Murder, She Wrote s05e05 Episode Script
63705 - Coal Miner's Slaughter
I intend to prove that you killed my father.
Sheriff, I want this woman arrested.
If you stay around here, you're just asking for trouble.
[Woman.]
Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
- Let her go, Tate! - Leave that shotgun in that truck.
Most everybody in these parts can shoot the petals off a daisy before they're 10 years old.
Pa's dead, and so is the man who killed him.
I already lost one child to Tyler Morgan, and I sure don't aim to lose another.
Hold it right there.
##[Bluegrass.]
##[Rhythmic Clapping.]
## [Ends.]
## [Resumes.]
Look at 'em.
I am.
And they're lookin' at us, so I suggest you put a smile on your face.
Who do you think you're tryin' to fool throwin' this party? I'm tellin' you, Daddy, it's a pure waste of good company money.
Reese, why don't you go ask one of them pretty little gals to dance? I suppose you got a better way of gettin' the men to accept a work speedup, huh? I got a better way of runnin' the whole mine, and you know it.
Computers could save us at least 20%.
Now, Son, I've been runnin' this company at a profit for 30 years not by using computers, but by usin' this.
And believe you me, I'm gonna keep on runnin'the company that way till they carry me out feetfirst.
Can't be soon enough for me.
He's still your daddy, Reese.
He deserves respect.
Respect.
Well, now, that's somethin' comin' from you.
Hell, Ma, what kind of respect does he show you, cheatin' on you all these years? Evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome.
It does my heart good to see this turnout here tonight as we celebrate another quarter of record productivity.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
What's good for the mine is good for the miners.
It's as simple as that.
[Woman.]
That's a lie, and you know it! [Murmuring.]
Who said that? I did.
I don't believe we've met, young lady.
Actually, we have.
Ten years ago at my father's funeral.
I'm Molly Connors.
[Crowd Murmuring.]
Joe's little girl? Well, well, well.
You sure have turned into a right fine filly, young lady, since you've been away.
- Am I right, boys? - [Wolf Whistles.]
[Scoffs.]
While I was away, Mr.
Morgan, I managed to get my law degree.
I passed the bar exam last month in Wheeling.
The bar exam.
Now, that is something.
But if you've come back to Colton lookin' for business, you're apt to find the pickin's mighty slim.
Oh, on the contrary.
I've already got my first case, one that I think that you might find very interesting.
That so? I intend to prove that you killed my father.
[Crowd Murmuring.]
Now, Miss Molly, you're gonna have one hell of a time trying to prove what never happened, especially workin' from the inside of a jail cell.
Sheriff, I want this woman arrested.
[Scoffs.]
On what charge? Now, Miss Connors, a bright young lawyer like you oughta know that bustin' in on a private party bein' held on private grounds constitutes trespass.
Right, Sheriff? Afraid that's the law, ma'am.
Technically, yes, but- You'll never be able to make this stick in front of a judge.
Maybe so, and maybe not.
That could take a while to find out, what with Judge Turner bein' away this week at my fishin' lodge.
Oh, I'll give him a call, but if the trout are bitin', I expect he'll be gone for quite some time.
All right, let's get the party movin'.
Let's have some music.
Let's continue the dance, folks.
[Tires Screeching.]
Granddaddy, what are you doing here? Bad news travels fast, doesn't it? - Let her go, Tate.
- Sorry, Eben.
You know I can't do that.
We'll just see if you can't.
Listen, leave that shotgun in that truck unless you want me to book you two adjoining cells.
Now, you got no quarrel with me.
It's Tyler Morgan that's pressin' the charges.
Tyler Morgan's been pressin' my whole family for years! This time, I'm gonna press back.
No, Granddaddy, don't! Please.
You'll see.
I'll be bailed out of here in no time.
A thousand dollars? You got that kind of money? I sure don't.
I am due one phone call.
I think I know someone who'll help.
[Door Closes.]
You want a piece of advice? You mean, like, "Stay out ofTyler Morgan's way"? "Mind your own business"? "Get out of town while you still can"? You know, I liked your daddy, Molly, and you've got his spirit.
I'd sure hate to see you get hurt fightin' some fight you can't win.
Well, Sheriff, nobody's ever gonna catch you at that.
I do what I can to uphold the law around here.
Oh, right.
That would be the law according to Tyler Morgan.
You know, another thing about your daddy- He was hard-nosed.
That's what got him killed.
Come on.
Let's go.
Go? Go where? - Anywhere you like.
You're free.
- But my bail money hasn't arrived yet.
Your bail's already been paid in person.
Let's go.
[Door Opens.]
Molly? Jessica! Oh, are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine, but- Jessica, it's so good to see you, but I don't understand what- Well, after your call, I was much too concerned to simply wire the money and leave it at that, so I brought it myself.
Oh, gosh, I feel terrible.
I never would have asked you for the loan if I'd known you'd go to all this trouble.
Well, it seems to me that you're the one who's in all this trouble.
Molly, if you'll sign for your things, you two can do your catchin' up somewhere else.
With pleasure.
I'll explain everything on our way to the courthouse over in Yanceyville.
Oh, Sheriff, you might tell Tyler that he'll be getting a subpoena for those 1978 company records of his.
Molly, believe me, this is no trouble.
I was not about to let one of my best and brightest protegees cool her heels in a cell for the next month.
[Man.]
Mollyl Oh, hi, Carlton.
I came here to get you out.
Thanks, but my fairy godmother beat you to it.
Carlton Reid, meetJessica Fletcher- writer, friend and bailsman.
Or is that bails-person? Carlton's the local miners' union representative.
- How do you do, Mr.
Reid? - Well, I'm-I'm much better now that Molly's out of jail.
No, I was gonna pass the hat tonight at the county meeting over in Yanceyville.
But now, I'll just pass along the good news.
[Laughs.]
I'll bet Tyler's fit to be tied.
Well, he'll know soon enough.
Seems I underestimated your resourcefulness, young lady.
I'm not sure about the wisdom of bringin' a stranger in on something that's none of her affair.
Well, I can assure you that Molly and I are hardly strangers.
In fact, I'm looking forward to spending a few days with her hearing what she's been up to.
Well, now, I'm glad you two are so close, seeing how Eben's place is hardly big enough for him and Molly, let alone company.
[Boy.]
She can stay with us.
Can't she, Ma? I'm Bridie Harmon, ma'am, and this is my son Travis.
Ours is the boardin' house up the road.
Room's $10 a day, meals extra, and I lock up at 11:00.
If you're lookin'for a place to stay, you'd be welcome with us.
I'm Jessica Fletcher.
Thank you, Mrs.
Harmon.
And I'd be delighted.
[Molly.]
And you don't even have to worry about meals.
She'll be takin' 'em with us.
But I promise I'll have her at your place tonight by 10:30.
Fine then.
Come along, Travis.
Travis, I said, come on.
Well, Mrs.
, uh, Fletcher, was it? Welcome to Colton.
[Eben.]
You better have some more chicken, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Oh, no, Eben.
Thanks anyway.
Frankly, I ran out of room two helpings ago.
Honestly, Molly, I haven't tasted food as good as this since your mother used to help out at the P.
T.
A.
Picnics.
Mama sure could cook, all right.
It's like I tell her.
She's from good mountain stock.
She's got her ma's hands for cookin' and her pa's brains.
Now, Granddad.
Well, you're right about the cooking.
As to the brains, I remember when we were studying Hamlet, you used to lug around a huge book of the entire works of Shakespeare to class every day.
You mean that? [Jessica.]
Oh, my, yes.
It was my daddy's.
He used to read to me out of it when I was a kid- you know, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth.
That was the only thing of his that I took with me when Mom and I moved to Cabot Cove after he died.
It must mean a great deal to you.
But something else would mean a whole lot more.
Proving that Tyler Morgan killed my father.
Everybody in town knows that explosion was no accident.
But you go nosin'around askin'questions, you're gonna end up just like him- six feet under.
Well, Tyler didn't scare him, and he doesn't scare me.
Surely you're exaggerating Molly's danger.
I already lost one child to Tyler Morgan, and I sure don't aim to lose another.
[Phone Ringing.]
Yeah? Well, well, well.
I thought I'd be hearing from you.
Tonight? All right.
Meet me at the cabin in a half hour.
[Line Clicks.]
[Clicking.]
Nora, you listening in again? Nora? [Clicks, Dial Tone.]
[Thunderclap.]
Damn storm.
[Molly.]
Well, it's not exactly the Ritz.
Oh, don't be silly.
I think it's just fine.
And from the way that Tyler Morgan obviously felt, I'm surprised that Mrs.
Harmon would even rent to me.
Oh, Bridie's okay.
Her husband died in the same explosion that killed my father.
The way I figure it, she and Travis probably hate Tyler almost as much as I do.
Molly, I know how much you loved your father.
But what you're doing, it could turn out to be very dangerous.
Don't worry, teach.
I can take care of myself.
Bathroom's right down the hall.
I'll leave these with you.
Thank you.
Speaking of leaving, I think I'd better get goin' before that storm breaks.
You're sure I can't pick you up tomorrow? Believe me, after the meal we had this evening, walking to your house in the morning will be the best thing in the world for me.
Okay.
See you at breakfast.
Good night, Bridie.
Good night.
If there's nothing else, Mrs.
Fletcher, I'd like to lock up and get to bed.
Oh, yes, of course.
I'll be fine.
Okay.
[Car Engine Starting, Horn Honking.]
[Thunderclap.]
[Cocks.]
Hold it right there.
Awful early for a city woman to be prowlin' about, ain't it, Mrs.
Fletcher? Well, I wouldn't know, Sheriff, being from a small town myself.
But I assure you, I was not prowling around.
Said she was on the way to Connors's place and took the wrong path.
That was when this gentleman brought me to you at gunpoint.
This gentleman is Tyler Morgan's son Reese.
I'll take it from here.
What do you mean? Hell, I'm the one that caught her.
I said I can handle it alone.
Now that my daddy's dead, best you remember who's fillin' his shoes, Tate.
Excuse me.
Did he say that Tyler Morgan is dead? Shot last night between 11:00 and 11:30, near as I could figure, from the condition of the body.
I'll know more about it when the county boys over in Yanceyville get through with him.
Do you have any idea who did it? Yes, ma'am.
Lots of ideas, but no evidence to prove one.
Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll let you get on with the investigation.
Hold it, Mrs.
Fletcher.
You mind telling me where you were last night- say, between 11:00, 11:30? Not at all.
No, I was in bed at 11:00 and asleep soon after that.
But I have to admit, I'd be hard-pressed to prove it.
No need.
Way I see it, a woman like you would have no reason to kill a man she'd hardly met.
Besides, unless I miss my guess, you're about as handy with a gun as I am with knittin' needles.
But I don't understand.
If I don't need an alibi, why ask me about it? I was hoping maybe you could supply one for someone who does.
Tyler's dead? Shot straight through the heart.
[Eben.]
Retribution.
That's what it is.
It's the code of the hills.
Well, the law calls it murder.
And seein' as how you and Molly felt about Tyler, I'm bound to ask you where you were last night, Eben.
- [Molly Scoffs.]
- Anything in the law says I gotta tell ya? - Any reason you can't? - Of course there's not.
Actually, Sheriff, the three of us had dinner here last night until Molly drove me to Mrs.
Harmon's at 10:30.
It's a short way.
I'm sure Molly was back here no later than 10:45.
- Is that right? - I mean, no- Look, I would have been back here by then, but I got a flat tire and I had to stop and change it.
What with the storm and it being dark and all, I didn't get home till nearly 11:30.
- Did you go to town with 'em? - Stayed put the whole night.
So neither one of ya from 10:30 to 11:30 has anybody who can vouch for your story.
- Is that right? - We don't need anyone to vouch for us.
You know, one ofTyler's rifles is missing.
You think I have it? Would you like to search for it? Fine.
Go ahead and search.
We've got nothing to hide.
Thank you.
I'll remember that offer.
Great.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got breakfast to make.
She's got a lot of her daddy in her.
Anything wrong in that? Look where it got him.
You know, if I put up a tent and charged admission, I could make a fortune.
It's pretty hard to stop tongues from wagging in a small town.
Molly! Ah.
Mrs.
Fletcher.
Mr.
Reid.
Well, it's all over town about Tyler.
Yes.
So I've noticed.
Look, why don't you let me give you two a ride home in my pickup? If you stay around here, you're just asking for trouble.
Thanks, Carlton, but I'm not gonna be intimidated by a bunch of stupid rumors.
- I didn't kill him.
- No, of course you didn't.
Try telling that to them.
Okay.
I will.
Mrs.
Morgan? Excuse me.
I'm Molly Connors.
I know who you are.
Look, ma'am, in spite of the differences that I had with your husband, I just wanted to tell you that I wouldn't have wished this on anyone.
I'm- I'm truly sorry for your loss.
Sorry? You've been tryin' to bring my daddy down ever since you came back.
And it looks like you finally did it, only it sure as hell wasn't with a law degree.
That's not only untrue, Reese, it's slander.
What are you gonna do about it, take me to court or settle it with a gun? Mr.
Morgan, please.
We know you're upset- Stay outta this, lady.
It's no concern of yours.
[Carlton.]
Well, you're wrong though, Reese.
You start making wild accusations like that, and it's everybody's concern.
And, hell, the way you and your daddy been goin'at it the last couple of years, I wouldn't be surprised if you killed him yourself.
Come over here and say that.
Here I am.
Carlton, don't! Just let it go.
Believe me, Mr.
Reid, it'll take a lot more than accusations to convince anyone that Molly killed anyone.
That's right.
A nd more is just what I found when I decided to take you up on your offer of this morning.
What? What do you mean? You remember I told you that one ofTyler's rifles was missing from the cabin? Well, seein'as how you didn't mind, I went ahead and searched your car, and I found it jammed up underneath your front seat.
That-That's impossible! Molly, you are under arrest for the murder ofTyler Morgan.
[Jessica.]
What do you mean, no bail? You can't honestly believe that Molly's about to leave town.
Molly Connors? Not likely.
She's too much like her daddy to run from trouble.
Well, then I don't understand.
Look, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Mountain folks have long memories and short fuses, not to mention some funny ideas about the law.
If I let Molly out on bail, I might as well be hangin' out a sign that says "Hunting Season Is Open.
" - But, Sheriff- - No buts.
You got a problem, ma'am, take it up with the county court.
Look, Sheriff, anyone could have planted that rifle in Molly's car.
You said yourself that the car was unlocked when you searched it.
Now, why would a lawyer like Molly hide incriminating evidence in her own car when there were acres of woods all around where she could have disposed of it? Even lawyers make mistakes.
And lawmen.
- I've come for Molly.
- Now, she's here, Eben, and you can see her, but I'm not lettin' her go.
The hell you're not.
Wait, Eben.
Try not to make things worse than they are.
- We can take Molly's case to higher authorities.
- Higher authorities? Since when have they done anything for the miners of this town? Hell, they've been in the pockets of the bosses ever since we fought for and got a union back in the '20s.
And from the looks of things, nothing has changed.
Perhaps.
But we won't know until we try.
You wanna try, you go ahead and try.
Me, I'll be back.
And the next time, I won't be alone.
[Door Opens.]
[Door Closes.]
Well, one call to the miners'legal aid, and they'll be on this quicker than ducks on a june bug.
Well, from the look on Eben's face, I hope you're right.
[Bridie.]
Don't you walk away when I'm talkin'to youl Travis Harmon, stop right there! Now I want an answer.
- I told you, I was out huntin'.
- Till 3:00 in the mornin'? I'm not a baby anymore! If I wanna go out nights, I will! You do.
[Door Opens.]
[Door Closes.]
Hey, Travis! Wait up! Pretty rough on your ma just now, weren't you, son? What were you doin', spyin' on me or something? Look, I know it's gotta be tough sometimes growin' up with just your ma, but- She treats me like I was five years old! Heck, if Pa was alive, he'd show her I wasn't a kid.
- I know he would.
- I reckon you're right.
But that's not the way it is.
No, it ain't.
Pa's dead, and so is the man who killed him.
[Bridie.]
You wanted to see me? I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs.
Harmon.
I can't seem to get this window open.
No bother at all.
[Grunts.]
Great.
There.
Fool thing always sticks after a rain.
My goodness, the storm last night was more like a deluge.
It's a wonder you didn't catch your death- I mean, going out the way you did.
Oh, you must be mistaken.
After I saw to you, I locked up and went straight to bed.
I don't think I was mistaken, Bridie.
I was right here closing the window.
I saw you leave.
You know, an innocent woman is being charged with murder, Bridie.
That's not my concern.
Even if it means that she'd be imprisoned for life? You don't understand.
I can't get involved.
I don't mean to frighten you, but please, you must talk to me.
What is it you're hiding? What happened? It's funny.
I used to ask myself the same thing.
What happened? How could I stay with a man like that for 10 years? I see.
It's nothin' I'm proud of.
But a widow of 19 with a four-year-old son doesn't have a lot of choice in these things.
And Tyler offered to help.
More like helped himself.
Tyler- He was used to gettin' what he wanted.
But surely there must have been others that you could have turned to.
Oh, there were always others, just none of'em willing to get hitched to a package deal.
At least Tyler was willing to pay for what he wanted.
And that hostility between the two of you- That was all an act? Yes.
You know, at first, I couldn't stand his hands on me.
And then after a while, things got better between us.
With me, Tyler could be himself.
He wasn't a bad man.
Just scared and actin' tough to try and make up for it.
Lately though, I'd been worried about how Travis might find out and all, him bein' nearly grown.
So I've been tryin' to break it off.
That's why I went up to the cabin last night- to end it once and for all.
Only when I got there, Tyler was dead.
Yes, but why didn't you phone the sheriff? And let the whole town know about me and Tyler? Oh, and they'd know, 'cause believe me, Mrs.
Fletcher, nobody ever went up to that cabin unless they were specially invited.
Nobody.
All these years, and no one knew about your relationship? Well, Nora'd had her suspicions once.
Nora? His wife.
Tyler said she threw such a fit a couple of years back, it scared him off seeing me for a while.
But I'd lay odds she never knew he started up again.
Heck, if she had, she probably would've killed him.
[Jessica.]
It was so kind of you to see me, Mrs.
Morgan.
I hope I'm not imposing on you.
You said on the phone that the matter was urgent and that it concerns my son? Well, I'm afraid it may not only concern your son, but everyone in this town if tensions get any worse.
Oh, there is blood in the air, all right.
I don't rightly know what you expect me to do about it.
Perhaps if you spoke to him, helped him to realize that he's only fueling a very dangerous situation.
It wouldn't do no good.
Truth is, I lost hold of that boy years ago.
That temper of his- Well, it's led to nothin' but trouble since the day he was born.
He's certainly no stranger to guns.
Oh, that's a fact.
Oh, those shootin' ribbons you're lookin' at, well, they're mine.
- Yours? - I won 'em as a kid at a county fair.
Well, I am impressed.
Oh, heck.
Most everybody in these parts can shoot the petals off a daisy before they're 10 years old.
[Phone Rings.]
Yes? Oh, oh, yes, yes.
All right.
Uh, just hang on.
I'm afraid you're gonna have to excuse me.
It's the funeral parlor.
Oh, yes, of course.
Mrs.
Fletcher? I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.
Truth is, Reese is a lot like his daddy.
It takes a loaded gun to get his attention.
[Vehicle Approaching.]
[Horn Honking.]
Mrs.
Fletcher, you better hop in quick.
There's trouble.
Yeah, I've just- I've just come from SheriffTate's.
He says he's got Molly nailed cold.
That's ridiculous.
That rifle was planted in Molly's car to frame her.
Hell, yes.
I mean, anybody could've grabbed that gun out of that unlocked rack by the door and shot Tyler.
- But that's not all Tate says he's got.
- What do you mean? Well, it seems Reese went through his daddy's cabin and found a ledger sheet had been stolen out of the company's 1978 payroll.
Seventy-eight? Isn't that the year that Molly's father was killed? Yep.
Tate seems to think that cinches his case.
The trouble is, Eben doesn't quite see it that way.
So he got some ofhis friends together.
They're gonna storm the jail and free Molly by force.
Oh, Lord.
And if Reese finds out- Yes, ma'am.
Could be we got ourselves an all-out war.
Get the sheriff.
What about you? Now, Carlton! Hurry! [Rifle Cocking.]
Stand aside, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Eben, don't do this.
I know you only want to help Molly, but this is wrong.
Better listen to her, old-timer.
And so should you, Mr.
Morgan.
Me and the boys here are just a group of concerned citizens trying to uphold the law.
[Jessica.]
Upholding the law is a job for the sheriff, not for hired vigilantes.
[Tate.]
She's right.
Now, I got a duty to keep Molly in jail, Eben, and that's what I'm gonna do without any uninvited help from you, Reese.
Hell, you think you can take 'em by yourself? What I do and how I do it is no concern of yours.
- Look, I told you- - No, I told you! But maybe you didn't hear me, so let me run it by you again.
You and your boys clear out.
Us? What about them? My granddaughter's no killer.
That's for a court to say, not us.
And Molly'd be the first to agree.
Well, all right.
But any harm comes to Molly, it won't take no court to settle the score, and that's a promise.
Look, Mrs.
Fletcher, I appreciate your help out there, but I got no time for you right now.
Just because a page is missing from a 10-year-old payroll doesn't mean that Molly took it.
Ma'am, you and I were both standing right here when she swore she was gonna subpoena those very records.
But that's my point.
Excuse me.
Martha? SheriffTate.
Let me speak to Ned.
All right, but hurry.
Look, the point is, why would Molly want to steal a page from that payroll when a subpoena would force the company to surrender it anyway? Wait a minute.
Let me get this straight.
You're sayin' that someone else stole that page in order to frame Molly? How? Nobody even knew she wanted those records but us.
Exactly, which is why I can't help thinking that the killer's motive for the theft wasn't just to implicate Molly, but rather to stop something on that page from being discovered ever.
Ned? Yeah, it's Dawson Tate.
I got an emergency.
Lost the key to my rifle rack.
Now, come on.
It's not the first time anybody ever asked you to pick a lock.
Hell, everybody around here keeps their rifles locked up.
I just lost my key, that's all.
I don't care if your cow's havin' triplets! I need it unlocked, and I need it done now! Ma'am, you're gonna have to leave.
[Jessica.]
Yes, I'm still here.
Oh, are you sure? I see.
Well, thank you very much.
You've been very helpful.
Thanks.
Make your call? Yes.
I billed it to my charge card.
Oh, no need.
Yanceyville's only 50 miles away.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Black, just like you said.
Though I swear, if it was me who'd faced those men at the jail, I'd be drinkin' something a whole lot stronger.
You know, Bridie, Molly doesn't believe that the explosion that killed her father and your husband was an accident.
Tyler and me, we talked about that.
He always swore he wasn't involved.
You say "involved" as if you didn't believe it was an accident either.
It don't make much difference what I think.
It was a long time ago.
Best forgot.
I'm sorry, but I don't agree.
I feel very strongly that what happened 10 years ago is tied in very closely with Tyler Morgan's murder.
Bridie, what happened back then? The night before my Danny got killed, he told meJoe Connors had gotten ahold of some company record that was gonna prove there were fishy doin's at the mine.
Fact is, he was gonna explain it all at a union meetin'the next night.
Only the next day when he went into the mine, he never came out.
This proof, this company record- Didn't he tell you what it was? Or anyone else either near as I can tell.
Once they got Danny and Joe and the others buried, that was the end of it.
Molly and her ma, they headed up north to live with kin in Maine.
And, oh, Eben and some of the boys, they went toJoe's place and pretty near tore it apart, but they never found nothin'.
Maybe there was nothin'to find.
Maybe all that talk about proof was justJoe talkin', puffin ' himself up.
And maybe not.
I can't be sure until I check it, but it's just possible that I may not only know who killed Tyler Morgan, but if I'm lucky, I may be able to find the evidence at Eben's place to prove it.
Hadn't you oughta tell the sheriff your suspicions? The moment that I have proof.
[Groans.]
Eben? Anybody home? Yes, operator.
Could you connect me, please, with the sheriff's office? Mrs.
Fletcher.
You're not leavin' on my account, are ya? Carl.
What are you doing here? Well, I've been givin' Eben a hand, what with Molly in jail.
Oh, yes.
Well, did you see him? I checked the house, but I can't find him.
- Found somethin' else though, didn't ya? - Did I? No.
No, come on.
Come on, Mrs.
Fletcher.
I was watching you through the window.
How long have you been onto me? Onto you? The fact that I killed Tyler Morgan, a crime that I freely confess to.
My only regret is that I didn't get to it years ago.
But how did you know? I didn't.
Well, I did suspect.
It was something that you said when we were driving back to town in the pickup.
Hell, yes.
I mean, anybody could've grabbed that gun out of that unlocked rack by the door and shot Tyler.
I don't get it.
Only someone who had been to the cabin would have known that the gun rack was unlocked and also right by the door.
Please.
And then when I remembered what Bridie Harmon told me- that no one went to the cabin unless they were specifically invited.
That's when alarm bells started to go off in my brain.
You call that proof? Lady, I wouldn't try to sell that batch of brownies to the county attorney.
And besides, when Tyler was gettin' himselfkilled, I was at a union meeting in Yanceyville, remember? I'm afraid that's not true.
I made a phone call a little while ago.
Oh, you were there, all right, earlier in the evening.
But no one remembered seeing you once the meeting started.
You think you're pretty smart, don't you? Tyler thought he was pretty smart, too, threatening to expose our financial arrangements if I didn't get Molly off his back.
Those financial arrangements, I suppose they go back a long time.
I never meant to killJoe.
Hell, I offered to cut him in on the take.
But he wouldn't play ball.
And as for Danny Harmon- Well, it was just his bad luck that he was workin' with Joe when it happened.
Just like it's your bad luck to have discovered the truth.
The ledger sheet- Let's have it.
Mrs.
Fletcher, me and you are gonna take a little ride.
Look, people know that I came out here.
They'll come looking for me.
They won't find you.
You won't get away with this.
I told my suspicions to the sheriff.
I don't believe you.
Look, Carl- Just save your breath, Mrs.
Fletcher, and get in there.
We got places in these hills only the wolves know about.
And if they do find you, so what? They'll never tie it to me.
Heyl Heyl Heyl All right.
All right, all right, all right.
What I still can't figure, Mrs.
Fletcher, is how did you know the proof was in the book? Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't absolutely sure.
But when Bridie told me that you'd searched for it after Molly left for Cabot Cove, I remembered that the only thing of her father's that she'd taken with her was the book of Shakespeare.
And assuming that your son was too smart to carry the evidence on him, I realized that the book was the one place you hadn't searched because it hadn't been here.
That's smart.
Now-Now, that's real smart.
Oh.
I guess you know I'll never be able to thank you enough.
Oh, nonsense.
I just wanted to be able to help.
And I'm sure the law will see that Carlton gets his due.
I expect they will, seein' as how Molly's gonna be there.
The miners' union has asked me to handle their part in the prosecution.
And if things work out, there's talk about putting me on retainer to handle all their litigation.
Well, you know, I'm sure that your father would have been very proud.
[Engine Starting.]
Good-bye.
- Good-bye, Eben.
- Good-bye, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Bye-bye.
Sheriff, I want this woman arrested.
If you stay around here, you're just asking for trouble.
[Woman.]
Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
- Let her go, Tate! - Leave that shotgun in that truck.
Most everybody in these parts can shoot the petals off a daisy before they're 10 years old.
Pa's dead, and so is the man who killed him.
I already lost one child to Tyler Morgan, and I sure don't aim to lose another.
Hold it right there.
##[Bluegrass.]
##[Rhythmic Clapping.]
## [Ends.]
## [Resumes.]
Look at 'em.
I am.
And they're lookin' at us, so I suggest you put a smile on your face.
Who do you think you're tryin' to fool throwin' this party? I'm tellin' you, Daddy, it's a pure waste of good company money.
Reese, why don't you go ask one of them pretty little gals to dance? I suppose you got a better way of gettin' the men to accept a work speedup, huh? I got a better way of runnin' the whole mine, and you know it.
Computers could save us at least 20%.
Now, Son, I've been runnin' this company at a profit for 30 years not by using computers, but by usin' this.
And believe you me, I'm gonna keep on runnin'the company that way till they carry me out feetfirst.
Can't be soon enough for me.
He's still your daddy, Reese.
He deserves respect.
Respect.
Well, now, that's somethin' comin' from you.
Hell, Ma, what kind of respect does he show you, cheatin' on you all these years? Evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome.
It does my heart good to see this turnout here tonight as we celebrate another quarter of record productivity.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
What's good for the mine is good for the miners.
It's as simple as that.
[Woman.]
That's a lie, and you know it! [Murmuring.]
Who said that? I did.
I don't believe we've met, young lady.
Actually, we have.
Ten years ago at my father's funeral.
I'm Molly Connors.
[Crowd Murmuring.]
Joe's little girl? Well, well, well.
You sure have turned into a right fine filly, young lady, since you've been away.
- Am I right, boys? - [Wolf Whistles.]
[Scoffs.]
While I was away, Mr.
Morgan, I managed to get my law degree.
I passed the bar exam last month in Wheeling.
The bar exam.
Now, that is something.
But if you've come back to Colton lookin' for business, you're apt to find the pickin's mighty slim.
Oh, on the contrary.
I've already got my first case, one that I think that you might find very interesting.
That so? I intend to prove that you killed my father.
[Crowd Murmuring.]
Now, Miss Molly, you're gonna have one hell of a time trying to prove what never happened, especially workin' from the inside of a jail cell.
Sheriff, I want this woman arrested.
[Scoffs.]
On what charge? Now, Miss Connors, a bright young lawyer like you oughta know that bustin' in on a private party bein' held on private grounds constitutes trespass.
Right, Sheriff? Afraid that's the law, ma'am.
Technically, yes, but- You'll never be able to make this stick in front of a judge.
Maybe so, and maybe not.
That could take a while to find out, what with Judge Turner bein' away this week at my fishin' lodge.
Oh, I'll give him a call, but if the trout are bitin', I expect he'll be gone for quite some time.
All right, let's get the party movin'.
Let's have some music.
Let's continue the dance, folks.
[Tires Screeching.]
Granddaddy, what are you doing here? Bad news travels fast, doesn't it? - Let her go, Tate.
- Sorry, Eben.
You know I can't do that.
We'll just see if you can't.
Listen, leave that shotgun in that truck unless you want me to book you two adjoining cells.
Now, you got no quarrel with me.
It's Tyler Morgan that's pressin' the charges.
Tyler Morgan's been pressin' my whole family for years! This time, I'm gonna press back.
No, Granddaddy, don't! Please.
You'll see.
I'll be bailed out of here in no time.
A thousand dollars? You got that kind of money? I sure don't.
I am due one phone call.
I think I know someone who'll help.
[Door Closes.]
You want a piece of advice? You mean, like, "Stay out ofTyler Morgan's way"? "Mind your own business"? "Get out of town while you still can"? You know, I liked your daddy, Molly, and you've got his spirit.
I'd sure hate to see you get hurt fightin' some fight you can't win.
Well, Sheriff, nobody's ever gonna catch you at that.
I do what I can to uphold the law around here.
Oh, right.
That would be the law according to Tyler Morgan.
You know, another thing about your daddy- He was hard-nosed.
That's what got him killed.
Come on.
Let's go.
Go? Go where? - Anywhere you like.
You're free.
- But my bail money hasn't arrived yet.
Your bail's already been paid in person.
Let's go.
[Door Opens.]
Molly? Jessica! Oh, are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine, but- Jessica, it's so good to see you, but I don't understand what- Well, after your call, I was much too concerned to simply wire the money and leave it at that, so I brought it myself.
Oh, gosh, I feel terrible.
I never would have asked you for the loan if I'd known you'd go to all this trouble.
Well, it seems to me that you're the one who's in all this trouble.
Molly, if you'll sign for your things, you two can do your catchin' up somewhere else.
With pleasure.
I'll explain everything on our way to the courthouse over in Yanceyville.
Oh, Sheriff, you might tell Tyler that he'll be getting a subpoena for those 1978 company records of his.
Molly, believe me, this is no trouble.
I was not about to let one of my best and brightest protegees cool her heels in a cell for the next month.
[Man.]
Mollyl Oh, hi, Carlton.
I came here to get you out.
Thanks, but my fairy godmother beat you to it.
Carlton Reid, meetJessica Fletcher- writer, friend and bailsman.
Or is that bails-person? Carlton's the local miners' union representative.
- How do you do, Mr.
Reid? - Well, I'm-I'm much better now that Molly's out of jail.
No, I was gonna pass the hat tonight at the county meeting over in Yanceyville.
But now, I'll just pass along the good news.
[Laughs.]
I'll bet Tyler's fit to be tied.
Well, he'll know soon enough.
Seems I underestimated your resourcefulness, young lady.
I'm not sure about the wisdom of bringin' a stranger in on something that's none of her affair.
Well, I can assure you that Molly and I are hardly strangers.
In fact, I'm looking forward to spending a few days with her hearing what she's been up to.
Well, now, I'm glad you two are so close, seeing how Eben's place is hardly big enough for him and Molly, let alone company.
[Boy.]
She can stay with us.
Can't she, Ma? I'm Bridie Harmon, ma'am, and this is my son Travis.
Ours is the boardin' house up the road.
Room's $10 a day, meals extra, and I lock up at 11:00.
If you're lookin'for a place to stay, you'd be welcome with us.
I'm Jessica Fletcher.
Thank you, Mrs.
Harmon.
And I'd be delighted.
[Molly.]
And you don't even have to worry about meals.
She'll be takin' 'em with us.
But I promise I'll have her at your place tonight by 10:30.
Fine then.
Come along, Travis.
Travis, I said, come on.
Well, Mrs.
, uh, Fletcher, was it? Welcome to Colton.
[Eben.]
You better have some more chicken, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Oh, no, Eben.
Thanks anyway.
Frankly, I ran out of room two helpings ago.
Honestly, Molly, I haven't tasted food as good as this since your mother used to help out at the P.
T.
A.
Picnics.
Mama sure could cook, all right.
It's like I tell her.
She's from good mountain stock.
She's got her ma's hands for cookin' and her pa's brains.
Now, Granddad.
Well, you're right about the cooking.
As to the brains, I remember when we were studying Hamlet, you used to lug around a huge book of the entire works of Shakespeare to class every day.
You mean that? [Jessica.]
Oh, my, yes.
It was my daddy's.
He used to read to me out of it when I was a kid- you know, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth.
That was the only thing of his that I took with me when Mom and I moved to Cabot Cove after he died.
It must mean a great deal to you.
But something else would mean a whole lot more.
Proving that Tyler Morgan killed my father.
Everybody in town knows that explosion was no accident.
But you go nosin'around askin'questions, you're gonna end up just like him- six feet under.
Well, Tyler didn't scare him, and he doesn't scare me.
Surely you're exaggerating Molly's danger.
I already lost one child to Tyler Morgan, and I sure don't aim to lose another.
[Phone Ringing.]
Yeah? Well, well, well.
I thought I'd be hearing from you.
Tonight? All right.
Meet me at the cabin in a half hour.
[Line Clicks.]
[Clicking.]
Nora, you listening in again? Nora? [Clicks, Dial Tone.]
[Thunderclap.]
Damn storm.
[Molly.]
Well, it's not exactly the Ritz.
Oh, don't be silly.
I think it's just fine.
And from the way that Tyler Morgan obviously felt, I'm surprised that Mrs.
Harmon would even rent to me.
Oh, Bridie's okay.
Her husband died in the same explosion that killed my father.
The way I figure it, she and Travis probably hate Tyler almost as much as I do.
Molly, I know how much you loved your father.
But what you're doing, it could turn out to be very dangerous.
Don't worry, teach.
I can take care of myself.
Bathroom's right down the hall.
I'll leave these with you.
Thank you.
Speaking of leaving, I think I'd better get goin' before that storm breaks.
You're sure I can't pick you up tomorrow? Believe me, after the meal we had this evening, walking to your house in the morning will be the best thing in the world for me.
Okay.
See you at breakfast.
Good night, Bridie.
Good night.
If there's nothing else, Mrs.
Fletcher, I'd like to lock up and get to bed.
Oh, yes, of course.
I'll be fine.
Okay.
[Car Engine Starting, Horn Honking.]
[Thunderclap.]
[Cocks.]
Hold it right there.
Awful early for a city woman to be prowlin' about, ain't it, Mrs.
Fletcher? Well, I wouldn't know, Sheriff, being from a small town myself.
But I assure you, I was not prowling around.
Said she was on the way to Connors's place and took the wrong path.
That was when this gentleman brought me to you at gunpoint.
This gentleman is Tyler Morgan's son Reese.
I'll take it from here.
What do you mean? Hell, I'm the one that caught her.
I said I can handle it alone.
Now that my daddy's dead, best you remember who's fillin' his shoes, Tate.
Excuse me.
Did he say that Tyler Morgan is dead? Shot last night between 11:00 and 11:30, near as I could figure, from the condition of the body.
I'll know more about it when the county boys over in Yanceyville get through with him.
Do you have any idea who did it? Yes, ma'am.
Lots of ideas, but no evidence to prove one.
Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll let you get on with the investigation.
Hold it, Mrs.
Fletcher.
You mind telling me where you were last night- say, between 11:00, 11:30? Not at all.
No, I was in bed at 11:00 and asleep soon after that.
But I have to admit, I'd be hard-pressed to prove it.
No need.
Way I see it, a woman like you would have no reason to kill a man she'd hardly met.
Besides, unless I miss my guess, you're about as handy with a gun as I am with knittin' needles.
But I don't understand.
If I don't need an alibi, why ask me about it? I was hoping maybe you could supply one for someone who does.
Tyler's dead? Shot straight through the heart.
[Eben.]
Retribution.
That's what it is.
It's the code of the hills.
Well, the law calls it murder.
And seein' as how you and Molly felt about Tyler, I'm bound to ask you where you were last night, Eben.
- [Molly Scoffs.]
- Anything in the law says I gotta tell ya? - Any reason you can't? - Of course there's not.
Actually, Sheriff, the three of us had dinner here last night until Molly drove me to Mrs.
Harmon's at 10:30.
It's a short way.
I'm sure Molly was back here no later than 10:45.
- Is that right? - I mean, no- Look, I would have been back here by then, but I got a flat tire and I had to stop and change it.
What with the storm and it being dark and all, I didn't get home till nearly 11:30.
- Did you go to town with 'em? - Stayed put the whole night.
So neither one of ya from 10:30 to 11:30 has anybody who can vouch for your story.
- Is that right? - We don't need anyone to vouch for us.
You know, one ofTyler's rifles is missing.
You think I have it? Would you like to search for it? Fine.
Go ahead and search.
We've got nothing to hide.
Thank you.
I'll remember that offer.
Great.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got breakfast to make.
She's got a lot of her daddy in her.
Anything wrong in that? Look where it got him.
You know, if I put up a tent and charged admission, I could make a fortune.
It's pretty hard to stop tongues from wagging in a small town.
Molly! Ah.
Mrs.
Fletcher.
Mr.
Reid.
Well, it's all over town about Tyler.
Yes.
So I've noticed.
Look, why don't you let me give you two a ride home in my pickup? If you stay around here, you're just asking for trouble.
Thanks, Carlton, but I'm not gonna be intimidated by a bunch of stupid rumors.
- I didn't kill him.
- No, of course you didn't.
Try telling that to them.
Okay.
I will.
Mrs.
Morgan? Excuse me.
I'm Molly Connors.
I know who you are.
Look, ma'am, in spite of the differences that I had with your husband, I just wanted to tell you that I wouldn't have wished this on anyone.
I'm- I'm truly sorry for your loss.
Sorry? You've been tryin' to bring my daddy down ever since you came back.
And it looks like you finally did it, only it sure as hell wasn't with a law degree.
That's not only untrue, Reese, it's slander.
What are you gonna do about it, take me to court or settle it with a gun? Mr.
Morgan, please.
We know you're upset- Stay outta this, lady.
It's no concern of yours.
[Carlton.]
Well, you're wrong though, Reese.
You start making wild accusations like that, and it's everybody's concern.
And, hell, the way you and your daddy been goin'at it the last couple of years, I wouldn't be surprised if you killed him yourself.
Come over here and say that.
Here I am.
Carlton, don't! Just let it go.
Believe me, Mr.
Reid, it'll take a lot more than accusations to convince anyone that Molly killed anyone.
That's right.
A nd more is just what I found when I decided to take you up on your offer of this morning.
What? What do you mean? You remember I told you that one ofTyler's rifles was missing from the cabin? Well, seein'as how you didn't mind, I went ahead and searched your car, and I found it jammed up underneath your front seat.
That-That's impossible! Molly, you are under arrest for the murder ofTyler Morgan.
[Jessica.]
What do you mean, no bail? You can't honestly believe that Molly's about to leave town.
Molly Connors? Not likely.
She's too much like her daddy to run from trouble.
Well, then I don't understand.
Look, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Mountain folks have long memories and short fuses, not to mention some funny ideas about the law.
If I let Molly out on bail, I might as well be hangin' out a sign that says "Hunting Season Is Open.
" - But, Sheriff- - No buts.
You got a problem, ma'am, take it up with the county court.
Look, Sheriff, anyone could have planted that rifle in Molly's car.
You said yourself that the car was unlocked when you searched it.
Now, why would a lawyer like Molly hide incriminating evidence in her own car when there were acres of woods all around where she could have disposed of it? Even lawyers make mistakes.
And lawmen.
- I've come for Molly.
- Now, she's here, Eben, and you can see her, but I'm not lettin' her go.
The hell you're not.
Wait, Eben.
Try not to make things worse than they are.
- We can take Molly's case to higher authorities.
- Higher authorities? Since when have they done anything for the miners of this town? Hell, they've been in the pockets of the bosses ever since we fought for and got a union back in the '20s.
And from the looks of things, nothing has changed.
Perhaps.
But we won't know until we try.
You wanna try, you go ahead and try.
Me, I'll be back.
And the next time, I won't be alone.
[Door Opens.]
[Door Closes.]
Well, one call to the miners'legal aid, and they'll be on this quicker than ducks on a june bug.
Well, from the look on Eben's face, I hope you're right.
[Bridie.]
Don't you walk away when I'm talkin'to youl Travis Harmon, stop right there! Now I want an answer.
- I told you, I was out huntin'.
- Till 3:00 in the mornin'? I'm not a baby anymore! If I wanna go out nights, I will! You do.
[Door Opens.]
[Door Closes.]
Hey, Travis! Wait up! Pretty rough on your ma just now, weren't you, son? What were you doin', spyin' on me or something? Look, I know it's gotta be tough sometimes growin' up with just your ma, but- She treats me like I was five years old! Heck, if Pa was alive, he'd show her I wasn't a kid.
- I know he would.
- I reckon you're right.
But that's not the way it is.
No, it ain't.
Pa's dead, and so is the man who killed him.
[Bridie.]
You wanted to see me? I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs.
Harmon.
I can't seem to get this window open.
No bother at all.
[Grunts.]
Great.
There.
Fool thing always sticks after a rain.
My goodness, the storm last night was more like a deluge.
It's a wonder you didn't catch your death- I mean, going out the way you did.
Oh, you must be mistaken.
After I saw to you, I locked up and went straight to bed.
I don't think I was mistaken, Bridie.
I was right here closing the window.
I saw you leave.
You know, an innocent woman is being charged with murder, Bridie.
That's not my concern.
Even if it means that she'd be imprisoned for life? You don't understand.
I can't get involved.
I don't mean to frighten you, but please, you must talk to me.
What is it you're hiding? What happened? It's funny.
I used to ask myself the same thing.
What happened? How could I stay with a man like that for 10 years? I see.
It's nothin' I'm proud of.
But a widow of 19 with a four-year-old son doesn't have a lot of choice in these things.
And Tyler offered to help.
More like helped himself.
Tyler- He was used to gettin' what he wanted.
But surely there must have been others that you could have turned to.
Oh, there were always others, just none of'em willing to get hitched to a package deal.
At least Tyler was willing to pay for what he wanted.
And that hostility between the two of you- That was all an act? Yes.
You know, at first, I couldn't stand his hands on me.
And then after a while, things got better between us.
With me, Tyler could be himself.
He wasn't a bad man.
Just scared and actin' tough to try and make up for it.
Lately though, I'd been worried about how Travis might find out and all, him bein' nearly grown.
So I've been tryin' to break it off.
That's why I went up to the cabin last night- to end it once and for all.
Only when I got there, Tyler was dead.
Yes, but why didn't you phone the sheriff? And let the whole town know about me and Tyler? Oh, and they'd know, 'cause believe me, Mrs.
Fletcher, nobody ever went up to that cabin unless they were specially invited.
Nobody.
All these years, and no one knew about your relationship? Well, Nora'd had her suspicions once.
Nora? His wife.
Tyler said she threw such a fit a couple of years back, it scared him off seeing me for a while.
But I'd lay odds she never knew he started up again.
Heck, if she had, she probably would've killed him.
[Jessica.]
It was so kind of you to see me, Mrs.
Morgan.
I hope I'm not imposing on you.
You said on the phone that the matter was urgent and that it concerns my son? Well, I'm afraid it may not only concern your son, but everyone in this town if tensions get any worse.
Oh, there is blood in the air, all right.
I don't rightly know what you expect me to do about it.
Perhaps if you spoke to him, helped him to realize that he's only fueling a very dangerous situation.
It wouldn't do no good.
Truth is, I lost hold of that boy years ago.
That temper of his- Well, it's led to nothin' but trouble since the day he was born.
He's certainly no stranger to guns.
Oh, that's a fact.
Oh, those shootin' ribbons you're lookin' at, well, they're mine.
- Yours? - I won 'em as a kid at a county fair.
Well, I am impressed.
Oh, heck.
Most everybody in these parts can shoot the petals off a daisy before they're 10 years old.
[Phone Rings.]
Yes? Oh, oh, yes, yes.
All right.
Uh, just hang on.
I'm afraid you're gonna have to excuse me.
It's the funeral parlor.
Oh, yes, of course.
Mrs.
Fletcher? I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.
Truth is, Reese is a lot like his daddy.
It takes a loaded gun to get his attention.
[Vehicle Approaching.]
[Horn Honking.]
Mrs.
Fletcher, you better hop in quick.
There's trouble.
Yeah, I've just- I've just come from SheriffTate's.
He says he's got Molly nailed cold.
That's ridiculous.
That rifle was planted in Molly's car to frame her.
Hell, yes.
I mean, anybody could've grabbed that gun out of that unlocked rack by the door and shot Tyler.
- But that's not all Tate says he's got.
- What do you mean? Well, it seems Reese went through his daddy's cabin and found a ledger sheet had been stolen out of the company's 1978 payroll.
Seventy-eight? Isn't that the year that Molly's father was killed? Yep.
Tate seems to think that cinches his case.
The trouble is, Eben doesn't quite see it that way.
So he got some ofhis friends together.
They're gonna storm the jail and free Molly by force.
Oh, Lord.
And if Reese finds out- Yes, ma'am.
Could be we got ourselves an all-out war.
Get the sheriff.
What about you? Now, Carlton! Hurry! [Rifle Cocking.]
Stand aside, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Eben, don't do this.
I know you only want to help Molly, but this is wrong.
Better listen to her, old-timer.
And so should you, Mr.
Morgan.
Me and the boys here are just a group of concerned citizens trying to uphold the law.
[Jessica.]
Upholding the law is a job for the sheriff, not for hired vigilantes.
[Tate.]
She's right.
Now, I got a duty to keep Molly in jail, Eben, and that's what I'm gonna do without any uninvited help from you, Reese.
Hell, you think you can take 'em by yourself? What I do and how I do it is no concern of yours.
- Look, I told you- - No, I told you! But maybe you didn't hear me, so let me run it by you again.
You and your boys clear out.
Us? What about them? My granddaughter's no killer.
That's for a court to say, not us.
And Molly'd be the first to agree.
Well, all right.
But any harm comes to Molly, it won't take no court to settle the score, and that's a promise.
Look, Mrs.
Fletcher, I appreciate your help out there, but I got no time for you right now.
Just because a page is missing from a 10-year-old payroll doesn't mean that Molly took it.
Ma'am, you and I were both standing right here when she swore she was gonna subpoena those very records.
But that's my point.
Excuse me.
Martha? SheriffTate.
Let me speak to Ned.
All right, but hurry.
Look, the point is, why would Molly want to steal a page from that payroll when a subpoena would force the company to surrender it anyway? Wait a minute.
Let me get this straight.
You're sayin' that someone else stole that page in order to frame Molly? How? Nobody even knew she wanted those records but us.
Exactly, which is why I can't help thinking that the killer's motive for the theft wasn't just to implicate Molly, but rather to stop something on that page from being discovered ever.
Ned? Yeah, it's Dawson Tate.
I got an emergency.
Lost the key to my rifle rack.
Now, come on.
It's not the first time anybody ever asked you to pick a lock.
Hell, everybody around here keeps their rifles locked up.
I just lost my key, that's all.
I don't care if your cow's havin' triplets! I need it unlocked, and I need it done now! Ma'am, you're gonna have to leave.
[Jessica.]
Yes, I'm still here.
Oh, are you sure? I see.
Well, thank you very much.
You've been very helpful.
Thanks.
Make your call? Yes.
I billed it to my charge card.
Oh, no need.
Yanceyville's only 50 miles away.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Black, just like you said.
Though I swear, if it was me who'd faced those men at the jail, I'd be drinkin' something a whole lot stronger.
You know, Bridie, Molly doesn't believe that the explosion that killed her father and your husband was an accident.
Tyler and me, we talked about that.
He always swore he wasn't involved.
You say "involved" as if you didn't believe it was an accident either.
It don't make much difference what I think.
It was a long time ago.
Best forgot.
I'm sorry, but I don't agree.
I feel very strongly that what happened 10 years ago is tied in very closely with Tyler Morgan's murder.
Bridie, what happened back then? The night before my Danny got killed, he told meJoe Connors had gotten ahold of some company record that was gonna prove there were fishy doin's at the mine.
Fact is, he was gonna explain it all at a union meetin'the next night.
Only the next day when he went into the mine, he never came out.
This proof, this company record- Didn't he tell you what it was? Or anyone else either near as I can tell.
Once they got Danny and Joe and the others buried, that was the end of it.
Molly and her ma, they headed up north to live with kin in Maine.
And, oh, Eben and some of the boys, they went toJoe's place and pretty near tore it apart, but they never found nothin'.
Maybe there was nothin'to find.
Maybe all that talk about proof was justJoe talkin', puffin ' himself up.
And maybe not.
I can't be sure until I check it, but it's just possible that I may not only know who killed Tyler Morgan, but if I'm lucky, I may be able to find the evidence at Eben's place to prove it.
Hadn't you oughta tell the sheriff your suspicions? The moment that I have proof.
[Groans.]
Eben? Anybody home? Yes, operator.
Could you connect me, please, with the sheriff's office? Mrs.
Fletcher.
You're not leavin' on my account, are ya? Carl.
What are you doing here? Well, I've been givin' Eben a hand, what with Molly in jail.
Oh, yes.
Well, did you see him? I checked the house, but I can't find him.
- Found somethin' else though, didn't ya? - Did I? No.
No, come on.
Come on, Mrs.
Fletcher.
I was watching you through the window.
How long have you been onto me? Onto you? The fact that I killed Tyler Morgan, a crime that I freely confess to.
My only regret is that I didn't get to it years ago.
But how did you know? I didn't.
Well, I did suspect.
It was something that you said when we were driving back to town in the pickup.
Hell, yes.
I mean, anybody could've grabbed that gun out of that unlocked rack by the door and shot Tyler.
I don't get it.
Only someone who had been to the cabin would have known that the gun rack was unlocked and also right by the door.
Please.
And then when I remembered what Bridie Harmon told me- that no one went to the cabin unless they were specifically invited.
That's when alarm bells started to go off in my brain.
You call that proof? Lady, I wouldn't try to sell that batch of brownies to the county attorney.
And besides, when Tyler was gettin' himselfkilled, I was at a union meeting in Yanceyville, remember? I'm afraid that's not true.
I made a phone call a little while ago.
Oh, you were there, all right, earlier in the evening.
But no one remembered seeing you once the meeting started.
You think you're pretty smart, don't you? Tyler thought he was pretty smart, too, threatening to expose our financial arrangements if I didn't get Molly off his back.
Those financial arrangements, I suppose they go back a long time.
I never meant to killJoe.
Hell, I offered to cut him in on the take.
But he wouldn't play ball.
And as for Danny Harmon- Well, it was just his bad luck that he was workin' with Joe when it happened.
Just like it's your bad luck to have discovered the truth.
The ledger sheet- Let's have it.
Mrs.
Fletcher, me and you are gonna take a little ride.
Look, people know that I came out here.
They'll come looking for me.
They won't find you.
You won't get away with this.
I told my suspicions to the sheriff.
I don't believe you.
Look, Carl- Just save your breath, Mrs.
Fletcher, and get in there.
We got places in these hills only the wolves know about.
And if they do find you, so what? They'll never tie it to me.
Heyl Heyl Heyl All right.
All right, all right, all right.
What I still can't figure, Mrs.
Fletcher, is how did you know the proof was in the book? Well, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't absolutely sure.
But when Bridie told me that you'd searched for it after Molly left for Cabot Cove, I remembered that the only thing of her father's that she'd taken with her was the book of Shakespeare.
And assuming that your son was too smart to carry the evidence on him, I realized that the book was the one place you hadn't searched because it hadn't been here.
That's smart.
Now-Now, that's real smart.
Oh.
I guess you know I'll never be able to thank you enough.
Oh, nonsense.
I just wanted to be able to help.
And I'm sure the law will see that Carlton gets his due.
I expect they will, seein' as how Molly's gonna be there.
The miners' union has asked me to handle their part in the prosecution.
And if things work out, there's talk about putting me on retainer to handle all their litigation.
Well, you know, I'm sure that your father would have been very proud.
[Engine Starting.]
Good-bye.
- Good-bye, Eben.
- Good-bye, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Bye-bye.