All language subtitles for 086 - 07x03 - proxy

Good afternoon, Mr. Sutton.

All right, this
letter is to Governor

Adelson, state capital.

Dear Joe, just read the
legislature plans to extend

the new school bond issue.

That's a big mistake, Joe.

My papers and
broadcasting interests

can't support that, or
any legislator who does.

I suggest you put the
word out to your people.

Now, there's an
election coming up, Joe,

and I'm disinclined
to help faint hearts.

Paragraph.

All right, let's play
some golf next time you

and Sue come down state
Sincerely, Archie and so forth.

Beautiful day, Mr. Sutton.

Yes.

Yes, it is.

I don't think I'll be
going back to the office

this afternoon, William.

Yes sir, Mr. Sutton.

Sara.

Good afternoon, Mr. Sutton.

Afternoon, Sara.

Will Mrs. Sutton be
joining you for lunch, sir?

Uh, she'll be down
in a minute, Sara.

Oh, uh, Sara, serve her first.

She's, uh, late to a
hospital charity auction.

Yes, sir.

Perfect weather
for the auction.

We should make a considerable
sum for the hospital.

Oh, and thank you, darling,
for helping us with all that

marvelous publicity.

Well, it was no great task,
since I own both the newspapers

and the TV station.

Oh, I know, Art.

But nowadays, with the
independent attitude

of editors and reporters,
well, ownership

doesn't seem to matter much.

Oh, which reminds me, I spoke
to my brother Henry yesterday.

As you know, he's decided
to run for the Senate again.

So we must do our best to
support his efforts, hm?

Now, haven't I always done
my very best for your brother?

Well, I must say, you've
always been very good about it.

It's just that, well,
Henry's getting older.

And he has a very young and
attractive opponent, so we must

be even more clever this time.

Oh, and Archie, please
be discreet in your--

your relationships
with people, hm?

Martha, my relationships are
a figment of your imagination.

Not quite, dear.

There was that young woman.

But that young woman, to
all intents and purposes,

doesn't exist.

She's happily married, has
two children, lives in Brazil.

Why do you keep dragging
up a minor indiscretion

that ended 10 years ago?

Because that
minor indiscretion

almost cost Henry his
seat in the Senate.

Oh, there's Kara.

I'll probably join
her for dinner,

dear, so don't wait for me.

You have a successful
auction, dear.

Thank you, dear.

Hello?

How you doing, Arch?

Just called to
remind you that you

are a tad bit behind in your,
shall we call it, contribution.

I told you never to
call me here-- never!

Marla, I've been very generous
with you, much more generous

than those other victims of--

uh, Sara, would you
do that later, please?

All right, now look, you've
broken our agreement.

Well, prices
are going up, Archie.

There is that thing called
inflation, you know.

Inflation?

Are you insane?

Marla, I am fed up with
this blackmail business.

Do you understand me?

Fed up!

Now, you'll get your usual
payment today, and that's it.

He's in a terrible rage.

Price of gold
must have fallen.

It's not what's
falling, it's what's going

up that's got him snarling.

Probably his blood pressure.

His girlfriend--
ex-girlfriend, that is.

She wants more money.

He's about to bust.

Yeah, that's some nervy
woman, that Ms. Marla Scanlon.

Seems to me, she's
been blackmailing

him now for about two years--

$2,000 a month, I imagine.

I imagine she saved
herself a pretty penny

for her retirement.

I imagine it's a good
deal more than we've

put away for ours, William.

Now, don't go
worrying yourself

about that again, Sara.

Doing the best I can.

I know, William.

But the best don't
seem to matter.

It won't get us
that sweet, little,

Rocky Mountain farmhouse
cousin Lee showed

us last time we was home.

Now, Sara, you married a
simple, Rocky Mountain boy.

I never claimed to be clever.

Just gonna have to make do.

Yes sir, Mr. Sutton.

I'll be right down, sir.

Ask him, William.

Maybe he'll give
you a little raise.

And that way, we could send
a little something to cousin

Lee every month for the house--

please.

William, do it for me.

I don't want to die being a
maid in somebody else's home.

I want to live out
my days and get

buried in the foothills
of the beautiful,

Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Sara, I'll try.

I'll try.

I'll ask him, Sara.

Come in, William.

Same place, same person, sir?

Same place, same person.

William, I appreciate your
discretion on this matter.

Not at all, Mr. Sutton.

Mr. Sutton, sir?

Well, Sara and I, we--

we haven't forgot how
good you treated us two--

two Rocky Mountain hillbillies.

You gave us good jobs and
a decent place to stay.

Well, that's-- that's
perfectly all right, William.

Well, Sara and me,
we've been talking

about maybe in a few years or so
going back up to the mountains.

And--

Well, um-- uh,
perhaps we can talk

about that some other time.

I suspect our friend is
waiting for her, uh--

um, honorarium.

Sir?

The envelope.

Oh, yes.

Well, uh, I suppose we can talk
about that other matter later.

Good.

Good, William.

You sure are a
pretty, little house.

What's a matter, William?

You-- you did go to Marla
Scanlon's apartment.

Yes, sir.

She was there?

Yes, sir.

She wouldn't accept the money?

That's right, sir.

William, I simply
can't believe it.

Well, she's-- uh--

she's dead.

Dead?

How?

Looked to me like--

like someone strangled
her to death.

I didn't hang
around to make sure.

There-- there was a scarf
lying next to her and--

some mean bruises
around her neck.

I see.

She wasn't that same
fine-looking female,

no sir, lying dead like that
on the living room floor.

No, I imagine not.

Well, she don't look
so fine now, Mr. Sutton.

Was she alone
in the apartment?

I reckon.

I-- I didn't feel the
urge to poke around.

I just took a quick
look at her and figured

I'd hightail it out of there.

Well, she was alive
three hours ago.

She called me just
before I came out here.

Now, I gave you the envelope.

And you went to her
apartment, found her dead.

That means she-- she must
have been killed between 2:00

and 5:00 this afternoon.

There could have
been a lot of traffic

in and out of that
apartment in that amount

of time, Mr. Sutton.

Oh no, not today.

Today, she was expecting
a caller with an envelope.

Did you see anybody when you
came out of the building?

No, sir.

Did you talk to anybody?

Phone anybody?

Not a soul, Mr. Sutton.

Good.

You're a good man, William.

Thank you, sir.

I try to be.

And that'll be all, Mr. Sutton?

Uh, yes, that's all for now.
Uh, You can go.

Uh, William, meet me in my
study in about a half hour.

A half hour--

yes, sir.

Uh, William, you look pale.

Are you all right?

She's dead.

Dead?

Dead?

Who is dead?

Ms. Marla Scanlon, that's who.

Oh, I didn't know she was ill.

No, she wasn't ill.

Not ill?

Then how?

Murdered-- Strangled with
her pretty, little scarf.

Does Mr. Sutton know?

Yeah, he does.

I told him, and I
returned the money.

Oh, William, that was foolish.

You should have kept it
and never said a thing.

They'd have found the
tramp sooner or later.

Mr. Sutton woulda had no
reason to think you hadn't

just made your usual delivery.

That money would have
made a nice down payment

on cousin Lee's house.

Hi, Judge?

Art Sutton.

I think you better get over
to my place real quick.

That's right, right away.

Well, Arch,
what's the mystery?

I have a dinner
engagement that--

Well, you may not
want any dinner when

you hear what I've got to say.

Now, to avoid a
lot of repetition,

let's, uh, wait for the
State's attorney to get here.

Bob Grenich?

Now what's he to do with this?

Well, Bob.

I just hear my name?

Hello, Judge, Archie.

Well, what have I
got to do with what?

I don't understand
what's going on.

You will in a minute.

William, could you
close the door, please?

Gentlemen-- oh, by the
way, gentlemen, uh, William

is aware of some of the
circumstances of the situation,

and he's completely trustworthy.

Go on, William.

Um, Ms. Marla Scanlon is dead.

Marla Scanlon?

Yes, um-- how did she die?

Murdered, I reckon.

By what means?

Looked to me like she'd
been choked to death.

When?

Sometime between
2:00 and 5:00 today.

What makes you think I'd
have any interest in this?

Until, of course, the
murderer is apprehended

and I act in an
official capacity.

I hardly know Marla Scanlon.

Oh, come off it, Bob.

Marla Scanlon was
blackmailing all three of us.

My information tells me she
restricted her activities

to just the three of us.

I categorically
deny any involvement.

Will you please shut up?

Now, none of us is
on trial-- not yet.

Now, we are the three who
might have killed her.

And it's reasonably
certain that one of us did.

Judge, she was milking
you the longest.

I was the next victim.

And you were last, Bob.

Now between us, over--

over a period of
time, we contributed

something like $100,000.

It's a pity we didn't
tell the income tax people

about all that stashed cash.

They would have taken
her off our backs.

And our hides along with it.

How did you find
out about this?

About me, I mean.

Well, Bob, that's
a silly question.

I mean, it's not difficult
when you own two newspapers

and the television station.

Besides, I'm still one of the
best reporters in the business.

All right, it's laid
out among the three of us.

We were her patsies--

adrift, you might say,
in the same leaky boat.

Now it remains to be
seen whether or not

we have a ..

Unfortunately I
don't have an alibi

for the three hours between
2:00 and 5:00 this afternoon.

Do you, Bob?

What?

Where were you between
2:00 and 5:00 this afternoon?

Well, I was--

Go on, Bob.

Well, I-- I didn't
go in, you understand.

A half a block away,
I turned the car.

I didn't go all the
way to her apartment.

You went to see Marla Scanlon?

Well, yes, I was going to
appeal to her, prove to her

I couldn't afford that
blackmail tariff any longer.

I was going to
persuade her that she'd

just have to be satisfied with
less money or no money at all.

I just couldn't scrape
the cash up anymore.

I'm not as well
heeled as you two.

But you got cold feet?

You didn't actually see her?

No, and that's the truth, Art.

You've got to believe me.

Whether we believe you or
not is of no consequence.

The important thing
is, you have no alibi.

How about you, Arch?

Well, she called me
about 2:00 to remind

me that it was a pay day.

I-- I sent William
out on his errand,

and I took a long walk out in
the woods back of my place.

And, uh, in fact,
when William found me,

I was examining some ferns.

So any of the three of
us might have killed her.

Well, I didn't do it.

But if-- if this scandal
brushes off on me, I'm ruined.

The three of us are ruined.

You know, there
are a lot of people

down at City Hall and
police headquarters

who would love to
have our scalps.

And we're not going to hush
up anything as big as murder,

even if Arch does own
the press and the TV.

Well, precisely.

You know, Bob, sometimes
you almost make

me think you have a mind
and along with the cunning

you've shown in the
political jungle.

You know, gentlemen,
the truth is, there's

no way we can cover this thing.

So, Arch, what do you propose?

Well, what I propose
is an unbreakable

gentleman's agreement.

Whichever one of the
three of us is nailed,

we'll have to bear the
brunt of the entire thing.

He can't call on his
friends for help.

And he can't implicate
them in any way.

He must stand by his statement
that he, and he alone,

was involved with Marla Scanlon.

Now, the doomed
man would at least

then have the
satisfaction of knowing

that he shielded his friends.

That might be rough, Arch.

When a man is slapped
with a murder charge,

the natural tendency
is to name others

to confuse the issue to
direct suspicion elsewhere.

Well, I know.

That's why I've asked
you all to come here.

I think we have to
do decide in advance.

I think we have to agree
that the two who escape

will stand by the
loser's loved ones.

Um, Mr. Sutton, sir?

Yes, William?

Well, while-- while you all
were talking, I was thinking.

I got an idea.

Now, William, we have more
important things to consider

than any ideas you might--
- Bob-- Bob, please.

Please, we have nothing
to lose by listening.

Go on, William.

Thank you, sir.

Gentlemen, Mr. Sutton's been--

been real good to me
and the wife, Sara--

giving us a chance
when we first come

down from the Rocky Mountains.

We have no time for these
asinine, emotional speeches.

Well, I'm sorry, sir.

My speech is done.

I-- I just want Mr. Sutton
to know one of the reasons

why I'd be willing
to do all of you

the favor of standing trial
for Marla Scanlon's murder.

Well, I am--

I'm touched, William.

But I suspect that
you're not finished.

Uh, no sir, Mr.
Sutton, not quite.

You see, you three are kind of
sitting on top of the world,

so to speak.

I mean, fine homes, and
families, reputations,

country clubs, and all
that sort of thing.

You stand to lose
a whole parcel.

Now me, all I got is Sara.

And, well, let's say I never did
have a chance before to really

put together some real money.

How much?

Well, you all been paying
Ms. Marla Scanlon plenty.

One final payment to me
would finish it all up.

If you each just chipped in
about $10,000 a piece, I--

I'd take care of your
little problem for you.

William, how do you
propose to do this?

Well, with your newspapers
and television station

being on my side, and Judge
Corday here doing the judging,

and Mr. Grenich here doing
the prosecuting, I should--

I should come out all right.

Go on.

Well, I could--

I could say that
I'd been fooling

around with Ms. Marla
Scanlon, and she

was about to boot me out.

And I'd say that we had a
big fight, and I lost my head

and killed her--

without meaning to.

Nobody gonna-- nobody gonna miss
Marla Scanlon around this town.

And nobody's going to question
or suspect what you do.

I figure Judge will give me
three years for manslaughter.

I behave real good and probably
be out on parole within a year.

And then?

I'll just-- just
take my $30,000

and go on back to Colorado.

I don't think any of us
has to worry about any

of the others going
back on the deal,

on account we're all
in this together.

I figured together
we sink or swim.

I think we have a deal.

You think it'll be just
a year you'll be away?

I know it ain't
longer than that, Sara.

Even the Judge himself agreed.

Well, I guess I can manage
that time without you.

Sara, it's-- it was the only
way we'd get enough money to--

to buy cousin Lee's farm.

How much are they paying you?

$30,000

A piece?

The lot.

The lot?

I think you made a
bad deal, William.

$30,000 will hardly pay
for cousin Lee's farm.

And there won't be anything
left over to live on.

That's true enough, Sara.

But this $100,000
I got from Marla

Scanlon's wall safe after
I strangled her, it--

it should do nicely.

Oh, yes, nicely indeed.

I think there'll a bit
leftover for a quiet retirement

at the beautiful,
Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Yes sir, Sara.

Well, that $100,000
oughta pay for cousin

Lee's farm, even a bit more.

Yes indeed, I do believe.