Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series)

The Last Street in Manhattan (2011)

Julia Ormond: Paula Gyson

Quotes 

• Detective Robert Goren : It turns out that he's a drunk, he's a gambler. You know, she does everything for him, he does nothing for her. He's not a parent.

  Paula Gyson : You're angry at him.

  Detective Robert Goren : Well, the guy's a user! You know? He's a piece of... Sorry.

  Paula Gyson : Don't be. It's a tell. He presses a lot of your buttons. Why?

  Detective Robert Goren : You think that he represents my father?

  Paula Gyson : Do I? We haven't talked about your father.

  Detective Robert Goren : He's in my file, isn't he?

  Paula Gyson : No, not much. Only that he's deceased.

  Detective Robert Goren : Well, then, there's not much to talk about. I mean, he's long gone. You know, he didn't really father me.

  Paula Gyson : How do you mean?

  Mark Ford Brady : [Goren remembering his biological father, serial killer Mark Hardy]  I did some handiwork around the house when the husband wasn't there. Which was often.

  Detective Robert Goren : Nothing. It's just... He would go away, which was often. And when he was around, he was a charming man. Loved a good time.

  Paula Gyson : How so?

  Detective Robert Goren : He used to take me to ball games, hockey.

  Paula Gyson : Sounds like fun.

  Detective Robert Goren : Didn't actually take me to games. He took me to this woman's house. Maggie's... to her apartment. You know, I would watch the game in front of a big color tv, and he would, you know... he would go into the bedroom with her. I remember the first time that he took me there. On the way back, he stopped to buy us some ices. And he told me, "let's just keep this between us men, okay, Bobby?"

  Paula Gyson : He had you cover for him?

  Detective Robert Goren : Yeah.

  Paula Gyson : Do you remember how that felt?

  Detective Robert Goren : Lying to my mother? I got used to it.

  Paula Gyson : Okay. How does it feel now?

  Detective Robert Goren : Well... My father taught me an important lesson. Everybody lies all the time.

• Detective Robert Goren : Well... My father taught me an important lesson. Everybody lies all the time.

  Paula Gyson : You don't really believe that.

  Detective Robert Goren : I do! It's one of those early survival skills. It serves me well in my work.

  Paula Gyson : Actually, in your work, some people lie, and some people don't. And you figure out who's who.

  Detective Robert Goren : No, I try. And sometimes I believe people, even though they could be lying.

  Paula Gyson : Your work isn't the only place that you've applied this lesson, is it?

  Detective Robert Goren : I mean, do you ever get tired of asking questions that you know the answer to?

  Paula Gyson : I'm sure we both do.

  Detective Robert Goren : Then say what you mean.

  Paula Gyson : Okay. Okay. When you tell yourself everyone lies, that includes me. You're letting me know that you can't trust me, that I lie to you. And you're putting a distance between us. You may be right about me. I hope you're not. But either way, we both know it isn't the first time that you've placed this rule around an intimate relationship.