Without a Trace S3E9 - English Transcript

And continuing with charge 16 that if you find the defendant, Terrell Brooks did commit the crime of premeditated *** then a finding of special circumstances would attach and a conviction of *** in the first degree would be required. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the *** of a child is the grimmest of crimes. But we are not here to exact vengeance for Janelle Billingsley's family as painful as their loss has been. We are here to ascertain the guilt or innocence of the man accused and you have taken an oath to do so impartially and in good faith. This is an awesome power, and it demands a profound responsibility. It also demands some sleep. So why don't we adjourn for today, start fresh tomorrow. All rise. Mr. Nevins, where do you think the missing juror is? Let me say that my thoughts and prayers go to Mr. Ducek and his family. Obviously, when one of the jurors disappears on the first day of deliberations, something strange is going on. Make a juror disappear, it's a good way to force a mistrial. Especially where there are no alternates. Who's the juror? Peter Ducek, 72. Widower, lives alone. Well, if I was the defendant, that's the guy I'd go for. You talk to the judge? Not yet. He wants both sides present. Prosecutor's stuck in traffic. Excuse me. The bailiff told me you're with the FBI. That's correct. Hi, I'm Gerald Billingsley. My sister Janelle was the one who was killed. I'm sorry to hear that. Is it true about that juror? If you don't find him, the trial's off? Not sure. Haven't talked to the judge. Look, whatever you have to do, you gotta find him. We'll do what we can. Thank you. Come on. Let's go. It'll be all right now. The Ducek son called me back. He's on his way in from Long Island. Well, that's probably a good thing. We may get a ransom call coming in. Why do you say that? Ducek is worth over 10 million dollars. Copper wire company. He retired last year. Man, am I in the wrong business. Modest place, considering his worth. Well, apparently he's lived here for over 40 years. This reminds me of my grandfather's house. Which grandfather? Dad's dad. Died when I was 12. Were you close? Men in my family aren't particularly into the close thing. It's Peter's notes from the trial. Dates, facts, relevant parts underlined. Well, that's nice except that he's not supposed to take his notes out of the jury room. Naughty boy, Peter. Sam, look at this. See right there? The way his note ends? He stopped in the middle of a sentence and doesn't pick it up for two days. Maybe he got spooked by something. I don't know what's going on with this jury, but frankly, I don't care. He's asked off this case once, and now he's missing. It's time for a mistrial. Mr. Ducek asked to be recused? He said the stress of the proceedings was taking a toll. When was this, Your Honor? Last week. Did he give a specific reason? He has a heart condition. He even brought in a note from his cardiologist. It's been very difficult for me. I'm sorry. It would mean a mistrial. We would have to do this whole thing again with another jury, at considerable expense not to mention how hard it would be on the victim's family. I understand. I'm very sorry. Are you afraid, Mr. Ducek? Of what? The defendant's outburst yesterday. It frightened some of the other jurors as well. It wasn't very good for my heart. I really don't know if I could take any more. I'm not gonna do anything right now. I would like you to think about this for a day. There's a lot at stake here. Yes, I will. He came back a couple of days later, said he'd stick it out. This outburst in the courtroom, what was that about? Your Honor A day before Mr. Ducek came to me the defendant threatened one of the witnesses in the courtroom. I looked through the peephole in my door and I saw a man leaving the Billingsley apartment with a gun. Did you get a good look at him? Oh, yes. Yo, you gonna stop this or what? Relax. Mr. Nevins, control your client. Is that man in the courtroom? Yes. That's him. Right there. You're a liar, old man! Sit down. You better not listen to him! You gonna pay for this. Don't think I can't get to you! Order in the court! Order in the court! This is precisely what I'm talking about. You are prejudicing investigators against my client. They're gonna sniff around, and the jury will be contaminated. I think that we can articulate these questions in a non prejudicial manner. For what it's worth the state will do whatever it can to assist the investigation. Good, we'll need the court transcripts. And talk to Terrell Brooks. Yeah. I won't let him say anything to you. I'm shocked. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about that but you can have the transcripts and speak with members of the jury as long as you keep me apprised of what's happening. You're a liar, old man! You better not listen to him! You gonna pay for this. Don't think I can't get to you! Janelle was an honor student. She wanted to go to Columbia so she'd be close to me and my mom. So how'd she get hooked up with a guy like Terrell Brooks? She always got teased for being smart. She thought Brooks would give her street cred. What you got there? Terrell Brooks' posse. Find any of them yet? No. But I got N. Y. P. D. Gang Unit rounding them up. They are not a nice bunch of guys, Viv. I didn't think so. This is what Brooks did to Janelle Billingsley. My mother died two years ago. I wanted my father to move closer to us, but he wouldn't give up the apartment. A few days ago, he asked to be let off the jury. Well, that's news to me. He claimed it was because of his health. He's had some heart troubles last year, but as far as I know, he's been fine. And he wouldn't have told you? No, probably not. My dad's not real open about things like that. Has there been behavior lately that seemed out of the ordinary? Something happened to him. Somebody has done something to him. You're asking about his behavior? Come on, Roy. What? I'm sorry. What about the other night, when you and Noelle were here? What happened? That wasn't anything. You know what, why don't you let us be the judge of that? Our daughter had to do a Social Studies project on someone she respects. She asked my father, so we came over. How'd you meet Grandma? Well, I was 19 years old, on the ship that took me to America. I was looking into the ocean, and I fell overboard. Grandpa. No. Your grandmother was a mermaid. She was swimming alongside the boat, and she rescued me. Not that story. Tell me the real one. Best of luck. Oh, that's the real one. Your grandmother was a magical creature. So you came to America when you were 19? Yup. What about before that? What do you mean? When you were a kid in Czechoslovakia. What did you do? Like, play games, ride bikes, hang out with your friends? That That was a long, long time ago. Grandpa, you must remember something. You're not that old. No, I'm sorry. I hope you have enough for your project. Oh, come on, Grandpa. I'm not feeling very well. Dad, I'm gonna get a bad grade. Dad. I don't care about her grade. What did you say? Let go of me. He's always been aloof with me but I've never seen him impatient with Noelle. Do you know what may have brought that on? No. The next day he talked to the judge about leaving the jury. Well, he obviously wasn't planning to tell me. Mr. Ducek, you think it's possible that your father may have considered suicide? Why would you ask me that? Well, if you take into account his health problems, the death of your mother He came to this country with nothing. Whenever I had a problem, all I ever heard was: "You should feel lucky to be alive. " I don't think suicide is his style. What's up with the gangbangers? They've all got pretty solid alibis. Did you talk to any jurors? We're not getting much. Everybody says that Peter kept to himself. What about the cardiologist? She's upstairs talking to Sam and Martin now. You wrote this note for Peter Ducek so he could be excused from jury service. That's right. So he's sick again? No, he's been on medication. Everything's been fine. Then why did you write him a note? Because he asked me to. He's been calling your office quite a bit lately. Yes. What about? He I'm sorry. This whole thing is just so upsetting. Doctor Rebel. Yes? Does your husband know about you and Mr. Ducek? No. We've only been seeing each other a few months. Where was your husband yesterday? He's been out of the country for almost 10 days. I can get you his itinerary if you need to check. That would be great. Let's get back to the note that you wrote. Why did Peter want to leave the jury? He was very vague. He mumbled something about how he couldn't be impartial. But you didn't believe that reason? I thought it was an excuse. But then I saw something at the courthouse last week. It just didn't seem right. I'm famished. Are you hungry? Is everything all right? Who was that man? It was nothing. Don't worry. You asked me to write you a note and you won't tell me what's going on. I have a right to know. Forget about the note. I'm going to stay on the jury. I don't understand what's happening with you. Well, there's nothing to understand. Don't worry about it. Come on. Let's eat. He begged me to get him off the trial then suddenly he's changing his mind. This man that he was arguing with, would you recognize him? I might. Great. No, I'm sorry. Okay. How about this one taken in the courtroom? Look behind the defendant. Wait. There, on the other side. Where? Who's that man? That's the victim's brother. I didn't do anything to him. Then why did somebody see you arguing with him? He's a juror. Your sister's the victim. You know you're not supposed to talk to him? Yes, I know. Well, what did you say to him? I knew there weren't any more alternates. I just tried to get him to stay. I need to talk to you. You're the poor girl's brother. What are you doing here? If you leave, we have to start all over. How did you know that I was going to leave? That son of a *** killed my sister. I shouldn't even be talking to you. Listen! You don't know what this is doing to me and to my family. My mom, she cries every night. I don't know if it's because she misses Janelle or because she has to sit and listen to what he did to her. It took us two years to get this far in the trial. If you walk out, we have to start over, and we can't take it. We can't take it. Please. I understand. You needn't worry. Look, please! I have to go now. Why would I do anything to him? I needed him on that jury, and I still do. You understand we're gonna have to tell the judge you spoke to him. But that could mean a mistrial. Yes, it could. I'm sorry. We don't have a choice. We know why Peter Ducek decided to stay on the jury. We just don't know why he wanted off or if that has anything to do with why he's missing. Yeah, well, so far, Brooks and his friends are in the clear. Maybe there was something else going on and he wanted to get off to deal with it. Here you go. What is that? Thank you. Yep. Doctor Rebel's phone records. He stayed there while her husband was away. I thought maybe he made a call from there, something might pop. You need a hand? Sure. It doesn't qualify as jury tampering, Your Honor. He wasn't trying to influence Ducek's decision. He was trying to get him to stay. How did he find out that Ducek was leaving? One of the ADAs told him. That's not so good for the State. Well, can't you hold off on declaring a mistrial until we find Peter? At least then you'll have the whole story. You have until tomorrow morning. Thank you. Wait a second. I think I got something. What? There was a call from Dr. Rebel's house to a lawyer's office, Fisher, Zern and Associates. Who's that? Her lawyer? No. It's his. My secretary told me you think Peter is missing. Yeah, he's been missing for over 24 hours. Did you talk to his lady friend? Yes, we did. He told he was having an affair? Is she married? Well, that would explain it. Explain what? He was here a few days ago. Told me he wanted to change his will. And there's a lady I'd like to include. You old dog. Who is she? I'd rather not talk about it. I loved Barbara, but I don't blame you if you're ready to move on. I couldn't be happier. I want to leave her $5 million. Five million. That's a lot of money to give to a woman you just And a painting. What painting? It doesn't matter. Please, just draw up the papers right away. Does Roy know about this? No. You should talk to him. He shouldn't have to learn about this after you're gone. Do you know if Peter ever talked to his son? He promised he'd call Roy that night. Did he ever follow up with you? I drew up the papers, left the name blank figured we could fill it in when he was ready to sign but I never heard back from him. I'd remember if my dad wanted to will half his fortune to some woman I've never met. He never mentioned this? I didn't know he was dating someone. You don't know that much about him. No, but I'm not sure that's a reason to toss me into an interrogation room. Your father's missing. You have motive and plenty of attitude, Mr. Ducek. If it were my father, I wouldn't hold out on the people that could find him. Look, if you're hiding something, we're gonna find out. It's just a matter of time, which you are now wasting. I didn't even know that painting existed until a few days ago. Hey, Dad. What are you doing here? We're going to Lincoln Center, then Theresa has her class in the morning. Remember, I asked if we could stay overnight? What, Theresa's here too? Yeah, she's parking the car. I've never seen that before. It's nothing. It's beautiful. You should hang it on the It doesn't belong to me. Well, whose is it? Don't come into my home and interrogate me. It's none of your business. Dad. I didn't mean anything by it. What is going on with you lately? The other day with Noelle, now this. I think maybe that you should stay in a hotel tonight. I'm sorry. I've always wondered why my dad never talked about his past. I figured maybe this painting would help explain it so I called an art dealer the next morning. I'd seen the name of the artist. I described the painting to him. What did the art dealer say? Well, apparently there's a database that tracks stolen artwork. It says that this particular painting used to belong to a wealthy Jewish family living in Germany during World War II until it was stolen by the SS officer who sent them to the camps. You think your father's a Nazi war criminal? I wish I knew enough about him to say he wasn't. All right, here's what we got. Klaus Reinhardt. He was a lieutenant in the SS. Also known as "Klaus the Betrayer. " He'd go into towns, cozy up to the locals and get them to turn over Jews in hiding. He'd prey on children. Threaten or bribe them to turn on family, neighbors. Is there any way of age enhancing this? No, we would need a better photo. This all seems pretty circumstantial. Anything else match Ducek with Reinhardt? Well, here's a copy of Reinhardt's Interpol file. They think he snuck into the U. S. Via Eastern Europe sometime in the '50s. And the INS confirms that Ducek immigrated to the U. S in 1952, with Czechoslovakia listed as his point of origin. Peter's only 72. Wouldn't that make him too young to be Reinhardt? He could've lied about his age to avoid suspicion. What about the painting? ERT's gone through Peter's apartment a dozen times, no painting. The registry it's on is compiled by the Holocaust Art Restitution Project. It's called Le Paysage des Jonquilles. "Field of Daffodils. " This is a study from the Dresden museum's collection. The curator knew the family who owned it. Leo and Hilda Klagsbrun. So, what do we think? A member of the Klagsbrun family tracked Klaus Reinhardt down? That could explain the missing painting. The art dealer said no one's made a claim on it. He doesn't think any of them survived. There can't be many Klagsbruns. Let's make sure. Peter, a Nazi? That's ridiculous. Did he mention talking to his lawyer about including you in his will? No. He was leaving you a piece of artwork stolen from a Jewish family by the Nazis. Why would he leave that to me? Now, did he ever share any details with you about his childhood or the war? No, but that doesn't prove anything. How about in the last few days? Have you noticed anybody snooping around, asking questions? A salesman at the door? Maintenance guy? Anything like that? There was a plumber. Yeah? When? Two nights before Peter disappeared. There's a plumber here. He says he has to do something with the bathroom. Looks like the place where I spent summers in Colorado. Is that where this is? No. Czechoslovakia. Oh, yeah? Where? It's a town called Zandov. How can I help you? Manager sent me. I'm installing low flow aerators in the building. Well, we were about to have dinner. Sorry, Mr. Ducek. It's a big building. All I need is your John Hancock right here and I can get started. Should only take a couple of minutes. I'll stay out of your way. Thank you. How long did this plumber hang around? Maybe 10 minutes. Did Peter act suspicious about it? He seemed a little distracted maybe. I don't know. I don't know what to tell you. All right. I checked Peter's apartment. The photo's gone. Maybe the plumber took it. The manager said he never hired a plumber. Somebody was on to Peter. Why now, after all of these years? The painting? No, Roy Ducek was the only one The art dealer. Yeah, look, I'll call you back a little later, okay? Okay, great. We subpoenaed the dealer's phone records. Right after Roy Ducek called him about the painting the art dealer called an Ezra Hafetz. Leader of a vigilante group called Zionists for Truth. And he's got a kidnapping record. Nazi war criminals? He tried to smuggle one to Israel six years ago. He got caught on his way to Cleveland. Where is he now? Well, he did two years' time. Now he's out. Mr. Hafetz, kidnapping doesn't keep you busy enough? Did you take up plumbing on the side? No. Well, that's too bad. There's a toilet in the men's room I was hoping you'd snake out. If my techniques seem unscrupulous, they pale in comparison to the ones Reinhardt used to lure thousands of people to their deaths. Where is Klaus Reinhardt? I have no idea. I bet the guy you tried to hijack to Israel would discourage us from believing you. So, what were you doing in Reinhardt's apartment? And don't say plumbing. I was tracking him, but I have no desire to go back to prison. My intent was to return him to the authorities as soon as I could prove Peter Ducek and Klaus Reinhardt were the same man. And what happened? Somebody else beat me to it. And how do you know that? Another man confronted him two days ago. And you have no idea who this other man was. No, but I retrieved what he threw out. It was a picture of the proud Hitler Youth. I compared the boys' faces to the picture I'd taken from Mr. Ducek's apartment. He's there smiling like it's his birthday. We're gonna need both those photos, if you don't mind. Hafetz was right. That's Peter right there. It matches the one from the apartment. The tech says that it had to be printed from a negative and the border width dates it pre 1950. Not such an easy picture to come by. No. How'd you do on Hafetz' alibi? It checks out. He was in Connecticut. Hotel vouches he spent the night. I found a Klagsbrun. That's her maiden name, anyway. She's now a Cohen. Greta Cohen. She's 70 and lives with her son in Brooklyn. Who are you? We're from the FBI, ma'am. Agents Fitzgerald and Malone. We're looking for this man, Peter Ducek. He was here yesterday. Why? He's missing. Please, come in. Thank you. Mrs. Cohen, why did Peter Ducek come to see you? He came to return that. Ma'am, we believe that Peter Ducek and a man named Klaus Reinhardt are the same. Oh, that's ridiculous. Peter and I grew up together. Peter was there when Reinhardt came to get us. He lived next door to the family that hid us during the war. I wasn 't supposed to but I would sneak into the hall sometimes to play with him. Peter! Mama! Papa! Greta. Mama! Greta! Peter is not Klaus Reinhardt. He was just a boy. Klaus Reinhardt used him to get to us. They sent my family to Birkenau. They did the same to the family who hid us. I was the only one who survived. Is this necessary? Why make her talk about this? Mrs. Cohen, if you could tell me in detail the discussion you had with Peter we might be able to find him. I didn't say a word when Peter first arrived and when I saw the painting, I was I was speechless. I've had it all these years. Found it in the apartment after they took you. I thought you were dead. All these years without a single memento of my family. It's like you've returned part of them to me. Thank you so much. No. No, don't thank me. Peter, what is it? Your family is gone because of me. Klaus Reinhardt knew there were Jews hiding in one of the apartments. I told him where you were. My God, Peter! I didn't understand what it really meant. Where they were going to take you. I thought I don't know what I thought. I'm a coward. Even now, I wasn't going to tell you the whole truth. I would will you the painting and some money. I was so afraid to face you. What changed your mind? I needed to clear my conscience. So that's why you're here? You want forgiveness? Yes. I'm sorry, Peter. I truly am. But I don't think I can give that to you. I thanked him for returning the painting, and then he left. Peter had that painting for over 60 years. Why did he bring it to you now? I don't know. Mrs. Cohen, I know this is difficult but can you identify anyone in this photo? That's him! That's Klaus Reinhardt. And you're sure? I could never forget. Did Peter mention seeing him recently? He's alive? We think so, yes. I think we're done. You guys gotta leave. We've had enough people parading around here all week. Enough is enough. Has someone else been here? Some man named Hafetz. He thought the same thing as you guys, that Peter was Reinhardt. Now, come on, please. Look what you're doing to her. Okay. Thanks for your help, Mrs. Cohen. Thank you, ma'am. How old would he be now? Seventy eight. There you go. Okay, I'll send it over to Hafetz, have him take a look at it see if this is the same man who confronted Ducek. You don't have to. I've seen him before. That's Albert Mayhew. The witness who put Terrell Brooks at the scene of the crime. That's him. Right there. That's why Ducek stopped writing in his notebook. You're a liar, old man! You better not listen to him! You gonna pay for this. Don't think I can't get to you! It wasn't that he was scared of Brooks. He recognized the witness. He remembered Klaus Reinhardt. Door's open. Clear. Mr. Mayhew? Mr. Mayhew? FBI. Mr. Ducek, we've been looking for you. Where's Albert Mayhew? That's not his name. We're aware of who he is and what happened between you and Greta Cohen. Then you know why I had to face him. You shouldn't leave your door open. I'm not afraid of anything. No? I thought you understood from our conversation you have as much to lose as I do. You actually believe it's the same thing? I was a child. Exactly. Peter, it was 60 years ago. Look at us. We're old men now. Let go of it. Forget it. Forget it? How can you live with yourself? You murdered all those people. Hundreds, thousands. How many? It was a different time. A different place. What does it matter now? It's history. It will be when you turn yourself in. Turn mys? And what will that accomplish? You'll have to tell the world what you did and face the families that are still alive. You've seen how the courts work here. I'll die before that happens. And so will you. Maybe you're right. I was going to kill him. I really was. But you didn't? No, that would have been too good for him. Excuse me. Where is he, Mr. Ducek? You know, I used to wear ones just like these on the shoulders of my uniform. He promised me that what we were doing was right for the country. But after what I did to Greta's family I cursed every day that I had to put that uniform on. He saved his. Just ran a phone check on this apartment. Somebody placed a call to Zionists for Truth about two and a half hours ago. I'm assuming that was you. I don't remember. You gave Reinhardt to Hafetz to take back to Israel? Who's Hafetz? I don't know any Hafetz. Come on, Mr. Ducek. Fred Cohen told you who he is and what he does. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. Mr. Ducek, this is not the way. We're going to charge you as an accessory to kidnapping. Yes. Well, I'll take my chances. Anyway, you're too late. Any word yet? Nothing from Kennedy or LaGuardia. MacArthur's is closed. We've covered Westchester County and Morristown. What about Philadelphia? Checked it, I'm on with Pennridge now. Just got off with Teterborough Airport. Apparently, a Gulfstream IV took off 40 minutes ago. Terminates in Tel Aviv. How far over the Atlantic are they? International airspace. Guess there's nothing we can do. So there's no way to avoid a mistrial now? No. But we get a new trial, right? But without the testimony of Albert Mayhew. He was the key witness. We can't get a conviction without him. Look, I talked to the prosecutor, and she's willing to mount a case. So Terrell Brooks is gonna walk, huh? Justice can be slow sometimes, Gerald. Adapted by: