Matlock

No! I'm not gonna go!

I hate seafood! It's gross!

I wanna have hamburgers.

Jason Michael Terwilliger,

you have five seconds.

One, two...

Yes. My name is Ellen Barrett.

I'm calling from Room 227 of the Sea View Motel.

I think I killed someone.

Uh-huh. Yes, I'll be here.

Ellen Barrett.

That's two R's and two T's?

Yes. I'm from Atlanta.

I'm a journalist. I write a newspaper column.

And he is?

Was?

He said his name was Adam Easley.

He worked for Vic Baron.

Vic Baron as in the mobster?

Easley called me about a week ago

and said that he heard that I was doing a story about his boss.

And that he and Baron had had a falling out,

and he'd be more than happy to rat on his boss.

I thought he was on the level so I agreed to meet him.

And then when I got here...

What happened, Miss Barrett?

Well, it was a setup.

I'd no sooner shut the door

but he grabbed me and he told me that Baron wanted me

to drop the story or else.

And then he started to throw me around the room and he hit me,

until finally I...

Maybe we should do this someplace else.

- Feeling better? - Yeah.

- Okay. Do you mind if I turn this on? - Go ahead.

Now, in as much detail as you can remember,

tell me exactly what happened in that motel room tonight.

Well, after I told Easley that I wasn't about to drop the story,

and that he and Vic Baron could pretty much shove it,

he grabbed me by the hair and he threw me across the room.

I hit a chair on the way down, and I knocked it over.

And then I got up pretty fast,

and I grabbed for the phone to try to call for some help,

and he yanked the receiver out of my hand and he hit me with it.

Hard.

Then what happened?

Well, then I scratched his face.

And I tried to run for the door, but he pulled me back,

and he grabbed my blouse and he started to slap me.

I thought he was gonna kill me,

so that's when I saw the knife, and...

It was sitting on a tray with a bunch of dirty dishes.

And I grabbed the knife and I stabbed him.

How many times?

I have no idea.

According to measurements taken by the coroner at the scene,

Mr. Easley was about 6 feet tall.

How tall are you, Miss Barrett?

I'm 5'3".

Ben?

You here?

Ben?

Go away.

You are here. Why didn't you answer the door?

What are you reading?

Innocent Till Proven Dead.

I read that. Yeah, it's pretty good.

Especially when you find out who the murderer is.

I figured it was the DA.

I mean, who would have ever thought it'd turn out to be the guy's own wife?

- Whoops. - Billy, you just ruined it for me.

Well, heck, I didn't mean to.

Leanne sent this to me all the way from Los Angeles.

I'm sorry.

How's she doing anyway?

Well, pretty good. Job seems to be working out.

- She gonna stay? - I imagine.

She met a fella.

Oh.

She didn't take your spark plug wrench with her, did she?

- Spark plug wrench? - Yeah, I need it.

That's why I came over. Truck conked out on me again.

Did you ever consider getting your own spark plug wrench?

Why?

We got yours.

- You know you got a message? - Yeah, I'll get it later on.

Don't you wanna know who it's from?

Ben, this is Ellen Barrett.

I'm in Wilmington, North Carolina, at 910-555-7000.

Please call me as soon as you get this message.

It's very important. Thanks.

Save that.

Who's Ellen Barrett?

A woman.

- A woman? - Yeah.

I used to know her. She was a reporter.

Covered the courthouse for the Atlanta Herald.

Did you...?

No.

She was married.

She has her own syndicated column, Pulitzer Prize winner,

and I just knew her.

Think you might be going to Wilmington?

I don't know.

I got business there myself.

My truck's on the fritz. I might go along with you.

Business...?

Eh...

It just so happens that someone's interested

in buying the house that Lucy left me.

Someone by the name

- of Clarence Litton. - Clarence Litton?

Clarence Litton, the billionaire with all the hotels.

What's Clarence Litton want with that dump of yours?

I'll thank you not to call it a dump.

The roof's bad, the wiring's shot,

you need new plumbing, it's termite-infested.

I've seen roaches.

- You have not. - It's a dump.

It's a prime piece of beachfront property

- that's gonna make me filthy rich. - It's a dump.

Flight 584 to Charlotte

now boarding at Gate 5.

Mom.

Carrie.

Carrie, what are you doing here?

Dad and I are staying at the beach house.

- Kind of a graduation present. - Aw.

Your hair looks pretty that way. I like it.

You look awful.

Oh, I didn't sleep, that's all.

How did you know I was here?

Well, Dad called your office after he heard what happened.

Well, everything is okay.

Then why is Ben Matlock coming?

To make sure that everything stays okay.

So just tell your father that...

Tell him everything is okay.

Why won't you let him help you?

Oh, Carrie, your father and I are like oil and water. We don't exactly mix.

- He still cares about you. - Carrie, don't involve yourself in this.

Tell him not to worry. I can handle it.

Come on. Now, as long as you're here, you can meet Ben.

Carrie!

Carrie!

Oh, Ellen.

- Oh, Ben. - Hi.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you.

- It's been a long time. - Only about seven years.

Yeah. Long enough for you to have acquired an entourage, I see.

Oh, no, no, we're just traveling together.

This is Cliff Lewis.

An honor to meet you. I read your column all the time.

And his father, Billy Lewis.

Hello. - Hello.

- Are you vacationing? - Business.

I'm in real estate.

In fact, I'm in the process of hammering out a deal

with Clarence Litton.

- Really? - Yeah, Clarence contacted me

through the U.S. mail.

- He said, "Dear Mr. Lewis..." - You don't wanna hear this.

Dad, Dad, Dad.

Just because you're selling one lousy house,

does not give you the right to tell people that you're in real estate.

- Does too. - Does not.

Does too.

It's not a lousy house.

Hi. Peter Haskins.

- Come in. - Oh, thanks.

Have a seat.

Where?

Oh, sorry.

You are Peter Haskins, the deputy DA?

That's me.

You want me to just hold that for you?

No. That's okay.

Okay.

You're here to discuss

- the Ellen Barrett case. - That's right.

Barrett, Barrett...

Barrett...

Well, why haven't you closed her case out?

Well, there are a couple of inconsistencies

in the statement she gave the police.

Inconsistencies?

Yes.

Yes. Uh...

Ones that tend to call into question her claim

that she acted in self-defense.

I can give you specifics just as soon as I find her file.

Is this it?

Ahem. Okay.

For instance, Adam Easley, the fellow she killed,

she says he said he worked for Vic Baron.

But so far, we haven't been able to find any kind of connection

between this Easley and Baron at all.

Well, if I were Vic Baron

and was gonna have somebody roughed up,

I'd be sure whoever I sent to do it couldn't be traced back to me.