I must congratulate your wife.
Not every woman can wear that jewel
and remain untouched by its curse.
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote
It must be pretty tough
being replaced as daddy's little Princess.
Somebody help me, please!
How could this happen?
I suspect the police will want to know the same thing.
You're sure there was no one else in the room
when you broke in?
No one human.
This is my ruby, curse or no curse.
[screams]
Oh, my god.
[cheerful orchestral music]
[grunts]
[screams]
Get up! Get up!
[screaming]
[breathing heavily]
Okay. Now you can open your eyes.
[gasps] Richard!
Surprised?
It's beautiful.
[chuckles] Not half as beautiful
as the woman wearing it.
But it'll catch an eye or two at the party.
You want me to wear it tonight?
-Of course. -Oh, Richard.
All your friends will take one look at it
and think I married you for your money.
Besides, this puts the gift I'm giving you to shame.
Nonsense.
I mean, it's all very exciting,
being swept off my feet
and honeymooning all over Europe,
but darling, I married you for you,
not for parties and jewels.
Those things are... well, they're a bit overwhelming.
Poor Alice.
You'll get used to it.
As Mrs. Richard Hazlitt, you'll have to.
And you do want to do me proud, don't you?
Of course I do.
Then wear that ruby.
[knocks]
Yes?
Well, where did you two have breakfast?
Tiffany's?
Isn't it lovely?
Your father bought it as a surprise.
Oh, really?
Well, considering everything else he's bought,
it doesn't surprise me at all.
But then, he's always been very generous.
Haven't you, daddy?
To a fault, in some cases.
Oh, come now, daddy.
What's the point of having money if you don't spend it?
Besides, all I want's a measly thou.
You can call it an advance on my inheritance.
[sighs] Carolyn, honey,
these advances are becoming an all-out major assault.
I don't print the stuff, and I don't grow it out back.
-I work hard for my money. -I work hard for my money.
I know.
Then you should start spending it accordingly.
Carolyn...
you have to learn you can't buy everything you want.
Why not?
You have.
That's a chip off the old block.
Hey, sis, what's the rush?
Afraid some trendy new fashion will start without you?
Funny, Mark. I really need your caustic wit.
Uh-oh. Trouble at the bank?
Nothing getting rid of the new assistant manager
wouldn't solve.
Yeah, well, Alice doesn't exactly
top my christmas list either.
Aw, it must be pretty tough being replaced
as daddy's little Princess.
Not as tough as being replaced by the new heir apparent.
What are you talking about?
Oh, come on.
Daddy's old, not dead.
If he and Alice have a son,
who do you think she'll see inherits the business, hmm?
-Never happen. -Oh, no?
And how do you propose to stop it?
Seth Hazlitt, you are a monument to mulishness.
You can say what you like, woman, you usually do,
but I'm not going, and that's that.
Oh, but it's so close. It's in Maryland.
I have not spoken to my brother in over 30 years.
I see no reason to start now.
Besides, we have to get back to Cabot Cove.
You've got to see that real estate agent
about your vacant lot
before he runs off to that family reunion of his
up in Moscow, Idaho.
Yes, but there's plenty of time for that.
Now, look, we came here to confer with our congressman.
We've done that.
I'd like to get the next plane home.
You understand?
Even when your brother holds out an olive branch?
Being invited to some polo match
doesn't mean that Richard wants to square things.
But why else would he send you an invitation?
Honestly, Seth, he's your only family.
Now, whatever's gone on between you,
doesn't he at least deserve the chance
to set things straight?
All right.
I'll go.
On one condition.
That you go with me.
Oh, no.
This was your idea.
If you don't go, I don't go.
Simple as that.
Oh, all right.
[cheers and applause]
Yeah! Yeah. Come on!
-Beautiful, Mark! -Yes!
Watch what you're doing! Don't let him in there!
You idiot.
[horse whinnies]
That was so close, Mark.
That was a pretty stupid move.
That's the third match in a row you've lost, son.
Why the hell don't you get off my back, dad?
Why the hell don't you learn to play the game?
And there's someone who could teach you.
Vikram! Vikram Singh!
Great match!
Oh, dear, I think we've missed the entire match.
Well, so much for that driver's shortcuts.
Well, look on the bright side.
Maybe the maid I spoke to
forgot to tell him we were coming, anyway.
Excuse me. Dr. Hazlitt?
Carolyn?
Well, of course. How nice to meet you at last.
It's Alice, Alice Hazlitt. Richard's wife.
And I'm delighted you were able to come.
This is my father, Bert Davies.
-Oh, happy to meet you, Doc. -How do you do, Sir?
-This must be the missus. -No.
No, no. I'm Jessica Fletcher.
She's a friend of mine from down east.
Seth?
Richard.
Congratulations. You have a...
lovely wife.
How did you know I'd remarried?
Well, your invitation made it fairly obvious.
My invitation?
You did send me an invitation to be here?
Actually, I'm the one who sent it.
You?
Well, when I learned that you two
had been on the outs for years,
I thought it might give you a chance
to try and patch things up.
That's my Alice. Always trying to mend fences.
Well, heaven knows, we can all stand a few more of those.
Now, I insist that you come to the party.
You and Mrs. Fletcher can stay over.
No, that's impossible.
I'll have your luggage sent from the hotel.
There's plenty of room. Right, Richard?
Of course. There's plenty of room.
Good. Now, see, that wasn't so hard.
And we'd adore having you, wouldn't we, darling?
Apparently so.
[light jazz music]
[laughs]
Oh, I'm sorry.
-Uh, did you-- -No. That's all right.
Plenty more where they came from.
[chuckles]
Oh, Mr. Davies. I'm sure you know Mr. Singh.
-Indeed, I do. -A pleasure to see you again.
Likewise, I'm sure.
Him being with the indian embassy,
I was telling him how much I enjoyed that picture,
Gunga Din.
Oh, Uncle Seth.
Having fun at daddy's little soirée?
Don't be absurd, Carolyn. No one has fun.
One simply survives from one drink to the next.
I was just saying to Mr. Singh,
I was so sorry that we missed the whole polo match.
Believe me, Mrs. Fletcher, you didn't miss a thing.
Oh, I disagree.
Before your fall, you'd managed to score three goals.
A most impressive accomplishment.
Cigarette?
Oh, don't mind if I do.
Ah, turkish, huh? Thanks.
Why not?
God knows I've smoked everything else.
These are quite strong, really.
[coughs]
Mark, you think you'll ever find the strength
to give those up?
Look at Alice.
She stopped the day we got married.
Just like that.
Well, not quite just like that.
The Eye of the Daanav.
Mr. Hazlitt, I must congratulate your wife.
Not every woman can wear that jewel
and remain untouched by its curse.
Curse?
That ruby is the all-seeing eye
of a powerful indian demon we call "the Daanav."
A golden-hooded cobra who commands everything
that is dark and evil in this world.
Angered by its theft more than a century ago,
the Daanav laid a curse upon the stone
to Rob the breath of life itself
from one who's heart is less than pure,
killing them most horribly.
Ah, you don't believe that rot, do you?
[chuckles] Well, I imagine we all find beliefs
that we don't share a little baffling.
Yes, well, this one has "scare tactic"
written all over it.
Seems you're wearing a national treasure, my dear.
Or damn near to it.
Mr. Singh's already offered me twice what I paid for it.
Considering the delicate nature of this matter,
I think my government would prefer it
if our discussions remained private.
Well, you tell them from me
there aren't gonna be any more discussions.
This is my ruby.
I intend to keep it, curse or no curse.
Alice.
So many people to meet.
And I've yet to give you your gift.
You wait in the study, and I'll go and get it for you.
Excuse us.
[upbeat jazz music]
[engine running]
[coughing]
Help! Can anybody hear me?
I can't get out!
Somebody help me, please!
[continues]
[chattering]
[man laughing]
[woman laughing]
[man laughing]
Well, anyways, I think I'd lost it
when I remember I left it out in the car this afternoon.
[chuckles] That's funny.
This door's never locked.
Something wrong?
My keys. I must have left 'em upstairs.
What's this?
Oh. What do you know?
[engine running] Listen. What's that?
Like one of the cars was left running.
[both coughing]
Dear God. Alice!
Alice! Alice!
Oh, my God! What is it?
Alice!
Well, it's a lovely party, Richard,
but where's our hostess?
That's a good question.
She disappeared about 15 minutes ago
to get that surprise present for me.
Haven't seen her since.
Somebody, quick, call an ambulance!
-Alice? -What happened?
Carbon monoxide. The garage is full of it!
[coughs]
Richard, call the paramedics.
We'll get her into the study.
God's truth, Mrs. Fletcher,
if I hadn't nipped out to get my pipe, she'd be a goner.
As it is--
Well, believe me, Mr. Davies,
Alice couldn't be in better hands.
Excuse me. The paramedics are on their way.
It's all right, Richard.
She's coming around.
My god.
How could this happen?
I suspect the police will want to know the same thing.
The police? What do we need with them?
My daughter was nearly murdered!
What?
Well, apparently they found her
locked in the garage, and she couldn't get out.
That's ridiculous.
Must have been some sort of accident.
Accident?
I sure as hell intend to find out who caused it.
Now, do you call them or do I?
Are you sure that you shouldn't go to the hospital?
No, really, I'll be fine.
At least for now.
Alice, what happened out there?
I wish I knew.
Oh, excuse me. Lieutenant Ames?
Oh, that's right.
You a member of the family?
Uh, well, I'm Jessica Fletcher.
I'm a friend of a member of the family.
A very concerned friend.
Well, and the way things look, you should be.
Oh?
Well, working the Washington burbs,
you see a lot of this sort of thing,
and believe me, Mrs. Hazlitt would not be the first to crack
under the pressure of life at the top.
Are you suggesting that this is a suicide attempt?
But she was only gone from the party for 15 minutes.
So?
Well, uh, I'm not exactly an expert,
but, uh, I've certainly never heard of a would-be suicide
turning on an engine and then going off to a party
to wait for the garage to fill up with gas.
Which must be what happened here
because it had to have taken longer than 15 minutes.
Who did you say you are?
Jessica Fletcher.
I was out from Washington for the day with--
You're from Washington?
Well, no.
Actually, I was there for a meeting with Congressman Hale.
Everett Hale?
The head of the house committee on, uh, secret intelligence?
Well, yes, but frankly,
I fail to see what that has got to do with this.
Oh, sure. I get it.
[chuckles]
Pardon me, lieutenant. You get what?
Ma'am, I understand.
It's strictly, uh, "need to know," right?
Well, you need to know the bottom line
before you go ruling out suicide.
Uh, yeah. Excuse me, lieutenant.
Uh, you've lost me.
What are you talking about?
This. The bottom line.
I found it locked in the ignition.
"A" is for Alice.
Yes, of course it's mine, lieutenant.
But I've no idea how it got locked in the car.
I always keep it on a hook near the back door.
-Anyone could have taken it. -I see.
Now, you said the electric door wouldn't work.
-You checked the plug? -Well, no.
I pushed the button a few times,
and when I saw it wasn't working,
I ran back to try and get out the side door.
Yeah? Well, isn't that funny?
The electric door, when I tried it, it worked fine.
Could be that you got a little bit confused.
After all, inhaling that much carbon monoxide...
bound to cause a certain amount of disorientation.
The paramedics said it could have caused far worse than that
if you hadn't been there.
Well, that must be it, lieutenant.
Alice probably got confused by the fumes
and locked the side door herself.
Even so, that still wouldn't explain who started the car.
She's right.
If I hadn't have missed my pipe,
Alice would have been dead.
If I ever get my hands on the joker who pulled that,
their kidding days are over.
You saying that this was an accident?
There's no other possible explanation.
Well, in that case, I'll be going.
You've, uh, got my card.
If there are any more accidents, feel free to call.
You need my help on this, you got it.
OTR or not.
Uh, what?
OTR "on the record" or not.
There you go, love.
Now you sit tight whilst I get an aspirin and a glass of water.
I won't be a tick.
Here.
Let me give you a hand with that.
Thanks.
I keep going over and over it in my mind.
But I know I didn't lock that door myself.
I know it.
Alice, did anyone else know
where you had hidden Richard's present?
Well, Carolyn was the one who suggested the garage
when I asked her for a safe place to put it.
Well, Mark knew as well.
Do you remember?
He drove up just as we was hiding it.
Well, that's right. But surely you don't think...
I mean, I know they've had some trouble accepting me,
but honestly, I'd sooner believe it was the Daanav's curse
than think that one of them was involved.
I got rid of everyone as soon as I could.
Poor darling. Is there anything I can do?
Well, perhaps if you could put this in the safe.
It's not that I'm worried about the curse or anything.
It's just that, well, it would be more secure
locked away, wouldn't it?
Well, what happened to Alice had to be an accident.
It's just luck she wasn't killed.
Luck and your brother.
Well, Seth was pretty impressive.
I didn't realize he had it in him
to be so cool under pressure.
Well, not having spoken in so long,
I imagine there are
a number of impressive things about Seth
that you don't know.
Perhaps I overstay my welcome,
but I wished to express my personal condolences
for your wife's unfortunate mishap.
Thank you. Excuse me.
Mr. Hazlitt,
but for the grace of a God we cannot hope to understand,
your wife could very well be dead.
Now will you trust that the curse of the ruby is true?
Listen, you son of a...
I told you once.
I don't believe in all that garbage.
And now I'm telling you again.
This ruby is not for sale.
Not now or ever.
You understand?
If I find out that you pulled that stunt in the garage
to try to change my mind,
I swear to God,
I'll kill you.
[exhales deeply] Seth.
You scared me to death.
I don't know about you, but I sure could use a drink.
-Join me? -Why not?
[exhales, chuckles]
Scotch, rocks, twist, right?
Right.
Remember that time
when we got bombed on some of dad's best irish whiskey,
tried to join the marines?
The recruiting officer took one look at our faces,
said, "all right, boys, come back when you're sober
and when you're at least 17."
[laughs]
Yes, Sir.
The two of us going off to save the world together.
Together.
What the hell happened?
Molly happened.
Seemed like about a million years ago,
you and me and Molly.
We wanted to tell you, Seth.
We just didn't know how.
So, figurin' actions speak louder than words, you eloped.
We hated running off like that.
But when we got back, you'd already left for Portland.
I guess I could have tried harder to reach you.
But with my business taking off and the kids coming along...
and Molly gettin' sick like that...
and going so fast...
I just never found the words
to say, "I'm sorry."
You're sorry?
Oh, Richard, I'm the one that should apologize.
If I hadn't been too blind to see how Molly felt,
the two of you wouldn't have had to run away
in the first place.
By the time I did realize it,
I suppose I did a little running on my own.
Even after I'd married Ruth, I still couldn't bring myself
to make the first move.
And now Ruth's gone too.
And here we sit.
Two of the biggest fools that ever drew breath.
What do you say we stop wasting it?
To us.
You said it...
brother.
[glasses clink]
Richard?
[knocks at door]
Richard. Richard, are you in there?
[knocks]
Richard. Richard, it's Alice.
Are you in there?
[knocking urgently]
[doorknob rattles]
Richard. Richard.
Richard.
Do you mind? Some of us are trying to sleep.
Alice, is something wrong?
It's Richard, I think he must be hurt or something.
-What? -What's going on?
You people know what time it is?
It's daddy. Something's wrong.
Richard?
Well, I left him there not half an hour ago.
I woke up a few minutes ago and saw he hadn't come to bed.
So I came down to look for him,
thinking he might have nodded off
in his chair or something.
Only, when I tried the study, the door's locked,
and no one answers.
Well, don't you have a key to the door?
Well, that's just it. There is no key.
The lock's one of those old-fashioned hinge types
that can only be latched from the inside.
Richard.
Richard! Open up!
Here, I'll do it. Stand back.
[latch cracks]
[gasps]
Richard!
He's dead.
Oh, my God.
The ruby. It's gone.
Sorry, Sir.
Seth.
I finally patched things up with Richard in there,
just a little while ago.
Oh, Seth, I had no idea.
Years of petty grievances fallen away.
We were brothers again.
I need some fresh air.
Well, what about some sort of secret door or panel?
Trust me, lieutenant.
The only way in or out of that room
is through the door or windows,
all of which were locked from inside.
You're sure there was no one else in the room
when you broke in?
No one human.
The ruby was supposed to be cursed,
at least according to Vikram Singh.
What was that name?
Vikram Singh.
He's the cultural attache
at his country's embassy in Washington.
Check on this Singh.
See if he was involved in those muslim protest demonstrations
a couple of weeks ago.
Uh, forgive me, lieutenant,
but Mr. Singh mentioned that he had attended
the festival of diwali last year,
which, if I remember correctly, would make him a hindu,
not a muslim.
Excuse me, lieutenant.
We're just about to wrap it up.
Fine. Thanks.
Why don't you wrap it up, lieutenant?
Let my daughter get some rest.
If you had done a proper job in the first place,
maybe this wouldn't have happened.
-Look, Mr. Davies-- -Well, it is rather late.
And perhaps we could continue this tomorrow.
Oh, right. Good point.
Let's call it a night, folks.
Mrs. Fletcher, just between the two of us,
which one are you with?
I beg your pardon?
Well, I first suspected after our talk in the garage,
but that bit about muslims and hindus, dead giveaway.
So which is it? FBI, CIA, NSC?
Lieutenant Ames, I don't know who or what you think I am,
but I assure you, I'm simply a mystery writer
from Cabot Cove, Maine.
Cabot Cove. Nice touch.
Has a real ring of truth about it.
Well, possibly because it is the truth.
-Oh, right. -Honestly!
No, I get it.
When you want me to know, you'll tell me.
I can deal with that.
Morning, Mrs. Fletcher.
Oh, good morning, lieutenant.
Uncover anything yet?
Lieutenant, I told you last night.
I am not a government agent. I'm a writer.
You bet. So what have you got?
Well, unfortunately, nothing.
From what I can tell,
the windows haven't been tampered with,
and there are no footprints, except our own, of course.
It looks as if whoever was the murderer wants us
to believe in that curse.
Oh, I get it. Disinformation tactics.
I don't care if he's arguing a case before the supreme court.
I want a copy of my father's will
delivered today, understand?
Or he can kiss our fat retainer's fee good-bye.
[phone slams]
Lawyers. Can't live with them.
Can't die without them.
So it seems.
In a pretty big rush to see the will, aren't you?
Considering your father's hardly cold.
Lieutenant, my father was never anything but cold.
And selfish and vindictive and--
That's a lie!
You're hardly in a position to judge, Uncle Seth,
considering you hated him so much
you didn't speak to him for 30 years,
until yesterday.
-Is that true? -It is.
Mind telling me all about it?
I sure as hell do.
Seth, may I come in?
Suit yourself.
If you're planning to leave with me, though,
you'd better get packed.
Leaving?
There's no law that compels me to stay here
and be accused by innuendos.
If they think I killed my brother Richard,
they should arrest me.
Don't tempt me.
Fact is, we're running a check on some prints we found
on some whiskey glasses last night.
Oh?
Perhaps I can help you.
One of those sets of prints is mine.
Richard and I stayed up last night, talking over a drink.
Talking?
Two guys who hadn't spoken since Ike was in office?
What were you, making up for lost time?
Yes. Yes, you might say that.
More important, can anybody else say that?
If you're asking whether I have a witness or not,
the answer is no.
Seth, what time did you and Richard talk?
Oh, I don't know.
Must have been for a couple hours.
Probably between 10:00 and midnight.
Seeing the coroner estimated the time of death
between 12:00 and 12:30,
that makes you the last person to see him alive.
Except the murderer.
You expect me to buy this phony reconciliation story?
Lieutenant, believe me,
you have it on the highest authority.
Highest authority?
[sighs] Does that mean, uh...
what is it you're telling me...
in other words, uh...
excuse us a moment.
Are you telling me Dr. Hazlitt is one of us?
Lieutenant, I told you. There is no "us."
Sure. You bet.
So where do we go from here?
Houdini himself couldn't have gotten out of those windows.
Well, unless I'm very much mistaken,
Richard's killer didn't either.
Here. Look at this.
-Feels a little like tar. -Mm-hmm.
I think that it is tar... of a sort.
I also think I know exactly
how the locked room was accomplished.
You do?
Whoever killed Richard lit a cigarette
and placed it here, in the latch,
then closed the door very quietly.
When the cigarette burned,
leaving the tar residue that you felt,
it simply allowed the latch to fall into place.
You feds really know your stuff.
[chuckles]
But who'd have gone through all this trouble for that ruby?
It was certainly no secret, lieutenant.
The Eye of the Daanav had been presumed lost forever.
But when we suddenly learned it had been bought by Mr. Hazlitt
through a British collector two weeks ago,
I was immediately ordered to try to purchase it
on behalf of the indian people.
The stone must mean a great deal to your country
for you to have offered Richard twice what he paid for it.
When it comes to the Eye of the Daanav, Mrs. Fletcher,
no price is considered too high.
Including murder?
Are you suggesting I killed Mr. Hazlitt?
You make as good a suspect as any.
On the contrary, lieutenant.
I tried to save his life by offering to buy the ruby
and rid him of the very curse that killed him.
Richard wasn't killed by that curse, Mr. Singh,
but by someone all too human.
If that is your belief,
uh, I see no point in further questions.
Now, this could have international ramifications.
I say we'd better alert Interpol.
Or have you already taken care of that?
I'd advise you not to plan any sudden vacations, Mr. Singh.
Only a man who has something to hide runs away.
Excuse me, Mr. Singh.
Aren't you going to put on your other glove?
Just a minute. Let me see that glove.
[Lieutenant Ames] But I don't get it. We caught him red-handed.
Well, that is precisely what is bothering me,
among other things.
What other things?
Look, Singh tried to murder Mrs. Hazlitt to get the ruby.
And when that didn't work out, he came back after,
uh, the Doc and his brother had their talk,
he killed Richard Hazlitt, stole the ruby,
and then rigged it to look like the curse.
Sounds logical to me.
Yes, but don't you see?
If the attack on Alice was related to Richard's murder,
I mean, it's extremely unlikely that Mr. Singh is the killer.
How come?
Because whoever started that car in the garage
had to have known that Alice would be there
to get Richard's present.
Something that Mr. Singh had no way of knowing.
What about finding the ruby in Singh's glove?
Well, frankly,
I doubt that an intelligent man like Mr. Singh
would have deliberately hidden the ruby in the glove
and then put it on in front of us.
No, I suspect that Mr. Singh's only crime
was indulging a moment of weakness
when he found the ruby
and then tried to slip out with it.
Then you're suggesting the real killer
planted the ruby on Singh to frame him.
Well, if Singh didn't murder Richard, who did?
[door opens]
Carolyn Hazlitt.
-Hmm? -She's here.
You told me to tell you when she arrived, lieutenant.
Yeah, send her in.
Yes, Sir.
-Uncle Seth. -Carolyn.
What's going on? Why have I been summoned here?
Wouldn't know.
It's about money, Miss Hazlitt.
32,000 that we know of.
And it could be more.
I'm sorry. I don't--
When the murder hit the papers, so did your face.
Earlier on, we got a call from a Mr., uh, Fred Jenner
from the Delmarva Collection Agency.
Is shopping you vocation, Miss Hazlitt, or just a hobby?
I like nice things, and I can afford them.
Well, you can now.
If you've got somethin' to say, lieutenant,
perhaps you ought to spit it out.
Mr. Jenner has been trying to collect from you
for several months, without much success.
A couple of weeks ago he called your late father,
who told him, quote,
"Carolyn's debts are Carolyn's problem," unquote.
If you think I killed my father for an inheritance,
you're crazy.
32,000?
Why, I could borrow twice that on my jewelry alone.
Oh, no, lieutenant.
If you're looking for a motive,
my stepmother's inheritance
makes mine look like milk and cookie money.
Or didn't you know about that outrageous insurance policy
she made daddy take out during their honeymoon?
Dear Alice will get millions.
[Jessica] Mark, do you know where I could find Alice?
She's probably estimating what she can get
out of the paintings.
Try the living room.
Ah, there you are.
Lieutenant Ames asked me to tell you
that he'll be returning here at 3:00.
Oh? But I heard he'd arrested Mr. Singh.
Well, apparently there have been some complications.
Good, I never really believed Mr. Singh did it.
He seemed so civil.
But dad said finding the ruby in his glove
proved he was guilty.
Do you think I should serve tea?
Oh, I hardly think that's necessary.
Then I'll just go and freshen up.
Excuse me.
Lab report.
The tobacco in the cigarette used to trigger that door latch
was Turkish.
You're not surprised?
I would be surprised if it wasn't Turkish.
You already heard.
Well, your sources are quicker than mine.
Well, it's... it's another obvious finger of suspicion
pointed at Mr. Singh.
I mean, someone could easily
have filched a cigarette unobserved
from the box that he left on the table.
Lieutenant Ames, I understand you wanted to see me.
Will this take long?
Well, that depends on you, Mrs. Hazlitt.
I've been in touch
with your husband's insurance company.
Now, hold one bleeding minute!
Are you saying that my daughter had something to do
with her own husband's murder?
I'm afraid that's why we asked you to be here, Bert.
But Mrs. Fletcher, it's not true.
Course it's not.
Don't you remember? She was nearly killed herself.
What better way to avoid suspicion
than to pretend to be nearly a victim yourself.
-Pretend? -Yes.
My guess is that you started that car yourself,
waited by the door until you heard someone coming,
and then you quickly locked the door
and then pretended to be unconscious when they came in.
-That's insane. -Come off it!
You were there.
You saw how ill she was.
Then why did she refuse to go to the hospital,
unless she had plans that meant she had to be home?
A beautiful girl of modest means
marries a wealthy, older man.
You better believe she has plans.
Plans to murder him the first chance she gets.
And Singh bringing up that curse,
well, that was just the diversion
you were looking for.
No, it's not true, any of it!
Dad, please, make them believe me.
It's no use, Mr. Davies.
When Mrs. Fletcher found the cigarette
used to rig that lock,
that was the cincher.
Now, you claim to have given up smoking,
but I happen to know that you have
a pack of cigarettes stashed in the living room.
I never made that claim.
It's what Richard wanted to believe.
I did try to give it up.
You're barmy!
She smokes english cigarettes, not turkish.
And just how did you know
the cigarette we found was Turkish, Bert?
Lieutenant Ames just received the lab report
only an hour ago.
Well, he... he just said it.
No. I didn't.
Dad?
Now, don't you listen to 'em, love.
They're lying.
I'm afraid not.
You see, after Alice's accident,
I couldn't help thinking how fortuitous it was
that you and Mark had just happened
to come along in time to save her.
But I told you. I went out to get me pipe.
That's what you said, but I'm afraid it isn't true.
You see, when you joined Seth,
I was having a conversation with Mr. Singh.
You were carrying your pipe, which you put in your pocket
in order to shake hands.
Are you saying that I deliberately
tried to kill my own daughter?
No, Bert. You never intended to kill her.
You only wanted to raise the specter of the curse
so that when Richard was found dead
and the ruby missing,
we'd naturally suspect Mr. Singh.
But you found that ruby on Mr. Singh yourself.
Planted there by your father.
How else could he have told you
that it was found in Mr. Singh's glove?
Only five people knew that,
the lieutenant, Seth, me, and Mr. Singh.
And the person who put it there.
It was you, dad?
You left the engine running?
You locked me in the garage with the carbon monoxide?
You nearly killed me.
No, no. No, love.
Don't you see?
[laughs]
I had it planned down to the second.
I had the key in me pocket.
If Mark hadn't have found his,
I would have blown it there and then.
I would have opened the door and got you out.
I swear it.
Well, it was his fault.
I saw the kind of man Richard was.
Cold, possessive.
King of the bloody world.
And now he owned you.
And he could show you off
to make people think more of him.
What kind of a life
could you have with a man like that?
But without him, you'd inherit.
Oh. [chuckles]
We could have been so happy, you and me.
We's going first-class.
Never needin' a by-your-leave from anybody.
[whispering] Would have been grand.
Well, you do see?
You do see, don't you, love?
I was... I was thinking of you.
Come on, woman. Time's wasting.
High-priority assignment?
No, please, I understand.
But I must say that it's been a privilege
to work with someone of your top security clearance.
Now, see here, lieutenant.
For the last time,
I am not some sort of secret government agent.
I'm simply Jessica Fletcher from Cabot Cove, Maine.
Look.
Here is my... my social security card,
my library card, my voter's registration card.
Now do you believe me?
Hey, Jess.
You'd better hurry if you want to meet with that agent
before he goes to Moscow.
Mos...
Best phony ID I've ever seen.
[cheerful orchestral music]