Original subtitles

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

It's been three weeks since my last confession.

But I know that you're pursuing, and it's a terrible thing. I'm pursuing an

accusation against you again, and you wouldn't understand anything.

What do you want from me now?

You're worse than he is.

I had such bad hope for you.

My two boys were born here at St. Ignatius Hospital.

I never forgot that or this church.

Anyway, I got a lot to be grateful for. And that's why I'm donating this brand

new wing to St.

Ignatius.

So I could sort of pay back everybody I owe all at once.

The city of Atlanta, the people of Atlanta.

And, of course, the good Lord above.

He doesn't want it.

Your almighty Father has no use for something that was built in the spirit

deceit. Father, the sheriff... Oh, God knows who you are, what you are, and

you're doing here, Mr. Carlino. Father... He doesn't want any false acts

charity from you. Father, don't. Now, everybody, please, go home. There'll be

ceremony here.

What the hell's going on here? You know very well. Father... You should be

ashamed. Of what?

Why is he doing this to me? Go home, Father.

Hey, wait a minute. He can't just walk away.

I don't know what he's talking about. I'm talking about corruption.

I'm talking about grafts. I'm talking about the way your construction company

built this wing of our hospital. Not here, Father, please.

I don't care if you are a priest. You better be able to back it up.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Excellency. I shouldn't have made those accusations

public. You're right.

Well, there'll be a full report on your desk in the morning. Thank you.

Goodbye.

I know who made the phone call to the Archbishop about the incident this

morning. You do?

Don't play the innocent with me, Paul.

It doesn't suit you.

Father, you don't seriously... Please, don't insult my intelligence.

If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone.

Father Fitzgerald?

What happened?

I don't know.

Someone must have come in here, tore it off the wall, and deliberately destroyed

it.

Who would have done that?

That's a sacrilege. Yes, it is.

Good night, Mrs. Curtis.

Good night, Mr. Bell.

You're working late yourself.

It doesn't get any easier around here.

What in the world was that?

Stay here.

He's dead.

What did he say?

What, are you crazy?

I didn't kill this priest.

Funny, that's not what he said.

I don't care what he said.

I didn't do it.

Mr. Carlino, we've got a statement from a dying man, and the dying man happens

to be a priest.

Well, either he was a liar, or he was mistaken, or he is nuts.

I did not do it.

You sure you can't prove where you were between 9 and 10?

I already told you.

I was home. Yeah.

Alone.

What's that?

It's a time and labor saving device.

We call it a confession.

I'm on my attorney. I'm not signing this. I shouldn't even be talking to

Let me save you some legal fees.

We just got a statement from an eyewitness that saw you running away

house.

What kind of a frame is this?

I wouldn't say anything else, Mr. Carlino.

Who are you?

I'm Alex Winthrop.

I'm your attorney.

You're my attorney?

Yes. I'd like to speak to my client privately.

Sure.

Let's go.

Lieutenant, you can take this with you. I don't think we'll be needing it.

Well, I'll keep it handy just in case.

I'm sorry I'm late.

I got the first flight out of New York, and then the airline lost my luggage,

and I couldn't get a cab. You know how that goes.

Look, Al.

Alex.

I'm in serious trouble here.

Yes.

I know. I spoke to the arresting officer.

My family pays Benson, Reese, Klein, and Dunhill a small fortune each year in

legal fees.

I was hoping they'd send me a top defense attorney.

I don't know how to say this.

A guy with some gray in his hair?

I'm only here to make a preliminary assessment.

I'm going to get you a top man as my co -counsel.

Yeah?

Who's that?

Hey, Ray.

Nice -looking suit.

Hey.

That must be colorblind.

Ben. Huh?

Hey. Hey, man.

Hey,

God. How are you? I feel great. You look great, too. Well, I guess we're both

girls. Yeah. Are you in the courtroom?

Yeah, oh, yeah. I love watching you play the jury. It's like it's Huck Perlman

with the Stradivarius. Well, talk like that'll get you a free hot dog.

I'm game. I'm game.

What are you doing in town?

Well... I've got my first real cake.

Well, good.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Actually, I'm a little nervous about it. Nervous, huh?

Hey, Charlie, two dogs. Two dogs.

So, um, pretty busy?

Yeah, I'm pretty busy. Pretty busy.

Here, I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it.

Keep it.

All right.

Hey.

You're a pretty big spinner.

Well, hell, I like you.

I mean, a man of your stature deserves the very best. You gave him $20.

Yeah, like I said, you deserve the best.

You can get a hot dog with everything, including bacon and avocado, for $3

.20. And if you want a whole plate of french fries and pickles, some places

that's $1 .50, $2 tops.

So now you're up to $5 .20 apiece. And if you want a bottle of pop, a cup of

coffee, stretch it 75 cents. So now you're at $5 .95.

You gave them a 20 spot.

Yeah, well, I guess it was kind of dumb.

Can I ask you something?

The man who bought me a $20 hot dog asked me anything.

This case that I have that I'm nervous about.

Yeah?

Will you be my co -counsel?

Co -counsel? You'd be very well paid.

Police report.

Criminal case?

Murder.

Oh, Alex.

You got trouble.

Yeah, I know.

You better buy me another $20 hot dog.

Bail is set at $250 ,000.

Court will take a 15 -minute recess.

Mr. Matlock, I can't tell you how glad I am you're on my case.

I've read a lot about you.

I've read a lot about you, too.

Don't confuse me with the rest of my family.

I run a totally legitimate operation here.

How about that one in New Jersey?

Where you were arrested for trying to bribe a city official for criminal

negligence. Yeah, but I walked.

Giving off on a mistrial is not the same as acquittal.

Look, I never said I did make a few mistakes.

I was young, kind of hot -headed, you know.

But I was always smart enough to get a good lawyer.

So when Alex here said he was going to get you, I knew I was in good hands.

Let me get something straight here.

The only reason I'm on this case is because of my friendship with Mr.

To tell you the truth, I don't hold out a hell of a lot of hope for you. We'll

give it our best shot.

After you're released, I want you to go home, stay there, keep your mouth shut.

Don't get even as much as a traffic ticket till this trial is over.

You got that?

Yeah, I got that.

I'll be home if you need me.

I've been a Catholic all my life.

There's no way I'd kill a priest.

So you told him you'd get me?

Oh, yeah. I thought you might, if I, um... Trade it on our relationship?

Well, yes.

That's one way to do it Alex you may have a place in this business.

So do you think he did it?

Beats me I'm not Catholic But from what I've heard it would

be real hard for one. I'm to kill a priest Yeah

Never know, brother. Never know.

So, uh, you were the one who, uh, found Father Fitzgerald that night.

That's right.

Heard a bang.

Knew it was a gunshot right away.

Went running upstairs, and there he was.

But there were other people here that night.

Father Burke, Sister Catherine, and Father Richards.

They all came running in just after I did.

So you were present when Father Fitzgerald spoke to Father Richards just

he died?

Oh, yeah.

Did you hear what he said?

No. He whispered in Father Richards' ear.

Oh.

Well,

did you see or hear anything unusual?

I thought I heard somebody running, but never saw who it was.

No.

Anything else out of the ordinary?

Father Fitzgerald was in the sanctuary about an hour or so before he was shot.

Somebody had taken a crucifix off the wall and just smashed it to pieces on

floor.

And he was staring down at what was left of it.

Anyway, when I asked him who did it, he just looked at me, turned around and

marched off.

It was like he knew who did it and was going to go after him.

Did he say who it was?

No, just... Wrote it down on that black notebook of his.

What black notebook?

The last couple of months he took to carrying this black notebook around.

Every time you looked, he was writing something down in it.

Yeah, did you see what he was writing down?

Never let anybody near it.

That book wasn't in the police report.

It might still be around here somewhere.

Yeah, Beth, I know where it is.

Father Fitzgerald had me fix the light in here once.

Asked me to keep this place secret.

He wouldn't mind me telling him about it now, do you think?

Oh, no, no.

I think you may have just done him a big favor.

I didn't mean to startle you.

Well, you certainly did.

You must be Doris Curtis.

You're right. I have no choice.

Who must you be?

I'm Alex Winthrop.

I'm Nathan Carlino's lawyer. Get out of my kitchen.

I have to talk to you, Mrs. Curtis.

I already told the police. I don't have to tell you.

Actually, you do. If not here, then in court.

You're not going to trick me into changing my story. I saw what I saw.

You're sure it was Nathan Carlino you saw running away? That's right.

This window?

No, that window.

Sure looks bad for Nathan Carlino.

I guess it must have come as quite a shock that he would do such a thing.

No shock to me.

I know his type. We dealt with a lot of his people back where I come from. I can

tell you plenty. I'll bet you could.

Nothing.

i'll just take one for later i'll take one for my my partner ben

thank you

Sorry. You might try knocking first.

Yes, well, I was going to do that, but I... I'm looking for somebody.

I'm Alex Winthrop.

I'm representing Nathan Carlino.

We have nothing to say to you.

Yeah, well, that seems to be the general idea.

You are... This is Sister Catherine, and I'm Father Burke.

Hi.

You wouldn't mind answering a couple of... Absolutely not. Not without a

subpoena. Of course.

Thanks anyway.

Well,

I can't thank you enough for your help, Adele.

Morning, Father Richards.

Morning.

You startled me. I didn't think anybody would be in here.

Father Paul Richards?

Hi, I'm Ben Matlock, one of Nathan Carlino's lawyers. I wonder if I... I'm

afraid I'm a little busy right now. Things are chaotic around here, as you

imagine. Oh, sure.

Excuse me. If you want to do anything here, we're done.

No, that's all right. I just remembered.

What I was after, Father Fitzgerald, kept someplace else.

I missed the bell.

How we doing?

I'm not sure.

How about that?

Are you at the bottom of the page?

Not yet.

Criminy. Yeah.

Boy, there's a lot going on out of St.

Agnesius.

Do you think all this stuff is true?

The man was a priest.

You know, I think Father Fitzgerald was right about one thing. Sister Catherine

and Father Burke are hiding something.

Maybe Tyler will find out what it is.

Why are you following me? I'm not following you. I mean, I was following

but only because I thought you were David Burke.

Father David Burke. I am Father Burke. You can't be Father Burke.

Why not?

Because they're strangling me.

Sorry.

Tough neighborhood.

Yeah.

People get hurt around here all the time.

Yeah.

Practically every day.

Yeah.

He was like a father to me, Mr. Matlock.

He was also devoted to this parish.

I don't know how we'll replace him.

Evidently, he thought you'd like to try.

He was wrong about that.

Well, you did take over.

Only temporarily until the Archbishop makes a decision.

Look, I know Father Fitzgerald thought I was ambitious. He said it to my face.

Simply not true.

Uh, that's not the half of it, Father.

What do you mean?

Well, in his notes, in his little black book, Father Fitzgerald said that

you probably wanted his job.

To make it easier for you to dip into church fun.

He thought I was stealing.

Yes, and investing in the stock market.

It's not true.

Why'd he write it down?

Look, Sister Catherine does the books.

Ask her if anything's missing.

She should be in around nine.

Unusual, but it ain't no farm in Winthrop.

Sure it is.

Now, where did you learn accounting?

I took some courses over at community college. Father Fitzgerald's idea.

He needed a bookkeeper, and my order volunteered me.

I didn't know a credit from a debit, but Father Fitzgerald had faith I'd learn.

I, um... I understand you were here the night he was murdered.

Uh, I was getting everything in order for our annual diocesan audit.

Want some coffee, Kat?

Good to see you again.

That's some handshake.

Tyler told me you were strong.

Tyler.

Oh, you mean the gentleman who's been following me.

He's an associate of mine.

Why follow me and wall people?

Well, because of what Father Fitzgerald wrote in this.

Ignoring the parish, his duties and the church to carry on in a sinful...

in scandalous manner with... with Sister Catherine. That's a lie!

Father... don't.

The only scandal at St. Ignatius existed in Father Fitzgerald's mind.

There are no irregularities in our books, Mr. Winthrop. If you'll excuse

like to get back to work.

So what's the plan?

Well, first court, then lunch.

I don't mean plan for your day.

I mean plan for my case.

Oh, I hope to prove you innocent.

How are you going to do it? You have suspects?

We're working on it.

Well, come on, shoot. Who are they?

I don't think this is the time to talk about it.

How come you're holding out on me?

Who are these people?

I have people of my own who could help check them out.

No.

A maniac priest killer's on the loose out there.

A maniac who could prove me innocent.

Who are these damn suspects?

Two priests and a nun.

Two priests and a nun?

Yeah.

I'm a dead man.

And the next thing I hear is Mr. Bell hollering from the other room for me to

call the police.

So I go to the phone. That's when I saw him.

Who did you see, Mrs. Curtis? Him.

Nathan Carlino. Him.

I know it was him because I saw his picture in the paper.

Let the record show that the witness pointed to the defendant, Nathan

Now, Mrs. Curtis, could you see Mr. Carlino clearly?

He wasn't more than 10 feet from the window when he ran past.

But it was 11 o 'clock at night.

How could you see his face?

They keep a big light on in the yard all night long near the window.

I saw his face clearly, believe me. Oh, I do, Mrs. Curtis.

No more questions, Your Honor.

Cross -examined, Mr. Matlock?

Mrs.

Curtis, how long have you worked at the rectory out at St.

Ignatius? 33 years.

That's a long time.

And how long had you known Father Fitzgerald?

He was the one that hired me.

Oh.

33 years.

So I guess you were pretty fond of him.

That man was a saint.

How can you not be fond of a saint?

About how far do you live from the rectory?

About a 20 -minute drive.

Oh, you drive to work.

Well, I'd have to transfer twice if I took the bus. Besides, I need my car to

buy groceries.

Oh.

Oh, so part of your job is grocery shopping.

Do you ever see a priest in a checkout line?

What I'm getting at is that if you were unable to drive, you might

lose your job, mind you.

Probably. Well, Mrs. Curtis, have you gotten any traffic tickets for moving

violations in the last year or so?

Yes.

How many?

I don't remember. Let me see if I can help you out on that.

Here.

You received one for running a stop sign and one for not stopping at a crosswalk

when someone was in it and one for a minor fender bender.

Now, that's so many that you get another, they'll suspend your license.

Is that correct?

Why have you gotten so many traffic tickets lately?

I don't know.

The newspaper that you saw Mr.

Carlino's picture in, is it the Atlanta Examiner?

Yes. You subscribe to that paper. Yes.

And you get the large print edition document.

Yes. Why do you get the large print instead of the regular edition?

Because... You don't see so good anymore, do you?

And that might explain why you've gotten so many traffic tickets.

And it might explain why you never allow anyone at the rectory to see your

newspaper. You don't want anyone at St. Ignatius to know you're losing your

eyesight and in danger.

of losing your driver's license.

Because that could mean the loss of your job, couldn't it?

Yes. You were so very fond of Father Fitzgerald, you wanted

to see his killer punished.

And so you told the police that that night you saw Nathan Carlino.

Did you in fact see Nathan Carlino that night?

Did you see anyone running away from the rectory that night?

No.

Thank you for your honor.

I happen to know that Father Fitzgerald was very fond of you, too.

You're the only one he had good things to say about in the last days of his

life.

It was probably the cookies.

No further questions.

Dr. Burke, I need to talk to you.

I'm hearing confession in five minutes.

I'm trying to find Sister Catherine. I haven't seen her.

It's a problem nobody has.

I tried her convent. I tried the hospital. No one knows where she is.

Sister Catherine might be here later today.

Is this urgent?

Father, Sister Catherine was involved in the Carlino case after all.

That's absurd.

I need to find her. Do you have any idea where she is?

I'm sorry, no.

Thanks for your time.

If you hear from her, have her give me a call.

Thank you.

I like your shoes.

So do I. Excuse me.

Oh,

check out those socks, homie.

I'm warning you. I just think those pants look on me, CJ.

Mr. Winthrop, I've been expecting you. Come in.

Thank you.

You tricked me.

That's right, I did. I thought that you could lead me to Sister Catherine and

that I'd catch you two doing something... incriminating.

What are you doing?

None of your business.

David, please.

He has no right spying on you, Katie.

He's only trying to find out who killed Father Fitzgerald. Whose apartment is

this? Mine.

Don't nuns usually live in convents?

Yes, they do.

I'm going to tell him, David.

I'm on leave from the convent.

I've applied for release from my vows. In a few weeks, I'll no longer be a nun.

That's serious.

Did Father Fitzgerald know about that? No, I kept it from him. Not because I

wanted to deceive him, but to spare his feelings.

Father Fitzgerald thought of me as a daughter and would have wanted to change

mind.

Besides, my decision to leave involved another person, and I couldn't reveal

that.

You're the other person?

I love Katie.

I'm leaving the priesthood.

So Father Fitzgerald was right about you two. No.

He accused us of breaking our vows. We haven't done that.

What would have happened if he told your superiors that you were having an

affair? We haven't broken our vows.

Ours is a moral dilemma between ourselves. We simply love each other.

It's not a motive for murdering dear Father Fitzgerald.

Looks like Father Fitzgerald was wrong again.

I'm really sorry that I bothered you.

I'll see you.

Good luck.

Sister Catherine and Father Burke don't have a motive.

Neither does our client.

Neither does Father Richards.

Father Fitzgerald was wrong about all of them.

I don't get him.

What's going on with him? Why did he think all those people were up to no

I don't know.

Now, as far as I can tell, no one had a motive to commit this murder.

You're right.

No one had a motive.

Father Richard, how would you describe your relationship with

Father Fitzgerald?

He was my teacher, a mentor,

a friend.

Those are terms of affection.

I admired and respected Father Fitzgerald like I have no other human

Was that admiration and respect mutual?

I like to think that it was.

Father Richards, are you aware that Father Fitzgerald carried a little

black book around with him in which he wrote various thoughts and facts?

Everybody knew that.

Well, in his book,

He characterized you as a selfish, status -seeking manipulator.

Were you aware of that?

I haven't seen his book, but he said worse than that to my face.

Oh.

Were you aware that he told the Archbishop the same?

No, I was not.

Well... Why would he say such things about you?

I don't know.

Well, you and Father Fitzgerald had known one another for many years. He was

your friend, your mentor.

Didn't this name -calling seem a bizarre behavior for him?

I suppose.

And he accused you of stealing money from the church, an accusation that we

know is totally unfounded.

Didn't that seem a bit bizarre?

Yes. And when he jumped up at the ribbon -cutting ceremony at

St. Ignatius and disrupted the whole ceremony, didn't that seem a bit

Yes. So in spite of these false accusations and bizarre behavior, you

still remained friends?

Yes, we did.

Father Richards, could that be because

you had a suspicion of why he was acting so strangely?

I can't answer that.

Oh, I understand.

Who served as Father Fitzgerald's confessor?

I did.

And you are bound by the confidentialities of confession even

aren't you?

Yes, I am.

And that's why you can't answer my questions?

Yes. That being the case, Your Honor, as stipulated in chambers, I would like to

introduce into evidence Father Fitzgerald's medical record

from his physician.

It states...

that Father Fitzgerald was suffering from a malignant brain tumor which was

suspected to disrupt normal intellectual reasoning and alter personality

behavior. The autopsy didn't show it because of the location of the wound.

Objection, Your Honor. Mr. Matlock is testifying.

Sustained? I beg your pardon, Your Honor.

Um...

Father Richard, did you or were you surprised

when Father Fitzgerald jumped up and disrupted

the ribbon -cutting ceremony?

No, not particularly. You know what that means to me? That means that

you knew of Father Fitzgerald's medical condition.

Where did Father Fitzgerald go to college?

Notre Dame.

He was pretty proud of that, too, wasn't he? Yes, he was.

And one of his prized possessions was his Notre Dame graduation ring, wasn't

Yes. Okay, I want to show you a blow -up of a photograph

taken at the now famous ribbon -cutting ceremony. Here.

This is a blow -up photograph of Father Richard's hand on Father

Fitzgerald's shoulder.

You see that?

You all see that?

See? Now, will you tell us, please,

what is that ring on your finger?

Right there.

That's a Notre Dame graduation ring.

What are you doing with it?

Father Fitzgerald gave it to me.

Father Fitzgerald gave you one of his most prized possessions because he loved

you. And he wanted you to have it in case anything happened to him.

I really can't answer that question.

It's a confidence.

Well, what about this, then?

There's another.

blow -up of a hand.

If Father Fitzgerald gave you that ring, what is it doing on his

finger after he was shot to death in his office?

Father, what do most Catholics consider the worst sin, the one

unforgivable sin?

Suicide. Suicide.

The moment you heard that shot, you knew what had happened.

Isn't it true you ran down to Father Fitzgerald's office and did two things?

You put the gun in your pocket and you put the ring back on his finger so that

no one would ever know he had given it to you because he had been thinking

about doing exactly what he did do.

Taking his own life.

It was suicide, wasn't it?

Yes. Yes.

And you slipped out of the room, disposed of the gun, which is why

thought it was murder.

And you came back into the room after Mr. Bell.

Sister Catherine and Father Burke had arrived.

Yes, I did. And Father Fitzgerald never accused

Nathan Carlino.

You did that.

To spare your beloved friend the stigma of suicide.

He gave up his seat in heaven.

Because he didn't want to inflict any more damage on the church and the people

he'd spent his whole life serving I

Couldn't let him die in disgrace

It

just wasn't right

Your Honor, in light of these revelations,

I move the charges against my client be dismissed.

Any objection?

No, Your Honor.

Case dismissed.

Court is adjourned.

This worked out all right.

I wasn't co -counsel on this.

I was counsel.

Want a $20 hot dog?

I want a case up.