"[Scooter approaching]" "[Whistling]" "Roy Mooney, I think you're positively the most loathsome person I know!" "Hey, baby." "What are you doing out so late?" "This is the last time you'll ever stand me up!" "Stand you up?" "Oh, your school dance!" "Gee kid, I'm sorry." "I said I'd make it if I could" "You promised!" "And I told all the kids you were going to be there." "And all evening they saw me dancing with just boys!" "It was humiliating!" "The boss made me work" "You used the same excuse for my birthday party." "And what about last Saturday night?" "No transportation." "I mean, how did you expect me to get to town--walk?" "Yes!" "7 miles?" "I've got better uses for my energy." "Melinda..." "What's your hurry?" "You just got here." "I said what I came to say." "That's not what you came for." "Oh, Roy, if it weren't for you," "I'd just die in this awful cow town." "But why are you so mean to me?" "I told you." "I've been, you know, busy." "I've got other things to do besides" "[Vehicle approaching]" " But, Roy" " Shh!" "Sounds like my Uncle Martin's truck." "Come on." "If he finds you here, he'll tell your old man." "But you've got lipstick!" "That's a woman's hanky." "What?" "Oh yeah!" "Well, you gave me that the last time we were..." "That's not mine." ""A"!" "Who's "A"?" "So that's why you've been too busy to keep dates with me!" "Who is "A"?" "!" "Come on!" "[Vehicle nears]" "Roy!" "Stay here." "I'll get rid of him." "Mooney!" "Right here, Uncle Martin." "You're supposed to be sorting bulbs." "All finished." "Oh, did you happen to see my wife drive by?" "She back from town yet?" "Haven't seen her since she left the house." "What were you doing out there just now?" "Um, chasing away some kids from town." "They're all gone now, Uncle Martin." "Are they?" "Then whose is this?" "I hadn't noticed it." "I'll teach those delinquents a lesson!" " Aw, now, look, Uncle Martin" " Give me a hand!" "Maybe if they have to walk home once, they'll stay out of other people's property!" "Get in." "You said you were finished with those bulbs, didn't you?" "Yeah." "Get in the truck." "I'll drive you home." "[Vehicle approaches]" "Hello there." "Do girls still have to walk home these days?" "I'm not walking home." "You live in town, don't you?" "Climb in, sweetie." "Virtue needs more reward than it usually gets." "It's very nice of you." "My feet hurt." "Soak them in warm water and Epsom salts." "Is that what you did?" "On a few occasions, and a very long time ago." "I'm Mrs. Martin Walden." "Oh!" "Oh?" "Oh, I just mean that my father knows your husband." "Radio:" "Station KRT concludes..." "That's him." "Nelson Tarr." "Radio:" "We'll return to the air at 6:00 am." "My husband sold him the radio station." "So you're Melinda Tarr." "Do you know my father?" "Yes, we've met." "Is there going to be trouble about you being out so late?" "Since my mother died, he's been awful strict." "I just hope I get home first." "Well, fasten your safety belt." "If we don't make it in time, tell him you went for a ride with Andy." "That's short for Andrea." "Melinda?" "[Dialing]" "[Phone rings]" "Hello?" "Oh, hi, Mr. Tarr." "Well, no, I didn't exactly take her to the dance." "We sort of met there, kind of informal, you know." "Apparently, you didn't bring her home, either." "What do you mean she took your scooter?" "Well, I guess she just felt like a little ride." "She's borrowed it lots of times when she knows I don't need it." "I'll see that she gets it back to you, Jimmie." "Goodnight." "The lights are on." "Your father must have run all the way home from his radio station." "It's only a couple of blocks." "Thank you very much, Mrs. Walden." "Sweetie, don't get involved with the wrong kind of boy." "Next time you might have to walk the whole 7 miles home." "[Door shuts]" "Oh, I must've dropped my hanky." "No, it's mine." "Goodnight, Melinda." "[Footsteps approaching]" "I was under the impression curfew was 11:00." "I'm sorry." "Who brought you home?" "Andrea Walden." "The both of you on a motor scooter?" "Scooter?" "Daddy, did you have to check up on me?" "Melinda, I did not check" "What about Jimmie's scooter?" "You know he needs it for his deliveries." "I don't have it." "I mean, it broke down." "That's why I had to walk home." "I'll get it back tomorrow, don't worry." "She says you used to call her Andy." "Hmm?" "Oh, Melinda," "I, uh, I wish you would stay away from Mrs. Walden." "Why?" "Is something the matter with her?" "Just because she used to be an actress?" "Oh, no, of course not." "It's-- it's just that there's a peculiar situation there." "I mean, I might have some business problems with her husband." "She's so beautiful." "I'll bet a lot of men are in love with her." "That's no way to talk about her, Melinda." "She's a married woman." "Yes, I know." "[Door closes]" "How was the movie?" "There were a couple of old friends in the cast that was fun." "Made you homesick, eh?" "Not particularly." "They're still playing second leads." "I probably would be, too." "You see anybody you knew in town?" "Just your sister." "Frances?" "She never goes to the movies." "I saw her in front of the hospital." "Oh, I did pick up a girl on the road." "She was walking home from a date." "I'll bet she was!" "Maybe those kids'll think twice about trespassing, after this." "What did you do to them?" "I found their motor scooter down by the greenhouse." "So I locked it up." "You didn't!" "Martin, you'll make a lot of friends that way." "That's one thing I don't worry about." "My wife has all the friends." "And away we go!" "Martin, can't you for once" "Who was it this time?" "Tell the truth now." "Well, don't you already know?" "I'm surprised you didn't follow me." "By any chance, are you riding a motor scooter these nights?" "You're asking if it was me down by the green-- where Roy Mooney works?" "Oh, that's very flattering!" "Me and the hired hand-- and your own nephew, at that!" "I noticed you mending a shirt for him the other day." "And he is a man, isn't he?" "Martin, I think you're sick!" "I'm going to bed before I" "[Dialing]" "Mr. Pinter?" "Martin Walden." "I want you to come out here tomorrow." "I have a certain legal matter for you to handle." "It isn't my scooter, Roy!" "I've got to get it back." "I told you, Walden's got it locked up." "He says the owner can come and get it any time." "But I can't go to him." "If he finds out it was me, he might tell my father." "Doesn't your old man approve of me?" "He doesn't even know about you." "But I'm afraid he wouldn't if he did." "Please, Roy." "Mr. Walden's your uncle." "That doesn't mean a thing!" "Then what about his wife?" "What about her?" "Maybe she could be persuaded to help." "Why should she?" "Maybe to make sure that nothing leaked out about her and a-- a certain gentleman." "Don't call me names." "And keep your voice down!" "They're talking about that Mrs. Walden." "Quiet!" "I wonder who she's playing around with now?" "Did you hear anything?" "Uh-huh." "Who is it?" "Tell me!" "No." "No." "You'd spread it all over town." "I ought to slap your face!" "Anyway, I already know who it is." "It's that Mr. Hearn at the bank." "Chris Hearn." "Nah, that's old stuff." "It's somebody else now." "Girls?" "Now, who is it?" "You know, Aunt Frances, when those kids get through shooting off their mouths," "Andrea isn't the only one who may have to leave town." "Have you grown fond of living here?" "It's the end of nowhere!" "Listen, the sooner I leave Palmetto, the better I'll like it." "But I want to go in one piece." "Nonsense, Roy!" "You're being well paid for any risks you'd have to take." "Yeah, but how much will you make out of it?" "I'm not doing this for money." "It's to protect Martin." "Given enough time that woman would ruin him!" "Ah, come off it!" "You're not paying me $1,000 to frame her unless" "Don't you talk to me like that!" "I'm only exposing Andrea for what she really is-- a grasping, immoral woman." "She's just been too clever to get caught." "But this time I'm going to make sure the whole town knows." "Martin will have to divorce her." "And then you'll move back out to the farm, huh?" "If my brother asks me to, yes." "He needs someone to take care of him." "Look, Mr. Hearn, I know the bank is closed." "But if I could just talk to you about this." "I've just been reading your letter." "I" "Well, sure." "Thank you, Mr. Hearn!" "I'll be over there in 5 minutes." "Thank you." "Oh, Harvey, will you watch the store." "I've got to go over to the bank." "May I come in?" "Well, of course." "Andy, what's wrong with that crazy husband of yours?" "Do you know what he's done about my station here?" "He sold my note on it to the bank!" "Now they're threatening to foreclose!" "Unless I come up with the first 3 months payments, they'll take the station away from me and" "Nelson..." "Andy..." "What's the matter?" "Well, I'm leaving Martin." "You're what?" "Well, I really don't have much choice." "You see, he almost threw me out of the house just now." "Why?" "What possible reason" "I told you you ought to keep up with the gossip." "Everybody else knows what a wicked woman I am." "Would you stop talking nonsense!" "Well, he's become more and more suspicious." "But today he became almost completely insane!" "I guess he's heard some new silly gossip." "He almost started hitting me... and, uh, Nelson..." "Andy, can you stay here for a while?" "I've got to go over to the bank." "But I'll be right back." "I'll help you with this." "Honest I will." "Well, I'm surprised that Mr. Walden didn't inform you himself." "The first I knew was when I got your letter, Mr. Hearn." "Well, it's the bank's business to see that payments are made promptly, including all delinquent installments" "But I haven't paid anything on the principal for 3 months." "That was part of my agreement with Walden" "I was to pay the interest payments for the first 6 months." "Oh, really?" "Well, I'll have to check over the contracts again" "It was a verbal agreement." "Oh, I see." "Well, you certainly know that that isn't binding." "Now, Mr. Tarr, we want you to make a go of this venture," "How long do I have?" "Well, uh..." "Let's say we could stretch ourselves to... the end of the month." "Or you'll foreclose?" "Well, let's not consider that possibility yet." "Well, let's!" "I want you to talk to somebody who understands all the legal words." "May I?" "Go right ahead." "Yes." "I understand your bank's position, Mr. Hearn." "It was a sale with recourse." "Yes, I think I have the general idea." "Would you put Nelson Tarr back on the phone, please?" "Nelson, I'd like to read that contract." "In fact, I wish I'd read it before you signed it" "Well, just keep it simple, Perry." "I'm a radio announcer, not" "I don't want to get into a big legal hassle." "A sale with recourse means the bank can come back on Walden for any payments you fail to make." "If he doesn't pay, the bank can foreclose." "And there goes my down payment?" "That's right." "But that's $29,000!" "Every cent I could scrape together!" "It's still possible Walden might honor that verbal agreement." "At least you'd have your 6 months." "Of course I'll give it a try." "All right, Nelson." "Good-bye." "Do you want me to cancel your appointments?" "Well, certainly Nelson Tarr can't afford to lose $29,000!" "[Dialing]" "Chris?" "Andrea Walden." "Well, hello stranger." "How did you know I was working late?" "I just took a chance." "I hope I'm not interrupting." "Well, never." "Nelson Tarr?" "No, he bolted out of here about an hour ago." "I think he went out to do battle with your husband." "Aren't you at home?" "Well, no." "I'm still in town waiting-- what I mean is, I called the house and nobody answered." "I guess they could be down at the greenhouse." "Thanks, Chris." "Mr. Walden?" "It's Melinda Tarr." "I came out to get my scooter." "Mr. Walden, are you in there?" "[Horn honks]" "[Scooter engine running]" "[Engine accelerates, slows]" "[Engine stops]" "Mr. Walden" "Take it easy." "I'll get you out of here in a moment." "He's in the greenhouse." "I think he's dead." "What?" "!" "Here, I'll take care of her." "I'm a nurse." "Thank God you've come along." "I'm afraid she's badly hurt." "She's all right." "Here--help me get her to my car." "My name is Pinter." "I was on my way to see Martin Walden." " Maybe you know him." " He's my brother." "Oh, I'm a lawyer." "Here's my card." "We've got to get her to the hospital." "I'll follow you in a few minutes." "The girl mumbled something just before passing out." "I think it should be looked into." "I'm calling Mr. Nelson Tarr." "Is he there, please?" "Thank you." ""David Pinter-- Attorney at Law."" "It's funny Mr. Walden would bring a lawyer over from Vegas." "That's what the man told me, George, and he gave me his card." "I don't know anything more than that." "Well, any lawyer who doesn't know the laws covering motor vehicle accidents..." "He said he'd follow me into town." "Well, if he doesn't show in a couple more minutes..." "Honey, get me the police station, will you?" "Doctor?" "A nice solid concussion, but the X-rays show no fracture." "Here you are, Chief Delehanty." "Apparently the station's been trying to get you." "Sergeant, there's a man named David Pinter driving a blue" "Where?" "!" "Pinter's over there now?" "!" "Oh." "Yeah." "Right away." "Tell them to wait for me." "Uh. stick around a minute, will you, Doc?" "Ma'am, I'm afraid I have to tell you your brother," "Mr. Walden, is dead." "[Sighs]" "Probably smashed on the temple with that pot." "Then you think it was murder." "Well, there are handier ways to commit suicide." "But the door was locked from the inside." "I had to break the glass there to get in." "Spring locked." "All the killer would have had to do was close the door behind him." "I wish I knew what that Tarr girl was doing out here." "The kid on the scooter?" "Come on, Chief, she's only a child." "Sure, sure." "And Mr. Walden was only the richest man in town." "Oh, brother, is this one going to be trouble!" "Nelson?" "Miss Street, Perry." "Thank you for coming out, but it's too late." "We heard your newscast about Mr. Walden on the car radio." "I saved one item just for you." "I guess I'm the one who killed him." "You guess you're the one?" "I went out there to discuss that verbal agreement with him." "It didn't take too long to turn into a verbal disagreement." "Walden got personal and..." "I belted him in the mouth." "Sit down, Della." "All right, then what happened?" "Well, he went down, and he cracked his head against the table." "You said on the newscast he was struck with a flowerpot." "That was the police theory until I had told 'em what had happened." "Walden must've knocked the flowerpot off the table when he fell against it." "Why didn't the police hold you?" "The bank manager, Mr. Hearn, put up the bail to keep the station operating." "So you're out on bail." "What was the charge?" "Manslaughter." "Nelson, what time did your fight with Walden occur?" "Oh, I guess a little after 6:30." "I was listening to the garden hour on my way out to Walden's." "How did it happen that the police didn't get there until well after 7:30?" "Because of Melinda's accident, I guess." "She was out there around 7:00." "But she fell off her scooter while going for help." "She told this guy Pinter, a stranger, and I guess he couldn't even find the greenhouse for a while." " Excuse me." " Just a moment, please." "Thank you." "Hello." "You're Perry Mason." "David Pinter." "I practice in Las Vegas." "Oh, yes." "Mr. Pinter." "Well, I see somebody didn't waste any time getting a lawyer out from the city or maybe I shouldn't have said that." "Well, I didn't intend to publicize it for a while." "Maybe I didn't recognize you then." "That help?" "It would help more if you'd give me what you know." "Mr. Walden had asked me to drive over to discuss a legal problem." "Just as I turned off the highway, this scooter was right there in my headlights." "The girl's all right this morning, isn't she?" "Ordering milk shakes already." "I can tell you that was a pretty shaky moment last night." "The girl bleeding, dying for all I knew, mumbling something about Mr. Walden being dead in the greenhouse." "Luckily, that nurse came by." "What nurse?" "Mr. Walden's sister Frances." "She's very efficient." "Where did she come from?" "I don't know." "There are a lot of roads through there." "I suppose..." "I really don't know where she came from." "I had some business to discuss with my brother." "I drove out to his place." "But I walked in on a... domestic quarrel, so I backed out again." "I went for a drive." "I thought that by supper time things would have settled down a bit." "I was just on my way back when I saw the accident." "Miss Walden, you don't have to answer this next question." "I don't have to answer any of your questions, do I?" "Mr. Pinter, was Martin Walden's legal problem a divorce action?" "I don't think I ought to discuss that." "Most of your work is in divorce, isn't it?" "Yes." "When did my brother decide on a divorce?" "He first considered it about 2 years ago and then changed his mind." "Then he came to my office last week." "Last week?" "!" "You had no inkling of this, Miss Walden?" "He did phone me from Las Vegas, but I thought he was up there to..." "No, he certainly didn't say anything about a divorce." "But I imagine the grounds were infidelity." "Does that answer your question?" "Yes." "Thank you." "But it poses another one." "The name of the other man?" "I couldn't tell you." "It may be common knowledge around town, but I simply don't know." "Mrs. Walden:" "Yes, I understand, Mr. Hale." "But why do the police need to come here again?" "Oh, you mean, to the house!" "Well, I've certainly tried to answer everything as best I know how." "[Doorbell rings]" "Of course, Mr. Hale, but there's someone at the door, and" "All right." "Yes." "I'll be here." "Mrs. Walden?" "My name is Perry Mason." "Oh, yes." "I heard you were in town." "May I come in?" "What is it you want, Mr. Mason?" "Well, I wanted to meet you." "I've heard a good deal about you." "I could imagine!" "They say lovely things about me in Palmetto." "That attitude may well change now." "Oh, do you really think my bereavement will win that much sympathy?" "I couldn't say." "But the richest woman in any town usually commands respect." "Oh, look--I-- I'm just all upset now." "The district attorney just phoned and-- well, if you're here about Nelson Tarr," "I mean if you're his lawyer" "[Rattling]" "Now wait a minute." "I've got a right to be here." "This is my uncle's house." "Hello, Andrea." "I just came over to see if there was anything I could do." "Mr. Mason, Roy Mooney." "Roy Mooney?" "Why, yes." "Melinda Tarr was telling my secretary" "Now, it's a lie!" "Whatever Melinda says about Andrea and me." "Why would she lie?" "Because she's jealous!" "For no good reason at all!" "Just kid gossip!" "So don't go making something out of my being here!" "I just came over to pick up a jacket she was mending for me." "That's all!" "I don't think you're helping the situation any, Roy." "Now, look--there's nothing between Mrs. Walden and me." "Nothing!" "Tell him, Andrea." "I doubt, Mr. Mason, wants to be lied to." "Mrs. Walden, my only concern is in trying to help Nelson Tarr." " So" " So now you've found out what you wanted to find, isn't that right?" "Goodbye, Mr. Mason!" "No, listen to me!" "Wait!" "I only came in here to get" "You--you let him think we were" "Why didn't you tell him the truth?" "!" "Isn't this what you've been wanting people to believe?" "No!" "Now they've got to know the truth!" "Right?" "!" "What are you trying to do?" "The truth according to Aunt Frances?" "I know what you've been doing, and I know who put you up to it!" "Now, you live with your lying gossip!" "Mr. Hale, my client has already admitted punching Walden." "I know." "I know." "And in California a killing with a fist is presumed to be manslaughter." "But here." "Take a look at this." "Coroner's report?" "Oh, the flowerpot." "Well, if Walden knocked it off the table when he fell" "No, Mr. Mason." "The pot didn't fall." "It was swung with enormous and willful force." "In other words, Martin Walden was murdered." "Well, I suspected almost from the start that someone had gone into the greenhouse after Nelson left." "And, since certain people would stand to profit greatly from the death of such a wealthy man, well..." "Chris, come in here, please." "This is Mr. Hearn." "He's manager of the bank, handled all of Walden's affairs." "Now, only his local investments, remember?" "He had holdings elsewhere?" "Well, so I was led to believe." "For some time he'd been selling off his properties in town to re-invest in Los Angeles, so he said." "Now, the district attorney's asked me to investigate and I've found out there were no such investments." "Apparently Mr. Walden died almost bankrupt." "Perhaps his wife was unaware of that fact." "No, no." "I think Andrea had a pretty good idea of this all the time." "Then a man with ambition who might've been close to his wife" "I see you've already heard some of our gossip, Mr. Mason." "Well, let's just say I think I know the name of the man" "So does Mr. Tarr." "Isn't it true, that you were Andrea Walden's lover before and after she married Walden?" "No!" "That is not true!" "Well, I guess we'll just have to prove that in court, won't we?" "Mr. Mason, we're charging your client with first degree murder." "Then what happened, Melinda?" "Well, I had to get back the scooter!" "Jimmie needed it for his deliveries." "So I phoned Mr. Walden." "And he said to come out and get it." "He'd leave it down by the greenhouse." "He agreed so easily?" "Well, I did have to beg him a little." "In my office didn't you tell me you had to appeal to Mr. Walden on the basis of a family friendship?" "Well, my father did buy the radio station from him." "That's what persuaded him to release the scooter?" "Maybe not exactly, no." "Well, what else did you tell him?" "Well, I--I mentioned that my father was also a friend of Mrs. Walden." "But didn't Mr. Walden already know that?" "I thought he did, or I wouldn't have said anything!" "But--but I guess he didn't." "I didn't know it myself until..." "Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry!" "Mr. Walden came to my office in Las Vegas about 2 years ago and consulted about a divorce." "Apparently there was a reconciliation because he dropped the matter." "Did you have any further contact with him after that?" "Not professionally." "I frequently ran into him in the casinos, however." "Do you mean he was gambling?" "Well, uh, losing would be a more accurate description." "I remember seeing him drop nearly $10,000 on 2 different occasions." "A couple of weeks ago the matter of the divorce came up again." "And the night before the murder he called me and asked me to drive over here to see him." "For what purpose?" "Well, he didn't specify on the telephone." "However, he had on several occasions mentioned that if the divorce were to come up again, he wanted me to represent him." "So I assumed that that was the legal problem he referred to." "Did he ever indicate to you what would be his grounds for divorce?" "Not in so many words." "He did mention, however, that his wife was having an affair with, as he put it, one of her old Hollywood cronies." "For the past 2 years, Mr. Walden has disposed of holdings worth no less than a quarter of a million dollars." "So that on the day of his death how much was left?" "Practically nothing." "And as far as I've been able to find out, everything is gone." "Mr. Hearn, besides yourself, was there anyone else in Palmetto who might have known the deceased was approaching bankruptcy?" "Well, as far as I know, just his wife." "Mr. Mason?" "Mr. Hearn, was it through you that Mrs. Walden learned of her husband's insolvency?" "Well, I told her that Martin had lost a great deal of money and if he didn't stop making bad investments he'd go broke." "Was concern for him your only motive, Mr. Hearn?" "It was a sufficient one." "Weren't you perhaps motivated by friendship and concern for Mrs. Walden?" "Yes, I consider Mrs. Walden a friend." "But that's all she's ever been regardless of any gossip you might have picked up along the way." "If there was any truth in such gossip, do you think for one minute Mr. Walden would have continued to have done business with me?" "Hmm." "I'm sure I don't know, Mr. Hearn." "That's all." "The witness may step down." "I call Dr. Oldham to the stand." "The cause of death was a blow on the temple by a heavy object." "From tiny fragments imbedded in the wound" "I'm satisfied Martin Walden was struck by a flowerpot." "Thank you, Doctor." "No more questions." "Your witness." "From previous testimony, Doctor, the time of death has been put forth as approximately 6:30pm." "Now, couldn't you be a little more definite?" "Fixing a time of death is always a bit speculative." "And in this case, our most reliable factor of measurement-- body temperature-- has been confused by the place where the murder occurred." "The extreme temperature in the hothouse probably inhibited the rate of cooling of the body, so that, uh" "What you're saying is that in this case, the time of death cannot be determined with any accuracy whatsoever?" "No." "No, it really can't." "And therefore, the murder may have been committed an hour later than 6:30?" "Well, an hour later or even an hour earlier." "Earlier, Doctor?" "Well, there's really, uh-- there's really no way of pin-pointing it." "Thank you very much." "What's that mean?" "Maybe somebody finished Walden off after I left the greenhouse?" "Or before." "You mean he was already dead when I got there?" "Don't you know?" "Look, I told you I had a quarrel with him, and I hit him." "Do you think I'd lie about a thing like that?" "!" "You might, if you're protecting someone." "Are you?" "Yes, I knew Nelson Tarr when we both worked together in radio years ago." "Mrs. Walden, some years ago, was an operation performed on you in a Los Angeles hospital?" "Yes, for appendicitis." "I hold here in my hand a statement from that hospital showing the bill was paid in full by the defendant." "That was a loan." "I repaid it as soon as I got back to work." "Is that the only way you repaid him?" "I'm referring, Mrs. Walden, to the purchase by the defendant of your husband's radio station." "I told him it was for sale." "Was your husband aware of what you did?" "No." "But Martin was anxious to dispose of the property and I knew Nelson Tarr had always wanted to own a small radio station." "Did the defendant tell you this before moving to Palmetto?" "It was in a letter." "Oh, then you'd been corresponding with him?" "Just Christmas cards-- nothing more-- with occasionally a note enclosed." "What were your relations with the defendant after he came to Palmetto?" "We were friends, though we seldom saw each other." "Mrs. Walden, in a statement given by you in my office, did you not admit to several recent, clandestine meetings with the defendant at out of the way roadhouses?" "Well, I..." "I met Nelson a few times." "But it was only because I was so upset about Martin." "You see" "And weren't you so concerned about my discovering this, you tried to lead people believe it was Roy Mooney you were involved with?" "!" "No!" "I mean, I didn't want people finding out" "And on the day of the murder, was it Nelson Tarr, the man whom your husband accused you of having an affair with?" "!" "But that wasn't true!" "Thank you, Mrs. Walden." "I believe that's all." "Mr. Mason?" "Mrs. Walden, how did you meet your husband?" "Well, he wanted to publicize his nursery in the garden supplement of the Sunday papers." "The advertising agency wanted a lay-out with a girl in it." "I got the job and came up here with a photographer." "Naturally, I met Mr. Walden, and after that he came to Hollywood several times to see me." "After you were married did he become jealous, possessive?" "Yes." "And did he ever accuse you of being involved with other men?" " Yes." " Nelson Tarr for one?" "It didn't matter." "It was any man." "He'd pull names out of the air." "Now following the quarrel on the day of the murder, what did you do?" " I left the house." " And?" "And I took my troubles to Nelson Tarr." "According to previous testimony, the defendant left the radio station to go to the bank and later, to the greenhouse." "Now, how long did you stay in that office of his?" "Until Mr. Tarr returned." "You were alone all that time?" "Except for the other announcer." "But the other announcer was occupied in the studio, wasn't he, Mrs. Walden?" "Yes." "Then actually, there is no one who can verify your claim that you remained in his office." "Isn't that so?" "I suppose so." "Mr. Mooney, you didn't appear until long after the body had been discovered and taken away." "But since you admit you were in a nearby field, can you explain how it was that you didn't see or hear all that activity?" "Sure." "I, uh, wasn't working in that field." "It was dark already." "I'd tuned on my portable radio." "I was listening to the fights." "I suppose someone can verify that." "I was alone." "Tell me, were you on friendly terms with Mrs. Walden?" "I never had anything to do with her." "And anyone who says I did is a liar." "But didn't you have a handkerchief in your possession the night before?" "A woman's handkerchief with a monogrammed "A" in the corner?" "How did it come into your possession?" "Did you borrow it?" "Did you steal it?" " Now look" " And if so, why?" "Why, Mr. Mooney?" " I don't know!" " It's a very simple question." "Why did you flaunt Mrs. Walden's handkerchief in front of Melinda Tarr?" "Objection, Your Honor!" "Counsel is badgering the witness." "He has asked 4 questions without allowing the witness to complete any one of his answers!" "I think you might slow down a little, Mr. Mason." "Very well, Your Honor." "Mr. Mooney, would you please tell this court how you acquired a handkerchief belonging to Mrs. Walden?" "It was given to me." "By Mrs. Walden?" "No." "My Aunt Frances." "I don't know why I didn't realize it, but that's exactly what Roy was doing-- using me to start a rumor about Andrea." "It seems to have worked." "But I didn't tell anybody." "Well, it's obvious it was Frances who was trying to break up the marriage." "But apparently the whole stunt was unnecessary." "Why?" "Because Mr. Walden was already secretly intending to divorce Andrea." " [Phone ringing]" " Excuse me." "Go on, Della." "I'm interested." "Well, isn't that the irony of the whole thing?" "The fact that both of them were plotting independently of each other for the same result?" "It's for you, Mr. Mason." "Las Vegas calling." "Hello." "Yes, Paul." "What have you got?" "Well, not too much so far, Perry." "I did find out that Walden's a bad loser." "He cries to the bartenders a lot." "But none of them ever remember seeing him with a woman." "Wait a minute." "[Loud talking]" "OK." "Now, I can hear you." "You may be looking for the wrong type, Paul." "I'm sending you pictures of Frances Walden." "His sister?" "!" "She told me he phoned her from there once." "I want to know if he called her other times." "What was the name?" "Well, you'd better check that out at the same time." "But hurry, Paul." "I watched my brother become nervous, dispirited, on the verge of a breakdown." "The cause of it all was his wife!" "That's why he gambled his money away!" "That little" "Well, anyway," "I just knew that the marriage had to end one way or another!" "But why was it necessary to fabricate an incident if, as you testified, there were actual grounds already existing?" "Somehow, she was able to convince Martin that it was all completely innocent." "But by that time, it appears your plan was no longer needed because Martin Walden had decided to go on with the divorce for other reasons." "Late that afternoon, I overheard Martin accuse Andrea of having carried on an affair with the defendant over a period of years." "He said that she had arranged for him to buy the station so he could be near her." "And that not only was he finished with her but that he would break her lover financially." "Thank you, Miss Walden." "Your witness, Counselor." "Counselor?" "Shortly after the murder was committed, Miss Walden, did you not categorically deny knowing with whom Mrs. Walden was accused of consorting?" "I told you I didn't know." "And yet, directly thereafter-- scandal or not-- you went to the district attorney and named Nelson Tarr." "By that time I began to suspect that my brother's death was not manslaughter but deliberate murder." "What planted this suspicion?" "Well, when I heard from Mr. Pinter that Martin was going to get a divorce," "I knew that Andrea could be of no financial help to Nelson Tarr unless Martin would die before the divorce went through." "Then you knew that your brother had sold Nelson's note on the radio station to the bank?" "Certainly." "He told me that." "Did you also know that he was gambling regularly?" "No." "No, I didn't." "You never accompanied him on any of those trips to Las Vegas?" "As far as I know, those trips were to the High Sierras-- fishing trips." "Now just a moment, Miss Walden." "When I talked to you on the day after the murder, you mentioned that your brother had phoned you from Las Vegas." "Yes, Mr. Mason, you're quite right." "I did not think it significant at the time that he called from Las Vegas." "There's bass fishing there, I believe." "Miss Walden, how many times did you phone your brother in Las Vegas?" "Never." "Oh, no, I'm sorry." "That one time he called me, I was on duty at the hospital." "He left a number, and I called back-- if that's what you want to think of as my calling." "One moment, please." "Miss Walden, who is Edward Montrose?" "I haven't the slightest idea." "You didn't know that your brother was registered under that name at the ranch where he was staying in Las Vegas?" "Certainly not." "I called the number and Martin answered." "I can think of no reason why he should want to use a different name." "Then let me suggest one." "2 years ago your brother considered divorcing his wife for an alleged indiscretion." "He didn't proceed because he had no proof of the affair." "Probably because it never happened." "In any case, he realized a divorce would mean paying alimony." "And very likely a large alimony since his wife had given up a career of her own to marry him." "Your Honor, I find all this theorizing extremely irrelevant." "I'm not so certain it is, Mr. Hale." "Proceed, Mr. Mason." "To escape paying alimony," "I submit Martin Walden conceived a plan of converting his holdings into cash and then putting that money out of his wife's reach." "Your Honor, this is sheer speculation!" "May it please the court," "I am prepared to introduce evidence proving that the telephone number this woman called was a room occupied by a man who registered as Edward Montrose but who was identified from photographs as her deceased brother!" "All right, Your Honor" "Furthermore, I can show that recent cash purchases of securities have been made, in several different cities, by a man who called himself Edward Montrose." "Go ahead, Mr. Mason." "Now, Miss Walden," "I submit that this whole plan was no secret to you." "And when you went to the greenhouse and saw your brother lying there apparently dead, you decided all that money he'd hidden under another identity" " could be yours." " No!" "Realizing then that your brother was still alive, didn't you take that flowerpot" "No!" "That's a lie!" "I didn't know what he did with the money until" "Until what, Miss Walden?" "Until after he was dead." "I mean" "Until someone told you about the money, isn't that what you were going to say?" "No." "Because of course someone else must have known about your brother's double identity." "Someone must have helped Edward Montrose with his new investments." "I don't know who it was." "Oh, yes, you do, Miss Walden!" "You're only keeping quiet because you still hope to get some of that money." "Isn't that right?" "Well, she shouldn't get it!" "She shouldn't" "I doubt if anyone could have counted on getting that money after your brother's death without Edward Montrose's power of attorney." "Miss Walden, I'm sure the court will explain that you can only make yourself an accomplice by remaining silent or a perjurer by continuing to lie!" "It was Mr. Pinter." "Mr. Pinter told Martin how to do that, how to hide his money in new investments." "He--he handled all that." "I knew that Martin was too stingy to ever lose money gambling." "When I guessed what Mr. Pinter had done, I accused him of it." "Until then, I..." "I had no idea that he was the one who killed Martin!" "Oh, Daddy!" "It's all right, baby." "It's all right now." "Don't cry." "Melinda, you go with Della." "I'll even buy you a malt." "Your father and I will join you in a few minutes." "Daddy, should I invite Andrea?" "Later, maybe." "This one's just for you and me."