The Pelican Brief Page #7

in talking to anyone in this firm.

They killed him!

I can't breathe!

It's all right.

Just let it go.

Let it go.

It's all right.

We ran the story about a week ago.

It's just another mugging.

Didn't make the Metro front page.

Curtis Morgan...

...225 Willow Road, Bethesda.

...Bethesda.

That's what I wanted.

Report in before noon tomorrow.

We're nervous over here.

You know...

...good help is hard to find.

I'm going with you.

Look at me.

I want you to leave.

And if you need confirmation

for your story?

I'm on my own.

What's changed your mind?

I want you to reach 25.

I'm coming.

Good evening.

I'm Grantham of the Herald.

This is my assistant.

- Could we see Mrs. Morgan?

- I'm her father. She won't talk.

I respect her privacy.

I know she's been through an ordeal.

When did you people

ever respect anyone's privacy?

I feel that way about most reporters.

But her husband called me...

...3 times before he died.

I believe his death

wasn't accidental.

She doesn't want to talk.

Get the hell out of here.

You change your mind...

...I'll be at this number.

Mr. Grantham?

Yes.

This is Mrs. Morgan.

Do you still want to see me?

Did you know your husband called me?

No. How would he know

anything about those dead judges?

I have no idea.

Did he keep any...

...unusual documents...

...or papers?

We have a lock box at the bank

for deed and wills.

I looked at it last Thursday.

There was nothing unusual in it.

On Saturday morning...

...I was going through his...

...desk in the bedroom.

I found something a bit unusual.

A key.

A key to what?

Another lock box.

Which bank?

Riggs Bank.

We've never banked there.

And you knew nothing

about this other...

...box?

Not until Saturday morning.

I figured...

...I'll run by when I felt up to it.

Maybe you should check it, Mrs. Morgan.

Could be a clue to who killed him.

Are you saying Curtis was killed...

...because he knew something

about the assassinations?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Do you think there

may be papers in the safe-deposit box...

...that may reveal what Curtis knew

about the assassinations?

There could be.

My child's lost one parent.

I can't let her lose another.

I'll check it for you.

No one has to know you have the key.

They will only give it to his wife.

My partner's a woman.

She's trustworthy.

I would have one condition.

If you find something that disparages

my husband in any way, you can't use it.

You have my word, Mrs. Morgan.

Where are the safe-deposit boxes?

SECURITY:

Down those steps.

I need access to a box, please.

- The number, please?

-616.

- This box was rented two weeks ago.

- Yes.

- I assume you're Mrs. Morgan?

- Sara Ann Morgan.

- The address?

-225 Willow Road, Bethesda.

- Phone number?

-301-555-7128.

Who rented this box?

- My husband, Curtis D. Morgan.

- And his social security number?

Will you sign here, please?

May I help you?

I'd like to rent a box.

Will you have a seat?

I'll be with you in a minute.

You have a key?

Yes, I do.

Follow me.

It's a four-page affidavit...

...signed under oath.

It's dated the day before

the last time he called me.

He worked at White & Blazevich

in the oil and gas section for 5 years.

Listen to this!

During that time...

...he worked for a client who

was engaged in a lawsuit in Louisiana.

The client was a man

named Victor Mattiece...

...who he's never met.

Lots about the lawsuit,

how desperate Mattiece was to win it.

Just as if you wrote it.

A partner named Sims Wakefield...

...supervised the case for W & B.

Morgan worked on a peripherated case.

He took files and documents

that Wakefield left for him...

...not related to the case.

When he got back to his own office, he

found a memo on the bottom of the stack.

He'd inadvertently taken it

from Wakefield's desk.

A copy of the memo

is attached to the affidavit.

He copied the memo and left the memo

under the files on his desk.

Next stop, Washington Herald!

No! Stop!

Get out of the car!

EDITOR:
There was a car explosion

in a garage near the Riggs Bank.

The police traced the car

to a leasing agency.

It was rented yesterday by Grantham.

Have you heard from Grantham?

Not since yesterday.

I should've taken him off that story.

What story?

See what you can find.

Smith Keen...

...meet Darby Shaw.

So, Mr. Grantham...

...what the hell is going on?

Sweetheart, I'm down here

in the basement.

It's about two in the morning.

This is...

...an affidavit...

...concerning a memo

I found on my desk.

I'm going to trust you

to do with it what you will.

The memo's from Velmano,

he's a senior partner.

It was dated September 28th...

...addressed to Wakefield and it read:

"Sims, advise client

research is complete.

The bench will sit much softer

if the old man is retired.

The second retirement is a bit unusual.

Jensen, of all people.

Advise further that the pelican

should arrive here in 4 years...

...assuming other factors. "

There's no signature.

Then Justices Rosenberg and Jensen

were killed.

I firmly believe that this is

the work of Mattiece and his associates.

Memo doesn't mention Mattiece,

but it refers to a client.

Wakefield had no other clients.

And no client had as much to gain

from the new court.

I thought that I was protecting us

by not revealing what I found.

You'll only see this if I'm gone,

so I will have failed.

I'm sorry, sweetheart.

I'll always be with you.

Always.

This is Marty Velmano. What a pleasure!

What can I do for you?

We're doing a story

about Victor Mattiece...

...and his involvement in the deaths

of Rosenberg and Jensen.

Great! We'll sue you for the next 20

years. You'll be named as a defendant.

Oh, this will be great.

Victor Mattiece will own the Herald.

Have you heard of the Pelican Brief?

We have a copy of it.

We also have a copy of a memo

sent by you to Sims Wakefield...

...in which you suggest your client's

position would be greatly improved...

...by the removal of Rosenberg

and Jensen from the court.

I noticed you waited till five.

An hour earlier, we could've

run to court, stopped this.

You deny you wrote the memo?

It's a fabrication.

You have no lawsuit, Mr. Velmano.

You know it.

You son of a b*tch!

Mr. Coal?

Have you read the Pelican Brief?

I have.

We're running a story which verifies

the facts set forth in that brief.

We've confirmed Mattiece

contributed over $4 million...

...to the president's last campaign.

That's right.

We believe the White House tried

to obstruct the FBI investigation...

...and we wonder

if there are any comments.

The White House denies

any direct or indirect involvement...

...in this investigation.

You've received some bad information.

Mr. Voyles, it's Grantham.

We're running a story

detailing a conspiracy...

...in the murders of

Rosenberg and Jensen.

We're naming Mattiece, an oil

speculator, and two of his lawyers.

We believe the FBI knew about Mattiece,

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