"#SILENT WITNESS#" " Mr. Lord, do you believe the reason why Gina Belfonti won was because she was rich enough to afford you?" " Are you asserting, Ms. Chung, that my client is too rich to be battered?" " But she did murder her husband, didn't she?" "No, she defended her life." "That and only that is what the jury found." "Mrs. Belfonti, you must have..." "I was watching that!" " Why?" "Were you wondering what I got away with this time?" "Hey." " What?" "I understand battered women syndrome." "But..." " Did Mrs. Belfonti really believe she couldn't leave him?" "With a state of mind defense, all the lawyer has to do is let the jury decide." "In this case, I let the jury see who my client really is... weak, frightened, manipulated... everything you're not." " Oh, what exactly am I?" "I need a little time for discovery." "Hello?" "Yeah." "Who'd you say it was?" "No, no, it's okay." "Put her through." "Kate?" "Kate Robb?" "No, it's all right." "What is it?" "Sam?" "Well, did they have a warrant?" "You got to be kidding me." "Kate, when was this?" "Did you say "Nelson girl"?" "I can't just pretend that I didn't get the call." "Sam and Kate were my best friends." "They stood by me when no one else would." "After 28 years, they are not your best friends, Tony, not anymore." "What are they?" " Just part of the ugliness of that town, a place you told me you'd never go back to." "Allison?" "Allison?" "Allison!" "Allison!" "Thank you." "Hi, Kate." " Tony." "I saw you on television." "You have no idea how good you look." "You look like you to me..." "still beautiful." "I wish." "Just..." "Plain, old, everyday normal, you know." "Yeah." "Not quite now, right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, not anymore." " Well, that's why I'm here." "How is he, Kate?" " He's not good." "He didn't even want me to call you." "He doesn't want you to see him like this." "The whole town's against us, Tony." "I had to..." "Maybe 'cause I wanted to see you myself." "You're his only chance." "I know that." "And he's scared now." "Oh, he should be." "What was he doing up there in the park?" "With a 16 year old girl from his track team?" "I guess I'll find that out?" " Yeah." "You know who that is?" "Allison's father." " He still blames you, Tony." "What do you expect to see?" " I'm not sure." "Sam was so proud when you named your son after him." "Well, you only have one first best friend." " Yes." "What's the place used for now?" "You know, same as when you were here... kids..." "Families." " What about at night?" "High school kids, drinking..." "Parking." "Everything our parents told us not to do." "In the dark, she could have easily fallen." "Allison!" "Allison, where are you?" "Allison?" "Allison." "Allison." "Allison." "Allison!" "Come on." "Allison?" "Allison?" "Allison?" "Allison!" "He's upstairs." "In the trophy room." "As we look at the replay, they just crashed down the middle of that goal line defense." "The give was to Taylor, tried to find room on the left side, but he met Douglas right there in that 4/5 hole." "Hey, buddy." " Hey, pal." "Yeah." "I told Kate you'd never come back." "But then she always did have a better sense of you, I guess." "Well, you're in trouble, Sam." " Well, so were you once." "I don't think I need reminding of that." " Sorry, Tony." "I didn't mean it that way." "Glory days." "I didn't kill her, Tony." "So help me God, I did not kill her." "It'll be all right, Sam." "All right, now, tell me about you..." "Until now." "It'll help me understand things as your lawyer." "We were all right, Kate and I." "We were... not great, but... all right." "Good parents, did the right thing, you know?" "Kids... they were..." "God, they're the center of our lives." "Then they were gone." "And here I am, not going anywhere." "The game ball." "Red dog... 27 left." "We were the only two in the stadium who knew that play." "Down." "Set." "Hut." "Hut." "Third and 10 with 36 seconds left in this AA Championship game." " Cover 2, cover 2!" "And the ball at the cougars' 30." " Red 68!" "Red 68!" "Down, set, hut!" "Yeah, baby!" "You're good, Tony!" "You're good!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "All right, huddle up!" "Huddle up!" "Ross, fake end around, drive right, on two." "Ready?" "Break!" "Break!" "Break!" "Break!" " Ready!" " Break!" "Red Dog 27 left." " Got it." "Red 27!" " Got motion, got motion!" "Red 27!" " Down, set, hut." "Hike." "Lord completes the pass to Sam Robb for a 35 yard touchdown!" "Time has run out." "The eagles convert the extra point." "I couldn't hear anything." "My ears were ringing." "We had 12 seconds, 35 yards, and no time outs." "Yeah." "Don't you just wish you could, you know, just..." "Hit the rewind button?" " Yeah." "Whatever happened to Coach Jackson?" " Shot a clot to the brain... right over there." "You know he was sleeping with my mother?" "I guess everyone in town knew." "I'm here as your lawyer, Sam, not as your friend that you run into at the high school reunion and want to impress." "I'm here to give you the best advice and if it comes to it, the best defense." "But in order to do that, I need to know the truth." "You want to know if your old friend Sam's a murderer." "If you did this, I need to know now." "I'll get you another lawyer, somebody as good as me." "Because if I find out later, in a trial," "I'll be the last person you'll need." "Done a lot of things you won't respect, Tony." "I think you guessed that already." "I'm not a murderer..." "Any more than you were." "Hell..." "Kate tried to hide my gun." "Guess she knew how much it was tearing me up inside." "Okay, Sam." "I believe you." "What do you want to know?" "Tell me about Marcie." "I was assigned to the girls track team." "The girls track team." "Felt like I was fading away, you know?" "And then one day..." "All I could think was "amazing."" "She had real talent, like I had." "Like..." "like what we had." "I mean, I guess I just wanted to be close to that." "That's how it started." "And she won." "She won everything." "When did you first start having sex with her, Sam?" "Everything." "The, uh..." "The team was at a meet." "I got stuck in the office." "I'd missed it." "She came back around 5:30." "Hey, Marcie." "What's up?" "I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Robb." "For what?" "You won the races, not me." "You made me win." "Can I close the door?" " All right." "If you think you need to." "I'm in love with you, Mr. Robb." "You mean like a... special friend?" "I knew what she meant." "I just didn't want to know." "No." "No." "Like a woman, Mr. Robb." "So you're telling me this young girl just came on to you, just out of the blue." "You said you wanted the truth, damn it." "Oral sex will get me jail time." "I'm already on administrative leave because I may have had sex with her." "When she went missing, I went to the police, didn't I?" "I..." "I had to do something to help..." "Even though I knew it would mean my job." " What'd you tell the cops?" "I just fed them a line of B.S." " What kind of B.S.?" "She had a crush on me." "I rejected her." "And Kate..." "what'd you tell her?" "The same." "Murderer!" " Killer!" " You're a murderer!" "Killer!" " You're a murderer, Lord!" "Hey, don't listen to him, Tony, all right?" "Bury it." "Yes?" " Yes." "Are you sure?" " I want it to be you." "I want it to be you forever." "Hey!" "Early bird." " Yeah, well, less chance of running into someone I know." "You haven't been indicted, Sam." " You know better than most how this town works." "Get in." "This was a great place to get drunk." "God." "Amazing we didn't drown." "Tell me about the night Marcie Calder died." "Right." "All business." "It was the third or fourth time that we'd, you know, gotten together." "8:30 we'd meet." "She parked her car at the supermarket." "That was the routine." "Why there?" " If anyone saw her car, it would seem normal." "She'd walk towards the market." "If it was all clear, she ducked around back, and I picked her up." "It was a rush, Tony." "It was like nothing I've ever felt." "I knew it was wrong, that I had to end it." "I decided it was gonna be that night." "Let's just talk for a while." "I think we should get married." "I said, "We can't do that... ever."" "Why not?" " Marcie, there are a lot of reasons, your parents, my job, the way people would look at me." "I'm a middle aged guy who betrayed his..." " No." " No, yes." " No!" "My feelings for you are more than that." "Then I'm lucky, lucky to even have been a part of your life." "I was sweating." "I was praying it wasn't the cops or someone following us, but it's like she doesn't care." " I want you to be my life." "And when we get married, people will accept it!" "My parents..." " Marcie, I've met your parents." "I'm..." "I'm too old, Marcie, to ever become your life." "Marcie, I can't leave my wife." "There's no way I could do that." "I won't tell anyone about this." "Is that what you want?" "Yes." "That, that would help me." "All right, Sam." "It would be best for you, too, Marcie." "Fine." "I'll help you." "I will start helping you right now." "Marcie." " No." "Stop it." "You didn't chase after her?" " I was worried about the car." "The one that drove up?" " Yeah." "She was hysterical." "I was ready to freak myself." "There was nothing I could do about it." "I figured she'd make her way back to the car after she cooled off." "It was less than half a mile away." "When I drove out, I passed the car." "I thought I saw a head just above the dash." "Then you went home?" "I needed a drink." "I drove to the school." "I had a bottle of whiskey in my desk." "Why not a bar?" "I didn't want to run in to anyone, the way I was." "Anybody see you there, a custodian?" " No one." "No, I had the keys." "I just sat there thinking." " How long?" "I don't know..." "a half hour, maybe more." "And then I called home." "Hey, you've reached the Robbs." "Leave a message." "My heart started pounding again." "I thought for sure Kate had followed me, that it was her in the car." "When I got home, she was in bed, reading." "I tried calling you." "The machine picked up." " Sorry." "Must have been in the shower." "I snagged a nail." "Maybe it was her." "Mr. Rubin." " Well, well, well!" "If it isn't the man himself." " Saul, it's been too long." "Look at you." "Yeah, very nice." "I mean..." "I mean, the suit." "Yeah." "That's Armani, right?" " Hugo Boss." "Yeah, well, better." " I think you created a monster, Saul." "Yeah." "A monster?" "A monster I can live with." "I've represented a few." "But a criminal defense attorney?" "All right, what can I do you for?" " Some rabbinical council..." "From the man who saved my ass." " The truth is in the wine." "Have a taste." "It's a little early." " Well, it's got to be 5:00 somewhere." "Cheers." "You know, in criminal defense, old friends are not the best clients." "That's why surgeons never operate on their own kids." "Now, don't lose your identity as an attorney because you can't distinguish between Sam Robb and Tony Lord, all right?" " I know." "I know." "I want him to be innocent." "But I have my doubts." "It's just, I..." "I can't believe he did it." "You can't or you won't?" " I can't because he hasn't shown me anything that's conclusive." "And I won't because if I thought he was guilty, I'd be on the next plane home." "In all my years as a defense attorney, you were the only defendant, the only defendant who I was absolutely sure was innocent." "And, my friend, that was before they found this Donald White," "Allison's killer, and his history of rapes and murders." "See, as defense attorneys, it makes no difference what we think... guilty or not guilty." "Our sacred job is to make sure that the defendant gets the best defense under the law." "All right, so, now tell me..." "was this, pal of yours, Sam... was he..." "Sharing the blintz with this girl?" "Yeah." "I'm afraid so." "Well, how about the night she died?" "He said "no."" " Now, have you ever given any thought to the wife?" "Kate?" " Well, Sam said that she wasn't there when he called, so where was she?" " She said she was in the shower." "Maybe and maybe not." " Uh, no." "No." "Not Kate." "A 46 year old husband with a 16 year old student." "I've seen similar consequences with a lot less provocation." "I know her." "Doesn't have it in her." " You know her." "You know so well after 28 years?" "I don't remember you ever smoking before." "I didn't do a lot of things I... do now." "What do you have to tell me?" "Well, as Sam's lawyer, I can't tell you anything." "Neither can he." "Later, when this is about your marriage and not about the law..." "You guys can talk it through." " Okay." "So I didn't go to Harvard, but I'm not a fool." "He was having sex with her, wasn't he?" "What, is that the new teenage thrill, seducing your teacher?" "How could this get any worse?" " He said he didn't kill her." "I'll make sure the jury hears that if it comes to that." "And I have a meeting with the D.A. on Friday." "Maybe that part will just go away." "Go away?" "Things like this don't go away." "The morning she went missing, Sam Robb came to my desk, said he'd seen her the night before." "Did he say what time that was, detective?" " Around 10:00, he said." "Did he tell you what he was doing in the park?" "Yes, he said that they were talking." "She was upset." "He walked to the Ridge over there." "Found her body down there." "We notified EMT." "How did he look to you..." "Sam?" "He was upset." "Sat down on the ground, you know, like he was dizzy." "I got good radar, Mr. Lord." "Seeing her really hit him hard." "Look... this is off the record, okay?" "Okay." " My two boys know Sam Robb." "My eldest has problems with learning... dyslexia." "Mr. Robb worked with him, helped him all the way through graduation." "The boys loved him, thought he was the best." "A lot of people around here want to make him the monster." "I just don't see it that way." "Hello." "Mr. Lord!" " Good morning." "Stella Marz, Assistant D.A." " Nice to meet you." "You're a long way from home." " Not that long." "I was born here." " I know." "I'm too young to remember the Allison Taylor case." "You were the primary suspect." " Well, they got that one wrong, didn't they?" "How many you looking at?" " I keep an open mind, Mr. Lord." "Then you're not." " If I feel I have sufficient cause, I'll ask the grand jury to indict." "If not, the police will continue their search." "Autopsy report?" " I'm waiting myself." "Perhaps you might ask your client why there was blood on the steering wheel of his car." "I assume you tested it?" " A positive..." "Marcie Calder's blood type." "Mine too, for that matter, and 34% of the population." "We're doing DNA, Tony." "Nan agreed to see you, not me." "I'm just trying to understand this." "I'm a friend of Sam Robb's, and I know he's devastated by what happened." "If I was certain that he'd harmed your daughter, I wouldn't be here." "Harm?" "Is that what you call it?" "If there's a better time..." " There will never be a better time." "I'm sorry I didn't know her." "I went back to work four years ago." "I was never home after school, and that's when girls are fresh... when... when they want to tell you about their day." "I'm starting to think that I didn't know her very well, either." "We were saving for her college, but I guess we won't..." "Did you sense any changes that concerned you, anything in the last six weeks?" "She seemed distant, like she was somewhere else." "Anything more specific?" " No." "Her grades had fallen a little bit, but..." "But she still came to mass with us every Sunday." "We never saw any of the rebelliousness or questioning that Father Connelly was always talking about with other kids." "But she still loved track, you know." "Mr. Robb had made a point of telling both of us how hard she'd been working." "Did Marcie seem attracted to him?" " No." "I have to ask." " I know he told the police that she had a crush on him, but I never saw any sign of that." "I mean, did she talk about him more than she did about Mr. Ramos?" "Mr. Ramos?" " He's been the park recreational director since 2004." "Here." " Michael "Raymos."" "Yeah, "Rahmos." Graduated six years after me, was all state in track, science and math club, student council." " Well, there you are." "Well, he's letting things go, Mr. "Raymos" is." "You can certainly see who comes and goes, can't you?" "Yes, I can, just like I told your Mr. Rubinstein." "What you told Saul might be important." "That's why I wanted to come talk to you myself." "Well, Sam Robb has always been a very fine man." "My late husband and I knew him from church." "And the press always sensationalizes everything." "But of course you know all about that." "Milk?" "No, thank you." "Tell me about Mr. Ramos." "Well, what struck me was that that poor girl, Marcie Calder... although I didn't even know her name until I read it in the newspaper... as soon as Mr. Ramos' wife left him, she started coming over to see him." "At first, they just sat on the porch and talked." "But later they... well, you know, they stayed inside." "Did you ever consider telling her parents or the police?" "Well, I'm not a busybody." "But if you ask me, it just wasn't right, a young girl like that... it was terrible." " And on the night she died, you saw her?" "Oh, yes, she was here." "She came in her car, one of those imports." "Although they all look the same to me." "I don't know." "If Ramos doesn't have an alibi for that night, then Sara "the Yenta" Croft is a gift from God." "Their divorce filings..." "Ramos vs. Ramos." "You might just have your Donald White." "Mr. Lord, please come in." " Good afternoon." "As I said on the phone, you've come a long way for not very much." "I appreciate you taking the time." " This way." " Thank you." "So, you should know I don't hate Michael." "And I know what you're trying to do." "You're trying to see if my kids' father is a murderer or can be made to look enough like one to keep Sam Robb from being indicted." "You read my divorce petition, and you think I might be worth talking to." "Well, there goes my first half hour." " No." "There goes your case." "So, please, ask away, Mr. Lord." "Michael will tell you I never lie." "Well, I assume your divorce petition doesn't, either." "Why don't you just listen, Mr. Lord, and then you can be the judge?" "There isn't a single white person in this entire town that is as condescending to me as you are!" "You know, with you, everything..." "everything is defined by being Latino." "You bring your own barrio with you wherever you go, and now you want to bring our kids to live in it?" " How did we ever get married?" "I mean, how did I not see it before I let you drag us here?" "What?" "What?" "What is it you didn't see?" " That I'm your consolation prize, Michael." "I mean, come on." "Haven't you always wanted to marry the prom queen from Lake City so you can be let in to their little gringo jock fraternity?" "You know, you're crazy, Vanessa." " Oh, am I?" "Really?" "Isn't Marcie your little prom queen?" " I mean, isn't that why you spent all those hours talking to her?" "'Cause it sure as hell can't be her mind." " You know what?" "You know she just wanted another daddy." "She plays into your little white girl fantasy." "She gets your attention by letting you imagine what it's like sleeping with her!" "I..." "I didn't leave because I thought he'd do it again." "Him hitting me was just an excuse." "I left because it's what I wanted to do." "But whatever Michael did to me that night, it's not nearly enough for him to deserve you." "Thank you, Mrs. Ramos." "Stella." " Your friend Sam lied to us." "He was having sex with Marcie Calder." "But I'm sure you knew that." "But maybe you didn't know she was pregnant when he murdered her." "Your copy, counselor..." "DNA and autopsy report." "Sam Robb's the father." "We're indicting... murder one, with special circumstances." "That's it." "Way to keep you nose down." " She was pregnant, Sam." " Again." "What?" " Hands in front, outfielder." "Marcie was pregnant." "Keep your rear end down." " Okay, coach." "They think it was mine?" " They know it was." "DNA." "DNA." "Then it's over for me." "Kate." " Yeah, you better tell her before she sees it on TV." "Broken rubber." " You telling me you didn't know?" "She never told me, Tony." "That's probably what that whole marriage thing was about, why she was acting so crazy." "If I'd known, I..." "I never would have let her run away." "It's over." " Maybe in Lake City, but not in the courtroom." "They do not have an airtight case." "They can't have an airtight case because I didn't kill her!" " There is an alternative." "We ask for manslaughter." "You acted out of some impulse, didn't mean to kill her." "That's gonna require a confession in open court, Sam." "Tony, I'm gonna lose my house, my career, my wife, and probably my kids!" "All right, all I have left is my innocence!" "No!" "No." "Yeah, I wouldn't have taken it, either." "So he has to go trial." "Do I have to be there?" "Better for you if you weren't." "Worse for him if you're not." "And my kids?" "What about my kids?" "Well, that's up to you." "It's gonna get pretty rough." "What can I do to help, Katie?" "You just..." "You make him... weak..." "A foolish, selfish, innocent man." "What the people intend to show you is the last 4 hours in the life of a 16 year old girl." "Imagine Marcie Calder." "She is frightened and alone." "And Dr. Nora Cox, who Marcie has known since she was 4, has just told her she's pregnant and then suggests an abortion." ""No," she answers." ""My baby is a life." And because she means to protect that life," "Marcie must tell the father of her unborn child." "No one but Marcie knows who that person is." "She arranges to meet the father of the baby, but before she meets him, Marcie makes one last stop." "And besides her parents, Michael Ramos is the adult Marcie is closest to." "He was her first track coach." "She babysat the Ramos children." "She was in trouble." "And he is the one person she'd come to confide in." "So she tells her friend, Michael Ramos, that she has been having sex with an older man and she's pregnant." "He begs her to tell her parents, or at least let him take her to a clinic." "But afraid for the reputation of this older man she loves, and for her baby, she refuses." "In two hours, she will be dead." "Marcie parks her car in the supermarket parking lot, where another car is waiting." "Eagerly, she gets inside and turns to Sam Robb..." "Assistant Principal of Lake City High School, her track coach, and the father of her unborn child." "In the darkness, he drives her to Thompson Park." "Marcie undresses for him." "And then in his wife's car," "Sam Robb ties Marcie Calder's hands behind her back, chokes her to the brink of unconsciousness, while having intercourse with her from behind." "Rough sex, it's called." "The sexual humiliation of a 16 year old." "We cannot tell you what Marcie thought in the last moments of her life." "We only know what medical evidence will show... that Sam Robb, to prevent her thoughts from ever being spoken aloud, led her from the car to a wooded park above Lake Erie and struck her with a rock," "three hard blows to the head, shattering her skull, that he then threw her off the cliff," "200 feet to the rocky beach below." "There, the life left Marcie Calder..." "And that of her unborn child." "Mr. Lord?" " Nothing at this time, your honor." "The defense reserves the right until the prosecution puts on its proof, which, with all due respect to Ms. Marz, an opening statement is not." "What the hell are you doing?" " Not now." " "Not now"?" "You could have said something!" "Yeah?" "Like what, that he choked her unconscious while he screwed her from behind, but didn't kill her?" "I got a job to do, and you got yours... to look sad and very calm." "Just all along the third base line." " Mr. Ramos." "Excuse me." "Tony Lord." "I'm Sam Robb's attorney." " I know who you are." "I went to Lake City High." "You guys were legends." "This guy's a legend!" "They still have all the football trophies you guys won in the lobby." "You always made waves." "Guess you still are." " Maybe, in some ways." "You could say that." "I understand you're testifying for the prosecution?" "They asked me to, yeah." " Yeah." "I spoke to your ex wife." " She told me." "Did you?" " Did I what?" " Kill her." "What?" " Did you kill your friend Marcie Calder?" "Hey, how about I answer your question by kicking your ass up and down this field?" "Dr. Cox, when Marcie talked to you about having sex, what was your response?" "I asked her if she told her mother." "She said "no."" "She said that her father would get it out of her and that he would be furious." "And when you asked her who the boy was, what did she say?" "She says it wasn't a boy." " Thank you." "Keep looking at her." "The jury's watching." " No further questions, your honor." "Let me try to summarize Marcie's state of mind, as you perceived it at the time, doctor, so that I understand." "She was opposed to having an abortion, afraid to talk to her parents, unprepared to have the child, and isolated from parental guidance." "Correct?" " Essentially, yes." " Did she ever indicate to you one way or another that she had considered marriage?" " Marriage?" "She said her pregnancy could ruin him." "Have you ever had a patient commit suicide, doctor?" "If you're suggesting she was suicidal..." " answer the question... please." "Yes, I have, as I'm sure you know." "There were two young girls, to be exact..." "Anna Finerman, age 15," "Beverly Snowden, 16." "Correct?" " Yes." "And didn't you see Beverly Snowden two weeks before she took her own life?" " I did." "And during that visit, two weeks before she took her life did Beverly Snowden seem suicidal?" "Absolutely not." "In fact, she seemed quite normal." "As normal as Marcie Calder?" " Objection, your honor." "Sustained." "Your honor." " The court stands in recess." "That's frigging awesome." "You got her... both hers." "Go be with Kate, Sam." "No matter how hard it is, take her to lunch in the commissary, just like everybody else." "The jury notices things like that." "Do it, Sam!" " Got it." "Janice, you and Marcie were very close?" " Yes." "Did she talk to you about her sexual relationships?" "She told me that this guy was her first." " Why do you say that?" "She asked me a lot of questions." "She wanted to know different things, you know, about how to do it..." "...sex." "Did she tell you why she wanted to know these things?" "She wanted to please this guy." "She loved him, and she didn't want him to lose interest." "Why do you suppose Marcie wanted to see this older man the night she was murdered?" " Why does she keep saying..." " Cool it." "She wanted to warn him, you know, about her being pregnant so that he'd know that he was in trouble." "Marcie was such a good person that she'd want to protect him." "Thank you." " Janice, for the record, isn't it true that Marcie never actually told you why she wanted to see this unknown man?" "So that the answer to your last question is just a guess, isn't it?" "It... yeah, it's what I thought." "She didn't actually tell me in words." "If I remember your testimony, you asked her if she was in trouble." " Yes." "And you both knew what "in trouble" means, right?" "It means "pregnant."" "Did Marcie give you any other reason why she wanted to keep her affair secret?" "Yeah, she didn't want her father to know." "Isn't that part of the reason why you covered for her that night?" "Yes, she wanted to keep him believing in the virgin Marcie 'cause he's like..." "really controlling." "I see." "You feel guilty and perhaps somewhat responsible for her death, don't you?" "Yes, I do." "Marcie was my best friend." "And you'd like to punish the person who you feel is directly responsible for her death." "Yes." " So when the county prosecutor charged Sam Robb, you thought he was that person." " Yes." "Yet before he was charged, you didn't think Sam Robb was Marcie's lover, did you?" "No." "No." " In fact, you thought it was someone else, didn't you?" "Yeah, someone else." " I'm sorry?" "Someone else." " No further questions, your honor." "Why?" "Please don't do this to me." "Did you know Sam Robb?" " Yes, I did." "He was Marcie's track coach." "She kissed me..." "on the night that she left, twice on the forehead, here and here." "And then she looked at me, and she said, "I'll be back, mom."" "If I had known about the baby, we would have raised it." "We would have... taken care of it." "We were a family." "We were a family." "How old was Marcie Calder when you met her?" "11." "I had coached a girls track team at the rec center, 11 through 14." " What was Marcie like then?" "Shy. but was was talented, and she was eager to learn." "She became my fastest sprinter." "When Marcie turned 15, she couldn't run for you anymore." "Did you do anything to help her to continue running?" "I called the high school track coach, Sam Robb." "He said he'd look out for her." "Those were his words... "I'll look out for her."" "In high school, did she keep in touch?" " She'd drop by the office." "She babysat for us." "Once in a while she dropped by the house just to talk." "Did you notice if she had a crush on you, Mr. Ramos?" "Absolutely not, no." "She's trampling our ground." " At her peril." "What Marcie wanted was a friend who was an adult, not a parent." "That's normal." " Well, what kind of things did Marcie talk about?" "Everything... um, school, grades, track, guys." "Kids at that age are remarkably candid." "Did there come a time when you became worried about where Marcie's life was headed?" "Yes, very." " What were the circumstances?" "She came to see me at my office." "She was shaken up." "She said that she was in a sexual relationship with a man, and she was scared." " I see." "Mr. Ramos..." "Did you ever have sexual relations with Marcie Calder?" "Absolutely not." " Even after your wife left?" "That's not something that I would do." "That's not something anyone should ever do." "Perhaps a few objections, counselor." "Mess with her rhythm." "Did you see Marcie Calder the night she died?" " I did, yes." "She... she was upset." " Did she tell you why she was upset?" "She was pregnant." " Did she tell you who the father was?" "Only that it was the man that she was seeing, the older man, and that she was gonna see him to warn him." "And you tried to stop her, didn't you?" " I did, yes." "I didn't think that she should see him." "She was upset." "But she didn't listen to me." "She got in her car, and she drove away." "Thank you." "Your witness, Mr. Lord." "Again, why did she come to see you?" "I guess she wanted to talk to a friend." "Well, she had a friend..." "Janice D'Abruzzi." "Can you think of a reason she spoke to you and not to her?" "I have no idea." " Have any other young girls told you all the intimate details of their sex lives?" " No." "Or been with you in your house, alone?" " No." "When did you and your wife separate, Mr. Ramos?" " A little under a year ago." "And sometime after that, Marcie started to come to your house, correct?" "Sometimes, yes." " And when was that?" "How many times?" " I... don't know." "I didn't keep count." "More than 10?" " Perhaps." " More than 20?" "I don't... remember." "By the way, do you think Marcie's parents knew that she was coming to see you?" " I don't know." "But you didn't come and tell them, did you?" " No." "Don't you think they might have been concerned?" " Look I don't know if they knew or not." "What did you and Marcie talk about?" "I don't remember." "Mostly, I listened." "You were going through a marital breakup, Marcie was constantly at your house, and you're having trouble remembering what you talked about." "Could it be possible that your recollection of these visits is somewhat faulty, Mr. Ramos?" "What do you mean?" " Well, what immediately comes to mind is all those Saturday nights where Marcie rented videos and brought them to your house to watch them." "Which did you prefer the most "Sabrina" or "Love Story"?" "Objection, your honor." "That's not a question." "That's an insinuation." "Sustained." " I've never even heard of "Sabrina." I don't..." "It might have been a bit before her time, too." " Mr. Lord." "Sorry, your honor." "About six weeks before Marcie died, she told you that she was having sex with an older man and he was teaching her things." "Did you feel jealous?" "No, I was concerned about a 16 year old girl who was being taken advantage of by an older man." "On the night that she died, you asked her not to go see him, and she didn't listen." "Did you touch her then?" "I held her by the wrist, just to say one last thing." "Show me." "And she pulled away." "And she did what you told hernot to do." "You followed her, right?" "You followed her to find out who she was going to see." "And you did, didn't you?" "You followed her all the way to the supermarket, and you watched her get in Sam Robb's car." "And then you followed them both to Thompson Park." "Isn't that what happened?" " No." "I drove home, like I said." "What time was that?" " Around 8:30." " Did anyone see you?" "I don't know." "Your honor, I have here what was presented as defense exhibit one." "As you can see, it's just a plain plastic watch." "I'd like to enter it into evidence so that I can ask Mr. Ramos some questions about it." "Ms. Marz?" " I don't understand what we're doing here." "This watch has nothing to do with this case." "With your indulgence, I'll just ask a few questions." "I may prove you correct." "I'd state for the record that this was bought at a drugstore just yesterday." "You may proceed, Mr. Lord." " Thank you, sir." "Is this the type of watch Marcie was wearing the night that she died?" "I can't say that I recall." " Have a closer look." "That doesn't help." "The last thing that I was interested in that night was her watch." " Okay." "Objection, your honor." "This watch proves nothing and is therefore useless as an exhibit." "Given Mr. Ramos' testimony." "I have no quarrel." "Ms. Marz?" "Thanks." "Do you consider yourself a violent man, Mr. Ramos?" "No, I don't." " Perhaps you can tell the court why your marriage ended." "My wife and I... we had disagreements." " She didn't like getting hit, did she?" "In her deposition, she stated that you struck her in the face and caused her mouth to bleed and swell." "Isn't that correct?" "Yeah, that... that was." " And did you hit her in the face because of something she said?" " I don't remember." "We fought." "We said things that we shouldn't have." " Didn't Marcie Calder's name come up in that fight?" "I don't remember." " Didn't your wife call Marcie Calder your "fantasy white girl"" "and accuse you of wanting to sleep with her?" " A lot of ugly things are said in the heat of the moment." "It's best not to remember them." "I might not want to remember that one, either." "What size footprints were at the scene - 11." "What size shoe does Sam Robb wear?" " 11." "And what size shoe does Michael Ramos wear, detective?" " 11." "Is this the rock you found next to Marcie Calder's body?" " Yes, it is." "What did the coroner report, with respect to this rock?" "The traces of blood on the rock were Marcie Calder's, the strands of hair were hers, as were minute fragments of her scalp." "Was that the only rock found with blood on it?" " No." "There were others." "And was there no blood found in Mr. Robb's home or on his clothing and the shoes he gave you?" " No, sir, there wasn't." "And was there any evidence that he discarded any articles of clothing?" "At this time, none that we're aware of." " Thank you, detective." "What time did Marcie Calder die?" "Marcie Calder died shortly after midnight of a cerebral hemorrhage, which, in my opinion, was caused by three blows to the right side of her head with a heavy object." "Did Marcie Calder engage in any sexual activity in the time just before her death, Dr. Micelli?" " Yes." "Did the examination show any semen?" " Yes and no." "Vaginally, only traces of a petroleum based lubricant, but her back and hair contained traces of seminal fluid." "Now, at the time of her death, was Marcie Calder pregnant?" "Yes, she was pregnant." "The fetus was approximately seven weeks in development." "It died with the mother." " And the father?" "Based on DNA examination, was Sam Robb." " And the probability?" "10 million to one." " No further questions, your honor." "Your witness, Mr. Lord." " Your honor, Mr. Rubin will be conducting the cross." "What the hell is this?" " Saul's doing the cross." " Why?" "It's my decision." "You want to try your own case, be my guest." "Now it is your assumption that Marcie was killed on the Cliffside above and then throw over it." "Yes." " But you found no blood in the densely wooded area of the park above, even after an extensive search." " According to the weather report, it rained between the hours of 2:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M., which was previous to the discovery of the body." "But you did find blood on the rocks below, where the body was discovered, even though that area is much more exposed to the rain?" "Yes." "Traces." " Traces." "Is that rocky beach accessible?" " Not really." "Not really?" " It's accessible by boat." "How far would you say that drop is, from the cliff?" "178 feet." " So isn't it possible that Marcie hit the right side of her head against the Cliffside on the way down and then again on a rock below on impact?" "Yes, but not likely." " But you found blood on the rocks below, even on that so called weapon rock of yours." "Well, I suppose..." " I'm sorry, doctor, but that was not a question." "Now, given the violence of this death, it would have produced an enormous amount of blood." "Am I right?" " Yes." "And yet, even after all that, the only blood linking Sam Robb is a small spattering on the steering wheel of his car, a microscopic spattering... not the result of grave violence." "That is a question." "Medically, that is correct." "Thank you." "Don't listen to them, Tony." "Bury it." "You play better under pressure." " This isn't pressure." "No!" "All right, now." "There it is." "I always knew you were gonna leave." " How?" "The same reason you got the best girl in school." "Tony Lord always got what he wanted." "Nothing wrong with Kate." " No, nothing at all." "From downtown." "For that Harvard ring." "Told you." "He's here." "Who in this jury, in this entire courtroom, hasn't said or done something that they're ashamed of and later told lies that they regret?" "But lying is not murder." "Let's remember the facts in this case." "Sam lied not to conceal a murder from the police, who he called first and voluntarily." "He did it to protect his marriage, his profession, and his reputation in the community, where he spent his entire life, just as Michael Ramos tried to conceal his relationship with Marcie Calder from you, whatever that might have been," "for whatever reasons he may have had." "But with both men, lying is not murder, and speculation is not proof." "The defense would like to now call their only witness," "Dr. Bennett Shapiro, forensic scientist." "I have here his rather extensive resume." "He is a graduate of Princeton university..." " we stipulate to the expert's qualifications." "Let's begin with the trace amounts of Marcie's blood found on the steering wheel." "Would you say that particular blood was in any way connected with the homicide?" "Well, that one is easy." "The blood was mixed with pdms, a lubricant used in most condoms sold in this country." "The blood is a direct result of the kind of sexual activity the subjects were involved in." "The condom was removed, leaving the residue of blood and lubricant on the subject's hand." "It was transferred to the steering wheel, presumably when he drove away or before." "Thank you." "Doctor, can you identify this defense exhibit "A"?" "Yes." "It's a blow up of three partial but easily identifiable prints taken from Marcie Calder's watch." "The print on the left is Marcie Calder's." "The next is Mr. Robb's." "The third print, the police could not identify." " And exhibit "B"?" "Two prints taken from a plastic watch." " And what are those prints?" "Well, one of them is yours, Mr. Lord." "When did you first see the watch?" " A week ago, when you gave it to me." "I wiped it clean of prints." "I placed it in a plastic bag, gave it back to you the morning before the proceedings." "And where has it been since then?" " Defense table." "How do you know that?" "I was sitting at the back of the courtroom." " And what did I do with it?" "In the course of cross examination, you gave it to the witness, Mr. Ramos." "Mr. Ramos handled it, put it back in the bag." "At the end of the day, you gave the bag back to me." "And what were my instructions?" " To lift any prints from the watch and make sure no one else touched it." "And are your results shown here on the blow up, exhibit "B"?" "Yes, the print on the left is yours." "The print on the right is Mr. Ramos' right thumb." "Were you able to draw any conclusions resulting from Mr. Ramos' fingerprint?" "Yes, it matches the unidentified print found on the watch Marcie Calder was wearing the night she died." "To an absolute certainty, the unidentified print belongs to Mr. Ramos." "Thank you doctor." "I want to rest our case tomorrow." "I think we havest reasonable doubt." "My case, Tony." "My case." "They think I did it." "Been watching their faces." "They hate me, and they think I'm guilty." "Well, I can't make them like you, Sam." "I can just get them to acquit you, which I think I've done." "I had rough sex with an underage girl and lied about it." "Lied to my wife." "Just about everyone." "I need to testify." " No way." "How could I make it any worse?" " You trip up on one little detail, they convict you." "So I give up this half life you want me to lead?" "I didn't put you there." "You did." "You're not testifying." "So it's still that?" "How do you live with that?" "Wondering if I killed her?" " Not easily, not well." "If you think that..." "Then they all do." "You never had your day in court, Tony." "There's some people in this town that still think you killed Allison." "But there's a difference." "I got charged with murder." "And that gives me the right to get up in front of those people and say, "I didn't do it!"" "Say it with my mouth... and my voice." "What really happened that night in the park with Marcie in your car?" "She told me she loved me, that she wanted to do something special for me that she'd read about." "Rough sex." " She wanted you to choke her to the point of unconsciousness while having intercourse with her from behind." "Correct?" " Yes." "When it was over, I felt..." "Weird." "She asked me how it was." "I lied." "I said, "it was exciting," and I thanked her." "And then what happened?" " A car pulled into the park." "I saw the headlights." "Parked a little ways away." "I said that we should go because of the car, but she wanted to talk." "She asked me if I'd marry her." " Were you surprised?" " I was shocked." "Did you ever try to break it off with her?" " Yes." "Because of Kate." "Once you start lying to someone you love..." "Did Marcie ever tell you she was pregnant?" " I never gave her the chance." "I suddenly realized how far I'd let things go." "She really believed we could get married." "I just broke down." "I asked her to protect me." "Teenage girl to protect me from what I had done." "How did she take that?" " She started to cry." "She looked at me with hate in her eyes." "I'll never forget that look." "She said, "help you?" "I'll help you."" "And then she grabbed the door." "I said, "wait."" ""Wait for what?" She screamed at me." ""So you can give me more precious moments?" "I'd die first."" "And then she ran out of the car." "If only she had told me." "I swear, I would have found a way to help her, even if I had to tell Kate." "But now it's..." "It's like I killed her..." "When I didn't." "God knows I didn't kill Marcie." "The defense rests, your honor." "Isn't it your pattern, Mr. Robb, to lie anytime the truth might get you in trouble?" "No." "It isn't." "Otherwise, I'd never have gone to the police." "But you lied to the police, didn't you?" " Telling the police I was with Marcie didn't help me, Miss Marz." "As far as I can see, that's why I'm sitting here, answering your questions." " Easy, Sam." "You admitted the affair only after the DNA test proved Marcie was pregnant with your child, didn't you?" " Yes." "I guess I was afraid." "So you want us to believe you're just an innocent man trapped in an unfortunate situation?" "Would you tell the jury how you seduced Marcie Calder?" "I didn't seduce her." " She seduced you?" "I told you, she came to my office and said she wanted to be with me in that way." "I'm not saying I'm not responsible." "All I'm saying is I wasn't the initiator." "That first time Marcie gave you oral sex in your office, did you reach climax?" "Yes." " The rough sex you had in the car the night Marcie died, was that her idea, too?" " Yes." "Do you know why this inexperienced 11th grader found you so irresistible?" "No, I don't, Miss Marz." " Could you elaborate on Mr. Lord's description of the rough sex?" "How did you choke Marcie?" " She gave me her scarf." "Well, was she wearing it, or was it gift wrapped?" " Your honor." " Miss Marz." "So, you choked her with her own scarf as you entered her from behind." "Did you make her beg?" " Your honor, the relevance..." "Sustained!" "Move on, Miss Marz." "Did you achieve climax?" " Your honor, if it please the court, it's actually after 12:00 now." "Perhaps this is a good time for us to have our lunch recess." "If Mr. Robb is tired, I'm more than willing to give him some time off." "I'm fine." " I'm sure you are, Mr. Robb, but I am famished." "Court stands in recess." "I think I'm in love." "You don't suppose that Stella would go out with an old Jewish defense lawyer, do you?" "No, I mean it." "Yes." " She's humiliating me." "That's the price of admission." "And every time you show a flash of temper, someone on the jury's imagining you crushing Marcie's skull with a bloody rock." "They're looking for a reason to believe you, a reason to think that you're a liar." "I know, I know." "I just..." "can't stand that bitch." "Well, whenever you feel the anger, just think of Marcie and how sorry you are." "I didn't kill her." " I didn't kill Allison." "And there hasn't been a day that I haven't felt sorry that she died." "Do you remember where we left off, Mr. Robb?" "I'm..." "I'm not sure." "I'd asked if you'd achieved climax." " Did you, Mr. Robb?" "Yes." " Marcie getting pregnant would have been a disaster for you, wouldn't it?" "It would have." "It has been, on top of everything." "You testified that you wish Marcie had told you she was pregnant." "What would you have done..." "suggested an abortion?" "Maybe." " And if she refused?" "Help her have the baby, I guess." " That isn't what you did, is it, Mr. Robb?" "You needed your baby to die, so Marcie Calder had to die, too." "And the reason you went to the police was because after you killed Marcie and started driving away, you did see a car, and it scared you into making up a story, isn't it?" " No!" "No." "I'm not like that." "Despite everything I've done, I am not like that." "I think I've seen enough of Mr. Robb." "You know what the problem with you is, Mr. Anthony Lord, criminal defense attorney?" "No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me." "You don't believe that your client's innocent, and you don't believe that I'm guilty." "You don't believe in anything." "You're just a hired gun, and you remember from Allison Taylor what worked for you." "Now that you got me figured out, you can go on home." "And what home would that be?" "The jury's hung." "Deadlocked eight to four." "Judge wants to dismiss them." "Stella's on." "If we agree, the judge will send the jury home." "No verdict." "A tie is better than a guilty verdict." "It's over, Tony." "Yeah." "Okay." " No, it's, uh..." "It's great, Tony." "It's, uh... it's great." "Well..." "I said you were the best, right?" "You are." "I owe you a drink, all right, pal?" "I know it's not much, but... it's a place to start." "Thanks, Tony." "Kate, hey." "Wish I could have done more." "If he hadn't taken the stand, he would have been acquitted with virtually no chance of a retrial." " He's lying." "He lied to the court." "He lied... to you." "What are you talking about?" " There was a sweatshirt missing." "He wore it all the time and..." "and a pair of shoes." "And when they testified about the blood, I knew." "I knew." " What?" " I knew it was gone, and I looked in the house, and they're missing, Tony." " He wouldn't have lied to you, knowing that you'd know." "He didn't care." "He didn't care about lying to me." "Why else would he have said that he didn't like rough sex?" "Tony, he said he never had rough sex before." "I know." "Oh, believe me..." "I know what Sam likes." "I am the only one that knows what Sam likes." "I can't talk about this with you." "I'm still Sam's lawyer." "I think there's more." "What, Kate?" "What?" " When you found Allison..." " No." "No, no, no." "What time was it?" " What are you saying?" "You always told me you were with Sam that night!" " Nobody ever asked me how long, and I didn't want to see it then." "You were the hero." "You won the game tonight, Sam." "I'm so happy for you." "You should be feeling so good." "Is it 'cause you're not with Tony?" "People do what he wants, and things turn out the way he expects." "You know, "Great catch, Sam." "Now it's time for me to go screw Allison."" "Well, why shouldn't they be alone?" "Yeah, I know." "You're right." "I'm sorry." "Somebody cracked my head in the game." "My ears are still ringing." "I'll go home, and I'll sleep it off." "I'll be better tomorrow." "I promise." "Okay." "It was almost midnight." "He said he was driving home." "But he was going the wrong way..." "back toward the park." "No." "And I'd never be able to testify against him now." "And you're his wife." "Why didn't you tell me this before I became his lawyer?" "!" "I didn't know." "How did I know?" "I didn't know anything." "I had to sit in the court and listen." "I had to listen to everything And put it all together and... and see." "is there anything we can do?" "God, Tony." "I'm..." "Tony..." "I'm so far past sorry." "Kate..." "I didn't think I'd see you again." " Neither did I." "They had to dig it out of the basement." "I looked at the pictures." "They aren't pleasant, and I didn't know her." "They never showed me the report, but I found her." "I remember what she looked like." " Not the ones they took at the morgue, Tony." "I'm not 17 anymore." "Thank you, Stella." "I don't want to leave." "I want to spend the night with you." "But your parents." "Okay, I'll go home..." "wait until they're asleep, and come back." ""Caucasian female, 120 pounds, "5'6" tall." ""Examination reveals presence of seminal fluid in decedent's vagina." "Slight abrasion suggests no prior experience." "Examination further revealed the decedent had been asphyxiated." "Appears choked from behind." ""There's additional seminal fluid on the decedent's hair and back."" "Allison?" "Allison?" "They took semen samples from Allison's body." "In an unsolved murder, they should have kept them, is that the procedure here?" " Yes, it is." "But they might be hard to find." " You gonna let me in?" "Not yet." "Hey, pal." "I thought you were on your way home." "This is a hell of a game." "Grab a seat." "Thought I'd stick around a while so I could read the autopsy report..." " Yeah." "On Allison." "Allison." "Did you read it?" "I got it right here." "That's what I wanted to tell you." "I think I can prove I didn't kill Allison." "How can you do that?" " Allison was raped." "She was strangled while he took her from behind." "All that's in there?" "Yeah." "And more." "They have semen slides, Sam." "And murder has no statute of limitations." "You think Stella might like to help me with that." "You run out of lies?" "!" "It wasn't me." " You got that wrong, Sam." "It wasn't me!" "When Stella reads that report," "I'll bet she's gonna charge you for both murders in one trial." "It's gonna be hard to pin it on Ramos then." "You're my lawyer." " What?" "You want to play by the rules?" "I'll tell you about the rules." "I found Allison." "That makes me a witness." "That means I testify." "And if I don't, they have the slides, and you know Stella's a very clever person, don't you?" "I can't let you do this." "I can't, Tony." "I don't know what broken part of you made you do this, but it has to end." " So what do I do now, Tony?" "Maybe you already know." "You haven't talked to anyone about this yet, have you?" "Even Kate?" "You came to me first." "Just like a best friend." "Like a best friend." "It has to be one of us." "And I can't let you win this time, Tony." "You know how it is." "Bye, pal." " Sam!" " You lose." "No!" "No!" "Sam!" "Sam!" "Oh, my God!" "While blame has been properly assessed, there never really is closure in a case like this." "And in particular, I would like to point out that an innocent man was unfairly implicated." "Mr. Michael Ramos was a systems victim." "Everyone in Lake City should know that." "I wish I could have done that." " No." "That's not the job of a defense attorney." "I guess you had Sam backed into a corner with those slides?" "He felt there was no other way out anyway." "Not really." "I didn't tell him those slides had been lost 25 years ago." "Well..." "I'm sure Lady Justice will forgive you for that one." "I suppose we can consider ourselves lucky that Donald White died before he even came to trial for the murder of Allison." "Just imagine, he'd still be in prison today." "What are you gonna do, Saul?" " Me?" "Maybe try another case." "You inspired me." "How about I buy you a drink?" " I don't really feel like celebrating." "I think I'll walk." "You did your job, Tony." "That's what you came here to do." "Thanks, Saul." "Thanks."