"In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders." "These are their stories." "So, what's your pleasure for dinner?" "Your mother's asking." "Sorry, Dad." "My buddies called." "We're going to go watch the game at Monte's Grill." "Well, that sounds like a good time." "Any room for the old man?" "It's just you and me tonight, honey." "I'm sorry, Mom." "Tomorrow night, I promise." "If he hangs around us old wrecks, how's he ever going to meet Mrs. Devon Number Two?" "I'll see you later." "I wish you wouldn't say that." "It makes it seem like we're pushing him out of the door." "Rick Devon, home address in Brooklyn." "He's an acoustical engineer for an outfit in Long Island City." "He's definitely off the reservation here." "So, you found him?" "Yes, sir." "Dope slingers work that end of the park." "It gets busy." "But when my partner and me drove by around 9:00, the place was empty." "Have you ever seen him at the park before?" "No, sir." "Then you know most of the regulars?" "By sight." "The slingers and buyers." "Good to know." "Well, Mr. Devon had 60 bucks in his wallet and a tan line where his watch used to be, so I'm guessing somebody needed to know the time real bad." "Yeah, but if Devon wanted to get high, man, there are places closer to home where he could've scored." "You hear that?" "What?" "It's coming from in here." "Did anybody use this facility?" "Not since we got here." "Someone forgot their key." "Probably took it off to wash their hands." "Must have left in a hurry." "Nobody wants to be the last guy at a crime scene." "That was Ted." "He just picked up Matt." "They'll be right over." "I just don't understand what Ricky was doing in that neighborhood." "We're going to need you to make up a list of names of the friends that your son was meeting." "You know, his boss said that he had just gotten a divorce." "How'd that go?" "Well, Ricky and Cindy were on good terms." "No kids, thank God." "Was he seeing anyone?" "I don't think so." "He wasn't ready." "I could tell." "May we see his room?" "He moved back two months ago, after they sold their condo." "Did your son have a problem with drugs?" "No." "Why?" "Well, the park that he was found at, it's a known drug hotspot." "Mom?" "Dad?" "Oh, Matt!" "Matt..." "Matt..." "Ted, Ricky's gone." "I know, Dad." "These are the detectives." "Ricky was our kid brother." "We understand." "We'll do everything we can." "Let's go." "Come on, Mom." "Well, the dope slingers should be back on the job." "You search all you want, Officer, we're clean." "We're law-abiding." "See, the thing is, me and my partner were watching you, and you kept putting your hands down your pants, so it got me to thinking what the guy has got down his pants." "You mind?" "Hey!" "Hey, man!" "Feels like Smallville in here." "What is this behind your sack?" "Where'd you get this?" "Collecting empties." "Are you sure it's the same bills?" "You might want to take a whiff." "Aw, man, come on, man, don't do that." "Let's take a walk, short stuff." "That was harsh." "Come here." "Sit down." "Sit down!" "Let me tell you how this is going to go." "We're going to lean on your crew until somebody gives somebody up, anybody." "We don't care, just as long as we've got a body to stand before the judge." "You dig?" "My crew didn't do the dude." "We heard a fight." "People yelling and screaming, so I sent Momo to check it out." "Look, I saw the dude, he was lying on the walk." "You know what I'm saying?" "He wasn't moving, so he was dead." "I went back and told Big Chuck." "I figured the heat was coming, so we cleared out." "We didn't kill that dude." "We didn't go near him." "Anybody who says different, they're lying out of their mouth." "They're right for this killing in every respect, except for motive." "Well, what about a difference of opinion on a drug deal?" "Not likely." "Everybody we talked to said Devon was a straight arrow." "Really?" "His tox report back that up?" "Uh, no." "It's not in." "We're still waiting on it." "What we do know is Devon had Mexican an hour before he got his head slammed against a tree." "Latent found prints on that key that was left behind in the bathroom." "The set belongs to a Diego Cardenas." "Back in the '90s, he did a bit for assault with a deadly." "He was also a dues-paying member of the Latin Aces." "Find out who gets his dues nowadays." "Man, that was another lifetime." "It's all behind me now." "No way the city would put an active gang-banger in charge of a group home." "Once a felon, right?" "I know how it is." "That's okay." "Nobody owes me a break." "You ever go to the park on Hutchison, Mr. Cardenas?" "Sure." "I've been to that park with my residents." "When was the last time?" "Matter of fact, it was yesterday." "Yesterday?" "When, precisely?" "In the morning." "You use the bathroom there?" "Sure." "Did I forget to put the seat down?" "Don't be a smart-ass." "You recognize this?" "It's mine." "I took it off when I washed my hands." "Last night, you mean, around 8:00." "No, I told you, I was there in the morning." "With your residents." "We'd like to talk to them." "Sure." "Forty-eight minutes past 10:00." "We stayed 73 minutes and we left at one minute after 12:00." "12:01." "Is that an official police pen?" "Yeah, I guess it is." "Here." "Did any of you guys see Mr. Cardenas use the bathroom in the park?" "The bathroom's on the bad side." "The bad side?" "The side of the park with the bad people." "Diego says we're not allowed to go there." "What kind of coffee do you have at the police station?" "The regular kind." "We only saw one bathroom in the park." "I like coffee." "How many cups of coffee can you have at the police station?" "Um, as much as you want, I think." "Looks like we're going to need a field trip." "That's the bathroom in the bad part of the park." "See, that's the bad guys over there." "It's better if you don't point, okay?" "So, where's the bathroom you guys are allowed to use?" "That's it." "What do mean, the diner?" "The owner lets them use the bathroom." "Okay, listen up, people." "Yesterday, did any of you guys see Mr. Cardenas go into this bathroom right here?" "No." "Uh-uh." "No." "Diego didn't use the bathroom." "Thank you." "Keep them close by." "Yeah, yeah." "Come on." "Seems to me, you going into this bathroom is something they would've noticed." "You can't rely on their memory." "Oh, I don't know, Diego." "Their memory seems pretty good to us." "Okay, look." "I came back to the park later, by myself." "I'm gay, all right?" "I wanted to hook up with somebody." "So did you hook up?" "I changed my mind." "I was here maybe 15 minutes, walking around." "Show us where you walked." "Like down that path." "But I got a bad vibe from the pipe-heads." "I went back to the home." "But first you washed your hands?" "I was real nervous, okay." "But I was not here when that man was killed." "I didn't see anything." "Can I go now?" "Sure." "We got fans." "He said he was back at the group home an hour before Devon was killed." "You check with the folks at the home?" "Those folks?" "They have their hands full keeping track of their own whereabouts." "And Cardenas' story, it just doesn't hold." "Well, maybe Devon was cruising the bathroom, too." "Maybe Devon was the aggressor." "His tox report finally came in." "He's clean for drugs." "Unfortunately, it doesn't tell us if he was gay." "I got the dumps from Devon's cell." "Check this out, two weeks ago." "He called the group home." "Mmm-hmm." "Sounds like Devon and Cardenas had a thing going." "Right, and that thing got broken last night." "Look, it's going to be dark in a couple of hours, so before you take another run at Mr. Cardenas, see if any of the regulars can put him in the park at the time of the murder." "Look, my girl's waiting for me at home, and if I don't bring her the candy right now..." "Yeah, I know how it is." "Just look at the pictures." "Lupes." "Keep looking." "Tell him what you told me, Lewis." "Big Chuck and Momo were looking for a witness that saw them with that dead body Tuesday night." "What kind of witness?" "They couldn't make out who he was." "Momo said the dude ran off." "Come here, outside." "This witness, it has to be Diego." "He saw the dope slingers at the body, and maybe he even saw them kill Devon." "That's why he's been lying to us." "He's afraid." "Big Chuck saw us with Diego this afternoon." "He might figure he's turning snitch." "We got to get him off the street." "Yeah, the group home's on the corner of Moffit and 156th." "We need a patrol car to 85 that forthwith." "Stay put, all right?" "We'll call you back." "That was the group home." "Diego, he took one of the residents on a walk two hours ago." "The resident came back alone." "I'll call Operations." "We got a report of shots fired." "The ID in his pocket matches the teletype." "We're still canvassing for witnesses, but don't hold your breath." "It's him." "Shot in the mouth." "Subtle." "Man, I didn't do that." "I don't even know who that is." "This is the witness who saw you with the body in the park Tuesday night." "Well, he ain't much of a witness now." "And he ain't got nothing to do with me." "We heard that you were on the hunt for this man." "I tell you again, I didn't kill nobody." "Not that white dude, and not this dude." "We'll see what Momo has to say about it." "Me and Momo, we got one mind on things." "Well, they killed Devon and now they've killed the only witness." "Brilliant." "Cardenas was with one of the residents when he was snatched?" "A mentally retarded resident." "Well, you've got to go with what you've got." "Talk to him." "I'll bring extra coffee." "Diego and me were going to the 99-cent store." "We took a shortcut through the alley, and Diego saw this big guy." "And Diego told me to go right home." "But I didn't want to." "I wanted to go to the 99-cent store." "But Diego said to go home right now, and he called me the T-word." "Tard!" "What happened to Diego?" "He was in the alley with the big guy and some other guy." "I didn't care." "He called me the T-word." "He wanted you to leave, Freddie." "He was trying to protect you." "You tell us if you recognize any of these guys from the alley." "I have autism-related face-recognition deficit." "I can't remember faces." "It's true, he can't, he can't." "That's no good." "Do you remember anything else about this big guy?" "Maybe the clothes he was wearing?" "No." "Did you notice if there was a car in the alley?" "There were lots of cars in the alley, and on the street, too." "You want the license plate numbers?" "For which car?" "All of them." "Sure." "Go for it." "Hey, it says that Diego cooked dinner on Tuesday." "Tuesday's Chinese night." "Diego makes the best eggrolls, nice and big." "What time was dinner?" "Dinner on Tuesday night started at 7:03 and ended at 8:16." "Did Diego eat dinner with you guys?" "Diego always eats dinner with us." "That's part of his job." "And then he helps us clean up." "Devon was killed around 8:00." "Diego couldn't have been in the park." "Why didn't he just tell us he was here the whole time?" "Maybe because he's protecting who was really in the park, the person who left the key behind." "Mmm-hmm." "Mike." "Yeah?" "Was anyone missing from dinner on Tuesday?" "Yeah." "Pete." "Pete was working late." "Where's Pete now?" "When he gets into a fight at the home, he runs here." "Something about sorting recyclables cools him out." "Man, I hope the poor guy's okay." "Well, we think Diego put him somewhere for his protection." "Maybe somebody here took him in." "He's got a lot of fans around here, but, uh, no, I would've heard about it." "Did he ever talk about other people he knows outside the group home?" "He's never mentioned any family." "He did say he had a new friend." "Who was that?" "Uh, young guy, about 40, clean cut." "This him?" "That's him." "He showed up here two weeks ago, at the end of Pete's shift." "Rick never mentioned anyone named Pete." "Pete Harris." "He's mentally retarded." "No." "This man, Pete, is missing, Mr. Devon, and we need to find him." "Now, he told people that your son was his friend." "It really threw Rick for a loop." "Maybe he was trying to do some charity work, trying to ground himself." "Maybe he told something about it to Mrs. Devon." "Well, maybe." "I'll ask her." "Right now she's taking a nap." "Parents shouldn't outlive their kids." "It's not meant to be." "All right, you got a guy with an IQ of 50 who witnessed a murder, and two homies after him, where would you stash him?" "Maybe you disappear him into the mental health system." "The LUDs from Diego's office phone." "Tuesday night at 11:00, he called a state hospital in Staten Island." "Then three more calls on Wednesday." "That's a nice badge, Officer." "You see mine?" "It means I can't give you any information unless you're his doctor, his immediate family or his legal guardian." "Look, why don't you tell me who Mr. Harris' family is and we can get them down here..." "Unless you are a member of the patient's immediate family," "I can't give you the name of his family." "Yeah, I get it." "Thank you." "These people..." "Forget it." "That nice-looking Filipino nurse down there told me Pete's missing from his room." "She said he was upset and confused." "The garbage room for the hospital, where is it?" "Pete?" "Yeah?" "Yeah, that's me." "Hi, we're police officers." "Diego sent us to find you." "Diego told me to wait for him here at the hospital." "He said it would be safe here." "Right." "We know." "Are you taking me home?" "Well, we have to make a couple of stops first, but I promise to get you home okay." "All right?" "See you, man." "Come down and help out anytime." "All right?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Yeah." "Thanks." "You're not in trouble, all right?" "We just need your help to solve a crime." "You think you can help us?" "Yeah." "Yeah?" "All right, you want to sit down?" "Yeah." "Okay." "All right." "All you got to do is answer some questions the best you can, and tell the truth, all right?" "Yeah, okay." "Pete, do you recognize this?" "Uh, it's my key." "Mmm-hmm." "Yeah." "I forgot it in the bathroom in the park when I washed my hands after I did number one." "That's right." "What were you doing in the park?" "Walking with my friend Rick." "He took me out to a Mexican restaurant, and we had Mexican food." "Yeah." "What happened?" "Why did you run off and forget your key?" "I was scared." "I heard Rick scream, and I went outside, and he was bleeding..." "The bad guys were there, and I was scared." "I ran away." "I ran home." "I told Diego about Rick and the bad guys, and he said, "Don't tell anyone, or the bad guys will hurt you."" "I was just so scared." "It's okay, you're safe." "I was so scared." "You're safe." "It's all right." "Pete." "Yeah?" "Do you recognize any of these men?" "Hey, Pete." "Look at me." "We're not going to let the bad guys hurt you, okay?" "Okay." "Take your time." "You have trouble seeing, Pete?" "No." "I'm just..." "I'm looking at their noses." "I saw him." "Yeah, he was there when Rick was on the ground." "What about these men?" "Did you see any of them, Pete?" "His nose?" "No, his whole face." "Pete, you did really good, okay?" "We'll be right back." ""Docket number 85632." "People v. Charles Thomas and Daryl Main," ""one count of murder in the second degree," ""one count of murder in the first degree."" "First degree?" "Defendants murdered a presumed witness to the original killing." "The People are getting a little ahead of themselves there." "I believe they need to prove the first murder first." "I take it that's a plea of not guilty?" "Yes." "On both counts." "Same here." "People request remand." "Both defendants have long criminal records with histories of violence." "I don't think that's..." "Don't bother, Counselor." "I can read." "Remand." "Next." "What do you say?" "Bake-off?" "Sure, which one you want?" "One of you does life without parole, the other gets the prize:" "25 to life." "First squeal gets the deal." "Do I look stupid to you, man?" "We have the witness you thought you were killing, the one who saw you in the park." "Yo, man, I told you, we didn't kill that dude in the park." "Okay, so, let's talk about Mr. Cardenas." "Now, we have a witness who says you were looking for him, and a witness who got your license plate number off your car at the scene." "It's nice of Big Chuck to let you drive." "If Cardenas bled, sweat or breathed in that car, we'll find his DNA and you'll die in prison in about the year 2070." "You better bring a book." "Let me talk to my client." "Take your time." "I'll go see how my colleague is doing with Big Chuck." "Wait." "He'll plead on Cardenas and implicate Big Chuck." "But no deal on Rick Devon." "What did you get?" "Well, Big Chuck says he rolls into clubs and he rolls at the Bowlmor, but he don't roll on his homeboys." "So I win." "You know, just because you tell them it's a contest, doesn't mean it is one." "Then how come you're such a sore loser?" "Wait a minute, why will he plead on one murder and not the other?" "It's a packaged deal." "He says they didn't kill Devon." "We're gonna have to prove it." "I'd better go prep our star witness." "I went inside, and Ricky stayed out here." "Did you see the bad men when you went into the bathroom?" "No." "We were talking about birdies." "Over there." "I feed them bread." "Pete, where exactly was Ricky when you went into the bathroom?" "He..." "Here." "His body ended up over there." "Yeah." "That's where I saw them when I came out." "I heard yelling." "But I had to wash my hands for 60 seconds, 'cause it kills the germs." "But I heard more yelling." "All right." "It's okay." "So you stopped washing and what happened?" "Ricky was on the ground with the bad man over there." "Did you see them push him, or fight with him?" "He wasn't moving." "I ran away." "And I told Diego, and he said it wasn't my fault." "Let's take a break, buddy." "Wasn't my fault." "No." "Wasn't your fault." "Maybe they were just stealing his watch after he was dead." "Hey, they killed the other dude, right?" "Maybe because he'd finger them for a crime they didn't do." "Listen, just call me if he remembers anything else." "They like the white part and the crust." "Ah." "I don't like the crust." "We're talking about birdies." "Yeah, I always liked them, even when I was a baby." "Really?" "Yeah." "You remember way back then?" "No." "Ricky told me." "Ricky told you?" "Yeah." "He gave me a picture." "That..." "See?" "Look here." "It's me." "Where did Ricky get that picture from?" "Uh, I don't know." "Pete remembered something else." "Rick Devon gave him a baby picture of himself." "Of himself?" "No, of Pete." "Devon had a baby picture of Pete." "We dug up Pete's records." "He was turned over to the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1964 by his parents," "Stanley and Ruth Devon." "But his last name is Harris." "Yeah, some clerk changed it." "It's just how they did it then." "It's not the most rational bureaucracy." "Rick Devon was Pete's brother?" "Yeah, he was born a year after Pete was thrown into Willowbrook, which was a hospital for mental defectives." "It was a hellhole." "They shut it down." "And 40 years later, Rick Devon tracks his brother down?" "He got in contact with the Department of Mental Hygiene two months ago." "They were happy to hear from him, sent him a full family reunification kit." "And the rest of the family knew nothing about this?" "Talk to the father again." "I want you gone, before my wife gets here." "Mr. Devon, we need to know about this." "Your son was murdered." "That's right." "And after that..." "After that, how is it going to make things better to dredge up something that we forgot about 44 years ago?" "You never had any contact with Pete?" "No." "My wife..." "It was the best way." "Everybody said so." "Doctors and experts." "Pete was your son, just like Rick." "He was nothing like Rick." "He wouldn't stop crying." "He wouldn't eat his food." "One day my wife came in and found him bent over his kiddy car." "He couldn't get up." "He was suffocating." "Any other child on earth would have known how to get up." "My wife had two other sons to take care of, and she was pregnant." "But a state hospital for a 3-year-old?" "Well, that's the way people did it back then." "And, lady, you weren't there." "Could we take another look at Rick's room, please?" "What was in here?" "I have no idea." "He always kept that one locked." "The lock was forced." "Somebody broke into it." "Who's been in this room?" "I..." "I don't know." "Just the family." "The Department of Mental Hygiene sent Rick Devon a set of these forms." "It's a family reunification kit." "But his forms weren't in his office and they weren't in his room." "Someone who wanted Pete to disappear again cleaned them out of that drawer." "The parents have been ignoring Pete's existence since 1964." "The older brother, he probably remembers him, but he hasn't said a word." "I mean, everybody seems too concerned that Mrs. Devon will explode if someone mentions Pete's name." "Denial gone toxic." "Could be a motive for murder in that." "Or this." "The state has been paying for Pete's upkeep for the last 44 years." "This is a form that would figure the family's financial contribution." "A strain on the family budget." "Hello?" "Uh, okay, just tell them to wait." "Thanks." "Pete's family wants to see him." "The loving family that abandoned him 40 years ago." "One of whom might just have murdered the only member who gave a damn." "Better send a bodyguard." "Which one is going to be my dad?" "The old one, Pete." "What are my brothers' names?" "Matt and Ted." "How will I know which one Ted is?" "When we have a party, we wear tags." "Don't worry about it." "You're going to do just fine." "You ready?" "Yeah." "This was taken a little while before you went away, Pete." "Rick must have found it when he moved back in." "Do you remember me?" "I don't remember you." "Yeah, Pete, I do." "How are they treating you, Pete, at the place where you live?" "Nice." "And the food is good." "And I have a job, and I used to have a girlfriend." "Daryl." "I want you to know, we're all very sorry you were sent away." "Is that really fair?" "To Mom and Dad?" "You were too young to remember." "I had a little brother, and one day he was gone." "And maybe that was for the best." "I don't think this is the time." "When would be a better time?" "No, he's right." "Why don't you boys get some refreshments for our guests?" "Rough party, huh?" "You don't seem too thrilled to have Pete back in the family." "What's the point, after all this time?" "I mean, you saw my mother." "He was fine where he was." "Oh, damn it." "What?" "Our long-lost brother only takes his soda out of a plastic bottle." "He won't have it any other way." "You remember that?" "No, I was a baby when they put him away." "Ted told me." "At least we know Ted feels something." "To remember that after all these years." "I'm not so sure." "They didn't have plastic soda bottles 44 years ago." "You guys okay?" "The police are searching my apartment and my office." "I thought you had the drug freaks that killed my brother." "Well, I thought so, too." "And now you think I did it?" "Well, my colleague, Ms. Rubirosa, and the police have developed a theory." "What theory?" "That you heard about Pete through your brother Rick, because there's no other way you could have known that Pete likes plastic bottles." "I didn't say plastic bottles, I said bottles." "Well, your brother Matt said that you said plastic." "Wait a minute." "So, you're saying that I killed Rick?" "Not on purpose." "I'm saying you had every reason to be upset." "This is unbelievable." "Did you get a confession this time?" "One for two." "The police find anything?" "No." "But we did get a call from the group home." "Pete's upset about something." "Nothing." "He won't eat." "He won't go to his job." "It all started right after that visit to his family." "What was it, Pete?" "Was it something about your family?" "Pete, please." "They didn't like me when I was a baby, and I don't want them to be mad at me again." "Why would they get mad at you, Pete?" "I heard that voice." "What voice?" "The voice that was yelling at Ricky when I was in the bathroom." "He was there." "Same voice." "He was where, Pete?" "With my dad and mommy." "He was one of the brothers." "The one being nice to me." "Ted." "You're not welcome here anymore." "We know what you're trying to do with Ted." "Look, is he here, sir?" "Ted Devon, you're under arrest." "Wait a minute." "What are you doing?" "What is going on?" "Put your hands behind your back." "Stop!" "It's all right." "Wait a minute." "Wait!" "Ma, it's all right." "We dropped the first murder charge against the drug dealers and indicted Ted Devon for second-degree murder." "Premeditated?" "He intended to kill his brother?" "Well, if he didn't, let him plead." "I'm open." "You ought to be." "With your case resting on a mentally retarded ear-witness." "How's he going to hold up on cross?" "Maybe not so good." "His family wants Pete to move back in with them." "After 44 years?" "They want to pooch his testimony." "We've got to keep them away." "How?" "He's an adult." "He can go where he wants." "You're screwed." "You sure about this, Pete?" "You don't have to go in there." "No, no, I want to." "No matter what, you're still going to do the right thing, right?" "Do I look okay?" "Sure." "You look fine." "Okay." "Bye-bye." "And how was your brother's business doing, Mr. Devon?" "Not too well, I think." "You think?" "Why did you write Ted a check for $2,000 a few months ago?" "It was a loan, so he could pay his rent." "We all helped him out." "We're a family." "And your father helped, too?" "Dad loaned him what he could." ""What he could."" "He'd have a lot less money to help Ted if he had to pay a bill from the state for Pete's upkeep, isn't that right?" "Well, I suppose." "Sure." "Thank you." "How happy were you to learn that your brother Pete had been rediscovered?" "I wasn't." "I knew it would be very upsetting to my mother." "So if you'd known what Rick was doing, you would have been angry with him." "I just don't think it was necessary." "You just said that when Ted needed help, you loaned him $2,000." "That doesn't sound like very much." "It was all I could spare." "I've had some financial troubles of my own." "So you think Rick was wrong to dig up your retarded brother?" "And you have financial troubles, so you would have suffered from a drain on family resources." "Sounds like you had the same motives to fight with Rick that Ted did." "Maybe you killed him." "Objection." "Withdrawn." "No more questions." "Ricky and me, we walked to the park." "Yeah." "And what happened after you got there, Pete?" "I..." "I don't know." "I mean, I don't remember, yeah." "Pete, do you remember what you told the grand jury about this, under oath?" "Yeah." "Do you remember saying that you went into the bathroom and Rick stayed outside?" "I guess." "And you heard someone yelling at Rick?" "Yeah, okay, I said that." "And that you later recognized the voice of the person yelling?" "It was your brother, Ted." "I..." "I don't know." "You said that because it was true, isn't that right?" "No, that wasn't true." "Now, aren't you saying that now because your family told you to?" "No." "It wasn't true, 'cause I was lying." "I..." "Teddy didn't hurt Ricky." "I did." "Yeah, Ricky wanted me to live with him, and I didn't even know him, and I..." "I like where I live." "Pete..." "We argumented and I pushed him and he fell and he hit his head." "That's the whole truth and nothing but the truth." "Yeah, that's it." "That's it." "Okay." "I can't believe that family is throwing Pete to the wolves, again." "Getting him to confess to a murder he didn't commit." "Why not?" "What's the downside?" "Ted goes free, so does Pete." "Even if you charge him with perjury, no judge will send him to prison." "Why perjury?" "Why not murder?" "Because he obviously didn't do it." "He says he did." "We all know he's lying." "What kind of pathological prosecutor would actually charge him?" "Call the cops." "Tell them to arrest Pete Devon for murder." "I thought I was supposed to be the hard-ass." "You can't be serious about this." "Dead serious, Mr. Devon." "It doesn't make any sense." "If they found Pete guilty, they would just send him back to his group home." "I promise you that's not going to happen." "He confessed to a murder." "He'd go to prison?" "That's the way it works." "Oh." "I'm not sure why this is so hard for you." "You've sent Pete away once before." "Ruthie, he's just trying to upset us." "You don't know what things were like back then." "The doctors tested Petey and they said he was a moron." "That was the medical term, moron." "So he was a victim once, makes it easier to make him a victim again." "All the doctors said it was the right thing to do." "Ruthie, look, he's bluffing, don't you see?" "It doesn't make any sense." "First, he doesn't get to say where Petey goes." "And second, he knows that Pete can win some kind of "not guilty by mental deficiency."" "And third..." "Stop!" "That was how you counted off the reasons 40 years ago." "Seven good reasons why we should give Petey away." "First, he would be a burden to me." "Second, he needed medical care we couldn't give him." "And on and on and on, all those logical reasons." "And I gave away my baby." "I can't do it again." "I will not do it again." "I'm 50 years old." "But when Rick told me he wanted to bring Petey home, it all came back." "The tantrums, the messes, my mother crying." "Our whole life was a mess." "I told Rick what it would do to our mother, to the family." "We argued and I..." "I followed him into the park." "I guess I was curious to see Pete." "And when he went into the bathroom, I went up to Rick." "We argued again." "Things got out of hand." "And I shoved him, hard." "I didn't mean to kill him." "You've pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the second degree." "Was that plea made of your own free will?" "Yes, it was." "Very well." "I'll set an early date for sentencing." "Meanwhile, you are remanded to the custody of the Department of Correction." "Forty-four years." "That's a lot of catching up." "Ripped  Corrected By mstoll" "Ripped  Corrected By mstoll"