"## [theme]" "[Man] Yeah, yeah, yeah." "I understand, Irene." "Now, look, Irene, please, I" " I can't." "I won't." "[sighs]" " Yeah, yeah." "I understand." " [door opens]" "Your husband just walked in." "I'll call you later." " Hello, Mr. Chase." " Len." "Uh, I want another one of those water purifier kits." "Oh." "Going to South America again?" "You've still got them down in the basement, haven't you?" "Well, sure." "I'll get one for you." "Here you are, Mr. Chase." "You need a gun this time?" "Little side trip to the jungle?" "No." "Uh, just tell Tony to charge this." "Yeah." "Sure." "[door opens, closes]" "Irene?" "Irene, are you home yet?" "# Irene, good night #" "[footsteps approaching]" "You see, you're my children, and, uh, I want you to come home." "Irene's there." "Well, Irene wants you to come home, too." "She's not our real mother, so we won't come home as long as she's there, Daddy." "Will we, Anne?" "No, we won't." "But, uh, I love you, and I miss you." "We miss you, too." "You could take Irene out and drown her." "Well, you could." "Girls, why don't you go out and ask Martha for tea, hmm?" "Yeah." "Uh..." "Will you stay here for tea, Daddy?" "We won't talk about Irene anymore." " All right." " We're afraid of her all the same." "Well, I'll stay, so you go ahead and get the tea, and..." "You know, Ted, you're going to have to choose between your children and that woman." "Why did I ever marry her?" "You didn't." "She married you." "But you're not the first man who ever got caught at his first wife's funeral." "Oh, divorce Irene, Ted." "Get rid of her." "Ellen" " Ellen, you're, uh-- you're forgetting that crazy financial agreement I made." "You see, a divorce would wreck the company and ruin us-- you, the kids, Mother, Dad, everybody." "But, you know-- you know, maybe-- just maybe-- there's another way, a way that's even more legal." "Only I don't want to use the company lawyers." "Do you know a man named Perry Mason?" "Well, I've never met him." "Well, he's a friend of mine." "Go and talk to him, and then take a vacation, Ted." "Just you and the children somewhere." "That Mr. Vale can run things down at the place while you're away, can't he?" "Ellen, I don't need a vacation." "Yes, you do." "Ted, have you seen a doctor lately?" "The way you perspire and get dizzy and..." "You see, there's really nothing wrong with me that can't be cured in one way or another." "You're trying to say that you now believe your first wife did not commit suicide?" "Yes." "Yes, that's right." "You mean she was murdered?" "Look, Mr. Mason, let me tell you something about Betty, my wife-- uh, my first wife." "You know how some people save string?" "Betty saved paper." "Uh, she would write shopping lists on old envelopes." "She saved paper bags." "She would answer letters on the letter itself." "Here." "Now, here's a note that she wrote me." "It's dated the day before she died." ""Darling, I've tried and tried to make you listen to me about Irene." "You won't believe me." "But now"..." "That's all." "I found that just a few days ago between the blotter and the pad on Betty's old desk." "Now, she must have hidden it there for a reason." "But whatever it was she was trying to tell me, she never finished." "I frankly don't see the significance." "Mr. Mason, why should Betty try to kill herself?" "She had everything." "At least, materially speaking, she did." "Your wife left a suicide note." "Also on the back of an old envelope." "Oh, it just said she had had all she could stand, and she was going to put an end to it." "In fact, the police still have it, I suppose." "Where was Irene at that time?" "She was on her way to Catalina." "She proved that, I guess." "Oh, actually, all we have is this note indicating a vague desire to tell you something." " [slams hand on desk]" " But why didn't she finish the note?" "Mr. Mason, Betty did not kill herself." "The coroner must have based his verdict on good evidence, plus the suicide note and the fact that no one else was in the apartment at the time." "Now, I can reexamine the matter in the light of this" "You" " You just do what you want." "Maybe the answer isn't in a law book anyway." "[door opens, closes] [knocking]" "Who is it?" "Irene, darling." "These will be ready for tomorrow, won't they, darling?" "No." "No, they won't." "Oh, but they will." "We made a deal, Irene, and you said when it was over, it was over." "Have you forgotten that I still have that little old piece of paper, Herman?" "My name is Len." "Leonard Dykes." "What a nice little job you have here, working for Tony." "And such a nice little apartment for you and your unsuspecting little wife." "But only for Leonard Dykes." "Not for Herman Dickson." "You'd hurt anybody, wouldn't you?" "Tomorrow, then, darling?" "Or would you rather take the third-time trip?" "You know, one of these days, you're going to push somebody too far, Irene, and they'll kill you." "I know, darling, but it isn't going to be you." "So be sweet now." "I'll see you tomorrow." "[laughing]" "So he says if it would've happened one minute sooner," "I'd have had a fractured skull." "More?" "Hi, Irene." "Uh, look, my wife has been sick, and I let the insurance lapse." "But I'll take care of everything in a week or two." "Well, Cecil, darling, you make me feel like Shylock." "You know, I've never pressured you for the payments." "I'm just here looking for my wandering husband." "Oh." "Oh, well, he didn't come in tonight." "It's the first time he's missed in a week." "He didn't come home, either." "I worry so much about his health." "He's going away on a business trip soon." "You are taking care of him for me, aren't you, darling?" "Oh, sure." "That's easy." "He'll be okay." "Thanks, darling." "You don't have to tell me." "I know." "Irene." "Gee, a guy tries to be nice and not wake his wife up and she gives him this Irene business." " Irene who?" " Irene Chase." "You reek of her." "I was going to buy you some perfume and this girl tried it on me." "You've been with her again." "I wouldn't touch that woman with a 10 foot pole." " Don't you yell at me." " Anyway, Irene is my cousin." "Kissing cousin." " She came here this evening." " Here?" "When I told her you were still at the store, she said," ""If you knew your husband as well as I do,"" "and then she laughed in my face." "Well, I was there." "She said it would be terrible for me if you got into trouble." "What sort of trouble would I be in?" "All I do is engrave fancy pictures on rich men's guns." "Come on." "Let's go to bed." "Forget about Irene." "How?" "That kind of woman I could kill with my bare hands." "So could I." "Tony?" "Hi, darling." "Wonderful news." "He's going back to cha-cha land." "Come to me the moment he leaves." "Now, why take a chance, Irene?" "We've only got to wait a little while longer." "But I want you here with me now." "I want to see you and talk to you." "Good idea." "Only I've got other things I have to do tonight." "Not too many things, darling, or you might not be quite so welcome next time." "You know, if we didn't love each other so much," "I'd think you didn't trust me, sweet." "But now I really must say good night." "[Man on radio] And now, the latest weather report." "a fast moving front which will bring thunderstorms and rain is expected to pass over the area around midnight." "However, tomorrow will be clearer and cooler." "[radio off]" "Now, I'm gonna ask you once more, and this is the last time." "Will you" "The answer's still no." "And if you want to divorce me," "I'll hold you to the agreement you made when you married me." "Well, then, I'll have to hold you to that other agreement, remember?" "Everything I've given you goes into a trust fund for my children." "That's only in case I die, darling." "[door opens, closes] ## [loud jazz] [thunderclap]" "Turn it off." "[radio off]" "What are you listening to, Mr. Chase?" "What do you want to hear?" " I want to hear the wrath of God." " [thunderclap]" "Hear who?" "[thunderclap]" "[thunderclap]" "[thunderclap]" "[thunderclap]" "You know, it's not what happens today that breaks a man down, Cecil." "It's the remorse over what happened yesterday and the dread of tomorrow." "I was supposed to catch a plane tonight, Cecil," "I think." "Cecil..." "Cecil, am I mad, Cecil?" "A mad man?" "[Man on radio] We interrupt this program to bring you this news bulletin." "Police report the apparent murder of the wife of socialite Theodore Chase," "President of the Chase Enterprises." "The beautiful Mrs. Irene Chase was found shot to death in her apartment less than an hour ago." "Police are now searching for the missing husband." "We return you know to our regular program." "## [jazz]" "Hey, you missed your" " If you wait a minute, I'll get you a cab to the airport." "No." "Ellen, I'm sober now and sane, I think." "All I need is a little more time." "Listen to me, Ted." "Wait." "Go see Perry Mason." "Look, the only thing that's important is that you and my children are taken care of, and I haven't got much time." "But we don't need help, you do." "Don't you realize this is all that guy Vale needs to wipe you out?" "He'll ruin you." "So listen to me." "There'll be a package for you at the Santa Monica post office." "General delivery." "Go get it and keep it and keep quiet about it." " [phone clicks]" " Ted?" "Ted!" "[phone buttons rattle]" " Yeah." "Yeah." "Fine." "Good." " [camera shutter clicks]" "He did?" "Fine." "Good work." "Yeah." "[knocking]" "They found a rifle on the building across the way." "Morning, Andy." "Oh, good morning, Counselor." "You couldn't possibly be looking for a client?" "That depends upon whether you mean finding one or getting one, Lieutenant." "And your client couldn't possibly be Mr. Theodore Chase?" "What've you got, Charlie?" "Well, I found the slug that killed her, Lieutenant, but it's sure going to be tough to trace." "Hitting that fireplace afterwards didn't help any." "Look." "All right." "You'll run it down, Charlie." "Oh, and tell your boys to make real sure about any powder burns or gun powder residue." "All right." "But I'm almost sure the gun wasn't fired from in here, Lieutenant." "How did you find out about the murder, Lieutenant?" "Simple deduction, Perry." "A woman, identity unknown, called and reported it at 1:17 a.m." " She was here, waiting for you?" " She was not." "Why are you so anxious about my client?" "I have a feeling you'll be discussing that with him soon...in jail." "Ellen, what time was it when Ted called you from Mexico?" "About 7:00 a.m." "He said he was going to hide down there until the police found the person who killed her." " You don't think he did?" " Oh, Perry." "I've watched my brother-- a good man, a kind, intelligent man-- endure tortures beyond human endurance, but he did not kill her." "And if your law and justice can't prove that" "Our justice isn't barbaric, Ellen." "It won't accept any eye for an eye." "It only wants those truly guilty to be punished." "And any man who can run away like a thief in the night, leaving his little children to think that their father is a murderer, is not, in my mind, a good, kind, intelligent man." "He did not run away!" "Ellen, where is he?" "Your brother is sick, Ellen." "Help me find him before the police do." "Well, I think he-- he might go to the office." "On Sunday?" "He wanted to get some money for his children before Charles Vale has everything in the company tied up." "Vale's the new vice president I told you about." "And apparently there's some stocks down there, some of Ted's own securities that his children are entitled to." "[drawers rattling, papers rustling]" "Good morning." "Good morning." "And who might you be?" "My name is Mason." "I'm an attorney." "Miss Chase gave me permission to come here." "I feel so sorry for her." "Such a tragedy." "I'm going to have trouble saving this corporation." "For whom?" "For the stockholders, of course." "I'm Charles Vale." "I understand some of the major stockholders are violently opposed to you as an officer of the firm, Mr. Vale." "Some firms need vice presidents the stockholders violently oppose." "This was one of them." "I was brought in to pump some life into it." "I'm afraid to salvage anything." "I'm going to have to be given complete control." "And if you are not given control?" "It will be." "You see, Mr. Mason, in addition to murder, there is now theft." "Some very valuable assets of this corporation have been stolen from that safe." "You feel Mr. Chase may have taken them?" "Of course." "They were stock certificates in his name." "But he'd promised that we could use them later on as collateral for an essential loan for the corporation." "But if you had stock powers and a third-party release, the stocks could actually be used by you now, right?" "His sister will certainly verify that Mr. Chase never gave me any such authority." "I wasn't suggesting he gave them to you." " [Drake] Perry." " Excuse me, Mr. Vale." " What do you have, Paul?" " Something that might be interesting." "Irene Chase was formerly married to a man named Tony Benson, but she didn't use that name when she went to work for Chase, and she didn't tell anyone there she was married." "Know anything about Benson?" "Yeah, he has a sporting goods store over on Barclay Street." "Has a guy by the name of Len Dykes working for him." "And here's another item:" "a week after Chase's first wife committed suicide," "Tony Benson divorced Irene in Mexico." "All right." "We better see Mr. Benson." "[knocking]" "Oh." "Tony." "You look like something that came up on the well rope." "What's the matter, Sylvia?" "Haven't you heard?" "Sure." "Only where's Len?" "I've got to see him." "I don't know." "I thought you knew." "Did Len kill her, Tony?" "Now, why should Len shoot her?" "Well, he was playing around with her." "The paper said she was killed at 12:00 last night." "He didn't get home till 1:00." "If I were you, Sylvia, I'd forget all about that." "You think Len did it, don't you?" "Forget it, I said." "[doorknob clicking] [stomping]" "Ah, there you are." "What's the idea of locking me out of my own store?" "Oh, sorry." "I want those stock powers, Len." "What?" "You know what I'm talking about." "I've got the release forms at home, and now I want those stock powers, too." "Tony, I wouldn't keep those things around here, not with the cops crawling all over the place." "I, uh..." "I've got them in a bus station locker downtown." "Main station." "Signed?" "I know when I'm over a barrel, Tony." "Okay." "You going home now?" "Sure." "Nothing else to do." "Just because she's dead, that doesn't purify you, Len." "Remember that." "Yeah, I'll remember that." "[door closes]" "Well, that's the number." "That's Benson's place." "The only solution to the parking problem in Los Angeles is to get rid of the cars." "Try around the corner." "[door buzzer buzzes]" "Mr. Benson?" "My name is Mason." "I'm an attorney." "This is Mr. Paul Drake." "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Mason." "I think I know why you're here, and I'll try and help you all I can." "A terrible thing, isn't it?" "Won't you come in?" "Mrs. Chase was once your wife, I believe." "Legally, yes." "She bought me off." "Bought a divorce the way you buy a loaf of bread." "So she could make a play for Ted Chase?" "Him and his company." "Mr. Mason, if Irene had lived a little longer, she'd have gained control of the Chase Enterprises, lock, stock and barrel." "What did she buy you off with?" "A sporting goods store." "That all?" "Well, there was to be a little more after she married Chase." "Here's the rest of the payment." "They're stocks." "She gave them to me a couple of days ago." "Roughly a hundred thousand dollars' worth." "But these are registered in the name of Ted Chase." "Even if you could sell them, the money would have to go into his account." "Here's the release form." "I don't know how she made him sign that, but it authorizes the money from the sale of his stock to go to me." "This is still useless without stock powers to go with each of the certificates." "She was going to get Chase to sign those, too." "She was trying to keep Vale from finding out about it." "Only now..." "Mr. Benson, you have a gunsmith working for you named Len Dykes." "Did you know that his real name was Herman Dickson?" "That he served two terms for forgery?" "If Len Dykes did forge some papers for Irene, then her death leaves him unprotected." "He must have thought she'd given them to me." "I'd just barely opened the door when you came in." "Ted Chase." "What's the matter with that man?" " He was hit on the head." " There's only a bump." "That couldn't cause him to react as though he had been drugged." "But there's no evidence of any drug." "Well, it could be some form of shock, couldn't it?" "After all, he was knocked out, and he is suspected of murder." "Perhaps." "I'll run some tests later, if you like." "You want me to make that call now?" "I don't know what hit me or who." "I couldn't find some stock certificates in my office or any place else." "Finally, I..." "I came up here to Tony Benson's to see if he had them." "The door was already open." "And when I came into this room..." "That's all I remember." "Did you kill Irene?" "Mason, have you ever lived in a nightmare?" "In a dream where you couldn't tell right from wrong?" "Did you ever live with a woman who killed your wife, terrified your children, and stolen your belongings?" "Ted, you do admit that you made elaborate plans to kill Irene." "No." "No, the plans were for me, not her." "So you went through all this just so you could be faced with the final test-- would you pull the trigger or wouldn't you?" "I guess I was deeper in the dream than I thought, huh?" "Was I" " Was I insane?" "You know, it doesn't do me much good now to know to know that-- to know that I never could kill anyone." "Because what if someone else watched me, followed me, and when I didn't pull the trigger, they did?" "You see, I can't even ask you to defend me, Mason." "Because suppose that I made it possible for someone else to kill?" "Perry, I got Paul's phone call." "Thanks for being willing to cooperate with us, Mr. Chase." "Your Honor, in spite of the fact that this bullet was so damaged by striking the stone fireplace that it's impossible to make a positive connection between this bullet and this rifle ballistically." "Nevertheless, would you tell me this, sir?" "What is the weight of this bullet you found in the defendant's apartment?" "158 grains." "And what weight bullet is fired by this rifle fire?" "158 grains." "[Lawyer] Then Is it your opinion that this bullet, fired from this rifle could have killed Irene Chase?" "[Man] Well, she was killed by a bullet." "That's the only one we found in the apartment, so...yes." "Thank you, sir." "I think that'll be all." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "Now, forgetting that rifle for the moment, could you tell me what weight bullet is used in the .357" "Magnum handgun?" "A 158-grain bullet." "And how many .357" "Magnum handguns, revolvers or automatics have been made?" "Ten?" "A hundred?" "A thousand?" "Thousands." "Then that bullet could have been fired not only by the rifle, but by any one of thousands of handguns?" "Conceivably, yes." "Now, you've established the trajectory of that bullet through the decedent, the chaise and on to the fireplace." "Is it your opinion, as an expert, that the decedent must have been either sitting or reclining on that chaise at the time she was killed?" "She couldn't have been anyplace else." "No, our medical examination of the flesh and clothing of the decedent disclosed no residue of burned or unburned gun powder." "That means that that rifle must've been fired from a considerable distance away from Mrs. Chase?" "No." "But it could not have been close to her, or there would have been evidence of gun powder residue." "Now, Doctor, were you able to establish the time of death?" "[Doctor] Between 11:00 p.m. and midnight, I'd say." "Thank you." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "Doctor, in this matter of powder burns or residue, about how far away would a gun have to be so as not to leave such residue?" "Could it have been fired, say, from 15 feet away?" "At that distance, there would have been no residue on the body of the decedent." "But 15 feet in the established line of trajectory would've put the gun way outside the window." "Any closer inside the window, there would have been residue on the carpeting between the window and chaise." "The police examined that area very carefully." "There was not a trace of gun powder residue anywhere." "When the thunder really got loud, he left my bar." "Was he drunk?" "No." "No." "He'd been drinking, but I wouldn't say he was drunk." "In other words, he'd had enough drinks to deaden his inhibitions, but he wasn't too drunk to shoot straight?" "Strike that question." "You know better than that, Mr. Burger." "I beg the court's pardon, Your Honor." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "I have no questions at this time, Your Honor, but if the prosecutor will permit," "I would like the privilege of recalling this witness later on." "Now, Mrs. Dykes, you've stated that you live on the top floor of the apartment building where that rifle was found." "What did you see there the night that Irene Chase was murdered?" "Well, as I was came out of my apartment at quarter of 12:00 that night," "I saw Mr. Chase get out of the elevator and walk down the hall to the door that leads to the roof." "[Lawyer] Thank you, Mrs. Dykes." "That'll be all." "Cross-examine, Mr. Mason?" "Mrs. Dykes, you say you left your apartment at 11:45." "What time did you return?" "A little before 1:00, I guess." "Where did you go during that time?" "I" " I went to the neighborhood drugstore, and a couple of bars and places..." "I" " I was looking for my husband." "Was one of those places Irene Chase's apartment?" " No." " Did you find your husband?" "No, I didn't." "You say you went to the Chase apartment shortly after midnight?" "I manage pretty well, in spite of the wheelchair." "You had a key to the murdered woman's apartment?" "Miss Chase, as a hostile witness, you must answer." "I had a key to my brother's apartment, yes." "And what did you find when you went in?" "I found that-- that woman dead." "Then returned to your home, and over an hour later, you phoned the police, anonymously." "Why did you wait so long?" "I was waiting for my brother." "You were waiting to give your brother time to hide, weren't you?" "Your Honor, this sort of heckling goes beyond the leading questions allowed to prosecution." "Objection sustained." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "As you say, Miss Chase, you seem quite able to get around despite your condition." "Now, are you also able to fire a gun?" "I'm a good shot with a pistol." "But a rifle is a little too much for me." "Did you go to that apartment with the intention of killing your sister-in-law?" "I thought about it, yes." "But I did not find it necessary." "About two weeks before Mrs. Chase was murdered, the defendant made certain accusations against you and his wife." "What were these accusations?" "He accused me and his wife of plotting to ruin his corporation." "Can you remember any specific words he used?" "To Irene, yes." "He said, "You're doing this." "You're doing everything." "I'll kill you."" "He said, "Someday I'm going to kill you."" "Perry, you're going to buy my lunch." " Did that doctor get you that lab report?" " No." "Take a look at this." "It looks like a burned..." "Della, do we have a blank stock power handy?" "Where'd you get this, Paul?" "The workshop in Tony Benson's store." "[footsteps approaching]" "Well, the bridle and the saddle, and all we need is the horse." "Huh?" "I'm afraid you'll have to forego lunch." "I want you to stay right on that suicide-- the death of the first Mrs. Chase." "Well, I found this rifle was missing from the store the day after Mr. Chase was in, carrying this big flower box." "See, it was one of several guns that I'd been checking the sights on, so I noticed." "And there sure wasn't anybody else who could have taken it during that time." "Can you tell us, of your own knowledge, if Ted Chase is a good shot with a rifle?" "Oh, he's one of the best." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "Tell me, when you checked the sights on those guns, did you also test-fire them?" "Yeah." "We got a range in the basement." "That's how you do it." "And you hadn't yet cleaned the gun you believed Mr. Chase took?" "Well, no, I guess not." "Now, Mr. Dykes-- or Mr. Dickson, whichever-- you've twice been convicted of forgery." "I'm sure you know that a third conviction could lead to life in prison?" "Yeah, yeah." "I know that." "I show you this release that authorizes that money from the sale of Mr. Chase's stock to be paid to Tony Benson." "Now, did you forge Mr. Chase's signature to this release?" "May I remind you, Mr. Mason, it is not a crime to write someone's name on a piece of paper unless that piece of paper is used legally to affect the rights of others?" "I accept the reminder, Mr. Burger." "And thank you, on behalf of the witness, for rushing to his aid with a suggested answer." "Then you did forge the signature?" "Well, I was just fooling around." "I show you now a remnant of a burned stock power." "Now, were you just fooling around when you forged that signature?" "Yeah, I guess I was." "And at the first opportunity after the death of Irene Chase, you burned the stock powers you'd forged, did you not?" "Well, I didn't wanna leave them lying around." "Of course not." "But you still had to find this release, did you not?" "Because you knew that it's discovery by anyone else could send you back to prison." "Let's go back to the night of the death of Irene Chase." "Did you, that night, go to her apartment looking for another one of your forgeries-- a forgery with which she had been blackmailing you?" "No." "No, I never went near Irene." "Well, sure, I saw her earlier, but not that late." "Your Honor, I object to all this wild exploration." "Mr. Mason himself has helped bring out testimony that the total lack of any trace of powder residue in the murder apartment proves conclusively that the decedent could not have been shot at close range." " Therefore-- - [Judge] Objection sustained." "Since it is approaching the hour for evening adjournment, I" "Very well, Your Honor." "However, with the court's permission," "I would like to postpone further cross-examination of this witness until I can present other evidence which may prove that he's perjured himself." "Perry, this is Miss Mabel Richmond." "Well, it all happened some time ago." "You see, I work in the beauty shop Irene went to." "And once she told me she was hiding from her husband, so she gave me a round-trip ticket to Catalina." "So I went." "She asked me to use her name." "So I did." "Didn't the simultaneous death of Betty Chase make you realize that Irene might have been using you for some sort of alibi?" "But I didn't even know about it." "And I sure didn't know Irene needed any alibi." "Mabel, you admitted you were pretty nervous when a man came around asking questions." "A man named Smathers." "Oh, yeah." "But that wasn't any policeman or anything." "It was just a guy who dated me and got sorta curious." "This man Smathers." "Where is he now?" "Search me." "He never came back." "All right." "Thank you." "Uh, you'll be ready at court tomorrow." "Perry, I also got the lab analysis." "Any coffee, Della?" "A woman's work is never done." "I-131." "What's the matter?" "That's radioactive iodine." "Like in the fallout?" "Used for metabolic diseases, thyroid, and angina." "And the doc said it's an odorless, colorless, tasteless liquid." "And enough of it can reduce a human being to nothing more than a vegetable." "Sure, Mr. Chase came to my bar almost every evening." "Not that he drank much." "But he'd sit there with a whiskey and soda just-- just thinking, I guess." "Now tell us this:" "did you or the relief bartender ever put anything into the defendant's drinks other than whiskey and soda?" "I don't follow you." "When my investigators talked to your relief man, he mentioned that" "Oh, sure." "You must mean the vitamins." "Chase's wife asked me to do it, because he needed them-- that he would never remember to take them at home." "Is this the vitamins to which you refer?" "Yeah, it looks like it." "Your Honor, this bottle contains I-131, a radioactive iodine which, if given in small doses over a period of time, can render a man's mind incapable of sound decisions, even incapable of telling right from wrong." "Well, had the defendant been given this regularly?" "[Mason] He'd been given it regularly, Your Honor, without his knowledge or consent." "But Irene said it was only vitamins." "She swore to me it wasn't really anything that could hurt him." "I tasted it." "Honest, I didn't know it wasn't vitamins." "That's enough." "Mr. Burger." "I think I should adjourn this hearing until your office can look into this." "And also, Mr. Mason, I want to consider the legal aspects of a plea of insanity due to destructive drugs." "You've only one more witness, haven't you, Mr. Burger?" " That's right." " And, Your Honor, may I suggest that we complete this hearing just in case we find it not necessary to enter such a plea?" "Very well." "But I wonder if it's in the best interests of the defendant." "Mr. Benson you acquired the ownership of your sporting goods store the time of your divorce from your first wife, the deceased Irene Chase." " Is that correct?" " Yes, sir." " And you hired Len Dykes?" " Yes." "Because of his skill as an engraver." "Now, you tell us that Len Dykes reported to you the theft of the rifle by Mr. Chase." "Why didn't you report that theft to the police?" "Ted Chase was a friend of mine and a good customer." "I knew if he'd taken it, he'd pay for it." "All right." "So that will be all." "Your witness." "Mr. Benson, going back to the time of the suicide of the first Mrs. Chase, did you ever wonder why Irene, your wife at that time, wasn't aboard a certain plane to Catalina as she said she was?" "I don't quite get the question." "Does the name Smathers mean anything to you?" " Did you ever use that name?" " No." "A young woman by the name of Mabel Richmond is waiting outside that door." "Didn't Mabel Richmond once admit to you that she used Irene's name on that Catalina plane trip?" "And didn't you then wonder why Irene wanted to conceal her own whereabouts?" "Or did you perhaps think that someday you might blackmail Irene over the murder of Betty Chase?" "I don't know anything about any murder." "Irene later risked a very secure position as Chase's wife by stealing from him." "She also risked imprisonment as an accomplice to a forgery." "Now, would a woman as shrewd and intelligent as she was have risked all these things without being forced to do it by you?" "We made a bargain." "It didn't concern me where the money came from." "That's right." "You had the stolen stock certificates." "You had the third-party release." "All you needed were the stock powers." "So on the night of Irene's death, you went to her apartment to force her to give them to you." "When she wouldn't, you killed her." "No." "I'm not a fool." "I would have lost $100,000 by killing her." "Why should I kill her?" "Perhaps because she wanted to kill you." "As long as you were alive, you were a threat to her." "Maybe the two of you fought." "Objection, Your Honor." "It's been established, repeatedly and beyond question, that there was no trace of powder burned or unburned on the body of the decedent or anywhere in the murder room." "and that therefore, the gun that killed her could not have been fired inside that apartment." "That's well taken, Mr. Burger." "Mr. Mason, I agree." "Much of your evidence does seem to be irrelevant." "Your Honor, I'll attempt to show the relevancy right now." "Suppose that inside the apartment that night," "Irene suddenly pulled a gun on you, and you grabbed her" "No, no, you can't pin this thing on me." "Suppose you were both on the chaise at the time." "You struggled for the gun." "No, I tell you." "Suppose that gun went off." "You just heard Mr. Burger say the shot couldn't have been fired in there." "Suppose Mr. Burger's wrong." "Suppose your right arm..." "No, it's not true." "It is your right arm, isn't it?" "[gasps]" "Your Honor, upon a doctor's examination," "I'm sure we'll find a bullet wound in this man's arm." "There's your missing powder residue, Mr. Burger." "Every single bit of it." "Now, I have the gun." "Ow." "Oh, be careful." "Ouch!" "All right." "Pow!" "The gun goes off right against my arm." "All right." "Now what do I do?" "You fall down." "You're dead." "[Anderson] Aw, what a pity." "Perry, I just dropped by for a lesson in deduction." "What started you on the suicide of Betty Chase?" "I wish I could call it deduction, Andy." "Let me read you these notes of Betty Chase's." ""Darling, I've tried to make you listen to me about Irene and you won't believe me, but now"..." "This is the suicide note." ""I can't stand it any longer." "Darling, I know these are horrible words to write, but it is the only way left." "Forgive me."" "Well, they're both part of one note." "And it's still not even finished." "She was just about to tell him she was going to expose Irene, somehow." "But Irene found the last half of it, saw that she could use it as a suicide note." "The rest is rather ugly history." "I'm just thankful that the whole thing is over and that Ted and his sister and children are going to be all right." "[Drake] How about Vale?" "This will be news to all of you." "While Ted's vacationing, the Chase family has asked me to represent them in their corporation." "Well, that will take care of Mr. Charles Vale." "Subtitled By J.R. Media Services, Inc." "Burbank, CA"