Father Dowling Mysteries (1989) s03e19 Episode Script

O'DOWNEY: The Carswell mansion
wasn't quite as big as
St. Patrick's Cathedral,
but then the Carswell family
wasn't as old as the Catholic church.
Give them time, I figured.
They'll catch up.
But murder is murder, even
when you're rolling in dough.
That's why Sister Mary
Catherine Ignatius and I
were paying this little call.
My name's O'Downey.
I'm not above a bit of
gumshoeing every now and then.
Well, Murphy.
I see they finally got you a
uniform that fits. Ha-ha-ha.
A big, black limousine was
pulling away from the house.
A mobster's car.
The kind that's taken more
people for a ride than the Chicago L.
Oh, sure enough, there
was a mobster inside it.
And not just any two-bit goon
either, but Big Ed Franklin himself.
Big Ed may not have been the
big boss of all of Chicago's rackets,
but he was definitely
a top contender.
Not the kind of guy you'd
expect to see rubbing elbows
with upper-crust swells
like the Carswells.
I couldn't help wondering
what he was doing here.
Well, I didn't have
far to go to find out.
This is the most farfetched
thing I've ever read.
You don't like it, Frank?
Well, I like a good
detective story, but this?
A priest who sounds like
an old gangster movie?
Keep reading.
Maybe it gets better.
Yeah, maybe.
O'DOWNEY: They were just
bringing out the stiff as we came in.
[MARY CATHERINE GASPS]
Oh! Now, don't you be
going female on me, Sister.
Why, that's Jack Cory.
He was one of Big
Ed Franklin's boys.
Father O'Downey,
is that man dead?
Well, let me put it this
way, don't ask him to dance.
Come on.
Detective Sergeant Chet
Lawson was a decent guy for a cop,
but he was about as
sharp as a bowl of oatmeal.
Well, well, well, if it
ain't Father O'Downey
and little Sister Mary
Catherine Ignatius.
- How come you ain't in church?
- Well, well, well.
Lawson, how come you aren't out
pounding a beat in the boondocks?
Always with the wise remarks.
What's your interest
in this case, Padre?
The Carswells used
to be parishioners.
Small world, ain't it?
- Isn't it?
- Isn't it?
Father O'Downey baptized
the Carswells' children,
Anthony and Judith.
After the old man
died, we lost touch.
I heard Mrs. Carswell remarried.
Yeah, to him.
This is Peter Stackpole,
the kid's stepfather.
Edith and I were very happy
together for several years, Father,
but I'm glad she
isn't alive to see this.
May I go now, sergeant?
Yeah, sure.
When we heard there was
trouble, we hurried right over.
What happened to Jack Cory?
Anthony Carswell killed him.
We found him standing
over the body, gun in hand.
- Oh, my heavens.
- I don't believe that.
Carswell is a good kid.
A good kid gone bad.
OFFICER: Come
on, fella. Let's go.
Do you want me to say I'm sorry?
Well, I'm not.
The way it lays out, Jack Cory
and Judith Carswell were an item.
Judith wanted to end it. Cory
didn't agree. They had a fight.
Anthony tried to break
it up. Cory pulled a gun.
They struggled. Bang, bang.
O'DOWNEY: Where's Judith now?
Judith Carswell
was Anthony's sister
and she didn't exactly look like
she'd just won the Irish Sweepstakes.
Well, with her boyfriend
lying out in the meat wagon
and her brother taking
the rap for bumping him off,
you could understand why
she wasn't dancing a jig.
What happened to the poor dear?
Ain't said a word since the shooting.
Her sawbones says she's in shock.
I saw Big Ed Franklin driving
out as we were coming in.
What has he got
to do with all of this?
LAWSON: The guy's got business
with the kids' stepfather, Stackpole.
Well, did you ever think maybe
that Big Ed bumped Cory? Hmm?
Or perhaps Mr. Stackpole.
Or Judith herself
in a lover's quarrel.
Just one problem with
those theories, Padre.
Carswell confessed.
Oh, did he now?
And what did you
do, beat it out of him?
Who did you get
to hold him down?
- Why, you
- Take your best shot, flatfoot.
Father O'Downey, you simply
cannot behave in this fashion.
Just because you wear
your collar backward
don't mean you're above the law.
Stay out of police
business, O'Downey.
Mary Catherine Ignatius,
that Carswell kid
has been railroaded.
I can feel it in my bones.
Someone else killed Cory.
But, Father, Anthony confessed.
Now, goodness, why would he lie?
Well, that's what
we're gonna find out.
The Lord may move in
mysterious ways, Sister,
but I believe in
the direct approach.
Come on.
MARIE: I've got your
lunch on the table, Father.
- What's all this?
- Book.
Murder, Cried the Padre.
Murder cried who?
It's a detective story
by a friend of Father
Dowling's, Rich Vincent.
Father Francis Xavier
O'Downey, clerical crime stopper.
Tell you something, Steve.
If this book ever gets published,
I'll never be able to live it down.
What about me, Frank?
Anybody who reads
this thing and knows us
is gonna think that I am
Sister Mary Catherine Ignatius.
Talk about a wimp in a wimple.
No one will ever mistake
you for Sister Mary Catherine.
The worst part of this
is that the mystery in this
novel is based on a real case.
What case, Father?
The Freddie Nagel murder
case about four months ago.
- Oh.
- Freddie Nagel was engaged
to Joyce Morrison.
The social heiress?
I read about her.
Nagel was shot by Joyce's
brother, Howard Morrison.
- Ah. FRANK: Howard
Morrison confessed
just like the character
Anthony Carswell in this novel.
But in the book,
Father O'Downey thinks
that Anthony
Carswell is innocent.
You mean, somebody has written
book about you and Sister Stephanie?
Book? What book?
Did I miss something?
You almost missed lunch.
I'll fix you a sandwich.
Thanks, Marie. No butter, no
mayonnaise. Trying to lose weight.
Why don't you cut it
down to three meals a day?
I'm gonna call Rich Vincent.
We need to talk.
- Um
- Steve will explain.
PHILIP: Oh.
Okay, about six months
ago, Father Dowling met
this old-time hardboiled mystery
writer named Rich Vincent, you know?
Well, this guy was very
impressed with the idea
of a priest who was a
detective, who solved crimes,
so he asked us if he
could use us as characters
in this book that he was
writing set in the 1930s,
and we sort of said yes.
[PHILIP CHUCKLES]
- That's so exciting.
- Yeah.
Is this the book?
Yes.
Am I in it?
[PHONE RINGS]
Vincent. Start talking.
It's your quarter.
FRANK: It's Father Dowling.
Oh, Father Dowling. I've
been waiting for your call.
- Have you read it?
- Well, just the first chapter.
Uh, Rich,
about the characters Father O'Downey
and Sister Mary Catherine Ignatius
I had to take a few
liberties, Father.
You've gotta understand.
Yes, but
This book will be my first
bestseller in a long time.
You and Father O'Downey,
you'll both be famous, Father.
I did a lot of research on
the Nagel murder case.
It was a frame-up.
And this book is gonna
blow it wide-open.
What frame-up?
Are you saying that Howard
Morrison didn't kill Freddie Nagel?
You'll find out about
it in the last chapter.
I just finished it this morning.
Well, I thought you
sent me the whole book.
Only the first part.
Why not come by?
I'm printing out the
last chapter now.
I think we need to talk.
- I'll be right over.
- I'll be waiting, Father.
All right.
Do you mind missing lunch,
Sister Mary Catherine Ignatius?
I'll get the car.
Father Dowling,
this is scandalous.
Philip, for once we agree.
Now, this Father O'Downey shows
a flagrant disregard for authority.
And the way he talks,
this is hardly the proper
public image for a priest, Frank.
I imagine the bishop will
wanna know all about it.
I should take notes.
Be my guest.
"The butler had a face
that could have been
carved on Mount Rushmore
and he looked about
as easy to get around."
Frank, is this what they mean
by hardboiled detective fiction?
Nobody home?
Well, that's odd. He
said he'd wait for us.
You want me to see if
the door is open, Frank?
Steve, I just tried to
Oh, you mean Mm-hm.
Tsk.
You'd better call
Clancy, Steve. He's dead.
Clancy, I don't see how
you can call this a suicide.
Well, Father, I'm
no parlor detective,
but I'd say my first clue was the
gun we found in Vincent's hand.
Yes, but that could
have been planted.
Then there's clue number two,
the door was locked from inside.
Yeah, killer could have
locked it from the inside
and gone out through the window.
Clancy, Vincent was a writer.
Now, what writer would commit
suicide without leaving a note?
You told me Vincent hadn't
had a successful book in years.
He was despondent,
clue number three.
He was sure that his new
novel was gonna put him back
on the bestseller lists.
This novel, Frank?
Murder, Cried the Padre.
"Don't go female
on me now, Sister."
Where did Vincent get this
Father O'Downey character, Father?
I have no idea.
Clancy, Vincent was researching
the Freddie Nagel murder case.
That case is closed.
Howard Morrison confessed.
He thought that
Morrison was framed.
And you think the real
murderer killed Vincent
to keep the truth
from coming out?
You ought to write a book.
Vincent said we'd learn all
about the Morrison frame-up
in his last chapter, chapter 12.
And he was printing it out when
I talked to him on the telephone.
Sister, is there a chapter
of manuscript in that printer?
No, sergeant.
Anything on the computer?
Just chapters one through 11.
If there was a chapter
12, it's been erased.
You know what I think, Father?
I think Vincent didn't
have an ending.
I think he killed himself
rather than face another failure.
End of story, Father O'Downey.
O'DOWNEY: Well,
one thing's for sure,
Jack Cory was
food for the worms.
The only question is,
who put him on the menu?
Big Ed Franklin had the
rep to make him a suspect.
If his boy Jack Cory
was double-dealing him,
Big Ed wouldn't think
twice about bumping him off.
Or Judith could have done it.
Her lover boy pushed
her around once too often.
She took it personally.
And then there was the
stepfather, Peter Stackpole.
He was in business with Cory.
They might have had a
business disagreement.
Any of them might
be the real killer.
"At the moment, only
God knows which one,
but I plan to catch up with
him real soon." Heh, heh.
STEVE: Hey, Frank?
- Hmm?
I got those clippings you
wanted from the library.
Did you find any new
clues in the manuscript?
Steve, in the book, Father
O'Downey names three suspects
who might have killed Jack Cory,
and every one of these fictional
characters has a real-life counterpart.
And here they are, Frank.
Howard Morrison,
confessed killer.
In the book, he's
Anthony Carswell.
Here's his sister, Joyce.
Judith Carswell.
And the stepfather, Gregory
Laidlaw, alias Peter Stackpole.
The late Freddie
Nagel or Jack Cory
and his boss, Nick Courtland,
a.k.a. Big Ed Franklin.
One of these three
people killed Freddie Nagel
and let Howard Morrison
take the blame for it.
And Rich Vincent found out
the truth and got murdered.
Ah
The clue is in the book.
In order for us to find out
who killed Rich Vincent,
we first have to find
out who killed Jack Cory.
You mean Freddie Nagel.
Exactly.
"Stackpole was one cool cookie.
But it didn't take
much of a mind reader
to know he didn't like me."
I don't like you,
Father O'Downey.
And I particularly don't
like what you're implying.
I'm not implying
anything, Mr. Stackpole.
I'm asking you flat out.
Did you kill Jack Cory?
What possible motive
could I have for killing Cory?
How about $10 million worth
of motive, Mr. Stackpole?
What are you talking about?
I happen to know that
Anthony and Judith Carswell
will inherit $10 million
from their mother's estate.
- And how would you know that?
- Never mind.
Well, that's true,
isn't it, Mr. Stackpole?
And what has that
to do with anything?
Well, just that if Anthony is in prison
and Judith is in a psychiatric hospital,
all that money goes to you.
So I'm asking you once
again, Mr. Stackpole.
Did you bump off Jack Cory
and pin the rap on your stepson?
Why, you lousy
Hold this, Sister.
Go on. Take your best
shot, Mr. Stackpole.
I was welterweight champ
of the Golden Gloves
before I became a priest.
Father O'Downey,
stop it this instant.
If you weren't a man of the
cloth, I'd have you arrested.
Now, get out!
We were just leaving.
Frank? Frank, we're here.
We're where?
We're at the Morrison mansion.
You wanted to talk to Gregory Laidlaw.
Steve, if Mr. Laidlaw is anything
like his counterpart in the book,
I just hope we catch
him in a good mood.
I'd offer you something stronger
than mineral water, Father,
- but I don't drink. FRANK: Mm.
What a relief.
Excuse me?
Nothing.
So you never met Rich
Vincent personally, Mr. Laidlaw?
We talked a few
times on the telephone,
but when I realized
what he was doing,
I tried to discourage him
from writing about the murder
for my stepdaughter's sake.
Joyce has suffered enough.
Do you mind if I ask you where
you were this morning, Mr. Laidlaw?
I was working on my computer.
I run a software company.
Anybody see you?
Don't think so. Is it important?
Rich Vincent was
killed this morning.
My God.
And you think that I had
something to do with that? Why?
Who controls your stepchildren's
inheritance, Mr. Laidlaw?
I do, of course, but
Father, for heaven's sake.
I'm not suggesting anything.
Somebody else might think that you
were keeping your stepdaughter zonked
while you play with
her money, but not us.
Are you always
this colorful, Sister?
Uh, where is your
stepdaughter now?
Upstairs, in her room.
Can we see her?
I don't think
that's a good idea.
Joyce hasn't been at all the
same since this happened.
She's under heavy medication,
requires constant care.
Yeah, well, we certainly
don't wanna trouble her.
Joyce is all I have left to
remind me of her mother.
I'd do anything for her.
FRANK: Mm.
Well, thank you for
seeing us, Mr. Laidlaw.
Maybe when Joyce is feeling
better, we can ask her a few questions,
but there's no hurry.
There is one thing you
could do for me, Mr. Laidlaw.
- What's that?
- Arrange for me to talk
to your stepson, Howard.
I'll call my attorney tomorrow.
How about now?
Would you mind?
If you insist.
STEVE: Miss Morrison?
Miss Morrison, hi,
I'm Steve Oskowski.
I'm from St. Michael's parish.
You don't know me or anything.
I'm trying to find out
something about your brother.
Miss Morrison?
You don't even know
I'm here, do you?
[FOOTSTEPS]
Time for your
medicine, Miss Morrison,
and then we'll take a nice walk.
Here we go.
That's it.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Well, I think that does
it. You can see Howard
at the county jail
this afternoon, Father.
Thank you. I think
we're done here, Sister.
I think we are, Father.
Oh, one other
thing, Mr. Laidlaw.
What's that?
Nick Courtland was here the
night Freddie Nagel was murdered.
And you're wondering why.
Nicholas Courtland was an
investor in my software company.
I knew about his reputation,
but then I was advised
that he'd become
strictly legitimate.
It was bad advice.
Hmm. And that's how
Joyce first met Freddie Nagel.
Through your connection
with Nick Courtland.
Yes. Regrettably, I
brought them together.
Nagel worked for Nick.
Joyce began to see a lot of
him and he treated her badly.
Very badly sometimes.
I urged her to end it.
She finally did.
I blame myself for
everything that happened.
And now, Father,
if you don't mind.
Goodbye, Mr. Laidlaw.
And thanks for your help.
- She's been faking it, Frank.
- Joyce?
She's supposed to be
under heavy sedation, right?
- Right.
- Right.
Look what I found
in her night table.
FRANK: Her medication.
She's been stashing it.
There's a lot of different
kinds of pills here, Frank.
Steve, drop me at the rectory
and then you run those pills
over to Mclntyre's Pharmacy,
see if you can find
out what they are.
STEVE: Are you
thinking what I'm thinking?
If Joyce Morrison is faking
a psychiatric condition
She could've snuck out of the
house and killed Rich Vincent.
And those pills would
be a perfect alibi.
STEVE: Mm-hm.
Ugh.
Just once, I'd like to have
a cup of java around here
that doesn't taste
like yesterday's mud.
Now, now, Father, you
know Maggie does her best.
It isn't easy adjusting to
life outside prison walls.
No kidding.
Father, you don't really think
that Judith Carswell
killed Jack Cory, do you?
Well, maybe Judith got tired
of having Cory slap her around.
But what about this Mr. Franklin
that you and Sergeant
Lawson mentioned?
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[POTS CLATTERING]
I'm gonna grab that
door for you, Father.
Don't worry about the kitchen.
I'll clean it up tomorrow.
I gather Big Ed Franklin
is some sort of criminal.
Ha! That's like calling
Mussolini some kind of politician.
He runs the rackets
on the South Side.
Would he have any sort of
motive for wanting Jack Cory dead?
Well, Cory was
his right-hand man.
They could have
had a falling-out.
Hey, Father, you got company.
Well, well, if it ain't the
guy with the funny collar
and the big mouth.
Let's go for a ride.
Is it trouble
you're looking for?
We're looking for you.
Big Ed wants to have
a chat. You too, Sister.
Father O'Downey, what
are these men doing?
Oh, they're just trying to
get our attention, Sister.
And maybe scare us a little.
BIG ED: Scaring people
is bad for business.
So is asking questions and
making trouble with the coppers.
Well, if it ain't old
Big Ed himself. Heh.
I haven't seen you since
we used to duck choir practice
at St. Anselmo's.
I must insist that you
release us immediately.
Save it, Sister.
You should have
stuck with me, Padre.
You could have been
somebody by now.
Like Jack Cory?
Sticking with you got him dead.
I gotta do something about that
big mouth of yours, O'Downey.
Did you do it, Big Ed, huh?
Did you ice Jack Cory?
He wouldn't have been your
first one either, would he now, Ed?
It's not too late to
confess, you know.
Did you ever hear of a
cement overcoat, wise guy?
I've been fitted a couple of
times, but I never wore one.
Well, this time you're gonna
get a concrete shoeshine.
All right, boys.
Father O'Downey,
they're ruining my shoes.
Don't worry, Sister.
I'll get us out of this.
COURTLAND: Sorry to
interrupt your reading, Father.
But I think it's time we
had a little talk in private.
We can talk privately in here.
What do you want?
- Father, do you know who I am?
- Mm-hm.
Nick Courtland, the gangster.
I prefer to think of
myself as a businessman.
In Gregory Laidlaw's
software business, I hear.
Not anymore.
Laidlaw bought me out.
Look, Father, I came here to tell
you not to get involved in this case.
The right man is behind bars
and the Morrison
family suffered enough.
What if somebody else
killed Freddie Nagel?
Somebody else?
Who might that be?
Well, Nagel worked for you.
Was he a good employee?
Did you have a falling-out?
Leave it alone, Father.
And if I don't?
You might come to
regret your involvement.
- Is that a threat?
- Look, Father.
Howard Morrison confessed
to Freddie Nagel's murder.
Let it stand there.
Otherwise, who knows
what might happen?
Mr. Courtland, where were you
when Rich Vincent was killed?
That's my business.
And that's all I'm
gonna say for now.
Goodbye, Father.
FRANK: Goodbye, Mr. Courtland.
- Was that?
- Nick Courtland.
What did you find out
about Joyce's pills?
I gave them to a friend of
mine who works at a drugstore.
He's gonna check them
out after he gets off work.
So, what did Courtland want?
He was trying to scare
me away from this case
and he came pretty
close to doing it.
So he's probably got
something to hide, right?
Right.
Get your coat.
Steve, I am convinced
more than ever
that Rich Vincent was
killed because he had proof
that Howard Morrison
was framed for murder.
But Morrison confessed, Frank.
Heh, heh. Yes, Courtland
made that same point.
Well, so how do
we get around that?
We are going to ask
Howard Morrison.
Let's take a ride. Hmm?
If you'll pardon the expression.
How many times do I have to tell
you, Father? I killed Freddie Nagel.
The way he treated
Joyce, I'd do it again.
You love your sister very much,
- don't you?
- Yeah.
Enough to confess to a
murder you didn't commit.
What do you mean?
Well, as I understand it, your
stepfather and Nick Courtland
found you and your sister alone
in the room with Nagel's body.
Joyce was in hysterics and
you had a gun in your hand,
but no one outside that
room saw you shoot Nagel.
Why would I lie?
Well, I can think of one good
reason, to protect your sister.
Joyce had nothing
to do with this.
Were you protecting
your sister, Howard?
Is that why you
confessed to a murder?
I'm finished.
Let's go.
Did it ever occur to
you that she didn't do it?
That you're taking the
fall for somebody else?
Somebody like
Laidlaw or Courtland?
What do you know?
Just that you love
your sister very much
and that you're
making a big mistake.
[SIGHS]
What did he tell you, Frank?
Not enough.
Well, at least we
know one thing.
He didn't kill Rich Vincent.
He was in jail.
Good thinking, Sister.
Ah! I knew these babies would
come in handy again someday. Hee.
So, Sister, you and Father
had a real scare, huh?
I must admit, Maggie,
I was quite nervous.
It was my first fitting
for cement overshoes.
Well, now, Sister Mary
Catherine, I told you I had a plan.
Oh, that's what my husband said
just before they shipped
him off to Sing Sing.
Well, you certainly
surprised Mr. Franklin
and those two ruffians, Father.
Wherever did you learn to
throw your voice in that fashion?
Same place I learned
the Indian rope trick,
from my cousin Dennis,
the carny sideshow barker.
All the same, I was glad that that
police boat showed up when it did.
There you are, Father.
I must say, cement is a lot
easier to crack than a safe.
And don't worry about
this mess, Father.
I'll clean it up tomorrow as
soon as I finish last week's dishes.
MARY CATHERINE:
Well, it seems very apparent
that it was Big Ed Franklin
who killed Jack Cory.
Now, why would you
say that, Mary Catherine?
Because of this? Ha!
That's just Big Ed's way of
telling us to mind our own business.
But if Mr. Franklin didn't
kill Jack Cory, who did?
Why would Anthony Carswell
confess to a crime he didn't commit?
I have no idea.
Well, it could be that he
was trying to protect someone.
But whom?
Why, it's as plain as
the nose on your face.
If you'll pardon the expression.
STEVE: Frank,
this is impossible.
How could they have ever
gotten out of cement overshoes?
That's not the point, Steve.
The point is who done it.
And we haven't got to that part yet
because we haven't got the pages.
Marie, do you know where
the rest of the manuscript is?
Father Prestwick took it.
- Where did he go?
- I don't know.
But he's sure to be back.
There's a piece of pie left.
Oh, never mind.
It's only the last
chapter we really need.
Yeah, the solution
to this thing.
Steve, are you sure you didn't find
the last chapter in Vincent's computer?
No. I looked, Frank. If it
was there, it's been erased.
Hmm.
- Is that hard to do?
- Mm-mm. That's easy.
It's finding it again that's the hard
thing. In fact, it's almost impossible.
It's worth a try. Did you phone
your friend at the pharmacy?
Yeah. You know,
Joyce Morrison was under
some serious medication, Frank.
In fact, if she had been taking
all the stuff they gave her,
- she would have been a total zombie.
- Mm.
Joyce Morrison is
the key to all of this.
You think she killed
Vincent and Nagel?
I don't know, but I
know who to ask.
Joyce Morrison.
Sister Mary Catherine Ignatius,
you are one smart cookie.
Come on.
Hey, Frank, look.
MAN 1: Yes.
- Take it easy. Stay
out of it. NURSE: No!
What's going on?
MAN 1: Get her in the
car. MAN 2: Come on.
Looks like they're
kidnapping her.
Let's go.
FRANK: This looks like
some kind of private sanitarium.
STEVE: Great front for hiding
somebody you've kidnapped.
FRANK: Maybe. STEVE:
Frank, this place is like a maze.
If we're gonna find
her, we gotta split up.
Right. But you be
careful, Steve, huh?
Yeah. You too. Remember,
you're not really Father O'Downey.
I'll try and keep that in mind.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
You're simply
disoriented, Miss Morrison.
That is to be expected.
But once we get you settled
in, you'll feel right at home here.
STEVE: Excuse me, doctor.
There's a patient inside
who's suffering from severe
multiple personality disorder.
- Who?
- He doesn't know.
That's his problem.
- Well, who are you?
- I'm a nun.
I'm telling you, there's
somebody who needs your help.
Now, are you gonna
believe me or not?
Miss Morrison, I'm Steve
Oskowski. I'm from St. Michael's.
Do you remember me?
I'm gonna help you, all right?
I'm gonna help you get out of here.
Hey.
JOYCE: Nick.
COURTLAND: It's
all right. It's okay.
It's okay. It's okay.
Steve, I saw you running.
What's the matter?
- What are you doing here?
- I happen to own this place.
Mr. Courtland, the
police know we're here.
- Father
- Anything happens to us, they'll know.
COURTLAND: Sister
- I'm sure the police
have got the place
surrounded right now.
Father Dowling, I didn't kidnap
Joyce. I'd never do anything to hurt her.
JOYCE: I came here
to get Nick's help.
He's the only friend I have in
the world now that Freddie's dead.
What?
COURTLAND: Freddie
Nagel was like a son to me.
JOYCE: Freddie and I were
married the day that he was killed.
How come this didn't
come out in court?
We kept it a secret.
I only found out for
myself a few days ago,
when Rich Vincent showed me
a copy of the marriage certificate.
And by then, I was too
sick to tell anyone anything.
Not sick, drugged.
Joyce, did you actually
see your brother kill Freddie?
I wish I could tell you, Sister.
That whole night's a blur.
My brother and
Freddie never got along.
- It's all my fault.
- No, it isn't.
You'll be all right.
Take her inside, please.
Are you satisfied, Father?
Joyce came to me
for help, that's all.
- Now, if you'll excuse me.
- Mr. Courtland.
In spite of what we heard,
Joyce Morrison is still a
suspect and so are you.
You'll hear from us soon.
Father Dowling,
what can I do for you?
You told me that you owned
a computer software company.
Does that make you an expert?
That depends on what
you mean by expert, Father.
Well, could you recover
a lost computer file?
Again, that depends. Why?
I need your help.
I have to warn you, Father,
that this may not work.
Sister Stephanie tells me
that when you erase a file
from the computer, the file
itself isn't actually destroyed.
What's happened is that the
directory entry for the file itself
has been wiped from
the computer's memory.
See, a computer file directory, Frank,
it's like a card catalog from the library.
Say, you lose the
index card from a book
The book itself is still
somewhere in the library.
Right. We just don't know
where to look for it anymore.
Oh, I understand.
Then the last chapter
is still in the computer.
But the computer
doesn't know how to find it.
Because the killer has wiped
out the file's directory entry.
What I've attempted is to
re-create the directory entry
through a special program
that I've loaded into the
computer from this floppy disk.
[PRINTER WHIRRING]
There.
Chapter 12.
"I doped it out and it
wasn't a pretty story."
[THUNDER CRASHING]
That's right, Lawson.
Judith Carswell and Jack
Cory were secretly married.
They tied the knot the same
day that Cory was killed.
Tough way to spend
the wedding night.
Well, tougher than
you would think.
You see, Jack Cory had
a real way with the dames.
He liked slapping them around.
You thought that he'd change
once he heard wedding
bells, but you were wrong.
That's not true. Jack
was a sweet guy.
Now, now, Miss Carswell.
Father O'Downey saw the bruise
Mr. Cory gave you that afternoon.
You had a shiner
big as a pie plate.
I must have bumped
into something.
I was in shock, hysterical.
That's what you
wanted us to think.
But you weren't so hysterical
that you couldn't grab Cory's gun
and shoot him dead in a fit of rage.
I thought Anthony killed Jack.
He confessed.
Because he wanted to
protect his sweet little sister.
You let Anthony take the blame
when you were the real killer all along?
Shame on you.
- Makes sense to
me. LAWSON: Lady.
You're going downtown.
[MARY CATHERINE GASPS]
Nobody's taking me anywhere.
Keep back or I
swear the nun gets it.
[GUNSHOT]
MARY CATHERINE: Father O'Downey.
Where did you learn to
shoot like that, Padre?
Now, why is it that
people always assume
just because you're
a man of the cloth,
you don't know how
to pack a roscoe? Heh.
JOYCE: But, Father Dowling.
That isn't what
happened. I swear it isn't.
I couldn't have killed
Freddie. We were in love.
No, you didn't kill
him, Miss Morrison.
You see, this is not the last
chapter that Rich Vincent wrote.
It's a forgery.
Written by the same person who
killed him and Freddie Nagel too.
You were all invited here tonight so
we could find out who that person is.
See, we found the real last
chapter in Vincent's computer
even though somebody
tried their best to erase it.
FRANK: We all
know that it's possible
to recover an erased
file from a computer.
This is the real
end of the story.
"Chapter 12."
I doped it out and it
wasn't a pretty story.
That's right, Lawson.
Judith Carswell was
secretly married to Jack Cory.
They tied the knot the same
day that Cory was killed.
Tough way to spend
the wedding night.
Wasn't it?
But that wedding night would
have been a lot tougher for you
had Jack Cory lived,
wouldn't it, Mr. Stackpole?
I don't know what you mean.
Now, now, Mr. Stackpole.
Father O'Downey found a copy
of your late wife's will in your desk.
According to this document,
your wife's millions were
held in trust under your control
till the day your
stepdaughter got married.
The day Judith married, she was
to receive half the estate as dowry.
And Anthony Carswell
was to get the other half
on his 25th birthday, which
is just three months from now.
Leaving you with nothing.
You needed that money to pay
off your gambling debts to Big Ed.
He wanted a piece of your
company, but you bought him off.
You killed Jack
Cory, Mr. Stackpole.
Shame on you.
FRANK: You let your
stepson take the rap for it
while you kept your
stepdaughter hopped up on drugs,
thinking that nobody
would find out the truth.
But you didn't count
on Father O'Downey.
Buddy,
you're going downtown.
O'DOWNEY: That was
Lawson's favorite line.
Thanks to me and
Sister Mary Catherine,
he got to use it a lot, but he
never, ever said thank you.
God forgive him.
It's ridiculous. It's
just a book of fiction.
Is it?
Nick Courtland here told
me that you bought back
his investment in your
software company.
Now, where did you get
the money, Mr. Laidlaw?
From your stepchildren's
inheritance?
STEVE: You killed Freddie Nagel
and when Rich Vincent
found out, you killed him too.
Yesterday, when
Rich Vincent was killed,
you went to his office
and you shot him.
And then you erased his
last chapter from the computer
and destroyed the printout.
This afternoon, when I called
you for help to recover the lost file,
you rewrote that last chapter
to name your
stepdaughter as the killer.
Yeah, that chapter that you
found in Vincent's computer,
you brought that in
yourself on a floppy disk.
Only a guilty man would have gone
to the trouble to forge that last chapter.
Makes sense to me.
Mr. Laidlaw,
you're under arrest.
Look out.
I'm not saying another
word without my attorney.
But Father O'Downey can't hold
a candle to you, Father Dowling.
Sister Mary Catherine
Ignatius, I am surprised at you.
- I wasn't always a nun, Frank.
- Mm.
But that's another story.
PHILIP: A couple of
snowflakes were still drifting down
on the dirty streets of Chicago
like dandruff off the collar of a drunk.
Sure, I was depressed.
But if I'd known at that moment
what was right around the corner
heading for me like a
runaway express train,
I think I'd have settled
for more depression.
It's easier on the
nervous system.
There's a dame outside.
Who is she, sweet cakes?
You're the shamus.
You figure it out.
Send her in.
See that we're not disturbed.
Sweet cakes was
right about one thing.
If looks were pizza,
this babe would be the house
special with double everything.
STEVE: Phil Prestwick?
That's what my friends call me.
And I don't have many friends.
I need your help.
Why me?
I looked in the phone book.
Your number came up.
The bishop is dead
and I swear I didn't
know the gun was loaded.
Dames never do.
But you've got to believe me.
There's no place
else I can turn.
MARIE: You can't go in there.
FRANK: Try and stop me, cutie.
What is this, a setup?
I figured you had something
going on the side, but with this jerk?
No, Big Frank. I swear,
he meant nothing to me.
Out of the way, sweetheart.
You and I will settle up later.
Right now, it's
your turn, my friend.
Hey. I swear, she just came
in here a few seconds ago.
Your number's up. You're
cashing in your chips.
You're handing in your lunch
pail. You're taking the fall.
You're about to get
your ticket punched.
You're gonna take a
long walk on a short pier.
You're going south.
You're taking a cab.
No, please, don't do
any of those things.
No, no, no.
FRANK: Phil. Phil, wake up.
- Wake up.
- What?
- What?
- You were asleep.
You were shouting.
Oh, I was having a dream.
It must have been a
nightmare from the sound of it.
I heard it all the way
out in the kitchen.
What kind of a dream was it?
Oh, I'd just been reading this
detective story before I fell asleep
and all of a sudden,
I was in this private eye's
office, only it was me. And
And you were in it, Marie.
And Sister Stephanie, you
were in it. And Father Dowling.
You were all in my dream.
Phil, you're not in
Kansas anymore.
[PHILIP SIGHS]