"This producer knows he is about to be murdered, but not the identity of his killer." "Was in the burlesque comic?" "I bumped him off." "His unhappy wife?" "Ellery, I need that money." "The director?" "Why do you have to do it on opening night?" "The influential backer?" "He had a vicious mind." "The Broadway bombshell?" "I am talking about my bird." "Or was it someone else?" "Match wits with Ellery Queen and see if you can guess who done it." "No kidding, this is gonna be a real burlesque show?" "That's the idea." "I thought Mayor La Guardia ran burlesque out of town 10 years ago." "Times change, friend." "But it's gonna be the same kind of show, with comics and strippers, huh?" "The name's called "Take It Off!"" " How many tickets do you want?" " Oh, 12." "In the front row, huh?" "Hey, is that for... what's his name?" "Yeah, the producer, Sam Packer." "Heart attack." "And the opening only three days away." "Hello, everybody." "Welcome to my funeral." "Surprised?" "This is an extra added attraction." "It wasn't on the bill." "But you're all here today, correction, we're all here today because I kicked the bucket." "I wonder how it happened." "Did I fall out of a window?" "Did I slip in a bathtub?" "Or was I hit by a beer truck?" "I don't know." "But there' one thing I do know." "I didn't die of natural causes." "You're looking at a man in perfect health, except for a few ulcers, and I'm sure I didn't die from that." "I don't care what they told you." "I was murdered." "Two weeks ago, I was almost hit by a car." "Last week I got food poisoning." "I know somebody' out to get me." "So, why didn't I tell the police?" "Because this show needs plenty of fixing, and how do I raise the dough for this if it gets around that somebody' trying to kill me?" "Who'd put a nickel in a Sam Packer show that didn't have Sam Packer around to pound it into a hit?" "I want to thank my director, Dick Bowie, for arranging this funeral shtick." "The one person I'm sure didn't kill me is Dickie." "Well, make him a 1,000-1 shot." "But let'..." "let' get to the favorites." "There' my dear wife, Jennifer, the sweetheart of Sigma Chi, who in recent years has been everybody' sweetheart." "Jen, honey, you have my sincerest condolences." "You thought I was loaded." "Well, I'm in debt up to my ears." "And how about Risky Ross, who got his start in burlesque and didn't want to come back to it in this show, so I twisted his arm?" "And Ronnie Vale, the Minsky retread who wants to be treated like a star, which she isn't, who I treated like a bum, which she is." "And Gregory Layton, our angel who wanted to fly away when I told him we needed more dough after we bombed in New Haven." "So, I twisted his arm, which brings me to Simon Brimmer." "No, Simon, you're not a suspect." "You're the man I'm counting on to get to the bottom of this." "There' a sealed envelope in a vault of a bonded messenger service, and if anything happens to me, they have orders to deliver it to your apartment one hour after you see this film." "In it, you'll find all the information I have on everybody who might have wanted me to make a quick exit." "Well, I hope I get good reviews where I'm going." "I'm just glad it isn't New Haven." "I understand." "At least, I think I understand..." "you feel you need help." "But what I don't understand is how you feel I can help." "People think I married Sam for his money because he was an older man, but that wasn't true." "In the beginning, he was kind and gentle, and I loved him dearly." "But then he... he began devoting all of his time to the theater." "Our marriage fell apart." "There was..." "There was hostility, but I didn't want him dead." "Well, who says you did?" "Sam, in that awful film." "I don't want that accusation hanging over my head." "Jennifer, maybe it's not as bad as you think." "After all, you said he mentioned several people." "Ellery, we're old friends, and..." "I'm afraid I'm going to have to presume on that friendship." "Sam left me in debt." "Fortunately, he kept up the premiums on his life insurance, but... because he listed me as one of the suspects, the insurance company will probably withhold payment." "How big is the policy?" "$100,000, enough to cover Sam's debts." "Are you the sole beneficiary?" "Yes." "Ellery, I need that money." "Please help me prove that I had nothing to do with Sam's murder." "Jennifer, it still hasn't been established that he died of anything but natural causes." "Maybe, but he was very convincing in that film, and he left his accusations in writing for Simon Brimmer." "Simon?" "It's all over, Dr. Kramer." "I've discovered the body." "That's your cue, Mr. Brady." "My script says, "Pause, pregnant with suspense."" "This is only a half-hour show, Mr. Brady." "We can't wait out the full term of the pregnancy." "Please say the line." "You're holding up the rehearsal." "Mr. Brimmer!" "Ah, Inspector Queen, what an unexpected pleasure." "We may be slow solving murders, but we hear things." " I want that envelope." " What envelope?" "You know what envelope." "I want everything in it before it was unsealed." "Take 10." "Let's go." "Everybody out for a 10-minute break." "Unhappily, the envelope never arrived, Inspector." "Do you know that it's unlawful to withhold evidence?" "Evidence of what, may I ask?" " A crime!" " Crime?" "An autopsy was performed on Mr. Packer, and your medical examiner attributed death to contraction of the arteries, heart attack." " Brimmer, you better listen to me." " No, you listen." "This is not a police case." "It's a private murder." "Private murder?" "I was left with a request which I consider a sacred obligation." "I will brook no interference, and if I'm forced to file charges of police harassment, so be it, unless of course you're willing to admit the police blundered and are ready to re-open the case officially," "which I assume you are not." "Good-bye, Inspector." "Give my best to your son." "Come on." "There's a run-through of the new opening chorus in 20 minutes." "That's the one I can never remember." "Let me see." "One, two, one, two, three..." "What comes next?" "Try "four."" "Why don't you get lost?" "I am." "That's why I'm here." "Excuse me, sir." "I'd like to see Miss Veronica Veil." "Hey, sorry, pal." "If you're the guy sent her that two-buck bouquet, she said to hit the bricks." "No, my name is Ellery Queen." "I'm a writer." "A writer, huh?" "Where were you when we needed you, out of town?" "No, I..." "I write books, mysteries." "I have a card here, sir." "Come on." "Shuffle off, Johnny." "Shuffle off." "It's from Mrs. Packer." "From Jen?" "Let me see that." "She wrote something on the back there." "Oh, friend of hers, huh?" "You'll find Ronnie in the room with the star on the door." "It's a little star, pal, I get the big one." "I'm Risky Ross, the comic." "Glad to see you." " How do you do, Mr. Ross?" " Writer, huh?" "I could tell you a million stories about show biz." " There was once..." " Well, I..." "Excuse me, sir." "I'd like to talk to you perhaps later." "Right now I would like to see Miss Veil's dressing room." "I understand that's where Mr. Packer died." "Yeah." "If you're looking for his ghost, you're too late." "He took the film rights with him." "Yeah." "[Door knocking]" "What do you want?" " Miss Veil?" " Huh?" "My name is Ellery Queen, and I've been asked to investigate." "Well, it's about time you got here." "What about my bird?" " Your bird?" " Galahad." "My parrot." "The one I called the cops about." "You called about a parrot?" "Well, I thought you were sent here to investigate." "I was sent here to..." "the death of Sam Packer." "Sam?" "What's that to you?" "His wife asked me to look into it." "Why didn't you say so?" "What do you want to know?" "Well, could you tell me where the body was found?" "Right here." "Now, listen... about this bird..." "I really hate to keep harping on it, but... he's very important to me." "I need him." "He's part of my act..." "Miss Veil, were you in the room when Sam Packer had his heart attack?" "No, I went out for a while to make a phone call." "What time was that?" "10 after 4:00." "Sam was here in the room with me." "Now, when I get back, he's gone." "Gone?" "Oh, you mean he was dead." "I am talking about my bird." "Sam was dead, but Galahad was gone!" "I see." "Did you say you had to leave the room to make a phone call?" "Yeah, that phone doesn't work." "Nothing around here works." "That window's stuck, so he couldn't have flown outside." "And how did he get out of his cage?" "You're on, Miss Veil." "Don't call me "Miss Veil"." "I hate that." "Call me "Ronnie"." "You too." "Oh, listen... you stay right here because I need that bird." "I can see why she's a star." "She's good." "Being good had nothing to do with it." "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "What's the matter?" "Are you gonna hold on to all of those veils through the whole number?" "Galahad is supposed to take these veils and fly into the wings." "Now, he ain't here, and I can't fly." "Okay, Ronnie, we'll get you another parrot." "I don't want some strange bird taking off my veils." " I want Galahad." " Galahad is gone!" "Yeah?" "Well, you better get him back, or the veils stay on." "There just ain't time to break in a new parrot!" "R-Ronnie!" "Ronnie, you..." "Ronnie, you listen to me!" "If anything happens to me, they have orders to deliver it to your apartment one hour after you see this film." "In it, you'll find all the information I have on everybody who might have wanted me to make a quick exit." "Oh, hi, Dad." "Well, I hope I get good reviews where I'm going." "I'm just glad it isn't New Haven." "Flip the stop switch." "Well, I was gonna rewind it and play it again." "The stop switch." "[Projector stops]" "Velie and I looked all over the theater for that film." "Nobody knew what happened to it." "It just walked away." "No, I brought it home." "Do you know what the penalty is for stealing evidence?" "I wasn't stealing, Dad." "Mrs. Packer got this for me." "Mrs. Packer?" "Why did she want you to see the film?" "Sam Packer named her as a suspect, and she wants me to clear her, if I can." "Clear a suspect in a murder that never happened?" "Dad, Sam Packer said..." "I don't care what Sam Packer said." "I know what the autopsy said." "Does Mrs. Packer have any idea who photographed this?" "No." "It had to be somebody that Sam Packer trusted implicitly." "I want to know who held that camera." "Why, if there wasn't a murder?" "Nine years ago, Sam Packer was kidnapped... a publicity stunt, a fake." "Four years ago, he disappeared in a chartered plane, another publicity stunt." "That's what I think this is." "Dad, that man is dead." "What good is publicity to him now?" "Maybe he knew about his bad heart." "He set this up so that whenever it happened, he'd go out with big headlines, people would flock to see his show." "Do you really believe that?" "That's what the deputy commissioner is going to say at a press conference tomorrow morning." "Well, you'd better exhume that body tonight." "Dad, there are poisons that don't show up in a routine autopsy, but in a thorough biochemical autopsy..." "I am not going to exhume the body, and that's that!" "[Phone ringing]" "Inspector Queen." "Inspector, this is Doc Steiner." "I just performed a biochemical autopsy on Sam Packer." "What?" "Who gave you the authority?" "Well, somebody came in with a signed authoriz ation." "Signed by his widow?" "No, no, signed by the deceased..." "before he became the deceased." "It was notarized, so I assumed it was legal." "What somebody?" "Who was it?" "Well, I don't know, some little fellow with a mustache." "Simon somebody or other." "Brimmer." "Brimmer." "That's it, yeah." "Well, what did you find out?" "It was a heart attack, wasn't it?" "Well, Inspector, I'm afraid our first autopsy wasn't too thorough." " What was it?" " I didn't catch that last word." "Doc, do me a favor, will you?" "Don't tell Brimmer about this." "You're too late." "I already told him." "Wh..." "Wh..." "What was that last word?" ""Cyanide"." "Sam Packer was poisoned." "Thank you." "You again?" "How many this time?" "12 more." "This must be some theater party you're getting up." "You could say that." "Now, you're here for a complete rest, so just relax and remember... if you want anything during the night, you just ring my bell." "What the...?" "Hey!" "Well, well, well, look who's here." "Long time no see." "Ronnie, do you know anything about this telegram?" "Oh, you got one of those, too, huh?" "I wonder why Simon Brimmer wants to see all of us here." "Ohh!" "My poor flowers are so dry!" "My poor flowers are so dry!" "I must water them before they die!" "Uh..." "Nurse!" "[Bell ringing]" "What's the matter?" "Okay, kids, okay, thank you." "Let's take a short break." "That was just great." "Thanks." "Simon Brimmer wants to say a few things about Sam." "I can give you five minutes, but that's all." "We're on a tight schedule." "I understand." "Thank you, Mr. Bowie." "May I have your attention, please?" "What's this all about, Brimmer?" "I shall explain in due course." "Is Mrs. Packer in the house?" "Yes." "I'm right here, Mr. Brimmer." "Very good." "Then I see no reason why we can't proceed." "Well, let's hurry it up, will you?" "I'm all wet." "I've asked you all to be here to help me fulfill my obligation to Sam." "The envelope he mentioned in the film has arrived." "I'm sure I don't have to tell you he had very specific reasons for suspecting all four of you." "Yeah?" "Well, I know what he said about me." "He said I wanted him dead." "And didn't you, my dear?" "Or is that just something that he imagined?" "You don't have to say anything." "He has no right to question you." "But I do have considerable information and the desire to help those who are innocent." "As to what he said about you, Mr. Layton..." "It isn't true." "I'm a happily married man." "Ah." "Well, as I said, this letter is very specific." "No comment." "Do you have anything to say, Mr. Ross?" "Yeah, I'm getting pneumonia." "Mrs. Packer?" "Well, I, uh..." "Brimmer!" "I have a warrant here to take possession of that envelope." " We'll discuss it later, Inspector." " We'll discuss nothing." "Hand it over." "If you could just give me a few minutes..." "I'll give you this." "You give me that." "May I see you alone?" "It's all yours, Inspector." "Blank paper." "As I believe I mentioned before, the envelope I was supposed to receive never..." " Supposed to?" " Never arrived." "I was attempting to trick the murderer into making a confession, and if it weren't for your untimely arrival..." "Well, why didn't you tip me off?" "As we say in radio, Inspector, I was on the air, but you were not tuned in." "How did you get Sam Packer's signed authorization to exhume the body?" "I received it separately from Packer's attorney." "Then you weren't kidding." "You didn't get the envelope." "No, and I never shall." "What do you mean?" "Someone was waiting for the messenger when he arrived at my home at the appointed time." "Before he could ring my doorbell, he was struck from behind." "When he came to, the envelope was gone." "Did he see who hit him?" "Judging from the strength of the blow, he was fairly sure that it was a man." "Well, he could have been hired by a woman or working with her." "I was just about to say that." "Well, why didn't you call the police when it happened?" "Simplicity itself, Inspector." "I was afraid you'd bungle it, and you did." "Hello, everybody." "Welcome to my funeral." "Surprised?" "This is an extra added attraction." "It wasn't on the bill." "See, Dad?" "The camera was running when he walked into the picture, and at the end he walked out of the picture." "You know what I think?" "I think he set up that camera himself, turned it on, and then stepped in front of it." "Otherwise, the film would have started and ended on Packer's face, not on his office." "One dead end after another." "Brimmer was right." "I bungled things." "I should have re-opened the case right away." "Why didn't you?" "Because I have never been able to explain to you political pressure." "Well, who was applying pressure?" "I don't know." "Maybe somebody who doesn't like to see the police department admit its mistakes." "Relax, Dad." "How about a drink?" "A glass of water with a touch of cyanide." "Now, that stumps me." "The fact that cyanide is water-soluble suggests to me that Packer had something to drink in Ronnie's dressing room, but there wasn't anything to drink." " No water?" " The faucet doesn't work." "Well, maybe he had some coffee or something before he went to her room." "Cyanide works reasonably fast." "He would have felt something before he got to that room, especially a man his age." "No, my hunch is he was poisoned in that room." "Well, he still would have had time to cry out or write a note." "The man was in his 80s." "Think of what a shock that would be to his system." "Maybe he couldn't speak or move." "[Door bell ringing]" "Excuse me." " Good evening." " Evening." "I'm Gregory Layton." "I'd like to see Inspector Queen." "Yes, he's right in here." "I'm Ellery Queen." "Oh." "That's my father, Inspector Queen." "This is Mr. Layton, Mr. Gregory Layton." "Aren't you the financial backer of "Take It Off!"?" "That is one of my investments, yes." "I am here about Sam Packer's letter to Simon Brimmer." "Letter?" "You know, the letter." "I know what Packer wrote about me." "He had a vicious mind." "It was all perfectly innocent." "What was?" "You know, the stuff in the letter." "Well, there was some small measure of truth in it." "I have been seeing Veronica Veil..." "uh, Ronnie." "Well, what do you mean, "seeing her"?" "A lot of people have seen her." "All of her." "I believe in encouraging talent." "I've been urging her to try out for dramatic roles." "We were reading plays together." "Ibsen, O'Neill." "I see." "How did Sam Packer find out about your innocent evenings together?" "Ronnie left some incriminating letters lying around the dressing room." "Packer threatened to tell my wife I was having an affair." "So many of my holdings are in her name that I literally could not afford the scandal." "So, you thought it would be cheaper to back the show." "Much cheaper." ""Take It Off!" is hardly O'Neill." "I am painfully aware of that." "So, that's what he meant by twisting your arm." "Mr. Layton, didn't I read in the Gazette that the city's interested in buying some land you own?" "There was some mention of that, yes." "That would give you considerable influence downtown." "Speaking of arm-twisting, didn't you try to quash the investigation into Sam Packer's death, Mr. Layton?" "Yes, and now you know why." "[Phone ringing]" "Yeah?" "Yeah, Velie?" "Where'd they take her?" "Okay." "What?" "Jennifer Packer just took an overdose of sleeping pills." "Let me alone, please." "Jennifer, why?" "Things can't be that bad." "Mrs. Packer, I'm investigating a murder." "I must have your cooperation." "What I did has nothing to do with your investigation." "Ellery, please make him go away." "Why did you take the pills, Mrs. Packer?" "I don't have to answer that." "You know what the inference will be." "Your husband said on the film that..." "I know what my husband said." "I also know what he said in that letter to... that letter to Simon Brimmer." " I..." "It isn't true." " Dad, what about that letter?" "If it wasn't true, why not clear it up now?" "He thought I was having an affair, but I wasn't." "It was something else." "He was never at home." "I hated being alone." "One night, a friend took me to an illegal gambling casino." "Next night, I went back by myself." "How much do you owe?" "Thousands of dollars." "When the casino owner found out that my husband died penniless..." "He got tough." "I really need that insurance money, but not only for Sam's debts." "I'm afraid that sounds very much like a motive to me." "I'm sorry, Ellery." "I guess I..." "I guess I asked you to do the impossible." "There is no way to prove that I didn't kill Sam, is there?" "I'll keep working on it." "I'll keep trying." "Remember, if you want anything during the night, you just ring my bell." "Ronnie, Ronnie, darling, please, please." "Whew." "Try it again in low gear." "Another bump like the last one will close us before intermission." "Are we doing burlesque, or aren't we doing burlesque?" "Yes and... and no." "We're doing it, but we're doing it carefully." "Now, give me something kind of, you know, ladylike, huh, Ronnie doll, please?" "If you want anything during the night, you just ring my bell." "Well, ding, ding, dong." "Any word on my bird?" " Not yet, no." " Ugh." "We ought to talk to her about Packer's letter to Brimmer." "That letter..." "How can we talk about that letter when we don't even know what was in it?" "Well, maybe if we talk to the right people, we'll find out what was in it." "I see a fly!" "A fly, I see!" "I see a fly!" "I see a fly, a fly on thee!" " I got it!" " Hey!" "I see a fly!" "I see a fly!" "I see a fly!" "I see a fly!" "A fly I see!" "I see a fly!" "It's not on me!" "There's something familiar about that guy with the spray gun." "I wonder what he looks like under his makeup." "Okay, Inspector." "Well, what do you want to know?" "More years ago than I care to count," "I walked a beat in Hell's Kitchen." "There was a kid named Joey Flanders." "You got a pretty good memory." "What about this Flanders kid?" "What's with it?" "Oh, tough as nails, but he sure had a gift of the blarney." "I caught him trying to steal a car one time, but he talked me out of taking him in." "Maybe if I hadn't listened to him, he wouldn't have gone on to be a runner for the rackets." "Then he dropped out of sight." "How are you, Joey?" "Pretty good, up until now." "Is this your kid, Inspector?" "Yes, that's my son, Ellery." "Like to tell you something about your old man." "He's probably the greatest cop I ever knew." "And I ought to know." "I was the worst kid in the whole neighborhood." "They used to say there were two ways to get out of there." "Either in a paddy wagon or a hearse." "Well, I got out, and I didn't use either way." "You know how I got out?" "With the jokes." "I read sometime ago in Variety that you were gonna do a television series." ""The Friday Night Frolics"?" "Ah, it was nothing." "The whole deal fell through." "And my agent booked me on this lousy turkey instead." "Is that what really happened, or did Sam Packer find out about your past connection with the rackets?" "Hey, hey, Inspector, you're talking screwy." "We know he was blackmailing at least one other person." "Okay, look, he did threaten to go to the TV sponsors, and that would have ended my TV career for good." "You weren't a gangster, just a kid." "Yeah, well, you know it, and I know it, but everybody else would have believed Packer's version, especially those TV sponsors." "Hey, they get very, very nervous." "So, he forced me into a run-of-the-show contact." "What else could I do?" "What did you do?" " I bumped him off." " That's not too funny, Joey." "Look, in here, I killed him a hundred times, in a hundred different ways." "But in real life, I didn't have the moxie." "All right, all right, but stick around." "Oh, sure, sure." "Listen, if you happen to catch up with this guy, let me know, will you?" "I'd sure like to buy him a drink." "Pop?" "What?" "You ought not sneak up on a body like that." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I was looking for some coffee." "Is there an urn?" " Urn?" " Coffee pot." "No, if you want coffee, you got to send out to the drugstore for it." "Oh, well, isn't there anything to drink backstage?" "There's a soda-pop machine downstairs in the dressing room." "Downstairs." "Thanks, Pop." "Thank you." "Sorry." "Pardon me." "Hey, now, what time is he picking you up tonight?" "I don't know." "Right after the show..." "Does this thing work?" "Sure, it works." "Well, nothing came out, including my nickel." "Well, that's how it works." "But we got it beat, see?" "We don't put any nickels in." "Oh." "Thank you very much." "Drop in again sometime, now that you know the way." "Excuse me." "This is Simon Brimmer." "I'm trying to reach someone, anyone connected with the theater collection of the New York Public Library." "At long last." "I want to make an appointment to conduct some research for my radio show." "Brimmer, Simon Brimmer." "I am especially interested in the memorabilia relating to the late Sam Packer." "I have already told you that I can't do an exotic turn unless I get some kind of help." "Now, if you can't find my parrot, at least get me a fan or a balloon, a big balloon, or else I am going to strip." "No..." "And you don't want me doing my old number, do you?" "No, Ronnie, I don't want you to do that." "It could close us down in 30 seconds." "Ronnie, Ronnie, I'll see what I can do." "Yeah, well, you better hurry up." "We open tomorrow night." "Okay, Ronnie." "Where's my robe?" "Somebody get me a robe!" "Uh, robe, robe." "Is, uh..." "Is this a robe?" "Yes, yes, yes, yes." "Listen, you better hurry up and find my parrot." "I feel naked without it." " Miss Veil..." " Ronnie." "I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes, Ronnie." "Talk to me while I dress." "Thank you." "Grab a seat." "I'll go behind the screen." "Behind the screen?" "What's so funny about that?" "I was just thinking about the way you get undressed." "Oh, that's different." "On stage, I'm an actress." "Here, I'm a person." "Ronnie, how did you get the name Veronica Veil?" "Do you like that?" "Yeah." "I picked it up in a grind house in Kansas City." ""Veronica and Her Seven Veils"." "That was my first big exotic number." "I changed it to Veronica Veil when I got my big chance with Minsky's." "Minsk..." "Oh, New York." "Yeah, big time." "Two grand a week." "That was 1937." "Three weeks later, La Guardia killed burlesque." "Can you beat that?" "I really dated myself that time, huh?" "1937." "That was 10 years ago." "A decade." "You know, when you say it like that, it sounds like a really long time, huh?" "Would you give me that sweater, please?" "Thank you." "What did you do between 1937 and now?" "Starved." "I worked dives." "I had to mingle with the customers, hustle drinks." "Then I met this sailor." "You know, I don't even remember his name now." "Anyway, he gave me this parrot." "Galahad." "Yeah." "And you know, that gave me an inspiration." "See, I..." "I worked up this act where Galahad flew in and took off my veils, one at a time." "Sam Packer caught my act in Union City, and here I am." "What did you think of Sam Packer?" "I guess it's no secret, since Sam wrote it in that letter to Simon Brimmer." "Did you read that?" "I've heard about it." "Well..." "I thought that Sam was a spider, and I told him so to his face." "When?" "At our out-of-town opening night, when he threatened to drop me from the show." "I told him, "If you think that you can replace me in this show, I'm gonna..."" "You're gonna what?" "Kill him." "Oh, but I didn't mean that." "Besides, Sam wouldn't dare replace me, not after Greggy had invested in the show." "Greggy..." "Oh, Gregory Layton." "He likes me for my talents." "He reads to me all the time from O'Neill and Ebsen." "Ebsen?" "Yeah, I didn't know the buddy wrote plays." "But there are a lot of things that I don't know." "And Gregory's teaching them to me." "Of course, I'm teaching him a lot of things, too." "Like how to spend his money." "Oh, boy, I sure could be happy if..." "if I only had Galahad back." "Now, Ronnie, it's strange that Galahad disappeared the same time Packer was killed." "Maybe the killer took the bird." "Took Galahad?" "Think." "Think very carefully, Ronnie." "It's important." "Did the parrot know anyone well enough to identify?" "I don't know what you mean." "Well, perhaps it's ridiculous, but if the parrot knew who came in the room, he might have been squawking the killer's name." "And he had to take him to prevent the parrot from revealing the killer's identity." "You know something?" "That is terrific." "That's very smart." "The only problem with that idea is Galahad only knew three words..." ""take," "it," "off."" "That dumb bird didn't even know my name." "Nice try, kid." "It's all over, Dr. Kramer." "I've discovered the body." "I'm prepared to offer you $1 million to keep my secret, Mr. Brimmer." "Agreed?" "Negative." "In that case..." "[Organ music plays] He drew a pistol." "I fought desperately to get it." "[Gunfire]" "He succeeded in cheating the electric chair." "He shot himself." ""The Casebook of Simon Brimmer" is brought to you by Vita-Creme, the hair tonic for that shinier shine." "And now, a final word from that superlative spinner of suspenseful stories." "This is Simon Brimmer saying "good evening"." "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." "Good show." "Fabulous performance, Mr. Brady." "Brought back memories of your Broadway triumphs, all those magnificent starring roles." "The pause wasn't too long?" "It was truly..." "pregnant with suspense." "Thank you, Mr. Brimmer." "I hope you can use me again." "Oh, I will." "No, don't go." "You know, while browsing through some theatrical memorabilia," "I came across an intriguing item." "You were the juvenile lead in "Hot Stuff," Sam Packer's first hit." "My, you really are a theater buff, aren't you?" "Why don't we drop in at The Lambs Club for a drink?" "You know, I adore reminiscences about the golden days, when giants trod the boards." "Thank you." "What's that?" "Who's there?" "It's me, Ellery Queen." "Pop?" "Don't you ever go home?" "Well, the night watchman didn't show." "How did you get back in?" "Stage manager gave me a key." "Oh, well, I..." "I must have dozed off." "Pop, did you see Mr. Packer go into Ronnie's dressing room the day of his heart attack?" "Yeah, he passed right by me without saying a word." "Was he carrying a cup of coffee or anything else to drink?" " No." " How'd he look?" "Fine." "Well, here's my problem." "I'm studying up on the properties of hydrocyanic acid." "That's what killed him." "He must have had something to drink." "Did anybody bring him anything?" "Not that I noticed." "Where was Mr. Layton?" "Oh, he's always backstage during rehearsals." "And Mrs. Packer?" "Oh, she came back to make a phone call at about that time." "Ronnie made one, too, didn't she?" "Look, if I was a memory expert, I'd be in the show." "Ronnie?" "Ronnie?" "Oh, let me see." "Well, she went in and out of her dressing room like a yo-yo." "But if you'd ask me to swear if she used the phone," "I'd have to pass." "That kind of poison has early effects." "It must have gotten into his system when he was in the dressing room." "Pop, would you mind going with me?" "Anything you say, Johnny." "Oh, Pop, according to a police report, you heard Ronnie scream about 10 after 4:00." "Yeah, I got there as fast as I could." "The only one ahead of me was Mr. Layton." "What about Risky Ross?" "Oh, he went out right before that to get a bag of hamburgers." "I see." "Pop, do you think that faucet could have been working?" "No, that water hasn't run since Coolidge ran." "Of course, somebody could have brought something in when you weren't looking." "Now you're gonna ask me what I saw when I wasn't looking." "No, sir." "Could you tell me where the body was?" "There, facedown, head pointing towards the Astor Hotel." "Uh..." "like this?" "Nah, your head's facing towards Walgreens." "Swing around here." "Hold it." "That's right." "Okay." "Now, according to police statistics, Sam Packer was 5'71/2."" " Yeah, in his lifts." " Lifts." "Then he was standing... here." "Mm." "See..." "Thanks, Pop." "For what?" "I don't think either one of us did much." "Well, that's it." "Now I know how it happened, and why the murder took the parrot." "How do you have it figured?" "Was it the wife, or the comic, or the stripper, or the angel, or one of the longshots?" "Now, there's something I should have caught the first day I came here." "Once you figure out how, you'll know who." "I don't know why you don't get one of those clip-on ties." "Now, hold still, will you?" "Dad, we don't want to be late for opening-night curtain." "Why, is there any part of that show you haven't seen at least 20 times?" "Besides, I want to make the arrest tonight, before that killer has a chance to get away." "Dad, that killer's gonna be busy tonight." "Besides, I don't want to do anything till I hear from the toxicology lab." "I thought you knew how it was done." "Well, I think I do, but I've been wrong before." "When?" "Dad, I really don't want to see the look on Jennifer Packer's face if my theory falls apart." "[Telephone rings]" "Hold on." "That could be the lab now." "Hello." "Queen residence." "Oh, hi, Velie." "He what?" "!" "We're on our way." "What's up?" "Simon Brimmer's gathering all the suspects in the theater's green room." "He says he has the case solved." "Come on." "We can't hold the curtain for this nonsense." "There are important critics out front." "This is more important, Mr. Bowie." "We have a murderer in this room, and I am about to reveal his identity." "Well, can't you do it after the intermission?" "Certainly not." "Your producer met with an untimely death, and I have been entrusted with bringing his killer to light." "But why do you have to do it on opening night?" "They want to know..." "should they start the overture?" "Yes, tell them to start it, and play it again if they have to." "Yes, sir." "And tell the stage manager I want..." "Never mind." "I'll tell her myself." "Now, look here, Brimmer... you have no authority to keep us here." "You tell him, Greggy." "Just a moment, please." "Am I to understand that you do not wish, for some personal reason of your own, to see Sam Packer's killer exposed?" "I didn't say that." "It was certainly my impression." "Well, come on." "Let's get it over with." "Hey, we got a show to put on here." "Yeah, what are you waiting for?" "A lady, Miss Veil." "Mrs. Packer." "Stay with it, girls." " Hello, Dick." " I didn't expect to see you tonight." "Simon Brimmer asked me to come." "Brimmer... you'll find him in the green room." "And if he doesn't let everybody out of there, you'll find me in a padded cell." "Hurry up, Dad." "I hope we're not too late." "That you, Sergeant Tolson?" "Velie, Sergeant Velie, what are you doing here?" "Homicide." "What are you doing here?" "Vice squad." "Is it true?" "You know who killed my husband?" "Without a shadow of a doubt." "Please take a seat." "I'm ready to begin." "Simon, you wait just a minute." "This is a closed meeting." "Yeah, we know... private murder." "Velie, go outside." "Close the door." "Don't let anybody in." "Right, but I think I better tell you about a guy I just ran..." "Tell me later." "Shut the door." "Are you all right?" "I'm holding up, if that's what you mean." "Ladies and gentlemen, if I may, I'd like to tell you a story." "Keep it clean." "Keep it short." "I'm on after the first chorus." "It was relayed to me by an aging actor on my network radio show," ""The Casebook of Simon Brimmer"." "This is gonna take all night." " Excuse me." " Hold it." " Green room's off limits." " By whose orders?" "Inspector Queen." "My stars are in there." "The curtain is going up." " Keep it down." " I can't." "It's too late." "35 years ago, there was another opening like this one, a show called "Hot Stuff", produced by the one and only Sam Packer." "After the final curtain, there was a party, much drinking, too much, especially..." "I regret to say..." "by Mr. Packer." "I have here a newspaper that appeared the following morning." "After the party, Mr. Packer was in no condition to drive, but he insisted on taking the wheel." "One of the actors in the show was with him." "There was a terrible accident." "Packer wasn't injured, but the other man was... permanent damage to his leg, a series of painful operations that ruined his career." "Who are you talking about, Mr. Brimmer?" "Mr. Alexander Dennie, known to you all as Pop." "Simon, excuse me..." "are you saying Pop did it?" "That is correct." "Good." "That means I'm innocent." "So, can I please go do my number now, hmm?" "Haven't you ever heard the words "The show must go on"?" "Yeah, but who says it has to go on now?" "[Laughs sarcastically]" " Did I make it?" " Oh, just in time." " Get out there and knock them dead." " Yeah, yeah." " Ronnie?" " Yeah?" " Don't get carried away." " Yeah, okay." "If you think I killed Packer, you're nuttier than a fruitcake." "He paid all your medical bills, and out of guilt, he's kept you on the payroll ever since." "But all your hopes, all your plans were smashed in that automobile accident." "For 35 years, he took care of you, and for 35 years, you hated him." "That's not true." "Simon, how did Pop poison him?" "How was the cyanide dissolved?" "There was no water in the room, no coffee, no soft drinks." "I'm aware of that, Inspector." "It appears that once again the police have overlooked the obvious." "And what is the obvious?" "Pop's flask." "We've all seen him take little nips." "He put the cyanide in his whiskey, went into the dressing room, and offered Packer a drink." "A few swallows, and the deed was done." "Simon, that's very clever." "Merely an adroit combination of research and deduction." "Unfortunately, you're forgetting something." "And what might that be?" "Sam Packer had an ulcer." "Remember?" "He told us about it in the film." "And it's not likely that he'd drink whiskey with a problem like that." "He's right." "If... if Sam took so much as one drop of alcohol, it caused him a great deal of pain." "Are you sure about that?" "Congratulations, Brimmer, you've done it again." "Done what?" "Accused the wrong man." "Tell him, Ellery." " Dad, I can't." " Why not?" "You told me." "Ellery, if you know something about Sam's death..." "Well, I..." " Maestro, the lab just called." " What did they say?" " You're on the button." " Thank you, Velie." "Well, that's that." "Now I know how Sam Packer died." "We all know how he died..." "cyanide poisoning." "The question is..." "how did he drink it?" "Well, that's the thing..." "you see, he didn't drink it." "He inhaled it." "Inhaled it?" "That's impossible." "Now... you fill this with water, add a heavy dose of cyanide, and..." "Risky, you walked into his dressing room, let him have it right in the face with a spray of cyanide." "You know, in a way, he was gassed to death." "Hey, what are you, some kind of a nut?" "That's got to be the screwiest thing I ever heard." "The parrot was the tip-off." "Sam Packer was standing in front of the cage." "Some of the spray killed him, but some of it missed and killed the parrot." "You couldn't leave a dead bird around." "That'd be a giveaway." "No, you had to get rid of it." "So... so, what did I do, eat the bird, feathers and all?" "No, no." "Pop, you said Risky went out for hamburgers that night." " What was he wearing?" " His costume." "His costume... baggy pants, with enough room to put a parrot in." "And in the sewer when you came back." "Look, I'd already lost the TV job." "I'm opening in a new show." "So, why?" "Why would I want to kill him?" "Well, the answer was probably in the letter, the one you took from the messenger boy and destroyed." "You know, you were the only one who didn't assume we read the letter... 'cause you knew we didn't." "Sam Packer blackmailed your career into a nosedive." "That's why you killed him." "Revenge." "I could have had my own television variety show." "Packer forced me into the whole thing." "Back in my old neighborhood, we didn't just get sore... we got even." "I made a mistake years ago, Joey." "I should have run you in for trying to steal that car." "Velie!" "Yes, sir?" "Take him in." "Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the theater..." "First time I ever closed before I even opened." "Splendid, gentlemen, well done." "Well, you do seem to have Dame Fortune on your side, Queen." "Oh, well, c'est la vie." "Ellery... thank you." "Take care, Jennifer." "[Whistle blowing]" "MAN:" "Easy!" "Easy!" "Hey, Inspector, you sure missed a hot number." "I didn't mean to do it." "I just got carried away." "The name is Simon Brimmer." "Surely you've heard of me, Officer 973." "Okay, buster, move it." "Uh, officer..." "No, no, no, let's go out the front way."