10x07 - The Briar Patch

[bunniefuu]

-Maybe we should talk. -Maybe we should.

My idea of a great breakfast table conversation

your one-night stand.

What do you wanna start with, the graphic details?

She says that she spent the night with you.

The first night that she met you.

-Is that true? -She's lying.

Would you rather hold on on this place

until we go broke and let our creditors sell it?

I'd rather turn it around.

We're not gonna get 50 cents on the dollar

and I'm tired of having to point out the obvious.

I mean, I gotta get rid of it before they declare bankruptcy.

[sniffs] It smells like a bargain to me.

[theme music]

[birds chirping]

[sighs]

-Are you hungry? -What do you think?

I think you're not hungry.

Look.

Maybe we should talk.

Oh, right.

Yeah. Good. Let's talk. Let's work this out.

I mean, all you did was sleep with some jerk off the street.

But hey, you know, value judgment here.

I mean, maybe it wasn't off the street.

Let's say I met him in church. He sings in the choir.

He teaches catechism

and gives his salary to the poor.

He's the salt of the earth, okay?

Gary...

And after all, it was just a single indiscretion

which God knows, I, Gary Ewing, had been guilty of

on more than one occasion in my life.

But never, ever, did I sit down to breakfast

and say to my wife, or lover, or girlfriend

"Maybe we should talk." But heck. Maybe we should.

My idea of a great breakfast table conversation

your one-night stand.

What do you wanna start with, the graphic details?

Wow, whets my appetite? Pass the bacon.

[shouting] How about you? Let's talk.

[nervous breathing]

[suspense music]

[doorbell rings]

Morning news has arrived.

[sighs]

You told her?

What, did you thought her alibi had a hole in it?

Yeah, I told her.

-What did she say? -She said...

[sighs]

-Alibi's as good as ever. -What?

Better, in fact, if better is the right word.

That's not true, Gary. She's lying.

Whatever she says, she's lying. I know that now more than ever.

No, no matter what she says.

From this point on, I'm telling--

Val, shut up. Please.

[sighs]

I shouldn't feel as tired as I do.

It's too early in the morning.

It's too early in life.

What?

Jill spent that night with another man.

That night?

The night in question. The night you were attacked.

The night you overdosed on pills.

That night, the night.

-Have you met this man? -Of course not.

So you're taking her word for it?

Well, it seems highly unlikely to me

that she'd lie about having slept with someone.

-Why does it? Yes. -Why?

Well, because if she needed to lie

there are plenty of lies that are

a lot less incriminating than "I slept with someone."

I mean, that kind of thing could have quite an impact

on a relationship, don't you think?

This man that she claims she slept with.

Would you talk to him?

I gotta get to the office.

-Would you talk to him? -No.

She knew that you would say that.

She knew that you'd never want to talk to him.

Goodbye.

You believe what Jill says, not because it's true

but because you can't stand the thought of facing that man

and asking him if he went to bed with her.

Am I right?

But you can't disprove it if you don't talk to him.

Fine. Then I'll have to accept it.

Get the man's name and I'll talk to him, Gary.

Get his name.

I know how low our occupancy rate has been.

I know what our overhead is.

Then you know that we have to sell Lotus Point, Karen.

And still get credit. We can still find a lender.

We don't need a loan.

We need paying customers.

And I don't know how to get them to make reservations.

Do you?

She's getting cold feet too.

Nobody wants to sell, Karen.

-And we have to sell. -Gary...

Okay, would you rather hold on to this place until we go broke

and let our creditors sell it?

I'd rather turn it around.

We are never gonna turn around the kind of publicity we've had.

And if we go bankrupt

we're not going to get 50 cents on the dollar

and I'm tired of having to point out the obvious.

[sighs]

And I'm tired of everybody expecting me to be diplomatic.

Could we put a clause in the contract

stating that whoever buys this place

has to keep it like this?

[seagulls squawking]

Right.

You do have a desk here.

-Do you mind? -I'll let you know.

That could intimidate a guy.

Not you.

What can I say?

You'll think of something.

-Nice desk. -[laughs]

Looks kind of temporary. Sure it's not just a prop?

[Paige] It's too expensive to be just a prop.

-But you're worth it. -But I am worth it.

-Me too. -I'll bet.

I've been trying to make an impression on you.

Oh, why, Mr. Melcher. I had no idea.

I am wounded to the quick.

-Ted. -Paige.

You have made an impression.

Well, there is justice in the world.

But where were you about a year ago?

Before you met Greg Sumner?

Something like that.

I could just kick myself for not getting here soon.

Well, good. Then I won't have to.

I'm sure we both have work to do.

I know I do.

I have got my work cut out for me.

[crickets chirping]

-Hi. -Hi.

I'm sorry we fought.

What's...

What's new?

Market's up seven points or down.

I forget which we're selling Lotus Point.

And I told Val your story.

Is she off my case?

She wants to meet the guy.

-You too? -[scoffs]

-David. -Tell Val.

-David Lamb. -Don't tell me.

I don't wanna know. I don't give a damn.

Do you expect me to pick up the phone

and talk to Val?

Gary, you've got to tell her

because she's not going to believe me

until she talks to him.

[sighs] Where does he live?

-I don't know. -Where does he work?

I don't know. I didn't want to know.

I don't know anything about him. I'm sorry I even met him.

[dramatic music]

-Hi. -Hi.

-How was your day? -My day?

May I take this one?

[moans]

Oh, how did you know I needed that?

I imagine you spent the whole day

listening to Abby say, "I told you so. I told you so."

Actually, she's been very nice about the whole thing.

She extended her two million dollar loan

indefinitely, and...

Don't say it.

-What does she want? -What does she want?

Ooh.

[moans]

The feet.

You know, you didn't tell me you ordered these chairs.

You help me pick them out.

A year ago? Those chairs?

-Those very chairs. -Oh.

But they don't match anything. They don't match the walls.

We'll paint the walls.

-Let's send them back. -They're a custom order.

Well...

These chairs are metaphor and I can't think of what.

Life, maybe?

As in, nothing ever turns out the way you plan it.

You know, I think it's gonna take something doing

to get you to relax tonight.

-Goodnight. -Goodnight. Where you going?

-Goodnight. -Out.

-What are you gonna do? -Nothing. I'll see you later.

I hope so.

[laughs]

Out. "What you gonna do?" "Nothing."

Ooh.

Oh.

How'd you know I needed that?

What do you think?

Small, isn't it?

It's 11th-century Persian.

They were tiny back then, were they?

Philistine.

I thought you said it was Persian.

Why do I bother?

Enough verbal abuse. Come on. It's beautiful. I love it.

Tell me more.

Well, the Persians were known for their--

Not about the bowl.

Tell me more about the fire sale at Lotus Point.

Karen's really upset about having to sell

but, I mean, they've got to get rid of it

before they declare bankruptcy.

[sniffs] It smells like a bargain to me.

What would you do with it?

I don't know.

Racetrack, hunting preserve, polo grounds.

Mr. Macho.

Yeah. What would you do with it?

A tobacco farm, I suppose.

-Would I get a finder's fee? -[chuckles] Name your price.

[romantic music]

By the way, do I get to know

what this little bowl is gonna cost me?

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

It's not the bowl I can't afford.

It's the habit.

Your mother is gonna give me a job?

Yes.

[Harold] Why?

-Because I asked her, I guess. -I know that. But why, why?

I mean, I'm not exactly her favorite prospect

to be a son-in-law.

[Harold] Do you think this is a trick?

I don't know, Harold.

-You know, maybe she's changed. -Your mother?

Oh, she has been acting like a different person, really.

How soon after I own the property outright

can I start drilling?

Well, presuming there's no problems

with the Coastal Commission or the local jurisdictions

the permits might be pushed through

in a matter of months.

And how soon after that

could I be pumping oil to a refinery?

That's every wildcatter's guess.

But you're in no hurry.

You can afford to wait until the oil market recovers.

You make a lot more on your investment.

Or you could sell Lotus Point to an oil company.

Let them do the hard work.

Mr. Hawkins, I appreciate your confidence in this matter.

Mrs. Ewing.

I appreciate your appreciation of my confidence.

[instrumental music]

Lamb.

David Lamb.

Well, I-I'm trying to locate him.

I'm a friend of a friend.

I met him at the Computer Systems Convention

a few weeks ago.

Yes, yes, exactly.

I need an address or a phone number.

No, I understand that. I understand.

I just need to contact him.

Here's somebody offering

to take over management of Lotus Point

in exchange for 65% ownership.

Only sixty-five?

My favorite is this one with no earnest money

no down payment, no interest payments

for twelve months, and no payment on the principal

for seven years.

Seven years. That's terrific.

Why not eight? Why not ten? Why not twenty-seven?

Why, when you put something up for sale

do the flakes come out of the woodwork?

Here's one willing to trade us 400,000 shares of stock

in Hair Do's and Don'ts Incorporated.

[Karen] I'm afraid to ask.

"Hair Do's and Don'ts Incorporated is a video service

"specializing in showing clients

"how they look in various hairstyles

"before the clients commit to a decision.

"This is a proven method of avoiding the disappointment

of post-hairdresser trauma."

-[laughs] -You're making this up.

Don't I wish.

[laughs]

[crickets chirping]

Did she find him yet?

I expect we'll hear about it when she does.

I'm gonna take a shower.

[Gary] Yeah, look, we don't want to see any more offers

to trade this place for dairy farms

or theme parks for timeshares.

And we don't want any offers without earnest money

and down payments of less than 20%

and some strong evidence

that whoever wants to buy this place

has the money or can get the money

by legal means.

We need a new broker.

There was a new broker.

[Harold] That was a great meal, Mrs. Ewing.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Harold.

I hope it wasn't too much trouble.

Don't be silly.

I love working my fingers to the bone

slaving over a hot stove.

-She's kidding. -I know.

[telephone ringing] [boy] I'll get it.

Seriously, Mrs. Ewing, I'm grateful for the job

and you won't be sorry.

I know I won't, Harold.

Sure. Okay. Mom, it's Aunt Karen.

-Hello? -We've got a bid.

Oh. Good.

-It isn't a very good offer. -It's a viable offer.

It's not what we hope to get

but we have got to negotiate with the man.

-Who is Ken Peterson? -Does it matter?

-No. -Yes.

Look. We need to sell. He wants to buy.

It's only about 60% of what we wanted.

Yeah, and the next offer might be thirty percent.

Well, why don't we at least negotiate with the man?

I mean, we can make a counteroffer, can't we?

[telephone ringing]

Hello?

Yes, yes, it is.

Oh, thank you so much for calling back.

After all this time... Okay.

I'm trying to locate the friend of a friend.

His name is David Lamb

and he attended the Computer Systems Convention

at your company...

I know that.

Alright. Go ahead.

Okay. I understand.

Alright. Thank you. Thank you very much.

I feel like a criminal

meeting you like this, Mr. Peterson

but I have a conscience and I have to be able

to live with that conscience.

[water gurgling]

I'm presuming this is off the record?

Yes, and I'm presuming you know

that Lotus Point has had a serious pollution problem.

Which, according to your attorneys

was cleared by an EPA-certified procedure.

Of all accessible chemicals. Yes.

What?

If you'll recall, the report states

"certifies removal

of all accessible toxic pollutants."

You mean there's more out there?

All I'm saying, Mr. Peterson, is that...

Lawyers have to cover themselves

so they choose their words very carefully.

They didn't have to put in the word "accessible."

I just don't wanna take advantage of anyone.

Thank you.

When you fill out these time cards now

make sure that it's the last name first.

Last name first.

Yeah. Now here's your locker.

The last one on the end here, number two three oh.

Oh, here's the combination.

This is a pretty good place to work?

Well, it is now, but who knows

what the new owners are gonna be like.

[machines whirring]

...the blades, now I need those circular blades.

Otherwise, Bob can't be working on--

-Go ahead. It's okay. -Excuse me.

-I'm looking for David Lamb. -[shouting] What?

-[shouting] David Lamb. -Yeah. He's not here.

Did you have an appointment or something?

No, I didn't.

Well, he's not gonna be back for a couple hours.

You wanna leave your name or something?

No, I'd like to wait if that's alright.

-It's kind of an emergency. -Okay. Suit yourself.

But you can't stay out on the floor.

Inside. Inside.

-Okay. Wow. -Hey, hey. Bob. Bob. Bob.

Peterson withdrew his bid.

-Oh no. -Yes.

-Why? -He didn't say.

Anybody ever hear of a company called Murakame Holdings?

-Murakame... -What is it?

The business office just got a bid

from a company called Murakame Holdings

which is a Japanese investment firm

located in Hawaii, and the bid's a lot higher

than the Peterson offer.

-Thank God. -Well, that's great.

[woman on telephone] Greg Sumner on line one for Mrs. Ewing.

I'll take it in there.

-Hello. - o tell me, blondie.

What's it gonna take to buy this place?

Surely you're not asking for insider information, Greg.

Yeah, that's the only kind of information worth asking for.

-I'll send you a prospectus. -Only if the price is right.

Well listen, five minutes ago, I would have said

"Hey, you could probably steal Lotus Point from us"

but, a few minutes ago, we got a buyer

who I don't think you'll want to bid against.

-Why not? -Well, they're Japanese.

The Japanese feel differently about real estate than we do.

Well, that's understandable. They got so little of it.

Actually, you'd probably be doing us a favor

if you made a bid.

You drive their bit up, but I don't think

you'd ever outbid them.

Wouldn't it be fun to try?

Be my guest.

So?

She doesn't want me to bid.

And you take her advice?

Well, Abby's a changed woman, haven't you heard?

[machines whirring]

You wanted to see me?

-David Lamb? -The only one I know.

I'm a friend of a friend, Mr. Lamb.

Her name is Jill Bennett.

-Jill Bennett? -Uh-huh.

You met her at the Computer Convention

that was in San Francisco a few weeks ago.

-Did I? -Yeah, I think.

You're right. I did.

And you are?

Mrs. Gibson. Valene Gibson.

It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Gibson

but I can't keep these folks waiting.

No, please, wait. Just take a minute.

Alright. You got it.

Mr. Lamb...

David... Okay.

I'm in a very embarrassing position here.

I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to ask you

a very personal question.

-About what? -Jill Bennett.

Please don't be offended.

-Are you a lawyer? -No, no, no. Not at all. I'm...

Well, i-it's kind of hard to explain.

I'm... I'm like a friend of a friend.

Jill is a friend of yours, right?

I met her at the convention.

I've never seen her since.

Well, she claims it was much more than that.

She says... Now, please don't be upset.

She says that you were intimate with her.

Look, I don't know you from Adam and I don't want to know now.

Please, wait. Mr. Lamb, please.

[indistinct shouting]

-Please. Please. Help me. -Who are you?

Believe me, I mean no harm to you.

I promise you I don't, but Jill... Jill says...

She says that she spent the night with you

the first night that she met you.

-Is that true? -She's lying.

Alright?

She's lying.

[telephone beeping]

[woman on telephone] Valene Gibson

on line three, Mr. Ewing.

[sighs]

-Yeah? -I've talked to David Lamb.

I just got back from seeing him.

He says that he never slept with Jill.

-Well, maybe he's lying. -I don't think so.

-Well, you scared him. -No, I don't think so.

[sighs] What did he say?

Well, I told him what she said and he said that she was lying.

Well, what did you expect him to say?

I mean, you have one conversation with a stranger

and you expect him to tell you something so personal?

For all you know, he might have thought

you were an attorney or a private eye or something.

This man was telling me the truth.

You convinced yourself he was telling the truth.

You wanted to hear what he said.

Listen, Val, this is getting out of hand.

I'm going back to the police.

Oh, no.

-Is she there with you? -What?

Is Jill there in the office with you?

No, Jill is not in the office with me.

Val, please, this is getting out of hand.

Think about what's happening.

I have, Gary. A lot.

I'm telling you, it is all I think about.

I think maybe you shouldn't go home.

Oh, come on.

No, I mean it, Gary.

I don't want anything to happen to you either.

Goodbye, Val.

Bye, Gary.

I've skimmed this Murakame deal.

Looks solid.

You look tired.

Yeah.

-Why don't you go home? -This Murakame thing...

Hey.

The attorneys will read the fine print.

The accountants will read the fine print.

Then I'll read the fine print. Don't worry.

No one's gonna take advantage of us before you get back.

Thanks.

[laughs]

Whoa!

I must really be tired. I almost kissed you goodbye.

You could.

I could.

[eerie music]

[crickets chirping]

[electric guitar music]

Do you know how long I've been waiting?

I couldn't begin to guess.

You weren't even gonna say goodnight?

Well, I thought you were asleep.

Well, I'm not.

[music continues]

Just my luck, huh?

[sighs]

She found him.

Thank God.

-He denies it. -What?

He says he never slept with you.

He's lying.

He's lying or she's lying.

Gary, how do we know

that she even really talked to him?

Look, I wanna meet him myself and I want you there with me.

-No. -You've got to.

Look at us, Gary.

I'm trying to make you believe.

I'm trying to prove to you that I slept with another man.

Don't you think that's a touch ironic?

It's insane.

I'm not going to be Val's victim.

You insist on taking her word for everything.

I want my day in court too. I want you to meet this man.

[intense music]

Gary.

Gary.

Gary.

[music continues]

[sighs]

[yawns]

You better get dressed or you'll be late for work.

Yeah, I hope so.

-Morning. Morning. -Good morning.

What time did you get in last night?

Late, but I did call.

-Where's Michael? -Picking up some paint.

-For what room? -This room.

Oh, to match the new chairs.

-Right. -Right.

Maybe you can stay home some evening

and help out.

Well, you won't need me.

You'll have all the time you need on your hands

when the Japanese buy you out.

How did you know about the Japanese offer?

Greg.

He didn't ask if it were a secret.

Well, it's not a secret, but how did he know?

Abby told him.

-Abby? -Yeah.

He was interested in buying

and she said it was a waste of time

bidding against the Japanese.

Abby, why didn't you tell us

Greg was interested in making a bid?

-Who told you he was? -Paige.

Paige.

She works for him.

Well, he did express a casual interest

but he never made it official.

Did Paige also happen to mention to you

that I told Greg we would welcome his bid

but when he found out about the Murakame deal

he decided he didn't want to get

into a bidding w*r with the Japanese.

Oh. No she didn't.

No, she didn't.

[chuckles] Well...

Never mind then.

I'm sorry.

Karen.

I've got an idea.

Why don't we go on out to Greg's

and see if we can turn his interest

into an offer we can use against Murakame?

Gary.

What?

Abby thinks we should encourage Greg to buy us out.

What do you think?

Could you take care of it? I've got an appointment.

Well, you make a very good case

but I don't know whether to be flattered

or frightened by your presence here.

Flattered would do nicely, thank you.

Well, then, I'm flattered.

But I gotta tell you, I'm also a little frightened.

This is a seller's market, so I gotta ask myself

why I'm being flattered by your presence.

Why two such lovely creatures

have traveled all the way out here to give me a hard sell?

Let's get out of here.

Alright. Are there any other messages?

Are you sure?

Well, how much?

[sighs]

Alright, thanks.

What's the matter?

The Japanese have lowered their bid.

What?

Oh, great.

Bye.

[Abby] Bye.

[intense music]

[restaurant piano music]

-Hi. -Hi.

I never thought I'd see you again.

Then...

Out of the blue, you called.

Maybe lightning can strike twice.

It's okay by me.

Scotch on the rocks. I remembered.

[chuckles]

The most beautiful woman in the world.

I remember.

What made you call me?

You're not sorry I did, are you?

No.

-It's just weird timing. -Why?

I met this woman. She came to where I was working.

Charlene... Nadine?

Nadine Gibson, she said she was a friend of yours

and wanted to know about us.

Us?

Our relationship.

-What did you tell her? -Nothing.

Nothing. Don't worry. Look.

I'm not about to get caught like that.

I figured she was my wife's attorney.

You're married?

I'm getting a divorce. I would have told you otherwise.

Really. It's over.

You are the best thing that ever happened to me.

I haven't thought about anyone else.

I haven't thought about anything else

since that night.

[dramatic music]

You just wanna get me back in the bed?

What's so wrong about that?

Jill?

Jill?

Did I say something wrong?

No.

[crickets chirping]

Where are you going?

Well, I thought it would be a politic

to spend a night at home.

Probably very politic.

I should've told you.

Well, now that you mentioned it, it does leave me

with a little egg on my face.

[electric guitar music]

You found another 11th century bowl?

I thought his and hers would be nice.

[champagne gurgling]

You know I hate to eat alone.

[champagne gurgling]

Oh, I meant to tell you.

Whatever Japanese company was going to buy Lotus Point

has just reduced its offer.

Well, I'm having a little trouble

focusing on the Japanese right now.

[glasses clinking]

So she could have traveled from San Francisco

down here and back between eight o'clock

when she left her group and no one saw her.

Knowing that you talked to his daughter.

Yes, but she lied about what she did that night.

Her next meeting wasn't until 9:30 the next morning

so she had plenty of time to get back up to San--

-Hi. -Hi, Gary.

-Gary, this is Detective-- -Yes. I know. We've met.

-Detective. -Mr. Ewing.

I was just telling her about what I...

About what we found out in San Francisco.

I found out she has an alibi.

No, she doesn't. It's a lie.

Yes, she does. I checked it out.

What do you mean?

I told you all along she was telling the truth.

She's not telling the truth.

She's not.

[crickets chirping]

It's routine procedure with all new employees.

Once they're assigned a locker, we change the combination

so there's no possibility of theft by a former employee.

It's Neil's standard procedure to check the lock.

We were obliged to call the police.

- What was it? - Cocaine. Mrs. Ewing?

Who is the employee?

Harold Dyer.

-Olivia's boyfriend. -Oh, my...

He's in custody right now.

Thank you, Carl.

I don't believe it.

He told me he had changed.

[woman on speaker] Greg Sumner for Mrs. Ewing.

Online.

Oh, maybe that's good news.

Hello. Wait a minute.

What's going on here, blondie?

First, you tell me I'm not heavy enough

to compete with the Japanese.

Then you personally offer me the deal of the century

and now I hear the Japanese are pulling out.

Well, Murakame lowered their bid.

That's all.

It seems to me that would be a great opportunity for you.

Seems to me you're trying to sell me damaged goods.

Then you're not going to make a bid?

Uh...

I think I'm gonna dump my dough elsewhere.

I guess we'll have to take the Japanese bid.

Greg Sumner just pulled out.

[sniffles]

Why do you think the Japanese lowered their bid?

I don't know, but I wanna thank you

for putting me on to it.

Was Abby terribly upset that you pulled out?

Why don't you call her and ask her?

You want something to read?

Later.

Later?

Later.

Nobody ever reads anymore.

[dramatic music]

[crickets chirping]

-[Abby] We have to sell. -[Gary] We have to sell.

[Karen] I don't want to.

[Gary] We can't overcome that kind of publicity.

[Abby] We need paying customers.

[Gary] We can't pay people to come here.

[Olivia] Mom, they arrested Harold.

[Michael] Mack, someone set me up.

[Abby] I'll do everything I can, Olivia.

I'll get him the best lawyer I can find.

...everything I can...

[Ted] Aren't you glad you decided

to expand the marine?

[Greg] You never expected to find oil?

Oil. Oil. Oil. Oil.

[Gary] I don't know. Some company called Murakame.

Murakame. Murakame. Murakame. It's Japanese, I think.

[Greg] What's going on here, blondie?

[Abby] Don't bid against the Japanese.

-[Abby] Who told you? -[Karen] Paige.

-[Abby] Paige. -[Karen] She works for him.

[Abby] The Japanese have lowered their bid.

Oh, I meant to tell you.

Whatever Japanese company wants to buy Lotus Point--

[Greg] Seems to me you're trying to sell me damaged--

[doorbell rings]

[Abby] We have to take the Japanese offer.

Japanese offer. Japanese offer.

[eerie music]

-Hello. -Congratulations.

Thank you.

One thing.

When you were inventing your company

where did you come up with the name Murakame?

In the phone book.

I love it.

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