Matlock (1986–1995): Season 9, Episode 10 - The Verdict - full transcript
Well, two states
down, two to go.
Ahem. What's the
capital of Tennessee?
- Memphis.
- Nope.
- Yes, it is.
- Nashville.
- Right.
- He looked at the map.
Did not.
Kevin, you've got the
map there on your lap.
- Yeah, but I didn't look at it.
- Okay.
What is the capital
of South Carolina?
- Raleigh.
- Nope.
It is so.
That is the capital
of North Carolina.
- Yeah, dummy.
- Don't call me dummy, barf brain.
- Stop it.
- Get him, Misty. Kill.
- Please?
- Mom, she scratched me.
Stop it. That cat is not
to be used as a weapon.
What was that?
Uh, I think we just blew a tire.
Oh, for the love of Pete.
- Charlie.
- Yeah, what?
Get over here.
Look at this. This thing is so
crooked I get dizzy just looking at it.
- What the hell are you thinking?
- Rusty.
Ease up.
If you think I'm gonna stand
by, watch this bum get paid
the same as me for doing
lousy work, you're nuts.
You've made your point.
I'll take care of it, okay?
- What'd you hire him for, anyway?
- Hey!
That's enough.
Go get back to work.
Jackass doesn't even
know how to lay a brick, Jack.
We'll talk more about
this tonight, Rusty.
Now, why don't you
get back to work?
There you go.
Okay, this is it. Let's get out.
We gotta stay here?
- Yeah, we gotta stay here.
- You said there'd be a swimming pool.
Well, I thought we'd get to
Chattanooga, but we didn't.
- Oh, Mom.
- Now, come on, get your backpacks.
Oh, Molly, you let Misty out.
Misty!
Go get that cat.
Here, Misty!
- Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.
- Here, Misty.
Damn.
You think I'm nothing,
don't you, Jack?
You think you can pull this kind of crap
because I'm just some dime-a-dozen,
cement-mucking grunt,
don't you, Jack? Don't you?
Get out of here.
You're gonna pay for this, Jack.
Big time.
- You can go to hell too.
- Unh!
Dad.
Dad, are you okay?
- Are you all right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
- What was that all about?
- I fired him. He didn't take it too well.
God, no kidding.
I came by to take
you to dinner. Jeez.
Looks like I should take
you to the emergency room.
No.
No need.
Dinner will be just fine.
Everybody had a chance
to get a fresh cup of coffee.
We're back here at Phone Talk.
And we're lucky enough to have
with us this morning the author
of last year's hilarious...
All right, now we are
all gonna go in there.
Kevin, I want you
to close your eyes.
Keep them covered until
I say so, okay? Let's go.
All right. Go on. Go straight.
Hold on. Come here.
Okay, Kevin.
Wow, Mom.
- What?
- You look great.
Thanks, Kevin. I
needed to hear that.
Okay, onward and upward.
- Slow down.
- Oh, yes, yes.
All right. Here we go.
Excuse me. My
name is Katie Clark.
- The district attorney is expecting me.
- Indeed, I am.
- Richard Jenkins.
- Katie Clark.
Everybody, listen up.
This is Katie Clark,
our newest assistant DA
I have my children with me
because we drove here
straight from St. Louis.
Normally, they'd be in school
right now. Public school.
I'm a firm believer in
the public school system.
Do they have names?
Of course, they do.
This is Molly and this is Kevin.
Police just brought
in a murder suspect.
Interview Room 2, around the
corner, second door on your left.
Welcome aboard.
- Mister...?
- Stonehill. Steven Stonehill.
Mr. Jenkins wants me
to go question a suspect.
Since I don't have an office,
I was wondering if I could
leave a few of my things here.
- Yeah, sure, be my guest.
- Great.
Thanks.
Oh, now, wait a minute.
- Katie?
- Jack.
I had a terrible feeling
this might be you.
What are you doing here?
I thought you moved to
Cincinnati or something.
St. Louis. Just moved back.
I'm the new assistant DA.
How did you get
charged with murder?
Katie, it is a mistake.
I'll say. My first day, my
first five minutes on the job,
and whose case do
they assign me to?
I don't believe it.
Well, maybe it's fate.
It is a conflict of interest, Jack.
So don't say one more word.
- Let me get the DA to send someone.
- Katie, Katie.
Now, come on.
You of all people know
that I couldn't have done
what they're accusing me of.
Look, save it for your lawyer.
And from what I've seen
just glancing through this file,
he or she better be a good one.
Katie, come on.
I mean, at least this way, we
could have dinner sometime.
We did all that four
years ago, Jack.
Just let it go, okay?
Excuse me. I need to talk
to Mr. Jenkins. It's urgent.
I'm sorry. He's on
a conference call.
Right after that, he's
meeting with the mayor.
- Ahem. Lest we forget.
- Thanks.
How'd it go? Heh.
Well, he cheats at every
game you try to play with him.
Do not.
And she is absolutely
100 percent positive
- that the capital of Montana is Billings.
- Well, it is.
But other than that, it
was a little slice of heaven.
- I did not cheat.
- Let's eat.
Come on, let the
people do their work.
Come on.
- I want a hamburger. Hamburger.
- Pizza. Pizza.
Hey, wait a minute, wait
a minute, wait a minute.
This has been a tough day,
we haven't been to the house.
So here are the rules. I
am the only grown-up here,
so I not only get to
make decisions, I have to.
- Got it?
- Yes, ma'am.
- Got it?
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
Now, we're gonna
get in that car,
and the first place we
come to that serves food,
whatever it is, that's
what we're gonna eat.
- Now, come on.
- Hope it's hamburger.
- Pizza.
- Whatever they serve.
Forensics found,
uh, traces of your skin
under two of Russ
Stambler's fingernails.
Yeah, we got in a fight
last night at the house.
That's when he scratched me.
I was there. Rusty
was out of control.
- How come?
- I fired him.
Oh. Tsk.
Well, let us see...
Oh, yeah, where were you
between 7 and 8 this morning?
I was stuck in traffic
on my way to a job,
just like I am every morning.
Yeah. It says that your
fingerprints were all over
Rusty's front door
and his living room.
Yes, Mr. Matlock.
You see, uh, Rusty
worked for me.
So he had been to my house a
couple of times. I'd been to his.
- You were friends?
- Yeah.
We'd had a couple of
drinks over the years.
Why'd you fire him?
Because he was causing
problems on the job.
Now, look, Mr. Matlock, no disrespect,
but I wanted Mike to handle my case.
Oh, well, why didn't you?
I do corporate work.
Dad, you've got to
have a criminal lawyer.
It's not a good
idea for a client
to be personally
involved with his attorney.
That's right.
And, in a small
way, I am with you.
Remember, you were supposed to
do some work on my house last year.
Well, I gave you a bid, yeah,
but I never heard from you.
No, that's because your
bid was highway robbery.
- My bid was very reasonable.
- Reasonable.
I'd have wound up paying you
more than I paid for the whole house.
Mr. Matlock, you bought
this house 40 years ago.
Wait a minute.
Mr. Matlock, how about this?
A check for your fee,
in full, and up front.
Hm.
Uh, and if I, oh, say,
wanted to have new hardwood
floors put in the house...?
Tsk.
I will see what I can do.
Okay.
Mr. Jenkins?
Well, good morning. Come in.
How's that case I gave you,
the Gibson case? How's it going?
Well, that's what I
need to talk to you about.
Sorry I had to dump
something like that on you
not two minutes
after you walked in,
but as you probably
noticed, we're swamped.
One of the partners in that
firm you were with in St. Louis
did say you were an
incredibly quick study.
- Well, I am, but...
- And truth be told,
he raved about you.
He said you were the most
dedicated, hardest-working associate
they had ever hired.
He seemed to think
it was because you were raising two
children on your own, not in spite of it.
- Ha, I tend to overcompensate, but...
- And when I heard that,
I said to myself, "Bingo."
Don't get me wrong.
I'm not a chauvinist
or in any way against women,
but you wouldn't believe how
many times I have been burned
by women who consider
working here not a job
but as something they
kind of squeezed in
between personal crises.
Medical, marital,
sexual, spiritual.
Anyway, I am glad you are here.
You are a breath of fresh air.
- So the Gibson case?
- Yes?
You said earlier you needed
to talk to me about something.
Well, I just wanted to tell you
that we will probably be filing charges
against him by the end of the day.
Go to it. Good luck.
Thanks.
So in whose custody are
the little darlings today?
The Board of Education's.
I'm sorry for what I
did to you yesterday.
I was just... I'm sorry.
Well, word is Gibson's
hired himself a lawyer.
Ben Matlock.
Welcome to the big leagues.
I'd like to get the old place up
to snuff, you know, within reason.
Uh, how much would it cost
to put central air in the house?
Mr. Matlock, off the top of
my head, I just don't know.
So I'll tell you what, why
don't I get back to you, okay?
Yeah. And the heating
system could use some...
- Watch out, that step's broken.
- Uh, oh, yeah. Huh. Ha, ha, ha.
Just like my steps. Ha, ha.
Whole front porch is just
kind of starting to list a little bit.
Could you get back to me
on that? How are you doing?
- So this is where it happened?
- Yep.
- Rusty married?
- No.
Divorced?
- I don't think so.
- Hm.
Hm.
Well.
Well, he had a girlfriend.
Yeah, I guess he did.
- Come on, Mom.
- Kevin.
I like to paint.
Let me do it, please?
No, honey, you're too messy.
You'd get it all over the place.
- I'll be careful. Come on, Mom.
- Mom?
Just a minute, Molly.
Please, please, please?
Okay, okay, look, you can
paint Grandpa's rocking chair
down in the basement,
okay? As soon as I'm finished.
- Yay! Thanks, Mom.
- Ha, ha, ha!
Mom?
This guy here
wants to talk to you.
- Hi, I'm Ben Matlock.
- Hi. Uh...
- Katie Clark.
- Hi, Katie.
Mom, how come Kevin gets
to paint something and I don't?
- Honey, we'll talk about it later, okay?
- I get to help.
- Yeah. Come in, please. Sit down.
- Thank you.
- Can I get you something?
- Oh, no, thank you. I'm fine. Ahem.
- Did Jack tell you I questioned him?
- Yes.
It's a shame you
don't know Jack.
If you did, you'd
know he's not a killer.
That's what all
defense lawyers say.
I, ha, ha, I guess that's right.
So...
Oh, I just wanted to introduce
myself and chat a little about the case.
Oh, good.
Well, I think things are
starting to shape up quite nicely.
Yeah. But you
don't have a motive.
Uh, no, I guess I don't.
But, you know, I can't
help think how odd it was
that your client invited Rusty
Stambler over to his house
the night before the murder
just to fire him. Why his house?
Why not fire him on the job?
Oh, well, Jack's a nice man,
and he was just trying to
soften the blow, that's all.
You know what I
find odd, though?
- What's that?
- Rusty's girlfriend.
She was there the
night before the murder.
She left her makeup
kit and never came back.
- Wonder why.
- I don't know.
Could be important.
- Yeah.
- I wouldn't have thought much about it
if I hadn't seen the kit.
Sometimes seeing
things makes a difference.
That's why I like to go over
the murder scene personally.
- Mm. Me too.
- Yeah.
- Gotta find out who left this here.
- We're working on it.
- Put more men on it.
- We've already got the killer.
We've made an arrest.
I've gotta get a conviction.
If we don't find out
who left that here,
Ben Matlock's gonna make a
case that maybe she was the killer.
Don't suppose you've ID'd
the prints on that wine glass?
Haven't heard back
from the lab, ma'am.
Check out this number?
We've been doing
this a long time.
Yes, ma'am.
The guy said he never
heard of Rusty Stambler.
Really?
That's odd.
Hello, Katie.
- How you been?
- Fine.
I thought you were
quitting the case.
Believe me, I wanted
to, but I couldn't.
I understand that.
No, I don't think you do.
I'm gonna prosecute this case
to the very best of my ability.
No punches pulled,
no holds barred.
I wouldn't do that, Katie.
- Why not?
- You're gonna look very foolish.
I didn't do it.
These fibers were removed
from the top of a chain-link fence
that runs behind the
decedent's house.
When were they removed?
On the 12th of
October at 2:20 p.m.
Approximately four
and a half hours
after Mr. Stambler's
body was discovered.
Do you have any idea
where these fibers came from?
They came from a brand of
blue jeans known as Strong Man.
This pair of jeans
was recently removed,
by warrant, from the
defendant's bedroom closet.
Would you tell the court
what brand they are, please?
They're Strong Man.
This tear in the left leg here,
how, in your expert
opinion, was it made?
Well, the edges are frayed,
which indicates fibers are missing,
so I'd say it was the result
of a snag rather than a cut.
Is it possible that the fibers
that were found on the fence
behind the decedent's house
came from this pair of jeans?
Given the length of the fibers
and the length of the tear, yes.
I'd say it was very possible.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Um, Mr. Pratt,
how many Americans would you
say own a pair of Strong Man jeans?
Objection. Calls
for speculation.
You're the one that
said he was an expert.
Let the man talk.
Objection overruled.
Thank you.
Would you say, uh, in the
thousands? The tens of thousands?
Hundreds of thousands, at least.
Ah. And of those
hundreds of thousands,
how many would you say
have a tear in the pants leg?
Well, seeing as how
it's considered stylish
for some members of society
to walk around with
gaping holes in their jeans,
I would imagine quite a few.
Heh, heh. I agree. I agree.
Thank you. No more questions.
The witness may step down.
For its next witness,
the state would like
to call Mr. Nick Murrow.
Mr. Murrow,
did you know the
decedent, Rusty Stambler?
No.
You never had any
contact with him?
- No.
- What's your phone number?
555-6893.
If you never had any
contact with Rusty Stambler,
then why was your
phone number found
in his bedroom on a newspaper
delivered the morning of the murder?
And why, according to
phone company records,
did he call you on October 12th,
the day he was
murdered at 6:45 a.m.?
Must've had the wrong number.
If he dialed your
number by mistake,
why was the phone call two
minutes and 12 seconds long?
I see you're wearing a
brace. What happened?
- I threw my back out at work.
- How'd you do that?
Well, I was working a
site up at Lyndon Hills,
and I stepped on some cement that
was supposed to be set, only it wasn't.
Uh, caved in and
my foot got caught.
I fell over sideways
and sprained my back.
- So you're a construction worker?
- A plumber.
Have you been able to
work since the accident?
Oh, no way. I can
barely get out of bed.
So you filed an insurance claim?
- No.
- Why not?
Just seemed like a hassle.
According to your bank records,
about a week after the accident,
you deposited close to $60,000
into your savings account.
Where did that money come from?
It came from that
general contractor
for that house out in
Lyndon Hills, didn't it?
Isn't it true he paid you off to keep
you from filing an insurance claim
because he didn't
want anybody asking
why that cement gave way?
Who am I talking about, Nick?
Who was that general contractor?
Jack Gibson.
Jack Gibson, the defendant.
- Tell us how that cement gave way.
- I don't know.
No?
Didn't Mr. Gibson tell you?
Or what about Rusty
Stambler? Didn't he tell you?
When he called you that morning?
He warned you he was about to
blow the whistle on Jack Gibson
for using undersized
and rusted out rebar
to reinforce that cement pad.
Rebar that was
four times as cheap
as the steel Mr. Gibson indicated
he was going to use on his bid
and for which he
billed his client.
You injured your back because
Jack Gibson committed fraud.
That's a lie! She's making
this up to get even with me
for breaking up with her!
- Like hell I am!
- Dad, sit down, Dad.
That's why she's doing it!
This court will come to order.
The defendant will sit down. Silence.
That means everyone.
Are you saying it's true?
You had an intimate relationship
with the man you
are now prosecuting?
Yes.
Miss Clark, you have
not exactly made my day.
Not only am I going to
have to declare a mistrial,
but because you spearheaded
the initial investigation
against Mr. Gibson,
you may very well have
compromised the state's whole case.
How could you let this happen?
I didn't know. I swear.
I had a very rocky first
day here, Your Honor.
If you'd just let me explain.
- I've heard enough, Miss Clark.
- But you haven't heard the truth.
Now, four years ago
when I was living here
and doing legal work part-time,
my husband took off
with another woman.
Divorced me and left
me and our two children.
Now, Jack Gibson, who up till then
had been one of my husband's friends,
helped us out and
became my friend.
And pretty soon, he
became more than a friend.
He helped me get back on my feet,
kind of renewed my self-confidence.
But by the time I accepted
a full-time job in St. Louis,
we were back to
being just friends.
And contrary to what Mr. Gibson
would have you believe,
we parted on good terms.
That's all very well
and good, Miss Clark,
but it doesn't change the fact
that you should've taken
yourself off the case.
I tried. No one
knows that, but I did.
And with all due
respect, Your Honor,
all officers of the court have
personal lives and prejudices
which they routinely set
aside in order to do their job.
And I have done that.
Again, contrary to
what the defendant says,
I have not concocted evidence.
Mr. Matlock is welcome
to go over any and
all of my findings.
In fact, if anything, the
delicacy of my situation
has made me even more diligent
in the preparation of this case
than I otherwise
might have been.
If this case is appealed,
it won't be because of
anything I have or haven't done.
I promise you.
There is no need
to declare a mistrial.
Mr. Matlock, I haven't
heard your 2 cents.
Oh, well, there's nothing to
be gained by starting over.
Of course, I'm gonna take
a good look at everything.
And if you mess with any evidence
or make another misstep in this case,
I'll have a mistrial
in a heartbeat.
Fine with me.
In that case, court will
reconvene at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
- What have you got to say?
- I'm sorry we have this whole mess.
You should be. You
made me look like an idiot.
Now, wait a minute.
When I was first assigned this
case, I came in here to tell you
that there might be
a conflict of interest.
But before I could get a word out,
you told me how busy everyone was,
how much trouble you had with
women trying to get out of work.
How would I have looked
if I had to remove myself
from the first case you gave me
because I had an affair
with the defendant?
You would've looked a
lot better than you do now.
We're gonna have
to continue this later.
Prosecuting a
former lover? Ha, ha!
Bad form, Miss Clark.
I'm only gonna say
this once, Mr. Stonehill.
Back off.
Or you'll do what,
stomp your little foot?
Listen, I'm just tired of
seeing people come in here
expecting special treatment
just because they got kids,
bills and breasts. That's all.
Miss Clark, Mr. Jenkins
wants to see you.
The day I ask you or him
or anybody else around here
for special treatment, don't
be surprised if you sprout wings,
because that'll
be the day pigs fly.
I just got off the phone
with Detective Remsen.
Police have located
Rusty Stambler's girlfriend.
Says she saw Jack
Gibson at Stambler's place
around the time of the murder.
Her name's Patricia
Price. Here's her address.
All right, nothing like
what happened today
is ever gonna happen again.
I know I put you in a hard
place when this first began,
but next time, speak up. I
wouldn't wanna have to fire you
or see to it that you never
practice law in this state again.
There we go.
Okay, it ought to work now.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
Just don't ask me to
program your VCR, heh, okay?
You and that woman DA, huh?
Yep.
Well, you got good taste, Dad.
Terrible timing, but good taste.
You know, Mike,
I didn't tell anybody because
to be honest with you,
I figured...
Well, I just figured,
what could it hurt?
I had no idea she was
gonna wind up coming after me
tooth and nail like this,
digging into my
business affairs,
making me look like a crook.
- Mike?
- Yeah?
Turn around.
Look at me.
It was that one time,
that one time
only, I swear to you.
And I did not start
out to cheat anybody.
It just happened.
We were running behind,
there was a holdup on the rebar,
so I used whatever scrap
was laying around the yard.
That's okay.
I mean, it's not like you were
endangering lives or anything.
Come on, you gotta
stop worrying about it.
Dad, you hired Ben
Matlock. He's the best, right?
He's not gonna
let you down. Dad.
Neither am I.
- Mom?
- Yeah?
I'm done painting
that chair downstairs.
Good for you, honey. Why
don't you go get ready for bed?
Mom?
- Yeah?
- Molly says you're gonna kill me.
She may have a point.
He got it all
over the floor too.
- Thank you, Molly.
- Mom?
- Yes?
- Where'd Grandma die?
In the hospital.
He thinks this house is haunted.
He does?
Is it?
Well, in a way, it is.
Really?
Like this.
I grew up in this house.
Every time I turn around,
I think of something I
haven't thought of in 20 years.
The way Grandpa
used to sit at his desk
looking at pennies
with a magnifying glass,
seeing what he was
gonna save for his collection.
Or the way Grandma used
to sit at the kitchen table
every Sunday night
painting her nails.
It's like they're here.
Kind of like ghosts.
- Ghosts?
- Happy ghosts.
See? So stop
making me go with you
every time you
need to go upstairs.
- Okay?
- Okay.
You been doing that,
Molly? Thanks. That's nice.
Yeah. Well, you know how
bad he whines when he's scared.
I love you two.
Okay, close your eyes.
Can I do that?
And how would you describe your
relationship to Rusty, Miss Price?
We were, you know, lovers.
You were at his house
not only the night before,
but the morning of his
murder. Is that right?
Yeah, that's right.
Miss Price, there's
something that's puzzling me.
Why didn't you come forward
when you first heard
Rusty was murdered?
Two words: I'm married.
Least I was until
all this hit the fan.
Well, tell us what
you saw that morning.
Well, see, my husband
was out of town,
so I'd gone over to
Rusty's the night before
to, you know, spend the night.
But he wasn't feeling too good,
so I left around midnight.
Stopped by on my way
to work the next morning
to see if he felt better.
And what did you see?
I parked my car a ways
down the street, like always.
And as I was
getting out of the car,
I saw this guy come around
the side of Rusty's house,
from the back, and
go in the front door.
Do you have any
idea what time it was?
Seven-thirty. I know
because WFCY
was playing its top-ten list.
I didn't get out of the
car until it was over.
Miss Price, I'd like you
to look around and tell me
if the man you saw go into
Rusty's house that morning
is here in the courtroom today.
Yeah, that's him
right over there.
Let the record show
that the witness pointed
to Jack Gibson, the defendant.
- Nothing further.
- Ahem.
Uh, when you say that
Rusty wasn't feeling well,
how do you mean
he wasn't feeling well?
Said he felt like
he was gonna hurl.
Ooh.
Was that before or
after you had some wine?
Both.
Rusty thought drinking
something might help.
It didn't, so I split.
If he had something,
I didn't wanna catch it.
- Did you leave in a hurry?
- No.
Well, how come you left
your makeup case behind?
I forgot it.
You left your makeup case behind
because you went stomping out of
Rusty's house in a huff, didn't you?
- What do you mean?
- Well, I guess
because after a couple
of glasses of wine,
he started making threats
about telling your
husband about your affair.
- No.
- Only you didn't like that.
Made you mad and you left.
But the next morning, you
came back to make sure
he didn't make any
threats like that again.
Now, you just wait a minute.
I went over there that morning
to see how he was doing,
only I never got the chance
because that man right
there went in ahead of me.
He was wearing blue jeans
and a dark-colored jacket,
and he was in such a hurry
he put his foot right
through one of the steps.
And that's the truth, mister.
You saw all that while
you were parking your car,
listening to the radio?
Mr. Matlock?
Uh...
Defense requests
a 15-minute recess.
- Ben, what's going on?
- You did it.
You didn't tell me of
your affair with Katie
because you was hoping she'd
give you some kind of a break.
- Ben, don't be ridic...
- You stopped me from stepping
on that step because
you knew it was broken
because you were
the one who broke it.
- Ben, you are wrong.
- I don't wanna hear it.
All right, Ben, hear this.
I'm entitled to the
best possible defense,
and you are ethically
bound to give me that.
Besides, I paid
you a lot of money,
so why don't you just
get out there and earn it?
- Right here.
- Oh, thanks.
Well, thanks for coming.
- As you see, I'm still getting settled.
- Yeah.
Oh, here, have a seat.
- Where are you gonna sit?
- Oh, right here's fine.
Oh, okay.
This case has come a long way
since we first talked, Mr. Matlock.
I've established motive
and placed your client
at the scene of the crime.
In other words, I've got him.
So in order to save us
all a lot of time and money,
I'm prepared to offer
your client a deal.
What kind of a deal?
He pleads guilty, I reduce the
charge to second degree murder.
He does a maximum
10 years in prison.
He won't go for it.
Of course, you probably
know that better than I do.
Well, you tell him anyway.
And make sure he understands
this is a one-time deal.
He turns it down, that's it.
He'll be at the
mercy of the court.
Okay, I'll tell him.
I wouldn't get my
hopes up, though.
Mr. Matlock,
these are not my hopes.
This was District Attorney
Jenkins' idea, believe me.
I did my best to
talk him out of it.
I think I could
get a conviction.
But he doesn't.
He's just trying
to be efficient.
Efficient.
Now, this is a picture of
Rusty Stambler's street
taken from outside a car parked
where approximately you said
your car was parked, about here.
Now, can you pick out
Rusty's house from this picture?
- Well, yeah, right there.
- Uh-huh.
And this is the view of the
house that you saw that morning?
Yeah.
There's a lot of
bushes along here,
and you say you saw a man
walking along the
side of the house.
You'd have seen him in
profile and through the bushes,
- wouldn't you?
- Yeah.
And you'd see his back
as he went up the steps
and inside the
house, is that right?
- I guess.
- Let's see.
How far would you say
you were parked away?
About, what, 50
yards, would you say?
- I don't know.
- Well, with the bushes
and the profile and
his back and all,
you weren't exactly up
close and personal, were you?
I know what I saw.
Thank you. No more questions.
Defense calls Mr. Michael
Gibson to the stand.
Did you know the
decedent, Rusty Stambler?
I'd met him a couple of
times through my father,
but I didn't really know him.
- So you weren't friends?
- No.
You have any
contact with him at all?
No.
Hm.
Well, why is it that
according to the records
I subpoenaed from
the phone company,
one call was made from
his house to your apartment,
and five calls were made
from your place to his place
in the two weeks
prior to the murder?
Rusty Stambler told me my
father was defrauding clients
by substituting materials
he had specified in his bids
for cheaper ones.
He told me he was gonna report
him, so I tried to talk him out of it.
Does your father know this?
No, I never told him.
I knew how much it
would embarrass him.
You love your father
very much, don't you?
Yeah.
- How tall are you?
- Five-eleven.
How tall is your father?
About the same.
Same height, same color hair.
People ever confuse you?
- It happens.
- Yeah, yeah.
Do you own a pair of jeans?
Of course. Who doesn't?
Okay.
Where were you between 7 and 8
- the morning of the murder?
- At home.
- All alone?
- Yes.
I subpoenaed your bank records.
You withdrew $75,000 in cash
from your market-rate
savings account
two days before the murder.
- Remember that?
- Yeah.
And what's interesting
is before the bank
closed that same day,
you redeposited that money.
Now, why'd you do that?
I was gonna loan
the money to a friend.
- He decided he didn't need it after all.
- What friend?
Who was the money for?
Your Honor,
I ask that you instruct this witness
to give me the names of the person
or persons this money was for
and a recess from court
so I can check out
the details immediately.
The witness will
answer the question.
It wasn't a loan, was it?
It was hush money, wasn't it?
Only Rusty wouldn't take it.
So to protect the
father you adore
from public humiliation
and financial ruin,
you went over to Rusty's house
to shut him up for good, didn't you?
- No!
- It was you Pat Price saw
outside his house that day.
It was you who went in there and
strangled him to death, wasn't it?
No!
It wasn't him.
It was me.
Ew, cool. Just
about to kill him.
Ew, neat. All his guts
came out on my sword.
Wait till you see what
happens when you kill this guy.
Yes.
Miss Clark?
Mr. Matlock, come in.
Turn those things off, please.
But, Mom, I'm just
about to kill this guy.
Yeah, it's really cool
when you kill him,
- because his brains come out...
- Turn it off.
- Jeez, Mom.
- I just came by to give congratulations.
Oh, please. You're the one who
won that case and you know it.
No, you're the one
who discovered Jack
was switching those materials.
I might never have
picked up on that.
Oh, I think you would've.
But thanks, anyway.
At this stage in my career, I need
all the encouragement I can get.
Mom says next time,
she's gonna whip your...
I never did.
down, two to go.
Ahem. What's the
capital of Tennessee?
- Memphis.
- Nope.
- Yes, it is.
- Nashville.
- Right.
- He looked at the map.
Did not.
Kevin, you've got the
map there on your lap.
- Yeah, but I didn't look at it.
- Okay.
What is the capital
of South Carolina?
- Raleigh.
- Nope.
It is so.
That is the capital
of North Carolina.
- Yeah, dummy.
- Don't call me dummy, barf brain.
- Stop it.
- Get him, Misty. Kill.
- Please?
- Mom, she scratched me.
Stop it. That cat is not
to be used as a weapon.
What was that?
Uh, I think we just blew a tire.
Oh, for the love of Pete.
- Charlie.
- Yeah, what?
Get over here.
Look at this. This thing is so
crooked I get dizzy just looking at it.
- What the hell are you thinking?
- Rusty.
Ease up.
If you think I'm gonna stand
by, watch this bum get paid
the same as me for doing
lousy work, you're nuts.
You've made your point.
I'll take care of it, okay?
- What'd you hire him for, anyway?
- Hey!
That's enough.
Go get back to work.
Jackass doesn't even
know how to lay a brick, Jack.
We'll talk more about
this tonight, Rusty.
Now, why don't you
get back to work?
There you go.
Okay, this is it. Let's get out.
We gotta stay here?
- Yeah, we gotta stay here.
- You said there'd be a swimming pool.
Well, I thought we'd get to
Chattanooga, but we didn't.
- Oh, Mom.
- Now, come on, get your backpacks.
Oh, Molly, you let Misty out.
Misty!
Go get that cat.
Here, Misty!
- Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.
- Here, Misty.
Damn.
You think I'm nothing,
don't you, Jack?
You think you can pull this kind of crap
because I'm just some dime-a-dozen,
cement-mucking grunt,
don't you, Jack? Don't you?
Get out of here.
You're gonna pay for this, Jack.
Big time.
- You can go to hell too.
- Unh!
Dad.
Dad, are you okay?
- Are you all right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
- What was that all about?
- I fired him. He didn't take it too well.
God, no kidding.
I came by to take
you to dinner. Jeez.
Looks like I should take
you to the emergency room.
No.
No need.
Dinner will be just fine.
Everybody had a chance
to get a fresh cup of coffee.
We're back here at Phone Talk.
And we're lucky enough to have
with us this morning the author
of last year's hilarious...
All right, now we are
all gonna go in there.
Kevin, I want you
to close your eyes.
Keep them covered until
I say so, okay? Let's go.
All right. Go on. Go straight.
Hold on. Come here.
Okay, Kevin.
Wow, Mom.
- What?
- You look great.
Thanks, Kevin. I
needed to hear that.
Okay, onward and upward.
- Slow down.
- Oh, yes, yes.
All right. Here we go.
Excuse me. My
name is Katie Clark.
- The district attorney is expecting me.
- Indeed, I am.
- Richard Jenkins.
- Katie Clark.
Everybody, listen up.
This is Katie Clark,
our newest assistant DA
I have my children with me
because we drove here
straight from St. Louis.
Normally, they'd be in school
right now. Public school.
I'm a firm believer in
the public school system.
Do they have names?
Of course, they do.
This is Molly and this is Kevin.
Police just brought
in a murder suspect.
Interview Room 2, around the
corner, second door on your left.
Welcome aboard.
- Mister...?
- Stonehill. Steven Stonehill.
Mr. Jenkins wants me
to go question a suspect.
Since I don't have an office,
I was wondering if I could
leave a few of my things here.
- Yeah, sure, be my guest.
- Great.
Thanks.
Oh, now, wait a minute.
- Katie?
- Jack.
I had a terrible feeling
this might be you.
What are you doing here?
I thought you moved to
Cincinnati or something.
St. Louis. Just moved back.
I'm the new assistant DA.
How did you get
charged with murder?
Katie, it is a mistake.
I'll say. My first day, my
first five minutes on the job,
and whose case do
they assign me to?
I don't believe it.
Well, maybe it's fate.
It is a conflict of interest, Jack.
So don't say one more word.
- Let me get the DA to send someone.
- Katie, Katie.
Now, come on.
You of all people know
that I couldn't have done
what they're accusing me of.
Look, save it for your lawyer.
And from what I've seen
just glancing through this file,
he or she better be a good one.
Katie, come on.
I mean, at least this way, we
could have dinner sometime.
We did all that four
years ago, Jack.
Just let it go, okay?
Excuse me. I need to talk
to Mr. Jenkins. It's urgent.
I'm sorry. He's on
a conference call.
Right after that, he's
meeting with the mayor.
- Ahem. Lest we forget.
- Thanks.
How'd it go? Heh.
Well, he cheats at every
game you try to play with him.
Do not.
And she is absolutely
100 percent positive
- that the capital of Montana is Billings.
- Well, it is.
But other than that, it
was a little slice of heaven.
- I did not cheat.
- Let's eat.
Come on, let the
people do their work.
Come on.
- I want a hamburger. Hamburger.
- Pizza. Pizza.
Hey, wait a minute, wait
a minute, wait a minute.
This has been a tough day,
we haven't been to the house.
So here are the rules. I
am the only grown-up here,
so I not only get to
make decisions, I have to.
- Got it?
- Yes, ma'am.
- Got it?
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
Now, we're gonna
get in that car,
and the first place we
come to that serves food,
whatever it is, that's
what we're gonna eat.
- Now, come on.
- Hope it's hamburger.
- Pizza.
- Whatever they serve.
Forensics found,
uh, traces of your skin
under two of Russ
Stambler's fingernails.
Yeah, we got in a fight
last night at the house.
That's when he scratched me.
I was there. Rusty
was out of control.
- How come?
- I fired him.
Oh. Tsk.
Well, let us see...
Oh, yeah, where were you
between 7 and 8 this morning?
I was stuck in traffic
on my way to a job,
just like I am every morning.
Yeah. It says that your
fingerprints were all over
Rusty's front door
and his living room.
Yes, Mr. Matlock.
You see, uh, Rusty
worked for me.
So he had been to my house a
couple of times. I'd been to his.
- You were friends?
- Yeah.
We'd had a couple of
drinks over the years.
Why'd you fire him?
Because he was causing
problems on the job.
Now, look, Mr. Matlock, no disrespect,
but I wanted Mike to handle my case.
Oh, well, why didn't you?
I do corporate work.
Dad, you've got to
have a criminal lawyer.
It's not a good
idea for a client
to be personally
involved with his attorney.
That's right.
And, in a small
way, I am with you.
Remember, you were supposed to
do some work on my house last year.
Well, I gave you a bid, yeah,
but I never heard from you.
No, that's because your
bid was highway robbery.
- My bid was very reasonable.
- Reasonable.
I'd have wound up paying you
more than I paid for the whole house.
Mr. Matlock, you bought
this house 40 years ago.
Wait a minute.
Mr. Matlock, how about this?
A check for your fee,
in full, and up front.
Hm.
Uh, and if I, oh, say,
wanted to have new hardwood
floors put in the house...?
Tsk.
I will see what I can do.
Okay.
Mr. Jenkins?
Well, good morning. Come in.
How's that case I gave you,
the Gibson case? How's it going?
Well, that's what I
need to talk to you about.
Sorry I had to dump
something like that on you
not two minutes
after you walked in,
but as you probably
noticed, we're swamped.
One of the partners in that
firm you were with in St. Louis
did say you were an
incredibly quick study.
- Well, I am, but...
- And truth be told,
he raved about you.
He said you were the most
dedicated, hardest-working associate
they had ever hired.
He seemed to think
it was because you were raising two
children on your own, not in spite of it.
- Ha, I tend to overcompensate, but...
- And when I heard that,
I said to myself, "Bingo."
Don't get me wrong.
I'm not a chauvinist
or in any way against women,
but you wouldn't believe how
many times I have been burned
by women who consider
working here not a job
but as something they
kind of squeezed in
between personal crises.
Medical, marital,
sexual, spiritual.
Anyway, I am glad you are here.
You are a breath of fresh air.
- So the Gibson case?
- Yes?
You said earlier you needed
to talk to me about something.
Well, I just wanted to tell you
that we will probably be filing charges
against him by the end of the day.
Go to it. Good luck.
Thanks.
So in whose custody are
the little darlings today?
The Board of Education's.
I'm sorry for what I
did to you yesterday.
I was just... I'm sorry.
Well, word is Gibson's
hired himself a lawyer.
Ben Matlock.
Welcome to the big leagues.
I'd like to get the old place up
to snuff, you know, within reason.
Uh, how much would it cost
to put central air in the house?
Mr. Matlock, off the top of
my head, I just don't know.
So I'll tell you what, why
don't I get back to you, okay?
Yeah. And the heating
system could use some...
- Watch out, that step's broken.
- Uh, oh, yeah. Huh. Ha, ha, ha.
Just like my steps. Ha, ha.
Whole front porch is just
kind of starting to list a little bit.
Could you get back to me
on that? How are you doing?
- So this is where it happened?
- Yep.
- Rusty married?
- No.
Divorced?
- I don't think so.
- Hm.
Hm.
Well.
Well, he had a girlfriend.
Yeah, I guess he did.
- Come on, Mom.
- Kevin.
I like to paint.
Let me do it, please?
No, honey, you're too messy.
You'd get it all over the place.
- I'll be careful. Come on, Mom.
- Mom?
Just a minute, Molly.
Please, please, please?
Okay, okay, look, you can
paint Grandpa's rocking chair
down in the basement,
okay? As soon as I'm finished.
- Yay! Thanks, Mom.
- Ha, ha, ha!
Mom?
This guy here
wants to talk to you.
- Hi, I'm Ben Matlock.
- Hi. Uh...
- Katie Clark.
- Hi, Katie.
Mom, how come Kevin gets
to paint something and I don't?
- Honey, we'll talk about it later, okay?
- I get to help.
- Yeah. Come in, please. Sit down.
- Thank you.
- Can I get you something?
- Oh, no, thank you. I'm fine. Ahem.
- Did Jack tell you I questioned him?
- Yes.
It's a shame you
don't know Jack.
If you did, you'd
know he's not a killer.
That's what all
defense lawyers say.
I, ha, ha, I guess that's right.
So...
Oh, I just wanted to introduce
myself and chat a little about the case.
Oh, good.
Well, I think things are
starting to shape up quite nicely.
Yeah. But you
don't have a motive.
Uh, no, I guess I don't.
But, you know, I can't
help think how odd it was
that your client invited Rusty
Stambler over to his house
the night before the murder
just to fire him. Why his house?
Why not fire him on the job?
Oh, well, Jack's a nice man,
and he was just trying to
soften the blow, that's all.
You know what I
find odd, though?
- What's that?
- Rusty's girlfriend.
She was there the
night before the murder.
She left her makeup
kit and never came back.
- Wonder why.
- I don't know.
Could be important.
- Yeah.
- I wouldn't have thought much about it
if I hadn't seen the kit.
Sometimes seeing
things makes a difference.
That's why I like to go over
the murder scene personally.
- Mm. Me too.
- Yeah.
- Gotta find out who left this here.
- We're working on it.
- Put more men on it.
- We've already got the killer.
We've made an arrest.
I've gotta get a conviction.
If we don't find out
who left that here,
Ben Matlock's gonna make a
case that maybe she was the killer.
Don't suppose you've ID'd
the prints on that wine glass?
Haven't heard back
from the lab, ma'am.
Check out this number?
We've been doing
this a long time.
Yes, ma'am.
The guy said he never
heard of Rusty Stambler.
Really?
That's odd.
Hello, Katie.
- How you been?
- Fine.
I thought you were
quitting the case.
Believe me, I wanted
to, but I couldn't.
I understand that.
No, I don't think you do.
I'm gonna prosecute this case
to the very best of my ability.
No punches pulled,
no holds barred.
I wouldn't do that, Katie.
- Why not?
- You're gonna look very foolish.
I didn't do it.
These fibers were removed
from the top of a chain-link fence
that runs behind the
decedent's house.
When were they removed?
On the 12th of
October at 2:20 p.m.
Approximately four
and a half hours
after Mr. Stambler's
body was discovered.
Do you have any idea
where these fibers came from?
They came from a brand of
blue jeans known as Strong Man.
This pair of jeans
was recently removed,
by warrant, from the
defendant's bedroom closet.
Would you tell the court
what brand they are, please?
They're Strong Man.
This tear in the left leg here,
how, in your expert
opinion, was it made?
Well, the edges are frayed,
which indicates fibers are missing,
so I'd say it was the result
of a snag rather than a cut.
Is it possible that the fibers
that were found on the fence
behind the decedent's house
came from this pair of jeans?
Given the length of the fibers
and the length of the tear, yes.
I'd say it was very possible.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Um, Mr. Pratt,
how many Americans would you
say own a pair of Strong Man jeans?
Objection. Calls
for speculation.
You're the one that
said he was an expert.
Let the man talk.
Objection overruled.
Thank you.
Would you say, uh, in the
thousands? The tens of thousands?
Hundreds of thousands, at least.
Ah. And of those
hundreds of thousands,
how many would you say
have a tear in the pants leg?
Well, seeing as how
it's considered stylish
for some members of society
to walk around with
gaping holes in their jeans,
I would imagine quite a few.
Heh, heh. I agree. I agree.
Thank you. No more questions.
The witness may step down.
For its next witness,
the state would like
to call Mr. Nick Murrow.
Mr. Murrow,
did you know the
decedent, Rusty Stambler?
No.
You never had any
contact with him?
- No.
- What's your phone number?
555-6893.
If you never had any
contact with Rusty Stambler,
then why was your
phone number found
in his bedroom on a newspaper
delivered the morning of the murder?
And why, according to
phone company records,
did he call you on October 12th,
the day he was
murdered at 6:45 a.m.?
Must've had the wrong number.
If he dialed your
number by mistake,
why was the phone call two
minutes and 12 seconds long?
I see you're wearing a
brace. What happened?
- I threw my back out at work.
- How'd you do that?
Well, I was working a
site up at Lyndon Hills,
and I stepped on some cement that
was supposed to be set, only it wasn't.
Uh, caved in and
my foot got caught.
I fell over sideways
and sprained my back.
- So you're a construction worker?
- A plumber.
Have you been able to
work since the accident?
Oh, no way. I can
barely get out of bed.
So you filed an insurance claim?
- No.
- Why not?
Just seemed like a hassle.
According to your bank records,
about a week after the accident,
you deposited close to $60,000
into your savings account.
Where did that money come from?
It came from that
general contractor
for that house out in
Lyndon Hills, didn't it?
Isn't it true he paid you off to keep
you from filing an insurance claim
because he didn't
want anybody asking
why that cement gave way?
Who am I talking about, Nick?
Who was that general contractor?
Jack Gibson.
Jack Gibson, the defendant.
- Tell us how that cement gave way.
- I don't know.
No?
Didn't Mr. Gibson tell you?
Or what about Rusty
Stambler? Didn't he tell you?
When he called you that morning?
He warned you he was about to
blow the whistle on Jack Gibson
for using undersized
and rusted out rebar
to reinforce that cement pad.
Rebar that was
four times as cheap
as the steel Mr. Gibson indicated
he was going to use on his bid
and for which he
billed his client.
You injured your back because
Jack Gibson committed fraud.
That's a lie! She's making
this up to get even with me
for breaking up with her!
- Like hell I am!
- Dad, sit down, Dad.
That's why she's doing it!
This court will come to order.
The defendant will sit down. Silence.
That means everyone.
Are you saying it's true?
You had an intimate relationship
with the man you
are now prosecuting?
Yes.
Miss Clark, you have
not exactly made my day.
Not only am I going to
have to declare a mistrial,
but because you spearheaded
the initial investigation
against Mr. Gibson,
you may very well have
compromised the state's whole case.
How could you let this happen?
I didn't know. I swear.
I had a very rocky first
day here, Your Honor.
If you'd just let me explain.
- I've heard enough, Miss Clark.
- But you haven't heard the truth.
Now, four years ago
when I was living here
and doing legal work part-time,
my husband took off
with another woman.
Divorced me and left
me and our two children.
Now, Jack Gibson, who up till then
had been one of my husband's friends,
helped us out and
became my friend.
And pretty soon, he
became more than a friend.
He helped me get back on my feet,
kind of renewed my self-confidence.
But by the time I accepted
a full-time job in St. Louis,
we were back to
being just friends.
And contrary to what Mr. Gibson
would have you believe,
we parted on good terms.
That's all very well
and good, Miss Clark,
but it doesn't change the fact
that you should've taken
yourself off the case.
I tried. No one
knows that, but I did.
And with all due
respect, Your Honor,
all officers of the court have
personal lives and prejudices
which they routinely set
aside in order to do their job.
And I have done that.
Again, contrary to
what the defendant says,
I have not concocted evidence.
Mr. Matlock is welcome
to go over any and
all of my findings.
In fact, if anything, the
delicacy of my situation
has made me even more diligent
in the preparation of this case
than I otherwise
might have been.
If this case is appealed,
it won't be because of
anything I have or haven't done.
I promise you.
There is no need
to declare a mistrial.
Mr. Matlock, I haven't
heard your 2 cents.
Oh, well, there's nothing to
be gained by starting over.
Of course, I'm gonna take
a good look at everything.
And if you mess with any evidence
or make another misstep in this case,
I'll have a mistrial
in a heartbeat.
Fine with me.
In that case, court will
reconvene at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
- What have you got to say?
- I'm sorry we have this whole mess.
You should be. You
made me look like an idiot.
Now, wait a minute.
When I was first assigned this
case, I came in here to tell you
that there might be
a conflict of interest.
But before I could get a word out,
you told me how busy everyone was,
how much trouble you had with
women trying to get out of work.
How would I have looked
if I had to remove myself
from the first case you gave me
because I had an affair
with the defendant?
You would've looked a
lot better than you do now.
We're gonna have
to continue this later.
Prosecuting a
former lover? Ha, ha!
Bad form, Miss Clark.
I'm only gonna say
this once, Mr. Stonehill.
Back off.
Or you'll do what,
stomp your little foot?
Listen, I'm just tired of
seeing people come in here
expecting special treatment
just because they got kids,
bills and breasts. That's all.
Miss Clark, Mr. Jenkins
wants to see you.
The day I ask you or him
or anybody else around here
for special treatment, don't
be surprised if you sprout wings,
because that'll
be the day pigs fly.
I just got off the phone
with Detective Remsen.
Police have located
Rusty Stambler's girlfriend.
Says she saw Jack
Gibson at Stambler's place
around the time of the murder.
Her name's Patricia
Price. Here's her address.
All right, nothing like
what happened today
is ever gonna happen again.
I know I put you in a hard
place when this first began,
but next time, speak up. I
wouldn't wanna have to fire you
or see to it that you never
practice law in this state again.
There we go.
Okay, it ought to work now.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
Just don't ask me to
program your VCR, heh, okay?
You and that woman DA, huh?
Yep.
Well, you got good taste, Dad.
Terrible timing, but good taste.
You know, Mike,
I didn't tell anybody because
to be honest with you,
I figured...
Well, I just figured,
what could it hurt?
I had no idea she was
gonna wind up coming after me
tooth and nail like this,
digging into my
business affairs,
making me look like a crook.
- Mike?
- Yeah?
Turn around.
Look at me.
It was that one time,
that one time
only, I swear to you.
And I did not start
out to cheat anybody.
It just happened.
We were running behind,
there was a holdup on the rebar,
so I used whatever scrap
was laying around the yard.
That's okay.
I mean, it's not like you were
endangering lives or anything.
Come on, you gotta
stop worrying about it.
Dad, you hired Ben
Matlock. He's the best, right?
He's not gonna
let you down. Dad.
Neither am I.
- Mom?
- Yeah?
I'm done painting
that chair downstairs.
Good for you, honey. Why
don't you go get ready for bed?
Mom?
- Yeah?
- Molly says you're gonna kill me.
She may have a point.
He got it all
over the floor too.
- Thank you, Molly.
- Mom?
- Yes?
- Where'd Grandma die?
In the hospital.
He thinks this house is haunted.
He does?
Is it?
Well, in a way, it is.
Really?
Like this.
I grew up in this house.
Every time I turn around,
I think of something I
haven't thought of in 20 years.
The way Grandpa
used to sit at his desk
looking at pennies
with a magnifying glass,
seeing what he was
gonna save for his collection.
Or the way Grandma used
to sit at the kitchen table
every Sunday night
painting her nails.
It's like they're here.
Kind of like ghosts.
- Ghosts?
- Happy ghosts.
See? So stop
making me go with you
every time you
need to go upstairs.
- Okay?
- Okay.
You been doing that,
Molly? Thanks. That's nice.
Yeah. Well, you know how
bad he whines when he's scared.
I love you two.
Okay, close your eyes.
Can I do that?
And how would you describe your
relationship to Rusty, Miss Price?
We were, you know, lovers.
You were at his house
not only the night before,
but the morning of his
murder. Is that right?
Yeah, that's right.
Miss Price, there's
something that's puzzling me.
Why didn't you come forward
when you first heard
Rusty was murdered?
Two words: I'm married.
Least I was until
all this hit the fan.
Well, tell us what
you saw that morning.
Well, see, my husband
was out of town,
so I'd gone over to
Rusty's the night before
to, you know, spend the night.
But he wasn't feeling too good,
so I left around midnight.
Stopped by on my way
to work the next morning
to see if he felt better.
And what did you see?
I parked my car a ways
down the street, like always.
And as I was
getting out of the car,
I saw this guy come around
the side of Rusty's house,
from the back, and
go in the front door.
Do you have any
idea what time it was?
Seven-thirty. I know
because WFCY
was playing its top-ten list.
I didn't get out of the
car until it was over.
Miss Price, I'd like you
to look around and tell me
if the man you saw go into
Rusty's house that morning
is here in the courtroom today.
Yeah, that's him
right over there.
Let the record show
that the witness pointed
to Jack Gibson, the defendant.
- Nothing further.
- Ahem.
Uh, when you say that
Rusty wasn't feeling well,
how do you mean
he wasn't feeling well?
Said he felt like
he was gonna hurl.
Ooh.
Was that before or
after you had some wine?
Both.
Rusty thought drinking
something might help.
It didn't, so I split.
If he had something,
I didn't wanna catch it.
- Did you leave in a hurry?
- No.
Well, how come you left
your makeup case behind?
I forgot it.
You left your makeup case behind
because you went stomping out of
Rusty's house in a huff, didn't you?
- What do you mean?
- Well, I guess
because after a couple
of glasses of wine,
he started making threats
about telling your
husband about your affair.
- No.
- Only you didn't like that.
Made you mad and you left.
But the next morning, you
came back to make sure
he didn't make any
threats like that again.
Now, you just wait a minute.
I went over there that morning
to see how he was doing,
only I never got the chance
because that man right
there went in ahead of me.
He was wearing blue jeans
and a dark-colored jacket,
and he was in such a hurry
he put his foot right
through one of the steps.
And that's the truth, mister.
You saw all that while
you were parking your car,
listening to the radio?
Mr. Matlock?
Uh...
Defense requests
a 15-minute recess.
- Ben, what's going on?
- You did it.
You didn't tell me of
your affair with Katie
because you was hoping she'd
give you some kind of a break.
- Ben, don't be ridic...
- You stopped me from stepping
on that step because
you knew it was broken
because you were
the one who broke it.
- Ben, you are wrong.
- I don't wanna hear it.
All right, Ben, hear this.
I'm entitled to the
best possible defense,
and you are ethically
bound to give me that.
Besides, I paid
you a lot of money,
so why don't you just
get out there and earn it?
- Right here.
- Oh, thanks.
Well, thanks for coming.
- As you see, I'm still getting settled.
- Yeah.
Oh, here, have a seat.
- Where are you gonna sit?
- Oh, right here's fine.
Oh, okay.
This case has come a long way
since we first talked, Mr. Matlock.
I've established motive
and placed your client
at the scene of the crime.
In other words, I've got him.
So in order to save us
all a lot of time and money,
I'm prepared to offer
your client a deal.
What kind of a deal?
He pleads guilty, I reduce the
charge to second degree murder.
He does a maximum
10 years in prison.
He won't go for it.
Of course, you probably
know that better than I do.
Well, you tell him anyway.
And make sure he understands
this is a one-time deal.
He turns it down, that's it.
He'll be at the
mercy of the court.
Okay, I'll tell him.
I wouldn't get my
hopes up, though.
Mr. Matlock,
these are not my hopes.
This was District Attorney
Jenkins' idea, believe me.
I did my best to
talk him out of it.
I think I could
get a conviction.
But he doesn't.
He's just trying
to be efficient.
Efficient.
Now, this is a picture of
Rusty Stambler's street
taken from outside a car parked
where approximately you said
your car was parked, about here.
Now, can you pick out
Rusty's house from this picture?
- Well, yeah, right there.
- Uh-huh.
And this is the view of the
house that you saw that morning?
Yeah.
There's a lot of
bushes along here,
and you say you saw a man
walking along the
side of the house.
You'd have seen him in
profile and through the bushes,
- wouldn't you?
- Yeah.
And you'd see his back
as he went up the steps
and inside the
house, is that right?
- I guess.
- Let's see.
How far would you say
you were parked away?
About, what, 50
yards, would you say?
- I don't know.
- Well, with the bushes
and the profile and
his back and all,
you weren't exactly up
close and personal, were you?
I know what I saw.
Thank you. No more questions.
Defense calls Mr. Michael
Gibson to the stand.
Did you know the
decedent, Rusty Stambler?
I'd met him a couple of
times through my father,
but I didn't really know him.
- So you weren't friends?
- No.
You have any
contact with him at all?
No.
Hm.
Well, why is it that
according to the records
I subpoenaed from
the phone company,
one call was made from
his house to your apartment,
and five calls were made
from your place to his place
in the two weeks
prior to the murder?
Rusty Stambler told me my
father was defrauding clients
by substituting materials
he had specified in his bids
for cheaper ones.
He told me he was gonna report
him, so I tried to talk him out of it.
Does your father know this?
No, I never told him.
I knew how much it
would embarrass him.
You love your father
very much, don't you?
Yeah.
- How tall are you?
- Five-eleven.
How tall is your father?
About the same.
Same height, same color hair.
People ever confuse you?
- It happens.
- Yeah, yeah.
Do you own a pair of jeans?
Of course. Who doesn't?
Okay.
Where were you between 7 and 8
- the morning of the murder?
- At home.
- All alone?
- Yes.
I subpoenaed your bank records.
You withdrew $75,000 in cash
from your market-rate
savings account
two days before the murder.
- Remember that?
- Yeah.
And what's interesting
is before the bank
closed that same day,
you redeposited that money.
Now, why'd you do that?
I was gonna loan
the money to a friend.
- He decided he didn't need it after all.
- What friend?
Who was the money for?
Your Honor,
I ask that you instruct this witness
to give me the names of the person
or persons this money was for
and a recess from court
so I can check out
the details immediately.
The witness will
answer the question.
It wasn't a loan, was it?
It was hush money, wasn't it?
Only Rusty wouldn't take it.
So to protect the
father you adore
from public humiliation
and financial ruin,
you went over to Rusty's house
to shut him up for good, didn't you?
- No!
- It was you Pat Price saw
outside his house that day.
It was you who went in there and
strangled him to death, wasn't it?
No!
It wasn't him.
It was me.
Ew, cool. Just
about to kill him.
Ew, neat. All his guts
came out on my sword.
Wait till you see what
happens when you kill this guy.
Yes.
Miss Clark?
Mr. Matlock, come in.
Turn those things off, please.
But, Mom, I'm just
about to kill this guy.
Yeah, it's really cool
when you kill him,
- because his brains come out...
- Turn it off.
- Jeez, Mom.
- I just came by to give congratulations.
Oh, please. You're the one who
won that case and you know it.
No, you're the one
who discovered Jack
was switching those materials.
I might never have
picked up on that.
Oh, I think you would've.
But thanks, anyway.
At this stage in my career, I need
all the encouragement I can get.
Mom says next time,
she's gonna whip your...
I never did.