Original subtitles

Over here.

Good

morning.

Good morning. Good to see you. This is Bob.

I needed to talk to you. I wanted to ask if you had a chance to read the

pleading.

Excuse me, Mr.

Kinney? Yes.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.

My name is Lou Ann Wilkins.

I'm sorry to bother you, but I know you're a lawyer.

Ms. Wilkins, I don't usually discuss business at church.

Oh, no, I realize that.

Well, I don't know any lawyers, and I don't come to church very often, but I

knew that you were a lawyer, and I lost my daughter, Melissa.

She was 19.

She was staying with some people in California, and she died two months ago.

I'm very sorry to hear that.

Why don't we step over here? Y 'all excuse me. I'll talk to you later.

Oh,

Wynne Burkholder. This is... I'm sorry. My pleasure.

This is my son,

Christian. Hi. Hi.

We'll just be a minute.

Mrs.

Wilkins, I'm sorry. I'm not really the kind of lawyer, corporate lawyer. I want

you to deal with individuals.

I'm sorry.

I shouldn't be bothering you with this. It's just that I have some insurance.

Life insurance?

Oh, no, no burial insurance for the funeral expenses.

I'm a teacher. It's one of the benefits.

I paid for the funeral, and now the insurance company won't pay me. It's

,000, and I... Insurance companies can be very, very callous. Take forever.

Listen, why don't you stop by my office? I'll draw up a letter.

When they see something written on a lawyer's letter, they usually get some

moving.

Okay?

If you'll excuse me, I have to get back and find my son before he ODs on the

donut. All right?

Oh, Mr. Keeney.

Thanks.

My pleasure.

Hey.

Hey, hey. Court vacated the injunction. The deal's going down.

Takes care of that Christmas bonus. Yeah, I already ran the numbers. 11,

didn't change.

Wow. Looks like the celebration's in order.

Lunch at the club?

Sounds about right.

All right, let me make sure I'm free. Um, sir, any reason I can't go for

You've got Omnitech 230.

230. Got it. Um, we'll be at the club.

Lay off the red meat.

My name is Louie Wilkinson, and I'm here to see you. I was supposed to be

cutting that red meat myself.

It's just behind me. They got sticks at the club I have dreams about. Can we

still put together a case for infringement on the, uh, Omnitech

What? I'm sorry.

Oh, we're bringing action.

Omnitech. Oh, no, no, no. I won't be that serious.

Listen,

um, why don't you go ahead and get a table? I'll catch up to you. I gotta

care of something. We're fine.

That's insurance.

Okay, Claire.

She does not.

I should have called for an appointment, but he just said to come by, that it

would only take a minute.

I... Oh, hi.

Your secretary said that you were... Okay, change of plans. Come on in.

And the name of the insurance company, Miss Wilkins?

Um, before we get any further, can I just ask about how much this might be?

exactly. Don't worry, there's no charge.

Uh, the name of the insurance company?

I have it right here.

I have a policy.

Sarah, could you get me Serenity Insurance, please, the, uh, claim

Okay. When did your daughter die, Ms., um, sorry, Luann?

April 2nd.

And was there a physician attending?

Oh, she wasn't ill, Mr. Keeney. She fell off a cliff.

She was staying with an older couple in California, and they went sightseeing

by the ocean, I think.

Apparently there were some cliffs, and... I've got Mr. Delph at Serenity

Insurance.

Mr. Delph, Steve Keeney. I'm an attorney with Barnett and Alessio, and I'm here

with my client.

Luann Wilkins, who has a policy with your company.

Oh, you're familiar with it. Good.

Listen, it was a terrible loss, you know, and the funeral expenses on a

teacher's salary, well, I'd just like to expedite the payment.

Oh.

Okay.

Good. Thank you very much.

Sarah, could you give me the sheriff's office in Monterey, California, please,

of Deputy O 'Grady?

Um... It seems the problem isn't the insurance company. It's the paperwork in

Monterey.

Deputy O 'Grady.

Okay.

Deputy O 'Grady.

Hi, it's Steve Keeney. I'm a lawyer here in Louisville, Kentucky.

I represent Luann Wilkins, and her daughter died in an accident a few

on April 2nd of fall.

Yes, that's right.

Well...

We've been having some trouble with the insurance, and we tracked it down, and

it turns out the bottleneck's at your end.

No, no, no, there's nothing like that.

Are you sure you're looking at the right case?

She didn't have life insurance.

Yeah, right, a fall.

How many people do you have falling off cliffs out there?

Now, listen, no, I checked it out.

It's not life insurance. It's a burial policy.

No, a Kentucky policy. I represent the mother.

No, it's not American Provincial. It's not life insurance. Uh

-huh.

Okay.

Listen, can I call you back?

Thank you.

Was your daughter engaged?

No, of course not.

They haven't issued the death certificate because the coroner hasn't

his investigation into your daughter's death.

I don't understand.

Neither do I. But apparently they're getting calls from American Provincial.

Your daughter had a $35 ,000 life insurance policy, and the beneficiary

fiancé.

Well, that's not possible.

Does the name James Coates mean anything to you?

No. The secondary beneficiaries were B .J. and Virginia McGinnis.

How about those names?

Those were the people she was staying with when she died.

The Court TV movie, Death Benefit, will return in a moment.

This Memorial Day weekend, Court TV keeps you in suspense.

Tell me what's going on! on? With five movies.

What do we got? Based on novels readers just couldn't...

No,

I don't think I can get in there by three.

I said late afternoon.

You'll have them by five, all right?

Dad, where do I go?

third level you said 10 30 come on

no no no

that's not that's not what we agreed on no no we can do better than that rod

come on i mean we can take the case to trial but but it's not non -infectious

interest and it's certainly not in ours no

No, we're standing firm on this, all right? We're standing firm on this.

Nope, that's not what was said in the meeting.

I don't have to check my notes.

Look, 7 .5 is more than adequate compensation for failing to disclose

liabilities.

Well, then they shouldn't have invested.

Look, I... No, no.

All right, fine, fine, fine. But it's got to be the first thing up tomorrow.

Yeah.

Okay.

All right, bye.

Hungry?

Be quick.

Have I had a change of clothes?

So why don't you just keep some things here?

And I could not for the life of me remember her name or where I knew her

and I was just blank.

It was embarrassing.

It's just not like me.

Her daughter fell off a cliff.

Oh, my God.

California.

She was staying with a couple that were there with her when it happened.

Apparently, they have life insurance on her.

Well, those don't sound like the kind of people you should be involved with.

Yeah.

You wrote her the letter, whatever it was you were going to do, so... You

Don't forget we have dinner with Rodericks on Wednesday.

Bye.

Oh, yeah, I should have been out of here ten minutes ago, but it's rather slow

going.

Oh, here comes the head snail slurring down the hallway as we speak.

You found anything yet?

Yes. I found the filter and the coffee.

Then I put the filter in the pot, put the coffee in the filter, filled the pot

with water, and then delivered the cup of coffee that I have placed in front of

you. Now I will take these same two hands, the only two I've got, and see if

can find your information.

Can I call you back?

Thank you.

So apparently there are two applications.

One for Melissa Wilkins and one for Mr. McGinnis.

Apparently.

Listen, I'm wondering if you can help me here.

I know your experience and expertise in these matters far exceeds mine.

Thank you.

The one for Mr. McGinnis was rejected.

He's in very poor health.

Melissa's policy was approved.

So say who applied for these?

Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis. But the girl signed the application.

Well, that doesn't really solve my problem. She wasn't related to the

McGinnises. So how are they her beneficiaries?

Secondary beneficiaries.

The primary beneficiary was their son, James Coates.

Apparently he was engaged to Ms. Wilkins. There's some question about

I suppose it says if he was there when the applications were made, was he?

From these records, he appears to have been in prison at the time.

So how's the weather in Monterey?

It's fine, Mr. Keeney.

Uh, so listen, my client and I are still waiting for that death certificate.

The certificate's going to be long, Counselor.

What doesn't it sound like?

What are you trying to tell me?

I don't know.

We had to question the McGinnises about the accident.

Did they see the fall? Did they hear anything?

It's just normal procedure.

And when she answered, she was very cool and detached.

And then I asked if she had any insurance.

No, no. You mean like life insurance? There was nothing like that.

We didn't hear a sound.

We turned around and she was gone.

The Court TV movie, Death Benefits, will return in a moment.

This Memorial Day. It's a profiler marathon on Court TV. An entire day

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We now return to the Court TV movie, Death Benefit.

Coroner's office haven't closed the case, which is why we don't have the

certificate yet.

So we're contesting that McGinnis is claiming the insurance money.

And that will make them close.

It's the opposite, actually.

I'm sorry, I don't understand. You don't want them to close?

Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but I was looking for a way

keep the case open. At least until someone can tell us what actually

What do you mean, what actually happened?

I don't know.

Are you saying they killed her?

No, no, no, no. I don't know.

Come on.

May I help you? This one, Mr. Keeney? Yeah.

Can I sign that?

Thank you.

I've been waiting for her. What is it?

Autopsy report.

Can you fix the speeding ticket?

No.

You owe me then.

What have we got?

It's not that far out of line from what you'd expect with a fall victim.

She seems to have taken amitriptyline.

Which is?

Antidepressant. Make you drowsy.

If you're not used to it, it can make you pretty damn dizzy, too, depending on

how much she had.

All this says is presence.

We would never get away with that in an autopsy here in Louisville.

You know, you ever want to kill anyone?

Like an ex or someone?

You ought to give serious thought to sending him out a window or down a

or a cliff.

Why's that?

Well, shoot someone, there are holes.

Strangle them, there's marks.

Poison, we find the poison.

But a fall, you hit bottom, gravity doesn't care how you got there.

You look the same whether you were pushed or you fell.

Even if we suspect something, we usually can't prove it.

Uh -huh.

I don't know, this is interesting.

Take a look.

What? Her hand.

You get scratches over here, bruises on the back.

Practically all of her fingernails are ripped out.

Not many dead bodies in your kind of law, I guess.

What's it mean?

Oh, scratches on her palms. That's what you'd get if you were holding on or you

grabbed her something on the way down.

Bruises on the back of the hands, classic defensive wounds.

I don't know.

Maybe somebody stepped on her hand.

Wow.

Think somebody killed him?

Bet they did.

That is so cruel.

What have you been telling him?

My father's not that kind of boy.

Don't you have some homework to do?

She's probably done it.

Hey, come on, now.

Go.

I think he's already got someone picked out to play me in the movie.

Isn't it funny, Steven?

They say enough murder and mayhem on television, and now we're talking about

morgues and scratches on dead bodies.

I just like to tell them what I'm doing, that's all.

Really? Did you tell them about the railroad loger?

That's not the point. That's exactly the point. He's trying something exciting

about being mixed up in this prison. A little incident. I mean, you heard him,

Stephen, didn't you?

A girl gets pushed off a cliff, and he thinks that's so cool.

Who said cool?

The wrong word. He's a kid.

I'm not talking about words.

No, you're not.

We canceled on Broderick's last Wednesday.

That's fine.

Patty and Bill enjoyed our theater tickets last time. I can get more

Father Montgomery came up to me after the auxiliary luncheon today and asked

everything was all right.

She said you postponed two meetings with Rod.

I'm just trying to help a client.

I thought it was just supposed to be a letter.

Well, it isn't.

Well, what is it, then? A homicide investigation?

I don't think we can rule that out.

And I don't think you're a homicide detective.

You may be enjoying this, but I don't think you know what you're doing.

Really? Yes, really.

You may be right, but I don't think anyone else knows what they're doing

And if this girl had been a debutante, the authorities would have been all over

this case, but she wasn't.

I mean, no one seems to care what happened to her, except her mother, who

to me in church and asked me to help her, which is what I'm trying to do.

Just carry it.

Well, double roll.

Pretty girl.

Yeah, she is.

Look at those shoes.

She was climbing rocks in high heels. I guess that's why she fell.

Must be the McGinnises.

Melissa must have taken it.

I'm feeling a little tired.

I'm a triplet.

Makes you drowsy. It was in her system.

The hell?

Where's he looking?

He's checking the road.

Nothing.

and I want you to call Virginia McGinnis.

Yes.

Mrs. McGinnis.

This is Lou Anne Wilkins in Louisville.

Melissa's mother.

How are you doing?

Oh, yes, of course. Pretty good. How are you?

Well, sometimes good and sometimes bad, you know.

After you lose a daughter.

Yeah, I've been there. I can't say the hurt will ever go away.

I'm just trying to get clear in my mind that...

When she fell, did you hear anything?

We never heard a sound.

I had taken the last picture of Melissa and BJ, but that's my husband.

We were getting cold, so we started back to the car, BJ and I.

We looked back, and she was gone.

We'd done a lot of sightseeing.

We'd stopped three, four different times.

Melissa always wanted to gawk and look. Oh, look, look, look, she'd say.

Periodically, the sun would break through and make these little rainbows

that just fascinated her.

Oh, yes.

Uh, I was wondering, do you have any other pictures of Melissa?

I got the ones... That were in the camera, yes.

No, that's all I had.

And those... Where were those?

I mean, was that where she fell?

Some of them.

Where she fell?

Yes.

You know, the autopsy said that they found some kind of drug.

Amitriptyline.

They said that she had that in her body.

Well, I wouldn't know anything about that.

Now, BJ had her.

Prescription for that after some surgery, but maybe she took one by

Yes.

I suppose that could be.

The other thing I was wondering about, they said that, you know, that Melissa

had taken out a life insurance policy.

There was nothing to that, really.

It was just a nominal sum.

It came about in the silliest way.

BJ.

needed to increase his insurance.

So we went down to apply to the insurance office. And while we were

Melissa said, what about me and my chopped liver? Well, we just laughed.

Insurance at your age? I mean, what do you need it for?

And the salesman was the agent, the insurance agent.

He said that at her age, he wished that somebody had urged him to take out a

policy because it's so cheap being that age.

So we did.

So as I was saying, we never heard a sound.

We never heard a gasp.

We never heard anything.

Nothing.

If it makes you feel better.

Or if it makes you feel worse.

Thank you for talking with me.

Goodbye.

The Court TV.

Hey!

Where are you going? We've got a meeting.

Okay.

What? We've got a flat in California.

We've got a flat in California. We've got a flat in California.

Don't listen to me and do what that school teacher used to do.

No, no. Pro bono is a dirty word, my friend. I don't know how to find back.

A $2 ,000 claim? I regulated my own damn personal check.

No, it is about the money.

You know, more importantly, I had to take a pass on the golf outing at

because I've been busy covering your butt the last six months. Come on.

All right, look.

I'm going to take care of this thing in a day. Two tops.

I'm back.

There we go.

Okay. You know, what is the spur of the moment thing? You know, they have been

in here a couple of times before.

They?

Yeah.

Mrs. McGinnis, her husband, and the girl.

Something about insuring the girl so she could get a visa to go to Mexico or

something like that. I didn't really understand.

And nothing came of that?

No. It wasn't exactly...

Pushing for the sale, if you know what I mean.

No, I don't.

The man was in poor health. He had emphysema. They had to know we couldn't

a policy on it.

But there was no problem writing a policy on the girl.

Well, small policy, $35 ,000.

Easier to just push it right on through, if you know what I mean.

Still, it just didn't sit right. Insuring a child that's not your child.

They said that the girl was their son's prospective fiancé. Now, what in the

hell is that supposed to mean?

My client, when she was speaking with Mrs.

McGinnis, said something about how difficult it was to lose a daughter.

And Mrs. McGinnis said I'd been there.

Nothing but the boys that I know of. They'd both been in prison.

Ronnie was in for burglary or something like that, and the other one was in for

murder.

Did Mrs.

McGinnis pay the premiums?

There was just one, $68 .10.

We issued the policy on April the 1st. The girl died on the 2nd.

Can I help you?

I... No, I, um... I was just

looking at your house.

Why?

Are you in real estate?

I'm interested in the neighborhood.

Really? Mm -hmm.

Actually, we're thinking about...

Selling.

Why don't you come in and you give me an appraisal?

Come on.

Well, what's it worth?

You're modifying.

Look around.

Hi.

Hello.

What's the score?

I understand you're selling your house.

Is that what Virginia said? It's time for my husband's medication.

I'm a registered nurse, you know.

It's just a bedroom.

Your daughter's room?

I don't have a daughter.

How's the closet space?

What's your name?

Keeney.

Steven.

What's it worth?

It's hard to say. I have to go back to my office and check the comms in the

neighborhood first.

Well, give me your card so I can call you. I don't have a card.

What company are you with? I mean, where's your office?

I don't have an office.

Who the hell are you?

You're with those insurance people, aren't you?

What are you guys up to?

And when do I get my money?

I don't make that decision.

I think you'd better leave.

So interesting in that menu.

Have you ever had anything but steak here?

Well,

anyway, the floors in the living room looked absolutely beautiful after I had

them resanded.

But they were so old that when we moved the piano in, it went right through the

floor. Well, I could barely get the courage to tell Sidney because she loved

what I did so much.

So, Buckley comes home, and you know he always had a few cocktails on the way.

Well, he doesn't say a word.

Just sits down at the piano and starts to play.

So, he finishes playing, gets up, looks at the piano and says,

Is this piano out of tune?

We laughed so hard.

Sweetheart. I'm sorry.

It's just nothing changes.

I mean, it's been months.

It's like they know something happened, but they don't want to know. Not for $35

,000. Please, not tonight. What are you going to have?

Listen to me for a minute.

There may be another dead child.

Her own.

We're finally out together. Let's just have a good time.

People are starting to talk.

People are starting to talk? That's your reaction?

I've seen this woman. She did it. Well, you don't know that. I think I do.

I don't want to talk about it. Well, I need to talk about it.

Look, I'm sorry. I don't know for sure that there was a murder. But this woman

was taking care of my client's child. And that child is dead. Are you

Are you listening at all?

Mothers don't go around killing their children, Stephen. What is wrong with

Of course it happens. Everything happens.

to normal people.

What? A girl fell.

And maybe the woman taking care of her had some other tragedy in her life. Most

people would feel sorry for her. Now, why don't you, Stephen?

Why does it start you thinking about murder and people killing their own

children? And, honey, what does this have to do with us anyway?

With us?

This is us.

Everything's perfect.

And things like what happened to Melissa Wilkins don't happen to our friends,

except they do happen.

And I can't just walk away and say it couldn't have happened because it could

have happened.

Hey.

I want you back.

I want our life back. I want to do the things we used to do.

Does this make me a bad person because I just want to be with you?

I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about murder and people killing each other in

dead bodies.

But you don't seem to have time for anything else.

Not for me, for Christian, or your practice. So please leave this thing

The Court TV movie, Death Benefits, will return in a moment.

Tomorrow on Profiler. An enemy from Sam's past returns.

If he's being copycatted, we should lead us to the killer. He might be up to his

old tricks again.

You will eat your words on that one.

Ali Walker stars in Profiler.

Tomorrow at 7 on Court TV.

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We now return to the Court TV movie.

Death benefit.

I cleared your calendar for the day. You've got some driving to do.

She did lose a daughter.

You're right on that.

Accident of some kind.

The man to talk to is the Jefferson County deputy, D .K. Graham.

Come on in.

The little girl's name was Cynthia. She was five years old.

I had just started the job then.

Maybe 15 years ago.

You still got her file in your office?

Yeah.

I don't know if we ever really got to the bottom of it.

Um... He dropped us.

That's the rope the little girl was hanged with.

It was a terrible day. It was gray and drizzling, barely above freezing.

I was on patrol in the car, and I got a call.

Come out to an accident at the Reardon Farm.

Well, I pull up here at the barn.

Virginia was standing out here in the rain.

The only way I could make sense out of it is the little girl climbed up on the

tractor and got caught on the rope.

There wasn't anyone else around?

The boys were all in school.

Cynthia wasn't.

Well, we looked into that.

The child had a pony.

Virginia took her out to ride.

She wasn't feeling good that morning.

But she still rode her pony.

I didn't see the house.

Where's the house?

House burned clean to the ground a couple months later.

Hey, it's Keeney.

I think I have something that might help us reopen this thing.

All right, just hold on a minute, Keeney. I've got the McGinnises right

my office.

They're in your office?

It's been eight months, and we have answered every question that we have

asked. You haven't answered mine.

How's the real estate business?

Look, this is not doing us any good. We're not in any position... Wait a

A 19 -year -old girl died. You want to talk to me about position? What's the

matter? She wasn't important enough?

From what I am told, Mr. Keeney, you've been instrumental in keeping this so

-called investigation alive.

I've just informed the deputy and the DA's office that they have two choices.

Either they can bring charges, which they assure me that they are not

to do, or we can close this case.

Otherwise, I am filing suit for...

Wrongful denial of benefits.

And I am naming you and your client as defendants. Bring on the charges.

The fact is, that girl fell.

And there is no way that you can prove that it happened any different than from

what I say.

And correct me if I am wrong, but as far as Monterey County is concerned...

There's no further reason to keep this case open.

Christian, turn that thing off now.

The Court TV movie, Death Benefit, will return in a moment.

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We now return to the Court TV movie, Death Benefit.

You were supposed to be in that bath a half hour ago. What's going on? That was

an hour ago.

What'd you say?

What? Are you smart -mouthing me?

No.

You were supposed to be in the bath and ready for bed over an hour ago, right?

That's what I said.

All right, we're trying this now. Hey!

You told me you were getting ready for bed, and I trusted you to do that. And

you told me you'd have time to do something, and I trusted you to do that.

Fine, I'm sorry.

Whatever.

What do you mean, whatever?

I wasn't sure if I should call or not.

Sweetheart.

I just can't get it out of my head.

Now would you call me over to tell me?

No.

I just don't know how anything works anymore.

I don't know the rules.

Maybe it's time to stop.

Hey.

Good morning.

Max Wolf's been trying to reach you. Get him on the line.

And, uh, listen, when you get the chance, maybe you ought to box up all

files in Louie and Wilkins' business.

Box them?

Yeah, come on, I'm not a cop.

I mean, it's a place in two states, Cam, that gave me a stick. How am I supposed

to?

You sure?

Yeah, I'm sure.

We're going to have to revisit the bioclave IPO.

Those 10B5 materials are going to get us blown out of the water.

Okay. Well, maybe the finance is not where it should be, but we'll finesse it

the perspective.

Besides, is the SEC really going to ask about due diligence?

I mean, I've talked to Artie and Gaines McKenna.

He's pretty sure it'll apply, but it's going to have to be a way.

I'm going to have to get back to you on that.

We looked at these a hundred times.

We didn't see it. We didn't see it.

If these people are trying to kill Melissa, why did they take pictures?

Because they had to establish they were sightseeing.

They didn't want someone thinking they just dragged her up on a cliff and

her off.

Here, look at this.

Here.

Look at this.

All the way down to her feet. Why?

Because they had to show the high heels.

Okay, come here.

Now look at these.

Look at this, this, and this.

These are nothing. These are scenery.

Yeah, but look at them here on the disc. What are the negatives? Right there.

They were taken after Melissa fell off the cliff.

Now, Virginia's on record as saying she took the last picture of BJ and Melissa,

then she and BJ walked to the car, didn't hear a sound, turned around, and

Melissa was gone.

Well, and this should be the last picture on the disc.

But she lied. Virginia lied. She stood there taking pictures after. After

Melissa fell off the cliff.

I mean, we didn't even look at him. Melissa's not in the picture, so we put

aside.

But these are people who will kill for $35 ,000.

She didn't work. He lives on a pension.

I mean, they watch their pennies.

And they have habits, too. They eat everything on their plate. They take all

pictures in the roll before they have them developed.

So she takes the damn pictures to stand there.

snapping off pictures before she goes for help.

I thought you were through with this.

That's what I'm trying to do.

I'm trying to get through with it.

Home of a Mr. Coates who was once married to a woman named Virginia.

They had two sons named... Well, is there anyone there who could help me?

Do you know of this family? Are you related to them in any... Well, thank

I picked a book out of the library today on serial killers.

They all have similar traits.

Setting fires was one of them.

Her house burned down in Kentucky.

The house burned down in California.

It's two dead children.

Oh, man. How much does it take for one to qualify?

Fortune cookie?

Yeah. Howl.

Good catch.

I got it. I make them.

What the hell's going on here?

Got it. Well.

Oh, thank you. I'm going to finish this later.

Really?

Chinese? No, thanks.

Listen,

Steve, you know, you and I will go back a long way.

If we're out having a couple beers, I'd say, I love you, man.

And I do.

But you are getting way too caught up in this thing.

It's not doing you any good.

It's not doing your reputation any good. And it sure as hell is not doing us any

good.

You know me.

You know the firm.

My client's daughter was murdered.

Do yourself a favor.

And get off this kick while you've still got a career.

You remember the sit -in at the student union, huh?

Remember? No, we wanted to make a difference. We had to demonstrate.

Take the law in our own hands. Well, we were stoned, all right? It was just our

getting stoned again. We were seeing things clearer.

Well, stoned. I didn't even know what time it was then.

What I do know is if you don't build ours, we don't make money.

What did it become all about money?

It's always been about money.

You want to trade that jag in for a VW bus?

What, you want to give up this view for some cubicle at legal aid?

Stop the ideological crap.

All right?

The partners have been talking.

And if I were you, I would build a lot of hours real soon.

I don't know if I can do that.

Well, when you join the Peace Corps, send me a postcard.

And I am looking for a gentleman by the name

of... No, it's... Mr. Coates, who was once married to a woman named

Okay, here's the basic procedure.

We can sue the insurance company that frees the money.

Well, not exactly.

That would be a civil suit for money damages, but we could get her on the

witness stand.

I... I know you don't care about the money of the land, but if we bring the

suit, then Virginia McGinnis has got to go into that courtroom and explain why

she's entitled to that money, and we get to question her.

Glenn, that's not necessary.

We're going to see this through. Uh -huh.

Uh -huh.

Okay.

Bye. Bye -bye.

Hey.

I thought you said that you were, um...

Through with this

Hope

you find what you need

What? I found him.

Who?

Dick Coates. He wasn't too keen about talking. It's an hour's drive, and I

didn't have time to pack lunch.

Did anyone ever tell you you're fantastic?

Not often enough.

Hello? You the fellow from Louisville?

Yeah, Stephen King.

Appreciate you seeing me.

This here's about Virginia?

Yes, it is.

Yes, it is.

You were married to her, right?

Right, yours.

What's she done now?

Well, she's, uh...

It's possible that she murdered a young girl about 15 years ago.

I ain't seen Virginia more than that, mister.

That ain't my kid.

Don't be anyone's. That's the truth.

Anyone's.

I had the boys, yes, sir.

I walked out of there. I never went back.

Well, can you tell me anything about her?

Well, she ain't something I like talking about. I can tell you that.

Crazy from the day I met her.

Then you could tell me about that.

Well, I was logging with a friend, and we seen the sky was all lit up.

Fire, you know, but don't get lit up like that. That's going to be a pretty

fire.

You can just stand in there, eyes and face all lit up from the fire.

She was pretty back then, real pretty.

Well, she's excited.

She likes fire. It's like it's done something to her inside.

Well, sir, next thing I know, we're married and she's pregnant.

Something else.

Seemed there was something wrong right from the start.

She was getting shoes and dresses.

Fancy underwear.

I wouldn't make them but a couple bucks a week. And then all this silverware.

On special.

That's what she said.

And Elva Platt, she ain't never had nothing to do with Elva Platt until that

night. The minute she sees that silver, her eyes just go big.

She says it's hers and it got stolen. And what's it doing here?

The gall of it's what got me.

Steal the woman's silver and then invite her into your house to look at it.

She kept it.

I stood up for her, you know.

I can't have no stranger come in my house and insult my wife.

You think she's grateful?

Not Virginia.

It weren't enough for her.

Whatever I said to Mrs. Platt, it weren't enough. You didn't do, you

nothing.

So it just goes on like that.

Until one night, I smell smoke.

Her own husband in there.

Her boys.

Was that the last time you saw her?

An insurance man came around to where I was living a few days later.

He gave me a check.

I tell him, I don't have no insurance.

He says, yes, you do.

So that's me in Virginia.

We started with fire, we ended with fire.

Mr. Coates, would you be willing to testify to this in a court of law?

I'd sooner crawl through hell than to come face to face with that woman again.

It would help us a lot.

She don't never let go.

Will you testify?

I'll do what I have to do.

I got your little pamphlet.

What'd you think?

It's impressive.

You think we got a case?

Well, I got a level with you. The way things are up here right now, we might

take this case with a signed confession.

This office has lost two cases this last year to the tune of a couple of million

dollars, and the taxpayers are none too happy about that.

And this case is, um, it's too circumstantial. The public's already got

taste in their mouth, and we would get crucified in the press.

I'm sorry, we can't help.

So this is about politics.

No, there are just not too many true believers around here these days.

What do you believe?

That decision's already been made.

And it wasn't mine to make.

I am sorry.

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Something like that.

All they did was walk on the moon?

They played a little golf.

Is that when you're happy?

Yeah.

You know, there's going to be some big changes for you and I.

Which is why I need you to hang in there with me for a while.

Nicole.

Well, I'm tired of my own practice.

I'm going to be very busy for a while.

It's not much of a change.

Do you have any idea how much I wish I had all the time in the world to spend

with you?

But I don't.

Not right now, anyway.

That one was fun.

Oh, we just want different things.

Right now.

Which is why I also need you to hang in there with me. Not give up on me.

Okay?

Remember when we talked about putting the criminals in jail?

And you said that'd be really great.

Right? Yeah, I think I'm gonna take so long

Hey,

hey

So they find you a new partner yet?

I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet.

Well, I know of a position.

The pay's lousy, but the guy's an obsessive workaholic.

You know that there's no one I'd rather work for.

But the money here...

Sarah. Don't start

with the mushy stuff.

Keeney.

Actually, I was going to ask you to take these boxes out of here for me.

I believe you don't work for me anymore, if I recall.

Keeney. Mr. Keeney, this is Mac Vandenberg of the San Diego Police

I've been told you have some interest in the McGinnis case.

What can I do for you?

Other way around, Counselor.

I just busted a dirtbag by the name of Jimmy Coates.

I thought he was already in prison.

Out three days.

I busted him the last time, too. This is the kind that never stays out long.

Anyway, I was having some fun, telling him how messed up his life is, and he

tells me he's not worried, because he's coming into a lot of money.

I say, no kidding.

Tell me, how does a loser like you come up with a way to make money? He says,

not me, jerk. My old lady, his mom.

She took out an insurance policy on some chick, and the chick died.

Convenient, right?

Anyway, he tells me that some crazy lawyer's running around saying it's

But that's all going to be wrapped up real soon, and then Mom gets the check.

So, I checked it out.

Talked to Monterey.

They told me there's no homicide.

They also told me you believe there is.

Well, I can give you the highlights.

So... McGinnis woman buys insurance, and the next day my client's daughter's

dead. And the beneficiary is your friend Jimmy, because he was the fiancé.

Only my client never heard of the engagement.

What do you think?

I think sometimes kids don't tell their parents everything.

I'm assuming you've got more.

Yeah, I've got two file cabinets full.

Why don't you take this to the DA?

Well, we already did.

They turned us down.

Well, that's Monterey.

This is San Diego.

Get out here with everything you've got, and maybe we can sell it.

Well, if it was that easy, I would have taken it to the D .A. here in

Louisville. The murder happened in Monterey.

I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, Counselor.

If there was a conspiracy, it started when she bought the insurance policy.

If she bought it here, that puts it in our jurisdiction.

Mr. Keeney?

Yeah. Mack Vandenberg. Oh, hi.

Prosecutor's name is Sylvia Guzman. She's expecting us. Okay.

What the hell is all this?

You asked me to bring the evidence.

Want to grab those two poems?

Thank you.

Well, you certainly do your homework.

Now, why don't you tell me how I explain to the taxpayers why we're taking this

case from Monterey Path?

Well, I assume you'll take it because it's been a murder.

I'm afraid that's not good enough.

Well, how about this?

A young girl is dead for no reason, except that a woman who makes a living

collecting insurance claims killed her. If she isn't stopped, she'll do it

again.

Monterey didn't think they could prove that.

Well, this isn't Monterey.

I say all of Virginia not only killed Melissa, but quite possibly her

her husband, and her father as well. And what was it, 11 fires?

And Monterey didn't think they had a case?

Listen, have you had a chance to look at the transcripts of the McGinnis

interview with the insurance investigator?

Oh, I think compulsive liar just about sums it up.

At first she said that she and Melissa were taking a day trip to Mexico. Then

she says they were getting insurance to obtain a visa to go to Mexico. She put

the dog in the kennel before the trip. Then she says she had no dog. I mean,

this lady, she's a piece of work.

We finally got a hold of the neighbor. The one who was supposedly the witness

the insurance application.

It took us a while. The name was misspelled on the form.

Not many people misspell their own name.

The signature was forged.

One more lie, she's going to have to explain.

Dare I say, this case looks good.

Hmm. Oh.

Yes. Virginia McGinnis?

Yes. I'm Detective Vandenberg, San Diego Police Department.

I have a warrant.

You're under arrest for murder.

You have the right to remain silent.

I should bring some clothes with me, shouldn't I?

I'll be back in just a minute.

The coats killed himself.

How do you know coats killed himself?

Maybe it was someone on the grassy knoll trying to protect dear old mom.

He left a note.

VJ may be joining the club soon.

They transferred him to the prison hospital this morning.

How sick is he? Well, he ain't been doing much dancing.

Here.

VJ's medical office?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.

These are psychological records, not medical records.

Triggered information.

Might have a problem.

So?

Misconduct.

Misconduct? When I was sent the wrong medical records for BJ and proceeded to

open and read them.

Not only is the jury not going to hear that BJ thought Virginia was trying to

poison him, but the judge decided that I should be penalized for reading my own

mail. So our request for the death penalty has been denied.

The best we can hope for is life without parole.

All right, we can still use Cynthia's hanging and the pattern of insurance

claims? There's a rule on that yet.

What a good week for the home team.

Hi.

The evidence is inadmissible.

Which evidence?

All of it.

The judge decided that anything that happened before Melissa's death is

inadmissible. That means no dead Cynthia, no dead husband, no fires. What

have, though, I think there's a jaywalking ticket or some shoplifted

in there somewhere. All right, we're going to have to try BJ again. He's not

talking.

He's the only living witness to what happened. You can see Virginia's

fingerprints all over him. He's here. He's dying now. He knows he's dying.

not talking to you. Listen, I've been working on this thing too long to let

judge throw this whole thing out. We have to do something.

I'm not the enemy.

What do we got?

How you doing, man? Go ahead and record the time of death.

Here you go.

Yes, sir.

The cause of death?

Arrestory arrest?

Due to empathy.

Yes, sir.

I don't know. Is there some joke I don't know about, or is this case just

cursed? You tried.

You wouldn't talk.

I don't know how I got into this. We don't have a case.

Sylvia, we'll get the same case we had before.

What do you want me to do, Keeney?

Pop BJ up on the witness stand?

Get testimony out of Coker's dead body? You can win it on circumstantial, but we

just have to play with a few cards down.

Just.

Just.

Your Honor, we feel that the unique circumstances of this case warrant

the jury to the cliff in Monterey.

Not for a field trip, but actual testimony.

We realize that this 500 -mile journey is unprecedented, and the cost would be

substantial.

But, Your Honor, if we can see and feel what Melissa Wilkins experienced just

before she died, we are confident it will take us to the truth.

Sam Park there. Gotta go down another 50 feet.

Are you Mr. Keeney?

Yeah. Tim O 'Grady. Good luck.

Thanks.

What I did, sir, is chart the

coefficient of friction of the surface.

Basically, it's a measurement of how slippery it is. The looseness of the

contributes to...

It's quite clear that the closer you get to the edge, the lower the coefficient.

It would be very easy to fall.

Ms. Guzman?

Thank you, Your Honor.

Virginia McGinnis took pictures.

From these pictures...

We know that they drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to get here. And they

parked right over there. Right over there where the police cars are.

Come on.

Want to try and take a look?

I don't know.

Is there anything to see?

Well, we'll just check that out. We'll be right back.

We know that Melissa stayed in the car because she took

this picture of the defendant and her husband through the window.

Was she trying to tell us something?

Come on, honey, you're beautiful.

That's why we brought you here.

We going to take some pictures?

Yes, we are.

Why don't you go stand over there by that rock?

That'll be good, huh?

Yeah.

With the ocean behind.

Mm -hmm.

Great.

Take a couple.

I'll send one to Ma.

Okay, hold it right there.

Smile for me, baby.

Good.

By the order of the pictures on the roll, we know that Melissa posed here

photograph before she and Mr. McGinnis proceeded to that location where yet

another picture was taken.

If the jury would follow me.

This spot provides an excellent view of the beach and the ocean.

Quite safe here.

It's not slippery.

There is no reason to go any further.

We need another picture.

Right here would be good.

I'm a little tired.

Are you guys going to stop chattering?

Smile.

Good.

Now over here by these rocks.

But they did go further.

The next pictures will make that perfectly clear. You can follow me when

finished.

Over here, there is no fencing.

The slope falls off sharply to the cliff.

But...

This is where they came.

Back to the road.

On the charge of premeditated murder, we find the defendant, Virginia McGinnis,

guilty.

On the special circumstance, murder for profit, guilty as charged.

Do I have to focus or anything?