Matlock (1986–1995): Season 7, Episode 13 - The Final Affair - full transcript
A lawyer is accused of murdering his lover and her husband, a high school football coach and aspiring minister.
Break.
Ten, hut.
Okay, that's it for today.
Come on in, guys. Good work.
Good job. Hey, Reed. Reed.
Hold up.
You gotta hit lower.
- That's why you missed tackles.
- Yeah.
You're standing
straight up and down.
- Got it.
- It's a whole lot easier
to drive them down with your
legs than it is to muscle them down.
Look, I missed two
tackles. Lighten up.
Just trying to make you
a better player, Reed.
Daniel Wallace? WALLACE: Yeah?
I'm Lieutenant
Andrews, Atlanta P.D.
I'd like for you
to come with us.
What for?
You come with
us and I'll tell you.
Why don't you just
tell me right now?
All right. You're under arrest.
Accepting a bribe to influence
the outcome of an athletic contest.
Four counts.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Well, is this the ugliest
room you've ever seen?
I must have been in
here a thousand times
and I've never figured
out how to decorate it.
Well, it's not my jail.
- So, what's up?
- I didn't do it.
Daniel, the police have
a bookie ready to testify
that he paid you $40,000 to
fix four football games for him.
- He's lying.
- Daniel, where'd the $40,000
police found in the tackle box in
the trunk of your car come from?
I don't know. Somebody
must have put it there.
Daniel, if you weren't with that
bookie when he said you were,
where were you?
I was out by myself jogging.
Ben, you've got to believe
me. I'm being framed.
Daniel, I believed
you five years ago
when you were
playing for the Falcons.
I believed you when you said
you weren't gambling on football.
I believed you when you swore
you had nothing to do with the mob.
Remember that?
- Yes.
- I believed everything you said.
And then two
days into the trial,
the state comes up with a
picture of you and that man.
What's his name, that mob boss?
- Joe Thompson.
- Yeah.
And you and Joe Thompson
confessed to everything.
Burn me once, shame on you.
Burn me twice, shame on me.
Ben, I've turned my
whole life around.
I've stopped gambling.
- I'm even studying for the ministry.
- Oh, come on.
Three Angels Church is considering
me for their pulpit right now.
Being kicked out of pro ball was the
best thing that ever happened to me.
Daniel.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm
just... I'm sorry.
I told you not to get
your hopes up, honey.
Ben, could you at least
give us some advice?
A friend recommended
two other attorneys:
Ross Marlow and Brian Lane.
Who do you think will be better?
Well, Atlanta's a
pretty big place.
But from all I've heard, Brian Lane's
as fine a lawyer as there is in town.
Then Brian Lane it is.
Please tell the court
where and when you had your
first contact with the defendant.
Sure.
We met at 6:30 p.m.
in an empty parking lot,
6th and Potter, September 17th.
It was just before the first
home game of the Cutters.
The Cutters.
That's the football team
Daniel Wallace coached.
Yeah.
Yeah, the South Coast
University Cutters.
What was the gist
of your conversation?
Well, I asked him if he'd be
interested in making some money,
manipulating the outcome of some
of the games the Cutters played.
You asked him to fix
football games for you?
- Yeah.
- What'd he say?
He said, "Yeah. Great."
And after that, you paid Daniel Wallace
to make sure the Cutters would lose.
No, no, no.
I paid him to make sure
that the Cutters
wouldn't cover the spread
in games that they
were favored to win.
So, what you were
asking Mr. Wallace to do
wasn't to deliberately lose a game
the Cutters were favored to win,
but just to manipulate the final
score, so it wouldn't cover the spread?
Yeah. You got it.
That way, I could
go to another bookie.
I could bet against the spread.
I'd know I was gonna win. Ha, ha.
Yeah, a little more
subtle that way.
And you paid Mr. Wallace
for what he did?
Yeah, 40,000 bucks.
Four games, 10 grand a pop.
I mean, that was our agreement.
Was, uh...?
Was the defendant always
able to deliver what he promised?
Well, he said that he
knew his guys so well,
that by sending them into
the game and out of the game,
and by picking just the right
play at just the right time,
well, he had all of
that down to a science.
What, in fact, was the
outcome of the four games?
Well, they won all four.
I mean, in three of them,
they didn't cover the spread.
Just like he said.
- Thank you, Mr. Ingle.
- Mm-hm.
Mr. Lane, you may cross.
What you did is illegal,
is it not, Mr. Ingle?
Yeah.
Then why is it that my client
is on trial and you are not?
Well, I, ahem...
Yeah, well, I, uh...
I was told that,
uh, if I testified,
I'd be granted immunity
from prosecution.
In other words, it
was either sit up there,
or sit down here,
right, Mr. Ingle?
- Well... LANE:
You're not testifying.
You're saving your own
skin, aren't you, Mr. Ingle?
No, no, no.
I'm telling you the truth.
Nothing further.
Did Coach Wallace do anything that
you, as a member of his football team,
thought was unusual or ill-advised
during that first home game?
Yeah. D.A.: Tell us about it.
Like in the third quarter, it was fourth
down with a half yard to go under 28,
and instead of kicking the
field goal, he had us go for it.
- And what happened?
- We didn't make it.
Turned the ball over, and three
plays later, they end up scoring.
Did anything like that ever happen
during any of the other games?
All the time. Like he'd
take out a good player
at a crucial moment and
send in a second stringer,
or he'd call a running play
when it was obvious
we should be passing.
- Stuff like that.
- As a seasoned football player,
did you ever get the feeling Coach
Wallace was deliberately trying
to adjust the score by doing
things that were unorthodox?
I don't know what
he was trying to do.
It did seem to me, though,
that he was letting scoring
situations slip through our hands.
- Thank you. JUDGE:
Mr. Lane, you may cross.
Do you know what a Monday
morning quarterback is?
- Yeah.
- Well, for those who don't,
that's somebody who sits around
after a football game is all over and says:
"This is what the quarterback
should have done, isn't it?"
Kind of like what
you're doing right now.
I was there. I saw
what was going on.
That makes you an
armchair quarterback then.
That's somebody who sits back
and second-guesses the quarterback.
Hey, I know my stuff. Like he
said, I'm a seasoned ballplayer.
Yes, but you are not the coach.
If you were,
you might have done things exactly
the same way Daniel Wallace did.
Experimented,
kept the opposition guessing
by doing the unexpected,
given new players a
chance to prove themselves,
given the more valuable
players a chance to rest.
- Isn't that right?
- I don't think so.
You don't like Coach
Wallace very much, do you?
Now, watch yourself,
Reed. You're under oath.
And you got a lot of
teammates sitting right out there.
I don't like him much, no.
Thank you.
- Have you reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
We find the defendant guilty.
Ms. Wallace, thanks for waiting. Took
me longer to get away than I thought.
Why couldn't I have
met you at Brian's office?
Because Brian is what I
wanted to talk with you about.
- This is very difficult for me.
- What?
While helping Brian prepare
your husband's defense,
I overheard a
conversation between Brian
and a man who said
he had information
that could help prove Max
Ingle, the bookie, was lying.
And Brian just sent him on his
way and never followed up on it.
- Why not?
- I don't know.
At the time, I figured Brian
had his reasons and let it go.
But when your husband was
convicted, I did some checking.
The guy's legit. Brian blew it.
And you're willing
to help me prove it?
I believe Brian mismanaged
your husband's case.
So there's a chance that
Daniel's case could be reopened
- and the verdict overturned?
- Yeah.
I mean, I'm as loyal as the
next person, Mrs. Wallace,
but an innocent man
shouldn't go to jail.
Well, ahem, so you're...
You're suing Brian
Lane for malpractice?
The way he handled
Daniel's defense
is why the judge
overturned the verdict.
I want you to represent me.
I don't do malpractice cases.
But you could, if you
wanted, couldn't you?
Well, yeah, but I really
hate suing a colleague.
Your colleague is
at best irresponsible,
at worst, criminally negligent.
Now, those aren't my words,
Ben. That's what the judge said.
There's the transcript.
Read it for yourself.
Brian Lane deserves to fry.
If you'd taken Daniel's
case in the first place,
none of this would
have ever happened.
You were the one that
suggested that I go with Brian.
You owe me, Ben.
Ben Matlock.
Of all the lawyers in this town,
I wind up getting
sued by Ben Matlock.
How could you let that happen?
I tried to talk
Daniel out of it.
But I was afraid if I tried too
hard, he may get suspicious.
I should've let Natalie go.
None of this would've happened
if she'd kept her mouth shut
about what she heard that day.
Well, we'll just have
to make the best of it.
We'll get through
this all right.
Oh, it's all this pressure.
You perform very
well under pressure.
I gotta get going.
It's Wednesday.
- Wednesday?
- Choir practice.
He'll be home early.
Sometimes I think I know Daniel's
schedule better than he does.
Mr. Linder, why did
you contact Brian Lane?
Oh, I knew Max Ingle was lying
about being with
Wallace on that day.
I thought it was my civic
duty to tell somebody.
Well, what'd you tell him?
Oh, I told him Max and I
were out at Sunnyside Downs
on September the 17th.
Went out about 5 p.m.
and stayed till a little
after 11 that night.
Sunnyside Down,
that's a racetrack.
Yup.
And you and Mr. Ingle
were gambling?
Yeah, that's right.
Do you have proof that you
and Max Ingle were there?
Yeah, that's the reason I
remembered in the first place.
Max hit the trifecta that day.
- Trifecta.
- Yeah.
Trifecta, see, is when
you bet the horses
to come in first, second and
third in that order in a race.
Paid over 2 grand.
I guess the track would
keep a record on that.
Heh. You bet. Yeah.
They make you fill out a
form for the good old IRS
any time you went
over 1,500 bucks.
You told Mr. Lane
this? LINDER: Yeah.
Well, what'd he say?
He said, "Thanks a
lot. We'll be in touch."
- And was he in touch?
- No. Never heard from him again.
Thank you, Mr. Linder.
Cross examine, Mr. Chase.
Defense has no questions
of this witness, Your Honor.
You may step down.
Next witness, Mr. Matlock.
The plaintiff rests
his case, Your Honor.
Then, Mr. Chase, you
may call your first witness.
Defense calls Mr. Brian
Lane as its first witness.
As one of the most
well-respected attorneys in Atlanta,
you must have had a
reason for doing what you did.
So, please, tell us.
Why did you fail to include
testimony by Mr. Linder
when you were
defending Daniel Wallace?
It was quite simply
a judgment call.
I didn't think Robert Linder
would make a credible witness.
In fact, I thought there
was a good chance
he would do more harm than good.
Why did you think that?
Because Robert Linder
owns a topless bar.
He gambles, he abuses drugs.
He beats his wife.
And he has a police record.
But physical evidence existed that
would have corroborated his story.
He never told me that.
He said nothing about Ingle's
winning the trifecta that day.
Well, now, he just testified
under oath that he did.
Well, I'm testifying
under oath that he did not.
So in your opinion,
as again, one of the most highly
regarded attorneys in this town,
you felt the jury would
not believe Mr. Linder.
And so you dismissed
him, is that it?
That's it. Exactly.
I have no further questions.
Well, I do.
Mr. Lane, how perfect
does a person have to be
before you'll call
him to the stand?
- I don't think I understand.
- Of course, you do.
Does he have to go to
church every Sunday,
be a member of the PTA,
drink decaffeinated
coffee? How perfect?
Robert Linder had a
rap sheet a mile long.
Robert Linder was picked up once
on a possession of marijuana charge,
twice for hitting his wife,
who dropped both charges
the minute she sobered up,
four times for solicitation.
I grant you, he's no Boy Scout.
But come on, Mr. Lane,
he's no Al Capone, either.
In my professional opinion,
without anything to
corroborate his story,
his evidence
would've been a waste.
Do you mean to tell me you
didn't ask him for corroboration?
A man walks into your office
who might very well be the only thing
between your client and the slammer,
and you say, "Thanks,
but no thanks."
And you let that man
walk out of your office,
no questions asked?
You...? You didn't ask him
who else saw Max Ingle
at the track that day?
It didn't occur to you that
somebody more to your liking
may have been able to
corroborate Mr. Linder's story.
Hell, it would have
occurred to me.
I bet it would have occurred to just
about every other lawyer in this town,
even those who are not half
as highly exceptional as you are.
So, what's your...? What's
your excuse, Mr. Lane?
How did you let Robert Linder
walk out of your office that way?
How could you treat
your client that way?
I can't do this.
I beg your pardon?
I intentionally withheld
Robert Linder's testimony,
because I wanted to make
sure my client was convicted.
Request a ten-minute recess.
No. I wanna get this over with.
Please. Please let me continue.
By all means.
Uh, about six months ago, I
met the Wallaces at a party.
Pamela Wallace and I
started seeing each other.
We...
- We eventually fell in love.
- It's not true.
Shortly afterwards,
Daniel was arrested
for fixing those
college football games.
And then that was it for Pamela.
She... She wanted
to divorce him.
But she had signed a
prenuptial agreement
that would have left her
virtually penniless if she had.
So we devised a plan
whereby I would take his case
and deliberately lose it.
None of this is true. Why
are you saying these things?
- Sit down, young lady.
- But he's lying.
- Let him finish.
- Order!
That way, we could live
together out of state somewhere
and invest enough of his
money and mine so that...
So that we could live comfortably
when she finally did ask him for a divorce.
But when Robert Linder
came into my office
with the evidence that would
have exonerated Daniel, I...
I sent him away.
See, he would've
ruined everything, and...
I'm sorry.
I thought I could do
this, but I can't. I'm sorry.
Please, Danny, I don't know
why he said those things.
But he was lying.
Brian made all that up
because he didn't wanna admit
he was just plain incompetent.
Pamela.
Pamela.
It doesn't have to
be over between us.
- Get away from me.
- Pamela, I need you.
Danny, please, make him
stop. Make him go away.
I trusted you.
Now, I'm a God-fearing,
law-abiding man, but I swear,
if you come near us again, I'm gonna
beat you to within an inch of your life.
No, Daniel, don't, don't.
Bad day, huh?
Daniel, good to see you again.
- Glad everything worked out.
- Thanks, Peter.
- Have you met the new minister yet?
- No.
Do you need any help with
that food relief program?
Not at the moment.
Plenty of volunteers.
Well, if you need an extra
body, just give me a call.
Thanks. I will.
Case number 1673438.
DuPont v. Hoskins.
The charge is trespassing
and disorderly conduct.
- How does the defendant plead?
- Your Honor, my client pleads...
- Please, don't. I don't want to.
- No.
- I didn't do it.
- No. No.
- I was looking at...
- No. No.
- No, I didn't...
- He pleads guilty, Your Honor.
The defendant pleads guilty.
So noted.
The defendant shall be remanded
to the custody of the county.
Thanks for waiting. So
where you wanna go eat?
I made reservations
at LaBelle's at 12:30.
Great.
Your client back there didn't
seem too eager to plead guilty.
Oh, that was Lenny Hoskins.
He was caught prowling
around this lady's house.
She claims he's a Peeping Tom.
- Is he?
- Not according to him.
Do you believe him?
Well, the way I see it, months
in jail will be good for him.
No booze, three squares
a day, medical attention.
- Oh, what's the difference?
- Yeah, Laurie, but if he's innocent...
Leanne, grow up.
I've been looking
everywhere for you.
Why didn't you leave
a note or something?
You know what I think it is?
I think he's obsessed with me.
No, really.
I never told you this, but
when we met him at that party,
he said some really weird
things to me, suggestive things.
I mean, maybe he
was attracted to me,
and when he wound
up defending you,
I don't know, maybe he saw a way
to finally have me and just snapped.
I don't think so.
Why not? It makes more sense
than what he said, doesn't it?
All that stuff about the
prenuptial agreement
and living together on
your money, that's crazy.
We both know you
don't have any money.
You gambled it away years ago.
Daniel, please,
this man is nuts.
You've gotta believe me.
I am telling you the truth.
Where are you going?
Danny.
Danny.
How did this happen to you?
How did what happen?
Being homeless.
Oh.
I don't know.
One thing led to another.
Alcohol?
Yeah.
I used to drink a lot.
Lost jobs.
My wife left me.
Took the children.
Never saw them again.
Went on a binge.
Don't know how long it lasted.
When I came to, it was all
over, and I was out of society.
It's not too bad.
I travel around,
work once in a while.
One way to look at it, I'm free.
No, you're not,
not by a long shot.
And we've got to find a way
to do something about that.
Leanne.
In the kitchen.
Well...
I'm glad you're back.
Dad, I'd like you to meet
my new client, Lenny Hoskins.
Lenny, my father, Ben Matlock.
How do you do, sir?
Lenny's been charged with
trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Second time in two months.
I'm innocent, of course.
This woman keeps claiming
that he prowls around her house
and kind of invades her privacy.
He's a peeper?
I admit to looking
in her window.
But I wasn't looking
at her, I really wasn't.
I was looking at her dog.
Her dog.
I see her with her
dog in the park.
She treats that
poor thing horribly.
I just wanted to make
sure he was okay.
Mr. Hoskins, would you mind stepping
into the living room for just a second?
- Certainly.
- Thanks.
Leanne, are you out of your
mind? You can't represent him.
- Why not?
- He's a peeper.
- He's not a peeper.
- He peeped at that woman.
No, he wasn't peeping at all.
Dad, when we became partners,
we agreed to represent
some people pro bono.
- Remember?
- I remember.
Well, this is where we begin.
I'm going to represent him.
Now, all we need to do
is find him a place to stay
for a couple of days
and help him find a job.
- He doesn't have a home?
- No, he moves around quite a bit.
So I thought, until the trial was
over, he could stay at my place,
- in the spare bedroom.
- No.
- Why not?
- Leanne, he's a peeper.
- An alleged peeper.
- I don't care what you call him.
He's not staying at
your house. Denny.
- Lenny.
- Lenny.
May I just say, you
have a beautiful house.
I understand they've got
beautiful rooms down at the YMCA.
So take this money
and go down there.
No, sir, I neither solicit
nor accept handouts.
Well, what if you worked for the
money? Would you take it then?
- Of course.
- You can do some work
around here tomorrow for my dad.
That way, it would
be an advance.
No, ma'am, until I do the
work, I cannot accept the pay.
Now, wait a minute.
You gotta have a
place to stay tonight.
And you're not staying
in my daughter's house.
So take the damn money
and go down to the Y.
Maybe they got a
dog you could look at.
Dad, I have a solution. You
saw the sofa in the living room.
- Would you like to stay here tonight?
- Leanne.
That way you could get up bright
and early and go right to work.
It wouldn't be charity. It would be
more like you were a houseguest.
- Leanne.
- If it's all right with your father.
Is it, Dad?
You're the best thing
that ever happened to me.
And the worst.
Go upstairs and wash.
You know that pony you
always wanted for Christmas?
That's why you never got it.
Bears game, over under's 36.
Packers, 42.
No problem. How much?
A thousand?
Okay, you're covered.
Under for a grand.
Okay.
Those things you said
up there on the stand.
We had all sorts of meetings.
I figured we might as
well have one, huh?
Let me go.
Not until you tell me
why you lied up there.
Who paid you off,
Max? Was it Brian Lane?
My wife? Who was it?
I can't breathe.
You're gonna tell
me sooner or later.
Come on, Max, tell me.
Thompson.
- Joe Thompson?
- Joe Thompson.
I swear.
Hi, Ben, I'm sorry to bother you,
but I think this might be important.
- What?
- I got Max Ingle to tell me
who paid him to lie
about me on the stand.
That's our houseguest.
Ingle said it was Joe Thompson.
Now, Ben, I swear I haven't
had anything to do with this guy
for five years since before
I got kicked out of pro ball.
Why would he wanna
set you up like that?
I have no idea, but
I'm sure gonna find out.
You're not gonna go
there and see him, are you?
How else am I gonna
find out what's going on?
Well, you can't just go in
and see a man like that.
He's a gangster. He's dangerous.
Let me talk to him.
- You'd do that?
- Yeah. Yeah. You go on home,
- and I'll let you know what I find out.
- Well, I appreciate it, Ben.
Look, if I'm not at home, I'll be at
the Three Angels Church, okay?
- You're really into that, aren't you?
- Oh, yeah.
The archbishop's coming
to town in a couple of weeks,
- and we got a lot to do to get ready.
- Yeah?
Yeah, he's coming
to congratulate us.
Our church has gathered more
food and clothing for the needy
all over the world than
any other church in our...
Denomination?
Yeah.
- Thanks, Ben.
- Yeah.
- You and me now.
- Oh, yeah?
Hey. THOMPSON:
Hey, you. Ha-ha-ha.
You think you're a
better shot than me, huh?
- I'll get the both of you. Yeah.
- He's right... Oh, there he is.
Now it's my turn to
get even with you guys.
You turkey.
Yeah? You think you're a
better shot than me, huh?
All right, you guys.
I got you guys so many
times, you're so soaked.
Now go on inside and
get dried off. Go ahead.
Okay.
Bye.
Well, hello there.
- Mr. Thompson?
- That's right.
Ben Matlock.
Nice-looking kids.
Well, if this is business,
you could see me in my office.
Oh, this'll only take a minute.
One of my clients, Daniel
Wallace, you remember him?
- Yeah, of course, the football coach.
- Yeah.
Yeah, we used to hang
out. He liked to gamble.
Now, that's a name I haven't
heard for, what, five, six years, I'll bet.
Maybe so. How about...?
How about Max Ingle?
Remember his name?
Why do you ask?
Well, Max said that you
paid him to perjure himself
during Daniel's last trial.
What a nasty thing for
Max to say about me.
Now, why would I do
something like that?
I don't know. I don't know.
Unless you wanted
to see Daniel go to jail.
Mr. Matlock,
now why would a legitimate
businessman such as myself
care whether or not some
college football coach goes to jail?
Well, now, you hit the... You
hit the nail right on the head.
I was gonna ask you that.
Well, I'm gonna have to call Max
up and have a little talk with him.
Find out why he
said that about me.
Well, I have a feeling Max might
be hard to find for a long time.
Well, I won't take up
any more of your time.
I'll just go out that way,
and say goodbye
to Mrs. Thompson.
- You hear that?
- Yeah.
He could be a problem.
No, no.
We're just gonna
have to be very careful.
Pomp and show
Solid joys and lasting treasure
None but Z ion's
children know Excellent.
And this is only a rehearsal.
Everyone, I'd like to introduce
you to our new minister,
the Reverend Oliver Malloy.
And may I say, I'm
absolutely delighted to be here.
This is our unofficial
director of music
and just about everything
else around here,
Daniel Wallace.
Of course. It's an honor.
Especially since I
understand they were thinking
about making you the
new minister at one time.
I'm sorry. You look familiar.
Well, I guess I just
have one of those faces.
But, please, go on. Don't
let us interrupt. It's beautiful.
All right, let's take it back
to the same place please.
Savior, if of Z ion's city
I through grace a member am
Let the world deride or pity
- Hello.
- Morning.
What are you doing?
I took the liberty of cooking
your breakfast. Sit down.
Did you wash your hands?
Here we go.
Mushroom and
green pepper frittata.
Just a little something to
go with your lemon pancakes.
You like it?
Yeah.
He... Uh, Matlock residence.
No, I'm afraid he's
busy right now.
May I take a message?
I was just brushing my teeth
this morning and it hit me.
I'd seen that guy when I used
to hang out with Joe Thompson.
The new minister?
I saw him at Thompson's house
and also at the social club
we always used to hang out.
Is Thompson his real name?
Yeah, as far as I know.
He doesn't look like a Thompson.
So that was five years ago?
Ben, I know that's
where I saw him.
I mean, I've got a real
good memory for faces.
Well, I guess mobsters need
spiritual guidance like anybody else.
Maybe... Maybe
it's a coincidence.
I haven't even thought
of Joe Thompson in years,
and now all of a sudden, I find
out he's trying to ship me off to jail.
And the new minister of my
church turns out to be a friend of his.
- It just doesn't feel right.
- Yeah, I know what you mean.
I just wish I knew
what to do about it.
I don't want you to
do anything about it.
I won't.
Ben, thanks a lot
for coming out here.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate it.
I just don't know who I can
trust anymore, you know?
Should've told you to
bring your sweats out here.
- Could've run some stairs together.
- Oh, I ate too much breakfast.
I can hardly walk.
- Take it easy.
- See you again.
All right.
- Ben.
- Mm.
I understand you're
the one phoned this in?
Well, yeah, he wanted me to meet
him here, so he could tell me something.
Did you see him fall?
No, I was on my way
out when I heard a yell.
See anyone or anything suspicious
while you were talking to him?
No, I didn't.
What'd he wanna tell you?
The new minister at your church.
- Have you met him?
- No.
Daniel met him yesterday.
And he wanted to tell me that
he had seen him once before
at Joe Thompson's house.
That's news to me.
No law against a mob boss
being friends with a minister.
Happens all the time.
That's pretty much
what I told him.
Daniel Wallace never tired of
doing God's work here on Earth.
And I have no doubt that
he is continuing to serve God
with his customary
joy and enthusiasm
in a far better place.
We all can and should
take solace in this.
And now, those wishing to
pay his or her final respects
may come forward and do so.
I can't take this anymore, Pam.
Why won't you return my calls?
I wanna know what's going on.
I love you.
I tried to do what we planned.
I just... I couldn't hold
it together in court.
Darling, I'm sorry.
My career is over.
And my life.
- Come on.
- Pamela, please.
- Come on. Come on.
- You told me you loved me.
She doesn't care. She
never cared about Daniel.
You lied about everything.
She told me Daniel didn't have
any money. She said she loved me.
All she wanted was
for Daniel to go to jail.
But if she doesn't love me,
why would she want that?
Why? MATLOCK: Come on.
Why? MAN 1: It's
unbelievable. I can't...
- Disrespectful.
- Get him out of here.
- Would you like a drink?
- No.
Killing Daniel wasn't
part of the deal.
Nobody killed your husband.
As I understand it,
he tripped and fell.
It was an accident.
- I want my money.
- Now?
I agreed to help you
get Daniel out of the way.
And now that he's
out of the way for good,
I think I deserve to get paid.
Pamela, so do I.
You'll have it within 24 hours.
A million cash.
A million cash.
Why would Pamela
want Daniel to go to jail?
I don't know. That's
what Brian says.
But not so that she and Brian
could live happily ever after?
He says she won't
give him the time of day.
That's weird. You'd think she
wouldn't have anything to hide anymore.
I mean, especially
now that Daniel's dead.
Well, Pamela
wanted Daniel in jail.
- Joe Thompson wanted Daniel in jail.
- You think there's a connection?
Don't know. LENNY: Here we go.
A Monte Cristo, french
fries, and coleslaw.
All homemade.
- Wow.
- Try it.
- You made this?
- Yes, ma'am.
- You know what?
- What?
You owe me that pony.
Hello, Mrs. Wallace, I just dropped
by to see how you were holding up.
That's very nice of
you, Reverend Malloy.
- Would you like to come in?
- Thank you.
I didn't think it would be you.
Well, were you
expecting somebody else?
No, no, I just thought
maybe a mutual friend
was using you to
deliver something.
Heh, well, I'm afraid
I don't understand.
You really came by just
to see how I was doing?
And to pray with you, if
you'd like, for Daniel's soul.
Yeah, I would like that.
- Brian Lane?
- Yeah.
I'm Lieutenant
Andrews, Atlanta P.D.
Got a warrant to search
your home and automobile.
- May we come in? Thank you.
- Yeah, wait a minute.
Almost noon. You're
still not dressed?
What's the matter,
counselor? Had a rough night?
You think I had something
to do with Pamela's death?
Well, several dozen people saw you
having words with her two days ago
at her husband's funeral.
I loved her.
You're missing a knife.
I haven't set foot outside this
place in two days. Ask the doorman.
Ask my neighbors. Ask anyone.
- Lieutenant.
Excuse me.
This was in the
trunk of your car.
Your missing knife, Mr. Lane.
No.
Hey, Brian. Hey, Brian, no.
You're a disgrace to
the legal profession.
So no. Capital N,
capital O, okay?
Forget it.
Oh, good, you're sitting down.
Dad... Actually,
Mr. Ben Matlock,
may I introduce
Mr. James Leonard Hoskins.
My attorney here felt
it was time to invest
in some haberdashery
and a new 'do.
- What do you think?
- Well, I say, Lenny...
Quite a metamorphosis, isn't it?
Uh...
Can you still cook?
Can. And if you will
allow me to change, will.
How does a nice
succulent pork roast sound?
By all means, change.
Are you okay, Dad?
Well, yeah, yeah.
Lenny looks great.
Something's bothering you, Pop.
Not really.
Brian Lane wants
you to represent him.
- I just told him to forget it.
- Why?
He had an affair with
a married woman.
And then became
her husband's lawyer.
And then withheld testimony so
her husband would have to go to jail
so he could have
his wife all to himself.
Dad, he was framed,
and you know it.
Only a total moron would kill
somebody he'd been arguing with in public
only two days before
and then hide the murder
weapon in his own car.
The man's a liar. He withheld
a witness in Daniel's trial.
- He confessed in open court.
- He has no ethics.
He was ashamed of what
he did. He knew it stunk.
He made a mistake,
and he owned up to it.
Yeah.
Reverend Malloy?
Yes?
Ben Matlock. I was here last
week at Daniel Wallace's funeral.
Oh, yes, you were his lawyer.
And now I'm Brian Lane's lawyer.
The man accused of
murdering Daniel's wife?
Well, that's a rather abrupt
change of allegiance, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
- Can I sit down?
- Of course.
I used to...
- I used to sing in choir.
- Oh, join us.
Well, heh, heh, I was
pretty bad at falling asleep.
The preacher used to
speak in a kind of a monotone
and I'd doze off.
And the next thing you
know, it was time for:
"Amen, amen."
- It was over.
- I have a trick.
See, I speak softly till I've
lulled off, oh, 15, 20 people,
and then I find a
good phrase and I yell.
Ha-ha-ha. That's
good. Good. Yeah.
The police say that they found a
cross at Pamela Wallace's house.
Yes, I stopped by that afternoon
to see how she was doing.
I, uh, took off the cross so that I
could hold it while we prayed together.
And I guess I put it
down and just left it there.
I don't know what's
happening with my memory.
Remember how
long you were there?
No more than half an hour.
I apparently was something
of a suspect there for a while.
But then the police
talked with the kids
who were playing in
the street that afternoon,
and they told them that Pamela
was very much alive when I left.
So I'm back to being just the
new minister of a little church.
Did you tell the police about your
connection with Joe Thompson?
- My connection?
- Yeah.
Daniel says that he met you at Joe
Thompson's house five years ago.
Well, that's odd. I don't
remember meeting him.
Although it's possible, I suppose.
I've known Joe since grade school.
Daniel believed that Joe
Thompson had paid somebody off
to lie on the stand
when he was on trial,
you know, about fixing
those football games.
He was convinced that
Mr. Thompson wanted
to get him put away.
And then he met you here.
And then he remembered that you
had been friends with Mr. Thompson.
And, um...
Then what?
Well, and then he took that fall
down that long flight of
concrete stairs and died.
A horrible tragedy.
Well, I just wanted to pass
it by you, Reverend Malloy.
- Thanks for your time.
- Well, my pleasure.
Feel free to come back,
preferably on a Sunday morning.
- Keep you awake.
- Oh, that little yell. Ha-ha-ha.
Joe Thompson, please.
Oliver Malloy.
What the hell did he want?
Joe, it's Oliver.
Ben Matlock was just here.
Mm-hm. We need to talk.
Ben Matlock thinks
I killed Pamela.
Right.
Sit down.
I don't like this
turn of events.
Calm down and sit, Oliver.
Well, Daniel was right.
There's a definite connection between
that new minister and Joe Thompson.
This is the best apple
pie I've ever eaten.
You don't know what
they were talking about?
Couldn't hear. Malloy
was pretty uptight though.
You must have shaken
him up pretty good.
Leanne make this?
No, last time Leanne
tried to make a pie,
the crust wound up on the wall.
How did that happen?
She threw it across the room.
Who's this fellow right here?
I don't know, but he came
out with Reverend Malloy,
went back there with
him after the meeting.
I wonder what they're up to.
- Conrad?
- Mm?
You like to sing, don't you?
Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
That was wonderful.
Well, I've heard enough.
Conrad, welcome to the
Three Angels Church Choir.
- Thank you.
- Why don't you sit there with Sandy?
Okay.
All right. Page 33.
This has a rather long introduction,
don't forget, so watch for my cue.
Oh, what a friend
we have in Jesus
As I said, Conrad,
watch for my cue. Again.
Sorry.
Reverend Malloy.
Hi. Conrad McMasters.
I wanted to introduce myself.
Been hearing good
things about Three Angels,
I decided to come
down and join up.
Well, it's nice to have you with
us. You're already with the choir?
Yeah, you know, get involved,
get involved all the way.
I wish all new members
had your enthusiasm.
Excuse me. Peter?
- Yes?
- The welcoming committee's meeting
in the conference room
in a couple of minutes.
Right. I'll be there.
Welcoming committee?
For the archbishop.
He's visiting this weekend.
Could you use some help?
Actually, they've
got it under control.
But all next week, we're
receiving food donations,
and then we're gonna package
it for shipment overseas.
Now, if you could help us with
that, we'd really appreciate it.
- Sure, count me in.
- Great.
Yeah. WOMAN 2: Yeah.
Hello?
Hello?
Yeah. Under, for 100.
You got it.
Yeah.
Oh, hi. Yeah.
Packers? Minus three.
Yeah. All right. All right.
You got it. Three bills.
Now, look, Bobby, I gotta go.
- Hi, Max, Ben Matlock.
- Yeah. I know who you are.
- Can I come in?
- How did you find me?
- Gas company.
- Yeah, well, what do you want?
Five minutes, then
you'll never see me again.
Phone's ringing.
Two minutes.
Max, I need you to tell
me who this fellow is here
with Joe Thompson
and Reverend Malloy.
Sorry.
Joe Thompson knows
that you told Daniel that
Mr. Thompson paid you
to lie in the witness box.
How long you
figuring on hiding out?
You got a minute and 45.
If I found you, how hard do you
think it would be for him to find you?
The only way you're gonna be
able to stop hiding out and running
is for me to send these boys up.
Who is it, Max?
All right, he's Peter Eastland.
I met him once.
Rumor had it he was a shooter.
A hit man.
I wonder why the
police couldn't ID him.
Because he's as
slick as they come.
You know anything
else about him?
Well, if I remember,
he loves oysters.
Always hanging out at this oyster
bar called, uh, The Sea Pearl.
- Sea Pearl.
- Mm.
Mr. Eastland.
Hi, Ben Matlock.
- Have we met?
- No.
But I'm kind of
surprised we haven't.
- Why is that?
- Well, I'm a defense lawyer.
And you work for a
criminal, Joe Thompson.
- Who?
- This... Right here. Wait.
Right there in that picture.
Oh. Actually, I only know
him through Reverend Malloy.
- I'm a member of his church.
- Oh.
The meeting the three
of you were having,
what was it about?
I don't recall. I was
just along for the ride.
Would you like an oyster?
Oh, no, thanks. I'm working.
They tell me that
eating raw oysters
makes you wanna
do something else.
Maybe they're right.
Well, since you're working,
I'm sure there's
something I can do for you.
Well, I represent Brian Lane,
and he's accused of
murdering Pamela Wallace.
And since I know that he's no
killer, when you, in fact, are...
Who told you that?
Oh, when anybody's
apparently as good as you are,
then word gets around.
Bull.
Why would I wanna
kill Pamela Wallace?
Joe Thompson told you to?
Why would he wanna do that?
I don't know, but
I'm working on it.
Tell him, will you?
- Like I said, I hardly know the man.
- Yeah.
Mm.
If I wasn't working, I could
really go for some of them.
- Sorry.
- What's the matter with you?
I figured we needed to talk.
And since people from the church
might be at trial, I figured
we should do it here.
Scared me to death.
- I'm sorry.
- Give me a heart attack.
I'm sorry.
Well, don't you wanna talk?
Oh, uh, yeah.
This other guy in the picture
with Reverend Malloy
and Joe Thompson
- is Peter Eastland.
- Oh, yeah.
What's his connection?
Well, apparently, he
works for Joe Thompson.
Kills people.
- In-house assassin.
- That's the rumor.
The archbishop.
What about him?
He's coming to
church this weekend.
Peter Eastland is on the
committee in charge of his visit.
Someone's going to
try to assassinate me?
Well, Mr. Matlock and I think
it's a distinct possibility, yes.
Somebody at Three Angels Church?
We... We think so. Yes.
Who? And more to the point, why?
Well, we're not
quite sure of that yet.
But I've received no threats.
No one's warned me to stay away.
Well, if you could just postpone
things here for a couple of weeks,
it would give us
a little more time.
No, no, that's out of the question.
My schedule won't allow it.
No, I said I'd address the
congregation tomorrow,
and that's what I'm going to do.
I appreciate your
concern, gentlemen.
But nothing you've
said has convinced me
that I should change my plan.
Well, maybe we'll just
take a few extra precautions.
Couple of plainclothesmen
inside the church,
an unmarked car or
two out on the street.
That's your prerogative.
Your efforts have saved lives and
eased suffering all over the world.
You have collected, packaged,
and shipped more donations
to hungry nations than any
other church in this country.
What an incredible act of
love, brothers and sisters.
You should be very proud.
I know I'm very proud.
But all I can do to reward
your compassion and dedication
is to say thank you.
For it's God who
will really reward you.
If not in this life, then
in the life to come.
Of that, you may rest assured.
Congratulations.
Let us rise and join
hands for the benediction.
Stand by.
Okay, the service should
end any minute now.
Everybody, look alive.
Unit One in
position. Standing by.
- Unit Two?
- Ready on the street, sir.
And all God's people said...
- Amen.
A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal
- All right, here he comes.
- Ten-four.
Did we in our own
strength confide
Our striving would be losing
He just drove off without incident.
I guess we're all clear, folks.
- Roger.
- Well...
I don't know whether to
feel relieved or disappointed.
Well, I figure between overtime,
extra people, special equipment,
I've just spent thousands of
dollars of the taxpayer's money.
Needlessly.
I sure as hell know how I feel.
- Aah!
- Hi.
Damn it, Conrad.
- Well, hell.
- Stop cussing like that.
- I'm sorry.
- Sorry don't feed the bulldog.
Quit hiding in the back of my
car. You scared me half to death.
If you wanna hide in the
back of somebody's car,
hide in the back
of your own car.
Okay.
So, what do you think happened?
I don't know.
You think, maybe, somehow,
they knew that we
knew and backed off?
Maybe they never intended to
kill the archbishop to start with.
How'd Lieutenant
Andrews take it?
Let me put it to you this way.
I wouldn't hide in
the back of his car.
I live at 1873 South Ivy.
Do you live there by yourself?
Yes, my husband passed
away three years ago.
Mrs. DuPont, please tell the court
what happened on January 24th.
I went into my bedroom
to change clothes,
and saw that man over
there looking in my window.
Let the record show that the
witness has indicated the defendant,
Leonard Hoskins.
Of course, he wasn't
all gussied up then,
much more like
what he is, a pervert.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
Let the witness's last
statement be stricken.
You're sure this is
the man you saw?
Yes, because the police
arrested him two months earlier
for doing exactly
the same thing.
What did you do after you saw
him looking through your window?
DuPONT: Well, I screamed.
Then I went running to the back
door to make sure it was locked.
Thank God it was because
when I got to the kitchen,
there he was, looking
through the window at me.
- Did you call the police?
- Yes, I did.
But, as it turned out, my
neighbors had seen him too,
and they'd already called 911.
Thank you, Mrs. DuPont.
Your witness, Miss Mclntyre.
Mrs. DuPont,
when you said that you live
alone, that isn't quite true, is it?
DuPONT: Well, of course, it is.
You have a dog, don't you?
Well, yes.
Was it your idea or your
husband's to get the dog?
My husband's. He loved dogs.
You don't, though, do you?
- What do you mean?
- My client, Lenny Hoskins,
has stated and is
prepared to testify
that he has seen
you in McMillan Park,
hitting your dog with
the metal part of the leash
on several occasions.
Did you ever see your dog
run over to Mr. Hoskins?
Mrs. DuPont?
Well, yes.
- Did you call him back?
- Yes.
Did he come?
No, that... Your
client was holding him.
But he did turn him loose.
- Yes.
- And did you reprimand the dog?
- Yes.
- With the metal part of the leash?
I reprimanded him with my voice.
Mrs. DuPont, my client
did follow you home.
And he did look in your window.
Not because he
wanted to see you,
but because he was
driven to make sure
that you hadn't seriously
injured your dog.
That's ridiculous.
- So you deny mistreating him?
- Of course.
You never hit him, never
raised your hand to him?
Never.
Your Honor, at this time, I would
like to conduct a little demonstration.
Very well.
Bailiff.
Thank you.
Oh, yes. Ha-ha-ha.
Your Honor, I'd like
to introduce Darby.
Is this your dog, Mrs. DuPont?
Well, yes. What on
earth is he doing here?
Deputy Farrow retrieved him
from your backyard this morning.
Of course, he had a warrant.
At this time, Your Honor,
I would like to admit
Darby into evidence.
So done. But let me
remind you that you are,
if you'll excuse the expression,
on a very short leash.
Yes, Your Honor,
I'm aware of that.
Shall we show them
what you can do, huh?
Okay.
Sit down.
Okay. Can you sit?
Can you sit? Good dog.
Darby, shake hands.
Shake. Good boy.
Darby, lie down.
Good dog.
Oh, what a well-trained,
well-mannered, affectionate little dog.
Certainly, no need to
strike an animal like this.
Mrs. DuPont,
would you mind stepping
down here for just a second?
Would you mind
raising your hand,
as if you were going
to take the oath again?
Your Honor, this is pointless.
It'll just take two seconds
to find out, Your Honor.
The witness will please
do as she's been asked.
So you're sure you never
raised your hand to that dog?
Oh, for Pete's sakes.
Being in front of all these people
just has him spooked, that's all.
Come here, Darby. Come on.
Darby.
Come here. It's all right.
Darby, come.
Darby, come here.
Come here, Darby.
Darby, come here, boy.
Oh, yes.
Come on. Yes. Oh,
that's a good boy.
Yes, you're such a good boy.
- Yes.
- You can sit down, Mrs. DuPont.
Mrs. DuPont, my client
comes to visit your Darby a lot.
He worries about him because
he's seen the way you treat him.
That's what he was
doing there that day.
Making sure that
this poor little animal,
which you obviously
do abuse, was okay.
Yup.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Here you go.
More powdered milk?
Yeah, we get them donated
fresh from the factory.
The president of the
company is a deacon. Heh.
What's wrong?
My back. Had a
little twinge. I'm fine.
You should eat more oysters.
Yeah.
Church's relief effort?
Joe Thompson and Peter Eastland
are smuggling things
out of this country
in those boxes of
donated food. I'm positive.
What kinds of things?
Technology. I don't know.
Microfilm, drugs. I don't know yet.
But I do know that those
boxes of powdered milk
that he had me load on that
truck are a good 15 pounds lighter
than the boxes I already loaded.
Well, maybe the first batch
had more powdered milk
in them than the second?
No.
No, no, no, after
Eastland left, I checked.
Each of those boxes has the
same number of cartons of milk in it.
You know what I think? I think
they dumped powdered milk
out of those boxes to make
room for what they're sending out.
- Did you open any of the cartons?
- No, I didn't have time.
- The truck was leaving for the airport.
- Hmm.
- I don't know, Conrad.
- No.
No, it all fits.
Nobody else at church knows
what's going on but Reverend Malloy.
That's why Daniel Wallace was
killed. He's getting so danged involved.
They're afraid
he's gonna find out.
You gotta call the police.
They'll hang up on me.
Then you gotta go
talk to them in person.
Oh, I don't know, Conrad.
It won't do any good.
There we go.
Hey, Russ, take over. I
wanna use the head, okay?
Sure.
Yeah?
Hey. Reverend Malloy
wants to see you.
He's out by the truck
that just came in.
- Says it's pretty urgent.
- Okay. I'll be right there.
Put that stuff in.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Let me load this.
Well, that's about it.
Give you a hand with that?
Oh, yeah. Thanks.
Okay, that'll do it for this truck.
Let's get it up there and move it out.
Actually, let's not.
Atlanta Police. Hands up.
Let's go, let's go!
- Got it.
- Better take this crate.
Handcuff the reverend.
Get them up.
- He's breathing.
- That's good.
He's gonna be all right.
Thanks for listening, Harlan.
Thanks for being
right this time.
All right, men, come on,
let's check this cargo here.
Here I come!
Bring her down. Bring her down.
Hang on. BOY 3: Here we go.
Yeah. BOY 4: Just watch it.
Set it. Okay. Go.
Hey, hey.
Okay. BOY 1: I got it.
Hey, great play. Nice catch.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Let me see that.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Nice.
Yeah, yeah. yeah.
Now, were you out here, playing
the afternoon Ms. Wallace was killed?
- I already talked to the police.
- Yeah, I heard, I heard, I heard.
- Come on.
- But you saw Ms. Wallace
walk the minister to his car?
Yeah, he left. She
came and got the paper,
- went back inside.
- Yeah.
And you didn't see anybody else
go in after the minister left?
No. They're waiting for me.
- Give us the ball.
Yeah. Hi. BOYS: Hey.
Hey. BOY 2: Come on.
- Okay. Nice catch.
- All right.
There. BOY 2: Come on.
Hey.
Are you sure she picked up
the paper after the preacher left?
Yeah. Positive.
- Thanks. Nice catch.
- Come on, come on.
- Put it down.
- All right.
All right. BOY 4: Set him up.
How well did you know the victim,
Pamela Wallace, Reverend Malloy?
Not very well at all.
The first time I met her
was at her husband's funeral.
And her husband Daniel,
how well did you know him?
I didn't know him well, either.
He died shortly after I assumed
my ministry at Three Angels Church.
I understand that Daniel
was offered that ministry.
Unofficially, yes.
He hadn't quite finished
his studies, though.
And then when he was arrested
for accepting those bribes,
well, then the church elders decided
to look elsewhere for a new minister.
- So you were their next choice?
- That's correct.
Okay.
What about Joseph Thompson?
How well do you know him?
We grew up together.
And he occasionally
attends Three Angels.
And he's a known
organized crime figure
and a convicted
racketeer, isn't he?
Yes, but he's still my friend.
Peter Eastland, you know him?
Of course, he's an extremely
active member of the church.
And he's a professional
hit man, isn't he?
Objection, Your Honor. Irrelevant,
and assumes facts not in evidence.
Sustained.
A meeting that you and Joe
Thompson and Peter Eastland
had at Giuseppe's Restaurant
two weeks ago, what was it about?
I don't remember.
Well, the three of you
did have a meeting?
- Yes.
- But you don't remember why?
We were just getting together.
Last week, the three
of you were arrested
for conspiring to distribute
a controlled substance
called methcathinone
or CAT,
an extremely potent synthetic
stimulant, were you not?
I don't have to answer that.
I'm not asking whether
you're guilty or not guilty.
I just want you to confirm
what's already in the public record.
The three of you were arrested
for buying designer drugs
made in the United States
and using the Food Relief
Program from Three Angels Church
to smuggle it to your
distributors all over the world.
True or false?
- True.
- True.
And in order to do that,
Joseph Thompson
had to frame Daniel,
try to get him in jail,
so that you could
become the new minister
and be in charge of
the smuggling operation.
Now, that is not true.
And in order to do that,
he had to make sure
that Daniel's lawyer,
Brian Lane, lost his case.
So he paid Max Ingle to lie.
Then he paid Pamela to
use her womanly charms
to convince Brian that
Daniel had to go to jail,
so that they could spend the rest of
their lives together, right, reverend?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Only then the problem became
Brian confessed to
what he had done.
Daniel went free.
Then you had another problem.
Daniel recognized you
from his gambling days
when he used to hang
out at Joe Thompson's.
What if he became curious,
started nosing around?
Sooner or later, that
could ruin everything.
- Isn't that right?
- Absolutely not true.
Maybe at the meeting you
had there at Giuseppe's,
the three of you decided
Daniel had to die, huh?
No.
Then his wife got
nervous, and she had to die.
This is absurd. This
whole thing is absurd.
I don't know who shoved Daniel
down all those concrete steps.
But I do know
who stole this knife from
Brian Lane's condominium
and used it to stab
Pamela to death.
- It was you.
- That is a lie.
Objection, Your
Honor. Irrelevant.
Sustained.
You must admit, counselor,
Mr. Wycotte and I, up until
now, have been extremely patient.
Oh, I'm aware of that, Your
Honor, and I'm deeply grateful.
But I'm on the homestretch here.
- May I continue?
- Proceed.
You were at Pamela's house
the afternoon she was killed.
As I explained to
you and to the police,
I stopped by to see
how she was doing.
Part of my job is to
console the grieving.
I chatted with her.
We prayed together.
And then I drove
back to the church.
And the cross the
police found at her house.
Yes, I have a habit of taking it
off my neck when I... When I pray.
I guess I put it down
and forgot about it.
- I have a habit of doing that too.
- Ha, ha.
There were some boys playing
football outside her house.
Yes. And any one of
them can attest to the fact
that Pamela was very
much alive when I left.
They can also attest to
the fact that as you drove off,
Pamela reached down, picked
up her evening newspaper
and took it back into
the house with her.
- All right.
- All right.
This is people's exhibit 26.
Police photograph
of the crime scene.
Your cross is lying on top
of the evening newspaper.
See?
His cross is lying on top
of the evening newspaper.
So?
Yours are the only clear
fingerprints on that cross.
If you left before she brought
the paper into her house,
how did your cross
wind up on top of it?
How about this?
You left. Yeah, you drove off.
You drove around the corner.
Up the alley in back
of Pamela's house.
Then you slipped
in the back door,
and used this knife you had
stolen from my client's condominium
to stab Pamela to death.
You knew he'd be accused.
He's the perfect patsy.
But as sometimes happened,
it wasn't an immediate kill.
She struggled.
Your cross came off.
Landed on that newspaper.
You left.
You left your cross.
You forgot.
But not, as you say,
you ordinarily do.
You'd just committed a murder.
And I don't care who you are.
A person's mind
doesn't work real clear
when they've just
sinned that big time.
What say, preacher?
- Dad. Hi. How'd it go?
- We won.
The reason I called is something
very exciting has come up.
Now, much as I appreciate
your cooking for me all the time,
I'm sure it's not something you
want to do for the rest of your life.
Is it?
- No.
- Of course not. Of course not.
So I was talking with Charlie
that runs the hot dog stand.
He's getting ready to retire,
and he's looking for somebody
to take over his business
and I said I know just the fellow.
Lenny Hoskins.
And you wouldn't have
to just make hot dogs.
You could make frittatas,
soufflés, Monte Cristos, French dips.
You could put this
place on the map.
People would come
from all over the city.
You'd be famous.
You would be another
Wolfgang Puck. Ha-ha-ha.
And the best part is...
And the best part is, you
wouldn't have to leave Atlanta.
You could keep
on cooking for me,
you know, just occasionally.
Once in a while.
You people are very dear to me.
And you've done so much for
me. I hope you'll understand.
It's time for me to move on.
I heard from a man in Valdosta
who read about me in the paper.
He wants me to come
down, help him out. He's a vet.
- You're not a vet.
- No, no, I'll clean up
and tell him when the animals are sick or
don't feel well and then he'll fix it up.
I think we'll make a
nice team for a while.
- Then I'll move on again.
- Why?
It's the life I know.
Stop for a while,
go for a while.
I don't need much.
Did you ever sleep outside?
Oh, it's nice sometimes.
There have always
been wanderers.
I'm one of them.
I will think of you often.
Perhaps our paths
will cross again.
- Goodbye.
- Bye.
I'm sorry, Dad,
you lost your cook.
Yeah.
Want a hot dog?
Okay.
Ten, hut.
Okay, that's it for today.
Come on in, guys. Good work.
Good job. Hey, Reed. Reed.
Hold up.
You gotta hit lower.
- That's why you missed tackles.
- Yeah.
You're standing
straight up and down.
- Got it.
- It's a whole lot easier
to drive them down with your
legs than it is to muscle them down.
Look, I missed two
tackles. Lighten up.
Just trying to make you
a better player, Reed.
Daniel Wallace? WALLACE: Yeah?
I'm Lieutenant
Andrews, Atlanta P.D.
I'd like for you
to come with us.
What for?
You come with
us and I'll tell you.
Why don't you just
tell me right now?
All right. You're under arrest.
Accepting a bribe to influence
the outcome of an athletic contest.
Four counts.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Well, is this the ugliest
room you've ever seen?
I must have been in
here a thousand times
and I've never figured
out how to decorate it.
Well, it's not my jail.
- So, what's up?
- I didn't do it.
Daniel, the police have
a bookie ready to testify
that he paid you $40,000 to
fix four football games for him.
- He's lying.
- Daniel, where'd the $40,000
police found in the tackle box in
the trunk of your car come from?
I don't know. Somebody
must have put it there.
Daniel, if you weren't with that
bookie when he said you were,
where were you?
I was out by myself jogging.
Ben, you've got to believe
me. I'm being framed.
Daniel, I believed
you five years ago
when you were
playing for the Falcons.
I believed you when you said
you weren't gambling on football.
I believed you when you swore
you had nothing to do with the mob.
Remember that?
- Yes.
- I believed everything you said.
And then two
days into the trial,
the state comes up with a
picture of you and that man.
What's his name, that mob boss?
- Joe Thompson.
- Yeah.
And you and Joe Thompson
confessed to everything.
Burn me once, shame on you.
Burn me twice, shame on me.
Ben, I've turned my
whole life around.
I've stopped gambling.
- I'm even studying for the ministry.
- Oh, come on.
Three Angels Church is considering
me for their pulpit right now.
Being kicked out of pro ball was the
best thing that ever happened to me.
Daniel.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm
just... I'm sorry.
I told you not to get
your hopes up, honey.
Ben, could you at least
give us some advice?
A friend recommended
two other attorneys:
Ross Marlow and Brian Lane.
Who do you think will be better?
Well, Atlanta's a
pretty big place.
But from all I've heard, Brian Lane's
as fine a lawyer as there is in town.
Then Brian Lane it is.
Please tell the court
where and when you had your
first contact with the defendant.
Sure.
We met at 6:30 p.m.
in an empty parking lot,
6th and Potter, September 17th.
It was just before the first
home game of the Cutters.
The Cutters.
That's the football team
Daniel Wallace coached.
Yeah.
Yeah, the South Coast
University Cutters.
What was the gist
of your conversation?
Well, I asked him if he'd be
interested in making some money,
manipulating the outcome of some
of the games the Cutters played.
You asked him to fix
football games for you?
- Yeah.
- What'd he say?
He said, "Yeah. Great."
And after that, you paid Daniel Wallace
to make sure the Cutters would lose.
No, no, no.
I paid him to make sure
that the Cutters
wouldn't cover the spread
in games that they
were favored to win.
So, what you were
asking Mr. Wallace to do
wasn't to deliberately lose a game
the Cutters were favored to win,
but just to manipulate the final
score, so it wouldn't cover the spread?
Yeah. You got it.
That way, I could
go to another bookie.
I could bet against the spread.
I'd know I was gonna win. Ha, ha.
Yeah, a little more
subtle that way.
And you paid Mr. Wallace
for what he did?
Yeah, 40,000 bucks.
Four games, 10 grand a pop.
I mean, that was our agreement.
Was, uh...?
Was the defendant always
able to deliver what he promised?
Well, he said that he
knew his guys so well,
that by sending them into
the game and out of the game,
and by picking just the right
play at just the right time,
well, he had all of
that down to a science.
What, in fact, was the
outcome of the four games?
Well, they won all four.
I mean, in three of them,
they didn't cover the spread.
Just like he said.
- Thank you, Mr. Ingle.
- Mm-hm.
Mr. Lane, you may cross.
What you did is illegal,
is it not, Mr. Ingle?
Yeah.
Then why is it that my client
is on trial and you are not?
Well, I, ahem...
Yeah, well, I, uh...
I was told that,
uh, if I testified,
I'd be granted immunity
from prosecution.
In other words, it
was either sit up there,
or sit down here,
right, Mr. Ingle?
- Well... LANE:
You're not testifying.
You're saving your own
skin, aren't you, Mr. Ingle?
No, no, no.
I'm telling you the truth.
Nothing further.
Did Coach Wallace do anything that
you, as a member of his football team,
thought was unusual or ill-advised
during that first home game?
Yeah. D.A.: Tell us about it.
Like in the third quarter, it was fourth
down with a half yard to go under 28,
and instead of kicking the
field goal, he had us go for it.
- And what happened?
- We didn't make it.
Turned the ball over, and three
plays later, they end up scoring.
Did anything like that ever happen
during any of the other games?
All the time. Like he'd
take out a good player
at a crucial moment and
send in a second stringer,
or he'd call a running play
when it was obvious
we should be passing.
- Stuff like that.
- As a seasoned football player,
did you ever get the feeling Coach
Wallace was deliberately trying
to adjust the score by doing
things that were unorthodox?
I don't know what
he was trying to do.
It did seem to me, though,
that he was letting scoring
situations slip through our hands.
- Thank you. JUDGE:
Mr. Lane, you may cross.
Do you know what a Monday
morning quarterback is?
- Yeah.
- Well, for those who don't,
that's somebody who sits around
after a football game is all over and says:
"This is what the quarterback
should have done, isn't it?"
Kind of like what
you're doing right now.
I was there. I saw
what was going on.
That makes you an
armchair quarterback then.
That's somebody who sits back
and second-guesses the quarterback.
Hey, I know my stuff. Like he
said, I'm a seasoned ballplayer.
Yes, but you are not the coach.
If you were,
you might have done things exactly
the same way Daniel Wallace did.
Experimented,
kept the opposition guessing
by doing the unexpected,
given new players a
chance to prove themselves,
given the more valuable
players a chance to rest.
- Isn't that right?
- I don't think so.
You don't like Coach
Wallace very much, do you?
Now, watch yourself,
Reed. You're under oath.
And you got a lot of
teammates sitting right out there.
I don't like him much, no.
Thank you.
- Have you reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
We find the defendant guilty.
Ms. Wallace, thanks for waiting. Took
me longer to get away than I thought.
Why couldn't I have
met you at Brian's office?
Because Brian is what I
wanted to talk with you about.
- This is very difficult for me.
- What?
While helping Brian prepare
your husband's defense,
I overheard a
conversation between Brian
and a man who said
he had information
that could help prove Max
Ingle, the bookie, was lying.
And Brian just sent him on his
way and never followed up on it.
- Why not?
- I don't know.
At the time, I figured Brian
had his reasons and let it go.
But when your husband was
convicted, I did some checking.
The guy's legit. Brian blew it.
And you're willing
to help me prove it?
I believe Brian mismanaged
your husband's case.
So there's a chance that
Daniel's case could be reopened
- and the verdict overturned?
- Yeah.
I mean, I'm as loyal as the
next person, Mrs. Wallace,
but an innocent man
shouldn't go to jail.
Well, ahem, so you're...
You're suing Brian
Lane for malpractice?
The way he handled
Daniel's defense
is why the judge
overturned the verdict.
I want you to represent me.
I don't do malpractice cases.
But you could, if you
wanted, couldn't you?
Well, yeah, but I really
hate suing a colleague.
Your colleague is
at best irresponsible,
at worst, criminally negligent.
Now, those aren't my words,
Ben. That's what the judge said.
There's the transcript.
Read it for yourself.
Brian Lane deserves to fry.
If you'd taken Daniel's
case in the first place,
none of this would
have ever happened.
You were the one that
suggested that I go with Brian.
You owe me, Ben.
Ben Matlock.
Of all the lawyers in this town,
I wind up getting
sued by Ben Matlock.
How could you let that happen?
I tried to talk
Daniel out of it.
But I was afraid if I tried too
hard, he may get suspicious.
I should've let Natalie go.
None of this would've happened
if she'd kept her mouth shut
about what she heard that day.
Well, we'll just have
to make the best of it.
We'll get through
this all right.
Oh, it's all this pressure.
You perform very
well under pressure.
I gotta get going.
It's Wednesday.
- Wednesday?
- Choir practice.
He'll be home early.
Sometimes I think I know Daniel's
schedule better than he does.
Mr. Linder, why did
you contact Brian Lane?
Oh, I knew Max Ingle was lying
about being with
Wallace on that day.
I thought it was my civic
duty to tell somebody.
Well, what'd you tell him?
Oh, I told him Max and I
were out at Sunnyside Downs
on September the 17th.
Went out about 5 p.m.
and stayed till a little
after 11 that night.
Sunnyside Down,
that's a racetrack.
Yup.
And you and Mr. Ingle
were gambling?
Yeah, that's right.
Do you have proof that you
and Max Ingle were there?
Yeah, that's the reason I
remembered in the first place.
Max hit the trifecta that day.
- Trifecta.
- Yeah.
Trifecta, see, is when
you bet the horses
to come in first, second and
third in that order in a race.
Paid over 2 grand.
I guess the track would
keep a record on that.
Heh. You bet. Yeah.
They make you fill out a
form for the good old IRS
any time you went
over 1,500 bucks.
You told Mr. Lane
this? LINDER: Yeah.
Well, what'd he say?
He said, "Thanks a
lot. We'll be in touch."
- And was he in touch?
- No. Never heard from him again.
Thank you, Mr. Linder.
Cross examine, Mr. Chase.
Defense has no questions
of this witness, Your Honor.
You may step down.
Next witness, Mr. Matlock.
The plaintiff rests
his case, Your Honor.
Then, Mr. Chase, you
may call your first witness.
Defense calls Mr. Brian
Lane as its first witness.
As one of the most
well-respected attorneys in Atlanta,
you must have had a
reason for doing what you did.
So, please, tell us.
Why did you fail to include
testimony by Mr. Linder
when you were
defending Daniel Wallace?
It was quite simply
a judgment call.
I didn't think Robert Linder
would make a credible witness.
In fact, I thought there
was a good chance
he would do more harm than good.
Why did you think that?
Because Robert Linder
owns a topless bar.
He gambles, he abuses drugs.
He beats his wife.
And he has a police record.
But physical evidence existed that
would have corroborated his story.
He never told me that.
He said nothing about Ingle's
winning the trifecta that day.
Well, now, he just testified
under oath that he did.
Well, I'm testifying
under oath that he did not.
So in your opinion,
as again, one of the most highly
regarded attorneys in this town,
you felt the jury would
not believe Mr. Linder.
And so you dismissed
him, is that it?
That's it. Exactly.
I have no further questions.
Well, I do.
Mr. Lane, how perfect
does a person have to be
before you'll call
him to the stand?
- I don't think I understand.
- Of course, you do.
Does he have to go to
church every Sunday,
be a member of the PTA,
drink decaffeinated
coffee? How perfect?
Robert Linder had a
rap sheet a mile long.
Robert Linder was picked up once
on a possession of marijuana charge,
twice for hitting his wife,
who dropped both charges
the minute she sobered up,
four times for solicitation.
I grant you, he's no Boy Scout.
But come on, Mr. Lane,
he's no Al Capone, either.
In my professional opinion,
without anything to
corroborate his story,
his evidence
would've been a waste.
Do you mean to tell me you
didn't ask him for corroboration?
A man walks into your office
who might very well be the only thing
between your client and the slammer,
and you say, "Thanks,
but no thanks."
And you let that man
walk out of your office,
no questions asked?
You...? You didn't ask him
who else saw Max Ingle
at the track that day?
It didn't occur to you that
somebody more to your liking
may have been able to
corroborate Mr. Linder's story.
Hell, it would have
occurred to me.
I bet it would have occurred to just
about every other lawyer in this town,
even those who are not half
as highly exceptional as you are.
So, what's your...? What's
your excuse, Mr. Lane?
How did you let Robert Linder
walk out of your office that way?
How could you treat
your client that way?
I can't do this.
I beg your pardon?
I intentionally withheld
Robert Linder's testimony,
because I wanted to make
sure my client was convicted.
Request a ten-minute recess.
No. I wanna get this over with.
Please. Please let me continue.
By all means.
Uh, about six months ago, I
met the Wallaces at a party.
Pamela Wallace and I
started seeing each other.
We...
- We eventually fell in love.
- It's not true.
Shortly afterwards,
Daniel was arrested
for fixing those
college football games.
And then that was it for Pamela.
She... She wanted
to divorce him.
But she had signed a
prenuptial agreement
that would have left her
virtually penniless if she had.
So we devised a plan
whereby I would take his case
and deliberately lose it.
None of this is true. Why
are you saying these things?
- Sit down, young lady.
- But he's lying.
- Let him finish.
- Order!
That way, we could live
together out of state somewhere
and invest enough of his
money and mine so that...
So that we could live comfortably
when she finally did ask him for a divorce.
But when Robert Linder
came into my office
with the evidence that would
have exonerated Daniel, I...
I sent him away.
See, he would've
ruined everything, and...
I'm sorry.
I thought I could do
this, but I can't. I'm sorry.
Please, Danny, I don't know
why he said those things.
But he was lying.
Brian made all that up
because he didn't wanna admit
he was just plain incompetent.
Pamela.
Pamela.
It doesn't have to
be over between us.
- Get away from me.
- Pamela, I need you.
Danny, please, make him
stop. Make him go away.
I trusted you.
Now, I'm a God-fearing,
law-abiding man, but I swear,
if you come near us again, I'm gonna
beat you to within an inch of your life.
No, Daniel, don't, don't.
Bad day, huh?
Daniel, good to see you again.
- Glad everything worked out.
- Thanks, Peter.
- Have you met the new minister yet?
- No.
Do you need any help with
that food relief program?
Not at the moment.
Plenty of volunteers.
Well, if you need an extra
body, just give me a call.
Thanks. I will.
Case number 1673438.
DuPont v. Hoskins.
The charge is trespassing
and disorderly conduct.
- How does the defendant plead?
- Your Honor, my client pleads...
- Please, don't. I don't want to.
- No.
- I didn't do it.
- No. No.
- I was looking at...
- No. No.
- No, I didn't...
- He pleads guilty, Your Honor.
The defendant pleads guilty.
So noted.
The defendant shall be remanded
to the custody of the county.
Thanks for waiting. So
where you wanna go eat?
I made reservations
at LaBelle's at 12:30.
Great.
Your client back there didn't
seem too eager to plead guilty.
Oh, that was Lenny Hoskins.
He was caught prowling
around this lady's house.
She claims he's a Peeping Tom.
- Is he?
- Not according to him.
Do you believe him?
Well, the way I see it, months
in jail will be good for him.
No booze, three squares
a day, medical attention.
- Oh, what's the difference?
- Yeah, Laurie, but if he's innocent...
Leanne, grow up.
I've been looking
everywhere for you.
Why didn't you leave
a note or something?
You know what I think it is?
I think he's obsessed with me.
No, really.
I never told you this, but
when we met him at that party,
he said some really weird
things to me, suggestive things.
I mean, maybe he
was attracted to me,
and when he wound
up defending you,
I don't know, maybe he saw a way
to finally have me and just snapped.
I don't think so.
Why not? It makes more sense
than what he said, doesn't it?
All that stuff about the
prenuptial agreement
and living together on
your money, that's crazy.
We both know you
don't have any money.
You gambled it away years ago.
Daniel, please,
this man is nuts.
You've gotta believe me.
I am telling you the truth.
Where are you going?
Danny.
Danny.
How did this happen to you?
How did what happen?
Being homeless.
Oh.
I don't know.
One thing led to another.
Alcohol?
Yeah.
I used to drink a lot.
Lost jobs.
My wife left me.
Took the children.
Never saw them again.
Went on a binge.
Don't know how long it lasted.
When I came to, it was all
over, and I was out of society.
It's not too bad.
I travel around,
work once in a while.
One way to look at it, I'm free.
No, you're not,
not by a long shot.
And we've got to find a way
to do something about that.
Leanne.
In the kitchen.
Well...
I'm glad you're back.
Dad, I'd like you to meet
my new client, Lenny Hoskins.
Lenny, my father, Ben Matlock.
How do you do, sir?
Lenny's been charged with
trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Second time in two months.
I'm innocent, of course.
This woman keeps claiming
that he prowls around her house
and kind of invades her privacy.
He's a peeper?
I admit to looking
in her window.
But I wasn't looking
at her, I really wasn't.
I was looking at her dog.
Her dog.
I see her with her
dog in the park.
She treats that
poor thing horribly.
I just wanted to make
sure he was okay.
Mr. Hoskins, would you mind stepping
into the living room for just a second?
- Certainly.
- Thanks.
Leanne, are you out of your
mind? You can't represent him.
- Why not?
- He's a peeper.
- He's not a peeper.
- He peeped at that woman.
No, he wasn't peeping at all.
Dad, when we became partners,
we agreed to represent
some people pro bono.
- Remember?
- I remember.
Well, this is where we begin.
I'm going to represent him.
Now, all we need to do
is find him a place to stay
for a couple of days
and help him find a job.
- He doesn't have a home?
- No, he moves around quite a bit.
So I thought, until the trial was
over, he could stay at my place,
- in the spare bedroom.
- No.
- Why not?
- Leanne, he's a peeper.
- An alleged peeper.
- I don't care what you call him.
He's not staying at
your house. Denny.
- Lenny.
- Lenny.
May I just say, you
have a beautiful house.
I understand they've got
beautiful rooms down at the YMCA.
So take this money
and go down there.
No, sir, I neither solicit
nor accept handouts.
Well, what if you worked for the
money? Would you take it then?
- Of course.
- You can do some work
around here tomorrow for my dad.
That way, it would
be an advance.
No, ma'am, until I do the
work, I cannot accept the pay.
Now, wait a minute.
You gotta have a
place to stay tonight.
And you're not staying
in my daughter's house.
So take the damn money
and go down to the Y.
Maybe they got a
dog you could look at.
Dad, I have a solution. You
saw the sofa in the living room.
- Would you like to stay here tonight?
- Leanne.
That way you could get up bright
and early and go right to work.
It wouldn't be charity. It would be
more like you were a houseguest.
- Leanne.
- If it's all right with your father.
Is it, Dad?
You're the best thing
that ever happened to me.
And the worst.
Go upstairs and wash.
You know that pony you
always wanted for Christmas?
That's why you never got it.
Bears game, over under's 36.
Packers, 42.
No problem. How much?
A thousand?
Okay, you're covered.
Under for a grand.
Okay.
Those things you said
up there on the stand.
We had all sorts of meetings.
I figured we might as
well have one, huh?
Let me go.
Not until you tell me
why you lied up there.
Who paid you off,
Max? Was it Brian Lane?
My wife? Who was it?
I can't breathe.
You're gonna tell
me sooner or later.
Come on, Max, tell me.
Thompson.
- Joe Thompson?
- Joe Thompson.
I swear.
Hi, Ben, I'm sorry to bother you,
but I think this might be important.
- What?
- I got Max Ingle to tell me
who paid him to lie
about me on the stand.
That's our houseguest.
Ingle said it was Joe Thompson.
Now, Ben, I swear I haven't
had anything to do with this guy
for five years since before
I got kicked out of pro ball.
Why would he wanna
set you up like that?
I have no idea, but
I'm sure gonna find out.
You're not gonna go
there and see him, are you?
How else am I gonna
find out what's going on?
Well, you can't just go in
and see a man like that.
He's a gangster. He's dangerous.
Let me talk to him.
- You'd do that?
- Yeah. Yeah. You go on home,
- and I'll let you know what I find out.
- Well, I appreciate it, Ben.
Look, if I'm not at home, I'll be at
the Three Angels Church, okay?
- You're really into that, aren't you?
- Oh, yeah.
The archbishop's coming
to town in a couple of weeks,
- and we got a lot to do to get ready.
- Yeah?
Yeah, he's coming
to congratulate us.
Our church has gathered more
food and clothing for the needy
all over the world than
any other church in our...
Denomination?
Yeah.
- Thanks, Ben.
- Yeah.
- You and me now.
- Oh, yeah?
Hey. THOMPSON:
Hey, you. Ha-ha-ha.
You think you're a
better shot than me, huh?
- I'll get the both of you. Yeah.
- He's right... Oh, there he is.
Now it's my turn to
get even with you guys.
You turkey.
Yeah? You think you're a
better shot than me, huh?
All right, you guys.
I got you guys so many
times, you're so soaked.
Now go on inside and
get dried off. Go ahead.
Okay.
Bye.
Well, hello there.
- Mr. Thompson?
- That's right.
Ben Matlock.
Nice-looking kids.
Well, if this is business,
you could see me in my office.
Oh, this'll only take a minute.
One of my clients, Daniel
Wallace, you remember him?
- Yeah, of course, the football coach.
- Yeah.
Yeah, we used to hang
out. He liked to gamble.
Now, that's a name I haven't
heard for, what, five, six years, I'll bet.
Maybe so. How about...?
How about Max Ingle?
Remember his name?
Why do you ask?
Well, Max said that you
paid him to perjure himself
during Daniel's last trial.
What a nasty thing for
Max to say about me.
Now, why would I do
something like that?
I don't know. I don't know.
Unless you wanted
to see Daniel go to jail.
Mr. Matlock,
now why would a legitimate
businessman such as myself
care whether or not some
college football coach goes to jail?
Well, now, you hit the... You
hit the nail right on the head.
I was gonna ask you that.
Well, I'm gonna have to call Max
up and have a little talk with him.
Find out why he
said that about me.
Well, I have a feeling Max might
be hard to find for a long time.
Well, I won't take up
any more of your time.
I'll just go out that way,
and say goodbye
to Mrs. Thompson.
- You hear that?
- Yeah.
He could be a problem.
No, no.
We're just gonna
have to be very careful.
Pomp and show
Solid joys and lasting treasure
None but Z ion's
children know Excellent.
And this is only a rehearsal.
Everyone, I'd like to introduce
you to our new minister,
the Reverend Oliver Malloy.
And may I say, I'm
absolutely delighted to be here.
This is our unofficial
director of music
and just about everything
else around here,
Daniel Wallace.
Of course. It's an honor.
Especially since I
understand they were thinking
about making you the
new minister at one time.
I'm sorry. You look familiar.
Well, I guess I just
have one of those faces.
But, please, go on. Don't
let us interrupt. It's beautiful.
All right, let's take it back
to the same place please.
Savior, if of Z ion's city
I through grace a member am
Let the world deride or pity
- Hello.
- Morning.
What are you doing?
I took the liberty of cooking
your breakfast. Sit down.
Did you wash your hands?
Here we go.
Mushroom and
green pepper frittata.
Just a little something to
go with your lemon pancakes.
You like it?
Yeah.
He... Uh, Matlock residence.
No, I'm afraid he's
busy right now.
May I take a message?
I was just brushing my teeth
this morning and it hit me.
I'd seen that guy when I used
to hang out with Joe Thompson.
The new minister?
I saw him at Thompson's house
and also at the social club
we always used to hang out.
Is Thompson his real name?
Yeah, as far as I know.
He doesn't look like a Thompson.
So that was five years ago?
Ben, I know that's
where I saw him.
I mean, I've got a real
good memory for faces.
Well, I guess mobsters need
spiritual guidance like anybody else.
Maybe... Maybe
it's a coincidence.
I haven't even thought
of Joe Thompson in years,
and now all of a sudden, I find
out he's trying to ship me off to jail.
And the new minister of my
church turns out to be a friend of his.
- It just doesn't feel right.
- Yeah, I know what you mean.
I just wish I knew
what to do about it.
I don't want you to
do anything about it.
I won't.
Ben, thanks a lot
for coming out here.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate it.
I just don't know who I can
trust anymore, you know?
Should've told you to
bring your sweats out here.
- Could've run some stairs together.
- Oh, I ate too much breakfast.
I can hardly walk.
- Take it easy.
- See you again.
All right.
- Ben.
- Mm.
I understand you're
the one phoned this in?
Well, yeah, he wanted me to meet
him here, so he could tell me something.
Did you see him fall?
No, I was on my way
out when I heard a yell.
See anyone or anything suspicious
while you were talking to him?
No, I didn't.
What'd he wanna tell you?
The new minister at your church.
- Have you met him?
- No.
Daniel met him yesterday.
And he wanted to tell me that
he had seen him once before
at Joe Thompson's house.
That's news to me.
No law against a mob boss
being friends with a minister.
Happens all the time.
That's pretty much
what I told him.
Daniel Wallace never tired of
doing God's work here on Earth.
And I have no doubt that
he is continuing to serve God
with his customary
joy and enthusiasm
in a far better place.
We all can and should
take solace in this.
And now, those wishing to
pay his or her final respects
may come forward and do so.
I can't take this anymore, Pam.
Why won't you return my calls?
I wanna know what's going on.
I love you.
I tried to do what we planned.
I just... I couldn't hold
it together in court.
Darling, I'm sorry.
My career is over.
And my life.
- Come on.
- Pamela, please.
- Come on. Come on.
- You told me you loved me.
She doesn't care. She
never cared about Daniel.
You lied about everything.
She told me Daniel didn't have
any money. She said she loved me.
All she wanted was
for Daniel to go to jail.
But if she doesn't love me,
why would she want that?
Why? MATLOCK: Come on.
Why? MAN 1: It's
unbelievable. I can't...
- Disrespectful.
- Get him out of here.
- Would you like a drink?
- No.
Killing Daniel wasn't
part of the deal.
Nobody killed your husband.
As I understand it,
he tripped and fell.
It was an accident.
- I want my money.
- Now?
I agreed to help you
get Daniel out of the way.
And now that he's
out of the way for good,
I think I deserve to get paid.
Pamela, so do I.
You'll have it within 24 hours.
A million cash.
A million cash.
Why would Pamela
want Daniel to go to jail?
I don't know. That's
what Brian says.
But not so that she and Brian
could live happily ever after?
He says she won't
give him the time of day.
That's weird. You'd think she
wouldn't have anything to hide anymore.
I mean, especially
now that Daniel's dead.
Well, Pamela
wanted Daniel in jail.
- Joe Thompson wanted Daniel in jail.
- You think there's a connection?
Don't know. LENNY: Here we go.
A Monte Cristo, french
fries, and coleslaw.
All homemade.
- Wow.
- Try it.
- You made this?
- Yes, ma'am.
- You know what?
- What?
You owe me that pony.
Hello, Mrs. Wallace, I just dropped
by to see how you were holding up.
That's very nice of
you, Reverend Malloy.
- Would you like to come in?
- Thank you.
I didn't think it would be you.
Well, were you
expecting somebody else?
No, no, I just thought
maybe a mutual friend
was using you to
deliver something.
Heh, well, I'm afraid
I don't understand.
You really came by just
to see how I was doing?
And to pray with you, if
you'd like, for Daniel's soul.
Yeah, I would like that.
- Brian Lane?
- Yeah.
I'm Lieutenant
Andrews, Atlanta P.D.
Got a warrant to search
your home and automobile.
- May we come in? Thank you.
- Yeah, wait a minute.
Almost noon. You're
still not dressed?
What's the matter,
counselor? Had a rough night?
You think I had something
to do with Pamela's death?
Well, several dozen people saw you
having words with her two days ago
at her husband's funeral.
I loved her.
You're missing a knife.
I haven't set foot outside this
place in two days. Ask the doorman.
Ask my neighbors. Ask anyone.
- Lieutenant.
Excuse me.
This was in the
trunk of your car.
Your missing knife, Mr. Lane.
No.
Hey, Brian. Hey, Brian, no.
You're a disgrace to
the legal profession.
So no. Capital N,
capital O, okay?
Forget it.
Oh, good, you're sitting down.
Dad... Actually,
Mr. Ben Matlock,
may I introduce
Mr. James Leonard Hoskins.
My attorney here felt
it was time to invest
in some haberdashery
and a new 'do.
- What do you think?
- Well, I say, Lenny...
Quite a metamorphosis, isn't it?
Uh...
Can you still cook?
Can. And if you will
allow me to change, will.
How does a nice
succulent pork roast sound?
By all means, change.
Are you okay, Dad?
Well, yeah, yeah.
Lenny looks great.
Something's bothering you, Pop.
Not really.
Brian Lane wants
you to represent him.
- I just told him to forget it.
- Why?
He had an affair with
a married woman.
And then became
her husband's lawyer.
And then withheld testimony so
her husband would have to go to jail
so he could have
his wife all to himself.
Dad, he was framed,
and you know it.
Only a total moron would kill
somebody he'd been arguing with in public
only two days before
and then hide the murder
weapon in his own car.
The man's a liar. He withheld
a witness in Daniel's trial.
- He confessed in open court.
- He has no ethics.
He was ashamed of what
he did. He knew it stunk.
He made a mistake,
and he owned up to it.
Yeah.
Reverend Malloy?
Yes?
Ben Matlock. I was here last
week at Daniel Wallace's funeral.
Oh, yes, you were his lawyer.
And now I'm Brian Lane's lawyer.
The man accused of
murdering Daniel's wife?
Well, that's a rather abrupt
change of allegiance, isn't it?
Yes, it is.
- Can I sit down?
- Of course.
I used to...
- I used to sing in choir.
- Oh, join us.
Well, heh, heh, I was
pretty bad at falling asleep.
The preacher used to
speak in a kind of a monotone
and I'd doze off.
And the next thing you
know, it was time for:
"Amen, amen."
- It was over.
- I have a trick.
See, I speak softly till I've
lulled off, oh, 15, 20 people,
and then I find a
good phrase and I yell.
Ha-ha-ha. That's
good. Good. Yeah.
The police say that they found a
cross at Pamela Wallace's house.
Yes, I stopped by that afternoon
to see how she was doing.
I, uh, took off the cross so that I
could hold it while we prayed together.
And I guess I put it
down and just left it there.
I don't know what's
happening with my memory.
Remember how
long you were there?
No more than half an hour.
I apparently was something
of a suspect there for a while.
But then the police
talked with the kids
who were playing in
the street that afternoon,
and they told them that Pamela
was very much alive when I left.
So I'm back to being just the
new minister of a little church.
Did you tell the police about your
connection with Joe Thompson?
- My connection?
- Yeah.
Daniel says that he met you at Joe
Thompson's house five years ago.
Well, that's odd. I don't
remember meeting him.
Although it's possible, I suppose.
I've known Joe since grade school.
Daniel believed that Joe
Thompson had paid somebody off
to lie on the stand
when he was on trial,
you know, about fixing
those football games.
He was convinced that
Mr. Thompson wanted
to get him put away.
And then he met you here.
And then he remembered that you
had been friends with Mr. Thompson.
And, um...
Then what?
Well, and then he took that fall
down that long flight of
concrete stairs and died.
A horrible tragedy.
Well, I just wanted to pass
it by you, Reverend Malloy.
- Thanks for your time.
- Well, my pleasure.
Feel free to come back,
preferably on a Sunday morning.
- Keep you awake.
- Oh, that little yell. Ha-ha-ha.
Joe Thompson, please.
Oliver Malloy.
What the hell did he want?
Joe, it's Oliver.
Ben Matlock was just here.
Mm-hm. We need to talk.
Ben Matlock thinks
I killed Pamela.
Right.
Sit down.
I don't like this
turn of events.
Calm down and sit, Oliver.
Well, Daniel was right.
There's a definite connection between
that new minister and Joe Thompson.
This is the best apple
pie I've ever eaten.
You don't know what
they were talking about?
Couldn't hear. Malloy
was pretty uptight though.
You must have shaken
him up pretty good.
Leanne make this?
No, last time Leanne
tried to make a pie,
the crust wound up on the wall.
How did that happen?
She threw it across the room.
Who's this fellow right here?
I don't know, but he came
out with Reverend Malloy,
went back there with
him after the meeting.
I wonder what they're up to.
- Conrad?
- Mm?
You like to sing, don't you?
Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
That was wonderful.
Well, I've heard enough.
Conrad, welcome to the
Three Angels Church Choir.
- Thank you.
- Why don't you sit there with Sandy?
Okay.
All right. Page 33.
This has a rather long introduction,
don't forget, so watch for my cue.
Oh, what a friend
we have in Jesus
As I said, Conrad,
watch for my cue. Again.
Sorry.
Reverend Malloy.
Hi. Conrad McMasters.
I wanted to introduce myself.
Been hearing good
things about Three Angels,
I decided to come
down and join up.
Well, it's nice to have you with
us. You're already with the choir?
Yeah, you know, get involved,
get involved all the way.
I wish all new members
had your enthusiasm.
Excuse me. Peter?
- Yes?
- The welcoming committee's meeting
in the conference room
in a couple of minutes.
Right. I'll be there.
Welcoming committee?
For the archbishop.
He's visiting this weekend.
Could you use some help?
Actually, they've
got it under control.
But all next week, we're
receiving food donations,
and then we're gonna package
it for shipment overseas.
Now, if you could help us with
that, we'd really appreciate it.
- Sure, count me in.
- Great.
Yeah. WOMAN 2: Yeah.
Hello?
Hello?
Yeah. Under, for 100.
You got it.
Yeah.
Oh, hi. Yeah.
Packers? Minus three.
Yeah. All right. All right.
You got it. Three bills.
Now, look, Bobby, I gotta go.
- Hi, Max, Ben Matlock.
- Yeah. I know who you are.
- Can I come in?
- How did you find me?
- Gas company.
- Yeah, well, what do you want?
Five minutes, then
you'll never see me again.
Phone's ringing.
Two minutes.
Max, I need you to tell
me who this fellow is here
with Joe Thompson
and Reverend Malloy.
Sorry.
Joe Thompson knows
that you told Daniel that
Mr. Thompson paid you
to lie in the witness box.
How long you
figuring on hiding out?
You got a minute and 45.
If I found you, how hard do you
think it would be for him to find you?
The only way you're gonna be
able to stop hiding out and running
is for me to send these boys up.
Who is it, Max?
All right, he's Peter Eastland.
I met him once.
Rumor had it he was a shooter.
A hit man.
I wonder why the
police couldn't ID him.
Because he's as
slick as they come.
You know anything
else about him?
Well, if I remember,
he loves oysters.
Always hanging out at this oyster
bar called, uh, The Sea Pearl.
- Sea Pearl.
- Mm.
Mr. Eastland.
Hi, Ben Matlock.
- Have we met?
- No.
But I'm kind of
surprised we haven't.
- Why is that?
- Well, I'm a defense lawyer.
And you work for a
criminal, Joe Thompson.
- Who?
- This... Right here. Wait.
Right there in that picture.
Oh. Actually, I only know
him through Reverend Malloy.
- I'm a member of his church.
- Oh.
The meeting the three
of you were having,
what was it about?
I don't recall. I was
just along for the ride.
Would you like an oyster?
Oh, no, thanks. I'm working.
They tell me that
eating raw oysters
makes you wanna
do something else.
Maybe they're right.
Well, since you're working,
I'm sure there's
something I can do for you.
Well, I represent Brian Lane,
and he's accused of
murdering Pamela Wallace.
And since I know that he's no
killer, when you, in fact, are...
Who told you that?
Oh, when anybody's
apparently as good as you are,
then word gets around.
Bull.
Why would I wanna
kill Pamela Wallace?
Joe Thompson told you to?
Why would he wanna do that?
I don't know, but
I'm working on it.
Tell him, will you?
- Like I said, I hardly know the man.
- Yeah.
Mm.
If I wasn't working, I could
really go for some of them.
- Sorry.
- What's the matter with you?
I figured we needed to talk.
And since people from the church
might be at trial, I figured
we should do it here.
Scared me to death.
- I'm sorry.
- Give me a heart attack.
I'm sorry.
Well, don't you wanna talk?
Oh, uh, yeah.
This other guy in the picture
with Reverend Malloy
and Joe Thompson
- is Peter Eastland.
- Oh, yeah.
What's his connection?
Well, apparently, he
works for Joe Thompson.
Kills people.
- In-house assassin.
- That's the rumor.
The archbishop.
What about him?
He's coming to
church this weekend.
Peter Eastland is on the
committee in charge of his visit.
Someone's going to
try to assassinate me?
Well, Mr. Matlock and I think
it's a distinct possibility, yes.
Somebody at Three Angels Church?
We... We think so. Yes.
Who? And more to the point, why?
Well, we're not
quite sure of that yet.
But I've received no threats.
No one's warned me to stay away.
Well, if you could just postpone
things here for a couple of weeks,
it would give us
a little more time.
No, no, that's out of the question.
My schedule won't allow it.
No, I said I'd address the
congregation tomorrow,
and that's what I'm going to do.
I appreciate your
concern, gentlemen.
But nothing you've
said has convinced me
that I should change my plan.
Well, maybe we'll just
take a few extra precautions.
Couple of plainclothesmen
inside the church,
an unmarked car or
two out on the street.
That's your prerogative.
Your efforts have saved lives and
eased suffering all over the world.
You have collected, packaged,
and shipped more donations
to hungry nations than any
other church in this country.
What an incredible act of
love, brothers and sisters.
You should be very proud.
I know I'm very proud.
But all I can do to reward
your compassion and dedication
is to say thank you.
For it's God who
will really reward you.
If not in this life, then
in the life to come.
Of that, you may rest assured.
Congratulations.
Let us rise and join
hands for the benediction.
Stand by.
Okay, the service should
end any minute now.
Everybody, look alive.
Unit One in
position. Standing by.
- Unit Two?
- Ready on the street, sir.
And all God's people said...
- Amen.
A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal
- All right, here he comes.
- Ten-four.
Did we in our own
strength confide
Our striving would be losing
He just drove off without incident.
I guess we're all clear, folks.
- Roger.
- Well...
I don't know whether to
feel relieved or disappointed.
Well, I figure between overtime,
extra people, special equipment,
I've just spent thousands of
dollars of the taxpayer's money.
Needlessly.
I sure as hell know how I feel.
- Aah!
- Hi.
Damn it, Conrad.
- Well, hell.
- Stop cussing like that.
- I'm sorry.
- Sorry don't feed the bulldog.
Quit hiding in the back of my
car. You scared me half to death.
If you wanna hide in the
back of somebody's car,
hide in the back
of your own car.
Okay.
So, what do you think happened?
I don't know.
You think, maybe, somehow,
they knew that we
knew and backed off?
Maybe they never intended to
kill the archbishop to start with.
How'd Lieutenant
Andrews take it?
Let me put it to you this way.
I wouldn't hide in
the back of his car.
I live at 1873 South Ivy.
Do you live there by yourself?
Yes, my husband passed
away three years ago.
Mrs. DuPont, please tell the court
what happened on January 24th.
I went into my bedroom
to change clothes,
and saw that man over
there looking in my window.
Let the record show that the
witness has indicated the defendant,
Leonard Hoskins.
Of course, he wasn't
all gussied up then,
much more like
what he is, a pervert.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
Let the witness's last
statement be stricken.
You're sure this is
the man you saw?
Yes, because the police
arrested him two months earlier
for doing exactly
the same thing.
What did you do after you saw
him looking through your window?
DuPONT: Well, I screamed.
Then I went running to the back
door to make sure it was locked.
Thank God it was because
when I got to the kitchen,
there he was, looking
through the window at me.
- Did you call the police?
- Yes, I did.
But, as it turned out, my
neighbors had seen him too,
and they'd already called 911.
Thank you, Mrs. DuPont.
Your witness, Miss Mclntyre.
Mrs. DuPont,
when you said that you live
alone, that isn't quite true, is it?
DuPONT: Well, of course, it is.
You have a dog, don't you?
Well, yes.
Was it your idea or your
husband's to get the dog?
My husband's. He loved dogs.
You don't, though, do you?
- What do you mean?
- My client, Lenny Hoskins,
has stated and is
prepared to testify
that he has seen
you in McMillan Park,
hitting your dog with
the metal part of the leash
on several occasions.
Did you ever see your dog
run over to Mr. Hoskins?
Mrs. DuPont?
Well, yes.
- Did you call him back?
- Yes.
Did he come?
No, that... Your
client was holding him.
But he did turn him loose.
- Yes.
- And did you reprimand the dog?
- Yes.
- With the metal part of the leash?
I reprimanded him with my voice.
Mrs. DuPont, my client
did follow you home.
And he did look in your window.
Not because he
wanted to see you,
but because he was
driven to make sure
that you hadn't seriously
injured your dog.
That's ridiculous.
- So you deny mistreating him?
- Of course.
You never hit him, never
raised your hand to him?
Never.
Your Honor, at this time, I would
like to conduct a little demonstration.
Very well.
Bailiff.
Thank you.
Oh, yes. Ha-ha-ha.
Your Honor, I'd like
to introduce Darby.
Is this your dog, Mrs. DuPont?
Well, yes. What on
earth is he doing here?
Deputy Farrow retrieved him
from your backyard this morning.
Of course, he had a warrant.
At this time, Your Honor,
I would like to admit
Darby into evidence.
So done. But let me
remind you that you are,
if you'll excuse the expression,
on a very short leash.
Yes, Your Honor,
I'm aware of that.
Shall we show them
what you can do, huh?
Okay.
Sit down.
Okay. Can you sit?
Can you sit? Good dog.
Darby, shake hands.
Shake. Good boy.
Darby, lie down.
Good dog.
Oh, what a well-trained,
well-mannered, affectionate little dog.
Certainly, no need to
strike an animal like this.
Mrs. DuPont,
would you mind stepping
down here for just a second?
Would you mind
raising your hand,
as if you were going
to take the oath again?
Your Honor, this is pointless.
It'll just take two seconds
to find out, Your Honor.
The witness will please
do as she's been asked.
So you're sure you never
raised your hand to that dog?
Oh, for Pete's sakes.
Being in front of all these people
just has him spooked, that's all.
Come here, Darby. Come on.
Darby.
Come here. It's all right.
Darby, come.
Darby, come here.
Come here, Darby.
Darby, come here, boy.
Oh, yes.
Come on. Yes. Oh,
that's a good boy.
Yes, you're such a good boy.
- Yes.
- You can sit down, Mrs. DuPont.
Mrs. DuPont, my client
comes to visit your Darby a lot.
He worries about him because
he's seen the way you treat him.
That's what he was
doing there that day.
Making sure that
this poor little animal,
which you obviously
do abuse, was okay.
Yup.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Here you go.
More powdered milk?
Yeah, we get them donated
fresh from the factory.
The president of the
company is a deacon. Heh.
What's wrong?
My back. Had a
little twinge. I'm fine.
You should eat more oysters.
Yeah.
Church's relief effort?
Joe Thompson and Peter Eastland
are smuggling things
out of this country
in those boxes of
donated food. I'm positive.
What kinds of things?
Technology. I don't know.
Microfilm, drugs. I don't know yet.
But I do know that those
boxes of powdered milk
that he had me load on that
truck are a good 15 pounds lighter
than the boxes I already loaded.
Well, maybe the first batch
had more powdered milk
in them than the second?
No.
No, no, no, after
Eastland left, I checked.
Each of those boxes has the
same number of cartons of milk in it.
You know what I think? I think
they dumped powdered milk
out of those boxes to make
room for what they're sending out.
- Did you open any of the cartons?
- No, I didn't have time.
- The truck was leaving for the airport.
- Hmm.
- I don't know, Conrad.
- No.
No, it all fits.
Nobody else at church knows
what's going on but Reverend Malloy.
That's why Daniel Wallace was
killed. He's getting so danged involved.
They're afraid
he's gonna find out.
You gotta call the police.
They'll hang up on me.
Then you gotta go
talk to them in person.
Oh, I don't know, Conrad.
It won't do any good.
There we go.
Hey, Russ, take over. I
wanna use the head, okay?
Sure.
Yeah?
Hey. Reverend Malloy
wants to see you.
He's out by the truck
that just came in.
- Says it's pretty urgent.
- Okay. I'll be right there.
Put that stuff in.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Let me load this.
Well, that's about it.
Give you a hand with that?
Oh, yeah. Thanks.
Okay, that'll do it for this truck.
Let's get it up there and move it out.
Actually, let's not.
Atlanta Police. Hands up.
Let's go, let's go!
- Got it.
- Better take this crate.
Handcuff the reverend.
Get them up.
- He's breathing.
- That's good.
He's gonna be all right.
Thanks for listening, Harlan.
Thanks for being
right this time.
All right, men, come on,
let's check this cargo here.
Here I come!
Bring her down. Bring her down.
Hang on. BOY 3: Here we go.
Yeah. BOY 4: Just watch it.
Set it. Okay. Go.
Hey, hey.
Okay. BOY 1: I got it.
Hey, great play. Nice catch.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Let me see that.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Nice.
Yeah, yeah. yeah.
Now, were you out here, playing
the afternoon Ms. Wallace was killed?
- I already talked to the police.
- Yeah, I heard, I heard, I heard.
- Come on.
- But you saw Ms. Wallace
walk the minister to his car?
Yeah, he left. She
came and got the paper,
- went back inside.
- Yeah.
And you didn't see anybody else
go in after the minister left?
No. They're waiting for me.
- Give us the ball.
Yeah. Hi. BOYS: Hey.
Hey. BOY 2: Come on.
- Okay. Nice catch.
- All right.
There. BOY 2: Come on.
Hey.
Are you sure she picked up
the paper after the preacher left?
Yeah. Positive.
- Thanks. Nice catch.
- Come on, come on.
- Put it down.
- All right.
All right. BOY 4: Set him up.
How well did you know the victim,
Pamela Wallace, Reverend Malloy?
Not very well at all.
The first time I met her
was at her husband's funeral.
And her husband Daniel,
how well did you know him?
I didn't know him well, either.
He died shortly after I assumed
my ministry at Three Angels Church.
I understand that Daniel
was offered that ministry.
Unofficially, yes.
He hadn't quite finished
his studies, though.
And then when he was arrested
for accepting those bribes,
well, then the church elders decided
to look elsewhere for a new minister.
- So you were their next choice?
- That's correct.
Okay.
What about Joseph Thompson?
How well do you know him?
We grew up together.
And he occasionally
attends Three Angels.
And he's a known
organized crime figure
and a convicted
racketeer, isn't he?
Yes, but he's still my friend.
Peter Eastland, you know him?
Of course, he's an extremely
active member of the church.
And he's a professional
hit man, isn't he?
Objection, Your Honor. Irrelevant,
and assumes facts not in evidence.
Sustained.
A meeting that you and Joe
Thompson and Peter Eastland
had at Giuseppe's Restaurant
two weeks ago, what was it about?
I don't remember.
Well, the three of you
did have a meeting?
- Yes.
- But you don't remember why?
We were just getting together.
Last week, the three
of you were arrested
for conspiring to distribute
a controlled substance
called methcathinone
or CAT,
an extremely potent synthetic
stimulant, were you not?
I don't have to answer that.
I'm not asking whether
you're guilty or not guilty.
I just want you to confirm
what's already in the public record.
The three of you were arrested
for buying designer drugs
made in the United States
and using the Food Relief
Program from Three Angels Church
to smuggle it to your
distributors all over the world.
True or false?
- True.
- True.
And in order to do that,
Joseph Thompson
had to frame Daniel,
try to get him in jail,
so that you could
become the new minister
and be in charge of
the smuggling operation.
Now, that is not true.
And in order to do that,
he had to make sure
that Daniel's lawyer,
Brian Lane, lost his case.
So he paid Max Ingle to lie.
Then he paid Pamela to
use her womanly charms
to convince Brian that
Daniel had to go to jail,
so that they could spend the rest of
their lives together, right, reverend?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Only then the problem became
Brian confessed to
what he had done.
Daniel went free.
Then you had another problem.
Daniel recognized you
from his gambling days
when he used to hang
out at Joe Thompson's.
What if he became curious,
started nosing around?
Sooner or later, that
could ruin everything.
- Isn't that right?
- Absolutely not true.
Maybe at the meeting you
had there at Giuseppe's,
the three of you decided
Daniel had to die, huh?
No.
Then his wife got
nervous, and she had to die.
This is absurd. This
whole thing is absurd.
I don't know who shoved Daniel
down all those concrete steps.
But I do know
who stole this knife from
Brian Lane's condominium
and used it to stab
Pamela to death.
- It was you.
- That is a lie.
Objection, Your
Honor. Irrelevant.
Sustained.
You must admit, counselor,
Mr. Wycotte and I, up until
now, have been extremely patient.
Oh, I'm aware of that, Your
Honor, and I'm deeply grateful.
But I'm on the homestretch here.
- May I continue?
- Proceed.
You were at Pamela's house
the afternoon she was killed.
As I explained to
you and to the police,
I stopped by to see
how she was doing.
Part of my job is to
console the grieving.
I chatted with her.
We prayed together.
And then I drove
back to the church.
And the cross the
police found at her house.
Yes, I have a habit of taking it
off my neck when I... When I pray.
I guess I put it down
and forgot about it.
- I have a habit of doing that too.
- Ha, ha.
There were some boys playing
football outside her house.
Yes. And any one of
them can attest to the fact
that Pamela was very
much alive when I left.
They can also attest to
the fact that as you drove off,
Pamela reached down, picked
up her evening newspaper
and took it back into
the house with her.
- All right.
- All right.
This is people's exhibit 26.
Police photograph
of the crime scene.
Your cross is lying on top
of the evening newspaper.
See?
His cross is lying on top
of the evening newspaper.
So?
Yours are the only clear
fingerprints on that cross.
If you left before she brought
the paper into her house,
how did your cross
wind up on top of it?
How about this?
You left. Yeah, you drove off.
You drove around the corner.
Up the alley in back
of Pamela's house.
Then you slipped
in the back door,
and used this knife you had
stolen from my client's condominium
to stab Pamela to death.
You knew he'd be accused.
He's the perfect patsy.
But as sometimes happened,
it wasn't an immediate kill.
She struggled.
Your cross came off.
Landed on that newspaper.
You left.
You left your cross.
You forgot.
But not, as you say,
you ordinarily do.
You'd just committed a murder.
And I don't care who you are.
A person's mind
doesn't work real clear
when they've just
sinned that big time.
What say, preacher?
- Dad. Hi. How'd it go?
- We won.
The reason I called is something
very exciting has come up.
Now, much as I appreciate
your cooking for me all the time,
I'm sure it's not something you
want to do for the rest of your life.
Is it?
- No.
- Of course not. Of course not.
So I was talking with Charlie
that runs the hot dog stand.
He's getting ready to retire,
and he's looking for somebody
to take over his business
and I said I know just the fellow.
Lenny Hoskins.
And you wouldn't have
to just make hot dogs.
You could make frittatas,
soufflés, Monte Cristos, French dips.
You could put this
place on the map.
People would come
from all over the city.
You'd be famous.
You would be another
Wolfgang Puck. Ha-ha-ha.
And the best part is...
And the best part is, you
wouldn't have to leave Atlanta.
You could keep
on cooking for me,
you know, just occasionally.
Once in a while.
You people are very dear to me.
And you've done so much for
me. I hope you'll understand.
It's time for me to move on.
I heard from a man in Valdosta
who read about me in the paper.
He wants me to come
down, help him out. He's a vet.
- You're not a vet.
- No, no, I'll clean up
and tell him when the animals are sick or
don't feel well and then he'll fix it up.
I think we'll make a
nice team for a while.
- Then I'll move on again.
- Why?
It's the life I know.
Stop for a while,
go for a while.
I don't need much.
Did you ever sleep outside?
Oh, it's nice sometimes.
There have always
been wanderers.
I'm one of them.
I will think of you often.
Perhaps our paths
will cross again.
- Goodbye.
- Bye.
I'm sorry, Dad,
you lost your cook.
Yeah.
Want a hot dog?
Okay.