"You're sure you know the car, Veronica?" "Yes, I told you I know it, Pete." "Well, put on a good show, baby." "I'll meet you back in town." "What if he doesn't stop?" "I know that mouse." "He'll stop." "You won't be in the car 30 seconds before he'll start to get friendly." "Okay, Pete." "Looks like I'm going your way, huh?" "No need being frightened of me." "I see pretty girls all the time in my work." " Oh?" " The name's Edgar Ferrell." "Fidelity Studios." "Oh, you're a motion picture producer, Mr. Ferrell?" "That's right." "Maybe, uh..." "Maybe I could find a job for you." "Well, I'd certainly like to hear about it." "Why are we stopping here, Mr. Ferrell?" "Now, Veronica, who ever heard of talking over a movie contract and fighting traffic at the same time, hm?" "You do wanna talk about it, don't you?" "All right." "Is this" " Is this whole place yours, Mr. Ferrell?" "In a manner of speaking." "Belongs to my studio, Fidelity Pictures." "We do quite a lot of location shooting here." "It's just beautiful." "Yes, indeed." "You use this beautiful place just to work in?" "Not entirely." "I come out from time to time just to relax." "So as you can see, I make it a point to have all the comforts of home." "Like to see the rest of the house, Veronica?" "I'd love to." "[CAR APPROACHING]" "That may be my wife." "Go in the back and stay there until I tell you to come out." " But you didn't tell me that you" " Do what I tell you." "[GUNSHOT]" "MAN [ON PHONE]:" "Club Martindale." "Hello, is Peter Handsell there?" "This is Veronica Dale." "Sorry, he ain't here." "But he must be." "I was supposed to meet him there." "Lady, if we could have television in the phones, I'd show you." "He ain't here." "I" " I wonder if you could give me a ride to town, sir." "I know I don't look very nice but when you hitchhike, sometimes you don't ride with the nicest people so I chose to walk the last five miles." " Sure, get in." " Thank you." "My name is Veronica Dale, mister." " My name is Perry Mason." " How do you do, Mr. Mason?" "I'm Myrtle Northrup, Mr. Addison's assistant." "He's expecting you." " Won't you go in?" " Thank you." "Thanks for coming to the studio, Mr. Mason." "Uh, it's hard to believe that I have so little time." "I hope it wasn't too much of an imposition." "Not at all." "I was coming out this way anyhow." "Well, what I wanna talk to you about is a rather personal matter." "There's a girl in jail." " I'd like you to get her out." " What's she charged with?" "Vagrancy." "I gave this young girl a ride last night." "Later on, she was arrested." "Why did she get in touch with you?" "I suppose I'm the only one she knew to call." "She just got into town." " What's her name?" " Veronica Dale." "I think if you just quietly get her out, that will be all there is to it." "Vagrancy?" "Is there something more I should know?" "It's every bit as innocent as I've explained it, Mason." "But I still want to keep it quiet." "You know what one of those scandal magazines would do with it." "I see." "All right, I'll take care of it." "Thanks very much." "And if I can ever do you a favour around the studio, you just let me know." "All right." "It's the first time I've ever been in one of these places." "I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done, Mr. Mason." "Where are you from, Veronica?" "Albuquerque." "Why did you leave there?" "Well, you get sort of tired seeing the world from the back of a second-rate lunch counter." "Oh, I take that back." "I mean, about the second-rate." "You see, it's my mother's place and she does the very best she can." "Does your mother know you're here?" "Oh, sure." "She was upset about me hitchhiking though." "Well, I don't blame her." "It's not the safest way in the world for a young girl to travel." "Why are you doing this?" "At your age, the reason would sound just a little square." "I wish there was some way that I could thank you." "Well, there is." "As soon as I drop you off at your hotel, pack your things and take the next bus back to Albuquerque." "Oh, I will." "Thank you." "[WHISTLING]" " Good morning, Della." "DELLA:" "Good morning." "We have a lot of calls here." "I thought you'd be back in the office yesterday." "Well, it turned into a pretty busy afternoon." "I heard, about your bailing the young girl out of jail, that is." "How did you hear?" "I collected a hundred dollars from her mother." "Veronica didn't say her mother was in town." "Well, she didn't know it." "You see, Mrs. Dale said that she flew in from Albuquerque just for the day to see how Veronica was getting along." "What's the hundred dollars for?" "She thought that would be a reasonable fee." "When she heard there was trouble, she wanted to settle." "Especially since Veronica is starting work today." " She's working?" " Mm-hm." "Where?" "Fidelity Studios." "But who told Mrs. Dale all this?" " I don't know." " Get hold of Addison." "Find out if I can see him on my way home." "And file this." "File it." "ADDISON:" "Oh, hello, Mason." "Come on in." "I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Lorraine Ferrell." "My partner's wife." " How do you do, Mrs. Ferrell?" " Mr. Mason." " She's also one of our best writers." " Are we through, John?" "Yes, I think these changes will play fine." "We'll have Miss Northrup put through the blue pages." "Fine." "Good night, good night." " Good night." " Good night, Lorraine." "ADDISON:" "Drink?" "MASON:" "Yeah, thanks." "Just straight, no ice." "Your partner's wife, she's very attractive." "Yes." "She and her husband don't have too much in common." "If she appears to be working late, it's because she prefers it that way." "Your health." "I understand you hired Veronica Dale." "That's right." " Do you think that was wise?" " Why not?" "Well, for one thing, it looks like she wanted to get herself arrested." "I was going to call you this afternoon when I got your message." "What about?" "A man named Peter Handsell found out that I got Veronica out of jail." "He's one of the group that I've been concerned about." "He digs up dirt for scandal magazines." "Whether it gets printed or not is up to me." " How much?" " Ten thousand." "Of which Miss Dale gets 5." "I'm not so sure of that." "Then how did she convince you to give her a job?" "Well, she seemed like a nice girl and she said she needed work so I told her to contact Myrtle Northrup and something could be worked out." "You must admit that a person who is out for blackmail wouldn't be interested in a job." "Wouldn't she?" "That would tie her much closer to you, giving Handsell's filth more credibility." "I didn't think of that." "MASON:" "All right." "What did you tell Handsell?" "I told him to come over in the morning, that I'd pay." "If you know a better way..." "First thing you do is to forget that appointment." "Tell Handsell to be at my office tonight at 10:00." "All right." "What else?" "Write your name on a piece of paper." "Then I want you to fill in the amount of $2,000 on a blank cheque." "Now..." "Trace your signature on that cheque." " Trace my own signature?" " That's right." "You can't pay off a blackmailer with that kind of a cheque." "There are all kinds of ways to pay off a blackmailer, Mr. Addison." "I'll be in touch with you." "The office isn't wired, if that's what's bothering you, Mr. Handsell." "Oh, just being careful." "Sit down." "I'm only half-awake so let's skip the social amenities." "Mr. Addison told me of his conversation with you today." "I'd like to think he misunderstood you." "Get with it, Mason." "You didn't study law in seminary school." " How much?" " You know how much, 10,000." "Ten thousand seems like a lot of money for a man to pay just to keep his name out of the trash you contribute to." "Do you know anything about Fidelity Pictures?" "No, not much." "It's a closed corporation." "Addison owns 40 percent of the stock, Ferrell owns 40." "The other 20 is divided up among old-timers." "So?" "Next week, there's a stockholders' meeting." "Everything being equal, Addison will stay head man because the 20 percent go along with him." "But they find out he's using the studio to cultivate a teenager and Ferrell's as good as in." "How do you know all this?" "Well, when you eat by digging up information, you dig up all kinds." "I don't trust cheques." "And I don't trust you." "In case you wanna come back for more, your endorsement on that cheque will give my client a little blackmail material too." "Now take it or leave it, 2,000 a week for the next five weeks." "I'll take it." "As you said, this is no time for social amenities." "Now get out of here." " Della." "DELLA:" "Yes, sir?" "Did you call the Drake Detective Agency yet?" "Paul's right here." "Send him in, will you?" " Hi, Perry." " Hello, Paul." "You had company so I waited." "What's the detail?" "Well, first thing in the morning, I want you to notify all the banks in town that a cheque forger's around, and that he's forging the signatures of some pretty important men." "Okay." "Oh, I've gotta go to San Diego tomorrow morning." "Is it all right if I put somebody else on it?" "Well, I'd rather have the eminent Paul Drake himself but I'll accept a substitute if I have to." " Would you like my autograph?" " Well, tomorrow will do." "[INTERCOM BUZZES]" "Yes, Della?" "DELLA:" "John Addison wants to talk to you." "He seems awfully upset." "Oh?" "Put him on." " See you later." " All right, see you." " Hello?" "ADDISON:" "Mason, I need your help." "Meet me at the house up in Malibu." "It's called Gull's Way, 26800 Pacific Coast Highway." "Wait a minute." "What's this all about?" "I can only say I need you." "Please hurry." "Mason, over here." "This way, Mason." "Hurry." "Just a minute, Addison." "What's this all about?" "I think you'd better see for yourself." "Maybe I'd better not." "If something's happened in that house, if a crime has been committed in there and I see that it has," "I'd have to report it to the police immediately." "However, if you tell me about something that's happened in there, that would be a confidential communication between attorney and client." "Edgar Ferrell, my partner, he's been shot." "It's going to sound a little strange to the police, your coming here at 2:00 in the morning and accidentally finding a body." "I was up above Paradise Cove, checking a location." "On my way back, I thought I'd drop off here and get some sleep." "I'm your attorney and even I wouldn't believe that." "It doesn't matter whether you or the police believe it." "It doesn't take an expert to see that Ferrell's been dead for some time." "Since Tuesday?" "That sound about right to you?" "How would I know?" "For one thing, you were out this way last Tuesday." " That's not so." " Isn't it?" "What about Veronica Dale?" "Didn't you pick her up at a gas station on the highway last Tuesday night?" "All right." "I was trying to help Ferrell." "Lorraine" " That's his wife, you know." "Well, she found he was using this place as a rendezvous and I thought I ought to tell him." "And you found Ferrell just the way he is?" " Exactly." " Where'd you pick up that girl?" "About a mile from here." "I stopped to call the police." "When she saw me, I realised that she could identify me so I changed my mind." "All right." "So I wasn't very smart." "Not coming across dead bodies every day," "I was a little mixed up." "Or do you think all of this is a lie too?" "No, I believe you." "But why did you decide to come back here tonight?" "Well, I started to think about that blackmailer, Handsell, how this girl could nail me to the cross and I thought it would be better for me if I just stumbled on the body with someone like you." "As your attorney, I wouldn't make a very good witness." "What should I do?" "First of all, find yourself a new companion, then call the police." "I'll see you at your office tomorrow night." "You think I'll still be a free man?" "Nobody can be sure, Addison." "Do you wanna have the furnishings in the house moved to the studio, Mr. Addison?" "Yes, I think so." "We don't shoot any interiors here anymore." "You needn't have come." "I could have brought a man from the Property Department to go over the inventory with me." "Well, I was looking forward to the ride." "Besides, I might find a piece or two I'll want to put in my own house." "Uh, you might as well start in here and I'll see if, uh, there's anything we can use in the small house." "Fine." "MYRTLE:" "Mr. Addison, Mr. Addison!" "Good Lord." "It's Mr. Ferrell." "I'd better call the police." "No." "No, don't." "What?" "I mean, don't you call them." "Let me do it." "I'll say that I came out here alone." "Why should you be involved?" "I appreciate that, Myrtle." "But it's all right." "I have nothing to hide." "Well, let's call the police, shall we?" "You wanted me, Perry?" "MASON:" "Yes." "Nobody in your office knew about that job I gave you last night?" "No, they wouldn't have." "I called an operative on my way to San Diego." " Were the banks notified?" " Sure." "Why?" "Excuse me, Perry." "Sergeant Bent down at Central Precinct called." "He wants you to come down right away." "Something about a forgery case." "All right, call him back, tell him I'll be there." "Right." "What's wrong, Perry?" "Oh, everything." "My original intention was to trap a blackmailer, a man named Handsell." "But now I'm afraid his story is gonna help the police pin a murder charge on one of our clients." "Well, do the police know that this guy, Handsell, can be such a big help?" "They will unless I get him out of jail first." "HANDSELL:" "What kind of a frame-up are you trying to pull?" "BENT:" "All right, that's enough." " Sit down, Mason." " No, thank you." "This man is Peter Handsell." "We picked him up for trying to cash a $2,000 cheque supposedly signed by John Addison." "He tells me you're the one who paid him off." "You were at my office, Mr. Handsell?" "You know I was." "You gave me that cheque." "What was the cheque for?" "Keep crowding me and I'll tell you." "All right." "I'm crowding you." "Okay, wise guy." "I knew Addison had retained you" "Addison was paying you off because you had something on him?" "HANDSELL:" "So what?" " That comes under the heading" " of extortion." " What?" "Establish your innocence in a possible forgery and you've laid yourself wide open to a charge of extortion." "It's not a very good alternative, Handsell, so if you're trying to lie your way out of here," " you better be careful what you say." " Well, right on the ball, eh, counsellor?" "Oh, this is Peter Handsell, isn't it?" "BENT:" "That's right, lieutenant." "We picked him up on that forgery rap." "He traced John Addison's signature" "TRAGG:" "Yes, I know." "I know." "I went over it." "I thought all your interests were in homicide, lieutenant." "It all ties together." "I think you know that." "Edgar Ferrell, Addison's partner, was found murdered today." "BENT:" "So that's it?" "Wouldn't be surprised if Handsell could tell us something." "The way he and Mason have been talking" "Wait, wait, wait a minute." "Now maybe we all made a mistake, huh?" "If there's no blackmail, there's no forgery either." "Wait a minute." "Nobody is gonna tell me that that signature isn't traced." "Have you spoken with Mr. Addison about the cheque?" "Does he say he didn't sign it?" "He doesn't have to say it, this says it for him." "It seems to me you should've called him to make sure." "Yeah, why don't you do that now, sergeant?" "You could find him at Fidelity Studios." "I just left him there." " Number is Hollywood 2" " Six-two-three-one." "Yes." "And as for you, the district attorney wants to have a little talk with you, alone." "Remember, Handsell, the police can't give you immunity." "We can get it for you." "Mr. John Addison, please?" "This is Sergeant Bent, Central Precinct." " Well" " Oh, stick around, Mason." "The sergeant might find it necessary to place a charge against you for forging Addison's name to a cheque." "Hello, Mr. Addison?" "This is Sergeant Bent." "We have cheque here in the amount of $2,000 made out to Peter Handsell." "Did you sign this cheque?" "When?" "Are you sure?" "But your signature looks as though it's been traced." "All right." "Sorry to have disturbed you." "Well, sergeant?" "I don't care what he says." "This signature is a tracing." "You tried to trap him." "And since you gave him the cheque" "Let it go, sergeant." "Mason set a trap, all right, but he was smart enough to take out an insurance policy." "He got Addison to trace his own signature." "Well, all right, Mason, that's all." "We'll take care of your friend, Handsell, here." "LORRAINE:" "Who is it?" "Perry Mason." "LORRAINE:" "Come in, Mr. Mason." "Where's Mr. Addison?" "Oh, he'll be here." "He's having a meeting on the pictures to go into production in the next 60 days." "Just in case he isn't available to give them his personal supervision." "I see." "Oh, Mrs. Ferrell, this is Miss Della Street from my office." " How do you do?" " Hello." "I was very sorry to" "My only regret is that my husband had to go in such a mysterious and messy way." "However, upon demand," "I will try to muster the proper display of grief." "Mr. Addison said you wanted him to see if your husband was out at the old mansion last Tuesday night." "That's right." "I was planning on getting a divorce and everything helps in the settlement." "Did Mr. Addison tell you what he'd found?" "No, he was very vague." "So I assumed he'd surprised Edgar with some woman and, well, was trying to keep a man-to-man silence about it." "And what's so amusing?" "Well, you'd have to know Edgar to appreciate it." "He was overflowing in all the qualities of a little man." "Petty, mean, a sneak, revengeful." "To think of him as a Lothario, well..." "Well, good evening, Perry." "Mr. Addison said we'd find you in here." "ADDISON:" "They, uh" " They've come to arrest me." "Oh?" "On what charge?" "Oh, you know the charge." "That forgery idea of yours was very smart." "A sure way of getting rid of blackmailers, unless what they know ties in with murder." "In other words, they've promised Handsell immunity on the blackmail charge if he fabricates the kind of story you're looking for." "Well, he's got the kind of story we're looking for." "We'll let the judge decide if it's fabricated." "Don't worry about it, Addison." "Lieutenant Tragg is making this sound much worse than it really is." "The court usually discounts the testimony of a questionable witness." "Miss Dale, have you ever seen this gentleman before?" " Yes, sir." "TRAGG:" "Where?" "Why, out on the Coast Highway last Tuesday night." "He gave me a lift to town." "You ready, Mr. Addison?" "When I entered the house," "Mr. Addison and Miss Northrup were there." "Then I went over by the window and discovered the body." "And Mr. Addison told you he had not been to this location at any time since Mr. Ferrell had been away from the studio?" "DEPUTY:" "That's correct." "Most of the older tyre tracks had been obliterated but there were several marks close to the house from which I was able to make casts." "And did these casts match the treads of any tyre you examined?" "They matched the tyres on Mr. Addison's car." "BURGER:" "Thank you." "MAN:" "There were the fingerprints of the victim and, of course, of Mr. Addison and Miss Northrup, who discovered the body." "Was that all?" "MAN:" "Well, no, sir." "There were three or four other prints in the room." "And to whom did they belong?" "There was a set of women's prints but we haven't been able to identify them." "Of course, we don't know when they were made." "It could have been that they were before the murder or after it." "Really?" "Then tell me this, please." "How do you know when Mr. Addison's fingerprints were made?" "Well, I..." "I don't." "So they, too, could have been made before the murder or after it." "His prints were there, that's all I know." "That's enough." "No further questions." "Now tell me this." "Have the police recovered the murder weapon, Lieutenant Tragg?" "TRAGG:" "No, sir, but we know that the murder gun had, for a time, been in the possession of the defendant." "BURGER:" "How do you know that?" "TRAGG:" "Addison did a lot of practise..." " How's it going?" " It'll have to get better." " Any word from Paul?" " Yes." "He was leaving Albuquerque." "He said he wants to meet you at the Windsor Hotel as soon as court adjourns." "He said he found Veronica Dale's mother." "BURGER:" "Call Peter Handsell to the stand, please." "Well, being a reporter, I got this information about Addison picking up a young girl on the Coast Highway that Tuesday night, getting her a hotel room and bailing her out of jail." "So I thought I'd check it out with him." "He told me to see his lawyer." "BURGER:" "Who is his lawyer?" "Perry Mason." "What did Mr. Mason say to you?" "He said Mr. Addison didn't want any publicity and he gave me a cheque for $2,000, signed by Mr. Addison." "You want this court to understand that Mr. Addison gave you $2,000 to conceal the fact that he'd been out in that section of the Coast Highway last Tuesday night?" " Yes, sir." " Thank you." "Cross-examine." "Mr. Handsell, you went to see John Addison to blackmail him, did you not?" " Yes." " I presume you know that blackmail is a serious offence." "I" " I guess it is but I've got to tell the truth." "Yes, along with an understanding from the district attorney that you will be granted immunity in this matter?" "We'll stipulate to that." "Extortion is a mild crime compared to murder." ""17961 West Place, apartment 2."" "That address mean something to you?" "That's where I live." "MASON:" "How long have you lived there?" "About a year." "Where was your residence before that?" "Wasn't it in the state penitentiary?" " That's right." " Why were you there?" " I was convicted of a crime." " What crime?" " Blackmail." " And..." "[CROWD MURMURING] ...have your blackmail operations usually included a female accomplice?" "Objection." "Counsel has the right to ask this man if he's ever been convicted of a felony." "But once the witness has answered in the affirmative, counsel has no right to question him further." "His impeachment is already complete." "Your Honour, the only purpose of my enquiry is to find out who Mr. Handsell's female accomplice is so the court can ascertain if her fingerprints are the same ones found in the murder house." "And now counsel is using this court as a sounding board for his highly conjectural conclusions." "As the hearing progresses, Mr. Burger, we shall see how conjectural those conclusions are." "Gentlemen, we will keep personalities out of this hearing." "As for the prosecutor's objection, I will make a ruling in the morning." "Court's adjourned until 10 a.m." "PAUL:" "Hi, Perry." "MASON:" "Hi, Paul." " Now where is she?" " Next room." "You're sure you have the right Mrs. Dale?" "Positive." "Here's a picture of her with Veronica." " That isn't Mrs. Dale." " What?" "Well, at least it isn't the one that gave me the hundred dollars." "Nevertheless, that is Veronica Dale's mother." "I've checked her out from A to Z." "Hi." "My name is Perry Mason." "May I speak with you for a minute?" "Sure." " A to Z?" "PAUL:" "A to Z." "Thanks a lot for that airplane ride." "Mr. Drake said you were footing the bill." "You don't fly very often?" "Ha-ha." "Just around that joint of mine." "You know, I haven't left Albuquerque in ten years." "I believe Veronica told me you had a café." "Mm-hm." "Had it since before Veronica's father left for greener pastures." "That was in '52." "Oh, I don't care." "He was all dried up." "Said our teenage customers were driving him nuts." "Personally, I get a charge out of them." "They keep you young, you know?" "Ha-ha!" "Yes, I know." "Do you, uh--?" "Did Drake tell you why we asked you to make the trip?" "No." "He said you'd explain." "Is Veronica in some kind of trouble again?" "No, no, she's just a witness in a court proceeding." "What kind of trouble has she been in before?" "Oh, just kid stuff." "Running away from school, things like that." "You know, she just started hitchhiking around a little bit." "I'd always go get her and bring her back, then she'd take off again." "Did you know she was here in the city?" "Well, how could I?" "I haven't heard from her in ten months." "I see." "Just one more thing, Mrs. Dale." "When she was away, did she ever call on you for financial assistance?" "Say, you say my kid isn't in any kind of trouble, yet you're asking me all these questions." "Just what is this all about anyhow?" "Perhaps I should let Veronica tell you." "I'll arrange for you to see her as soon as possible." "Meanwhile, you're my guest so just go ahead and have yourself a ball." "Oh, swell." "Say, can I start by ordering up a beer?" "I'm so thirsty I could spit dust." " Help yourself." " Ha-ha!" "Swell." "PAUL:" "A perfect lady." "Salt of the earth." "You know, this might be just plain good-news day for you." "Not only do we locate Veronica Dale's mother," " but maybe some evidence too." " What evidence?" "It seems the man I assigned to keep tabs on Veronica just happened to find himself in her room this morning after Burger had her check out." "He also just happened to find that." "Pages and pages of numbers." "Let's get back to the office and really check this out, Paul." "What about Mrs. Dale?" "Are you just going to leave her here?" "Yes, I don't want her daughter or Burger to know she's in town just yet." " Ready, Paul?" " Mm-hm." "But then there's this other Mrs. Dale." "Now, what if she--?" "Coming, Della?" "Do you swear the testimony you're about to give this court" " will be the truth, the whole truth?" " I do." " State your name." " Veronica Dale." "Be seated." " How old are you, Veronica?" " Eighteen." "Where do you live?" "Well, I don't have any residence exactly." "My mother lives in New Mexico and I left town to try and better myself." "I had just gotten here when all of these things happened to me." "Are you acquainted with the defendant, John Addison?" "VERONICA:" "I am." "Now, Veronica, I'm gonna ask you to recount for the court all the events leading up to your meeting with John Addison on the night of the 9th." "Well, I had been pretty lucky." "I got quite a few rides and the last driver, a rancher, let me off on the Coast Highway just above Paradise Cove." "What did you do then?" "Well, I started walking until I got to this service station." "It was closed so I stopped to rest." "That's when Mr. Addison drove up." "And what did he do?" "VERONICA:" "He" " I thought he was going to use the phone but he changed his mind and he started back toward the car." "That's when I asked him for a ride and he gave it to me." "Go on." "Well, he was very nice." "He even got me a room in town." "Did you see Mr. Addison again after that night?" "Oh, no, sir." "But I saw his assistant, a lady named Miss Northrup." "She was very nice too." "She interviewed me and saw that I was placed in the studio's acting school." "Now, Veronica, one final question." "Are you acquainted with Peter Handsell?" "No, sir." "Thank you." "I suppose you're gonna wanna cross-examine this young lady?" "Yes, I am." "Remember, she's hardly more than a child." "All right, Della." "Miss Dale, you came directly to this city from your home in New Mexico?" "Yes." "How long did it take you to hitchhike that distance?" "About four days." "You lived with your mother in New Mexico?" "Yes." "So until four days before the murder, you were with your mother." "MASON:" "What is it, Miss Dale, don't you understand the question?" "I'd" " I'd like a glass of water, please." " Water?" " Yes." "Certainly." "Hi." "MASON:" "Thank you." "Have you thought of an answer yet?" "Well, I believe you wanted to know whether I lived with my mother when I was in New Mexico, is that right?" "No, Miss Dale." "I wanted to know if you were living with your mother in New Mexico until four days before the murder." "Oh, no, no." "Not that recently." "How recently then?" "Well, about nine or ten months ago." "MASON:" "And where have you been all this time?" "VERONICA:" "Well, I don't know." "Wherever the rides have taken me." "During the ten months you've been travelling, you've had living expenses, have you not?" "Of course." "And you paid these expenses yourself?" "Well, I wouldn't let anybody else pay for them, if that's what you mean." " How did you pay them?" " I'd work." "MASON:" "Doing what?" " Different things." "I'd babysit or wait on tables, any job I could get." "Would you give us the names of some of your employers?" "No, I don't remember." "I never worked one place long enough to remember any of the names." "Miss Dale," " what's my name?" " Mr. Mason." " And the name of the defendant?" " John Addison." " What's the date?" " The 19th." " What's your mother's name?" " Martha Dale." "Your memory seems normal, so I shall ask you once more." "For whom did you work during the past ten months?" "I told you I don't remember." "And you can't remember specific dates when you were in various cities?" " No." "MASON:" "Perhaps you kept a record." "Well...?" "Yes." "Yes, I did keep a record." "Listing various licence plates under each calendar date?" "Yes, that's right." "And these licence numbers represent the cars in which you rode each day?" "Yes." "Would you please tell the court why you were so interested in keeping such a record?" "Well, it's a hobby of mine." "And it is not possible that these numbers were to be used by an accomplice for purposes of extortion." " Objection." " Overruled." "Miss Dale, you said that the last man you rode with before being picked up by Mr. Addison was some rancher." " Now, do you remember his name?" " No." "Is this his licence number, KYL-907?" "Well, if it's the last one, it is." "KYL-907." "That's the number of the studio car Edgar Ferrell was driving." "[CROWD MURMURING]" "You were with Edgar Ferrell, were you not?" "Yes." "Why did you ask these men for rides?" "I think when we check out some of the licence numbers you've recorded here, we'll know why, Miss Dale." "All right." "I'd ask them for loans." "Loans?" "Wasn't the money more of an outright gift?" "Objection." "Counsel is implying that this witness" "MASON:" "I will rephrase the question." "Miss Dale, did you ever pay back any of these loans?" " No" " Wasn't it that you never intended to pay them back?" "All right, they had big cars and good jobs." "What was wrong with taking money from them?" "But the point is how did you get the money from them?" "Didn't you ever hear of a hard-luck story, mister?" "And it was a hard-luck story you gave to Edgar Ferrell?" " Yes." " Where?" "In the house" " in which he was murdered?" " No." "I would like to request that this young woman's fingerprints" "All right, I was in that house." "[CROWD MURMURING]" "We would like to hear about that, Miss Dale." "We had no sooner gotten into the house when this car drove up, and he told me to beat it out the back way." "That's all there was to it." " You saw the car?" " Just for a second." "Was it Mr. Addison's?" "No." "That is all." "Mr. Burger, I assume that you are aware of the contradictions in this witness' testimony." "I would suggest you begin an immediate investigation for possible charges of perjury." "Yes, Your Honour." "And since the prosecution is interested in serving the ends of justice," "I'd like to move for a continuance of this hearing so that the evidence may be more thoroughly investigated." "Do you agree, Mr. Mason?" "Only if I may have the privilege of reopening my cross-examination of Peter Handsell." "KEETLEY:" "Is Mr. Handsell present?" "You may step down." "Well, Mr. Handsell, in your blackmailing operation, you've used Miss Dale as an accomplice, have you not?" " Well, Handsell?" " Look, Mason, I may not be a lawyer." "But I know a man doesn't have to say something the law might use against him." "MASON:" "You've been given immunity in this particular case." "So you can claim no self-incrimination." "Now answer my question." "Okay, I knew Veronica." "MASON:" "How long?" " Six, seven months." "Just how did you happen to arrange the pickup with Edgar Ferrell?" "HANDSELL:" "Nosing around the studios," "I found out he had a habit of spending Tuesdays and Wednesdays out at that beach place." "Just one more question." "Who is the woman you used to impersonate Veronica Dale's mother?" "Why do we need somebody to play mother?" "We were doing okay by ourselves." "Thank you, Mr. Handsell." "That is all." "KEETLEY:" "Court is adjourned until 10 a.m." "[GAVEL POUNDS]" "For the first time, I feel like there's still some hope." "There's always hope." "Get yourself a good night's rest." "Don't you think you could've given Mr. Addison a little more encouragement?" "I will when it warrants it." "You completely ruined Burger's case, what's he got left?" "For one thing, the fact that the murder was committed with Addison's gun." "But they haven't even found the gun." "Well, they've cross-matched the bullets." "And then there's Addison's fight with Ferrell over control of the studio." "And Addison was seen in the vicinity of the murder house the night Ferrell was killed." "What's left is enough to send our client to the gas chamber." "What do you plan to do?" "Go back out to that house, play the murder all over again." "How do you get in?" "Probably Miss Northrup has the key." "MASON:" "So the killer must have been standing about here." "Evidently, Ferrell turned to face him just about the time the shot was fired." "What do you think, Paul?" "Perry, I don't get this." "You've gone over everything." "You've reconstructed the case just like the police did." "What have you come up with that will help Addison?" "Yes, I know." "I've been grasping at straws." "You're not giving up on this case, are you?" "You don't mean they'll convict Mr. Addison." "So far, I haven't found a thing to prevent it, Miss Northrup." "But you said if you could get back in the house and go over things once more." "I was hoping." "Just hoping to come up with something we might be able to use." "Now, no need to hang around here any longer." "Come on, Paul." "Mr. Mason." "Wait." "That man and woman who tried to blackmail Mr. Addison, maybe they killed Mr. Ferrell." "Why should they?" "They'd only profit if Ferrell was alive." "On top of that, how could they have gotten Addison's gun?" "MYRTLE:" "Oh." "Only thing I can do is enter a plea of second-degree murder." "I think Burger will buy it." "What will they do to Mr. Addison?" "Chances are, I can get him off in about 20 years." "Twenty years." "But, Mr. Mason, this is a great man." "He has so much to give." "They can't take 20 years of this kind of talent and just lock it up in a cell." "They can if they feel he's guilty of murder." "But he isn't guilty." "Our problem is to prove that, Miss Northrup." "We're not able to do that." "I can prove it." "I overheard Mrs. Ferrell call Mr. Addison that night and ask him to come out here to spy on her husband, get evidence for a divorce." "But I knew Mr. Addison would never do that." "So you came out here yourself, hoping to get that evidence." "Yes." "I was going to use it as a threat, force him to keep Mr. Addison in the studio." "Didn't you realise the district attorney could accuse Mr. Addison of the same motive?" "But he wasn't even here." "I found Mr. Ferrell alone." "I didn't see the girl." "All that I knew, she was around someplace." "He'd been drinking." "I warned him." "I told him I was going to ruin his reputation." "I even started to call his wife." "His wife didn't say anything about it." "Mr. Ferrell stopped me." "He rushed me and tried to choke me." "The gun went off and I" "It didn't occur to me that a bullet could be traced without a gun." "How did you happen to have Addison's gun?" "I took it from his desk in the office." "I just wanted to scare Mr. Ferrell." "I was just trying to hold him off while I called his wife." "I..." "I didn't mean to kill him." "Mr. Addison must be very proud to have a friend like you." "But I did kill him." "Mr. Addison had nothing to do with it." "Let's go, Paul." "Mr. Mason." "Will you come over here, please?" "In there." "Well." "I knew I'd never see my own name up in lights." "And I was going to make sure that Mr. Addison's would always be there." " What's up?" " I thought I'd warn you." "There's newspaper guys downstairs." "They wanna talk to you about Myrtle Northrup." "They grabbed Burger." "Better get off on the second floor, go out the back." " What about the press?" " Handle them." "Are you kidding?" "I don't know the answers myself." "Suppose they ask me what made you suspect Myrtle in the first place." "Just say that since everyone with a selfish motive was ruled out, we'd look for someone with an unselfish motive." "And Miss Northrup fit that description." "She was trying to protect Addison." "Two, please." "Why did she pose as Veronica's mother?" "So there'd be no connection between the girl and Addison." "You weren't supposed to come up with the genuine article." "You know, I feel sorry for her." "After all, she did say that Ferrell came at her with a poker." "You know, with a good attorney she might get off with a self-defence?" " That's what I thought too." "MAN:" "Second floor." "Any other message for the gentlemen of the press?" "You might tell them if they're ever tempted to pick up a lady on the highway, don't." "If she's no lady, it could be murder."