The Firm Episode 1.18 Chapter Eighteen

Abby's on the phone anxiously asking the pharmacy for the prescription she purloined from her mother when Mitch calls. Abby tells Mitch that reconnecting with her parents has been harder than she thought it would be. Mitch wants Abby home; what happened with the firm is done. But Abby's not ready. She knows it won't be long before Mitch finds another conspiracy, or Joey Morolto comes knocking. Little do Mitch and Abby know, Joey is indeed on his way to D.C., and he's got a full head of steam.

Mitch stays up all night, poring over a new case sent over by Kinross, that of neurotic, reclusive novelist Henry Kettle, who's charged with murdering his sister Margaret. While Ray is skeptical of anything having to do with the firm, Mitch knows Kettle's case will generate press, which means business at a time he desperately needs it. Back in Kentucky, Abby meets with her mother's handsome therapist, Benjamin Wilson. She's surprised to learn that Maxine isn't one of Wilson's patients; they work together at the local community center where Maxine runs a program for underprivileged children. Nevertheless, Abby's got her sights set on a prescription for herself, but Wilson refuses to write one without a session, which he can do as soon as he checks with his secretary. When Wilson steps out of the room, Abby tears a blank slip off his prescription pad, then makes her excuses and leaves.

Mitch tells Henry that he's ready for trial, but Henry will have to submit to a psychological exam first. While Henry admits he's deeply paranoid and superstitious, he didn't kill his sister... even though Margaret's neighbor Paul MacKenzie saw him leaving Margaret's apartment with a scratch on his face, and she was found strangled to death moments later. In court, Henry's literary agent Gordon Miller is the state's first witness. After the publication of his first novel, "The Saddest Generation," Henry became an overnight sensation. Despising the spotlight, grad student Henry stopped writing and shut out everyone save Miller and Margaret. Several months ago, Henry finally started writing again. When he refused to show his new novel to Miller, Margaret swiped it on Miller's behalf. When he found out, Henry was furious. He called Miller, who rushed to Margaret's apartment, only to find her dead on the floor.

On cross, Mitch establishes that although Margaret "took care" of Henry, Henry supported Margaret, paying her mortgage and her heap of psychiatrist bills. When Miller refers to Henry as "crazy," Henry stands up to set the record straight - he is NOT crazy! On a break, Mitch introduces Henry to Ray, who's looking into the eyewitness' testimony. When Henry learns the medical examiner will be next on the stand, he vehemently demands that Mitch get permission for him to leave the courtroom. Fearing Henry is cracking up for real, Mitch does present his request to Judge Hollingsworth, but she refuses to grant it.

Abby sits with her mother while Claire watches an old movie with Harold. Maxine mentions that she heard Abby stopped by Dr. Wilson's office. He just wrote Maxine a prescription - Abby wouldn't have taken it? Perhaps looking to take the edge off? Harold and Claire interrupt with a bright idea. Maybe Abby and Claire would like to help out with Maxine's dance at the community center tomorrow night? Abby tries to beg off, but when Claire urges her participate, suggesting it might help her feel better, Abby's over a barrel.

In court, Figgis questions the medical examiner, who outlines how Margaret was strangled in a rage. Unable to face the photos, Henry squirms uncomfortably, clearly on the edge. After telling his client to pull it together, Mitch establishes that the murderer was right-handed, while Henry is left-handed, and Henry's skin cells were not found in the scratches on his sister's neck. When Mitch notices Henry stabbing himself in the leg with a pen, he calls for a recess. All Henry will say is that he needed to feel "something else." That's when Ray runs in with new evidence that could earn reasonable doubt...

Figgis questions Margaret's neighbor, Paul MacKenzie. On the day of the murder, he noticed an angry, out-of-breath Henry entering Margaret's apartment. MacKenzie heard yelling, then saw an enraged Henry leave with a bleeding scratch running down the side of his face. Mitch wastes no time on cross establishing that MacKenzie and Margaret were romantically involved. In fact, MacKenzie bought Margaret the diamond pendant she was wearing when murdered just two days before her death. The card that came with it said "soon." MacKenzie apologizes to his wife in the gallery, then insists he didn't kill Margaret - he loved her. Back in Kentucky, Abby and Claire help Maxine set up for the dance. When a blown speaker needs to get transported across town to get fixed, a scheming Maxine sends Abby and Dr. Wilson to handle the chore together.

Figgis calls a final surprise witness, Robert Frayne, a local publisher of fiction novels. Apparently, Margaret sent him Henry's manuscript just before her death. When Frayne admits he read the book, an irate Henry stands up and shouts. He wrote the book expressly for himself; the manuscript is his private property! Frayne goes on to say the writing is mediocre at best; clearly, Henry was angry that Margaret was about to expose him as a washed-up talent. Mitch objects on the basis of relevance, but the judge isn't having it.

Abby and Dr. Wilson have a great time on their errand for Maxine, so much so that he wonders if she's asking him out for a drink. When Abby allows that her husband wouldn't appreciate that, Dr. Wilson indicates Maxine led him to believe Abby's marriage was over. It's not long before Abby explains she never rescheduled her appointment because of her mother's friendship with Wilson. She pulls the blank prescription out of her purse, claiming she changed her mind about using it when Claire noticed something was unhappy. In the past, when the McDeeres were in witness protection, Abby used pills to make things "easier," and she can't do that to Claire again. It doesn't take Wilson long to realize the hardship Abby's trying to escape now is the pain of her marriage.

Back at the office, Mitch and Ray review case documents. An extra key on Margaret's ring draws their attention. Could it be a key for a storage unit? Ray discovers that the key opens a room at a local writer's center. It turns out that Margaret filled 50 notebooks with her own writing - the true story of her relationship with Henry. Later that night, Mitch confronts Henry with the truth. At age 19, Margaret wrote "The Saddest Generation" and submitted it to the publisher under Henry's name. Henry didn't want to take credit for it, but his father insisted. Shut-in Margaret was in no shape to leave the house, let alone withstand the spotlight. And the family really needed the money. When Margaret learned Henry was writing again, she stole his manuscript to embarrass him. When he confronted her, she slapped him. Even though he didn't kill Margaret, Henry's confident it's too late. The jury thinks he's crazy.

Abby and Claire are having a great time at the dance, which gets even better when Maxine coaches a cute boy named Zach to ask Claire to dance. While Claire's off doing her thing, Dr. Wilson finds Abby on the balcony. He claims he's been working, trying to account for some missing state funds. Abby offers to help. It's not long before they're talking about her complicated relationship with her mother. Maxine wanted to change her wardrobe every season, and Mitch wanted to change the world - that's why Abby chose him to be her husband Still, sometimes, Abby wishes her life was the way it used to be. Dr. Wilson pushes in for a kiss, then apologizes. Abby agrees, he shouldn't have kissed her, but she wants to kiss some more anyway.

Ray and Mitch work late into the night, reviewing Henry's case. If Henry didn't kill Margaret, who did? Mitch theorizes the murderer may be Miller. After all, he had a fortune tied up in "The Saddest Generation." What if Margaret threatened to go public with the truth? When Ray wonders how they can prove this theory, Mitch focuses on Miller's distinctive ring - could it have made the scratches on Margaret's face? Later in court, Mitch approaches Figgis. Henry didn't kill Margaret, but Mitch might know who did kill her. All he needs is a continuance, and a favor from Figgis to find out the truth.

Figgis takes the lead, pulling Miller into a conference room and asking to see his ring. Suddenly a technician from the Medical Examiner's office enters to test the ring. When nothing is found on the surface, Mitch orders the tech to remove the stone - and yes indeed, there's blood underneath. When Mitch tells Figgis that Margaret wrote "The Saddest Generation," Miller lets loose. He babysat Henry for 15 years, asking for another masterpiece with no luck. It wouldn't have mattered that Henry's second manuscript sucked - it would have sold for millions anyway, just based on Henry's name alone. And Margaret was going to expose the whole truth, killing Henry's gravy train once and for all. Later, Mitch gives Henry the good news that he's off the hook. Henry's had a lot of time to think while in jail, and he's decided to publish Margaret's second book, so he can finally be just plain old Henry again.

That night, Abby can't bring herself to pick up the phone when Mitch calls. Mitch hangs up just as someone enters the office. Mitch thinks it's Ray, but it's Joey Morolto, who claims he's been thinking about this moment since he was 15 years old. Figuring Joey has come to kill him, Mitch orders him to get it over with, but Joey doesn't want to kill Mitch. He wants to hire him!