Matlock (1986–1995): Season 8, Episode 16 - The Murder Game - full transcript

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[CAR DOOR OPENS]

DRIVER: Here we are,
sir. MATLOCK: Thank you.

DRIVER: You're welcome.

[MATLOCK SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

There's the boat.

MATLOCK: Those are the
three people I'm supposed

to match wits with all weekend?

Come on, dad.

Trust us.

LEANNE: Now, let's
remember, these three people



donated ten thousand
dollars apiece to charity

to have the privilege of trying
to out-sleuth you this weekend.

- Hi. JANE: Hi.

I bet they're all great
big fans of yours.

- Ah, sure.
- So you better be nice.

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Dad, come on, don't you
ever wanna have any fun?

Lot of places I'd rather be.

[ALL CHUCKLING]

- Hi. MAN: Hi.

Hi, I'm Jane Kravitz. Heh.
This is such a thrill for me.

When my husband
asked me what I wanted

for my birthday this year, this
was the only thing on my list.

MATLOCK: Oh.
- I'm glad you're here.



Oh, thank you. I'm
glad I'm here too.

JANE: I'm a writer.

- Oh, murder mysteries?
- Well, so far

- just cookbooks.
- Oh.

But I'd like to write mysteries.

Elliot Ross, Titus
Green $ Damien.

CLIFF: Oh, are you a lawyer?
- Stockbroker. But a mystery buff.

A big mystery buff. Fair
warning, Mr. Matlock.

I intend to give you
a run for your money.

[BOTH CHUCKLING]

- Hi. Hugo Larson. MATLOCK: Hi.

Used to be an investigator
with the DA's office up in Raleigh.

- Oh.
- Took a bullet in the leg last year.

- Had to retire.
- Oh, yeah, well, I guess so.

- But you're still a mystery buff?
HUGO: No, sir, always hated it.

- That's why I'm good at solving them.
- Oh. This is my daughter,

Leanne, and Cliff Lewis.

CLIFF: Uh, I'm not his
daughter. MATLOCK: I know.

- We work together.
- Yeah.

In fact, it was pretty much Leanne's
idea to put this whole thing together.

[BOAT ENGINE REVS]

MATLOCK: Ah. JANE: Here we go.

Robert Gateway's
own very private island.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

There you go. Whoa.

[HORN BLARES]

[ALL LAUGH]

LEANNE: We're supposed to go
inside. Mr. Gateway will meet us there.

MATLOCK: There goes
the boat. JANE: Some house.

ELLIOT: Wow. CLIFF:
You know what they say.

Robert Gateway makes
more money in one day

than most people make
in an entire lifetime.

It's true, and that's
just from the royalties

on those electronic
games he invented.

Which doesn't count
theme park and the stores

and all the other
stuff he's got going.

[DOOR OPENS]

LEANNE: Mr. Gateway.

Hello.

Mr. Gateway.

Hmm.

Oh. That's kind of strange.

Something's
wrong. I can feel it.

Mr. Gateway.

[GASPS]

- Is that him?
- Looks like it.

LEANNE: He's dead.
- Oh, my.

All right. Let's not overreact.
Don't touch anything.

Dad, I think you
should call the police.

JANE: Oh...

- Line's dead. JANE: No.

ROBERT [ON TV]: Hello, there.

Welcome, fellow mystery lovers.

I have some good news.

And I have some bad.

The bad news is, if you're
seeing this, that means I'm dead.

The good news is, I'm pretty
sure I know who killed me.

Now, I could just tell you.

But, then, again, you, you
did donate all of that money.

So why don't we
have a little fun?

I'm sure you'll find solving
my murder is as easy as ABC.

"Fun." I don't think
murder's any fun.

LEANNE: That is so sick.

I mean, what kind of man would
want you to solve his own murder.

JANE: I'm leaving.

I, uh, hope that you're
a good swimmer,

because that phone's dead,

and the boat's not coming
back till Sunday night.

"ABC." The dictionary.

He said he left a clue
for us in the dictionary.

Here.

Nothing.

[PIANO PLAYING]

What's that?

[PIANO MAKES THUMPING SOUND]

"Very good. Or,
should I say, well done.

You are now hot
on my killer's trail."

- Fire place?
- Well done. The oven.

Come on, let's find the kitchen.

Empty.

What about the microwave?

Aha.

"Very good. But
you'd better hurry.

"The scent is getting
weaker and weaker."

Yeah. But look how he spelled weaker,
w-e-e-k-e-r, instead of w-e-a-k-e-r.

"Weeker."

- Calendar? MATLOCK: Huh.

Every page is for April.

- April showers?
- April fools?

April fools?

What's going on?

MAN: Just getting the old
juices flowing. That's all.

[LAUGHING]

I'm Robert Gateway.
Anyone hungry?

Knew it all the time.
I should've known it.

[CHUCKLING]

A man announces his own death
right on TV doesn't make sense.

Didn't you notice how
fast I got to the body?

- I noticed.
- Ha, ha.

So when do the
real festivities begin?

Well, I think tomorrow morning,
maybe early, maybe late.

I'm not telling.

Meantime, if anybody
needs me, I'll be in the den.

Oh, and there ain't nobody
here but us chickens.

So that means everybody
cleans up after his or herself.

See you in the morning.

- Good night. CLIFF:
See you tomorrow.

Well, my leg's starting to
talk to me pretty good, ah.

I'm gonna take care of
these and then get to bed.

- Good night.
- I'll call my husband

and tell him I'm definitely
getting my money's worth.

- See you in the morning.
MATLOCK $ LEANNE: Good night.

Husband, my eye.

She's gonna call
everybody she knows

and tell them that she's on a
first-name basis with a multi-billionaire.

I know that's what I'm gonna
do. Good night, everybody.

[ALL CHUCKLE]

See you tomorrow.

So I really fooled you two?

[SIGHS]

- You fooled me.
- Me too.

Oh, great, I really
fooled you both.

I'm gonna have to get
some frogs to put in your bed.

- Revenge. Heh.
- Oh, that's funny, dad, real funny.

[STATIC CRACKLING]

Mr. Gateway, can I come in?

Just wanted to thank
my partner in crime.

[DOOR OPENS]

Leanne, what's going on?

LEANNE: Robert Gateway's dead.

I mean, really dead.
Somebody stabbed him to death.

- He's in there? I wanna see him?
LEANNE: No, no. I spoke to the police.

They want me to keep the
room locked until they get here.

- Come on, Leanne. Give us a break.
ELLIOT: I'll bet it's Colonel Mustard.

In the living room
with a candlestick.

This isn't a game. The
guy is dead in there.

He's got a letter opener
sticking out of his chest.

You two work together.
You could be in on it with her.

No. This isn't a hoax.
The man is really dead.

HUGO: Sure he is.
- Oh, please. All right.

It's gonna take the police a
couple of hours to get here.

So could we all just
go back to our rooms.

Go on. We'll all take a look
when the police get here.

I think the game has begun.

[JANE CHUCKLES]

- Body's in the den.
- Mm-hm.

- Hiya, Ben.
- Pat.

- So where is he?
- Ah.

He's gone.

- Dad!
- Here we go again.

I don't see anyone
murdered here.

Is this another one of those
murder mystery weekends?

HUGO: Yes, ma'am.

When we first arrived, she
and Mr. Gateway fooled us

into thinking he
had been murdered.

- Heh, looks like they're at it again.
- I don't like people wasting my time.

- Oh, no, no, no. He was dead.
- Oh, no, I... I saw him too.

I checked for pulse.
There was none.

Listen, Leanne, when
you find the dead body,

- tell him I'd like to talk to him.
- I told you...

[ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute!

Now, I didn't see the body.

But I know Leanne wouldn't
have brought you out here

just on a practical joke.

Would you?

- Well, of course not.
- Of course not.

Good. Because the only
thing I hate worse than people

wasting my time is
practical jokes, Ms. Mclntyre.

So aren't you gonna give
us any clues this time?

- Good morning. How'd you sleep?
- I didn't.

CLIFF: Me neither.

Nothing like seeing your
first real live dead body.

Darn it, pop, I know
Robert is dead.

I know one of those
three people killed him.

And I know that the
killer moved the body

in order to postpone
the police investigation.

I am gonna find that body
if it's the last thing I do.

- Morning.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Jane, where are you going?

Out back, to look for clues.

No, no, I told you
already. This isn't a game.

Why don't you go get
Hugo and Elliot and tell them

that we're serving
breakfast in the dining room.

Oh. Okay.

Oh. Dad, need your help.

Need you to regale them with
stories, the longer the better.

That way, Cliff and I will look
for the body with no interruptions.

I just hate it when
you make me do that.

Just regale them,
dad. You do it so well.

What if they don't
want to be regaled?

Regale them, anyway.

It must be a terrible responsibility,
pleading for somebody's life.

Weren't you involved in the
murder of that famous critic?

Oh, yeah.

Ah, well, there was this group
and they were putting on a play.

[PERFORMERS SINGING FINAL NOTE]

MATLOCK: I never understood
why everybody hated this play.

I loved it.

The play we've all been
waiting for. Lovers and Lawyers

has been directed
haphazardly by Tommy DeLuca,

a has-been who never was.

The production is so tacky

that it can only be produced by
that master of cheap, Guy Palmer.

Written by Sam Spelvin, the script
would have to be greatly improved

to be called amateurish.

MATLOCK: John Bosley Hackett
was the most powerful theater critic

in the country, and somebody
really didn't like his review.

The police ended up
arresting the author of the play.

I know I was found over the
body, and I certainly had a motive.

I swear, Ben, I didn't do it.

Okay. Let's assume that's true.

Uh, who knew you were
going up to see Mr. Hackett?

Everybody.

Sally Ann White, Guy
Palmer, Tommy DeLuca.

They all had a lot to
lose if the show failed?

Yes, and they all hated Hackett.

I understand that you
were up here alone

watching rehearsal when
Mr. Hackett was killed.

Yes. That's right.
Well, except for Willie,

follow-spot operator. Willie!

Say hello to Mr. Matlock.

Hello, Willie, heh.

- Well, I enjoyed talking with you.
- My pleasure.

[MATLOCK CHUCKLES]

MATLOCK: There was
one thing about this case

that kept nagging at me.

It was John Bosley
Hackett's breakfast.

[APPLAUDING]

Very nice. A little
awkward, but very nice.

I was just going over
something in the police report.

- What?
- Well, uh,

John Bosley
Hackett's, uh, last meal.

See, he had eaten
the eggs and toast

and the pancake and the
syrup and the grape jelly.

But he hadn't touched the
orange juice and the coffee.

Isn't that going
at it backwards?

Do you think he was killed
because of his bad eating habits?

[LAUGHING]

Uh, Mr. DeLuca, John
Bosley Hackett's review

was not very favorable
for you. Was it?

Personally, I
don't read reviews.

Well, this is a, uh,
15-year-old review.

Uh, it's John Bosley
Hackett's, you see.

And the play was St. Joan of
Rock. You were the director.

He hated the play. And
he hated your direction.

But he saved his most
devastating remarks for the actress.

Do you remember her name?

- Janine Soule.
- Janine Soule DeLuca.

Your bride of six months.

She blamed you for her
horrible review, didn't she?

- Afraid so.
- And that's why she left you.

You could say that.

You were present when
Mr. Hackett told Sam Spelvin

that he was going to review his play,
even though it was only a preview,

- and that he hated it, weren't you?
- Yes. I was.

And you were present the
next morning at the theater

when you learned that Sam
was gonna go talk to Mr. Hackett?

- Yes.
- Would you tell the court

what you did right after that?

Well, I resumed rehearsal.

- And you watched from the balcony?
- Yeah.

I was up there with, uh,
Willie, the follow-spot operator.

I had a long talk with
Willie the other day,

and he tells me that
a follow-spot operator

can't take his eyes off
the stage for a second.

So he can't say whether
you stayed or left.

Uh, Mr. DeLuca, you
wear a hairpiece, don't you?

- I beg your pardon?
- The man who killed Mr. Hackett

attacked him with
a letter opener.

Mr. Hackett tried
to defend himself,

and he grabbed at his murderer
and pulled something off him

that fell into his breakfast.

It was your wig, wasn't it?

You were afraid particles of
your hairpiece would be found

in the eggs, the toast, the
pancakes, the syrup, the grape jelly.

So you flushed it down
the toilet, didn't you?

- No!
- And you rushed back to your room.

I mean, it would have looked very
odd for you to come out of that balcony

with the eggs, the syrup,
the grape jelly in your wig.

So you put on another
one and still got back

before the end of the
dance number, didn't you?

DeLUCA: No.

MATLOCK: This
first photo is of you

and Sally Ann White and
Guy Palmer and Sam Spelvin

taken just before
the murder, you see.

Your hairpiece is very fashionable.
See how, kind of long over the ears.

DeLUCA: Yes. MATLOCK: Okay.

Now, in this, this newspaper photo,
it was taken as part of the interview

that you gave 20 minutes after
the murder, your hair is shorter.

See that sideburn?
See that? It's shorter.

How'd, heh, your hair get shorter, if
you were just sitting in the balcony?

You put on other
toupee, didn't you?

You're accusing me of
murder, based on a news photo.

Ah, Mr. DeLuca, you
have three hairpieces.

It got me to thinking,
all these hairpieces.

I mean, how do you clean them?

Soap and water.

What if all that
sticky stuff, you know,

wouldn't come out
with soap and water?

I don't know. It never happened.

I think it did. I think you
took it to a wig maker

to have the ruined patches
cut out and rewoven.

You did it the next
day, didn't you?

- No. Check that with my...
- Top Copy. Your wigmaker.

In New York. No. You
wouldn't have done that.

And there aren't that
many wigmakers here.

So it wasn't very
hard to find Mr. Bruce.

He is the person you
took your wig to for repairs,

and he's prepared to testify

that in the ruined
patches of that hairpiece,

he found toast, eggs,
pancakes, syrup,

grape jelly, exactly
Mr. Hackett's last breakfast were.

That was great, heh. You
know, you should write a book.

In fact, we could collaborate.

I know why you're
telling stories.

So your daughter
can get a head start.

Head start on what?

Solving the mystery of
Robert Gateway's death.

[PANTING]

There's nobody out there.

Okay. So the room was locked.

The only way the killer could
have gotten the body out of there

was to climb through this
window and toss the body outside.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I guess so. Yeah.

So there's gotta be a
body out there somewhere.

- Yeah. Guess so.
- Let's keep searching.

What'd I tell you?

- Oh, my gosh.
- He really is dead.

Oh. You know, let's just all stay
really calm until the police get here.

Again.

ELLIOT: Where did you go
after Robert Gateway excused

- himself last night?
HUGO: Did my dishes.

- Then I went to bed.
ELLIOT: You did?

HUGO: What the hell...
ELLIOT: I didn't see you upstairs.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

- No, no, no. No!
- What?

This isn't getting us anywhere.
Like Leanne said, let's just stay calm.

The police will ask the
questions when they get here.

In the meantime, let's just
go in the house and relax.

Poor Robert.

It's just so ironic that he
pretended to be a murder victim

and then wound up
actually being one.

- Yeah. Well, it's happened before.
- Oh, tell them about the con man.

Uh, I think I'll
go wait outside.

- Why?
- Uh, I can guard the body.

- What for?
- I've heard the con man.

- Tell them about the con man.
- Leanne.

Tell them about the con man.

MATLOCK: There was
this group of con men,

and they were very, very good.

- Oh, my God!
- What is it?

Oh, it's Jason.

[POLICE SIREN WAILING]

Somebody called the police.

- We gotta get outta here.
- We can't leave him here.

Madeline, insider
trading is illegal.

You want the police
to come here find you

standing over Jason's body
with 75 thousand in cash?

Come on. Let's go.

Here. Let me have that.

- What are you doing?
- The police are outside.

We'll come back for it tonight.

MATLOCK: They made Brian Davis
think he was gonna make a fortune

in insider trading, when
actually he was gonna be taken

for the ride of his life.

MADELINE: Baby,
I wanted to see you.

[CHUCKLING]

JASON: Okay. Pay attention.

Between 3:30 and 4:00,
you'll bring the mark here.

You conned me.

[LAUGHING]

Yeah. We did.

MATLOCK: They already had their
next mark lined up, Kenneth Roberts.

Uh, maybe we
should wait outside.

No, no, no, he's probably
just stepped out from there.

Jason!

Oh, God. Come on,
we gotta get outta here.

[POLICE SIREN WAILING]

There's gotta be cops
outside. What if they see this?

They'll think we killed
them for it. Dump it. Dump it.

Okay, let's go.

What the hell are you
doing? Give me that briefcase.

You want it? Call the police.

This doesn't square things,
Maddy. This is only a down payment.

Jason, get up, we blew it.

Jason.

Jason.

Yes. Give me the police.

They suckered me, Ben.

But I didn't kill Edmunds.

Here's something
else you're gonna like.

Madeline Medford has
turned state's evidence.

What?

She believes you
killed Jason Edmunds.

MATLOCK: Well,
Bob, you find anything?

No, lot of empty cubicles out
there. Fax machine doesn't work.

It's all show.

MATLOCK: What's all this?
- Edmunds wanted to make it

look like he was
following some stock.

Yeah.

I understand you and
Jason Edmunds were close.

You know what you can do
with your sympathy, Mr. Matlock.

Wrap it up and send
it to the federal prison

where your client will
be serving a life sentence.

You make a business
out of breaking the law

and then get mad when you
think somebody else might have.

Yes. We have a very
firm code of ethics.

We don't kill anybody.

MATLOCK: Madeline Medford
had an alibi for the time of the murder,

and I was convinced that
her partner, Jack McCarthy,

was not as ethical
as she thought.

I'm Ben Matlock. This
is Michelle Thomas.

Uh, we'd like to ask you some
questions about Jack McCarthy.

MATLOCK: The truth is, the mark
was a lot smarter than anybody thought.

Never had a shot at
easy money before.

Jack McCarthy said that
you and he were together

for more than two hours before
you visited, uh, Jason Edmunds.

Yeah. I think so,

except when I went to
the bank to get the money.

- McCarthy didn't go
with you? KENNETH: No.

No. We met back here before
we went over to the office.

MATLOCK: Now, Mr. Roberts,

do you remember the day
you met, uh, Jack McCarthy?

I was jogging.

His car broke down.
I gave him a lift.

Yeah. But what about this?

What if you drove up there

to find Jack McCarthy?

You knew who he was, didn't you?

[CHUCKLING]

Well, well, that's not
true. Why would I do that?

MATLOCK: For two reasons.

One, to get to Jason Edmunds,
that's the man you were after.

Two, to give yourself
a perfect alibi.

On the day of the murder,
you went to the bank

and withdrew 20 thousand
dollars to give to Jack McCarthy.

- Right? Okay.
- That's right.

Now, I'm showing you this
document which we subpoenaed from

the Atlanta Crestmoor National
Bank and ask you if you recognize it.

Ah.

Yeah, that's my bank statement.

It shows the 20 thousand
dollar withdrawal.

But not on the day of the
murder. See, look, right here.

The money was
withdrawn on March 17th.

The day before the murder, heh.

That must be a mistake.

In Jason Edmunds' office,
there's a computer monitor

with a lot of symbols
and initials on it.

Well, they're New York
Stock Exchange symbols.

That's why I knew
he was legitimate.

Right. Right. Look
here right at the bottom.

See that word.
See these initials.

"PMR."

See there. Your son's name?

- Peter.
- Peter Michael Roberts.

PMR.

That's just a
coincidence. It's...

Mr. Roberts, how is your son?

He passed away.

He committed suicide, didn't he?

He committed suicide because
he had lost thousands of dollars

to a con man, Jason Edmunds.

Your son's death
broke your heart.

[SIGHS]

Mr. Roberts,

this is the police photograph
of the murder scene.

At first, nothing seems unusual.

But if you look
at his right wrist,

what do you suppose caused
that white line on his wrist?

- Well, how would I know?
- Con men like to steal

something personal
off of people they con.

And Mr. McCarthy and I spent
a good deal of time talking.

And he is now willing to testify

that Jason Edmunds

took something
personal off your son,

a gold ID bracelet.

And on the back was inscribed,

"You have made me so
proud." Then the word, "Dad."

Mr. Roberts, I noticed that
you're wearing an ID bracelet.

Would you mind taking it off?

Those con men

swindled him out of everything,

savings, a house, car.

He was so ashamed.
He couldn't tell me.

I found out when I...
When I read the letter

that was lying next to his body.

We gotta stop meeting
like this. People will talk.

- You saw the body?
- Mm-hm.

Folks, while the medical
examiner is doing his thing out there,

I'm gonna need statements
from each of you in private.

Who wants to go first?

- He would.
- Buzz off.

Well, you seem anxious
to talk. We'll take you.

I'm freezing. Could I go
upstairs and get a sweater?

Sure. Only make it
snappy. Come on.

This was just
found near the body.

And it's not from anything
Mr. Gateway had on.

Anybody recognize it?

- Not my style.
- Not mine.

Well, it's possible that this came
off of something the murderer had on.

So people, we're going to
have to go through the clothes

you brought with
you. Any objections?

Good. Shouldn't take long.

- Well, I'm getting kind of hungry.
- Me too.

Sit down. I'll go see what
there is in the kitchen.

[GASPS]

Why, Jane, what have you
got there? An edible sweater?

Let go off me.

It wouldn't happen to
be missing a button now?

- Let go.
- I've got her.

I've got her. I've got
her. I've got the killer.

When I realized it came
from my sweater, I panicked.

All I could think to do
was to try and get rid of it.

Don't you see?

Whoever killed Robert
planted that button there

to make it look
like I had killed him.

Where were you after
dinner last night, Mrs. Kravitz?

In my room.

- Alone?
- Yes.

That's not true.
She was in my room.

In fact, she was there
pretty much all night.

Is there something going
on here we don't know about?

We're lovers.

We came here to spend the weekend
together, not to solve some mystery.

Yeah? Well, I think they're
covering for each other.

- And I think you're the
murderer. PAT: Okay.

Look, uh, as long
as you're all here,

I'm gonna need a set of
prints from each of you.

So if you all just sit
down, we'll get started.

- Only prints you'll need are his.
- Shut up.

Ah, Dad, how about the
Dan Galloway murder case?

Dad! The talk show
host that got killed?

Why don't you tell that
story? That's a great one.

Oh, I like that
one. Tell that one.

- Cliff. LEANNE: Come
on, it's a great story.

MATLOCK: Dan Galloway had the
hottest daytime talk show on television.

Women in power,

from Cleopatra to Imelda Marcos,
has long been an issue for debate,

brains versus breasts.

That's the focus of this
edition of Dan Galloway.

MATLOCK: He had a knack
for pushing people's buttons.

DAN [ON TV]: Judge Cordante.

Here she is with
Governor Leon Griese,

now with Congressman
Robert Arnold,

and here with state party
chairman Edward Dorfman.

Would you not assume that
she's offering these gentlemen

more than professional opinions?

CORDANTE: Those were pictures
taken at various political events.

You've used them out of context.

And I'm not going to
stay here any longer

and dignify this with an answer.

And, uh, now, a word
from our sponsor.

MAN 1: And we're in commercial.

[BELL RINGS]

MAN 2: Everybody stand by.
- Marla.

Marla.

Baby, you were great. Your
decision to storm off, brilliant.

You creep. You
made a fool out of me.

I made a personality out of
you and I'll invite you back.

You'll hear from my attorney.

[CROWD APPLAUDING]

Welcome back. Katherine. Leanne.

How do you answer to your
reputation as dragon ladies?

That's why I chose to
leave the television business.

Leanne, didn't your sudden
decision to devote your life

to coordinating napkins
with centerpieces come about

because your reputation
made it impossible

for you to get another
job in television?

My decision was based
on the fact that I was set up.

My dear, we're all being set up,
just to get an extra rating point.

Well, is that any worse than
ridiculing people for not being invited

to some society party

and then slashing those who were
for wearing the same dress twice?

Careful, Katherine, move
too fast, your face might fall.

[CROWD CHATTERING]

MAN 1: And we're in commercial.
- Thank you.

That's should be good
for another 41 share.

MATLOCK: Being Dan
Galloway's producer

was a nightmare
for Lisa Bateman.

None of our stations
are gonna run that show.

It's controversy, it's heat.

The public eats it up.
Look at the ratings.

It was crap, slanderous
crap and I'm not gonna run it.

Oh.

Poor Lisa, so
refined. So tasteful.

Much too good
for Dan. All right?

I never said that.

I bought you a present. Open it.

What's the occasion?

- Don't you get it?
- I'm giving you the ax.

[LAUGHS]

[GROANING]

Well, they got a pretty
good case against you.

You were in the building
at the time of the murder.

Your fingerprints are all
over the murder weapon.

Ben, the only time I saw that ax
was in his office, and I left it there.

Who else could
have gotten hold of it?

Anyone who works in the studio.

Anyone who had a
pass to the building today.

The three women who were
on the show this afternoon.

They were all angry
enough to want to kill him.

MATLOCK: Find anything?
MICHELLE: Not much.

Matches, the top of a pen.

All of it typical of what you'd
find on the floor of an office.

[MUTTERING]

- They tracing it?
- According to the police,

that button wasn't found on any
of the clothing Joe was wearing

- the day of the murder.
- Huh.

MATLOCK: Can
you rewind that part?

Stop! That's it.

That's it. It's the bracelet.

MICHELLE: We're trying
to track down this bracelet?

Do you recognize it?

Of course, that's an
Andrea Claggett design.

Do you know if this button
came from that bracelet?

This button is brass.

Andrea Claggett uses
only precious metals.

Now, if the killer raised the ax...
You be the killer. You be the killer.

- Okay. Now, he...
- She.

She, yeah. She...
She hit him, um,

and he fell

Probably something like that.
Now, that's when he left the clue.

He got up and he
programmed the keyboard.

And then he pulled the plug.

Now, can you run the tape and stop
it where he programmed it to stop?

Sure.

[DISTORTED SPEECH OVER TV]

DAN [OVER TV]: Next.
MATLOCK: Of course.

I'm done. Of course,
that's it. That's it.

When Judge Cordante's
picture appeared on the monitor,

we thought he was trying to
tell us that she had killed him.

But then we have to remember,
he was dying. He was on the floor.

He was looking at the
monitor upside down.

And when he pulled that plug,

this digital counter
stopped at 337.

But if you look at it upside down
the way he did, it spells L-E-E.

You see that, Leanne?

All this means is that he was trying
to set me up again, and, besides,

at the time he was killed, I
was already back in Bakersfield.

No. Thank you.

You checked out of
the motel 6 o'clock.

But you left your car in the
motel garage until almost 8:00.

That places you at
the scene of the crime.

And before you say I have no
proof, I want to take a shot at it.

This button

was found on the
floor of the editing room

where Dan Galloway was killed.

But it doesn't seem
to belong to anybody.

It doesn't seem to
come of anything.

When you came down to do the
taping, you were wearing a jacket.

But then when you
actually did the taping,

you weren't wearing your jacket,
some sort of sound problem.

I wore my red jacket. It
doesn't have any brass buttons.

Bailiff.

This is a rack

of Ms. Giovanni's jackets.

As you can see,

the inside buttons are brass,

just like this button that
was found on the floor

by Dan Galloway's body.

Now, you recognize
this jacket, don't you?

It's yours, isn't it?

I remember spilling coffee
on the sleeve the other day.

But your inside button
doesn't match the brass button.

No. I distinctly remember. I
lost the button last October.

Then why did you wait till the
day after Dan Galloway was killed

to take your coat to
the Forest Dry Cleaners

in Bakersfield and have
them replace this button?

The cleaner's mark's
still inside the jacket.

And we talked to the management.

Would you like to
retain an attorney?

MAN: All right. Press firmly.

Thank you.

I love that story.

Would you excuse us
for just a minute, please?

- Cliff, could you help me?
- Um, I really did love it.

Where are they going?

What are you doing?
It's a good sweater.

- He left us a clue.
- He did? Where?

This was in his hand
when I found him.

- And it was tuned to that channel.
- Smoke, but it's just smoke.

That's why I know it's a clue.

One. Seven. Three.
One Seven Three.

The number. One Seven Three.
Just like in the Galloway case.

"E-L-I". Eli.

Eli. Eli. As in Elliot.

I think we'd better go
talk to Detective Jordan.

[FOOTSTEPS]

Mr. Ross, could you tell
me what this is, please?

Well, we just found it in
the lining of your suitcase.

How very James Bond.

MATLOCK: Looks like
some kind of binoculars.

No. Not binoculars.
Virtual reality headgear.

- Say again.
- Virtual reality.

It's, uh, you put on these
special glasses and then,

you know, instead of
interacting with reality,

you're interacting with this kind of
computer-generated image reality.

Robert Gateway was rumored
to have been working on a way

to make it into a
mass-marketable toy.

Guess the rumors were true.

I don't know how that
thing got in my suitcase.

I've never seen it before in my
life. They're trying to frame me.

Ask them how it got there.

You know, my
nephew's a stockbroker.

He's always using these
weird terms, like a put and a call.

What's a put and
what's a call, anyway?

What is this, a test?

What's the difference between
selling long and selling short?

HUGO: Come on,
Elliot, boxing the stock,

what does that mean?

I don't have to take this.

You're not a
stockbroker, are you?

Or a mystery buff.

You're an industrial spy and
came here to steal those plans.

But you wound up committing
murder as well, didn't you?

No.

Well, you see this smudge,
Mr. Ross? I'm pretty sure it's blood.

And if it turns out to be
Robert Gateway's blood,

- you're in a lot of
trouble ELLIOT: Bull!

- That doesn't prove I killed
him. PAT: Oh, I'm afraid it does

because if you look very closely,
you'll see that it's not only a smudge,

there's a fingerprint in it.

Your fingerprint.

Well, Detective Jordan,

looks like you
solved this mystery.

Uh, actually, Leanne solved it.

Heh, well, actually, Robert Gateway
solved it with his dying breath.

Whoever.

I, uh, ahem... I guess
you'll be needing a lawyer.

- I, um, don't suppose you'd consider...
- No.