09x02 - The Trouble with Peter

[bunniefuu]

Peter Hollister. That's great, it's just my luck.

A state senator, couldn't find me an unknown stiff, could I?

What's this about the kids visiting Richard?

[Laura] I received a letter from him.

He wants to see the boys, so I agreed to it.

Oh, maybe I shouldn't say this,

but after he had that argument with Abby Ewing,

he was nowhere to be found.

Gary suspects something.

I thought you said you didn't say anything to him.

I didn't say anything, but he suspects something.

Is there anything else, anything else she shouldn't know about?

Why are you asking me, Gary?

Did you k*ll Peter Hollister?

[theme music playing]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[suspenseful music]

Okay, that's all I can do here.

Right.

What k*lled him?

Give me a break.

He's been there six weeks.

Let me get back to the lab, and do the autopsy.

You'll let me know, right?

Don't I always?

[camera shutter clicking]

[instrumental music]

Let's see what you got.

Who is it?

I don't know.

They couldn't tell.

Peter Hollister.

Oh, my God.

Now, that's great, that's just my luck, a state senator.

That means the news media all over my back.

Couldn't find me an unknown stiff, could I?

[camera shutter clicking]

[police radio chatter]

She k*lled him.

What?

What'd you say?

Uh, nothing.

You said, "She k*lled him."

-Why would you say that? -I don't know why.

I-It was stupid. I don't know where it came from.

-I-I got to go. -Wait a minute.

Do you think we should close Lotus Point for a few days

Until this mess is over?

Yeah, sure. Whatever.

[hyperventilating]

[engine starts]

[knocking on door]

-Gary's here to see you. -Thanks, Peggy.

[door clicks closed]

-Hi. -[Gary] Hi.

What?

It's Peter, isn't it?

Yeah.

He's dead, right?

[sighs] I'm sorry.

Was he, um, k*lled, m*rder*d?

-[Jill clears throat] -Yes.

-How? -I don't know.

Uh, when?

[Gary] Today.

He was k*lled today?

No, they found him today, he was k*lled several weeks ago.

-Where? -Out at Lotus Point.

They k*lled him at Lotus Point?

No, that's where they found him.

-Jill, honey. -Mm, I-I'll be right back.

[door clicks closed]

[instrumental music]

-[sighs] -[horn honking]

-[Abby] Hi, honey. -Hi.

-How was your day? -Fine.

-Mom, what's wrong? -[sighs] Let's go inside.

Well, what is it?

Tell me.

They found Peter's body this morning.

Oh, no. What are we going to do?

You said they would not find him, you said they would not know.

I don't want to get you in trouble because of me.

Don't worry, Olivia, it's going to be alright.

Just listen to me, listen to me, alright?

All you have to do right now is control yourself.

If you hold on, everything's going to be all right, alright?

Just hold on.

[Jill] You know, I'm not really surprised.

[sighs] I mean, he brought it on himself.

Come on, don't blame the victim.

Don't lecture me.

Of course, I don't blame him for his m*rder.

But I do blame him for his life.

For what he'd become.

For his being so selfish. For his forgetting about people.

For his forgetting about me.

So why should I be surprised...

that he left me all alone?

Well, you're not all alone.

[knocking on door]

Hi. Gary.

I didn't mean to interrupt.

No, you're not.

So you know.

Yeah, Gary just told me.

How did it happen?

Stab wound in the back.

When?

The coroner guesses that he's been dead about six weeks.

Concrete was poured six weeks ago, right?

What concrete?

Somebody dumped the body into preset concrete, uh, forms,

and they poured the concrete on top of him.

If the contractor hadn't done such a lousy job,

they would never have found him, ugly stuff.

So, the governor's asked us

to follow the investigation for him.

Um, it's a local jurisdiction, isn't it?

[Mack] Yeah, I realize that.

But he just wants us

to keep him informed of the progress of the thing.

Mack, she used to date the guy.

It's alright.

It's up to you. You want in, you want out?

You let me know.

Gary.

Mack.

I want in.

I want to help.

Fine. Fine.

Gary.

[door clicks closed]

[instrumental music]

Peter.

Where'd they find him?

In the children's park.

[Paige sighs]

Who did it? Who put him there?

Why the park?

Oh, my God. [sobbing]

I want you to go through all of Peter's personal papers,

especially the will.

Sit down, Tim.

Chivalry is not exactly one of his major, major traits.

Tell your mama we're busy.

Never too busy to admire a beautiful baby.

-She's getting big. -You're telling me.

Before you know it, she'll be walking, and getting into everything.

Greg, I don't think I can do what you want.

He was my brother, wasn't he?

Well, he's dead. What's the problem?

That has nothing to do with it.

What do you mean, nothing? I'm his only surviving relative.

Look, there was established procedure for this.

[Greg] Oh, forget established procedure.

Established procedures are for them, they're not for us.

My late brother owed Abby Ewing something.

I don't know what that something is, and I hate surprises.

All right, I understand that, but--

I especially want to find out...

if Abby is going to inherit anything from Peter.

Look, why don't you, uh, take this little lady here, huh?

Oh, siski. Aw, yeah.

Maybe you can convince your client that,

uh, grieving over a deceased family member

is not exactly an unnatural act, huh?

[sighs]

[Laura] See you later.

Your mama's a whip.

[baby crying]

[Tim] Now, look, when the will is submitted for probate--

I don't want to wait for probate.

I want to know what's going on when I go into that probate room.

Right? Don't be upset.

[cicadas chirping]

[somber music playing]

[Karen] And I decided we might as well take advantage of shutting down Lotus Point

to do some landscaping,

and acid-wash the pool.

But I just felt so awful

trying to do all those things, you know?

after a m*rder...

I felt obscene, almost.

Life goes on.

That's what feels obscene.

[sighs]

I feel bad for Paige, I wish she hadn't been involved with him.

I know it's a terrible thing to say,

but I'm glad they broke their engagement before...

If they hadn't...

If they hadn't, he'd be alive today.

What do you mean?

I mean, I think every event changes history,

changes your life.

I don't know.

I mean, maybe he'd have been making wedding plans with her,

instead of doing whatever he was doing when he got k*lled.

[instrumental music]

[Mack sighs]

-I hate this. -What?

Before all this gets cleared up,

a lot of innocent people are gonna be damaged.

-Count on this. -Yeah, I know.

Gary thinks...

What?

Gary thinks that Abby k*lled Peter.

-He does? -Well, he says he doesn't.

But he does.

I think he's wrong.

Well, yeah, I think he's wrong, too,

but, I mean, she's capable of a lot of things, Abby,

but m*rder isn't one of them.

Well, I think she's capable of it,

if Hollister was hurting Olivia.

I mean, you know,

hurting her in some terrible way, you know?

Well, even if she is capable of k*lling him,

I can't imagine Abby in her silk blouse and Italian pumps,

dragging the corpse out there, digging a hole.

Oh, God.

[sighs] Let's not talk about it anymore.

[music continues]

[Mack sighs]

Olivia!

Gotta get a move on. You're gonna be late for school.

[knocking on door]

Olivia?

Can I not go to school today?

Sure.

You don't have to go today.

Thank you.

You better get up, and get dressed, though, don't you think?

Okay.

Can I go to work with you today?

I'll hurry.

I don't think that that'd be a very good idea, honey.

I promise I won't get in the way.

I just want to be with you.

Can't I, please?

That detective is gonna be there today.

He's gonna be asking questions.

Do you think you can handle that?

Detective?

I can't, please, not so soon.

It's alright.

You just stay here, and you read a book,

or, um, watch TV.

Try to put Peter out of your mind, okay?

You call me if you need anything.

[sighs] Good girl.

[emotional music]

"Senator Hollister's dynamic influence

was already beginning to be felt throughout the state,

and I was very proud of his many achievements

accomplished in such a short space of time.

California has lost a dedicated public servant,

and I have lost a brother.

For me, this is a great personal tragedy."

Let's make that "The people of California have lost,"

and so forth, what do you think?

-Sounds good to me. -Fine.

Why don't you read that to them?

They'll bite, if they don't know him personally.

-Alright. I'll call you. -Alright.

[upbeat music on stereo]

[music stops]

[fast new wave playing]

[music stops]

[synth music playing]

[Gary] I didn't know the guy personally.

We were campaign opponents.

And we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things.

-Any bad blood? -How do you mean?

Well, I seem to remember, towards the end, it got quite, uh, vitriolic.

Hmm. I don't know if "vitriolic" is the right word.

What is the right word?

Uh, mean, personal, petty, cheap.

You know, the usual political garbage.

On election night, didn't you put mashed potatoes

in one of the pockets of his suit while he was still wearing it?

[laughing] Where'd you hear that?

I'm a detective.

Is that the normal stuff of political debate?

I don't know, sure felt better than normal concession speech.

I didn't like the guy very much.

Well, he was a state senator, so I certainly knew who he was.

But I didn't really know him. I mean, not personally.

My husband and I know Greg Sumner rather well.

And, uh, well, he was Greg's brother.

And for a while, he dated my husband's daughter.

Did Hollister come out here very often?

-To Lotus Point? -Mm-hmm.

Well, yes, he did.

-So you saw him quite often? -No, not often.

Um, now and then.

You know, "Hi, Karen, hi, Peter."

That was really the extent of it.

[Olivia sighs]

[sighs]

Yes, Peter and I were very close friends.

I think you could say that.

-How close? -Close.

At one point, we seriously discussed marriage.

Pretty close, I guess.

What'd your father say about that?

-My father? -Mack MacKenzie?

Well, I don't think that he even knew.

Peter and I decided against it

before we, well, you know, went public.

Why was that?

Why did we decide against the marriage?

Yeah.

Oh, I don't think either one of us was really ready.

Marriage is very serious.

Was the parting friendly?

Oh, absolutely.

Anyway, I wouldn't really call it a parting.

In fact, that last day,

Well, the last time that I saw him...

later that day, I was looking for him

to tell him that even though we'd called it off,

I hoped that we could, you know, keep seeing each other.

And what was his reaction to that?

I never found him.

After he...

Well, maybe I shouldn't say this,

but after he had that argument with Abby Ewing,

he was nowhere to be found.

[intriguing music]

[man] Well, I could hear them arguing.

-[Gilbert] Where was that? -In here.

You were in here?

No, they were, I was out in the hall,

but I could hear them through the door.

You could hear it clear out here,

even though the windows were closed.

What were they saying?

He said something about revenge,

and she told him to get out of her office.

And then I heard a dish break.

They were yelling about her daughter.

[woman 2] She told Senator Hollister to stay away from her daughter.

[Abby] I felt that Olivia was spending too much time

on Senator Hollister's anti-drug campaign.

She was neglecting her schoolwork,

she didn't have any friends or social life.

Do you have children?

Three.

How old are they?

The girls are 13 and 7.

Our son is right in the middle, he's 10.

Well, then you know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Can we get back to Hollister?

He was saying he didn't quite see things your way.

[sighs]

Well, the senator's anti-drug campaign

was important, politically, to his career. I understood that,

but I felt I had to do what was best for my daughter.

[Gilbert] Was that all you fought about?

[Abby] I wouldn't say we fought.

That's-that's too strong a word.

Senator Hollister and I

were both very strong personalities.

We didn't always agree on everything,

but I felt that our differences led us to creative solutions.

We never lost respect

for each other, we were friends,

so I felt that

that our little spat would blow over.

[sighs] I'm just very sorry that our last...

face-to-face encounter had to be a disagreement.

Very sorry.

[Gary] Olivia!

[soft instrumental music]

Hi.

Ooh, what's all this?

I'm so glad to see you.

[chuckles] Good, me too.

[instrumental music]

Olivia!

Olivia! Gary!

[suspenseful music]

[seagulls squawking]

[waves crashing]

[dramatic music]

Honey, um...

do you remember about six weeks ago, you came out to the ranch?

It was late at night.

Uh, yeah, I think I do.

You, uh, you seemed kind of scared.

Scared?

Yeah. Sit down, sit down.

What were you scared of?

Nothing.

I don't know.

I really don't remember.

Nothing, probably.

Honey, I'm not here to judge you, I'm here to help you.

[Abby] Olivia!

Honey, I was worried about you.

I'm fine, I went walking with Gary.

I came to the house, and you weren't there, I got worried.

-I-I thought something might have happened. -I'm fine, I'm fine.

You look a little flushed.

Maybe you ought to go back to the house.

She's fine, leave her alone.

I beg your pardon?

Can you two please don't fight. I'll go.

-I'll see you later. -I'll hold you to that.

-What's going on? -She's upset.

"Upset"?

Calling Olivia upset is like calling Hitler unpleasant.

Alright, she's distraught.

[sighs] I mean, after all, she...

she just found out that a man that she knew,

that she had a crush on is dead.

[sighs] m*rder*d.

I think she's doing extremely well, under the circumstances.

Are those the only circumstances that upset her?

Isn't that enough?

I mean, was there anything else?

Anything else she shouldn't know about?

-"Know about"? -About Peter's m*rder.

What are you asking me, Gary?

I'm asking if you k*lled Peter Hollister.

[scoffs]

Did you?

[chuckles]

Well, if I did, I'd just post a reward for myself.

Why would I want to k*ll him?

Because I was seeing him?

[laughing]

-Or Jill. -Ah.

Peter and Jill had a relationship before you came along.

Maybe she was sleeping with him during your campaign.

That'd be a good motive, wouldn't it?

I'm not the jealous type.

One stab wound to the back.

One blow, like a pro-hit.

And then they found his car at the airport.

And no trace of the body.

Almost no trace.

-Almost a perfect crime. -Only almost.

Score one for the good guys.

Oh, yeah? Who are they?

We are.

And this good guy hates being close to this thing.

What do you mean, "close"?

I don't like knowing so many of the people

that Garcia's interrogating.

It's Karen, my wife, Paige, my daughter.

Abby, my dear friend.

-Gary? -Gary.

Next, he's going to talk to Olivia.

And me?

[sighs]

If he finds out I went out with him?

He already knows.

I ought to call the governor, and tell him

to take me off this thing.

Why, Mack? You're just an observer.

[Mack] An uncomfortable observer.

And if it turns out... Alright.

[sighs] As long as we're just observers.

You agree with Gary?

-About what? -That Abby did Hollister in.

-Gary thinks that Abby-- -He didn't tell you that?

No.

Forget it, Jill, strike it from the record.

[sighs] He's wrong, anyway.

[cicadas chirping]

Tim, this stuff is useless.

You said you wanted everything.

I've got to apologize to you for my husband,

bringing you out here so late at night.

[Tim] Oh, it's no problem.

So, uh, where are you going on your vacation?

Oh, it's not really a vacation.

I'm, uh, taking the boys to see their father.

Where's the will?

I told you I couldn't do that, Greg.

I know what you told me, but I didn't think you meant it.

What boys? Who's father?

Jason and Daniel. To see Richard, I told you.

You may have told me, but I didn't hear you.

I need the will.

[Laura] Look, Greg, why don't you just give up?

I mean, he's not going to break the law for you.

-Did you draft it? -Someone else at the firm.

[Greg] Did you read it?

[Tim] Look, there are notes there

used in drawing up the will.

Summarize it for me.

Well, it seems Mrs. Ewing owns slightly more than half of your brother.

[chuckling] I thought that went out with the Civil w*r.

Abby was never a great believer in the 14th Amendment.

Goodnight, Tim.

My guess is after the probate,

Abby figures she's going to inherit a small fortune.

But don't bet your mortgage on it.

It'll be a cold day in hell before that woman sees a penny.

Hmm.

-Goodnight, Laura. -Goodnight.

[instrumental music]

Now, what's this about the kids visiting Richard?

I received a letter from him.

-[Greg] Summarize it. -He's remarried.

Spare me the details.

I really think he has cleaned up his act.

Yeah, and I'm Pope John.

He wants to see the boys, so I agreed to it.

Thanks for discussing it.

[instrumental music]

Here. Drink it.

Come on, drink it.

I'm not going to the service tomorrow.

Okay.

Did I tell you we posted a reward?

Who's "we"?

I'm "we" and Karen

and Abby, who didn't object.

-Did you expect her to? -Hmm? No.

You think Abby k*lled my brother.

What? Who told you that?

Mack.

[sighs] I am never expressing an opinion in front of those people again.

But it is your opinion.

Uh, it was an impulse, uh--

An insight?

A compulsively stupid thing to say, really stupid.

Really.

I don't want to go.

Then don't.

I have to.

Yeah, I know.

He was my brother.

And I hated what he became.

But he was my brother.

[Jill sighs]

One time when we were kids, I'd finished my homework.

And I was in the living room with my folks.

And we heard Peter come out of his room upstairs.

And my mother called up to him, and she said,

"Peter, I know you haven't finished your homework yet."

And I said...

"It's okay. He just needs a pencil."

And he came downstairs, and went in my dad's desk,

and got a pencil, and went upstairs to finish.

And my parents just looked at me.

But I just knew.

Because when we were young...

we were so close.

[Gary sighs]

[waves roaring]

[knocking on door]

Come in.

-I couldn't sleep. -Oh, Olivia.

Honey, you've got to stop worrying about this.

You're going to make yourself sick.

Gary suspects something.

I thought you said you didn't say anything to him.

Well, I didn't say anything...

-But he suspects something. -No, he doesn't.

Then why was he asking all those questions about that night?

He's concerned about you.

He knows you were upset that night.

But I talked to him.

I straightened everything out, so don't worry, okay?

Now, tomorrow at the memorial service, I want you to wear your--

I'm not going.

Olivia.

I don't want to go. Please.

All those people?

Are the police going to be there?

I don't know, they might be.

-No. -Olivia, listen to me.

We can't afford to do anything out of the ordinary now.

Not until this is over.

Now, you were Peter Hollister's youth advisor.

You worked with him, it's going to look very conspicuous

if you don't show up at the service.

Honey...

this is all going to pass, I promise you.

But you have to remember something,

and you have to keep remembering it.

Gary has no reason to suspect anything.

Honey, there's no evidence to connect us to Peter's death.

[police radio chatter]

[suspenseful music]

"To O.C. from P.H.

With love."

Now, who the hell is O.C.?

[suspenseful music]

[Val] Take that over there, and put it on the table, Betsy.

That's a good girl.

Here, down we go. Oh, Mommy's helper.

Over there on the table. Good girl.

Okay, perfect.

That's a girl, nice and neat.

And here's some fruit to make you pretty.

Okay, now, the bowls and the spoons.

Here we go, mommy's so proud of you.

You're such good helpers.

Alright, there's one for Bobby,

one for Betsy, one for mommy.

Daddy.

[melancholic music]

No. Not for Daddy.

I know you both miss daddy very, very much.

Mommy misses him, too.

But daddy's gone away somewhere very special,

and he can't come back right now.

But I know that he misses you both very, very much.

And he loves you.

And he always will.

[brakes squealing]

[handbrake ratcheting]

[Mack] Hey, Gary.

What took you so long?

You should never have said anything to Jill.

Karen should never have said anything to you, but as long as you both did,

convince me that Abby didn't do it.

Gary, I'm not even working on this case.

I'm just an observer for the governor.

[Gary] That's all I want, is an observation.

Look, you know that most murders are committed by people who knew the victim.

-Yeah? -Yeah, well, Abby was furious with him...

because of the way he was coming on to Olivia.

Wait a minute now. Flag on the play, just stop.

If people are gonna go and k*ll people

just for looking at their daughters, then I'm suspect, too.

Peter dated Paige. Did I like it?

I didn't like it one bit. But did I k*ll him?

I don't know, did you?

[Gary sighs]

Alright, so you don't think Abby did it, huh?

I think Abby doesn't k*ll, she gets even.

But if you want to pin something on Abby,

you're gonna have to have a much better motive, strong.

Look who's here.

[quick footsteps approaching]

Hi, Gary.

[Val] Say hi to Gary, see?

-Hi, Val. -[Betsy and Bobby] Hi.

[engine starts]

[tires screeching]

Okay, kids, come on. We're gonna go for the walk.

I can't say that I was intimately involved

in every aspect of my brother's affairs.

So you never heard that Mrs. Ewing's daughter was infatuated with him?

I knew that Olivia was working for Peter.

I didn't know that Olivia had a crush on him.

I did know that Olivia's mother

spent a lot of time sniffing around Peter's bedroom.

He slept with Mrs. Ewing?

You would think a state senator

would be more selective than that, wouldn't you?

Listen, we have a memorial service to get ready for.

Do you mind if I attend?

It'd be an honor.

Thank you.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

All in the interest of justice.

[Gilbert] I leave justice to the courts, Mr. Sumner.

I just try to catch the bad guys.

A worthy distinction and a worthy profession.

You know, you might want to come to the reading of the will.

It'd be interesting to see who's into Peter for what.

Thanks, I'll take you up on that.

-Ma'am. -Bye.

In the interest of justice,

or in the interest of making Abby Ewing look like a suspect?

Abby made herself look like a suspect.

The guy doesn't need me to point him in the direction of Abby.

But you did, just in case.

Just in case.

You don't really think Abby k*lled Peter, do you?

[Greg] Maybe not.

Probably not.

I really don't care.

But something good ought to come out of all of this.

And hanging Abby Ewing out to dry

might just make Peter's death seem worthwhile.

[Laura scoffs]

Did I say that?

I didn't say that.

What a disgusting thing for me to say.

You know, the boys and I are going to leave right after the memorial service.

-To visit Richard? -To visit Richard, yeah.

Why now?

Look, why not? It seems as good a time as any.

I really don't want them around during the news coverage of Peter's death.

And I'm really... I'm sorry about Peter.

-Don't choke on it, hon. -Mm.

Listen, the boys are big now.

Can't we just dump them on a plane

with a sign around their neck that says,

"Drop me off at the nearest Richard?"

No, no, you couldn't do that, could you?

[soft music]

Paige, um, you don't have to go.

You know, if... They'll understand.

Well, why are you going?

-Because-- -You didn't even like him.

Paige, it's a gesture.

Come on.

He was buried on my property.

And there might be people there that you should see, right?

-It's business. -[Karen] Paige.

Paige.

We're going, because our friends and his,

we're all part of the same community.

Well, if you ask me, that's a pretty dumb reason to go to a memorial service.

-Dumb? -Yeah, it's as if it were your duty.

"Duty" is not a bad word.

Oh, I see.

I don't have to go, but you two should.

I'm the only one who actually liked Peter.

That's why I'm going.

[Tim] There isn't going to be a casket.

The remains aren't ready yet.

Sorry, Greg, the autopsy wasn't completed in time.

Nobody'll miss him.

[instrumental music]

-Hi, Laura. -[Laura] Hi, guys.

Oh, look at the little angel.

Look at that red hair. My mother had red hair.

-Oh, yeah? -Yeah.

-She looks sleepy. -I'm going to put her to bed.

-Aw. -See you in a little bit.

-Okay. -Okay.

Um, look, I'll be in there in a minute, okay?

I... Just a minute.

Thanks.

[Olivia] What if they try to talk to me?

-Just be calm. -What if they try to ask questions?

-Honey, calm down. -I don't want to go in.

-Just let me stay in the car. -Olivia, come on, settle down.

-[sighs] Mommy. -Please, Olivia.

-No, please don't make me do it! -Olivia, come on now.

-Control yourself, honey, just-- -But what--

[Olivia] Who is that man?

-He's a policeman. -It's just Detective Garcia.

[eerie music]

-Olivia. -I can't go out there with a police detective around.

Honey, please.

-I can't. -He's not going to do anything to you.

-Remember what I told you. -I can't, Mommy!

Olivia, come on--

Abby, I know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work.

-What? -Abby, the guy is dead.

She's going to have to take responsibility for it.

What are you talking about?

-Abby, I know. -You know what?

I know you can't go on protecting her forever.

-Gary. -And I know Olivia k*lled Peter.

[slap]

[Gary panting]

[engine starts]

[dramatic music]

-Next on Knots Landing... -I don't want you to speak to Olivia.

I don't want you to phone her,

I don't want you to knock on that door,

if you could, for one minute, think that Olivia could be a k*ller...

All of a sudden, you're judge and jury.

What are you complaining about, anyway?

After all, it was you who said that you thought Abby k*lled Peter.

Olivia was upset, because she had just found out

that the man that she had a crush on

had been having an affair with her mother.

-How'd she find that out? -I don't know.

[Gilbert] You have the right to remain silent.

-If you give up this right-- -[door clicks open]

-[Olivia] Mom, please. -Stop it.

Leave her alone.

[theme music playing]