Matlock (1986–1995): Season 8, Episode 11 - The Defendant - full transcript

Leanne falls for a client, a philanthropist accused of murdering his partner.

A shelter that is so desperately
needed by the city's homeless families,

particularly its children,
is finally a reality.

And so I gratefully accept
this award that you've given me.

But really, this award belongs
to you and to the community,

for all the work
that you've done.

And so I really... I
just want to thank you,

each and every one of you,

for all your support and
generosity. Thank you very much.

[ALL CLAPPING]

LEANNE: It's so good to see you.

Hi.



PHYLLIS: Steven?

Steven, would you be
an angel, right over here.

Leanne? Leanne
McIntyre, is that you?

Hello, Phyllis. How are you?

Oh, busy as ever.
Just go, go, go.

Well, let's take a look at you.

[CHUCKLES]

I didn't know you knew Gil.

Well, actually I don't,

but I agreed to do some
legal aid work for the shelter.

Isn't that sweet?

Oh, speak of the devil.

Phyllis, I've gotta meet
Gordon at the office.

Gil Stoddard, Leanne McIntyre.



Hi, how do you do?

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet... You too.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Thank you very much
for coming. Thanks.

- Bye, Phyllis.
- Bye.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC
PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]

[SIREN WAILING]

I'm Gil Stoddard.
These are my offices.

MAN: Hey, give me a
hand here in the hallway.

GIL: Gordon!

OFFICER 1: You can't come in.
- Gordon!

OFFICER 2: Hold it right
there! ANDREWS: Let him go!

GIL: Where's Gordon?
- Let him go!

Where's Gordon?

ANDREWS: Mr. Stoddard?
- Yes?

I'm Lieutenant Harmon
Andrews, Atlanta Police.

What's happened here? Damn
it, where's the hell's Gordon?

I'm sorry, Mr. Stoddard.
There's no easy way to say this.

Your partner's dead.

Well, no. No, no, no.
That's not possible.

He was murdered
earlier this evening.

Oh, my God.

Oh, God, no, no, no!

How? When?

We assume the murderer gained
access through the back door.

- But we have an alarm.
- It wasn't on.

My guess is it was
early. Mr. Lyte felt safe.

He heard something, though, because
he pressed the alarm in his office.

The alarm company
received the call at 9:27.

When my man got here
about six minutes later,

- they found him dead.
- He didn't go to the banquet

because we had this
big presentation to make.

He'd still be alive if
he'd gone to the banquet.

Mr. Stoddard, there's no
need for you to go up there.

Mr. Stoddard!

- Oh, God. ANDREWS: Easy, easy.

Jimmy, wet me a cloth.

Lieutenant Andrews, we're
ready to spray the room.

Yeah, okay, okay. Go ahead.

Here, put it on your neck.

I think you ought
to go downstairs.

No, it's...

I'm okay. I am.

It's not necessary
for you to be here.

Damn it, I need to know
what happened here.

Okay.

Apparently, there
was quite a struggle.

He was stabbed a number of times

- and then strangled.
- No.

- Strangled?
- With a wire.

The lab boys here are
spraying with Lumaglow.

It's a chemical that
picks up blood stains,

including any the killer
might have tried to wash away.

It would cause them
to glow in the dark.

Now, by doing this, we can pinpoint
exactly where the crime took place,

and hopefully we can
reconstruct how it happened.

You're right. I don't
need to see this.

MAN 1: All right,
let's do it now.

MAN 2: Hey, you
wanna kill the lights?

MAN 3: Jeez. What kind
of animal would do this?

MAN: Surely goodness and mercy

shall follow me all
the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever.

- Amen. MOURNERS: Amen.

Gordon was my partner,

my mentor and my dearest friend.

He brought joy and
wisdom to all of us

and our lives are
less for his passing.

I know how much you
loved your brother, Richard.

Richard, we both loved him.

And now we've lost him,

and I was just hoping that
somehow, through all this grief,

we could start over.

Why?

So I can sit back and shut up?

Watch you destroy the
business that my brother built?

I don't think so.

What do you say, Harmon?

Good to see you,
Ben. How you doing?

Well, fresh biscuits, blueberry
pancakes, sourwood honey.

- Can't get much better.
- Mm-hm.

- Sit down.
- All right.

I've been reading
about a friend of yours.

- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, Gil Stoddard.

You are investigating his
partner's murder, aren't you?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

You got anything?

Well, not a heck of a lot.

We think Gordon Lyte heard
somebody enter the building

because the emergency
alarm was pressed.

- You want some breakfast?
- Uh, yeah.

- I'll have what he's having.
- Go ahead.

- Here. This is the alarm panel.
- Mm.

In order to set off
the emergency alarm,

you gotta put a code in here.

Then you gotta press these two
buttons at the same time like this.

So you think that Gordon
Lyte probably heard something

and then pressed
these two buttons?

- That's what we thought.
- Yeah.

But when the lab
boys dusted the panel,

Gordon Lyte's
fingerprints weren't on it.

Nobody's were.

Oh, oh. So you think
somebody else set off the alarm

and then wiped
these buttons clean?

Mm-hm. And I think that
somebody else was his partner.

You're kidding.

Wait, the man's devoted his
life to the homeless. I mean...

Oh, come on, Ben. I mean,
who else would have done it?

Who else would have
known about the alarm?

The man had no enemies.

- What's Gil Stoddard's motive?
- Greed.

The whole company's his.

- Well, he set himself up pretty good.
- Yeah.

- Around 8 million good.
- Oh, heh, heh.

Well, he has an alibi I'm sure.

Well, yes and no.

He was the guest of honor over at
a dinner at the Atlanta Towers Hotel.

Now, nobody remembers
seeing him leave,

but that doesn't mean he
couldn't have sneaked out

and then sneaked back in
without anybody noticing.

- Oh, yeah, there you go.
- Well, thank you.

- It looks good. MATLOCK: Mm.

I know he had a
reason to kill him.

I know he had the opportunity.

I just don't know
how to nail him.

Well, maybe he'll
trip himself up. Good?

Yeah, boy.

- Sourwood honey.
- I'd love that.

MATLOCK: Mm-hm.

Is there a Lieutenant
Andrews here?

I'm Lieutenant
Andrews. May I help you?

I wanna talk to you
about the Lyte murder.

MAN [ON TV]: In a surprise
announcement this morning,

the district attorney made public
the indictment of Gil Stoddard...

Okay, Dad, I'm
leaving! I'll see you later!

- Well, I'll be...
- What did you say?

MAN: Atlanta's largest
and most successful...

Harmon Andrews just
arrested Gil Stoddard

for the murder of his partner.

After all this time?

Well, Harmon told me,
what, five months ago,

that he was trying to nab
him, but he didn't have cause.

What changed?

Well, um... A lady, I guess...

A lady of the night, I
guess, named Cindy...

I believe they said Forman.

Came home from spending
the winter in San Diego.

And she heard what happened
and went right down and told Harmon.

And she said that two nights
before Gordon Lyte was killed,

she spent the... You
know, the night with him.

And she said he was a nice guy.

And he said that Gil
Stoddard was a bum

and he was going to dissolve
the partnership and get rid of him.

What?

I don't know. I haven't
been following the case,

but with all the charity work
he does, you wouldn't think...

Would you turn
that up a little bit?

Mr. Doyle, were you surprised by
these charges at all? How do you feel?

You met him, didn't you?

Briefly.

I'd be surprised if he
remembered my name.

REPORTER 1: Why do you think it
took so long to press these charges?

REPORTER 2: What
about this indictment?

No comment.

REPORTER 3: Will you just give
us...? REPORTER 4: Is there any way...?

[CHATTERING]

How can they do this to me?

How could anyone
believe I would kill Gordon?

I've gotta tell you. They've
got a very strong case.

I didn't... I couldn't do something
like this, not to anybody.

Look, you're in very
deep trouble, my friend,

and you're gonna
need the very best.

So, what do you say we
get Bailey or Dershowitz?

Ah, I don't know.

All right. Then how
about Ben Matlock?

Maybe.

How about Leanne?

LEANNE: That's one of
my conditions, Mr. Doyle.

All right, if he's willing to do
that, I'll consider representing him.

I'll give him my other
conditions when I see him.

You too, thanks a lot. Bye-bye.

You going to take
the Stoddard case?

Well, I said I'd consider it

if he consents to
taking a lie-detector test.

It's gonna be interesting.

I hear Harmon's got a pretty
strong case against him.

Maybe, but the Atlanta
Police have had strong cases

against a lot of people.

It never stopped someone I
know from representing them.

Nothing like being
hung by your own history.

What if he fails the test?

I drop out.

I'm gonna pick him up at 5:30.

- Wish me luck.
- Good luck.

I think you should take a
leave of absence from work

and keep as low a
profile as you can.

Okay. Anything else?

Yes.

I drop clients the moment
I find out they've lied to me.

Not to worry. I
don't plan on lying.

Good.

GIL: I think I've
made the right choice.

LEANNE: What did you see
when you arrived at the office?

GIL: Blood.

It was, uh, on the rug.

It was on the cushions.

It was everywhere.

Gordon's secretary
packed up most of his things,

and she had the room redone,
but it didn't make any difference.

I haven't stepped into this
room since it happened.

You don't look well. Why don't
we go somewhere else and do this?

Yeah.

This must be very
difficult for you.

Yes, it is.

Thank you.

So I heard you were divorced.

Yes.

You, of course, know our
good friend, Phyllis Ridgeway.

- Oh, yes.
- At the banquet for the shelter,

she said she heard that nasty old
husband of mine had dumped me.

I won't call her
what I'm thinking.

[LAUGHS]

She said she also thought that
throwing myself into charity work

would just banish those
dumped-woman blues.

If that woman didn't
know so many people,

I would not have her
on the shelter's board.

[LAUGHING]

- Was it hard?
- What's that?

In the divorce?

Yeah.

At first it was real
hard, but now it's okay.

Yeah? Me too.

- Oh, yeah? You're...?
- Yeah.

Yeah, I'm a reject. Heh-heh-heh.

What is it they say...?

Marriage is forever, love...

Yeah, well, maybe for some.

Yeah, maybe for some.

Well, I have a
month to build a case.

You ready?

Ready as I'll ever be.

Why'd you go back
to the office that night?

Ah, well, as usual, Gordon
was burning the midnight oil.

He was working on
a new ad campaign,

and he wanted me to take a
look at it before the presentation.

And you weren't there any
other time earlier that evening?

Gordon was like a
brother to me. I loved him.

I did not kill him.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Hi.

MATLOCK: Oh.
- What are you doing here?

Uh, an appointment.

I thought maybe we'd have lunch.

Oh, well, this is going
to take a little while.

Oh, Dad, I'd like you to
meet my client, Gil Stoddard.

- Gil, my father, Ben Matlock.
- Sir, it's an honor.

Nice to meet you.

Uh, I can hang around.

Okay.

Well, you better go inside.
I don't want you to be late.

He looks calm.

Juries like to believe that guys like
him, who have everything, are guilty.

It makes life seem fairer.

I never thought this
case would be easy.

Mm-hm.

He passed, Leanne. A-plus.

- Straight as an arrow.
- The machine loved him.

- That's great.
- I'll see you.

- Thanks a lot.
- You bet.

[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]

I wouldn't hang my hat on that.

What do you mean, Dad? You
think the polygraph made a mistake?

Well, no. Well...

- You remember Gus Whitlow?
- Sure.

I mean, he passed
two polygraphs.

And would have gotten off

if the police hadn't decided
to dig up his backyard anyway.

And they found bodies
going back 14 years.

- I remember.
- Gus was some kind of psychopath.

Sometimes a psychopath
can fool a lie detector.

So, what are you saying, Dad?

You think Gil Stoddard
is a psychopath?

Well, no. Just I...

I don't trust him.

- Why?
- I don't know. It's just a gut feeling.

But he's not my client.
He's yours, Leanne.

And if you do believe him,
well, you gotta go with it.

I do, and I am.

Would anybody else have
had a key to your offices?

Uh, cleaning staff, secretaries.

I'll speak to them.
Anybody else?

Hmm.

I don't think so.

Mm. Medium or rare?

Medium.

How about any other
staff? Maybe a relative?

Let me think.

- Perfect. Hm?
- It looks good.

- You want to, uh...
- Oh, I'm sorry.

So, what do they say? Only
accountants talk business over dinner?

[LEANNE CHUCKLES]

[GIL $ LEANNE LAUGHING]

You kidding me? Huh?

- Did I say something wrong?
- No.

No, not at all.

You don't like going
to parties, huh?

Not really. Ha-ha-ha.

You're telling me that
your idea of a good time

is to argue in court all day,

instead of getting all
dressed up, going to a party?

- Well, I like to work.
- Mm-hm.

- And parties put me to sleep.
- Mm.

You don't like being bored.

It gets me in no
end of trouble. Heh.

Interesting trouble,
I bet. Heh-heh.

[CHUCKLING]

[CLEARS THROAT]

- Dinner was delicious.
- Thank you.

We should get back to work.

First day in court
should be fairly routine.

Although the DA
is pretty clever.

He'll probably start off
with a character witness,

- somebody who doesn't like you.
- Okay.

My guess is it'll be
Richard, Gordon's brother.

Could Richard have
had a key to your office?

Sure, but he adored his brother.

If Richard had wanted to kill
anybody, he would have killed me.

[REPORTERS CLAMORING]

REPORTER 1: Does
Stoddard $ Lyte still exist?

REPORTER 2: Give some information
about the questioning you'll be doing.

REPORTER 3: What are you
expecting from the DA's questioning?

REPORTER 4: Make a statement
about your first day at trial.

BRIGHTMAN: The facts
in this case will bear us out.

The people will prove
beyond a reasonable doubt

that on the night of
September 30th of last year,

the defendant left the
banquet in his honor

at the Atlanta Towers Hotel
and returned to his office,

where he savagely
murdered his partner.

The people will also prove
that despite appearances,

at the time of his
partner's death,

Gil Stoddard had a
very serious problem.

The partner on whom he depended
was about to dissolve their partnership.

And with Gordon Lyte gone,

the gravy train would
have ended for Gil Stoddard.

He would have
gotten a small payoff.

More importantly, he would have
been left with no company and no future.

The defense would
like you to think

that Gil Stoddard lost one of the
people he loved most in this life,

when in actuality, he
murdered him in cold blood

to protect the two things in
life he couldn't live without:

Money and power.

Thank you.

CLAGETT: By my watch it's 12:30.

This court is adjourned
until 9 a.m. Monday morning.

[GAVEL BANGS]

How are you?

Not great.

I wish I could tell you
the worst was over.

This is some process.

Some guy I never
even met stands up

and accuses me of a crime
too horrible to even think about.

Let's get out of here.

Hey, Gil.

Enjoy your freedom.

I don't think even you'll be able
to charm your way out of this.

- Gil?
- I'm okay.

Let me show you
what keeps me sane.

LEANNE: How did
you get involved in this?

GIL: Well, you know, I got
tired of giving a dollar here

and ten minutes there...

BOY: Hi.
- How are you doing?

I just decided that I
wanted to do something

that would make a real
difference, you know?

How long do the
people usually stay here?

As long as it takes them to
get a job, find a place to live.

Our objective here is to
get people back on their feet.

This a wonderful
thing you're doing.

- Hi, Mr. Stoddard.
- Hey, Mike. How are you doing?

Fine.

- Don't go.
- I've gotta go, Mike.

I've got an appointment.
I'll see you tomorrow, huh?

- Bye-bye.
- Bye, Mr. Stoddard.

Bye.

[KIDS CHATTERING]

They found Mike
living at the city dump.

I didn't realize you
had an appointment.

So do you.

I made us
reservations for lunch.

Oh, we could've eaten here.

- Here?
- Sure.

You don't want something
a little more uptown?

Watch it. My mother
would resent that remark.

Your mother?

She taught me to eat hotdogs.

Oh, boy.

Any other family secrets
I should know about?

I play a mean sax.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

You are a very unique lady.

Thank you.

LEANNE: Yesterday,
Lieutenant Andrews testified

that the victim died of strangulation
and multiple stab wounds.

Based on your autopsy, Dr. Serlin,
would you agree with that?

Yes. There were
multiple stab wounds,

but the actual cause of
death was strangulation.

Marks on the victim's neck
indicates the killer used a wire.

LEANNE: At the
time he was strangled,

as you have just stated,
probably with a wire,

was Gordon Lyte sitting up
or lying down in his couch?

Was the killer attacking
him from the front

or surprising him from behind,
and was there a struggle?

SERLIN: Based on the angle
of the wire marks on his neck,

it can be assumed that the
killer attacked from behind.

The bruises on
the victim's body,

in particular, the
bruises on the left wrist,

would indicate the killer was
perched over him from behind

and used his left hand to pin him down
while he strangled him with his right.

Let me make sure
I understand this.

The killer held him
down with his left hand

and he strangled
him with his right?

Yes, ma'am.

Dr. Serlin, would it be
safe to conclude, then,

- that the killer was
right-handed? SERLIN: Hm.

It takes a lot of strength to
strangle a person with one hand.

I'd say most likely the
killer was right-handed.

At this time, Your Honor, I'd
like to introduce defense exhibit A.

It's a video tape of
WNJH Evening News,

which was broadcast
July 18th, 1989.

MAN [ON TV]: Gil Stoddard,
partner in the firm of Stoddard & Lyte,

surprised the mayor
and other city officials

at a charity luncheon with a
check in the amount of $500,000

- toward the building of...
- Objection.

Relevance. Mr. Stoddard's
generosity is not the issue here.

LEANNE: If the court will permit, I
only need about ten more seconds

to prove relevance.

- Overruled. LEANNE:
My dear counselor's correct.

This video tape does show
the generosity of my client.

But more importantly, it also shows
that while Dr. Serlin has just stated

that the killer
was right-handed,

the defendant, Gil
Stoddard, is left-handed.

MAN: pledged to match all
funds raised by the private...

LEANNE: The DA will probably
start off with Cindy Forman.

GIL: You still think her
testimony will be a problem?

Well, it shouldn't be too hard to raise
reasonable doubt in the jury's mind.

- Oh.
- Oh.

- Oh. GIL: No, I got it.

Listen, wouldn't
this be a lot easier

if we just went over all
this back at my house?

I just thought this would
be a nice change of pace.

You know, Gil, um,

we need to get
something straight.

- I did something wrong?
- No.

We can't be involved.

Not now.

This is business,
life-and-death business.

You understand?

I wish I didn't, but I do.

I can live with that, counselor.

Do you have another
witness, Mr. Brightman?

The people call as their last
witness Miss Janet Moore.

Objection, Your Honor. This
witness comes as a total surprise.

Her name is not
on the witness list,

at least not the list
supplied to the defense.

Would both counsel
please approach the bench?

- What is your secretary doing here?
- I have no idea.

CLAGETT: Miss
McIntyre, we're waiting.

Your Honor, the defense is
totally unprepared for this witness.

At this point, we have no
idea why she's even here.

- Mr. Brightman?
- Miss Moore came to us this morning.

No possible way we could know

she had any information
pertinent to the people's case

until she told us.

Her testimony is
crucial to our case.

CLAGETT: I'll allow.
- But, Your Honor...

Just let the witness
testify, Miss McIntyre,

after which I'll adjourn
court for the day,

and you can have however
much time you need

to prepare for
cross-examination.

BRIGHTMAN: You're the
defendant's secretary. Is that correct?

Yes.

Would you say you have a good
working relationship with him?

Mr. Stoddard is the best
employer I've ever had.

Please tell the
court where you were

on the night of
September 30th at 7:15.

I was leaving the offices
of Stoddard $ Lyte.

What exactly did
you see at that time?

Well, I had just pulled
out of the parking lot

when I saw
Mr. Stoddard drive in.

I even honked. I
guess he didn't hear me.

- Are you sure of the time?
- Positive.

I made it home in time to
watch the 8:00 movie on TV.

Wasn't he supposed to be at
a black-tie affair in his honor?

MOORE: Yes, he was.

That's why I was so
surprised to see him there.

BRIGHTMAN: Why didn't you come
forward with this information earlier?

Mr. Stoddard has been
a very good friend to me.

I didn't want to hurt him.

I'm sorry. I just couldn't
go on knowing he'd done it.

She's lying.

BRIGHTMAN: Miss Moore, did you do
anything else to protect Mr. Stoddard?

Yes.

I destroyed a document.

And what was that document?

It was a handwritten note
from Mr. Lyte to his lawyer,

instructing him to
dissolve the partnership

of Stoddard $ Lyte, and
to leave Mr. Stoddard

with the smallest
possible amount of money.

Thank you.

What is going on? You said
you didn't go back to the office.

I didn't.

Yet this woman who says
you're the best boss she ever had

says she saw you there.

- Listen to me.
- There is something wrong here.

Why would she testify
that she saw you?

Did you lie to me?

I swear to you, Leanne.

Someone had to have
put Janet up to this.

- What about the letter?
- She didn't have the letter.

She said she destroyed
it. Don't you see?

She's been paid off.

I told you, if you
lied to me I was out.

Don't do this to me, please.

I am not lying. She's lying.

I did not kill him.

- I wanna believe you.
- Leanne.

I gotta clear my head.

Leanne, please.

Please?

[DOOR OPENS]

Well, Dad. I think I
might have been wrong.

What are you talking about?

And you might have been right.

I don't think Gil
Stoddard can be trusted.

You know, I ask him point-blank

if he went back to the offices
earlier that night of the murder.

His secretary just
testified she saw him there.

Could she be lying?

I told him if he lied to me...

Why are you asking me that?

Well, maybe she was lying.

You know, Dad, sometimes
I really don't understand you.

Why would you say
something like that?

First you tell me you think he did
it, now you say maybe he didn't.

That's Gordon's
brother, Richard.

MATLOCK: Gordon Lyte
was strangled with a wire.

Look at that patch
on his arm there.

Special Forces unit.

They're trained to
do a lot of things.

- Violent?
- When necessary.

Maybe you ought to call Conrad

to see what he can find
out about Richard Lyte.

I will.

But first I think
I'd better call Gil.

Miss Moore, you
testified earlier

that you didn't come
forward immediately

because Mr. Stoddard
was such a wonderful friend

and employer to
you. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct.

How good a friend was he?

I'm not sure I know
what you mean.

Well, was he the kind of friend
that gave you a lift to the airport

or brought you food
when you were sick

or helped you plant your
garden on the weekends?

MOORE: No. We didn't spend
much time together away from work.

LEANNE: Oh.

Well, now, let me make
sure I understand you.

The reason you protected
someone you believe

was a cold-blooded
murderer was what?

Because he let you
take long lunch hours?

BRIGHTMAN:
Objection, argumentative.

Sustained.

I saw him outside the building
that night, Miss McIntyre.

LEANNE: Now, that's interesting.

I'm a great believer in physics,

and I don't believe that one person
can be in two places at the same time.

You also testified that you left
the Stoddard $ Lyte parking lot

at 7:15 on the night of
the murder. Is that correct?

I may have been wrong
by a minute or two.

Do you recognize Georgia
license plate number TH4-0I6?

My license plate.

- Do you drive a tan BMW convertible?
- Yes, I do.

I would like to show you a
receipt from a parking garage

at 3231 Rome Street.

It has the make of your car and
the license plate right on the back.

And stamped on the
front is the date and times.

Would you be so kind
and read that to the court?

I'll be happy to help you. It
says here September 30th.

You arrived in this parking lot at
6:53 p.m. and you left it at 7:26.

You lied to us, Miss Moore.

You didn't see Gil
Stoddard that night.

You were nowhere near
the Stoddard $ Lyte building.

As a matter of fact, you were 20
minutes on the other side of town.

And you didn't tear up
any letter either, did you?

Who were you
protecting, Miss Moore?

Whose offices were you
visiting at 3231 Rome Street?

Your Honor, please instruct the
witness to answer my question.

I was visiting Richard Lyte.

LEANNE: Thank you.

Will you tell the court what your
relationship is with Richard Lyte?

MOORE: I don't
see that it matters.

I think it does.
Answer my question.

We're lovers.

LEANNE: For the record,

Richard Lyte is the brother
of the late Gordon Lyte.

How long have you
been seeing Richard Lyte?

MOORE: Almost
two and a half years.

LEANNE: Do you love
him? MOORE: Yes, I do.

Enough to make sure
he inherited $8 million?

I resent that, Miss McIntyre.

Just as Richard Lyte
resented Gil Stoddard?

- Ha. He didn't.
- Isn't it true

that you and Richard Lyte plotted
the murder of his brother Gordon?

- No!
- Isn't it also true

that you covered
for Richard Lyte

when he used his own key
to enter his brother's offices

and to kill him in cold blood?

- I most certainly did not!
- Then you lied

about Gil Stoddard to
frame him for this murder

because you knew,
with Gil Stoddard in jail,

convicted of killing
his partner, Gordon,

Richard Lyte would
inherit his brother's share

of an $8 million company,

which otherwise would have
gone to a man Richard Lyte loathed?

That man.

- No! BRIGHTMAN: Your Honor.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

[SIGHS]

How about sitting down?
You're making me dizzy.

I can't sit still.

You've waited for
juries to come in before.

This one's different.

That's what I was afraid of.

The verdict's in.

[CHATTERING]

CLAGETT: Has the
jury reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

CLAGETT: Bailiff.

Will the defendant please rise?

We the jury, in the matter
of the People v. Gil Stoddard,

on a charge of murder
in the first degree,

find the defendant not guilty.

[GIL SIGHS]

[PEOPLE MURMURING]

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

[LEANNE LAUGHS]

GIL: What, lady?
No victory kiss?

[BOTH LAUGH]

REPORTER 1: How do you feel?

LEANNE: Good!
REPORTER 2: Mr. Stoddard?

GIL: Oh, absolutely.
It's wonderful.

REPORTER 3: You must
be pleased with the verdict.

REPORTER 4: How
are you gonna celebrate?

I'm taking my
lawyer out to dinner.

[ALL LAUGH]

[PEOPLE CHATTERING]

I promised you a celebration
when the trial was over.

Going to a tropical island for
dinner is quite a celebration.

You have style, Mr. Stoddard.

Yeah, it's the
company I keep, honey.

[LEANNE LAUGHS]

[GIL HUMMING]

- I'm starving.
- Hm? Good.

We've got dinner
reservations for 9.

It's black tie.

I don't have a black tie.

Yeah, you sure about that?
Did you check the bathroom?

What have you done?

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

Well, this is a
first-class joint.

You know, we have all
kinds of amenities here.

[BOTH LAUGH]

What am I looking for?

GIL: On the door,
the garment bag.

[CHUCKLES]

Well, what do you think?

LEANNE: Oh, I
love it! It's fantastic!

[LAUGHS]

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Leanne?

Yeah, I'll be right there!

[SOBBING]

[SIGHS]

GIL: You okay?

I'm so embarrassed.

I don't feel very well.
I've got an upset stomach.

Oh, poor baby. Come here.

You know, it's probably a
combination of everything.

The trial and the plane flight
and drinking on an empty stomach.

What can I do for you?

Oh, there's probably a
pharmacy downstairs.

Maybe they have something.

Say no more.

I know just what to do, sweetie.

You just lie right down
here and relax, okay.

I'll be right back.

[RINGS]

Hello?

Hi, Daddy. It's me.

Listen, I don't have much time.
So I just want you to listen to me.

He's guilty, Pop.

What? Guilty?

LEANNE: Yeah, I've got evidence.
I found blood stains on his jacket.

When the police sprayed the office,
they must have sprayed his jacket too.

- Where are you?
- I'm in the hotel.

I sent Gil down to the pharmacy.
He should be back here any minute.

Get out of there!

Not without Gil. I gotta get
him to come home with me, Dad.

Look, he can't be
retried, Leanne.

Like it or not, he's a free man.

I know. I know, but maybe
some legal action can be taken

to keep him from getting Gordon
Lyte's share of the company.

I don't care about the Lyte's
money. Get out of there!

I will, but leave a message for
me. I want you to call the front desk.

Tell them the Lockman case has
been moved up on the court calendar

and that I've got to
get back right away.

We'll take the 10:30 boat
back to the main island

and catch a charter flight home.
I think I can get him to do that.

That way, if he thinks
that I'm working on a case,

I won't have to
see him for days,

and that will give Gordon
Lyte's attorney time

to protect the estate.

Do you understand me, Dad?

Leanne. Please,
please. Just come home.

I will, Daddy.

I love you. I gotta go.

[LINE DISCONNECTS]

[CHATTERING]

GIL: Leanne?

Leanne, uh, there must be a
restroom in the main cabin, okay?

I'll be right
back. I'll see you.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[SHIP HORN BLARES]

[CHATTERING]

- Excuse me. MAN: Yes, ma'am.

I came on board with a
man. Have you seen him?

He's tall. He's wearing
a blue windbreaker.

Oh, yes, ma'am. He made
a phone call and got off.

He what?

He made a phone
call and got off.

- Honey, I'm sorry.
- Oh, Dad.

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

GIL: You made good time.

I'm glad you got home okay.

Uh, listen, um, I made a call.

Your case wasn't moved up.

I'm real sorry it
had to end like this.

I know what you're
thinking, but you're wrong.

I would never have hurt you.

Bye, Leanne.