If that’s how things are, then fine.
And thank you very much.
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote...
Sometimes I feel big, like I could wrap my hands around the sun.
Someday you’re gonna be all alone and I’m gonna be there.
There is a problem, Dr. Hazlitt.
It’s David.
[Mort] Taggart!
Which arm? Try to remember, Seth.
They tell me Atascadero that we all have free will,
so what is it, lady, huh?
And then everything moved over to the new community center
leaving this place empty most of the time.
So after a while we started using it for local productions,
historical pageants, that sort of thing.
What about the dressing rooms?
All taken care of as you requested.
Lights and water will be turned on in just about an hour.
If I had a better idea of your requirements, Mr. Mueller,
perhaps I could be of some more help.
My associates and I have acquired a new play.
We intend to try it out here
prior to opening it Off-Broadway.
The stage is satisfactory.
My people should be here from New York anytime now.
Your people?
Director, some crew, few cast members.
We’ll find the rest of the crew and the supporting casts locally.
Auditions begin tomorrow at 10:00.
Oh, that’s wonderful.
You know, actually I have some acting background myself.
I shouldn’t be at all surprised.
And this place,
it has quite a history.
Back a long time ago, David North
used to come here every summer on vacation from Hollywood.
And before leaving, he would act in a play right here
just to keep his hand in.
People would come from miles around.
I hear that he’s living in England now.
Past tense, Miss Simpson.
Past tense, which is far less pleasant
than the present, David North.
I’m happy to meet you.
[Jessica] Just a little bit further to your left, Sheriff.
That’s perfect.
In my novel an assassination attempt is ruined,
when a businessman steps in front of the Prime Minister.
I have to get the trajectory absolutely right,
so that one of them is killed and the other is only injured.
And who am I?
Oh, you’re the businessman
and the Prime Minister Henri Jacques is right behind you.
But you are the one who gets killed.
Figures.
That’s perfect.
From here, you’d be killed instantly.
Clean shot right through the heart.
Swell.
[telephone ringing]
Hold that there just for a minute, will you?
Mm-hmm.
So, Mr. Prime Minister, is this your first time in Cabot Cove?
You know, you have looked better.
Hello.
Eve?
Eve, is that you?
Anything wrong?
I don’t know.
She’s making sounds only a squirrel can understand.
Eve, would you start from the beginning?
Will you calm down?
Who is back in town?
No.
That’s amazing.
Does Seth know yet?
A fai-- a fair fight?
I may have been only yea high, but even I knew
that the fix was on when I saw it.
[knocking on door]
When Joe Louis knocked down Max Schmeling
you could have left the arena,
gone all the way down the street, had dinner,
come back and they still
would not have started the count.
[David] I don’t believe it.
Seth, are you still arguing that one?
Who wants to know?
David.
David!
You sun of a gun.
Why didn’t you tell me? Where have you been?
How long have you been in town?
I want to know right now. When?
I wanted it to be a surprise.
Well, it was a surprise, all right. Good heavens.
Look, I can’t stay. I’m exhausted.
I just drove up from New York.
I want to invite you over for dinner tomorrow after the auditions.
We’re trying out a new play here and I want everybody to meet you.
But, oh, tomorrow?
I can’t.
I’m having dinner with Jessica Fletcher.
All the better, bring her along.
There isn’t an actor alive who doesn’t love a good mystery.
Be at the community center around 6:00.
Oh, it’s good to see you still have a few surviving patients.
Oh, he is-- out, out, out!
[woman] Can I have your attention, please?
My name is Kathryn Evans,
director for And Wept A Stranger.
This is one of our leads, John Copple.
Behind me, our producer Jerome Mueller
and our star David North.
For the benefit of those who just arrived,
we’re looking for five or six supporting actors
to back up our main cast.
So if you’ve all had a chance
to look at the scenes, let’s get on with it.
May I please see Eve Simpson and Lyman Taggart?
Okay, whenever you’re ready,
take it from "And how to and have no harm done,"
and remember, this is a period piece, so hit the accents and the rhythms
and watch your pronunciations.
And how would you of all
bring love into this cold forbidding place?
By all the usual means, trickery,
deceit and a lover’s list of promises never meant to be kept.
If you expect me to find this cynicism darkly compelling--
I expect nothing of the kind
and expecting nothing thus receiveth
my heart’s own...
fair lady, ill-used and impractical thing,
as it may be, I have had it once
and kept upon the shelf.
Thank you, Mr. Taggart, the piece ended at the previous line.
Yeah, I know.
I was just trying to get into it.
I mean, you know,
I really don’t think that I did my best job.
I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we’re running behind, so--
Could I do it again, please?
I’m sorry, but there are a lot of others waiting to audition.
Miss Simpson,
if you could stick around for a few minutes.
That was very nice, Mr. Taggart.
Thank you for coming.
I drove all the way from Bangor.
I mean, I drove all night long just to get here.
I appreciate that, but sometimes enthusiasm isn’t always sufficient.
All I’m asking for here is another chance, okay?
I mean, what is the big deal?
Look, son, you’re not doing yourself any good.
Sure, rejection is tough, but just--just roll with it.
I’m sorry, Mr. North. I’m sorry.
But she is trying to lock out new talent here.
You know, it’s just the same old story.
Okay, that’s enough.
[Lyman] Oh, right. Sure.
If that’s how things are, then fine!
Terrific.
And thank you very much!
Okay, why don’t we pick up again after lunch?
I’ll see you all then.
Jessica Fletcher, I assume.
It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. North. I’ve enjoyed your work enormously.
No more than I’ve enjoyed yours.
Oh, getting a bit thick around here now, isn’t it?
It’s a difficult task
being his friend, but someone has to do it.
Shall we?
Oh, yes.
It’s a very unusual play.
It tracks one man’s descent into madness
as his world crumbles around him.
That would be my part.
Typecasting I suppose.
What’s great as well as using regular paint for the sets and flats,
we’re also using this new kind of paint
that only shows up under ultraviolet light.
Yes, I think I read about that in New York.
Something quite new, wildfire lighting, isn’t it?
That’s enough.
I hereby declare a moratorium on business conversation.
Kathryn, there is a perfectly good dance floor
where they’re just waiting for someone to use it.
Would you please excuse me?
When the producer asks the director to dance,
the director dances.
And when the director dances, the actors dance.
Excuse us as well.
So, how does it feel coming out of retirement
and coming back to the stage?
Oh, it feels good.
Sometimes I feel big, like I could wrap my hands
around the sun if I wanted to.
Ask me, you never should have retired in the first place,
I still don’t understand why you did it.
I just couldn’t stand the noise anymore.
Jess, I’ve known this man longer than
anyone else on the face of the earth.
We grew up together before he went off to Hollywood
to become a movie star.
We ate together, we swam together,
we dated the same girls.
You’d think by now at least he could give me a straight answer.
There’s a certain point
when it ceases to be fun.
I needed to get away for a while.
The hard part at my age is that
there is no one left to play with.
I...
I lost a good friend, Seth.
That’s why I couldn’t come back to Cabot Cove
for so long, you know that.
Yeah.
It took me long enough to find you up here, David.
Eric.
If I didn’t know any better,
I’d think you were trying to avoid me.
Well, no, no, no. Of course not.
Seth, you remember Eric, don’t you?
Oh, yes.
Eric Benderson, this is Jessica Fletcher.
How do you do?
Eric was my personal manager for years.
I grabbed the first plane up from New York
as soon as I heard about the play.
It’s been a long time, David,
but I want you to know I’m still here for you.
Anything I can do to help, you just let me know.
Well, that’s wonderful.
That’s really wonderful.
Eric--
Come here.
[David] It’s good to see you.
Thank you.
Good night.
Good night. Thank you.
Oh, it’s the lady director.
Oh, you can’t go in there, Sir, without--
Sir?
Hey.
I just wanted to see your face.
You know, I used to think
that you were really something special.
Look, son, if this is about this afternoon--
I drove 100 miles to be here,
to see you, to get a chance.
You call that a chance?
That was a joke.
You know, you’re just the same as everybody else.
Maybe worse.
Somebody ought to take you down a peg.
I think you’re miscalculating, young man.
Simple mathematics, there are several of us
and only one of you.
So move along,
or we’ll all step outside.
Remember, Mr. Movie Star,
someday you’re gonna be all alone
and I’m gonna be there.
You can count on it.
[Jessica] That was a pretty foolish thing you did last night, Seth.
If that young man had taken you up on your challenge,
someone could’ve gotten very seriously hurt.
Oh, I know, I know.
It happens every time I hang around with David North.
I forget I’m older, slower, and a Tad rounder
than when we were both very young.
And he was constantly getting me into trouble
which he proceeded to do all over again last night
after we dropped you off.
Oh, apparently so.
Oh.
Softly please, Jess.
I feel as if every molecule of air in the room is bouncing
against my head.
And the irony of that is I didn’t really have very much to drink.
It was just going round and round all night.
"Adventuring," David called it.
He’s a hard man to keep up with, Jess.
How is he doing by the way after his encounter?
Oh, he’s fine.
Dropped me at my place
and then drove off to see the sun rise.
Strange though.
What’s strange?
Well, the way he acted last night
when we were hitting every bar in town,
as if he were determined to have a good time even if it killed him.
He was, I don’t know,
desperate like someone trying to escape from something.
Jess, can you please tell me
why my tongue feels like outdoor carpeting?
You’re the doctor.
Are you sure it’s not a problem running me into town?
After the way you resurrected me, absolutely not.
Where did I leave my coat?
Oh, it’s right here.
Oh, what’s this?
Ah, I wanted to show you that.
I just remembered.
David was the first celebrity
I ever knew personally.
And as one of his schoolmates, I took a certain pride in his career.
I followed him for years.
Now I collected all sorts of stuff.
I have programs.
I have reviews, playbills,
ads from the first movies.
Oh, there we are together in the third grade.
I’m the one wearing the hat.
Look, I didn’t buy it, my mother gave it to me.
Oh, what’s that?
Ah, I’m afraid that’s a memento of a sadder time.
You remember David saying he’d lost a lot of friends,
one of them here in Cabot Cove, well, this is it.
Vincent Channing and he were very good friends.
They went out to Hollywood together.
They worked in the same pictures together.
David even convinced him to come out here for his vacations.
One summer, Vincent had to cut his Holiday short.
He borrowed David’s car to go to the airport.
It had been raining, he lost control
on one of these curvy roads outside of town.
He was killed instantly.
Oh, how terrible.
I was one of the first ones there.
Of course, I had to report it to David.
Well, it nearly killed him.
[telephone ringing]
Hello.
Yes, he is. Just a moment.
It’s for you.
Hiya, Hazlitt.
Why, yes. Yes, Mr. Mueller.
I remember meeting you at dinner. What can I do for you?
There is a problem, Dr. Hazlitt.
It’s David.
Well, thanks again, Seth.
Mm-hmm.
I hope your friend is all right.
Hi, Mrs. Fletcher. Hi.
Lyman Taggart.
I recognize you from the theater the other day
and then at the restaurant.
And well, I just wanted to apologize.
Mr. Taggart--
I know there is no excuse for my behavior,
but it’s just I am such a big fan of David North.
And well, the chance to work in this show with him,
well, it just means everything to me.
I stayed up until three o’clock in the morning to watch him
in Martyr at Camafeo for the sixth time.
I mean, that man, he is such a genius.
Uh, Mr. Taggart,
I suspect that you’re apologizing to the wrong person.
But I thought that you and he were friends,
and that maybe you could put in a good word for me.
I can’t do that.
Can’t?
Or won’t?
Please excuse me.
Can’t or won’t, Mrs. Fletcher?
They tell me Atascadero that we all have free will,
so what is it, lady, huh?
Can’t or won’t?
There’s only one person he wants to see and that’s you.
I’ll be down the hall if you need me.
David?
David, it’s me, Seth.
What say, open the door.
David?
I thought you gave up the hard stuff years ago.
I did, but this is a celebration, isn’t it?
David North, fresh from a whirlwind tour of his own life.
Out of retirement after ten long years
back into the nightmare.
Out of the frying pan into the pyre.
You’re not making any sense.
Good.
I have always considered logic
vastly overrated.
You better go.
I thought you sent for me.
I did.
My error.
Don’t compound it.
David, I don’t know what’s going on here, but if you’re in any kind of trouble,
if there’s something wrong, tell me plainly.
I’ve never been very good at metaphors or code breaking.
I’m scared.
Well, of course you are.
My God, man, who wouldn’t be.
Facing an audience after all this time.
But, David, you were one of the best.
You can do this.
Oh, Seth, you’ve been such a good friend.
You almost-- you almost make me wish
we were talking about the same thing.
I suppose they’re waiting for me out there.
I hope you all have good reason for hanging around, wasting time.
We’ve got a production to mount.
John, I’d like to talk to you and Kathryn about...
[Kathryn] I agree.
[David] You make it better.
Thanks again, Dr. Hazlitt.
You know, David’s been through a lot lately.
And there are some people who don’t exactly wish him well.
Is that what brought you all the way out here?
Well, let’s just say that
anyone who wants to try and hurt David
has to go through me first.
Thanks again, Doctor.
Oh, yeah.
[Mort] I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Mrs. F.
I mean, I practically grew up on David North movies.
The pirate pictures though, those were the best ones.
You know, I hear he did all his own stunts.
Shh.
And what are your intentions?
I have no intentions.
Only suspicions, calculations,
inclinations and doubts.
About what?
Many things.
Yourself most of all.
I think we have a cue here, "Constable enters."
[Kathryn] I’m afraid we’ve lost the Constable.
Apparently lobster season won’t wait.
We’re looking for a replacement.
Can you pick up the part of the Constable for now?
Sure.
You’ll excuse me,
-there's a carriage at the front gate. -There he is.
Something about a coffin.
And more confusion.
[Eve] Did you send for a coffin?
Boy, he’s good, isn’t he?
I don’t know.
He looks awfully thin up there.
Oh, it’s just the light.
You think so?
Shh!
[man] They say TV makes you look fat,
maybe on stage it’s just the opposite.
I imagine, but I was speaking to Janice
just the other day and she said that he had--
Do you mind!
Who said that?
You?
Say it again, please.
Do you mind?
Louder, so they can hear you in the cheap seats. Come on!
Do you mind?
Oh, come on. Give me a big one. Louder!
Louder! Come on!
Do you mind!
Kathryn, I believe we've found our Constable.
Congratulations, welcome to the company.
I’ll see you both tonight at the cast party.
[doorbell ringing]
I’m coming.
Hello, Jessica.
David? Come on in.
Seth’s delayed, he asked me to pick you up.
I would have been here sooner, but I had to go clear across town
to find a rental car with a manual transmission.
Are you ready to go?
Oh, just two seconds.
I just want to save and turn off my computer.
I’m about ten pages away from finishing my novel
and I am desperate to get it done.
What do you have against automatic cars?
Oh, I don’t like them.
I never have.
I like to feel the road when I drive.
There, I’ll just get my coat on.
You must feel very excited.
The play is coming together very nicely.
Yes, and it’s a good cast.
Especially John, our young actor from New York.
He is stubborn, dedicated, talented and smart.
And as a consequence, doesn’t work a lot,
but if we can make this play work, it will be his big break.
And I must confess
I will take a certain pride in that.
Well, I know how you feel.
I feel the same way when one of my students
goes on to be successful.
You know, I think that we repay the good things in our own lives
by investing in someone else’s.
Shall we go?
Jerome.
I’ve been looking everywhere for you.
I know.
I just got off the phone with my business manager.
What the hell is going on?
You know, when you asked me to help back this play financially,
we agreed to a clean three way split of the net profits,
you, David and I.
I practically cleaned out my life savings to do this.
And we appreciate that.
Great, except for now I hear Eric Benderson is asking
for a straight 15% cut of the gross and for what?
For being David’s has-been manager?
David has no right to negotiate our rights away like that.
Kathryn, face it.
Without David, we don’t have a production.
Look, it’s only talk right now,
but a lot can happen between now
and when the ink dries.
So tell me what’s David like to work with?
I mean, not that I’m nervous or anything.
I just, you know, I like to know.
He’s an absolute professional and generous.
He gives you plenty of room to find your place in the scene.
Yeah, well, I’m not worried about finding my place.
I just want to get through this thing without embarrassing myself.
[Eve] Oh, I know the feeling. But you’re the lucky one.
You don’t have to worry about that too much.
[Mort] What do you mean?
Well, didn’t you read the script?
Your character gets killed at the end of the first act.
Oh, swell, first I get killed in your novel
by someone who can’t hit a prime minister at 50 paces,
and now I get bumped off in this.
Would somebody like to tell me when I became God’s personal pinata.
Excuse me.
Enjoying the party?
Oh, yes, it’s wonderful.
Oh, absolutely.
Everything all right?
Oh, I take it you’re referring to that little discussion with Jerome.
Well, whenever somebody new
comes into a team like this, the way I did.
There’s bound to be a little friction.
Nothing that can’t be ironed out.
Have you seen David by any chance?
Well, the last time I saw him. He was over there.
There he is.
Uh-oh.
Excuse me.
No!
You’re not welcome here!
Mr. North, please!
I’m not doing anything! I’m not doing anything!
Get out of here!
[Jessica] I have to say it was very brave of Mr. Benderson
to go after Taggart like that.
I mean, he was like a pit bull.
Well, it’s strange though.
I mean, I know that Taggart was turned down for the part,
but, I mean, his reaction was completely out of proportion.
Almost unbalanced.
Well, I’ll say this for Eric, he’s always been very protective of David.
Did you know Benderson very well
when he was David’s manager?
No, not really.
He worked for the studio.
He stayed behind the scenes most of the time.
Must have been a good businessman though
for David to hire him out of the blue like that.
What is it? Is there something wrong?
Well, I think I left my reading glasses behind.
However, I will drop you off first and then I’ll go back.
Oh, nonsense, Seth.
Now look, we haven’t gone that far. Just turn around and go back.
I thought you were in such a hurry to finish that novel.
Oh, I’ve only got about ten more pages to do
and there’s plenty of time left this evening.
Seth, come on now, turn around.
Jess, I think I might have left them over by the punch bowl.
[crashing]
It’s Eric Benderson. He’s hurt, badly hurt.
Send for the ambulance.
Yes.
[ambulance siren blaring]
[Mort] Are you sure that’s all you saw?
Well, I’m afraid so.
It looked as if there had been a struggle
in the course of which someone had struck Mr. Benderson.
Well, we’re searching the area now for the weapon, but--
Sheriff?
Oh, yeah, Andy.
This just came in. I thought you’d like to see it.
Oh, thanks.
I followed up on that tip you gave me about Taggart.
You know, his behavior,
the way he mentioned that institution he was in.
Atascadero, yes.
According to this, this guy is a real nutcase.
He’s got a whole history of celebrity stalking, trespassing.
Nothing violent, but that might have changed.
And before I do anything,
I better find this guy before he leaves Cabot Cove.
Try the Hill House, Sheriff.
He mentioned the other day that he stayed up until 3 a.m.
to catch David North in Martyr at Camafeo.
Well, I happened to notice that only
the Film Classics channel was playing that movie.
And only the Hill House carries that channel, right?
Seth?
How is he?
I’m sorry, David.
He’s gone.
Oh, God.
Did he ever regain consciousness?
No, no, I’m afraid not.
I’ll have a report for you within the hour, Sheriff.
David, if there’s anything I can...
Look, I don’t know what this does to your production,
but I’m gonna want to see each of you before you head back for New York.
You don’t consider any of us suspects.
As far as I’m concerned anybody who knew
Eric Benderson and still has a pulse is a suspect.
David, you okay?
How about I buy you some coffee?
I don’t think that would be a very good idea.
Bad things seem to happen to people whose lives I touch.
Nonsense, I won’t hear that.
Believe what you want, Seth, it won’t change the facts.
Oh, God, where did it all go wrong?
It seems that ever since Vincent died,
things have gone out of control.
Be careful, Seth.
You’ve always been a good friend.
Don’t let my-- my bad luck rub off on you.
[Mort] Mrs. F, you sure about this guy, Taggart, staying at the Hill House?
[Jessica] Oh, reasonably sure, yes.
Well, what’s he doing coming out of the Light House Motel?
Mr. Taggart?
I’d like to have a--
Fire, fire in cabin number one. Hurry.
Jim, call the Fire Department.
Operator.
No good.
I could smell gasoline all over the place.
Whose room was it?
New guy in town, Eric Benderson.
I got a call from his family.
They wanted me to pack up his belongings.
I was gonna do it later, but now...
Who’d do a thing like this?
[siren blaring]
[Lyman] Look, I did not start that fire.
Then what were you doing at the motel?
I was staying there.
Not true.
Now we checked with the Hill House.
You’ve been registered there since last Monday night.
Now do you want to tell me the truth or do you want to go for lie number two?
Okay, look.
I was at that motel because I saw David North drive in.
And you were following him.
I wanted to apologize.
I was gonna pack it in,
drive back to Bangor this afternoon.
Look, I know that I have had some problems in the past,
but I have gotten better.
It was just a little relapse, that’s all.
I kind of-- I lost it.
And I didn’t want to leave without trying to apologize.
That is all.
So then what happened?
Nothing.
I lost him.
I couldn’t tell what cabin he’d gone into.
I gave up and I was getting ready to leave and that’s when I saw you.
Then why did you run?
I didn’t want to get in trouble for following Mr. North.
Sheriff, David could have been at the hotel
hoping that he might find something
that would tell him who murdered Mr. Benderson.
So if he was in the room, maybe he saw who set the fire.
Mort, I hate to say this, but David could’ve set it.
Unless it was intended for him,
in which case, he could be in real danger.
Andy, lock him away till we get back.
Mr. North, Sheriff Metzger. Can we talk to you, please?
He should be home. His car is here.
Yeah, I know.
Mr. North?
Sheriff, do you smell something?
It’s gas. Back up, Mrs. F.
[coughing]
He is unconscious. Radio.
Yes.
[Jessica] Are you quite sure you’re all right?
I’m fine.
I’m a little short of breath,
but the good doctor here assures me that will pass.
And you don’t remember what happened?
No, I’m sorry.
I came back to the house to change, to shower before dinner.
Someone must have struck me from behind because the next thing I remember
I’m lying out there on the grass, staring up at you two.
Is there any reason I can’t get back to work?
Well, all things considered,
I would rather keep you under observation for a few more hours,
but your lungs don’t seem to be damaged at all.
However, I do not want you to exert yourself.
Done. Thank you, Seth.
Come on, Mr. North, I’ll give you a ride.
Great.
Take care.
Yes?
Something wrong, Seth?
Who said anything was wrong?
Your face.
Are you going to believe me or my face?
Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, Seth, just say so.
I’ll leave.
David said that someone hit him from behind, that he was knocked out.
Well, Jess, I examined him thoroughly.
There was not a Mark on him.
Now there should have been a bump, a contusion or something.
I was afraid that might be the case.
It bears out what I noticed at the house, Seth.
The door was locked from the inside
and so were the windows.
I mean, there was no sign of anybody breaking in.
Meaning what?
That there was no intruder?
That this whole thing was self-inflicted?
Oh, I cannot accept that.
Jess, you’re asking me to believe that David North
deliberately tried to kill himself.
I cannot believe that.
Yes, but that’s because he’s your friend.
But if he wasn’t your friend?
Suppose someone came to you
with these results and asked for your opinion.
What would you say?
Attempted suicide.
Oh, hi, Doc.
I’m looking for Sheriff Metzger.
He said he'd be here.
You just missed him.
If you don’t mind my asking, what is that?
We were going over that burnt motel room
and found this under the bed.
Looks like it’s a bunch of photographs.
Of what?
No way to tell now, heat destroyed most of them.
Just some bits and pieces left.
Seth, is that familiar to you?
Well.
Now that you mention it,
I--I think so,
but I can’t quite place it though.
Well, I think I can.
But I’m going to need your help, Seth.
You know, the Doc will kill me if he knew I was dropping you off here.
Look, he said I should go home.
This is it.
The theater’s the only home I’ve ever known.
You sure you’re okay?
I’m fine, Sheriff. Thank you.
Okay.
The car in this picture and the car in the accident
are one and the same.
Now the pictures were just
taken from different angles.
One was at night and one in daylight.
Well, who would’ve taken a picture like that
and kept it all these years? And why?
Seth, tell me everything that you can remember
about the night that David’s friend died in the accident.
Well, there isn’t much to tell really.
I got the call around midnight.
Who called?
Eric Benderson.
It was before he’d become David’s manager.
Those days he was liaison for the studio.
His big job was keeping
David and Vincent out of trouble.
Now when I got there, the Sheriff’s people were already there.
Eric showed up a little later and of course,
Vincent was still in the car, dead.
Seth, back at the house you said,
that Vincent cut his vacation short, why did he do that?
He had a broken arm.
I suppose he wanted to recuperate in warmer climes.
Which arm?
Try to remember, Seth.
Right, yes. It was the right arm. Why?
Seth, I think I know
who killed Eric Benderson and I think I know why.
But if the path were mine to choose,
I’d have no contradictions or confusions,
no doubts or dreads or lies.
I long for peace and quiet,
but war is simple.
It’s peace that is hell.
Wait a minute. David, you’re off script.
Off, off, off, off where?
Didn’t you get the new pages?
No, what new pages?
Oh, they came in last night.
Sorry, with all the confusion.
Anyway, Jerome and I were on the phone most of yesterday with the playwright.
He wrote a new scene.
We’ll just walk it out now.
Wait a minute. Who else is in the scene?
The governess.
Unfortunately, Eve isn’t here,
so I’ve found someone to stand in for her.
Good of you to help out, Jessica.
It’s the least I could do.
Okay, let’s take it from the top.
You’re up late.
Secrets do not respect the clock.
And what would you know of secrets?
A tale of overwhelming sadness.
Two friends close as blood separated by death.
If you would say something, then speak plainly.
These are difficult times.
I am driven from rage into madness
and from madness in--
...from madness into the touch of death
upon my own hand.
There is more.
Yes.
Too much more.
Too much pain.
Too many years.
How long had Eric Benderson been blackmailing you?
Ever since that night.
You know all about this, don’t you?
Enough to put it together.
When you came by my house the other day,
you mentioned you only drive cars with a stick shift.
When your friend Vincent Channing
died in a car accident outside town,
you said he was alone, driving one of your cars.
And I noticed in the photo of the accident
that it was indeed a manual transmission car,
but at night after a rain with a road still slick,
it seems very unlikely that he could drive
a stick shift with a broken right arm.
When your friend died that night,
he wasn’t alone, was he?
You were there at the wheel.
He had to get back to the coast.
I offered to drive him to the airport.
We celebrated his departure
and we were both pretty drunk.
Eric was following us, trying to get us to stop.
I said, "Let’s lose him," and I gunned the engine.
The wheel just turned in my hand.
I was apparently thrown clear
when the car went off the road.
I was hardly even scratched
and Eric was there helping me up.
But Vincent...
[Jessica] Was dead.
To avoid causing a scandal for the studio,
Eric made it look like Vincent was driving alone
and took you back to town,
you didn’t know that he had taken pictures of the whole thing.
Not until later, when the blackmail began.
He wanted in.
He became my personal manager.
He took a piece of everything I made.
And after a few years, I couldn’t take it any longer.
I quit, I retired, disappeared.
And after ten years, I thought it was long enough,
that he’d forgotten about me.
I was wrong.
[Jessica] Which explains your curious reaction
when Eric showed up in town.
You seemed more stunned than pleased at his arrival.
[David] I wanted him to go away.
I wanted him to leave me alone.
He refused.
I begged, I pleaded with him.
I’d made a mistake. It was a long time ago.
I wanted my life back.
He wouldn’t let go.
I lost control.
[Jessica] And that’s when you knocked over
the paint cans.
And then fled out the back door
when you heard us enter the theater.
That’s the same jacket you were wearing the night Eric Benderson was killed.
During the struggle you knocked over some containers with that special paint,
the kind that can only be seen under ultraviolet light.
I’m sorry, Mr. North.
I’m afraid I’m gonna have to place you under arrest.
Good scene, Jessica.
And he admitted to starting the fire as well?
Yep, it’s all right here.
He figured after Eric was killed, somebody would start poking around
and find those photos.
When he couldn’t find them himself, he did what he felt he had to do.
Andy, it’s time. You want to transfer the prisoner, please?
Yeah.
"Transfer the prisoner?"
Isn’t that awfully formal?
The man is not a cold blooded killer, Mort.
If he were, he wouldn’t have tried to do away with himself like that.
I know.
The way he gave me every detail,
there is a man with a lot to get off his chest.
Well, at least now it’s over.
Maybe he’ll find some peace.
I’m surprised to see you after--
after what’s happened.
I can’t approve of what you did.
The man was a blackmailer, but that’s no excuse for murder.
However, you don’t turn your back on a friend
and I expect you could use one just about now.
Oh, may I go along with them?
I think that’ll be all right.
By the way, Doc, where is Mrs. F?
I figured she’d want to be here for this one.
[Seth] At home.
For the past three days,
she has been within ten pages of finishing her book.
So I expect she’s determined to finish it now,
while she has some peace and quiet.