Original subtitles

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

It's been three weeks since my last confession.

♪ ♪

Will you come back here? No!

You're worse than he is!

My two boys were born here at St. Ignatius Hospital.

I never forgot that, or this church.

Anyway... I got a lot to be grateful for,

and that's why I'm donating this brand-new wing

to St. Ignatius.

So I could sort of pay back everybody I owe, all at once.

The City of Atlanta, the people of Atlanta,

and, of course, the good Lord above.

He doesn't want it!

The Almighty Father has no use

for something that was built in the spirit of deceit.

Father Fitzgerald... Oh, God knows who you are,

what you are and what you're doing here, Mr. Carlino!

Father... He doesn't want any false acts of charity from you.

Father, don't. Now, everybody, please, go home.

There'll be no ceremony here.

What the hell's going on here?

You know very well. Father...

You should be ashamed!

Of what? Why is he doing this to me?

Go home, Father. Hey, wait a minute.

He can't just walk away.

I don't know what he's talking about.

I'm talking about corruption,

I'm talking about graft,

I'm talking about the way your construction company

built this wing of our hospital!

Not here, Father, please!

I don't care if you are a priest,

you better be able to back it up.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Excellency.

I shouldn't have made those accusations public...

You're right.

Well, there'll be a full report on your desk in the morning.

Thank you.

Good-bye.

I know who made the phone call

to the archbishop about the incident this morning.

You do?

Don't play the innocent with me, Paul.

It doesn't suit you.

Father, you don't seriously... Please,

don't insult my intelligence.

If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone.

Father Fitzgerald?

What happened?

I don't know.

Someone must have come in here,

tore it off the wall and deliberately destroyed it.

Who would've done that?

That's a sacrilege.

Yes, it is.

Night, Mrs. Curtis.

Oh, night, Mr. Bell.

You're working late yourself.

It doesn't get any easier around here.

What in the world was that?

Stay here.

He's dead.

What did he say?

What, are you crazy?

I didn't kill this priest.

Funny, that's not what he said.

I don't care what he said... I didn't do it.

Mr. Carlino, we've got a statement from a dying man,

and the dying man happens to be a priest.

Well, either he was a liar or he was mistaken

or he is nuts.

I did not do it.

You sure you can't prove where you were between 9:00 and 10:00?

I already told you.

I was home... Yeah.

Alone.

Mm-hmm.

Eh, what's that?

It's a time and labor-saving device.

We call it a confession.

I want my attorney.

I'm not signing this.

I shouldn't even be talking to you.

Let me save you some legal fees.

We just got a statement from an eyewitness

that you saw running away from the house.

What kind of a frame is this?

I wouldn't say anything else, Mr. Carlino.

Who are you?

I'm Alex Winthrop.

I'm your attorney.

You're my attorney?

Yes.

I'd like to speak to my client privately.

Sure.

Let's go.

Lieutenant... you can take this with you.

I don't think we'll be needing it.

Well, I'll keep it handy, just in case.

I'm sorry I'm late.

I, uh, I got the first flight out of New York,

and then the airline lost my luggage.

And, uh, I couldn't get a cab.

You know how that goes.

Look, Al, uh... Alex.

I'm in serious trouble here.

Yes.

I know.

I spoke to the arresting officer.

My family pays, uh, Benson, Reese, Cline and Dunhill

a small fortune each year in legal fees.

I was hoping they'd send me a top defense attorney.

I don't know how to say this...

A guy with some gray in his hair.

I'm only here to make a preliminary assessment.

I'm gonna get you a top man as my co-counsel.

Yeah?

Who's that?

Hey, Ray Weid! Nice-looking suit.

Hey.

Man must be colorblind. Hey!

Ben. Huh?

Hey! Alex!

Hey! God!

How are ya?

I feel great!

You look great, too.

Well, I guess we're both great.

Yeah! Were you in the courtroom?

Yeah, oh, yeah.

I love watching you play the jury.

It's like Itzhak Perlman with Stradivarius.

Well, talk like that'll get you a free hot dog.

Come on. I'm game. I'm game.

What are you doing in town?

Well, Ben, I've got my first real case.

Well, congratulations!

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Actually, I'm, uh,

I'm a little nervous about it.

Nervous, huh?

Hey, Charlie, two dogs.

Two dogs.

So, um, you're pretty busy.

Yeah, pretty busy.

Pretty busy.

Here. I-I got... I'll get it.

I'll get it. I'll get it. Oh.

Keep it.

All right.

Hey.

Hey, you're a pretty big spender.

Well... hell, I like you.

I mean, a man of your stature deserves the very best.

You gave him $20.

Yeah, like I said, you deserve the best.

You can get a hot dog with everything,

including bacon and avocado, for $3.20.

And if you want a whole plate of French fries and pickles,

some places, that's $1.50, $2.00 tops.

So now you're up to $5.20 apiece.

And if you want a bottle of pop,

a cup of coffee... Stretch it 75 cents.

So now-now-now you're at, uh, $5.95.

You gave him a 20 spot.

Yeah, well, I...

I guess it was kind of dumb.

Yeah.

Can I ask you something?

Man buys me a $20 hot dog... Ask me anything.

This case that I have that I'm nervous about...

Yeah?

Will you be my co-counsel?

Co-counsel?

You'd be very well paid.

Police report.

Criminal case?

Murder.

Oh, Alex.

You got trouble.

Yeah, I know.

You better buy me another $20 hot dog.

Bail is set at $250,000.

Court will take a 15 minute recess.

Mr. Matlock, I can't tell you how glad I am you're on my case.

I've read a lot about you.

I've read a lot about you, too.

Don't confuse me with the rest of my family.

I run a totally legitimate operation here.

How about that one in New Jersey,

where you were arrested for trying to bribe a city official

for criminal negligence?

Yeah, but I walked.

Getting off on a mistrial is not the same as acquittal.

Look, I never said I didn't make a few mistakes.

I was young, kind of hotheaded, you know.

But I was always smart enough to get a good lawyer.

So when Alex here said he was gonna get you,

I knew I was in good hands.

Let me get something straight here.

The only reason I'm on this case

is because of my friendship with Mr. Winthrop.

To tell you the truth, I-I don't hold out

a hell of a lot of hope for you.

We'll give it our best shot.

After you're released, I want you to go home, stay there,

keep your mouth shut.

Don't get even as much as a traffic ticket

till this trial is over.

You got that?

Yeah, I got that.

I'll be home if you need me.

I been a Catholic all my life.

There's no way I'd kill a priest.

Hm.

So you told him you'd get me.

Well, yeah.

I thought you might, if I, um...

Traded on our relationship?

Well, yes.

Well, that's one way to do it.

Alex, you may have a place in this business.

So do you think he did it?

Beats me.

I'm not Catholic.

But from what I've heard,

it would be real hard for one of them to kill a priest.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well... never know.

You know?

So, uh, you were the one who, uh,

found Father Fitzgerald that night.

That's right.

Heard a bang, knew it was a gunshot right away.

Went running upstairs, and there he was.

There were other people here that night?

Father Burke, Sister Katherine and Father Richards.

They all came running in just after I did.

So you were present when Father Fitzgerald,

uh, spoke to Father Richards, just before he died?

Oh, yeah.

Did you hear what he said?

No.

He whispered in Father Richards' ear.

Oh.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Well, did you, did you see or hear anything unusual?

I thought I heard somebody running,

but never saw who it was.

No.

Uh, anything else out of the ordinary?

Father Fitzgerald was in the sanctuary

about an hour or so before he was shot.

Somebody had taken a crucifix off the wall

and just smashed it to pieces on the floor.

And he was staring down at what was left of it.

Anyway, when I asked him who did it, he just looked at me,

turned around and marched off.

It was like he knew who did it and was gonna go after them.

Did he say who it was?

No.

Just wrote it down in that black notebook of his.

What black notebook?

Last couple of months, he took to carrying

this black notebook around.

Every time you looked, he was writing something down in it.

Yeah? Did you see what he was writing down?

Never let anybody near it.

That book wasn't in the police report.

It might still be around here somewhere.

Yeah, bet I know where it is.

Daggone.

Father Fitzgerald had me fix the light in here once.

Asked me to keep this place secret.

He wouldn't mind me telling about it now, do you think?

Oh, no, no.

I think you may have

just done him a big favor.

I-I didn't mean to startle you.

Well, you certainly did.

You must be Doris Curtis.

You're right; I have no choice.

Who must you be?

I'm Alex Winthrop.

I'm Nathan Carlino's lawyer.

Get out of my kitchen.

I have to talk to you, Mrs. Curtis.

I already told the police.

I don't have to tell you.

Actually, you do.

If not here, then in court.

You're not gonna trick me into changing my story.

I saw what I saw.

You're sure it was Nathan Carlino you saw running away?

That's right.

This window?

No, that window.

Sure looks bad for Nathan Carlino.

I guess it must have come as quite a shock

that he would do such a thing.

No shock to me.

I know his type.

We dealt with a lot of his people back where I come from.

I could tell you plenty.

I bet you could.

No, thank you. Uh, I'll just...

take one for later.

I-I'll take one for my-my partner Ben.

Thank you.

Thank you.

No, Kathy, please, trust my judgment this time.

It's not what you said.

We can't do it now, after what just happened to Father, no!

Why? Why not... No!

The timing is horrible!

No! It's 4:00. We're late.

We're not late.

We have to wait. The timing is...

Sorry.

You might try knocking first.

Uh, yes, well, I was, uh, going to do that,

but, uh, I, um... I'm looking for somebody.

I'm Alex Winthrop.

Um, I'm representing Nathan Carlino.

We have nothing to say to you.

Yeah, well, that seems to be the general idea.

Uh, you are...?

This is Sister Katherine,

and I'm Father Burke.

Hi.

Uh, you wouldn't mind answering a couple of...

Absolutely not.

Not without a subpoena.

Of course.

Um... thanks, anyway.

Good-bye.

Well, I can't thank you enough for your help, Mr. Bell.

Morning, Father Richards.

Morning.

You startled me.

I-I didn't think...

anybody would be in here.

Father Paul Richards?

Hi. Uh, I'm Ben Matlock,

one of Nathan Carlino's lawyers.

I wonder if I might... I'm...

afraid I'm a little busy right now.

Things are chaotic around here, as you can imagine.

Oh, sure.

Excuse me.

If-If... If you want to...

uh, uh, do anything in here, we're done.

No. That's all right.

I just remembered, uh, what I was after

Father Fitzgerald kept someplace else.

Okay.

Mr. Bell.

How are we doing?

I'm not sure.

How about that?

Are you at the bottom of the page?

Not yet.

Criminy.

Yeah.

Boy, there was a lot going on

out at St. Ignatius.

Do you think all this stuff is true?

The man was a priest.

You know, I think

Father Fitzgerald was right about one thing.

Sister Katherine and Father Burke are hiding something.

Hmm.

Maybe Tyler will find out what it is.

Hmm.

Hey, man!

Hey!

Hey... that guy was playin' us!

Why are you following me?

I'm not following you!

I mean... I was following you,

but only because I thought you were David Burke.

Father David Burke.

I am Father Burke.

You can't be Father Burke.

Why not?

Because you're strangling me.

Sorry.

It's a tough neighborhood.

Yeah.

People get hurt around here all the time.

Yeah.

Practically every day.

Yeah.

He was like a father to me, Mr. Matlock.

He was also devoted to this parish.

I don't know how we'll replace him.

Evidently, he thought you'd like to try.

He was wrong about that.

Well, you did take over.

Only temporarily, until the archbishop makes a decision.

Look, I know Father Fitzgerald thought I was ambitious.

He said it to my face.

It's simply not true.

Uh... that's not the half of it, Father.

What do you mean?

Well, in his notes

in his little black book,

Father Fitzgerald said that...

you probably wanted his job

to make it easier for you to...

dip into church funds.

He thought I was stealing.

Yes, and investing in the stock market.

It's not true.

Why'd he write it down?

Look, Sister Katherine does the books.

Ask her if anything's missing.

She should be in around 9:00.

No, nothing unusual about anything so far, Mr. Winthrop.

You're a whiz.

Now, where did you learn accounting?

Oh, I took

some courses over at community college.

Father Fitzgerald's idea.

He needed a bookkeeper, and my order volunteered me.

I didn't know a credit from a debit,

but Father Fitzgerald had faith I'd learn.

I, um, I understand you were here the night he was murdered.

Uh, I was getting everything in order

for our annual diocesan audit.

Want some coffee, Kat...?

Good to see you again.

That's some handshake.

Tyler told me you were strong.

Tyler...

Oh, you mean the gentleman who's been following me.

He's an associate of mine.

Why follow me, of all people?

Well, because of what Father Fitzgerald wrote in this.

"Ignoring the parish, his duties, and the church

"to carry on in a sinful and scandalous manner with...

Sister Katherine."

That's a lie.

Father...

Don't.

The only scandal at St. Ignatius existed

in Father Fitzgerald's mind.

There are no irregularities in our books, Mr. Winthrop.

If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to work.

Okay.

So what's the plan?

Well, uh, first court and then lunch.

I don't mean the plan for your day.

I mean the plan for my case.

Oh, I... I hope to prove you're innocent.

How are you going to do it?

You got suspects?

We're working on it.

Well, come on, shoot.

Who are they?

I don't think this is the time to talk about it.

How come you're, uh, holding out on me?

Who are these people?

I have people of my own who could help check 'em out.

No.

A maniac priest killer is on the loose out there;

a maniac who could prove me innocent.

Who are these damn suspects?

Two priests and a nun.

Two priests and a nun?

Yeah.

I'm a dead man.

And the next thing I hear is Mr. Bell,

hollering from the other room, for me to call the police.

So I go to the phone, and that's when I saw him.

Who did you see, Mrs. Curtis?

Him.

Nathan Carlino, him.

I know it was him 'cause I saw his picture in the paper.

Let the record show

that the witness pointed to the defendant Nathan Carlino.

Now, Mrs. Curtis, could you see Mr. Carlino clearly?

He wasn't more than ten feet from the window

when he ran past.

But it was 11:00 at night.

Ho-How could you see his face?

They keep a big light on in the yard, all night long,

near the window.

I saw his face clearly, believe me.

Oh, I do, Mrs. Curtis.

No more questions, Your Honor.

Cross-examine, Mr. Matlock?

Uh, Mrs. Curtis, uh,

how long have you worked at the rectory

out at St. Ignatius?

33 years.

Well, that's a long time.

And how long had you known Father Fitzgerald?

He was the one that hired me.

Oh... 33 years.

So I guess you were pretty fond of him.

Oh, that man was a saint.

How can you not be fond of a saint?

About, about how far do you live from the rectory?

Oh, about a 20-minute drive.

Oh, you drive to work?

Well, I'd have to transfer twice if I took the bus.

Besides, I need my car to buy groceries.

Oh... oh, oh.

So part of your job is grocery shopping?

Do you ever see a priest in a checkout line?

What I'm getting at is that if you were unable to drive,

uh, you might lose your job, mightn't you?

Probably.

Well, Mrs. Curtis, have, uh, have you gotten

any traffic tickets for moving violations

in the last, oh, year or so?

Yes.

How many?

Well, I don't remember. Let me see if I can

help you out on that.

Um... see here...

you received one for running a stop sign

and one for not stopping at a crosswalk

when someone was in it,

and one for a minor fender bender.

Now, that's so many that you get another,

they'll suspend your license.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Why have you gotten so many traffic tickets lately?

I don't know.

Um, the newspaper

that you saw Mr. Carlino's picture in...

Is it the Atlanta Examiner?

Yes.

You subscribe to that paper? Yes.

And you get the large print edition, don't you?

Yes.

Why, why do you get the large print

instead of the regular edition?

Because... You don't see

so good anymore, do you?

And that might explain

why you've gotten so many traffic tickets.

It might explain why you never allow anyone

at the rectory to see your newspaper.

You don't want anyone at St. Ignatius

to know you're losing your eyesight

and in danger of losing your driver's license,

'cause that could mean the loss of your job.

Couldn't it?

Yes.

You were so very fond of Father Fitzgerald,

you wanted to see his killer punished,

and so you told the police

that that night you saw Nathan Carlino.

Did you, in fact, see Nathan Carlino that night?

No.

Did you see anyone running away

from the rectory that night?

No.

Thank you for your honesty.

I happen to know

that Father Fitzgerald was very fond of you, too.

You're the only one he had good things to say about

in the last days of his life.

It was probably the cookies.

No further questions.

Father Burke.

I need to talk to you.

I'm hearing confession in five minutes.

I'm trying to find Sister Katherine.

I haven't seen her.

That's the problem.

Nobody has.

I tried her convent, I tried the hospital.

No one knows where she is.

Sister Katherine might be here later today.

Is this urgent?

Father, Sister Katherine was involved

in the Carlino case after all.

That's absurd.

I need to find her.

Do you have any idea where she is?

I'm sorry, no.

Thanks for your time.

If you hear from her, have her give me a call.

Got another sexy girl for you in about 15 minutes!

Yeah, he's bringing her around back!

See that man following me real close back there?

Make sure he doesn't get too far.

James Brown. Okay?

Yeah. All right, man.

Yeah, that's right, Jack.

What's goin' on, brother? I like your shoes.

So do I. Excuse me.

Check out them socks, homie.

Hey, I'm warning you.

How do you think those pants'd look on me, C.J.?

I will get even with you for this!

Get off of me!

♪ ♪

Mr. Winthrop.

I've been expecting you.

Come in.

Thank you.

You tricked me.

That's right, I did.

I... I thought that you could lead me

to Sister Katherine and that I...

I'd catch you two doing something... uh...

uh... incriminating.

What are you doing?

None of your business.

David, please.

He has no right spying on you, Katie.

He's only trying to find out who killed Father Fitzgerald.

Whose apartment is this? Mine.

Don't nuns usually live in convents?

Yes, they do.

I'm going to tell him, David.

I'm on leave from the convent.

I've applied for release from my vows.

In a few weeks, I'll no longer be a nun.

That's serious.

Did Father Fitzgerald know about that?

No.

I kept it from him.

Not because I wanted to deceive him,

but to spare his feelings.

Father Fitzgerald thought of me as a daughter

and would have wanted to change my mind.

Besides, my decision to leave

involves another person, and I couldn't reveal that.

You're the other person.

I love Katie.

I'm leaving the priesthood.

So Father Fitzgerald was right

about you two. No!

He accused us of breaking our vows.

We haven't done that.

Well... what would have happened

if he told your superiors that you were having an affair?

We haven't broken our vows.

Ours is a moral dilemma between ourselves.

We simply love each other.

It's not a motive

for murdering dear Father Fitzgerald.

Looks like Father Fitzgerald was wrong again.

I'm really sorry that I bothered you.

I'll see you later.

Good luck.

Sister Katherine and Father Burke

don't have a motive.

Neither does our client.

Neither does Father Richards.

Father Fitzgerald was wrong about all of them.

I don't get it.

What was going on with him?

Why did he think all those people were up to no good?

I don't know.

You know... as far as I can tell,

no one had a motive to commit this murder.

You're right.

No one had a motive.

Father Richards, how would you describe

your relationship with Father Fitzgerald?

He was my teacher.

My mentor.

My friend.

And those are terms of affection.

I admired and respected Father Fitzgerald

like I have no other human being.

Was that admiration and respect mutual?

I like to think that it was.

Uh, Father Richards, uh,

are you aware that Father Fitzgerald

carried a little black book around with him

in which he wrote, oh,

various thoughts and facts and...?

Everybody knew that. Uh-huh.

Well...

in his book... he characterized you

as "a selfish, status-seeking manipulator."

Were you aware of that?

I haven't seen his book, but...

he said worse than that to my face.

Oh?

Uh, were you aware

that he told the archbishop the same?

No, I was not.

Well, why would he say such things about you?

I don't know.

Well, you... you and Father Fitzgerald

had known one another for many years.

He was your friend, your mentor.

Didn't this name-calling seem a bizarre behavior for him?

I suppose.

And he accused you

of stealing money from the church,

an accusation that we both know is totally unfounded.

Didn't that seem a bit bizarre?

Yes.

And when he... when he jumped up at the...

the ribbon-cutting ceremony at-at St. Ignatius and...

and disrupted the whole ceremony,

didn't that seem a... a bit bizarre?

Yes. So, in...

in spite of these false accusations

and bizarre behavior, you still remained friends?

Yes, we did.

Father Richards, um...

could that be because...

you had a suspicion of why he was acting so strangely?

I can't answer that.

Oh, I... I understand.

Uh, who served as Father Fitzgerald's confessor?

I did.

And you are bound

by the confidentialities of confession,

even after his death, aren't you?

Yes, I am.

And that's why you can't answer my questions?

Yes.

Uh, that being the case, Your Honor,

as stipulated in chambers,

I would like to introduce into evidence

Father Fitzgerald's medical record

from his physician.

It states

that Father Fitzgerald was suffering

from a malignant brain tumor,

which was suspected to disrupt

normal intellectual reasoning

and alter personality behavior.

The autopsy didn't show it

because of the location of the wound.

Objection, Your Honor.

Mr. Matlock is testifying.

Sustained.

I beg your pardon, Your Honor.

Um... Father Richards, did you, uh...

or were you surprised

when Father Fitzgerald

jumped up and disrupted the ribbon-cutting ceremony?

No.

Not particularly.

You know what that means to me?

That means that you knew

of Father Fitzgerald's medical condition.

Oh, okay.

Okay, I'm sorry.

Where did Father Fitzgerald go to college?

Notre Dame.

And he was pretty proud

of that, too, wasn't he? Yes, he was.

And one of his prized possessions

was his Notre Dame graduation ring, wasn't it?

Yes.

Okay, I want to show you

a blowup of a photograph

taken at the now famous ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Here.

Uh, this is a blowup

of a photograph of Father Richards' hand

on Father Fitzgerald's shoulder.

You see that?

Oh, see that?

See, now... will you tell us, please:

what is that ring on your finger?

Right there.

It's a, um...

it's a Notre Dame graduation ring.

What are you doing with it?

Father Fitzgerald gave it to me.

Father Fitzgerald gave you one of his most prized possessions

because he loved you

and he wanted you to have it

in case anything happened to him,

didn't he?

I really can't answer that question.

It's a confidence.

Well, what about this, then?

There's another blowup of a hand.

If Father Fitzgerald gave you that ring,

what is it doing on his finger

after he was shot to death in his office?

Father, what do most Catholics consider

the worst sin, the one unforgivable sin?

Suicide.

Suicide.

The moment you heard that shot, you knew what had happened.

Isn't it true you ran down

to Father Fitzgerald's office and did two things?

You put the gun in your pocket,

and you put the ring back on his finger,

so that no one would ever know he had given it to you,

because he had been thinking

about doing exactly what he did do:

taking his own life.

It was suicide, wasn't it?

Yes.

Yes.

And you slipped out of the room,

disposed of the gun...

which is why everyone thought it was murder...

and you came back into the room after Mr. Bell,

Sister Katherine and Father Burke had arrived.

Yes, I did.

And Father Fitzgerald

never accused Nathan Carlino.

You did that...

to spare your beloved friend

the stigma of suicide.

He gave up his seat in Heaven

because he didn't want to inflict any more damage

on the church and the people he spent his whole life serving.

I couldn't let him die in disgrace.

It just wasn't right.

Your Honor, in light of these revelations,

I move the charges against my client be dismissed.

Any objections?

No, Your Honor.

Case dismissed.

This court is adjourned.

Congratulations.

This worked out all right.

I wasn't co-counsel on this.

I was counsel.

Want a $20 hot dog?

I want a case of 'em.