"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "( thunder crashing )" "Hello." "Anybody home?" "Please." "Inside there." "I need help." "What the devil do you want?" "Sorry, mister." "But my car's stuck up the road." "Sorry too, but I can't help you." "Please, mister." "Have a heart." "Just" " Just let me use your telephone." "I haven't either a heart or a telephone, so I suggest you" "I guess you'd better step inside after all." "Oh, it's colder in here than it is outside." "( shivers, sighs )" "Say, why did you give me such a funny look out there?" "As though you recognized me or something?" "I thought maybe I did." "Say, you couldn't be, by any chance, the man I was supposed to meet?" "I hardly think so." "Well, does the name Mauvis Meade mean anything to you?" "The lady novelist?" "Don't tell me you're Mauvis Meade?" "No, I'm her secretary," "Gladys Doyle." "I was supposed to pick up a package for her from a man in a cabin somewhere up here." "( thunder crashing )" "Isn't 3 in the morning an odd time to be running errands... even for lady novelists?" "Well, not for Mauvis Meade." "Anyway, if I hadn't gotten lost and then stuck," "I'd be home by now." "You never found the cabin you were looking for?" "No." "I had a map." "But it was raining so hard, all I found was a mudhole... and you and a case of pneumonia." "Why don't you use the bedroom and strip off as much as you think advisable, and...bring your clothes out here to dry." "( thunder crashing )" "Well, what about my car?" "I'll take a look at it as soon as it begins to get light." "In the meantime, I'll heat up some coffee." "( mysterious theme playing )" "( thunder crashing )" "Whew." "Boy, I must look like a mess." "Hair like a wet mop and a face like" "( mysterious theme playing )" "( thud )" "Hey." "Where are you?" "( thudding )" "( thudding )" "( thunder crashes )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "( thunder crashes )" "( mysterious theme playing )" "( door unlocks )" "Oh, no." "Oh." "( door closes )" "( sighs )" "MAN:" "I always wondered where you kept your valuables, Mauvis." "Only it appears I've found out just a little too late." "( sighs )" "Too late, my eye." "I know who did this, Gregory." "You." "Oh, my dear." "I'm a lawyer." "I may break wills and contracts, but hardly ever into the apartments of clients, even if they leave keys in the lock." "If you didn't do it, you had it done." "I deny that." "But what's it matter, after all?" "The damage is done." "They're all gone now." "The names, the places, the times, the dates, the photostats, the photographs." "All the little things you like to use for insurance policies, Mauvis." "I'll get more." "Do you really think that would be wise?" "( chuckles )" "( coins jingle )" "Ah, you know something, Gregory?" "Three years ago, when I was a mousy hack... writing for the confession magazines..." "I used to dream of this" "This, uh" "This lovely apartment... bestselling novel, huge motion-picture sale, fame, money... ( chuckles ) ...to burn." "( sighs )" "Now I'd give just about anything to be that mousy hack again." "Which, of course, is exactly what you would be if you hadn't met me." "That was my unlucky day." "( chuckles )" "How do you plan to explain this, uh--?" "This mess to the maids and the apartment manager?" "Burglars, I suppose." "Which means, of course, you'll have to call the police." "So before you do, I'll just take that package and clear out." "I haven't got it." "I didn't go to the cabin last night." "Why not?" "Well, because, uh" "Because something happened, and I" "( door buzzes )" "That's Gladys." "Your secretary?" "Get rid of her, will you?" "( door buzzing )" "Oh." "I know it's only 8:00, Miss Meade, but instead of going home, I came straight here becau" "What in the world happened?" "I don't know." "Thieves, I guess." "I just got here myself." "Look, what in the world happened to you?" "And where's the package?" "Well, I never found the right cabin." "First, I got lost." "And then when I did hit the right road, I got stuck." "( sighs )" "And then I found a dead man." "( sighs )" "A dead man?" "In a cabin I went to for help." "He'd been shot." "I" "I don't know whether he'd done it himself or whether someone else had." "Well, what did this man look like?" "Well, he was a dark man... in his forties." "An attractive man, Miss Meade." "He" " He looked like one of those men you'd see hanging around gambling joints or" "Or nightclubs." "What did you do when you found him?" "I got out of there, fast." "You notify the police?" "You're the first one I've told." "Gladys, let me have this from the beginning." "GLADYS:" "Well, I left the Summit Inn at a quarter past 12, just like you told me." "And I went to that road." "Dukes Lawton, please." "Gregory Dunkirk." "Tell him it's important." "Oh, I'm sorry about the package, Miss Meade, but all I could think about was getting as far away from there as I could." "Well, the package will keep." "Well, what should I do about the body?" "Well, my first thought is to forget about it." "Look, why don't you go home, get out of these clothes, and then we'll discuss the pros and cons." "Well, you're sure you won't need me here--?" "No, I'm sure I won't need you." "And you, uh" "You'd better get yourself some breakfast too." "( door opens )" "That was Joseph Manley she was describing... wasn't it?" "Well, shouldn't you shed a tear or two?" "My tears are for the package." "I wonder if she could be lying about not having it." "Oh, I've already made arrangements to find out about that." "( mysterious theme playing )" "( door opens )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "Now, good morning, Perry." "( Mason speaks indistinctly )" "Why, sure." "We work hand in glove with the county authorities." "A body?" "Where?" "Yes, I know the Summit Inn." "Scenic shortcut to the main highway." "Yeah, about six and a half miles to the junction." "The cabin on the right, going up." "Yeah, well, how do you happen to know all this?" "Through a client, lieutenant." "Ah." "Professional privilege." "Well, we'll look into it." "Yeah." "Well...now we can go to work ourselves." "( knock at door )" "Did you want me, Perry?" "Oh, yes, Paul." "Miss Doyle, this is Paul Drake." "The Drake Detective Agency." "How do you do, Miss Doyle?" "Hello." "Paul, Miss Doyle is employed by Mauvis Meade, the woman who wrote "Chop the Man Down." Mm-hm." "Yesterday, Miss Meade sent her to the Summit Inn, to substitute for Miss Meade in an interview with a writer named Edgar Carlisle, who apparently is connected with Screentime Magazine." "Della, see if Edgar Carlisle is in the telephone book." "Well, after the interview, and still following her employer's instructions... she left the Summit Inn a little after midnight for a cabin, where she was to meet a man who had a package for Miss Meade." "Only I got lost and then stuck." "While she was trying to find her way, she came across a lighted cabin." "In the cabin, a young man who seemed to recognize her." "And was it the right cabin?" "Oh." "We're not sure." "While she was there, the young fellow vanished." "In one of the bedrooms, she found a dead man, a revolver on the floor beside him." "Homicide?" "Well, Tragg will have to determine that." "In the meantime, send one of your men up to the cabin." "Check over everything up there:" "ownership, the people who visited there... and the identity of the dead man." "All right." "And have a check run on Mauvis Meade." "Well, if she's anything like the picture on the back of her book, that'll be a pleasure." "Have you read the book?" "No, but I hear it's pretty sexy." "And the scoop is that the main plot, about some bigtime tax-dodging operators, was supplied by Miss Meade's great and good friend," "Gregory Dunkirk." "The lawyer?" "Have a thorough check run on him." "Perry...with Dunkirk's underworld connections, he's a pretty dangerous guy to fool around with." "Hm." "So am I. So get going." "( chuckles )" "( mysterious theme playing )" "( doorbell rings )" "Yes?" "My name is Mason." "Yes?" "Mr. Carlisle here?" "Mr. Carlisle?" "Edgar Carlisle." "He writes for Screentime Magazine." "Edgar used to work for Screentime Magazine." "He doesn't now?" "Oh, no." "Edgar's dead." "Dead?" "WOMAN:" "You must have read it in the obituary columns." "This morning?" "Oh, no." "Edgar passed on two months ago after a long illness." "I didn't know." "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Mrs. Carlisle." "Miss Carlisle." "Edgar was my brother." "Seem to have spent Sunday being interviewed by a dead man, Miss Doyle." "But he told me his name was Edgar Carlisle." "And so did Miss Meade." "I'm not lying, Mr. Mason." "Honest, I'm not." "Never occurred to me that you were." "I don't care what you're selling!" "I don't want to have anything to do with you or Edgar Carlisle, or anyone else." "All I'm asking is $1,000, Miss Meade." "Surely the information" "It isn't worth a penny." "I don't wanna get mixed up in this." "Now, you get outta here, and you leave me alone." "I'm sure if you think it over, you'll recon" "Did you hear me?" "I told you to get out of here." "Now, get out." "Get out." "Get out!" "Please." "Please." "N-- N-n-no violence." "Please." "Get out!" "Terrible woman, terrible temper." "I'll never help anybody again." "Never." "Never." "( door slams )" "Look, if you want a broken hand, you" "You, uh, dropped this, Miss Meade." "I threw it... at an obnoxious little man who was trying to sell me something." "( Mauvis sighs )" "Well...now, who might you be, stranger?" "My name is Perry Mason." "MAUVIS:" "Oh, yeah." "Retained by Gladys Doyle." "Well, come in." "Come in, Mr. Mason." "Uh...please sit down." "Can I get you a drink?" "Oh, it's a... trifle early for me." "Ha." "Me too, except on days when people ransack my apartment." "I suppose Gladys told you?" "Anything of value missing?" "Mm-mm." "No, just some, uh, clothes and some costume jewelry." "Luckily, I had my real jewels with me." "I, um" " I hope you haven't come to chide me, Mr. Mason." "I may just burst into tears." "Chide you for what, Miss Meade?" "Well, for telling Gladys to forget all about the, uh... dead man she claims to have found." "Why do you say "claims to have found"?" "Don't you believe her?" "Now, I have no doubt that she got stuck somewhere last night, and she went to some, uh, cabin or cottage or whatever to, uh, ask somebody for help." "But I'm sure the, uh, corpse was merely some man asleep." "On the floor?" "With a revolver beside him?" "Um, you believe her if you want to." "I will too, if it means getting along with you." "You're, um... an attractive man, Mr. Mason." "I'm a very hard-working man, let's say." "Well, maybe it's time you took a vacation." "Mm-mm." "Not while I'm representing a client." "Oh." "Oh, yeah." "I forgot." "It was, uh..." "Gladys who brought you here, not my charms." "All right, counselor, I'm, uh, your witness." "Well, I'd like to know something about that package you, uh, wanted Gladys to pick up for you." "Package?" "I didn't ask her to pick up any package." "Did she say I did?" "Let me ask you something else before I answer that." "Did you, uh... send Miss Doyle to the Summit Inn yesterday?" "Yes." "To keep an appointment with a writer who wanted to do a story on me." "You never saw Edgar Carlisle in person?" "No." "He telephoned." "And when I told him that I usually spent my weekends at the Inn, he agreed to meet me there." "Only I sent Gladys." "She also says you gave her instructions to leave the inn after midnight... take a back road to a cabin, and, there, pick up a package." "( chuckles )" "Well, now, Gladys' imagination seems to be working overtime." "You didn't dictate instructions to Miss Doyle, mentioning the package, and giving her directions, from a map on which you'd drawn a sketch of the cabin and marked its location?" "I told her about a shortcut from the inn to the highway... and I showed her a map on which I'd marked it." "But there were no cabins, I assure you." "Now, would you like see that map, Mr. Mason?" "Yes, I would like to see that map." "( footsteps, floor creaks in room )" "Any luck?" "It's around somewhere." "Ah." "There it is." "What are you doing, Mr. Mason?" "Just checking for wet ink." "( dramatic theme playing )" "I went as far as the door with her, and then I went back to the drugstore to pick up a few things she'd forgotten." "And when I went back, I" "I rang and I knocked." "And no answer?" "She just wasn't there, Perry." "Uh." "I knocked loud enough to wake a riveter." "You suppose we should call the police?" "( knock at door )" "Oh." "Afternoon, Della, Perry." "MASON:" "Oh, hello, Tragg." "What can we do for you?" "Here, sit down." "Well, as a matter of fact, there's something I can do for you." "Tell you some news." "Uh, about the, uh, cabin and the body?" "They were there, all right." "Just where you said they'd be." "Was it homicide?" "Well, the man was shot three times." "Have you identified the body?" "I was hoping you'd tell me who he was." "Oh, well, I can't." "I realize you don't have to answer, Perry." "But this has become a far more serious matter than it was at first." "I'm sure of that... but at the moment, I still prefer not to say what my client knows or does not know." "Why be so cagey?" "Why not just say Gladys Doyle?" "Gladys Doyle?" "Yes." "( phone rings )" "I wish I could say that I unearthed her, but I can't." "The credit goes to the Burglary detail." "Yes." "( man speaks indistinctly )" "Hold on a minute, Paul." "I don't follow you, Tragg." "Well, it's all very simple." "On, uh, burglary jobs, like Mauvis Meade's, the first people you talk to are" "Are maids and secretaries, and the like." "So the officers went to Miss Doyle's apartment." "When they began to question her about the muddy clothes she had on, she told them about the body she'd found." "So they took her downtown?" "Now are you willing to tell me what she told you?" "I'd like to talk to her." "Where is she?" "Well, you'll find that out when they've booked her... counselor." "Booked?" "What could they possibly book her for?" "My guess would be... murder." "( door closes )" "Did I hear you tell Paul to hold on?" "Mm-hm." "He has to talk to you." "Hello, Paul." "Good work." "Has he a family?" "Oh, we'll both go." "I'll meet you downstairs." "One of Paul's operatives has identified the dead man." "He's a gambler working for the Whispering Sands Motel in Las Vegas." "Paul and I are gonna fly up there to talk to his wife before the police do." "See you later." "( mysterious theme playing )" "( knock at door )" "You didn't give me much" "Don't scream." "I won't hurt you." "Just keep your back towards me." "( tense theme playing )" "( door closes ) Where's Mason?" "Uh, h-he's out of town." "Are you his secretary?" "Yes." "Then take this for him." "No, you don't." "Tell him it used to belong to Mauvis Meade." "( door opens )" "( door closes )" "( operator speaks indistinctly )" "DELLA:" "Operator, uh, please get me the Whispering Sands Hotel in Las Vegas." "Yes, please." "Mrs. Manley?" "Yes?" "My name's Drake." "I'm trying to locate your husband." "Well, he's off on a trip." "Trip?" "Where?" "Well, I-- I don't know exactly." "Look, I can't talk to you here." "I'm supposed to be working." "Hm." "You are working, Mrs. Manley." "At least to the extent of one silver dollar." "Uh, two silver dollars." "( shuffles cards )" "Why all the interest in my husband?" "We do some insurance work, Mrs. Manley." "We believe he's the Joseph Manley who witnessed an accident last night near the Summit Inn." "Uh, hit me, lightly." "I'll stand." "The, um..." "Summit Inn in California?" "MASON:" "That's right." "That can't be Joseph." "He's in Arizona on business." "Goes there every weekend." "I'll pay 20." "I was led to believe that, uh, he was employed here." "Part-time." "Like me." "Part-time by... some other people." "Viola, I've gotta talk to you." "It's important." "( sighs ) Excuse me." "( speaks indistinctly )" "I don't know how to tell you this, but he's dead." "Joe's dead." "Some woman killed him." "A-are you sure?" "Are you absolutely sure--?" "It was on the radio." "But... those men said Joe saw an accident last night" "What men?" "Those insurance men." "Insurance" "Viola, those men aren't insurance men." "You" " You'd better go." "Who was that, Mrs. Manley?" "My brother, Caspar." "He told me something... you've apparently known all along." "That my husband is dead." "Mrs. Manley, I'm sorry about this." "But we do have a legitimate reason for being here." "You see, I'm an attorney." "I'm representing the young woman who supposedly... killed your husband." "Caspar didn't tell me her name." "Gladys Doyle." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Gladys Doyle?" "Gladys Doyle?" "Do you know her?" "No." "I-I" "I never heard of her." "( tense theme playing )" "Oh, you made good time, Paul." "Hi, Pete." "Pete Kelton, Mr. Mason, Miss Street." "Kelton's the operative who identified Manley." "Any leads as to... how he happened to be killed up here?" "Well, folks in the area say he was a regular weekend visitor." "Oh?" "But I'm not sure if he rented the cabin, or someone else did." "The owner's a man named Findlay." "But he and his wife are on a vacation down in Lower California somewhere." "Hm." "Oh, the police locked the cabin, Mason." "I wasn't intending to go inside." "When I spoke to Gladys this morning, after she'd been charged... she, um, told me something else about Mauvis Meade's instructions." "In case the man she was supposed to meet wasn't here... she was to look for the package in a coffee can under the porch roof." "Let's see." "This looks like a coffee can." "( grunts softly )" "( slow, mysterious theme playing )" "Should've been empty." "It's a woman's scarf." "PAUL:" "And some .32-caliber shells." "KELTON:" "Well, Manley was killed with a .32." "MASON:" "Well, that isn't the important thing." "DELLA:" "That's the monkey scarf Mauvis Meade was wearing when she was photographed for the back cover of her book." "( slow, mysterious theme playing )" "MAUVIS:" "Mm-hm." "This was my favorite scarf." "At least at the time this picture was taken." "Do you still have the scarf?" "Why?" "Well, if it's as handsome as it appears to be," "I'd like to give one like it to a young lady I know." "Oh." "Huh." "Well, I'm afraid your young lady's just out of luck." "It's a" "A one-of-a-kind item." "In fact, I think I gave that scarf to Gladys." "Why don't you ask her where it is?" "I did." "She said she never had it." "Oh." "Well, Mr. Mason, in time, you'll learn that there's often no relation between the truth and what Gladys says." "Oh, now, I feel sorry for her, with all this trouble, but she asked for it." "Now, uh, what's all this hanky-panky about my monkey scarf?" "Or is that just an excuse to talk to me?" "I did want to ask you one question." "When you reported what was missing after your apartment had been ransacked, didn't you forget one thing?" "Didn't you forget to include a bulky envelope you once showed Miss Doyle, marked:" ""To be opened in the case of my death"?" "An envelope you kept in here?" "That will be enough, Mason." "I'm advising Miss Meade not to answer any further questions." "You'd be, uh, Gregory Dunkirk." "That's correct." "And as Mauvis' attorney," "I suggest you comply with her wishes and leave." "MAN:" "While you still can on your own power, Mr. Counselor." "A bodyguard...and a" "A lawyer." "Mm." "I hadn't realized you were in so deep, Miss Meade." "But since you do have a lawyer," "I'll be only too happy to defer my questions until I have the opportunity of asking them in court... while you're under oath." "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "BURGER:" "Now, referring to this .32-caliber revolver found in the murder cabin and introduced in evidence as People's Exhibit C:" "When this weapon was tested in the police laboratory, were you present, by any chance, Lieutenant Tragg?" "Yes, Mr. Burger, I was." "Well, as a result of the ballistic tests, we were able to report that the slugs found in the deceased's body were fired from that revolver." "I see." "Now, in addition to this revolver, what was found in the murder room?" "Well, fingerprints of the defendant were found on the, uh, footboard of the bed, on the, uh, panels of the door." "And, uh, we also found the defendant's prints in the other bedroom." "I show you these various items and ask if you can identify them for us." "Yes, sir." "They've been marked." "I call your attention to this tube of toothpaste." "Yes, in searching the defendant's apartment in town, we found a tube of the same make." "And I call your attention, now, to this comb." "Yes, sir." "Two brunette hairs were found in the teeth of the comb." "Laboratory tests proved that they came from the head of the, uh... defendant..." "Miss Gladys Doyle." "Did you leave those things there?" "No." "BURGER:" "Now, lieutenant, what else did you find among the effects left behind in the other bedroom?" "The letter... that starts, "Dearest sweetheart--"" "Ah, yes." "Never mind, uh, lieutenant." "I show you this letter and ask if it's the one you're referring to." "Yes, sir." "It has my initials on it." "And what can you tell this court about the letter?" "Well, we found, uh, several latent fingerprints on it, and one clear print of an index finger that, uh, belonged to the defendant." "BURGER:" "Uh, what about the handwriting, lieutenant?" "TRAGG:" "Yes, sir." "Three experts are presently engaged in identifying the handwriting." "Just tell us, please, what the experts are testing for." "Well, inasmuch as we found the fingerprints of the, uh, deceased on the letter paper, and the name, Joe, as a signature, they are testing the handwriting against the handwriting of the deceased." "I see." "If it please the court," "I should like these items that I've just mentioned entered in evidence and marked as exhibits for the state." "MASON:" "Uh, no objection, Your Honor." "Yes, I own that cabin." "Along with a dozen or so others I rent out." "Well, would you tell us, please, when and to whom you last rented the particular cabin we've been discussing?" "Well, a little over a year ago, a woman telephoned me at my office." "She said she'd seen my sign on the cabin, wanted to know what the rental was." "I told her $100 a month." "And she took it." "Well, did you know this woman's name?" "Yes." "Gladys Doyle." "And did you ever see this woman?" "FINDLAY:" "No." "She just kept mailing me the rent, first of every month, in an envelope containing a single $100 bill." "Now, Mr. Findlay, as an experienced real estate man, would you say this was a common way to do business?" "Well, not common, but, uh, not, uh, uncommon, either." "I've had clients like this before." "People wanting to use my cabins for, uh..." "Well, as, uh, love nests, so to speak." "Love nests." "Really." "To you, counselor." "Mr. Findlay... concerning this monthly rental you spoke of." "Was there a return address on the, uh, envelope?" "Nothing except a postmark." "Los Angeles." "And as to the, um... woman's voice you, uh, heard on the telephone." "Would you be able to identify it if you heard it again?" "That's a point I've been going over in my mind." "No, sir, I wouldn't." "Thank you, Mr. Findlay." "That'll be all." "When did you last see your husband alive, Mrs. Manley?" "A week ago last Friday." "Were you subsequently requested by appropriate authority to view his body for purposes of identifying him?" "The following Tuesday here in Los Angeles." "It was Joe's body." "My husband, Joseph Manley." "Thank you, Mrs. Manley." "Cross-examine." "Mrs. Manley, before your husband died, did he ever mention the name of Gladys Doyle?" "No, never." "Did he ever mention the name of Miss Doyle's employer," "Mauvis Meade?" "MRS. MANLEY:" "No." "MASON:" "Did your brother ever mention the name Mauvis Meade?" "MRS. MANLEY:" "Caspar?" "Oh." "Why, I'm sure he's never even heard of her." "Thank you, Mrs. Manley." "JUDGE:" "The witness may stand down." "Now...your name is Mauvis Meade, and you are the author of a current bestseller called Chop the Man Down." "Is that correct?" "I am." "Are you acquainted with the defendant?" "Yes." "She was my secretary." "( door opens )" "Uh, Your Honor, may I have permission, please, to interrupt this for a moment for the purposes of having a short conference?" "Of course, Mr. Burger." "Perry." "That's Paul's man who was at the cabin." "What is it?" "I think the roof's about to fall in." "If it please the court... the prosecution has just received some information, and it feels duty-bound to present that information to the court at this time." "Information on the basis of which I intend to bring charges against Mr. Mason for concealing evidence and obstructing the administration of justice." "Then Mr. Mason said, "This looks like a coffee can."" "Inside it... were a woman's scarf and some bullets." "What caliber bullets?" "Thirty-two caliber." "The same as the murder gun." "And what did Mr. Mason do with this scarf and these bullets?" "KELTON:" "He put them in his pocket." "Thank you." "There, Your Honor." "That's as clear a case of suppressing evidence as I've ever seen." "Mr. Mason?" "Before the testimony of this witness is taken as final," "I believe I have the right to cross-examine, Your Honor." "You have." "And I'll be pleased if you can clarify this matter." "Mr. Burger." "I'm sorry, Mr. Mason, but I've got a license to protect and a family." "Hm." "Just answer my questions, please." "Now, when I took the bullets... and that scarf with me, did I say they were evidence?" "No." "Did you or anyone else there at that time suggest that they might be evidence?" "No." "Are you able to say with certainty, even now, that they are evidence in this case?" "Well, no, I guess I can't." "Ah, that's all." "All, Mr. Mason?" "Um...except for one or two questions of Lieutenant Tragg, if Your Honor will bear with us for the few minutes it will take for him to return to court." "Very well." "We'll recall him." "You may stand down." "Yes, Your Honor?" "Will you please take the stand, lieutenant?" "Lieutenant Tragg..." "didn't you testify that you and your men searched the cabin immediately after finding the body?" "Yes, sir." "From top to bottom." "And was there a coffee can under the porch roof?" "Yes, there was." "Did you examine it?" "Naturally." "What did you find?" "Nothing." "The coffee can was empty." "( people murmuring )" "MASON:" "Thank you, lieutenant." "Your Honor, I realized that the scarf and the bullets had been planted in the coffee can after the fact." "Otherwise, Lieutenant Tragg would have found them." "So they can hardly be considered evidence of murder." "I do believe they were intended to confuse the issues in this case." "Nevertheless, Your Honor," "I'm going to insist that these items be produced in court." "They will be, Mr. Burger, but at the convenience of the defense." "Which will be after lunch, gentlemen, as I, um" "I find the noon recess is upon us." "Court will reconvene at 2:00." "( slow jazz music playing )" "I checked at the Summit Inn." "Found this in the publicity files." "Gladys Doyle and Caspar Pedley." "Only on that particular Sunday, Caspar was operating as Edgar Carlisle." "Mrs. Manley's brother?" "Uh-huh." "The same." "Phone call for you, Mr. Mason." "Paul, did you tell anyone where we were having lunch?" "Nope." "Neither did we." "Mason speaking." "MAN ( on phone ):" "When you get Mauvis Meade on the stand, Mason, ask her about the $100 bills she drew from the bank each month." "Who is this?" "MAN:" "Never mind." "Just ask her if those aren't the bills she used to pay the rent on the cabin." "( line clicks dead )" "Hello?" "Hello?" "That almost has to be the man that Gladys met in the cabin." "He must have followed us here." "Della, you check all the phone booths to the right on this side of the street." "Look for a blond man about 30." "Paul, you check all the booths to the left." "I'll check the parking lot." "All right." "Some gin?" "( slow, dramatic theme playing )" "Yes, Mr. Mason." "I was supposed to meet a friend here." "Blond man about 30." "He called me a few minutes ago, probably from your phone booth." "Oh, yes." "That's his car." "The second one over." "He just went across the street to get cigarettes." "Thank you." "( footsteps approaching )" "Mason?" "What the devil do you think you're doing?" "Richard Gilman?" "Yes." "But how did you" "This subpoena is answerable this afternoon." "( tense theme playing )" "Now, let me get this straight, Mr. Gilman." "As a federal agent, you are conducting an undercover investigation of certain income tax frauds involving Las Vegas gamblers and a Los Angeles contact." "Yes, sir." "And a court appearance by you would wreck this investigation?" "That's why my superiors in Washington ordered me not to come forward." "I tried to give you a break with the map I found, moving Miss Doyle's car out of the mud... and with the phone call." "Ended up in the mud myself, I guess." "It seems to me, Perry, that you'll be doing the government a disservice if you insist upon Mr. Gilman's testifying." "I'll be doing my client a disservice if I don't." "Yeah, but what can he testify to?" "He says he arrived at the cabin, found the fire already lighted." "He started a search, but was still in the first bedroom when Miss Doyle arrived." "And he left, himself, shortly thereafter." "He doesn't know of his own knowledge whether she killed Manley or not." "I suggest you weigh this very carefully, Perry." "I'll do this much." "I'll try to go ahead without Mr. Gilman's testimony, provided he answers... one or two things for me now." "I'll do my best." "As I understand it... you're investigating the transfer of some rather large sums of unreported gambling winnings from a Las Vegas group to an agent here in Los Angeles." "That is correct, yes." "Uh, what's the purpose of the transfer?" "To dodge paying an income tax on it." "You see, if the money were banked in Las Vegas, or put in safety deposit boxes, we could uncover it by a federal court order, and levy on it." "But if it keeps showing up in foreign countries whose banks we can't touch... then they've got it made." "What about the cabin?" "It's a way station out of the country." "Or, at least, we got a tip that it was." "That's why I was up there, to look around." "Did your tipster tell you that Joseph Manley was a messenger for the gamblers, and that Mauvis Meade was their Los Angeles contact?" "I can't answer that." "You left rather quickly when Gladys Doyle arrived." "Was that because you recognized her as Mauvis Meade's secretary and thought you'd walked into a trap?" "I can't answer that, either, unless, of course, you put me under oath." "Which we've decided we don't want to do." "I think there's someone waiting in court who can answer that." "Someone already under oath." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Haven't you been listening, Mr. Mason?" "I told you that I didn't know anything about a cabin or a package." "And if Gladys says I do, then she's not telling the truth." "And you are, Miss Meade?" "Yes." "This map shows the... shortcut from the Summit Inn." "On the shortcut is a point labeled "cabin."" "And above it is a sketch of the murder cabin." "Isn't this your map... and your sketch, Miss Meade?" "I never saw it before." "Do you know the penalty for perjury?" "A term in prison, Miss Meade." "But I have a feeling a worse penalty awaits you unless you speak out now." "Do you recognize this?" "Why, yes, it" "It's, uh... my monkey scarf." "Would it surprise you to learn that this was found in a coffee can at the murder cabin and contained a handful of .32-caliber bullets?" "What?" "Did you kill Joseph Manley?" "No." "Then is someone trying to frame you for murder?" "Haven't you been in fear of your life for weeks?" "In such fear that in an effort to protect yourself, you hid certain documents in an envelope marked:" ""To be opened in case of my death"?" "Isn't it true that your apartment was ransacked and that envelope taken?" "And isn't it true that someone posing as a writer named Edgar Carlisle tried to lure you to the Summit Inn on the day of the murder?" "And that when you... found that Edgar Carlisle-- the real Edgar Carlisle --was dead, had been dead for two months, you became terrified." "Sent the defendant, Gladys Doyle, in your place?" "And isn't it true that that man," "Dukes Lawton, is not your bodyguard... but a gunman hired to make sure you do not tell the truth?" "Uh, may I be heard, Your Honor?" "My name is Gregory Dunkirk, and I'm representing Miss Meade." "Is this true, Miss Meade?" "The court will protect you." "Just tell the truth." "MAUVIS:" "Mr. Dunkirk is" "Is not my lawyer." "He's one of those who's threatening me." "Do you know what you're saying, Mauvis?" "You will be quiet, sir, or I'll hold you in contempt." "JUDGE:" "Please explain why you are being threatened, Miss Meade." "Um... several years ago, I" "I got mixed up with Gregory" "Um..." "Mr. Dunkirk." "He, uh, operated on the fringes of the underworld, and I found him a fascinating character for my book." "So fascinating that I got involved in the underworld myself." "As a... messenger at first." "Involved, as Joseph Manley was involved?" "Yes." "He, uh" " He brought the package of money from..." "Las Vegas to the cabin, which..." "I rented under Gladys' name." "Gentlemen... in view of our earlier discussion... don't you agree it is advisable to continue in my chambers?" "MASON:" "With the court's permission, before we retire, may I ask one or two questions solely related to the murder?" "Provided they're discrete questions." "Yes, Your Honor." "Now... did you kill Joseph Manley?" "No." "Did you tell him about the documents you'd hidden in the envelope?" "Foolishly, yes." "And he, uh" "Well, he must have told his employers." "Were you... having an affair with Joseph Manley?" "Yes, I was." "MASON:" "Could you possibly have left your scarf in the cabin, and could he, at one time or other, have taken it?" "That must have been what happened." "Why did Joseph Manley's brother-in-law, Caspar Pedley, come to see you?" "Well, he" "He came to sell me some information regarding Edgar Carlisle." "I" "Uh, I thought it was a trick, and so I" "I sent him away." "Hm." "With the court's permission," "I would like to call Caspar Pedley to the stand." "Very well, Mr. Mason." "Why, that's Edgar Carlisle." "MASON:" "Mr. Pedley..." "I show you this photograph taken from the publicity files of the Summit Inn." "Does it convey anything to you?" "Yes." "I..." "I posed as Edgar Carlisle." "It was Joe's" "It was my brother-in-law Joseph Manley's idea." "He" " He paid me to pretend to be Edgar Carlisle." "Why would Joseph Manley want to play that kind of a trick on Miss Meade?" "Well, he said his bosses wanted to make sure that Miss Meade wasn't at home on Sunday." "Why did you continue your deception when Gladys Doyle showed up instead of Miss Meade?" "I didn't know what else to do." "I think you did know what to do." "Oh." "Oh, you mean about going to Miss Meade's later and" "And trying to sell her information?" "I'm not talking about your visit to Miss Meade." "I'm talking about leaving Gladys Doyle at the Summit Inn, going directly to the cabin, where you knew your brother-in-law would be, and, there, killing him." "No." "Taking the package of money from its hiding place and later replacing it with a scarf and a handful of bullets in an effort to frame Mauvis Meade for murder." "No, no, no." "No, you got it all wrong." "I didn't kill Joe." "She did it." "She killed him." "( dramatic theme playing )" "PEDLEY:" "She figured Miss Meade would come back to the cabin later that night and be involved." "And then she learned from you the next night that Miss Doyle was accused." "So she came back with the bullets and the" "And the scarf that she found among Joe's things, and" "And she put 'em in the coffee can." "( whimpering )" "Yes, I did it." "( melancholy theme playing )" "It was that girl I hated." "Got him mixed up with her." "It was she I was jealous of." "I should've killed her... instead of him." "( dramatic theme playing )" "DELLA:" "I think planting that love letter, the comb, and those other personal things, to make it look as if Joseph Manley and Gladys were having a love affair, was terrible." "A matter of desperation, Della." "Dunkirk and Mauvis Meade had to act fast." "The irony was somebody else was up to the same trick... only they were planting the evidence against Miss Meade." "You mean the, uh, .32-caliber bullets and the monkey scarf." "That's right, Paul." "Well, I'm glad you got some sort of a fee for all your work." "Hmm." "Oh, in addition to this scarf..." "I also received Miss Meade's autograph on a very handsome check." "She said that Gladys had always been an excellent secretary, and she felt that she owed something to her." "Besides, she had to have someone take care of her affairs for the next couple of years." "( noirish jazz theme playing )"