"This racketeer is dead, and this man is on trial for his murder." "Is he guilty?" "Or was it the victim' shopworn wife?" "You still trying to prove I killed my husband?" "The defendant' wife?" "Did you find the missing witness?" "The seedy defense attorney?" "My whole case depends on that witness." "The hot-tempered young mobster?" "So, I was married to her." "So what?" "His powerful father?" "He was brutally murdered for no reason." "Or was it someone else?" "Match wits with Ellery Queen and see if you can guess who done it." "CELEBREEZE:" "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," "Wednesday night, March 17, St. Patrick's Day..." "Nick Danello alone in his apartment." "A man comes to see him..." "Linville Hagen." "Hagen is angry." "He believes that Nick Danello is behind an extortion ring and is trying to take away his business." "Never mind whether the charge is true." "It's enough that Lin Hagen believed it to be true, and he has admitted that." "The words become more heated." "Hagen takes out the pistol he's brought with him." "He takes aim and fires in cold blood, putting an end to Nick Danello's life." "How many shots were fired?" "How far apart?" "A minute?" "Five minutes?" "No one can agree, but you can agree on this..." "Linville Hagen owned that gun." "His prints were found on the weapon." "The paraffin test proved that he had fired the gun." "JUDGE:" "Order in the court." "Order in the court!" "CAMPBELL:" "The prosecution is wrong." "There was a woman in that room, a woman in a green dress whose identity we do not know, a woman we've tried unsuccessfully to locate for the past four months." "Lin Hagen was pleading with Nick, his back to the open window." "Both Danello and the woman were facing the window." "As they argued, a shot rang out." "Lin Hagen turned around just as a pistol was tossed into the room through the window." "Unaware that it was his gun," "Lin Hagen fired two shots, but missed." "He turned back into the room." "The woman had disappeared, gone without a trace." "So, Nick Danello was dead, and Lin Hagen had been framed..." "beautifully framed." "Yes, the gun was Hagen's, stolen from his desk." "Yes, his fingerprints were on it." "And, yes, the gun had been fired... two shots to try to bring down the killer of Nick Danello." "The prosecution would like you to forget that three shots were fired that night." "The prosecution would also like you to forget that the woman in that room could corroborate every word of Lin Hagen's statement." "From her vantage point in that room, she probably saw the face of the murderer." "That's why she ran, that's why she's hiding, and that's why the police department hasn't been able to find her to this very day." "With that information, we couldn't find Harry Truman in the White House." "Yeah." "Lin Hagen isn't a murderer." "He's a respected member of this community, a happily married man, a much-decorated war veteran, a partner in a prospering air-freight business." "Can you honestly believe that he'd jeopardize all of that, just throw it out the window by committing a cold-blooded murder that he couldn't possibly get away with?" "Even an animal like Nick Danello isn't worth taking that kind of a risk." "But there are people with good reason for wanting to kill Nick Danello, perhaps to kill him safely by framing another man, so as not to incur the wrath of a vengeful father, a grieving widow, or of a young man who has publicly vowed vengeance" "on the killer of his older brother." "I got the story." "Listen..." "Hey, quick, quick!" "[All asking questions simultaneously]" "You know, the D.A. Said that your boy was shaking down Hagen." "What do you say to that?" " Shut your mouth, will you?" "!" " Hey, is that a threat, sonny?" "James, don't do that!" "My son didn't know this man Hagen." "He was brutally murdered for no reason." "And I'm confident the jurors will agree." "Perhaps you call that justice, Mr. Flannigan." "I do not." "Nothing can replace a lost son or a beloved husband." "Now, you must excuse us, please." "Yeah, what about the lady in green, Danello?" "What do you know about her?" "Leo, quote me some odds..." "what are his chances?" "Oh, realistically, 50-50." "The jury doesn't know who to believe." "They could be out three hours or three days." " I'm not covering any bets." " Yeah." "Oh, Inspector, sorry about that little shout I gave you in my speech." "I had to try to reach the jury." "Actually, I think you've done a terrific job of looking for that girl." "Well, thank you." "Well, I guess I'll go get some briefs ready, just in case." "See you back here when there's a verdict." "Bye." "I have to go back to the office." "Can I drop you somewhere?" "Huh?" "No." "No, thanks, Dad." "I want to see if Priscilla's all right." " Okay, see you later." " Okay." "Ellery." "Why don't you two grab some lunch, you know, take some time?" "I got a feeling that jury's gonna be out quite awhile." "That's what I told her." "I'm not hungry." "Hey, come on, lady..." "you want to fight, huh?" "We say eat, you eat." "Get you a good steak over at Charlie's." "We'll get Ellery to pick up the tab." "I'd like to, but I have to pass, really... a couple things I have to check out." " Ellery?" " Yeah?" " Thank you." " What for?" "I wasn't much help." "Well, for believing, I guess." "Oh, hey, hey, you're the ones he's counting on, you know?" "There it is, sonny..." "March 17th, three-star final." "Thanks, Hobby." "Thank you." " Looking for anything in particular?" " No, I'm just looking." "[Door opens]" "Did you ever think your old college chum just might be guilty?" "Oh, hi, Flannigan." "I heard you were down here, Junior." "Hey, Hobby, how about getting us a couple cups of coffee?" "Yeah." "Want anything in it?" "Uh, black is fine." "Make mine Irish, in honor of the St. Patrick's Day murder." "This ain't no bar." "You keep it in a broom closet, top shelf, behind the Dutch cleanser." "12:55... the jury's been out an hour." "I give them till 3:00..." "plenty of time to make the two-star." "I've already got my lead..." ""That little lady known as justice got her skirts dirty yesterday." "She turned her back on a gritty young guy named Lin Hagen whose only crime was ridding this city of a parasite named Nick Danello." "Next thing you know, they'll be arresting sanitation workers for getting rid of the garbage." "Gentlemen." "Thank you." "I don't know." "There's something wrong." "Something doesn't fit." "I can feel it." "Hm?" "Mm." "I'll tell you what's wrong, Junior... it's that cock-and-bull story about the witness." "What witness?" "A girl with no name... a description that fits a thousand dames." "And why weren't the cops able to come up with one single set of her fingerprints in that apartment?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "Well, for whatever it's worth, Junior, I think Lin Hagen's a nice guy." "His lawyer did a heck of a job." "Maybe they'll buy it." "I don't know." "I hope so." "But, you know, war changes a lot of guys, Junior." "They give them a gun, teach them how to shoot people." "After a while, it gets easy." "Oh, he was framed, Flannigan." "And whoever did it knew that Lin was going to Danello's." "[Telephone rings]" "They took his gun." "Hobby here." "It's for you, Mr. Queen." " Me?" " Yeah." " Anybody know you were here?" " Only my dad." " It's a verdict." "Wow." " Hello?" "He..." "Yes, this is Ellery Queen." "L-I'm sorry, Miss." "You'll have to speak up." " I can't hear you." " Yeah." "WOMAN:" "I have to see you." "Please." "Who are you?" "I'm the one they're looking for, the witness in the St. Patrick' Day murder." "What?" "The newspapers said you were trying to help." "You've got to help me." "I must speak to the judge." "Where are you?" "The Stafford Hotel on West 45th, room 301." "I know where it is." "We'll be there in 20 minutes." "No." "Come alone." "But my dad..." "I have to tell him." "No, I can't trust anyone." "Come alone, please." "All right, all right." "What is your name?" "What..." "Hello?" "[Dial tone]" "Holy Hannah, the lady in green re-appears, and she's all mine..." "scoop-errific." "Hold it, Flannigan." "I'm going alone." "Not on your press pass, Junior." "You heard what she said." "Look... either I come with you, or I go to my desk and put her on the wire services." "Some of the radio stations will have it on the air before you get there." "You come with me." "Now, you wait in the hall while I talk to her." "For a story like this, I'll wait in a broom closet." "[Gunshot]" "Junior, the window!" "Same M. O... ." "A shot through the window and then down the fire escape, only this time the killer didn't leave the gun behind." "That's not the only difference." "She's still alive." "All right, out of the doorway." "Move it." "Let him through." "Move it!" "Are you ready?" ""The lady in green, the mysterious missing eyewitness to the St. Patrick's Day murder, was gunned down in broad daylight moments before she was about to give this reporter an exclusive interview."" "Never mind how I found her." "Are you getting this down?" "No, no identification yet." " Now, read that back to me." " You got anything yet, Maestro?" "I don't even know her name yet, Velie." "Whoever she is, she wasn't anxious for anybody to identify her." "I wonder if there's anything in the drawer or in the closet." " I'll take a look." " All right." " Oh, this is interesting." " You got something?" "Classified ad..." "looks like it might be from the personals." "It reads, "D.L., I must talk to you about Nick."" "Signed..."A.D." No date." " I wonder what paper it came from." " What paper what's from?" "That's the typeface they use at the Gazette." "D.L." "D. L... ." "The girl?" "Oh, probably, sure, and A.D. Would stand for..." "Armand Danello." "Sure, Danello knew she was in the room that night, she went into hiding, and he put an ad in the paper." "Ah, but did she answer it?" "Maestro, I found this in the woman's pocket in the closet... a pack of matches." "Ah." "Club Carioca..." "I know where that is." "It's a little dive over on East 52nd Street." "Yowza, yowza." "A few months ago, a couple of Danello's muscle boys moved in and took the club over." "Flannigan, wait a minute." "I don't remember reading that." "Those transactions aren't usually reported in a funny paper, Junior." "Anyway, the word was, the old man was gonna give the club to Nick, but after he was killed, he transferred it to Nick's ever-Ioving." " His wife..." "Yvonne?" " You got it." "You know, this frame's starting to fall apart, Junior." "Like a cheap shirt, it's beginning to fray at the cuffs." "The Danello's family is in this up to their armpits." " Velie?" " What is it, Maestro?" "Photo of the woman." "Now it's your turn, Flannigan." "Well, she's with some John." "You know, from the dress and the hairstyle," "I'd say that picture was taken before the war." "PA:" "Orderly to second-floor recovery." "Orderly to second-floor recovery." "Hi, Doc." "How is she?" "Still unconscious, having a lot of trouble breathing." "Now, it looks to me like she broke her nose a few months back and it just didn't set right." "Doctor, for the moment," "I don't want anyone to know who that woman is or what she's doing here." "I understand." "I'll let you know if there's any change in her condition." "Okay, thank you." "It's okay." "Don't apologize." "Here's the dope on that ad..." "it was placed March 20th." "Three days after the murder." "What else you got?" "What else?" "That's it." "You think they keep records of 75-cent classified ads?" "Hey, what about Armand Danello?" "Been able to locate him yet?" "Flannigan, don't you have someplace to go?" "Now, one thing I don't understand, Dad, is how she knew where to find me." "She called me at headquarters." "I thought it was one of your girlfriends, and I told her you were at the Gazette." "I don't know why she didn't tell me who she was." "That's what I'd like to know..." "why me?" "Why not call Leo Campbell, the defense attorney?" "One more thing..." "is she really the lady in green?" "She fits the description." "So do half the girls on the Roxy chorus line." " Inspector?" " Yeah, Velie, what do you got?" "A name to go with these prints." "Dottie Lomax." "D.L." "Last known city address..." "457 Bleecker Street." "Boy, she's got quite a record, Dad... arrested when she was 13 for soliciting." "Not exactly a blue-ribbon witness." "No, but the kind of gal who'd make a run for it instead of sticking around for the police the night Nick Danello was killed." "Well, look at this... she was committed twice for psychiatric examination." "Maybe she's some kind of a screwball that just wants to get her name in the paper." "There's on way to find out." " Velie?" " Yes, sir?" "I want two plainclothesmen on this floor round the clock." "Yes, sir." "As for you, Flannigan..." "Inspector, I'm a man of my word." "None of this hits the press until you give me the high sign... or until somebody else finds out about it." "Then all bets are off." "I'm going to find out whether Dottie Lomax is really who she says she is." "Come on, son." "Oh, no." "PA:" "Duty resident to admitting, please." "Duty resident to admitting." "Take your time." "That's the woman who was with Nick Danello that night." "You sure, Lin?" "Sure, I'm sure, Ellery." "That's her." "Dottie Lomax." "Why don't you sit down, Ellery?" "Dad, Lin identified the photo." "It's cut-and-dried." "Dead fish are cut-and-dried." "The judge can't declare a mistrial because your friend identified her photo." "We don't know what she saw." "Maybe she saw Hagen kill the guy." "Oh?" "Oh?" "That why Lin's been hounding you for months to find her?" "Come on, Dad." "That doesn't make any sense." "Well, what does?" "Four hours, and there's no verdict." "They're certainly taking their time." "Ellery... is it true?" "Did you find the missing witness?" "Where do you hear that, Mrs. Hagen?" "I was at home." "A reporter called me." "He wanted an interview." "Flannigan!" "What did she say?" "Nothing, Priscilla." "The point is..." "The point is she's in custody and being interrogated at the moment." "[Door opens]" "Leo?" "Priscilla." "[Sighs]" "I'm afraid it's business as usual." "The judge refuses to act until he hears what the Lomax woman has to say." "For Hagen's sake, I hope her story checks out." "Call me when she's well enough to talk." "We'll notify you." "What does he mean, "well enough to talk"?" "Well, they found the woman, but she's been shot." "Now, she's still alive, but she hasn't been able to say anything yet." "Mrs. Danello." "Hello, Mr. Queen." "You still trying to prove I killed my husband, or is this a social call?" "I never thought you killed Nick." "Well, you sure ask a lot of questions." "Why not?" "If my friend was on trial, maybe I'd do the same thing." "Sit down." "Eddie?" "No." "No, thanks." "You a teetotaler, Mr. Queen, or don't you like the company?" "Old-fashioned." "Old-fashioned." "I've been sitting here by this phone, waiting since 2:00, trying to decide whether I was going to laugh or cry when the verdict came in." "So far, crying's ahead by a nose." "If you're looking for the old man," "I already told the cops I haven't seen him since we left the courtroom." "He went his way, and I went mine." "Which way was your way, Mrs. Danello?" "You mean, where I was I all afternoon." "Oh, I mean, you said you've been here since 2:00." "I'd like to know where you were before then." " What's the difference?" " Oh, curiosity." "Oh, the curious Mr. Queen." "Let's just say that I took a long walk in the park and I fed a couple of pigeons and... and I got thirsty... very thirsty." "Did you finish your drink?" " I've had enough." " Good." "I've been a good little hostess, Mr. Queen, so why don't you do me a favor and go away?" "And don't come back, ever." "Okay." "Oh, just one more thing, Mrs. Danello... when was the last time you saw Dottie Lomax?" "Who?" "Dottie Lomax." "Never heard of her." " Yeah." " Dad, I just came from..." "Yeah, yeah, all right, I'll tell him." " Bad news?" " No news." "The jury's deadlocked, been taken to their hotel, sequestered for the night." "Oh." "Frankly, Inspector, that's good news for me." "The longer the jury stays out, the better Lin's chances." "FLANNIGAN:" "Get your hands off me, you big ape!" "Haven't you ever heard of freedom of the press?" "!" "Here he is, Inspector." "I found him hanging around Armand Danello's apartment." "Just trying to get a story." "Blow my case, you mean." "Flannigan, you gave me your word." "And I kept it." "Look, Inspector... two editions have already hit the street." "Now, city desk is holding back because that's the deal, but I can't wait much longer." "The jury finds out she's still alive, there could be a mistrial." "But they've just sequestered the whole bunch." "That means no radio, no newspapers." "Could be a leak." "Well, Staten Island could sink into the harbor at midnight." "I got a job to do, Inspector, a sacred trust." "[Telephone rings]" "Yeah?" "Yes, Doctor?" "What?" "Yeah, yeah." "Yeah, I understand." "Thanks for letting me know." "Dottie Lomax died 15 minutes ago, never gained consciousness." "Well, sorry to hear that, Inspector, but I can't sit on this story much longer." "You'll sit on it, or you'll sit in jail." " You can't do that." " I can't, huh?" "Velie, take this gentleman down and book him for... hanging around." "Look, you can't get away with this." "Wait." "Wait." "Wait." "Wait." "Wait a minute, Dad." "Wait a minute." "Why don't we let Flannigan print his story?" "Ellery, are you out of your mind?" "Just hear me out." "Somebody tried to kill Dottie Lomax." ""Tried to"?" "They succeeded." "Suppose he thought that she was still alive." "Then he or she might try again." "You mean you want me to print the story the way it is." "Junior, that's dishonest." "I got a reputation." "Yeah, we know all about your reputation, Flannigan." "If you caught the killer, Flannigan, you'd be a hero." "If my city editor didn't kill me first." "Well, Winchell caught Lepke." "There's your chance, Flannigan..." "the story, as is, or no story." "5 bucks ante or what?" " 5 bucks." " 10 bucks?" " Make it 10 bucks." " All right, 10 bucks." "Inspector, has the Lomax woman backed up Hagen's story?" "Haven't been able to talk to her yet." "Is it true about Hagen's identification?" " Was he able to pick out her picture?" " Yes." "Does that mean that Hagen's off the hook?" "Nobody's off the hook until we get a deposition from Mrs. Lomax." "And when do you expect that?" "Sometime tomorrow." "Now, that's all." "That's it." "But the press has a right to know." " Oh, Mr. Queen." " Huh?" "Oh, hiya, Doc." "On that Lomax woman... after we learned her name, we found a record of prior admittance down in the emergency ward." "Mm-hmm." "Yeah, it was March 13th, I believe." "Yeah, a Friday." "Anyway, it looked to me like somebody had worked her over." " Did she say who?" " No." " Did she come in alone?" " Yeah, came by cab." "We patched her up real fast, and then she refused any X-rays." "Hey, you remember that broken nose of hers?" " Yeah." " I think that's when she got it." "It's crazy, you know?" "People come into the hospital for treatment, and you try to help them and then they..." "Maestro!" "Where's your dad?" "Answering questions, for a change." "What's up?" "Something pretty interesting..." "I got it from the Hall of Records... an anonymous tip." "What is it?" "Dottie Lomax... nine years ago, she was married." "But it didn't last long because the groom's father found out about it and had it annulled." "Take a look." " Jimmy Danello?" " That's right, Maestro..." "Dottie Lomax was married to Nick Danello's brother." "I thought this was your night to do the dishes." "Maybe I ought to go down there." "Can't just hang around here all night." "Ellery?" "Huh?" "Huh?" "Maybe I ought to go to the hospital." "What's the matter, Dad?" "Aren't you feeling well?" "No, no, I mean maybe I ought to be there just in case somebody makes an attempt on our so-called witness." "No, you know you can't do that." "If you're seen down there, you might scare them off." "Yeah, I know." "I know." "And how long are you going to dry that glass?" "Oh." "Dad, Velie knows what he's doing." "What are you looking at?" "Huh?" "Oh, Dorothy Lomax's arrest record." "It's from January 23, 1930." "13 years old and self-employed." " Strange, strange." " Huh?" "What is?" "August 12, 1940, she was arrested for possession of opium." "Attorney of record..." "L.R. Campbell." "Leo Campbell." "[Doorbell rings]" "You expecting someone?" "No, but I'll get it." "Come in." "Mr. Queen, I understand your father's looking for my son and me." "I saw the news story in the Gazette about the shooting of that woman this afternoon, but I had no idea you were looking for us until an hour ago when I returned home." "And where were you so conveniently out of town?" "I left my son and my daughter-in-law outside the court." "My driver took me to a little roadhouse out on the Island, where I had a light but tasty luncheon." " Where's the roadhouse?" " Silvano's in Amityville." "Amityville?" "Mr. Danello, you drove nearly 50 miles for lunch?" "To be perfectly honest with you," "I conducted some private business afterwards, but none of that is any of your affair." "Murder is our affair, and we'll check that out, believe me." "Now, what's this about a racetrack?" "Well, like I told you, I..." "I went to Belmont to play a hot item in the fifth." "The hot item came out cold, so that... that finished the track." "Can you prove it?" "Uh, yeah, I saw a couple of guys there." "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I can prove it." "Jimmy, who won the Daily Double?" "[Sighs]" "I don't bet the Daily Double." "Now, look, Mr. Big Shot..." "[Speaks in foreign language]" "Inspector, you obviously think that either my son or I had something to do with the shooting of that girl in the hotel room this afternoon." "It had occurred to me." " Ellery, show him the picture." " All right." "Now, you recognize her?" "Oh, excuse me." "It's an old photo." "Jimmy?" " No." " Neither one of you know her." "I've met a lot of people, Mr. Queen." "Well, I can understand that, but perhaps this will refresh your memory." "Jimmy, when we found out that you were married to Dottie Lomax in 1939 for 11 days, it wasn't hard to find the chapel." "They had a duplicate of this picture." "So, I was married to her." "So what?" "Does that mean I killed her?" "No." "But it's strange that the missing witness to your brother's death turns out to be your ex-wife." "No, I'll tell you what's strange." "You know what's really strange?" "Your mind... that's what's strange, the way your mind works." "You know what I think is strange, Mr. Danello?" "I think you knew she was the girl." "I think you tried to pay her off, scare her off." "That's ridiculous." "I think she knew something about your son's murder, something you didn't want to have come up at the trial." "I think she was hiding out so we couldn't find her." "And for some unexplained reason, she came back, and when she did, she was shot." "Not by me." "I had no idea she was the girl in Nick's apartment that night." "No?" "Then maybe you can explain this clipping that appeared in the personal's column of the New York Gazette." "It was placed three days after your son was killed." ""D.L., I must talk to you about Nick."" "Signed..."A.D."" "I know nothing about that." "Another D. L?" "Another A. D?" "Another Nick?" "And only three days after the murder?" "Oh, amazing!" "It's a frame, Pop." "Somebody's trying to put the screws to us." "For once, I think my son is right." "Any further questions are gonna be asked through my attorney." "Come on." "As for Miss Lomax, as soon as she's well enough to talk, you'll very quickly learn" "I had nothing to do with that attack upon her." " Cocky old bird, isn't he?" " Yeah." "You know, maybe he knows something he's not supposed to know, like the fact that Dottie's already dead." "[Telephone rings]" "Yeah?" "Yeah, Velie, what do you got?" "The Maestro's plan paid off, Inspector." "You caught somebody?" "Not exactly, but somebody sure tried to finish what they started." "A big basket of flowers just arrived for the Lomax woman... a bunch of roses and three sticks of dynamite." "This is the way it was delivered, Inspector." "Hey, watch it, Velie." "Don't worry, Inspector..." "the guys at the bomb squad said this thing wouldn't go off in an A-bomb attack." "The writing's all cockeyed." "It's strictly amateur." "Well, that lets Armand Danello off the hook." "If there's anything that old boy isn't, it's an amateur." "But somebody thinks that girl's still alive and is trying to keep her quiet." "Speaking of keeping people quiet, Inspector, how long do I have to sit on this story?" "I can't even sleep." "A little longer, Flannigan." "At least now we got something to work on." "Those flowers had to come from somewhere." "So did the dynamite." "We're on it already." "Well, I'm glad to hear it, Inspector." "But something better happen pretty soon." "I don't want to get shut out of the biggest story of the year." "You need me for anything else, Inspector?" " No, you can go, Velie." " See you later." "Well, I guess I better get some sleep, too." " Leo?" " Hmm?" "What's your middle initial?" "My what?" "Your middle initial." ""R," as in "Robert."" "Why, are you gonna give me an engraved cigarette lighter?" "No, no, I just wondered why you didn't tell us you knew Dottie Lomax." "What?" "According to her arrest record, she was defended some years back..." "August 1940." "...by an L.R. Campbell, on a drug possession charge." "1940?" "Inspector, in 1940, I was an ex-cop that got lucky and passed his bar exam." "The only cases I had were when some judge felt sorry for me... not that I'm doing that much better today, but back then it was night court the whole way." "You know what that is... pickpockets, vagrants, prostitutes..." "the dregs." "Sure, I guess I..." "I might have defended Dottie Lomax, but don't ask me to remember it now." "Good night." "What do you think?" "I think that I don't know why Dottie Lomax was killed." " You know what I think?" " No." "I think I'll go home and go to bed." " Morning." " Hiya, Terry." "Any verdict?" "No, they're still locked up in the hotel." "Well, that's a real break on that Lomax woman, huh?" "She been able to say anything yet?" " Not yet, no." " Oh." "Terry, suppose you had a small plane here at Idlewild and you wanted to fly, say, to Amityville." "How much time would that save over driving?" "They do have an airport?" "Yeah, they've got a small one." "About half-hour, I guess." "Why?" "Just curious." "Hey, how was lunch yesterday?" "Lunch was fine yesterday." "Charlie has great steaks." "Yeah." "We didn't go to Charlie's." "We went to Nedick's, and we got a couple hot dogs." "And then we took a walk in the park." "And then she went home and waited for word." "And I came here to get my mind off things." " How's that?" " It's fine." " I'm not looking for an alibi." " Oh, you're not?" "No." "Terry, I called New Orleans, and..." " Oh, Ellery." " Hi, Priscilla." "What's happened?" "Has there been a verdict?" "No, not yet." "Priscilla's been a big help to me here since Lin's been gone." "You know, the work's piled up." "Yeah, I can't sit around the house all day and nothing to do." "You know, Ellery's very curious as to our whereabouts yesterday, Priscilla, when that girl was shot." "In fact, I think we're under suspicion." "Look..." "I checked with Charlie's to find out what time you got there, what time you left." "The fact is, you never showed up." "Yeah, well, that makes us suspects." "Look... somebody framed Lin for that murder, and somebody killed the one woman who could corroborate his story." "Now, I'm not Dorothy Dix." "I see the way you two look at each other." "What are you trying to say?" "Uh, Terry and I... do care a lot about each other, but nothing has happened between us..." "[Telephone rings]" "I wish I could explain." "You already have." "Ellery, it's your father." "Thank you." "Dad, what is it?" "Ellery, drop whatever you're doing and get down to the courthouse as soon as you can." "Is the jury coming in?" "They are, and from what I've heard, all hell's breaking loose." "Last evening, this newspaper was smuggled into the hotel room of one of the jurors." "Within minutes, each and every one of them was aware of the existence of this so-called "lady in green,"" "a witness whose story has not been heard in court, who may not even be the woman the defense is searching for, who, in fact, will not and cannot corroborate anyone's testimony because she is dead." "Your Honor..." "Your Honor, that witness was the key to my whole case." "Please be quiet, Mr. Campbell." "But, Your Honor, my whole case depends on that witness." "Sit down, Mr. Campbell, or I shall be forced to find you in contempt." "Now, I don't know who is responsible for leaking that report, but I intend to find out." "Someone has made a mockery of this trial, wasted weeks of the court's time and thousands of tax dollars." "I have no choice but to declare a mistrial." "The jury will be excused with the thanks of the court." "Your Honor, I assure you I had no knowledge of this." "I certainly hope so, Mr. Campbell, for your sake." "But, Your Honor, my client has been held in custody for 11 weeks now and is in jeopardy of a retrial through no fault of his own." "I respectfully submit, Your Honor, that the court set bail in the amount of $1 and permit my client to return to his home." "I will hear arguments tomorrow morning at 10:00 in closed session." "Meanwhile, the defendant is remanded to the custody of the bailiff." "Court is adjourned." " Oh, Lin." " It's okay, honey." "It's okay." "Lin, you will be on the streets by 11:00 tomorrow morning." "I promise you that." "We'll see." "Well, Dad, looks like we start all over again." "I wouldn't count on it." "You can't cross-examine a dead witness." "Tom Calabrese knows that." "10-1, the D.A. Will drop the whole thing." "No, no, Commissioner." "Yes, it's true." "I did permit Flannigan to print the story knowing the girl was dead." "Yes, sir, it was my idea." "Yes, sir, but..." "Sir..." "Come on, Dad." "It wasn't your idea." "It was my idea." "Why are you taking the rap for me?" "Because I'm wearing the badge." "Anyway, I still think it was a good idea." "Why are you so glum?" "Your college buddy's off the hook." "You should be celebrating." "Well, it's not exactly an acquittal, and it sure doesn't solve the murder of Dottie Lomax." "Well, well, well... my old friends, Queen père and Queen fils." "Turn around, Junior, so I can see your other face." "Flannigan, what are you doing here?" "Just returning to the scene of the crime, where I got schnookered out of the story of the year and hung out to dry." "Oh, wait a minute, Flannigan." "We had no idea that the D.A.'s office told the judge that Dottie Lomax was dead or that he'd reveal it in open court." "But they did, and he did." "Hey, what the heck?" "I'm not blaming you guys." "I'm just feeling sorry for myself." "And bleeding all over my floor." "What happened?" "Well..." "I was sitting in a bar... commiserating with John Barleycorn... when I got into a disagreement with this big palooka about his parentage." "Flannigan, let me take a look at that." "Put your head back." "No, I'm okay." "He just got in one cheap shot." "Yeah, so I see." "Your eyes are turning black." "My eyes?" "He got me in the nose." "Well, you see, when your nose is broken, you wind up with two beautiful shiners." "Broken?" "My son the doctor." "Ellery, we'd better get Flannigan to the vet's." "Okay, I'll be with you in a bit." " See you in the car." " All right." "Well, there it is." "Now I know who killed Nick Danello and who probably killed Dottie Lomax." "Now, if you've been paying attention, you probably have it figured out, too." "Oh, yeah, there are a lot of suspects, some of them obvious, some of them not so obvious." "But it took Flannigan's broken nose to complete the picture." "Let's see if we come up with the same solution." "Linville Hagen stands accused of murder in the first degree, and until he's acquitted by a jury, he cannot be permitted to roam the streets of the city at will." "Therefore, the state must insist that he remain in custody and no bail be permitted." "Mr. Campbell?" "No further argument, Your Honor, but in the interest of justice, we do ask that a ruling be made at this time." "The court is prepared to rule." "Having heard both arguments..." "Excuse me, Your Honor." "Yes, Mr. Queen?" "May I approach the bench?" "I have some information that may bear on your ruling." "Step forward." "Thank you." "Gentlemen, will you approach the bench, please?" "Now, Mr. Queen, this is highly irregular." "Your Honor, I'd like to be heard as a friend of the court, an amicus curiae." "Normally, I would not entertain such help from a layman, but your unofficial status with the police department is well-known." "I will permit it if there's no objection from counsel." "The state has no objection, Your Honor." "No objection here, Your Honor." "Very well, but off the record." "Mr. Flannigan... off the record." "Yes, Your Honor." "Got you." "Very well." "Proceed, Mr. Queen." "Thank you." "The very heart of the St. Patrick's Day murder case against Lin Hagen is the identity of the woman who was with Danello when he was killed." "She was the only witness who could verify Hagen's story that Danello was killed by persons unknown, shot through a half-open window, using Hagen's gun, thereby framing him as a killer." "Now, in the light of what's happened recently, we have assumed that Dottie Lomax was that witness, but I'm afraid that's not true." "What are you talking about?" "Lin identified her photograph." "Gentlemen, gentlemen, please." "Won't you be seated?" "Yes, Lin did identify the photograph, but let's go back a little bit earlier." "Lin, could you repeat for me the description you gave the police?" "Yes, I said she was average height, red hair, blue eyes, nice figure..." "nothing special." " Nothing special?" " That's right." "In other words, you provided a description that could have fit 1,000 girls in New York City... 10,000." "Now, look, Ellery..." "This is a statement that you signed at police headquarters." "You described the girl, and then you were asked if there was anything distinctive about her." "Answer..."No, nothing."" "Question..."Any visible moles or scars, anything of that sort?"" "Answer..."No, nothing like that."" " That's right." " Can't be, Lin." "I'm sorry, but on March 13th, four days before Dottie Lomax is supposedly in Danello's apartment, she was being treated at an emergency hospital ward." "Her nose was broken." "Now, even if the facial bruises had healed by March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, she still would have had two very distinctive black eyes." "Now, you couldn't have missed that." "Your Honor, I don't understand this." "This woman isn't just a figment of my client's imagination." "She exists, or at least she did." "Oh, she was real, all right." "She was also real seven years ago when you represented her." "I explained that to you." "You knew about her short-lived marriage to Jimmy Danello, didn't you?" "So what?" "You knew right from the start that she was gonna be your phantom witness." "Lin, who gave you that description you gave to the police?" "Why..." "Leo Campbell gave it to you, didn't he?" "No, no, no, it was her." "Then why didn't you notice the black eyes?" "CAMPBELL:" "Lin, you don't have to answer that." "Leo, it's... it's no use." "It's... it's not gonna work." "Lin, be quiet." "Lin, wouldn't it be better if you told us?" "Mr. Hagen, I suggest you say nothing more until you've conferred with counsel." "No, no, I want to tell you." "I wanted to tell the truth the whole time, but... but I guess I..." "I didn't have the guts." "Lin." "No, l-I killed Nick Danello." "I..." "I went to his place carrying my gun just to scare him, if it came to that." "I begged him to leave me alone." "He said he couldn't, if he... if he let me off the hook, others would get the same idea." "He... he got ugly." "He... he said he was gonna make an example of me, destroy me, me and..." "me and Terry." "He threatened my wife." "L-I don't know." "I just... just lost my head." "I had the gun, and the next thing I knew, he was... he was lying there, dead." "Then you called Leo Campbell." "Well, I'd been seen by the doorman, and I knew it wouldn't be long before the cops arrived." "I could..." "I could already hear people's voices." "Leo told me what to do... open the window, fire two more shots, invent the killer on the fire escape, the... the woman who wasn't there." "Leo?" "Lin is a decent man." "I thought he should have a chance." "I knew that Dottie Lomax would go along." "She hated the Danellos because of the annulment." "It took me a couple of weeks, but I finally found her working in some grind joint in Jersey." "I..." "I offered her money, and she agreed." "Agreed?" "Agreed to perjure herself?" "Yeah." "It would have worked, too, if it wasn't for them, if they hadn't found her and shut her up because that's the way they do things!" "That's a lie!" "You're a liar!" "JUDGE:" "Order in the court!" " Order in the court!" " James, sit down." "Sit down." "Your Honor, I've heard enough." "I quite agree, Mr. Calabrese." "The defendant is remanded to the custody of the bailiff." "And as for Mr. Campbell," "I presume the district attorney's office will take the action required concerning his conduct." "We intend to, Your Honor." "Uh, Your Honor." "Excuse me, but there is just one more thing, one more question that I'd like to address to Mr. Campbell." "Go ahead." "Leo, why didn't you put Dottie Lomax on the stand when you had the chance?" "I guess I just lost my nerve." "I kept holding her back, you see." "I thought maybe we could win without her." "Besides, if the jury brought in a verdict of guilty," "I could always bring her forward and ask for a new trial." "Oh, I'm sorry, Leo, but you weren't holding her back." "You didn't change your mind at the last minute, either." "You knew that she couldn't face a cross-examination." "You knew right from the start..." "that you were planning to kill her." "Your Honor, how long do we have to listen to this?" "Dottie Lomax as a live witness, subject to cross-examination, was of no value to you whatsoever." "But dead... well, how do you cross-examine a corpse?" "Leo, you waited till the jury was charged, and then you sneaked a copy of Flannigan's story into that hotel so a mistrial would be declared." "Lin knew who had been bribed to testify for him." "So, it was easy for him to identify the picture." "It all fit, and it all worked because no one could prove it wasn't the witness." "You know, Mr. Queen, this is still a court of law." "You do have to prove charges like that." "Three days after Danello was killed, this item appeared in the paper." "Do you recall it?" ""D.L., I must talk to you about Nick." Signed..."A.D."" "Now, there's no way Danello could know about Dottie because Dottie hadn't even been reached yet." "You remember what you said just before?" "It took you two weeks to locate her." "Only one person could have placed this ad in the paper three days after Nick Danello was killed..." "You." "Three days after Danello was killed, you were already planning to murder her." "Yeah." "That first night, when Lin called me and told me what happened, who it was he'd killed... all I could think of was great big headlines." "Publicity... that's what makes the difference between an ambulance chaser and a Clarence Darrow." "I don't know if you can tell me who was voted most likely to succeed in your class, Ellery, but I sure can tell you who it was in mine."