"( noirish jazz theme playing )" "( peaceful theme playing )" "( clattering )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( grunts )" "Don't!" "Don't!" "MAN:" "Come back!" "Help!" "Come back!" "MAN:" "Help!" "Come back." "Help!" "Help." "Come back." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "I got you." "Take it easy." "You're all right now, friend." "Just not your day to be murdered, that's all." "I'd better call you a doctor, huh?" "No, no, I'm all right." "I-I've got my breath now and this is just a little cut." "Excuse me, I'll get a towel." "This is her, isn't it?" "You know, the first time I ever saw Lorna Thomas," "I was tossed out of a Saturday matinee for throwing popcorn." "Now I hear she's making another comeback." "Gonna make a movie with somebody named, uh, Tony Raeburn?" "Look, young man, I-- I don't know how to thank you." "If you hadn't happened by when" "You're Mr. Briggs, aren't you?" "The boss around here." "Well, I manage the club, yes." "It used to be Miss Thomas' lake home." "I'm Fred Bushmiller." "From Portland." "Oh." "I thought you'd be reporting to me by mail." "I didn't expect-- I know." "I sure picked a time to come in, didn't I?" "Wow." "That dame." "Mr. Bushmiller, whatever you saw out there, please, I" "I just wish you'd" "Well, I mean, you did come here to give me a report, didn't you?" "The girl you wanted me to find is Betty Clark." "She lives in Oregon City." "She's 24 now." "Clark?" "She married a fellow named Clark." "George Clark." "She's the one?" "You're sure?" "As sure as you can be about a thing like that." "The couple who adopted her wrote the minister of their church." "I found the letter in the minister's estate." "What did the letter say?" "That she was Lorna Thomas' daughter." "You sure get the lowdown on her all at once, don't you?" ""Lovely Lorna."" "First that she's got a grown kid that nobody knows anything about and then wham, she swats you over the head with a gaff." "Now, look, I fell into the lake and I hit my head against the side of the boat." "I want you to forget everything else." "There are some things, Mr. Bushmiller, please, that you shouldn't try to understand." "Sure." "Thanks." "I guess a little bonus might be in order... for your services to date." "Whatever you say, Mr. Briggs." "Fine." "( ominous theme playing )" "You wanted to see me?" "All my life, Miss Thomas." "I told him we didn't need the lawn mowed or any magazine subscriptions." "Run along, Harriet, thank you." "Well, now, Mr. Bushmiller, what is it?" "I was resting." "I'm not feeling very well." "Neither is Mr. Briggs." "You saw what happened?" "( sighs )" "Would you like to have a drink?" "Thank you." "You know, this sure is a beautiful place you've got here, Miss Thomas." "Nothing like this in Portland at all." "I was wondering if-- If a guy could find a job down here around Los Angeles." "Heh." "I was going to speak to Mr. Briggs about that, but he's such a funny guy." "He just works for you, doesn't he, Miss Thomas?" "Business manager or something?" "I mean, you're really the boss." "Dennis Briggs is a sneaky, lying thief." "Is that why you tried to kill him?" "( chuckles )" "He was trying to kill me." "What sort of story did he tell you?" "Why, I can't even swim, and he was trying to pull me into the water." "Miss Thomas, I'm the guy who saw you out there, remember?" "But okay." "We can talk about your daughter, if you like." "My what?" "The girl you put out for adoption February 17th, 1935." "Go on." "Maybe you didn't even know she still was alive." "Heh." "Maybe you didn't even care, unless it affects something." "Like this picture you're making." "There's no way on Earth it could ever be proved that anyone's my daughter." "But one way or another, you're determined to blackmail me, aren't you?" "I just thought we might have interests in common." "I mean, I'm new around here." "I don't even have a car to get around in yet, or a place to stay." "( chuckles )" "( chuckles )" "( both chuckling )" "You have now." "Drink your drink." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "( engine starts )" "Hey, what are you doing in L.A.?" "I've been waiting for you." "Yeah." "Well, maybe later, huh?" "I got to run." "I'll go with you." "Clark, did you follow me here from Oregon City?" "That's Betty's real mother up there, isn't it?" "That Lorna Thomas woman." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'm talking about a private detective named Fred Bushmiller coming to Oregon City and sneaking around and snooping and asking my wife a lot of questions about her past." "Listen, Clark, I just barely got here myself." "My job has nothing to do with all that stuff." "Mine has." "I want to know whether my wife is really Lorna Thomas' daughter." "Oh, I see." "Well, she's an old-timer." "She got it all before taxes." "So there's plenty for everybody." "Don't get greedy, friend." "You don't see, Bushmiller." "I'm only greedy about one thing:" "my wife's peace of mind." "( ominous theme playing )" "In California, Mr. Clark, a child placed for adoption through the court ceases to have any legal bonds whatever with its natural parents." "I see." "At the same time, of course, it assumes all the rights of a natural child of its foster parents." "But suppose the child is now over 21?" "And suppose the child is the only relative of the real parents?" "That wouldn't have any particular bearing, I'm afraid." "Now, suppose you give me some more details." "Just how old is this friend of yours?" "Well, Betty's 24 now." "And the foster parents, the couple who adopted her, both died in an automobile accident when Betty was only 12." "She was raised in a state orphanage." "I mean, she's had some pretty tough breaks." "So she deserves any benefit from whoever her mother really is, don't you think?" "Is Betty your wife, Mr. Clark?" "Yes, sir, she is." "And now you want to make sure of your wife's parentage and discover just what her rights might be." "I guess that's the idea, Mr. Mason." "Well, then, if her adoption was all in order in the first place, just remember the files of the state welfare board are confidential." "They won't say yes or no to who the mother was." "If you think you've discovered it by accident and the woman chooses to deny it, you just have no legal claim whatsoever." "Never mind, I get the idea." "You think the only thing that I'm after is somebody's money." "No, Mr. Clark." "I'm just telling you some facts." "And, you know, sometimes it's best to leave certain questions unanswered." "Mr. Mason, have you got any idea what it's like for a girl to go through her whole life wondering who her mother really is, and then suddenly finding that it's somebody" "Somebody beautiful and famous like the fairy princess?" "Well, would you just sit there if it turned out to be somebody" "Somebody like Lorna Thomas?" "The actress?" "All right, Mr. Clark." "We'll look into it for you." "Thank you." "You know, that young man showed quite a bit of understanding for his wife's feelings." "Mm." "Della, ask Paul Drake to come in, will you?" "Mm-hm." "And see if you can find me some fan magazines." "I think Gertie has quite a few of them under her desk." "Della..." "Mm?" "from 1935." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Yes, sir." "I won't." "I won't!" "Please, George, I just can't do it." "You've got to." "Right now." "Tonight." "But if Mr. Mason investigates..." "Betty, there's not a lawyer in the world that can do a thing until that woman admits who you are." "Oh, I wish we could just go back to Oregon City." "And forget the whole thing." "Just forget it?" "But what will I say?" "What'll you say?" "What else have you been saying ever since I've known you?" ""Mother, mother, mother." "I wonder who she is." ""Hey, maybe it's that flower woman over there." "Maybe it's the queen of France."" "Over and over again." "Well, how could I help it?" "Well, you can help it now." "You can face it." "You can look it in the eye." "I'm afraid." "Okay." "We'll just pack up and go back home, then." "It's all done, and that's the way it'll be the rest of your life." "You'll never be able to ask yourself another question." "( sighs )" "Lorna, didn't you understand one word I've told you?" "Didn't that crook you call a manager even get the idea?" "It's nearly 10 p.m." "By 10 a.m., one of you has got to produce $100,000." "Oh, darling, something else has come up, that's all." "But the bank won't wait." "I've put up every bit of cash I have, it's gone." "If the bank doesn't see the rest of the advance money, your share, they'll cancel the whole production on us." "So, what of it?" "I never really liked that script very much anyway." "Listen to me, Lorna." "We made an agreement, you and I." "Don't you dare muss me up!" "I don't have to make any picture unless I want to." "And the way you've been acting lately," "I'm not at all sure I" "( door opens )" "Excuse me, Miss Thomas." "No." "Not now." "We're talking business." "What is it, Harriet?" "Name's Clark." "Mrs. Betty Clark." "Oh?" "I" " I didn't realize you had company." "I" " I'm sorry." "It's all right." "This gentleman is just leaving." "Lorna, I won't be put off this way." ""Clark," did you say?" "Really, I'm afraid I don't" "Oh, yes." ""Clark."" "You're the one Fred told me about." "Claiming to be my daughter." "Lorna, this isn't the ti-- Good night, Tony." "I said, good night." "I-I shouldn't have come." "Miss Thomas, I'll take care of Mrs. Clark." "I'll take care of this little imposter myself." "No, please" "Whatever you say, I'll deny it." "Whoever you are and whatever you want," "I don't know anything about you." "And if I ever see your face again," "I'll tell the police you're trespassing." "( dramatic theme playing )" "That was pretty cruel, even for you." "( sighs )" "Leave me alone." "Isn't there anything in you for the girl?" "Don't presume on your years of service." "What else can I presume on, your loyalty?" "You'd throw me out tomorrow if you didn't need me." "Your affection?" "You just showed an inexhaustible supply of it." "Enough to fill a thimble." "You just don't know your place." "Oh, excuse me, ma'am." "Have a pleasant evening." "Mr. Bushmiller said he was going to the liquor store and would be right back." "Good night, ma'am." "( sighs )" "( sighs )" "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Ten-thirty." "They're still up." "Anything you want me to say, Perry?" "No, no." "This is just a friendly visit." "I want to stall off any chance of the client being stuck with invasion of privacy, that's all." "Besides, you're curious." "Mm-hm." "Oh, excuse me, we were looking for Miss Lorna Thomas." "Do" " Do you know how to tell when a person is dead?" "( dramatic theme playing )" "( sobbing )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "( camera clicks )" "Weren't you Miss Thomas' manager?" "Yes." "She was one of the great ones, you know, one of the really great ones." "Mr. Briggs, will you, uh, come with me, please?" "Please." "E-excuse us, Perry." "I guess you were planning to go out this evening," "Mr. Bushmiller." "Sure." "With Miss Thomas." "I noticed that you drove in right after the police." "Uh-huh." "Did I hear that doctor say she died around 10:15?" "I really don't know if they've been able to pin it down to that exact time." "You, uh, live here?" "Mr. Mason, I still haven't got it quite straight who you are." "Uh, Mr. Bushmiller, I wonder if you'd mind just stepping in there, please." "Please." "Sure, lieutenant." "Any way I can help." "Uh, excuse us, Perry." "Uh, protecting them from me like a good shepherd, lieutenant?" "Until I find out which of them is the black sheep." "You'd care to tell me just what you're doing here?" "It's only a civil matter." "But I am curious as to what your examining doctor says." "Oh, the doctor said she was strangled, Perry." "And since that's not exactly a civil matter, good night, Miss Street." "Good night, lieutenant." "Yes." "( suspenseful theme playing )" "Morning, Della." "See if Paul's up in" "Well, hello." "This is Mrs. Betty Clark, Perry." "She's been waiting since the building opened." "Where's your husband?" "I" " I don't know." "That's why I came here to you." "He" " He hasn't been home all night." "Come in, won't you?" "And while you went in to see Lorna Thomas," "George waited outside in your car?" "Yes." "What time did you leave?" "Oh, about 10:00." "I'm not exactly sure." "I was terribly upset." "How long did it take you and George to drive back to your motel?" "Oh, it's just a couple of blocks." "All I really know is I kept screaming at George." "For some awful reason, everything she had told me just made me angry with him." "Mr. Mason, I" "I'm afraid I said some terrible things." "It wasn't George's fault." "( sobbing ):" "He didn't make me go there." "Here, you better drink some of your coffee." "Here, dear." "All right?" "George didn't stop with you at your motel at all?" "He said he was going to get some gas for the car and then we'd leave town." "I-I waited a while and then I went into the café to get some coffee and because I could see the driveway from there." "And how long did you stay in the café?" "Oh, I waited and waited." "I guess it was about two hours before I heard the radio." "I tried to reach your husband myself last night by telephone." "( knocking on door )" "Come in, Paul." "Hi, Perry." "Oh, I'm sorry." "I didn't know you were busy." "( door closes )" "MASON:" "Ah, it's all right." "This is, uh, Mrs. Clark." "How do you do, Mrs. Clark?" "You free, Paul?" "Mm-hm." "Just finished up downtown." "Good." "We wanted you to help find Mrs. Clark's husband." "Clark?" "George Clark." "About 5'11", dark hair, brown eyes." "PAUL:" "I know where he is, Perry." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Clark, but they've been grilling your husband ever since Tragg's men picked him up at 2 a.m." "At the present moment he's being booked on suspicion of murder." "First degree." "I don't say I mightn't have wanted to kill her." "You did go back to her house." "Of course." "Why?" "Well, to tell her off." "The way that dirty dame treated Betty" "Is that the sort of thing you said to the police?" "Sorry, Mr. Mason." "What did you do when you got to the house?" "All the lights were on in all those rooms off the terrace," "I looked in the study." "You mean, you walked into the study." "Your fingerprints were on the doorknob." "Yes, sir." "I guess I walked in." "Also you apparently picked up a jade statue and a jewel box in that room." "Well, I'd never been in a place like that before." "And it was only then that I saw her lying on the floor." "She was dead." "Mr. Mason, I swear." "What time was this?" "Oh, I don't know." "It was about a quarter after 10, a little later." "Then what did you do?" "I ran, Mr. Mason." "I ran just as fast as I could." "Was all this running and soul-searching because you thought your wife might have killed Lorna Thomas?" "Oh, no, she didn't." "She couldn't." "I just didn't want her to get mixed up any more in case I got into trouble, don't you see?" "All right." "What else?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "According to my information, a piece of jewelry figures in the indictment against you." "Ah." "Well, they showed me this broken bracelet, but I've never seen it before." "Where'd they find it?" "They said they found it on the front seat of my car, stuffed halfway down the cushions." "That all of it, George?" "That's all." "When I first came to your office, it was to ask you to help Betty." "Yes?" "Would you help me too?" "Yes." "Bracelet?" "Bracelet." "Well, let me think." "I'd hoped you might remember just what jewelry she was wearing." "After all, you were one of the last people to see Miss Thomas alive." "Was she wearing any?" "I know she usually does" " Did." "But, yes, I think she did have on a bracelet." "Does that help you any?" "I understand you had a fight with her." "Yes, I told the police about it." "Lorna was dragging her feet about putting up her share of the production money." "I was getting madder and madder." "This movie was going to be one of the first you'd made in a long time, I take it." "Don't try to be diplomatic, Mr. Mason." "I'm quite broke, desperate, if that's what you mean." "Even this place is rented." "Just an old has-been." "A tired name." "Uh, do you mind if I see your paper, Miss Street?" "I really don't know what's going on, not since last night when they came here asking questions." "Mr. Raeburn, how could you consider yourself broke if you managed to put up nearly $100,000?" "Borrowed, my dear man." "Mason, you didn't tell me your client was in jail." ""Husband of rumored daughter..."" "Is it true, Mr. Raeburn?" "Could she have had that child?" "In 1935 she seemed to be going around a good deal with some Irish South American." "She may have married Raphael for all I know." "All the girls took aim, but none of them ever got near any of the millions they figured he had." "But maybe Lorna did." "What happened to Raphael O'Connor?" "He was a revolutionary at the wrong time." "Executed, as I recall." "Thank you, Mr. Raeburn." "Mm-hm." "Uh, mind if I keep this?" "Oh" "Not at all." "Do you mind telling me why it startled you?" "Did you expect someone else to be charged with the murder?" "Me." "( mysterious theme playing )" ""One brooch, platinum scrollwork," ""the broken bracelet, necklace with pendant emerald, the diamond tiara."" "This was all missing?" "Right out of the police department's typewriter." "How'd they compile the list?" "Harriet Snow." "The housekeeper, companion, or whatever she was." "Anyway, these are items she now remembers should have been in the jewel box that was on the study table." "It belonged in the wall safe." "Here's a list from the magazine pictures." "Some of the same items." "Apparently the jewelry has quite a history." "( rings )" "Yes, Gertie?" "Mr. Dennis Briggs to see you." "Send him in, Gertie." "Paul, let's get information on all the people involved in this." "Harriet Snow, the servant, uh, companion," "Mr. Briggs, Mr. Raeburn, the director, and Fred Bushmiller." "Okay, Perry." "Hello, Mr. Briggs." "Mr. Mason, I only have a moment." "There are reporters waiting for me." "For some reason the police department just doesn't seem to know how to say the right thing, and that is about a person like Lorna." "Won't you sit down?" "You, uh, knew more about her than anyone else, of course." "I don't think anyone really knew Lorna." "A check for $5,000." "What for, Mr. Briggs?" "Well, I don't think that George Clark has much money." "Neither do I." "I wish you'd accept that as part of your defense fee." "Just what is your interest in the Clarks?" "None." "Absolutely none." "I believe his wife has been put through a good deal of emotional strain, and... for her sake, I'd like to make sure justice is done." "Tell me, have you always gone around tidying up after Miss Thomas?" "You're assuming things, Mr. Mason." "Perhaps you could tell me why Lorna hired an investigator to find Betty Clark in the first place." "She didn't hire him." "I did." "Let me ask you something else:" "apparently, Miss Thomas had had her jewelry box out." "I suppose she was trying to decide what to wear for the evening." "Now, let's not attach too much importance there." "They say her jewelry's missing." "All right." "Lorna may have loaned it or just put it away." "Mr. Briggs," "I think justice may best be served if I don't accept this check." "I see." "I only wanted to help, Mr. Mason." "( door opens, closes )" "He seems to have devoted his whole life to Lorna Thomas' greatness." "You're quite perceptive, Della." "I want you to tell Paul to get a complete rundown on her estate, her properties, her will and her jewelry, despite Mr. Briggs' denial that it was stolen." "( mysterious theme playing )" "( dramatic theme playing )" "BURGER:" "From what vantage point did you see this man, Miss Snow?" "From my window." "I'd been upstairs maybe ten or 15 minutes." "It's when I opened my windows to get some fresh air that I looked down and saw him." "And, uh, what did you see him doing?" "Well, he ran across the terrace and off through the trees toward the street." "And what did you do then?" "I went downstairs and-- And found Miss Thomas dead." "I see." "Can you now identify for us this man you saw?" "Yes, that's him." "The defendant, George Clark." "BURGER:" "Thank you, Miss Snow." "Your witness." "Miss Snow, how long were you employed by Miss Thomas?" "Almost 20 years." "And you lived at the house?" "Yes." "I believe you said you saw this man run across the terrace and through the trees toward the street." "Yes." "Is there any other way to get to the street?" "Why, yes, through the house." "Did you hear or see anybody else at this time, or prior to this time?" "No." "I was in my room." "Did you hear a commotion?" "A noise?" "A blow?" "No." "But I wouldn't have heard it anyway, not from my room with the windows closed." "Miss Snow, when you went downstairs and found Miss Thomas, did you see her jewelry anywhere in the room?" "No." "Now, you testified that you were in your room possibly ten or 15 minutes, during which time" "Miss Thomas must have been killed, before you opened your window and saw Mr. Clark on the terrace below?" "Yes." "Then there was time, certainly, for the killer to have made his way through the house to the street while George Clark was going around the house to the terrace in the rear?" "Well, there was time, I guess." "As a matter of fact, you could have killed her during that time, could you not?" "If I had wanted to kill her," "I could have picked any time I wanted to." "BURGER:" "Do you recognize this bracelet, Mr. Raeburn?" "Yes." "It was one of her favorite pieces." "I see." "Now, on the night of the murder, what time was your meeting with Miss Thomas?" "It started at 9:30, went on to about a quarter of 10, when the girl showed up." "What girl?" "Mrs. Betty Clark." "Well, what was she there for?" "Did she say?" "I'm not at all sure." "It was something about whether or not she was Lorna Thomas' daughter." "( court murmuring )" "( tapping )" "What did Miss Thomas say to this?" "Well, I don't remember exact words, but she denied it vehemently." "I see." "Mr. Raeburn, thank you." "Cross-examine." "Mr. Raeburn, you testified that you had a meeting with Lorna Thomas on the night of the murder." "It wasn't a meeting, it-- It was an argument." "She was reneging on a business deal." "That meant ruin for you, did it not?" "Yes." "When you left Miss Thomas that night, where did you go?" "Back to my house across the lake." "What time was that?" "A little before 10." "Is there anybody who can corroborate your crossing the lake at that precise time?" "No." "Thank you, Mr. Raeburn, that'll be all." "Now, lieutenant," "I show you this bracelet marked as an exhibit for the state and I ask if you recognize it." "Yes, sir." "It has my identifying mark." "Would you explain where it was found, please?" "Yes, sir." "In George Clark's-- The defendant's. --automobile." "Between the cushion and back of the driver's seat." "And when did this happen?" "Uh, the night of the murder." "Or rather, the early morning hours immediately afterward." "Thank you, lieutenant." "Cross-examine." "Lieutenant, is that bracelet the only piece of jewelry you found in the defendant's car?" "Yes." "Or anywhere among the defendant's belongings?" "Yes." "May I ask you for your evaluation of the worth of that bracelet, lieutenant?" "Your Honor, I object to that." "This witness is hardly qualified" "MASON:" "I'm not asking for an expert appraisal, just the roughest kind of a guess." "Say within $10,000." "I don't understand your purpose, Mr. Mason." "I think both Mr. Burger and the witness know the answer to that, Your Honor." "Answer the question, lieutenant." "Well, I would say the bracelet is worth somewhere between, uh... 50 and $75." "MASON:" "In other words, lieutenant, the stones in that bracelet are not precious stones." "No, sir." "They're paste." "Practically worthless." "Thank you, lieutenant." "That will be all." "Lieutenant, a couple of questions on re-direct, if it please the court." "Whether the bracelet was worth $75 or $75,000, what happened to it?" "It was stolen." "And where was it found?" "In the defendant's car." "Thank you, lieutenant." "BURGER:" "Mr. Briggs, how long were you business manager for Lorna Thomas?" "More than 25 years." "I see." "Now, would you tell the court, please, what happened approximately three months ago on the 27th of May?" "Yes, sir." "I hired a private detective in Portland, Oregon." "What for?" "I knew Miss Thomas had been married and had had a child, a daughter." "I wanted the daughter traced, if possible, and her identity discovered." "BURGER:" "Could you explain to the court, please, why you wanted this accomplished?" "Well, it was my hope that Miss Thomas would provide for her after all those years, give her the advantages her daughter should have had all along." "I see." "Thank you, Mr. Briggs, that will be all." "Cross-examine." "In what condition is the estate of Miss Thomas at the present time, Mr. Briggs?" "It's still being evaluated." "Good?" "Bad?" "Indifferent?" "Good." "Very good, I'd say." "Thank you, Mr. Briggs." "That'll be all." "JUDGE:" "You may stand down." "My investigation in Portland led to a daughter by Miss Thomas." "Her adopted parents died in an accident 12 years ago." "What happened to the daughter then?" "She went into an orphanage." "Well, when she was old enough to work, she went to work for a lumber company in Oregon City." "In 1957 she married George Clark of that city." "Now, let's be perfectly clear about this, Mr. Bushmiller." "Can you identify the George Clark to whom you keep referring?" "Him, the defendant." "And his wife Betty." "BURGER:" "Now, did you have an encounter with Mr. Clark on the day of the murder?" "BUSHMILLER:" "I did." "Yes." "Can you remember anything that was said at that time?" "I asked him if he'd followed me here all the way from Oregon City." "And he said yes." "He said, uh..." ""That's Betty's real mother in there, isn't it?"" "Oh, yes, and he said something about:" ""She's one of the old-timers, isn't she?" "Made it all before taxes."" "He's lying." "He said that." ""Made it all before taxes." That's interesting." "Did he say anything else, Mr. Bushmiller?" "He said, "I'm gonna get some of that."" "And before he started trying to manhandle me, he said," ""That dame owes my wife plenty." "So don't get in my road, because I'm gonna collect."" "That'll be all, Mr. Bushmiller." "Thank you." "Your witness." "Mr. Bushmiller, when you arrived in Los Angeles" "( door opens )" "Is something wrong, counselor?" "Your Honor, I'm just trying to estimate how much time my cross-examination of this witness will take, and, uh, it may take some little while." "Then since it is within ten minutes of 12:00, we'll recess until after lunch." "Court adjourned until 2 p.m." "( dramatic theme playing )" "I got him, Perry." "He's isn't much, but I got him." "PAUL:" "Mr. Smith, you know, was a diamond cutter before he got these, uh, nervous disorders." "Now he makes evaluations for some of the best fences in town." "Don't you, Smitty?" "Y-yes, sir." "Well, I suppose he could testify if necessary." "Well, he's not so good on faces, Perry, but he can remember a brooch like it belonged to an elephant." "Y-yeah." "You can identify these pieces, Mr. Smith?" "Uh, oh, the pictures?" "Yeah." "Sure." "Yeah, yeah." "Pictures." "I checked on the dates." "The stuff was peddled to him the day after the murder." "Mr. Smith, you were shown all of Miss Thomas' jewelry and you saw that all of it was nothing but paste, is that right?" "Yeah." "Yeah, t-that's right." "Junk." "Glass." "Paste." "You mean, you already had it figured out?" "And here I've been breaking my neck?" "I need confirmation, Paul." "And identification." "W-well, that's just it." "What's "just it"?" "Well, this" " This fellow who wanted to sell me this stuff" "What about him?" "You can remember him, can't you?" "Well, I-- I ain't exactly sure." "Smitty, ten minutes ago you were positive." "Blue eyes, you said." "Young man." "Sandy hair." "Look, I'm sticking my neck out far enough like it is." "I don't know for sure what the guy looks like." "All I know for sure is I can identify the ice." "Like the man said:" "for stones I'm an elephant, but for faces?" "Oh, faces..." "Faces to me is like cockroaches." "I don't know the difference one from another." "Paul, if, uh, this gentleman won't identify the person who showed him that jewelry, we just have to work it the other way around." "No, I didn't know what Lorna Thomas was going to wear." "I didn't see her all evening." "Then you don't recall having seen any of the jewelry she was so well known for?" "Uh, perhaps you saw the jewel box she had taken out of the wall safe in the study." "No." "How could I?" "I was back in my own room dressing, then I went to the liquor store." "How many times have I got to say it?" "It does seem to me you're being unnecessarily insistent, counselor." "I'm quite concerned with this one particular point, Your Honor." "Very well." "You may continue, Mr. Mason." "Your Honor." "Mr. Bushmiller, have you at any time since the murder seen any of Miss Thomas' jewelry?" "( door opens )" "( whispering indistinctly )" "No." "I told you before." "Have you at any time shown any of her jewelry to anyone else?" "Of course not." "Your Honor, I'll object to that." "It's improper cross-examination." "It assumes facts not in evidence." "It's incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial." "Your Honor, it has been established that most of Miss Thomas' so-called jewelry is still missing." "Now, this ties in strongly with certain new developments, and since prosecution has already introduced this one bracelet, it seems to me the door is open to further pursue the subject." "But not on cross-examination, Your Honor." "I am inclined to allow the defense attorney great latitude on cross-examination." "Since he seems to have some definite point in regard to that jewelry, I will overrule the objection." "Thank you, Your Honor." "Now, Mr. Bushmiller, isn't it possible that you could have gone into the study and taken the jewelry from that box?" "No." "MASON:" "It is not possible?" "What time did you leave the house to go to the liquor store?" "I don't know exactly." "Then perhaps we can find someone to establish what time you left the house." "No." "Why not?" "No one was there." "You mean, no one now alive saw you." "Perhaps Lorna Thomas was in the study putting on her jewelry." "No." "Then where was she?" "The wall safe was open, the jewel box was on the desk." "( sighs )" "She was dead." "You testified you'd had an encounter with George Clark earlier in the day." "That's right." "Now, let's suppose you did find Miss Thomas dead and saw the jewel box open and tempting." "She was dead when I saw her." "And let us suppose that you stole the jewelry and started through the house toward the front at the very time George Clark was going around the house to the rear." "And then you saw George's car and you thought:" ""What a wonderful opportunity to throw suspicion on someone who had assaulted you."" "Now, you did put that bracelet in the defendant's car, did you not?" "Yes." "All right." "But I didn't kill her." "You didn't?" "I took the jewelry, yes, I admit that, and I started out the front." "And I put the bracelet in George Clark's car." "Next day I went to see a man-- Him, that man." "about selling the stuff and discovered all the jewels were" "They were junk..." "I threw in the lake." "But I didn't kill her." "Were you trying to blackmail her?" "No." "Well, everybody seemed to know all about that daughter business anyway." "Miss Thomas hadn't paid me anything yet." "I hadn't asked her." "We just talked about what I'd seen in the boat." "Something happen in the boat?" "Yes." "I saw them fighting." "When Miss Thomas tried to murder Mr. Briggs." "( all murmuring )" "( gavel tapping )" "Your Honor, I would like to recall Mr. Briggs to the stand." "Mr. District Attorney?" "Your Honor, I certainly have no objection to Mr. Briggs retaking the stand." "You may stand down." "He's lying." "There are some people who just can't understand." "She was my dearest friend." "Then she didn't try to kill you?" "No." "Now, Mr. Briggs, you previously testified Miss Thomas' estate to be in very good shape." "What about that jewelry being false?" "Well, I think there's been entirely too much importance attached to" "Yes, Mr. Briggs, you have kept trying to cover things up, haven't you?" "Now, I am prepared to introduce, if necessary, a letter indicating that the insurance on Miss Thomas' jewelry lapsed five years ago." "Why was that?" "Well, yes, the jewelry was originally insured." "Of course." "It-- It had to be." "But through the years, I'm afraid that" "Well, we had to very carefully replace each piece with an imitation." "Finally it was no longer necessary to insure just paste." "I'm also prepared to introduce certain data on real estate supposedly owned by Lorna Thomas." "In brief, it suggests that aside from a small lake club area, there isn't a single piece of her property left with anything like a clear title." "Yes, that's true." "She didn't even own her big house anymore." "You handled her finances." "What happened?" "I didn't steal from her, Mr. Mason." "I didn't even draw a salary the last five years." "There wasn't anything left, but I had to keep her up there." "A person in the public heart like Lorna" "Don't you understand?" "All right, Mr. Briggs." "Let's go back to the day when you and Miss Thomas went for a visit to Mr. Raeburn across the lake." "You returned to the club landing in a boat, is that correct?" "She did not try to kill me, Mr. Mason." "Then did you try to kill her?" "Is it possible that Mr. Bushmiller was trying to blackmail the wrong person, Mr. Briggs?" "After all the manipulating I've had to do." "The begging and borrowing to keep up appearances." "When I came back from the East," "I found out that she'd obligated herself for this picture." "It was impossible." "And in the boat she accused you of stealing?" "She didn't really mean that." "It was as though she were trying to make excuses for herself, keep the fiction alive that nothing was changed." "What happened in the boat, Mr. Briggs?" "Well, I" " I just couldn't stand it any more." "All those years and she was calling me a liar, a cheat, a thief, and..." "Well, I got to my feet and I started toward her." "I just wanted to shake some sense into her, and, uh, I..." "I lost my footing and I tripped." "Then suddenly she became afraid and lashed out at you with the boat gaff?" "After all those years, how could she ever think I'd really hurt her?" "Your Honor, the testimony of this witness with respect to the financial condition of the deceased is certainly subject to scrutiny." "What's on your mind, Mr. Mason?" "I'd like to recall Mr. Raeburn to the stand for a moment." "JUDGE:" "Mr. Raeburn, please." "You may stand down." "We had a financial meeting at my place across the lake." "Yes." "Was anything said about Miss Thomas not having the money you thought she had?" "By Dennis Briggs, of course." "He kept trying to paint a picture of dreadful gloom." "Even told Lorna she'd have to get rid of old Harriet." "MASON:" "Did you believe Mr. Briggs?" "RAEBURN:" "Then?" "Of course not." "But even later, that night at her house," "I still thought she had the money." "What was Miss Thomas' reaction?" "To Briggs?" "She called him a few short names, I'm afraid." "That's when they were leaving together in the boat." "Mr. Raeburn, how long have you known Mr. Briggs?" "A great many years." "Have you ever known him to raise his voice in heat or anger against Miss Thomas?" "No." "Not that he wasn't justified so many times, but he never did." "Now, Mr. Raeburn, in reconstructing the scene in which Mrs. Betty Clark saw her mother for the first time, it's been established that you were sent away by Miss Thomas." "Yes." "That's true." "She practically put me out." "And you did leave?" "Yes." "That's odd." "Your Honor, may I ask the court reporter to read back some of this morning's testimony?" "Mr. Burger's, uh, direct examination of this witness." "The part immediately following his, uh, testimony on the bracelet." ""Question, Mr. Burger:" ""Now, on the night of the murder," ""what time did you have a meeting with Miss Thomas?" ""Answer, Mr. Raeburn:" ""It started about 9:30 and went on to about a quarter to 10" ""when the girl showed up." ""Question, Mr. Burger:" "What girl?" ""Answer, Mr. Raeburn:" "Mrs. Betty Clark." ""Question, Mr. Burger:" ""And what was she there for?" "Did she say?" ""Answer, Mr. Raeburn:" "I'm not at all sure." ""There was some question about whether or not" ""she was Lorna Thomas' daughter." ""Question, Mr. Burger:" ""And what did Miss Thomas say to this?" ""Answer, Mr. Raeburn:" ""I don't remember the exact words, but she denied it vehemently."" "Thank you." "So apparently, Mr. Raeburn, you did not leave the house." "You remained." "Yes." "For a while." "To eavesdrop." "For more than that, Mr. Raeburn." "A motion picture company carries insurance, does it not?" "In case something happens to a star?" "In case something happens to a partner?" "So that of all the people around Lorna Thomas, you're really the only one who stood to gain a single penny by her death." "( dramatic theme playing )" ""A single penny"?" "You insist upon being diplomatic, Mr. Mason." "I faced" "I faced starvation." "I've never known anyone so cruel or so selfish, so" "So completely uncaring for anyone else in the world." "Yes." "I killed her." "You know, I think I would have picked Briggs over Tony Raeburn as Lorna's murderer." "Hm." "I'll confess to you," "I did for quite a while." "Did you read Raeburn's confession?" "Mm-hm." "He insisted he hadn't planned on killing her." "That he was just eavesdropping on Lorna and Betty." "Then he went into the study." "He was so angry, he was going to take anything of Lorna's he could find that would convert to cash, and of course he knew her well-known jewelry was there." "And then Lorna came in." "Can you imagine how she must have laughed when she showed him it was only paste?" "No wonder he strangled her." "He left the jewelry there," "Bushmiller came in and picked it up." "The rest we know." "( peaceful theme playing )" "Well, I hadn't thought so, but maybe we do know the rest." "( giggles )" "At least we know the world keeps turning." "Hm?" "( noirish jazz theme playing )"