Matlock (1986–1995): Season 1, Episode 13 - The Chef - full transcript

Why, you hardly ate anything
of what I left you last night.

You're gonna have to
eat all of this now, Jonathan.

All of it. Because I'm not
made out of tuna, you know.

Boy, there you are,
living in the lap of luxury.

I'm gonna be out there
doing some high-class pandering.

For a worthy cause,
for a worthy cause.

Here you go.
Eat them up, eat them up.

Mrs. Munson has been here 1 7 years,
and Mrs. Disher's been here 1 2 years,

and Mr. Rigilinni's been here
1 5 years.

- And now you're being evicted.
- And now we're being evicted.

Sixty days' notice and goodbye.



What kind of a world is it
where something like this can happen?

And at Christmas too.
Sounds like something out of Dickens.

Well, it's not Dickens.
It's Rollins, the owner.

And here comes Mr. Rollins now.

Sir?

Sir, you served legal notice
on these tenants to evict them

from the building where they live
in order to demolish it

so your company can construct
a parking garage on this site.

Is that a question or what?

I'd like to point out
Mr. Rollins has come here today

to offer a very generous
cash settlement.

What good are a couple of dollars
when you don't have a place to sleep?

Where you go, madam,
is not my problem.

What Mr. Rollins means
is that the tax dollars



generated by the structure
to be built on this site

will help provide the type of housing
these people so desperately need.

We're gonna be dead by then!

And so the controversy continues
as the demonstration--

- Damn it, stop shoving me.
- Then get out of my way.

Well, get out of my way, then.

Now, you see
what kind of a man this is?

Look, I didn't mean to push him,
for heaven's sake.

Let's go, Mr. Rollins.

That potential for violence
we remarked on earlier, Tom,

- has just been transformed into...
- Mr. McCabe, are you alright?

I'm fine. Fine.

--and the man who's trying
to evict these tenants.

Hey. Merry Christmas, Santa.

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly a public
relations triumph, I can tell you that.

The headlines read:

''Scrooge Hits Santa Claus.''

Yeah, well,
first thing tomorrow morning,

I'm gonna start looking
for a replacement for Carl Lang.

So I'm gonna have to wait
till after the first of the year.

Least by then, all this Christmas stuff
will be out of the way, thank God.

When are you coming back?

We have an appointment
with the Rasmussen people

tomorrow morning at 9:30.

Okay, I'll see you then.

What the hell?

What are you doing here?
How'd you get in here?

Hey, what--?
Get out of here. What--?

Morning, Eleanor. Coffee ready yet?

Mr. Harris,
I thought you were still in Savannah.

Oh, I drove up early to beat the rush.

- Is the old man in yet?
- You beat him too.

You're back.

Oh, hey,
I saw that Santa Claus fight on TV.

Shrewd PR move, Carl.

Eleanor, what is it?

Don't touch anything.

Call the police.

You're gonna have to stop
being so fussy about what you eat

or we'll have to find you
a rich owner.

Yeah.

Walk right in. Everybody else does.

- You Tom McCabe?
- That's right.

We're police officers, Mr. McCabe.
We'd like to know

where you were between the hours
of 9 and midnight last night.

I was right here being stabbed
by some burglar.

I was gonna call you guys up,
but I figured, why bother?

Emergency hospital report it?

They confirmed
that you were cut on the chest.

Where were you last night, Tom?

Right here.

Anybody able to corroborate that?

Yeah. The guy that stabbed me.
Ask him.

Can you prove you were here?

What do you mean, can I prove it?
What is this?

We have reason to believe you may
have been elsewhere at the time.

What?

Do you know a Mr. Alan Rollins?

No.

He's the owner of this building.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

He's the guy that knocked me down,
right outside.

- It was on TV.
- Wanted to get even, did you, Tom?

I don't know
what you're talking about.

Somebody killed him last night.

He was bludgeoned to death
by a paperweight.

You got cut by Rollins' letter opener
in the process.

It wasn't me.

Your fingerprints
were on the letter opener, Tom.

- Bob?
- Yeah?

This was in the trash.

What is that?

Some papers
with Rollins' letterhead on it.

Appears to be
an eviction proceeding.

Even has his signature on it.

I never saw that before.
What is this, some kind of frame?

You go get your coat
and I'll read you your rights, Tom.

- Merry Christmas, Ben.
- Oh, Merry Christmas.

I'm gonna miss you, in a way.

You going somewhere?

Well, the offices are closed
for the holidays, right?

Yeah, but that sounds like goodbye.
You're coming by the house

- for Christmas dinner, aren't you?
- Oh, Ben, I'd really love to,

but me and Cecily
are headed for Vermont.

Vermont?

It's a veritable
winter wonderland, Ben.

Snow, Ben.

Snow sleds and snowmen
and snow frolicking,

and then inside for the warmth.

Warm hot-rum toddies,
warm fireplace,

warm Cecily, warming me--

Ben, you're not getting my drift.
How old are you?

I get it.

- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas, Ben.

Merry Christmas.

- Tyler, this is for you.
- Oh, thank you.

Have a good trip.

- You too.
- Okay.

- ''You too'' what?
- Oh, I wanted to tell you.

I've just been invited
to spend Christmas in Philadelphia.

Invited?

Yeah, my friends. These are for you.

And you can't open them
until Christmas morning.

- Well, what about your present?
- Oh, I'll get it when I come back.

And I'll spend New Year's Day
with you.

I'll even watch the Rose Bowl
with you.

- Okay.
- Daddy.

And I'll call you Christmas morning.

Okay. Okay, have a good trip.
And don't worry about me.

- Alright, Daddy. Thanks.
- Bye.

Bye.

- Oh, Sarah. Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas to you, Charlene.

- Have fun.
- Thanks.

- Ben--
- Are you going to Hong Kong?

No, I'm not going anywhere.

- There is a lady out here to see you.
- Merry Christmas.

My name is Mrs. Spellman.

I represent the tenants committee
for our building,

and we'd like you
to represent Mr. McCabe.

- Who?
- Mr. McCabe.

He's a gentleman in our building.

Well, this time of year,
he plays Santa Claus.

He was arrested
for murdering our landlord.

Oh, yeah.

Well, we'd like you to represent him.

Sarah?

Now, we know that you're expensive,

so we're prepared to pay a percentage
of our pension cheques

and social security until such time
as the bill is paid in full,

providing it's reasonable.

Sarah?

Now, there is one thing
you should know:

None of us are that crazy about him.
He's not very pleasant.

In fact,
sometimes he's really very unpleasant.

Sarah.

But there was this one time
when these young hoodlums,

they were trying to rob
some of the old people

and, well,
he chased them right away.

Inside, he's a good man.

But I think the police feel they have
a pretty strong case against him.

But he didn't do it.

Now, there is one condition.

He must never know
that we hired you.

He wouldn't accept it,
so don't tell him.

Now, his full name
is Thomas Bartlett McCabe.

And I guess that about covers it.

So we're in business.

- Well--
- On behalf of the tenants

in our building, I wanna thank you
for taking Mr. McCabe's case.

Well, once again, Merry Christmas.

- That's a nice dress.
- Thank you.

Did you call me a while ago?

Kind of.

Oh, I was down the hall. I'm sorry.

What did you want?

I forget.

Where are you going?

To see Santa Claus.

Mr. McCabe?

Still got on your uniform, I see.

Only warm clothes I've got.

- You the lawyer?
- That's right.

Are we gonna cop a plea?

Is that what you want?

Why not?

Well,
you told the police you're innocent.

I am. Since when
does that make any difference?

Well, it might make a big difference
if a person's innocent.

What do you care?

It's my job.

Well, let me see
if I can get you out of here.

This time of year,
this is no place for Santa Claus.

Your Honour, I respectfully request
the court to take into consideration

that the defendant
has neither steady employment

nor roots in the community,
and to deny bail.

Your Honour, I don't think it's quite fair
for the prosecution to say

that my client
has no steady employment.

It's not his fault that being Santa Claus
is seasonal work.

Your Honour, it's bad enough

that Mr. Matlock dressed his client up
in this costume.

The state strongly objects to his trying
to milk the sentiments of the season.

Well, the court will try
to keep its sentiments in check.

Nevertheless, Mr. Matlock,
this is a legal proceeding.

Of course, Your Honour,
and I will make no further reference

to the fact that my client
symbolically represents

the spirit of loving generosity the world
so sorely needs at this time of year.

Certainly, though,
the court could see its way clear

to take judicial notice
of this spirit and tradition

as it determines the appropriate bail.

Besides, he needs time
to get his sleigh ready.

Bail is set at $1 0,000.

Now, can we have
a preliminary hearing on the 21 st?

No, I'm sorry, Your Honour.
That's not good for me.

What about the 23rd?

Prosecution will be ready.

Mr. Matlock?

The day before Christmas Eve
seems appropriate.

All right. The 23rd, 9 a.m.,
this department.

And defendant is cautioned
not to leave the city of Atlanta.

Not even to go to the North Pole,
Mr. Matlock.

Of course, Your Honour.

I suppose I should thank you.

Probably.

May we have the next case
on the calendar, please?

Well, we're still a few days behind
because of that faulty scaffolding,

but we're catching up.

What about you?
How'd the eviction go?

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly a public
relations triumph, I can tell you that.

Triumph? Sounds to me
like a complete disaster.

The headlines read/

''Scrooge Hits Santa Claus. ''

Did Rollins tape all his calls?

Been getting threats
because of that eviction.

What have you got on my client?

Motive.

His fingerprints on the letter opener
found on the floor.

No alibi.
Guard downstairs saw him enter.

Nothing much.

The guard downstairs
said he saw somebody

dressed as Santa Claus enter.

He was limping, like your guy.

The police report said
the lights were out when you got here.

- Is that right?
- Yes.

Well, did Rollins work in the dark?

Or did the murderer turn the lights out
before he left?

Well, we dusted the light plate.
No prints, if that's what you're thinking.

No, no. I just wonder
why he bothered to turn them out.

Well, maybe he wanted
to conserve energy.

Or maybe he did it so the body
wouldn't be found till the next morning.

I thought we'd find you here.

- Hi. Excuse me a minute, Bob.
- Sure.

I thought the two of you
were going on vacation.

Well, I talked it over with Cecily,

and we decided to change our
flight reservations to Christmas Eve.

Why?

The feeling most commonly associated
with Christmas:

Guilt.

- You too?
- Yeah, me too.

Strong motivation.

I checked the evidence
in police property,

and McCabe's fingerprints
are all over the letter opener.

I wonder why
they weren't on the paperweight

that was used to bludgeon Rollins.

Tom McCabe said he struggled
with his attacker,

and that would explain how his prints
got on the letter opener.

Well, then, how did it get back
into Rollins' office?

All right. I've talked to Rollins'
secretary, and according to her,

besides herself, there was only
three other people

that were in the office the next morning
that had a chance to bring it back.

And that would be Polson,
Harris, and Lang.

Think it must be one of those three?

Place to start.

This is a very lovely bracelet.

The diamonds and sapphires
are perfectly matched

in a platinum setting.

- Pretty.
- Yes, it's one of a kind.

Oh, really? That's too bad.

See, I need three of them. Identical.

Oh, I see.

Well, I think I might have
precisely what you're looking for.

Good. Thank you.

Three identical bracelets?

So you don't have to remember
which lady got what?

- Who are you?
- Charlene Matlock.

Dan Polson. Nice to meet you.

I'm an attorney
representing Mr. McCabe.

Your assistant told me
I could find you in here

doing some Christmas shopping.

A real bloodhound, aren't you?

I wanted to ask you where you were
when Rollins was killed.

- You think I did it?
- I didn't say that.

But you are executive vice-president
of this whole shooting match, and...

Well, now with Rollins gone,
you are next in line to take over.

Believe me, I outmanoeuvre people
to get ahead in business.

I don't murder them.

You still haven't answered
my question.

Oh, yes. You want my alibi.

I was home alone.

Tell you what,

let me finish my shopping,
and then we'll have dinner tonight

and you can check me out to your
heart's content. What do you say?

Let's make it lunch.
Tomorrow, and I'll pick the place.

Perfect.

Alright. I'll call you in your office
in the morning.

Fine.

- Rollins here.
- Alan?

- It's Mark.
- Oh, hi, Mark. How you doing?

How's everything in Savannah?

Well, we're still a few days behind
because of that faulty scaffolding,

but we're catching up.

What about you?
How'd the eviction go?

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly a public
relations triumph, I can tell you that.

- Triumph? Sounds to me like--
- I'm Mark Harris.

--headlines read/ ''Scrooge--

That's me on the phone
with Mr. Rollins.

You were in Savannah
the night of the murder.

Right.

What were you doing in Savannah,
Mr. Harris?

- If you don't mind my asking.
- No, not at all.

We're building
a shopping mall there,

and I spend a couple of days a week
on the site.

It's one of the less thrilling aspects
of my job.

Listen, this is a little creepy.
Could we talk in my office?

Sure.

Where do you stay
when you're in Savannah?

The corporation has an apartment
near the site.

Is that where you were the night
that you spoke with Mr. Rollins?

Just a few minutes
before he was killed, I understand.

Anybody see you there?

Afraid not. I went to bed early. Alone.

That call came from there. You can
check with the phone company.

I'll do that.

- I wouldn't want you to think--
- Mark?

- Oh, excuse me.
- This is my wife, Annie.

Ben Matlock.

Mr. Matlock's defending the man
who's accused of murdering Alan.

Well, what's he doing here?

Oh, well, I'll be leaving.
Nice to have met you, Mrs. Harris.

We'll talk.

Good game.

- Mr. Lang?
- That's right.

It's a terrible shame
what happened to Mr. Rollins.

- Think so?
- Well, don't you?

Oh, maybe you don't.

After all that bad publicity
over the eviction,

you must've been worried
about unemployment.

You're real cute.
Anybody ever tell you that?

No, but they told me that you were
one of the people that found his body.

Listen, I already gave a statement
to the homicide detective.

Well, I'm not a cop.

I'm a private investigator and I'm
working on behalf of Mr. McCabe.

- Yeah? Well, who's he?
- He's the one the cops think did it.

Oh, and you're here
trying to prove he didn't?

I just wanna find out
what is happening.

Good luck. Excuse me.

Well, where were you that night
about 9:00?

I was here playing basketball.

And your buddies
will back you up on that, of course.

Sure.

Now beat it.

- I'll talk to you again.
- I can hardly wait.

Where'd everybody go?

- Well, we better go.
- Okay.

Thanks.

- Where have you been?
- Tyler.

I spent the night in a gymnasium,
that's where I've been.

Why don't you try spending the night
at home once in a while?

Age hasn't softened you, has it?

Carl Lang ditched me.

He and his buddies
locked me in a gym.

Now, I could've sat there, Ionely,
mad as hell at you

for getting me back
into this godforsaken business, but no.

Being the highly-trained,
resourceful operative that I am,

I turned the night into an advantage.

- What did you find out?
- Lang lied.

He wasn't shooting hoops
the night of the murder.

I'd found the records of the game.
He wasn't there.

- Where was he?
- I don't know yet.

Well, he might be our man.
Stay with him.

Tyler, I'm...

I'm sorry
about the night in the gymnasium.

See, I have softened some.

- Great.
- Merry Christmas.

- Same to you.
- Merry Christmas.

I'm making veal piccata.
I hope you like it.

- Terrific.
- Super.

Oh, that's Mr. Ferguson up in 3A.

He turned on his water.

Don't you think you're overdoing this
just a bit?

It's lunch. My choice.

Who's serving dessert? Tiny Tim?

Here we are. I hope you like it.

Great.

You know, this is very nouvelle.

It's all they can afford.

- It's delicious.
- Oh, thank you.

Cold, isn't it?

Mrs. Spellman,
would you mind turning up the heat?

What heat?

Okay, okay. I get the point.

- Can we go now?
- One more stop.

Mrs. Ross' apartment upstairs, 2B.

You go ahead. The door's open.

I'll just stay
and thank Mrs. Spellman.

Then can we go to lunch?

- Thanks again.
- Oh, anytime.

Now what?

You don't have an alibi for the night
of the murder, Mr. Polson.

We had to know if you'd ever
been in Mr. McCabe's apartment.

- I wasn't.
- I know.

Whoever the killer was knows where
the light switch is, and you don't.

- God bless you.
- Thank you.

That's some cold you got.

Oh, it's not a cold.
I'm allergic to cats.

Are you satisfied?

Excuse me.

Jonathan,
I've got to go to work, old boy.

Stay there.

You travel light, I'll say that.

What do you mean?

There's no pictures.

I've got nothing much
I wanna remember.

You know, I knew a fellow once.

He was a welder.

He goes off to Korea
and gets himself all shot up.

So when he comes home,
he can't get a job.

Wife runs off with another man.

You know what he does
to answer his problems?

Robs a bank.

So I've got a record. So what?

What's your point, Matlock?

The point is, feeling sorry for yourself
will get you in trouble.

I don't feel sorry for myself.

I take the world as it comes.

How's that?

Nobody does anything for anyone
but themselves.

See you in a little bit.

I've got to tell you something, Tom,
and I don't mean to disillusion you.

I'm not getting rich off your case.

I'm your bit for society, Ben.

A little charity's good for the soul.

I'll take over from here, sir.

That's right, Tom.
I do this every year.

I go out and find the nastiest,
hatefulest, meanest person in town

and I represent him.
Makes me feel good.

This year, you're it.

Merry Christmas,
and I'll see you in court.

Lieutenant Brooks,
I show you People's Exhibit 4.

And I ask if you recognise it.

- Yes. It has my initials.
- Where was it found?

On the floor of Alan Rollins' office.

- Were any fingerprints found on it?
- Yes.

Anything else?

Yes, traces of what appeared to be
dried blood.

Your Honour, for the purpose
of this preliminary hearing,

the defence counsel has already
stipulated that the fingerprints found

match those of the defendant.

And that type-O bloodstains
were identified by Forensic

to be on the weapon.

Defendant's blood type has previously
been admitted to be type-O as well.

Lieutenant Brooks, I show you
a legal file of eviction notices,

marked People's Exhibit 9,

and identified as being missing
from the deceased's office.

- Did you find these documents?
- Yes, I did.

- Where?
- In Mr. McCabe's apartment.

Thank you.

I've no further questions
of this witness, Your Honour.

Mr. Matlock?

No questions, Your Honour.

You may step down.

Your Honour,
I call Mr. Duke Mitchell to the stand.

Mr. Mitchell, you're the security guard
in the building

where Alan Rollins has
his corporate offices. Is that correct?

Yes, sir, it is.

And you were on duty in the lobby
the night of the murder?

Yes, sir, I was.

At approximately 8:50 that night,
did someone enter the building

- and go up to Alan Rollins' offices?
- Yes, sir.

Was that person
dressed as Santa Claus?

Yes, sir.

It's probably tough
to tell one Santa Claus

- from another Santa Claus.
- Yes, sir.

So you probably couldn't give
a specific identification, could you?

No, sir, I could not.

But did you notice anything special
about this particular Santa Claus?

- Yes.
- What was it?

He limped.

Your Honour, at this time
the state requests

that the court take judicial notice

that the defendant, Mr. Tom McCabe,
walks with a conspicuous limp.

No objection, Your Honour. It's fact.

No further questions.

Cross-examine?

Mr. Mitchell.

I congratulate you

on your powers of observation.

Thank you, sir.

I imagine it gets pretty quiet down in
that lobby after everybody goes home.

Oh, yeah.

So I imagine you pay particular
attention when somebody comes in.

Oh, that I do.

Enough attention to tell us
which leg Santa Claus limped on?

Oh, yes. It was his right leg.

Oh, kind of like this:

Oh, yes, sir. Exactly like that.

This is working out real good.

Mr. McCabe, would you please stand
and walk across the courtroom?

Good.

That's good.

Now, did the man you see
the night of the murder

limp on the same leg
as Mr. McCabe?

Objection, Your Honour.

It's an improper demonstration.
Anyone can fake a limp.

That's right, Your Honour,
and someone did.

But not Mr. McCabe.

At this time,

I'd like to place into evidence
these medical records

which show that in 1 952,
in the Korean War,

Mr. McCabe received
several shrapnel wounds in his left leg

and has been disabled ever since.

- Exhibit is received in evidence.
- Thank you, Your Honour.

Mr. Mitchell, I ask you again:

Did the man you saw
the night of the murder

limp on the same leg
as Mr. McCabe?

No, sir. He did not.

Thank you, Mr. Mitchell,
for being an honest man.

No further questions.

You may step down.

Your Honour, new evidence
has just come to our attention.

We beg the court's indulgence
for a recess.

Very well.

Court will reconvene
at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

- Mr. Lang.
- You again.

Me again.
And this time, I brought my attorney.

Ben Matlock, Carl Lang.

May we come in?

Of course.

Man, this must cost
an arm and a leg.

How many bedrooms?

Just one.

How about we skip the small talk
and cut straight to the chase?

- Get to the point.
- Oh, okay.

Mr. Lang, whoever killed Mr. Rollins
framed my client

by planting the letter opener
in the office before the police arrived.

Now, the guard said that nobody else
entered the building that night.

So it had to have been done
the next morning.

You were one of the people
who found him.

You had the opportunity,

since you weren't playing basketball
the night of the murder.

You lied about your whereabouts.

So I lied.

Can Mrs. Harris
supply you with an alibi?

He was with me.

Mrs. Harris,

this is Tyler Hudson, an investigator.
He saw you arrive earlier.

You'll testify that you were here
with Mr. Lang the night of the murder?

- Yes.
- Leave her out of this.

How long has this relationship
been going on?

I said leave her out of this.

Almost a year.

Ever since
Mark started going to Savannah.

- Does he know?
- He knows something, I guess.

He's been questioning all my friends.

He has to know.

Does he know who?

No.

Well, I know you have
a million things to do, so we'll go.

- A million things to do, huh?
- Yeah, well, Christmas shopping.

You know, it could be

Mark Harris thought Alan Rollins
was seeing his wife.

Mr. Rollins had a reputation
as a player.

He's the one who sent Mr. Harris
out of town every week.

Yeah, well, that's a nice motive, but
he was supposed to be in Savannah.

That's right.
He was supposed to be in Savannah.

- Thinking?
- I'm waiting.

For what?

- Hello?
- Ben?

- You in Savannah?
- Yes.

This'll just take a minute.

Sarah, would you get me Tyler
at that number in Savannah?

All right.

- What are you up to?
- Watch.

It's ringing.

Charlene, that's your private line.

- Hello?
- Charlene?

Dad?

I think we got him.

Mr. Harris,

you're currently
supervising the construction

of a shopping centre in Savannah and
you go there on Wednesday nights.

- Is that correct?
- Yes.

So you were in Savannah,
in the corporation's apartment,

the night that Alan Rollins
was murdered.

Yes.

In fact, you placed a call to Mr. Rollins
from that apartment that night.

Yes.

And you knew the call was taped
because Mr. Rollins taped all his calls.

Yes, I did know that.

Your Honour, at this time,

I would like the actual tape recording
of that conversation

marked Defendant Exhibit G
for identification.

It'll be marked.

Mr. Harris, did you place any other
calls from Savannah that night?

- Did you call your wife?
- No, I did not.

Any particular reason?

She wouldn't have been at home.

My wife is taking an extension course
at Baxter University.

She attends classes
Wednesday nights

because that's the night
I'm out of town.

Would Miss Ruth Bennett
please stand?

- You recognise that young lady?
- Yes.

Isn't it true she's a fellow student
of your wife's

and you met with her a month ago

to discuss your wife's attendance
to class?

Yes.

And your wife has missed
quite a few classes, true?

Yes.

Actually, you learned that your wife
has not attended any classes,

Wednesday night
or any other night, true?

Objection. Calls for hearsay.

Overruled.

It's not for the truth,
but what he heard.

- You may answer.
- Yes, that's true.

Mr. Harris, we're talking about
a rather beautiful woman here,

who's been lying to her husband
about her whereabouts.

Isn't it true
you thought she was having an affair?

- No.
- But wasn't it your employer,

Mr. Rollins, who sent you out of town
to Savannah every week?

Yes.

And wasn't Mr. Rollins
frequently out of his own office

on Wednesday nights?

I wouldn't know.

And didn't Mr. Rollins
have a reputation

of being something of a ladies' man?

I don't know about that.

Didn't you
draw the obvious conclusion

that your wife was having an affair
with Alan Rollins?

- No, I did not.
- Objection.

- Relevancy.
- Sustained.

For what it's worth,

your wife was not having an affair
with Alan Rollins.

She was having an affair
with Carl Lang.

Objection.

Mrs. Harris' love life is completely
irrelevant to the case at hand.

I think it's motive, Your Honour.

I think it's motive for a jealous husband
to commit murder

on the mistaken belief that his wife
was sleeping with the victim.

Sustained.

Mr. Harris, the night of the murder,

you knew Alan Rollins had to be in
his office preparing documents

for a very important meeting
the next day, did you not?

I suppose so.

But you contend you were
in Savannah the night of the murder,

and that you called Alan Rollins
from the corporation's apartment.

Yes.

This is a bill

from that phone in Savannah.

And, as you say,
a call was placed that night

to Mr. Rollins in his office in Atlanta.

Made at one minute to 9,
lasting almost three minutes

at a cost of seventy-four cents.

Now, that had me stumped
for a while, Mr. Harris.

I couldn't figure it out.

And then I remembered
call forwarding.

It's one of those marvellous services
the phone company offers

that permits subscribers to place a call
from one location

and have it sent through another.

So I checked the bill from your
private phone in your office in Atlanta,

which is just down the hall
from Mr. Rollins.

And a call was placed
from that number,

forwarded through the number
in Savannah,

at one minute to 9,
lasting almost three minutes,

at a cost of seventy-four cents.

Your Honour,
the defence offers that tape,

Defendant Exhibit G,
into evidence

and ask that it be played.

Exhibit received in evidence.

Proceed.

Now, Mr. Harris,

what do you hear?

What about you?
How'd the eviction go?

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly
a public relations--

My voice. Alan's.

Anything else?

- No.
- Let's listen again, a little bit louder.

- Okay.
--the eviction go?

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly
a public relations--

Do you hear that?
What is that in the background?

I don't know.

Well, let's listen to it one more time,
a little louder still.

--the eviction go?

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly
a public relations triumph--

You hear that?

Sounds like a clock chiming to me.
That what it sounds like to you?

I suppose so, yes.

Now, Mr. Harris.

Do you recognise this clock?

The clock's from your office, isn't it?

Yes.

Isn't it true you placed that call
from your office?

Isn't it true you set the phone
in Savannah

to forward all calls
to Alan Rollins' private line,

and after you spoke with him for a few
moments from your office in Atlanta,

forwarded through the phone
in Savannah,

you walked down the hall into his office
and you killed him?

No.

Listen to the chimes.

The chimes in this clock
match the chimes on the tape.

You did place that call
from your office.

You did kill Alan Rollins
for having an affair with your wife.

But you killed the wrong man.

Your Honour,

in light of the evidence
and in the interest of justice,

the People move to dismiss.

Motion granted. Case dismissed.
Court is adjourned.

- I owe you.
- I figure it's them.

They're your friends,
whether you like it or not.

Thank you.

I have a Christmas present
for all of you as well.

Your building won't be torn down
after all.

Well, I have a plane to catch.

- Merry Christmas.
- And to you, Daddy.

- Merry Christmas.
- Me too.

Charlene, shall we dance?

Merry Christmas.

- I knew you were--
- No, you didn't.

- Yes, I did.
- Merry Christmas, Ben.

- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

You're the best Christmas present
anybody could ever hope for.