Original subtitles

Here's the mail.

Thank you.

Um, Mr. Phillips.

Something wrong?

Uh, not exactly.

See, my little sister, well, she graduates from high school up in

Friday. So you want to take Friday off.

That's all right with me, Jenny.

Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.

Assistant Commissioner Phillips, may I have a word with you, please? I'm sorry,

your name is? Carla Myers.

Councilwoman Carla Myers.

This will only take a minute.

Close the door on your way out.

Tomorrow morning at 10, I am holding a press conference during which I will

that you used this office to embezzle close to $100 ,000 in public funds.

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

I have proof.

I felt it only fair to warn you.

I was going to pay it back.

Sure you were.

I have a son in college and two daughters in private school. I was

short of cash.

Save it for the TV cameras, Mr. Phillips.

Please, don't do this.

I'll resign, okay?

Right now, this afternoon.

And I'll pay back every penny that I took. I promise.

Just don't go public with it.

You won't be just destroying me. You'll be destroying my family.

Don't try to make me sound like the criminal here.

This isn't about what I did, is it, damn it?

This is about you and all the publicity you're going to get. You're trying to

make a name for yourself.

What I did was wrong, but what you're doing is despicable.

Well, the people are going to think differently, Mr. Phillips.

And, of course, a little hot sauce. Just a bit.

Dad, that'll blow me up, huh? No, it won't blow you up.

You'll sizzle a little with this.

That'll be tasty.

Is that going to be too hot for me? No, no, no. Are you sure, Dad?

Delicious.

Arthur.

What? Come this way, Arthur.

Carla Myers accused this man, Arthur Phillips, of embezzling close to $100

in the course of his three -year term as assistant commissioner of

transportation.

Well, there goes the neighborhood.

Ms. Myers made the accusation at a press conference held this morning at her

office at the city council.

During my bid for election, I promised to rid... governments of waste and

corruption for years, grafts and payoffs for the normal course of business.

The people of this city are victims of violence, racism, and I vow to bring

to an end. And I am keeping that thought.

Moreover, this is only the beginning.

I fully intend to keep seeking out such abuses of power.

Yeah, the warrant's on its way.

Right. As soon as you do, call me.

Don't you ever take weekends off?

Look who's talking.

Show for underprivileged kids at the community center.

Lieutenant Davies asked me to do my clown routine.

So what's so important that I had to miss my curtain call?

Carla Myers was found dead in her home this morning.

No, I just saw her on the news.

Strangled. Her mother found her.

Her watch and a bunch of other jewelry is missing, so it may have been a simple

burglary gone south, or... Maybe it was that fellow that she accused of

embezzlement. Maybe he went bonkers. What was his name again? Arthur

Detective Garrison's on his way over there with a search warrant.

This one's yours, Michael.

High profile.

Heat from all sides. It's right up your alley.

Make me look good.

Always do.

A garrison note or report to me?

I'll tell him when he calls from Phillips.

So I have time to change?

Please.

arresting him. Yeah.

Ben, Ben, Ben, you gotta help me.

They think I killed Carla Meyer.

In the car, please. They found some watch in my garage.

Jim Garrison, right?

That's right.

What's going on?

The watch we found belonged to the victim.

Her mother just ID'd it.

I don't know how it got there, I swear.

In the car, come on.

Watch your head.

Ben, please help me.

You did borrow his hedge clippers last month.

Yeah, but they're old and rusty and dull.

I was going to take them back.

I want him in court, and I want him on the stand. You got that?

It ain't locked.

Well, then, find him, because let me tell you something, Bob. If he's a no

-show, he doesn't go on my list. You do.

You want to be on my list?

Okay. Now, you do that.

Wonder of wonders, it's Ben Matlock.

Michael Brennan, pleased to meet you. Sit down, sit down.

You sure this is a good time?

Public defender.

Makes him feel all self -righteous when I yell at him like that. Gets him right

up off his duck. Just an act, huh?

I hear you're something of a showman yourself.

I don't know.

I don't have anything like this in my office.

I love theatrical things. They remind me that people aren't always what they

seem.

You from New York?

Chicago. How'd you wind up here?

I'm an old friend of Jerry Carlisle's.

When he heard about... When he heard that I was thinking about moving, he

suggested I come down here and work for him.

What'd you do up there?

I was a defense attorney, just like you.

You know what?

I used to be an assistant DA, just like you.

How about that?

Yeah, I understand you're prosecuting the Arthur Phillips case.

Does that mean you're representing him?

He's a friend, lives across the street.

I'm always borrowing his tools and stuff.

He never locks his garage.

Anybody could have planted that watch there.

Yeah, maybe.

But I'm betting that Phillips put that watch in that toolbox, Ben, on his way

from his car to the door into the house. It was in his path.

You hungry? I'm hungry. You like hot dogs?

Yeah.

Well, let's do lunch.

You cook here?

Yeah, I sleep in here, too, sometimes. The bed pulls out.

How's your wife like that?

My wife's dead.

So is mine.

You know, Ben...

Forensics found Philip's fingerprints all over the Myers house.

Are you aware of that?

Yeah, he went over there the night before the murder to try to talk her out

that press conference.

Anybody see him there?

Well, no.

Can anybody vouch for his whereabouts on the day of the murder?

Could you get that flame for me?

Thanks.

He was in his car.

He drove around all day and half the night because he was too ashamed to see

her. No, he wasn't. Ben, he was mad as hell.

So he broke into her house, strangled her, tried to make it look like a

by ransacking the house and stealing her watch. And then he hid the watch in

his garage, intending to dispose of it later.

Only way to chop onions.

Okay, here's how you make your authentic Chicago -style hot dogs.

You get your Vienna natural casing hot dogs.

You get your Mary Ann's.

Your what?

Your buns.

Your Mary Ann's.

I had them shipped in from Chicago.

You get your buns, you get your onions, but the most important thing that you

get is your tiny hot

pork pepper.

Well, good.

I tell you the truth, I believe that's the best hot dog I ever had.

Huh. We're so much alike, it's scary, Ben.

You could be my evil twin.

How many cases have you lost?

A few here and there.

How about you?

As a prosecutor?

None.

Let me ask you something.

Doesn't it bother you...

That Arthur's fingerprints were found all over the scene of the crime, but

on the watch. I mean, why would he wipe the watch clean and nothing else?

I don't know.

Maybe he wasn't thinking straight because he had just committed murder.

Brennan.

I'll be right there.

The police have been talking to a guy who drives a bus past Carla Meyer's

every day.

You might want to come with me.

Second guy from the left.

That's him.

You sure?

Yeah. That's the guy I saw running out of that lady's house the day she got

murdered.

I'm positive.

And then I saw him run around the side of the house toward the street.

Now, why would you remember something like that?

I mean, haven't you ever seen a guy running before?

Not a guy his age and not dressed like he was.

I also remember because I thought he was going to run out in front of me. But he

didn't. He turned and went running down the sidewalk in the other direction.

And that was at what time?

6 .18.

6. Eighteen? Are you telling me that at that exact moment you just happened to

look at your watch?

No, of course not. I remembered what time it was, or just about what time it

was, because I was three blocks away from my 620 stop at Vine and Watson.

And I was running right on schedule, just as usual.

And you're positive the guy that you saw was the guy you picked out of the

lineup? Absolutely.

Oh, come on, Mr. White, you're a bus driver.

Since when is having a photographic memory in a job description for bus

I was robbed at gunpoint last year by somebody who got away with it because I

couldn't remember his face.

Believe me, since then I have made it a point to remember everybody's face, and

I am sure that's who I saw.

Good.

Very good.

Any questions, Counselor?

No, I think you've about hit on everything.

Thank you, Mr. White. I'll be in touch.

Well, you don't need my help on this one.

You got new carpeting?

Mm -hmm, yeah. I never got new carpeting when this was my office.

How come you got new carpeting? I made Griswold over in Buildings and Grounds a

hot dog one night.

Next day, new carpeting.

He's something, huh, Ben?

I'm telling you, I wasn't there. He couldn't have possibly seen me.

All right. The man's lying, Ben.

Mistaken, maybe. I don't know about lying.

What's the difference? Because of him, I don't have a prayer now, do I?

Don't say it.

Just do something.

Please.

I didn't know anyone else was here. I hope I didn't startle you.

Michael Brennan, assistant district attorney.

Aha.

I'm Leanne McIntyre, Ben Matlock's daughter.

Ah.

So what are you doing here?

I always check out the crime scene.

Really? Uh -huh.

Gives me a feel for what happened.

What the killer did, what the victim did.

How the victim must have felt, especially that.

I never want to forget how the victim felt.

You know, people like your dad, they defend the accused, guilty or innocent.

I like to think I defend the victim, alive or dead.

I speak for her.

I fight for her.

I make sure she doesn't get forgotten.

Although, in this case, facts do speak for themselves.

One never knows.

I know.

What's that?

Well, it's not in the dictionary, and when I call the library, it's not

or French or anything.

New restaurant?

No, I checked with information. There's not a business or a store or a

restaurant of any kind under that name.

You know, it's written so sloppy.

Maybe it's S period voter.

My thoughts exactly.

Why don't you have a phone book and take a look?

Okay. What's in here?

That's my spaghetti sauce, and there's already everything in it, and it won't

blow me up.

Why didn't he make you sizzle? Oh, Dad.

I ran into Michael Brennan over at Carla Meyer's house today.

What was he doing there?

Well, he was just getting a feel for what happened.

I thought it was a little strange. So after I ran into him, I did a little

research.

His wife was killed during a carjacking in Chicago. Did you know that?

No. And the day after the funeral, he quit his practice, moved down here, took

the bar, and started prosecuting...

The bad guys with a vengeance.

Word is he takes every case very personally, and he hates to lose.

I do, too. I just think he's going to be tough.

Yeah.

What?

S .V. Oda.

Hmm?

State of Georgia versus Oda.

The law case.

Yeah.

Martin Oda.

It was that mobster who went on trial for conspiracy to commit murder last

Oh, yeah, that's the case where the key witness for the prosecution, what's his

name? Frank DeLong. DeLong, right.

He disappeared from the safe house where the feds had him stashed before he

could testify. The state had to drop his case, then Odo went free.

What would a city councilwoman care about that for?

Well, it was always rumored that somebody in the police department had a

DeLong's disappearance.

Maybe she was on the verge of finding out who.

Maybe that's why they killed her.

You know, there was something else about that case.

The assistant DA who prosecuted was so new to the job, I didn't know who he

Not Michael Brennan.

You got a minute?

Sure. I'd offer you a hot dog, but my burner's broken.

Oh, I'm still full from supper last night.

Leanne made spaghetti.

It's okay.

Didn't have much zing to it, but it's okay.

I understand you ran into each other yesterday.

Nice woman, intelligent, pretty. You must be very proud of her. Yes, I am.

You never had any kids, did you?

You've been checking up on me, Ben. Oh, no.

Not really.

I'll tell you what I have been checking up on.

The Oda case.

Remember that case?

Of course.

It was the first one I ever prosecuted.

You lie.

I did?

Yeah. You said you never lost a case.

It was trapped.

After we lost our star witness, there was no longer any case to lose.

Did you ever figure out how a fellow did long slipped away?

No.

But I assume your interest in the Oda case goes beyond catching me in a lie,

I right?

Well, Carla Myers had a file on that case.

Leanne found it this morning.

She had a transcript of the trial, discovery hearings, the depositions,

reports, works.

Any idea why?

I thought maybe you might have one.

Me? Well, since you prosecuted the case, it only makes sense that if she had a

question, she'd come to you.

Don't you think?

Well, she didn't.

That's odd.

That's odd, unless she... Unless what?

Never mind.

I don't like insinuations, Ben. I don't like implications.

This is my office. If you have something to say, say it.

I just wondered if she'd talk to you, that's all.

I won't take up any more of your time.

Thanks, Michael.

Don't mention it.

See you in court.

Word with you, please. I'll be quick. Mr. Brennan, I told you before and I'll

tell you again. I don't know where Frank is.

Have him give me a call.

Why don't you just leave him alone?

That's Frankie Long's wife. She owns that beauty shop.

He's angry. What do you think he's saying? My guess is Mr.

Renan wants to make sure that Frank DeLong lays very low.

Hard for me to believe that he had anything to do with DeLong's

What's he doing here?

Maybe a real big fish just took our bait.

Hello, I'm Cliff Lewis. I'm a lawyer. I'm investigating the murder of Carla

Myers. She lived next door. Oh, yes.

Terrible thing.

I did her yard. Really?

After I did this one and before I did that one.

Were you here last Tuesday?

Every Tuesday.

About the same time of day, late in the afternoon?

Sometimes very late, yes.

Let me ask you a question.

Well... What exactly did he see?

Nothing. That's the whole point.

The gardener was doing the lawn next to Carla Meyer's house, and he's prepared

to testify that nobody, not to mention Arthur Phillips, came running out of

house the day of the murder.

The bus driver's lying, Jerry.

Well, somebody sure is.

Now, what's more, it's looking to me like the Carla Meyer's murder had

to do with the Martin Oda case.

The Oda case?

Since Michael Brennan was the prosecutor on that one, we might very well be

looking at a conflict of interest here.

Michael, come upstairs for a few minutes, would you please?

God help you if this is some kind of trick, Ben.

Are you serious?

Is he serious?

Are you suggesting I killed Carla Myers?

I'm saying your star witness is lying and maybe you shouldn't be prosecuting

this case. That's all.

Man, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really care what you think.

Why were you with Frank DeLonge's wife yesterday?

You followed me?

You mean it's true?

Yeah.

I talked to her.

If this is for real, if you're really trying to pin this murder on me, hang it

up, because if you keep shaking this tree, you're not going to like what

out of it. Just trying to keep your breast to the facts, Jerry.

What you do with them is up to you.

What were you doing out at DeLong's?

That case has always bothered me.

And after Matlock came in yesterday, waving it in my face, it started

me even more.

So I went over and tried to get Mrs.

DeLong to tell me where Frank was and who helped him fly the coop.

Only she wouldn't talk.

Is there something you want to tell me, Michael?

No.

616 on the button. You do run a tight ship, don't you?

Oh, Mr. Brennan, well, what are you doing here? I'm going over to the Myers

house. I don't feel like driving.

Oh, forget it, Mr. Brennan.

Now, now, now, Al.

We city officials have to be above reproach.

Above reproach, am I right, Al?

That's right, Mr. Brennan.

of these passengers on the bus the day of the murder?

Uh, no, I don't think so.

Is something wrong?

No, not really.

Matlock has come up with someone who says nobody came running out of the

house at 618.

Don't worry about it. I'll prove he's a liar.

Miss Hoyt?

Didn't matter a lot. We met in the DA's office.

Your wife said you might be here. How about it?

Sure, help yourself.

Tough

day,

huh? Right there. Yeah, they're all tough.

Well, your wife sure is in a good mood.

She's all a -twitter about the roses you got her.

Three dozen, $180 plus tax, that's really something.

Yeah, well, so is my wife.

She deserves it. Miss?

Yes, sir. Just a minute.

She has no idea where you got the money. She figures maybe you got some kind of

bonus or something. Forgot to tell her about it.

Something like that.

Did Michael Brennan tell you about the gardener?

What gardener?

The one who was working in the yard next to Carla Meyer's house the day she was

murdered. He said nobody came out of that house running there otherwise, and

was there the whole time. Real good witness, too.

Mr. Brennan couldn't shake him when he took his deposition, and believe me, he

tried.

Um, the service here is a joke.

I'm going to go to the bar and get another beer. Can I get you anything?

No need to vacuum. Just get the wastebaskets, okay?

I don't do wastebaskets.

Burner fixed?

Yeah, but the kitchen's closed.

Al White's got your phone number in his little black book.

Excuse me?

The bus driver has this phone number in his address book. No name.

I guess he doesn't want people to find out that you and he are close personal

friends.

I didn't give him my phone number.

I saw it with my own eyes, which pretty much confirms what I've been thinking

all along.

Which was what?

That you paid him to lie about seeing my client that day, so the real killer

could go free.

I think you should leave.

Who killed her anyway, the mob?

For all I know, you put that phone number in there.

Now, why don't you just get the hell out of here? Why don't you ask old Al where

he got that number? You can bet I will.

And you don't scare me?

I'm not trying to.

I'm saving that for Al.

That's the problem with people who know they're committing perjury. They scare

real easy.

When I get on with old Al, they're going to have to get him up off that stand

with a mop.

Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to hear evidence that is clear and

conclusive.

It will prove... Beyond the shadow of a doubt that that man over there, Arthur

Phillips, murdered Carla Myers.

His fingerprints were found at the scene.

The watch that she always wore was found in his garage.

A man saw him fleeing her house at the time of the murder.

You will also hear why Arthur Phillips murdered Carla Myers.

You will hear how she, as a public servant, looking out for the public

that very day exposed him as an embezzler.

You will hear how he, his life ruined, nothing to live for,

murdered her out of revenge, and then tried to make what he had done look like

burglary gone awry.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen.

You will hear all these things.

And you will weigh all these things.

And they will convince you that Arthur Phillips is guilty of murder.

The problem is, you'll be wrong.

Order!

Order!

Order!

Your Honor, I need to see you in chambers.

By all means.

Mr. Madlock, you too.

This court is in recess.

Jerry, good.

Have a seat.

And when you're good and comfortable, you can tell me what's going on.

What do you mean?

He didn't tell me to do that. My conscience did.

You as much as told that jury out there that you think the defendant is

innocent. What?

Oh, my 25 years on the bench. This is a first for me, Mr. Brennan.

Frankly, I'm not sure whether I should declare a mistrial or slap you with a

contempt citation.

Or both.

He's hoping for a mistrial, Your Honor.

Myself, I like that slapping part.

Shut up. Take it easy, Mr. Brennan.

What do you know about this?

I know that this case is somehow all tangled up with the Oda case.

Mr. Brennan knows that, too. He also knows that I'm going to keep looking

it as long as my client's on trial. He doesn't want that, so he's throwing this

trial.

That's a lie!

Your fair -haired boy needs a bath, Jerry. He's gotten real dirty.

All right, that's it!

You white trash!

What'd you call me?

And no, no... Nobody accuses me of being dirty if they shoot this way and weep.

All right, enough.

Everybody, sit down and shut up.

Now.

One more outburst like that, I'll throw the lot of you into jail.

Okay, where were we?

I've been looking into the Oda case, too, Your Honor.

Not for any devious personal reasons, but because I want the truth.

I also feel that there's some connection between this case and what happened to

Frank DeLong in the Oda case.

And that's the real reason that Carla Myers was murdered.

I contacted Mrs.

DeLong, and she in turn contacted Frank, and he's agreed to turn himself in to

the FBI.

When? Tonight!

She's going to pick him up and then drive him to FBI headquarters, where I

intend to interrogate him until he tells me who let him out of that safe house.

So what's the bottom line, Mr. Brennan?

I'd like you to declare a 48 -hour recess.

He's up to something, Your Honor. Dad?

The truth in that case will lead us to the truth in this case. I'm sure of it.

Hello, Jerry.

Right, drop it.

Okay, Phil.

Jerry, Jerry.

You were going to kill Frank DeLonge just like you killed Carla Myers.

You'll have a hard time proving that.

I don't know.

Now that we know that it's you, I think the police will be able to place you at

the Myers house.

You agree, Bobby?

Uh -huh. After that, it's only a matter of time before they can prove you were a

killer.

What happened to you?

You betrayed everything that you believed in.

The law, the people, your office, everything that I thought you cared

Why'd you do it, Jerry? The money?

Let's go.

Money mean that much to you?

Make sure you read them as rights, Bobby. I want everything by the book.

So that I can bury him fair and square.

The unnatural casing hot dog and Marianne buns.

Onions? Onions. How many?

Just many onions.

You caught two onions, Leanne.

Thank you, Father.

Okay, two onions, six dogs. That's a third of an onion per dog. Were they

medium, or large onions?

I don't know. They were onions.

I hate to interrupt the afternoon cooking show, but I have a question

case. How did you know it was Carlisle?

You didn't tell him? Well, I was sworn to secrecy. I couldn't tell anybody.

The bench saw my phone number and Al White's address book. You see, up until

three months ago, my office was Jerry's, and the phone number was never changed.

Oh, I see. That way you knew that he knew Al.

Yeah. And I realized he could have easily been the one who snuck DeLong out

that safe house.

So? I called Ben.

And we staged a scene in Judge Caldwell's chambers to trick him into

hat. And we found his account in the Bahamas yesterday.

350 ,000 big ones.

Come and get them!

Hold it. Don't forget these.

Tiny, hot, sport peppers.

To taste. Shiny, hot, sports peppers to taste.

By the way, Michael, your performance in the judges' chambers the other day was

excellent. Very believable.

Well, I think I was believable.

Well, actually, Dad, you were a little over the top.

I wasn't over the top. It's okay, Pop. You just tend to overdo things.

Well, cheers, everybody.

Well, wait, you've got to have a couple of these.

They're not too hot? No, they won't.

Chloe, huh?