28x02 - Midway

[bunniefuu]

- In the criminal justice
system,

sexually based offenses

are considered
especially heinous.

In New York City,
the dedicated detectives

who investigate
these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as
the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

- What are you doing?

- Walking with you.

- Mom, it's not a playdate.

I don't need you to
walk me to the door.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

Your hard-working mother
thought it might be nice

to spend a little extra
quality time together.

Is this an imposition?
- No.

- 'Cause you know, I'm gonna
remember this next year

when you're off at college
and you call home

crying late at night
'cause you miss me so much.

- Okay, fine.

I guess you can walk
with me for, like, a block.

- Wow, okay.

Rude.

So what are your plans
for tonight?

- AP History.

Got a big project.

- Really?
- Yeah.

- On a Friday night?

- And, like, maybe
some video games.

- And, like, maybe a party
at Kira's house

since her parents are away?

Kiddo, come on.

I wear a badge for a living.
Yeah.

- I can neither confirm nor
deny anything about a party.

- Okay, fine.

But we still need to go over
our ground rules first.

- Mom.

- We do not take open
containers from anyone.

No pills, nothing.
- Okay, I know. I know.

- Second, we look
out for our friends.

We keep track of everybody
through the night.

- Yep, gotcha.

- And third,
above all, we make--

- We make good decisions.

- Great.
- I'm good.

- All right. Good.

Well, remember, I track
your location at all times.

- You know, you're not gonna
be able to stalk me

forever, Mom.
- That's very funny.

I can, and I will.

Be safe.

Love you.

- Okay.

Love you.

- Bye.
- Bye.

[phone buzzing]

- Curry.

Helene?

Whoa, slow down, slow down.

All right, tell me
what happened.

Are you safe?

Hey.

Got a call from Helene Brooks,

case from about
eight months ago.

- Helene Brooks, yeah.

Her son got molested
by--by the uncle, right?

Did 30 years?
- Yeah.

He's only nine years old, Leo.

- I remember him.
He's a sweet kid.

- Yeah, well, after the trial,
I met up with Helene

to give her some resources
for Leo.

I said if she ever needed
anything to give me a ring.

So this afternoon, she called,
asking if

we'd come out and help
because Leo's gone missing.

- He shouldn't even
have been with you!

- I've been trying to get
in touch with you!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys.
I need you to step back.

Sir, settle down.

- I should be able
to take my own son

to a stupid carnival,
you b*tch.

- Whoa!

- You need to stop
and take a breath.

- He lost Leo.
He lost our boy.

- Okay. I understand, Helene.

- Walk us through
what happened, okay?

- I brought him here
'cause I figured

he could use a little fun,
you know, like a normal kid.

- You go to hell, Thomas!
- Okay, Helene.

- Sir. And then what happened?
Focus. Focus.

What happened?

- We were having a good time.

Leo, he dropped
his cotton candy.

He got a little upset
but--but no big deal,

so I went to get him
another one.

So I turned around
and got back in line,

and he wasn't more than


But when I turned around
after paying, he was gone.

- And when was this?

- Look, I'm not trying to
make a big deal over nothing.

I just figured that he wandered
away to look at the games.

- Sir.

- And I told him
when we got there,

if we get separated
to meet me at the carousel.

So I waited there.

- Mr. Brooks, I need you
to tell me when this was.

- I tried looking myself.

- When?

- Two and a half,
three hours ago.

- Whoa, Helene, stop!

- Whoa, whoa!

- Get back, get back, get back!

- I swear to God,
if something happens to him,

I'm gonna k*ll you.

- You broke my nose!

- Call a medic.

[both shouting]

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Leo Brooks, nine years old,
last seen

wearing blue shorts, gray
T-shirt, and a green backpack.

Photos of him are being
sent to your PEDs.

- So we are coordinating
with the 64th to establish

a 25-block perimeter.

DAS is sifting through
the CCTV footage.

They will update us as needed.

Just so you know, this kid has
already been through a lot,

so let's bring him home.

- How's the mother?
- Terrified. Furious.

- So he wandered off, ran away?
- Or something worse.

- Well, if he wandered off,
nobody noticed it.

- And Funathon employees
haven't received

any word on a lost child.

- Well, maybe he's hiding then.

- Well, that would be ideal.

The citywide alert
has already gone out.

But before that, Curry, Griff,

go have a sit down
with the mother, Helene,

and see if you can get a sense
of where the kid may have gone.

You two, have another run
at the father.

It took him
two and a half hours

to report the kid missing.

- Ow, ow, ow!

Ow. Ow.

Take it easy, man.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I hope you got Helene in cuffs,
'cause I'm pressing charges.

- We're a little more
concerned with finding

your son right now.
- Aren't you?

- Well, yeah.

Of course I am.

- Well, that's good,
because dragging your feet

when Leo went missing
wasn't a good look.

- I panicked.

I knew my psycho ex-wife
was gonna

spaz over me taking him,
and I didn't wanna give her

any more custody a*mo.

- So why take him
in the first place?

- My boy should be doing
fun things, kid things.

- Helene, just calm down.

It's gonna be okay.

- You gotta find Leo, please.
I am about to lose it.

- Listen, we are doing
everything we can.

- Look at me.
Talk to me about Leo.

Anything new you've noticed?

Any changes
we should know about?

- It's been rough.

None of us are okay.

We've been through
half a dozen therapists

with the aggression,
the nightmares.

He's withdrawn.

- Okay, that's textbook
response for kids like Leo

after experiencing what he has.

- He's still my sweet boy.

We--we are trying our best.

But with--with the divorce and
the doctors, it's been a lot.

- His mom's stuck
in the past, obsessed.

I mean, how's he ever gonna get
over it if she can't move on?

- And, hey, I get
why you wanna move on,

because it was your brother
that molested Leo.

But acting like this,
not reporting him missing,

people are gonna wonder.

- Screw you both.

I lost my whole family.

So, yeah, I hoped
that a day here might help

to bring out the old Leo.

- And did it?

Help?

[pensive music]

- No.

He was in a mood, angry.

You never know what
sets him off anymore.

- Money's been tight, so I've
had to pick up extra shifts.

That's how Leo ended up
with Thomas.

My ma was watching him
while I was working a double.

Thomas shows up and lies
to my mother's face,

saying that I agreed
he could bring our son here.

Now, if I'd have been home--
- No.

- If I'd have
checked in earlier--

- Helene, Helene, we are not
gonna go down that path.

Okay?

Remember, we have
been here before.

Nothing good comes from that.

- What set him off today?

- Leo and I got into a fight.

- Okay.

- He threw a tantrum, chucked
his cotton candy, and I--

I lost my cool,
and I shouted at him.

He just froze,
like a scared animal.

And I know better.

But I was so angry
that the words

just started leaving my mouth.

- And then what happened?

- I apologized.

I went to get a new one.

I wasn't gone for more
than a few minutes.

Please, find my boy.

I'm begging you.

[knock at door]

- Sorry, we've got
a witness you guys

are gonna wanna talk to.

- Okay, all right,
just give--no, Helene.

Stay here.

We will be right back, okay?

- [yelling incoherently]

- Anyway, I look up
from my phone,

and I see this skeevy guy,

homeless,
hanging around the rides,

so I started filming.

- Okay, what did he want?

- Probably to get
his rocks off, I don't know.

He was, like,
talking to all the kids.

- Was this little boy with him?

- No, not that I saw,

but I wouldn't put anything
past that creep.

- All right, let's go.

- Hey.

Do not approach this guy
if you spot him, all right?

Just radio it in.

[knocks]

We got patrols working from
Myrtle down to South Slope.

- No luck along
the Belt Parkway.

I got Rollins and Bruno
checking

an encampment near the bridge.

- I just can't get
over this poor kid.

You know, we solve his case,
move on,

he's barely able to pick up
the pieces.

Now this?

I mean, how is he ever
gonna get right?

- Not everybody makes it
out of the dark, Griff,

no matter what we do.

- Got eyes on the suspect.

Old Fulton and Hicks.

[suspenseful music]

- Any sign of Leo?

- Just our guy and one or two
individuals coming and going.

- He's agitated.

He keeps yelling
at something or someone.

- Kid could be in
one of those tents.

- Hang on.

Let's move. Go.

Go, go.

- Let me see your hands!

Come out!
Let me see your hands.

Come on.

Come on. Hands up.

- No, no kid.

- Okay, let's check
all the tents.

- Captain. Captain, look.

Leo had a green backpack.

- It's his.

- Camp's cleared.
No other signs of Leo.

- The mobile care team
is en route

to help us with our new friend.

- Okay, easy there.

- Unrighteous, unwelcome,
unwanted.

- Easy there.

We don't want you
to hurt yourself.

- Unwanted.
Unwanted and unfair.

- I know you don't like this,
and quite frankly,

neither do I,
but we just have to do this

for your safety and for ours,
okay?

- We have whys,
and we have nothing--

we have nothing
above the ground.

Nothing above the ground.

- Maybe we should wait
for MCT to show up.

- Incentives, nothing.

- I think maybe he's just
looking for a reason.

- So you're here because
you had something

that doesn't belong to you,
okay?

The backpack?
- Satchel, yes.

Haversack.
- Yeah.

My name is Amanda.
What's your name?

- Arthur. Artie.
- Artie?

- Artie, Artie.
- I like that.

Maybe did you get the bag
from a little boy?

Maybe this little boy?

- No, no. No sprouts.
No shavers.

Cast aside in the box.
Muck and mire.

Muck and mire.
- The trash? The trash?

Somebody threw it
into the trash?

Okay.

Do you know if it was
a man or a woman?

- Average-Joe, gent.

We tried to restore,
to make whole.

- Can you describe the man,
Artie,

the man who threw away the bag?

- Cloak lined with blood bars,
cast up on the horizon.

- Blood bars?
- Blood bars. Blood bars.

- Wait, did he have--
he had blood on his clothing?

- No, no. Blood bars.
Blood bars.

- Stripes. Red stripes.

- Blood stripes.
- The carnival workers.

They wear a red-striped vest.
- Did you find him?

Did you find my son?

- You really
should not be here.

- Oh, my God.

[screams] That's Leo's!

My son!
[sobs]

- We're doing
everything we can.

- Why did I leave him with her?

Where is my baby?

- All right?
We found his backpack.

We're gonna find him.
You have to trust me.

All right?
We're going to find him.

Let's go sit down
for a few minutes, okay?

It's all right. No, I know.

Okay, trust me.

We are doing everything
we can to find him, okay?

- I got a hundred people
working here.

You can't expect me to just
hand over their private info.

- I'm just trying to find
a missing nine-year-old boy.

But you know what?

Hey, if you'd rather
be a problem,

then maybe I start
pulling permits,

get a team of inspectors
down here.

- Bull, you can't do that.
- Sure I can.

It's the last few weeks
of your season, right?

How's your bottom line
gonna look when I shut you down

for the next ten days?

- Got about six guys,
all with sheets of some sort,

all seasonal, paid off-book.

It's tough for these guys
to get a job these days,

so I try to help them out.

- Yeah, sure.
You're a real Samaritan.

- Hey, Chet Esposito?

- Yeah. What do you want?

- Let's start with
answers to our questions.

NYPD.

- What's so important
that not one

but three cops wanna bother me?

- Why don't you set that
down first, all right?

- We're here about a backpack.

- I don't have a backpack.

- 'Cause you got rid of it,
right?

You tossed it away
in a dumpster.

- I don't remember
tossing a bag.

- Oh? Hey, we have a witness.

- Yeah, and you know what?
We have a lab.

I'm sure our lab will find
your fingerprints all over it.

- So how about we
start over, Chet, okay?

What were you doing
with the backpack?

- Fine, I found it on a ride.

It had 17 bucks inside.

I took the cash and didn't
think it'd be a big deal.

- Well, I'll tell you
what the big deal is,

is that backpack belonged
to a nine-year-old boy,

and that nine-year-old boy
is missing.

- Okay, hold on.
I never saw a kid.

- Well, you also said
you didn't know anything

about a bag just a minute ago.

- Okay.
- So what is it?

- Okay. Just wait, please.

- And you also have
quite a record, huh?

Sexual battery, statutory r*pe.

- Yeah, and I paid that debt
a long time ago.

- All right, but you're
a registered sex offender

working around a bunch of kids.

Isn't that a recipe
for trouble?

- I never touched little boys.

- Oh, did you just
touch little girls?

That's it, isn't it?

I think we have a discerning
sex-offender pedophile.

- The facts are
is that a kid is missing,

and you had his backpack.

That's two strikes.

So tell us where the kid is,

or things are gonna get real
bad for you pretty quickly.

[tense music]

- I think I should
get a lawyer now.

- Hey, Bruno and Griff
are cordoning the employees,

and I just found out
Esposito has an apprentice.

I'd like to see if she can
retrace his steps for us.

- Maybe she noticed something.

- Well, we'll take
whatever we can.

I mean, Leo's odds are
getting worse with each hour.

- Uh, I think he did
some work on the Gravitron

before heading to the Himalaya.
Yeah, the Himalaya.

- Work with Chet very long?

- I guess.

He came on about
a year ago, maybe.

- Okay, what's he like?
- Chet?

He's okay. Yeah, he's fine.

- Does he ever do
anything unusual?

Does he act weird?

You know, does he, like--

does he, like,
talk to kids a lot?

- I don't know.

No, I couldn't say.

- Is everything okay, Mary?
Are you all right?

- Has Chet ever done anything
to make you feel uncomfortable?

- You know, it's okay
if you wanna tell us.

- The Gravitron
is over this way.

- Hey, Mary, if there's
anything you wanna tell me,

like if anything happened

between you and Chet,
it's okay.

You're not in any
kind of trouble.

You're safe.

Mary?

Hey, hey, it's okay.

You're safe. Chet's in custody.

He cannot hurt you.

[yelps]

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- Hey, you all right?

- Yeah, go.

♪ ♪

- Mary, stop!

- Suspect is heading east
toward Steinway.

- Help! No, stop!

Stop, help!

Help, somebody help me!

- You good?
- Yes.

- Help me!

They're trying to take me away!
- Come on.

- Help!

Get off of me!

Help!

- [yells] You can't hurt me.

- Mary, please.
- You can't hurt me.

- Try to listen.
- I know what you're doing.

I know who you're working for.
I'm not stupid.

I'm not stupid.
They can't hurt me.

- Hey, once again,
I promise you,

no one here
is trying to hurt you.

- Okay, so the searches
came up empty.

This one won't
answer any questions.

- We are running out of time.

- So maybe we put in
a call to psych.

Maybe one of their people
can get through to her.

Curry.

Hey, are you sure
you shouldn't, you know,

take the night off,
get some rest?

- A couple of Advil, couple of
stitches, I'm right as rain.

Promise.
- Hey. Get this.

Her name isn't Mary.
ID was a fake.

Didn't show up in the system,
so I ran her prints.

- She have a record?
- Sort of.

They didn't show up
in any criminal database.

They were in NAMUS.

- Missing-persons directory.

- Her name is
Christine Anderson.

She disappeared 14 years ago.

- When she was just
five years old.

Mary is a missing child.

[suspenseful music]

- I dug up old reports on Mary,
or I should say, Christine.

She disappeared fall of 2012
from a department store

in Springfield, Mass.
- Mom was shopping.

Christine was playing
hide and seek

in some clothing racks,
normal kid stuff.

- Mom turned around,
and before she knew it--

- Christine was gone.

- This is just like
what happened to Leo.

- Springfield PD
had minimal leads.

No security cameras,
no witnesses

saw Christine leave the store.

- A few tips came in pointing
to a couple suspects.

Also had a suspicious vehicle
description in the area.

- But nothing ever panned out.

- So she just disappeared
without a trace.

- Until now.

- Okay, well, this can't
be a coincidence.

What about the parents?

- Left word.
Haven't heard back.

- Gonna need answers
when we do.

- Well, we're gonna find
those answers,

but right now, the most
important thing is finding Leo.

So this girl probably has PTSD
and complex trauma, but--

but I'm willing to bet
that she's

our best chance at finding him.

Hi. I'm Captain Olivia Benson.

I'm sorry if we upset you.

Let me--let me get
these off you, okay?

We've just been very concerned
about a little boy.

He's--he's missing.

You might know a little bit
about what that

feels like, right, Christine?

- That's not my name.
My name is Mary.

- But you know that your real
name is Christine Anderson?

- No, my name is Mary.
My name is not Christine.

My name is Mary.

- Okay, Mary,
are you aware of what

happened to you when you were
young, how you were abducted?

- I wasn't abducted.

- Well, it happened
when you were very young,

so you may not remember it.

- No, I wasn't taken.
I was rescued.

- Rescued?
- Yes, I was rescued.

- Who rescued you?

- Bob. He saved me.

- Who is Bob?

Who did Bob rescue you from?

- My parents.

They--they were--

they were bad people,
and they didn't want me,

and they hurt me.

Bob risked his life
to get me away from them.

I wouldn't be alive today
if it wasn't for him.

- And where's Bob now?

- I know what
you're trying to do.

- What?

- You know, he taught me
about the police.

He said that I was smart
and that I was special.

- I can see that.
I'm sure that Bob is right.

- Well, it wasn't easy.

- What do you mean?

- I had to learn.
Bob had to teach me.

He had to be diligent with me.

And--and he was always patient,

even when he got mad at me,
because he loved me,

because he saved me.

- Is that what happened to Leo?

Bob--Bob saved Leo too?

- No.

I did.
- You did?

- Mm-hmm.

[suspenseful music]

- So you know where Leo is?
- Yeah.

- Well, this is
great news, Mary.

We've been very worried
about him,

and I'm sure that--
that Leo is terrified

and that he misses his parents.

- No, he was scared.

He's not scared anymore.

He was scared when
he was with his dad.

I mean, he was just yelling
at him, at his own son

over, I don't know,
cotton candy.

I mean, you should
have seen the look

in that little boy's eyes.
He was terrified.

I had to do something,
and I just had to help him.

- So you had to save him?

- Yeah.
- Right.

Right.

So when his father stepped away
to buy him more cotton candy--

- I took him with me.
- Mm-hmm.

- And I let him pick out a toy,
and I calmed him down,

and I got him
to be happy again.

I mean, his face lit up,
and he was just playing

with this stuffed animal.

- Right.

- And then--
- And then what?

- Well, I didn't
really know what to do,

but I needed to save him,
and so I--

I knew I had to
take him somewhere.

- So where did you take him?
Where did you take him?

Mary, listen to me.

I think that it was incredibly
brave of you to help him.

I really do.

And that's what we wanna do.

We just wanna help him.

And we also wanna help you.

- Well, how am I supposed
to believe you?

- Because it's true.
Believe me, it's true.

I would never let anyone hurt
Leo, especially his father.

But in order for me
to help him, I--

I need to know where he is.

- He's okay. He's--he's safe.

- Okay. But where?
Where is he?

It's okay, honey,
you can tell me.

Where is he?

- He's with Bob now.

♪ ♪

- Leo?

Leo?

♪ ♪

- Cause of death on Leo Brooks?

- Officially,
multi-organ system failure.

- And unofficially?

- Heatstroke.

Small box, hot van.

Leo's core temp
shot well over 105.

No real way to say
which symptoms did him in--

the organ collapse, brain
damage, circulatory shock,

or lack of oxygen.

- Jesus, this poor kid.

- It gets worse.

We ran a GC-MS scan,
found traces of chloroform

in his system.
- He was drugged?

- Probably when
he was put in the box.

Too bad he didn't
remain unconscious.

Wood fragments under the nails,

abrasions on the knuckles
and fingers.

- So Leo tried to get out.

He was terrified. He suffered.

- We got three DNA hits back
from the interior of the van.

Your suspect, the victim,
and a few faint traces

from an adult male.

- Robert Watts.

Bob.

- Mr. Watts got himself put
in CODIS for an attempted r*pe

back in 1999.

- Yeah, but the only problem is
Bob's dead.

He had a--he had a heart attack
last January,

which means--

- Which means we need
to tell Leo's parents

how their son was m*rder*d

and Mary's parents that
their daughter is a k*ller.

[tense music]

- I can't believe
she's still alive.

I mean, part of us
always believed,

but we never
let ourselves hope.

- Not after all these years.

- I mean, Christine
had just turned five.

She still had her baby teeth.

- And you're certain it's her?

- We are.

- Linda and Joe, your daughter
has been through a lot.

- Well, all the more reason
we need to be there to help.

We're her parents.

- Mr. Anderson, we're not here
just for Christine's abduction.

- I don't understand.

- She's been involved
in a serious crime.

- Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. What happened?

- We can't share specifics
as it's an open investigation.

- But even--even if we could,
the truth is,

your daughter doesn't
want to see you.

- What?
- What?

- And Christine is
an adult now,

so we have to respect
her decision.

I know that's not what
you were expecting.

I can't even imagine what
you're feeling right now.

But give her--give her time.

Bottom line,
your daughter's alive.

♪ ♪

- Do you prefer
Christine or Mary?

- Mary is fine.
- Okay.

Okay.

So I'm told that
you've made progress.

I thought that it might
be helpful if I stopped by

and shared with you
some of the things

that we've learned
about your situation.

And then if you're up for it,
maybe there are things

that you would be willing
to share with me.

- It's your choice to make.

- So Mary, this...

Is Robert Watts.

This is the man
who kidnapped you.

He's had a string of arrests
for public lewdness,

indecent as*ault, the attempted
r*pe of an underage girl.

And from what we understand,
he worked for a string

of carnivals
and amusement parks,

moving from place to place,
from company to company.

And from what we can tell,
that's how

he stayed ahead
of the authorities

after he kidnapped you.

Now, you--you let me know
if I'm getting

any of these details wrong.

- He told people that
I was his granddaughter.

- And these are your parents.

This is Joe and Linda Anderson.

They're from Springfield,
Massachusetts.

Joe works for the MSPCA,

and Linda is an art teacher.

This is your little brother,
Wyatt, and he just turned 12.

And I hear that he's
very excited to meet you.

[uneasy music]

- Can I keep this?

- Yes, of course,
it's all yours.

- Thank you.

- So we know that Bob died
in January of this year.

But what we don't know is what
your life was like with him.

And I would like
to learn about that

if you're willing
to talk about it.

Mary endured years of
physical and sexual abuse

at the hands of Bob Watts.

She was brainwashed
to fear the entire world.

No friends,
no school, only him.

- Doctors say anyone
on the outside was considered

a threat--police, parents--

they all wanted
to take her away

from the one person
that loved Mary.

- She never tried to escape?
- No.

By the time she was a teenager,
she was fully brainwashed.

She could come and go
as she pleased.

She ran errands because
she always came back.

- Yeah, according to records,
they would move

to a different carnival
or a park each season,

and eventually,
he trained her as a mechanic.

She started working too.

- And then Bob died, so she
continued with the only life

that she knew,
but she struggled.

And so when she saw Leo,
she saw it as an opportunity

not to be alone.

- And you think this girl
is fit to stand trial?

- Not me. The doctors.

They said that Mary knew that
her actions were dangerous

and that she expressed regret.

- But she's not delusional.

She was working within
a permission structure

she had learned from Bob.

- So we have to decide
what exactly justice

looks like in this case.

- Leo is our victim.

- So is Mary.

- But she also chloroformed a
kid, left him in a box to die.

- Bob used to punish Mary
by drugging her

and then locking her
in a crate, sometimes for days.

- Apparently, she grew to
love her time in the crate.

When she was there,
she was alone.

She was away from Bob's,
you know, affection.

- Unfortunately for Leo.

- Mary told you the boy
was with Bob.

- She already knew
that he was dead.

When the police arrived,
she moved the van,

and when she went
to check on Leo...

- It was too late.

- So she saw this kid.

- Yeah.

- And she didn't call for help?

She didn't--
she didn't come forward?

- I think in her head
that she actually believed

that Leo was better off dead
than with his father.

- Which reads as
depraved indifference.

- Sure, but if we push
for m*rder two,

her side counters
with an affirmative defense

based on mental capacity.

- And probably wins.

- Also, do we believe prison
is where this girl belongs?

- This brings us back
to the original question.

What does justice look like
in this case?

- Helene.

- I haven't heard anything.
It's been almost a week.

What's going on?
- I know. I apologize.

I should have called sooner,
but things are

a little complicated.

- What's complicated?

My son was m*rder*d.

Lock that monster up
and put her in jail forever.

She is still in jail, right?
- Yes, yes.

The girl is still in custody.

- The woman who k*lled Leo.

[somber music]

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

You're just doing
your job, but I--

I am empty.

I have nothing.

The only thing that
is keeping me upright

is the thought of justice
for my little boy.

- I know, Helene, and I want
that, too, for you and Leo.

I promise you, I do.

And as soon as I know
what that looks like,

you're gonna be
the first to know.

♪ ♪

- We're offering a deal.

Manslaughter in the second
degree, split sentence.

The first portion
will be served

at Kirby Forensic
Psychiatric Center

under close medical
supervision.

- I don't understand.
Is that a hospital?

- Kirby is a secure psychiatric
facility on Wards Island.

- It's a prison with doctors.

- A split sentence means
that your daughter will spend

the first portion
of her time at Kirby

until the staff there
deems that

she's no longer a danger
to others.

- And then?

- And then she'll
be released to serve

the rest of her sentence
on probation.

- How long of a sentence
are we talking?

- Ten years.

- Are you kidding? No way.

- Mr. Anderson, she could
receive 25 years at trial.

- Be serious, Carisi.

No jury will convict this girl

after they hear
what she's been through.

- An innocent
nine-year-old boy is dead,

Cherise, and nobody forced your
client to take those actions.

She did them
of her own volition.

- And we have a confession.

- Well, then I guess
we'll see you in court.

- Mr. and Mrs. Anderson,
please reconsider.

- No.

We're not giving up
our daughter.

We just got her back.

- You heard them.

No deal.

♪ ♪

- Saw your light on
down the hall.

What are we burning
the candle on?

- Just the buffet of
bad options in the Brooks case.

- I got a few minutes.

Why don't you read me the menu?

- Sure.

Option one--
we drop all the charges,

and Leo's m*rder
goes unpunished.

- Not a real option
for the people of New York.

- Which is why we offered
a manslaughter plea,

but the girl's parents
won't accept any deal

that includes prison time.

- If you bring manslaughter
to trial,

we can't control
the sentencing.

- Yeah, which can range
from suspended sentence

to double-digit incarceration,

depending on how
the judge feels.

- Toothless to excessive.

- Exactly.

So we have option three--

m*rder in the second degree.

- Well, the facts of the crime
fit the statute.

Textbook depraved indifference.

- And I get to keep the
lesser plea in my back pocket.

Ethically,
it's the correct charge.

- So what's the "but"?

- Can we stomach that
harsh of a sentence

knowing what this girl
has gone through?

- Lose-lose-lose.

- Yeah.

Unless you can see a win here
that I can't.

- Sometimes, when we have cases
with no clear answers,

we have to trust
in the law to decide for us.

Our system might not be
perfect, but it's all we have.

- Follow the law
through justice.

- Provided you can
live with the outcome.

Good night.

- Good night, sir.

- Your honor, my client,
Christine Anderson,

was ripped from her family
and kept prisoner

for almost 15 years,
a tragedy that shouldn't

be allowed to persist.

As such, we are moving
for pretrial release.

- Setting aside Miss Anderson's
previous circumstances,

Judge, the severity of
this crime cannot be ignored.

She drugged and imprisoned
a nine-year-old,

leading to a slow
and painful death.

- My client is a victim who
suffered unfathomable trauma.

- She's also a defendant
who admitted

to committing these crimes.

God forbid
she hurts another child.

- Since you mentioned it,
we are filing a motion

to suppress Miss Anderson's
entire confession.

- On what grounds?

- Christine is incapable of
making decisions for herself.

In fact, she may not
be fit to stand trial at all.

- Your Honor, a five-person
panel of physicians

deemed that she was fit
to stand trial.

- And our own independent
experts who disagree.

- I'm sure you do.
- Enough, counselors.

My courtroom will
not be reduced

to some fifth-rate
junior debate class.

Arguments will be
presented uninterrupted

in a clear and concise manner.

Are we understood, or do I have
to bring this into chambers?

- What are we
doing here, Carisi?

- This is not my show.

This is all
Captain Benson's idea.

- So my team and I
feel that there's something

that Mary should see
before we head into a trial.

It's--it's important.

Mary, this is a video of Leo.

And he was the same age then

that you were
when you were abducted.

This is before he became
a victim of abuse,

before he was
wounded by the world.

- There'd better be
a point to all this.

- And I think
what you recognized in Leo

was the pain
that you both carried

by being betrayed by adults.

- All right, that's enough.
This is highly inappropriate.

- It's important
for Mary to see him

to understand who he was.

- Christine, you don't
have to watch this.

- Mary, I know that you thought
that you were saving him.

I know that.

But Leo wasn't you.

- All right, Carisi.

- Instead of saving him,

you passed on the same trauma
that you endured.

And now he's gone.

He's taken from a mother
who loved him,

friends who cared for him.

- I am disgusted by both
of you, manipulating a victim.

- Everyone here--
police, parents, lawyers--

we are all so convinced that
we know what's best for Mary.

And throughout this,
I have watched her

shut down
and shut the world out.

But, Mary, you can't
escape the truth forever.

Right?

Has anyone even bothered
to ask you what you think?

- We know what
our daughter wants.

She wants to go home.

- No.

[somber music]

No, I--I don't.

- Sure you do, honey.
- No.

No, I can't.

I don't...

even know what home is.

I'm sorry.

- Honey.

You don't have to apologize.

- And I know you're supposed
to feel like my family, but I--

but I don't--I don't feel it.

And I need help to love you.

♪ ♪

I don't wanna hurt anyone else,

and I need help not to.

And I just need
some help, please.

- Christine,
don't say anything more.

- No.

- We should discuss this
privately.

- No, no, I--I know
what I want.

I don't wanna hurt anyone else.

Can't we just take the deal?

- Yeah, we can do that.

- Christine.

- No, it's okay.

I'll be home someday,
but not yet.

♪ ♪

[school bell rings]

[horn honking]

- All right. Hold on. Sorry.

- Hey.
- Mom?

Is everything okay?
- Yeah.

- Because you don't just
usually show up like this.

It's a little weird.

- I know, I know,
but I got off work early.

I figured I'd give you
a ride home.

No biggie.

- We live, like,
three blocks away.

- I know. Come on.

Come on.

- Everything okay at work?

- Yeah, you know, the usual.

Come on.

- I guess I could use
some quality time.

- Good.

Me too.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[wolf howls]