Matlock (1986–1995): Season 8, Episode 15 - The Crook - full transcript

CHOIR [SINGING]: Sing
hallelujah praise the Lord

Sing with a cheerful voice

Exalt our God with one
accord And in his name rejoice

Ne'er cease to sing
O ransomed host

Praise Father,
Son and Holy Ghost

Until in realms of endless light

Your praises shall unite

Sing hallelujah praise the
Lord Sing with a cheerful voice

Exalt our God with one
accord And in his name rejoice

Ne'er cease to sing
O ransomed host

Praise Father,
Son and Holy Ghost



Until in realms of endless
light Your praises shall unite

There we to all eternity
Shall join th'angelic lays

And sing in perfect harmony
To God our savior's praise

He hath redeemed us by his blood

And made us kings
And priests to God

For us, for us,
the lamb was slain

Praise ye the Lord Amen

Ah. Eat your heart out,
Mormon Tabernacle.

[ALL LAUGH]

That was terrific. And, Cliff,
not to beat a dead horse,

but if you're having trouble
hitting that F above middle C,

don't feel the
need to belt it out.

Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't
realize I did that. Sorry.

RON: Now, people,
before we, uh, call it a day,



I have a few
announcements to make.

First all, I'm going to be,
uh, away for six weeks.

ALL: Aw.

Listen, people, I love you,
but I love my wife more,

and if you'd had to be put up
with my snoring and my humming

and atrocious eating
habits for 20 years,

you'd deserve a trip
to, uh, Europe as well.

[ALL LAUGH]

Now, the good news is that
you'll be in the capable hands

of our assistant choir
director, Ben Matlock.

[ALL APPLAUD AND CHEER]

Now, also on the
subject of departures,

our own mezzo-soprano,

Professor Ruth Emerson,
is about to leave us

to accept her new responsibilities
as a full professor of psychology

at Wellington University.

Congratulations.

Mickey.

It's your favorite.
German chocolate cake

- with hazelnut frosting.
- Oh, you're the sweetest, Mickey.

Now, listen, I don't wanna hear one
word about calories or cholesterol.

I bought the cake. The
least you guys can do is eat it.

[ALL LAUGH]

- Congratulations, Benjamin.
- Thanks, Wally.

- Have a little cake?
- I think not.

The museum just got in a bunch of
antique books they need appraised.

- You sound excited.
McDANlELS: I am.

Rumor has it they have a first
edition of Henry Ward Beecher's

Proverbs From Plymouth Pulpit.

- Valuable.
- Oh-ho. I'll see you next time.

- Okay.
- Bye-bye.

Boy, that guy
really likes books.

Well, I say, head of the English
Department at Baxter University.

- Want a piece of cake?
- You got a small piece here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- You have a second, Mr. Matlock?
- Oh, sure. Sure. Come on.

MICKEY: You
know, I love to sing.

Ahem, well, I know, I see you singing
every time you come into chapel.

I know I'm just a janitor,

but I was wondering, now that
you're the new choir director,

whether there might be
a spot for me in the choir.

Oh, well, Mickey...

I know all the songs.
I'm a great tenor.

Well, I know. I
know. I know that.

That's why Ron said no to start with is,
ahem, we've got way too many tenors.

- I'll sing bass.
- Mickey...

Well, I don't know why he's in.

I'm a much better
tenor than he is.

I can hit an F above middle
C while I'm drinking water.

Hey!

McDANlELS: Some of these
are fabulous, Ms. Reynolds.

Are they? I'm embarrassed.

As I told you, they
were left to the museum.

I'm completely unfamiliar with
antique books and their value.

You want all of these appraised?

- Would that be too much trouble?
- Oh, no, shouldn't take too long.

I'll come to your office
when I'm done here.

Oh, please, take your
time, Mr. McDaniels.

We haven't even decided
what to do with these books

after we inventory them
and have them restored.

I'll see you in a
couple of hours.

[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]

[SIGHS]

HARRINGTON: A Himson Trilogy.

This is remarkable,
Mr. McDaniels.

I believe there are only three
complete sets of Himson's work

- in the entire country right now.
- Unbelievable.

And you want to just
donate them to the library.

What better place for literary
treasures like these than a library,

where the public can
appreciate their beauty?

- They must be worth a fortune.
- Thousands.

I hope there's some tax
benefit you could derive.

Mr. Harrington, I
don't want a tax benefit.

This isn't about money.

Mr. McDaniels, I really
don't know what to say.

Oh, there is one thing.

Make the sure books
never leave the library.

I'd hate to think that
somebody might steal them.

You have my word on that.

McDANlELS: There are
50 multiple choice questions.

You will have one hour
to complete the exam.

I have to run an errand,

but Professor Petri will
proctor in my absence.

If you have any questions,
feel free to ask him.

Begin.

Thanks, Tom, for filling
in on such short notice.

Joan Reynolds over at the museum
got in some more books yesterday.

Sounds like she might have
some first edition Melvilles.

They will still be there
when the test is over, Wally.

Come on, when was the last
time you saw a first-edition Melville?

How long are you gonna be?

Uh, a couple of hours.

Thanks, Tom, I
really appreciate this.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

[MOUTHS] Come here.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

McDANlELS: I'll type up the appraisals
and bring them by in the morning.

You're so kind to have come
over on such short notice.

Oh, please, as I've told
you, books are my passion.

Heh, that is abundantly clear.

As Descartes said, "The
reading of all good books

is like conversations with the
finest men of past centuries."

I love that.

Hold it.

Mr. McDaniels, I'm afraid I'm gonna
have to ask you open your briefcase.

- Frank.
- I don't understand.

Sir, your briefcase.

Frank, do you
realize who this is?

Look, I'm sorry, Ms. Reynolds.

But we got a call saying that
Mr. McDaniels stole some books

from the collection the
museum received the other day.

I spoke with the director.
He asked me to check it out.

I'm so embarrassed.
You want me to...

No. That's all right.

Oh, my Lord.

Good work, officer.

It was Tom Petri that
called you, wasn't it?

[CHUCKLING]

Son of a gun.

You're...? Uh, you're a thief?

Yes, I guess, technically, I
would be considered a thief.

But my intent...

Uh, Wally, we've
been friends for years.

We've sung in the same
choir for seven years.

Don't tell me that you've been
stealing books for all those seven years.

- No, not for seven years.
- Thank God.

- Fourteen.
- Oh, my...

- I'll never get you off.
- I don't want you to.

- You don't want me to?
- No. Ben, I did this.

I've stolen hundreds of
books for over a decade.

I'm pleading guilty.
Somebody has got to stop me.

The reason I called you was I
hoping you could get me out on bail

so I can straighten out my
affairs before serving my time.

- Can I ask you something?
- Anything.

What in the hell's
wrong with you?

- It's not like it's made you rich.
- Heh. Oh, Lord, no.

- You collect antique cars, right?
- Yeah.

- Why?
- I like them.

I can resell them at a profit.

But you haven't sold them
because you cherish them

and you want other
people to see them.

That's the way I
feel about rare books.

Well, why steal them?
Why not just read them?

Because I want the world to
revel in their brilliance, as I do.

The museums, galleries,

maybe they'll show off a
collection every now and then.

In a library, people can touch
them. They can read them.

So you... You've been stealing books
from galleries to give to public libraries.

Yes.

Wally, you're a weird dude.

[CHUCKLES]

Ben, I know what
I did was wrong.

And I know I've
got to be punished.

I tried to stop, believe
me. I just couldn't.

Truth is, Tom Petri actually
did me a favor by turning me in.

[PETRI GRUNTS]

CHOIR [SINGING]: Sing
hallelujah praise the Lord

Sing with a cheerful voice

Exalt our God with one
accord And in his name rejoice

Ne'er cease to sing
O ransomed host

Praise Father,
Son and Holy Ghost

Until in realms of endless light

Your praises shall unite

Sing hallelujah praise the Lord

Sing with a cheerful
voice [SINGING STOPS]

[MAN COUGHS]

Hello, Ben. Sorry to interrupt.

What's the matter, Harmon?
Are we singing too loud?

I need to have a few words
with Professor McDaniels.

McDANlELS: What's
this about, lieutenant?

Tom Petri was found dead in his
office at the university this morning.

- He was beaten with a paperweight.
- Oh, my God.

HARMON: Your
fingerprints were on it.

What, so you think I killed Tom?

You mind coming downtown,
answer some questions?

MATLOCK: Uh, go ahead, Wally.

I'll be there in a half hour.
Don't say anything till I get there.

Well, I guess, uh, rehearsal's over
for today. I'll see you Friday. Thanks.

Sounded good.

[CHATTERING]

I can't believe Tom's
been murdered.

It hasn't been a good
month for Wally, either.

- Excuse me, Mr. Matlock.
- Oh, yeah, Mickey?

Do you think Professor McDaniels is
gonna be out for any length of time?

Because if he is, I could
always, you know, fill in.

- Uh, Mickey...
- Right. Bad timing.

Hey, I took a
shot. It didn't go.

Wally,

if you did this one,
you're out of the choir.

I didn't do this one, Ben. I
didn't even dislike Tom Petri.

I was in his
office all the time.

If my fingerprints are
on that paperweight,

it's because I always
played with it on his desk.

He did turn you in for
stealing those books.

You're gonna serve
time because of him.

I told your father.

- He did me... MATLOCK: A favor.

I know.

Wally, nobody's going
to believe you. Nobody.

LEANNE: Is this all Petri
had on him? MATLOCK: Yep.

So you're a choir
conductor, huh, Ben?

Uh, just filling in, Harmon, I'm
kind of assisting the choir director.

- Regular Leonard Birnbaum.
- Stein. Bernstein.

Pop, I don't know whether this
is Tom Petri's handwriting or not,

but someone drew a map to
somewhere, and it's in his wallet.

MATLOCK: Hmm.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

- Yes? MATLOCK: Uh, hello.

- I'm Ben Matlock.
- And I'm Leanne Mclntyre.

We're attorneys.

Yes?

LEANNE: I hope we're
not interrupting you.

This may sound a little peculiar,
but we're investigating a murder

and the victim had this map,

which we think he
drew in his wallet.

It's directions to your house.

MATLOCK: Did you
know a Tom Petri?

No, but these are
directions to my house.

Mr. Petri was a professor
at Baxter University.

The only person I know at
the university is Ruth Emerson.

LEANNE: Ruth
Emerson hypnotized you?

PAT: Oh, several times.

Since I can remember, I've
had a terrible fear of flying.

Uh, then about a year ago, I started
having horrible dreams, violent ones.

I'd wake up screaming
in a heavy sweat.

I was afraid to go to sleep.

It's not like I could
afford a psychologist,

so I called the Psychology
Department at the university

and ended up talking
to Ruth, who suggested

that maybe hypnosis might
reveal the source of my problem.

- Ah, did it work?
- It was unbelievable.

As a matter of fact, she
published an article on my case.

MATLOCK: Oh, I
remember that article.

You said you saw
Rodney Fisk's plane crash.

- He was a wealthy industrialist.
- Oh, yeah.

Didn't his plane go
down in the 1930s?

Yes. Apparently, I was there.

You were there at Rodney
Fisk's plane crash 60 years ago?

Yes, in a past life.

Oh, in a past life.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Ruth Emerson hypnotized you

and you became a young
girl who lived in the 30s.

1936, yes. I lived
in Athens, Georgia.

Her name was
Emily Long, I was 7.

Wait a second. I thought
Rodney Fisk's plane went down

in the Gulf of Mexico
on his way to Rio.

Well, yes, that's what
everybody thought.

But apparently, under hypnosis,
I recalled the crash in vivid detail.

Ruth sent a bunch of
researchers to Athens

and they found
pieces of the plane.

I know it sounds nuts.

I've always been skeptical of
reincarnation and past lives, but...

I found pieces of the
plane for crying out loud.

Wow.

What ever happened
to your fear of flying?

Gone.

Well, it's very interesting,
but it still doesn't explain

why Tom Petri had a map
to your house in his wallet.

RUTH: I can't imagine why
Tom would have had a map

to Pat Preston's house.

Unless maybe they
knew each other.

- I don't think so.
- Hmm, that's very bizarre.

- Heh, yeah. McDANlELS: Ben.

Oh, Wally, I thought you were
gonna take time off from the choir.

I know. I know.

But I was just sitting at
home feeling sorry for myself

and I realized that this
place and these people

are the only things that
take my mind off my case.

- Can I come back?
- Oh, no.

MATLOCK: Mickey.

You're going to ask me to give
up my spot in the choir, aren't you?

Well, I told you it
might be temporary.

MICKEY: I knew this
was going to happen.

- I hate life.
- Stay, Mickey, stay.

Thank you.

Go over to Tom Petri's
office at the university

and see if you can find out why
he was so interested in Pat Preston.

All right.

LEANNE: Do you
believe in reincarnation?

No.

If you had heard what we
did, you'd have to think about it.

CLIFF: So they actually found
pieces of Rodney Fisk's plane

exactly where she said it was?

LEANNE: I'm telling
you, it boggles the mind.

Dad?

MATLOCK:
Somebody's following us.

Nobody's there, Ben.

I don't care. Somebody's
been following us.

CHOIR [SINGING]: How
lovely is thy dwelling place

O Lord of hosts O Lord of hosts

Thy dwelling place
O Lord of hosts

Thy dwelling place
O Lord of hosts

How lovely is thy dwelling place

O Lord of hosts

How lovely Is thy dwelling place

O Lord of hosts

For my soul

It longeth, yea, fainteth
It longeth, yea, fainteth

It longeth, yea, fainteth
It longeth, yea, fainteth

For the courts of the Lord

MATLOCK: Okay, good.

Uh, let's take ten and, uh,
we'll start back at letter A.

It sounds good. Thanks.

- What? CLIFF: This.

MATLOCK: Sales slip?
- Yeah.

Professor Petri had a
book on his desk called

The History of the American
Agricultural Disasters.

The sales slip was in the book.

It said he bought two
books the day that he died.

I looked all around his off...

I looked all around his
office for another new book.

I couldn't find any, so I
went to the bookstore.

Do you know what
the second book was?

No.

[WHISPERING] It was the
biography of Rodney Fisk

the guy that Ruth Emerson went
down in the plane crash in Georgia.

LEANNE: Ah.

- And it wasn't in his office?
- No. It was nowhere.

LEANNE: Are you sure?

Yes. I looked everywhere.

- Get me a copy of both books.
- Guess who went book shopping.

MATLOCK: Uh, Ruth,
could I have a word with you?

Ruth, I didn't wanna discuss
this in front of everybody.

Tom Petri bought a copy
of this book the day he died.

- Rodney Fisk's biography?
- Yeah.

And he had a map to Pat
Preston's house in his wallet.

Did he ever talk to you
about your research?

No.

I wonder why he
was so interested in it.

- Did you ever meet Tom Petri?
- No.

Well, Tom was a very angry man.

He was angry because Wally
was head of the English department

and he wasn't.

He was jealous of everyone's
success, maybe even mine.

You think he was
trying to discredit you?

I don't know.

Ruth, I don't
know this for a fact,

but it looks like the
killer might have taken

Tom's copy of this
book from his office.

You think the murder had
something to do with my research?

Why else take the book?

Maybe you and Leanne had better
see regression therapy for yourselves.

RUTH: See yourself
in a field of flowers

where you can completely relax,

a place of peace and beauty.

- Pat, do you hear me? PAT: Yes.

RUTH: You'll have
difficulty lifting your right arm.

Go ahead. Try to lift it.

- I can't.
- Good.

Then we'll go back in time.

The year is 1936.

Do you remember 1936?

- Yeah. RUTH: What is your name?

[IN CHILDLIKE VOICE]
Emily. Emily Long.

RUTH: And how old are you, Emily?
- Seven and a half.

Where do you live?

On a big cotton
farm outside Athens.

Emily,

would you write your name
and age on this, please?

Emily, do you remember
a terrible day in 1936

when something came
crashing out of the sky?

- Yeah.
- Could you tell me about it?

- Do I have to?
- Don't be afraid.

Nothing's gonna happen.

You went out in the
fields that day, didn't you?

My daddy was picking cotton
and I went out to help him.

We always had a really
good time picking cotton.

Then what happened?

- There was a noise.
- What kind of a noise?

It was like a scream.

And it got louder and louder.

And then I seen a big, shiny
bird diving to the ground.

I got scared and I cried.

Mommy. Mommy.

And then... And then the
bird crashed into the ground

and broke into all these pieces
and there was fire everywhere.

And my daddy tried to get close
but he couldn't. It was too hot.

Did you go back out
after the fire was out?

Yeah, once everything
was burned up.

Daddy said it was an airplane.

We even found pieces of
the tail and hid it in a creek

opposite the big
old diving tree.

Why'd you hide it, Emily?

Daddy said the crash was our secret.
He didn't want anybody else to know.

We hid something else too.

What else did you hide?

Big piece of metal.

Daddy said it was
part of the engine.

And we buried it
by grandpa's grave.

Emily, why did your daddy
say that you couldn't tell anyone?

I don't know.

Emily, you told me before.
I want you to tell me again.

I think... I think Daddy took
something out of the airplane.

I have never seen
anything like that before.

Something remarkable
just happened in there.

She's never mentioned
the engine part before.

Don't you see? If I can find the
piece, that means my research is true.

- Feel free to go inside.
- Thanks.

- Hi, Pat. PAT: Heh.

Hi.

So how are you doing?

[IN NORMAL VOICE] Fine, heh.

- Do you remember anything?
- No.

You know, it's strange though,

when it's all over, I
feel kind of refreshed.

- Oh, Leanne?
- Yeah?

There's a problem.

According to this book, there
were boll weevils that year.

Is that important?

We'd better talk to Ruth.

RUTH [ON RECORDING]: Hello,
this is Professor Ruth Emerson.

I can't take your call just now.

Leave a message,
I'll call you back.

[LINE BEEPS]

Ruth, this is Pat. Uh, I
think there's a problem.

Ben Matlock has this book which
says, uh, there were boll weevils in 1936,

which means there
was no cotton crop.

I'm coming over. Wait for
me if you get this message.

Pat, wait up.

We might as well go in together.

PAT: What are you doing here?
- Uh, same thing as you.

[MATLOCK CLEARS THROAT]

Yes, get that bell here.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

She didn't know I was coming.

I thought the three of us
should have a little talk.

About what?

About the, uh, fast one the
two of you are trying to pull.

What is that supposed to mean?

Well, I mentioned to
Pat about the boll weevils,

and I guess she must
have thought I meant 1936,

which would have meant
there was no cotton crop,

and that means
that there's no way

she could have been out
in that field picking cotton.

Well, that's no big deal.

I heard you mention boll weevils
and I thought I'd made a mistake.

She was just afraid maybe this
was all some kind of fantasy, Ben.

MATLOCK: And with the tail
section of the airplane buried,

and now with this
new engine part,

- your story would have been true.
- Well, that's right.

Ruth told you that you
would not remember anything

when you came out of hypnosis.

Ruth told me that you had never
mentioned that engine part before.

Well, I spoke to
her on the phone.

You called her
answering machine.

And that means the only
way you could have known

about that engine part

was if you were
not under hypnosis.

That means this
whole thing is a fraud.

Tom Petri had a copy of that
agriculture book on his desk.

He knew about the boll weevils.

I think he was gonna expose you.

- That's not true.
- Yes, it is.

- Ruth, I...
- Pat, it's over. He knows.

And he thinks we
killed Tom Petri.

We were in Athens,
Georgia the night Tom died.

What were you doing there?

Tom confronted me
outside of the church.

He gave me a week to admit
that my research was a fraud.

Well, I wasn't about to give up.

So that night, we...

We, uh, bought an
antique propeller blade

and we buried it to prove
that Tom was wrong.

Well, if you were
in Athens, Georgia,

then who stole
Rodney Fisk's biography

- from Tom Petri's desk?
- Well, I don't know.

But we were at the Athens motel.
You can call them. We were there.

- Didn't find anything else?
- No.

I guess you didn't
know where to look.

- Oh, and you do?
- No.

[CLIFF CHUCKLES]

Hey, do you really think
Wally McDaniels did it?

No.

Well, who do you think did it?

You wouldn't believe
me if I told you.

- That's odd.
- It is?

BAILIFF: This court
is now in session.

Defense calls Mickey
Sanders to the stand.

Mickey, would you please tell the
court how you know Ruth Emerson?

She sings with the choir
at church where I work.

I'm a custodial engineer.

Do you see her very often?

They rehearse a couple of
times a week, so I see her then.

And on Sundays. She's
always there on Sundays.

Do you ever go to her house?

She invited me over to help
decorate her Christmas tree last year.

It was just her and me.

So how do you feel about her?

I like her.

- A lot?
- Yeah. Uh, she's my friend.

Your Honor, I fail to see
the relevance of all this.

Uh, Your Honor, I know
this seems far afield,

but, uh, I give you my word, it's
not only relevant, it's essential.

Proceed.

Uh, Mickey,

uh, I can't help
but notice that, uh,

you hang around Miss Emerson
a lot when she's in church.

- Don't you?
- Uh-huh. Sometimes.

- How come?
- I don't know.

I like her. I like to watch her.

I wanna make sure she's okay.

MATLOCK: You know, a lot of
people might call a feeling like that love.

Do you, uh... Do you
love Miss Emerson?

Uh, were you watching her when
Tom Petri came over to the church

to talk with her?

- There was a man.
MATLOCK: Uh, this...

This is a picture of the
man who died, Tom Petri.

Were you watching when
he was arguing with her

at the end of which
Miss Emerson cried?

Yep.

That must have
been very difficult

to watch a person you cared
for that deeply brought to tears.

Yeah. He shouldn't
have made her cry.

Is that why you went over to his
office the night that he was killed,

- to teach him a lesson?
- Uh, no.

But you did go over
there, didn't you?

He shouldn't have made
her cry. He called her names.

Since the day he came by the church,
Miss Emerson was never the same.

I could see it.

We were very close.
Did I tell you that?

MATLOCK: Now, Mickey,

this is a color photograph police
took at the scene of the crime.

And you see right here, the professor
is marking some papers with a pen

that uses green ink, and I
looked high and low in that office

and I couldn't find that pen.

So I figured that whoever killed
him must have taken that pen,

maybe somehow during
the struggle or something,

he got stuck or scratched
or got some blood on the pen.

So he took it so he
wouldn't incriminate himself,

that is, make
himself look guilty.

So we... Uh, Leanne and Cliff and
I, asked around at different hospitals.

Uh, Your Honor, if there's a
question around here, I fail to hear it.

You will now.

Mr. Arbor, please stand.

You were sitting in the waiting
room with this young man that night

at St. John's
Hospital, weren't you?

I... I needed a tetanus shot.

You showed him
the gash in your arm

and he saw the green ink on
your sleeve and on your skin.

You know, I was following you.

I didn't mean to scare you.

I was gonna tell you it wasn't
Mr. McDaniels that did it.

I never meant to make
it look like it was him.

MATLOCK: I think he knows that.

MICKEY: That man,

he shouldn't have done that.

That was wrong.

[SIGHS]

I'm sorry.

[SNIFFLES]

CHOIR [SINGING]: The
Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord lift his
countenance Upon you

- And give you peace
- And give you peace

- And give you peace
- And give you peace

The Lord make His
face to shine upon you

And be gracious unto you

And be gracious
The Lord be gracious

Gracious unto you Amen
Amen Amen Amen Amen

Amen

That was wonderful. Do it that
way on Sunday, we'll be fine.

See you.

[CHATTERING]

MATLOCK: See you on
Sunday. MAN: Okay, see you.

- Ben? MATLOCK: Huh?

- I'm afraid I can't make it on Sunday.
- How come?

He's being sentenced on
the robbery charge on Friday.

- Oh. Oh, yeah.
- It's still not too late, you know.

Ben, I appreciate your concern.

LEANNE: We could show there's
nothing to gain by putting you in jail.

We might even be able to
get your sentence suspended.

As a great criminal once
said, "If you can't do the time,

don't do the crime."

[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]

- Thank you.
- Bye.

- See you.
- Bye.

- Bye.
- Thanks for everything.

Good luck.