Greene m*rder Case, The (1929)

[bunniefuu]

Come in.

Mr. Canon is here, sir.

Mr. Canon?
Yes.

Oh yeah.
In your mother's room.

Oh yeah.

Well, each year finds you better, Mrs. Greene.
It does not!

Nurse, tell Miss Ada to come here.

Hello Mr. Canon.
Well, fire away, Canon!

Chester!
See, what do I matter?

A paralyzed old woman like me.

Ada, the only comfort
of all these ungrateful children.

And she only pretends to love me.

Miss Sibella.
Alley-oop.

Mr. Rex. Good evening.
What's good about it?

Or any other evening in this house.

I must say, 10 years of these meetings
have made me dislike being a policeman

as much as you dislike each other.
But as you know, your father's will requires

me to determine every year whether you have
lived according to the provisions thereof.

And to remind you, that you must live in this
house and maintain this property intact for

15 years after your father's and husband's
death, that's five years more, or be disinherited.

And then on this date, 1900 and 34,
if you have carried out this provision,

the estate will be divided equally between you,
or in the event of death,

between any of you who are still alive.
Have you got a match?

Ah, remembering, of course,
the bequest to the servants

who have been with you
since the death of Mr. Greene.

Sibella! Put that out!
Uh-humm.

And the exception that Miss Ada,
not being of the family blood,

may live elsewhere if she marries.

Now, Mrs. Greene, you haven't left the house?
Use your head, you fool!

How could I? Haven't I...

...been lying here for 10 years making life
miserable for everybody, including myself.

Oh shut up!
See!

Well, Chester?
Still here.

Miss Sibella?
In person!

Sibella, where are you going?
To the theater, little buttercup.

With...uh... with Arthur?
Yes, darling.

You're after Arthur yourself now, eh?
Stop it!

Mr. Rex?
Why, certainly I've been here!

Thank you, thank you.

And going crazy in the middle
of this loving family!

Uh, Miss Ada. Miss Ada?

Yes, I'm here.

Well, that's everybody.
Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Ada.
Yes, Mother?

Bring me my bullion.
Yes, Mother.

The lawyer was here again. But the law
can't chase the devil out of this house.

It's a wicked family, doomed to death!
Shhh!

Here, mein herr.
Thank you, Gretchen.

[German]

How did you know about the family?
From the Lord!

All the Greenes are doomed, so they are!

Hating each other like poison
and rotting with evil both.

I shall rise up against them,
saith the Lord of hosts.

And sweep them with
a besom of destruction!

Now read to me.

Oh, no, no, no. The novel,
where you left off last night.

All right.

Well, it stopped snowing anyways.
Oh, I'm awfully sorry.

In five minutes we were outside the door
starting upon our expedition.

We hurried thru the dark shrubbery
amid the doubt...

Come in.

Rex? Ada? Nurse? What happened?
Why doesn't somebody come? Ada? Sibella? Rex?

I'm all alone. Chester? Anybody?
Where are you?

Something's happened.
And I'm alone.

Why don't you come, you filthy children?

It's your mother.
Call Dr. Von Blon.

What's the trouble?
It's Mr. Chester and Miss Ada. They've been sh*t.

Are they dead? Did you see anybody?
No. I'm trying to get Dr. Von Blon...

Yes, the newspapers had it right.

Chester Greene was k*lled instantly,
but the girl was only wounded.

Why of course it was attempted robbery.
Why, the silverware alone was...

Just a moment.
It's Philo Vance.

What's the matter?
Somebody been bumped off?

Oh, it's this Greene business.
Oh, that job.

It's the first case in which Vance has shown
any interest since the Canary m*rder.

That's right.
You see, he doesn't go for your burglar theory.

He don't, eh?
No.

Well...
Want to talk to him?

Sure.
Hello Mr. Vance.

This is Sergeant Heath talking.
Oh, good morning, Sergeant.

Say, what's wrong with the burglar theory
in that Greene case?

Well nothing, Sergeant, except, uh...

Uh...

Doesn't it strike you as rather odd
that a burglar should dally about

in the hall for three minutes
between the two sh*ts?

Why no, he just... uh...

Say, Mr. Vance, maybe you could uh...

Thank you, Sergeant.
I'll be ready in half an hour.

He'll be ready in half an hour.

Thank you, Sergeant.
Oh that's all right.

That's correct, sir.

The first sh*t came to me in my room,
came to my ears, I mean, sir.

Then when I got to the door here...

You're quite sure that three minutes elapsed
between the two sh*ts?

Something like that.
Yes sir.

All right.
All right.

Must have been two burglars.

Don't let me catch any of you trying
to leave the house, get that?

They don't know anything about this.

Do you?
I told you, no!

Ah, your room is just across
the hall there, isn't it?

Yes.

And yet you heard nothing?
No.

Hmm.
How do you figure that?

Mr. Greene was sh*t from the front,
and from the powder marks,

at close range,
and yet he made no sound?

That's right.

You remember the expression
on his face, Sergeant?

Why sure. He was flabbergasted.
Exactly.

Possibly because he knew the m*rder*r,

just as the m*rder*r knew
his way about this house in the dark.

Mr. Greene was probably so surprised
to see an acquaintance, let's say,

suddenly point a g*n at him,
that he was k*lled before he could recover.

Say, I wonder if anybody
in this house owns a g*n.

Certainly. Suspects own everything
you want them to, don't they?

Who owns a g*n?
Well, I did but...

What caliber?
32.

We got these out of your brother and sister.
They're 32s.

Are you accusing me of...
What did you do with that g*n?

I haven't got it.
It's gone.

I looked for it after this happened.

I knew you'd find I had one and
accuse me, but I couldn't find it.

Go look for the g*n.
Yeah.

And tell Miss Sibella Greene to come here.
They won't find anything.

Oh, we're all going to be k*lled, I tell you.
And you can't stop it.

You can't do anything.
Rex!

Keep out of this. You're always here,
nosing into our affairs.

But I know why...
Sibella!

With all her money, she'd make you a delightful
Mrs. Arthur Von Blon, wouldn't she, Doctor?

But her money is not enough!
You want ours too!

That's it! You did this!
You took my g*n!

Now Rex, you've said enough.
You knew I had a revolver.

You remembered! You saw it
when we went camping last summer!

Now Rex.
You saw it and you took it!

You stole it, you hear?
Give it back! Give it back...

You're the doctor the butler sent for.
Been wanting to talk to you.

How long did it take you to get here
after you got this call?

Ah, perhaps the doctor can tell us when
we may see the young lady who was sh*t.

Why certainly.
I will let you know.

Miss Greene?
Right. You must be the detective.

Quite a wild party we pulled here last night.

Miss Greene, do you know anyone who
would want to hurt your brother and sister?

Oh, we'd all come under suspicion there.
We all hate each other.

Rex thinks we're so beneath him mentally.

So of course we irritate him.
Oh, thanks.

Even little Ada.
She'd just love to see us all erased.

The only reason Mother hasn't k*lled the
whole family is that she can't move.

Hip hip!

I've often thought of murdering us all myself.

Only I couldn't think of any way
that would be thorough enough.

Hooray.

You may see Miss Ada now,
if you like.

But please, no excitement.
Thank you.

I'll see you later.

Why not?

Arthur?
Yes?

Of course, after what's happened,
we better wait.

Yes, yes you are right.

It would be too soon, now.

I heard the sh*t.
That's what woke me.

But I thought it was an automobile
backfiring outside.

And I was just getting to sleep again
when there was a shuffling noise.

And I got up...
Was the light on?

No. I started to turn it on,
when a hand touched me.

Oh, I tried to scream,
but I couldn't.

Then there was that awful
shuffling sound again.

And I ran. And then there was
a noise, and something hot hit me.

Oh, I can't remember anything more.

Ah, just what do you mean
by shuffling sound, Miss Greene?

I don't know. Like sliding footsteps.
A man's or a woman's?

Go on, say it was I.
You'd like to!

Haven't you nerve enough to lie?
Sibella!

You angelic little snake in the grass.

I wouldn't be surprised
if you m*rder*d Chester!

Yeah, and probably sh*t herself
in the back too!

Sibella, why do you hate me so?

What have I ever done to...
Oh look at you!

Everything. You've always wanted...
Sibella!

I'm sorry.

All right, Miss Greene.

Let's you and I go out on the balcony and
examine those footprints and get some air.

Oh dear, here, I'll give you something
that will make you sleep.

Now, after sh**ting the girl,
he came out here. See?

He b*at it down these steps,
and ducked.

The burglar?

Well, maybe it wasn't a burglar!

Oh Simpkin, did you get
those footprints measured yet?

All set.
Fine.

Trouble is, they disappear
when they hit the walk!

And it stopped snowing
about 11 last night.

So it's impossible to know whether they
were made after the m*rder or before.

That ain't all. The marker soles were
made by rubbers, probably galoshes.

So we can't tell how much bigger
they are than the guy's feet!

Can't find any g*n.
Where'd you look?

Everywhere.
The old lady said to stay out of the library.

Says there hasn't been anybody in there
since her husband d*ed.

But the nurse showed me where the
key was, so I got in okay.

Anything there?
Nothing but the creeps!

I never been in such a house!

You see any galoshes?
No.

Well, go find some galoshes that will fit these.
Yes sir.

Mrs. Greene would like to see you,
officer.

Sergeant!
Ah, Sergeant.

And I wouldn't come down
on Rex too hard.

His accusing me is
merely self-protective.

The result of your question
about his revolver, of course.

If there's anything I can do,
glad to be of help.

Thanks.
Is Miss Ada badly hurt?

Oh, no, no, no.
Merely the shock.

I gave her something...
Yes, I noticed your case, Doctor.

You must have been trained abroad
to carry so many dr*gs.

American doctors don't, you know.

You are observant.
Thank you.

You've known the Greenes a long while,
haven't you?

My father attended them before me, so naturally.
Naturally.

Don't forget Mrs. Greene, Sergeant,
and remember, no excitement please.

Oh yeah?
Yes.

What kind of paralysis is Mrs. Greene's?
Organic, both legs. It's quite hopeless.

Good morning.
- Good morning.

Oh, but Mother...
Be quiet!

I've sent for the policeman.
Make them get out!

What right do they have
to come into this house?

Officer, I command that you
drop this investigation.

I've got worry and trouble enough
without this publicity.

But madam uh...
Getting up close,

Chester got what he deserved.
I'm a poor helpless old woman.

But if you keep on torturing me...

Why haven't you spoken to me
about this affair?

But that's exactly what the
Sergeant wants to do, Mrs. Greene.

For example, whether you heard anything
last night before the sh*t.

No.

Now Miss Ada there heard a shuffling sound.
Oh, she did?

Oh, that reminds me.
I did hear something.

A door blowing back and forth in the hall.
Then why didn't you hear the sh*t?

Well, it must have been
before the sh**ting

because I got up and shut my door
and went back to sleep.

That door blowing must have been
what Ada heard.

If you please, sir.
Miss Ada.

Eh, good morning.
Good bye.

I remember now.

I heard that noise Rex just
told you about, like a door closing.

Oh Sergeant.
Just a minute.

Pardon me.

Uh, but Miss Ada,

Rex says that he heard the
closing of a door before the sh*t.

No, why he couldn't have!
Mr. Vance.

Well, don't let it worry you.
Everybody's upset.

Thank you.

[German]

Get a load of that.

I guess they'd make that
shuffling sound all right.

If I could just find that...

Are those your galoshes?
Well, what of it?

I wasn't out of the house last night,
but I'm getting out.

No you're not!

If anyone's after us,
he'll get me, won't he?

Do you think I want to be m*rder*d too?

Do you think I want to stay here...
You bet you are!

Watch this baby.

Watch till you rot
and see where that will get you.

Do you like this family?

Sure it's funny, and so is a chicken crossing
the road! But nobody's ever solved that yet!

I've had my boys hanging around that
place for a week checking on everything.

And where are we?

If it was a burglar, it would be a cinch.
But it wasn't.

A burglar simply wouldn't have turned on Ada's
light after he sh*t her, now would he?

Well, who was it then?

Well, the psychological pattern...
My dear Vance,

I'm afraid you're not going to get very far

delving into what you call the
psychological patterns of the Greenes.

My dear Markham, I'm afraid that the
only way you're going to find this m*rder*r.

These sh**t were thought out, planned,
timed, by someone familiar with the family.

Someone who lay in wait,
knew when everyone was asleep,

knew just how and when to strike.

That family...
...is nutty, if you ask me.

A young lady to see you, sir.
A Miss Greene.

Miss Greene?
Probably Sibella, the older sister.

Have her come in.
Yes sir.

She's probably found that gat
in her younger sister's stocking!

Oh, how do you do? This is Miss Greene,
Miss Ada Greene. The district attorney.

How do you do, Miss Greene?
I'm glad to see you're so much better.

Oh, I'm quite all right now. Thank you.
Won't you sit down please?

There's something I want to tell you.
It's about Rex.

You see, I uh...
Yes, well...

Well, the night Chester was k*lled,
our lawyer was checking on Father's will.

You must have heard of the Greene will.
Oh yes.

Well, after the lawyer left, I saw Rex
take his galoshes out of that closet.

How's that?
Oh, he can explain, I'm sure.

Ah, pardon me just a moment. Gordon?
Yes sir.

Get Mr. Rex Greene on the phone please.
Yes sir.

Continue.
Well, then there was another thing.

Last night...
Yes?

Well, last night I heard Dr. Von Blon tell
Sibella something about Mother's illness.

I didn't understand it.
It was a medical term, I guess.

But I wrote the word down
on a piece of paper.

I thought probably, you'd know.

May we see that piece of paper,
Miss Greene?

Oh, I'm awfully sorry.

It's at home, but I'll get it for...
...Ah, just a moment please.

Mr. Rex Greene is on the phone
now, Mr. Markham.

Thank you, Gordon.

Say chief, maybe he could bring
that piece of paper down to us.

Oh well then, perhaps you'd better
let me speak to Rex first.

He resents strangers so.
Why surely.

Rex dear.
Wait.

There's an envelope in our
private mailbox, you know?

Yes.

Well, get it and read it to me,
will you please?

I want to tell Mr. Markham.
Oh, all right.

Rex! Rex!
Let me have it. Let me have it please.

Hello?
Hello, hello Mr. Greene?

Mr. Green!

Mr. Greene is dead.
He's dead.

Ohh!
Gordon! Get my car.

Take it easy.
It's all right.

Here comes the DA's car now.

You'd better stand by,
for a few minutes, Buck, anyhow.

Hello boys.
Hello Sergeant.

Now wait a minute.

I tell you, we're not ready
to give you any story yet.

We're not sure what is ourselves.

No, I said I'm not ready
to give you a story.

He was sh*t from the front too.

But Chester was horrified.
This boy's face shows nothing.

If Dr. Von Blon can be of any help,
sir, he asked me to tell you...

Oh, the doctor was here
this time too, eh?

Yes sir.
Get him.

And Sproot, let's have
another go at the servants.

You see, Sergeant,

the m*rder*r and his w*apon
couldn't have been invisible.

But this boy's expression is natural.

The look on his brother's face was...
...well to say the least, surprised.

It's all wrong, Markham.
It's mad.

And I have a feeling
that if we don't stop it,

it will go on and...
Oh, how do you do, Doctor?

This is the district attorney.
Dr. Von Blon.

How do you do, Doctor?

You were here in the house
when this happened?

Yes, yes.
I was in Miss Sibella's room.

She was complaining of...
Well that doesn't matter, Doctor.

Neither of you heard this sh*t?
That is correct.

Although I can't quite make it out.

The door was open
when Sproot found him.

Oh, Sproot was first on the scene
this time too, eh?

Yes, yes.
I see.

Well, thank you Doctor.

Say, the police doc is coming up.

Don't forget,

Ada told Rex to get that note
and read it to her over the phone.

There's no sign of a note
on him now.

Somebody must...
.. Nobody knew he was coming to see me.

The servants are waiting
in the drawing room, sir.

Thank you.
How many telephone extensions in this house?

Telephones?
Four.

One in Mrs. Greene's room,
Miss Sibella's room, the kitchen,

and the hall here.
Thank you, Sproot.

You see, anybody might
have listened in.

How are you, Mr. Markham?

Hello Doctor, how are you?
Sergeant.

Hi ya, Doc.

Well, when it's not my breakfast you
fellows interfere with, it's my lunch.

I presume this is the body.

Yeah, you get me that b*llet
and then you can eat.

Till the next b*llet.

Come in.

Oh, hello.
I beg your pardon.

This thing is getting rather ghastly,
isn't it?

You're taking it a bit more
seriously today, um?

I'm beginning to wonder
if I won't be the next.

But I know who you are now, Mr. Vance.
I remember the Canary case.

So I suppose if anyone can help it, you can.
Thank you.

Ah, the doctor says
you didn't hear the sh*t.

No, I was in there giving Pompom -
that's my little dog there - a bath.

Dr. Von Blon was sitting there smoking.

Mother hates the smell of pipe, so
he often comes in here for a smoke.

And then Sproot called us.

Ah, isn't it curious that
no one heard the sh*t?

But someone did.

Didn't he tell you?
Who?

Sproot. Why, he told me...

Chief's waiting for you down
in the parlor, Mr. Vance.

Ah, quite right.
Ah, thank you.

Oh Arthur, I'm frightened!
What? No no, please. No, darling.

I wish we could talk alone.
Yes, but where?

I know!
Where?

On the roof!

Good.
I'll get my coat.

So now sir,
I know there's something funny.

Mr. Chester was nice to me,
but the others...

This family is q*eer, sir.

Mrs. Greene is an old witch,
the way she keeps after Miss Ada.

Though Miss Ada's no saint
when she gets mad either.

Miss Sibella is a regular icicle.

And this Dr. Von Blon...

...there's something between
Sibella and him, or I'm crazy.

Sproot and Hemming...
they're as bad as the rest.

And the cook too,
going around crying

and talking to herself
in German all the time.

You give me my pay, Mr. Sproot.
I'm through!

That'll be all.

Oh Sproot.

Why didn't you tell us
you heard this last sh*t?

No one asked me, sir.
Oh.

Where were you when you heard it?

I'd just called Mr. Rex to the telephone.

Which phone did he use?
The one in the upper hall.

I was in the dining room replacing the
silver when I heard the sh*t.

Ah, Mr. Rex's room,
where you found him,

is over the dining room, isn't it?
Over this room, sir.

Well, whose room is over the dining room?
Miss Ada's.

Miss Ada was not in the house.
No.

That all, Sproot.

Ah, Mrs. Mannheim, how long
have you been with the Greenes?

Thirteen years, since my husband d*ed.
Old Mr. Greene knew my husband.

Were you in this country when he d*ed?
Yes.

Well, that will be all.
Thank you.

Hey Vance, what connection has
that last question with this case?

Possibly none.

On the other hand,
if we can relate these various facts,

and to get the psychology back of them...
Yes, if I could find that g*n,

I'd report all these sh**t as suicides,
and resign from the force!

Not a bad idea, Sergeant!

Interesting character, old Greene.

I've been reading about him in the newspaper files.

True enough, though.

We'd better have a copy
of the old boys will, Sergeant.

Well, I can dig that up anyhow.
Well, that'll be something.

Mr. Markham?
Yes.

Someone's been in my room.

Say, I've got news for you.
Wait a minute.

Who's been in your room?
Well, I was with Mother,

and when I went back to my room,
the doors to the balcony were open

and there where mud tracks
across the rug.

Those are the tracks I got!

Somebody went from the front walk
across the mud in the yard

and up those steps to the balcony
outside her room.

And within a couple of hours,

because there were no tracks there
when I made the rounds this morning.

And what's more, these prints are the same
as the ones we found last week in the snow,

but they're no tracks coming down.

The guy that made them
didn't come down that way.

So he went up those balcony steps,
crossed Miss Ada's room to the hall,

did his dirty work,
and vanished.

You better come with us, Miss Ada.
Yes, of course.

Come on, Simpkin.

Well, how could anyone
come up the balcony

and get into her room
and get out again without being seen?

Perhaps he didn't get out again.
You mean...?

Suppose you have dinner with me tonight,
Markham, in my apartment.

By then, I may have something.
I hope so.

Oh Mr. Markham,

here's your b*llet.
32 caliber again, you see?

Looks like all three of them
were sh*t from the same g*n.

Anyway, I'll have the autopsy after lunch.
Very well.

Mr. Vance?

We measured those new footprints.

And they're all from
the same galoshes all right,

but now the galoshes are gone.
How did that happen?

Well, I put them back
in the closet the other day

expecting to catch the guy
if he came back for them again.

He must have copped them right from out
from under our noses.

Well, I wouldn't put too much stock in those
footprints if I were you, Sergeant.

I rather feel they are the only childish move
this clever m*rder*r has made.

Well, we gotta have something to go on, ain't we?

Oh Miss Ada...

Well, it's nothing important.
Oh, I'm so nervous.

Yes, naturally.

When you spoke to Rex
from Mr. Markham's office

about the note you wanted
him to read to you,

you told him it was
in your private mailbox.

Oh that.

Oh, that's right here in Rex's room.
I'll get it for you.

That's what we called
this incense burner.

You see, we used to leave notes in it
for each other when we were children.

We called it our private mailbox.

Ah, you put the envelope here.

Yes, and when you brought me back,
I looked for it, but it was gone.

Rex must have taken it.

No, he didn't have it.

Well then, somebody must have...

Ah, can't you remember what it was
you wrote on that piece of paper?

You told us it was a medical
term about your mother.

Perhaps Dr. Von Blon could tell you.

He's up on the roof garden with Sibella
if you care to ask him.

Oh, uh...

Oh, the stairs are right
behind that door there.

I see.
Thank you.

I ah...
I beg your pardon.

I meant to ask you, Doctor,
have you by chance thought it advisable

to withhold any phase of Mrs. Greene's
illness from the family?

Why no.

Mrs. Greene's illness is a very simple type
of paralysis of the legs, paraplegia.

Oh, I see.
Oh, hello Arthur.

I just wanted to tell you, you left your
medicine case in Mother's room.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes, thank you.

It'd be a perfect spot for m*rder,
wouldn't it?

Why sh**t anyone?
- when all you have to do

is take them to a roof guard
and push them over into the river.

Just another accident, a su1c1de.
And no one the wiser.

You know, I think I'll take up
crime in a serious way.

Oh, stop it!

Oh Arthur please,
let's go down from here.

Would it be right, Vance, if Rex's
m*rder*r did not leave the house,

it's someone we've been talking to?

By the way, Sergeant,
did you dig up old Greene's will?

Yes, I have a copy of it here.
Get it, will you please?

Dr. Von Blon.
Well.

Uh, show him in.

How do you do, Doctor?

Coffee?
No, it's very kind of you.

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.
I have something very important to tell you.

Some dr*gs, strychnine and morphine,
have been taken from my medicine case.

How much?
Four and eight grains.

I heard that they were missing
when I got home this afternoon.

But the dr*gs were my case when I
made my usual call on Mrs. Greene.

But you didn't keep your case
with you, did you doctor?

I remember Ada saying
that you had left it...

Oh yes, yes.
I left it in the hall first.

And then Sproot brought
to me in to Miss Sibella's room.

Did you leave it alone there?
Why, uh, why yes.

Early this morning.
Mrs. Greene needed a stimulant.

She was very weak. So I had the
nurse bring it into Mrs. Greene's room.

So anybody might have
swiped the poison.

I hope this is not going to turn out
to be a poisoning case.

Well, there ain't any need
looking for the stuff!

There's a thousand places in the house
where it could be hid.

Say Chief,

what do you think about replacing
Mrs. Greene's nurse with a police nurse?

She can watch better than we can.

Yes, that's very good, Officer...
uh, Sergeant.

I have a concern there myself.

Well, I'll put in the nurse
and I'll put in a doctor,

across the street where the men who
are watching from that apartment house.

He'll be able to get there quick,
if anything should break.

Thank you.
Good evening, Doctor.

This is one of the most carefully
worked-out plots I've ever known.

So logical, it's insane.

Well, here's old Greene's will.

Mr. Markham and I went through it.
Nothing that we didn't know before.

Except for a few bequests to the servants,
Sproot, and Mrs. Mannheim,

who receive an income for life,
whenever they retire.

And we get the library.

Why do you suppose
that old bird did that?

Well, I remember, the newspapers printed
a story about it at the time.

Here it is here.

At the expiration of 15 years, the library
goes to New York Police Department.

As for the rest of it, those still
living benefit equally from the murders.

And there's three of the family still left.

And two from three leaves one.
Strychnine and morphine.

Well, not if I can help it!

I'll have that doctor
and nurse there in half an hour.

Why should old Tobias Greene
leave his books to the police?

I think we'd better look
into that library, Markham.

Right.

Anything new?
No sir.

Everybody's in their room
but the Sibella girl.

She's out riding
with this Dr. Von Blon.

Turns rather easily, to have been
locked so long, hmm?

Hinges smooth too.

Did you oil this lock when you
opened the door last week?

No.
And if you ask me,

it's a lot of baloney about this thing
having been locked for 10 years.

Mac, where's the light switch?
Ah, it ain't a working,

but you'll find some candles
over there by the fireplace.

Anybody ran into those galoshes yet?
No?

But I've been looking all over
the house for them.

Well keep after them.
You bet.

Oh Mac.
Yes sir.

Before you go,
let me have your light.

Yes sir.

Well, they haven't been
opened in a long time.

What happened, Sergeant?
I tripped over something.

What was it?
Uh...

The galoshes!

Good work, Sergeant!

Apparently we've had
a frequent visitor here.

Yes, and a recent one.

I've got it!

Somebody's been sitting
in this chair reading.

Excellent, Sergeant.

Now, let's see.

Hmm, no wonder old Tobias
left his books to the police.

How's that?

A complete library of criminology,
in several languages, too.

Uh oh.

No dust on the shelf here.

Apparently this is where our
bookworm has been nibbling.

A Complete History of Crime,
by Thack.

That's a realm.

Poisons That Affect the Detection.

...That would stop her from sleep-walking.

Say, Mrs. Greene!
The old lady, she can walk!

And she read in that book where she can
lay it on to walking in her sleep
if she gets caught.

But Dr. Von Blon told me...

It's possible, Sergeant,
but I don't think it fits.

What's that?
The door.

Mr. Markham, I've got something
terrible to tell you.

Oh, about an hour ago,
I was up in my room.

I heard that shuffling noise.
It was going down the stairs there.

Oh, I was sick I was so afraid!

But I forced myself to look
over the banister.

And I saw someone standing in
front of the library door here.

Who was it?
It was Mother!

Mother?
She was walking!

Are you sure?

Yes, she had on her
oriental shawl.

And when she stepped into the light,
I saw her face!

Markham, we'd better have a specialist
examine Mrs. Green.

Suppose you get Oppenheimer.
You know him.

Then very well, I will.

Take it easy, little girl.
It's all right.

I'll get the nurse.

Mr. Vance?
Oh, good morning, Sergeant.

Well, I'm afraid I must have fallen...

Well, what is it?
Ada!

Ada?

The poison, I suppose.
Yeah, the morphine.

I laid down in the drawing room
for some sleep.

And the first thing I knew,

the doctor I had planted across
the street was shaking me.

The nurse found the kid
and signaled him.

She's not dead?
No, Doc got to her in time.

Hmm, oh Von Blon
is here again, eh?

The butler phoned him,
but he'd gone to his hospital.

I left word I wanted him.

Of all the dumb luck, wait
till you see what gave the alarm.

That's a girl. Now, steady. Steady.
How is she, Miss O'Brien?

Oh, she's coming on fine.

Turn her over to the doctor
and you hop right back here.

The butler found her
when her bell rang downstairs.

Miss Sibella's dog was on the bed,
with this in his mouth, playing with it.

That's what saved the kid.
Can you b*at it?

Oh, Miss O'Brien, tell
Mr. Vance about the bullion.

Why, Mrs. Greene sent me in
with the bullion,

keeping a cup for herself
as she always did, she said.

Uh, did Mrs. Greene
touch Ada's cup?

No sir. I brought it up
from the kitchen myself.

The young lady was in the
bathroom, so I set it down there.

Then I told Miss Ada it was waiting,
and I went down to my breakfast.

Then the butler hears her bell,
comes up,

and finds her laying on the bed.

Were all the others in their rooms?
Yes sir.

And Miss Sibella?

She got in at three this morning.
She's still asleep.

Oh Miss O'Brien, when you
went to breakfast this morning,

did you see Miss Sibella's dog?
No sir.

That will be all.
Thank you.

The old lady jumped out of bed,
slipped the stuff in the cup there,

and got back
while Ada was in the bathroom.

Sproot has told me about Ada.

Uh, how is Miss Sibella?
Asleep.

Where were you?

Why, I was in Connecticut in Greenwich
on a case. Didn't return until late.

Uh, Sergeant, will you see if
Miss Ada can talk with us now?

Sure.

Ah Doctor, you won't object
if our police surgeon continues

with Miss Ada's case, will you?
Certainly not.

Was your diagnosis of Mrs. Greene's
case the only one that was made?

I believe so.

I saw no reason to...
Of course not.

But under the circumstances,
the police think

they should have a more detailed report.
Naturally.

So you won't mind
if we call in a specialist?

If you wish.
Thank you.

We'll have to wait.
She's in no condition to talk.

We're getting warm, Sergeant.

Our m*rder*r will do anything
to stop us now.

So keep alive.

That's some job!...
in this house!

Uh, information.

Let me have the county clerk
at Greenwich, Connecticut, please.

Oh Markham. What's up?
It's all over, Vance.

You've got the
specialist's report, eh?

There won't be any report.
Mrs. Greene is dead.

The strychnine, eh?
Yes.

It was in the bicarb she takes
before going to bed.

su1c1de, of course.

She knew that we were on to her.
I don't know, Markham.

That doesn't fit.
Oh nonsense.

There's no psychology here.
The poor woman was mad.

Thank heaven it's over.

Markham, I still want an examination
of Mrs. Greene's leg muscles.

What?
I'll be dressed in just a minute.

Oh Doctor?
Oh, evening, Chief.

Say, don't this m*rder*r of yours
know it's Saturday?

I promised to take my kids
to the pictures this evening.

Hey Doctor, I want you
to make enough of an autopsy

to make a report
on Mrs. Greene's leg muscles,

whether she could have
walked or not.

Understand?
Right.

I am the resurrection and
the life, saith the Lord.

The Lord gave and
the Lord hath taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Vanity of vanities.

The Lord has been busy again.

I told you, all the wicked
shall be destroyed.

What are you doing here?

Cleaning out the corruption
of Tobias Greene.

Hey, you turn that off!

Miss Sibella is doomed too.
I had a dream. The hussy!

The way she's been carrying on
with Dr. Von Blon...

Oh!
She'll be the next!

Man that is born of a woman
hath but a short time to live

and is very miserable.

He cometh up,
and is cut down.

What do you make of that?
Oh, she's just a cuckoo!

Old lady Greene did these killings!
Um uh.

Mrs. Greene's leg muscles
are entirely wasted away.

Been that way for years.

As for walking or even moving,
not a chance in the world.

There you are, Sergeant.

But Ada was certain that she saw
her mother at this door.

Markham, I know
I'm on the right track now.

And once I can put all the facts
together, I'll have a solution.

You'll excuse me.
Thank you, Doctor.

Keep up with me, Sergeant.
All right.

[German]

I'm sorry to bother you
again, Miss Ada.

You're feeling better
this evening?

Yes, much better.
Thank you.

Now, you told us you saw your mother
walking in front of the library, didn't you?

Why, yes.

The medical examiner's autopsy show
that your mother couldn't walk.

Why, I don't understand.

It must have been Mother.

Are you positive the person you saw
was wearing your Mother's shawl?

Yes.
That was the first thing I noticed.

Oh,
she maybe saw me.

Oh, don't be silly, Gertrude.

Oh, you have worn
Mrs. Greene's shawl?

Why, of course she hasn't.

Ah, who has worn the shawl besides your mother?

Why, I don't know.
Let me see...

Oh, it couldn't have been Sibella because...
Oh Sibella has worn it?

Why yes, she's often...

Oh!
Oh, I didn't mean to say that.

I'll have to ask you to excuse me.

Ah, Mrs. Mannheim,
you told me you, ah,

were in this country when your
husband d*ed, didn't you?

Where were you?
Trenton, New Jersey.

My husband was working there.
I see.

Did you notice anybody walking
around the house last night?

With Mrs. Greene's oriental shawl on?
No sir.

Sure?
Yes sir.

Sergeant?
Oh, all right, Sproot.

Will you phone that address

and get me the record of that name?
Surely.

Oh, Mr. Markham had to leave.
I see.

And Sergeant,
when you make this call,

will you cover all the extensions
so that no one can listen in?

Surely.
Good.

Oh, Sproot.
Yes sir?

Do you know if any of the family
reads or speaks German?

Ah yes sir. Old Mr. Greene
had all the children learn it.

They spent so much time in Germany
when he was on business there.

I see.

Now Sproot,
a particularly important question.

You found Miss Ada after
she was sh*t, didn't you?

Yes sir.
When you found her,

was the window beyond
her dressing table open?

Now please think carefully.

The window that overlooks the
balcony steps. Was it open?

Yes sir, I closed it.
Thank you, Sproot.

Oh Mrs. Mannheim,
if you please.

All right. I'll wait.

Ada, I told you to bring
Pompom back to me.

I want to take her up
on the roof.

Sibella, please let me go
to the roof garden with you.

I'm afraid alone here.

Let me help you.

Take care of yourself, Miss Ada.
Thank you very much.

Yeah...

What? Wait...

Yeah...

Okay...

Well, do you know
any reason, then,

why the Greenes should be
att*cked like this?

Believe me that
I don't know.

Mr. Chester and Mr. Rex maybe I could understand.

They hated everybody.
But little Ada... [German]

Got what you wanted
all right, Mr. Vance.

Ah Mrs. Mannheim...

Suppose we have the truth.

You say your husband d*ed
at Trenton 13 years ago.

Yes.

And it was just 13 years ago
that Mr. Greene adopted Ada.

You know then?
Yes.

I suspected for some time
that she is your daughter.

I promised Mr. Greene
I wouldn't tell anybody.

Not even Ada,
if he'd let me stay by her.

Why hasn't she recognized you?

She was away to school
since she was five.

Mr. Greene brought her here.
Then I told him that...

Yes? What?
Nothing! Nothing at all!

You mean, when you told Mr.
Greene that your husband,

who had helped him with some of
his questionable business deals,

was dead at the New Jersey State
Hospital for the criminally insane.

All right, Sergeant.

Say, what's the matter?
I can handle that dame.

Who?
Frau Mannheim.

The dope on her husband.

Say, if it wasn't old lady Greene,
it's got to be the cook!

She k*lled them to get
the money for her Ada.

Nobody else could have.
But somebody else did though.

Who? How? I can't pinch
somebody without evidence.

Here it is. Exhibit A.
What do you mean?

It's no wonder that we've been
confused, to say the least, Sergeant.

The m*rder*r copied
every detail of the crimes

from these books,
from actual criminal history.

The experience of hundreds of criminals,

plus the science of the
world's greatest criminologists.

Say, give me a break, will you?
Who is it?

If you'll come with me to Rex's room,

I think I can verify
how he was k*lled.

Then I'll have everything.

You remember, Sergeant,
Rex fell here, close to the fireplace.

We know from his expression
that he never saw the g*n.

That's right.

He was about your height, Sergeant.

I wonder...
Secret panel stuff, eh?

They sometimes put safes
in these old mantles.

Be careful, Sergeant.

Well!

There you are.
Rex's g*n!

Well, the old man-k*lling safe idea!
Just that.

When Rex opened this panel,

the string pulled trigger
and fired the g*n.

The whole idea came
right from that book,

even to the bootjack.

Will you hold that, Sergeant?
Thank you.

I thought so.
Straight through to the other room.

Say, everyone on this floor
was at the other end of the house.

The sound went down the flue.

That's why Sproot heard it
in the room below.

Exactly.

I have it!

She listened in
on Rex's phone call,

knew that he was going after a note
that would tip the whole thing off to us.

She came in,
fixed the g*n...

Who?
Sibella!

She was afraid Ada
would cop Dr. Von Blon.

She read German, got the
dope out of these books.

No, Sergeant,
not Sibella.

Ada!
What?

That's the private mailbox.

When Ada spoke to Rex
from Markham's office,

she sent him for a note
that never existed.

And now that we've got that, Sergeant,
I think you can make your arrest.

Now wait a minute.

Ada can wait.
She's on the roof.

But I still don't get it.
Her motive?

First of all, jealousy, Sergeant.

Jealousy of Sibella
over Dr. Von Blon.

Hated of being the Cinderella
of the household.

A mad desire for the freedom she'd
have if she inherited the estate.

And don't forget, a father
who's a criminal and insane.

Hmm.

Ada has unquestionably
inherited this taint.

She discovered these books
in the library.

And read
and reread them...

Until she gradually became
obsessed with a mad fantasy
of freedom and m*rder.

The snowfall on the night of the
first m*rder gave her her chance.

She got Rex's revolver and galoshes,
sneaked down the balcony stairs,

around and into the front of house,
k*lled Chester, and sh*t herself.

The galoshes and the footprints
were simply to throw us off.

She sh*t herself in the back?

There's a case in that book
exactly like it.

How did she get rid of the g*n?
Again the book.

The case of a su1c1de,
who k*lled himself on a bridge.

He tied a cord with a weight
on it to his g*n,

and hung the weight over the side,

so that after he sh*t himself,
the weight pulled the g*n into the water.

When Sproot told me that
her window was open

the night she was sh*t,
I knew it was Ada.

She had her g*n pulled through
the open window.

And she poisoned Mrs. Greene?

And herself too?
To throw us off again.

She caught that bell cord in the
dog's teeth to get the alarm.

The bed was too high for the dog
to have jumped there himself.

Sure it was.
And Sergeant,

when Dr. Von Blon took Sibella
with him to Greenwich the other night,

he probably saved her life.

Before Ada had another chance at her...
But Vance!

Ada and Sibella
are together on the roof now!

Quick, Sergeant!

Simpkin, hop a couple
of men up here, quick!

What's the matter?
The door to the roof is locked.

Come on, boys.
We'll break it in.

No, wait!
She'll hear us coming.

The only way we can save Sibella is
to get up there without being heard.

You're right.
We try a window.

When you boys get our signal,

break through that door to the roof,
do you understand?

Yes sir.
Come on, Sergeant.

Stand by, boys,
for the signal.

Look, Sibella!
You can see the boats from here.

What of it?

Shhh!

Sibella, look!

Ahhhh!
Help, help!

One more heave...

Help! Oh, oh please.
Oh, oh help me! Help!

Oh, help!
Quickly! Quick!

Easy...
Hold it...

Let's get downstairs, quick!

Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vance.

Arthur told me it would be
all right with you around.

Oh, thank you.
Uh, Mr. Vance.

You'll excuse me.
Yes, Sergeant?

Well, it's all over.
She went straight through the ice.

The boys are still at it,
but there's not a chance.

She must have been cuckoo
to go after Miss Sibella

with us right here in the house.

Not at all, Sergeant.

Miss Sibella's death would have
looked like su1c1de

and a confession of guilt,
don't you see?

Well, goodbye.
I'll telephone your husband.

You know?

Yes. When you and Dr. Von Blon
were missing the other night,

and when he told me
he had been at Greenwich,

I rather suspected
you had been married.

So I verified it through
the county clerk there.

May I wish you great happiness.

Thank you.
Goodbye.

Ah, I just one thing more...
What's that, Sergeant?

What did Ada do with the g*n?

There was no water for it
to fall in like you said.

No, but there was snow.

Snow?

Snow.
Oh!

Well, after all, Mr. Vance,
life's just a problem.

Right again, Sergeant.