Tucker's Witch (1982–1983): Season 1, Episode 12 - Murder Is the Key - full transcript
Ted Lomax kills his wife and frames her secret lover for her murder, and Rick and Amanda must figure out the truth.
- Hey, I got an idea.
Why don't we catch dinner?
- Whatever you say, baby face.
- What'd Gary do with that fishing gear?
- Oh, it's in the new footlocker
he bought this morning.
Key's in the closet above the door.
Poor Gary, he's gonna be
sick when he reads this.
- I know, sweetheart.
But that's the way it's gotta be.
- That's Gary's jacket you're wearing.
- It was handy.
- Oh.
- The starter cord snapped.
Let's take the other boat.
- Baby face, I'm so happy.
- Ready?
I know I'm just a dumb
junk man that got lucky,
but even a junk man knows that
a bankruptcy lawyer is
making a bundle these days.
Thanks Phil, you're a prince.
Best to Louise.
Yeah, Gloria's fine.
Okay, bye.
At least they don't know.
Anyway, I couldn't go up to the lake
with Gloria last Saturday
because I had to work.
- Who reported her missing?
- Our caretaker, Gary Burke.
He's a nice kid.
- You don't seem very worried, Mr. Lomax.
- Please, Ted.
Nah, Gloria's all right.
Excuse us, Gregory.
Now my wife, well, she
has this drinking problem.
She disappears once in awhile
and I have to find
somebody reliable like you
to find her and bring her back,
then everything's okay.
Until next time.
- Okay, we'll see what we can do.
Can I borrow this?
- Sure, please.
Oh, and you'll need these
keys to get in up there.
It's my fault really.
I don't see enough of her.
I've got this gorgeous
place up in the country
and I love to fish.
I haven't been up there in two months.
- That's criminal.
You're gonna miss the bass season.
- Hey, he likes to fish?
- Does a goose walk barefoot?
- Just pick a weekend,
you're both my guests.
- Careful, we'll take you
up on that, Mr. Lomax.
- Who's Mr. Lomax, where is he?
- Sorry, Ted.
- Oh, that's better.
- Do you know where she might be?
- She's probably sleeping
it off in a motel up there.
Well, thanks for coming by.
- Mr. Lomax, when was this picture taken?
- 10 years ago, just
before we were married.
Beautiful kid, huh?
- Honey?
- Oh, I'm just a little chilly.
Well, look at you.
- What?
- You just can't wait to
get up there, can you?
- Well, I'm just
a little old country boy.
- He sure has his hands full.
- Yeah, can't be too much fun.
You go to one of those
fancy social events,
you look over and your
wife's wearing a lampshade.
- Rick, Amanda, I have a problem.
What's all this?
- We are going up to Deer Lake
to find a missing person.
- What's the problem?
- Well, it's Dickens.
He's having a nervous breakdown.
I mean, he made a jungle
out of all my yarn
and then he spilled a whole
bottle of ink on the carpet.
We never should've told him about
that vet's appointment on Thursday.
- Mother, he's gotta have his shots.
- He heard you.
Dickens, stop it.
- What is the matter with this cat?
He broke a 20 year old bottle of scotch.
- Is he all right?
- Not for long.
- Think he's turning
on us, like a Doberman?
- Dickens, what's the matter?
The vet's not gonna hurt you.
- So, you're going up to Deer Lake?
Oh, they grow the best
wild herbs up there.
- Ellen, why don't you come with us?
- Oh no, oh Rick, I wasn't hinting.
Really, really, Amanda, I wasn't hinting.
- Ellen, I insist.
- Okay.
- Dickens wants to go too.
- Now that's ridiculous.
- We can't leave him alone in the house.
He'll wreck it.
- Oh great, three grown
people held hostage by a cat.
- That's kinda nice.
- This air smells great.
- I don't smell anything.
- Honey, that's the point.
There's no pollution here.
You know, sometimes I
think maybe we should just
chuck it all and move up here,
where life is simple.
People are straightforward and friendly.
- Now, who the hell are they?
- Oh, mind your own
damn business, Merrill.
- Have fun, Mom.
- Okay.
I'll see you up at the lake.
- See you, Merrill.
- Yeah.
- What's the matter with him?
- Says he saw something the other day.
- Like what?
- Says he ain't sure.
- Hello?
Mrs. Lomax?
Anybody home?
Honey, now this is the kinda
place we ought to have.
Rambling, rustic.
Kinda like me.
- Right.
- Away from the smog and the noise.
- Rick.
- Yeah.
- Isn't this Gloria?
- Yeah, it's an older
Gloria, but that's Gloria.
Ooh, dear Gary.
This may hurt you but it's impossible
to keep seeing each other.
Impossible spelled with one S.
We have absolutely nothing in common.
Common spelled with one M.
Please forgive me.
Gloria.
- She must've been having an affair
with the caretaker.
She decided to call it off, he got mad,
and tore up her picture.
- Good going.
Can't argue with that.
- A priest and a horse.
- A priest and a horse?
- In the suitcase.
- Why not?
There's blood here.
- What, honey?
- I said, there's blood here.
Wonder whose it is.
Could be a fish, or not.
- To my darling.
Love always, your Gloria.
- What the hell are you doing here?
- Hey, hey, easy, easy.
You must be Gary, huh?
- We were sent by Mr.
Lomax to find his wife.
- Yeah look, I got the keys
right here in my pocket.
You know, look, we don't want any trouble.
Be careful with that thing, huh?
Now, I got the gun,
you don't have the gun.
I like it better this way.
- Do you know where she is?
- What she does is her own damn business.
And if I was you, I'd get outta here
because you're trespassing.
- You don't believe us, go call Lomax.
- Better come up with
something better than that.
- Well, she's not here anyway.
Let's go.
- Friendly country folk, huh?
- Hey, how you doing?
- Fine.
- Boy, you got a great
view from here, huh?
Mm-hmm, I bet you can see a lot, huh?
- Yeah.
- Like anyone going in and
out of that summer colony?
- Mm-hmm.
- Hey.
Can you tell me anything
about Gloria Lomax?
- Want to play?
Five to one odds.
- Sure.
- Five bucks.
- Five bucks.
- I saw Mrs. Lomax going
in Saturday morning.
- Was she alone?
- Yep.
- You see her again after that?
- Yep.
- Son of a gun, you got me.
- Yeah.
- When did you see her again?
- Hmm?
Ah.
She came back down Saturday morning
to buy two bottles of champagne.
Ain't that right, Dolores?
- You got a big mouth, Merrill.
- Was she celebrating something?
- I don't know and I didn't ask.
- Did anybody else see her after that?
Hey, honey?
- Yeah?
- Let's go fishing.
- Right.
- Hey, finish the game.
Huh?
- Why don't you
hang onto the money?
You earned it.
- Gary took her out in the boat.
- When was that?
- Saturday, about two in the afternoon.
They went around that bend.
She was laughing.
- Are you sure it was Gary and Gloria?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
Gary was wearing his
old camouflage jacket.
Boat came back about a half hour later.
- What's the payoff, Mr. Walker?
- When the boat came back,
Gary was the only one in it.
- We better take a look.
This pull cord is broken.
Can't start that boat.
- Let's take that one.
- Looks like a fresh break.
- You collecting string these days?
- Doesn't take up much room.
- What the hell are
you trying to do to me?
- Take it easy, Gary.
- Why don't you just go
back where you came from?
- Where's Gloria?
- Look, I know what people
are saying about me.
- Yeah, what are they saying, Gary?
- That I did something
to her, and I didn't.
I couldn't.
- Well then just tell us where she is.
- I'm just telling you it ain't true.
- Gary, what'd you do?
What in the world did you do?
Did you use one of these knives?
Check out these knives and stuff.
Take the whole thing with you.
They used to coach this
kid in the Little League.
Easy!
- I didn't do it!
- Get him out of here.
- I didn't do it.
- Take it easy, Mr. Lomax.
It's a terrible thing.
I just don't know what to say.
The deceased is on the
other side of the lake.
The police boat will be
here in just a minute.
- That's okay.
We'll take mine.
- I just can't believe it.
We always welcomed our
summer folks at Deer Lake.
Now to have something like
this happen, I don't know.
- Ted.
We're really sorry.
- It's really awful.
- Yeah, you trust someone,
you take him into your house
and treat him like family,
and then something like this happens.
I don't know.
Well, you did the best you could.
Without you, Gary might
never have been caught.
- Yeah.
- Well, I've gotta go identify Gloria.
Come by the house tomorrow
and I'll have your check ready.
- Oh, don't sweat that.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Oh, Sheriff.
We can't go in that boat.
The pull cord is snapped.
- How'd he know that?
- I don't know.
Honey, don't do that.
You'll lose your queen.
- Stupid, just stupid.
- Oh, it's just a game.
- No, no, no, no.
I mean Gary.
I mean, this guy is not one of your
brighter criminal minds, right?
But to tear up a photograph.
To leave a letter lying around.
- Yeah.
You know, that fishing
knife in the footlocker
had a spot of her blood on the handle.
He didn't even bother to wash it off.
That's kind of unbelievable.
- Something's not kosher.
- Why would Gloria
bring a gift for someone
she's about to break up with?
- Unless it was for somebody else.
Somebody she was expecting.
- Oh Rick, do you think we put
the wrong person in jail?
- I don't know.
I don't know.
We found Gloria's body awful quick.
- We're good but we're not that good.
Oh Dickens, if you knock
over one more thing.
- Look what Dickens knocked over.
- A couple of pawns.
- Amanda, Rick, thanks for coming.
- This could've really waited.
- Oh no, you earned this.
Oh, excuse me.
Yeah.
No, I haven't seen those chess pieces.
What?
She picked them up?
Gift wrapped.
No no, I'll take care of it myself.
Thanks.
Sorry.
- Yeah, I can see you're missing
a couple of chess pieces
here from your game.
- Yeah, they were broken.
I'm having them replaced.
- A bishop and a knight.
- A priest and a horse.
- What's that, Amanda?
- Oh nothing, Ted, nothing.
- Such a beautiful set.
- Well, thank you.
Here you go.
Rick, Amanda, anytime you need anything,
anything, the door's always open,
so don't be strangers, okay?
Now you've gotta excuse me
because I've got some people here
to offer their condolences.
- Ted, I'm just curious about one thing.
- What's that, Rick?
- You know detectives.
They have to tie up
every little loose end.
- It's this pull cord from
your speedboat, you know?
It's kind of a fresh break.
You can tell in there in the center,
because it's clean and white.
- What's your point, Rick?
- Well, I'm just wondering.
If you hadn't been up to your lodge
in a couple of months,
how'd you know it was broken?
- We're being picky, right?
- No wonder you're so good.
No actually, Gary called
and told me all about it.
- Of course.
- Well, you know your way out.
- Do you believe him?
- There's a chess term
for what just happened.
We attacked, he castled.
- Which means?
- Uh-uh, I don't believe him.
- Neither do I.
- Yeah, well I think you've done enough.
- Look, if we leave, you've got nobody.
- Okay, okay.
What do you want to know?
- When did you tell Lomax
about the broken pull cord?
- What?
- From the motorboat.
- The pull cord broke?
- You've just answered our question.
- What did you do on Saturday?
- In the morning, I went
out and bought some stuff.
I got a pair of boots,
a new footlocker and
then Gloria came.
- And did you talk to her?
- Not much.
She didn't want me around.
So I took off, I had a job.
- Where?
- Guy by the name of Schroeder.
He has a summer house.
I never met him before but he called me
Saturday morning from Pasadena
to fix his roof.
Said he'd send me a check.
Was there for the rest of the day.
- Well, did anybody see you?
- I doubt it, it's way back in the woods.
- What about the letter and the picture?
- I didn't see no letter
and I didn't tear up any pictures.
I could never tear up her picture.
- You loved her.
- Yes, I loved her.
She loved him.
- Who?
- Lomax.
He treated her like dirt.
She didn't fit in with his fancy crowd.
He wanted to get a divorce.
She wouldn't let him.
- Why?
- Because she liked being Mrs. Ted Lomax.
She said it gave her class.
Why not?
I couldn't give her nothing.
But I loved her.
And I would never hurt a bone in her body.
- I believe you, Gary.
- Gary, we think you've been set up.
And we were part of it.
- Lomax?
- Hello?
Mr. Schroeder?
Hi, this is Helen Kurtniss
of Deer Lake Roofing Supplies.
And you had a Gary Burke working
Saturday, fixing your roof.
And we, Gary Burke.
You never heard of him?
But you do need your roof fixed.
I see, well I'll get right back to you.
Thank you.
- Want to see me climb a roof?
Why was this so much
easier when I was smaller?
- Get away!
- What, what?
- It's a wasp.
- Well, stand still.
- What?
- Stay still.
See?
- Rick.
- Yeah.
- It's on my shoulder.
- Then run.
Well, somebody fixed Schroeder's roof.
- Oh, great.
- These shingles are all new
and the tar is still soft.
- Well then who called Gary to fix it?
- Somebody claiming to be Schroeder.
Whoa!
- What do you mean, someone like Lomax?
- Yeah, he'd get Gary out here
in the middle of nowhere
where no one could see him.
But then what?
Nobody saw Lomax come up, so.
There's lots of missing pieces.
- Missing pieces.
Oh Rick, we've gotta
get back to the lodge.
Yeah.
Please be there.
- A bishop and a knight.
- A priest and a horse.
- Got turkey, Gary.
What the hell?
- Rick.
- Hi.
- Hi.
There's awful news, where's Amanda?
- She's getting catnip for Dickens, what?
- Oh, Sheriff Trout called.
He said that Gary Burke
escaped about an hour ago
and he stole a truck and they
think he's headed for LA.
- Why would he?
He's after Lomax.
- Oh no, no, that's all right because
the Sheriff called Lomax to warn him.
- That's not all right.
Then Lomax will be waiting for Gary.
- Why?
- So he can kill Gary in
self defense, case closed.
I gotta get over there.
Let's get the hell outta here.
Easy, Ted, easy, easy.
It's Tucker, don't shoot.
- What are you doing here?
- I'm trying to save your life, man.
Sheriff Trout called me and
told me about the breakout.
Everything's all right, Ted.
Go on back inside.
I'll take care of him.
You go on back in, it's all okay.
You, at the gate.
Try anything cute, you're dead.
I'll call you, Ted.
Go on, move.
Sheriff Trout, he is giving himself up.
No, the LAPD has already sent a car.
He's not dangerous, I guarantee it.
Bye.
- You heard that, Gary.
You're not dangerous, right?
- I'm okay now.
I'm just really sorry about all this.
- Hey look, it's gonna be fine.
- Thank you.
- Oh Gary, you mentioned that Gloria
would never give Lomax a divorce.
Why would he need her consent?
- I am freezing.
- Honey, the door's open.
Did she have some kind of hold on him?
- Not that I know of.
- No, it's the same chill that I had
in Lomax's living room with that picture.
Did she ever mention anything
about a place called The Penguin?
- The restaurant?
Yeah.
It sounded crazy but
when she was drinking,
she used to say,
well, if that so and
so talks about divorce,
I just tell him that
The Penguin is on fire.
And then she'd laugh like hell.
- Thanks.
- Well, you'll know where to find me.
- This time, stay there.
- I hear that.
- Oh Dickens, that will
get you absolutely nowhere.
Honestly, that cat has just
broken the Navajo vase.
I'll be so glad when tomorrow's over.
Don't forget, you have an appointment
at four tomorrow with the vet.
Oh, oh.
- Dickens, enough is enough.
- Marsha, would you call
Howard at the paper?
I know you're not speaking to him,
but I need his help.
Oh, please?
Okay, The Penguin.
Lomax owned it 10 years ago.
Yeah, ask him to come over tomorrow.
Oh that's great, thanks.
Listen, I owe you a big favor.
She hates me.
She hates Howard.
- No, she loves you, she loves Howard,
and she loves the excuse
to call him again.
- This is so frustrating.
We know Lomax did it but we don't have
a nickel's worth of hard evidence.
Like how did he get in and out
of there without being seen?
- The only road in goes by Dolores' inn.
- Oh no, no, there's another
old road that nobody uses.
- Another one?
- Well, it's a trail.
It goes behind the summer colony.
I gathered my rosemary there.
- Saw your car parked outside.
How you been getting on?
- Oh hi, Sheriff, I'm fine.
I'm looking for a little box here.
Your men didn't find it, did they?
A little gift wrapped box
with a couple of chess pieces on it.
- I don't think so.
I'll check it out.
- Oh, I appreciate that, Sheriff.
It means a lot to me.
- Well, take it easy.
- Oh, Sheriff.
These Tuckers.
What's with them, huh?
- Well, I heard about that shootout
they had up at your house.
Personally, I think they're
just running around,
chasing their tails.
First they catch Gary and
then they're sorry about it.
They went over to visit
him about a half hour ago.
- They're up here now?
- Yeah, they're roaming around somewhere.
- Thanks, Sheriff.
- Take it easy.
- Did I just step in poison ivy?
- Oh that?
- Yes.
- No no, that's poison oak.
Don't worry, don't worry, it's not summer.
- I can never relax in the woods.
I always think something's gonna jump out
and bite my leg.
What's that noise?
- That's us walking.
- Isn't this bear country?
- No.
- I read that there were bears here.
- No bears, come on.
- What about snakes?
- Oh, yeah, a couple of snakes.
- A couple of snakes.
It only takes one snake
to get you in the leg.
- Ah-ha.
There it is, right where
your mother said it was.
Look.
That looks like a Jeep or a small truck.
- What's that mark?
- Oh good, that's a
tire with a gash in it.
- So we have to find the Jeep
that goes with that tire?
- Uh-huh.
Now, if that was Lomax,
he needed time to get
up here to murder Gloria
and then to get back.
- The coroner said the time of death
was between two and four in the afternoon.
Lomax said he was at the junkyard all day.
- Then we gotta slice
three hours off his alibi.
Ooh, oh come on, we gotta get back.
I'm gonna be late for Howard.
- I gotta take Dickens to the vet.
- Okay, we'll meet later
at Lomax's junkyard.
- There I was, sick in bed,
half dead with the flu.
- I didn't know you were sick.
- That's my point.
Do you call to see how I am?
- I was on assignment in San Diego.
- What, there's no
telephones in San Diego?
That's one of your
character flaws, Howard.
You're inconsiderate.
Another one is you're egotistical.
- Oh now look--
- Don't interrupt me.
I haven't touched rude,
childish, and opinionated.
- Oh hi, hi, is this a bad time?
- No, no, this is a great time.
- I'll finish with you later.
- She is tough.
But I love her.
- Got a hunch the feeling is mutual.
- Well, she didn't sound very mutual.
- Hi Howard, you got anything for me?
- Oh yeah, right, mm-hmm.
On January 14th, 1973, The Penguin.
A real fancy club up in
Big Bear burned down.
Now, the police suspected arson.
Couldn't prove it.
- Fireman dies in blaze.
Firemen where hampered
by subfreezing weather.
Amanda's chills.
Nevermind.
Only one witness, a waitress who went back
to retrieve her wallet.
Gloria Finley.
Gloria.
When questioned by police,
Miss Finley said that
she hadn't seen anything.
What's that?
- A wedding announcement.
One week after the fire.
- Lomax Finley nuptials.
This afternoon, Mr. Ted
Lomax of Los Angeles
was wed to the former Miss
Gloria Finley of Bristow.
- Give you anything?
- Yeah yeah, a big motive.
Thank you, Howard.
- Hey wait a minute, you're
not leaving me here, are you?
- He's all yours, Marsha.
Thanks, Howard.
- Come over here, Howard.
- Well, I'll be right back, Dickens, okay?
Dickens, what is it?
Oh, stop worrying.
I'm just gonna ask a few questions.
Whoops, stay put.
Nice doggy.
- Can I help you?
Pretty lady.
- Oh, thank you.
Yes you can, my name is Rose Basin.
I'm a system security analyst for MRP
and Mr. Lomax called and asked
that we come down and check the place out.
- Oh, check away.
My name's Stanley, Stanley the man-ley.
- Hi, Stanley.
How many shifts do you have
on the job here, Stanley?
- Two.
I work days, I get off at four,
and Burger comes in, he
works until midnight.
After that, grr.
The dogs take over.
- Right, Stanley.
Do you see everybody that comes in and out
of this gate then?
- Everybody.
Of course, certain people
I pay more attention to.
- Oh.
Well thank you, Stanley.
When Burger comes on, do you just leave?
- No no, we go into this shed here.
He makes coffee.
I change into my skivvies.
Get ready for what the night will bring.
- Oh, I bet the night brings
a whole lot, huh Stanley?
- Ooh.
- Nobody is at the gate then at that time.
- You know, for maybe five minutes.
But I lock it.
- Mr. Lomax said he was here on Saturday.
- Oh, all day.
He locked himself in
the trailer over there.
Said he didn't want to be disturbed.
What are you asking about him for?
- Oh, we ask about everybody, Stanley.
Did anything unusual happen that day
around, say, two o'clock?
- Nothing.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
Oh, except for there was a
small fire on the north end.
But my fire extinguisher handled it.
- So how long were you away from the gate?
- 10, 15 minutes.
- Thank you, Stanley.
Oh, is it all right if I look around now?
- Would you like a guided tour?
- Thanks, but I think
I can do it on my own.
Dickens!
- Dickens, Dickens!
- He was there.
He knocked Stanley out and
set the dogs on me, I know it.
- But you didn't see him.
It always comes back to that.
- He set the fire to get out
and used the changing of
the guards to get back in.
- Yes, and he did it to get rid of a wife
who was an embarrassment to him,
but if he tries to divorce her,
she'll put him in prison
for arson and murder.
- So we know it all.
- Yeah but we can't prove a damn thing.
- Well, what's the answer then?
- Something that happened
up at that lodge.
Something he did.
Something, there's some
way we can force his hand.
Okay, I'm Lomax.
You're Gloria.
I come in the door, I see you,
I tell you I love you.
- I am so happy.
And I'm also so nervous that
I haven't even unpacked yet.
I want to break open the
champagne in the refrigerator,
I want to surprise you with a gift,
and then I want to make love.
- And I say no.
Because I realize I've
only got a couple hours
and I've gotta set Gary up.
And I tell you, you've
gotta break up with Gary.
You've gotta write a letter.
- I agree.
Anything because I am so happy.
Dear Gary, I cannot see you
anymore, blah blah blah.
- Now.
I suggest that we take a little boat ride.
- Sure.
Anything you say.
- Good, Burt Walker's in his usual spot.
I've got my witness.
Now.
I put on Gary's clothes.
- You forgot the knife.
- That's it.
That's it.
- Hello.
- Mr. Lomax?
Sheriff Trout.
Fine, fine.
I'm afraid there's been
a break in at your house.
You better come up here and
see if anything's missing.
- All right, I'll be
there as soon as I can.
- I'm sorry to drag you
all the way up here but
I gotta protect our summer people.
- That's fine, Sheriff,
thanks for calling.
I guess I'd better look around
and see what's missing.
- Ah, hold up there, Mr. Lomax.
Take a look in here.
Is this that box you were talking about
with the chess pieces?
- Yeah, it could be.
- That look like it?
Well, we're gonna need
something long enough
to get that out.
Have you got a fishing knife
or something around here?
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- A little bird tell you
where that key was, Mr. Lomax?
I'm sorry, Ted.
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
I just wondered how you knew
where that footlocker was.
Gary said he bought it the
day Gloria was murdered.
- You said you haven't been
up here for two months.
- I saw it yesterday when I
was up here, talking to you.
- Oh.
Wait a minute.
Neither the key nor the
footlocker was here yesterday.
- My men took it away that day.
They found the murder weapon inside.
- We just brought it back
a little while ago, for you.
- There was no
way you could've known.
- Unless Gloria told you the
day that you murdered her.
- Checkmate, Mr. Lomax.
- Moby Dick.
- Well, I didn't get any
fishing in up at Deer Lake.
- Well, I'd say a little rowboat
waiting for a school of perch
is kind of like one man
against a giant white whale.
- Honey, we live in an age of fast food,
high rise condos, and video games.
I mean, sometimes a little
perch is all you get.
- I think we have enough
adventure in our lives
just as it is.
- Hmm.
Things are different now.
Times have changed.
- Not everything.
- Have you got something specific in mind?
- Well.
A kiss is still a kiss.
- You're right.
Luckily, some things never change.
Why don't we catch dinner?
- Whatever you say, baby face.
- What'd Gary do with that fishing gear?
- Oh, it's in the new footlocker
he bought this morning.
Key's in the closet above the door.
Poor Gary, he's gonna be
sick when he reads this.
- I know, sweetheart.
But that's the way it's gotta be.
- That's Gary's jacket you're wearing.
- It was handy.
- Oh.
- The starter cord snapped.
Let's take the other boat.
- Baby face, I'm so happy.
- Ready?
I know I'm just a dumb
junk man that got lucky,
but even a junk man knows that
a bankruptcy lawyer is
making a bundle these days.
Thanks Phil, you're a prince.
Best to Louise.
Yeah, Gloria's fine.
Okay, bye.
At least they don't know.
Anyway, I couldn't go up to the lake
with Gloria last Saturday
because I had to work.
- Who reported her missing?
- Our caretaker, Gary Burke.
He's a nice kid.
- You don't seem very worried, Mr. Lomax.
- Please, Ted.
Nah, Gloria's all right.
Excuse us, Gregory.
Now my wife, well, she
has this drinking problem.
She disappears once in awhile
and I have to find
somebody reliable like you
to find her and bring her back,
then everything's okay.
Until next time.
- Okay, we'll see what we can do.
Can I borrow this?
- Sure, please.
Oh, and you'll need these
keys to get in up there.
It's my fault really.
I don't see enough of her.
I've got this gorgeous
place up in the country
and I love to fish.
I haven't been up there in two months.
- That's criminal.
You're gonna miss the bass season.
- Hey, he likes to fish?
- Does a goose walk barefoot?
- Just pick a weekend,
you're both my guests.
- Careful, we'll take you
up on that, Mr. Lomax.
- Who's Mr. Lomax, where is he?
- Sorry, Ted.
- Oh, that's better.
- Do you know where she might be?
- She's probably sleeping
it off in a motel up there.
Well, thanks for coming by.
- Mr. Lomax, when was this picture taken?
- 10 years ago, just
before we were married.
Beautiful kid, huh?
- Honey?
- Oh, I'm just a little chilly.
Well, look at you.
- What?
- You just can't wait to
get up there, can you?
- Well, I'm just
a little old country boy.
- He sure has his hands full.
- Yeah, can't be too much fun.
You go to one of those
fancy social events,
you look over and your
wife's wearing a lampshade.
- Rick, Amanda, I have a problem.
What's all this?
- We are going up to Deer Lake
to find a missing person.
- What's the problem?
- Well, it's Dickens.
He's having a nervous breakdown.
I mean, he made a jungle
out of all my yarn
and then he spilled a whole
bottle of ink on the carpet.
We never should've told him about
that vet's appointment on Thursday.
- Mother, he's gotta have his shots.
- He heard you.
Dickens, stop it.
- What is the matter with this cat?
He broke a 20 year old bottle of scotch.
- Is he all right?
- Not for long.
- Think he's turning
on us, like a Doberman?
- Dickens, what's the matter?
The vet's not gonna hurt you.
- So, you're going up to Deer Lake?
Oh, they grow the best
wild herbs up there.
- Ellen, why don't you come with us?
- Oh no, oh Rick, I wasn't hinting.
Really, really, Amanda, I wasn't hinting.
- Ellen, I insist.
- Okay.
- Dickens wants to go too.
- Now that's ridiculous.
- We can't leave him alone in the house.
He'll wreck it.
- Oh great, three grown
people held hostage by a cat.
- That's kinda nice.
- This air smells great.
- I don't smell anything.
- Honey, that's the point.
There's no pollution here.
You know, sometimes I
think maybe we should just
chuck it all and move up here,
where life is simple.
People are straightforward and friendly.
- Now, who the hell are they?
- Oh, mind your own
damn business, Merrill.
- Have fun, Mom.
- Okay.
I'll see you up at the lake.
- See you, Merrill.
- Yeah.
- What's the matter with him?
- Says he saw something the other day.
- Like what?
- Says he ain't sure.
- Hello?
Mrs. Lomax?
Anybody home?
Honey, now this is the kinda
place we ought to have.
Rambling, rustic.
Kinda like me.
- Right.
- Away from the smog and the noise.
- Rick.
- Yeah.
- Isn't this Gloria?
- Yeah, it's an older
Gloria, but that's Gloria.
Ooh, dear Gary.
This may hurt you but it's impossible
to keep seeing each other.
Impossible spelled with one S.
We have absolutely nothing in common.
Common spelled with one M.
Please forgive me.
Gloria.
- She must've been having an affair
with the caretaker.
She decided to call it off, he got mad,
and tore up her picture.
- Good going.
Can't argue with that.
- A priest and a horse.
- A priest and a horse?
- In the suitcase.
- Why not?
There's blood here.
- What, honey?
- I said, there's blood here.
Wonder whose it is.
Could be a fish, or not.
- To my darling.
Love always, your Gloria.
- What the hell are you doing here?
- Hey, hey, easy, easy.
You must be Gary, huh?
- We were sent by Mr.
Lomax to find his wife.
- Yeah look, I got the keys
right here in my pocket.
You know, look, we don't want any trouble.
Be careful with that thing, huh?
Now, I got the gun,
you don't have the gun.
I like it better this way.
- Do you know where she is?
- What she does is her own damn business.
And if I was you, I'd get outta here
because you're trespassing.
- You don't believe us, go call Lomax.
- Better come up with
something better than that.
- Well, she's not here anyway.
Let's go.
- Friendly country folk, huh?
- Hey, how you doing?
- Fine.
- Boy, you got a great
view from here, huh?
Mm-hmm, I bet you can see a lot, huh?
- Yeah.
- Like anyone going in and
out of that summer colony?
- Mm-hmm.
- Hey.
Can you tell me anything
about Gloria Lomax?
- Want to play?
Five to one odds.
- Sure.
- Five bucks.
- Five bucks.
- I saw Mrs. Lomax going
in Saturday morning.
- Was she alone?
- Yep.
- You see her again after that?
- Yep.
- Son of a gun, you got me.
- Yeah.
- When did you see her again?
- Hmm?
Ah.
She came back down Saturday morning
to buy two bottles of champagne.
Ain't that right, Dolores?
- You got a big mouth, Merrill.
- Was she celebrating something?
- I don't know and I didn't ask.
- Did anybody else see her after that?
Hey, honey?
- Yeah?
- Let's go fishing.
- Right.
- Hey, finish the game.
Huh?
- Why don't you
hang onto the money?
You earned it.
- Gary took her out in the boat.
- When was that?
- Saturday, about two in the afternoon.
They went around that bend.
She was laughing.
- Are you sure it was Gary and Gloria?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
Gary was wearing his
old camouflage jacket.
Boat came back about a half hour later.
- What's the payoff, Mr. Walker?
- When the boat came back,
Gary was the only one in it.
- We better take a look.
This pull cord is broken.
Can't start that boat.
- Let's take that one.
- Looks like a fresh break.
- You collecting string these days?
- Doesn't take up much room.
- What the hell are
you trying to do to me?
- Take it easy, Gary.
- Why don't you just go
back where you came from?
- Where's Gloria?
- Look, I know what people
are saying about me.
- Yeah, what are they saying, Gary?
- That I did something
to her, and I didn't.
I couldn't.
- Well then just tell us where she is.
- I'm just telling you it ain't true.
- Gary, what'd you do?
What in the world did you do?
Did you use one of these knives?
Check out these knives and stuff.
Take the whole thing with you.
They used to coach this
kid in the Little League.
Easy!
- I didn't do it!
- Get him out of here.
- I didn't do it.
- Take it easy, Mr. Lomax.
It's a terrible thing.
I just don't know what to say.
The deceased is on the
other side of the lake.
The police boat will be
here in just a minute.
- That's okay.
We'll take mine.
- I just can't believe it.
We always welcomed our
summer folks at Deer Lake.
Now to have something like
this happen, I don't know.
- Ted.
We're really sorry.
- It's really awful.
- Yeah, you trust someone,
you take him into your house
and treat him like family,
and then something like this happens.
I don't know.
Well, you did the best you could.
Without you, Gary might
never have been caught.
- Yeah.
- Well, I've gotta go identify Gloria.
Come by the house tomorrow
and I'll have your check ready.
- Oh, don't sweat that.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Oh, Sheriff.
We can't go in that boat.
The pull cord is snapped.
- How'd he know that?
- I don't know.
Honey, don't do that.
You'll lose your queen.
- Stupid, just stupid.
- Oh, it's just a game.
- No, no, no, no.
I mean Gary.
I mean, this guy is not one of your
brighter criminal minds, right?
But to tear up a photograph.
To leave a letter lying around.
- Yeah.
You know, that fishing
knife in the footlocker
had a spot of her blood on the handle.
He didn't even bother to wash it off.
That's kind of unbelievable.
- Something's not kosher.
- Why would Gloria
bring a gift for someone
she's about to break up with?
- Unless it was for somebody else.
Somebody she was expecting.
- Oh Rick, do you think we put
the wrong person in jail?
- I don't know.
I don't know.
We found Gloria's body awful quick.
- We're good but we're not that good.
Oh Dickens, if you knock
over one more thing.
- Look what Dickens knocked over.
- A couple of pawns.
- Amanda, Rick, thanks for coming.
- This could've really waited.
- Oh no, you earned this.
Oh, excuse me.
Yeah.
No, I haven't seen those chess pieces.
What?
She picked them up?
Gift wrapped.
No no, I'll take care of it myself.
Thanks.
Sorry.
- Yeah, I can see you're missing
a couple of chess pieces
here from your game.
- Yeah, they were broken.
I'm having them replaced.
- A bishop and a knight.
- A priest and a horse.
- What's that, Amanda?
- Oh nothing, Ted, nothing.
- Such a beautiful set.
- Well, thank you.
Here you go.
Rick, Amanda, anytime you need anything,
anything, the door's always open,
so don't be strangers, okay?
Now you've gotta excuse me
because I've got some people here
to offer their condolences.
- Ted, I'm just curious about one thing.
- What's that, Rick?
- You know detectives.
They have to tie up
every little loose end.
- It's this pull cord from
your speedboat, you know?
It's kind of a fresh break.
You can tell in there in the center,
because it's clean and white.
- What's your point, Rick?
- Well, I'm just wondering.
If you hadn't been up to your lodge
in a couple of months,
how'd you know it was broken?
- We're being picky, right?
- No wonder you're so good.
No actually, Gary called
and told me all about it.
- Of course.
- Well, you know your way out.
- Do you believe him?
- There's a chess term
for what just happened.
We attacked, he castled.
- Which means?
- Uh-uh, I don't believe him.
- Neither do I.
- Yeah, well I think you've done enough.
- Look, if we leave, you've got nobody.
- Okay, okay.
What do you want to know?
- When did you tell Lomax
about the broken pull cord?
- What?
- From the motorboat.
- The pull cord broke?
- You've just answered our question.
- What did you do on Saturday?
- In the morning, I went
out and bought some stuff.
I got a pair of boots,
a new footlocker and
then Gloria came.
- And did you talk to her?
- Not much.
She didn't want me around.
So I took off, I had a job.
- Where?
- Guy by the name of Schroeder.
He has a summer house.
I never met him before but he called me
Saturday morning from Pasadena
to fix his roof.
Said he'd send me a check.
Was there for the rest of the day.
- Well, did anybody see you?
- I doubt it, it's way back in the woods.
- What about the letter and the picture?
- I didn't see no letter
and I didn't tear up any pictures.
I could never tear up her picture.
- You loved her.
- Yes, I loved her.
She loved him.
- Who?
- Lomax.
He treated her like dirt.
She didn't fit in with his fancy crowd.
He wanted to get a divorce.
She wouldn't let him.
- Why?
- Because she liked being Mrs. Ted Lomax.
She said it gave her class.
Why not?
I couldn't give her nothing.
But I loved her.
And I would never hurt a bone in her body.
- I believe you, Gary.
- Gary, we think you've been set up.
And we were part of it.
- Lomax?
- Hello?
Mr. Schroeder?
Hi, this is Helen Kurtniss
of Deer Lake Roofing Supplies.
And you had a Gary Burke working
Saturday, fixing your roof.
And we, Gary Burke.
You never heard of him?
But you do need your roof fixed.
I see, well I'll get right back to you.
Thank you.
- Want to see me climb a roof?
Why was this so much
easier when I was smaller?
- Get away!
- What, what?
- It's a wasp.
- Well, stand still.
- What?
- Stay still.
See?
- Rick.
- Yeah.
- It's on my shoulder.
- Then run.
Well, somebody fixed Schroeder's roof.
- Oh, great.
- These shingles are all new
and the tar is still soft.
- Well then who called Gary to fix it?
- Somebody claiming to be Schroeder.
Whoa!
- What do you mean, someone like Lomax?
- Yeah, he'd get Gary out here
in the middle of nowhere
where no one could see him.
But then what?
Nobody saw Lomax come up, so.
There's lots of missing pieces.
- Missing pieces.
Oh Rick, we've gotta
get back to the lodge.
Yeah.
Please be there.
- A bishop and a knight.
- A priest and a horse.
- Got turkey, Gary.
What the hell?
- Rick.
- Hi.
- Hi.
There's awful news, where's Amanda?
- She's getting catnip for Dickens, what?
- Oh, Sheriff Trout called.
He said that Gary Burke
escaped about an hour ago
and he stole a truck and they
think he's headed for LA.
- Why would he?
He's after Lomax.
- Oh no, no, that's all right because
the Sheriff called Lomax to warn him.
- That's not all right.
Then Lomax will be waiting for Gary.
- Why?
- So he can kill Gary in
self defense, case closed.
I gotta get over there.
Let's get the hell outta here.
Easy, Ted, easy, easy.
It's Tucker, don't shoot.
- What are you doing here?
- I'm trying to save your life, man.
Sheriff Trout called me and
told me about the breakout.
Everything's all right, Ted.
Go on back inside.
I'll take care of him.
You go on back in, it's all okay.
You, at the gate.
Try anything cute, you're dead.
I'll call you, Ted.
Go on, move.
Sheriff Trout, he is giving himself up.
No, the LAPD has already sent a car.
He's not dangerous, I guarantee it.
Bye.
- You heard that, Gary.
You're not dangerous, right?
- I'm okay now.
I'm just really sorry about all this.
- Hey look, it's gonna be fine.
- Thank you.
- Oh Gary, you mentioned that Gloria
would never give Lomax a divorce.
Why would he need her consent?
- I am freezing.
- Honey, the door's open.
Did she have some kind of hold on him?
- Not that I know of.
- No, it's the same chill that I had
in Lomax's living room with that picture.
Did she ever mention anything
about a place called The Penguin?
- The restaurant?
Yeah.
It sounded crazy but
when she was drinking,
she used to say,
well, if that so and
so talks about divorce,
I just tell him that
The Penguin is on fire.
And then she'd laugh like hell.
- Thanks.
- Well, you'll know where to find me.
- This time, stay there.
- I hear that.
- Oh Dickens, that will
get you absolutely nowhere.
Honestly, that cat has just
broken the Navajo vase.
I'll be so glad when tomorrow's over.
Don't forget, you have an appointment
at four tomorrow with the vet.
Oh, oh.
- Dickens, enough is enough.
- Marsha, would you call
Howard at the paper?
I know you're not speaking to him,
but I need his help.
Oh, please?
Okay, The Penguin.
Lomax owned it 10 years ago.
Yeah, ask him to come over tomorrow.
Oh that's great, thanks.
Listen, I owe you a big favor.
She hates me.
She hates Howard.
- No, she loves you, she loves Howard,
and she loves the excuse
to call him again.
- This is so frustrating.
We know Lomax did it but we don't have
a nickel's worth of hard evidence.
Like how did he get in and out
of there without being seen?
- The only road in goes by Dolores' inn.
- Oh no, no, there's another
old road that nobody uses.
- Another one?
- Well, it's a trail.
It goes behind the summer colony.
I gathered my rosemary there.
- Saw your car parked outside.
How you been getting on?
- Oh hi, Sheriff, I'm fine.
I'm looking for a little box here.
Your men didn't find it, did they?
A little gift wrapped box
with a couple of chess pieces on it.
- I don't think so.
I'll check it out.
- Oh, I appreciate that, Sheriff.
It means a lot to me.
- Well, take it easy.
- Oh, Sheriff.
These Tuckers.
What's with them, huh?
- Well, I heard about that shootout
they had up at your house.
Personally, I think they're
just running around,
chasing their tails.
First they catch Gary and
then they're sorry about it.
They went over to visit
him about a half hour ago.
- They're up here now?
- Yeah, they're roaming around somewhere.
- Thanks, Sheriff.
- Take it easy.
- Did I just step in poison ivy?
- Oh that?
- Yes.
- No no, that's poison oak.
Don't worry, don't worry, it's not summer.
- I can never relax in the woods.
I always think something's gonna jump out
and bite my leg.
What's that noise?
- That's us walking.
- Isn't this bear country?
- No.
- I read that there were bears here.
- No bears, come on.
- What about snakes?
- Oh, yeah, a couple of snakes.
- A couple of snakes.
It only takes one snake
to get you in the leg.
- Ah-ha.
There it is, right where
your mother said it was.
Look.
That looks like a Jeep or a small truck.
- What's that mark?
- Oh good, that's a
tire with a gash in it.
- So we have to find the Jeep
that goes with that tire?
- Uh-huh.
Now, if that was Lomax,
he needed time to get
up here to murder Gloria
and then to get back.
- The coroner said the time of death
was between two and four in the afternoon.
Lomax said he was at the junkyard all day.
- Then we gotta slice
three hours off his alibi.
Ooh, oh come on, we gotta get back.
I'm gonna be late for Howard.
- I gotta take Dickens to the vet.
- Okay, we'll meet later
at Lomax's junkyard.
- There I was, sick in bed,
half dead with the flu.
- I didn't know you were sick.
- That's my point.
Do you call to see how I am?
- I was on assignment in San Diego.
- What, there's no
telephones in San Diego?
That's one of your
character flaws, Howard.
You're inconsiderate.
Another one is you're egotistical.
- Oh now look--
- Don't interrupt me.
I haven't touched rude,
childish, and opinionated.
- Oh hi, hi, is this a bad time?
- No, no, this is a great time.
- I'll finish with you later.
- She is tough.
But I love her.
- Got a hunch the feeling is mutual.
- Well, she didn't sound very mutual.
- Hi Howard, you got anything for me?
- Oh yeah, right, mm-hmm.
On January 14th, 1973, The Penguin.
A real fancy club up in
Big Bear burned down.
Now, the police suspected arson.
Couldn't prove it.
- Fireman dies in blaze.
Firemen where hampered
by subfreezing weather.
Amanda's chills.
Nevermind.
Only one witness, a waitress who went back
to retrieve her wallet.
Gloria Finley.
Gloria.
When questioned by police,
Miss Finley said that
she hadn't seen anything.
What's that?
- A wedding announcement.
One week after the fire.
- Lomax Finley nuptials.
This afternoon, Mr. Ted
Lomax of Los Angeles
was wed to the former Miss
Gloria Finley of Bristow.
- Give you anything?
- Yeah yeah, a big motive.
Thank you, Howard.
- Hey wait a minute, you're
not leaving me here, are you?
- He's all yours, Marsha.
Thanks, Howard.
- Come over here, Howard.
- Well, I'll be right back, Dickens, okay?
Dickens, what is it?
Oh, stop worrying.
I'm just gonna ask a few questions.
Whoops, stay put.
Nice doggy.
- Can I help you?
Pretty lady.
- Oh, thank you.
Yes you can, my name is Rose Basin.
I'm a system security analyst for MRP
and Mr. Lomax called and asked
that we come down and check the place out.
- Oh, check away.
My name's Stanley, Stanley the man-ley.
- Hi, Stanley.
How many shifts do you have
on the job here, Stanley?
- Two.
I work days, I get off at four,
and Burger comes in, he
works until midnight.
After that, grr.
The dogs take over.
- Right, Stanley.
Do you see everybody that comes in and out
of this gate then?
- Everybody.
Of course, certain people
I pay more attention to.
- Oh.
Well thank you, Stanley.
When Burger comes on, do you just leave?
- No no, we go into this shed here.
He makes coffee.
I change into my skivvies.
Get ready for what the night will bring.
- Oh, I bet the night brings
a whole lot, huh Stanley?
- Ooh.
- Nobody is at the gate then at that time.
- You know, for maybe five minutes.
But I lock it.
- Mr. Lomax said he was here on Saturday.
- Oh, all day.
He locked himself in
the trailer over there.
Said he didn't want to be disturbed.
What are you asking about him for?
- Oh, we ask about everybody, Stanley.
Did anything unusual happen that day
around, say, two o'clock?
- Nothing.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
Oh, except for there was a
small fire on the north end.
But my fire extinguisher handled it.
- So how long were you away from the gate?
- 10, 15 minutes.
- Thank you, Stanley.
Oh, is it all right if I look around now?
- Would you like a guided tour?
- Thanks, but I think
I can do it on my own.
Dickens!
- Dickens, Dickens!
- He was there.
He knocked Stanley out and
set the dogs on me, I know it.
- But you didn't see him.
It always comes back to that.
- He set the fire to get out
and used the changing of
the guards to get back in.
- Yes, and he did it to get rid of a wife
who was an embarrassment to him,
but if he tries to divorce her,
she'll put him in prison
for arson and murder.
- So we know it all.
- Yeah but we can't prove a damn thing.
- Well, what's the answer then?
- Something that happened
up at that lodge.
Something he did.
Something, there's some
way we can force his hand.
Okay, I'm Lomax.
You're Gloria.
I come in the door, I see you,
I tell you I love you.
- I am so happy.
And I'm also so nervous that
I haven't even unpacked yet.
I want to break open the
champagne in the refrigerator,
I want to surprise you with a gift,
and then I want to make love.
- And I say no.
Because I realize I've
only got a couple hours
and I've gotta set Gary up.
And I tell you, you've
gotta break up with Gary.
You've gotta write a letter.
- I agree.
Anything because I am so happy.
Dear Gary, I cannot see you
anymore, blah blah blah.
- Now.
I suggest that we take a little boat ride.
- Sure.
Anything you say.
- Good, Burt Walker's in his usual spot.
I've got my witness.
Now.
I put on Gary's clothes.
- You forgot the knife.
- That's it.
That's it.
- Hello.
- Mr. Lomax?
Sheriff Trout.
Fine, fine.
I'm afraid there's been
a break in at your house.
You better come up here and
see if anything's missing.
- All right, I'll be
there as soon as I can.
- I'm sorry to drag you
all the way up here but
I gotta protect our summer people.
- That's fine, Sheriff,
thanks for calling.
I guess I'd better look around
and see what's missing.
- Ah, hold up there, Mr. Lomax.
Take a look in here.
Is this that box you were talking about
with the chess pieces?
- Yeah, it could be.
- That look like it?
Well, we're gonna need
something long enough
to get that out.
Have you got a fishing knife
or something around here?
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- A little bird tell you
where that key was, Mr. Lomax?
I'm sorry, Ted.
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
I just wondered how you knew
where that footlocker was.
Gary said he bought it the
day Gloria was murdered.
- You said you haven't been
up here for two months.
- I saw it yesterday when I
was up here, talking to you.
- Oh.
Wait a minute.
Neither the key nor the
footlocker was here yesterday.
- My men took it away that day.
They found the murder weapon inside.
- We just brought it back
a little while ago, for you.
- There was no
way you could've known.
- Unless Gloria told you the
day that you murdered her.
- Checkmate, Mr. Lomax.
- Moby Dick.
- Well, I didn't get any
fishing in up at Deer Lake.
- Well, I'd say a little rowboat
waiting for a school of perch
is kind of like one man
against a giant white whale.
- Honey, we live in an age of fast food,
high rise condos, and video games.
I mean, sometimes a little
perch is all you get.
- I think we have enough
adventure in our lives
just as it is.
- Hmm.
Things are different now.
Times have changed.
- Not everything.
- Have you got something specific in mind?
- Well.
A kiss is still a kiss.
- You're right.
Luckily, some things never change.