[Jessica] Tonight, on Murder, She Wrote.
Those killer viruses are to blame for what’s happening to Mark.
BRI is involved because you’re a part of some clandestine operation.
The transaction can go forward.
Poison delivery systems being popular
in international circles of intrigue.
He’s an arms dealer and assassin.
Fifteen million dollars is what it’s worth.
Am I in any danger?
No, trust us, doctor.
I’d say the advice may have come a little late.
[woman screaming]
[door opens]
[Mark] Dr. Lamont,
didn’t expect to find you in the vaults at this hour.
This isn’t your shift, is it?
Shifts are of no concern to project supervisors, Mr. Reisner.
I must tell you, I resent being hounded in this way.
There’s no reason to be paranoid, Dr. Lamont.
Just tell me why, for two weeks now,
you avoided a perfectly routine security check.
Five years with the biological institute,
and I’ve never been routinely reviewed before. Why now?
Director of security’s duty
is to familiarize himself with personnel records.
I notice you took a leave of absence
last year for emotional reasons.
Report said depression, anxiety, alcoholism--
I was in the middle of a nasty divorce.
I really think it’s unnecessary of you
to reopen a very painful episode.
I’m doing my job.
Very well.
I’ll make time for you next week.
Shall we say Friday?
[woman speaking over PA system]
[woman over PA] Telephone call for Ellen Wishmyer.
Ellen Wishmyer, please pick up the white courtesy phone.
May I get you something?
I’m meeting someone.
Okay.
But you confirmed a suite.
I’m sorry, Mr. Jaffa, but we just don’t have one available.
-I demand to see the manager. -Of course, sir.
We spend one-third of our lives correcting the mistakes of others.
I’m not sure about the mathematics,
but you have a point there.
The manager has assigned you a suite.
Thank you.
-Yes, ma’am? -Jessica Fletcher.
I believe you have me pre-booked. Room 1209?
[keyboard clacking]
I’m sorry, Mrs. Fletcher, there’s been a mistake.
Room 1209 has just been taken.
Oh, but the accommodation was confirmed
several weeks ago by Karen Reisner,
the Amateur Mystery Writers’ Association?
Oh, J.B. Fletcher!
Well, we’ve got several conventions.
It’s turned us a little upside-down.
But I have an identical suite on the same floor.
Room 1220, excellent city view, two queen-size beds.
Oh, well, actually only one will suffice.
Thank you very much, that’s fine.
[woman over PA] Attention, Amateur Mystery Writers’
Association organizers, please report to the special events...
Problem with my room, nicely solved.
-Have you ordered? -I don’t want anything.
[chuckles] Of course you do.
Your ex-wife’s threatening to leave Atlanta with your children,
your lawyer refuses to take your calls because you still owe him,
your latest woman has severed connections,
and the Hawks failed to cover the spread.
Where are you getting your information?
[waitress] May I get you something?
For my friend here, an Absolut vodka martini,
straight up, very dry, a twist of lime, not lemon.
For me, very strong tea.
Yes, sir.
Something the matter, doctor?
I have my part of the bargain here. Where’s yours?
I wasn’t able--
[sighs] The new security chief has suddenly become dangerous.
Mark Reisner, yes?
Highly regarded former director of security at Manhattan University,
and its medical center in New York.
He suspects something.
We have to postpone, he’s got--
We’ve come too far for that.
I suggest you think about your children
currently spending a week with their grandmother in Marietta.
What do my children have to do with it?
Everything.
Or nothing.
[Jaffa] You’ll have access to the maximum containment level
again tomorrow.
-We’ll meet at the usual place... -[Lamont] Yes, but I...
...an hour before your shift.
You will assure me then that the deal will be closed,
or the consequences will be most unfortunate.
I will give you...
let’s call it a down payment.
$100,000.
We’ll meet again two hours later,
at which point you will have the virus,
and the balance will be yours,
two million dollars.
You wanted a new life, you shall have it.
[Lamont] But Reisner--
[Jaffa] Mr. Reisner is new, impressionable,
and will turn to a higher authority at the least provocation.
Now, this is how I’d like you to proceed.
[Mark] I really flipped over your last inspector Dyson book, Jessica.
I’ve read them all. It was the best one so far.
Well, thank you, Mark.
Now I’m all worried about those page-one contest entries
I left for you at the front desk.
Don’t worry, Karen. They’ll turn up somewhere.
We start with a cocktail hour,
followed by dinner and dancing and then some club business.
As Amateur Mystery Writer president,
I give the celebrity guest introductory, and then, you...
Then I give the prizes. Well, fine.
Oh, but Karen, wait,
it says here that I make a presentation address.
I mean, I barely have time to read the entries,
let alone write a speech.
Honey, these folks are gonna be so excited
to have J.B. Fletcher honoring them with her presence,
you could talk on just about anything.
I remember you making one off-the-cuff
roof-raising speech at Manhattan U.
Yes. But that was on the subject of cost-cutting,
and I knew what I wanted to say.
[phone ringing]
Reisner speaking.
I’ll be right there.
Karen, honey, Jessica, something’s come up. I’m very sorry.
That’s the second time this week, sugar.
Take care of Jessica for us, darling.
Don’t wait up.
[sighs]
Was he always this wired when he ran security at the university?
His responsibilities must be so much greater here, Karen.
I mean, he’s tired, he’s overworked.
It’s like we’ve lost touch with each other.
Don’t misunderstand me, Jessica.
I know as long as he’s in charge,
nothing will ever happen to...
you know, endanger our lives or anything,
but I keep thinking that those killer viruses
that they have locked up over there at BRI
are to blame for what’s happening to Mark.
Excuse me, is there anything for room 1220?
No, I’m very sorry, but I don’t...
It would be in one of those Manila envelopes.
Oh, yes, yes, someone did leave an envelope on the counter.
That was me.
It was sent to your room, Mrs. Fletcher.
Oh, thank you. There, I told you so.
Dr. Lamont, this is Ed Crider, FBI agent-in-charge for Atlanta.
Ed, this is Dr. Lamont.
Doctor, Mark’s told me about your problem.
We appreciate your coming forward.
When did this Jaffa first get in touch with you?
Last month.
Did you have a reason for not reporting to Mark right away?
I thought Jaffa was some kind of nut.
I never really expected to hear from him again.
All right, well, we’d like you to... keep your appointment
with him tomorrow down at 4th and Lucas.
I contacted Washington as soon as Mark called me.
We’ll have a rundown on this Jaffa pretty quick.
Am I in any danger?
No, trust us, doctor.
Poor guy doesn’t know what hit him.
Stranger offers him a proposition like that,
enough money to solve all life’s problems
for several milligrams of stuff
that could kill every human East of the Mississippi.
What’s your read on him?
Use your own judgment.
I’ll get you his psychological profile
and work record first thing tomorrow.
No, you’d better make that tonight, buddy.
I’ll make sure you get a copy of the report.
Whoa, whoa. If that means I’m out of the loop, no way.
I’ve already told the director about this.
What are you talking about? I asked you not to do that.
My orders are to stay as close to the operation as possible.
If that doesn’t suit you or anybody else, you can forget the whole thing.
Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot!
[phone rings]
This is Jessica Fletcher.
-[Ted] Jessica, it’s Ted. -Oh, hello, Ted.
-Is everything okay? -Yes, everything’s fine.
How about a TV interview?
Another television interview?
-It’s a good opportunity... -Well...
look, all right, if I have the time, I’ll call him.
I’ll let him know.
Well, no promises.
-See you then. -Right.
Slave driver.
Oh, for heaven’s sakes!
[phone rings]
Michelle, just take care of it.
Mr. Crider, we’ve planted an eye in the hallway
and one in Jaffa’s room.
-Great. So let me see him. -Give me 15 minutes, will you?
What are you doing to me? I need him now!
Tell that to the cameras! The little darlings
take their own sweet time getting aligned.
There’s a polarity problem and I don’t have the radios online!
Quinlan.
What are you doing here?
CIAs got no business in a Stateside op.
Get off it, Crider!
You didn’t expect to keep this one all to yourself, did you?
-How’d your people get into it? -Excuse me, you are...
Mark Reisner, director of security at the Biological Research Institute.
Ah, which explains how you people got into it.
Let’s make the best of it, shall we, Crider?
From your standpoint,
maybe this began as a purely local matter,
but you’ll concede there are now international ramifications,
which make it CIA business as well.
Our sources indicate that this man is in Atlanta
to obtain a culture of project 14
for the international arms black market.
[scoffs] Yeah well, whoever he is, he’s too late.
We’re already tracking an arms broker named Raul Jaffa.
Carl Van Ness has never been late for anything.
He’s an arms dealer and an assassin.
He plays to the highest bidder.
And up to now, working behind a shield of total anonymity.
[phone ringing]
Allo. Oui.
Is Mr. Jaffa there, please?
No, I’m sorry.
Could you please leave a message for me?
He’s just coming in.
Who the hell are you?
A delivery, sir.
Would you please just sign right here?
[beeping]
[woman] We are on.
You’d better look at this, sir.
[Mark] My God, what the hell is Jessica doing there?
Who the hell is that? Jessica who?
J.B. Fletcher, she’s a friend of mine from New York.
Clear!
Excuse me, what’s going on here? I’ll call for help.
Well, please do, but I’m afraid it’ll be too late
for this gentleman.
[Ed] I’m the house detective.
One of the guests heard a commotion,
and wondered what was going on in the room.
That’s not gonna work with her. He’s gotta play it straight.
Let’s go.
[Jessica] ...and I’m not sure how he died.
Probably just a routine heart attack.
Poor guy ought to know better.
People rushing around, always under a lot of stress.
You have some relationship with this man?
No, no. Actually, I came here to exchange this for that.
Somehow the envelopes got mixed up.
My room was changed unexpectedly at check-in.
Oh. Oh, may I?
French.
Well, I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of skill with languages, but...
"This is the best obtainable photo of the man
about whom you must be concerned.
At all costs, avoid a confrontation."
I’d say the advice may have come a little late.
I’m not sure I follow you.
Let’s level with each other, Mr...
You can call me Ed, ma’am.
Well, in which case, you can call me Mrs. Fletcher.
You see, Ed, I don’t buy the house detective routine.
Clearly, you noticed the puncture wound on Mr. Jaffa’s neck,
and I suspect you know very well what caused it,
poison delivery systems being popular
in international circles of intrigue.
There’s a distinct possibility, isn’t there?
I mean, this man could have been involved in Mr. Jaffa’s murder.
Honestly, ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I mean, this is something--
Ed, it’s not playing.
What we need now is this lady’s cooperation.
Meaning what you’ve been party to here cannot leave this room.
Mark, what is all this about?
I’m really sorry, Jessica.
We’ve got a task force going here.
It would be best for you, and us,
if you just forgot you were involved in any of it.
Well, I can’t say that I’m comfortable with this,
but if you say so, Mark.
I have lots of first pages to read.
Ed.
Excuse me.
J.B. Fletcher?
-[chuckles] J.B. Fletcher-- -[Mark] She’s not involved.
I’ll take your word on that, for now.
Ed, Dennis, your techies told me you were here.
-You must be Mark Reisner. -Right.
Nathan Mitchell, national security agency.
Shouldn’t you be getting back to BRI by now, Mr. Reisner?
[laughs] As I told agent Crider, either I’m all the way in,
or the institute’s all the way out.
Damn it, Nathan,
the last thing we need mixing up in this now is the NSA.
Well, the oval office doesn’t agree with you.
The Powers that be smell a golden opportunity here, gentlemen.
At the very least,
someone needs to keep the peace between you two.
Assuming it was Van Ness who was in this room to kill Jaffa,
there’s a good bet that he saw this.
Well, looks like Jaffa’s set himself up a meeting
for 1000 hours tomorrow.
We can assume that Van Ness’ll be taking his place.
-If Van Ness shows, we pick him up. -Wrong.
Washington’s game plan is to let the exchange go through.
Lamont gets the money, Van Ness gets project 14.
Oh, that’s insanity!
Project 14 goes out over my dead body, and I--
It won’t be the live virus, Mr. Reisner.
What Mr. Crider will deliver to Dr. Lamont
will be a precise imitation.
They’ll test the damn thing.
Of course. When it reaches its destination
in a hidden laboratory of a country
whose terrorist agenda is well-known to you all.
In the meantime, it will transmit an ultra low frequency signal
monitored by your satellite network.
Finally giving us a fix
on the exact location of that laboratory.
I like it.
In the meantime,
can somebody do something about disposing of the garbage?
[horn honking]
You’re telling me this new player, Van Ness,
is a cold-blooded murderer?
No. No more than Jaffa was.
No, just play him the way you would’ve done with him.
Van Ness gets the idea that we’re onto him, he’s gone.
Him or me, for God’s sake?
If he sees any of your people around,
I’m dead and you know it!
You’re right. That’s why I ordered a hands-off.
There’ll be no surveillance.
All right.
And here are your prize winners, one through five.
Oh. I guess five is a big bunch of winners,
but they’re folks like me, and we need all the puffing up we can get.
Hey. What’s this? You’ve gotta be kidding!
No. You won second prize.
-Get outta here! Me? -You earned it, Karen.
Listen, I’m gonna need
some background on the other winners
for when I make the presentations,
and then, all I have to worry about is my speech.
Jessica, you’re every bit as super as Mark said.
[sighs] There’s no use kidding anybody.
This contest has taken a back seat
to what’s going on with my husband.
I’d feel better if he were just the least bit forthright
about exactly what it is he’s involved with.
I’m sure he shares everything that he can with you.
It’s like he walks out of the apartment in the morning
into a different world, a world that I’m barred from.
I have a funny feeling you know a lot more about this than I do.
Well, maybe I’ve known Mark
a little bit longer than you have.
Oh, got a meeting with the luncheon committee.
Don’t be alarmed, Dr. Lamont.
Mr. Jaffa has been unavoidably detained.
The transaction can go forward as agreed.
Very well.
But I prefer to know with whom I’m doing business.
Does it matter?
Your $100,000 earnest money, doctor.
You’ll have the balance, two million dollars,
when you deliver the live virus to me, here,
precisely two hours from now.
[birds fluttering]
But how do you know it’s possible?
Your whole arrangement with Jaffa was based on the fact
that you had access to project 14 during this time period.
Of course, if you don’t want to deal with me...
I’ll be here.
With the virus.
[whispers] It’s 1022 hours. Transaction went through.
-Van Ness has left. -[thunder rumbling]
[phone dialing]
Lamont’s making a call on his cell phone.
It’s done.
He, uh, demanded, and I agreed.
Van Ness gets his delivery in two hours,
and you pick up yours immediately afterward.
It should go just as we planned.
But I insist something be done immediately about Reisner.
He could cause trouble for us both.
Heads up, Mike. We may have a problem.
[man] The Fletcher woman is following the suspect.
Get Mitchell down there, intercept her.
Oh, excuse me.
[man] Looks like Nathan’s down there.
Nathan Mitchell, national security agency.
Mrs. Fletcher, please.
Mrs. Fletcher, with all due respect
to your talent and your reputation,
I don’t understand whatever would possess you to follow somebody--
To follow a murder suspect?
That really doesn’t deserve an answer, Mr. Mitchell.
I was hoping to provide you with a location.
The man is already under surveillance.
Look, I know it’s not your fault
that you’ve been drawn into this operation,
but you must understand that this is a highly sensitive and---
Are you all right, Mark?
Jessica, I’ll only be a few minutes.
Have you got time for a cup of tea later?
Oh, of course.
Mrs. Fletcher, to be blunt. Now we have ample funds.
What inducement would it take
to get you to leave these premises,
preferably leave Atlanta, tonight?
To get out of your hair?
Well, until I’ve fulfilled my obligations
to the Amateur Mystery Writers’ Association,
no inducement whatsoever.
Now, you’ll have to excuse me,
because I have got a speech to write.
-Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry. Forgive me. -Oh, Mrs. Fletcher.
What do we got?
We ran a routine check on all of the license plates
within a one-mile radius of Lamont’s meeting with Van Ness.
I would like to know why yours turned up,
and what the hell you were doing there.
I’ve made my position clear.
Anything to do with disposition of project 14
is of urgent concern to me.
Mark, as a friend, I gotta warn you,
you’re fooling with an obstruction of justice charge.
Arrest me,
and I’ll go public,
and the whole damn mess will come down around your ears.
[Jessica] Yes, yes. You can help me.
I’m trying to reach lieutenant Bragg.
[man] He’s very busy.
-I know he’s been busy. Yes. -I can take a message.
[Jessica] Well then, would you please tell him
that I’m a friend of Artie Gelber...
[man] Gelber?
Gelber, right, of the New York City police department.
Oh, yes, yes, he will know lieutenant Gelber,
and I need lieutenant Bragg’s help.
It’s quite urgent.
Yes, ma’am.
For an ardent fan, you’re not a very good speller,
whoever you are.
[electronic buzzing]
[knock on door]
Jessica, there’s something I’ve got--
[whispers] Don’t say a word.
There’s only one place that bug could’ve come from.
One of those three lunatics upstairs,
and he’s dangerous as hell.
Mark, I really find that very hard to believe.
Ah, believe it, Jessica.
Look, Mark, you have me at a disadvantage.
I mean, all I know about what’s going on
is that BRI is involved
because you’re part of some clandestine operation.
I was a part of it. I’m out.
I have a hunch someone’s gonna try and make that permanent.
I want you and Karen to get out of Atlanta--
Look, you’re the second person who’s said that to me in the last 30 minutes.
You and Karen may very well be in danger because of me.
Listen, Mark, I’ve had personal papers confused with assassin’s.
I’ve virtually been accused
of seditious meddling by your friends upstairs.
My room’s been bugged.
And now, you want Karen and me to simply pull up stakes?
Now I think it’s time that you let me in
on just what this is all about.
All right. All right, you deserve to know.
Lamont has scheduled the transfer of the phony virus
and the tracking device in less than an hour.
But I can’t hang around. I’m gonna hop a plane to Washington
and try and see the attorney general.
-I’ve got to tell her what I know. -I’ll take care of Karen.
If you don’t hear from me by tonight, get her out of Atlanta.
And no matter what happens, keep all this under your hat.
It could create the worst kind of panic. Thank you.
[woman screaming]
Mark. Oh, Mark!
Sergeant, you finish up here.
What’s Mrs. Fletcher’s room number again?
She’s up in 1220, lieutenant.
Off.
State-of-the-art radio device, no way to trace it.
If the feds did place this, as you suspect,
it’s doubtful there’ll be any prints, but we’ll check.
I’m sure it was planted because Mark Reisner was my friend.
And despite my promise to him,
I think it’s time that I told you what I know.
Mrs. Fletcher, Mark Reisner was head of security at BRI,
and the feds are always interested in what goes on at BRI,
that’s all I want to know right now.
Lieutenant, a dear friend of mine has become a victim of--
Mrs. Fletcher, no question he was a victim,
but off the record,
the chief’s office said hands off, you understand?
It’s gotta go in the books as a robbery.
As far as the record is concerned,
all he had in his pockets was a parking ticket.
Look, if you think of anything else, you can call me direct, okay?
Look, lieutenant, I am not standing still for this kind of--
[knock on door]
[crying]
Karen, I’m so sorry, dear.
[door squeezes open]
[Karen] He tried to put a good face on it,
but I know how terribly worried he was.
I wanted to help,
[sighs] ...but there was nothing I could do.
I mean, with the FBI and all involved, was there?
Of course not, Karen.
I mean, it’s possible that his murder
had nothing to do with all that.
[Karen] What is it?
Well, obviously, Mark didn’t want his people to get a hold of this.
He slipped it into my pocket.
What’s it for?
I don’t know. It looks like a locker key.
But for what locker and where?
Just a minute.
Yeah.
-Lieutenant Bragg. -Yes, lieutenant.
You said that there was a parking ticket in Mark’s pocket.
When and where did he get that ticket?
Just a second.
This morning, for double parking.
Where?
Outside the midtown train terminal.
Thank you, lieutenant.
Where the devil is Lamont?
He left the institute 20 minutes ago.
Crider, where are you?
Yeah, I got him.
He’s still en route, about two blocks to go.
Yeah.
[door clicks shut]
In my country, we say,
good business makes good friends.
I’ll be in touch again.
You won’t find me.
No one will.
You were right about the locker, Jessica.
I found these in it, and this was addressed to you.
Oh.
"Jess, no need to panic.
"Mrs. Parker’s Revenge solved the problem neatly.
Affectionately, Mark."
What does it mean?
Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Parker.
She was a character in one of my inspector Dyson books.
He mentioned them last night, do you remember?
Well, let’s hope he’ll clarify it for us on this tape.
[Lamont] It’s done.
He, uh, demanded and I agreed.
Van Ness gets his delivery in two hours.
And you pick up yours immediately afterward.
It should go just as we planned.
But I insist something be done immediately about Reisner.
[thunder rumbling on recording]
He could cause trouble for us both.
I’m lost, Jessica.
Mark discovered
someone was about to betray the government’s plan.
He said as much to me before he was killed.
If we knew who this Lamont character was calling,
then maybe we’d know who Mark’s murderer was.
If it wasn’t for the thunder, we might’ve made out the touch tone,
and got the number that way.
Mark tried so hard; he knew he was in danger,
and yet he risked his life, for what?
The cell phone.
Mark hasn’t lost yet, Karen.
[Bragg] Lamont’s cell phone won’t be hard to track down, Mrs. Fletcher.
You want to know who he called just after 10:00 this morning.
-It’s a deal. Just do me a favor? -Of course, lieutenant.
The department has enough trouble with the feds on our turf as it is.
If Crider hears I’m messing into his sacred domain...
I understand. I’ll keep it between us, lieutenant.
[Nathan] That’s a confirmation, then?
Great. You’ll let the oval office know? Thanks.
Van Ness is heading for the Middle East.
Your spy satellite is tracking the phony virus loud and clear.
God help Van Ness when they find out what they got for their money.
Yeah, and Lamont’s out running around
with two million dollars earmarked for the US treasury.
How’d you guys manage to lose him anyway?
Hey, don’t you blame us!
You’re the ones who had the equipment that didn’t work.
I didn’t know he had the guts for a double-cross.
Look, shut up, both of you.
All we gotta do is go out there and find him.
My budget is too tight to be screwed out of one-third of two mil.
Look, why don’t we start getting this stuff cleared outta here
before they charge us for another day.
Doing the best we can, sir.
Hey, fellas, how about getting a little drink
before we have to bust this party up, huh?
Yeah.
Mrs. Fletcher, glad I caught you.
I got that information you wanted.
The call your fellow made on his cell phone,
we traced it to a Starbucks coffee house
two blocks from here.
At what time was that?
Like you said, 10:22 this morning.
And the coffee was still hot.
Come again?
Bear with me, lieutenant.
I have a good idea who killed Mark Reisner.
There you go, sir.
You got to. They’re thinking about firing you.
[laughter]
Mrs. Fletcher.
Gentlemen.
You appear to have accomplished your mission.
Very much on target, too, you’ll be pleased to know.
[Jessica] Well, what I’d be more pleased to know
is that Mark Reisner’s killer is brought to justice.
Well, I wish you good luck, Mrs. Fletcher.
But if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch.
Lieutenant Bragg, Atlanta PD,
this will only take a minute or two, Mr. Mitchell.
Since I think I know who murdered Mark and why,
I didn’t think it would be prudent
to confront his killer without a little backup.
What? You think it was one of us?
Mark told me that the sting
used to entrap Van Ness with an imitation virus
might have been a plot to steal and sell the real virus.
At 10:22 this morning,
right after Dr. Lamont’s meeting with Van Ness,
Lamont made a phone call to his partner,
one of you.
A call that lieutenant Bragg
traced to the coffee house two blocks from this hotel.
Perhaps you can explain
what you were doing there at that time, Mr. Crider.
[chuckles]
Forgive me, Mrs. Fletcher, but I think you’re outta your mind.
Well, then maybe one of you will remember.
This morning, as I was leaving, Mr. Crider was entering,
and at the door, he spilled coffee
from the Starbucks cup that he was holding.
She’s right, Ed.
Hey, wait a minute. You guys aren’t buying this?
When I checked into this hotel,
I happened to have several words with Raul Jaffa.
He had an umbrella with a very unique handle.
The very umbrella that you’re holding now, Mr. Crider.
I wonder how you ended up with it,
unless from the very beginning,
you and Jaffa intended it as a means to transport project 14.
Mark Reisner was getting close to the truth,
and you killed him.
Yeah, if it hadn’t been for that boy scout,
it wouldn’t be here right now.
Hey, hey, hey! Zero move, guys,
else I break this thing and we all go together.
And millions of other people.
You have a perfect record with your agency.
What is it worth?
Fifteen million dollars is what it’s worth, and shut up!
The buyers are out there, folks.
And you kept a routine tab on Jaffa,
till you discovered he was trying to corrupt Lamont.
[scoffs] Trying? Hell, Jaffa had him bagged.
Money, women, you name it.
Anyway, it’s adios, people.
Don’t anybody try and move.
Look, Ed, we can make a deal.
I’m sure you have a ticket to get somewhere.
Just, just... I promise you there’ll be no pursuit,
just put that down.
You must know what it means if it gets in the hands of someone--
Don’t be nervous.
You see, this is Mrs. Parker’s Revenge.
A harmless facsimile.
Mark Reisner let me know
that he replaced all the real project 14
in the BRI lab an hour before he died.
[Bragg] And the director has just confirmed
that all the real virus is on ice.
I don’t know from any Mrs. Parker,
but if you would allow one jaded bureaucrat
to offer his apologies?
Make that two jaded bureaucrats.
[woman over PA] Attention, Amateur Mystery Writers...
Oh, I forgot, I have to make a speech.
... please report to the Rose garden courtyard for the first...
[relieved sigh]
-there we go. -Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Why, gentlemen, I expected you to be on the plane by now.
-Mrs. Fletcher. -We got a call.
My people caught up with Dr. Lamont
and his two million in Seattle
headed who knows where.
But Nate and I decided
we couldn’t leave without finding out
who the hell is Mrs. Parker?
[chuckles]
Well, it finally dawned on me
what Mark was telling me in code.
You see, in one of my books,
Mrs. Parker knows her husband is intending to murder her
by lacing her orange juice with strychnine.
So she switched glasses?
Mrs. Parker’s Revenge!
Have you ever considered government service?
The agency could sure use a talent like yours.
That goes double for the CIA.
Thanks, gentlemen,
but I’ve had my fill of clandestine operations
for a while.