Murder, She Wrote s07e19 Episode Script

I would do anything to help my son.
Can't his father help? Your husband and I were more than just friends.
Steve, is Frank's son.
Tonight on "Murder, She Wrote" You're a terrific lady.
Jessica, there's no indication that Steve was Frank's child.
Did Frank have an affair with Nancy Landon in Korea? Some guys found comfort wherever they could find it.
- Is Steve Frank's child? - Do you want to know the truth? We've got 500 meters of concrete going in the holes.
The next driver to stop for coffee will eat his load.
- Stop the pour! - Are you crazy? Somebody must be.
Shut it down.
I take my orders from Mr.
Olston.
You got a problem, you talk to him.
Murray, we're talking Lower the price or cancel the order.
Get back to me in an hour or ship it back to Korea.
- Stop them out there, Mr.
Olston.
- Are you an architect or a comedian? The footings are two feet under the specifications.
And in the northwest corner There are supposed to be pilings.
The re-bar is only half the size of what the drawings call for.
- We had to rework your specs.
- What? You can't do that.
An engineer went over the plans, they were over-specced.
Hell they are! This is a school.
What you're building out there is shoddy and unsafe.
Steve, I can see you're upset.
I'll tell you what we'll do, I give you the new specs And you rework your plans.
We're paying.
What do you say to ten grand? What you're trying to buy is not for sale, Olston.
- Watch your mouth, Landon.
- No, you do it.
I'll take this to Councilman Axelrod, or I'll go to the newspapers.
I'm going to shut you down.
He'll bring problems, Mr.
Olston.
Who knows what a nut like that might do.
We better deal with it.
You have no idea of who committed the murder, Mrs.
Fletcher? To be perfectly honest, I don't have a clue.
As I explained before the break, when I start a book I spend weeks shaping the characters finding an arena, working on the details of the crime before I even consider which one of my characters actually committed the murder.
Yes, but it all formula stuff, isn't it? Well, yes I bet he's never read one of your books, Jessica.
There is an element of formula in all my mysteries.
- Hi.
- But I try to present the story Look who's on television.
Jessica Fletcher.
She's in town promoting her new book.
We'll be back with JB Fletcher after these messages.
Steven is anything wrong? Ben Olston is using my school to rip off the taxpayers.
- What will you do? - I don't know, I'll write some things.
Before sending a release to the media We check it for errors.
Next time, check with me first.
Mr.
Axelrod's office, Dawn speaking.
Can you talk? For you, I'll clear my agenda anytime.
- We might have a problem.
- Building Department? Planning Department? Or is it with your wife? We're here to serve you.
Architectural Department.
Steve Landon showed up today.
He was supposed to be out of town.
He spotted the cuts we made on the school foundations.
Did you get the new specs I got you? - Axelrod didn't even see them.
- That's the problem, darling.
Landon threatens to take them to him.
Maybe even the newspapers.
I don't want us to get caught.
Course, you aren't saving much and you'd jeopardize all your projects.
Not to mention my little tushie.
That, my darling, is definitely worth saving.
I'm glad you think so.
But if Landon raises a stink, they'll look into your other projects.
There's a solution.
A radical solution.
How radical? I'll get back to you, Councilman.
Is someone there? That's right, my wife.
She's taking me to lunch.
Terrific.
When will you tell her about us? Soon.
I'll phone you later about those plans, sir.
Lunch? Darling, have you forgotten? I'm going to spend a couple of days with my mother.
Of course, you mentioned last night she wasn't feeling well.
What is it this time? The headaches or the arthritis? Her asthma.
You got home so late last night, it's normal you don't remember.
- Working on the annual report.
- I know.
You've come so far from that bricklaying contractor I married.
Not without some help, like the money I put in the firm.
I will never forget it, since you keep reminding me.
I will be back in three days.
- I'll call.
- Drive safely.
And hello to mother.
To be honest, Seth, doing the talk shows and the promotion is more work than actually writing the books.
No, it isn't raining.
Did you hear it, too? Nothing wrong with your hearing, Seth.
It wasn't thunder, but it might have been a sonic boom.
Yes, two days here and then Atlanta.
Unless I find a graceful way to get out of it.
Well, I'll check with you as soon as I get back.
Bye.
- Hello? - Hello, Mrs.
Fletcher.
My name is Nancy Landon, we've never met, but I have followed your career for years and you get this from lots of people, but I feel as if I know you.
Yes, Mrs.
Landon.
What can I do for you? I wondered if we could talk personally.
I'm sorry, my time is very limited.
It's very important.
I have a number of appointments.
This is a personal matter.
Maybe I should have mentioned earlier.
I was stationed in Korea in 1951, I was an Army nurse.
- I knew your husband.
- You were a friend of Frank's? Yes, I know he's dead now.
He was such a wonderful man and spoke of you often.
Please, if I could just see you for a little while.
Well, I seem to have lunch free.
Could you meet me at one? Yes, thank you.
I'll be there.
Yes, Mr.
Mayor, it was some kind of terrorist.
Thank God, nobody got hurt.
As soon as we find out anything I will let you know.
Than you.
I've spoken to my sources down at the precinct.
There's been an arrest.
That's fast work.
Who is it? The architect.
His name is Steve Landon.
He made a threat to blow up the entire project in front of Mr.
Olston and an employee.
He was seen in the vicinity just before the explosion.
The architect? Why would he blow up a school? He has a history of mental instability, sir.
He was under a psychiatrist's care.
I took the liberty of preparing a statement for the press.
- Care to look at it? - Yes, thank you.
I imagine being a nurse in wartime wasn't easy.
You must have been very young.
In Korea we grew up very fast.
Frank never talked much about the ugly side of war when he came back.
Even his letters used to be quite cheery.
But, knowing him I could read between the lines and I sensed what he was going through.
- Frank had a kind of inner strength.
- Yes.
Everyone came to him with problems.
You must have known Clint Phelps and Lee Goddard.
- They were in the crew with Frank.
- Yes, of course.
Mrs.
Fletcher, did you read the paper this morning the explosion in the building site? Yes, I heard it last night.
terrible.
They've arrested my son Steve.
They're accusing him of it.
- What? - He didn't do it, of course.
- He was with me when it happened.
- Well, then They don't believe me.
Steven was the architect on the school project.
It was his first big commission.
He has a brilliant future ahead.
But he discovered that they were using inferior materials and cutting corners.
And now they are trying to cover it by blaming him for the explosion.
That's why I need your help, Mrs.
Fletcher.
I see your predicament, but How can I help? We don't have any money.
Everything I had went into Steven's education.
His wife died last year and he's still paying off the medical bills.
I'm so sorry.
We're up against very powerful people They've been stealing millions.
A lawyer will cost money.
But what he needs most of all is somebody with influence who will help him.
Someone like you can keep him from being railroaded.
Mrs.
Landon, my heart goes out to you, but I know nothing about this.
I don't even know your son.
I would do anything to help my son.
Of course, any mother would.
- Or father.
- Can't Steve's father help? - He's dead.
- I'm sorry.
I was hoping you would help once you knew the circumstances.
You see, I haven't told this to anybody in all these years.
And I will deny it to Steven himself.
In Korea, your husband and I were more than just friends.
Steve is Frank's son.
As a lawyer, my advice is don't take it too seriously.
This sort of thing happens to celebrities.
It never happened to me.
They're strange people.
Most of them are your garden variety nuts.
They just come forward and make wild claims.
Whatever she is, Nancy Landon doesn't strike me as a nut.
It sounds to me like a shakedown.
In any case, you can go back to Cabot Cove.
- Let me deal with this.
- I don't believe her story.
If anything like that had happened, Frank would have told me.
All she wants is your money, Jessica.
She'll realize you won't bite.
But she seemed so desperate, so vulnerable They've arrested her son.
If what the paper says is true, he'll need a lawyer.
Jessica, my second piece of advice is don't get involved.
I assure you I have no intention of getting involved.
I'll check her out.
Let me worry about it.
I'm handsomely compensated for it.
You'll get my bill.
But if this is just a shakedown for some money, why did she wait until now? Until her son is in such desperate trouble.
I'm just fine, Clint.
I'm in a hotel room and thought of you two and I thought I'd give you a call.
- How's Bonnie? - Fine.
She's in Tacoma.
We have a new grandson.
- Seven pounds, three ounces.
- That's wonderful.
- And Phyllis is fine? - Couldn't be better.
Kids can't wait to assert their independence but as soon as the baby arrives they want mother around.
Yes, it must be wonderful seeing the grandchildren grow.
It's funny you called, I thought about Frank the other day.
I was in one of those commuter flights.
I hadn't been on a prop plane in years.
I looked out at the engine and it all came back to me.
Frank, Lee and the Dixie Damsel.
Clint, I bumped into somebody who knew you and Frank in Korea.
- No kidding! Who? - Nancy Landon.
Nancy Landon Yes, she was a nurse, good fun.
How's she doing? She has problems.
Her son is in trouble and she needs help.
I'm sorry.
How did you meet her? She phoned me and said that you, Frank and she had been friends in Korea.
Well, not exactly friends.
We saw each other in the officers club.
It was such a long time ago, I'm not sure we talk of the same person.
But you seem to remember her Most of what happened in Korea I try to forget.
Bonnie will be sorry she missed you.
I'll call her next week, promise.
We'll have that get-together we've been planning.
Send me a picture of that grandson, right? Bye.
I'm telling you, Jessica.
You're making a mistake.
Andrew, I'm not getting involved.
I'm a good judge of character and if I meet him I'll be able to know if he's telling the truth about corruption in the city building department.
- Can I help you? - Andrew Dixon, to see Lieutenant Claymore.
He's with someone now.
Take a seat Thank you.
Andrew, did you say that a Nancy Landon was stationed in the Seoul Military Hospital from 1951 until April 1952? We don't even know if it was the same Nancy Landon.
That was two months after Frank and his crew went down in the Dixie Damsel.
Jessica, that doesn't mean a thing.
Mr.
Olston, the bomb squad have finished, you can clear the site.
Every day's delay costs money.
Councilman Axelrod appreciates your cooperation, Lieutenant Claymore.
Thank you.
That's Dawn Bickford, Councilman Axelrod's assistant.
Ben Olston owns the construction company.
It seems he also owns influence in high places.
I've gotten a call from the Mayor's office, but I didn't realize the bomber had so much juice going for him.
He may have nothing going for him, but we're interested in the details.
It's very simple.
Steve Landon threatened to blow up the school in front of two witnesses.
Mr.
Olston and Ralph Crocket, his construction supervisor.
He drove past the site five minutes before the explosion.
He spotted Landon leaving the site and getting into his car.
He got the license plate and it checks.
So he immediately called the police.
No, we got the statement this morning.
That's odd, if Mr.
Landon threatened to blow up the place, why wouldn't Mr.
Crocket be alarmed to see him there at night? He could have done something.
I asked, but nobody took the threat seriously.
It seems Mr.
Landon has mental problems.
I was not aware of that.
Mrs.
Landon said that her son was with her at the time of the explosion.
We'd expect a mother to lie to protect her son.
Of course, but on the other hand, all the evidence against him seem to come from Mr.
Olston and his employee.
May we see Mr.
Landon? So when the building was finished, he would collect for materials not used.
It sounds very suspicious.
I appreciate very much what you're doing, Mrs.
Fletcher.
My mother said you would help.
Mr.
Landon, you should know I advised her not to come.
I'll be up front with you.
I haven't got a dime.
Whatever your fees are, I will pay you, if it takes me all my life.
Are you suggesting Mr.
Olston blew up his own construction site? I can't prove it, but when I went in and confronted Olston, he tried to buy me off.
- I can't prove that, either.
- We don't know if all this is true.
- You don't believe me.
- Your mother does.
- She seems devoted to you.
- My mother and I we only have each other.
My wife died last year.
Your mother mentioned it.
I'm so sorry.
I try to get to terms with it.
Is your father in any position to help? My father died before I was born.
He was a flier in Korea.
He was shot down somewhere over Pusan.
My mother never remarried, I guess she was busy raising me.
She seems a very determined woman.
I think he's a likeable young man and I'm inclined to believe him.
He's charming, but there is a strong case against him.
- He's bucking some powerful people.
- Then he will need help.
Excuse me, where can I find Mr.
Olston? In there, but he's all tied up.
Thank you.
If you have any more odd jobs, give me a call.
I've already burned your number.
We don't know each other.
If I were you I'd take a long trip.
I'd go to Central America.
There's 25 thousand there.
All I had in the safe.
I'll get you the rest tonight.
- Mr.
Olston? - Nice doing business with you.
I'm glad I caught you.
As a volunteer, I have to steal all the time I can.
You are at the top of my list.
- What list is that? - The fund-raiser.
We have you down as a generous contributor.
They run for reelection all year round.
Who is it this time? Our club admires Councilman Axelrod for his position on women's issues.
I contribute directly to his re-election committee.
Maybe I got the wrong list.
Who is your contact on his committee? Dawn Bickford, his administrative assistant.
I'm sorry, but I've got an awful lot to do.
Of course, thank you for your time.
Hi, it's me.
- Temple was just here.
- Well, that problem is solved.
Which leaves us with the other Your wife.
I told you, I'll tell her as soon as she gets back.
- When is that? - Tomorrow.
Are you off the leash tonight or should you be at home if she calls? Depends.
You feel like playing house? Well, that adds a certain spice to sneaking around behind her back.
What time? Nine-ish.
I'll turn on the sauna.
Thanks.
Is there anybody home, lady? my husband must be home, or else the alarm would be on.
Ben? Are you home? Ben! Would you mind staying until I have a look around? No, you can't be too careful.
Ben? Ben? No, don't go in there, lady.
I'm glad you could come.
Before I went back home there I wanted to talk about a few things.
I'm sorry, Jessica.
You don't mind me calling you Jessica? The last thing I wanted was hurting you.
Mrs.
Landon, the police mentioned a report of Steve's mental instability.
Nonsense.
He was very upset when his wife died.
- Of course.
- He went to a psychiatrist at my recommendation.
But there is no mental illness.
He was like a rock of Gibraltar at least until this terrible business with Ben Olston.
Did something happen that you haven't told me about? Jessica, I feel I can trust you.
I found this in the glove compartment of our wagon this morning.
- Do you thing it's Steve's? - It is not mine.
Who's could it be? Mrs.
Landon, I like Steve, but I don't believe the stuff about him being Frank's son.
I can't blame you, Jessica.
Steve told me his father was shot down and killed in Korea.
That's what I told him.
You don't expect me to tell a boy that his father left me to go back to his wife.
I'm sorry, but why should I believe it? I hoped not to have to show you.
I've always felt it was very private.
"May 3rd, 1954.
Dear Nancy, haven't heard from you in over a year.
Little Steve must be around two now.
I wish you let help you, I know how difficult it must be.
Just remember, if you need anything ever, please let me know.
Always, Frank.
" I'm sorry, Jessica.
I thought this part of my life was closed forever.
But Frank promised to help.
- Nancy Landon? - Yes.
- I'm lieutenant Claymore.
- Is this about Steve? - Mrs.
Fletcher.
- Lieutenant.
Mrs.
Landon, do you have a permit for this firearm? No! I don't know.
It is not mine.
Mrs.
Landon, please come with me.
Lieutenant, how long will you hold Mrs.
Landon here? The pistol Mrs.
Landon had happens to be registered to Ben Olston.
His wife said he kept it in his desk at home.
If the fingerprints on it are Mrs.
Landon's, we'll book her.
- But she says - I know what she says.
There's more.
We found an appointment on the victim's desk.
Confirming an appointment with Mrs.
Landon at eight o'clock.
I didn't have an appointment.
What they did to Steve was unfair so I decided to go see Mr.
Olston to confront him with Steve's report.
It had to be around eight.
Yes? Hello.
I'm Nancy Landon.
I'm Steve's mother, I need to talk to you.
- I have nothing to say to you.
- Please.
Wait a minute.
Hello? Hi, babe.
Well, yes, I understand.
If you feel it is more important I can't talk right now, the architect's mother is here.
Don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow.
Yeah, me too.
Bye.
There's nothing I can do for you, Mrs.
Landon.
I shouldn't even talk to you.
What about Steven's report? What do you have to say about it? Who do you think you are coming into my house like this? Get out! I didn't go there to quarrel with him.
I went to talk about Steven's report.
We didn't find any report, Mrs.
Landon.
We found an appointment slip with your name on it.
You should call a lawyer.
Alright, Jessica.
But I don't understand why.
Because in spite of everything I don't believe she did it.
Are you sure that's the reason? Of course it is.
Someone could have planted that gun in her station wagon.
Her address is in the telephone book.
It's possible someone else was there when Nancy arrived.
It's also possible that Nancy Landon is a disturbed woman.
She made the outrageous claim that Steve was Frank's son.
Yes.
Which reminds me, did your sources get any more information about her military service? I'm waiting to hear.
Where are you going? To pay a call at City Hall.
Those allegations are very grave.
But I assure you there's absolutely no truth to them.
How can you be sure Councilman Axelrod without an investigation? Because we have a department that monitors construction.
I'm sure you do.
But I Ben Olston contributes to your reelection campaign.
I believe he did, but to the legal limit.
It's a matter of public record.
And Mr.
Olston did a lot of business with the city.
Business that if you don't control, you at least influence.
All the contracts are scrupulously bid.
And the work is done for the best price and quality.
Yes, but according to the report that the architect made, the quality of the work was in serious question.
I assure you I am not aware of any such report.
Miss.
Bickford, are you aware of any reports coming in from Steve Landon.
The architect who was arrested.
No, no report from him ever came to this office.
I'm afraid you've been seriously misinformed.
Perhaps I have.
But I know that a copy of that report is missing from the scene of Mr.
Olston's murder.
Thank you so much for your time.
Get in touch with the police officer in charge and find out what is going on! Yes, sir.
Yes, Clint, I realize this is very short notice.
But I've spoken to the airline, and I can get a flight to be in Seattle for dinner.
It has been too long.
Could you meet my plane? Wonderful.
Bonnie is going to be very disappointed she missed you.
Grandchildren, you know.
When you think your kids are safely out on their own, along comes the next generation and you become a second-hand parent.
It's wonderful.
Clint, you know, I love you and Bonnie but I didn't come to talk about grandchildren.
I figured that out, Jessica.
Tell me about Nancy Landon.
There is nothing to tell.
Frank died almost ten years ago.
There are things I need to know.
I hardly remember Nancy Landon.
I assure there's nothing you need to know.
Clint, you were his closest friend.
Did Frank have an affair with Nancy Landon in Korea? Of course not.
Frank was crazy in love with you.
Please, don't try to protect my feelings.
I want to know the truth.
Nancy has a son, Steve.
Is Frank his father? You want to know the truth? It was in those letters we wrote home when we couldn't sleep.
Trying to reach out to wives or sweethearts at home.
But there was another truth, one that no one wrote about.
About being scared.
About being desperately lonely not knowing if you'd be alive next week.
So you learned to survive, to hang in there.
To blot out fear and emptiness.
Things happened.
Some guys took comfort where they could find it.
It didn't mean they loved their wives any less.
You just needed to prove you were still alive.
But it was not the sort of thing that you told your wife about.
Well.
I understand.
Maybe not perfectly, but I understand.
It wasn't easy being left behind.
You're the only person who can tell me the truth.
Is Steve Frank's son? Frank was the best friend I ever had, but I was not his confessor.
I got hit and I was in hospital for a couple of months.
He knew Nancy, we all did.
But what happened between them was none of my business.
And Frank was not the type to talk about something like this.
I have to know the truth.
The truth is he loved you, Jessica.
That's all I know.
Jessica, I pulled some strings and got copies of Nancy Landon's military records.
- And? - It still doesn't prove a thing, but she was given compassionate leave in April 1952 because she was pregnant and unmarried.
I see.
There is no indication that it was Frank's child.
Well.
Thank you for telling me, Andrew.
It's ironic, isn't it? You and Mr.
Dixon get me out on bail and the same day they arrest my mother.
I know, the situation seems to go from bad to worse.
I feel it's all my fault.
If I hadn't made such a big deal out of Olston's fraud, none of this would have happened.
But if you were convinced of it you couldn't ignore it.
No, I'm not built that way Some things are worth fighting for, or against.
Steve, you said that you gave your report to Councilman Axelrod.
Did you do it personally? I never got to see him, I gave it to his assistant.
- Dawn Bickford.
- I see.
She seemed to have a very friendly relationship with Ben Olston.
In fact, Mr.
Olston told me that she was the one who accepted his political contributions.
There you are making progress.
Wait a minute, Steve.
We still don't know what this has to do with his murder.
Will you help my mother, please? We have no one else to turn to.
I'll do what I can.
you're a terrific lady.
Thank you.
Let me get this straight.
Are you suggesting that Ben Olston or somebody working for him set off the explosives to cover a taxpayer rip-off that could involve the City Council? It's a distinct possibility.
Mrs.
Fletcher, listen, I just passed my Captain exams I'm fifth on the promotion list.
I don't doubt that you are young and ambitious.
I'm already getting enough heat from Councilman Axelrod's office.
And from Dawn Bickford? How did you know about that? She was here with Ben Olston the morning after the explosion.
Steve Landon told me he gave her his report in the Councilman's office.
Has it occurred to you that she may have been involved with Mr.
Olston in more than just government contracts? When I get heat, I wander where the fire is and who's shoveling the coal.
I made some inquiries about her.
They were an item.
That adds a whole new dimension to things.
Lieutenant, if you were the one to expose corruption in City Hall you'd be the first in line for captain.
I already thought about that.
But what about the murder? If Nancy Landon's fingerprints are the only ones on the murder weapon, it means it was wiped clean before it was planted in her car.
But Mrs.
Landon admits she was there.
Without an appointment.
Yet there was an appointment slip left on top of the desk more or less telling the police that she'd been there.
What are you driving at? Perhaps someone else was there when Mrs.
Landon arrived.
Mrs.
Landon said Mr.
Olston got a call - from his wife while she was there.
- Where was Mrs.
Olston? Visiting her mother.
Her car broke down on the way back.
The motor club records and the taxi driver back her up.
She and the taxi driver found the body around midnight.
Lieutenant, when I went to see Mr.
Olston, there was a man with him.
I felt I had walked in on some sort of payoff.
Olston said he'd get the rest later.
You think it was the guy who set the explosives? It's possible.
Mrs.
Fletcher, if I showed you a mug book could you pick him out? I could try.
If what Landon says in this report is true, somebody's should be prosecuted.
I assure you Councilman.
Axelrod, I had nothing to do with this.
Before you say anything more, you should know we picked up Roy Temple.
- Who? - Roy Temple.
Rap sheet as long as your arm.
Specialized in explosives.
He got real nervous when we started talking about "murder".
He implicated you, Miss Bickford.
Along with Ben Olston.
Temple swears you two hired him to blow up the construction site.
That's not true.
Ben might have done, but I had nothing to do with it.
Olston's wife was out the night he was murdered.
- You were with him, weren't you? - No, I wasn't there.
I was supposed to be there but I was stuck here working I phoned Ben to say I couldn't make it.
- What time was that? - About eight o'clock.
He mentioned Mrs.
Landon was there, so I wasn't there when they shot him.
Lieutenant, can we talk in private? Mrs.
Olston, Mrs.
Fletcher has a theory about how your husband was killed.
Theory? You mean why Mrs.
Landon shot him? - Would you like a drink? - No, thank you.
My theory is that Mrs.
Landon didn't kill your husband.
But the murder weapon was found in her station wagon.
I was probably planted there by the murderer.
Mrs.
Olston, did you know your husband was having an affair? No.
I suspected it.
I've been spending more time with my mother lately.
She doesn't feel well and Ben's been working late.
We think that the woman he was seeing was there that night.
- Here, while I was away? - Yes.
We suspect some kind of lovers' quarrel which ended up in your husband's death.
- Do you know who the woman was? - I have no idea.
Perhaps I do, there was a strange message on the answering machine.
What kind of message and from who? Someone called Dawn, I think she works for the city.
About meeting Ben that night.
We found no message on the answering machine.
I thought it was business and probably erased it.
Mrs.
Olston, there was no message on the answering machine.
I think you were listening on another phone when Dawn Bickford called.
- No.
- You knew he was with another woman.
You told him you'd be away and came back early to catch him with her.
Unless I'm mistaken, you were hiding upstairs when Nancy arrived and Dawn telephoned.
No! I was miles from here! My car broke down.
Ask the taxi driver.
That was all later, after the murder.
You made another mistake.
You said the murder weapon was found in Nancy Landon's station wagon.
- We found the weapon in the house.
- Where she brought it.
After she found it in her car.
Only the person who put it there would mention the car.
No, you're trying to confuse me.
How did you know Nancy Landon owned a station wagon? I suspect because you saw it through an upstairs window before you came down and confronted your husband.
With Ben there was always some woman.
I just had enough.
It was my family's money that set him up in business.
I came back early to catch them together.
What I didn't expect was Mrs.
Landon showing up.
Instead of Dawn Bickford there was Mrs.
Landon at the door.
The phone rang.
It was Dawn Bickford.
She couldn't come that night.
That was enough for me.
I wasn't going to take it anymore.
I'd had enough.
So when Mrs.
Landon left, I went downstairs and confronted him.
He didn't even deny it.
Then he hit me.
Then the gun was in my hand.
It all seemed so easy.
Nancy was my way out.
I typed out the appointment slip for the police to know she'd been there.
Then I just drove over and left the gun in her car.
What about the report that she left? I burned it.
It was my company now.
I had plenty of time to drive out of town pretend the car broke down, come back with the taxi driver and find Ben's body.
I'm glad it's over.
I couldn't let you go back to Maine without thanking you.
It's not necessary.
I'm glad things turned out the way they did.
Frank promised to help and he isn't here anymore, so I did what I could.
I suppose we ought to talk about Frank.
Jessica, I feel terribly guilty.
Whatever happened, it was a long time ago.
No, I feel guilty about lying to you.
I was so desperate to help Steven, I would have done anything.
I lied to you about Frank.
We were never lovers.
I suppose I should tell you the truth.
And this is the truth, Jessica.
I was very much in love with a young flyer in Frank's squadron.
His name was Steven, he was married.
One day he was shot down and killed.
I was pregnant.
But Frank the letter Frank knew about Steven and me.
He was a good friend, that is all.
A friend I needed very badly.
He helped me through the grief.
Frank was a wonderful man.
He even kept in touch after little Steven was born.
Thanks for telling the truth, Nancy.
I think in my heart of hearts I've always trusted Frank.
You are a lucky woman, Jessica.
Frank loved you very much.