MURDER, SHE WROTE: AN EGG TO DIE FOR (TV)
Summary
One in this murder mystery series about an unassuming Maine mystery writer turned sleuth named Jessica B. Fletcher who uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
In this episode, a thief is shot dead in Russia after stealing a priceless Faberge egg. A year later, Jessica arrives in Miami Beach for a book fair, and Leo Stone lands in trouble with a buyer, Connors, after producing a counterfeit item. He is given 48 hours to pay back a commission – but he is then rescued by a mysterious Russian figure, Sergei Nemiroff. Elsewhere, Valerie Harris and boyfriend Ben Peterson tell Jessica about Ben's attempts to secure a medical school scholarship, and Sergei, unable to gain access to the fair without a badge, is excited to spot Jessica and declares himself a fan. Valerie's father Jim voices his dislike of Ben, telling her to "forget him," and he then refuses Leo's sister Margie and her husband Charles' pleas to extend their loan; he declares that he will soon own their bookstore. Jessica spots Sergei tailing Margie and Charles and confronts him, having deduced that he is an undercover policeman; he admits that he is pursuing Leo, believing him involved with the murder and theft of the egg for which his own brother Gregor is to be executed.
Leo pleads with fair boss Victor Roscoe for a small loan, and Ben sadly tells Jessica that he was turned down for the scholarship because of a minor legal infraction from his youth. Leo tells Sergei that he does not have the egg. Charles reveals that Jim "pressured" the local banks not to assist them with their loan problems, possibly because Marcie rejected him in favor of Charles. Ben worries that his ruthless future father-in-law will stop at nothing to prevent his marriage to Valerie, and Marcie is rejected when she attempts to charm Jim into reconsidering his position. Jessica tries to cover for Sergei when he is caught searching Jim's office; Jessica questions Jim about his deliberate sabotage of Ben's academic dreams, pointing out that he has exaggerated his "criminal record" to the point of libel. Later, however, Jim is found dead, bludgeoned and drowned in his own fountain. The egg is determined to have been stolen from his office.
Lieutenant Perez questions Jessica, Ben, Valerie and the others, and Sergei immediately suspects Leo, who has vanished. Charles tells Marcie that Jim's death has not alleviated their problems, as Valerie legally cannot intervene in her father's wishes. Leo calls his sister to beg for help, swearing that he did not commit the murder and fretting that Connors will soon kill him. Victor tells Jessica that he understands Valerie's complex relationship with her father, as he also struggled under the shadow of his famous violinist father, Vladimir Roskovsky. Jessica then finds that Jim's papers, including the damning letter to the university regarding Ben, went missing after his death; when Lieutenant Perez bursts in with more questions, both Valerie and Ben confess to the murder. A medallion engraved with "BP" is found in the fountain, and Ben is arrested as the killer. Lieutenant Perez admits that he can find no proof of Ben possessing the egg, however; Marcie gives Leo the money to save himself from Connors, though tells him that she can no longer associate with him, thanks to his criminal activities. Jessica then gets an idea, and Victor later retrieves the egg from his own office, revealing himself to be the thief and murderer. Lieutenant Perez, Jessica, and Sergei then catch him, revealing that they had Leo fake a phone call about the egg's whereabouts, and Jessica explains that the medallion is actually Victor's, an heirloom from his father, as "VR" takes the appearance of "BP" in the Cyrillic alphabet. Victor admits that he and Jim had long shared a business arrangement regarding stolen goods, and that he accidentally murdered Jim in a struggle over the priceless egg. When Jessica presses him, he adds that he also killed the Russian thief after the man threatened to expose him, thus exonerating Gregor. Later, Charles and Marcie procure their necessary loan and Ben receives his scholarship. Jessica then signs a book for a deeply grateful Sergei. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: 1994 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:47:24
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:46446
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Murder; Art thefts
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1984-1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Angela Lansbury … Executive Producer
- Al Kraus … Coordinating Producer
- Bruce Lansbury … Supervising Producer
- Mark A. Burley … Supervising Producer
- Tom Sawyer … Producer
- Laurence Heath … Co-Producer
- Todd London … Co-Producer
- Robert M. Williams Jr. … Director
- Peter S. Fischer … Created by
- Richard Levinson … Created by
- William Link … Created by
- Maryanne Kasica … Writer
- Michael Scheff … Writer
- Bruce Babcock … Music by
- John Addison … Theme Music by
- Angela Lansbury … Cast, Jessica B. Fletcher
- Efrain Figueroa … Cast, Lt. Perez
- Kaitlin Hopkins … Cast, Marcie Stone Devon
- Sara Melson … Cast, Valerie Harris
- Allan Miller … Cast, Victor Roscoe
- Cyril O'Reilly … Cast, Leo Stone
- Andrew Robinson … Cast, James Harris
- Paul Scherrer … Cast, Ben Peterson
- James Stephens … Cast, Charles Devon
- David Ogden Stiers … Cast, Sergei Nemiroff
- Christopher Thomas … Cast, Connors
- Steve Adell … Cast, Officer Long
- Peter Lucas … Cast, Russian Thief
- Lazarus Jackson … Cast, Security Guard