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♪ When you're alone... ♪

[record skipping]: ♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

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♪ When you're alone... ♪

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[gasps]

Mom?

♪ ...alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

Mom?

♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're... ♪

Mom?

♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

♪ When you're alone... ♪

[echoing]: Mom, wake up.

Oh, God.

[opening theme music playing]

Harm?

Hey.

What brings you to town?

I'd guess reserve duty

but you're in civilian attire.

Personal business.

You want to talk about it over lunch?

I have time.

I'll make a call...

Is there a problem?

You know my father murdered my mother?

Yeah, he's doing a life sentence.

In Leavenworth.

Leavenworth?

He was a Navy captain.

I just found out a certain JAG attorney

convinced an appellant court to grant him a new trial.

Teresa, I didn't know

that Captain Chaddock was your father.

I found my mother's body.

I'm all over the transcripts.

But you're listed as "daughter of the victim."

You don't even have the same last name as your father.

That was ten years ago.

Why are you doing this?

Your father's defense attorney was 26 years old.

It was his first murder trial.

H-he conducted ineffective cross-examination.

He failed to interview key witnesses.

It doesn't matter, Harm.

He was guilty then, and he's guilty now.

You weren't there, Teresa.

Well, neither were you.

MAN: I have written her so many times

in the past ten years, I've... lost count.

She never wrote back.

She never called.

I'm dead to her.

Not anymore, Captain.

Uh, Teresa is aware of the retrial, sir,

and she's asked me to drop the case.

She thinks I'm guilty.

Has she convinced you?

Sir, I'm convinced that you didn't get a fair trial

the first time.

Well, I can't blame her.

Letting the stress of my command eat me alive,

trading my family for a bottle.

And my two biggest regrets--

abusing my wife and forcing Teresa to hate me.

Captain, your daughter's a forensic pathologist.

Uh, she's worked on a couple cases with me.

Uh, we have become quite close, sir.

What are you trying to say to me?

That you two are...?

Captain, we're just friends.

But...

Oh, worried about a conflict of interests.

Well, aren't you, sir?

No.

You're a principled man.

If anything, you'd overcompensate.

You've given me hope, Commander.

Don't jump ship on me now.

TERESA: He's playing you.

I've known this man for 33 years.

Well, you've known him for 23years, actually.

You haven't seen him in the past ten.

Have you, uh, considered paying him a visit?

No.

Why not?

Look, there was a time that I loved my father.

I won't let him trade on that.

I understand how you feel.

And do you understand how hefeels?

He needs my support.

I'm the prosecution's chief witness.

I'm going to defend him, Teresa.

What?

I can't just walk away.

I brought him this far.

What about me?

I've been there for you.

I'm sorry.

Irene!

Come in. What a pleasant surprise.

Nice to see you.

Please, have a seat.

You look great.

Oh, thank you, Admiral.

[sighing]

Are you all right?

Oh, God, this isn't easy for me, um...

But at my father's funeral, you did say

that if I ever needed any help

I shouldn't hesitate to ask.

And I meant it.

Your father said the same thing to me

when I transferred into the JAG corps.

And did you ever take him up on it, sir?

More times than I care to count.

What can I do for you?

There's an empty plot next to my mom and dad

in Arlington, and I'd like to reserve it for myself.

Okay.

Um... have you, um, talked to anyone

in the Arlington administration?

Oh, yes, sir.

They told me that

uh, sites can't be reserved.

And since my family plot is already filled,

my only options are

an assigned site or cremation.

And you thought I could talk to someone?

Oh, this is presumptuous of me, sir. I'm sorry.

No, no. Let me...

let me think. Let me think.

Um, I hope

this doesn't sound insincere on my part,

but, Irene, you are still a young woman.

Why deal with this now?

Why not concentrate on the life ahead of you?

That would be three months, sir.

I've been diagnosed with, uh, pancreatic cancer.

Mac, haven't seen you all morning.

Reading.

I, uh... I heard your retrial involves

Commander Coulter's father.

Yeah. One of those moments where two lives intersect

and there's not a traffic light in sight.

How's she taking it?

Well, about as you'd expect.

Bud's been assigned second chair.

Good. I can use the help.

Do you really think you can turn this one around?

Yeah, it's all circumstantial, Mac.

Yeah, but the circumstances lay out.

How would you know?

Just finished scanning the trial summary.

Why?

I've been assigned prosecution.

RECORDED MESSAGE: Welcome to Arlington National Cemetery.

We're open 365 days of the year.

A menu of options follows.

Press one to schedule and interment or inurnment.

Press two for grave site locations.

Press three...

Press one to schedule an inurnment.

Press two to schedule a ground burial.

Interment processing.

Please provide the following information.

Speak slowly and clearly.

What are the last four digits of your social security number?

Nine, eight, five, two.

What is your height?

Six foot, three inches.

How deep would you like your plot?

What?

When will you be expecting to need it?

Good God.

That's it there. 42.

Captain French, in the transcripts to the first trial,

you testified that you heard an argument

coming from the Chaddock quarters the day that Ellen Chaddock died?

Yes, we were billeted across the way.

Now, I realize it was ten years ago, sir,

but can you recall anything other than the argument?

Anything that might have suggested a struggle?

Um, a week earlier, but not on that day.

Captain, was this typical behavior

for the Chaddocks?

Actually, Captain Chaddock did most of the shouting.

In fact, that was the only time

I ever heard Ellen raise her voice

except when she yelled at her son-in-law.

Something happens with the son-in-law, sir?

Yes. I saw them screaming at each other

right in front of her door there.

RABB: Do you remember when that was, Captain?

FRENCH: That was the day before.

The murder?

Yes.

I wasn't the only one who witnessed it either.

A repairman from public works was in their house at the time.

Captain, why didn't you reveal this before, sir?

I did.

I informed the Naval Investigative Service

when they first interviewed me.

They didn't seem interested.

Why do want to talk to my ex-husband?

Did he call you?

For the first time in nine years.

He was seen arguing with your mother

the day before she was murdered.

You're not going to try to pin this on Rory?

Look, Commander, I'm just digging a little deeper.

It's something your father's first attorney didn't do.

No. You're not digging. You're building.

You're really going to try to make something out of this?

The NIS sat on it the first time around, ma'am.

We assume it was because they figured they had their suspect

-and didn't want to clutter the field. -Look, it was nothing.

I told my mother that I might be moving--

Rory might be taking a job out of town.

She was upset. She thought she'd never see me again.

He came over to borrow the lawnmower and she just laid into him.

-Commander... -Do you know why he left me?

My grief was too much for him.

This is why your theory doesn't work.

He could never have done it.

He was weak.

Rory doesn't confront his problems.

He runs from them.

Word of warning, Commander.

I would not divulge

unsolicited information to the defense.

Oh, that's very clever.

Refer to yourselves in the third person

so you don't have to make it personal.

This isn't personal.

It's professional.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

Well, in this case, they have to be.

Harm, if you value our friendship,

you'll drop Rory as a suspect.

Get his address, Bud.

COULTER: Her mother was upset

because of this job I wanted to take.

What was it?

The assistant head of security

for a computer company in California.

A big step up for me.

And what did she say to you?

That there was no way she was going to let me

take her daughter that far away.

Well, how did she plan to stop you, Mr. Coulter?

She said she had ways.

Did you believe her?

Not really.

Then why didn't you take the job?

They changed their mind, offered it to someone else.

You have a criminal record?

I stole a car when I was 18.

Did you put that on the application?

What is this?

I just think it would be of interest to somebody

in the position of hiring a member of a security team, that's all.

I made up for my mistakes by working hard.

I had three letters of recommendation.

Did Mrs. Chaddock know about the record?

I guess.

RABB: Maybe that's what she meant

by she had ways to stop you.

She was threatening to call the company and tell them.

She did call the company and tell them,

didn't she, Mr. Coulter?

That's why they withdrew the job offer.

I don't know what happened.

Mr. Coulter, where were you on the day that your mother-in-law was murdered?

Am I a suspect here?

Just answer the question, Mr. Coulter.

I think I need a lawyer.

This stinks.

Well, that shook him up, huh?

He is a credible suspect, sir.

Motive, no alibi.

And no jacket.

Mr. Coulter...

Bud, if he wants it, he'll come back for it.

Commander.

Sir, your seat is here.

You haven't aged a day.

It's your mother's genes.

She always looked younger than she was.

Sir.

Is this it?

You're never going to speak to me again?

Say something--

even if it's to damn me to hell.

One, Captain Chaddock had a documented history

of drunkenness.

Two, when he was drinking

he threatened his wife with violence.

Three, Ellen Chaddock kicked him out of their house

one week prior to her death for physically assaulting her.

Four, Captain Chaddock returned, he and Ellen fought

and an eyewitness saw him

leaving his house one hour

before she was found dead of massive head trauma.

In short, Captain Thomas Chaddock

was a troubled, out of control officer

who murdered his wife in a drunken rage.

The government's case is based purely

on circumstantial evidence.

There is no proof that Captain Chaddock

had been drinking on the day of Ellen Chaddock's murder.

There is no eyewitness to a murder--

not even to an assault.

It's all inference.

There is no case.

Captain Chaddock is not the man responsible

for his wife's murder.

There was a general ruckus.

Him yelling, her yelling back.

I heard nothing for a minute or two

and then I saw the captain exit the house.

At approximately what time, sir?

It was about 1545.

What condition was he in, Captain?

He was drunk.

Did he say anything at this point, sir?

Yes. He yelled, "You happy now?"

and then he got in his car and drove off.

And what did you assume he meant by that?

Objection. Calls for speculation.

Sustained.

I'll rephrase.

Sir, what was the tone of Captain Chaddock's voice

at the time he yelled this remark?

Angry, self-satisfied.

Like he'd made his point, sir?

Yes.

Thank you. Your witness.

Sir, how close were you to Captain Chaddock

when he left his house?

I was about 50 feet or so.

Could you smell his breath?

-Of course not. -Then how did you know he was drunk, Captain?

He usually was.

Move to strike, Your Honor.

The members will ignore

the witness's last comment.

RABB: Captain, you stated that Captain Chaddock

seemed angry and self-satisfied

when he yelled, "You happy now?"

That's right.

Now, sir, couldn't he have been indicating

in a petulant way

that in accordance with his wife's wishes,

he would stop bothering her and be out of her life?

I don't know.

I suppose.

What did you do after you saw Captain Chaddock drive off?

Well, I was building a train set in the den.

I went inside to work on it.

So you saw and heard nothing

-from this point on? -That's correct.

Captain, did you witness an argument the day before

between Ellen Chaddock and her son-in-law

Rory Coulter? Yes.

RABB: Do you know what that argument

was about, sir?

I was... pulling up in my car at the time.

I didn't hear what was being said.

But they were upset at each other.

How would you describe the son-in-law's attitude, sir?

Angry.

Hostile?

Very.

No further questions, Your Honor.

MAN: The House and Senate are deadlocked

over eligibility criteria at Arlington.

Until they can agree, everything's up in the air.

And in the meantime?

The person can file a special written request

after the death of the person in question.

Well, the individual in this case isthe person in question.

Well, the family can do it.

Her family, namely the mother and father, are both dead.

They are the ones next to whom she'd like to be buried.

I'm afraid those are the rules.

They don't work.

Apparently not in this case.

Apparently not in any case

where the individual has to file a request posthumously.

Admiral, I'm failing to see...

Where's the site?

What's the name?

Admiral Leslie Charlton.

Charlton...

Okay.

You want to come with me?

Admiral Charlton lies there.

Well, it's the one next to it,

the one in red-- that's the one she wants.

That site's occupied.

No, it's not.

She's been there. There's no marker.

I can only tell you what the chart says.

You can tell me the truth

or I'll walk out there with a spade

and check it out myself.

It's been reserved.

Isn't there a no-reservation policy?

Yes, there is.

So, who's the lucky stiff?

Admiral, I'm not in the position to reveal that.

Exactly what position will make you change your mind?

Lieutenant Commander Coulter,

are you related to the victim and the accused?

The victim was my mother.

The accused is my father.

Would you tell us

about your mother's relationship with your father?

My father started drinking when I was in junior high.

At first, he would just come home

and crash.

But by the time I turned 18,

he was berating my mother on a daily basis.

The day that I graduated from college,

he spent the whole day insulting her.

And that night, she told him to shut up.

And he pointed his finger in her face

and said that if she ever said that again,

he'd kill her.

What happened

the week before your mother died?

She called me to tell me

that my father had assaulted her

and she'd kicked him out of the house.

Were you afraid for her?

Yes. I went to see her every day after that to check up.

Is that why you were there the day you found her body?

Yes.

Thank you.

No more questions.

Lieutenant Commander Coulter,

you were married to Rory Coulter

at the time of your mother's death?

Yes.

And prior to that,

did you tell her that Mr. Coulter

had accepted a job in California

and that you'd be leaving town?

Commander?

Yes.

How would you

characterize the relationship

between your mother and your husband at that time?

They didn't get along.

ROBERTS: Thank you.

RABB: Mac, we need to talk.

Not about desperate theories.

It's the real thing, ma'am.

It's misdirection, gentlemen.

May I remind you, Colonel,

there was an unidentified hair

found on Ellen Chaddock's body.

The operative word being "unidentified."

Bud.

The hair was a direct DNA match

to a hair that we found

on Rory Coulter's jacket.

RABB: Drop the charges, Colonel. They won't stick.

Rory Coulter's hair on Ellen Chaddock's body proves nothing.

If we assume that Ellen Chaddock had a shower that morning

it indicates that Coulter was at the house that day.

Only if he'd never been there before.

He was their son-in-law.

There was a bathroom near the bedroom.

I'm sure he used it more than once.

The hair could've been there for days, weeks...

on a cushion or a towel.

But, ma'am, you have to admit

we have as much, if not more, circumstantial evidence

to support our theory as you do.

If you're that confident, prove it in court.

GALINDEZ: Commander, Lieutenant...

I have that information you requested on that repairman.

Uh, Petty Officer Ramon Arguento was assigned

at Chaddock residence on August 25, 1989.

Problem is he was discharged in 1994.

I do, however, have a fax on the work order from that day.

We need the man, not the paper, Gunny.

I have three addresses since then, sir.

Last known-- Fairbanks, Alaska, 1998,

and the landlord said he headed north.

Let me see that.

Yes, sir.

Work order to replace a propane heating unit.

You don't suppose there's a note in there

-about him witnessing an argument, do you? -TINER: Excuse me, Admiral.

I wasn't able to get General Piper's phone number, sir,

but this is his address.

Thank you, Tiner.

[knocking at door]

Civilian on deck.

Hi. Hi. Come in. Come in.

Doctor Sydney Walden,

this is my yeoman, uh, Petty Officer Jason Tiner.

We've talked, ma'am.

If there's anything you want--

coffee, water, soft drinks, just let me know.

I'm fine for now.

Why don't I get all three, ma'am,

in case you change your mind?

Sir.

[chuckling]

You look luminous.

And youlook vigorous.

[chuckles]

Are you free for lunch?

Bigger question...

Dinner, Saturday night...

new restaurant in, uh, Fairfax...

Tuscan cuisine.

Now, I know we...

officially... don't have a date, but...

We do now.

RABB: Admiral, did we...

Oh, excuse me, sir-- this can wait.

CHEGWIDDEN: No, no, no.

Uh, dr. Sydney Walden, uh,

this is Commander Harmon Rabb.

I've heard so much about you, Commander.

You must be the...

Doctor.

[chuckling]: Hasn't that been established?

Yeah, I'm sorry, ma'am.

Just a little preoccupied.

It's a pleasure to meet you

and, uh... well, I trust this won't be the last time.

WALDEN: Well, let's make sure of that.

I understand you're seeing someone.

Maybe the four of us can socialize at some point.

Oh, well, I'll look forward to that.

Sir.

Uh, ma'am.

[car door opens and closes]

Mr. Coulter...

I'm Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie.

I'm prosecuting Captain Chaddock's murder trial.

I can't talk to you.

For just a few minutes.

I have an attorney now.

These are his rules.

It's in both our interests.

Your story helps me counter the defense theory.

You're a prosecutor.

You can file charges on me.

It's a military trial, Mr. Coulter.

What's to stop a civilian trial?

It's in all the papers.

The district attorney's office would have to get involved.

I haven't heard a peep from them.

Sorry.

Will you talk to someone else?

Take as much time as you need.

Here.

Oh, no, it's all right.

It's okay.

How are you?

Did you kill my mother?

No, Teresa.

Then, why are you acting like you did?

I'm just trying to protect myself.

Things are getting out of hand.

I remember that job meant a lot to you.

Enough to kill someone?

I know you didn't like her, Rory.

Because she didn't like me.

All I know is, once she was gone, so were you.

Hey, who's been talking to you?

Your dad killed your mother.

You know it, I know it

and with God's help,

the members of that jury will know it.

When did you find God?

Right after I found out I was a suspect.

You look tired.

So do you.

Sounds familiar, huh?

[jazz combo playing]

I didn't know a party was going on.

Look, please tell the general...

MAN: Admiral...

Welcome.

What, you didn't bring the wife?

I'm not married.

Oh, that's right.

You're...

someone I've never met.

Bad timing, General.

Maybe I should contact you...

No, no, no.

Not until you wish me

a happy retirement

and I get you a glass of 18-year-old scotch.

Two fingers of Lochleary.

Right away, sir.

General...

I turn my back for one second...

Marjorie... uh...

meet Admiral, uh...

A.J. Chegwidden.

Oh, nice to meet you, Admiral.

The general promised me a dance

but, apparently, he's forgotten.

I'm just greeting my guests, Marjorie.

Say, would it be an imposition if I asked you

to prepare a plate of food for the admiral?

It'll cost.

I'll be right back.

She's been on the hunt ever since her husband died.

What can I do for you, Admiral?

Well, General, this is incredibly awkward, uh,

but, um, the daughter of an old friend of mine

has a... terminal illness.

Both he and his wife are buried at Arlington

and she's requested the plot next to her parents.

Understandable.

That plot has been promised to you.

Well, I'm old enough to predate

the no-reservation policy, Admiral.

Has a view of the sunset, you know?

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Frankly... I can't think of anything

less interesting right now than dying.

Well, General, I don't want you

to think I'm applying pressure to you in any way.

Of course, I do.

I'll relinquish my rights to the superintendent...

Thank you, sir.

...if you'll do me one favor.

By all means.

["Isn't It Romantic?" playing]

Mac...

If this is about Commander Coulter...

It's about Rory Coulter.

Well, I don't want to discuss him.

He's your suspect, not mine.

He's everybody's suspect now, Colonel.

His lawyer just called.

He skipped town.

TERESA: I know Rory, Colonel.

Running away is just part of his character.

It's not that he's guilty.

He just doesn't know how to handle the pressure.

I have to be honest with you, Commander.

It's not looking good.

Well, then, we just have to find more evidence against my father.

Could I see the autopsy report?

Maybe I can find something.

Teresa, what will you do if he's acquitted?

I can't even think about that.

Think about it,

because if you can't forgive him,

you will continue to hate him

and that can be a very painful way to live.

And just what would you know about that, Colonel?

My father was an abusive alcoholic.

Well, then, you, more than anyone

should understand exactly where I'm coming from.

RABB: So, what do we have, Bud?

Rory Coulter finds out

the morning after the argument with his mother-in-law

that the job offer has been withdrawn.

Suspecting that it's she that called the company

and told them about his arrest record,

he decides to confront her.

He goes over there.

He sees the captain's car, waits for him to leave...

Then, he encounters an edgy Ellen Chaddock

and they argue.

Let's go inside.

What evidence do we have in the bedroom?

Ellen Chaddock on the bed...

The record skipping on the turntable...

door and window closed

and the dead fish in the tank.

So, Rory could've closed the window

to muffle the sound of the assault.

The record might've been scratched

in the scuffle.

Or it could've been scratched before.

The dead fish...

I don't know what to do with that one.

And neither did the original investigator, sir.

They just wrote it off as neglect.

What if...

Rory Coulter was so mad at Ellen Chaddock

that he murdered her

and... killed her fish out of spite?

Bud.

Did you find something?

This says my mother died of massive brain trauma

due to a fracture of the parietal bone

caused by a blunt object.

And...?

Well, those determinations are out of line.

I mean, the brain swelling indicated here

couldn't have been sufficient to cause her death.

We need to order an exhumation.

I won't allow it.

Teresa, your mother didn't die of a skull fracture.

Doesn't that make you at least curious?

You're jumping to conclusions.

All I said was there was a discrepancy

between the coroner's findings

and the official cause of death.

Well, the only way to investigate it

is to exhume her body.

I'm sorry.

Ma'am, if you won't let us exhume,

why are you here?

MacKENZIE: Because she has to be.

The commander can be considered an expert witness,

which makes her opinion potentially exculpatory.

Teresa, just think about it for a while.

You're denying us something

that you, as a forensic pathologist

have asked people-- what?-- 50, 100 times.

ROBERTS: All we're looking for

is the truth, ma'am.

TERESA: Here's the truth, Lieutenant.

My mother lies in peace

something she rarely experienced in her life.

No one can touch her now.

I intend to keep it that way.

-[knock on door] -Enter.

Ah, Lieutenant, please have a seat.

I'm glad you're here.

I was going to call you.

Admiral, I just came from the doctor's office.

I jumped the gun, sir.

After we talked, I went

I got a second opinion, and...

my first biopsy was misread.

I don't have a tumor. I'm not going to die...

I mean, well, just, not anytime soon, anyway.

I'm so excited, I can barely breathe.

Well... that's... uh, wonderful.

Yeah, and I'm sorry I made you go through this drama with me, sir.

I know you must have just twisted yourself into knots

trying to figure out how to help me with my request.

And even if you could have pulled it off, I mean,

I would have felt really terrible holding onto a plot that long.

[sighing] You were right, Admiral.

It is much better to concentrate on where I am now

than where I'm going to end up.

Well, um...

Irene, you have a good life.

I intend to, sir.

What kind of a drunk were you, Captain?

An angry one.

Did you ever direct this anger at your wife, sir?

Quite often.

Why?

Because she wasn't perfect.

That's what I expected from people.

That's what I asked of my men.

Do you think that this was fair, sir?

No. It was twisted.

My wife deserved better from me.

I was... not up... to being her husband.

I was weak... and full of self-loathing.

RABB: You ever consider leaving her, sir?

No. Because then I would have no one to blame for my unhappiness.

Did your wife ever try to leave you, Captain?

Ellen would never go out on her own.

She was too dependent,

though she did throw me out of the house once.

Tell us about that, sir.

It was the week before she died.

We were arguing and I lost control and... pushed her.

When she fell, she whacked her head on the bedpost.

I had threatened her often,

but it was the first time... I'd... hurt her.

It... It shook me up.

How did you react?

I took a room in a motel.

Did you return a week later, Captain?

Yes...

And we argued again.

I... threw stuff around,

but she stood fast and stared me down.

I was furious, but...

I knew it was over.

All I could do was stomp out of there.

Captain, why did you yell, "Are you happy now?"

CHADDOCK: I was trying to make the point

that she was going to be alone

from now on, and it was going to be hard for her.

Sir...

she'd just been alone for a week.

She called me at the motel every day.

RABB: Captain, what did you do

when you found out your wife was dead?

I cried.

Maybe that sounds like a pathetic plea for sympathy,

but... it's the truth.

Commander...

you can exhume the body.

You believe him?

Let's just take this one step at a time.

CHEGWIDDEN: What do you think?

WADEN: It's... very nice.

It's available.

Is this something you're going to be needing

in the next 12 hours?

I'm sorry.

I'm being morbid, and the restaurant was close

and I was curious.

I don't know what the general was thinking about.

The sun sets in the other direction.

This tree, now this tree's a problem.

It's deciduous.

It's going to lose all its leaves in the fall.

It's going to be a damn mess.

And this grass, I'm not crazy about it.

What is it, well, it's a fescue.

Let's go eat.

Harm: The radiologist noted callous formation

around the area of Ellen Chaddock's skull fracture.

ROBERTS: Meaning the fracture had begun to heal before she died.

And this signifies...

...that she died as a result

of other circumstances.

And those circumstances are...

...what's hanging us up.

Sir, it's getting late

and we've gone over this a dozen times.

Seemingly unrelated clues:

closed window, skipping record, dead fish.

And don't forget about the repairman.

Yeah, the unfinished repair in the heating unit.

Where's that work order, Bud?

[sighs]

Is there a blood sample

from Ellen Chaddock's original autopsy?

Yes, sir.

We need to order a new test, Bud.

Commander, you testified

that when you entered your mother's bedroom

the door and the window were closed

and that it was hot and stifling.

Is this because the heat was on?

Yes, I turned off the thermostat.

Do you know what the temperature outside at that time was?

No, I don't.

Seventy-eight degrees.

Defense exhibit seven, Your Honor.

Verification from the U.S. weather service.

The police report notes

that your mother's fish were also dead.

Did you take notice of this?

Yes, briefly.

Defense exhibit eight, Your Honor.

Copy of a work order

to replace a propane heating unit

at the Chaddock household Friday, August 25, 1989,

the day before Ellen Chaddock's death.

Is this an excursion, Counselor?

I'm about to make my point, sir.

I'm waiting.

Well, sir, according

to handwritten instructions on the work order

the repairman, Petty Officer Ramon Arguento,

states that he's run out of metal vent pipe.

He then instructs Ellen Chaddock not to turn the heat on

until he finishesthe repair

because it would circulate carbon monoxide

throughout the house.

Commander, how would we know

if an individual had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning?

Other than evidence at the scene,

the best way is blood analysis.

And when would one test for this?

When indicated.

But on this day, Commander

all indications pointed to a skull fracture

as the cause of death, didn't they?

Yes.

And the carbon monoxide in the room would have dissipated

when you opened the door and the window.

-Is that correct? -Yes.

Defense exhibit nine, Your Honor.

A recent visual spectroscopy

of a blood sample collected

during Ellen Chaddock's original autopsy

indicating traces of carbon monoxide

which irreversibly binds with hemoglobin--

any hemoglobin--

even that of fish.

It's admittedly difficult

assessing what was on Ellen Chaddock's mind

on the day of her death,

but I ask you to consider the circumstances.

Her son-in-law was trying to move out-of-state

with her only daughter,

she'd just suffered a skull fracture

and she was alone, really alone

for the first time in 25 years.

Are you happy, now?!

[tires squealing]

[music begins]

♪ When you're alone ♪

♪ Who cares for star-lit skies? ♪

♪ When you're alone ♪

♪ The magic moonlight dies... ♪

SENIOR MEMBER: Captain Thomas Chaddock

on the charge and specification of murder,

this court finds you not guilty.

JUDGE: This court-martial is adjourned.

Thank you, Commander.

Congratulations.

Thank you, very, very much.

Congratulations, sir.

[sighs] The Navy sent me to medical school.

I thought I was going to be a doctor,

but I found myself attracted to crime scenes.

My whole life has been defined by what happened to my mother.

Is that how you want it to remain?

I want to remember her as a person, not a victim.

You okay?

I'm sorry.

You don't have to apologize to me.

You knew he was innocent.

That was more of an instinct, I think.

That's why you wouldn't give him up.

Come by my office when you're done here.

I amdone.

Think about it.

[sighs]

You forgave your father?

Yes.

Was it hard?

It took me a while.

What did you say to him?

Nothing.

He was in a coma by the time I was ready.

Hi.

Hi.

[closing theme music playing]