Directed by Richard Dobbs
Written by Kathy Mc Cormick & William N Fordes
A college professor named Marion Hollis dies from being pushed under a subway train. The detectives identify Bill Fallon, a man whom witnesses saw her with. It is eventually discovered that Fallon was formerly known as Nick Taska, the ex-husband of the victim's friend Eleanor Taska. A court granted Eleanor custody of their two daughters, so he kidnapped the children and vanished. Hollis was a friend of the couple and had recognized Fallon, giving him a motive for murder.
Fallon admits who he really is but denies being with Hollis at the time of her death. Fallon's daughter Alexis gives him an alibi; but it's obvious she's lying, and that she and Fallon's new wife are terrified of him. When challenged, Alexis now claims she pushed Hollis. Because of this, Fallon can't be charged with murder, so McCoy pushes for kidnapping charges. This presents a problem because the statute of limitations on second-degree kidnapping (what a parental abduction would be categorized as) has run out, but McCoy argues that because of his extreme treatment of his daughters, his actions could be categorized as "kidnapping with intent to terrorize", which is first-degree kidnapping and therefore still within the statute of limitations.
In court, Eleanor testifies about Fallon's psychological abuse of their daughters; whom he repeatedly browbeat and harangued until they learned to obey his every instruction without question. McCoy lures Fallon, his wife and older daughter Susan into revealing exactly how controlling and demanding Fallon is. Fallon, realizing he's losing the case, agrees to a deal: he'll plead to a lesser kidnapping charge, and in exchange, he won't contest Eleanor getting custody of Alexis, who is still a minor. The deal is entered and he's sentenced, but the brainwashed daughters are still unable to see the reality of their situation, perceiving their biological mother as destroying their family. McCoy and Abbie sadly watch as Susan yells:
- Susan Fallon: Are you happy now, you BITCH?!
They reflect that at least in jail, Fallon will finally understand what it's like to have your every move controlled.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Fallon.
- Berserk Button: Anything that might upset Fallon is this for his wife and daughters.
- Blank Slate: Fallon/Taska's wife and daughters are in this condition, having been brainwashed and manipulated by him for many years.
- Control Freak: Fallon, down to the smallest detail.
- Downer Ending: Fallon's second wife has to live with knowing that he only married her because he needed a mother for his daughters. Alexis is going to end up in the custody of a mother who is a stranger to her, and both girls perceive their mother as the one who destroyed their family.
- Give The Baby A Mother: Fallon openly states on the stand that he doesn't love his wife; he only married her to provide a mother for his daughters, since he'd decided their own wasn't up to scratch.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first part of the plot is a about the death of Hollis, which turns out to have probably been caused by being pushed by Bill Fallon/Nick Taska. The second half is about the custody of Taska's children and him having kidnapped them from his ex-wife.
- Manipulative Bastard: Fallon to the extreme where his family is concerned.
- Meaningful Rename: Alexis's birth name was Cynthia, but Fallon changed it just to make the point that he considers her his property.
- Missing Mom: Fallon took his daughters away from their biological mother and later told them she was dead.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Fallon claims that he took the children because his ex-wife was unfit to have custody over them. However, given what we know about him, this isn't actually the reason - and the children were likely not better off with him.
- Sinister Subway: Where Hollis was killed.
- She Knows Too Much: Hollis was killed because she identified Fallon as Nick Taska.
- Starting a New Life: Bill Fallon suddenly appeared in 1985. Turns out he is Nick Taska, trying the hide himself and his children from his ex-wife.
- Taking the Kids: Fallon's motivation for kidnapping his children.
