Bobby, the song's a dinosaur.
I'm getting a little bit sick
of your tone around me.
It's Bobby. He's said a few times
that he thinks he'd be better off dead.
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote...
[heart monitor flat-lining]
I've been waiting on you an hour and a half.
Oh, you're gonna wrinkle my blouse
holding onto me like that, Mr. Diamond.
You killed your daddy.
I didn't.
According to Preston, you inherit everything.
You disgust me, Mark.
[cheerful orchestral music]
[air hostess] On behalf of the captain and the entire flight crew,
I'd like to welcome y'all to Nashville, Tennessee,
the country music capital of the world.
[PA] Flight 102 now boarding for New Haven, at gate four.
Flight 102 now boarding
for New Haven at gate four.
Jessica!
-Hi. -Oh, Patti Sue.
How wonderful to see you.
You know, I feel such a perfect fool.
I didn't recognize you at first.
Well, probably 'cause I've changed the color of my hair
and a few other things more times than the moods of a groom
on his wedding day.
Well, how long has it been, ten years?
Longer than a billy goat's menu,
or whatever we say down here
when we mean an extended interval.
You remember Billy Ray Parker, Jess.
Billy Ray, of course.
I still play that album that you sent me,
and it's still terrific.
You know, my picking used to be just about as dandy
as your writing is, Mrs. Fletcher.
Well, thank you for those kind words.
Well, we best run and get your luggage,
or I'm gonna start fishing for compliments myself.
So how is Bobby?
Ornery as ever.
Mark, I'm telling you, After the Tide Goes Out
would be a perfect song for Brittany's debut.
I had a big hit on that thing in the '50s.
I know you did, Bobby.
You keep reminding me.
Look, maybe it's the way you got her singing it.
It's too slow.
It's a ballad, for God's sakes.
What do you want, her singing it
like she was going down the road 90 miles an hour?
Maybe you've forgotten how many hits
I produced for you last year.
You know what? I'd like a little more respect
for my ability to mold an act.
Bobby, the song is a dinosaur.
The arrangement is about as fresh
as an "I like Ike" button.
You know what? I'm getting
a little bit sick of your tone around me.
And I'm getting sick of doing things
like we're making 78s for a broken-down Victrola.
Oh, Patti, this place is just perfect.
You know, it hasn't changed a bit.
Ten years ago, I remember
coming down that staircase there.
Mark? Mark Berringer,
I'd like you to meet my good friend,
Jessica Fletcher.
Mark runs Blue Lady Records for us.
Well, you've certainly made
some wonderful records, Mr. Berringer.
I'd make more if they'd let me.
Do us all a favor, Patti Sue.
Tell your stubborn husband
that the '50s went out with poodle skirts.
He can't seem to get it through his thick skull.
Nice meeting you, ma'am.
Jess, why don't you run on up
and make yourself at home?
You know where your room is.
I'll look in on Bobby.
All right.
I have about had it
with Mark Berringer and his complaints.
He's trying to tell me how to run my business.
He apparently forgot how many hit songs I've had.
Oh, now take it easy, darling.
You're going to have a coronary.
I-I ought to fire
that disrespectful son of a gun.
My God, 238 published songs, 34 of them in the charts.
He wouldn't know a hit song from a moose call.
[phone ringing]
Hello.
He's busy right now.
Can it wait?
Don't you use that tone of voice with me, Alice.
It's your daughter.
[chuckles]
Is this my little Princess?
Oh, I'm fine, now that I hear your voice.
I've been waiting to hear from you, Daddy.
How did your meeting with Mark go?
Fantastic.
He's threatened to take all his clients
and leave the company again.
He can't do that.
I've got him in an airtight contract.
All right, calm down, Daddy.
Let me handle this thing.
I'll be by the house later.
Mm-hmm.
I love you. Bye-bye.
Mark Berringer threatening mutiny again?
We do have him in an unbreakable contract,
don't we, Preston?
Considering what we pay your law firm,
I think I'm entitled to more than a shrug
when I need an answer to a simple legal question.
Is that what they taught you at those fancy
northern boarding schools, Alice?
And don't you realize there's no such thing
as a "simple legal question"?
After all, your daddy's been robbing Conrad Booker for years
on a minor technicality.
We're not talking about Conrad.
What about Mark Berringer?
Mr. Berringer is in a vise, tied hand and foot
to a maze of undecipherable clauses.
Yes, my dear Alice.
He's yours for as long as you want him.
Isn't it a little early to be drinking?
Maybe you're right.
God bless us.
Too early for drinking,
but never too early for guzzling.
[laughs]
What am I going to do with you?
Well, here's a thought.
Patti, your plants look so healthy.
Tell me, from one gardener to another,
what's your secret?
-Milk. -Milk?
Plain old cow's milk, a cup a week.
Don't ask me why it works, but it does.
Lord only knows what I'd get if I tried buttermilk.
Buttercups? [both laugh]
Aw, Jess, it is so nice
to have somebody to giggle with.
Well, it is so nice for me to be here.
I can't tell you how happy it made me
when I opened up the mailbox and there was that envelope
with the guitar in the corner,
especially when it was an invitation
to one of your concerts.
Mrs. Fletcher.
It's been ages.
Alice?
Oh, I feel as if I'm in a time warp
and you're still 17.
Well, I like things better the way they are now.
Daddy wanted me to tell you he's making cocktails.
Thank you, Alice.
We'll be moseying in by and by.
Patti Sue, could you do me a favor?
Just for tonight,
do you think you could refrain from trotting out
those phony southern expressions you use
whenever company's here?
I've had a kind of long day.
Why, certainly, Alice,
if you'll agree not to fawn all over your father
like someone looking for a pocket to pick.
Defective genes.
She got them from her mama.
Come on, Jess, let's go get a drink.
My mouth's as dry as a cotton ball in a--
Uh-uh. [both laugh]
I'll finish it for you later.
-Yes. -Come on.
I think that I would find it very difficult
to survive one day on God's good earth
without a sip of this.
And this is what makes the South, the South:
bourbon.
You're in rare spirits tonight, darlin'.
-Indeed. -I think it's because
Bobby's back to writing songs.
It's got him acting like a kid again.
Sometimes I think I'd be happier
if this kid would take up something like model airplanes.
Oh, really?
Well, I always thought that Bobby wrote a very good song.
See, I got one fan.
Well, he does. Well, actually, ma'am,
I write the songs.
He can't read a lick of music,
so he sets out there at the old farmhouse,
pounds on that old guitar,
and hollers into that tape recorder,
and I'm the one that has to transcribe
every little ditty-dot-dot-dot that he sings, you know?
So I write the songs, he gets the money.
Oh, and we all love you for it, Billy Ray.
Oh, thank you.
You sweet thing.
Hi. I just wanted
to say good-bye. It's very nice
to see you again, Mrs. Fletcher.
-Oh, thank you, Alice. -Hey, hon, come in
and have a drink with us.
I'd love to, Daddy, but something's come up at work.
Well, let it be. Come on.
No, I really do have to be going.
Talk to you tomorrow. Bye-bye!
Isn't she the sweetest thing you ever laid eyes on?
[chuckles]
[strumming on guitar] ♪ Ba da dee do ♪
♪ ba da loo ♪
[knocking at door]
Oh, yes.
[knocking at door]
[laughs]
Brittany, come in here.
You made it.
I've been waiting on you over an hour, I guess.
Ooh, you're going to wrinkle my blouse
holding on to me like that, Mr. Diamond.
And you're going to make me feel
like a very old man
if you keep up that "mister" stuff.
I'm Bobby.
Come in this house.
Well, what are you doing... Bobby?
I'm writing a song...
for you.
You know something?
You're going to love it. [laughs]
Do you want to hear it?
Sure do.
Come on.
-Are you ready? -Mm-hmm.
All right.
♪ Nobody's dancin' ♪
♪ tonight ♪
♪ I'm standin' here ♪
♪ all alone ♪
♪ thinkin' of you ♪
♪ in these cold city lights ♪
♪ and it's time ♪
♪ for me to go home ♪
[laughter]
[Jessica] You must be kidding.
I never pulled Dorothy Anderson's ponytail.
You're mistaking me with somebody else.
You did too, Jess.
Don't you remember?
She had that Nancy Drew mystery
you were reading and only had a chapter to go.
Oh, yes. Well, maybe you're right.
Maybe I did give it a little tug,
but I'm sure that she deserved it.
Camp was so special, wasn't it?
Thinking back on it now,
seems like I was never happy.
I guess the best thing that ever came out of it
was I got you for a friend.
Well, I declare, I fixed
enough ice cream here for General Lee's army.
I practically turn into a garbage disposal
when my nerves start acting up.
I guess it's this concert tomorrow night.
You didn't ask me down here
just to hear your concert, did you, Patti Sue?
I should have known
I wouldn't be able to fool you, Jess.
Want to talk about it?
You know me.
I'm a great listener.
It's Bobby.
He's just not himself.
He has been so down lately.
I mean, really down.
But he seemed so cheerful tonight.
That's only 'cause you're here.
He's just been pressuring himself so much at work.
Well, he doesn't feel useful anymore,
like his time has passed him by.
Well, he's even said a few times
that he thinks he'd be better off dead.
Well, do you think he's really serious?
Oh, I do.
Well, then perhaps you should
look into some professional help.
Oh, hell.
I'm probably overreacting.
As you well know, Jess, I need to worry
the way some people need to breathe.
[man] How come you didn't make it to the bedroom?
Lord, Garth.
Just scared the hell out of me.
-Yeah. -How'd you get here?
Well, I knew you and Bobby
were meeting here tonight, and I just came drive by
to keep an eye on things,
if you know what I'm talking about.
My... truck's parked down the way.
So did you get old boy to listen to my tunes?
Not yet. Timing has to be right.
Well, you know, maybe if, uh--
Maybe if you hop in the sack with him,
the timing might speed up a little bit.
Garth, you're supposed to be in love with me.
You want me to sleep with that old creep?
Come on, babe. I was just kidding.
I was just kidding you.
[Conrad] This ain't nothing but out-and-out robbery, Bobby,
and you know it.
[Bobby] It's nothing of the kind.
Besides, it's out of my hands.
[Conrad] What do you mean, it's out of your hands?
Don't have to be.
All you have to do is give me the publishing rights
back to my song like you ought to.
[Bobby] Conrad, it's just business.
There's nothing personal in it.
Just business, huh?
[Bobby] Now listen, I bought
this little old company 15 years ago,
and they got all the publishing rights to your songs.
[Conrad] Damn it, Bobby, we were good friends once upon a time.
Why can't you do what's right?
[Bobby] There's nothing I can do.
Yeah, you can. You can give me back
the publishing rights to my songs
within the next 24 hours,
-or I swear to God, Bobby, -Come on.
I'll just plain and simply kill you.
Conrad, listen.
Hey, I'm gonna ask you real friendly to let him go.
Otherwise, I'm going to put this iron
up beside your head.
I mean what I say, Bobby.
♪ I didn't know ♪
♪ I would go and break your heart ♪
♪ I tried tonight ♪
♪ to drive us apart ♪
♪ Well, look in my eye ♪
♪ you know I'm still your friend ♪
♪ The last thing I want ♪
♪ is for this to be the end ♪
♪ Oh, give me one more good night ♪
♪ before it's good-bye... ♪
Boy, I'm telling you, that was some song.
I remember when I wrote that thing,
out at the farmhouse.
About all I had was the clothes on my back,
but after that...
couldn't do anything wrong.
Everything I wrote was a hit.
It's a classic, Daddy.
♪ ...before it's good-bye ♪
♪ If we have one more good night ♪
♪ Oh it could be ♪
You know, I tell you something else, Princess:
that little old stepmother of yours
still got a voice sweeter than honeysuckle,
you know it?
♪ If we have ♪
♪ one more good night ♪
[cheers and applause]
Oh, my goodness.
Listen, y'all keep that up and I'm going to have to give
one of these here concerts every year.
[cheers and applause]
Aw, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Well, that's enough of me for now.
Let's bring on the future.
I want you all to give
a great big, warm, Nashville welcome
to a little girl who's about to take
the music world by storm.
Here she is, Miss Brittany Brown.
[cheers and applause]
Howdy, Nashville!
Y'all ready for some hooting and hollering?
[crowd cheers]
Whoo! Whoo!
♪ Loving you, just loving you ♪
♪ here come the heartaches again... ♪
[Patti] Oh, my goodness.
I forgot how much all this takes out of you.
How am I doing, darling?
You are better than ever.
Now get dressed for your next number, all right?
All right.
♪ Why can't you leave me alone... ♪
What the hell is that?
What, Daddy?
That's not my song.
What's she doing out there?
Maybe she's just warming up with one of her songs,
-and then she'll do yours. -The hell with that.
She's only scheduled to do one song.
♪ It's made up of all the wrong things, baby ♪
♪ and can't possibly work ♪
♪ but loving you is contagious for me ♪
♪ and you're just driving me mad ♪
♪ Yes, loving you is like that last drink, baby ♪
♪ that I should never have had ♪
♪ And if my memory would just forget you ♪
♪ I know the pain would subside ♪
♪ But you don't think I really want to ♪
♪ 'cause I'm still here by your side... ♪
Daddy?
That's a pretty good tune.
She'll... she'll probably go a long way.
I think I'm going to skip that party at the hotel tonight
and go on out to the farmhouse.
Daddy.
It'll be all right.
♪ Why can't you see ♪
♪ 'cause our love is just crazy, baby ♪
♪ so please, don't make me stay ♪
[cheers and applause]
[Jessica] You know, at one point, I closed my eyes,
and it was just as if
I was at a concert of yours 25 years ago.
Oh, Jess, you've got to come here more often.
You make me feel so good.
A very accomplished performance, Patti Sue.
Those were your people out there tonight,
-and they loved you. -Why, thank you, Alice.
How kind of you to notice.
Patti Sue?
Mirabelle!
Oh, darlin', there's only one thing
would have kept me from this hoedown,
and that's Elvis
coming back from the hereafter.
You come on now.
I want you to meet my fifth husband, Yule.
-No. -Can you believe it?
He thought you were dead.
I said, "Yule, you must be thinking about Patsy Cline."
Oh, Mirabelle.
She does look happy, doesn't she, Mrs. Fletcher?
Oh, yes. Oh, and it's Jessica.
Where's your father?
Oh, he decided to skip the party.
Oh, but this is such a happy occasion.
Well, Daddy hasn't really been himself lately, Jessica.
Yes, I gathered that from Patti Sue.
Did she tell you about the letter he sent her?
Letter? No.
Well, I hope I'm not talking out of school here,
but Daddy wrote Patti Sue a couple days ago
saying how miserable he's been.
I think that's the first time he's ever written her.
Isn't it strange that he'd write her like that
instead of trying to talking it out?
Yes, it does seem odd.
You know, Alice,
it's possible that your father
might need professional help.
Daddy admit he needs help?
Never.
Jess, what time is it?
Oh, it's about 10:30.
Bobby must have unplugged the phone.
Well, he does that sometimes when he's writing.
Who knows? Maybe he's
writing me another hit.
At that point, my granddaddy figured
if he could talk a jackrabbit
out of a carrot,
maybe he ought to take up the law,
and a rich family tradition at the bar was thus begun.
God bless us.
And speaking of the bar, Mrs. Fletcher,
would you care for a little liquid refreshment?
Oh, no, thank you. I've had my limit.
Not me. I've had
so much excitement today,
my head's starting to clang
like a fire bell.
As a matter of fact, I think I'll mosey on home.
I'll go with you.
Oh, no, no.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, ladies.
It's only 11:30.
Leaving a party this early in Nashville
borders on the sacrilegious.
He's right. You stay put.
-No, no, I-- -Now, I insist, Jessica.
I'm completely exhausted.
I'm going to go right to bed anyway.
Now, you just stay here and enjoy all the excitement
such as it is.
Well, I must say,
this is a little different from Cabot Cove.
I mean, our idea of excitement
is the day they test the foghorns.
Good. I'm sure Alice
will run you home later.
-Thank you. -See you in the morning.
-Bye-bye. -Good night, Preston.
Don't treat me this way, Alice.
I'm not a fool.
No, you're a clown,
and I am tired of your act.
Oh, come on.
I thought we were here to have a good time.
So why don't we?
Preston, I have had it with you,
with your drinking and your stupidity.
You stay away from me.
[tires squealing]
Mrs. Fletcher?
Oh, hello.
I've been watching you, darlin',
and you don't look like
you're having a very good time.
Well, I'm afraid I'm a little bit distracted.
Patti Sue told me that Alice would drive me
back to the Diamond ranch,
and she disappeared an hour ago.
Well, don't you fret none, honey.
Yule and me would be glad to give you a lift.
Well, that's very kind of you,
but I don't want to tear you away from the party.
Oh, well--
Looks like your ride came back after all.
Thank you. Excuse me.
Jessica, I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to run out like that.
Well, I was worried about you, Alice.
Are you all right?
Oh, no. I'm fine.
I just had to go for a drive to clear my head
and lost track of time. Please forgive me.
Of course.
Well, I'm ready to leave if you are.
That's a wonderful idea.
For the life of me,
I can't find Patti Sue anywhere.
Oh, she left early.
The excitement wore her out.
Well, I guess she took the car, the little rascal.
Well, you come along with us, Billy Ray.
Well, that's the best offer I've had tonight.
I don't mind if I do.
Jessica, did Daddy ever show up at the party?
I didn't see him.
You know, I'm a little worried.
Would you mind if we stopped off at the farmhouse
and looked in on him?
Oh, good idea.
Well, he must still be here.
There's his car.
Why are all the lights out?
Something's wrong.
Look at the window.
Oh, my God. Daddy?
Daddy?
Billy Ray, call an ambulance!
Better hurry.
That bluish tinge on his nails
looks like poison.
There's been an accident.
Send an ambulance to Bobby Diamond's place.
It's on River Road.
And make it fast.
Daddy?
Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry.
Perhaps you better sit down.
No, no, I'm all right,
but I want to stay with Daddy.
Somebody has to go tell Patti Sue.
Yes, I'll take care of that,
if Billy Ray will drive me.
[police radio] Ten-63.
Ten-63 at Division and 16th.
A suspect was last seen on the Hall of Fame side.
Ten-62.
Conrad, what the hell's happening here?
It's Patti Sue. Somebody's poisoned her.
[doctor] She's a very sick woman.
-What are you saying, Doc? -Is she going to live?
It's lucky she ate a big bowl of ice cream first.
It lined her stomach and probably saved her life.
Too bad her husband wasn't so lucky.
You know, nobody could touch Bobby and Patti Sue Diamond
back in the good old days.
Say, cowboy, we appreciate people coming
and paying their respects, but now ain't the time.
I guess you're right, mister...?
Parker.
I apologize for busting in like this.
Name's Jackson, Lieutenant Jackson,
Nashville PD.
♪ I saw the sun a-settin' ♪
♪ on her tearful little face ♪
♪ waitin' for the bus to come and take her ♪
♪ from this place... ♪
Please excuse me.
I have patients to attend to.
I'm gonna check on Patti Sue.
[hospital PA] Mr. Rose to admitting.
Mr. Rose to admitting, please.
I'm a friend of the family, lieutenant.
Jessica Fletcher.
Well, pleased to meet you, ma'am.
What'd that fellow say his name was?
Oh, Billy Ray Parker.
Not the Billy Ray Parker.
Mm-hmm.
Of course it was.
He got his right hand paralyzed in a bus accident
when he was touring with the Diamonds back in '71.
Bobby was at the wheel.
And to think
I didn't even ask for an autograph.
Shoot.
Oh, I'm quite sure that Mr. Parker
would be delighted to give you his autograph,
lieutenant, at a more appropriate time.
Oh, that'd be right kindly of him, ma'am.
Well, I guess I best be on my way.
♪ Places to go, people to see ♪
♪ life don't mean a damn when it's only just me ♪
Lieutenant, what have you found out about Bobby's death?
Well, I had a bottle of bourbon found at the scene
analyzed for poison.
Uh-huh, strychnine.
How'd you know that?
Well, his hands were close to his head,
and his nails were blue and his back was arched
in a manner which usually indicates strychnine.
And the medical examiner
established the probable time of death.
Yes, around 10:00, maybe 10:30.
Ma'am.
Just a calculated guess
based on the probable temperature of Bobby's body
when we found him.
What was it you said you did, ma'am?
I'm a writer.
No kidding. What did you write?
Well, I just finished The Lover's Revenge.
I can't say as I know that one.
Who recorded it?
No, lieutenant.
I write books, not songs.
Mystery books.
Books? That's too bad.
Gal as bright as you ought to be writing lyrics.
That's where the real money is.
How'd you like to go for a ride?
Well...
[officer] Take some pictures over there by the piano.
How you boys doing in here?
Got a lot of prints,
mostly his.
Lieutenant, the tape is missing.
What tape?
Well, Bobby recorded everything he ever wrote.
He had to because he didn't read music.
Now, why would he come out here to work on some songs,
which is obviously what he did,
because the tape recorder was all set up,
and then not put a tape into the recorder?
Bobby must have been recording something
when someone broke in and poisoned him.
And it wasn't until after the murder took place
that the killer realized
that the tape was still running,
that it probably contained incriminating evidence
and took the tape away with them.
This is beginning to look sort of nasty.
I'm truly devastated, Alice.
Always thought of Bobby like a second father,
someone I could turn to when there was no one else.
Save it, Mark.
You despised my daddy.
Now that you mentioned it...
Well, I expect things will be different around here,
what, with him gone.
I don't see why anything has to change.
Sure it does, Alice.
What with you understanding so much about business
and me having a feel for the artistic side of things,
well, we could pretty much run the whole damn town
if we set our mind to it.
That is, once your stepmother follows your daddy off
to the great hootenanny in the sky.
According to Preston, you inherit everything.
You disgust me, Mark.
Patti Sue is still very much alive.
Oh, excuse me, Alice.
I didn't know you were tied up.
I'll come back in a few minutes.
Oh, no, no, no, please, Jessica.
Mr. Berringer was just leaving.
Work beckons.
Well, I must say, I'm very surprised
that business is going on as usual
so soon after the founder's death.
The only sentimentality you're gonna find around here,
Mrs. Fletcher, is in Bobby Diamond's lyrics.
Apparently so.
Have you spoken to the police yet, Mr. Berringer?
Why would the police want to talk with Mark?
Well, it seems that they're questioning everyone.
If the police consider me a suspect,
I think I'll wait to hear it from them.
Excuse me, ladies.
Anything new from the hospital?
She's still unconscious.
I can't tell you how terrible I feel about Patti Sue.
It's no secret that we don't always see eye to eye,
but now with Daddy gone, she's all I have left, really.
I mean, there's so much I want to tell her.
I'm not so sure I know what it is I'm trying to say.
That's all right, Alice.
You're doing fine.
[humming]
Oh, hello, lieutenant.
I hope I'm not interrupting you here.
No, ma'am. You know,
I was just working on a little ditty
inspired by this here case.
Listen here.
♪ I never knew what you was thinkin' ♪
♪ I never knew what I was drinkin' ♪
♪ that's why I'm singin' from the grave... ♪
[guitar string snaps]
Ah! Doggone it.
Broke another one of these strings.
The suckers cost me a buck fifty apiece.
Oh, dear. That's too bad.
Now, lieutenant, about the case...
Well, according to the medics,
looks like Patti Sue took strychnine
right about midnight.
You say she "took" strychnine, lieutenant?
The way I figure it, Mrs. Diamond left the party,
went over to the farmhouse,
spiked Bobby's drink,
and headed on home,
catching a serious case
of the guilts along the way.
Now, once it sunk in what she'd done,
she tried to take her own life.
Wait, wait, wait. Hold on.
You find something wrong with that?
Everything, lieutenant.
I've known Patti Sue for 40 years.
She's not the kind of person
who would try to commit suicide.
She's too much of a survivor.
That's your opinion.
Now, you got anything stronger than that?
Yes, Bobby was poisoned at ten o'clock.
Patti Sue was at the party until 11:30
with lots of witnesses, including me.
[grunts]
That's pretty strong, all right.
Doggone it!
[machine beeping]
[alarm buzzing]
All right, hold it!
Hold it!
Hold it right there!
All right, that's it.
I... I don't know what came over me.
Well, you'll have plenty of time to figure that out.
If I know the DA,
he'll be charging you with attempted murder.
I think you should also know that you're the prime suspect
in the murder of your father.
I did not kill my father!
All right, Alice, now calm down.
I think it will be better if you tell us the truth
of what happened.
But I have, Jessica.
[Jessica] No, I don't think so.
You're the one who poisoned Patti Sue, aren't you?
Look, Alice, I saw you leave the party after Patti Sue left.
About an hour later, you came back.
Now, where were you during that time?
I didn't intend for it to happen.
I was, um...
upset and confused.
It all started after my fight with Preston.
I had to clear my head, so I went for a drive,
a drive that took me to the farmhouse to see Daddy.
He always knew how to make me feel
like everything was right with the world.
The door was open.
I had a funny feeling when I walked in.
Things just didn't seem right.
And then I saw him on the floor.
I knew he was dead as soon as I touched him.
I noticed a piece of paper.
It was a suicide note.
He said he was sorry, but he just couldn't go on.
And then I saw the bottle of poison.
I realized immediately what it meant with Daddy gone.
Patti Sue would inherit the business,
all of it,
and I'd be left with nothing.
I couldn't stand the thought of that.
And then it hit me all at once.
I decided I'd cover up Daddy's suicide
by making it look like he'd been poisoned by someone else.
I wanted the police to think someone had broken in.
[glass shattering]
It all seemed to come together so nicely in the car.
I'd make it look like Patti Sue killed Daddy
and then killed herself out of remorse.
And the business, which I deserved,
would pass to me.
Back at the house, I started a fight with Patti Sue.
That was easy.
She really lost it.
As soon as she walked away from her coffee,
I filled it with the poison Daddy used to kill himself.
When she passed out,
I wiped my fingerprints from the bottle
and placed her fingerprints on it.
And then I returned to the party.
I couldn't believe she survived the poison.
[phone rings] She wouldn't have
if she hadn't eaten all that ice cream
and if Conrad Booker hadn't gone to the house
looking for Bobby.
Well, that's one piece of good news.
Patti Sue's awake.
She's even talking a little bit.
Oh, thank God.
Miss Diamond,
that's a pretty good tale you've just spun,
but that's all it is.
I still believe you killed your Daddy.
I didn't.
I swear it.
And I can prove it.
I hid Daddy's suicide note right here.
"I can't lead this torn existence anymore.
It no longer makes sense to go on.
Please try to understand.
I hope I'm forgiven. Bobby."
That's beautiful.
Is that Bobby's handwriting?
Yeah, he spelled as bad as me.
Ma'am, Mrs. Fletcher, is something wrong?
Well, the doctor just told me
that he's sending you home tomorrow.
Oh, praise the Lord.
Hello, Jess.
You look like a new person.
That's because I'm full of whatever they give you here
and vinegar.
Lieutenant Jackson said he came by to see you.
He told me about Bobby and poor Alice.
I'm still in shock.
I didn't know she hated me that much.
But I do know how much she loved her daddy,
and I can't believe she'd kill him.
No, I can't believe it either.
You know, Jess,
you're one of my best friends in the whole world.
That's why you have to tell the truth, Patti Sue.
Alice told me that you received a letter from Bobby
a few days ago.
Now, the police believe
that that was the suicide note.
But in reality,
this is the second page of that letter, isn't it?
Bobby always marked the page numbers
up in the right-hand corner,
but you cut the number off
and Bobby's guitar trademark.
Oh, Jessica, you must be joking.
Oh, I wish I were.
You must be carrying a terrible burden.
Don't you think perhaps you should get rid of it now?
That letter Bobby wrote said our marriage was over,
that he'd found some girl who made him feel young again.
He didn't have the guts to tell me to my face.
I couldn't believe it.
I kept reading that letter over and over again.
And then I realized that the second page
was just like one of Bobby's cornball song lyrics
and a perfect suicide note.
Oh, damn it, Jessica.
I'd given too many years to that ornery man.
I wasn't going to let him throw me away
like yesterday's newspaper.
And that's when you decided to kill him.
Bobby had to have his nightly glass
of what made the South, the South,
no matter where he was.
So I loaded up a bottle of bourbon
with some strychnine.
I took it out to the farmhouse that morning.
I knew he'd stop by later, like he did every day.
I guess it was their place.
When he poured himself a drink that night,
it was loaded with poison.
I called him from the hotel to make sure he hadn't forgotten
to have his drink.
When he didn't answer, I knew he was already dead.
I even asked you the time
just to make certain I'd have a real good alibi.
Ten thirty.
Then we went back to the party,
and I went home at 11:30,
only I made one stop on the way,
at the farmhouse, to put everything in order.
I put the bottle of poison on the table beside the bourbon
and the suicide note next to the poison.
I was just about to leave
when I noticed Bobby's tape recorder was still on.
I didn't want Bobby's death agony to be his last recording,
so I took the tape with me
and tossed it in the creek on the way home.
I was sure I'd done a good job of making it look like suicide,
and along came Alice
and made it look like murder again.
It's almost funny, ain't it?
I am so sorry.
Hey, cut that out.
Singing the blues is my thing, and I do it real good.
I guess I forgot that you do your thing real good too.
I made a terrible mess of things, didn't I?
[crying]
It's amazing the way you cracked this case, ma'am.
Well, it was just lucky that I noticed
that stationery, lieutenant.
No, you had your eyes open for it.
But I was right about the rest of it.
I mean, the part about Bobby being killed.
I was wrong about the way it happened.
Well, that's true, lieutenant.
But you had it right.
Wait a minute.
Tell me what you think of this.
♪ I had it right, but I got it wrong ♪
♪ I knew in my true heart all along ♪
♪ just listen up while I sing my song ♪
♪ I had it right, but I got it wrong ♪
Now, it's just the beginning.
What do you think, Mrs. Fletcher?
I think that you're
a wonderful policeman, lieutenant.
[cheerful orchestral music]