Original subtitles

Detective Bristol, I have here a diagram of the neighborhood as described in

your statement.

Will you look at it, please, and tell us whether this is correct?

Yeah, that's it.

Now, using the diagram, will you trace for us the pursuit of your suspect?

Uh... came out of the liquor store here, turned and ran west on Market Street

to the corner of First Street here, and then he turned the corner here, and by

the time I got to the corner, he had already crossed First Street here and

cutting across the vacant lot here.

That's exactly what you said in your statement.

Once again, is that exactly what you observed?

Yes, exactly.

Very detailed, Detective Bristol.

Except for one thing.

This isn't a vacant lot.

It's a parking garage erected by the city one month before the murder took

place.

You haven't walked in this neighborhood for a very long time, Detective Bristol.

You can't identify the defendant, Ethan Summers. You didn't see the crime.

No further questions, John.

The jury finds the defendant, Ethan Summers, not guilty.

The defendant, having been found not guilty, this court is adjourned.

Nice work, John.

Thanks. Yours is better.

Sandra!

Sorry, have to get back to the office. Well, dinner then.

I'd like to, but I have to. I know, I know.

Work.

You know, one of these days I'm going to stop asking.

You talked me into it. I'll buy you lunch.

Great.

Dominic's.

Renoir's.

I've been asking you for ten minutes now. Come on.

I just want one minute. You got it? Come on, come on.

You're done. Get lost. What's the matter?

What, my money's no good here anymore?

What's the matter with you?

Get out of here. Take it easy, man. What are you doing? Take your hands off me.

Are you pathetic?

Just dumping the trash.

How's my baby?

Thirsty.

Mike, scotch rocks double.

What's the matter, baby?

You mad at me?

How could I be mad at you, Rick?

We're the same breed of cat.

Are we ever.

We do what we want, when we want, with whomever we want.

Nobody pins us down, right?

What do you get in that, Sandra?

It's over, Rick.

You're brushing me off.

I know all your tricks. You know all of mine.

We're beginning to bore each other.

I'm moving on.

You're not moving on until I say so.

Let go of me.

I know who you are, Miss Townsend.

Senior counsel.

Drexel Harrison Townsend. Smart, baby. I'm very impressed.

Do your very important colleagues know?

That you're a tramp.

Why don't you tell them, Rick?

They'd believe a wild story from a class act like you.

They'll believe these.

Remember this? The night I took him.

Oh, you put on some show.

And you loved it.

I give up, Rick.

I tried to walk out, but I can't.

No, I'm not mad.

I want to see you. Meet me on the corner after the bar closes?

We'll go to my place.

Well, maybe you don't know all my tricks.

I promise you won't be bored.

Look at you.

Yes. This is Sandra Townsend.

I'm an attorney.

Ms. Townsend, how may I help you? I've just witnessed a murder.

Where are you calling from?

I'm calling from my car.

You can give us an exact location. I'll send a car right out.

All right.

Well, whatever, then.

I'm coming, I'm coming.

Yeah, yeah.

Remember me, Ben?

Donald Newton.

My son Jimmy used to be your paper boy. Oh, yeah. Come on in.

Come on in.

Keep a little heat in the house.

Yeah. I remember Jimmy. How is Jimmy?

He's been arrested for murder.

He didn't do it, Ben. I'm sure he didn't. Arrested for murder?

Says he was drunk. Out cold. Doesn't remember a thing.

Jimmy was drunk?

He's an alcoholic, Ben. Like his mother and his grandfather.

I don't understand it. They found a murder weapon on him, I bet.

Well, I guess I'm half asleep. I still think he's 10 years old. What is he, 22,

23? 27. 27.

Drunk, huh?

Oh, Jeff.

Well, oh.

I'll go upstairs, throw some water on my face and put on some clothes. Can't

thank you enough, Benny. Well, I'll go downtown and talk to him. But talking to

him is all I can do because I got to tomorrow.

I got to go to California. I'm defending a big case out there. But my associate,

Michelle Thomas, will take care of me. Benny, he doesn't have a chance without

you. She's an associate. She's a lawyer, Michelle Thomas. If I was in his fix,

I'd want Michelle to take care of me.

I'd be right.

I could use you to sit down if you want to.

Detective Brooks, I've seen you in court many times.

Of course. Nice to meet you. Well, if you'll come this way, we can take your

statement.

Well, Jimmy, I'm sorry that I can tell you about what happened to you.

We'll do what we can to help.

Tell us what happened tonight.

I'll tell you what I can remember.

I had a few drinks at the Revolution.

That's a bar across town.

And all I can remember is... I was on my way home from a seminar.

I got off the expressway at Hoover to cut across town.

At the corner of Grand and Fairmont, I stopped for a red light.

Two men on the corner were arguing.

One of them...

And then the next thing I know, some cop is shoving a nightstick at my ribs and

telling me I'm under arrest for murder.

Your prints were on the gun. Do you own it?

I've never even held a gun.

The gun was a revolver.

The shorter man, he was wearing a cap, looked like a bum, pulled it and shot

taller man.

What did you do then?

The shooter was waving the gun around, weaving, drunk, maybe don't.

Anyway, I didn't feel safe, so I drove on.

You did the right thing.

You didn't know either the shooter or the victim?

That was Rick Allen, the bartender at the Revolution, the bar where I'd been

drinking. Did you ever have trouble with him?

Yeah.

Yeah. But drinking trouble.

You know, I'd get loud. He'd throw me out. It was his job.

Was there anybody else there?

Maybe somebody you drank with.

who could fill in the missing pieces.

No.

No one.

No, Detective Brooks. There was no one else in the area at the time.

I'll be happy to diagram the scene if you'd like.

More witnesses like you, then my job would be easy.

Mr. Matlock, I'm not a killer.

Drunk or sober, I could never kill anybody.

This is a tough one.

This is really tough. You argue with a dead man and you don't remember it. This

is really tough.

But our office will do the best we can.

We don't have a lot to go on, but...

I've got another job.

So, Miss Thomas will be your attorney.

Will you excuse us for just a minute?

What? Oh,

that.

You can handle that.

And you're due. You're overdue. And we can talk on the phone.

The courtroom?

Michelle, you're a fine lawyer.

You're always better prepared than I am. You have everything it takes and more

than that.

Oh, good luck.

Have a nice trip.

Michelle Thomas.

Busy? Well, you must be. I haven't seen you since Drexel Harris made you a

partner. I got your notes. I've been meaning to call.

I know how it is.

But I miss our lunches.

So do I.

How about Tuesday?

Renoir's? Perfect.

Oh, our class reunion's coming up. Let's drive up together.

You think there's anyone from our law school I'd care to see?

Let them see you.

You're successful, lovely.

What are you up to?

Well, I'm associate to Ben Matlock.

Matlock. He's the best.

He certainly is.

And I'm trying a really interesting case.

Well, the witness says she came off at the Hoover Street exit.

Slow down. There it is right here.

What? Hey, how you doing?

It's quite a mess you got here. What happened?

Well, some guy in a semi came barreling down the off -ramp, never made the turn.

Spilled gas and oil all over the place.

This morning?

No, this was last night, just before 9 o 'clock.

You sure about that time?

Buddy, I've been working here for 12 hours since they called me in at 9 .15.

These hours are not worth the overtime.

Thanks. Thanks a lot. Okay.

Sandra's statement says she came off this grant just after 1 this morning.

I thought you said this lady never makes mistakes.

Yeah.

Ms.

Eberhardt, you've stated that on the night of the alleged rape... You went to

movie alone, after which you stopped alone at a bar.

It was a restaurant, a neighborhood restaurant. Where they serve liquor, yes

no?

Yes.

On that night in that bar, how were you dressed?

I was wearing a blouse and a skirt.

And how short was that skirt?

Objection. The length of Miss Eberhardt's skirt has absolutely no

Yes, it does, Your Honor.

I am attempting to prove and will prove that the witness was provocative in her

dress and behavior and not only invited my client's advances, but solicited and

welcomed them. I did not.

I did not. All right, all right.

Counsel is giving summation.

All right, that's enough from all of you.

Miss Townsend, you know better.

Miss Everhart, can you continue?

Your Honor, may I request a recess?

You certainly may.

Court will reconvene at 2 p .m.

No, I won't get the Feminist of the Year Award. This is my job.

And you're very good at it.

What's up?

I need your help.

Let's talk in my office.

So, you've been handed a bad case.

But that doesn't mean you have to look bad.

I'll help whenever I can.

If you get stuck, if you get crazy.

Thanks, I'll probably get stuck.

Thank the Lord I don't get crazy.

No, you never did.

You were always so steady.

And so nice.

And so pretty.

Right now, I'd rather be as smart as you.

There you go again. Selling yourself short. Stop that right now.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, I've taken up enough of your day.

My day is under control.

But I know you have things to do.

I'll see you Tuesday.

Oh.

I almost forgot.

You said in your statement you took the Hoover Street off -ramp after one this

morning.

That ramp's been closed due to an accident since nine last night.

That's right.

I took Gramp because Hoover was closed.

But I did say Hoover in my statement. Stupid of me.

Don't worry about it. I get streets mixed up all the time.

All that really matters is your description of the crime, and that's

accurate.

Unfortunately for your client, it is.

Listen, if you need any help... Thanks.

You're a real friend, Sandra.

Here you go, boss.

Hello. Hello. You're Michael?

Maybe.

Who are you?

Um... Um, Michelle Thomas.

I'm the attorney who's representing Jimmy Newton.

How'd a guy like that find a lady like you?

Long story.

You knew Rick Allen?

Yeah, we were partners in this dump.

Were you friends?

We partied together once in a while, but mostly he went his way, I went mine.

Did you know his friends?

Rick's friends?

Rick's friends tended to fade. You see, he scammed most of them, one way or the

other.

Well, was there anyone at all? Maybe a girlfriend?

Oh, yeah, there was a girl. There was one girl.

She was a hot tamale.

She had Rick running around in circles.

What was her name?

I never introduced this properly.

Maybe he didn't like the way I looked at her.

Hell, the whole place looked at her like that, though.

You know where she lives?

Somewhere in the neighborhood.

When Rick went to her place, he'd walk.

Do you think you could describe her?

Maybe.

To a police sketch artist?

Yeah,

why not?

The landlord identified the sketch?

He says it looks just like one of his tenants. And what's more, he's willing

let us in her apartment.

He is?

Why would he do that?

I slipped him a 50.

Now you're sure this is the woman?

Yeah. Yeah, that's her.

When was the last time you saw her?

Last week, this week. Who knows? She comes and she goes.

She's a hooker. She ain't working steady.

There. It's open.

Have a ball.

Fifty bucks?

Yeah, fifty bucks.

Well, I guess it could belong to a working girl.

Maybe.

You take the kitchen.

I'll check the bedroom.

Right.

Oh, boy.

Dear Senator Howard, my sincere thanks for your invitation to the National

Capital Dinner.

However, a pressing schedule precludes my attending.

Sandra, you'll never guess what happened.

Michelle, is this Tuesday?

This is too good. I couldn't wait.

Oh, you're doing something.

I was.

Susan, we'll finish this later.

Oh, gosh.

Now, Michelle, what is it?

Who's getting married? Having a baby? A red -hot affair? Divorce?

Nothing like that.

I uncovered some information in the case, but I have no idea what it means,

unless what to do with it.

Tell me.

Maybe we can piece it together.

Rick Allen had a girlfriend.

A girlfriend.

That's it?

Michelle, most guys have girlfriends.

But the last time anyone saw this girl, she was having a major argument with

Rick.

That makes her a prime suspect, right?

I don't know.

It's a long way from a lover's spat to murder.

But you should certainly question her.

That's a problem.

See, she lives in the neighborhood.

How do you know that?

Rick's partner, Michael Caligari, said that whenever Rick went to her place, he

walked.

So I was wondering if the night you witnessed the murder, you might have

her.

No.

I only saw Jimmy Newton and Rick Allen.

But if I had seen a woman, how would I know she was Rick's girlfriend?

I'm sorry.

I should have shown you this first.

You recognize her?

No. That's serious makeup.

Is she a hooker?

I don't know.

She's disappeared.

Nobody's seen her since the murder.

Probably went somewhere to get her hair lubed.

Did you ever see so much mousse?

It's awful, isn't it?

Well, I've taken up enough of your time.

No problem.

But next time, call.

Sure.

I'll see you Tuesday.

Looking forward to it. Bye.

Oh, there was one more strange thing.

Yes? When I was going through her apartment... You found her apartment?

Well, sure.

You know the drill. You flash the sketch around the neighborhood.

Standard operating procedure.

Yeah. Anyway, I was going through her closet, and I found, besides what you'd

expect, band -aids and leather, and there was this one dress.

Black fishnet with these little rips all the way down. That's what I'd expect.

What else?

A navy blue suit.

Expensive.

Like the ones we wear.

Isn't that odd?

What do you make of that?

Well, I'd say that this woman probably had parents in town, and when she goes

see them, she dresses conservatively.

You and I have both defended women who've done things we wouldn't dream of,

still play little angel with Mommy and Daddy.

That's true.

But you're the one who thought of it.

You would have, sooner or later.

Probably later.

I can't thank you enough.

Glad to be of help.

See you Tuesday.

Looking forward to it. Bye.

Thanks, no.

Just the answer to a few more questions.

Here you go.

Do you recognize the woman in this picture?

Do you know her?

I'm not afraid not.

Who is she?

She's a very important lawyer named Sandra Townsend.

Are you sure you haven't seen her maybe in here with Rick?

With Rick?

This lady?

No way.

Take one more look.

Now, picture her with red hair, a lot of makeup, wearing maybe a leather jacket.

That do anything for you?

I'm afraid it doesn't.

No. You got any more pictures of pretty ladies?

I think you know more than you're saying. Lady, I told you I don't know a

thing. I do.

I know a lot about you, Mr. Caligari.

You're an ex -con, still on parole.

So what? So you're not supposed to be selling liquor.

And what about that gun you've got stashed behind the bar?

Are you threatening me?

No.

I'm just giving you something to think about.

Hello? Hello, Sandra Townsend?

Yes, it's this.

This is Michael Caligari, Rick's partner. Good buddy.

Haven't seen you in here lately. I was just wondering how you're doing.

I don't know you.

Sure you do.

And I know you. I just thought maybe we'd get better acquainted.

I'm hanging up.

Don't. You'll be sorry.

The little game's over.

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

A friend of yours, a certain lady lawyer, came in here with a picture of

You told her you knew me?

I didn't cop to anything.

Though who wouldn't want to know a sexy lady lawyer and wonder why she was

searching through Rick's car the night he was murdered?

What do you want, Caligari?

Enough to get out of town, stay out of town a long time.

In return, you get the pictures you didn't find in Rick's car.

What pictures?

Come off it, lady.

I saw you and Rick fighting over them.

He even showed them to me.

How much?

20 ,000 should do it.

Where and when?

Tonight. The bar.

We're just about to close.

All right, where are the pictures?

He doesn't have them.

Now I know you killed Rick.

I just have to prove it.

You, pretty lady?

I don't think so.

I do.

Unfortunately, you made one mistake.

Sandra, wait.

What happened?

You don't want to know.

But I do.

We're friends.

You have everything.

Reputation, respect, money.

Why then?

You mean my double life?

You wouldn't understand, Michelle.

You're a nice girl from a nice family.

And so very straight.

So are you.

Very nice, very straight.

And very boring.

For a while, work was exciting.

In case you're wondering, I didn't sleep my way to the top.

Just worked harder than anyone else.

And when I got there, I was alone.

If this is about loneliness, you had friends. You had me.

You're great to have dinner with, Michelle.

But at three in the morning, I need something else.

So I set about getting it.

From out -of -town lawyers, out -of -town clients.

Guys who called me baby at three in the morning, then went home to their wives.

Don't you love having men call you baby?

I never have.

Mine too.

The first man who called me baby got me.

I'm shocking you. Good!

Then those guys got boring.

So I started thinking about men.

What they do, how they do it.

And I thought, why not me?

Why not just walk into a bar, pick the man I want, take him somewhere,

get what I want and get out?

Men do that.

I feel sorry for you, Sandra.

You don't.

You envy me.

I do things you only dream about.

And you do dream about them, don't you, Michelle?

About wearing clothes like this?

Picking up strange men?

No, I don't.

If only I'd known you needed help.

What for?

I never felt better.

Control is the key, honey.

Total control.

I'm tougher than you are, Michelle.

And smarter.

Think you'll beat me.

So then I cut my hand on the broken window of the car, and, well, you can

coat. Just like a woman to lock her keys in the car and then break a window to

get them.

Silly of me, wasn't it?

So you think you can get the stain out?

Sure.

Takes some doing, though.

Come back tomorrow.

Mr. Morgan, you're a darling.

Miss Townsend, you've testified that on the night Rick Allen was murdered, you

exited the expressway at Hoover Street?

No, that was a mistake.

The shock of witnessing a murder, I guess.

The Hoover off -ramp was closed. I exited at Grant.

I see.

And where were you going?

Home. You mean the Bedford Towers apartments on Peachtree Boulevard?

That is where I live.

So you live clear across town from the scene of the crime you witnessed.

Why were you there?

The expressway was crowded. I decided to cut across town.

So you're familiar with that neighborhood?

No.

I can read a map, Miss Tomy. I never get lost.

I'm sure you don't, Miss Townsend.

So you were driving across town through the neighborhood around Fairmount and

Grant.

Do you do this often?

No. In fact, that was the first time I'd taken that shortcut.

And the first time you've been in that neighborhood?

Yes.

Huh.

Well, um... Is this

your signature, Miss Talbot?

You've already determined that, haven't you?

Yes, it is. Yeah.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

These credit card slips are for purchases made in the neighborhood

Fairmount and Grant.

There's a market, a pharmacy, a shoe store.

I'll ask you again, are you familiar with this neighborhood?

Yes. Yes.

You should be, Miss Townsend. You rent an apartment there, don't you?

I do not. The landlord will identify you as a tenant in apartment 13D at 628

Fairmount Street.

You are, aren't you? So I have an apartment there, so what?

Isn't it true that for some time now, you've been living a double life?

Part of it is one of this city's most prominent attorneys, and the other part

what some might call a less than respectable woman.

Objection. Miss Townsend's personal life is absolutely no relevance in this

case. Allow me to continue, Your Honor, and I'll prove relevance.

Objection overruled. Please proceed.

Miss Townsend, you've testified that on the night of the murder, you were

stopped at a red light in your car when you saw two men arguing.

That's right.

And you saw that one of those two men was my client, and that he shot and

the other man?

Correct. And prior to that evening, you had never seen either one of these two

men? No, never.

Isn't it true?

That you not only knew the deceased Rick Allen, but you were his lover.

No.

Isn't it true that on the night he was murdered, you went to the bar known as

the Revolution and you quarreled with Rick Allen about intimate photographs of

you that he had taken?

No. The bartender, Michael Calagiri, will identify you and testify that he

observed you and Rick Allen arguing.

After the argument, here's what I think happened.

You went home to your uptown apartment, and you called Rick Allen. You asked him

to meet you.

He agreed, and you shot him to death.

Then you found a likely fall guy, Jimmy Newton, passed out in his car.

So you planted the gun on the defendant.

You got into your car.

Then you called the police from your car phone and you reported the crime with

yourself as eyewitness. Now, isn't that true?

I didn't know you had so much imagination, Michelle.

What were you wearing the night of the murder?

A gray plaid suit and a silk blouse.

No coat?

No, I don't remember.

It was cold that night. It was 47 degrees. Weren't you wearing a coat?

Yes, I do remember. I was wearing my fur coat.

But when I saw you later at the police station, you weren't wearing a coat.

Where was it?

I left it in the car.

Why would you do that?

I didn't need it indoors.

So you left a valuable fur coat in your car?

Isn't that a strange thing to do?

I was at a police station. There were dozens of police around.

Exactly.

And one of them observed you get out of your car and toss your fur coat into the

trunk.

Why were you hiding your fur coat, Miss Townsend?

I wasn't.

Oh, I think you were.

You see, I think that in the process of murdering Rick Allen, you...

somehow managed to get his blood on your coat.

I don't know. Maybe you were going through his pockets looking for those

explicit pictures. Maybe you were looking for something else. I don't

But you got his blood on your coat and you had to hide it.

This is ridiculous.

My coat's at home in my closet. You can check it.

Oh, there's a coat in your closet, all right.

But it's not yours.

You see, my associate, Tyler Hudson, followed you to the furrier.

Your coat's right here.

See?

The coat you picked up from Morgan's furs is identical to your coat in every

respect but one.

This coat, your coat, the coat you were wearing when you killed Rick Allen,

is stained with his blood.

I'm truly sorry.

I can only guess that he was blackmailing you, threatening you with

He wanted to control you, and you couldn't allow that.

Control, that control, that total control that you always wanted.

When you killed him, you lost it.

Nothing further.

In view of the evidence just introduced, people move for dismissal of the

charges against Jimmy Newton.

Motion granted.

Case is dismissed.

Court is adjourned.