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Favorite Scenes   March 22, 1994 D is writing an article about Judge Caruso’s daughter for the Intruder. n enters. D: Nora! N: If i were you, Dorian, I would leave my phone on the hook (hangs it up) in case your attorney were trying to get a hold of me. D: Look, I’m uh, a bit out of it, okay? I’ve been working all night. N: Working on what? Another one of your lunatic schemes? D: I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to be disturbed. N: Mmm, well, I’ve got a news flash for you, Dorian, that’s going to send you light years past disturbed. We’ve been summoned to appear in court in less than an hour from now. D:Why? N: Because Hank is going to try and revoke your bail. D: What? Well, that’s absolutely outrageous, you’ve got to put a stop to it. N: Well, I’ll tell you something, Dorian. When your client has been caught red-handed with a lug wrench and a can of lye in the tomb of the man she’s been accused of murdering, it’s a little hard to get up the enthusiasm, let alone the optimism. D: I can’t go back to jail, Nora, I just can’t. N: Well, far be it for me to tell you what to do, but, if I were you, I’d go and put on something very comfortable, because it’s looking good that you’ll be wearing it for a long, long time. N: Dor- Dorian! Who brings in the crisis of your life, and all you care about is this junk? D: It’s important to keep active! N: (reading) Judge Caruso used all his clout to silence whispers that his darling daughter had degenerated into a pathetic, runny-nosed junkie. How can you even think of printing this kind of garbage at a time like this? D: The miserable backstabber deserves every word of it. N: Judge Caruso? D: I warned him what would happen if he didn’t play ball with me. N: What? D: Yes! I told him I was serious, all he needed to do was block the exhumation of poor Victor’s body, then his daughter’s dirty little drug secrets would have been safe with me. Did he listen to me? No! He ignored me. N: Good God. You’re telling me you tried to blackmail a judge? D: No, what I meant to say- N: No, Dorian, you said exactly what you meant to say. This- (picks up paper) this is just great. First, you try to blackmail a judge, then you get caught red-handed at poor Victor’s vault with a lug wrench and an industrial size can of lye that had the capability of turning Victor’s remains into nothing but a big blob. D: That isn’t what I was there for! N: Dorian, you were there for one reason and one reason only, and that was to destroy the skull on the body so that the autopsy couldn’t prove that there had been suffocation. D: Why would I do something so ridiculous when I know for a fact Victor died of a stroke! N: I don’t know, Dorian, you tell me, you were the one on the commando raid. Of all the people to get stuck with as a client! D: Nora, I am quite sure that you are going to win this case. N: (yelling) Well, you're the only one! Do you know what Hank is going to do to you in court? He’s going to paint a portrait of you for the jury as a vengeful, cod-blooded murderer who has been covering up a horrible crime for 18 years. and last night’s little escapade just gave him more colors to work with! You played right into Hank’s hands! You’re going to come off as someone you’d do anything to keep the truth from coming out. But you know what? That’s not the worst of it. D: What? N: I happened to find out who the judge on your case is. D: It isn’t good? N: No, Dorian. It isn’t good. It’s about as bad as it gets. D: Douglas Hawthorne? N: Mmm, the one and only. P.S. Not only is he presiding over this hearing today, but he is also going to be on the bench during your trial. D: Maybe all the things they say about him aren’t true. N: Mmm, you’re right. They’re worse. He’d rather hand out the death penalty for jay-walking. Not only that, he’s got a real itch to go to Harrisburg. D: He wants to be governor? N: In the worst way, and this is on the worst. And according to his research, nothing appeals to voters more than a man who’s tough on crime, to the point of ruthlessness.He likes to practice what he polls. D: Have you ever tried a case before him? N: No, I haven’t, but a colleague of mine id. She said it was a nightmare. His sarcasm, his impatience, and his sound bites that he likes to generate for the benefit of the press, oh, yes, I’m sure he’s just thrilled to get this case. D: What are you saying? N: Attention, publicity- come on, Dorian, you should certainly understand that, that’s your stock and trade. D: You mean he wanted to try my case because I’m famous? N: Um, notorious is a better way of putting it, yes, I’m sure he lobbied heavily to be assigned to this case. Absolutely, you know, with all the buzz around, and you keep pulling your lunatic self-destructive stunts, sure, sure, he probably figures as soon as he gets you into prison, he’ll end up in the governor’s mansion. D: It’s- it’s grotesquely unfair! N: Yeah, I’m sure that’s what Victor Lord though about 18 years ago. Dorian, you want a microscopic chance of winning this case, you gotta toe the line, and you gotta behave. D: All right. I will do whatever you tell me to do. N: Good. Go put on something tasteful and conservative and step on it. Walking in late to Hawthorne’s courtroom is the ultimate kiss of death. D: Fine. I will just be a minute. N: Oh, and Dorian- one other thing. If you so much as take one step out of line, if you so much as even attempt another one of your crazy little- acts, I will drop you faster than a cast iron beach ball. D: (laughs) Nora, you’re not going to do that. If you did, you would be- N: Disbarred? I don’t care? You act up once and I'm gone. And I will leave you to face the man in legal circles known as ‘Hanging Hawthorne.’ H: Come on, come on, relax, huh? Look, Judge Hawthorne, he’s going to walk in that door any minute now. B: Yeah, I’m just wondering if Nora will. H: Yeah. Well, listen, um, no offense to Nora, but I’m kinda hoping that Judge Hawthorne walks in here before they do. It’ll give us that much more of a boost. (N and D enter) Oh, boy. Scratch that pipe dream. N: (to D) Thank god we made it in time. D: I can go powder my nose now. N: You’re not going anywhere, you’re staying right here. D: I’m going to the loo, not to Lucerne. N: You’re going to go over to the defense table and sit there quietly and demurely. I will be right there. Mr. Commissioner. B: Counselor. I was beginning to think that you and your pro bono baby over there were going to be no-shows. N: I’ve never been late for a court appearance, and I’m certainly not going to start now. B: Mmhm, mmhm. N: How are you, lover? B: Good. And amazed. N: At what? B: At you. How did you figure out that Dorian was up to something in that crypt, now how did you do that? N: You know I can’t discuss the ins and outs of this case with you. B: Yeah, but you could drop me a well-worded little hint. N: Nope. B: Nope. N: I will tell you one thing. My client is a piece of work. B: Oh God, tell me something I don’t know. This is absolutely incredible. The worst woman in the whole world is being defended by the best woman is the entire universe. Not that that’s going to do her any good. N: Ohh, am I sensing some aspersions being cast? B: No offense, red, but even a lawyer as brilliant as you are is not going to be able to bail Dorian out, and I mean that literally. Not today. N: I’ve had tougher roads to hoe. (goes to table)   court begins Hw: Be seated. This hearing has been called to determine whether the bail should be revoked in the case of Dorian Lord. Shall we begin? Hw: You will try to convince the court that Mrs. Lord’s bail should be revoked and that she should be remanded into custody to await trial. H: I am, your honor. Hw: All right, then. Have at it. H: Thank you, your honor. Your honor, Dorian Lord is set to go on trial for the murder of Victor Lord. Now, a murder trial requires the presence of two key elements. A defendant, and the evidence to establish that guilt. But, the closer my investigation gets to proving Ms. Lord’s guilt, the more likely it seems that either Ms. Lord or the evidence will disappear. This defendant is increasingly desperate, your honor. Hw: Desperation is not a crime, Mr. Gannon. H: But destroying evidence is. N: Oh, your honor, I’m sorry- Hw: Now look, Ms. Gannon- you’re not going to object, are you? No one interrupts arguments during a special hearing, with one exception- me. N: Yes, your honor, I’m sorry. Hw: You were saying, Mr. Gannon? H: The defendant is desperate. Why, only yesterday, Ms. Lord was discovered in the murder victim’s mausoleum, and what had she brought along? A large lug wrench and a container of lye. The perfect tools, your honor, to open Victor Lord’s tomb and to burn away the very evidence I was hoping to find by having his body exhumed. Now, the woman is willing to act as rashly as her presence in that tomb suggests, well then, I would say, it's safe to assume that she might flee the country before her trial begins. Hw: No, it doesn’t necessarily follow. H: Your honor, she has already made previous steps in that direction. A few weeks back, I appeared before Judge Fitzwater, and at that time, I called the court’s attention to money that Ms. Lord had been transferring to a bank in Switzerland. Hw: Mmm, yes, quite a bit of money. H: Yes, sir. Now, why could she be sending that much money to Europe if she hadn’t planned on meeting it there? Your honor, Dorian Lord is a very wealthy woman, and she has the resources and the connections to leave the country in secret and to live in exile for the rest of her life. Hw: And you think that she would do that rather than stand trial here? H: a woman desperate enough to mutilate her own husband’s corpse would do anything to avoid facing a jury. Your honor, Dorian Lord belongs in jail. Hw: Ms. Gannon, do you have anything to say in defense of your client? N: Yes, your honor. (somewhat softly) Hw: I beg your pardon, did you say something? I can hardly hear you. N: I’m sorry, your honor, yes, I would like to argue against the revocation of my client’s bail. Hw: Ah, good. Well, then, shall we begin? And speak up. Hw: I’d like to hear from you today, Ms. Gannon. N: I’m sorry. (pause) Your honor, the district attorney pointed out how desperate my client is, and he’s right. Dorian Lord is desperate. She’s desperately upset that the concept of innocent until proven guilty apparently been thrown out the window in this case. The district attorney would like to lock my client up. Why? She hasn’t been charged with, convicted of anything, and she hasn’t been charged with anything in connection with the, the-visit of mourning and commemoration she made to her late husband’s mausoleum. Hw: A visit she made with a large wrench and a can of lye. N: Your honor, lye is not a controlled substance bought from pushers down dark streets, it’s a common household product. My client happened to have some with her because she’d been having trouble with her drains. (pause) And trouble with everything else in her life. Her daughter is in a personal crisis, the loss of a child. Dorian Lord is in emotional distress. She’s been accused of murdering her late husband, and then she was told they’re going to exhume his body for a second autopsy, her life is spinning out of control. She merely wanted to find peace again by spending a moment or two alone with her late husband. Hw: Carrying a large wrench. N: She brought that with her from the car for protection. She was afraid of being alone in the cemetery, after all, it was almost sunset. (pause) Your honor, there is absolutely no shred of proof that Dorian Lord intended to use that lug wrench or that lye in the manner that the district attorney so graphically that the district attorney so graphically suggests. As a matter of fact, to link her visit at the crypt with an inevitable urge to leave the country is equally specious. Hw: Ms. Gannon, are we coming to some kind of conclusion here? N: Your honor, if Dorian Lord had transferred sums to Switzerland, and was so hell bent on going there and had all the connections to make the move whenever she chose, as my esteemed adversary insinuates, then why bother going to the crypt at all? Logic tells us she would have just grabbed the first private jet she could. No, your honor, my client was not and is not planning on leaving the country, and I needn’t remind you or counselor that that’s what bail is all about. Hw: Ah, well, thank you very much, Ms. Gannon, we are well aware of that. N: Your honor, I find no compelling reason to revoke my client’s bail. Dorian Lord is an important member of the community, with many interests and many responsibilities. Locking her up wouldn’t serve justice, it would merely prevent her from conducting her life and her business, which in my opinion is cruel and unusual punishment. With all due respect, your honor, the district attorney’s motion to revoke my client’s bail is unfair and unfounded, and I request that you deny it. Thank you. Hw: Some rulings are easy to make. This isn’t one of them. However, after careful consideration of the arguments, which I must say were ably presented by both counsels, I have come to a decision. I’m afraid I have no choice but to agree with the district attorney. I believe that Dorian Lord is a threat to leave the country, or to illegally interfere with the investigation. Therefore, bail is revoked. Mrs. Lord, I order you to be remanded to county jail immediately, where you will await trial for the murder of your husband, Victor Lord.   March 23, 1994 Hw: I have come to a decision. (same as above) D: No! I won’t go to jail, I won’t! Hw: (pounds gavel) The decision of this court is final. D: This court is a travesty! Tell him, Nora. Tell him he can’t do this to me. N: This isn’t helping your case, it’s not. D: I didn’t do anything! B: You want me to remind you, Dorian? H: And it’s a long list, Dorian. D: Listen to them! Your honor, this is nothing but persecution. I didn’t do anything! Hw: You were found in your husband’s crypt under extremely suspicious circumstances. D: I was there to grieve for my late husband. That isn’t a crime. B: Well, destroying his remains sure is! Hw: Commissioner Buchanan, this is still my court. D: Can’t you see? This is all an orchestrated campaign to destroy me! Hw: You seem to be doing very well without their help. Your conduct, Mrs. Lord, since your arrest suggests that you cannot be trusted to remain in this country, that you cannot be trusted to remain within the limits of the law, therefore, I have no choice but to send you back to jail! N: Come on, Dorian, just cooperate a little- D: You want me to capitulate! Well, I refuse. N: Do you want contempt added to the other charges? D: Yes!! Because I have nothing but contempt for this kangaroo court. Your honor, there is no proof, not one shred that I was doing anything wrong! H: What about the lug wrench and the can of lye, Dorian? What were you going to use those things for, huh? To remodel the mausoleum? D: Well, that’s obvious. The truth doesn’t matter in Llanview anymore! Hw: The truth is the only thing that matters in this court. D: Then why don’t you care that I have my rights? Look at them! So smug and superior, just waiting for me to be thrown to the wolves! H: May I remind the accused that the only victim in this case is Victor Lord. D: Wrong, as usual, Hank. I am the victim. For years, I have been victimized by Victoria Lord Buchanan and her minion. N: Oh, Dorian, please stop. (weakly) D: (ignoring) The woman is obsessed by her father. His life, his death, I mean, it’s really so sick. If you want to put someone behind bars, then you should put the cuffs on her- No!! No!! I will not go back to jail. You’ll have to kill me first. D: Stay away from me, I mean it! Hw: Ms. Gannon, could we stop this female hysteria, or I’ll have her dragged out of here. N: With all due respect, your honor, Ms. Lord’s reaction is not female hysteria. Hw: Oh, no? What would you call it? N: This person has just been ordered back to jail, unjustly. She is obviously upset. It’s a normal reaction. D: That’s right, you tell him, Nora- Hw: That’s enough! Ms. Gannon, I want a word with you. Approach the bench,please. H: I sure would like to sell a ticket to this one. Be right back. N: Your honor- Hw: Now, listen to me, Gannon. I’ve heard all about you from Judge Fitzwater. She wasn’t exaggerating. N: Judge Fitzwater removed herself from this case because she wouldn’t be objective about me or my client. Hw: I can hardly blame her. Your theatrics during the rape trial were the talk of the tabloids, and if you think I’m going to allow that sort of thing in my courtroom, you’re completely- D: Wait, how hypocritical! What about you and your theatrics? All of which are calculated- Hw: That’s enough, Mrs. Lord. D: -to get you into the governor’s mansion! Hw: Mrs. Lord! (pounds gavel) You can say what you wish about me, but you will respect the proceedings of this court. Ms. Gannon, as an officer of the court, I order you to get control of your client, otherwise I will hold you both in contempt. Is that clear? N: Oh, yes, your honor, yes. D: Nora, you- (N grabs her arm) N: Dorian, you listen up and you shut up! Now! You get yourself together. We’re not talking about a fine or a slap on the wrist. This man has got your life in his hands. D: Nora, my life is over if I have to go back to jail. N: What are you going to do, Dorian, jump out of a basement window, grab the matron’s gun? D: Don’t you dare make light of this! N: I’m not. I know how serious this is, do you? We’re going to face Judge Hawthorne every day in your trial. If you want a chance at acquittal, you have to stop being rude, and stop acting so desperate. D: But I am desperate! N: Oh, yes, you certainly were last night when you paid your little visit to Victor’s crypt, ready to destroy the body. Now, you’ve got to get yourself calm and you’ve gotta get smart. D: We’re giving up? N: Call it retreating with dignity. For now. I’m going to fight for you, Dorian, that’s my job, but I can’t do that unless I have your help. Now, do I have it or don’t I? Hw: Ms. Gannon? N: Yes, your honor. D: All right. If I have to go, I have to go. Do it. (puts cuffs on her)   B: They don’t call him Hanging Hawthorne for nothing. N: Yeah, well, it doesn’t help when your own client puts her own head in the noose. B: Well, she’s lucky to have you, honey, because it could be a lot worse for her. N: Are you kidding? I don’t know who Judge Hawthorne despises more, Dorian or me. H: Well, Nora, that’s easy. I think you win hands down. N: Gee, thanks a lot, Hank. H: It’s not like Dorian can’t make a case for being the least loved woman in Llanview, though. N: You know, I’m beginning to think you’re almost enjoying this, Hank. H: Well, there’s nothing almost about it. Look, Dorian has gotten away with murder for the last 18 years. Now she’s about to pay the price. B: He’s got a point. The only person she has to blame for being in that mess is herself. N: You know, just when I start losing sympathy for Dorian, you guys make me want to just go right in that courtroom and fight. H: Hey, fine, you’re going to have your chance with Judge Hawthorne as the referee. N: Fine, Hank. You want to take off the gloves and just do it? B: (chuckles) I love when she talks this fight talk. H: Well, Bo and I are on our way to the medical examiner’s, and once we get the results of the autopsy, we can go to trial. And believe me, I’m going to push for the earliest date I can get. Unless you’re just bluffing. N: The sooner the better. B: Honey, why don’t you just try to cool off- (stops) H: Well, Bo, let’s do it. We’re about to drive the last nail into Dorian’s coffin. (H and B exit, N fumes)   At Dorian's cell. D: All right, Nora. I did it your way, I went without kicking and screaming, but I don’t think I can hold on much longer. N: Well, you won’t have to. The trial’s starting soon. D: The sooner the better. Even the thought of spending one night in this place- I just can’t take it. N: Sure you can. D: (laughs) You don’t understand. I’ve been in a place like this before. They like to make it sound like it’s all very civilized, you know, three meals a day, a gym, a library, they even have encounter groups. To hear them describe it, you’d think it was the Llanview Ladies Club. N: I know it can be tough. D: Yeah. You know, it’s not the inmates or the guards or even the bars everywhere. It’s the coldness, the sterility, the gloom hanging over everything. And the smell of the antiseptic they use to mop the floors. I mean, you cannot get that smell off you. Even if you drown yourself in perfume. It just gets under your skin. N: Why don’t you try and lie down and get some sleep, okay? D: It won’t help. N: Well, you just try, okay? D: It won’t help. N: Well, you just try, okay? In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to get you out of here. D: Nora? To me, the only thing is acquittal. Please, don’t let them railroad me. Do whatever you have to- N: Dorian. I said I’d help you and I will. The autopsy’s probably over by now. This is the last time I’m going to ask you, Dorian. Do you know what the medical examiner’s going to find? D: Who knows what these so-called experts think of as evidence? I hear they manufacture it. N: Dorian, I want the truth now. Hank said they’re looking for something specific, some physical evidence to suggest that Victor had been smothered. Is that it, or is there something else? D: It’s all in that room, yes, that awful room. With all those awful people. N: Well, then, I guess I better go there and find out. (leaves)   March 24, 1994 N walks into waiting room where Viki is. N: Hi. V: Hi. N: I guess you’re waiting for the- V: The autopsy report. N: Me too. V: So I gathered. (silence) N: Okay, I better address this, otherwise nothing will get done. Viki, it’s obvious you’re uncomfortable with me. V: Yes, I am. I’m really sorry, Nora, it has nothing to do with you. N: Oh, I know, it has everything to do with my client. V: Yes, it does. You know, I realize that you were forced to take Dorian’s case. N: Yes, I was. V: It just seems to me that lately you seem to be- N: Enjoying the challenge? Hmm? I can’t help that. I’ve been placed in an untenable positions- and, and I have to accept it, it’s either that or give up the thing I love most in the world, besides Rachel and Bo, and that’s the law. So, given that I’m stuck with this case, what can I say, I take my challenges seriously. V: That’s very commendable. But I would be lying if I pretended I were not uncomfortable around you. N: Viki, no matter how I feel about Dorian, I am going to present the best defense I possibly can for her. V: I know. N: You and I were friends before this came in. I’m hoping that the same will be true when the verdict’s in. Your friendship means a great deal to me. B: (entering) It matches. (meaning pillow fibers) Counselor. N: Commish. H: Look, you’ll get a full pathology report later. But the short version is, a small piece of polyester filling from a Llanview hospital pillow was lodged in Victor Lord’s throat, and yes, his nose had been broken.   V walks away. B: Excuse me. (goes to comfort Viki) H: You wanted physical proof, well, we’ve got it. And it supports our contention that Dorian came into Victor’s room the night he died, put a pillow over his face, and smothered him. N: Gee, Hank, I don’t want you to hurt anything vital while you’re leaping to all these major conclusions. For all you know, victor Lord’s nose could have been broken after he died. Orderlies are not well known for handling dead patients with all that great a care. All the proof you’ve got is that Victor Lord inhaled a particle of a Llanview hospital pillow, not that he was smothered, and certainly not that Dorian did it.   In visiting room. N: His nose was broken, Dorian. They also found a tiny polyester fiber lodged in his throat, the kind of fiber you would find in a stuffed pillow. Like at Llanview hospital, the kind of pillow that one might use to smother someone. (D is rubbing her eyes and temples) Throbbing or stabbing? D: What? N: Your headache, throbbing or stabbing? D: Stabbing. N: Guard, could you just close the blinds a little bit, please? Now, Hank is going to do a bang-up job trying to convince the jury that your smothered Victor. (to guard) Thank you very much. And, uh, you know, you getting caught red-handed in Victor’s mausoleum with a big can of lye, well, that- he’s going to have a field day with that. D: Nora, what are you going to do about it? N: I wish I knew. D: Wonderful. N: Well, you’re the one with a son-in-law with the heavenly connections, why don’t you ask Andrew if he can call in a miracle? I just wanted to bring you up to date. (gets up- to guard) Mrs. Lord has a terrible headache, can she just stay here for a while? G: Yeah, I guess. N: Thank you. (to D) Try to keep your eyes closed, and, um, breathe steadily. Not from the top of the lungs, but deep breaths, all the way down to the bottom. And try to relax the back of your neck, okay? Pray for that miracle, Dorian. Then again, miracles may not be enough. (leaves)   B and N enter Rodi’s. B: Gee, the great thing about me taking on this Victor Lord murder case this early in my career, because it’s 18 years old- honey- N: What? B: That’s almost as old as you! N: Oh, that was a good one, I didn’t even see that one coming. (kiss) B: Those are the best kind. Anyway, because it’s as old as it is, I’ve had to look up some files, police files, county files, like baptism under microfilm. (N laughs) Anyway, I’ve learned a lot of colorful local history. (K and R become audible) N: How about discretionary laws, you know, like not sleeping with the defense attorney? B: Ohh…(notice K and R- go over) Guys, this is a public place, what do you say we just calm down just a little bit. K: What are you going to do, are you going to bust me? B: Hey, come on, Kev. You gotta cool down, son. What do you say you and I just take a walk out there in that cold night air, huh? Come on. (exit B and K) N: Hey, hmm? What seems to be the trouble going on here with you two? (R collapses, sobbing, into N’s arms) Oh, baby. Oh.   K talks to B about Ben. K: You remember when Nora was sick in the hospital and she tried to fix it so that you wouldn’t find out? B: Yeah. K: What made you go looking for her? B: I don’t know, I don’t even remember now- something just, it didn’t add up. So what are you saying, something’s just not right here? K: You got it.   they talk some more N: Honey, look, whatever is bothering Kevin, do you think now is the time to start bitching at him and stuff? I mean, obviously, he’s overreacting to something, and instead of challenging, maybe you should be reassuring, and I say that with all my feminist pride intact. It’s just- I’m really trying to come up with like a peaceful negotiation here, advocating- R: Mom, it wouldn’t work. N: Why not? R: Because I can’t reassure him. N: Now, sure you can. R: No. No, I can’t. Because the thing that he wants reassurance about, the thing he’s afraid of happening, is. I think maybe it might be. N: Okay, you think what maybe it might be? R: Ben Price. Mom, I can’t get him off my mind, and I don’t know what to do about it. N: Whoa, news flash for old Mom. R: Yeah, whoa. It’s just- I thought it wasn’t important, so- N: So. Oh, Kevin picked up on it, you didn’t say anything, he just- R: Yeah. N: Well, then, it’s stronger than you think. R: I’m not, no, I just think about him, mom, there’s nothing going on, no, he’s just, just a friend. N: Of course. Nothing’s going on. Just a friend