Most family relationships aren’t easy.
Do you have any idea what it’s like
looking at your baby brother over the barrel of a .38?
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
Won’t you to look at that.
Hey, take a chance.
I want him to know that you’re off limits.
I’ve changed, I’ve cleaned up my act.
What do you mean? Just vanished from the boat?
-Yes. -How can that be?
Let's just say it’s an interesting part of the puzzle.
This time you’re on your own.
This time I’m innocent.
[theme music]
Excuse me, I don’t mean to bother you, but are you Jessica Fletcher?
-Yes, I am. -[chuckles] I knew it.
I’ve read your books, all of them.
I think you’re terrific.
[exclaims] Well, that’s very kind.
-Thank you. -This is my favorite.
I brought it long from New York.
I don’t suppose you could...
Sign it? Of course.
Who should I make it out to?
Wayne-- Uh, Wayne will be just fine.
There you go.
So, what brings you to Maine?
Well, I have a friend who lives in Cabot Cove,
or at least somebody who used to be.
I’m hoping we can get back together again.
It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Fletcher.
Thanks for the autograph, it means a lot.
No trouble at all. I hope everything works out for you.
So do I.
-[quietly] So do I. -[mysterious music]
How can you stand around arguing with me, Doc?
You’ve got eight parking violations and you haven’t paid one.
You seem to forget I am a doctor.
And now a doctor gets an emergency call,
he doesn’t stop to figure out where he’s gonna park his car.
Oh, yeah? Well, let’s see. This one was outside the bakery,
this one’s in front of Hagerty's Pool Hall,
-this-- -That’s enough.
What’s the fine?
Simple math, Doc, 15 dollars times eight.
You should have been an accountant instead of a policeman.
Well, comes next election,
you are losing one of your most valuable votes.
We don’t have elections, Doc.
I was hired by the city council.
True.
Hey, this is for 70 dollars, you’ve got eight parking violations,
you owe me $120.
Well, I took the deduction because I paid them all at once.
[mischievous music]
[door slams shut]
Hi, Mort.
It’s been a while.
I understand how you feel.
But I want you to know, things are different.
I’ve changed, I've cleaned up my act.
You’re not even gonna listen to me?
Oh, I listened, Wayne.
Time and again I listened.
And what did I ever get out of it?
Just a whole lot of pain.
I’m here because I wanna make it up to you, Mort.
I can’t do it in New York.
I figured maybe here, with your help, I could settle down, find a job,
who knows, maybe even become what you thought I should be.
Is that asking too much?
Yes.
[emotive music]
Maybe you could think it over.
I’m staying at the Lighthouse Motel and checkout’s at 12 noon.
If I don’t see you by then, I'll go.
Okay?
[emotive music]
Sheriff?
Mrs. Fletcher...
thought you weren’t due back from New York until tomorrow.
Well, I got finished sooner than I expected.
Oh, I managed to find the book that Adele was looking for.
May I give it to you to give to her?
Is everything all right, Sheriff?
Sure. Why shouldn’t it be?
Well, you seem to be having a slight altercation with your desk.
Well, that... [chuckles]
...I just do that every so often just to stay in shape.
Ah, then it had nothing to do with the young man I just saw leaving?
No, he was a...
-Just some stranger passing through town. -I see.
Look, Mrs. F, it’s really great to see you,
but I'm. I'm kind of snowed right now.
Of course.
We’ll talk later.
[funky music]
[orchestral music]
[Adele] Come on up, Mort. It’s getting late.
In a minute, Adele.
[knocking at door]
Mort.
-I just want-- -Now just shut up and listen.
Now you said you wanted a chance, I'm gonna give you one.
But if you mess up in any way, no matter how small,
I'm gonna come down on you so hard
you’re gonna wish you were back making license plates.
-You got that? -Yeah.
One more thing, anybody asks, anybody...
you’re just a friend of a friend, nothing more.
Sure, if that’s the way you want it.
That’s the way I want it.
[boat horn blaring]
Zach’s kind of a bear, but he’ll treat you fairly.
Reminds me of somebody else I know.
[Zach] Don’t threaten me, Terry Montagne.
[Terry] Then you better start listening to reason, Zach.
[Zach] What reason?
You’re a lousy con man. I don’t owe you a damn cent.
Facts and figures don’t lie, Zach, you know it, I know it.
Your facts, your figures.
-I don’t want either one of 'em. -Gentlemen, is there a problem here?
There’s no problem.
Zach and I are just taking care of some old business, right, Zach?
What can I do for you, Sheriff?
Zach, this is Wayne Sterns.
He needs, uh, he needs a job
and I heard you were looking for a deck hand.
You ever work a fishing boat before?
No, but I learn fast.
All you gotta learn is to live with the stink of fish.
I just wanna work, Sir, that’s all I care about.
Okay, you just do what I tell you when I tell you,
we’ll get along fine. You stow your gear below.
Thanks.
All right, Zach, kid gives you trouble, any problems at all,
just don’t hesitate to call and I'll full responsibility.
Don’t worry, Sheriff, you’ll be the first to hear.
All set, Captain Franklin.
Call me Zach.
You can start out by swabbing down the deck.
You’ll find a mop and a bucket aft,
on the starboard side there.
If you’re looking for the hose, it’s over there.
What would I have done without you?
Probably, found it yourself.
Elaine Franklin, Zach's daughter.
Wayne Sterns, deck hand in training.
Dad finally hired someone.
Good. I’ve been after him about that for ages.
You're not from Cabot Cove, are you?
Just came in yesterday.
It’s a nice town, you’ll like it.
I like it already.
Dad, Wayne was just telling me the good news.
It’s about time we got a little help around here.
Looks like he’s doing more talking than working.
Right.
See ya.
I see we're in our "crusty sea captain" mode, Dad.
Daughter, you run the business.
Leave the boat and the hired help to me. You better get on back to the office
before somebody steals us blind.
Aye, Captain.
Anything you say.
Thank you, my beauty.
And this is Otto, biggest of the bunch.
Oh, he’s a real scrapper.
They make the best eating, you know?
Well, I’m not at all sure that I care about personalizing my dinner.
This is the one, Jessica, trust me.
I’m never wrong about muskmelons or lobster.
[funky upbeat music]
[clears throat] Why don’t you wrap up Otto here for Mrs. Fletcher.
She’ll take care of the damages and with any luck invite me up for supper.
Hey, what’s the hurry?
Emergency, I think may be parked in red zone.
Thank you.
Mrs. F.
Oh, afternoon, Mort.
Look, I wanna apologize
for being so short with you yesterday afternoon.
Oh, no apology necessary.
I happened to drop in the office at a bad time.
I hope things are better today.
-Enjoy. Thanks a lot. -[Jessica] Thanks.
And so how is your brother enjoying Cabot Cove so far?
Well, he hasn’t really seen that mu--
You know.
I met Wayne on the plane coming back from New York. [chuckles]
He had a copy of one of my books and he wanted me to sign it.
But it happened to be the one that I dedicated to you.
Then I remembered that Adele once said
that you had a younger brother in New York City
that you never talked about.
And then when I saw his bag with W. M. on it
and saw the two of you arguing in the station,
I realized that I had to be right.
Mrs. F....
I'd appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody else about this.
Any reason?
Well, I've got my reasons and they’re very important to me.
Well, of course, Mort.
If that’s what you want.
Thanks, you’re a real friend.
[mysterious music]
-Wayne, hi. -Hi.
I hear Dad actually let you pilot his baby back to port yesterday.
Pretty amazing, isn’t it?
I think he’s actually beginning to trust me.
-Did you enjoy it? -Yeah...
soon as I peeled his eyes off my back.
[laughter]
Listen, Elaine, I was wondering if maybe this evening--
Why, haven’t you finished the simple task I gave you an hour ago?
-Zach, I was just-- -No excuses. Get cracking.
That was uncalled for.
I mean, he’s been breaking his back for three weeks now,
you could at least cut him a little slack.
I want him to know that you’re off limits.
And I hope it’s something that I never have to talk to you about.
[Keller] Hey!
Damn poacher!
What do you think you’re doing?
What’s your problem, Captain Keller?
You got your nose in the wrong bucket again?
You were on the East Bay last night.
I told you before, those are my waters.
As far as I know, the ocean belongs to God
and the seagulls, and not necessarily in that order.
But till I find out, dammit I'll fish where I like,
when I like. Let’s go, daughter. Get out of the way.
Dad!
Stop it.
[men grunting]
You can either leave on your own two feet or by an ambulance.
Well, you’ll pay for this.
Both of you.
[ominous music]
Dad.
[Zach] I’m all right, I'm all right.
Thank you, Wayne.
-Are you all right? -Yeah. [panting]
-Who was that guy? -Ned Keller, captain of The Vagabond.
He used to own The Gretchen.
He’s drunk half the time and he’s not a very good fisherman.
Couldn’t keep up his payments on the boat, so the bank took it back.
Dad and Terry Montagne bought it at a reduced price.
Which didn’t make him too popular with Keller.
Especially Dad.
But thank God you were here.
You were wonderful.
[emotive music]
[Wayne] Hi.
Thought I told you never to come in here.
Yeah, but since I've been working for Captain Blyth,
I've seen less of you than I have of dry land.
How about I buy you lunch?
Thanks, but I'm not hungry.
What do you want from me, Mort?
-I’m doing the best I can. -[Mort] So I've heard.
And who knows, maybe in a couple of months,
I may even start to trust you again.
But until then, I don’t even know you.
[dramatic music]
[Jessica] Wayne.
Mrs. Fletcher, hi.
I was just gonna have a bite of lunch. Would you like to join me?
Thanks, that’d be terrific.
-[waitress] Hi, Mrs. Fletcher. -[Jessica] Hello.
Special scallops in burgundy wine sauce.
And I'll be back in a minute to take your order.
Well, I must say that the sea air certainly agrees with you.
You’re looking very fit.
I love it out there.
I don’t think I've ever found any place more quiet and peaceful.
Then things are going well for you?
You know about me and Mort, don’t you?
Well, I know that you’re brothers
and I know that there’s something between you both
that Mort won’t talk about.
Yeah, I can’t say I blame him. I haven’t exactly made it easy.
Well, most family relationships aren’t easy.
[laughter]
You know, when Dad died,
Mort felt like he had to take his place.
All of a sudden he wasn’t a brother anymore.
He was just some guy with a tight face
pretending to be my father.
Well, that’s not unusual under the circumstances.
Sure, but back then it drove me crazy.
I felt like I was living under Mort’s thumb 24 hours a day.
When I started getting into trouble,
Mort thought I was doing it just to tick him off.
How serious was the trouble?
[Wayne] Not much first.
Fights, gang stuff, things like that.
But I'm not gonna lie about it.
It got worse, a lot worse.
And you know Mort.
If he ever has to have a heart operation,
I'm sure they’ll find a gold badge in there.
[chuckles] Breaking the law
is the one thing he can’t seem to forgive.
Is that what you came to Cabot Cove for?
Forgiveness?
I figured I could start a new life here.
Prove something to Mort... maybe myself.
But no matter how hard I try,
Mort still won’t believe I've changed.
I don’t think he ever will.
Wayne... Mort may be hard to deal with at the times,
but I've never known anyone more fair and decent.
So be patient with him, give him a little more time.
And if you don’t want him to give up on you,
then for heaven’s sakes, don’t give up on him.
[Seth] Excuse me, Sheriff?
You notice anything peculiar about where you’re parked?
You owe me 50 bucks, Doc.
Thirty-five.
I’m deducting 15 for this violation I just pointed out to you.
Ordinance 42.7 of the City Charter,
parking in a red zone.
Twenty-four hours, Doc, then it’s jail.
You’ll have to catch me first,
and I'm pretty fast on the feet.
[funky upbeat music]
[Elaine] Hi, stranger, is Dad around?
Uh, he’s on the boat, I'll get him.
Oh, no, wait, uh listen. Um...
Dad’s gonna be down in Freeport this weekend
and I thought
maybe we could, um, have dinner together or something.
Uh... well, I don’t know. Zach--
Scares off everybody I meet
because he thinks they’re not good enough.
But knowing his criteria, that leaves doctors,
who don’t come around the docks very often,
and saints, who don’t come around anywhere.
Hey, take a chance.
I make a killer pasta.
I don’t know, you keep twisting my arm.
Don’t even think about it.
Elaine, I've said this before but I'm not gonna say it again.
I don’t want you here hanging around the boat.
Damn it, Dad.
When are you gonna get it through your head
that I'm not 12 years old?
-Just get-- -Zach.
Never!
You never lay your hands on me.
You better go. He’ll be all right, I promise.
Zach, this is stupid. We gotta talk about this.
No, I'll talk and you do the listening.
What do you take me for? You think I'm blind?
I’ve seen that tattoo you got on your arm when you were fighting Keller.
That’s a prison tattoo.
That’s one teardrop for each year spent, you’re an ex-con.
So, why didn’t you do ahead and fire me?
Boy, I've got nothing against the man that’s paid his debts.
I just don’t want you hanging around my daughter.
Zach, she’s a grown woman.
She has the right to see whoever she wants to.
Not an ex-con.
Of course, though, I could phone Sheriff Metzger,
tell him I found some money missing from the cash box.
How do you suppose he’d take to that?
Well, I think you and me understand each other now, don’t we?
So, why don’t we get underway now?
See if we can catch some fish.
If you’ll cast off the bowline, please, sir?
[ominous dramatic music]
Oh, it’s the sheriff!
Well, thank you for breakfast, Jessica.
I expect I'd better be on my way.
Seth, what is this?
Every time you see the sheriff, you act like a wanted criminal.
Well, there could be some truth in that.
So, don’t tell him I was here.
[knocking at door]
Oh, good morning, Sheriff. Come on in. Nice to see you.
I was just finishing breakfast. Uh, would you care for a blueberry muffin?
Uh, thanks, no.
Look, Mrs. Fletcher...
I know you had a talk with Wayne yesterday.
That’s right. We had lunch together.
-Did he tell you he was in prison? -No.
He told me that he’d been in serious trouble with the law,
he never denied it.
Well, let me guess.
He probably gave you the helpless little boy version.
Father dies leaving a bottomless void for poor Wayne Metzger.
Stern older brother becomes father figure
and makes his life a nightmare of misery and pain.
Sounds like something out of Charles Dickens, doesn’t it?
He must have hurt you very badly.
That’s not the point.
Isn’t it?
Look, Mrs. Fletcher, I am just trynna save you some grief.
Wayne is like-- he’s like two different people.
Trouble follows him wherever he goes
and I just don’t want you to get hurt.
[telephone ringing]
Hello?
Why, yes. Yes, he is.
[Mort] Metzger.
I’ll be right there.
Well, Wayne’s done it again.
Elaine, I'm so sorry.
Your father, he’s missing. I... I think he’s dead.
No.
God, no!
-What happened? -I don’t know.
We were out late last night, Zach decided to anchor
so we can get an early start in the morning.
He told me get some sleep and he’d take the first watch,
but he never woke me to relieve him.
When I got up, he was just gone.
What do you mean? He just vanished from the boat?
-Yes. I don’t know. -How can that be?
But I knew something terrible had happened because the cabin’s been ripped apart.
I called the coast guard, they’re still out there.
I wanna take a look around.
[anticipatory music]
[Mort] Somebody had a fight down there.
A real Donnybrook.
There’s something else.
[mysterious anticipatory music]
Mort.
[tense dramatic music]
[Wayne] I went to sleep in the forward cabin.
[Mort] I want the truth, Wayne.
[Wayne] I told you. I don’t know what happened.
We were alone on board, I went to sleep,
when I woke up, Zach was just gone.
Oh.
I suppose Peter Pan took him off to Never Neverland.
Maybe we were boarded.
By who, Captain Hook?
No, Captain Ned Keller.
He had an argument with Zach three days ago.
They hate each other.
You expect me to believe that Ned Keller sailed up to The Gretchen,
boarded her,
had a fight with Zach, stabbed him,
threw him overboard,
and then just sailed away and you never heard a sound?
Try spending a few years in prison, Mort.
You’ll learn to sleep through just about anything.
Yeah, nice fairy tale.
Only from where I stand, it stinks.
Then do something about it, cop, and get off my back.
Sheriff, lab reports are in.
Blood and tissue on the blade, blood type matches Zach's.
Any prints? None.
Killer probably wore gloves.
No motive, no fingerprints, no body.
Now that’s what a defense lawyer would call a real fairy tale.
The evidence will come, Wayne.
Like it always does with you.
-Only this time you’re on your own. -This time I'm innocent.
Don’t try to leave town.
Stay close to your hotel room.
Andy, keep an eye on him.
All right, Sir.
Damn.
[emotive music]
[knocking at door]
[Jessica] Oh, hello, Elaine.
Mrs. Fletcher, please, I know you’re a friend of Wayne’s
and I've gotta talk to someone.
Oh, of course, please, please come in.
Mrs. Fletcher, I don’t know what to do.
Sit down.
I’m so sorry.
Your father’s death must have been the most terrible shock.
It’s not just that.
It’s-- just before The Gretchen put out,
Wayne and Dad got in a terrible fight.
I mean, they practically came to blows.
Oh, dear.
And there’s something else.
Dad kept 2,000 dollars in a cash box on the boat.
But when the police found the box,
there were only a few hundred dollars left.
I didn’t tell anyone
because I knew it would look bad for Wayne. But--
Someone has to tell the police about this.
But I think you know that.
Yes.
And I know all the evidence is against it
but I just can’t believe that Wayne killed Dad.
Elaine, you know, evidence is like a jigsaw puzzle.
You can’t see the whole picture until it’s completed.
But there are pieces of this puzzle that... just don’t seem to fit.
Two grand?
All this for a lousy 2,000 bucks.
We don’t know that yet.
[telephone ringing]
Metzger.
I’ll be right there.
Well, it’s the same old story.
First the lies and then he pulls his vanishing act.
What are you talking about?
There was a deputy I had watching Wayne’s room.
Apparently he slipped out the back window and took off.
Well, I'll tell you something, Mrs. Fletcher,
this is where it ends.
-[mysterious dramatic music] -[door slams]
Elaine, I'm so sorry about your father.
I know how close you two of you were.
Thanks, Terry.
Look, I know it’s not the best of times but you can’t sell The Gretchen.
Why?
Well, obviously, your father never told you
that I put up most of the money?
He was supposed to make monthly payments, simple truth is he never did.
Dad said you were equal partners.
Well, we were, but he kept putting off the payments
and I let him slide because of friendship.
Elaine, The Gretchen is mine. Now I'll buy your share.
I know it can’t be too much but under the circumstances,
anything will help.
-You can’t do this. -[Terry] Yes, I can.
I’ve got the paperwork, Zach's promissory note.
Be smart, take the money.
Zach would have wanted it that way.
[anticipatory music]
Hope I'm not intruding.
No, not at all. [sighs]
You know what really kills me?
I actually let myself believe that this time maybe,
just maybe, he really wanted to change.
Well, aren’t you being a little premature?
People who aren’t guilty don’t sneak out back windows,
it’s as simple as that.
Maybe he felt he he’d already been judged.
Forgive me, but you haven’t been exactly supportive.
I wish I had a nickel for every time I tried to support Wayne.
I’d be driving one of those German sports cars.
You see, when I made sergeant back in New York,
Wayne started running around with a bunch of punks.
Small stuff at first, petty larceny,
con games, numbers,
but it kept on getting worse and worse.
Then, a few years ago something happened that turned my life upside down.
It was during a raid on a major fencing operation.
Here I was, standing in an alley full of garbage cans,
while the rest of my unit went in the front door.
All of a sudden, someone shot out the back
like they were being chased by the hounds of hell.
So I drew down on him, "Freeze!"
And he did.
Do you have any idea what it’s like
looking at your baby brother over the barrel of a .38?
I’m sorry.
I had one second...
to make a decision that would change my life forever.
Don’t ask me why, but I heard a voice.
My voice, saying, "Run, go, get out."
And he did.
He got outta there like a scared rabbit.
I thought he’d learned a lesson that he’d never forget.
Three weeks later, he was arrested for being a wheel man
in a jewelry heist.
One of his pals shot the guard inside the store
and they sent Wayne to prison.
That was three years ago.
Then it wasn’t job burnout that brought you up here to Cabot Cove?
[Mort] I had knowingly helped a criminal escape the scene of a crime.
Every time I pinned on my badge, I felt like a fraud.
I know I couldn’t stay there.
So, I came here.
Started a new life.
All of a sudden he shows up
and it’s happening all over again.
Do you know what is your problem is, Sheriff?
You’re being betrayed by your own emotions.
You’re not seeing Wayne through the eyes of a policeman.
All you’re seeing is your younger brother,
who has brought you a tremendous amount of disappointment and pain.
Now, the law says that a man is innocent until he is proven guilty.
And the Mort Metzger that I know has always applied that fairly,
regardless of his own opinion.
Mrs. F, I really need your help.
[anticipatory music]
[Mort] What a mess.
How could anybody on the boat not hear this?
But what is odd is that there’s no blood in here,
only out on deck.
Which means the fight started in here and ended up outside.
Zach’s killer stabbed him and threw him overboard.
Well, what we do know is, Wayne was not involved in this struggle.
How do we know that?
Well, when The Gretchen pulled in, Wayne was frightened,
but he didn’t show any signs of having been in a fight.
I mean, he had no cuts from this broken glass,
no bruises on his face and hands.
Which could indicate that there was somebody else on the boat.
-Keller. -Ned Keller?
Wayne told me Ned and Zach had a fight.
Well, it’s no secret those two weren’t the best of friends.
Wayne tried to tell me.
I guess I really wasn’t listening to him.
Well, you’re listing now.
Think we better have a talk with Ned Keller.
-[radio crackles] -[cop] Sheriff Metzger?
[radio crackles] Metzger.
[cop] You got a callfrom Terry Montagne.
He says he knowswho killed Zach Franklin.
Says you should get to his house on the double.
On my way.
Terry Montagne?
I think I've heard the name, but I'm not really familiar with him.
Well, he’s sort of a mystery man.
People say he was a mercenary once, soldier of fortune in Southeast Asia.
He and Zach were partners in The Gretchen although you’d never know it.
Come on, let’s go.
[anticipatory music]
[Mort] That’s it.
-Wayne. -[tires screeching]
What the hell is he doing here?
[dramatic anticipatory music]
[dramatic music]
This is the sheriff.
Put on an APB on Wayne Metzger,
M-E-T-Z-G-E-R. Charge is murder.
[dramatic music]
[gasps] Wayne! Oh, my God.
Sorry, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.
The police were here last night.
-They said you killed Terry Montagne. -No!
I went over to his house, but I didn’t kill him.
-He was already dead when I got there. -Wayne, they said you ran away.
What else could I do in the face of everything that's happened?
You could have called Sheriff Metzger.
Yeah, and spend the rest of my life rotting in jail?
I’ve tried talking to Sheriff Metzger and that doesn’t work.
Elaine... I need your help, please.
I don’t know what to do.
I need a place to hide until I can figure this out.
[xxx music]
[gasps] Oh, you startled me.
I thought I'd find you here, Mrs. F.
You know, you shouldn’t be sneaking around boats all by yourself.
Well, I'm not sneaking around.
-Did you speak to Ned Keller? -[Mort] Yeah, dead end.
Oh, he admits to having a fight with Zach, all right,
but he can account for every minute during the night of the murder.
Well, now, that leaves the matter of Zach's estate.
Did you check on that?
Well, he didn’t have any family except for Elaine.
She gets the warehouse and,
now that Terry Montagne's out of the picture,
full interest in The Gretchen.
-Kind of an odd thing, though. -What was that?
Well, it turns out Zach had a pretty healthy life insurance policy,
pretty recent, too.
Little Elaine is gonna come in to a nice chunk of money.
Hey, you don’t think that--
Well, let’s just say it’s an interesting part of the puzzle.
[Mort] Mrs. F, we’ve been over this boat with a fine toothed comb.
[Jessica] Ah, just what I was looking for.
[Mort] What have you got?
[Jessica] The blue prints for this boat.
What are you, uh--
Yeah, that checks out.
What, you mean you can estimate it that close?
Well, of course, why not?
Do you mind telling me what you’re doing
or do I have to wait for divine revelation?
I’m looking for a hiding place.
Aha!
Aha, what?
Well, according to this blue print,
this hold is 4 feet short.
What do you mean? Somebody built a fake wall?
-[knocking] -Well, in nautical terms,
I think it’s referred to as a bulkhead.
[knocking]
[Mort grunts]
-[door creaking] -[mysterious music]
[Jessica] Won’t you look at that.
[Mort] What do we know, just like a haunted house.
Anything strike you as significant?
Oh, looks like distribution codes.
Like something the Medellin Cartel uses in drug shipments.
[dramatic music]
[Mort] Wayne was telling the truth.
Zach’s killer must have hidden in here.
[Jessica] Yes and no.
Did you say that Elaine got The Gretchen and the warehouse in the will?
Yeah, boat storage, marine supplies, that sort of stuff. Why?
Mort, we may not have much time.
Thanks, that helped.
There’s a couch back there Dad used to use when he stayed over.
Um you can get some rest.
I’ll get out of here as soon as I can.
I don’t wanna cause you any more trouble, I've caused you enough already.
Well, you haven’t heard me complain, have you?
[sexy music]
Now go lie down, you look exhausted.
[dramatic music]
[anticipatory music]
-[Elaine gasps] -Elaine.
Mrs. Fletcher, uh, what, what are you doing here?
I’m sorry to say that we’re looking for a killer.
Uh, but Wayne isn’t here.
Not Wayne, the real killer.
Terry Montagne was the majority owner of The Gretchen, wasn’t he?
Well, yes.
I didn’t find out about it until yesterday,
but Terry said that he put up most of the money
and Dad was supposed to pay him back, but never did.
Well, I'm afraid that’s not quite accurate.
Zach paid him but not in money.
The Gretchen was used to smuggle drugs.
That’s impossible.
Dad would never do anything like that.
He may not have had any choice, Elaine.
It’s my guess that Terry Montagne financed the boat,
then coerced your father into smuggling to pay off his share.
No doubt, Zach thought once the debt was clear
he could quit, but that’s not how it happened.
[chuckles] This is crazy.
I heard them arguing about money the day I brought Wayne to the boat.
Zach was looking for a way out and he didn’t have too many options.
Then Wayne came along and that’s when he made his decision.
What decision?
To stage his own death,
kill Terry Montagne and frame Wayne for it.
Your father told Wayne to go get some sleep in the forward cabin.
He said he’d anchor and take the first watch himself.
Next, he went out on deck and cut himself with Wayne’s knife.
Then hid the knife in a place you’d have to blind not to find it.
To make it appear as if Wayne had stabbed him
and tossed him overboard.
Then he bandaged his own arm and came back in.
He wanted it to look like there’d been a struggle,
so he wrecked the cabin.
Then he hidin the secret compartment he used to carrythe drug shipments.
He waited there until a boat docked and it was safe to leave.
[Zach] You always were too damn clever, Jessica Fletcher.
[Elaine] Dad? Oh, my God.
Put the gun down, Zach. It’s all over.
Stay where you are, Mort.
Now you wouldn’t want anybody to get hurt, would you?
Then it’s true?
Everything they said?
I had no choice.
When Terry and I became partners,
he never said anything about smuggling.
By the time I found out, it was too late.
Your mother was sick, you needed the college money.
Fishing was the worst it’d been in years, so I went along,
figuring as soon as I could pay him off of my share the boat,
it’d be over.
You know what happened?
He laughed in my face.
He says if I try to quit, something would happen to you.
That’s when you decided to kill him.
That’s exactly when, Mrs. Fletcher.
But you knew you’d be the prime suspect,
unless you were dead, too.
[Mort] So, you cooked up your little plan.
All you needed was the right fall guy
and who could be more perfect than Wayne, an ex-convict.
Oh, Dad.
Elaine, with Terry dead, The Gretchen, the whole business would be all yours.
I even took out extra life insurance to make sure you’d be okay.
And then what, Zach?
Were you gonna hide for the rest of your life?
Not as hard as you might think, Mrs. Fletcher.
I know places in Mexico where the fishing is good
and nobody cares who you are or where you came from.
But first you have to deal with us.
So, what’s it gonna be, Zach? What are you gonna do?
Shoot us down right in front of your own daughter?
Looks like I don’t have any other option, Mort.
[Wayne] No!
-[men grunting] -[gunshot]
[Mort] Wayne.
Oh, God, please no.
God, please no.
Hey, big brother, are you still mad at me?
Call an ambulance.
Somebody, please, call an ambulance.
-Hi. -Hi.
I, uh... I was patrolling in the area.
How are you doing?
Better.
Doc says I should be on my feet in no time.
That’s good. I, uh--
Look, I got another job for you on a fishing boat.
That is if you want it.
We’ve been through a lot lately, haven’t we?
[Mort] Yeah, we have.
And I guess I didn’t it make it any easier.
I didn’t have any right to expect anything else.
[Mort] Yes, you did.
I’m your brother.
And I'm sorry.
[emotive music]
It’s been three years.
I missed you, kid.
I missed you, too.
How is my patient supposed to recover
with you squeezing the daylights out of him, Sheriff?
Mrs. Fletcher, I wanna thank you for believing in me.
I’m not even sure why you did.
Well, it just didn’t make any sense that a man would kill someone,
radio the coast guard, then come back into port
with the murder weapon in full sight.
But beyond that, maybe there was a touch of intuition.
Yeah, what I don’t understand is
what were you doing at Terry Montagne's house?
I got a message that I should go there if I wanted proof I didn’t kill Zach.
A message that was obviously sent by Zach and not Montagne.
He timed it so I'd be there when you showed up.
When I saw you, I panicked and ran.
Now, that’s enough of the third degree for one day, Sheriff.
You’ll have this young man’s blood pressure
doing handstands at the red.
Well, now you are a fine one
to be talking about being in the red, Doctor?
I know.
So, uh, here.
Now we’re square.
-What’s this? -Bill for my services.
Wayne here took that bullet in your behalf, you know.
Good Samaritan law suggests that you pay his expenses,
minus what I owe you.
Well, I figured, possibly, 70 dollars from you
and we’d be dead even.
-[laughter] -[funky upbeat music]