All language subtitles for matlock_s04e17_the_victim

Okay, picture this.

We're close to an alarm clock, 6 .15 a
.m. Goes off, we pull back, see a young

woman, yuppie, attractive, hit the deck
running.

Then in quick cuts, we see an aerobics
class, business meetings, high -level

confabs with guys in suits.

After work, racquetball, dinner with
friends.

Then back to her setting the alarm clock
while we hear her voiceover say, you

can wear bras for the active life you
live.

Tell me he's kidding.

This campaign is geared toward female
boomers, women who never stop running.

Thanks. Now I get it. We are telling
women we have a bra they can sweat in?

Where's the sex?

I deliberately focused away from the
sex. Women want to know how this

Women want men.

They want to find them, catch them, and
keep them. They want to be pert and

perky for men because men are their real
business.

Where did you get this idiot?

Will you excuse us for a minute, Edward?
I would be glad to rethink this, Mr.

Howe. Give me a break.

Look, I was in the top 10 % of my class
at Vanderbilt, Mr. Gordon.

Well, you just flunked out in the real
world, pal.

That is fine.

Very nice.

You think these people don't talk?

It's all over the business.

How are we going to get good creative
talent in here if you treat people like

that? By overpaying, the way you do now.

Yes. Get my wife, please.

You're hurting business, Alex. It's got
to stop.

Buy me out.

You'll lose the only clown in this
circus who knows how to write a decent

of ad copy.

Hi, honey.

Hi.

How's your day?

Oh, lousy. We've got nothing for the
uniware meeting tomorrow, and I'm going

be working all night.

Are you staying in town?

Yeah. I'll be staying at the motel.

Thanks. Pulling your fat out of the fire
again, buddy?

Okay.

Okay. If you want to be a martyr, I'll
see you tomorrow.

Martyr?

Either I come up with something for the
UNIWARE meeting or we go in with nothing

but our nervous smiles.

Where's that report?

You were in with Mr. Howell. I asked you
to type it an hour ago.

I did. I didn't want to disturb you.
Bring it.

Bring it.

Anything else you need, Mr. Gordon?

Good night's sleep.

Give me a wake -up call at 7 a .m., will
you, John?

Sure thing.

Hold your call still, then?

Except for my wife.

You got it. Sleep well, Mr. Gordon.

Alex?

I told you, no interruption.

I'm sorry, sir, but the police are here
and they say it's important. The police?

I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gordon.

Lieutenant Brooks, Atlanta PD.

What can I do for you?

There was a problem at your house and
we'd like for you to come with us if you

can. What happened?

I'm sorry to have to tell you like this.

But your wife, when the maid came this
morning, your wife is dead, sir. It

appears she was murdered last night.

We're trying to find out all that we
can.

Murdered? Oh, dear God. Kathy?

Somebody killed Kathy?

We're hoping that you can help us find
out.

A burgundy Jaguar I was seeing near your
house last night.

Do you know anyone with a car like that?

No.

Burgundy, my partner's... What's his
name?

Brett Howell, but he wouldn't have been
anywhere near there last night.

I'm sorry, I must go home. Of course,
we'll take you there right away.

I didn't plan to fall in love with
Kathy, nor she with me.

For a long time, we were just friends.

She was so beautiful, so intelligent.

Who'd want to kill her?

Well, the police think you did.

And you were seen going into the house
last night.

Alex was staying in town.

Kathy and I knew we'd have some time
together.

When I left, she was fine.

What time was that?

About 11 .45.

I just... If I would have stayed,

I should still be alive.

Any idea how the murder weapon got into
your car?

No.

Anybody else have a key?

Spare?

In the office.

Maybe at home, too.

I'm going to be honest with you, Mr.
Howell. The district attorney has a very

strong case.

I didn't do it, Mr. Matlock.

I loved her.

You believe me, don't you? I have to go
under that assumption.

But I don't have a clue how I'm going to
convince the jury

that a man who's sleeping with a woman

And not just any woman, his partner's
wife.

And in his partner's house is a person
of high moral standards.

Well, the maid walked in this morning
and nearly had a quarrel.

I guess.

Does she have a key?

Yes. And the alarm code.

The alarm was on?

No, it was off. That's how the maid knew
something was wrong.

Kathy Gordon always set the alarm just
before she went to sleep.

She couldn't last night when her client
left.

She was dead.

Why do you say when your client left?

Well, it must have been him. Anyone else
coming in after he left would have set

off the alarm.

What about her husband?

Well, I guess you're not quite up to
speed on this.

He has an alibi at a downtown motel.

Stayed the night.

But even without the alibi, he couldn't
have done it.

Well, it's here.

Come on, go ahead.

See the contraption on the stairs on
your way up? Yeah.

It's broken, six months.

Yeah? Well, it's the only way Mr. Gordon
can get up and down the stairs.

He's a paraplegic.

I didn't know that.

Anything else?

There's a lot of blood.

Did you find any clothes the killer was
wearing?

No. Anything taken?

Nothing so far.

They got a good case. Yeah, they do.

We're best friends of the family.

Mr. Gordon's expecting us.

It's okay, officer.

Thank you.

Alex.

I'm so sorry.

I can't believe it.

I just saw Kathy on Tuesday.

Are you okay?

I honestly don't know what I'm going to
do without her, Grant.

I'll miss her.

Kathy deserves better.

I'd like to offer our condolences.

I'm Michelle Thomas, Ben Matlock's
associate. This is Conrad McMasters.

We represent Mr. Howell.

Thank you, Miss Thomas.

I understand Mrs. Gordon was a lovely
woman.

More than lovely, Mr... McMasters. She
was the finest woman I've ever known.

Excuse me. I need a glass of water.

My wife and Kathy were very close.

I'm Grant Estes.

Glad to meet you. How do you do? Hello.

Alex!

I know I shouldn't have come here, but
please, you've got to believe me. I

didn't kill Kathy. Believe you?

You two -faced bastard.

Alex. Sleeping with my wife, pretending
to be my best friend. Get the hell out

of my house!

Very impressive.

Great stress release.

Three times a week, no matter what.

I've got some dumbbells in my bag.

Christmas present. I guess somebody's
trying to tell me something.

Yep.

Yeah, I try sometimes, but I'll do
better.

Boy. Your upper body?

My upper body's all I've got.

I promised I'd do this.

Why I'm here is my client would like to
come to the funeral.

He's out of his mind.

Keep him away from me.

I'm sorry I interrupted your workout.

That's okay.

Brett said that he kept an extra set of
car keys in his desk in his

office. You didn't happen to see
anybody. No, I didn't.

So you think the dumbbells would help,
huh?

It's a start.

You could lose some weight, too.

You think so?

You carry all that stuff around with
you, you probably don't feel like

exercising.

Oh, well, I'll do better.

You know what they say, we are what we
eat.

On you, it shows.

Well, what can I do for you, Miss Tommy?

You and Kathy Gordon were friends for
quite a while.

Since high school.

Did you and your husband spend a lot of
time with the Gordons?

I spent a lot of time with Kathy.

And Alex?

No, I avoided Alex as much as I could.

Oh?

Life's too short to be around nasty
people.

He made Kathy miserable.

Well, yesterday he sounded like he loved
her very much.

It's an act.

Well, did Kathy love him?

She tried to be very loyal.

Was there any... Well, I mean, could he?

Yes, he could.

And he wouldn't.

Why wouldn't he?

Anger. Anger, I guess.

How did it happen?

One night, Kathy was driving them home
from a party.

She got cut off, lost control of the
car, it rolled.

Alex was thrown clear, but Kathy got
trapped.

The car caught fire.

Somehow, Alex managed to pull her out,
but the car lurched.

And Alex suffered a serious spinal
injury.

It put stress on a marriage that wasn't
good to begin with.

Miss Thomas, this is only me talking.

Before the accident, Alex Gordon was not
a nice person. Being paralyzed did not

improve his personality.

He used Kathy's guilt, and he would
never ask for a divorce.

Why would he? He made six figures. She
inherited six million.

That's the difference between comfort
and luxury.

Did Alex know about Kathy's affair?

I didn't think so.

Kathy told me.

She... She felt so guilty.

Miss Thomas, whatever happiness Kathy
had, she had with Brett Howell.

She loved him and he loved her very
much.

Come on, Ben, there's just no way a
paraplegic could have committed that

I didn't say he did.

I just want to find out more about him
and about the motel where he stayed that

night.

Unless the man is cured and nobody knows
about it, I think you're barking up the

wrong tree.

You want to just find out something
about the motel where he stayed that

I'll find out about the motel.

Man, you scared the devil out of me.

Here, let me give you a hand with that.

No, thanks.

Okay. I got plenty to do.

Lunch.

What do you got?

Oh, I got two hamburgers jumbo.

Two hot dogs all the way.

I got fries, onion rings, rice pudding,
and two milkshakes, vanilla, and one

extra just in case.

What's the matter?

Nothing. You like hot dogs?

Yeah.

Well, what's the matter?

Well, somebody said maybe I'll lose a
little weight.

What do you think?

Plump.

Pleasingly plump?

Just plump.

Well, diet, then.

I can't be losing my figure.

That used to be one of my best things.

You know that motel you told me to look
into?

Yeah. Well, Alex Gordon always stays in
the same room because it has easy

wheelchair access.

Yeah. And I don't know what this means,
but the night of the murder,

He said he wanted a quiet room because
he was real tired, even though the

was more difficult.

I saw him check in and saw him check
out.

But in between, he could have gone
anywhere.

Like I said, I don't know what that
means.

Because I found out this.

A man makes a good living, right?

But his wife is the one with all the
money.

Well, there's reason enough to kill her
right there.

Yeah.

But except for token maintenance, Alex
Gordon is not in his wife's will.

He's not?

How'd you find out?

Connections? Does he know?

Contact says yes.

Huh.

Well, the only way he could get any of
her money was if she was alive.

Doesn't make any sense.

Nope.

Think you're barking up the wrong tree.

Wrong tree, huh?

I want you to follow him everywhere.

Okay. Got my stuff?

Got my radio.

You going to eat those hot dogs?

Yes. Both of them?

Yes. When?

While I'm working following Alex Gordon.

Well, what are you going to do with all
that other stuff?

I'm going to eat it.

I knew it was 8 .30 because that's when
I walked Jerome every night.

Jerome is my dog.

Anyway, I noticed this burgundy Jaguar
parked near my house.

When I looked around to see who it
belonged to, I noticed someone going

Gordon's house.

And what exactly did you see?

Well, Mrs. Gordon sort of pulled this
man inside.

Do you see the person who was pulled
into the Gordon's house here today?

Sure. I've seen him there before.

The defendant, Mr. Howell.

In all of the years I've worked for the
Gordon, The alarm was always on when I

went to work.

Mrs. Gordon simply never would go to
sleep without turning it on.

Never? Not even if she was sick or
injured or just plain forgot?

No, never.

So, if Mrs. Gordon had been alive when
the defendant left, she would have

the alarm on and therefore no one could
enter the house without setting it off.

No one.

Thank you very much.

No questions.

Mr. Madlock? No questions.

You may step down.

Court will recess 45 minutes for lunch.

Bye -bye.

Uh,

Miss Gordon?

Yeah? Uh,

this... This may, uh...

It'd be a little awkward, but I'll just
go ahead with it.

Brett said that you stayed in town the
night of the murder and worked on the

Uniware campaign.

And the meeting's next week, and if you
have the campaign, he'd like to present

it. Tell Brett to stick it.

Okay.

Why didn't you stay in your regular room
at the motel that night? The front room

is noisy.

I need quiet to work and sleep.

I see.

I see.

You think I'm a suspect?

Well, I'll take that as a compliment.

You think I snuck out and murdered my
wife in my wheelchair?

Mr. Matlock.

Numerous places in the victim's bedroom
and the entire house were dusted.

And what did you find?

We found the fingerprints of the
defendant, Mr. Howell, throughout the

and in particular in the victim's
bedroom.

Thank you. Nothing further.

Mr. Matlock.

Yes, sir. Lieutenant, do you from time
to time visit with friends

and business associates at the various
homes?

Yes. Well, when you take leave of one
another, do you take care to wipe your

fingerprints off?

Everything, the tableware, tables and
walls and stuff like that?

No. Yes.

Now, you've testified that this knife is
the murder weapon and that

it was found in the trunk of Mr.

Howell's car.

Yes, sir.

Well, why are there no fingerprints on
it?

Well... Objection. Calls for
speculation. It doesn't make sense that

defendant would leave his fingerprints
all over the walls of the house and wipe

them off the knife and throw it through
the trunk of his car.

Objection. It's argumentative. Why
didn't he just leave the knife at the

of the crime? We'll have to ask him. Who
ever committed this horrible murder?

Withdraw the question. Nothing further.

We'll adjourn until 10 o 'clock tomorrow
morning.

Your Honor, Your Honor, Your Honor,
could Kelson and I...

I'll meet with you in chamber briefly.

Mr. Burgess?

That's fine, yes, sir. And could we ask
Mr. Alex Gordon to meet with us?

Your Honor, this is a receipt for a $50
,000 diamond bracelet that my client

gave the deceased the day before she was
murdered.

What's the point?

Well... The bracelet hasn't shown up
anywhere in Mrs. Gordon's possessions,

I'd like to search the safe up in her
bedroom to see if it's there.

For what purpose?

You said that no robbery was involved in
this murder, and if the bracelet isn't

there, it proves that there was.

Mr. Matlock, if you're introducing
evidence, you must do so in a courtroom.

And if you're asking for a warrant to
search the Gordon house, then ask.

Right now.

Well, um... I have no problem with your
going into the safe.

Come by first thing in the morning. You
can look around all you want.

Is

this it?

It sure looks like it.

It's got to be it.

Well, it looks like you missed this one,
doesn't it, Ben?

Oh, yeah.

Nice try, Ben.

You find what you were looking for?

Yes, I'll be there.

Yes, we can.

Mr. Gordon, how are you doing?

I miss my wife more than I can say.

But I'm all right. I trained myself
early to be self -sufficient. I didn't

to be a burden to Kathy.

I'm moved by your internal strength.

Paralyzed when you saved your wife's
life, and now to find out... I'm a

practical man, Mr. Matlock. I understood
my wife's needs.

I couldn't fulfill all of them.

Most, but not all.

That's more than practical.

I'll be honest with you, Mr. Matlock.

At first, I felt rage, bitterness.

Life isn't fair, I know it.

But I also know that if the situation
had been reversed...

Kathy would have pulled me out of that
car, and eventually I might have had an

affair. Well, well.

I wish life had turned out differently
for you.

Thank you. Yes.

It's a very nice house.

Yes, it is.

I may keep it. I don't know.

Expensive to keep up.

Well... Um...

What?

There's, uh... There's something you
probably don't know about.

Your wife gave Mr.

Howell a combination to your upstairs
safe.

And so the other day, I took a little
look.

I might get in trouble, I don't know.
But funny thing, the bracelet

wasn't there.

I'm certain of it.

And then, remember in Chambers, we asked
if we could take a look and use it?

Fine, remember? And we just did. We just
looked. And the bracelet is there.

It's there.

And I don't understand.

May I have your order, please?

All right, give me a chocolate shake,
hamburger.

Ben Malak.

Ben, I'm at a drive -thru on East
Magnolia.

He lost me.

Mr. Gordon, I know this will be
difficult for you, but I'd like to talk

your relationship with your wife.

Was there intimacy?

That was impossible.

I have been told just the opposite, that
it's very possible.

Were you happy?

Happier than most marriages?

You knew that your wife was in love with
my client.

An affair is not love, Mr. Matlock. My
wife and I understood each other's needs

and we accepted them. That was one of
the strengths of our marriage.

Mrs. Gordon was planning to divorce you,
wasn't she?

Like any couple that's been married
longer than two weeks, we'd occasionally

discuss divorce in the heat of an
argument.

Uh -huh.

Do you know a man named Mr. Martin
Sedgwick?

Yes, I do.

He's an attorney. In fact, he is the
attorney your wife retained to file for

divorce in her behalf. Isn't that right?
She hired him, yes, but she never would

have gone through with it.

Because she loved you.

Yes.

Kathy was hot -tempered and certainly
had a flair for the dramatic.

Instead of saying, I'm angry, she'd file
for divorce.

But that was one of the things I loved
about her.

I'm easily bored, Mr. Matlock, and Kathy
was never boring.

You miss her.

Yes, very much.

Your wife's family inheritance allowed a
lifestyle that your

salary alone could never support. Isn't
that right?

That's insulting.

Objection. Relevancy. Mr. Matlock.

This man is not on trial here. Your
client is. Your Honor. I'm sustaining

objection, Mr. Matlock.

Move on.

The night your wife was murdered, you
stayed in town in a motel,

didn't you?

Yes. And you always stay in the same
motel in the same room because it has

wheelchair access. But this night, you
stayed in a different room, didn't you?

I was tired. My regular room is right
next to the office. It can be quite

sometimes. I told you that already,
remember? The room you stayed in was way

back of the motel. The manager helped
you check in, helped you check out.

But in the meantime, given the location
of the room, you could have gone

somewhere, come back.

Never been seen, couldn't you?

I stayed in that room all night.

Mr. Gordon, you have...

tremendous upper body strength, don't
you? Yes.

You would too if you had to drag around
half a body of dead weight.

You lift weights?

Yes.

Could you climb up a rope?

I've never tried.

I'd have to say no.

Feet are part of the power.

But given the tremendous upper body
strength you have, wouldn't it be fairly

easy for you? Nothing is easy for a
paraplegic, Mr. Matlock. Let me tell you

story.

There was a man who was filled with
rage.

And he was victim of an accident that
left him paralyzed and in terrible

loss.

And his rage built more rage, maybe even
pathological.

Many, many people, disabled just like
he, worked their way through their loss

and lived their lives productive.

But rage had always been a part of this
man, and now it was his constant

companion.

So one night, he called his wife and
told her he was going to stay in town,

knowing that his business partner would
take that opportunity to see her.

An affair.

An affair.

Perhaps brought on by the numerous
rejections of the husband.

And he knew that his neighbor would walk
his dog at the same time every night

and see his partner's car parked out in
front of the house.

You are saying that I deliberately set
up an opportunity for Brett to meet

Kathy? Just a story.

Objection. Your Honor, this is crucial
to the completion of this case.

Careful, Mr. Matlock.

Be very careful.

Overruled.

Once you had established your alibi at
the motel, you drove to your

house.

waited for your partner, my client, to
leave and your wife to go to sleep.

Then you turned off the alarm, went in
the house.

You knew you could go up those stairs by
using your hands,

but your legs would drag behind you,
leaving a trail of

particle evidence that anybody could
find.

So you threw a rope.

Over the upstairs banister.

And that's how you climbed to the second
floor of your house. Something no one

would think a paraplegic could do.

Then you stabbed your wife to death
while she slept.

How dare you?

I don't climb ropes.

How dare you?

Let me show you something.

Let me show you something.

Let me show you this.

Recognize this bag?

This is the rope you used to climb to
the second floor of your house.

This is the bloody jacket you wore while
you stabbed your wife to death.

These are the gloves that you wiped off.

You knew that my associate, Conrad
McMasters, was following you last night,

you lost him.

We meant for you to do that.

You recognize this gentleman?

He's a private investigator.

I hired him to follow you, and he saw
you go up an alley and throw this bag

contents in a dumpster. I'm sure
forensics testing will prove the blood

on this jacket and in places on this
rope.

Your wife's blood.

Millions of people have been disabled
like you and have found a way to

live fulfilling, productive lives.

I'm sorry for your accident. I'm sorry
that you had to live in that chair.

I'm sorry most of all.

that you allowed your rage to cause all
of this tragedy.

But there can be no excuse for what you
have done.

Your Honor, defense moves that all
charges against

my client be dropped.

In light of the evidence, Your Honor,
the people concur.

As does the court.

Case dismissed.

This court is adjourned.