Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996): Season 7, Episode 21 - Tainted Lady - full transcript
Jessica pays bail for her friend Ellen Wicker who is accused of arsenic poisoning in the sleepy town of Dry Wells, where she returned after 15 years to run the diner, but her one time Boston murder acquittal still counts as popularly accepted proof. Ross Corman who, just before had his unrequited intimacy attempts shirked off by Ellen, does the same thing with the domineering sheriff again. Jessica takes an unusual interest in environmental issues and assumes there are two killers.
You got lucky up in Boston.
But this ain't no Boston.
And just how might
I get myself hurt?
Accident, maybe.
(ALL CLAMORING)
FEMALE NARRATOR:
Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
What do you want?
You've never had the
love of a good man.
She got away with murder
once, didn't she? In Boston?
No, she did not.
I believe he was poisoned.
The Sheriff had found arsenic?
In my storeroom.
Follow us!
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON SCANNER)
It was a heart attack, Doris, pure
and simple. Po never felt a thing.
He was sick at his
stomach, Doc, real sick.
Yeah, but Jake's been
poorly for some time.
Fact is, it's a merciful blessing. It
saved him from a lot of pain and suffering.
Look, why don't you just go to sleep
and I'll talk to you in the morning?
Night.
There you go.
Good morning, Edge.
What looks good today,
Ellen, besides you?
A smooth talker like you ought to
learn to take his baseball cap off indoors.
(CHUCKLING)
What were you saying
about Jake Gerringer?
Oh.
He had his dinner here
every night including last night.
You're sitting in his seat.
Hey, Ross, that sexy wife of
yours still nursing for old Doc Logan?
Yeah, do you mind? This
is a private conversation.
Yeah?
Let's see how well you talk
with a mouthful of knuckles.
That's enough, Edge.
I don't like people
treating me like dirt.
Look, maybe you ought to just go back
outside and cool off a little bit, okay?
I'll save you some
coffee and some donuts.
Forget it.
Sorry about that.
Hey, Ross, did Laura
tell you what Jake died of?
Heart attack. All that fat.
I tried to sell him
on low cholesterol.
He liked that pan
gravy and lots of it.
Well, he dug his own
grave with a spoon.
You know, I believe I'll have some of
your homemade cinnamon buns there
with extra butter.
Cute.
Just what the hell did
you think you were doing?
Doris Gerringer called
first thing this morning
to tell you what she tried to tell you
last night, only you wouldn't listen.
Naturally, you just faxed off Jake's
symptoms to the Poison Control Center.
Here's their answer.
And another thing,
without consulting with me,
you called over to County
General Pathology Laboratory
and asked them to run
some tests on Jake's organs.
Doctor, the symptoms
are very similar.
I don't know nothing
about no poison.
I do know that I wrote down "heart
failure" on the death certificate.
Are you trying to tell me I'm
too old to know my business?
No, of course
not. I'm sorry if I...
(PHONE RINGING)
Excuse me.
Doctor Logan's office.
Yes, Doctor, he is.
Doctor Joel Pearlman.
County General Pathology.
Hey, Joel, how you
doing? What's up?
Is that so?
Arsenic, huh?
Of course that's what I figured.
Why else you think I
ordered up all them tests?
(LATIN MUSIC PLAYING)
Ray, you got a volume
control on that thing?
Yes, sir. Sorry, Sheriff.
Listen, I'm taking a ride down to
Barstow and see what's stirring.
Sheriff's office. Hold
on. Sheriff, Doc Logan.
Yeah, Doc?
Jake? What about Jake?
You don't say.
Half the houses in town are for
sale, nobody's buying new cars.
Not like it was before you left.
(SCOFFS)
Sorry you came back?
Wasn't so great where I was at.
Everybody in this
town knows that.
It's funny how things work out.
Take you and me.
That's ancient history.
We were just kids then. Let
me get you some more coffee.
Ellen, I'd like to talk
to you in the back.
I have a customer.
Ross won't mind.
Would you, Ross?
I mind.
Okay. But I'd like to
look around anyway.
Excuse me.
Can I ask what
you're looking for?
Yeah, Jake Gerringer had
dinner in here last night.
Yeah, like always.
You know Doris. She
has trouble boiling water.
County lab boys said
Jake was poisoned.
Poisoned!
(SIGHS)
You saying he was poisoned here
in my restaurant? That's impossible.
I'll have to have this analyzed.
I'll save you the
trouble. It's arsenic.
Yeah? Go on.
Oh, come on.
The guy who used to own the restaurant
got it from the tannery to kill ants.
And I resent the accusation.
I'm not accusing you
of anything, ma'am.
Look, there's only one
reason that you're here, Sheriff.
And that's because of Boston.
Well, might've crossed my mind.
Fact is, you're the only woman in town I
know of who's ever been tried for murder.
Tried and found not guilty.
Ellen,
the trouble with you is, you
don't warm up to people much.
You know, folks around
here like to forgive and forget,
but you don't give people much of a
chance to show how friendly they can be.
You got lucky up in Boston
when that writer friend of yours
convinced the jury that
you didn't kill your husband.
But this ain't no Boston.
(SIGHS)
JESSICA: Thanks for picking
me up in Barstow, Mr. Apple.
But you needn't have bothered,
you know. I could have taken the bus.
The next bus doesn't come through
Dry Wells till tomorrow morning.
And please don't
call me Mr. Apple.
Makes me sound like a character
on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Name's Herb.
Well, Herb. Thank you.
My pleasure.
Besides, I wanted to get you to
Dry Wells as soon as possible.
Ellen needs all the
help she can get.
She should've had some
big city high-powered attorney,
but she couldn't afford one
and the court appointed me.
Now, that's not exactly
the way Ellen tells it.
Ellen's a friend.
I sure hope you can pull a
rabbit out of the hat again.
It's the only hope I have.
Hey, Laura, wait up!
Hey, how'd you like to have lunch
with your husband for a change?
Where? The Board of Health
has locked up Ellen Wicker's place,
and the Sheriff has
locked up Ellen Wicker,
which explains why you're cruising
Main Street looking for company.
Laura, for God's
sake, loosen up.
You used to enjoy
love in the afternoon.
I still might
with the right man.
Ellen?
Oh, Jessica! Oh,
thank God you came.
Well, did you think I wouldn't?
(SIGHS)
You got 10 minutes.
(SIGHS DEEPLY)
Oh, I was so sorry to impose, but I
didn't have anybody else I could turn to.
It's no imposition, believe me.
How can you sleep on this thing?
Barely.
All right. Tell me
what happened.
Didn't Herb fill you in?
Well, he told me that a man had
died, that you'd been arrested...
That the Sheriff
had found arsenic?
In the storeroom.
I should've never
come back here, Jess.
Why did you come back?
When my parents
were still alive,
no matter how badly things were
going for me, I could always come home.
I guess I thought,
in familiar surroundings
with old friends,
maybe the hurts would heal.
I guess we all have
a place like that.
Mine is Cabot Cove.
Yeah, but Dry Wells
isn't like that anymore.
(SIGHS)
It all began when the tannery shut down and
half the people in town lost their jobs.
Yeah, Herb showed me the abandoned
tannery when we drove into town.
That was from the earthquake.
Boy, it was a beauty, 6.8.
Destroyed homes, damaged shops
on Main Street that were never rebuilt...
When I saw those boarded-up buildings
I should've just got back on the bus.
Most of my friends
are gone, and I just
didn't know where to go.
All right, well,
let's get started.
Now, this man, Gerringer, I mean,
did you have any kind of motive?
Not really, though the
Sheriff thinks otherwise.
Oh, and that's another
thing, Jessica. Sheriff Hays,
you won't be getting any help
from him, not where I'm concerned.
Oh? Why?
(CELL DOOR OPENING)
Time's up.
Let Mrs. Fletcher out, Mary Jo.
Oh, surely 10 minutes
isn't up already?
Sorry, ma'am. We
have to cut it short.
Mrs. Wicker's due at the County
Courthouse for arraignment.
Oh, good. I'll go with her
and pay her bail.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
WOMAN 1: There she comes.
WOMAN 2: They
shouldn't have let you out!
MAN: We don't want
your kind around here.
WOMAN 3: Go back
where you came from.
Mrs. Wicker, how does it feel to be
accused of murder for the second time?
I never murdered anybody.
Not then and not now.
HERB: Get in the car, let's go.
You're not gonna
get away with it.
Mrs. Fletcher, would you
care to make a comment?
No, I don't. Are you here to get your
friend off the way you did in Boston?
Would you get that thing
out of my face, please?
MAN: They don't
belong around here.
WOMAN: You won't
get away with it this time!
MAN 2: Get her out of the car.
Shouldn't we go out there
before somebody gets hurt?
Don't worry about it, Ray, them folks
are just making their feelings known.
It's the American way.
You think you're better than
everybody else, but you ain't!
(HORN HONKING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Stop it!
Stop it, Edge Potter.
I know your voice.
There's laws against
saying those things.
Look, if you're trying to shock us,
you're only betraying your ignorance.
We've all heard words like this and
usually with a good deal more originality.
You know, I've known some of those people
in front of the courthouse all my life.
This was a nice little town
once. At least, I thought it was.
Oh, it's not the town.
Believe me, even Cabot Cove, as much as
I love it, has its share of rotten apples.
Jess, I can't go
through it again.
The phone calls, the hate
mail, people screaming at me.
Yes, you can, and you will.
Now, you've got nothing to
apologize for, nothing to fear.
And I'm going to stick right here
with you until we work this thing out.
And how do we do that?
Well, for starters, tell me about
Jake Gerringer's daughter, Doris.
Well, I don't know her all that
well. Doris mostly keeps to herself.
Kind of plain, kind
of mousey-looking.
Lately I've heard she's
been looking real strange.
No, Mrs. Fletcher, I don't mind
talking about my father's death.
Not at all. Oh, though it is
kind of painful, of course.
Would you like a glass
of French champagne?
Oh, no, no, not
right now, thank you.
Do you always entertain
drop-in guests so lavishly?
(CHUCKLES)
I never entertain at all.
I'm practicing for the way
I'm gonna live in Hollywood
when I get Daddy's
insurance money.
You know, you are the first
celebrity I have ever met.
Well, you certainly went to a
great deal of trouble. About Ellen...
I did it right, didn't I? Caviar
and this liver stuff and all?
Perfect.
I got it out of a magazine.
(EXCLAIMS)
Didn't realize how
much it cost, though.
Doris, about Ellen...
Ellen.
She was my very best friend in high school
and I'd be glad to help any way I can.
I understand that she worked
for your father at one point.
Mmm-hmm. We both did. I guess
she told you my daddy fired her.
Well, actually...
I felt sorry for
her. It wasn't fair.
Even if he did catch her
stealing at the register,
he should've given
her another chance.
Ellen was the most
popular girl in high school.
Everybody liked her.
I envied her so much.
And you wanted to be like her.
No, I...
I wanted to be her.
Then I wouldn't have had
to live with that old man.
My daddy treated me like a slave.
Never let me have any friends.
Well, anyway, she
shouldn't have done it.
What makes you
so sure that she did?
She got away with murder
once, didn't she? In Boston?
No, she did not.
That's what I heard.
Oh, I can hardly
wait for the trial.
(CHUCKLES)
I'll have to buy myself
something nice to wear.
I think I'll make a terrific
witness, don't you?
RUSH ON RADIO: Sheriff Hays,
are you there? Come in, Sheriff Hays.
Yeah, Mary Jo, what's up?
Katie Emhardt's
waiting in your office.
Says she's got something important
to tell you about her dead husband.
My Wilbur died exactly
three weeks ago today.
I didn't have the heart to clean
out his closet until yesterday.
I kept seeing those empty
shoes there and I started to cry,
thinking how I'd never
see his big feet again.
Ma'am, I just don't
have a whole lot of time...
Oh, shoo! There's a point to
this, Sheriff, and I'm gonna get to it.
Now, after I did his closet, I cleaned out
his side of the bathroom medicine cabinet.
And I found these pills,
his bladder medicine.
You see, Doc Logan's
name is there on the side.
What about it?
Well, Doc said he died of his heart,
but there wasn't any heart medicine,
because he didn't
have a bad heart.
I was with him when he died.
He was clutching his
stomach, he was in a lot of pain.
Just exactly like
Jake Gerringer.
You're gonna think I'm crazy,
Sheriff, but I believe he was poisoned.
You know, I really shouldn't do
this without Dr. Logan's permission.
He's out to lunch.
With Doc that's a
permanent condition.
Go on.
LAURA: Wilbur Emhardt. His
last physical was before the quake.
Doctor diagnosed
an irritated bladder,
prescribed medication and
put him on a special diet.
No heart problems?
None indicated.
You got a copy of his
death certificate in there?
Cause of death, heart failure.
It's a Friday.
Doc has a habit of usually leaving
early on Fridays to drive down to Laughlin
for a weekend of heavy gambling.
Around noon.
Time of death is 2:15 p.m.
Well, Doc could have rushed through
the examination to get back on schedule.
Anyway, thanks a lot, Laura.
Tell the Doc that I stopped by.
Sheriff, do you think Ellen
Wicker's one of them serial killers?
Don't matter much what I think.
The evidence
will speak for itself.
Mary Jo?
RUSH: Yes, sir, Sheriff.
Call Judge Peller, tell him I
need to have a body dug up.
Jake Gerringer didn't
catch me stealing.
Somebody lied to him and told
him I took money out of the register.
Somebody like his
daughter, Doris?
There were several clerks.
I guess it could
have been Doris.
Anyway, Jake reported
it to the Sheriff's office.
I think he wanted to scare
me more than anything else.
I got scared, okay, not by Jake.
Sheriff Deloy Hays.
'Course, he wasn't
Sheriff then, just a deputy,
but he said he could fix
things for me on a friendly basis.
How well he fixed things
depended on how friendly I got.
I wasn't even 20 yet.
Hays was 30, as mean
and cold then as he is today.
He had me in a cell
backed up against the wall.
If Herb Apple hadn't
come in just then, I...
What happened?
Herb had gone to see Jake,
and got him to drop the charges.
Next day I left town.
And the last thing
I remember seeing
is Deloy Hays' eyes staring
at me as the bus pulled out.
That was 15 years ago, Jessica,
and about the only thing that
hasn't changed in this town
is Deloy Hays.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Hey, Herb, just in time.
You almost missed all the fun.
What the hell is
this about, Sheriff?
It's all in the court order,
Counselor. Read it for yourself.
(CHUCKLES)
Look at this. Ol' Wilbur looks as
good as the day he was buried.
Figures. Preservation's one
of the properties of arsenic.
The tannery used a ton of it.
Ray, have Wilbur delivered to the
Pathology Department at County General.
You got it.
There's no way you
can hang this on Ellen.
Just doing my job, Herb.
Tell that to Mrs. Fletcher, too.
Tell her to stay out of my
way or get out of my town.
(MOTORBIKE REVVING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Howdy, Mrs. Fletcher.
Hello.
I hear you been all over town
seeing folks, even crazy Doris.
Now that ain't very smart.
Be a shame to put in all this exercise
and all of a sudden get yourself hurt.
And just how might
I get myself hurt?
Accident, maybe.
Town's kind of edgy these days.
Never know what's liable to happen.
Is that some sort of threat?
Now, if I was you, I'd think real hard
about catching the next bus out of here.
Well, thanks for the advice.
I'll give it some thought.
Now, where's my manners? I'll
just take you to the station myself.
Get on.
(SIRENS WAILING)
Oh! Where did you come from?
Sheriff asked me to
keep on eye on you.
You all right, Mrs. Fletcher?
Oh, yes, I'm just fine. No
damage, just my nerves.
Edge Potter.
He's three bricks short of a full
load. I'll have a chat with him later.
Everybody in this town is
not like him, Mrs. Fletcher.
Well, thank goodness.
And thanks for you.
Although I'm sure all this isn't
what the Sheriff had in mind
when he said to
keep your eye on me.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Well, no question about it, Ellen.
Wilbur Emhardt was poisoned.
Arsenic, just like
Jake Gerringer.
I can't believe this.
He was one of your
regulars, too, wasn't he?
Oh, for God's sakes, you, too?
No, course not, course not.
I'm just reflecting
what people are saying.
Or, you know, at least thinking.
Relax, you're gonna
come through this okay.
I'm here, huh?
I mean,
haven't I always been
here when you needed me?
Huh?
Yeah...
Come on. No, that's enough.
Come on.
Please don't. This is
stupid and embarrassing.
Stop it! I said no!
Ellen?
(DOOR SLAMS)
Funny, isn't it, Jess, how I seem
to bring out the best in people?
(SIGHS)
It's all right, Ellen.
(SHRIEKS)
Stay here.
Jessica, don't go out there!
(TIRES SQUEALING)
(GASPS)
HERB: I don't suppose you
can describe the car, can you?
Well, no, it was
too dark to see.
I'll see to it that this
window gets replaced.
Then I'll take care of painting
the porch for you, Ellen.
Thanks, Herb.
I would have been here sooner if I
wasn't hanging around with Doctor Logan
at the County General waiting for
the lab test results of Wilbur Emhardt.
It was arsenic
poisoning, all right.
I know.
I understand that two of the
victims were Doctor Logan's patients.
Doc says that if the poisoning hadn't
gotten him, something else would have.
I'm sorry, Ellen,
but this business with Wilbur
is going to make things tougher.
You haven't changed your mind
about defending me, have you?
Of course I haven't.
(PHONE RINGING)
I'll get it.
Did you know your phone was
off the hook when I came in?
Well, Ellen has had several
unpleasant calls recently.
(WHISTLES)
How long has this been going on?
Since early this
morning. It never quits.
(SIGHS)
Ellen, I am so sorry.
Whatever it takes, however long it
takes, we're going to get you through this.
(COUGHING)
(GROANS)
Help...
(COUGHING)
Laura!
Ross?
(PHONE RINGING)
Sheriff's office.
Deputy Gomez...
The Sheriff isn't
here right now.
Hold it, he just walked in.
It's Mrs. Corman. She
sounds kind of hysterical.
Laura?
Laura, just slow down.
I can't understand you.
He's gone, Sheriff.
Hasn't been dead more
than 15 or 20 minutes, though.
Poison again, Doc?
Now, how the hell would I
know? I ain't no damn coroner.
How you feeling, Laura?
Better, thanks.
Well, you look like hell.
You've had a bad shock.
I want you upstairs...
No, no, no, no.
I need to ask her a
couple more questions first.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Laura, you said Ross told you he had
some kind of business meeting tonight.
And you went up to
bed around 10:00, right?
Yes.
And then later you heard
Ross come in, you know,
banging around like he'd
had too much to drink.
But you don't know
where he'd been?
Well, I didn't get a
chance to talk to him.
He called out my name
and when I went downstairs
I found him doubled up sick.
He couldn't talk,
he fell, it was awful.
That's when I called you.
(PHONE RINGING)
Ray, would you
answer that thing?
Okay, up you go.
I want you in bed for a while.
The questions can wait.
Sheriff, it's Mary Jo.
Yeah, hello. What's
the trouble, Mary Jo?
Hmm.
When did the call come in?
It was a muffled
tone, hard to hear.
Yeah, did they give a name?
What exactly did the caller say?
Maybe you should try
to get some sleep, Ellen.
I can't.
Why don't you go to bed,
Jess, you must be tired.
I can't sleep either.
I mean, this poison, something is
missing. I just can't get a handle on it.
About tonight. About Ross.
I'm sorry you had to see that.
Oh, it wasn't your fault.
Well, when he invited
himself over for a drink,
I should have known better.
You know, mostly everybody thought we
were going to get married, including me.
That was before Jake Gerringer's
accusation ran me out of town.
(SIGHS)
I guess
Ross just thought he could
pick up where we left off.
Never had much
luck with men, Jess.
Not even Herb Apple?
Oh, Herb's a dear friend, but I
never thought of him in that way.
Too bad. Maybe you should try.
(CAR APPROACHING)
Who could that
be? It's almost 1:00.
It's the Sheriff.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Ellen, mind if I come in?
Mrs. Fletcher.
Sheriff.
Anything wrong? Seems
a little late for a social call.
No, nothing, ma'am.
Trouble is like babies.
Mostly it comes at night.
What kind of trouble?
Ross Corman was here
earlier tonight, right, Ellen?
Yes, he was.
Yeah, we got a tip about that.
Had some wine, I expect.
That's right. Why?
Oh. Had stains on his shirt.
Could have matched the
wine in that bottle there.
What do you mean,
"stains on his shirt"?
He's dead, ma'am.
What?
Looks like he was poisoned.
Ellen, I'm
confiscating this bottle,
and you're coming with
me down to my office.
Now, just a moment, Sheriff.
I had some of that wine. We
both did. Our glasses are right here.
Well, where's Ross
Corman's glass?
I washed it after he left
along with mine and a plate.
So you didn't poison the
whole bottle, just Ross's glass.
That's such a stupid accusation.
We know you had the arsenic.
You could have put enough aside
to get even with an old boyfriend
who dumped you years ago.
Look, Sheriff,
you have no right...
You stay out of this, ma'am.
It's none of your business.
Now, Ellen, you grab your coat. You
can call your lawyer from my office.
All right, go with him,
Ellen. I'll call Herb.
Well, having got you out
in the middle of the night,
the least I can do is
to make some coffee.
It was a dirty trick, the
Sheriff arresting Ellen at night.
He knows I won't be able to get
hold of a judge until late in the morning.
Well, with everything that's
been going on around here tonight,
I think that
she's safer in jail.
Nice try, but I don't
think you mean that.
Herb, what do you think's
gonna happen? I mean, really.
Worst case scenario, I
don't want to think about.
After the Sheriff is finished
setting folks against Ellen,
it'll be hard as hell to
find an impartial jury.
Folks in this town
are like sheep.
You lead 'em by the nose,
they'll follow you anywhere.
Of course, with the
Sheriff, it's personal.
But you know that.
I know that.
I am totally perplexed. I
mean, it seems inconceivable
that there's a psychopath
running around poisoning people,
certainly not Ellen, but people are
dying and there has to be a logical reason.
I hope you made that coffee strong. I
don't expect to get much sleep tonight.
HERB: Jessica?
Hello?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Didn't you tell me that the dry
wells that this town is named for
are close-by the tannery ruins?
Yes, that's right.
Well, this is a long shot,
Herb, but it's just possible.
I may have an idea
what's behind all this.
And why should I show my
husband's files from the tannery to you?
Because I believe that
there's something in those files
that will prove Ellen
Wicker's innocence.
You make it a habit of doing the
Sheriff's job for him, Mrs. Fletcher?
Well, I guess I do,
when he can't. Or won't.
Most folks in this town
are real fond of Deloy Hays.
He keeps the town safe.
At what cost, Mrs. Emhardt?
I mean, it seems to me that the Sheriff
runs things the way that it suits him.
That's fine with me.
I don't want his job,
though it appears you do.
No, I do not want his job, but
I do want to see justice done,
and it won't be
if Ellen Wicker is
convicted of murders
that she didn't commit.
What are you afraid of?
Don't you want to know the truth
about the death of your husband?
You're wasting your time.
When you called I
looked in those files.
There's nothing in
there about Ellen Wicker.
Well, what is in
those files then?
Lot of chemical stuff
I don't understand.
Bunch of memos from the board of
directors about closing down the tannery.
Including disposal
of toxic waste?
How'd you know that?
Was just a guess.
Mrs. Emhardt, please let me look at the
files. If I'm wrong, there's no harm done,
but if I'm right, you've saved an
innocent woman from a life in prison.
Sheriff's not gonna like this.
Well, frankly, I don't
care what the Sheriff likes.
I told my deputy not
to disturb us for a while.
You and me, we gotta come
to some kind of understanding.
What do you want?
You're a pretty smart lady. I'd
have thought you'd figured that out.
I guess you remember a few
years back, you and me in here,
we never did finish
that conversation.
You bastard, keep away from me.
Not very nice talk, Ellen,
considering your predicament.
You know, I'm in a
good position to help you.
County Attorney, he pretty
much goes by my say-so.
If I was to tell him I didn't have much
of a case against you, he'd go along.
Same applies the other way.
Guess I'm not getting
through to you, am I?
Oh, I hear you just fine
and the answer is no.
I'll take my chances in court.
I'm sorry to hear that, Ellen.
Trouble is, you've never
had the love of a good man.
(KEYS JINGLING)
Sheriff.
Mary Jo, I told you not
to disturb me in here!
Yes, sir, but there's something
on the TV I think you should see.
REPORTER ON TV: To recap
what's going on here this afternoon,
volunteers from Safer Environment
are digging with picks and shovels
about 100 yards behind
the ruins of the old tannery.
Why they are digging
remains a complete mystery,
which may explain the
presence of mystery writer
J.B. Fletcher among the diggers.
Damn!
(SIRENS WAILING)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You people know
what you're doing here?
This is private property.
And you're all trespassing!
Now let's just clear the area.
Did you people hear what I said?
Oh, they heard you all right, Sheriff,
but I just don't think they much care.
Oh, friends of yours, Mrs. Fletcher?
I mean weirdos from back east?
Well, actually, Sheriff, they're
from all over the country.
They're volunteers who
care about the environment.
What the hell's going on here?
Well, Mrs. Emhardt gave
us her late husband's plans
for disposing of toxic
materials, including arsenic,
to be buried in three dry wells.
Oh, come on, that old
tannery didn't kill anybody.
Don't you be so sure of that.
Mr. Emhardt thought that the poison
would remain safely buried forever.
Now, his wife said that
he had second thoughts
during the Central
California earthquakes.
So now it's a
quake's fault, huh?
I mean, it sounds like you're
making up one of your stories.
MAN: Yeah, I think I hit
something. Over here!
I think I got one!
Okay, on three. One, two, three.
Someone get me a flashlight.
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
You see what happened?
The earthquake cracked
the walls of the dry wells
and the water from the
lower water table seeped in
and the same earthquake
damaged the containers.
The arsenic contaminated
the water supply.
That's your killer, Sheriff.
Toxic waste, not Ellen Wicker.
So why don't you get off
your butt and let her out of jail?
You're saying it wasn't murder?
HERB: That's exactly
what I'm saying.
Well, I'm not so
sure about that, Herb.
I mean, the fact is one of the
victims was definitely murdered.
And the question in my mind is,
what are you willing
to do about it, Sheriff?
Well, thank you very much.
You're right, ma'am.
The Board of Health tested
the town's drinking water
and the main well on the
north side is contaminated.
But not the well
on the south side?
No, ma'am.
Jake Gerringer and
Wilbur Emhardt would
have gotten their water
from the north side.
Well, those two had
really bad health problems.
Of course, younger, stronger
people like Jake's daughter,
they could tolerate small amounts
of arsenic. For a while anyway.
Yes, but one of the victims
was young and healthy
and lived on the south side
where there was no poison.
Doc, we'd like to speak
to your nurse, please.
Sure.
Laura, would you come
in for a minute, please?
Laura?
She was here a minute
ago. She must've stepped out.
Well, maybe we can catch her.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Mrs. Fletcher, what's going on?
Follow us!
It won't do any good, Laura.
You can't flush the container.
LAURA: You can't prove
I murdered my husband.
Ellen Wicker poisoned
him with red wine.
And how did you know that
Ellen served him red wine?
Ross told me, that's how.
You told me you were
upstairs when Ross came in,
and you never had a
chance to talk to him.
He had a wine stain on
his shirt, that's how I knew.
But there was no stain
when he left Ellen's.
His shirt was perfectly clean.
No, I believe that the stain
was deliberately put there by you,
and the only way that you could have known
that he was drinking red wine at Ellen's
was by following him over there
and spying on him through the window.
She's making that
up to protect Ellen.
And later, when you supposedly
found Ross dying, you called the Sheriff.
A concerned wife and a nurse
should've called the doctor.
The anonymous call to the Sheriff's
office came from your upstairs phone
while the Sheriff was busy downstairs. I
checked the phone company's records.
Do you think I wanted
to work for Doc Logan?
I had to.
Ross spent every cent he made
on stupid women that
didn't give a damn about him.
But Ellen was the
one that he pined for.
I'd already made up
my mind to kill him.
When I saw her
give him the wine,
I knew just how I'd do it.
I waited for him in a sexy
nightgown to grab his attention.
I'd already poisoned a
bottle of his favorite wine.
It was no trouble at
all to get him to drink it.
I went up to bed and waited.
When I heard him call my name,
I knew the poison was working.
After he was dead,
I poured wine on his shirt and made a trail
that led the Sheriff straight to Ellen.
I knew he'd be so anxious
to get Ellen in his jail,
he wouldn't concern
himself with proof.
You know, Dry Wells is liable to
be a whole different place for you
now that the Sheriff
has been fired
and Ray Gomez has
been appointed in his place.
Yeah, but it wasn't
just the Sheriff.
Ever since I arrived I felt
like I was living in a fishbowl,
always on display,
always being judged.
No matter what I did, there'd
always be those looks behind me.
There she goes, the
Typhoid Mary of Murder.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no,
you can't have that title.
That's what they call me.
(PHONE RINGING)
Excuse me.
Hello?
Hi, Katie. It's Katie Emhardt.
Oh. Are you sure?
(SIGHS)
Well, yeah, I guess so.
Well, thanks for asking me,
Katie. I'll talk to you soon.
What is it?
The Woman's Club. They're
trying to revitalize the town
and they're starting with a "Let's get Dry
Wells back on its feet dance" next month.
They want me to
serve on the committee.
Oh, how very nice.
But... (CLEARS THROAT)
Are you still going to
be here next month?
Yeah, I guess I will be.
Well, then I guess you
only have one problem.
A date for the dance.
Here I go, calling
a lawyer again.
(CHUCKLING)
But this ain't no Boston.
And just how might
I get myself hurt?
Accident, maybe.
(ALL CLAMORING)
FEMALE NARRATOR:
Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
What do you want?
You've never had the
love of a good man.
She got away with murder
once, didn't she? In Boston?
No, she did not.
I believe he was poisoned.
The Sheriff had found arsenic?
In my storeroom.
Follow us!
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON SCANNER)
It was a heart attack, Doris, pure
and simple. Po never felt a thing.
He was sick at his
stomach, Doc, real sick.
Yeah, but Jake's been
poorly for some time.
Fact is, it's a merciful blessing. It
saved him from a lot of pain and suffering.
Look, why don't you just go to sleep
and I'll talk to you in the morning?
Night.
There you go.
Good morning, Edge.
What looks good today,
Ellen, besides you?
A smooth talker like you ought to
learn to take his baseball cap off indoors.
(CHUCKLING)
What were you saying
about Jake Gerringer?
Oh.
He had his dinner here
every night including last night.
You're sitting in his seat.
Hey, Ross, that sexy wife of
yours still nursing for old Doc Logan?
Yeah, do you mind? This
is a private conversation.
Yeah?
Let's see how well you talk
with a mouthful of knuckles.
That's enough, Edge.
I don't like people
treating me like dirt.
Look, maybe you ought to just go back
outside and cool off a little bit, okay?
I'll save you some
coffee and some donuts.
Forget it.
Sorry about that.
Hey, Ross, did Laura
tell you what Jake died of?
Heart attack. All that fat.
I tried to sell him
on low cholesterol.
He liked that pan
gravy and lots of it.
Well, he dug his own
grave with a spoon.
You know, I believe I'll have some of
your homemade cinnamon buns there
with extra butter.
Cute.
Just what the hell did
you think you were doing?
Doris Gerringer called
first thing this morning
to tell you what she tried to tell you
last night, only you wouldn't listen.
Naturally, you just faxed off Jake's
symptoms to the Poison Control Center.
Here's their answer.
And another thing,
without consulting with me,
you called over to County
General Pathology Laboratory
and asked them to run
some tests on Jake's organs.
Doctor, the symptoms
are very similar.
I don't know nothing
about no poison.
I do know that I wrote down "heart
failure" on the death certificate.
Are you trying to tell me I'm
too old to know my business?
No, of course
not. I'm sorry if I...
(PHONE RINGING)
Excuse me.
Doctor Logan's office.
Yes, Doctor, he is.
Doctor Joel Pearlman.
County General Pathology.
Hey, Joel, how you
doing? What's up?
Is that so?
Arsenic, huh?
Of course that's what I figured.
Why else you think I
ordered up all them tests?
(LATIN MUSIC PLAYING)
Ray, you got a volume
control on that thing?
Yes, sir. Sorry, Sheriff.
Listen, I'm taking a ride down to
Barstow and see what's stirring.
Sheriff's office. Hold
on. Sheriff, Doc Logan.
Yeah, Doc?
Jake? What about Jake?
You don't say.
Half the houses in town are for
sale, nobody's buying new cars.
Not like it was before you left.
(SCOFFS)
Sorry you came back?
Wasn't so great where I was at.
Everybody in this
town knows that.
It's funny how things work out.
Take you and me.
That's ancient history.
We were just kids then. Let
me get you some more coffee.
Ellen, I'd like to talk
to you in the back.
I have a customer.
Ross won't mind.
Would you, Ross?
I mind.
Okay. But I'd like to
look around anyway.
Excuse me.
Can I ask what
you're looking for?
Yeah, Jake Gerringer had
dinner in here last night.
Yeah, like always.
You know Doris. She
has trouble boiling water.
County lab boys said
Jake was poisoned.
Poisoned!
(SIGHS)
You saying he was poisoned here
in my restaurant? That's impossible.
I'll have to have this analyzed.
I'll save you the
trouble. It's arsenic.
Yeah? Go on.
Oh, come on.
The guy who used to own the restaurant
got it from the tannery to kill ants.
And I resent the accusation.
I'm not accusing you
of anything, ma'am.
Look, there's only one
reason that you're here, Sheriff.
And that's because of Boston.
Well, might've crossed my mind.
Fact is, you're the only woman in town I
know of who's ever been tried for murder.
Tried and found not guilty.
Ellen,
the trouble with you is, you
don't warm up to people much.
You know, folks around
here like to forgive and forget,
but you don't give people much of a
chance to show how friendly they can be.
You got lucky up in Boston
when that writer friend of yours
convinced the jury that
you didn't kill your husband.
But this ain't no Boston.
(SIGHS)
JESSICA: Thanks for picking
me up in Barstow, Mr. Apple.
But you needn't have bothered,
you know. I could have taken the bus.
The next bus doesn't come through
Dry Wells till tomorrow morning.
And please don't
call me Mr. Apple.
Makes me sound like a character
on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Name's Herb.
Well, Herb. Thank you.
My pleasure.
Besides, I wanted to get you to
Dry Wells as soon as possible.
Ellen needs all the
help she can get.
She should've had some
big city high-powered attorney,
but she couldn't afford one
and the court appointed me.
Now, that's not exactly
the way Ellen tells it.
Ellen's a friend.
I sure hope you can pull a
rabbit out of the hat again.
It's the only hope I have.
Hey, Laura, wait up!
Hey, how'd you like to have lunch
with your husband for a change?
Where? The Board of Health
has locked up Ellen Wicker's place,
and the Sheriff has
locked up Ellen Wicker,
which explains why you're cruising
Main Street looking for company.
Laura, for God's
sake, loosen up.
You used to enjoy
love in the afternoon.
I still might
with the right man.
Ellen?
Oh, Jessica! Oh,
thank God you came.
Well, did you think I wouldn't?
(SIGHS)
You got 10 minutes.
(SIGHS DEEPLY)
Oh, I was so sorry to impose, but I
didn't have anybody else I could turn to.
It's no imposition, believe me.
How can you sleep on this thing?
Barely.
All right. Tell me
what happened.
Didn't Herb fill you in?
Well, he told me that a man had
died, that you'd been arrested...
That the Sheriff
had found arsenic?
In the storeroom.
I should've never
come back here, Jess.
Why did you come back?
When my parents
were still alive,
no matter how badly things were
going for me, I could always come home.
I guess I thought,
in familiar surroundings
with old friends,
maybe the hurts would heal.
I guess we all have
a place like that.
Mine is Cabot Cove.
Yeah, but Dry Wells
isn't like that anymore.
(SIGHS)
It all began when the tannery shut down and
half the people in town lost their jobs.
Yeah, Herb showed me the abandoned
tannery when we drove into town.
That was from the earthquake.
Boy, it was a beauty, 6.8.
Destroyed homes, damaged shops
on Main Street that were never rebuilt...
When I saw those boarded-up buildings
I should've just got back on the bus.
Most of my friends
are gone, and I just
didn't know where to go.
All right, well,
let's get started.
Now, this man, Gerringer, I mean,
did you have any kind of motive?
Not really, though the
Sheriff thinks otherwise.
Oh, and that's another
thing, Jessica. Sheriff Hays,
you won't be getting any help
from him, not where I'm concerned.
Oh? Why?
(CELL DOOR OPENING)
Time's up.
Let Mrs. Fletcher out, Mary Jo.
Oh, surely 10 minutes
isn't up already?
Sorry, ma'am. We
have to cut it short.
Mrs. Wicker's due at the County
Courthouse for arraignment.
Oh, good. I'll go with her
and pay her bail.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
WOMAN 1: There she comes.
WOMAN 2: They
shouldn't have let you out!
MAN: We don't want
your kind around here.
WOMAN 3: Go back
where you came from.
Mrs. Wicker, how does it feel to be
accused of murder for the second time?
I never murdered anybody.
Not then and not now.
HERB: Get in the car, let's go.
You're not gonna
get away with it.
Mrs. Fletcher, would you
care to make a comment?
No, I don't. Are you here to get your
friend off the way you did in Boston?
Would you get that thing
out of my face, please?
MAN: They don't
belong around here.
WOMAN: You won't
get away with it this time!
MAN 2: Get her out of the car.
Shouldn't we go out there
before somebody gets hurt?
Don't worry about it, Ray, them folks
are just making their feelings known.
It's the American way.
You think you're better than
everybody else, but you ain't!
(HORN HONKING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Stop it!
Stop it, Edge Potter.
I know your voice.
There's laws against
saying those things.
Look, if you're trying to shock us,
you're only betraying your ignorance.
We've all heard words like this and
usually with a good deal more originality.
You know, I've known some of those people
in front of the courthouse all my life.
This was a nice little town
once. At least, I thought it was.
Oh, it's not the town.
Believe me, even Cabot Cove, as much as
I love it, has its share of rotten apples.
Jess, I can't go
through it again.
The phone calls, the hate
mail, people screaming at me.
Yes, you can, and you will.
Now, you've got nothing to
apologize for, nothing to fear.
And I'm going to stick right here
with you until we work this thing out.
And how do we do that?
Well, for starters, tell me about
Jake Gerringer's daughter, Doris.
Well, I don't know her all that
well. Doris mostly keeps to herself.
Kind of plain, kind
of mousey-looking.
Lately I've heard she's
been looking real strange.
No, Mrs. Fletcher, I don't mind
talking about my father's death.
Not at all. Oh, though it is
kind of painful, of course.
Would you like a glass
of French champagne?
Oh, no, no, not
right now, thank you.
Do you always entertain
drop-in guests so lavishly?
(CHUCKLES)
I never entertain at all.
I'm practicing for the way
I'm gonna live in Hollywood
when I get Daddy's
insurance money.
You know, you are the first
celebrity I have ever met.
Well, you certainly went to a
great deal of trouble. About Ellen...
I did it right, didn't I? Caviar
and this liver stuff and all?
Perfect.
I got it out of a magazine.
(EXCLAIMS)
Didn't realize how
much it cost, though.
Doris, about Ellen...
Ellen.
She was my very best friend in high school
and I'd be glad to help any way I can.
I understand that she worked
for your father at one point.
Mmm-hmm. We both did. I guess
she told you my daddy fired her.
Well, actually...
I felt sorry for
her. It wasn't fair.
Even if he did catch her
stealing at the register,
he should've given
her another chance.
Ellen was the most
popular girl in high school.
Everybody liked her.
I envied her so much.
And you wanted to be like her.
No, I...
I wanted to be her.
Then I wouldn't have had
to live with that old man.
My daddy treated me like a slave.
Never let me have any friends.
Well, anyway, she
shouldn't have done it.
What makes you
so sure that she did?
She got away with murder
once, didn't she? In Boston?
No, she did not.
That's what I heard.
Oh, I can hardly
wait for the trial.
(CHUCKLES)
I'll have to buy myself
something nice to wear.
I think I'll make a terrific
witness, don't you?
RUSH ON RADIO: Sheriff Hays,
are you there? Come in, Sheriff Hays.
Yeah, Mary Jo, what's up?
Katie Emhardt's
waiting in your office.
Says she's got something important
to tell you about her dead husband.
My Wilbur died exactly
three weeks ago today.
I didn't have the heart to clean
out his closet until yesterday.
I kept seeing those empty
shoes there and I started to cry,
thinking how I'd never
see his big feet again.
Ma'am, I just don't
have a whole lot of time...
Oh, shoo! There's a point to
this, Sheriff, and I'm gonna get to it.
Now, after I did his closet, I cleaned out
his side of the bathroom medicine cabinet.
And I found these pills,
his bladder medicine.
You see, Doc Logan's
name is there on the side.
What about it?
Well, Doc said he died of his heart,
but there wasn't any heart medicine,
because he didn't
have a bad heart.
I was with him when he died.
He was clutching his
stomach, he was in a lot of pain.
Just exactly like
Jake Gerringer.
You're gonna think I'm crazy,
Sheriff, but I believe he was poisoned.
You know, I really shouldn't do
this without Dr. Logan's permission.
He's out to lunch.
With Doc that's a
permanent condition.
Go on.
LAURA: Wilbur Emhardt. His
last physical was before the quake.
Doctor diagnosed
an irritated bladder,
prescribed medication and
put him on a special diet.
No heart problems?
None indicated.
You got a copy of his
death certificate in there?
Cause of death, heart failure.
It's a Friday.
Doc has a habit of usually leaving
early on Fridays to drive down to Laughlin
for a weekend of heavy gambling.
Around noon.
Time of death is 2:15 p.m.
Well, Doc could have rushed through
the examination to get back on schedule.
Anyway, thanks a lot, Laura.
Tell the Doc that I stopped by.
Sheriff, do you think Ellen
Wicker's one of them serial killers?
Don't matter much what I think.
The evidence
will speak for itself.
Mary Jo?
RUSH: Yes, sir, Sheriff.
Call Judge Peller, tell him I
need to have a body dug up.
Jake Gerringer didn't
catch me stealing.
Somebody lied to him and told
him I took money out of the register.
Somebody like his
daughter, Doris?
There were several clerks.
I guess it could
have been Doris.
Anyway, Jake reported
it to the Sheriff's office.
I think he wanted to scare
me more than anything else.
I got scared, okay, not by Jake.
Sheriff Deloy Hays.
'Course, he wasn't
Sheriff then, just a deputy,
but he said he could fix
things for me on a friendly basis.
How well he fixed things
depended on how friendly I got.
I wasn't even 20 yet.
Hays was 30, as mean
and cold then as he is today.
He had me in a cell
backed up against the wall.
If Herb Apple hadn't
come in just then, I...
What happened?
Herb had gone to see Jake,
and got him to drop the charges.
Next day I left town.
And the last thing
I remember seeing
is Deloy Hays' eyes staring
at me as the bus pulled out.
That was 15 years ago, Jessica,
and about the only thing that
hasn't changed in this town
is Deloy Hays.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Hey, Herb, just in time.
You almost missed all the fun.
What the hell is
this about, Sheriff?
It's all in the court order,
Counselor. Read it for yourself.
(CHUCKLES)
Look at this. Ol' Wilbur looks as
good as the day he was buried.
Figures. Preservation's one
of the properties of arsenic.
The tannery used a ton of it.
Ray, have Wilbur delivered to the
Pathology Department at County General.
You got it.
There's no way you
can hang this on Ellen.
Just doing my job, Herb.
Tell that to Mrs. Fletcher, too.
Tell her to stay out of my
way or get out of my town.
(MOTORBIKE REVVING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Howdy, Mrs. Fletcher.
Hello.
I hear you been all over town
seeing folks, even crazy Doris.
Now that ain't very smart.
Be a shame to put in all this exercise
and all of a sudden get yourself hurt.
And just how might
I get myself hurt?
Accident, maybe.
Town's kind of edgy these days.
Never know what's liable to happen.
Is that some sort of threat?
Now, if I was you, I'd think real hard
about catching the next bus out of here.
Well, thanks for the advice.
I'll give it some thought.
Now, where's my manners? I'll
just take you to the station myself.
Get on.
(SIRENS WAILING)
Oh! Where did you come from?
Sheriff asked me to
keep on eye on you.
You all right, Mrs. Fletcher?
Oh, yes, I'm just fine. No
damage, just my nerves.
Edge Potter.
He's three bricks short of a full
load. I'll have a chat with him later.
Everybody in this town is
not like him, Mrs. Fletcher.
Well, thank goodness.
And thanks for you.
Although I'm sure all this isn't
what the Sheriff had in mind
when he said to
keep your eye on me.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Well, no question about it, Ellen.
Wilbur Emhardt was poisoned.
Arsenic, just like
Jake Gerringer.
I can't believe this.
He was one of your
regulars, too, wasn't he?
Oh, for God's sakes, you, too?
No, course not, course not.
I'm just reflecting
what people are saying.
Or, you know, at least thinking.
Relax, you're gonna
come through this okay.
I'm here, huh?
I mean,
haven't I always been
here when you needed me?
Huh?
Yeah...
Come on. No, that's enough.
Come on.
Please don't. This is
stupid and embarrassing.
Stop it! I said no!
Ellen?
(DOOR SLAMS)
Funny, isn't it, Jess, how I seem
to bring out the best in people?
(SIGHS)
It's all right, Ellen.
(SHRIEKS)
Stay here.
Jessica, don't go out there!
(TIRES SQUEALING)
(GASPS)
HERB: I don't suppose you
can describe the car, can you?
Well, no, it was
too dark to see.
I'll see to it that this
window gets replaced.
Then I'll take care of painting
the porch for you, Ellen.
Thanks, Herb.
I would have been here sooner if I
wasn't hanging around with Doctor Logan
at the County General waiting for
the lab test results of Wilbur Emhardt.
It was arsenic
poisoning, all right.
I know.
I understand that two of the
victims were Doctor Logan's patients.
Doc says that if the poisoning hadn't
gotten him, something else would have.
I'm sorry, Ellen,
but this business with Wilbur
is going to make things tougher.
You haven't changed your mind
about defending me, have you?
Of course I haven't.
(PHONE RINGING)
I'll get it.
Did you know your phone was
off the hook when I came in?
Well, Ellen has had several
unpleasant calls recently.
(WHISTLES)
How long has this been going on?
Since early this
morning. It never quits.
(SIGHS)
Ellen, I am so sorry.
Whatever it takes, however long it
takes, we're going to get you through this.
(COUGHING)
(GROANS)
Help...
(COUGHING)
Laura!
Ross?
(PHONE RINGING)
Sheriff's office.
Deputy Gomez...
The Sheriff isn't
here right now.
Hold it, he just walked in.
It's Mrs. Corman. She
sounds kind of hysterical.
Laura?
Laura, just slow down.
I can't understand you.
He's gone, Sheriff.
Hasn't been dead more
than 15 or 20 minutes, though.
Poison again, Doc?
Now, how the hell would I
know? I ain't no damn coroner.
How you feeling, Laura?
Better, thanks.
Well, you look like hell.
You've had a bad shock.
I want you upstairs...
No, no, no, no.
I need to ask her a
couple more questions first.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Laura, you said Ross told you he had
some kind of business meeting tonight.
And you went up to
bed around 10:00, right?
Yes.
And then later you heard
Ross come in, you know,
banging around like he'd
had too much to drink.
But you don't know
where he'd been?
Well, I didn't get a
chance to talk to him.
He called out my name
and when I went downstairs
I found him doubled up sick.
He couldn't talk,
he fell, it was awful.
That's when I called you.
(PHONE RINGING)
Ray, would you
answer that thing?
Okay, up you go.
I want you in bed for a while.
The questions can wait.
Sheriff, it's Mary Jo.
Yeah, hello. What's
the trouble, Mary Jo?
Hmm.
When did the call come in?
It was a muffled
tone, hard to hear.
Yeah, did they give a name?
What exactly did the caller say?
Maybe you should try
to get some sleep, Ellen.
I can't.
Why don't you go to bed,
Jess, you must be tired.
I can't sleep either.
I mean, this poison, something is
missing. I just can't get a handle on it.
About tonight. About Ross.
I'm sorry you had to see that.
Oh, it wasn't your fault.
Well, when he invited
himself over for a drink,
I should have known better.
You know, mostly everybody thought we
were going to get married, including me.
That was before Jake Gerringer's
accusation ran me out of town.
(SIGHS)
I guess
Ross just thought he could
pick up where we left off.
Never had much
luck with men, Jess.
Not even Herb Apple?
Oh, Herb's a dear friend, but I
never thought of him in that way.
Too bad. Maybe you should try.
(CAR APPROACHING)
Who could that
be? It's almost 1:00.
It's the Sheriff.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Ellen, mind if I come in?
Mrs. Fletcher.
Sheriff.
Anything wrong? Seems
a little late for a social call.
No, nothing, ma'am.
Trouble is like babies.
Mostly it comes at night.
What kind of trouble?
Ross Corman was here
earlier tonight, right, Ellen?
Yes, he was.
Yeah, we got a tip about that.
Had some wine, I expect.
That's right. Why?
Oh. Had stains on his shirt.
Could have matched the
wine in that bottle there.
What do you mean,
"stains on his shirt"?
He's dead, ma'am.
What?
Looks like he was poisoned.
Ellen, I'm
confiscating this bottle,
and you're coming with
me down to my office.
Now, just a moment, Sheriff.
I had some of that wine. We
both did. Our glasses are right here.
Well, where's Ross
Corman's glass?
I washed it after he left
along with mine and a plate.
So you didn't poison the
whole bottle, just Ross's glass.
That's such a stupid accusation.
We know you had the arsenic.
You could have put enough aside
to get even with an old boyfriend
who dumped you years ago.
Look, Sheriff,
you have no right...
You stay out of this, ma'am.
It's none of your business.
Now, Ellen, you grab your coat. You
can call your lawyer from my office.
All right, go with him,
Ellen. I'll call Herb.
Well, having got you out
in the middle of the night,
the least I can do is
to make some coffee.
It was a dirty trick, the
Sheriff arresting Ellen at night.
He knows I won't be able to get
hold of a judge until late in the morning.
Well, with everything that's
been going on around here tonight,
I think that
she's safer in jail.
Nice try, but I don't
think you mean that.
Herb, what do you think's
gonna happen? I mean, really.
Worst case scenario, I
don't want to think about.
After the Sheriff is finished
setting folks against Ellen,
it'll be hard as hell to
find an impartial jury.
Folks in this town
are like sheep.
You lead 'em by the nose,
they'll follow you anywhere.
Of course, with the
Sheriff, it's personal.
But you know that.
I know that.
I am totally perplexed. I
mean, it seems inconceivable
that there's a psychopath
running around poisoning people,
certainly not Ellen, but people are
dying and there has to be a logical reason.
I hope you made that coffee strong. I
don't expect to get much sleep tonight.
HERB: Jessica?
Hello?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Didn't you tell me that the dry
wells that this town is named for
are close-by the tannery ruins?
Yes, that's right.
Well, this is a long shot,
Herb, but it's just possible.
I may have an idea
what's behind all this.
And why should I show my
husband's files from the tannery to you?
Because I believe that
there's something in those files
that will prove Ellen
Wicker's innocence.
You make it a habit of doing the
Sheriff's job for him, Mrs. Fletcher?
Well, I guess I do,
when he can't. Or won't.
Most folks in this town
are real fond of Deloy Hays.
He keeps the town safe.
At what cost, Mrs. Emhardt?
I mean, it seems to me that the Sheriff
runs things the way that it suits him.
That's fine with me.
I don't want his job,
though it appears you do.
No, I do not want his job, but
I do want to see justice done,
and it won't be
if Ellen Wicker is
convicted of murders
that she didn't commit.
What are you afraid of?
Don't you want to know the truth
about the death of your husband?
You're wasting your time.
When you called I
looked in those files.
There's nothing in
there about Ellen Wicker.
Well, what is in
those files then?
Lot of chemical stuff
I don't understand.
Bunch of memos from the board of
directors about closing down the tannery.
Including disposal
of toxic waste?
How'd you know that?
Was just a guess.
Mrs. Emhardt, please let me look at the
files. If I'm wrong, there's no harm done,
but if I'm right, you've saved an
innocent woman from a life in prison.
Sheriff's not gonna like this.
Well, frankly, I don't
care what the Sheriff likes.
I told my deputy not
to disturb us for a while.
You and me, we gotta come
to some kind of understanding.
What do you want?
You're a pretty smart lady. I'd
have thought you'd figured that out.
I guess you remember a few
years back, you and me in here,
we never did finish
that conversation.
You bastard, keep away from me.
Not very nice talk, Ellen,
considering your predicament.
You know, I'm in a
good position to help you.
County Attorney, he pretty
much goes by my say-so.
If I was to tell him I didn't have much
of a case against you, he'd go along.
Same applies the other way.
Guess I'm not getting
through to you, am I?
Oh, I hear you just fine
and the answer is no.
I'll take my chances in court.
I'm sorry to hear that, Ellen.
Trouble is, you've never
had the love of a good man.
(KEYS JINGLING)
Sheriff.
Mary Jo, I told you not
to disturb me in here!
Yes, sir, but there's something
on the TV I think you should see.
REPORTER ON TV: To recap
what's going on here this afternoon,
volunteers from Safer Environment
are digging with picks and shovels
about 100 yards behind
the ruins of the old tannery.
Why they are digging
remains a complete mystery,
which may explain the
presence of mystery writer
J.B. Fletcher among the diggers.
Damn!
(SIRENS WAILING)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
You people know
what you're doing here?
This is private property.
And you're all trespassing!
Now let's just clear the area.
Did you people hear what I said?
Oh, they heard you all right, Sheriff,
but I just don't think they much care.
Oh, friends of yours, Mrs. Fletcher?
I mean weirdos from back east?
Well, actually, Sheriff, they're
from all over the country.
They're volunteers who
care about the environment.
What the hell's going on here?
Well, Mrs. Emhardt gave
us her late husband's plans
for disposing of toxic
materials, including arsenic,
to be buried in three dry wells.
Oh, come on, that old
tannery didn't kill anybody.
Don't you be so sure of that.
Mr. Emhardt thought that the poison
would remain safely buried forever.
Now, his wife said that
he had second thoughts
during the Central
California earthquakes.
So now it's a
quake's fault, huh?
I mean, it sounds like you're
making up one of your stories.
MAN: Yeah, I think I hit
something. Over here!
I think I got one!
Okay, on three. One, two, three.
Someone get me a flashlight.
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
You see what happened?
The earthquake cracked
the walls of the dry wells
and the water from the
lower water table seeped in
and the same earthquake
damaged the containers.
The arsenic contaminated
the water supply.
That's your killer, Sheriff.
Toxic waste, not Ellen Wicker.
So why don't you get off
your butt and let her out of jail?
You're saying it wasn't murder?
HERB: That's exactly
what I'm saying.
Well, I'm not so
sure about that, Herb.
I mean, the fact is one of the
victims was definitely murdered.
And the question in my mind is,
what are you willing
to do about it, Sheriff?
Well, thank you very much.
You're right, ma'am.
The Board of Health tested
the town's drinking water
and the main well on the
north side is contaminated.
But not the well
on the south side?
No, ma'am.
Jake Gerringer and
Wilbur Emhardt would
have gotten their water
from the north side.
Well, those two had
really bad health problems.
Of course, younger, stronger
people like Jake's daughter,
they could tolerate small amounts
of arsenic. For a while anyway.
Yes, but one of the victims
was young and healthy
and lived on the south side
where there was no poison.
Doc, we'd like to speak
to your nurse, please.
Sure.
Laura, would you come
in for a minute, please?
Laura?
She was here a minute
ago. She must've stepped out.
Well, maybe we can catch her.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Mrs. Fletcher, what's going on?
Follow us!
It won't do any good, Laura.
You can't flush the container.
LAURA: You can't prove
I murdered my husband.
Ellen Wicker poisoned
him with red wine.
And how did you know that
Ellen served him red wine?
Ross told me, that's how.
You told me you were
upstairs when Ross came in,
and you never had a
chance to talk to him.
He had a wine stain on
his shirt, that's how I knew.
But there was no stain
when he left Ellen's.
His shirt was perfectly clean.
No, I believe that the stain
was deliberately put there by you,
and the only way that you could have known
that he was drinking red wine at Ellen's
was by following him over there
and spying on him through the window.
She's making that
up to protect Ellen.
And later, when you supposedly
found Ross dying, you called the Sheriff.
A concerned wife and a nurse
should've called the doctor.
The anonymous call to the Sheriff's
office came from your upstairs phone
while the Sheriff was busy downstairs. I
checked the phone company's records.
Do you think I wanted
to work for Doc Logan?
I had to.
Ross spent every cent he made
on stupid women that
didn't give a damn about him.
But Ellen was the
one that he pined for.
I'd already made up
my mind to kill him.
When I saw her
give him the wine,
I knew just how I'd do it.
I waited for him in a sexy
nightgown to grab his attention.
I'd already poisoned a
bottle of his favorite wine.
It was no trouble at
all to get him to drink it.
I went up to bed and waited.
When I heard him call my name,
I knew the poison was working.
After he was dead,
I poured wine on his shirt and made a trail
that led the Sheriff straight to Ellen.
I knew he'd be so anxious
to get Ellen in his jail,
he wouldn't concern
himself with proof.
You know, Dry Wells is liable to
be a whole different place for you
now that the Sheriff
has been fired
and Ray Gomez has
been appointed in his place.
Yeah, but it wasn't
just the Sheriff.
Ever since I arrived I felt
like I was living in a fishbowl,
always on display,
always being judged.
No matter what I did, there'd
always be those looks behind me.
There she goes, the
Typhoid Mary of Murder.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no,
you can't have that title.
That's what they call me.
(PHONE RINGING)
Excuse me.
Hello?
Hi, Katie. It's Katie Emhardt.
Oh. Are you sure?
(SIGHS)
Well, yeah, I guess so.
Well, thanks for asking me,
Katie. I'll talk to you soon.
What is it?
The Woman's Club. They're
trying to revitalize the town
and they're starting with a "Let's get Dry
Wells back on its feet dance" next month.
They want me to
serve on the committee.
Oh, how very nice.
But... (CLEARS THROAT)
Are you still going to
be here next month?
Yeah, I guess I will be.
Well, then I guess you
only have one problem.
A date for the dance.
Here I go, calling
a lawyer again.
(CHUCKLING)