"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "( camera clicks )" "Reverend, would you help my husband, please?" "Of course, Mrs. Brant." "There we are." "Safe and sound." "Just fold the chair up and put it in the back seat." "Could I have your name and address, please?" "What for?" "To send you your pictures." "I don't want any." "You don't?" "Well, what about your husband?" "He doesn't want any either." "Now get out of my way." "( starts engine )" "Good luck." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Exit John Brant, bridegroom." "Now, really." "Now, how did I do, huh?" "At least you had sense enough to keep your mouth shut." "Here's your money." "Thousand dollars?" "Count it." "No." "No, that would be impolite." "But there is one thing, fair lady." "Uh, how do I get in touch?" "I mean, in case something comes up." "You don't." "That was the agreement, remember?" "Oh, I remember." "I just hate to lose track of you, Mrs. Brant." "You're a very attractive woman." "Get out." "Just like that?" "Just like that." "All right." "Well, anyway, uh... good luck, as the reverend said." "( peaceful theme playing )" "( snorting )" "( upbeat jazzy theme playing )" "What was the time?" "Sixty-one seconds." "Isn't that pretty fast, Terry?" "I can move a lot faster than that." "Idiot." "They'll see us." "( adventurous theme playing )" "One minute, 59.2." "Phew." "I knew he could move, but not that fast." "No wonder the old man's so bent on getting that horse." "Wasn't that marvelous?" "It sure was." "Two-and-a-half lengths and still pulling ahead." "Champagne and oats for you tonight," "Spindrift, old boy." "Well, that was quite a race, sis." "It sure was, Jo Ann." "Stop jabbering, get me off of here." "( grunts )" "And take that haybag out and shoot him." "Now, Mr. Brant." "Well, get him out of my sight." "I wanna talk to you, young lady." "And your brother." "That's Spindrift." "It is." "I've been looking for a horse like-- ( whinnies )" "He's" " He's just afraid of the chair." "He'll learn better." "As I was saying:" "I've been looking for a horse like that for 50 years." "And I hear you've entered him in the American Classics at Hollywood Park." "That's right, Mr. Brant." "And with the winnings, we expect to" "I was talking to your sister." "Jo Ann..." "I want Spindrift racing under my colors." "We're very grateful to you, Mr. Brant, for all you've done for us and for letting us use your track." "But he's not for sale." "Well, who's talking about buying him?" "I've got a conditional contract of sale on everything you inherited from your father, remember?" "Well, you're in default." "I can take every single piece of property... ( bangs chair ) ...you've got right now." "Oh, you can't." "Oh, I can." "But I won't." "If you give me title to Spindrift." "But he's the only way we have of paying you the money we owe you." "That's my proposition." "Take it." "Or I'll take the colt... along with everything else." "I'll fight you." "Huh." "Clara... over to the car." "I want you to drive me into town." "Now?" "Yes, now." "I'm going to put that lawyer of mine to work." "But, John, you can't do that." "Don't you say "can't" to me." "You're my secretary, and you're my bookkeeper... but you're not my wife." "( dramatic theme playing )" "You'd better leave Spindrift here." "He's as good as mine right now." "Oh, no, he isn't, Mr. Brant." "I won't give him up no matter what." "Huh." "Well, what's holding you?" "BRANT:" "Peter." "Lend a hand here." "Yes, sir." "Good morning, Della." "Never mind, Gertie, he's just walking in." "I've been looking all over for you." "I just stopped by to see Paul." "What's up?" "There's a Jo Ann Blanchard waiting to see you." "Says that you knew her father." "Uh, Blanchard Stock Farms?" "Sure." "Tom Blanchard." "Harness horses." "Heh." "I remember her too." "Scrawny little kid with pigtails." "Come in, Jo Ann." "Well..." "I wouldn't have recognized you." "Here, sit down." "Thank you." "( sighs )" "I probably shouldn't be bothering you, Mr. Mason, but you knew Dad, and..." "Knew him?" "We were very good friends." "Are you in some sort of trouble?" "Over a colt Dad gave me just before he died." "That would make the colt a 3-year-old, wouldn't it?" "Most marvelous 3-year-old you've ever seen, Mr. Mason." "He's been under two minutes for the mile six times." "Ha." "And you call that trouble?" "No, it's a man named John Brant." "He's trying to take Spindrift away from me." "Oh?" "It's our finances, Mr. Mason." "Well, what's happened?" "Cars happen." "Clothes, travel." "Gambling debts." "You?" "Terry's the family spender." "Part-time actor, clerk, salesman." "Almost anything since he's gotten out of school." "But a full-time spender." "Then it's your brother who's in debt to Mr. Brant." "Yes, but when Mr. Brant gave us the money," "I signed the papers too." "Papers?" "What papers did you sign?" "He had us transfer all the legal titles to everything Dad left us in his will to a dummy for cash." "The dummy sold to him, and then he sold it back to us on a contract of conditional sale." "Didn't you say the horse was a gift to you before your father's death?" "Yes." "I have any appointments?" "Not until this afternoon." "All right, I think we can go out to the ranch and tell Mr. Brant that the horse is legally yours." "Let's go." "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "( car approaching )" "( car door opens )" "( footsteps approach )" "Clara." "Oh!" "Oh, you frightened me." "Uh, I'm-- I'm sorry." "What happened in town today?" "I had some errands to run, so I left John at the lawyer's office." "You mean, he's still going through with it?" "Did you think he wouldn't?" "Well, in my book, it's about the shabbiest trick he's ever pulled." "Peter." "You may be John Brant's ward, but that doesn't give you the right to mess around in my desk." "Oh, I was going to tote up some of last month's grain invoices." "I do the bookkeeping here." "I know." "But you weren't around, and..." "And maybe it's a good thing." "I found some checks." "Canceled checks, signed Clara Brant." "Can't say as I blame you." "He's skin-flinted me too." "Eight years of pocket money and peanuts for the honor of being allowed to live here." "But even so, I can't stand by and let you embezzle." "Embezzle?" "( closes drawer )" "Is that what you think I'm doing?" "Well, isn't it?" "Does that look like embezzlement?" "The weekend you were bringing the horses back from Phoenix." "Why didn't you tell everybody?" "John won't let me." "He's afraid people will laugh." "You know how touchy he is." "He'd kill me if he found out I showed you this." "But it's bound to come out." "Don't worry." "I'll see to that." "Clara, do you love him?" "What's that got to do with it?" "Nothing, I guess." "In fact, it serves him right." "Do you still want those invoices?" "If they're handy." "Here." "Be sure to bring them back when you're through." "I will." "Oh, and, uh..." "Clara... congratulations." "Thanks." "( door closes )" "( dialing phone )" "( man speaking indistinctly )" "Terry?" "I've got to see you." "Something's come up." "No, I can't tell you over the phone." "Yes, now." "It can't wait." "The usual place." "( jazzy music playing over speakers )" "( dice clacking )" "How can you say it's all my fault?" "That crazy business with the checks." "That was part of the plan." "Like the charge accounts to show we were living as man and wife." "You could have waited." "If he has another attack, he could go anytime." "Only now we give him a little nudge..." "is that it?" "Oh, I hadn't figured on anything quite like this." "You want me to do it?" "No." "That would be even worse." "Uh, suppose we meet again tomorrow." "That might be too late." "Tonight?" "Why not?" "Yeah." "Why not?" "No time like the present." "I'll see what I can dream up." "Do more than dream, Terry." "Yeah." "You want me to go out first?" "Mrs. Brant." "Well, hello." "Could I buy you a drink?" "What are you doing here?" "Look... why don't we sit down over there, and I'll tell you all about it, huh?" "Oh." "Come on." "What do you want?" "Wasn't that Terry Blanchard who just walked out of here?" "You know, I got to know Terry quite well when he was trying to break into TV." "He's a good-looking boy, but, uh, you know, no actor." "Are you going to tell me what you want?" "No." "Now, I think you know." "Blackmail?" "Tsk." "Let's just say, recompense for the trouble I had finding you." "But you overlooked one little thing." "You remember that application for a marriage license that we filled out, with names and addresses--?" "You went back to Las Vegas" "Yeah, and from there I came here." "And I'm very impressed with what I found." "Luxurious ranch, racehorses." "Semi-invalid old man." "You're barking up the wrong tree." "I don't own the ranch, I'm only the bookkeeper there." "I know, but a bookkeeper with prospects." "There's no money in prospects." "Well, there's gotta be some." "Oh, say, um... 10,000?" "Not a chance." "Well, I must have some nuisance value." "Five thousand?" "No?" "You know, I hate to be persistent, but, you see," "I've been given this chance to buy into this summer stock company in Carmel as actor/manager." "I'd be out of your way for good." "That was our Las Vegas agreement." "I know it was." "But that was before I heard about the stock company." "Now...actually..." "I think I might be able to buy in for... 3,500." "What guarantee do I have you'll stay away?" "Now, do you imagine that, if I made a success up there," "I would jeopardize it with any further hanky-panky down here?" "I could catch a plane out tonight." "All right." "But just remember, you're in this as deep as I am." "So no more funny business." "Oh." "Fair lady... you have my promise." "I'll offer you the checks on two banks." "Oh, that's quite all right." "Uh, the name is Earl Mauldin." "M-A-- Yes." "I know." "Oh." "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "First thing I want you to do is meet Spindrift." "I'd like to." "He must be a remarkable horse, to be able to" "I've been trying to reach you, Miss Jo Ann." "He's gone." "Spindrift's gone." "Gone?" "I tried to stop them, but they just laughed at me." "Who was this?" "Two fellas with a horse trailer." "And John Brant." "Who are you to be delivering ultimatums around here?" "You can call it what you like, sir." "Either you give the horse back or" "Or I'm walking out." "Well, I didn't know that you were that soft on the girl." "I like her." "But even if I didn't" "That's gratitude for you." "Where would you be if I hadn't taken you in, made you my ward?" "Talking about gratitude, I've repaid you five times over." "You think so?" "Well, I've had it in mind to give you Spindrift and a lot of other things someday." "So let's have no more ultimatums, boy." "Not until I'm gone." "What I said still goes, Mr. Brant." "You'd walk... for that girl?" "All right." "Walk then." "Walk as far as you like." "And while you're walking-- Mr. Brant." "Well, who are you?" "My name is Mason." "I'm Miss Blanchard's attorney." "Get out." "But I merely wanna talk to you about Spindrift." "What's there to talk about?" "I've got him." "That's it." "Oh, I'd say there was something to talk about, Mr. Brant, since you've stolen the horse." "What do you mean?" "I've got a conditional contract of sale on that horse." "No, sir." "On everything in Mr. Blanchard's will." "The horse was a gift to his daughter before he died." "Mason, I've got the horse." "That's nine points of the law." "Peter." "Show him out." "No, sir." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Get out of here." "You're a lawyer." "Take me to court." "All right, Mr. Brant." "( dramatic theme playing )" "WOMAN:" "Terry?" "I still think we should go get Spindrift." "Oh, stop worrying." "Mason said he'd get him in the morning, didn't he?" "What if Mr. Brant hides him?" "He'd never do that." "You won't help me, then?" "How many times do I have to say no?" "It's a harebrained idea." "And furthermore, I don't want you fooling around" "Brant's ranch tonight, is that clear?" "I'm sorry, Terry." "This time something positive has to be done." "I'll handle it." "In my own way." "Like you handle everything else?" "I'm talking about this now." "I'll take care of it." "No, I'll take care of it." "I can't depend on you, Terry, and I'm not gonna take a cha" "Where are you going?" "Out." "( door closes )" "Spindrift?" "Spindrift." "( horse whinnies )" "Oh, don't worry, boy." "We're going home." "All right." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( action theme playing )" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "Well." "This the horse?" "Yes, sir." "Spindrift." "Ah, he doesn't look vicious." "He's not." "We figured the wheelchair scared the horse, lieutenant." "Maybe bumped him in the stall." "So he kicked out." "You were the one who found Mr. Brant's body?" "Yes, sir." "Uh, this morning when I went to water Spindrift," "I unbolted the door and" "And found Mr. Brant lying there." "You unbolted the door?" "Yes, sir." "Were you looking for me?" "TRAGG:" "Mrs. Brant?" "I'm Lieutenant Tragg from Homicide." "I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." "But I've already told this man and the others everything I know." "Now, Mrs. Brant, uh, how did your husband get into the stall?" "Did someone push him there?" "What do you mean?" "Well, I understand that he, uh" "He was completely paralyzed." "Only his legs." "He could wheel himself around." "But he couldn't walk or stand without help?" "No." "But I don't quite see what you're getting at." "Well, we believe that he died soon after midnight." "Isn't it strange that he'd pick that time to go and see a horse?" "Not strange at all." "John often wandered around the ranch late at night." "And that particular horse was the answer to a dream he'd had for years." "Of owning a trotter capable of winning the Hamiltonian." "That's a race." "Yes, I know." "Then you must know how he felt." "Like a boy with a new bicycle." "He couldn't stay away." "Only the horse killed him." "I want that horse put out of the way, Peter." "He killed John, and he'll kill again." "I won't be responsible for him." "I can't, Clara." "Will you take him, lieutenant?" "Destroying horses is not exactly in my field, Mrs. Brant." "Then I'll call the vet." "He'll do it." "Have you finished with me, lieutenant?" "Yes." "Seems a pity." "Let's have another look at that stall." "Better send that bolt to the lab." "I don't get it, lieutenant." "Look." "Look here." "Bolt's here." "The body was here." "Now... how could a cripple in a wheelchair reach over and lock himself in?" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "Around midnight, huh?" "( man speaking indistinctly )" "And no one missed him?" "I see." "All right, thank you, Charley." "The body was found early this morning by a Peter White, Brant's ward." "Apparently, it had been in the stall since midnight." "But the horse did kill him." "Oh, there doesn't seem to be any doubt about that." "However, there's one interesting aspect." "Brant was secretly married to his secretary." "He's over 70." "Della, there's been many a bridegroom" "( phone rings )" "Yes, Gertie?" "Miss Blanchard is here." "She w" "( door opens )" "Mr. Mason, I know I shouldn't break in on you like this, but they're gonna kill Spindrift." "Who is?" "Clara." "Or Mrs. Brant, I should say." "I telephoned the vet." "He's ours too." "And he's going over there at noontime, but we don't have much-- Now, just a moment, Jo Ann." "Sit down." "Now, let's take this a little slowly." "Mrs. Brant is going to have the horse destroyed?" "Peter White called me." "Clara thinks that the horse" "Now, just a minute." "Della, see if I can meet with Judge Praeger in his chambers, and ask Paul Drake to come down." "Now, what does Mrs. Brant think?" "That he's a maverick, a born killer." "But he isn't." "He did kill Brant." "( door closes )" "I don't believe that, Mr. Mason." "He's the friendliest, most wonderful horse I've ever had." "And he's as gentle as a lamb." "Last night he was just like" "You saw Spindrift last night?" "What time?" "I don't remember." "After midnight?" "Mr. Brant was already dead, wasn't he?" "I just went over to bring Spindrift home." "What time was this?" "Just after 12." "I went into the stall and I saw Mr. Brant lying there, and" "I got terrified." "So I" " I just left." "Did you tell anyone about it?" "My brother." "And what did he say?" "To keep it quiet." "I suppose I'd better tell the police now." "I'll have to know a little more about this before I advise you what to do." "The thing I have to do is save Spindrift." "Yes, I know." "Della?" "Judge Praeger can see you in 15 minutes, and Paul's on his way down." "Good." "I'm going to try to obtain a court order, restraining Mrs. Brant from disposing of the horse." "I'm also gonna get a-- ( knock on door )" "Excuse me." "Come in, Paul." "Hi, Perry." "Miss Blanchard, this is Paul Drake." "How do you do, Miss Blanchard?" "Paul, do you know anything of a man named John Brant?" "Well, just what I heard on the 9:00 news." "Don't tell me you're defending the horse?" "That's exactly what I'm doing." "I want a complete rundown on everyone on the Brant ranch, particularly Mrs. Brant, and why she's so determined to destroy a horse of such potential value." "That's a pretty big order." "Oh, that's not all." "I want to know what the police are doing about Brant's death." "If Homicide is handling it." "That one I can answer now." "I was gonna have lunch with Sergeant Grimes." "He called it off because Tragg put him and a half a dozen others on Homicide on the case." "Then, there's a possibility it was murder?" "And I hope not, Jo Ann." "( ominous theme playing )" "Clara... what's all this about getting rid of Spindrift?" "Why shouldn't I?" "But that's insane." "I realize you have to play the brokenhearted widow, but to kill him to do it..." "Well..." "Have you any idea what that horse is worth?" "We'll have enough." "Think what it'll do to Jo Ann." "She's raised him from a colt." "It's too late to think about that." "What if the police decide to examine Spindrift?" "Why shouldn't they?" "Because when they find there's no trace of blood on his shoes or hooves, they'll know it was murder." "( dramatic theme playing )" "I don't like killing this horse, Mrs. Brant." "I can easily get another vet, you know." "I know." "Come on, boy." "Clara, please." "Keep out of this, Peter." "Terry, you talk to her." "Spindrift." "Mrs. Brant." "Yes, I'm Mrs. Brant." "I have something for you." "What's this?" "I'll save you the trouble of reading, Mrs. Brant." "It's a court order restraining you from disposing of Spindrift until his rightful owner can be determined in court." "In court?" "Terry, why didn't you tell me your sister was going to do this?" "Oh, I-I didn't know." "Well, it's your problem now, Terry." "( speaking indistinctly )" "The quicker you get that horse out of my sight, Jo Ann, the better I'll like it." "Oh, I've missed you, Spindrift." "I've missed you." "Miss Blanchard?" "Yes?" "I'm Lieutenant Tragg." "I have a warrant for your arrest." "What for?" "For the murder of John Brant." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "Paul, he's here now, and he'll see you if it's convenient." "Mm, I'll tell him." "He's on his way down." "Good." "I still don't understand it." "How could the police even suspect that girl?" "Mm." "Well, the district attorney's set for a hearing, and" "I'm afraid it's gone far beyond the suspecting stage, Della." "Now, Spindrift makes an excellent motive." "Mr. Burger will contend that Jo Ann killed Brant while trying to take the horse, and pushed wheelchair and body into the stall to make it look like an accident." "But we and her brother are the only ones that knew she was over there." "Oh, don't sell Lieutenant Tragg short." "He knows, or he wouldn't have acted." "And I'm sure he has other" "( knock on door )" "Hi, beautiful." "Hi, Paul." "Perry, I have the dope on the Brant dame." "Complete dossier." "Let's have it." "Some of this I dug up, some my people brought in." "Born Clara Tinsley, Galesburg, Illinois." "Went to high school there." "Came to Hollywood, did modeling, bit parts in movies." "Then, married a retired Idaho rancher, one John Hammon, age 67." "The old boy died four years later, apparently on the up-and-up, but relatives contested the will, and Clara had to settle for 75 grand." "Two years later, employed by John Brant." "Three months ago, married Brant in Las Vegas." "Same pattern." "Yeah, but with variations." "One is, that for the past couple of years, she's been friendly-- extremely friendly" "with one Terry Blanchard." "DELLA:" "Uh" " Uh, Jo Ann's brother?" "Mm-hm." "Something else." "Ever hear of a man named Earl Mauldin?" "Name doesn't register." "Well, a pal in the Bankers Protective Agency gave me a rundown on Clara's accounts in two banks." "One under the name of Clara Hammon, the other Clara Brant." "Anyway...on the day of Brant's death, this Earl Mauldin cashed checks on both accounts, for a total take of $3,500." "Two checks?" "Mm-hm." "There wasn't enough in either account to cover that much." "Sounds like an emergency of some sort." "Otherwise, it seems to me, she would've shifted the money and just made out one check." "Do you know who this Mauldin is?" "Yeah, he's a broken-down actor." "I located the rooming house where he'd been living, but he checked out." "Told the landlady he'd bought into a summer playhouse in Carmel." "I called, and he's there." "All right." "Have your people find out what they can about him, but I want you to work on that Las Vegas marriage." "Why was it kept secret?" "Who were the witnesses?" "Where did the Brants stay?" "Everything you can dig up." "And, Paul... you'll have to work fast." "The preliminary hearing starts tomorrow." "All right." "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "( door opens )" "Uh, doctor, as chief pathologist for the coroner's office, how many cases have you examined where death was caused by a fracture of the skull?" "A large number." "I should say considerably more than a hundred, Mr. Burger." "Testifying then as an expert, doctor, you say that the decedent in this case was not killed by the flying hooves of a frightened horse?" "Now, that's correct." "Death resulted from a series of blows struck by a smooth, circular object, uh, such as an iron bar." "This iron bar, possibly?" "Objection, Your Honor." "Unless that bar, which I assume to be a jack handle, is properly introduced in evidence, why" "It will be, Mr. Mason." "However, I'll rephrase the question." "Doctor, in your opinion, could the fatal blows have been administered by a person using this as the weapon?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Your witness." "No questions." "Now, I show you this bolt, previously identified as having come from the horse's stall, and marked for the people Exhibit C, and I ask if you subjected it to exhaustive fingerprint examination in the police crime laboratory?" "Yes, sir." "What did you find?" "Prints left by two persons." "One proved to be a Peter White." "And the others?" "The defendant, Miss Blanchard." "( man coughs )" "This moulage is a cast of a tire print we found in the soft earth near the stable." "Well, what did you do after you made this moulage?" "We examined a number of cars, and finally found the tire that made the print." "BURGER:" "Where did you find the tire?" "On the left front wheel of Miss Blanchard's station wagon." "I see." "Now, did you find anything else when you searched the defendant's car?" "Yes." "A bloodstained jack handle wedged under the front seat." "I don't know where it could have come from, Mr. Mason." "Now, lieutenant... is this the jack handle that you found under the seat in the defendant's car?" "Yes, sir." "It has my identification mark on it right there." "Thank you." "If it please the court, I should like this jack handle entered as People's Exhibit G." "JUDGE:" "Mr. Mason?" "No objection, Your Honor." "Very well, Mr. Burger." "Thank you, Your Honor." "Now, lieutenant, you testified that there were bloodstains on the jack handle." "How were you able to determine that the stains were blood?" "The jack handle was tested in the laboratory." "And what were the results of those tests?" "Human blood, type O." "Were tests also run on the decedent?" "TRAGG:" "Human blood, type O." "BURGER:" "Mr. Blanchard, I realize that your relationship to the defendant makes you reluctant to answer my questions, but I must remind you, sir, that you've sworn here to tell the whole truth." "Didn't your sister, on the night in question, ask you to go with her to the decedent's ranch to help her bring back her horse?" "I" "I-I don't remember." "At one time you did remember?" "I have an affidavit here from Mrs. Brant stating that you told her that your sister asked you" "Objection, Your Honor." "Mrs. Brant's alleged statement, even if it were admissible, is pure hearsay." "Well, I'm not trying to get the statement admitted, counselor." "I'm just trying to refresh the witness' memory." "Didn't you tell Mrs. Brant that such a conversation took place?" "Yes." "Yes, I" " I guess" "Well, then, will you please give us the gist of that conversation." "Well, my sister did suggest going over to get the horse... but I refused." "Well, what did she say then?" "Well, that's about all." "Your Honor... it's obvious that this man is a hostile witness." "I ask permission to treat him in that fashion." "You may ask your leading question, Mr. Burger." "Thank you, Your Honor." "Now, Mr. Blanchard, didn't your sister say that something positive would have to be done?" "Well, she-- She" "Just answer me yes or no." "Yes." "And didn't she further say that she'd have to do it herself because she couldn't count on you?" "Yes, but-- That's all." "Thank you, Mr. Blanchard." "Your witness." "Mr. Blanchard, from your prior conversation, was it made clear to you what your sister referred to when she said she couldn't count on you?" "Oh, I guess she meant I haven't been the most... considerate brother." "I see." "Now, Mr. Blanchard..." "did you not say you would handle the problem yourself, in your own way?" "Yes." "Thank you." "That'll be all." "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a quarrel, but she defied John to take the horse away from her." "And then later that day, or rather that night, did anything unusual happen at the ranch?" "Yes." "Shortly after midnight," "I heard a car's engine." "I was sure John and Peter were both in bed, so I went to the window." "And what did you see?" "I saw Miss Blanchard's car leave the stable and go down our private road toward the gate." "Would you recognize the driver?" "Yes." "It was Miss Blanchard." "I thought at first she was just making sure her horse was all right, but now I know better." "And there's no doubt at all in your mind that it was" "Miss Blanchard's car, and that it was Miss Blanchard, the defendant, who was driving?" "No, sir." "No doubt at all." "Thank you." "Your witness." "Mr. Mason." "( clears throat )" "Mrs. Brant, how far is your room from the stable?" "Well, I don't know exactly." "Maybe 200 feet." "And after midnight, from a distance of some 200 feet, you could see who was driving that car?" "Yes." "MASON:" "Mrs. Brant, don't you realize it's impossible to identify anyone in the dark at a distance of 20 feet, let alone 200 feet?" "Yes." "But I don't think you realize something." "There was a full moon that night." "I'll be happy to lend you my almanac, counselor." "Thank you, Mr. Burger." "Now, Mrs. Brant" "Your Honor." "Your Honor!" "I can't keep still any longer." "I killed John Brant." "( tapping gavel )" "I killed him!" "Pop, sit down, please." "I killed him!" "Now, sit down, Pop." "Please, sit." "Your Honor, in view of this unexpected development, the prosecution moves for a recess until tomorrow morning." "Does the defense object?" "Uh, no, Your Honor." "Defense has no objection." "The bailiff will take this man into custody for questioning." "( taps gavel )" "Court is adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow morning." "( crowd murmuring )" "Congratulations, Mr. Mason." "On what, Mr. Burger?" "On that piece of razzle-dazzle" "That's the most flagrant stunt I've seen pulled in years." "What stunt?" "That phony confession." "I didn't know you were that desperate." "I had nothing to do with it." "I don't believe you." "Is the confession so outlandish, Hamilton?" "Couldn't Pop Abbott have done it?" "You know what we go through downtown before we indict, Perry." "We've got the guilty one." "( dramatic theme playing )" "You sure Paul was at the airport when he called?" "Mm-hm." "He said he was going to take a cab." "Then why isn't he here?" "Perry, what about Pop Abbott's confession?" "You think he did that to help Jo Ann?" "If he was just trying to confuse things," "I think by now Tragg and Burger have found a dozen holes in his story." "( knock on door )" "Come in, Paul." "I'm out of breath, but I'm here." "And the news isn't very good." "No?" "I talked with the minister and both witnesses." "They say the marriage was strictly on the level, and the descriptions tally exactly." "The only unusual thing was that the Brants refused to buy a wedding picture a photographer took right outside the chapel." "Of course, that isn't necessarily out of line in a secret marriage." "What about the license application?" "Mm, took some doing, but I got a Photostat of it." "Wait a minute." "What's that?" "Photostat of a notice of default... with John Brant's signature on it." "They're just alike." "Not quite." "Look at the default notice." "The lines are frail and spidery, as an old man would write." "Now, look at the license." "The lines are bold and heavy." "Maybe another man." "Or a woman... who was well-acquainted with Brant's signature." "Notice anything odd about this, Paul?" "No." "He's taking off his gloves." "PAUL:" "What's so odd about that?" "Well, look at the ungloved hand." "Certainly isn't the hand of an old man." "You don't think it's Mr. Brant's?" "No." "I think it's someone very adept at the art of makeup." "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "All of great Neptune's ocean wash this blood" "Clean from my hand?" "No, this my hand will rather" "The multitudinous seas incarnadine," "Making the green one red." "( taps )" "Hark!" "more knocking." "Get on your night robe, lest occasion call us," "And show us to be watchers." "Be not lost So poorly in your thoughts." "To know my deed, 'twere better not know myself." "( tapping )" "Wake Duncan with thy knocking!" "I would thou couldst." "( sighs )" "Well." "That was excellent, my dear." "( sighs ) Thanks." "Excellent." "Listen." "Take a ten-minute break, everybody." "Next week's show?" "Yes." "I think a streamlined version of Macbeth should be very effective." "Uh, why don't we go in my dressing room." "We can talk there, huh?" "Although, I'm afraid you're, uh...wasting a trip from Los Angeles, Mr. Mason." "You see, all I know about the Brant case is what I've read in the papers." "Poor Clara." "You know, my heart really bleeds for her." "That's as it should be." "Apparently, she bled for you, Mr. Mauldin." "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Mason." "The $3,500 she gave you on the day of John Brant's death." "Uh, why don't you sit down?" "Now, that, uh, $3,500 was simply a loan." "A loan, or a payment for services rendered on a certain night in Las Vegas?" "( scoffs ) In Las Vegas?" "Where you took part in the fraudulent marriage ceremony posing as John Brant." "Well, that's absurd." "I never" "Do you, um... recognize this license application?" "No." "The signature, John Brant, is forged." "Well, not by me, it wasn't." "And, uh... this isn't a photograph of you coming out of the chapel?" "No." "Think carefully, Mr. Mauldin." "The truth may be your only hope to escape a charge of accessory to murder." "Murder?" "Wait a minute." "Are you saying that Clara--?" "I'm saying that if you're not part of a murder plot, you'd better clear yourself." "And quickly." "( chuckles )" "Oh, no." "Now, no soap, Mr. Mason." "I assure you this isn't a picture of me, and I'm not an accessory to anything worse than tinkering with Shakespeare's dialogue." "I'm sorry." "Oh, I beg your pardon." "I'm sure that if I were, you'd have the police with you." "Perhaps you're right." "That's quite a collection of photographs you have there." "Oh, uh, actor" vanity." "Although, these are some of my finest performances." "Uh," "Marlowe, Shaw," "O'Neill, Shakespeare." "And, uh, this one?" "( dramatic theme playing )" "An actor's vanity, you said." "You had to keep a record of an outstanding impersonation." "Hence this photograph of John Brant that you must've used as a model for your makeup." "Shall I call the police now, Mr. Mauldin?" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "Your Honor, yesterday afternoon," "Mr. Timothy Abbott confessed to the murder for which Miss Blanchard here stands accused." "After a careful investigation, the district attorney's office has reached the opinion that Mr. Abbott was moved by considerations more emotional than logical when he made his so-called confession." "And although we intend to continue investigating every aspect of that so-called confession, nevertheless, we intend to proceed with this hearing." "Very well." "Mr. Mason was in the process of cross-examining a witness." "Have you finished your examination, Mr. Mason?" "If it please the court, I would like to continue my cross-examination of Mrs. Brant." "Then call Mrs. Clara Brant to the stand, please." "BAILIFF:" "Ms. Clara Brant, will you take the stand, please?" "You are still under oath, Mrs. Brant." "( man clears throat ) ( door opens )" "( door closes )" "Now, Mrs. Brant... you told us of your life at the ranch and your growing regard for Mr. Brant, but haven't you left out the name of a very important person?" "The name of Terrance Blanchard?" "What was your relationship with him?" "CLARA:" "We were friendly." "Now, how do you define friendly, Mrs. Brant?" "Isn't it true that you were having an affair with him?" "That's not true." "I'd be crazy to do a thing like that, when I'd just married John." "Marriage?" "You were never married to John Brant." "Of course I was." "We went to Las Vegas" "John Brant never went to Las Vegas." "I submit that you went through a fake marriage ceremony there with a man that you'd hired to impersonate John Brant." "Well, that's ridiculous." "Ooh, I have the marriage certificate, and there's a minister and witnesses who'll testify that" "( door opens ) That... ( dramatic theme playing )" "No." "MASON:" "Do you know who that is?" "Earl Mauldin." "MASON:" "The man you hired for the impersonation?" "CLARA:" "Only, he'd promised to stay away." "But that was before John Brant's death." "That was before you, Clara Hammon, made him an accessory to murder." "But I didn't kill John." "I didn't kill him!" "You must believe that." "I didn't kill him." "BURGER:" "Now, let me get this straight." "Clara Hammond paid you $1,000 to impersonate Brant, and then paid you $3,500 more to keep quiet about it?" "Is that correct?" "That's right." "And Clara Hammond hired you in the first place because of your acquaintance with Terrance Blanchard, the brother of the defendant?" "Yes." "So at least three of you are in on this plot together." "Well, I guess you could put it that way, if you're talking about that marriage business, you know." "But I wasn't in on any plot to kill the old man." "Why did you come back here?" "Oh." "Because Mr. Mason there told me that, uh, if I didn't come back, I'd be in more trouble than I was already in." "I see." "Thank you." "You've been very resourceful, Mr. Mason." "Although I do think your tactics are more suitable to a county fair, perhaps, than to a courtroom." "The court was fully informed of counsel's intentions this morning, Mr. Burger, and approved." "I'm aware of that, Your Honor." "However, none of this has any bearing on the evidence against the defendant." "And the prosecution intends to proceed." "Your witness." "Mr. Mauldin...do you remember the adage of the goose that laid the golden eggs?" "Oh, yeah." "Only in this case, it was necessary to kill the gander first, wasn't it?" "Uh." "I don't-- I don't think I follow you." "Wasn't it to your advantage to have John Brant dead?" "Once Clara Hammon received her inheritance, you'd be in a position to demand a handsome sum for your silence, instead of a paltry $3,500." "Yeah, um, I see." "No, uh, that never occurred to me." "Not even on the day you were paid the 3,500?" "The day you were so close to the scene of the crime?" "No." "No, because I left right after seeing Clara." "You see, that was part of the deal." "For me to fly to Carmel." "But you didn't fly to Carmel until 6:30 the next morning." "Now, what did you do on the night of the murder?" "Uh." "Well, after I cashed the two checks..." "I celebrated." "Where?" "Some places up on the Sunset Strip." "And after you finished celebrating?" "Then I went to my boarding house... and" " And I checked out." "And what time was this?" "Around midnight." "Oh, no, Mr. Mauldin." "It was after 2." "Your landlady was definite about the time because she resented being awakened at that hour." "So it was after 2:00." "And then, in the rented car you'd been using all day, you drove to the airport?" "Yes." "And you checked the car in at 3:55?" "I..." "In case you're still confused about time," "I have the check-in slip right here." "Well, if it says 3:55... must be 3:55." "Actually, I'm more interested in the car than the time." "Now, at the airport, when the rental agency checked the car, they found something missing." "A jack handle, Mr. Mauldin." "This jack handle." "The jack handle you hid in Miss Blanchard's car." "Oh, no, I didn't-- The jack handle you used to crush the skull of John Brant-- No!" "No, I didn't!" "Take it!" "Take it." "See if you can recall the impact of metal on bone." "Go on, take it." "I can't!" "I can't." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Not again." "You see..." "I did it." "I killed him." "And here's a little something to remember us by." "Thank you." "And here is a communication from Peter White, who, as you know, has been declared sole heir to John Brant's estate." "Enclosed is your mortgages, marked "paid in full."" "That's just like Peter, but" "Well, I'll have to talk to him about this." "I imagine that's exactly what he's hoping you'll do." "Now, about your brother." "He can't escape serving time, Jo Ann... but I have a feeling he'll be a better man when he comes out, if that's any consolation." "It is." "I know you're right." "I can't tell you how grateful I am, Mr. Mason." "Spindrift is too." "But he knows he can't pay you for your service." "Oh, that's all right." "But it isn't all right." "Spindrift has a service of his own to perform." "There's the title to his first foal." "Well..." "And for all of you, for Saturday." "Uh...what's for Saturday?" "Three box seats for the big race." "From Spindrift." "Better he should tell us if he's gonna win." "( chuckles )" "( noirish jazz theme playing )"