[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote...
Aah! Aah!
Well, the game's afoot, Holmes.
There are some new scratches in there, Watson.
And they weren't made by a key.
[ding] I'm a roustabout.
I help set up and take down rides and tents.
You don't like your job, do you?
In my business, you don't count bodies, only cash.
Are you missing something?
Why, uh... yes, my shirt!
Just get me the books... if you're still in.
I never could cotton to reaching across a coffin
to get an hors d'oeuvre.
After all this time,
it's still eating you up that much
that I walked out on you.
There's an old association
between carnivals, evil doing and black magic.
Farewell!
[cheerful orchestral music]
[carnival music playing]
Aah!
Much better!
You see, Carmen, why the scream
must seem natural and spontaneous?
If you're terrified,
the audience will be terrified for you.
Carmen will be perfect.
So will you, Nicky. You two kids run along.
Couldn't we rehearse it again?
No, baby. The grown-ups want to talk.
You always want to talk
when it's time for me to prepare for my act.
And you always have an excuse, Carl.
I'm a showman! Not a businessman.
If we don't pay these back taxes, we won't have a business.
-Ahh. -"Ahh."
And I gotta tell you-- cutting back on the rides,
keep jacking the sideshows and the prizes--
that's not gonna solve--
Just keep crunching those numbers, Joanna.
I'll worry about giving the yokels their money.
This booking won't begin to pay off our late loan payments.
They just notified us. Look!
If we don't pay it within two weeks,
we're gonna lose the carny.
I don't want to hear this now!
I have a performance to think about.
Did you pick up the permits from the sheriff's office?
I, uh, didn't have a chance.
You'd better take care of it.
You may be the committee chairman, Jess,
but it's a carnival, not a fancy-dress ball.
And we were supposed to meet Carl Dorner there
exactly four minutes ago.
Jess, is something wrong?
Last time I was here,
I left a cameo that Frank gave me on our first anniversary...
and several other pieces of sentimental value,
in this old jewelry box.
Just now, I was looking for a pair of earrings,
and I discovered that the box was empty.
-Are you sure that's where you kept them? -Positive.
Do you think you could've been...burgled?
It looks that way.
It's as if things have been moved around.
You know, Seth...
while I'm really saddened by the loss of the cameo,
I'm even more struck by the irony
of coming back from a crime-ridden city
and finding that I was robbed right here in Cabot Cove.
What time did you take your dog out last night, Miss O'Neill?
Nine o'clock. And when I returned to my house,
I saw that a thief had broken in
and took all my good crystal
and my mother's silver tea set.
Apparently, he knew exactly how long
you and your dog would be gone.
Yes. Guinevere is regular.
You can set your watch by her.
Be with you in a second.
I just need to pick up the carnival payments.
Mort?
-Joanna? -Yeah.
Wow.
Can you believe this?
No. No, I can't. It's, uh--
it's been over 20 years.
Excuse me, but--
I'm sorry. Andy, will you go home with Miss O'Neill
and check out the premises?
Sure thing. Maybe together,
we can find some clue to help catch this burglar.
That's what I want to hear.
Excuse me.
Coffee?
Please.
You look terrific, Joanna.
Thank you. So do you.
Oh, I don't know why I'm so surprised.
I mean, I knew I'd run into you someday.
But in Cabot Cove, Maine?
Last time we saw each other
was on the North campus, by the student union.
Mort, I never wanted to hurt you.
Hey, Don Sims was a big deal.
I heard he signed with the LA Rams...
just before you and he ran off together.
Then I read he busted a kneecap or something.
And that was the last I heard.
Somebody told me
you had become a New York cop.
So what are you doing all the way up here?
I like it here.
So does my wife.
I knew you were probably married.
To the right person, I hope.
I got really lucky, Joanna.
Yeah. Well, I'd like to meet her.
She's out of town.
Uh, Brooklyn-- her sister's birthday.
So how long have you been with the carnival?
Hmm, two years as an assistant manager,
one year as a full partner.
Before that, you know, other carnivals.
Don liked to keep moving.
Hey, Jo, come on.
I'm in a ten-minute zone.
How long does it take to pick up a couple of permits?
Uh, I ran across an old friend.
Hello, Don. Mort Metzger.
A sheriff. Well, I'll be damned.
[laughing]
I always figured you'd wind up a cop.
-Did you? -Quite a reunion, huh?
Jo, why don't you lead us in the old college song?
Permits are, uh... stamped and signed.
Come on.
Don't hate me.
[all screaming and whooping]
[speaking French]
Pretty Flowers for pretty ladies.
It's beautiful, Mr. Dorner. Thank you.
Would you happen to have a tally sheet for me?
Oh, yeah.
I sure have.
[speaking French]
Oh, Mr. Dorner?
Mrs. Fletcher! [coughing]
And Dr. Hazlitt.
We were running a bit late,
but we hoped we could talk about last night's receipts.
As luck would have it, I just picked up
the tally slip from the ticket booth.
But I must warn you, it's rather disappointing.
Oh.
This can't be right.
We were here last night. It seemed like a good crowd.
Certainly larger than these figures indicate.
In my business, you don't count bodies, only cash.
Many of the people you saw only came to look at the free entertainment.
They didn't spend a nickel.
Unless they spent money on tickets
to buy food and amusement, they weren't here.
You're quite right, Mr. Dorner. It's very disappointing.
Yeah. Maybe it'll pick up today.
Perhaps the extra radio announcements will help.
Doctor, are you planning on coming
to our little magic show at two o'clock?
I'm afraid I don't hold much with hocus-pocus.
Believe me, he wouldn't miss it for the world.
Anyway, have to prepare.
See you folks later.
I suppose I'd better get started.
Good luck. I'm going to take a look around.
Come one, come all, over here!
Three balls for one ticket!
All you have to do is knock the bottles off
and you win a prize!
-I lost him. -Don't sweat it.
He's taking his pre-show siesta in his trailer.
That trailer, does he use that for his office, too?
Office, dressing room, sleeping quarters.
Then he keeps his books in there?
I guess he would, yeah.
But he doesn't like to be disturbed.
Don't disturb him. Just get me the books...
If you're still in.
I'm--I'm in, but--
If you're in, you're in all the way.
Just do it.
I'm on my break, Lisa. See you later.
Hi.
Um... how many tickets?
Oh. None. I work here.
I was just wondering why I'd never seen you around before.
I'm just a charity volunteer.
I live in Cabot Cove.
Ah. Well, it looks like a great town.
That's about it.
Um, what do you do for the carnival?
I'm a roustabout.
I don't know what that is.
I help set up and take down rides and tents
and whatever else they tell me to do.
-My name's Toby. -I'm Lisa.
Well, I take my break as soon as my friend gets back.
I'll be working on the midway.
Hope I didn't frighten away your young man.
No, I just met him.
Um, he's a roustabout.
A roustabout? Hmm.
-Tell me, how are you parents? -They're fine.
I'm certainly glad to hear that. Um--
Lisa, you got a minute?
Excuse me, Mrs. Fletcher.
If you're in that much of a hurry, go ahead.
The carnival people underestimated the size of the turnout.
They called me with a big order for hot dogs
and stuff for my Deli section.
Congratulations.
And to show my appreciation,
Lisa, honey,
I'd like to buy $100 worth of tickets.
Oh, wow. That is very generous, Richard.
Thank you very much.
Just give me a minute to count up the tickets.
I can get them later when I pick you up to go to the magic show,
if that's all right with you, Mrs. Fletcher.
It's not up to me.
Well, I-- I can switch my afternoon
with one of the other girls.
I mean, I'd like to see the show.
Okay, I'll be back at 1:30.
I don't know. I went to a couple of movies
and a bingo game with him.
It was better than nothing on a Saturday night.
But not much. He's so full of himself.
[laughs]
Lisa, Mr. Dorner mentioned
that he'd picked up last night's tally sheet from you.
Do you have a copy for me?
Actually, he told me it wasn't necessary
to make another one,
but I spilled diet soda on the first one.
But you can still read it.
Oh, my. I certainly can.
This will be very helpful. Thank you, Lisa.
Can I buy you a beer, sheriff?
Thanks. One root beer is my limit.
Things running smooth?
Yeah, smooth enough.
Do you ever think about when we were in college?
To be honest... not a whole lot.
I do.
I really screwed up, didn't I?
Hey, we all make choices.
True.
[Jessica] Sheriff?
Oh, excuse me, Ms. Sims.
Sheriff, can we talk?
Mrs. Fletcher's home was burglarized,
and I've gotta go over it with her.
[Don] What are you crazy? This isn't how the game is played!
If it's not, it ought to be!
They couldn't have won all these prizes.
Come on, they gotta give 'em back.
Over my dead body!
Hold it! What's this all about?
Sheriff, arrest this man.
He's trying to rob these children
of prizes they won fair and square.
Each one of them knocked down all those buckets.
-Is that right, Don? -Give me a break.
The bottle has to be knocked clean off the table
to win a prize. That's the way the game is always played.
Yes, but the sign says "Knock down the bottles."
Shouldn't it also say
"Knock down all the bottles off the tables"?
These kids are smart.
If the sign had said something dumb like that,
they wouldn't have wasted their money.
Listen up, kids.
You can all keep your prizes.
Go play somewhere else for now.
-Close it up, Don. -What?
It doesn't play in Cabot Cove.
You're as crazy as Mort, you know that?
Maybe you should've married him.
[ding]
Wow.
-Hi. -Hi.
Don't you ever get a break?
I get lunch right after I finish this.
What is it?
"Test Your Strength".
Hit the bell and you impress your girl
and win her a cheapo prize.
You don't like your job, do you?
I need to work.
I'm taking a year off between high school and college
to help earn money for my tuition.
Do they hire girl roustabouts?
I've never met one.
But women are working everywhere.
Watch yourself.
[ding]
Stop it, you jerk!
I don't want that thing in front of my trailer!
I told you, I want it across from the Whirlwind ride!
No, you didn't, Sir. You said--
I know what I said! You're just too dumb to listen.
I'll show you where I want it myself.
Now, move!
No doors or windows broken or jimmied.
No sign of forced entry.
By any chance, did you leave your door unlocked
or a key under the mat?
Oh, no. Living in New York cured me of that.
Whoever he is, our burglar does his homework.
He takes no chances at being surprised at his work.
Except for yours and Miss O'Neill's place,
all the others were rented by weekenders
who were back in the city.
And no fingerprints
-or other clues? -Nope.
Some people are already blaming the carnival for the burglaries,
but I find that hard to believe.
It just opened last night.
There's an old association
between carnivals, evil doing and black magic.
And picking locks? That's the MO on the others.
Would you happen to have a magnifying glass
and a flashlight?
Of course. I must say, picking a lock
would be a lot easier than black magic.
And my kitchen door doesn't face the street.
Well, the game's afoot, Holmes.
Uh-huh.
Let's see what we've got over here.
There are some new scratches in there, Watson,
and they weren't made by a key.
Hmm. Mort, what did the burglar steal
from those rented houses?
TV sets, VCRs, computers?
No, he--or she-- didn't take any of those things.
They took a Tiffany lamp, an antique knife, some cut glass.
I'm gonna put a description of your missing items on the police wire.
Any chance you'll need a ride back to the carnival?
Oh, please, yes.
I have some unfinished business
with Mr. Dorner.
And we don't want to miss the black magic.
What are you looking for? Maybe I can help.
How long have you been there?
Long enough to make up my mind
you're stealing something from Carl.
No, really, it's,
it's not the way it looks.
My God, this is embarrassing.
Nicky?
-Oh, hi, Joanna. -Did you find my ring?
My engagement ring from Nicky, it was loose.
After Carl called me in to talk about the knife-throwing act,
I suddenly realized it was gone.
I was standing where Nicky is now,
so I thought it might've fallen into a desk drawer.
You thought that?
Couldn't you find it?
Uh, no.
Let me look.
Oh! There, under the desk!
I never met a man yet who could find anything.
Here, put it back on.
I gotta get ready for the show.
Cute. You palmed that thing
like a real expert.
I don't know what you're talking about.
[indistinct chatter]
Why do we have to wait until after the show?
I say we turn Dorner over to Mort now.
He gave us a short count on the ticket sales,
which will cost our charity a certain percentage of the take.
That, I believe, is called "skimming".
Yes, but I hate to disappoint
all the people who bought tickets to see the show.
That's his fault, not ours.
Besides, we'd have to refund the money.
Oh, good point.
Why don't I stay outside here after the show,
just in case he tries to make a run for it?
The charity committee all have seats in the front row,
where Mr. Dorner is bound to see us.
Maybe that will convince him that we are serious.
Remind me to tell you how much I hate card tricks.
Joanna, wait. We have to talk.
Listen, Carl keeps talking about retiring.
Get him to do it now.
You take over,
and we can run this thing together.
Don't I wish.
Maybe if you'd stop drinking.
Maybe if you were more supportive once in a while.
I gotta go inside.
Joanna. [sighs]
We can turn this turkey around.
Sure we could.
[applause]
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
a scientific demonstration
to prove that the hand is quicker than the eye.
Miss Joanna, if you please.
I shall need two volunteers from the audience.
You. The handsome young man
with the pretty girl.
-No way. Uh-huh. -Come on, I dare you.
Come on.
Come on, don't be chicken.
An excellent start.
I shall need one more to make a set.
Oh, doctor? Come on.
Oh, no. Not on your life.
-Come on! -What have you got to lose?
My dignity, that's what.
No, I simply won't do it.
Not even in the name of sweet charity?
How many of you would pay for an extra ticket
to see Dr. Hazlitt go up there on that stage?
[cheering]
Thank you, Miss Joanna.
Doctor, over here, if you will.
And who are you?
Richard Binyon.
Mr. Binyon, do you know Dr. Hazlitt?
Sure.
Would you say he has the reputation
of being a great gardener?
[Richard] Not that I know of.
Oh? Where do you suppose...
these came from?!
[applause]
I hope you didn't steal them
from a patient's room.
Doctor, would you kindly hold these for me?
Thank you. As a matter of fact,
I think it would be so much more becoming
if you were to hold it in two hands. Yes.
Just like that. That's a lot better.
Thank you, thank you.
[laughter]
Now, Richard, what is it that you do for a living?
I manage a grocery store.
Oh? Well...
this should come as no surprise.
Are you giving your girlfriend
a sausage necklace?
[laughs]
Hold both hands out straight in front of you.
That's it, with the wrists together.
Very good. Just like that. Thank you.
Thank you very, very much.
Doctor, would you kindly raise the flowers high
in your right hand?
Can't you obey orders?
I'll bet you don't cut on a dotted line, do you?
No, you're not that sort of person, are you?
[cheering]
Doctor, do you have everything?
Well, uh... I'm missing my shirt!
Not to mention something else, too.
Well, fortunately,
these items turned up in lost-and-found.
A wallet...
and also a wristwatch...
and, yes, indeed, your shirt.
And, Richard, I believe that these belong to you.
Ah. A wristwatch.
And we have here a money clip.
And... oh, dear.
Oh, dear, it seems that we also have some...
unmentionables!
Let's hear it for Doc and Dickie!
[cheering]
Don't try this at home, boys and girls.
And always be sure the hand in your pocket
is your own.
And so...
Farewell!
I have never been so embarrassed!
I have to deliver groceries to some of these people tomorrow.
Toby, hey. I was looking for you.
Dorner dumped a lot of extra work on me.
I'm sorry you had to see him chew me out that way.
Yeah, I felt really bad for you.
Listen, I don't get off till we close at 11:30,
and I don't have a car.
Well, my parents...
should be asleep by then.
Maybe I could just borrow my dad's.
Great.
Meet me at the Whirlwind.
[powering down]
Toby?
[man] Are you kidding me?!
You've got to have a lot more than that.
You're not gonna jerk me around.
Mess with me, I'll see you're sent to the slammer for life!
Hey! What--
Ohh!
[groaning]
[machinery Powers up]
[carnival music playing]
Aaaaah!
Judge Bolan, it's Sheriff Metzger.
I'm sorry to wake you so early, your honor,
but I need a legal piece of paper
to stop the carnival from packing up a murder scene
and leaving this morning with all the suspects.
That's terrific.
I'll send the deputy right over. Thanks.
What do we know?
Apparently, he was dead
before the killer strapped him into that whirligig car.
That stab wound was compatible
with the knife that you found.
So why put him on that ride
and turn the music on full-blast?
Maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time...
Just like going home to bed seems now.
See ya.
Later on, Doc.
Listen, run over to Judge Bolan's house
and pick up an injunction right away.
Joanna Sims is waiting for you
in Carl Dorner's trailer. There was a break-in.
Thanks.
[Joanna] Reminds me of your room in college.
How far away were you?
Just a couple of trailers away.
All I could hear was the Whirlwind's music cranked way up.
That's probably why the killer turned it on,
to cover the sound of breaking in here.
He kills Carl, breaks into his trailer looking for something,
while everyone else is at the Whirlwind,
seeing what's going on...
-Except you. -I was there, too.
On my way back, I saw the smashed door,
I ran to the midway, I got a deputy and had him call you.
Where was Don during all the excitement?
Where he is now, in bed.
After a few drinks, he...
He could sleep through an artillery barrage.
Does he have a problem? Afraid you're looking at it.
Ahem. What time did he go to bed?
Oh, he was there when I came in
after the last show, around 20 minutes after ten.
He was asleep all night. How can you be so sure?
What, are you playing good-cop, bad-cop all by yourself?
Don didn't kill Carl. He didn't have a motive.
He had the same motive you had-- as Carl's partner,
if he dies, you get his half, right?
Maybe you should talk to Nicky.
The knife-thrower? Why?
I found him in here yesterday afternoon.
He was going through Carl's desk.
Why didn't you tell me that?
Because he's a good kid. He didn't take anything.
I didn't want to get him into trouble.
Until it came down to him...or Don?
Sit down.
Nicodemus Newton?
It's a family name.
We found this under the Whirlwind ride,
about 15 feet away from where footprints indicate
that you struggled with the deceased.
I tell you, I didn't struggle with anybody.
I've never seen that knife before.
Then where were you last night around midnight?
I wasn't on the carnival midway at the Whirlwind ride,
killing Carl Dorner.
I didn't ask you where you weren't.
You were seen trespassing
in Carl Dorner's trailer yesterday afternoon.
Now, where were you at the time of the murder?
I can't tell you that. I'm sorry.
Uh, Mr. Newton, if you tell the sheriff where you were,
he will make every effort to find, uh,
a witness who will verify your story.
You don't know my story.
We would if you told it to us.
This has been an exhausting few days, Mr. Newton,
for all of us.
I--I took an oath on a Gideon bible
that I wouldn't tell anybody.
I can't go back on my word.
There's this man who always wears a grey suit.
He's been hanging around the carnival lately,
talking to Nicky.
I think maybe Nicky was having a meeting with him.
We wouldn't have to be out here talking like this,
but my trailer... forget it.
There's not enough room to turn around in it.
Oh, don't worry.
Carmen, you told the sheriff
that it was too dark for you to recognize
the woman you saw leaving the murder scene.
Could it have been Joanna Sims?
I think it was somebody younger.
Sheriff...
look what we found.
Well, well, well.
Looks like Mrs. Fletcher's hunch
about the Gideon bible paid off, huh?
Yeah. Found him down at the Lighthouse Motel.
Room six, gray suit hanging in the closet,
and he was sitting on the bed in his underwear,
reading the good book.
[sighs]
Should've known.
Honest, I didn't tell them a thing.
You're his alibi for the murder. What do you get out of it?
Did you say murder?
Somebody killed Carl Dorner.
You know those doctored books I couldn't find?
Somebody trashed his trailer looking for them.
-Somebody else has the books? -Hold it!
Andy, get this guy's ID.
I bet he's got a rap sheet a mile long,
and I'm in the mood to toss the book at him.
I've got a better idea.
Why don't we exchange identification?
I'm Sherman Hastings of the Internal Revenue Service.
What's your name, sheriff?
[bang]
Oh, Mrs. Fletcher. Have you seen Lisa today?
No, I haven't. Something wrong, Toby?
I'm not sure. I called her house.
Her mother said Lisa didn't want to talk to anybody.
When I insisted, she said she'd call the police on the other line
if I didn't hang up. I don't know what happened.
-When did you last see her? -Yesterday afternoon.
We made a date to meet last night at 11:30.
I waited till 12:00. She never even showed up.
Where were you supposed to meet?
At the Whirlw--
Oh, God.
I have to get into town right away.
-Do you have a car? -No.
Maybe Don Sims could give us a ride. Hey, Don!
Mr. Sims?
[tires screech]
[Joanna] I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about.
Oh, come on, Joanna! The books.
The one with the real expense and profit numbers,
and the one you discovered Carl Dorner had phony'd up
to cheat the tax collector...
and charities like Cabot Cove
who sponsor your engagements.
Where did you get that idea?
From Mrs. Fletcher...
and a very frustrated gentleman from the IRS.
Carl Dorner was cheating you, too, wasn't he?
Keeping more than half the profits.
You think I killed Carl?
No, I don't.
I think you had Don do it.
Joanna Sims...
I'm placing you under arrest
for conspiracy to commit murder.
My God, Mort.
After all this time,
it's still eating you up that much
that I walked out on you.
[Mort] Don't get me wrong, Mrs. F.
I really hated having to arrest Joanna Sims,
but there was no choice.
She found out that Dorner was stealing so much off the top,
he was destroying the carnival.
It was kind of his way of retiring.
She's a very strong woman with a very weak husband.
And he did whatever she told him to do.
Are you quite sure of that?
He ran off and left her to face it alone, didn't he?
Yes, he ran and probably took the ledger
that shows Dorner's financial sleight-of-hand with him.
The one Nicky the knife-thrower
was so anxious to get his hands on
so he could collect a big reward from the IRS.
Don't worry, we'll catch Sims.
Which leaves me with another question--
what the person who smashed his way into Dorner's trailer
was looking for - certainly not a ledger,
considering the small spaces in which he looked.
And if Don was the killer, why the rush?
With Mr. Dorner dead, he had all the time in the world.
Are you saying Don wasn't the killer?
He couldn't have been the Cabot Cove burglar, either...
if his wife is to be believed.
When the first houses were robbed,
he was with the carnival in Memphis, Tennessee.
And at this time, the burglar wasn't making a leisurely search.
He was in a frenzy to find was he was looking for.
Which brings up another question...
[doorbell rings]
I'll get it.
Hi, Lisa. How are you?
She's fine, so just don't make a fuss.
Why would I make a fuss
over the prettiest girl in Cabot Cove?
-Come in, Lisa. -Hi, Mrs. Fletcher.
Are those for your spring garden?
Yes. And if I don't get these in the ground
before I go to New York,
I won't have a spring garden.
Um, there are some...
cookies and milk in the kitchen.
Sounds good to me.
Go on.
Those wouldn't be...
peanut butter cookies, would they?
Don't be mad. I had to see you.
I'm not so smart. I didn't figure it out
until Mrs. Fletcher told me what probably happened.
See, you were late, so I thought that you weren't coming,
and I left. And, in the dark,
you saw Mr. Dorner fighting with somebody you couldn't make out,
so you thought that...
It was me who killed him.
I thought it, Toby, but I couldn't believe it.
I'm really sorry.
It's okay.
I should've waited longer.
Lisa, I was so worried about you.
I've never had anybody to worry about before.
It's--
it's like a whole new--
Hi. How's it going?
Aside from not having feta cheese dressing for my salad?
You know, you really should get some nice curtains for these cells.
If I have to stay here overnight,
it'll going to get a little public.
The usual custom is to put our female guests in a hotel.
Isn't that sexist?
Look, um... may I come in?
I really don't like talking to you through bars.
Be my guest.
Let's see, what can I offer you?
Uh, I have some wilted lettuce here...
Joanna, cut it out.
Please, just talk to me.
That would make my being here seem reasonable.
And it's not. It's contemptible.
Listen. This has nothing to do with us.
Okay, yes, it was like a kick in the teeth
when you took off and left me standing on the dock
with two tickets to the love boat.
But I got over that. And to tell you the truth,
I really owe you.
If you hadn't been in my life, I--
I might not have realized what I'd found when I met Adele.
I wish I could say something like that.
I'm really sorry for you that you can't.
Anyway, you don't have a case against me,
and you know it.
I was Carl Dorner's victim, not his murderer.
Then why didn't you come to me and say,
"Arrest that man, he's a thief"?
Because I didn't know how deep it ran.
I wanted to see if there was something I could save out of it.
It was my life.
I didn't murder Carl.
I didn't tell Don to murder Carl.
Then why did he run?
Maybe he was afraid of you.
Maybe he was afraid...
that you'd put him into prison...
For what we did to you 22 years ago.
Visitors' day is over. Um...
Don't forget to lock the door when you go out.
[cell door closes]
Sheriff? They caught Don Sims up at Rocky Point.
They're bringing him in.
So what did you plan on doing with this?
I didn't plan on doing anything with it.
Just thought you couldn't make a case against Joanna
if you didn't have Carl's books.
We'll just let the IRS handle this.
I would've thought you'd have been a lot farther away
than Rocky Point.
I had no idea that you would think
that Joanna and I did it together.
That'd take teamwork.
We weren't much of a team.
That was my fault as much as yours.
I never gave you much of a chance.
Hey, I wasn't much of a prize, either.
Heh. Well...
Maybe with some work, we can get it right.
I hate to remind you, but you're both still facing a murder charge.
Jess, I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong.
They did it, period, end of report.
Maybe you're right, Seth.
I kept trying to somehow connect the murder
to those burglaries.
I mean, the murder weapon was an antique, after all.
It's too nice a day to spend at a wake.
That's not my kind of party.
I never could cotton to reaching across a coffin
to get an hors d'oeuvre.
We owe it to the carnival to honor Carl Dorner.
And I hear it won't be any ordinary wake anyway.
It should be quite interesting,
something we can chalk up to experience.
Leave it to you to find a moral imperative
in pure nonsense.
Ow!
What was the "ouch" for?
I keep snagging this hangnail.
You wouldn't happen to have a pair of clippers handy, would you?
Oh, I've got a manicure kit around here someplace.
Ah, here it is.
Hmm.
You got an odd look on your face, Jess.
This kit.
It looks almost like a wallet, doesn't it?
Of course.
That's why the lock was smashed.
He kept the wallet, only it wasn't--
What wasn't? Who kept what wallet?
Seth, who is in charge of this wake?
A young woman by the name of Carmen
is making all the arrangements.
Then I have to talk to Carmen.
Let's be on our way.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Probably just like any other wake... with jugglers,
fire-eaters and sword-swallowers.
Look at that.
See? I told you this would be fantastic.
Oh, my God.
Whoa. That's what I call classy.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.
We are here today to honor a tradition
as much as a man.
The traveling carnival is an endangered species,
and I would like to thank the Cabot Cove business community
for their support,
especially Richard Binyon of Binyon's Fine Foods,
who has so generously donated the refreshments for this afternoon.
Richard, will you please come up here
where we can all see you?
We honor thee, oh mystifying Mephisto!
Can I go back to my seat now?
Not yet, Richard. The fun is just beginning.
No, no. Not again.
Did you bring another snack with you today?
Snack?
[laughter]
Put it up high. Up high.
Are you ticklish?
I know what you're trying to do...
but I won't let you pick my pocket.
Oh, you are much too clever for me.
Let's see what we have in the lost-and-found.
A comb, for that well-groomed look.
A nice money clip.
-And a thick wallet. -[Richard] That's mine.
But why would you need a wallet and a money clip?
Give that to me.
Maybe it's not a wallet.
It doesn't feel like a wallet.
It feels like there's something inside.
Damn it, would you give that to me?
No, actually, I think I'd rather give it...
to Jessica Fletcher.
That's not mine, Mrs. Fletcher.
She planted it on me. That does not belong to me.
Richard, you don't want to talk about this
in front of all these people, do you?
No, I don't.
Why don't we go down to my office
where it's nice and quiet?
Yesterday at the magic show,
I saw the magician take some things from you
without your knowledge.
[Jessica] A watch and a wallet and a money clip.
And we have here...
And then I saw him give back what we took.
He returned your watch, the money clip,
and, as a joke, he threw in a pair of under shorts.
...we have some unmentionables!
But it wasn't until a little while ago,
when I mistook my wallet for my manicure kit,
that I remembered he never returned your wallet.
And it occurred to me
that maybe your wallet was not a wallet,
but something so incriminating
that just to have it on your person
could cause you to be arrested.
And Carl Dorner realized that.
It was this professional set of lock picks.
The ones you used to burglarize houses all over town.
So he tried to blackmail you for it, and you killed him.
All right, yes, I committed those burglaries.
But I didn't kill anybody.
But you did, Richard.
[Mort] Mrs. Fletcher recognized the murder weapon
as a genuine antique.
The Fitzpatricks had reported
an Elizabethan dagger stolen from their weekend place.
So we faxed them a picture of this,
and they identified it as being theirs.
He told me to meet him after the carnival ended.
At 11:30, I waited for him by the Whirlwind ride.
He said it would cost me $10,000
to get my lock picks back.
He threatened me,
he said I'd spend the rest of my life in jail.
So I stabbed him.
He didn't have the lock picks on him.
So I put him in a car on the wheel
and turned it on, and the music...
Because you had to smash the lock,
and you wanted to muffle the sound.
Only you came up empty.
The lock picks were missing.
How did you get those?
We didn't, Richard.
That's my manicure kit.
I think this one's yours.
You were right, Mrs. Fletcher.
We gave Carl Dorner's trailer a closer look
and found this where he must've hidden it...
In the generator compartment.
When I took over my father's grocery store,
I hated it. It was shabby.
I started to remodel it,
to turn into the kind of cracker barrel place
a tourist would go for.
I didn't know it would cost so much.
I borrowed all I could,
then I had to steal.
Little things at first, out of people's houses
when I made my deliveries.
And then a man I met in a bar
sold me a little kit of tools.
Broke into people's houses when they weren't home.
I never thought that I'd end up...
you know...
Murdering somebody.
Andy.
Ohh, don't tell me the cookies are all gone.
Oh, Seth, I'm sorry. I haven't had time to make a second batch.
Perhaps you'd better make two batches
if young Toby's gonna hang around town.
I thought he left with the carnival.
Oh, no. Lisa's father has given him a job
making lawn furniture
until college starts in the fall.
[telephone rings]
-Fletcher residence. -[chattering]
Oh, hello, Adele. Seth Hazlitt.
Yes, he is. I'll give him to you.
Thanks. Hello, sweetheart.
When are you coming home?
Oh, that's terrific.
I miss you something crazy.
Oh, are you kidding?
Me? Get into trouble? In this town?
[laughs]