Original subtitles

Yeah.

Well, the bank branches are well located. They're firmly established.

But it's management.

El bingo.

So are you in favor of the acquisition or not?

Well, I've drawn up a contract wherein the Hayworth Fund will purchase

Bank contingent upon the removal of all middle and upper management personnel.

Tough dance.

Sounds like a prudent one.

Let me look over the contracts before you formalize anything, if you don't

Of course.

Moving on.

David and the Remlinger case.

Still taking depots. Looking to go to trial on November 22nd. It goes to

Thanksgiving.

That brings us to Harriet and the status of the ship case.

The ship case?

Yeah.

I told you about it last week. You said you'd be glad to take it on, remember?

No.

I'm sorry.

Send in the ship file, please.

Harriet, I'm surprised at you. I thought you realized how important this case is

to us.

Ship, as in partnership.

Congratulations, sir. Congratulations.

And let me just say that when it comes to beating the odds, Harriet here takes

the cake. The carrot cake, to be exact.

Nice going, lady.

She started out as a paralegal.

went back to school, worked odd jobs, and reared a child all by herself.

Harriet, you have a great attitude and a terrific legal instinct.

But, truth be told, there's only one reason we decided to make you a partner.

And that's so that none of us would ever have to face you in court.

Congratulations.

Well said.

Congratulations, Harriet. Way to go.

This looks good.

Nice work, Lisa.

Very nice. Thank you.

You haven't forgotten our dinner with Taki Yamamoto, Comporks Corporation,

tonight? Seven o 'clock, the terrace.

Prying their U .S. legal work away from Meldrick and Taylor would be quite a

coup. I'll bring my crowbar.

Oh, and Lisa, you remember that dress you wore last month to the banquet? The

red one?

Yeah. Wear it tonight.

Yeah.

Put him through.

Nelson, talk to me.

51, 52, 53, 54, 55,

56.

Damn it, Billy.

Don't mess with the TV.

You turn it off, it goes back to one.

I'm sorry.

Well, don't mess with it.

What channel did you want?

56. The Godfather's on.

Well, just punch in 56.

Don't mess with the TV.

Works on mine.

Of course, it's state of the art.

I bought it last week.

Paid cash.

Guess what else I just bought?

The Brooklyn Bridge.

The house next door.

What house next door?

To you.

I made an offer today on that house right over there.

We're going to be neighbors, Ben.

Oh, no.

No.

Oh, no, not that house.

Why not?

Oh, it's...

It's jinxed.

Jinxed? Yes. A lot of people died over there.

How? Oh, I don't know. They died all kinds of ways. A lot of them died.

You need to get your offer back.

Well, you know what would be better?

Take that money and get yourself a nice lady friend.

Spend that money on her. Buy her some candy, some flowers. Take her to the...

The movies.

You could use a nice lady friend.

No, Ben.

At my age, it's just one long build -up and then... No, sir.

I can't let this opportunity pass me by.

Why, you know... We could be sitting here watching TV

together every night.

But in order to build such an amusement park here in your city, my company needs

local financing.

Well, there's the Hayworth Fund.

Aye. We wish to apply to the fund for construction completion loans.

We are prepared to pay your client double the current lending rate.

You'll find our specifics.

In here.

Thank you, Taki. Actually, Lisa's in charge of the fund.

Come in and say.

Well, I'll review your proposal tonight, and I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Excellent. We would like to break ground immediately.

You know, Taki, I'm aware of your relationship with Meldrick and Taylor in

York, but retaining local legal counsel is something you would do well to

consider. I think it would expedite matters.

I think it would indeed.

Then I shall indeed consider.

Well, if you two will excuse me, I have to get home.

My daughter calls from college every week, 9 o 'clock sharp.

I'm sure Mr.

Yamamoto would appreciate a ride back to his hotel.

Of course.

Thank you for a pleasant evening.

Thank you, and I will talk to you tomorrow, Taki. Good night.

You're a very good driver.

Thank you.

Not that I'm surprised.

Bruce told me you're good at many things.

I prefer to drink champagne at this time of night.

Is that all right with you?

Excuse me?

I can call the hotel and have a bottle waiting.

Or would you prefer to drink something else? Oh, I appreciate that, but I'm

going to drop you off. I've got to get home. I still have some work to do.

But Bruce indicated that you would be coming up to my room.

He did?

Right. He said it was just one of the many services the law firm of Dixon and

Palmilly would be happy to provide me now and in the future.

He said what?

Perhaps I misunderstood.

I'm afraid you did.

Yes?

Lisa Swift, I need to talk to you.

I just dropped Mr. Yamamoto off at his hotel.

And? Hello, Lisa.

Hello, Natalie.

Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Can we do this in private?

Sure. Let's go on my study. This way.

Mr. Yamamoto wanted me to go to bed with him.

He expected me to.

In fact, he said that you said that it was part of my job.

What did you do?

What do you think I did?

Adding a big, successful Japanese firm like Comparks to our client roster could

open a hell of a lot of doors, Lisa.

What are you saying?

You know what I'm saying.

No.

Now, I don't get this at all. First you molest me at dinner and then you pimp me

out?

I didn't molest you. Your hand was all over my leg.

My God, Lisa.

What's the matter with you?

I gave you a brief momentary pat out of friendship and pride.

No, that is not what it was and you know it.

Well, you have your depiction of events and I have mine.

Yeah. Are you no longer happy at Dixon and Parmalee? Because if you aren't...

Oh, now, what is that, some kind of threat?

No, it's not a threat. I just ask you a question.

Maybe you're just tired.

Why don't you go home, think things over, and we'll talk tomorrow.

Here's the tentative contract I drew up on behalf of the Hayworth Fund for that

Comparks loan.

Good.

I managed to smooth things out with Taki.

I'm having lunch with him this afternoon.

Show it to him then.

I'm, um... I'm sorry about what happened last night. I would like it if we could

just clean this slate and go on as if nothing ever happened.

Done.

Good.

Lisa, I want you to come by my house tonight at 9 o 'clock.

What for?

So that I can debrief you on my length of talking.

I won't have time to do it before then.

Bruce, I'm not going to get involved with you.

I love working here, and I don't mind wearing my red dress occasionally, but

that is as far as it's going to go. I can tell you that right now.

My house?

Tonight? 9 o 'clock.

Who is it?

Bruce?

Natalie?

Bruce?

Ms. Swift?

Mr. Matlock.

Thank you for coming.

Give me a yell when you're ready to go.

Okay, Frances.

I have to be honest here.

Bruce Parmeny was a friend of mine, and I only came down here out of curiosity.

It's fine.

But if you were hoping to get a look at the person who killed him, it wasn't me.

They say his wife saw you.

Standing over him, yes, but not having him, she couldn't have. He was already

dead.

It must have just happened.

I know that he was alive when I drove up because he talked to me when he let me

in through the gate.

There were no fingerprints on the murder weapon. It was a letter opener with a

carved handle. The surface was too uneven to hold print.

And as far as I know, there was nobody else in the house. They don't have a

-in maid.

Kids are in college. His wife was at some play or something.

She parked behind my car, so I know she wasn't there when I drove up.

You'd make a good courtroom lawyer.

I know.

Bruce was your boss?

Yes.

You get along?

Yes.

Well, without a motive, the prosecution doesn't have much of a case.

Except Bruce was harassing me.

He was the ideal boss, until just a couple of days ago, out of the blue, he

touched me, quite inappropriately, and told a potential client that I would

sleep with him as a reward for signing with the firm.

Bruce Palmley?

Just yesterday, he propositioned me for himself.

I told him I was not interested, I would never be interested, and he insisted,

demanded, that I show up at his house last night.

I don't know why, but I went.

Bruce Palmley?

What would... Did... Did anything... Definitely not.

Did you fight?

He was already dead when I got there.

Did any of your co -workers hear or see any of this? Bruce was too smart. It was

all very subtle.

I haven't told the police about this for obvious reasons.

But it's the truth.

Bruce Ponley.

I had meetings with him.

I had lunches with him. And I saw him all the time at the courthouse.

You think she was lying?

I don't know.

You think she's telling the truth?

I don't know.

But I knew Bruce Palmerly.

Well, if he was harassing her, you can bet that there were others.

Maybe one of them killed him.

Ben.

Ben, I just came from my realtor.

Someone else made an offer on that house next door.

Really? My realtor said I should give it to him, but I want us to be neighbors,

Ben. I'm going to up my offer.

Sure, I think you should go for it. If you like it. Life's too short.

You want to stay out of it?

Wait, wait. This could be a trick.

The seller could have found out how loaded you are and made the offer

just to jack up the price.

Oh.

I really hate that.

Oh, sure you would.

Nobody wants to be taken advantage of. I'd hate it myself.

So just go on home and let that other sucker have it.

Don't think about it anymore.

Put a little more thought into getting a girl.

My friend felt ill and left in intermission, so rather than sit through

whole second act all by myself, I went home, too.

Well, did Bruce tell you that Lisa was coming over that night?

No.

Well, it's, uh...

Was he expecting anybody else to come over that night?

Well, he was still at work when I left for the play, so I really couldn't say.

Did co -workers like Lisa come over after an hour very often?

Not often, no.

But they did whenever it was necessary.

Did he ever talk to you about work?

Oh, yes.

Yes, he made quite a point of keeping me informed with what was going on so I

wouldn't feel left out.

He was a very considerate man.

Did you ever get the feeling that he, you know, wanted to tell you everything?

Bruce gave Amy, David, and me

whatever we needed as soon as we needed it.

He was a good husband.

And a wonderful father.

And he never for a moment gave me reason to complain.

Now I have things to do.

Michael?

Yeah? Come in here right now.

You were supposed to start supper.

I'm sorry.

I fell asleep.

You fell asleep because you stayed up half the night watching TV.

Look, Michael, I work my tail off at the office all day long. I come home.

And what do I get to do? Start all over again working my tail arm.

If it's one of your friends, tell her you're busy.

Thank you, thank you.

I'm Cliff Lewis. I work with Ben Matlock. We're representing Lisa Swift.

talk while I'm fixing something?

I'm running a little behind.

Sure, whatever you need.

Being an attorney yourself, you probably have some idea what I need to ask you.

Probably if he had any enemies.

Michael, turn off that TV!

And the answer is no.

None that I knew of.

But he was a little upset with Lisa that day.

He was?

He said that she'd almost blown our sign in Compark, that big Japanese

construction company.

I'd had to stay at work until almost 8 .30 because of it, so...

I was a little miffed with her myself.

Did you know that Mr. Parmalee told her to come to his house that night? No.

But he did say he was going to have a talk with her.

So... Excuse me.

How did he treat his female employees?

Like competent human beings.

He never engaged in any behavior that might be considered sexual harassment?

No.

Never.

So then it would be a surprise to you if I told you that he might have been

harassing Lisa.

Bruce Parmalee?

She was shocked. I mean, shocked, just like Ben was.

Come on, Jerry, I hate to say it, but maybe Lisa's lying about this harassment

stuff.

If she wanted to lie, don't you think she would invent a story that made her

look innocent instead of guilty?

Right, then maybe she's just imagining it.

The more I hear about how absolutely above reproach this Bruce Parmelee was,

more convinced I am that he was doing exactly what she says he was.

Yeah.

Everyone engages in sexist behavior at one time or another, even women.

But you show me a guy who hasn't so much as told a dumb blonde joke, and I'll

show you somebody who's hiding something.

Whoa.

He wired nearly half a million dollars to a bank in Mayville, Louisiana last

year. May?

Mayville?

Hold on a sec. Hold on.

Mayville, Louisiana. Remember that woman who used to work here? She resigned,

Marilyn Reese.

That's where she moved.

Mayville. Shh. I hear something.

You never cared, Mia. Thought you'd all gone home for the night. What are you

doing?

My job.

The janitor's already been here and gone. Left two hours ago.

I know.

I'm quality control.

Would you excuse me, please?

You must be the richest quality control man around.

You and I have the same running shoes. They cost about 140 bucks a pair. Get

of the way.

Get out of the way. Whoa, whoa.

Are you all right? Are you all right?

Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine. What are you next? You almost got us killed.

I wonder what it was after.

Well, let's just take a look and see.

Unless they change the alphabet.

Shouldn't Tom Parks come before Continental Travel?

I think Bob was put back in the wrong place.

What are you doing?

Shadowboxing. You a boxer?

Yeah.

Keeps the edge up.

Oh, no, no, no, no. Oh.

Sorry. We had a little run -in tonight at Parmalee and Dixon.

You're good.

You run -in? What kind of run -in?

Well, we found this guy messing around with a file of what could be one of

Parmalee's biggest clients.

Cliff's going to check it out tomorrow.

What happened to the guy?

I kind of stomped on his foot with my heel and grounded in a little.

Then what?

He pushed me into Cliff, and we fell down, and he got away.

You better watch messing with somebody bigger than you are.

How do you know he was bigger than I was? Just a guess.

Well, he was a little bigger.

You better watch.

Okay.

Want a piece of pie?

I'm sorry this is so late, Your Honor, but I had to make some last -minute

adjustments.

The people hereby charge Lisa Swift with murder.

Wait a minute.

I'm sorry to spring it on you like this, Mr. Matlock, but I got this from the

police less than 20 minutes ago.

Now, according to their analysis of the ribbon in the electric typewriter that

Bruce Parmalee had in his office, he typed, this evaluation of the

job performance the day of his murder.

Anybody could have typed this.

State is prepared to prove that Lisa Swift went to the victim's home that

enraged about this letter, and that was her motive.

Mr. Matlock, would you like a continuance so that you could confer

client before you enter a plea?

Defendant pleads not guilty.

That letter.

You didn't see it the night you... No, no.

So you never saw it and you never destroyed it?

Well, two days after the murder, I received it in the mail. He must have

it after I rejected him in his office. What'd you do with it?

I destroyed it. Why didn't you tell me?

Well, why? It wouldn't have changed anything. Lisa, I'm sorry I'm late. How

the arraignment?

They just charged me with murder.

What?

Ben Matlock.

Harriet Dern, everyone at the office thought that if they charged you with

anything at all, it would be some kind of manslaughter.

And they're saying that I killed him because I found out that he was going to

fire me.

Why on earth would he do that?

Because I wouldn't go to bed with him.

Harriet, I know what you said to Mr.

Lewis the other night, but I just cannot believe that I was the only one.

Bruce never did anything to you?

He didn't touch you or proposition you or try to get you to sleep with the

clients. Lisa, Bruce wouldn't do things like that. Yes, he would. He did them to

me. No, don't. Lisa, this won't fly as a defense.

Why are you saying these things? Because it's the truth.

I heard they blindsided you in the arraignment.

You might say.

I wanted to talk to you before I went to Louisiana.

You've been a bad boy, Ben.

Or should I say Waldo?

Waldo? Waldo Finney? The name you used when you made the offer on the house

door?

I got curious and I did some digging.

Does Billy know?

No.

At least I didn't tell him.

I think it's something you should do.

Yeah.

You're right.

I'll tell him.

As soon as hell freezes over.

You would have done the same thing and you know it.

Mr. Yamamoto?

Hi, I'm Cliff Lewis.

I work with Ben Matlock. He's representing the woman who's killing

Parmelee. Part of a tragedy.

Fentless. But unfortunately, such things are all too common in this great

country of yours.

You had some business with Mr. Parmelee? Hi.

He controlled the Hayworth Fund and signed the loan that allowed us to break

ground.

That's funny. Why is that?

I talked to his partners. They were against that loan. They said that they

convinced him not to sign it until he cleared up a few things.

But he signed the contract.

I have a copy.

So did the bank.

Yeah, well, so does Dixon Parmley. Actually, it was in this file that the

jockey over there was going through the other night.

You must be mistaken.

Oh, no, no, I don't think so. I don't think so. He was in an awfully big hurry

to get out of there.

He planned the signature page, didn't he?

We would not be positive that's a thing.

Your handwriting expert went over this file. Everything in it's okay, except

signature on the signature page.

It's a forgery.

Who's permanently decided not to authorize that loan.

And when he told you that, let's just say you found that news unacceptable.

Are you suggesting I had something to do with his death?

It was a thought.

You're wrong. And as for any and all allegedly forged signatures, my experts

will counter your experts.

My lawyers will tie up your lawyers.

And this project will be completed and operating in the black long before this

matter can come to trial.

You wasted enough of my time, Mr. Lopes. So please, get off my land.

Hi. Hi. Marilyn Reese. Jerry Stone. I'm sorry I don't have an appointment. Oh,

don't worry about that. Sit down.

You'd be surprised how much walk -in business we get.

Oh.

Well, uh... Actually, I don't need an attorney.

Fact is, I work for one.

Ben Matlock.

He's representing Lisa Swift. Do you remember her from your Dixon and

days? Of course.

She's been accused of murdering Bruce.

So I heard.

Oh.

I understand that he made a sizable deposit into your bank account right

you moved here last year.

Incorrect.

Why'd he do that?

Severance pay.

I thought you quit.

What are you getting at?

Sexual harassment.

What I have to say won't help Lisa a bit.

You do realize that, don't you?

So tell me anyway.

For about

a year, after I started with Dixon and Parmalee, everything was fine.

Bruce was wonderful.

Always the... perfect gentleman.

But all of a sudden, he changed.

He started touching me and propositioning me in this very subtle,

insidious way.

It quickly reached the point where he made it clear.

Either I sleep with him or lose my job.

I didn't have a lot of confidence in myself back then.

I figured he would lose interest once he proved to me what a big, strong,

powerful man he was.

But he didn't stop?

No.

No.

It went on and on.

Not that it didn't have its perk.

I made...

partner in record time.

And he gave me a silver picture frame, a Cartier watch,

this lovely crystal

doggy.

But the more things he gave me, the harder it got for me to look at myself

the mirror.

So finally, on...

The day he gave me this.

I hid a camera in his bookcase and videotaped him.

In action.

And then you blackmailed him.

Quit my job, moved here, passed the bar.

And took the money he paid me to start my own firm.

I wasn't the only one he was harassing, you know.

At least...

I'm pretty sure I wasn't.

How do you know that?

Little doggy told me.

Of course I remember where I got it.

Bruce gave it to me.

Well, why did he give it to you?

I suppose because he liked me.

Did he give you this picture frame, too? Yes.

I just had a long talk with Marilyn Reith.

Bruce gave Marilyn things, too, because she did certain favors.

What's going on?

Michael, this is Ben Matlock.

I know who he is, Mom.

This is about Mr. Parmelee? It doesn't concern you. She told me what a total

creep he was? Michael, stop treating me like a kid.

You think I don't know why I gave you this?

I honestly thought he didn't know.

So what Marilyn said is true.

Bruce did to me what he had done to her, only I didn't have the guts to put an

end to it like she did.

I thought that I was home free when he started in on Lisa, but then she

blew it for me.

What'd she do?

She rejected him.

The next thing I knew, he was making me work late so he

could start up with me again.

I think your son was right. The guy was a creep.

He started up with you again the day of the murder?

Yes.

Well, where'd you go after he, um... Home.

I was here from 8 .30 on. You can ask Michael.

Oh, please.

Don't tell anyone about this.

For Michael's sake.

Life is tough enough on him already.

Please don't tell anyone.

Okay.

A minute, 28 seconds for the gates to open, drive up, park, and walk into the

house.

So if Bruce was alive when he let Lisa through the gate and dead when she came

in here a minute and 28 seconds later, what would you say?

I guess the killer was in the house when Bruce let her in. That'd be my guess.

Mine too. Mine too.

Where do you suppose the killer went after he stabbed him? The kitchen door

locked with a key.

A window.

They're all closed and locked from inside.

Maybe the killer hid...

In a closet?

Like this one in the hall. Police said that his

wife called the police from a phone near the hall and stayed there until

they got here.

You want to start at this end? Yeah.

Boys' room.

I think he's off at college.

Get in.

This window could have been open.

Hey, you know, we used to have a tree like that outside my window when I was a

kid. It came in real handy when I wanted to sneak out at night.

I don't know. That'd be quite a jump to the closest lab.

No, that wouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, look, see?

Someone carved something in a branch up there.

Probably his kid.

Michael, you love your mother?

Yeah.

You get along?

Yeah.

I mean, most of the time. We argue and stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't

her.

Where's your father?

I haven't seen him in ten years.

He dropped me off at school one day, and that was it.

How did you feel about Bruce Parley?

He was a creep.

Don't make me say that.

He just was.

Did your mother tell you he was a creep?

No.

He made her work late, long after the others had left, at least once a week,

didn't he?

Yeah.

Did you think there was something going on between them? I mean, I'm not saying

there was, but that is what you thought, isn't it?

Yeah, I guess.

Did you think they were having an affair?

I thought he was, you know, making a...

do stuff just because he was her boss.

What made you think that?

She'd come home from work real late, upset, you know, like she was

or ashamed or something.

And how did that make you feel?

Useless or angry or both?

I don't know.

I don't know how I felt.

Your mother, your mother had to work late the night

Bruce Parmeny died, didn't she?

Yeah. Was she upset when she came home that night?

Yeah. How could you tell?

I heard her crying while she was in the bathroom.

What did you do?

Nothing.

Your mother tells me that you watch a lot of television. Is that what you were

doing that night?

Yeah. There was a big miniseries on that week.

Is that what you watched? Yeah, definitely. They took it from the best

horror book.

Only it wasn't on on Thursday night.

So you didn't watch television that night.

Unless I missed my guess, you'd gone over to Bruce Parlin's house, hadn't

No.

Since your car wasn't parked out front when Lisa got there, I imagine you

on the street, then climbed over the fence and found your way into the house.

Look, the reason why my car wasn't there is because I wasn't there. I know you

were there, Michael.

You're a good, honest boy who couldn't allow your mother to be victimized

anymore. Bruce Parmelee was a bully.

You knew what he was doing, and it aided you and aided you until finally you

couldn't handle it anymore. Isn't that the way it happened?

Isn't it true that you couldn't live with it anymore?

And didn't you go to Bruce Palmley's house to protect your mother?

Yeah.

Yeah, I told him to keep his dirty hands off her. He was a creep, and somebody

had to make him stop.

You get mad?

When Mr. Swift showed up, he told me to leave or he'd call the police.

And when I wouldn't go, he pushed me.

And you lost your temper altogether, didn't you?

And you grabbed a letter opener off the desk. And before you knew what you were

doing, you stabbed him.

No. When you saw what you'd done, you realized Lisa was coming up, ran up the

stairs, opened the window and made your escape, found the tree outside.

No.

Son, these blue threads were found by police technicians

in the tree outside the Parmelee house yesterday.

And this morning...

With a warrant.

They found this blue sweater in your closet.

You know they match.

Michael, you're barely 17 years old.

You were trying to help your mother. I guess in the only way you knew how.

I'm sorry.

I'm very sorry. But I can't... I can't allow someone else to take...

What do you mean you solved the case? I solved the case. Ben, didn't I solve the

case? I would not have done it without him.

Thank you.

So, should we go out and celebrate?

You all go.

I think I'd like to spend a nice, quiet evening by myself.

Dan?

Dan, is that you?

Oh, it's about time you got home.

Here, while I was waiting for you, I fixed your remote.

Oh, well, good.

Got good news about that house next door.

You didn't raise your offer.

No, no, I didn't inspect it. You were right, it's a disaster area.

Termites, dry rot, asbestos ceilings, lead.

Paint, radon gas, oil fumes.

This Waldo Finney guy can have it.

He'll never be able to live in it, much less sell it. But he tears it all down

and starts all over.

Yeah, I figure you must be really, really rich.

Or really, really stupid.