12x04 - Big Easy m*rder

Episode transcripts for the TV show "m*rder, She Wrote". Aired: September 30, 1984 – May 19, 1996.*
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Mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica is a down-to-earth, middle-aged widow who ferrets out the criminals in idyllic Cabot Cove, Maine, which apparently is the m*rder capital of the United States.
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12x04 - Big Easy m*rder

Post by bunniefuu »

(DRUMS b*ating)

(PANTING)

(HISSING)

(GASPS)

(SCREAMS)

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

Ms. Broussard, you make it a practice of
bringing your dates onto a m*rder scene?

Jim was Cynthia's
friend as well as mine,

and she's interning
for the Daily News.

This makes the fourth machete m*rder
in three months, Lieutenant Tibideaux.

With the usual calling
card, a rooster foot talisman.

I don't buy this voodoo thing.

Neither did Jim. He was
convinced it was a cover for turf wars

for control of the supper clubs
and whatever goes with that.

Well, I warned him to stay
out of it. It wasn't his business.

He was a reporter.
One of the best.

You keep right on
thinking that way, McCray.

(LIVELY JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)

(BELL DINGING)

The last notation on
Jim Nash's calendar was,

"8:00, pick up J.B. Fletcher
at the Broussards for dinner."

Business or pleasure,
Mrs. Fletcher?

Well, Jim was helping me with
some research for my new novel.

How did you know him?

He was with the AP in New York.

Research on what?

Voodoo, illegal gambling, jazz.
Contemporary New Orleans.

The most interesting thing
about contemporary New Orleans

is that it has the highest
m*rder rate in the country.

Meaning that there are some
dangerous people out there.

Yes, well, I appreciate
your concern, Lieutenant.

Thank you for your
time, Mrs. Fletcher.

EMILY: You all
through, Lieutenant?

Yes. It's good to see
you again, Mrs. Broussard.

Or should I be saying
Mrs. Renwyck now?

Well, I just can't
make up my mind,

so I'll probably just stay
with my family name.

It's a name to respect.

Mrs. Fletcher, please call me
before you leave New Orleans.

So how's it going?

Well, I've reached a dead end.

Well, it looks like Hurricane
Andrew went through here.

I'm so sorry, Brent.
It's all my fault.

Jessica's looking for the
biography of Marie Laveau.

Oh, well, it's here someplace.

Oh, I did some reading up on the
so-called high priestess of voodoo... Ow!

EMILY: What?
Darling, what is it?

Darn. Darn splinter!

Ooh. Ah. Ah, here it is.

Those old-time carpenters have
more reputation than they deserve.

Thank you, Brent.
This is wonderful.

Will you be having
breakfast, Senator?

No, thank you, Yvette. I
haven't got time right now.

Jessica. Bye, darling.

Would you excuse me?

Of course.

My daughter will be helping
to open Mr. Renwyck's club.

How nice. I'm looking forward
to seeing Priscilla again.

EMILY: Brent.

Darling, I was awake half
the night listening to you toss

and moan and grind
your teeth in your sleep.

I'm sorry, darling. Last-minute
pressures of getting the club open.

I know how hard you've
been working. It's just...

Yesterday I tried to withdraw some
money from the Mott Street account...

And there was no
balance. I meant to tell you.

The rain last week... We had a whole
slew of emergency repairs down at the club.

Please, just try to be more frank
with me and stop trying to shield me.

You've always trusted
me. Trust me now.

DANTON: I'm through
messing around with you, Vera!

(GROANS)

Please, Ralph, don't hurt me!

So what's it gonna be, baby?

You gonna tell me, or am I
gonna have to b*at it out of you?

What you got going
with that dead reporter?

Jim Nash was
just a friend, Ralph.

I'm telling you, I
never said anything.

Mmm-hmm.

Let's check this out.

White dude, investigative
reporter with the Daily News,

comes a-courting Ms. Vera
Welles. Mmm-mmm-mmm.

Roussel's really
gonna believe that.

What kind of questions
was he asking you?

No questions, Ralph,
no answers. I swear.

Well, well, well.

Looka here, looka
here, looka here.

A airline ticket to Los Angeles.

You thinking about
skipping town?

I enrolled in a nursing
program out there.

I want to leave this job,
Ralph, this whole damn town.

That so? Mmm.

Know what? I don't believe you.

(DOOR BELL CHIMING)

Okay, I'm gonna check you later.

If you want to live,
don't leave town.

VERA: Uh, I'll be with
you in just a moment.

Hi, I'm Vera. Is there
anything I can help you with?

Well, I'm not sure which
one of us needs the help.

But since you ask,
I'm looking for Callie.

Oh, Callie d*ed six months
ago. There's new owners.

(GASPS) Oh, dear. I'm so sorry.

You know, she was helping me
with a book that I'm putting together.

Oh, you must be the writer
she talked about. J.B. Fletcher?

You're into voodoo, right?

Well, um...

Don't tell me you
believe that stuff.

I ran across this herb in
Jamaica, anacycla lupus.

That's illegal. You fixing to
k*ll somebody, Mrs. Fletcher?

(LAUGHS) No, no.

But there's a character in my
book that might get around to it.

Well, there's a couple
of places you can find it.

Callie had promised me
if I ever came back here,

she would take me to the
Goula Ruins for St. John's Eve.

You wouldn't happen to
know anyone who might...

Oh, I don't like that
stuff. But if Callie...

Look, come by sundown,
and I'll see what I can arrange.

Well, thanks, Vera.
I'll do that. Right.

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)

PRISCILLA: (SINGING) But
I'm a woman with a fragile heart

So come and gently touch my soul

Hold me in your
arms Never let me go

Something bugging you, child?

Yeah, Charlie, something's
bugging me. I gotta use the phone.

Ms. Dauphin? Brent Renwyck.

I'm sorry, Mr. Renwyck, but I...

Please. I know you're busy.

I just wanted to say how
happy it's going to make Emily

and your mother having
you here for the opening.

Well, it was Charlie's idea.

And I hope it goes
as well as you hope.

Well, Ms. Priss, welcome home.

But why are you staying at
a hotel, for heaven sakes?

You know you always
have your old room here.

I figured it'd be easier this
way. Emily, I've got to see you.

Well, of course. I'm
just real busy today.

It's got to be today. I have
something you've gotta see.

Priscilla, darling, you
know Brent expects me

to look like queen of
the ball tomorrow night.

Today, Emily. It won't wait.

All right. Be here
at the house at 6:00.

Oh, that was your
daughter. She sounded upset.

Priscilla?

Charlie...

I think I'm gonna do
something I hope I don't regret.

Your instincts haven't
let you down yet.

I needed to hear that.

It's just as we
discussed, Senator.

Mal's record with three other clubs
makes him clean as a whistle with the city.

You guys run the place, I'll reimburse
the money you took from Mrs. Renwyck

and continue to provide
offshore financing.

(STAMMERING) Frank, wait.
There's something new in here.

Paragraph 10-A. It says that
if anything happens to me,

the entire operation
reverts to Mal Carter.

Boilerplate,
that's all, Senator.

Yeah, it's in my name,

but Frank here, he's got to
protect his investment, you know?

Well, I'd be a
fool to sign this.

There's no protection for Emily.

It's too late, Senator.

You want City Licensing to know
you're opening this place with my money?

You'd lose every penny of it.

And ex-Senator Renwyck...
Honest Brent they call you, right?

Would have perjured
his application.

And then I'd have to go to your wife to
collect the money I've got in this place.

(CAR HORN HONKING)

It's in triplicate. Keep
one for your files.

Check this out.

That's Nash's buddy, McCray.

Get on his tail. Keep in touch.

Are you getting anything out of
those dusty old books, Mrs. Fletcher?

Well, that still remains
to be seen, Yvette.

Oh.

Isn't that you there, Yvette?

A very pretty young
woman, say, 35 years ago?

I recognize Arthur
Broussard as a younger man.

(CHUCKLES) That is you.

Yes. And Ms. Emily, as a child.

I was her governess then.
It was a Sunday picnic.

Well, then, it was a
very lucky find, wasn't it?

What is lucky is your
being here, Mrs. Fletcher.

I have a feeling Ms. Emily will
be needing a friend to talk to.

Yvette, what are
you talking about?

I swear, this woman has worried over
me ever since my mama d*ed. What's this?

Oh, just an old photo.
You were only a baby.

Daddy with his slightly dandified
air. Well, it's just like Brent.

Mom? Hi.

Oh, Jessica, Tom and I were
looking through Jim's office,

and we found this
addressed to you.

Oh, good. Jim mentioned that he was
sending me a packet of newspaper clippings.

Oh, Cynthia, this is
going to just save my life.

Well, Tom said that if you can
meet him at the Café du Monde

around 3:00, he'll... He'll try
to fill in some of the blanks.

Well, of course I'll be there.

Okay, I better get
back. I'll see you later.

Bye, darling. Bye.

(SIGHS)

To tell you the truth,
I'm not real comfortable

with her being madly in
love with Tom McCray.

Oh, you mean the spin on some of
Tom's stories during Brent's last campaign.

(SIGHS)

But he respects Brent,
and that's all that counts.

All right, I guess I'm
just extra sensitive.

(LAUGHING)

Well, let's face it, you don't
want your guy to get hurt.

You're right.

I've gone through the
clippings that Jim left for me.

Take a look at this one, Tom.

Now, this tells me that on
the day that he was k*lled,

Jim was going to meet someone
at the Goula Ruins at 7:00.

I spoke to him just before
6:00, and we were to meet.

He said he'd be coming
directly from the paper.

Which means that he changed
his plans between 6:00 and 6:30,

which is about
when he called me.

Said he had a phone call to meet
someone. He was all hyped up.

Tom, if you could find out who
called during that half-hour window...

Maybe we'll identify who
suckered him to the ruins.

Uh, Tom, don't turn around now,

but there's a
not-very-pleasant gentleman

I ran into in a curio
shop this morning

showing more than casual
interest in what we're doing.

About 6'0", 180 pounds,
sports jacket, open-collar shirt.

Is he wearing something around
his neck? A heavy medallion?

Got to be Ralph Danton.
He's Frank Roussel's muscle.

I wish to heck I
could get rid of him.

I've got a meeting later
today with Brent Renwyck.

Well, I've had as many
beignets as I can handle.

Why don't you just, uh, go off?

(CHUCKLES) You're kidding.

You're not kidding.

Okay. Jessica,
you watch yourself.

Excuse me, lady.

Why are you following me?

Out of my way, lady. I will not.

You've been following me
since Tchoupitoulas Street.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

You stalked me from
Tchoupitoulas Street to the brewery,

and then on Basin Street and
the streetcar named Desire.

Is there a problem here? No way.

There most certainly is, and I
want you to call a policeman.

(SIGHS) Thanks very much.
I really appreciate your help.

PRISCILLA: "This
letter is to inform you that

"Arthur Broussard
is your natural father.

"To avoid political and
personal embarrassment,

"he sent you to private boarding
schools in New York City.

"Although you never
knew who supported you,

"records at the Juilliard School will
reveal that it was Arthur Broussard."

(STAMMERING) I just...
I can't believe it, Priscilla.

I mean, darling, it's
an anonymous letter.

I think somebody's just playing
a cruel joke on both of us.

You just can't believe
your father's arrogance.

Fathering a child
with my mother,

then keeping her on as a servant in a
house that should have been her own.

The Juilliard School will
clear this up in no time.

They'll tell you what they
confirmed for me this morning,

that the anonymous
benefactor, the man who saw

me through all those
years in New York City,

was our father,
Arthur Broussard.

Now, you understand,
whatever's left of the estate...

Of course, if...
If all this is true,

you are certainly entitled
to your share of the estate,

but, I mean, I... I have to
confirm this with your mother.

The letter speaks the
truth, Ms. Broussard.

Your father was lonely
after your mother d*ed.

He was the only
man I ever loved.

Emily, I know it's in
your nature to cooperate.

But if you don't, I guess
I'll have to sue you.

And I don't have to tell you what
that could do to your family name.

(ALL CHANTING IN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

VERA: I hope you're getting your
kicks, Jessica, 'cause I'm sure not.

Well, consider it all as part
of an intriguing story, Vera.

Yeah, right. That's
if I live to read it.

Vera, your friend Ralph
Danton just made an appearance.

Sure as heck did.

(CROWD CONTINUES CHANTING)

JESSICA: He doesn't appear to be

participating. I wonder
what brings him here.

That's a dangerous
question, Jessica.

He's a very dangerous man.

I saw him threatening you
in Callie's. Why was that?

Well, I got too close to the voodoo
k*lling that Jim Nash was writing about,

so close that I
wanted to run away.

But Danton won't let you go.

You see that medallion he wears?

The machete warns that you stay
silent, mind your business or else...

Oh, Lord, Jessica, I got
to get the heck outta here.

My thoughts exactly.

(LAUGHS MENACINGLY)

I don't give interviews
anymore, McCray,

and you're here partly at the
insistence of my stepdaughter,

but mostly to get
you off my back.

Fair enough.

Just tell me why Jim Nash's
investigation into Frank Roussel

gives you any kind of problem.

Jim Nash is dead.

You're looking at his
ghost, Mr. Renwyck.

I'm picking up
where he left off.

I got all his tapes, his files,

much of what led him into the
bayou that night to get himself k*lled.

I'm sorry about Nash.

But as I understand it,
he got caught in the middle

of something that has
nothing to do with me.

Now, if that's all
you came about...

Jim had transcripts from a
computer hacker friend of his.

This guy got into
your wife's accounts.

Computer hacking's
illegal, and you know it.

Everything's relative.

You blew half of Emily
Broussard's assets in the market.

What should have gone into
this place wasn't there anymore.

And along comes this new partner
with a deposit which covered your costs.

Mal Carter is my partner.
His record is clean.

My guess is Carter's
fronting for Frank Roussel,

and Roussel is laundering
offshore money on your name.

I have no comment
on those allegations.

(SIGHING) Now, will you
please get out of here?

You know, in the Senate, I gave
you a hard time on some of the issues,

but you, you were
an honest politician.

You left that office without a dime,
and I always respected you for that.

And what are you trying
to do to me now, McCray?

I owe Jim Nash. He started
something he never got to finish.

FRANK ON PHONE: Yeah? MAL:
Frank, where's your guy Danton?

Why, you got trouble?

Yeah, we got trouble.

We got big trouble.

(SIGHS) I talked to a good friend of
mine at Juilliard this morning, Emily,

and it appears that
Priscilla is telling the truth.

Your father was her
anonymous patron all those years.

Now, there still will have
to be proof as to paternity.

And if there's to be a lawsuit,

oh, thank goodness
today we have DNA testing.

It's no help, Jess. My
father was cremated.

(STAMMERS) I just...
I can't think clearly.

Look, there's something
thoroughly wrong about this letter.

Why is it anonymous? I mean,
who wrote it, and with what motive?

And then ask yourself
who, besides Yvette,

would have a vested
interest in seeing

Priscilla take half of
your father's estate?

You know, your father liked a
word, "bamboozled." Remember?

(LAUGHING) Oh, of course I do.

Well, don't be bamboozled, Emily.
Look to yourself, not to Brent or anybody.

Take charge of your own life.

Really don't look forward
to talking to Brent about this.

I can't imagine
what's gotten into you,

taking the word of a
housekeeper and her daughter!

If Yvette and Priscilla do have a
case, they're entitled to compensation.

From what? Everything's
tied up in the club.

Not everything.

Unless there's something
you haven't told me.

Anyway, I've asked Walter Drake to
prepare an audit, business and personal.

What on earth's gotten into you?

Don't you trust me anymore?

I have always trusted
you and I still do.

Only this morning, I realized I have
got to take charge of my own life.

If Priscilla truly
is my sister...

Brent...

You've spent your life getting
things done for other people.

Now you are finally, finally doing
something for yourself and for us.

And tonight's your opening
night. Let's not spoil it.

(PLAYING SLOW JAZZ)

For your information, what
you and your mother are up to

is called conspiracy to defraud,

and you're both going to go
to jail for it! That's a promise!

PRISCILLA: (SINGING) If you
want forever, baby I got the time

But I'm a woman
with a fragile heart

So come and gently touch my soul

Hold me in your arms
and never let me go

Glad you could make it.

'Cause I'm a woman
with a fragile heart

Love me in a way so true

What's the matter,
partner? This is our night.

You look like you
lost your best friend.

Come and gently touch my soul

Hi, Jessica. Oh, hi.

Mom, sorry I'm late.

Darling, isn't
Priscilla wonderful?

Mom told you? It's not real.

I don't know why I'm even sitting
here listening to Aunt Priscilla.

Love me in a way so true

That'll turn the sky from
cloudy into baby blue

(CHANTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

FRANK: Your girlfriend brought a
friend of Nash's to the Goula Ruins?

Yeah. Jessica Fletcher.

Whoa. You've given
us a real problem, Ralph.

(CAR PHONE RINGS)

It's me. Roussel. Brent.

How's the opening going?

Good, but that's not
what I called you about.

Emily's lawyer is setting
up an audit on all her assets.

Then handle it. She's
your wife, not the IRS.

Frank, try to understand.

She only knows about half of what I
put into the club. I need a quick infusion.

The bank's closed, Senator.

Frank, you're not
giving me any choice.

I... I have to tell
Emily, and then there'll

be no way to prevent
our arrangement

from reaching the
District Attorney's office!

Carter here.

Where's Renwyck right now?

He's here. The place
is jumping, Frank.

Here's what I want you to do.

You got it.

Well, are you ladies
getting all you need?

Brent, it is everything
I ever imagined.

(CHUCKLES)

Jessica, Cynthia, mind
if I borrow the hostess?

Excuse the mysterioso, ladies.

I want you to come home with me.

Now? But what will people say?

Please, don't argue.

There's something I must tell
you, and it can't be done here.

Now, get your coat,
and I'll meet you outside.

I've got to have a
word with Carter.

I'll see you later.

CHARLIE ON MIKE: Thank you
all. We're gonna take a break now,

and when we come back, a
little something from Jamaica.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

I'm going to get some air.

(JACKET ZIPPER OPENING)

What are you doing...

(SCREAMING)

I can't imagine why Brent would
want to leave so early, Jessica.

Oh, unless he was
taken ill. In which case...

(EMILY GASPS)

(EMILY SCREAMING)

Oh, my God!

Oh, God!

He's dead.

Brent is dead.

When Brent and I got home,
he started telling me about

these terrible financial
problems we were facing, and...

I couldn't handle it.

I went upstairs and I
started to get ready for bed.

How long were you up there?

I don't know, uh,
15, 20 minutes.

Jess, why did I leave him down
here like that? He needed me.

Don't punish yourself, Emily.

I only came back downstairs when
I heard you and Cynthia drive up.

TIBIDEAUX: The coroner's
preliminary examination indicates that

it was a heart att*ck,
Mrs. Broussard.

The only mark on the Senator was a
small puncture wound on his right hand.

Oh, Jess, there was that
splinter he caught the other day.

She's nowhere in
the house, Lieutenant.

We'll find her.

But where could
Yvette have gone?

I'd invited her to stay at
our table at the opening.

Yeah, Mama, come on. I think
it's time you got some sleep.

All right. Come on.

Lieutenant, if the coroner's
preliminary diagnosis was a heart att*ck,

I assume all of this homicide
activity has to do with this

odd little doll that I
assume represents Brent.

You're real tight with
Tom McCray, Mrs. Fletcher,

so you know it
wouldn't be the first time

that voodoo has taken
the rap for the bad boys.

And so, of course, you are testing
the brandy snifter for toxic substances?

Right again, Mrs.
Fletcher. Excuse me.

Oh, Jessica. I just heard it
off the wire. Where's Cynthia?

(SIGHS) Well, she
went upstairs with Emily.

Tom. Oh.

Oh, darling!

How's Emily holding up?

Um, well, she's upstairs asleep.

And what about you?
Something I can do for you?

Yeah. Just hold
onto me. Hold on.

Jessica...

I seem to have left
my handbag at the club.

I won't be long, Cynthia.
It's just a short walk.

Charlie's by the
piano, over there.

Yvette called. Hell
of an opening night.

Just tragic, Charlie.

Cynthia and Emily, they okay?

They'll be all right in
time. Is Priscilla still here?

Mrs. Fletcher.

And what brings you back?

I thought I'd spend a few
moments with Priscilla.

Please convey my condolences to
Mrs. Renwyck. She must be broken up.

JESSICA: The petal I found at the
house came from this crown of gardenias.

You were there, Priscilla. Why?

I saw Emily and
the Senator leave.

We were on our break,
so I went to the house.

I thought that if I could just talk to
them together, I could settle things.

When I got to the house,

Mr. Renwyck was alone.
He was already dead.

I just ran. I... I didn't
want to get involved.

How did you get in, Priscilla?

The front door was locked.

(SIGHS) I lost the
key ages ago, so...

I went around to the
back of the house...

To the French doors.

Yeah. It was open.

(SIGHS) Why is this so
important, Mrs. Fletcher?

The man d*ed of a heart att*ck.

I don't believe so. And neither
does Lieutenant Tibideaux.

When Cynthia and I found Brent,
there was a voodoo doll on the floor.

Not when I was there.

Well, then, besides you, there must
have been someone else in that room

between the time that Emily
left Brent and when she returned.

You mean, the person
who left the voodoo doll?

No. You don't think that...

Your mother.

If you really want
to help Yvette,

go and tell Lieutenant
Tibideaux that you were there.

Okay.

Is my mom at the house?

Now, you go along
to the Lieutenant.

I believe I know
where I might find her.

(CHANTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

The goddess of the wind will tell
you Priscilla has gone to the police.

Oya knows Priscilla
has done nothing wrong.

The goddess will protect her.

Yvette, a doll representing
Brent was left by the body.

When I went home, I saw Priscilla
hurrying away from the house.

Then I found Mr. Renwyck. I had
no way of knowing how he d*ed.

I didn't want to take the chance that
Priscilla would be accused of anything.

So you left the voodoo doll.

Yes.

Vera!

I know you're in here, baby.

Where you at?

Yeah, I saw the lights on a half a
block away, girl. I know you're in here.

Vera!

See, Roussel was right. I should've
done you when he told me to.

Yeah, yeah, come on.

(GRUNTS)

(GROANS)

(DOORBELL RINGS)

Ms. Dauphin, your daughter has
informed me of the dispute that you had

with Mrs. Broussard
and her husband.

Mom, that's not what I told them.
The dispute is with me, not with her.

You can spare us all. Fingerprint analysis
showed that the doll that was placed

by the Senator's body was yours.

That is true, Lieutenant.

Mom, shut up!

Do you have any objection to
accompanying me downtown?

Mom has an
explanation for everything.

Then it'll be up to her explanation to
convince us of her innocence, won't it?

I will go with you, Lieutenant.

Mom! Mom, I'm sorry.

I wish I'd never
seen that letter.

I wish I could take it all back,
what I said to Emily. I'm...

Stop caterwauling, child.

Everything will be all right.

DANTON: I told you, I'm
gonna take care of her.

Look, I'm the man,
okay? Don't worry.

As soon as I see
her... Look, you wait.

Yeah, but I told you...

WOMAN: Hello? I need
to speak to Mrs. Fletcher.

VERA: Well, there's so
much I could talk about.

So I got to thinking, of all
people, you'd see my predicament.

I go to the cops, I'm dead meat.

Roussel has someone
in the police department,

so I need someone that's gonna
listen and see that I don't get hurt.

Oh, hi, Tom. Vera,
this is Tom McCray.

I asked him to join us. I think that
Tom's the person who could help you.

Jim's friend Tom McCray?

Jim told me about you, too,
Vera. We're all right here?

I guess.

Jessica, I found out
something very interesting.

The call that suckered
Jim to the Goula Ruins?

Turns out it came from a
phone belonging to a lady dentist.

Now, she had other
calls charged to her.

Most of those calls went to
Frank Roussel's limousine.

Then it's likely that the
dentist's number was stolen

and cloned onto
an illegal phone.

That's easy. Ralph's cell phone.

He's always boasting about
never having to pay the bill,

and he calls Roussel
the whole time.

Roussel to Danton to Nash.
Danton set Jim up and k*lled him.

By the way, City Desk
had a report from the police.

Brent's postmortem turned
up no toxic substances.

Well, then, they're back
to calling it a heart att*ck.

And they released Yvette.

This morning, Emily told me that Brent
borrowed money from her and Frank Roussel

and couldn't pay
either one of them back.

It seems to me like
Mr. Renwyck's right hand

didn't know what his
left hand was doing.

Right hand, left hand.

(CHUCKLES)

You know, Vera,
whether you know it or not,

you just put your finger on it.

On what? I did?

Now I am certain that Brent
did not have a heart att*ck.

And I believe I know
how he was m*rder*d.

Oh, now, Jessica, you
gotta clue me in here.

Well, not just yet, Tom. But you'll
have one heck of an exclusive if I'm right.

Now, I want you to
tell me what you left out

at Callie's the other day
about anacycla lupus.

Funny that you should
ask the question that you did

about a second puncture wound.

The autopsy surgeon did locate a
splinter puncture in Renwyck's left hand.

But did he do a micro on
the puncture of his right hand?

Yes, yes, he tracked it
about two and a half inches.

Like Renwyck stuck
himself with some kind of pin.

But what's this got
to do with anything?

Renwyck d*ed of a heart att*ck,

and that's the way
it's going on the books.

Lieutenant, if you value your
reputation as a homicide...

This case is closed,
Mrs. Fletcher.

(SIGHS)

Like he stuck himself
with a pin or something.

What is it, Jessica?

It's about a horseshoe and
an odd-shaped pin, Emily.

I pray that one has
nothing to do with the other.

I have to get in
touch with Vera.

Mrs. Fletcher. What
brings you down here?

First, I'm here for
Emily Broussard.

There's a letter to Priscilla that could
drastically change both of their lives,

except that it's a lie.

Then there is the matter
of Brent Renwyck's m*rder.

I don't know anything
about a letter.

And Mr. Renwyck,
he had a heart att*ck.

Wrong, on both counts.

Here is a 35-year-old snapshot

of the Broussard's young
chauffeur, you, Charlie,

wearing your horseshoe ring.

The same one you still wear
today. Emily was ten years old.

She was too young to remember.

So I spent a few months
with the Broussards.

What's that got to
do with Priscilla?

It's no use, Charlie.

If Ms. Emily takes us to court,
they are going to demand a DNA test,

and then they'll find out
that you are Priscilla's father.

Yvette... Come on,
Charlie, it's over.

You talked me into it, and I
should have known better.

Mr. Broussard was my
friend, and that was all.

He saw Priscilla's talent and
paid for her education in New York.

Charlie was my only lover.

So you think I k*lled Mr. Renwyck
to get him out of the way of...

No. There's someone with more of a motive
than you could possibly have ever had.

Priscilla's at the house. I think
she deserves an explanation.

In the long run, I
think that she'll be far

happier finally knowing
who her father is.

(DOOR OPENS)

Where the devil is she?

No big deal. She
swore she'd be here.

If you're looking for
Vera Welles, gentlemen,

about now, she's boarding
a plane for California.

She asked me
to stand in for her.

Mrs. Fletcher, Vera had private
business with Mr. Roussel and me.

I'm afraid your private
business has gone public

as of Vera's deposition
to the police this afternoon

and Ralph Danton's arrest.

She called you at my request.

Why? Just what do
you have in mind, lady?

Emily's heartache over Brent's
death, her self-recriminations,

and a deadly, traceless
substance called anacycla lupus

that produces almost instantaneous
paralysis of the heart muscle.

It only takes a drop,
say, at the point of a pin.

Last night, at the club,

you were wearing
your boutonniere,

the one you attached to
your lapel with an unusual pin.

Just before Brent and Emily left
the club, you suddenly disappeared.

When I returned after
the club had closed,

your boutonniere
and the pin were gone.

And this morning, thanks
to an idle remark of Vera's,

I realized why it was missing.

I asked the police to check the
puncture on Brent's right hand.

They confirmed it was made by a pin very
much like the one that you're wearing now.

It was you who
k*lled Brent Renwyck.

Well, I was saving
this for Vera Welles,

but...

TIBIDEAUX: Freeze,
Carter! Hold it right there!

Ralph Danton decided he wasn't
gonna take the fall for you guys.

He gave us chapter and verse
of the bayou machete killings,

and he confessed to being
your anacycla lupus connection.

Let's go.

Come on.

JESSICA: That item should be enough
to convict, wouldn't you say, Lieutenant?

Thanks to you, Mrs. Fletcher.

Let me give you
a lift to the house?

EMILY: Oh, Walter, thank
you. That is such good news!

Yes, yes, of course
I'll stay in touch. Bye.

Why the big smile, Emily?

Oh!

It seems that that contract that Brent
signed with Mal Carter is null and void.

See, initially Brent
and I were joint owners,

and I never gave him
my power of attorney.

Oh, that's fabulous, Mom! You're
in the restaurant business now.

Well, Jessica, it's time
we get you to the airport.

You're right. Bye, Emily.

Now, you take care.

Oh, I'm gonna miss you, Jess,

poking around, turning
my library upside down.

Promise me you'll
come back soon.

Oh, I promise. But I
must finish my book first.

I think I've had my fill
of voodoo for a while.
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