Matlock (1986–1995): Season 6, Episode 7 - The Dame - full transcript

♪♪ [theme]

[Julie] Avocados
stuffed with prawns.

Red flannel hash.

Poached eggs on crab cakes.

Oh, and the house specialty, French
toast with bananas and peanut butter.

Can they hold the
bananas and peanut butter?

[Waiter] You've got it.

- Looks nice.
- Enjoy.

I love French toast.

Where did you hear
about this place?

- The "Man About Town."
- Who?



On channel 8.

He said this was the best
Sunday brunch in Atlanta.

Yeah?

Pick up the check, and I'll tell you where
he said you could find the best hotdog.

Oh, here.

It's okay.

- You all right?
- Thank you.

Ben Matlock?

Yes?

My God, what was that about?

I don't know.

Are you all right?

Ben, are you okay?

Ben, are you okay?



It... It can't be.

I just can't... It can't...
But... But what?

Have you ever heard
of Henry Mayfield?

Of course.

He was the
wealthy industrialist.

Wait a minute. You're not
saying that that woman...

It must have been
34, 35 years ago.

Henry Mayfield lived in Atlanta,

but he spent as much time as he could
at his country estate outside Mt. Harlan.

- The town where you grew up?
- Uh-huh.

He was very rich. We weren't.

[knock]

[door closes]

Henry, I didn't
expect you to be here.

I thought you had to
spend the night in Charlotte.

Don't bother to go upstairs.

You'll be sleeping
in the guest room.

I had Martha make the bed.

I think you'll want to know

that I've scheduled an appointment
with my lawyers for the morning.

Just like that,
Henry? It's over?

Months ago, I gave you a choice:
me or your outside interests.

I can't believe this.

Henry, it's Tuesday.

I've been doing charity
work at the Women's League

every Tuesday night since April.

[chuckling]

Ask Catherine Galvin.

I beg you, call her.

Surely you can't think that
she would lie if I wasn't there.

She's disapproved of me
since the day we were married.

Good night, Henry.

No. Don't.

I'm sorry, darling.

I never should have
questioned your honesty.

It's just that when I
think about losing you...

Can you forgive
a foolish old man?

There's nothing to forgive.

[Julie] Was Claire lying?

[Matlock] About being
at the Women's League?

Probably not.

[Julie] Are you saying she was
sincere about sticking to her decision?

[Matlock] Oh, she was
sticking to her decision, all right.

From the moment Henry
gave her the ultimatum,

her decision was to murder him.

♪♪ [piano]

Hello, Claire.

Roger.

[song ends]

[applause]

Any requests?

Just keep it soft and slow.

Why don't you hum a
few bars to get me started?

I'd rather not ruin my lipstick.

What if I make it worth it?

Why don't we play it by ear?

What if you like how I play?

Well, then I might
just play along.

Excuse me.

[lock opens]

Please don't be angry.

Angry, baby?

The only thing I'm angry about
is not getting to do this last night.

[Julie] Wait. Wait, you lost me.

Why throw the drink in his face?

[Matlock] A friend of
Henry's showed up at the bar.

She couldn't take any chances.

[Julie] So Roger
was part of her plan?

[Matlock] Oh, yeah, a big part.

- Did the landlady see you?
- No.

I waited till I saw her go.

I know I should have called
you first, but I was afraid.

I was afraid you
wouldn't let me come.

No, no, you were right.

You mustn't call from
home... Never from home.

We can't risk there
being any record.

I just had to see you.

He comes home tomorrow.

I just can't stand
the thought of it.

You just have to hold on, baby.

Remind yourself why... Unless
you're having second thoughts.

No, not at all.

Oh, God.

It's terrible, and it's ugly,
and it scares me to think of it,

but it's the truth.

Because we can stop now before
Tuesday, before anything more happens.

It's already happened.

Well, then, you're okay?

Soon I'll have
everything that I want.

Oh, Roger, you do
love me, don't you?

You don't know how much, baby.

I won't let you
down, baby... I won't.

I never thought you would.

It's beautiful out tonight.

Summer's coming.

It's starting to smell
of peach blossoms.

Ah. That's good.

I'll call the office.

We'll go for a walk.

I'll just be a minute.

No hurry. We
have plenty of time.

Aah!

[body falls]

[Matlock] From the beginning,

they knew that Claire
would inherit millions,

so their plan was to make
Henry's death look like a suicide.

And it almost worked.

The insurance company
didn't ask any questions.

The investigation was short. The
police hardly paid any attention.

Do you have everything?

Yes.

It's really happening, isn't it?

No. They can't find a trace of anyone
except for Henry and me in this car.

Here, smoke one of mine.

It's almost over.

We're almost free,
then we can be together.

[honking]

[honking]

[Matlock] Just
like they figured,

the insurance company was
quick to rule Henry's death a suicide,

and everything would have
continued according to plan,

except Claire and Roger
didn't plan on one thing...

When the car was pulled out

and the insurance company sent
it to be inspected and repaired,

they sent it to my
dad... Charlie Matlock.

So Charlie knew Henry.

Henry Mayfield had been a customer
of my father's station for years.

Their lives were so different,
you couldn't really call them friends,

but you'd never have noticed.

He'd stop by, oh, you know,
once a week for some gas.

They'd start talking, and the next
thing you know, an hour had gone by.

Henry Mayfield helped pay
my way through law school.

I had jobs, you know... lots of them... but
without his help, I'd have never made it.

Charlie, there weren't
even any skid marks.

They don't mean it was suicide.

The man drove off the road. It
looks like he did it on purpose.

It wasn't like him, Harry.

Are you saying it
was an accident?

That's one way of looking at it.

- You think somebody killed him?
- Yeah.

Charlie, I think you've
been reading overtime.

I've been working overtime.

Sometimes I have to read these
detective stories so I can go to sleep.

Stay out of my pea vines, Harry.

Henry Mayfield come in
here the day before he died,

got a tune-up, put two
brand-new tires on that car.

Does it make sense to you that
he would have done all of that

if he figured to drive
off a cliff 24 hours later?

Don't make no sense to me.

[Woman] Come in, Mr. Matlock.

Mrs. Mayfield will
be in in a moment.

Can I get you anything?

Oh, no, thank you, ma'am.

Hello, Ben.

Mrs. Mayfield.

I'm so sorry.

Oh, that's okay.

Come on in. Sit down.

[Matlock] It had been two
weeks since Henry Mayfield died.

I'd been finishing my
first year at law school,

so I hadn't gotten
home till that morning.

I'd never met her
before that day.

Maybe now I remember things
differently, knowing what I do,

but something
about her didn't fit.

It could have been I never realized
she was so young and beautiful.

It could have been she
seemed too calm and comfortable

for a woman whose husband had
committed suicide just days before.

Henry's will made
provisions for you,

so you get the money for your
education without interruption.

Well, I appreciate that, ma'am,
more than I can ever say.

That's what Henry wanted.

Besides, I like the
idea of knowing

that they'll be a lawyer
to look out for my future.

Well, I'll do my
best for you, ma'am.

And like I told Mr. Mayfield,
I'll pay back every cent.

I'll bet you will.

Yeah.

[muttering]

Here. Here.

What's that?

A five spot.

For what?

You might want to go somewhere.

Oh.

Oh, there's a letter from school
in that pile of stuff over there.

I saw it.

Uh, I made the Dean's list.

All A's?

That's right.

[whistles] That must
have been a lot of work.

It was.

Well, hell.

Well, work's what
life is all about, ain't it?

That's what I always heard.

Yeah.

Yeah, well... How's... Did
you go see Mrs. Mayfield?

- Uh-huh.
- How's she making out?

Real well.

I'm surprised she's so young.

Well, that's what they
say. Good-looking, then?

Yeah. Most guys would do
anything for a lady like that.

Yeah, that's what they say.

You want to tell me
what's on your mind?

I think somebody
else was in that car.

I don't think Mr. Mayfield
killed himself.

Look here.

See how far back
that seat is pushed?

If Henry Mayfield had been driving
this car with the seat way back like that,

his feet wouldn't have
never reached the floor.

Huh?

That could have moved
when the car crashed.

Now, you've got to
look at everything.

Everything has got to
fit, and something don't fit,

and there's got to be a reason
why. Look at that ashtray.

Look at them cigarette butts.

See there?

Every one of them has got lipstick
on them except that one... yeah, there.

See there?

When Mr. Mayfield
smoked, he smoked a pipe.

I figure Mrs. Mayfield
smoked these.

It's her brand.

Yeah?

- I lit one for her.
- Oh.

Well, somebody else was in
the car and smoked this one.

From all I've ever heard
and all I've ever seen,

Mrs. Mayfield never leaves her
house without putting on her makeup.

Well, what do you think?
Is it going to rain or what?

Look here.

These butts with the
lipstick on them were put out

by holding it vertically
and pressing down.

But this last one... The
one without the lipstick...

It was put out by holding it
with the forefinger and twisting it.

Oh, I rest your case.

Now, I wonder who else
could have been in this car.

Maybe we could
just ask Mrs. Mayfield.

Of course, if we did, we'd want to
do it in a way that she didn't know why

because if she don't know nothing
about it, we wouldn't want to upset her.

But if she does know something
about it and ain't saying nothing,

we wouldn't want her to
know what we was up to.

[doorbell chimes]

Who's that?

I don't know.

Well, you'd better go find out.

I'll wait in the study.

Two Matlocks in one day.

Henry would be very grateful.

Well, he was a good friend.

I've got some things here
that belonged to Mr. Mayfield.

I found them in his car
after he had the accident,

and I wondered if
you'd like to have them.

- Want me...
- Please, come in.

It's very sweet. Over here
on the desk would be fine.

I ought to have
called before I come.

Please, don't apologize.

It actually helps to
see a friendly face.

It doesn't make
me feel so all alone.

Well, my wife died 10 years ago,

and there ain't a day
goes by I don't miss her.

- [clatter]
- Oop. Uh-oh.

I near about broke your glasses.

- Those were Henry's.
- Oh.

Put them right here?

That would be just fine.

Well, I'll, uh...

I'll go on.

Would you get mad if I
asked you a question?

Of course not.

It's about Mr. Mayfield's car.

When I was going over it
for the insurance company,

I found some
mechanical problems.

Oh, please, whatever you
have to do to repair them is fine.

You don't need to
ask my permission.

Yep. But these particular
problems was caused by neglect.

It wasn't caused
by the accident.

And knowing how Mr. Mayfield
felt about that car, I just...

I got to wondering if maybe
somebody else had been driving it...

Maybe somebody that worked
for him or a relative or something.

No.

Nobody drove that car
except for Henry, not even me.

That car was
Mr. Mayfield's pride and joy,

and the shape it's in now,
it just don't make sense.

When a man decides to kill himself,
Mr. Matlock, nothing he does makes sense.

Yes, ma'am.

I hope... I hope I
didn't upset you.

Charlie, are you all right?

Oh, yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

I was just... I'm just feeling tired and
thinking about Mr. Mayfield and all.

And...

Well, I hope I didn't
make you feel bad.

No, I'm fine.

I know how you felt about Henry.

And thank you again
for bringing his things.

Yes, ma'am. Take
care of yourself.

Oh, Roger.

I don't know, baby. I don't
like that guy's suspicions.

My God, he's a gas
station attendant.

Yeah, well, he's the one
whose son's a lawyer, right?

A law student.

We've had no problems
with the insurance investigator.

Henry's advisers haven't raised an
eyebrow, and neither have the police.

I hardly think we have
to worry about those two.

Nothing's going to
go wrong, darling.

I won't let it.

[Julie] Were there mechanical
problems with the car?

[Matlock] Picked
that up, did you?

No. My father was good at using
what he had to make things work for him.

How did you figure out that the
other cigarette belonged to Roger?

That was tricky.

We had to follow
the only lead we had.

It wasn't such a bad deal,
either, because, as it turns out,

Claire Mayfield wasn't the last
person to see her husband alive.

Anyhow, I was just getting ready to
leave that night as Mrs. Mayfield came in.

So you saw her husband?

Oh, I only saw him drop her off,
though he was a bit upset, I recall.

The taxicab that had come to
pick me up was blocking the drive,

and Mr. Mayfield couldn't
get his car through.

Was this the man you
were talking about?

Why, no.

This wasn't the man you saw
dropping off Mrs. Mayfield?

Not at all.

No, the man I saw was much
younger, probably in his 30s,

and he wasn't wearing glasses.

[Claire] I don't believe this.

I just lost my husband, and
the only thing I asked of anyone

is that his memory be respected,

and here you two
are asking Mrs. Abbott

if the man who dropped
me off was my husband?

Mrs. Mayfield, I can... Explain?

Lillian, did you ever meet
my husband face to face?

Why, no.

A dark night.

A stranger more
than 20 feet away.

A young woman with perfect
eyesight couldn't have seen his face.

- But I did.
- You didn't.

And as far as asking
questions about that night,

if I thought it would
bring Henry back,

I would stop strangers
in the street, but it won't.

Yes, ma'am. I know.

Well, then you should also
know that if this continues,

I'll have no choice but to go to the
police and press charges for harassment.

[Matlock] Odd thing was

we would have liked to have
gone to the police ourselves,

only we still didn't have any
evidence... Couldn't prove a thing.

All we knew is whoever
had smoked that cigarette

had gone to see
Claire at the house.

We figured he probably
dressed up like Henry

and dropped Claire
off at her meeting.

But we didn't know who he was.

We did track down the taxi
driver who picked up Mrs. Abbott.

He didn't remember much.

Well, what do you think?

Well, I think Mrs.
Mayfield ain't real dumb.

Her knowing we've been asking questions
around, she's going to watch her step.

For now, but in time, she
won't be able to keep away.

They committed a murder.

Their emotions
are all charged up.

Sooner or later,
they'll have to meet.

We just have to
make sure it's sooner.

- [bicycle bell rings]
- Paper!

Oh, Mr. Stratford. Good.

I... Excuse us for busting in
right at suppertime this way,

but I was wondering
if you could help us.

It's about Mrs. Mayfield.

Mrs. Henry Mayfield.

No, I'm sorry.

I think you gentlemen must have
me confused with someone else.

Your name is
Stratford, isn't it?

I'm afraid I don't know who
or what you're talking about.

So if you'll excuse me.

The President and Mrs.
Eisenhower just back from Georgia...

[static]

♪♪ [jazz]

[knock on door]

If that don't beat anything.

Somebody has give us the
wrong name and address.

Can we use your phone?

It really isn't a good time.

There's a pay phone across
the street, on the corner.

Oh. Have you got
change for a dollar?

No, I don't.

You... You never
met Henry Mayfield?

No, I never met the man.

[knocking]

Mr. Matlock, what in the hell do I
have to say to get through to you?

I never met the man!

Well, that may be.

And if you never met Mrs. Mayfield,
either, how did you know my name?

[Matlock] Of course, it didn't
take long for Roger to call Claire

and the two of them put
together what we had done.

Claire was more
annoyed than concerned.

She didn't feel there was
anything she couldn't handle.

But Roger, he wasn't so calm.

Our little visit
had gotten to him.

See, all along, his ace in the
hole had been his anonymity.

Don't you see? Following me to
you place doesn't tell them anything.

It tells them that
we know each other.

- We can account for that.
- How?

I volunteer at the
Women's League.

I hired you to play
the piano for a function.

My husband dies.
I have to cancel.

It makes perfect sense
that we've had contact.

Well, they might
find something else.

What are they going to find?

That for months I was carrying
on with the wife of a dead man...

and I have a lot to gain
with him out of the way.

And that on the night of the
murder, I don't have an alibi.

You take your pick.

But they can't prove it, Roger.

And they won't...
not if we're careful.

Not if we don't talk and not if we
don't see each other for a while.

I thought you weren't worried.

Why tempt things?

Just until the
suspicion dies down.

You understand,
don't you, darling?

Come on, baby, don't pretend
you need a mirror to see it.

I'm a train wreck waiting to happen, and
you've jumped off before it's your stop.

No, Roger, you're wrong.

I'm riding this all
the way to the end.

You know, I kind of expected you
to stay up at Harvard this summer.

Ain't a lot to do
around Mt. Harlan.

No. Never was.

I wouldn't have thought hard of
you if you'd have stayed up North,

but I'm glad you're here.

- I'm glad I'm here, too.
- Yeah.

You pretty much made up your mind
what happened to Henry Mayfield, huh?

Oh, yeah.

I think Roger
Stratford killed him.

He was already made
out to be Mr. Mayfield

when he dropped off Mrs.
Mayfield uptown that night.

He took that car
off to that cliff,

put the hat and
coat on Mr. Mayfield,

put Mr. Mayfield behind the wheel,
and pushed that car off the cliff.

Pretty fancy crime.

Yeah, but it's
starting to fall apart.

No proof, though.

No.

Oh, it's so hot in here, the
flies are falling asleep in mid-air.

Your mother used to say that.

- She did, didn't she?
- Yeah.

She'd say, "It's so
hot in here, the flies

are falling asleep in
the middle of the air."

She'd carry on, you see.

- Uh-huh.
- Yeah.

Oh, here's Mr. Mayfield's
obituary. Yeah.

I didn't know he was that old.

I wish Mr. Mayfield
could give us some clue.

I'll be darned,
Ben, look at there.

Right there.

Maybe he has.

Lillian Abbott said the Henry that
she saw wasn't wearing no glasses.

And the real Henry
wasn't wearing no glasses.

There wasn't no glasses on the
body and no glasses in the car

and no glasses in the box
that I took to Mrs. Mayfield.

And the glasses in that picture,
that he's wearing, he always wore,

are the same glasses that I near
about broke the other day at the house.

Still only proves how he was
killed. It don't incriminate who did it.

Not yet it don't.

Just like that? No more
doubts? No more suspicion?

I apologize, ma'am.

I mean, here you were
being so generous,

and in a difficult time I
only made things worse.

You and your
father are a lot alike.

Well...

You're both intelligent
men, and you hide it.

Mm-hmm.

You shrug and shuffle and
pretend you don't understand.

And when you do, it
takes people by surprise.

They underestimate you,

and that gives you the
upper hand... Sometimes.

Well, I see you've got
me figured out pretty good.

- I see that I do.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, your school matters are
going to be handled by the estate,

so there doesn't seem to be much
reason for us to see each other again.

Goodbye, Ben.

Bye now, ma'am.

[knock on door]

- Mr. Stratford?
- Yeah.

Police.

I have a search warrant.

I'm Sheriff Casey. I think
you know Mr. Matlock.

What the hell do you want?

Oh, not much.

I'm just somebody that
knowed Henry Mayfield,

and I sure would like to know
where you was the night he died.

Here good enough?

By yourself?

Just me and the Emerson.

You didn't go out nowheres?

Nope.

Not even for a
paper or cigarettes?

- No.
- Huh.

Now, that's a real curiosity

because around 8:30
that night, somebody...

Well, it wasn't just somebody.
We know it was a woman...

Called the diner down the road,

left your name and this
address and this phone number,

and ordered supper.

Now, they get a lot of
orders down at that diner,

but they remember
that particular one

because when the
delivery boy got up here,

there wasn't nobody home.

And so they called,

just in case maybe the delivery
boy went to the wrong house,

and nobody answered
the phone. See there?

Now, I ain't no lawyer,
but it sure does look to me

like whoever called in that order
the night Henry Mayfield died

wanted to make sure that somebody
knowed that you wasn't home.

Mr. Matlock, do you take
me to be some kind of fool?

Get the hell out of here.

Get out of here!

[phone rings]

- Hello.
- [Roger] Are you alone?

- What's the matter?
- Everything's the matter.

The police were just
here. They had a warrant.

A warrant for what?

They were looking
for a pair of glasses.

- Whose glasses?
- His. Henry's.

You have his glasses?

[Matlock] What
Roger was trying to say

was that Henry's
glasses were never found

and the police thought they could
be an important link to the killer.

That didn't worry Claire.

What did was
Roger's state of mind.

He was nervous, and she wasn't
sure how much more he could handle.

One thing she was certain
about: if Roger was about to lose it,

he wasn't going to
take her down with him.

Oh, Roger, I had to come...

if only to reassure you

that everything's going to
work out like we planned.

Is it?

The tough part's over.

All we have to do is hold on.

I hated him,

but I never had the courage to
do anything about it until I met you.

Do we have time for a drink?

Why not?

♪♪

Water?

A splash.

To us.

Can I help you?

I'm Claire Mayfield.

I need to speak to somebody
regarding my husband's death.

About six months ago,

I had an affair with the piano
player from the Hotel Bennington.

I'm not proud of what
I did, but it happened.

Once I realized how
important my marriage was,

I broke it off and I told
my husband everything.

Including his name?

Roger Stratford.

Roger refused to
accept that it was over.

He became obsessed.

He called repeatedly, knowing
full well that I'd never see him.

And I didn't until two
weeks after Henry died,

he showed up
unexpectedly at my house.

You, uh, let him in?

He stood at the door going on and
on about things happen for a reason,

and he had this look in
his eye that scared me.

And it scares me now.

I think Roger might have killed my
husband so he could have me for himself.

[doorbell chimes]

- Mr. Casey.
- Hello, Mrs. Mayfield.

May I come in?

Of course.

Can I get you
something to drink?

Uh, no, thank you.

I'm afraid you were
right, Mrs. Mayfield.

Around 11:00 last night,
we picked up Roger Stratford

and charged him with the
murder of your husband.

Oh, my God.

Thank you.

It doesn't bring Henry back,
but at least the nightmare is over.

Except for one last
piece of business.

Strange as it may seem, I'm going to
have to put you under arrest, as well.

For what reason?

Well, Mr. Stratford claims that you
conspired with him to commit the crime.

And you believed him?

I wish I didn't, but
unfortunately we found proof.

You see, when your husband died, he
should have been wearing his glasses.

Well, he wasn't.

And they never turned up
anywhere... On his body, in the car...

Until last night, when they turned
up in Roger Stratford's dressing room.

How does that incriminate me?

Fingerprints.

Fingerprints?

Mr. Casey, Henry was my husband.

Of course my fingerprints
were all over those glasses.

[Charlie Matlock] Not
yours, Mrs. Mayfield.

Mine.

I touched them glasses earlier
this week when I was over here.

I knocked them off the
desk, thought I'd broke them.

If Roger Stratford took them glasses
the night he killed your husband,

how did my
fingerprints get on them?

You haven't answered
my father's question.

So you had no idea that
Claire Mayfield was out of jail.

Well, it wasn't as if we'd
kept in touch all those years.

Excuse me. Aren't
you Ben Matlock?

I'm terribly sorry.

You must have him
confused with somebody else.