Matlock (1986–1995): Season 7, Episode 2 - The Legacy - full transcript
Mr. Martell, you have served
40 years of a life sentence
for the murder of Jake Kendall.
You've appeared before this
parole board countless times
[MARTELL COUGHING AND WHEEZING]
and in each instance, reports
of your disruptive behavior
have forced this board
to deny you parole.
Reports like this one, that
we received just yesterday.
Can you tell us why you remain
one of the most
uncooperative, hostile inmates
that this prison
has ever housed?
Mr. Martell, don't you
feel any remorse at all
for having viciously
murdered Jake Kendall?
Parole denied.
What's wrong with you people?
Can't you see that
he's just a sick old man?
Let him go, for God's sake.
He's dying.
Dad?
KENDALL: The scenes drift.
The characters all sound alike.
The dialogue is flat.
But what's truly unforgivable
about Mrs. Rice's efforts
is the subject matter is
simply not commercial.
Stories, well-told stories,
maybe a couple of jokes
or a little sex and violence,
that's what moviegoers pay
hundreds of millions of dollars to see.
A couple of guys
sitting around in a deli
talking about the
women in their lives?
I don't think so.
BRIAN: I got a storyline
that will grab you, Mr. Kendall.
It's got sex, violence,
tragedy, injustice.
I'm afraid this
is a closed class.
BRIAN: Picture this.
There's this guy who owns
an expensive chain of hotels.
He's rich. Anything
he wants, he gets.
Mostly he wants women.
Single, married,
he doesn't care.
In fact, not only does he run
this other guy out of business,
but he goes after his
wife and he gets her.
KENDALL: I'm gonna
have to ask you to leave.
Then he's killed.
Beat to death with a wrench.
Happy ending?
Not quite. You see, the pour
louse whose wife he stole
is wrongly accused,
winds up going to prison
where he becomes cold,
hard, maybe even a little nuts.
And his son grows up
wanting only one thing,
for his father to be released.
But he never is.
And one day, the son
realizes he never will be
and it makes him very angry.
Who are you?
You know damn well
who I am, Mr. Kendall.
- Get out.
- You know what they say
about the sins of the father?
I said, get out.
MAN 1: Hey.
[ALL CHATTERING]
MAN 2: Stop him.
- Arthur, you're bleeding.
KENDALL: You're as
crazy as your old man!
[WINFIELD CHUCKLES]
Well, dear, you didn't tell me
that someone burst into
your classroom yesterday
and slugged famous
screenwriter Arthur Kendall.
That made it into the news.
Gossip column.
Your boyfriend hasn't
made any real news
since he sold his one
and only screenplay.
How many years ago was that?
Did you kiss him
and make it all better?
Stop it.
Josh, sit down and
finish your breakfast.
- I'm late for work.
- What kind of job is that, anyway?
Emptying bedpans at a hospital?
Next time you wanna
hurt me, use your brain
and don't do it in
front of him, okay?
You, of all people, have no right
to tell me how to act, Candace.
- I didn't wanna fall in love with Arthur.
- Oh, I know.
You and I stopped loving each
other long before I even met Arthur.
[SIGHS]
Our staying
together is pointless.
Instead of making things better for
Josh, we're only making them worse.
I'm gonna move in with Arthur.
I'm filing for divorce.
You do that.
[DOOR SLAMS]
CANDACE: Arthur?
I told you, always call
before you come over.
I just left my husband.
Why?
You said that you and I were going
to have a wonderful life together.
Yeah, but I never
said I'd marry you.
And I certainly never
said I'd be monogamous.
I'm sorry.
[YOLANDA SIGHS]
LEANNE: Oh, you broke the clock.
No, I didn't break the clock.
It's one of those clocks that you
order and put together by numbers
and I did everything
they said and then...
[BLOWS RASPBERRY]
Why do you do this,
Dad? You're not good at it.
Well, I thought I
might get lucky.
Sometimes a person gets lucky.
Why don't you do something
easy like law or shining your boots?
Law's not easy.
You know what I
mean. You're good at it.
Well, yeah.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Dad.
You're up to something.
No, I'm not.
Yes, you are.
I can tell when you talk to me like
this and have that nasty little grin,
you're up to something.
- I have this friend.
- Uh-huh.
- She's a really nice lady.
- No.
- Good-looking.
- No.
Broke up with this senator
she's been going with
- for about seven or eight years.
- I don't care.
She's lonely and
you're available.
Leanne, I don't
need a lady friend.
- You could take her to a movie.
- No.
- Or lunch.
- No.
I don't know how to talk to women I
don't know and you know that, so no.
Come on, Dad. I think
you'd really like her.
She's pretty, smart,
witty, old enough.
What do you say?
She's got a nice build.
Come on, Dad. It
might change your luck.
WOMAN: Hi.
- Hi.
[ENGINE HUMMING]
Hey. Hey!
Help! Help!
[COUGHING]
Help! Help me!
WOMAN: Hi, Leanne.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- What are you doing sitting out here?
- I was waiting for you.
It's a good place to talk, in front
of the courthouse and everything.
What's up?
I'm thinking of taking
Brian Martell's case.
Brian Martell?
He's the fellow who's accused
of killing that, uh, movie writer.
Oh, right. They said in
the paper he's a carpenter?
A brick mason.
Have you spoken to him?
Uh, no.
Do you know something
about the case?
Well, uh, no.
Why are you gonna talk to him?
Uh, well, I have... I
have, uh, reasons.
BRIAN: I didn't kill him.
The door to the garage
Arthur Kendall was killed in
was locked from the outside
and the key was found in
the, uh, ashtray of your car.
Somebody put it there.
And you decked him in front
of a dozen people two days ago.
What is all this about?
You wanna tell her?
About 40 years ago,
Brian's father was convicted
of killing Arthur's father
and was sent to prison.
BRIAN: He was
denied parole again.
Anybody can tell he's
sick. He's gonna die in there.
But, uh, you don't
care, do you, counselor?
- Excuse me, do you have a problem?
- Yeah.
- Well, if we're gonna represent
you... MATLOCK: It's okay, Leanne.
Uh...
Uh, about 4:00,
the lady who lives
across the street from him
that day saw Arthur
Kendall taking out his trash.
At 4:30, the next door neighbor
heard a car running in his garage,
called the police. They
came and found him dead.
So, uh, where were you between
4 and 4:30 that day? Remember?
Yeah. I was home sleeping.
In the middle of the afternoon?
I went to work at
7, broke off at 3,
had a few beers on the way home,
kind of hit the couch
and just passed out.
Mr. Martell, I don't know
what all this is about
and I don't know what
my father has told you,
but our current workload is
very heavy and we just can't...
Yes, we can.
What?
BRIAN: You know that murder
your father told you about?
The one that my father's
been paying for all these years?
He didn't do it.
Charlie Matlock did.
Grandpa?
My father did not
kill Jake Kendall.
Then why is Brian so
convinced that he did?
Why did you never
tell me about it?
Well, I don't know. I
just... I felt funny about it.
I mean, with Brian's father in
a cell for killing Jake Kendall,
my father was accused of it.
It was my father's testimony
that put Lee Martell away.
Okay.
Brings back a lot of memories.
Not all bad.
It started one summer morning
on a country road outside
Mount Harlan, Georgia.
My father was
driving back to town
and he saw this real
expensive-looking car
stopped with the hood up.
And this man was
looking at the engine
like he had never
seen one before.
Uh, that was Jake Kendall.
He had made his
money building hotels.
He didn't know
anything about cars.
CHARLIE: Well,
hello there, mister.
Something went
wrong with your car?
Yeah. It quit on me.
Phew. Boy, doggone, I'll tell
you one thing, that's a pretty car.
Yeah.
I guess it will be the best-looking
thing on the junk heap.
Kicking them won't
generally start them.
[CHARLIE HUMMING]
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
Could you give me
a ride to Savannah?
I mean, I've got a meeting
at the bank that I absolutely...
[ENGINE STARTS]
You fixed it.
I just tightened the wire
on the distributor cap.
You throw her in
gear and she'll go.
Here, let me pay you.
That's a hundred dollar bill.
Yeah. I always pay my debts.
Phew. A hundred dollar bill.
That's too much, way yonder.
Well, how much too much?
A hundred dollars.
But I owe you something.
Well, I tell you what, if you
are ever in Mount Harlan,
you stop by my garage.
Charlie Matlock. I got
the name right on the front.
We'll have a bottle of
pop. What do you think?
I'll do that.
- I'll see you again.
- Thanks.
MATLOCK: And he
did stop by, many times.
They became real friends.
They could talk for hours.
I wish I'd known your
father. My grandfather.
I do too. You would
have liked him.
[CHUCKLES]
A couple of years later,
Mr. Kendall had dropped his
car off at my father's station
for some, you know,
repairs, and Dad fixed it
and, uh, delivered it to the hotel
in Atlanta where Jake was staying.
Jake?
Hey, Jake?
The door was open
and so I just come on
in and found him like that.
Lieutenant, we just
found this out in the alley
below the bathroom window.
[SIREN WAILING NEARBY]
DETECTIVE: "C. Matlock."
Is this your wrench,
Mr. Matlock?
And it was his wrench.
And when he admitted it, they
arrested him right on the spot.
And when they found out
that Jake Kendall had left
my father $15,000 in his will,
money the old man really needed,
well, they were certain
they had their man.
But 24 hours later,
all those, uh, detective stories your
grandfather used to read paid off.
- And he solved the murder?
- Yeah.
ELAINE: Leanne.
Sorry I'm late.
One of those last-minute
emergencies at the office.
Oh, that's all right.
Elaine Genrich, I'd like you to
meet my father, Ben Matlock.
This is my friend Elaine.
Nice to meet you, Miss Genrich.
Oh, please, call me Elaine.
You told me he
was a very nice man
but you didn't tell
me how good-looking.
[CHUCKLES]
Won't you join us?
Well, all right.
Just for a moment.
I do have to get back.
[MATLOCK CLEARING THROAT]
Well...
[LEANNE CLEARS THROAT]
Who does your hair?
- You paid my bail?
- Yeah.
That's one heck of a guilty
conscience you've got there, Mr. Matlock.
Now wait a minute.
I've posted bail for clients
before and probably will again,
and I have liked most of them
a hell of a lot more than you,
so don't push your luck.
And another thing, my
father never killed anybody
and that includes Jake Kendall.
He didn't believe your
father killed anybody.
The only reason I'm taking
your case, posting your bail
is because my father
would have wanted me to.
Now, quit acting like a jerk
and let's try to work together.
CONRAD: Hey, Ben.
- Yeah.
I'll meet you outside, okay?
Okay?
Okay.
I got your message. What's up?
How about going over to
Arthur Kendall's to look around?
Okay. What am I looking for?
Uh, well, the, uh, name and
address of the killer would be nice.
LEANNE: Did you
know Arthur Kendall
before you enrolled in
his screenwriting course?
CANDACE: No. We met
when I started taking his class.
Ah. So you've only known
him, what, uh, about five weeks?
Uh, well, actually, I took a class
he was teaching before this one too.
I am either a slow learner or just
a hopelessly bad writer. Ha, ha.
I'm still not quite sure which.
[BOTH LAUGH]
I guess that's why some of
the other people in your class
refer to you as
the teacher's pet.
Oh, I think he just
kind of felt sorry for me.
Is that why he took
you to lunch so often?
Uh, well, it wasn't
lunch, really.
It was more like, you
know, tutoring sessions.
He felt that if he could
make a writer out of me,
he could make
one out of anybody.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Well, I admire
your perseverance.
Well, I stuck to it mostly
because of my husband.
You see, ever since he read
that somebody sold a
movie script for $3 million,
he was bound and determined
to do the same thing.
He's a writer?
No, actually, he sells insurance.
He just writes in his spare time.
So, anyway, I
thought I'd give it a try,
only I didn't pick it up
on my own like he did.
So you enrolled in Arthur
Kendall's class twice?
Much to his chagrin, I'm sure.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[BOTH GRUNT]
[EXHALING HEAVILY]
Dad, what are you doing?
Hi. I was walking.
With weights?
Uh, yeah, weights.
It feels good.
[LEANNE SIGHS]
- How am I doing?
- Oh, you are looking good.
You keep eating
right and exercising,
you're gonna be down to
your fighting weight in no time.
So, what do you
hear from Elaine?
- Who?
- You know who. Elaine.
The reason you decided
to eat right and exercise.
The one who thinks you're cute
and wants to know who does your hair.
Oh, her. Nothing.
I called and left a message. She
called and left a message, so...
You've still got it,
haven't you, Dad?
Got what?
Are you familiar
with the expression:
"There may be snow on the roof
but there's a fire in the fireplace?"
- What are you talking about, girl?
- You know what I'm talking about.
What a way to talk.
"Snow on the roof."
I just think people should
be out there, vibrant, alive.
The very idea.
"Fire in the fireplace."
- Let's talk about something else.
- Heh.
- Okay. How about Grandpa?
- Yeah.
- Want some pumpkin seeds?
- Well...
[CAR HORN HONKS]
MATLOCK: Oh, Conrad.
Hey.
Found him rummaging
around Arthur Kendall's house.
MATLOCK: Hmm.
- What's your name, son?
- Josh.
What were you doing
in Mr. Kendall's house?
Tell him.
I was trying to
protect my mother.
Protect your mother?
Go ahead, son.
She and him were
having an affair.
I thought she might have left clothes
or something in there, so I broke in.
What's your mother's name?
Candace Winfield.
Oh.
I knew there was something.
See you later.
LEANNE: Hello, Miss Winfield.
- Hi.
You weren't quite forthcoming with
me about Arthur Kendall, were you?
You two were lovers.
[LAUGHS]
- Who told you that?
- Your son.
Josh.
[BELL TOLLING NEARBY]
So you live here now?
His father and I are
getting a divorce.
I tried to patch things
up after Arthur died,
but George wouldn't hear of it.
Why did you lie to me?
Because I was trying to
spare Josh the humiliation
of having the whole world know that
his mother was committing adultery.
You can understand
that, can't you?
Oh, yes.
Now, why don't you tell me
where you were the
afternoon Arthur was murdered.
I was downtown doing
research for a screenplay.
Research? What kind?
Uh, the script that I was trying
to write involved street kids
and the games
they play for money.
Cards, pick-up
craps, that sort of stuff.
Well, now, isn't
that an unusual topic
for a suburban housewife
like yourself to be writing about?
Arthur always encouraged us
to write about things
that we didn't know,
that way we would
learn something
and we were free to
use our imaginations.
That is an interesting approach.
It was good to talk to
you. Have a nice day.
You too.
[SIGHS]
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MATLOCK [SINGING]:
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the sky's so blue
And I will tell you
just why I love you
I didn't hear you come in.
I crept softly so
as not to intrude.
You were singing. Happy?
Well...
- So did you talk to my friend?
- Hmm?
Did you speak to Elaine
Genrich, my friend?
Um, yeah. Yeah. We,
uh, spoke on the phone.
- Did she call or did you?
- Um...
I think I called.
So, what's up?
We may go on a picnic.
If we've got the
time. It was her idea.
Walk around the village, talk,
have some carrots
and celery and things.
She likes stuff like that.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
No hot dogs?
No.
I may give them up.
It's hard, though.
I come from a long
line of hot dog eaters.
My father liked hot dogs.
- Did he?
- Yeah. Yeah.
He got Jake Kendall
eating hot dogs. Ha, ha.
He'd stop by the garage,
they'd eat hot dogs and
drink a bottle of pop and talk.
[SERVICE BELL RINGS]
- Charlie?
- Huh?
[CHARLIE GRUNTS]
Well, Jake.
Well, I wish you would
look. I wish you would.
That's a brand
new suit, ain't it?
Took delivery
of it this morning.
[CHARLIE WHISTLES]
Well, I wish you would look. Mm.
Britches and a vest
and a coat all just alike.
Suits are supposed
to match, Charlie.
Look at this.
This is what makes it something.
"Brooks Brothers."
- Best tailors in the country.
- Phew.
Most expensive too.
Their clothes are high
quality and they last.
- Brooks Brothers.
- Wouldn't wear anything but.
Quality. Quality and good looks.
That's kind of the way
I feel about my Levis.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Yeah.
Kind of the way I
feel about my suit.
That suit.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
So tell me about the murder.
Well, after the murder,
Charlie got out on bail.
He talked one of the
young police officers,
a fellow I'd been
to school with,
into letting him look at some of
the pictures of the, uh, murder scene,
and he found something.
Henry.
Where's that sweater you all found
on the floor closest to Jake's body?
This one here in this picture.
Uh, it's in that
drawer right there.
Are you gonna let me look at it?
That ain't Jake's sweater.
- Of course it is.
- No, it ain't, Henry.
The clothes in Jake's
closest, every one of them
has a label that
says Brooks Brothers.
He wouldn't wear nothing
else. Brooks Brothers.
Did they call
Martha's Knit Shoppe?
Yeah. And the sweater had
been bought by Lee Martell.
And when the police found that out
and Jake Kendall's very own lawyer
told them there was no way
Charlie could have known
that Mr. Kendall would go
and leave him all that money,
why, they let him go
and arrested Mr. Martell.
All because they
found his sweater?
It's more than that. Jake Kendall
had been, uh, pretty much responsible
for the fact that Mr. Martell had
gone bankrupt the year before.
So he advised him
in some bad business
investments or something.
- Where are you going?
- Uh, appointment.
- With who?
- George.
- George who?
- Uh, Winfield.
You know, Candice's husband,
the insurance salesman.
- I saw that.
- Just one.
Yeah, I, uh, sell insurance
right now, but not for long.
As soon as one of my
screenplays sells, I'm out of here.
- Ha, ha.
- Here, have a seat.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
Suppose I sell you a policy?
- On what?
- On anything.
Oh. Ha, ha. No, thanks.
So how many screenplays
have you written?
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
- None of them have sold?
- No. No, not yet.
But that is all about to change.
This one right here
is gonna be the one.
Ah-ah-ah. Ha, ha.
What's it about?
- Oh, no. Ha, ha.
- Come on. You can tell me.
I mean, who am I
gonna tell? Scout's honor.
All right.
This one is about a serial
killer, sadistic, vicious.
I mean, he makes Bundy
and Bianchi look like pikers.
Anyway, miracle of
miracles, they catch him
and they try him and they convict
him and they put him on death row.
But in the meantime, this guy
has had a religious experience.
Suddenly, he wants
to be executed.
Says God demands
that he be executed.
But the state says,
"No. Forget it."
He's got at least 10 years
of appeals ahead of him.
[CHUCKLES]
I mean, what
delicious irony, huh?
[CHUCKLING] Yeah. Yeah.
So how does it end?
No, no, no, that I'm
not gonna tell you.
Ha. You don't know, do you?
- No. Ha, ha. But I will. I will.
- Ha, ha.
Well, ha, ha,
I know that you know
that, uh, your wife was having
an affair with Arthur Kendall.
Josh told me what
happened over at his house.
According to Josh,
your wife left you
on the day that Arthur
Kendall was killed.
Mm-hm.
She was gonna move in with him,
only, uh, someone killed him
before she had the chance.
- More delicious irony.
- Yeah. Ha, ha.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, excuse me, but, uh,
as a screenwriter, I guess
you know why I have to ask.
Motive, Mr. Matlock. Motive.
Why would I have
killed Arthur Kendall?
To get my wife back?
I don't want her back.
To punish him? To punish her?
He was selfish and
opportunistic, just like Candace.
They were two peas in a pod.
If she had moved in with him, I
wouldn't have had to do a thing.
They'd have punished
each other to death.
[RAP MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO]
- Yes.
- Aw.
Man, you always win.
CANDACE: Hi, guys.
My name's Candace.
How's it going?
Why the hell do you wanna know?
Listen, if anybody asks
you, last Thursday afternoon
I was down here watching
you guys play dice, okay?
You tell them I do that a lot.
I'm doing research for a movie.
Why'd we wanna do that?
Because I'm a real good loser.
Snake eyes. Oh,
darn, I crapped out.
Remember, Thursday
afternoon, 3 to 5. Candace.
BOY 1: Hey, come on, come
on. BOY 2: Come on, move out.
[BOYS ARGUING]
[CHATTERING]
[CAR HORN HONKS]
- Hi.
- Miss Mclntyre. What's up?
Oh, we found out that Arthur
Kendall was having an affair
with a married
woman before he died.
That doesn't surprise me.
So we're making
some good progress.
Um, Brian, the real reason I
came by is, well, my father told me
the Matlock side of
Jake Kendall's murder
and I would like to know
your side, the Martell side.
You're gonna believe
me over your father?
Well, I don't believe my
grandfather did it, either, but try me.
All right. All right.
Maybe that jury was
wrong about your dad.
I mean, to convict somebody
because of a sweater
and a business deal gone sour.
Come sit with me
for five minutes.
Okay.
All right.
When my father
lost his business,
he started working for this
guy that liked to go fishing a lot.
And one day he heard that the
bluefish were running someplace,
so he closed up shop, sent
Dad and everybody home early.
It was a nice day,
so instead of calling Mom to come
and get him, Dad decided to walk.
Dad saw Mom and Kendall kissing.
He was too shocked
to confront them then,
but later when, uh, he thought I
was down the street at a friend's,
he kind of just came unglued.
A nosy neighbor told the
police about Mom's affair
and they assumed that Dad
killed him in a jealous rage.
- He didn't have an alibi?
- No.
He couldn't have
killed Jake Kendall.
Jake Kendall had
already killed him.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Yolanda Bergstrom?
- Yes.
My name is Conrad
McMasters. I work for the attorney
who represents the man
accused of killing Arthur Kendall.
Oh.
Could I ask you a
couple of questions?
Sure. Come on in.
Can I get you something to
drink? Some water or anything?
No, thanks.
- Nice place.
- Thanks.
- Join me for lunch?
- Uh, ha, ha.
Let me take a wild
guess, you're on a diet?
Yep. Started when I was
14, will end when I die.
I gain weight just driving
by an ice cream shop.
Sit down.
I understand you used
to date Arthur Kendall.
We went out a
couple of times, yeah.
It's a horrible thing
what happened to him.
I mean, he wasn't perfect but
he was a nice guy, you know.
I liked him.
"Death Rattle. An original
screenplay by Arthur Kendall."
He had given me that to read,
wanted to know what I thought.
So, what did you think of it?
Between you and me, I think
the story of some guy on death row
that can't get the state to execute
him isn't exactly Batman Returns,
if you know what I mean.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
So how did you know
that he and I were dating?
Uh, well,
he sent you $50 worth of
flowers the morning he died
and he told the florist
to include this note.
"Sorry for the interruption.
Next time the Watkins Hotel."
What's that mean?
Well, actually, I, um...
I spent the night with
Arthur just before he died.
You did?
Why didn't you tell the police?
They never asked.
Okay, and maybe I
didn't want to get involved.
Look, I'm an art
director at an ad agency.
I don't need any trouble.
And it's not like I knew anything
that would help them solve the case.
Go ahead.
Okay.
[SIGHS]
So we spent this nice,
quiet evening together.
You know what I'm
saying, don't you?
Would you like a zucchini
or a carrot or something?
Yeah, okay.
Now, the next morning,
that's when things
got unpredictable.
Mrs. Winfield, what
was your relationship
with the decedent,
Arthur Kendall?
He taught the screenwriting
class that I was enrolled in.
Ha, ha. Yeah.
It went considerably farther
than student-teacher, didn't it?
We were lovers.
MATLOCK: You left your husband
because of your involvement
with Arthur Kendall, didn't you?
CANDACE: Yes.
MATLOCK: You told your
husband you intended to divorce him
and marry Arthur Kendall
the morning of the day he
was murdered, didn't you?
- Yes.
- Mm-hm.
Then what?
You went over to
Arthur's house, didn't you?
You went over unannounced
and found him, let's
say, with another woman.
That woman right back
there, Yolanda Bergstrom,
who is prepared to testify
that when you found the two of
them together, you became enraged.
I was upset, yes.
And he told you that he had
never intended to marry you.
He told you that he had never intended
even to be faithful to you, didn't he?
Here, you left your home,
your husband, your son.
And here's this man
essentially telling you
that you meant nothing to him.
How did that make you feel?
Would you say devastated?
Yes.
And you were mad
too, huh? Furious.
So furious you killed him.
No.
No, I was downtown doing research
for a screenplay when he was killed.
These boys entering
the courtroom now
are prepared to testify
that you bribed them to lie.
That's not true.
MATLOCK: You gave them money
to say that you were with them
when, in fact, you were
at Arthur Kendall's house
- committing murder, weren't you?
- No.
Don't perjure yourself.
All right. I wasn't downtown.
MATLOCK: Where were you?
When I left Arthur's that morning,
I just got in my car and drove.
- Where?
- I don't know, um,
around and around until it got
dark. I didn't know where to go.
- Did anybody see you?
- No.
- You have no alibi.
- I didn't kill him.
- Where did you go?
- I didn't kill him.
I couldn't believe that
he could do that to me,
but I didn't kill him.
You've got to
believe me. I swear.
MATLOCK: You have no alibi.
Stop it. Just stop it. She
didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
I did. I killed him.
Now, leave her alone.
[ALL MURMURING] [GAVEL BANGING]
PROSECUTOR: When did
you decide to kill Arthur Kendall?
JOSH: That morning.
When I got to work at the
hospital, my father called
and told me Mom left him.
I figured that was it. That
creep lived long enough.
What did you do?
I went over to his house around 3:30,
waited for his new girlfriend to leave,
then went into his garage
and started his car up.
When he came out to look, I
slammed the door and locked him inside.
Then I went over to
Brian Martell's place
and hid the garage
key in his car.
Where did you get them?
Where did I get what?
The key to Arthur Kendall's car?
His only key, as it turns out.
And the key to his garage?
Where did you get them?
I... Well, I snuck
in and stole them.
- When?
- That afternoon.
He was with his new
girlfriend all afternoon.
Like I said, I snuck
in. I was real quiet.
How did you sneak in?
What do you mean?
Through a door?
Yeah. I snuck in
through the front door.
They were off in
another room someplace.
DETECTIVE: The maid told us that
he always keeps his doors locked,
even when he's there.
Well, they weren't
locked that day.
PROSECUTOR: Exactly where in
the house did you find the keys, Josh?
Where did I find them?
Well, let's see.
Oh, my.
What do you think?
Is it too much?
Oh, no. It's just perfect.
I mean, it's just a picnic.
I don't wanna overdo.
It's just informal enough
without being too informal.
I've got a chicken neck.
You'll wear a sweater.
Oh, Dad, this must
have cost more
than three or four of your
gray suits put together.
I got it on sale.
- Are the pants too tight?
- No, no, no.
Well, they're the
only ones they had.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
I think I can get away with
it if I keep my coat down
and be careful sitting.
- Well...
- I mean, snug's in now.
- I think Elaine's gonna flip.
- Do you?
Oh, I wish I could be there.
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
It does look nice, if I do say
so myself, who shouldn't?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
I mean, a picnic only
lasts two or three hours.
- I can hold my stomach in that long.
- Sure.
This case was an
easy one, wasn't it?
- Who would have thought.
- Yeah.
They should be done
interviewing the boy by now.
Why don't I go change
and we can go down
and move for a dismissal?
- Okay.
- Okay. Okay.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
And, uh...
Uh, you're sure
it's not too much?
It's perfect.
[CHATTERING]
- Well?
- Bad news, counselor.
The boy's lying. He
didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
You could drive a pickup
through the holes in his story.
But he confessed.
He may have confessed,
Mr. Martell, but he didn't kill him.
- Then his mother
did. MATLOCK: Brian.
With his outburst in court,
whether he did it or didn't do it,
there's grounds
here for a mistrial.
I don't think so.
The fact is, the state's case
hasn't been hurt by this one bit.
I plan to continue my prosecution
as if none of this happened.
You're gonna read the newspaper?
George, our son is in jail.
We have got to do something.
I've already sent my
attorneys down there.
Now, that's all I can do.
This is all my fault.
I wish I'd never heard
of Arthur Kendall.
I agree with you on both counts.
- Mom.
- Josh.
- Son, are you all right?
- I'm fine.
- They let you go?
- They didn't believe I did it.
Well, of course they
didn't, sweetheart.
Listen, I know the
reason that you confessed
was to protect me.
But there's no need to.
I didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
MATLOCK: Then
maybe you won't mind
if I ask you a couple
more questions.
I drove Josh home.
GEORGE: I appreciate
that, Mr. Matlock,
but my wife doesn't
live here anymore.
If you wanna ask her
questions, do it someplace else.
George, please. Josh
needs to hear the truth.
So do you.
Everything you said today
in court was true, Mr. Matlock.
When I went over to Arthur's and
found him with that other woman,
it was like he stabbed
me with a knife.
Yeah, well, what did you do?
Just what I said in court. I got
in my car and I started driving.
I didn't know where I was.
I didn't care where I was,
where I was going. I just drove.
Well, did you stop for
gas or get something to eat
or make a phone
call or anything?
No. I never got out of the car.
- Well, nobody can verify your story.
- No.
He doesn't believe you.
Nobody's gonna believe you.
Damn it, Mom, why did you get
mixed up with that geek? Why?
Josh.
Care to stay for dinner?
Brian, if nothing else,
Candace Winfield's testimony
helped to create substantial reasonable
doubt in the minds of those jurors.
My poor father.
I knew the last time I
saw him it'd be my last.
I knew he was
gonna die. I knew it.
For 40 years, I watched
him rot away, bit by bit.
I'm sorry.
You know, I can't get over the similarity
between your case and your father's.
I mean, it is incredible
to me that you are on trial
for killing the son of the
man he supposedly killed.
The son of the man
your grandfather killed.
Why are you so convinced
that Charlie Matlock
killed Jake Kendall?
His wrench was
the murder weapon.
Your father's sweater was
found right next to the body.
This is the way it was, okay?
Charlie Matlock went to
Kendall's room to deliver the keys
for the car that he
just fixed for him.
They talked.
When Kendall turned his back,
Charlie took his wrench out of his pocket
and hit him over the head.
No, wait. Listen to this, okay?
Then Charlie pulled
out my father's sweater,
dropped it by the body,
went into the bathroom,
tossed the wrench out the
window, called the police
and told them that Kendall
was dead when he got there.
Brian, so what you're saying
is instead of my grandfather
taking the wrench with him
or tossing it into the river
or washing it off someplace,
he threw it out the window
where it was sure to be found?
He was a mechanic, not a genius.
Yet he was smart enough
to steal the sweater somehow
and place it at the
scene of the crime?
You think my father was
dumb enough to leave it there?
You never said anything
about your mother.
What was she like?
She was beautiful,
like a movie star.
My father worshipped her,
uh, until Jake
Kendall came along.
- Who does she think killed him?
- I don't know.
She was so in love with Jake Kendall
that his death just destroyed her.
She left me with my aunt and uncle
to raise and just kind of drifted off.
I never saw much of her.
And where is she now?
At a retirement home
down in Forest Park.
I hope to God I
never love anybody
as much as she loved
Jake Kendall, you know?
[DOORBELL RINGS]
CONRAD: Yolanda.
- Hi.
- Hi. It's me again. Hi.
- Hi.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Uh, yeah, sure. Could
you just wait a sec?
Okay. Come on in.
- More questions?
- Uh, actually, just one.
- What?
- Hey, sugar and fat. Is this a holiday?
What are you, the diet
police? Okay, I confess.
Every now and then
I pig out, so sue me.
Turns out Josh Winfield lied
when he confessed
to killing Arthur Kendall.
You're kidding.
No. He wasn't
able to tell the police
how he had gotten the keys
to Arthur's car and garage.
So the police figure he lied in
an attempt to cover for his mother.
So she killed Arthur Kendall?
Well, if she did, the
same question arises.
Where did she get the keys?
So where do I come in?
Well, my question to you
is when she walked in on
you and Arthur that morning,
which is apparently when she decided
to kill him, what exactly did she do?
Well, she walked into the living
room, saw us and walked out.
So she didn't go into the
kitchen or the bedroom
or any place where he
might have kept the keys?
I have no idea where she went.
It was nice seeing you
again, Mr. McPheeters.
- McMasters.
- Whatever.
[CONRAD STAMMERS]
I've got one more question.
What?
If you're wearing lipstick
and that's your snack,
then how come there's no
lipstick on that milk glass?
[CHUCKLES]
Look, I've got stuff to do.
Who are you hiding, Yolanda?
What does this look like,
the underground railroad?
Maybe you've got
stuff to do, but I don't.
I can wait around as long as
it takes to find out who's here.
And if I have to, that's
exactly what I'll do.
Sabrina.
[DOOR OPENS]
Sabrina Bergstrom,
Conrad McMasters.
- Bergstrom?
- Yeah. My sister.
Now that you've found out
what you wanted to know, leave.
Go.
[INAUDlBLE DIALOGUE]
Miss Martell.
Hello. I'm Leanne
Mclntyre. I'm an attorney.
My father and I are
defending your son, Brian.
- Oh, yes.
- You know about the trouble he's in?
Yes. They think he
murdered Jake's son.
It's like a curse.
I'd like to ask you
a few questions,
not about Brian, about
Jake, if you don't mind.
All right.
Your son is convinced that
my grandfather killed Jake.
I'd like to know what you think.
What do I think?
Well, way back then, all I
knew is that he was gone.
Nothing else mattered.
And now, well, it matters
even less, doesn't it?
You must have
loved him very much.
It was as if we knew each
other forever and more.
Every word he
spoke I understood.
Everything he
felt, I felt it too.
I was married and had a son.
We met eight years too late.
But I couldn't help myself.
I was in love. I was
really, truly in love.
I heard about Jake's
death on the radio.
I was cooking
dinner or something.
It was like a door had slammed
shut, never to be opened again.
Oh, Ben. That was
the nicest picnic.
Well...
You brought all of
my favorite things:
carrot sticks, celery, tomatoes,
um, sweet cucumbers,
sesame seeds.
And topped it off with my all-time
favorite of favorites, hot peppers.
Well, I guess I
know what you like.
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
I bet I know what you like.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
You look handsome
in your nice outfit.
Well, you look nice
in your little print.
Ah. Let's sit down.
- Uh, well...
- You've been standing all afternoon.
- Aren't you tired?
- Oh, no. No, I like to stand.
I stand a lot. My mother
used to say that about me.
- Those pants too tight? Let me see.
- No, no, no, they're fine. They're fine.
Snug's in now.
Yeah, my mother used to
say, "That Ben's a real stander."
Let's be sitters a while. Here.
Okay.
[FABRIC RIPPING]
Bacon and eggs?
I can't handle it, Leanne.
I've been eating broccoli
and carrots and celery
because you
introduced me to this lady
and as a favor to you,
I take her on a picnic.
What happened?
Well, I walked around
all day wearing that outfit
and I did my very best
to hold my stomach in
and not to sit down.
Finally, I had to sit down.
And when I did sit
down, I ripped my pants.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
I made an ass out of myself.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...
It's all right. It's all
right. It will come out.
- Should you soak it in something?
- All right.
I'll, uh, put something on
of yours. It's fine. It's fine.
[MATLOCK GROANING]
MATLOCK: I should have
known you can't make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear.
Are you talking to
the bacon or the eggs?
I'm talking to my daughter.
LEANNE: Hi, Conrad.
- Hey, Leanne.
All right, here's the story on
Yolanda Bergstrom's sister.
She lives alone.
She models for art classes in
the day and waitresses at night.
She's got a chip on her shoulder
the size of the Boulder Dam.
And how or even if she fits
into Arthur Kendall's murder
is beyond me.
Did you say you were
gonna put that on?
- You don't like it?
- You look great in it.
Thank you, Conrad.
Oh, my gosh, that's it.
What?
I'm gonna go home
and change clothes,
drive back down to Forest Park.
Conrad, you're brilliant.
Take Dad for a walk
when he's through.
I'm not a golden retriever.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
See, now, this is real food.
You know, I've been
eating broccoli raw.
So does Yolanda Bergstrom.
Did I tell you she has a copy of a
screenplay Arthur Kendall had written?
- What was she doing with it?
- He wanted her opinion on it.
It's just as well he's dead
because she didn't like it.
Why?
Well, it's about this guy on death
row who wants to get executed.
Too intellectual
for her, I guess.
What?
That's what George
Winfield's story was about.
Kendall stole my idea?
Either that or you stole his.
How could I?
I've been working on this
screenplay for over a year now.
Candace.
Candace told him.
You told your wife?
Of course I told my wife.
I used to bounce
ideas off her all the time.
I had no idea she'd turn around
and bounce them off somebody else.
- Dad, take it easy.
- Take it easy?
Because of your mother, that
scum was gonna take credit
for something I thought up.
You didn't happen to see how
his screenplay ended, did you?
No.
That's it. Candice
is in for a divorce
the likes of which this
planet has never seen.
You think you could come
here once with some good news?
[MEN CHATTERING]
Miss Martell?
Hello again. Leanne
Mclntyre, Brian's attorney.
Oh, yes. I remember.
I just wanted to ask
you a few more questions
about Jake Kendall's murder.
It will just take a minute.
I never got to meet your
ex-husband, Miss Martell.
Were you and he
about the same size?
Oh, he was a little
bigger than me.
Did you ever wear
any of his clothes?
I don't know. I guess.
Ever put on one of his shirts
or maybe when it was cold
out, wear one of his sweaters?
Married people do those things.
Something occurred
to me earlier today
when I put on one
of my father's shirts.
I thought if Brian is right
and your ex-husband
didn't kill Jake Kendall
and my grandfather
didn't do it, either,
there is another
possible explanation
as to why your husband's
sweater was found next to the body.
He wasn't wearing
it, Miss Martell.
You were.
What happened, Miss Martell?
Did you and Jake have a fight?
Did he meet someone else?
He broke your heart, didn't he?
And you couldn't bear seeing him
with someone else so you killed him.
Am I right, Miss Martell?
MATLOCK: Can't you
throw it right at me?
If I throw it right at you,
you won't get any exercise.
Do you have to make me
jump around like a ballet dancer?
All right. Here comes one.
Coming at you.
Ow!
I said throw it right at me.
I didn't say try to kill me.
JOSH: Mr. Matlock.
MATLOCK: Oh, hi, Josh.
- You know Fireball McMasters.
- Yeah. Hi.
- Hey, Josh.
- What's up?
Listen, my Dad's
still pretty upset
about Arthur Kendall
stealing his movie idea.
At least he died before
he was able to cash in on it.
Yeah, but what if somebody
reads Arthur Kendall's script
before they read my Dad's and
wind up thinking he's the thief?
This screenplay thing kind of makes
it look like he offed Arthur Kendall.
Maybe.
I'm helping him round up any
scripts that may be out there.
How about the one you saw?
I didn't see it, Conrad did.
Where is it?
- Let me look into it.
- Thanks.
Take over for me.
All right. Let's see
what you've got, Josh.
- You a Braves fan?
- Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Right, right.
So if it's all the same to you,
Yolanda, he'd really like to have it back.
Oh. You threw it out.
It's not fair, Mom.
I wanna know what happened.
I mean, I deserve to
know what happened.
- What happened doesn't matter.
- It does to me.
You and Dad and Jake Kendall
weren't the only ones involved.
There was a 5-year-old kid
there, remember? Your son.
I understand why you
killed Jake Kendall.
You... I know all about him.
I mean, he was a
compulsive womanizer, but...
What I don't understand is
how could you let Dad die in
prison knowing he was innocent?
He loved you so much.
How could you do that to him?
It was your father's idea.
He knew?
Tell us what happened
that day, Miss Martell.
Oh, it was so long ago.
Jake's gone. Lee's
gone. I should be gone.
[SIGHS]
I didn't tell Jake I was coming
to his hotel room that day.
I wanted to surprise him.
He surprised me
with another woman.
Honey, I know
I'm a little bit...
MRS. MARTELL: He betrayed me.
I screamed to him, "How
could you do this to me?"
But he wasn't even sorry.
He reminded me that I
was a married woman
who was cheating on her husband
and had no right to make
judgments about him.
Finally, I just turned and left.
But as I was closing the door,
I remembered that he had said
he was leaving Charlie
Matlock $15,000 in his will.
So I went over to
Charlie's Service Station
and I stole a wrench.
And about an hour after I left
Jake's hotel room, I came back.
He was so glad to see me.
- Can I come in?
- Yeah.
- I thought we needed to talk.
- Sure.
- I'm sorry about before.
- That's all right.
MRS. MARTELL: Oh,
he was so sure of himself.
He wasn't even surprised
that I had come back.
Naturally he thought I
wanted to kiss and make up.
So I let him think that.
I was wearing a
sweater of your father's.
It soon wound up on the floor.
As...
As he took off his Brooks
Brothers jacket to put on the chair,
I pulled out that wrench and
I hit him as hard as I could.
But I didn't mean to
leave the sweater there.
I just wasn't thinking clearly.
It was like a dream.
I didn't even realize
what I had done
until I heard about his death on
the radio and the reality of it set in.
When did Dad find out?
I told him that night
as soon as I realized I
had left the sweater there.
And he said not to worry,
that even if they arrested
him instead of Charlie
that they would never
send him to prison
because after all, it
was only a sweater.
But they did send him to prison
and you let them.
It's the way your
father wanted it.
I wanted to come forward
but he wouldn't hear of it.
He insisted.
After a while, I
just accepted it.
Now,
it's all over.
As you said,
he loved me very much.
How's it going, Sabrina?
- What do you want?
- Just the pleasure of your company.
Go to hell.
- I hear you used to be a model.
- I still am.
Well, no. Actually,
now you're just posing
for a bunch of LeRoy Neiman
wannabes at the art school.
But back then, you posed for
the big-time fashion magazines.
- What happened?
- Maybe I just didn't like it.
Was it drugs?
Maybe that too.
- Hey, what are you doing?
- This is Arthur Kendall's screenplay.
- Give me that.
- Did your sister give that to you?
Why don't you mind
your own business?
She told Ben Matlock
she had thrown it away.
Get away from me.
What's the deal with
you two, Sabrina?
I said, get away from me,
or so help me, I'm gonna
scream rape so loudly
cops in the next
county will hear it.
Well, she cried a lot, but then
when Brian came to visit her,
she admitted that
she'd killed Jake Kendall.
Lee Martell knew,
went to prison for her.
I just wish Grandpa
had known the truth.
Yeah.
[CAR HORN HONKS]
Dad, it's Elaine.
I'll be in the kitchen.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Oh, Elaine.
Hello, Ben. May I
come in for a minute?
Yes. Of course.
- Well, I'm glad you're okay.
- Yeah.
When your pants split
like that I felt sorry for you.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- But you did look cute.
- Well, thanks.
Well, anyway, it's nice to
see that you've recovered.
Ben, I've got
something to tell you.
I'm going to marry
Senator Westerfield.
Don't be hurt.
I mean, you're a wonderful man
and I admire your dedication to fitness,
but I feel life is too short to
spend it eating carrots and celery.
I make the best fried
chicken and grits and gravy,
and I wanna be able
to still make them.
You make fried chicken
and grits and gravy?
Not that I don't believe in exercise. I
mean, I love swimming and walking.
So does Robert,
that's the senator.
Speaking of whom, got to run.
I've got a peach
pie in the oven.
Robert's coming over later
and we're gonna
crank some ice cream.
Then we're gonna sit on the
porch and eat fresh pie à la mode
and watch the fireflies.
Bye, dear.
Love your hair.
CONRAD: Hi. ELAINE: Hi.
What's wrong?
How'd it go?
She dumped me.
Because you split your pants?
I guess. I don't know.
She seemed so
understanding at the time.
She has qualities,
Leanne, qualities that I like.
Qualities that I'll
never get to know.
Unless, she and her
husband invite me to dinner.
Husband?
Sabrina Bergstrom has a copy
of Arthur Kendall's screenplay.
- Did you ask where she got it?
- She wouldn't say.
Looks like the same
script Yolanda had.
- I recognized the coffee stains.
- Hmm.
- She didn't throw it away after all.
- Mm-mm. She lied.
I wonder why she'd do that.
How long have you
known Arthur Kendall?
Only about three weeks.
How did you meet?
YOLANDA: We met at
the Fifth Street Bar and Grill.
He was having a drink.
I was waiting for a table.
We started talking, hit it off.
MATLOCK: The Fifth
Street Bar and Grill.
According to a piece that
appeared in the Atlanta Gazette
about, oh, a year ago, that
was his favorite hangout.
- I didn't know that.
- I think you did.
I think you went to the
Fifth Street Bar and Grill
specifically to meet
Arthur Kendall, seduce him,
then wait for your best
opportunity and kill him.
Objection. Badgering a witness.
Sustained. Mr. Matlock...
I'm sorry, Your Honor. I'll
move onto something else.
I understand you
have a younger sister.
That's right. Sabrina.
And until about six months ago,
- she was a high fashion
model. YOLANDA: Yes.
And the reason she's no longer
a high fashion model is, uh,
she started using
drugs. Is that right?
- Yes. MATLOCK:
She used to use drugs
- but she kicked the habit, didn't
she? YOLANDA: Yes, that's right.
You know any reason why she
would start using drugs again?
I don't know. Why
does anyone take drugs?
Maybe she fell in
with the wrong crowd.
According to this receipt that
we got from his, uh, accountant,
about six months ago,
Arthur Kendall bought
a gold, uh, bracelet,
and had "To Sabrina, with
love, Arthur," engraved on it
and then had it sent
to her apartment.
Your sister had an
affair with him, didn't she?
All right. Yes, she did.
But what's that got
to do with anything?
She was in love with him.
And almost immediately, as
was his habit, he cast her aside
with no thought or care of
how devastated she would be.
And that's when she started
using drugs again, isn't it?
And that ended her career.
And that's when you decided
that Arthur Kendall would pay
- for ruining your sister's life.
- No.
So you picked him up at
the Fifth Street Bar and Grill.
Let's just say you allowed
him to think he picked you up.
Went out with him a few times.
Waited for your
chance to do him in.
I dated him because I liked him.
Then you saw that
piece in the paper
about that fight he
had with Brian Martell
and you knew your
chance had come.
You killed Arthur Kendall
and framed my client by
putting those keys in his car.
You remembered the fight
that they had in that writing class.
You knew that he, Brian
Martell, was the perfect suspect.
I didn't kill him.
You were in his house
on the day he was killed.
Yes, I was.
That means that you had easy
access to the keys to his car and garage.
So I ask you, Miss Bergstrom,
where were you
between 4 and 4:30
the afternoon Arthur
Kendall was murdered?
Shall I repeat the question?
The witness is instructed
to answer the question.
I don't want to.
You have no choice.
Yes, I do.
JUDGE: Young lady, either
you answer the question,
or I'll cite you for contempt.
You go right ahead.
[MURMURING]
Here they are, sports fans.
Yolanda Bergstrom's bank records
straight from the subpoena factory.
- Get them while they're hot.
- Yeah, let's have a look.
While I was downtown, I
found out something else.
- What?
- The sister, Sabrina, has an alibi.
At the time, she was
sleeping off her lunch
in the drunk tank
at the city jail,
something she apparently
does quite frequently.
So if Yolanda's stonewalling in order
to protect someone, it isn't her sister.
She's stonewalling
to protect herself.
I'll bet anything she
killed Arthur Kendall.
Of course, we haven't any
proof. We have to have proof.
Boy, she spent a lot of money
on Sabrina's drug rehabilitation
program, didn't she?
- Money not well spent, apparently.
- Yeah.
"Century Hospital
Chemical Dependency Unit."
Maybe you're right.
MATLOCK: Well, let's
see. The killer got in the car,
[GRUNTING] and there you go.
Got her in neutral,
there you go.
Started the engine,
locked that door, got out,
locked this door
and there you've got it.
The car is locked, the engine's
running and the keys are inside.
You stepped right in
the oil. Didn't you see it?
Why didn't you say something?
Well, wouldn't you know.
Of course.
MATLOCK: Well, that was some
scene you made in here last week
when you jumped up and
confessed to killing Arthur Kendall.
Why would you do
something like that?
Because you were making it
sound like my mom killed him.
I knew that wasn't true,
but I was afraid she was gonna
go to jail anyway, so I said I did it.
- You were just protecting her?
- That's right.
Well, uh, just for the record
and since you're under oath
and everything, did you kill him?
- No.
- Okay.
Uh, I understand you work
part-time at the Century Hospital.
JOSH: That's right.
MATLOCK: Did you
ever work part-time
in the drug rehabilitation
unit they have there?
Sure. I worked in all the
departments at the hospital.
Were you working in
the drug rehabilitation unit
when Sabrina Bergstrom
was a patient there?
According to the hospital
records, you were.
Yeah. I remember
Sabrina vaguely.
Uh, how about her sister
Yolanda? Remember her?
There are a number
of people here today
who work at the Century Hospital
and they are prepared to testify
that while Sabrina was a patient
there, you and Yolanda became friends.
Well, I might have met
her and talked to her,
but that didn't mean
we were friends.
Well, not friends, then.
Uh, maybe co-conspirators.
I don't know what that means.
Well, let me try
to explain. Um...
How about this?
Maybe during, uh, one of her many
visits to the hospital to see her sister,
Yolanda told you that Arthur
Kendall was responsible
for her sister's drug problems.
I don't remember.
And maybe sometime
after that, you admitted
that your mother had had an affair
with the same man, Arthur Kendall.
What a shock that must have
been to both your systems.
How dare that man who used
women and tossed them aside...
How dare that man lay
a hand on your mother?
That's the way you
felt, right, Josh? Furious.
Of course you did.
Everybody knows
what a good son you are.
Rather than let your
mother go to jail,
you jumped right up
and admitted to the killing.
Or was it just an act, calculated to
remove all suspicion from yourself?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
MATLOCK: I'm talking about your
outburst in the courtroom that day.
The police questioned
you and then let you go.
Because you couldn't explain
how you got Arthur Kendall's keys,
they didn't believe
you killed him.
But they didn't know about
you and Yolanda, did they?
They didn't know that
you were co-conspirators.
That'd you'd been
working on this for months.
She stole Arthur Kendall's
keys to his car and garage,
so you could lock him in
that garage and kill him.
- That's not true.
- Objection.
Assumes facts not in
evidence. Calls for speculation.
Mr. Matlock, I am
trying to be patient.
Shall I move onto
something else?
Excellent idea.
MATLOCK: Yes, sir.
According to Lieutenant
Bigelow's testimony,
the killer entered Mr. Kendall's garage,
entered his car, started the engine,
got out of the car, locked it
and waited for Mr. Kendall
to come in and investigate.
And when he did, the killer then
closed the door to the garage,
locked it, the car
running inside, locked,
so that he would be killed by
carbon monoxide poisoning.
But in his haste,
or his nervousness,
somehow he didn't notice
that on the floor of
Mr. Kendall's garage
just under the door on the
driver's side was a puddle of oil.
You can see it right here in
this police photograph. See that?
Pretty good size puddle too.
Anybody getting in or
out of Mr. Kendall's car
would have stepped right in it.
I know I did.
Arthur did too, probably.
And the killer did.
And that means the killer,
on his way home, got this
oil on the floor mat of his car.
The police lab found oil
identical to the oil on the
floor of Arthur Kendall's garage
ground into the
fibers of this floor mat.
We got a search warrant, Josh.
This floor mat
came out of your car.
[MURMURING]
[GAVEL BANGING]
Well...
- Thanks, Ben.
- Yeah.
We got a lot of things settled.
Neither my father nor
yours killed anybody.
No. My mother.
But she suffers and
carries it on her own.
Except for me, I guess
I'll always carry it too.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Bye.
Mr. McMasters, my sister
asked me to give you something.
And she asked
me to give you this.
She said the sleazebag
lawyer in it reminds her of you.
CONRAD: I think
she broke my tooth.
- Are you hurt?
- Yes.
Sorry. I bet you
can't eat anything.
Hey, Charlie.
Two hot dogs all the way.
40 years of a life sentence
for the murder of Jake Kendall.
You've appeared before this
parole board countless times
[MARTELL COUGHING AND WHEEZING]
and in each instance, reports
of your disruptive behavior
have forced this board
to deny you parole.
Reports like this one, that
we received just yesterday.
Can you tell us why you remain
one of the most
uncooperative, hostile inmates
that this prison
has ever housed?
Mr. Martell, don't you
feel any remorse at all
for having viciously
murdered Jake Kendall?
Parole denied.
What's wrong with you people?
Can't you see that
he's just a sick old man?
Let him go, for God's sake.
He's dying.
Dad?
KENDALL: The scenes drift.
The characters all sound alike.
The dialogue is flat.
But what's truly unforgivable
about Mrs. Rice's efforts
is the subject matter is
simply not commercial.
Stories, well-told stories,
maybe a couple of jokes
or a little sex and violence,
that's what moviegoers pay
hundreds of millions of dollars to see.
A couple of guys
sitting around in a deli
talking about the
women in their lives?
I don't think so.
BRIAN: I got a storyline
that will grab you, Mr. Kendall.
It's got sex, violence,
tragedy, injustice.
I'm afraid this
is a closed class.
BRIAN: Picture this.
There's this guy who owns
an expensive chain of hotels.
He's rich. Anything
he wants, he gets.
Mostly he wants women.
Single, married,
he doesn't care.
In fact, not only does he run
this other guy out of business,
but he goes after his
wife and he gets her.
KENDALL: I'm gonna
have to ask you to leave.
Then he's killed.
Beat to death with a wrench.
Happy ending?
Not quite. You see, the pour
louse whose wife he stole
is wrongly accused,
winds up going to prison
where he becomes cold,
hard, maybe even a little nuts.
And his son grows up
wanting only one thing,
for his father to be released.
But he never is.
And one day, the son
realizes he never will be
and it makes him very angry.
Who are you?
You know damn well
who I am, Mr. Kendall.
- Get out.
- You know what they say
about the sins of the father?
I said, get out.
MAN 1: Hey.
[ALL CHATTERING]
MAN 2: Stop him.
- Arthur, you're bleeding.
KENDALL: You're as
crazy as your old man!
[WINFIELD CHUCKLES]
Well, dear, you didn't tell me
that someone burst into
your classroom yesterday
and slugged famous
screenwriter Arthur Kendall.
That made it into the news.
Gossip column.
Your boyfriend hasn't
made any real news
since he sold his one
and only screenplay.
How many years ago was that?
Did you kiss him
and make it all better?
Stop it.
Josh, sit down and
finish your breakfast.
- I'm late for work.
- What kind of job is that, anyway?
Emptying bedpans at a hospital?
Next time you wanna
hurt me, use your brain
and don't do it in
front of him, okay?
You, of all people, have no right
to tell me how to act, Candace.
- I didn't wanna fall in love with Arthur.
- Oh, I know.
You and I stopped loving each
other long before I even met Arthur.
[SIGHS]
Our staying
together is pointless.
Instead of making things better for
Josh, we're only making them worse.
I'm gonna move in with Arthur.
I'm filing for divorce.
You do that.
[DOOR SLAMS]
CANDACE: Arthur?
I told you, always call
before you come over.
I just left my husband.
Why?
You said that you and I were going
to have a wonderful life together.
Yeah, but I never
said I'd marry you.
And I certainly never
said I'd be monogamous.
I'm sorry.
[YOLANDA SIGHS]
LEANNE: Oh, you broke the clock.
No, I didn't break the clock.
It's one of those clocks that you
order and put together by numbers
and I did everything
they said and then...
[BLOWS RASPBERRY]
Why do you do this,
Dad? You're not good at it.
Well, I thought I
might get lucky.
Sometimes a person gets lucky.
Why don't you do something
easy like law or shining your boots?
Law's not easy.
You know what I
mean. You're good at it.
Well, yeah.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Dad.
You're up to something.
No, I'm not.
Yes, you are.
I can tell when you talk to me like
this and have that nasty little grin,
you're up to something.
- I have this friend.
- Uh-huh.
- She's a really nice lady.
- No.
- Good-looking.
- No.
Broke up with this senator
she's been going with
- for about seven or eight years.
- I don't care.
She's lonely and
you're available.
Leanne, I don't
need a lady friend.
- You could take her to a movie.
- No.
- Or lunch.
- No.
I don't know how to talk to women I
don't know and you know that, so no.
Come on, Dad. I think
you'd really like her.
She's pretty, smart,
witty, old enough.
What do you say?
She's got a nice build.
Come on, Dad. It
might change your luck.
WOMAN: Hi.
- Hi.
[ENGINE HUMMING]
Hey. Hey!
Help! Help!
[COUGHING]
Help! Help me!
WOMAN: Hi, Leanne.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- What are you doing sitting out here?
- I was waiting for you.
It's a good place to talk, in front
of the courthouse and everything.
What's up?
I'm thinking of taking
Brian Martell's case.
Brian Martell?
He's the fellow who's accused
of killing that, uh, movie writer.
Oh, right. They said in
the paper he's a carpenter?
A brick mason.
Have you spoken to him?
Uh, no.
Do you know something
about the case?
Well, uh, no.
Why are you gonna talk to him?
Uh, well, I have... I
have, uh, reasons.
BRIAN: I didn't kill him.
The door to the garage
Arthur Kendall was killed in
was locked from the outside
and the key was found in
the, uh, ashtray of your car.
Somebody put it there.
And you decked him in front
of a dozen people two days ago.
What is all this about?
You wanna tell her?
About 40 years ago,
Brian's father was convicted
of killing Arthur's father
and was sent to prison.
BRIAN: He was
denied parole again.
Anybody can tell he's
sick. He's gonna die in there.
But, uh, you don't
care, do you, counselor?
- Excuse me, do you have a problem?
- Yeah.
- Well, if we're gonna represent
you... MATLOCK: It's okay, Leanne.
Uh...
Uh, about 4:00,
the lady who lives
across the street from him
that day saw Arthur
Kendall taking out his trash.
At 4:30, the next door neighbor
heard a car running in his garage,
called the police. They
came and found him dead.
So, uh, where were you between
4 and 4:30 that day? Remember?
Yeah. I was home sleeping.
In the middle of the afternoon?
I went to work at
7, broke off at 3,
had a few beers on the way home,
kind of hit the couch
and just passed out.
Mr. Martell, I don't know
what all this is about
and I don't know what
my father has told you,
but our current workload is
very heavy and we just can't...
Yes, we can.
What?
BRIAN: You know that murder
your father told you about?
The one that my father's
been paying for all these years?
He didn't do it.
Charlie Matlock did.
Grandpa?
My father did not
kill Jake Kendall.
Then why is Brian so
convinced that he did?
Why did you never
tell me about it?
Well, I don't know. I
just... I felt funny about it.
I mean, with Brian's father in
a cell for killing Jake Kendall,
my father was accused of it.
It was my father's testimony
that put Lee Martell away.
Okay.
Brings back a lot of memories.
Not all bad.
It started one summer morning
on a country road outside
Mount Harlan, Georgia.
My father was
driving back to town
and he saw this real
expensive-looking car
stopped with the hood up.
And this man was
looking at the engine
like he had never
seen one before.
Uh, that was Jake Kendall.
He had made his
money building hotels.
He didn't know
anything about cars.
CHARLIE: Well,
hello there, mister.
Something went
wrong with your car?
Yeah. It quit on me.
Phew. Boy, doggone, I'll tell
you one thing, that's a pretty car.
Yeah.
I guess it will be the best-looking
thing on the junk heap.
Kicking them won't
generally start them.
[CHARLIE HUMMING]
[ENGINE SPUTTERING]
Could you give me
a ride to Savannah?
I mean, I've got a meeting
at the bank that I absolutely...
[ENGINE STARTS]
You fixed it.
I just tightened the wire
on the distributor cap.
You throw her in
gear and she'll go.
Here, let me pay you.
That's a hundred dollar bill.
Yeah. I always pay my debts.
Phew. A hundred dollar bill.
That's too much, way yonder.
Well, how much too much?
A hundred dollars.
But I owe you something.
Well, I tell you what, if you
are ever in Mount Harlan,
you stop by my garage.
Charlie Matlock. I got
the name right on the front.
We'll have a bottle of
pop. What do you think?
I'll do that.
- I'll see you again.
- Thanks.
MATLOCK: And he
did stop by, many times.
They became real friends.
They could talk for hours.
I wish I'd known your
father. My grandfather.
I do too. You would
have liked him.
[CHUCKLES]
A couple of years later,
Mr. Kendall had dropped his
car off at my father's station
for some, you know,
repairs, and Dad fixed it
and, uh, delivered it to the hotel
in Atlanta where Jake was staying.
Jake?
Hey, Jake?
The door was open
and so I just come on
in and found him like that.
Lieutenant, we just
found this out in the alley
below the bathroom window.
[SIREN WAILING NEARBY]
DETECTIVE: "C. Matlock."
Is this your wrench,
Mr. Matlock?
And it was his wrench.
And when he admitted it, they
arrested him right on the spot.
And when they found out
that Jake Kendall had left
my father $15,000 in his will,
money the old man really needed,
well, they were certain
they had their man.
But 24 hours later,
all those, uh, detective stories your
grandfather used to read paid off.
- And he solved the murder?
- Yeah.
ELAINE: Leanne.
Sorry I'm late.
One of those last-minute
emergencies at the office.
Oh, that's all right.
Elaine Genrich, I'd like you to
meet my father, Ben Matlock.
This is my friend Elaine.
Nice to meet you, Miss Genrich.
Oh, please, call me Elaine.
You told me he
was a very nice man
but you didn't tell
me how good-looking.
[CHUCKLES]
Won't you join us?
Well, all right.
Just for a moment.
I do have to get back.
[MATLOCK CLEARING THROAT]
Well...
[LEANNE CLEARS THROAT]
Who does your hair?
- You paid my bail?
- Yeah.
That's one heck of a guilty
conscience you've got there, Mr. Matlock.
Now wait a minute.
I've posted bail for clients
before and probably will again,
and I have liked most of them
a hell of a lot more than you,
so don't push your luck.
And another thing, my
father never killed anybody
and that includes Jake Kendall.
He didn't believe your
father killed anybody.
The only reason I'm taking
your case, posting your bail
is because my father
would have wanted me to.
Now, quit acting like a jerk
and let's try to work together.
CONRAD: Hey, Ben.
- Yeah.
I'll meet you outside, okay?
Okay?
Okay.
I got your message. What's up?
How about going over to
Arthur Kendall's to look around?
Okay. What am I looking for?
Uh, well, the, uh, name and
address of the killer would be nice.
LEANNE: Did you
know Arthur Kendall
before you enrolled in
his screenwriting course?
CANDACE: No. We met
when I started taking his class.
Ah. So you've only known
him, what, uh, about five weeks?
Uh, well, actually, I took a class
he was teaching before this one too.
I am either a slow learner or just
a hopelessly bad writer. Ha, ha.
I'm still not quite sure which.
[BOTH LAUGH]
I guess that's why some of
the other people in your class
refer to you as
the teacher's pet.
Oh, I think he just
kind of felt sorry for me.
Is that why he took
you to lunch so often?
Uh, well, it wasn't
lunch, really.
It was more like, you
know, tutoring sessions.
He felt that if he could
make a writer out of me,
he could make
one out of anybody.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Well, I admire
your perseverance.
Well, I stuck to it mostly
because of my husband.
You see, ever since he read
that somebody sold a
movie script for $3 million,
he was bound and determined
to do the same thing.
He's a writer?
No, actually, he sells insurance.
He just writes in his spare time.
So, anyway, I
thought I'd give it a try,
only I didn't pick it up
on my own like he did.
So you enrolled in Arthur
Kendall's class twice?
Much to his chagrin, I'm sure.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[BOTH GRUNT]
[EXHALING HEAVILY]
Dad, what are you doing?
Hi. I was walking.
With weights?
Uh, yeah, weights.
It feels good.
[LEANNE SIGHS]
- How am I doing?
- Oh, you are looking good.
You keep eating
right and exercising,
you're gonna be down to
your fighting weight in no time.
So, what do you
hear from Elaine?
- Who?
- You know who. Elaine.
The reason you decided
to eat right and exercise.
The one who thinks you're cute
and wants to know who does your hair.
Oh, her. Nothing.
I called and left a message. She
called and left a message, so...
You've still got it,
haven't you, Dad?
Got what?
Are you familiar
with the expression:
"There may be snow on the roof
but there's a fire in the fireplace?"
- What are you talking about, girl?
- You know what I'm talking about.
What a way to talk.
"Snow on the roof."
I just think people should
be out there, vibrant, alive.
The very idea.
"Fire in the fireplace."
- Let's talk about something else.
- Heh.
- Okay. How about Grandpa?
- Yeah.
- Want some pumpkin seeds?
- Well...
[CAR HORN HONKS]
MATLOCK: Oh, Conrad.
Hey.
Found him rummaging
around Arthur Kendall's house.
MATLOCK: Hmm.
- What's your name, son?
- Josh.
What were you doing
in Mr. Kendall's house?
Tell him.
I was trying to
protect my mother.
Protect your mother?
Go ahead, son.
She and him were
having an affair.
I thought she might have left clothes
or something in there, so I broke in.
What's your mother's name?
Candace Winfield.
Oh.
I knew there was something.
See you later.
LEANNE: Hello, Miss Winfield.
- Hi.
You weren't quite forthcoming with
me about Arthur Kendall, were you?
You two were lovers.
[LAUGHS]
- Who told you that?
- Your son.
Josh.
[BELL TOLLING NEARBY]
So you live here now?
His father and I are
getting a divorce.
I tried to patch things
up after Arthur died,
but George wouldn't hear of it.
Why did you lie to me?
Because I was trying to
spare Josh the humiliation
of having the whole world know that
his mother was committing adultery.
You can understand
that, can't you?
Oh, yes.
Now, why don't you tell me
where you were the
afternoon Arthur was murdered.
I was downtown doing
research for a screenplay.
Research? What kind?
Uh, the script that I was trying
to write involved street kids
and the games
they play for money.
Cards, pick-up
craps, that sort of stuff.
Well, now, isn't
that an unusual topic
for a suburban housewife
like yourself to be writing about?
Arthur always encouraged us
to write about things
that we didn't know,
that way we would
learn something
and we were free to
use our imaginations.
That is an interesting approach.
It was good to talk to
you. Have a nice day.
You too.
[SIGHS]
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MATLOCK [SINGING]:
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the sky's so blue
And I will tell you
just why I love you
I didn't hear you come in.
I crept softly so
as not to intrude.
You were singing. Happy?
Well...
- So did you talk to my friend?
- Hmm?
Did you speak to Elaine
Genrich, my friend?
Um, yeah. Yeah. We,
uh, spoke on the phone.
- Did she call or did you?
- Um...
I think I called.
So, what's up?
We may go on a picnic.
If we've got the
time. It was her idea.
Walk around the village, talk,
have some carrots
and celery and things.
She likes stuff like that.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
No hot dogs?
No.
I may give them up.
It's hard, though.
I come from a long
line of hot dog eaters.
My father liked hot dogs.
- Did he?
- Yeah. Yeah.
He got Jake Kendall
eating hot dogs. Ha, ha.
He'd stop by the garage,
they'd eat hot dogs and
drink a bottle of pop and talk.
[SERVICE BELL RINGS]
- Charlie?
- Huh?
[CHARLIE GRUNTS]
Well, Jake.
Well, I wish you would
look. I wish you would.
That's a brand
new suit, ain't it?
Took delivery
of it this morning.
[CHARLIE WHISTLES]
Well, I wish you would look. Mm.
Britches and a vest
and a coat all just alike.
Suits are supposed
to match, Charlie.
Look at this.
This is what makes it something.
"Brooks Brothers."
- Best tailors in the country.
- Phew.
Most expensive too.
Their clothes are high
quality and they last.
- Brooks Brothers.
- Wouldn't wear anything but.
Quality. Quality and good looks.
That's kind of the way
I feel about my Levis.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Yeah.
Kind of the way I
feel about my suit.
That suit.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
So tell me about the murder.
Well, after the murder,
Charlie got out on bail.
He talked one of the
young police officers,
a fellow I'd been
to school with,
into letting him look at some of
the pictures of the, uh, murder scene,
and he found something.
Henry.
Where's that sweater you all found
on the floor closest to Jake's body?
This one here in this picture.
Uh, it's in that
drawer right there.
Are you gonna let me look at it?
That ain't Jake's sweater.
- Of course it is.
- No, it ain't, Henry.
The clothes in Jake's
closest, every one of them
has a label that
says Brooks Brothers.
He wouldn't wear nothing
else. Brooks Brothers.
Did they call
Martha's Knit Shoppe?
Yeah. And the sweater had
been bought by Lee Martell.
And when the police found that out
and Jake Kendall's very own lawyer
told them there was no way
Charlie could have known
that Mr. Kendall would go
and leave him all that money,
why, they let him go
and arrested Mr. Martell.
All because they
found his sweater?
It's more than that. Jake Kendall
had been, uh, pretty much responsible
for the fact that Mr. Martell had
gone bankrupt the year before.
So he advised him
in some bad business
investments or something.
- Where are you going?
- Uh, appointment.
- With who?
- George.
- George who?
- Uh, Winfield.
You know, Candice's husband,
the insurance salesman.
- I saw that.
- Just one.
Yeah, I, uh, sell insurance
right now, but not for long.
As soon as one of my
screenplays sells, I'm out of here.
- Ha, ha.
- Here, have a seat.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
Suppose I sell you a policy?
- On what?
- On anything.
Oh. Ha, ha. No, thanks.
So how many screenplays
have you written?
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
- None of them have sold?
- No. No, not yet.
But that is all about to change.
This one right here
is gonna be the one.
Ah-ah-ah. Ha, ha.
What's it about?
- Oh, no. Ha, ha.
- Come on. You can tell me.
I mean, who am I
gonna tell? Scout's honor.
All right.
This one is about a serial
killer, sadistic, vicious.
I mean, he makes Bundy
and Bianchi look like pikers.
Anyway, miracle of
miracles, they catch him
and they try him and they convict
him and they put him on death row.
But in the meantime, this guy
has had a religious experience.
Suddenly, he wants
to be executed.
Says God demands
that he be executed.
But the state says,
"No. Forget it."
He's got at least 10 years
of appeals ahead of him.
[CHUCKLES]
I mean, what
delicious irony, huh?
[CHUCKLING] Yeah. Yeah.
So how does it end?
No, no, no, that I'm
not gonna tell you.
Ha. You don't know, do you?
- No. Ha, ha. But I will. I will.
- Ha, ha.
Well, ha, ha,
I know that you know
that, uh, your wife was having
an affair with Arthur Kendall.
Josh told me what
happened over at his house.
According to Josh,
your wife left you
on the day that Arthur
Kendall was killed.
Mm-hm.
She was gonna move in with him,
only, uh, someone killed him
before she had the chance.
- More delicious irony.
- Yeah. Ha, ha.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, excuse me, but, uh,
as a screenwriter, I guess
you know why I have to ask.
Motive, Mr. Matlock. Motive.
Why would I have
killed Arthur Kendall?
To get my wife back?
I don't want her back.
To punish him? To punish her?
He was selfish and
opportunistic, just like Candace.
They were two peas in a pod.
If she had moved in with him, I
wouldn't have had to do a thing.
They'd have punished
each other to death.
[RAP MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO]
- Yes.
- Aw.
Man, you always win.
CANDACE: Hi, guys.
My name's Candace.
How's it going?
Why the hell do you wanna know?
Listen, if anybody asks
you, last Thursday afternoon
I was down here watching
you guys play dice, okay?
You tell them I do that a lot.
I'm doing research for a movie.
Why'd we wanna do that?
Because I'm a real good loser.
Snake eyes. Oh,
darn, I crapped out.
Remember, Thursday
afternoon, 3 to 5. Candace.
BOY 1: Hey, come on, come
on. BOY 2: Come on, move out.
[BOYS ARGUING]
[CHATTERING]
[CAR HORN HONKS]
- Hi.
- Miss Mclntyre. What's up?
Oh, we found out that Arthur
Kendall was having an affair
with a married
woman before he died.
That doesn't surprise me.
So we're making
some good progress.
Um, Brian, the real reason I
came by is, well, my father told me
the Matlock side of
Jake Kendall's murder
and I would like to know
your side, the Martell side.
You're gonna believe
me over your father?
Well, I don't believe my
grandfather did it, either, but try me.
All right. All right.
Maybe that jury was
wrong about your dad.
I mean, to convict somebody
because of a sweater
and a business deal gone sour.
Come sit with me
for five minutes.
Okay.
All right.
When my father
lost his business,
he started working for this
guy that liked to go fishing a lot.
And one day he heard that the
bluefish were running someplace,
so he closed up shop, sent
Dad and everybody home early.
It was a nice day,
so instead of calling Mom to come
and get him, Dad decided to walk.
Dad saw Mom and Kendall kissing.
He was too shocked
to confront them then,
but later when, uh, he thought I
was down the street at a friend's,
he kind of just came unglued.
A nosy neighbor told the
police about Mom's affair
and they assumed that Dad
killed him in a jealous rage.
- He didn't have an alibi?
- No.
He couldn't have
killed Jake Kendall.
Jake Kendall had
already killed him.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Yolanda Bergstrom?
- Yes.
My name is Conrad
McMasters. I work for the attorney
who represents the man
accused of killing Arthur Kendall.
Oh.
Could I ask you a
couple of questions?
Sure. Come on in.
Can I get you something to
drink? Some water or anything?
No, thanks.
- Nice place.
- Thanks.
- Join me for lunch?
- Uh, ha, ha.
Let me take a wild
guess, you're on a diet?
Yep. Started when I was
14, will end when I die.
I gain weight just driving
by an ice cream shop.
Sit down.
I understand you used
to date Arthur Kendall.
We went out a
couple of times, yeah.
It's a horrible thing
what happened to him.
I mean, he wasn't perfect but
he was a nice guy, you know.
I liked him.
"Death Rattle. An original
screenplay by Arthur Kendall."
He had given me that to read,
wanted to know what I thought.
So, what did you think of it?
Between you and me, I think
the story of some guy on death row
that can't get the state to execute
him isn't exactly Batman Returns,
if you know what I mean.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
So how did you know
that he and I were dating?
Uh, well,
he sent you $50 worth of
flowers the morning he died
and he told the florist
to include this note.
"Sorry for the interruption.
Next time the Watkins Hotel."
What's that mean?
Well, actually, I, um...
I spent the night with
Arthur just before he died.
You did?
Why didn't you tell the police?
They never asked.
Okay, and maybe I
didn't want to get involved.
Look, I'm an art
director at an ad agency.
I don't need any trouble.
And it's not like I knew anything
that would help them solve the case.
Go ahead.
Okay.
[SIGHS]
So we spent this nice,
quiet evening together.
You know what I'm
saying, don't you?
Would you like a zucchini
or a carrot or something?
Yeah, okay.
Now, the next morning,
that's when things
got unpredictable.
Mrs. Winfield, what
was your relationship
with the decedent,
Arthur Kendall?
He taught the screenwriting
class that I was enrolled in.
Ha, ha. Yeah.
It went considerably farther
than student-teacher, didn't it?
We were lovers.
MATLOCK: You left your husband
because of your involvement
with Arthur Kendall, didn't you?
CANDACE: Yes.
MATLOCK: You told your
husband you intended to divorce him
and marry Arthur Kendall
the morning of the day he
was murdered, didn't you?
- Yes.
- Mm-hm.
Then what?
You went over to
Arthur's house, didn't you?
You went over unannounced
and found him, let's
say, with another woman.
That woman right back
there, Yolanda Bergstrom,
who is prepared to testify
that when you found the two of
them together, you became enraged.
I was upset, yes.
And he told you that he had
never intended to marry you.
He told you that he had never intended
even to be faithful to you, didn't he?
Here, you left your home,
your husband, your son.
And here's this man
essentially telling you
that you meant nothing to him.
How did that make you feel?
Would you say devastated?
Yes.
And you were mad
too, huh? Furious.
So furious you killed him.
No.
No, I was downtown doing research
for a screenplay when he was killed.
These boys entering
the courtroom now
are prepared to testify
that you bribed them to lie.
That's not true.
MATLOCK: You gave them money
to say that you were with them
when, in fact, you were
at Arthur Kendall's house
- committing murder, weren't you?
- No.
Don't perjure yourself.
All right. I wasn't downtown.
MATLOCK: Where were you?
When I left Arthur's that morning,
I just got in my car and drove.
- Where?
- I don't know, um,
around and around until it got
dark. I didn't know where to go.
- Did anybody see you?
- No.
- You have no alibi.
- I didn't kill him.
- Where did you go?
- I didn't kill him.
I couldn't believe that
he could do that to me,
but I didn't kill him.
You've got to
believe me. I swear.
MATLOCK: You have no alibi.
Stop it. Just stop it. She
didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
I did. I killed him.
Now, leave her alone.
[ALL MURMURING] [GAVEL BANGING]
PROSECUTOR: When did
you decide to kill Arthur Kendall?
JOSH: That morning.
When I got to work at the
hospital, my father called
and told me Mom left him.
I figured that was it. That
creep lived long enough.
What did you do?
I went over to his house around 3:30,
waited for his new girlfriend to leave,
then went into his garage
and started his car up.
When he came out to look, I
slammed the door and locked him inside.
Then I went over to
Brian Martell's place
and hid the garage
key in his car.
Where did you get them?
Where did I get what?
The key to Arthur Kendall's car?
His only key, as it turns out.
And the key to his garage?
Where did you get them?
I... Well, I snuck
in and stole them.
- When?
- That afternoon.
He was with his new
girlfriend all afternoon.
Like I said, I snuck
in. I was real quiet.
How did you sneak in?
What do you mean?
Through a door?
Yeah. I snuck in
through the front door.
They were off in
another room someplace.
DETECTIVE: The maid told us that
he always keeps his doors locked,
even when he's there.
Well, they weren't
locked that day.
PROSECUTOR: Exactly where in
the house did you find the keys, Josh?
Where did I find them?
Well, let's see.
Oh, my.
What do you think?
Is it too much?
Oh, no. It's just perfect.
I mean, it's just a picnic.
I don't wanna overdo.
It's just informal enough
without being too informal.
I've got a chicken neck.
You'll wear a sweater.
Oh, Dad, this must
have cost more
than three or four of your
gray suits put together.
I got it on sale.
- Are the pants too tight?
- No, no, no.
Well, they're the
only ones they had.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
I think I can get away with
it if I keep my coat down
and be careful sitting.
- Well...
- I mean, snug's in now.
- I think Elaine's gonna flip.
- Do you?
Oh, I wish I could be there.
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
It does look nice, if I do say
so myself, who shouldn't?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
I mean, a picnic only
lasts two or three hours.
- I can hold my stomach in that long.
- Sure.
This case was an
easy one, wasn't it?
- Who would have thought.
- Yeah.
They should be done
interviewing the boy by now.
Why don't I go change
and we can go down
and move for a dismissal?
- Okay.
- Okay. Okay.
[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]
And, uh...
Uh, you're sure
it's not too much?
It's perfect.
[CHATTERING]
- Well?
- Bad news, counselor.
The boy's lying. He
didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
You could drive a pickup
through the holes in his story.
But he confessed.
He may have confessed,
Mr. Martell, but he didn't kill him.
- Then his mother
did. MATLOCK: Brian.
With his outburst in court,
whether he did it or didn't do it,
there's grounds
here for a mistrial.
I don't think so.
The fact is, the state's case
hasn't been hurt by this one bit.
I plan to continue my prosecution
as if none of this happened.
You're gonna read the newspaper?
George, our son is in jail.
We have got to do something.
I've already sent my
attorneys down there.
Now, that's all I can do.
This is all my fault.
I wish I'd never heard
of Arthur Kendall.
I agree with you on both counts.
- Mom.
- Josh.
- Son, are you all right?
- I'm fine.
- They let you go?
- They didn't believe I did it.
Well, of course they
didn't, sweetheart.
Listen, I know the
reason that you confessed
was to protect me.
But there's no need to.
I didn't kill Arthur Kendall.
MATLOCK: Then
maybe you won't mind
if I ask you a couple
more questions.
I drove Josh home.
GEORGE: I appreciate
that, Mr. Matlock,
but my wife doesn't
live here anymore.
If you wanna ask her
questions, do it someplace else.
George, please. Josh
needs to hear the truth.
So do you.
Everything you said today
in court was true, Mr. Matlock.
When I went over to Arthur's and
found him with that other woman,
it was like he stabbed
me with a knife.
Yeah, well, what did you do?
Just what I said in court. I got
in my car and I started driving.
I didn't know where I was.
I didn't care where I was,
where I was going. I just drove.
Well, did you stop for
gas or get something to eat
or make a phone
call or anything?
No. I never got out of the car.
- Well, nobody can verify your story.
- No.
He doesn't believe you.
Nobody's gonna believe you.
Damn it, Mom, why did you get
mixed up with that geek? Why?
Josh.
Care to stay for dinner?
Brian, if nothing else,
Candace Winfield's testimony
helped to create substantial reasonable
doubt in the minds of those jurors.
My poor father.
I knew the last time I
saw him it'd be my last.
I knew he was
gonna die. I knew it.
For 40 years, I watched
him rot away, bit by bit.
I'm sorry.
You know, I can't get over the similarity
between your case and your father's.
I mean, it is incredible
to me that you are on trial
for killing the son of the
man he supposedly killed.
The son of the man
your grandfather killed.
Why are you so convinced
that Charlie Matlock
killed Jake Kendall?
His wrench was
the murder weapon.
Your father's sweater was
found right next to the body.
This is the way it was, okay?
Charlie Matlock went to
Kendall's room to deliver the keys
for the car that he
just fixed for him.
They talked.
When Kendall turned his back,
Charlie took his wrench out of his pocket
and hit him over the head.
No, wait. Listen to this, okay?
Then Charlie pulled
out my father's sweater,
dropped it by the body,
went into the bathroom,
tossed the wrench out the
window, called the police
and told them that Kendall
was dead when he got there.
Brian, so what you're saying
is instead of my grandfather
taking the wrench with him
or tossing it into the river
or washing it off someplace,
he threw it out the window
where it was sure to be found?
He was a mechanic, not a genius.
Yet he was smart enough
to steal the sweater somehow
and place it at the
scene of the crime?
You think my father was
dumb enough to leave it there?
You never said anything
about your mother.
What was she like?
She was beautiful,
like a movie star.
My father worshipped her,
uh, until Jake
Kendall came along.
- Who does she think killed him?
- I don't know.
She was so in love with Jake Kendall
that his death just destroyed her.
She left me with my aunt and uncle
to raise and just kind of drifted off.
I never saw much of her.
And where is she now?
At a retirement home
down in Forest Park.
I hope to God I
never love anybody
as much as she loved
Jake Kendall, you know?
[DOORBELL RINGS]
CONRAD: Yolanda.
- Hi.
- Hi. It's me again. Hi.
- Hi.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Uh, yeah, sure. Could
you just wait a sec?
Okay. Come on in.
- More questions?
- Uh, actually, just one.
- What?
- Hey, sugar and fat. Is this a holiday?
What are you, the diet
police? Okay, I confess.
Every now and then
I pig out, so sue me.
Turns out Josh Winfield lied
when he confessed
to killing Arthur Kendall.
You're kidding.
No. He wasn't
able to tell the police
how he had gotten the keys
to Arthur's car and garage.
So the police figure he lied in
an attempt to cover for his mother.
So she killed Arthur Kendall?
Well, if she did, the
same question arises.
Where did she get the keys?
So where do I come in?
Well, my question to you
is when she walked in on
you and Arthur that morning,
which is apparently when she decided
to kill him, what exactly did she do?
Well, she walked into the living
room, saw us and walked out.
So she didn't go into the
kitchen or the bedroom
or any place where he
might have kept the keys?
I have no idea where she went.
It was nice seeing you
again, Mr. McPheeters.
- McMasters.
- Whatever.
[CONRAD STAMMERS]
I've got one more question.
What?
If you're wearing lipstick
and that's your snack,
then how come there's no
lipstick on that milk glass?
[CHUCKLES]
Look, I've got stuff to do.
Who are you hiding, Yolanda?
What does this look like,
the underground railroad?
Maybe you've got
stuff to do, but I don't.
I can wait around as long as
it takes to find out who's here.
And if I have to, that's
exactly what I'll do.
Sabrina.
[DOOR OPENS]
Sabrina Bergstrom,
Conrad McMasters.
- Bergstrom?
- Yeah. My sister.
Now that you've found out
what you wanted to know, leave.
Go.
[INAUDlBLE DIALOGUE]
Miss Martell.
Hello. I'm Leanne
Mclntyre. I'm an attorney.
My father and I are
defending your son, Brian.
- Oh, yes.
- You know about the trouble he's in?
Yes. They think he
murdered Jake's son.
It's like a curse.
I'd like to ask you
a few questions,
not about Brian, about
Jake, if you don't mind.
All right.
Your son is convinced that
my grandfather killed Jake.
I'd like to know what you think.
What do I think?
Well, way back then, all I
knew is that he was gone.
Nothing else mattered.
And now, well, it matters
even less, doesn't it?
You must have
loved him very much.
It was as if we knew each
other forever and more.
Every word he
spoke I understood.
Everything he
felt, I felt it too.
I was married and had a son.
We met eight years too late.
But I couldn't help myself.
I was in love. I was
really, truly in love.
I heard about Jake's
death on the radio.
I was cooking
dinner or something.
It was like a door had slammed
shut, never to be opened again.
Oh, Ben. That was
the nicest picnic.
Well...
You brought all of
my favorite things:
carrot sticks, celery, tomatoes,
um, sweet cucumbers,
sesame seeds.
And topped it off with my all-time
favorite of favorites, hot peppers.
Well, I guess I
know what you like.
[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]
I bet I know what you like.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
You look handsome
in your nice outfit.
Well, you look nice
in your little print.
Ah. Let's sit down.
- Uh, well...
- You've been standing all afternoon.
- Aren't you tired?
- Oh, no. No, I like to stand.
I stand a lot. My mother
used to say that about me.
- Those pants too tight? Let me see.
- No, no, no, they're fine. They're fine.
Snug's in now.
Yeah, my mother used to
say, "That Ben's a real stander."
Let's be sitters a while. Here.
Okay.
[FABRIC RIPPING]
Bacon and eggs?
I can't handle it, Leanne.
I've been eating broccoli
and carrots and celery
because you
introduced me to this lady
and as a favor to you,
I take her on a picnic.
What happened?
Well, I walked around
all day wearing that outfit
and I did my very best
to hold my stomach in
and not to sit down.
Finally, I had to sit down.
And when I did sit
down, I ripped my pants.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
I made an ass out of myself.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...
It's all right. It's all
right. It will come out.
- Should you soak it in something?
- All right.
I'll, uh, put something on
of yours. It's fine. It's fine.
[MATLOCK GROANING]
MATLOCK: I should have
known you can't make a silk purse
out of a sow's ear.
Are you talking to
the bacon or the eggs?
I'm talking to my daughter.
LEANNE: Hi, Conrad.
- Hey, Leanne.
All right, here's the story on
Yolanda Bergstrom's sister.
She lives alone.
She models for art classes in
the day and waitresses at night.
She's got a chip on her shoulder
the size of the Boulder Dam.
And how or even if she fits
into Arthur Kendall's murder
is beyond me.
Did you say you were
gonna put that on?
- You don't like it?
- You look great in it.
Thank you, Conrad.
Oh, my gosh, that's it.
What?
I'm gonna go home
and change clothes,
drive back down to Forest Park.
Conrad, you're brilliant.
Take Dad for a walk
when he's through.
I'm not a golden retriever.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
See, now, this is real food.
You know, I've been
eating broccoli raw.
So does Yolanda Bergstrom.
Did I tell you she has a copy of a
screenplay Arthur Kendall had written?
- What was she doing with it?
- He wanted her opinion on it.
It's just as well he's dead
because she didn't like it.
Why?
Well, it's about this guy on death
row who wants to get executed.
Too intellectual
for her, I guess.
What?
That's what George
Winfield's story was about.
Kendall stole my idea?
Either that or you stole his.
How could I?
I've been working on this
screenplay for over a year now.
Candace.
Candace told him.
You told your wife?
Of course I told my wife.
I used to bounce
ideas off her all the time.
I had no idea she'd turn around
and bounce them off somebody else.
- Dad, take it easy.
- Take it easy?
Because of your mother, that
scum was gonna take credit
for something I thought up.
You didn't happen to see how
his screenplay ended, did you?
No.
That's it. Candice
is in for a divorce
the likes of which this
planet has never seen.
You think you could come
here once with some good news?
[MEN CHATTERING]
Miss Martell?
Hello again. Leanne
Mclntyre, Brian's attorney.
Oh, yes. I remember.
I just wanted to ask
you a few more questions
about Jake Kendall's murder.
It will just take a minute.
I never got to meet your
ex-husband, Miss Martell.
Were you and he
about the same size?
Oh, he was a little
bigger than me.
Did you ever wear
any of his clothes?
I don't know. I guess.
Ever put on one of his shirts
or maybe when it was cold
out, wear one of his sweaters?
Married people do those things.
Something occurred
to me earlier today
when I put on one
of my father's shirts.
I thought if Brian is right
and your ex-husband
didn't kill Jake Kendall
and my grandfather
didn't do it, either,
there is another
possible explanation
as to why your husband's
sweater was found next to the body.
He wasn't wearing
it, Miss Martell.
You were.
What happened, Miss Martell?
Did you and Jake have a fight?
Did he meet someone else?
He broke your heart, didn't he?
And you couldn't bear seeing him
with someone else so you killed him.
Am I right, Miss Martell?
MATLOCK: Can't you
throw it right at me?
If I throw it right at you,
you won't get any exercise.
Do you have to make me
jump around like a ballet dancer?
All right. Here comes one.
Coming at you.
Ow!
I said throw it right at me.
I didn't say try to kill me.
JOSH: Mr. Matlock.
MATLOCK: Oh, hi, Josh.
- You know Fireball McMasters.
- Yeah. Hi.
- Hey, Josh.
- What's up?
Listen, my Dad's
still pretty upset
about Arthur Kendall
stealing his movie idea.
At least he died before
he was able to cash in on it.
Yeah, but what if somebody
reads Arthur Kendall's script
before they read my Dad's and
wind up thinking he's the thief?
This screenplay thing kind of makes
it look like he offed Arthur Kendall.
Maybe.
I'm helping him round up any
scripts that may be out there.
How about the one you saw?
I didn't see it, Conrad did.
Where is it?
- Let me look into it.
- Thanks.
Take over for me.
All right. Let's see
what you've got, Josh.
- You a Braves fan?
- Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Right, right.
So if it's all the same to you,
Yolanda, he'd really like to have it back.
Oh. You threw it out.
It's not fair, Mom.
I wanna know what happened.
I mean, I deserve to
know what happened.
- What happened doesn't matter.
- It does to me.
You and Dad and Jake Kendall
weren't the only ones involved.
There was a 5-year-old kid
there, remember? Your son.
I understand why you
killed Jake Kendall.
You... I know all about him.
I mean, he was a
compulsive womanizer, but...
What I don't understand is
how could you let Dad die in
prison knowing he was innocent?
He loved you so much.
How could you do that to him?
It was your father's idea.
He knew?
Tell us what happened
that day, Miss Martell.
Oh, it was so long ago.
Jake's gone. Lee's
gone. I should be gone.
[SIGHS]
I didn't tell Jake I was coming
to his hotel room that day.
I wanted to surprise him.
He surprised me
with another woman.
Honey, I know
I'm a little bit...
MRS. MARTELL: He betrayed me.
I screamed to him, "How
could you do this to me?"
But he wasn't even sorry.
He reminded me that I
was a married woman
who was cheating on her husband
and had no right to make
judgments about him.
Finally, I just turned and left.
But as I was closing the door,
I remembered that he had said
he was leaving Charlie
Matlock $15,000 in his will.
So I went over to
Charlie's Service Station
and I stole a wrench.
And about an hour after I left
Jake's hotel room, I came back.
He was so glad to see me.
- Can I come in?
- Yeah.
- I thought we needed to talk.
- Sure.
- I'm sorry about before.
- That's all right.
MRS. MARTELL: Oh,
he was so sure of himself.
He wasn't even surprised
that I had come back.
Naturally he thought I
wanted to kiss and make up.
So I let him think that.
I was wearing a
sweater of your father's.
It soon wound up on the floor.
As...
As he took off his Brooks
Brothers jacket to put on the chair,
I pulled out that wrench and
I hit him as hard as I could.
But I didn't mean to
leave the sweater there.
I just wasn't thinking clearly.
It was like a dream.
I didn't even realize
what I had done
until I heard about his death on
the radio and the reality of it set in.
When did Dad find out?
I told him that night
as soon as I realized I
had left the sweater there.
And he said not to worry,
that even if they arrested
him instead of Charlie
that they would never
send him to prison
because after all, it
was only a sweater.
But they did send him to prison
and you let them.
It's the way your
father wanted it.
I wanted to come forward
but he wouldn't hear of it.
He insisted.
After a while, I
just accepted it.
Now,
it's all over.
As you said,
he loved me very much.
How's it going, Sabrina?
- What do you want?
- Just the pleasure of your company.
Go to hell.
- I hear you used to be a model.
- I still am.
Well, no. Actually,
now you're just posing
for a bunch of LeRoy Neiman
wannabes at the art school.
But back then, you posed for
the big-time fashion magazines.
- What happened?
- Maybe I just didn't like it.
Was it drugs?
Maybe that too.
- Hey, what are you doing?
- This is Arthur Kendall's screenplay.
- Give me that.
- Did your sister give that to you?
Why don't you mind
your own business?
She told Ben Matlock
she had thrown it away.
Get away from me.
What's the deal with
you two, Sabrina?
I said, get away from me,
or so help me, I'm gonna
scream rape so loudly
cops in the next
county will hear it.
Well, she cried a lot, but then
when Brian came to visit her,
she admitted that
she'd killed Jake Kendall.
Lee Martell knew,
went to prison for her.
I just wish Grandpa
had known the truth.
Yeah.
[CAR HORN HONKS]
Dad, it's Elaine.
I'll be in the kitchen.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Oh, Elaine.
Hello, Ben. May I
come in for a minute?
Yes. Of course.
- Well, I'm glad you're okay.
- Yeah.
When your pants split
like that I felt sorry for you.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- But you did look cute.
- Well, thanks.
Well, anyway, it's nice to
see that you've recovered.
Ben, I've got
something to tell you.
I'm going to marry
Senator Westerfield.
Don't be hurt.
I mean, you're a wonderful man
and I admire your dedication to fitness,
but I feel life is too short to
spend it eating carrots and celery.
I make the best fried
chicken and grits and gravy,
and I wanna be able
to still make them.
You make fried chicken
and grits and gravy?
Not that I don't believe in exercise. I
mean, I love swimming and walking.
So does Robert,
that's the senator.
Speaking of whom, got to run.
I've got a peach
pie in the oven.
Robert's coming over later
and we're gonna
crank some ice cream.
Then we're gonna sit on the
porch and eat fresh pie à la mode
and watch the fireflies.
Bye, dear.
Love your hair.
CONRAD: Hi. ELAINE: Hi.
What's wrong?
How'd it go?
She dumped me.
Because you split your pants?
I guess. I don't know.
She seemed so
understanding at the time.
She has qualities,
Leanne, qualities that I like.
Qualities that I'll
never get to know.
Unless, she and her
husband invite me to dinner.
Husband?
Sabrina Bergstrom has a copy
of Arthur Kendall's screenplay.
- Did you ask where she got it?
- She wouldn't say.
Looks like the same
script Yolanda had.
- I recognized the coffee stains.
- Hmm.
- She didn't throw it away after all.
- Mm-mm. She lied.
I wonder why she'd do that.
How long have you
known Arthur Kendall?
Only about three weeks.
How did you meet?
YOLANDA: We met at
the Fifth Street Bar and Grill.
He was having a drink.
I was waiting for a table.
We started talking, hit it off.
MATLOCK: The Fifth
Street Bar and Grill.
According to a piece that
appeared in the Atlanta Gazette
about, oh, a year ago, that
was his favorite hangout.
- I didn't know that.
- I think you did.
I think you went to the
Fifth Street Bar and Grill
specifically to meet
Arthur Kendall, seduce him,
then wait for your best
opportunity and kill him.
Objection. Badgering a witness.
Sustained. Mr. Matlock...
I'm sorry, Your Honor. I'll
move onto something else.
I understand you
have a younger sister.
That's right. Sabrina.
And until about six months ago,
- she was a high fashion
model. YOLANDA: Yes.
And the reason she's no longer
a high fashion model is, uh,
she started using
drugs. Is that right?
- Yes. MATLOCK:
She used to use drugs
- but she kicked the habit, didn't
she? YOLANDA: Yes, that's right.
You know any reason why she
would start using drugs again?
I don't know. Why
does anyone take drugs?
Maybe she fell in
with the wrong crowd.
According to this receipt that
we got from his, uh, accountant,
about six months ago,
Arthur Kendall bought
a gold, uh, bracelet,
and had "To Sabrina, with
love, Arthur," engraved on it
and then had it sent
to her apartment.
Your sister had an
affair with him, didn't she?
All right. Yes, she did.
But what's that got
to do with anything?
She was in love with him.
And almost immediately, as
was his habit, he cast her aside
with no thought or care of
how devastated she would be.
And that's when she started
using drugs again, isn't it?
And that ended her career.
And that's when you decided
that Arthur Kendall would pay
- for ruining your sister's life.
- No.
So you picked him up at
the Fifth Street Bar and Grill.
Let's just say you allowed
him to think he picked you up.
Went out with him a few times.
Waited for your
chance to do him in.
I dated him because I liked him.
Then you saw that
piece in the paper
about that fight he
had with Brian Martell
and you knew your
chance had come.
You killed Arthur Kendall
and framed my client by
putting those keys in his car.
You remembered the fight
that they had in that writing class.
You knew that he, Brian
Martell, was the perfect suspect.
I didn't kill him.
You were in his house
on the day he was killed.
Yes, I was.
That means that you had easy
access to the keys to his car and garage.
So I ask you, Miss Bergstrom,
where were you
between 4 and 4:30
the afternoon Arthur
Kendall was murdered?
Shall I repeat the question?
The witness is instructed
to answer the question.
I don't want to.
You have no choice.
Yes, I do.
JUDGE: Young lady, either
you answer the question,
or I'll cite you for contempt.
You go right ahead.
[MURMURING]
Here they are, sports fans.
Yolanda Bergstrom's bank records
straight from the subpoena factory.
- Get them while they're hot.
- Yeah, let's have a look.
While I was downtown, I
found out something else.
- What?
- The sister, Sabrina, has an alibi.
At the time, she was
sleeping off her lunch
in the drunk tank
at the city jail,
something she apparently
does quite frequently.
So if Yolanda's stonewalling in order
to protect someone, it isn't her sister.
She's stonewalling
to protect herself.
I'll bet anything she
killed Arthur Kendall.
Of course, we haven't any
proof. We have to have proof.
Boy, she spent a lot of money
on Sabrina's drug rehabilitation
program, didn't she?
- Money not well spent, apparently.
- Yeah.
"Century Hospital
Chemical Dependency Unit."
Maybe you're right.
MATLOCK: Well, let's
see. The killer got in the car,
[GRUNTING] and there you go.
Got her in neutral,
there you go.
Started the engine,
locked that door, got out,
locked this door
and there you've got it.
The car is locked, the engine's
running and the keys are inside.
You stepped right in
the oil. Didn't you see it?
Why didn't you say something?
Well, wouldn't you know.
Of course.
MATLOCK: Well, that was some
scene you made in here last week
when you jumped up and
confessed to killing Arthur Kendall.
Why would you do
something like that?
Because you were making it
sound like my mom killed him.
I knew that wasn't true,
but I was afraid she was gonna
go to jail anyway, so I said I did it.
- You were just protecting her?
- That's right.
Well, uh, just for the record
and since you're under oath
and everything, did you kill him?
- No.
- Okay.
Uh, I understand you work
part-time at the Century Hospital.
JOSH: That's right.
MATLOCK: Did you
ever work part-time
in the drug rehabilitation
unit they have there?
Sure. I worked in all the
departments at the hospital.
Were you working in
the drug rehabilitation unit
when Sabrina Bergstrom
was a patient there?
According to the hospital
records, you were.
Yeah. I remember
Sabrina vaguely.
Uh, how about her sister
Yolanda? Remember her?
There are a number
of people here today
who work at the Century Hospital
and they are prepared to testify
that while Sabrina was a patient
there, you and Yolanda became friends.
Well, I might have met
her and talked to her,
but that didn't mean
we were friends.
Well, not friends, then.
Uh, maybe co-conspirators.
I don't know what that means.
Well, let me try
to explain. Um...
How about this?
Maybe during, uh, one of her many
visits to the hospital to see her sister,
Yolanda told you that Arthur
Kendall was responsible
for her sister's drug problems.
I don't remember.
And maybe sometime
after that, you admitted
that your mother had had an affair
with the same man, Arthur Kendall.
What a shock that must have
been to both your systems.
How dare that man who used
women and tossed them aside...
How dare that man lay
a hand on your mother?
That's the way you
felt, right, Josh? Furious.
Of course you did.
Everybody knows
what a good son you are.
Rather than let your
mother go to jail,
you jumped right up
and admitted to the killing.
Or was it just an act, calculated to
remove all suspicion from yourself?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
MATLOCK: I'm talking about your
outburst in the courtroom that day.
The police questioned
you and then let you go.
Because you couldn't explain
how you got Arthur Kendall's keys,
they didn't believe
you killed him.
But they didn't know about
you and Yolanda, did they?
They didn't know that
you were co-conspirators.
That'd you'd been
working on this for months.
She stole Arthur Kendall's
keys to his car and garage,
so you could lock him in
that garage and kill him.
- That's not true.
- Objection.
Assumes facts not in
evidence. Calls for speculation.
Mr. Matlock, I am
trying to be patient.
Shall I move onto
something else?
Excellent idea.
MATLOCK: Yes, sir.
According to Lieutenant
Bigelow's testimony,
the killer entered Mr. Kendall's garage,
entered his car, started the engine,
got out of the car, locked it
and waited for Mr. Kendall
to come in and investigate.
And when he did, the killer then
closed the door to the garage,
locked it, the car
running inside, locked,
so that he would be killed by
carbon monoxide poisoning.
But in his haste,
or his nervousness,
somehow he didn't notice
that on the floor of
Mr. Kendall's garage
just under the door on the
driver's side was a puddle of oil.
You can see it right here in
this police photograph. See that?
Pretty good size puddle too.
Anybody getting in or
out of Mr. Kendall's car
would have stepped right in it.
I know I did.
Arthur did too, probably.
And the killer did.
And that means the killer,
on his way home, got this
oil on the floor mat of his car.
The police lab found oil
identical to the oil on the
floor of Arthur Kendall's garage
ground into the
fibers of this floor mat.
We got a search warrant, Josh.
This floor mat
came out of your car.
[MURMURING]
[GAVEL BANGING]
Well...
- Thanks, Ben.
- Yeah.
We got a lot of things settled.
Neither my father nor
yours killed anybody.
No. My mother.
But she suffers and
carries it on her own.
Except for me, I guess
I'll always carry it too.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
- Bye.
Mr. McMasters, my sister
asked me to give you something.
And she asked
me to give you this.
She said the sleazebag
lawyer in it reminds her of you.
CONRAD: I think
she broke my tooth.
- Are you hurt?
- Yes.
Sorry. I bet you
can't eat anything.
Hey, Charlie.
Two hot dogs all the way.