"I guess you folks all realize this is mighty important matter we're deciding here." "Whether or not a man has committed murder." "The state's done a fine job of presenting its case." "They put five men and women in that chair, key witnesses." "And a person would have to go a long ways to find five better ones." "Anybody could tell right off." "They weren't the kind of people who'd make up things." "A prominent Los Angeles businessman." "A young professional woman." "A man who's run a country store..." "for twenty years." "A writer on a national news magazine." "And the head of our city's homicide bureau." "I reckon there's no doubt among you folks on the jury... that they've been telling the truth." "As the lawyers say, to the best of their knowledge and belief." "May I proceed with the defense, Your Honor?" "You may proceed, Mr. Cahill." "Lawrence Ballantine, will you take the stand?" "Raise your right hand." "Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in this cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" "I do." "What is your name please?" "Lawrence Ballantine." "Mr. Ballantine." "You're the defendant in this case, are you not?" "I am." "Charged with the brutal murder of Verna Carlson." "That's right." "Are you willing to describe to the jury... to describe truthfully, the events that led to the placement of that charge?" "I certainly am." "To the jury, please." "I guess I better start with a Saturday afternoon." "June, in New York." "It was in one of those little basement restaurants on 52nd Street." "Nick's." "Specializing in hors d'oeuvres." "Chateaubriand." "Crêpe suzette." "And uh..." "Tables in dark corners where couples can sit for hours and hours." "No questions being asked." "It was hot for June." "People were already leaving town." "But it was cool in Nick's." "And quiet." "What do you think of it?" "Oh I think she's beautiful." "You ought to." "Seeing as how she's 60% yours." "Do you think you'd be comfortable on it?" "Well I have to shrink a little." "No wisecracks, Skipper." "You're being well paid for your advice." "Luncheon every Saturday for..." "Eleven Saturdays." "Eleven?" "Golly, it seems like only a couple nights ago we got to talking at that dull party." "What were the names of those people?" "Comstock." "They were dull." "Do you think we're dull?" "Did you ever hear of a fisherman finding another fisherman doll?" "Do you have a cigarette?" "Yeah." "I think so." "I thought you were going to get that thing fixed." "It isn't worth it." "What is on the agenda for today?" "Engines." "Gas versus diesel." "I've got a lot of questions to ask." " Golly, I've got to go." " Oh, Larry..." "Well, use you shouldn't have been so late." "I should have thrown that darn typewriter out the window." "I'll tell you what I'll do." "I'll phone you first thing Monday." "Will you?" "With the first nickel I get my hands on." "I left the boat with Nick." "Diesels and other matters... to be continued in next Saturday's installment." "And walked along Fifth Avenue." "I couldn't have missed it if I'd been blindfolded." "It was sitting in the center of the jewelry store window." "Waiting there for me." "Bright and shiny." "A gold cigarette case." "It was expensive." "And for a little while, turned out to be a lucky buy." "For a little while." "Coming home that evening, I ran into the first of what turned out to be a series of unpleasant surprises." "I had guests." "Some of my favorite people." "Well." "If it ain't the Wolf of Wall Street!" "Come in, Wolf." "And drink at the stream." "Hello, darling." "You're late." "Flowers, champagne." "What's the idea?" "What's generally the idea of flowers and champagne?" "Either a funeral or a wedding." "Why, Aunt Martha." "You mean to tell me that these two haven't been married all these years?" "You see." "I told you he'd forget." "Don't judge everybody by yourself." " Forget what?" " Nothing important." "Just your fifth anniversary, old boy." "Never mind, darling." "I know how busy you've been." "That's for you." "It's a gold wrist watch!" "You know, Speed." "If you hadn't told me, I'd never've guessed it." "Here." "Let me put it on for you." "It's more than you deserve." "Forgetting your own anniversary." "What makes you think I forgot it?" "I'd say it was an elementary deduction." " For you, baby." " Oh, Larry..." "Oh, Larry." "It's lovely." "Thank you." "Two Saturday specials." "Mademoiselle." " Monsieur." " Thank you, Nick." "You've been acting funny all afternoon." "Is something bothering you?" "Well, what?" "Larry, I had lunch the other day..." "with Greta." "Yeah?" "She showed me the cigarette case." "Oh." "Yeah, I got trapped into that." "I bought it for you but..." "I know." "Look, Skipper." "I'll get you one twice as good." "Larry, it isn't the cigarette case." "It's what I felt when I saw that." "It hurt." "Well, I think that's nice." "I don't." "It hurt." "It showed me I was in love with you." "I'm fooling myself about these Saturday afternoons." "We've both been fooling ourselves." "I'm no Saturday afternoon girl, Larry." "I'm an all or nothing girl." "As is Greta." "I wouldn't breakup her marriage for anything in the world." "Hers or anybody's." "Aren't you being a little conservative?" "I don't feel conservative." "I'm in love and it's wrong." "There's only one thing to do about it." "Not see you any more." "Look, baby." "Walking out at Nick's isn't going to break anything off." "I'm doing more than walking out at Nick's, Larry." "I'm leaving town tonight, for Montreal." "I had the office transfer me." " Goodbye, Larry." " Wait a minute." "Now it's my turn." "Suppose I told you I was in love too." "It would only make it worse." "Suppose I told you that Greta and I were finished." "It would not be the truth." "That's where you're wrong." "We've been through for months." " Larry, I want to believe you." " You've got to." "Greta is as anxious to break this thing up as I am." "There's nothing between us any more." "We're like two strangers sharing somebody's apartment." "Oh, Skipper." "How can I convince you?" "You might try kissing me." "What a time to be going to Montreal." " I'll go with you." " Oh, it can't last." "No I suppose not." "But I can come up to see you." "After you arrange things." " What time does the train leave?" " Eight o'clock." "That gives me just three hours." "For what?" "By the time the train of yours pulls out," "I'll be an eligible ex-married man, living at his club." "And darling, we can make plans." "I'll meet you at the station or at your apartment." "Is it a deal?" "Oh darling, it's a deal." "Won't you need your socks, Larry?" "Oh goodness." "I thought you had a date with Aunt Martha?" "I did but I broke it." "It's a good thing too." "Look at these." "And these." "You'll freeze to death in Montreal." "Montreal?" "What makes you think...?" "This came just as I was leaving to meet Aunt Martha." "I paid for it. $87.40." "I guess I better tell you, Greta." "This is more than just a trip to Montreal." "I know." "I'm leaving for good." "Did you remember to pack your gold cufflinks?" "Do you understand what I'm saying?" " Of course, darling." " Then what are you doing?" "Well I can't let it be said that any husband of mine left with his clothes in such a mess." "This is a marvelous act, Greta." "But I'm not enjoying it." "Why don't you say what you're thinking?" "I would." "Only I want to say so much." "Well let's have it." "Only skip laying the blame on me." "But I'm not blaming anybody." "I know you've been unhappy for a long time." "I tried to fix you into an apartment." "Make you like my friends." "Do the things I wanted to do." " It's just as much my fault." " I made plans to change it all." "I rented a house in California in Beverly Hills." "Just the kind of place you've always wanted." "I bought you an interest in a brokerage firm." "So you'd be a partner instead of customer's men." "Why didn't you tell me all this?" "It was supposed to be a surprise." "For tonight." "Of all nights." "Tonight..." "It's going to be a lonely trip, darling." "I'll get it, darling." " Put it there, please." " Yes, ma'am." "Breakfast." " Come back in half an hour." " Yes, ma'am." "Here." "Drink this." "This will make you feel better." "Thanks." " Greta." " Yes?" "I've been wondering." "How did you know my going to Montreal wasn't just a business trip?" "Janice telephoned me on Friday to say goodbye." "That still doesn't prove..." "She happened to mention she was taking the 8 o'clock train Saturday night for Montreal." "So you put two tickets together?" "That wasn't difficult." "You see, darling." "I've known about your Saturdays for a long time." "How?" "Couldn't we just consider the topic closed, Larry?" "But they were all perfectly harmless." " I don't you think Janice..." " I'm just thinking one thing." "We're trying to keep our marriage going." "That's what I want more than anything." "I understood all right." "It was a contract." "Just as if it had been typed." "Signed." "And notarized." "No more Saturday afternoons." "No Wednesday nights." "No telephone calls." "No cocktails at back tables." "I was private property." "Covered with signs marked" "" No Trespassing"." "I admit I felt like a heel for a couple of weeks." "When I married Greta, I kidded myself that I was in love with her." "But this time I knew it was the money." "I tried to forget Janice." "My work helped." "Trenton and Ballantine, investment brokers." "Stocks and bonds." "Direct wire to New York." "I kept busy for about six months." "Up at 5:30 to be on hand when the market opened in New York." "Lunch at the Athletic Club." "Tennis or riding after work." "The model young businessman." "Right down to the double-breasted blue suit." "Guess I fool nearly everyone." "Customers, Greta, even myself." "Only Trenton saw through the fancy dress." "And maybe one other." "She looked like a very special kind of dynamite." "Neatly wrapped in nylon and silk." "Only I wasn't having any." "I'd been too close to one explosion already." "I was powder shy." "I hear you've had the bloodhounds out for me." "I had a phone call from Clark Boyd this morning." "He wanted to know what's happened to the analysis of his holdings we were preparing for him." "Or perhaps I should say that you were preparing." "Mr. Boyd has more than $200,000 in the market." "An active account that would bring in anywhere from 10 to $20,000 a year." "A well-prepared letter with sound intelligent suggestions would've thrown his business our way." "What is it, Verna?" "Mr. Ballantine asked me to bring you a copy of the letter he sent Mr. Boyd yesterday." "He thought you might want to see it." "That's all you wanted, wasn't it, Mr. Ballantine?" "Yeah, that's all." "Why did you tell me about this?" "I just like to hear you talk, Trenton." "It saves me from going to Chamber of Commerce lunches." "Suppose you tell me what that was all about, Miss Carlson?" "Is something wrong, Mr. Ballantine?" "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my own affairs." "I've been in the brokerage business for a long time." "So have I." "It just so happens that you're not one of the partners." " Thanks." "Do you have another copy?" " Sure." "How'd you happen to think of it?" "I heard Mr. Trenton on the telephone." "You move like greased lightning." "What did you do with the original?" "Special messenger to Mr. Boyd's office." "My recommendations I trust were up to the usual standards." "They were even better." "What kind of perfume do you like?" "That, Mr. Ballantine, was for free." " Why?" " Because I wanted to." "Well if there's anything I can do." "Of course careful of toes I'm not." "I hate buses." "I thought Trenton had the franchise." "Sometimes it's busy." "Okay." "Sometimes when he's busy." "Right over there, Mr. Ballantine." " Hello." " Hello." "I didn't know Trenton was working tonight." "He isn't." "Where do you live?" "Not far from where you live." "Where do you think that is?" "838 Benedict Canyon." "A two-story Monterey house with a swimming pool and a tennis court." "$500 a month rent." "Two servants." "See if this doesn't beat any bar in town." "Thanks." "Pretty fancy layout." "It's not bad." "Wondering how I handle it on my struggling Ballantine's salary?" "No." "But now that you mention it." "How do you?" "That might be an embarrassing question." "Suppose I withdraw it." "You don't have to." "I share expenses with another girl, Susan Haines." "She's a dietitian." "Makes more money than I do." "Is she prettier than you too?" "She looks exactly like a dietitian." " Do you like it?" " Fine." "But where's the profit?" "What do you mean?" "Profit?" "You can't just be giving these away?" "And after all that talk about how much things cost." "How much rent people pay." "How much money they make." "Look." "The only thing I'm interested in is how much people spend." "There's a name for that kind of interest." "Sure, gold digger." "I read a poem once in high school." "Something about gathering rosebuds while you can." "Instead of rosebuds, I gather orchids." "Fair enough." "But that still doesn't answer my question." "The cost of that will be included in the nice dinner you're going to buy me." "Lady, you made a bad investment." "I eat my own orchids." "And I eat them at home." "That's where I should be right now." "May I use your phone?" "Right over there." "Hello, Mary." "Is Mrs. Ballantine home yet?" "She won't?" "Well." "In that case, I'll have dinner downtown." "Greta is out." "She had a meeting at the welfare league." "I must've forgotten to give you the message." "I discovered that what went with orchids is a game of hide and seek with fate." "Played in offbeat nightclubs." "Out-of-the-way bars." "Remote restaurants." "A game I never had a chance of winning." "Just a moment, sir." "Just a moment." "I'll be right back." "Janice!" "I've been meaning to look you up." "What for?" "To talk with you..." "Well, to say hello." "You could've said hello when I called you." "I've been so darn busy, Janice." "You know talking on the phone is no good." "You know you're acting just as I imagined you would." "As though nothing had happened." "A few weeks ago, I might not have understood." "You didn't come that night, I tried to make excuses." "You could've taken a nail off." "Called away on business." "Or had an accident." "Anything." "When the magazine transferred me to the West Coast," "I still hoped you'd explain it." "Last month I saw Greta." "She said she never even considered breaking up." "It was a pretty shoddy lie of yours, wasn't it?" "I don't suppose you feel quite as cheap about it is I do." "Who was that?" "The girl I used to know in New York." "She's pretty." "An old flame of yours?" "Hardly." "For the next week or so, I got home later each night." "Or maybe I should say each morning." "Until one particular morning." "A rectangle of light from the library door caught my eye." "That must be an interesting book." "I wanted to check with you before you went to bed." "Sorry." "I got mixed up with some customers." "Sit down, Larry." "Why so serious?" "I just couldn't get them to go home." "Larry, do you remember Janice?" "Why, sure." " I saw her a couple of weeks ago." " So did I." "Do you realize how much she hates you?" "Well, I have a faint idea." "You must've had a cozy talk with her." "How come?" "I was silly enough to think that you'd taken up with her again." "Janice?" "Of course that was before I found out about Verna." "What are you talking about?" "In away, I could understand about Janice." "She's a nice girl." "Attractive." "Smart." "But, Larry." "A little tramp." "Who's been giving you all this dope?" "Trenton?" "What difference does that make?" "Not any, I guess." "What do you intend to do?" "I bought a ranch near Owens Lake." "Up in the mountains." "Away from everything." "I'm going to live there for a while." "With or without me?" "It's up to you." "You sort of run in a pattern, don't you?" "One quick move after another." "Tell me something." "When you found what Janice..." "Did you already have this house and train reservations?" "No, Larry." "I didn't." "Oh, I will say one thing." "When you do move, you move fast." "Not fast enough to break the pattern." "I must've lost my self-respect the day I married you." "I can make all the moves but the one that has any reason." "I can't walk out, Larry." "You'll have to do the walking." "You can come to the ranch with me." "Or you can start off on your own with your girlfriend." "I'll have to know tomorrow." " Hi, darling." " Hello, baby." "I missed you this morning." "Where were you?" "At home." "Too lazy to come to work?" "No work to come to." "I'm no longer the Ballantine of the celebrated brokerage house of Trenton and Ballantine." "You've quit?" "You might put it that way." "Tell me about it." "What happened?" "Greta." "She sold my interest back to Trenton." "Why?" "She found out about us." "That certainly takes a load off my mind." "Let's have another round to celebrate." "Celebrate what?" "My being out of a job?" "No." "That we don't have to hide things any more." "Oh, that." "Don't worry, Larry." "We'll make out." "Maybe you haven't heard." "The dough goes with Greta." "I've heard." "Trenton thought about a long time ago." "That's why I think we ought to go slow." "What do you mean?" "Go slow?" "Well, I want to be sure the job is right." "No bitters this time, George." "I don't get this." "I don't get where you'd be living while you're looking for this right job." "Well, that's what I'm trying to explain." "You know I love you, Verna." "But we've got to figure this carefully." "Larry, I'm asking you a question." "Which one of those are you going to be seeing?" "Her or me?" "Well I guess her for now, Verna." "But..." "Know what, Larry?" "You've just witnessed a memorable occasion." "The one time in my life when I was on the level." "It didn't last long, did it?" "That drink is yours, George." "The rat on my left will pay." "He's got a rich wife." "I don't remember much about the drive to the ranch." "I was in kind of an emotional blackout." "Numb." "I'd sold out again." "But what I felt was the feeling of a prisoner towards his jailer." "In a way, she was a jailer." "For both of us." "He wanted us to be alone." "To wall off the outside world." "Lot just behind a door marked " Do Not Disturb."" "She'd found a place all right." "In the center of the rise of foothills." "Hidden from everything but sky." "A cold clear stream with trout in it." "Quail and dove in the fields." "A snug Mexican ranch house with adobe and stone." "Set in a grove of fine old trees for summer shade." "Built 100 years ago by a Miguel Domecq." "On land given him by the king of Spain." "A San Francisco banker had made it into a summer home." "Had put in electricity and hot water." "Fireplaces and a walk-in refrigerator." "Comfortable furniture." "All we had to do was move in." "What do you think of it, Larry?" "I'll have to buy a sombrero." "And some spurs." " How many peons go with the place?" " None." "Who's gonna take care of things?" "Just the two of us." "That'll be cozy." "What about the mail?" "Groceries?" "Telephone?" "There's a general store about 3 miles down the road." "They leave the mail on a box on the highway." "And the telephone?" "I had the telephone taken out, Larry." "In the days that followed, Greta seemed happy." "She found a friend." "A Palomino stallion with a weakness for sugar." "And she found a brand-new world over the shoulder of rock that cut the ranch off from the mountains beyond." "Trails that hadn't changed since the Indians used them to raid the settlers along the coast." "Quartz formations with fool's gold glittering in the sun." "Desert plants with spines that tore our riding boots." "All kinds of wildflowers." "But her happiest discovery was a few hundred yards from the ranch." "A hidden valley at the base of the waterfall." "Sometimes we'd go there together." "Down a path so steep and rocky the Palomino couldn't follow." "He'd stand above, waiting patiently for Greta's return." "There was a pool in the valley, dark and mysterious." "Constantly in motion." "She liked it there." "I can't tell you why." "Maybe something told her the pool had a solution for everything for her." "And for me too." "But all the time, unrest was growing inside me." "I had to get to Los Angeles." "I tried to think how without arousing suspicion." "But I couldn't." "And then, one afternoon, the solution came." "Supplied by Greta." "Larry, I just had a wonderful idea." "What?" "What do you think about building a guesthouse?" "I thought you passed a law about guests." "Oh." "Not a permanent law." "And besides, you could hardly call Aunt Martha a guest." " Aunt Martha?" " Yes, She is thinking of coming out." "And it would be fun to build anyway." "You could drop the specifications." "I don't know the first thing about specifications." "Then will get an architect." " Where?" " In Los Angeles of course." "We can get the name of one." "I know one named Harwell." "Good." "What you run up to the store and called for an interview right now." " Hmm?" " Okay." "And will you make an appointment for me at the salon?" "My hair needs doing." "And we need groceries too." "You want me to go with you?" "No, that's all right." "I'll be right back." "I called Harwell." "And made a date for Thursday." "And then the hairdresser." "Then made the important call." "Hello." "Verna Carlson please." "It's for you, Verna." "Hello." "Verna?" "It's Larry Ballantine." "I'm coming into town on Thursday." "I'll be at our usual place at 2 o'clock." "Can you meet me there?" "There's something I want to talk to you about." "Verna?" "Verna?" "Verna!" "Did you get cut off?" "The operator's got a real knack for breaking things off just when things getting interesting." "Yeah?" "All the groceries in the car?" "Everything except the lump sugar." "Not much call for de-jawers like that." "That's okay." "I'll pick some up in town on Thursday." "Can't afford to disappoint the horses." "What time is it now?" "Six minutes later than the last time you asked me that." "It's 2:25." "Thanks." "Do you want another drink?" "No, I guess not." "How much do I owe you?" "Maybe she's been held up." "It's been known to happen." " The rest is yours." " Thanks." "Do me a favor, will you?" "Tell me why I'm here." "The same reason I am, Verna." "You couldn't stay away." "You've got quite a an opinion of your drawing power, haven't you?" "All right." "Why did you come?" "It isn't me, Verna." "It's something else." "We can't help it." "Will you go away with me?" "For how long?" "For as long as you can put up with me." "I'll get a divorce in Reno." "Then we can go way anywhere." "Make a fresh start." "Look." "That was my line." "Then you decided I couldn't support you properly." "Remember?" "Yeah I know, but..." "If I go anywhere now, there will be orchids involved." "I can get orchids." "That's the best offer I've had since lunch." "But it's not good enough." "Maybe I should've said a lot of orchids." "How?" "Greta has $30,000 in a checking account." "And she's going to give it to us with her blessing, I suppose." "You don't understand." "It's a joint checking account" "I can draw it too." "How without letting her know?" "You're going to do it." "Oh." "I'm going to do it." "Listen, I've got it all figured out." "I write the check." "You cash it through the firm." "That way, there won't be any questions asked." "The bank will just think I'm buying securities for her." "Then what?" "You cash the check on Monday." "So it'll be on next month's statement." "Then catch the 10 o'clock Reno bus to Thomason's Crossroads." "It gets there at 2.30." "I'll meet you." " What do you think?" " I think you're crazy." "I'll show you how crazy." " George, you got a pen?" " Sure." "One of them new ones." "I do my writing with it underwater." "20,000?" "Make that 25,000." "Scared?" "You're the one who should be scared." "Why?" "How do you know I'll show up on Monday?" "I'm betting you will, baby." "$25,000." "On Monday, the bus was late." "But I didn't care." "It was warm in the sunshine." "I walked up and down for a while, watching the cars pass on the highway." "I wondered how long it would take us to reach Reno." "I had no way of knowing then but roads don't always go where you expect them to." "I got to the bus." "One passenger climbed out." "A man." "That was a jolt." "No Verna." "And no $25,000." "Suddenly I began to wonder if I'd been double-crossed." "I had to find out quick." "I was plenty scared." "I want to talk to Los Angeles." "Tucker 5387." "All right." "That's 85." "Larry." " What the devil happened to you?" " Why nothing." "Why weren't you on that bus?" "I was on the bus." "They ran two today." "What did you expect me to do?" "Be on both of them?" "Let's get going." "How about a swim?" "I thought we were supposed to be going to Reno." "We are." "But I'm hot." "Will never get there tonight with half a dozen stops." "All right." "We'll get there tomorrow." "Better try it." "It might improve your temper." "I should've known it'd be like this." "You're about as dependable as a four-year-old child." "You can turn back if you like." "Maybe you'd like it better with Trenton." "He probably doesn't swim at all." "Okay." "You can go back." "But first, you're going swimming, if I have to throw you in." "You're hurting me." "I'm sorry, baby." "Why don't you just say that you don't love me?" "But I do, Verna." "You can't." "You've been so strange." "So have you." "But you haven't said anything." "You didn't even seem glad to see me." "I was scared to show you how really glad I was." " Honest, Larry?" " Honest, honey." "Let's get going." "No." "I think a swim would be nice." "What was that talk about Reno?" "That was just talk." " Bet I beat you in." " Okay." "It's swell after the first shock." " Happy?" " Mmmmm." "Larry!" "You'll drown me!" " Time to go ashore." " Now?" "Yeah, now." " Cigarette?" " That'd be lovely." "What did Trenton have to say?" "Nothing." "I didn't give him a chance." "Just left word I was leaving." "I bet the old boss is hot on your trail right now." "He's in for an awful shock if he is." "You probably notified your folks." "I haven't any." "What did you do?" "The same deal." "I wrote a letter asking for a divorce." " Think you'll get it?" " Sure." "And then will get married, baby." "I thought it might come in handy." "Where did you get it?" "At the dime store." "Dime store?" "And you know you could buy a ring with real diamonds with 25 grand?" "Yes, I know." "Were you afraid I'd get sore?" "No." "I wasn't afraid." "What's the matter?" "Haven't you got the money?" "Well, not exactly." "Look." "Either you have it or you..." "My dowry." "What happened?" "Did you lose your nerve?" "What do you want me to do with it?" "That's up to you." "I thought you might do that." "I guess that's what we both intended to all along." "Your left hand." "There you are, dear." "It looks nice." "As if it belongs there." "It does belong there." "From now on." "From now on." "You don't?" "I've always dreamed of getting married in something white." "Late in the afternoon, shadows from the mountains fell across the lake and it got cold." "We decided to push on to Reno." "It wasn't too far." "Well under 300 miles." "I figured we could make it before midnight." "Larry?" "Hmm?" "Any regrets?" "About what?" "About the check." "No regrets, darling." "No regrets at all." "What do you think Greta will do?" "Find another guy." "I wonder." "Why not?" "Even if she weren't attractive, there's always that lovely money." "Maybe she wouldn't want another guy." "I wouldn't." "Don't shed any tears over Greta." "She's quite capable of looking after herself." "All right darling." "I won't shed any tears." "Over here, Gus." "It must've bust the gas tank." "Do you think there's anybody in there?" "How are you feeling, mate?" "I don't know." "Cigarette?" "No..." "I don't won't do any good." "But I'm sorry." "I lost mine too." "Yours?" "My wife." "Passed away of TB." "We'd been married seven years." "I wondered what he meant." ""Mine's gone too."" "And then it hit me." "He was talking about Verna." "Verna was dead." "And somehow they'd assumed she was my wife." "I lay there wishing they were right." "That it had been Greta." "Suddenly, a dim light went on in the back of my head." "Vague sort of hundred-to-one shot idea." "How is he?" "I would you be with your head busted?" "That I'd like to see." "Mr. Ballantine?" "Are you well enough to answer a couple questions?" " I guess so." " Fine." "This man will make out the accident report." "Save you from going to the inquest." "We'll have to have your name and address." "Lawrence Ballantine, box 43." "RFD 6, Tulare." " Age?" " 34." " Profession?" " Broker." " What's next?" " His wife's name." "Greta Ballantine." "Tell us in your own way just what happened." "I don't remember." "Just tell us what you know." "Well, we were traveling north." "And fast." "The truck swerved." "And tried to cut inside." "That jibes with the truck driver story." "He blew a tire." "Who was driving?" "I was." "You sure it wasn't your wife driving?" "Yes, I'm sure." "Why?" "The way her body was, it looked like she was at the wheel." "Of course we couldn't tell much." "Everything was burned." "She was burned?" "This is about all that was left." "We found it wedged in the door." "Um." "Where was I?" "You sure your wife was driving?" "Yes, I'm sure." "Greta was in the passenger seat." "Well that's that." "Have him sign it." "Is that all?" "As far as I know." "When can I leave?" "Well, that's up to the doc." "Good luck." "I cleared the first barrier easily." "Greta was on the record as a brass wedding ring and a handful of charred bones." "Now I had to keep her there to get the money." "There was only one possible slip-up." "Greta could have left the ranch." "One person would know." "Thomason." "Gee whiz, I didn't expect to see you, Mr. Ballantine." "Hey there." "You look kind of shaky." "You been out to the ranch?" "No." "But I reckon everything's been all right." "Even with her gone." "Gone?" "What you mean, gone?" " Now now." "Take it easy." " You saw her leave?" "Look, I think you got her worse than you know, Mr. Ballantine." "Why don't you sit down for a minute?" "Not that I blame you for being upset." "She was a fine woman." "It seems untimely." "Her being killed like that." "So I guess it happened real quick." "Yeah... it did." "Real quick." "Is your truck here?" "Why, sure." "All fixed up." "Ready to go." " Come on." "I'll drive you up." " No." "I want to go alone." "Naw naw." "You'll need somebody to fix some food." "And tie things up a bit." " Just wait till I lock the store." " I want to go now." "All right." "Nobody'll bother with the store." "Leave me alone!" "There was one more possibility." "Her friend." "She might've gone to him for comfort." "But he was gone." "And then." "All at once, I knew where she was." "When I woke the next morning, I didn't know where I was." "It was like waking up after a fever." "Everything was mixed up and unreal." "I called out for Greta." "When she didn't answer, I got up to look for her." "Then I remembered." "Fate had dealt the ones from the bottom of the deck." "But I'd evened things up." "I had the money." "The funniest thing was..." "how well it turned out." "The ashes were shipped east and buried there as Greta's." "The coroner's jury turned in a verdict of accidental death." "And nobody bothered at all about Verna." "I got a loan against the estate." "And went to South America." "But the gayer the city, the worse I felt." "Lima, Rio, Buenos Aires." "I kept looking for a quieter place." "Trinidad, Costa Rica." "Finally, Jamaica." "I stayed almost a month in Kingston." "Eating alone, swimming alone, walking alone." "Feeling like one of the seabirds I used to see flying over the beach at dusk, crying." "There is only one place I like." "By some rocks." "A sea pool of dark green water." "I'd watch it for hours, remembering another pool." "Gradually, I began to feel that it might be for me what the other had been for Greta." "Then one day, at lunch in the hotel, fate opened a brand-new deck of cards." "Attention, please." "Attention." "Our automobile will leave the hotel in 15 minutes. 15 minutes." "I must request you not to be late." "As some of you, especially you younger folks seem to have a habit of doing." "Uh." "Oh." "Not that I blame you." "Hello, Larry." "What are you doing here?" "Seeing the Caribbean." "16 days for $270." "I just wanted to say I was sorry to hear about Greta." "Thanks." "If there's anything I can do to..." "There isn't." "Well..." "All right." "Goodbye." " Charlie?" " Yes, sir." "What does a guy do around here when he's bored?" "Have you tried horseback riding, sir?" "I'm sick of horses." "What about deep-sea fishing?" "I've been." "There's golf or tennis." "A pineapple juice, please." " Alone?" " Temporarily." "I guess I was pretty rude this noon." "Mm-hmm." "I'm sorry." "It's all right." "I think I understand." "You have a date for dinner?" "I'm meeting with some friends." "Well, that's too bad." "Maybe we could have lunch tomorrow if you're free." " I think it can be arranged." " Well." "After lunch the next day, things seem to arrange themselves." "Janice left her tour." "Each day, we cruised offshore from daybreak to dusk." "We trolled for sailfish in the clear green waters off Kingston." "I think it was a sort of compensation for what we'd lost in New York." "I didn't know then, relaxed and happy in the sun, that I wasn't the fisherman." "I was the bait." "When her vacation ended, we flew back to Los Angeles together." "We arrived in the morning." "I expected to be upset coming home again." "But I wasn't." "I felt warming grateful, walking arm in arm with Janice." "She had to report to her office in Hollywood." "I had a room in my club downtown." "But we'd arranged to meet that evening at her hotel." "At seven." "I got there early, feeling like a high school boy on his first date." " That'll be 45 cents." " That'll be fine." " Need anything else?" " No Thanks." " Miss Janice Bell, please." " 127." " Shall I announce you?" " No." "She's expecting me." "Straight down the corridor and to your right." "Thanks." "Can I help you?" "Never mind." "Come in." "Sorry to bother you." "But it couldn't wait." "It's all right." "I'm not busy till seven." "Did you find him in Kingston?" "Wondering about the big hotel like a lost soul." "Did he suspect anything?" "I pretended I was on one of those Caribbean tours that stop overnight." "I'm surprised I could persuade him to come back." "It was touch and go until the last minute." "I don't wonder." "In fact, I'm surprised you got them to leave Verna at all." "Verna wasn't with him." "Not with him?" "Where was she?" "I don't know." "And I don't think he does." "That's incredible." "I 'd have bet $100,000 she went with him." "Who confirmed Greta's death?" "A detective went up from Los Angeles." "He examined the station wagon." "Talked to the truck driver." "Double checked the police record." "And reported it was definitely an accident." "In an odd way, I'm almost glad." "You're not falling in love with him again?" "Would it be so wrong if he hadn't done anything?" "My dear, I can assure you he's done something." "Two women don't vanish on the same day just accidentally." "We've eliminated Mrs. Ballantine." "But there is still Verna." "She probably just left town." "I don't think so." "He had $72 coming." "Almost 2 weeks pay." "I know Verna." "She had never let it go." "That was one below the belt." "And for a minute, it had me on the ropes." "Hanging on in a kind of groggy panic." "Then I began to think." "No danger from Greta." "Accidental death, the police had said." "And Trenton was at a dead end on Verna." "I was safe enough." "Hello." "I have something to take up with you." "You have?" "It's pretty serious." "You're five minutes late." "That is serious." "What's the fine, Your Honor?" "One martini to be consumed at once." "Glad I wasn't in a half-hour late." "Out late again, Mr. Ballantine?" "Yeah." "I ran a dead heat with the milkman." "Only what he was carrying was certified?" "You got a point there, Gus." "A definite point." "Hello?" "Yes, he is." "A lady to see Mr. Ballantine." " A lady?" "Doesn't she have a name?" " Verna Carlson." "Shall I tell her you're busy?" "Yeah.." "No..." "Have her..." "Come around to the swimming pool, Nick." "Mr. Ballantine?" "What's the idea of saying you're Verna Carlson?" "I didn't." "I'm Susan Haines." "Verna's roommate, remember?" "He said it was Verna." "Oh no." "I said it was about Verna." "About her?" "What about her?" "Well, the little rat owes me a month and a half's rent." "84 dollars." "Well that's too bad." "But why come to me?" "Well, I thought maybe you could tell me where she is." " What gave you that idea?" " Verna." "She sort of hinted just before she left that she was going to get some money from you." "Well, that's the first I've heard about it." "I thought it might be a gag." "Actually, I haven't seen her since I left the office." "Well, it was worth a try." "Now, I go to the police." "Wait a minute." " How much did you say it was?" " 84 dollars." "Well, I'll write you a check." "Oh no, look." "I want to collect from her." "I'll be bumping into her." "And it will give me something to kid her about." " You don't mind?" " Of course I don't mind." "I-I'll be right back." "After all, it was only 84 dollars." "Your explanation, it seems to me, hardly fits the facts." "Why doesn't it?" "I simply wrote the check to keep Verna out of trouble." "Are you sure it wasn't to keep Miss Haines from going to the police?" "That would be trouble for Verna, wouldn't it?" "Or for you, if you'd been paying her blackmail." "Look." "Accusing me of paying Verna blackmail isn't going to find her for you." "The there is a trick like the one you just cooked up with the Haines woman." "No need to lose her temper." "I'm not losing my temper." "I'm simply telling you that I don't know where Verna is." "And I don't expect to know." "But if I ever do, I won't tell you." "Is that clear?" "You've never seen her since your wife died?" "Never." "Nor even just before?" "Nor even just before." "I want you to meet a friend of yours." "Howdy there, Mr. Ballantine." "Long time, no see." "You mixed up in this thing too?" "He isn't mixed up in anything." "I simply want him to tell you what he told me." "What's that?" "Well, it's about this girl." "The one they showed me the picture up." "Of course I seen her meet you at the store that day." "Then her and you drive off toward the ranch." "You remember that?" "Of course I don't." "And what difference would it make if I had met her?" "Quite a difference." "You see, we think Verna was there to blackmail you." "Same old tune again." "Not exactly." "We think you killed her and hid her body on the ranch." "You drove off with your wife." "And unfortunately had the accident." "Which would have made it unnecessary to murder Verna." "If I believed something like that, Trenton, I'd take it to the police." "I have." "Lieutenant Carr of the Los Angeles homicide bureau." "And Mr. Trenton's suggestion, we had a warrant issued by the Solari County authorities to search your ranch." "I was wondering if you would like to take a drive up there with me?" "Are you the folks from L.A.?" "I'm Lt. Carr and this is Mr. Rogers." " Howdy." " How are you making out?" "Sorry." "We've been searching since daybreak." "Pounding and digging." "Picks and axes." "We got the house plum gone up." "I reckon you won't mind, Mr. Ballantine." "Because we ain't found nothing." "How about the rest of the ranch?" "Then over that too but." "Maybe you city fellers is smarter than we are." "It looks like we had a long drive for nothing." "Well, maybe we are to walk around a little." "Just to please Mr. Trenton." "What do you think?" "You're the boss." "You want me and the boys?" "Not much unless you figure you need some more exercise." "I'm getting too soft for this kind of thing." "Would you mind hiding your next victim in Griffin Park?" "I would just as soon as stop all talk about victims." "Here or anywhere." "Yeah, I know." "It's hard on the nerves." "Let's take a breather." "My knees feel like a couple of rusty hinges." "Every time somebody disappears, somebody else hollers foul play." "And mostly, the missing person just left town." " Cigarette?" " No Thanks." "It seems like wives cause the most trouble." "They never can believe their man would leave on his own." " I remember one case..." " Hey, Lieutenant!" "There's a horse down." "What's so important about that?" "He seems sick or something." "He's lying down." "Down there, by the waterfall." "What's he doing down there?" "Maybe he thinks the pastor is better." "He's right too." "It's fur clover." "I suggest we leave out the botany and get moving." "It's a long ride back to town." "Horses don't eat lying down." "For my money, he's sick." "Or maybe he fell down there." "What do you think?" "I'll phone a vet from the ranch house." "In the meantime, he's suffering." "I think we ought to go down and take a look." "It happens to be Mr. Ballantine's horse." "What do you say Mr. Ballantine?" "Do you figure he's right?" "I suppose he is." "Ah, that's the ticket." "Anybody coming with me?" "We ought to get our expenses from the SPCA." "Are you coming, Mr. Ballantine?" "Right behind you." "You better stay back." "You're liable to scare him." "Hello, fella." "The guy's broke both front legs." "That's tough." "What do you want to do?" "There's only one thing you can do." "Yeah." "You think somebody should shoot him?" "We can't let him suffer." "You want to do it, Mr. Ballantine?" "No, not me." "It was Greta's My wife..." "I couldn't." "I don't think it'll be much fun for either of us, sport." "Oh, Mr. Ballantine!" "Would you come over here for a moment?" "Care to identify her?" "That's it." "The beginning." "The middle and the end." "The truth." "The whole truth, so help me." "You may have this witness." "Mr. Ballantine, is been testified that the woman's corpse found in the whirlpool was battered beyond identification." "Do you consider this fortunate or unfortunate?" "Your Honor, I object." "The question calls for an expression of opinion." "Objection sustained." "Very well, Your Honor." "I hardly think there's any necessity for cross examination." "You may stand down." "We will recess until two o'clock, at which time, I will hear the closing arguments." "You are now excused, ladies and gentlemen." "You've got 5 minutes." " Hello, Larry." " Hello." " Do you mind me coming here?" " No." "I have something to say." "I don't know quite how to say it." "I'm sorry." " Why?" " I believe you." "Thanks." "I went up there because I was jealous." "Because I still wanted you." "When it's over, if you need me for anything... if I can do anything..." "I'll be waiting." "There won't be any waiting." "But they believe you, Larry." "Some of them." "They wouldn't be out this long." "Maybe they like the free meal." "Do not say that." "Or else they're waiting for morning." "So everyone will be on hand for the show." "Larry, if you can convince me..." "The jury doesn't matter." "Nor the judge." "Nor the people in the orchestra seats." "Or even you, Skipper." "I listened to my story." "I brought in my own verdict." "You will please rise." "Department 14, Superior Court." "In the County of Los Angeles, State of California, is now in session." "The Honorable Charles Fletcher, judge presiding." "Please have the jury brought in." "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon a verdict?" "We have, Your Honor." "Please hand the verdict to the bailiff." "Mr. Clerk, will you please read the verdict?" "People of California against Lawrence Ballantine." "We, the jury, in the above entitled action..." "The court will come to order." "The court will come to order." "To complete the record, the clerk will return the verdict." "We, the jury, in the above entitled action... find the defendant, Lawrence Ballantine," "not guilty."