"[theme music playing]" "And so I hope you'll find these estimate satisfactory." "I personally had them prepared by our very ablest man," "Mister, uh, well, whoever it was." "And as my late boss, good old Jess Devro, used to say," ""When you're sending in the A team with all the horses behind you..."" "Well, you know the sort of thing he used to say, Lita." "Why do you supposed I wanted you to take this instead of just a secretary?" "Oh, who's trotting the estimates over to Phoenix?" "They ought to be there before the weekend." "Clem Sandover, I believe." " Who?" " In accounting." "You know, that Mr. Sandover whose dumpy little wife used to be Mr. Devro's boss lady." " In accounting?" " He's been with us almost 20 years." "Mr. Sellers says he's the only man in the company who's never had an expense-account trip." "All right, all right." "You're the #1 spark plug now, so spin the wheels, roll 'em down the runway." "Your necktie is crooked, Mr. Banks." "[door opens, closes]" "Sandover?" "Sandover!" "Sandy?" "Sandy?" "White paper, three reams;" "yellow, two;" "ledger books, seven." "Now let's see." "I have one full box of black pencils, four red, one, two, three extra pen fillers, seven air-mail stamps, and a full roll of 4¢." "Sandy, old boy, what in the name of" "Level of my sherry is precisely at the top of the letter S." "Sandover, why the devil don't you answer?" "Shh, Mr. Sellers, we're busy counting paperclips." "And let me warn you-- if a single one is missing when my desk buddy returns" "All right, never mind." "Here, Sandy, you won't need this." "I'm having a briefcase loaded with all the estimates." "Yes, I expected that, sir." "I'm taking along some work of my own, that's all." "Oh." "Well, if you're a little overweight on the plane..." "I plan to travel by rail, sir." "Well, there's still a letter from Mr. Banks with your instructions being typed." " I'll tell Lita to" " Yes, sir." "I've already made arrangements to pick it up from Miss Krail." "Mr. Sellers, you don't think my old roomie would overlook anything, do you?" "You don't think he'd fail to pack in an extra timetable or make a note of how many erasers he's leaving in the second drawer?" "Enos, shut up." "Sandover, we want you to have some fun on this trip." "Forget the work." "You find yourself the fanciest hotel suite and the thickest T-bone steaks in town, all on us, mind you-- all on us." "And when they turn on those bright lights, you just tell the nearest bartender" "I" " I rather thought I'd stay at the YMCA, sir." "[laughs]" "Well, good luck, Sandy." "Don't you worry, Mr. Sellers, I'll be back at my desk at 9:00 Monday morning." "Thank you." "[recording] White paper, three reams,: yellow, two,:" "ledger books, seven." "Now let's see." "I have one full box of black pencils, four red, one, two, three extra pen fillers, seven air-mail stamps, and a full roll of 4¢." "[recording continues]" ""The level of my sherry," he said" "Listen to this." "It's true." ""The level of my sherry is precisely at the top of the letter S."" " [women groaning]" " So help me!" "[all laughing]" "Haven't you girls any work to do?" "I know you haven't, Mr. Watterton." "It's a man's world, Miss Krail." "I do not take orders from lady straw bosses." "Hey hey." "Was that Miss Krail?" "Is she back in her office?" "Pining for you." "Pining for you!" " Miss Krail?" " Yes." "Everything's here all ready for you, Mr. Sandover." " These are the letters for you to carry." " Thank you." " Lita?" " Yes?" "I'm all packed, all ready to go." "All right." "Goodbye." "Well, I" " I just wanted to make sure that you hadn't changed your plans." "About what?" "Oh, well, Sandy, there's so many things that I ought to be doing this weekend." "But you fly down there quite often, you said." "And you said you might even leave early tomorrow to be in Phoenix around noon." "And what if I do, Sandy?" "Do you have something to tell me you don't want anybody to know you're telling me?" "Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do." "I" " I have several more tidbits about people in the office." " But that's not what I meant." " It's not?" "You promised you'd be there." "Lita, remember the money I mentioned I was coming into?" "Well, you're the only one who can advise me." "I may want to live differently now-- quite differently." "I'm even stopping off on the way to the train to buy a new sport jacket." "[chuckles]" "Mr. Sandover, your wife is here." "My wife?" "What in heaven's name?" "She said she stopped by because you didn't pack your sweater." "All right, all right." "Thank you." "I told her she could put the sweater in one of your bags." "I showed her where the luggage was in the office." "I said all right." "Thank" "Beth, here, give me that." "Of all the things I don't need on the desert." "I didn't mean to disturb you." "But I suppose I didn't kiss you goodbye this morning." "All right." "There." "Now run along, dear, for heaven's sakes." "Sandy, I ran into Frank Sellers in the hall downstairs." "He said he was surprised to hear I hadn't wanted to go to Phoenix with you." "He said the company would gladly have paid" "Beth, how you could have worked here all of these years and still be so stupid and gullible" "Sandy, you're upset about something." "You know you are." "You didn't eat your breakfast this morning and last night you talked in your sleep again about waterskiing, of all things." "Please leave me alone." "Go home." "Sandy, of course I'll be in Phoenix tomorrow." "I've already made my reservations." "[whistle blowing]" "75 $100 bills, one, two, 3,000 more, plus the $10,000 and the $5,000 makes $201,000 exactly." "The perfect embezzlement." "[chuckling]" "You may say that Rome wasn't built in a day, but neither was Fort Knox;" "neither was the treasure of the Incas." "The undiscoverable acquisition of $201,000, bill by bill, month after month, year after year, is a financial feat worthy of Clem P. Sandover" "C.P. Sandover." "C.P.S." "Yes indeed, if Croesus, Kreuger, Rockefeller could afford to brag a little, well, in due time, why not the perfect embezzler?" "I only make these notes because someday people may recognize the..." "43, 44... $45,000." "What the-- how in the name-- [train whistle blowing]" "Oh." "[brakes clanking]" " [exhales] - [phone ringing]" "Hello?" "Who?" "Who?" "Oh, Mr. Sandover." "Listen" " Sally, listen to me." "You handle receipts-- incoming receipts." "I thought you were on a train somewhere." "Look, I got home late and I do have a date tonight, so" "Sally, did we get any money today?" "Was any cash received in the office?" "Cash?" "Just the one loan deposit." "That wad?" "I mean, how much?" "How much was it?" "$45,000, but you already know about that." "I already know?" "Look, Mr. Sandover, I really didn't pay any attention to it after I saw your initials on it and your forwarding slip when you sent it on to the bank." "Let me try to remember." "There may have been some other smaller" "Mr. Sandover?" "Get the bags." "Beth, it's me." "Don't get all excited now." "I just missed my train, that's all." "But I have something to attend to this evening." "I'm taking the car." "Missed the train?" "But that was hours ago, Sandy." "For heaven's sake, what happened?" "I'll explain later, dear." "I'll fly down to Phoenix in the morning instead." " But Sandy" " Look, there's nothing to be alarmed about." "I thought you were going out to dinner with Dorothea this evening." "Well, yes, but later, so I really wanted to use the car myself, but..." "Oh." "Oh, I'm sorry." " Sandy, this is Perry Mason." " Oh." "I've always wanted to meet you, Mr. Sandover." "Your wife and I are very old friends." "Yes, of course." "She's always talking about people she used to know when Mr. Devro was alive." "Sandy, Perry was nice enough to come by on his way home from work to give me some professional advice." "Oh, all right, Beth, if you're thinking of a divorce, that's no reason to call in such an expensive lawyer." " Sandy!" " I never handle divorces." "No, I only stopped by to" "We were discussing something quite different." "All right, never mind." "Oh, put them right over there." "Has anyone else been here this evening?" "Anyone called?" "Just Enos Watterton." "He wanted to make sure you got away all right." " I didn't know then you'd missed the train." " Enos Watterton?" " Oh." " Sandy" " Sandy, if you won't tell me, will you please tell Perry what's been upsetting you so lately?" "I mean, that's part of the reason I wanted to talk to him." "Oh, for heaven's sakes, Beth, I don't care what you do." " Sandy!" " Driver, wait." "Taxi, taxi!" "[jazz playing]" "Sellers, Sellers." "[phone ringing]" "Yes?" "Who?" "Oh, Sandy" "Ha!" "Well, I guess we all miss a train once in a while." "I'll catch the first plane in the morning, sir." "The only reason I bothered you was to double check to make sure that I have all the papers they'll need in Phoenix." "What?" "I mean in the briefcase, sir." "I had the impression that you put everything in there yourself and" "Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't actually." "But I'm sure you've got it all." "Then who did, sir?" "Who else touched the briefcase?" "Sandy, for gosh sakes, if you'd stop worrying about things that aren't important, you wouldn't overlook the things that are." "Yes, sir." "I didn't mean to make you angry, sir." "You've already wrecked my evening with that deposit money you forgot." "There was a message waiting for me when I got home." "You should have sent that money to the bank the minute it came in." "You know our insurance doesn't cover leaving a wad like $45,000 around the office all night." "But about that $45,000, sir" "I know you're sorry." "Well, skip it." "The bank's sending an armored truck to meet me downtown." "They'll take the money off our hands." "Oh, what are you doing, sir?" "I'm on my way down to the office to turn the money over to them." "Now goodbye, Sandover." "Go to Phoenix." "[door opens]" "[panting]" "[sighs]" "[footsteps approach]" "Okay, boys, that's it." "Be right with you." "Hello, I was given this number to reach Miss Krail tonight." "Oh, Lita, is that you?" "Lita, I tried to reach you before to tell you I got your message about double checking that cash that came in today." "No no no, you don't need to do anything about it." "I'll handle it." "Just wanted to say thanks for calling it to my attention." "That's all." "Good night." "Lita." "[sighs] [elevator humming] [sobbing]" "Lita." "[Sandover's voice] The perfect embezzlement." "It may be said that Rome was not built in a day." "Well, neither was Fort Knox;" "neither was the treasure of the Incas." "The undiscoverable acquisition of $201,000, bill by bill, month after month, year after year, is a financial feat worthy of Clem P. Sandover... [jazz playing] [clock ticking]" " Having trouble?" " Oh no." "I do this for exercise." "It helps my strawberries get ripe." "Anybody home over there?" "I haven't the faintest idea." "Why?" "Oh, I'm looking for real estate." "Well, you can have any of mine, this truck included." "You know this is the second time in three weeks that I've missed the early market?" "You know how long I've been asleep in that cab waiting for it to be light enough to fix this thing?" "[jazz playing]" "[song repeating] [engine revving]" "Lita Krail murdered?" "She-- she can't be." "She just can't be." "Beth, why are you so frightened?" "Last night you told me that you didn't like her, that you didn't trust her." "It's just that I can't believe it." "I'd like to talk to your husband." "He's-- he's gone out already." "I" " I don't know where." "Beth, last night I came over here because you were upset about receiving a letter and a couple of phone calls." "You thought it was a man on the phone." "The letter was typed and it was unsigned." "But in plain nasty language, they all said the same thing:" ""Stop trying to bleed me or else."" "I" " I shouldn't have called you." "I was scared." " But it wasn't that important." " Yes it was." "Obviously someone thinks you're a blackmailer." "Now you did remember that the man used the word "office."" "And until last year, your whole life has been tied up in your job with Devro  Banks." "Since then Lita Krail has had that job." "Well, this morning I sent Paul Drake out to talk with Lita before she went to work." "But now, you see, Lita's dead and so everything's different." " [Beth] Thank you." " [lighter flicks]" "Why did you leave your job?" "Was it because Jess Devro died?" "Yes." "I mean no." "You see, Sandy'd been after me ever since we were married two years ago." "He couldn't stand it that I had a more important position in the firm than he did." "Did he ask you to give up all your old friends?" "You know, your marriage kind of came as a surprise." "I know that Jess was surprised." "He always thought-- well, frankly, he thought that you cared for someone else." "Perry, stop it." "If I'm unhappy, or even if you think I've made mistakes, it's still my business, isn't it?" "I'm responsible, so please just leave me alone." "Beth, a murder has been committed." "Now you do need help." "Why, you're scared to death thinking that your husband is in some way mixed up with Lita Krail or even" "I don't know anything about it!" "So please just get out, Perry." "We-- we don't need you." "Please just get out." "[door opens, closes]" "Any luck yet on the guy with the strawberries?" "No, not so far." "I'm checking out the license number" " and my men are checking the markets." " What about the necktie?" "Well, there was a cleaning tab on the label and we're running it down as fast as we can." "I gave my men a head start before I reported what I had to the police." "All right, Paul." "I want one of your men to watch that house." " Don't leave till he gets here." " All right." "Oh, you heard about the Lita Krail thing." "Shocking, isn't it?" "Very shocking." "Such a pretty creature." "How did you hear about it, Mr. Banks?" "Oh, the police just called a few moments ago." "Routine-- check the employer." "That sort of thing." "I wasn't in town when Jess Devro died last year, Mr. Banks." "I still miss him." "Best friend, you know?" "Very best." "It happened here in the office, didn't it?" "He was alone, working late." "As I recall the newspaper story, one of the cleaning women said that she heard him talking to someone about an hour before he died." "She said his voice sounded very angry." "I'd quite forgotten." "Mason, what does this have to do with Lita Krail?" "The stroke may have been the result of a fight with someone." "Mason, you've got the wrong foot in the mouth entirely." "Oh, sure, Lita Krail may have been #1 girl in the big firm, but" "Did Lita earn just her salary here or do you think she had another source of income?" "I don't follow." "Well, for keeping quiet or arranging deals here and there." "Beth Sandover tells me that the job was a regular funnel of gossip and influence," " if a woman so wanted to use it." " And so she did, your friend Beth." "Lita's told me what a big snoop she was." "It's her husband who was the snoop" " Sandy." "Of all the creepy calculating guys I've had to stand" "Now now now now, Frank, sticks and stones." "Oh, Mason, you know Sellers?" "How do you do?" "Frank Sellers?" "Jess Devro told me that you were the one who would probably run the company when he stepped down." "You mean Devro  Sellers instead of Devro  Banks?" "Now Mason, you've been shooting apples off my head ever since you came in." "I'm curious as to who's being blackmailed around here and by whom, that's all." " Blackmail?" "What kind of a" " All right, all right, Sellers." "It's a stormy morning-- police, murder and all that." " [phone ringing]" " We can't blame Mr. Mason if he doesn't recognize a big happy family when he sees one." "Excuse me, sir." "I'm sorry." "I have a call outside for Mr. Mason." "Thank you." " Gentlemen." " Anytime." "No offense." "All part of the game." "Hello?" "Yes, Paul?" "Who?" "Is there an Enos Watterton working for the company?" "He phoned to say he had a headache this morning." "He's probably at home, Paul." "Why?" "That necktie that Lita Krail was holding in her hand belongs to Enos Watterton." "I don't know how she got my necktie." "Look, can't you understand?" "When a guy drinks a little" "But you admit she was over here last night and you took her home a little before 11:00?" "I didn't even get into her house." " She-- she had something else to do." " Like what?" "I don't know." "A couple of hours earlier, she asked me to call Sandy Sandover's wife just to make sure that Sandy had left for Phoenix." "Then later she got a call from Mr. Sellers about something." "Why did she want to know that Sandover had left town?" "Search me." "Although she did say she thought it was about time she fixed Sandy's wagon." "All right, Paul, you'd better take Mr. Watterton down to headquarters." "They'll want him as a material witness." "How can I explain it?" "Look, fellas, you gotta believe me." "I was wearing a brown tie last night, not a red one." "This was a red one with a little figure on it." "I don't own such a" "Wait a minute." " Was the figure sort of gray?" " That's right." "I think that's one of the ones I left at the office." "Sure, that's it." "You know, in case-- in case I lined up something kind of special." "At the office, where anyone might have taken it?" "Yeah." "I mean no." "A couple of months ago," "Sandy spilled some soup and-- that's it." "That's the tie I loaned to Sandy." "Beth, I have to see him." "Everything points in one direction." "Now if you want me to help your husband before the police get here" "Perry, I don't know what I want-- just time to think, please." "Beth, stop that sniveling." "You don't have to pretend to be loyal." "Mr. Sandover, you went out to Lita Krail's cottage last night, didn't you?" "She lied to me." "She was up to something;" "trying to get you into trouble." "She said she'd meet me in Phoenix." "She lied to me." "I bought a new sport coat." "I told her things-- things I never told anyone." "You thought she cared for you." "What did she do, laugh at you?" "I didn't give her the chance." "She was asleep on the couch with the door open." "I couldn't stop myself, Beth." "She'd lied to me." "I picked up an ashtray." "I hit her." "I couldn't help it." "I hit her and hit her and hit her." "That's very interesting." "It explains a lot." " You're trespassing, Lieutenant." " Take it easy, Perry." "I have a warrant here." "Mr. Sandover, you understand that anything you've said to me that might have been overheard by Lieutenant Tragg" "What difference does it make?" "I killed her." "I have to tell, Mr. Mason." "I killed her, yes." "And then I put a necktie in her hand." "She was always playing with neckties." "It was Enos's necktie." "Thank you, Mr. Sandover." "But suppose you tell us all this down at headquarters, eh?" "Now look here, Tragg" "It's too bad you didn't check sooner with us, Perry." "You see, when this guy struck her," "Lita Krail had probably been dead for over a half an hour." "The doctor found the bullet in her heart." "[Tragg] My warrant is for Mrs. Sandover... for murder." "Well, that's-- that's it, Perry." "I did go out there, but I was with Lita only 20 minutes or so." "It was sometime after 11:00." "When did she call you?" "Oh, it was a couple of hours after you left the house that night." "She said there was something very urgent that we should discuss privately." "And since it takes only a few minutes to get out to her house, I" "Did she tell you that she'd also received threatening phone calls?" "I didn't believe her then and I still don't." "All right." "But it wasn't just the blackmailing thing she wanted to talk about, was it?" "No." "She said Sandy was going to be in trouble over some money." "She didn't know what Frank Sellers was going to do about it, but it might be serious trouble." "And only she could get Sandy out of it if he'd quit his job and we'd both move out of town." "In other words, practically admit that we-- or I had been up to something." "What more proof did I need that she was the one?" "And you told her so." "And that's when Lita brought out her gun?" "No, she lost her temper." "She tried to threaten me with some silly little thing she kept in her bureau." "That silly little thing was the gun that killed her." "And Beth, your fingerprints are all over it." "Oh, Perry, I grew up with too many brothers." "I told Lita she ought to be spanked or worse." "I simply took the gun away from her, threw it down on the desk and walked out." "Well, I wish you'd told me all that the next day." "How could I?" "I drove home that night." "The lights were on." "So I went for a walk." "I stopped at Dorothea's and we talked a while." "And at 1:00 I went home." "I thought Sandy was asleep." "Then I heard the car come in." "What else could I think the next morning but that he'd taken the car out after I had;" "that he'd been out to Lita's and he'd killed her." "Maybe Sandy had provocation for what he did to Lita." "The police have check out his story, you know." "He was seen drinking in a Hollywood bar just before" "Well, it's not specifically against the law to try to kill someone who's already dead." "Perry, you're making excuses for Sandy." "Why?" "To find out why you've made so many." "Not ever again." "Oh, Perry, I do need my old friends back." "[sobbing]" "[Hamilton Burger] And what did the defendant then say to you when you told her that her husband was busy in the office of the deceased, Lita Krail?" "Well, she said, "That little alley cat,"" "and-- and then another word that I really didn't listen to." "I mean, everybody already knew how much they hated each other ever since Lita was given Beth's job." " [Mason] Objection." " Sustained." "Now Miss Adams, let's skip to later that day, shall we?" "To that night, as a matter of fact." "Did you have occasion to contact the deceased then?" "Yes I did." "You see, I got this crazy call from Sand-- Mr. Sandover-- about money deposits and money in the office." "Well, I got home from my date and I figured I'd better call Lita and tell her about Sandy's call." " So you actually phoned Lita's house?" " At 11:15." "Then she said she was too busy to talk." "And then I heard another voice-- hers, the defendant's-- saying, "Hang up that phone."" "Then Lita says, "I'm giving the orders around here, dear."" "And, "Oh, no you're not," says Beth." "And there's a real loud scuffle noise and bam goes the receiver right in my ear." "[Burger] That will be all, Miss Adams." " Counselor?" " No questions, Your Honor." "You may step down, Miss Adams." "[Burger] I call Mr. Cyrus Potkin to the stand." "Oh." "I" " I'm sorry." "[Bailiff] Just one moment, please." "Will you raise your right hand?" "Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?" "And what was all that about?" "Perry wanted me to see if what the girl was wearing was really mink." " It is." " Typist in accounting, huh?" " Mm-hmm." " We'll check her out too." " Right." " Goodbye, beautiful." "Oh, miss, tell Mr. Mason if there's anything my wife needs-  you understand." " No, I'm afraid I don't." "Well, there must be a bill at least." "Tell him whatever is necessary to help-- anything" "I'll be glad to manage somehow." " All" " I have a little money saved." "All right, Mr. Potkin, you've positively identified the Sandover car." "You say it came from the cottage and went past you as you were working on your truck in the dark." "Nearly ran me down, you mean." "Of course I was parked on the only road out." "Yeah." "You heard the written confession of the defendant's husband introduced earlier by the prosecution in order to clarify their case." "You heard Mr. Sandover's statement that he drove that same car" " out to that same cottage." " Yes, you bet." "I also heard he was only there for a few minutes." "Look, mister, after my truck broke down," "I worked a solid half hour banging my knuckles in the dark and there was no car going and coming;" "just the one car leaving-- that's all." "After that I climbed into the cab and took a snooze." "It is your contention then that Mr. Sandover's brief visit occurred after you went to sleep." "But, Mr. Potkin, how do you know the length of time you had been working on your truck if you didn't have a watch?" "I just know, that's all." "After all, you crawl under a truck three or four times, the jack breaks" "What time did you arrive?" "Well, I was headed for the 1:00 AM market, so I figure I stopped" "You don't actually know then whether you arrived at 11:30, at 12:00 or even 12:30." "Well, of course I know." "The way I figure it" "If you saw a house that close, why didn't you phone for a tow truck?" "What, spend $10 to save $5?" "Now look here" "Now you don't actually know if you arrived at 11:30, at 12:00 or at 12:30." "Now is that not correct?" "[sighs] Okay, mister." "That much I'll give you." "Beth Sandover requested her release from the company, oh, about a year ago for personal problems." "It all seemed quite proper at the time." "At the time?" "Did something occur later which threw a different light on it?" "It did." "Lita-- the deceased, that is-- had made a number of remarks regarding certain discrepancies she'd found on taking over her job." "Well, women and business, you know?" "I paid little attention." "Until just the day before her death," "Lita handed me an itemized list of certain kickbacks, little deals involving promotions" "[Mason] Objection." "Mr. Banks, of your own personal knowledge, what was Lita Krail's expressed opinion of the defendant?" "Oh, one of suspicion, bitterness." "Oh yes, I'd say they quite hated one another." "Counselor?" "Mr. Banks, did... any of these allegations by Lita Krail about the defendant involve criminal acts?" "Oh, nothing quite that extreme, perhaps." "Was your firm missing any money last year?" "Why, I really don't recall." "You don't recall?" "Aren't the company books now being audited?" "Yes, the audit has been completed." "Books are in perfect order, I'm glad to say." " And last year?" " That was in perfect order too." "Now isn't it possible, Mr. Banks, that Lita Krail invented these things about the defendant just to keep suspicion from herself-- suspicion of bigger things, such as the identity of the office blackmailer?" "I'll object to that, Your Honor." "There's been no groundwork laid for the subject of blackmail." " I'm afraid I'll have to sustain that, counselor." " No more questions." "I just don't remember gossip much, Mr. Burger." "Let me remind you that there were other witnesses present, Mr. Sellers." "Now what did Lita Krail say to you on the morning two days before her death?" "Oh, she-- she said she thought I ought to know that Sandy" " Mr. Sandover there-- had been hinting around to her about maybe getting his hands on some money somewhere." "Well, she claimed it might have something to do with Sandy's wife." " But I didn't believe" " That's all." "Thank you very much, sir." "Your witness." "Mr. Sellers, you testified that Lita Krail sent you a message on the night of her death suggesting that certain monies had not been deposited in the bank." "$45,000 in cash." "That's right." "Was this a matter which could have caused Mr. Sandover serious trouble?" "Well, he was the bookkeeper responsible, but" "Could Lita Krail have mixed up that deposit in some way so that he would have been blamed?" "But she'd have had to do something with the money itself for anybody to really be in a mess." "No." "No, that money was still just lying there in the safe when I went to get it." "[Mason] In your opinion, could Lita Krail have been a blackmailer?" " Search me." " It is true, is it not, that six months prior to your wife's death, you were occasionally seen in the company of other women?" "My wife was an invalid for 15 years, Mr. Mason." "Yes." "And I took care of her." "Anybody I was seen with was... a good friend." "And if you think there's anything like blackmail in that" "If it please the court, defense counsel is once again wandering into the briar patch we've been trying to avoid." "Now in the interest of the court's time" "Would you excuse me a moment, Your Honor?" "[whispering]" "If it please the court, the state has unearthed new evidence which will, I am happy to say, clarify once and for all just exactly who was doing what." "On request of the District Attorney, we just completed a more thorough search of the defendant's house." "What did you find there, Lieutenant?" "In several places in Mrs. Sandover's dressing room we found bundles of greenbacks." "[Burger] How much did it amount to in money, Lieutenant?" "$201,000." "It's just about time." "You suppose he's going to show up?" "Well, he will if my information's correct." "And Miss Adams here made the message sound pretty urgent." "Thanks, Sally." "Well, here's to your friend Beth." "Mmm." "Perry, what about her fingerprints on the gun?" "Their expert admitted that some of the fingerprints were smeared." "I tried to argue that someone could have picked the gun up later, picked it up with a handkerchief and fired it." "There you are." "Sally, what's the big idea telephoning a message to my house like that?" "You know how my wife" "Mason." "'Evening, Mr. Banks." "Care for a drink?" "[laughs] Well, so you finally hit your target." " All right, what's your price?" " The truth." " You think it's in me?" " [Drake] It'd better be." "We've got enough on your and Sally to" "Never mind, Paul." "Have you been blackmailed because of her?" " Yes." " By whom?" "That's the trouble-- I don't know." "I thought it was Beth Sandover, but now I'm not so sure." "I'd had just about enough of this whole business, Mason." "I was going to call in a private detective." "Did Lita Krail know that?" "Well, I did call an agency the other day from the office." "It's possible Lita might have heard me." "And was scared into action." "All right, how much blackmail did you pay?" "How much have you paid in all?" "$6,000." "That's a long way from $201,000, isn't it?" "Della, you and I have a few subpoenas to get out." "There's only one way to handle the defense now." "No, sir, I'd say Sandy" " Sandover's job wasn't too important." "Like me, just a bookkeeper." "Only Sandy hasn't got much future, if you want my opinion." " [Judge] We don't, Mr. Watterton." " You'd better come inside." " They'll call you in a minute." " Oh." "I thought maybe a drink of water." "Well, we don't want to lose our seats." "Come on." "Now tell us this, Mr. Watterton, when the defendant worked at Devro  Banks, did you notice any financial discrepancies" " which could be attributed to her?" " No, sir, I did not." "Did her husband ever make any such mistakes, either intentional or otherwise?" "Sandy?" "He's not bright enough to make mistakes." "[Judge] I must caution the witness." "I just meant that Beth Sandover is not only one of the most honest people I've ever met, but she's also got all the brains of the family." "[Judge] Strike that last remark." "Your Honor, I'm through with the witness." "Cross examine." "No questions, Your Honor." "I would like to call as my next witness" "Mr. Frank Sellers." "Now look, let's get this straight." "In all my years of knowing her," "Beth Sandover never once used her position at the office for her own private gain." "Just how would you account for the $201,000 the police found at the Sandover house?" "I wouldn't." "I don't know anything about it." "To your own personal knowledge, does the defendant gamble?" "Does she follow the races?" "Of course not." "How can you be so positive, Mr. Sellers?" "Because I know Beth-- for 15 years." "We could never do anything about it, but, well, I" " I know Beth." "That's all." "Did her husband have any private source of income that you might know of?" "Sandy?" "Well, he's sure no gambler." "I can tell you that." "What else can you tell us about him?" "Plenty." "He's conniving and selfish, little and mean." "Only the money is relevant here, Mr. Sellers." "Now could the defendant's husband have connived somehow to steal that money?" "Well, not from us." "He's too cautious." "On top of that, he's just plain stupid." "He goes over and over every pin in that double-entry mind of his." "In my opinion, Sandy's got less imagination than any bookkeeper in the world." "That's not true!" "But it's my work that kept Devro  Banks running." "Yes, for years." "Me, Clem Sandover." "I asked about the money, Mr. Sandover." "It's my money." "Yes, every penny-- dollar by dollar, month after month." "Don't you understand?" "My $201,000." "I embezzled it." "Your Honor, I was about to object to this line of questioning, but I" "And I would agree with the objection, Your Honor." "I'll withdraw the question since the witness is obviously lying just to protect his wife." "No, that's not so." "I did it." "Don't you understand?" "You've got to believe me." "Year after year I worked on my plan." "I was so clever with the books that no one even guessed." "No one even noticed a wrong decimal, a wrong" "Didn't Jess Devro even guess?" "What?" "Your former employer who died so suddenly of a stroke one night." "You know, we're also here to talk about murder, Mr. Sandover." " But Mr. Devro" " Lita Krail's murder." "Oh, but Lita I can tell you more about." "She was a blackmailer." "She even got information out of me about people." " I never told that before." " Why not?" "Are you that anxious to implicate your wife?" "No." "I was confused." "I was worried about the money." "I mean, I confessed to everything else I knew-- going there and striking her the way I did-- but they said she was already dead and" "And by that easy and intentional confession, you hoped to remove yourself as a suspect of her murder, isn't that right?" "No one would kill a person twice." "A man as methodical as you might have done it, Mr. Sandover, if you'd been trapped." "Trapped?" "Yes." "Perhaps you went out there and fought with Lita." "Perhaps she just laughed at you and ordered you out." "Then you saw her gun." "The next thing you knew she was dead at your feet." "But when you started to leave, there was a truck outside." "It had just broken down." "And it stayed there and stayed." "No, wait, I was seen in a bar at 12:15." "The police confirmed that." "It's less than a ten-minute walk to that bar and that alibi." "Now you couldn't leave your car forever at Lita's." "But when you went back the truck was still there." "And that's when you created your second desperate alibi." "And then you let your car be seen by driving away." "She lied to me." "Is that why you killed her?" "Because she lied to you?" "Lita's not important." "Do you know how long it took me to plan that embezzlement?" "Oh, yes indeed, you can say that Rome wasn't built in one day." "No, and neither was Fort Knox." "Oh, I want you to understand how complex it is-- the undiscoverable acquisition of $201,000." "Oh, I tell you, it's a financial feat worthy of..." "Well, I did it." "I did it." "Won't you listen?" "Won't you understand?" "I embezzled that money." "Me!" "Clem P. Sandover." "I" " I did it!" "I was so surprised when Frank here came out and said all those awful things about Sandy." "Well, I'm sorry I couldn't have warned you, Beth." "But I had Mr. Sellers well primed, and Mr. Watterton." "And narrowly led them into contempt of court just to help." "Well, it had to be done." "There was just no other explanation for all the things that happened and the circumstantial evidence against you could equally have applied to your husband." "Sandy admitted that Devro almost caught him last year, which of course is what caused Devro's stroke." "I know." "You can't be loyal forever to your own mistakes, Beth." "It's just that I'm so terribly sorry for Sandy, that's all." "You shouldn't be." "He's in a nice comfortable place where he can do what he really wants to do for as long as he likes." "What's that?" "Oh, he's writing a book about the perfect embezzlement." "[theme song playing]"