"Previously on The Firm... [gunshot]" "It's Joey Morolto Jr." "I didn't know the old man had a kid." "'Cause he was 15 when his father went to prison." "Junior turned 25 this week." "As a little birthday gift, they made him boss of the family." "I'm sure he has more to worry about than me." "I have a plan for Mitch McDeere, and when I am ready, you will hear about it." "So will he." "ABBY:" "I called my parents, I'd like to see them." "MITCH:" "I never thought we would get here, Abby." "I'm going, but I'm not leaving." "Hello, Mother." "I saw the news." "I know what happened with Noble Insurance " "Conspiracy, the murders, the torture." "You're running." "It has taken all these years, but you finally ran home." "How is your marriage, Abby?" "[dials phone]" "ABBY:" "Are you sure?" "Dr. Wilson was supposed to call in that prescription last night." "[sigh]" "Okay, thanks." "[phone vibrating]" "Hey." "Hey, there you are." "Abbs, I was starting to get worried." "Yeah, hey." "We're fine." "Did you get my text?" "Yeah, it sounds like an interesting night." " How's your dad?" " He's good." "He looks older." "I mean, it's been 11 years, so, you know." "It was harder than I thought." " How's Claire?" " She loved him." "And he definitely loved her." "They're gonna watch a movie together this morning." "And I..." "I thought my mom was ready to reconnect, but I guess just because I am doesn't mean she has to be." "Yeah, I was gonna say that to you." "Look, I want you to come home, Abb." "I know that you need some time, so you just..." "You do what you need to do, okay?" "But the important thing is what happened is done." "Mitch, it'll just be something else." "Another conspiracy " "I took too many chances, I know that." "I know you need some time, it's just..." "I want us to be okay again." "Just sit tight, I'm working on it!" "What's up, boss?" "Find Sal, and get in here." "The three of us are going to DC." "Why, what's up?" "I told you, when I was ready, we'd deal with Mitch McDeere." "It's time." "RAY:" "Hey." "That's the same suit and tie you were wearing yesterday, which means you didn't go home." "So either you're starting a trial, or this office got ransacked." "Door number one:" "New case, big client, actually." " Henry Kettle?" " Henry Kettle, novelist." "That's not a big case." "That's a massive case, a press case." "Nick Kinross sent it over." "The facts are actually pretty interesting." "Hang on, I'm a little lost." "I thought we were done with Kinross and Clark." "Press cases, they bring in business, Ray." "This isn't about business, it's about keeping your mind occupied while your wife and kid are in Kentucky." "Nick's been Henry's lawyer for 15 years... copyright, publishing..." "This is a murder charge." "Yeah, that's why he sent it to me." "He's been working with some big-time lawyer up in New York." "But Nick didn't trust him." "Mitch, you don't need to do this right now " "Not with Abby away." "Come on, man." "Tammy's off getting her divorce in Tennessee." "It's just you and me, let's take a break." "I need to work, Ray." "I'm not okay right now, I don't know a damn thing." "But this..." "this I know." "[sigh]" "I'm gonna go home and change." "There's an eye-witness who puts Henry at the crime scene." "Check him out, see if there's anything you can find that helps us." "Dr. Wilson?" " Hi." " Hi." "So you're Maxine Sutherland's daughter." "Yes." "My daughter Claire and I are just visiting from DC." "You know, I have to say," "I've known Maxine for a long time, and... she hasn't told me much about you." "Really." "Well, you know how it goes." "Maybe some relationships are just beyond therapy." "[chuckles]" "I'm not your mother's therapist." "I write the occasional prescription for her, for convenience, but, uh, we're colleagues." " Colleagues?" " At the community center?" "She runs the children's program." "I help out, counsel some underprivileged kids." "Volunteering..." "It doesn't sound like the mom I knew." "Hm." "I guess you two haven't seen each other in a while." "Actually, I really didn't come here to talk about her." "As I told your receptionist," "I just need a prescription refilled and my mom thought maybe you could help." "I see." "Your receptionist said you could just call it in." "Yeah, she shouldn't have." "I'm sorry," "I don't write prescriptions for patients without a session first." "I have time now, if you're free." "I guess I could." "Great, I'll let the folks out front know." "'Kay..." "It's all set." "Actually, I just remembered," "I have to pick up my daughter right now." "Maybe we could do this another time." "Sure." "Today, of course, day 1 in the trial of reclusive novelist Henry Kettle - a man very rarely seen in public." "In fact, a man known more for his secretive lifestyle than for writing in recent years." "Kettle is charged with brutally killing his sister, Margaret." "Sadly, rumours have been swirling about Henry Kettle for some time..." "Some saying the eccentric genius may be legally insane." "I am not insane." "You don't know me, Henry." "But Nick Kinross sent me here because I am experienced with cases like this." "Now, I am ready for trial... but I do have to ask the court for a psychological exam." "You honestly think I'm crazy?" "I don't know what to think." "You live alone, you have no friends." "You don't even drive a car..." "I had a vision I died in a car crash, that doesn't make me certifiable." "You don't talk on the phone because somebody may be listening." "You told a reporter you don't eat meat because a cow asked you not to." "That was years ago, and, at the time, I was extremely high." "This isn't funny." "I know that." "Look, it's true, I am a highly suspicious, deeply paranoid, militant vegetarian, but I loved my sister." "I believe that, but they have evidence." "A witness heard you arguing with Margaret in her apartment." "He saw you walk out of her door with a scratch on your face, and she was found strangled just a few minutes later." "She was alive when I left." "I wouldn't hurt her." "If I think that you are unstable." "I am required by law to ask for an exam." "Then just do it already!" "Look, I know what I am, and I'm not saying I don't need a shrink." "But I am all here." "Right here." "And I am innocent." "I met Henry almost 15 years ago." "I was a young literary agent, he was an English graduate student with his first novel." "You're referring to The Saddest Generation?" "Yes." "Since then, it's been called perhaps the finest work of fiction in the last half-century." "20 Million copies in print worldwide." "I see." "How old was Mr. Kettle when he wrote it?" "Twenty-five." "Henry was an overnight sensation." "One minute he was going to class, next minute he was teaching it." "How did he handle the attention?" "Henry hated the spotlight." "He shut everyone out, except for his youngest sister, Margaret, and I." "He became..." "I know he hates the word... a recluse." "And what about his writing?" "[chuckles] There was no writing." "I spent years begging him to go back to work." "But, nothing." "And then, it finally happened." "What happened?" "Several months ago, Henry told me he was working on a new novel." "Naturally, I was thrilled." "But he refused to show it to me." "Did he say why?" "Yes, he was writing for himself." "No readers, no public opinion." "Just the work." "I understood." "But I couldn't accept it." "So I reached out to Margaret." "The defendant's sister?" "Yes, she took care of Henry." "I called her." "I told her the world deserves to see Henry's new book." "Did she help you?" "Eventually, yes." "She took it when Henry was out." "She brought it to me at my hotel here in town." "When Henry realized, he called me." "How did he react?" "He was furious." "He wanted to stay hidden." "The idea of more praise, more public attention..." "It was his nightmare." "When he hung up," "I realized he was leaving to find her." "And what did you do?" "I took a cab from the hotel to Margaret's apartment." "But Henry had already been there, and gone." " Objection." " Sustained." "Mr. Miller, just tell us what you saw." "The door was unlocked." "I knocked." "When I went inside, I found her on the ground." "I could see that she was dead." "Thank you." "No further questions." "Henry loved his sister, didn't he." " Objection." " I'll rephrase." "Did you ever see Henry get violent with Margaret?" "No." "In fact, quite the opposite is true, isn't it?" "Henry supported Margaret financially." "He bought her a condo, he paid her mortgage..." "Yes." "Margaret was a troubled woman, wasn't she?" "Extremely shy, easily overwhelmed..." "Objection!" "The victim's psychiatrist history has no relevance." "She saw doctors, all because Henry..." "What do you want me to say, that I'm surprised?" "I'm more than surprised." "He's crazy, but I never thought he'd kill her." "I'm not crazy!" "Mr. Kettle, there will be no outbursts in my courtroom." "I am not crazy!" "[quietly]" " Henry..." " No!" "You tell them!" "Mr. Kettle!" "You will sit down, sir!" "Or I will have you removed from the courtroom!" "Henry, this is my brother Ray." "He's a private investigator." "He is looking into Margaret's neighbour, the witness who puts you at the murder scene." " Good to meet you." " Liked your book." " The medical examiner's next?" " Yes." "I can't hear that." "I don't want to be in court for that." "Henry, you need to pull it together." "There cannot be any more outbursts like this morning." "The jury cannot see you as unstable." " No!" " Yes!" "You cannot be absent from testimony without permission." "Then you get me permission!" "I mean, could you sit there, if it was your wife?" "Someone you loved?" "I'm not going." "You want to run that one by me again, Counsel?" "Your Honour, I know that it is unusual, but he is highly emotional." "Then get him a tissue." "Plenty of defendants get upset when they hear details of their own crime." "Are you saying he's guilty?" "He is more than upset, and he did not kill his sister, so the idea of listening to all the gory details of her murder is enough to send him over the edge." "Oh, please." "Is that a legal argument, Helen?" "I don't need a legal argument to call out crap when I hear it." "Your Honour, the defendant has the right to confront witnesses against him, but there is no law requiring him to be present." "What about the victim's rights?" "What about our rights to force her murderer to face what he did?" "Now that's crap." "If your client's uncomfortable, the jury should see that." "What, so they can assume that he's guilty?" "That's speculation." "Speculation cuts both ways, Counsel." "If I keep him in, the jury will speculate on why he's upset;" "If I let him go, they'll speculate on why he's not there." "You could instruct them not to draw any conclusions." "Denied, I won't risk reversal on appeal." " Objection." " I've made my decision, Counsel." "Tell your client to strap it in and hold it down." "He's staying." "I could come back when the movie's over." "Oh, it'll only be a minute or two longer." "You and your father." "You used to love watching old movies." "So, you saw Dr. Wilson this morning." "What a coincidence." "So much for doctor-patient confidentiality." "Ben would never say anything." "Pauline Evans saw you going into the office." "I'm curious how you found him." "He just wrote me a prescription." "Bottle's in my medicine chest." "You wouldn't have gone in there, would you?" "Perhaps looking for something to take the edge off?" "Oh, of course not." "After all, you've said everything's fine." "We're done!" "And so is the popcorn." "So, everybody behaving?" "What else would we be doing?" "Lying like a rug..." "Your specialty." "I heard you talking about the community center." "Maybe Abby and Claire would be interested in helping with your dance tomorrow night." "Dance, where?" "Harold, really." "They're in town to relax, not to work." "I like to work!" "My dad works all the time." "Yeah, but if Grandma doesn't want help... it's impolite to butt in." "No it isn't." "This is the South." "You see, Claire, your grandma runs the children's program at the Danesboro Community Center." "And tomorrow night, she's having a dance for underprivileged kids." "Mom..." "What do you think?" "I think underprivileged kids need laptops, not a cotillion." "[chuckles]" "Our charity does provide educational support." "But learning how to behave in social settings is also important." "Come on, Mom, let's do it!" "It'll help you feel better." "What are you talking about?" "I feel fine." "Lying like a rug." "Must be genetic." "Okay, let's help Grandma." "The cause of death, in general terms was homicidal strangulation." "And, as the medical examiner, Dr. Schneider, how did you arrive at that conclusion?" "In cases like this, we look for blunt force injury to the tissues of the neck." "With Margaret, we didn't have to look far." "You can see the bruising pattern." "The fingertouch pads of the right hand along the neck, and the thumb on the opposite side." "And what do those bruises tell you?" "They tell me the killer applied unusual force." "A fact I confirmed during the autopsy." "The victim had extensive soft tissue damage, and multiple fractures of the hyoid bone." "Is that uncommon?" "Yes, in my medical opinion, this was not your standard asphyxiation." "There is evidence of rage." "Whoever wanted the victim dead, made sure the job was done." "Thank you, Doctor." "Nothing further." "Write something." "Distract yourself." "Doctor, the bruising pattern you showed us is consistent with the killer's right hand, correct?" "Yes." "You are aware that my client is left-handed?" "That's not dis-positive." "You said the killer wanted her dead." "It seems to me he would use his good hand." "That's deceptive." "In many cases, the killer will use both hands... one on top of the other." "In fact, there are signs that happened here." "Signs..." "In other words, you're guessing." "No." "The victim had scratches on her right neck." "I believe those were made by the defendant's nails." "The curved nature of the..." "You believe again." "That's not exactly scientific." "So tell me, Doctor." "Did you find my client's skin cells on the victim's neck?" " No." " No..." "So... [clears throat]" "No further questions, Your Honour, I need a recess." "Oh, it's getting late." "Let's just pick this up in the morning." "Tell me what just happened, Henry." "Because I think I know what just happened." "I told you, I couldn't handle it." "It's fine, it barely broke the skin." "I just couldn't listen to it anymore." "I had to feel something else, just anything..." "Hey, you were asking me to look into the eye-witness?" "Check that out." "This could work, Ray." "It could get us reasonable doubt." "Mr. McKenzie, did you know Margaret Kettle?" "Yes, she bought a condo in my building two years ago." "My wife and I live on the same floor." "We were good friends." " Did you see her the day she was killed?" " No." "Please tell us what you did see." "I came home from work, took the elevator to the fourth floor, like always." "That's when I saw the defendant." "Mr. Kettle, you're certain?" "Yes, he was coming up the stairs as I left the elevator." "He was out of breath, angry..." "Objection." "The witness can't know my client's state of mind." " Sustained." " Please continue, sir." "I said hello, but he ignored me." "He went to Margaret's apartment and started banging on the door." "I was concerned, but I knew Henry was her brother, so..." " You went home?" " Yes." "After a few minutes, I heard yelling." "Clearly, they were having a fight." "I went out into the hallway." "Thought about knocking." " Did you?" " No, I didn't get the chance." "I was walking to her door when Henry... suddenly came out." "He looked..." "I don't know how else to describe it... enraged." "He had a scratch running down the side of his face." " It was bleeding." " What did you do?" "Nothing." "Henry went down the stairs," "I went to Margaret's door, but she didn't answer." "Thank you." "No further questions." "You said you and Margaret were friends." "Yes." "I'll give you one chance to tell them, Paul." "The truth is... you and Margaret were romantically involved." "Objection!" "Foundation?" "I am laying the foundation." "Who are you looking at?" "Your wife..." " She doesn't know, does she..." " Overruled." "The witness will answer." "This is the pendant Margaret was wearing when she died." "You bought that for her, didn't you." "This is the receipt from your credit card used to buy the pendant two days before she was murdered." "Do you buy all your friends diamond pendants?" "I'm sorry." "And this is the note you dictated to the store clerk on the phone." "It's very short." "It just says, "Soon..." "Love, Paul"." " You said that, didn't you?" " Yes." "What did you mean by that, "Soon"?" "You told Margaret you were going to leave your wife, but you didn't leave, did you?" "You wanted to buy more time so you gave Margaret a gift." " Objection!" " Overruled." "What happened?" "Did she threaten you?" "Did she threaten to walk down the hall and tell your wife the truth?" " No..." " So you killed her." "I didn't kill her!" "If she was so angry at me, why was she wearing that pendant?" "Look..." "I loved her." "I wrote "Soon" in that card because I meant it." "I wanted us to be together." "[murmuring]" "Grandma, look at how pretty this looks!" "Oh, lovely, dear." "Regina, help her with the clumping." "Still no sound?" "No, the vendor thinks that it's a blown fuse in the amplifier." "He'll replace it, but you're gonna have to take it down to his shop." "I'm gonna get you some help." " Oh, Ben!" " Maxine!" "Everything looks so great." "And, uh..." "I see you've recruited some excellent help." " How was the session?" " Mother!" "Oh, cool your cannons, Abby, I wasn't talking about you." "The center has given us office space upstairs and Ben donates his time twice a week to counsel the new kids." "It went fine, I think we can help them." "Wonderful." "Oh, perhaps you can help us too." "Abby needs to take this amplifier across town and she could use a man with good biceps." "Anything for you, Maxine." "Mother, we shouldn't inconvenience Dr. Wilson." "I'm sure he's very busy." " Actually, I'm not." " No, really, my mother's afraid of anything that might break a nail." "Abby, this kind gentleman has offered his assistance." "Be polite." "Besides, Dr. Wilson said he's helping me." "And I accept." "Ms. Figgus..." "At the risk of being optimistic, does the state rest?" "No, Your Honour." "The people call Robert Frane to the stand." "Your Honour, Mr. Frane is not on the witness list." "Because the people didn't know Mr. Frane was a witness." "He found us this morning." "Don't worry, Counsel, you'll have time before cross, if you need it." "Robert Frane, I'm senior vice-president of Crossfield Press." "We publish fiction novels based here in DC." "Sir, can you tell me, is this one of the novels submitted to your company?" "Yes, I received a call from Margaret Kettle shortly before she died." "She told me she was sending her brother's book." "It arrived in the mail the next day." "Objection, sidebar, Your Honour?" "[quietly] I don't see how this document is relevant." "This document is the defendant's new novel." "So?" "So, your client had a reason for not wanting it published." "And it wasn't his fear of praise." "Objection overruled." "Mr. Frane, did you read the book?" " Yes." " You had no right to do that!" "I wrote that for myself!" "Mr. McDeere, if your client can't control himself..." "Those pages are private!" "Mr. Kettle, sit down!" "Or an officer will sit you down, understood?" "Please, give us your professional opinion." "As a publisher, I was astonished." "I found the writing to be mediocre, at best." "It was structurally flawed, amateurish." "The characters were poorly drawn, and each page, to put it mildly, was a grammatical catastrophe." "Move to strike." "This testimony is directly relevant." "To what?" "This trial is about a murder!" "It's not a book review!" "To rage." "Mr. Kettle wasn't angry because his writing was exposed." "He was angry because he was exposed as a washed-up talent." "I want this testimony striken, along with the commentary." "All those years, being told you're a genius." "To know, in your own mind, that you'd lost your gift." "And to have that fact brought out by your own sister." " Objection!" " Sustained." "Approach the bench." "[quietly] I was just responding to an objection." "You were crossing the line, and you damn-well know it." "That being said, the relevance objection is again denied." " Your Honour!" " It goes to motive, Counsel." "If your client felt humiliated by the victim " "She can't prove that!" "Maybe Henry thought the book was brilliant." "Maybe, but she can argue the point." "I'll let the jury decide." "Ah, All right, there we go!" "No problem." "Nothing that a chiropractor and a scotch couldn't fix." "Is this your way of asking me out for a drink?" "Actually, I don't think my husband would love that." "Your husband." "Wait, I'm sorry," "I was under the impression you were in town because your marriage didn't work out." "An impression you got from my mother." "More like wishful thinking on her part." "She disapproved of your husband." "You're the shrink..." "Is boycotting your only daughter's wedding a sign of disapproval?" "You know, I did notice you never rescheduled our appointment." "Yeah, well..." "With you and my mom working together, it didn't seem like a great idea." "And now that you've hit on me, it's..." "I got bad information." "You can't hold that against me." "[chuckles] Okay." "If you don't hold this against me..." "I took this off your desk when you were out of the room." "I didn't try to fill it." "I'm glad." "What changed your mind?" "My daughter." "I thought I had it under control, but... even she noticed that something's wrong and I can't do that to her again." "Do what again?" "There's a reason that I haven't seen my parents for a while." "My husband and I were put into witness protection ten years ago." "You weren't allowed to see them?" "It's been hard." "And so I use the pills as a way to make things easier." "But it's been a problem." "And once it got really bad." "Pills are an escape." "A way to avoid reality." "What reality are you trying to avoid now?" "Your mom seems to think it's your marriage." "I feel like I should be paying you." "I didn't mean for this to turn into a session." " No, it's fine." " No, I'm sorry." "I just..." "I have been talking to the same 3 people for like, 10 years." "So it's really nice to..." "Talk to someone new, I get it." "Yeah." "You don't need to come with me." "Really, I mean, the store's just right around the corner, and I think they're gonna fix it pretty quick." "I have the time." "And, anyway..." "The store's that way." "You have no idea where you are." "[laughs]" "Okay." "Look, I'm not against looking." "I've been looking." "I make looking look good." "But what the hell am I looking for?" "Something, I don't know." "But if Henry is innocent, then there must be something that we missed." "Ooh, vouchered item." "One glass recovered from the table next to the victim." "Contents found to be water." "Prints belonged to the victim only." "Vouchered item..." "Ladies handbag." "Contents include..." "One ladies wallet, assorted credit cards, one keyring, three housekeys." "Oh!" "Vouchered item..." "Cough drops, two, recovered from..." "Okay, this is stupid." "Wait, why the third key on the ring?" "It's a standard door, it's just got a top and a bottom lock." "I don't know, maybe it's an extra." "Actually..." "There's an auto payment on her credit card monthly to a place called the Vault." "That sound like storage?" "The Vault, 118 Omega Street." "Yeah, it could be." "Check it out." "Writers only." "What is this place?" "I was wondering if somebody would show up." "I thought maybe I'd have to gather her things by myself." "Well, the name kind of threw me off." "Yeah, it's understandable." ""The Vault", it's supposed to be like the place you go to lock yourself away to get some writing done." "But it's open to the public." "Assuming we have the space available." "We have ten rooms." "We offer coffee and writing supplies." "The brilliant ideas are your responsibility." "Did you know Margaret Kettle?" "Not really." "About as well as anyone else around here." "Margaret liked to be off on her own." "This is it." "I told the police about this place, but they didn't seem to care." "Said to send any personal effects back to the family." "Henry's the writer in the family." "So why would Margaret rent a space in the Vault?" "Don't know." "I'll be down front if you need me." "All right, thanks." "Forty-nine..." "Margaret was writing a book." "A book that told the truth about her and Henry." "Henry, I am your lawyer." "I'm here to help you." "We're here to help you." "We know about Margaret, we know how this started." "The Saddest Generation, it's a brilliant novel." "But you didn't write it." "Margaret did." "How could you know that?" "We found Margaret's new book." "Margaret was writing again, non-fiction." "The true story of how The Saddest Generation was written." "I didn't know." "It's like a diary." "She tells all of it." "About how she wrote the novel when she was 19, about how she begged you to take credit for it." "I didn't want to." "I tried to stop it, but they wouldn't listen." "Who wouldn't listen?" "Margaret." "And my father." "I don't understand!" "It's a novel, I never thought they would like it." "She submitted it under your name, Henry." "And they do like it!" "Then tell them the truth!" "I can't." "She can barely leave the house, Henry." "Margaret can't talk to people the way that you can!" "I don't care!" "I have my own writing!" "There's an agent, he wants a meeting." "One meeting." "After that, they can publish the book." "Henry, we need the money!" "Henry, please!" "I can't meet them." "Look at me, I can't be around too many people." "People love you, Henry." "Once it's published, you can go back to your own writing." "We need the money!" "One meeting, that's what they said." "But when the book came out, it was over." "The critics said it was brilliant, there were reporters and interviewers." " Why wouldn't Margaret do it?" " She couldn't do that." "Even as a kid, Margaret had doctors and phobias and..." "I was the normal one, the happy one." "[laughs] Look at me now." "Henry, your story isn't over yet." "When she found out I was writing again, she was so angry." "Why?" "I betrayed her." "You have to understand, in her mind, Margaret was Henry Kettle." "Only she could write a book using that name." "Your name." "I told her, I didn't care about publishing." "I just wanted to write again." "You know, for myself, just so I could see what I could have been on my own." "She didn't believe me." "It wasn't her fault though." "Margaret... wasn't well." "She couldn't control her emotions." "And that's why she stole your pages?" "To embarrass me." "When she took the pages, I went to find her, and..." "She wouldn't listen." "She slapped me." "Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up every day knowing you're living someone else's life?" "Henry, did you kill Margaret?" "No." "But it's too late." "The jury thinks I did, they're convinced I'm crazy." "No, it is not too late." "We never give up." "[upbeat music]" "Excuse me, miss." "Ask her." "My name's Zack." "May I have this dance?" "Sure." "♪ [slow music] ♪" "See, some things are better than a laptop." "What, none of the boys ask you to dance?" "Well, aren't you just in the most unexpected places?" "Nice to see you too." "So you come to all these teenage dances?" "I'm working." "[sighs]" "Well, I was working." "I just came out to take a break and get some air." "Working nights, dedicated and charming." "As a matter of fact," "I'm usually much lazier." "[laughs]" "I'm trying to track down some missing money." "We get state funds to treat these kids, and..." "I just can't seem to account for it all." "Well, maybe I could help you." "I do all the bookkeeping at our office at home." "I might take you up on that." "How's it going with your mom?" "Oh, about the same." "Look, I just gotta say it couldn't have been easy for her watching her only daughter go into witness protection." "If you take her side," "I am gonna throw you off this balcony." "I used to go to dances." "In white gloves." "And my mom taught me the keys to being a woman, like fine manners and good posture." "Uh, and it was all so small." "And that's why Mitch was magical." "My mom just wanted to change her wardrobe every season." "And Mitch wanted to change the world." "So did you." "Yeah." "And how's that working out?" "Guess I got what I wanted." "But sometimes I wish my life was smaller." "Simpler." "You know what I mean?" "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have done that." "No, you shouldn't have." "MITCH:" "We've all done things we wish we could take back." "I hear ya." "But taking credit for a book that's a national treasure?" "Come on." "Okay, new theory." "Go back to the night Margaret died." "Henry goes over to Margaret's apartment." "He's angry, he confronts her about stealing the pages." " Uh-huh." " They argue, and he leaves." "Margaret's still alive." "Okay, that works, assuming someone came in and strangled her after he left." " You have a suspect?" " Yeah, maybe." "One." "Who?" "Gordon Miller, Henry's agent." "The dude that found the body?" "Or maybe he didn't." "Maybe she was alive when he got there." "Come on, we ruled him out because there was no motive." "Until now." "When he gets there, Margaret's upset." "He tries to calm her down, but she doesn't." "She tells him the truth." "That she wrote the Saddest Generation." "Why would she do that?" "Because she can't control her emotions." "She threatens to go public with it." " But why does he kill her?" " Money!" "Miller's got Henry's new book." "He knows it's worth a fortune." "He sells it and gets a huge commission." "Unless Margaret tells the truth." "Henry Kettle is a fraud." "Okay, that's a theory." "Miller's a big guy, he could easily strangle a woman Margaret's size." "Plus, he's probably right-handed." "Right-handed, well that narrows it down." "I don't see how you're gonna prove this." "I think I might know a way." "We need to talk." " I'm not taking a plea." " Neither am I." "Henry didn't kill Margaret, but I might know who did." " You might?" " It's your choice, Helen." "Hear me out now, or we play this out in front of a jury." "If I'm right, you set an innocent man free;" "If I'm wrong, then you lose nothing, and we go on with the trial." "I'm listening." "I need a continuance." "And..." "I need you to make a call." "[sigh]" "Mr. Miller." "Would you come with us please, sir?" "What's this about?" "This is absurd." "Now you think I killed Margaret." "Honestly, no." "Then what the hell are we doing here?" "Just tying up loose ends." "I'm assuming you have nothing to hide." "I don't." "So then let's just do this so we can all move forward." "Your wedding ring, may I see it please?" " Why?" " Please." "[sighs]" "What the hell is this?" "What are you doing?" "Margaret had scratches on her neck, curved scratches." "The M.E. thought that they were from Henry's fingernails." "I don't think so." "The ring's been cleaned." "Nothing on the surface." "Remove the stone." "No, hang on." "Sit down, Mr. Miller." "You'll be out of here soon enough." "We have blood." "Why is there blood on your ring, Gordon?" " Answer the question." " He doesn't have to." "The swab will come back a match to Margaret Kettle's DNA and we'll know why." "I babysat that crazy son of a bitch for 15 years." "Begging him all that time to favour us with his genius." "Write us another masterpiece." "He didn't even write the first one." "What does that mean?" "It means Henry's a fraud." "His sister wrote The Saddest Generation." "You should have seen her." "Shy little Margaret." "Mocking me." "She was gonna make sure everyone knew the truth." "Do you know how much a new manuscript from Henry Kettle is worth?" "Nothing." "You didn't have to kill her." "The book isn't any good." "Good." "It doesn't matter." "It's Henry Kettle." "I would have sold it for millions." "[sigh]" "The trial is over, Henry." "The D.A.' s dismissing all charges." "You're free." "[sigh]" "Thank you." "Not just from me, from Margaret." "One thing..." "My sister's book, the one you found." "It's our story, a memoir?" "It's her follow-up to the Great American Novel." "The one everyone's been waiting for me to write." "I want to publish it." "If you do, everyone'll know the truth." "It's time." "I just want to be myself again." "CLAIRE:" "Hi Dad, it's me." "We're at the hotel." "Call us back." "And go home if you're still at the office." "I love you." "[dials number]" "[phone vibrates]" "[beep]" "Hi, it's Abby, please leave a message." "[door closes]" "Ray?" "[door opens] Ray, did you forget something?" "Sorry guys, we're closed." "You." "Mitch McDeere." "I've been thinking about this moment since I was 15 years old." "You know who I am?" "Mr. Morolto asked you a question." "You're Joey." "You know why I'm here?" "Go on, you son of a bitch, get it over with." "Mitch, Mitch." "Come on now." "It's 2012." "I don't want to kill you." "I want to hire you."