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.
Harry, I think you're wrong on this one.
If we release the credits to Delhi
Islamabad won't just sit on its hands.
I don't think we should be taking on
new obligations, Father.
We're a bank, Edward.
That's what we do.
Take on obligations.
Don't be such a nervous Nelly.
Me? Nervous?
You're the one who sees assassins behind every plant.
I see traitors. There's a difference.
Tell Delhi they have the loan.
If Islamabad squawks, screw 'em.
Time for your shots, Mr. Sternman.
We'll leave you, Harry.
Shame, Edward.
Shame, shame, shame.
Son of a bitch.
I'm surrounded
by sons of bitches, Zainer.
There you go.
So, where is she?
She just came back from shopping, she said.
And what about him?
Before your meeting -Edward took a call from a Mr. -Zuckerman.
I see what's happening.
I'll get it.
Throw all that out. It's junk.
George, is it done yet?
What are you doing for 800 bucks an hour?
What about this, sir?
I need it signed end of week.
That, too.
No excuses. Just get it done!
This so-called reinforced door...
how reinforced is it?
You'd need a bazooka to blow it down.
They've got bazookas.
What about the air filters?
Once they're installed,
they could pump cyanide into this place
be like an offshore breeze.
Once they're installed?
Why aren't they installed now?
Waiting for your son to okay them.
I say they're okay.
What exactly did he tell Knowles?
Something about it had to be signed
by the end of the week.
That stupid old man.
What did he mean by "whatever happens"?
What's supposed to happen?
I don't know.
Edward just said get him out by the elevator.
What should I do?
Just what he told you.
Where are you going
with your boobs hanging out like that?
Cocktail party at the Met.
I'll be back by 9:00.
And make sure he takes one of his little blue pills.
He might just get lucky tonight.
She thinks I'd go near that swamp.
Like she doesn't think
I know where it's been.
That I don't know
what's going on in this house!
Now, the Russians, they get all weepy on you,
but they are ruthless S.O.B.s.
Ow! Watch it, you idiot!
Yes, sir. I'm sorry.
What are you stopping for? My back is still tight.
What is it?
Do you smell smoke?
-Smoke? -What is it, Zainer?
There's a fire down the hall! I hear noises!
This is it. It's them. They're coming for me.
Zainer, help me!
911. What is your emergency?
They're coming to kill me!
They're breaking in!
What is your location, sir?
Hear them? They're trying to get in.
Sir, I need your location.
Sternman Towers.
For God's sake, hurry.
They're shooting at the door. Smoke is coming in!
Sir, emergency services are on their way.
They're killing me!
Sir?
Sir, can you hear me? Sir?
The building doesn't officially open for another two months.
Mr. and Mrs. Sternman were the only residents.
We were still working out a few bugs
in the security system.
How elaborate was this security system?
Alarms on every window. Motion sensors on the roof.
We're on the 90th floor.
Mr. Sternman had whole countries after him, so he said.
This was his building.
No one was going to drive him out of it.
Pack this up. -Okay.
What do you know about his nurse, Rick Zainer?
Very dependable.
Do you have any idea
why Sternman would lock himself up in the bathroom?
This was the safe room.
Any emergency, the drill was he'd lock himself in here.
Four-way locks, bullet proof door, firewalls.
And 911 mentioned shots fired.
Check for slugs.
Okay.
Ventilation-- that one of the bugs you were working on?
Yes.
Why would Sternman run in here if there was a problem?
I don't know.
He was a very unusual guy.
Seems so.
This is the panel
that controls the security system.
This is where the fire started.
In the security system?
If the grim one's going to get you,
he's going to get you.
Anyone else help this thing along?
I won't know until I get this panel back to the lab.
Is there any reason why the sprinklers didn't go off?
We're looking into that, too.
We have another smoke fatality.
In the laundry room. A maid.
I told him it was a fire,
but he was convinced it was terrorists.
He told 911 people were trying to break in.
Thank you. That could have been me
pounding on the bathroom door to tell him to come out,
but he wouldn't listen.
Did you see or hear anybody in or out of the apartment?
No. There was black smoke.
I'm lucky I found the stairs.
How long had you been his nurse?
Six years.
What kind of nursing did he need?
He was practically a recluse.
He had high blood pressure, diabetes,
arthritis, bad hip, gout.
He took 14 pills a day.
Any mood-altering drugs?
Zoloft, Xanax.
He suffered from depression, anxiety.
Sounds like he kept you busy.
He was an interesting man.
All right, Mr. Zainer, thank you.
Did this woman work for you, Mrs. Sternman?
Yes, it's her. It's Aricelli.
Aricelli...
Oh, God, what's her last name?
Rick, what's Aricelli's last name?
-DiMarco. -What happened to her?
We found her dead of smoke inhalation in the laundry room.
Did she have anything to do with starting the fire?
Not as far as we know yet.
Would you have her number?
We need to call her family.
I know it. I'll write it down.
I can't believe this is happening.
This is a nightmare.
-Edward, thank God. You got my message. -I was in the car.
I heard on the radio there was a fire.
Where's Dad? Is he all right?
Edward, he locked himself in the bathroom.
He died from the smoke. I'm sorry.
Dead? My God. What started it?
We don't know yet.
My father's dead.
I can't... That's not possible.
The fire was designed to be slow burning
with a maximum of smoke.
The sprinklers had been disabled in the pent house
but were still operational in the rest of the building.
How was the fire set?
Security system has a dedicated phone line
to the security company.
The torch hooked up one end of an answering machine circuit board
to the phone line
and the other end to an electronic match.
He dials the number...
The phone answers, sparks the match,
which sets off half a pound of loosely packed black powder.
Can you trace any of the parts?
Just the electronic match.
Nine times out of ten they melt in the fire,
but we managed to pull a partial serial number
off this one.
I traced the serial number and got it narrowed down
to two electronic supply houses.
They can tell you who they sold it to.
Eames, I found the guy's workshop back here.
Firebug, firebug, fly away home.
Electronic matches-- buy in bulk and save.
Bag this paper shredder.
Look at this.
I make it. It's the warehouse next to the Disantos Beef on 11th.
His next gig.
I can't control variables.
I can be the best driver in the world.
A guy steps in front of my car...
This wasn't some guy.
This was my father, Harry Sternman.
Not to mention this poor woman.
You told me all the help was going to be out by 6:00.
I know what I told you.
I don't know how this could have gone so wrong.
I'm not happy about it, either. I never killed anyone.
You're the expert.
You should have known.
Screw that line of thought, my young friend.
And as a point of law,
we're both on the hook for homicide.
Joined at the hip, as it were.
Remember, you and me, Eduardo-- Siamese twins.
We're staking out the warehouse and Colin Flynn's apartment.
Any leads on who hired him?
Not yet, but we're piecing together the documents
we found in his paper shredder.
What else we got on Flynn?
Sheet a mile long.
No known associates. House was rented for cash.
Most of his work was insurance-related.
No homicides until now.
He set a slow burning fire.
Was he trying to give Sternman a chance to get out?
Unless the people who hired him knew
Sternman would lock himself in his safe room.
It's bulletproof, fireproof.
The only way to get him was with smoke.
Who knows what the intent was here.
The crime scene is sending mixed messages.
Maybe somebody on the inside can set you straight.
Goren.
The patrolman found him
trying to set the fire.
He reached for something, they opened fire.
What was he reaching for?
A set of car keys.
Didn't anybody tell them we needed this mutt alive?
What can I tell you?
So you know,
he primed the sprinkler system with gasoline
instead of water.
The whole block would have gone up.
Hell of a barbecue on a Saturday afternoon.
Seabees-- Navy Corps of Engineers.
Yeah, Colin Flynn served
two tours of Vietnam.
He won't be setting any more fires now.
I'm sure the patrolman who shot him will be glad to hear that.
I don't think I can tell you anything.
I signed a confidentiality agreement
when I went to work for Mr. Sternman.
Who's dead last time we checked.
I need to find another job.
Being indiscreet won't help.
The agreement cover only personal matters?
And business.
Anything I saw or overheard.
St. Stephan's Prep.
My sons.
Pretty exclusive.
I was humoring my wife.
The school turned them down anyway.
Mr. Zainer, we're all working stiffs here.
Anything you tell us right now stays between us.
Please.
You're putting me in a lousy position.
Let's try it like this--
what do you feel comfortable telling us?
Nothing, but that's not an option, is it?
It's good you have a sense of humor about it.
All right.
There was some sort of crisis with the bank.
Mr. Sternman and his son Edward, Mr. Lewis
they'd been arguing constantly the last two weeks.
What kind of crisis?
I'm not sure. I overheard something
about, uh... calling in loans, insolvency.
Sounds like a cash crunch.
Whatever it was, it was affecting
Mr. Sternman's health.
That's all I can tell you.
It's a lot.
That's my wife.
She calls me when she's on break at the hospital.
Excuse me.
I did a news search of the Sternman Bank.
Nothing about a financial crisis.
If they were in a cash crunch
and trying to raise money,
you figure somebody's going to notice.
If you're looking on Wall Street, sure,
but there's other places to raise money.
Now, Sternman Holdings--
that's their real estate company.
They put out a prospectus.
Goren, I'm sorry, you got to excuse me
but we just moved in last week
and only one toilet's working and there's rats in the ceiling.
You're making money.
Yeah, I'm making money,
which in this market, is nothing to sneeze at.
So, bring some of that money down to the poker game.
I'm banking it.
Carlos and me, we're saving up for a house.
Carlos?
Irene, you're breaking my heart.
And you blew your chance.
Ah, here we go.
Yep.
Okay, bond issues.
$2 billion.
This says Azimuth Realty.
Read the fine print.
The properties backing the bonds
are all owned by Sternman Holdings.
So they can raise money
without looking like they're raising money.
And these bonds are sold through outfits like this?
Mm-hmm, and private placements, strictly under the radar
and the bonds are backed by the rental income
from the Sternman buildings.
-How are they selling? -Well, they're not setting any records
and if you don't include the flagship building
in the offering, that sends a message.
The flagship building. You mean Sternman Towers?
Yeah, right, the one Sternman died in.
Well, why isn't it part of the package?
That's a good question.
Why don't you ask the people
who put the bond offering together?
Thanks.
I prepared Zainer's severance check.
It's unfortunate we had to let him go.
He was devoted to your father.
If he's so devoted, why is my father lying in a morgue?
You tell me.
What's that mean?
I didn't start that fire.
This is generous.
Didn't his contract stipulate only four weeks severance?
He has kids for God's sake.
Get off your high horse.
This looks like hush money.
You sound like my father.
Let's not fight, Edward.
What's done is done.
Harry left enough for both of us.
We don't have to get in each other's way.
I don't have to talk about this with you.
Actually, you do--
with us or with someone from the D.A.'s office.
It's something we have to keep reminding people.
The lady here was first.
Thank you.
Here's the other way it could go.
We get a subpoena, we get every cop
who isn't nailed down
and a dozen patrol cars with lights flashing
a couple command vehicles the size of buses
and we park them all down here for a day.
You know how nothing inspires confidence
like cops filing in and out of a broker's office.
We were good to go on the bond offering.
At the last minute,
Ed pulled the Sternman Tower off the table.
Why?
My guess is, he wants to sell.
It's their most valuable property.
Easily worth $600 million.
If Ed was looking to cash out this was the way to go.
Was the old man on board with this?
No. They were fighting about it.
The Sternman Tower is his legacy.
He poured everything into it.
He wanted to live out his days in that pent house.
Looks like he got his wish.
Maybe you should wait
till Mr. Sternman gets back from lunch.
Don't make us explain about the search warrant again.
AA meeting book.
There are meetings marked off.
If I were in this family, I'd probably drink, too.
This is good.
Oh, this is very good.
The only way Edward can sell that building
is if the old man cleared out.
So, he burned him out.
I'll have to remember this the next time
my mother-in-law comes for a visit.
The M.E. found Disulfiram in Colin Flynn's system.
He had a bottle of it in his basement.
Disulfiram?
Antabuse for the treatment of alcoholism.
Flynn and Edward are both alcoholics.
Maybe that's how they met.
Where's Edward's meeting book?
If you're thinking
of hitting the meeting she marked off
to see if anyone saw them together, forget it.
They call it Alcoholics Anonymous for a reason.
They won't tell you squat.
That's why we're hitting coffee shops
near the meetings.
This one is Colin Flynn-- sweet guy.
Comes in once a week from the church across the street.
Haven't seen him in a while.
Something wrong with him?
Job burn-out.
How about him?
Uh, yeah, he's every other week.
-Order up. -Not much of a talker.
They know each other?
Um, I've seen them sit together.
Are you sure it was these two?
Yeah, I remember faces.
Some I'd like to forget.
Thank you.
Let's go pick up Edward.
Let's see what he has marked down for tonight.
Edward.
What are you people doing here?
They're about to start the meeting.
They have meetings where you're going.
You're under arrest for murder.
Even if your waitress
remembers every mole on his face,
you still have a big problem.
You showed her a single picture of my client.
You tainted her for any future lineup.
You put her on the stand, I'll rip her to shreds.
Speaking of shreds,
It's a fax we found
in Colin Flynn's paper shredder.
This is very impressive.
We think so.
It confirms the wire transfer
of $100,000 into his account from a bank in Dubai.
Dubai? That's in the Persian Gulf.
I bet a lot of terrorist spark their money there.
The bank said the money's from a corporate account
in the name of the Sternman Corporation.
Oh, let me guess--
there's a half dozen people
who can authorize transfers from that account.
Five. One of whom's your client.
Now, if you want to talk deal,
we can have the DA here in five minutes.
This is excellent evidence...
against Colin Flynn.
Like you, we have no doubt
he set the fire in Mr. Sternman's pent house.
If it wasn't for the incompetence of his nurse
who left him barricaded in his bathroom
Mr. Sternman would've survived.
Tell me, Ed, was it because you were humiliated?
Is that why you did it?
Detective...
I'm sure when you were young
your dad held you up high above his head.
He was proud of you.
He made you a part of the company.
Yes, so what?
So what? Company was in trouble.
Your dad wasn't so proud of you anymore.
He made you feel like you let him down.
I let him down?
No, he made you feel
what you suspected about yourself.
All along, you couldn't quite measure up to good ol' Dad.
No.
Is that why you drink?
I don't drink.
I've been sober for three years.
What is it they say at AA?
"Keep doing what you've always done
you'll keep getting what you've always gotten."
I didn't kill my father.
They tell you to admit your mistakes.
To make amends to the people you've wronged.
I didn't want him dead.
I'm not responsible.
Look, that's enough.
He's invoking his right to silence.
Stubborn.
He doesn't think he was responsible for those deaths.
I'm happy to convince a jury otherwise.
I'm not talking legal culpability.
Psychologically, morally,
he doesn't believe he killed his father.
Physically, materially,
Mr. Sternman and Ms. DiMarco are dead all the same.
Send him over for arraignment.
If he doesn't think he killed his dad,
who does he think did?
They said I was incompetent.
These people are unbelievable.
Anyway, I got another job and a better job.
Daniel!
Let Matt take a shot!
Fair play...
it's like a foreign concept these days.
It's like Edward calling you incompetent.
He can say anything he wants about you,
but you're bound to his confidentiality agreement.
My wife says my loyalty was to Harry Sternman.
Not to the people who might have killed him.
She's got a good point.
Mr. Sternman was having his will redrawn.
He was on the phone to his lawyer every day about it.
Edward thought it was because Mr. and Mrs. Sternman
were trying to have a child.
Was the new will going to cut Edward out?
I got that impression.
Go get the ball.
Well, what? What are you waiting for?
Matthew, get over here!
Just get your ball. It's yours.
Don't be scared of them. Come on!
They're just kids in uniforms.
Edward's lawyer
accused you of abandoning Sternman in his bathroom.
What was I supposed to do?
He wouldn't come out and I didn't have the key.
Anyway, it wouldn't have made a difference.
And why do you say that?
The main elevator was cut off by the fire.
I tried the service elevator.
I punched in the code, but it wasn't working.
You sure you used the right code?
Yes. The stairs were the only other way out.
I doubt Mr. Sternman would have made it.
You can't let people like that intimidate you, okay?
Sorry, Dad.
What happened?
Nothing.
How was your day?
Long. Look, I picked up the blazers.
I just have to sew on the St. Stephan's crest.
They look good.
Have you heard from them yet?
You know, we're just two months away
from the start of school.
Told you, everything's all right.
This is the third year we've applied.
Did they get Mr. Sternman's letter of recommendation?
I'm sure they did.
What if they didn't? Maybe you should call the school?
I don't want to sound desperate, okay?
My kids belong in their damn school and they know it.
So, just let me handle it.
There was nothing wrong with the punch pads
or the circuits on that elevator.
If the guy pressed the right numbers
the elevator should have worked.
Could somebody have changed the code?
Sure. You need a master code and a password.
Okay, the day of the fire, service elevator
was in heavy use all day long
tapering off around 5:30.
That's when the workmen went home.
Here, 6:15
somebody reprogrammed the use code.
Computer know who?
Key in S-E-S-7-7.
Password used was 5-4-5-2-2.
Mrs. Sternman's password.
Anybody who refers to his wife
as "that bitch"
and asks you to make sure that his prenup is bulletproof
is not looking to start a family.
And how is the prenup?
Very generous to Mrs. Sternman.
Lifetime alimony, townhouse in New York
home in the Hamptons
$4 million payment to her
for any instance of infidelity by Mr. Sternman.
No offense, but who's her lawyer?
What did Mr. Sternman get in return?
"In the event it is proven that Kit Sternman committed adultery
"and that Harold Sternman elects to divorce,
"Mrs. Sternman will not be entitled
to share in the marital estate to any extent whatsoever."
She steps outside the marriage,
she gets nothing.
Was she cheating?
I don't know.
Harry didn't say.
He probably kept any evidence of her infidelity
in the safest place-- a deposit box.
His driver'd know which banks Mr. Sternman's been to.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Mrs. Liston was being fussy about her nap.
How's it working out?
Good.
Thank you for the reference.
Here, your severance check.
You could have mailed it.
I wanted to see you.
This is too much.
I'm only owed four weeks.
I told Edward not to be stingy.
Have the police talked to you?
Oh, you don't have anything to worry about.
They're totally focused on Edward.
I have to get back to work.
Bye, Kit.
Are we going to see each other again?
I don't think so.
You started it.
So?
I'm ending it.
Anyway, now that Harry's out of the way,
you don't have to sneak around with the help anymore.
One bed sheet.
"B and C Group, Maryland."
A lab report from five weeks ago.
"Submitted for testing one queen-sized bed sheet.
"Examination revealed DNA materials from two individuals.
"First subject's DNA
"was matched to a sample belonging to Kit Sternman.
"Second subject's DNA was contained in semen
"and was determined to belong
to a blood relative of Harold Sternman."
Eddie's going to have a lot to talk about at his AA meeting.
The son and the wife were having an affair.
Sternman found out,
and he was taking steps to cut them loose.
It never occurred to him they might conspire to kill him?
He obviously wasn't paranoid enough.
You still have your reservations about the son?
It's adding up even less.
Bedding your father's trophy wife
right underneath his nose
is an act of rage, contempt; it's bold.
Would someone like that kill with a slow-burning fire?
Maybe it was Mrs. Sternman's contribution.
Long as one of them thought of it, it's a conspiracy.
Assuming they're in it together.
They were on that bedsheet together.
Don't tell me you're disputing the DNA evidence.
The night of the fire, you saw them.
They sat next to each other-- no look, no touch,
not a single molecule of complicity
passed between them.
Detective, the facts here speak for themselves.
The facts are up for grabs, Counselor.
The facts support a charge
of conspiracy against Kit and Edward Sternman.
That's what I'm going with.
Back to my "yes or no" question
did you change the code?
Yes or no? Then no.
How do you explain that your password was used?
Other people have it-- Berger, the security person, and Edward.
Why would they use your password?
To get me in trouble,
which they've obviously succeeded in doing.
How would Edward have gotten your password?
I don't know. Ask him.
This is a ridiculous conversation.
Which we're under no obligation to continue;
we're leaving.
Mrs. Sternman...
Were you and your husband still intimate?
What?
Kit.
Harry and I had a very healthy sex life.
Mm, arthritic, diabetic,
68-year-old Harry with the... bad... ticker?
And a big bottle of wonderful, little, blue pills.
Oh, come on.
Every day, Detective.
Sometimes twice a day.
He must have gone through those pills like candy.
We found his stash...
in his bathroom.
60 pills for... 40 days.
Why don't we see how busy the two of you were?
Mr. Carver, this is
the most outrageous conduct I've ever seen.
Kit, let's go.
That's ten.
Twenty.
Count all you want.
Thirty. There's still plenty here.
Don't think for a minute you can intimidate me.
45,46... 48...
This doesn't prove anything!
My husband and I were happy.
Then why did he ask his lawyer to review the prenup
two weeks before he was killed?
How would I know? He's crazy.
Crazy like a fox.
We read clause 17 of the prenup,
the one where you don't get a nickel
if he proves you've committed adultery.
Since I was never unfaithful, there's no proof.
Actually, there is.
A stained bedsheet that we found in a safe deposit box
with your DNA and the DNA of a man not your husband.
-You're free to leave, -Mrs. Sternman.
But whether from you or from your stepson,
we wil get the truth.
My stepson? What does Edward have to do with me?
The DNA on the sheet was his.
What? Y-You think Edward and I...
You're crazier than Harry.
Edward's gay.
I never told Harry; he had no clue.
-And neither, evidently, do you.
Edward's the only living male relative Sternman had.
And this lab that did the original test?
Very reputable. Used by law enforcement in five states.
I'll get a court order for Edward's blood,
have our own lab run a comparison,
make sure we have our facts straight.
Edward could be playing for both teams.
Sternman's prescriptions for Zoloft and Xanax
were renewed a month early.
I counted the pills.
He was doubling up.
That can't be too healthy.
He would have been booming and zooming, manic, paranoid.
No wonder he thought everybody was after him.
Right.
The perfect prescription for paranoia.
There you go, dear.
Now let me bring you near the window so you can get some sun.
Her color seems better.
I appreciate everything
you've been doing for my mother.
Thank you.
Can I ask you a favor?
I'm applying to get my sons into St. Stephan's
for the winter semester.
To St. Stephan's?
Yes, on a scholarship.
I know your husband went to St. Stephan's.
Yes.
Is it possible I could speak to him about it for a few minutes?
I can ask him. He's leaving for London tonight.
I'll mention it when he gets back, all right?
Sure. Whenever's convenient.
Thank you.
I wasn't aware of my father changing his will.
We're off on the wrong foot here, Mr. Sternman.
I came here alone; I'm not wearing a wire.
The only witness we have here is your lawyer.
Whatever you tell me, you can deny later,
so let's not blow smoke.
Okay, let's assume he knew his father was changing the will.
And why do you think he was changing it?
He wanted to favor the child
that he and Kit were trying to conceive.
Would you like to know the real reason?
He thought you were having an affair with Kit.
He even had proof--a bedsheet
with Kit's DNA and your semen.
That's the lab test.
That... that's not possible.
Because?
You're gay.
Yes.
Among other reasons.
Even if I were remotely attracted to Kit
I wouldn't do that to my father.
This test, it's wrong.
Something else you should know.
Kit changed the code on the service elevator
the night of the fire.
To trap your father in the pent house.
The D.A. thinks that this is further evidence
that she conspired with you to kill your father.
In the hypothetical, you never told her about the fire.
Edward, I'm advising you not to say another word.
No, I didn't tell her.
But you told someone else, didn't you?
To warn them to save your father.
Ah, thank you for coming in.
Our investigation is running into a brick wall.
We really need some help.
Whatever I can do.
Here's the problem.
We think Edward and Kit Sternman
conspired to kill Mr. Sternman.
Mrs. Sternman?
Why do you think that?
She changed the code
on the service elevator.
That's why you couldn't get it to work.
And we suspect that she and Edward
were having an affair.
But you see, we don't have enough proof of it.
So, if you know anything...
There's a bedsheet they used.
I brought it to Mr. Sternman's attention.
What did he do with it?
I think he put it in a safe deposit box.
Well, it's probably long gone by now.
No. He saved it.
There's a clause
She doesn't get anything if he can prove she cheated on him.
Well, that's very helpful.
Why didn't you mention this to us before?
Mr. and Mrs. Sternman have been good to me over the years.
And you felt conflicted?
Yes.
And you felt that maybe
we'd find out on our own eventually?
Yes.
Guess what?
It has Kit's DNA and Edward's.
But you knew that since you put it there.
What are you talking about?
You are truly the most-- what's the right word?--
driven person that I have ever come across.
That you would actually have sex with Edward
to get a sample of his semen--
that shows incredible... determination.
That's a damn lie.
Edward told us.
Hey, Rick, it's no crime.
Not even smearing his semen on the bedsheet.
Why the hell would I do that?
To convince Mr. Sternman
that his wife and his son had turned against him.
You were pumping him so full of Zoloft and Xanax,
he was ready to believe anything.
That's absurd!
You told Kit that her husband
found out she was having an affair.
And she believed you
because she was having an affair-- with you.
And you told Edward that his father
was cutting him out of his will because
he was going to have another kid.
You set them both up against each other.
It was only a matter of time
before somebody ended up dead.
And they'd all take the fall.
It's brilliant.
B-Between us, it's the perfect crime.
But... because you really...
you didn't do anything really criminal, did you?
No. No, I didn't.
That's right. Not even when Edward warned you
to get his father out by the elevator.
How was I supposed to know he was going to set a fire?
You couldn't.
Maybe Kit had an idea when you told her--
that's why she changed the code--
but you... you were just an employee.
It wasn't your job to question them.
No, it wasn't.
If Sternman wants to lock himself up
in the bathroom, that's his business, right?
There was nothing I could do.
What did you care?
This old man who couldn't wipe his own ass without you.
He wouldn't lift a finger to help get your sons into St. Steven's.
St. Stephan's.
Huh.
Told you he was going to write...
a letter to the school...
use his influence.
Never did.
No.
It was just a damn letter.
It must have burned you-- the utter thoughtlessness
while you-you... you made sure he took his pills every day,
you massaged his dry, old skin
you monitored his every little burp...
That's right.
...put up with all the little indignities
of servicing his personal hygiene.
You wanted something better for your kids.
Yes.
The old bastard...
...treated you like...
something...scraped off his shoe.
But you showed him.
You played him...
played the whole family like a fine violin.
They were easy, so wrapped up in themselves.
The perfect crime.
Well, you said so yourself.
I-I really didn't do anything criminal, did I?
You're a registered nurse, right?
You had a contract with Sternman to provide care.
Yes.
What?
You heard about the lifeguard at Jones Beach
who let a drowning man die 'cause he was too busy talking to a girl.
They convicted him.
Manslaughter.
He had a higher standard of duty than other people.
He couldn't just walk away.
Neither could you.
What are you talking about?
Your contract.
"Richard Zainer agrees to provide
the nursing services listed above
and to care for the health and welfare of Harold Sternman."
You watched the forces
gather around Sternman to kill him.
But I didn't do anything.
That's right.
You did nothing.
You watched it happen.
And that, my friend... is manslaughter.
But he owed me.
He owed you the salary he paid you.
Zainer pleaded guilt to Second-Degree Manslaughter;
Edward Sternman to Arson and two counts of Man One;
and Kit Sterman to Attempted Murder.
Quite the trifecta.
Zainer can be proud of himself.
He brought down a banking empire.
Not to mention a family.
Three families.