Original subtitles

Oh, Kevin.

Hi, Clark.

What happened to you?

You were due back yesterday.

Well, I got hung up there overnight

with Mark and a couple of his programmers.

So how did you do?

They like their program.

Oh, great.

With a couple of modifications, I think they'll go for it.

Kevin, we've gotta talk.

Look, I'm up to my neck in paperwork.

Why don't you fill me in over dinner?

I can't make it tonight.

I promised Diane we'd have dinner together at home.

Kevin, I've gotta know what kind of modifications

we're talking about here.

Clark, I haven't seen her in over a week.

She's my wife. I'd like to keep it that way.

Kevin... Let's have breakfast.

You know I don't eat breakfast.

That's right,

and you remember our mother warned you

that if you didn't,

you wouldn't grow up big and strong like me.

Hello?

Hi, sweetheart.

I'm back.

Hi.

How was your trip?

Great. It was great.

But there's a couple of things I've gotta go over

with Clark right away,

and I'm afraid I won't be able to make it home for dinner.

Oh, no.

I've got everything started already.

Well, uh,

it'll keep until tomorrow night, won't it?

Not really.

Well, I'm sorry, darling. Believe me.

The reason I'm working so hard is for us.

You know that, don't you?

I just wanted you to come home to something special.

I am. You.

I love you.

I love you too.

Hello?

Yes, it is.

Yes, he's with his brother.

That's impossible.

Who is this?

Hello? Hello?

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Kevin?

Diane.

What are you doing here?

Someone called me and said you'd be here.

Some woman.

Really, Kevin, where are your manners?

Introduce us.

Let's just go outside... Kevin, what's going on?

I'm Elizabeth Benson. And you're...?

Diane Benson.

What a coincidence.

We all have the same last name.

Perhaps my husband could explain.

Darling?

Your husband?

He's my husband.

Yours too.

Really, Kevin.

An extramarital fling is one thing,

but an entire second wife?

Well, one lousy turn deserves another.

You did that.

Yes, I suppose I did.

Diane?

Diane?

Diane, where are you?

Oh. No, Kevin.

Stop. No, you've gotta let me explain to you.

Get out of my way. I...

I don't love her. I love you.

Kevin, I... Let go of me, please.

No, no. Please, Kevin.

I'm not gonna lose you, damn it.

Don't.

Stop!

Diane.

Who is it?

Diane.

Are you okay?

Not really.

Oh, oh, it's gonna be all right.

Come on in.

It's gonna be okay. Just come over here...

Oh, you don't have to do that.

Oh, I've gotta do something.

How do you feel?

I don't know.

I'm gonna go home.

Do you think that's a good idea?

Well, I... I gotta try to understand this.

Do you want me to come along for moral support?

That's okay. Let me follow you in my car.

I live here. I live here.

He said we'd have to have breakfast together

because he was having dinner with his wife.

I live here. Let me through.

What happened? Excuse me.

Mrs. Benson? Yes.

Lieutenant Herrmann, Atlanta Police.

What's going on, lieutenant? What happened?

I'm afraid your husband's dead.

It appears that someone hit him with that vase,

causing him to fall and fracture his skull

on the corner of that table.

No. He was alive when I left him.

We struggled, I-I guess I hit him with that vase,

but he fell right there and he was alive.

You did what?

Maybe we'd better talk about this downtown.

Uh, first she's going to talk to her lawyer.

Hi. Sorry I'm late.

What are you doing?

I'm trying to type this brief.

It has to be filed by noon.

Typing's not one of my best things.

This correction fluid runs.

Oh, I'll do it.

I'll have it typed and filed in an hour.

Okay.

Where were you this morning, anyway?

Oh, my car.

Some hose came loose under the hood

and squirted oil everywhere.

I had to be towed.

I had to go home and change my suit.

Well, I was trying to get ahold of you.

What'd you want?

A friend of mine, Diane Jonas...

Or Diane Benson, she just got married.

The police have charged her with murdering her husband.

I finally got ahold of Michelle.

She got her out? Yeah.

Her husband was a bigamist.

A bigamist?

Mm. Neither of the wives knew anything about each other.

How long had this friend of yours been married to him?

Five months.

How long had he been married to the other one?

Don't know.

I'll tell you what,

when you finish typing that brief,

I'll take it over to the courthouse.

Oh, okay.

Mark Herrmann had a birthday last week.

Oh, yeah? Yeah.

I want to ask him how he feels about that.

A bigamist, huh?

Hi, Ben.

Oh, hi, Michelle.

Cassie says you signed up a friend.

Yeah. What's her name?

Diane Benson. Yeah.

It's not gonna be easy.

Her fingerprints were all over the vase she struck him with.

They had a loud, public argument.

He was two-timing her in a big way.

And the next-door neighbor said that Diane was the only one seen

entering and leaving the house that night.

Yeah. That's what Mark says.

Who? I was in talking

with Mark Herrmann about his birthday.

Oh...

I wonder how a fellow keeps something like that a secret.

A second wife? Yeah.

Beats me.

I guess there were times he had to look busy.

Yeah.

I really wonder how he did it, though.

I mean, how'd he keep everything straight?

You know, phone calls, bills,

and which one liked roses,

which one liked daffodils?

Which one meat, which one fish?

Hell, how did he keep their names straight?

I don't know, but I believe she's innocent.

Well, that's a start.

You know, sometimes it bothers me,

living alone with no woman.

But I'm damned if I'm gonna live with two of them.

Oh, dear.

Are you all right?

Is this Kevin's briefcase?

Yes.

Then why didn't the police take it?

I don't know.

Do you know the combination?

Nine, one, three. His birthday.

Your husband went on these out of town trips each week?

Yes.

Did he leave you a number where he could be reached?

No, uh, he always called me at 8 in the morning

or 8 in the evening, always without fail.

He never told you where he was staying?

No, and I-I never asked.

When he was home, did you go out very often?

No. We hardly went out at all.

Diane, what did...? He used to say

there's nothing he liked better

than coming home to a meal I cooked.

He seemed so happy with our life.

Mm.

How'd it go today?

All I could think about was coming home.

I love you.

I made a pot roast.

I love your pot roast.

Excuse me.

It's gonna take some time.

Yeah.

Well, there's nothing interesting in the briefcase.

Hi. Hi.

Hi. MATLOCK: Hi.

That her? CASSIE: Yeah.

Pretty.

You don't think she did it.

I really don't.

Have you talked, uh,

with the other Mrs. Benson?

What was it, the first one?

Not yet.

I was thinking, I don't suppose you could...?

Well, uh, I've got that Jenkins matter.

You could get a continuance.

Oh, well, we all work out of the same office.

You both do favors for me all the time.

It's a turnabout.

Fair play. Right. Thanks.

Yeah.

Where is the other, um, uh, Mrs. Benson?

Um, she's staying downtown at the Alexander Hotel,

and I'm going over to Kevin's office.

I'll see you later. Yeah, uh, me too.

I'll see you later. So... So long. Ahem.

Two of 'em, huh?

H-How do you suppose he...?

I'm gonna go talk to your neighbor.

You be okay for a few minutes?

Mm-hm.

You're not allergic to cats, are you?

No. Why?

You'd think cats were

disposable bottles or something,

the way people toss them out in the street.

It's criminal. It's just criminal.

They should be shot.

The people, not the cats.

Sit down, please.

Mrs. Berino, um, you told the police

that Diane Benson was the only person

other than her husband who entered their home last night.

That's right.

Well, no offense,

but do you always watch what goes on at your neighbor's home?

I watch TV.

At least I try to.

Frankly, what goes on outside my window

is much more interesting.

The police have established

that Mr. Benson was murdered at around 9:30.

Now, Mrs. Berino,

isn't it possible that you stepped out of the room,

or maybe you dozed off around that time?

Absolutely not.

I was sitting right here in this chair petting Louise,

sitting in that chair the whole time.

At least I think it was Louise.

M-Mrs. Benson? I'm Ben Matlock.

I work with Michelle Thomas.

She's the attorney for Diane Benson.

Hm. Could I, uh...?

Certainly.

Thank you.

Oh, packing, huh?

I hate funerals.

Never know what to say to the grieving widow,

especially if I'm one of them.

Where's home?

Savannah.

That's where you and Kevin lived?

When he was around.

I understand there was nothing he liked better

than to come back from a trip

to a good home-cooked meal.

I wouldn't know about that.

Liz?

Darling, how was your trip?

All I could think about was coming home.

Did you know that

Kevin had an office here in Atlanta

and was in business with his brother?

As far as I knew,

Kevin was a one-man management consultant firm,

which he ran out of our home.

Kevin bought your home in Savannah?

About a year after we were married.

How could he maintain two separate lifestyles?

Kevin was good at handling money.

Kevin was good at a lot of things...

Well... not the least of which was lying.

When did you find out about the other wife?

Three days ago.

I pulled a muscle at my evening aerobics class,

so I came home early.

That's when I overheard Kevin on the phone.

So I did some checking and flew here to Atlanta

for our little surprise party, you might say.

Oh, you made that anonymous call to Diane.

Of course.

It wouldn't have been a party without her.

It must've been quite a scene.

That was the idea.

Of course, uh, another way of looking at it

was, uh, trying to point the finger

or put the, you know, spotlight on Diane

so that the, uh, killer

could kind of slink out of town.

You think I killed Kevin?

Can you prove where you were at 9:30 last night?

No.

But then again, I don't have to, do I?

Mrs. Benson, you've been, um,

very cooperative.

You never...? No.

Never suspected.

I was satisfied.

As I said,

Kevin was good at a lot of things.

All right.

May I help you?

Oh, hi. You must be Clark Benson.

I'm Michelle Thomas.

I'm representing your sister-in-law.

Your secretary told me I could wait for you in here.

I see you're clearing out Kevin's office.

I have to.

Without him, I can't afford this space.

Hell, without him,

I may not be able to keep the business.

Your brother was very good.

No. My brother was a genius.

See, he was the point man, always sniffing out new clients.

Me, well, I stayed behind, got the work done.

If I fell behind, he'd pitch in.

But the minute we got our heads above water,

he'd go out and: bang!

Three new clients.

Sounds profitable. We did all right.

Any man with two wives has to be doing better than all right.

Let's just say we had several very good years.

I loved my brother,

but I sure didn't know him as well as I thought I did.

You didn't know he had two wives?

No.

I can't excuse or forgive Diane for what happened,

but I think I can understand how she felt.

So, please, just tell her for me

that I'll send her Kevin's things,

but I don't want her coming here.

I never wanna see her again.

That may be difficult.

We may need you in court.

You'll be getting a subpoena.

Cassie, is that you?

Hey, whoa, whoa!

Put that down, okay?

You got me.

Who are you?

Judy Benson.

Benson?

That's right, hon.

Kevin's other wife.

Where is she? Kitchen.

Well.

Ben Matlock, Judy Benson.

Wife Number 3.

How do you do? Hello.

Coffee, Ben?

Oh, no. I'd better not.

How...? How long have you been married to Kevin?

Uh, three years.

Guess that makes me the senior member.

Judy is a showgirl

at a casino in Atlantic City.

Oh.

Uh, that's where she and Kevin lived.

Atlantic City?

Why is everybody so surprised?

Atlantic City was his kind of town.

He loved it. He thrived on it.

You know, the shows,

the gambling, the money, the action.

You mean Kevin wasn't in bed by 10 every night?

Honey, he'd be lucky if he got in bed by 10 in the morning.

He'd come home from one of his trips

and we'd celebrate for days.

Hi, doll. How'd it go at the track?

All I could think about was coming home.

Oh. Hm.

He was fun when he won.

He was even fun when he lost.

He was perfect for Atlantic City.

He was perfect for me.

So... for three years,

you thought Kevin was, uh,

just a businessman who traveled a lot?

Yeah.

But then I started to miss things.

You know, little things at first,

like, uh, jewelry.

Then I discovered $30,000 had vanished

from my private savings account.

Yeah? Yeah, last week.

So I hired a private detective,

discovered he used the money to buy a house.

This house.

I don't believe this.

So I flew down right away

to find out once and for all what was going on.

But I was too late.

I got in yesterday and read that he'd been murdered.

And that if I wanted to claim to be his wife,

I had to stand in line.

Well, I decided it'd be best not to get involved.

Why did you break in here tonight?

Well, the last thing Kevin took from me

was a watch he'd given me from Christmas.

Uh, it had my name engraved on it.

Well, I was afraid some smart cop

might trace it back to me.

So I figured if he hadn't hocked it yet,

it'd be in his briefcase.

Kevin had $300 in cash on him when he died.

That's it, then.

Kevin was really something of a rat, wasn't he?

Maybe Kevin loved not wisely, but too much.

I think that's a very nice way to remember him.

Hi, Ben.

Benjamin.

It wouldn't come out.

Oh. I knew it wouldn't.

Spaghetti sauce never does.

Alfredo. Before he sold to that chain,

they used to bring a big napkin, put it all around,

never used to get my tie in stuff.

But you liked the spaghetti, didn't you?

Oh, it was okay.

Kind of stayed with me. Garlic, I guess.

How about you? Oh, fine.

Well, you liked the music. Yeah.

It was okay as accordions go.

Where's your client?

Over there, talking to Mrs. Benson.

Call that Mrs. Bensons.

You know... You know, that guy...

I know it's wrong.

I-I know it's wrong, but you gotta...

You gotta admire...

No, not admire, not admire.

Wonder. You know, three.

You're not a chauvinist, are you?

Oh, no, no, no.

I just wonder why he married all of them.

Call it a weakness in his character.

Well, this case shouldn't take too long.

Good news. I think I got this case wrapped up.

I'm glad to hear it

because that's just what the district attorney thinks.

And in response

to the decedent's brother's accusation,

did the defendant say anything?

Yes.

"He was alive when I left.

"We struggled. I guess I hit him with that vase,

but he was alive."

This is marked People's Exhibit Number 8.

Do you recognize it? Yes. That's the vase

that we found next to the body

and which was stained with blood.

It has also been stipulated,

by the defense,

that the fingerprints found on this vase

matched those belonging to the defendant.

Thank you, Lieutenant Herrmann.

It was amusing.

I was rather delighted at the whole scene.

What about Diane Benson?

Mm, she seemed surprised. Shocked, really.

Surprised? Shocked?

Yes.

What did she do?

She blew up, flew out of the restaurant.

Oh, she was angry?

If looks could kill.

Objection. Non-responsive.

Sustained. Was she angry or not?

She was madder than hell.

Now, Mrs. Berino,

you are certain that the person you saw

entering their house that night was the defendant, Diane Benson?

Oh, yes.

I can see their front door

clearly through my window.

First, Mrs. Benson came home.

Then Mr. Benson came home.

And then Mrs. Benson left.

Do you recall what time she left?

Between 9 and 10.

I know because of the TV show that was on.

Did you see anybody else

enter or leave the house that night?

No one.

Are you positive?

I'm positive.

Thank you, Mrs. Berino.

No further questions.

Cross-examine?

No questions. Reserve the right to recall this witness.

You may step down.

The prosecution rests, Your Honor.

Very well. Um, Miss Thomas,

is the defense ready?

We are, Your Honor.

For our first witness, the defense calls Judy Benson.

And you too, were married to Kevin Benson

at the time of his death?

Yes.

Isn't it true that Kevin Benson helped himself to $30,000

of your money without your knowledge?

Yeah.

Thirty-thousand dollars that he used to buy

a house here in Atlanta for himself and another woman.

In fact, another wife.

Yes.

It must have come as quite a shock when you found out.

Well, I didn't know about the other wives

until after he was dead.

I believe you did arrive in town

the day before he was murdered, didn't you?

So, what if I did?

Well, didn't you in fact go to Kevin Benson's home

the night of the murder?

No.

Mrs. Benson, at the request of any resident,

the Atlanta Police will run a computer check

of all automobiles reported to be parked

or prowling in residential neighborhoods.

All right. I-I was in town early

and, uh, I knew about his other wife.

I planned to confront him, but I didn't.

I, uh... I just drove around the block,

and, uh, then I parked

and tried to get up enough nerve.

Then what?

Well, you've gotta realize

this whole thing is kind of spooky.

Mrs. Benson, what happened?

Well, I'm walking up this alley when all of a sudden this...

Yes?

This person comes

rising out of the dumpster.

Scared the hell out of me,

so I ran straight to my car, started the engine,

and didn't take my foot off the gas until I was...

I-I don't know how far away I was.

Oh, I see.

Some person crawling around in a dumpster

in the middle of the night suddenly appeared,

scared you, and then you left.

Yeah.

Well, I suppose it's too bad

this mysterious figure can't corroborate your story.

Oh, she can.

It was her.

I was looking for scraps for my cats.

I have so many.

I can barely afford to feed myself.

I didn't want the neighbors to know.

What happened when Mrs. Benson saw you?

She jumped about a foot in the air and she ran

to her car and drove away just like she said.

Then what happened?

I went back to my house.

Well, then, it's true

you weren't watching the Benson house all evening.

And someone could've entered the home, killed Kevin Benson,

and left without you seeing him or her.

Objection. Calls for speculation.

Overruled.

Answer the question.

I suppose so.

Yes.

Mrs. Berino, why did you lie?

I had to lie.

I couldn't tell the police what I was really doing.

They might've reported me to some animal group.

Maybe even put me in some home.

I had to lie.

No further questions.

I thought I had Judy Benson. I really did.

Well, it happens.

I've been in fixes like that

where I thought I had him

and I didn't have him,

if it's any consolation.

It's no consolation.

It was just a thought.

Hi.

Mr. Matlock, hi.

Hi. I knocked. I guess you didn't hear me.

Packing, huh?

I figured the house will sell better with me out of it.

I feel terrible about Kevin's using Judy's money

like that to buy it.

I-I want to pay her back.

Well, remember now,

she can still be the killer.

No, she's not.

What makes you so sure?

Because I told her I wasn't.

And I believe her.

You want a cup of coffee?

I haven't packed the mugs and the coffee's already made.

Oh, no. No, don't go to any bother.

I just stopped by to see if you know anything

about, uh, Kevin's other wife, uh, Liz.

Don't forget all those things you have in the buffet.

Hello.

Hi.

I was about to ask where you were or are.

Well, now you know.

I'm a member of this sorority.

Maybe I will have that cup of coffee.

Uh, no, no, Mr. Matlock.

Briefcases do not go on the table.

Really? They don't?

Not in the Benson household.

Oh, where do they go?

On the floor right next to the front door.

So your wife's sure to trip over it at least once a week.

Right over there.

Okay.

Yeah. If nothing else, Kevin was a creature of habit, wasn't he?

You know, I think one of the most annoying things

about him was the way he made me strain

the seeds out of his orange juice.

I was always afraid I'd forget that.

Mr. Matlock?

Your Honor, at this time, the defense would like

to recall Clark Benson to the stand.

Defendant's co-counsel,

Benjamin Matlock, will be examining him.

Go get him.

You betcha.

Kevin Benson was, uh...

Was your younger brother, is that correct?

Yes.

Were you close as you were growing up?

Yes.

Did you approve of him?

Well, of course.

Kevin was outstanding in whatever he did.

Did, uh...?

Did he have a lot of girlfriends?

I suppose the usual.

How about yourself?

Oh, the usual.

The usual, or not many?

Uh, are you a married man?

No.

Is there a relationship at the present time?

No. Ahem.

How about in the past?

The usual, or not many?

Mr. Benson, we know that... That Kevin had,

uh, three wives.

Now, any way you look at it,

that has to be trying on a person.

In many ways, including financially,

wouldn't you say?

I... Yeah, I suppose.

But Kevin was a successful businessman.

Yes. Quite.

You know, that... That's what

is interesting to me, along with, uh,

everything else, is that in spite

of how bright Kevin was,

and how successful he seemed to be,

he didn't actually own

anything business-wise, did he?

I mean, he just... He just worked for you.

Kevin was a genius at what he did.

It made for a great partnership.

But that's not really the case, is it?

He wasn't literally your partner.

Technically, the company was in my name.

You started it, didn't you?

Yes. And you owned it?

Yes. But it was a partnership in the true sense of the word.

In every sense of the word except financially.

Kevin worked for you.

He was literally an employee.

I suppose if you want to be legalistic about it, he was.

But neither of us ever thought about it that way.

You didn't think about it that way

even after you discovered

he had been dipping in the till?

Who said he was dipping into the till?

Didn't you order an audit

of your company's finances two months ago?

Yes.

And didn't the auditor discover

certain discrepancies

in Kevin's withdrawal of company funds?

Kevin and I discussed it

and we worked out a schedule for repayment.

Naturally, I was disappointed this had occurred,

but he swore it would never happen again.

I think the night of the murder,

you knew about at least two of his wives,

and you went over to confront your brother

on that and the audit.

That's not true.

You didn't go into his house

after Diane Benson left that night?

No.

And you didn't argue with him,

and during some kind of struggle,

he fell and hit his head and was killed?

Absolutely not.

Your Honor,

I'd like to enter into evidence...

this briefcase.

Call it, uh, uh, Defense Exhibit A.

You recognize this briefcase?

Yes. That's my brother's briefcase.

And it has his initials. KHB, Kevin Henry Benson.

Yes. Do you have a briefcase like it?

Yes. They're identical except for the initials, of course.

And your initials are?

CLB, Clark Lee Benson.

Uh, Your Honor, ah,

this is People's Exhibit 15.

It's a police lab photograph

of the scene of the crime.

Let's call this Defense Exhibit B.

This is a detailed blowup of an object

in the back of the police lab's photograph.

What is that, Mr. Benson?

That's Kevin's briefcase.

And it has his initials, KHB.

Are my eyes deceiving me,

or do those initials read CLB?

Those are your initials.

That isn't Kevin's briefcase.

It's yours.

Yes, well, we must've, uh,

uh, gotten them mixed up at the office that day.

If that were the case,

why do you suppose if Kevin

brought your briefcase

to his house by mistake, why do you suppose

he'd put it on the sofa,

instead of on the floor

by the front door, as he always did?

I bet you switched those briefcases

the next morning.

Sometime when the police weren't looking,

you picked up your briefcase from the sofa

and put Kevin's there in its place.

These briefcases

didn't get mixed up at the office.

They got mixed up at his house, that night,

just after you murdered him, didn't they?

He was a liar.

He was a cheat.

He was always a womanizer.

But he was my brother, so I took him in.

Three wives.

He cheated them, he cheated me.

All my life, work is all I've ever had.

And he took that too.

I'm sorry, Mr. Benson.

Just so everyone understands,

during your struggle with him,

you shoved him, he hit his head,

he fell to the floor dead.

Then you panicked

and instead of picking up your briefcase,

you picked up his briefcase

by the door and ran.

The next day, you switched them.

That about it?

Yes.

Well, I guess we did it.

Sure did.

It really was something.

Hey, Julie?

You know, I still can't get over that guy.

I mean, three.

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