"Funny how the dirt about one small area in a big city can become a national pastime." "Psychiatrists have a couple of $10-words for it." "Emotionally disenfranchised." "You know, if you're dead in the romance department the stuff in that book is more important than eating or sleeping." "It's a runaway best-seller." "You read it yet?" "You don't read it." "You--you wade through it... with hip boots." "Harris covered the who, what, when, and where, as if he didn't trust anybody's imagination." "Wonder how Harris got his information?" "Well, ask Weaver." "Dave lives in Cliffside Heights," "Mr. Harris' well-publicized community of sinners." "What about it, Dave-- how did he dig up the stuff?" "With a muckrake!" "Good day, gentlemen." "Nicky, Walter, Louis, Drake." "Mr. Harris, is there any truth to the rumor that Monday's trial has been canceled?" "Are you settling out of court?" "How much is McCann, your publisher, paying off?" "This Perry Mason, who's representing the Cliffside Heights residents, is it true he caught McCann with his defenses down, by charging invasion of privacy instead of slander?" "Gentlemen." "Gentlemen, I have a statement to read." "There are copies for everyone." "Look out, Mr. Author!" "Open your big mouth and you'll be adding yourself as a defendant, and liable to invasion of privacy!" "Well, Mr. Weaver still chasing "scoops" for that shopping news throw-away you work for?" "We service our readers." "We didn't put the people of Cliffside Heights in a glass house and sell the privilege of peeking inside at 4.50 a copy!" "Gentlemen, my statement." ""Upon my arrival in Los Angeles, I was shocked"-- shocked, gentlemen" ""to hear of rumors of a possible out-of-court settlement." ""Regardless of any statements by Mr. Mason or my publisher," ""Albert McCann," ""this is a categorical denial of such rumors!" ""There is not and there will not be any settlement!" ""This issue, gentlemen, will be resolved" "Monday morning, in court!"" "[Footsteps approaching]" "[Door closes]" "[Gasps]" "Mother, it's in the paper!" "They've even got our picture!" "What does it say?" "What does it say?" "Let's see." ""Among those who received awards" ""from the 'Cliffside Heights Sentinel'," ""sponsor of 'Our Town' essay contest" ""were Janet and Nancy Layton," ""students of Jefferson Public School," ""who were outstanding winners in their classes." ""The girls are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. George Layton of 622½ South Farrington."" "Isn't it simply wonderful!" "Well, I guess I have a family of geniuses." "Well, I don't think their teachers are going to be impressed if they're late for school." "Fame, how fleeting is your glory." "Come on, girls, get your things." "Janet, what are you looking for?" "The scissors." "I want to cut it out for my scrapbook." "Oh, no." "I'll do that, Janet." "You don't want to be late." "Come on, come on." "Bye, Love." "There we are." "Mother, you won't forget to cut it out carefully." "I won't forget, darling." "I'll be very careful." "OK!" "Bye-bye, Sweetheart." "Bye, George." "[Door closes]" "[Scissors cutting]" "George!" "George!" "What is it, Margaret?" "He's going to court!" "You're afraid he'll tell about the children?" "No." "No, he mustn't, George." "I--I've got to stop him!" "I've got to stop him." "Mr. Mason, I know I'm not one of your clients in the invasion of privacy suit." "[Sighs] I'm not your client at all." "But please, Mr. Mason, please." "Don't let this happen!" "Harris has no authority whatsoever to say whether he will or will not let the case go to court, Mrs. Layton." "This action concerns the way a book is being advertised," "It has nothing to do with its contents." "You see, it's the publisher we're suing." "And the publisher has agreed to a settlement." "You're sure?" "Well, unless someone has changed the law while I wasn't looking," "I'm reasonably sure." "Maybe this publisher, Mr. McCann, maybe he's changed his mind?" "His attorney's out of town for a few days, but before he left we reached complete agreement on the settlement and jointly approved the necessary documents." "There shouldn't be any trouble." "I'll call and let you know what happens." "Mr. Mason, I'll do anything, anything in the world rather than let this man go into court and talk." "Whether or not it has any bearing on the case, he's spiteful enough to get up and tell the world that I was married to him!" "And my children must not know this evil, despicable man is their father!" "But you saw it yourself in the papers." "He said he was going into court!" " All right, I know you-- - [Door opens]" "Look, I'll call you back." "[Hangs up phone]" "Hello, Grace." "Hello, Mr. Harris." "Call the utilities, will you, and have them resume service at my house." "I haven't lived in the place for a year, so you'll have to contact the gas, the phone, electricity people." "And I--I want some stuff from Collins Office Supply." "Here's the list." "Take care of it, will you?" "Oh, and tell Collins that I must have it today." "Hello, Albert." "You were supposed to be here yesterday." "Well, we don't go to trial until Monday." "Where are those papers you wanted me to sign?" "How's the book selling?" "Good, but not for much longer." "I believe that document is self-explanatory." ""I, Richard Harris," ""herewith state that as part of a fraudulent sales campaign," ""I've willfully and maliciously" ""permitted the public to believe" ""'The Dishonored' was based on true..." ""I further affirm that the events depicted" ""in the said book are entirely fiction, that the characters do not and were not intended to--"" "You expect me to sign this?" "!" "We were prepared for any libel action." "But Mason has caught us all by surprise with an invasion of privacy suit." "I've decided we're settling this matter out of court." "New dust jackets without the "true story" blurb, waiver ads in all the major metropolitan papers." "It isn't essential." "But as an indication of good intent, your signature on that statement and its subsequent publication, will help terminate all legal action." "That will kill any possible sales of the book!" "You must be out of your mind!" "Withdraw the advertising, and that book would have about as much appeal as the diary of a pretzel bender!" "That's only part of the settlement." "On advice of counsel, I've also agreed to pay $100,000 into the Cliffside Heights Community Service Fund." "Look McCann, so a few sacred cows got their horns chopped off and started squealing." "You've beaten a dozen of these law suits." "Why settle?" "Why?" "!" "That's the way it has to be." "I'll have another statement made up for your signature." "I don't need it, but I'd appreciate your signing it." "Forget it!" "I'm not signing a thing." "And maybe you shouldn't either!" "Maybe you've forgotten what I didn't write in that book!" "Harris!" "I..." "[Intercom buzzes]" "Grace:" "Mr. Mason is here to see you." "Have him come in." "Those sacred cows you mentioned, Mason is representing them." "That's one of the reasons for settling this out of court." "[Door opens]" "[Door closes]" "Mr. Mason, Mr. Harris." "The eminent author seems a bit disgruntled." "He isn't overjoyed." "And you?" "Mason, I agreed to settle, and settle I will." "Margaret." "Margaret!" "Dave!" "Dave Weaver!" "What brings you" "Da" " Your face!" "You've been hurt!" "Inside and now out." "The picture's complete." "I came to talk to you about Richard Harris, and the trial Monday." "There isn't going to be a trial." "Mr. Mason's secretary called me an hour ago." "There'll be a settlement." "Mr. McCann hasn't changed his mind." "Harris hasn't changed his mind either!" "He gave me this 10 minutes ago to emphasize his decision." "But I understand Mr. McCann said" "Only the devil knows what kind of a club Harris is holding over him." "I tell you this is going to go to court." "And I'm going to dig up every rotten fact I can about rotten Richard Harris" "No, no" "And splash it across the front pages!" "If he thinks he's hurt other people, wait'll I get finished with him!" "And my children and the hundreds of other innocent people-- will you hurt them, too?" "Margaret, what difference does it make?" "Today or Monday." "When he takes that stand, he's going to cut everybody's throat, anyway!" "I won't let him!" "And I won't let you!" "Wait." "Please wait!" "Margaret, help me expose him for what he is." "We were friends, here and in New York." "Trust me, please." "Let me say those are Harris' children, not Layton's." "Let me shame Harris by exposing how he treated them and you 10 years ago!" "Give me a couple of hours." "One hour!" "Give me the time to stop him!" "I beg you, please!" "My deadline before they lock up the edition is an hour from now." "Margaret, I can't" "Please..." "All right." "[Sighs] Call me." "Richard, this is important!" "The children are going to be hurt, because they're your daughters, because their name was once Harris." "Heh." "Now your idiot neighbors in the Heights are acting as if I invented sin." "Well, I didn't!" "No." "But you only compiled it page after page-- a horrible monument of broken homes and ruined reputations!" "Margaret, your sense of timing was always opportune." "By Monday the world may end for me, and you stand here spouting your 5-and-dime philosophy!" "You have no one but yourself to blame." "Everything you ever touched, you destroyed." "But I won't let you destroy the children!" "I won't!" "Even if I have to kill you!" "All right, Collins, this isn't a peep show." "Put the stuff down here and get out!" "Take it easy." "I made a special trip to deliver this material." "I wanted to talk to you about your account with Collins Office Supply, that is." "I thought we had an understanding about that." "Mm-hmm." "I, uh..." "I, uh, excuse me." "just wanted to make sure our understanding was still in effect." "I'll see you later." "Richard" "Oh, I've had enough of this!" "What do you want me to do?" "!" "Let your publisher settle." "Don't force him to go to court." "Sure!" "Kill a million-dollar advertising campaign!" "Watch the sale of the books fall off to nothing!" "No, thanks!" "That would hurt my pride of authorship." "But your children, aren't" "Mine, Margaret?" "Mine?" "!" "Then why isn't their name Harris?" "!" "When you divorced me, married Layton, and moved back to the Heights here from New York, why did you change their names to Layton without my consent?" "!" "Knowing yourself, you have the gall to ask me that?" "!" "Or haven't you read that-- that trash that you call a book?" "Oh, yes again, the pride of authorship-- You keep hacking away at it!" "Harris." "You know, I like my name." "And since it's theirs, why shouldn't the two kids?" "Richard..." "This purse-- there's $5,000 in it." "So?" "The settlement." "I know it may cost you money because of the lost book sales-- perhaps a lot more than $5,000." "You are so right, Darling." "So very right." "It's all I have, all I could get a hold of." "But I swear to you I'll get more--somewhere, somehow." "$5,000 in place of the public appearances, the lectures, the royalties on a million copies that won't sell?" "Oh, you have to be joking!" "But there's no guarantee." "Oh, but there is, Margaret." "I made myself a guarantee." "The key to a Pandora's box full of calumnies and cash." "Don't you care about your children?" "!" "No!" "Not now!" "Not before!" "And not ever!" "So you just turn yourself around and get out of here!" "Richard, please!" "Please!" "I beg you!" "I said, get out of here!" "[Gunshot]" "[Door opens, closes]" "It's true." "Dave Weaver was right!" "Richard Harris not only intends to force this case into court, he intends to destroy everybody he can reach." "Please, Mr. Mason, represent me." "Help me." "McCann won't answer?" "His secretary insists he just "stepped out for a moment."" "And Mr. McCann's attorney still hasn't returned from his out-of-town trip." "Mrs. Layton, I explained before the decision was and is McCann's alone." "And I assure you, both he and his attorney appeared to be very anxious to settle." "Could it be this "key" that Richard was talking about, what Dave Weaver said, the he has some sort of club over McCann?" "[Knocking at door]" "Mrs. Layton, this is Paul Drake, an investigator who works very closely with me." "How do you do, Mrs. Layton?" "Paul, Mrs. Layton has to pick up a purse and some money." "I'd like you to go with her." "All right." "If there has been coercion, Mrs. Layton, we'll get to the bottom of it!" "You come charging in here." "You--you bully your way past 2 secretaries who make it very plain I don't want to talk to you." "And then you have the gall to accuse me, right to my face, of knuckling under to some-- some imaginary blackmail!" "I'm not going to accuse you of anything until your lawyer is with you, despite our stipulation that we complete all of the details in his absence." "However, you can answer yes or no." "Get out of here!" "Then you are going to renege on the settlement?" "I didn't say that." "Then say the settlement's still agreed to!" "Well..." "Well, what?" "I made no commitment with you." "I signed no papers." "And if you think you can" "Save it!" "Now, Harris threatened you." "With what did he threaten you?" "Look, Mason, I can't" "[Door opens]" "Yes, Grace, what is it?" "A phone call for you, Mr. Mason." "A Mr. Paul Drake." "Thank you." "Yes, Paul?" "Perry, I'm at the Harris house, with Mrs. Layton" "When we got here, the police were here." "Harris--he's been murdered!" "Well, that's it." "Sometime between 4:30 and 6:00 from a bullet in the head." "I may be able to narrow that time gap after the autopsy." "Well, Mrs. Layton may be willing to do that for us if she has recovered." "Would you take another look before you leave?" "Of course." "How are you coming along with that bullet?" "Just about got it..." "From what I've heard about Harris, that title would be more appropriate on his biography." "Well, Mr. Drake, do you believe one of Harris' victims in this book did it?" "Let's just say I believe Mrs. Layton didn't!" "Well, that's not surprising for someone who could be considered an accessory after the fact!" "Yes." "Mrs. Layton admitted that Mason sent both of you to pick up her purse." "What's Mrs. Layton's purse got to do with Harris' death?" "We believe it contains the gun that killed him!" "Are Mrs. Layton's fingerprints on that gun?" "No." "No fingerprints." "But I don't think they'll be necessary." "We should get pretty conclusive evidence from a laboratory examination of Mrs. Layton's gloves." "Mr. Mason, your client is here." "Which one?" "This one." "What took you so long to get my release?" "The district attorney had some peculiar ideas about removing evidence from the scene of the crime." "He was quite disturbed about your refusal to cooperate." "Uh-huh." "Well, my cooperation would have made you a guest in this institution." "Burger wanted me to admit that you knew the gun was in Mrs. Layton's purse when you sent us to retrieve it." "He did mention something about a felony, but you weren't booked." "No, just questioned." "Along with Mrs. Layton." "I hope she didn't say too much." "Well, they don't need much with what they've got." "First, the coroner's estimated time of death coincides with the time Mrs. Layton was there." "Second, homicide has a witness, Harry Collins-- he owns Collins Office Supply-- who was present when Mrs. Layton threatened Harris." "And third, ballistics has proved that the bullet which killed Harris was fired from the gun found in Mrs. Layton's purse." "What about Mrs. Layton's gloves?" "Did the lab find anything on them?" "I'm afraid so." "Mr. Mason..." "I--I didn't have anything to do with his death, Mr. Mason." "Very well." "All right, now let's begin with what you neglected to tell me when you were in my office-- that you threatened to kill Richard Harris." "That you had a gun in your purse." "I--I don't know how it got into my purse." "I didn't put it there." "But you did fire it?" "[Sighs] Yes." "Where did you get the gun?" "I saw it in the center drawer when Richard opened it to get a lighter." "I don't remember picking it up, suddenly it was in my hand." "Before I could raise it, he grabbed my wrist, the gun fired." "The bullet went into the desk and through all the drawers." "How did you know that the bullet penetrated that far?" "The police officer opened all the desk drawers while I was still in the room." "In the bottom drawer, the papers weren't there any more." "I could see the bullet hole right through to the hole in the floor." "Exactly what do you mean by "papers"?" "[Sighs] A pile of papers, pretty thick." "4- or 500 pages bound inside a cover." "Wait a minute!" "A bullet couldn't penetrate 4- or 500 hundred pages of paper after it had just gone through a desk!" "Mrs. Layton, try to remember." "This pile of papers that was bound together-- could it have been a manuscript?" "Yes, yes." "Now that you mention it that's exactly what it did look like...a manuscript." "It may be in one of the other drawers." "Or have you already been through those?" "I happen to be Harris' publisher!" "But not his executor." "The police thought that what I was looking for might be important." "They asked me to go through his desk." "So now that we've determined my status, perhaps you'd care to clarify your own." "Just what brings you here, Mr. Mason?" "Apparently nothing, judging from that empty drawer and your disappointment." "For the record, as attorney for the defendant," "I have a court order giving me the right to inspect the premises." "Just what is it you think I came here to get?" "The thing that changed your mind about settling the lawsuit" "Harris' manuscript." "The sequel to his book." "A sequel to his book?" "Harris never wrote one!" "If he did, I wouldn't have touched it with a 10-foot pole!" "Why not?" "You are his publisher, aren't you?" "And the defendant in a lawsuit." "It's in connection with the suit that I'm here." "I was looking for the document you kept asking whether Harris had signed." "Mr. McCann, just when did you give Harris that document?" "It was given to him yesterday, about 3:00." "After I saw you." "And if that question is another insinuation," "I like it even less than the first!" "Well, if nothing else, he's certainly consistent in his dislikes." "Well, between murder and theft, you didn't give him much choice." "Paul, how deeply did you dig into McCann's financial background before he agreed to settle?" "Just skimmed the surface." "Remember, you called it off after he accepted your terms." "I've changed my mind." "Dig in deeper." "All right, I'll get right on it." "What about the manuscript?" "Find it." "I'd like to see Mr. Collins, please." "He's busy at the moment." "But if you'd care to wait..." "[Door opens]" " Grace..." " Let go of me!" "You're getting upset about something that hasn't happened yet." "And if it does?" "!" "Harris wasn't writing fiction!" "Is there something I can do, Miss Kingman?" "Mr. Mason, I..." "No." "I presume Miss Kingman was referring to Harris' manuscript." "What she was referring to is none of your business!" "Mr. Collins, I'm Mrs. Layton's attorney." "That manuscript does happen to be my business." "Come in." "Miss Kingman was speaking of a personal matter." "It had nothing to do with any Harris manuscript, or whatever it is you were speaking of." "A manuscript with a cover large enough to contain several hundred pages." "A cover, which I assume, came from here." "Well, that won't be difficult to determine." "Miss Moreland, run the tapes on the Harris account, will you?" "And see if you can find any purchase of our Expando manuscript cover." "That's the largest size we carry." "What colors do they come in?" "Only one--black." "But I don't recall any such purchase." "And I used to supply everything that Harris used, including his typewriter and the furnishings for his study." "There's some $3, 100 due on it yet." "But you still delivered his last order personally." "Oh, yes." "I was hoping to get something on account if I spoke to him." "That stuff won't be worth a fraction of its value when it's reclaimed." "Especially a desk with bullet holes in it." "[Door opens]" "I found it, Mr. Collins." "2 of those manuscript covers were delivered to Mr. Harris." "Why weren't they listed on his account?" "Well, maybe they were bought some time ago." "At least, they were picked up and paid for by a Miss Norma Weaver." "Weaver?" "Any relationship to the reporter, Dave Weaver?" "Mm-hmm." "His sister." "She used to be Harris' secretary." "But I don't think you'll be able to get any information out of her." "So you finally got around to Norma." "I understand she was once Harris' secretary." "I'd like to talk to her." "Talk to her?" "About what?" "The possible existence of a sequel to Harris' book." "There was a manuscript that disappeared from his desk after he was murdered." "Your sister might be able to tell me if there's a second copy." "Go ahead." "Ask her." "Norma?" "Norma?" "Harris' destructive talent wasn't confined to his writing, Mr. Mason." "Norma was walking home from her job at Harris' place one night, taking her usual short cut through the park." "Somebody deliberately drove off the road and ran her down." "I guess she never saw who hit her-- not the car, not the driver." "There's more to the story, isn't there?" "Yes." "The accident didn't kill her." "But it took the life of her unborn child." "Had she known... about the child?" "The doctor told her 2 days earlier." "And she had time to have shared the news with someone." "Did she identify the father?" "Harris?" "No." "Not before the attempt on her life, and not since." "Norma hasn't spoken a sane word since that night." "Killing Richard Harris would have been a pleasure, a real pleasure." "If Mrs. Layton hadn't deprived me of it." "Those gloves were worn by the defendant on the night of the murder." "And when they were subjected to a laboratory examination," "Lieutenant, did they reveal anything significant?" "The right-hand glove had traces of gun oil on it, and there were also specks of gun powder on the same glove." "Thank you, Lieutenant." "Now, I ask you to examine this gun for purposes of identification?" "Yes." "It has my mark on it." "It's the gun which killed Richard Harris." "How did you determine that?" "2 shots had been fired from it." "One through a desk and into the floor, the other into the decedent." "Ballistics tests established the fact that both bullets had been fired from the same gun, this gun." "I see." "Now, Lieutenant, on the night of the murder you personally took the defendant into custody." "Would you please tell the court where and under what circumstances this took place?" "It was in the decedent's study." "She had left her purse there earlier and had come back to retrieve it." "Very well." "I now ask you to identify this purse." "Does it belong to the defendant?" "It does." "And did you have a chance to examine it before the defendant returned?" "I did." "It contained the murder weapon." "Plus $5,000 in cash." "You say that the decedent had angrily torn up the disclaimer prepared for his signature by your attorney and Mr. Mason?" "Yes." "And after Mr. Mason left," "I had Grace, my secretary, Miss Kingman type up another copy of the disclaimer." "And what did you do then, sir?" "Miss Kingman told me that Harris had asked her to have his utilities turned on at the house he still owned." "I called to tell Harris I wanted his signature." "But the phone service hadn't been connected yet." "That document wasn't vital, but I thought it was important." "So I sent Miss Kingman out to Harris' house to get his signature on it." "Mr. Harris was angry and upset even before I handed him the document and told him Mr. McCann insisted he sign it." "And when he had read it?" "Well, I couldn't repeat some of the things he shouted." "Well, omitting for a moment, the abusive language he may have used, Miss Kingman, would you tell the court, please, the substance of what the decedent said." "Well, he had a thick manuscript on the top of his desk, and he kept pounding on it and pointing to it while he talked." " He" " Just a minute, Miss Kingman." "As secretary to a publisher, you are familiar with the appearance of an unpublished manuscript?" "Oh, yes, sir." "That's what this was." "He told me so, himself, Mr. Harris." "Did he tell you what kind of manuscript it was or the subject matter of it?" "Yes, he said it was a sequel he had written to "The Dishonored", a book he'd publish with his own money if he had to, a sequel in which he used real names and made no pretense" "about the fact that it was a true story." "Now, Miss Kingman, let's go back to what Mr. Harris said to you when you asked him to sign that disclaimer." "Well, I can't use his exact words, but he made it very clear that when people found out about the sequel and what was in it, there'd be no lawsuit and no settlement." "And was he specific?" "Did he indicate what people would be named in that sequel?" "He indicated Mr. McCann would forget any ideas he had about a settlement when he found out what the book had to say." "And did he name anybody else who would be included in that book?" "Yes." "His former wife." "The defendant, Mrs. Layton?" "Yes." "He was furious about her, about the fact that she had changed his children's name without his permission." "He... well, he screamed that with what was in that book," "Mrs. Layton would be sorry, very sorry about what she had done." "That he would--would fix her and those brats of his once and for all." "Thank you, Miss Kingman." "Cross-examine, Mr. Mason." "Miss Kingman, did you tell your employer," "Mr. McCann, what Richard Harris said to you?" "Yes, I did." "Did you tell anyone else?" "Well..." "I did see and overhear part of a meeting, Miss Kingman." "Remember?" "I..." "I may have mentioned something about the sequel to Mr. Collins." "When was it Miss Kingman first told you about Richard Harris' sequel, Mr. Collins?" "Well, she had called my place earlier to place an order, some stationery supplies that Mr. Harris needed." "The order wasn't quite clear." "So I called back, myself, later to confirm the order." "It was then, I believe, that she first mentioned something to me about this sequel." "Now, you delivered this order, personally, to Mr. Harris' house, is that correct?" "Yes, sir." "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him about his overdue bill." "And did you get that chance?" "No, sir." "When I arrived there, Mr. Harris was in the middle of a fight with the defendant, Mrs. Layton." "Well, tell us about that." "Well, they--they were really hammering away at each other." "I don't remember what it was he said to her just at that minute, but I sure remember what she answered him!" "And what was it that she answered him, Mr. Collins?" ""I won't let you destroy the children." "I won't." "Not if I have to--to kill you."" "Now, Mr. Tabor, as a serviceman with the Cliffside Heights Water and Power Company, you received the call on the day of the murder to restore water and electrical service to the home of Mr. Richard Harris?" "If you don't mind my saying so, it was closer to that night." "Oh, you remember that well." "This memo from your company only indicates that you were the one called." "I remember very well." "I got the call at 5:15." "Now, that's just minutes before I go off duty." "There was a church meeting I was to attend that night." "And I remember I was annoyed at how inconsiderate some people can be of the rights of others." "It's selfish, unsocial, immoral, if you ask me!" "Now, Mr. Tabor, please, let's just stick to the facts." "Now, what happened when you arrived at the Richard Harris house?" "Well, I went to the front door so I could get in to check before I turned anything on." "The front door was wide open." "I just assumed nobody was home and the door had been left open for me." " So you went in?" " Yes, sir, I did." "I started through the house, and was almost past the study" "I suppose that's what they call it-- when I noticed something inside, and I stopped." "What did you notice, sir?" "There was a woman-- stiff." "She was leaning forward, her hands flat on a desk." "She was looking down over the desk to the floor to something on the other side of the desk." "She never moved--not once-- not an inch" "It was almost as if she were hypnotized." "At first, I couldn't figure out why." "Then I saw what it was she was looking at on the floor." "What was she looking at, Mr. Tabor?" "The body of a man." "I could see his legs sticking out past the end of the desk." "I turned." "I left the house." "I found a phone." "I called in to the office." "They told me to go back, that they'd immediately notify the police." "And when you returned to the Harris house what did you find?" "The woman was gone." "Now, this woman, Mr. Tabor, whom you saw in Mr. Harris' study, the woman you saw looking down at a dead body on the floor, is that woman here in this court today?" "Yes, sir." "She most certainly is." "Would you point her out for us, please?" "That's the woman..." "Mrs. Layton, the defendant!" "He must be lying!" "That water and power company man, he must be lying!" "Why should he lie?" "He isn't remotely connected to you or anyone else in this case." "Then he isn't lying, he's just--he's mistaken!" "Mr. Mason, when I left that house," "Richard Harris was alive!" "He was standing up!" "All right." "Let's get to something else." "Now, the gun you fired-- you just picked it up out of the drawer and pulled the trigger." "Nothing more?" "Yes." "That's--that's right." "Paul." "All right now, show me how you picked it up, how you fired it." "It's empty, Mrs. Layton." "Nothing happens." "It, uh, takes this action, Mrs. Layton, to shove a cartridge into the chamber and cock the hammer." "Well, I--I just pulled the trigger." "On a gun exactly like this Luger?" "[Sighs] I--I'm not sure." "No..." "No, now that I think about it," "I don't think that the gun I took from the desk was like that at all!" "Was the gun like this one?" "[Drawer closes]" "Yes!" "That's it!" "That's exactly the gun I took from the desk and fired!" "Mr. Tabor, voir dire is a Latin French term referring to the qualifying questions we ask prospective jurors." "It means "to speak the truth."" "Now, would you mind if, as part of my cross-examination," "I asked you some of those questions?" "Not at all." "Do you believe in capital punishment?" "I most certainly do." "The guilty must be made to pay?" "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." "Always?" "Morality cannot be a sometimes thing." "The public has a right to be protected." "Do you know what post facto means?" "After the fact." "Very good." "Tell me, Mr. Tabor, if you were biased, fanatically righteous, let us assume, would you permit that prejudice to affect your objectivity, your ability to see and tell the truth?" "Not at all!" "Knowing what you'd like to believe, you wouldn't remember things you didn't see?" "I saw what I saw!" "By the way, how is your vision?" "Farsighted, nearsighted, color blind?" "My vision was and is perfect!" "It wasn't too dark?" "There was nothing to impair your view?" "Nothing between you and the woman you saw that night?" "I saw her clearly." "The desk wasn't in the way?" "The desk was on the other side of the woman." "From where you stood, you saw the woman, the desk directly behind her, and the body directly behind the desk, all pretty much in a straight line?" "Exactly!" "Had you ever seem Mrs. Layton before that night?" "No." "Then your identification of her 2 days after the murder was based on the good look you had at her face" " the night of the murder?" " Of course!" "Now, if she was leaning on the desk, both hands flat on it-- as you testified-- and she was looking down at the body, her back was toward you." "How did you see her face?" "Why..." "Since you didn't go into the room," "I gather she turned her head, permitting you to see her face?" "Yes, that must be it." "Did she turn because you made a noise?" "No, I don't" "Perhaps she was looking for something, something on the desk, turning her head from side to side?" "That's--that's it!" "I remember now." "I remember specifically now!" "Do you also remember specifically the testimony you gave yesterday?" "Of course!" "I quote." ""It was strange..." "a woman, stiff." ""She never moved not once, not an inch almost as if she were hypnotized."" "Thank you, Mr. Tabor." "I told Mrs. Layton that I had just seen Richard Harris, that we had a fight and he hit me." "I also told her that Harris made no bones about his intention of going into court and slitting everybody's throats, including hers and her children." "What happened then, Mr. Weaver?" "She cried, pleaded with me, and asked me not to print a story, to give her at least an hour." "An hour to do what?" "An hour in which to...stop him." "Thank you, Mr. Weaver." "Now, just a minute!" "I didn't mean to" "I said that will be all, Mr. Weaver." "Thank you." "Cross-examine, Mr. Mason." "Mr. Weaver, were you in World War II?" "Yes." "European theatre or the Pacific?" "D-Day, on through Europe to Germany." "Pick up any souvenirs in Germany, any you registered with the Army before you brought them home?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't hear your answer." "I didn't answer." "Because you don't remember or because you don't want to answer?" "I registered and brought home a souvenir." "An automatic pistol." "A Luger automatic, wasn't it?" "Yes." "It isn't registered elsewhere, and it was never part of your registration with the Army, but you remember the serial number on your Luger?" "I'm not sure." "The number on the murder weapon, a Luger, is 834LU2." "That's...that's my gun." "How did it get into the Harris house?" "I..." "I don't know." "Mr. Weaver, did your sister take this gun into the Harris house?" "Was your sister, and not Mrs. Layton, the woman Mr. Tabor saw standing and looking down at the dead body of Richard Harris?" "Yes, yes, yes!" "She was there!" "But she didn't take that gun in there with her!" "That gun has been missing for over a year!" "How do you know?" "The day after she was run down, I looked into my desk, discovered my gun was gone." "There was a note there from Norma, my sister, a private note, to me." "A goodbye note." ""Goodbye," Mr. Weaver?" "What did the note say?" "It said," ""A woman in love sometimes does stupid things." ""I've been hurt badly by a man without a conscience." ""I took your gun." ""And I've written a letter." ""He knows about it," ""knows and tells the whole truth." ""If I decide to use the gun, I'll mail the letter to you." ""I'm frightened, Dave." "Pray for me."" "The letter she referred to-- did she mail it?" "Was it ever found?" "No." "Whoever ran her down knew about the letter." "He came back after he hit her." "He took the letter from her purse and must have taken the gun, so there wouldn't be any awkward questions." "You see, he figured she was dead, an accident victim." "You're just guessing now, Mr. Weaver-- particularly about the gun." "The letter was gone, wasn't it?" "I never received it in the mail." "Harris must have taken the gun when he took the letter." "He had it in his house." "He was killed with it!" "While the power company man was calling in to the police, you found your sister, took her out of the house?" "Yes." "I don't know what buried instinct always brought her over there back to that house." "I'd found her there 2 or 3 times before." "Did you see another gun there?" "Another gun?" "No." "Did Richard Harris have another gun?" "What makes you think I know?" "Don't you?" "After your call last night, Mr. Mason," "I went back to the store and checked our records." "Mr. Harris did purchase a gun from us, a .38 revolver." "This was about 2 years ago." "Thank you, Mr. Collins." "I appreciate your cooperation." "That's quite all right." "May I ask you, sir, to satisfy my own curiosity is it usual for a stationary supply establishment to sell guns?" "No, I wouldn't say usual." "I like guns." "I happen to be quite an expert with them." "Selling is sort of an excuse to have a big collection of my own." "Now, you say you're an expert." "I wonder, Mr. Collins, would you help me in a demonstration for the court?" "Of course." "Your Honor, at my request, the desk from the home of the decedent is outside." "May I have it brought into court?" "The bullet fired into the surface of this desk should travel in a straight trajectory through the 3 drawers and into the floor." "But it is evident that the bullet holes are not aligned." "According to the police, this is because the bottom drawer was partly open." "Now, Paul, line up that bullet hole in the bottom drawer." "Thank you." "Mr. Collins, assuming the bottom drawer was not open but was closed is it conceivable that a single bullet fired into the top of the desk made the holes in all 3 of these desk drawers?" "Well, no." "I'd say it was impossible for a single bullet to have changed angles in the short distance it had to go from the top of the desk to the floor." "That's just the point, Mr. Collins." "I believe the bottom drawer was closed." "And that the bullet Mrs. Layton fired did not reach the floor because it was stopped by Harris' manuscript!" "Wait a minute!" "If what counsel says is true, how did that bullet hole get into the bottom drawer?" "I submit the murderer put it there with the Luger after he killed Harris with it." "Paul, replace the top and bottom drawers, will you please?" "[Drawers rattling]" "After removing the manuscript, the murderer took out the second drawer and fired a bullet through the bottom drawer and into the floor." "He then replaced the second drawer, confiscated the gun Mrs. Layton had fired and put the Luger into her purse." "When the police found the Luger and the 2 bullets fired from it, they had no reason to suspect that a third bullet had been fired, a bullet that had vanished with the manuscript-- the sequel manuscript for which you killed Richard Harris!" "You don't know what you're talking about." "The covers, the 2 black manuscript covers," "Norma Weaver bought them?" "Uh-huh, that's right." "She often came to buy supplies?" "Yes, often but that was a long time ago." "And those were the only times you saw her?" "What are you talking about?" "The same thing Richard Harris talked about in blackmailing you for those supplies!" "No..." "The very same thing Harris wrote about in that sequel manuscript." "No, that's a lie!" "Is it?" "Grace Kingman saw the manuscript." "Suppose I put her back on the stand?" "Suppose she testifies she also read it, read about you and Norma Weaver?" "She couldn't!" "Every page in that manuscript was blank, empty!" "There was nothing in that manuscript except a spent bullet!" "Harris nev..." "Harris never what, Mr. Collins?" "Never committed to paper the fact that it was you and not Richard Harris Norma Weaver was in love with?" "I never..." "I told her that..." "Mason:" "That you were married?" "That you had no intention of divorcing your wife?" "Collins:" "Norma cried." "She called me from Harris' place." "Told me she had written the whole story in a letter, a letter she was going to mail that night!" "Well, I was frightened, don't you understand?" "I had to do it!" "Just as you had to kill Harris-- to prevent him from exposing your attempted murder of Norma Weaver." "He was no good!" "He deserved to die!" "Did Mrs. Layton deserve to die?" "What?" "Allowing her to be convicted-- wouldn't that have made her your third attempted murder victim?" "For the first time, Mr. Mason, the doctors say there's hope for Norma." "Knowing exactly what happened they can use the truth as a clinical tool to get through to her." "Well, at least this whole mess did some good." "What about your girls, Mrs. Layton?" "I guess I underestimated them." "Children are stronger and more resilient than we imagine." "This hasn't been pleasant, but this nightmare has made... my husband, my children and me closer than we ever were before." "We're very glad of that, Mrs. Layton." "He was guilty of every sin in the book, all right." "Everything but the one crime I hated him for most, my sister." "How do you figure that?" "Things are seldom what they seem, Dave." "Hey!" "I know how that one ends." ""Things are seldom what they seem, skim milk masquerades as cream!"" "How's that?" "You're right, Perry." "Things are seldom what they seem."