"(theme song playing)" "MAN:" "Only three days before the big race." "This test is important to you people, isn't it, Kirby?" "Well, that's a neat bit of understatement, Mr. Townley." "You see, besides putting this deal together for my brother-in-law," "I've, uh, got a few bucks of my own tied up in it." "My father says only an accident can keep us from winning." "What should he have said, Miss Mooney?" "That he'd spent ten years perfecting a new engine so we would lose on Saturday?" "Well, there'll be no Saturday unless we can satisfy Walter about the engine today." "All right, take it easy." "That's it, right there." "Now remember, Vincent, this is a test run, not a European road race." "I've disconnected the tach cables, so your ear can get used to listening to my engine." "It'll tell you when to downshift better than any contrivance." "Oh, yes, Professor, you've told me." "Well... you seem all set." "TOWNLEY:" "Just waiting for you, Walter." "Morning, Sis." "Good morning, sports car enthusiasts and early risers." "Are you ready, Mr. Mooney?" "Ready for this morning and Saturday." "With Vincent behind my engine, they're practically handing us the checkered flag right now." "Well, if everybody's so confident, how about a driver's victory kiss in advance?" "Why not?" "Now let's see you earn it." "(engine revving)" "(screeching)" "(crashing)" "He'll rest now." "It doesn't make sense, medically." "There's no reason at all why that man shouldn't be able to walk." "But he can't." "It would seem so." "Seem?" "Well, the paralysis is probably just the result of shock." "If so, a day or so should bring him back to normal." "I forgot my lighter." "Is it dangerous to wait?" "No, no, we'll wait two days." "If he doesn't come around, we'll get him to a hospital for more exhaustive tests." "You said you were going to do something to the engine that would delay you for a few weeks." "What happened?" "That Irishman, Mooney, didn't leave the car for five seconds." "I had to do something else, or race Saturday." "Then they would have made me leave here." "But what could I do?" "I thought and I thought, then I decided." "I shall have a little accident-- roll the car." "What?" "(chuckles)" "A dozen times, I rolled cars before." "Nothing." "You're paralyzed, and you mean that's nothing?" "When I hear that ambulance doctor say that because my back was hurt, maybe I was paralyzed, the idea came to me." "Look, darling," "I'm no more paralyzed than you." "But it's a brilliant idea on the spur of a second, isn't it?" "If a man is paralyzed, he cannot walk." "And if he can't walk, who can suspect he's able to get up and move around?" "Suspect him of what?" "Darling, to see you go on unhappy with that man..." "WOMAN:" "I must've left it on the table." "Walter thought you might like a drink." "Boy, I know I could use one." "Kate?" "Look, Sis, I..." "I don't know how to say this." "That sounds like the standard opening to an unpleasant sermon." "I don't think I care to hear it." "Well, perhaps you'd better." "Kate, you're not getting too interested in Danielli, are you?" "Well, why not?" "For a year, you've been telling me about the succession of women that my husband's been "interested" in." "Why shouldn't I have the same right to happiness?" "Oh, now, Kate, listen." "Don't you realize that Walter's been deliberately provoking you?" "The other women, ignoring you, even cutting off your checking account." "Do I have to go on?" "Boy, he'd like nothing better than to catch you with someone like Danielli." "You still think I should divorce Walter?" "Well, at least it'd be cleaner that way." "You think I should expose him, dirty his name, destroy his dignity?" "I may have lost his love, but I couldn't hate him enough to do that." "Okay." "I tried, Kirby, I tried so hard." "But... you'll stop seeing Danielli?" "The engine, the steering, the brakes-- everything was working like a dream." "There was nothing, no reason at all for that accident." "All I know is that Danielli wrecked that car, and it's going to take me a month to repair it and the engine." "A month?" "Townley, you're here as Mr. Eastman's expert." "What's your opinion?" "Well, this is a hand-built engine." "You just can't order spare parts." "By the time you tool up and fit each new piece," "I can't see how you'll have it fixed in five weeks." "MOONEY:" "Mr. Eastman," "I promise you that engine will be repaired as quickly as humanly possible." "Of course, uh, I'm not aware of the business arrangements between you and your brother-in-law." "Walter, I brought you the Mooney engine." "Now, as an investment counselor, I strongly recommend that you retain your option to buy it, no matter how long it takes." "Your counsel has been duly noted." "It's mine to make, and I'll make the decision." "Well, surely there's no question in your mind about wanting it done, sir?" "But of course, it's, uh, your money and your option." "Good night." "When Kirby first told me about this rotary engine-- no valves, no pistons, no cams-- it sounded like a big moneymaker." "It still does." "Not being an expert," "I said before I'd risk a nickel, they'd have to put the engine in a car and prove it, race it." "That's when they brought in Danielli, about a month ago." "I put him under contract." "I brought Ralph Townley of Columbia Motors here to give me an automotive man's opinion." "His company gets first manufacturing rights if I go through with the deal." "You going to?" "No." "Another month of this is out of the question." "My company lawyers have taken care of the deal so far, but now I am seeing you to wash my hands of the entire matter." "As for Danielli, I don't like him." "I believe the man's dishonest." "Whatever liability I have in my contract, pay it off." "What if he's uncooperative?" "Pay him more money." "A man like that has a price for everything." "Just make sure I need to have nothing more to do with him." "Walter, I've been your attorney for a long time." "We're good friends." "You're certainly no fool when it comes to financial matters." "Why are you asking me to abrogate a contract which could mean millions of dollars to you?" "I'm just not interested in the project anymore." "Man's entitled to change his mind, isn't he?" "Yes." "Perry, I want you to take care of Danielli and the contract by tomorrow." "But it's foolish, Mr. Mason." "Thank you." "Eastman owes me nothing." "As far as our agreement is concerned, consider the contract as torn up and forgotten." "The few hundred dollars involved means nothing." "What happened was because of my own bad driving, wasn't it?" "So you please tell them, as soon as I'm well, I'll be gone, but in the meantime, no obligation." "Since you feel that way, Mr. Danielli," "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Mr. Eastman appreciates your cooperation." "He's chartered a plane, complete with doctor and nurse." "He's arranged to have you flown back to Italy tomorrow." "(door opens)" "(door closes)" "WALTER:" "Thank you, Perry." "MASON:" "Not at all, Walter." "Bye." "WALTER:" "Bye." "(door closes)" "Wasn't that Perry Mason, your lawyer, who just left?" "Well, yes, business matter." "Nothing to concern you." "Will you be dining in?" "The servants are off tonight." "Hmm, no, no, I'll eat at the club." "Board of governors meeting." "I'll be at Gloria Foster's party." "Yes, of course." "Have fun." "(gentle thump)" "My beautiful d..." "(sighs)" "Was that Walter's lawyer talking to you just now?" "Yes." "Your husband breaks the contract with me and refuses to pay me even one penny he owes me." "(chuckles)" "Not one penny." "Vincent, no." "Yeah." "But there is more, bambina, much more." "Tomorrow I must leave your house." "Next week, you go to San Francisco." "(rueful chuckle)" "Your husband sends you off to the opera season alone... like an unwanted piece of furniture." "I had hoped, even dreamed, that I could... perhaps could just see you in San Francisco." "But tomorrow your husband has me put on a plane and he flies me back to Italy." "Back to Italy?" "If I had money, even a little money, I would say no." "Danielli takes nothing from you." "But I have nothing, darling." "San Francisco could be so wonderful." "A few weeks... a month where there is laughter and youth... and love." "Or should I go back to Italy tomorrow?" "I think I'd die if we were separated." "Oh, Vincent." "I don't want to die for love." "It's better to live for love." "To lie... even... even to steal for love." "Do what?" "In the contract." "The money your husband refuses to pay me." "That money is mine." "I don't understand." "Your husband's country club-- the club he goes to tonight" " I know." "When he returns this one special night of the week, he brings money home with him." "Yes, the cash receipts for the week, about $5,000." "That is about exactly what he owes me." "What is mine." "To a man of your husband's millions," "$5,000 is nothing." "To me, to us, my darling... it is the key to so much." "But it's wrong." "This, too." "Is this wrong?" "Listen." "The North Road is the only road back to here from the club." "Tonight, I let everybody know that I'm going to sleep early." "I ask for sleeping pills, maybe." "You will leave to your party." "On the way, you have an accident." "You park your car right here... where nobody drives who doesn't come to this house." "You walk here to this public telephone booth." "You call your husband at the club." "You have a flat tire." "There's no one home here to answer the phone." "Everyone, I already find out, will be gone soon after you leave." "But your husband, he must come to see about your car." "It's wrong." "Oh, Vincent, no." "Listen." "All I ask you to do is to telephone." "No more." "Then you go to your party." "While he attends to your tire, it is easy for somebody else to slip into his car... take the money... never be seen." "Somebody else?" "Mm-hmm." "The man they can't suspect-- the man who is paralyzed." "No good on this side." "Park on the other side." "Oh, Vincent, can't we just forget it?" "The other side of the road, darling." "Hurry." "You'll have a long walk yet." "Don't worry." "You lied to me." "No, darling, no." "You're going to kill him!" "Vincent, we can't do this." "We could never live..." "Don't be a child!" "When you strike the match, the fire that follows is of your own making." "No." "You are as deeply committed as I am." "No, Vincent, no." "You want to spend your life a cold, empty shell?" "All right." "But I don't want you that way." "No." "I want you proudly as a living, breathing, loving woman!" "Oh, listen to me..." "You listen to me!" "A phone call, just a little phone call, or else I-I have to leave tomorrow." "I warn you, Katrina." "I warn you." "If you love me, you'll trust me." "And because I love you, everything will be all right." "Everything." "Go." "Make the phone call." "(panting)" "(buzzing)" "North Hollywood Hills Country Club." "Good evening." "(panting):" "My husband's at a meeting." "Would you please t-tell him..." "Hello?" "Who is this?" "My-my car's on the North Road." "I just left it." "I ju..." "I walked here." "Mrs. Eastman?" "Is this you, Mrs. Eastman?" "Don't let him leave." "Make him stay there!" "Don't let Walter leave the club!" "I'm sorry, Mrs. Eastman, I haven't seen your husband." "But the board meeting broke up half an hour ago." "What?" "Oh, no!" "Mr. Eastman's probably on his way home right now." "He has to take the North Road, doesn't he?" "I'm sure he'll see your car if you had trouble." "No." "(gasps)" "(sighs)" "Help me, please, help me." "What is it?" "What's happened?" "I want to go back up there." "Please, take me." "Back where?" "Where is your car?" "Behind you, on the cliffs on the North Road." "But we just came that way." "We didn't see your car." "Are you sure?" "Don't stand there." "It may be too late already." "All right." "It's Walter down there!" "Wait!" "Mrs. Eastman!" "Walter!" "Walter!" "(sobbing)" "Walter?" "Walter?" "Walter!" "(sobbing continues)" "It's not Eastman." "It's Danielli." "(gasps, sighs)" "Mr. Mooney called the authorities from a pay phone." "They ask him to wait." "Erin, his daughter, drove Kate home." "When I heard what happened," "I called for you, as well as a doctor for Kate." "Walter, why did your wife think she was going to find you dead at the bottom of that gully?" "Perry, you don't understand." "Kate's upstairs." "Sick." "Upset." "I understand, Walter." "But some questions need to be answered." "Now, did you see Danielli at all?" "No." "He was here at 6:30." "I heard the radio blasting in his room when I left for the club." "But you didn't go to the club." "No." "I drove out, but I had so many things on my mind," "I knew I'd be of no help." "So, I turned around and parked in the hills at the horseshoe turn." "I just sat there in the car... thinking." "How long would you say you stayed there?" "Mmm, couple of hours, maybe longer." "I came back here and went to my room." "That must've been around 9:30, 'cause I heard you in there about that time." "You were here then, also?" "Oh, I've been here since maybe quarter of 8:00." "Mr. Mooney can tell you." "I was in the garage, working with him." "How long were you with Mr. Mooney?" "Well, when I first drove in, there was... one other car parked outside." "And I saw lights on in the garage that Mooney was using for his shop, so I went in." "Was he there?" "Yes." "And ready to commit mayhem." "Mayhem?" "Not on me." "Danielli." "See, Townley had told him that Danielli refused to ever drive a car with a Mooney engine in it again." "Now, it was obviously impossible, but Danielli thought the test failure was somehow due to the new engine." "Well, the only way I could quiet Mooney down was to check out the car wreckage and the engine." "I know a little about motors." "Now, as far as I could tell, Mooney was right." "The engine had nothing to do with Danielli's turning over during that test run." "But by that time, I was grease up to my elbows, so I came to the house to clean up." "Is that when you heard Mr. Eastman in his room?" "Yes." "Did you see or hear Danielli earlier?" "Well, yes." "It was when I first came home, quite a bit earlier." "I heard Danielli's voice from his room." "It was an argument, and he was yelling." "Who was he arguing with?" "Well, I'm not sure." "But I thought it might be Townley, because it was his car that was parked in the drive." "Was Mr. Mooney with you when you checked out the wrecked racing car?" "No." "No, he left when I started, and it took me quite some time." "Well, as I started for the side door, after I'd finished in the garage, there was Walter's car." "Now, you say you thought you, um, heard Mr. Townley." "Did you see him?" "No." "By the time I got up to Walter's room," "Danielli's room was quiet." "And Townley's car was no longer outside." "So, I took a shower." "Well, we'd better find Mr. Townley." "He's at the club." "I put him up there." "MASON:" "Paul... take my car." "Check for Mr. Townley at the club." "Will do." "Mr. Eastman," "Dr. Bell would like to see you." "MASON:" "Go ahead, Walter." "Looks as though Miss Mooney could stand a cup of coffee." "I'll get it for you." "In regards to your story, Miss Mooney, one or two questions." "Now, when you and your father... (door shuts)" "Mr. Mason, if that's the police, they'll be bringing my father home." "I think he can tell you much better than I what happened." "Then I'd better talk to the police and to your father." "Will you excuse me?" "Oh, would you ask Ellis to come out and see me, please?" "Here you are." "Thank you." "(door shuts)" "Good evening, Lieutenant Anderson." "Well, what brings so eminent a counselor to an accident investigation?" "Perhaps the same thing that brought the homicide squad, instead of the traffic detail." "Could be." "Traffic took one look at it and said it was our kettle of fish." "You're here on a fishing expedition, Andy?" "Here inside the city limits, it's always open season when the police go fishing." "(door opens nearby) You represent Eastman, Perry?" "Well, I have recently." "Corporate matters, investments." "You know this Danielli?" "Mr. Mason?" "Oh, yes, Ellis." "Would you please call me a cab?" "I..." "I'll be with Mr. Mooney." "If Mr. Drake should happen to call, tell him I'll join him at the club." "ANDERSON:" "Drake, huh?" "Then you knew this was no accident?" "That, Andy, is a wishful assumption." "Now, if you'll excuse me, and if you have no objection," "I think I'll speak with Mr. Mooney." "Be my guest." "Sergeant." "Mr. Mason." "Mr. Mooney." "Hello." "You're from the police?" "No." "No, my name is Mason." "I'm Mr. Eastman's attorney." "I have been talking with him and with your daughter." "I know what's happened." "I, uh, just wondered if I might ask you a few questions." "Surely." "What have I got to lose, Mr. Mason?" "I didn't kill Danielli." "There's no proof anyone killed him, is there?" "Well, there's no question that the police are puzzled as to how a paralyzed man got in a wrecked car at the foot of a cliff." "Why would that add up to murder?" "Because there are a lot of people around here who have good reason to hate him." "You, Mr. Mooney?" "All kinds of reasons." "Lying about my engine." "Plaguing my daughter with his attentions." "Did you see Danielli here at the house earlier this evening?" "No, but I tried to." "What time was that?" "Right after Kirby said he checked my engine." "I remembered something and went out." "That's when I noticed Ralph Townley's car parked here by the house." "Seeing Townley's car made me wonder." "What was he doing here at the house when nobody was home?" "Nobody but Danielli, that is." "There's a connection?" "I think so." "Maybe Townley's been bribing Danielli to make my engine look bad." "Representing Eastman-- that sounds unlikely, don't you think?" "Maybe." "But wait." "I washed up and put on my jacket." "By that time, Townley's car was gone, and so was Danielli." "You saw Danielli leave?" "No, but his room was empty." "I found something on the floor that convinced me that both of them were out to ruin me." "That's when Erin and I started for the country club." "I was going to have it out with him, or them, once and for all." "I beg your pardon, Mr. Mason." "Uh... your cab is here, sir." "Thank you, Ellis." "What was it that you found on the floor of Danielli's room?" "Kirby Evans told us he heard you arguing with Danielli." "He did." "But with the way Danielli screamed," "I'm amazed that anyone could hear me." "Is that when Danielli tore up the check?" "What check?" "The check written by you to Danielli for $1,000." "I tore up that check, Mr. Mason." "Do you mind telling me what that check was for?" "There was nothing mysterious about it." "I was here to give Walter an expert opinion on the Mooney engine." "So, you made a deal with Danielli to get his opinion, as a top driver, on the engine's merits." "Exactly." "I was already sure that the engine was all" "Mooney claimed it to be, and more." "But I still wanted Danielli's report." "Did you get it?" "No." "The conniver must have thought his opinion was priceless." "He asked for more money." "Well, I'd already written a check for $1,000." "We argued." "I told him it was $1,000 or nothing." "He still wouldn't produce the report." "So, I tore up the check and left." "What time did you leave Eastman's?" "8:30, thereabouts." "But the, uh, club watchman said you didn't get back here till around 10:00." "I drove around for a while, trying to calm down." "Look, I had nothing to do with the murder." "What makes you think Danielli was murdered?" "What do you mean?" "Your man Drake here said the police were all over the place." "The police also investigate accidental deaths, Mr. Townley." "(sighs)" "Mrs. Eastman, it's Dr. Bell." "This will only take a few seconds." "No." "No." "I'm sick." "Mrs. Eastman, I've got to talk to you." "I'm Lieutenant Anderson." "Mrs. Eastman," "I've..." "I brought your husband." "No, no." "Walter's dead." "Don't lie to me." "Kate, won't you listen, please?" "Vincent... (panting) he wanted me to help him." "He wanted to meet me in-in San..." "San Francisco." "The money was his, the money from the club." "He said it was his." "You can't kill him." "I won't let you kill Walter." "Don't-Don't let Walter leave the club." "Ple..." "Please don't let him." "Don't let Walter leave the club!" "He mustn't leave the club." "(crying) Oh... don't" "Now, now." "Nurse." "She doesn't make sense." "We won't learn anything from her now." "I'm not sure I haven't learned a great deal from her." "What do you mean?" "Mr. Eastman?" "Would you mind answering a question for me?" "Andy, can't this wait?" "Sorry." "It's all right." "What is it you want to know, Lieutenant?" "I checked." "You were expected, but you never showed up at your club last night." "Where were you, Mr. Eastman?" "No place." "At least no place where anybody else was present." "Before I came home," "I spent a couple of hours just sitting in my car parked on horseshoe turn." "Well, boys?" "Not a sign of any tracks, Lieutenant." "Uh, Mr. Eastman, once more, just to make absolutely sure, is this where you parked your car last night for two hours?" "Yes." "The front wheels were practically at the edge of the precipice." "But there are no marks of your car or any car here on the horseshoe bend." "What?" "!" "Isn't that rather odd, Mr. Eastman?" "Because we did find tire marks of your car further down." "Just a few feet from where Vincent Danielli was killed and thrown over the cliff into the gully." "Mr. Eastman, I'm sorry, but... you're under arrest for murder." "Kate's all right, Walter." "She's in very capable hands." "Now at this point, it might be wise if you gave some thought to yourself." "Myself?" "(chuckles)" "None of this would have happened if I had worried a little more about her." "Walter... tire tracks made by your car were found on the top of that cliff." "There's something else." "Paul Drake found the glove compartment in your car had been forced open." "Now, did you break the lock?" "Why should I do that?" "Walter, tell me this." "What prompted you to drive way out to the horseshoe bend, park, and just sit there for two hours?" "It..." "It was something, Ellis, the butler, told me." "He'd accidentally seen Danielli, well, forcing his attentions on Kate." "As you've guessed, there's been a succession of men in Kate's life." "Up to then, it was just suspicion." "Now I knew." "But I had to ask myself why." "Why?" "Then, that night, for the first time," "I faced the truth." "Kate is lovely, young, full of life." "In my own ordered, preoccupied rut of a life," "I'd ignored her." "Taken her for granted." "Robbed her of every chance for happiness." "I..." "I literally threw her into Danielli's arms." "BURGER:" "Now, Doctor, I show you People's Exhibit One." "This wrench has been identified as being part of a distinctive matched set belonging to the defendant." "Could a wrench such as that have been used to kill Vincent Danielli?" "It could." "BURGER:" "And were there any bits of physical evidence discovered in connection with this particular wrench?" "Yes, it was subjected to laboratory analysis, and revealed both hairs and blood of the same type as the decedent's were adhered to it." "BURGER:" "Thank you, Doctor." "That'll be all." "Now, Mr. Ellis, did you ever observe anything which might have made Mr. Eastman... resentful of his guest, Mr. Danielli?" "Yes." "I saw Mr. Danielli holding Mrs. Eastman in his arms." "BURGER:" "Do you know if Mr. Eastman knew about this?" "Yes." "It was on the afternoon of the murder." "I went and told him." "I told him I had seen Mr. Danielli making love to Miss Mooney, and on another occasion, to Mrs. Eastman, his wife." "What was Mr. Eastman's reaction?" "He said I was a dirty liar, and he fired me." "Mr. Ellis, if he fired you that afternoon, why were you still at the house that night?" "He changed his mind and asked me to stay." "BURGER:" "Really?" "When was this?" "ELLIS:" "When Mr. Eastman returned from his drive, and before they brought Mrs. Eastman home, he said he was sorry and offered me a good raise if I would stay." "And what else did Mr. Eastman say to you at this time?" "He asked me-- or rather, he ordered me-- to forget what I had seen and what I had said." "BURGER:" "Mr. Mooney, we believe that the decedent, Vincent Danielli, thought he was going to be alone in the house that night." "We believe that was part of his plan, to dupe or force Mrs. Eastman into helping him rob or kill Mr. Eastman." "It's the contention of the prosecution that the defendant also had some plans for that night, and that he thus set in motion a train of events which resulted in his being the murderer instead of the victim." "As, for example, Mr. Mooney, you and your daughter were given theater tickets that night by Mr. Eastman." "Now, why didn't you go to that show?" "Well, it was because of my daughter." "BURGER:" "What about your daughter?" "You see, I'd forbidden her to see Danielli." "Against my wishes, she went to the house earlier, hoping to see him." "Go on, Mr. Mooney." "Well, it was something that Erin saw or heard-- she wouldn't say-- that upset her." "Well, just as I got to Vincent Danielli's door," "I heard Vincent inside his room." "All right, Miss Mooney, what did you hear from inside the room?" "Well, Vincent" " Mr. Danielli-- was having a violent argument with another man." "This other man was yelling at the top of his voice, saying he'd had all he could stand, and that he knew about Mr. Danielli and... his wife." "Go on, Miss Mooney." "Well, anyway, the other man said he wouldn't put up with it any longer, and he'd see to it that it came to an end, once and for all." "Now, Miss Mooney, about this other man-- the one who was arguing in the decedent's room, threatening to put an end to it, once and for all-- did you recognize his voice?" "Is he in this court today?" "Would you point him out to us, please?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, too, Miss Mooney." "I'm afraid you'll have to." "Who was the man, Miss Mooney?" "It was the defendant, Mr. Eastman." "Thank you, Miss Mooney." "Thank you very much." "Your witness, Counselor." "The things he said about Kate." "Please, Perry." "Does it all have to come out?" "No questions." "Where was this wrench-- now identified as the murder weapon-- found, Lieutenant?" "About ten yards from the body." "BURGER:" "Was there any other evidence found at the actual scene of the crime on top of the cliff?" "A tire impression in a soft spot on the shoulder of the highway." "I show you now People's Exhibit Two." "Uh, if the court please, in the interest of saving time, the defense stipulates that those two plaster casts are those of the right front tire found on the defendant's car." "Thank you, Mr. Mason." "Lieutenant, I ask if you recognize this." "Yes, sir." "It has my mark on it." "Would you describe the exhibit to us, please?" "These are the unfinished portions of a cigar that has been smoked." "The blended tobaccos in it are of a distinctive, imported variety." "We discovered that this cigar was one of a private lot manufactured exclusively for one person." "And who is that one person?" "The defendant, Walter Eastman." "BURGER:" "Did you have this cigar butt subjected to further examination?" "Yes." "We had the laboratory analyze the saliva on it for a blood group determination." "The results were an exact blood group match with the defendant's blood and saliva." "And where exactly was this partly-smoked cigar found?" "Where we found the tire marks of the defendant's car, and where the decedent, Vincent Danielli, was killed." "(door closes)" "Kate, I know you've been through a good deal." "Now, this may be unpleasant, but it is important." "Anything." "I want to help Walter." "Do you know that Walter was thinking of divorcing you six months ago?" "Walter divorcing me?" "You must be joking." "If anything, it would be the other way around." "Other way around?" "Yes." "I..." "I understand the divorce courts frown on men who have romantic flings with a succession of other women." "They also frown on women who do the same." "One mistake." "Vincent Danielli." "I was a fool to think I loved him." "But it was never more than talk, Mr. Mason." "Let's imagine for a moment that you had decided to divorce Walter." "All these women you spoke of-- his, uh, romantic flings-- could you have produced their names in court?" "Even one name?" "Yes." "Kate, do you still love Walter?" "Heaven help both of us." "I still love him." "Do you mean to say you didn't see Danielli that night?" "No, I don't mean to say that." "'Cause I did see him." "Would you please tell us under what circumstances?" "Well, I saw him earlier in the evening." "Then, I saw him again when your police dragged me down to the gully to identify his body." "All right, now, let's go back to my earlier question." "I ask you now again... didn't you see your brother-in-law, the defendant, that night?" "Yes, I saw him, too... locked up in his library, with the police trying to browbeat a confession out of him." "I have no more questions of this witness." "Yours, Mr. Mason." "You're welcome to him." "Mr. Evans, I believe you stated you overheard a violent argument that particular night." "Yes." "It was an argument coming from Danielli's room." "MASON:" "You heard Danielli's voice?" "EVANS:" "Loud enough to wake the dead." "Could, uh, this have been the same verbal fight overheard by Miss Mooney?" "The fight between Mr. Eastman and the decedent?" "No." "No, it wasn't Walter's voice." "Now, I'm not sure, but... well, it could have been Ralph Townley." "Well, after my argument with Danielli," "I just drove around." "I didn't get back to the club till about 10:30." "Now, in checking the club, Mr. Townley, we found that you had a late dinner reservation for two." "But you didn't eat at the club." "How do you account for that, Mr. Townley?" "Well, I canceled the reservation earlier, after I received a phone call from Walter Eastman." "BURGER:" "What did Mr. Eastman say in that phone call?" "Well, he changed his mind about joining me at the club for supper." "I told him that I wanted to talk over the Mooney engine with him." "Well, he, uh..." "he became angry." "Said something I didn't quite understand about Danielli." "Then he told me there was nothing left to talk about, in regard to the motor." "He asked me to tell the club officials that he wouldn't be at the meeting that night, and then he just hung up on me." "The defendant, in his statement to the police, claimed that it was only because of his conversation with Ellis the butler that he drove his car to horseshoe turn and just sat there, instead of going to the club." "Now, that conversation took place at 6:30." "Miss Mooney testified that she heard a violent altercation between the defendant and Danielli that took place at 6:00." "Now, what time was it when Walter Eastman phoned you?" "It was quarter past 6:00." "So, it was because of his quarrel with Danielli and not simply because of what Ellis the butler told him, that Walter Eastman changed his mind about going to the club." "Thank you, Mr. Townley." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "Mr. Townley... isn't it a fact that you gave Danielli a check for $1,000?" "It is." "Is that all the money you paid him?" "Didn't you give him at least one other payment, just the evening before the car was tested?" "Mr. Townley, we're prepared to put a witness on the stand who will testify that... he saw you in the bar of the country club hand over to Mr. Danielli a large amount of cash." "It was a loan." "He was giving me an expert opinion on the Mooney engine." "Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that you paid him to give Walter Eastman an expert opinion of the motor?" "An opinion that the motor was no good?" "That Mr. Eastman should drop his option on it?" "Well... well, that would be ridiculous." "That engine's bound to make several fortunes." "Yes, Mr. Townley." "That's why you wanted Eastman out of the deal." "Now, Danielli threatened to expose you to Eastman, did he not?" "That's why you fought with him." "He wanted money-- big money." "Not just your paltry thousand or so dollars." "Uh, Your Honor, may I have a few seconds?" "I respectfully request the court's permission the excuse this witness for the moment... and recall Lieutenant Anderson." "You can step down, Mr. Townley." "Lieutenant, you testified that you impounded Mr. Eastman's car as evidence." "I did." "And, of course, you examined that car thoroughly." "I did, and so did two other officers." "And, of course, you took notice that the glove compartment lock had been forced." "Yes, of course." "Was there anything in that glove compartment?" "Yes, there was." "The list is here." "Would you read it to the court, please?" "One book paper matches, L.A. County road maps, guarantee on 12-volt battery," "Auto Club membership card and service directory, pair of pigskin gloves, one flashlight, extra fuses, gas mileage records, and one cleaning cloth." "That's it." "Directing your attention to the battery guarantee-- did it occur to you that one other guarantee should have been there?" "I don't quite understand the question." "Wouldn't a man methodical enough to keep a battery guarantee in his glove compartment also keep the guarantee for his tires there?" "Yes." "I suppose he might." "Now, isn't it possible, Lieutenant, that that glove compartment had been forced open and that guarantee removed because it was not the guarantee for the right front tire found on Mr. Eastman's car?" "Are you asking me if I think the tire was switched after Danielli was killed?" "That's what I'm asking you." "No, I don't think so." "Do you know how long it takes to change a tire, Counselor?" "Unhappily, from past experience, yes." "Do you know how much time it takes to change an entire wheel on a sports car that has knock-off hubs?" "Why, uh, practically no time at all." "MASON:" "Isn't it possible that the person who killed Danielli, about to leave the scene of the crime, suddenly realized he must have driven at least one of his wheels onto the soft shoulder of that cliff top?" "Well, sure." "The defendant, uh, in his own car." "The defendant certainly wouldn't have left those incriminating marks there." "No, Lieutenant, it was not the defendant, but the murderer, who had a car the same make of the defendant's, but with a registered set of tires of its own-- tires which could be identified and traced." "ANDERSON:" "So, to save his own neck, he changed wheels, putting the incriminating tire on Eastman's car." "MASON:" "And then broke into Mr. Eastman's glove compartment." "Well, there's only one person who could do that." "The owner of the other car" "Kirby Evans." "Yes." "Yes." "I killed him." "He deserved to be killed." "You needed Danielli out of the way so you could once more control your sister, and through your sister, her husband's total fortune." "To get that fortune, you did frame Mr. Eastman for the murder, did you not?" "Yes." "Yes, that's right." "When I came back home," "I had seen Walter parked up there at the horseshoe turn." "I knew he wasn't at the club." "It was a wrench that I had taken a day or so earlier from Walter's car that I used to kill Danielli." "And then, when I saw the tire marks that my car made on the soft dirt where I'd killed Danielli, the whole thing came to me." "You see, it was so easy." "There was the cigar in my car ashtray that Walter had smoked." "I threw it out on the cliff top." "Then I drove back and changed wheels." "I put my wheel, the one that left the marks, on Walter's car." "And then, in the middle of the night," "I went to the horseshoe turn, and I rubbed out the tire marks that Walter had made that proved he had been there." "And now... now, with Kate still married to Walter," "I could get all his money." "You see?" "I could get all of Walter's money." "All of it." "MASON:" "For over a year, he lied to both of you... inventing love affairs that just hadn't happened, inciting each of you against the other." "I had Paul check the names of Walter's so-called lady friends." "They were nonexistent." "Just as the stories he told Walter about Kate weren't true." "But why?" "Oh, he hoped for a divorce, a large settlement on his sister-- a settlement he could, uh, take over." "The perpetual promoter." "Poor, sick man with sick dreams." "DRAKE:" "Speaking of dreams," "Mooney booted that car with his engine in it to an easy first place in the, uh, Palisades Race." "Are you going to go through with the deal, Mr. Eastman?" "I don't know." "It all depends on Perry." "Oh?" "Can I legally exercise my option, but turn it over to another company for development and retain a percentage?" "Well, I think a good lawyer should be able to work that out." "(chuckles)" "(theme music plays)"