"'In New York City's war on crime, 'the worst criminal offenders are pursued 'by the detectives of the Major Case Squad." "'These are their stories.'" " Assassin!" " Get away, freak!" "That's enough, now!" " He's stealing money." " He's the thief." "He steals the blood of Christ!" "Take away the sins of the world!" " Shut up!" " Stop it!" " Assassin!" "Assassin!" " Hey, what is going on here?" "This nutcase was taking money" " from the candle box." " Kevin did it." " No drinking in the church!" " Morris, please." "Who does this belong to?" "I want you both out of here right now." " I'm not done cleaning up." " You can finish later." "It's that kid." "Do you really not give a damn, Father?" "We can talk about this later, Morris." "18, 19, 20, 21, 22." "We need 30." "The guy said 30." "Come on." " We want cash." " Get out of here." "You got no gun." "Get off!" "Here!" "Grab the money!" "Here!" "You'll kill him, man!" "Come on, bro!" " Hey, man." " Hey, man, what's up?" " Police, don't move!" "Get down!" " Chiggy, don't say nothing!" " You shut your mouth!" " Stay down there." "I ain't got that kind of cash." "My pop is gonna kill me." " How we gonna get that kind of cash?" " Just chill, man." "I told you, I got the bail covered." "Yo, Mr CO!" " You said I'd get that call a half hour ago." " What's up, Cinderella?" " You late for the ball?" " Come on, man." "Please." "You ain't no tombs virgin no more!" "Yo, man, I gots to eat." " I told you I'd take care of my boy." " Let's go to Mario's." " I gotta take care of something." " What?" " Nothing." "You go to Mario's." " All right." "Howard, is that you?" "What are you doing here?" "Taking care of business." "I know about your business." "Get out of here." " I don't like when you talk to me like that." " I don't care what you like." " You're a good-for-nothing junkie." " I'm just one of God's children." "You're a sickness and if you think this is gonna go on forever..." "Good, now, back to the body." "I just need a shot from..." "directly above, like this." "The doors are always locked by 11:00 at the latest." " That was Mr Abernathy's job?" " He was the sexton." "At night, he emptied the collection boxes, turned off the lights." "He worked here 14 years." "He emptied the collection boxes into what?" "A bag...?" " A grey, velvet bag." " It wasn't more than $100 a day." "St Justin's has a reputation as a haven for the homeless." " Any problems with any of them?" " Morris had a run-in" " with one of our regulars." " What happened?" "This man, Howard, was caught breaking into a collection box." "Howard's a little off, but I doubt he's capable of murder." "Well, he does drink." "I'll need Howard's full name and a description." "We've got a prior incident between the victim and a juice-head." "A juice-head fits." "Gullet's missing." "Probably the murder weapon." " Here...something was removed." " Abernathy had a bag of money" " from collection boxes." " The circles..." " Missing coins." " This perp takes the time to pick nickels and dimes from a pool of blood." "Yeah, Howard sleeps out here but that don't make him no killer." "Smoke 'em if you got 'em." "They got the best butts on 82nd Street." "Long ones." "Subway entrances, especially the one on Columbus Circle." "Mm!" "Mm!" "You want?" "No, I didn't hear nothing." "I got a box." "When I'm there, I sleep like a baby." "Where's Howard's box?" "Doesn't have one." "Probably why he's sick." " Sometimes he has a cart but no box." " Howard got sick?" "Got a bad hack but he's getting medicine." "Saw him last night." "Figured he wouldn't be around for a while." " Why?" " When Howard gets a talky mood, sometimes he don't come around for a while." " Talky mood?" " He gets all talky." "Yap, yap, yap!" "He won't shut up or hold still." "What's he say when he's in a talky mood?" " Sometimes it don't make much sense." " All right, thanks for your help." "Howard's being treated for TB at a clinic a few blocks from here." "I've waited all night." "Where the hell you been?" " What the hell happened to you?" " Get inside!" "You can't crash here!" "My pops will be back soon!" " Just get me some clothes." " Man!" "It's nothing, man!" "I ran into some trouble." "Get me some clothes!" "That's him in the blue coat." "Hey, Howard, we're the police." "You wear gold, you're the king." "I'm the king." "We'd like to talk to you." "Thief." "That's mine!" "Out of Palestine!" " Where'd you get it?" " On the floor in Ecuador." "And you sent the money to Italy?" "Come to our place." "We'll get some coffee and doughnuts." "Doughnuts?" "I like doughnuts a lot." "This old man, give the dog a bone." "Got a screwdriver, open the box." " The bag...?" " The bag's mine." "Mine, mine." " Right!" "How'd the blood get on it?" " What's going on?" "Stop it." "Howard, Howard." "Morris the cat, he got all bloody." " You had an argument with Morris?" " No!" "Kevin!" "Kevin steals!" "Who's Kevin?" "# Beautiful dreamer" "# Wake unto me" "# Starlight and moonbeams are waiting for thee #" "Bravo!" "Bravo!" "Great, The Gong Show's back in town." "Anybody Mirandise this guy?" " He waived." " Oh, that'll hold up." "Is, er...?" "Is Kevin at the church?" "Oh, he takes everything and turns it into powder." " Kevin's a blood-sucking bat." " And Kevin and Morris?" "They're sitting on a shed." "The best of friends, they are." "Sit down here." "That's it." "That's all." "OK." "I'll be right back." "Help yourself to some doughnuts." " He's not our guy." " You found blood on him." "Just his shoes." "The killer would have been drenched." "So he changed his clothes." "No, he's too disorganised to have gotten rid of his clothes." "He found Abernathy dead and took the money." " Hang on to him for now." " And we'll go find Kevin." "Even though the deputy mayor had his first Communion there," "I like what St Justin's does for the homeless so let's clear this quickly." " You were good talking with Howard." " Lots of practice." "He must mean Kevin Donovan." "He works here part-time, like a lot of foster kids from the Little Shepherd home do." "Any beefs between him and Abernathy?" "Yeah, Morris was his supervisor." "Kevin has a history of substance abuse." "He's got a beef with just about everybody." "Coffee?" " He accused Howard of stealing?" " Yeah." "Mr Abernathy broke up an argument between them?" "Yeah." "We'll need the address of the foster home." "Well, he doesn't live there any more." "He's too old for that." " So where's he living now?" " Nowhere." "Doesn't have any family." " Just moves from friend to friend." " When's he in work again?" "He was supposed to be here this morning." "He didn't show up." "Donovan's pedigree, possession, possession, drunk in public," " and, yes, possession, of meth." " Speed freak." "That fit the MO?" " In spades." " He and Hector Rivera were arrested the day of the murder." " Made bail at midnight." " Time enough to do the killing." " Gave St Justin's as his address." " Rivera's an alias." "The address is bogus." "There is only a mug shot." "Bail was two grand." "Lotta cake for a speed freak." "Liaise on this with the narco squad." "See if they've heard of them." "Check the last place Donovan was in care." "Sorry, but if he's 20, he aged out of care a couple of years ago." "I was working in the Bronx then." "The other residents, any of them live here long enough to remember?" "Hector!" "Hector's one of our old-timers." "He's been with us for three years." "Hector, these detectives need your help." "Do you remember a Kevin Donovan?" "Nope." " Your name Hector?" "Hector Rivera?" " So what?" "You know this guy?" " They don't have all day, Hector." " That's Chiggy Rios." " We were in the same group home." " Where's he living now?" "Ain't in foster care no more." "After his pops got off on parole, the judge let Chiggy go live with him." "Take him off my hands, I'll be grateful." "What'd he do now?" " Followed the family tradition." " Hey!" "Hey, come on, get up!" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "The cops are here for you." " Come on, let's go!" "Get up!" " Oh, man!" " Where's Kevin Donovan?" " I don't know what you're on about." " I ain't gotta say jack." " That's right, Hector." "You're under arrest!" "Virtual Fantasy." "You spend a lot of time at the arcades?" "You little jerk." "Him and his punk buddies be there all the time." "Kevin Donovan?" " Relax, kid!" " I was just playin' a game!" "This is the part where you come to the station and talk to us." "You shouldn't have taken a swing at my partner." "I didn't know she was a cop." "You're way too hot to be a cop." "I won't fall for that." "Talk to us about Abernathy." "I don't know anything about who offed old Morris." "Anyway, I was in lock-up." "Check your records." "We did." "You got out just after midnight." "Where'd you go?" "Hanging out with my boy, Chiggy, eating a slice." " Abernathy caught you stealing." " Not me." "It was Howard." "He threatened to kill Morris right there, but I stopped him." "I'll testify to that." " Now can I be free?" " What happened to your clothes?" " These are my clothes." " They look a little small." "I can't stop growing, OK?" "Hey, you can't just leave me in here." "Dollar to doughnuts his clothes are ashes." "What'd his buddy say?" "Same story." "We're holding him for giving a phoney ID." "You won't be able to hold this thief." "Robbery's not the motive." "Not if he can cough up 2,000 for bail." " Something else is going on." " Could you find out?" "While you're cutting people loose, spring that homeless guy, too." " Do you know who killed my father?" " Not yet." "That's why we need to search the apartment." " Tell me what you're looking for." " Did your father ever mention a Kevin Donovan, one of the young men who worked at the church?" "No." "Why?" "We think your father had a relationship with this person." "A relationship outside of work." "I can't believe you're suggesting he was..." "Did this Kevin Donovan kill my father?" "We don't know." "I'm sorry." "I know this is painful." "Eames..." "Seems Abernathy brought his work home with him." "These are photocopies of St Justin's account books." "I keep finding places we missed." "There's so much blood." "Looks clean to me." "So, what do you want?" "What?" "The cops think I killed Abernathy." " Is that what you think, too?" " I don't know what to think." "Look at you." "You're outta control." " That scare you?" " You need to go into a drug rehab." " There's a bed at APEX..." " Forget it, old man!" " You ain't stashing me no place!" " I'm trying to help." "You're sick." "There's only one thing I want and I got more than one place to get it." "These look like they're from the collections at the Masses." " Abernathy kept the books?" " No, the Fathers do." " Mr Abernathy did the collections." " He passed the plate around?" " Yes." " How much cash?" "Well, it was about $5,000 from the Masses during the week" " and $10,000 on Sundays." " Who else has access to this money?" "The money is locked up in there until it's deposited every week." "Only Mr Abernathy and the Fathers have the combination." "Any reason why Mr Abernathy'd have the photocopies in his home?" "No." "He must have had a good reason." "Suppose he was skimming." "And Donovan found out and blackmailed Abernathy." "Explains why the kid had extra cash." "Suppose the kid got greedy, they argued," "Abernathy got the dirt end of the stick." "Suppose you had evidence to back it up." "Suppose Abernathy was studying book-keeping." "Phone records from the tombs." "The night Donovan was arrested," " somebody called St Justin's." " Two hours later" " Donovan and his buddy got bail." " To whom at St Justin's?" " Abernathy?" " To the switchboard." "No record who posted bail." "Donovan's buddy may know." "Step into him." "I don't know who paid the bail, or about no church thing, or no murder." "Kevin was chilling with me all night." "Chiggy, Kevin killed the old man." "We know it." "You know it." "Maybe all you did was give him some clothes and an alibi, we don't care." "You're goin' down for it, with or without Kevin." " That's not gonna happen." " It will, even if we have to lie." "And you know us, we're the NYPD." "We lie all the time and we're good at it." "Before you can say yo, we'll have ten witnesses swear on a stack... that you killed Abernathy." "We'll find blood on your clothes, DNA, fingerprints..." "You'll be the most thoroughly convicted guy in Sing Sing." "Of course, if you write down what really happened, we won't have to lie." "Kevin didn't say who put up the bail." "He just made a call." "After, Kevin said he had to go to St Justin's to take care of a thing." "He didn't say what." "I went to eat at Mario's on First." "I swear, I didn't know he was gonna kill nobody." "The next day he dropped on me to borrow some clothes." "His was all covered in blood." "What'd you do with the clothes?" "I shoved them down the incinerator." "He didn't tell me he wasted nobody." "Did Kevin tell you where he gets his money?" "No." "Says God takes care of him, gives him his jack, his apartment..." "What apartment?" "Out in Queens." "When he wants to impress the chickies, he takes them out there." "Open up, police!" "Clear!" "Got a nice gash on his forehead." "He took a header into the floor, then strangled...from behind." "See the thumb marks on the back of his neck?" "He was rolled over postmortem." "That's interesting." "I find this interesting." "Left on the kitchen counter." "Crisp new hundreds, fresh out of the can." "Plus...meth, also left out in the open." "No robbery, no break-in." "Donovan knew his killer." "Strangulation." "I got his wallet out of his back pocket." "4E's a sublet." "Kevin's the grandson of the old lady who used to live there," "Esther Covington." "Is there anything I should be doin'?" "Once we're done, we'll seal the place up." "Make sure nobody goes in." " Where's Mrs Covington now?" " Sacred Heart Cemetery." " Kicked about a year ago." " Kevin just moved in?" "His uncle put down three months' rent upfront." " The uncle's name?" " Don't know." "He just said he was Esther's son." "He write a cheque for the deposit?" "He gave the cash to Kevin who gave it to me." "Kevin always paid cash." "I gotta go take care of this." "After 18 years in foster care, Kevin turns up an uncle." "It's touching, isn't it?" "The cemetery told us St Justin's made the funeral arrangements." "Mrs Covington lived in this parish for 30 years before she moved to Queens." "She wanted her funeral Mass here." "You know Kevin lived in her apartment?" "No." "How did he come to...?" "Somebody from St Justin's arranged it." "Who?" "Morris Abernathy?" "Maybe." "We suspect it was being paid for with church funds." "We'd like to have our accountants examine your collection records." "You found copies of those records in Abernathy's apartment?" "A few pages." "We need to see all of them." "I appreciate you bringing this to my attention." "We'll look into it." " We'll get back to you." " We can get a subpoena, Father." "That is something to take up with the archdiocese." "Actually, it's something we'll take up with the district attorney." "The internal audit revealed several irregularities." "There was embezzlement on a significant scale here." "Given Abernathy's access to church monies, the implication is clear." "The sexton was stealing and doctoring the books?" "That's what I'm saying." "St Justin's is dedicated to helping the homeless." " We can't let a scandal derail that." " The archdiocese..." "The archdiocese trusts us to set our own house in order." "Over time, through our own sacrifices, restitution will be made." "Now that Morris Abernathy is dead, the embezzlement will stop." "In the last 18 months," "Morris Abernathy embezzled over $100,000 from St Justin's." "All of it came from collections at Mass." "Morris worked for St Justin's for over a decade." "He was respected." "In deference to his family, I'd like to..." "Sweep it under the rug?" "I understand your concerns, Father, but we have an open murder case." "There's the embezzlement then the murder." "Murders." "Abernathy and Donovan." "We believe both were killed by an accomplice." "What accomplice?" "The embezzlement was Abernathy acting alone." "Donovan was a speed freak." "He killed Abernathy in a drug-induced rage." "Everybody in this room knows his own death was probably drug-related." "You just enjoy beating up on the Catholic Church?" "There's the Catholic Church and then there's St Justin's." "We have the utmost respect for the Catholic Church." "Thank you for your report." "We'll read it very carefully." " Thank you." " Thank you." "Well, that was pleasant." "Tell me Kevin Donovan was not a dope-kill." "He was strangled." "The drugs and cash in his apartment were untouched." "Any leads on his Dutch uncle?" "Whether it was Abernathy or not, the trail ends at St Justin's." "And you?" "Any dazzling insights you'd like to share?" "Er, no." "Well?" "I'm thinking about Donovan lying on his back staring up at the heavens." "I sent you the autopsy report on Donovan." "I need a chemical analysis of the skin on his face and hands." " Do I need to know why?" " I'd rather you keep an open mind." " Thanks." " Liturgy Of The Catholic Church." "Are you thinking of converting?" "I think Father Capan would love to baptise you." "Too late." "You're speaking to a lapsed altar boy." "I should've known." "The disregard for authority, the fascination with bad behaviour..." "Eames." "I'm working on a subpoena for the financial records." " Why do you need a search warrant?" " For the priest's living quarters." " What specifically?" " Correspondence to and from Donovan." " Anything with his name on it." " And the probable cause?" "Donovan had oleic and linoleic acids on his forehead." " Olive oil." " Scented with balsam." "It's used in the last rites of the Catholic Church." "Kevin Donovan was given the last rites?" "By the priest who killed him." "Outrageous." "This warrant is unconstitutionally broad." " This is pure harassment." " You know how often we hear that?" "Now you'll hear it from the archdiocese." "Meanwhile, we have a specific subpoena for your collections records." "How the Church handles its money is a great mystery of the faith." "The sexton fills out these chits after passing the plate around." "It's the number of $10 bills and so on." "The chit and the money go into the safe until Sunday night." "Then a Father re-counts the money." "After the sexton fills out the chits, your embezzler fiddled the tallies." "Any suggestions who?" "It's not the sexton's handwriting." "Somebody who had access to the safe." "All the priests have access." "How much money are we talking about?" "Around ten per cent. 1,500 a week." "Lot of small bills." "Which turned into the new C-notes in Kevin Donovan's coffee can." "New bills." "Some customers come in every week to change money, mostly waitresses." "I can't imagine any of them doing something wrong." "The serial numbers trace back to your window." "This person was changing about 1,500 a week." "I know who you mean." "He's in here every Monday." " Does he have an account?" " No." "He says he owns a newsstand over on Columbus." "An older man." "I haven't seen him for a few weeks now." "Could you identify him from a photo?" "Sure." " Detective, you got any smokes?" " I'm out, Jimmy." "Next time." " Excuse us." " Father, step over here, please." " We're putting you under arrest." " Relax your arms." " What are you arresting me for?" " The murder of Kevin Donovan." "Get your hands off him." "Give us some room, please." "He's a good man." "Everything's OK." "Don't worry." "I'll be back later." "You're invoking your right to remain silent and that's that, OK?" "I want to plead guilty and be done with it." "But, Father..." "Look, it's normal to feel that way, but it's just the stress talking." "You're not pleading guilty." "You didn't do anything." "I did." "I killed Kevin and I stole from the church." "I want it to be over with." "You're serious?" "I gave Kevin money because he was my lover." "I thought I could control him." "After he killed Morris, I was afraid." " Afraid he'd kill you?" " Yeah." "He was full of rage and taking drugs." " I didn't know what else to do." " Had he ever hit you before?" " Yes." " Had he injured you?" "Yes." "Why are you asking?" "My client has no statement to make." "He wants to be returned to his cell." "Top count's on the table." "Murder two, 25 to life." "You can always dream, Mr Carver." "Notice of our intent to present an affirmative defence," " based on a battered-spouse theory." " Battered spouse?" "My client was in the emergency room eight times in two years." "Haematomas, broken ribs, concussions." "Serious escalating violence at the hands of Kevin Donovan." "I have statements from neighbours who heard." "My client feared for his life." "Killing Donovan was the only way out." "So you want to apply a battered-wife syndrome to a gay couple?" "I'm entitled to an instruction to the jury." "People v Gautier, appendix C. I highlighted the good parts." "Man two, with a recommendation of ten years' probation." "No jail." " You let me know." " You can know right now." "It's still murder two, 25 to life." "Winsley will exclude Catholics and people who don't like gays." " That will leave me a jury of..." " Secular urbanites, who'll see a man abused by his murdering boyfriend." "Or a man passing himself off as a battered wife." "What's good for the goose..." "A battered wife is financially dependent upon her husband." "She has no options." "But a priest?" "Priests are sheltered, no sexual experience." "They're the perfect prey." "Sounds like a hung jury." "McShale might get away with it." " Unless I can add another murder count." " Morris Abernathy." "Give me enough to charge McShale as an accomplice, and I'll make sure he goes to prison." "I saw Mike talking to Abernathy that afternoon." "They didn't seem to be upset or angry." "How about that night?" "Did you see them together?" "No, Mike went out about 8:00." "I find all this very hard to believe." "I've known Mike McShale ten years." "Did you ever think he might be gay?" "No." "But you never know, do you?" "How about unhappy with the priesthood?" "He confided to a crisis of faith 20 years ago." " Over what?" " He didn't tell me the details." "It came up at a time I was grappling with my demons." "When he went out, did he say where he was going?" " To visit a sick parishioner." " Did he do that often?" "He was on the road two, three hours a night." "He couldn't sit still." " If there is nothing else...?" " Thank you, Father." "Sick parishioners?" "Maybe Donovan wasn't the only name on McShale's dance card." "Visits to hospitals, work at the soup kitchen." "Visits to nursing homes..." "I thought my social life needed help." "Looking for guidance?" "McShale was." "Here, in the margin next to Matthew 27. "Who forgives God?"" "I have a headache thinking about it." "Gas station receipts..." "The guy gets around." "Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Queens," "Hoboken..." "Delawanna, New Jersey?" "That's all we got for Donovan." "Sign it out here." "Wallet should be in here." "Melanie Grasso, Delawanna, New Jersey." "Connie, sweetie, go into the other room and play with your sisters." "I don't know why you came all the way out here." "I'm not a parishioner at St Justin's." "We go to Our Lady of Lourdes here at Delawanna." "You're active in your church?" "Yes." "I'm head of the Rosary Society." "How long have you lived here?" "16 years." "My husband grew up in this parish." "We got married in the church here." "Before that, you were a parishioner at St Justin's." "So the records show." " Yes." " Father McShale was a priest there." "You knew him." "Yes, but..." "But I don't know what..." "Well, I read what happened in the papers, but I don't know..." "McShale admitted to killing Kevin Donovan, the young man who worked at the church." "He said Kevin was his lover." "Do you know any reason why we shouldn't believe him?" "You were very young when you met him." "Oh, God." "He took advantage of you?" "Your faith?" "No." "No, no." "Michael was..." "We loved each other." "And you got pregnant." "Kevin Donovan was your son." " Does anyone know?" " No." "Michael said that he would make sure..." "If anyone found out..." "My children, what it would do to them..." "Did you have any contact with Kevin?" "I was afraid." "Michael said that he was well cared for." "Later, when Michael told me about Kevin's...problems, what he was like, his anger..." "He was worried what Kevin might do if he found out about me." "We found you because Kevin had your name and address in his wallet." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God!" "Battered spouse?" "McShale killed Donovan to keep him away from her." "We're doing what Donovan couldn't, throwing a grenade into her life." "Carver has to put her on the stand." "It doesn't bother you what'll happen to her family?" "Kevin Donovan's part of her family." "She's no innocent bystander." "It's worth it wrecking this life to see McShale go to prison?" "What did you think you were doing, a catch-and-release programme?" "Two people are dead." "McShale's going away." "You're not gonna make me feel guilty about this." "Two days...as a favour." "We hold off telling Carver about Melanie Grasso." "I told your office I wanted to speak to him alone." "You know better than that." "I want to talk about Melanie Grasso." "It's OK." "You can leave us alone." "Whatever he tells you is off the record." "What do you know about Melanie?" "Enough." "I found her name in Kevin's wallet... paid her a visit." "She has a nice family, nice life." "One worth protecting." "When did he find out?" "This is just between us, Father." "Several weeks ago." "Did he threaten to extort her?" "Yeah." "You couldn't let that happen?" "No." "You knew what he was capable of." "You couldn't go to the police without the whole story coming out." "What are you gonna do?" "If there's a trial on this abused-spouse defence" "the DA will call Melanie Grasso as a witness to provide an alternate motive for your crime." "The thing is, that might work out for you, too." "The jurors might feel sympathetic." "A hung jury might force the DA to shave a few years off a plea bargain." "Can't know that till the trial." "If there's a trial." "The DA offered you 25 years to life." "You take that offer and Mrs Grasso can stay in Delawanna and no one's the wiser." "You've done the noble thing all these years." "Now is not the time to stop." "You're afraid of prison." "25 years is a long time." "I know you've asked yourself a lot of questions about your faith, your...shame, your guilt." "Maybe now and then you..." "come across an answer." "He took the plea." "His lawyer called first thing this morning. 25 to life." "Why would McShale do that?" " I don't know." " You should know." "I found out you spoke with him yesterday without his lawyer." " Did you threaten him?" " No, sir." "What did you tell him?" "How a trial would cause pain and embarrassment to a third party." "What third party?" "Let me take that back." "Unless I want to violate my oath," "I have to know that everything he admits to in court will be the truth." "Is motive something he has to admit to?" " No." " Then, no problem." "Detective..." "If you try and run one by me like that again," "I'll have your badge."