Matlock s01e06 Episode Script

I didn't kill Cynthia.
First thing we have to do is find you some privacy.
I mean, there he was undressing and he hadn't even asked me my name.
- In fact, I've got a bonus for you.
- Oh, yeah? Benjamin Matlock for the defence, Your Honour.
You wanna fall in love first? How much is this gonna cost me? Your Honour, I apologise for being late.
I was unavoidably detained.
Now, watch this.
Bingham had plenty of time.
He had two receivers open deep.
All he had to do was scramble.
Five years ago, Bingham had the legs to make that play happen, but he just can't cut it anymore.
Let's cut our losses.
- Put him on waivers.
- Brad is a star, Vincent.
Cynthia.
If it keeps going like this, it'll take years to rebuild the franchise.
You've got to let him go.
All right.
I'll tell him.
Good.
We have a conference tomorrow morning.
Try to be on time.
Good night.
Marsha, it's Cynthia.
Well, I'm gonna have to tell him.
Dave and Vincent came down on me pretty hard today, and they were right.
I'm afraid if I trade him, I'll never see him again.
Brad? Brad, what are you doing? Marsha, I can't talk now.
I'll call you back tomorrow.
Bye.
Brad, did you see the champagne? Brad.
Brad? Now, Sergeant Gibbons, you have testified that you and your partner forcibly entered Mr.
Wilkins' home, in an attempt to apprehend his brother.
Is that correct? When he obstructed our progress, he was given a verbal warning.
Some force was necessary to continue our search.
During this brief struggle, did Mr.
Wilkins have any reason to believe his life was threatened, so he may have been acting in self-defence? No, sir.
- How tall was your partner? - About 6'3''.
- About your size? - Yes.
Well, isn't it true, sergeant, that during this so-called brief struggle, your partner struck Mr.
Wilkins on the head with his pistol? He barely touched him.
This is a plaster mould of Mr.
Wilkins' head.
You're wearing your revolver? Yes.
Demonstrate for the court how and where your partner struck him.
No further questions.
No kidding.
Well, that is interesting.
Yeah, I'll get right on that.
Yeah, thanks, Sarah.
Bye.
- Morning.
- Morning.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Judge Cook gave me a contingence on the Ramsey case.
How about you? Bradford is taking my motion under advisement.
I think I caught him a little off guard.
And also, I changed the deposition on the Oppelman matter to Wednesday, so I told Sarah to reschedule your dental appointment.
- Charlene? - Yeah? One of the advantages to having your daughter as a law partner, is that keen attention is paid to every detail of your life.
At least, I think it's an advantage.
I don't know how you got through life without me.
Yeah.
Did you hear that Cynthia Hyland was murdered? - Yeah.
- The suspect is none other than fading quarterback Brad Bingham.
He goes through women like a whale through plankton.
Only maybe this time, I think he went a little too far.
Maybe.
I heard he was sleeping with her so she wouldn't trade him.
I also heard that she was gonna trade him anyway.
Wanna find out for yourself? Can't you get me out of here? I didn't kill Cynthia.
Mr.
Bingham, tell us what happened last night.
Nothing.
There's nothing to tell.
I didn't do anything.
I swear to God, I didn't do anything.
I heard a scream, and I saw Brad Bingham hit some lady at about five past 1 1 last night.
- That's when I called the police.
- You saw this through your telescope.
His apartment's one block over from ours.
You know, in the summer, the moon comes up right behind it.
That's how I discovered he lived there.
Looking for craters and, you know, through my telescope.
And you were not in your apartment at 1 1 :00 last evening.
No.
- You're sure? - Yes.
If I'd known Cynthia was gonna be at my apartment, I would have been.
Thinking you were gonna be alone that night, you went out to a bar.
Listen, there was a brownout that whole afternoon.
I went out for some air conditioning.
And you picked up some woman whose name you can't remember.
Her name was Carol.
Carrie, maybe, or Cory or Candy.
I don't know.
I know it started with a C.
You met her at the Peachtree Bar, struck up a conversation and then? Then we went back to her hotel and-- One thing led to another? - Yeah.
- All night? All night.
You were not in your apartment at any time last night.
No, sir.
Yes, sir.
He was right there.
Cynthia interrupted our conversation to say something to him.
Do you remember what time that was, Miss Barnes? Eleven o'clock.
She was calling to tell me about Brad.
What about him? She was going to tell Brad they were going to put him on waivers.
Be the end of my career.
She wouldn't do that.
Well, I guess the first thing for us to do is speak to the police.
To see if they talked to that girl you were with last night.
- Are you gonna get me out of here? - I'm gonna try.
- That's really a shame.
- What? I was at the Super Bowl the year he threw the pass.
Sixty yards in the air for the winning touchdown.
He was really something.
- Everybody was crazy over him.
- That was then, old timer.
- I figured we would be seeing you two.
- How's that? If we bring in a grossly overpaid professional athlete, I expect to find you all in the vicinity.
Lieutenant, I understand Brad Bingham told you he was with a young woman last night at the Somerset Hotel.
- He did.
- Have you talked with her? I think you'd better step inside.
As a matter of fact, have a seat.
- Have you found the lady? - No.
And believe me, my men tried.
She doesn't exist.
He made her up.
What makes you so certain? Because I got a witness who can place Brad Bingham in his apartment at 1 1 :00 last night with Cynthia Hyland.
And another one who saw him kill her with a blow to the head a few minutes later.
So, if Bingham is your client, I guess congratulations are in order.
I'm about to arrest him for first degree murder.
Has it crossed your mind your football hero might be a liar? Lieutenant Davis has an eyewitness.
Brad Bingham has an alibi.
So he says.
First thing we have to do is find you some privacy.
Tyler, I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, but we've got a small emergency on our hands.
Ben, can we do this some other time? - This is Brad Bingham.
- Hi.
Look, Ben, I'm busy right now.
I'm very busy.
Doing what? Even to the untrained eye, it would appear that I'm painting my apartment.
Why? Because I finally got Cecily to agree to come over to my place for dinner, and I'm painting the place her favourite colour, French Vanilla, just to set the stage.
Brad is one of the all-time football greats.
You know him, don't you? Of course.
I'm defending him against a charge of murder in first degree.
I need your help.
You're my investigator.
It's as simple as that.
Yeah, but why are you here? He needs a place to lay low for a while.
- I don't wanna be a problem.
- No problem.
Come by the office.
First thing in the morning.
I've got something I want you to do.
Help yourself.
Pretty.
Pretty.
Yes, of course you're pretty.
Yes.
Well, what's this? Isn't he beautiful? A friend of a friend of mine gave him to me.
She moved to Des Moines.
- He is so beautiful.
- What's his name? P.
T.
Bridgeport.
What a grand name.
Well, P.
T.
, I wish you Godspeed.
And of course, Sarah, Godspeed to you too.
Oh, thank you, Ben.
Well, any luck finding the girl Bingham spent the night with? Nope.
I spent the afternoon talking to all the women who registered at the Somerset Hotel whose name began with a C.
No luck.
And then I went to the place where he said he picked her up.
No luck there, either.
Nobody there saw him talking to anybody? They saw him talking to everyone.
The waitress said he was gone by 1 0, but didn't actually see him leave.
Maybe you should try that hotel again.
I suppose so.
He was quite a womanizer, huh? I'd say so.
Well, just because he's a womanizer doesn't mean he killed anybody.
I think I'll go over to team headquarters in the morning and talk to some of the people Cynthia Hyland worked with.
See you in the morning.
See you in the morning.
Hi.
Mr.
Hyland, I'm Ben Matlock, Brad Bingham's lawyer.
Yes.
I know what a tragedy this must be for you.
Your stepmother being killed like this.
We have strong reason to believe that Brad Bingham is innocent of this crime.
- The police don't seem to think so.
- I know, I know.
What is it you want? I'd like to take a look at Ms.
Hyland's appointment book.
And if I say no? I'd understand that, but I'd get a subpoena and look at it anyway.
You don't have a personal problem with my looking at it, do you? - Of course not.
- Thank you.
You know, I've been a loyal fan of this team for 1 5 years.
I sure hope you don't sell to somebody that'll move it to another town.
Who said I was gonna sell? Oh, it's probably just talk.
What talk? Just gossip how you and Ms.
Hyland didn't get along.
How she had demoted you to selling season tickets.
And how in your father's will, if anything happened to her, you would get her share of the franchise, and how you would sell her interest if you inherited it.
Just that sort of thing.
- I pay no attention to it.
- What are you insinuating? I'm not insinuating anything.
But I suppose you did have a strong motive to kill Ms.
Hyland.
Mr.
Matlock, I suggest you get the hell out of here.
I guess I have taken up enough of your time.
Thank you for your cooperation.
- I didn't know you were busy.
- Oh, I was just leaving.
You must be Dave Edwards.
- Ben Matlock.
- How do you do? Bingham's attorney.
We were just discussing the case.
If you wanna talk to me, you can talk to me through my attorney.
Let's hope that won't be necessary.
- Hi.
- Yes? - Karen Nelson? - That's right.
I'm Charlene Matlock.
I'm an attorney representing Brad Bingham, and he says he was with you the other night.
Come on in.
I drove in that morning.
I'd been shopping for clients all afternoon.
Oh, these are nice.
Thanks.
And then I stopped someplace to have a drink.
That's when l-- See, the trouble is I'm engaged, and if my fianc‚ ever finds out, he'll kill me.
Karen, you've got to tell me.
Well, Brad was there and he started hitting on me.
There he was, this famous football player hitting on me.
And then he suggested we go to my hotel room.
And I said sure.
How could I refuse? So, he was with you.
Well, right up until I realised what a drunken lech he was and what a mistake I'd made.
So, I came to my senses and threw him out the door.
Are you saying he didn't spend the night with you? No, he was here for all of five minutes.
I mean, there he was undressing and he hadn't even asked me my name.
Can you believe it? She was lying.
I don't know what to say.
Nothing corroborates your story, not one thing.
Man! This is a nightmare.
This woman told you she spent the day shopping before she met Brad? - Shopping downtown? - That's what she said, yes.
Wait a minute.
That was the day of the brownout.
The stores downtown were closed.
She may have been in town, but I have serious doubts that she was shopping.
Karen? I was here less than an hour ago.
She must've packed up and left as soon as I talked to her.
Unless talking to me is what she intended-- Oh, my God.
She was framing my client, and I fell for it.
Come! Ben.
- I have a problem.
- What's the matter? Your mother's a jackass.
Your mother's a jackass.
What do you think? I think he said your mother's a jackass.
Ben, I don't know what to do.
My mother's never been the most secure person in the world, anyway, and if she should stop by and P.
T.
-- - Said your mother's a jackass.
- I think I'd die.
I've asked everybody I know and nobody'll take him.
And if P.
T.
ended up in the pound-- I know.
Is there anyone you know? Well, Herman Jones thinks his mother-in-law's a jackass.
Leave him.
I'll check some of my contacts.
Ben, I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry.
- Bye.
- Bye.
What's this? Your mother's a jackass.
Your mother's a jackass.
You got anything good? I sent a copy of Karen Nelson's hotel bill to Jimmy down at the phone company.
He's gonna track down all the calls she made from her hotel room.
Good.
Dad, I feel terrible.
You know.
I was defending a fellow named Leroy Harding on a murder charge over in Athens.
This harried old lady swore she was with Leroy the night of the murder.
She reminded me of your grandmother.
I barely listened to her story, never bothered to check it out, and it never occurred to me that she was lying, which she was.
I looked like a red-faced fool when the DA impeached her on the stand, so I guess I know how you feel.
Did that really happen? Charlene, I'm your father.
Thanks.
What'll it be sir? I'm looking for Johnny Mack.
Hey, I just make the drinks, pal.
I don't make the introductions.
Look, Brad Bingham said I should come to see you.
Hey, I don't care what Brad Bingham said, all right? You want to see me? I bet you're Johnny Mack.
Tyler Hudson's my name.
I work for Brad Bingham's attorney.
I'd just like to ask you a few questions.
- About what? - He's in a lot of trouble.
- He could use your help.
- I've got trouble of my own.
You know, he told me that you was his friend.
I guess I'd better go straighten him out about that.
Let's talk.
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'm afraid Tyler's not here right now.
Actually, I came to see you.
Come in.
Ben told you about Karen Nelson? Yeah.
Brad, I'm so sorry.
I should've known she was lying, but her story attracted all my preconceptions of you, and that's why I believed her.
Preconceptions? Remember Ellen Halley? Yeah.
She was my friend.
You know what she tried to do when you left her? I tried to call her, and she wouldn't talk to me.
You never heard about that, did you? - No.
- Well, it's the truth.
Do you believe me? Yes.
Thanks.
Remember this jacket? This and this is thanks to your good buddy, Johnny Mack.
Seems Johnny's got a pair of bad knees from blocking for you.
It'll probably cut two years off his career.
Yeah? Well, he sure doesn't wanna be going public about helping you.
Well if they found out about this they could drop him.
Oh, he dropped me on a table and down a hall-- Tyler.
Did he say anything? Yeah, one, Dave Edwards had a thing with Cynthia before you came along.
Two, Dave Edwards want to buy the team real bad.
And three, there's no three.
That's all we've got.
Cynthia was going on about eventually selling her interest.
Are you suggesting a motive for murder? There's a lot of money involved.
- I'll check it out in the morning.
I got it.
- I could do that.
And anyway, Tyler, you look like you need the rest.
See you tomorrow.
See you later.
Well, I got to tell you, Bingham, I couldn't have done better myself.
- Your mail.
- Thanks a lot.
Any messages? One.
Cecily called.
Cancelled.
So you were tracing the rings of Saturn for this report.
You heard a scream, turned your telescope around, and saw Mr.
Bingham strike Mrs.
Hyland.
That's right.
Boy, that must be some powerful telescope you have.
Two-inch parabolic mirror, tripod-mounted, with 650-inch focal length.
Is it difficult to operate? Well, you use the pilot scope to train on a general field of view.
You lock down the tripod head, and you find focus, and that's all there is.
You say you turned this report in after Mrs.
Hyland was murdered.
Some time around then, yeah.
I stopped by your school, Gerald.
You turned the report in three weeks before the murder.
Your teacher said you're one of his brightest students.
Kind of shy, though.
He said the other kids don't pay much attention.
I bet they do now.
Yeah.
Now.
What is it you really saw, Gerald? You heard a scream.
Yes.
- Ran to your telescope.
- Yes.
- Took off the lens cap.
- Yes.
- Unlocked it? - Yes.
Turned it toward the sound, did all the focusing you described, and then after you'd done that, you really didn't see him strike her, did you? Well, she was laying on the ground.
Where was the man? Going towards the door.
With his back to you? Yes.
So, since it was Brad Bingham's apartment, you naturally assumed that's who you saw.
I guess.
You know, Gerald, about all we can do in life is give it our best shot.
Maybe some don't pay attention to you now, but I read your reports good.
You'll be okay.
Just give it your best shot.
No further questions.
- Excuse me.
- One moment, please.
- May I help you? - I'd like to see Dave Edwards.
- Your name? - Charlene Matlock.
I'm sorry, he-- Mr.
Edwards.
Mr.
Edwards! She took the cartridge.
Hold the elevator.
She was telling me that they were going to have to trade Brad, and she was worried how he'd take it.
- And then what happened? - She said, ''Brad? Brad, what are you doing?'' Something like that.
What time did she call you? Eleven o'clock on the dot.
That's about five minutes before whoever was in the apartment with her bludgeoned her to death.
Your witness.
Miss Barnes, you say the phone rang at eleven o'clock on the dot.
Were you expecting Cynthia Hyland to call you then? No.
The news came on TV while we were talking.
The music's very distinctive.
Did you hear this sound while you were talking with Cynthia over the phone? No.
Your Honour, I fail to see the relevancy of any of this.
Overruled for now.
The sound you heard was a clock in Brad Bingham's apartment.
If Cynthia had called from there, Miss Barnes would've heard it strike 1 1 over the phone.
Now, Miss Barnes, did you also hear this sound while you were talking with Cynthia.
Maybe it would help if I tell you that it's the sound of water running into a bathtub.
I do remember hearing that because I remember thinking, ''Imagine that.
He has a phone in his bathroom.
'' Now, Miss Barnes, this is a diagram of Brad Bingham's apartment.
Now, this is the bathroom, this is the bathtub, this is the telephone.
Now, from where Cynthia Hyland had to be in order to use the telephone, she can't see out into the apartment.
Yes, I see.
What was it you heard her say? ''Brad? Brad, what are you doing?'' Kind of a silly thing for her to ask if they were face to face, isn't it? I suppose so.
Well, what if they weren't face to face? What if it was her way of asking somebody she could hear but not see to identify himself? We don't know for a fact that Brad Bingham was in the apartment at all.
Thank you, Miss Barnes.
That's all.
Not.
Not.
Your mother's not a jackass.
How's it going? - Your mother's a jackass.
- About the same.
What have you got? Well, it took a bit of decoding, but it's all here.
Vincent Hyland is selling his share of the team, formerly the property of Cynthia Hyland, to David T.
Edwards for the sum of 35 million dollars in cash.
Vince Hyland has 35 million.
Dave Edwards has the team.
We can't tie either one of them to the girl in the hotel.
Ben, have I got news for you.
I checked the address out on our lady at the hotel, and it's a phoney.
But while she was there, she made several calls to an escort service, and this particular one offers full service, if you get my drift.
Karen Nelson is a call girl? Triple digit.
You have contacts around town, don't you? Depends on what you want.
A date.
Come on in.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Karen, right? - That's right.
My name's Ben.
Help yourself to a drink, Karen.
Thank you.
Where are you from, Ben? I'm local.
- Georgia born and raised.
- No kidding.
- How about you? - I'm from all over.
But you're here in Atlanta now.
Yeah, I'm here now and the meter's running, Ben.
That's okay.
I don't mind spending some time.
Warm up.
You wanna fall in love first, huh, Ben? I like to spend a little time with somebody whose voice is higher than mine.
You're new at this, aren't you? Fairly.
How much is this gonna cost me? Three hundred, as advertised.
Unless you want something special.
No, I like to keep things simple.
Then I'll be right back.
- Where is he? - He'll be along.
All rise.
Is the defence ready to proceed? Your Honour, my partner's been unavoidably detained.
With the court's indulgence I'd like to begin examination of our next witness until he arrives.
- Does prosecution object? - No, Your Honour.
I call Karen Nelson to the stand.
Ms.
Nelson, you're from out of town? I have a home in Savannah.
But actually, I spend much, if not most, of my time here in Atlanta.
And what have you been doing in Atlanta? I'm a personal shopper.
People pay me on an hourly basis to design their wardrobes and buy their clothes.
Women, mostly.
So, on the afternoon that Cynthia Hyland was murdered, you were in town.
- Yes.
- Shopping? Yes.
There was a citywide electrical brownout that day, wasn't there? I don't recall.
At this point, defence requests the court take judicial notice that on the afternoon of the 23rd, there was an electrical brownout in the downtown district and all the stores were closed.
Well, I was window shopping.
Knowing which stores carry what is three-quarters of my job.
Didn't you have a chance meeting with Brad Bingham later that afternoon, at the Peachtree Bar? That's right.
Didn't you invite him up to your room? He invited himself.
Didn't you spend the night with him there? No.
Are you sure about that? I made him leave before anything happened.
I realised that even though he was famous, I really didn't much like him.
Excuse me a minute, Your Honour.
Your Honour, I apologise for being late.
I was unavoidably detained.
With your permission, I have a few further questions for this witness.
Proceed, Mr.
Matlock.
My name's Benjamin Matlock.
I'm one of the attorneys for Mr.
Bingham.
Have we ever met? I'm sure I'd remember.
I bet you three hundred dollars you'd remember if you tried.
I'm afraid you'd lose.
Miss Nelson-- It is Miss Nelson, isn't it? - That's right.
- I remind you you're under oath.
Were you ever in a hotel room with me? No.
Weren't you in Room 1 007 at the Promenade Hotel last night? No.
And you didn't accept three hundred dollars from me? I was at home.
Are you familiar with something called the Gentleman's Escort Service? No.
I see.
Do you know what's really interesting? I called the Gentleman's Escort Service and arranged for a young woman named Karen to come to my hotel room last night.
Now, this Karen left a fingerprint on a drinking glass.
I took that fingerprint down to the Atlanta's police department, and they provided me with a rap sheet on one Caroline Nathan.
That's your real name, isn't it? Caroline, don't get in any deeper.
It isn't worth it.
You're getting in very deep.
Caroline is your real name, isn't it? Caroline Nathan? Yes.
And you were convicted of solicitation two times in the last 1 2 months, isn't that correct? Objection.
Relevancy.
Sustained.
If I called the Gentleman's Escort Service and asked for a Karen Nelson, I would get you, wouldn't I? Yes.
And you were in my hotel room last night, weren't you? Yes.
What all did we do? Nothing.
But you did pick up that three hundred I left on the bed, didn't you? Yes.
And you're not a personal shopper, are you? No.
And you don't have a home in Savannah.
No.
Miss Nathan, you've lied about your name, your occupation, and having met me.
Now, I remind you that the penalty for perjury is severe, and you are under oath.
Now, let's get back to this Brad Bingham business.
Were you with him all night the night of the murder? Now, we're not talking about solicitation here.
We're talking about murder.
You know what I think? I think you were with him all night that night, during which time a murder was committed.
Then you said you were not with him to make it appear that he was the murderer.
What I don't know is whether you were part of the plan from the beginning or whether somebody gave you a great deal of money or frightened you into saying you were not with him by telling you you would be implicated in this murder.
Well, I will tell you now.
You are implicated in this murder.
Do you understand? You are implicated in this murder.
Now, were you with Brad Bingham all night, that night? - Yes.
- Well, now.
Well, now, that might just very well clear Brad Bingham.
But there's one more thing.
You know last night when we had our little date? I did something I shouldn't have done, but I couldn't help myself.
You know, when you went in the other room just before I left, I looked in your purse and I found this little black book.
This is the little black book you carry in your purse, isn't it? Yes.
- Say it again.
- Yes.
And it's got a lot of names in it.
I'm talking a lot of names.
Now, I won't read them off because-- But there's one name in here, might be just a client, or it might be the name of somebody who solicited your perjured testimony.
Now, I'm gonna give you an opportunity to just wipe the slate clean with this court.
Just start over.
I'll tell you what.
Just whisper his name to me, see if I was right.
- Dave Edwards.
- I was right.
All right, tell them.
Dave Edwards.
Order! Order, please! No further questions.
We find the defendant not guilty.
Mr.
Edwards.
Would you mind going down to headquarters? Ben, could I see that little black book of hers? Why? Is it for real? Does it matter? - See you, Bert.
- Ben.
Brad's invited us to dinner.
Yeah? - I think I'll pass.
- Why don't you come? No, I think I'll go back to the office and see what I can do with that parrot.
- Have fun.
- You too.
Congratulations.
- Nice job, Tyler.
- Thank you.
- In fact, I've got a bonus for you.
- Oh, yeah? Yeah.
I don't think a young man like you ought to live alone.
- I'm not taking that parrot.
- Just a thought.