All language subtitles for Murder.She.Wrote.S08E18.Programmed.for.Murder.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.

I’ve decided to sell the company.

Ten million or we kill the deal.

Cabot Cove does need another doctor.

I don’t like losing patients to him.

You wiggle your hips a little

and I’m supposed to tell you everything
Doug sent you here to find out?

-Harriet?
-Please.

I’m sorry to say
it looks as if Dr. Hazlitt

was treating her for the wrong problem.

You’ll do damn near anything
to get him off the hook,

including if necessary,
shifting more of the blame onto me.

As long as he’s still practicing medicine,

he’s nothing but a public menace.

[cheerful orchestral music]

[beeping]

[beeping]

[beeping]

[knocking on door]

Oh, Harriet, you don’t know
how welcome you are.

I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,
Jessica.

I was fixing some bugs on a new program

and when you start rewriting codes,
time gets away from you.

Harriet, are you all right?

I’m fine. Thank you.

A little stressed out, but fine.

Oh, that makes both of us.

Would you like a cup of tea?

Water, please.

Oh, absolutely.

I’m so sorry to bother you
like this, you know,

but except for you, the rest of Cabot Cove

seems to have very successfully
ignored the computer age.

Well, hopefully this time tomorrow,
I will be doing the same.

I have decided to sell the company.

What?

We are, as they say, in negotiations

and we had an offer

and we’re hoping the buyer’s pockets

are deeper than he’s letting on.

We should know one way
or the other this afternoon.

I started writing computer programs
because they were fun.

They’re no longer fun
and haven’t been for some time, Jessica.

And they are causing
more than just stomach problems.

Oh, I’m sorry.

You and Allan?

Yes, unfortunately.

Now what do you say we find those 40 pages
you claim to have lost?

Listen, Harriet, if you can do that,

I will dedicate this book to you.

I mean, it’s bad enough that I did

or didn’t do what I should have done.

The fact that it just
sits there and beeps at you.

Oh, don’t let it get to you.

I’m more than half convinced they’re
designed to make us all feel stupid.

Well, they certainly succeed.

[man] Oh, come on, lighten up, would you?

I mean, we’re not exactly
talking serious money here.

At least not the way you make it.

How I make it isn’t the issue, John,

it’s how you lose it.

When five million of my dollars go south,

I want to know why.

Okay. How’s this?

It’s the nature of the game.

I come up with a hot original idea

and the same day, 27 nerds
between here and Silicon Valley

hit on the same notion.

I don’t know, it’s--

It’s like, it’s floating
around in the ether,

for God’s sake.

So goodbye all the money
for research and development.

Does that do it for you?

No.

I wasn’t sure about all this computer crap

when you first came to me about investing

and I’m less sure about it now.

So you had better make sure
that this Cabot Cove deal is a lock.

It is. Rudy, it’s a slam-dunk.

The woman hasn’t even scratched
the surface on this software of hers.

It makes every other small business

virtually look like stone tablets
and the market is there.

Your ten million is gonna get you 25,
maybe 30 inside a year.

Six months.

Six.

Oh, and, John, just so that
we understand each other.

That money doesn’t belong to me.

It’s funneled through me, right?

I’m accountable for every cent
and these people don’t tolerate failure.

[sheriff] I’m telling you, Doc,

I feel like I’ve had this cough
about half my life.

I mean, shouldn’t I be taking
some kind of pill

or shot or test or something?

Pills or tests or something cost money.

I don’t figure you’re all that anxious
to spend unnecessarily.

Not on what you get paid.

And frankly, I don’t think
you need them anyway.

Sheriff, if I could help you, I would.

So I say, chances are you’re tired.

Your resistance is down.

But that’s nothing that a week
in the Bahamas wouldn’t fix just fine.

Well, that’s wonderful.

If I can’t afford
medical care, how can I--

Afford a trip to the tropics?

Man has no sense of logic.

You’re kidding.

No.

The tests show
it’s definitely not hay fever

or any other kind of pollen reaction.

So what am I allergic to?

-Printer’s ink.
-What?

Specifically, the kind they use
in the Cabot Cove Gazette.

You mean I’m going to have to get someone
to read it to me?

Hardly, Miss Simpson,

there’s a wonderful new medication
that just got FDA approval.

A series of shots, we should have you
cleared up in a couple of weeks.

No wonder.

Pardon me?

Oh, nothing, it’s just that apparently,

my former physician was treating me
for the wrong problem.

Look, why don’t you stop
by my office tomorrow?

We’ll get you started.

On one condition.

That you take a look at the open house
I’m showing, over on Elm.

I think it’s a bit premature for me

to be looking at houses, Miss Simpson.

Oh, nonsense, doctor.

This house is you.

The truth is,

I don’t know how long
I’ll be staying in Cabot Cove.

Setting up a practice in a one-doctor town

was not the smartest move I ever made.

Particularly, when the competition
happens to be well,

like one of the founding fathers.

Good morning, Eve.

[woman on PA] Mrs. Evans, please meet
your party in the visiting room.

Dr. Beckwith.

Dr. Hazlitt.

Bless you.

I hope you’re looking after that allergy
of Mrs. Simpson’s, doctor.

Maybe you’ll have more luck
with it, than I did.

[Jessica] Oh, Seth, that’s ridiculous.

I mean, what the computer has done

is to increase my output by about 40%.

[Seth] Sure, and you know
what’s gonna happen then?

You’ll write more and more books.

Supply will outstrip demand.

Jessica Fletcher mysteries
will become a drug on the market.

You’ll be writing yourself
to the poor house.

Has it ever occurred to you

that your bad mood has absolutely nothing
to do with my computer?

Oh, is that so?

I’ll have you know, there’s a law

against practicing psychiatry
without a license.

Look, I don’t blame you.

Believe me that--

I know what you’re gonna say next.

You’re going to say it has something to do
with this Dr.--

What’s his name?

Yes, but the truth is

Cabot Cove does need another doctor.

And for one thing, it’ll make your life
much simpler.

Oh, sure.

Another young hotshot
who figures that computers

and lab tests
can take the place of intuition

and treating the whole patient.

Oh, all right.

All right, you win.

I don’t like losing patients to him.

Now are you satisfied?

Well, it’s a start.

Got it.

No, no, they don’t need
any special fertilizer.

Well, that’s fine.

No, delivery is no problem.

-My regular run to Boston is Wednesday.
-Hi, Allan.

Excellent. Thank you.

Harriet’s in the house.

Seth, can we talk a minute?

Of course.

Seth, I want you
to give it to me straight.

How’s Harriet doing?

Basically, I think she’s healthy.

This chronic indigestion
she seems to be having.

My feeling is that’s stress.

As soon as she gets out from
under this computer business,

I think she’ll feel a lot better.

That makes two of us.

Damn thing’s taken over our lives.

Now her health.

Seems to be getting worse not better, Doc.

Allan, I’m keeping a careful eye on her.

I promise you,

if she doesn’t get better in a couple
of weeks, we’ll try an upper GI.

Beyond that, well there’s not much else
I can tell you.

Jessica, you did not have to do that.

I know, but you didn’t
have to save my life

or find that 40 pages.

Oh, by the way I almost forgot.

You left these in my house.

Oh, my.

First my stomach, now my memory.

-I’m falling apart.
-No.

I hope you don’t mean that.

Oh, come on, Seth.

How could you be cool, calm, and collected

if you were going to meet somebody

who’s going to hand you
several million dollars?

Well, not me.

Hmm, I was going to wait on this.

But I think I’d like you to check

into the medical center tomorrow morning.

I’ve got some tests I want to run.

Seth, that’s impossible.

Promise I’ll come in
the first of the week.

Seth, I’m fine.

Allan, we’re supposed
to leave in 15 minutes.

You relax.

Your brother’s not here yet.

[car honking]

Allan, I’m afraid you’re wrong.

He’s just arrived
and he has Gretchen with him.

Now there is no way
that I am going to allow

that woman to go to this meeting.

Allan, you have got to keep her here
and keep her preoccupied.

Only if you promise to calm down.

Don’t let your brother lawyer you
into blowing this deal.

This is not the time to discuss that.

I think we’ll be running along.

Bye.

Thank you, Seth, Jessica.

Look, just remember what we want.

To get rid of this business.

Start spending some time
together again, okay?

Okay.

Couldn’t you have done that
between here and Boston?

If you would have picked me up on time,

I could have checked into the hotel

and we could have freshened up there.

Hi, Mrs. Fletcher, doctor.

[Jessica] Hi, Doug.

[Seth] Hi, Doug.

It’s only for a day or two.

So please try to make
the best of it, all right?

All right.

But if she says one word
about how much my shoes cost,

or my jewelry, I’m walking out.

All right, enough of the fun and games.

The number’s ten million firm.

Oh, hey, come on-- look, Mrs. Wooster,

you know how grim the whole
computer market is these days,

software in particular.

I mean, I was barely able
to convince my people

to give me this one last chat.

And when I suggested

that out of fairness to you
that they up the price,

they laughed in my face.

Please, Halsey, spare us the snake oil.

You think I don’t do my homework?

You think I don’t know what kind of shape
your operation is in?

And how badly you need us?

Maybe we should just forget about
the whole thing and get out of here.

Come on, let’s go.

Mrs. Wooster, you’re gonna be
making a huge mistake.

Just don’t listen to him.

Sis, he thinks because
you live in the sticks,

he can con you out of everything you own.

Doug, I am perfectly capable.

Oh, I know you are.

What’s the matter?

Harriet, what’s the matter?

-Harriet.
-Please.

Mrs. Wooster, are you all right?

Oh, my God.

Yeah, yeah.

We need a doctor and an ambulance fast.

Mrs. Wooster?

She’s in surgery.

For what?

I don’t know, doctor. I wasn’t told.

Mr. Wooster.

We did everything we could.

I’m afraid Mrs. Wooster has died.

There was massive internal hemorrhaging.

Oh, my God.

Apparently the result of a stomach ulcer.

Of course, there’ll be an autopsy.

An ulcer?

But she didn’t show the symptoms.

What indications did she display, doctor?

Mild gastric irritation, no severe pain,

common stress related dyspepsia.

Then I assume you ran a GI series.

Well, I told her to come in next week.

If he had done it,
would he have anticipated this?

It would probably have revealed

the presence of stomach lesions
in the early stages, yes.

Wait a minute.

Harriet Wooster
was my patient for 20 years.

I treated her for what I saw.

What my knowledge of her
told me she was suffering from

and that was certainly not
a bleeding ulcer.

You know what it sounds like
I’m hearing from you?

A lot of damned excuses.

Well, I suppose the tests
might have shown something,

but until recently,
there was absolutely nothing

to indicate for any tests at all.

It was simple garden-variety
chronic indigestion.

Which I’m sure you know,
we now regard as a far more

significant indicator of future problems.

Oh, right, right.

Whether you know the person
inside the patient or not,

just prescribe a pricy computer printout.

[Jessica] Oh, please, stop both of you.

You’re not going to settle anything here,
whatever the reason.

The fact is, a dear friend is dead.

We, uh, the entire staff
did everything we could.

We gave her a couple of transfusions.

We thought we had it under control.

But we lost her.

Allan.

I’m sorry.

Excuse me.

That old hag blew it, didn’t he?

Oh, Doug, please.

No. He killed my sister, right?

I’m right about that, right?

Well, yeah.

I’m sorry to say,
it looks as if Dr. Hazlitt

was treating her for the wrong problem.

As long as he’s still practicing medicine,

he’s nothing but a public menace.

Mr. Wooster.

Forgive me for startling you.

I’m very sorry to hear about your wife.

I--I never had the pleasure
of meeting her,

but we shared certain interests.

And now-- now you and I share them.

What are you talking about?

Who are you?

Jut someone
with a piece of friendly advice.

If you say no to Mr. Halsey’s offer
to buy your company,

certain people will be deeply offended.

And these people are unpredictable.

You understand me?

Good.

I just need a little information
to complete my report.

Like what was that term you used
to describe Mrs. Wooster’s condition?

You know, when we brought her
into the emergency room,

something about her extremities.

They were cyanotic.

Yeah, that’s it. [coughing]

Excuse me.

What exactly does that mean?

It usually indicates
inadequate oxygenation of the blood.

How long have you had that cough, sheriff?

I don’t know, about four or five weeks.

So that’s the reason
her fingers were kind of blue?

Yes.

Open your mouth, please.

But I--

Yeah.

Just as I thought.

There’s a lot of inflammation down there.

You’re allergic to any medications?

Not that I know of.

Anyway you also said
something about her eyes.

Sheriff, I think the person you ought
to talk to is the coroner.

And take two of these a day,

it’s gonna knock out
that cough in a hurry.

No I don’t--

Thanks.

[Allan] Doesn’t seem real.

I can’t believe she’s gone.

That makes two of us.

You know, growing up,
she always seemed so solid,

so indestructible.

Are you gonna be all right?

Listen, I really appreciate your taking
care of all the arrangements.

I don’t think I could’ve
managed that myself.

No problem.

Oh, I spoke to Halsey.

I’m gonna be meeting with him
tomorrow after the services.

What are you talking about?

I gave him an ultimatum.

Ten million or we kill the deal.

Doug?

Don’t worry.

He’ll find the money somewhere.

I can’t believe you’re talking about money
at a time like this.

Look, it’s not easy for me either, okay?

But somebody’s got to take care
of the things that need to be finished.

Then take care of it my way,
the way Harriet wanted it.

Accept the man’s offer
and get it over with.

What, and let you throw away an extra
three or four million dollars?

Without Harriet, the company isn’t worth
what he’s offering now.

Well, I happen to know
how bad Halsey needs the deal.

Sure it isn’t you who needs it?

All right, Allan,
come on, that’s not fair.

Doug has always put your interests
ahead of his.

Yours and his sister’s.

Let’s not forget where the seed money

for this little venture came from, huh?

Who wrote the check
that got this whole thing started?

You won’t do too badly, will you?

Twenty per cent of $7.5 million
on a $15,000 investment?

Not before Harriet’s even buried,

you’re running around trying
to fatten up your share?

You bastard,

you know, all the time
when she is working on this,

you never gave her an ounce of support.

Okay, okay. Stop, Doug, stop it.

Allan, he really is doing this for you.

He’s a negotiator.

He knows business.

At least think about taking his advice.

Oh, hi.

Have you seen Dr. Hazlitt?

I just saw him up at the front, doctor.

Great. Thanks a lot.

Dr. Hazlitt.

You have a minute?

Dr. Beckwith.

I know we have our differences,

but I wanted to offer my condolences.

I know you were close to the deceased.

Amazing how you can start out to be

sentimental and end up clinical
all in the same breath.

Her name was not the deceased.

She was Harriet Wooster.

She had a mole on her left shoulder blade.

And an appendectomy when she was 14.

She used to drive to Boston every fall

to see the Celtics play the Lakers.

I believe there was
some sort of a side bet.

But I never asked
and she never volunteered.

I’m sorry.

Are you?

Good. That’s a start.

Dr. Hazlitt, I really wish
you would cut me some slack.

You have your way of doctoring
and I have mine.

There’s no reason why both can’t coexist.

I’m afraid there is.

A little something called the Hippocratic
Oath, perhaps you remember it.

"I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life

to the service of humanity.

I will give my teachers the respect
and gratitude which are they due.

I will practice my profession
with conscience and dignity.

The health of my client
will be my first consideration."

I know the oath, doctor.

I think you know it here, all right.

But I’m not at all sure
that you know it here.

That’s not fair and it’s not true.

Look, I know you’re angry.

I know you’re upset.

You have every right to be.

Death is worse when it comes to someone
we care about.

But don’t take your anger out on me.

I don’t deserve it.

And I don’t need it.

And we have to find some way to work
together in the same world.

Dr. Beckwith, I’m afraid that you and I

will never work together
in the same anything.

And I for one would
like to keep it that way.

[sheriff coughing]

The autopsy?

I haven’t heard.

Anyway we already know what she died from.

Do we?

You’ve got that look on your face again.

Why do I have that feeling
that you’re gonna tell me something

I really don’t want to hear?

Well, it isn’t anything that I can really
put my finger on, sheriff.

But if Seth is to be believed,

Harriet’s ulcer does seem to have taken

an awfully abrupt turn for the worse.

Oh, come on, Mrs. F.

I know how you feel about Doc Hazlitt.

And I could certainly understand

why he would want to believe something
unusual happened.

I mean, not that I have any doubts
about him or anything.

Hi there, Mrs. Fletcher.

Hello, Andy.

Here you go, sheriff. Here’s that
prescription from Dr. Beckwith.

Thanks.

Hi.

Hello, Dr. Beckwith.

You know, I didn’t get a chance

to say this over at the medical center,

but I’m really sorry about the dec--

About your friend, Mrs. Wooster.

Thank you.

Look, I know that you and Dr. Hazlitt
go back a long ways

and well, I just hope you don’t regard me
as the enemy.

Oh, of course not.

I know he’s convinced I’m part computer

and part textbook, but what it is,

is I just want to make
as many people well as I can.

It’s not about money.

I do what I believe, is good science,
good medicine.

It’s the way I was taught.

Well, Seth is going through something

that would tear anyone apart.

You’re not to blame
for his suffering, doctor.

And I think he knows that.

In a way, he reminds me of my father,

always blustering and snapping.

But Dad always felt deeply about things.

He just didn’t like to show 'em,
kind of kept bottled up.

As if an honest emotion ever got out,

it might contaminate someone.

Listen to me, I’m sorry, I’m rambling.

No, no, no.

I’m glad that we had a chance to talk,

and that I have
the opportunity to tell you

how really very delighted I am

that you’ve decided to practice here.

Well, I better go practice.

Is she a beauty or what?

Look at this Jameson heavy duty,
model number 28.

Seth, that’s not the one you showed me
in the catalog that cost $395.

Hey, yeah.

The sine qua non of fly reels.

But aren’t you always bragging to me

that you never pay more than $25

for a piece of fishing equipment

because the trout
can’t tell the difference?

Well, maybe I’ve decided to

be a little good to myself
for a change, huh?

Take a little more time off.

Catch up on some things
I ought to be doing.

Seth.

Who knows?

I might even decide to retire.

Move over before I fall over.

Make room for the new.

Seth, will you please stop?

Now look, there is not a shred of evidence

that anything you did or didn’t do

actually caused Harriet’s death.

Who said this conversation
had anything to do with Harriet?

I did because I know how your mind works.

[telephone ringing]

Pardon me, woman.

But you happen to be mistaken.

I’m doing exactly as you said.

I am dealing in reality.

Hello?

Yes, he’s right here.

Dr. Hazlitt.

Yes.

Well, thank you.

I appreciate the call.

That was the county coroner.

He just completed his autopsy
on Harriet Wooster,

turns out the actual cause of death

was the transfusion.

She was given the wrong type of blood.

By mistake, AB instead of her own type,
O-negative.

Oh, how awful.

But it does prove
that you aren’t to blame.

You're wrong.

If I had been treating Harriet
for what she really had,

a severe stomach ulcer causing hemorrhage,

she wouldn’t have needed that transfusion.

She’d still be alive.

Mrs. Fletcher, since I’ve been suspended,

I’ll be spending all my time in Bangor.

I told you, I’ve got nothing to say.

Look, I’m really trying not to fix blame
or point fingers.

Mrs. Fletcher, don’t try
and do a number on me.

I might not live in Cabot Cove,

but I’ve worked
with Dr. Hazlitt for years,

so I know how tight the two of you are.

Which means you’ll do damn near anything
to get him off the hook,

including if necessary,
shifting more of the blame onto me.

Oh, no, Laura. That’s not--

No. I said goodbye, Mrs. Fletcher.

Well, not before you hear me out.

Look, I’m here because a good and kind man

has been severely damaged.

And if it’s at all possible,
I want to help him,

but not at your expense

unless that would also be
to expense of the truth.

I simply want to get
as much information as I can

to cut through the rumors
and the innuendo,

so that we can really find out
what happened to Harriet Wooster.

Believe me, so would I.

Before they suspended me,
I went back over the records.

It turns out I was the one
who was on duty four weeks ago

and then ten days ago when Mrs. Wooster
donated blood.

See, it’s common policy.

A lot of people
donate blood for themselves

and we hang on to it until they need it.

And when Harriet needed the transfusion,

who delivered the blood to the OR?

I did.

The same two pints I took from her.

See I handled all the labeling,
all the testing.

I just don’t understand it.

And you have no idea

how those labels could’ve gotten mixed up?

Oh, believe me, Mrs. Fletcher.

I have retraced my steps a dozen times.

I couldn’t even find a vapor trail.

-Would you like some coffee?
-No, no, thank you.

We were running our annual blood drive.

Most of the time
I was the only one on duty.

All I know is it happened,
because of something I did,

some mix up.

And now, it’s cost me my job,

it’s going to cost the center millions
of dollars in lawsuits

and worst of all,

it’s already cost
that poor woman her life.

I’ll take that one. It looks good.

Thank you.

Hello, John.

What are you doing here?

Oh, I just--

Just came to extend my congratulations.

Deal isn’t closed yet.

No, I’m talking about the recently
deceased, Harriet Wooster.

Wait a minute.

You’re not suggesting that I had something
to do with her death.

Look, she was a problem
and the problem disappeared.

You’re becoming more efficient.

Oh, I see. This is terrific.

You could just show up one day
and start accusing me

of something you probably did yourself.

I mean, it wouldn’t the first time.

As long as we’re on the subject
of efficiency.

I’ve got a plane to catch.

Now I spoke with the grieving husband.

I think he’s a man we can work with.

So close the deal.

Oh, and without Harriet Wooster,

this company’s assets
aren’t quite so juicy.

So I’m not going to authorize
one cent over four million.

You can’t do that to me.
You can’t tie my hands like that.

Just wrap it up, John.

All right?

If a problem comes up,
deal with it, efficiently.

[Jessica] I’d like a number
in Bangor, please.

Laura Garrison.

I don’t have an address.

Thank you.

[telephone ringing]

Hello?

[Jessica] Yeah, Miss Garrison,
this is Jessica Fletcher.

I have a question.

Did you actually see
Harriet Wooster’s face

when she was brought in to
the medical center emergency room?

No, I wasn’t in the emergency room.

I didn’t see Mrs. Wooster until
I took her blood into the OR and--

Oh, no, no, wait a minute.

No. I never did see her face.

It was obscured by an oxygen mask.

I wonder, could you describe her to me?

What she looked like the day she came in
to give blood?

Well, no, not really.

You’re positive?

Try to remember.

Mrs. Fletcher, it was the middle
of our blood drive.

I’m good at remembering faces
if I see them again, but--

No, there were so many people going
in and out.

It was all a blur.

Yes.

Well, thank you.

Look, what I’m trying to do is
just get a little whiff

of what’s going on inside of this guy

Halsey’s head, okay?

Mm-hmm.

How far he’s willing to go so I can gauge

how far I should turn to heat up.

And what’s the matter
with just asking him?

Gretchen, are you serious?

He’s not gonna tell me a damn thing.

You see, with Harriet out of the picture,

now it might be all new ball game.

Are you saying
that you want me to find out?

Well, you do always get me
to tell you anything you want.

My God.

Are you saying that you want me

to do the same thing with John Halsey?

Maybe a little variation on the theme.

Prelude, maybe.

I don’t believe this.

We’re the next thing to married, Doug,

and you’re asking me to crawl
into the sack with some guy

that you’re doing business with?

Well, I’m not saying
you have to go the distance,

but what I am saying, sweetheart,

is that when you talk to the man,

just picture 20%
of seven and a half million dollars.

[sheriff] Am I allowed to ask
where this is going?

[Jessica] A drug store in Bangor.

Laura Garrison’s there waiting for it.

I don’t get it.

What does she need
with a picture of Ms. Wooster?

Forget it, sheriff.

You’re not going to get anymore
of an answer than I did.

You do know something, don’t you Mrs. F?

Oh, come on, give.

There was nothing in that autopsy
except the blood mix up.

Well, as far as the autopsy went, yes.

Well, so what are we talking about?

Well, sheriff, if I was to tell you now,

you’d probably say it was too far fetched.

Say, I just realize your cough is getting
a lot better.

Yeah, it-- it is.

At least I can do something right.

[telephone ringing]

Sheriff’s station. Metzger.

Uh, yeah. She is.

Just a minute.

Hello, Laura?

Are you certain?

Thank you.

Well, gentlemen, I was right.

Harriet Wooster’s death had absolutely
nothing to do with negligence.

She was murdered.

Now wait.

We fax the blood bank nurse
this picture of Ms. Wooster.

The same nurse who took two pints of blood
from Ms. Wooster.

And now the nurse says she never laid eyes
on Ms. Wooster before?

Jess, that’s not possible.

It is if the Harriet Wooster
who gave blood

wasn’t the same Harriet Wooster
as the photograph.

You mean that someone other than Harriet,

with a blood type fatally incompatible

with Harriet’s,
donated blood in Harriet’s name?

I think that’s exactly what happened.

Well, that would mean
the donor was setting up

Ms. Wooster in advance for murder?

But how would anyone know
when Harriet’s ulcer

was going to start hemorrhaging?

Well, that’s the part that I can’t answer,

but maybe a doctor would be able
to give us an explanation.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet
that two doctors

would be able to do it even better.

Two doc-- oh, no, Jess.

You can forget that, not this fella.

No.

[Jessica] Now look.

Look, the reason you’re both here

is far larger than
any philosophical differences.

And if you don’t put it all behind you,

a murderer may escape.

All right, now.

If your plan was to set
Harriet Wooster up,

so that she’d acquire the symptoms
of a bleeding ulcer,

and start hemorrhaging, so that she’d need
a blood transfusion,

how would you make that happen?

[both] Poison.

Yes, I thought that was a possibility.

Yeah, but I was there when she died.

I didn’t see any obvious indications
of poison.

And the autopsy certainly didn’t show any?

Well, of course, you gentlemen
would know more about all this,

but in researching poisons
for one of my books,

I seem to remember that certain substances

don’t normally show up in a post mortem

unless the medical examiner
is looking for them.

And even then they can be very difficult
to detect.

There are certain acids

that produce the symptoms
Harriet displayed.

Corrosives. Sure.

Particularly when administered
in gradual amounts.

And aren’t there some alkalis
that produce the same effect?

Antimony for one.

Yes.

Yes.

And steroids taken orally.

Yes, and isn’t it true that
if the dose is really small,

it might never show up in an autopsy?

Pathology 201,

poisons ingested
in less than lethal amounts

can sometimes be impossible to detect.

Which leaves us where, Jess?

And why?

Why would anyone want to kill
Harriet Wooster in the first place?

And who could have given the blood?

I think I may have part of the answer.

Dr. Beckwith, may I use your phone?

I have to call Bangor.

[Gretchen] I don’t know.

It’s just been building
for weeks and weeks

and then yesterday,
I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I guess Doug and I just see the world

through different colored filters.

It happens.

I’ve always felt relationships were made
to be broken.

I mean, best parts
are always the beginning.

Yeah.

So what now?

Now back to Boston, and writing ad copy,

and getting back into circulation.

What about you?

Do you think you can still
get this deal going with Doug?

It’s worth a shot.

I don’t know, he’s not exactly

in a negotiating mood these days.

What are you in the mood for?

Another drink, maybe.

Then what, we go back to my room?

You wiggle your hips a little

and I’m supposed to tell you everything
Doug sent you here to find out?

Maybe I should have played along

just to see how far you would have gone.

Pardon me, Miss Price.

Would you happen to know
where I’d find Doug Simmons?

No, no, I wouldn’t,

but I would be more than happy
to give him a message.

Well, all right.

Mr. Halsey, would you be offended
if I took Miss Price away

for a private talk?

Actually, it’d be my pleasure.

Well, I assume that Mr. Simmons has not
completed the sale.

No, he hasn’t. Why?

And I assume that your conversation
with Mr. Halsey

is in some sort of negotiating capacity
for Mr. Simmons?

Mrs. Fletcher, what’s the message?

Well, I just wanted to warn

Mr. Simmons about being very careful

about his dealings with Mr. Halsey.

You see, the autopsy of Harriet Wooster

has revealed traces
of hydro-benzo propene.

I’m not sure that I’m following you.

I...

well, there’s nothing conclusive yet.

But it’s a compound that’s been traced

to his manufacturing operation
near Boston.

Are you saying that
Mr. Halsey might have--

Well, it’s a highly toxic substance.

And the county medical examiner

is going to run another autopsy tomorrow

to see if it might have contributed
to Harriet’s death.

My God, that’s awful.

Well, please warn Mr. Simmons
to be very, very careful.

Mrs. Fletcher, thank you very, very much.

I will.

I really appreciate it.

What the hell are you doing here?

The autopsy.

They found traces of the poison.

What?

No, so far they think it was Halsey,

but by tomorrow they’re gonna know
for sure that it was murder.

No, they’re gonna find out
that it was my blood and then--

Allan, none of this
was supposed to happen for us.

Gretchen, stop.

Look, the poison, there is no way
they could’ve discovered it.

No, it turns out it’s the same stuff

that Halsey’s company uses in computers.

Computers? A herbicide?

Yeah, well, that’s what
Mrs. Fletcher said.

She said that it was hydro-benzo something

or other, I don’t know.

Yeah.

Damn it, Gretchen, she’s tricked you.

What?

There’s no way she can prove it.

You go back to Boston with Doug,

keep your mouth shut and we’re covered.

[Jessica] Not quite, Allan.

Gretchen, I was sure
that you had an accomplice

and I really didn’t think
that it was John Halsey.

But in my wildest dreams I’d never guess
that it was you, Allan.

So that’s how it happened.

When I asked Laura Garrison
to contact the Red Cross in Boston,

she was able to learn
that Gretchen’s blood type was AB.

The same type that killed Harriet Wooster.

So you just showed up
at the county blood bank

and told them you were Harriet Wooster?

The next time you donate blood,

see how many people ask
to see your verification.

As it happened, Miss Garrison didn’t know

Harriet anyway.

But how did you put that part of it
together?

Well, it was tea that I was drinking
this afternoon

in Dr. Beckwith’s office.

Then what, we’re doing tea leaves now?

No.

It was the plastic cup I used

that reminded me of something
I saw at the medical center

right after Harriet died.

I noticed that Gretchen
disappeared for a few minutes.

And when she came back, she brought tea
and coffee in paper cups

that were imprinted
with the blood bank logo.

Then yesterday
when I visited the blood bank,

I saw Nurse Garrison
take some of those same cups

from inside a cabinet.

I didn’t realize it at the time,

but for you to know
where to find those cups,

you have to very familiar
with our little medical center

which is rather remarkable for someone
who lives in Boston.

Well, it’s just beyond me.

You had to have been planning
this thing for months.

Almost a year.

And the herbicide, it was alkaline?

I gave her small doses,
couple of times a week.

Which induced chronic indigestion.

And then when her blood
was in place in the blood bank,

that’s when you zapped your wife
with a big one, right?

Enough to ulcerate the stomach lining,

bring on the hemorrhaging,

so that she’d need more blood.

All this, so that you and this woman
could be involved.

That and because I was sick and tired
of playing second banana

to that damn computer nonsense.

The day Harriet started
that business was the day

our marriage ended and then...

Doug introduced me to Gretchen
on one of my trips into Boston and...

it’s like the clouds parted.

I was being offered a new life.

Andy, get them out of here.

Well, sheriff, it’s nice to see

that Dr. Beckwith has provided you

with such a quick cure for your cough.

Well, it was sort of an accident.

Although, I have to admit,

I was getting pretty tired of coughing.

Wonder how long it’s gonna be

before you’re tired of that rash?

Do you remember a couple of years ago,

when we decided to try
one of these miracle cures

and it turned out that you were allergic?

Well, that’s why
I didn’t prescribe it this time.

Oh, boy.

Sheriff, I distinctly remember asking you

if you had an allergy to any medication.

On the other hand, I suppose I should have

double-checked with Dr. Hazlitt.

I’m coming to the conclusion
there is a great deal

I can learn from you, doctor.

I’m hoping we can work together
more closely in the future,

if that’s okay with you.

Well, I’d like that a lot.

Matter of fact, there might be
one or two new wrinkles

you could fill me in on.

Well, now that we have
ironed that one out,

gentlemen, do you suppose you could
put your heads together

and save Sheriff Metzger from his misery?

Absolutely.

And Dr. Beckwith
and I can take that under advice

but in the meantime,
as far as I’m concerned, he can suffer.

Doc!