"(theme song playing)" "(waves crashing, wind howling)" "(wind whistling)" "Panjong, I think..." "Cargo secure, Mister?" "As of now, sir." "Look, Ca-Captain Bancroft, this shiny new coat of paint isn't gonna fool the weather." "This tub's rotten from stem to stern." "She needed a major overhaul before I ever signed on at Yokohama." "The water is shoaling." "It wouldn't take much of a coral head to sink this rust bucket." "I know every reef and shoal in this area, Mister." "That's how I got the owner's bonus money for fast crossing." "Part of the crew jumped ship at Formosa, Captain." "We're shorthanded." "May I suggest, sir, this heavy weather has put us a little off course." "Mr. Griffin, I was making this run while you were still in rompers." "If you sail as my first officer one more time, you'll learn that if I want your advice, I'll ask for it." "Is that clear?" "Yes, sir." "Very well." "Now lay below with Sheng." "Have him check the hold." "This cargo's worth a million and a half dollars." "I don't want it shifting." "Below deck's all snug, Mr. Griffin." "Yeah, small thanks to Bancroft." "You sailed under him before, Sheng." "Is he usually this reckless?" "You excuse, please." "I lucky to have berth of second mate." "If wish to keep, it's not wise to talk about captain behind back." "It's not my business he runs ship with much risk." "Well, it is when it's your own neck he's risking and mine." "(clattering and thudding)" "I'll be all right." "Can't leave the bridge." "You've already left it." "(clattering)" "MacLEAN (over phone):" "Engine Room." "MacLean." "She's off, Mac." "Keep all pumps going and get me a damage report as soon as you can." "Give it to you right now, Griff." "She's holed bad forward and taking a lot of water." "How far down is the hole?" "Right on the water line, but she's deep-laden and taking every drop." "Mac, if we jettison, could we get a collision mat on her?" "BANCROFT:" "Jettison?" "No." "No." "Command you... abandon ship." "No." "No, wait." "Yeah, that's right." "Full speed ahead." "Full speed." "Shore up everything forward of A-3, and keep pumping." "He's in no shape to command." "Captain, I'm assuming command of the ship." "Man the lifeboats." "Man the davits." "No, wait." "Ah, my ship, my cargo." "Stand by to jettison cargo in number one hold." "Rig out booms." "You heard me, Mister." "Stand by to jettison cargo!" "Abandon ship." "Mains..." "My ship." "My cargo." "You harbor pilots have a ticklish job, Captain Lansing." "I understand you did a pretty good job yourself." "Come right, easy." "Midship your rudder." "(ship horn blows)" "Stop engines." "Stop engines." "Put out one, two, three lines." "Put out one, two, three lines, Mr. Sheng." "SHENG:" "Lines one, two, three out, sir." "That's well." "Make her fast." "Hold her fast and double up all lines!" "SHENG:" "Aye, aye, sir." "(sighs)" "Well, it's been a pleasure, Mr. Griffin." "I hope they don't go too rough on you." "Thank you, Captain Lansing." "I'll try and keep my guard up." "Right." "(ship horn blowing)" "MacLEAN:" "Engine room." "MacLean." "Finished with engines, Chief." "We're tied up snug." "Good lad." "I'll stand ye a drink ashore." "You'll no doubt need it when the captain gets done with you." "You've got a deal, Mac." "And, Mac, thanks for all you did." "Ship's secure, Mister." "With your permission, desire to wish you luck with old man." "I don't know how to say it in Chinese, but, uh, I'm sure obliged to you, Mr. Sheng." "Well, I, uh..." "I'd better get it over with." "Get what over with, Mister?" "Reporting we're docked and secured, sir." "I'm aware of that." "I told you I wanted no part of you or the ship while you were on board." "Now that we're docked, get your gear together and get off my ship!" "Captain, I only did what had to be done." "That's your opinion." "I'm gonna make you sorry for it the longest day you live." "(door slams shut)" "Stop treating me like a sick man, Janeel." "Nothing the matter with me, and I don't need a checkup." "Well, it won't hurt to play it safe, will it?" "I've got an ambulance waiting and a doctor at the hospital to look you over." "Mr. Janeel's right, Captain." "Let me help you." "You're the one that's gonna need help before I finish with you, Mister." "Taking over my command." "Ignoring my orders like I was a cabin boy." "Now, now, Captain." "Well, you won't get away with it." "Not while I'm alive, you won't." "I'll fix him." "You just see if I don't." "I'll have him brought up for mutiny." "I'll have his license revoked so fast, he won't know what hit him." "For doing a job?" "What does that mean?" "Well, you're forgetting one thing, aren't you?" "Whether you like it or not, he saved my ship." "Ah...!" "(siren blaring)" "Look at that." "A bucket full of rusty bolts under a new coat of paint and I had to ship cargo on it." "Oh, Mr. Griffin, I can be checking the holds while you're looking for your brother." "Got the manifest?" "Not that I'll need it." "I know every crate by heart." "And, Mr. Griffin, I'd go a little easy on him if he were my brother." "Yeah, but he's not." "He's mine." "Ease off, Charlie!" "I've just about had it!" "You've had it?" "Look, I shipped my cargo on this rusty hooker because the rates were low and every dime counted." "And when I heard they were leaving Japan without a first mate, I practically blackjacked Janeel into flying you over there before she sailed." "I never asked you to." "I never asked you to do anything for me." "You're my older brother, not my nurse." "Now, just once and for all, Charlie, get off my back." "Let me make my own mistakes." "I'll face 'em." "Just worry about yourself." "Yeah, I did, and that was my mistake." "I wanted you on board to protect my interests." "You protected them, all right." "A textile mill worth a million and a half, and you dump it overboard like ballast." "Well, Logan?" "Nothing left of the machinery in the holds." "Not a piece." "I hocked my shirt to make a down payment on that machinery." "I sent Logan over there to dismantle and crate it." "I brought him back here to reassemble it." "Well, you tell him how he's gonna do it on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean?" "Well, go on, tell him!" "It was jettison, or lose the ship, Charlie." "Now what are you popping off about?" "The stuff was insured." "Well, I see you're as ignorant about maritime insurance as you are about everything else." "Look, you'd better get yourself a good lawyer, buster, because I'm gonna stick you for this." "I suppose a businessman like your brother has to be ruthless at times, Jerry." "Right now, he has a fortune at stake." "And my future." "Hauling me before a Coast Guard hearing for incompetence." "Now, why?" "His cargo was fully insured." "No, not against an act of God, such as a storm at sea." "You see..." "My young friend, Mr. Gideon here, is an impetuous, if not always an imprescriptible student of law." "What Mr. Mason means is that he's curious to see if, after all the extra tutoring he gave me," "I actually passed the course in maritime law." "Wait a minute, David." "You mean, in an act of God, my brother can't collect anything on his policy?" "No, no, I didn't say that." "You see, the ship herself was also insured." "Now, when you saved her by jettisoning cargo, you benefited both her owner Janeel and the insurance underwriter, but since it would be unfair for them to gain through your brother's loss, what is known as the "general average" clause" "enters the picture." "Under that clause, the cargo loss will average out among all three parties." "Your brother will recover one-third of the value from the insurer, one-third from Janeel, and will contribute the remaining third himself." "Uh, in other words, Charlie loses a half a million but not the entire million and a half?" "Oh, unless he can make you the scapegoat, in which case he collects the full amount from Mr. Janeel." "Janeel?" "Yes, David's right." "Legally, you were Janeel's agent at the time you jettisoned the cargo." "Now, if the Coast Guard investigation shows that the ship could have been saved without sacrificing cargo, then Janeel, as your employer, is responsible." "So I'll have him to fight as well as my brother." "(sighs)" "Mr. Mason, would you be willing to act as my counsel in this mess?" "Well, I'll be glad to, but I must warn you, it won't be an easy battle." "There are at least three forces, all of them pushing from different directions toward the middle." "That's where you are, Jerry, right in the middle." "(chuckles)" "Hello, Skipper." "Wenzel." "Thought you were in a jail in Yokohama." "Ah, yes, I know." "That's what I want to talk to you about." "Well, I don't." "Get out." "Now, you listen to me." "I didn't pay a fine and buy me a plane ticket home to have you just give me the runaround." "We're going to have this out right here and now." "If you have any complaints, take them up with Janeel." "I have nothing to say." "Now, get out." "(wry chuckle)" "Get out, before I have you thrown out." "Oh, no, you don't." "Yelling for help was always an old favorite trick of yours, wasn't it?" "Well, it worked in Yokohama, but it won't work here." "At least not till I find out what's behind the deal." "What deal?" "I don't know what you're driving at." "You're lying, Bancroft." "Why did you leave me in Japan, huh?" "Why?" "!" "What's the matter with you?" "Let go of me, you..." "Look, you'll talk if I have to beat it out of you!" "Do you hear me?" "Ow!" "Ow. (sighs)" "Bancroft." "Bancroft!" "* *" "Hi." "Hi, Julie." "Is, uh, Janeel in?" "He sent for me." "Yes, he is-- with Captain Bancroft." "Uh-huh." "Jerry." "Jerry, don't let them push you around." "They can be pretty rough" " I know." "Why, saving that ship was wonderful." "They should thank you, not..." "Fire me?" "If they fire you, I'll quit." "(chuckles softly)" "I'll tell him you're here." "Well, hello, my boy." "Captain Bancroft wants to talk to you." "Go right in." "I'll be back later, in case anyone calls." "I wanted to see you." "I've decided to help you." "You?" "My testimony is all you need." "As much as I hate to admit it, if it weren't for you, we might have all wound up on the bottom." "I'm still not fond of you, Mister, but you saved the Trader the only way possible, and I'm going to say so to the Coast Guard." "In your opinion, could the repairs have been made without jettisoning cargo," "Mr. MacLean?" "Perhaps no, perhaps yes." "I'm an engineer, not a deck officer." "The fact that Griffin got us home safe, uh, is good enough for me." "Thank you." "Mr. Mason." "Uh, no questions." "JUDGE:" "Witness may stand down." "ATTORNEY:" "I call Mr. Fred Wenzel." "Mr. Wenzel, you have been called by the complainant," "Mr. Charles Griffin, as an expert witness." "Now, since a Coast Guard investigation is not a prosecution, but an impartial determination of the cause of the accident resulting in damage to the vessel and loss of its cargo, we are primarily concerned now with your qualifications as a merchant marine officer." "(clears throat) 22 years at sea, nine of them under Captain Bancroft as mate of the Janeel Trader." "Uh, well, you have the rest on file." "Based on the testimony given here today and the circumstances of the Janeel accident, is it your opinion that Mr. Griffin acted of necessity when he jettisoned cargo?" "WENZEL:" "Well, sir, I'd say that the... the ship and the cargo both could have been saved." "I know that I could have done it." "Would you tell us how?" "Well, yes, of course, sir." "May I have your permission to, uh, use the model?" "Yes, of course." "Thank you, sir." "Well, uh, it's really quite simple." "I would, uh, have shifted the forward cargo aft." "Now, that would have put her down by the stern deep enough to have got a collision mat over the hole forward here." "Then I would have re-trimmed cargo and sailed for home." "Why, you're crazy." "The ship would have been on the bottom by the time we shifted those crates aft." "Swab handler in a First's uniform." "Panicked by a little salt water in the bilges." "Hey, sit down." "But he's wrong-- dead wrong." "In that wind and sea, it couldn't be done." "(knocking on table)" "Counsel will restrain his client from any further outbursts." "If the board please, may I suggest that this sort of conflict could be quickly resolved by the one real expert on the Janeel Trader." "I believe Captain Bancroft's testimony will completely exonerate my client." "I haven't had an opportunity to question Captain Bancroft." "I would like to hear him on this subject myself." "JUDGE:" "The witness may be excused." "Thank you, sir." "I call the master of the Janeel Trader," "Captain Bancroft." "Will Captain Bancroft please come forward?" "* *" "Well, thank you anyway." "Any luck, Julie?" "No." "I've tried everyplace." "(slamming)" "The hospital, his home address." "Nobody's seen him all day." "Jerry, do you think he's deliberately keeping out of sight?" "You know, even if he decided to change his testimony and lie, he should have had guts enough to come to that hearing." "Jerry, what are you going to do?" "Julie, I've been out to that ship three times looking for him." "I'm going to wait there this time." "I'll catch him if I have to wait all night." "MAN:" "Hey, Vogel." "Did you just see somebody out there by that freighter?" "Nope, nobody." "I swear I saw a guy." "Maybe he went aboard." "Well, I suppose it could be a deckhand standing watch." "Come on, let's check." "Hey, buddy, snap out of it." "(groaning) Hey." "Did you see anybody come aboard just now?" "Standing watch, you said." "I'll take a look around." "You stay here." "Can I help you, mister?" "Oh, I'm just looking for Captain Bancroft, that's all." "Well, he must be around somewhere." "He came aboard an hour ago." "Well, maybe..." "maybe he's below deck." "Hold it, you." "Hey." "Hey, what's the big idea?" "What is this?" "You know what it is." "VOGEL:" "You almost got away with it." "Lieutenant Anderson of Homicide is expecting me." "My name is Mason." "ANDERSON:" "Perry, you made fast time." "All right, Officer, you can go now." "Not that it'll help much, I'm afraid, but Griffin did ask for you." "Can you add anything to what you told me on the phone?" "Was anyone else found aboard?" "Only the deckhand, so drunk we've got him under medical care." "Griffin, uh, was still holding the murder weapon when he was caught." "He looked like he'd been in a fight, he resisted arrest, and Bancroft was dying." "Dying?" "Hmm, that's the clincher." "He died just a moment after the private patrolman brought Griffin back to look at him." "Griffin's up on deck now." "You were sure right about my being in the middle of trouble." "Big hero." "I save a ship and I end up being a murder suspect." "Perry, I didn't kill him, believe me." "I do believe you." "But there's a big difference in being innocent and being able to prove it." "Well, how do I prove it?" "What do you want me to do?" "At the moment, there's nothing much you can do." "They're going to hold you on suspicion of murder." "You say you want to help Griffin, Mr. Janeel." "Will you testify that Bancroft had promised to appear in his favor at the Coast Guard hearing and that it was you who had persuaded Bancroft to make that promise?" "How did you know that?" "Well, if Griffin were found negligent, you'd be liable for the cargo's full value, but if Bancroft testified that the cargo had to be jettisoned, then the general average clause would have reduced your liability to a third." "Okay, sure, I twisted the captain's arm." "If he wrecked Griffin, he wrecked me." "Is that what you want me to say?" "Exactly." "You see, the prosecution may claim that Bancroft had changed his mind again and meant to testify against Griffin, that Griffin killed him to prevent that." "That change of testimony could have cost you a million and a half dollars." "Well, Bancroft did not change his mind about testifying for Griffin." "He would have stabbed himself in his own wallet because, you see, he owned a small share of the ship, too." "Mr. Janeel..." "this cablegram just came." "I thought it might be important." "Well, Mr. Mason, listen to this." "It's from the underwriter's agent in Yokohama." ""Pacific Island Salvage and Towing Company" ""have divers exploring coral head where ship holed." ""Prospects excellent we can salvage entire jettisoned cargo."" "Pacific Island Salvage and Towing Company-- got it." "I can probably fly there by way of Guam." "Book the earliest flight, Paul, and contact the insurance underwriter's detective agency." "They'll give you a hand." "Now, keep a close watch on the salvage operation." "Something puzzles me about that ship going aground." "Perhaps more than the storm was involved." "Hmm, like what?" "Oh, seamen shipped before the accident." "Then the theory Wenzel had about shifting cargo without sacrificing it." "I'd like to know if Griffin had time to shift any cargo before the ship went down." "Before I leave, and speaking of Wenzel," "I've had three different operatives on him." "Any reports?" "Uh-huh." "He's a real, two-fisted bottle man." "He started the day drinking breakfast in a waterfront bar." "Then, into another bat roost for a mid-morning 100-proof coffee break." "Right now, he's starting a quart of lunch in a joint called Neptune's Cave, and he's still sober." "Has he been in contact with anyone?" "Charles Griffin or his man, Logan?" "What did your men find out?" "Nothing." "Absolutely nothing." "Drunk or sober, Mr. Wenzel just isn't talking." "That's too bad." "I was hoping to learn something from him." "Well, if this, uh, salvage thing can wait," "I'll take a whack at him myself." "Oh, no." "I want you on your way as soon as possible." "Well, off to the far Pacific." "Sayonara." "And, uh, sukiyaki to you, too." "All of you." "(laughs)" "Say, Mr. Mason, uh, about this Wenzel guy." "What about him?" "Mind if I try talking to him?" "Paul's had some pretty good men on the job." "Well, I can still try." "Is he old enough to get into a bar?" "Oh, come on, now." "What do you say, Mr. Mason?" "All right, David." "Go ahead." "See what you can come up with after diving into Neptune's Cave." "Oh, and, David... don't forget your snorkel." "(door closes)" "* *" "(grunts)" "(laughing)" "Ah, the next time, tiger, bring a little muscle with you, huh?" "Hey, Kelly." "Kelly." "Fill her up again here, will you?" "(sighs)" "Miss me, baby, huh?" "Mm." "Oh, no." "No, I..." "I don't believe it." "(laughing)" "Hey, Kelly, c-c-come here." "Come here, will you?" "Look." "Joe College slipped his leash, huh?" "(laughing)" "Mister, you are drunk." "What?" "You're not only drunk, you're a cheap phony." "Lookit here, you..." "You cheated." "You cheated." "You cheated." "You lifted your elbow when you were arm wrestling that sailor, otherwise, he'd have won." "Oh." "Cheated, huh?" "Yeah." "All right." "How'd you like to try, huh?" "Hmm?" "Sure." "Why not?" "All right." "(forced chuckle)" "(grunts)" "(grunts)" "(patrons murmuring)" "Yeah, you, you know, you're, you're all right, kid." "You're, you're, you're all right." "Yeah." "Huh." "As a matter of fact, the drinks are on me." "Go on, Kelly." "Ah!" "Anything but that." "* *" "Like you said back in L.A.," ""We've got it made."" "If I can raise this many with the barge," "I can salvage the whole works when I bring in the bigger equipment." "Yes, lucky this stuff was dumped in shallow water." "(mechanical whirring)" "(clattering)" "Hey, look out!" "(speaking native language)" "Scrap iron." "No machinery." "Just a bunch of worthless junk!" "And Wenzel believes" "Captain Bancroft deliberately framed him into being arrested in Yokohama." "Well, that's about it, Mr. Mason." "That's all I got." "Except for a hangover." "Well." "Did Wenzel have any idea why Captain Bancroft wanted him out of the way?" "No, not for sure." "But either the captain wanted to sail without a first mate at all or for some reason, he wanted to get rid of Wenzel to make room for Jerry." "Either way, it'd indicate something unusual about that return trip from Japan, and something special about that crated machinery aboard." "I wonder if..." "(door opens)" "Perry, Mr. Logan's outside, and the long distance operator's on the line." "A couple of seconds, she should be through to Paul." "Good." "Uh, bring Mr. Logan in, will you please, Della?" "And, uh, would you stay on the other phone while I talk to Paul?" "DELLA :" "Mr. Logan?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello, Paul?" "Right." "No, Mr. Logan's here now." "I sent for him as soon as I received your message." "Do you have the identification numbers of the crates that were salvaged?" "4A-10-1930." "4A-10-1931." "3C-8-1932." "But, Perry... there was no machinery." "Just crates full of nothing but scrap iron." "Scrap iron?" "Hold it a moment." "Well, Mr. Logan?" "Impossible!" "The numbers check, but I personally supervised the packing of those crates." "And, I tell you, they contained machinery." "Could you hear that, Paul?" "Yeah." "And if he's telling the truth, somebody in Yokohama pulled a gypsy switch." "The real cargo was diverted, and substitute crates full of junk were delivered to the freighter with identical markings and numbers." "No doubt of that, Paul." "Hold it again." "I'll need full information on that machinery, Mr. Logan." "Point of origin, the trucking company that hauled it, the route and pier destination." "How soon can you get it for me?" "Well, I have it all right here." "Thank you." "Paul, fly on to Yokohama and backtrack that shipment." "If possible, I want to know exactly how it was diverted and by whom." "Oh, Mr. Mason." "Mr. Griffin." "Have you been to see my brother?" "Yes." "Is he all right?" "All right?" "Yes, he's all right." "(sighs) This is the third time today" "I've been to the county jail with permission to see him, but he refuses to see me." "That's his legal privilege." "Why should he refuse to speak to me?" "Well, that's a singular question, Mr. Griffin, considering the trouble he's in, and considering that you started this whole train of events." "I did what I did only for financial reasons." "He knows that." "He also knows he's held for murder." "That's why I want to see him, Mr. Mason." "Why I want to see you." "I want to help him." "At this moment, the only person who can help him is a fellow named Paul Drake, and he's in Yokohama." "Hi, Perry." "This is Paul." "With the help of a top detective agency here," "I traced that machinery to a waterfront warehouse, but it's gone now." "Gone?" "Gone where?" "It was shipped out by freighter day before yesterday." "The agency played a hunch, and we backtracked a well-known waterfront crook." "The agency was right." "And also, right on the heels of the Yokohama Police." "Perry, you're not going to like this, but here's something else." "The Yokohama Police have been digging into this mess." "And not just for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, but on their own, and they've come up with a blockbuster on young Griffin." "Now, we don't know if he was acting for Captain Bancroft or on his own, but it was Griffin who supervised the loading of that substitute cargo of junk." "Decedent had been struck heavily on the head between the frontal and left parietal with massive subdural hemorrhage and extensive tissue destruction." "Would this cause instantaneous death, Doctor?" "Not necessarily instantaneous, but inevitable within minutes." "Thank you, Doctor." "Cross-examine." "Doctor, you say that death was not necessarily instantaneous, but was inevitable within minutes." "How many minutes?" "15 minutes?" "30 minutes?" "That would depend." "One man might survive such a skull injury a few minutes longer than another." "Then it is possible, is it not, that Captain Bancroft suffered the fatal blow sometime prior to the arrival of Mr. Griffin and lay dying as Mr. Griffin entered the cabin?" "Yes, it's possible." "Thank you, Doctor." "No further questions." "This portion fitted exactly into the cranial depression which caused death." "There were blood traces here matching the victim's AB blood type." "The lab also found human hair identical to that of the decedent." "In my opinion, this was the murder weapon." "Were there any other findings in connection with this weapon, Lieutenant?" "LIEUTENANT:" "Yes, sir." "The clearly defined fingerprints of the defendant, Mr. Griffin." "BURGER:" "Thank you, Lieutenant." "That'll be all." "Mr. Griffin swore he hadn't killed him." "He said he found the dolphin on the floor and was putting it back on the desk." "But when I walked in, he was holding it in his hand." "Thank you, Mr. Vogel, that'll be all." "Your witness." "Mr. Vogel, it has been stated that, um, the search aboard ship revealed no other person, other than a drunken deckhand, supposedly on watch." "Now, before that search, could anyone have left the ship unnoticed while you were apprehending Mr. Griffin?" "Well, not a chance." "I left my partner, Connor, watching the deck." "MASON:" "No further questions, Mr. Vogel." "In other words, Mr. Janeel, despite the fact that Griffin had usurped Captain Bancroft's command and humiliated him by ignoring his orders, you ask us to believe that Captain Bancroft had dropped his resentment for mere financial consideration?" "Well, it wasn't mere to him." "He owned a three-percent share of the ship." "We had to pay for a cargo worth a million and a half." "He stood to lose $45,000." "BURGER:" "Even though salvage would reduce the loss to virtually nothing?" "Well, nobody knew about salvage until after the murder." "Besides, the whole thing was a fraud." "The real cargo was still in Japan." "Exactly." "It was a fraud perpetuated by Griffin when he arranged for the substitution of that worthless cargo." "And later by Captain Bancroft when he then recklessly operated his ship." "Objection, Your Honor." "Leading the witness, calling for a conclusion." "I think we can allow that question, Mr. Mason, as long as Mr. Burger doesn't pursue it." "BURGER:" "Very well, Your Honor." "Now, Mr. Janeel, did you have any inkling of the involvement of Griffin or Bancroft or both in the substitution of cargo?" "I didn't know about the substitution." "That all came out after Bancroft was killed." "Now, if you're trying to get me to say that they were in on it, he and Griffin, and that they fought over division of the spoils..." "I'm not trying to get you to say anything, sir, except what you know personally." "That will be all." "Your witness." "Mr. Janeel, what was your opinion of Captain Bancroft as the ship's master?" "I'll object to that, Your Honor." "That's improper cross-examination." "It deals with matters not covered on direct." "If it pleases the court," "Mr. Burger did open the door by eliciting testimony touching upon the captain's reckless handling of the ship." "Objection overruled." "The witness may answer." "'Course he had his personal faults, but his seamanship was above reproach." "MASON:" "Would you call that consistent with running a ship at full speed on a stormy night in shoal water?" "No, if anything, he tended to be overcautious." "Of course, our contract with Mr. Charles Griffin had an early delivery bonus rider, and if we earned the bonus, of course, the captain would share in it." "MASON:" "Thank you, Mr. Janeel." "That'll be all." "Mr. Griffin, as brother of the defendant, you've been adjudged a hostile witness." "You will answer my questions with a simple "yes" or "no."" "You've heard testimony here that Captain Bancroft, because of a considerable financial involvement, recanted his threats against your brother." "Now, isn't it true that you had a far greater financial involvement than Captain Bancroft?" "Yes." "Wouldn't it have been to your advantage, then, if Captain Bancroft had re-reversed himself and taken his original stand against your brother?" "Yes, but..." "Did you, by payment or by promise of payment, persuade Captain Bancroft to agree to appear against your brother at the Coast Guard hearing?" "I'm onto your tricks." "You're saying that Jerry killed Bancroft to shut him up." "Well, you're not going to get me to put my own brother in the gas chamber!" "The witness will control himself." "He will make no statements except those in response to questions asked by counsel, and he will make his answers responsive." "But he has no right to..." "Mr. Griffin, you will be silent, or I'll hold you in contempt." "Go ahead, Mr. Burger." "I ask you again, sir:" "Did you make any such deal with Captain Bancroft?" "No." "That'll be all." "Your witness." "Mr. Griffin, you say you made no deal with Captain Bancroft, but did you try to make such a deal?" "What is your reason for this line of questioning, Mr. Mason?" "Well, Your Honor will recall that news of possible salvage or that later news of the cargo's fraudulent substitution had not come to light." "It occurs to me that Captain Bancroft might have refused a deal to take a stand against First Officer Griffin, a refusal which would apparently have cost this witness a half a million dollars." "If you're trying to get me cleared by accusing Charlie of killing Bancroft," "I don't want that kind of defense." "Shut up, Jerry." "Shut up, do you hear?" "Order, gentlemen, order." "Uh, Your Honor, in view of the hour and the emotion of my client and his brother," "I believe that further cross-examination of this witness should be postponed." "The point is well- taken, Mr. Mason." "Mr. Burger?" "I certainly have no objection, Your Honor." "This court stands adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow morning." "(inaudible)" "What does your watch say, David?" "Uh, ten minutes to 9:00, exactly." "Not a moment too soon." "Where in the world did they go?" "I'm going to walk as far as the gangplank and back." "Time it for me, will you, David?" "Yes, sir." "Less than five minutes, there and back." "And no watchmen." "Look again." "Part of their job is to check warehouses." "I think we've seen enough." "May I ask what the citation is for, Officer?" "Yes, sir." "If this is your car, it's illegally parked at a standpipe, which is the same as a fire hydrant." "But it would be rather easy to miss at night, wouldn't it?" "Well, yes, ma'am, but like I tell everyone, you can see it if you look." "Your Honor, before I resume my cross-examination of Mr. Griffin, I should like to recall a witness." "Your Honor, may I ask" "Mr. Mason which witness he wishes to recall and his purpose for making such a request?" "My purpose is to establish certain facts in the interest of justice, facts which came into my possession only last night." "The witness in question is Special Officer Vogel." "As usual, Mr. Mason couches his reply in such fashion as to give me very little to do but consent." "JUDGE:" "Clerk will recall Mr. Vogel to the stand." "Mr. Vogel, you and Mr. Connor patrol the pier once an hour." "You customarily arrive ten minutes before the hour and then spend the next six or seven minutes making a round inside the pier warehouse." "Is that correct?" "That's the routine, yes." "Now, on the night of the murder, during your 8:00 round, you saw Captain Bancroft go aboard the ship." "During your next round, you saw the defendant go aboard at 9:00." "Now, you and Mr. Connor were inside that warehouse for several minutes prior to that." "Yes, that's right." "MASON:" "Now, during those several minutes, someone could have left the ship and the pier, unseen by either you or Mr. Connor or Mr. Griffin as he arrived?" "Well, I guess that could have happened." "Thank you." "May it please the court, I am now ready to resume my cross-examination of Mr. Griffin." "All right, I will cite a hypothetical question and... ask your opinion as to its feasibility." "A man insures his cargo, then substitutes junk for that cargo." "Now, if the ship were to sink, would he not collect full insurance, all the while secretly holding the original cargo for future clandestine sale?" "I wouldn't know." "A scheme like that would never occur to me." "Well, still hypothetically, in order to be sure the vessel would sink, would not the man have had to enter into collusion with the ship's captain, collusion to navigate recklessly with intent to cause the ship to founder?" "Why ask me?" "I told you I..." "You did not visit with Bancroft aboard the ship on the night he was murdered?" "No, I did not." "I have here a copy of a traffic citation written at 8:30 on the night of the murder-- a citation for illegal parking near the entrance to the pier." "It was issued to an automobile registered under your name." "Would you care to change your answer, Mr. Griffin?" "I..." "I didn't use my car that night." "I loaned it to Frank Logan." "(gallery murmurs)" "JUDGE (pounding gavel):" "Bailiff." "Bring that man to the bench." "All right, I, I did go to see Bancroft on the ship that night." "On behalf on your employer, Charles Griffin?" "No, he-he had nothing to do with it." "It was personal." "Bancroft and I talked for a little while, but he was alive when I left him." "BURGER:" "And what time was it when you went aboard?" "A little before 8:30, and I left no more than ten minutes later." "Your Honor, I request that this man be held in temporary custody while we make a complete investigation of these new aspects of the case." "If Your Honor please," "I must remind the court that I have not yet been given the opportunity to cross-examine this witness." "I beg your pardon, Mr. Mason." "Please proceed." "Your Honor." "Now, in regard to your talk with Captain Bancroft, Mr. Logan, was it about a phone call you'd received from Kobe, Japan?" "How did you know that?" "MASON:" "That phone call was from an accomplice warning you of the preparations to salvage the jettisoned cargo." "Wasn't that why you had to see Bancroft, because a successful salvage operation would've exposed your cargo deal?" "Now, w-wait a minute, listen." "You and Bancroft were partners in that deal." "The defendant's only involvement was to carry out" "Bancroft's orders without knowing what those orders meant." "Now, is it not true that you and Bancroft devised that fraud because of his other plans-- plans to scuttle the ship?" "Look, I, I had nothing to do with scuttling that ship." "That was strictly Bancroft's doing." "As for the cargo, I..." "I refuse to answer." "The law says a man can't be forced to incriminate himself." "Your Honor, I believe I can substantiate much of my charge against this witness, but with the help of Mr. Janeel." "With the court's permission," "I would like to recall Mr. Janeel to the stand." "Mr. Janeel to the stand." "You will step down." "Mr. Janeel, you were unaware of Bancroft's participation with Logan in the cargo swindle?" "Absolutely." "That's why I don't see how I can help you." "You were also unaware of Bancroft's plan to sink the Janeel Trader?" "Most certainly." "Well, you don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?" "Oh, but I do, Mr. Janeel." "Your company was in a precarious financial position." "Now, I have here expert depositions proving conclusively that despite its good outward appearance, the Janeel Trader was in need of repairs so extensive that you couldn't possibly afford them." "The depositions also stated that you were about to have your license revoked." "But we would've had the ship fixed after Bancroft delivered that cargo." "See, that's why he was so reckless." "There was a... a bonus for early delivery." "Even with the bonus, you could scarcely have afforded the repairs." "So, uh, tell me, Mr. Janeel, where did you expect to get the money to pay for a new ship?" "What?" "The ship you discussed with Acme Maritime." "Oh, no, no." "The ship you could afford only if you collected insurance money after sending the Janeel Trader to the bottom." "Please, please..." "MASON:" "Oh, I know, Bancroft agreed to scuttle the ship for you." "But he also made a deal with Logan to switch cargo." "Now, you didn't know about that, did you?" "No." "He double-crossed me." "I found out." "I..." "I was furious." "I..." "Listen to this, Mr. Janeel." "You left your home on the night of the murder." "Drove to the pier at 8:30." "You went aboard, overheard talk between Logan and Bancroft." "It was then that you realized that Bancroft had tried to line his pockets at the risk of your plans." "You waited until Logan had gone, confronted Bancroft with his duplicity, and then you killed him." "(stammering)" "I was in a blind rage." "I hit him, before I knew what I was doing." "But I didn't mean to kill him." "I didn't..." "I didn't mean to." "You know, Janeel cut his schedule pretty thin." "He must've gone ashore only a minute or so before I showed up." "Any later, and I'd have seen him." "The two guards would've also." "He was pretty lucky up to that point." "I just can't imagine Captain Bancroft trying to sink his own ship." "He and his whole crew could've been drowned." "Well, Bancroft knew every reef and shoal." "He intended to ram her on a coral head, then sail out to deep water and let her founder." "And for the crew, it would only have been a short haul back to land." "No wonder he was so angry with Jerry-- for keeping her in shallow water." "I still want to pay for your services, Mr. Mason." "With that machinery covered by theft insurance, I can afford it." "I'm sure you can." "But I'm equally sure your brother wouldn't allow it." "GIDEON:" "But there's one item you might wish to pay for." "CHARLES:" "What item is that?" "Mr. Mason's parking ticket." "(all laughing)" "(theme music plays)"