06x04 - Maltese Cross

[bunniefuu]

In New York City's w*r on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad.

These are their stories.

It's our house.

You gotta be invited.

You're not.

Good-bye.

You need to back off, Charlie.

What are you?

Deaf and dumb?

Door, use it.

You need to stop now.

Charlie, you're assaulting a cop.

How dumb is that?

MCS, unit 25! Signal 10-13 inside at engine 29! - Officer assaulted! - Back off! - All right, all right, all right.

- Back off.

All right, what now?

Charlie, come on, guy.

It's cool.

Just let it ride.

It's cool.

Well, you got about 20 seconds.

Screw you.

I don't know about you, but I don't go that way.

Son of a bitch! - Get off him! - Charlie! Stay out! - Come on, Charlie! - Get off! MCS, unit 25, signal 10-13.

Request assistance! Break it up.

Don't put your hands on.

Law & Order CI What are you doing?

- Leaving.

- They're about to get you a room.

Hand me my pants, will you?

Logan, I'm really sorry that Wheeler, two things I don't need right now.

Another fight or an apology.

Please.

Thanks.

Never gone before the commissioner?

It's kind of like a departmental hearing, with a few more ribbons.

Wheeler, don't tell me you've never had a departmental hearing.

Three firemen were attacking Logan.

Your detective called a 10-13 in a fire house.

Her partner was in trouble.

She followed procedure.

Then she's the only one who did.

Detectives, I think you know chief of d's Bradshaw.

And commissioner Fahey.

I've got the mayor calling, the district attorney, the fire commissioner, the press, the PBA, the UFA, the GLBT.

You name the initials.

They all wanna know what happened.

- It's in our report.

- I mean now.

Here.

From the beginning.

Wheeler.

A week ago Friday Ian Duffy.

Eight years on the job.

Worked 9/11.

He was on a night shift.

Staggered out of his car and collapsed.

He just walked in with multiple s*ab wounds?

No, he drove.

There's blood all over his car outside.

Okay, guys, uh please, just give us a little room.

He's got, like, 20 s*ab wounds.

Maybe more.

Still got his wallet and his watch.

- You administered CPR?

- No, we were too late.

He'd already bled out on the way over here.

Guy saved my life.

Twice.

- What happened to his hand?

- On his way to work, some kids were b*ating up a drag queen in the West Village.

He intervened.

He take himself to the hospital?

No, um, Charlie drove him.

In Ian's car.

Left him at the ER.

All right, I'll call the 3-5, get the incident report.

Hey, and we'll need to get his civvies from the locker.

- Anyone else see the b*at-down?

- He was with his wife Claudia.

So Duffy's wife been notified?

Our captain's with her now.

We take care of our own.

Well, we're gonna need to speak to her.

Well, when she's up to it, I'll let you know.

I'd appreciate if you'd make that call now, Charlie.

Gay bashing tonight in the West Village around 8 o'clock.

They took the victim to st.

Vincent's.

He's in surgery.

Live through 9/11 to die like that?

Guy was a hero.

Just might have saved the wrong person this time.

No, not a real g*n.

The tall kid pretended to point a g*n like he was going to sh**t Ian.

Okay, hold on.

Just tell us how this all started.

Ian and I had gone to a diner in the Village.

We came around the corner, and Hey! Leave her alone! Ian! Get off of her! Ian! Call 911! Did you notice anything particular about these kids?

What they were wearing maybe?

One of them wore glasses.

They broke when Ian hit him.

He, he was bleeding.

Claudia, come on out, huh?

What are you doing with that, Claudia?

Come on.

Mikey, will you get her a glass of wine?

I'm fine.

So you gonna go after these kids?

We want to get them in an interview room.

Yeah, absolutely.

What a waste.

Ian gets k*lled for some drag queen?

It's the gay bash victim.

Chanteuse Johnson.

He's out of recovery.

My life's about love.

I don't understand that kind of hate.

All right.

Excuse me, sir.

This is a police investigation.

There were two other gay bashings last week.

Where are the police?

Well, we're here now, Mr Phillip Geraldson.

Three Ls, two Ps.

Head of the GLBT defense committee.

Can you remember anything about these kids, Mr Ms.

?

Call me Chanteuse, honey.

One of the kids, he wore glasses.

I remember him.

I took a bite out of his arm.

Got a good chunk too.

All right, we'll send a sketch artist over.

I always get along with artists.

Okay.

Those boys wanted to k*ll me.

Just for being who I am.

If it weren't for the man who stopped them, I'd be dead.

I'd like to thank him.

Too late.

He's the one who is dead.

The ME report confirms 22 s*ab wounds.

None hit a major artery.

Duffy would have been able to drive for several minutes before bleeding out.

Ian had his hand sewn up by 11.

He didn't get to the firehouse until midnight.

There's a lost hour.

He might have run back into the kids who did the gay bashing.

We're checking juvenile files and calling hospitals.

Wheeler.

That's a big leap, from a b*at-down to multiple s*ab wounds and m*rder.

g*ng initiation.

Threatened manhood.

Teenage boys have k*lled for less.

Thank you.

The ER nurse from Belvedere says a Darnell Thomson came in with busted glasses, bleeding from his cheek, a human bite mark on his arm.

Any chance he left a real address?

Darnell just left to play baseball with his brother Ty.

- Where do they play?

- Central park, at the big ball field.

By themselves?

They might have taken their friend James with them.

- Are you sure they went to play ball?

- Yes, they took their bats.

Why?

Do they belong to a league?

No.

Just pickup games.

What's going on?

If they come back, call us.

They took the bats and left the gloves.

Instead of the ball fields, they may be headed to the rambles.

Is that still a gay pickup spot?

MCS unit 25.

We're on our way to Central park drive and 78.

Request signal 10-11 backup forthwith.

Dispatch have just received two reports of g*ng activity in the rambles.

Police! Don't move! Don't move! Up, up, up, up, up, up! Don't make me climb that tree.

All right, fun's over.

Get out of there.

All three boys denied everything, but Darnell's injuries were consistent with the fight, and Duffy's wife ID'd them.

For the gay bash?

I am assuming you put the juveniles in non-threatening rooms, and that their mothers were present?

Darnell's 16.

We put him in interrogation.

But the others James and Tyrone were with their moms.

This one he's my boy's age.

James Decker, 14.

He's not too swift.

Well, here's the big surprise.

James says it wasn't his idea.

That he was too afraid to say no.

Excuse me.

You gonna talk to my boys?

This is Mrs.

Thomson, Darnell and Ty's mother.

Make sure you go hard on them.

I don't want to see them in here again.

Okay, ma'am, you need to be in the room with Ty.

Mother knows best.

I don't recall.

Don't recall?

You better tell the truth, Ty.

Now! I only did it 'cause of Darnell.

If I don't do what he says, he beats me up.

So it was self-defense.

Against your brother?

You gonna need some self-defense against me.

Now, here's a guy who's just like you.

Same skin color.

Same neighborhood.

That f*gg*t ain't nothing like me! You're 16 years old.

You know what that means, don't you?

There's no more family court.

He grabbed my crotch, all right?

I had to chunk him.

How convenient.

What about the guy that broke your glasses?

What about him?

He's dead.

He was alive when he att*cked me.

How about around 11, the next time you ran into him?

Ah, that's not right.

I was home.

Curfew.

You didn't make a gesture?

Like this, as you ran away?

What if I did?

I don't have a g*n.

- He was stabbed.

- Not by me.

After I went to the ER for the bite that bitch gave me, I went home and watched TV.

Remember what you were watching?

Yeah, this show where white people were getting bad face lifts.

Ask my mom.

Nice kids, huh?

At least they didn't set Chanteuse on fire.

Think they're good for Duffy's m*rder?

- Doubt it.

- Me too.

But that tie that Duffy wore tested positive for Darnell's blood.

Kid'll do hard time for the hate crime.

Duffy's wife still around?

In my office.

Was it them?

Did he confess?

Not to the stabbing.

But we've ID'd blood from one of the boys on your husband's street clothes from the b*ating in the Village.

Your husband was wearing a suit and a tie to a diner.

He was at a press conference that afternoon.

I met him right after.

Press conference?

He was an activist.

On behalf of firemen from 9/11 who have health problems.

That afternoon, he was protesting the release of the 9/11 health guidelines.

He said it was like spitting on a fire.

- How active was he?

- He was passionate.

Meetings, rallies.

He even got arrested with this group, Forgotten heroes.

Spent four or five nights a week with them.

Did anybody get mad over that?

Besides me?

Just the entire city government.

Was he ever threatened?

Not that I know of, but firemen don't like to worry their wives.

The city is lying! People are dying! The city is lying! People are dying! - Mr.

Duffy, you can't interrupt.

- You're throwing me out?

They should throw you out! Guy had balls.

- We're doing everything we can.

- You're doing nothing! Johnson, Zeller, Rivera, all dead! Uh, freeze that.

You see that?

He looks like he's signaling Ian that he's on his side.

- See that?

- Mm-hmm.

Then maybe he knows who wasn't.

Ian was furious.

His brothers are getting sick.

Dropping dead and the city just wants to cut them loose.

Don't you work for the city?

Physician assistant.

Health department.

They only give me the resources to record findings and make referrals.

It's just CYA.

The real death toll is just starting.

So at the press conference, you were showing your support?

Yeah.

Ian was a good man.

He was a fighter.

You think that had something to do with his m*rder?

Do you?

Oh, well, politicians had no trouble turning their backs on these heroes.

I guess they could s*ab one.

So you and Ian were involved with the Forgotten heroes group?

Yep.

Their office is near the firehouse.

Ian gave a lot of his time to help out.

Was Ian there a lot last week?

Couple nights, I guess.

His wife said four or five.

Wait, yeah.

Yeah, that sounds right.

This is a homicide investigation, Mr.

Keele.

You need to be straight with us.

Uh, look, I'm sure his wife has a better memory of his schedule than I do.

No, she only knows when he wasn't home.

You know whether he was at work or if you were covering for him.

He was a good man.

And good men sometimes have a piece on the side and ask their friends to lie for them.

Not Ian.

Hell of a friend doesn't wanna give him up, even though he's dead.

If he was seeing someone, the nearest doughnut theory says she lives near the firehouse.

The what?

Men are lazy.

Even if there's a good meal across town, they'll usually just reach for the nearest doughnut.

Sounds about right.

In which case, he probably met her at the nearest bar.

I hit 12.

You got anything?

Oh, just a few clowns asking for my number.

That's funny, all they asked me to do was leave.

Maybe he met her at her apartment.

So, what, are we gonna knock on 2,000 doors?

Not tonight, we're not.

How about Julian's?

Did you go in there?

You're kidding, right?

Two nights a week.

Sometimes more.

Stopped coming about three months ago.

You sure it was this guy?

I got baby blues with 20/20.

Liked his beer dark and his whisky Irish.

Most nights, he left here alone.

And when he did, he broke every heart in the room.

He's gay?

And so, armed with this piece of bartender's gossip, you took it upon yourselves to go the firehouse and out Duffy to his brothers?

Commissioner, my detectives did everything they could to avoid that.

I instructed Wheeler to go back to Duffy's widow.

And to discreetly ask about their marriage.

We met in ninth grade home room.

He played soccer.

And the guitar.

All the girls liked him.

I never knew why he picked me.

What did he say?

- That I was special.

- And how were things lately?

Do you mind if we sit down?

I'm not feeling so well.

Claudia, are you Yeah.

Pregnant.

Found out right before.

Oh, god, it's my fault.

Maybe it's my fault.

What do you mean?

I'd known for a while the way he'd been.

There was someone else.

I hadn't said anything.

I always felt like I was lucky just to have him.

And then you found out you were pregnant?

And I knew I had to deal with it.

We went out to dinner.

I told him I was pregnant.

And that, whatever was going on, it had to stop.

Now.

Did he tell you this person's name?

No.

Anything at all?

He just said he loved me.

And that she didn't mean anything to him.

And that he was gonna end it.

It wasn't a quickie in the back seat of a car.

It was a three-month affair.

And when Ian tried to end it, his lover went off.

A passion crime.

Gay rage.

Old school police term.

We don't use it anymore, and I don't want to hear it from either of you, but back in the day, that's what everyone called it.

The strength of a man with the hysteria of a woman.

Apologies.

How about just calling it crazy?

Once this guy started stabbing, he couldn't stop.

Chest only, not the face or the back?

There was a case 12 years ago at the 3-5.

Married man, 20-something.

Stabs all to the chest.

Homicide figured gay love gone bad.

But the wife denied it.

Case went nowhere.

Victim's name was John T.

Hoffman.

Same name as one of two New York city mayors who went on to become governor.

John T.

Hoffman m*rder*d in '94.

Case cleared two years ago.

They get a verdict?

No, it's an exceptional clearance.

A convict pled out, d*ed last year.

- What?

- Who was the detective?

- Steven Grubman.

- Huh.

Talk about old school.

Don't tell him I say hi.

Logan, why don't you go be his old school buddy?

Oh, yeah, I'm all over this.

And, Wheeler, play young.

That case was a stinker.

Finally got a close on an exceptional clearance.

Can you go over that?

How old's your partner, ten?

That's when you classify a case as solved without making an arrest.

Boss was on our ass.

Clearance rate was below 50%.

I was two months out of retirement.

So we opened the drawer, pulled out an old case, and we solved it.

How?

You drove all the way to Rocklin county for this?

We're looking for a similar M.

O.

You know, it's another misdemeanor homicide.

A what?

What am I, a dictionary?

It was the early '90s.

Some guy gets stabbed on a pier by a hustler, not a priority.

But then two years ago We took another look at it.

I had a con upstate, a lifer with health problems.

He wanted to be transferred.

He pled out to Hoffman's m*rder.

The victim's wife and kid thought justice was served.

Our solve rate went up.

And everybody's a winner, okay?

Thank you.

Hey, give Ross my warmest regards.

You got it.

Come on, let's go.

You know what gets me?

This bum is sitting on a pension for life.

Well, in those days, it was triage.

Guys like that, that's how they got by.

And these days?

We do what Grubman should have done.

Examine the case.

Hoffman was married.

Let's start with the widow.

She lives in Philly.

You stroll in and want me to shatter what I've put back together?

I was devastated back then.

And now it would devastate my son.

Mrs.

Hoffman, there's just been a similar m*rder.

Another woman lost her husband.

We're not asking you to help us.

We're asking you to help her.

I will not repeat this.

I will not testify.

My son will not know.

Okay.

John he traveled to New York on business.

Frequently.

When confronted, he admitted to being involved with a man.

I told him he had to end it.

He went back to New York.

He never came back.

Did you know who this man was?

- No.

- Anything about him?

I don't, I'm sorry.

Is this your son?

John, Jr.

How old is he?

Did he ever know his father?

No.

I was pregnant when John Well, it's deja vu all over again.

Hoffman was a married man, deep in the closet, - and his wife got pregnant.

- He's our guy.

He falls for unavailable men.

Their wives get pregnant.

The one thing he can't do and he can't bear the rejection.

He flips out.

Any leads in Hoffman's file?

Another compartmentalized guy.

No one in his life knew about his other life.

And two partial prints on Hoffman's belt from the crime scene?

No matches.

You know what?

I don't care how compartmentalized Duffy was.

One of his firemen buddies knows something.

Even if he doesn't wanna know something.

Hell, it could even be one of his firemen buddies.

Come here.

You two know the interdepartmental history.

We are entering extremely complicated territory.

Now, I'll call their lieutenant and clear it with him.

But go easy with these guys.

Three strokes before you kick.

If it turns ugly, let Wheeler talk.

You know, police, fire.

We're all on the same team.

Basically.

Logan, someone tells me you're gay, I don't care.

But the FDNY is not the NYPD.

These men work together, cook together, live together.

There's a code.

We clear?

No worries.

Screw you! I don't know about you, but I don't go that way.

MCS, unit 25! Signal 10-13! Request assistance! Come on, come on.

Police, back off! Hey, this is Mikey at engine 29.

We got a brawl with the cops.

Get your guys down here now! Commissioner, we did everything possible too avoid what happened.

Absolutely.

We'll be in touch.

Detectives, give us a minute with your captain.

Detectives.

Unfortunately, we now have two cases to deal with.

The m*rder and the felony as*ault on you.

Felony as*ault?

The fireman who threw the first punch, the commissioner wants to send a message.

I didn't see who did that.

Did you, Wheeler?

I must have been on the radio.

Pick someone.

In the meantime, I'd say you two touched a nerve.

It might just be h*m*.

It might be someone was overcompensating.

If Duffy was having an in-house affair, one of the men who att*cked you might be the m*rder*r.

You want us to go back and ask?

If he was leading a double life with someone in the firehouse, they'd have had the perfect cover.

Claudia, his wife.

She doesn't know who Duffy's lover was, but she'll know who his best friend was.

Who he talked about.

Who called his home.

Play it close to the vest.

If she knows why you're asking, she's gonna put her guard up.

I hear you got knocked around pretty good.

Yeah, well, those guys, they're, uh, they're as tough as they look.

You got what you deserved.

The only reason why I'm talking to you is 'cause I want you to know you're wrong about my husband.

He wasn't gay.

Your husband was a regular at a gay bar.

The bartender knew his favorite drinks.

That's a lie.

He's lying.

Dark beer.

Irish whisky.

He also told us Ian stopped coming in about three months ago.

That's about when you started to think he was having an affair.

No, I, I would have known.

Look, the guy who stabbed your husband, he's done it before.

To a married businessman whose wife was pregnant, the night the man tried to end the affair.

Stop it! You're lying.

Stop it! Mrs.

Duffy, I'm sorry.

We're trying to get this guy.

We need your help.

I can't help you.

This doesn't make any sense.

Claudia, was there anyone that Ian talked about?

Like a friend?

No, just the guys, his brothers.

Who was his best friend?

Someone maybe he went away with once in a while.

I don't know how to help you.

It's all wrong.

My husband loved me.

I won't talk about this.

No.

Is this your husband being arrested?

At a rally, with Brendan.

The charges were dropped.

The charges were dropped.

The city is lying! People are dying! The city is lying! People are dying! Mr.

Duffy, you can't interrupt.

You throw me out?

They should throw They have the same tie.

That doesn't mean they were lovers.

Let's ask the wife.

I'm gonna bet she doesn't know where he got it.

Duffy wore his at the press conference.

Maybe it was some kind of signal to let Brendan know they were gonna meet up later.

Where do you get this?

Some kind of scared straight video?

Look at your screen.

"Brendan Keele.

Acquitted for as*ault in Vermont.

" He stabbed his college roommate with a letter opener.

Got off on self-defense.

The prints on the Hoffman m*rder, - how partial are they?

- Let's run them again.

Been a lot of updates to the system in the last 12 years.

Hoffman's partials matched Brendan Keele's prints from Vermont.

It's him.

Congratulations.

You've just solved a closed case where a different defendant pled out and subsequently d*ed in prison.

They got the wrong guy.

Can we reopen?

Find me a DA who'll take this to court, and I'll show you a DA who's about to lose his job.

Well, we have the same pattern and the same motive, the same M.

O.

Every time this guy feels rejected, he goes off.

The jury won't be told Keele's history.

We have to find some other way to out this guy as a m*rder*r.

You know, uh I think I might remember who it was who took that first swing at me.

Mind if I bring him in?

By all means.

But this time, do it carefully.

Yeah.

How about some fresh parmesan, plus a half pound of pancetta, uh, pound of prosciut, and, uh one of those mozzarellas.

Jeez, why don't you guys get out of here so some of us get a chance?

What the hell do you want?

Put your hands on the counter, Charlie.

Slowly.

So what's going on?

You want to get into it right here?

No, Charlie.

I need a favor.

A really big favor.

Mrs.

Duffy, how's she holding up?

She's okay.

Hey, look, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna have to Just be your normal, charming self, Charlie.

Thank you, Mrs.

Duffy.

Hey, Claudia.

Don't.

She found out you were covering for the affair.

Mr.

Keele, as you know, we're very close to an arrest.

And we think it's someone you're familiar with and will be able to identify.

Oh, I'm glad you made headway.

Mrs.

Duffy has given us her written statement, which I hope you can confirm.

Okay.

"On the night my husband was k*lled, I told him he had to end the affair.

" "But he refused.

He said he was leaving me," "that he wanted a divorce 'cause he was in love with someone else.

" Going on.

"He knew how much I wanted to have children.

" "And he'd never agree to have a baby with me.

" Now, Mrs.

Duffy picked out the man from a lineup.

Uh, I can't tell you who, of course.

But you said you knew that Ian was having an affair.

Do you recognize any of these men as Ian's lover?

- No.

What?

- Let's try again.

Did you ever see Ian with any of these men?

Well, of course.

That's, um That's Charlie.

They worked together.

Charlie Hugo?

Uh, can you tell us which number he is?

Um, he's number three.

You know that.

And you know that Ian was having an affair with Charlie Hugo?

No.

You okay, Mr.

Keele?

Maybe Charlie did k*ll him.

They were together a lot.

He's your suspect.

He did it.

I'm just saying they weren't a couple.

- Brendan, Claudia knows.

- No, she doesn't.

It's in her statement, uh, "Ian told me how much he and Charlie had in common.

" "How he respected him.

How they were in love.

" She said that?

Well, it makes sense.

A big, handsome guy like that, I mean, best firefighter in the house.

I mean I'm straight, but, uh Well, it looks like it's over, Charlie.

I'm telling you, you got it wrong.

Two plane tickets to cape Cod, Massachusetts.

It's the only state that allows men to get married.

Are these yours?

Come on, Charlie! They got names on them.

He's done.

I, um, I still can't believe this.

Is it, is it okay if I Suit yourself.

Charlie, we already have your DNA from the semen in Ian's car.

- So come on.

- Okay.

There are tickets.

But I didn't k*ll him.

But you were lovers.

Come on, come on, come on.

We ain't got time, Charlie.

- All right, yeah, we were lovers.

- For how long?

Three years.

So you were running away together that night.

Eloping.

We were.

No.

No.

You okay, Brendan?

Is, is there a bathroom I can use?

Yeah, just out and to the right.

Hey, hey! You son of a bitch! He didn't love you.

He loved me! Get him out of here! Get him out! Get him out of here! Running away?

Three years?

That's a lie! Ian had to stay with Claudia 'cause the stupid bitch got pregnant! - He made that up to get rid of you! - What?

Yeah, he said you were so needy and weak, it was the only way he could shake you.

No.

It was me, not you.

I saw him last.

I was the one he loved, me! - Let him go.

I'll take care of this.

- No, no, no.

I made him mine! 22 times! Forever! Mine! Get him in a holding cell.

Read him his rights.

Let go of me! Get off of me! He's mine! Nice work.

You're free to go.

Hey, no hard feelings.

Yeah.

Claudia I'm sorry.

I didn't know.

We'll still need you both to testify in court.

And I'm afraid we won't be able to keep this out of the papers.

I want our child to grow up knowing the truth.

His father was a hero.