Matlock (1986–1995): Season 9, Episode 6 - The Dating Game - full transcript

Cliff's friend Fred is accused of killing the woman he met through a video dating service, so Jerri goes undercover as a client of the service in order to catch the real killer. Meanwhile, Matlock tries his own luck at video dating.

How about this one? This
will go nice with your couch.

- I like the one I got better.
- That lamp is dangerous.

- I get a shock every time I turn it on.
- Well, just plug it in the wall like I do.

Someday someone's gonna
walk into your living room,

turn on that lamp, and
die. Is that what you want?

- Well, how much is it?
- Well, just look at it first.

I think it's nice how the
shade flares out at the bottom.

- Move your hand.
- Would you just look at it?

All I wanna see is
what's under your hand.

- Five hundred and ninety-five dollars?
- Well, it's not just a lamp.

- It makes a statement.
- For $595,



it ought to say the
Gettysburg Address.

Fine, fine. You wanna be responsible
for electrocuting someone, that's fine.

You're a lawyer. You
can defend yourself.

- We came uptown to buy underwear.
- All right, all right.

Let's go buy some underwear.

Whoa, whoa.

That was close. Ha, ha.

- Fred!
- Cliff!

- Aah!
- Ha, ha.

- How are you?
- Fine.

- Fred, this is Ben Matlock.
- Hi. Nice catch.

Hey, I haven't seen you at the
gym lately. Everything all right?

Couldn't be better. I met a girl.
Well, not just a girl. The girl, Cliff.

The future Mrs. Golub.



Well, that's great.
The last time I saw you,

your social life was so bad,
you were thinking of joining

- one of those video-dating services.
- That's what I did.

I joined Perfect
Harmony and voilà.

You met this girl
through a dating service?

Yeah, hey, I couldn't
believe it either. Ha, ha.

Oh, there she is.

Come on, I'll
introduce you to her.

- Thank you so much.
- She works here?

Uh-huh. I stopped by
to give her something.

I'll stop by if I need anything.

- Thank you, and come back again.
- I will.

Okay.

- Hi, Melissa.
- Hey, Fred.

These are two friends
of mine. Cliff Lewis.

- Hi.
- And Ben Matlock.

Oh, here, I brought
you something.

- Fred, I told you no more gifts.
- I couldn't help it.

- Take it. You're really gonna love it.
- I meant what I said.

No more jewelry, no more flowers,
no more phone calls. Please.

Well, then let's do lunch.
Does Thai food sound good?

- How about Lebanese?
- Fred, I have to get back to work now.

I'm sorry. It was nice
meeting you both.

- Nice meeting you.
- Bye-bye.

Oh, oh. Wait a second.
When are we going out again?

Fred, I want you to
listen to me very carefully.

We are not going out again.

Goodbye.

Isn't she something?

Uh, I don't know, Fred.

It seemed like she just gave
you the brush-off just now.

Nah. She's just playing
hard to get. Whoa!

Well, I'll see you
around campus.

I have some pretty
strange friends.

Hello. You have ten messages.

- Are you Frederick M. Golub?
- Yeah.

Got something for you.

Well, it's a restraining order.

Says you can't come
within 100 yards of

or have any contact
with Melissa Ann Jones.

Or she could have you arrested.

That's gotta be
some kind of mistake.

How often do you
drop by on her at work?

Well, she doesn't seem to get the
messages I leave for her at home,

so I stop by every
once in a while.

How many times
a day do you call?

- Ten or 12.
- Oh, Fred.

- I'm gonna call her right now.
- No. Fred, no, wait, hold on a second.

Listen to me. You
can't call her right now.

You can't call her, write her,

you can't fax her,
you can't contact her.

This is a court order.

How am I supposed to
clear this up if I can't call her?

Nothing to clear up. You
gotta stop bugging her.

When we met her the other day,
Fred, there was something that was...

Was really obvious.

- Fred, she doesn't really like you.
- Oh, she likes me, Cliff.

She's just probably
never been in love before.

She's just, you know, scared.

You used to be so normal, Fred.

- You wait till you meet Mrs. Right.
- Well, listen, hold on.

Now, there's a bottom line.

The bottom line is you
gotta stay away from her.

Understand me?

For how long?

Well, unless you contest
that, and I don't think

that's such a good
idea, for a year.

- Here you go.
- Thanks.

To new beginnings.

I cannot tell you how
much I enjoyed tonight.

- We should do it again.
- Mm-hm.

I'll let the machine get it.

Melissa, it's Fred.

Please, you gotta call
me. It's very important.

This guy won't leave me alone.
I mean, he's driving me crazy.

You have beautiful eyes.

Are they hazel?

Um, brown.

Huh.

They seem to... They
seem to change in the light.

Mm.

Mm. Mm. Whoa.

Slow down.

It's okay.

No. It's not okay.

I mean, this is only
our second date.

I'm just not comfortable
with where this is going.

I'm sorry, I thought something
special happened here tonight.

I'd just kind of like
to take the next step.

Well, I think for me
we're just moving too fast.

Life is very short, Melissa.

What does that mean?

It means I gotta go.

Fine.

I'll call you.

Yeah, I bet.

Tom?

- Don't tell me that's your dinner.
- We ordered in at the office.

- Is everything okay?
- Yeah. Just busy, busy, busy.

Oh, my car's in the shop again.

The mechanic says I
should just get a new one.

Then get one.

Good night, darling.

Night.

Three, four, shut the door

Five, six, pick-up sticks

Seven, eight, lay them straight

Nine, ten, a big fat hen

Can I play?

Thanks. I used to
be really good at this.

All right.

One, two, buckle my shoe

Three, four, shut the door

Stepped on the line!

Well, I used to be
really good at that.

Melissa?

Melissa?

You home?

She was found dead in
her apartment last night.

- Murdered.
- What?

Your name and office number were
in the appointment book on her desk.

You were supposed to have
dinner with her last night. Did you?

Uh, look, I'm in a really
awkward situation here, detective.

Yeah, I had dinner
with Melissa last night,

but, you see, I'm married.

- She was your mistress?
- No! No, no, I hardly knew her at all.

I'd just met her at a dating
service. It was just our second date.

You're married and
you use a dating service?

It's owned and run by a friend
of mine. I have a good marriage.

I don't know, old
habits are hard to break.

You in her apartment last night?

I left at 9:45. I was
home a little after 10.

Yes?

It's for you.

Yeah.

No kidding.

Good. I'll be right there.

Well, Mr. McGuire, some guy
who'd been harassing Melissa Jones

was seen fleeing her apartment
around 10:00 last night.

Looks like you're off the hook.

What is the matter with you?

I told you to stay
away from her.

I did. For two whole weeks.

Then I couldn't stand it anymore.
I'm only human, you know.

Did anybody know
you were going there?

No.

Who saw me running
from her place?

Some girls playing hopscotch.

Oh, I figured. I stopped and
played with them for a minute.

She ever mention anyone giving
her a hard time? Somebody at work?

No, she only worked at
Leon's for a couple of months.

She just moved here. That's
why she joined Perfect Harmony,

so she could meet people.

Hopscotch. Heh. It was
all coming back to me.

So she met other men
through the dating service?

Oh, yeah.

It took me two weeks to get a date
with her. She was so booked up.

Well, maybe we
should start with that.

With those girls
playing hopscotch?

No.

You know, I get a lot
of money for what I do.

What's 5,000?

Ten?

Nothing like this has ever
happened before, believe me.

Margo, would you
get Mr. Lewis here

the file that we have
on Melissa Ann Jones,

her videotape and anything
else that he requests? Thanks.

What else can I do for you?

How about explaining what
you do? How you make it work.

Yeah, all right,
well, it's very simple.

A person walks in,
fills out an application,

and then pays an initiation fee.

Then after we look
over his application,

he sits down in front
of the camera here

and makes a videotape.

- Huh. Oh, you do it right here?
- Yeah.

- Oh.
- It's very simple. Very informal.

Why don't you have a seat?

Then we show him
the tapes of the women

that we feel he might be interested
in, and if somebody strikes his fancy,

we show her his tape,
and if the interest is mutual,

we give them each
other's phone number.

That's it, huh?

There's also a
small monthly fee.

- Are you married?
- Widower.

Uh-huh. You wanna be married?

Oh, I don't know. Sometimes I...

- What are you doing?
- Relax.

Keep talking.

- Oh, no, no.
- Oh, come on.

Who knows what can happen?

Tell me about yourself. What do
you think your best qualities are?

Let's see, uh, I...

Well, my best qualities are...

I'm almost 6 feet tall.

Not quite. I mean, just a little
under, but it's so little you could just...

You could just say 6 feet.

You joined a dating service?

I like to walk in the summer.

No. No, not really. No, no.

And the wind.

But you made a video.

Well, yeah, the guy
that owns the service

thought if, as he said, I wound
up marrying one of his clients,

it'd be good publicity.
So, what the hell?

You mean you did it for free.

You don't think I'd pay for
something like that, do you?

- Ben?
- In here.

- Oh. Hey, Jerri.
- Hi.

Hi. I just ran a check on the men
Melissa met through the service.

- Yeah.
- Tom McGuire,

he's the guy that she was with
the night she was murdered.

He goes through a lot of girls.

One of them says that
he got very weird on her

one night when she
wouldn't let him, you know.

- Oh. Weird?
- Well, she didn't go

into a lot of detail over the phone.
I'm gonna see her on Wednesday.

But apparently what happened
was she kicked him out,

and that night someone tried
to break into her apartment.

She thinks it was him.

Well, that's interesting.

I have his address if
you wanna talk to him.

It won't do any good
till we get something.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, it might help if one of us
were to join this dating service

and actually go
out with this guy.

And since it's doubtful that
either of you are his type...

Hey, buddy, how goes it?

- I need a drink.
- That good, huh?

The cops know I was
with Melissa last night.

For a while there they
thought I'd killed her.

Came pretty close
to disaster, my friend.

Maybe you better
cool it for a while.

Maybe I better.

Yeah, Brenda would
freak if she ever found out.

That's for sure.
Who's Jerri Stone?

Just joined today.

Hi. I'm Jerri Stone.
I'm new to Atlanta.

Ha, ha. I feel really
silly doing this.

Um... What else can I say?

Actually, uh, if you want the
gory details, I'm an actress.

And I haven't really been
discovered yet, of course.

But that's only
a matter of time.

At least, that's what I keep
telling myself while I play waitress.

Uh...

Where's her sheet?

- You gotta be kidding.
- Come on.

You like living on
the edge, don't you?

You ever hear of Winslow's Cafe?

- There you go.
- Mm.

- Watch it. Hot plate.
- Uh-huh.

Can I help you?

- How's it going?
- How's it going? I'm not good at this.

I have second-degree
burns on my fingers.

And this morning I
dropped a whole bowl of grits

on someone's pants.
It was not a pretty sight.

Yeah, Winslow asked
how much longer

he was gonna have
to put up with you.

Well, the good news is,
Tom McGuire saw my video.

I saw his.

He called me, and
we're going out tonight.

Oh, now, only public places.

- Just be careful.
- I know. I know.

You gonna order
something or just sit here?

I think I'll just have
some iced tea.

I'm going out to dinner, and I
don't wanna ruin my appetite.

Who you going out with?

A friend.

Are you going on a date?

This woman saw
my video and liked it.

- So, what was her video like?
- Not bad.

Not bad at all.

You get a shock
whenever you turn it on?

Well, it's nothing lethal.

A couple of volts. Enough
to give you a good poke.

But I hate to buy a new one.

- I don't blame you.
- Mm.

Lamps are so expensive.
Everything's so expensive.

I am so cheap, I'm still
reusing wrapping paper

I bought in 1978.

I took the light out of my refrigerator
to cut back on my utility bills.

So were you as nervous as I was
when you made your videotape?

- You didn't look nervous.
- Oh, I was terrified.

It was worse than
going to the dentist.

You know, that's
interesting, the way you laugh.

Hmm?

The way you kind of stick a little
snort in there every now and then.

I snort when I laugh?

A little.

Well, hell, what's a little
snort between friends?

You must be Jerri.

- Tom McGuire.
- Hi, Tom.

Pleased to meet you.
This is a very nice place.

Wait till you try the food.

Oh, you're even
better looking in person.

- How about a drink?
- Okay.

Thanks. It was great. I
think I'll come back here.

Well, I hope it's with me.

You have beautiful
eyes. What color are they?

Brown.

I think I better go.

Maybe I should follow you home.

Make sure you get there safe.

If you insist.

- This is it?
- Yeah, this is my place.

It's pretty quiet around here.

Yeah, it gets a little spooky
sometimes, but I like it.

So do you wanna
come in for a drink?

Maybe next time. I'll call you.

- All right, hold it.
- Don't shoot.

What the hell are you doing?

I wanted to make sure you
were all right. I rang the bell.

Nobody answered, and I thought
maybe something was wrong.

- I found the extra key. I let myself in.
- Oh, so you just come running in here

- to my rescue?
- Yeah.

- Quit waving that around.
- I gotta get that doorbell fixed.

- Scared me half to death.
- Well, you scared me half to death.

- There's no need for you to be scared.
- Tom McGuire might be a killer.

Well, he certainly
didn't act like it.

- How did he act?
- Like a gentleman.

A perfect gentleman.

Whee!

I met him just about a year
ago through Perfect Harmony.

Our first date was
super. But the second...

Jason, it's Emily's
turn to swing.

We have to share.

Well, the second was hell.

Oh? What happened?

Everything was fine till
we got back to my place.

Suddenly he's all over me.

I literally have
to fight him off.

And when I make it clear that
I'm not gonna sleep with him,

he gets this bizarre look on his
face, and then he threatened me.

- What did he say?
- I don't remember anymore.

But it wasn't so much what he said
as the way he said it that was scary.

He left, and I went to bed.

And then I woke up in
the middle of the night

when I heard someone trying
to break in to my apartment.

I turned on the lights
and I scared him off.

Then I called the police,
but they never found anybody.

I don't know. Maybe it wasn't him.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.

- Well, did he ever call you again?
- No.

You never told anyone at
the dating service about this?

What was there to tell? He
scared me, but he didn't hurt me.

And I'll never know for
sure if it was him that night.

I will tell you
one thing, though.

I swore off dating services.

I'll be right with you.

Hubba-hubba.

"Hubba-hubba"?

Yeah. That waitress is a dish.

Oh, Fred, people only say
"hubba-hubba" in movies.

Lousy old movies.

I wouldn't refer to any woman
in this day and age as a "dish."

Especially not that one.

- What do you mean?
- She's an ex-cop.

She could probably
beat us both up.

So, what can I get you boys?

Have you heard from Tom McGuire?

Yeah. We're going
out tomorrow night.

Uh, this other girl said that he tends
to get strange on the second date.

He puts on the moves and has
a real problem with the word "no."

So just be careful.

Okay.

- Hi, Fred Golub.
- Hi. Jerri Stone. Nice to meet you.

Cliff's told me a lot about you.

Did Cliff tell you I'm really
interested in police work?

No.

I'd love it if we could get together
one day and maybe you could tell me

all about the
years on the force.

- Mr. Matlock, hi.
- Oh, hi.

- Come on in.
- Yeah.

- How are you?
- Fine.

- Good. Hey, have a seat.
- Oh, thanks.

- How did things go with Ms. Marino?
- Oh, we had dinner.

- And?
- Nothing. Went to dinner.

Didn't work out.

Oh, that's too bad.

But I think I have somebody
else that you will be interested in.

- Take that home and have a look.
- Oh, thanks.

Uh, I hear that Tom
McGuire's a friend of yours.

- That's right.
- And that he uses your dating service.

Yes.

He's married. Shouldn't
that be against policy?

Tom is, um, extremely wealthy.

And he helped
me get set up here.

He lent me money,
he gave me advice.

I owe him.

I also hear he doesn't
handle rejection too well,

especially after a second date.

- What are you talking about?
- Well, a woman he met a year ago

said that he got very angry
when she rejected his advances,

and later that night somebody
tried to break in to her apartment.

I never heard that.

The reason I mention it is
Melissa Ann Jones was murdered

after her second date with Tom

by somebody who
broke in to her apartment.

Heh. Are you suggesting
that Tom did it?

The police are pretty
sure the murder took place

between 9:30 and 10:30,

and Tom said he got
home a little after 10,

so I'm saying he
could've done it.

What's the matter?

What time did Tom
say he got home?

Little after 10.

Uh, because I tried to call Tom
that night, only he wasn't there.

Uh, seems to me it
was right around 10.

I ended up talking to Brenda,
his wife, for about 20 minutes.

Tom never did come home.

You know, I'm probably
thinking of some other night.

I just... I don't
know, I can't be sure.

Well, I'll get a subpoena, see
what the telephone company says.

In the meantime, uh,
Ms. Hawthorne, huh?

- Yeah. Okay.
- Okay. Thanks.

- That was certainly delicious.
- Oh, yes.

I like to come here.

Everything is so good
and the prices are right.

- So you come here often?
- Yes, sometimes.

But, uh, I don't go out often.

Busy, you know.

Your skin is so soft.

Oh, and a dimple.

Oh! Muscles.

Well, I work out.

Oh, I love men with white hair.

Well...

Why don't we, uh...? Why
don't we go someplace

and get more comfortable?

- What do you mean?
- You know.

More comfortable.

Well, we don't even
know each other.

Well, once we get comfortable,

we'll know each
other really well.

- The night of the 11th?
- Yeah, Tuesday, a week ago.

Do you remember talking
on the phone that night?

I know things like this
are hard to remember.

On that particular night,
your husband was not home,

and according to the
phone company records,

at 9:58 you got a phone
call from Daniel Price.

I did talk to Daniel last week.
And, yes, I guess it was Tuesday.

All right, this is very
important, Mrs. McGuire.

When did your husband
come home that night?

I don't know.

It would have had to have
been after I hung up with Daniel.

And we did talk quite a while.

He's going to Japan. I
was telling him places to go.

According to those phone records,
the call ended to you about 10:23.

- That sound about right?
- Yes, but...

Your husband wasn't home
by that point? You're positive?

My husband works very hard.

Sometimes he doesn't
come home till midnight.

What is this about?

I'm investigating the murder of a
woman named Melissa Ann Jones.

I've never heard of her.

The police questioned
your husband about it.

- Did he tell you that?
- No. Why would they question Tom?

Uh...

Boy, heh, this is
really difficult. Um...

What is? Tell me.

The police have
reason to believe

that Tom didn't work
late Tuesday night.

He was with Melissa Ann Jones.

- I'd like you to leave.
- Oh, Mrs. McGuire, I'm sorry.

Get out. How dare
you come into my house

and tell me something like that?

- I want you to leave.
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

- No.
- It's not like

they're gonna be in your living
room. Won't even know they're there.

Probably be just me
and Detective Garrison.

- I can take care of myself.
- I'm telling you,

- this man is dangerous.
- Ben.

- We believe more...
- Ben.

Than we ever did he's the one...

Oh, my gosh. Oh,
I'm so sorry. Tom. Hi!

- Hi. I come at a bad time?
- Oh, just being my usual klutzy self.

Maybe you'd like to
go to the men's room

and clean that up, sir.
You can use my rag.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- Not bad for a starving actress.
- Heh.

Well, my grandmother sends
me a big fat check every month.

And starving isn't exactly the word
I would use to describe my thighs.

Oh, I don't know about that.

- You're embarrassing me.
- Why?

You're a beautiful woman.
You shouldn't put yourself down.

Really? You joined
this date club thing?

Oh, no, no, I didn't join. I didn't
give them any money or anything.

It's just that, I don't
know, he talked me into it.

How did it work out?

Well, I had two dates.

The first one was fair,

and the second one, I'm
lucky to be here talking to you.

- What did she...?
- She came on.

I mean, she pretty well had me
down for the count in the restaurant.

I hid out in the men's
room till she left.

You better go out with some
nice lady from the church.

You got that part right.

- Oh, Tom, wait.
- It's okay.

Mm. No, wait a minute.

If I wanted a roll in the hay,

I would go out with one
of those bozos I wait on.

Not you.

Life is short, Jerri.

I know.

So why don't you give me a
little time to get to know you?

What are you doing?

Leaving. I've got a
meeting in the morning.

Am I gonna hear from you again?

We'll see.

There he goes.

If he stays true to
form, he'll be back.

- So he never came back?
- No.

Detective Garrison
was just a little upset.

Sat there the whole night and
Tom McGuire never showed.

Maybe he smelled a
rat. What did Jerri say?

Jerri said that he got mad
when she put the brakes on,

got up, said he
might call, and left.

Turn it on.

- No way. I'm not gonna get a shock.
- I fixed it.

Then you turn it on.

Hello? Oh, hey, Jerr.

Yeah. Oh, yeah? All
right, I'll definitely tell him.

Right. Okay. Bye-bye.

Tom McGuire called. They're
going out tomorrow night.

Oh.

Well... Hmm?

No, I don't understand.

Why can't you meet
with him in the morning?

Because he leaves for
Europe in the morning.

I'm sorry, hon. I'll make
it up to you. I promise.

Where will you be?
I mean, just in case.

I don't know what kind of
dinner arrangements he made.

If you need me,
call the service.

That's what you always say.

What's wrong?

Nothing. Good luck.

Well, this time
something better happen.

That's all I gotta say.

You know, I'm gonna go to Savannah
to visit some friends this weekend.

Wanna come?

Oh, I don't think
I can get away.

Work?

- Tom!
- What?

Stop it. We've been
through this before.

You said you needed to
know me. You know me.

- No!
- Wait a minute.

You agreed to go out
with me again, didn't you?

I agreed to go out with you,
not to jump in bed with you.

What's the big deal?
Grow up, for God's sake.

Grow up?

I'll tell you what. When I
grow up, I'll give you a call.

Hey.

Life is very short, Jerri.

You're gonna be
sorry you didn't do this.

Just shut up and go.

Y'all come back now, you hear?

- Looks mad.
- Yeah, good.

Somebody's in there with her.

- Hold it right there.
- You all right?

Yeah.

He came out of nowhere.

Well, I'll be. Daniel Price.

The guy who owns
the dating service?

Looks like he tried to
do the same thing to you

he did to Melissa Ann Jones.

Why would he wanna kill me?

Yeah.

Fred Golub messed
it up for you, didn't he?

Because you wanted to frame
Tom McGuire for Melissa's murder,

but Fred screwed
it up, didn't he?

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Why would he wanna frame
Tom? I thought they were friends.

Yeah.

No.

Bob, you know, I wonder, could
you trace a call for me, like, right now?

Sure.

Mrs. McGuire?

Hi, I'm Ben Matlock.

Do you mind if Detective
Garrison here has a listen?

He won't hear anything, will he?

We know that call's going
to Daniel Price's house.

And we all know
Daniel isn't home.

We called the phone company.

- Nothing.
- Aha.

As soon as you called,

Daniel put the phone
down on his end

and rushed over to
that woman's house

your husband was
out with tonight.

Make it seem like he's on
the phone with somebody

when actually he's
out committing murder.

That's very clever, to use the
telephone to establish an alibi.

That your idea or his?

I really don't know
what you're talking about.

That's just what Daniel said.

But he'll change his
tune when he finds out

you've been arrested too.

I imagine he'll lie his head off,
say the whole thing was your idea.

Especially when he
realizes his chance of getting

any of your husband's
money has gone down to zip.

That is not true. Daniel...

You were gonna
say Daniel loves you?

I'm sure he does.

- How did it go?
- Fine.

When the two of them saw
each other in the booking area,

it was a race to see which
one could cut a deal faster.

- Who won?
- Brenda. Yeah, she was the first.

She said it was
all Daniel's idea.

Heh. So much for true love, huh?

As it turns out, Tom did try to break
in to that woman's apartment last year.

And he told Daniel about it.

And Daniel and Brenda
figured they'd copy him.

And that way the woman
might come forward

- when Tom was charged with murder.
- Well, why?

- Why did they do it?
- Money.

They figured if he was in
jail, they could take the dough.

So, Fred, you are off the hook.

- Well, I can't thank you guys enough.
- Oh.

And for going beyond the call of
duty, I'm gonna take you out to lunch.

How about Saturday?

Uh...

Well, I, uh... I'm gonna
be in a tennis tournament.

Well, how about Sunday?

I'm gonna be river rafting.

How about now? We
go get some dessert.

I know this great
frozen-yogurt place.

Fred, please.

You know, you don't
have to go anywhere.

We can have dessert right here.

You go in the
living room, relax,

Jerri and I'll scrounge
around and find cookies.

Cliff will make some
coffee. How about it?

- Great.
- Okay.

You go ahead.
I'll cover for you.

Bless you, Ben. I'm gonna
get even with you for this, Cliff.

What did I do?

Okay, if I turn on
some lights in here?

Do whatever you want.

That lamp by the
couch. Turn that on.

Oh.