Original subtitles

Hi.

Hi.

Seen today's Peach Pit?

What's that?

The comic strip.

I don't read the funny.

Who'd you vote for in the state senate election?

Peter Dole.

Then you should start reading the funny.

That looks just like him. That's the whole idea.

Who's he talking to?

Some married woman.

Up till now, she's just been a voice on the phone, but it looks like we're

finally going to see her.

It says the artist is going to take a couple days off.

Milking the suspense.

Everybody in Georgia is dying to know who she is.

Well, he wouldn't draw a person that people would recognize.

Sure he would.

Well, that would be liable.

A defamation of character?

Not if it's true.

Ron Winfield's been doing this trip for seven years. He's never, ever bought the

suit. Huh.

It's a lie.

So we sue him.

No.

No, I don't want to sue him.

I want to stop him.

Now, if and when he puts a face on this mystery woman he's invented, it's going

to be too late. The damage will have already been done.

Well, until he crosses that line, I'm afraid we have no legal recourse.

I can't believe the creep has a right to do this.

You're my lawyer, Sam.

Do something. Now, Pete, look, I guarantee it. The minute he makes a

his strip, which he cannot prove, we'll hit him with a lawsuit that'll make him

sorry he ever learned to draw.

Better get going, dear.

I thought you had a meeting.

Yes, yes, I do.

We have that fundraiser tonight.

I'll try to get home early.

I'll keep trying.

Let me know as soon as you get a hold of his lawyer.

Yeah. Did you see it?

Yes, I did.

What are we going to do?

Oh, the thing we absolutely cannot afford to do is panic.

My whole career is about to go up in flames.

Peter, he not only knew the name of the hotel, he knew the room number. Maybe

he's not going to expose you.

Maybe he's going to keep you off stage the whole time.

Ron Winfield never pulled a punch in his life and you know it.

have all the facts yet. You've got to stay calm.

How can I?

I'm the one who's cheating. I'm the one who's going to look like a tramp in this

thing, not you.

Sandra, I love you.

And no matter what happens, I'm not going to abandon you, I promise.

I'm sorry.

I'm just so angry and I'm scared.

You let me handle things.

And cry, cry not to worry.

Peter? Yeah?

I love you.

I'm in Phil's office.

Why, I don't know, Senator Doan. I just got in myself.

I'll check to see if he's here.

No, sir, he's not. May I take a message?

I'm not quite familiar with that word, Senator. Would you mind spelling it?

Yes, sir. I'll be sure and tell him.

He said that if you don't get back to him within the hour, you'll be roughly

paraphrased in deep trouble.

Okay.

Ron Winfield's office?

I don't know, Senator Hopkins. I just got in myself. I'll check to see if he's

in.

Do you have anything to say to the husband of Senator Dolan's lover?

I'm sorry, sir. He's not in Maytek a message?

Actually, I'd make the lines a little bolder.

You know, there's a moment when all my assistants decide they're just as

talented as I am. Is that what we're talking about here?

I think I'm a better draftsman.

You are.

But don't let it go to your head.

Not enough. What you need is an instinct for the jugular.

Dedication to concept.

The messy.

I'm going to miss my plane.

Who are you going after now?

You'll see.

Ink to print, that's all you want me to do?

Yeah, right. And... T -Dotus. T -Dotus. I'll call you when I get back.

Bye.

What time did he call?

Oh.

All right. All right, what else?

I don't need that.

All right, that's it?

Okay. All right, thanks.

Are you Ron Winfield?

Well, hello, Senator.

All by yourself tonight?

Come on in.

It's a little early that we can't be seeing the neighborhood for votes, isn't

it, Senator?

You know why I'm here.

No.

It's too heavy.

I don't like this.

Get him down.

Get him off me.

Otis, over there and lie down.

Does that to everyone? Don't feel flattered.

I don't.

Let's talk about your next comic strip, Mr. Winfield.

Okay.

What?

When you two are alone, do you call Miss Hopkins Sandra or Sandy? I'm a stickler

for details.

You can't do this.

I already have.

I think I got the hairdo down pretty good, don't you think?

You're going to ruin both of us if you publish that.

You are an elected official, and so is she. The public has a right to know

things. Why?

We're not criminals.

Why?

She's a married woman.

It's people like you who are destroying the moral fabric of this great nation.

Driving that most precious of American institutions, the family, to the brink

extinction. Oh, please spare me.

However...

The fact of the matter is, no one outside myself and my assistant has seen

so maybe we can make a deal. You want to make a deal?

Blackmail?

You piece of trash.

Hey, Senator, let's not start throwing stones. You're the one who's got this

thing about sleeping with his colleagues. How much do you want?

Money's not everything.

You don't want me to publish this?

Give me something bigger and better to replace it.

I see.

Trade my dirt for somebody else's dirt, is that it?

Yeah.

Forget it.

Well then, Senator, I guess I'll see you in the funny papers.

Thank you.

didn't you think you killed him?

All I know is that he hit me, I hit him, and he fell back and hit his head hard

on the fireplace.

Did you knock him out?

No. He was dazed, but he was never unconscious.

At least, not before I left.

What were you doing there?

I came to beg him not to run the next installment of his comic strip.

Oh, yeah, the one where he was gonna say who the woman is that you're seeing.

He even tried to blackmail me with it.

That's when I got mad, grabbed the strip and took off.

After you punched him out?

Mm -hmm.

Looks like Sandra Hopkins.

That's who it is.

The state superintendent of schools?

Yes.

Senator David Hopkins White?

Yes.

That's who you've been having an affair with?

Yes.

It wasn't something I set out to do. It just happens.

How did this Winfield fellow find out? I have no idea.

But he was alive when you left?

He must have died later on from a blood clot or something. That's the only thing

I can figure.

Well, best thing for you to do is go down and tell the police what you just

me.

I had a feeling that was what you were going to say.

It won't be pleasant, and your career probably won't be on an upswing, but

have to know that if you killed him on purpose, you'd be halfway around the

world by now.

You don't think they're going to charge me with murder? No.

Involuntary manslaughter, maybe, but not murder.

D .A. would never get a conviction. They'd be crazy to charge you with that.

First -degree murder? You're out of your mind. We have a very strong case.

You're going to have to convince the jury that Ronald Winfield's death was

premeditated. I know.

It was an accident.

We can prove otherwise.

Julie!

We have a witness who heard Senator Dolan threaten Winfield over the phone

day. We have Senator Dolan's statement in which he admits getting into a

argument with Winfield that night. And we have the comic strip, the one Senator

Dolan stole in hopes of keeping his affair with Sandra Hopkins a secret.

Yeah, because he gave it to you. He just wanted to make himself look innocent.

You mad?

You're ruined.

to my hot dog.

Things started getting physical over here around the desk.

One of us knocked that bottle of ink down.

Hmm.

His head here?

No, actually over here on this side of the fireplace.

And he fell right around in here.

Yeah? Well, the forensics people found traces of blood and hair in two places,

here and over there.

How many times did you hit him? Once.

And in the autopsy report, that he was hit in the head twice.

Yeah, I only hit him one time.

Oh,

what a good job.

Oh, just get off him. Wait out.

You want to get out?

You want to just get out now?

You want to get out?

Oh.

Oh, I'm Ben Matlock, Senator Dolan's lawyer.

Mickey Alder, Ron Winfield's assistant.

Hello. Would you mind returning those strips you stole last night?

I only took one strip.

You mean more than one is missing?

You bet. Three weeks' worth.

How do you know?

I saw them sitting around his desk yesterday morning.

When I came by last night at 9 o 'clock, they were gone.

Ron was dead.

Oh.

Senator,

you want to just run on back to the office and I'll meet you in a little

All right.

So, uh, you were Mr.

Winfield's assistant?

That's what I said.

You live here?

Your employees live with you, Mr. Metlow?

I just wondered what you were doing here at 9 o 'clock at night.

I told you I was taking care of the dog.

I went through to Miami yesterday for business, so I called the house around

the service picked up, and I came over to feed Otis. Oh.

Well, do you know if Mr.

Winfield called anybody else yesterday?

Or did anybody call him?

Well, yeah, I know Senator Dolan called. He was really mad.

Anybody else?

Yeah, Senator Hopkins.

What do you want?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Could you do me a favor? I really need to get those strips back.

Could you just talk to Senator Dolan?

He doesn't have them.

Right.

What do you want with it?

The people who syndicate the strip are interested in taking some of the already

established characters and starting a new strip. You know, since Ron is dead.

Who would draw it?

Well, probably me.

You?

Well, I am a cartoonist. I mean, I was just working for Ron for the experience.

You'll have to excuse me. I've got a lot of things to do. I've got to find Otis

a new home.

Do you like dogs?

Not that one.

What's her name?

Mickey Alder.

She's going to inherit Ron Winfield's comic strip?

More or less.

Isn't that a sweet deal?

You think she could have killed him? Well, if he was as woozy as you say he

when you left, anybody could have come in there and shoved his head in that

fireplace one more time.

Man or woman.

Maybe I'd better have a talk with Sandra Hopkins.

Let's leave her out of this, please.

Her husband called us.

Ron Winfield.

That morning, just after you did.

That must mean he knew about Sandra and me.

Well...

Uh, Mrs. Hopkins.

I'm Michelle Thomas.

I'm one of the attorneys representing Senator Dolan.

Do you have a minute?

Uh, yes.

I'll meet you outside.

I know about you and the senator, Mrs. Hopkins.

I guess it's just a matter of time before the whole world knows, isn't it?

Is he all right?

He misses you. He told me to tell you that.

I've been afraid to call him.

Does your husband know you and Peter were having an affair?

I don't think so.

He's never said anything to me.

I suppose Ron Winfield found out.

I have no idea.

This cartoon would have hurt you more than anyone else.

Miss Thomas, the night of the murder, my husband and I were at a fundraiser.

You can verify that?

Yes. We were there along with several thousand of the governor's closest

friends.

Then I guess you didn't kill Mr. Winfield.

No, much as I'd have liked to.

Thanks.

I won't keep you any longer.

Tell Peter to try not to worry.

I had to see you.

Have I missed you?

Peter.

Wait, um... There's something I have to say.

It's over.

We're over.

We should have known better.

We did.

Then we should have done better.

I should have done better.

This is my fault.

I see.

You forced me to fall in love with you.

Hmm?

I didn't have the courage to end a loveless marriage.

I'd refuse the love you offered me.

I thought only of myself, my career.

How lonely I was before I met you.

I wanted to hang on to everything.

Now I've lost everything.

Well, you've still got me.

I never meant... I know.

Garden.

Oh, what is going to happen to us?

Did

you call

Ron Winfield the day he was murdered?

Yes, I called Ron Winfield that morning.

About what?

About his next script, of course.

The one where he was going to reveal who Senator Dolan was having an affair

with.

We both know it was my wife, Mr. Matlock.

How long had you known?

About a month.

I suspected she was seeing someone, so I hired a detective to follow her.

Why didn't you confront her?

Mr. Matlock, I've been in the State Senate ten years.

I'm chairman of the Public Works Committee and thinking of running for

I don't need a divorce.

Well, why did you call Ron Winfield?

I called him because if he reveals Sandra's indiscretions, the only thing I

could run for is a dog catcher.

Oh, you were going to try to get him to kill the strip.

Damn right.

Only he never returned my call.

Somebody took care of it for you.

All his murder did for me was postpone the inevitable.

Or are you going to try to tell me my wife's affair won't be made public

the trial? No, no, no. The cat will come out of the bag.

I played golf with the vice president. Who won?

I don't remember.

Remember where you were when Ron Winfield was killed?

My wife and I were at a very well -attended fundraiser from 6 .30 to

midnight.

You know, it's real easy to slip out of those big parties unnoticed for a while.

I do it all the time when I'm bored.

Well, I'll let you get back to work. Thanks, Senator.

Get over here.

I haven't been able to find anyone to take them yet. Oh, well.

What can I do for you?

How about letting me in?

Okay.

Those strips that were stolen, did you ever get a look at them?

I got a glance at them once.

Well, do you have any idea who or what your boss meant to expose next?

No. Did he keep a diary or a journal of any kind?

Not that I know of.

Well, we can take a look.

Hey, fella!

Otis, get it! Get it!

Get him, Otis.

Get him.

Otis, get him.

Well, whatever he was looking for, I guess he found it.

What's special about the word sunset?

Sunset? Yeah, he used it in almost every trip.

Look here on the bus bench. Oh, yeah.

And here on the book.

He never said. He used it a lot.

Ron did stuff like that all the time.

Oh, yeah.

Sunset cleaners, sunset cameras, sunset flowers, sunset mortuary. There are more

than 60 businesses in Atlanta alone with the word sunset in the name. And

there's a sunset road, a sunset place, and a sunset avenue.

The man used the word sunset in his strip ten times in the last six weeks.

That's got to mean something.

It might.

As Dick Tracy used to say, I'll check it out.

I want to testify on my own behalf.

No, you don't.

Yes, I do.

No, you don't. Ben, I'm innocent.

I want to get up there and tell the truth.

No, you don't. You'd be opening yourself up for cross -examination. The

prosecutor would bury you.

I'd have no control over her questions or your answers.

I know this lady. She doesn't vote for you. She believes you're guilty.

I'm an elected official.

I get calls from angry constituents and hostile reporters every single day. I

know how to field questions.

No, you don't. This is different.

Ben, I have to get up on the stand and out loud,

under oath, for the benefit of everybody who voted for me and elected me, tell

them that I'm innocent.

I'm against it.

Senator Dolan, did you go to see Ron Winfield the night he was

murdered? Yes, I did.

And when did you go see? I arrived at his house at approximately 7 .30.

Why did you go see him?

To see if he intended to reveal the identity of the woman that I'd been

relationship with in the next installment of his comic strip.

And did he?

Yes.

Who was this woman?

Sandra Hopkins.

State superintendent of schools.

Yes. We met last year, saw each other on business several times, and we fell in

love. Well, what happened when Ronald Winfield told you he was going to expose

your relationship with her?

I got angry. He got angry.

Bush came to shove, literally.

He hit me. I hit him.

He fell backwards against the fireplace.

Did you hit him again after that? No, sir, I did not.

And in what condition was he when you left? He was alive.

Conscious and alive. In fact, he talked to me.

When I took the next installment of the comic strip, he said, go ahead, because

he'd just draw another one.

What time was that?

It was 7 .40 when I left. No later.

7 .40. Now, these photographs are People's

Exhibit 23 through 25.

And they were taken at approximately 9 .40 p .m. at the scene.

Is this the way you remember things when you left?

No. In the first place, Winfield was lying on the floor on the other side at

fireplace.

Anything else?

Yes.

The comic strip I took was sitting on a stack of others right here on his desk.

In both of these photos, those strips are gone.

And you didn't take them?

No, sir. I just took the one.

Is there anything else in these pictures that's different

from what you remember?

Yes.

Ron Winfield was alive when I left the house.

He was conscious. He was talking. He was alive.

I did not kill Ron Winfield, intentionally or otherwise.

Thank you, Senator.

Your witness.

Senator Dolan, why did you go to Mr. Winfield's house that night? As I

said, to see if he intended to reveal the identity of the woman I'd been

Why didn't you just call him on the phone?

I did.

His assistant said he would return my phone call.

He never did.

Did you use profanity when you spoke to his assistant?

Yes, I did.

Because you were angry?

Yes.

Why?

Because he was going to expose my relationship with Sandra.

That would destroy our careers.

Oh, so what you're saying is you didn't go to Winfield's house to see if he

intended to expose you because you already knew what he was going to do.

went there to stop him, didn't you? Well, in a way, yes. You argued with

didn't you?

Yes. You hit him, didn't you?

Yes, but that... You hit him so hard his head hit the fireplace, didn't you?

Yes, but that was... You hit him and you killed him, didn't you? No.

His hitting his head like that was an accident.

Then why didn't you call the paramedics? Because he was alive when I left.

You didn't call them because he was dead.

Just as you intended. Isn't that right, Senator? Object.

This isn't a question. It's an argument.

Nothing further?

Get lucky?

Uh, not yet.

You know, those cans haven't been brought down to the street since Ron

Some of that stuff's been in there for weeks.

I know.

That's one of the rough drafts, one of the missing strips.

Do you ever mention anything about sunset condominiums?

Uh -uh.

These trees are, uh... Birch? Uh, no, aspen.

The Sunset Condominiums are in action.

Senator Hopkins has been paying taxes and utilities on a unit owned by his six

-year -old nephew.

Six years old, huh? Yeah.

What's the good senator been up to?

He had a two -hour lunch at his club and then he rushed over here.

Didn't Jeffrey's construction just land some big highway jobs?

A lot.

All state funded.

Think there's a connection?

Oh, yeah, there's a connection.

It's right there on the seat of that boy's pants.

It was my favorite.

I'm sorry.

I took him out to the park. The ground must have been wet.

So you getting anywhere?

Yeah.

I got a pretty good idea who did it.

Still, I got proof.

It's the same.

Favorite, new, and...

the dog.

Senator Hopkins, you're chairman of the Georgia State Senate Public Works

Committee. Is that right?

That's correct.

Now, what does your committee do?

We see to it that the great state of Georgia gets the highest quality roads,

schools, and office buildings at the lowest possible cost of the taxpayer.

So you decide what needs to be built, and then you solicit bids from private

contractors? That's correct.

And the lowest bid gets the job?

Not necessarily.

But that usually is the way it works, isn't it?

Usually, I suppose, yes. Do you know about these bids on ongoing projects?

I have nothing to do with the selection process.

You could find out if you wanted to, couldn't you?

If I wanted to, yes. Are you familiar with Jeffrey's Construction Company?

Yes, they've done work for the state.

Ten public -funded jobs.

in the last two years.

Bid on 12, got 10. I'd say that's something of a record. Not only was

the lowest, it was the last, almost as if someone were keeping them informed on

the bid so that they could be sure and ease theirs in just under.

That's impossible.

Why? Because that's illegal.

Yeah, but someone could keep the president of Jeffries Construction.

informed on the bid so that he could be certain that his company's was the

lowest, couldn't he? How about you, Senator?

Objection. This is completely irresponsible.

Nothing in Mr. Matlock's question has anything to do with the evidence.

I tell you what, Your Honor, if you'll allow me to continue, I'll prove it.

Overruled for now.

In the last six weeks of his life, Ron

Winfield...

planted the word sunset ten times in his comic strip. See? On the billboard

there and then on the bus stop bench and on the book.

Why would he do that?

Huh? How about this? He wanted to remind one of his readers that he knew

something about that reader that he could make public at any time. It was

of a code, a secret message, wasn't it, Senator?

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

Last year, The president of Jeffress Construction bought a condominium at

Colorado for a half million dollars.

But he didn't buy it for himself. He signed it over to someone else. He

it over to a person named Joel Martin, your six -year -old nephew.

I don't know anything about this.

Are you saying that wasn't a kickback?

Of course it wasn't. That it was just a coincidence?

It must be. That the president of Jeffress Construction wasn't paying you

For all those big fat jobs you got them with a big fat chunk of real estate?

Absolutely not. You're saying that it's a coincidence that the name of the

condominium project at Aspen is Cumset? All I know is I've done nothing wrong

and I bitterly resent these allegations.

Ron Winfield found out about your arrangement with Jeffries Construction.

There is no arrangement.

He was blackmailing you, wasn't he? No.

Only he didn't want cash. He wanted dirt.

Inside information on political shenanigans he could use in his comic

And you knew if you didn't come through, he'd expose you. And that would not

only mean the end of your job, you'd go to jail. So you gave him what he wanted.

Is that how he found out about your wife's affair with Senator Dolan?

Are you out of your mind?

Over and over again, he used the word sunset in his comic strip.

It must have driven you crazy trying to figure out what he'd do next.

And so finally, that night, you went over to his house, didn't you? I did no

such thing. I don't know what you had in mind when you went into that room, but

I'm pretty sure that when you saw that he was hurt and he told you that Senator

Dolan had done it, you hit his head in that fireplace a second time and killed

him. And then you took the comic strip so that no one would be able to connect

you with the condominium at Aspen. That's a lie.

And knowing that Ron Winfield kept solid evidence to back the allegations in his

comic strip, you sent someone from Jeffers Construction to ransack his

steal the evidence, and destroy it, didn't you? Everything you just said is

out -and -out lie.

You didn't go to his house that night?

I've never been to Ron Winfield's house in my life.

Never? Never.

Would you tell the court whose suit jacket this is?

It looks like mine.

It is mine. Where did you get it?

The police with a warrant took it from your closet this morning after you left.

Is this the suit you wore to his house that night? I just told you I have never

been to Ron Winfield's house. Why did you take it to the cleaners the next

morning? I don't remember.

Well, right here's the receipt.

See?

8 .45 a .m., April 7th, the day after the murder, says remove stain on jacket

front.

Ron Winfield had a dog, big, friendly dog, named Otis.

Liked to jump up on everybody who came into the room, get dirt on your jacket.

Have to take it to the cleaners.

During the fight with Mr. Winfield and Senator Dolan, A bottle of ink got

knocked off on the floor.

See? See the ink there?

The dog must have walked through it. See his paw prints?

What if that dog walked through that ink after Senator Dolan left and jumped up

on the next person to come into the room?

The real killer.

Why, he'd get... He'd get ink on his suit front.

Have to go to the cleaner, sir. I spilled coffee on my suit.

Maybe so.

The cleaner was unable to say.

Well, it wasn't ink, Mr. Matlock. Now, for the last time, I was not at that

house. That night or any other night. How about this?

This is a piece of Ron Winfield's stationery. Officer Danny Levine is

to testify that he found it in the pocket of this suit this morning when

took it from your home.

And a handwriting expert is prepared to testify that this is Ron Winfield's

handwriting. This is a list of calls he received the day he was murdered. You

took this.

because you didn't want anyone to know that you were so anxious to talk to him

that you called him five times that day.

You took this and the comic strip after you killed him, didn't you?

We find the defendant not guilty.

Having found the defendant not guilty, this court is adjourned.

Thank you both very much.

Now you can get on with your life. I'm what's left of it.

I still have a feeling I'm going to have to step down even with the not guilty

verdict. There are a lot of reporters out here.

Want me to run interference? No, that's all right. I've got to play some music

sometime. It might as well be now.

Thank you again. Bye.

I'll go with you.