Original subtitles

Okay,

that's it for today. Come on in, guys. Good work.

Hey, Reed!

Reed!

Hold up.

You've got to hit lower. That's why you missed those tackles. You're standing

straight up and down half the time.

It's a whole lot easier to drive them down with your legs than it is to muscle

them down. I missed two tackles.

Lighten up.

Just trying to make you a better player, Reed.

Daniel Wallace?

Yeah. I'm Lieutenant Andrews, Atlanta PD.

I'd like you to come with us if you don't mind.

What for?

Well, you come with us and I'll tell you.

Why don't you just tell me right now?

All right.

You're under arrest.

accepting a bribe to influence the outcome of an athletic contest.

Four counts.

Hi.

Hi. Hi.

Well, is this the ugliest room you've ever seen? I must have been in here.

A thousand times, and I've never figured out how to decorate it.

Well, it's not my jail.

So what's up?

I didn't do it. Daniel, the police have a bookie ready to testify that he paid

you $40 ,000 to fix four football games for him.

He's lying.

Daniel, where'd the $40 ,000 the police found in the tackle box in the trunk of

your car come from?

I don't know. Somebody must have put it there. Daniel, if you weren't with that

bookie when he said you were, where were you?

I was out by myself, jogging.

Ben,

you've got to believe me. I'm being framed.

Daniel, I believed you five years ago when you were playing for the Falcons.

I believed you when you said you weren't gambling on football.

I believed you when you swore you had nothing to do with the mob.

Remember that?

Yes. I believed everything you said.

And then two days into the trial, the state comes up with a picture of you and

that man, what's his name, that mob boss?

Joe Thompson.

Yeah. And you and Joe Thompson confessed to everything.

Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.

Ben, I've turned my whole life around.

I've stopped gambling. I'm even studying for the ministry.

Oh, come on. Three Angels Church is considering me for their pulpit right

Being kicked out of Pro Bowl was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Daniel, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Ben, could you at least give us some advice?

A friend recommended two other attorneys, Ross Marlowe and Brian Lane.

you think would be better?

Well, Atlanta's a pretty big place, but from all I've heard, Brian Lane's his

final lawyer who's in town.

Then Brian Lane it is.

Please tell the court, Mr. Engel, where and when you had your first contact with

the defendant.

Sure.

We met at 6 .30 p .m. in an empty parking lot, 6th and Potter, September

It was just before the first home game of the Cutters.

The Cutters.

That's the football team Daniel Wallace coached. Yeah.

Yeah, the South Coast University Cutters. What was the gist of your

conversation? Well, I asked him if he'd be interested in making some money,

manipulating the outcome of some of the games the Cutters played.

You asked him to fix football games for you?

Yeah. And what did he say?

He said, yeah, great.

And after that, you paid Daniel Wallace to make sure the Cutters would lose?

No, no, no, no. I paid him to make sure that the Cutters wouldn't cover the

spread in games that they were favored to win.

So what you were asking Mr. Wallace to do...

It wasn't to deliberately lose a game the Cutters were favored to win, but

to manipulate the final score so it wouldn't cover the spread.

Yeah, you got it.

That way I could go to another bookie, I could bet against the spread, I'd know

I was going to win.

Yet a little more subtle that way.

And you paid Mr. Wallace for what he did?

Yeah, 40 ,000 bucks.

I mean, four games, 10 grand a pop.

I mean, that was our agreement.

Was the defendant always able to deliver what he promised?

Well, he said that he knew his guys so well that by sending them into the game

and out of the game and by picking just the right play at just the right time,

well, he had all of that down to a science.

And what, in fact, was the outcome of the four games? Well, they won all four.

And in three of them, they didn't cover his friend.

Just like he said.

Thank you, Mr. Engel.

Mr.

Lane, you may cross.

What you did is illegal, is it not, Mr. Engel?

Yeah. Then why is it that my client is on trial and you are not?

Well, I... Yeah, well, I... I was told that if

I testified...

I'd be granted immunity from prosecution.

In other words, it was either sit up there or sit down here, right, Mr.

Where? In other words, you're not testifying. You're saving your own skin,

aren't you, Mr. Engel?

No, no, no, no.

I'm telling you the truth.

Nothing further.

Did Coach Wallace do anything that you, as a member of his football team,

thought was...

unusual or ill -advised during that first home game?

Yeah. Tell us about it.

Like in the third quarter, it was fourth down with a half yard to go on their

28, and instead of kicking the field goal, he had us go for it. And what

happened? We didn't make it.

Turn the ball over, and three plays later, they end up scoring a field goal.

anything like that ever happen during any of the other games?

All the time.

Like, he'd take out a good player at a crucial moment and send in a second

stringer, or he'd call a running play when it was obvious we should be

Stuff like that. As a seasoned football player, do you ever get the feeling that

Coach Wallace was deliberately trying to adjust the score by doing things that

were unorthodox?

I don't know what he was trying to do.

It did seem to me, though, that he was letting scoring situations slip through

our hands.

Thank you.

Mr. Lane, you may cross.

Do you know what a Monday morning quarterback is, Reed?

Yeah.

Well, for those who don't, that's somebody who sits around after a

is all over and says, Now, this is what the quarterback should have done, isn't

it? Kind of like what you're doing right now.

I was there. I saw what was going on. That makes you an armchair quarterback,

and that's somebody who sits back and second -guesses the quarterback.

Hey, I know my stuff. Like you said, I'm a seasoned ballplayer. Yes, but you are

not the coach.

If you were, you might have done things exactly the same way Daniel Wallace did.

Experimented, kept the opposition guessing by doing the unexpected.

giving new players a chance to prove themselves, giving the more valuable

players a chance to rest. Isn't that right?

I don't think so.

You don't like Coach Wallace very much, do you?

Now watch yourself, Reed. You're under oath.

And you've got a lot of teammates sitting right out there.

I don't like him much, no.

Thank you.

Have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

We find the defendant guilty.

You saw her?

Thanks for waiting. It took me longer to get away than I thought. Why couldn't I

have just met you at Brian's office?

Because Brian is what I wanted to talk with you about.

This is very difficult for me.

What?

While helping Brian prepare your husband's defense, I overheard a

between Brian and a man who said he had information that could help prove Max

Engel, the bookie, was lying.

But Brian just sent him on his way and never followed up on it. Why not?

I don't know.

At the time, I figured Brian had his reasons and let it go.

But when your husband was convicted, I did some checking. The guy's legit.

Brian blew it.

And you're willing to help me prove it?

I believe Brian mismanaged your husband's case.

So there's a chance that Daniel's case could be reopened and the verdict

overturned. Yeah. I mean, I'm as loyal as the next person, Mrs. Wallace.

But an innocent man shouldn't go to jail.

Well, you're suing Brian Lane for malpractice.

The way he handled Daniel's defense is why the judge overturned the verdict.

I want you to represent me.

I don't do malpractice, Casey.

But you could if you wanted, couldn't you?

Well, yeah, but I really hate suing a colleague.

Your colleague is at best irresponsible.

At worst...

Criminally negligent. Now, those aren't my words, Ben.

That's what the judge said.

There's the transcript. Read it for yourself.

Brian Lane deserves to fry.

If you'd taken Daniel's case in the first place, none of this would have

happened. You were the one that suggested that I go with Brian.

You owe me, Ben.

Out of all the lawyers in this town, I wind up getting sued by Ben Matlock.

How could you let that happen?

I tried to talk Daniel out of it.

But I was afraid if I tried too hard, he'd make it suspicious.

I should have let Natalie go. None of this would have happened if she kept her

mouth shut about what she heard that day.

I know.

We just have to make the best of it.

We'll get through this all right.

I know. It's all this pressure.

You perform very well under pressure.

I gotta get going. It's Wednesday.

Wednesday?

Choir practice.

I'll be home early.

Sometimes I think I know Daniel's schedule better than he does.

Mr. Linder, why did you contact Brian Lane?

Oh, I knew Max Engle was lying about being with Wallace on that day.

I thought it was my civic duty to tell somebody.

Well, what'd you tell him?

Well, I told him Max and I were out at Sunnyside Downs on September the 17th.

Went out about 5 p .m. and stayed till a little after 11 that night.

Sunnyside Downs, that's a racetrack.

Yep. And you and Mr. Engle were gambling.

Yeah. That's right.

Do you have proof that you and Max Engel were there?

Yeah, that's the reason I remembered in the first place. Max hit the trifecta

that day.

Trifecta? Yeah, trifecta, see, is when you bet the horses to come in first,

second, and third in that order in a race.

Paid over two grand.

Oh, I guess the track would keep a record on that.

You bet.

They make you fill out a form for the good old IRS any time you went over $1

,500. You told Mr. Lane this?

Yeah. Well, what'd he say?

He said, thanks a lot.

We'll be in touch.

And was he in touch?

No, never heard from him again.

Thank you, Mr. Linder.

Cross -examine, Mr. Chase.

Defense has no question to this witness, Your Honor.

You may step down.

Next witness, Mr. Matlock.

The plaintiff pressed his case, Your Honor. Then, Mr. Chase, you may call

first witness.

The defense calls Mr. Brian Lane as its first witness.

As one of the most well -respected attorneys in Atlanta, you must have had

reason for doing what you did.

So please, tell us, why did you fail to include testimony by Mr. Linder when you

were defending Daniel Wallace?

It was quite simply a judgment call. I didn't think Robert Linder would make a

credible witness.

In fact, I thought there was a good chance he would do more harm than good.

Why did you think that? Because Robert Linder owns a topless bar.

He gambles, he abuses drugs, he beats his wife, and he has a police record.

But physical evidence existed that would have corroborated his story. He never

told me that.

He said nothing about Ingalls winning the trifecta that day, nothing.

Well, now, he just testified under oath that he did.

Well, I'm testifying under oath that he did not.

So, in your opinion, as, again, one of the most highly regarded attorneys in

this town, you felt the jury would not believe Mr. Linder, and so you dismissed

him. Is that it? That's it, exactly.

I have no further questions.

Well, I do.

Mr. Lane, how perfect does a person have to be before you'll call them to the

stand?

I don't think I understand the question.

Of course you do.

Does he have to go to church every Sunday, be a member of the PTA, drink

decaffeinated coffee? How perfect?

Robert Linder had a rap sheet a mile long. Robert Linder was picked up once

possession of marijuana charge, twice for hitting his wife.

who dropped both charges the minute she sobered up. Four times for solicitation,

I grant you.

He's no Boyce Al, but come on, Mr. Lane, he's no Al Capone either.

In my professional opinion, without anything to corroborate his story, his

evidence would have been a waste of time. Do you mean to tell me you didn't

him for corroboration?

A man walks into your office, who might very well be the only thing between your

client and the slammer, and you say, thank you. but no thanks, and you let

man walk out of your office, no questions asked.

You didn't ask him who else saw Max Engle at the track that day.

It didn't occur to you that somebody more your liking may have been able to

corroborate Mr. Linder's story. Hell, it would have occurred to me.

I bet it would have occurred to just about every other lawyer in this town,

those who are not half as highly exceptional as you are.

So what's your excuse, Mr. Lane?

How'd you let Robert Linder walk out of your office that way? How could you

treat your client that way?

I can't do this.

I intentionally withheld Robert.

Lender's testimony, because I wanted to make sure my client was convicted.

What, a ten -minute recess?

No! I want to get this over with.

Please, please let me continue.

By all means.

About six months ago, I met the Wallaces at a party.

Pamela, Wallace, and I started seeing each other. We eventually fell in love.

It's not true.

Shortly afterwards, Daniel was arrested for fixing those college football games,

and that was it for Pamela. She wanted to divorce him.

But she had signed a prenuptial agreement that would have left her

penniless that she had. So we devised a plan whereby I would

take his case and

deliberately lose it.

None of this is true. Why are you saying these things?

Sit down, young lady.

But he's lying.

Let him finish. Order.

That way we could live together out of state somewhere and invest enough of his

money and mine so that we could live comfortably when she finally did

ask him for a divorce.

But when Robert Linder came into my office with...

That would have exonerated Daniel.

I sent him away.

See, he would have ruined everything.

I'm sorry.

I thought I could do this, but I can't. I'm sorry.

Please, Danny, I don't know why he said those things, but he was lying.

Brian made all that up because he didn't want to admit he was just plain

incompetent. Pamela!

Hamilton!

It doesn't have to be over between us. Get away from me. Pamela, I need you.

Danny, please, make him stop. Make him go away.

I trusted you.

Now, I'm a God -fearing, law -abiding man, but I swear, if you come near

one of us again, I'm going to beat you to within an inch of your life. No,

Daniel, no, no.

Good to see you again.

I'm glad everything worked out. Thanks, Peter.

Have you met the new minister yet? No.

Do you need any help with that food relief program?

Not at the moment.

Plenty of volunteers.

Well, if you need an extra body, just give me a call.

Thanks, I will.

DuPont v.

Hoskins.

The charge is trespassing and disorderly conduct. How does the defendant plead?

Your Honor, my client pleads.

No, I didn't do it. No, I was looking at it. No.

He pleads guilty, Your Honor.

The defendant pleads guilty.

So noted.

The defendant shall be remanded to the custody of the county... Thanks for

waiting. So, where do you want to go eat?

I made reservations at LaBelle's at 1 .30. Great.

So, your client back there didn't seem too eager to plead guilty.

Oh, that was Lenny Hoskins. He was prowling around this lady's house. She

he's a peeping Tom.

Is he?

Not according to him.

You believe him?

Well, the way I see it, a couple of months in jail will be good for him. No

booze, three squares a day, medical attention.

What's the difference?

Not worried, but if he's innocent.

Man, grow up.

I've been looking everywhere for you.

Why don't you leave a note or something?

You know what I think it is?

I think he's obsessed with me.

No, really.

I never told you this, but when we met him at that party, he said some really

weird things to me, suggestive things.

I mean...

Maybe he was attracted to me and when he wound up defending you, I don't know,

maybe he saw a way to finally have me and just snapped.

I don't think so.

Why not?

It makes more sense than what he said, doesn't it?

All that stuff about the prenuptial agreement and living together on your

That's crazy.

We both know you don't have any money. He gambled it away years ago.

Daniel. Please, this man is nuts.

You've got to believe me. I am telling you the truth.

Where are you going?

Danny.

Danny.

How did this happen to you?

How did what happen?

Being homeless.

Oh.

I don't know.

One thing led to another.

Alcohol?

Yeah.

I used to drink a lot.

Lost jobs.

My wife left me.

Took the children.

Never saw them again.

Went on a binge.

Don't know how long it lasted.

When I came to, it was all over, and I was... out of society.

It's not too bad.

I travel around, work once in a while.

One way to look at it, I'm free.

No, you're not. Not by a long shot.

And we've got to find a way to do something about that.

Leanne!

In the kitchen!

I'm glad you're back.

Dad, I'd like you to meet my new client, Lenny Hoskins. Lenny, my father, Ben

Matlock. How do you do, sir?

Lenny's been charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Second time in two months.

I'm innocent, of course. This woman keeps claiming that he prowls around her

house and kind of invades her privacy.

He's a peeper?

I admit to looking in her window, but I wasn't looking at her. I really wasn't.

I was looking at her dog.

Her dog?

I see her with her dog in the park.

She treats that poor thing horribly.

I just want her to make sure he was okay.

Ah, Mr. Hoskins, would you mind stepping into the living room for just a second?

Certainly. Thanks.

Leanne, are you out of your mind? You can't represent him. Why not? He's a

peeper. He's not a peeper. He peeped at that woman.

No, he wasn't peeping at all. Dad, when we became partners, we agreed to

represent some people pro bono, remember?

I remember. Well, this is where we begin. I'm going to represent him. Now,

we need to do is find him a place to stay for a couple of days and help him

a job. He doesn't have a home?

No, he moves around quite a bit. So I thought until the trial was over, he

stay at my place.

No!

Leanne, he's a peeper. An alleged peeper. I don't care what you call him,

not staying at your house. Denny! Lenny! Lenny!

May I just say, you have a beautiful house. I understand they've got

rooms down at the YMCA, so take this money and go down there.

Oh, no, sir. I neither solicit nor accept handouts.

Well, what if you work for the money? Would you take it then?

Of course.

So you can do some work around here tomorrow for my dad.

That way, it would be an advance.

No, ma 'am. Until I do the work, I cannot accept the pay. Now, wait a

You've got to have a place to stay tonight. You're not staying in my

house. So take the damn money and go down to the Y. Maybe they've got a dog

could look at. Dad, I have the solution.

You saw the sofa in the living room. Would you like to stay here tonight?

Leanne. That way you could get up bright and early and go right to work.

It wouldn't be charity. It would be more like you were a house guest.

Leanne. If it's all right with your father.

Is it, Dad?

You're the best thing that ever happened to me.

And the worst.

Go upstairs and wash.

You know that pony you always wanted for Christmas?

That's why you never got it.

Pairs game?

Over, under 36.

Packers? 42.

No problem.

How much?

A thousand?

Okay, you're covered. Under for a grand.

Since you sat up there on the stand, we'd had all sorts of meetings.

I figured we might as well have one.

Not until you tell me why you lied up there.

Who paid you off, Max?

Was it Brian Lane?

My wife?

Who was it?

I can't breathe.

You're going to tell me sooner or later.

Come on, Max. Tell me.

Joe Thompson?

I swear.

Hey, Ben, I'm sorry to bother you, but I think this might be important.

What? I got Max Engel to tell me who paid him to lie about me on the stand.

That's your house guest.

The angle said it was Joe Thompson.

Now, Ben, I swear I haven't had anything to do with this guy for five years

since before I got kicked out of pro ball.

Why would he want to set you up like that? I have no idea, but I'm sure going

find out.

You're not going to go over there and see him, are you? How else am I going to

find out what's going on? Well, you can't just go in and see a man like

He's a gangster.

Dangerous. Let me talk to him.

You'd do that?

Yeah, yeah. You go on home and...

I'll let you know when I find out. Well, I appreciate it. And look, if I'm not

at home, I'll be at the Three Angels Church, okay?

You're really into that, aren't you? Oh, yeah.

Well, the Archbishop's coming to town in a couple of weeks, and we've got a lot

to do to get ready. Yeah?

Yeah, he's coming to congratulate us.

Our church has gathered more food and clothing for the needy all over the

than any other church in our denomination.

Yeah.

Thanks, Ben. Yeah.

Oh, yeah?

Hey, you.

You think you're a better shot than me?

I'll get the both of you.

Yeah.

Now it's my turn to get even with you guys.

You turkey.

Yeah? You think you're a better shot than me?

Huh?

All right, you guys.

I got you guys so many times.

You're just soaked.

Now go on the side and get dried off. Go ahead.

Thompson? That's right.

Ben Mallow.

Nice -looking kids.

Yeah, well, if this is business, you can see me in my office. Oh, this will only

take a minute.

One of my clients, Daniel Wallace, do you remember him?

Yeah, of course, the football coach.

Yeah, we used to hang out.

He liked to gamble.

Now, that's a name I haven't heard for, what, five, six years? How about Max

Engel? Remember his name?

Why do you ask?

Well, Max said that you paid him to perjure himself during Daniel's last

What a nasty thing for Max to say about me.

Now, why would I do something like that? I don't know. I don't know, unless you

wanted to see Daniel go to jail.

Mr. Matlock, now why would a legitimate businessman such as myself care whether

or not some college football coach goes to jail? Well, now you hit the nail

right on the head. I was going to ask you that.

Well, I'm going to have to call Max up and have a little talk with him.

Find out why he said that about me. Well, I have a feeling Max might be hard

find for a long time.

Well, I won't take up any more of your time. I'll just go out that way and say

goodbye to Mrs.

Thompson.

You hear that?

Yeah.

He could be a problem.

No, no.

We're just going to have to be very careful.

Excellent.

This is only a rehearsal.

Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our new minister, the Reverend Oliver

Malloy.

And may I say, I'm absolutely delighted to be here. And this is our unofficial

director of music, and just about everything else around here, Daniel

Of course, it's an honor.

Especially since I understand they were thinking about making you the new

minister at one time.

You look familiar.

Well, I guess I just have one of those faces.

But please, go on. Don't let us interrupt. It's beautiful.

All right,

let's take it back to the same place.

Please.

Good morning.

What are you doing? I took the liberty of cooking your breakfast. Sit down.

You wash your hands?

Here we go.

Mushroom and green pepper frittata.

Just a little something to go with your lemon pancake.

You like it?

Yeah.

Matlock residence.

No, I'm afraid he's busy right now.

May I take a message?

I was just brushing my teeth this morning and it hit me. I'd seen that guy

I used to hang out with Joe Thompson.

New minister.

I saw him at Thompson's house and also at the social club we always used to

out.

Is Thompson his real name?

Yeah, as far as I know.

He doesn't look like a Thompson.

So it was five years ago?

Ben, I know that's where I saw him.

I mean, I've got a real good memory for faces.

Well, I guess mobsters need spiritual guidance like anybody else.

Maybe it's a coincidence.

I haven't even thought of Joe Thompson in years, and now all of a sudden I find

out he's trying to ship me off to jail, and the new minister of my church turns

out to be a friend of his.

It just doesn't feel right.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

I just wish I knew what to do about it.

I don't want you doing anything about it.

I won't.

Look, Ben, thanks a lot for coming out here. I appreciate it.

Just don't know who I can trust anymore, you know?

Should have told you to bring your sweats out here.

Better run some stairs to get them. Oh, I ate so much breakfast, I can hardly

walk.

Take it easy. I'll take it again. All right.

Daniel met him yesterday.

And he wanted to tell me that he had seen him once before at Joe Thompson's

house.

That's news to me.

No law against a mob boss being friends with a minister.

Happens all the time.

That's pretty much what I told him.

Daniel Wallace never tired of doing God's work here on Earth.

And I have no doubt that he is continuing to serve God.

with his customary joy and enthusiasm in a far better place.

We all can and should take solace in this.

And now, those wishing to pay his or her final respects may come forward and do

so.

I can't take this anymore, Pam.

Why won't you return my calls? I want to know what's going on.

I love you.

I tried to do what we planned. I just, I couldn't hold it together in court.

Darling, I'm sorry.

My career is over.

And my life.

Come on, Pamela, please.

You told me you loved me.

She doesn't care. She never cared about Daniel. You lied about everything.

She told me Daniel didn't have any money. She said she loved me.

All she wanted was for Daniel to go to jail. But if she doesn't love me, why

would she want that?

Why? Why?

Would you like a drink?

No.

Killing Daniel wasn't part of the deal.

Nobody killed your husband.

As I understand it, he tripped and fell.

It was an accident.

I want my money.

Now? I agreed to help you get Daniel out of the way. And now that he's out of

the way for good, I think I deserve to get paid.

Pamela, so do I.

You'll have it within 24 hours.

A million cash.

A million cash?

Why would Pamela want Daniel to go to jail? I don't know. That's what Brian

says. But not so that she and Brian could live happily ever after?

He says she ought to give him the time of day.

That's weird.

I think she wouldn't have anything to hide anymore. I mean, especially now

Daniel's dead.

Well, Pamela wanted Daniel in jail. Joe Thompson wanted Daniel in jail.

You think there's a connection?

Here we go.

A Monte Cristo, French fries, and coleslaw.

All homemade.

Wow, you made this yes, ma 'am

You

know

what what you owe me that pony

Mrs. Wallace. I just dropped by to see how you were holding up.

That's very nice of you, Reverend Malloy.

Would you like to come in?

Thank you.

I didn't think it would be you.

Were you expecting somebody else?

No. No, I just thought maybe a mutual friend was using you to deliver

I'm afraid I don't understand.

You really came by just to see how I was doing.

And to pray with you, if you'd like, for Daniel's soul.

Yeah, I would like that.

Brian Lane?

Yeah. I'm Lieutenant Andrews, Atlanta PD.

Got a warrant to search your home and automobile.

May we come in? Thank you. Yeah, wait a minute.

It's almost noon and you're still not dressed.

What's the matter, Counselor? You have a rough night?

You think I had something to do with Pamela's death?

Well, several dozen people saw you having words with her two days ago at

husband's funeral.

I loved her.

You're missing a knife.

I haven't set foot outside this place in two days. Ask the doorman.

Ask my neighbors. Ask anybody.

Excuse me.

You're on the trunk of your car.

You're missing knife, Mr. Lane.

No.

Brian, hey, Brian, no.

You're a disgrace to the legal profession, so no.

Capital N, capital O, okay? Forget it.

Oh, good, you're sitting down.

Dad, actually, Mr. Ben Matlock, may I introduce Mr.

James Leonard Hoskins.

My attorney here felt it was time to invest in some haberdashery and a new

What do you think?

Well, I say, Lenny.

Quite a metamorphosis, isn't it?

Can you still cook?

Can't. And if you will allow me to change, will.

How does a nice succulent pork roast sound?

By all means, change.

Are you okay, Dad?

Well, yeah.

Yeah. Lenny looks great.

Something's bothering you, Pop.

Not really.

Brian Lane wants you to represent him. Yeah. I just told him to forget it. Why?

He had an affair with a married woman and then became her husband's lawyer and

then withheld testimony so her husband'd have to go to jail so he could have his

wife all to himself.

Dad, he was framed and you know it.

Only a total moron would kill somebody he'd been arguing with in public only

days before and then hide the murder weapon in his own car? The man's a liar.

withheld a witness in Daniel's trial.

He confessed in open court. He has no ethics.

He was ashamed of what he did. He knew it stunk. He made a mistake.

And he owned up to it.

Yeah.

Reverend Malloy?

Yes. Ben Matlock. I was here last week at Daniel Wallace's funeral.

Oh, yes. You were his lawyer.

And now I'm Brian Lane's lawyer.

The man accused of murdering Daniel's wife?

That's a rather abrupt change of allegiance, isn't it? Yes.

Can I say that? Of course.

I used to... I used to sing in choir.

Don't join us.

Well, I was pretty bad at falling asleep.

The preacher used to speak in a kind of a monotone.

I'd doze off, and the next thing you know, it was time for amen, amen.

It was over.

I have a trick. See, I speak softly until I've lulled off, oh, 15, 20

And then I find a good phrase, and I yell.

Yeah.

The police say that they found a cross at Pamela Wallace's house.

Yes, I stopped by that afternoon to see how she was doing.

I took off the cross so that I could hold it while we prayed together, and I

guess I put it down and just left it there. I don't know what's happening

my memory lately.

Remember how long you were there?

No more than half an hour.

I apparently was something of a suspect there for a while, but then the police

talked to the kids who were playing in the street that afternoon, and they told

them that Pamela was very much alive when I left, so I'm back to being just

new minister of a little church.

Did you tell the police about your connection with Joe Thompson?

My connection?

Yeah, Daniel says that he met you at Joe Thompson's house five years ago.

Well, that's odd. I don't remember meeting him, although it's possible, I

suppose. I've known Joe since grade school.

Daniel believed that Joe Thompson had paid somebody off to lie on the stand

he was on trial, you know, about fixing those football games.

He was convinced that Mr. Thompson wanted to get him put away.

And then he met you here, and then he remembered that... you had been friends

with Mr.

Thompson. And, um... Then what?

Well, and then he took that fall down that long flight of concrete stairs and

died.

A horrible tragedy.

Well, I just wanted to pass it by you, Reverend Malloy.

Thank you for your time.

Well, my pleasure. Feel free to come back.

Preferably on a Sunday morning.

Keep you awake.

Oh, that little yell.

Joe

Thompson,

please.

Oliver Malloy.

The hell did he want?

Joe? It's Oliver.

Ben Matlock was just here.

We need to talk.

And Matlock thinks I killed Pamela.

Ray, sit down.

I don't like this turn of events.

Calm down and sit down.

Well,

Daniel was right.

There's a definite connection between that new minister and Joe Tom.

He's the best apple pie I've ever eaten.

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

Couldn't hear him. Malloy was pretty uptight, though. He must have taken him

pretty good.

Leanne make this?

No. Last time Leanne tried to make a pie, the crust wound up on the wall.

How'd that happen?

She threw it across the room.

Who's this fellow right here?

I don't know, but he came out of the church of Reverend Malloy. Went back

with him after the meeting.

I don't know what they're up to.

You like to sing, don't you?

Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what

needless pain we bear.

All because we do not carry everything

to God.

to the Three Angels Church Choir.

Thank you. Why don't you just sit up there with Sandy?

Okay.

All right.

Page 33.

This has a rather long introduction. Don't forget to watch for my cue.

What a friend we have in jail.

As I said, Conrad, watch for my cue.

Again.

Hi. Conrad McMasters.

Wanted to introduce myself.

Been hearing so many good things about Three Angels, I finally decided to come

down and join up. Well, it's nice to have you with us. You're already with

choir? Yeah, you know, get involved. Get involved all the way.

I wish all new members had your enthusiasm.

Excuse me.

Peter? Yes? The welcoming committee's meeting in the conference room in just a

couple of minutes. Great. I'll be there.

Welcoming committee?

For the Archbishop. He's visiting this weekend.

Could you use some help?

Actually, they've got it under control.

But all next week, we're receiving food donations, and then we're going to

package it for shipment overseas. Now, if you could help us with that, we'd

really appreciate it.

Sure. Count me in. Great.

Yeah,

all right, all right. You got it.

Three bills.

Now, look, Bobby, I got to go.

Hi,

Max. Been a while.

Yeah, I know who you are.

Can I come in?

How did you find me?

Cass caught me.

Yeah, well, what do you want?

Five minutes, and then you'll never see me again.

Phone's ringing.

Two minutes.

Max, I need you to tell me who this fellow is here with Joe

Thompson and Reverend Miller. Sorry.

Joe Thompson knows that you told Daniel that Mr. Thompson paid

you to lie in the witness box.

How long are you figuring on hiding out?

You got a minute and 45.

If I found you, how hard do you think it'd be for him to find you?

The only way you're going to be able to stop hiding out and running is for me to

send these boys up.

Who is Max?

All right, he's Peter Eastland.

I met him once.

Rumor had it he was a shooter.

Did that.

Why the police couldn't ID him?

Because he's as slick as they come.

You know anything else, Ben?

Well, if I remember, he loves oysters. Oh, he's hanging out at this oyster bar

called, uh, the Sea Pearl.

Sea Pearl.

Hmm.

Mr.

Eastland. Hi, Ben Matlock.

Have we met?

No, but I'm kind of surprised we haven't.

Why's that? Well, I'm a defense lawyer, and you work for a criminal, Joe Toss.

Who?

It's Tom. Right here, wait. It's Tom.

Right there in that picture.

Oh.

Actually, I only know him through Reverend Malloy.

I'm a member of his church. Oh.

The meeting the three of you were having, what was it about?

I don't recall.

I was just along for the ride.

Would you like an oyster?

Oh, no, thanks. I'm lucky.

They tell me that eating raw oysters makes you want to do something else.

Maybe they're right.

Well, since you're working, I'm sure there's something I can do for you.

I represent Brian Lane, and he's accused of murdering Pamela Wallace.

And since I know that he's no killer when you, in fact,

are... Who

told you that? When anybody's

apparently as good as you are, then word gets around.

Bull.

Why would I want to kill Pamela Wallace?

Joe Thompson told you to?

Why would he want to do that?

I don't know.

But I'm working on it.

Like I said, I hardly know the man.

If I wasn't working, I could really go for some of them.

Sorry. What's the matter with you?

I figured we needed to talk, and since people from the church might be at the

trial, I figured we should do it here.

Get me to death.

I'm sorry.

Give me a heart attack.

I'm sorry.

Don't you want to talk?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

This other guy in the picture was Reverend Malloy, and...

Joe Thompson is Peter Eastland. Oh, yeah.

What's his connection?

Well, apparently he works for Joe Thompson.

He kills people.

You know, he's an assassin.

That's a rumor.

The Archbishop.

What about him?

He's coming to the church this weekend. Peter Eastland is on the committee in

charge of his visit.

Someone's going to try to assassinate me?

Mr. Matlock and I think it's a distinct possibility, yes. Somebody at Three

Angels Church?

We, uh, we think so, yes.

Who? More to the point, why?

Well, we're, uh, we're not quite sure of that yet.

But I've received no threats.

No one's warned me to stay away.

Well, if you could just postpone things here for a couple of weeks, it would

give us a little more time.

That's out of the question. My schedule won't allow it.

No, I said I'd address the congregation tomorrow, and that's what I'm going to

do.

I appreciate your concern, gentlemen, but nothing you've said has convinced me

that I should change my plan.

Well, maybe we'll just take a few extra precautions. A couple of plainclothes

inside the church, an unmarked car or two out on the street. Yes, that's your

prerogative.

Your efforts have saved lives and eased suffering all over the world.

You have collected, packaged, and shipped more donations to hungry nations

any other church in this country.

What an incredible act of love, brothers and sisters.

You should be very proud.

I know I'm very proud.

But all I can do to reward your compassion and dedication is to say

thank you. For it's God who will really reward you.

If not in this life, then in the life to come.

Of that you may rest assured.

Congratulations.

Let us rise and join hands for the benediction.

Stand by.

Okay, the service should end any minute now.

Everybody look alive.

Unit 1 in position. Standing by.

Unit 2.

Already in the street, sir.

And all God's people said... Amen.

Here he comes.

He just drove off without incident. I guess we're all clear, folks.

I don't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

I figured between overtime, extra people, special equipment, I've just

thousands of dollars of the taxpayer's money.

Needless. I sure as hell know how I feel.

Dammit, Conrad.

Well, Hal, stop cussing like that.

I'm sorry.

Sorry don't feed the bulldogs.

Quit hiding in the back of my car. You scare me half to death.

If you want to hide in the back of somebody's car, hide in the back of your

car. Okay.

So what do you think happened?

I don't know.

Well, you think maybe somehow they knew that we knew and backed off?

Maybe they never intended to kill the Archbishop to start with.

Well, how did Lieutenant Andrews take it?

Let me put it to you this way.

I wouldn't hide in the back of his car.

I live at 1873 South Ivey.

Do you live there by yourself?

Yes. My husband passed away three years ago.

Mrs. DuPont, please tell the court what happened on January 24th.

I went into my bedroom to change clothes and saw that man over there looking in

my window.

Let the record show that the witness has indicated the defendant, Leonard

Hoskin. Of course, he went all gussied up then. Looks more like what he is, a

pervert. Objection, Your Honor.

Sustained. Let the witness's last statement be stricken.

You're sure this is the man you saw?

Yes, because the police arrested him two months earlier for doing exactly the

same thing.

What did you do after you saw him looking through your window?

Well, I screamed.

Then I went running to the back door to make sure it was locked. Thank God it

was, because when I got to the kitchen, there he was, looking through the window

at me.

Did you call the police?

Yes, I did.

But it turned out my neighbor had seen him, too, and they'd already called 911.

Thank you, Mrs. DuPont.

Your witness, Ms.

McIntyre.

Mrs.

DuPont, when you said that you live alone, that isn't quite true, is it?

Of course it is.

You have a dog, don't you?

Well, yes.

Was it your idea or your husband's to get the dog?

My husband, he loved dogs.

You don't, though, do you?

What do you mean?

My client, Lenny Hoskins, has stated and is prepared to testify that he has seen

you in McMillan Park hitting your dog with the metal part of the leash on

several occasions.

Did you... Did you ever see your dog run over to Mr. Hoskins?

Mr. Tupac?

Yes. Did you call him back?

Yes. Did he come?

No, but your client was holding him.

But he did turn him loose.

Yes. And did you reprimand the dog?

Yes. With the metal part of the leash?

I reprimanded him with my voice.

Mrs. DuPont, my client did follow you home.

And he did look in your window.

Not because he wanted to see you, but because he was driven to make sure that

you hadn't seriously injured your dog.

That's ridiculous.

So you deny mistreating him? Of course.

You never hit him? Never raised your hand to him?

Never.

Your Honor, at this time I would like to conduct a little demonstration.

Very well.

Bailiff?

Thank you.

Oh, yes.

Your Honor, I'd like to introduce Darby.

Is this your dog, Mrs. DuPont?

Yes. What on earth is he doing here?

Deputy Farrow retrieved him from your backyard this morning. Of course, he had

warrant. At this time, Your Honor, I would like to admit Darby into evidence.

So done. But let me remind you that you are, if you'll excuse the expression, on

a very short leash.

Yes, Your Honor, I'm aware of that.

Shall we show them what you can do?

Huh?

Good dog.

Darby, shake hand.

Shake.

Good boy.

Darby, lie down.

Good dog. Oh, what a well -trained, well -mannered, affectionate little dog.

Certainly no need to strike an animal like this.

Mrs. DuPont, would you mind stepping down here for just a second?

Would you mind raising your hand as if you were going to take the oath again?

Your Honor, this is pointless.

It'll just take two seconds to find out, Your Honor.

The witness will please do as she's been asked.

So, you're sure you never raised your hand to that dog?

Oh, for Pete's sake.

Being in front of all these people just has him spooked, that's all.

Come here, Darby. Come on.

Darby, come here.

It's all right.

Darby, come.

Darby, come here.

Come here, Darby.

Darby, come here, boy.

Oh, yes.

Come on, yes.

Oh, that's a good boy.

Yes, you're such a good boy.

Yes, you can sit down, Mrs. DuPont.

Mrs. DuPont, my client comes to visit your Darby a lot.

He worries about him because he's seen the way you treat him.

That's what he was doing there that day, making sure that this poor little

animal, which you obviously do abuse, was okay.

Yep.

There you go.

More potter milk, huh?

Yeah. We get them donated fresh from the factory.

President of the company is a deacon.

What's wrong?

My back. I got a little twin.

He's fine.

You should eat more oysters.

Church's relief effort?

Joel Thompson and Peter Easton are smuggling things out of this country in

boxes that donated food. I'm positive.

What kinds of things?

Technology, I don't know, microfilm drugs, I don't know yet. But I do know

those boxes of powdered milk that he had me load on that truck are a good 15

pounds lighter than the boxes I already loaded.

Well, maybe the first batch had more powdered milk in them than the second.

No.

No, no, no. After Easton left, I checked.

Each of those boxes has the same number of cartons of powdered milk in it. You

know what I think?

I think that they dumped powdered milk out of some of those boxes to make room

for what they're sending out.

Did you open any of the cartons?

No, I didn't have time. The truck was leaving for the airport.

I don't know, Conrad. No, it all fits.

Nobody else at the church knows what's going on but Reverend Malloy, and that's

why Daniel Wallace was killed, because he was getting so dang involved in

everything, they're afraid he's going to find out.

You've got to call the police.

They'll hang up on me. Then you've got to go talk to them in person.

I don't know, Conrad. It won't do any good.

Let's take over. I want to use the head, okay?

Sure.

Yeah.

Hey.

Reverend Malloy wants the feed out by the truck that just came in.

Says it's pretty urgent.

Okay. I'll be right there.

Give me a hand with that?

Uh, yeah, thanks.

Okay, that'll do it for this truck. Let's get it up there and move it out.

Actually, let's not. I'll ask the police. Hands up.

We're going to take this crate.

Pack up the reverence.

Hold on, Scott.

He's going to be all right there.

Thanks for listening, Harvey.

Thanks for being right this time.

All right, man, come on. Let's check this cargo here.

Yeah. You see that? Oh, yeah, yeah. Nice.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Were you out here playing the afternoon Ms. Wallace was killed?

I already talked to the police.

Yeah, yeah, I heard, I heard, I heard.

But you saw Ms. Wallace walk the minister to his car?

Yeah, he left. She came and got in the paper and went back inside.

Yeah. And you didn't see anybody else go in?

After the minister left? No.

They're waiting for me.

Yeah, hi, guys.

Okay. Nice guy.

Hey, are you sure she picked up the paper

after the preacher left?

Yeah, positive.

Thanks. Nice guy.

How well did you know the victim, Pamela Wallace?

Malloy? Not very well at all. The first time I met her was at her husband's

funeral. And her husband, Daniel, how well did you know him?

I didn't know him well either. He died shortly after I assumed my ministry at

Three Angels Church.

I understand that Daniel was offered that ministry.

Unofficially, yes. He hadn't quite finished his studies, though. And then

he was arrested for accepting those bribes, well...

Church elders decided to look elsewhere for a new minister. So you were their

next choice.

That's correct.

Okay.

What about Joseph Thompson?

How well do you know him?

We grew up together, and he occasionally attends Three Angels.

And he's a known organized crime figure and a convicted racketeer, isn't he?

Yes, but he's still my friend.

Peter Eastman, you know him?

Of course, he's an extremely active member of the church.

And he's a professional hitman, isn't he?

Objection, Your Honor.

Irrelevant and assumes facts, not in evidence.

Sustained. A meeting that you and Joe Thompson and Peter Eastman had at

Giuseppe's restaurant two weeks ago. What was it about?

I don't remember.

Well, the three of you did have a meeting.

Yes. But you don't remember why.

We were just...

Getting together.

Last week, the three of you were arrested for conspiring to distribute a

controlled substance called methcathinine, or CAT,

an extremely potent synthetic stimulant. Were you not? I don't have to answer

that.

I'm not asking whether you're guilty or not guilty. I just want you to confirm

what's already in the public record.

The three of you were arrested for buying designer drugs made in the United

States and using the food relief program from Three Angels Church to smuggle it

to your distributors all over the world. True or false?

True. True.

And in order to do that, Joseph Thompson had to frame Daniel.

Try to...

Try to get him in jail so that you could become the new minister and be in

charge of the smuggling operation.

Now, that is not true. And in order to do that, he had to make sure that

Daniel's lawyer, Brian Lane, lost his case.

So he paid Max Engel to lie.

Then he paid Pamela to use her womanly charms to convince Brian that Daniel had

to go to jail so that they could spend the rest of their lives together. Right,

Reverend? I don't know what you're talking about. Only then the problem

Brian confessed to what he had done.

Daniel went free.

Then you had another problem.

Daniel recognized you from his gambling days when he used to hang out at Joe

Thompson's.

What if he became curious and started nosing around?

Sooner or later, that could ruin everything. Isn't that right?

Absolutely not true. Maybe the meeting you had there at Giuseppe's, the three

you decided Daniel had to die, huh?

No.

Then his wife got nervous, and she had to die. This is absurd. This whole thing

is absurd. Now, I don't know who shoved Daniel down all those concrete steps,

but I do know who stole this knife.

from Brian Lane's condominium and used it to stab Pamela to death.

It was you.

That is a lie.

Section, Your Honor, irrelevant.

Sustained. You must admit, Counselor, Mr. Wycott and I, up until now, have

been extremely patient.

Oh, I'm aware of that, Your Honor, and I'm deeply grateful, but...

I'm on the home stretch here.

May I get to you?

Proceed.

You were at Pamela's house the afternoon she was killed.

As I explained to you and to the police, I stopped by to see how she was doing.

Part of my job is to console the grieving.

I chatted with her, we prayed together, and then I drove back to the church.

And the cross the police found at her house.

Yes, I have a habit of taking it off my neck when I...

When I pray, I guess I put it down and forgot about it. I have a habit of doing

that, too.

There were some boys playing football outside her house.

Yes, and any one of them can attest to the fact that Pamela was very much alive

when I left. They can also attest to the fact that as you drove off, Pamela

reached down, picked up her evening newspaper, and took it back into the

with her.

All right.

All right.

This is People's Exhibit 26.

Police photograph the crime scene.

Your cross is lying on top of the evening newspaper.

His cross lying on top of the evening newspaper.

So?

Yours are the only clear fingerprints on that cross.

If you left before she brought the paper into her house, how did your cross wind

up on top of it?

How about this?

You left. Yeah, you drove off.

Drove around the corner, up the alley and back of Pamela's house.

Then you slipped in the back door and used this knife you'd stolen from my

client's condominium to stab Pamela's death. You knew he'd be accused. He's a

perfect patsy.

But as sometimes happened, it wasn't an immediate kill.

She struggled.

Your cross came off.

Landed on that near thing.

You left.

You left your cross.

You forgot.

But not as, as you say, you ordinarily do.

You had just committed a murder.

And I don't care who you are.

A person's mind doesn't work real clear when they've just sinned

that big time.

What's that, preacher?

How'd it go?

We won.

The reason I called is something very exciting has come up.

Now, much as I appreciate your cooking for me all the time, I'm sure it's not

something you want to do for the rest of your life.

Is it?

No. Of course not. Of course not. So, I was talking with Charlie. He runs the

hot dog stand. He's getting ready to retire, and he's looking for somebody to

take over his business. And I said, I know just the fellow.

Lenny Hoskins.

And you wouldn't have to just make hot dogs. You could make frittatas,

Monte Cristos, French dips.

You could put this place on the map. People would come from all over the

You'd be famous. You'd be another Wolfgang Puck.

And the best part is you wouldn't have to leave Atlanta.

You could keep on cooking for me.

You know, just occasionally, once in a while.

You people are very dear to me.

And you've done so much for me.

I hope you'll understand.

It's time for me to move on.

I heard from a man in Valdosta who read about me in the paper. He wants me to

come down and help him out. He's a vet.

You're not a vet.

No, no, I'll clean up and tell him when the animals are sick or don't feel well,

and then we'll fix it up.

I think we'll make a nice team for a while.

Then I'll move on again.

Why?

It's a life I know.

Stop for a while, go for a while.

I don't need much.

Did you ever sleep outside?

Oh, it's nice sometimes.

There have always been wanderers.

I'm one of them.

I will think of you often.

Perhaps our paths will cross again.

Goodbye. Bye.

I'm sorry, Dad. You lost your cook.