Original subtitles

See ya.

And they go back.

Just hold it right there.

Uh, Mr. Atkins, I didn't realize it was you, sir. It's my boat, you idiot.

What's the matter with you?

Yes, sir, I didn't realize you'd gone off.

Good.

Mr. Stafford is on board, sir. He's in the salon.

Who'd you let him on board for?

He is your nephew, sir.

I don't care if he's the king of France. Nobody comes on board without my

permission. Yes, sir, it won't happen again.

You wash his hands?

Yes, sir.

I heard him.

Out in the town, I see. What are you doing here?

Well, this is what you get for not answering my phone calls.

I didn't feel like talking to you. Still don't.

So leave.

I, uh... I hear you cut me out of your will.

Is that scotch?

It's all right, Uncle Marvin. I washed my hands.

Who told you?

Elliot Eagleton. He let it slip.

Lawyers. Bane of my existence.

So it's true? Yeah, yeah, it's true.

What old Blabberton said is true, so leave.

But why?

Uncle Marvin, I have served you faithfully for 15 years.

You get paid, but I've protected you.

I've made sure every single one of your investments, no matter how outrageous,

has at least broken even if not made a profit. There is nothing outrageous

my investments.

An amusement park in Tierra del Fuego?

A company that makes X -ray machines designed to see inside of mummies?

A children's zoo?

You just don't appreciate the educational things in life.

You know, anybody else would have stood by and collected their paycheck while

your estate took a bath. But me?

I shopped. I bargained. I oversaw. I looked out for you. Sure.

So you could rob me blind later.

I never stole one cent from you.

As Sherlock Holmes said, do you feel a creeping, shrinking sensation, Watson,

when you stand before the serpents in the zoo?

Uncle Marvin, you need help.

I'm going to bed.

Leave. No, no, no, not until we straighten this thing out.

Hey, Mr. Randolph Fuzz, get out here. Look, I don't know what anybody said to

you, but I've never stolen so much as a paper clip. Get this man off my boat.

Uncle Marvin, you can't do this. This isn't fair.

Come on, Mr. Fuzz. Anyone around here is not taking advantage of you.

man is this yours yeah oh no they got my stereo beautiful

just beautiful

No. No, I'm not interested.

Billy, I'm not interested.

Billy, Billy, I'm not interested.

All right, bring it on over.

Billy Lewis.

Yeah, he wants me to invest in some kind of toy company.

Oh, you're not going to, are you? No.

But he won't take no for an answer.

He showed me the toy.

Well, that was fast.

Not Billy.

Hi, Elliot Eagleton. Hey, Ben Matlock. Come on in here.

Leanne McIntyre. This is Elliot Eagleton, Mr. Estes' attorney. Hello. My

daughter and associate.

Nice to meet you. I'm so sorry. What a tragedy. The news said it was a suicide.

Totally unexpected.

Yeah.

Come on in. There you go.

Would you like some coffee? Oh, no, thanks.

A piece of toast?

No, I'm fine.

Would it be all right if I smoked?

Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Eagleton. My dad's allergic to cigarette smoke.

That's okay. Go ahead.

Well, let's get to work. Well, as I said on the phone, Mr. Estes left his entire

estate to a Teresa Lavelle.

Just one person?

I drew up the will for him myself not two months ago.

Should make your job pretty straightforward.

What job?

I'm the executor of Marvin Estes' estate.

Your what?

Your father, upon completion of his duties, is to receive 2%.

Of all disbursements.

You're a lucky man.

Such things are rarely done anymore.

I didn't even know you knew him.

I met him in the men's room at the courthouse. He was washing his hands, or

trying to. There wasn't any soap.

So I went to the custodian and got him some, and he said it was the nicest

anybody ever...

I did for him, and I introduced myself and Ben Matlock, and he said, great,

make you executor of my will, and he did.

Well, he was strange.

Eccentric was the term he preferred.

How much was his estate worth?

About $200 million.

Well, anyway, Mr. Matlock, while the job at hand is straightforward, it may not

be simple.

We've made a few preliminary inquiries, but nobody seems to know who or where

this Teresa Lavelle is.

We'll find her.

So Ben stands to make $4 million from this deal? Yeah, something like that,

he doesn't get his money until this woman named Teresa gets hers.

I'm going to be a lot nicer to the people I meet in the men's room from now

that's for sure.

Cliff, I think I found something.

To my beloved Marvin, yours forever, Teresa.

Love letters.

Is there a turn -out or something?

No.

There's no one who lets in here, just the letters.

Oh, now this is weird.

To my dearest Teresa, and it's from Marvin. What would he be doing with his

letters to her?

Hey, you want to see something even weirder?

Liquid aspirin.

No pills.

Not a single one.

That's the ugliest doll I've ever seen.

Ugly cells, Ben.

First cabbage patch kids, then trolls, now this.

Weird Wally.

Gonna be big, real big.

That's me dumb, Billy.

Who'd want to spend money on a thing like that? Looked like a rotten potato

drag.

They just test marketed it in Fort Wayne, Indiana, went right through the

This is the investment opportunity of a lifetime.

Why are you trying to get me in on it? You don't like me, remember?

So, maybe I changed my mind about you.

Maybe to get in on the ground floor, I need $20 ,000 guts tanned.

Maybe I figure a rich tightwad like you could raise that much money in his

sleep.

That's good.

Honesty is the best policy.

Then you go in with me? Not a chance.

You're making a big mistake.

Hi, Dad.

If you had a kid, you'd buy her a doll like this, wouldn't you?

Well, I don't know.

I might.

Actually, he's kind of cute.

Jackass.

Had Matt at you again?

Yeah.

You find anything?

A little.

It seems Marvin Estes and this Teresa lady were writing love letters to each

other for close to a year. For some reason, he had both set the letters.

Oh. Did you get an address?

No, only the letters. No envelopes, no addresses.

And not a pill in sight.

Not even a cold tablet.

We did find some liquid aspirin. I called the doctor who prescribed it. He

me something very strange.

The old man couldn't take pills.

He had some kind of phobia against it.

All his prescriptions had to be in liquid form.

Marvin Estes died of an overdose of sleeping pills.

The autopsy confirmed it.

Doesn't sound much like suicide, does it?

So they were arguing?

Yeah, yelling at each other, I'll say.

Mr. Stafford, I heard him mainly, but he was mad.

Any idea about what?

No, but when I escorted him off the ship, he was so mad I couldn't

what he was saying.

You escorted him off the ship? Yeah, Mr. Estes asked me to.

What time was this? A little before six.

What happened after that?

Mr. Stafford drove off, Mr. Estes went to sleep, and I stood watch on deck

seven in the morning when Jimmy relieved me.

You never left the boat?

No, sir.

Wait a minute. I did leave, but just for a couple of minutes. A car alarm went

off over on the shore.

When I went over to take a look, somebody had ripped off a radio out of

And you were gone only, what, a couple of minutes?

Four or five at the most.

So somebody could have slipped on board while you were off the boat.

I guess.

But when I came back, there was a splash off the port bound when I went to take

a look.

I didn't see anything.

Maybe that's when the killer slipped off the boat.

Well, thanks, Mr. Dorn. You've been a great help.

This woman Mr.

Atchis was seeing is Teresa.

What did she look like?

Mr. Estes had a girlfriend.

News to me.

Thanks, Mr. Thornton.

Well, let me give.

When Marvin Estes changed his will two months ago, he cut his nephew out of it,

am I right?

He left everything to Teresa.

Means Mr. Stafford had a motive.

Well, so did this Teresa.

Two hundred million dollars.

That's the good love letters.

Oh, great. And Teresa's. I got photocopies from Lieutenant Andrews.

What is that?

I've decided that I'm going to start eating healthy. That's a vegetable

sandwich. Would you like one?

Uh, no thanks.

Okay, why don't you read Marvin's letters from Teresa, and I will take

to Marvin.

Okay. You know, it's so interesting.

She typed all of hers. I wonder if she was a secretary or something.

Uh -huh.

Oh, wow.

What? What does he say? Wow.

My dear Teresa, all my life I've waited for a woman like you.

Yes, you are beautiful, but it's the way that your green eyes... She has green

eyes. Green eyes.

Well, green eyes, see into my soul.

The way you can understand my pain, that makes me know I'll love you forever.

Hmm.

All right, my darling Marvin, I saw a painting today that reminded me of you,

rather a painting I saw in Italy once.

Of St. Paul.

It reminded me of you because that's what you are to me, my love. A saint.

Bentley, if she's a secretary, she must be a very well -paid one. Oh,

hey, wait, look.

How about this one?

I long to see the sun reflecting gold in the apostle's halo of your lovely brown

hair. Brown hair.

And for the warmth of your smile to fill me once again.

My life began the day I met you.

Watching you and Jake play in the sand yesterday made me feel the way you

looked. Like a child full of joy, grateful for today and eager for

Crystal has become very special to me because you are special to me. Yours

forever, Marvin.

Oh, sounds like teenage puppy love to me.

You know, everyone says Marvin Estes was so impossible to get along with, but

there was this side of him, this very sweet side of him that nobody ever knew.

I guess you're right.

Okay, want to go over them again?

Yeah, but let's take five first.

regarding the death of Marvin Estes, which has caused authorities to question

whether the death of the multimillionaire recluse was murder and

as first reported.

One of the persons being sought in the case is a woman named Teresa Lavelle,

WNJH has just learned is the sole heir to Marvin Estes' multimillion -dollar

estate.

Yes, Ron.

Okay,

that sounds good.

All right, look, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow at ten.

Morning,

Ricardo.

What the... Listen, Ron.

This is very difficult for me.

But I'm dumping this place.

What do you mean?

It's losing money.

An investment loses money, I've got to dump it.

It's not yours to dump.

It belongs to Marvin's estate.

And until I'm fired, it's my responsibility to see if the estate

not loses it.

I don't like this.

Having his own personal children's zoo meant a lot to your uncle.

I've got to dump it.

With all due respect, Rick...

I don't think you know enough about this business to make an arbitrary decision

like that. It's losing money, Ron.

We'll all lose money in the first few years.

All right.

Here's the truth.

Marvin was convinced something was going on around here, and I want to put an

end to it now.

Wait a minute. What are you talking about? Something else was going on here.

What kind of an insinuation is that?

Listen to me.

I broke my back for your uncle, and he knew it.

And so do you.

I'm really sorry, Ron.

Yeah. Okay, I'll tell him.

Rick?

You have a visitor at the front gate.

Lieutenant Andrews?

He's with the police.

It was no big deal. We were always arguing.

My uncle argued with everyone. That's why he didn't have any friends.

Yeah, but I hear that you were so angry that particular night that you had to be

escorted off his boat. Is that true?

Yes.

Do you actually have an office in this place?

My uncle's idea.

Making me work out of the zoo gave him an excuse to come down here.

Animals were like his favorite thing. He could relate to them.

Come on.

The trick is to stay upwind of the camel.

That's right.

Where'd you go after you left Mr. Esty's yacht that day?

Home.

You married?

No, and no girlfriends either. Look, why are you asking me all these questions?

I'm not the only one who ever got kicked off my uncle's boat.

No, but you were the last person to, Mr.

Stafford, when you add that to the fact that your fingerprints were on the

bottle of scotch that was used to wash down... My prints were on that bottle

because I made myself a drink that day.

I didn't kill my uncle, and that's all I'm going to say.

Okay.

If and when I have more, I know how to find you.

Just follow your nose.

Right.

Drop the ball. What a good boy. You want to go get it again?

Go get it.

Get back. Come on.

Good boy, Jake.

Hi.

Hi. Great looking dog, Teresa.

Thank you.

A lot of people are looking for you.

How did you know?

I'm Leanne McIntyre, daughter of Ben Matlock.

He's the executor of Marvin Estes' estate.

We read the letters you sent.

Crystal Beach.

Brown hair, green eyes.

Dog's name is Jake.

Now what?

I'd like you to go back to Atlanta with me and answer some questions.

You're about to ruin my life. I hope you know that.

I didn't come forward because I'm married.

Weren't you interested in collecting $200 million?

After seeing what having that amount of money did to Marvin? No, not at all.

Where were you the night he was murdered? Do you remember?

Vividly. My husband suspected that something was amiss between us, so he

insisted that we spend a long, romantic weekend together at the Lombard Hotel in

Jacksonville, Florida.

We arrived Friday afternoon at 1, and we left Sunday evening. Any number of

people can verify that.

What's your husband do?

He's a writer.

Poetry and novels.

He's very sensitive.

This is going to kill him.

Excuse me.

Andrew, come out here for a second.

Now, what is it?

Who is it?

Well, before you go any further with that lady in there, the sergeant thought

you should know.

This lady over here just walked in claiming to be Teresa Lavelle.

And guess what?

So's that one.

Either one of those ladies is Teresa Lavelle.

Then I'm Elvis Presley. Well, her name was given out on TV last night. It was

bound to happen. Yeah, the leak better not have come from my department, I'm

going to tell you that. I find out that it came from this guy.

Which one of you ladies is Teresa Lavelle?

Me!

A couple more questions. Could I come in for a second?

Stop it, Jake.

Stop it.

I guess it's all right. The damage has already been done.

Stop it, Jake.

Jake, stop it. Stop it, Jake. Maybe if I feed him, he'll settle down. Come on,

Jake.

Jake.

Is your husband here?

No.

No?

I'm talking to his lawyer.

How long had you been seeing Marvin Eskin?

About a year.

Where'd you meet?

On the beach.

How often did you see him?

About once a week.

No more.

Did he come here?

Never. Nor did I ever go to his boat.

I mean, on the beach, mostly at night.

Sometimes we'd just get into his car and we'd drive around.

We talked mostly.

Only occasionally did we ever go further.

Ours wasn't your basic, cheap, tawdry affair.

Different.

Rare and precious.

I guess that's why you wrote so many letters back and forth, is because you

didn't see each other that much.

There's one thing I don't get. How come Marvin Estes had all the letters he

wrote you as well as all the letters you wrote him?

Well, I certainly didn't want any of the letters lying around here.

I saw Marvin. I gave him back to him.

Why didn't you just get rid of him?

Because he didn't want me to.

He wanted to save them.

As you probably know, he was rather compulsive.

Rita? Hi.

Mr. Matlock, this is my husband, Stuart Lavelle.

Stuart, this is the lawyer I was telling you about, Ben Matlock.

You're the guy who's going to be doling out Marvin Esky's money.

That's one way of putting it.

So when do we get the $200 million?

For God's sake. What's the matter, sweetheart? You earned it, didn't you?

Stop it!

What, am I embarrassing you or something?

Look, I'm not going to walk out of this marriage empty -handed.

Now, when does she get the money?

As soon as the investigation into Marvin Estes' death is complete. Why should

some investigation have anything to do with it?

Because it just does.

But I understand how you feel, and I'll do my best to expedite things.

I can see my way out.

Wait up!

What are you doing here? Looking for you?

I don't have time, Billy.

I got to see Judge Koopsy. Get right home.

I don't have time to talk. I don't want to talk.

Just wanted to make sure you saw this.

Ugliest doll you ever seen, huh, Ben?

Looks like a rotten potato in drag.

Got myself a loan for the other ten grand.

Investment doubled in a week.

Pretty smart for a fella as dumb as me, huh?

Too bad you didn't get in on it.

Hey, you've been gone a long time.

Yeah, a long day.

Before your dad.

Did he say hi?

No.

Check out the Lombard?

Yeah. The Lavelles were there, but guess what?

What? They were down in the spa getting a massage at the time of the murder.

Well, neither one of them may be the murderer, but I'll guarantee you they're

fakes. Fakes?

Yeah, I went to see Teresa Lavelle. That dog she has, his toys, his dish, his

bed, all brand new.

You, huh? Yeah.

I don't think his name's Jake, either. He didn't respond.

Huh.

Somehow, she read those love letters and was able to quote all that stuff that

was in them and then kept her fingers crossed.

She figured that people would ask less questions if they came to her rather

vice versa.

How would she have read the letters if she had never been on the boat?

I don't know.

Check her out. Her husband, too.

What are you doing to this lamp?

Fixing it.

Had some frayed wires.

That could be a fire hazard.

There you go.

Say goodnight, Cliff.

Goodnight.

Mr. Sepp!

Hi, it's me again.

Got a minute?

No, not really. What do you want?

I hate to bother you. I understand you ate lunch at a restaurant called the

Garden the day that Marvin Estes was murdered?

I don't remember.

So Mr. Estes is security guard. You know, the one that kicked you off the

Well, it turns out he left his post in order to check out a car that was being

broken into.

Now, we figured the killer set off that alarm as a distraction so he could get

back on the boat without anybody seeing him.

What the hell does any of that got to do with me?

Well, this morning...

We located that car at a repair shop close to the marina.

And on the driver's side on the floor, we found a credit card receipt.

The very same one they gave you when you paid for lunch at the plum garden that

day. We checked.

That's impossible.

It fell out of your pocket while you were bending over, stealing the radio

of the car.

You're under arrest.

That was a mistake.

Get him out of here. This is crazy. It's got to be a mistake.

Hey!

Don't eat out of the pan, Dad.

Don't eat out of the pan. It's bad manners that'll ruin your dinner.

Did you hear the news?

The police just arrested Rick Stafford for Marvin Estes' murder.

Yeah,

apparently they just found some new evidence.

Don't eat out of that pan.

I told Stuart Lavelle his wife wouldn't inherit any money until Marvin Estes'

murder was solved and not 24 hours later.

It's solved.

Huh.

Where are you going?

Back to jail.

You didn't eat dinner? I didn't.

written him out of his will and was upset about it.

In a related development... Perfect.

With him out of the way, all attempts to sell the zoo will be shelved

indefinitely. Long enough for us to take care of business.

Thank God Marvin thought he could trust you.

I guess I just have one of those faces.

That's a Nick Dempsey.

Master of beasts.

Confidant of eccentric millionaires.

Who's about to be fabulously wealthy himself.

As are we all.

Well, let me get this straight. You want to defend me?

Yeah.

I can only pay you so much.

That's okay.

That's okay.

Seeing as how your uncle left me a lot of money for doing practically nothing.

And I won't get a penny of it until...

Until this thing is settled, I'd probably be looking into this murder

I might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?

Right. Yeah.

See, well, you are pleading not guilty.

Of course.

Yeah, yeah.

How did your credit card receipt get that car?

Well, I keep all my credit card receipts in my drawer at the office.

Somebody must have taken it when I wasn't there or wasn't looking.

You probably were framed after the fact by somebody that wanted to get this

investigation over as fast as possible.

But that somebody would have to know that the police considered you a

Who knew that they were talking to you?

Everybody at the zoo, I guess.

Zoo?

Yeah, Uncle Marvin owned a children's zoo.

It's where my office is.

You know...

I was on his boat the day he was killed. He said something weird that I kind of

dismissed at the time.

My uncle was slightly paranoid. He was always doing and saying weird things.

if I was framed by somebody I knew at the zoo, maybe it wasn't so weird after

all. What did he say?

He quoted some bizarre line from a Sherlock Holmes book about the zoo.

Creeping, shrinking snake or something.

Maybe he...

Maybe he knew something.

Maybe something is going on over there.

All

right,

send her in.

Miss McIntyre, Ron Welker. Hello.

Come in, please. Thank you. Have a seat.

Can I get you something? No, I'm fine, thanks.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Thank you.

I cannot tell you what a relief it is to know that Rick is being represented by

someone of your father's stature.

And yours, of course.

So, what can I do for you?

Well, my dad and I are proceeding on the assumption that Rick is innocent and

that whoever framed him knew the police would consider him a likely suspect.

I understand you were here that day that the police came to question him?

Yes. Yes, I was here.

So was my assistant, Rick's assistant, the four people who take care of the

animals, and two maintenance men.

I also understand that Mr. Estes wasn't very happy with what was going on here.

What do you mean?

Marvin loved this place.

It was the only thing he owned that didn't make him unhappy.

Who told you that, Rick?

He said the children who constantly lost money due largely to your mismanagement

of funds.

No.

Number one, do you know anything about Marvin Estes?

Not that much.

Marvin was a lunatic.

I loved him, but he was crazy.

Whether this place lost or made money was never of any concern to him.

And number two, I have never in my life mismanaged funds.

So then you feel that purchasing five lions in two years and selling each one

them at a loss was justified?

We only have room for two lions here, okay?

Finding two that are compatible is not that easy.

And what with the international financial scene, as chaotic as it is,

the ones that don't work out is rarely profitable.

And Mr. Estes understood that? Of course he did.

Rick doesn't because he's nothing but a bean counter.

He has no idea what it takes to run something like this.

I'm sorry. It's just that to be accused of incompetence like that, or worse,

it's just... It's irritating.

I understand how you feel.

I've probably taken too much of your time. I'll let you get back to work.

nice to meet you. Sure. Nice meeting you. Bye -bye.

Did you hear?

Oh, yeah.

Not one of you killed Marvin. That was stupid enough.

But if you tried to pin this on Rick Stafford, that was the act of a total

moron. I always pegged you for the murderer, Elliot.

Very funny, Ron.

Because there's somebody around here that's going to be an awful lot of

attention at the children's zoo. All right, look.

Maybe we ought to just cool it for a while. It's a little late for that. The

only thing we can do is stay calm and let's try to use our brains.

They can't sue me, too, can they?

Well, this Kevin Hermanski, he take

your money?

Yeah.

I didn't know they weren't putting flame retardant in the clothes. I didn't know

they had to.

I did wonder once or twice how they was able to sell them so cheap.

Did you sign anything?

Yeah. Remember what?

No.

Get copies of everything you signed and I'll look at them.

Thanks. I take back all the bad things I ever said about you.

No, there'll always be one or two.

Phone's ringing.

I have no idea yet.

Who? Elliot Eagleton.

He was at the children's zoo?

Well, are you sure he hid while you were there?

Well, of course.

Rick said that Elliot Eagleton came to the children's zoo often to see Ron

Welker.

And that means he could have known the police talked to Rick, and he could have

stolen that receipt.

So you think Elliot Eagleton killed Marvin Estes and framed Rick? Yeah,

and set up this phony Teresa so that she could inherit the $200 million and then

right away hand it over to him.

Well, you could be right about her being a fake.

She and her husband, they're renting the house. They moved him from someplace

out of town about a month ago.

What did they do with the real Teresa?

I don't know. That's what's starting to bother me.

Well, look at that.

Typewriter ribbon.

Typewriter paper.

Whiteout.

What?

I don't remember seeing a typewriter anywhere on board, do you?

No, not at all.

You know how to scuba dive?

No.

No. No.

Well, it can't be that deep.

I'm not going in that water, Ben.

I'm freezing.

You're wearing a rubber suit.

I don't care. I'm freezing.

I'm coming out. No, no, no, no. Try over there.

I'm cold. I'm coming out. No. Try over there.

I'm not Jacques Cousteau. Just try over there.

Okay, you all right? Oh, should I come out now? Yeah, come on out.

I'll get you a blanket.

I saw a painting today that reminded me of you, or rather of a painting I saw in

Italy.

Once of St.

Paul, it reminded me of you because what you are to

me... Hey,

Cliff,

look here.

Look how the tails of the G's and the Y's fall off. See those little holes in

the ashes?

Yeah.

They're the same.

All Teresa's letters were typed on this typewriter.

I mean, that stage wrote love letters to himself?

Well, everybody said he was a little strange.

He was nuts.

Yeah.

You getting one?

Teresa?

I've been in that lot.

Yeah, I'm over here on the coast. I wonder if I could come over and talk

you for a few minutes.

Good. Great.

I'll be there at four.

He knows.

I'm telling you, he knows.

Hi, it's me.

Ben Matlock just called. I think he figured it out.

20 minutes.

Yeah, we can be there.

I don't like this.

It doesn't feel right. Could you please stop worrying?

For once in your life, trust me. Why does it have to be here?

Why couldn't it be in town, hmm?

Anyway, he's late.

If it's too easy, he doesn't even show up. He'll show.

There he is. I told you.

All right. Do you want to make sure you've got it on?

Excellent.

That's what you have to do. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

She wasn't my errand.

She wasn't?

No, she wasn't anybody's errand.

I'll bet you anything Marvin Estes made up the whole thing. He made up this

Teresa Lavelle person. She didn't exist.

Old man Estes made me executor in his will. That's 2 % of everything once it's

settled, but it won't be settled.

I'll run around here like a chicken with my head cut off trying to figure this

thing out, and I won't make a dime.

Well, who's the body?

Somebody brought in so somebody else could collect that $200 million.

It was a fake.

Yeah, she was a fake, and I'll bet you another anything.

I'll bet you that that person that hired her was the same person who killed her.

You were right. We checked their prints.

Teresa was really Susie Barrett, and her husband was David Levine. They were two

small -time con artists from Galveston.

Their sheets are in there.

Any connection between Elliot Eagleton and Ron Welker? Well, none that we've

found so far.

None between them and your client either, then.

Look,

I'm going to make a phone call.

Thanks. I'll met you.

Bye.

We're going to call.

You're Elliot Eagleton?

No, no, no.

I'll go.

Yeah, Mr.

Eagleton, please.

Oh, he's not.

He's not.

Well, it's kind of important I get in touch with him. I'm down here at the

jail. Could you tell me where he is?

Oh, okay. I'll try that.

Go to the zoo.

Gorgeous.

When will the others get here?

Thursday afternoon.

They'll bring a fortune.

Yes.

All right, give us a minute, then send them in.

Ben Matlock and his daughter are here.

Take those. I'll go out the back. I'm going with you.

Elliot, don't bother.

It's you they came to see.

Keep going.

Mr. Matlock.

Ron Welk. Hello again, Ben.

Let's forget the handshakes and get down to business.

You people...

are the closest things to friends that Marvin Estes ever had.

According to the security people who guarded his yacht, you're about the only

ones who ever came to see him.

And so my guess is that one or both of you found out that Teresa Lavelle only

existed in Marvin Estes' poor, sad, lonely mind. And one or both of you

cash in on it.

What are you talking about?

Susie Barron, the con artist that one or both of you hired to pretend to be

Teresa Lavelle, hoping through her you could get hold of Marvin Estes' estate.

The woman somebody shot yesterday.

Wait a minute. You're saying she was a fake?

Yeah.

Mr. Matlock, if you'll recall, you and your daughter found her.

And it was a great way to convince us and everyone else that she was a real

McCoy. You knew we would read those letters. You knew we would track her

deeply resent these totally unfounded accusations.

Look, you're a lawyer. Isn't this slanderous or something?

If any of this gets repeated outside these walls, you're in deep trouble

Counselor. These two people were killed less than an hour after I called them.

Somehow there's a connection between them and one of you.

And you tried to be sure that connection was never found.

Get the hell out of here.

We'll find that connection.

Make sure of that.

Should we go, Dan?

It's always a pleasure, gentlemen.

stood here and I told you and Nick in no uncertain terms not to do anything

stupid.

We didn't do anything stupid.

At least I didn't.

Well, hopefully that rattled their cages.

Okay, I don't want to talk about him like that, but leave this whole mistake

somebody who doesn't exist. This thing will be in probate until the year 2010.

I'll never make 19 cents.

Dad, Dad. Huh?

See that guy over there?

He was with Elliot Eagleton the day I came to see Ron Walker. They talked all

the way to Eagleton's car.

You sure?

Yeah, I'm sure.

Oh, yeah.

Elliot Eagleton's a lawyer.

Guy feeds animals. Wonder what they have in common.

And the animal died.

Big, dark hair, beard.

That's him.

Nick Dempsey, chief animal handler.

Elliot Eagleton's a high -priced lawyer. Why would you be talking to him about

the animals?

I always wondered that myself.

And they talked a lot?

Whatever they said was always brief, always quiet, and always in private.

I wonder if your Uncle Marvin knew what they were talking about.

I don't know.

Maybe that's why he's dead.

Thank

God

I found you. You've got to explain something to me.

Billy, I'm with a client. Ask Cliff.

I can't find Cliff.

It's a matter of life and death.

So is this.

Billy Lewis.

Welcome to the club.

This was delivered to me this morning.

What does it mean?

It means the Consumer Protection Unit of the State Attorney

General's Office is bringing an action for enforcement and fine for willful

violation of the Child Safety Act of 1989.

What the hell does that mean?

You and your friends are being sued for five million dollars.

Hi. Hi.

Got your message.

What's the job?

Well, it's... A murder case?

Cliff, it's... It's not very big.

That's okay, really.

Actually, it's... Very challenging, right?

Stay there.

Personal injury?

Wrongful death.

We want you to go undercover.

Undercover? At the children's zoo.

Undercover at the zoo?

It's only for a couple of days.

Oh.

I just had this conversation with your father.

I'm an accredited attorney.

I take depositions. I wear suits.

I don't scuba dive for a living.

Cliff. I don't want to go undercover at the zoo. Why not? You are great with

animals. Leanne, I grew up on a farm. Cows I'm great with.

Chickens I'm great with.

Tigers, lions, ball constrictors. I wouldn't be so great.

Oh, Cliff, we wouldn't ask you unless we were really in a bind.

Leanne. Please.

These animals eat lawyers for lunch.

Nick Dempsey?

Yeah.

Cliff Lewis.

I talked to you on the phone?

Oh, right, right.

I called a couple of your references.

Said you were a solid employee, especially that trainer you worked for

Atlanta. He gave you a great recommendation.

Oh, okay.

I never worked in a zoo before, but I'm a fast learner.

Found an apartment yet?

Still looking.

Well, we can put you up in the maintenance building until you find

You mean I got the job?

Come on, I'll show you the place.

Then you can start cleaning out the cages.

Great.

Lloyd! Yes?

I need some help over at the Panther Pan.

Right now?

Yeah, come on!

of this quality?

Yeah.

When will they be here?

You'll get them Thursday night.

200 ,000 now.

600 ,000 upon receipt of the other.

Provided.

They're the same grade as these.

I mean tomorrow.

It's okay.

They're keeping the llama in quarantine an extra day. That's all. These things

happen.

The llama will be here bright and early tomorrow morning. No problem.

Make sure Ron tells McAvoy we won't be making delivery until Friday night.

this, we're gonna have to cool it.

For a couple of months, maybe even for good, this murder thing screwed up

everything.

You worry too much, Elliot.

All right, load her up again, and I'll meet you over at the tiger cage.

Right.

Mr. Dempsey. Good morning.

Hi, I'm Leanne McIntyre.

Oh, yeah, I know who you are.

You're that broad who works for Ben Matlock.

Well, actually, I'm his daughter.

Gonna harass me the way you've been harassing Mr. Welker? Oh, I haven't been

harassing him. Mr. Eagleton?

You've been standing in his place pretty good, too, huh?

Well, while we're on the subject, I hear you and Mr. Eagleton are pretty tight.

I know the guy.

I'll say you do. Every time he comes here, you two go off somewhere and do a

of whispering.

Says who?

Rick Stafford.

Oh, well, sure.

And me.

I've seen you.

What do you talk about?

Maybe that land you bought in Costa Rica. Great piece of property, I

Waterfront, very expensive.

You pay cash.

Would you mind telling me how you did that on your salary?

Word to the wise lady.

Keep your nose out of my business.

Oh, come on. You can tell me. What do you two talk about?

Animals.

Elliot just loves animals.

Ben?

Son? Dad, what are you doing here? Looking for Ben. Ben?

He's not here, Dad. I left four messages on his answering machine. The thing

with my life hanging by a shoestring, he'd have the decency to return one of

calls. Dad, he's not here. My trial begins in two hours, and my attorney's

probably off chasing some pretty blonde.

Now, that's just... Couldn't care less that I could go broke. Dad, Dad, he'll

here, I promise you. If you've got a court date, he's on another case.

Just to be on the safe side, son. Why don't you come with me in case he

show? I can't.

Why not?

I gotta go to the zoo.

A zoo?

Yeah, I want a case. You know the other case that Ben has?

I'm on it. I'm sort of undercover.

Doing what?

Um, kind of cleaning up after the animals.

I didn't put you through law school so Ben Matlock could have you attended to

the sanitation problems of a monkey. Dad, it's not like that. You're a

Stand up and act like one. What's the matter with you? Nothing, Dad. Dad, it's

okay. Nothing's the matter with me. He'll be there, I promise you. But can

do me a favor? Since you're going to see him first, will you give him a message

for me?

Please?

Please.

I was at the coast all morning. Gee, you look nice, Billy. Thanks.

I phoned your place four times.

They call the case yet?

They said any minute now. Well, just relax.

You like tormenting me, don't you, Ben?

It's that mean streak of yours.

First you make a mental case out of my sister, now you try to give me a stroke.

You want me to go home? No!

I saw Cliff.

He gave me a message for you.

I'm supposed to be able to read this?

I was nervous. My hand was shaking.

Why didn't Cliff write it? He didn't have a pencil.

What's it say?

It said he overheard Elliot Eselman and

Nick Dumpster. Yeah.

He overheard them talking.

They said the llama's being delivered tomorrow morning and...

After that, they're going to cool it.

Lama.

You sure he said Lama?

Yeah.

Pretty sure.

What else?

He said he's real unhappy about this undercover work.

He wishes you'd let him be a lawyer.

The boy worked his heart out to become Lama. What did he mean about the Lama? I

don't know. What's he want me to do about the Lama? I don't know.

Billy Woo these days. State of Georgia versus Hermansky, Lewis, Foster, and

Smith.

That's us.

Come on.

Mr. Matlock, do you have a motion to sever your client from these

Yes, sir, I do, Your Honor.

It's totally improper for my client to be here.

These gentlemen are culpable. He is not.

Your Honor, these men, Mr. Lewis included, are by valid contract

They wrote in together. They should hang together.

I think I'll hear testimony on this.

Mr. Lewis, would you please tell the judge what you do for a living?

I'm a farmer, semi -retired.

Say again?

I'm a farmer, semi -retired.

Would you say that you're a man of substantial means?

Huh? Do you have a lot of money?

What's that got to do with anything?

Just answer the question.

Well, I ain't exactly rich.

I got some money.

At least I used to.

What do you mean you used to?

Practically everything I had went into those dolls.

$10 ,000.

I borrowed another 10 grand on top of that.

How'd you hear about these dolls?

Mr. Hermansky told me his dolls were a sure thing.

He told me if I'd give him $20 ,000, I was almost sure to double my money

a month.

Mr. Hermansky a friend of yours?

I didn't know him from Adam.

Is he in the courtroom today?

He's the guy sitting over there, Ben. You know who it is. Which guy?

The one in the blue suit.

Mr. Lewis, were you aware that the company you invested in was selling

that were made in direct violation of the Georgia Child Safety Act of 1989?

I told you I didn't know that.

Do you know what a general partner is?

No. Don't know that either.

Why are you asking me questions like that?

Just answer it.

Were you aware that you were a general partner in Weird Wally Dolls

Incorporated? No.

You're making me look like an idiot, Ben.

Just answer the questions.

You signed a contract.

Didn't you read it before you signed it?

Sure, I read it.

Doesn't mean I understood it.

I think I've heard enough.

Is there any particular reason why you wanted to press charges against Mr.

here? Yes, Your Honor. He's a general partner, and as such, he should be

A willful act requires at least a modicum of knowledge, Mr. Price.

I'm going to entertain a defense motion to dismiss all charges against this man.

So moved.

No objection.

Mr. Lewis, you're free to go.

No, Ben.

You made me look like a real jackass in there.

Thank you.

Leanne?

Hi.

I have been through every nook and cranny of this place. There is a

between those two con artists and one of our suspects. It's not here.

Did you get anything out of Nick Dempsey? Not much.

This is hard, isn't it? It's very hard.

How'd court go?

Oh, Bailey loves me because I got him off.

Pretty soon we're going to have to get a job where we get paid.

I went by the bank on my way over here.

The Lavelles, or whoever you want to call them, opened up a checking account

about a month ago.

Since Lieutenant Andrew said that they were from Galveston, I thought maybe

there was some kind of bank transfer. No, they had $20 ,000 in cash and a lot

very legitimate looking IDs.

The only checks they wrote were to the man they rented this place from, the

utility companies, and the grocery store.

No long -distance phone calls either. Not even to Galveston? No.

They really knew what they were doing, didn't they?

Did you check that?

No, not yet.

Hello? Are you there?

I hope you can hear this. There's some construction work going on outside. It's

driving me bananas.

Anyway, I got your message.

Very interesting.

We'll have a lot to talk about, mate.

Call me after 7, my time.

Long distance.

English accent?

Australian? I wonder where he was calling him from.

Probably a phone call.

You check the trash can?

You know, I haven't been to Galveston in I don't know how long. What do you

think? Didn't hurt. No.

Don't move on.

Oh, good boy.

Don't get the chance to examine many llamas.

So what did you find?

Well, his teeth could use a little looking after, but other than that, he

just fine.

That's it?

That's it.

Nothing unusual?

Nope.

And you look everywhere.

This animal's being used to smuggle some kind of contraband into the country.

I'll eat my medical degree.

Dad, are you sure you don't want me to take you to the airport?

I got 20 minutes. I should be fine. Okay.

Oh, I promised Judge Cooksey. Would you call him and tell him I'll call him next

week? I'll do it right now.

Have a safe trip. Thanks. Bye. Bye.

Hello, Ben.

Billy, I'm just... This is for you.

They need water.

Oh, all right. Thanks.

There you go.

You don't like them.

I like them, Billy.

Yeah, help me, Ben. I'm trying to say thank you.

You're welcome. And I'm trying to help you.

Some people might think you're a tough, uncaring, unfeeling, tightwad rich

person. And while you are, I believe somewhere, hidden in there, is a

somewhat sweet, kind, almost given person.

I'm trying to show you you can be likable.

You finally, for whatever your hidden reason, did something good for me.

And I'm trying to help you get that little good part of you out from under

the muck and mire.

Really, I don't know what to say.

But I guess I'll just have to...

Keep being my same jackass self and catch my plane

Get

everybody outstanding the area couldn't gotten far

Well, well, well. Look at that.

Hey!

What in the hell are you doing?

He got away from me. What do you mean he got away from you? What were you doing

with him in the first place?

Well, I saw his cage need to be cleaned, so I cleaned it. And when I went in

there, something spooked him. He knocked me over and ran away. I've been chasing

him all over the city ever since.

How'd he get through the gate?

Jumped right over it. You should have seen.

All right. Nice job. Put him back inside.

Hey, when are we going to put him in a pen?

As soon as we finish redoing the drainage.

Okay, come on.

Come on.

Hold on.

I thought you said you were going to take care of him. I thought I had. What

happened? Who knows?

We're better off anyway.

Oh, come on. This proves he's working for Ben Matlock.

He heard you talking about the llama yesterday.

So he stole him so they could have him checked out. Yeah, and they didn't find

anything.

That means they've still got no idea what's going on.

Maybe we should get the stones out now. No, we are going to remain calm.

As long as we keep our friend back there away from the cage tonight, we are home

free.

All right?

You stole a llama?

Yeah, just long enough to have him checked out by a vet. He couldn't find

anything, though.

Nothing.

What did you say? I said somebody put a rattlesnake... Dempsey's coming. I gotta

go.

Somebody put a rattlesnake in your bed? Yeah, bye.

Cliff!

Hi!

Hello, Mr. Engleton.

What are you doing here? Hi, Mr. Dempsey. Good to see you again.

You just can't seem to get enough of this place, can you? This harassment has

got to stop. Now leave or I'll call the police.

No need.

Police are right here.

Elliot Eagleton, Nick Dempsey, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Andrews.

He's with Homicide.

Gentlemen, we're looking for a friend of Miss McIntyre's named Cliff Lewis.

Never heard of him.

Oh, I have.

He works here. I hired him last week.

Friend of yours, huh?

Where is he?

Well, the last time I saw him, he was working on a pen for a new llama.

Come on, I'll take you over.

Somebody here to stay in.

Is that him?

Yeah.

He looks okay to me.

Well, is there a problem? You bet there is. You see what's going on here? Now,

that man is a spy hired by Ben Matlock and his daughter to find something,

anything that would involve this zoo with his client's trial.

Wheelbarrows.

Wheelbarrows? Oh, it's this little story my dad told me once.

You see, there was this cement factory.

And every day, one of the guys who worked there would leave with a

full of sand.

Now, the guard figured the guy was stealing something, so every day he

sift through the sand, and every day he wouldn't find anything.

That went on for ten days.

Next day, the guy quit.

Day after that, huh.

Somebody went to the depot to get a wheelbarrow.

And what do you think?

No wheelbarrow.

He's stolen every last one of them.

What are you talking about?

It's not the llama.

It's the caves.

Hey, what are you doing? Stop that. Hold it. Hold it.

Leanne, what are you doing?

undeclared diamond from Peru, maybe.

I wonder what they were going to do with these.

Take it easy.

Thank you.

I was going to get you.

Give me a real light beer.

Coming up.

We have mutual friends.

Oh, yeah? Who?

David Levine and Susie Bath.

David Levine?

And Susie... Never heard of them. Sure, yeah.

I was at their house.

There was nobody home.

Look what I found in the garbage.

Looks like they were regulars.

Lots of people come here.

Yeah, but you called them.

That house they rented in Georgia left a message.

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

Church bells, jackhammer in the construction across the street, your

accent.

I know it was you.

You've had quite enough already.

Get up.

Those people were killed.

But you obviously know that.

You may be an accessory.

What are you, a cop?

If you don't talk to me, I might introduce you to some of them.

Well, if Marvin Estes knew about the diamond smuggling, why didn't he say

something? Maybe he didn't know. Maybe he just suspected and said something to

the wrong person.

What are you doing?

I'm looking for whatever we missed.

My hands are really killing me. I got blisters all over them from cleaning out

all those animal cages. Well, that's what you get.

There's got to be something in here.

Did Marvin Estes wear glasses?

No.

Look at this.

Mr. Walker, Marvin Estes hired you to do what?

To be the curator of the children's zoo he owned. And as curator, you decided

which animals would be bought and sold, that sort of thing.

That was part of it, yes.

My client says that Mr. Estes believed that something untoward

was going on at the children's zoo. Did he ever say anything about that to you?

No, never.

How about your friends, Mr. Eagleton and Mr. Dempsey? You think he might have

mentioned it to one of them?

Not as far as I know.

So, Mr.

Estes had no idea that you and your friends were smuggling diamonds into the

country in cages of imported animals.

Objection. Look, I don't have to answer that. I'll rephrase.

You, Mr. Eagleton, and Mr. Dempsey were arrested last week on what charge?

Smuggling. So something untoward was going on at the children's zoo.

Just because we were charged doesn't mean we're guilty.

Oh, can't argue with that. Can't argue with that.

Who would you say was Mr. Estes' best friend?

Me, probably.

So you knew that he was capable of some pretty strange...

Everyone around him knew that.

But you were the only one who knew this Teresa Lavelle person didn't exist,

right? No, I thought she existed.

You didn't visit his boat one day and accidentally come across one of those

letters he had typed to himself?

No.

I'll bet you your friend and Mr.

Estes' lawyer, Mr. Eagleton, told you that Marvin Estes had left his entire

estate. To a woman named Teresa Lavelle, right?

Yes, but you didn't tell him she didn't exist.

Because that's when you came up with your big plan.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Make sure that Marvin Estes was never point the finger at your smuggling

operation. By bringing in a phony Teresa Lavelle, you saw your opportunity to

get your hands on that $200 million.

That is a lie.

I never lie in court, Mr. Welker.

Never. I know better.

Never lie in court.

Tell us who Alvin Leacock is.

Sorry, Alvin who?

Gentleman right over there.

He's from Galveston.

And he's prepared to testify that Susie Barron, the woman who impersonated

Teresa Lavelle, was a friend of his.

And that he's a friend of yours, too.

You want to tell us the rest of it, Mr. Welk?

There's nothing to tell. Come on now.

Tell us how Mr.

Leacock recruited Susie Barron and David Levine to play her husband for you.

Tell us how he acted as a go -between so there could never be any connection

between you and them.

Tell us how you used him to tell them all the things that were typed in all

those letters.

knowing that people like me would use that to track down this Teresa person.

You want to tell us, Mr. Welker? If you don't, he will.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

You broke into a car that night and set off the alarm to lure the

guard off Marvin Estes' boat.

No. A car in which you placed...

A credit card receipt that you had stolen from my client's office to frame

That's not true either. After the guard left the boat, you went aboard wearing a

wetsuit. No.

You had with you the bottle of sleeping pills that you got with a phony

prescription.

He found the bottle of scotch in the bar, a bottle on which my client had the

misfortune to leave his fingerprints earlier that day. You took that bottle

scotch. Of course, wearing the gloves from your wetsuit. No fingerprints.

You went below where Marvin Estes lay asleep. You grabbed his head and started

forcing sleeping pills in his mouth and washing them down with scotch. No. You

forced sleeping pill after sleeping pill down his throat till he finally passed

out. Then you went upstairs to the salon, found the typewriter, grabbed

mask. went up to the deck, threw the typewriter in the bay, so that no one

ever know that Teresa Lavelle was a figment of Marvin Estes' imagination.

Then you jumped in the bay yourself and made your escape.

No, not one word of that is true.

Every word of it's true, and I can prove it.

We found this mask on Marvin Estes' yacht three days ago.

It was removed by the police with a whine.

Everybody assumed it belonged to Marvin Estes because he was such an avid scuba

diver.

But it didn't. It belongs to you.

You were in such a hurry to leave the scene of the crime, you picked up the

wrong mask, didn't you?

That's not my mask. Yes, it is.

These lenses were specially ground for a nearsighted person.

Marvin Estes had perfect eyesight. He didn't even need to wear reading

You're nearsighted. It isn't my mask.

The record at Merrill Opticians on Laramie Street, where these

lenses were specially ground and fitted, show that it is. All right, wait a

minute, wait a minute.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen mine around the house lately. Maybe it is my

mask. Look, I probably left it there the last time Marvin and I went diving.

When was that?

A couple of weeks before his death.

No. According to Merrill opticians, this mask was picked up the

afternoon Marvin Estes was murdered.

I guess you knew you'd be needing it that night.

Want to try it on and see how it fits?

Well, here they come.

I got mustard, ketchup, relish, sauerkraut. A man after my own

heart. Oh, there you go.

Hey, Ben.

I hope you like this one.

Where do you want me to plant it? It's got to be in the sun, you know.

It's kind of dead.

Just need some water.

Oh, I almost forgot.

Here's a cashier's check.

The good news is you can cash it any time. The bad news is there are 27

relatives suing for a share of Uncle Marvin's estate.

27? They just keep crawling out of the woodwork.

It's going to be a while before you get your cut.

Several decades.

Don't bother.

What is he doing?

Oh, he's trying to repay me.

He doesn't know anything about plumbing.