's saying is a lie,
then this is going to be the easiest case ever.
But you swear it's all lies? All of it?
Are you sure there's not anything that you're not telling me?
Nothing.
Why'd he choose you, Mick?
Rich kid, spoiled as shit, never heard the word "no."
Yeah, but the damn thing is the way he tells the story, Frank.
It's just quirky enough to be true.
I don't know, Mick. This kid feels wrong to me.
- But I'll check out his story. - All of it.
You know the moves. Start at the Association bar.
And then Miss Regina Campo.
The way he said she came on to him, sounds like a pro.
Yeah, run it down. Also, Mr. Mustang.
All right, now, I still don't get how that works.
What, he and Reggie got into some rough trade and then he punched her?
Unless he was in on it.
- Meaning he hit her afterwards? - Bingo.
Jesus, Mick, are you starting to think Louis is innocent?
He just might.
Besides, you know what my father always said about an innocent client?
No, I've never heard this. Hi.
He said, "There's no client as scary as an innocent man."
That's right. Because if you screw up and he goes to prison,
you're never gonna be able to live with yourself.
So there's only one verdict you can put on the board, baby, and that's an NG.
What do you say, Mags?
Frank, if you let a man drive home in this condition,
I think that I can charge you both.
- I'll take him to his house. - How you gonna get home?
Earl can pick up the car from me in the morning. I came with friends.
- Later. - Thank you, baby.
No, no, I got this. I insist.
What?
Moonlight becomes you.
You're not doing me any good, Haller.
Hey, Mick!
- Jesus, Frank, what couldn't wait? - Want to watch a movie?
We caught a break.
The owner had a camera system set up last month.
I had the security tape transferred to a disk so I could manipulate.
I know this place. All right, and there's our boy Louis.
And I would like you to meet Miss Reggie Campo.
- And there's Mr. Mustang. - Are you sure?
I wouldn't have popped a grand for the tape if I wasn't sure.
Now, watch. Reggie gets up, goes to the ladies' room.
Mr. Mustang chats up the bartender, so that's where he goes.
- That gives Reggie her chance. Watch her. - Wait, that's not how he said it went down.
He said she gave him her address on a napkin.
Okay, hold on, hoss, hold on. Let her go pee.
Okay, here she comes. There's your napkin.
Now, watch this.
She and Mr. Mustang decide it's time to split. Look, look.
- Look at his hand. Look at his watch. - It's on his left hand. That's no good.
The facial blows are from the left. This guy's right-handed.
Babe, you haven't been drinking enough. You said you knew the Association.
You would realize this shot is into the mirror behind the bar.
That's where the owner set up the camera so he could watch his register.
- So everything's backwards. - And Mr. Mustang punches with his left.
- You proud of yourself, Frank? - I really, really am.
But not just about this. That feeling I had about Reggie, that she was selling it?
- I did a little bit of research. She's a hooker. - You're telling me the cops don't have this?
How can they? There's only one and it's not a copy.
Then make a copy.
- Why, you gonna give it to the prosecutor? - Yeah, a new guy named Ted Minton.
He's gonna hand over the discovery file.
Poor bunny. He's not gonna know what hit him.
- How long till you think your man's back? - Probably just a few more minutes.
- Mr. Haller? - There he is.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
- The discovery file. - I hope this will be worth your while.
It's kind of light. You got somewhere we can play this?
What else do you have?
What else do I have?
Come on, Minton, let's cut the bullshit here, all right?
Look, not only is your so-called victim a prostitute,
but I have her soliciting my guy on video.
You think a jury's gonna see this and think he had to rape her at knifepoint
just to have sex with her? No. Are you listening to what I'm saying?
Yes, and it doesn't change the offer I'm prepared to make.
Offer?
You're going forward?
We will drop down to assault with a deadly, attempted sexual battery.
Guidelines put that at seven years. Maybe he'll do four.
What am I missing here?
Yeah, you want it.
Hey, Frank.
- What's up? - Look here.
These files look identical to me.
All right? There's something we're missing and we're not seeing it.
Well, here's the discovery file I got from my clerk in the DA's office.
And this is the one I got from Minton. There's Reggie Campo.
Reggie. That's the door chain.
No, it's the same.
Here we go. Here we go, here we go. Son of a bitch.
They switched out the files. This is a different knife.
I've been taking care of this guy for 10 years, and he set me up.
- Well, he's off the Christmas list. - He's on the shit list.
- Good shot, E. - Nice shot.
- Thank you. - Very nice.
Looks a little short to me.
- You guys finish up. I'll see you later. - You're closed out, anyway.
Louis.
- So what happened? Did you see Minton? - I saw him.
We need to talk.
You lied to me, Louis.
You didn't tell me you were paying Reggie Campo for sex.
Now, don't go looking surprised.
You could have easily told me that in Cecil's office.
I didn't want my mother to find out. Cecil tells her everything.
So, you decide to keep from me the one thing
- that could have made this trial go away? - Is that what Minton said? No more trial?
I said "could have." If that had been the only lie you told me.
- What do you mean? - Do you recognize that?
It's a picture of your knife,
the one you had on you when you went to Reggie's.
The one the cops have. That's why Ted Minton didn't fold his tents,
and shit, why should he when he's got a knife with her blood and your initials?
- That wasn't the knife that was in the file. - That's right. It wasn't.
The file Frank got us is what we call a loaded deck.
The cops used it to set us up,
to make us think they didn't have anything, when, in fact,
they've got enough to put your golf-playing ass away for 20 years, big boy.
Why'd you lie about the knife? Christ, why would you lie about anything?
Everything you tell me is confidential, attorney-client privilege.
All right, I didn't lie. I said the knife in the picture wasn't mine.
- I said it twice and nobody listened to me. - What are you now, the goddamn lawyer?
You said it wasn't yours?
What you should have said was, "I had a knife, Mick, but this isn't it."
You brought a weapon to a meeting with a prostitute.
You tell me, how the hell am I supposed to make that look like she set you up?
I did not do this!
It's custom-made, serrated tip.
- It has your initials engraved on the handle. - I always carry it.
We show homes to people we don't know.
This one time, my mother was showing a place.
It was in Bel-Air, so she thought it was okay to go alone.
- But he was there. - Who was there?
The man who raped her.
When she didn't come back, I went to the house and found her.
That's when she stopped showing property, and I started carrying a knife.
Always.
- Your mother will have to testify. - No, I don't want that.
I don't give a damn what you want.
If you want to stay out of the shithouse, you do exactly as I tell you from now on.
You got it?
- Hey. - Hey.
Success. We had fun.
- Got her? - Yeah.
- At least we did one thing right, huh? - We did a couple. Good night.
- Well, look who's come calling. - Detective Kurlen.
Have you been to San Quentin lately? See our boy Martinez?
I asked you something. How's Martinez doing up there?
He make the pucker-up-and-kiss-me team?
- I haven't talked to him. - Right.
I guess once they plead guilty and go down, you don't have much use for them, huh?
But he's away forever, right?
- He got life, yeah. - So, he'll be out in 15. Too bad.
Because his victim, Donna Renteria, she's dead forever.
How does someone like you sleep at night, with all the scum you represent?
Sorry.
Hey, Kurlen. Come here a second.
I had a client once, he decapitated his ex-wife.
Kept her head in the refrigerator.
Nice. Sweet.
The DA got greedy, tried to pile on two unsolved murders,
trick up the evidence to make it look like my guy did it.
But you got your boy off. And he's out walking around now, right?
- Well, fuck you, Haller. - No, fuck the DA,
and the cops who helped him. It's called the justice system, Kurlen.
That's not the way it's supposed to work.
Ernie and Rich.
- How are you? - Monica.
- Well, look who's here. - Hello, kids. Maggie.
Hey, hey, Haller. Do you want a beer?
- I'd love a cold beer. Scotty. - Yeah, Mick.
- We can share this. - No, I'm good.
Why, why? We've swapped spit before.
- Tell me about your buddy Minton. - Who says he's my buddy?
- He sandbagged me but good. - With that guy Corliss, right?
Yeah. How'd you know?
- You'll take the guy's head off on the stand. - I hope so.
So, what, Ted talked to you about Corliss?
No, no, I sent him to Ted.
He thought I was on the case because I made first appearance.
- But I should not be telling you any of this. - No, I knew.
Look, I knew a guy like Minton wasn't above putting a jailhouse snitch on the stand.
And that's what he is, right?
Can we just have a friendly beer and not talk about work, please?
Let's get a table out back, grab something to eat.
- We can talk about our daughter. - Okay. Yeah.
I bet you didn't know 3-D movies could be so much fun.
The fun is watching her.
- Join the club. - Right?
Yeah.
Hey, you didn't know Minton had Corliss till I blabbed, did you?
I knew he was hiding something.
Screw it. I'm not going to defend Minton. He fights too dirty.
This from Maggie McFierce?
You know there are lines I won't cross.
Don't you?
Can you give me a lift?
She's going to wake up and she's going to see us here. It's not fair.
- How'd she get in here? - She comes in when she has nightmares.
How often does she have nightmares?
Don't start. You don't know what it's like to raise a child alone.
I'll leave, come back in an hour, we'll go together to pick up your car
and then I can take Hayley to school.
Just like that, you're going to start taking her to school?
Do you remember what we talked about last night?
Yes, I remember what we talked about last night,
but I thought you were just trying to get my head into your case or get me in bed.
I can't win with you, can I?
No, you can't. Not when you're being a defense lawyer.
Not when I'm trying to keep dirtbags off the street
- and you keep putting them there. - I've heard it all before, Mag.
Donna Renteria.
Man, they had my picture everywhere, man.
They were gonna bring me in anyways, so I'm like, "Fuck."
Yeah, but you told Kurlen you were in her apartment, all right? He didn't have that.
- No, no... - He didn't have it.
He didn't even have any prints.
No, but that shit I said was true. I saw her at La Zona Rosa,
and she said if I paid her more money than the other guy,
then we can go to her place.
- Nobody saw any other guy. - There was another guy!
It was a white guy! He was right by the bar.
The coroner says her vagina was brutalized.
- Are you my lawyer, man? - I'm trying to be.
Look, when I left, that chick was fine.
Look, I slept with her, okay, I did, but I didn't hurt her, I promise.
Three people saw you throw a knife into the LA River. Help me.
I had that knife in my car. I knew they were gonna find it, man.
They were gonna pin it on me, I know!
Look, if all you did was have sex with her, then why didn't you leave any prints?
- I mean, the place was wiped down clean. - I didn't wipe it down, though.
You left semen on the towel. Do you remember that? Did you forget the towel?
No! I didn't forget anything, man. I just used that towel, I paid her, and I left.
- That defense isn't gonna make. - Don't say that!
It won't make, man. There's not a chance in hell with that defense.
- You know what they're asking for? - What?
They want the death penalty, man.
They want to take your ass down. They want to burn you, man.
Listen,
I can see to it that that never happens, but not if we don't plead.
You want me to say I did it?
There's a deal to be made here, and I can do it.
I can get you life. Life means you're paroled in 15.
It keeps the needle out of your arm, man. It's our only play, man.
I'm innocent, bro. Do you know what that means?
- That means I didn't do it! - It's the best I can get for you, man.
I don't want to go to jail for something I didn't do, man!
You know what that's gonna do to my mom, bro?
I ain't going to jail for something I didn't do, bro!
Come on, man.
Please, help me, bro. Please, help me.
I'm not gonna ask how you are, 'cause I know.
No, bro. You don't know.
- I need to ask you some questions, Jesus. - Questions?
Now?
You know what? You didn't ask me a lot of questions back then.
- You never asked me, "Did you kill her?" No. - Please.
I am trying to make this right.
I need you to tell me what happened at the La Zona Rosa bar that night.
One more time.
Please.
She was working.
I liked her. Right off the bat, I liked her. I knew she was the one.
You know, she caught my eye.
They were going around in a little circle. She was acting all cute and shit.
Listen, I don't know how this works. I don't know...
- It's fine. You want a dance? - Yeah, I want a dance.
I can give you a private dance.
I picked her. I asked her to dance for me.
Then we started talking. You know what she said? I could take her home.
- So, how much for me to come over? - Usually, I charge $1,000.
But for you, $300, 'cause you're sexy.
And she was good, man. Yeah, so I did.
But I didn't kill her.
Okay, but you said there was another guy, right?
Yeah. She was talking to him.
And then she came back to me.
Okay.
I have some pictures, all right? Some mug shots.
I want you to see if you can ID that other guy at the club.
- Tell me if you recognize him. - No.
How about this guy? Jesus?
You recognize him? Okay, take your time.
Yeah, how about this guy? Is this the other guy?
- Was this guy in the club that night? - Guard!
- Jesus? Is this the other guy? - You know what?
You played me, bro. Why are you bothering me with this?
- Jesus, is that the guy from the club? - What does it matter, man? I'm right here.
- Right where you wanted me, bro! - This is the guy.
- You know what? I don't trust you, dawg! - I'm trying to make it right!
- And I never will! - Interview's over!
Okay, Ahab. That's my boy. That's my boy. Get out of here.
Hey. You okay? Where you been today? I've been trying to call you.
I've been to San Quentin.
To see Jesus Martinez.
About what happened after he left Donna Renteria's apartment.
- After he killed her. - He didn't kill her, Frank.
He went there, had sex, flushed the condom down the toilet,
wiped his prick on a pink towel, and then he went home,
but he didn't kill her.
Come on, Mick, we've been through this 100 times.
The real killer, she lets him in.
Maybe he fakes like he's Martinez and he forgot something.
Maybe he had an appointment.
- Like the guy in the bar? - Right.
He comes in. He punches her a few times to soften her up.
But she's not gonna be lucky like Reggie Campo is,
'cause this son of a bitch pulls a knife, takes her and bends her over the table,
puts on a condom and rapes her,
and when he's done, he stabs her over and over,
52 times,
while he works something out in his sick goddamn mind.
Do I have to tell you what kind of knife it was?
- A short-blade folding knife? - Just like Roulet's.
Okay, okay, let's take it a little bit easier on that, okay?
Why, Frank? Why didn't I listen?
Listen, I got a baseball bat if you really want to beat yourself up.
No, I'm not beating myself up. The son of a bitch told me he didn't do it.
All right? There was the DNA and there was the knife that he ditched,
but there was no way I was gonna listen to him.
There was no way I would believe that he didn't do it. I couldn't believe him!
I couldn't believe that I actually was representing an innocent man.
Just like my father warned me about.
Mick, come on. They all say they didn't do it. You know that.
Yeah, so what do I do? I get him to plead.
I get his sister to beg him to plead. 'Cause he's got no case.
So I get him the best deal I can, and I feel pretty goddamn good about it,
'cause, hey, I got the son of a bitch off death row.
I got him 15 years instead of the needle. Yeah.
I showed him Roulet's picture.
Okay.
Roulet is using Martinez as the other guy in the bar?
Like Mr. Mustang in this case?
So, he's not just getting off on killing women.
It's seeing somebody else do the time. That's his MO.
- What did Martinez say? - Enough.
Enough for me to know I gotta find another way.
What you have to do is find a way to put Roulet in Renteria's apartment
the night she was murdered. That's what you...
I have to find a way to make it right, Frank. I gotta make it right.
Well, you can't bring it to the cops, 'cause he's your client.
And you can't take it to the DA, 'cause you'd lose your license.
Worse.
Any evidence we found would be inadmissible. Attorney-client privilege.
It would ruin any case they could ever have against him.
That's why that son of a bitch hired me.
He's got me in his trick bag.
You got one client in jail for what your other client did.
What you gonna do, Mick?
Hey, Mick, you okay, buddy?
- Frank, Frank, listen to me. I got it. - What?
You know how Roulet said all we'd find on him was parking tickets, right?
Right.
Listen, I don't buy that anymore. No, there were others.
Other girls he did. Renteria and Campo.
I mean, they look too much alike. It's like they're sisters.
And the injuries to the right side of their faces are too similar, man.