Eliot Easterbrook: [after Jessica exposes him as the murderer] Even the finest works of art have their flaws. Congratulations, Mrs. Fletcher. The only thing missing is a motive.
Jessica Fletcher: Yes, I wondered about that.
Eliot Easterbrook: Imagine a young and impressionable writer who has his first play produced off-off-off Broadway. It's not perfect, but he has talent, and it's a start. And imagine a critic from a second-rate newspaper trying to make a name for himself. His review of the play is devastating. So devastating the young playwright never writes another play. No, instead, he becomes a critic himself and vows to best his destroyer at his own game. But it's not enough. It's not enough to eradicate the pain. Only one thing can do that.
Kathleen Lane: Mr. Hall, I don't want to talk about rumors. It demeans both our professions.
Edmund Hall: But five years ago, when you were mayor of your home town, stories persisted that you had an affair with a married man.
Kathleen Lane: Forgive me, Mr. Hall. What should be put to bed in this campaign is gossip, not me.
Jackson Lane: [after Jessica exposes him as the murderer] Bud found out that I wasn't in the Bahamas that weekend. Once the photographs made the news, he'd start to put it together. And then the solution came to me. Bud's suicide, it would finally put an end to Kathleen's campaign. I got Kathleen out and I slipped into her suite. I phoned Bud's room and I told him Kathleen was back and wanted to see him. I was, I was cornered. I had to do something. I brought the hammer from home.
Jessica Fletcher: So you removed his clothes, dressed him in Kathleen's robe. And then you threw him off the balcony.
Jackson Lane: Jessica, the people that I dealt with in those days ... Well, the people I deal with now ... I didn't get where I am by being a choirboy, and they were getting awfully nervous about those rumors. It wasn't jail. I was looking at much worse, and I couldn't think of what else to do.
VVeronica
I had you figured for shoplifting or maybe kiting checks. But murder? Jessica, I knew you had class.
Miles Hatcher: [after Jessica exposes him as the murderer] I'd gone up there to beg him not to pull out of our business deal. He laughed at me. I had a gun, but he knew I wouldn't dare use it. Someone was sure to hear the shot. Then suddenly, I found my hands around his throat. I knew Marta would be returning any minute. I had to get rid of the body. There was a laundry cart right outside the door. I put him in it. I covered him with sheets. I had to pray nobody would find him until morning. I took the necklace, hoping to make it look like a robbery. I was already halfway down the staircase when I noticed my flower mangled.
Sheriff Mort Metzger: I've had years of experience dealing with slimeballs like them. Faced with a murder-one rap, they'll cough up the location of that money like a baby with the colic.
Marilee Colson: [after Jessica accuses her of committing the murder] Being married to Cliff was like being on a burning roller coaster. He was up, was down. He was always in trouble with the law. And when he finally made his one big, beautiful score, he left me. The money was my only hope. I wasn't about to let him get away with that. You understand, don't you?
Dr. Lewis: This is absurd, Mrs. Fletcher. I am not a coroner, I'm a gynecologist.
Jessica Fletcher: I'm afraid, Doctor, that necessity creates strange bedfellows.
Carlton Reid: [after Jessica exposes him as the murderer] You think you're pretty smart, don't you? Tyler thought he was pretty smart, too, threatening to expose our financial arrangements if I didn't get Molly off his back.
Jessica Fletcher: Those financial arrangements, I suppose they go back a long time.
Carlton Reid: I never meant to kill Joe. Hell, I offered to cut him in on the take. But he wouldn't play ball. And as for Danny Harmon, well, it was just his bad luck that he was workin' with Joe when it happened. Just like it's your bad luck to have discovered the truth.
Andrea Dean: [after Jessica accuses her of committing the murder] A couple of weeks ago, Laszlo called me and asked me to make a copy of the Queen of Tara. He said he wanted to bring happiness to a woman who had known nothing but misery for the past twelve years. He paid me $2,000 for my trouble. I used inferior gems from the vault. He said, "Oh, it didn't matter. She would never know the difference." And then, when I heard about the robbery on the news the other night, I knew Laszlo was responsible. He got home only a moment or two after I got there, and he invited me in. As soon as I got inside, I saw the tiara. I demanded to know what was going on. Where was the copy? What had he gotten me into? But then there was a knock at the door, and I panicked. I grabbed the tiara and I ducked into the bedroom. It was that TV news reporter. I recognized him immediately. He wanted to come in, but Laszlo got rid of him. All I wanted to do was to get out of there, but he grabbed me. He wouldn't let me go. He was in a rage. He hit me! I was terrified for my life! I grabbed the knife. I didn't ... I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to return the tiara. But then, when he was dead, I knew no one would believe my story.
Major Kevin Cooper: I'm sorry about any suspicions I might have had about your husband, Mrs. Fletcher. I was only doing my job the best I know how, perhaps not as graciously as I could have. I do hope you will accept my apology.
Jessica Fletcher: Yes. Of course, Major. You know, if I'd been in your position, I might have been tempted to reach the same conclusion, but I had one big advantage. I knew my husband, and you didn't.
Minister Melnikoff: [after Jessica accuses him of committing the murder] I warn you, gentlemen, I have good friends on the Central Committee. One telephone call.
Inspector Bernicker: Before you are making one telephone call, perhaps you would like to read this. It's all very carefully documented on the microfilm. Anton's memoirs in code, names and dates. They tell of a young Russian officer, Melnikoff, who collaborated with the Nazis.
Minister Melnikoff: Anton knew everything. We were young soldiers together in Leningrad at the time of the siege. He suffered most cruelly. But I was able to ensure my survival. Then, after the war, Anton was unable to publish his books. He came to me. I was rising in the ministry, and I was able to find him jobs so that at least he could feed his family. He kept silent in exchange for a lifetime of protection. His and mine. And then, when he was dying, I suppose he decided that he must free his tortured soul.
Vera Gerakaris: [after Jessica exposes her as the murderer] Pete owed me for those ninteen years. And a quarter million dollars doesn't start to cover it.
Miriam Harwood: The only books I ever read are romantic novels with happy endings.
Phyllis Grant: I like realism. Lots of tall, attractive, single men fighting over one mature working lady.
Ideal Molloy: Well, I always look at the cover, and if the man is bare-chested and the woman isn't, I buy it.
Ellis Holgate [after Jessica accuses him of committing the murder] The killer in the book made one little mistake. I thought if I avoided that mistake, it would be the perfect crime. So I made another one. Wasn't that stupid? She should have loved me! I loved her so much!
