All language subtitles for Murder.She.Wrote.S05E13.Fire.Burn.Cauldron.Bubble.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Hear me, great Beelzebub
and Nebiros and Fleurity.

[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.

People have been known to sleepwalk
for all sorts of reasons.

With a lighted candle

and a bouquet of herbs
used in Satanic rites?

I simply had no idea
that you were somebody.

This could be
a great big hoax.

You did not apprise me of
the extremely broad spectrum...

of spirits this woman
has summoned.

Patience Terhune’s ghost
was just spotted at the old Greeley place.

-Half the town must be there by now.
-All right, move back.

[thunderclap]

[thunder rumbling]

[thunder continues]

[knocking]
Come on, Agnes.

I haven’t got all day.

Sprained her ankle,

couldn’t possibly get to my office.

Probably gone off dancing.

[woman] As many enemies as ye were
who looked out against me,

of those that hated me,

who hated me
and watched me weep,

do I take away your strength,

like the sun takes away the
strength of persons asleep.

Oh, hear me, hear me,

great Beelzebub and Nebiros and Fleurity.

Thus do I call for it to rain
both pestilence and pain...

unto all the generations
of men and women who killed me.

[twig snaps]

[gasps]

[Seth] Hold it.

Come back! Hold it there.

[Seth] Wait!

Stop.

[exhales]

Molly’s making brownies,

Dora Prouty’s tuna-noodle bake,

uh, your seafood-rice dish
and Mildred’s pigs-in-blankets.

Oh, Jessica,
tell me there’ll be enough

for the Garden Club’s
casserole supper.

To feed several armies.
It’s gonna be a total success.

Jessica. Jessica, you are
simply not going to believe...

what I saw behind
Agnes Finney’s house.

Oh, hello, Harriet.

By the witch stump in the garden,
there was this woman...

dressed as a-a pilgrim.

She had candles and she was
chanting some mumbo jumbo

about people who’d killed her.

Oh, my God.

Patience Terhune.

Wait till I tell the Garden Club.

Patience Terhune?
She’s been dead for 300 years.

300 years tomorrow.

It seems to have captured
everybody’s imaginations.

Jessica, I am not imagining things.
I saw what I saw.

And she was in pretty darn good shape
for a tri-centenarian too.

Oh, forget it.

What’s for dinner?
[laughs]

[Floyd on police radio]
Yo, Sheriff.

"Yo, Sheriff"?

Oh, Mrs. Fletcher,
you got a minute?

"Yo, Sheriff."

Yo, Floyd. Go ahead.

Sheriff, we’re getting phone calls

from newspapers and tv stations
as far away as Boston...

about Patience Terhune’s ghost.

I don’t know what to say to ’em.

Geez. Look, stonewall it.

The last thing we need is
a bunch of reporters

telling the world
we got a town full of nutcakes.

That’s a 10-4.

You see what all this
witch-ghost business started?

Well, Seth Hazlitt is hardly a nutcake--

not as long as
I’ve known him anyway.

Yeah, okay. I, uh--

I picked this stuff up at the witch’s
stump out at Agnes Finney’s place.

What do you make of it?

Not much.

This candle appears
to be crudely made.

So do these pieces of pottery.

But not old, as in 300 years?

I really have no idea, Sheriff,

but this could be a great big hoax,

or maybe some sort of mass hysteria.

Now that, I can believe.

It’s probably some kind of bag lady.

People in New York spot a nutcase
like this, nobody’d even look twice.

Of course, most people
in New York are bag ladies.

Gotta come back tomorrow.

Problem is you got
some frayed wires up there.

Well, my front hall’s
got a bigger problem.

-It’s still only half painted.
-Millie, I’m sorry.

Look, I promise I’ll get to it
this afternoon. I swear.

-Mmm.
-Hey. [chuckles]

Good morning, Mildred. Adam.

-Hi, Jessica.
-Morning, Jessica.

[phone rings]

Public library.
Mildred Terhune speaking.

[sighs] Alice, just because
Patience and I were related--

look, as far as I’m concerned,
she’s still dead,

and no, I don’t believe in--

well, I'm sorry you feel
that way, Alice.

It’s been like this all morning.

Well, I suppose they mean well.

Well, if you ask me, I think they got
a lot of nerve- the bunch of ’em.

Tell me about these calls.
Are they nasty?

Oh, it’s crazy, Jessica.

As if I’m somehow to blame
for other people’s fantasies.

Adam’s furious.
[chuckles]

He thinks we should move away
from Cabot Cove right after the wedding.

-Maybe travel.
-Then you’ve set a date?

Oh, we’re closing in.

And thanks to
my late Uncle Curtis,

the few dollars I’ll receive

from that little apple
farm he left me?

-Pay for a nice honeymoon.
-Lovely.

Mildred? Mildred Terhune?

Mr. Fairchild.

Oh-oh, Gordon.
No, no, you must call me Gordon.

Oh, how simply marvelous
to finally meet you in person.

[chuckles]
Rick Rivers, meet my muse.

-Hello.
-It’s a pleasure.

Mr. Rivers is my media consultant.

Oh. And this is my friend
Jessica Fletcher.

Mr. Fairchild. Gordon.
I gave him a little help...

-researching his new book.
-"A little help"?

Oh, my dear Mildred, without you
there simply would be no book.

-You know, I found The Rockport Sorcerer-
-We happened to be--

-Very interesting, Mr. Fair--
-We happened to be in Boston,

and on the radio... I heard of Patience’s
extraordinary reappearance.

So needless to say, we made it here
as quickly as we could.

I wish you would have called me.
I could have saved you a trip.

Oh. Oh, Mildred.

Mildred and her healthy skepticism.

Need I remind you that
similar events that I recorded...

in apparitions at Stony Pond
have never been refuted.

I seem to recall I read
several articles--

-May I add, have the events--
-Gordon.

that I recorded
in Evansville Terror.

Uh, Gordon, you and Mrs. Fletcher

have a great deal in common.
She writes mystery novels.

Oh. I-I wonder if you could
direct us to this, uh,

Dr. Seth, uh,
oh, Hamlet, isn’t it?

-Hazlitt.
-Oh.

-Yes.
-Ah!

You’ll have to forgive Gordon.

He’s been just crazed
with the new book--

Patience Terhune,
the Witch of Cabot Cove.

Comes out tomorrow
on the anniversary of her death.

Could you buy a better tie-in?

Yes, and how fortuitous
to have all this

local excitement just now.

Oh, yeah. Speaking of which,
as we were driving into town,

I don’t believe I saw one TV news vehicle,
or any of the media.

Yes, thanks to Sheriff Metzger.

Ah. Shall we go?

[chuckles]

You know, here I am trying
to give you a story that could--

[knocking]
Yeah, in a second!

Trying to give you a story
that could finally get you...

out of that five-watt dump
and into the big time--

[line clicks, dial tone]

[knocking]
Yeah, I’m coming.

Pardon the interruption, Richard,

but, uh, where are they?

Who?

The, uh, "locust attack"
of media people. Hmm?

I told you I’m working on it, Gordon.

I’m afraid that isn’t enough.

Publication is in 20 hours,
and so far the only coverage we’ve had...

is not an interview,
not a visit,

but a phone call
from some biddy...

who doubles as a Want Ad
salesman for the local weekly.

Now, I did not promise you...

a piece of the action
in return for your ineptitude.

Hey, wait a minute, Gordon.
Just wait a minute!

First off, nobody warned me about
some camera-shy sheriff, all right?

And secondly,
I am not the one

-who blew it with that Fletcher woman.
-Hmm?

Yeah, the one in the library,
J.B. Fletcher.

She happens to be what passes
for an intellectual--

not to mention celebrity
in this backwater.

You know Gordon, all we needed
was for her to buy your act,

and we would have
been home free.

But no. You gotta go off
and treat her like the hired help.

-Well, I had no idea.
-I know.

Maybe you should start
boogying to something

besides your own voice
for a change.

Now you listen to me,
you fifth-rate feather merchant!

Now, just relax!

Little Ricky is in charge,
and everything is gonna be okay.

I promise you, by tomorrow
you’ll be up to your earlobes...

in major media coverage.

Come from a long ways, ma’am?

Arizona.

-First time in Cabot Cove?
-Not really.

I was here a long time ago.

Well, I hope you’ll be staying
for a while.

Does anything indicate here
that the Terhune women...

were actually engaged
in witchcraft?

Or was that part made up
by Gordon Fairchild?

Well, he had this to go on...

The Book of Secrets
by Albertus Magnus.

Oh, yes. That’s considered
something of a classic, isn’t it?

Mmm. Published in London in 1560.

Been in the family forever.

Which is exactly how long it’s taking
you ladies to get your act together.

If we don’t hurry, Jess,

I will miss Evie Hilton’s chicken pot pie,
[chuckles]

and that will make me
very cranky.

Well, now, that
is an empty threat, Seth.

You’re always cranky.

Oh, Adam, Mildred’s hallway
is coming along beautifully, and the color

-is such a lovely shade of blue.
-Thank you.

Just be careful not to touch it,
it’s still a little wet.

Can you make heads or tails

of all this nonsense
about Patience Terhune?

Well, I’m not so sure that it is nonsense-
not all of it, anyway.

I mean, it seems to me
that the Langhams

and the Brewsters
have had more

-than their share of problems.
-Oh, indeed they have.

The Brewsters have had cervical problems
for as long back as I can remember.

Purely a question of genes,
not magic,

as I explained to
Mr. Gordon Fairchild...

this afternoon when he stopped in--
[doorbell rings]

trying to make hay
for that new book of his.

-Mildred?
-Yes?

I’m... sorry to show up
so suddenly.

I’m your sister Irene.

Irene?

Oh, is it really you?

Well, you come in here.

It’s my sister Irene!

Oh, I can hardly believe it!

Neither can I.

[whispering]
That’s Patience.

[Irene] Aunt Helen used to tell me...

about an old wedding picture
of our parents.

And it’s a wonderful picture.

-There.
-Oh.

He was handsome.

And she was so pretty.

You know, I don’t think I ever
saw a more beautiful mother,

-or a lovelier-looking little baby.
-Yeah.

Even with her illness,

and still mourning your daddy,
she fairly glowed...

when I showed you to her.

How old was I? Four days when
Aunt Helen took me to Michigan?

I wanted to take care of you myself,

but I kind of had my hands full.

"Kind of"?

Fifteen years old and having
to nurse her dying mother.

What is it, Irene?

Uh, something else Aunt Helen
told me when I was little.

Something about...
a witch in the family?

It’s funny you should mention that.

Irene, what made you decide
to come back to Cabot Cove...

at this particular time?

Well, I don’t know quite
how to explain it, Mrs. Fletcher.

It was almost as if
I was drawn here,

like I had to come back.

Did I say something
I shouldn’t have?

[laughing, chattering]
According to Church records...

the poor child
was whisked away before she--

excuse me--

even had a chance to be
christened.

Mildred hasn’t been in touch with
her sister since she was nine years old.

-It’s strange that she should turn up now.
-Hmm.

Now see here, Seth.

[groans]
You-- [groans]

you-you said Irene
is the same woman...

you saw at the witch’s
stump last night.

Henry, Henry, I did not say that.

But she is -forgive me--

a sure-as-hell,
100% dead ringer for her.

Excuse me.

I saw Miss Terhune
get off the 7:14 myself.

Uh, I was the one who drove her
over to Mildred’s.

Said she’d come in to Boston on
the 10 a.m. flight from Phoenix, Arizona.

Took the shuttle to Portland. Adam.

Can I talk to you
for a second? Come here.

What do you want?

I was- I was wondering.

Do you suppose it would be okay
if I dropped in on Irene?

-After she gets settled.
-You have a good eye, Jonas.

[wind whistling]
[door creaks, shuts]

[dog barking in distance]

And this one is sanguinaria canadensis,

also known as bloodroot.

Jessica, all of these are mentioned

over and over again
in witchcraft literature.

They’re used for casting evil spells.

And Irene didn’t remember
any of this this morning?

She was terribly upset
when I told her.

I didn’t dare mention
anything about these.

Mildred, you mustn’t read
too much into this.

People have been known to sleepwalk

for all sorts of reasons.

With a lighted candle and a bouquet
of herbs used in Satanic rites?

[Mort] What I’ve been telling
the news people

is the truth, pal.

There’s no story. Zip.

Nada. Bupkes.

Just a bunch of hick town gossips,
blowing things way out of proportion.

Look, Mr. Fairchild, you go peddle
your book someplace else, okay?

Cause I’m not gonna
hype it for you,

no matter how many people out there
think they’re seeing goblins.

Now, then, is there anything else
I can do for you?

I would be most appreciative
to be permitted a look...

at those items that you discovered
at the so-called witch’s stump.

Why not?

-I’ll be right with you, Mrs. Fletcher.
-Mrs. Fletcher.

I would like to apologize
for my rudeness yesterday...

to you at the library,

but you see, I simply had
no idea that you were somebody.

Here in Cabot Cove it’s quite permissible
to be polite to nobodies.

Here you go, Mr. Fairchild.

If you’ll excuse us.
Floyd, you wanna assist Mr. Fairchild?

Hmm!

I contacted the airlines
like you suggested, and it all checks out.

Irene Terhune flew coach yesterday

from Phoenix to Boston to Portland.

Or someone who said
she was Irene.

But I just can’t shake the feeling...

that all of this
is so incredibly coincidental.

Sheriff, thank you.

I found it most illuminating--

especially the figure that is
etched on this fragment of clay.

It represents Nebiros.

Oh! The most evil of the demon spirits.

It’s usually summoned
to bring death to relatives--

especially siblings.

Do you really believe
that Mildred is in danger?

Oh, my dear Mrs. Fletcher,
what I believe...

has nothing to do with it.

Yeah, well, good-bye.

Have a good day.
[phone rings]

Wanna get that, Floyd?
[door opens, closes]

[Floyd] Sheriff’s office. I’m telling you,
that guy is a bunco artist.

I can smell ’em
10 city blocks away.

Sheriff? Excuse me.

There’s a ceremony going on behind
the Finney place at that witch’s stump.

[chattering]
Yeah, I’m ready, reverend.

Quiet, please. Dr. Overman
wants absolute silence.

No cameras.
And remember, no talking.

This is so exciting,
I can’t stand it.

Harriet, please, quiet.

Yes!

Yes, I can feel their presence.

Divine Lord, in Thy Mercy...

protect us from this evil.

[crowd murmuring]

Seth, who is that man?

Some sort of witch hunter
imported by the reverend.

You know, whatchamacallit-
exorcist or something.

-A what?
-Shh!

Reverend Fordyce, did I not make it clear
that I require complete silence?

Uh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes.

[Overman] In the name
of everything that’s decent,

I command thee,
O Lucifer,

o Beelzebub,
and all ye spirits of Satan...

to flee forever before
the forces of goodness and truth.

That’s it.

I cannot work this way.
I will not work this way.

Dr. Overman, it was just an accident,
I assure you. They’re just curious.

It’s not often you get to see
a real, live exorcist at work.

The mood is broken.

I shall have to attempt again tomorrow.
But, Dr. Overman,

you estimated the exorcism
would take only one day.

[Overman]
Unfortunately, you did not apprise me...

of the extremely
broad spectrum of spirits...

this woman has summoned.

She’s the one.
She brought all the evil spirits here.

[crowd murmuring]

Dr. Overman? I’ve heard
a great deal about your work, Sir,

and I would like
to congratulate you.

I’m Gordon Fairchild.

[chattering]

Thank you for coming
to my rescue, Mrs. Fletcher.

I felt as though
they were about to stone me.

Oh, I doubt they would have tried that
with Jonas there to protect you.

Jonas is being absolutely wonderful.

-Showing me the sights.
Really?

And you know what, Mrs. Fletcher?

She says it’s almost the same

as the town she’s been
having this dream about.

-Really?
-It’s amazing.

Buildings-- sometimes a whole street--

exactly as I’ve seen them for years.

Isn’t that something?

Do you suppose it’s possible that...

that dream could be the result

of something your aunt
might have told you?

It’s kind of creepy, isn’t it--

my ancestor dying
300 years ago tonight?

[groans] It must have been awful,
burning to death like that.

Is anything wrong, Mrs. Fletcher?

I hope not.

You know, Irene, Mildred’s
an old, very dear friend of mine.

I wouldn’t want her
to be hurt or disappointed.

Do you realize
that in the last 15 minutes

the local bookstore has sold
exactly three copies of Patience Terhune,

-the Witch of Cabot Cove?
-Gordon--

and in the very town where
the events took place!

-Yes.
-Oh, for God’s sake.

That uptight little
minister and his carnival act--

they could probably attract more media
attention than you’ve been able to.

Yeah, and you know
that Fletcher woman?

-Yeah, she is probably--
-Will you just shut up and listen?

[phone rings]
Now look, it’s all set up for tonight,

and I guarantee it’s going to knock

everybody’s socks off, including yours.

[ringing continues]

Hello.

Wh- please don’t
tell me this.

Look, lady, we had a deal.

Come on.
You can’t do this to me.

[line clicks, dial tone]

-What?
-She chickened out on us.

[Jessica]
You’re absolutely sure of the date?

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

Oh, yes. Yes, it is nearly time for me
to go to New York to see my publisher.

I’ll be calling you soon.

Thank you. Good night, Phyllis.

-That Phyllis Grant at the travel agency?
-Thank you. Yes.

And she said that Agnes Finney

left for Pittsburgh last Friday...

to visit her ailing mother,
so there’s no way...

that she could have asked you to make
a house call the night before last.

Are you saying that someone sent
me on a wild goose chase? Why?

So that you would see exactly
what you saw at the witch’s stump.

If the ghost wanted to be seen,

why did she grant
the privilege exclusively to me?

Well, it’s possible
there was someone else--

[phone rings]
Excuse me.

Hello.

When?

Oh, yes, I am interested.

Thank you for calling me.

What is it, Jess?
What’s happened?

Your privilege just
became less exclusive.

Patience Terhune’s ghost
was just spotted at the old Greeley place.

Half the town must
be there by now.

[chattering]

-What’s going on here?
-Sheriff, I saw her over that way.

-You saw her?
-Yes!

[Man] Come on, come on.

Look, there she goes.

[clamoring]
Hold it!

[woman]
Let’s get her out of there.

[Mort]
I said, hold it!

[woman screams]
Now look.

I don’t know who or what
ran in that barn,

but no mob is gonna
go in there after it

as long as I’m the Sheriff.

[clamoring]
Go on back in an orderly fashion.

Get in your cars
and go on home.

Fire!

[clamoring]
All right, move back. Come on. Move!

[Floyd]
Back off. Go on, move. Move!

All right, back up.
Come on. Move it!

[clamoring continues]

[coughing]
[Man] Willard, get up there.

[Man 2] Okay. Watch your step up there.

Sheriff, what are we looking for?
The witch?

Forget about the witch, Floyd.
She went back to oz.

We’re looking for something
we may have missed- evidence.

-Thank you very much.
-Come on, Rivers.

You dragged me all the way
from Boston for this?

Charlie, Charlie.
Can you cool it? Huh?

It’s not my fault
you missed the ghost.

-You still got a whale of a story.
-What story?

There’s no corpse.
There’s nothing.

Charlie, there’s no corpse,
because she was a ghost.

[sighs]

What do I have to do,
write it for you too?

Simon, I’m so sorry
about your barn.

Nothin’ to worry about.
It ain’t my worry anymore.

[Floyd]
Sheriff.

Take a look at this.

-A pail?
-It’s got a funny smell to it.

[Man] -Start checkin’ the floor.
-It’s gasoline.

-People start fires with it.
-People, yes. Ghosts, no.

We didn’t find any people here,
Doc, dead or alive.

Did you look
in the root cellar?

How can I look in it?
I don’t even know what it is.

It’s a cellar where they keep roots.

Where is it?

Well, there should be
a trapdoor in the floor someplace.

[Mort] Watch your step.
[Jessica] May I? Thank you.

[man coughs]

[Jessica] Ah. Here it is...

under this pile of debris.

Fellas? You wanna lend us
a hand over here, Floyd?

[Jessica]
It’s Irene.

Yeah, here it is-
the coroner’s preliminary.

I wish you medics would learn
to write in English.

Oh yeah.

Well, there’s not much
here we didn’t know.

Blunt instrument,
sometime yesterday

between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

-3:00 p.m.
-A-yah.

But Sheriff,

if she died between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

it couldn’t have been Irene who was
pursued into the barn last night,

because she was already dead.

That means that somebody
eighty-sixed her,

and then four or five
hours later decides,

"Oh, yeah. I better torch
the evidence." Gimme a break.

You know, I think that Seth
was right in the beginning.

Irene and the Patience
that he saw

were one and the same person.

So who did I see then?
Somebody else’s ghost?

Well, I don’t know about that,

but you do have a point on the obfuscation
in the coroner’s report.

Took me a couple of readings to find it.

"Traces of blue paint on
the victim’s face and hands."

[knocking]
Come. It’s open.

Ah.

Fleeing the coop, are we,
my hyperbolic little friend?

Save the vocabulary, Gordon.
I’m outta here.

Wrong, Richard.

As much as I would
wish it otherwise,

we are connected at the hip
for the duration of this fiasco,

the blame for which is,
I am afraid, equally mine...

for having employed you
in the first place.

Yeah. Like I’m real thrilled
at being an accomplice to murder.

"An accomplice"?
And as far as doing my job--

have you counted the TV trucks
and reporters out there?

You got your best seller.

Now all you have to do is hope that nobody
starts asking who little Irene really was.

As for yours truly,

I can be reached care
of general delivery,

just south of nowhere.

Richard, if you leave this room,

you will not see one penny
from that book.

And with no money,

Rio can be a dreadful drag.

Such violence is not
at all inconsistent

with the type of black magic

Patience Terhune was accused

of practicing some
300 years ago.

So it’s possible
that her descendants,

the late Irene Terhune
and her sister Mildred--

might well be victims
of a curse dating back to colonial times,

if not actual practitioners
of the black arts themselves.

[reporter]
Thank you, Dr. Overman.

Dr. Overman, that was just marvelous.

Dr. Overman, I’d like
a word with you, please.

I think I’ve heard
them all already, Dr. Hazlitt.

How fortunate for
this beleaguered community...

that your impoverished,
if-you-can’t-see-it-or-touch-it view

-so typical of your profession-
is not shared by your neighbors.

[crowd murmuring]
Really, Dr. Hazlitt.

Oh, doctor.

[sniffling]
Mildred, you were saying that--

that you phoned Irene
here at the house around 1:30.

Yeah.

From the library.

I had just been to the bank.

I told her that since the house

had been in the family
all these years,

I was having it placed
under both our names.

She was so moved she cried.
[door opens]

I’m sorry, Mildred.

The sheriff wants
to talk to you.

I told him that
you weren’t ready yet, but--

Mrs. Fletcher.

Mildred, I’m--

I’m sorry to have to bother you
at a time like this,

but the way I see it,
there are two possibilities.

Now, either your sister went out
to Greeley’s barn to meet someone,

and the perpetrator was there
waiting for her,

or the perpetrator followed her
to the barn.

-But Sheriff, why would she--
-Mrs. Fletcher, do you mind?

Ma’am, I have to ask you this,
just for the record.

Where were you yesterday
between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.?

-Wait a minute. What do you think--
-Adam.

I was at the library
from 9 a.m. till closing.

There must be a dozen people...

-who can verify it.
-[Adam] Including me.

I was there most of the day
doing rewiring.

And, Sheriff, I seriously doubt
that my sister...

would go to a barn at night
to meet anybody.

[Jessica] Hello, Jonas.

It’s difficult to explain...

how we can become so attached
to someone that we’ve just met.

-It’s dumb.
-Oh, no.

Twenty-four hours I knew her.

Why?

I mean, what could she have done
to deserve anything like that?

I doubt that she deserved it, Jonas.

And I’m fairly certain that there’s
nothing that you could have done...

that would have changed
the outcome.

Oh, no?

After we saw you
at the witch’s stump,

we were gonna spend
the rest of the day together.

Only she was tired
from jet lag,

so I drove her back to Mildred’s.

Do you recall what time it was
when you dropped her off there?

It was a little after 1.

I almost went back for her, Mrs. Fletcher.

If I hadn’t let her
talk me out if it--

if I'd have driven up
the coast like I planned--

Jet lag?

Mrs. Fletcher,
I really don’t know

what that has to do with anything,

but it really doesn’t matter, cause I’m
on my way over to pick up the killer.

Dr. Warren Overman,
his fraudulent self.

Turns out he’s been running
his exorcism scam...

from one end of the country
to the other.

Jessica, can’t you see
the egg on the faces...

of Reverend Fordyce
and his merry band of witch hunters?

-What’s the matter with your neck?
-Oh, nothing.

Now look here, Sheriff.
You’re making a--

What it was was, Irene found
out about Overman’s scams,

figured out he was behind
the whole witch thing...

and threatened to blow
him out of the water

if he didn’t cease and desist.

It couldn’t possibly
have been Dr. Overman.

Okay. Okay, Mrs. Fletcher.
Let’s hear it.

Well, first of all,
according to Reverend Fordyce,

he and Dr. Overman
were at the rectory,

planning exorcism strategy...

from noon until the time
that Patience was seen near the barn.

Are you sure about that?

Is Fordyce sure about that?

Maybe Overman has him mesmerized.

And second, Irene was not
Mildred Terhune’s sister.

What, because she
had jet lag?

No, because she claimed
to have had it.

Sheriff, you don’t get jet lag
traveling from west to east,

as in Phoenix to
Boston to Portland.

Look, when everyone at the
eastern end of the trip are nodding off,

you’re still wide awake.

All right. Let’s say somebody
else used her airline tickets...

and rigged her telephone
and answering machine in Phoenix.

She drives down from Portland
into town the day before,

goes into her Patience Terhune act,
drives back to Portland

and grabs the bus back to
Cabot Cove the next night.

Exactly.

Well, how did she know so much
about the Terhune family history?

Mildred told Gordon Fairchild

when she was
researching his book.

Oh. Oh, you gotta hand it
to that lady though.

She was one hell of an actress.

Probably directed by Mr. Rivers.

Seems to me they went to
an awful lot of trouble.

Yes, but supposing they had
turned Mr. Fairchild’s book...

into one of those
great big mega-sellers.

Huh. With mega bucks for Mr. Fairchild.

And a nice slice for Mr. Rivers too.

Ah. Forgive me.

If I could interrupt
for just a moment.

R.L. Pierson from Boston.

Cameron, Jeffries, Pierson and Morgan,
attorneys at law.

I was looking for Mildred Terhune,

and I was distressed to find out
that her house was empty

and there was a black wreath
at her door.

Oh, that. No.
Mildred’s over at the library.

What did you want
to see her about?

That would be
a private matter, Sheriff.

[Mort] Yeah? Well, we’ve had
a murder here, Mr. Pierson,

which means we don’t have
any private matters.

Oh, they’re, uh-
they’re sort of helping me.

Well, I’m here to deliver
Mildred’s inheritance...

-from her late uncle.
-The little apple farm.

Uh, well, correction.
It’s the former apple farm.

It’s an industrial park
with a shopping mall,

and an assessed value...

of $5,227,000.

[chuckles]

And this one as well.

Now, as I outlined in my letter,
Miss Terhune,

your uncle’s bequest
was to be divided equally...

between yourself,
your sister and your aunt.

Five million.
It’s beyond comprehension.

And I’m the sole heir?

When our letters of notification

were returned
from Michigan undelivered,

we contacted the county officials.

So the reason you lost contact
with Irene when she was nine...

was that both she and your
aunt perished that year

in a flu epidemic.

The public officials
probably had no way

of knowing whom to notify.

I’m sorry.
I just assumed you knew.

I don’t know
which makes me sadder,

that Irene’s dead or that
that poor girl was murdered.

They find out who she was?

Not yet.
I’ll tell you one thing.

If the Sheriff
doesn’t put Fairchild

and his buddy away for this,
I’m gonna do something about it.

[Mort] Look, between you and me, pal,

Floyd’s been a friend of Mildred’s
for a lot of years,

and frankly, I don’t know
if I can control him.

No kidding?
Well, it’s like I told you, pal.

Till my lawyer gets here from New York,
I got nothing to say--

except that you and Floyd
ought to get your routine worked out.

What’s that supposed to mean?

Floyd just got
through telling me

that you’re the one with
the hair-trigger temper.

Floyd?

You are supposed to be
the tough cop.

I’m supposed to be
the nice guy.

Oh!

Sheriff?
I need a word with you.

A word’s about all I’ve got
time for, Mrs. Fletcher.

[whispering]

Oh, really?

Okay, Rivers.

It’s gotcha time.

It was you who set fire
to the barn- your own barn--

to hide the evidence
that it was you

who murdered Irene,
or whoever she was.

Simon Greeley told me

that he sold you his barn
yesterday afternoon.

Yes. Okay, yeah,
but I didn’t kill her.

Oh, sure you didn’t. Like the 7th Avenue
subway doesn’t have graffiti.

Now get smart, Rivers. Sooner or later
we’re gonna identify the victim,

and it’s gonna lead right to you.

It was you who hired her,
wasn’t it, Mr. Rivers?

Sure it was. She demanded
more money, so he killed her.

Listen, buddy boy,

I know any number of bozos
doing 30 to life...

on weaker circumstantial evidence.

The lady’s name was Annie Gorman.

She was a mostly
out-of-work actress.

I did her some publicity favors,
but I did not kill her.

Come on now, Rivers.
You were off to such a nice start.

She started giving you
a hard time, and--

It wasn’t about money.

She wanted out because
she was having a guilt attack

about hoodwinking Mildred Terhune.

That ties in
with what Mildred said, Sheriff.

I pleaded with her to go
through with the last gag--

you know, Patience at the barn
with the fire.

But she said no way.
She was through with it.

[Mort] So you hit her on the head
and killed her.

How? I was talking
to her on the phone.

She called me
at the Cabot Cove Inn.

-From Mildred’s house?
-Yeah.

So I went over there
to try to persuade her,

but she was gone.

All this was ever about
was trying to sell some books.

I never thought
it would make Gordon so crazy.

Gordon Fairchild.
You hear that, Mrs. F.

Hmm? Oh, I’m sorry.

I was-- I was just thinking
about something I saw...

that suddenly makes sense.

Oh, dear. New paint.

So that’s what happened.

[Seth] I know we’ve been
avoiding the subject,

but has anyone heard
if Fairchild has confessed yet?

No, but the Sheriff now believes

that the murder took place somewhere
other than in the Greeley barn.

And then he took
the body there?

Well, Sheriff Metzger is
convinced

that when he goes over
the barn again tomorrow morning,

he’ll find something
that will link

Mr. Fairchild to the murder--

some tiny shred of proof
that Mr. Fairchild

-might have overlooked.
-Overlooked?

That would be
rather stupid of him,

and that’s one thing
that Fairchild is not.

Yes, but don’t forget,
he thought that the fire

would destroy everything.

Well, I have an early meeting
with the library board.

It was a lovely dinner, Jessica.

Now, are you sure you won’t have
another piece of cake?

No, I have had plenty, thanks.

Ever since I’ve been watching
the scales,

Jessica comes up
with more and more leftovers.

[laughing]
Good night, Jessica.

-Good night, dear.
-Thank you so much.

You’re so welcome.
Jessica, dinner was first-rate.

-Thank you.
-Good night.

Good night.

[Mort] Hold it!

Did you forget something, Adam?

I guess it was about
six months ago.

I was doing some repairs
over at Millie’s,

and I found the letter
from that Mr. Pierson.

-Notifying Mildred of her inheritance?
-That’s right.

So I phoned him up in Boston.

Said I was Millie’s
Cabot Cove lawyer.

He told me where
her uncle’s property was,

and I drove over to New
hampshire to take a look.

And you discovered
it was worth

a great deal more
than an apple orchard.

Yeah. That’s, uh,
when I proposed to Mildred.

I knew it wasn’t right.

But all my life
I never had much money.

Then that woman showed up,
claiming to be her sister.

And you assumed that she had returned
to claim her portion of the inheritance.

Why else would she show up?
I mean, after all these years?

I suppose you slipped out of the library
by the back way...

and went over to Mildred’s house
that afternoon?

Yeah. I let myself in.

I found Irene by the hall table.

She was sorting out
the day’s mail.

-Hi, Irene.
-You startled me.

Oh, I just came to get my tools.

I had barely covered her up
with my drop cloth

when somebody rang
the doorbell.

[doorbell rings]

I couldn’t take the chance
of somebody walking in and finding her,

so I hid the body
as best I could.

[Rick shouts, indistinct] The feller
at the door was getting impatient

so l-I ducked into a closet.

Annie?

Annie, you here?

You up there, honey?

Gordon, it’s me.

Negative. Looks like
she took a hike.

Yeah, I should have known
she was a flake when I hired her,

but who else would take
a job like this?

Look, I told you I would take
care of it, and I will, tonight,

if I have to dress up like Patience
and torch Greeley’s barn myself.

Adam, is that when you decided
to hide the body in the barn?

They wanted to make it
look like Irene was going into the barn,

so I thought I’d oblige ’em
by putting her there.

I drove her to the barn
right after dark.

I left the drop cloth
to burn in the fire.

I mean, I figured that when
people started asking questions,

well, the outsiders
would get blamed.

What a sweetheart.
Get him out of here.

Tell you one thing.

I never bought any of that
witchcraft baloney, not for a minute.

I mean, there’s a logical
explanation for everything, right?

Most of the time.

Right. Excuse me.

You know, Seth, my neck
is really bothering me.

I think I should come in
and see you tomorrow.

Mmm, well,

on the other hand, maybe you
better save your money.

Seth Hazlitt, are you finally admitting

that there’s something in
medicine that you don’t know?

No, nothing of the sort.

I just recall that three
or four generations back,

on your mother’s side,
you are related to the Brewsters,

and medical science
is ill-equipped

to deal with a 300-year-old
pain in the neck.