Original subtitles

Oh, the sandbass are jumping right in the boat, Dad. You should have come with

me.

No, that's what those patches are for, so you don't get seasick.

What are you complaining about? Usually take half my catch anyway.

Yeah. Well, look, I'm going to stay out in the boat tonight, get in a couple

more hours at sunrise.

Hey, don't panic. I'll be there on time.

All right.

I'll see you then.

Bye.

You know what time it is?

Doesn't matter. We're covered for the whole night.

After midnight.

My birthday.

I'm 18.

Happy birthday.

It means I'm a woman.

Listen, you've been a woman for a long time.

That's nice.

What I mean is I'm an adult.

Publicly and legally.

Which means we can be too.

Alistair. You always said someday.

This is the perfect someday.

Listen.

The reasons for keeping quiet haven't changed.

They have after tonight.

We have every right to stand up together for the whole world to see.

Can you imagine what they'll say?

I'll drop out of stupid Princeton and we can be together all the time.

It's not like you're married or anything.

Ow, ow!

That hurts.

Sorry.

I'll be the perfect hostess for all your dinner parties.

All those balls, all those fancy clothes.

People will be green with envy. What a perfect couple we'll make.

It's my distinct pleasure and honor to be here today.

For nothing could please me more as I retire from the bench than to see my son

take my place and carry on the McReynolds family tradition.

To fight for dignity and honor.

To protect our country from lawlessness.

To uphold the constitutions of the United States and the state of

I'm grateful to my fellow justices for allowing me to administer the oath of

office for the state supreme court to my eldest son david

Nice sign.

Yeah, well, you should have been around when they were scraping the old one off.

Fingernails on the blackboard?

Yeah, more like a Bela Lugosi film. You had the body on the table, the

screeching noises in the hall.

Are you sure you want to be the assistant medical examiner?

Absolutely. I love it. Except for the paperwork.

Felt water in the girl's lungs, along with ammonium hydroxide, fetal alcohol,

sodium bicarbonate, mineral oil, dimethic... Okay, hair dye and bubble

And it's definitely a homicide?

Absolutely. The bruising on her shoulders indicates the killer held her

something like this. I get it.

Is she really Jeffrey Porter's daughter?

Oh, yeah.

Teenage daughter of media mogul dies in no -name motel.

These are the ones I live for.

Nice to know your life's so fulfilling.

Dad. Where are you going?

Well, my body's headed for ER. I don't know where the rest of me is going.

Stayed up late watching Red Tide. Oh, you should have seen it.

It looked like every wave was lit up from the inside.

I don't know why you were so enamored of something that kills fish.

It's a natural phenomenon.

Helps balance the ecosystem.

Well, if the ecosystem's in that much trouble, I got a rotten reel at home in

the closet.

What do you got?

I got a male, late 40s, known heroin user, hypertensive tachycardia from

probable drug overdose.

BP is 180 over 100.

Pulp, 130.

Hey, it looks like somebody cut his new supply with PCP or cocaine.

All right, let's get some restraints on him. Let's get a tox screen, blood

alcohol, CBC, lice, blood glucose, and a chest X -ray in case he's aspirated

anything. And start him on lactated ringers. Yes, doctor.

Anybody find his works?

Otis, can you hear me? Where is your works, Otis?

We can't help you if you don't tell us.

There you go. Pocket.

Great. Love digging through pockets.

Be careful.

What do we have here?

No,

I don't think so, Otis. Look at this.

I don't believe it. I don't either.

He could have bought enough junk for a year with this stuff. Why does he still

have it on him?

Because it was too hot to unload.

This is a custom -made Brutalecci match set belonging to Allison Porter.

You have good taste.

Stolen from the motel room where she was found murdered yesterday morning.

Uh -oh.

Place was clean. We hardly found any trace evidence. Just some random

fingerprints and a single earring.

Part of the set.

Congratulations, Dad.

Every cop in L .A. has been looking for this guy. Well, hang on a minute until

he's stabilized. He's not going anywhere.

Well, at least we got him.

Maybe the D .A. will quit paging me every 30 minutes.

Detective Sloan.

Good to see you.

Mr. District Attorney, I wanted to congratulate you personally on behalf of

friends, the porters, for your fine work.

Well, I didn't really... This is Judge David McReynolds, who feels the same

I know I speak for Helen and Jeffrey when I say how much we appreciate you

putting the scum that killed Allison behind bars.

Well, actually, I still have a couple of questions.

Like, um, why your daughter flew out here from Princeton without even telling

you she was coming.

It was her birthday the day she was killed, her 18th.

I didn't realize.

She was obviously trying to surprise her parents, spend the day with them.

Although I fail to see the relevance. This case is open and shut, isn't it?

We're just trying to be thorough, Your Honor. I understand that.

But you will allow that this is very important to me, both personally and

professionally.

I've known Allison Porter since the day she was born. She did not deserve to die

like that.

No, sir.

Now, what the junkie deserves, on the other hand, is to find out how swiftly

system of justice can deal with someone like him.

The sooner he's on death row, the better off our society will be.

This'll go smoothly, won't it, Detective?

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't.

Yeah, I stole that stuff. It's what I do.

But she was dead when I got there.

But who's going to believe a junkie even when he's telling the truth?

Otis, they might if you give them a good reason, but I haven't heard one yet.

Have you met this girl's parents?

No.

I can tell you how they are.

Lost. Angry.

Blaming everybody, including each other.

I, uh... I had a daughter.

She was 14.

We opened a trunk.

She and her mother were driving back from the movie.

the hospital.

Otis, I'm sorry.

No parent should have to go through that.

Allison Porter's parents are going through it right now, Otis. That's what

saying.

I saw him on TV.

Kill the junkie, he said. Scum like that deserve to die.

He's angry. He should be, but not at me.

eyes were like mine before I found a way to forget for a

little while.

You shouldn't forget, Otis.

Remembering keeps them alive.

I know.

I do remember.

Just like he does.

Dad, what are you doing here?

Otis called me. Oh, well, there's a good reason. He's helping me.

You were going to haul me off to jail when I was sick, but he said no.

First person to care about me in years.

Was sick what they're calling it these days? I didn't kill her!

Tell me something I didn't expect to hear.

I am not so sure Otis did it.

What are you getting at, Dad?

Look, if you're sitting in a tub and somebody walks right in on you, you're

going to jump up and try to fight them off.

Allison's body should have been bruised, and it's not, just her shoulders.

So the killer was behind her, which means it was someone she knew and

I kept wondering why she checked into a motel like that anyway.

Seems like Jeffrey Porter's daughter would have enough money or credit cards

hide out in the Ritz.

Unless she was meeting someone she didn't want her parents to know about.

And why did she have all the fancy clothing and custom -made jewelry with

And why was she coloring her hair?

I'll admit, it does raise a few questions.

It also raises a few reasonable doubts.

Her father's been all over the TV like a one -man lynch mob.

He's going to make it very difficult to impanel an unbiased jury.

You know, that's a good point.

I think I'll call Judge McReynolds Sr. Maybe he can get his son to ask Porter

ease up a little bit. Just for the sake of a fair trial.

Well, there goes my open and shut case.

Dr. Sloan, over here.

Judge McGregor, sorry I'm a little late. Don't worry. We got some sandbath left.

David?

Oh, caught him fresh Sunday night.

Well, I don't want to deprive you, gentlemen.

That's all right. My ulcer and I have had our limit. By the way, I'm late for

meeting. I better get these guys home.

Perhaps next time our schedules won't be so crowded. I'd like that, Judge.

Boy, you're not required to eat him, Dr. Sloan.

Good.

Is that a tushler you've got on?

Yes, it is. I'm impressed to recognize it. I love fine watches.

The precision and craftsmanship in those. You know, that's the best thing

can buy. One of my few indulgences. Oh, I wish it was one of mine.

But, you know, working around a hospital, they tend to get even more

than that.

Damn, I hadn't noticed. Yeah, that's a shame. How'd that happen?

Probably refinishing the deck last week. That teak stain is tough to get out.

Oh, man.

Oh, boy.

That is a beautiful boat, I must say.

Thank you.

Your other indulgence?

No, it's a necessity.

Take a look around, Doctor.

Well, it's pretty nice here.

Yeah, under the casual observer, perhaps. But take a closer look.

There's an armed guard in the parking lot. We've got a security gate at the

dock. We didn't need either one 20 years ago.

Oh, it's sure a more complicated world these days.

And a lot less civilized.

We've bent the laws so much that...

Common decency has become an endangered species.

That's why I like going out on the ocean.

Still obeys the natural laws in a way that man has ceased to do.

So that's why the boat's a necessity.

Well, I don't go out to forget about armed guards and security gates as much

I do to regain the strength I need to deal with people who force us to live

this. You know something?

You sound just exactly like your dad.

Pretty good model, huh? I'd say.

He tells me you're a little concerned with Jeffrey Porter's behavior.

Yeah. It isn't that I don't understand how he feels, losing a daughter like

that. But he is getting a little carried away, I agree.

Just a little. I'll talk to him. His being so vocal about this trial could be

detrimental, and he doesn't need that, because thankfully this is open and

Good. Good.

So you didn't find anything, right?

A lot of dead fish.

Good. And a lot more questions.

Not good.

David McReynolds is hiding something, and I don't know what.

But I know one thing for certain. Otis didn't kill Allison Porter.

Mrs.

Porter, I just want to ask you a few questions.

Why would the medical examiner want to know about Allison?

I'm just trying to help the police get a better picture of what happened to your

daughter. We know what happened.

We think we know what happened.

She was lovely.

You must have been very proud of her.

Sometimes.

You know how children can be.

Willful and headstrong.

Don't always know what's best for them.

I think she was afraid to leave home.

Princeton was too far away.

But fortunately, David McReynolds convinced her it would be a wonderful

opportunity.

David's been a very good friend for a long time.

She wasn't coming out here to surprise you for her birthday, was she?

Of course she was.

That was just like her.

No, it wasn't.

You know perfectly well she was seeing somebody she didn't want you to know

about.

She didn't open up to me much once she got older.

Not ever, really.

I don't know why.

But, you know, she called me last week from school.

She told me there was somebody special, somebody her father wouldn't approve of.

And she wanted me to know.

She was happy.

And she told me she would tell me all about it very soon, she said.

Judge McReynolds, hi.

Hey, Dr.

Sloan. You startled me. Oh, I'm sorry.

I'm loading up, I see, huh? Yeah. Going for albacore? I understand they're

running pretty far offshore.

No, actually, I'm going out for more sandbaths. Oh, let me help you.

Thanks.

Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but is there a reason for this visit? Yeah,

actually, there is. I was a little worried that you and your dad might have

gotten sick from that sandbath the other day.

Whatever for?

Well, there was a red tide running on Sunday night, and, you know, they say...

It locks automatically. I've got to reenter my code to get it open.

Sorry, I didn't know.

All right, just put your bag down. I'll take the rest of the stuff down myself.

Okay.

So anyway, you know, fish caught during a red tide can be a little bit toxic,

and I thought I'd better check.

Good system.

Oh, I should have left that open. That's all right.

So neither one of you got sick, I understand, huh? No, no reason we should

I was fishing out beyond the red tide.

Oh, of course.

Anyone who fishes the bay knows to be careful about that.

My son says I worry about people too much.

Occupational hazard, I guess.

No problem.

You know, that pink stain has so many harsh chemicals in it, it can do damage

skin as well as a watchman.

You don't have to worry there either.

Turpentine cleaned up the skin. I got a whole new watch band. Oh, that's great.

Beautiful watch like that. You know, I... You know, that could get annoying.

No kidding.

You were wondering?

Oh, yeah. I was wondering about the price.

You know, your band probably costs more than my watch.

Of course, those $20 issues I use last forever.

But frankly, if I had a toy store, I think I'd be worried about it. Well,

about it for the supplies. I really appreciate your help, Doctor.

Look at that.

Car vacuum cord, right?

Certainly does look like it. I love these. You know, I have one of these.

on a battery or the cord.

It plugs right into the cigarette lighter there.

It's very handy.

You know what I love about these is when you're out on the road, because you'll

never know who's been in a motel room before you.

Unfortunately, that's all that's left of my car vacuum. The rest of it

disappeared years ago.

Oh. Things so frayed, it's probably dangerous.

Well, you're right, bitter. Satan is sorry, I guess.

I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for your help, Doctor.

Bye.

Bye -bye now. Bye.

No, Mom, when DJ says pain, he means flame, not owie.

No, those are two different concepts, I think.

No, I'm sure that he was just excited about spending last weekend with his

that's all.

No, I'm glad you called, Mom. It's no, no, it's no bother.

I love you, too.

Okay, give him a big hug from me. Right.

Love you. Bye.

Oh, so how's the divorce treating you?

Was I married?

I swear the left side of my bed has always been devoted to kids and dogs.

Well, at least you got your mom to help you out now.

Yeah, but she and C .J. and the dogs stay up all night watching Letterman. I

don't get any sleep.

The dog won't just learn.

Hey, guys.

Hey. All right.

Ed, your hunch was right. The security system at the marina keeps a log of

passcode that's entered at the gate and the time it's entered.

What about David McReynolds?

According to the records, he punched out at 6 .04 Monday morning, six hours

after Allison Porter was killed.

What time did he punch in to go to the boat? He didn't.

Maybe somebody let him in as they were leaving, so he didn't have to. No way.

McReynolds' office says he called him his car for him about 9 p .m. Said he

almost at the marina. But there are no codes entered at all after 8 .30.

I'll bet he jumped the fence. That's the only other way to get in there.

So people would think he was on the water all night while someone killed

Allison. He didn't catch any fish that night.

How do you know?

Well, when I met him and his dad at the marina, they were grilling some sand

bass, which he claimed to have caught the night of the murder. But there was a

red tide running that.

You talked to McReynolds about it? Yeah. He said they were fishing out beyond

the tide.

That doesn't make sense, because sandbass hug the shore.

I got this cousin Rodney owns a bait shop.

Why would David McReynolds want to kill Allison Porter?

You know, Helen said that Allison was very excited about someone and that she

was going to tell her all about it very soon.

What if she was meeting David McReynolds at that motel that night?

You know, that Monday, Allison turned 18, and that same day...

McReynolds was being sworn into office.

They'd be legal. Or she'd be legal. And that's why she brought all her fancy

stuff. Yeah, so she could attend the swearing -in ceremony and make their

relationship public.

And destroy McReynolds' career.

Don't tell me something else is bothering you, Dad.

Well, the other day I noticed he had a dark stain on his watch band.

They said he got it from refinishing the teak on his boat, but I looked. The

trim on that teak was light.

You said the stain was dark.

About the same color Allison was doing her hair.

Well, he could have gotten the stain when he pushed her under the water.

And then he cleaned up that motel room with a car vacuum.

What car vacuum?

I found a car vacuum cord in the trunk.

Of course, it's probably in the bottom of the bay now, along with the car

and the watch band.

There's enough to bring him in for questioning.

This is going to get ugly.

I'm Judge McReynolds. It's Detective Steve Sloan.

Are you here?

This man has been a state Supreme Court justice less than a week.

This is a tragedy.

We needed more judges like him.

Consistent, forthright, honest.

Yeah, right.

Factors are kind of like them.

I just wish he'd gotten himself killed in Sacramento.

Okay, so what do we got?

Gunshot wound to the base of the skull.

Typical execution -style shooting.

And we can assume that 38 is the murder weapon?

Probably.

McReynolds has got guns all over the house.

My guess is the killer knew that.

He picked one, shot him, and wiped the prints.

Then left it here, knowing this was the only place we could trace it back to.

Just as effective as pitching it in the ocean.

And there's no sign of a break -in?

Either he didn't hear his killer walk up behind him, or he didn't think he had

anything to fear.

My guess would be the dinner guest.

So he knew this killer.

I'll have the M .E. run the stomach contents and get the lab to run tests on

the tableware and leftover food.

Sir, no one's allowed in. There's Peter McReynolds. Let me through.

Oh, God, no.

Your Honor, you shouldn't be here.

That's my son. Get out of there. Sir, please, there's nothing you can do. They

called. I came.

They didn't say why.

We found prints all over the place, but they're not doing as much good.

What, no ID of any kind?

No, it was McReynolds, his housekeeper.

Cook?

Well, those are the ones you'd expect anyway.

Yeah. We did get a couple of others. It was Judge McReynolds Sr. and a couple of

family friends, including Allison Porter's father.

Hey, well, that could be something.

Well, I doubt it. You know, those prints could have been there for weeks.

Great housekeeper.

We're running the rest through NCIC, but I'm not too optimistic.

David McReynolds was a criminal court judge.

He'd be very careful about who he let into his home.

Wasn't thirsty in any way.

What about Allison's personal effect?

I talked to her dean at Princeton. They've already sent her things back to

parents. I did get an inventory list from the school.

What are you looking for? I'm looking to see if she has a... There it is. A

diary. You know, she's like most young girls. She's told it everything.

Including who she met at the motel.

When did you say that her personal effects got to her parents' house?

I didn't. It was yesterday morning around 10 a .m. That would be less than

hours before McReynolds was shot to death.

I think it would be a good idea if we got this diary.

I'll take Amanda along with me. She seemed to connect with the mother. She

be able to get it more easily than I can.

All right. Thank you. This diary is private property.

We believe the motive for Allison's murder is in that diary.

The final entry, Saturday night.

Go ahead.

I'm so ready for this.

I knew so little when I was 15.

But David taught me things I only told you.

And now, Carpe Diem, I go home tomorrow to seize my destiny at David's side.

Where I belong.

Started three years ago.

How long have you known?

Since yesterday, when I read the diary, Helen was right. I didn't know my

daughter.

I wanted to know how she thought about things.

So when you found out it was McReynolds, you went to his house? As any father

would.

Tell them the truth.

You were worried about yourself, not about Allison.

That's all you've ever worried about.

Whether we would embarrass you.

Whether... David would impregnate you.

What happened at McReynolds' house?

We had a private conversation.

The man had been sexually molesting your daughter for years.

I know I'd want to kill him.

You don't get to my position by indulging personal desires.

No matter how deeply felt.

So McReynolds survived your private conversation, then what?

I did what I always do when I'm angry.

Drove along Pacific Coast Highway for a few hours.

Alone.

Anyone see you?

If they did, I'm sure you'll find them.

We will.

I checked on McReynolds' phone records the day he was killed. It was his

two state Supreme Court justices, and his car repair.

Last call he made was to his father three hours before he was killed.

You know, I'm beginning to wonder if we're maybe not climbing up the wrong

here. Barking? Barking at the wrong tree.

It could be that this doesn't have anything to do with Alice's murder at

Hey, guys.

Amanda wanted me to bring you David McReynolds' autopsy report.

So where is she?

Hacking some guy into little pieces.

Did she tell you if she found anything?

Nah, nothing remarkable.

Although she did find pancreolipase in his gastric system.

Synthetic pancreatic enzyme.

Yeah, she talked to his doctor. It turns out that he's had pancreatic

insufficiency his entire life.

Well, what do you know?

Hey, you also got a call from Otis' public defender.

She says that Porter has gone ballistic again.

Says that he's pressuring the DA into pressuring her into pressuring Otis into

copying a plea.

Forgotten about poor Otis. You know, he practically got lost in this whole

thing. Seems to be the way his luck runs.

You know, we may just be able to change that.

Your Honor, your son's phone records show that you were the last person he

called. Did he say anything about who he was having dinner with that night?

I don't believe he did. No, I'm sure he didn't.

What did you talk about?

Not much.

A case that was under review.

We didn't talk for long.

Certainly not long enough.

Did he have?

Enemies who might have wanted him dead?

Any jurist of quality has enemies.

Ones he let into his home and turned his back on?

You found fingerprints?

You have a suspect?

No, nothing yet. I'm sorry, Your Honor. We're still checking.

There's one other thing, Your Honor.

It's about the Allison Porter case.

Didn't you arrest someone for that?

Yes, but I've got pretty compelling evidence that Otis didn't do it.

For heaven's sakes, let him out and arrest the one who did.

Wish it was that easy.

The truth is, I think your son killed Allison Porter.

What?

We know he'd been having a sexual relationship with her since she was 15.

Oh, my God.

We also know he lied about where he was that night.

We think she wanted to go public with the relationship and...

He killed her to save his reputation and his career.

I trust you have proof of these allegations.

It's all in there.

It's mostly hearsay, but in a normal case, it'd be enough to clear Otis, the

we arrested.

But this isn't a normal case.

No, it's not.

And since it involves Jeffrey Porter's daughter, I'm afraid it's going to take

someone with a little more influence than a police detective to convince the

Someone like me.

That's what Dad and I were hoping.

All right, I got it. Thanks.

I hope you turned up something, because I'll tell you, I don't know where to go

next. Well, you're going to love this.

The gun we thought was the murder weapon was the murder weapon.

Well, you'd think David McGrath was killed with his own gun.

But it didn't belong to him.

It's registered to Helen Porter.

Allison's mother?

I didn't do anything.

Then why was the gun that killed David Reynolds registered to you? I don't

Maybe your husband took it.

Stop it.

Or maybe you took it.

Maybe you're the one that killed your daughter's molester.

I didn't.

You don't understand.

I couldn't.

What do you mean you couldn't?

Because you and McReynolds were lovers.

No.

But you had been.

It came and went 20 years ago.

David always did like his women young.

But you never suspected that your own daughter would be one of them.

David and Jeffrey had been friends since college.

David introduced us.

It was his way of ending our relationship.

No, I never suspected anything.

But you did go to his home intending to kill him, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

But I couldn't do it.

After all he did, I still couldn't pull the trigger.

the gun out of my hand and he looked me in the eye and he told

me he loved her what

time did you leave mcreynolds about

five o 'clock i was at mallory's

coffee in brentwood

until they closed at 11.

If I killed him, why would I leave behind my own gun?

You might have if you were proud of what you'd done.

Maybe I would have been.

God knows I'm ashamed of my cowardice.

How did you know she and David MacReynolds were lovers?

It was the way she said his name the first time we were here.

Actually, I didn't know.

Good guess, huh?

You get more like that every day.

Now, don't you give up. We haven't.

All right.

That was Otis. The public defender says you've got 24 hours to take involuntary

manslaughter or the DA's going to go for the death penalty. So Jeffrey Porter's

at it again, huh? Oh, that man likes to get his own way.

Well, he can't get his daughter back. He's taken all his grief out on Otis.

we still don't know that he didn't take his grief out on David McReynolds, too.

Guys, I just got the report back on the silverware and the leftover food from

McReynolds' dining room. Find anything?

Yeah, they found some kind of a gelatin and powder mixed together with spilt

wine on his tablecloth. And get this.

It was enteric pancreas lipase.

You sure?

Take a look for yourself.

Why is that surprising?

I mean, people who have pancreatitis usually line up their capsules on a

or am I wrong? No, you're absolutely right. They have to take the missing

pancreatic enzyme while they're eating so their bodies can absorb the nutrients

from their food.

So some wine spilled on one and melted it.

But this is an enteric formula.

What a man had found in McReynolds' stomach had much less MLA's. That's two

different medications for two very different people. You wouldn't mix them.

then what are the odds of two people with pancreatic insufficiency having

together? Not so good.

You know what this means, don't you?

I know exactly what it means.

You want me to convince the world that my son was a monster?

You ask too much.

This isn't for me. This is for Otis.

Oh, yes, yes. The innocent junkie.

Your Honor, your entire judicial career has been dedicated to upholding the law,

no matter how painful it is sometimes.

Your point, Doctor.

Judge, someone's going to go to prison for something they didn't do.

I don't think you're the kind of judge or the kind of man who's going to allow

that to happen.

With all due respect, Your Honor, Otis' fingerprints were found at the scene and

the victim's jewelry was found in his pocket.

I admit the evidence is damaging, but I believe you've allowed yourself to

become involved with the emotions surrounding the death of a young girl.

I'm just having trouble believing your son could commit a murder.

That's not a question of belief, Ferris, but of fact.

My son was a disgrace to his judicial roles.

He committed murder and perpetrated the injustice of keeping it a secret.

That's not what the McReynolds family has stood for.

I refuse to accept that legacy.

My children and I can live with the truth.

We cannot live with the knowledge that an innocent has been made to suffer.

Otis is hardly an innocent.

I made that argument myself.

Of being a thief and an addict, which he admits he is, does not mean he's a

killer.

That unfortunate distinction belongs to my son.

This evidence only corroborates what he confessed to me on the phone the night

he was killed.

Release this man, Mr. Ferris, in the name of justice.

All right, Your Honor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Dr. Sloan, come in.

Your Honor, I'm sorry to bother you, but I did want to drop by and thank you for

what you did for Otis.

No thanks are necessary.

It was a wrong that had to be righted. I'm glad you brought it to my attention.

You know, I felt a little bit foolish.

I mean, I came in here with all that evidence and this big...

impassioned plea, and you knew the truth all along.

I apologize for the bit of deception, but I'm sure you understand how hard it

was for me to accept the fact that David killed that girl, much less admit it to

anyone else.

About as hard as it is for me to accept the fact that you murdered your own son.

Why would you think a thing like that?

A genetic defect, Judge.

The medical examiner found enteric pancreas residue on the tablecloth in

son's... Dining room.

But a different formulation showed up in his stomach on the autopsy.

He had pancreatic insufficiency.

And so do you.

But you have a gastric ulcer, which is why your medication is different than

his. I see.

Pancreatic insufficiency is so rare that in this instance it indicates only one

thing. A familial pancreatitis.

You and your son shared more than a moral code.

All right.

I had dinner with David that night.

Why does that mean I killed him?

Because he broke that code.

Allison Porter's mother was going to expose him.

He called you for advice, and you were appalled by what you heard.

So when you went into the study to get another capsule from your code, you saw

that gun on the desk.

You decided to end the whole nightmare right then and there.

What I did was administer justice.

By murdering your own son?

I had the Bible in my hand, and I swore him into office.

I gave him the power of the law, and he abused it.

Every day he wore those robes would be a mockery of the court of justice.

Only I could undo what I had wrought.

What makes you better than your son?

I have a conscience.

You have to go to the authorities.

I am the authorities.

And you have no proof of any of this.

All you have is supposition.

No one's going to believe you over me.

Good day, Dr. Sloan.

But I didn't kill him. I already told you what happened.

If you wish to give us the right to have an attorney present... She most

assuredly does not wish to give up that right. Don't say any more, Helen. She

doesn't need to, Porter.

She's already given us enough for a conviction.

What do you have?

Well, for one thing, she admits to going to your son's house that night.

Well, it doesn't mean anything.

I went there, too.

But she took a gun.

And it was registered in her name.

The murder weapon belongs to Helen?

Yes, sir.

But I wasn't there when he was killed.

I was at Mallory's Coffee.

We checked that out.

They had a fire in the kitchen. They were closed that night.

I was scared.

I couldn't think of what to tell them. I'm in there all the time. I was sure

someone would think they saw me.

I didn't do it.

Please believe me.

You haven't got anything, Ferris. It's all circumstantial.

I've gotten convictions with less.

She had as much right to be angry at McReynolds as I was. More.

They were lovers.

It was over years ago.

It didn't matter anymore.

We think it did.

McReynolds betrayed you once when he gave you to him.

And he betrayed you again with your own daughter.

I can't think of a better motive to commit murder.

Please help me, Jeffrey, for once. Please.

No jury on earth will convict a mother for killing a piece of filth like David

McReynolds. But I didn't do it.

Oh, they'll convict her, all right.

Maybe not for murder one, but she will spend time in prison.

Take her down for processing.

No.

No.

I killed David.

What?

I said I killed David.

Your Honor.

I'm sorry, Helen. I thought the gun belonged to David.

I would never hurt you.

You've been through enough already.

You can release her now.

You could go to your office in private, if you'd be so kind.

Certainly, Your Honor.

A very neat trick, Doctor.

They did have enough evidence to charge her.

Just as they did with Otis.

I knew that McGrandall's code of honor would never let her suffer for something

she didn't do. Any more know it, Otis.

That's something you can still be very proud of, Peter.

Thank you for that.

Okay.

You know, Jesse's cousin says we're going to be hauling in albacore all

with these new jigs. Well, if we're off the dock, say, in an hour, we'll be out

there by mid -afternoon. Perfect timing, eh?

Sun, breathe, no phones, no pagers.

You turned yours off, didn't you?

Absolutely.

Jesse's cousin says they're also going to take some live sardines. Maybe we

better stop and get some.

You know, I don't like using live bait. It's smelly.

Yeah, it doesn't go too good with sunscreen lotion.

Yeah, it makes you sick at your stomach.

Yeah, especially if the swells are bad.

You know what else nauseates me?

Sunburn. Yeah.

Especially on salt water.

Yeah, makes you sick.

You know, football's on at noon.

I think there's a couple of root beers in the fridge.

We've got time to run down to the Sea Island Inn for some ahi sandwiches.

I like ahi better than albacore anyway.