Jessica Fletcher is on vacation in Martinique when she runs into her old pal, Chicago-based private investigator Charlie Garrett. Charlie is there to track down a client’s wife, who has left on his yacht with another man. Charlie thinks his job is to rescue the woman, but his client has other things in mind.
When Charlie becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Jessica investigates!
Just the facts:
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Dorie Sparling, the runaway wife that Charlie Garrett is tracking down!Click to reveal the killer
It was Maurice Delagre, the gambling hotel owner married to Jessica’s friend!Click to reveal the weapon
It was a gunshot!Click to reveal the location
It happened at a dock at Trinity Bay!Click to reveal the motive
The killer wanted the suitcase full of money that the victim had discovered in her husband’s yacht!Click to reveal the major clue
It was the fact that the killer had been repairing an old-fashioned telephone exchange at the hotel–which meant that he could have overheard the conversation about the money!Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
- Michael Callan as Phillip Sparling, a man who hires Charlie Garrett to track down his wife. This is Callan’s fourth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Murder, She Spoke“, “J.B.. As in Jailbird“, and “Good-Bye Charlie“.
- Patricia Barry as Melanie Venable, a guest at the hotel that Jessica is staying at. This is Barry’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Something Borrowed, Someone Blue“.
- Cynthia Harris as Lauren Delagre, the owner of the hotel that Jessica is staying at, and a former Cabot Cove resident. This is Harris’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Hannigan’s Wake“.
- Rodney Eastman as Jeff Delagre, Lauren’s son who does odd jobs around hotel.
- Wayne Rogers as Charlie Garrett, a private investigator from Chicago and Jessica’s friend. This mark’s Rogers’ third of four appearances on MSW as the same character; he previously appeared in “Dead Eye” and “Deadly Assets“.
- Anne Lockhart as Norma Willens (a.k.a. Marybeth Carlson), another person hired by Phillip Sparling to track down his wife. This is Lockhart’s fourth and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Three Strikes, You’re Out“.
- Stephen Meadows as Graham Farrow, the man that ran off with Phillip Sparling’s wife, and who has won part ownership of the hotel in a poker game.
- Christopher Allport as Maurice Delagre, a gambling addict and part owner of the hotel; he is married to Lauren Delagre and they were first introduced by Jessica Fletcher back when he was still working as a UN attaché. This is Allport’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “If the Frame Fits” and “Witness for the Defense“.
- Maurice Roeves as the Police Captain, who also hangs out at the hotel playing poker.
- Marc Andrew Gomes as Sgt. Courbet, a police officer working with the captain.
- Cassie Yates as Dorie Sparling, Phillip Sparling’s wife. This is Yates’ fourth and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Test of Wills“.
- Marie-Alise Recasner as Collette, the hotel clerk.
- Andrew Hill Newman as Hilton Augustus Venable, an aspiring writer and the son of Melanie Venable.
- There is also an uncredited stunt man, Carl Ciarfalio, who played the role of Wendell, Dorie Sparling’s body guard. Ciarfalio previously appeared in “Family Doctor” and will go on to appear again in “Deadly Bidding”.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
Notably, the episode features both Anne Lockhart and Cassie Yates, who both appeared in the very first regular Murder, She Wrote episode “Deadly Lady”.
The filming for outdoor scenes at the Deux Perroquets hotel was located at the Queen Anne Cottage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, which was previously seen just a few episodes earlier in “Death in Hawaii“.
One thing I find interesting about this episode is the history that Jessica has with the hotel owners. It’s mentioned that she was the one who set them up — back when Lauren was a Cabot Cove resident and Maurice was a UN attaché. This would not be so unusual if it happened at this point in Jessica’s life, but given that Lauren and Maurice’s son Jeff is now a grown man, it means that they must have been set up approximately 20 years prior. But at that time, Jessica was still working as a high school teacher in Cabot Cove, and so it would have been unusual for her to have been acquainted with a UN attaché.
Murder, She Watched 