Title: "Real Reality"
Author: Walt
Disclaimers and set-up: See Part One.
With that, the Detectives go to see M.E. Rogers, who confirms what the Detectives had already suspected: He was shot three times, probably at close range, and with two of the bullets going completely through him, exiting through the back. With little else on that end, they then return to the crime scene to talk with employees who worked at the firm. Several who work on the floor where Mr. Friedman was shot noted how none of them liked his second wife Arlene at all, and most of them then noted how on the occasions when both Joseph's ex-wife Nancy and now-widow Arlene were there, Joseph had to come out and break up shouting matches between the two, and also when Carl came by to see his father when Arlene was there.
"No wonder Carl said what he did about his stepmother. I'd probably too if I had a stepmother who was that mean to me", Ed said to Joe as the Detectives headed for the elevators, ready to leave the building when two men dressed in matienece uniforms talk to the Detectives. Both say they were there that night and remembered seeing Susanne running through the hallway.
"It was definitely Ms. Arceneaux. She had long, flowing dark hair, and I remember it swishing through as she ran past", said one of the men, who identified himself as Bernard Lewis.
"She ran so fast, I wanted to ask her if I could take her somewhere to console her", then said the other, who identified himself as Vijay Gharluah.
The detectives then look at surveilence cameras from the night before that indeed show a woman with a hairstyle similar to Susanne's going into and out of the victim's office right around the apparent time of the shooting. As they subsequently left the building, the run into the two cleaning ladies they first interviewed the night before (Jeanne and Horatia) who both then also say they saw a woman who's hair looked like Susanne's. They then catch a break when they are summoned back to the office that Susanne occupied there, and it turned out a gun with Susanne's prints was found there, with in turn that matching the bullets that were in Joseph Friedman's body.
With that, Joe and Ed head for the still-new Madison Tower that takes up the entire block of 41st-42nd streets on Madison Avenue, where the (fictional version of "The Apprentice") is filmed. Susanne and Janine are coming out of the building together, when the Detectives arrest Susanne for the murder of Joseph Friedman.
"Are you crazy?!" Janine yelled to the Detectives as Susanne was led into their car, with Janine immediately headed for the 2-7 to talk to the Detectives. The Detectives, Susanne and Janine are next in the interrogation room talking about what happened while Jack and Anita looked outside.
Ed said to Susanne, "We found the gun in your old office Ms. Arceneaux. The bullets matched in Mr. Friedman matched those the gun uses.!"
"What gun are you talking about:? I have one in my purse that was a replacement for a gun of mine that I reported stolen two months ago", then said Susanne.
"Can you prove that?", asked Joe, with Susanne replying "Yes, you can check with the proper authorities. I have cards on file for both the original gun's registration as well as the gun that replaced the one I reported stolen."
"And she told me all about her gun being stolen when it happened as well as when she got the replacement.", then said Janine, with Susanne then saying, "That is correct. Many of the realtors at the company carry both guns and mace for protection, especially after a case about two years before I began working there where one of the women showed a man an apartment, with it turning out the man really did it to because he wanted to rape her."
"I remember that. That woman only escaped because she maced him and held him at bay with a gun while she called the cops", Joe then said.
"Exactly", then said Susanne.
While the Detectives are interrogating Susanne further (including noting the witnesses), word comes in that an elevator had broken down at the building where the realty company is located, with what was in the elevator shaft of interest to the Detectives, who return to the building.
"This better be good", said Joe to the Security Guard who actually made the call to police of what was found.
"It may very well be", said the guard as they walked to the shaft of the elevator that was broken.
"Whoa. Another gun, with a silencer on it. Looks like it was fired not that long ago", said Ed.
"Maybe last night?", asked Joe.
"Very possible", replied Ed, who then spotted something else and said "Look what we got here. A wig of long, dark hair", lifting such from the ground and showing Joe.
"A wig that has a hairstyle very similar to one Susanne Arceneaux", then said Joe, with his then ordering to forensics to have it examinined in case hairs could be found to see if it was possible to see who really killed Joseph Friedman, as they realized it was not Susanne who did it.
The Detectives get a break when Jeanne and Horatia are at the 2-7 when the Detectives return.
"We have to admit that we lied earlier when we said we saw a woman with long, dark hair running through the hallways that looked like Ms. Arceneaux", said Jeanne, with Horatia following by saying " we got phone calls early this morning from Arlene Friedman, telling us we had to say that a woman with long, dark hair like Ms. Arceneaux was running through the halls or we'd be fired immediately."
"Is that the truth?", then said Ed.
"Yes. She was there this morning, moving around some things", then said Jeanne.
"Thank you", then said Ed, who along with Joe returned to the interrogation room as did Jack and Anita, who noted to the Detectives that both women had been silent the entire time the dectectives had been investigating.
"So, you went to find more evidence?", said Janine in a very sarcastic manner.
Anita then said to Janine and Susanne, "Actually, we want to apologize for what happened here. We have new evidence that it was not the gun with your prints that killed Joseph Friedman, but actually another gun that happened to be the same kind as the one you had that was stolen that actually did that. We also think that whoever stole your gun knew who you were and was planning this all along."
At that point, Susanne's face drops to the table before coming back up, with her telling all in the room in a shocked tone, "Oh my god! Arlene Friedman must have been planning to kill Mr. Friedman and have me framed for it!", then covering her face with her hands as that was sinking in, putting her head on the table once again. While that was happening, the forensic report comes back that confirms that hair samples on the inside of the wig suggest the person weaing the wig actually had super-short, dark hair.
"Who do we know that has super-short hair like what they found?", said Ed.
"Let me guess", then said Joe, with Jack then going to get a warrant for the arrest of Arlene Friedman as the Detectives head for the funeral home where the Friedman family were on Madison Avenue and 81st street. The Detectives arrive just as Arlene was coming out with family and friends, not really surprised she was arrested for Joseph's murder.
At arraignment court, Arlene's attorney Trevor Langdon enters a not guilty plea for his client, while Serena says to the Judge, "The People request she be held without bail"
Trevor responded with "My client is mourning the loss of her husband at this time", with Serena then interrupting by saying "A loss she inflicted by brutally murdering him, and on top of that attempting to frame another woman for the crime she committed, including threatening two women with being fired if they didn't lie." The Judge had enough and orded Arlene held without bail for not only first degree murder, but with additional charges of witness tampering.
While Arlene was being arraigned, word comes in that Bernard Lewis and Vijay Gharluah (the two matenince men whom Joe and Ed spoke to earlier in the day) were both arrested in Queens on an outstanding warrant, with it turnining out their real names were Joseph Simone and Rajab Nirupa, who apparently had robberd a store in Manhattan a year earlier. They had been recognized by a uniformed officer at the crime scene who remembered seeing photos of those two at the time of the robberies the Detectives were unaware of.
Jack and Serena are then consulting over what happened when Jessica Sheets and Wendy Weiss both walk in.
"What are you two doing here?", asked Jack to the female Legal Aid lawyers, as Jack knows about the two witnesses being arrested, with there also now being evidence that they were actually accomplices of Arlene's in helping her make it look like Susanne Arceneaux murdered Joseph Friedman.
"Both of our clients may have something for you that would be of interest to the case against Arlene Friedman", said Jessica to Jack, with his asking, "And what would that be?"
Wendy then said to Jack, "They are willing to testify that Arlene Friedman paid both of them a substantial sum to help make it look like Susanne Arceneaux murdered Joseph Friedman if you give them immunity on any charges that might come out of their being accomplices to this ."
"I'll have to hear what they have to say before I agree to any deals", then said Jack.
"Of course", then said Jessica as both attorneys left.
At Rikers, Jack is talking with Trevor and Arlene while Serena is talking with the two accomplices.
"I want to make clear now, the only thing I will do is make it 20-life instead of the death penalty if she makes a deal before my assistant can make a deal with the two men claiming to be her accomplies", said Jack to Arlene.
"No way! That tramp killed him", replied Arlene in an emplatic manner.
Jack then countered by saying, "I would be careful. I can potentially add bribery and two additional counts of witness tampering if you'd like, making it even if you didn't get the needle, you'd at least be in jail for probably the rest of your life. We know that those people who first claimed to see Ms. Arceneaux in the building when she killed your husband lied, and two of them have already admitted to such."
"You can't prove that Jack. Maybe they felt bad for Ms Arceneaux and had a bias against my client", then said Trevor to Jack.
"I don't think so", Jack replied.
While that was going on, Serena was talking with Joseph Simone and Rajab Nirupa, the two men who were arrested on unrelated charges and now also faced being co-consipators in this case (with their attorneys present). Both agree to testify against Arlene, saying she did pay them a considerable sum to help make it look like Susanne Arceneaux did it.
With that, Jack ended talks with Arlene, with the case going to trial. Before the trial, Trevor would try to get eveidence suppressed, but in this case, everything was done by the book.
At trial, it would be all downhill for Arlene, especially after several witnesses said that the main reason Joseph married Arlene in the first place was because "she's a 'sex machine', and many times could be heard making out with Mr. Friedman in a disgusting way, especially late at night", as several put it. One went as far as to say they had a "groanfest" every night at times.
Joseph Simone and Rajab Nirupa then both testified that Arlene paid both of them a considerable sum to help her frame Susanne for Joseph's murder. This included playing a tape that Joseph made in case he was caught:
On the tape, Maria said to Joseph and Rajab: "Susanne Arceneaux has to someone be taken out of the picture. That btch probably is going to at some point suck up to Joseph to the point where he'll leave me for her and I won't get his money. The only way it can be done is to kill Joseph and make it look like Susanne did it."
"You mother (expletive)", yelled Arlene as she got up and attempted to charge the bench, only to be restrained and then schackled, with a stern warning from Judge Pongriac that if she didn't behave herself, she would be removed at once.
The tape continued to be played, with Arlene on it saying, "Only reason I married that old fart was so I could get his money, which is mine either after seven years or if he croaks. I'm sure he's got Susanne in his pants the way he's buying all those ads for her, and she has to be eliminated from contention before I lose out.:"
That was enough for the jury to find her guilty on all counts, and a week later sentence Arlene to death. Per a portion of her prenuptual agreement, because she was found guilty of murdering Joseph, Arlene would have to forfeit all monies due her upon his death. Joseph's family, Susanne and Janine were among those there for both her being found guilty and then being sentenced to death, with Richard Madison also there for the guilty verdict and entire penalty phase.
Upon Arlene's being sentenced to death, a press conference is held outside the Supreme Court building at 60 Centre Street on a unseasonably warm Friday afternoon in late January (temperatures in the low 60s). First to speak were Nancy and Carl Friedman, along with Susanne Arceneaux and Janine Grossman:
Nancy would speak first:"It's so sad a man's life like my ex-husband's had to end at the hands of a greedy woman who cared about only two things, sex and money. I wished he had realized what Arlene Abbatiello really was before he divorced me, but at least justice is being served in her heading for death row. It's also unfair what happened to Ms. Arceneaux, and while this trial was going we, we went ahead and gave her a substantial settlement as it was really unfair what happened to her, especially since Ms. Abbatiello was likely going to try and frame Ms. Arceneaux even if what happened on the show didn't happen."
Carl then chimed in by saying to the reporters, "So you know, my mother and I have always referred to Arlene Abbatiello by that name. She never in our opinion to be allowed to used the Friedman name because of the way she walked in and ruined our lives, and even more so now trying to ruin others."
Susanne was then asked by reporters how satisfactory the settlement was, with her awnsering by saying "Enough to more than compensate for what happened here. I admit I was wrong in my behavior on the show, but that was in the heat of battle as noted in the segment Janine and I taped the day I was arrested before Arlene rightfully was for what happened to Mr. Friedman", with Janine then adding "She's right. As the one eliminated the very next week, I never realized until we saw the shows how intense we all were during our time on it. That's why I was so quick to represent Susanne as soon as she was fired for real, as has since been proven what really went on here. I got to learn the real Susanne Arceneaux is nothing like what was on the show."
Reporters than asked Susanne was she was now going to do, with her replying: "I'm going to take several months off to clear my head after everything that's happened, and then in September I'm going to start law school at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Madison offered to pay my way, including making sure I'm able to live well while doing so as I expressed an interest in going to law school and becoming an attorney even before this mess happened", with Richard then saying to the reporters "That is correct. She expressed an interest in it to the producers during the time she was on after seeing some of the attorneys who were candidates on the show, saying as much as she enjoyed showing apartments, seeing how important the legal aspect is to this country she wanted to eventually make enough money that she could go to law school and become an attorney herself. I'm happy to help her in this case, especially given what she went through as a result of Arlene Friedman."
Jack and Serena watched the entire press conference without speaking, and then while staying silent walked back to the DA's Office.
The final scene takes place 10 days later in the DA's Office, with Jack and Arthur talking about how they both saw the finale of "Madison's Protege" that had been delayed nearly two months at the request of Richard Madison and some network executives because of the situations invoving Arlene Friedman and her murder trial and what turned out to be a settlement in the lawsuit between Susanne Arceneaux and Joseph Friedman Realtors.
"Guess this was a case of 'Real Reality', or where a real circus comes out of a so-called 'reality' program.", said Arthur to Jack.
Jack would reply by saying, "Sure. They can thank Arlene Friedman's greed for causing the delay, and I'm sure they are going to be more careful in how they present everyone in the future", with Arthur then replying, "Quite everyone where I live saw it last night, and they loved how in the end, the right person got to be 'Madison's Protege' for what that's worth."
"That is worth a lot. Half a million guaranteed for a year, which he actually doubled because of the delay caused by everything else going on, and a chance to earn a lot more if he proves to be worthwhile", then said Jack.
"And the losers probably will do well too. This group will be remembered for a long time", then said Arthur to Jack as Serena then walks in, looking a bit grim as Jack asks what was going on.
Serena then said, "They were transporting Arlene Friedman to Bedford when on the bus she was on, four other women ganged up on her and beat her to death, breaking a lot of bones in her body and fracturing her skull."
"And you'd think women would not do that, though at least that saves us 10 years of appeals in all likelyhood", said Arthur, clearly surprised at hearing that Arlene had been savagely beaten to death.
"I'm sure Mrs. Friedman, her son and Susanne Arceneaux are shedding a few tears.....NOT!", then said Serena, with Jack and Arthur agreeing before they head to work on other matters.
THE END
Walt