Matlock s01e14 Episode Script

Who's in here? Hey! Stop right there! Bill, we're having a lot of guests today, so move the monitors back.
Give them plenty of room.
Steve, how you doing? - Damn.
- Problem? - Someone broke in here last night.
- Really? Why would anyone break in? Well, it's probably some viewer desperately seeking my recipe for blanquette de veau.
Listen, about the guest I scheduled today.
That darling little chef from the Brittany? If you tell me he had to cancel, you're gonna break my heart.
He didn't cancel.
He'll be on next week.
So who's gonna be on today? Well, I'm sure you've heard that Michael's in town promoting his new cookbook.
- You're not serious.
- He'll be here in 30 minutes.
Now, I know it'll be a little awkward for you, but-- Awkward? Awkward? Victoria, like it or not, right now Michael Edwards is hot.
His book is going to be a bestseller.
Everything that is in that book I taught him in the 1 2 years we were married.
Victoria, you are the last word on cooking in Atlanta, but we're having a hard time selling the show in syndication.
We need guests like Michael Edwards or there won't be any show.
Michael is on the show.
You'll notice that as I cook the sauce over high heat, I stir it constantly.
The point is you want this sauce to thicken and not burn.
Right you are again, Michael.
That was very well put.
How's your book doing? I hear it's just flying off the stands.
As a matter of fact, I hear it's selling extremely well coast to coast.
I hear it's the result of 1 2 years of research.
It seemed like 1 2 centuries.
Had we more time, I would pour this heated sauce over the meat and vegetables, stir gently, and then simmer until the veal is thoroughly heated.
But because we are almost out of time, I'll just show you the results.
- There it is.
- May I taste it? Sure.
This is remarkably good, and remarkably similar to a recipe you'll find in my book.
What a coincidence.
Dave, we have a problem.
Stop the tape.
Oh, Leslie.
Please, do something.
Too late.
He's dead.
Wait, wait, wait.
Now get it.
Go get it.
What a fine dog.
What a good dog.
Come on.
Come on, Max.
Come on, now.
You wait outside.
Wait right here.
Wait right here.
Wait right here.
Hello, ladies.
Fine day, isn't it? All right.
One county heard from.
Now somebody else.
What do I need to do? Talk to me.
You got a problem, I need to know about it.
Well, Daddy, just tell them how good they'll go with dumplings.
I don't know, Charlene.
One day they will, one day they won't.
- Life's a mystery.
- So I hear.
Watch your step.
Years of training.
You hear that Victoria Edwards was arrested? Yeah.
I saw it on the news.
They say her ex-husband died of eating her cooking.
Frank Daniels had an anonymous tip to run an autopsy, and there was poison found in her ex-husband's system and there was a bottle of it found in Victoria's house.
Now, Daddy, if I seem to know a lot about it, it's because we represented Victoria at her bail hearing yesterday.
- We represented her? - Well, I represented her for us.
- Are you cooking something? - No.
- You making corn bread? - No.
Somebody's making corn bread.
- Daddy, this is Victoria Edwards.
- How do you do? - How do you do? - You can take the corn bread out.
Everything is ready.
Nice and hot.
Victoria and I got to talking about her case and, well, one thing led to another.
And then we got to talking about you and again one thing led to another.
And then finally it came out that your favourite meal was corn bread, country-fried steak, creamed corn, and sliced tomatoes.
Taking your case might need a little persuasion.
So I thought I'd prepare a little country repast.
Well, Miss Victoria, two things: One, I'm working on some very difficult cases right now.
And, yes, this is one of my favourite meals, and you know who used to make it.
Your mother.
So why don't you sit down and try some while it's still hot.
That smells so good, I don't think I can even watch you eat it.
My nutritionist has me on a food-group diet.
Today, it's fruit.
I have to make a call, cancel a luncheon date.
Excuse me.
What do you think? Tell me about your ex-husband.
Well, when I married Michael, he was very attractive, very charming.
So I got him cooking, and the next thing I know, not only is he divorcing me, but he's taking over the gourmet show I started in New York.
I wound up with a cooking school in Atlanta.
- You don't use much sugar, do you? - No.
- Did you dip the steak in batter? - No, no.
Just a little flour.
- It's not fried in bacon grease, is it? - No.
A very light vegetable oil.
You know, my mother used to make this, and I'd eat it while I listened to The Lone Ranger on the radio.
Mama wasn't a very good cook.
Now that I look back, I don't know whether it was the meal I enjoyed so much or The Lone Ranger.
- So you gonna take the case? - Lord, Charlene.
I'm in love.
- Good morning, people.
- Morning, Tyler.
How goes it? Must be going pretty well, from the look of that self-satisfied smile.
I just won the Junior Chamber of Commerce Chilli Cook-off.
- Two thousand dollars.
- Two thousand dollars? That must be some chilli.
A Victoria Edwards recipe: Chilli made with chicken with a peanut butter sauce, with a few secret ingredients of my own on the side.
Sounds awful.
Tyler, meet Victoria Edwards.
This is Tyler Hudson, our investigator.
My dear lady, it is a pleasure to meet you.
- I rarely miss your show.
- Well, thank you.
What'd you find out down at the police lab? - Sodium cyanide.
- Sodium cyanide.
Will kill you in between heartbeats.
Who do you know that wants to kill you? Kill me? Why do you think it was meant for me? Because you taste the things you cook on your show.
Of course.
And since Michael was on, I was instructed to feature him as much as possible.
I let him do all the tasting.
And this is Atlanta.
Michael Edwards didn't have any enemies here, did he? No.
I wouldn't think so.
Well, I'll bet whoever broke in here that night planted the poison.
The security guard told the police that he saw a light come on in here momentarily.
And I'll bet that's the light that comes on when you open the refrigerator door.
All the ingredients were kept in there.
That's how someone planted the poison.
I'd like to go to your house and check out where the police found that bottle of sodium cyanide, but I'll need a key.
Oh, no.
My housekeeper will let you in.
Oh, great.
Thanks.
Later.
You got any enemies? Well, naturally, anybody in my position makes enemies, you know? People in my world take their food pretty seriously.
I mean, do you know anybody that really has it in for you? Well, Christopher Hoyt, I suppose, and Peter Leone, perhaps.
Possibly Stephen Lichtman, but I can't imagine they'd go so far as to-- They were here.
They were all here as guests when Michael was poisoned.
Tyler, I want you to stick close to Miss Edwards for the time being.
I'm here.
Could you get that pan down for me, please? I have a slight problem with heights.
My dear lady, retrieving your pan is my pleasure.
Thank you.
Lieutenant Daniels.
Frank? Ben.
You free for lunch? All right, I'm here.
Are you wired? Yes, I am wired, but the question is ''why am I wired?'' - I need you to help me.
- Do what? Find the person who killed Michael Edwards.
Is everything all right, Mr.
Hoyt? The pƒt‚ is dry, the wine warm, the vinaigrette too oily, the butter rock-hard, and there is enough sand in these oysters to declare this beachfront property.
You know, it seems to me I've read your column in the Atlanta Examiner for years.
Six.
How do you feel about Victoria Edwards? Well, actually, I am surprised that she hasn't poisoned more people one way or another.
Woman doesn't cook, she folds, spindles and mutilates.
I really do wish I could be of more help, but you see, unfortunately, I am dedicated to telling the truth.
Good, good, good.
You know, I've heard that you publicly stated that she damaged your reputation.
Didn't several newspapers drop your syndicated column? I believe your book deal fell through.
Oh, well, it's true she did ridicule me on her pathetic cooking show, but Well, actually, see, really, that could only enhance my reputation.
You didn't try to get her off the show? Well, you know, I was rather annoyed at the time.
Yeah, perhaps l-- I mentioned it to the station manager.
You know, inexplicably-- You know, I have lost my appetite.
Cheque, please.
Why were you at the taping of her last show? Oh, well, I wanted to interview Michael Edwards afterwards.
You know, for my column.
Where were you the night before around 1 1 :00? You know, you really do ask an awful lot of questions.
Actually, I was having dinner with some friends of mine.
Mr.
Matlock, if there is another time, I beg you: Please let me choose the restaurant.
Yeah.
Well, this does look about right.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Good thing he stopped when he did.
- How'd you like it? - Good.
I didn't think that pƒt‚ was too dry, did you? How about some Italian for the main course? - How is it? Al dente? - Very al dente, but good.
How is the new place you opened, Mr.
Leone? - I never got down there.
- It's much better than here.
I suppose you know your Victoria Edwards put me out of business.
She didn't say that.
She did say that you solicited her opinion, and when she gave you a bad review, you got very upset.
Upset? I'm a modern chef.
She's so old school, I doubt she even knows how to spell ''nouvelle cuisine.
'' If my restaurant had time to catch on, she and her heavy sauce-laden recipes would be out in the cold.
That's why she put me under.
- Big loss? - Just a million dollars.
You must understand, Mr.
Matlock, people like us, food isn't an occupation, it's a passion.
Do you make it a habit of attending the tapings of Victoria's shows? I wanted Michael Edwards to come here for dinner.
- Anything else? Some zabaglione? - No, thanks.
Where were you the night before the murder, around 1 1 :00? - Why do you ask? - Just say more than curiosity.
I can always subpoena you, if you'd prefer.
Well, that's not necessary.
I was here going over my receipts, as I do every night.
- Alone? - Yeah.
- Anything else? - Maybe the cheque.
Lunch is on the house.
Thank you.
Well, that's more like it.
Wanna go someplace for dessert? My bakery has sponsored her cooking show since the day it went on the air, Mr.
Matlock.
It must have been very distressing to you when she threatened to drop you.
I cannot tell you how hurt I was.
It would be a terrible injustice.
According to her, your quality's gone downhill.
I know what she's been saying, that we are slipping preservatives into our pies.
- Using nonfat milk, carob powder.
- Margarine in the pastries.
Not a word of truth in it.
Maybe she caught you on a day when you were temporarily out of things.
This isn't just a business, Mr.
Matlock.
This is my life.
I'm guaranteeing my public, my special sweet-tooth public, that my pastries will be of the consistent high quality they expect of Stephen Lichtman.
Tell me this, Mr.
Lichtman: Where were you the night before Michael Edwards was poisoned, around 1 1 ? I was here alone working on the wedding cake.
Well, thank you, Mr.
Lichtman.
- May I give you something else? - Oh, no.
Not for me, thanks.
clair? Cream puff? Well Give him one for his cat.
Yeah, hi.
I'm Charlene Matlock, one of Victoria's attorneys.
- May I come in? - Oh, certainly, certainly.
Come in.
Oh, dear, I've got a casserole in the oven.
Will you excuse me for a minute? Where'd they find the poison? Oh, that shelf to the left of the sink over there.
May I? Sure.
You're gonna need a footstool, though.
It's on the top shelf.
Thanks.
I don't know how that poison got up there.
I can tell you one thing for sure: It wasn't there last week.
Did either of you have guests that could have brought it and planted it up here? No.
Nobody's been in the house besides us for ages.
I hated telling the police that, but it's the truth.
Well, what about the man who just left here? What are you talking about? What man? The man I saw running out the back.
- Oh, you're mistaken.
- I don't think so.
- I could track him down and ask him.
- All right, all right, all right.
He's a friend.
A good friend.
A married friend.
Well, how often did you see him last week? Every day.
He's a neighbour.
I mean, we go out to lunch or to the movies or-- Somebody could have come in while you were out with your friend and planted the poison? Yes, but I'm not gonna say that on the stand.
If this got out, it could ruin him.
I'm not gonna do that to him.
Boy, that took all afternoon, but it was worth it.
Here you go, Chuck.
And when you take a guy to lunch, you take a guy to lunch.
You know what the old folks used to say? - What's that? - Them good eats.
Now, Frank, on this tape, see if there's anything in the voice, the tone, a phrase, anything from these three men that sounds like the anonymous tip you got on the phone.
Go ahead, Chuck.
And Chuck, put a phone filter on it.
The vinaigrette too oily, the butter rock-hard, and there is enough sand in these oysters to declare this beachfront property.
- No.
- Next one.
I'm a modern chef.
She's so old school, I doubt she even knows how to spell ''nouvelle cuisine.
'' Go to the baker, Chuck.
It's not true.
I know what she's been saying, that we are slipping preservatives into our pies.
Let me hear Leone again.
I'm a modern chef.
She's so old school, I doubt she even knows how to spell ''nouvelle cuisine.
'' - That could be him.
- Thanks, Chuck.
Now, wait a minute, Ben.
I said that could be him, not was him.
That's not a positive ID.
It's a start.
It's a start.
Mr.
Leone? All right.
He's here.
Let's eat.
Come on.
Max, Max, Max.
Stay.
Stay, stay, stay.
That's a boy.
That's a boy.
I made roast pork, mashed potatoes, greens, gravy, just for you.
Oh, thanks.
I'm still trying to get over yesterday.
- You're not gonna eat anything? - I don't think so.
- You said you didn't eat much.
- I didn't.
I got full watching Frank eat.
Well, that's your loss.
Victoria, set that platter down right over here.
- Charlene, mashed potatoes? - No.
Food groups: whole grain.
Yeah? Well, I'm into groups too, and I'll have a group of those potatoes.
- What did you find out downtown? - Not much.
Police don't have a line on Leone's killer? Not yet.
All I know is I went over there last night to have a talk with him, and when I arrived, he was sitting with his face in a plate of spaghetti.
Tyler, pass that pork.
I believe I will have a little taste.
All right.
Anyway, I think it was Leone that tipped Lieutenant Daniels where the poison was in your house, and I think he had a partner in the murder of your ex.
- Well, who's the partner? - I don't know.
We'll have to see if Stephen Lichtman and Christopher Hoyt can account for their time last night.
I'll talk to Hoyt in the morning.
Tyler, why don't you snoop around Lichtman's bakery? Pass the greens.
You know what the old folks used to say? Them some eats.
The autopsy was performed on Mr.
Edwards the ninth of this month.
According to the medical examiner, what was the cause of death? - A toxic dose of sodium cyanide.
- In other words, he was poisoned.
Yes, he was.
After receiving these findings, did you then search the Victoria Edwards School of Cooking? - Yes, we did.
- Did you find any sodium cyanide? Yes, we did.
The police lab technicians found a substantial amount of sodium cyanide in the remnants of the blanquette de veau that Mrs.
Edwards had cooked on her show and served to the decedent, which is how he ingested the poison.
Did you then search Miss Edwards' home? Yes, we did.
I show you People's Exhibit 3 and ask if you recognise it.
Yes, I do.
It has my mark on it and my initials.
- Then you know what's in it.
- Sodium cyanide.
Where was it found? In the kitchen of Mrs.
Edwards' home.
- No further questions.
- Cross-examine? No questions, Your Honour.
You may step down.
Why didn't you ask him about Peter Leone's murder? Well, it-- It's not relevant yet.
What are you doing back here? - You see, I'm-- - You're supposed to report in up front.
- I didn't know that.
- You're not supposed to be back here without wearing one of these.
Now, put it on, I'll get you started.
You're here about the job, aren't you? Yeah, yeah, you know, of course.
But look, I just don't have that much experience, and l-- - Have you eaten pastry before? - Yes.
Then you're experienced.
Okay, your work area's over here.
You taste one from each tray, then you work your way through all these racks.
As we bake them, we bring them to you.
Okay, sit here.
This is for discards.
Now, eat.
Eat? You are Miss Edwards' live-in housekeeper.
Yes.
Yes, I am.
Now, we've heard testimony that shortly after Michael Edwards' death, this vial of sodium cyanide was found in the kitchen.
Prosecution contends that it was put there by Victoria Edwards.
- I don't suppose you put it there.
- No, I didn't.
Now, I understand that for some time, you've been involved in some community-service work.
Kind of on the side, in your spare time.
Yes.
Yes, that's right, I have.
And you were doing this prior to and just after Michael Edwards' murder.
Yes.
Do these activities cause you to go out of the house? - Yes.
- How often? Practically every day.
Were you in the habit of locking Miss Edwards' house when you were out? No, I'm afraid I wasn't.
So someone could have slipped in and out of the house without your knowing it.
Yes.
Now, I understand that you were present when the police found this vial.
- Is that-- Is that correct? - Yes, yes, that's correct.
I was.
Would you explain to the court exactly where the vial was found, please? Oh, it was in the top shelf of the cabinet just to the left of the sink.
Isn't that an inconvenient place? You have to use a footstool to get up there.
So whenever Miss Edwards wanted to get something from that shelf, she used a footstool? Well, actually, she'd get me to do it for her.
Miss Edwards has a fear of heights, doesn't she? Oh, yes.
So you're saying that this vial was on a shelf that you have to use a footstool to get to, in a place where Miss Edwards would never have put it herself.
- Yes, that's right.
- Objection.
- Calls for conclusion.
- Sustained.
I'm sorry, Your Honour.
No further questions.
- Mr.
Burgess? - May I have a moment, Your Honour? - I spoke with Hoyt.
- Was he cooperative? He was surly, as a matter of fact.
But he did say he was at home last night, alone.
Could he have killed Peter Leone? Maybe.
Okay, buddy, the fun's over.
Time to go home.
Oh, man.
Still hungry, buddy? - What's happening in there? - Just a few of Mr.
Lichtman's friends.
Coffee and cakes.
With their own keys? What do you want? - What's happening? - You are.
- Good morning.
- Morning.
Where's Charlene? At her nutritionist.
Now he thinks she's allergic to eggs.
Pretty soon, she'll be down to ice water and crackers.
- What's the news? - Have I got news.
The bakery, right? There I am, snooping around the bakery, and I get caught.
But the guy that caught me thinks that I'm there for a job as a taster.
So I taste and I taste until my blood-sugar level is reaching dangerously high levels, okay? Undaunted, at the closing bell, I begin to snoop some more, and I get caught again, right? So I go outside and I'm going to do some exterior snooping, and I get caught again.
Now, was Tyler Hudson daunted by this, you ask yourself? No.
Now I get thrown back inside the bakery and surrounded by some very lethal-Iooking men.
- And then I see it.
- What? A card table.
- These men were there to play poker.
- Pok--? And that's how I got the news.
I convince them that I am a compulsive gambler and an easy mark.
I show them my $2,000 from the chilli cook-off and am immediately dealt in.
This brings me to the three salient points.
One, Stephen Lichtman had an alibi for the night Peter Leone was murdered: poker game.
Two, Stephen Lichtman had two partners that he was gonna open up a new restaurant with.
Peter Leone and Christopher Hoyt.
- What's point number three? - I don't know.
Point number three is they're not very good poker players, because my $2,000 is now $20,000.
Twenty thousand dollars? Twenty thousand.
So Christopher Hoyt has an alibi for the night of the break-in, no alibi for the night of Peter Leone's murder.
Stephen Lichtman, no alibi for the night of the break-in, has one for the night of the murder.
They're in business together, all right.
So, what do we do now? If we can just figure out how the poison got in the stew.
Charlene.
- Charlene? - Eggs.
Eggs? Eggs.
See? Two eggs.
I ordered six the day before to be delivered along with the veal.
- I only used four.
- Why's that? The recipe requires two eggs.
And I initially intended to make it in three stages, which would require six eggs.
But of course the producer came and told me that Michael was gonna be on the show and that I would have to give him all this extra time.
So I decided to make the blanquette in two stages instead, and I only used four eggs.
Are you sure these are the eggs that were in the refrigerator the night before the show? Oh, they have to be.
I mean, the school has been closed since the day Michael died.
We're the only ones that have been in here except for the police.
Your Honour, as discussed earlier in chambers and now for the record, I maintain my objection to Mr.
Matlock's latest piece of courtroom histrionics.
Your Honour, prosecution has masterfully established that Michael Edwards was killed by the poison in the veal stew prepared by my client.
It's essential to our case that we establish exactly how the poison got there.
Objection overruled.
I do trust, however, this won't take too much of the court's time.
No, Your Honour.
As soon as Miss Edwards gets organised, I'll call my next witness, Mr.
Christopher Hoyt.
I understand you're a food critic, Mr.
Hoyt.
Yes, for the Atlanta Examiner.
Given the particulars, I bet you followed this case with a great deal of interest.
Yeah, I find it interesting, yes.
It's not every day that French cuisine is used as a murder weapon.
Of course, you're aware it wasn't the veal stew that killed Michael Edwards.
It was something that was put into the stew.
Well, of course.
And so far, nobody has been able to figure out how it was put into the stew.
Well, I'm aware of that too.
I mean, Miss Edwards couldn't just have dumped sodium cyanide in there in full view of an audience any more than she could do it in this courtroom.
Right, Mr.
Hoyt? Well, I suppose.
So the poison had to be in one of the ingredients she was using.
Objection.
Calls for conclusion.
Sustained.
I think I know.
But once again, to try to discover what ingredient the poison was in, I've asked Miss Edwards to make another - Blanquette de veau.
- Yeah, or veal stew.
Now, the veal and the cream are fresh.
All the other ingredients came from cooking school and have been examined by the police.
Might even let you taste it.
Give us a critique.
As a food expert, can you tell us what Miss Edwards is doing now? Of course.
She is preparing the cream sauce that goes atop the veal.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, as a food critic, do you know Miss Edwards? Of course.
Do you like Miss Edwards? I am indifferent to Miss Edwards.
Oh, excuse me, Mr.
Hoyt.
The stew looks about ready.
Looks delicious.
Go ahead.
Oh, no, thank you.
I don't want any.
Why not? Something wrong with it? I just said l-- I don't want to eat any.
Why not, Mr.
Hoyt? Why won't you taste it? You think it's poison? As I told you before, the veal and the cream are fresh.
All the other ingredients are from the cooking school.
Won't you taste it? Well, can I have another volunteer? Somebody from the audience? Mr.
Lichtman.
Anybody? All right.
I'll try it myself.
Don't.
Thank you.
What's wrong with the stew? The eggs.
The eggs have been injected with poison.
Say again, please.
The eggs have been injected with poison.
The eggs.
The only ingredient the police couldn't examine.
Because once an egg has been used, and the shell thrown into the disposal, there's nothing to examine.
But only whoever broke into the cooking school the night before the murder and planted the doctored eggs could've known that.
I didn't do it.
I was with some friends.
I know someone who will swear to it.
I know.
Isn't it true that Peter Leone was an accomplice? And didn't he make the anonymous phone call to the police? Yes.
And after Lieutenant Daniels and I had lunch with him, he was very frightened, and you were afraid he had talked to us.
- So you killed him.
- No.
And wasn't the other accomplice that man, Stephen Lichtman? Isn't it true that he's the one who broke into the cooking school and substituted the injected eggs? And isn't it true the three of you were going to open a new restaurant, but you didn't have enough faith in each other's talent, and you were afraid that Victoria Edwards could ruin you? So you, Leone, Lichtman conspired to poison the stew in hopes of killing Victoria Edwards.
You can't prove that.
I don't have to prove it.
You see, these are the two eggs from the cooking school that were not used in the veal stew.
You see those tiny holes? That's where the poison was injected.
So you see, I don't have to prove anything.
All I have to do is show reasonable doubt that Victoria Edwards killed her ex-husband.
I leave in the capable hands of the prosecuting attorney the stock, the eggs, the onions, and whoever.
Lloyd, I wouldn't make an omelette with those.
No further questions.
We find the defendant not guilty.
This court is adjourned.
- We did it.
- I, for one, enjoyed it.
Make that two.
Let's get out of here.
You know, it's nearly lunch.
Well, how about some corn bread, country-fried steak, sliced tomatoes and creamed corn? You got any old tapes of The Lone Ranger?