Murder, She Wrote s06e16 Episode Script

Who's out there? Why are you hiding in the dark? Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
I hate nostalgia, and I hate this old song.
This is a reunion, and reunions are all about nostalgia.
I'm sorry.
I'm not like Lee.
I can't bottle up my emotions.
I was 20 years old.
Nobody could tell me anything.
Richie King, that fine family man, was a skirt-chaser.
This is where Richie died.
Now, snap out of it and get back to work! Beneath the blue umbrella skies Then softer than a piper man One day it called to you I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind The autumn wind and the winter wind Well, they have come and gone And still the days, those lonely days They go on and on And guess who sighs his lullabies Through nights that never end? This guy was a big star back in the 60's.
One of the biggest.
Yes, I remember Richie King.
Yeah? He died the year I started nursery school, or something, 1965.
Anyway, he was stabbed to death during a rehearsal of The Barry Barnes Big Show.
Now, this is a tape from an earlier performance.
Let's hear it for Richie King! Let's hear it! Oh, I I love that boy! That is a story dying to be told.
And as I mentioned to Josh Reynolds, Jessica, you're the one to tell it.
Yes, where is Josh Reynolds? I thought he was going to be at this meeting.
Did my secretary tell you that? I'm gonna have to have a talk with Sandra.
Look, Josh is fully aware that the trend is gonna be reality books based upon the murders of famous old stars.
The Richie King story has all the elements to make it a bestseller.
It's got It's got mystery, it's got glamour, it's got famous names.
And no ending.
As I recall, it was never solved.
That's where you come in.
Jessica, you solve it.
But how? I mean, sifting through the blurry events of a quarter of a century ago? Oh, no, I'm sorry, Mr.
Fielding Jessica, please.
You just cannot turn me down on this one, okay? You just can't do it.
Why do I have the feeling that you're not telling me something? Did I mention the Haley Sisters? No, you did not.
It was their first big TV show.
It got big ratings because of the murder.
The Haley Sisters were a hit.
They were the number one female singers in the country, until they suddenly retired in 1974.
I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't see where all this is leading.
They're reviving the act.
And they're gonna kick it off on the Barry Barnes Reunion Special.
Don't you see? Their comeback will generate free publicity to sell this book.
Along with J.
B.
Fletcher's name, of course.
Yes, well, I'm very flattered, but I really must decline the honor.
You see, Mr.
Fielding, I am a fiction writer.
Hey, that's exactly what I told Josh Reynolds.
But you know what he said to me? Truman Capote did it with In Cold Blood, and that became a hardcover and paperback bestseller with an awesome picture deal.
Come on, Jessica, if that little guy can do it, you can do it.
No, really.
Well, just take it a look-see, okay? Here Here's the number of Barry Barnes' head writer, Art Sommers.
Jessica, please, as a favor to yourself, just go to the TV theater and get a taste for what you'll be writing about.
Will you do that much for me, please? Or am I gonna have to come all the way up there to Cabot Cove and talk myself blue in the face? Just one of those crazy flings One of those bells that now and then rings Just one of those things It was just one of those nights Just one of those fabulous flights A trip to the moon on gossamer wings Just one of those things This sketch might have a couple of laughs in it, but I don't like it.
Barry, it's too late for that.
It's new, its hip, it's the '90s.
And it's funny.
Oh, sure, it might go over at Saturday Night Live, but I'm too old for that smart aleck stuff.
I want to do the same sketch I did on the show 25 years ago.
Barry, it's old hat.
So when's the last time you bought a new hat? Look, I'm making it easy for you.
Just go over the old sketch and update the gags.
Do you know how much work we've put into our material? Art, tell him.
It's brilliant.
Look, guys, take a walk, okay? Now, Barry, you should listen to these kids.
They're great.
They know what goes today.
This is so stupid! Is everybody crazy? How the hell are we supposed to concentrate? What's the matter with Lee? Lee.
Calm down.
Calm down! Ozzie? Ozzie? Where's Ozzie? We can't work this way! Lee, do you have to get so mad? Yes! When I'm mad, I do! You, up in the booth, do you hear me? Say something! Lee, we're looking for Ozzie.
Will somebody please find the music director! Lee, honey, what's wrong? Everything.
How do you expect us to sing with those dancers jumping around us like a bunch of grasshoppers? Come on, Lee, cool down.
No! The dancers are in our way.
They're spoiling our number.
Darling, listen to me.
I swear to you, this is an exact recreation of your first number on your first show.
Now, the choreography's the same, step for step.
Yeah? Well, it stinks.
Well, in 25 years it hasn't gotten any better.
But, hey, it's nostalgia.
I hate nostalgia, and I hate this old song.
But this is a reunion, and reunions are all about nostalgia.
Old songs, old sketches.
That doesn't bother you.
You've been telling the same jokes for 40 years.
Fifty.
But who's counting? Lee, I don't mind doing the old song.
I kind of like it.
It's better than some of the new stuff.
Well, the song is fine, the staging is from the stone age.
Oh, forget it.
Look, she's just tired, Barry.
It's nerves.
Don't make excuses.
Go talk some sense into her.
Let's take a break.
Okay, everybody, 30 minutes.
Why am I doing this? At my age, you'd think I'd be smarter.
Am I right? What'd you do, cut me off? Who is it? Who's out there? Why are you hiding in the dark? Mr.
Barnes, I'm so sorry to startle you.
I'm Jessica Fletcher.
Fletcher? Oh.
Oh, sure.
My people said that you were coming over.
It was the way you came out of the shadows.
I thought you were the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Well, come down here, young lady.
I was supposed to meet a Mr.
Sommers.
Oh, you just missed him.
Art went backstage with his wife.
You can wait with me, huh? Oh, Jim, bring us some tea.
Coming right up.
Now, listen to me.
Stop being the prima donna, and give it your best shot.
I didn't want to do this show.
I told you I had a bad feeling about it.
Lee, cut it out.
Now, before you did your first Barry Barnes Show your act never made more than 200 bucks.
You started your career with Barry, and it's perfect for starting your comeback.
We've been gone so long.
Maybe it's too late.
Will you stop that kind of talk? The '60s are big box office, and the Haley Sisters have a chance to cash in on the trend.
What happens when the trend is over? Then we just sit back and count our money.
Honey, how can we lose? Art, do you remember this dressing room? They all look alike.
It was Richie's.
Lee, now don't start.
This is where Richie died.
That's a part of the '60s, too.
Okay, that's enough.
Now, snap out of it and get back to work! Sweetheart, now look.
I'm only thinking of what's right for you.
For you.
For you, baby.
Art, you got a minute? For you, Oz, maybe a minute and a quarter.
Tell me something.
Am I the music director on this show, or is she? Hey, hey, hey, hey.
You are treading on dangerous ground, Oz.
What did you do, Art, poison your wife's mind against me? You never liked my music, and I happen to know that you hated my songs on that Thanksgiving special.
You mean when you had the Indians and the Pilgrims holding hands around the table and everybody sang, We're Gonna Gobble Up The Gobbler? It's a children's classic.
Well, it will be if I can get a record deal.
Well, personally, I prefer, Little Ducky Duddle Splashing In A Puddle.
Look, look, I know you don't like me.
I can live with that.
You never liked my dad when he was Barry's music director.
You thought he was a hack.
No, no, no.
Get this straight.
Richie King thought he was a hack.
I only thought he was a bad music director.
You and Richie tried to get my dad dumped off the show.
If Richie hadn't been killed, it might have worked.
Now you're trying to get me dumped.
You know, you're the only guy I know with second-generation paranoia.
Admit it.
Admit it, Art, you want me out of here.
Oz, talking to you is like talking to a turnip.
Only a turnip listens.
Get out of my hair.
You know, I hadn't realized that Art Sommers was married to one of the Haley Sisters.
Yeah, Lee, the oldest.
Now, there's a story you should write.
He met her 25 years ago, when the sisters started rehearsing for their first appearance on my show.
Oh, the one with Richie King? Right.
Art fell for Lee like a ton of bricks.
She couldn't stand him.
Wanted nothing to do with him.
So what happened? A couple of weeks later they get hitched by a city clerk in Las Vegas.
Tell me romance is dead.
You have a remarkable memory.
Yeah.
I developed it memorizing other comics' jokes.
Well, then you probably remember details of the murder? Are you kidding? Sure.
Tricky.
I like that in a woman.
You wanna know all about Richie King, right? Well, he was a wonderful friend.
A terrific guy.
Everybody loved him.
Except his killer.
Could it have been someone connected with your show? Well, the police questioned everyone, checked their alibis.
Nothing.
I keep thinking how Richie always had a mob of weirdo fans hanging around.
One of them could have slipped into his dressing room and Five minutes, everyone! Well, it sounds crazy, till you stop to think about John Lennon.
Oh, Artie.
Hey, look, Ozzie's singing the "Everybody's Out to Get Me" blues.
I think you better talk to him.
Jessica Fletcher, Art Sommers.
Oh, hello, Mr.
Sommers.
We talked on the phone.
Oh, the mystery writer.
I completely forgot you were coming today.
Please forgive me, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Hey, don't worry about it.
She couldn't have had better company.
For which I am very grateful.
Oh, excuse me, Jessica.
Oz, you got a minute? Five, six, seven, eight.
I realize you're very busy, Mr.
Sommers.
I mean, if another time would be more convenient No, I doubt it.
But let me warn you, I am not an authority on the murder.
And even when I saw the body, I thought it was a gag.
I expected Richie to jump up and reveal the blood on his chest was ketchup.
But it never happened.
I'm sorry, the story doesn't have a punchline.
You know, I'm curious.
Mr.
Barnes seemed startled when he saw me sitting out in the shadows in the back of the house.
Oh? I was under the impression that he thought I was someone he knew.
I mean, have you any idea who that might be? No.
No idea at all.
Maybe Barry's getting quirky in his old age.
Oh, do you think so? I thought he was very alert, very much on top of things.
Girls.
Girls, over here.
This is Cathy Haley, Marge Haley, and Lee Haley, my beautiful wife.
Hello.
Hello.
This is Jessica Fletcher.
She's writing a piece about the show.
Hello.
Nice to meet you.
Oh, how nice.
Delighted to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.
Let's get on with the rehearsal, please.
We'll see you later? Good luck.
Good.
Excuse us.
I'll show you the murder scene.
Watch your step, Mrs.
Fletcher.
Hey, Jim, let's work the lights on this rehearsal.
Andy, would you take it from the top? Same song? Yes.
With or without dancers? With dancers, if you please.
I'm starting to feel real good about this.
Well, I'm glad one of us is.
It was just one of those things Just one of those crazy flings No, Jessica.
Listen to me, okay? You cannot just give up and go home.
But I have thought about it very seriously, and I'm not convinced that there's a book there.
At least, not one that I would care to write.
Jessica, it's there.
I know it is.
All you gotta do is just dig it out.
If Richie King's killer escaped 25 years ago, he's done a pretty good job of covering his tracks.
Are you telling me this was a perfect crime? Oh, of course not.
But for a quarter of a century, it's been the next best thing.
I'm sorry, Scott.
Now she calls me Scott.
Hey, you gonna stick around all night? This was Richie's first big hit.
What a waste.
He was such a talented boy.
I know.
Look, Lee is waiting for me at the hotel.
Do you want to join us for dinner? No, not tonight, thanks.
I'm ready to drop.
Did you see that? What? Somebody moving in the dark.
Where? I don't see anything.
I tell you, there's somebody out there.
Put on the house lights.
House lights, please! Now, I know you're there! Stop playing games, and show yourself! Barry? Barry? Oh, my God, Barry Barry.
Yes.
Yeah, 27.
That's correct.
Surely.
Bye-bye.
May I help you? Oh, yes, please.
I received a message at my hotel that Mr.
Barry Barnes was a patient here and wanted to see me.
If I seem a little confused, it's because he seemed perfectly well when I saw him a few hours ago.
Apparently he suffered a severe shock.
Shock? Well, what sort of shock? I'm not permitted to discuss the details of his case.
I'm sure you can understand that.
Of course.
May I see him? He's resting.
I see.
Mrs.
Fletcher.
I see you got my message.
Well, what happened? Barry collapsed after the rehearsal.
Well, is he all right? See for yourself.
Come on in.
We're having a ball.
Move over, darling.
Make room for Jessica.
Barry, I expected to find you in an oxygen tent, not having a party.
Oh, it was nothing.
I hyperventilated.
I'll be back at work tomorrow.
Have a glass of champagne.
I'll bet you do a mean hula.
Thank you, but I really can't stay.
Why? Where are you going? I'm going home to Maine.
No, you can't do that.
Art, tell her she can't do that.
She can do anything she wants, Barry.
She's not on your payroll.
Out.
Everybody out, so I can have a minute alone with Jessica.
Oh, here, darling, here.
Drop some bread crumbs so you can find your way back.
Barry, I'll see you at rehearsal? I'll see you there.
I'm so glad it wasn't your heart.
Kid, you broke my heart a long time ago.
Take your husband and get out of here.
He hasn't come up with a funny line since I fainted in his arms.
Thanks for coming.
I feel a lot better, now that you're here.
Oh, please, sit down.
Thanks.
You weren't exactly serious when you said it was nothing, were you? Well, I meant it wasn't a heart attack.
I passed out from sheer panic.
Do you remember when I saw you standing in the dark, and I thought you were somebody else? Mmm-hmm.
I saw her, for the second time in my life, the woman in black.
Someone you knew? I couldn't see her face.
She was heavily veiled, like a woman in mourning.
The same as the first time.
And that was The night after Richie's murder.
She was standing in the wings, pointing at me, as if accusing me of Richie's death.
Then she was gone.
She's been in my nightmares ever since.
But what have I got to do with your nightmares? I mean, why did you send for me? Well, I know all about you.
I read all your books.
Looked up some of the cases you solved.
Now, you have a way of getting at the root of a problem.
That's why I suggested to my brother-in-law's nephew that you'd be perfect for writing a book about Richie's murder.
Oh, that nephew wouldn't by any chance be Scott Fielding, would it? Oh, a know-it-all, but a good kid.
You put him up to it.
Look, I'm being straight with you.
I knew if I invited you myself, you wouldn't come.
Look, Jessica, I'm desperate.
The memory of the woman in black has haunted me for 25 years, and now she's back.
To tell you the truth, my heart's not that good.
My daughter's gonna have her first baby, and I want to live to see my grandchild.
Is that so terrible? What can I do? What the cops couldn't do.
Get a line on the woman in black, and find out who really knocked off Richie King so she'll leave me alone.
I'm overwhelmed by your faith in me, Barry, but I'm a writer.
I mean, this calls for a real trained detective.
You want a detective? You got him.
Hello, sweet lips.
You miss me, sugar pie? My secretary.
Huh? Oh, I'm feeling great.
Now, listen, be a good bunny and give Jessica Fletcher the phone number of Sergeant Kowalski.
Kowalski? Kowalski is the detective who was in charge of the Richie King investigation.
A real character.
He was known as the Broadway Bulldog.
He's kept every word ever written on the Richie King case.
Here we are.
Oh, thank you, Mr.
Kowalski.
Or should I say Sergeant? No, Bulldog will do just fine.
Barry Barnes told me that you've saved every word from the Richie King case? Yeah, I got tired of living with the mess.
I put it all in here.
Oh, I see.
You want me to fire this thing up for you? Sure.
Okay, here we go.
There we are.
There, that's statements from all the people concerned.
There was no witness, of course.
And the alibis, there, they was all confirmed.
And where was Barry Barnes at the time of the murder? He was onstage in front of 50 people, rehearsing the cowboy sketch.
That doesn't make sense.
What do you have on the woman in black? Oh, the shady lady.
Yeah.
Well, here.
Now, that is an artist's conception of the way she looked, based on Barry's description.
Well, Barry said that he saw her again, pointing an accusing finger at him.
Like she was saying that he was the one who did it.
Yes, but why would she accuse Barry, who couldn't possibly have done it? I don't know.
Maybe she don't care about logic.
Maybe she just likes to frighten comedians.
Would you like a rundown on the ladies in the case? That might be a very good idea.
Here we go.
There.
I don't know how you feel about the Haley Sisters, but 25 years ago they was sweet young girls, fresh from Iowa.
They still had the corn silk in their hair.
Oh, yeah.
Now, this is some time later.
This is after the murder.
I expect that you will be more interested in this lady here.
This is Sharon King.
That was Richie's wife.
Oh.
Well, no one has even mentioned her.
Now, was she in the theater when her husband was murdered? Yeah, yeah.
But she left 20 minutes before it happened.
A lot of witnesses saw her kissing Richie goodbye at the door.
She could have slipped back later, I guess.
Do you know where she is now? Yeah.
You wanna meet her? My favorite bulldog.
Hey, Sharon, just as beautiful as ever.
Watch it.
That kind of talk will give you the business end of this hose.
Hello.
Hello.
I'm Sharon King.
This charming lady is Jessica Fletcher.
She is a writer.
I'm very pleased to meet you, Sharon.
He brought you here to talk about Richie.
Well, yes.
I'm not a mind-reader, but he never invites anyone unless he thinks he's got a new lead for that very old case.
Now, don't you believe a word of that.
Hey, how are the grandchildren, the three little angels? The girls are with their mother, probably enjoying their first ride in a tow car.
Kelly called right after I talked to you, and she's having trouble with her car.
So as soon as I get the dust off my wagon, I've gotta go and pick up my grandson at kindergarten, and then I've got to take him to the dentist.
I'm very sorry.
It seems to me your priorities are clear.
Okay, we'll cut it short.
Jessica is interested in the woman in black who allegedly appeared to Barry Barnes the night after the murder.
Seems she's popped up again, after all these years.
And you're wondering if it was me.
I might have pulled a stunt like that 25 years ago.
When Bulldog first knew me, I was high-strung.
My husband had just been murdered.
I realize that Barry's eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but can you honestly imagine anybody mistaking me for an avenging angel? Black isn't my color.
I thought she ought to hear it from you.
Frankly, I don't know why you want to dig up an old murder that most everyone's forgotten.
Richie was a beautiful man.
He missed seeing a daughter grow into a lovely woman with adorable children.
They mean the world to me, and I don't want to see anything dredged up that could hurt them.
I'm not looking for scandal.
I can't tell you what to do, of course.
But I wish you would let Richie King remain the man his family can be proud of.
If you'll excuse me.
Grandmothers should never be late.
Of course.
You realize she just hinted at a dark secret, and you didn't ask a single question.
Didn't have to.
I know the answer.
The worst-kept secret in show business.
Richie King, that fine family man, was a skirt-chaser.
He liked them young.
But if you think that's gonna make me drop this case, you just don't know why they call me Bulldog.
Move over, sun, And give me some sky I've got me some wings I'm eager to try I may be unknown But wait till I've flown You're gonna hear from me Make me some room You people up there Art, this, in case you haven't seen it, is a copy of the final script.
We're taking our names off the show, Art.
Okay, come on, hold it down, will you? I'm staking my claim Remember my name You're gonna hear from me Nothing's changed, not even the Haley Sisters' act.
Our sketch is gone.
You didn't even have the decency to tell us.
Or the guts.
You sold us out.
Look, we'll talk about it later, all right? Later is too late.
Mrs.
Fletcher, Barry was just asking for you.
Hello, Sergeant.
Hey, you look good.
You lost some weight.
Yeah, couple of pounds maybe.
Well, that's one of the fringe benefits of police retirement.
No more free donuts.
Yeah.
Where is Barry? He's changing for rehearsal.
Hey, look, why don't you grab a couple of seats inside, and I'll tell him you're here.
Thank you.
All right.
Around to your left.
Good to see you, Sergeant.
Art, Art.
We just took out full page ads in both trade papers telling people to watch our sketch.
They're gonna think we're complete idiots.
Look, what do you guys want from me? We'll start with your liver.
That's not funny.
You're gonna hear from me That's nice.
It really is.
Thanks, guys.
Haley Sisters, that was great.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Cathy.
Yeah? We'll need you to change into costume for the sketch.
We're gonna run it for camera after the specialty act.
Just great.
Okay, spinners, on stage, please.
No, no, no, no.
Number one, number three, number three.
Number one.
One, good.
Three.
Oh, watch it! Number one, number one, watch number No, no, no, number one.
Number three, number three, watch number three.
That is the same act that was on stage 25 years ago when Richie was murdered.
three.
No, no, here, this one.
Eight, eight! They improved with age.
I'm not a comic, I'm not funny, and I don't want to do the sketch.
Number five.
Six, six.
Eight, eight.
Hurry up, hurry up.
Number four, number four.
Watch it, watch it.
Number five, number five.
Where's Barry? In there.
Hey, Barry, you okay? I am.
But Art's not.
Oh, no.
It's crazy.
Who'd kill a writer? So you just walked into the dressing room and started talking to a dead man? I didn't know he was dead until I took a good look at him.
Then I ran out screaming.
You could have conked him first.
She was only in the dressing room five seconds.
Marge and I were in the corridor the whole time.
You're not acting much like a grieving widow.
I'm not acting at all.
My grief is personal.
I have no intention of making a show of it.
Why were you so hot to talk to your brother-in-law? I wanted to ask him to get me out of the comedy sketch.
I hated it.
Why did you want to talk to your brother-in-law instead of Barry Barnes, who runs the show? That has nothing to do with the murder.
I'll decide that.
Unless the three of you wanna go downtown and talk.
Art was our personal manager.
You mean that Barry's head writer was your personal manager? That's a conflict of interest.
No, it's Forget it, Ozzie.
Oz, why don't you tell the lieutenant about the argument you had with Art outside my dressing room? He hated me.
He wanted me off the show.
So you had a motive.
No, no.
He hated me, I didn't hate him.
I get along with everybody.
Look, everyone of you stick around the theater until I say you can go.
Do you understand? Okay, wrap it up.
Store all the props.
Well.
Bulldog Kowalski.
That's about the last person I wanted to see.
Oh, Lieutenant Meyerling, this is Jessica Fletcher.
How do you do? Just butt out, Bulldog.
This is not the old murder that you screwed up.
This is a new one and it belongs to me, and I do not screw up.
Oh.
Well, then I'm sure you've questioned the two writers who had angry words with Art Sommers.
Their names were Lyman and Roth.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen them recently.
Have you, Bulldog? No, no, not since the murder.
This is Lieutenant Meyerling.
I want to know right now who was responsible for letting a couple of suspects get away.
We didn't even know he was dead.
We heard about it at the Writers' Guild when we tried to file a complaint against him.
Why don't we have a little talk at the murder scene? It might bring back a few memories.
Let's go.
I hope they talk better than they write.
Jessica, do me a favor.
Cathy Haley wants to split right now.
Talk to her, will you? Barry's got it all wrong.
I don't want to run out on the murder investigation.
I just want to go home to my husband and two teenage daughters.
In Iowa? It's only a few hours away, and the phones work just fine.
I talked to my kids a little while ago.
The news about the murder was on TV already, and they were upset.
Well, of course they would be.
I mean, with you being so close.
No, not only that.
They were crazy about Art.
He was good with kids.
He and Lee never had any of their own, but he was just a terrific uncle to his nieces and nephew.
I'm sorry.
I'm not like Lee.
I can't bottle up my emotions.
Well, it's hard for some people to express their feelings.
Lee's always been like that.
She didn't even cry when Mom and Dad died a few weeks apart in 1966.
She's the strong one.
Marge and I are just a couple of weak sisters.
We'd still be clerking at the five-and-dime if she hadn't dragged us into show business.
Even then, I hated performing.
I just wanted to live my life.
But they were willing to pay us, and money was short at home.
There was no way we could go to college.
Is that why you retired in 1974, to go to college? We never got around to that.
I got married in '73.
'74 was when we started our family.
And how did your sisters feel about retirement? Lee was already married.
I think she was glad to get away from the road.
But Marge wasn't married.
I mean, I was always surprised that she didn't go out on her own.
Mrs.
Fletcher, what do I have to do to get away from here? Can the police make me stay? Well, I'm not sure.
It depends whether they feel that you're a material witness, or if they consider you a suspect.
No way! I couldn't have killed Art.
He was Lee's husband, and a friend.
I see.
How did you feel about Richie King? Honestly? I thought he was a creep.
But I didn't kill him, either.
Okay, what do you want me to punch up on this thing? That photograph of the Haley family.
You got it.
It was something that Cathy said.
I mean, a bell just went off.
Yeah.
Now, you see that man there? That has to be their father.
Now, that has to be their mother.
Yeah.
Am I missing something? Now, Cathy said that both her parents died in 1966.
Now, she didn't start her family until 1974, so that baby there couldn't possibly be one of Cathy's teenage daughters.
Well, Cathy was just a kid then.
She was like 17, 18 years.
What was it you said that Richie "liked them young"? All these years I've been looking at that picture, it never occurred to me, the possibility that I was looking at Richie King's baby by Cathy Haley.
You know, Cathy said something else.
She said that Art was such a terrific uncle to his nieces and nephew.
What nephew? She had two girls.
Yeah.
Sergeant, you see what seems to be a scarf on Marge's left shoulder? If I'm not mistaken, that is a diaper.
And you see that blurry object in her right hand? That has to be a baby's bottle.
Then you are saying that Cathy is handing the baby over to be fed by its mother? Marge.
Something else in the file you ought to see.
That is a hospital admissions certificate.
When Marge gave birth.
No, no, this is a different kind of hospital, and this is later.
So much later, that all these years I never connected it with Richie King's murder.
I clean forgot about it until just now.
That was the year that the Haley Sisters retired.
Yeah.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You must have made some kind of a mistake.
I don't think so, Marge.
Look at this old family photograph.
Tell me what you think.
Where did you get this? I haven't seen this in years.
That's your baby, isn't it? He must be quite grown up now.
Where is he? He's in graduate school.
Yes, he's my baby.
Mine and Richie's.
Lee tried to warn me about Richie, but I was 20 years old.
Nobody could tell me anything.
Richie King.
I thought sneaking around with Richie King would be the most romantic thing in the whole world.
I can't believe how dumb I was.
When did you start seeing him? About three months before he asked Barry to put us on the show.
That's how we got the job.
And nobody knew that I was pregnant.
And, of course, I wanted so desperately to have Richie's baby.
I still thought I was so in love with him.
But then I saw the look on his face when I told him.
That must have hurt you terribly.
I hated him.
I cried and I cried so, and I carried on.
He tried to make me keep still, and I slapped him.
I even threatened to call his wife.
And then Richie said he didn't want to work with me anymore.
He was going to ask Barry to bump us from the show, and we would be replaced by another act.
I was in a panic then.
This was our big break, and Lee and Cathy were so excited.
And Mom and Dad, they had called them, and half of Iowa was tuned in to watch us on the show.
We had to be on the show.
We just had to be on that show! And then Richie told me to get out of his dressing room.
I was frantic.
I couldn't let it end this way.
We were having dinner in his dressing room, and there was a steak knife on the table, and I picked it up, and he said I was crazy.
And then he came closer, and he tried to reach for the knife, and then I just stabbed him! You left something out, didn't you? Something very important.
There was a witness there.
Yes.
It was Art.
I knew what I had done was a terrible thing.
I wouldn't have blamed Art if he had called the police.
But he didn't.
Barry told me that you didn't care for Art when you first met him, Lee.
That you didn't want anything to do with him.
But within a few weeks of the murder, you became his wife.
Why, Lee? Were you being blackmailed by a man who was hopelessly in love? You're very clever, Jessica, about making things up.
You've just put words in my sister's mouth.
And Marge will deny everything that was said in this room, and so will I.
It will be our word against yours.
And mine.
Thanks for leaving the door open, Jessica.
I get it.
A set up.
Well, I don't care what you thought you heard.
I'm not going to allow my sister to be tried for murder.
I'm sure that that won't be necessary.
I have here a printout from the files of a mental institution that says that you committed your sister Marge in 1974, which probably explains the early retirement of the Haley Sisters.
You give me that! No, it's no use.
I got the original.
I can make a lot of copies.
The hospital records show that Marge might not have been responsible for her actions.
She has a history of emotional disturbances, going back to early childhood.
They released her from the hospital in 1983, saying she needed no further treatment or confinement.
They released me because I was cured, wasn't I, Lee? Huh? Well, what if she is cured? What are you driving at? That she could be capable of distinguishing between right and wrong.
You knew that what you did to Art Sommers was wrong, didn't you, Marge? Now, wait a minute.
You have no right! After you finished rehearsing your number, you went back to your dressing room, and Art was there waiting.
Now, Art lied when he said he never saw the woman in black.
He not only saw her, but he knew who she was.
I wouldn't have hurt Barry.
I just wanted him to share my guilt.
He did Richie a favor by having us on the show, but it was his fault that we were in the dressing room.
I told him it was his fault, and I told I told Richie it was his fault.
I had to kill him! For God's sake, please don't do this! What did Art say to you? That you were jeopardizing the act? No! Is that the reason that you snatched at the nearest thing, a heavy vase filled with flowers and water? You swung it at his head hard.
You killed him.
No! Lee! Stop it, stop this! Marge did not kill Art.
I killed Art! I found him in the dressing room when I came back from the stage.
He said that Marge had been up to her old tricks, and that we had to get stronger tranquilizers to keep her under control.
I said that being back in the theater, being back in that dressing room was just too traumatic for Marge.
I wanted to put her back in the hospital, just for a while, but And our comeback would have to wait.
But Art said no.
The comeback was Art's idea.
He wanted to get out from Barry's shadow and be an entrepreneur.
We would do Barry's show, and then we'd do our own specials, and Art would be in charge.
Well, I said that I wasn't going to risk Marge being driven over the edge just so he could play king of the hill.
Then he said, how would I like to have Marge exposed as a killer.
If I'd had a gun, I would have used it.
But I didn't have a gun, so I just grabbed the vase of flowers, and I And killed the man who would have made your sisters' lives as miserably unhappy as your own.
Murder is murder, but I feel sorry for those poor women.
There's one thing I don't get.
Now, you and Bulldog forced Lee into confessing.
But how did you know Lee was the killer, and not Marge or Cathy? Well, the police photos of the murder scene showed Art's body soaking wet, and covered with flowers from the broken vase.
It stood to reason that the impact of the vase-shattering death blow would also have splattered Art's killer, and I remembered that I'd seen the three sisters only a few minutes later, after the police had arrived.
Both Cathy and Marge were still in their costumes, bone dry and unsplattered.
But Lee wore a long terry cloth bathrobe, that could easily have covered a wet costume that she didn't have time to change.
That's like the magician making the elephant disappear.
It's easy if you know how.
Have you had any word about your show? Oh, yes, that disappeared, too.
It was canceled.
Oh, Barry.
I'm so sorry.
Hey, I look ahead.
Some day television will be history.
There'll be something else that hasn't even been invented yet.
You won't have to stare at a tube.
The actors will be right there in the room with you.
Oh, heaven forbid!