I think you are in very serious, serious trouble.
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
We’re Brother Avernus Club members.
The rules are very clear.
You do not turn against your fellow club members.
Why punish him?
It is the will of this committee
that our brother member be punished
by whatever means the enforcer deems appropriate.
You stay away from my wife.
Don’t tell me, tell her.
The committee would like you to investigate the killing.
[tires screeching]
Mrs. Fletcher, hi.
I just wanted to say, I’ve been a big fan of yours
ever since The Corpse Danced at Midnight.
Well, thank you.
Oh, could you make that out to Dorris?
Dorris.
Excuse me, Mrs. Fletcher.
How are we doing?
Great, we’ve almost reached our goal.
Great.
Mrs. Fletcher, I know it’s getting late,
but we’ve got people lined up all the way outside.
If there’s any way that you could give us
just a few more minutes.
Oh, certainly.
How would another half hour do?
Oh, that’s great, thanks. You’re a real life saver.
Here you go.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
You always were willing to go the extra mile, Jessica.
Winston.
For heavens sakes, where have you been?
I’ve been in France on business.
I just got back.
When I saw the notice in the paper
that you were going to be here today, I couldn’t resist.
Well, I’m glad you didn’t. I mean, it’s been too long.
My very thought! So when you finish here,
how about dinner?
That’s a wonderful idea.
Why don’t I run home and change,
and you pick me up at eight o’clock?
I can’t wait.
Jessica, we’ve been friends for years,
and I need to tell you something.
Beyond wanting to see you again,
I had an ulterior reason for coming to your signing.
What do you know about the Avernus Club?
Just that it’s over 100 years old,
that it’s rather like the Bohemian Club out west,
a gentleman’s club.
In the past, the club has hosted readings
by a number of famous authors.
Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg,
T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound.
All men, I notice.
Some of us are fighting to change that,
and we’d like you to be our opening volley.
We’ve convinced the chair of the social committee
to invite you as a speaker.
Now if you come, it’ll open the doors for other women,
both as speakers and as members.
So what do you say, Jessica?
Will you help us storm the gates?
Winston, I’d be honored.
[Theo] Gerald Innsmouth to see you, Lawrence.
Show him in, Theo, by all means, show him in.
What the hell is the idea, Lawrence?
That depends.
Which idea are you referring to?
Gravity, nuclear power, low-fat yogurt.
I just got a call from Nelson.
Ah.
The Sun Towers matter.
Yeah, the Sun Towers matter.
I’m glad you remembered it.
Just a little issue of a Palm Springs resort hotel
that you and I were supposed to be buying together.
You put a path, I put a path,
we were on the place as equal partners.
Well, I had planned to call you tonight.
I didn’t think you’d find out so quickly.
Oh, well, it’s a good thing I did
or else I’d be out in the cold altogether.
Gerald, the simple fact is that...
you’re a bit inexperienced to run an operation that big,
and frankly, you’re a loose cannon
prone to sudden outbursts, rather like this.
I know you have some problems running operations
on the scale of Sun Towers
so I sat down with the stockbrokers
and once I explained the situation,
they insisted I take charge of the operation
and retain 70% of the stock.
You sold me out.
No, I prevented the deal from falling through.
Come on.
Take the 30% and enjoy it.
You won’t even have to worry about running anything.
You should thank me, Gerald, really.
How can you do this to me, Lawrence?
We’re Brother Avernus Club members.
That should count for something.
The Avernus Club is irrelevant.
This is strictly business, Gerald.
Would you be so good as to show Mr. Innsmouth out, Theo?
I don’t know how you can stand it, Theo.
A younger brother like that,
I’d have dropped him in a bathtub when he was two.
A bit extreme, don’t you think?
No, I’m talking to Philip Arkham about this.
The club will see what he has to say about it.
Where does Lawrence get all this garbage about me
having problems running a resort?
That is utter bilge!
I’m afraid I’m not privy to his sources or his thoughts.
I can only ask you to be patient.
Others beyond yourself are having difficulties
with him at present.
I have confidence that things will work out in the future.
Good day, Gerald.
[Jessica] "Serene and confident, Robert Connor smiled
as he waited for the police.
He had thought his crime through with machine-like precision.
If there were indeed such a thing as a perfect crime,
then surely this was it.
And so he sat and smiled
until he glanced at his wine glass,
the one he had taken to celebrate his victory
and realized from the faint lipstick smears
that it was not his,
but the identical glass he had poured for Charlene.
He had washed the wrong one.
How much poison was left in the glass, he wondered.
Surely not enough to...
When the police arrived, they found Robert Connor
sitting in his chair, smiling.
The smile frozen on his face in a rictus of death.
And they wondered...
what a dead man could possibly find so amusing."
Jessica, that was absolutely wonderful.
Well, thank you, Winston.
I would like to introduce you to the president
of the Avernus Club, Philip Arkham.
Philip, Jessica Fletcher.
A pleasure.
Thank you.
This is one of our newer members, Edward Dunsany.
Dunsany.
Oh, it’s the Dunsany Vineyards, isn’t it?
I enjoy your work.
When Winston here said he knew you personally,
I knew we had to have you.
A guest speaker from the distaff gender is way overdue.
Well, I was awfully pleased to be selected
and if I can open the door for others, all the better.
You know, in the very spot you are standing,
Ernest Hemmingway read,
Hills Like White Elephants
for the first time anywhere.
Never did understand what the hell he was talking about.
Good reading though.
Oh, so I hear.
Well, I’ve got to get back to my wife.
A fine reading, Mrs. Fletcher.
Hemmingway could've learned a lot.
Thank you.
White elephants, darndest thing...
If you’ll excuse me.
What the hell do you think you’re doing?
I was just having a conversation.
It’s nothing you’d be interested in,
you know, it’s weather, clothing, sports.
We’re going home, go get your coat.
-But we just... -Now.
I’m warning you, Lawrence. You stay away from my wife.
Don’t tell me, tell her. She invited me over.
Not true.
Oh, no, no, of course. You’re right.
It couldn’t possibly be true.
But then again, you’re spending
an awful lot of time on the vineyards lately,
aren’t you, Edward?
What’s that supposed to mean?
Well, just that I hear that you’re pressing
a lot more than grapes
on those long trips to California.
She’s a very fine year, Edward.
You can’t keep her locked up
in the wine cellar forever, you know.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I had a good time.
Oh, it was perfect, thank you.
Mr. Devermore, I was told to give you this.
Is everything all right?
Everything’s fine.
For a moment,
we didn’t think you were going to show.
I almost didn’t make it.
Told you before, I don’t want any part of this.
Yes, you did.
Now please sit down.
We have considerable work ahead of us.
I don’t understand what there is to debate.
Lawrence Cayle is out of control.
He has to be made an example.
I agree, but the rules are very clear.
You do not turn against your fellow club members.
Which is exactly what he did to me.
Do you have any idea
what this organizational rearrangement cost me?
I spent 50...
Gerald, Gerald, sit down.
You have been harmed, granted.
And you’re not the only one who is acting outrageously,
but what we must decide
is whether his actions are sufficiently outrageous
to require sanction.
But why a sanction? Why punish him?
If he’s a pain in the neck, why not just expel him?
Because to expel is to eliminate any hope of future influence.
At some point, we may need him or he will need us.
Bankers need stockbrokers,
who need developers who need bankers.
We’re all interdependent.
Every once or so often, one of our members goes rogue
and he has to be reminded of that reality.
You’ve heard all the reports we’ve heard from Edward here,
and I must agree that the incident of Edward’s wife is,
at best, inappropriate.
It’s more than inappropriate.
Edward, please.
I’m too old for redundancy.
Are there any other new charges to be added?
Good. We’ll proceed.
The committee will now vote
on the matter of Lawrence Cayle.
We vote a black marble for guilty
a white marble for innocent.
If he is found guilty, he will be sanctioned
in order that the committee may register
its collective displeasure.
Lisa.
Proceed to take the vote.
The vote is 4 to 1, guilty.
It is the will of this committee
that our brother member be punished
by whatever means the enforcer deems appropriate.
His business ventures may be harmed,
he may be fined,
certain private endeavors may be revealed to the public.
-If necessary... -No!
Wait. I’m sorry, but this is nuts.
Look at us, sitting here like judge, jury, and executioner
all rolled up into one.
Oh, the task is unpleasant,
but necessary, it’s the way things are always done.
Yeah, I’ve had it with the way things are done.
If you want to play this game, fine.
Count me out.
He’ll come back. They always do.
Lisa, let’s proceed.
In accordance with tradition,
whoever chooses the gold marble
will enforce the will of the committee.
No one will know who that is
and he alone will determine the appropriate punishment.
The selection has been made.
No one is to speak of this meeting
or reveal the results of the vote.
This meeting of the committee is concluded.
Jessica, would you excuse me a moment?
Mrs. Fletcher, I so enjoyed your reading
at the club the other night.
Well, thank you, Mr....
Cayle, Theodore Cayle.
Oh, yes, of course.
Isn’t that your brother talking to Winston?
Yes, I suppose it is.
Well, don’t you know?
Well, does any of us really know anyone else?
Well, I suppose you have a point there.
However, I think I know when I am being
deliberately distracted and you’re very good at it.
I’ve had a lifetime in training.
It is just a simple conversation, business.
Nothing you need to trouble yourself with.
Of course.
Simple, boring, business conversations
always require a smokescreen.
It’s been a great pleasure.
Good evening.
Pull!
[applause]
You’re up.
Pass. I’m gonna talk to someone.
Well, that’s too bad.
You should take your best shot now, while you still can.
[man] Pull!
[gunshot]
Mmm, Lawrence, try the pate.
It’s quite good, much lighter than last time.
Philip, I know there was a meeting of the committee
the other night, and I know it was about me.
Nonsense. Whatever gave you that idea?
Let’s just say that I’ve got my sources,
and I want to know what’s going on.
Lawrence, you are as familiar with the rules as anyone else.
Meetings of the committee
are held in strictest confidence.
Right.
It’s fine to conspire against somebody behind his back.
But you don’t have the guts to do it face to face?
I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.
[lightning crashing]
Is it ever going to let up out there?
Well, you know, the record is 40 days and 40 nights.
Better tell the kitchen to start serving smaller portions.
It’s too bad you weren’t here
for the trapshooting tournament.
I managed very well, thank you.
Excuse me.
Have you seen Mr. Arkham anywhere?
I think I saw him in the Hermes room
with Harcourt a little while ago.
Jessica, this is Lisa Sutton,
Philip Arkham’s personal secretary.
Lisa, Jessica Fletcher.
It’s a pleasure. Oh.
-Are you all right? -Yeah. I think so.
Oh. It’s sopping wet!
Oh, the rain must've gotten into it.
Well, don’t panic.
I’ve had this very same thing happen
and they can be repaired.
I better go find Mr. Arkham.
Mr. Cayle, I was told to give this to you.
What is it?
Nothing, absolutely nothing you need to worry about, Theo.
They think they can hurt me. Fine, let them try.
They need me a lot more than I need them.
Shall I bring your car around, Mr. Devermore?
Yes, thanks.
By the way, do you know if Theo Cayle has left yet?
Ah, I think I saw him drive away a little while ago.
At least his space is empty.
All right, thank you.
Is there a problem?
No, no.
Something’s bothering me,
I wanted to talk to him about it.
It’s nothing that can’t wait till morning.
Hmm.
Hello?
[clock chiming]
Anybody home?
[snickers]
Hello! Hey.
OK, come on out. Come on.
Olly olly oxen free!
Oh.
I should’ve known.
You got no guts, any of you!
Ah, at last.
Now who do we have here?
Who got the odious job of being the big bad enforcer?
Well, well.
What do you know?
[chatter on police radio]
Jessica.
Oh, Winston.
I came as soon as I got your call.
When did this happen?
I’m not sure, sometime last night.
The body wasn’t discovered
until the cleaning staff arrived this morning.
Well, we’re all done in there
Mr. Devermore, Winston Devermore.
Lieutenant Tartarus, this is Jessica Fletcher.
The writer, right?
Correct.
I don’t think you’re going to get
much of a story out of this one.
Pretty straightforward.
Shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out who the killer is.
Oh, why do you say that, Lieutenant?
The victim was shot at close range with a shotgun.
All we need to find out is who the gun belongs to.
I’m afraid that’s going to be very difficult.
The club owns about 20 shotguns.
We use them for trapshooting.
Everyone here has access to them.
Well, that’s not a problem.
We’ll just have to nuke everybody.
Excuse me?
Nuke.
Short for neutron activation test.
It checks for antimony and barium,
both of which stick around
a lot longer than any gunpowder residue.
So, we’ll just nuke all the members of the club
and see who fired a gun in the last 24 hours.
Lieutenant, are you aware
that there was a trapshooting contest here yesterday?
No, why?
Well, it occurred to me
that since quite a number of the members took part,
they’ll all test positive.
Well, like I said, this is going to be difficult.
If I need anything else, I’ll be in touch.
Oh, Winston, I’m so sorry.
Thank you.
One question though...
Why did you want to get me here so quickly?
Well, I...
Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Devermore,
the committee would like to see you, both of you.
Let me see if I have this right.
The five of you met to vote
on whether or not Lawrence Cayle should be punished.
Sanctioned.
Sanctioned...
for his actions against members of the committee.
You found him guilty, 4 to 1,
and one of you was selected as enforcer
to administer the punishment.
That’s correct.
And you don’t know
which one of you was selected to be the enforcer.
Correct.
Our guess is that whoever it was, he...
Well, he got out of control. He went too far.
Perhaps there was a struggle
and it was an accident.
Maybe whichever one of us did it
planned to kill Lawrence all along
knowing the rest of us would have to go along
with the cover-up or disgrace the club,
or be indicted ourselves.
Gentlemen, I... I don’t really know how to tell you this,
but in my opinion,
I think you are in very serious, serious trouble.
This is exactly what I was afraid of.
I knew that the sanctioning business
would get out of control one of these days.
I don’t know which one of you did it, but whoever...
How do you know it was one of us, what about you?
I left before the enforcer was selected, remember?
Oh, yes. Wasn’t that quite convenient?
Now what are you trying to imply?
Now, wait a minute, all of you.
Nothing will be accomplished
by slinging wild accusations at one another.
I mean, you’re all in this together.
If one of you did kill Lawrence Cayle,
a jury might find you all guilty of conspiracy.
Unless we take some action on our own
to bring the killer to justice,
and that’s where you come in, Mrs. Fletcher.
Tell her, Winston.
The committee would like you to investigate the killing.
Philip sensed that whole lives, careers could be ruined
if the police find out about the sanction
before we can give them the killer.
They just wouldn’t understand.
All right.
I will look into the matter, but on one condition.
That as soon as we can identify the killer,
if we can, we turn everything over to the police
including what you have told me about the sanction.
Agreed.
You know, it’s a very curious dilemma.
If what you told me is true,
then I’m commissioned by a group
that very likely includes the killer himself.
I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.
The rest of you may be content to go along
with this inquisition, but I’m not.
Edward, please.
No, I won’t have an outsider digging around in my life.
The rest of you do whatever you want to do,
just leave me out of it.
Well, Mrs. Fletcher.
Looks like you got your work cut out for you.
[Winston] Makeup of the committee changes each year
to make sure no one gets a monopoly on power.
When my tenure ended,
I was going to remove myself from the list.
There’s just something not right about it,
about people who think they,
that only they can police each other.
You shouldn’t blame yourself, Winston.
After all, you didn’t know this was going to happen.
But what’s done is done.
Now we have to focus on finding the killer.
That’s strange.
Who was that?
It was Harcourt.
What was he doing here?
[knocking on door]
Mrs. Fletcher to see Mr. Cayle.
Please come in.
Mr. Cayle will be right down.
Thank you.
Well, thank you for driving me out, Winston.
I think that I should talk to Theo alone for a while.
Because I’m a suspect, right?
And you don’t want me to hear what he might say?
Well, let’s just say that I’ll feel more comfortable.
But don’t worry about me, I’ll take a cab back to town.
All right, see you later.
All right.
Harcourt, it’s me.
We have to talk as soon as possible.
Four o’clock, all right.
And, Harcourt, tell no one.
Do you have any idea
who he might've been going to meet last night?
None.
Lawrence was a very private man.
I...I knew something was up, but he didn’t elaborate.
When I went up to bed last night about 10,
he said he was gonna stay up,
get some work done.
Told me he’d see me in the morning.
That’s the last I saw of him.
Yes, I’m sorry.
We were a perfect team, Lawrence and I.
He had a fantastic mind for business, but no diplomacy.
I’ve always been politic,
but whenever I tried to run a business,
I always failed miserably.
So he ran the business end of things while you...
Picked up after him.
Not that it was any small task, mind you.
But I was happy to do it.
Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time.
If there’s a phone I could use, I’d like...
No, no.
Let me give you a lift into town.
Oh, no. That’s not necessary.
I know, but, I’ve been inside since yesterday afternoon.
The air would do me good.
All right, thank you.
By the way, one last question,
as Winston and I were driving in,
we noticed Harcourt Fenton driving away.
Unless I’m mistaken, he's a member of the committee.
Do you know what he was doing here?
He came to offer his condolences.
Polite gesture, but it’s hard to accept condolences
from someone who could be the killer.
[Mr. Arkham] You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?
That’s right, Mr. Arkham.
I’d like to...I’d like to ask you something about the committee.
Just a moment.
Elizabeth, would you put through that call?
Thank you.
Sorry, Lieutenant, you were saying?
We’ve had a tip about your little in-group,
something about an enforcer
who was supposed to punish Lawrence Cayle.
Really?
Here’s another revelation, I checked and it seems like
the Avernus Club gets a good chunk of Cayle’s will.
Since you pretty much run things here,
that makes you a prime suspect.
Does it?
How interesting.
I...I’ve never been a suspect before.
Yeah, well, there’s a first time for everything.
Frankly, I can’t think of one good reason
why I shouldn’t arrest the whole bunch of you right now
for conspiracy to murder, can you?
As it so happens, I believe I can.
[phone ringing]
Yes.
Very good, put him on.
Hello, Commissioner.
How are you?
And the wife?
Wonderful.
Well, I’m fine, thanks.
Yes, he’s right here.
It’s for you.
You know he isn’t gonna like this.
Well, this has gone too far.
We’ll do what we have to.
I know, it’s just...
What? What’s wrong?
Brakes...
The brakes are out.
[tires screeching]
[Tartarus] Can we talk to him?
[doctor] Yes, but not for very long.
He’s out of danger,
but I don’t want to take any chances.
Winston.
Mr. Devermore? Mr. Devermore,
there’s some people here to see you.
Jessica, I had a dream.
We were dancing.
Later, Winston.
When you get back on your feet,
which is going to be very soon.
What about Harcourt?
Did he make it?
I don’t know.
[Tartarus] Mr. Devermore, I know this isn’t a good time for you,
but I need to ask you some questions.
We checked the car, and the brake lines
were definitely cut.
Now do you know anyone
who'd want to hurt you or Harcourt Fenton?
I’m sorry.
Can you tell us what happened?
Where were you going with Harcourt?
To see Philip.
We wanted to tell the police about the committee.
Looks like someone didn’t want you to talk to us.
I never liked Lawrence,
but I never wanted to see him killed.
I was the only one that voted that he was innocent.
One white marble, four black.
Looks like the sedative is starting to kick in.
I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to ask you to go now.
All right.
Dr. Clarke, there’s been a problem.
Someone broke into a locker where we kept the patient’s
clothing and personal belongings.
Which patient?
This one.
Well, what exactly was taken?
Well, everything.
You see, when we have a patient in the ER room,
we put all their personal belongings in one place.
Whoever did this broke into another locker as well,
but as far as we know, nothing was taken.
Why would someone want to steal his clothes?
If it was his effects they were looking for.
You said another locker had been broken into?
That’s right.
We’d used it temporarily to put the effects
of the other patient, Harcourt Fenton.
But Harcourt’s effects were bagged
and sent down to the coroner’s office
as soon as... As soon as he was declared dead.
Unless the thief did not know
that the material had been transferred.
Could we take a look at those effects, Lieutenant?
Sure, come on.
Thanks.
[Tartarus] Anything?
No, nothing out of the ordinary.
Same here.
The guy didn’t even carry any cash.
I guess he didn’t have to, huh?
The marble, let’s put it with the rest of the stuff.
I think we can be pretty sure
that nobody killed Harcourt Fenton for a marble.
I’m not so sure about that, Lieutenant.
Not so sure at all.
One white and four black marbles.
Excuse me?
What Winston said in the hospital...
When the committee voted to sanction Lawrence Cayle,
the vote was four black marbles and one white.
He said his was the white vote.
Which means what?
Which means that our killer has been very, very careful.
This has been planned to the last detail, except for this.
And we have to be just as careful
if we’re going to prove it.
Now first, we need the records of every local taxi company.
Lieutenant, do you have any social plans for this evening?
Should I cancel them?
I think it might be wise.
Mr. Dunsany.
Yes.
Oh.
Thank you.
Mr. Innsmouth.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Ah, looks like the gang’s all here.
Please, have a seat, Mr. Innsmouth.
How much do you all know about firing squads?
I know better than to get in front of them...
Well, there are generally six men in a firing squad.
It’s a very difficult job
knowing you have to kill a man.
As a result, five of the guns are loaded
with live ammunition,
one of the guns contains blanks,
and no one on the firing squad is told which is which.
Mrs. Fletcher, this is all quite fascinating,
but what does it have to do
with the murder of Lawrence Cayle?
More than you might suspect.
Lieutenant.
Please come inside.
The night of the vote,
each of you were given two marbles
to use in voting on Lawrence Cayle’s...
guilt or innocence. One black and one white.
A marble like this one
which we retrieved today
from Harcourt Fenton’s personal effects.
If your vote was to sanction,
then you dropped in a black marble.
If you found Lawrence innocent,
you were to vote a white marble.
You were instructed not to discuss your votes
with anyone else.
That changed this afternoon.
Winston Devermore mentioned that he voted white, innocent.
Which means that we have a dilemma
because it is physically impossible
for Harcourt to have walked out of that meeting
with a black marble unless he had also voted white.
But then, if that’s true,
there must have been at least two white marbles, not one.
Unless someone had altered the count,
someone who stacked a vote toward guilty,
but left in one white marble knowing...
that as with the firing squad, anyone who voted innocent
would assume that it was his.
Someone who couldn’t take a chance that Lawrence
might be found innocent.
Only one person was in a position
to change the results. Isn’t that correct, Lisa?
I... No. I...
Well, then allow me to elaborate.
At every meeting,
the votes are collected in the same pouch,
but you altered the pouch to form a separate compartment
and planted marbles inside.
You then collected every member’s vote as usual.
Instead of the real vote,
you revealed the one you had planted.
Four black, one white.
That’s not true.
Yes, it is, Lisa.
We took the liberty of checking the pouch
and found the alterations.
The oldest game in the world and we fell for it.
Yes, but that still doesn’t tell us
who the killer is.
Because that’s only half the story.
Now the other half involves the selection of the enforcer.
Now the process was much the same.
Whoever picked the one gold marble
out of the bag was the enforcer.
But Lisa here carefully palmed the gold marble
so that it was never inside the bag at all.
Each of you assumed that the other
had gotten the gold marble
and had been selected the enforcer,
but of course in reality, none of you got it.
Then there was no enforcer.
Oh, there was an enforcer all right,
but he wasn’t in the room.
He wasn’t even a member of the committee.
You all suspected each other without cause.
The enforcer...
was Theo Cayle, Lawrence’s brother.
This is nonsense.
No, Theo,
it was you who told Lawrence
that Gerald’s businesses weren’t run well,
you who suggested to Gerald and others
that Lawrence was having some problems of his own,
you who lured your brother
into the room with Edward’s wife,
all so you could have him brought up
before the committee.
And when that happened, he was as good as dead.
But I was nowhere near the club when Lawrence was killed.
Everyone saw me driving away.
No, they saw your car leave.
Driven by Lisa.
I remembered when she arrived at the party last night,
her shoes were soaking wet from the rain,
but every one entering or leaving
was carefully kept dry by the valets.
The only way her shoes could've gotten wet
would be if she was dropped off near the club
and walked the rest of the way.
Later, she got in your car, leaving everyone to assume
that you had gone home.
I realized that someone else had been driving your car
when you had to push the seat back.
It had been adjusted to accommodate Lisa.
You then waited for Lawrence
and when he arrived that night, you killed him.
[lieutenant] We checked the cab company,
and they have a record of picking up
someone matching your description
three blocks from here, less than an hour after the murder.
You wanted control of his estate, $2 billion.
You resented his success,
resented being shoved into the background,
cleaning up his mess.
As for Harcourt, Jessica told me he came to your house
to offer condolences.
He probably brought the marble along to prove
he voted innocent.
So you killed him to eliminate the evidence
that the vote had been tampered with.
By severing the brake line of his sports car.
Harcourt too? But you didn’t tell me.
Be quiet.
I swear.
I didn’t know what he was gonna do.
He just gave me $10,000 to switch the vote
and drive his car home.
He said it was a gag, that’s all.
And then when Lawrence was killed, he threatened me.
He said that we’d both be up for murder, but I didn’t know.
I swear it.
I didn’t know.
I can’t thank you enough for all your help, Jessica.
Your being up and around is the only thanks I need.
You know, you really had us worried
for a while there, Winston.
I was a little worried myself to tell you the truth.
By the way, I spoke to Philip Arkham this morning.
Lisa has agreed to testify against Theo
in return for a reduced charge,
and he’s decided to disband the committee.
Well, I have to tell you, I’m glad.
Oh, you should be.
You certainly had a hand in it.
Which brings us back to the question of repayment.
Winston, please.
I was thinking about dinner at this little place I know.
I know, you mean a big, fancy uptown restaurant
with a big band, music, and dancing...
No, absolutely not.
I mean a real, honest, quiet little restaurant,
very quaint... in Scotland.
I’ve already made the reservations.
We can swing by your apartment,
pick up your passport,
and be on my plane in half an hour.