Original subtitles

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Okay, picture this.

We're close on an alarm clock... - 15 a.m.

Goes off, we pull back, see a young woman...

Yuppie, attractive, hit the deck running.

Then it quick cuts, we see

an aerobics class, business meetings,

high-level confabs with guys in suits.

After work, racquetball, dinner with friends.

Then, back to her setting the alarm clock

while we hear a voice-over say,

"Uniwear Bras: for the active life you live."

Tell me he's kidding.

This campaign is geared toward female boomers,

women who never stop running.

Thanks.

Now I get it.

We are telling women we have a bra they can sweat in?

Where's the sex?

I deliberately focused away from the sex.

Women want to know how this product...

Women want men.

They want to find them, catch them and keep them.

They want to be pert and perky for men,

because men are their real business.

Where did you get this idiot?

Will you excuse us for a minute, Edward?

I would be glad to rethink this, Mr. Howell.

Give me a break. Look,

I was in the top 10% of my class at Vanderbilt, Mr. Gordon.

Well, you just flunked out in the real world, pal.

That is fine.

Very nice.

You think these people don't talk?

It's all over the business.

How are we going to get good,

creative talent in here

if you treat people like that?

By overpaying, the way you do now.

Yes?

Get my wife, please.

You're hurting business, Alex.

It's got to stop.

Buy me out.

You'll lose the only clown in this circus

who knows how to write a decent line of ad copy.

Hi, honey.

Hi.

How's your day?

Oh, lousy.

We've got nothing for the Uniwear meeting tomorrow,

and I'm going to be working all night.

Are you staying in town?

Yeah.

I'll be staying at the motel.

Okay.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Pulling your fat out of the fire again, buddy.

Okay.

Okay, if you want to be a martyr.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Martyr.

Either I come up with something

for the Uniwear meeting

or we go in with nothing but our nervous smiles.

Where is that report?

You were in with Mr. Howell.

I asked you to type it an hour ago.

I did. I didn't want to disturb you.

Bring it. Bring it.

Okay. I'll see you in five minutes, all right?

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Anything else you need, Mr. Gordon?

A good night's sleep.

Give me a wake-up call

at 7:00 a.m., will you, John? Sure thing.

Hold your calls till then?

Except for my wife.

You got it.

Sleep well, Mr. Gordon.

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Come!

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Alex?

♪ ♪

I told you... no interruptions.

I'm sorry, sir, but the police are here,

and they say it's important.

The police?

I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gordon.

Lieutenant Brooks, Atlanta PD.

What can I do for you?

Well, there was a problem at your house,

and, uh, we'd like for you to come with us if you can.

What happened?

I'm sorry to have to tell you like this,

but your wife...

When the maid came this morning...

Your wife is dead, sir.

It appears she was murdered last night.

Now, we...

we're trying to find out all that we can.

Murdered?

Who?

Oh, dear God.

Ca-Cathy?

Somebody killed Cathy?

We're hoping that you can help us find out.

A burgundy Jaguar was seen near your house last night.

Do you know anyone with a car like that?

No.

Burgundy. My-my partner's...

What's his name?

Bret Howell, but...

he wouldn't have been anywhere near there last night.

I'm sorry.

I must go home.

Of course. Uh, we'll take you there right away.

I didn't plan to fall in love with Cathy,

nor she with me.

For a long time, we were just friends.

She was so beautiful,

so intelligent.

Who'd want to kill her?

Well, the police think you did.

And you were seen going into the house last night.

Alex was staying in town.

Cathy and I knew we'd have some time together.

When I left, she was fine.

And what time was that?

About 11:45.

I...

If I would have stayed, she'd still be alive.

Um, any idea how the murder weapon

got in the trunk of your car?

No.

Anybody else have a key?

Spare? In the office.

Maybe at home, too.

I, uh...

I'm going to be honest with you, Mr. Howell.

The district attorney has a very strong case.

I didn't do it, Mr. Matlock.

I loved her.

You believe me, don't you?

I have to go under that assumption.

But I-I-I...

I don't have a clue

how I'm going to convince the jury

that a man who's sleeping with a woman...

And not just any woman... His partner's wife...

And in his partner's house...

Is a person of, uh, high moral standards.

Well, the maid walked in this morning

and nearly had a coronary.

I guess.

She have a key?

Yep, and the alarm code.

The alarm was on?

No, it was off.

That's how the maid knew something was wrong.

Cathy Gordon always set the alarm

just before she went to sleep.

She couldn't last night when your client left.

She was dead.

Why do you say "when your client left"?

Well, it must have been him.

Anyone else coming in after he left

would have set off the alarm.

What about her husband?

Well, I guess you're not quite up to speed on this.

He, uh, has an alibi at a downtown motel.

Stayed the night.

But even without the alibi, he couldn't have done it.

Let's hear it.

Come on, I'll show you.

See the contraption on the stairs on your way up?

Yeah. Yeah. It's broken.

Six months. CONRAD: Yeah?

Well, it's the only way Mr. Gordon

can get up and down the stairs.

He's a paraplegic.

I didn't know that.

Uh, anything else?

There's a lot of blood.

Yeah. Did you find any clothes the killer was wearing?

No. Anything taken?

Nothing so far.

They got a good case.

Yeah, they do.

We're best friends of the family.

Mr. Gordon's expecting us.

It's okay, Officer.

Thank you.

Alex.

We're so sorry.

I can't believe it.

I just saw Cathy on Tuesday.

Are you okay?

I honestly don't know

what I'm going to do without her, Grant.

I'll miss her.

Cathy deserved better.

I'd like to offer our condolences.

I'm Michelle Thomas, Ben Matlock's associate.

This is Conrad McMasters.

We represent Mr. Howell.

Thank you, Miss Thomas.

I understand Mrs. Gordon was a lovely woman.

More than lovely, Mr...

McMasters.

She was the finest woman I've ever known.

Excuse me.

I need a glass of water.

My wife and Cathy were very close.

I'm Grant Estes.

Glad to meet you. How do you do? Hello.

Alex?

I know I shouldn't have come here, but please,

you've got to believe me.

I didn't kill Cathy.

Believe you?

You two-faced bastard.

Alex... Sleeping with my wife,

pretending to be my best friend.

Get the hell out of my house!

Nice outfit.

Hey.

Very impressive.

Great stress release.

Three times a week, no matter what.

Oh.

I... I've got some dumbbells in my den.

Christmas present.

I guess somebody's trying to tell me something.

Yep.

Yeah.

Yeah, I...

I try sometimes,

but I'll do... I'll do better.

But, boy, your upper body...

My upper body's all I've got.

Um, uh...

I, uh... I-I-I promised I'd do this.

Uh... um...

why I'm here is, um, my client would-would...

would like to come to the funeral.

He's out of his mind.

Keep him away from me.

I'm... I'm sorry I interrupted your workout.

That's okay.

Um, Bret... Bret said that he kept

an extra set of car keys in his, uh...

uh, desk in his office.

You didn't happen to see anybody...

No, I didn't.

So, you-you think the dumbbells would help, huh?

It's a start.

You could lose some weight, too.

You think so?

Well, you carry all that stuff around with you,

you probably don't feel like exercising.

Oh, well, I'll-I'll... I'll do better.

You know what they say: we are what we eat.

On you, it shows.

Well, uh...

So, what can I do for you, Miss Thomas?

You and Cathy Gordon were friends for quite a while.

Since high school.

Did you and your husband spend a lot of time with the Gordons?

I spent a lot of time with Cathy.

And Alex?

No, I avoided Alex as much as I could.

Oh?

Life's too short to be around nasty people.

He made Cathy miserable.

Well, yesterday, he sounded like he loved her very much.

It's an act.

Well, did Cathy love him?

She tried to be very loyal.

Was there any...

Well, I mean, could... could he?

Yes, he could.

And he wouldn't.

Why wouldn't he?

Uh... anger.

Anger, I guess.

How did it happen?

One night, Cathy was driving them home from a party.

She got cut off, lost control of the car, it rolled.

Alex was thrown clear, but Cathy got trapped.

The car caught fire.

Somehow, Alex managed to pull her out,

but the car lurched,

and Alex suffered a serious spinal injury.

It put stress on a marriage that wasn't good to begin with.

Miss Thomas,

this is only me talking.

Before the accident, Alex Gordon was not a nice person.

Being paralyzed did not improve his personality.

He used Cathy's guilt,

and he would never ask for a divorce.

Why wouldn't he?

He made six figures.

She inherited $6 million.

That's the difference between comfort and luxury.

Did Alex know about Cathy's affair?

I didn't think so.

Cathy told me.

She... she felt so guilty.

Miss Thomas,

whatever happiness Cathy had, she had with Bret Howell.

She loved him, and he loved her very much.

Come on, Ben, there's just no way

a paraplegic could have committed that murder.

I didn't say he did.

I just want to find out more about him

and about the motel where he stayed that night.

Eh... unless the man is cured and nobody knows about it,

I... think you're barking up the wrong tree.

You want to just find out something

about the motel where he stayed that night?

I'll find out about the motel.

Barking up the wrong tree.

Man, you scared the devil out of me.

Here, let me give you a hand

with that. No, no.

Thanks.

Okay.

I have plenty to do.

Lunch.

What do you got?

Ooh... I got two hamburgers jumbo,

two hot dogs all the way.

I got fries, onion rings, rice pudding,

and two milkshakes... vanilla... And one extra just in case.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

You like hot dogs.

Yeah.

Well, what's the matter?

Well... somebody said

maybe I ought to lose a little weight.

What do you think?

You're plump.

Pleasingly plump?

Just plump.

Well... diet then.

I can't be losing my figure.

That used to be one of my best things.

You know that motel you told me to look into?

Yeah.

Well, Alex Gordon always stays in the same room

because it has easy wheelchair access.

Yeah.

I don't know what this means, but the night of the murder,

he said he wanted a quiet room because he was real tired,

even though the access was more difficult.

They saw him check in, they saw him check out.

But in between, he could have gone anywhere.

Like I said, I don't know what that means

because I found out this.

Man makes a good living, right?

But his wife is the one with all the money.

Well, that's reason enough to kill her right there.

Yeah, but except for token maintenance,

Alex Gordon is not in his wife's will.

He's not?

How'd you find out?

Connections.

Does he know?

Contact says yes.

Huh.

Well, the only way he could get any of her money was

if she was alive.

Doesn't make any sense.

Nope.

I think you're barking up the wrong tree.

Wrong tree, huh?

I want you to follow him everywhere.

Okay, got my stuff, got my radio.

You gonna eat those hot dogs?

Yes.

Both of 'em?

Yes. When?

While I'm working, following Alex Gordon.

Well, what are you gonna do with all that other stuff?

I'm gonna eat it.

I knew it was 8:30

because that's when I walk Jerome every night.

Jerome is my dog.

Anyway, I noticed this burgundy Jaguar parked near my house.

When I looked around to see who it belonged to,

I noticed someone going into the Gordons' house.

And what exactly did you see?

Well, Mrs. Gordon sort of pulled this man inside.

Do you see the person who was pulled

into the Gordons' house here today?

Sure, I've seen him there before.

The defendant

Mr. Howell.

In all of the years I've worked for the Gordons,

the alarm was always on when I went to work.

Mrs. Gordon simply never would go to sleep

without turning it on.

Never?

Not even if she was sick or injured or just plain forgot?

No, never.

So, if Mrs. Gordon had been alive when the defendant left,

she would have turned the alarm on,

and therefore no one could enter the house

without setting it off?

No one.

Thank you very much.

No questions.

Mr. Matlock.

No questions.

You may step down.

Court will recess

45 minutes for lunch.

Uh, M-Mr. Gordon?

Yeah?

Uh, uh, this... this may, uh, uh,

be a little awkward,

but I'll just go ahead with it.

Bret said that, uh, you stayed in town

the night of the murder and worked

on the Uniwear campaign, and, uh, the meeting's next week,

and if you have the campaign, he'd like to present it.

Tell Bret to stick it.

Okay.

Uh, why didn't you stay

in your regular room at the motel that night?

The front room is noisy.

I need quiet to work and sleep.

I see, hmm,

I see.

You think I'm a suspect?

Well, I'll take that as a compliment.

You think I snuck out and murdered my wife

in my wheelchair?

Mr. Matlock.

Numerous places

in the victim's bedroom and the entire house were dusted.

And what did you find?

We found the fingerprints of the defendant, Mr. Howell,

throughout the house

and in particular, in the victim's bedroom.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

Mr. Matlock. Yes, sir.

Uh, Lieutenant... do you from time to time, uh,

visit with friends and business associates

at, uh, their various homes?

Yes. Well,

when you take leave of one another,

uh, do you take care

to wipe your fingerprints off everything...

Uh, uh, tableware, tables and the walls and stuff like that?

No.

Yes.

Now, you've testified

that this knife is the murder weapon

and that it was found in the trunk of Mr. Howell's car?

Yes, sir.

Well, why are there no fingerprints on it?

Well... LLOYD: Objection.

- Calls for speculation. - Sustained.

It doesn't make sense that-that... Mr. Matlock.

That the defendant would leave his fingerprints

Mr. Matlock. all over the walls of the house

and wipe 'em off the knife Mr. Matlock.

Before he threw it in the trunk of his car.

Sustained. LLOYD: Objection. It's argumentative.

Sustained. Well, why-why didn't he just leave the knife

at the scene of the crime? Mr. Matlock.

You'll have to ask your client. Or whoever committed

this horrible murder. Mr. Matlock.

Withdraw the question.

Nothing further.

We'll adjourn till 10:00 tomorrow morning.

Uh, Your Honor,

Your Honor, Your Honor,

could counsel and I meet with you in chambers briefly?

Mr. Burgess?

That's fine, yes, sir.

And-and could we ask

Mr. Alex Gordon

to meet with us?

Your Honor, this is a receipt for a $50,000 diamond bracelet

that my client gave the deceased the day before she was murdered.

What's the point? Well,

the bracelet hasn't shown up

anywhere in Mrs. Gordon's possessions,

and I'd like to search the safes

up in her bedroom to see if it's there.

For what purpose?

Y-You said that

no robbery was involved in this murder,

and if the bracelet isn't there, it proves that there was.

Mr. Matlock, if you're introducing evidence,

you must do so in a courtroom, and if you're asking

for a warrant to search the Gordon house,

then ask right now.

Well, um...

I have no problem with your going into the safe.

Come by first thing in the morning.

You can look around all you want.

This it?

Hmm.

It sure looks like it.

Yeah, that's got

to be it.

Well, it looks like you missed this one, doesn't it, Ben?

Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nice try, Ben.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's right.

You find what you were looking for?

Uh, yes. I-I'll be right with you, be right there.

Yes, we did.

Uh...

Mr. Gordon, um...

how are you doing?

I miss my wife...

more than I can say, but I'm all right.

I trained myself early to be self-sufficient.

I-I didn't want to be a burden to Cathy.

I'm moved by your internal strength.

Paralyzed when you saved your wife's life,

and now to find out...

I'm a practical man, Mr. Matlock.

I understood my wife's needs.

I couldn't fulfill all of them... most but not all.

That's more than practical.

I'll be honest with you, Mr. Matlock.

At first I felt rage, bitterness.

Life isn't fair, I know it,

but I also know that if the situation had been reversed,

Cathy would have pulled me out of that car

and eventually I might have had an affair.

Well...

I wish life had turned out differently for you.

Thank you.

Yes.

It's-it's a very nice house.

Yes, it is.

I may keep it, I don't know.

Expensive to keep up.

Well...

Uh...

Um...

What?

There's, uh, there's something

you probably don't know about.

Your wife gave Mr. Howell

the combination to your upstairs safe,

and so the other day I took a little look.

I might get in trouble, I don't know, but...

funny thing... The bracelet wasn't there.

I'm certain of it.

And then remember in chambers

we asked if we could... we could take a look

and you said fine, remember, and we just did, we just looked,

and... the bracelet is there.

It's there.

And, uh...

I don't understand.

Well... I'll go.

May I have your order, please?

Hi. Give me a chocolate shake and a hamburger.

Ben Matlock.

Ben, I'm at a drive-through on East Magnolia.

He lost me.

Mr. Gordon,

I know this will be difficult for you,

but I'd like to talk about

your relationship with your wife.

Uh, was there intimacy?

That was impossible.

I have been told just the opposite.

That it's very possible.

Were you happy?

Happier than most marriages.

Well, you know that your wife was in love with my client?

An affair is not love, Mr. Matlock.

My wife and I understood each other's needs,

and we accepted them.

That was one of the strengths of our marriage.

Well, Mrs. Gordon was planning to divorce you, wasn't she?

Like any couple that's been married longer than two weeks,

we'd occasionally discuss divorce

in the heat of an argument.

Uh-huh.

Do you know a man named Mr. Martin Sedgwick?

Yes, I do. He's an attorney.

In fact, he is the attorney your wife retained

to file for divorce in her behalf.

Isn't that right?

She hired him, yes,

but she never would have gone through with it.

Because she loved you?

Yes.

Cathy was hot-tempered

and certainly had a flair for the dramatic.

Instead of saying, "I'm angry,"

she'd file for divorce.

But that was one of the things I loved about her.

I'm easily bored, Mr. Matlock,

and Cathy was never boring.

You miss her.

Yes. Very much.

Your wife's family inheritance

allowed a lifestyle

that, uh, your salary alone could never support.

Isn't that right?

That's insulting.

Objection! Relevancy.

Mr. Matlock, this man is not on trial here.

Your client is.

Your Honor... I'm sustaining

the objection, Mr. Matlock.

Move on.

The night

your wife was murdered,

you stayed in town in a motel, didn't you?

Yes.

And you always stay in the same motel in the same room

because it has wheelchair access.

But this night, you stayed in a different room, didn't you?

I was tired.

My regular room is right next to the office.

Can be quite noisy sometimes.

I told you that already, remember?

The room you stayed in was way in back of the motel.

The manager helped you check in, helped you check out.

But in the meantime,

given the location of the room,

you could have gone somewhere, come back,

never been seen, couldn't you?

I stayed in that room all night.

Mr. Gordon,

you have

tremendous upper body strength, don't you?

Yes.

You would, too, if you had to drag around

half a body of dead weight.

You lift weights? Yes.

Could you climb up a rope?

I've never tried.

I'd have to say no.

Feet are part of the power.

But given the tremendous upper body strength you have,

wouldn't it be fairly easy for you?

Nothing is easy for a paraplegic, Mr. Matlock.

Let me tell you a story.

There was a man

who was filled with rage.

And he was victim of an accident

that left him paralyzed.

A terrible loss.

And his rage built more rage.

Maybe even pathological.

Many, many people,

disabled just like he,

work their way through their loss,

and live their lives.

Productive.

But rage had always been a part of this man,

and now it was his constant companion.

So one night,

he called his wife

and told her he was gonna stay in town,

knowing that his business partner

would take that opportunity to see her.

An affair.

An affair, perhaps brought on

by the numerous rejections of the husband.

And he knew that his neighbor would walk his dog

at the same time every night

and see his partner's car

parked out in front of the house.

You are saying

that I deliberately set up an opportunity

for Bret to meet Cathy?

Just a story. LLOYD: Objection!

Your Honor, this is crucial

to the completion of this case.

Careful, Mr. Matlock.

Be very careful.

Overruled.

Once you had established your alibi

at the motel,

you drove to your house,

waited for your partner, my client, to leave,

and your wife to go to sleep.

Then you turned off the alarm, went in the house.

You knew

you could go up those stairs

by using your hands.

But your legs would drag behind you,

leaving a-a trail of particle evidence

that anybody could find.

So you threw a rope over the upstairs banister.

And that's how you climbed

to the second floor of your house,

something no one would think a paraplegic could do.

Then

you stabbed your wife to death

while she slept.

How dare you.

I don't climb ropes.

How dare you!

Let me show you something.

Let me show you something.

Let me show you this.

Recognize this bag?

This is the rope you used

to climb to the second floor of your house.

This is the bloody jacket you wore...

while you stabbed your wife to death.

These are the gloves

that you wiped off.

You knew that my associate, Conrad McMasters,

was following you last night, so you lost him.

We meant for you to do that.

Do you recognize this gentleman?

He's a private investigator.

I hired him to follow you,

and he saw you go up an alley

and throw this bag and the contents

in a Dumpster.

I'm sure forensics testing will prove

the blood on this jacket and in places on this rope

is your wife's blood.

Millions of people have been disabled

like you, and have found a way

to live fulfilling, productive lives.

I'm sorry for your accident,

and I'm sorry that you had to live in that chair.

I'm sorry most of all

that you allowed your rage

to cause all of this tragedy.

But there can be no excuse for what you have done.

Your Honor,

defense moves that all charges

against my client be dropped.

In light of the evidence, Your Honor, the people concur.

As does the court.

Case dismissed.

This court is adjourned.