[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
If I so much as see you again,
I swear I’ll kill you.
He took me for everything I had in more ways than one.
Well, yeah, I mean, money, fame, what else is there?
Did he tell you he’s got a police record?
All these computers are stolen.
There’s something about this that I just don’t understand.
Some unpleasant threats were made.
Redundant, all threats are unpleasant.
It looks as if he got somebody’s message, all right.
[cheerful orchestral music]
Uh-oh, an "L" key.
You know, Jessica,
this situation wouldn’t be nearly so bad
if you hadn’t named your characters
Lola and Larry Lamont.
Now listen carefully and think this through.
You have five suspects in a murder.
One at a time, you lead them into the interrogation room
and watch them through a two-way mirror.
It’s quiet and they’re alone for about an hour.
Now how is a killer likely to act
as opposed to someone who is innocent?
Hmm?
If the killer is stuck there for an hour,
he’s probably going nuts, pacing, nervous, agitated.
That’s what you’d expect but no, on the average,
that’s not it.
Ah, Mr. Rossari.
He falls asleep.
That’s exactly right.
Why?
Simple. You got to figure the guy’s stressed out.
He’s been running on adrenaline ever since the murder.
You take someone who is that wound up
and put him in a small stuffy room alone
for an hour, he’s bound to fall asleep.
Whereas an innocent man’s stress
begins in the interrogation room.
That’s very good.
I mean, that is exactly
the sort of intuitive thinking that results
when you put yourself into the mind of a suspect.
It helps you to understand that the obvious answer
isn’t always the right answer.
Dr. Auerbach.
Excuse me, this will only take a minute.
Michael, can I see you outside?
I see that we’re nearly out of time,
so for the next class put yourselves
into the mind of a murderer.
What you would do to make sure
that you weren’t caught
and to compare that to what you would look for
if you were investigating the crime.
That’s all.
Oh, Dr. Auerbach, may I see you for a moment?
I was just wondering about that discussion you were having.
Mr. Rossari--
Has been removed from your class.
But he’s one of my best students.
Well, I’m sorry, but he didn’t belong there.
He doesn’t have the grades or the background required
to take an advanced class like yours.
Well, then how did he get in?
By altering his records in the university’s mainframe computer.
I’d stay away from this one if I were you, Jessica.
Take my word for it, he’s trouble.
[woman] Operator.
Administration office please.
One moment please.
[woman] Administration.
Oh, yes. I wonder if you could give me
some information on a student, Michael Rossari.
[knocking on door]
Ah, I believe you forgot these.
Oh, thanks.
Oh, I’m sorry, come on in.
Thank you.
Uh, Michael, Dr. Auerbach told me what you did,
but what he couldn’t tell me was why.
Why go to all the trouble of slipping
into the university’s mainframe computer
and changing your records just to get into my class?
Well, the truth is I want to be a writer.
No, scratch that.
I am a writer.
I just-- there’s so much I don’t know
and when I saw that you’d be teaching here this semester
I figured I’d take the class, learn from you,
find out how you got where you are, how you think.
And then you found out that you just didn’t have
the grades or any of the other requirements.
Yeah, I had to do something, so I--
I altered my transcripts just enough to get in.
I wasn’t gonna leave them that way, honest. I tried to--
Put them back the way they were.
Yes, I know.
I talked to the administration’s office
and from what they said,
your initial effort went unnoticed.
It was only when you tried
to put your records back the way
they were that you were caught.
Ain’t that a kick in the head?
I should have quit while I was ahead.
No, what you should have done was to come to me
in the beginning and explain the whole situation.
I mean, I’m an instructor.
I have a fair degree of latitude.
Well, you didn’t know me.
Well, I guess I figured, you know,
why should you do anything to help me?
Because you’re bright and you’re a hard worker
and because of these.
You know, I brought those short stories to class every day.
I kept trying to get up the nerve to show them to you
and I never did.
Just my luck you get them now after all this.
Well, I read them and they’re good.
They’re extremely good.
You show a potential way beyond your years
and you have talent and talent should be encouraged.
Yeah? I--I mean, really?
Yeah, really.
Well, that’s great except-- except I blew it.
I can’t go back to class.
Well, there might be room to maneuver on that.
I mean, it helps that you tried to undo your "alterations."
It will be difficult
but I’m willing to give it a try.
So what’s the catch?
I mean, like you told us in class,
nobody does anything without a reason.
Well, along with your writing,
you seem to have a knack for computers.
I thought we might turn that to a good cause.
I’ve decided to move up
from my old typewriter to a word processor.
You could help me.
I know just the guys.
[Jessica] Well, it’s all very impressive, Mr. Miller.
[Miller] Hopefully it’s not too intimidating.
We try to present a user-friendly appearance.
Computers can be daunting enough
without everything looking like a dentist’s office.
And what else do you do here besides teach computers?
Hardware design, commercial scanning for computer viruses.
And Linda and I collaborate on new software programs,
space games mostly.
I write all those lines like
"Surrender or die, Earth scum".
The class was Derek’s idea.
It’s a very select group.
Lawyers, prominent writers such as yourself,
advertising executives,
vice-presidents of major corporations, stock brokers,
people who don’t want to learn everything about a computer
but just enough to use one effectively.
-That’s me. -Did you find him?
Maggie said he’s in the workroom.
Well, good. Right this way, Mrs. Fletcher.
Ah, another one of our satisfied students,
part of our adopted family.
Jessica Fletcher, Henry Waverly.
Henry, this is Jessica Fletcher.
How do you do?
Mrs. Fletcher.
Another satisfied customer.
What family doesn’t have its little problems?
Don’t you ever take a break?
Oh, this board needs work, I’m sorry.
Well, why don’t you take five minutes
and meet Miss Jessica Fletcher?
Miss Fletcher, this is Derek St. James.
-It’s a pleasure. -How do you do?
Derek and I handle different aspects of the course.
He teaches hardware and I handle software.
And I take care of the chronically shell-shocked.
Derek also handles the installations.
The installations?
As part of your fee for the class,
we buy a computer, customize it to your needs
and set it up in your apartment.
Like I told you, service to the max.
Well, I’m certainly sold.
Well, good. The first class is tomorrow at three o’clock.
As long as you’re here, Derek will start taking the information
that he needs to get the right system for you.
So I’ll leave you to it.
Thank you.
Well, let’s see what the basic requirements
will be for your new computer system.
How much RAM, how much ROM ,
VGA, SVGA, 386, 486, 33, 25 megahertz?
If you do a lot of research, you may want to get a CD-ROM
or a worm optical system.
Do you have any offhand preferences?
Well, I--I was thinking of something in a nice beige.
In other words, I ought to be doing this in English.
That would be wonderful.
Jessica Fletcher, not bad.
Mmm, I was thinking if we can get her
to try the new game and give us an endorsement,
we can ship an extra 50,000 units easily.
We have to finish it first.
Not that you have been giving me
very much time lately to do that.
All business, no pleasure.
Mm-hmm, well, there’s plenty of time for pleasure.
Actually we’re partners on this program,
and I thought maybe I should be pulling a little bit of the work.
Yeah, I know, I know.
I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.
[alarm buzzing]
Yes?
It’s your wife.
Do you want it in here
or do you want it in your office?
I’ll take the call in my office.
That’s got it.
Any problems?
No, no, no.
I just had to finish hooking
your computer up to your phone line.
Now you’re all set up. You can dial from your computer to
any database or any other computer in the country,
send or receive any information you need.
Oh, it’s remarkable.
Well, is there anything else that I should know?
Nothing we won’t be covering later in class.
Um, just play with it until it feels comfortable to you.
Ah! Power on.
-Uh-huh. -Okay.
And you may want to leave that on all the time
except if you leave town, of course.
It just saves wear and tear on the power supply.
Excellent.
Well, I’ll see you in class later.
Yes.
And thank you.
All right, we come to an understanding
or one of us doesn’t leave here alive.
Right.
No, I tried modifying the past statements.
Could I get back to you please?
Thank you.
Well, Henry, I didn’t--
I got a message for you.
I’m sick of this crap. Do you hear me?
I’m sick of it. And I’m all finished.
-Henry, I don’t know what you-- -Just cut it, will you?
You really think that I’m gonna stand here
and let you bleed me dry?
Well, forget it.
I’m not gonna give you a single penny.
-Henry. -Not one penny.
And if I so much as see you again,
I swear I’ll kill you.
It ends here or you end here.
It’s your choice, Alan.
I’m sorry, Jessica, I just don’t think it’s appropriate.
Michael Rossari broke the rules.
He accessed the university computer, changed his records.
Look, I’m not defending what he did, Raymond.
His actions were foolish, ill-considered
and entirely consistent with his age.
-He didn’t think it through. -Precisely.
But at least he tried to set it straight
and if he hadn’t he wouldn’t have gotten caught.
I’m not nominating him for a Nobel Prize,
but he’s bright and dedicated.
And I think he’s worth a second chance.
Is he?
After this all hit the fan,
I had administration send me his file.
Did he tell you he’s got a police record?
No, no, he didn’t.
You’re a good teacher, Jessica.
The students like you
because they know you honestly care about them.
That can work as much against you as for you.
You know what my attorney told me
the day I filed for my divorce?
He said, "There’s no shortage of love in the world,
only of worthy vessels to put it in."
Think about that.
[Michael] Okay, so you got the stuff?
Hey, Mikey, have I ever let you down before?
Uh, yes, and I haven’t been Mikey since the third grade.
-It’s Michael. -Well, that’s big talk.
Pretty soon you’re gonna forget
you’re just another guy from the block.
How can I forget
when I got guys like you reminding me all the time?
Let me see what you got.
Mostly 386s, some 286s, all in good shape.
Warranty papers?
That’s a joke, right?
Yeah, okay, I’ll take care of it.
Guys handle most of the service anyway.
Just one thing.
Last time you were two weeks behind on your payments.
You weren’t thinking of doing that again, were you?
Uh, look, you come by the office tomorrow.
I’ll handle it, payment in full.
Nice doing business with you, Mikey.
You will find that a computer won’t just change your life,
it will make you more efficient.
If, for example, you have to add a few words
or change a few figures in a report,
you don’t have to type up the whole thing,
just run in the numbers and or the words
and let the computer type out a whole new copy.
You don’t even have to worry about delivering your work.
You can use the phone lines to send it across town
or across the whole globe.
So if I finish a chapter of my book in Cabot Cove,
I can send it through the phone lines
to my publisher’s computer in New York?
Exactly.
You know, this is beginning to sound very attractive.
Just one question.
What does it mean when it says "fatal disc error"?
It means your hard disk has crashed.
Oh, dear.
It’s gone. Dead.
In other words, Mrs. Fletcher,
your computer has been murdered.
So what we have to do now is find a suspect.
Oh, that’s no problem.
I’ve been working at this thing three weeks straight
and I’m up for a little "computercide."
Who else here would enjoy seeing one of these things
run over by a truck?
Oh, I would.
All right, all right,
now if we could just take this from the top.
Michael, would you please be kind enough to give
Mrs. Fletcher a live computer
and dust the old one for fingerprints.
Thanks for providing me with an alibi back there.
Oh, well, if you ask me
offing a computer is justifiable homicide.
I’ve been through this course three times
and I still can’t get the hang of it.
Maybe I’m too old to learn.
Oh, not true.
I like to think that you’re never too old.
The way this day has been going, I’m not so sure.
In what way?
Well, I own Skytouchers Construction Company.
And we’ve been bidding on a new project.
It’s a monster, 30 stories high, a mall.
I was sure we had the lowest bid in town,
but today, out of the blue, I find out we lost the project.
Some guy comes in $4,000 under us.
That’s the second time it’s happened.
Oh, I’m so sorry.
Okay, that’s it, folks, break time is over.
Back to the trenches.
Ah, more grief, I swear.
I don’t understand a word this man says.
Everybody is gone, Mrs. Fletcher.
I have to close up.
Oh, I’ll be right there.
[Michael] Hey, you all right, Linda?
[Linda] I don’t like being lied to
and I don’t like being stolen from.
[Michael] I’m sorry, Linda.
Everybody’s gone for the day,
but if you’ve got a problem.
Yes, I’ve got a problem.
Six months Alan has had me working on this computer game,
promising me equal money, equal credit,
my big break in the business.
Today I walk into the store and there it is.
Not only doesn’t it have my name on it,
he didn’t have the guts to tell me it was out.
Come on, Linda.
It’s the best program I have ever come up with.
It would have made me.
He took me for everything I had in more ways than one.
He is a thief.
Look, Linda, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.
A reasonable explanation for the knife
he stuck in my back?
Wait till you see the knife I stick in his.
Michael, Miss Truitt sounded very upset.
Yeah, well, you know, like Alan said
what family doesn’t have its little arguments?
I’m sure they’ll work it out.
Probably just a typo or something.
Come on, I’ll give you a lift home.
Oh, you don’t have to do that.
Yeah, I want to. Come on.
All right.
When you’re on the streets, you’re in a gang.
So I used to hang out at the boy’s club
when I was in high school.
It kept me off the streets.
They had a couple of computers.
And I found out I had a knack for taking them apart
and putting them back together.
So I figured I’d use it, you know, earn a living
while I tried to make it as a writer.
Always plan ahead.
Michael, I spoke to Dr. Auerbach today
about reinstating you
and apparently, there are some complications.
He said that you have a police record.
Do you want to know what for?
You don’t have to.
Age 14, busted for shoplifting comic books.
Age 15, caught boosting hubcaps.
Nailed again on petty theft at 16.
Police record.
Yeah, we’re definitely talking national security risk here.
Once you make a few mistakes
nobody wants you to go straight,
get your act together.
Messes up their expectations.
Look, I don’t want to sound ungrateful.
You’ve-- you’re doing all you can
and that’s more than anybody else has ever done for me
but if things don’t work out, I’ll understand.
Well, I don’t believe in giving up hope
until I’ve tried everything.
Ah, patron saint of lost causes, huh?
Oh, by the way, I was talking to my mom
and she said that if I didn’t invite you
over for lunch tomorrow, she’d kill me.
Oh, she’s a big fan of yours.
And their place is not that far
from you over in the West side.
Well, I’d love to, but I don’t think--
Well, would it help if I said it was a matter of life and death?
I mean, if you don’t come, she will kill me.
Well, all right, I’d love to.
And anyway, I could drop off some notes
I have on those short stories of yours.
Great.
[laughing]
It is just so exciting,
our Michael working with you to become a writer.
Well, to be honest, Rosalee,
I found that you can’t teach someone to become a writer.
The instinct has to be there first.
But then it has to be trained, disciplined.
Discipline? Michael?
Good luck.
We’ve tried, the schools have tried,
all his life he’s been in trouble,
the fights. You saw it, Rosalee.
Oh, every other day.
He just can’t back down, even when he’s outnumbered.
They hit him, he gets up and goes for them.
-Ma. -They knock him down, he gets up.
-Ma. -They knock him down--
-Ma! -What?
Pass the peas.
I don’t know about this writing stuff.
You know, you put a couple of black marks
on a piece of paper and you expect people to pay for it.
Stephen King, sure. You, sure.
-But Michael, he’s not the type. -So what is the type?
Somebody who’s not always getting into trouble.
Yeah, like Norman Mailer?
I told you not to answer me back, eh?
And this Mailer guy, isn’t that one of your friends
who’s always getting you into trouble?
[knocking on door]
Oh, Dominic, hi.
I was just on my way back from the laundry
and thought I’d stop by and see Rosalee.
You always dress this way when you go to the laundry?
It’s a fashion statement, okay.
Rosalee-- oh, I know you.
You’re Jessica Fletcher.
I’ve read all your books.
[Dominic] You told her.
[Rosalee] I just mentioned it.
I don’t suppose you could autograph
one of your books for me.
Well--
And for a few of my friends.
Well, I suppose so.
I’m not sure that this is the best time.
Great!
It's okay! [women squealing]
If you could just maybe sign it to Teresa?
Teresa, with an "h"?
No "h".
[women clamoring]
Would you mind some company?
I needed a break.
You know, I’ve spent my whole life in this neighborhood.
I was born here, I was raised here
and some days I think I’m gonna die here,
that I’m never gonna get out.
You know, half the guys I grew up with,
they’re either dead.
The other half is still here doing the same thing
they did ten, 20 years ago.
Well, we all want different things.
I mean, some people like that kind of stability.
It’s not stability.
It’s death.
You know, I have-- I have such dreams.
I want to be somebody, go places,
prove to everybody that I’m not just one more guy
from the neighborhood, nobody special.
Then I think maybe I haven’t got it,
maybe I’m not good enough.
You know, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night,
it’s like I can’t breathe.
The hour of the wolf.
The long midnight...
when possibilities evaporate and the walls close in
and the loudest sound in the world
is the beating of your own heart.
You too?
I thought maybe you get past that
once you really make it, once you get some money,
some fame, become a real success.
Jeez, I know I’d be happy.
Are you sure?
Well, yeah, I mean, money, fame, respect.
What else is there?
Well, there’s "the exercise of vital powers, along
lines of excellence, in a life affording them scope".
A little piece of wisdom, about 2,000 years old.
Find out what moves you to passion, Michael,
and do it.
Not because it’ll make you famous,
not because of the money,
but because you can’t not do it.
Just strive to be the best at what you do
and the rest will follow.
Follow your own bliss, Michael.
Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
Hi.
-Hi. -What’s up?
Perhaps you could tell us.
Class was supposed to start 15 minutes ago.
I told Alan I was gonna be late.
He should have started without me.
Maybe he didn’t get the message.
It appears that you’re wrong, Mr. O’Connell.
It looks as if he got somebody’s message, all right.
[man] All right, I need one more shot.
Yeah.
Okay, who found the body?
I did, lieutenant?
Timothy Chance.
You’re Jessica Fletcher, right?
I’ve seen your books in the stores.
And he’d read them, except he gets lip burn.
The lady with no class is Lieutenant Cynthia Devereaux.
Is there anything else you’d like to add
to the report you gave to the officers?
Well, not really.
From what I saw, Mr. Miller was strangled possibly
with a piece of electrical cord that was in the room.
Possibly.
But probably not by one of the cords still in the room.
Probably.
Would you leave crucial evidence lying around like that?
No, I would dump it outside.
We’re checking the area now.
Well, at least it’s an inside murder,
not an outside murder.
I hate outside murders, don’t you?
Hate them. So how’s business?
Excuse me?
Well, when a business partner is killed,
the first thing we want to know
is how’s the business doing.
Any outstanding debts, any problems,
won’t you agree, Lt. Chance?
-Definitely, Lt. Devereaux. -The business was great.
Alan brought a lot of contracts, paid out big time.
Now it’s just gonna be hard
to make up the difference that he’s gone.
There’s no one who might have had a grudge against him?
No, no one.
Well, I’m not sure about that.
The other day, I heard Michael having
a rather heated conversation with Linda Truitt.
She said that Mr. Miller had stolen her program
for some new computer game.
Who is this Linda Truitt?
She’s a freelance designer that Alan worked with,
well, until the day she quit and went to work for Unidac.
Just one problem, logistics.
[Lt. Chance] Victim was strangled.
He would have put up a fight.
Tough? The killer was a woman.
Not necessarily.
I noticed his glasses were on the floor
halfway across the room and there was a swelling
on the back of his head,
as if he could have been hit from behind.
If he had been unconscious when it happened,
he could have been killed by a woman.
You always miss these things.
I know. I should attend more staff meetings.
Anybody else see the argument?
Michael Rossari.
But, well, he doesn’t seem to be here right now.
It’s not surprising.
I heard Alan say he was gonna fire Michael.
Fire him. What for?
Well, I don’t know.
He just said it as I was on the way out.
He seemed very upset about it,
said we’d talk about it later.
You know, for a business that’s going great,
Mr. St. James,
you’ve been losing a lot of employees lately.
In more ways than one.
[knocking on door]
Yeah, okay. Hang on.
Late again, Mikey.
Yeah, I know. I haven’t got it.
Then get it.
How ain’t my problem.
But unfortunately, I’m gonna have to make it your problem.
[Jessica] Well, tell him I’m very, very excited, Susan.
Well, a first child is very important.
Well, that’s why I want to be informed
the minute that he’s born.
I’ll be on the first plane to Cabot Cove.
[knocking on door]
Yeah, ooh, listen, my-- my visitors have arrived.
I’m gonna have to run.
But remember, call me any time, day or night.
Bye.
Just a minute.
Mrs. Rossari, please come in.
Ahmed told me you were coming up.
Can I take your coat?
Oh, no, no, thank you. I’ll only be a minute.
I--I was just in the neighborhood
and I was wondering if--
Well, I thought maybe you might have heard from Michael.
Oh, no, I’m so sorry.
I wish I had, but he hasn’t been in touch.
We’re so worried about him.
The police came by this morning.
They--They said a man was killed.
Well, I’m sure it has nothing to do with Michael.
I hope you’re right.
Dominic, he drove past Michael’s apartment three times
this morning looking for him.
They argue all the time
but he loves Michael more than his soul.
If he’s got nothing to hide, why is he doing this?
I wish I knew.
Just put the report on the chair, would you?
Difficult to do since we haven’t written it yet.
-A very good point. -Who?
Lieutenant Detective Devereaux, NYPD Homicide.
This is Lieutenant Chance.
We’d like to talk to you about--
I know. I can save you a lot of time.
I had nothing to do with Alan’s murder.
We have a witness that says you accused
Alan of stealing one of your programs.
Some unpleasant threats were made.
Redundant.
All threats are unpleasant.
Point taken.
You bet I threatened him.
We worked together six months on that new game program
and he undercut me.
He published it with only his name on it.
Do you have any idea what that’s gonna cost me?
A lot of money.
Or ten to 20 depending on the Judge.
Why don’t we just cut the dog and pony show, okay?
I had nothing to do with Alan’s murder.
I don’t have to talk to you.
Unless you’re going to charge me,
and that means a Miranda, in which case the only thing
you’re going to get out of me is the name,
address and phone number of my attorney.
You’ve been watching those TV cop shows
again, haven’t you?
[telephone ringing]
[Jessica] Hello?
[Michael on phone] Mrs. Fletcher?
Michael. Where are you?
You know the police are looking for you.
Your parents are frantic.
This is just gonna make things look bad for you.
Yeah, yeah, I know, but there’s something
that might make things look even worse
and that’s why I need your help.
I need you to get the police off my tail
and onto the guy I think did kill Alan.
Well, I’ll certainly do what I can.
Tell the police to check out a guy named Henry Waverly.
He used to be a student of Alan’s.
I saw them talking a couple of days ago.
He said something about
how he wasn’t gonna be squeezed for money and that
if they didn’t leave him alone, he’d kill him.
Well, all right, I’ll tell the police.
But it would be much easier
if we could at least talk about this in person, Michael.
Yeah, okay.
You got a pen?
No, but, um, go ahead.
There’s a little park off West 6th Street.
Go two blocks past where Grayson turns into Brunswick,
then left.
It’s just around the corner on the right.
I’ll be there tomorrow morning at eight o’clock.
Don’t tell anybody, okay?
I mean, nobody.
I’ve got it. I’ve got it down.
I’ll see you tomorrow, Michael.
[Cynthia] You said it was important, Mr. St. James?
Well, I think so, but you’ll have to decide for yourself.
I-I hate to drag you out here
after hours and everything.
[pager beeping]
Oh, you can use that phone in there if you like.
Just punch nine.
Oh, what have we got?
These.
You see, people come to us to learn computers
and we not only teach them
but we help them select a system that’s right for them.
Then we send Michael Rossari out to find the best price.
So?
I’ve been digging around and...
all these computers are stolen.
See, you can check the ID numbers for yourself.
What exactly was your arrangement with Mr. Rossari?
Every month we give him money for computers.
And he could keep what he didn’t spend as his commission.
Now, buying hot means he’d be paying
less than he would on the open market.
It’d be a bigger profit for him.
Alan was a straight-up guy.
I guess he found out what was going on
and decided to fire Michael.
Can I have these?
Sure.
Thanks.
Anything?
Miss Fletcher, she’s got a tip on a guy named Henry Waverly.
He used to be a former student. You?
I got it all, motive, means and access.
An embarrassment of riches.
Clean living. Does it every time.
Mrs. Fletcher.
Michael. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.
Are you all right?
Oh, yeah, just a professional disagreement.
Did you tell the police about Waverly?
Yes, but there’s something I don’t understand.
[siren wailing]
Oh, no.
-Man! -Michael, don’t.
If you run, it’ll only make things worse.
Stop, police!
Hold it!
[indistinct commands]
Michael, I didn’t tell anyone, I swear.
Nobody else knew.
It had to be you, Mrs. Fletcher. It had to be.
How could you do this to me?
Watch your head.
Get in there.
[Jessica] Well, are you sure he got my message?
He did, he doesn’t want to see you, I’m sorry.
-Well, how is he? -Michael’s holding up...
but how could a thing like this happen, Mrs. Fletcher?
How could they think that Michael--
Have they charged him with murder?
No, but they have enough to hold him
for receiving stolen goods.
He said he didn’t know they were stolen.
He thought he was buying gray market,
you know, cheap knock-offs
with brand names stuck on them.
It’s not nice, but it isn’t--
They’re gonna charge him with murder,
aren’t they, Mrs. Fletcher?
I’m afraid it looks that way.
What are we gonna do?
Find the truth.
Lieutenant, how did you know
where to find Michael this morning?
Anonymous tip.
And where did the anonymous source get the information?
Tea leaves, divine inspiration, Ouija boards, who knows?
The tip was right, that’s all that matters.
Well, I’m not so sure, lieutenant.
There’s something about all of this
that just doesn’t add up.
[telephone ringing]
Hello.
Susan!
Oh, that’s wonderful.
Boy or girl?
Great.
And how are you feeling?
Oh, that’s lovely.
Hey, but now you promised that
you’d have your mother call me.
Well, as soon as he was born and--
You did call? What time?
No, of course I was at home.
At four o’clock in the morning I was dead asleep.
Well, but the phone couldn’t possibly have been busy.
Well, no, it just doesn’t make any sense.
Well, anyway, I’ll be up there this weekend
to see which side of the family Alex takes after.
Well, take great care, Susan, and congratulations.
Yes.
That’s impossible.
I mean, how can a phone line be busy if I’m not using it?
Yes, hello, operator.
I was wondering if you could give me a list of phone calls
made from this number in the last 24 hours.
I need to know who I’ve been calling
when I haven’t been calling anyone.
Lieutenant, lieutenant, I have to ask you a question.
No, no, Mrs. Fletcher, you want to ask a question,
we have to go to lunch if you don’t mind.
Did you talk to the man I referred you to,
-Henry Waverly? -We did.
He has an airtight alibi at the time of the murder.
We know he didn’t do it.
Yes, but he might be able to point us
at the person who did.
We have to go back and talk to him again.
-We? -Mrs. Fletcher, please.
We haven’t eaten all day.
Well, then afterwards, we’ll go to this little deli
that I know, and I’ll fill you in over a corned beef sandwich.
It’s my treat.
Deal?
She’s a force of nature, isn’t she?
On the other hand, it is a free lunch.
Point taken.
I’ve told you before I never threatened Alan.
Yes, but a witness said otherwise.
Yeah, well, it’s his word against mine.
Now listen to me, that’s the last time
that I’m gonna say anything about this. Do you understand?
Mr. Waverly, I believe there’s a great deal more
that you could say about all this.
And I believe it has to do with this telephone number.
I thought you might recognize it.
This number was dialed
from my apartment at four in the morning,
but not by me.
I believe that you had a similar experience.
I have a wife and kids.
I have a reputation that I have to protect.
If this gets out, I’m finished.
We’re not interested in messing up your family.
[Lt. Devereaux] All we want is the truth.
Look, I had--I was having an affair, all right?
And I was gonna end it
but then the blackmailing started.
That’s what you meant when you told Alan
that you refused to pay
what was being demanded of you.
Yeah, but he got real mystified when I told him about it,
like he didn’t know what I was talking about.
You see, I thought the two of them
were behind it but I was wrong.
So I went and talked to him again.
Alan knew nothing about the arrangement, nothing.
Arrangement.
You said you were having an affair.
How did they find out?
Through this telephone number
which we will have to prove, of course.
Fortunately, I have one or two ideas
about how to do that.
Derek.
Hey, what are you doing in this part of town?
I’m saving your neck, that’s what.
Saving my neck. I don’t get it.
This is your latest project, right?
Yeah, yeah. So?
Full square block, five-story mall,
lots of subterranean parking. It’s big.
What do you think could happen
if the word got out that you were using inferior material?
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I’m talking about a confidential report
you sent to one of your partners.
This one.
And in it you say that you became aware
that the contractor was supplying you
with dangerously inadequate materials
but you decided to keep it quiet to avoid the scandal.
For shame, O’Connell.
What do you think the City Attorney’s office
would do with this?
What do you want?
Not much.
A modest payment deposited every week
to a certain bank account, guarantee of silence.
You will find I’m a very reasonable man.
I think that Alan Miller might not
agree with that description.
But I do want to thank you for providing us
with the proof that we need to support
a charge of blackmail and murder.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Really?
It’s quite simple, once you know what the trick is.
You and Alan ran a computer class
for working professionals.
He handled the software while you took care of the hardware.
Your installation included this--
A telephone line.
Each computer was wired into the phone system,
so that your students could dial
into another computer, sending
or receiving information over the phone lines.
Oh, right. That’s standard procedure.
It makes getting the work out so much easier. So?
So while you were installing the computers,
you slipped in a program without anyone knowing.
At regular intervals, that program would make
our computers dial up your computer
at this phone number.
And I had the police verify
that this number belongs to you.
Now once connected, our computers
would send copies of everything we had entered into them.
-It’s nonsense. -[Jessica] Is it?
I imagine your logic was that
everybody has something to hide.
Eventually you’d get something
that you could use and it worked.
You found out about Henry Waverly’s mistress
through the notes to her he composed on his computer.
And that’s how you found out about my meeting with Michael.
I'd typed the time and place into my computer,
and it was still there
when my computer dialed you up that night
which is why my line was busy
when someone tried to call in.
And that was what tipped me to what you were doing.
And when she told me about it,
I couldn’t believe it.
But I figured, well, we’ll give it a try.
So we planted that phony construction memo
in my computer and we waited.
Sure enough, last night it dialed your computer
and sent you a copy of that memo.
And when you walked through that door with it,
you literally convicted yourself.
It’s not nice to run from a lady
when she’s not finished talking to you.
She’s a writer.
You should stay for the end of the story.
Yeah, you know, where Waverly got fed up
with the blackmail and threatened Alan.
Except Alan didn’t know anything about it.
And when he figured it out,
he was something less than a happy camper.
And he threatened to expose you.
You couldn’t have that, bad for business.
So you fought, grabbed a cable and strangled Alan.
Which is also bad for business.
Oh and sloppy. Very, very sloppy.
[Jessica] Michael, I am so glad to see you.
Me too. Thanks.
I mean, thanks for everything.
Come on in.
-Thanks. -Please, sit down.
Thank you.
You ought to thank everybody on the planet
that you got out of this thing in one piece.
Here, have some sherry, Mrs. Fletcher.
Thank you.
Well, at least you managed to convince the police
that you didn’t realize that the computers were stolen.
And next time you be careful who you buy from, ya hear?
Yeah, I hear, I hear. Boy, do I.
I mean, you miss a payment, and they don’t mess around, these guys.
-You know what I mean? -Oh, by the way...
I spoke to Dr. Auerbach today and he still insists
that you can’t take my course for credit.
But I checked and anyone can audit a class
at the discretion of the instructor.
Now you wouldn’t get academic credit for it
but at least you get the experience.
That’s great.
With all this craziness, maybe you’ll get a story out of it.
Hey, I thought you didn’t approve of all this writing stuff.
Well, when I saw you in that-- in that place,
I made a little deal with God.
I said, "Let him be innocent.
Let them see that he is all right.
And after that if he wants to be a writer,
I’ll give him the pencil."
And God did with a little help from Jessica Fletcher.
Now you don’t want me to break a promise like that, do you?
After all, with Mrs. Fletcher here, if you don’t become a writer,
there’s got to be something wrong with you here.
[speaks in foreign language]
[knocking on door]
Who’s that?
Relax. Will you relax, Dominic?
Now put this on.
When Michael came home,
I figured we have to have a party to celebrate.
I just invited a few people.
[clamoring]