Matlock (1986–1995): Season 3, Episode 14 - The Thief: Part 1 - full transcript

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I'm sorry.

Can you tell me again

which coins you think
my husband would like?

Well, judging from what
I know of his collection,

it would either be this,

which is $569, uh...



or this, uh... which is $529.

Oh.

They're both beautiful.

Damn, this is hard.

Uh, Mrs. Hansfield, I have
to step out for a moment.

Uh, when you've
made up your mind,

Rob there will take care of you.

Just take your time.

Hmm...

I can't stand this
another minute.

Look after her while I
grab some lunch, will you?

No problem.

If you have any questions,

just let me know.



Sure.

I can't decide.

Do you sell gift certificates?

Not ordinarily, no.

Maybe I should just ask
him which coin he'd like.

Ah, hell, maybe I'll
just buy him a tie.

Tell Mr. Koskoff
thanks anyway, okay?

Certainly.

He took a coin out of the
safe and put it in his raincoat.

You sure?

Left-hand pocket.

Follow him. I don't
want him to leave town

till he gives back every
coin he's taken from me.

You got it.

That was fast.

I lost my appetite.

Get up.

356 items in the inventory.

There were 357 this morning.

I made a sale.

That, uh, Hansfield lady
who was just here. Oh...

you liar.

Here it is in your coat pocket.

This coin is worth
more than $5,000.

I know who Mr. Stryker is, Rob,

the guy who keeps calling you.

I listened last night.

He's your bookie.

Every time you owe
him some money,

you steal a coin from the shop.

Isn't that right?
Hey, Michael...

I went over the
invoices last night.

There's 11 coins, Rob.

That's nearly
$40,000 worth missing.

It wasn't me, I-I swear it.

I want them back.

I want every single coin

you stole from me back.

They're gone, all of 'em.

Then I want the money!

I want $40,000.

Do you hear me? Forty...

He can't breathe, Mr. K.

I... I don't have it.

Then get it, or I'm
going to call the police!

You underst-understand?

I'm not going to
be... ruined by a,

by a piece of garbage like you.

I want that money by Thursday.

You understand me?

♪ ♪

9:53... Rob Casey went

to House Call Car Service, met
with the owner, Mitchell Sands.

A bitter argument ensued.

♪ ♪

11:30... I followed Casey
to Vid-Proof off West Third.

He met with Jeffrey Barr.

A bitter argument ensued.

12:22... Casey went directly

to the suburban residence
of one Nancy Proctor.

I checked her mailbox.

Another argument ensued.

♪ ♪

The next day, it rained.

2:24... I followed Rob Casey

to the far west
end of Stryker Park.

He stumbled around
in the underbush,

finally found the tree
he was looking for,

and dug up what
appears to be a strongbox.

Then he set up a
camera on a tripod

and took pictures of
himself with the box.

4:42... The rain
finally stopped.

Casey ran a red
light back into town.

He went to a one-hour photo shop

and spent 50 minutes inside.

5:22... Casey went
directly to the post office,

where he carried
some sort of case inside.

♪ ♪

5:45... Casey has
returned to his residence.

He carried the case inside.

I'll be home soon, sweetheart.

Oh, dinner's in
the refrigerator.

Mm-hmm.

And honey, give
Mrs. Waverly a break.

Your ghost stories scare her.

I love you, too, Davey.

Bye-bye.

Open up in there!

What's going on?

Anybody here?

Hello?

Hey.

Mr. Koskoff. Yes?

I'm Lieutenant Bob Brooks,
Atlanta Police Department.

I'd like to ask you
some questions.

What about?

A man Rob Casey
was shot and killed

yesterday evening.

I understand he'd
worked for you.

Yes. Yes, he did.

Well, evidently, you and
he had a fight yesterday?

He was stealing from me.

Ah. Mr. Casey was
shot about 6:15.

Where were you then?

Y-You think I killed him.

How could I get my
money back if I killed him?

Where were you?

Well, I...

About 5:00 yesterday
afternoon I...

I got a phone call from a man

who said he had
some rare coins to sell,

and he wanted me to
come to his home at 7:00.

Can you give me the man's name?

No, I can't.

The address was out in Decatur,
and-and when I got out there

all I found was an empty house
with a "for sale" sign in front.

Excuse me.

Mr. Koskoff,

we found this gun in a
Dumpster down the block.

Have you ever seen it before?

Ballistics says the gun was the
murder weapon and it's yours.

Look, the last time I saw it,

it was on a shelf in my closet.

How long ago was that?

Oh, weeks, months.

I don't know. Hmm.

This victim... this,
uh, Rob Casey...

Did he steal any
early American coins?

Mmm, sometimes.

Not the 1804 Silver Dollar.

No. That's still in the case.

I found

an 1850 Liberty
Seated Silver Dollar

over in Athens

about a month ago
just in fair condition.

When you were in, uh, Decatur

looking at those coins,
did anybody see you?

Well, of course not.

I... Oh, yeah.

I guess that was
the idea, wasn't it?

Uh, the police say

the woman who found
the body works for you.

Uh, Hansfield.

She's a private investigator.

What was she doing at his house?

She was following him.

I wanted to make sure
he didn't leave town.

Ben... whenever
you've been in my shop

I've always been
honest with you.

Well, now, I'm in your shop.

What's gonna happen to me?

I don't know.

The murder weapon
belongs to you.

A witness saw you
strangling the victim

the day of the murder.

You have no alibi.

Take my case.

Please.

Well, Michael, my
fee is, uh, you know...

The 1804 Silver Dollar is yours.

I'll throw in the 1836
Gold Brick Proof.

Give me the Liberty Seateds
through 1851, you got a deal.

I'm not gonna sell 'em.
You can come see 'em.

All right.

Well... look at it
this way, Michael.

You just got 100 grand
worth of legal services for $13.

Come in.

Hello. Hello.

Uh, are you Linda Hansfield?

Yes.

Mr. Matlock, I've
been expecting you.

Is that right?

Yes, I heard you were
representing Mr. Koskoff.

I thought you'd
want to talk to me.

Oh.

Would, would you
like some coffee?

It's fresh. No thanks.

Well, have a seat then.

All right, thank you.

Uh, Michael... Uh,
Mr. Koskoff... uh,

said that you had
been following...

Rob Casey.

I was.

Well, then, I guess you,

as well as... Or maybe
better... than anyone,

would know how he spent
the last two days of his life.

I have a detailed account
of where he was and...

who he was with right here.

Uh, uh... could I look at it?

I'll tell you what.

I'll make you a copy.

Oh, that'd be terrific.

One condition.

What's that?

Mr. Matlock, as
you might expect,

it's tough being a
woman in this business.

Hmm...

That's my boy.

He's a fine-looking boy.

Thanks.

I'm proud of him.

He's proud of me, too.

Thinks his mom
has a really neat job.

But usually,

the only reason I get hired
is because somebody needs

an investigator fast, and
I'm the only one available.

You know what I need?

Credibility.

The kind I'd undoubtedly
get if, say, I were to spearhead

a murder investigation for
a famous criminal attorney.

I... I have an investigator.

Oh.

I have the notebook.

What if it's worthless?

What if it's not?

Rob Casey talked to three people

after he left
Mr. Koskoff's coin shop.

Just three people.

24 hours later, he was dead.

Their names are right here.

This is blackmail.

I know.

I must have missed
the killer by seconds.

Hmm.

You could've
gotten killed yourself.

I had my gun.

Huh.

This the way whoever
it was came in?

Had to be.

I was watching the
front door the whole time.

Back door was locked.

Huh.

What do you think?

I think Rob Casey
knew his killer

well enough to let
him in, don't you?

Yeah.

Hmm.

That's nice.

Hmm.

What do you got?

His camera.

Shutter's set for
delayed release.

Oh.

Those are the people he
talked to the day before.

And those are their addresses.

Oh. Oh.

Looks like he was gonna
send the same three pictures

to all of them.

This what he was wearing when
you followed him in the woods?

Yeah.

I followed him
to this photo lab.

Yo!

I would've got here sooner,
but I got stuck in traffic.

There's a big pileup
over on Pine and Whitney.

Hi.

Hi. Do Pine and
Whitney intersect?

Maybe it was Pike and Whitney.

Uh, Tyler, this is
Linda Hansfield.

Linda, Tyler Hudson.

Hi, again.

Hello. MATLOCK: Uh, well,

keep looking, see if you
come up with anything else.

I've got to go to
Mr. Koskoff's arraignment.

Uh, fill in Tyler where we
are and get acquainted.

So are you a
friend of Michelle's?

No, I work here.

Mm. What do you do?

I'm a private investigator.

♪ ♪

May I help you?

I'm looking for Mitchell Sands.

Just a minute.

Mitch.

I'm Mitchell Sands.

You own this place?

Yes.

It's amazing.

I have never seen a repair shop
where you can eat off the floor.

Well, like the sign says,
we make house calls.

Something goes
wrong with your car,

we go to your house and fix it.

Uh, does your car
need repairing, Mr...

Oh, Tyler Hudson.

No, no, my car is fine.

I wanted to ask you
about Rob Casey.

You know, the gentleman
that you were seen talking to

out front a couple days ago.

I've never seen this man before.

No, I've never
heard of Rob Casey.

Hmm.

Then why do you suppose

he was going to send
you these pictures?

I haven't the foggiest.

Ms. Proctor...
Missus. I'm divorced.

Yeah.

Well, happens to
the best of us, uh...

Mrs. Proctor, Rob Casey was here

in this house talking to
you less than a week ago.

I saw him with my own eyes.

That's just not possible.

Mom!

Excuse me, I'll be right back.

Adam, Adam...

Her brother's
picking on her again.

Anyway, uh, sorry.

Well, here, come sit down.

Thank you.

Uh, now, where were we?

Oh, um,

do you know a Mitchell
Sands or a Jeffrey Barr?

No.

Would you mind taking a
look at this picture again?

I don't know him.

Friend, I can look

at that picture all day, it's
not gonna change anything.

I don't know this guy.

Well, just one more question.

How can you stand
working in this place?

Do you sell
surveillance cameras?

State-of-the-art
security systems.

We provide for our commercial
and residential clients...

Banks, jewelers,
uh, import-export.

The list is endless.

As well as the
private homeowner.

Wait, you put cameras
in people's houses?

Only if they don't
trust their relatives.

Oh, I see.

You tape the contents
of homes and businesses.

In case they ever
are burglarized,

they'll have a hard copy
record of their possessions

for insurance purposes.

Exactly.

That's a great idea.

Well, I'm sorry I can't help.

Thanks, anyway.

Just one more question.

Sure.

Where were you last Wednesday
evening, about 7:00 p.m.?

Well, let's see here. Mon...

Monday, Tuesday, uh, Wednesday.

I was with Mr. And
Mrs. Lionel Dorfman,

videotaping the contents
of their four-bedroom home.

Okay.

We got a major, major problem.

No kidding. PROCTOR:
Should have known better

than to put Rob Casey
in charge of getting rid

of that stuff. How the hell were

we supposed to know
he'd use it for blackmail?

All right, what are we gonna do?

There's only one
thing we can do.

What?

We find it and get rid of it.

Now, he had to have
stashed the stuff somewhere.

All right, but what
about this lawyer

and these-these flunkies
he's got sniffing around?

We know what we're looking for.

They don't.

You know Bob Brooks?

I know who he is... a detective.

Yeah. He gave me this key.

Wanted to know
what I was looking for.

Did you tell him?

No.

You don't know, do you?

No.

Oh.

Oh.

Well, whatever it was,
somebody beat us to it.

Yeah.

Right here.

We got to get out of here!

What?

Gas! How's that?

Come on!

Don't go in there!

What's going on? Gas!

Wait!

What did you say?

I said gas.

Gas.

Ooh...

Uh, Ben's hung up
giving a statement.

He'll be back after a while.

Ah. You mean the
house just blew right up?

Yeah.

It was a good show.

Antiseptic?

Thanks.

Do you know Mitchell Sands?

Car repair.

Well, he's very
reluctant to talk.

Uh, claims he was
stepping out on his wife

the night of the murder.

But the dame he was
supposed to be with

was in Bermuda at the time.

And all these corporate accounts
that he's supposed to have...

None of the companies
have heard of him.

So, how does he
stay in business?

You tell me.

I'll pick up my
son at the school,

and I'll drop him
off at the sitter's.

I'll stop by Mr. Sands'.

I'll handle that.

It'll be very simple for me.

No simpler than for me.

I have a car and everything.

I didn't mean to
step on your toes.

You didn't. I jumped
out of the way.

May I make a suggestion?

Why don't both of you go?

Together, you know as a team?

After you.

Okay, let's go, short stuff.

What's your name again?

Tyler.

Do you work for my mom?

Not exactly.

Mr. Hudson and I are
working together, honey.

Sort of.

Okay, here we are.

Now, I won't be picking you
up until after dinner tonight.

Mommy's working.

Okay, Mommy. I love you.

I love you, too.

Big hug. Oh!

Oh, and don't forget to
take your medicine, okay?

Okay. Okay. Bye-bye.

Bye.

Mrs. Waverly, my mom's got
another guy working for her.

Ooh. Come in.

So, what do you think?

About what?

About the case.

Well, the deceased needed
a lot of money in a hurry,

and he went to some people
and tried to get it from them.

Mitchell Sands, Nancy
Proctor, Jeffrey Barr.

Right.

And they all turned him down.

And then he went out and
took those weird pictures

to try to force the
money out of them.

Blackmail.

Ah, yes, a subject
with which I understand

you are extremely familiar.

Now, listen, Tyler, I'm
here, and I'm staying,

so get used to it.

I'm not proud of
the way I got this job,

but I'd be a fool not to
take advantage of this...

Oh, you have taken
advantage of it, all right.

Damn right! This
is a tough business.

You think I get to tell my
kid I go to work every day?

Try once a week, if I'm lucky.

That's right. Bring up the kid.

What's that?

Nothing. Just turn around.

I thought we were
gonna go see Sands.

Turn around. Why?

I have to make a stop... alone.

Some personal business.

You stay in the car.

You understand?

No problem.

Hmm.

Ben, I work alone.

Oh. Linda giving you trouble?

Not trouble, exactly.

Well, what is it, exactly?

Well, it just... Just what?

It just galls me the
way she got this job.

Oh.

Yeah, it galled me
a little at first, too,

but you got to hand it to her.

She-she saw what she
wanted, and she went for it.

Either one of us would
have done the same thing.

Well, I suppose.

Well, what's the trouble?

Well, she's got a kid.

I know it.

And he thinks I work for her.

If anything happens to
her, that kid's an orphan.

Now I am trying to conduct
an investigation here,

and I got to look after
some kid's mother?

Well, nobody was looking
after Linda before us.

I'm sure she can
take care of herself.

I work alone.

Tyler, I know we'd all
like things to be the way

they've always been, but
sometimes they're just not.

Now, I made a
deal with this girl

for the information she had.

And the deal is
a job on this case.

I don't know what
else to tell you.

How dare you walk in here

and make an
accusation like that.

I'm not accusing
you of anything.

I'm just stating the
facts. Get out of here.

Your alibi doesn't wash, and
your company here's a fraud.

Get out of here.

You can explain
here or in court.

I said get the hell out of here!

Now!

You got trouble, fella.

Sands.

♪ ♪

Whoa!

Can you make
that out right there?

Well, it looks like
some kind of a label,

but it's not, it's
too small to read.

Too small. I'd have
to blow it up bigger.

These pictures of these
guns and whatever this is,

those three people
Rob Casey knew

had to be real
interested in this stuff.

I bet whoever blew up his
house is looking for this box.

Which one of you
is Ben Matlocks?

Uh, I'm Ben Matlock.

Mr. Matlocks and I
need to talk in private.

Uh, hey, you can't come in
here and just tell people that...

Say good-bye, Mr. Matlocks.

Michael, I'll see you later.

My name is Matlock...
Ck-ck-ck-ck-ck!

My employer wants to
see you, Mr. Matlocks.

Mr. Matlock, Dom
Vincent. Pleased to meet ya.

Dom Vincent? Not the, uh...?

Yes.

I'm surprised we
haven't met before.

I'm not.

You defend murderers.

Me, I'm just a businessman.

Oh.

You play?

Uh, no, I never
got the hang of it.

How about a little gentleman's
wager, say, $50 that I can

birdie this hole?

What do you say?

Oh, I don't...

I don't believe I got $50 on me.

Don't worry about it.

I'll lend it to you.

Excuse me.

I...

believe it went
in that-that little...

No... bunch of trees
right there, just...

I think I kinda caught
the edge of the fairway

right out there.

Check it out.

Mr. Matlock and I are
gonna walk. Come on.

My people

are detaining someone we caught
trespassing on my property yesterday.

He says his name
is Tyler Hudson.

Yeah, he works for me.

I don't know what's he's
doing... doing on your property,

but if somebody found him there,

I'm sure he had good reason.

He also states he was
following someone you think

was involved in a murder.

Oh... probably Mitchell
Sands and Jeffrey Barr.

Now what makes you think that
Mitchell was involved in a murder?

Well, I don't know.

For one thing, he
lied about his alibi.

Hey, Dom, you were right.

It's right here. Great shot.

Excuse me. Eight iron.

It went in that pond over there.

Think so? I lost it in the sun.

Yeah... Think it went that way.

Check it out.

Mr. Matlock...

there's something that you
should know about Mitchell Sands.

Mitch and I do
business together.

He fix your cars?

Occasionally.

I don't understand.

How does he do it
when none of his trucks

ever, ever leave his garage?

Diversification.

The major part of Mitch's
cash flow is derived

from sources outside of
his auto repair business.

That doesn't make any sense.

No?

Hey, Dom?

Hell of a shot!
You're hot today, huh?

Give me my putter.

All right.

Uh, Mitchell Sands' alibi?

I'm putting.

Yeah!

All right.

Mitch has an alibi.

I prefer not to go into details,

but you have my word
on it as a gentleman.

Thank you, Mr. Matlock.

Hi.

Arsonist report's in
on Rob Casey's house.

They say it was an accident.

Yeah or
top-of-the-line arsonist.

Okay, one portable safe made
by the Century Safe Company

and identical to the
one Rob Casey dug up.

Hmm.

You know, they sell
these things to everybody:

banks, motels, hotels,
pawnshops, museums.

We have to find that one.

Maybe somewhere
in Linda's notes.

You know, if someone
else is looking for that safe,

they may try to
get Linda's notes.

Busy.

I'm sorry. Your husband,
Rob Casey, does have

a P.O. box here, but I'm
afraid I can't open it for you.

Why not?

Federal law.

Your name's not
on the application.

It should be.

Can I see that?

Thanks, anyway.

Sorry.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Hi. On the 17th of this month,

a fellow by the name of
Rob Casey came in here.

Now, does he have a post
office box or something here?

As a matter of fact, he does.

What's the number?

I'm sorry. I can't give
out that information,

but Mrs. Casey's just leaving.

If you hurry up and catch her,
she might be able to help you.

Mrs. Casey?!

Shoot.

After he re-entered
the coin shop,

what did the defendant do?

He sort of pushed Mr. Casey.

He pushed him?

Yes.

Hard?

Yes.

Would you say that the,
uh, defendant was angry?

He was very angry.

Then what did he do?

He tried to strangle him.

My friend down at the DMV
tells me that the car that I saw

at the post office
belongs to Nancy Proctor.

He was so angry, he tried to...

So I guess our friends have
gotten ahold of Linda's notebook.

I had to pull Mr. Koskoff off.

Have you found her yet? No.

Thank you, Mr. Davis. That's all.
You want me to check her office?

No, the prosecution
subpoenaed her.

She should be here any minute.

Okay.

Mr. Matlock, do
you wish to cross?

No questions, Your Honor.

The witness may step down.

Call the next witness, please.

I call Ms., uh, Linda
Hansfield to the stand.

What does he want with her?

He's gonna use her

to establish the
exact time of death.

You don't have an alibi.

About how far away from
Mr. Casey's house were you parked?

About 30 yards or so.

So Mr. Casey was inside
and you were outside.

What happened?

At exactly 6:12, I
heard two shots fired

inside Mr. Casey's house.

I investigated immediately.

The front door was locked,
so I ran around to the back door

which was wide open.

And what did you do?

I entered and saw Mr. Casey
on the living room floor.

He was dead.

Then what did you do?

Then I thought I
heard a car starting up

in the alley out back,
so I ran around to look.

And what did you see?

I saw the defendant,
Michael Koskoff, driving away.

You're certain that it
was Michael Koskoff?

I'm positive.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

Do you wish to
cross, Mr. Matlock?

You're damn right, I do.

Mr. Matlock!

What?!

Watch your language.

I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Yes, I wish to cross.

What's your name, again?

Linda Hansfield.

The same Linda Hansfield

who gave a long, detailed
statement to the police

the night she found Rob Casey
murdered in his living room?

Yes.

And in that statement

you said nothing about hearing
a car or going back outside

or seeing the
defendant drive away.

Why is that, Ms. Hansfield?

Did you think it
wasn't important?

Did you forget?

Did it just suddenly
come to you?

Objection, Your Honor.
Somebody got to you. Who was it?

Mr. Matlock is
badgering the witness.

Who got to you, Linda?!
Objection, Your Honor!

I know what I saw!

I know what I saw.