Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder

The film opens with singer Phoebe Strasberg recording her new album under the direction of Terry Yasbeck, a cruel and controlling producer. After Terry insults her and her backup singer Norah, Phoebe decides to fire him and move to a rival producer, Evan Carlton. Terry threatens to destroy her recordings and keep her under contract. That night, Terry is shot dead while on the phone with his wife, Linda. Phoebe is arrested after being seen at the studio and failing a gunshot residue (GSR) test. Claire Darrow, a lawyer known for her integrity, takes the case despite having never defended a murder trial, largely because of her close relationship with Miles Strasberg, the DA and Phoebe's brother. As Claire investigates, she discovers that Terry was widely hated. Suspects include Evan Carlton, who was in love with Phoebe and had a history with Terry's wife, and the studio staff. A parallel subplot involves Claire’s daughter, Lou, who wants to pitch for a baseball team but is sidelined by a coach who thinks she should play softball. Meanwhile, Claire’s mother, Joanna, handles a quirky pro bono case involving a neighbor suing a child's lemonade stand for zoning violations. The investigation takes a turn when Claire’s investigator, Scott, discovers that brake fluid can cause a false positive on GSR tests. Claire finds Phoebe’s favorite mic stand has been coated in brake fluid from an old muscle car, specifically a Mustang owned by the studio engineer, Jonah. In a dramatic courtroom climax, Claire uses her mother’s discovery of audio editing to prove that the phone call Terry’s wife heard was actually a pre-recorded 'soundboard' of Terry’s voice, meaning he was already dead when the call was placed. This provides Phoebe with an alibi. Under pressure, Jonah and Norah are revealed as the killers; they murdered Terry because he was blocking their careers and they hoped to steal Phoebe's success. The film concludes with Phoebe being exonerated, Lou hitting a home run in a high-stakes baseball game, and Claire and Miles agreeing to a date with 'limited' shop talk.