Matlock (1986–1995): Season 1, Episode 8 - The Sisters - full transcript

Sisters Julia and Emily execute a clever and cold-hearted plan to murder their wealthy aunt and frame her husband Harold Scully. Ben reluctantly agrees to defend the annoying Scully and is faced with the challenge of breaking the seemingly airtight alibi of the sisters, and the strong bond between them.

Mr. Matlock, do you wish to rebut?

Miss Jenkins,
let me see if I've got this straight.

You say that I met with you

and told you to give testimony
in this courtroom

that would provide my client
with a false alibi. Is that correct?

You told me
that no one would find out.

What else did I tell you?

You told me that if I lied,
I would be helping some poor old man.

So being a compassionate
Christian woman, I agreed.

Oh, so you must be
a student of the Bible.

Yes.



Are you familiar
with a fellow in there named Ananias?

Of course.

Would it be fair to say
you patterned your life after him?

Well, I guess, after a fashion.

Who was Ananias?

Well, actually,
I'm more like the Good Samaritan.

Who was Ananias, Miss Jenkins?

Answer the question, please.

- I can't. I don't know.
- Then let me educate you.

Ananias was the biggest liar
in all antiquity.

Defence rests.

Sufficient evidence exists
to bind this defendant over for trial.

Arraignment is set for Thursday,
26th of the month,

9 a.m. in Department 60.



This court is in recess.

- This is a court of law?
- Dad, take it easy.

Can someone explain
what went on here today?

Just a hearing, Mr. Baron. We still
have time to prepare for the trial.

I'll be over later.

Follow Alice Jenkins.
Stay on her like a shirt.

With pleasure.

Who tipped you off?

Gee, my secretary forgot to ask.

He can't take this kind of aggravation,
Mr. Matlock.

He had two heart attacks in prison.
Another could very likely kill him.

Have you told him that?

In his eyes, I didn't just turn my back
on his business,

I turned my back on him.

That gives him every reason
not to listen to me.

Talk him out of standing trial,
Mr. Matlock,

because if you don't and he dies,

you will have killed him.

- Well, Nicholas.
- Hello, Ben.

My son insists
on keeping me sedated.

I think he likes me better that way.

Well, Nicholas,

like my mother used to say,
''Ain't nothing simple.''

Because of your history, I knew
the cards would be stacked against us,

but the district attorney's been doing
a better job of stacking than I thought.

It's a tough case. Very tough.

What are you trying to say?

You don't have to go through
with this trial.

Because of your health,
I can get a postponement.

Probably a slew of them.

You can live out the days you have left
the way they should be lived, in peace.

Then people will think
I killed Donald Kovack and Eddie,

and I told you,
I don't wanna die with that on my head.

- All right.
- Now, you said you understood that.

You said we had an agreement to see
this through to the end no matter what.

All right, all right.

If you don't calm down,

I'm gonna get your son in here
and have him turn your lights out.

My son Paul
is more convinced than ever

that you're the wrong lawyer for me.

I'm the best lawyer you could hope for,
and I'll tell you why.

Whoever's making you look guilty
is making me look bad,

and I don't like that.

It's a matter of honour for me too.

Remember, Riverside has priority.
Deliver them first, and then Wildwood.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- This is a beautiful place to work.
- It gets hot.

So does a courtroom,
but it doesn't smell as nice.

I can't get over that locket.
It really is unusual.

Thank you. It's Victorian.

My brother is very interested in you,
you know.

So he says.

You two don't exactly
seem inseparable.

Well, Paul lets me run this place
as sort of an indulgence.

Well, it keeps you off the streets
and out of the kitchen, right?

That's one way to look at it.

You know,
I lost my mother when I was young.

Was it difficult for you?

My father divorced my mother
over 20 years ago.

- I barely remember her.
- Where is she now?

When she walked out,
my father forbade any of us

to have any contact with her.

We couldn't write to her or call her.

He'd punish us if we so much
as mentioned her name.

He even had all the photographs
of her destroyed,

every single one of them.

Well, why did she walk out?

My mother loved my father,
but hated what he did.

I guess she thought by marrying him,
she could change him,

but she couldn't.

So she finally left...

...with another man.

My father was outraged.

So much so, he even threatened
to have them both killed.

My God. What happened?

All I know is that somehow,
my brother Daniel stopped him.

How goes it, Tyler?

Our friend Alice Jenkins has been in
her apartment for the last three hours.

Probably reading her Bible.

Take a break, I'll hold the fort.

- Get a sandwich or something.
- I'm not hungry.

Well, stretch your legs. Take a walk.

Look, that woman
made a fool out of me yesterday,

and I don't intend to go anywhere
till I find out what's going on.

You notice anything different
about me?

Would you be mad if I don't?

No hay fever.

Gone. Dr. Baron cured me.

- Dr. Baron?
- Yeah.

He could be our killer.

Maybe.

- You let him stick a needle in you?
- Yeah, you think I made a mistake?

I wouldn't let him stick a needle in me.

All right,
both of you come out of there slowly.

Any chance they're
talking to somebody in our back seat?

Turn around and put your hands
on the roof of the car.

You're making a mistake.
I'm a lawyer, Ben Matlock.

- What's going on?
- We just got a phone call

- telling us about your little drug deal.
- Drug deal?

Yes, drug deal.
Now, where's the rest of the stuff?

That's my medicine.

- All right, search the car.
- Ben, check it out.

Looks like somebody's
going on a trip.

- What's the problem here?
- Big drug bust, Harry.

They caught me red-handed
with my hay fever medicine.

Take the cuffs off.

Sorry, Mr. Matlock.

- You all right?
- Oh, I'm fine. Really swell.

Somebody set your boys up so we lost
the most crucial witness in our case,

but other than that, things are great.

Mr. Johnson, you reside in Atlanta,

and you are a carpenter,
is that correct?

Yes, sir.

Well, you see, we are endeavouring
to empanel a jury to try an indictment

against Mr. Nicholas Baron,
who has been charged with the murder

of Edward Alonzo.

Have you read anything about this

in the papers or heard about it
on television?

Of course.

I've been going over mug shots
all morning and that's our boy.

- Roy Vincent.
- Never heard of him.

Any known address?

No, but he's got a rap sheet
a mile long, and it's all smalltime stuff.

- I'll find him.
- Yeah, yeah.

In the event that you find
the defendant guilty of murder,

would you be reluctant
to return a verdict

which would make it mandatory
for the court

to impose the death sentence?

- No, sir.
- Thank you, sir.

Have you heard of Nicholas Baron
before this?

Yes, sir.

Do you think you could judge this case
on its own merits

without being influenced
by suppositions and innuendos

you may have heard or read?

I think so, yes.

- Do you know me?
- Not personally.

I've defended quite a few cases around
and my name's been in the paper.

- You ever heard of me?
- Yes, I have.

What about me, Mr. Johnson?

Do you think the fact
that I'm the defence attorney

might prejudice you in any way?

- It might, yes.
- How's that?

I hear you're the kind of lawyer
that gets everybody and his uncle off.

Frankly, I'd like to see how you do it.

Your Honour, I will accept this juror,
he's obviously honest.

Hello.

I don't recall having--

I brought you all the answers
to those questions you gave me.

Take a look.
I think I answered those pretty well.

Yeah. Not that I'm complaining,
but you are a little late,

and I think I already have
most of this information.

Actually, it's just an excuse
to come and see you.

How's the case going?

- So far it's going nowhere.
- Comes as no surprise to me.

- Oh, nice bike. You ride this?
- Yeah, whenever I can.

That's a great idea.

Maybe I ought to buy me one.

I don't think they make any
that are bulletproof.

Why are you so hard on me?

You know, we're not so different.

No. I went to college,
got an M.B.A., came out,

and I went to business with my father,
just like you.

Yeah, except the business I went into
is legitimate.

Has anyone ever proven
that ours isn't?

It's not as if the Justice Department
hasn't tried.

Isn't it written somewhere
that you're innocent until proven guilty?

Yes.

- Actually, it's written everywhere.
- It is.

- Then why doesn't that apply to me?
- Oh, it does.

- Then prove it.
- How?

Dinner tonight. I won't order for you.

And the flowers. I mean, they're lovely,
but please, they gotta stop.

- It's starting to look like a funeral--
- I'll stop sending flowers.

- Eight o'clock.
- Seven thirty.

Seven thirty.

Okay.

Okey-doke.

Is everything a negotiation with you
or what?

What can I say? I'm a lawyer.

I'll call you later.

I feel like a new man.

Just a little postnasal drip
in the morning, that's all.

Well, the pollen count's
on the way back up.

- Another shot would probably help.
- Knew you were gonna say that.

What do you hear from your mother?

My mother's in California.

I know. And I know
at the time of the divorce,

your father forbade the three of you
to communicate with her.

I thought he might have
made an exception in your case.

- What makes you think that?
- I think I'll wait for the shot to tell you.

I don't know how you did it,

but you kept your father
from killing her, didn't you?

That's none of your business.

Under the circumstances,
I'm afraid it is.

But it's nothing to be ashamed of.
You saved your mother's life.

I know if anybody ever
threatened my mother,

I would have done anything I had to
to stop him.

Of course,
a thing like that's hard to forget,

even harder to forgive.

Ever forgive your father, Daniel?

Only God can forgive, Mr. Matlock.

I just try to forget.

Thanks for the shot.

Beautiful lawn.

- What'd you say?
- I said you got a beautiful lawn.

No crabgrass.
That's a big problem out my way.

I was thinking about trying
some of that Weed-Away.

I hear that'll kill it for keeps.
Did you ever use it?

No.

Something goes wrong with the lawn,
Mr. Kovack just brings another one in.

I can honestly say
that's a solution I never thought of.

- Mr. Matlock.
- Hey, Mr. Kovack.

I'll be brief. I can see I'm interrupting
your enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Don't worry about it.

- Roy Vincent. Do you know him?
- No, why? Who is he?

He's a fellow who's seen to it
that a woman who accused me

of suborning perjury
is nowhere to be found.

I also suspect that somebody
has hired this same fellow

to try to harass me off this case.

Well, it couldn't be
anybody from our family.

Like I told you before,
we have identical interests.

We just wanna see Nicholas Baron
get what he deserves.

Everybody's interested in justice.

For a lawyer, that's very,
very encouraging.

That's your brother's widow, isn't it?

Seems to be taking his death
pretty hard.

- Anything else, Mr. Matlock?
- No, no.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Congratulations.

I hear you officially took over
your brother's business.

Someone had to do it.

That include his home and wife too?

- Get out, Mr. Matlock.
- On my way.

Laboratory tests
have already confirmed

that this gun
was the weapon of death,

and it had the fingerprints
of Mr. Nicholas Baron on it.

Do you recognise it?

Yes, it has my mark on it
and I also tagged this weapon.

Where was it found?

The weapon was found approximately
1 5 feet from Mr. Alonzo's body.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Henderson.

Do you recognise this car?

Yes, sir, that's the car I saw.

And it drove in to the field
next to the man who was digging.

Then what happened?

Then the driver leaned over and
fired two shots at him and drove away.

- Did you get a look at the driver?
- Yes, I did.

- Is he in this courtroom?
- Yes, sir, he is.

Would you point him out
to the court, please?

That's him.

- Are you sure?
- Yes, sir.

The record will indicate

that the witness
has identified the defendant.

Thank you, Mr. Henderson.

Do you wish to ask any questions
for the defence, Mr. Matlock?

Yes, Your Honour, but new evidence
has just been brought to my attention.

With the court's permission,
I'd like to have a one-hour recess.

The court will reconvene
at 2:30 this afternoon.

Charlie, I wanna tell you something.

I am in the process
of changing my image.

No longer do I want to win
the worst-dressed-man-in-court award.

- You were right.
- What?

Matlock is up to something, all right.
Hey, I'll have one of those, please.

Would you mind telling me
what it is that he's up to?

Well, I just saw him
hustle four old men

through the backdoor
of the courthouse.

Palmer, are you going to come
to the point or not?

The point is, they all vaguely resemble
Nicholas Baron.

Charlie, do you have
any cold water--?

Will you stay out of this?

Now, according to the weather, sir,

it was warm and sunny
the morning you went hunting.

Is that--? Does that sound right?

- Felt more like hot and sunny.
- Yeah.

And what time you say it was
you saw the murder?

Right around 8.

So it's perfectly clear to the court
where everybody was

in relationship to everything,

I've taken the liberty
of drawing this rough sketch

based on your testimony.

Now, Point A would be the road,

and Point B would be where
Mr. Alonzo fell after he was shot.

And Point C--

Would you mind
just stepping down here for a minute?

Good.

So Point C would be the car
driven by the assailant,

and, D, that would be you.

That's right.

Now, you say you were 20 or 25 yards
from the car when it stopped.

- Twenty, 25 yards, yeah.
- And what direction were you facing?

- East.
- East?

The sun must have been shining
right in your eyes.

Yeah, it was.

It must have been bright.
Too bright to see clearly.

Oh, well, I was wearing sunglasses.

Oh, sunglasses.

Like these?

Well, yeah,
mine are sort of like those.

Would you put them on
for a moment?

Your Honour,
are we going somewhere here?

Your Honour,

I am merely trying to recreate
as best I can

the conditions under which
this witness saw the shooting.

- Proceed, Mr. Matlock.
- All right, thank you.

Now, this room
is approximately 20 yards across.

Would you turn around
and face the window, please?

Now, you say the sun was shining
about like that?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

I want you to identify the person
you saw driving the Jaguar.

Is it one of the two men
in front of the window?

No.

Then it's the gentleman
at the defence table.

No.

The man I saw
is sitting right over there.

Indicating the defendant.

No further questions.

- Call 91 1 .
- Back up, back up.

Your Honour, this is just
another one of Mr. Matlock's

cheap theatrical tricks designed
to milk sympathy from the jury.

Damn it, Jimmy, this is serious.
Somebody call the paramedics.

It was another heart attack,
but he's gonna pull through.

He's gonna make it, right?
He's gonna be all right?

- Yeah, Paul.
- Yeah? Okay. All right.

He's not going back
into that courtroom, Matlock.

It's too much for him.
I absolutely forbid it.

Are you speaking
as his doctor or his son?

For your information,

if I wanted revenge for my mother,
I could have taken it just now

in that emergency room and no one
would have known the difference.

I've come a long way in 20 years,
and so has he.

I'm doing my best to keep him alive,

and that means keeping him
out of that courtroom.

Mr. Matlock,
is the defence ready to proceed?

Your Honour, as you can see,
my client is not present.

He is, in fact, in the hospital.

Now, my opponent has accused me
of using theatrics.

I suggest that he has himself
used quite extraordinary theatrics

already in this trial.

But if we pursue this honestly,
I'm sure the truth will come out,

if indeed that's what
we're all interested in.

I know everybody in this courtroom
has strong feelings

about Nicholas Baron's past,

but I submit he is not on trial here
for his past.

He is on trial for the murders
of Donald Kovack and Eddie Alonzo.

Defence is aware
that we are entitled to a continuance,

but my client does not want that.

He wants this trial to proceed so that
he can be acquitted of these charges

as soon as possible.

What does Mr. McShane
say about this?

Well, I don't think it matters
if Mr. Baron is here or not.

Of course, there are no objections.

Very well. We will proceed.
Mr. Matlock, next witness, please.

I call Dave Christopher to the stand.

- Ben? Roy Vincent. I tracked him.
- Where is he?

He's holed up in a condominium
out on the east side.

The condominium is owned
by none other than Paul Baron.

- Have Lieutenant Daniels pick him up.
- You got it.

- Have a minute?
- Yeah, sure.

- Just let me talk with the lady.
- We know about you and Roy Vincent.

You know what?

What's the matter with you?

We know about you keeping him.
Using him to try to manipulate us.

Trying to scare us.
Well, you scared me, Paul.

Didn't you think
we were smart enough to figure it out?

- Hey, I think you're mistaken.
- No, I'm not mistaken, Paul.

You were the one
that hired Alice Jenkins,

then you tipped off the D.A.,
trying to get us thrown off the case,

- maybe even get my father disbarred.
- Charlene, I never--

You know what's ironic
about this whole thing?

Is that it actually upsets me
that you used me.

I hate to admit it,
but it really gets me.

Charlene, no matter what,
my feelings for you were always real.

No, no. A little late for that, Paul.

I mean, tell me,
what is this all about, really?

Are you trying to start
some sort of a gangland warfare

between you and the Kovacks
so you can get back into business?

- That'll be enough.
- You set us up.

Am I to believe that you're incapable
of framing your own father

so that he's out of the way?

- You can stop any time.
- I don't know what to believe.

You know, your father is dying.

The business would soon be yours,
but maybe you're a bit too impatient,

too greedy, and killing two people
is easier than waiting.

Let me set you straight
on something.

I never wanted your father
on this case,

and I never said otherwise.

But I didn't frame my father.

And as for you,
you should be very grateful.

Because no man could ever say
what you just said to me

and get away with it.

Come on.

Mr. Christopher,
you work for the Kovacks.

You work as their gardener.

That's right.

How'd you end up
in that line of work?

What'd you say?

How'd you end up
in that line of work?

My parole officer recommended it.

Oh, that's right, that's right.
You were convicted of a felony.

Yeah, a little.

A little? More like seven.

Armed robbery, assault,
attempted murder, racketeering.

- Objection. Relevancy.
- Objection sustained.

When you earned those sentences,

were you working for the Kovacks
then as well?

I guess you could say
I was working for the Kovacks

during those years, yeah.

But I'm too old for that stuff now.

Oh, so I see. So Donald Kovack
put you on as gardener

as a kind of a reward
for all those years of service.

Kind of a retirement plan.

I guess you could say that, sure.

Are you the only employee
he treats like that?

Oh, no.

You got Huey Moore--

Convicted murderer,
reputed Mob hit man.

Yeah, he does their pool work.

- And then you got Vince Jacobs.
- Oh, spent time obstructing justice.

Yeah, he does
all their maintenance work.

- And then you got Bobby--
- That's enough. That's enough.

I'm sure the jury has an idea
of the kind of people

who work for Donald Kovack.

Let me ask you something.
Do you have a hearing problem?

- What'd you say?
- I said, are you hard of hearing?

Yeah, a gun went off next to my ear.

By accident.

Well, since this witness
is hard of hearing

and these next questions
are important,

I've taken the liberty
of writing them down.

Now, everybody knows
that Nicholas Baron is very ill

and could have gotten this trial
postponed indefinitely,

but he didn't do that.

So I ask you, if he's guilty,

''why would Nicholas Baron
insist on being tried?''

I object, Your Honour. Calls for
speculation on the part of the witness.

- Objection sustained.
- Then I'll withdraw that question.

Mr. Christopher, in your opinion,

is Nicholas Baron
as generous to his old employees

as Donald Kovack is known to be?

Oh, yeah. He--

Objection. Relevancy, speculation.

Sustained.

''Why would Nicholas Baron shoot
his own friend and loyal employee,

Edward Alonzo?''

Objection, Your Honour.
Relevancy, speculation.

- Lack of foundation.
- Objection sustained.

No further questions.

Thank you, Mr. Christopher.
You've been very helpful.

Bailiff, would you pick up
Mr. Matlock's toy?

Hello, Dave. How are you?

Don't tell me you don't remember me
after all we meant to each other,

- David.
- I remember you.

Hell, yes, I remember you.

The last time we were here,
you were prosecuting me.

That's right, that's right.

We're on the same side now,
though, aren't we?

And we both want the court
to know the truth, don't we?

Yeah, sure.

This past year, did you ever serve
as Mr. Kovack's driver?

- Yeah.
- And did you happen to drive him

to Hilton Head, South Carolina,
on the weekend of March the 1 5th?

Hey, David, you wouldn't want me
to have to send you back to prison

on something as silly as perjury,
would you?

No. No, I drove him to Hilton Head
a couple of times.

But I don't remember the dates.

Oh, well, then, let me help you on that,
if I may.

On that particular date,
he took a guest.

Do you remember
who the guest was?

- Dave.
- Yeah.

- I remember.
- And is that person in the courtroom?

Yeah.

Would you point that person out,
please?

The lady in the front row
with the dark grey dress on

and the long brown hair.

May the record show that the witness
has identified Miss Cathy Baron,

the defendant's daughter.

Objection, Your Honour.
Totally irrelevant.

On the contrary, Your Honour.
This liaison provides further motive

for the defendant
to order Donald Kovack's murder.

Objection overruled.

The record will indicate the witness
has identified Miss Cathy Baron.

Thank you, Your Honour.
No further questions.

Then this court is adjourned.

It will reconvene
on Monday at 9 a.m.

It's true. We were having an affair,
but I loved him.

I want you to find who killed him,
Mr. Matlock.

I wanna see him pay.

I should have seen it coming.

- I should have seen it coming.
- Oh, Dad, look,

it was such a curve
that Wally Joyner couldn't have seen it.

How did the DA find out?
That's what I can't figure.

Are you kidding?
Another call from Deep Throat.

Paul Baron's probably got
the DA's number on automatic redial.

You can certainly bet
that he's got his sec--

I got something
you might want a copy of.

Something I'll be filing first thing
Monday morning on my father's behalf.

He's removing you as counsel.

You're off the case.

Cup of coffee, Tony?

Thank you, Ben. Listen,
don't tell me you've been towed.

No, I'd just like to take a look
at the Baron car if it's okay.

- Sure enough.
- Yeah.

No donuts today, huh, Ben?

- You and Helen find a house yet?
- No, no, we're still looking.

- It's a big decision, you know.
- It won't get any smaller.

Neither will that waistline
with those donuts.

Well, listen,
it's hard to give up donuts, Ben.

It's a beautiful car.
I bet it runs like a top.

Yeah, with the price tag they put on it,
it ought to.

Yeah.

My mother knew a fellow
who had a car like this once.

Said he did nothing
but worry about it.

Take him nearly all day
to find a place to park it.

Couldn't park it in the shade
because of birds,

couldn't park it next to other cars
because of nicks,

couldn't park it in the sun
because of the upholstery.

Beautiful as it was, for as long as he
had it, it was the bane of his existence.

- Did he sell it?
- No, somebody stole it.

- Beautiful car, though, huh?
- Oh yeah.

Tell you what.

When this is over, maybe we'll talk
the Baron into taking us a ride.

Don't wanna hurt your feelings,
but I ain't gonna hold my breath.

Interesting idea, though.

Cop taking a nice Sunday afternoon
drive with the Baron,

talking about people's barns
and orchards, having donuts.

Oh, go on, you.

Tell you one thing, Charlene.

Nicholas Baron never visited
Edward Alonzo in this apartment.

He would have died two floors ago.

I thought you said
we were off the case.

Well...

...they can't file a real substitution
till Monday.

Somebody paid that man $25,000
to kill Donald Kovack.

It seems to me the best place
to transact that kind of business

would be right here
in this apartment.

Dad, look at this.

Pictures of Nicholas' children
when they were little.

There's Cathy, there's Paul.

Alonzo really was
like a second father to them.

He's got a whole family album here.

Wait a sec. This is odd.

Judging from her clothes,
it looks like it might be the mid-'60s.

Guess who?

Think it might be
the former Mrs. Baron?

Could be.

Dad.

Look at the strange way
this has been cut out.

Yeah.

- Mr. Matlock.
- Good morning.

I just dropped by to see Nicholas
if it's all right.

Nobody just drops by on us,
Mr. Matlock.

- Maybe I'm presenting my bill.
- Well, maybe you should just mail it.

Look.

Don't make me throw you
out of this house.

I'm counting on three things here.

First, your goons are not in the habit
of throwing men my age around.

Second, you're not in the habit
of calling the police.

Third, you're just dying to know if I've
found out something you should know.

Excuse me.

That's right, I'm still here.
Holding up my end of the deal.

You had my word.
I thought I had yours.

What do you want?

Look at this.

No.

It isn't possible.

- It isn't possible.
- I'm afraid it is.

What are you gonna do with this?

Nicholas,
I have to do something with it.

- I won't allow it.
- Nicholas--

I won't allow it.

I know how difficult
this is gonna be for you.

But remember,
no matter how it turns out,

it might turn out to be
what neither of us wanted.

But that was our deal,
and like it or not,

I'm gonna have to hold you to it.

I'm gonna go ahead with it.

This court is now in session.
Honourable Irene Sawyer presiding.

Be seated.

The defence may proceed.

I call as my next witness...

May I have a moment
with my client?

Make it brief, Mr. Matlock.

- You shouldn't be here.
- I've told him.

I'm here, Matlock. Get on with it.

I call as my next witness
Catherine Baron.

Miss Baron, you were having
an affair with Donald Kovack?

Yes.

Was that affair going on
at the time of his death?

Yes.

Donald Kovack was a married man,
wasn't he?

- He was going to leave his wife.
- When?

- Eventually.
- Were you getting impatient?

No.

Did you ever drive
in your father's car?

- No.
- Not ever?

- Never.
- Interesting thing about that car.

I went out to the impound lot
over the weekend to look it over,

and the driver's seat
was moved all the way forward.

All the way.
Now, your father is as tall as I am,

which means that
whoever drove that car last

had to be a lot smaller.

Maybe even your size.

Wasn't me.

So you have no idea
why the seat was all the way forward?

No.

I understand Eddie Alonzo
was an old friend of the family.

- Did you keep track of him?
- I haven't seen him in years.

- Are you sure?
- Yes.

You took $25,000
out of your trust fund

the same week that Eddie Alonzo
put $25,000 down on a house.

You think that's just a coincidence?

I suppose so.

You know,

I've been meaning to tell you

that locket you always wear
is beautiful.

- Thank you.
- My mother had one something like it.

You open it up
and there's pictures inside.

Does yours open up?

Does yours open up?

- Yes.
- Would you open it, please?

That's private.

Stop. I confess, I did it.
I killed them both.

Please, stop, stop, stop.
Please, please.

Stop, please, please.

It's too late.

Would you like some time
with your client, Mr. Matlock?

No, Your Honour.

We apologise for the outburst.

You may proceed.

Your father just confessed
to murders he didn't commit.

Would you open the locket, please?

Very pretty.

Your mother?

I didn't know any pictures
of her existed. Where did you get it?

I can't remember.

That picture came...

...from this photo album.

From that picture.

This photo album
belonged to Eddie Alonzo.

It came from his apartment.

Isn't it true that Eddie Alonzo
cut that picture out and gave it to you

when you came to him
with the $25,000?

Isn't it true you told him

you wanted to avenge
your father's wrongful imprisonment,

when in fact you wanted
to avenge yourself

on a man who
wouldn't leave his wife for you?

Isn't it true that you gave Eddie Alonzo
$25,000 to kill Donald Kovack?

And isn't it true
that you took your father's car

and gun and went to the field
where you knew Eddie would be

and shot him?

Isn't all of that true?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Your Honour,

due to the testimony of this witness,

the people will at this time
move to dismiss the case

against Nicholas Baron.

On motion of the people,
the case is dismissed.

Court is adjourned.

Miss Baron, I'm afraid you're gonna
have to come with me, please.

Frank, her father would like
to have a word with her.

What do you say?

Congratulations, Matlock.

- If I ever need a lawyer...
- I think I'll be unavailable.

Well, Ben, I gotta admit it.
You did a hell of a fine job.

How's that?

You heard me.

I did give you a pretty good fight,
though, didn't I?

You gave me some sharp jabs.

- Just like old times?
- Just like old times.

Cathy.

You wanted to see me?

Yes.

Why? You never wanted
to talk to me before.

I'm sorry, Cathy.

I'm sorry you've hated me
all these years.

I'm sorry about your mother.

I may not have pulled the trigger,
but I accept some of the responsibility.

I'm sorry, Cathy.

Daddy.

Considering your ties
to organised crime,

how does this affect your family?

- No comment.
- Mr. Baron...

No comment.
That's enough questions. That's it.

No more questions.
I said no more questions.

Have you seen your sister?

I learned one very important lesson.

I hope so.

Always hire a smart lawyer.

Goodbye, Paul.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

You were right, Matlock.

Too little...

...too late.