Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Page #8

Two lives are going to be lost,

one cut short, the other wasted.

And the only thing that I can say

is that the jury's verdict serves justice.

And in that way

it does serve us all.

When I started to walk away,

I couldn't look back.

I just couldn't see her wrapped

in all those newspapers

in front of the church.

I couldn't.

I knew she was safe

and warm,

that she was with God.

Still...

I couldn't look back.

Jane Doe's mother had a name,

which I can't reveal.

She had hopes

which can never be realized.

She had love...

May I ask you why you are questioning

me about Nicholas and Finley?

I'm not representing

the district attorney's office.

There's nothing official about this,

I promise.

Why are you here?

Please, it's strictly personal.

I'm asking for your help.

If anyone finds out that I was here talking

to you I could get in a lot of trouble.

Now if... and this is a big if...

if there is a story here,

you have my word it will be yours.

But again, I don't think

there's anything here at all.

What do you want to know?

Did CJ come to you about the story

of the DA planting evidence?

Yeah, he claimed that Hunter planted DNA

evidence in the Andre Benson case.

He said there were a lot

of other cases too.

But you've got to understand,

with a guy like CJ,

he always had some big story

that was just one phone call away,

one source away.

The problem was

he had hunches and very little else.

What was he basing

these hunches on?

He had a copy of the Andre Benson

interview tape.

He claimed that the cigarette

that he was smoking

on the tape turned up

at the crime scene.

Now I asked him how could you

plant evidence at a crime scene

after the crime scene photos

were taken?

- Was he doing this alone?

- No.

He dragged poor Finley into it.

- Ella.

- Bruce.

- Hi.

- Hi, how are you?

- I'm good.

- Did you bring the information?

Is that the only reason

you asked me here?

Oh, stop it.

Honestly.

- Thank you.

- What's this all about anyway?

It's about us getting in a lot

of trouble if anyone finds out.

So your lab did the DNA testing

for all 17 of these cases?

- Yes.

- Was there anything unusual about them?

- No, not really.

- Nothing?

- Well...

- Well what?

It's not something

I can put my finger on.

Put another body part on it.

What is it?

It's just that some of

the DNA samples,

they came in at the last minute.

- And that's unusual?

- Kind of. Sometimes.

How many of the 17 cases?

Most.

Oh yeah, I remember them.

How could I ever forget?

They seemed like such a nice couple.

The one with the beard

always wanted to take pictures.

And it turns out the nicer looking one

was a murderer.

And I was standing this close to him.

It gives me shivers.

I guess you can never tell, can you?

No, I guess you can't.

Hello?

Operator, I'll accept.

Ella, listen.

When Finley went home and found

the disc was missing,

he would have gone for backup.

Now think.

What's the absolutely safest place

you could keep something?

Um, maybe with somebody else.

Where does his mother live?

Both of his parents are dead.

- What about a friend?

- I was his closest friend.

Um, a bank.

A safety deposit box.

Yes.

Yes, that makes sense.

Okay, his bank was

the Pelican Bank & Trust.

Oh yes, I remember him vividly.

He was in a terrible hurry.

No D in his name,

unlike my second

cousin or whatever he is.

Rush rush rush.

He simply took something

out of his safe deposit box

and literally ran out of here.

No private cubicle,

nothing.

He didn't even take his key.

I've never seen anything

quite like it.

Did you see what he removed

from the box?

Oh, we're not allowed to do that.

Our customers are guaranteed

complete privacy.

I appreciate that, Ms. Urlanger.

Miss Urlanger.

Never quite liked Ms.

Sounds like a beehive.

Um, you said he reached for

the box right in front of you.

It's possible that you saw

what he removed

because you couldn't avoid it,

isn't it?

Well, now that you mention it,

maybe I kind of saw something.

A plastic thingy

with something shiny inside.

- A computer disc maybe?

- Maybe.

The till is directly linked

to my inventory.

When I scan the barcode

it logs the product

and the manufacturer's number.

Right, so you can match any receipt

with an item that's been purchased?

Yup, as long as it has

the manufacturer's label.

But I already told you guys this.

You spoke to someone

from my office?

- Yeah.

- Do you remember who?

Yes, he said he was the DA.

- Hi.

- Hi.

I called about seeing the Nicholas

case evidence box.

Right, you're from the DA's office.

- Yeah, I have a case number.

- That's okay. I already pulled it for you.

- Oh, thank you.

- Uh-huh.

Great, thanks.

Ella?

What are you doing here so late?

I was just looking at the...

the original police file

on the Belmont case.

I'm not familiar with that case.

It's a carjacking.

We brought him in two days ago.

- You know Lieutenant Merchant.

- Yes, hi.

- You keep late hours.

- So do you.

I hope you're not letting your personal

life interfere with your work.

What?

You look tired.

You should get some rest.

Yeah, I was actually

just on my way home.

If you don't get any rest,

you can come down with something.

And health is the most

important thing we have.

Absolutely.

- Good night, Ella.

- Good night, sir.

Let me ask you something.

If you had to run back to

your safety deposit box

to get your backup disc,

wouldn't that mean that there's

an original disc missing?

And would it be missing?

I mean, that's just not the kind

of thing that disappears, right?

Maybe you lose your cell phone

or your keys or something,

but definitely not

the single most important piece

of evidence in your entire life.

Are you listening to me?

Look, I've been thinking

over and over.

When I showed the tape to Weldon

of Merchant giving that

cigarette to Andre Benson,

Weldon said,

"How could that mean anything

since the tape was made three days after

the crime scene photographs were taken?"

But what if the crime photos

were doctored?

What if they altered

the photo somehow?

What if they put the cigarette

butt in after the photo was taken?

Sh*t.

I am not good at this.

Look, it's okay.

I understand.

I'm your intern,

you're an assistant DA.

You don't ask interns to lunch

unless you want something.

So just ask me.

Listen, you know your partner?

Roberta?

You remember her?

Yeah, I remember

she's getting her PhD

in computer science

from the university, right?

- You do remember.

- Well, it's kind of delicate,

but I need to speak

to an expert in digital imagery.

- You mean digital forensics?

- Yes, exactly.

Well, she can help you.

If she doesn't have the answers for you

she knows the people who do.

Great. Can you arrange a meeting

between the two of us?

- Of course. When?

- Tonight?

- Tonight?

- It's kind of a secret.

A secret is good.

I like secrets.

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