22x05 - 12 Seconds

[bunniefuu]

In the criminal justice system,

the people are represented

by two separate,
yet equally important groups:

the police, who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON HEADPHONES]

♪

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Hey.

[METALLIC CLANG] [GRUNTS]

[EAGLE CRIES]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

DOA was James Pell, .

He was a law student at Hudson.

Time of death?

Based on body temp,
I'd give it a two-hour window

between : and : a.m.

Cause of death?

Best guess is, he was
struck with a blunt object.

Techs haven't found the m*rder
w*apon, but take your pick.

Get a dive crew down here.

Have them search around the docks.

Who's got his cell phone?

He didn't have one on him.

Well, this had to be
connected to something.

It could be that the k*ller
tried to take his phone.

DOA puts up a fight, ends up a floater.

Who found the guy?

Maintenance worker. Name's Larry Brand.

I showed up to do repairs
on the dock at : .

Dead guy was floating right next to it.
I called right away.

- You recognize him?
- Nope.

All these Hudson kids
look the same to me.

Did you see anything unusual
when you got here?

Yeah. A dead guy.

Nothing else.

Yeah, well, if you remember
anything else, give us a call.

Had a lot going for him...

Handsome, athletic, the best
law school in the country.

Who would want to k*ll a guy like that?

Today? Pretty much anybody.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

Well, the boathouse cams were useless.

Paint crew moved them during repairs.

Dive crew struck out too.

Didn't come up with a phone
or a m*rder w*apon.

Did you reach the parents in Ohio?

Yeah, I just spoke with them.

Told me how proud they were
their son had made it

all the way to Hudson.

It was his ambition since high school.

Did they know if anything
unusual had been going on?

They said they didn't speak
with him much.

Said he was super focused,
dropped ties with everyone

from his hometown
once he started law school.

Tale as old as time.

Someone just turned on Pell's phone.

I've got a location.

I'll get a warrant.

[KNOCKING]

Hello, ma'am.
We're investigating a homicide.

We have a warrant
to search this apartment

for the victim's cell phone.

Do I look like I k*lled
someone and took their phone?

No, ma'am. But we still need to come in.

Sebastian, you know anything
about a missing cell phone?

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Police!

Clear.

NYPD!

Police!

Hey, Sebastian.

I know you're in here.

Let's do this the easy way, huh?

♪

[RUSTLING, PANTING]

[GRUNTS]

Stay down. Give me your hands.

I see you chose the easy way.

Like I keep saying,
I didn't do anything wrong.

Then why'd you run?

- I was scared.
- Of what?

The police.

You're scared of the police?

You know what it's like.

And you don't think
it had anything to do

with all those
stolen cell phones you had?

To be honest, we don't
care about the phones.

We care about murders.

We're homicide detectives.

What are you talking about?

One of the phones we
recovered from your backpack

belongs to a guy we found
floating in the river

up by Hudson University.

I got nothing to do with that.

Where were you this morning
between : and : a.m.?

At home sleeping.
You can ask my grandma.

You're gonna have to do
a lot better than that, bro.

I had a girl with me... Denise.

She lives on the sixth floor.

Okay, well, I'm gonna need
Denise's full name,

her phone number, and for your sake,

she better have been there.

Write.

Where'd you get all those stolen phones?

- You steal them?
- No.

I buy them off some dude over at Hudson.

Works at the boathouse down the river.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

This the guy?

Yeah.

His name is Larry.

♪

Looks like the kid
was telling the truth.

His girlfriend, Denise,
backed his alibi.

What about Larry Brand?
We check his alibi?

Yeah, he was on the BX bus,
got off at : .

- Video confirms that.
- Okay.

So he's not the k*ller, but he just

steals stuff from dead guys.

Hey, any luck on getting info
off of Pell's phone?

He really cares about security.

There are multiple firewalls.

Well, that's odd.
I mean, for a law student.

- Anything else?
- Yeah.

I just got access to the keycard records

at the boathouse.

Pell swiped in at : , but he
wasn't the first one there.

This is Jordan Tyler.

He swiped in minutes before Pell.

Looks like a choirboy.

He is, literally.

I didn't see James this morning.

I was on the water before he got there,

and I left before he came back.

You seem pretty sure about that.

It's not a coincidence.

He rode at the same time every morning,

and I did my best to avoid him.

Why's that?

I don't like to speak ill of the dead,

but James wasn't someone
I wanted to associate with.

How come?

We used to train together,

but there was something off about him.

Off? Off how?

The first sign was,

he'd put all his rowing times
on social media.

And for some reason,
he felt the need to lie

and make them better than they were.

One day he showed me some photos.

They were intimate pictures of a woman

who had broken up with him.

He said he was going
to post them online.

Revenge p*rn.

Do you know this woman's name?

April.

I don't know her last name,
but she works at the bar.

Excuse me. April Parks?

We'd like to talk to you
about James Pell.

- I've got nothing to say.
- Wait. Hold on a second.

I just want to ask a few questions.

I told you, I've got nothing to say.

Which means you got a lot to say.

You're right. I do.

I hate that son of a bitch.

Is that why you, uh,
you broke into his apartment

the other night?

We read the police report.

There a problem here?

Yeah.

You margaritas are too sweet.

You're right.

I tried to break into his apartment.

Like I told the cops who arrested me,

he had naked photos of me on his laptop.

I... I wanted to delete them.

Can you tell us what you
were doing this morning?

Why?

What's this all about?

James is dead.

Someone k*lled him.

Where were you this morning around : ?

Sleeping.

- You can ask my roommates.
- Yeah, we will.

How long were you and James together?

Two months.

During that time,
did you hear about anybody else

who might hate James as much as you did?

April Park says that
you got into a little scuffle

with James Pell a month ago.

By which you mean
I tried to shove his face

through a plate glass window?

Well, now that he's dead,
can't press charges, right?

Wow, that's cold-blooded...

Cracking jokes about a dead guy.

It's karma, man.

Why don't you have a seat
and tell us why

you tried to shove Pell's head
through a window?

Because he was named editor-in-chief

of the "Law Review."

- And that made you angry?
- Yeah.

'Cause he didn't deserve it.

- Says who?
- Says me.

He stole that vote.

He manipulated the outgoing editors.

Pell was an average student.

I mean, he shouldn't even
have been in the mix.

But this professor... Ezra Nichols.

He's like a legend around here.

He went to bat for him.

He convinced the editors
they needed to pick Pell.

And why do you think Ezra Nichols

would do something like that
for someone like Pell?

Well, there's obviously something

going on between them.

Do you think they were having an affair?

It seemed that way.

Do you have any proof
other than this editor thing?

Yeah, I saw them walk into
Nichols's office a few times.

So?

Nichols shut the door both times

the second they walked inside.

No professor does that these days.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

So Pell is messing around
with his professor.

Things go south.

He threatens to go public
with the scandal,

and the professor kills him
to keep things quiet.

- I mean, it's possible, but...
- But what?

Ezra is married to a woman

and has an impeccable reputation.

I got some bad news for you, James.

Sometimes people lie,
even law professors

with wives and impeccable reputations.

Yeah, well, thanks
for the life lesson, Frank.

But this is not just some professor.

This is Ezra Nichols.

He's the reason I became a lawyer.

He argued against the voter
suppression laws in Arizona,

got all the way to the Supreme Court.

And before that, he's out
there fighting for gay rights,

- minority rights, the disabled.
- I get it. He's a saint.

Doesn't mean he didn't k*ll James Pell.

James was truly talented
and a good person.

We've talked to a few other
people who feel differently.

I can't speak to that.

How well did you two know each other?

He was in two of my classes.

And he worked as a research assistant

on one of my most recent books,

so we knew each other reasonably well.

How would you describe the
nature of your relationship?

I'm not sure I know what you mean.

Were you two cordial?

Were you pleasant with one another?

I suppose.

Anything else between you two
you'd like to share with us?

Excuse me?

Were you two romantically involved?

No.

Of course not. [STAMMERS]

Why on Earth would you think that?

We just keep hearing
how fond you were of James.

Everybody we spoke to
at the "Law Review" board

said that you strongly advocated

- for him to be editor-in-chief?
- I did.

He was an exceptional student.

Who was ranked out of ?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Numbers don't tell the whole story.

I agree, but I still find this odd.

Out of all the students you have here,

out of all the gifted, diverse
men and women at this school,

you still pushed for a white kid

in the bottom / of the class.

Make it make sense.

I think we're done here, fellas.

Where were you yesterday
morning between : a.m...

I told you we're done here.

I'm no longer willing
to answer questions

without a lawyer present.

I can assure you, Detective,
I know my rights.

So, please, direct your gaze elsewhere.

♪

I found security footage
of Nichols and Pell

walking out of Nichols' office
last week around : p.m.

So they were having an affair.

No. I don't think so.

I've gone through Pell's laptop,

looked at every communication
between them,

and there's nothing
the least bit affectionate.

I hate to break it to you, Vi,

but not all men are good at intimacy.

Really?

Never noticed.

But that's not what's going on here.

This wasn't about two
closed-off dudes hooking up.

What do you mean?

Pell's emails were
increasingly aggressive

and demanding.

"I'd hate to see
your reputation tarnished."

"I'm done asking.

It's time for you to deliver."

So Pell was threatening him.

Which means sex or no sex,
he had leverage over him.

I think I know what it was too.

Pell sent this clip
to Nichols ten months ago

when the threats started.

It's from a dinner at the law school

honoring Malcolm Sanders...

The first gay person to be nominated

to the Supreme Court.

I guess even I'm not
diverse enough to be

on the Supreme Court these days.

Not enough to be Black, gotta be a f...

Need I say more?

♪

- Too.
- Shh.

Turn it off now.

But I only played seconds.

I know what I said.

And we know who heard it...

James Pell.

He was working there that night.

He was coordinating the event.

Which explains how he caught
your comment on video.

And then he wanted you
to know about it, didn't he?

Which is why he sent you
the clip ten months ago.

That's when you started
helping him out, right?

Look, Professor,
we know plenty of good men

have lost their reputations,
their careers,

for saying stupid things...
Things they didn't mean,

things they used to say
on the playground

when they were ten years old.

And we understand the type of stress

that something like that can cause.

I mean, you probably woke up
every single morning

wondering if today was
the day this poor guy

sold you out, leaked it on Twitter,

called "The New York Times."

And that kind of pressure
can cause really smart people

to make really stupid choices.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I appreciate your concern, Detective,

but I'll cut to the chase.

I didn't k*ll James Pell.

But if you did, we'd understand.

Gentlemen, I presume Professor Nichols

is not under arrest?

Correct.

Then please, get the hell out
of my office.

♪

I gotta be honest.

This is a little surreal for me.

Why's that?

Ezra Nichols...

Always a big inspiration for me.

I just... he's the guy
that made me want to be

a lawyer in the first place.

I just can't believe
he's mixed up in all this.

Right now, he's just a guy

who used a word he wasn't supposed to.

Which is depressing enough.

Yeah, a bad word, no doubt, but...

But what?

Nobody's above having a bad day.

The only difference between you
and him and anybody else is,

he got caught on camera.

We found something in the doormat.

What? Dirt?

Dried mud, and there's
cattail fluff in it.

Those grow by the riverbank.

That would put him by the boathouse.

He came in through the
back entrance, which means

he didn't want to be seen.

Maybe he had blood on his clothes.

Do we know where the laundry room is?

Already checked it. Nada.

So if he didn't wash his clothes,

maybe he threw them away.

So where does he keep the trash bags?

Over here.

Check it for blood.

Nothing.

Check the inside flap.

Bingo. We've got some blood here.

Get that to the lab.

Hey, the lab says the blood is Pell's.

And the mud on the doormat
matches the riverbank

- at the boathouse.
- Hell of a start.

But we still can't place him
near the crime scene

or even prove that he left
his house that morning.

He's right.

I've scrubbed all the video
I could find.

But we still got the dead guy's blood

at the Nichols' house.

They can't walk that back.

It's not impossible.

Let's keep digging.

- They got kids, right?
- Mm-hmm.

A -year-old and a -year-old?

- Yeah.
- And both parents work?

- Yeah.
- That means...

- They have a nanny.
- Yeah.

Let's track her down.

Find out what she knows.

I can't get involved.

I'm applying for a visa right now,

but I'm a little behind
on the paperwork.

We're not ICE, Magda.
We're not gonna report you.

We just need to know if you were working

at the Nichols' house that morning.

Yes. I got there at : .

Michelle called me.

Said she needed me
to watch their youngest.

And when you got there, was Ezra home?

Yes. He was asleep upstairs.

You sure?

Yeah.

He came down around : .

I made him breakfast.

And Ezra didn't leave
the house before that?

No. Like I said, he was sleeping.

Where was Michelle?

If I say anything that
gets the Nichols in trouble,

I could lose my job.

Magda, this is a m*rder investigation.

Understand?

We need to know what you know.

♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Michelle Nichols.
- What is this?

You're under arrest
for the m*rder of James Pell.

What? Babe...

Going to take care of this, baby.
You'll be home in no time.

Promise you.

Don't say a word. Understand me?

Tell them you want a lawyer.
Now! Say it out loud!

I want a lawyer.

Watch your head, ma'am.

♪

Calling docket ending in ,

People v. Michelle Nichols,

charging m*rder in the second degree.

How does the defendant plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

- People on bail?
- People request remand.

We have evidence that proves
the defendant was aware

the victim, James Pell,
was blackmailing her husband

and that she m*rder*d him to stop it.

Your Honor, Mrs. Nichols
is anything but a flight risk.

She serves on the boards
of the Children's Defense Fund,

America Reads, and the
Riverdale Country School.

She's never had so much
as a speeding ticket.

Given her significant
financial resources

and extensive international connections,

she may be accumulating funds
in order to flee the country.

Okay. Enough.

Bail is set at $ , ,
and Mrs. Nichols

is to surrender her passport.

Motion to exclude.

The video clip of my client's husband

expressing his displeasure to her

is protected by marital privilege.

The jury shouldn't be allowed to see it.

Privilege doesn't apply
in this situation.

Professor and Mrs. Nichols
were in a public setting,

which means there was no
reasonable expectation

of confidentiality.

Ezra Nichols was sitting in front

of a microphone, for God's sake.

The comment was made after
the speeches were finished.

The microphone was disconnected
from the public address system.

He was completely unaware
he was being recorded.

Michelle Nichols literally shushed him.

- That proves that...
- That proves nothing.

My husband shushes me in my living room,

the doctor's office.

Based on the facts, it's clear that

this was meant to be a personal
and private conversation.

Motion granted.

We need some sort of evidence
to establish motive,

something to make the jury understand

why Pell was blackmailing
Nichols in the first place.

Yeah, that's what I've been working on.

I think I might have
found something too.

- See Ezra Nichols' wine glass?
- Yes.

When Ezra moves the glass,

he's motioning to a waiter for a refill.

Play it one more time.

If the waiter was close enough to pour,

they would have been
close enough to hear

what Nichols said to his wife.

Can you tell us where you last saw

Ezra and Michelle Nichols?

I was a server at their table
at a law school dinner.

And can you please repeat the comment

that you heard Ezra Nichols
make to his wife

about Supreme Court Justice
Malcolm Sanders?

Objection... hearsay.

It's not being offered for the truth

- of the matter asserted.
- Overruled.

Then it's protected
by marital privilege.

Privilege doesn't apply when
there's a third party present.

I agree.

Mr. Price, ask your question again.

Ms. Zinkow, what did you hear

Ezra Nichols say to his wife?

He was talking about Justice Sanders,

and he used an offensive word.

What word?

It starts with F,
and it refers to gay people.

Do I have to say it?

No. No. I think we get the idea.

Did you tell anybody what you heard?

Yes, I told one
of the student coordinators,

James Pell.

How did Mr. Pell respond?

He thanked me for telling him this.

Then he took the video card
out of the camera

that was recording the speakers' table.

Thank you. I have nothing further.

Are you familiar
with who Ezra Nichols is...

Of all he's done
for the LGBTQ community?

- Not really.
- Ah.

Then let me educate you.

- He is one of the most...
- Objection.

Professor Nichols' résumé
in this regard is irrelevant.

Sustained. Move on, Mr. Seaver.

The room was filled
with people, correct?

Yes, there were about people there.

So there was lots of noise.

People were eating, drinking.

Yes.

So it was obviously hard to hear.

I suppose.

So you can't be sure what Mr. Nichols

said or didn't say, correct?

No. That's not true.

[CHUCKLES] I heard him use that word.

I'm positive.

Nothing further.

Mr. Price?

Nothing further, Your Honor.

Witness is excused.

The people call Magda Chezlak.

Is Ms. Chezlak here?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

- What's going on?
- I don't know.

We talked to her last night.

The Nichols' nanny skipped town?

Her roomie thinks
she flew back to Poland.

- Can you confirm that?
- No.

We checked all the flight logs.

There's no record of her on any of them,

and she's not answering calls
or texts, either.

- So she's in the wind?
- Sure looks that way.

Well, the woman
was terrified and thought

ICE was gonna grab her up.

Or Seaver convinced her
that was the case

and arranged for her to get out of town.

Which is obviously witness tampering.

It sure is, but good luck
finding a paper trail.

So now what?

And the nanny was the only witness

who could establish Michelle was at home

the morning of the m*rder.

No.

That's not true.
We have another witness.

Good.

Just make sure that this one shows up.

Detective Cosgrove, in the
course of your investigation,

did you meet Magda Chezlak,

- the Nichols' nanny?
- Yes.

Did Ms. Chezlak tell you
that Michelle Nichols

left the house the morning
of James Pell's m*rder?

Objection, hearsay.

Ms. Chezlak's statement
falls under an exception

to the hearsay rule.

It's a declaration
against pecuniary interest.

What exactly is Ms. Chezlak's
pecuniary interest?

Her job.

She told Detective Cosgrove
she was afraid

she'd be fired if she said anything that

got the Nichols in trouble.

Objection overruled.

Yes, Magda Chezlak told me

that she saw the defendant

leave the house at : that morning.

And what time was James Pell k*lled?

The medical examiner determined that

it was between : and :
in the morning.

Did Ms. Chezlak say anything else

about the defendant
leaving home so early that day?

Yes, she said that was highly unusual.

She seemed in a hurry
and extremely upset.

Thank you, Detective Cosgrove.
I have no further questions.

How many years have you been

with the New York City
Police Department, Detective?

.

And in those years, how many times

have you been called as a
witness in a criminal case?

I... I wouldn't know the exact number.

Public records show that you were called

to testify in cases.

Really? That many?

In how many of those cases
was the defendant

African American?

- Objection, relevance.
- It goes to bias.

Overruled, but be careful, Mr. Seaver.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I don't keep track.

Maybe you should...

Over half,

and % of those cases
resulted in convictions.

That is well above
the statistical average.

Did you know that?

Like I said, I don't know
the exact numbers.

You should. It's in the public record.

It seems whenever a person
of color is on trial,

you always seem to bring in
some extra evidence

to the equation.

Are you trying to say I make things up?

Because that's not how it works.

Quite the contrary... It's simple math.

And it adds up to you having

a racially-motivated axe to grind.

There's no other way to explain it.

I'm pretty sure there is,
but I'm not a sociologist.

I'm a homicide detective.

I follow the evidence,
and I arrest bad guys

regardless of their race.

That's what I do.

And in this case, the evidence
points at Michelle Nichols.

A Black woman.

No. A m*rder*r.

Says the man who only
arrests Black people.

Objection. The defense is out of line.

Sustained.

No further questions.

Witness is excused.

♪

Mr. Price?

The People rest, Your Honor.

Mr. Seaver, call your first witness.

Defense calls Ezra Nichols.

Where were you on the morning
of James Pell's m*rder?

I got up early and went
to the Hudson boathouse.

Why did you go to the boathouse?

Because I knew James would be there.

And what did you do
when you found him there?

I k*lled him.

Request to meet in chambers, Your Honor.

♪

We've already
established that Ezra Nicholas

was at home asleep
when James Pell was k*lled.

The defense is clearly
using his testimony

to create a false narrative.

The People have no legal basis
to exclude his testimony.

Ezra Nichols' so-called
confession is an act

of perjury designed to create confusion

in the minds of the jurors.

Creating confusion is what
defense lawyers do, Mr. Price.

That's not a basis to exclude a witness.

No, but creating a mockery

of the criminal justice system is,

or at least it used to be.

Watch yourself, sir.

Ezra Nichols is free to testify.

And you, Mr. Price, are free
to accept his confession

if you so choose.

Court is adjourned for today.

Is there a chance Ezra Nichols

actually committed the m*rder?

Sure. It's possible.

Just like it's possible someone

not named Lee Harvey Oswald
k*lled Kennedy.

What does the evidence say?

That Mr. Nichols was at home sleeping

when the m*rder was committed.

I don't... maybe we should
just accept his confession,

charge him with m*rder.

At least somebody will go
to prison for this.

I assume you're just venting.

- [SCOFFS] I am.
- Then let's move on.

Let's view this confession
for what it is,

a stunt designed to distract the jury

and create reasonable doubt,
nothing more.

So let Nichols spin his tale...

Then bury him on the cross
and expose his lies.

Pell started out by asking me
for a few thousand dollars.

Then he wanted me to make sure
he was named

editor-in-chief of the "Law Review."

He was using your reputation
and influence

to bolster his own résumé.

Yes.

And I succumbed to his demands.

Why is that?

Because I'm ashamed
of what I said, deeply.

It's not who I am.

If I'd heard another man say that,

I'd be the first person to speak up,

denounce his h*m*.

So I was terrified.

I knew the significance of the tape

and the greed and ambition
of the man in possession of it.

Can you elaborate on that?

Tell us why you were so terrified?

Because we live
in a society where people...

The press... want to crucify
public figures

for making a mistake.

There are no second chances.

One bad moment, one wrong word,
and your career is over,

no matter who you are
or what you've accomplished.

It's become a sport, a game.

Who can we cancel next?

So I gave James Pell
everything he asked for

to protect myself and my family.

Were there any other demands?

Yes.

He wanted to clerk
for the Supreme Court.

That's where I drew the line.

How come?

Those clerks go on to be professors,

judges, politicians.

They become thought leaders
for the next generation.

I wasn't giving James Pell
that kind of access.

And how did Mr. Pell react
when you told him that?

He said he'd release the video.

And what did you do?

I told Pell we needed to talk in person.

So I met him down
at the boathouse that morning.

I told him he needed to stop
what he was doing,

that I was done
with his demands, his threats.

And how did he react?

He laughed in my face, said he owned me.

That's when I lost my composure.

I picked up a pipe,
and I swung it at his head.

Where was your wife at this time?

She was home with our children.

She had nothing to do with this.

Thank you, Professor Nichols.

No further questions.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Mr. Nichols...

When you allegedly k*lled James Pell,

where did you strike him?

On the side of his head
above his right ear.

Do you recall what Mr. Pell
was wearing that morning?

A light blue athletic shirt
with dark blue markings

on the sleeves.

♪

Side of head, above right ear,

light blue athletic shirt,

dark blue markings on the sleeves.

Professor Nichols, have you
read the crime scene report

for James Pell's m*rder?

No. I have not.

Yet, your so-called memories

are word for word identical
to what is written here.

- Objection.
- Sustained.

Professor Nichols,
do you love your wife?

Of course.

And you would do almost
anything to protect her,

including lying about a m*rder

to stop her from going to prison.

- Objection!
- Sustained.

You now claim you k*lled James Pell,

even though you were at home
the morning of the m*rder.

That's not true.

But no one else can verify

your account of events, correct?

That'snot true.

My wife and two children
were home having breakfast

when I returned from the boathouse.

They saw you return home that morning?

Yes.

And what time was this?

Approximately : a.m.

They saw you...

♪

Thank you.

No further questions at this time.

You're excused.

Subpoena the son.

The kid already told the police
he left home at : a.m.

He said he didn't see
his parents that morning,

didn't even know if they were home.

Which means one of them is lying.

I know which one my money is on.

♪

Your Honor, given that this witness

is the defendant's son, I'd ask
that you declare him hostile,

allow me to ask leading questions.

Granted.

Where were you the morning
of James Pell's m*rder?

I was home.

I left home for water polo
practice at : a.m.

And did you see your mother or father?

I saw my mother.

She made me breakfast.

And I saw my father, too, briefly.

He came home at : ,
right before I left home

for water polo practice.

Really? You saw him come home?

That's correct.

But you originally told the police

that you didn't see either
of them that day, correct?

Yes. I... I was confused.

But you're not confused now?

Correct.

So your father wasn't in his

bedroom sleeping that morning?

That's right.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Well, that morning when you
saw your mother, when she...

She made breakfast for you?

How did she appear?
Was she rattled, disoriented?

Was she acting in a way
that seemed abnormal?

Um...

no, she seemed very normal.

What about your nanny, Magda?
See her at home that morning?

I... I don't recall.

Your father told you what
to say today, didn't he?

No.

He told you to lie
about seeing him at home

that morning in order to perpetuate

- the lie that he k*lled Pell.
- Objection!

Sustained.

Nothing further at this time.

We need to poke holes
in this kid's testimony.

Check with the coach.
Pull phone, internet data.

If we can prove he was
telling the truth then...

We can prove he's lying now.

I dug up everything
I could on Cyrus Nichols.

He seems like a really good kid...

Straight-A student, debate
team, varsity water polo,

literally feeds the homeless on Sundays.

Does his story track
the day of the m*rder?

I talked to his water polo coach.

Confirms Cyrus was
at practice at : a.m.

And I found video of him a
block from the school at : .

Doesn't really prove
that he saw or didn't see

his father that morning,

just means he went
to water polo practice.

[SIGHS] I know.

We're looking for a needle
in a haystack.

I might have one.

What do you mean?

Cyrus used his cell phone
to call his parents' landline

that morning at : a.m.

What? Why would he...

Get a ping order right away.

On it.

What the hell's going on?
What was so important?

We looked into your son's
version of events.

And we learned that
he called your landline

the morning of the m*rder at : a.m.

So we pinged his cell.

And we eventually discovered this.

This is Cyrus at : a.m.
on the morning of the m*rder

walking down nd Street,
two blocks from the boathouse

where Pell was k*lled.

And this is Cyrus at : a.m.,

throwing away the pipe
used to k*ll James Pell.

♪

If you tell us everything
that happened...

we will do the best we can for your son.

Whatever they say,

it can't be used against the child.

Agreed.

[SIGHS]

Cyrus knew the pressure I was under...

That we were under.

He overheard us arguing the

night before about James Pell

and how he was threatening
to destroy our lives.

He knew the agony that this was causing.

And Cyrus is a sensitive boy.

He carries the weight
of the world on his shoulders.

He always has.

I told him we would
take care of everything,

that this was not his problem.

But he...

He k*lled James Pell.

It wasn't his fault.

He was afraid.

He was just trying to help.

♪

Your Honor, the People have agreed

to drop the m*rder charges
against Michelle Nichols.

We have also agreed not to charge

Ezra Nichols with perjury.

The Nichols family understands

that it is in the best
interests of the child

to plead guilty in family court,

and the record will be sealed.

Cyrus...

Do you understand what this means?

A judge in family court will be
sentencing you for m*rder.

Yes, ma'am.

I understand.

The case against
Michelle Nichols is dismissed.

Court Officer, please take
Cyrus Nichols into custody.

He's just a boy.

For God's sake, he's barely .

[SOBBING]

You okay?

A man is dead
and a family's been destroyed,

all because a good man blurted
out a stupid, hateful word.

♪