Law & Order/Recap/S06/E05 Hot Pursuit

Profaci leads Briscoe up a flight of stairs into a nightclub, the Velvet Room. He says that the perpetrators of the crime were a man and a woman, but witness details are wildly inconsistent. Briscoe blocks a gurney with a wounded patron so that a footprint doesn't get run over, then heads inside. The building is a bar, and the interior looks like a hospital ward. People are being patched up, and several are being removed on gurneys. The whole place is shot up. Briscoe runs into Curtis, nicely dressed up.

""You put that tie on at 3:30 in the morning, or you just sleep that way?""

- Lennie Briscoe

Curtis says that the bartender is dead, having taken four shots to the chest. He sends the unwounded patrons out. A medical technician says that one other person died; the rest were just injured from glass and ricocheting bullets. Curtis confirms Profaci's statement that there was a man and woman, and adds that they were both in ski masks, it was a robbery, and the guy did all the shooting. Profaci brings over a man named Barnes, who says that the night manager, Helen Shane, has gone missing. Her purse was found outside with a torn strap. The cops talk about what to do next when Curtis gets a call -- a Korean deli nearby was just robbed, and the owner was killed.

A patron of the deli says that he hit the deck when the shots started flying. He saw the two in a gray American car. Just like in the bar, the man did all the shooting. Curtis says he'll add the car to the alert, and Briscoe sees a security camera.

At the precinct, the cops watch the security tape. A masked man gets the till and then shoots the deli owner anyway, and the woman just watches. Curtis says that Helen Shane is still missing, and Profaci comes by to report that there are no known male-female robbery teams in the area that aren't already in jail and match the description. Van Buren, watching the tape, notes that the girl is holding her gun poorly, but the guy is holding is fine. Sal Franks, the owner of the bar that got shot up, arrives and provides a photo of Shane. Briscoe asks if Shane had the money, but Franks says that Willie (the bartender) had the money. Van Buren wonders if Shane was invovled, since the killers hit the club right when the money was available, but Franks denies that. He says an ex-employee, a bouncer named Bryce Roytan, might have wanted to hurt Shane.

Roytan complains about the search of his apartment. He thinks they're there because a drunk that he had to bounce threatened to call the cops; he doesn't know anything about Helen being missing. He does reveal that Helen has a car, and it happens to match the description of the car at the deli.

Briscoe, Curtis, Profaci, and other cops look around the Velvet Room's general area, but can't find any gray cars. The cops figure that the shooters grabbed Helen to get her car. They realize that the shooters must have left behind their own car, and get to looking for it. Soon, Profaci reports that they found a stolen car. It has a flat tire, explaining why the two changed cars. Curtis finds candy wrappers, beer, and soda bottles, as well as a receipt from a Value Bin store, including something called a 'Brownie' for $9.95. They go to the store.

The manager looks at the receipt and says that one of the items was only available at register 1. He directs them to the clerk, Angela McDermott. She's hurrying to a midterm, but the cops eventually persuade her to talk to them. She remembers two people buying a bunch of junk food, and says that the woman wanted to know if the apples were pesticide-free. When she couldn't say, the woman said she'd get some at 'the square.' The cops have a reluctant Angela go to the station to look at perp photos.

The manager at the largest grocer at the Union Square Organic Market doesn't remember the couple when Curtis asks. Briscoe doesn't have any better luck.

""You gettin' anything?"

"Yeah. I finally found out what radicchio is.""

- Reynaldo Curtis and Lennie Briscoe

Briscoe says that Franklin Square, and other squares, are being searched by other police units, and adds that there were no useful prints in the car. Curtis gets a call -- the cops found Shane's car.

Briscoe and Curtis arrive on the scene with Van Buren. She says that the whole area is blocked off but the immediate area, the intersections around the car, are clear. Curtis wants to search, but Briscoe says that they should wait -- if the crew comes back they won't suspect anything and can get quickly jumped by the police. but Curtis thinks they might have already fled. Van Buren says they'll wait twenty minutes. Curtis sets his stopwatch.

In a car, Van Buren is reminiscing about a long stakeout with a partner who was something of a conspiracy theorist. Curtis is loudly counting off the minutes.

""You know, Rey, if you ever get laid off, you might consider a career as an egg timer.""

- Lennie Briscoe

At 19 minutes, Van Buren sends in the search time. Briscoe finds more beer and candy wrappers, and Curtis finds Shane's body in the trunk.

At the precinct, Profaci says there aren't any new reports of stolen cars. Angela is still looking at mug shots. The people she thinks are all already in jail, and Angela wants to leave. Van Buren comes in to say they got a partial off of Shane's car, and by combining it with a partial from the other car they got a good fingerprint. The computer identified it as belonging to a Leon Trapp. They show Angela a lineup with his picture, and she picks out Trapp. Curtis reads that Trapp jumped parole, and that he has one friend in the city, Michael Mirvis -- near both the Velvet Room and the Union Square Organic Market.

Mirvis allows the cops to search his home. Curtis finds a teddy bear, and his girlfriend snatches it back -- it's for her baby. Briscoe asks Mirvis about Trapp's girlfriend, and he identifies a Sally Napoli. The cops soon learn that she's at Riker's Island.

At the jail, Sally complains that she's innocent of the assault on her last boyfriend that she was convicted of. They ask her about Trapp, and say he killed four people.

""Always was kinda frisky.""

- Sally Napoli

The cops say they'll help her with the district attorney if she helps them, and offers to let her keep a tape of their talk. She says she doesn't know anything about a new girl, but does know Trapp's dealer.

Several drug customers and the dealer, Dennis, are pressed against a wall. Curtis threatens to frame the dealer for possession of a lot of cocaine. When he protests that the customers will verify that he was framed, Briscoe points out that drug addicts make poor witnesses. When asked about Trapp, he feigns ignorance. Briscoe asks the rest, and they find someone who remembers that Trapp was there earlier with a girl. Dennis then admits that Trapp came by and was looking for someone named Baboo, whom Dennis doesn't know. Curtis and Briscoe send everyone away.

""No sense in charging 'em with possession of baking soda.""

- Reynaldo Curtis

Curtis recognizes the name Baboo as that of a gun dealer who specializes in automatic weapons. Briscoe wants to get Baboo's address, but Curtis gets a call -- a male-female pair of robbers were just seen on Amsterdam.

At Marvin's drugs, the two come in to see two prep-school students standing in the store. The shopkeeper says they tried to steal a half-dozen disposable cameras. They don't look anything like the two in the surveillance video at the deli.

""Well, are you gonna take 'em in or what?"

"Or what.""

- Shopkeeper and Lennie Briscoe

On the way out, Curtis sees the same teddy bear that he saw in Mirvis's apartment. It costs $9.95, the same as on the receipt found in the first stolen car. And its name is Brownie, also like on the receipt.

Mirvis's place is searched, and he and his girlfriend are handcuffed to chairs. Mirvis still claims to not have seem Trapp in a long time. Briscoe says that he hasn't seen any of the girlfriend's clothes. He concludes that she doesn't live there. Curtis checks her wallet to find her address, and the cops rush off.

The police burst into the girlfriend's apartment. They find ski masks, bullets, cigarettes, and beer, but no people. They find twelve empty beer bottles -- the two ran out of beer and went on a liquor run. Briscoe says that there's a place around the corner to get six packs, and he and Curtis decide to go there.

Curtis spots Trapp and his glrlfriend inside. They enter and approach the two at the counter. The clerk sees the cops approaching and pauses. Trapp turns around and sees them. Then an old lady walks between Trapp and the cops, and he pulls his gun on her. The girl freezes. Trapp and Briscoe begin to argue, and then the shopkeeper shoots Trapp. Briscoe throws the girl down on the floor. She begs them to call her family, and thanks Briscoe profusely as she's arrested.

McCoy arrives at the precinct and asks if the girl's story is true. Van Buren says that the girl's name is Leslie Harlan and she was reported kidnapped half a year ago. They enter the interrogation ante-chamber and meet Mr. and Mrs. Harlan, who are concerned for their daughter. Then they all enter the interrogation room. Leslie hugs her family, sobbing in relief. The family says that Leslie was kidnapped by Leon and his cousin Eddie; they paid a ransom but never got Leslie back. Eddie took all the money and used it to pay a debt; Leon killed Eddie and went on the run with Leslie. She says that Leon raped her and wouldn't let her leave.

""Is he dead?"

"Yes."

"Thank God...""

- Leslie Harlan and Jack McCoy

Mrs. Harlan asks if they can take Leslie home, but McCoy says they're charging her with murder.

Schiff asks McCoy if he's serious, and McCoy says he is. They have confirmed the kidnapping was real; they found Eddie's body based on Leslie's story. Schiff thinks Trapp is to blame, but McCoy thinks that Leslie could have just walked out the door when Trapp slept. Schiff predicts a Stockholm Syndrome defense. McCoy wonders if Leslie grew to like Leon's crimes.

In jail, Leslie's lawyer, Danielle Melnick, mocks McCoy's case. She says that Leslie is a victim and that everything she did was under duress. McCoy says that duress is an affirmative defense, meaning she has to prove it, but Melnick says that won't be a problem. Leslie says that Leon threatened to kill her and her family if she ran away. She says that she was abused, and was transported around in the trunk. McCoy points out that she had a gun, but she says that it wasn't even loaded.

""My God, he wouldn't let me have bullets!""

- Leslie Harlan

She has to admit that she has no evidence of this. McCoy says that Leslie should talk to Olivet. Melnick agrees.

Leslie is snippy during her interrogation. She says that Trapp expected her to love him and do everything with him, even watch TV. She fantasized about him killing her and dropping her body at her house, thinking it was the only way she could get home. She says that, before the kidnapping, she was taking a year off of college. She says that her mother didn't want her to get a job and she has very strong opinions. Her father was largely absent, working all day and golfing on the weekends. Her family wanted her to go to the Country Club with them in the summer, and she confesses that she thought about telling Trapp about the Club and all the money there. She didn't tell him, though.

""I'm not a criminal.""

- Leslie Harlan

McCoy says that Harlan did poorly in school, and Olivet says that Harlan was rebellious. McCoy wonders if Harlan was relieved to be kidnapped; maybe she liked that life. Olivet says that Harlan probably did enjoy a lot of it, but has convinced herself that she didn't so that she can believe that she's not a criminal. Kincaid says that Harlan's kidnapping is to blame, but McCoy says that every criminal has a story. Kincaid says that being kidnapped is more than the usual sob story, but McCoy says that they send away a lot of people who were beaten as children. Briscoe comes by and says they traced Trapp and Harlan to another robbery. This one was in Connecticut, and while no one died, Harlan did fire a gun over the patron's heads. Kincaid, looking unhappy, says she'll file the papers.

Judge Herman Mooney listens to Melnick's motion to quash the Connecticut shooting. Melnick says that she's not on trial for that crime, which took place in another jurisdiction. McCoy says that this destroys Harlan's defense that she was just along with Trapp; she fully participated in the Connecticut robbery, and had a loaded gun. The lawyers bicker about whether the witness IDs are reliable, and Mooney steps in and asks if Connecticut wants to try her. Melnick says, even if Connecticut convicts, she'll argue that it's irrelevant as a prior bad act (prior crimes often can't be used in court because they could prejudice the jury, which is only supposed to be considering the charged crimes). Mooney allows the robbery under a provision allowing prior crimes to refute affirmative defenses. Melnick cheerfully accepts this and leaves.

""She handles defeat pretty well."

"No, I know her. She doesn't.""

- Claire Kincaid and Jack McCoy

In court, McCoy shows the surveillance footage from the deli, presents his opening argument. He argues that Harlan is fully culpable for all the murders. He says that Harlan set up house and robbed with Trapp, meaning that she wasn't just a kidnap victim, and says that she at some point chose to join Trapp. He barely mentions the Connecticut shooting. Melnick uses the same footage and argues that Harlan was terrified. She says that Trapp had threatened her life unless she obeyed him, and says that he took complete control of her. She brings up the Connecticut robbery, and says that this is the only time when Harlan had a loaded gun, and he ordered her to shoot it. Melnick argues that Trapp only did this so that Harlan would be considered a criminal and neither run away nor turn him in, so once she'd fired the gun, he told her that she was a criminal. In her broken-down state, she believed him and obeyed him when he ordered her to go on his crime spree.

Schiff complains that the Connecticut shooting helps Melnick's case by answering the question of why Harlan didn't try to escape. They bicker, but Schiff insists that Melnick did better than them.

Mirvis testifies that he went out with Trapp a few times, leaving Harlan alone. He also testifies that Harlan went out without Trapp sometimes, and that they seemed loving when they were together.

""Leon would grab her anatomy, sometimes... she'd laugh""

- Michael Mirvis

Melnick asks Mirvis to raise his right hand. When McCoy objects that Mirvis was already sworn in, Melnick says that she just wants him to start telling the truth. Mooney says to get on with it. Melnick points out a scar on Mirvis's right hand, and has him testify that Trapp stabbed him with a fork after he (Mirvis) tried to change the channel. Melnick says that this is like Harlan going along with Trapp so she wasn't hurt, but Mooney says that the jury will disregard after McCoy objects. Melnick also brings up that Mirvis won't be serving any time for harboring Trapp and Harlan, since he made a deal with McCoy for his testimony.

Mrs. Harlan testifies that she saw Leslie get kidnapped. Leslie tried to escape but wasn't allowed to. She adds that Leslie was afraid of guns and was non-violent before the kidnapping. She tries to add that Trapp made her do everything she did with him, but this is struck out too, since she wasn't there. Melnick asks if Leslie was susceptible to persuasion, and when McCoy objects, Melnick says that Leslie's mother of all people ought to know if Leslie was susceptible. Mrs. Harlan says that Leslie was depressed about failing at college, had low self-confidence, and was at a low point in general in her life. McCoy has to admit that Leslie transfered schools a lot, and asks why she was expelled or transfered so often. Mrs. Harlan has to admit that Leslie was prone to sneaking away from school to go to nightclubs, and that she was trying to seduce a teacher in one case. Mrs. Harlan finally snaps at him, and McCoy stops the questioning.

Later, Kincaid and McCoy go to dinner

""I don't think Mrs. Harlan liked you very much.""

- Claire Kincaid

Kincaid points out that, had Trapp lived, they'd probably be going easier on Leslie so they could convict Trapp. McCoy says that the case isn't clear or easy, but that's why they have their jobs. He offers her a drink, but she leaves.

Leslie testifies about Trapp shooting Eddie. She testifies that, after Leon shot Eddie, he took her to a motel, raped her, and imprisoned her for a week. He showed her articles saying that her family thought she was dead, and threatened to kill her unless she obeyed him completely. She admits to shooting in the Connecticut liquor store, but says that Trapp was right behind her, holding a gun. She insists that she didn't do anything bad, even though she was at the robberies where the various people were shot in New York. Mooney asks her if she needs some time, but she says she wants to get it over with.

McCoy asks why Leslie went shopping with Trapp. He points out that they were buying coffee for her.

""That's very domestic.""

- Jack McCoy

Leslie, when asked why everyone thought they were in love, says she had to act like it or Leon would have murdered her. She admits she's a good actor, but when McCoy asks if she's acting on the stand, she says no. McCoy asks why, if Leon left her alone a lot, he took her with to rob the Velvet Room. McCoy says it excited her, and she says she almost passed out when Leon shot 'Willie' and the other girl. McCoy catches this and asks how she knew the bartender's nickname was Willie; everyone at the trial called him William. She has to admit that she used to spend time there when she was sneaking up to New York to go clubbing, and that she may have told Leon about it. She says she talked to Leon because, if she talked enough, sometimes he wouldn't rape her. She insists that she's not a criminal, and that she didn't mention anything about when the cash was taken out for the night.

In conference, Melnick says they'll take manslaughter 2. McCoy wants manslaughter 1, with a maximum sentence. This means that she'd be eligible for parole in 8 years, but Leslie doesn't want it. Leslie's parents try to convince her to take the deal, but she's not interested.

""You went too far, Leslie. I can't bail you out this time."

"Maybe if you hadn't bailed her out all those other times...""

- Mr. and Mrs. Harlan

Leslie remarks that one of the articles said her family was moving on, only a few days after the kidnapping. The family argues, getting louder and more angry, until Mrs. Harlan snaps that Leslie should do the right thing for once. She still refuses to deal.

""I'm not making any deals. I didn't do anything wrong.""

- Leslie Harlan

Harlan is found guilty on all four counts.

Later, McCoy says that the Harlan's have hired a battery of psychiatrists for the sentencing hearing. Schiff says that McCoy doesn't have to oppose their demands for leniency. McCoy smiles knowingly.