Original subtitles

What makes you turn to writing about the act of murder?

And I'm talking vicious.

In bloody detail.

Everything from strangling to stabbing. That lady hits harder than a linebacker

on a Sunday afternoon.

You loudmouth creep. I give the word we'll spend the rest of this campaign

with this jaw wired shut.

There must be a lot of pressure on you and the DA to hang somebody.

Now shut up and listen, Louise.

You can tell David Osterman from me that this is just the beginning.

Presenting the new powerhouse in the state, KGAB Radio.

Ladies and gentlemen, gophers and livestock, it's 65 degrees here in

bustling downtown Easton, where the prairie skies are as empty as our

listeners' heads.

You're tuned to KGAB Radio, and this is the rule man, the voice of what we

politely refer to as the people.

Speaking of which...

Doris, on line one, what's on your minimal mind today, dear? Marcus, I just

want you to know you're the rudest, most irritating man on the radio. Oh, thank

you, Doris. Well, I'm sure that little effort fevered your already sweaty brow.

And now the rule, man, the man with the scam, the sham, and the flim-flam,

brings you, yes, it's the... Rumor of the Day.

Highway Commissioner slash wannabe state senator David Osterman takes clandestine

midnight meeting with well-known fat cat contractor over at Jimmy's Landing.

Rumor be, something changes hands. Hint? Well, that something is long, green, and

covered with pictures of Ben Franklin. Lots and lots of pictures. And they all

end up... In David Osterman's pockets.

News item. This morning, Mr. Fat Cat Contractor wins a contract to build the

new bridge up at Indian Bluff.

Awarded to him by... All right, class, are you ready?

Yes, the ever-lovable commish, David the Osterman.

Dave, he's killing us.

You've already dropped eight points in the polls.

What do you think is going to happen when they go online with their new

transmitter tomorrow?

Listen, I have friends.

I give the word Rose spends the rest of this campaign with his jaw wired shut.

No.

I won't stoop to that.

He's just a mouthpiece for the station.

Dave, we're going to lose this thing.

Let me have someone pay a visit to Colin Crowe.

Alex, I can't.

I just can't.

Well, I think you'll find KGAD Radio to be the highlight of your Midwestern

tour, Mrs. Fletcher.

My goodness, that was spoken like a true public relations professional, Ronna.

Oh, boy.

Well, anyway, Colin, um, Mr. Crow, is a very exciting man to work for.

I understand that Mr. Crow's wife actually owns the station.

They're getting a divorce.

He's buying her out as part of the settlement.

Oh, I see.

When he married her, there wasn't a whole lot happening with the station.

But he came in, and he took charge, and he put in a talk format.

And today, we are number one in the county.

And when we inaugurate our new transmitter tomorrow, we will be going

for the top spot in the whole state.

My goodness, your boss certainly seems to know what he's doing.

Oh, well, look at Marcus Rule, the rule man.

Mr. Crow discovered him up in Minnesota doing ice hockey games, of all things.

He brought him down here, and he turned him in to the local king of killer

radio. Ask my wife. No, no, no, I won't. Do you know what just happened, you old

hay kicker? No, sir.

You've been overruled.

You're too dumb to know it. You know, anybody who's a fan of Mavis is no

friend of mine. As far as I'm concerned, she can take that Tennessee banjo and

stick it where the sun don't shine. Young man.

Okay, Veronica from Owl Creek.

Let's talk about husbands and the F.A. world. That's right, people.

I'm talking about fooling around. You know, a new study shows that 62% of all

married men have affairs.

So what I want to know now, Veronica, is where is your husband right now?

Let's talk about David Osterman. He is the most decent, fair-minded man... You

hear that, people?

Mr. David Osterman's so far down the pipe, he's got his loyal employees

trying to pull him out.

Making money off that lunatic's offensive trash is one thing.

But character assassination is quite another.

We both know you don't have a thing on David Osterman, except that he happens

to be on what you consider the wrong political side of the fence.

Can I assume this is your final statement as majority stockholder,

darling? You can assume. I won't let you destroy him.

Spoken like a truly about-to-be ex-wife and ex-partner. Now, shut up and listen,

Louise.

Now, you can tell David Osterman from me.

That this is just the beginning and unless he withdraws from this race I'm

gonna see to it that he can't show his face anywhere in this state Colin don't

bet your FCC license on it

I've been better.

Sure there's nothing I can do for you?

Thank you, Danny.

Okay, class. The subject for tomorrow is going to be... Ready?

Cheating hearts. You heard right.

And you'll hear it here, too, tomorrow, firsthand, when we talk to five guys who

caught their old ladies in other men's beds.

Well, until then, remember, you can count on the old rule, man, to bring

sunshine and knowledge into your otherwise drab, miserable lives.

Boy, I tell you...

Well, Watson's name was right. Nobody ever got poor underestimating the

intelligence of the American public.

What's for tomorrow?

Well, you got J.B. Fletcher live in studio, open mic at 3. She's that

mystery writer on tour promoting her latest book.

Ah! In this jerkwater town, she must be desperate.

Okay. Tell Rhonda to have a synopsis on my desk by noon.

That'll be fun.

Writers intimidate easier than almost anybody.

Top of the stairs to the right, Mrs. Fletcher.

Thank you. At 5 o'clock, we have the cocktail party and the dedication of the

new transmitter. Thank you.

My goodness, the Mark Twain room. That sounds lovely.

If you're free tonight, I would love to show you around Easton. Well, thank you,

Ronna, but I do have an engagement for dinner.

You got that right, lady.

Jonathan, is it really you?

It is me. How are you?

Hi, Jessica.

Hi, Rana. My goodness, you have come a long way from Park Avenue.

Well, you just keep reminding me, because sometimes I don't think I've

come far enough.

I didn't know you two knew each other. Oh, yes.

Jonathan's father is my publisher's lawyer, as well as being a very good

friend. Can I have ten minutes?

Okay, but don't make it a second longer. We've got a lot to talk about.

Right. Thanks for everything, Rana. Okay. And I'll see you tomorrow.

Rana, can we spend some time together?

And that is when it hit me, right in the middle of this achingly tedious lecture

about some foreign trade regulations. And you walked away?

I flipped.

Or as my father would say, Jonathan simply was not himself.

That sounds exactly like Carter.

Well, anyway, that night I left.

And I hit the road. And I bummed around the country for two years.

I worked in an oil field. I pulled carrots. I even fought a forest fire in

Oregon. After I gave you Kerouac's On the Road, your father still has never

forgiven me.

Well, I'll tell you something.

I got to see this country the way he will never get to see it.

And I got to meet people that the so-called opinion makers and politicians

in New York and Los Angeles and Washington will never know that these

people exist.

Why Easton? I mean, what made you decide to stay here?

I fell in love with the town.

And I got a job as a custodian in KGAB.

And then I took this correspondence course in engineering, got my degree.

And if that transmitter gets blown over by a northern, I'm the one they're going

to blame.

How much of this does your father know?

Not much.

I haven't talked to him in over a year.

And I know that he'll never forgive me, but...

I just... Law school in three-piece suits.

It's just not my style.

But tell me something, Jessica.

Did Easton just happen to be on your book tour?

No, I didn't think so.

Well, I gotta say, my dad has got a hell of a friend in you.

Is he still living out of a suitcase?

At the moment.

He's somewhere in the Russian steppes, trying to negotiate a contract with an

ex-Solzhenitsyn.

When I told him that I was planning a Midwest tour, he felt that Easton was

the perfect stopover for me.

You tell him I'm okay.

I will.

Where I am now is I just... I want to have a job that I can enjoy.

And maybe someday I'll get married and have a family of my own.

Well, you have the career.

How about the rest of it?

Well, there... There is...

Someone, and she will be again.

Well, if you're half as stubborn as your father, I believe you'll get what you

want. Oh, I'm twice as stubborn as my father, and I plan to get what I want.

Now, Chicago's been talking to me, Crow.

See, they'd like to groom me to be the next Howard Stern.

What, do you think I don't know them?

Forget Chicago.

You and I have a contract.

worth maybe the paper it's printed on.

I'll tell you what, Carl.

You tear up the contract, triple my salary, then I'll tell my feet to keep

still. Oh, and don't tell me about your lawyers, because they're not going to be

able to do diddly for you, pal. Not when they find out how you've been feeding me

phony rumors to destroy David Osterman.

Oh, and... And I have tapes of our phone conversations and a little scrapbook of

your memos, you know? Just the kind of stuff that's required listening and

reading at the FCC.

Okay, Marcus, let's get real.

Hey, man, what do you think I've been saying?

These locals, your loyal fans, now, they may have a limitless capacity for that

shock jock crap of yours, but I know these people, and I guarantee you...

that when they learn about your past as a two-bit sportscaster with a penchant

for 14-year-old girls, you're gonna find yourself so far over the line that

nobody will let you within five miles of a microphone.

Could you take our cards, please? This is your husband's fourth marriage.

Thank you. And you're surprised he cheated on you?

Now, when you started seeing him, was he still married to his third wife?

Your Dr. Andy doesn't pull many punches, does she?

Well, half the fun is trying to figure out who the callers are.

Most of them try to disguise their voices.

Pardon me, Mrs. Fletcher? Yes.

Danny Cochran's the name. Oh, how do you do?

Do you remember the Triple Crown murders?

Oh, yes, that was my fourth book.

Well, you really nailed down the whole racetrack scene. Well, that's very kind

of you, but actually I had some very good advice.

Yeah, anyway, you had this clue in there about a quick-acting toxin.

Of course, that was butyl salicylate, I think. Well, it changed my life for

about 45 minutes anyway. There was a nag named Sudden Poison going off at 65 to 1

in the fourth race at Hialeah.

And you won?

500 bucks right on the nose.

500 times?

Danny, that's a great deal of money.

So I put the whole bundle down on this sure thing.

She's still running.

Oh, I'm sorry.

It was a hell of a rush.

Oh, when you're in there with the rule man, if that weasel gives you any static

this afternoon, you just give me the sign, and he's off the air.

Mrs. Fletcher?

Your visit has made our day even more special here at KGAV. Well, thank you,

Mr. Crow.

Your dedication speech, Mr. Crow.

I thought we could spend a few minutes going over it after you're finished

here. Oh, I don't have time. I was just leaving to check out the transmitter's

site in a couple of minutes.

Okay.

I'll see you after your interview, Mrs. Fletcher. Fine.

Shall we?

Very nice meeting you, Mrs. Fletcher. Thank you.

Love makes fools of the very young and the very old.

That's a line from one of your books. Sergeant Grady.

The corpse of Vespers. As I recall, the wife murdered her beautiful young rival

and very nearly got away with it. Uh-huh, but she did get caught.

Her jealousy gave her away.

Oh, well, that wouldn't be a problem for me, Jessica.

I've long since stopped giving a damn what Cullen does with his private life.

Look, I feel I owe you an apology.

for subjecting you to our resident mouth, Mr. Rule.

Oh, that's not necessary, Louise. I came here voluntarily.

For better or worse. Well, I hope it's for better.

Listen, I understand your flight to Los Angeles doesn't leave until the day

after tomorrow.

Can I talk you into coming out to lunch at the farm before you leave Easton?

Oh, I'd like that very much.

How about tomorrow at 1?

That'd be fine. You're on in two minutes, Mrs. Fletcher. Oh, thanks.

Hello.

Well, hello.

I, uh, I just wanted to wish you luck.

Come here.

You're so bad.

Well,

well, J.B. Fletcher.

Well, it is a real pleasure to have you as our guest today.

Well, it's a great pleasure for me, too, Mr. Rule. I've heard a great deal about

you. Oh, yeah, right.

Charming, gracious, intelligent.

Well, do you think you can manage to stay on the same page with me for an

hour anyway?

Well, I'll do my best.

Good. Let's make some good radio, you and me. Four, three, two.

So, J.B. Fletcher.

Why don't you tell me why women like yourself, when your husbands all die and

you suddenly haven't got anybody you can make crazy, what makes you turn to

writing about the act of murder?

And I'm talking vicious.

In great, lurid, bloody detail. Everything from strangling to stabbing

to dismemberment.

Because I'll tell you what my take on it is. I figure we're looking at some long,

repressed, really heavy urge to commit the one biggest no-no in our society,

aside from cannibalism or smoking pot.

So come on, speak up, Jessica.

Well, the hour is almost up, Jessica, and the rule man still wants to know.

The vicarious thrill, as you call it, Mr. Rule, isn't mine.

Ideally, it's the readers, and it's derived from a hopefully well-told

murder mystery that challenges one to figure out whodunit before the fictional

detective can find the answer.

Yeah, right.

All right, well, maybe you can tell me why...

Mayhem-mongers like yourself get such a thrill out of killing off men in your

books. Oh, Mr. Rule, that's a bit of an overstatement, to put it kindly.

Yeah, well, I'm sure it is. Come on, Jessica, what are we talking? We're

talking failed relationships here, you know? Maybe, uh, maybe some deep-seated

problems with our fathers?

Uh, Mr. Rule, that is such a... You can't deny that women lacking the right

stuff to pull that trigger themselves live out their murderous fantasies

through men.

Mr. Ruhle, if that is your understanding of mayhem mongers and women in general,

I must say, please excuse the obvious metaphor, you are dead wrong.

What really astonishes me, however, is that the many guests who must have put

up with the same tacky, pretentious, intellectually impoverished pop psycho

babble that I have endured over the past hour, not one of them has had enough of

the right stuff to do you in long ago.

Boy, that lady hits harder than a linebacker on a Sunday afternoon.

You've got spirit, Jessica.

I like that in a woman.

Well, thank you, Mr. Rule. I do my best.

And to show that there's no hard feelings.

Although you did mention that you don't find it necessary to read books, there's

one that I'm going to send you anyway.

Yeah, well, thanks, but I educate myself through electronic media osmosis. Ah,

extraordinary.

But surely you've heard of Dostoevsky?

Hey, who hasn't?

Well, he wrote about a man who reminds me a great deal of yourself.

A man who sees clearly through the hypocrisy of his society.

Really?

Well, maybe we'll all have to touch base with his publisher, get him to swing by

on his next book tour.

Oh, that would be quite a coup, Mr. Rule. You see, he happens to have been

dead for over 100 years.

So we won't do it live.

Anyway, what's the name of the book?

It's called The Idiot.

All right, folks.

It's time to listen to some of the people who pay for all this

illumination.

That was a cheap shot, Mrs. Fletcher. Sorry you feel that way, Mr. Rule.

I thought we made some rather good radio together, you and me.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a sidewinder missile. Mrs. Fletcher?

Jessica, you gave me such a satisfying memory of my last day here at the

station. Mrs. Fletcher, it would be a pleasure to drive you to your inn. Well,

that's very kind of you.

I could do with a bit of a rest.

Thank you, Danny.

I'll see you at the dedication ceremony. Yes.

I want you to see my winner's circle.

That's my wall of fame. Every winner that I ever had is circled in red up

there. Mrs. Fletcher, since I'm going out to Vinewood Park this afternoon, I

was wondering if you'd bring me some luck by using that handicapping system

of yours to pick a winner. Remember?

The Triple Crown murders?

But aren't you going to the dedication?

What? And celebrate an additional 20,000 watts of Marcus Rule, please.

Oh. Mrs. Fletcher. Well, I mean, I would probably bet against Secretariat, but,

uh, however, here goes for the Fletcher handicapping system.

Ta-da!

Savoy stopped going off in the ninth at 20 to 1.

It's golden, Mrs. Fletcher. I can feel it.

You know, what's happening at KGAB stinks.

You've got to understand, Louise Crowe is a very special lady.

She cares about people.

Colin Crowe? Huh.

If it weren't for the ratings, the man wouldn't have a pulse.

And yet he does seem to have made a great success at the station.

I understand there were some pretty lean years.

Yeah, but without Mrs. Crowe, things just aren't going to be the same.

I got to tell you something, Mrs. Fletcher.

When you lowered the boom on that rural man back there, it was a double whammy,

because you drove one right through Colin Crowe, too.

Here you go, Mrs. Fletcher.

Mr. Baker said it was urgent. I see.

May I use your phone? Sure.

Thank you.

Yes, Jonathan Baker, please.

Well, did he leave a forwarding number?

Not even his home number?

I see. Well, thank you very much.

Francine, make my life richer and more bountiful.

Speak. Marcus, are you saying the highway commissioner purposely diverted

the road around Rockridge so he could line his path... Hey!

Does that connecting road up near Three Forks ring a bell, Francine? Come on!

Because I guarantee once my story breaks tomorrow, it's going to be ringing David

Osterman's.

But enough truth in politics, because now it's time for our daily lobotomy.

That's right, that bastion of the free press, the daring tell-it-like-it-is,

network news.

Mr. Shannon. Hello, Marcus.

Hi, yeah, I was just going to call you. Listen.

I've made up my mind, and it's a go.

I'll be in Chicago on the 11th.

Contract problem? No.

No, no, no, no, wait.

No, hey, hey, don't worry about it, man.

Listen, Crow can't do a thing.

Oops. Jonathan.

Jessica.

Where's Ronna? I thought she was driving you over. Well, that was the plan, but

maybe she forgot, in which case I could use a lift.

Oh, sure.

She's probably over at the transmitter.

Uh-huh.

I'm afraid this is as formal as I get these days. Yeah, looks fine to me.

Listen, I tried to return your call.

Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for Ronna. She left a message. Something's wrong.

Sounds like her world's falling apart.

Well, what's the matter?

I don't know. She just kinda trailed off and hung up.

Jessica.

I'm sorry. I've got to go try and find Rhonda.

Jonathan. Right over there.

Jessica. There you are.

Jessica, welcome to KGAB's new beginning. Yes.

And my retirement from what we laughingly refer to around here as the

communications business.

Mrs. Crowe, where's your husband?

Anything you have to say to Colin, Mr. Osterman, you can say to me, at least

for the moment.

Well, have him understand that when the voters elect me, which they will,

despite his efforts to slander me, my first act as state senator will be to

demand an FCC investigation of your station, at which point you can kiss

your broadcast license goodbye.

I'm afraid, Mr. Osterman, very soon it won't be mine to lose.

But I'll relay your sentiments to Colin.

You loudmouth creep. Hey, whoa.

What is it, Davey, huh? You come all the way down here to tell us it just ain't

so? Come on, man, do it.

I'll have you in the courts for the next ten years.

I think you'd better leave.

Please.

Well, this is just wonderful.

No Colin, no Rana.

The transmitter is about to go online in ten minutes.

Now I understand why he insists that I show up.

Excuse me.

The only thing that I can imagine tackier than Louise and Colin is Rana

and Colin.

Two weeks, Mrs. F., and I'm out of here.

Chicago, a 200-station guarantee for starters.

It's not the next time you want to hustle one of your books.

Don't call me.

A new era begins as we welcome more than two million households into our new

KGAB radio family.

I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the new powerhouse in the state, 25,000 watt

KGAB radio.

from the medical examiner indicates two entry wounds to the heart about an inch

apart.

I got five bullet strikes on the girders.

Two hits, five misses.

Apparently our shooters know anti-Oakley.

Have you found Rana yet?

No.

Shell casings indicate a high-powered rifle.

None of the guests at the reception report hearing the shots.

It suggests that the victim was killed sometime after the county inspectors

left at 1.45, but before the caterers got here at 2.20 this afternoon.

Mrs. Fletcher, I'm Sheriff Waterman. Oh, Sheriff.

I hear Marcus Rule is still trying to figure out where that left hook of yours

came from.

Oh, the interview.

He did seem to lead with his chin, didn't he?

Not to spoil your visit, but I hear you're pretty good at this sort of

thing. You have, uh... Any ideas?

I'm afraid not.

Do you?

Lots of them.

Guys with union cards who didn't appreciate Crowe's attacks on David

Osterman. Farmers who were upset with his stand on subsidies last winter. I

got a whole county full of motives.

Our search team found this in a service road ditch up in the hills next to the

transmitter.

You bought it nine months ago.

Dexter's Sporting Goods over in Clearwater.

They just faxed us the sales receipts.

And we're working on the prints and ballistics now.

I got people over at the radio station that told me about you and Ronna

Simmons. And about her and Colin Crowe.

I've got county attorney Cusack on my butt. Because, you know, he loves a sure

thing.

And he's figuring that it'll take the grand jury maybe, what, five minutes to

indict you for murder one?

Johnny boy.

If you're not going to open your mouth, then I'd suggest that you better get

yourself a heck of a lawyer.

Your father has arranged for his personal attorney to fly in from New

York. Look, Jonathan, I don't believe for one moment that you had anything to

do with this, but unless you open up... It doesn't matter.

Who knew that you kept your rifle behind the seat of your truck?

Everyone knew. I showed it around when I first bought it. And that phone call

from Rana, was there any more to it than you told me?

Look, that phone call had nothing to do with it. Now, Jessica, I know what you

are trying to do, but I'm willing to just let this thing ride its course.

So why don't you?

Jonathan, I promised your father I'd do everything I could to help.

And whether you like it or not, that's exactly what I intend to do.

Thank you for letting me talk to him.

Sheriff Waterman, I've known Jonathan for most of his life, and I cannot

imagine that he would kill anyone.

Well, people do unexpected things under pressure, in desperation.

When he was clever enough to use a Slim Jim to break into his own truck. But you

yourself said you have a county of motives.

But he is the only smoking gun. He had the time, he had the means.

Ballistics check out, the prints check out.

Sheriff, of course his prints were all over his own gun.

Whoever killed Colin Crowe made sure that they stayed there.

Were there any other prints?

Um, yes, as a matter of fact, there were.

Forensics is still trying to identify them. You know, if I were in Baker's

shoes, I'd want you on my side, too.

Oh, by the way, Mrs. Crowe called to remind you about a date for lunch.

Oh, really?

With everything that's happened, I'd assume that she'd cancel.

Hanson, drive Mrs. Fletcher out to the crow farm and wait for her. Yes, sir.

Thank you, Sheriff. That's very kind of you.

Ma'am.

My father made his money in the stock market.

After my mother died, he bought this place.

He even made a turn of profit.

He was incredibly competitive.

It taught me to win at everything.

Well, you were a very good pupil.

Oh, these are just local competitions.

My father gave me the radio station as a wedding present.

He wrote on the gift card, Now I don't have to be alone in suffering your

opinions. I did a political commentary once a week. I let the whole county know

what was on my mind.

Your father must have been quite a man.

His death shattered me.

My marriage fell apart. I even stopped shooting my mouth off on the air.

I just settled in and played lots of country ballads.

Well, that's a far cry from Marcus Ruehl.

At least that was Danny's complaint.

I began to detest what Colin had done to the station.

It was my lawyers who drew up the agreement to let him buy me out, which

was also my way of ending the marriage gracefully.

Louise, I don't mean to sound insensitive, but I imagine that your

husband's death results in a very complicated legal triangle.

No, not really.

He hadn't gotten around to changing his will.

The station is still mine, which I suppose makes me a suspect.

I suppose it could.

Come, Jessica.

Isn't the cliche always a younger woman and a jealous wife?

Thank you, Alice.

The jealous wife seldom allows herself to appear as composed as you are.

Laying the part of the dutiful widow is not exactly my style.

Louise, I can't help thinking, given what's happened, that you had more of a

purpose in inviting me out here for lunch than simply telling me all this.

Look, what it comes down to is this.

If you're looking for a way to get your young friend Jonathan Baker off the

hook, I don't think you or the sheriff have to look any further than Ronna

Simmons.

What makes you think it was Ronna?

When they find her, ask her when she discovered she wasn't the only other

woman in Colin's life.

No, no, no, Mr. Cusack.

I'm not suggesting.

I'm telling you.

Don't take this to the grand jury until I complete my investigation.

Yeah, I'll get right back.

It just came in from forensics.

Had to go back three years to the university to ID the second set of

prints on the murder weapon.

Without an APB, huh?

Yeah, get me Cusack back, huh?

And David Osterman?

Collins' investors wanted Osterman defeated, so my husband put a private

investigator on his tail.

He didn't find a trace of political wrongdoing, but he still had Marcus to

say whatever was necessary to keep his money people happy.

So, Mr. Osterman was right about your station slandering him. Yes.

And ironically, those same surveillance reports which my husband ordered also

provided Mr. Osterman with an alibi.

What was that?

At the time of the murder, David Osterman was in bed with a wealthy

widow.

Well, that could prove disastrous for his political ambitions.

It could if it got out.

This morning, I turned those surveillance reports over to Mr.

Osterman.

He's free to do whatever he wants with him.

Louise, I don't like being used.

I... I don't know what you mean.

The wealthy widow that he was in bed with, that was you, wasn't it?

Yes, but... And you were counting on me being terribly intuitive so that I could

serve as a character witness for both of you without revealing any of the details

to the sheriff.

Jessica, I didn't kill Colin, and neither did David.

I certainly hope you didn't.

We found her holed up in a motel out on Highway 61.

Not in her 70s.

You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady.

I didn't even know that Colin was dead until they arrested me.

Jonathan, I just, I wanted to talk to you and I wanted to see you.

And I started to leave you that message, but... What, Lana? But what?

I didn't think it would make a difference.

I wanted to tell you that it was over between Colin and me.

And I wanted to tell you what a stupid, misguided idiot I'd been.

And thinking that I was anything more than just a prop for his ego.

I wanted to ask you if you could forgive me.

I don't think I can deal with that right now.

I understand.

That's why I didn't finish the message.

All right.

The desk clerk at the motel told the sheriff that you checked in at 6.30.

That was two hours after the murder.

I was driving around. I don't know where I went or how long.

Ronna, someone must have seen you.

They have your gun with my fingerprints on it.

But I told the sheriff that I was teaching you how to shoot. But they

think that I did it.

I didn't kill him.

I couldn't have.

I took her shooting twice.

She couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Neither could the killer,

apparently. Well, this is because calling Crow is such a big shot in this

town, right?

There must be a lot of pressure on you and the DA to hang somebody.

You know, you should take some advice.

Start looking out for your own self.

Well, thanks, Sheriff.

I don't need your advice.

I'll wait for you outside.

Well, Mrs. Fletcher, now, there's a, uh... A young man who's in a heck of a

wrestling match with what he knows to be the facts and what he wants to believe.

Well, it's only natural, Sheriff. He cares a great deal for Rana.

That's not what I'm saying.

You mean Jonathan knows something that he's not telling us?

No, I mean he was seen all over town looking for her at the time of the

murder.

Doesn't appear he found her, does it?

Cheer up, Jonathan.

Your father's lawyer will be here later tonight.

I don't know what good he'll do, Jessica.

Look, this is a very small town.

There can't be that many roads that lead to the motel where they found her.

Somebody must have seen her.

Do you have a map?

That's somewhere under the seat.

Well, maybe you're right. Maybe somebody did see you.

Wait just a minute.

Is this your pen, Jonathan?

No.

Here's the map.

I don't think we're going to need the map.

I'm going to go talk to the sheriff and make a phone call.

Jonathan, I think I know who the murderer is.

And if we're lucky, we may be able to prove it.

Louise, please don't do that just yet.

Danny told you I was coming, I take it.

Yes, that is what I thought I saw yesterday.

Jessica. Oh, hi.

I'm sorry I'm late, but I am not the most orderly guy in the world.

This darn thing was hidden under a pile of junk in my living room.

Oh, I brought you a present.

Oh.

I put 20 bucks down on Savoy's stump.

Well, maybe I should take up handicapping as a profession.

So that guy in New York doesn't believe you picked Savoy Stump, huh? Well, I

thought that a photograph of the two of us with you circling the horse's name

would help to convince him.

Hey, no problem. No problem. It isn't every day that I hit 20 to 1.

Here we go.

Now.

Looking for this, Danny?

Oh, yeah.

I've been looking for that all day.

Well, so where do we stand?

I don't think that I'll need the picture after all.

But... Danny, I don't think Mrs. Fletcher really came here for a

photograph.

Oh, you want to let me in on the gag, Mrs. Fletcher?

Well, Louise is right.

I'm here because I believe that I can reveal the identity of our husband's

killer.

You see, it bothered me from the beginning. All those shots fired on all

of the misses.

Except for the two perfect deadly shots to the heart.

But Sheriff Waterman said they were lucky shots.

Well, maybe, Louise.

But when I saw your marksmanship trophies, it occurred to me that

possibly every shot fired by the killer that afternoon was in fact right on

target.

I mean, the first two shots were dead on.

Killing Mr. Crowe instantly.

The next five shots were, well, they were wild, exactly as intended.

To make us think that we were dealing with a very poor marksman?

Are you not saying that Louise had anything to do with this?

Mrs. Crowe wasn't the only one with the skill to make this shooting appear to be

the work of a novice.

If I'm not mistaken, these are Army sharpshooting medals that you're

wearing, aren't they?

Yeah, sure.

Hey, come on, wait a minute.

I was at the track. Where do you think I got the program?

Well, that particular program? In a trash bin at Vinewood Park less than an

hour ago.

Uh, less than an hour ago, I was in my living room.

After Mrs. Fletcher called you to bring in the program, I followed you to the

track.

Okay, so I lost the one at the track.

Jessica, I just handed you 400 bucks in winnings, didn't I?

Not a lot of money to keep an alibi alive.

Jessica, none of this means that Danny killed Colin.

That's not true, Louise.

You also suspected Danny and wanted to protect him by removing the photograph.

But still, there's no proof.

Well, there is now.

Danny, when you broke into Jonathan's truck to steal his rifle,

your pen fell out of your pocket.

I found it under the seat, proving that you had been inside his truck.

Danny, why?

You know, the day after I graduated high school, I took out a map, closed my

eyes, and stabbed at it with my finger.

Just like your handicapping system, Jessica.

Only I picked Eastern.

I got a job here.

I met Louise.

All the time I was in the Army, she was all I ever thought about.

I came back from Nam.

Louise's marriage was on the rocks, and we had some times together.

You were all I ever wanted, but there was always someone else.

I figured someday I would be the only one left, and that we could work the

station together.

I knew that once Colin took over the station, I'd never see you again.

Oh, Dan.

We're all set, Jessica.

Have you spoken to your father?

Yeah, I want him to meet Rana. So we're going to fly to London tomorrow.

Oh, how wonderful.

Best of luck to both of you.

Thank you.

For everything.

Well, we better get me to the airport.

Yeah. So remember, get smart, get ruled.

Jessica, you did real well. Sure, you solved the murder, sure, but nothing

beats that warm all-over feeling you get from nailing another man, right?

I understand that Chicago fell through.

Hey, no problem, lady.

I got a home right here. Because you know something? The beauty of this one

-horse state is that no matter how much I insult these retards, no matter what I

say, they're gonna keep coming back for more because they are the stupidest,

most muddle-headed doofuses this side of the zoo.

Marcus, I hope you really intended for that to be broadcast over 25,000

watts.

Now I understand why it's called killer radio.