"Homosexual?" "No." "On any meds?" "Ventolin for my asthma." " Anything else?" " No." "You sure?" "You're looking a little walleyed there." "Um..." "I'm nervous." "Suicidal ideations?" "Ideations?" "Are you thinking about killing yourself?" "No." "You in fear for your life?" "Should I be?" "You a civilian?" "No gang affiliation?" "Okay." "Well, in that case, good luck to you." "Let me ask you something." "Where were you before you came up here?" " Coffee room." " How did you get here?" "What... what do you mean?" "Did you consume caffeinated, dark beverages at 1100 hours before commencing to proceed, in an orderly fashion, to the present location, or did you walk here?" "We walked here." "Do them again, in English." "Actually, I was wondering about the part where she mentions me throwing up." "You did." "I know, but is it okay if she leaves that part out?" "See them?" "Either one of them goes in front of a jury, he's done for." "You know why?" "The eyes." "There's no one home." "They'll look at you like they'd just as soon gut you as ask you the time." "It doesn't make a difference if the prosecutor speaks gibberish, they're going away." "But Nasir Khan, he doesn't look like them." "He looks like any other normal college kid, so the jury's gonna wonder, "Could he really stick that knife into that girl?"" "We have to fight that." "I'm..." "I'm sorry." "I don't..." "I don't understand." " What's your first name?" " Robert." "Office Robert Maldonado, fresh out of the academy." "He goes into a crime scene and he comes out throwing up." "And why shouldn't he?" "He's a new cop, just saw his first dead body." "Now, Nasir Khan may very well be a human being, but so was Andrea Cornish, and so is Robert "Bobby" Maldonado." "So you throwing up..." "absolutely, keep it in." "Now, get out of here." "So who's the lead on the Khan kid case?" "Helen?" "This concerns you, John, because...?" "Because I'm representing him." "I'm sorry, but how on earth?" "You had a chance to review or no?" "You were at the precinct when they brought him in." "That's how it happened, isn't it?" "He's a sweet kid, actually, soft-spoken, sincere." "Cool." "I'd like to give his loving parents some idea of what it's gonna cost, and to do that, it'd be helpful to know how strong a case you think it is." " Strong." " Strong?" "Or strong?" "Wait till you see the crime-scene photos." "Ah, come on." " What do you got?" " Everything." "I don't know why Helen's not on to the next murder." "This one's done." "Sorry." "Hey, you're not gonna get rich off of this one." "It's gonna be quick." " How's the feet?" " Okay." "Ah, fuck." "Three. 105." "Yeah, here it is." "Okay." "Here goes nothing." "With the proofs the District Attorney's office think they have, there's a good chance your son is facing life imprisonment." "The good news is that's why we go to court." "But any way you slice it, it's gonna be a long battle with no guarantee of a successful outcome." "And any lawyer who comes to you with the words "I guarantee!" is a liar." "But I promise you this." "I'll work every angle I can for Naz, and I won't rest until everything that can be done is done." " Thank you." " However, a good defense costs money." "How much?" "Let me tell you this before I tell you that." "Most lawyers charge by the hour." "Why?" "Because it's to their benefit." "Every phone call, email, meeting, motion, delay, every note jotted down on every Post-it, the meter's running." "With a murder, that could easily run $150,000." "Now, I'm not gonna do that to you." "I'm charging a flat fee." "$75,000 if it goes to trial, and half of that if it doesn't." "If it doesn't what?" " Go to trial." " You mean if they drop the charges." "Oh, no, no, no, no." "They're not gonna do that." "I mean if there's a plea." "A plea to what?" "To something less than first-degree murder, like second-degree murder." "He didn't murder anyone." "Why would you even say that?" "There probably won't be a plea." "The state seems confident." "I just mention it in terms of my fee." "$75,000." "I know it sounds like a lot of money, but I guarantee you that no competent lawyer would take it on for any less." "How do you expect me to pay you?" "We have $8,000 in the bank." "Can you get any friends or relatives to help out?" "Everyone we know is in worse shape than us." "You own your own house." "Look, I'll do it for 60, and that's only because I couldn't live with myself if your son went down because of some cut-rate, take-the-money-and-run hustler." "I'm sorry." "We can't afford you." "Okay." "Then here's your best option:" "a legal-aid lawyer." "And here's what you get for your money." "It's a guy who starts his day in court, fishing a half a dozen random case files out of a wire basket, meets with his clients for a half hour before going in front of the judge," "takes the first deal off it, goes around the corner to Starbucks, comes back with his latte, opens up the next file, and does the exact same thing six times a day, every day." "Look, I'll take it on for 55,000." "Any less than that, it's Naz who will suffer, since I'll be going up against the DA armed with nothing." "55?" "I'm writing down... $50,000." "This is my retainer." "If you can, uh, sign it now," "I can get to work and figure out a payment schedule later." "I need to read it." "Of course." "I'll leave it." "You take as long as you need." "But know that I can't get to work on behalf of your son until you sign it." "You can see why people liked him so much on his way up." "I was one of them." "Rangy." "Look how fast his hands are, and he carries power, confident." "Distance in which they're fighting in favor of Sillah." "But Kovalev's tming is very good." "Another jab to the body." "If and when Kovalev can get going, he throws four- and five-punch combinations with all power." "Let's go." "Out!" "Landed a right cross moments ago." "Got in another shot there." "Gate!" "Gate!" "Yeah, Freddy!" "Yeah!" "Shit!" "Uh!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Oh, God!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Religion?" "Baptist." " Religion?" " Muslim." " Religion?" " As-salamu alaykum." "Oh, come on, man." "I can't eat that other shit." "Give me Arab food." "Religion." " That's it?" " Baby, I can't do this no more." "They're bringing in polygraphs." " We still okay?" " Yeah." "You don't got to pay my rent no more if you don't want to." "Take me back." "As per usual, I see some old faces here." "Glad you learned your lesson." "For the freshmen, I'll keep it simple." "You get told to do something, you do it." "You lay a hand on any one of us, we will break out the riot gear, put you in the fucking hospital, and add another charge." "So far this year, we've done this 2,000 times, so you might say we look forward to it." "That's it." "Gate!" "When I call your name, you're gonna take a bed." "Oh!" "Williams." "Goddamn!" "Let's go!" "Keep the line tight!" "Rogers!" "Martinez!" "Brown!" "Davis!" "Holmes!" "Khan!" "Ortiz, W." "Ortiz, F." "Hernandez!" " Did he do it?" " No question." " You know who's repping him?" " Actually, that's the best part:" " John Stone." " Who?" "He's no one, a precinct crawler." " Really?" " Yeah." "Still, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, and he's Muslim?" "We're on "Nancy Grace" every night, so fast-track it." " Get it before the grand jury now." " Yes, sir." "Johnny." "Helen." "How are you?" "How are you?" "I'm good." "Your son?" "Work?" "Your feet?" "They're fine." "Everything's good." "I was really happy when I heard you were on the Khan case." " Good for you." " I'm really happy you're still here." "Where would I go?" "What would I do?" "Spend more time with my grandchildren?" "They'd hate that." "What can I do for you?" "You know." "Oh... it's too soon for that." "Come on." "Let's talk." "We both know what a mess this is gonna be." "This is Jodi Arias time, only this is a good kid, no history of anything." "Let's nip it in the bud." "Jodi didn't have any priors and slit poor Travis' throat ear-to-ear." "No one slit anyone's throat here." "This girl was stabbed the same number of times as her age, John, 22." " She was?" " Mm-hmm." "Eh, there you go." "It wasn't my boy, then." "That's a passion job." "The knife was in his pocket." "A knife in the pocket, very different from the knife." "Cops find the motive there, too?" ""Please, please don't rape me" isn't motive?" "That's not what happened." "This isn't murder one." "He didn't go out looking." "Whatever happened just happened." "He's as clean as Donny Osmond." "Didn't Donny Osmond get into some sort of trouble?" " Did he?" " Didn't he?" "I don't think so." "In any case, why take the chance this turns into Abu Ghraib?" "Let's work something out." "The Muslim part is only helpful." "Not if there's one Muslim on the jury, and there's no way you'll keep them all off." "I'll take as many as I can get." "They're not gonna like what this is gonna do to their community." " Manslaughter." " Excuse me?" " Let's get it off your desk." " Johnny, it's homicide." "There's no way around it." "There's nothing I can do for you." "I'm sorry." "Just give me something back." "Anything." "There's a tailor I know on 33rd Street." "Very reasonable." "I mean this sincerely." "Get something for the trial, not brown." "Salim..." "Did you hear what I said?" "No." "Where is it?" "Where is what?" "The cab." "I don't know." "Have you asked anybody?" "Have you called anybody?" "My son is in prison." "I know." "I still have to make a living." "I can't afford not to be working." "Yusuf can't." "Every day that goes by, we're losing money that we need." "I know." "You see, right now, everybody taking a hard look at you." "You just let them look." "Anybody asks you anything, you keep your head down, your mouth shut, and your business to yourself." "'Cause they just probing for weakness." " You hear me?" " Yeah." "So, what are you in for?" "Um, they're accusing me of..." "Motherfucker, what'd I just tell you?" "!" "Are you wearing perfume?" "Cologne, Paco Rabanne, for men." "Yes, I know it's for men." "Uh, where?" "Around my ankles, to counteract the smell of the Neosporin." "Neosporin smells like maple syrup." "What's wrong with that?" "At the pancake house, nothing." "And if I told you it's an allergic reaction to cologne that's hastening the spread?" "Then that would be ironic." "Taking your antihistamines?" "I can't." "They knock me out halfway into the next day." "Do you want to get better or not?" "I do." "I just..." "Then throw out the Paco Rabanne and the chopsticks." "Start taking your antihistamines." "Pick up some Saran Wrap and Crisco." "Apply a large dollop to each foot morning and night and wrap them up." "You're kidding, right?" "I can't walk around in public like that." "Saran Wrap is clear." "No one will even notice." "Do it, come back and see me in a week, and we will marvel together at the improvement." "Why not some WD-40 and a Glad cinch sack?" "We're not only going after the so-called doctor who mauled Ms. Hahn's face, but also the airline that fired her because, as they put it, the results made it too disturbing for the passengers to interact with her." "But the surgery was voluntary, wasn't it?" "You're a stewardess who served your employer faithfully for 25 years." "After awarding your silver wings for a quarter-century of service, they start dropping hints like confetti that you need to start keeping up your appearance, the "or else" as implicit as a storm cloud." "So you, husbandless, childless, and in terror of losing the job you've devoted your life to, do what you know you have to do, what any woman over the age of 40 who deals with the public" "to earn a living has to do, what a reporter who works for Channel 7 News, before you know it, will have to do." "So was it voluntary?" "You tell me." "Put all prohibited items in the lockers." "weapons, cell phones, belts, keys key rings, nail clippers,pens, pencils..." "Good." "Next." "Arms out, please." "Pat you down." "...lighters, matches..." "Okay." "Thank you." "Good." "Stand right here." "Arms out." "Got anything in your pockets?" " Name?" " Mine?" "No." "Who I'm visiting?" "Nasir Khan." " Spell it." " N-a-s-i-r K-h-a-n." "I need another one for my wife." "Tell her to get in line." "You need to check in too." "Arms out." "Lift your blouse." "...hands above the table." "You are not permitted to exchange any item with the person you are visiting..." "All the way." "At the completion of your visit, you must remain seated until the person you are visiting..." "I liked her." "She liked me." "We drank." "We went to bed." "Woke up in the kitchen." "I don't remember going there." "I went back upstairs to the bedroom." "I didn't kill her." "Even if you can't remember anything, you'd know that." "You'd feel it, right?" "I don't." " I'm not a murderer." " Of course you're not." "I'm so sorry I did this to you." "Listen, you didn't do anything, huh?" "The jury, they'll see right past, uh, the... the so-called evidence and the lawyers and all this, and they'll see you." "At, uh, 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, a 22-year-old woman, Andrea Cornish, was found stabbed to death in her home on West 87th Street." "Less than a quarter-mile away from the murder scene, a 23-year-old male, Nasir Khan, was detained by officers on suspicion of DUI." "While in custody, a knife believed to be the murder weapon was found on his person." "Additional forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts further tie him to the crime." "He has been formally charged with murder and was arraigned earlier today." "What was their relationship?" "That's under investigation." "Do you have a motive for the killing?" "At this point, it looks sexual in nature, but that, too, is under investigation." "Is the suspect a citizen?" "The records show he was born here, yes." "Thank you." "But he's Muslim." "Is that right?" " We understand he is." " Does he have ties to any foreign organizations?" "That's under investigation." "Organizations." "What organizations?" "What are they saying?" "You know what they are saying." "Does he have a history of violent crimes?" "That, too, is under investigation." "That's all I have for you right now." "I'll update you when we have more information." "Thank you." "Hey, come here." "Got something to say, okay?" "You ready?" "You rolling?" ""Foreign organizations." They're doing this already." "My client was born here." "He's as American as baseball." "Detective Williams, please." "What are they gonna do next, look at the Chechen extremist groups?" "What are we, in Boston?" " Can you do something for me?" "This Khan kid killer, I would really love the family's home address." "You rape that girl?" "No." " From Freddy." " Who?" "What for?" "Traction." "Yeah." "It's here." "Great." "What do we pay?" "Nothing till it's released." "That's why we're here." "You can't have it now." "If you'd have called, I could have told you that." "Well, we have to come back to get it." "When?" "After the trial, or never." " Excuse me?" " It's your cab?" "It's ours, the three of us all together." "Then you should all get lawyers." "What are you talking about?" "The cab was used in the commission of a crime, which means the state can sue in order to keep it in a civil court." "Sue?" "Sue who?" "You, the registered owners." "But the suit won't get filed until the criminal trial and however many months that'll take, which I could have told you over the phone if you'd have called first." " Months?" " Or longer." "Slow wheels of justice and all." "And I hate to say it, but you'll probably lose in civil court." "Unless, uh... which of you is Khan?" "Him." " Is it your relative, sir?" " What?" " Is it your relative who's been charged?" " Yes." "My son." "Did he have permission from you to drive the cab?" "Not really." "Well, then that's your out." "You might have a chance with that if you don't mind filing charges, grand theft." "File charges against my son?" "You're crazy." "Hey, I'm just trying to help you guys out." "I'm no lawyer, but if he won't do it, it doesn't mean you guys can't give it a shot since you're co-owners." " Do you have an attorney?" " No." "Make sure you tell him I gave you this card." "Good luck, man." " How goes it, guys?" " All quiet on the Western Front." " Anyone still working in there?" " No." "Done by all appearances." " That was fast." " It's all right." "Here you go." "I come bearing gifts." "Don't worry." "I won't put you on YouTube." "Don't even joke around like that." "Come on." " Can I open it?" " I didn't say you could." "Check the fridge." "You check the fridge." "Here you go." "Chandra." "That's right, isn't it?" " Yes." " Come here." " Crowe and Associates." " Where you from?" " Um, Baltimore." " Your parents." " Mumbai." " Close enough." "_" "_" "_" "_" "I was just saying that she's very pretty." "She is, and very smart." "Can I ask you how much you know about Mr. Stone?" "Nothing." "Well, there isn't much more than that to know." "Basically, Mr. Stone represents drug dealers and prostitutes." "That's the world he lives in." "And when I say "represents," I mean pleads." "He already said something about that to us, and I said, "What?" "Plead?"" "Well, that's because he doesn't want to be in a courtroom any more than a courtroom wants him in it." "Mr. Stone is not a trial lawyer." "He's barely a lawyer." "He wants his fee, wants things over fast, and then onto the next case, which works for him, but does it work for his clients?" "Well, they'll never know." "They're in jail." "I didn't get a good feeling from this man." "You have good instincts." "And your son deserves better than someone who's never tried a murder case." "Did he ask you to sign anything?" "He tried, but I didn't sign it." "He left it, there." " A retainer?" " Yeah." "Did he say how much he wanted to charge you?" " $50,000." " Flat?" " Excuse me?" " Flat fee, like, um, early-bird parking." "I'm sorry, but just from what I know right now, this case could easily cost five times that, and anyone who tells you any different is lying." " Five times that?" "Uh-huh." "But I will do it for nothing." "Which is why I didn't come here with a retainer in my hand." "Because this is the kind of case that reminds me why I wanted to be a lawyer to begin with." "And it'll get the full attention of my firm and all of my resources, including Chandra." "_" "Thank you." "Thank you." "It's spreading, and you haven't gone back to the clinic?" " Nope." " Why not?" "'Cause I'm sick of clinics." "I'm sick of doctors." "I'm sick of waiting rooms, sick of all the bullshit," ""Wrap it in this," "Soak it in that," "Try this cream, that cream, this air purifier, that new study that says," blah, blah, blah." "You know, I think my flare-ups are an allergic reaction to my dermatologist." "Go ahead, Steve." "I got some good news." "Since the last time, I decided to jump back into the dating pool." "How's that going for you?" "I got to tell you, I'm holding my own." "That's not exactly the best choice of words there, Steve." "I'm..." "I'm kidding." "More power to you, brother." " And how you doing, John?" " Me?" "You know, I'm holding my own." "He drug you down the street by your hair and brought you back to the house, and you're pregnant." " Yes." " Did you do that?" " I don't remember that." " Wait, wait, wait." "The question is not whether you remember it." "Did someone tell you that you did it?" "Were you drunk, and that's why you don't remember perhaps?" "Was he intoxicated when he did this?" "Yeah, yeah." "He used to..." "He's different now, but back then..." " No, no red." " Yeah." "No blue, either, no." "No black, no yellow, 'cause those are gang colors." "You know what I mean?" "And, uh..." "you know what?" "I'll take an extra pair of socks 'cause he could always use it." " Okay." " Okay." " Right there." "All right?" " Mm." " $40." " All right." "It's a bargain." " Thank you." " Take it easy, all right, my friend?" "Okay." "Power to you, baby." "I love you." "We talked to another attorney, a real attorney." "She's going to take over." "So, what about Mr. Stone?" "What about him?" "Forget about him." "He's not good." "How do you know?" "Now, the first thing he said to us was," ""Here's how much this is going to cost."" "That's all he cares about." "This new attorney doesn't want anything, only to help." " Why?" "Why?" " Why?" " Because she can afford to." "She makes enough money defending rich people." "She is a very big lawyer." "Baba, I kind of like Mr. Stone." "Like him?" "What's there to like?" "It doesn't matter." "This is what's happening, and it's good." "We are very lucky." "Turn around." "A little to the left, Sean." "You want to see your fucking client, or you want us to toss your ass out?" "Sorry." "Grab your stuff." "How's the feet?" "So, hey, I brought you some clothes." "You can collect them after." "Did your folks put some money in your account?" "Uh, no." "I don't think they knew to." "Well, I'll make a deposit for you." "You need money in here." " How you doing?" " I'm okay." "Okay." "Good." "So, I, uh, I talked to the DA." "They're moving forward, which is to be expected, but that doesn't mean they won't deal later." "All we can do is wait to see exactly what they have, which we'll find out once there's a grand jury." "You're not my lawyer anymore." "Excuse me?" "My parents, they hired somebody else." "Really?" " Who?" " Um, Alison somebody." "Alison somebody?" "Crowe?" "I don't know." "That figures." "Well, okay." "I'm really sorry." "No, no, no." "I understand." "This is, you know..." "This is important, so..." "Okay, look, whatever." "Here's my number." "Anytime you... you want to call me, day or night, for anything." "Thank you." "You got to leave first." "I can't go until you do." "I think we're done here." "Hey, can I give you some last-minute advice?" "I can't think of any." "You'll be okay." " Mr. Stone?" " Huh?" "I'm Chandra Kapoor." "I'm working with Ms. Crowe on the Khan case." " Okay." "Let's go see her." " Um, actually, she's asked me to tell you she's sorry, but she's left for the day." " Chandra, huh?" " Mm-hm." "Your boss is too much." "I'm sorry." "I'm not sure what that means." "You do." "She took you with her when she stole my client." " Tell me I'm wrong." " She didn't steal anyone, Mr. Stone." "She did." "But I'm talking about you now." "Is that what you went to law school for, to be a prop, Ms. Kapoor?" "Is there a message you'd like me to give Ms. Crowe?" "You know what the message is." "Sorry." "Can't take you." "Allergic." "He wants to see you." "Who?" "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on." "Have a seat." "That guard, Tito, his daughter's having her quinceańera this weekend." "That's a sweet 16, only 15." "But the dude lives in Brownsville, man, as shitty a hood as they come." "So I said, "Man, you should be concerned about the local thugs crashing the thing, getting high, fighting." "Next thing you know, somebody's squeezing off shots, don't care who they hit."" "You know, I said, "I couldn't guarantee that won't happen, but I could make a few phone calls, see if I can help out with that."" "That's what that little thank you is for." "You see, us and the guards, we all from the same hood." "Some of us even grew up together." "They know our families." "We know theirs." "Family's everything, right?" "It is in a Muslim family." "Yeah." "I'll tell you something, man." "See those brothers you pray with, the Nation of Islam?" "They're not your friends." "In fact, they hate your ass because you're a natural-born Muslim, and they're just phony jailhouse opportunists looking for better food." "Don't know the difference between Cairo, Egypt, or Cairo, Illinois." "I'm Pakistani, not Egyptian." "Yeah, well, my ancestors came from Dahomey and not the Congo, but who gives a fuck, man?" "See, you're a celebrity in here, and I'm not talking the good kind." "Dude kills four guys over some dope." "Okay." "But murder a girl?" "Rape a girl?" " I didn't." " Doesn't matter." "It makes no difference." "See, there's a whole separate judicial system in here, and you just been judged and juried, and it didn't come out good for you." "Close your eyes." "Close your eyes, I said." "Give me your hand." "Don't be afraid, Nasir." "It feels good, right?" "Like silk." "What is it?" "It's meat." "You wish." "It's somebody's heart." "Yeah, it's meat, but the best kind, veal." " Your people eat veal, right?" " Sometimes." "Ah, but only blessed, right?" " I respect that." " Thank you." "Listen to you, all polite and shit." "See, the reason it feels like silk is because from the day it's born, they keep it in a dark crate, so small they can't even turn around." "And it stays there, half-blind in the dark, drinking baby formula, waiting to die." "There are some bad people in here, but I could protect you." "Nasir, do you want my protection?" "Or do you prefer dead in the shower, with your brains bashed in, guts on the floor?" "It's up to you." "What'd he say?" "He offered to help me in here." " And you said?" " I didn't." "Are you crazy?" "Freddy wiggles five fingers up on that tier, and five people are dead in the Bronx." "Whatever he's offering, you got to take it, no discussion." "Otherwise, you are dead." "No." "I don't know." "People like, uh, you know, purebreds or, uh, really pretty cats." "This is what I would call a, uh..." " Ugly cat." " Yeah." "Yeah, kind of." " I got to sign anything or, uh..." " Nope." " All right, well, thanks." " Yeah." "You bet." "How long you keep them before you, you know, gas them or whatever?" " Out of curiosity." " Ten days." " You fucking pussy!" " Get him, man!"