The Murdoch Mysteries (2004) s13e04 Episode Script

1 (MUSICAL THEME) (CHATTERING) McMaster, Sterling O'Brien, that necktie is really something! Write down for me where you purchased it.
I must have one.
Gentlemen and ladies A few moments of your time, please.
I know you're all here for this marvelous scotch, so I promise to keep this brief.
I see some old friends and I'm happy to say I see new faces in the room as well.
Some of you I've worked with in the past and some of you are far wealthier than before we met.
- (LAUGHING) - My new project promises not only a sound investment, it promises to make you a part of the future.
(CROWD WHISPERING) The city of tomorrow! Right in Toronto's harbour.
A fully electrified community with 24 hour automated street cars.
A telephone in every home and office! Integrated buildings where residents can live, work and shop without ever setting foot outside.
We will even build a replica of Mr.
Ferris' wheel.
The developers I brought on board are the best the city has to offer.
- Your investment in this project will guarantee - (COUGHING) (CROWD WHISPERING) - (MAN): Is he all right? - (WOMAN): Is he all right? What have you, Miss Hart? Male, 34 years old.
No evidence of trauma, no apparent health problems.
Besides dying.
Can't establish a cause of death as of yet.
Have to perform a post-mortem, of course.
- Poisoning would be my guess.
- Huh, sir, I just spoke to a witness who saw him drinking a glass of water just before he collapsed.
- I've had the glass taken into evidence.
- Very good.
Have the constables collect and preserve - all of the glasses and their contents.
- Sir.
(CHATTERING) Every glass, lads.
Every glass and its contents.
Please remember, gloves or handkerchiefs.
How truly awful.
I'm heartbroken.
- Did you know the man? - No.
But he seemed like a good fellow.
I had just slipped him a dollar in thanks shortly before this tragic event.
So you're the one putting all this on? - Guilty as charged.
- I have to say I've heard some incredible rumours about your waterfront development.
Is such a futuristic community - really possible here in Toronto? - Why wouldn't it be? I don't know.
We're a fairly small city.
I should think something like this is better suited to - New York or London.
- I disagree.
Toronto is as vibrant a city as any in the world.
All it needs is a little vision.
So what would a room cost in one of these future buildings? Here, take a pamphlet.
Let me take down your name, put you first on the list of potential residents.
- Huh George Crabtree.
- Yes.
I'm sorry, I said George Crabtree.
- Yes, and what is your name? - That is my name.
Is this some kind of joke? No.
Why would that be a joke? Is there something - you find amusing about the name George Crabtree? - Not at all.
My name is also George Crabtree.
Um, do you remember where you were in the summer of 1866? That was my first visit to Toronto.
And do you remember a woman named Gracie Brooks? Of course! I never forget a name and would certainly never forget such a fine woman.
What a wonderful summer that was Do you know her? Yes, we had lunch once a month the past few years, until she moved to Sudbury.
Wait a minute.
You're George Crabtree.
And I'm George Crabtree.
Are you suggesting Gracie Brooks is my mother.
I believe you're my father.
How terribly terrific! Incredible! I had no idea I had a son.
This is cause for celebration.
Come, we must find a plate this instant.
I think I need a minute just to uh We need to make up for lost time, son.
Yes, it's just I'm in the middle of work right now.
But some other time.
I saw the dead man - arguing with one of the guests earlier in the night.
- Which guest? He is no longer here.
I haven't seen him since the argument.
I find that suspicious.
- You do? - Yes.
Can you describe him? Tall.
Petite moustache.
I did not care for him.
And what of the victim? What is his name? - He had no identification on his person.
- He does not work for me.
Upon seeing him I immediately thought one of my men must have fallen ill and sent him as a replacement.
But everyone who was scheduled to work tonight is present and accounted for.
So you have no idea who this man is - or why he was working here? - Correct.
What of his uniform? It's the same as all of the other staff.
Where might he have obtained that? I can't imagine.
Ah! Correction.
I can imagine.
Earlier this week, I had to make a complaint to the laundry.
Our usual bundle arrived with one uniform missing.
Right, you'll go to the laundry service first thing in the morning to see if the dead man could have stolen the uniform from there.
Did you ask the host about the moustached man who was seen arguing with the victim? - He didn't know.
- He could be the key to the case, George.
We'll need to ask the host for a list of the invitees to compare with the list of witnesses found here on the scene.
Something the matter, George? Sir.
That man, he knows my mother.
I mean, he knew my mother.
Nine months before I was born.
Oh.
- Oh, you mean - Sir! His name is George Crabtree.
He knows details from my mother's life at the time.
There's no doubt about it, sir.
The man is my father.
- That must be quite a shock - Yes, well He was as surprised to find out as I was.
Well I don't know how I should feel about it.
I mean Should I socialize with him? Do I get to know him? Do I want to know him? Am I obligated to? - Fathers can be complicated.
- Yes, sir.
Perhaps I'll ask him for the list of names.
He was a heavy drinker, but it didn't kill him.
The cause of death was indeed poison.
As suspected.
Have you identified which poison? Based on the irregular respiration reported by the witnesses, I initially suspected potassium cyanide.
But the reddened skin on part of the body is not consistent with cyanide.
So not cyanide.
Have you anything else? I'll need more time to isolate the culprit.
Notify me when you do.
I shall.
As I do every case.
And so I was at a bakery this morning you can take a measure of a town by its bakeries and I said to them: Give me two dozen of the best, whatever it is.
Here.
For you and the boys, in gratitude for keeping this fine city safe.
- Can I help you, sir? - Oh! Where might I find George Crabtree? Still on his way in, I imagine.
And you are? I'll need you to steel yourself before I answer, sir.
My name is George Crabtree Senior.
I do like the sound of that.
- You're his father? - The news was as shocking to me as it is to you, sir.
Likely more shocking, in fact.
Learning you have a child, sort of puts you on the back foot, somewhat.
It is a thing to learn.
- Say, that's a fine cane.
- Thank you.
Write down for me where you purchased it, I must have one.
It's just right.
I mean look at you.
Stately.
Composed.
Powerful.
Oh! Hmm.
Well, it's not the cane that makes the man, Mr.
Crabtree.
It's the man that makes the cane.
Step into my office, you can wait for Crabtree there.
Can I call you George? I wouldn't suddenly be all chummy with the old man just because he showed up after all these years.
The Inspector seems to like him.
And I can't blame him.
I mean, he never knew he had a son.
Hmm.
Family isn't so great anyway.
Parents just make you worry about all the stuff they worry about.
My life got a lot better when I started ignoring mine.
So, you're saying if you were me, you wouldn't even be curious? Not really.
- George - Oh, sir.
I took the photograph of our victim down to the laundry place.
They recognized him.
His name is Stephen Shields.
He works there.
Or worked there, I suppose.
In any case, it's safe to assume that's where he got the uniform.
And I got his home address.
Very good You know, George, I read over the pamphlet on the "City of Tomorrow" It's ingenious.
I tend to agree, sir.
It rather reminded me of our very own George Crabtree.
Now, I may not be the best person to offer advice on father-son relationships, George, but it seems to me someone who could come up with something like this would be someone worth knowing.
(BRACKENREID): Did I mention I once planned planned to build a subway? Did you really? Ah, there he is.
Constable Crabtree.
And the Detective.
- Invitees to my event, as requested.
- Thank you.
I know it's strange, learning you have a father after all these years.
It's just as strange learning you have a son.
I won't force the matter, but should you wish to know me, the invitation is always open, George.
Well, actually, I was just thinking it might be nice for us to meet properly.
How terribly terrific.
I was just about to hit the town and forage for some lunch.
- You must join me.
- Well, I'm working right now Nonsense, Crabtree.
Go on, get on with ya.
Murdoch and I can manage.
That's very kind of you, sir, but I was hoping to have George's assistance to cross-check this list and to accompany me to the victim's house.
Higgins! Deal with the paperwork.
Whatever needs handling, Murdoch, we can handle it.
Right.
Terribly terrific.
What do you think of this future city business? It seems rather extraordinary, sir.
Do you really think it could work? Everything in the proposal is achievable.
Depends on whether people buy into it, I suppose.
Crabtree Senior has all the ideas of Junior, but he seems to be the kind of man that could really make something of it.
- Do you know that I once tried to build a subway? - Yes, sir.
(KNOCKING) Good afternoon, ma'am.
Detective William Murdoch, Inspector Thomas Brackenreid, - Toronto Constabulary.
- Are you the wife of Stephen Shields? Yes.
Is there a problem? Is this your husband? I'm afraid he's passed away, ma'am.
(GASPS) So, how long have you been developing buildings? Oh, I'm not a building developer.
I'm an idea developer.
I take a great idea, figure out how to make it work, and bring together the talent and the money to make it happen.
So, what sort of ideas? My first success was nearly forty years ago.
A show for all, vaudeville and burlesque, combined with my favourite sport: wrestling.
Good Lord, that is genius.
It was a veritable mint.
In fact, I've been so successful, I don't need to take on any new projects, I could just tell people how to make money.
You could give seminars.
Live Healthy, Be Wealthy, with George Crabtree.
Senior.
(CHUCKLES) Ah, a couple of my potential investors.
Do you like red? - I tend not to drink when I'm on the job.
- Me neither.
But everyone likes a man with a drink in his hand.
They'll be writing cheques in no time.
I don't understand.
He was dressed as a waiter? You don't know anything about it? No.
It sounds mad.
That's a fine looking clock.
- Was it a gift? - Yes.
From my husband, some years ago now.
That's solid gold, is it not? If I may, how was he able to afford it? He does very well.
He does well at the laundry? What laundry? The one that he works at.
Oh, you must be confused.
My husband doesn't work at a laundry.
We were told that he's been working there six days a week for the past three years.
I'm sorry to ask you to look at this again, but are you sure we are talking about the same man? Yes.
Of course.
But my husband doesn't work at a laundry.
He's one of the most successful businessmen in Toronto.
The dead man was pretending or pretending to be poor.
I suspect he was lying to his wife, pretending to be rich.
We'll have to check into his financial records.
In any case it doesn't explain what he was doing dressed as a waiter - in a hotel where he was definitely not employed.
- Hmm.
- Do you have something for us, Miss Hart? - Yes.
The key to my determination was the water glass.
The one the victim was seen drinking shortly before his death.
I thought it unlikely that any poison could have acted so quickly.
So I examined the glass's contents and found it was indeed pure water.
He was poisoned earlier then.
Yes.
I estimate between a half-an-hour to an hour before he collapsed.
- Have you identified the substance? - Yes.
One of the poisons that fit all the symptoms he had was hyoscine.
And one of hyoscine's side effects is dehydration, - resulting in a dry mouth.
- Hence the water.
He knew that something was wrong.
Once I suspected hyoscine, I was able to test for it.
It was present in his stomach contents and in the residue from that glass in this box.
From the bar area.
What was in it? The poison had been mixed with whisky.
Right then.
I'll check the glass for fingermarks.
Where would one get hold of this hyoscine? It's not commonly available.
Though I have heard of hospitals using it as a sedative for mothers during childbirth.
- Good work.
- Thank you, Inspector.
(SIGHS) One set of fingermarks belongs to the victim.
And there is another, unidentified set.
The killer? Possibly, though not a certainty.
A match would be of interest.
Sir, I've checked the invitee list.
There were three men invited who were not there after the murder.
And one of them is a doctor Living on the water in the heart of the city.
Ashbridges Bay will be filled in, raised, and transformed.
The City of Tomorrow born on the Land of Tomorrow.
- Will it work? - Of course it will! Haven't you been to Venice? Me neither.
Holland? I don't much care for the Dutch.
The point is, if they can do it, we can do it.
My engineers are the best in the world.
And their confidence is my confidence and my confidence is yours.
It is quite exciting.
I'm considering being one of the first to rent an apartment here.
That would be grand.
Though I will rather miss climbing through your bedroom window.
Don't worry son, I didn't hear a word.
Well, clearly, this a remarkable woman.
- Remarkable! And a lawyer you say? - Yes.
- But your son is just as impressive, you know.
- Of course! No one respects the Constabulary as much as George Crabtree, Senior.
But George isn't only a police constable.
He's also an author.
- What? - His new book is very good.
- I believe it will be quite the sensation.
- Effie My own son, an author How terribly terrific.
I must read this book.
No, everyone must read it! What's it about? - It's difficult to explain, actually - Supernatural then.
Vampires? Werewolves? Martians? Well, no, but the original version did feature Venutians, you know - (TOGETHER): From Venus! - You must tell me all about it.
Well, it's been through a few iterations, but I felt Martians were a bit overdone I think I agree.
- Good lad.
- Sir.
Sir, the banking records show that Mr.
Shields used to have money.
He was an investor and a businessman.
But then three years ago his account was emptied.
We don't know what happened? Three years ago he started working at the laundry.
Oh, no sugar.
So somehow he lost it all.
- And hid it from his wife.
- And why shouldn't he? Finances should belong to the head of the household, Higgins.
- The Minister agrees with me on that.
- Sir? He says that part of the trouble with Margaret and I is a lack of traditional roles in the household.
You see, sir, this is exactly why I don't like Ruth working.
- When my mother started - But why would someone want to kill a man with no money? Where's Murdoch? He's with a suspect.
Some doctor.
- It was a terrible cup of tea.
- I di Yes, I was invited to the event, but I decided not to attend.
But you did attend, Dr.
Prescott.
A witness saw you arguing with a waiter.
I can call the witness in to identify you if necessary.
There, there, my good man, no need to lose your head.
I was there briefly, but I did not attend the presentation.
I apologize for my imprecise use of words.
Now what is this about? That waiter died shortly after leaving your company.
What? Shields is dead? You knew him? Yes Poor fellow.
What was your argument about? Oh Some years ago, Shields, an old friend, came to me with an opportunity.
He was always getting mixed up in these things and they'd often do quite well.
This one was bigger than most.
A "sure thing".
Some kind of music hall in Cleveland, I never got the details.
But I did give him five thousand dollars for it and wouldn't you know it, I never saw it again.
Was this about three years ago? About that.
Since then I've done just fine.
But poor Shields was struggling to say the least.
When I saw him working as a waiter I tried to offer him some cash.
He took offense and we argued.
Did you have a drink before leaving the event, Doctor? No.
We've identified the poisoned glass whisky glass that killed Mr.
Shields.
And given that you left the event without having a drink, there would be no way that your fingermarks would be found on that glass.
Correct? Not a match, then? As I said, I never touched a glass.
Toodle-oo.
(BRACKENREID): George Crabtree Senior, just the man I wanted to see.
- Inspector.
What's this? - A cheque.
I would like to become one of your investors.
Aha! Tom, you won't regret it.
The City of Tomorrow will be the greatest success in Toronto's history.
Inspector, is Mrs.
Brackenreid aware of this? I should bloody well hope not, Crabtree, and that's just as it should be.
I know a good investment when I see one.
Speaking of which What's all this? I happen to be in charge of the widows and orphans fund.
We've been looking for something a little better - than those miserly post office bonds.
- Take these back.
Take them right now.
I have an idea.
- (APPLAUSE) - Ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you all for returning after the tragic event of the other night.
The "City of Tomorrow" will bow to no impediment.
I hope you've all had a chance to review the details of the proposal and that you've arrived with empty stomachs - and open chequebooks.
- (LAUGHTER) - Investors in this project - Thank you.
will be joining one of Toronto's finest Inspector Thomas Brackenreid.
- (APPLAUSE) - (CHUCKLES) I shall be investing for myself and also on behalf of the constabulary's widows and orphans fund.
Toronto is ready for Tomorrow! (APPLAUSE) - (DETONATION) - (GLASS SHATTERING) (CROWD EXCLAIMING) Nobody move! Everyone stay down.
- Are you sure you're all right? - I'm fine, I'm fine.
Would you look at that Good lord.
I think somebody is trying to kill you.
I ran towards the gunman but he was gone.
No telling which way he went.
The boys have scoured the area.
But no one saw anyone with a gun.
The bullet came from outside, so none of the investors present could have done it.
Sir, do you think the poisoning was also meant for my father? I don't know.
My suspect, Dr.
Prescott, was released about an hour prior to the shooting.
Now, his fingermarks were not on the poisoned glass, but that itself does not exonerate him.
But why would a doctor want to kill him? I have no idea.
And that still doesn't explain why Mr.
Shields snuck into an event dressed as a waiter.
Follow the money, Murdoch.
Speaking of which, I need to speak to Crabtree Senior about writing a new cheque.
The inspector is right.
We need to find out what we can about Mr.
Shields' past financial and otherwise.
Have a couple of constables go around to his house and see if they can dig up any financial records.
And please let his wife know - I wish to speak with her.
- Right.
Henry.
I have something else I'd you to look into.
Dr.
Prescott mentioned a music hall development in Cleveland.
See what you can find out about it.
And if there's any connection to George Crabtree Sr.
- Yes, sir.
- And Henry, it's probably best we not mention it to - Of course, sir.
- Thank you.
Jacob Prescott Yes, I remember him.
A friend of my husband's.
I haven't seen him in some years.
Was that because of the grudge? I'm not aware of any grudge.
He was arrested three years ago for assaulting your husband.
Assaulting Stephen? I I had no idea.
Did your husband have any other enemies? People who disliked him? I don't believe so.
We have lovely friends, I can give you their names.
Did he ever mention a George Crabtree? No.
Not that I recall.
Are you aware of any contentious business dealings? I know nothing of my husband's business.
Except that evidently there hadn't been any in quite some time.
Now I have to sell the house and everything in it I'm very sorry, Ms.
Shields.
Someone is trying to kill him.
Isn't he worried? - He doesn't seem to be.
- You were standing right beside him, George.
You could have been shot! Is it safe to be around him? Effie! These things can't be helped.
I find it's best you just put it from your mind.
Ah, there you are.
- I've just solved your problem.
- What problem? People not being able to read your book.
I've just purchased a publishing house.
- What? - Well, not quite yet.
There.
Now I've purchased a publishing house.
Congratulations, Mr.
Crabtree.
Mr.
Crabtree Senior.
And don't you forget it.
Sit, sit.
You've you've - You've bought an entire publishing house? - Exciting, isn't it? We'll run 5,000 copies.
For a start.
Are you quite mad? George's book can't sell 5,000 copies.
I thought you said it was gonna be a sensation.
It might sell 5,000 copies in time, but that will take critical acclaim, word of mouth.
It's not some pap that will fly off the newsstands.
To that I say, ma'am, pshaw.
It's one of my favourite words.
Very satisfying to say.
Try it.
Huh Pshaw.
Oh, that is very good.
Pshaw! Pshaw! I have sufficient capital.
There's money coming in for the waterfront development which won't be needed for at least a year.
- The money belongs to the investors? - They've invested it.
I should put it to some use.
Now, have you any ideas for the cover? You know, I have.
- Have you read it? - I've started it (EFFIE): Didn't you hear what your father was saying? Yes.
Of course I heard.
He's borrowed from the waterfront project to buy that publishing house.
My father has made fortunes for hundreds of men.
- If he believes in this investment, why shouldn't we? - It's risky.
- So, you don't think my book will sell? - It doesn't matter what I think.
If he is investing in something new, he should consult the people who put in the money.
Yes, but they trust him.
I mean, - that's why they give him their money in the first place.
- It's inappropriate.
- It's reckless.
- Reckless.
You know what, this is the difference between you and a Crabtree.
How can you achieve the best if all you see is the worst? George! There was almost nothing at all in the victim's files.
Just a few old investment records.
Nothing about a music hall? No, sir.
But I telephoned a library in Cleveland and had them look for articles from the time.
I have a transcription.
I can barely Why did you write so small? I was trying to save space.
I expected it to be longer.
"A music hall featuring all of the greatest musicians ever known, on permanent " - "Display.
" - "Display.
" The librarian remembered it, sir.
She said it was to be the height of technology.
Recorded music and all that.
A music hall of the future.
- But it never came to be.
- No.
Apparently the developer funneled the investments into other projects.
There was nothing left in the accounts when it came time to break ground.
Everyone lost their money.
Did they say who the developer was? Yes, sir.
George, perhaps you could It was George Crabtree, wasn't it? I'm sorry, George.
A crook I should have known.
We don't know the whole story yet.
His investors lost some money.
- That doesn't make him a criminal.
- Only a fraud then.
What exactly did he tell you? He told me he'd be here.
Perhaps he's afraid of what you'll say.
I didn't tell him what it was about.
- He may have inferred from your tone.
- Yes, infer he should have.
The man is a crook, a liar.
He's no better than a confidence trickster.
And now he's trying to pull one over on his own son.
He may simply be a man who's made some mistakes.
No, no, no.
Effie, you were right.
You were right in the first place.
He's either a fool or a fraud.
I should have known better.
You saw the victim arguing with the moustached man, Prescott.
Where was this? Here.
And you also saw the victim delivering a drink to George Crabtree Sr.
Was this before or after this argument? Moments afterward.
He placed the drink on his tray and proceeded to deliver it.
So George Crabtree Sr.
was standing here.
Only a few feet away from this argument.
Correct.
The argument delayed delivery of the drink.
Mr.
Crabtree chided his friend for this tardiness.
- His friend? - He said, jokingly, that he'd be angry with him for taking so long if they weren't such good friends.
And yet George Crabtree Sr.
claimed to have never met the man Prescott was not there to kill the waiter.
They were working together.
They wanted Mr.
Crabtree dead, but something went wrong.
One of them got cold feet.
They argued.
And George Crabtree Sr.
overheard.
He knew Shields and figured out what they were up to.
Just give him the drink.
- What took you so long? - Busy night.
Oh, Russ! To your health.
I noticed something else, Detective.
Something that may be relevant given this context.
- Oh? - That night, Mr.
Crabtree was carrying his drink in his hand.
But he never took a sip.
He knew it had been poisoned.
Instead of disposing of it, he waited for his opportunity to convince Shields to drink it himself.
- That's not necessary.
- I insist.
Thank you so much.
Two men set out to kill George Crabtree that night.
Instead, he killed one of them.
Dastardly.
What are we waiting for, Murdoch? Let's arrest him.
We do have enough for an arrest, sir, but the case is circumstantial.
It does account for all of the known events, but that doesn't prove it's true.
No one will want to invest in his future bloody city now.
He's likely ruined the widows and orphans fund.
Bugger deserves to rot.
There is one thing that could strengthen our case.
There is second set of unidentified fingermarks on the poisoned glass.
If I could obtain a set of George Crabtree Senior's fingermarks then perhaps I may be able to help you with that, Murdoch.
Right then.
I'll arrest him myself.
Sir, should we tell George first? We'll tell Crabtree once his father is behind bars.
Oy! Open up! (KNOCKING) Right! We're coming in.
Bloody hell.
Get up.
You're a bloody embarrassment.
What's wrong with him? You think he's drunk? I'm not drunk, man.
- George Crabtree, you are under arrest.
- Fine, fine.
The jig is up.
Take me away.
So my father killed the man.
He asked us to arrest him.
We haven't yet heard his confession.
I'm going to speak with him now.
I'd like to come with you.
- I'm not sure that's a good idea.
- Sir, I deserve I deserve to at least hear what he has to say.
You saw Shields and Prescott conspiring to poison your drink.
Your fingermarks on the glass confirm that you were the intended recipient.
But you turned the tables on them.
You knew Shields was a drinker.
It wouldn't be difficult to convince him to take a drink.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
But you lied to us about knowing Mr.
Shields.
A witness confirms that you regarded him as an old friend.
It's true, I am a liar.
But I wasn't lying to you.
The man seemed to remember me from somewhere so I pretended I remembered too.
You lost him his fortune.
- The music hall in Cleveland.
- I lost a lot of people money in Cleveland.
And everywhere.
The investors here are already alarmed.
It's falling apart and it's all my fault.
Is that why you chose to kill Mr.
Shields instead of simply disposing of the poisoned drink? To keep him from revealing your past failures? No I didn't kill him! George, you've got to believe me.
I didn't do it.
Why should I believe you? You're a liar.
You've just said so.
You greet somebody as a friend then you say you don't remember them, all the while boasting: "Oh, I never forget a face.
" I don't remember him.
I ruined his life and I can't even remember him This is This is an act.
This is something to to to gain a little sympathy.
It's shameful.
What is wrong with that man? I mean, who could be that callous? What kind of person could take people's money, kills a man and then shows no remorse.
Just that that charade.
I'm not certain that's what's going on.
Sir, I am certain of it.
I realize I've only known my father a few days, but I feel I know him and that that is a completely different person.
A man just doesn't flip from good to bad like that, Murdoch.
Sir, I recall Julia telling me about a condition that she observed in one of her patients.
An ailment in which the subject would cycle back and forth between elated mania and profound depression.
Are you saying that's what makes Crabtree Sr.
like this? It's a possibility.
Even so, say he isn't pretending, say he genuinely does become down every now and then.
He's still a fraud.
He still ruined people's lives and he killed a man because of it.
Why are you acting this way? What kind of game is this? It's no game, son.
I've always been this way.
Ups and downs my whole life.
I feel good for a time and then it comes.
There's never any reason.
It just comes.
And that's what happened in Cleveland? In Cleveland.
Then all over.
And it's happening here now.
I've borrowed money plenty of times.
Sometimes it's just fine.
Sometimes I get down.
And everything falls apart.
The detective believes it could be a condition, an illness.
If that's the case than perhaps something could be done.
I'm broken.
I was born broken.
You're lucky I was never around.
- Don't say that - I abandoned you.
I didn't know I was doing it, but I did.
Look, did you kill that man? No.
And I didn't lie.
I've made many men rich and many men poor.
And I remember every single one.
Except this waiter.
I don't know how I could forget.
He was from Cleveland? From Toronto, but he invested with you in Cleveland.
- What was his name again? - Stephen Shields.
Shields Shields I never did meet him.
You must have.
He must have written you a cheque or something.
Yes but I only dealt with his wife.
- His wife? - Yes.
She liked the music hall, she asked the questions.
She told him what to do.
He only signed the cheque.
The poor woman.
I ruined her.
And now she's all alone.
Sir, it was Shields' wife.
She knew all about the investment, she knew her husband had lost all their money.
In fact, he hadn't lost it, she had.
So she's lying to us.
About everything.
Sir, I know that he's my father, I know it's impossible to remain impartial, but I don't think he killed Mr.
Shields.
Well, it makes sense for her to attempt to shoot your father.
But, why would she arrange to poison her own husband? Sir, I'm not sure.
But think about it The poisoned glass was certainly the one Shields gave to my father.
His fingermarks were on it.
And we can infer he knew the glass was poisoned because he carried it around all night without taking a sip.
But sir, that's just it.
My father always has a glass in his hand.
I've never seen him take a sip.
It's all for show.
I asked him if he recalled when and where he put down his full glass.
He said it was when he found Shields at the bar to give the man a tip.
- Someone else switched the glasses.
- But who? I mean, our man with the moustache was already gone.
Perhaps our new co-conspirator can help shed some light.
- What is all this? - You lied to us, Ms.
Shields.
- I did no such thing.
- We know you did.
And we'll be able to prove that you did much more.
Murdoch.
This is nonsense.
- That's my husband's gun.
- Yes.
And I am confident it will be a match for the bullet that nearly killed George Crabtree Senior.
A match? Each gun barrel leaves a unique set of markings on every bullet.
We will prove that you fired at him.
He lost you everything.
He ruined our lives.
We could barely keep up appearances.
People knew.
He cleaned me out, as well.
But I didn't go firing a rifle - into a crowded room.
- My aim is true.
- Not true enough.
- You're under arrest, Ms.
Shields.
We were left with nothing.
And what happened to him? He found more people, more money, not a care in the world.
Fine.
Take me away if you must.
Anything would be better than keeping up this charade.
I only regret we didn't get the bastard.
- Watch your mouth, ma'am.
- What of Dr.
Prescott? Was he part of your conspiracy? - Did he turn on your husband? - No.
He knew nothing about it.
Where did you obtain the poison? I read about it and stole some from my doctor's office.
Then who did kill your husband ? Stephen was an idiot.
An idiot and a drunk.
It was probably an accident.
I always told him he'd drink himself to death.
Idiot.
Let us just rip up the contract and pretend it never happened.
But it did happen.
I wanted it to happen.
You don't have to do this, George.
What about your book? I would like my book to be published on its own merit.
What if I were to offer you 3% of the purchase price as a penalty? It's all the money I have.
I'm not interested.
A deal's a deal and that's that.
Are you familiar with cyclothymia? - Excuse me? - Don't worry, you'll hear all about it in court.
All that matters is that George Crabtree is a man of diminished capacity.
- Say what? - In the eyes of the law, he was not of sound mind to enter into a legally binding contract.
We can test it out in the court if you'd like.
The option is yours.
All right.
- I'll take the three percent.
- I think not.
The offer is zero percent.
But you'll save more than that in legal fees.
Fine.
Rip it up.
Only thing worse than a lawyer is a woman lawyer.
Miss Newsome I may have my troubles in life, but even at my worst I am not of "diminished capacity" Oh hush.
The only people who need to know that are myself and two George Crabtrees.
- Impressive gambit, Effie.
- Indeed.
You are one sly fox, aren't you? Only trying to help a good man.
Maybe you'd consider working for me one day, Miss Newsome.
I could use a woman like you.
And a man like you, George.
In fact Come with me, both of you.
- Where are you going? - Montreal.
I have an idea for a giant stadium in Maisonneuve that can be seen from anywhere in the city.
With you two looking out for me, we're sure to succeed.
But we both have lives here in Toronto.
Of course you do.
I understand.
No matter.
It's been a pleasure getting to know you, George Crabtree.
Next time, let's not wait so long before we see one another again.
Indeed.
(CHUCKLES) It really is a shame your fine vision of Toronto's waterfront won't come to pass, Mr.
Crabtree.
It will one day.
It's too good an idea not to happen.
And you two Terribly terrific.
(LAUGHING)