Original subtitles

If that's how things are, then fine.

And thank you very much!

Sometimes I feel big, like I could wrap my hands around the sun.

Someday you're gonna be all alone, and I'm gonna be there.

There's a problem, Dr. Hazlitt. It's David.

Taggart!

Which arm? Try to remember, Seth.

They tell me at Tascadero that we all have free will. So, uh, what is it, lady? Huh?

And then everything moved over to the new community center,

leaving this place empty most of the time.

So after a while, we started using it for local productions,

historical pageants, that sort of thing.

What about the dressing rooms?

All taken care of, as you requested.

Lights and water will be turned on in just about an hour.

If I had a better idea of your requirements, Mr. Mueller,

perhaps I could be of some more help.

My associates and I have acquired a new play.

We intend to try it out here prior to opening it off-Broadway.

The stage is satisfactory.

My people should be here from New York any time now.

Your people?

Director, some crew, a few cast members.

We'll find the rest of the crew and the supporting cast locally.

Auditions begin tomorrow at 10:00.

Why, that's wonderful!

Um, you know, actually,

I have some acting background myself.

I shouldn't be at all surprised.

And this place, it has quite a history.

Back a long time ago,

David North used to come here every summer on vacation from Hollywood.

Before leaving, he'd act in a play right here,

just to keep his hand in.

People would come from miles around.

I hear that he's living in England now.

Past tense, Miss Simpson, past tense.

Which is far less pleasant than the present.

David North. I'm happy to meet you.

Just a little bit further to your left, Sheriff. That's perfect.

In my novel, an assassination attempt is ruined

when a businessman steps in front of the Prime Minister.

And I have to get the trajectory absolutely right

so that one of them is killed and the other is only injured.

And, uh, who am I?

Oh, you're the businessman.

And the Prime Minister, Henri Jacques, is right behind you.

But you're the one who gets killed.

Figures.

That's perfect.

From here, you'd be killed instantly.

Clean shot right through the heart. Swell.

Hold that knit just for a minute, will you?

So, Mr. Prime Minister, this is your first time in Cabot Cove?

You know, you have looked better.

Hello?

Eve?

Eve, is that you?

Anything wrong?

I don't know, she's making sounds

only a squirrel can understand.

Eve, would you... Start from the beginning.

Will you calm down?

Who's back in town? No, that's amazing.

Does Seth know yet?

A fair... A fair fight?

I may have been only yea high,

but even I knew that the fix was on when I saw it!

When Joe Louis knocked down Max Schmeling...

you could've left the arena,

gone all the way down the street, had dinner,

come back and they still would not have started the count!

I don't believe it. Seth, are you still arguing that one?

Who wants to know?

David?

David! You son of a gun!

Why didn't you tell... Where have you been?

How long have you been in town?

I want to know right now! When?

I wanted it to be a surprise.

Well, it was a surprise, all right! Good heavens.

Look, I can't stay. I'm exhausted.

I just drove up from New York.

I want to invite you over for dinner tomorrow after the auditions.

We're trying out a new play here, and I want everybody to meet you.

Oh, tomorrow...

I can't. I'm having dinner with Jessica Fletcher.

All the better! Bring her along.

There isn't an actor alive who doesn't love a good mystery.

Be at the community center around 6:00.

Oh, it's good to see you still have a few surviving patients.

Oh, he's... Ah!

Out! Out! Out!

Can I have your attention, please? My name is Kathryn Evans,

director for And Wept a Stranger.

This is one of our leads, John Koppel.

Behind me, our producer, Jerome Mueller, and our star, David North.

For the benefit of those who just arrived,

we're looking for five or six supporting actors

to back up our main cast.

So if you've all had a chance to look at the scenes,

let's get on with it.

Can I please see Eve Simpson and Lyman Taggart?

Okay. Whenever you're ready.

Take it from "And how" to "And have no harm done it."

Remember, this is a period piece,

so hit the accents and the rhythms

and watch your pronunciations.

And how would you of all bring love into this cold, forbidding place?

By all the usual means, trickery, deceit

and a lover's list of promises never meant to be kept.

If you expect me to find this cynicism darkly compelling...

I expect nothing of the kind.

And, expecting nothing, thus receive it.

My heart's my own,

fair lady, ill used and impractical a thing as it may be,

I have had it bronzed and kept upon the shelf.

Thank you, Mr. Taggart.

The piece ended at the previous line.

Yeah, I know.

I was just trying to get into it.

I mean, you know, I...

I really don't think that I did my best job.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we're running behind, so...

Could I do it again, please?

I'm sorry, but there are a lot of others waiting to audition.

Miss Simpson, if you could stick around for a few minutes...

That was very nice. Mr. Taggart, uh...

Thank you for coming.

I drove all the way from Bangor.

I mean, I drove all night long just to get here.

I appreciate that, but sometimes enthusiasm

isn't always sufficient to the cause.

All I'm asking for is another chance. Okay?

I mean, what is the big deal?

Look, son, you're not doing yourself any good.

Sure, rejection is tough, but just roll with it.

I'm sorry, Mr. North. I'm sorry.

But she's trying to lock out new talent here!

You know, it's just the same old story.

Okay. That's enough.

Oh, right. Sure. If that's how things are, then fine.

Terrific! And thank you very much!

Okay. Why don't we, uh, pick up again after lunch? I'll see you all then.

Jessica Fletcher, I assume?

It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. North.

I've enjoyed your work enormously.

No more than I've enjoyed yours.

Oh, getting a bit thick around here, now isn't it?

It's a difficult task being his friend,

but someone has to do it.

Shall we? Oh, yes.

It's a very unusual play.

It tracks one man's descent into madness

as his world crumbles around him.

That would be my part.

Typecasting, I suppose.

What's great, as well as using regular paint for the sets and flats,

we're also using this new kind of paint

that only shows up under ultraviolet light.

Ah, yes. I think I read about that in New York.

Something quite new, um... Wildfire Lighting, isn't it?

That's enough.

I hereby declare a moratorium on business conversation.

Kathryn, there's a perfectly good dance floor over there

just waiting for someone to use it.

Would you please excuse me?

When the producer asks the director to dance,

the director dances.

And when the director dances, the actors dance.

Excuse us, as well.

So, how does it feel, coming out of retirement, coming back to the stage?

Oh! It feels good.

Sometimes I feel big, like I could wrap

my hands around the sun if I wanted to.

Ask me, you never should've retired in the first place.

I still don't understand why you did it.

I just couldn't stand the noise anymore.

Jess, I've known this man longer than anyone else on the face of the Earth.

We grew up together.

Before he went off to Hollywood to become a movie star.

We ate together, we swam together, we dated the same girls.

You'd think by now at least he could give me a straight answer.

There's a certain point when it ceases to be fun.

I needed to get away for a while.

The hard part, at my age, is that, uh,

there's no one left to play with.

I lost a good friend, Seth.

That's why I couldn't come back to Cabot Cove for so long.

You know that.

It took me long enough to find you up here, David.

Eric?

If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to avoid me.

Oh, no. No, no. Of course not.

Seth, you remember Eric, don't you?

Oh, yes.

Eric Benderson this is Jessica Fletcher.

How do you do?

Eric was my personal manager for years.

I grabbed the first plane up from New York

as soon as I heard about the play.

It's been a long time, David, but I want you to know I'm still here for you.

Anything I can do to help, you just let me know.

Oh, that's wonderful, that's really wonderful. Eric...

Come here! It's good to see you.

Yeah.

Thank you. Good night.

Good night. Good night, thank you.

No! It's the lady director.

Oh, you can't go in there, sir, without... Sir...

Hey!

I just wanted to see your face.

You know, I used to think that you were really something special.

Look, son, if this is about this afternoon...

I drove 100 miles to be here, to see you,

to get a chance.

You call that a chance? That was a joke.

You know, you're just the same as everybody else.

Maybe worse.

Somebody ought to take you down a peg.

I think you're miscalculating, young man.

Simple mathematics. There are several of us,

and only one of you.

So move along, or we'll all step outside.

Remember, Mr. Movie Star, someday you're gonna be all alone,

and I'm gonna be there.

You can count on it.

That was a pretty foolish thing you did last night, Seth.

If that young man had taken you up on your challenge,

someone could have gotten very seriously hurt.

Oh, I know, I know...

It happens every time I hang around with David North.

I forget I'm older, slower, and a tad rounder

than when we were both very young,

and he was constantly getting me into trouble.

Which he proceeded to do all over again

last night after we dropped you off.

Oh! Apparently so.

Ah!

Softly, please, Jess.

I feel as if every molecule of air in the room was bouncing against my head,

and the irony of that is I didn't really have very much to drink.

It was just going around and around all night.

"Adventuring," David called it.

He's a hard man to keep up with, Jess.

How is he doing, by the way? After his encounter?

Oh, he's fine. Dropped me at my place

and then drove off to see the sunrise.

Strange, though.

What's strange?

Well, the way he acted last night

when we were hitting every bar in town,

as if he were determined to have a good time even if it killed him.

He was, I don't know, desperate.

Like someone trying to escape from something.

Jess, can you please tell me why my tongue feels like outdoor carpeting?

You're the doctor.

Now, you're sure it's not a problem running me into town?

After the way you resurrected me?

Absolutely not. Where did I leave my coat?

Oh, it's right here.

Oh, what's this?

Ah! I wanted to show you that.

I just remembered.

David was the first celebrity I ever knew personally,

and as one of his schoolmates, I took a certain pride in his career.

I followed him for years.

Now, I collected all sorts of stuff.

I have programs, I have reviews, playbills,

ads from the first movies.

Oh, there we are together in the third grade.

I'm the one wearing the hat.

Look, I didn't buy it, my mother gave it to me.

Oh, what's that?

Ah.

I'm afraid that's a memento of a sadder time.

Remember David saying he'd lost a lot of friends,

one of them here in Cabot Cove? Well, this is it.

Vincent Channing and he were very good friends.

They went out to Hollywood together.

They worked in the same pictures together.

David even convinced him

to come out here for his vacations.

One summer, Vincent had to cut his holiday short.

He borrowed David's car to go to the airport.

It had been raining.

He lost control on one of these curvy roads outside of town.

He was killed instantly.

Oh, how terrible.

I was one of the first ones there.

Of course, I had to report it to David.

Well, it nearly killed him.

Hello?

Yes, he is. Just a moment.

It's for you.

Hey, yeah, Hazlitt.

Why, yes.

Yes, Mr. Mueller, I remember meeting you at dinner last night.

What can I do for you?

There's a problem, Dr. Hazlitt. It's David.

Well, thanks again, Seth. Mmm-hmm.

I hope your friend is all right.

Hi, Mrs. Fletcher! Hi! Lyman Taggart.

I recognize you from the theater the other day, and then at the restaurant,

and, well, I just wanted to apologize.

Uh, Mr. Taggart...

I know. There is no excuse for my behavior,

but it's just...

I am such a big fan of David North, and...

Well, the chance to work in this show with him,

well, it just means everything to me.

I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning

to watch him in Martyr at Camafeo for the sixth time.

I mean, that man, he is such a genius.

Mr. Taggart, I suspect that you're apologizing to the wrong person.

But I thought that you and he were friends,

and that maybe you could put in a good word for me.

I can't do that.

Can't?

Or won't?

Please excuse me.

Can't or won't, Mrs. Fletcher?

They tell me at Tascadero that we all have free will.

So, uh, what is it, lady? Huh? Can't or won't?

There's only one person he wants to see, and that's you,

but I'll be down the hall if you need me.

David?

David, it's me. Seth.

What say you open the door? David.

David?

I thought you gave up the hard stuff years ago.

I did. But this is a celebration, isn't it?

David North, fresh from a whirlwind tour of his own life,

out of retirement after 10 long years.

Back into the nightmare.

Out of the frying pan, into the pyre.

You're not making any sense.

Good.

I've always considered logic vastly overrated.

You'd better go.

I thought you sent for me.

I did. My error.

Don't compound it.

David, I don't know what's going on here,

but if you're in any kind of trouble,

if there's something wrong, tell me. Plainly.

I've never been very good at metaphors or code-breaking.

I'm scared.

Well, of course you are.

My God, man, who wouldn't be?

Facing an audience after all this time.

But, David, you were one of the best.

You can do this.

Oh, Seth, you've been such a good friend.

You almost...

You almost make me wish we were talking about the same thing.

I suppose they're waiting for me out there.

I hope you all have good reason

for hanging around, wasting time.

We've got a production to mount.

John, I'd like to talk to you and Kathryn about

the first entrance, to make it better.

Thanks again, Dr. Hazlitt.

You know, David's been through a lot lately,

and there's some people who don't exactly wish him well.

Is that what brought you all the way out here?

Well, let's just say that anyone who wants to try and hurt David

has to go through me first.

Thanks again, Doctor.

Yeah.

Oh, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Mrs. F.

I mean, I practically grew up on David North movies.

The pirate pictures, though, those were the best ones.

You know, I hear he did all his own stunts.

And what are your intentions?

I have no intentions.

Only suspicions, calculations, inclinations and doubts.

About what?

Many things. Yourself most of all.

I think we have a cue here. The constable enters.

I'm afraid we've lost the constable.

Apparently lobster season won't wait.

We're looking for a replacement.

Um, can you pick up the part of the constable for now?

Sure.

You'll excuse me,

there's a carriage waiting at the front gate. Oh, there he is!

Something about a coffin.

And more confusion!

Did you send for a coffin?

Boy, he's good, isn't he?

I don't know, he looks awfully thin up there.

Oh, it's just the lights.

You think so?

Perhaps you should ask the passenger.

They say TV makes you look fat. Maybe on stage it's just the opposite.

I imagine. But I was speaking to Janice

just the other day, and she said that he had...

Do you mind?

Who said that?

You?

Say it again, please.

Do you mind?

Louder. So they can hear you in the cheap seats. Come on!

Do you mind?

Oh, come on! Give me a big one! Louder! Louder! Come on!

Do you mind?

Kathryn, I believe we've found our constable.

Congratulations. Welcome to the company.

I'll see you both tonight at the cast party.

Coming.

Hello, Jessica.

David, come on in.

Seth's delayed. He asked me to pick you up.

I would've been here sooner,

but I had to go clear across town

to find a rental car with a manual transmission.

Are you ready to go?

Oh, just two seconds.

I just want to save and turn off my computer.

I'm about 10 pages away from finishing my novel,

and I am desperate to get it done.

What do you have against automatic cars?

Ah! I don't like them. I never have.

I like to feel the road when I drive.

There. Just get my coat on.

You must feel very excited.

The play is coming together very nicely.

Yes, and it's a good cast.

Especially John, our young actor from New York.

He's stubborn, dedicated, talented and smart,

and as a consequence doesn't work a lot.

But if we can make this play work, it'll be his big break.

And I must confess, I will take a certain pride in that.

Well, I know how you feel.

I feel the same way when one of my students goes on to be successful.

You know, I think that we repay the good things in our own lives

by investing in someone else's.

Shall we go?

Jerome, I've been looking everywhere for you.

I know.

I just got off the phone with my business manager.

What the hell is going on?

You know, when you asked me to help back this play financially,

we agreed to a clean three-way split of the net profits,

you, David and I.

I practically cleaned out my life savings to do this.

And we appreciate that.

Great. Except for now I hear Eric Benderson

is dickering for a straight 15% cut of the gross?

And for what? For being David's has-been manager?

David has no right to negotiate our rights away like that!

Kathryn, face it.

Without David, we don't have a production.

Look, it's only talk right now.

But a lot can happen between now and when the ink dries.

So, tell me, what's David like to work with?

I mean, not that I'm nervous or anything,

I'd just, you know, like to know.

He's an absolute professional. And generous.

He... He gives you plenty of room

to find your place in the scene.

Yeah. Well, I'm not worried about finding my place.

I just want to get through this thing without embarrassing myself.

Oh, I know the feeling. But you're the lucky one.

You won't have to worry about that too much.

What do you mean?

Well, didn't you read the script?

Your character gets killed at the end of the first act.

Oh, swell.

First I get killed in your novel

by someone who can't hit a prime minister at 50 paces.

And now I get bumped off in this.

Would somebody like to tell me when I became God's personal piñata?

Excuse me.

Wait! Don't do this.

Enjoying the party?

Oh, yes. It's wonderful.

Oh, absolutely.

Everything all right?

Oh, I take it you're referring to that little, uh, discussion with Jerome.

Well, whenever somebody new comes into a team like this, the way I did,

there's bound to be a little friction.

Nothing that can't be ironed out.

Have you seen David, by any chance?

Well, the last time I saw him, he was over there.

There he is.

Uh-oh. Excuse me.

I don't believe it! Get... No, I...

You're not welcome here! No!

Mr. North, please... I am not doing anything! You stay out of here!

I'm not doing anything to get out!

What do we have to do to make it clear to you?

Get out of here!

It was very brave of Mr. Benderson to go after Taggart like that.

It was strange, though.

I mean, I know that Taggart was turned down for the part, but...

I mean, his reaction was completely out of proportion.

Almost unbalanced.

Well, I'll say this for Eric,

he's always been very protective of David.

Did you know Benderson very well when he was David's manager?

No. Not really.

He worked for the studio, stayed behind the scenes most of the time.

Must've been a good businessman, though,

for David to hire him out of the blue like that.

What is it? Something wrong?

Well, I think I left my reading glasses behind.

However, I will drop you off first, then I'll go back.

Oh, nonsense, Seth.

Now look, we haven't gone that far. Just turn around and go back.

I thought you were in such a hurry to finish that novel.

Oh, I've only got about 10 more pages to do,

and there's plenty of time left this evening.

Seth, come on now. Turn around.

Jess, I think I might have left them over by the punch bowl.

It's Eric Benderson.

He's hurt. Badly hurt.

Send for the ambulance.

Yes.

It looked as if there had been a struggle,

in the course of which someone had struck Mr. Benderson.

Well, we're searching the area now for the weapon, but...

Sheriff! Oh, hey, Andy.

This just came in. Thought you'd like to see it.

Oh, thanks.

I followed up on that tip you gave me about Taggart,

you know, his behavior, the way he mentioned that institution he was in.

Tascadero. Yes?

Well, according to this, this guy's a real nut case.

He's got a whole history of celebrity stalking, trespassing...

Nothing violent, but that might have changed.

I think before I do anything, I'd better find this guy before he leaves Cabot Cove.

Try the Hill House, Sheriff.

He mentioned the other day that he stayed up until 3:00 a.m.

to catch David North in Martyr at Camafeo.

Well, I happened to notice that only

the film classics channel was playing that movie.

And only the Hill House carries that channel, right?

Seth.

How is he?

I'm sorry, David.

He's gone.

Oh, God.

Did he ever regain consciousness?

No. No, I'm afraid not.

I'll have a report for you within the hour, Sheriff.

David, if there's anything I can...

Look, I don't know what this does to your production,

but I'm gonna wanna see each of you before you head back for New York.

You don't consider any of us suspects?

As far as I'm concerned, anyone who knew Eric Benderson

and still has a pulse is a suspect.

Mrs. F., you sure about this guy Taggart staying at the Hill House?

Oh, reasonably sure. Yes.

Well, then what's he doing coming out of the Lighthouse Motel?

Mr. Taggart. I'd like to have a...

Fire! Fire in cabin number one! Hurry!

Jim! Call the fire department!

Operator...

No good.

I could smell gasoline all over the place.

Whose room was it?

A new guy in town. Eric Benderson.

I got a call from his family. They wanted me to pack up his belongings.

I was gonna do it later, but now...

Who'd do a thing like this?

Look, I did not start that fire.

Then what were you doing at the motel?

I was staying there.

Not true.

Now, we checked with the Hill House.

You've been registered there since last Monday night.

Now, do you want to tell me the truth,

or do you want to go for lie number two?

Okay, look.

I was at that motel because I saw David North drive in.

And you were following him?

I wanted to apologize.

I was gonna pack it in, drive back to Bangor this afternoon.

Look, I know that I have had some problems in the past, but I have gotten better.

It was just a little relapse, that's all.

I kind of... I don't know. I lost it.

And I didn't want to leave without trying to apologize.

That is all.

So then what happened?

Nothing.

I lost him. I couldn't tell what cabin he had gone into.

I gave up and I was getting ready to leave, and that's when I saw you.

Then why did you run?

I didn't want to get in trouble for following Mr. North.

Sheriff, David could have been at the hotel

hoping that he might find something

that would tell him who murdered Mr. Benderson.

So if he was in the room, maybe he saw who set the fire.

Mort, I hate to say this, but David could've set it.

Unless it was intended for him.

In which case he could be in real danger.

Andy, lock him away till we get back.

Mr. North? Sheriff Metzger. Could we talk to you, please?

He should be home. His car is here.

Yeah, I know. Mr. North?

Uh, Sheriff, do you smell something?

It's gas! Back up, Mrs. F.

He's unconscious. Radio... Yes.

Are you quite sure you're all right?

Fine. I'm fine.

I'm a little short of breath, but the good doctor here assures me that'll pass.

And you don't remember what happened?

No. I'm sorry. I...

I came back to the house to change, to shower before dinner.

Someone must've struck me from behind,

because the next thing I remember, I'm...

I'm lying out there on the grass, staring up at you two.

Is there any reason I can't get back to work?

Well, all things considered,

I would rather keep you under observation for a few more hours.

But your lungs don't seem to be damaged at all.

However, I do not want you to exert yourself.

Done. Thank you, Seth.

Come on, Mr. North, I'll give you a ride. Great.

Take care.

Yes?

Something wrong, Seth?

Who said anything was wrong?

Your face.

Are you going to believe, me or my face?

Look, if you don't want to talk about it, Seth, just say so. I'll leave.

David said that someone hit him from behind. That he was knocked out.

Well, Jess, I examined him thoroughly.

There was not a mark on him.

Now there should've been a bump, a contusion, something.

I was afraid that might be the case.

It bears out what I noticed at the house, Seth.

The door was locked from the inside.

And so were the windows.

I mean, there was no sign of anybody breaking in.

Meaning what? That there was no intruder?

That this whole thing was self-inflicted?

Oh, I cannot accept that.

Jess, you're asking me to believe

that David North deliberately tried to kill himself.

I cannot believe that.

Yes. But that's because he's your friend.

But if he wasn't your friend?

Suppose someone came to you with these results and asked for your opinion?

What would you say?

Attempted suicide.

Oh, hi, Doc. I'm looking for Sheriff Metzger. They said he'd be here.

You just missed him.

Uh, if you don't mind my asking, what is that?

We were going over that burned motel room and found this under the bed.

Looks like it was a bunch of photographs.

Of what?

Well, no way to tell now.

Heat destroyed most of them.

Just some bits and pieces left.

Seth.

Is that familiar to you?

Well, now that you mention it, I...

I think so, but I can't quite place it, though.

Well, I think I can.

But I'm going to need your help, Seth.

You know, the doc would kill me

if he knew I was dropping you off here.

Look, he said I should go home. This is it.

The theater's the only home I've ever known.

You sure you're okay?

I'm fine, Sheriff. Thank you.

Okay.

The car in this picture and the car in the accident

are one and the same.

Mmm-hmm.

Now, the pictures were just taken from different angles.

One was at night and one in daylight.

Well, who would've taken a picture like that?

And kept it all these years? And why?

Seth, tell me everything that you can remember about

the night that David's friend died in the accident.

Well, there isn't much to tell, really.

I got a call around midnight.

Who called?

Eric Benderson.

That was before he'd become David's manager.

Those days he was liaison for the studio.

His big job was keeping David and Vincent out of trouble.

Now, when I got there, the sheriff's people were already there.

Eric showed up a little later.

And of course, Vincent was still in the car, dead.

Seth, back at the house, you said that Vincent cut his vacation short.

Why did he do that?

Had a broken arm.

I suppose he wanted to recuperate in warmer climes.

Which arm? Try to remember, Seth.

Right... Yes, it was the right arm. Why?

Seth, I think I know who killed Eric Benderson. And I think I know why.

But if the path were mine to choose,

I'd have no contradictions or confusions,

no doubts or dreads or lies.

I long for peace and quiet,

but war is simple. It's peace that is hell.

Wait a minute. David, you're off script.

What? Where? Off, off, off? Where?

Didn't you get the new pages?

No, no. What new pages?

Oh, they came in last night.

Sorry, with all the confusion...

Anyway, Jerome and I were on the phone

most of yesterday with the playwright.

He wrote a new scene. We'll just block it out now.

Wait a minute. Who else is in this scene?

The governess. Unfortunately Eve isn't here,

so I've found someone to stand in for her.

Oh, it's good of you to help out, Jessica.

It's the least I could do.

Okay, let's take it from the top.

You're up late.

Secrets do not respect the clock.

And what would you know of secrets?

A tale of overwhelming sadness.

Two friends, close as blood, separated by death.

If you would say something, then speak plainly. These are difficult times.

I am driven from rage into madness,

and from madness in...

From madness into the touch of death upon my own hand.

There's more.

Yes.

Too much more.

Too much pain. Too many years.

How long had Eric Benderson been blackmailing you?

Ever since that night.

You know all about this, don't you?

Enough to put it together.

When you came by my house the other day,

you mentioned you only drive cars with a stick shift.

When your friend Vincent Channing died

in a car accident outside town,

you said he was alone, driving one of your cars.

And I noticed in the photo of the accident

that it was, indeed, a manual transmission car.

But at night, after a rain, with the roads still slick,

it seems very unlikely that he could drive a stick shift

with a broken right arm.

When your friend died that night,

he wasn't alone, was he?

You were there at the wheel.

He had to get back to the coast,

I offered to drive him to the airport.

We celebrated his departure,

and we were both pretty drunk.

Eric was following us, trying to get us to stop.

I said, "Let's lose him," and I gunned the engine.

The wheel just turned in my hand.

I was apparently thrown clear when the car went off the road.

I was hardly even scratched.

And Eric was there, helping me up.

- But Vincent... - Was dead.

To avoid causing a scandal for the studio,

Eric made it look like Vincent was driving alone.

And took you back to town. You...

You didn't know that he'd taken pictures of the whole thing.

Not until later.

When the blackmail began.

He wanted in.

He became my personal manager.

He took a piece of everything I made.

And after a few years, I couldn't take it any longer.

I quit. I retired. Disappeared.

And after 10 years, I thought it was long enough.

That he'd forgotten about me.

I was wrong.

Which explains your curious reaction when Eric showed up in town.

You seemed more stunned than pleased at his arrival.

I wanted him to go away.

I wanted him to leave me alone.

He refused.

I begged. I pleaded with him.

I'd made a mistake. It was a long time ago.

I wanted my life back.

He wouldn't let go! I lost control.

And that's when you knocked over the paint cans.

And then fled out the back door

when you heard us enter the theater.

That's the same jacket you were wearing

the night Eric Benderson was killed.

During the struggle, you knocked over some containers

of that special paint,

the kind that can only be seen under ultraviolet light.

I'm sorry, Mr. North,

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to place you under arrest.

Good scene, Jessica.

And he admitted to starting the fire as well?

Yep. It's all right here.

See, he figured after Eric was killed,

somebody'd start poking around and find those photos.

When he couldn't find them himself,

he did what he felt he had to do.

Andy, it's time. You want to transfer the prisoner, please?

Mmm? Yeah.

"Transfer the prisoner"? Isn't that awfully formal?

The man is not a cold-blooded killer, Mort.

If he were, he wouldn't have tried to do away with himself like that.

I know. The way he gave me every detail.

There's a man with a lot to get off his chest.

Well, at least now it's over.

Maybe he'll find some peace.

I'm surprised to see you after...

After what's happened.

I can't approve of what you did.

The man was a blackmailer, but that's no excuse for murder.

However, you don't turn your back on a friend,

and I expect you could use one just about now.

Oh, may I, uh, go along with him?

I think that'll be all right.

By the way, Doc, where's Mrs. F.?

I figured she'd want to be here for this one.

At home. For the past three days,

she has been within 10 pages of finishing her book.

So I expect she's determined to finish it now,

while she has some peace and quiet.