"## [theme]" "Hi, Otto." "Hey, Andy." " Where's your new partner?" " Oh, he'll be right back." "Say, Mama's been askin' for you." "That's two Thursday nights in a row now you've missed." "Ah, your mother's patented wiener schnitzel, but only the best." "Tell her I'm sorry, Otto." "I've been working hard, been very busy." "But not too busy to wet-nurse a rookie, huh?" "Well, after all, the guy's my cousin." "Okay, Lieutenant, sir." "It's Jimmy Anderson's first night riding prowl car instead of pounding a beat." "You want me to keep an eye on him, right?" "What are you doing here?" "Oh, uh, I had to see somebody, so I just thought I'd" "Wish me luck on my first night, huh?" "Thanks, Andy." "Come on, Otto." "We'll be late for assembly." "Okay, let's go." "Don't wait up for us, Daddy." "We might be late." "Is something wrong?" " Could be." " [police radio chatter]" "The gate's open, and I don't see Pearce anyplace." "Pearce?" "Ralph Pearce, night watchman." "When they got the payroll sitting in the safe overnight, Pearce always-- [explosion]" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "I said let's go!" "Oh, I thought you'd left for the night, Lieutenant." "Get your hat, Andy." "Homicide?" "Downtown" " Wilson Plastics." "The safe was cracked, payroll stolen." "And, uh, they shot a policeman." "Your friend, Otto Norden." "What?" "Sorry, Andy." "He's dead." "What about the kid?" "Officer James Anderson?" "He's all right?" "He wasn't hurt?" "Maybe better if he had been." "One of the plant executives drove up just as the shooting started inside." "He saw Officer James Anderson outside... running away." "[Man] Yes, I'd just driven up and gotten out of my car when I saw this officer running away from the plant towards the street." "He stopped running when he saw me." "But according to the officer here, you both heard the shots that came from inside the building." "Either way, suit yourself." "Well, we both ran in, found the empty safe, the policeman dead." "The night watchman was drugged and unconscious in a cold room they use for storage on the other side of the plant." "Well, thank you very much, Mr. Wilson." "I'll be in my aunt's office with the others." "Otto sent you around the back while he went in the front?" " Yes." " Just inside the back doorway," " somebody hit you on the head?" " Yes." "Or was it like you told me before-- you tripped, fell, and bumped your head?" "Yes." "No." "I-I'm not sure, Andy." "Come on, now, what was it?" "You tripped and fell or you were hit?" "I don't know, Andy!" "I don't know." "Jimmy, I'm" " I'm only trying to help." "All right, now, you were out." "You came to-- sick, dizzy, mixed-up." "You started back to the squad car looking for Otto." "That's when I saw that guy Wilson drive up and when I heard the shots inside." "I was never inside the plant, and I wasn't running away, believe me!" "Andy, about Otto." " [door opens]" " You know I" "That other lieutenant" " Tragg, I think-- wants to see you, Lieutenant Anderson." "All right." "Thanks." "Well, now, they tell me you went and got yourself slugged on the head." "Knocked unconscious, huh?" "Suppose we take a look at it." "The money chest lock is shot." "They blew it with nitro-- too much nitro, Lieutenant." "Made confetti out of everything inside." "The money, too?" "Probably not." "It was inside the steel compartment." " It wasn't hurt." " [door opens]" "But it was stolen." "Oh." "This is Lieutenant Anderson, homicide." "Mrs. Wilson, president of the company." "And you've met her nephew, Dwight Wilson." "And Mr. Leland." "He is the company treasurer." "Well, Mr. Leland?" "Records, books, completely destroyed, of course." "We have microfilm copy duplicates-- which we didn't keep in the safe-- of most of the material, so we shouldn't have too much trouble reconstructing the ledgers, Carrie." "The money, Mr. Leland-- how much was stolen?" "$60,000 in paper currency." "Oh, Doctor, our night watchman, Pearce, how is he?" "Apparently drugged and unconscious." "I sent him to the hospital to have his stomach pumped." " He'll be all right, Mrs. Wilson." " Thank you." "And the young policeman who was running away, is he all right?" " Fine." " What about his head?" "Must be hard as a rock." "You know, you'd almost think he imagined he fell or was slugged." "There's just a scratch and barely a bump on his head." "Well, if our company can help you in any other way, please don't hesitate to call on us, Lieutenant." "Thank you, Mr. Morrell." "Ohm come in, Steve, come in." "Detective Toland, burglary." "This is Mr. Arthur Morrell, vice-president of Wilson Plastics." "Mr. Morrell." "I understand you've been to the hospital to see our night watchman." " How is he?" " Pearce is fine, sir." "He was released this morning." "He's going back to work tonight." "Check his story?" "Yes." "Had lunch about midnight." "Started feeling sick." "Passed out in the cold room before he could get to a phone-- somewhere around 12:30, he thinks." "And the safe was blown up and robbed a little after 1 in the morning." "These professional crooks really have everything figured out, don't they?" "Not the fact that Otto Norden was going to show up." "They shot him." "Well, there's no need to detain you any longer, Mr. Morrell." "If we need you, we'll get in touch." "And thank you very much for your help." "Not at all." "Lieutenant." "Mr. Toland." "Professional crooks?" "Sure." "The pros haven't used nitro in years." "And two ounces of the stuff?" "Oh, no." "This was strictly amateur night in Dixie." "Hmm." "Or an inside job." "Well, I promised I'd take Mrs. Wilson around to see Mama Norden." " Thanks, Steve." " Andy?" "The department's internal security already has this, so you might as well, for what it's worth." "Has what?" "Well, three days ago," "I investigated a reported burglary at a chemical analysis plant." "Real funny one." "Someone swiped some liquid detergent, a bottle of new perfume they were testing called Naughty Lady, some other cockeyed odds and ends, and, uh, two ounces of nitro." "The same amount used at Wilson Plastics." "One other thing." "The thief was seen-- not his face, but what he was wearing." "Andy, a uniformed policeman was seen leaving that place." "This chemical lab that was burgled-- whose beat was it on?" "The kid who was transferred to the squad cars two days later" "Officer James Anderson." ""Dedication above and beyond the call of duty."" "The department's highest decoration, the Cross of Valor, to Officer Otto Norden." "When the chief handed it to me, he said" "It's all right, Mama Norden, it's all right." "Otto died the way he would have wanted to-- a good policeman doing his job." "Ja, Andy, he was a good policeman." "He was always so proud of that." "Well, that's certainly something for you to be proud of, Mrs. Norden." "Otto is dead." "Andy, he's dead." "Why all the tears?" "It's not every woman who has two things to be proud of-- a son who was a hero and the finest wiener schnitzel this side of Vienna." "Oh, the wiener schnitzel!" "Oh, every Thursday, he would come." "He's like my son." "Both my sons-- it was such fun." "Put that back, Andy." "I'm going to make for Mrs. Wilson some tea." " Mama." " Excuse" "Mama, wait." "Oh, that's a present!" "That's the last present Otto gave me." "That's only a few days ago." "That's a perfume, a fine perfume." "Look." "Naughty Lady." "Naughty." "Mama, this is important." "Where did Otto get this perfume?" "Oh, I don't know." "Oh, yeah, he said his partner-- What's his name?" "Jimmy" " Jimmy gave it to him." "Did you give that perfume to Otto?" "No, I didn't." "That burglary on your beat before you got yourself transferred to the squad car detail-  what do you know about it?" " Nothing." "Look at me when I talk to you." "Did you take that perfume from the chemical lab and give it to" "Hey, your badge-- where is it?" "The Chief has it." "He took it when he suspended me." "I've been ordered to face a Board of Rights hearing in five days." "Oh." "I'm" " I'm sorry, Jimmy." "I didn't know." "I don't know what to do." "Andy, I'll need somebody on the force to act as my representative," " to help me with" " Help you?" "Act as my counsel at the hearing." "I know Otto was a close friend and Mrs. Norden's been like a mother to you, but" "Jimmy, I" "Well... you're my cousin." "I see." "It's not like when I was a kid and you got me out of trouble." "I didn't say that." "Never mind." "You don't have to." "You just leave it hang all over your face like a big sign, just like the rest of them." "Andy, why don't you just come right out and say it?" "You think I ran out on Otto, don't you?" " No, Jimmy." " On account of me, he's dead." "That's what you think, isn't it?" "Well, let me tell you something." "You just forget I asked you to help me." "You just forget it." "I'll take care of myself." "Jimmy!" "[door opens]" "Mrs. Wilson is expecting me." "Mrs. Wilson?" "Yes, Fleta?" "Lieutenant Anderson is here." "Have him wait a moment, please." "Call Howard Duncan and ask him to bring that time clock with him." "And then show both gentlemen in." "After all that's happened-- robbery, murder-- is this the time to bring it up again?" "I thought the issue was settled, Arthur." "We are not buying out Hillman Plastics or any other company." "You're wrong, Carrie." "We have a $2-million defense contract, ours for the asking, if we buy out Hillman." "The answer was no before, it'll be no again tonight at the board meeting." "You, your nephew, and Jerel Leland against Duncan and me." "Always 3 to 2 against progress." "Well, you'd better have the great Mr. Perry Mason here tonight." "Our company attorney?" "Why?" "I'm going to make my proposal once more." "If it is voted down again, I'm handing in my resignation." "You better do some thinking about that, Carrie." "Come in, gentlemen." "Lieutenant, Mr. Duncan is our general manager." "I asked him to bring the recording time clock that Pearce carried." "Thank you." "Mr. Duncan, would you unlock it for me, check the recording disk, and see what was the last time Pearce punched in on his clock that night?" "Certainly." "Glad to, Lieutenant." "Just a moment, Mr. Duncan." "I don't know whether the lab can check this out or not, but that sure looks like a fresh bullet crease to me." "But I don't understand." "Officer Otto Norden fired one shot before he was killed." "Wait a minute." "If that shot hit this case, then Pearce wasn't unconscious on the other side of the plant." "Pearce must've been present." "He must've seen who robbed the safe." "That or Pearce did it himself, not realizing the policeman's bullet struck this case... and tipped off the fact that he was lying." "This is Ralph Pearce's place." "Just a second, fellas." "I'd like to see that search warrant you said you had." "Did Mr. Pearce go to work tonight as usual?" "Uh-huh." "Just like I told the cop that was here earlier." "Yeah, this looks okay." "You can go ahead and search." "This other policeman looking for Pearce, did he tell you his name?" "Yeah." "That's funny." "It's just like yours" " Anderson." "Well, call me if you need anything." "37 About $30,000, I'd say, Lieutenant." "Half the money that was stolen, Mr. Duncan." "What about the serial numbers, Steve?" "They check." "This is part of the robbery money." "There's no question of it." "One partner's share, maybe." "Let's go pick up Pearce." "These are my figures and analysis of the diversification plan involving the purchase of Hillman Plastics." "Hear, hear." "I now advise, as I have in the past, against the move." "Just as Mrs. Wilson would expect you to do." "If I'm consistent, Mr. Morrell, so are you." "This matter has come up repeatedly, and with the same result-- a 3 to 2 vote against purchase." "However, if you insist on wasting time and voting again, despite the obvious meaning of the figures I quoted, why, I can't" "I don't care what the figures signify." "It's expand or die." "I say again, there's no alternative." "We must diversify." "But, Arthur, in terms of profits, of a reasonable return on invested capital, well, I must reiterate Mrs. Wilson's basic concern, which I confess I share." "All right, Jerel." "That's enough." "I think we've just about talked this thing into the ground." "Unless there are any objections, I'm going to call for a vote." "Carrie Wilson-- no." "Arthur Morrell?" "Yes." "Jerel Leland?" "No." "I assume, Arthur, that you have Howard Duncan's proxy." "I do." "Howard Duncan votes yes." "Dwight Wilson?" "If it's not too much trouble, nephew, would you give us your usual negative vote?" "I vote yes." "What?" "[knock on door]" "Excuse me." "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this is urgent." "We can't find Ralph Pearce in the plant." " Now, if any of you hap-- - [gunshot]" "[gunshot]" "What was that shooting?" "Toland, I think." "Sounded like he was chasing" "It's Ralph Pearce, the night watchman." "It looks like he's been strangled to death." "Since this Board of Rights hearing is not a criminal proceeding, a finding of guilt does not require conviction in the minds of the board members to a moral certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt." "A finding of guilty based on a preponderance of evidence is sufficient." "The accused will raise his right hand." "What's taking them so long?" "You don't make snap decisions when you've got a man's career, his future, in your hands." "Come off it, Andy." "I was picked as a sacrificial goat before we even walked into that room." "The fraternity of the police department-- cops gotta stick together." "Oh, sure." "Stick together against what?" "The press-- and don't forget the public." "Oh, no." "Must give the public its little bone to chew." "Throw a policeman into the arena and let the cop-hating public devour him." "You think everybody hates policemen." "Oh, no, not everybody, Andy." "Their wives and mothers, kids, they're all just crazy about the underpaid fools." "Jimmy, you didn't have to attend this hearing personally, you know?" "You could have just walked away from the department." "Be honest with yourself." "Why are you even here?" "Because you're a policeman." "What else would you want to be?" "The accused will rise." "Guilty as charged." "They dismissed him from the force." "I'm sorry, Jimmy." "Never mind that hearing business, Andy." "We hoped it wouldn't, but five minutes ago, evidence turned up that clinched the case." "James Anderson, I have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of Ralph Pearce." "This hearing transcript of Jimmy's dismissal, everything I've heard about the case, Andy-- it seems conclusive that the robbery must've been tied in with the murder." "Andy, if there was ever a case where a police officer's hand was caught in the till, this has got to be it." "I agree with you, Paul." "There was a policeman involved in that theft, all right, but which policeman?" "You don't mean Otto Norden, the policeman who was killed?" "Yes, Perry, I'm afraid I do." "[Della] But he was killed trying to stop the robbery." "What robbery?" "That phony, obviously planned performance at Wilson Plastics?" "Who was the brave Otto Norden protecting the payroll from?" "The night watchman?" "Remember, we found that stolen money hidden under Pearce's mattress." "Only half of it." "But why do you paint Otto into that picture?" "The perfume, the stolen nitro." "Remember, the witness never saw a face, only a uniform." "Well, Otto Norden wore a uniform, all right, but so did Jimmy Anderson, and it was his beat." "Jimmy knew nothing about Wilson Plastics or its night watchman or its payroll." " But Otto did?" " Yes." "And Otto sent Jimmy around to the rear where the waiting night watchman knocked him out." "That's the way I figure it." "Now, suppose Pearce had already blown the safe." "He and Otto argue over the money." "Pearce shot Otto, stashed the money away somewhere, drank that drugged coffee, and waited for the police to come." "Neat package, Andy." "But it leaves one large question unanswered." "Forgetting why for the moment, just tell me who killed Pearce." "Well, his death may have had nothing at all to do with the robbery." "Or with your cousin Jimmy?" "Come on, Andy, get off it." "If Otto Norden was mixed up in that robbery, there must've been a motive and evidence of such." "Now, have you spoken to Mrs. Norden concerning the possibility of her son's involvement?" "No." "Perry, she's been-- well, she's been practically like my mother, too." "All she's got left is the memory of a dead hero and a mantelpiece full of citations and medals." "I'd rather cut off my arm than hurt her." "And what would you rather do in place of allowing your cousin to be convicted of murder?" "That's why I'm here, Perry." "I'd like you to defend the kid." "All right, Andy." "But what about you?" "Will you defend him?" "If I find evidence involving him, I'll" "I'll put him into the gas chamber myself." "I know going back to that plant was the kind of stupid stunt only a fool rookie would pull, but..." "Mr. Mason, I didn't kill him." "Ralph Pearce was dead when I stumbled over his body in that cold room." "Then I heard Detective Toland coming, and I ran." "Now that's the truth." "The police report indicates that Pearce had been searched from head to toe after he was killed." "Were you responsible?" "No, I never searched him." "Why would I do that?" "Why were you in the plant in the first place?" "Well, I wanted to clear myself, and I couldn't be caught there investigating." "I'd been trying to figure out when and how his lunch got drugged that night." "I'd already found out he had his lunch fixed at a small restaurant." "He'd pick it up every night, take it to the plant, put it in his locker where he kept it locked till he went for it at midnight." "His coffee could've been drugged in the restaurant." "Someone in the plant could've gotten into his locker." "Or he drugged it himself." "Knowing the police would drive by looking for him, he was taking a big chance, unless one of those cops was his accomplice." "Jimmy, you were one of those cops." "I know." "And I know that Mrs. Norden says I gave Otto that perfume, but, Mr. Mason, I never saw that perfume." "And I never stole that nitro from that chemical lab." "So, if you weren't the one, then it had to be Otto Norden." "It had to be Otto, Mr. Mason." "You knew my Otto, Mr. Mason?" "Please understand, Mrs. Norden, as attorney for Andy's cousin, it's necessary for me to find out what I can about everyone involved in this case." "That Jimmy is a bad boy." "He's no good." "He ran away." "If it wasn't for him" "So I'll answer what questions I can." "Concerning that bottle of perfume-- did Otto actually say that Jimmy gave it to him?" "Well, he said something about his partner." "Can't remember exactly the words, but that's what he said." "Isn't it possible, Mrs. Norden, that you might have misunderstood him?" "That you were mistaken?" "It's also possible that I am a liar." "I didn't say that." "You didn't have to say it, Mr. Mason." "I know about the robbery with the perfume." "I know it was a man in a policeman's uniform who took the perfume and the stuff to blow up Mrs. Wilson's safe." "I know also that the place that was robbed was on the young Anderson's beat." "Beat or not, Jimmy wasn't the only uniformed policeman in Los Angeles." "You are calling my Otto a thief." "Am I, Mrs. Norden?" "Or are you?" "My Otto was no crook!" "He was a policeman!" "A good policeman!" "What are you trying to do?" "Destroy his name?" "Take away all I have left in the world?" "That Jimmy Anderson, he is the one!" "He killed the watchman." "He killed my Otto!" "Go back to your killer!" "I don't want to talk about him!" "You're bad!" "You're both bad, trying to hurt my Otto!" "[sobbing]" "Jimmy Anderson is fighting for his life." "He's just a scared kid." "I'm trying to help him." "Don't you understand, Mrs. Norden?" "Jimmy is not guilty." "So who is guilty?" "My Otto?" "My Otto got out of the grave to kill that man?" "We're talking about the perfume, talking about the robbery." "So why should he steal?" "I'm sorry, Mrs. Norden." "[door opens, closes]" "Ohh." "Mrs. Wilson, gentlemen." "You said you wanted to see us." "Well, here we are, Perry." "Would you tell us why you want to see us, that is, if it isn't too much trouble?" "No trouble at all, Mr. Morrell." "You see, I believe one of you murdered Ralph Pearce." "You're out of your mind." "[Mason] That's been said before, many times." "Mr. Mason, I thought that James Anderson was under arrest for Pearce's murder." "He is." "The night Pearce was murdered, those of us here in this room were the only ones in the plant." "Aside from Pearce and James Anderson." "That's right." "Pearce went on duty at 8." "We met in this room at 9." "At the time James Anderson arrived and stumbled onto Pearce," "Pearce was already dead." "So, if young Anderson is telling the truth-- if-- then one of us killed Pearce before we met at 9." "[Mason] That would be correct." "[Duncan] What time did James Anderson enter the building?" "At approximately a quarter of 10." "Then you're wrong, Mr. Mason." "It would've been physically impossible for any one of us to have killed Pearce." "Why?" " Well" " Go ahead and tell him, Mr. Duncan." "He'll find out in court anyway." "The last time Pearce punched in on his rounds was in the cold room at 10:00." "We were all in here from 9:00 until the body was found, and not one of us left this room." "The only other person in the plant was Officer James Anderson." "There's more, Perry." "We found the rest of the money that was stolen from the safe." "Where?" "Hidden in Jimmy's apartment." "It is the state's contention, Your Honor, that the accused, James Anderson, and the deceaced night watchman Ralph Pearce jointly planned and executed a $60,000 robbery of the premises and the safe of the Wilson Plastics Company," "during which robbery police officer Otto Norden was feloniously slain." "And we will show that when the police investigation threatened to reveal the complicity of the night watchman in this robbery, and through him the complicity of the defendant," "James Anderson murdered Ralph Pearce." "Yes, I personally checked the serial numbers of the currency the police showed me." "With what result, Mr. Leland?" "The $60,000 recovered by the police was the identical $60,000 to that stolen from our safe." "I see." "Thank you, sir." "I think that'll be all." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "Mr. Leland, would you say that the decedent, Ralph Pearce, was a good night watchman?" "Your Honor, I object to that question." "That calls for an opinion and a conclusion of the witness." "As attorney for his company, you should know that he's not plant superintendent." "He's company treasurer." "Objection sustained." "All right, Mr. Leland, as company treasurer, can you tell us whether or not the night watchman Mr. Pearce was covered by a bond?" "Yes, Mr. Mason, most emphatically so." "We'd be derelict indeed in not paying to have him bonded." "Was there any trouble in having him bonded?" "I don't specifically recall, but I shouldn't imagine so." "You see, Mr. Mason, Ralph Pearce was a former Los Angeles policeman." "I also know he left the police department involuntarily, that he'd been asked to resign." "Perhaps the bonding company was aware of that fact and accordingly increased their rates." "I can't answer without checking the records of the bonding company." "Didn't your own company keep such records?" "Naturally, Mr. Mason, of course, but we lost those specific records, I'm sure, when the nitroglycerine explosion that opened the safe also destroyed the contents of the safe." "Including the list of serial numbers of the stolen money?" "Yes, that list was destroyed, as a matter of fact." "Then how could you give the police the list of serial numbers of the stolen money?" "There were microfilm records of about 90% of the safe's contents-- microfilm records not involved in the explosion." "Including, most fortuitously, microfilm copy that we had made of that serial number list." "No further questions." "To your knowledge, Lieutenant, did the defendant, James Anderson, know the decedent, Ralph Pearce, prior to the robbery at Wilson Plastics?" "Yes, sir, I know that recently, when Jimmy Anderson was at the police academy, one of his instructors was Ralph Pearce." "He was still on the force at that time." "Now, Lieutenant Tragg, I show you this certified copy of a police department assignment order." "I ask you in what manner this assignment order refers to the defendant." "Yes, sir, this order transferred officer James Anderson, the defendant, from the beat to the prowl car detail and assigned him to Officer Otto Norden's car." "A prowl car whose customary patrol area included the Wilson Plastics plant, where the former instructor of the defendant was now employed as a night watchman, is that correct?" " Yes, sir." " And now, Lieutenant," "I understand that another homicide officer, Lieutenant Anderson, recovered one half of the money stolen in that robbery and that you yourself recovered the other half." "Would you tell us, please, exactly where you found that money?" "Yes, sir." "Under some clothes in a suitcase inside a closet in the apartment of the defendant, James Anderson." "Death was caused by traumatic asphyxia induced by means of manual strangulation." "Then the murderer used his hands, Doctor?" "No, most likely his forearm-- clamping the victim's throat while the assailant stood behind him." "All right, Doctor." "Now one last question." "Would you estimate the time of death for me?" "Oh, in my opinion, decedent was murdered between 10:00 and 10:30." "Thank you, Doctor." "That'll be all." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "Doctor, in a situation where a body is discovered reasonably soon after death, what in your examination permits you to determine the time of death?" "Oh, I'd say such factors as the temperature of the corpse, the degree of lividity or postmortem markings on the body, and, of course, the degree of rigor mortis." "By temperature you mean that if a body is warm, death was recent, and if a body is cold, death was further removed in time?" "Precisely." "What was the condition of Ralph Pearce's body when you examined it a little after 10:30?" "Cold." "Wouldn't that indicate that he'd been killed before 10?" "Ordinarily, yes." "But in this case, Mr. Mason, if you didn't know, decedent was slain in a refrigerated room, a factor which would considerably accelerate the lowering of temperature." "Now, in this matter of lividity, I gather the markings were barely discernable, leading you to a conclusion that death was recent?" "Yes." "I believe, Doctor, that rigor mortis was the third factor you mentioned." "Now, was rigor mortis marked in your examination of the decedent?" "Very much so." "Wouldn't that indicate that death had occurred before 10-- at 9:30, at 9, at 8:30?" "Perhaps even as early as 8:00?" "It could, conceivably, yes." " But not in this case." " And why not?" "If a person dies quietly, without muscular activity, rigor mortis is slow and gradual." "But a person being strangled from behind, struggling for his life, has abnormal muscular activity." "Bringing on more rapid rigor mortis?" "In situations like this, we have had cases of instantaneous rigor mortis." "Is it not also a medical fact, Doctor, that cold can hasten the onset of rigor mortis?" "Yes." "And didn't you point out carefully to me a few moments ago, Doctor, that the body of Ralph Pearce had been found in a refrigerated room?" "Why, uh, why, yes." "Doctor, without a postmortem examination, how would you fix the time of death?" "Oh, I'd say you could do it roughly based on the time the body was discovered and time decedent was last known to have been alive." "Obviously, death occurred between those times." "You examined the body at 10:30." "When was the decedent last known to be alive?" "At 10, when he punched in on the time clock." "Oh, you know about the time clock?" "Of course." "Did you know about it when you made your postmortem examination?" "Did you know about it when you made your conclusions concerning the time of death?" "Yes, I was tol" "Yes." "Yes, I knew." "Thank you, Doctor." "No further questions." "You then obtained a search warrant and went through Ralph Pearce's rooms." "What did you find?" "$30,000, half of the $60,000 that had been stolen." "And then you proceeded to Wilson Plastics plant to arrest Ralph Pearce." "Was he there?" "He was there, all right-- murdered." "What else did the police find at that plant?" "Detective Toland saw a man, unrecognizable, fleeing from the scene of the death, attempting to run out of the plant." "Detective Toland yelled at the man to stop, fired a couple of shots, but the man got away." "However, we heard testimony here from a driver of a delivery truck who heard those shots and who was later able to identify that man who ran from the scene of the crime, isn't that so?" "Yes, sir." "Our investigation proved that man was the... defendant." "I think that'll be all, Lieutenant." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "No questions." "[judge] The witness is excused." "Your Honor, as the court knows, in a preliminary hearing, it is only incumbent on the prosecution to show reasonable grounds to believe, first, that a crime was committed, and second, that the accused is the person who committed that crime." "I'm sure that learned counsel in his defense will provide us with a performance which includes his usual calculated confusion of the facts." "But at the moment, Your Honor," "I feel more than certain that we have presented an unshakable prima-facie case." "Therefore, the state rests and moves that the defendant be bound over." "Mr. Mason, you may proceed with your defense at this time." "Your Honor, we have no defense to present at this time." "Contracts and check for the purchase of Hillman Plastics." "Been ready and unsigned for more than a week." "We have stalled this thing more than long enough." "Jerel, sign, please." "Mr. Mason said he was coming right over." "I" " I think it's no more than common courtesy to" "I could take it to court for relief and force compliance with board-approved action." "Is that what you want?" "Sign." "When he finishes, you sign, Carrie." "I don't think you ought to do that, Carrie." "Oh, our eminent counsel." "More new allegations, Mr. Mason?" "Facts, not allegations." "A shortage in the company books of $25,000." "What?" "Do you know about this, Jerel?" "Yes, Mrs. Wilson." "I notified Mr. Mason when the auditors informed me of the seeming discrepancy." "Unfortunately, there were not microfilm copies of all the records destroyed in the robbery." "Now, until we re-create the books step-by-step from supporting documents, well, we can't be sure there is a shortage." "You said facts-- plural." "The Security Exchange Commission has withheld approval of the Hillman Plastics deal-- its purchase and transfer of stock." "That's impossible." "I don't believe it!" "If the Angel Gabriel appeared before you on Judgment Day, Mr. Morrell," "I think you'd ask to see his union card." "On the day before the vote to buy Hillman Plastics, someone bought large blocks of Hillman stock cheap." "Two days later, after the prospective purchase had been announced, the stock went up 10 points." "That same someone then sold his stock for a profit of over $100,000." "You" " You changed your vote." "You knew this was going to happen." "No, Aunt Carrie." "I swear, I didn't buy a single share of Hillman stock." "Tell her, please!" "I didn't buy that stock, did I?" "I don't know, Mr. Wilson." "The only clues we have as to the identity of the purchaser are a post-office box number and the name J. Smith." "Unfortunately, we don't know who J. Smith is." "All of which raises the interesting question of exactly why the safe was robbed." "Why?" "$60,000 seems to me to be a lot of "why," Mr. Mason." "The safe was blown up to destroy certain records, not for the purposes of stealing money." "Ralph Pearce was killed because he knew the truth." "All right, Della." "The day of the robbery, was a package delivered here?" "Yes." "Just after Otto left for work." "That package, Mrs. Norden-- is it still here?" "Why do you ask?" "What was in that package?" "It may have contained half the money stolen from the safe." "But it was delivered here before the safe was robbed." "No." "No, I told you before." "My Otto was good." "He was not bad." "He would have nothing to do with such things!" "Mrs. Norden, I'm not so sure Otto was really involved, either." "But if my theory is right, there's one person who is sure of it." " Who?" "Who is that?" " The murderer." "I don't understand." "I can't" "Is that package still here in this apartment?" "No." "The next day, after Otto was killed, I looked for the package." "It was gone." "Well, then the murderer took it while you were out and later on planted it in Jimmy Anderson's apartment." "That's why all the money's been found." "Someone wanted certain records in the safe destroyed." "They made a deal with Pearce." "The payoff for doing the job was the money in the safe." "[Paul] $60,000-- half delivered here and half found in Pearce's room." "Which means that the person who engineered the whole job didn't keep a cent of that money." "However, Pearce had discovered a strip of microfilm missing." "It was a copy of the records that had been destroyed, so he went after it, stole it, and then tried to shake down the man who had hired him for more money." "For which effort, Pearce was killed." "Now the question is, did the murderer get the microfilm back?" "We know Pearce's body was searched." "We know the film wasn't found elsewhere." "So unless he does have the film, the murderer must be getting fairly panicky." "Yes, well, why are you telling me all this?" "If the murderer believed that your son was Pearce's accomplice, then he might also believe that Pearce contacted you after Otto's death." "How would he believe a thing like that?" "He would..." "if you made it convincing enough." "You mean you want... the murderer to think that I" "That you know where Pearce hid the film." "You can do it over the phone, Mrs. Norden." "This is the number, and this is what Mr. Mason wants you to say." "You don't know all this." "You don't know for sure." "You only think this is what happened." "If it didn't, Mrs. Norden, then either Jimmy is a thief, or your son was a thief." "Would you get me the number, please?" "Here." "This" " This is Erna Norden." "I know who J. Smith is, and I know where the film is." "Pearce called me." "He hid it where no one else would think of looking for it." "If I tell the police, they'll know about-- about Otto." "I don't want that." "I don't ever want that." "So take it... in-- in the cold room." "[Mason] You don't have to look further." "We found it earlier and left it there before I had Mrs. Norden call you." "Missing microfilm that proves you embezzled $25,000 from the company." "That microfilm could send you to jail, just as Ralph Pearce was sent to his death." "I swear I didn't kill him." "How could I?" "I was at that meeting." "So was I. So was everyone connected with the company from 9:00 on." "But Pearce was killed before 9:00." "Pearce was killed before that meeting even started." "Then one of the people at the meeting" "But Mrs. Norden called me." "Her second call was made to you." "But her first call was made to a man who gave himself an alibi by tampering with that time clock." "You, Mr. Leland." "Him!" "He blackmailed me, Mr. Mason." "That's why I changed my vote." "He threatened to send me to jail if I didn't vote to buy Hillman Plastics." "A sale which would have made him $100,000." "The name you used was J. Smith, was it not?" "You knew that in court, didn't you?" "And you knew the actual time Ralph Pearce was killed when you questioned the doctor." "Yes." "And I knew something you didn't know-- the truth about Otto Norden." "That he was never Pearce's accomplice in that robbery." "You couldn't prove any of it." "Not even Perry Mason could prove it." "No, I couldn't prove it, Mr. Leland." "But you could." "And you have." "So?" "Now you know everything." "Just the two of you." "I'm afraid not, Mr. Leland." "Well, what are you gonna do with that gun?" "[whimpering]" "[knock on door]" "Mr. Mason, come in." "What did you find, Mr. Mason?" "I just left headquarters." "Between Leland's confession and our own investigation, everything is just about explained." "Even the perfume?" "It was stolen by a man in uniform, but it wasn't Jimmy, and it wasn't Otto." "It was Otto's former partner on the police force, a man who had kept his uniform-- Ralph Pearce." "Well, apparently Pearce hated your son." "He blamed Otto for his having been tossed off the police force, planned to frame him for that phony robbery." "That explains the money, too." "After Pearce killed your son, he stole the money back from this apartment and planted it on Jimmy." "Oh, poor Jimmy." "I guess he still hoped to blame the robbery on a policeman." "Then my Otto" "Until you could tell me for sure, I couldn't even look at this." "Your son earned his decoration." "[knock on door]" "[Andy] Hey, anybody home?" "Come in!" "Oh, Andy, it's so good to see you!" "Good to see me?" "You sound surprised, Mama Norden." "Weren't you expecting me?" "Expecting you?" "Well, it's Thursday." "Wiener schnitzel night!" "Oh, Andy, I didn't even shop today." "We shopped for you." "Mrs. Norden, please, it-- it means a great deal to me." "Please don't say no." "Officer Jimmy Anderson, if you eat my food, you have to call me Mama Norden."