Law & Order “Wicked Game” Recap, Review, Discussion

 

Law & Order “Wicked Game” was an interesting episode and a nice feature for Camryn Manheim as Lt. Kate Dixon.  Finally we see her do more than give orders to her detectives. In this case, not only does she use her authoritative presence to deter some bullies picking on a homeless man, but she helps to flush out a  potential serial killer who may have killed someone years before in a case Dixon couldn’t solve to her satisfaction.  This is the  first episode where we get to see a bit of what makes Kate Dixon tick.  I’ve always liked Camryn Manheim and think she fits this Law & Order role very well. 

This story was likely based on Ed Buck of California, a former political donor who was found guilty of  enticing men to engage in prostitution, plus for distributing meth and sedatives. He also  injected men with meth to the point of making them comatose.   Currie Graham was perfect for this role; for some reason he always gives me the creeps, regardless of what role he’s playing.  As soon as I saw him, I knew he was the perp!

What I don’t understand is that there was so little forensic evidence,  not only at Kyle’s place but in the trunk itself or on the body.   I would think if Kyle used or even touched that trunk at any point, there had to be something in it which would have yielded some sort of DNA evidence to confirm it was his trunk. Likewise, there would have likely been some evidence of Darien being in his home. Maybe because Kyle admitted he was there would have made the DNA evidence found in his home irrelevant?  I would think it would be hard to scrub that trunk of any evidence of Kyle.  I’m also unclear as to how he got the trunk onto the street, especially with no security cameras noticing.  Did I miss something?   It seemed like they didn’t have any real evidence of murder except for a pattern of Kyle’s behavior. 

There seems to be a constant vein of tension running between Bernard and Cosgrove which often centers on some sort of racial issue.  At least they seem to be trying to relate to each other’s perspective, although I see Bernard’s patience with Cosgrove’s inflaming opinions wearing thin.  Cosgrove clearly is a man who just speaks his mind which can be grating BUT he managed to use that talent well when spelling things out for Senator Jack Nathan. 

Here is the recap:

Lt. Kate Dixon stops two bullies from harassing a homeless man on the street by simply using her words and her strong presence. She gets a call and then calls Cosgrove and says they just got a body. 

Bernard and Cosgrove are later at the scene of where the body of a  young black man was found on the street in a large, expensive trunk. 

Bernard and Cosgrove speak with the medical examiner and find the cause of death was a drug overdose.  There was a tiny puncture wound on his arm and ligature marks.  There is no sign of sexual activity. They see a  logo marked on his body that Bernard photographs. 

At the site of the business where the logo originates – Alton Walsh Dance Academy – they learn the man is Darien Wilson. They speak to someone who knows him who can’t believe it was an OD as it was very unlike him.  He was gay and his parents live in the Bronx. 

At the residence of Ray and Kim Daniels on Thursday March 24,  they find the parents – the father mostly – are ashamed of Darien being gay as it is against their beliefs. His young brother doesn’t seem to want to talk in front of the cops.  Bernard  hands him his card before he leaves.  As they walk down the street,  Cosgrove brings up why Black people march on the streets against aggressive laws but take a hard, religious stance against gays.  Bernard agrees but tells him not to act like Cosgrove’s people are better because “you” still can’t have premarital sex. Cosgrove says this is reason #36 why he doesn’t go to church anymore.  Bernard gets a call – It’s Darien’s brother who gives him an address; he said he went to visit Darien there two week ago and was afraid to say anything in front of his father. 

Back at the 2-7, Bernard explains he spoke to Darien’s roommate Sofia who said he left at 6 that day via Uber to attend a fancy soiree. Dixon asks Cosgrove for info and there were no texts, emails,  no evidence of drug use.  There was a text about someone called TBM that Bernard “translates” to mean TBM is acting weird but Darien thinks he is still awesome.  Dixon adds the ME said the official cause of death was acute meth toxicity,  and that it never metabolized in his bloodstream – it was injected after his death.  Dani gets the info on the last Uber destination: an art gallery downtown,  and there was a fundraiser there last night for Senator Jack Nathan. 

At the townhouse of Kyle Swanson on  Thursday March 24, the detectives speak with Kyle about Darien and he says to talk to the catering company as they hire the staff. Bernard takes offense that he assumed Darien was hired help, but Kyle explains most of the invitees were between 50-60 and people he knows. But Darien could have been a guest of one of them.   He asked for the gallery owner to deactivate the security cameras so people would be comfortable, saying it is how you raise money. Cosgrove asks for the name of the catering company. 

Back at the 2-7, Bernard gets off the phone and tells the others the caterer did not recognize Darien, he must have been a guest. Dani shows them a video of Darien near the art gallery at 8:45 PM. They also see Senator Jack Nathan. 

Later, the detectives speak with Nathan about the fundraiser and show him a photo of Nathan talking to him.

Sometime later, they meet with Nathan at an out of the way outside location, with his  lawyer. After some pressure from Cosgrove, Nathan admits he is gay and he met Darien last night and is shocked he is dead.  He went after the fundraiser to the art gallery and took Darien with him. There were just boys there but he was not “with” Darien,  he just gave him a ride.  People were hooking up with each other but he hooked up with Walter. There were no drugs.  Darien was there and alive when he left. 

The detectives go back to Kyle Swanson’s and they have a search warrant.   Bernard gets testy when Kyle refers to them as boys.  Cosgrove says Kyle lied to them, Bernard adding they already spoke to Nathan.  Kyle says he is calling his lawyer and Bernard says that would be a good move. 

During the search, Cosgrove finds a bunch of Marcel Dupont suitcases matching the trunk that contained Darien’s body. 

In interrogation, Cosgrove and Bernard question Kyle, who has his lawyer, Brian Harris,  present.  Kyle states he knew Darien and they were dating casually. He does not like publicizing his sex life. He admits he screwed up.  Dixon watches behind the mirrored glass.  Kyle says Darien was alive and not doing drugs. He is not sure how he ended up in his suitcase.  Bernard isn’t buying it and as the lawyer goes to leave, Dixon comes into the room and tells him to sit his ass down.  She says if he wants to lie, fine but he should at least pretend Darien’s death mattered.  She continues to press him but Kyle says if Darien was an addict, that’s on him.  

Later, Dixon speaks with Bernard and Cosgrove and Bernard explains all of the others at the party confirm what Senator Nathan said – people were drinking and hooking up.  There was no overt drug use. Cosgrove adds that the last guest said Swanson and Darien were the only ones in the house when he left and they were sitting on the couch drinking wine. They still have no proof Kyle shot him up and if it was just the two of them. They may never find it.  Dixon says this is not Kyle’s maiden voyage; he gets off on shooting dudes up like Darien. When Cosgrove asks how does she know,  she says it doesn’t matter, she knows, she has a feeling.  She tells them to talk to Darien’s friends and find out how he and Kyle met, there is a good chance he met other men that way and shot them up too. 

At Pieces on Saturday, March 26,  they speak with a friend of Darien about the texts – TBM means The Big Man because Kyle was rich.  Kyle comes there a lot and only talks to pretty young black man. Andre, a former bartender there, also partied with Kyle. 

In the 2-7, the detectives and Dixon speak with Andre who says Kyle is pure evil. He explains how Kyle used to shoot him up with meth and the more he told Andre stop the more it excited Kyle.  He describes abuse by Kyle, being tied up and had to pretend to be his servant.  He shot him up, it was like he decided if you got to live or die, he thought he was god. The last time he was in the hospital 6 days for a coma.  He admit he paid him $10 grand per session. He’s done with that. Dixon thanks him and give him her card, saying if he needs anything to call her. 

Afterwards, Cosgrove speaks with Dixon in her office and asks what is going on with her and why is she so fired up about the case.  She explains she caught a case two years ago similar to this one and describes how she found the body. A few leads went nowhere and they closed the case as an accidental overdose. Now with that they know, she thinks Kyle was involved in that death too and there are too many similarities.  She can’t prove it but wants him to work the case hard because bullies like Kyle need to pay and go down. 

Later, Dixon speaks with Price and Maroun about Andre and what happened with him.  Price knows where she is going but under New York law, if you inject someone with drugs and they die, it is negligent homicide.  Dixon counters if they accidentally die, but if you WANT them to die,  you don’t care if they die,  that’s murder.  She thinks Kyle gets off on bringing people to the brink of death so if someone actually dies, he has to pay the check.  Maroun says this is all based on Andre’s statement, but Dixon says Andre was not a one-off, it’s the tip of the iceberg.  She adds they dug in to prior meth overdoses in the last 5 years and there were 5 DOAs, all young, black, and poor, and all of them had ties to the bar that Kyle Swanson loves to frequent, the same bar where he met Darien and Andre.  They realize he could be a serial killer.  Price asks if, other than the bar, is there anything else connecting Kyle to the 5 dead men.  Dixon replies no, but it is not a coincidence. Price says it doesn’t help them with the present case, saying the 5 bodies are inadmissible and irrelevant . Dixon says they may be inadmissible, but not irrelevant, this is a murder case.  Price says he will talk to McCoy.

Price speaks with Jack, who wonders if they can prove Kyle played the same twisted game with Darien and Price thinks it is worth a shot.  Jack says Kyle is still well respected and well connected with ties to influential politicians in the country, not to mention he supported Jack’s opponent in the last elections so they will claim they are biased and this is payback.  Jack adds if they are going to try and kill the king, they can’t miss. He tells Price to work closely with Dixon, build a strong case, and take the son-of-a-bitch down for murder. 

At arraignment court part 17 on Tuesday, March 29,  Harris makes his argument for Kyle. Maroun states it is depraved indifference. The judge sets bail at $3 million, and when Harris complains it is outrageous, the judge suggests he file a motion to dismiss.  Kyle taunts Maroun, saying she will  never convict him, adding “You know that, right?” 

Back at the DA’s office, Price and Maroun discuss what needs to be done.  Dixon approaches and says they found another witness, Jalen Brooks,  who hooked up with Kyle three weeks ago. The same story and profile as Andre – young, gay, black, and poor.  She thinks Kyle is targeting them, suggesting a hate crime. If they had that, he’s looking at twenty years minimum and his connections couldn’t help him. 

 In the judge’s chambers, Price explains how the men were targeted based on Kyle’s beliefs he held about race, age and social status.  Harris says he targeted them for sex because he thought they were beautiful which is the opposite of hate.  Price says actual animus is irrelevant, citing a recent New York case, People V Cuni, that the court held if someone intentionally selects a victim because of a belief of perception because of race, color, gender, gender expression or religion, it’s a hate crime, regardless whether or not the defendant actually hates the victim.  The judge agrees with Price and grants the motion. 

Later, Price and Maroun speak with Jalen Brooks who describes his experiences with Kyle.  Kyle gave him $12,000 and almost killed him.  He agrees to testify.

In Supreme Court on April 12, Price makes his opening statement. Harris counters with his own, blaming Darien and says all Kyle is guilty of is disposing of his dead body. Price calls Jalen, who is a no-show.  Price approaches the bench and informs the judge and she give him an hour to get him.  

Cosgrove and Bernard go to his home and speak with his landlady who says Jalen left and said he was not coming back. They ask to search the apartment where he was staying. 

Price explains this all to Jack who thinks because these men have no digital footprint is why Kyle targets them. Now they only have one witness, and Jack says he’d better be persuasive with vivid details and the jury should be sick to their stomachs that someone like Kyle exists. 

Andre comes to Dixon’s office and explains he can’t testify. His old lawyer told him not to testify as the drug use could get him sent back to jail. She offers to call his parole officer but he does not want to risk his new life. 

Dixon speaks with Price who offers to call the parole office, but Dixon already did, saying he is a real hard-ass and makes no exceptions.  Price says they can’t win without Andre and Dixon wonders if they can win with them.  She worries this will jam him up and she can’t blow up Andre’s life up for nothing. She wonders if they  should let Andre slide. The discuss the conundrum and they both get a little argumentative.  Price said Dixon pushed him to go for broke and she can’t walk that back in the middle of a trial – that’s not how this works.  She says okay, but says they need to win. 

In Supreme Court, trial part 18 on Wednesday, April 13, Andre testifies about what Kyle did to it in horrific details.  Under cross examination, Harris brings up the fact that money was paid and accepted gives to Andre for this, calling him a prostitute.  He also brings up him being a drug addict and distributing drugs. Andre says he is not an addict, and Harris presses him on doing drugs and sex for money. 

At a later time, the jury returns a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree.  Kyle is outraged and yells he is innocent.  As he’s  being cuffed and led away, he tells the officers to get their hands off him, and yells to Price he is finished, he’s done. He’ll take his job, he knows people.  Dixon looks on and smiles, satisfied. 

In the courthouse hall, Dixon waits for Price.  She tells  him, “Nice job, Nolan.”  He smiles and offers to buy her a drink to celebrate their victory. But she declines, saying she is meeting up with the head of parole,  she wants to put in a good word for Andre.  She adds it probably won’t make a difference, but it’s worth a shot. She walks off, and Price begins to walk away as we fade to black.