Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996): Season 1, Episode 21 - Funeral at Fifty-Mile - full transcript

[Woman] Tonight on
Murder, She Wrote.

- It wasn't the hanging that killed him.
- A blow on the head.

- [Grunts]
- Gotcha!

I'll read you your rights
on the way back into town.

- There is no will.
- What did Mestin have on my dad?

Whatever it was, it
must've been juicy.

You are not real
welcome around here.

Ranchers used to hang
a dead wolf on a fence

as a warning to other
thieving varmints.

I do believe I'm making
someone nervous.

[Man] And as we
will all miss him,



his loss will be most deeply felt
by his beloved daughter, Mary...

and her husband-to-be,
Art Merrick,

by Jack’s younger
brother, Timothy Carver,

and his close and
inseparable friends...

Doc Wallace, Sam
Breen, and Bill Carmody.

And now we commit the body of
our friend, John Carver, to the earth.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

The Lord giveth, and
the Lord taketh away.

Blessed be the name
of the Lord. Amen.

[Vehicle Approaching]

♪ [Taps]

♪ [Continues]

♪ [Ends]

Hey, what do you say, buddy boy?



Uh, you ain't comin' after me
with that rifle, are you, Carmody?

It'd be kind of futile.
It's loaded with blanks.

[Chuckles]

You don't know my wife, do you,
Bill? Sally, this is Bill Carmody.

I reckon he's the nearest
thing to a business

tycoon they got down
here in Fifty-Mile.

It's real nice meeting you,
Bill. My pleasure, ma'am.

Carl, don't figure on
making this a long visit.

You are not real
welcome around here.

[Chuckles]

I wouldn't pay much
mind to him, baby doll.

Old Bill's always had kind of a weird
sense of humor, you know what I mean?

Sounded dead serious to me.

I can't understand Carl
Mestin just showing up like that.

Dad never did business with him.

Uncle Tim can't
stand the sight of him.

Forget Mestin, honey.
Don't get yourself riled up.

I'm gonna miss him so much.

Aw, me too, babe.

He was one hell of a man.

I remember when
you were born, Mary,

hearing that your mother
had died in childbirth.

We were so worried,
wondering how Jack was

going to manage all
alone. [Thunder Rumbling]

Well, he did fine, just fine.

He certainly did.

[Thunder Rumbling]

[Man] There you are.
Guaranteed to cure what ails.

Well, there's nothing ailing
me but a touch of jet lag.

However... Mmm...

I haven't had
dandelion wine in ages.

You know, you can prescribe
for me any day, Dr. Wallace.

Dr. Wallace? Oh, my.

Don't you know that any time there's
only one doctor within a 200-mile radius...

everybody calls him "Doc"?

All right, Doc. As long
as you call me Jessica.

All right. Hey, Tim.

Tim, what do you see out there? Did you
lose something there? [Thunder Rumbling]

No. The storm coming in,
it's gonna be a mean one, Doc.

Looks like it hit over
at my place already.

Art Merrick was telling me you
have the ranch next door. Yes, ma'am.

Jack's and my place
used to be one spread.

When our pa died, it was
split right down the middle.

- [Thunderclap]
- I think it's right overhead.

Excuse me, I better go
and phone over there.

Make sure my hands got
the place battened down good.

Uh, Doc. That gentleman
over there, the peace officer...

Isn't he a little overdressed for
the occasion? That's Ed Potts.

You know, I never
could prove it,

but I've always said that he wears
that gun and that badge to bed.

[Chuckles] Uh-oh. He
saw you looking at him.

Now if you want a friend
for life, don't call him "Sheriff."

- Call him "Marshal."
- Marshal.

[Thunderclap] Hi, Doc.

You must be that mystery writer lady
from back east. Guilty as charged, Marshal.

I read one of them. Not up
there with Mickey Spillane...

but darn good for a woman.

Yes, we all struggle under
Mickey's shadow, I suppose.

Now, I gotta admit.
Mysteries ain't really my thing.

Give me a good old
rip-roarin' Western any time.

You know, like the
Coop in High Noon.

I notice you wear your, uh,
holster tied down. For quick draw?

Yep. I practice for at least
a half an hour every day.

Care to see a demonstration? Oh,
thank you, but I'll take your word for it.

I don't suppose you've ever
actually had to draw on anyone?

Not so far.

But when the time comes,

I'm ready for 'em
to make my day.

Oh, I'm sure you are.

All right. Well, take
care of it. [Thunderclap]

Uncle Tim, is everything all
right at your place? Yeah, so far.

Listen, Mary, since I got
you and Sam here together...

Oh, come on. You're not
putting me to work today.

No, no. I'm just talking
about what you and

Mary probably know
already, about the will.

About my brother promising the ranch
would be sold to me after he was gone.

Dad told you that?
That's news to me.

Well, your dad and I, we wanted to
make things as easy for you as we could.

What's that got to do
with you buying the place?

Well, I told him I'd
give you a price...

that'd make you comfortable
for the rest of your life.

Is that right, Sam?

Well, I don't doubt you
and Jack discussed it, Tim,

but the fact is,
there is no will.

- What?
- Jack did not finalize one...

in spite of a lot
of urging by me.

Oh, come on now,
Sam. Simmer down.

I mean, it's obvious
that Mary will inherit.

Being his only child, you
are of course his only heir.

It's just gonna take a little longer
to run it through probate, that's all.

Then I guess there's no
hurry on your offer, Uncle Tim.

Let me discuss it with Art and
see what he thinks about selling.

[Horn Honking] What
the blazes is that?

Oh, no. [Sighs]

Mr. Mestin, you have a bad habit of
showing up where you don't belong.

Whoa, you better listen to
me, missy. No, you listen to me.

I think that your visit to
my father at the hospital...

probably shortened
what little time he had left.

Well, you can't blame
a fella for visiting an

old friend, can you?
You're not a friend of mine.

I don't want you in my
house. You got a problem.

Miss Carver, this house
ain't yours no more.

What?

Yeah, I got your daddy's last will
and testament right in here, ma'am.

- Well, that's not possible.
- You better believe it is, Sam.

You mind if I have a look
at it as the family lawyer?

You can look at it all
you want. It's just a copy.

The lady gets enough
to start over somewhere,

but this land, the cattle, and this
house, it all comes to me, buddy boy.

You're a liar, Mr. Mestin.

You're Merrick,
right? The foreman?

I heard how you got engaged
to Jack's daughter here.

Figured you'd marry yourself a
nice little piece of property, did you?

[Sam] Hold it, hold it, hold it.
That's enough. That's enough now.

Now, let's not stir things up
any more than they are already.

Come on, let's take it easy.
Come on. Come on now.

Come on, Carl. Come
on, let's have a drink.

That's the way.

Why are they treating him like
that, Uncle Tim and the others?

Like they were afraid of him.

Well, whatever's going on, it
certainly broke up the gathering.

[Thunder Rumbling] Hey,
sorry I blew up like that.

I'm almost sorry Sam
Breen stopped you. Yeah,

well, next time,
nobody's gonna stop me.

Take it easy with Mestin, Art.

Starting a fight's only
gonna buy you trouble.

Mary, you know how
sorry I am about your dad.

Astounding, Mr. Mestin. Wyoming
is certainly a lot different from Maine.

Ma'am? Well, back east, fathers don't
usually disinherit their only daughters.

I can't imagine Jack
doing such a thing.

Yeah, well, I reckon it has
something to do with gratitude...

on account of how I saved
his life during the war...

You know, Korea. Inchon landing.

Oh, really?

Then you must know my
husband, Tom, Tom Fletcher.

He was Jack’s
commanding officer.

Fletcher? Oh, yeah, sure.
Yeah, Lieutenant Fletcher.

- He's quite a guy. He's a good guy.
- [Sally Laughing]

I've been neglecting my wife.

[Thunderclap]

[Thunder Rumbling]

Oh, hello, Art. How's Mary?

Oh, she's okay. She's asleep.

The pills Doc gave
her did the trick.

Boy, she sure was
upset. Well, small wonder.

I mean, besides his other dubious
charms, Mr. Mestin has atrocious timing.

I still don't believe that Jack would
leave the ranch to anybody but Mary.

Well, Mr. Breen seems to
think that the will is genuine.

Come on, Art. We're gonna help
you get the place battened down.

Yeah, that storm's
carrying gale-force winds.

[Sally Laughing]

Sloppy Carl, never could
drink with the grown-ups.

Hey, hey, hey. Don't
start with that stuff.

'Cause I ain't getting in no drinking
contest with you today, baby doll.

Sure, 'cause I beat
you at everything.

Drinking, poker, arm wrestling,
especially arm wrestling.

Why don't you just
shut your mouth, Sally?

Just 'cause I let you
win last couple of times.

What? You let me win? I
whipped your tail, buster.

And I got 500 says I could
do it again, right here and now.

- You kidding me?
- What's the matter, Carl?

Too cheap or too
chicken or both?

[Grunting]

Gotcha!

500, please.

Next time, I'm gonna twist your
arm right out of its socket. [Laughs]

I can help. Haymow doors still need bracing
in the west wind? Wouldn't hurt, Mestin.

Carl.

[Thunder Rumbling,
Wind Whistling]

[Engine Starting] Carl, you cheap
welsher! You shorted me 50 bucks!

[Thunderclap]

[Door Slams]

[Art] I'm glad you
came along, Jesús.

Listen, come in for a
cup of coffee after you

get that bailing wire
unloaded, all right?

Sounds good. Gracias.

Thank you. [Tim]
That's good. Half a cup.

Okay. Thank you, Emma.

Doc, here, have some
coffee. Yes, please.

I was starting to get
worried about you, Art.

You have trouble out
there at the water tank?

I got the pickup stuck
in the mud coming back.

I spent two hours digging out, and
then I gave up and started walking.

Jesús came along and gave
me a lift the last half mile or so.

Oh, you must be chilled to the bone.
Emma's made some wonderful hot soup,

and there's coffee and
sandwiches. I'll take all you

got just as soon as I run
up and check on Mary, okay?

[Gasps]

Señor Merrick! Señor
Merrick! Señor Merrick!

Señor Merrick, come see!
Señor Merrick! Señor Merrick!

- Come see, Señor Merrick!
- Slow down, Jesús.

- What's happened, Jesús? What's wrong?
- In the barn. Come see. In the barn.

Hey, what's going on?

Where's Carl, anyway?

Oh, God. Carl.

All right.

Couldn't you at least have
taken him down from there?

I'm afraid that was my doing,
Marshal. Thank you, Doc.

I thought you'd like to
see everything undisturbed.

Yeah, sure.

[Sighs] Okay, I've seen it.

Let's get it down.
Where's his wife?

Laying down in the camper.
She took it pretty hard.

Tell me, Doc. Has the marshal
investigated a murder case before?

Not as far as I know,
but there haven't been

any murders in this
county for five years.

Ed's only been the
sheriff for three years.

How did he do it anyhow? Oh,
you are absolutely right, Marshal.

I mean, there's nothing he
could stand on or jump off.

I mean, it couldn't be
suicide. It has to be murder.

Right. Has to be.

Although it does seem
that the killer did try to pull...

that very large bale of hay
over there closer to the body...

probably to suggest suicide.

Yeah. Either he was frightened off,
or maybe he just changed his mind.

Yeah, I can see that. Mm-hmm.

I didn't like the look of that
blood smear above his left ear...

as if he'd been hit with a blunt
object before he was hung.

You have sharp eyes, Jessica.
He was hit by something.

Yeah. Well, I noticed the freshly
splintered wood in the beam...

where the rope was hanging over.

I'm sure the sheriff
guessed that it means...

that the rope was
supporting Mestin's weight...

when it was being
pulled over the beam.

Took the words
right out of my mouth.

Uh, Doc, would you have any
idea how long he'd been dead?

Oh, I'd say four,
maybe five hours.

Uh-huh. Well, that would
put the time of the murder at...

Just about 3:00.

All right, you can all go. I
want you to hang around.

I'm gonna have to talk with
everybody that was here. Stay available.

I'll be along directly. I wanna do a
little more examining of the body.

Mary, when Mr. Mestin
showed up at the ranch today,

you said something about
his having visited your father.

You also said how
his visit shortened

Jack's life. I didn't
mean that. Not really.

Well, I don't know.

I was there on my daily visit, and there
was Mestin coming out of Dad's room.

Didn't say a word to
me, just looked so smug.

And Jack offered no explanation?

He was so upset
he couldn't even talk.

He never was the
same after that.

And two days later, he died.

You know, the witnessing
signatures on the will were by nurses.

Mestin probably arrived at the
hospital with the will already drafted...

and somehow pressured your
dad into signing it. Pressured? How?

Well, that's what
we've got to find out.

He told me some
cock-and-bull story about...

having saved Jack's life during
the war, not true, of course. Oh?

I tripped him up with a question
about knowing my husband, Frank.

Believe me, he didn't. No.

Whatever made your dad sign
that will, it was not gratitude.

It was more likely blackmail. My
dad wouldn't give in to blackmail.

[Door Opens]

Oh, here you are. The sheriff would
like us all together for some questions.

Bill, is there something that Carl
Mestin might have been holding over Dad?

Like what? I don't know.

Sorry, the fact is, I didn't
know Mestin real well.

But weren't you involved in some
kind of deal with him a while back?

Business, just business.

Mestin talked me into
buying a whole lot of

grain, so we could
open a local feed yard.

And it didn't work out?
After I bought the grain,

Mestin reneged on his end of
it and left me holding the bag.

I, uh... I lost my shirt, I
don't mind telling you.

But why would you have
anything to do with Mestin anyway?

All the times I heard his name mentioned
around here by Dad or Uncle Tim...

it was obvious
they hated the man.

I just didn't have much choice.

Come on. We'd better get inside.

Doc's still out in the barn.

Where's Art Merrick?

Oh, he and Jesús went to
pull Art's pickup out of the mud.

Be back in a while. Uh-huh.

- I don't see Mrs. Mestin.
- Oh, she came in with some wet clothes...

and went to the laundry
room to dry them.

Oh, that's wonderful. Can't the rhinestone
cowgirl wait a decent amount of time...

till she starts moving in? Watch
your mouth, Orphan Annie.

If you wanna know, I wish I'd never
seen this stinking ranch or anybody on it.

What about it, Sheriff? One of these
solid citizens murdered my husband.

So why haven’t you
done something about it?

I'm planning on doing something
just as soon as you simmer down.

Now... where were we?

I believe that was the very
question you were going to ask.

Where were we around 3:00?

Right. Now, who wants to start?

Well, that was about
the time the storm hit.

We all went outside
to batten things down.

I went over by the
stables with Bill here.

Yeah, Sheriff. We were moving
horses out of the corral into the stable.

Mr. Breen, where were you?

I was at the stable too. There was
some feed stacked up in the front,

and I moved it
inside to keep it dry.

Anybody with you? Well, Tim and Bill
here brought the horses in right behind me.

- Yeah, we saw you there.
- What about Doc?

Oh, well, Doc was over at
the other side of the compound.

- He was closing up the garage building.
- That's where I was, all right.

So all four of you can
account for one another...

during the time that
Mr. Mestin was hanged?

Except it wasn't the
hanging that killed him.

A blow on the head?

It left a deep, depressed skull
fracture. It must've been instantly fatal.

He was already dead
when the killer strung him up.

Oh, that's sick.
Hanging a dead man.

In the old days, Ms. Mestin,

ranchers used to hang a dead
wolf or a coyote on a fence...

as a warning to other
thieving varmints.

So? What's the point?

So, maybe that's what
the killer did with Carl...

when he didn't have a
barbwire fence handy.

Sounds like you didn't think
a whole lot of Mestin, Carver.

No, Potts, I didn't.

He not only poisoned my
brother's last hours on this earth,

he killed my dream of putting
the Carver ranch back together...

like it was when
Jack and I were boys.

Ms. Mestin already turned
down the best offer I can make.

[Scoffs] You call that an offer?

Okay, okay. Let's get
back to 3:00 p.m. Mary?

Where was I?

Doc gave me some sleeping pills
after you and the others left, Sheriff.

I was upstairs sleeping
until Jesús found the body.

I was cleaning up.
Never left the house.

Me? I was in the
R.V. sleeping it off.

I was in my room
getting rid of jet lag.

Well, ladies, it seems that we're the
only ones who can't corroborate our alibis.

Awful lot of sleeping going on.

Don't matter. No woman could've done
in Mestin anyhow. Not the way he got it.

- I'm not sure that that's true.
- It works for me.

The way I see it, everybody's
accounted for except Art Merrick.

Art wasn't anywhere
near this place.

He went over to check the dam at
that water impound over by the buttes.

He got stuck in the
mud on the way back.

Look, is it all right if me
and the boys get out of here?

- Yeah, we got some stuff to take care of.
- Fine with me.

You want me to stay
around till Art comes back?

That's okay, Tim. I know you wanna
see what the storm did to your place.

Now, where'd you
say I could find Art?

Really, Sheriff.

You don't seriously think
that Art is the murderer?

I thought you was smarter
than that, Ms. Fletcher.

There isn't anybody else.

Process of elimination.

- Thanks, Jesús. See you mañana.
- Hasta mañana.

[Engine Starts, Truck Departs]

[Vehicle Approaching]

What's going on here? There's solid ground
on either side of this mud hole, Art.

You could've detoured
around it easy.

Hey, Ed. It was raining so hard,
I didn't see the hole till I was in it.

What are you saying... I
got myself stuck on purpose?

- That's what I'm saying, cowboy.
- Oh, Ed, will you listen to reason?

Back on off, easy
like, Mary. No.

Damn it, Ed. Stop playing John Wayne
and tell me what the hell's going on here.

There was trouble between you
and Mestin out at the house today.

- So what?
- So later,

when Mestin went out
to the barn, you drove off,

stopped the pickup as soon as it
was out of sight of the buildings,

snuck back on foot, offed him...

and then drove on out here to get
bogged down in the mud for an alibi.

Smart, but not smart enough.

You're out of your
mind, Ed. Oh, Art.

I'll be all right, honey.

I'll read you your rights
on the way back into town.

Night, Mary.

[Footsteps Approaching]

I'm telling you, Potts.
You're making a big mistake,

not to mention violating his civil
rights. Aw, don't give me your lawyer talk.

I got him darn near red-handed.

Sheriff, I was hoping with the clear
light of day and a little applied logic...

you might change
your mind. Logic?

What logic? Well, for one thing,

Mestin was struck on the
back of the head on the left side,

which would indicate
a left-handed killer.

- But Art is right-handed.
- There. You see, Ed? Listen to her.

And of course there's
the motive. What motive?

Well, that's just the thing.
Mr. Merrick doesn't have one.

Sure, he does.

To get the ranch back for Mary
and for himself when he marries her.

Oh, but Sally stands to
inherit now as Mestin's widow.

Killing Carl didn't do anyone any
good, with the possible exception of Sally.

I mean, she could get it all...

Not just her widow's share
of the community property.

She's right on the money, Ed.

Now, why don't you quit being so
blamed mulish and admit you screwed up?

You people really know how to
gang up on a fella, you know it?

If it wasn't 9:40 in the morning, I'd
say he just rode off into the sunset.

[Chuckles] Oh, he's
a bonehead all right.

But he will have to turn Art
loose as soon as I get bail.

And that's already in the
works up at the county seat.

Oh, good, Sam.
That was fast work.

When they come up for air, you might tell
Mary I had a little talk with the boys.

We all think it would be wise if we stayed
close by her till all this is settled.

So I'll see you out there at
the ranch later this afternoon.

Well, I know that
will mean a lot to her.

See you then. Mm-hmm.

Art. Jessica, Art
was just saying...

that he overheard the sheriff
getting a call from the coroner.

About Mestin's autopsy?
Yeah, it seemed to shake him up.

I mean, Ed kept repeating everything
that the coroner was telling him.

That Mestin died on
account of being hanged.

And that the hit on the head
didn't come till afterwards.

That's strange. I wonder
why Doc Wallace was

so sure it happened
the other way around.

Maybe you should ask him.
His place is just down the street.

Yeah, I believe I
will. I'll be right back.

Okay, bye-bye.

Well, morning. I'm Alice.

I expect you're Ms. Fletcher.

Hello, Alice. You're right.
I am Jessica Fletcher.

What was your first
clue? Well, besides being

Doc's nurse, housekeeper
and Lord knows what all,

I'm the local
telephone operator.

Not much goes on around
Fifty-Mile I don't know about, right off.

Speaking of Doc, is he in?

No. He's out on a house
call. He'll be back in an hour.

Oh, dear. I'm
afraid I can't wait.

- Oh, are you feeling poorly?
- Oh, no, no, no.

No. I just wanted to
find out if he'd made any

notes about an
examination he did last night.

Uh, do you think he'd mind...

if I took a peek in his file?

Mind? Oh, Ms. Fletcher,
he'd skin my hide for sure.

The only time I ever
saw Doc lose his temper...

was when he caught some fella one
morning snooping through his files.

Really?

He threw that man right out
of the office. Hollered at him...

words that would
shame Lucifer himself.

Told him if he ever breathed
a word of what he found out...

it would be the last
breath he ever took.

Oh, my goodness. Well,

I certainly wouldn't want to
provoke that kind of reaction.

This intruder, was
he a stranger in town?

Not likely. It was that awful
man that got himself hanged...

out at Carver Ranch
yesterday. Carl Mestin?

Mm-hmm. You ask me, a
man like that was born to hang.

- Don't you think so, dear?
- Oh.

Jessica, I've known
Doc Wallace all my life.

There isn't a gentler, kinder
man in the whole world.

What's going on, Emma?
I'm taking some coffee

and juice for the grieving
widow in the library.

Alone? That's enough coffee and
tomato juice for a small detox center.

She's been working
on a heavy hangover.

Sure hate to see your phone
bill next month, Miss Mary.

That woman's been at it since
after breakfast, mostly long distance.

Oh, that's all I need. Forget
the room service. Yes, ma'am.

Well, you're back. What's
on your alleged mind, honey?

You are, ma'am. You are on my mind. You
are in my hair. And you're on my nerves.

So until you have your name on a deed
to this place, I want you off of my land.

You can stomp your little
manure-coated feet all day, kiddo.

I'm not budging till
Carl's murderer is caught.

If you don't like my company,
why don’t you move out?

You're gonna have to
anyway sooner or later.

What was it?

What did Mestin have on my dad
that made him sign that lousy will?

Carl never told me.

But whatever it was,
it must've been juicy.

For sure it was real profitable.

[Horn Honking]

Door-to-door delivery.
That was very thoughtful.

It was the least I could do.

I dropped the murder
charges. You and your logic.

It takes a strong man to admit
his own mistakes, Marshal.

I still think he's
my best suspect.

Ma'am, if Art
didn't kill Mestin,

who do you think did?

You know...

it might be a good idea to challenge
Sally Mestin to an arm-wrestling contest.

I think you'd find
it illuminating.

You want to arm
wrestle with little ol' me?

Jessica tells me
you're pretty good.

[Chuckles] Honey, I'm very good.

And I arm wrestle okay too.

[Chuckles] Oh.

Oh, don't mind me, Sally. I'm just
trying to analyze your technique.

Well, it's just all in the
timing and the body English.

The women's North American
champion is just a little bitty thing,

a lot smaller than me.

Ready when you are, babe.

[Ed Grunting]

Ah, gotcha! Wanna go again?

No, thanks. Once is all I need.

Hmm.

You may be onto
something, all right.

Never thought a woman
could do in Mestin,

but she's sure strong enough,
and she's left-handed to boot.

What?

What are you two pulling?

Oh, it's just a little
educational exercise.

You set me up as a suspect
in my own husband's murder.

You can both suck eggs!

Huh!

Too bad. I think
she kind of liked me.

[Tapping]

Hello?

Anyone there?
[Tapping Continues]

I do believe I'm making
someone nervous.

[All Chattering]

What's for breakfast? Look,
folks, my cupboard's bare.

Anyway, I got tired of sitting out
in that R.V. all by my lonesome.

Are you a good ranch foreman?

Maybe we could work it out that
you can stay on after I take over.

Don't, Mary. Mary. Mary,
don't let her get to you.

[Chuckles] Getting
to her wasn't my plan.

[Doorbell Rings]

- Thanks a heap, chiquita.
- [Mary] Guess what, Sally?

You have a gentleman caller.

Morning, folks.

Ms. Mestin, I have
a warrant here.

I'm arresting you on suspicion
of murdering your husband.

Oh, Ed, I might
have to kiss you.

You have to be
kidding, a warrant?

Yes, ma'am. You
wanna come along now?

Hey, you're crazy.
I did not kill Carl.

How about one of them, Uncle
Tim or Doc or the other two?

I'll tell you something. I
don't know how or why,

but Carl knew them
all from a long time ago.

Just a moment, you're saying
whatever Carl held over Jack Carver,

it had to do with
the others too?

That's right. So what if they all
alibi each other? Thick as they are.

Lying to protect one
of them is no big deal.

You lay a hand on me,
cowboy, I'll bust your face.

Sally, don’t you think you'd
better play your trump card...

before you wind up on trial for murder?
I don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, I think you do.

Your only motive for killing
Carl is supposedly to get

sole ownership of this ranch
as his widow, right, Marshal?

That's how it stacks up.

But she's not his widow.
Isn't that true, Sally?

You and Carl were never married.

You know that for a fact, Jessica?
After we got home yesterday,

I got time and charges on all those
phone calls Sally made while we were gone.

You don't miss one
lousy trick, do you?

The calls you made were to some
quickie wedding chapels in Nevada.

I suspect you were looking
for one willing to sell you

a forged marriage
certificate so you could inherit.

You must have succeeded,
too, which accounts for your

suddenly being so
confident you'd get this ranch.

You are gonna have a
tough time proving that.

But there is proof, and it's
under your wedding ring.

When you took off your bracelets
and the ring before arm wrestling,

there were white lines under
the bracelet, but not under the ring.

The skin under the ring is as
tanned dark as the rest of your hand,

which means the ring was a prop,

put on just before you and Carl came
here, so you could pass off as his wife.

He said folks around
here are old-fashioned.

Acting married, we
wouldn't make waves.

He said he'd be making
enough waves already.

Well, he sure got that right.

Well, Sheriff, if I'm not
under arrest, I'd like to leave.

There's a couple of nice spots where
you can park the R.V. next to town.

I wouldn't go any
further than that for now.

Okay. I'll admit it.

I'm back to the starting gate.

Who did kill Mestin?

Actually, I think I can give you a fairly
accurate description of the murderer.

He's a tall, strong,
ambidextrous man,

who I expect had a number
of reasons to hate Carl Mestin,

but only one reason
strong enough to kill him.

Yeah, well, there ain't
anybody like that around here.

Yes, I know.

[Art] I can't say I'm sorry
to wave good-bye to her.

[All Chuckle]

I just hope she's off Carver Ranch
before she puts that thing in a ditch.

You know, in a funny kind
of way, I feel sorry for her.

Hey, listen, honey. Now's a good
time to run out and get my pickup.

Oh, that's right. It's still out there
where you got stuck. Do you wanna come?

Oh, no. No, you two run along.

I'm so darn glad you're here.

So am I. So am I, Mary.

[Engine Starts]

You're left-handed,
Doc. I noticed that before.

Very left-handed.
Ambidextrous, I ain't.

Tell me. How did you come
by that little gem of yours?

The blow to Carl's head
was struck left-handed...

and after he'd died from the
hanging... You were wrong about that.

Anyway, last night, someone
decorated my bedroom window...

with a hangman's noose
tied by a right-handed man.

You see? Ambidextrous.

A hangman's
noose? I'll be damned.

Ambidextrous and worried.

Worried enough to try to
frighten me away from here...

before I identify the murderer.

What murderer?

Who is this tall, strong,
ambidextrous killer?

Do you really know
what you're saying?

Yes, I'm afraid I do.

Well, I think I'll
take a little walk.

Go down to the barn,
maybe look around a bit.

You shouldn't meddle in
something you don't understand.

Now someone can get hurt bad.

You're not talking about
me, are you, Doc? It's Mary.

Mary could be so badly hurt.

Well, then, will you just
drop it? Right now, please.

Carl Mestin was killed to
protect Mary from something.

A secret, Doc?
A terrible secret...

that her father considered worse
than the loss of her birthright?

I mean, can any big
secret be that terrible?

Well, one could. Now,
will you just drop it, please?

So here you are, Uncle Tim, Doc,

Sam and Bill.

Four men who added up to one
tall, strong, ambidextrous killer.

You did it together, and
you alibied each other.

That did throw me off till I
realized what it really meant.

- Jessica, if you care anything for Mary.
- Of course I do, Tim.

Doc, what was it that Mestin got
out of your file? You knew about that?

I know three of you had
reasons to hate Mestin.

Tim, because he
was taking this ranch.

And you, Bill, because he coerced
you into a bad business deal. And Doc...

because Carl learned something
he shouldn't have in your files.

Was that the secret
you're hiding from Mary?

That was part of it, a big part.

What about you, Sam?

Did you have some reason to
hate Carl that I didn't find out?

Just knowing Carl
was reason enough.

We all know him too damn well.

Who was Carl Mestin, anyway?

I realized he was
familiar with this place.

He even knew that that haymow
door needs a bracing in the wind.

So he must've worked
here at one time,

but before Mary was
old enough to remember.

All right, you might as well
know the whole ungodly truth.

Carl... That's not his
real name, by the way...

Was a randy, young
ranch hand here.

He tried every way he
knew to seduce Jack’s wife.

Ruth, her name was.

She was just a kid, young, shy.

One day, he found her alone, he
tried to smooth-talk on her again,

- and when she said no...
- He raped her.

It was just pure animal lust.

She was battered all over when I
examined her later. [Sam]And then he ran,

with the four of us and
Jack hot on his trail.

Well, we caught up with
him. We strung him up.

We all wanted to see him die
after what he'd done to Ruth.

All but Jack. He said, "No."

He talked the rest of us out of lynching.
Said we'd turn him over to the law instead.

Only he escaped. Got clean away.

And in the meantime, Ruth was
pregnant with Mary, the child of that rape.

Oh, dear Lord.

Her sanity was already edgy.

I figured that it would be
better for her to bear her child,

thinking as she
wanted to that...

Well, she died in childbirth.

My brother Jack, he raised
that child like it was his own.

He loved her. He doted on
her. His one great fear was that...

Mary would find out
the truth about her birth.

And Carl, how did he
find out about Mary?

As near as we can figure it,

he changed his name,
stayed around these parts.

He kept out of our sight of course,
read about the birth in the paper...

realized it was exactly nine months
since the rape and guessed the rest of it.

But he needed a clincher.

So when he came back
here with his new name...

and his threats of blackmail
to keep us under his thumb,

he broke into my files.

Mary's file? No. No,
Jack's. Jack was sterile.

He could never father
a child of his own.

It was right there,
the undeniable proof...

that Mary was Carl's
child, not Jack's.

And everything you did after that
was to keep Mary from finding out?

Yeah.

The day of the funeral,

we were all out here in the
storm securing the place.

We saw this stray horse run
in here where Carl was working.

And the idea must
have hit us all at once.

All those years ago when we'd
put him on a horse to lynch him.

Yeah. It seemed like maybe divine
providence was daring us to do it again.

[Tim] We told ourselves
we only wanted to scare him.

Get him to quit his
claim to the ranch.

[Doc] He was arrogant, cocky.

He just sat there on
that horse laughing at us.

Saying we didn't have the guts.

[Tim]And then there was
this enormous lightning flash.

- [Thunderclap]
- [Neighing]

[Doc] The horse reared. It
bolted. Carl's neck was broke.

It was as if God
had meant it to be.

After that, it was obvious that one
man could not have lynched him.

So... we took him
down, and... I hit him.

'Cause I knew
where and how hard.

Then we strung him back up
and went back to the house.

We never figured that
Art would be blamed.

We'd have stepped in if
you hadn't cleared him.

Uh-huh. So what happens next?

Am I now a threat
because I know the secret?

Jessica, we all promised each
other Mary would never find out.

But Carl died.
Maybe not murder...

but he's dead because
of what you all did.

All right.

We'll go to the sheriff, tell
him what happened, stand trial.

I don't know what
a jury will say.

We'll even go to
jail if it comes to that.

But there's no way on God's green
earth Mary will ever know the reason why,

not from any of us.

Nor from me, Sam. She's
been hurt enough already.