03x20 - Pants On Fire

[bunniefuu]

MAN (singsongy): He could be president.

(laughs): Oh, please, stop.

What? He's handsome enough.

He's certainly tall enough.

Oh, Peter isn't even sure if he's running for governor.

Oh, he'll run for governor.

I don't know.

He has to decide by next week.

ALICIA: Hello, Jackie.

Alicia.

You have a moment?

I do.

I haven't seen you for a while, Alicia.

How are you?

Why, Jackie? Why'd you do it?

Why did I... do it?

The house.

The house Zach and Grace grew up in.

The house I lived in for 13 years.

Why did I... put a down payment on it?

Yes.

I didn't want to see it go to another family.

You knew I put an offer on it, and you didn't want me to get it.

I-I was visiting a friend in Highland Park, and I saw the "for sale" sign, and...

I decided to put a down payment on it.

Because you just so happened to need a four-bedroom, 3,400-square-foot house?

No, it's not for me. It's for Peter and the kids.

We struggled for three years, Jackie.

We lost our home.

We took Zach and Grace out of school.

Where was all this generosity...

Alicia, I offered you a place in my home, I offered you loans, and every time you said, "I want to do it on my own."

Well, I don't have that many years left, and I'd like to leave something for my children.

And you'll live there with them.

What?

You're giving Peter and the kids the house, and you will live there with them.

I don't know.

And what is that?

Replacing me.

Oh, Alicia, I am not replacing you.

You left.

I'm stopping you.

I'm not really sure how you'll do that.

I'm a lawyer; watch me.

DIANE: Lindsey...

Megan... and Pamela.

These three young women have spent five years in prison, Your Honor, five years, for a m*rder they did not commit. - Excuse me, Your Honor, that is still unproven.

Yes, but what is proven is that the DNA tying these girls to the body was bogus.

Again, Your Honor, an assertion.

Yes, but it's not looking good for you, is it, Mr. Agos?

This is the fifth case I've had through here due to the malfeasance of the Illinois Crime Lab, and I've overturned all of them.

But those four cases were built only on DNA.

Here, there was physical evidence.

The shoe prints of all three of these women were found in the vicinity of the body.

'Cause it was on a trail that they used every day.

And witnesses at the summer camp testified to them repeatedly bullying...

Rosa Torres on the day of her m*rder, Your Honor.

It is unfair to discount the totality of that evidence due to one simple infraction.

"One simple infraction"?

Really? The cornerstone of your case was the DNA... the jury was lied to.

Not by the state's attorney's office.

Which is why the state's attorney's office should share in our anger at this injustice.

They should be agitating for the immediate release of these women, not fighting against it.

Okay. Thank you, everyone.

You can sit down now.

Given the egregious nature of these crime lab infractions, I have no choice other than to vacate these convictions.

DIANE: Your Honor, we would move for an immediate release.

Mr. Agos, do you intend to proceed on the original charges?

We do, Your Honor.

And we would oppose bail.

It was denied in the original trial, and we see no compelling reason for it to be granted now. - I would agree.

The defendants are held for retrial.

What's that mean?

I stay inside?

Just for the moment.

But this was the big one, getting the conviction vacated.

I'm gonna cry.

It's good, Lindsey. - I know, it's just, I don't think they'll let me out.

I have this nightmare of this open door.

Every time I get close to it, it shuts in my face. - It's okay.

PETER: Damn it.

CARY: Key thing is, we kept them behind bars.

You know what this is, don't you?

I'm paying for the sins of the past.

Crime lab screws up under Childs...

I have to pay the price.

Do we retry?

They bullied and k*lled that girl.

Not only that...

I promised the Torres family that I wouldn't let the K*llers of their daughter go unpunished.

Well... (sighs)

Judge Romano seems to be leaning against this.

It's crime lab fatigue.

Offer them an Alford plea.

I've got to get this off our ledger.

(phone rings)

Hello?

Yeah. Hold on. Cary.

Everybody has to sign on though.

If that's what you want.

Hey, Alicia, what's up?

(door closes)

What?

She said she bought the house for you and the kids.

She said what?

This is the first I've heard of it.

It's not that I don't want you in there, Peter, it's just weird being separated and having the kids wanting to be in the house with you while I'm on the outs.

Yeah.

But... y-you were thinking of buying the house, too, right?

Well, yeah, because of this condo conversion.

Yeah, but then it would've been you in the house with the kids and me on the outs.

Um... you're right.

I-I'm sorry, we should've talked.

Okay. Well...

Don't worry, I will speak to Jackie.

Thank you.

(sighs)

MIKE: Must be odd working in the same town as your husband.

Nope, it isn't.

What can I help you with, Mr. Kresteva?

Mike. Nice kids.

Thanks, Mike.

Eh, it's just, how do you handle it, fighting criminal cases when your husband's on the other side?

With great delicacy.

I like you, Alicia.

You have wit.

Thank you.

I didn't think it ended so well the last time we spoke, Mike.

So what is it that you need?

I thought it ended pretty well.

I never try to make enemies.

Whenever I disagree with someone, I think: Today I can't see their side, but tomorrow, who knows?

So y-you see my side?

Well, I've come to present you with the report from our blue ribbon panel.

I recused myself.

Yes, but we've changed our conclusions... you convinced us.

We censure the officers for not announcing themselves, sh**ting an unarmed man, and possibly even placing a drop g*n in his hand to cover their tracks.

And it also censures my husband for covering it up?

Well... yes.

Truth is truth, isn't it?

You wouldn't have us compromise the truth out of some misplaced deference to family connections?

No. So then you understand why I have to recuse myself.

That's why I'm here.

I'm offering you a chance to write a minority report.

And what would that say?

Whatever you want.

Whatever your conscience guides you to say.

Mm-hmm.

I think I'll decline.

Mrs. Florrick, I know you don't trust me, but I've come around to your side.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent, so... (knocking) don't remain silent.

Michael?

Hello. How are you?

I'm good, Diane.

You look great.

You, too.

Now, don't you dare think about poaching Alicia.

We've got our hooks into her.

Actually, I was here to poach you.

Ha!

Alicia just asked me in to discuss our blue ribbon panel.

Really?

Well, I hope that all works out.

I'm sure it will.

Anyway, Alicia, thank you.

It was most helpful.

And thank you, Diane, for putting Alicia on the panel.

Well... odd that.

Yes.

So, uh, Cary called, and we have an Alford plea.

Really?

Yes.

My guess is they're worried about a lawsuit.

Lindsey will need some hand-holding.

We don't want her to take it?

Oh, no, we just... want her to know all the facts.

VANESSA: So, what do I do?

Don't sleep with other people.

And that will get me elected?

I'd vote for you.

Here's how people will elect you as Illinois state senator.

You're a woman.

Thank you.

There are three other men in the race.

They will split the male vote.

You will win the female vote, but... only if you win the female vote.

Meaning...?

Female voters are traditional.

They don't like a modern woman.

And that's why you're going to stand beside me, stand by your woman?

Vanessa, that is not what I was saying.

But it's the point, isn't it?

Having my ex-husband approving of me makes me more traditional.

Vanessa.

What?

I'm not saying we have to mean it.

I'm talking about politics.

Just politics?

Yes.

What else is there?

I don't know.

You tell me.

♪ ♪

Uh-oh.

A what?

An Alford plea.

It's a form of a... a guilty plea.

No.

Wait, just... just hear us.

I already said...

ALICIA: Lindsey, listen.

We'll do whatever you want, but with an Alford plea, you get out.

You acknowledge to the prosecution that they have enough evidence to convict, but you get out.

Do they?

Have enough evidence to convict?

Without the DNA, normally we would say no, but you never know for sure what a jury will do.

So if I take this... plea...

The state's attorney agrees to a sentence of time served.

You go free.

Now. Immediately.

Really? - Yeah, Megan, but there are drawbacks.

You won't be able to clear your name.

You'll be a convicted felon for the rest of your life.

And one parole violation, and you're right back here.

But if I don't take it, I have to stay here?

Yes. At least until you get a new trial.

And that's how long?

I don't know.

I want you to have a complete picture here, Pamela.

The state's attorney offers this plea because they're afraid of being sued.

As part of the plea agreement, you have to promise not to sue.

But I get out?

Yes. That's why they do it.

They dangle freedom in front of your eyes to get a guilty plea.

And if I turned it down and sued?

DIANE: The last crime lab lawsuit against Cook County resulted in a $10 million reward.

$10 million?

That's...

Not a guarantee.

And any award you would get, you would have to split three ways.

Do you think I should reject this plea?

No. We're just laying out the options.

We have a very good case against the state's attorney's office.

We won a lawsuit last year on exactly these kind of crime lab missteps.

And it's important to hold these people responsible.

But... - We're not the ones who have to sit in prison for another year.

You have no idea what that kind of money would mean.

My family...

It would change everything for us.

I guess the question, then, is... is it worth it to spend another year in prison to maybe change everything?

More or less.

And how long do I have to decide?

72 hours.

(exhales)

What would you do?

I have no idea.

(door buzzes)

(elevator bell dings)

So, what do you think?

I think she needs the money.

Who doesn't?

(phone vibrates)

(keyboard clicking)

REPORTER: A recently released report from an independent police review authority has found evidence of a cover-up meant to protect a Chicago police officer.

This panel investigated the controversial sh**ting of an unarmed man on Chicago's El Train.

MIKE: This report, exhaustively investigated by a prestigious blue ribbon panel that even included the wife of the state's attorney himself, has found a cover-up by local officials, including the state's attorney.

REPORTER: Kresteva also dropped a bombshell that should complicate the ongoing Illinois political scene.

I am running for governor of the great state of Illinois.

Together, we need to stop corruption like this.

We need to stop people like the state's attorney from covering up police sh**t like this one.

What's wrong?

Everything.





I was never the best father or husband or (chuckles) person, really.

But then something happened to me.

My son was diagnosed as having acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and I just woke up, like Paul on the road to Damascus, except I was at a Bears tailgater stripped down to my underwear.

Damn it. Damn it.

What's wrong?

I just didn't see something coming.

(sighs)

Have you seen my shoe?

It's on your foot.

Yeah, the other one.

Who's that?

The competition.

My competition?

No, Peter's.

Peter's.

You're thinking about him, aren't you?

You're in bed with me, but you're thinking about him.

You're joking, right?

That was a joke?

Come here.

No, I need my shoe.

Eli, come here.

Oh, my God, look at this, ten messages.

He's been trying to reach me all morning.

Come over here.

NEWSMAN: You're referring to Peter Florrick, the state's attorney?

This was a mistake, wasn't it?

Yes.

Now go off to your Peter.

Not without my sh...

(giggles)

Our first date.

MIKE: Now that would be bad enough, Yeah, this was a mistake. but then something else happened.

The wife of the state's attorney, Alicia Florrick, asked me into her office and told me if I changed this report and exonerated her husband, that she would sign it, too.

Damn it. Damn it!

So, we only get the Alford plea if we all agree.

So, where are we?

CALLIE: Pamela wants to hold out for a civil suit.

Oh, I'm sure she does after your sales job.

Excuse me, are you accusing me?

It's money to you.

It's a potential $10 million lawsuit, and you get 20% of that.

You can't get 20% of freedom.

Okay, let's keep it civil.

Tommy?

Megan wants to take the plea.

She was beaten up in prison yesterday.

So, here we go with the emotional blackmail.

No, it's not blackmail; I'm just telling you the facts.

She's being targeted in prison.

And this talk of a civil suit's just making it worse.

What about your client?

Lindsey hasn't made up her mind yet.

She doesn't want to admit to something she didn't do.

Exactly.

ALICIA: But she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life in prison, either.

Look, we all know this case is a slam dunk.

The only reason the state's attorney is even offering us the Alford plea is because he's on the run.

You're married to him, right?

Tell us.

I can't speak to that.

Well, none of us can.

We all know of cases which seemed like slam dunks and turned out not to be.

Okay, so we have three days to figure out whether we have a slam dunk.

I agree.

Our clients are looking for an assessment of their chances, and the prosecution is using our dissention against us.

So let's use this remaining time to see what case we have, okay?

You're on it, right?

Yeah, I put a call into the medical examiner's office.

Oh, and, um, Kalinda, can I hire you to look into something for me?

Sure, what is it?

Just a...

I think there might be something wrong in a financial arrangement.

Okay, sure, whose?

I will need to know.

My mother-in-law's.

(knocking)

Hey, bum.

Callie.

(giggles)

What are you up to here?

The slumber camp m*rder?

Yeah, we're trying to win them some money, but what happened to kids today?

They don't want money.

They want freedom.

You look good suspended.

Yep. You got any pointers?

(chuckles)

Don't get rusty.

You've been suspended, what, six months, right?

Yep.

I was a year.

Addiction. Cocaine use.

I didn't know that.

Yeah, some of my best summations were done high.

But don't I seem calmer these days?

You do.

So, what are you doing?

I'm reading a book I wrote.

How is it?

Not good.

(laughs)

Oh, sorry.

No, it's just one more thing I know I can't do.

I have something you might be interested in.

Behind the Bar.

It's a support group for sanctioned lawyers.

Disbarment, suspension, dr*gs...

Sounds exciting.

(laughing) Oh, come on, what are you doing anyway?

Just lying around all day?

Didn't we almost go out on a date three years ago?

Yeah, you stood me up.

I was in rehab.

So, we'll make this our date.

Come on.

What are you doing tomorrow night?

Kalinda, where you been?

Oh, hibernating.

You guys haven't been too forthcoming lately.

Yeah, well, that's all changing.

We're all loosening up around here.

Really? Why's that?

I don't know, but, uh, your name is no longer dirt.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Into the lab.

No, that way.

What do you need?

Summer camp k*lling, 2007.

Three girl K*llers.

Oh, yeah, that one.

I thought that was getting kicked.

Yeah, state's attorney's office is considering retrying.

Ah, yes, dead horse beaten yet again.

Come on.

Uh, 16-year-old girl.

Three other girls brought her into the woods.

They stabbed her eight times, (grunts) slashed her carotid.

w*apon was never found.

Ah, ooh, and look at this.

What?

A note for you.

ASA Agos, he's, uh, one step ahead of you.

Mm, for the moment.

Oh, she was found without her clothes?

Yeah, they thought r*pe at first... cops always think r*pe... but no semen, no penetration, so they thought the k*ller stripped her down to make it look like a r*pe.

What's this?

Hypostasis.

Lividity caused by the blood settling after death.

No, this.

I don't know.

But no lividity there.

Probably something in contact with her body, something on the ground.

No.

It's on the other side of the ankle, too.

Oh, my God, you're right.

You solved it.

MIKE: Alicia Florrick asked me into her office and told me if I changed this report and exonerated her husband that she would...

It's a lie, Eli; He's lying.

So, you weren't on this blue ribbon panel?

No, I was, but I...

So, you didn't meet with him?

I met with him.

I mean, he met with me.

He came here, but he came here to ask me if I wanted to write a minority report, and I said no.

So, all that stuff about Peter trying to cover up a sh**ting, that's not true?

Unfortunately, I can't say anything about those proceedings because they were confidential.

Okay, so that's it.

Wait, Eli, you have to put out a statement or something.

Saying what?

Saying that it's not true.

I-I didn't ask him to stop the report.

Why would we do that?

Because he's lying, Eli.

(chuckles)

Alicia, people lie, and politicians are just people.

The problem is when you run around putting out statements saying that people lied, it just brings more attention to the lie.

People think there's something wrong with you for making such a fuss about it.

People think you lied because you're making a fuss about a lie.

That's crazy.

It's a 24-hour news story.

It'll go away unless we take the bait.

But it's...

It makes me look bad, and-and he gets away with it?

Yep.

You have to let it go, Alicia.

It's the big leagues.

You file a few off.

KALINDA: It's a bicycle clip.

You wear it on your ankle to keep your pants from getting caught in the bike chain.

Which one is this for, my mother-in-law?

(chuckles)

The victim's body.

Something was pressed against her ankles when she was m*rder*d.

Here and here; that's why there was no lividity.

But there's nothing in the police report that says she was riding a bike that night.

I know.

And yet...

So, where was she riding it?

A bicycle?

There was a chance that Rosa rode a bicycle that night just before she was k*lled.

But she didn't have a bike.

I mean, we weren't allowed to bring anything.

They didn't want any of us off grounds.

What about the counselors?

Mary Jane had a bike.

The counselor in Rosa's cabin, she had a mountain bike.

She was always going off riding.

Good, thanks.

That's helpful.

Wait.

What about the plea?

What are Pamela and Megan gonna do?

Oh, yes.

Pamela doesn't want to take the Alford plea, but Megan does.

Megan's being beaten up in prison.

Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

Maybe I should take the plea.

Here's what we're trying to do, Lindsey.

We want to line up the evidence to demonstrate to Judge Romano that the state's attorney has no evidence to hold you to trial.

They're merely trying to neutralize a civil suit.

If we're successful, you won't have to plead guilty.

You'll just be released.

But you have to do that before the plea expires?

Yes, that's why we're pursuing this evidence.

Okay, and you want me to sit tight?

Yes, just for a little while longer.

Then I will.

Tell Megan to stay strong.

Thank you, Alicia.

(door buzzes)

You still having nightmares?

No.

KALINDA: So, we have evidence that the victim, Rosa Torres, might have ridden a bike the night she was k*lled.

I understand that, uh, you had a bike, right?

Yeah. Why?

And you reported it stolen?

But then you found it, right?

Yeah, a week later. Why?

Uh, Rosa borrowed it that night, intending to return it, but then, she was m*rder*d.

How do you know all this?

Where did you find it?

What does it matter?

Well, it matters, because Lindsey is innocent, and my guess is, Rosa borrowed your bike that night to meet someone off the grounds, and he or she moved her body back onto the grounds, but never knew about the bike.

So, where'd you find it?

MIKE: I want complete separation between the legal and the political.

Anyway, I think you all get it, and with that, I need a moment.

Alicia, good to see you.

I'm sorry I didn't say anything about my press conference yesterday.

I didn't want to let my campaign get in the way of the panel.

So, I invited you to my office?

You...

Excuse me?

You said, I invited you to my office, and tried to get you to change the report about Peter?

Yes.

Which is a lie.

Which part?

All of it.

First of all, do you want some water, or something to drink?

No.

And second of all, I'm not... I'm not sure what you're disagreeing about.

I'm not disagreeing about anything.

I'm telling you to stop lying about me.

Alicia, I'm not lying about anything.

You invited me into your office.

No, I didn't.

You came to my office.

Because you invited me.

And then you asked me to change the report.

No. You came to my office, and you asked me if I wanted to write a minority report.

Alicia, uh... (laughs)

I'm sorry. I...

Our memories seem to diverge here.

You invited me into your office, and I was stunned when you asked me to change the report.

I asked you if this was covered by confidentiality.

You said, "No."

Otherwise, I never would have mentioned it in my press conference.

What are you talking about?

You're lying!

No.

I'm not.

How can you pretend that isn't what happened?

One second, Ginger. I'll be right out.

You're gonna lose.

I am? To whom?

Peter.

No.

You know why I won't?

Because he isn't gonna enter the race.

He's too smart. He knows he's vulnerable.

Stop... lying about me.

Alicia... (scoffs)

Don't pretend what I'm saying isn't the truth.

I know a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on.

But still...

MARY JANE: I found it here, a week later just leaning there against a tree.

Chain broken.

Who lives here?

Some people who work in town.

And counselors?

A few.

(knocking)

Hi. I'm so sorry to bother you.

I was thinking of sending my daughter to the summer camp up the road.

Do you think it's a good...?

(knocking)

Hi. Uh, my name is Kalinda, and I was thinking of working as a counselor...

Hi. Uh, I was just in the neighborhood, and working as an investigator for a reality TV show, looking into the slumber camp m*rder.

Really? I worked at the camp then.

Really?

Yeah, Rosa was a great girl.

That was a tragedy, what happened.

Yeah. Must have been tough.

Were you guys close?

Thanks.

No, just, um... just the usual instructor-camper relationship.

You ran a photography program?

Yeah.

I also taught at the community college before everything went digital.

There was an art form to film.

Now everybody just worries about computer bytes.

Nobody cares about process any more.

I loved working at that camp, though.

Those kids inspire me.

In-in what way?

Mm, their reverence for nature.

There's not a lot of reverence any more.

There she is.

There's Rosa.

Nice girl.

(laughs quietly)

ELI: I don't know.

He hasn't decided yet.

Well, which way is he leaning?

Well, to be honest, Peter is leaning against running for governor.

Why?

He feels the Democratic Committee is yanking him around.

They promise him a speech at convention, then they back down.

It doesn't help that Kresteva has declared.

He's pretty popular, you know.

I spoke to him.

You... When?

Today.

You spoke to him about lying.

Didn't you?

You couldn't help yourself.

And he said, he wasn't lying, but you misremembered, right?

Yes.

Alicia, I am good at my job.

I know what people do.

So when I say, don't speak to them again, please believe me, I know what I speak of.

Peter should run.

I know.

He needs your help.

Kresteva is dangerous.

He's like Blagojevich dangerous.

Stop selling, Eli.

Quit while you're ahead.

Okay.

I'm ahead?

You tell me what you need, and I will think about it.

No kids.

I know.

And there it is.

You didn't have to say that, Alicia.

I know.

(heavy sigh)

I'm not sure if I'm running.

Yes.

That's what Eli said.

Hmm.

Well, Kresteva's no worse than most.

Mm.

I'm not sure I agree, but either way, this isn't about him.

It's about you wanting to see me elected?

Peter, we have had our... issues, but I've always respected your political abilities.

And I've always thought you were better in office than... the alternative.

You know, to be honest, Alicia, I'm finally enjoying what I'm doing here.

Maybe that's why I'm thinking of not running.

Okay... if that's the reason.

Hey.

Your support means a lot to me.

Run, Peter.

You'd be a good governor.

MAN: That's when I found out

I was disbarred.

(crying)

I've worked... I worked my life to become a lawyer.

It was everything to me.

(sobbing)

This was fun.

(laughs)

There are usually more people.

Yup, that's all this needs.

You know, one of the dangers of not having the law to fall back on?

Coming here with you?

Distractions.

dr*gs, alcohol, gambling.

Anonymous sex with strangers.

It's a good thing we're not strangers.

I could pretend to be a stranger.

(rifling through papers)

My apartment is ten minutes from here.

I'll leave first.

If we left, he'd be alone.

My address.

PETER: Mom, how are you?

Good.

Oh, I love seeing you here.

Seems so... appropriate.

(sighs)

Don't buy the house, Mom.

Oh, she talked to you?

(sighs)

Yes, Alicia talked to me.

She doesn't understand.

She thinks I'm doing this to hurt her.

I'm doing this for you and the kids.

I know, and thank you.

Now, don't buy the house.

You know, she wants to buy it.

She wants to live there without you.

Mom, it's not your house.

I put a down payment on it.

I'll lose that.

No, you'll lose the earnest money at the most.

I can't afford losing that.

Yes, you can.

You'll be fine.

Peter, I love you.

You have a good heart, but you don't know when people are manipulating you. I do.

Alicia is manipulating you.

Alicia and I are trying very hard to act like adults.

I need you to butt out.

(laughs)

Peter, I-I can't believe it.

No, listen to me.

Sit down.

Listen to me.

Do not buy that house.

Do you understand me?

Peter, she's controlling you.

Mother!

Do you want me in your life?

Yes or no?

Yes.

Then stop it.

Stop it right now!

Call the seller tomorrow, or I will.

Do you understand me?

Mm.

Good.

Thanks for coming in.

You think he was having a sexual relationship with her?

I checked his record.

Two years after the m*rder, another camper accused him of sexual harassment.

So you're saying, Rosa took Mary Jane's bike and rode it to this counselor's house?

Yeah. Justin Varney, but no one ever knew, because the body was found in the woods back near her cabin.

The k*ller must have dumped it there.

Why would he k*ll her?

Accusations of criminal sexual abuse.

She was 16, he was 25.

So, call an emergency hearing, ask for a reconsideration on bail.

(sighs)

It's worth a shot.

Okay.

I'll prepare the motion. Mm.

ELI: No.

You take it head-on.

We had problems in our marriage, but we've worked hard to mend fences.

Mend fences?

Do you have a better cliché?

Just a second.

Hey, Frank.

What's up?

You tell me.

You saw Mike Kresteva announce for governor.

I did.

Is Peter running against him?

Is the Democratic Committee supporting him?

You come out for Peter, he'll run.

Is that your ex-wife?

Yes. Vanessa.

And she's running for state senate?

Yes. - And you're running her campaign?

Consulting.

I can do both at the same time; Don't worry.

And what if you can't?

What's up, Frank?

We don't want her to run.

What about Robert Mulvey for state senator?

Don't do this to me, please.

She jumped the line, Eli.

We don't want a woman in the race.

Mulvey wins the women's vote without her...

Then let Mulvey compete.

No.

That's not how this works.

He loses the women's vote, he loses.

You want us to help Peter, you drop out of your ex-wife's campaign.

This is crazy.

No, it's not.

I can't do that to her.

Yes, you can.

She can run in four years; help her then.

(quietly): Damn it!

Uh... don't go getting melodramatic on me, Eli.

You don't care about the state race.

Peter's the ball game.

Just tell her you can't help with her campaign.

Good to see you, Eli.

(exhales)

JUDGE: And what do we have today, Counselors?

DIANE: We're here because, Your Honor, my client and her codefendants don't have the luxury of waiting for a trial.

Hey, Justin Varney has an alibi.

He was at a bar with some friends at the time of the m*rder.

ALICIA: The timeline could be off?

Yeah, but there's something else.

That's a friendship bracelet, the kind teenage girls give to their boyfriends and keep one for themselves.

And that is Megan.

Megan gave Justin her friendship bracelet.

Justin didn't do it.

He was dating girls from the camp, but he wasn't at home the night of the m*rder.

Rosa went there to see him, and...

Megan was jealous.

Yeah, and Megan laid in wait for her.

Is Cary anywhere near this?

Not yet, but I wouldn't chance it.

And our client?

I don't know, I think the only one involved is Megan, but...

Their fates are tied.

Uh, okay, go show it to Diane.

And thanks for the help with my mother-in-law.

(clears throat)

Yes, Jackie.

The money for the down payment, you borrowed it from Zach and Grace's trust, and that is...

What?

I had a stroke.

You... Oh, come on, Jackie.

Alicia, I can't reach Peter.

Please, you need to call him.

I'm in the hospital.

(beep)

And here we are.

Yep, here we are.

Have you decided?

No private lives.

Ah. Mafia rules?

We can come after each other but not the families.

Nope.

Peter, sorry, my one play here is...

Sorry, guys, can you grab the next one?

Thanks.

My one play here is to keep you out of the race.

And how do you keep an ambitious man from running?

Tell him you'll go after his family with everything you got.

You're a real piece of work, aren't you?

I try to be.

(laughs)

Well, I'm gonna come after you with everything I've got, everything I can find.

Sure.

Why not.

Peter, you enter the race, I can promise you one thing: You may not regret it, but your wife will.

Oh, and... your phone's ringing.

(phone vibrating)

Hi, Alicia.

What?

I forgive you.

Is she all right?

I don't know.

Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I yelled at you.

It's gonna be all right.

I'm sorry.

Really?

I thought I could handle two campaigns at once, but I just don't have the bandwidth to do either well.

So you chose him.

I chose the campaign I was managing, not consulting.

I'm sorry.

This is because we slept together, isn't it?

No.

I don't believe you.

Look, Vanessa, it pains me to do this.

Well, I'm so sorry for your pain!

Look, I just...

What?

I just hope that we can still be friends, because... this has been nice.

(groans)

Good-bye, Eli.

CARY: Okay, run this by me again.

Hypothetically...

Of course.

If I could convince you that one of the codefendants was actually guilty but the other two weren't...

That's a big if.

Would you drop the charges against the other two?

(sighs)

Alicia, it's not my call to make.

I still have a job to protect here.

For the time being, at least.

But I thought you liked the... what did you call it?

Clarity.

(chuckles)

Well, let's just say it's getting murkier by the day.

I'm sorry, Alicia, honestly.

You don't seem happy here, Cary.

Really?

Here in my cubicle?

Got my Family Circus cartoons and my ficus.

What more could I want?

I'll talk to you.

Yeah.

Peter, it's time to do this.

It's time to decide.

Yeah, I know.

Which way are you going?

Let's do it.

Good.

We'll win this.

I don't know about that, but... it's been decided.

(beep)

(sighs)

No.

Callie, all our clients are gonna sit in jail for another year, while the state's attorney's office devotes every resource they have to figuring out how to prove them guilty.

Do you really think they're not gonna find this? - It's not about what I think, Diane... my client has made up her mind.

Then your client needs to be told the facts.

This evidence against Megan looks equally bad for all of us.

There's no way to prove that Lindsey and Pam didn't help Megan do this.

We'll take our chances.

No. You want the money from a lawsuit... that's why you'll take your chances.

Oh, grow up.

Don't play the martyr here.

You were just as much into the money as I was.

And what if... Lindsey testifies against your client?

What?

It's a new trial.

Cary needs new witnesses to replace the DNA evidence.

Lindsey would make a good witness.

She'd lie? - She wants out of prison; she's desperate.

You never know what a desperate person will say.

So I'm wrong to want money, but you are not wrong to blackmail?

That's right.

How's that door looking?

Within reach.

You have any idea what you're gonna do?

No.

I used to like volleyball.

I wouldn't mind playing some volleyball.

This is where (door buzzes, unlocks) the nightmare always ended.

(metal creaks)

WOMAN: Lindsey.

(Lindsey laughs, gasps)

Oh, my baby!

It's over.

Oh, sweetheart!

PETER: We've had it for far too long in the state of Illinois.

It's the politics of divisiveness and discord, personal att*cks instead of public achievement, negative campaigning instead of positive creation.

And that is why today I am throwing my cap into the race and announcing my candidacy for the governor of Illinois.

(whooping, clapping)

MAN: Our next governor!

(clapping, indistinct shouts)