Original subtitles

Dana? What the hell are you doing?

You've made millions on illegal insider trading of Regitek stock.

This could be connected to the murder?

Gabe, get him outta my face!

Take it easy, the both of you.

Hello, this is Mrs. Fletcher.

Don't go into your act. Not with me.

I have never lied to you, Mrs. Fletcher. Not once. I couldn't do that.

For once in her life, Dana is actually telling the truth.

You are in terrible trouble.

Do you for one minute think that any jury would hesitate to convict her?

I know I should have a better plan, Jessica,

but I'm just gonna take off for points south

and see what kind of job opportunities open up.

Well, I wish you the best, Dana.

Your work has been extremely valuable. Most of it, anyway.

Oh, well, listen, I'm sorry about that screw-up last week.

But I've gone back over those judging procedures for livestock

at the New Hampshire State Fair.

Good. You'd be amazed how many letters I receive

when even little things like that aren't accurate.

Oh, yes, I know. I spoke to Mrs. McCurdy again and got it all straight.

I felt like such a fool having to call her back.

Well, again, it's been a real pleasure.

And good luck on your publicity tour.

Well, thank you. Goodbye, Dana.

Oh, thank you.

Hello?

Helen McCurdy, Mrs. Fletcher, from the New Hampshire State Fair.

I've double-checked my phone records and my files,

and I just can't find any indication that I've ever been contacted

by Dana Ballard.

Thank you, Mrs. McCurdy.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I haven't checked

your references as yet, Miss Ballard.

However, they look excellent. And now that you're in town, I'll get right into it.

For whatever it's worth, there's one I haven't had a chance to include.

Up until a week ago, I had the pleasure of working

as a personal assistant to a mystery novelist up in Cabot Cove.

Her name is... Cabot Cove?

You mean J.B. Fletcher?

You've been working with Jessica Fletcher?

Do you know her?

Well, only through her novels, which I devour.

All I can say is that if the rest of my employment experiences

are half as pleasant, I'm gonna consider myself very fortunate.

You know, she seems like such a fascinating person.

When I mentioned I was coming in for this interview,

she said you're welcome to call her anytime.

Oh, I'd like that very much.

Well, here's her number.

You know, it's been my ambition to be part of the securities business

for as long as I can remember.

Well, why don't I just call Mrs. Fletcher right now?

Oh, you know, she doesn't take phone calls until after 3:00.

Oh, of course she'd have a set routine.

My God, the self-discipline that must take.

Oh, she's incredible.

Every morning, 5:00 a.m., she walks three miles. Always the same route.

And then she has exactly four cups of coffee before sitting down to her computer.

Fascinating.

Look, Miss Ballard, why don't you do me a favor

and don't take any other position without calling me?

I promise I won't, Mr. Stevens.

Morning, Mr. Stevens. Yesterday's reports.

Hmm.

Oh, and I thought you'd like to know, I sold Mrs. Buffum on that no-load account.

That girl, is she... I hope so, Todd.

One more week without an assistant

and I'm going to sink under all this paperwork.

And my first stop is Portland. Interview with

Terence Gideon of Wedgewood Publications.

Isn't he the man who hates mysteries?

Well, look at it this way, Jess.

You'll get a free dinner from one of the hottest restaurants in New England.

Atlantis is supposed to be absolutely fabulous.

Jessica, tell me, are you feeling all right?

Perfect. Why do you ask?

Oh, please, don't get me wrong, I mostly love this latest draft,

and my edits are minimal, but I have to say,

some of your research is...

Well, it's uncharacteristically sloppy.

Uh-oh. I was afraid of that. Where?

Well, for instance, you have Inspector Davidson saying

the FBI was established in 1926.

I happen to be editing a book about the Bureau.

It was actually started in 1908.

And there are several other places.

Uh-oh. There's my cab.

Look, I'm really sorry about this, Gloria, and I take full responsibility.

Look, if you'll give me your notes on any other mistakes that you pick up,

I will go through the entire manuscript while I'm on the road, okay?

Hello, you've reached Jessica Fletcher.

I can't come to the phone just now,

but if you leave your name and number...

Record message now.

Hello, this is Jessica Fletcher's machine.

I'm out of town for a few days, but I'll be picking up my messages,

so be sure to leave yours after the beep, and I'll get back to you.

Thank you.

Yours at the sound of the beep,

and I'll get back to you. Thank you.

Mrs. Fletcher, this is Ethan Stevens in Portland.

555-6750. I'd appreciate it if you'd get back to me

at your earliest convenience.

Dana Ballard suggested I call you. Thanks.

Now look, honey, believe me, I have no intention of letting Baker push me around.

Well, you certainly had me fooled.

Besides, there may not even be a problem.

And if you're wrong, Ethan?

Okay. Okay. If I am, then we've got some time

so I can think out our options, which I can't do with you haranguing me.

Missy, what I need right now is your support.

Oh, poor baby. You really do have all the pressure.

But I don't want to have to move to Rio or the Bahamas

or wherever we might have to go.

I like it here.

Yeah, I know.

So where is it tonight?

I made reservations at Atlantis. - 30.

Hello, this is Jessica Fletcher's machine...

Mrs. Fletcher, this is Ethan Stevens in Portland. 555-67...

Good afternoon, Ethan Stevens' office.

Hello, this is Mrs. Fletcher. May I please speak with Mr. Stevens?

Well, we're programmed to sell the Dynogenics common

when it reaches 14 and three-eighths,

and we're recommending a buy on the Elton municipals as a conservative measure.

I'm sorry, Todd, I can't deal with it now.

But you said you wanted to... Some other time, okay?

Yes. Yes, Mrs. Fletcher. You know, from my brief meeting with Dana,

I sensed that myself. Yeah, definitely.

And really, Mr. Stevens, that's almost the least of her virtues.

I can tell you quite honestly that Dana Ballard is a truly remarkable young woman.

Well, coming from someone like yourself, Mrs. Fletcher,

that's quite an impressive recommendation.

Ethan, we have to talk.

In a second, damn it.

Mrs. Fletcher, I thank you very much for your time.

Oh, a pleasure. And by all means, call me anytime you're in Cabot Cove.

Baker, I have done absolutely nothing improper.

Your informant doesn't know what the hell he's talking about and neither do you.

Let me spell it out for you.

You've made millions on illegal insider trading of Regitek stock.

And now, you're going to the SEC voluntarily before they come after you.

Forget it.

And tell them the truth that it was you, you alone.

Now, you offer to give back everything you made on the transaction,

you'll probably get no more than nine months in a minimum security country club.

Baker, I have no intention of doing any of this.

Shut up, Ethan. There's another piece.

I'll buy you out.

That way, we at least give the appearance of cleaning house.

Don't worry. I'll make it worth your while.

The answer is go take a...

Let me put it another way. You have 48 hours,

or I go to the Securities Exchange Commission

and tell them I just discovered your crimes.

And you're positively aghast that this sort of thing has been going on

right under your nose.

Something like that, yes.

I repeat. 48 hours.

Au contraire, Mrs. Fletcher. I find your books surprisingly literate.

I simply find mysteries tedious.

Cardboard, one-dimensional characters,

whose sole function is to service the plot.

I mean, who cares how someone got into a locked room

and committed a murder?

Well, I certainly appreciate your candor, Mr. Gideon,

but I really don't believe that you have read any of my books.

What do you mean? Of course I've read your books.

My novels are character-based. I mean, a group of people, hopefully interesting,

in conflict with each other, who find themselves in a situation

where a murder or murders take place.

I mean, like you... Mrs. Fletcher? Jessica?

Ethan Stevens.

I really enjoyed our little chat this afternoon,

but I must say it's such a delight to finally meet you face to face.

I mean, if I'd known that "out of town" meant Portland,

I'd have arranged to take you to dinner.

Mr. Stevens, I...

And this is my wife, Missy.

Hello.

My partner, Baker Lawrence.

As I said, I really appreciate you taking the time.

Miss Ballard's certainly gonna owe you one.

Dana Ballard?

I've already hired her.

Mr. Stevens...

Excuse me, Mrs. Fletcher. It seems we're already late for our sitting.

You know how it is with these trendier restaurants.

Well, for someone who doesn't know many people in Portland,

you certainly seem to be acquainted with the right ones.

Well, do you know that man?

Mrs. Fletcher, Ethan Stevens is one of the town's most prominent stockbrokers.

You promised that nothing like this would happen.

Saul, will you please...

My name has got to be kept out of the news. Fine.

Okay. Just, please, sit down and let's talk about this.

I can't afford to be connected with this in any way. My future, my life...

You were saying, Mr. Gideon?

Oh, you don't have to worry about me, Mr. Stevens.

I have enough reading and catching up to last me to Christmas.

And Mr. Merlin's been so helpful.

Oh, splendid. Well, I'll look in on you later

after I take care of some business.

Great.

It's me.

Well, we have serious problems.

About 16 million of them.

Oh, Jessica. I wasn't expecting you so early.

Thank you, Mr. Merlin.

Anytime.

May I get you some coffee?

No, thank you. All I want is an explanation, which I hope you can give me

before I go and speak to Mr. Stevens.

As I said when you called, I'm absolutely mystified.

It must be some sort of misunderstanding.

I hope that's all it is.

I did give your name as a reference,

but I can't understand why he'd have thought he'd spoken to you

when he hadn't.

I suppose it's possible he's confused, or...

Or what, Dana?

Or for some reason he's lying.

Well, since you raise the subject,

there were a number of instances in Cabot Cove when you lied to me,

so I think it's quite possible.

Wait a minute. I lied to you? Jessica, I wouldn't do that.

Dana, how can you say that?

Most recently, you purposely gave me incorrect

research on the New Hampshire State Fair.

And then there was...

An orientation meeting. I just can't afford to miss it.

Look, I feel terrible that you think I've been

any less than 100% truthful with you. I had no idea.

Well, I should have brought it up at the time,

but I suppose I wanted to believe they were simply mistakes

or oversights.

Well, I'm sure there's a simple explanation for all of it.

And for starters, I'll talk to Mr. Stevens and have him get back to you

before the end of the day. All right?

Well, I'd really appreciate that. All right.

Yeah. We've got trouble.

Tonight? But...

All right, if you say so.

Ooh, you're going to be a good one, Miss Ballard.

I'm not sure I know what you mean, Mrs. Stevens.

My heavens, you've really put the whole package together, haven't you?

I've really gotta get home.

I know you do, darling. Come along. I'll walk you out.

And while you're en route, you might like to chew on a couple of things.

For starters, in case you're not all ready up to speed on office gossip,

Ethan and I don't have your basic honeymoon relationship.

Mrs. Stevens, I...

Do not, repeat, do not be misled.

I don't know what you mean.

No. No. Don't go into your act. Not with me.

All right. Fine, Mrs. Stevens.

You'll forgive me if I'm a little overwhelmed,

but I assure you, I'm here for one thing,

and that is to learn everything I can

about the securities and investment business.

I find that commendable, Dana.

However, while you are absorbing it all at my husband's feet,

keep in mind that though I may regard him

as one of the major clowns of the western world,

he is my very own major clown.

Does he know you feel this way?

Oh, like a third-grader knows The Pledge of Allegiance.

Well, look, I appreciate you sharing this with me and...

I sincerely hope you do appreciate it, Miss Ballard.

Dana? What the hell are you doing?

No! Don't...

Small amount of blood indicates victim died almost instantly.

Bullet apparently passed right through the pump.

15 years I've been doing this.

Every time I ask for a transfer, they give me a promotion.

Mrs. Fletcher, you were gonna tell me why you're here.

Oh, I came to see Mr. Stevens on a business matter.

Uh-huh. Mmm.

All right. The securities' room inventory checks out.

So apparently it wasn't a robbery or...

It didn't look that way. Listen, you happen to know

where Mr. Stevens kept his electronic gizmo?

You know, the card key that let him in the securities room?

Ah.

Now be careful with that.

Yeah, don't worry about it.

What a disaster. We're losing our biggest

clients faster than we can answer the phone.

Lieutenant, do you have any idea who...

No, not really. We did find a couple of interesting items, though.

We dug a bullet outta the doorframe and...

Oh, yeah. We found this along the bottom edge of the victim's desk.

Small quantity of blood and hair, as if somebody bumped his head.

You know, your partner had nice taste. This desk must be...

What? A couple of a hundred years old?

Mmm. Jasmine wood. Ah.

Ridiculously soft, but valuable, like everything else in here.

Excuse me, Mr. Lawrence.

You have a phone call from the Mount Bennington Pension Fund.

Another one.

You know, I'd kill for a desk like this.

Well, you know what I mean.

I do, Lieutenant.

I'm coming!

Mrs. Fletcher? Yes.

We have to talk. Pardon me?

I'm Vincent Polaski. I'm an attorney.

The court appointed me to defend Dana Ballard.

Dana has been...

She's been arrested for the murder of Ethan Stevens.

Well, what made them...

Well, they found a gun in a storm drain

not too far from the scene. Her prints were on it.

Plus, there were traces of her blood and hair.

Oh, yeah, where she hit her head on Mr. Stevens' desk.

Yeah, well, the cops were running down a list of all the employees

and since her name starts with a "B" and, well, she just started there,

they got to her pretty early on.

And the paraffin tests?

Positive. She fired the gun.

Mr. Polaski, I have less than 10 minutes to catch my train to Boston.

You know, I really don't think there's anything that I can tell you that will help

in your defense of Dana.

Yeah, well, I'm not looking for a character witness here.

She told me that the two of you had had a couple of little misunderstandings.

Well, that is an interesting way to put it.

Look, I need your help in another way.

As you've probably noticed, social skills are not exactly my strong suit.

I tend to alienate certain people.

I can understand that, yes.

Yeah, like judges and police and prosecutors, etcetera, etcetera.

And, well, the public defender's investigation team,

who, I might add, are a bunch of bureaucratic incompetents anyway,

they pretty much... Why are you telling me all this?

Well, because normally it's not a problem.

I have a local PI that I use.

Well, that's wonderful. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have...

Yeah, actually, you know what? Let me give you a hand with this, okay?

Well, thanks. Okay. All right.

Here we go.

Thank you.

See, the thing of it is, this PI, well, he's been missing for about a week.

And then this morning, he shows up in a drying-out clinic outside of Bangor,

and then they wanna keep him there for 10...

Stop right there, Mr. Polaski.

You mean you want me to do investigative work for you,

so that you can defend Dana Ballard?

Yeah, that's pretty much the size of it.

Look, Mrs. Fletcher, I'm not stupid.

I know that Dana has kind of a problem telling the truth.

Kind of?

But that doesn't make her a murderer.

Look, Mrs. Fletcher, nobody is looking out for her,

and she's entitled to the best defense I can give her.

She said she didn't do it and that's all I wanna know.

Look, Mr. Polaski, I really admire your commitment and your compassion.

But I am not an attorney, nor am I a saint.

Okay. Okay, just suppose that for once in her life,

Dana is actually telling the truth,

and they convict her anyway and she goes to prison for a crime she didn't commit,

all because you couldn't spare a day, maybe two, to help her.

I mean, could you really live with that?

Thought you might see it my way.

Not quite, Mr. Polaski. What I see is so pat, so open-and-shut,

that I'm curious.

All right. I will speak to Dana.

And on the off chance that she can go for five minutes without lying,

maybe I will try to help her.

Well, I think we should...

I was asleep in my motel room,

and I have absolutely no idea how those tests could indicate

that I fired a gun.

And the bump on your head?

I'd lost an earring.

I was looking for it under his desk during the lunch hour.

Mr. Stevens came in and surprised me.

When I turned to get up...

I suppose he talked to you about the mix-up?

No, he didn't.

He didn't call you?

Oh, come on, Dana. You promised.

Mr. Polaski, I'm telling you the truth!

I told Mr. Stevens about our conversation like I said I would.

He'd looked and checked the number that he had called.

Turns out he talked to a stranger in Bar Harbor.

I don't think that's true, Dana.

Jessica...

I checked my answering machine, Dana.

Someone had replaced the announcement message.

I believe it was you.

I don't know how you could think that of me.

I have never lied to you, Mrs. Fletcher. Not once. I couldn't do that to you.

Dana, you said you bumped your head when you turned to see Mr. Stevens?

That's right.

So, your back was to the door to his outer office?

That's right. Why?

What's the matter, Mrs. Fletcher?

Vincent, the kneehole in Ethan Stevens' desk goes clear through

from one side to the other.

So?

Her blood and her hair were found on the other side

from the door to his office.

Why would she lie about that?

Ah! I might have your answer right here, Polaski.

The college that Miss Ballard supposedly graduated from.

Not only didn't she get a diploma,

she hadn't attended classes in the past two years. Oh.

Oh, Polaski, your buddy Hastings wants to see you ASAP. Enjoy.

Look, Vincent, any way you cut it, she's going over.

If you force this to trial, I'll demand life and I will get it.

You plea to manslaughter, she'll be out before she's 30.

Stuff it, Bruce. She didn't do it.

Oh, God. Here we go again. All right, that's it. Forget it.

You just blew your last chance.

You know, Mrs. Fletcher,

I don't know if you realize this,

but this man is the embodiment of what's wrong with our criminal justice system,

the reason our courts are clogged up with unnecessary trials

and the streets are full of people that should have been locked up long ago.

That wasn't the impression that I got from Mr. Polaski.

Well, of course not.

And I'm sure that in conning you into this with all that

bleeding heart sincerity of his,

he's painted a similarly distorted picture of the case against Dana Ballard.

Mr. Hastings, If I were satisfied that she were guilty,

I assure you, I wouldn't be here.

As a matter of fact, perhaps you could clear up a couple of questions.

My pleasure.

Well, for example, the bump on her head?

Well, I thought you were going to ask something difficult.

She bumped it while searching under his desk

for the key card to the securities room.

But that prompts me to another question.

If she only started working there that morning, how would she have known...

She's a quick study.

Look, she'd already been to Ethan Stevens' office several times.

She learned that the securities room was full of bearer bonds.

And the gun? To whom was it registered?

Untraceable. The numbers have been altered.

She probably bought it on the street somewhere.

Now, come on.

Look, we've got means, motive, opportunity, fingerprints, paraffin tests,

hair and blood samples that prove she was there,

and a girl who's probably never told the truth in her entire life.

Now, Mrs. Fletcher,

you are presumably a sensible woman, so I will ask you.

Do you, for one minute, in your wildest fantasy,

think that any jury would hesitate to convict her?

I'm afraid that Mr. Hastings has a point, Vincent.

I mean, this may be one time...

No! No, Mrs. Fletcher.

Look, I'm not pleading Dana guilty to anything.

I mean, you halfway believe she's innocent.

Halfway. But proving even that much in the face of all of that evidence...

I mean, your belief in Dana, there's more to it than her simply having told you

that she didn't do, isn't there?

Mea culpa.

Yes, but that could get in the way of you doing what's best for her.

Yeah, well, that's why I came to you.

There's, I don't know, just something about her.

Not that my instincts towards women are all that great.

I mean, my love life has been somewhat of a disaster.

I don't know. When I first saw her there

just sitting there all by herself and...

All by herself she comes to Portland, she gets a job.

Yeah, but not just any job.

Exactly. Now suppose she was working with someone,

someone who was getting things ready for her,

someone who was already with Stevens and Lawrence.

Oh, okay. No, wait a minute. How could they

possibly know there would be a job opening?

Of course. They fix it so that Ethan Stevens has to fire his assistant

to make way for Dana...

Vincent, I wonder how we could get a look at their employment records

without alerting anyone over there.

I think I might know someone who could help,

if you don't mind bending the rules a little bit.

Hi, Wanda. It's me.

Listen, I got a little job for you.

"Bending the rules a little"?

I mean, isn't this invasion of privacy?

Well, actually, it's kind of moot.

Yeah. What Vinnie's saying is, the way the government's got its nose in our business,

does anyone have any privacy to invade?

Excuse me, Jessica.

Actually, that's what my grandmother's saying.

What I'm saying is, it's probably better if you don't ask

how she's accessing this stuff.

Is he terrific or what?

Oh, Wanda, will you stop, please?

I bet him 20 he wouldn't talk you into this.

Well, there it is. "Patricia Corman,

"executive assistant to Mr. Stevens."

Terminated voluntarily on the 14th. That's 10 days ago.

Reason, relocation.

So she wasn't fired.

Well, maybe we could talk to her.

Forget it. I checked.

"Moved out the next day. No forwarding address or number."

Have you found that other information I wanted?

Oh, right.

There. One other employee from Vermont.

From Gresham's Notch.

Gresham's Notch? May I use your phone?

Hi. As I said on the phone, we're closed today.

Well, on account of poor Mr. Stevens.

I understand, Todd, and I appreciate your letting me in.

The only reason I'm here is

I have this customer over in Blue Hill

that I'm supposed to execute an order for.

I was just setting it up on the computer.

You know, I feel really terrible about what happened to Dana.

She seemed like a nice person.

I hope you can get her off.

So do I.

Um, exactly what were you looking for?

Some answers that you might be able to supply me with.

You were Dana's inside man, weren't you, Todd?

I don't know what you're talking about.

I checked with your hometown, Gresham's Notch, Vermont.

It happens to be near Livingston where Dana comes from.

Mrs. Fletcher, I've never met Dana until yesterday.

It turns out there's an area high school that serves both towns

where you and Dana were classmates.

And I guess you've stayed in close touch ever since.

Look.

I had nothing to do with Mr. Stevens.

Well, Mrs. Fletcher, what would you be doing here?

I'm really sorry, Mr. Lawrence, Mrs. Stevens.

I talked Todd into letting me in.

There were a couple of details about the crime

that I wanted to double-check.

Uh-huh.

Well, your apology, such as it is, is not accepted.

What she means is...

What I mean is that in view of the fact that

you are working on behalf of that little witch who murdered my husband,

I want you out of here, now!

I'm sure you can understand that Mrs. Stevens is not quite herself today.

Of course. You have my utmost sympathy, Mrs. Stevens.

But if I may, would either of you happen to know

anything about the circumstances surrounding Patricia Corman's departure

from her job as Mr. Stevens' assistant?

She made some costly mistakes,

and I think the final straw for Ethan

was when she started stealing from petty cash.

I don't think that she did any of those things, Mr. Lawrence.

The time-date entry on Miss Corman's computer file

indicates that it was amended less than a week ago,

probably by you, Todd, to conceal the real reason for her dismissal,

and the fact that you had set her up.

Okay.

It was so that we could get at those negotiables

in the securities room.

But murder...

Everything Todd Merlin has told you is a lie.

Oh, damn it, Dana, will you get real?

But I am. I'm telling you the truth.

Dana, listen. I'm gonna say one thing and then I'm finished.

You are in terrible trouble.

Now, we, Vincent and I, are all you've got.

Look, what she's laying on you

is either you level with us, I mean all of it,

or both of us are outta here. Period.

And you and Todd Merlin can both take the fall for Ethan Stevens' murder.

You got five seconds.

My mother died when I was little and my father raised me.

He is the sweetest man.

Except that he's ill.

He's had three heart attacks

and he doesn't know anything about...

About my problem. Any of it.

Mrs. Fletcher, I'm sorry. The lying... I can't help myself.

I've never been able to.

The police psychologist described it as borderline psychosis,

and he feels that it's treatable.

Todd found out about my father's condition

and he threatened to tell him everything about me, the lies...

It would kill him.

So you felt you had no choice.

Todd told us that he'd learned the securities system.

And on the night of Ethan's death,

when it was obvious you were going to speak to him,

Todd said we had no choice but to go forward.

So you entered Ethan Stevens' office alone?

To get the card key.

Todd was down the hall at the securities room waiting to disable the cameras.

And then Stevens unexpectedly showed up.

I turned, saw him in the doorway,

and that's all I can remember till I woke up on the floor.

Somebody must've hit me.

But Todd was long gone, so I ran out of there as fast as I could,

dumped the gun, and went back to my motel room.

So, even your coming to work for me in Cabot Cove,

that was part of your plan, wasn't it?

Todd found out that you were Ethan's favorite author.

The killer was already there when you came in,

probably waiting for Ethan Stevens to show up.

So it might've been someone he knew.

Dana, try to remember. Did you see or hear anyone?

Any movement when you walked into the office?

No. It was pretty dark in there.

I went right over to his desk.

I was about to pick up his lamp to get the card key,

and there was stuff leaning against it.

You know, papers, his bag, files. His desk was a mess.

And I just was about to move them when...

You believe me, don't you?

Yeah, we do.

So now what?

Finally getting her to tell the truth is one thing,

but proving her innocence is quite another kettle of fish.

Polaski, we ready to talk?

Oh, yeah. Sure. About dropping the charges?

You are out of your mind.

Vincent, be reasonable. No! No!

Look, I'm gonna have you brought up on charges

of irresponsibility to your client, unprofessional conduct...

Gabe, get this guy out of my face.

All right. Come on. Take it easy, the both of you.

All right, all right. Now look, she's got no record,

she's psychologically impaired.

We'll forget murder, we'll go involuntary manslaughter.

She'll be out in four years. What, we got a deal?

No.

Mrs. Fletcher, he's soft in the head.

Talk to him, will you, please?

We've got a confession from Todd Merlin

admitting conspiracy to this entire thing.

Excuse me, Mr. Hastings,

I think that I may be able to prove

that there was a third person in Ethan Stevens' office when he was killed,

the person who actually murdered him.

Well, I can't help wondering

what Mrs. Stevens and Mr. Lawrence were doing

in her husband's office this afternoon, the day of his funeral.

Oh, this might throw a glow on it.

It came in a little while ago.

Oh! It's a friend of Wanda's from the old protest days.

She's with a public advocacy outfit in D.C. Picks up rumors.

She saw Portland and Ethan Stevens, and wondered if I knew him.

A SEC investigation of Ethan Stevens.

Hmm.

He buys two million shares of a small-growth company called Regitek

one week before the stock jumped $8.

That's some serious money.

Not to mention seriously illegal

if he had inside information.

Yeah. The guy would probably break it up into a lot of little transactions.

You know, phony accounts, dummy companies.

Yes, but there'd be records

that his wife and his partner might want to conceal.

Are you thinking that this could be connected to the murder?

I'm thinking that it's essential

that we get another look at Mr. Stevens' office.

Vincent, are you sure this is legal?

Yeah, I told you, I got Baker Lawrence's key.

I'll get the lights. No.

Why don't we just use this?

But you said... Oh, God!

Oh, Vincent, you lied to me.

You're wrong. I never said Baker "gave" me his key.

Dana told me where he left his spare, under the bumper of his car.

Yes, but you're an officer of the court.

I mean, you could be disbarred for this.

Yeah, and an innocent girl could go to prison for murder.

I don't think we're gonna have to worry about that anymore.

Just as I thought.

Smooth as silk, not a dent in it.

Are you sure?

Watch.

I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

Mr. Lawrence made a point that jasmine wood's unusually soft.

If Dana's head had bumped hard enough to break the skin,

there'd most certainly be an indentation.

Okay, so who's the third party,

the one that clocked her and killed Stevens?

Mmm. And why was he killed?

Damn. It's probably right here in front of us.

Right in front of us. No, it isn't.

But it was.

I'm sorry, you're losing me here.

Vincent, I think I'll know who it was

if the next two phone calls turn out the way I expect.

Would you happen to have Lieutenant Rodino's number?

Um, yeah, sure.

It's 555-7301.

Yes, Lieutenant Rodino? This is Jessica Fletcher.

I was wondering if Vincent and I might stop by and take a look

at those murder scene photos.

Beer?

I knew it was only a matter of time before you'd sink

to something like this.

Oh, what, you're offended 'cause this isn't as classy a crime as insider trading?

Save the judgments, Hastings, okay?

You got the money?

Yeah, the whole 250,000.

So how'd you figure out I was Ethan's partner?

Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, pal.

Listen, we ever bump into each other on Ipanema Beach, I'll tell you all about it.

You didn't really think I was gonna let you blackmail me, did you?

It couldn't be any dumber than you thinking you were gonna get away with murder.

Well, the only down side is that you're never going to make it to Rio.

Neither are you, Hastings. Freeze.

Oh, good, Lieutenant! You couldn't drag that out a little longer?

I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Ethan Stevens.

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney...

I'd be happy to stipulate that you've read them to me, Gabe,

only it'll never come to that.

Oh, I wouldn't bet on it, Brucie.

Forensics just ID'd the murder gun, Bruce.

Metallurgy tests revealed the original numbers.

It's from a case you tried five years ago.

You signed it out of the evidence locker and you never put it back.

Which was one of the reasons that you were so desperate to get Vincent

to accept a plea-bargain.

Plus, we've been checking with various banks.

So far, we've confirmed half a dozen of your accounts between here and Florida.

Almost two million of the roughly eight you took out of that insider deal.

How the hell did you make the connection?

It was rather fragile, Mr. Hastings,

one that didn't come together

till I remembered Dana Ballard's description of Mr. Stevens' office

the night of the murder when she entered it,

not realizing that you were there.

She said she saw a man's handbag.

I went right over to his desk, was about to

pick up his desk lamp to get the card key,

and there was stuff leaning against it.

You know, papers, his bag, files.

And yet I recalled that when I'd entered his office

the morning after the murder,

there was no man's handbag on his desk.

She's right. I double-checked those crime scene photos.

But when Vincent and I visited your office,

I saw a leather handbag on your desk.

Mrs. Stevens confirmed that her husband didn't carry one,

so it seemed most likely that the one Dana saw was yours.

Oh, and then I recalled seeing Mr. Benson from Regitek

apparently heading for your office.

I didn't think much about it then,

but later, it seemed to be a link.

You, Mr. Benson, and Ethan Stevens,

and the insider trading in Regitek stock.

And I suppose that little wimp caved in the moment you spoke to him.

How'd you and Benson get together anyway?

About six months ago, Benson gave us a deposition

in a design theft case that had something to do with a revolutionary new chip

they were working on.

So you called your friend Ethan Stevens

and suggested that in exchange for half the profits,

you could let him in on something big,

with the proviso that your name be kept out of it.

I figured Saul could be bought.

I was right.

And then Ethan told you there might be an SEC investigation

and he might have to implicate you.

So you shot him and framed Dana Ballard.

Ethan didn't simply threaten to implicate me.

He demanded part of my share.

I arranged to meet him at his office.

I told him I'd bring the money.

We're both members of the downtown squash club,

so I borrowed his keys out of his locker and I made copies.

I arrived a few minutes early and let myself in.

I was just putting my bag on the desk

and then the strangest thing happened.

The door opens, and in walks this young woman.

She comes right toward where I'm hiding.

I was beginning to panic.

And suddenly...

Dana?

What the hell are you doing?

No! Don't...

I noticed the young woman's blood, and I realized I had a chance to frame her.

I wiped some on my glove and smeared it on the edge of Ethan's desk.

And then I placed the gun in her hand,

squeezed the trigger, fired a round into the wall.

Listen, Bruce, you know I'd be happy to defend you on this.

Course, no plea-bargains, you know.

This is actually one trial I'd enjoy losing.

And I've already started my therapy, Mrs. Fletcher.

Well, that's wonderful, Dana.

The doctors say it may take a couple years.

But by then, she'll have her college degree, and she can come work for me.

And that'll give Wanda some time to kick back, travel, that sort thing.

Yeah. Too bad it's gonna be so long.

I mean, there's a big peace march in Washington next week

that's really got me jazzed up!

Jessica, did I tell you my Vinnie was brilliant or what?

He solves the case, he gets the girl...

I mean, with a little help from you.

Wanda, would you zip it, please?

Oh, just think what he'd be if he'd only get a haircut,

look like a regular person.

But, no, no, he's gotta be different.

I don't know where he gets it from.

I don't know either, Wanda, but I wouldn't change a thing.