Matlock (1986–1995): Season 3, Episode 11 - The Other Woman - full transcript
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
It was pouring.
We skidded out of control.
I couldn't see Dora.
I didn't know where she was.
Somehow, I got
myself out of the car.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
There was nothing I could do.
Nothing I could
do; I was helpless.
If Dora hadn't... been there...
You'd have burned to death,
as your dog did.
It's been two years since...
Can you say it?
Since the fire, Erin.
Why am I dreaming about it now?
What's happening now?
What's frightening you,
making you feel helpless?
You think I'm having
the nightmares
because I decided
to divorce Adam?
What I think doesn't matter.
What do you think?
Do you think there
could be a connection?
Of course there's a connection.
You're angry.
I'll see you next Thursday.
You're upset, Erin;
let's talk about this.
Thursday.
Erin, if the idea
of divorcing Adam
is upsetting you this
much, you can wait,
you don't have to do it now.
Yes, I do.
Adam, we have to talk.
I'm sorry, uh...
I'm expecting Hillary Benson.
We'll talk after our meeting.
Adam, I... I want a divorce.
Oh.
I see.
Well... let's, uh...
let's suppose I don't
stand in your way.
Where will you go?
What will you do?
I-I'll manage.
Alone?
You will be alone, you know.
Yes.
Without my loving care,
my... financial support.
I have lawyers who
will make certain
you will be without
my financial support.
Look at you.
You're a cripple.
You're weak.
You can't survive without me.
All right, stop it,
stop your crying.
Erin!
There will not be a divorce.
You will never,
never get rid of me.
Do you understand?
Dr. Forbes is behind this.
My diary! Give that to me!
It's all in here, Erin!
Forbes is your lover!
Oh, that's not true!
Oh, yes, it is.
He's urged you to divorce me.
Well, the Medical Review Board
will take away his license
for that. How dare you
try to stop Dr. Forbes!
I'll do more than that.
I'll ruin him.
Lovers! A doctor
without a license,
and a cripple!
Oh, that's... nice.
Hillary, come in.
Uh, Mrs. Whitley is tired.
Would you please
take her upstairs?
You wanted to see me, Adam?
Yes. There's been
a... change in plans.
It's hopeless.
I... I don't want to
live like this anymore.
Take this and you'll sleep.
Then what?
I'll just have to wake up again.
Things will look
better in the morning.
No. It's no use.
You can't do this to me, Adam!
I already have!
Now, if it isn't
too much trouble,
will you see yourself out!
It's Dr. Forbes, Mr. Whitley.
Mrs. Whitley called
me... It's an emergency.
Hers or yours, Dr. Forbes?
Go ahead.
What the hell do you want now?
Now, you told the
arresting officer
you arrived at the
house at 10:00?
Yes.
My radio was on... the 10:00
news was just coming on.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
And-and the police
got their call at 10:10.
Did you call 'em?
No, I didn't.
Well, Mrs. Whitley's,
uh, companion, Dora,
uh, said that when she saw you,
you were running up the stairs.
What were you gonna do?
Well, I was going
to find my patient.
Isn't it unusual for a
psychiatrist to make house calls?
It's highly unusual,
but Erin had called me,
sounding distraught and,
in my opinion, suicidal.
Had she done it before?
Mm-mm, never, but...
her conflicts are severe enough
to cause hysterical paralysis.
Hysterical paralysis?
It means it's
psychologically caused
but nonetheless very real.
I mean, so real
that two years ago,
in a fire, she
suffered severe burns,
and she nearly died
because she
couldn't save herself.
She was suffering
hysterical paralysis then.
Oh.
Mm, mm.
Well... how did, um...
how did she, uh, get
along with her husband?
She was planning to
ask him for a divorce.
Oh.
Maybe they argued,
and she killed him.
No.
Erin is psychologically
and physically
incapable of killing anyone.
In your opinion.
In fact.
Oh.
Lawyer's office.
Benjamin Matlock?
Yes, this is Ben Matlock.
There's something
important you should know.
Who is this?
Dr. Forbes and Erin
Whitley are lovers.
Dr. Forbes killed Adam Whitley.
Who is this?
Never mind who I am.
Just ask Dr. Forbes
about Erin's diary.
What diary?
Hello?
Hello?
Huh.
I was in my room down the hall.
And you didn't hear the shots?
No. I told the police I
was wearing headphones.
I was doing leg lifts.
How's that?
I was exercising
to a workout tape.
Hips.
Oh.
Now, why did you
come downstairs?
I saw a light on.
And, uh, uh, Mr. Whitley
was, uh, where?
Right there.
What else did you see?
I saw Dr. Forbes
running up the stairs.
Oh. You know him?
No. Mrs. Whitley
has talked about him,
but I'd never seen him before.
And you don't know
who called the police?
No.
Could it have been Mrs. Whitley?
No. She had taken
her sleeping pill.
I had given it to her myself.
And later, when the police
had asked me to wake her,
it took me five minutes
and even then, she
was too groggy to talk,
never mind answer questions.
I appreciate your
time, Mrs. Whitley,
and I'll be as
brief as possible.
Um, I understand you were
asleep when your husband was killed
and you did not hear the shots.
Yes, it was a
sleeping pill night.
I heard nothing.
And when Miss Marquez woke you,
and told you, you... Shocked.
I didn't feel sad.
I wanted to leave him.
I won't pretend that I feel sad.
Mind telling me why?
Why what?
You wanted to leave him.
He used to taunt me.
Say that I was
helpless and weak.
But that's the way
he wanted me to be,
because, if I was
weak and helpless,
then he could feel
stronger and more in control.
Did Dr. Forbes tell you that?
Dr. Forbes helped me to see it
and to see that
having a handicap
isn't the same
thing as being weak.
My husband
might have been seeing
another woman, Mr. Matlock.
Could it be the lady
who visited that evening?
Um, um, um... Hillary Benson?
No.
Their relationship
was strictly business.
Everything's so cloudy.
Dora told me that-that
Adam was getting phone calls
- from a woman named...
- Shannon.
That was the name the woman
left on the answering machine.
Shannon?
Uh, did you ever
talk to this Shannon?
No.
I don't think so.
No, uh... No,
I never did. I'm
sorry, Mr. Matlock.
Everything is so
confusing lately.
It's my memory. I mean,
a whole day can go by
and I-I don't remember
a single minute of it.
Karen, you're just tired.
Well, um, I'll be going.
No, don't.
I want to do anything I can.
I want to help Dr. Forbes.
You came to see him
after you were burned in a fire?
Yes.
He's helped me a great deal.
Do you keep a diary?
Yes, I do.
Is there anything in it
that would, uh, help
Dr. Forbes' case?
It's just a journal of my
dreams and feelings.
Last time I saw it, Adam
took it out of his drawer
in his library. He did?
It was very upsetting.
I'm sure.
♪ ♪
Yeah.
Tyler, I got somebody
I want you to check out.
You're sure you've cleared
this with Miss Blackwell?
Look, when she applied
for our insurance...
she gave us permission
to inspect the premises.
I don't understand this.
She looked so neat.
Well, somebody was
obviously looking for something.
Mr. Putnam, do you ever recall
Miss Blackwell seeing a
middle-aged gentleman
by the name of Adam Whitley?
Can't say that I do.
I don't know any of her friends.
But I have seen her in the
neighborhood cocktail lounge.
Durand's.
Where's your badge?
I'm not a cop.
Yeah, and I'm not a bartender.
Okay, I've seen her around,
but that's all I can tell you.
Well, I'll tell you.
If she comes back in here
again, have her call that number.
Why not?
Matlock, huh?
Sure sounds like a cop's name.
Well, Hillary Benson lied to me.
What's this?
Galley proofs for Elegance
Magazine's fall issue.
A college chum of mine
is an associate editor.
Hmm.
She said Adam Whitley
was featuring her designs
in his fall issue.
She even had mock-ups made
for an expensive ad campaign
based on his promise.
Mm-hmm.
But, Hillary Benson's
not in the fall issue.
Oh. Adam Whitley dumped her.
Oh.
Hello?
Mr. Matlock.
This is Shannon Blackwell.
I got your message.
Uh, where are you?
Meet me tonight at 11:00.
Where?
There's a dead
end off the parkway
at Junction 18 outside Monroe.
I'll find it.
Come alone.
Sorry for the
inconvenience, Mr. Matlock.
But my life is in danger.
Mr. Matlock.
Yeah.
I'm alone.
I appreciate this.
Your life's in danger?
Let me start at the beginning.
I met Adam Whitley
when I interviewed
for a modeling
assignment for Elegance.
I wasn't right for the magazine,
but I was perfect for Adam.
Well, you were,
um... uh, his mistress?
We were lovers.
Adam paid for my apartment,
my clothes and my car, yes.
I was his mistress.
And you didn't want that.
I must have. I did it.
I was a good model.
I made a good living.
But once I met
Adam, that was that.
He didn't want me
to work, so I didn't.
I lived for him.
Not very smart, I know.
But I loved him
and I thought that if
I loved him enough,
if I was patient enough...
I wanted to marry him.
I see. But now it's too late.
I'm alone and I am in danger.
It was you who called
the other night, wasn't it?
What's in that diary?
Everything.
Erin's affair with Dr. Forbes,
Dr. Forbes' intention
to murder Adam.
Adam intended to use
the diary to divorce Erin
and ruin Forbes' career.
And now, I am next.
My apartment has been
ransacked, Mr. Matlock.
Um... I'm sorry.
But I know that Erin
is trying to kill me.
She is not the innocent that
she pretends to be, Mr. Matlock.
You've got to help me.
I don't want to ruin
Erin or Dr. Forbes.
I just want to leave town
and forget that this part
of my life ever happened.
Good morning! MATLOCK: Hey!
How was your meeting
with Shannon Blackwell?
Uh, she's kind of weird.
Like Ernie Ford used to say...
She's as nervous
as a long-tailed cat
in a room full of
rocking chairs.
What are you doing?
Oh, it's makeup.
Car came by and scared her
and she damned
near jumped in my lap.
Oh...
Well, you've got to
take that to the cleaners.
Yeah. Hmm.
Well...
She told me there's
something in, uh, Erin's diary
that could, uh,
incriminate our client.
Hillary Benson
mentioned the diary. Yeah.
Everybody's
mentioned that diary.
Except the one person
who should be mentioning it.
I would have
come to your office.
Well, I've never
been to your office.
I spoke to Erin Whitley.
What kind of medication
does she take?
Well, she takes a sleeping pill.
Occasionally, but not nightly.
Would it cause her to
have memory lapses
or forget where she'd been?
Erin told you she was
losing track of time?
Something like that.
She hasn't said
anything about it to me.
She hasn't?
I tell you something
you haven't said
anything about to me.
What's that?
Erin's diary.
Perhaps the most crucial piece
of evidence in the whole case
and you haven't
even mentioned it.
I didn't think it was relevant.
People I've talked to
say, it could convict you.
That's absolutely not true. I...
I read Erin's diary
each month, carefully.
Writing it is part
of her therapy.
It contains nothing that
would be harmful to me.
You've read it?
As recently as ten days ago.
Oh.
Well, you know we'll have
to discuss this diary in court.
I can't.
Patient confidentiality.
I cannot discuss this in court.
Dr. Forbes, I have
knowledge of this diary.
If I find it, I must be
prepared to discuss it in court.
You must, Dr. Forbes.
It's true. The diary expressed
my feelings about my husband,
my marriage, even Dr. Forbes,
and some of those
feelings are fairly intense.
But I would make it
public if it would help you.
I can't ask you to do that.
Then I'll volunteer.
You're always telling me
that I'm not as
fragile as I think I am.
Well, let me prove you're right.
Well, is there anything
incriminating in the diary?
No. Okay.
I, uh, I looked in
your husband's desk
and I couldn't
find it. Where is it?
It's disappeared.
Dora searched his desk,
the library, the house.
It's gone.
Well, that's great.
You both tell me there's
nothing incriminating in it,
but it's gone.
A good prosecutor would
have a field day with this one.
This court will come to order.
What's the delay, counselor?
Your Honor, I'd like to
approach the bench, please.
What's this about, Mr. Burgess?
Your Honor, just
three hours ago,
the state came into
possession of new evidence.
Erin Whitley's
diary. Wait a minute,
Your Honor. Wait a minute.
The defense objects strenuously
to the introduction of
evidence not made available
during the process of discovery.
This court will
recess for 15 minutes.
I'll see you two in my chamber.
Your Honor, at this
stage of the proceedings,
the introduction
of this evidence
is extremely prejudicial
to the defense.
What do you say, counselor?
Your Honor, all
incriminating evidence
is prejudicial to the defense.
Now, procedure is important,
but society's right to justice
is equally as important.
That diary establishes motive.
How do you know it's authentic?
Handwriting expert
John Marshall,
who Mr. Matlock will
recognize as an expert witness,
one you've used before.
He compared handwriting
samples from Mrs. Whitley
to that of the diary,
and he is ready,
absolute ready to testify
to its authenticity.
The defense has also
been searching for this diary.
Now that it's been found,
deserves the time to examine it.
I'll allow defense time
to study the contents,
and we'll resume
again this afternoon.
Call Erin Whitley to the stand.
Mrs. Whitley, do
you recognize this?
Yes.
Will you tell the jury
what it is, please?
It's my diary.
I've marked several passages.
I'd like you to
read the first one
to the court, please.
I object, Your Honor.
The defense is
extremely prejudiced
by the state's last-minute introduction
of this evidence. In addition...
We went thought that
in chambers, Mr. Matlock.
Noted for the
record, but overruled.
Proceed, Mrs. Whitley.
"After last night, I'm
sure Dr. Forbes..."
Excuse me, Mrs.
Whitley. We can't hear you.
"After last night, I'm sure
Dr. Forbes feels the same...
"love for me
that I feel for him.
"Our only obstacle is Adam,
"but Lucas has promised
me that he won't allow Adam
to stand in our way."
I didn't write this.
But this is your diary.
This is your handwriting.
Yes.
Well, then let's go on.
Read the second part
if you would, please.
"I must have Lucas.
"I've loved him from the
first moment I met him;
five days after
that terrible..."
Please continue.
Your Honor, I object.
The prosecution is
harassing a witness
who is under psychiatric care.
Objection overruled.
Please read the passage.
"Five days after
that terrible fire..."
And finally, only the last
one if you would, please.
I didn't write this!
This was written the day
Adam Whitley was murdered.
Please read it, Mrs. Whitley.
"Lucas said that
tomorrow we'll be free."
We've got to talk.
I've made a terrible mistake.
Hello.
Ben, when are you
gonna fire the gun?
I just did. Didn't
you hear anything?
Only the birds chirping.
Huh, that's interesting.
Huh. Okay, okay, thanks.
All I heard was "Keep
breathing. Go for the burn."
Neither Tyler nor you
heard anything. Good.
Glad I could be of some help.
Erin's asleep.
She never moved
when you fired the shot.
Well, you heard 'em.
Yes.
Okay.
I missed it.
I missed it.
It was the child abuse,
it was the extent, I...
We'd just started
to talk about it.
I mean, there were
hints and dreams, but...
I missed it.
Well, I'm... I'm gonna
go ahead with this.
I wish you didn't have to.
You know I do.
Mrs. Whitley, I know
how difficult it must be
for you to testify
in this trial.
So if there's anything I can do
to make it more comfortable...
Thank you, Mr. Matlock.
That's very kind.
You have already testified
that on the night of the murder
you were heavily sedated
and did not hear the gunshots.
That's true. I heard nothing.
So I don't believe it's possible
you could have called
the police, do you?
No.
And, uh, your
housekeeper testified
that she was wearing
one of those tape headsets
and heard nothing and
did not call the police.
If she said so, then it's true.
Dora is absolutely trustworthy.
So no one in the
house called the police.
And I made some
acoustical tests.
And none of the
neighbors heard the shots.
Would you have any idea
who might have
called the police?
No.
So someone else had to have
been in the house that night,
and whoever that someone
was, not only heard the shots,
but fired the shots,
then removed your diary
from your husband's desk
and called the police.
And you have no idea
who might have done that?
I wish I did.
That same person
who did all that,
the killer, then sent
your diary to the police
knowing it would
incriminate Dr. Forbes
and implicate you.
That's correct, isn't it?
I suppose,
but those passages in
my diary, I didn't write them.
Mrs. Whitley, this is
your handwriting, isn't it?
Yes.
Your Honor, I-I ask the court's
permission to re-read a passage
that has already been
read into the record.
I object, Your Honor.
Court's already heard this.
Your Honor, this
is very important.
Objection overruled.
Proceed, Mr. Matlock.
Thank you.
"I must have Lucas. I've
loved him from the first moment
I met him, five days
after that terrible..."
What's that word
right after "terrible"?
Just read that one word.
It's true, isn't it?
That ever since
that awful accident,
you have been unable to speak
or even write the word "fire"?
It takes all that's in you
to be able to hear it.
We need to hear your
response, Mrs. Whitley.
Yes.
And yet here it is in
your diary big as day
the word "fire" written
in your handwriting.
Will you please just read
that word for the court?
I can't!
It's all right, Erin.
I want you to know,
I'm on your side.
This is going to be very hard,
but I'm on your side.
Your Honor, Mr. Matlock
is playing games.
I play games all the
time, Your Honor,
but not when it comes to life.
Mr. Matlock, please continue,
but the court
would like to hear it.
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Whitley, do
you notice my suit?
You notice this smudge
on the arm of my suit?
I wore this suit today for
a very special purpose.
This smudge is caused by makeup.
It is makeup...
A special makeup that's used to
cover blemishes of some kind...
Or... a burn.
Look, look.
It's the same shade as yours.
I mean, on your arm, isn't it?
Yes.
But it didn't come from you.
Your Honor, is there
any point to this?
Your Honor, I know
this is confusing.
I'll tell you, it's the
most confusing case
that's ever come up against me.
It's taken everything
I've got in my mind,
plus expert advice,
opinion, counsel
from several qualified
psychiatrists, to understand it.
Dr. Forbes and I have
discussed what I am about to do.
At first, he thought it
was too dangerous.
I hope not.
I promised him
that, at any point,
he can intercede
and I'll do whatever he says.
The only person who can
clear up all of our confusion
is the person who got
the makeup on my sleeve.
At this point,
I call Shannon
Blackwell to the stand.
Mr. Matlock, procedure requires
that you dismiss one
witness before calling another.
And where is this Ms. Blackwell?
A moment, Your Honor.
Shannon.
Can you hear me?
Shannon.
Can you hear me?
Shannon, remember
the first night we met?
You hid from the
headlights of a passing car.
That's when the
makeup on your arm
smudged off on my jacket.
It's the same makeup
that Erin wears.
During that terrible
car crash and fire,
Erin's little dog was killed.
Burned up.
And so was your dog, Shannon.
Burned up.
Erin has many weaknesses,
and though you
don't like to admit it,
so do you.
And somehow this little toy
dog gives you strength, doesn't it?
I went to your
apartment yesterday
and got it for you.
You want it, don't you, Shannon?
Yesterday,
when Erin was
testifying on the stand,
Dr. Forbes realized
for the first time,
there are two of you.
Are you here, Shannon?
You are Shannon, aren't you?
Yes, of course.
And who else?
There's me, just me.
And Erin, and maybe others.
You're a multiple personality,
aren't you, Shannon?
I hate Erin.
She's weak.
She let Adam abuse her.
Well, no one abuses me.
Shannon Blackwell has a future.
Is that why you
killed Adam Whitley
so that you could
start over as Shannon?
I will start over.
Dr. Forbes killed Adam.
Erin was losing
more and more time.
That's because you, Shannon,
were emerging
more and more often.
And sooner or later,
Dr. Forbes would diagnosis
multiple personality.
Dr. Forbes would have destroyed
me to save his precious Erin.
I'm sure he would have
done anything he could
to help both of you.
But you did feel more and
more threatened by Dr. Forbes,
so you did something about it.
You created a little...
a little line of lies.
You put your name and
address in Adam Whitley's rolodex
in your handwriting, which
is different from Erin's.
Yes, it is.
You left messages on
his answering machine
and just days
before he was killed,
you made those
entries in Erin's diary
in her handwriting, which
is different from yours.
You knew it would
cause her trouble.
You hate her so much, Shannon,
that you were hoping she would
collapse under your mischief.
You wanted to be
rid of Erin, rid of her.
You even got your
own apartment...
Created yourself as
"the other woman."
I am stronger than Erin.
I deserve to be free.
Did you hate your father?
He wasn't my father,
he was Erin's father.
No one hits me.
No one beats me.
I'd kill anyone who tried.
He beat her.
She's cry and cry and
crawl off into some corner
and try to hide.
Is that when...
Shannon first emerged?
During those
awful, early beatings
when the weaker Erin
could no longer handle it?
Is that when the stronger
Shannon emerged?
I didn't emerge.
I am.
Shannon...
tell me what happened
the night of the murder.
Dora gave Erin a sleeping pill.
Erin went to sleep.
But you stayed awake.
Uh, I'm going to
tell you something
that you're going to
find hard to believe.
I didn't believe
it for a long time.
In some cases,
a patient suffering
from multiple personalities,
can be given a sleeping pill...
One personality will go to sleep
while the other personality
remains wide awake.
Able to take control
of their mutual body.
Become ambulatory,
walk around, conscious.
I-I know that
seems impossible...
but here is data
of actual cases.
I swear to you it's true.
I enter this as
Defense Exhibit D.
So that night, Erin was asleep
and you were wide awake...
Furious with Adam.
He'd abused Erin just as
her father had abused her.
And your anger
mounted and mounted,
until finally you could
contain it no longer
and you got up, went
downstairs to confront him,
and he-he-he said
something or did something...
He shouted at me
just the way Erin's
father shouted at her.
He was going to hit me.
He was going to take
off his belt and hit me!
So I went into the library
and I got his gun, and I...
and I killed him.
Uh, Your Honor, in light
of these developments,
I move that the case
against Dr. Lucas
Forbes be dismissed.
The prosecution
joins the motion.
Very well.
Motion to dismiss granted.
The court also orders
Shannon Blackwell...
That is Erin Whitley,
held for psychiatric
examination.
Court is adjourned.
Thank you, Mr. Matlock.
Thank you, Doctor.
Excuse me, I have
a patient to see to.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
It was pouring.
We skidded out of control.
I couldn't see Dora.
I didn't know where she was.
Somehow, I got
myself out of the car.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
There was nothing I could do.
Nothing I could
do; I was helpless.
If Dora hadn't... been there...
You'd have burned to death,
as your dog did.
It's been two years since...
Can you say it?
Since the fire, Erin.
Why am I dreaming about it now?
What's happening now?
What's frightening you,
making you feel helpless?
You think I'm having
the nightmares
because I decided
to divorce Adam?
What I think doesn't matter.
What do you think?
Do you think there
could be a connection?
Of course there's a connection.
You're angry.
I'll see you next Thursday.
You're upset, Erin;
let's talk about this.
Thursday.
Erin, if the idea
of divorcing Adam
is upsetting you this
much, you can wait,
you don't have to do it now.
Yes, I do.
Adam, we have to talk.
I'm sorry, uh...
I'm expecting Hillary Benson.
We'll talk after our meeting.
Adam, I... I want a divorce.
Oh.
I see.
Well... let's, uh...
let's suppose I don't
stand in your way.
Where will you go?
What will you do?
I-I'll manage.
Alone?
You will be alone, you know.
Yes.
Without my loving care,
my... financial support.
I have lawyers who
will make certain
you will be without
my financial support.
Look at you.
You're a cripple.
You're weak.
You can't survive without me.
All right, stop it,
stop your crying.
Erin!
There will not be a divorce.
You will never,
never get rid of me.
Do you understand?
Dr. Forbes is behind this.
My diary! Give that to me!
It's all in here, Erin!
Forbes is your lover!
Oh, that's not true!
Oh, yes, it is.
He's urged you to divorce me.
Well, the Medical Review Board
will take away his license
for that. How dare you
try to stop Dr. Forbes!
I'll do more than that.
I'll ruin him.
Lovers! A doctor
without a license,
and a cripple!
Oh, that's... nice.
Hillary, come in.
Uh, Mrs. Whitley is tired.
Would you please
take her upstairs?
You wanted to see me, Adam?
Yes. There's been
a... change in plans.
It's hopeless.
I... I don't want to
live like this anymore.
Take this and you'll sleep.
Then what?
I'll just have to wake up again.
Things will look
better in the morning.
No. It's no use.
You can't do this to me, Adam!
I already have!
Now, if it isn't
too much trouble,
will you see yourself out!
It's Dr. Forbes, Mr. Whitley.
Mrs. Whitley called
me... It's an emergency.
Hers or yours, Dr. Forbes?
Go ahead.
What the hell do you want now?
Now, you told the
arresting officer
you arrived at the
house at 10:00?
Yes.
My radio was on... the 10:00
news was just coming on.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
And-and the police
got their call at 10:10.
Did you call 'em?
No, I didn't.
Well, Mrs. Whitley's,
uh, companion, Dora,
uh, said that when she saw you,
you were running up the stairs.
What were you gonna do?
Well, I was going
to find my patient.
Isn't it unusual for a
psychiatrist to make house calls?
It's highly unusual,
but Erin had called me,
sounding distraught and,
in my opinion, suicidal.
Had she done it before?
Mm-mm, never, but...
her conflicts are severe enough
to cause hysterical paralysis.
Hysterical paralysis?
It means it's
psychologically caused
but nonetheless very real.
I mean, so real
that two years ago,
in a fire, she
suffered severe burns,
and she nearly died
because she
couldn't save herself.
She was suffering
hysterical paralysis then.
Oh.
Mm, mm.
Well... how did, um...
how did she, uh, get
along with her husband?
She was planning to
ask him for a divorce.
Oh.
Maybe they argued,
and she killed him.
No.
Erin is psychologically
and physically
incapable of killing anyone.
In your opinion.
In fact.
Oh.
Lawyer's office.
Benjamin Matlock?
Yes, this is Ben Matlock.
There's something
important you should know.
Who is this?
Dr. Forbes and Erin
Whitley are lovers.
Dr. Forbes killed Adam Whitley.
Who is this?
Never mind who I am.
Just ask Dr. Forbes
about Erin's diary.
What diary?
Hello?
Hello?
Huh.
I was in my room down the hall.
And you didn't hear the shots?
No. I told the police I
was wearing headphones.
I was doing leg lifts.
How's that?
I was exercising
to a workout tape.
Hips.
Oh.
Now, why did you
come downstairs?
I saw a light on.
And, uh, uh, Mr. Whitley
was, uh, where?
Right there.
What else did you see?
I saw Dr. Forbes
running up the stairs.
Oh. You know him?
No. Mrs. Whitley
has talked about him,
but I'd never seen him before.
And you don't know
who called the police?
No.
Could it have been Mrs. Whitley?
No. She had taken
her sleeping pill.
I had given it to her myself.
And later, when the police
had asked me to wake her,
it took me five minutes
and even then, she
was too groggy to talk,
never mind answer questions.
I appreciate your
time, Mrs. Whitley,
and I'll be as
brief as possible.
Um, I understand you were
asleep when your husband was killed
and you did not hear the shots.
Yes, it was a
sleeping pill night.
I heard nothing.
And when Miss Marquez woke you,
and told you, you... Shocked.
I didn't feel sad.
I wanted to leave him.
I won't pretend that I feel sad.
Mind telling me why?
Why what?
You wanted to leave him.
He used to taunt me.
Say that I was
helpless and weak.
But that's the way
he wanted me to be,
because, if I was
weak and helpless,
then he could feel
stronger and more in control.
Did Dr. Forbes tell you that?
Dr. Forbes helped me to see it
and to see that
having a handicap
isn't the same
thing as being weak.
My husband
might have been seeing
another woman, Mr. Matlock.
Could it be the lady
who visited that evening?
Um, um, um... Hillary Benson?
No.
Their relationship
was strictly business.
Everything's so cloudy.
Dora told me that-that
Adam was getting phone calls
- from a woman named...
- Shannon.
That was the name the woman
left on the answering machine.
Shannon?
Uh, did you ever
talk to this Shannon?
No.
I don't think so.
No, uh... No,
I never did. I'm
sorry, Mr. Matlock.
Everything is so
confusing lately.
It's my memory. I mean,
a whole day can go by
and I-I don't remember
a single minute of it.
Karen, you're just tired.
Well, um, I'll be going.
No, don't.
I want to do anything I can.
I want to help Dr. Forbes.
You came to see him
after you were burned in a fire?
Yes.
He's helped me a great deal.
Do you keep a diary?
Yes, I do.
Is there anything in it
that would, uh, help
Dr. Forbes' case?
It's just a journal of my
dreams and feelings.
Last time I saw it, Adam
took it out of his drawer
in his library. He did?
It was very upsetting.
I'm sure.
♪ ♪
Yeah.
Tyler, I got somebody
I want you to check out.
You're sure you've cleared
this with Miss Blackwell?
Look, when she applied
for our insurance...
she gave us permission
to inspect the premises.
I don't understand this.
She looked so neat.
Well, somebody was
obviously looking for something.
Mr. Putnam, do you ever recall
Miss Blackwell seeing a
middle-aged gentleman
by the name of Adam Whitley?
Can't say that I do.
I don't know any of her friends.
But I have seen her in the
neighborhood cocktail lounge.
Durand's.
Where's your badge?
I'm not a cop.
Yeah, and I'm not a bartender.
Okay, I've seen her around,
but that's all I can tell you.
Well, I'll tell you.
If she comes back in here
again, have her call that number.
Why not?
Matlock, huh?
Sure sounds like a cop's name.
Well, Hillary Benson lied to me.
What's this?
Galley proofs for Elegance
Magazine's fall issue.
A college chum of mine
is an associate editor.
Hmm.
She said Adam Whitley
was featuring her designs
in his fall issue.
She even had mock-ups made
for an expensive ad campaign
based on his promise.
Mm-hmm.
But, Hillary Benson's
not in the fall issue.
Oh. Adam Whitley dumped her.
Oh.
Hello?
Mr. Matlock.
This is Shannon Blackwell.
I got your message.
Uh, where are you?
Meet me tonight at 11:00.
Where?
There's a dead
end off the parkway
at Junction 18 outside Monroe.
I'll find it.
Come alone.
Sorry for the
inconvenience, Mr. Matlock.
But my life is in danger.
Mr. Matlock.
Yeah.
I'm alone.
I appreciate this.
Your life's in danger?
Let me start at the beginning.
I met Adam Whitley
when I interviewed
for a modeling
assignment for Elegance.
I wasn't right for the magazine,
but I was perfect for Adam.
Well, you were,
um... uh, his mistress?
We were lovers.
Adam paid for my apartment,
my clothes and my car, yes.
I was his mistress.
And you didn't want that.
I must have. I did it.
I was a good model.
I made a good living.
But once I met
Adam, that was that.
He didn't want me
to work, so I didn't.
I lived for him.
Not very smart, I know.
But I loved him
and I thought that if
I loved him enough,
if I was patient enough...
I wanted to marry him.
I see. But now it's too late.
I'm alone and I am in danger.
It was you who called
the other night, wasn't it?
What's in that diary?
Everything.
Erin's affair with Dr. Forbes,
Dr. Forbes' intention
to murder Adam.
Adam intended to use
the diary to divorce Erin
and ruin Forbes' career.
And now, I am next.
My apartment has been
ransacked, Mr. Matlock.
Um... I'm sorry.
But I know that Erin
is trying to kill me.
She is not the innocent that
she pretends to be, Mr. Matlock.
You've got to help me.
I don't want to ruin
Erin or Dr. Forbes.
I just want to leave town
and forget that this part
of my life ever happened.
Good morning! MATLOCK: Hey!
How was your meeting
with Shannon Blackwell?
Uh, she's kind of weird.
Like Ernie Ford used to say...
She's as nervous
as a long-tailed cat
in a room full of
rocking chairs.
What are you doing?
Oh, it's makeup.
Car came by and scared her
and she damned
near jumped in my lap.
Oh...
Well, you've got to
take that to the cleaners.
Yeah. Hmm.
Well...
She told me there's
something in, uh, Erin's diary
that could, uh,
incriminate our client.
Hillary Benson
mentioned the diary. Yeah.
Everybody's
mentioned that diary.
Except the one person
who should be mentioning it.
I would have
come to your office.
Well, I've never
been to your office.
I spoke to Erin Whitley.
What kind of medication
does she take?
Well, she takes a sleeping pill.
Occasionally, but not nightly.
Would it cause her to
have memory lapses
or forget where she'd been?
Erin told you she was
losing track of time?
Something like that.
She hasn't said
anything about it to me.
She hasn't?
I tell you something
you haven't said
anything about to me.
What's that?
Erin's diary.
Perhaps the most crucial piece
of evidence in the whole case
and you haven't
even mentioned it.
I didn't think it was relevant.
People I've talked to
say, it could convict you.
That's absolutely not true. I...
I read Erin's diary
each month, carefully.
Writing it is part
of her therapy.
It contains nothing that
would be harmful to me.
You've read it?
As recently as ten days ago.
Oh.
Well, you know we'll have
to discuss this diary in court.
I can't.
Patient confidentiality.
I cannot discuss this in court.
Dr. Forbes, I have
knowledge of this diary.
If I find it, I must be
prepared to discuss it in court.
You must, Dr. Forbes.
It's true. The diary expressed
my feelings about my husband,
my marriage, even Dr. Forbes,
and some of those
feelings are fairly intense.
But I would make it
public if it would help you.
I can't ask you to do that.
Then I'll volunteer.
You're always telling me
that I'm not as
fragile as I think I am.
Well, let me prove you're right.
Well, is there anything
incriminating in the diary?
No. Okay.
I, uh, I looked in
your husband's desk
and I couldn't
find it. Where is it?
It's disappeared.
Dora searched his desk,
the library, the house.
It's gone.
Well, that's great.
You both tell me there's
nothing incriminating in it,
but it's gone.
A good prosecutor would
have a field day with this one.
This court will come to order.
What's the delay, counselor?
Your Honor, I'd like to
approach the bench, please.
What's this about, Mr. Burgess?
Your Honor, just
three hours ago,
the state came into
possession of new evidence.
Erin Whitley's
diary. Wait a minute,
Your Honor. Wait a minute.
The defense objects strenuously
to the introduction of
evidence not made available
during the process of discovery.
This court will
recess for 15 minutes.
I'll see you two in my chamber.
Your Honor, at this
stage of the proceedings,
the introduction
of this evidence
is extremely prejudicial
to the defense.
What do you say, counselor?
Your Honor, all
incriminating evidence
is prejudicial to the defense.
Now, procedure is important,
but society's right to justice
is equally as important.
That diary establishes motive.
How do you know it's authentic?
Handwriting expert
John Marshall,
who Mr. Matlock will
recognize as an expert witness,
one you've used before.
He compared handwriting
samples from Mrs. Whitley
to that of the diary,
and he is ready,
absolute ready to testify
to its authenticity.
The defense has also
been searching for this diary.
Now that it's been found,
deserves the time to examine it.
I'll allow defense time
to study the contents,
and we'll resume
again this afternoon.
Call Erin Whitley to the stand.
Mrs. Whitley, do
you recognize this?
Yes.
Will you tell the jury
what it is, please?
It's my diary.
I've marked several passages.
I'd like you to
read the first one
to the court, please.
I object, Your Honor.
The defense is
extremely prejudiced
by the state's last-minute introduction
of this evidence. In addition...
We went thought that
in chambers, Mr. Matlock.
Noted for the
record, but overruled.
Proceed, Mrs. Whitley.
"After last night, I'm
sure Dr. Forbes..."
Excuse me, Mrs.
Whitley. We can't hear you.
"After last night, I'm sure
Dr. Forbes feels the same...
"love for me
that I feel for him.
"Our only obstacle is Adam,
"but Lucas has promised
me that he won't allow Adam
to stand in our way."
I didn't write this.
But this is your diary.
This is your handwriting.
Yes.
Well, then let's go on.
Read the second part
if you would, please.
"I must have Lucas.
"I've loved him from the
first moment I met him;
five days after
that terrible..."
Please continue.
Your Honor, I object.
The prosecution is
harassing a witness
who is under psychiatric care.
Objection overruled.
Please read the passage.
"Five days after
that terrible fire..."
And finally, only the last
one if you would, please.
I didn't write this!
This was written the day
Adam Whitley was murdered.
Please read it, Mrs. Whitley.
"Lucas said that
tomorrow we'll be free."
We've got to talk.
I've made a terrible mistake.
Hello.
Ben, when are you
gonna fire the gun?
I just did. Didn't
you hear anything?
Only the birds chirping.
Huh, that's interesting.
Huh. Okay, okay, thanks.
All I heard was "Keep
breathing. Go for the burn."
Neither Tyler nor you
heard anything. Good.
Glad I could be of some help.
Erin's asleep.
She never moved
when you fired the shot.
Well, you heard 'em.
Yes.
Okay.
I missed it.
I missed it.
It was the child abuse,
it was the extent, I...
We'd just started
to talk about it.
I mean, there were
hints and dreams, but...
I missed it.
Well, I'm... I'm gonna
go ahead with this.
I wish you didn't have to.
You know I do.
Mrs. Whitley, I know
how difficult it must be
for you to testify
in this trial.
So if there's anything I can do
to make it more comfortable...
Thank you, Mr. Matlock.
That's very kind.
You have already testified
that on the night of the murder
you were heavily sedated
and did not hear the gunshots.
That's true. I heard nothing.
So I don't believe it's possible
you could have called
the police, do you?
No.
And, uh, your
housekeeper testified
that she was wearing
one of those tape headsets
and heard nothing and
did not call the police.
If she said so, then it's true.
Dora is absolutely trustworthy.
So no one in the
house called the police.
And I made some
acoustical tests.
And none of the
neighbors heard the shots.
Would you have any idea
who might have
called the police?
No.
So someone else had to have
been in the house that night,
and whoever that someone
was, not only heard the shots,
but fired the shots,
then removed your diary
from your husband's desk
and called the police.
And you have no idea
who might have done that?
I wish I did.
That same person
who did all that,
the killer, then sent
your diary to the police
knowing it would
incriminate Dr. Forbes
and implicate you.
That's correct, isn't it?
I suppose,
but those passages in
my diary, I didn't write them.
Mrs. Whitley, this is
your handwriting, isn't it?
Yes.
Your Honor, I-I ask the court's
permission to re-read a passage
that has already been
read into the record.
I object, Your Honor.
Court's already heard this.
Your Honor, this
is very important.
Objection overruled.
Proceed, Mr. Matlock.
Thank you.
"I must have Lucas. I've
loved him from the first moment
I met him, five days
after that terrible..."
What's that word
right after "terrible"?
Just read that one word.
It's true, isn't it?
That ever since
that awful accident,
you have been unable to speak
or even write the word "fire"?
It takes all that's in you
to be able to hear it.
We need to hear your
response, Mrs. Whitley.
Yes.
And yet here it is in
your diary big as day
the word "fire" written
in your handwriting.
Will you please just read
that word for the court?
I can't!
It's all right, Erin.
I want you to know,
I'm on your side.
This is going to be very hard,
but I'm on your side.
Your Honor, Mr. Matlock
is playing games.
I play games all the
time, Your Honor,
but not when it comes to life.
Mr. Matlock, please continue,
but the court
would like to hear it.
Yes, sir.
Mrs. Whitley, do
you notice my suit?
You notice this smudge
on the arm of my suit?
I wore this suit today for
a very special purpose.
This smudge is caused by makeup.
It is makeup...
A special makeup that's used to
cover blemishes of some kind...
Or... a burn.
Look, look.
It's the same shade as yours.
I mean, on your arm, isn't it?
Yes.
But it didn't come from you.
Your Honor, is there
any point to this?
Your Honor, I know
this is confusing.
I'll tell you, it's the
most confusing case
that's ever come up against me.
It's taken everything
I've got in my mind,
plus expert advice,
opinion, counsel
from several qualified
psychiatrists, to understand it.
Dr. Forbes and I have
discussed what I am about to do.
At first, he thought it
was too dangerous.
I hope not.
I promised him
that, at any point,
he can intercede
and I'll do whatever he says.
The only person who can
clear up all of our confusion
is the person who got
the makeup on my sleeve.
At this point,
I call Shannon
Blackwell to the stand.
Mr. Matlock, procedure requires
that you dismiss one
witness before calling another.
And where is this Ms. Blackwell?
A moment, Your Honor.
Shannon.
Can you hear me?
Shannon.
Can you hear me?
Shannon, remember
the first night we met?
You hid from the
headlights of a passing car.
That's when the
makeup on your arm
smudged off on my jacket.
It's the same makeup
that Erin wears.
During that terrible
car crash and fire,
Erin's little dog was killed.
Burned up.
And so was your dog, Shannon.
Burned up.
Erin has many weaknesses,
and though you
don't like to admit it,
so do you.
And somehow this little toy
dog gives you strength, doesn't it?
I went to your
apartment yesterday
and got it for you.
You want it, don't you, Shannon?
Yesterday,
when Erin was
testifying on the stand,
Dr. Forbes realized
for the first time,
there are two of you.
Are you here, Shannon?
You are Shannon, aren't you?
Yes, of course.
And who else?
There's me, just me.
And Erin, and maybe others.
You're a multiple personality,
aren't you, Shannon?
I hate Erin.
She's weak.
She let Adam abuse her.
Well, no one abuses me.
Shannon Blackwell has a future.
Is that why you
killed Adam Whitley
so that you could
start over as Shannon?
I will start over.
Dr. Forbes killed Adam.
Erin was losing
more and more time.
That's because you, Shannon,
were emerging
more and more often.
And sooner or later,
Dr. Forbes would diagnosis
multiple personality.
Dr. Forbes would have destroyed
me to save his precious Erin.
I'm sure he would have
done anything he could
to help both of you.
But you did feel more and
more threatened by Dr. Forbes,
so you did something about it.
You created a little...
a little line of lies.
You put your name and
address in Adam Whitley's rolodex
in your handwriting, which
is different from Erin's.
Yes, it is.
You left messages on
his answering machine
and just days
before he was killed,
you made those
entries in Erin's diary
in her handwriting, which
is different from yours.
You knew it would
cause her trouble.
You hate her so much, Shannon,
that you were hoping she would
collapse under your mischief.
You wanted to be
rid of Erin, rid of her.
You even got your
own apartment...
Created yourself as
"the other woman."
I am stronger than Erin.
I deserve to be free.
Did you hate your father?
He wasn't my father,
he was Erin's father.
No one hits me.
No one beats me.
I'd kill anyone who tried.
He beat her.
She's cry and cry and
crawl off into some corner
and try to hide.
Is that when...
Shannon first emerged?
During those
awful, early beatings
when the weaker Erin
could no longer handle it?
Is that when the stronger
Shannon emerged?
I didn't emerge.
I am.
Shannon...
tell me what happened
the night of the murder.
Dora gave Erin a sleeping pill.
Erin went to sleep.
But you stayed awake.
Uh, I'm going to
tell you something
that you're going to
find hard to believe.
I didn't believe
it for a long time.
In some cases,
a patient suffering
from multiple personalities,
can be given a sleeping pill...
One personality will go to sleep
while the other personality
remains wide awake.
Able to take control
of their mutual body.
Become ambulatory,
walk around, conscious.
I-I know that
seems impossible...
but here is data
of actual cases.
I swear to you it's true.
I enter this as
Defense Exhibit D.
So that night, Erin was asleep
and you were wide awake...
Furious with Adam.
He'd abused Erin just as
her father had abused her.
And your anger
mounted and mounted,
until finally you could
contain it no longer
and you got up, went
downstairs to confront him,
and he-he-he said
something or did something...
He shouted at me
just the way Erin's
father shouted at her.
He was going to hit me.
He was going to take
off his belt and hit me!
So I went into the library
and I got his gun, and I...
and I killed him.
Uh, Your Honor, in light
of these developments,
I move that the case
against Dr. Lucas
Forbes be dismissed.
The prosecution
joins the motion.
Very well.
Motion to dismiss granted.
The court also orders
Shannon Blackwell...
That is Erin Whitley,
held for psychiatric
examination.
Court is adjourned.
Thank you, Mr. Matlock.
Thank you, Doctor.
Excuse me, I have
a patient to see to.