"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous." "In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit." "These are their stories." "Branzino, dourade, and tilapia." "Are those fish, or is that a law firm?" "Try the steak." "Thanks for coming." "It's good to see you, kid." "How you been?" "I'm getting married." "That's great." "Mazel tov." "But, uh, you haven't told Fin yet?" "I was hoping after you meet Alejandro, my fiance, you could help us break the news." "Of course, when should we..." "Five minutes." "He's on his way." "Where you going?" "Don't start." "I have to work." "Work- when the baby comes, you're gonna have to be home more." "I know cuchura, that's why I'm working so hard now." "Hey." "Cesar, vamonos." "Mi Amor." "Alejandro, this is John Munch, my father's partner." "I prefer long-time companion." "So you're detective Tutola's better half?" "I hear he can be..." "prickly." "When are you gonna meet him?" "We're working up to it." "I just want to start the relationship off on the right foot." "Okay, you came to the right place." "Salud." "So I should just be myself with him?" "Yes." "He may seem imposing, but there's a lot of depth there and heart." "Don't tell him I said that." "Thank you." "I have a night shift." "He gets to go home and watch Top Chef." "You know, your dad's very proud of you." "He says it all the time." " He does?" " Yeah." "Good night, kid." "Good luck." "Hola Alejandro." "You in the mood for love?" "Oye." "Time to teach this pretty boy." "Get his pants." "What's the matter, Ken?" "I need my dad." "When I came to," "I was in this empty apartment." "They beat me." "Sodomized me." "They left me for dead on the sidewalk." "Did you get a look at 'em?" "Just the two who jumped me." "Teenagers, hispanic." "After that, they put a hood on me." "And how many were in the apartment?" "Four, I think- from the voices." "Were they speaking English or Spanish?" "Spanglish." "I'd say Dominican, street." "They knew my name." "Alejandro, do you remember anything about the van?" "Dark." "That's all." "Okay." "Wait." "I listed Ken as next of kin." "Don't tell my family I'm here." "We understand." "Dad, he's more than just a friend." "I understand, Ken." "He's your boyfriend." "Fiance." "They're getting married." "Okay." "Well, he's in good hands here." "And we're gonna find the guys who did this." "Ken, Alejandro's asking for you." " How bad?" " Oh, they brutalized him." "Shattered orbital bone, torn rectum." "They're worried about internal bleeding." "The Hate Crimes Unit is on its way." "We're not giving this to hate crimes." "I know we've seen an increase overall in gay bashing, but there's this one incident from two weeks ago." "It's the exact same MO." "Barry Flaco, he's in the Bronx." "He was jumped outside of a gay bar." "That's a long way from Chelsea." "It is... but this victim, he was Dominican." "He was pulled inside of a van." "He was taken to an apartment." "He was beaten, sodomized." "Dominicans again, hmm?" "The Bronx..." "Could be some sort of gang initiation rite." "Okay, you have any sketches to go on, any ID?" "No, they put a hood on him, too." "Flaco told hate crimes that he didn't remember a thing." "He's probably scared to death." "Liv, you and Rollins go re-interview Flaco." "Amaro, go talk to your old buddies at the Gang Unit." "I could check the local precincts." "What's the problem?" "Fin, the captain called from his conference." "He doesn't want you anywhere near this." "He's in DC." "How's he gonna know?" "You can't." "You're personally involved." "Damn right, that's my son." "Exactly, so go be with him." "We got this." "Hey, how's Alejandro?" "Doctor upped his morphine." "He's still out." "Rollins says you got something for me." "Yeah the other victim saw an "X" tattoo under the eye of one of his attackers." "We're looking at a Dominican gang, BX9." "BX9?" "The gang named themselves after a bus route?" "Well, that's the thing, you know?" "All the good gang names-already taken." "Here." "Mug shots." "Thank you, man." "He ID's someone, you call me." "What's going on, dad?" "Alejandro said the attackers knew his name." "He ever hang out with any gang members?" "He's a stylist, not exactly gang material." "What about his family?" "Thanks for coming." "Come on, I owe ya." "What'd you tell Munch?" "I didn't." " Alejandro's cousin?" " Marisol." "Ken said her boyfriend, Cesar, rolls with the BX9." "Marisol Pavel?" "I didn't call the police." "Hey, hey, where's Cesar?" " You have a search warrant?" " You stay right there." "All clear." "He's not here, but look what I found on the dresser." "Got a permit for this?" "No." "You put that there." "Somebody's going to jail." "Is this his or yours?" "I've seen TV." "I know my rights." "Call your boyfriend now." " He's at work." " Tell him you're in labor." "You're not in the gang yet." "Right, Cesar?" "I mean, you'd have their tat, so for the initiation, they make you give up a queer boy in your family." "He's not my family." "You know what I think?" "That you didn't want to do this." "They probably made you use the baseball bat." "I didn't do nothing with the bat." "Well, but you were there, right?" "Tell me who else was there." "So last night, who did Cesar go out with?" "I don't have to tell you." "You keep acting tough, 'cause that gun we found in your apartment, you can't plea that down." "That's mandatory prison time." "So you picked her up by yourself?" " Mm-hmm." " And the gun?" "In plain sight when I entered the apartment." "Work your story before we call the DA, okay?" "I swear I don't know about that gun." "You know what?" "I believe you." "I'll tell my sergeant it's Marisol's." "What?" "No!" "Possession's a felony, minimum one year." "Marisol's what, seven, eight months pregnant?" "She'll have your baby in prison, alone." "She'll blame you." "All right, so you either be a man now and protect your family, or I go tell her you sold her out." " Her and your baby." " No, listen." "Okay, I lied about the gun." "It's mine." "No." "Till you tell me what happened to Alejandro, the gun's hers." "To your right." "Over here." "Let's go." "Have a seat." "Let's go." "Get in there." "Alejandro IDed 'em all." "So did Barry Flaco, the Bronx victim." "And CSU is working both the van and the apartment?" "And Cesar will testify." "I'll tell my son." "SVU?" "Is this about those attacks in the news?" "I'm not gay." "No, we just need to ask what happened." "I told the other cops." "Um, I was walking down the street and boom, I got dragged into a van by three guys." "Did they sexually assault you?" "Oh, my God, no." "I mean, they hit me in the balls with a bat, but nothing else." "They call you any names?" "Yeah, um, fag, homo- look, I don't know why." "I'm-I'm telling you, I'm not gay, all right?" "All right." "Did you get a look at these guys?" "Yeah, um, dark hair, Puerto Ricans maybe." "What about the van?" " What color was it?" " I don't know." "I didn't see it." "It smelled like dirt." "Okay, Mr. Simms, can you think of any reason that somebody would have to attack you?" "No." "Mm-mm." "Look, I don't want to- I don't want to press charges." "All right, please?" "I just want to go home." "All right?" "Ken, did Alejandro have any family here?" "Yes and no." "His father stopped speaking with him when he came out." "We might not have got 'em all." "There was another attack last night." "Our latest victim, Rick Simms- is BX9 trying to taunt us?" "Well, there's some similarities, but he was picked up on the Upper East Side, not exactly boys town." "So he wasn't sexually assaulted?" "And wasn't taken anywhere?" "You know, could be unrelated." "Maybe it's somebody trying to make a beating look like a gay bash." "What do we know about Mr. Simms?" "Just what he told us." "You know, he's a high school math teacher." "Recently separated from his lawyer wife." "Separated?" "Well, if there's mud, she'll throw it." "Go bond with Mrs. Simms." "I'm sick about this." "Rick's not gay." "We have gay friends." "Maybe these guys saw Rick with one of them." "Okay." "Did Rick mention that he had any problems with anybody?" "Enemies, money troubles?" " Rick doesn't make enemies." " We met him." "He seems like the kind of guy who lets people walk all over him." "Is that why you two separated?" "That, I could live with." "Rick couldn't commit to a career." "When we got married, he was on Wall Street." "Then three years ago, he said he no joy in his life, wanted to become a teacher." "That's quite a step down in income." "So now he tells us he teaches math at Millicent Fawcett." "Not anymore." "Three weeks ago, out of the blue, he comes home, tells me he quit." "He say why?" "Just needed to do something else." "Thank you." "You get the feeling that Rick's leaving had nothing to do with finding his joy?" "Rick Simms, well, he was a very good teacher." "Can you tell us why he suddenly quit in the middle of the semester?" "Is that what he told you?" "Oh, I'm-I'm sorry." "No, no, it's all right, Joanne." "The detectives are asking about Rick Simms." "Ms. Joanne Parsons, the head of our Upper School." "So you were Rick's supervisor?" "Well, yes." "Can you tell us why he left the school?" "May I ask what this is about?" "Rick Simms was the victim of a vicious assault last night." "Oh, dear!" "And we're investigating what motivated the attack, if he having any trouble here at work." "I'm sorry, but the circumstances of Mr. Simms leaving are confidential." "Not if they involve, say, an allegation of child abuse." "I'm afraid I have to cut this short." "I'll need to talk to our counsel." "Well, that was a stone wall." "And she wanted to talk." "You see that look in her eye?" "Oh, yeah." "We have to get a Grand Jury subpoena." "Now who's Millicent Fawcett anyway?" "Uh, she's a British suffragette." "I looked it up." "Is Rick in any of these?" "Here we go." "There he is with Joanne." "Faculty benefit committee." "Third wheel looks friendly." "Well, school's almost out." "She'll be hard to miss." "Rick didn't tell anyone why he left." "Wait, what is this about?" "Uh, it's a police investigation." "Oh, so you know what happened?" "We have a pretty good idea." "Rick is lucky that they let him leave quietly." "Come on, I can't say anymore." "I could lose my job." "Well, you do know failure to report an allegation of abuse is a crime?" "You could lose your teaching license." "The second I thought something was going on," "I went to the administration, and they told me they would handle it." "I love being a teacher." "I would never do anything to any of my students." "We know one of your fellow teachers reported you, so... what didn't you do, Rick?" "Nothing." "Nothing." "All right, three weeks ago," "Joanne, the head of Upper School, called me into the headmaster's office." "And they said that a student had made an accusation against me." "And you have no idea who it was or what they were accusing you of?" "None." "They wouldn't tell me." "And in this system, to be accused is to be guilty." "Wait, so you just decided to resign?" "Yeah, and I shouldn't have." "I left a job that I loved, my wife left me, and I got beat up." "If I had to guess, a parent found out that he molested their kid, beat the crap out of him, make it look like a gay bash." "We don't even know if Rick did anything." "He's accused anonymously." "I" " I don't make him as a predator." "The best predators blend in." "I mean, even two of his fellow teachers," "Natalie relais and Joanna Parsons, think he's guilty." "Cabot is working on a Grand Jury subpoena." "But in the meantime, I accessed the school's online parent directory." "They're lawyers, hedge fund guys." "Come on, if Simms did abuse someone, he's not gonna pick a rich kid." "And a wealthy family is not gonna let the school sweep it under the rug, so we're looking at someone less sophisticated." "Uh, blue collar, bridge and tunnel, scholarship?" "There's only a handful of families that aren't Upper East Side." "Start with them." "So someone from that school lives in the Bronx?" "Uh, New Jersey." "The kid's father runs a produce distributorship out of hunts point." "Okay." "And how's Alejandro and your son doing?" "Alejandro's still not out of the woods yet." "My son- he's holding it together." "And you?" "I'm just happy to be working." " A lot of vans." " Mm-hmm." "Rick Simms said his smelled like dirt." "These definitely would." "Hey, you know where Ray Gabardelli is?" "Mr. Gabardelli?" "You got a son at Millicent Fawcett?" "Yeah, why?" "What, did Luca do something?" "I'll take that as a yes." "Can you tell us where you were two nights ago?" "League bowling." "Listen, I'm very busy here." " I'm sorry." " Look, we could get a search warrant and just shut down your whole business, or you could tell us which van it was." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Just tell us." "After what he did to Luca," "Rick Simms ain't gonna press charges." "I don't care." "I'd do it again." "Sick bastard molested my kid." "The school tell you not to come to the police?" "No." "That was me." "Bad enough my son has to tell me." "I don't want him humiliated in public." "Does my mom have to be here?" "Well, that's up to her." "Mrs. Gabardelli?" "I'll be right in the living room." "Look, I-I'm over it." "He's out of my school." "Well, we think your father was trying to protect you, but he's looking at assault and attempted murder." "He's gonna go to go to jail?" " But that's not right" " Well, then help him." "Now, if you can tell us why he went after Mr. Simms, that might make a difference with the DA." "A month ago, Mr. Simms asked me to stay after class, about my grades." "So what did he say?" "That I wasn't cutting it." "He said he knew it had to be hard for me at school, coming from Jersey, with all those Upper East Side brats." "It's okay, Luca." "Go on." "He said he'd look out for me... if I looked out for him." "What did he mean "look out for him"?" "Hey, Rick." "Hey, detectives." "Can I help you?" "Yeah, good news, we found the guy who beat you up." "But the bad news is, you're under arrest for sexual assault of a minor." "Come on." "Luca Gabardelli says that I molested him?" "Absolutely not." "No." "Rick, what can you tell us about Luca?" "He's in my geometry class." "He's an average student." "He's-he's a bit of an outsider." "Did you ever talk to him about that?" "Yeah, a few t- wait, wait, what exactly did he say that I did?" "That you asked him to perform a sexual act." "Oh, my God, when was I supposed to have done that?" "Did you ever have Luca stay after class?" "Once." "Yeah, after holiday break." "Okay, so you have been alone with him." "Easy, I was trying to help the kid out here." "You mean trying to take advantage of a vulnerable student." "You just said so yourself that he's an outsider." "That would make him easy prey, right?" "This is insane." "He was falling asleep in my class." "I asked him if he was having problems, and he just shut down." "That's all that happened." "Was that before or after you exposed yourself to him?" "You see, in my experience, boys this age, the stigma of homosexuality... don't usually make things like this up." "Look, Rick, is it possible he misinterpreted something you said or did?" "Mmm." "No." "No, no, no, it's not." "No, and I'll tell you why, 'cause I'm not gay, and I'm not a pedophile." "Okay." "Can you think of any reason" "Luca would have to get back at you?" "Bad grades, calling his parents" "Yeah, I-I told him I was worried about his grades, that's it." "And that-that doesn't mean  doesn't make sense?" " No." " It doesn't." " None of it does." "None of it." "Mr. Simms, your wife sent an attorney." " Oh, my God." " Said you can work out the legal fees during the divorce settlement." "Oh, my God." "No record, no prior complaints?" "Well, he did just become a teacher this year." "Well, to me, he seems genuinely blindsided." "And I've seen that affect on pedophiles a hundred times." "How credible is Luca's story?" "Well, he was awkward, uncomfortable, his grades have been slipping." "I mean, something's going on with this kid." "Well, then we should go back to the family, see when they noticed changes in his behavior." "Before you do that, go back to the school." "Who did Luca outcry to, when, why?" "Vet the details." "I can assure you, I was just trying to protect" " the privacy of a student." " Really?" "Because it looks like you tried to bury a possible assault to protect your reputation." "Luca Gabardelli's family was adamant" " about not making this public." " Know what?" "That's not their choice now, or yours." "So who did Luca disclose to first?" "Yes, Luca told me about Rick Simms." "Mr. Overby said I couldn't say anything, for Luca's sake." "Well, now you can, and this time it really is for Luca's sake." "Three weeks ago, I was giving a lecture on human sexuality, and Luca's face was red." "And I-I could see tears in his eyes." "Go on." "The next day I asked him about it, and at first, he didn't want to tell me." "But then he confessed that after winter break" "Mr. Simms had unzipped his pants and propositioned him." "Now, what exactly did he describe?" "That Mr. Simms asked Luca to put his hand... on his penis." "When Luca said no, he started touching himself." "I was shocked, obviously." " And you believed Luca?" " Yes, of course." "So once you heard the accusation, what did you do?" "The first I heard of this was, uh, in Mr. Overby's office with Natalie and Luca." "What exactly did Luca say?" "He... he said that Mr. Simms had exposed himself, put his hand on his genitals." "His own hand, or Luca's hand?" "Luca's hand." "I'm s" " I'm sorry, this is all- it's all so disturbing." "Uh, did you talk to Rick Simms?" "Uh, no." "That would have been against school protocol." "Did you ever think there was a chance that Luca was making it up?" "No." "I-I had been concerned about Luca all semester." "He was clearly struggling." "I'd had several conferences with him." "Did you ever have any suspicions about Mr. Simms, about his behavior?" "No." "In hindsight, it did make me wonder why he suddenly decided to become a teacher." "Give the pedophile a severance, send him on his way, and the school's record remains spotless." "But Liv, the story Luca told us is different from the one he told the teachers, and they don't even agree on who touched what when." "We both know that something happened to Luca." "Maybe." "But before they prosecute Simms, we need to be absolutely sure what." "Mr. Simms made me stay after class, and then he..." "pulled it out, and he said he wanted me to touch it, and- how many times do I have to keep saying the same thing?" "Okay, listen, I understand this is difficult, but we need to be sure of exactly what happened." "Stop calling my son a liar." "He is traumatized by this." "Mrs. Gabardelli, there are some inconsistencies we need to clear up." "Just ask your questions." "Okay." "Luca..." "So Mr. Simms pulled out his penis?" "Yes." "Did he drop his pants or just through the zipper?" "He dropped his pants." "Okay, so then what happened?" "He-uh, I-he- a- he asked me to touch it, but then I didn't, so then he touched himself." "Okay." "Now, was he erect?" " Um, I guess." " You guess?" "Okay." "Can you describe his penis?" " I don't... know" " Is he circumcised," " uncircumcised?" " W" "Can you answer that question, Luca?" " No, I don't remember." " Did you see his penis at all?" "No, I mean, yes." "M- mom, I" "You're confusing him." " Nick." " Son, you're going to have to go in front of the Grand Jury, right?" "You need to get your details straight." "I have to testify?" "Look, maybe we should take a little break, okay?" " I don't need a break, okay?" "I'm done." "Mom, hey, please" " Detectives, you need to leave." " Luca, if you're not sure about what happened, we can't be sure about it." " That is enough." " Nick." "You need to leave now." "Okay." "You went at him pretty hard." "Yeah, you went pretty easy." "You do know he's lying?" "I do." "I'm just not sure why." "How's things at the hospital?" "Alejandro has internal bleeding." "They may have to operate." "Good Lord, Fin, I am..." "I'm sorry." "My son's had it so rough," "I mean, being black, being gay..." "You ever have a problem with Ken being gay?" " Nah." " Never?" "Okay, I had to address it." "But you know what keeps me up at night?" "Come on, you know the stuff we see on the job." "I've always been worried about something like this happening to Ken." "So Luca's dad had Rick Simms beat up for a crime he didn't commit?" "Well, was hesitant on basic questions." "Hesitant?" "We've had victims brutalized who remember more than he does." "And now that his father's gone vigilante, he's afraid to recant." "Maybe he's afraid of telling the truth." "Look, Luca said that the incident with Simms happened a month ago, but his grades started to fall right after Christmas." "So if something did happen to Luca, it's been going on a lot longer than he said." "I'm really sorry I lied before." "I couldn't tell the truth, because I didn't want to get kicked out of school." "Okay, Luca." "Well, who would kick you out of school?" "Ms. Parsons." "Joanne Parsons?" "Head of the Upper School." "Yeah." "I couldn't say it was her before." "I mean, she'd expel me." "So you blamed Mr. Simms?" "Look, I-I don't know why." "I just" "I" " I blurted his name out, and then everyone kept asking me to repeat my story." "Okay." "Okay, Luca." "What really happened?" "Ms. Parsons, she, um... she made me have sex with her." "Ms. Parsons?" "You're sure?" "And where was this?" "In her office, and then, once we went to her house." "So you've been to her house?" "In Brooklyn." "But you-you can't tell her I said anything." "She made me swear not to say any" "Luca, don't worry about that, okay?" "Can you describe her home?" "Yeah, uh, it's old." "She said it was her great aunt's house, and she has a four-poster bed, embroidered pillows, and she read me poems from a book on her nightstand called, uh, The Pearl or something." "You saw her naked?" "Uh, it would help if you could remember any details about her body." "She has a birthmark on her inner thigh shaped like a question mark." "Can I take my son home now?" "Yeah, wait, just..." "give me a minute." "First the kid falsely accuses one teacher, now he accuses another?" "Yeah, but this time he has a lot of detail." "And Joanne said that Luca had been in her office several times this semester." "It's easy to verify, counselor, if you'll get us a search warrant." "Please, I" " I don't understand." "Ma'am, you need to let us inside." " Excuse me." " Please, tell me" " what's going on." " Hey, where's your bedroom?" "It's upstairs, but why..." "Why do you need to see my... bedroom?" "Four-poster bed." "Embroidered pillows." "Uh, excuse me." "Uh" "The Pearl:" "A Victorian Journal Of Erotica, just like he said." "No, please, I-I'm sorry, that's private." "Guys, I'm gonna need you to bag all the sheets." "Oh, my God." "Can you move your thigh outward, please?" "And raise your skirt a bit?" "Have a seat." "So talk to us about Luca." "I" " I told you, he's a student in my 19th Century English Literature class." "Has he ever been to your home?" "No, never." "Why are you asking me that?" "Did-did Luca tell you that?" "He's-he's lying." "Well, he described your bed, and your pillow, and your book of poetry." "Can you tell me how he would know those details?" "Well, I-I don't know." "I" " I-I c" "Well, Joanne, he also knew about the birthmark on your inner thigh." "How would he know that?" "I don't know, I" "Well, I" " I-I don't feel well." "All right, Joanne, just take a breath." "All right?" "Put your head between your knees," " I-oh!" " Just relax." "Whoa!" "Hey." "Hey, call an ambulance!" "Joanne Parsons is resting at home." "Her aunt posted bail." "Well, so she's lawyered up." "We're not getting anything more out of her." "Well, do we need to?" "I mean, he knew her room, her birthmark." "Luca's already lied to us once, so I want something other than just his testimony." "What else do we know about her?" "No record, no prior complaints." "She switched schools three years ago, from, uh, Linden Forrest Academy." "We know schools like these don't like scandals." "Let's find out why she left." "We gave Joanne Parsons a glowing recommendation." "Whose decision was it for her to leave?" "Well, that's confidential, as part of her separation agreement." "So it was yours?" "'Cause we can subpoena that agreement, and if we find out that you covered up any improper behavior on her part towards a student, we will prosecute." "Oh, my God, no." "It's nothing like that." "Joanne is just emotionally vulnerable." "And that's why she left?" "Well, basically yes." "She sort of had a nervous breakdown." "She said she just could not continue teaching here." "Do you have any idea why?" "She was very close to another of our instructors here, a Lisa Roncardi." "Actually, it's Lisa Wiens now." "She left teaching to get married." "That's when Joanne just fell apart." "When a fellow teacher got married?" "Well, I think she felt she lost a friend." "Joanne really belongs in another era." "This one is just too harsh for her." "So Joanne Parsons could be a lesbian?" "Gracias." "I tracked down a former colleague." "Her story is that Joanne was in love with her." " Unrequited, but" " Either way," "Joanne doesn't seem to be interested in men or boys." "So how did Luca know about the birthmark?" "Maybe somebody told him, somebody that she'd been intimate with." "Then why didn't Joanne just explain that?" "I mean, even if she is closeted, she's not going to want to go to jail" " for a crime she didn't commit." " Hold on one second." "I mean, it's ridiculous." "Oh, my God." "Joanne just tried to kill herself." "What?" ""Two hours ago, she filled her pockets with stones and walked into Prospect Park Lake. "" "Who is she, Virginia Woolf?" "She's on suicide watch at Brooklyn General." "Liv, bring her some flowers or a sachet of lavender." "Hey." "Lil-lilies." "Lilies, they're so lovely." "You know, I know it can be depressing here, so" "Thank you." "Joanne, I know this is very difficult to talk about, but help me understand how we got here." "I never touched Luca." "I would never touch a student." "I believe you, Joanne, but can you help me figure out how he could describe your bedroom, your body." "He's never seen me undressed." "He's never" "Okay, so someone else has." "Is it possible that maybe somebody else that you were involved with betrayed you?" "No, it's not what you think." "So explain it to me." "We're dear friends." "You and Natalie." "Uh" "Did you meet and become friends at school?" "We met last May." "She came to the school to interview with me and Mr. Overby." "She was just so lovely, and-and kind." "And you appreciated the same things." "Which is rare." "We-we- we went to the botanical gardens and-and to poetry readings." "Your home, which is so beautiful, she must have loved that." "We were just so content." "So what happened?" "Why did the friendship end?" "It was Luca, wasn't it?" "Yes." "You've met him." "He's-he's a manipulator, and he's a liar." "Did Natalie tell you that he seduced her?" "No." "I saw them together at the school in the rare book archive." "She turned to me with such a look of sadness." "She promised she would stop." "But she didn't." "No, and then the next week they took me to Mr. Overby's office, and Luca accused Rick Simms." "This is right after you confronted her, right after she admitted to it." "What did you think was going on?" "Luca is very clever." "He was worried that I would say something, and so he accused Mr. Simms." "He came up with a cover story." "Yes, and look how well it worked." "I mean, how could I say," ""No, it's not Mr. Simms, it's Natalie?"" "If I had told the truth..." "It-it would have destroyed her." "Joanne's been repressed." "She's been living a lie." "It finally caught up to her." "Her life would have been a whole lot easier" " if she'd come out." " I don't know." "Ken and Alejandro are out, and look where it got them." "Natalie relais is here with a lawyer." "They're ready for us." "Sex in the book archive?" "No." "Joanne saw me comforting Luca." "He was upset." "Oh..." "Now I realize it was about Joanne." "What she did to Luca was awful, but I can't help but feel sorry for the poor woman." "What, you mean your former lover?" "Right?" "You told Luca about her birthmark." "Joanne has fantasized a relationship where there was none." "The woman is emotionally unstable." "But you have been to her home?" "No." "She invited me." "I said I would come, but she lives in Brooklyn." "I mean, what were we going to do?" "Crochet?" "And this book." "Did you give it to her?" "She gave me a copy for Christmas." "Hmm." "I started to think she had a crush on me." "I didn't realize she goes for boys." "I am so sorry." "I just didn't see that side of her." "She's lying." "Every time her lips move." "Joanne walked in on her and Luca, and they framed Simms as a cover story." "Why Simms?" "Well, he's new to the school, he's an outsider." "He's a perfect scapegoat, and when that fell apart, they turned on Joanne." "Smart." "Now it's Joanne's word against Luca's and Natalie's, and Joanne looks the least stable of the three of them." "Wait, so a sexual predator who ruined two other teachers' lives just walks?" " You want to try this case?" " Okay, so we can't charge her right now." "We could at least tell the school and Luca's parents what's going on." "What's going on?" "Alejandro had emergency surgery." "He's in a coma." "I'm going to the hospital." "Let me drive you." "Came as soon as I heard." "Is he okay?" "Still out." "He hasn't come to yet." " What'd the doctor say?" " I don't know." "I can't go in." "What happened?" "When Alejandro went back into surgery," "I thought I should call his father." "He showed up, he saw me holding Alejandro's hand, he flipped out, told the staff he was the next of kin." "He had me thrown out of the room." " Where is he?" " Dad!" "He's a father." "I'm a father." "At least let me talk to him." "Ken... for once, let me do something for you." "I got this." "Just visited Luca's father at rikers." "You know, when he thought Simms molested his son, he had the guy gay bashed." "Let me guess." "And now that it's Natalie," " he thinks the kid's lucky." " Well, he seems proud of him." "Natalie abused Luca, but because she's a beautiful woman, instead of getting help, he's going to be getting high fives." " Oh, yeah." " Maybe not." "Luca just went off the deep end." "He locked himself in the biology lab, and he's taken Natalie hostage." "Luca, she did this to you." "She toyed with you." "You're just a kid." "You got the rest of your life in front of you." "You understand me?" "I know you didn't mean to do this, all right?" "There's a lot of really... really angry guys outside." "And they don't care if you walk out of here or if they carry you out." "You understand?" "I care." "So just... just put down the knife and tell me what happened, okay?" "I bought us bus tickets to Montreal." "I told Natalie I could speak French." "We could get a place there." "She said that wasn't happening, that we had to stop seeing each other and that we couldn't tell anyone about us." "And I told her I couldn't live without her." "She laughed." "Why would she do that?" "Why would she laugh?" "I don't know." "I'm sorry she laughed at you." "She said she had a fiance in LA." "She-she told me she was- she was getting married in June." "I loved her." "I loved her." "I know you did." "It's okay, all right?" "It's over now." "Just give me that knife." "Luca." "Give me the knife." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Okay?" "Thought I'd let you know the guys you IDed, we got 'em." "They're going down for federal hate crimes, and they're never gettin' out." "Since you're gonna be my son-in-law," "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet before this."