The Ledger

2.9 Renunciation

In this episode (2.9), an ex-football player is purposely run over by a black Mercedes. It appears that his wife and possibly her young lover are somehow involved. Logan and Cerreta investigate, Stone and Robinette prosecute.

The episode begins with a man walking his little dog (whom he calls "OJ", in a pre-Nicole nod to the world's most famous running back). He buys some stuff in a convenience store, and as he exits, a Mercedes strarts up and runs him down. Logan and Cerreta learn from the deli owner that the car has been around the block a few times that night. The victim's name is Lawerence Kealy.

They talk to his apparently distraught wife, who tells them that the victim was a bartender and ex-quarterback. They talk to his co-worker at the bar, who reveals that Keely had a gambling problem and owed money to a bookie named Harry Fine. They revisit the wife, and the admits that her husband was pushed around by a loan shark. A funny old neighbor, Mr. Isaacson, says he heard fights between the couple and filed complaints with the landlord. The detectives also learn that the wife bought her apartment the day after her husband died, which the detectives find suspicious. They theorize that she may have killed him for the insurance money. (In the midst of all this, Logan calls Cerreta "Big Daddy" twice, by the way.)

Further investigation reveals that the wife was having an affair, and that she usually met her lover on Monday nights. They talk to a fellow teacher who says he had eyes for Mrs. Kealy, but never got with her. He says Kealy spent a lot of time with a student named Roy Pack. They talk to Mr Pack, an editor, who has custody but says they should talk to his ex-wife. Guess what kind of car she owns? That's right...a black Mercedes. They track the car down. It's been damaged in the front end. They arrest Pack (28 mins). Under pressure, he admits his love for Mrs Kealy and says they were having an affair, and rolls on her, saying she put him up to murdering Mr Kealy. He says they were caught red-handed in the affair, and that Mr Kealy wanted a divorce. The kid further admits that they tried to pay a bookie named David Coffer to kill him, but he refused.

They talk to the bookie who says that the wife changed her mind before he could commit the crime. This leaves the prosecutors wondering what to charge everyone with. Schiff offers Stone some advice, which leads to the trial of the kid (44 mins). Park testifies that Mrs Kealy told him they could be together. Robinette figures out that the bookie was lying about Kealy's gambling debts, and that he was only pretending to be a hitman for the benefit of the kid. In other words, Mrs Kealy arranged for the bookie to pretend to be a hitman, and then "back out" of the crime, a move which would psychologically force Park to step up and commit the murder. Stone pleas the kid out on Man 2, and gets him youthful offender status. He has Mrs Kealy arrested (59 mins).

The title of the episode comes from the fact that Mrs Kealy appeared to have "renounced" her order to commit the crime before it was committed, a move that puts her in a legal gray area.

Posted by adm at May 13, 2004 10:20 PM

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