Fatal Contract-ion

“Knot’s Landing” is getting rid of Jill Bennett--Kevin Dobson’s pathological legal assistant, played by Teri Austin--but will it be murder or suicide?

That’s the question that will tease viewers next month when Jill’s body is found in former lover Gary Ewing’s (Ted Shakelford) car after she “does a ‘fatal attraction’ on Gary,” according to a producer.

“They’ve already shot my death scene but they’re shooting flashbacks of the incident,” which will be used in episodes through the end of this season, Austin told us. “Lorimar is so cheap, I just can’t die and leave, they’re keeping me around for a while.”

Neither the actress nor the producers would discuss why her contract would not be renewed after this, her fourth, season.

Jill Bennett’s death, to be promoted as a whodunit, could be a murder-setup covering a suicide, Austin hinted.

But “suicide’s just a rumor,” insisted producer Mary-Catherine Harold.