Original subtitles

Good party.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, they always seem to have a good time.

Okay, there you go.

Well, you did it again, Cal.

You expect it otherwise.

Darling, she looks absolutely gorgeous in that color. Darling.

Oh.

Vodka martini, dry, two olives.

Thanks, sweetheart.

Well, if I had all of this, I'd be willing to admit I was 40.

I'm going to go check on the champagne.

Oh, excuse me.

Sweetie, all I can say is I wish I'd seen him first.

Thank God I did.

You know, after Whit died, I never thought that I could.

But these past three years have been wonderful.

I have never seen you happier.

Mom also looks the best ever.

Tony Morgan, you are smooth.

This handsome boy should be out enjoying himself.

Who says I'm not?

Amazing. Well, you know me, Evie. Always comfortable.

Well, things will kill you.

You wish.

Party's going well, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

Mom's money makes everything go well.

I thought we had an agreement, Tony. No argument tonight.

Nothing to spoil your mom's party, okay?

What, me?

I wouldn't do anything like that.

You really think you got it made, don't you?

Walking around here like you own the place.

You don't.

My mother does.

And you're just using her.

Let's get something straight right now, Tony, okay?

I love your mother for her money, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, which

is why I have not told her what I know about you.

Oh, and what does that count?

I was wondering what you two were.

Mom. Hey, I was just coming to find you. I thought maybe we'd have a little

dance. Oh, great.

Excuse me, Tony.

Bonnie, I believe that's our song.

Next dance, sweetheart?

Yeah, sure.

Shall we?

Oh, that was the nicest birthday I ever had, Cal. Thank you.

My pleasure, love.

Tell Tony.

The rental company is coming to pick up the tables and chairs at noon today.

Well, Tony was going to go to the club for a swimming workout.

Can't he go later?

Oh, I'd rather not ask him. I'll ask him. You'll order him, and then he'll

mad and you'll argue.

And he'll twist you around his little finger. He loved me. When his father

he took care of everything, of me. He needs discipline.

Honey, I want you to reconsider military school.

No.

Absolutely not. You must.

Bonnie, don't you see it's happening again?

We argue about only one thing.

Tony.

Always Tony.

Don't you see, Bonnie? He's tearing us apart.

I love you, and I think you love me.

I do. I want us to be happy, Cal.

I'll think about it.

Good.

No, Cal did, but I'm waiting for the rental company.

Who asked me?

Well, Cal and I knew you wanted to go swimming.

I wouldn't have minded.

I really am trying, you know.

I know you are, sweetheart, and I'm sorry it's been so difficult.

Just, you're here and Cal's there and I'm caught in the middle.

Look, about this family counseling.

You said you wouldn't go.

Well, I know, but I've been thinking and...

I just want everything to be okay, and maybe if Cal and I spent more time

together, things would work out.

Thank you, sweetie.

Thanks.

This is a surprise.

We need to talk.

Sure.

Sure, you bet.

I'm sorry about this morning.

Tony says that he's ready for family counseling.

Yeah? Yeah.

Uh, well, uh... Tony had said that before.

And if you remember, we went. He never bothered to show up.

I know, but this time he says that he wants to go.

He needs to know that we trust him. I don't anymore.

So what, we just make him disappear? We just ship him off to school? Is that it?

If you want to save this marriage, and I do.

We've been through this so many times before. When is it going to be resolved?

Bonnie, listen to me.

Our relationship can't last with the three of us in the same household.

Open your eyes.

It's more than a personality conflict.

Tony lies.

Tony cheats. How dare you? Tony's my son.

I'm not going to send him away.

If you can't handle that, then you can leave.

That's no solution.

I'll do whatever I have to to protect Tony.

Even from you.

Mr. Ritter. I'm sorry, Mr. Ritter.

It's five o 'clock and my ride's here. I just wanted to let you...

No, I was leaving.

I'll see you.

Here she is, Mr. Morgan, on Washington Drive.

Thank you.

Have a good day, sir.

Mario. Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

Drive carefully.

Hold on, I'm here.

Hello? Yeah, hi, Dan.

Uh -huh.

No, no, Wednesday will be fine.

Yeah, have a great trip.

See you then, bye -bye.

Hi.

Thought I'd drop by.

Table looks good.

Is that oak?

Very nice.

I like that.

I like the feel of wood.

You've got a lot of nice things here, Cal.

I should probably visit you more often.

I think it would be interesting to learn about your business.

Maybe we could work out some kind of a part -time kind of thing.

Of course, I'd have to commute from military school, so I probably couldn't.

Couldn't come every day.

You're not sending me to military school.

Well, yes, I am.

No, no, I'm not going anywhere.

Well, you don't have any choice in the matter, Tony.

Either you go voluntarily, or I tell your mother what I know.

Yeah, and what is that, Cal?

For one thing, I should never have fired Shirley.

You stole this, didn't you, Tony?

And you stole everything else that I accused Shirley of stealing.

What did you tell Mom about that?

Well, I told her I misplaced it and I just found it again.

But if you push me, I'll tell her that you stole it.

The point is, Tony, pawn shop records have your name on them, and there is

nothing that you can do to change that.

Case closed.

You're wrong, Cal.

Yes? Are you Mrs. Calvin Ritter?

Yes. I'm Lieutenant Bob Brooks, Atlanta Police.

There's been a fire at your husband's studio.

Oh, my God.

Is Cal okay?

I'm sorry.

The fire spread fast. Your husband was dead when we got there.

Oh, Cal.

Cal.

Tony?

Tony? What happened?

Cal, he's dead.

How? There's a fire in his studio.

Lots of flammable material around.

He was going so careful.

Yes, ma 'am, I'm sure he was.

We have a reason to suspect arson and a possible homicide.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Ritter. I know this is not the best time, but I'm going to have

to ask you to accompany us downtown to the station.

Now?

I'm sorry, but there's lots of questions I need answering.

All right, let me go with you. No, no, no.

Stay here and call Evie, and I'll take care of things.

Okay, all right.

I'll take care of everything. I promise.

Ben, I don't understand what's going on. Why am I here?

They think the cow was killed.

Bonnie, they think it was you.

Me? Why?

What time did you leave Cal?

I don't know.

Ten after five?

Couldn't have been earlier than that.

No. The guard came in to say he was going, and that was at five.

And I left a few minutes after that.

The clocks in Cal's studio stopped at 5 .15.

According to the fire marshal, that means you were there when the fire

I'm sorry to have to do this, but in light of the evidence, your presence at

scene moments prior to the crime...

Your lack of an alibi at the estimated time of the fire and eyewitness

testimony.

I'm sorry I have no choice but to place you under arrest for the charge of

murder in the first degree.

Oh.

Arson, huh?

No faulty wiring.

Everything seemed to be in order.

Go, Ben.

Come on, Bob.

Glad I caught you.

What's up?

Well, it's real embarrassing.

The boys down at the station were cataloging items that we took from the

of the crime.

There was a tape in the phone answering machine.

We played it down, and there it was.

Cal Ritter must have picked up in the middle of his message, because his voice

is there, answering a call at 525.

which means someone set back the clock.

Well, if my client's got an alibi for that time, you might as well start

dropping charges.

Yeah.

You know, wouldn't it hurt to wash your car once a year?

I did, March 31st.

Hey,

there's a lot of that going around.

Damn.

Now let's see.

The electricity went off at 5 .15, and that's when the police thought the

took place.

But Cal answered a call at 5 .25, so all we have to know is where you were at 5

.25.

In the car.

Well, did you make a call or stop at the house?

Got gas?

Groceries? Ice cream cone?

No, I just...

Drove around. I needed to think.

I'm sorry I didn't go anywhere. I didn't talk to anyone.

Well, the police will only have your word that you actually left Cal's shop

510. I'm sorry.

I know you are.

I am too.

It was worth a shot.

Ice tea?

Ms. Malone, here, let me help you with that. It's very heavy.

Oh, it is, isn't it? Thank you. Where's the maid?

Oh, Cal fired her about two weeks ago for stealing.

Can you imagine after eight years?

Shirley was stealing?

Well, Cal wouldn't have fired her otherwise. I mean, he was the nicest

You know, I just don't know what she's going to do without him.

Hi, everybody.

Oh, hi, Tony.

Hi, Mr. Matlock. Nice to see you again. Nice to see you. Uh, Mr. Thomas?

Hi, I'm, uh, Tony Morgan. I just want to thank you for all you're doing for my

mother.

How are you, Mom?

It had to be a robbery, Ben. It's the only thing that makes sense.

Well, there was no sign of forced entry.

Did Cal seem worried or nervous lately?

No, no, he was in a great mood. He threw a huge party for Mom here at the house

on Saturday.

No.

Uh... Listen, Mr. Matlock, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but my mom's

exhausted, and she's been through a lot.

And I'm wondering if we can maybe just do this another day, another time.

Certainly, certainly.

Bonnie, wheel up.

We'll see you.

I don't know, Ben.

I don't either.

Cal Ritter didn't have any enemies.

He had one.

Shirley!

Mr. Mudlock.

How are you? Just fine.

I guess you haven't heard. I'm defending Bonnie Ritter. I heard.

Poor thing.

Maybe you could help me with something.

I'm late for work.

Get in. I'll give you a lift.

Thank you.

You worked for Mrs. Ritter for how long?

Would have been eight years next month.

Number of the family.

My family's at home.

Mr. Matlock.

Hi. How you doing? Okay.

My mom's not here.

I know.

Go ahead. What's she doing?

Yeah, I was just to help my mother go through Cal's papers. You know, he

very organized.

Oh, that's a big responsibility.

Yeah.

When my father died, I was only 13.

But Mom and I did just fine.

It must have been very difficult for you when she remarried.

I was happy for her, Mr. Matlock. I mean, Cal was a great guy.

And he made Mom happy, and that's really all that matters.

So you and Cal got along?

Oh, yeah. I mean, we understood each other.

You never fought with Cal or spied on him?

Spied?

Where did you get that from?

From your housekeeper, a former.

Shirley Taylor?

Shirley Taylor, I'll tell you, had Mom and me completely fooled. As a matter of

fact, it took Cal to figure her out.

You know what a kleptomaniac is, Mr. Matlock?

Yeah.

I used to know a fellow that pronounced that word kleptomaniac.

So, Shirley was a compulsive thief?

Yeah, I know. She seemed like such a nice person, but Cal mentioned that her

lying and her stealing was just a sickness, so... Did you go to her home?

No, no, I was on my way there, and I saw her walking along the street going to

work, so I picked her up, gave her a lift.

Car. So, anyway, tell your mother I stopped by. Okay. Well, let me walk you

Okay.

That's a beautiful car.

The man had good taste. He did.

Cal loved this car.

Um, I just, uh, I can't remember.

The day Cal died, where were you?

At the club.

And you left about, um... A little after five.

So that would put you home, what, 5 .30?

Yeah. Was anybody in the house with you?

No, I was alone.

Huh.

You better have your car washed, Tony.

That could cause trouble later on.

every time I saw Cal, he was wearing this jacket.

I had to talk Cal into buying it.

He said it was too expensive.

Sometimes people that are born and raised poor, they have trouble spending

on themselves.

I told him he deserved it.

Where's the lighter?

The lighter?

Yeah.

Was it valuable?

Antique, 18 -karat gold.

It had the initial B and diamonds on it.

Ben, I'm telling you, somebody broke in there and they robbed Cal and they

killed him.

Well, there's the remains of Cal's

watch. That's an odd business that somebody would take that lighter and

this expensive gold watch behind.

When I think of some of the things I said, I'll never stop being sorry.

Good afternoon, ma 'am.

Oh, I'm not saying. Actually, I need to talk to whoever was working around 5 o

'clock on Sunday the 15th. Oh, not me, that's for sure. Sunday's I kick back.

That'd be Mario and Eric.

Okay, either one of them around now?

They're due in an hour.

Well, I'll come back. Thanks.

Have a good one.

There was no sign of forced entry.

And in your experience?

What did that mean?

Well, whoever entered was known by the victim.

The fire started sometime after 5 .15, and given the answering machine tape,

probably about 5 .30.

Thank you, Captain.

Mrs. Ritter was still there when I left at 5. She told Mr. Ritter to pack up and

leave. I've never seen a woman so mad.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Cross -examine.

No questions at this time, Your Honor.

Due to the hour, this court will stand in recess until 9 a .m. tomorrow

I

didn't

expect all that.

We didn't even start yet.

I'm not a bit worried.

Don't you be, okay?

What you need is to go home and get some rest. Right.

Thanks, Mama.

Yeah.

Michelle, you think you could see Bonnie home?

There are a couple of things maybe Tony could help me out with.

Fine.

Okay with you?

Yeah, sure.

Now, remember, I do the worrying.

Reassure.

Well, I'll be honest with you.

It's not really going very well.

No?

No. I mean, I appreciate you not wanting Mom to worry, but you have absolutely

nothing to prove her innocence.

Well, that may be true.

And it's interesting that you think that.

I'm not saying that the D .A. isn't...

doing the best she can, and she does have a few credible witnesses.

But look at all the things she doesn't have.

There's no bloodstains, no fingerprints.

There's no physical evidence. There's not one thing to directly connect your

mother with the fire or the murder.

See, that's a big problem.

Juries like things obvious.

So you think Mom will get off? Oh, yeah. She didn't kill Cal. That's great.

All right. See you tomorrow.

Okay.

Hey, Tony.

Tony.

It's not that nobody cares who killed Cal.

As soon as your mother's acquitted.

The police will reopen this investigation. And there's one thing

Lieutenant Brooks.

He does not give up.

Okay. All right.

Oh,

hey, tell him.

Let me ask you.

I just don't remember.

The day Cal died, what time did you say you got home?

5 .30.

Uh -huh.

Could have been, you know, five minutes earlier or five minutes later.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's interesting how casual people are about time.

A person will tell you that he'll meet you at 8 o 'clock, and he shows up at 8

.15.

You know? Yeah. As if, you know, a few minutes one way or another doesn't make

any difference. But sometimes that can be important.

Like, we all thought the fire started around 5 o 'clock because that's

what the killer wanted us to think.

How could he have known that Cal would receive a call on his answer machine and

answer it personally at 5 .25?

So now we believe the fire started later.

And somebody fiddled with the clocks.

So the killer now has an alibi for the supposed time, but not for

the real time.

Oh, yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah, well, I'll see you. All right. Okay.

Hey, Tony.

I'm sorry.

Just one other thing.

You remember this morning when the guard was on the stand, he said that Cal had,

well, threatened to send you away.

Yeah.

Well, clear something up for me.

I found a pile of military school brochures in Cal's office.

Well, I mean, it doesn't clear up. It's just that, you know, lots of families

send their kids away to boarding school, and it's something that Cal and I

talked about.

Yeah, yeah, but here you are. It's the middle of your senior year, and almost

all the applications for college are in, and it just doesn't make sense.

It didn't happen, so, I mean, you don't have to think about it. Yeah, but, I

mean, I do.

I think about a lot of things.

All right. Okay.

Listen, tell your mother I'll be by a little after six.

Okay.

If you need any help, I'll be with you in a minute.

No, I'll know what I'm looking for when I find it. Thank you.

Is that Tony?

Tony?

Mr. Matlock.

Thomas. Hi.

What are you doing?

Uh, nothing. Just, uh...

Are you burying something?

No, no, I was just planting some roses for my mother. You know, I promised her

that I'd do it, but I felt bad that I hadn't done it.

Looks like the sweater your mother was wearing.

The day Cal died.

No, no, I think it was taken. She was wearing it at the police station.

There's something on there.

Give me that.

No, no, no. We have to keep this. This is evidence.

Please, can't we just make like it doesn't exist?

I wish we could, Johnny, but we can't.

See, I was trying to help my mother, and now I've really just gone and made it

worse.

Yeah, looks like.

What are you looking for, Ben?

Anything Tony was looking for.

Yeah.

How will you know when you find it?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Well, there it is.

What?

Call your next witness?

Yes, sir, Your Honor.

Bonnie, we've been friends for years, and I would never do anything to hurt

but... I have to go ahead with this. I'm sorry.

I'm dead.

I call Tony Morgan to the stand.

Now...

You have told the police that on the day your stepfather was killed,

after your swimming practice, you went home. Are you sure you didn't go

someplace else?

Positive. I went straight home.

You didn't go by your stepfather's studio?

I said I went straight home. Okay.

Okay, the reason I asked was the day after.

Your stepdad was killed.

I drove over to his studio, and the street in front of the studio has been

resurfaced. And my car got tar splattered on it. Same thing happened

to Lieutenant Brooks.

And when I saw that tar had been splattered on your car, I

knew you had been there, too. So when were you at your stepfather's studio,

Tony?

Sometime that week. I don't know. I don't remember.

Maybe I can narrow it down for you.

According to one of the parking attendants, Mario

Ruiz, he remembers washing your car that Sunday.

And the next morning, you were driving your stepfather's Porsche.

So that means the only time...

you could have gotten tar splattered on your car, would be between the time you

left your club and the next morning when you were driving your stepfather's car.

Well, Mario was mistaken because he didn't wash my car that Sunday. Oh, no,

Mario was mistaken for a very good reason.

He gave him a five spot.

You tipped him five dollars.

Money means a lot to you, doesn't it?

Having it, possessing it, holding it, buying things with it, showing it. It

makes you feel important, doesn't it?

I don't see you turning your nose up at money there, Mr. Matlock. No, no, I like

money.

Money's pretty. It's green. It's got numbers on it. Some of them go way on up

yonder.

But you have to have a strong regard for what money can and cannot do.

The trick with money is to enjoy it.

If you've got it. Because a lot of people don't. A lot of people. But if

got it, enjoy it.

Not need it to the point that you cannot stand the thought of being without it.

How would you describe your relationship with your

stepfather?

We got along.

Even though your mother's life was a constant struggle to try to keep peace

between the two of you?

No, we were a very happy family.

Why was he planning to send you to military school?

He wasn't.

We had discussed it, and he changed his mind and decided it would be best if I

stayed home.

Oh, I see.

I see.

I see.

Your mother... Your mother had a housekeeper named Shirley

Taylor, didn't she?

Yes. What happened to Miss Taylor?

Cal fired her for stealing.

Oh.

And among the alleged items that she stole was an antique gold lighter. Isn't

that right?

Maybe.

She stole a lot of stuff. But you are very familiar with that antique gold

lighter, aren't you?

I don't know. She was a thief, and I don't know. Maybe she just pawned it.

Could be.

What do you think it was worth?

Lighter, old lighter? I don't know.

You know exactly what it's worth to the penny.

Because you stole it and you pawned it.

No, that's not true. Yes, it is.

And then you framed Shirley, knowing that Cal would fire her.

And that gave you someone to blame your thefts on, and you had been stealing

from Cal for a very long time.

And you got rid of the only other person besides the family who had

heard the arguments between you.

and your stepfather. There were no arguments.

Shirley Taylor can and will take the stand and say that

you and Cal Ritter, your stepfather, fought constantly and that you spied on

your mother and him and that he intended to send you away.

My mother would not permit that. I'm the man of the house. Not after she married

Cal Ritter. Cal Ritter was the man of the house. Cal Ritter took your place in

the house.

You were no longer central to your mother's life.

Cal was now taking her time.

Cal was now taking her attention.

She was buying him fancy sports cars, watches, all the things she should have

been buying you, things that were important to you.

She loved you, but now she had someone else to love.

And he loved her, and he could take her into their secret room.

And closed the door.

Closed the door on you.

And what's more, that same man was planning to send you away. Send

you away from your home.

From your mother.

Your Honor.

May I speculate for a moment?

Madam D .A.? I hate it when he does that.

He tells these stories like he's spinning a web. Now, where's the proof?

Proof. Proof.

All right. All right. Your Honor. Go ahead.

Thank you.

That Sunday, when you left the club,

you didn't go straight home.

You drove out.

To your stepfather's studio.

And there, the two of you had a hell of a fight.

Maybe about the military school.

Maybe about the fact that he had discovered you were the one who was

and not Shirley.

Maybe he threatened to tell your mother what he knew about you. But whatever it

was, you knew he had you cold. So you picked up something.

Maybe a piece of wood.

And you hit him.

You hit him hard and you killed him.

And then, to erase your tracks, you set a fire.

Then, to give yourself a good alibi, you set all the clocks back.

And then, in a final act of disregard,

you took that antique gold lighter.

The one Cal had found in a pawn shop where you

had pawned.

I didn't kill Cal.

I didn't want to believe you had.

And I wish you hadn't.

But when I saw you burying your mother's sweater, that convinced me.

There are any number of flammable materials that you could have poured on

sweater.

But you chose paint stripper.

Only the killer could have known.

that paint stripper was used to start that fire.

You tried to incriminate your own

mother.

You remember the day I found you going through

Cal's papers on his desk?

I was helping my mother.

You were looking for a credit card receipt that would prove that Cal had

redeemed that antique lighter.

No, I wasn't. And you found it, probably burned it.

But you left the folder with the rest of the bills, and when I was going through

them later, I found...

Those credit card receipts.

And they were all there.

Except for the month of July.

But the credit card company was very cooperative.

They gave me a copy.

And there it is.

July 18.

Cal bought.

That antique lighter back from the Walnut Street pawn shop where you

had pawned it for $1 ,500.

So, when Cal was killed,

he had the lighter.

Your mother saw it in the studio.

Harry the guard saw it. But after the fire, it was not in his personal

It was not in the studio.

We searched 200 pawn shops until

we found this lighter.

This is the antique lighter, isn't it?

With the letter B in diamonds.

Only the killer could have possessed and pawned this

lighter.

You couldn't stand to leave it, could you?

You couldn't stand not to steal it one more time.

Not when you could get $1 ,500.

Give it up, son.

The man from the pawn shop in Jacksonville can identify.

You shouldn't have married him, Mom.

He was going to send me away.

I had to do it. I had no choice.

You understand that?

Don't you?