"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "Hey, got a sledge?" "( speaking indistinctly )" "She's in tight, Pete." "All right, Charlie, come on." "Let's get her rolling." "Here." "( grunts )" "Pete, I just totaled our progress and I made a projection on the completion of the access road." "Now, at 3,000 cubic yards per unit" "That's figuring the mean average units per day for the past two weeks." "I think that we-- Now, look." "Look, Chet." "Even if I understood this schoolbook talk of yours" "Which I don't half the time." "mean average units are not going to tell me what I've gotta know." "Do we finish the roadbed on time?" "We just about live or die on that one." "Well, Mr. Mallory, on your very first contract with your own company" "I am pleased to inform you that the access road will be completed a day and a half ahead of schedule." "Now, now, wait a minute, Pete." "There's nothing wrong about that, is there?" "Back on schedule again, considering all the delays and the trouble we've had." "Wrong?" "Chet, do you realize what this means to me?" "Sure." "Another week and there'll be more money than we know what to do with." "Yeah, money." "Money and a lot more." "Chet, couldn't have done it without you." "( horn honks )" "PETE:" "Hello, Stu." "Pete." "Chet." "How's it going?" "Hi." "Good, good." "Got enough money to last me another week?" "Chet, here, he figures we'll make it on deadline." "Hey, wonderful." "Remind me to give you a lifetime pass to Bentonville Park." "Heh." "The perfect vacation resort." "Well, you can forget about that pass." "Just you make that payment on deadline and I'll be happy." "The minute you finish, I pay." "Excuse me, Mr. Benton." "Company coming." "Gentlemen, I'm Sergeant Landro." "Is one of you Stuart Benton?" "Well, that's me, officer." "What can I do for you?" "Peter Mallory?" "I'm Mallory." "What's the trouble?" "This access road you're building from the south side of the lake to the north side, you responsible for it?" "Yes, I am." "What about it?" "Well, Mr. Mallory, it seems you've been trespassing." "Trespassing?" "A Mr. Ames is the owner of the west sections of land up to the high-water mark on the lake." "He claims your road and equipment both are on his private property." "Well, there must be some mis-- Easy, Pete, easy." "Officer, I'm sure Mr. Ames is mistaken." "Afraid the judge will have to decide that, sir." "Mr. Benton?" "For you." "Mr. Mallory?" "For you." "These are court orders to stop all the work." "Stop all the work?" "You can't do this." "I've got men up here." "I've got equipment." "Sorry, Mr. Mallory." "But I'm afraid you've also got trouble." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "The Mallory Construction Company rushing a project to completion, huh?" "( chuckles )" "I've seen more life in a graveyard." "Benton told me what happened." "Thanks." "You know, Harry, this could be my graveyard, weren't for guys like you." "Your equipment's in good shape, though." "Layoff gave us a chance to do some servicing." "You go to court tomorrow?" "Yeah, we get rolling right after that." "Don't worry, we'll come in on time." "Ooh, I am not worried about that." "Uh" "What about your crews though?" "They gonna work without pay?" "With this delay, just paying my crews is gonna take every cent I have to finish the access road by deadline." "And you expect me to carry the rental on my stuff until then?" "Well, Harry, I am just asking for credit for a week or so." "What's the problem?" "Well, I don't like courts and I can't afford charity." "Sorry, Pete." "I gotta have your check by tomorrow or I am going to have to pick up the equipment." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( dramatic theme swells )" "STU:" "Oh, you give me the right price and there'll be nothing but Galaxy Outboards sold on my lake." "The exclusive concession for the right price." "How about it?" "Well, look, I've got the same deal with Southwest Gas, an exclusive concession for the right price." "Oh, Artie Hellman himself told me to call you." "( indistinct speech over phone )" "I'll have my wife send you the literature, hm?" "Why don't you sit down, Pete?" "Thanks, Sheila." "Okay." "I'll see you next week." "Bye." "I just talked to Harry Parker." "He wants that check by tomorrow or I'll lose the gear." "He can't do that." "PETE:" "Look, Stu." "I need that advance payment now, not next week." "Well, according to your contract," "I can't pay you till you've completed." "Oh, no, look, look." "Don't worry." "Now, tomorrow in court the judge will say Ames is wrong." "That means he's liable for any losses you've had." "Yes, but I'll have to sue." "I can't wait that long." "Well, who says wait?" "Right from the courtroom, we'll go directly to the bank." "We get a loan on your pending suit, hm?" "PETE:" "Well, can we do that?" "STU:" "Of course." "So don't worry." "The judge will be fair and we'll win." "He's already got the new survey I had Phil Edwards make out." "I tell you there's no problem." "Well, I sure hope you know what you're talking about." "Bentonville." "The perfect vacation resort." "( chuckles )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "Gentlemen, I have compared the surveys as submitted by both sides." "The court finds for the plaintiff, Mr. Ames." "Defendants are permanently enjoined from entering upon or occupying the property without the express permission of the plaintiff." "But Your Honor, the survey." "Agrees as to the boundary line." "What?" "Mr. Mallory, your equipment trespassed." "But" "But what about Benton's land?" "Mr. Benton is not involved." "The fault is clearly yours and yours alone." "Please, Your Honor" "Bailiff, the next case, please." "Stu, what about the bank loan?" "What are we gonna do?" "Your Honor, there must be some mistake." "Please, Your Honor." "Stu." "Stu, how about the loan?" "Pete." "Pete, I'll find out about this." "Call me later." "I know, but the bank loan." "Well, I don't have the time to talk right now." "Now, about those escrow contracts," "Consolidated contacted me about a sweetheart of a proposition..." "Mr. Mallory." "I'm sorry." "I realize how financially embarrassing the court's decision must be for you." "Embarrassing?" "Mr. Ames, I'm just about wiped out." "I just wanted you to know there was nothing personal about this where you're concerned." "Benton wouldn't have bought that north side from your daughter without an easy access road around the lake." "You appear to be the innocent bystander who's being hurt." "What you need is an attorney of your own." "There's just got to be a mistake somewhere." "There's a man named Perry Mason." "He isn't my attorney, but he's a friend and coming to my house tonight." "Now, if you would like me to arrange an introduction," "I'd be very happy to." "But where could we have been mistaken?" "Where?" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Eighty-four point seven, frontline J?" "Check." "That's it." "But it checks out, Pete." "They're right." "There is no access strip." "There never was." "Only, I don't understand." "Let's go out to the site." "Again, Pete?" "We measured twice." "Well, I can't-- I can't believe it." "How could it happen?" "Two other guys get in a fight and I'm left holding the bag!" "It happens." "It happens." "It doesn't happen!" "When Ames first served those papers we measured it and we were right." "It looked like it was, Pete, but it couldn't have been." "Well, you measured and I checked the map, remember?" "Yeah, yeah." "Look, Pete, why don't you go home?" "I can't believe it." "I checked it." "I checked and it was right." "I" "What's the matter?" "It's-- It's the wrong one." "It's a different map." "That's impossible." "It's got to be the same." "Yes." "Sure, it looks the same, all right." "Even" " Even with the smudges." "Somebody went through a lot of trouble to make it look the same." "Oh, no, no." "You're wrong, Pete." "You're wrong." "Yeah." "They even copied the telephone number up here on the right hand corner just the way I did." "Only they didn't know that I erased it later." "But Pete, why would anyone wanna change the map?" "Where are you going?" "( car door slams, engine starts )" "( tires screeching )" "( ringing )" "Bentonville Park." "Sheila?" "Chet." "Yeah." "The worm has finally turned." "Pete knows." "He just exploded out of here." "( dramatic theme playing )" "What's the matter?" "You fouled up the original survey." "You're wrong, Pete." "My" " My survey is on record at the Hall of Records, it's correct." "Not the one you gave me, it wasn't." "It had to be." "You did it deliberately." "You're crazy." "You filed the right one and handed me a ringer." "Only who paid you to do it?" "But-- Who?" "!" "What are you talking about?" "I tell you, who paid you to do it?" "!" "PHIL:" "Get away from me!" "PETE:" "Who?" "( crashing )" "( ringing )" "PHIL ( over phone ):" "Hello?" "I have to speak to Stu, hurry." "It's Mallory." "He's like a crazy man." "He's coming to your place now." "( in Southern accent ):" "I'm sorry, but you have the wrong number." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Put this in the car for me, will you, dear?" "I, uh, wanna look over some papers." "Uh, when will you be back?" "Oh, hard to say, uh, two, three days at the most." "Fine." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( ominous theme playing )" "STU:" "Pete." "PETE:" "I want to talk to you." "STU:" "Look, I've, uh" " I've got to go out of town for a few days." "Stock-issue business." "I don't have time to talk right now." "PETE:" "I've got the whole story, Stu." "I thought you might want to hear it." "What story?" "I just came from Edwards." "I knew I couldn't make a mistake and run through that boundary line without a push from somebody." "Now, look, Pete, uh, before you say anything" "Quiet!" "No more talk." "You've kidded me long enough with talk." "I'll make it good, boy." "I'll" " I'll give you back every cent." "I promise." "Pete, don't lose your temper." "Pete!" "Pete!" "( crashing )" "( typewriter clacking )" "( gasping )" "Hey, lady." "( groans )" "Oh, please." "My husband, he beat me." "He tried" "Well, the only reason I got away was because somebody drove up." "Oh, please, you've gotta help me." "All right, lady." "Take it easy." "Take it easy." "Here we go." "( panting )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Don't come any closer." "He's dead." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "I've been phoning all over town for you." "Where have you been?" "Just driving around town." "Trying to think." "Chet, we're all washed up here." "Let's pack and get out." "Get out?" "After what happened?" "What are you talking about?" "Stuart Benton was murdered tonight, beaten to death." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "MASON:" "That's a great technique." "Florentine, isn't it?" "Mm-hm." "She has a wonderful touch." "Miriam promised one for my, uh, apartment." "And I promised her 25 hundred dollars for her favorite charity." "You did?" "When was that?" "Just before you moved to San Francisco." "You know, I haven't seen too much of your daughter either." "( knock on door )" "Mr. Mason?" "MASON:" "Yes." "I need your help." "I think I just killed a man." "( dramatic theme playing )" "All right, sergeant." "Thank you very much." "Stuart Benton was killed by a blow on the back of the head with a blunt instrument." "Blunt instrument?" "I just hit him in the face with my hand, that's all." "Did he fall?" "Yeah." "Did he strike his head when he fell?" "No, I don't think so." "He just fell in the middle of the room." "As far as I can remember, he wasn't even knocked out." "Did you ransack the room before you left?" "No, I didn't do that." "I left just after I hit him." "I didn't touch a thing." "Why did you hit him, Mr. Mallory?" "He just stood there, not a hair out of place." "A no-good, four-flusher looking like he just stepped out of a fashion plate." "After all he had done to me, how could I help it?" "Mr. Mason, I don't like to hurt people." "But something just boiled up inside of me." "I just had to shove my fist in his face just once." "All right, Mr. Mallory, I believe you." "But before I promise anything, I want to speak to Mr. Ames." "Will you wait here, please?" "Well?" "Well," "Mallory's involved in a murder." "He wants me to represent him." "I thought I should talk to you first." "I assume you consider I'm involved in some way?" "The victim was Stuart Benton." "Evidently, he was killed between 9:30 and 10:00 this evening." "I see." "Mallory, Benton, my land and my daughter's." "Yes." "There-- There would be an involvement." "You're a good friend, Jim." "But you understand if I do represent Mallory, my first duty would be to him." "Between 9:30 and 10, eh?" "Let's see now." "Oh, yes." "Yes." "I remember." "Right after dinner I excused myself to answer the phone." "Said I'd be right back but I was gone..." "How long was it?" "Uh, about an hour?" "Perry," "I'm a bad host, perhaps." "But, uh, not a murderer." "Then you don't mind my taking his case?" "You have a free hand as far as I'm concerned." "I like Pete Mallory." "Go on, go on, help the man." "( dramatic theme playing )" "They're beating the bushes for Mallory." "How nice we have him in a hotel instead." "We?" "Am I, uh, breaking the law again?" "Not even bending it, Paul." "He's registered under his own name." "But we do need a couple of hours before he surrenders himself." "What else have you found out?" "Well, the murder weapon was one of those, uh, steel markers they stick signs in the ground with." "What time did, uh, Mrs. Benton and the sheriff discover the body?" "Uh, 9:50." "Mallory told Perry he left at 9:40." "That's ten minutes' difference." "And he denies ransacking the place." "Well, it was ransacked all right." "They're looking for a missing briefcase." "Paul, Benton was packed for a trip." "Do they know where he was going?" "No." "Mrs. Benton doesn't know either." "They asked her." "See if you can find out, and fast." "All right." "Uh" "Check back through the office." "Will do." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( car engine starts )" "Thank you, Harry." "A moment, please, Mrs. Benton?" "May I talk to you?" "I don't feel like talking to anyone now." "Uh, this is important." "Come on, mister, you heard what the lady said." "She doesn't wanna talk to anybody." "Go ahead, Mrs. Benton." "She called you Harry." "Could that be Harry Parker?" "Look, mister, I never did like reporters." "They're always prying." "I've got nothing to say to you." "Della." "You know where Mr. Ames lives?" "Yes, I've been there." "Well, I'd like a copy, if I can get it, to the sales contract between Miriam Ames and Benton for the north side parcel." "Tell Mr. Ames it's important, otherwise I wouldn't ask for it." "Mm-hm." "Also, while you're talking to Mr. Ames, uh, just casually" "Mm-hm." "Mata Hari, front and center." "( chuckles )" "Casually find out why, after being away for a good year or so he suddenly returned from San Francisco." "In time to get a restraining order on Pete Mallory on that access road?" "Right." "Pick me up here when you're finished." "By that time I'll have finished talking to a gentleman named Parker." "(engine starts)" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "MASON:" "As I understand it, the Sheriff's Department is all through here." "Now, look here, friend, I told you I didn't want" "I am not your friend." "I'm not a reporter." "I'm an attorney representing someone involved in a murder." "I'm sorry." "I didn't know, Mr...?" "Mason." "Now suppose we have a little talk, Mr. Parker." "Sure." "Anything I can do?" "You just helped Mrs. Benton to her car." "Where was she going?" "She went to the Blue Arrow Motel." "Can't blame her for not wanting to stick around here, can you?" "Does she plan to continue with the park project?" "It's funny you asked." "I just made her an offer to take it off her hands." "How strange." "You didn't seem to believe very much in the park project the other day when you pulled all your equipment away from Pete Mallory, now did you, Mr. Parker?" "Hello." "Hello." "I'd like to see Mr. Ames, please." "Well, he isn't here right now, I'm afraid." "May I help you?" "I'm his daughter, Miriam Ames." "Oh, yes, perhaps you could." "I'm Della Street, Perry Mason's secretary." "Oh." "Mr. Mason's representing Pete." "Uh, Mr. Mallory, isn't he?" "Uh, yes, that's right." "Well, what did you want to ask my father, Miss Street?" "Actually, I think it's something of yours that Mr. Mason wants." "Your copy of the contract covering the sale of the north side property of the Bentonville Park Estates." "Well, of course, if it would help Mr. Mallory." "It's right here in the study." "Won't you come in?" "Mm-hm." "Mr. Mason was here last night." "He talked about being impressed." "Very impressed with one of your paintings." "Oh, nonsense." "But, uh, he didn't mention your being here, Miss Ames." "I got in this morning." "Oh." "Here it is." "Thank you." "Does your father plan on, uh, living here for a little while?" "Miss Street, I assume your questions reflect Mr. Mason's interest." "My father came down here from San Francisco because he received a phone call" "An anonymous phone call." "telling him that somebody was building a public road across his own private property." "That's all I know." "( knock on door )" "Come in." "Mr. Stark?" "Chet Stark?" "Yeah?" "Paul Drake." "Private detective?" "That's right." "Mind if I come in?" "( Paul sighs )" "Well, pretty complicated." "I imagine it takes a long time to learn a thing like this." "Not something, say, a private detective could pick up without training?" "No, not very well." "Look, Mr. Drake, is there, uh, something you want?" "Something I can, uh, help you with?" "Mr. Stark, as I'm not horning into your racket, would you mind telling me what an engineer is doing making like a private detective?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "No?" "Three people:" "The reservations agent at the airport, the desk clerk at the El Mirador Hotel in Juárez, and the leading divorce attorney in Juárez." "Each told me what I wanted to know." "Plus, one other thing:" "That I was the second person to ask." "The first person asking questions was you." "( scoffs )" "So?" "So we both went to a lot of trouble to find out that Stuart Benton was going to stay at the El Mirador Hotel in Juárez while he obtained a Mexican divorce from his wife, Sheila." "All right, we were both curious." "So there's nothing wrong with that, is there?" "I get paid to be curious." "And I made my investigation the day after the murder of Stuart Benton." "You made your investigation the day before." "And a lot of people, including the police, are going to want to know why." "I'm afraid that's my business." "Yours and Sheila Benton's?" "How did you know?" "I didn't know, Mr. Stark." "I just had a hunch." "I know how upset you must be, Mrs. Benton." "But if you can help us it might mean you'd be saving a man's life." "Look, would you just leave me alone?" "I'll find out, as will as the police, if there was something between you and Stark." "I'll also find out the rest of what happened last night." "The rest of what happened?" "Pete Mallory will swear that one of the reasons he struck your husband was because your husband was almost aggravatingly immaculate within seconds of what you've described as a knockdown-dragout fight." "And for some special reason of your own, you wanted that deputy sheriff with you." "Why?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "You do know that your husband was flying to Mexico to get a divorce." "But you didn't want that, did you?" "Oh, no." "Mr. Mason, please, you've got it all wrong." "It's not what you think." "If you won't tell me the truth, what can I think?" "Only that you were afraid of being cut off without a cent." "And that you" "Or that you and Stark took advantage of Mallory's fight with your husband by killing him." "No!" "We only wanted to stop Stu's cheating." "His" " His pushing people around." "His double-dealing." "Oh, look, you" "You didn't really know what he was like." "His sweet-talking women, and his" "His" " His hoodwinking businessmen." "He" " He was a con man." "If he was a con man, then Bentonville Park wasn't a legitimate operation?" "It could have been." "But it wasn't." "( sighs )" "It was like that everyplace we went." "You see, Stu was too clever to ever actually break the law." "You see, he'd tie up some big, potential subdivision for practically nothing, and then he'd sell off concessions, and then he'd take advance payments right and left." "And got away with it?" "Well, there was always some convenient middleman, like Pete Mallory." "Stu would set up litigation." "Not against himself, always against the contractor." "And then the litigation made it impossible to complete the development." "In this instance, he hoodwinked Mallory into building a road on somebody's private property." "Yes." "That's right." "The court stopped Mallory and the project was stalled." "Stu was legally out from under so he'd just fade away with his pockets full of cash." "Oh, but I couldn't let that happen again." "What did you hope to gain by having him arrested on a false charge?" "To keep him here!" "For once, finally, somebody was mad enough to keep yelling until the truth came out." "You mean Pete Mallory?" "Well, he was our only chance." "Nobody ever fought back before." "But if Stu left town," "Pete would have a chance to cool off." "Don't you see?" "It had to be last night because of the blackmail." "Blackmail?" "Well, that briefcase, the one the police couldn't find." "Stu always kept it locked up, but last night he had it with him to take on the trip." "Your husband kept blackmail evidence?" "Against whom?" "Well, I don't know, but it was the only way he had of keeping people in line to" "To keep them from-- Excuse me, I'm Sergeant Landro, sheriff's office." "Sergeant." "You'll be interested in this." "I'm interested in Peter Mallory." "You Perry Mason?" "Yes." "Where is Pete Mallory?" "Perhaps you won't want to see Mallory when you've" "If it concerns Benton being a blackmailer, sir, we already know about that." "We found that briefcase she was talking about." "You found" "It was in a locker at the bus terminal." "Key to that locker we picked up in Pete Mallory's room." "Now will you turn him in?" "There's a warrant says he's wanted for first degree murder." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Now, where was the body found, Sergeant Landro?" "The decedent was lying crumpled in a heap near one of the desks." "I see." "I show you this coat, and ask you if you recognize it." "Yes, sir." "It was found in the rooms of Peter Mallory, the defendant." "It appears to have stains of some sort on the sleeve here." "Did you find out what caused the stain?" "LANDRO:" "Laboratory tests proved it to be blood." "BURGER:" "And what else did the laboratory tests prove about this blood stain?" "That it was the decedent's blood type, not that of the defendant." "It's not." "All right, sergeant, I now show you this steel marker stake." "I ask if this was also subjected to laboratory analysis?" "Yes, sir." "It's the murder weapon." "BURGER:" "How do you know that, sergeant?" "LANDRO:" "Laboratory tests proved there were bits of hair and blood on it that were also the same type as that of the decedent." "It was lying on the floor next to the body." "I see." "Now, finally, I show you this briefcase." "Yes, sir, we checked it out." "It belonged to Stuart Benton." "If it please the court," "I should like this coat, the steel marker, and this briefcase entered in evidence and marked for the people Exhibits A, B and C." "No objection." "So ordered." "Now, sergeant, would you tell us please the circumstances leading up to the discovery of that briefcase?" "While searching the defendant's room, we found the key to a public locker." "In the locker we found the briefcase." "And then it too was subjected to laboratory analysis?" "Yes, sir." "Laboratory tests showed that it had been splattered with blood that was of the same type as that of the decedent." "Now, sergeant, tell me this, was there anything inside that briefcase pertaining to Mr. Mallory, the defendant?" "Yes, sir." "There were some papers and notes in what was apparently Stuart Benton's handwriting mentioning Peter Mallory by name." "Your Honor, since this is a preliminary hearing," "I'm gonna ask Sergeant Landro to describe merely the general nature of those notes about Mr. Mallory." "Well, it was information that could conceivably, uh, well, hurt his reputation if it was passed on to someone sensitive about the use of violence, or concerned about Pete Mallory's temper." "I think that'll take care of the situation." "Thank you, sergeant." "Your witness." "Sergeant Landro, if the defendant had a fight with the decedent and had bloodied his nose, let us say, isn't it possible that blood from the fight was what you found on the defendant's clothes?" "It's possible." "Now, uh, concerning the contents of that briefcase." "Were there, uh, other names on those notes of Benton's?" "I object, Your Honor." "Revealing any additional names from that briefcase at this hearing would be pointless sensationalism, and it might do harm to innocent people." "May I remind the prosecutor that he introduced the evidence and that once having introduced a portion of it, the balance of it is subject to disclosure on cross-examination." "It would appear that the evidence, in total, would be brought out in any superior court trial." "Mr. Mason, are you asking for a full reading of all the material in that briefcase?" "MASON:" "Well, no, Your Honor." "My question is limited to who else, by name, is mentioned in those notes." "JUDGE:" "Prosecution's objection is overruled." "Answer the question, sergeant." "Yes, sir." "Well, aside from Peter Mallory, the only other person even remotely connected with this case whose name was mentioned was Harry Parker." "MASON:" "Thank you, sergeant." "That'll be all." "Uh, you may step down." "Mallory blamed Stuart Benton." "He told me that Benton better get him out of trouble or he'd make trouble for Benton." "Mm-hm." "That'll be all, Mr. Parker." "Thank you." "Your witness." "Mr. Parker, on June 7th you withdrew $50,000 from your account." "On June 8th, Benton deposited 50,000." "Now, you were seen together during that period." "Of course." "It was a loan." "MASON:" "Loan?" "Yes." "No record of it on the company books." "Now, isn't it true that you are a silent partner?" "That you were blackmailed into becoming a silent partner?" "As a silent partner, buying into Bentonville Park meant protecting your initial investment after Benton's death." "It was a sound business deal, was it not?" "Yes, it was." "Mr. Parker, you were at the other end of the squeeze play against Mallory, were you not?" "What I did was absolutely legitimate." "He couldn't pay his debts so I took back my equipment." "MASON:" "When Benton told you that Mallory knew the truth and was going to expose you, what did you do?" "I never talked to Benton." "I didn't know anything until I heard he was dead." "When was that, Mr. Parker?" "When I read it in the papers." "And you can't prove any different." "Perhaps not, Mr. Parker." "No further questions." "I was working late at my office when Mallory came charging in." "It was about a quarter to 9." "Continue, Mr. Edwards." "Well, Mallory kept insisting that he had been swindled." "That somebody had switched the survey charts on him." "He, uh" " He asked" "No." "I guess he told me it was Benton and" "And threatened me if I didn't agree with him." "So you agreed with him?" "Well, I would have agreed to anything at that moment." "Go ahead." "Well, he" " He" "He pushed me and rushed out of my office saying he was gonna get his hands on Benton." "That's all, Mr. Edwards." "Thank you." "Your witness." "Mr. Edwards, do you frighten easily?" "No." "MASON:" "Come now, Mr. Edwards." "Isn't it true that many things frighten you?" "During World War II you were restricted to non-combat duty because of uncontrollable fear." "In 1954 you obtained a divorce charging extreme cruelty and specifying that you were afraid of your wife." "Your Honor, Mr. Mason is embarrassing this witness with questions that are not even germane to this hearing." "On the contrary, Your Honor, the prosecution has stated it wishes to illustrate the mood and temper of the defendant on the night of the murder." "I simply wish to illustrate that this witness was not competent to judge that mood and temper." "You've made your point, Mr. Mason." "Please continue." "Now, Mr. Edwards, if the defendant had reason to believe he'd been swindled, why did he come to you?" "Isn't it true that you were involved by, uh, virtue of having prepared a false survey?" "My charts were correct." "MASON:" "Perhaps those that you filed were correct, but weren't you paid to give the defendant a false survey?" "No." "That isn't true." "No!" "No!" "Your Honor, Mr. Mason is deliberately intimidating this witness." "He's already demonstrated that the man suffers from unnatural fears." "I'm glad the prosecution concurs in that Mr. Edwards has unnatural fears and would tend to exaggerate and distort events because of his own personality." "May I continue, Your Honor?" "Yes, Mr. Mason." "Go ahead." "Now, Mr. Edwards, you did not falsify a survey because of money." "Is that correct?" "That's correct." "Then did you falsify a survey because of fear?" "No." "Well" "I, uh..." "No." "No further questions." "Step down, please." "I call Mrs. Stuart Benton." "All right, Mrs. Benton, Mallory had arrived giving you a chance to break away." "Where did you go?" "I went to get the deputy, like I told you." "And when we got back there, Stuart was dead," "Mallory was gone, and-- And the briefcase was missing." "Thank you, Mrs. Benton." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "Mrs. Benton, you knew your husband was leaving you." "Isn't it possible you used the defendant's arrival to your own advantage by killing your husband before you went to get the deputy sheriff?" "No!" "No,I didn't kill my husband!" "That's a lie!" "Your Honor." "SHEILA:" "That's a lie!" "The defense attorney seems to be accusing everyone of this crime." "( gavel tapping )" "That's quite enough confusion." "This witness is obviously unable to continue her testimony." "This court is adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon." "May we have a moment, please?" "You told me you weren't being blackmailed." "Sorry, Mr. Mason." "It never dawned on me that somebody would make something of it." "Believe me." "What was in that briefcase that concerned you?" "Happened a long time ago, San Diego." "I hit a man, too hard." "They arrested me, spent a couple of nights in jail." "Benton had the records." "I suppose he could have embarrassed me but he didn't need to pressure me into doing that project." "I wanted to do it." "I guess I made it rather rough for you?" "Tell you what, Pete." "I won't let it worry me if it doesn't worry you." "Good enough?" "Good enough, Mr. Mason." "All right, bailiff." "Thank you." "Perry, do you think what was in the briefcase will be damaging?" "I'm more interested in what wasn't in the briefcase." "What wasn't?" "Paul, of course, you have some good contacts with the phone company." "Yeah, I know a couple of dolls down there." "Uh-huh." "Check out those two telephone numbers for me, will you?" "( dramatic theme playing )" "SHEILA:" "I know I would have profited, personally, Mr. Mason, but it was a matter of putting an end to the defrauding of the people my husband had business with." "What you are admitting is that you actually conspired against your husband in an effort to take over the project?" "If a wife must remain blindly loyal to a despicable philanderer who" "Who cheated and stole, and who'd go on cheating and stealing and even blackmail..." "Then, yes, Mr. Mason, I am guilty of a conspiracy." "Now, then, on the night of the murder you left the trailer, altered your appearance to simulate having been beaten by your husband, and went hunting for a deputy sheriff." "How long were you gone?" "About 20 minutes." "So you don't actually know, of your own knowledge, what time Mallory left during that 20 minute period, or whether or not someone else came in and killed your husband?" "No." "Did you kill your husband after Mallory left?" "No, Mr. Mason, I didn't." "But, well, suppose I had." "Would I have taken the briefcase?" "MASON:" "Perhaps you might have taken it to plant in the right place and further convict the defendant." "Uh, one more question." "Who else knew of the briefcase?" "No one." "MASON:" "You're under oath, Mrs. Benton." "Did Chet Stark know of the briefcase and its contents?" "Yes." "MASON:" "Are you and Mrs. Stuart Benton in love?" "Yes." "It was our hope to get married, if Sheila was ever free." "Is that why you both conspired against her husband?" "He had it coming to him." "He had what coming, Mr. Stark, getting arrested or getting killed?" "That's not what I mean." "What do you mean?" "Do you mean you were concerned with what you had coming along with Mrs. Benton?" "A share in the park, a share in $100,000 worth of insurance on Stuart Benton's life?" "What?" "N-No." "No." "You" " You're twisting it all up!" "Then Mallory and Mason went into my study." "Mason came out saying Mallory might be involved in a murder and would I object to Mason defending him." "How did Mallory look when he arrived?" "Apprehensive." "Uneasy." "A little frightened, I think." "So Mallory knew at that time that he was gonna be accused of murder and he deliberately sought out Mr. Mason to get him off?" "The question is improper, Your Honor." "It calls for a conclusion from the witness." "Uh, sustained." "No more questions." "Mr. Mason." "Mr. Ames, there were two important phone calls made on the night of the murder." "One at 8:45, to a number in San Francisco." "And one at 9:00 from that number in San Francisco to you." "Yes." "Mr. Ames, the person Stuart Benton called" "The person who then called you from San Francisco." "was that person your daughter, Miriam Ames?" "Yes." "MASON:" "Mr. Ames, isn't it a fact that your daughter, Miriam, and Stuart Benton were involved in a whirlwind relationship?" "A relationship that suddenly terminated?" "Miriam wrote to me in San Francisco about it." "Stuart Benton came to town, alone." "Apparently an attractive man." "Yes, at-- At first it was just business." "His wanting to buy her property." "But then Miriam became interested in him." "Very much interested in him." "They went out together a great deal." "Her calls and letters implied she had every reason to believe he was seriously interested in her." "But he was careful to always take her to out-of-the-way places, away from town, where they wouldn't be seen." "I" " I sensed what was going on from her letters." "I-- I was deeply concerned." "I" " I tried, without much luck, to warn her." ""Without much luck"?" "Well, Miriam was happy and excited." "She" " She had no reason to suspect Stuart Benton was anything but what he claimed, so she went ahead and signed the land deal without letting me or an attorney even see the papers." "And then?" "His wife showed up in town." "MASON:" "He had fooled her, swindled her, shamed her in her own eyes." "But he didn't stop there, did he?" "She-- She had written him some" "Some rather naive letters." "Because of her seeming indiscretion with a married man, he then tried to blackmail her?" "Yes." "That's why he called her the night of the murder, using those letters to try to extort money from her?" "And that's why, uh, frightened, she then called you?" "Yes, yes, yes." "Did you then leave your home, Mr. Ames, go to see Benton, kill him, and then remove from that briefcase any reference to your daughter?" "No." "So help me." "No." "Somebody removed those letters." "According to Sergeant Landro, they were not in the briefcase, were they?" "I never touched that briefcase." "I never set eyes on it." "Besides yourself, Mr. Ames, who knew Miriam and liked her well enough to have removed those letters?" "Who?" "Pete Mallory." "I see." "This is important, Mr. Ames." "Just how did your daughter meet Stuart Benton?" "He came to the house." "MASON:" "Alone?" "No." "He was brought there by the engineer," "Phil Edwards." "We used to see a good deal of each other." "My wife and Miriam were friends." "In its way, it was a rather chivalrous thing you did." "Mr. Edwards, you did remove the blackmail evidence concerning Miriam Ames from Benton's briefcase?" "Yes." "MASON:" "There was also blackmail evidence concerning you in that briefcase." "Evidence he used to force you to introduce him to Miriam Ames." "Evidence he used to force you to switch surveys on Pete Mallory?" "Yes." "After you removed the evidence, you checked the briefcase in the terminal locker and planted the key in Mallory's room?" "Yes." "And you were outside when Mallory hit Benton?" "And when Mallory left, you went inside?" "Benton was half-unconscious." "The briefcase was on the floor." "It wasn't enough just to get rid of the evidence." "Mallory knew." "I had to discredit him." "And Benton could always talk." "That could mean losing my license, going to jail." "Don't you see, Mr. Mason?" "I" " I was frightened." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Uh, Pete, you did so very well working for other people." "I wonder, whatever prompted you to gamble all the money you had saved and go into business for yourself?" "Well, it meant more money." "More, it proved that I was a real somebody." "Someone who could" "MASON:" "You know, Jim, permitting that access road to, uh, cross your property would get Pete out of a bad hole." "But it would also allow you to have a substantial interest in a profitable venture." "What?" "Me" "Me buy into" "No, no, no." "Not buy, just exchange." "Just deed that one small strip of land, uh, for participation in the entire resort." "AMES:" "But buying into" "Oh, Dad." "Uh..." "Into Bentonville Park, huh?" "Hm." "Why not?" "I've never turned away from a good business proposition." "( chuckles )" "Suppose we, uh-- Suppose we talk about it, eh?" "Suppose we do." "Tell we now... ( dramatic theme playing )" "( noirish jazz theme playing )"