"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "( mellow theme playing )" "Hey, I wouldn't mind having this myself." "Come in handy for snagging the olives out of martinis." "( chuckles )" "Look at these flies, Paul." "A retired government man up near Palo Alto is teaching me how to hand tie them." "Well, if I were a trout in Scotland," "I wouldn't worry too much." "What do you mean by that?" "Look at the record." "For three years now you've been polishing up your Highland brogue and your fly casting, and the closest you've gotten to Scotland so far is Pasadena." "I know, Paul." "But this time nothing interferes." "Lawyers have as much right to vacations as, uh, plumbers, stock brokers, and/or private investigators." "I couldn't agree more, but 8-to-5 you don't make it." "Here, look." "Jet non-stop to London." "Berth on the night train to Edinburgh." "A confirmed two-weeks reservation at the Inn at Glenkindie in the Cairngorm Mountains." "By this time Monday I'll be knee-deep in some little stream fishing" "Yes, Della?" "I know you said no business today, but, uh, there's a young lady outside who insists on seeing you." "Della, even if Cleopatra were out there" "I still wouldn't see her." "I have a feeling she's in trouble." "You always have that feeling about prospective clients." "Especially if they're, uh, personable young ladies, which I'm sure she must be." "She's more than personable, Perry." "You'll fall in love with her at first sight." "Well, it might be better to explain to her in person." "All right, Della, have her come in." "All right, Della, have her come in." "Miss Smith." "Hello." "DELLA:" "This is Mr. Drake, and this is Mr. Mason." "How do you do?" "Uh, excuse me, how do you do?" "Won't you sit down?" "Thank you." "And now, Miss Smith." "I'm Peggy." "All right, Peggy." "Now, you wanted to consult me about something?" "Yes, Mr. Mason." "Virginia Hobson recommended you." "Virginia Hobson?" "She's my best friend at Westcroft." "That's the school I go to." "Virginia said her father said that you were the only lawyer he would go to, if he were in trouble." "Are you in trouble, Peggy?" "Yes." "Well, how can I help you?" "Could you find out who I am, Mr. Mason?" "Find out who you are?" "Yes." "You see, nobody seems to know." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "LORIMER:" "But you see, Mr. Mason," "I wasn't here when Peggy was enrolled at Westcroft." "Miss Clemmens was headmistress then." "Well, she must have told you something about Peggy's background." "Oh, I never met Miss Clemmens." "She died before I came West." "As for Peggy's background, well, all I know is that she's apparently the offspring of a Swiss bank and an electronic brain." "( chuckles )" "That's a rather odd combination." "What has she told you?" "Well, only that she doesn't think she's Peggy Smith." "And she'd like me to find out who she really is." "And that in the five years she's been here, she hasn't received one visit or one letter from anyone." "That does seem absurd." "Absurd, but true, Mr. Mason." "You see, Peggy's tuition is paid by" "Tobler  Sons Bank in Geneva, Switzerland." "We bill them quarterly for her clothing, medical expenses, allowance, summer camp, everything." "And back comes a check." "Miss Lorimer, who brought Peggy here in the first place?" "Well, the story goes that she arrived in a gleaming limousine, unaccompanied except for a rag doll and a chauffeur, who just left her." "No reference names in her file?" "No names at all." "Well, it's certainly a glamorous mystery all right." "Swiss banks, gleaming limousines." "Where does the electronic brain come in?" "I'll show you in Peggy's room." "Will you come with me, please?" "She's just lovely." "Her name is Maggie, and she came here with me." "I used to pretend she was my sister." "But that's only when I was a little girl." "Not that I'd mind having a real sister, or somebody." "Peggy, aren't they good to you here?" "Oh, yes." "They're very good." "Especially Miss Lorimer." "But teachers aren't the same as a family of your own, are they, Miss Street?" "Well, maybe not." "But if you don't have a family, who gave you all of these beautiful dolls?" "I was just going to tell Mr. Mason about the dolls, Miss Street." "Hi, Mr. Mason." "Hi, Peggy." "You were also gonna tell me about the electronic brain." "Oh." "Well, that's the only thing I can think of that could be sending Peggy her dolls." "You see, each year, two of these arrive." "One on the day before Christmas, and the other on the 11th of June." "No card, no message, nothing." "Just a doll." "Nine since Peggy's been here." "The 11th of June." "Is that, uh, Peggy's birthday?" "LORIMER:" "We think so." "Is that your birthday, Peggy?" "Nobody ever told me." "Oh." "Oh, surely you remember having a birthday party before you came here?" "We think Peggy was about 3 then, so naturally her memories are rather dim." "Now, the only names that she can recall are "Auntie" and "Martha."" "And Maggie too." "She's my own doll." "There's, um, one lead here." "These dolls all came from the same shop." "Oh." "Kringle's Gifts  Dolls, Gstaad, Switzerland." "You know, a good investigator, working in Geneva and Gstaad, should, without any trouble, unearth the person who bought these dolls." "LORIMER:" "You see, Mr. Mason, we'd all like to help Peggy find out who she is." "But I'm afraid it's just not a thing that Westcroft School has any business financing." "I understand." "I'm afraid we'll have to be going now, Peggy." "Goodbye, Mr. Mason." "Bye, honey." "May I see you for a moment, Miss Lorimer?" "LORIMER:" "Why, yes, of course." "Bye-bye, Peggy." "Take good care of Maggie." "Miss Street, but" "But what?" "I thought if I could find my family, and they could see I really wasn't so terrible, they might want me back again." "Peggy, I'll come and see you." "I'll come and see you real soon." "Okay?" "Okay." "Goodbye, Miss Street." "Bye." "Bye." "( somber theme playing )" "Perry, it's getting late." "We better get going." "I'm just about ready." "Della" "Oh." "It's getting late." "Perry, I was just thinking about that poor little girl." "Got the tickets, Della?" "They're right here." "Look, Perry, suppose I went to Westcroft" "Are you sure they're in order?" "Everything is in order." "Los Angeles to London, by way of Geneva, Switz" "Geneva, Switzerland?" "Uh, Perry, you better hurry." "I, uh, think she's gonna kiss you." "I'm only stopping there because I need a new watch." "( dramatic theme playing )" "I received your cable, Mr. Mason." "And I must tell you at once, I can't give you any information about Peggy Smith." "You must know something about her, Mr. Tobler." "Otherwise you wouldn't be paying for her education." "( chuckles )" "Tobler  Sons are not paying." "We merely act as agents." "Agents for whom?" "I'm sorry, Mr. Mason, but I cannot tell you that." "Mr. Tobler," "Peggy Smith is a little girl, a rather pathetic little girl, who needs a family." "A family to love and to be loved by." "You're denying her that." "I have no choice." "Very well then, tell me this." "Do you forward her bills to someone, or has an account been set up for her?" "An account, Mr. Mason." "A numbered account." "One with no name attached?" "Exactly." "Except in a secret book, which under the Swiss law," "I'm forbidden to show anyone, except in case of national emergency." "You could hardly call the problem of one child in America a Swiss national emergency, could one, Mr. Mason?" "No, thank you." "No, I don't suppose one could." "I'm extremely sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Tobler." "Oh, it's quite all right." "Bonjour, monsieur." "Mademoiselle?" "I wish to place a call, to the United States of America." "Los Angeles, California." "The number is Crestview 14699." "( mysterious theme playing )" "( train whistle blows)" "( bells ringing )" "( music box playing lullaby )" "She's beautiful, isn't she?" "Mm." "Do you send many of these to America, Mr. Kringle?" "No." "Most of them are sold to tourists here in Gstaad." "Except, of course, two we send to Los Angeles each year." "Yes, of course." "To, uh, Peggy Smith." "Yes." "( bell tinkles )" "Oh, please wait." "I'll be with you in just a moment." "Are you sure that's the man?" "I looked at the hotel register." "Perry Mason." "Linda, remember when we were kids, and we used to think this was Santa Claus' shop?" "Whatever gave you that idea?" "Kringle, stupid." "Kriss Kringle." "( all laugh )" "Miss Osborne, I'll be with you right away." "All right, Mr. Kringle." "Now, uh, you know Peggy Smith, Herr, uh...?" "Mason." "Yes, I know her." "Then perhaps you can explain something which has been puzzling us here." "I'd be glad to try." "Exactly who is Peggy Smith?" "A collector of dolls?" "Oh, no." "She's a little girl in a boarding school." "Hm." "Miss Osborne, our mystery has been solved." "Peggy Smith is a little girl, just as you thought." "Yes, I heard." "Mr. Kringle told me about the dolls." "We're old friends." "But apparently there's even more mystery, mm?" "Well," "I would like to find out who's been paying for the dolls." "Why, Tobler  Sons." "A bank in Geneva." "How did you know that?" "Mr. Kringle told me." "KRINGLE:" "Mm-hm." "And somebody picked out those dolls?" "I pick them out, HerrMason." "Well, when did all this get started, Mr. Kringle?" "Who ordered the dolls in the first place?" "It began, uh, five years ago." "A letter came from the bank describing a certain doll and asking it to be sent." "For three dolls it was this way." "The fourth, uh, only a check, leaving the selection to me." "And it has been this way ever since." "Odd, HerrMason, but, uh, very good business for Kringle's." "( chuckles )" "Yes." "And a very baffling business for me." "Excuse me." "( mysterious theme playing )" "Everything satisfactory, MonsieurOsborne?" "Yes, thank you." "Will you bring us the check, please?" "Certainly." "Bonsoir, monsieur." "Good evening, may I have a table for one?" "Yes, monsieur, this way." "Good evening." "Good evening." "The man from the doll shop again." "Come on, let's go upstairs." "I think I'll go talk to him." "Helene." "Now, darling, don't play the stuffy husband." "The dolls intrigue me." "So does he." "May I join you, Mr. Mason?" "Pardon, mademoiselle." "Please do." "Uh, bring another glass, will you please?" "Oui, monsieur." "How did you know my name?" "My sister-in-law told me." "Miss Osborne?" "That's right, you were with her in the shop this morning, weren't you?" "Thank you." "Yes, and after you left," "Linda told me the story of the little girl and her nine dolls." "How did you know there were nine dolls?" "Thank you." "Mr. Kringle said there were, and if I don't hear the whole story" "I shall die of unrequited curiosity." "Unless it's something top secret?" "No, I don't suppose it's a secret at all." "Then you'll tell me about it?" "Well, unfortunately, Mrs., uh--?" "Osborne." "Helene Osborne." "Mrs. Osborne," "I'm a lawyer working on behalf of a client and it just wouldn't be ethical for me to talk about it." "Unless, of course, you can convince me that you have a legitimate interest in the matter." "Have you?" "No, it's just curiosity, as I said." "I didn't mean to pry." "Oh, you're not prying." "Helene." "It's getting late and we're leaving at 6 in the morning, so don't make me twist your arm." "All right, Larry." "Perhaps I'll see you before we go, Mr. Mason." "And perhaps you won't." "Do you like our cognac?" "Oh, yes, very nice." "Um, I'll have some more, please." "Certainly." "Attractive woman, Mrs. Osbert." "Osborne." "Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Osborne and Mademoiselle Linda Osborne." "They're very nice people." "Very nice and very rich." "They have been coming here for many years." "From Chicago." "No, from Los Angeles." "I thought that you Americans would know all about each other by now." "Didn't they speak to you?" "After they followed you out of the hotel this morning?" "Uh, no, I guess we missed each other." "What, you're not an American?" "Oh, oh, yes, I'm an American." "( chuckles )" "Uh, I understand they're leaving." "Yes, they are taking a plane from Geneva tomorrow afternoon, flying back to America." "I'm sorry they're going." "Yes, I'm sorry they're going." "Tell me, is there anything you'd like me to do for you?" "No, uh, everything's fine." "You can leave the bottle, thank you." "Uh, here you are." "Oh, merci, monsieur." "Merci beaucoup." "( door unlocking )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( mysterious theme playing )" "( phone ringing )" "Hello." "That's right, operator." "The Westcroft School in Brentwood." "I wanted to speak" "Oh, you have?" "Yes, I'm ready." "( line ringing )" "Hello?" "This is Perry Mason," "I'd like to speak to Miss Lorimer, please." "She isn't?" "Well, is it possible for Peggy Smith to come to the telephone?" "Went out with whom?" "Well, who was the woman?" "You don't know?" "All right, thank you." "( taps switch hook )" "Operator?" "( taps switch hook )" "Operator." "( sighs )" "( rings )" "Hello." "Perry." "Where are you?" "Gstaad?" "Well that's pretty fancy even in summer, isn't it?" "Me?" "Oh, I'm just, uh, stealing a couple of your books." "Sure, what's wrong?" "Peggy Smith?" "Well, shouldn't I notify the police?" "Okay, as soon as I check." "I'll call you the minute I get" "( knock on door )" "Wait a minute." "You can relax." "Nothing's happened to Peggy." "That's good." "But, Paul, I still want some things done." "A day and night watch put on the school until I get back." "And this I'd like you to handle personally." "Uh, hold on a minute, Perry." "Female births in the county," "June 11th, seven, eight and nine years ago." "Perry, that'll run into thousands." "Oh." "Just females named Margaret." "Okay." "Will do at once." "And, uh, send us a wire and we'll meet you." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Well, this certainly is a coincidence." "Not only the same plane, but the next seat." "My lucky day, Miss Osborne." "Thank you." "And your quest for the person sending the dolls to the little girl?" "Were you lucky with that too?" "Oh, I might have come across something." "Do you live with your brother in Los Angeles, Miss Osborne?" "No." "With my uncle, Courtney Jeffers." "The oil man?" "My mother was his sister." "We went to live with him when my father died, and then when Mother died I just stayed on." "You know, I'm surprised a girl as pretty as you hasn't married." "I got as far as the altar once." "Any more questions, Mr. Mason?" "Yeah." "Yesterday I had a very curious feeling, that I was being followed all the way to the toy shop." "Followed by you, your brother and his wife." "Oh, why, that's absurd." "We were just out for a stroll." "And later did one of you stroll into my room?" "With a broken doll?" "A broken doll?" "And a note attached." "Oh, I don't know anything about it." "What was in the note?" "Nothing really." "Probably just a joke of some kind." "Probably just a joke." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Eustaces, Newbolds and Lemkos, they all got a daughter named Margaret, and I haven't got a clip on any of them." "What's this all about, Paul?" "I'm not exactly sure myself." "All I know is I'm supposed to get a list of all the Margarets born in the county on June 11th, seven, eight and nine years ago." "The County Clerk's Office came up with eight, along with the names and addresses of their parents." "This Perry Mason business?" "Uh-huh." "Now, none of these names rang a bell, so I thought I'd see if you had anything in your files on any of them." "Paul, you know that newspapers don't keep clips on just anybody." "I know." "I have a hunch that this Margaret's parents aren't just anybody." "Now, the ones you tried were for seven years ago." "Let's try the two for eight years ago." "Barry and Elizabeth Fitzjames, and Clark and Margaret Lawson." "Fitzjames and Lawson." "Nothing on Fitzjames." ""Margaret Lawson, see Jeffers."" "Jeffers, Jeffers, Jeffers." "Margaret Jeffers, here's one." ""Oil heiress elopes with bond salesman." ""Margaret 'Peggy' Jeffers," ""daughter of oil tycoon Courtney Jeffers," ""early this morning eloped to Las Vegas with Clark Lawson, a bond salesman."" "That's a picture of them." "Oh." "Here's some bad news." "What's the matter?" ""Oil heiress killed in Palm Springs crash."" "Yeah, I remember that one." "When was this?" "Six and a half years ago." "Does it say anything about her being survived by a baby daughter?" "Well, hm." "You're lucky you got that much." "Courtney Jeffers hates publicity." "And besides being a friend of the publisher of this newspaper, he's probably one of the most cantankerous old buffaloes in the city." "Martha!" "Coming, Mr. Jeffers." "I'm coming." "Where the devil is Linda?" "It's after 5 and her plane was supposed to land at 3." "She's here, sir." "Then why hasn't she been in to see me?" "Well, who'd dare wake an old grizzly bear when he's taking a nap." "Oh, Linda!" "You're the only one who would dare, Miss Linda." "Go away, go away, go away." "I missed you, child." "When you still had Martha to roar at?" "No, it's not the same, because you always roared back." "Leave that fire alone, Martha, and get out." "Yes, Mr. Jeffers." "You see, what fun is there yelling at her?" "How was Gstaad?" "Lovely." "Your mother always thought so too." "And your trip back?" "All right." "Most of the time I sat next to a man named Perry Mason." "( doorbell rings )" "We didn't hit it off at first, but later I found him charming." "Charming, indeed." "Do you know who Mason is?" "He's a criminal lawyer and he'll charm the gold right out of your back teeth." "Mr. Jeffers." "Yes, Benson?" "A caller, sir." "A Mr. Mason." "Perry Mason?" "I believe so, Miss Linda." "Of all the unmitigated gall." "Not three hours off the plane and he has the nerve to come calling." "Or did you invite him?" "Not I." "He asked for you, sir." "Me?" "Very well." "Show him in." "Aren't you staying?" "He asked for you, Uncle C." "BENSON:" "Right in here, sir." "MASON:" "Thank you." "Mr. Jeffers, my name is Mason." "I'm an attorney" "I know who you are." "What do you want?" "I'm here on behalf of a young child named Peggy Smith." "Peggy Smith?" "The name means nothing to me." "I have every reason to believe that she's your granddaughter." "Granddaughter?" "I have no granddaughter." "I have no children." "What are you up to, Mason?" "You had a daughter, Margaret, who married a man named Clark Lawson." "Get out." "I don't quite understand." "Ever since her marriage," "Margaret's name has up until now been mentioned but twice in this house:" "When I disinherited her and when she died." "It is not to be mentioned again." "Very well." "Did you also intend to disinherit your granddaughter?" "There was no granddaughter." "According to the records in the County Clerk's Office there was." "Here's a photostat of the birth certificate." "Are you, by any chance, representing Clark Lawson?" "No, I'm not." "Well, he is back of it." "And you, yourself are either a knave or a dupe." "Won't you read this photostat?" "It's a forgery." "Or another one of Lawson's tricks." "Get out." "A piece of paper can easily be destroyed, Mr. Jeffers." "But it's another matter when it comes to one's own flesh and blood." "Won't you at least see Peggy?" "Won't you at least talk to her?" "Benson!" "Yes, Mr. Jeffers?" "Show this man out." "That won't be necessary." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "It's all right, Mr. Mason." "I like to come out with Della, and Mr. Jeffers doesn't sound very nice anyway." "Peggy, he's probably very nice." "Perhaps he just wasn't feeling well today." "I suppose so." "( phone rings)" "Yes, Gertie?" "Oh, just a minute." "Would you like to see Linda Osborne?" "Linda Osborne?" "Mm-hm." "Peggy, would you mind if I spoke to Miss Osborne for a moment before we start back to school?" "No, Mr. Mason." "All right." "Take Peggy into the library, and bring Miss Osborne in, will you please?" "I'll get the phone." "Come on." "Uh, Gertie, Della will be right out." "Any word from Paul Drake?" "Well, keep on checking." "( door opens )" "Thank you." "Well, Miss Osborne, this is rather a surprise." "Won't you sit down?" "No, thank you." "I had to come, Mr. Mason, to beg you to please leave my uncle alone." "He's old and ill and a hoax like this could kill him." "What makes you think this is a hoax?" "I grew up with Margaret Jeffers and I know she never had a child." "Were you with her all the time between her marriage and her death?" "No, but my mother was." "And she certainly would have told me if Margaret had had a baby." "Didn't Mr. Jeffers tell you" "I'd found a record of the birth?" "He said records could be forged." "And little girls, can they also be forged?" "I heard what you were talking about." "If Mr. Mason is right, we're maybe relatives, aren't we?" "You and me." "I always knew if I belonged to somebody it just must be somebody as pretty as you are." "I'm Peggy, and this is Maggie." "Don't touch me." "Don't you dare touch me." "You keep her away from me." "You keep her away from our house." "( dramatic theme playing )" "Could I go back to school now, Mr. Mason?" "A little more brandy, Helene?" "I need something to liven things up." "This has been more like a wake than a welcome home party." "You two have a quarrel or something?" "No." "I'm just tired, I guess." "It's been a long day." "Not that long." "What's eating you, sis?" "You're acting as though your best friend has just kicked the bucket." "Mr. Jeffers." "What is it, Benson?" "Mr. Mason is here again, sir." "Mr. Mason?" "Yeah, I sent for him, Linda." "He's in the library, sir." "( Jeffers grunts )" "JEFFERS:" "Go away, go away!" "Uh, Linda, uh, help me please." "Why is Mason here?" "What does he want?" "JEFFERS:" "You two just sit tight." "I didn't think you'd dare produce her, Mason." "She's right here, Mr. Jeffers." "You brought her here?" "PEGGY:" "Miss Osborne," "I'm sorry I upset you so this afternoon." "I didn't mean to." "Really, I didn't." "Peggy." "My Peggy." "Come here, child." "Come to your grandfather." "( tender theme playing )" "The foregoing instrument was on the date hereof by the said Courtney Jeffers subscribed, published and declared to be his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other," "have signed the same as witnesses thereto." "Leave the usual underlined places for the witnesses' signatures, Della, and that ends that." "I'm so happy for Peggy I could almost cry, if that makes any sense." "Of course it makes sense." "Under that new will," "Peggy stands to be a very rich girl." "( phone rings ) Hm, I'll get it." "Hello." "What's that?" "Mr. Mason, something awful has happened." "Something awful." "I'm going to need your help." "I" " I'm-- I'm going to need your help." "Please hurry." "( dramatic theme playing )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "These last three days have been a nightmare." "Questions and questions." "But I didn't kill him, Mr. Mason." "I swear I didn't." "I believe you, Linda." "Now, you must understand that today will be just the preliminary hearing." "I'll try to clear you, of course, but if I can't that won't be the end of things." "Not by a long shot." "Now, just remember what I said." "Thank you." "What about Peggy?" "I told you." "I won't see her." "But why?" "Why do you dislike her so, when all she wants is just someone to be close to?" "Because she is so like her mother." "But her mother was your best friend." "You grew up together." "Margaret, Peggy's mother, eloped to Las Vegas with Clark Lawson." "Yes, I do know that." "What you don't know is that on that very day Clark and I were to be married." "I was left waiting at the church, like a bride in the comics, only it wasn't funny to me." "Two people I loved most in the world." "Uncle Courtney sided with me, and kept it out of the papers, but I was crushed." "( sobs )" "Peggy brought it all back that day in your office." "Brings it back every time I look at her." "I know it's not her fault." "She's a wonderful little girl, but I just can't bear to have her around." "I hate myself for it, but I" "I just can't bear it." "I just can't." "( sobbing )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "The state's evidence will disclose a motivation based upon a hidden relationship." "Now, if it please the court, I would like to explain." "Mr. Jeffers, at the time of his death, believed that, through the activities of Perry Mason, he had discovered a grandchild about whom he knew nothing." "Now, it may well appear that this young woman actually was a grandchild." "But that matter will have to be established or refuted in another court at another time." "But the fact that the deceased did believe that this girl was his grandchild caused him to prepare to change his will." "And the state contends it was this change in the will that brought about his murder at the hands of the defendant." "Now just where did you find that button," "Sergeant Willoughby?" "By the dead man's right hand." "Uh, Mr. Jeffers, I mean." "And what did you do about it?" "I showed it to Lieutenant Tragg." "And then?" "He told me to see if I could find the garment it came from." "Were you successful in this?" "I was." "I located it in a closet upstairs." "Now, I ask you to examine this robe." "That's the garment." "You can see where the button was pulled off." "Did you discover to whom this robe belonged?" "Yes, sir." "To Linda Osborne." "The defendant." "CHAMBERLIN:" "Sergeant Willoughby, I think you heard the coroner's physician testify that in his opinion death was caused by a blow from a rod-like metal object?" "Yes, sir, I did." "I now show you this poker, already entered into evidence." "Do you recognize it?" "Yes, sir." "It's the one I found by the body." "That's my identifying tag on the handle." "CHAMBERLIN:" "Did you test this poker in the crime lab?" "WILLOUGHBY:" "Yes." "Toward the working end were traces of blood identical in type to those of the decedent." "On the handle were found fingerprints." "The defendant's fingerprints." "Thank you." "Your witness, Mr. Mason." "Uh, may I see that poker again, Mr. Chamberlin?" "Of course." "Looking isn't going to erase either blood stains or fingerprints, counselor." "Sergeant, in taking samples of blood for testing in the laboratory, it was necessary to clean this poker?" "No, sir." "The poker was clean, except for blood traces." "And all I removed of them were a few dried flakes, as you can see." "And the only fingerprints found on it were those of the defendant?" "Yes, sir." "MASON:" "Thank you, sergeant." "No more questions at this time." "Uncle Courtney called Linda and me into the library after Mr. Mason left and told us about the new will." "You two being the sole heirs up to this point?" "Well, so we'd been given to understand." "Now, you were cut off completely in favor of this granddaughter that had materialized out of thin air?" "Well, that's the general idea." "Were you angry about this?" "Well, no." "No, not really." "Why should we be?" "I have a job." "After all, it was his money, wasn't it?" "CHAMBERLIN:" "Then you didn't go into the library with your husband and, uh, Miss Osborne?" "No, I wasn't included in the will." "But you waited for your husband to come out?" "Yes, and when he did he said," ""Let's have another brandy."" "And I said, "Why?" And he said," ""Because it isn't every day you lose $9 million."" "And then he told me what had happened." "Now, while you were drinking this brandy, Mrs. Osborne, did you hear anything unusual?" "Yes." "Linda and Uncle Courtney were shouting at each other in the library like a couple of Indians on the warpath." "Helene!" "Well, Larry, I can't help it." "That's how they sounded." "We can do without any outbursts, Mr. Osborne." "Please resume your seat." "Could you hear what they were saying in the library?" "No, just their voices." "And then Linda stormed out, mad as a hatter and ran upstairs." "Objection, Your Honor." "So far as the Mad Hatter is concerned, the witness is volunteering an opinion." "Objection sustained." "The witness' answer after "Just their voices"" "will be stricken." "You will please confine yourself to answering such questions as you are asked, Mrs. Osborne." "Yes, Your Honor." "Now, what did you and your husband do after the defendant ran up the stairs?" "We went home." "CHAMBERLIN:" "Thank you." "CHAMBERLIN:" "Then you were in the library, Mrs. Benson, during this quarrel." "I mean this rather noisy discussion that went on between Miss Osborne and her uncle?" "Yes, sir." "With the warm milk and the two pills that I always took to Mr. Jeffers at 10:00." "What was the discussion about?" "It was about the little girl." "Go on." "Well, Mr. Jeffers was determined to bring her into the house so Miss Linda could care for her." "What was Miss Osborne's reaction to this?" "MARTHA:" "Well, Miss Linda not only said she would not care for her, but she would not even live in the same house with her." "And Mr. Jeffers' reply?" "Well, he told her to pack up and get out." "But of course, he did not mean that." "Now, it isn't your function, Mrs. Benson, to determine what he did or did not mean." "What happened after that?" "Uh, Miss Linda ran out of the library." "And you were still in the kitchen at 11:00 that night, Mr. Benson?" "Yes, sir." "Polishing the silver, as I do each week." "And your wife was helping you?" "No, sir." "She'd gone to bed." "Oh, then, this is not the same quarrel that she testified to?" "Oh, no, sir." "This" "This was a good hour later." "Well, tell us what happened." "Well, I" " I went into the dining room to put some of the silver back." "Suddenly from the direction of the library" "I heard Mr. Jeffers speak." ""Linda?" he asked." "Then he said, "No." "Oh, no."" "Then I heard a kind of thud." "I looked out into the hall and caught a glimpse of Miss Linda just disappearing up the hall stairs." "What was she wearing, Mr. Benson?" "A robe of some sort." "CHAMBERLIN:" "That's all for the prosecution, Your Honor." "Gentlemen, it's already ten minutes past 11." "And as I have a motion for a new trial set in another case at this time," "I declare a recess of this court until 2:00 this afternoon." "( knocking on door )" "News, Perry." "And at least some of it's good." "You located Tobler?" "No, not yet." "My people in Switzerland say they're getting the run around at both his house and the bank." "Sometimes it's better to use the direct approach." "Della, put in a long-distance call to Mr. Tobler." "Mm-hm." "I don't want this phone tied up." "Oh, fine." "What about Clark Lawson?" "Well, we ran him down through his GI insurance." "He was killed in Korea." "No known relatives." "I see." "Is this the poker from the upstairs sitting room?" "From Linda's room?" "Mm-hm." "How did you know it'd be the same?" "I didn't." "Just hoped it would." "Well, wait till you see the chemist's report." "Here." "What about the other robe?" "Apparently doesn't own one, but I'm having my men check all the cleaning establishments in the neighborhood." "I hope they find it fast, Paul." "And there's one final thing, though I don't know what it means." "For the past three years," "Larry Osborne has been drawing large checks to cash on his personal account." "They add up to 10 grand a year." "No clue as to what he's been doing with the money?" "Not a one." "( intercom buzzes )" "Yes, Della." "DELLA:" "I got through to Switzerland." "But, Perry, Mr. Tobler's here." "What?" "He's here in Los Angeles at the Sunset Hills Hotel." "You're forgetting that I'm a Swiss citizen, and as such you cannot compel me to break my own country's laws." "This is a murder case, Mr. Tobler." "A young woman's life is in jeopardy." "I cannot help that." "Then I cannot help giving you this subpoena, answerable in Superior Court at 2:00 this afternoon." "And I can assure you, if you refuse to answer my questions at that time, you'll be held in contempt of court," "Swiss law or no Swiss law." "( sighs )" "I cannot have you do that." "My reputation and the bank's will be ruined." "It can be easily prevented, Mr. Tobler, by answering the questions now." "You wish to know who created the fund for Peggy Smith?" "That's right." "Mr. Jeffers' late sister, Constance Osborne." "The mother of Larry and Linda Osborne?" "Yes." "Then you were the one who notified them of my inquiries?" "I notified Larry Osborne." "I called him in Los Angeles, found out he was in Gstaad, and I called him there." "What are doing here in Los Angeles now, Mr. Tobler?" "Mr. Mason, the Tobler bank is not as cold-blooded as you think." "I came here to tell Larry Osborne we would gladly release all details about Peggy Smith's fund if it would save his sister." "And he refused to let you do this?" "Yes, Mr. Mason." "I know it was wrong, but I was hoping Linda would get off without the story having to come out." "Will you please tell this Court the whole story, beginning with the Las Vegas elopement of Margaret Jeffers and Clark Lawson?" "Well, in less than two months" "Margaret realized what a mistake she'd made and kicked Lawson out." "I think he joined the Army or something." "Did Mr. Jeffers know that?" "( door opens )" "Margaret didn't want him to know." "He'd disinherited her, cut off communications." "She wanted to keep it that way." "Uh, even after the baby came?" "She let my mother and Martha help her with it, but she still wouldn't let them tell Uncle Courtney." "What was done with the baby?" "She was placed in a foster home and then in the Westcroft School." "It was at that same time that my Mother set up the fund with the Tobler bank." "Why didn't she tell Mr. Jeffers about the baby?" "Well, that was the shameful part." "She" "She wanted the estate for Linda and me." "She knew we'd be left out of it if he ever found out about Peggy." "She told me all this just before she died three years ago." "Told just you, not your sister?" "Just me." "So you were the one who left the broken doll in my room in Gstaad?" "Broken doll?" "What broken doll?" "Did you kill your uncle?" "No." "I'd never do such a thing." "Never." "But you were perfectly willing, by keeping silent, to cheat a mere child out of her rightful inheritance?" "Yes, I was." "You were also willing to be blackmailed to accomplish that, were you not?" "Blackmailed to the tune of 10,000 a year." "How did you know that?" "Never mind how." "Just tell me, who was blackmailing you?" "To whom were you paying the money?" "Uncle Courtney's man, Benson." "( crowd murmuring )" "You were recalled to the stand, Mr. Benson, for the purpose of clarifying these issues." "Now, will you please answer the question?" "Well, I don't call it blackmail at all." "Just a simple business deal." "It may not be quite so simple if Mr. Osborne decides to press charges against you." "Now, I'd like you to look at this poker." "It came from what room in Mr. Jeffers' house?" "Why, the library, of course." "Isn't there another poker just exactly like it in Miss Osborne's sitting room upstairs?" "BENSON:" "Well, since the poker was missing from the downstairs set," "I thought-- Just a moment." "I'd like you to take a look at this robe again." "Are you sure this is the robe you saw vanishing up the stairs after you heard Mr. Jeffers cry out?" "No, I can't say positively." "Can you say positively that the woman in the robe was Linda Osborne?" "Well, I didn't think it could be anyone else." "Miss Linda was living there." "Couldn't it have been someone else who was familiar with the house?" "Y-Yes, I suppose so." "Couldn't it have been Helene Osborne, for instance?" "Why, yes," "I" " I guess it could have been Mrs. Osborne." "I-I admit that, Mr. Mason." "I did put the broken doll and the note in your hotel room." "But I was trying to help Larry." "So you knew about Peggy, about who she was?" "Yes." "Larry told me a long time ago." "But I didn't kill his uncle." "I didn't." "Where were you between 10:30 and 11:30 on the night of the murder?" "I was with Larry." "He can tell you that, so can Martha." "She saw us leave the house together." "Yes, sir." "They left together, all right." "I know that." "Of course, I can't say that either one of them didn't come back." "And you, Mrs. Benson?" "Where were you between 10:30 and 11:30?" "I was in bed." "Are you sure, Mrs. Benson?" "Are you sure you didn't wait until Mr. Jeffers was finally alone, and then enter the library and kill him?" "What?" "Why, of course not." "MARTHA:" "Well, Mr. Jeffers saw that it was Linda." "He called out her name." "MASON:" "Yes, he called out her name, thinking it was Linda." "But it was you, was it not?" "It was you wearing the robe your husband saw vanishing up the stairs?" "Wearing this robe?" "Your robe." "The robe you sent to the cleaner's after vainly trying to wash blood from it." "Your employer's blood, Mrs. Benson?" "No." "No." "MASON:" "No?" "Take a look at this poker, then." "This is the poker you ran upstairs to get, because you knew her fingerprints would be on it instead of yours." "This is the poker you exchanged for the real murder weapon." "And while you were upstairs, you tore a button from the defendant's robe, did you not, to further incriminate her?" "Won't you tell the truth now, Mrs. Benson?" "Or must I show you that second poker?" "Must I show you the chemist's report of finding on that poker minute traces of blood?" "Your employer's blood?" "Stop it!" "The blood of the man you killed." "It..." "It's true." "I killed Mr. Jeffers." "( Martha sobs )" "MARTHA:" "You see, we were in his will." "Quite generously." "But when Mr. Jeffers found out what we'd done, how Mr. Larry had been paying us, how we had helped keep his grandchild from him" "( Martha sobs )" "then he was going to cut us out." "He was going to get rid of us." "He was going to discharge us." "Oh, don't you see?" "We were going to lose everything." "( Martha sobbing )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "I remembered using that poker here in the library myself." "So when the police said only your fingerprints were on it," "I became rather curious." "That's when he sent Paul upstairs." "When he discovered the substitution." "She'd wiped the other poker clean, of course." "But not quite clean enough." "I'm so terribly grateful to you, Mr. Mason." "Thank you." "What are your plans now?" "A trip, I think." "Then perhaps Peggy better go back to Westcroft School." "Unless, of course, you'd like to take her with you." "LINDA:" "No, I" " I'm afraid I can't do that." "MASON:" "She'd like you to continue living here in the house when you get back." "LINDA:" "Thank you, Peggy." "But I'm afraid I can't do that either." "Now if you'll all excuse me, please." "Miss Osborne?" "( melancholy theme playing )" "I just wanted to say goodbye." "( sighs )" "Oh, Peggy." "( chuckles )" "( noirish jazz theme playing )"