01x08 - The Case of the Crimson Kiss

[bunniefuu]

( suspenseful theme plays)

( noirish jazz theme playing)

( upbeat theme playing)

( seductive theme playing)

Waiting for someone?

(elevator door opens)

(slow big band music
playing inside a room)

(door opens)

Thanks for a wonderful
dinner, darling.

Have a good time at
your bachelor party.

It's your last.

I know. My loss is my gain.

Good night, Anita.

ANITA: Good night, Dane.

Anita... What?

You're not unhappy, are you?

I mean, about Dane
and me getting married?

Why should I be?

Well, he used to
date you before me,

and you seem so preoccupied...

You're imagining things.

To me, your dream
boy is just another man.

Is your aunt Louise
coming out for the big event?

Mm-hm, probably
on the morning plane.

We'll be working.

Oh, I sent her a key. Mm.

Why don't you leave
these. Let me do 'em.

You have a date
tonight, remember?

All right. Thanks, honey.

Gee, I have a million
things to do tonight.

Fix my nails and pack
some things I want to take,

rinse out some stockings.

Will you be late?

Yes.

See ya.

Have fun.

( ominous theme playing)

( suspenseful theme playing)

You're late.

Well, why the deep freeze?

You said we were going out.

There's lots of time.

It's only 9:15.

Don't tell me
you're still burning

over your roommate
hooking Dane Grover?

You never had a chance with him.

Well, at least he's not
hiding behind a wife.

That's no way to
talk about a man

who's practically divorced.

Oh, don't be like that.

You know how I feel about you.

Either we go out
tonight, or I'm through.

All right.

As soon as I change,

we'll drive up the
coast someplace.

Now, be nice.

I'll wait in the car.

But I won't wait long.

(slow big band music
playing on radio)

MAN (over radio):
And there you are, folks,

the roundup of the
week's hit tunes,

brought to you by
the Old Lamplighter.

The time is 9:58 and...

(slow big band music
playing over speaker)

Oh, Anita, you frightened me.

I'm sorry.

You said you'd be late.

Well, I decided I was a little
too tired for nightclubbing.

Look, you're wearing yourself
out before your marriage.

Why don't you go fix
us some hot chocolate,

and we'll both turn
in and talk, huh?

Okay, I'll make it
while you take off

your makeup. All right.

(door unlocks)

( suspenseful theme playing)

Fay?

Fay?

Come on.

Say hello to Aunt Louise.

Oh, come on.

If I can be awake at my age...

Fay...?

Fay?

Fay.

Wake up.

Anita.

Anita.

Mm. Anita, wake up!

Anita!

(ringing)

Clay's Bar and Grill.

Excuse me, Mr. Mason.

Your answering
service is calling you.

Mm, no rest for the weary.

May I take it here
at the counter?

Yes, sir.

Thanks, Amy. Uh-huh.

Hello?

Who?

Louise Marlow?

Well, put her on.

Louise, what are
you doing in town?

I can't wake either of them.

They've been drugged
or something, Perry.

I've got to get a doctor
for them right away.

I'll ring my doctor.

While I'm doing that,
you call Hollywood-21799.

That's my secretary,
Della Street.

Tell her I'm going to
pick her up immediately.

And, Louise, don't
worry, we'll be right over.

( dramatic theme playing)

(buzzes)

LOUISE: Oh, it's
so good to see you.

Wonderful to see you.

Oh, this is Della
Street, Louise.

We met on the phone. Hello.

MASON: Dr. Hawley get here?

Yes, he's in there
with both of them.

He said they've had an
overdose of barbiturates.

Any idea what caused this?

No, she's getting married in
three days to Dane Grover.

That's why I came
on, for the wedding.

How'd you get in downstairs?

They mailed me a key.

I wasn't supposed to come
in until the morning plane.

HAWLEY: It's a good
thing you made it earlier.

The brunette would've
never seen the morning.

That your niece?

How about the other one, Bill?

An overdose too,
but not too bad.

Oh, Della, would you put this

in some boiling
water for me, please?

DELLA: Sure.

They drank something brownish.

Probably chocolate.

Are they coherent?

The blond's semiconscious.

The other one has
a long way to go yet.

Was Fay happy about
her coming marriage?

Ecstatic.

He's a rich, young
man, a fine family...

Louise,

you didn't find

any sort of note or
anything, did you?

Something you might be hiding?

Chief,

could I see you a minute?

Excuse me.

Couple of unwashed cups.

It was hot chocolate.

Probably enough
residue for analysis.

Better leave them for evidence.

Right.

Louise,

why don't you see
how the girls are.

All right, let's take a
good look around here.

For what?

A note, letter,
something to explain this.

It's no accident.

Desk, clothes, everything.

That's odd.

What?

Two keys.

They're both from
the same building.

One's from another apartment.

Whose purse?

Fay Allison's.

Here. Put that stuff back.

We're going up to 702.

Must be a sound sleeper.

Well, much as I
hate to intrude...

What's going on out here,

a convention?

Some people like to
sleep nights, you know?

It's 2:30.

(door closes)

( suspenseful theme playing)

Is he dead?

Very dead.

Scotch.

What are you looking for?

Lipstick on the glass.

There isn't any.

There certainly
is on his forehead.

I know.

Someone bid him a fond
but unfriendly farewell.

Been wiped clean.

(dialing)

Calling the police?

Naturally.

And since we
might be implicated,

I want Tragg to know about this.

Then we're getting out of here.

( dramatic theme playing)

Too nice a night
for visiting friends.

I wanna go dancing.

I thought we settled
that downstairs.

Look, we can drink here,

or take Carver along with us.

Big deal.

Will you come on,

or do you want to
go back to the lobby

and argue some more?

You shouldn't have led
a spade in the first place.

DELLA: You didn't
have to raise the bid.

You're just stupid. (buzzing)

Well, that does it.

Open up, Carv!

Is this gonna go on all night?

DON: Well, we only
knocked once, little girl.

Well, the people that just went
in there made enough racket.

I've got insomnia.

(door slams)

Good. If he's got company,
he doesn't need us.

Hey, wait a minute!

Oh.

You're a real big evening.

You know, that couple
upstairs is going to remember us.

Yeah, I...

I better get rid of this
before Tragg gets here.

Check the name on the
mailbox for 702, will you?

All right.

(coin clinks)

Just a minute, Della.

Hello, Louise?

Do what?

Have the doctor get
a private ambulance

to come to the service entrance.

Take the girls down
in the service elevator.

Tell the doctor I want
them in the sanitarium

as quickly as possible.

I'll explain later.

Now, you got it?

Yes, yes, all right.

Clicked shut on me.

The name on the
mailbox is Philip Walsh.

The dead man's cuff
links were initialed "C.C."

Well, the people in the hallway

referred to whoever
lives there as "Carv."

(siren wailing)

(tires screeching)

Come in, gentlemen.
We've been expecting you.

Mr. Mason.

You're the one that
called about a body in 702?

Yes, the, uh, name
on the mailbox

is Walsh.

Philip Walsh. A body?

In 702?

Why, that's Carv's apartment.

Isn't Philip Walsh
his right name?

No.

No, his name is Carver Clement.

But we weren't in the apartment.

They were.

The woman across the
hall said he had company,

and these two were
coming from that direction.

DON: That's right, sergeant.

I think we'll all
just go up there

and wait for Lieutenant Tragg.

Shall we?

So you, uh, never saw
this man before, huh?

Not alive, lieutenant.

Didn't know him?

I've told you.

Maybe you, uh, knew the woman

whose clothing is stashed
away in the closet in there?

I'm afraid not, lieutenant.

TRAGG: How'd you
get into the building?

MASON: Rang the bell,
waited for an answering buzz.

Well, you got no
buzz out of him.

He's been dead since 9 or 10:00.

I rang apartment 604.

Mrs. Louise Marlow, an
old friend of the family,

just got into town.

Rang 604 and wound up in 702?

Why didn't you use
your key downstairs?

Now, don't ask
me what key, Perry.

I mean the key you
used to get in here.

Who said I had one?

Woman across the hall.

You searched me.

Yeah. Searched him too.

He didn't have one
either. And he lived here.

Lieutenant...

A clear set of prints on
the glass that was here,

but the one that finished
him was wiped clean.

(phone rings)

Hello?

Yes, Weiner, speaking.

Yeah?

Good.

Yeah, that... That
explains a lot.

Well, that's interesting.

I just got a report on
the dry-cleaning marks

on the woman's
clothing in there.

They belong to a Fay
Allison, apartment 604.

Well, that's Louise
Marlow's niece.

She and, uh, another
girl, Anita Bonsal,

share that apartment.

Well, let's trot down to 604

and visit them, shall we?

MASON: Louise...

Uh, Mrs. Marlow,

this is Police Lieutenant Tragg.

How do you do, lieutenant?

I understand
you're visiting here.

Uh, yes, I came on
for my niece's wedding.

Oh, I'd like to
congratulate her.

Where is she?

Well, she isn't here.

What, at... 3:00 in the morning?

She in the habit of
staying out all night?

Well, she and her
roommate went someplace.

Not where she usually goes,

I'm sure.

There's a dead man in
apartment 702, Mrs. Marlow.

His name is, or
was, Carver Clement,

and the place is loaded

with clothing
belonging to your niece.

But...

you're mistaken.

Fay is being married Saturday

to Dane Grover.

Is she?

What if this gets
into the newspapers?

It will.

But if you want to
keep it to a minimum,

you'd better tell
me where she is.

Fay and Anita are both at
the Crestview Sanitarium.

Why?

An overdose of barbiturates.

They can't be
interrogated until tomorrow.

Well, that's a funny thing

for a prospective
bride, isn't it?

She must have been real
happy about something.

MASON: I'll, uh...

see you there in the morning.

Yes, I... I thought you would.

(dialing)

Are you calling to
have them moved?

I'm calling Paul Drake,

my private investigator.

Dr. Hawley saved
your niece's life.

We may have to
save it again, Louise.

Along with her reputation.

( dramatic theme playing)

And when I...
woke up, I was here.

I... I just don't understand
what happened.

I-I mean, I've never taken
a sleeping pill in my life.

Did, uh, Miss Allison?

Well, yes, she...

She's sort of the
nervous type, you know?

Kind of high-strung.

What were you
girls doing last night?

Well...

I was gonna go to a movie.

Did you?

No.

I'd seen everything
at the local houses,

so I came back home.

Miss Allison seem
glad to see you?

Well, yes, I guess so.

She... She never
likes to be alone.

Why is he asking me all this?

I think you'd better
tell her, lieutenant.

And help her conceal evidence?

So that she can properly
phrase her honest answers

without you reading your
own interpretations into them.

We're not in court now, Perry.

This is a routine
police investigation.

Which is meant to
collect facts, not fix guilt.

Now, in the interest
of my client...

(phone rings)

Hello?

Yes.

It's for you.

Lieutenant Tragg.

Uh-huh, I see.

Good.

Well, thanks.

Now...

Uh... (door opens)

We won't, uh, need
the prints now, Harlan.

You can get back to the lab.

Okay. I'll see you later, huh?

You were gonna fingerprint me.

Why?

Miss Bonsal,

did you know Carver Clement

or ever hear Miss
Allison mention his name?

No.

He leased apartment
702 of your building,

but he used the
name Philip Walsh

because he already has a
wife and family elsewhere.

He was given a fatal
dose of cyanide last night.

Well...

what has that got to
do with Fay and me?

That's what I want to know.

Who made the
chocolate last night?

Fay did.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Bonsal.

Well, are you ready to, uh,
meet your client now, counselor?

( suspenseful theme playing)

I didn't put anything
in the chocolate.

Why would I do that?

If I'd wanted a sleeping pill,

I'd have taken it.

Tragg, why do you keep assuming

that she doctored
that chocolate?

Have you a better explanation?

The doctor suggested
that we keep this short.

All right, just one
more question.

How well do you
know Carver Clement?

Carver...? Clement.

I never heard of him.

Short enough, Perry?
Anything you want to ask?

Not right now, thanks.

No, I didn't think you would.
Not in my presence, no.

Goodbye for now, Miss Allison.

( dramatic theme playing)

May I ask you something, Tragg?

I was waiting for you to ask.

You wanna know why I
brought Harlan out here

to fingerprint the
girls and didn't.

Touché.

That, uh, phone call
I got from the lab...

Both girls work at a
guided-m*ssile plant.

Their prints are on file.

You want more?

You know I do.

Fay Allison's prints match

the ones on the glass.

In 702.

( dramatic theme playing)

Good morning, chief.

Good morning, Della.

How'd it go at the sanitarium?

For Tragg, fine.

For us, rotten.

No interruptions
till I finish with Paul,

unless it's Dane Grover.

PAUL: Hi.

Hi, Paul.

Scene-of-the-crime photos.

I had a friend
smuggle duplicates

out of the police lab.

Well, they matched
Fay Allison's prints

with those on the
extra glass in 702.

Uh-huh, also the brand of
toothpaste in the bathroom,

along with the clothes.

You know what I think? What?

You oughta check out.

Paul, I happen to think
Fay Allison is innocent.

What you think won't
mean a thing to the DA.

She was having an
affair with Clement.

He wouldn't let her off
the hook to marry Grover,

so cyanide cocktail.

To be charged with m*rder
and lose the man anyhow? No.

Well, not if she
removed all evidence

that could connect
her with the apartment.

And that's what she
was preparing to do

when her roommate came home

unexpectedly.

There's a hole in it.

Show me.

She could have
put Anita to sleep

and then gone
after those clothes.

Well, people do get
rattled, you know.

There's another thing.

There were no prints
on the m*rder glass.

She wiped it clean
after Clement shoved off.

Oh, I see.

Why do that and leave her
own prints on the other one?

Exactly.

Yeah, it is something
to wonder about, all right.

What did you get on that couple

who were going to see Clement

as Della and I were coming out?

Uh...

Vera Payson and Don Ralston.

Ralston handled Clement's taxes.

Vera's a party girl.

Their time's accounted for.

Dinner and a few nightclubs
before they ran into you.

Yeah.

In the upstairs corridor
with the street door locked.

How did they get up there?

Clement was in no
shape to press any buzzer.

You think they knew
someone else in the building?

Well, that's for
you to find out.

Check every lease, every tenant.

All right.

You know, the way they spoke,

they'd had an
argument in the lobby

before they came up.

How long were you in 702?

Oh, a minute, minute
and a half maybe.

If they argued at any length,

then took the elevator up...

Somebody else might
have pressed the buzzer

in Clement's apartment

and then scrammed
before you got there.

And Clement had no key on him.

No key to his own apartment.

Then there's this.

So she kissed him goodbye.

No, suppose a man did that.

A man might have
smeared on some lipstick

and planted that.

Yeah, he'd be pretty
shrewd with that.

What man?

Dane Grover?

Suppose he'd heard
about the affair.

You know what a thing like
that can do to some men.

Suppose Clement had told him.

Just to wreck the wedding.

Yeah.

Clement was just
the type who might.

He was ruthless.

He'd do anything to hold
on to what he wanted.

Or get rid of what
he didn't want.

(intercom buzzes)

Yes, Della?

Mr. Grover's here, Mr. Mason.

Tell him I'll see
him in a minute.

Use the private door.

And work on that tenant list.

All right, Perry.

(buzzes)

Yes, Mr. Mason?

Tell Mr. Grover to come in now.

Mr. Mason.

Yes.

It's good of you to come.

What choice did I have?

They don't make it
sound very pretty, do they?

You believe in her, don't you?

Well, it doesn't
matter what I believe.

I'm in love with her.

How 'bout your family?

I'd rather not discuss that.

I know it'll cost
money to help her.

I have money.

If it takes more, let me know.

The best thing you can
do for her, Mr. Grover,

involves more than money.

It involves loyalty.

I'll stand by her.

No matter how bad it gets?

Your family isn't the type

that likes to see
its name in print

anywhere outside
of the society page.

If you're not going
to stand by her,

make the break now.

Don't wait till
she goes to trial.

I don't like being
pushed, Mr. Mason,

by you or my family.

I'm asking only for your help.

Now, did you know Clement?

No.

I'm not sure your
fiancée did either.

I'm not even sure Clement
was k*lled by a woman.

Might have been a man.

There's something
you should know,

in case the police find out.

I had Fay out to the house
on Sunday for the first time.

I was showing her
around after lunch.

The gardener was working
on some gopher holes.

We've had some
trouble with them lately,

and Barney was...

spreading poison.

What sort of poison?

Preparation of cyanide.

( dramatic theme playing)

Della, I'm going to go
over to... (phone rings)

Hello.

Just a minute.
I'll see if he's in.

It's our eminent
district attorney.

Burger?

I'll take him.

Hello, Hamilton, how are you?

Oh, no, I was just going.
I'd be glad to join you.

Right.

Bye.

"Let's have lunch"?

I can feel him grinning
right over the wire.

Get Paul. Tell him to call
me at Clay's Grill about 2:00.

Right.

Dessert, gentlemen?

No, thank you.

No, thanks.

Well, now that
we've had the lunch,

which isn't why we're here,

why are we here?

You have an
insidious mind, Perry.

Tell him, lieutenant.

Oh, well, let's just say

that we've discovered

that your client, Fay Allison,

as recently as last Sunday,

was very interested in
the potentialities of cyanide.

Cigarette?

Oh, no. No, thanks.

No, he... He's worked
that on me before.

Yes, I know.

Pass them out, light them up,

meanwhile, he has time to think.

TRAGG: Yeah.

You're acquiring
wisdom, Hamilton.

Lots of people are
interested in cyanide.

Kills rodents.

And humans.

Only, lots of people
don't go leaving

their clothes and
their fingerprints

around dead men's apartments.

One set of fingerprints
on the glass.

It'll do... nicely.

Phone call, Mr. Mason.

Thank you.

Hello?

Oh, yes, Drake, I did.

I want you to do
something for me.

See if all the apartments

at the Mandrake Arms
are completely furnished.

Yes, I know that.
I said, completely.

Identical dishes and
glassware, for instance.

Right.

You're pretty cute, aren't you?

Girl washes a glass,
her fingerprints are on it.

Somebody swirls a little
Scotch in the glass and...

puts it someplace else.

It won't do, Perry.

You're gonna need
more than speculation.

I've got her nailed,
and you know it.

You're not sure, Hamilton,
or we wouldn't be here.

I asked you here
to give you a break.

I know.

You'll accept a
reduction in charge,

from m*rder to manslaughter,

if I plead Fay Allison guilty.

She is guilty.

I don't think so.

You're gonna let her stand
trial for first-degree m*rder?

You're risking her life.

I'd rather risk it than ruin it.

Thanks for the lunch.

See you in court.

( dramatic theme playing)

(door closes)

PAUL: Hi.

I thought you'd still be here.

What did you find?

Not a thing.

I checked and rechecked every
tenant, on lease or sublease.

I couldn't link a single one
of them with Carver Clement.

Perry...

why don't you get some sleep.

You're gonna need
everything you got tomorrow.

This Burger's out for blood.

And he's got a
hundred sharp knives.

All I want is one broken blade.

Well, I hope you
come up with a miracle,

or Fay Allison's gonna be
sitting in the gas chamber

just as sure as Burger
wants to be governor.

I know.

( dramatic theme playing)

All rise, please.

This court is now in session.

Judge Randolph presiding.

Be seated.

The State v. Fay Allison.

Ready for the defense.

Ready for the prosecution.

Mr. Ralston,

would you look toward
the defense table, please.

Do you see anyone
there that you recognize?

Why, yes, sir, counsel for
the defense and his secretary.

Where did you first see them?

In the hallway of
the Mandrake Arms,

on the seventh floor,

coming from the
direction of apartment 702.

Apartment 704 is in
that same direction.

Now, do you know for sure which
apartment they were coming from?

Well, yes, 702.

And how do you know that?

Because when we
came down to the lobby,

police were arriving.

They had been
called by Mr. Mason

to investigate the m*rder.

Mr. Mason admitted that.

Cross-examine.

Mr. Ralston,

when you and Miss Payson

arrived at the Mandrake Arms,

the street door was
locked, was it not?

Yes.

And did you have a
key to admit yourself?

No, we rang the bell
to Carver's apartment.

Was that ring answered?

Yes, the buzzer clicked,
and the door opened.

Did you and Miss Payson
go up to 702 immediately?

Uh, no, we didn't.

Uh, we stayed in
the lobby talking.

About what?

Well, Vera didn't want to go

up to Carver's apartment.

She wanted to
go to another club.

We'd been to several.

About how long did
that discussion take?

Oh, I don't know. A
few minutes, maybe.

Was the elevator on the
ground floor at that time?

Yes, it was, when
we first came in,

then the door
closed, and it went up.

Then you had to ring for it.

Well, that's right.

Was it occupied
when it came down?

No.

I object, Your Honor.

This line of
questioning is irrelevant.

I move to strike it.

It is entirely
relevant, Your Honor.

Whoever rang for that elevator

used it to move from
one floor to another

within the building,

and then Miss
Street and I used it

when we left apartment
604 to go to the seventh floor.

What point are you trying
to establish, Mr. Mason?

That Mr. Ralston and Miss
Payson were already in the building

when Miss Street and I
went to Clement's apartment.

And since Clement could
not have answered their ring,

it must have been
answered by a person

or persons unknown.

Your Honor...

The counsel for the defense is
making a very broad assumption.

There are 48 apartments
in the Mandrake Arms.

Any tenant visiting any other
could have used that elevator

within the building.

Objection sustained.

No further questions.

Miss Shirley
Tanner to the stand.

Hey, you did good up there.

Well, I told them the truth.

Can we go now?

Shh.

Order.

Order, please.

Well, I... I'd been
having difficulty sleeping,

so, naturally, the commotion
in the hallway disturbed me.

I got up to see what it was.

And when you opened the
door to the hall, what did you see?

I saw him going into 702.

Mr. Mason?

Yes.

He was taking the
key out of the lock.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

You live at the Mandrake
Arms in apartment 704,

don't you, Miss Tanner?

Yes. Yes, I do.

This is a photostatic copy of
the lease for that apartment.

It is a one-year lease
signed last August

by a Mr. Jerome Hill.

Is he a friend of yours?

No. No, I took the
apartment on a sublease.

I see.

How long was that before
Carver Clement's death?

Oh, I think it was...
a week thereabouts.

Did Jerome Hill
know Carver Clement?

Well, how do I know?

The apartment was
right across the hall.

Did Jerome Hill say
he was subleasing

because of trouble with
somebody in the building?

Objection, Your Honor.

This is hearsay.

Objection sustained.

SHIRLEY: Well, he never
even mentioned a neighbor.

He was subletting because
he had a job out of town.

The witness is cautioned
against answering questions

that have been objected to,

until the court permits
them to be answered.

Any further
questions, Mr. Mason?

No, Your Honor.

Now, Lieutenant Tragg,

you have stated that the
defense counsel, Mr. Perry Mason,

said he was admitted
to the Mandrake Arms

by Mrs. Louise Marlow

after ringing the downstairs
bell to apartment 604.

Yes.

That apartment is
leased by Fay Allison,

is it not?

Yes, and, uh, Anita Bonsal.

BURGER: Now, if Mr. Mason
had been in possession

of the key to apartment 702

when he arrived at
the Mandrake Arms,

it would not have
been necessary for him

to ring a downstairs
bell at all, would it?

No. All keys open
the street door.

Thank you, lieutenant.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

No questions, Mr. Burger.

JUDGE: Call the next witness.

Your Honor, the prosecution
would like Miss Della Street

to take the stand.

She's not privileged with
Mr. Mason's immunity.

You have admitted
being with Mr. Mason

when he entered apartment 702.

Yes.

Were you also with him
when he obtained possession

to the key to that apartment?

Yes.

And didn't he get that
key in apartment 604?

You're under oath, Miss Street.

Yes.

Just exactly where
did you find it?

We found it in a purse.

Whose purse?

Fay Allison's.

Mr. Mason, what is she...?

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

No questions, Mr. Burger.

Now, then.

You have made positive
identification of this robe

as being the property of
the defendant, Fay Allison?

Yes, by the cleaning marks.

And the fingerprints on
the second highball glass

in Mr. Clement's apartment
are those of Fay Allison?

Yes, that is correct.

Thank you.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Harlan,

you have been a police
laboratory technician

for how long?

Almost 20 years.

You have no doubt about
the fingerprints on that glass,

state exhibit C,

as being those of Fay Allison?

None whatsoever.

Did you find any
trace of lipstick

on the rim of that glass?

Objection, Your Honor.

Mr. Mason is trying to
circumvent the evidence.

The fingerprints
speak for themselves,

all too eloquently.

Your Honor, either Fay Allison
did not drink from that glass,

or she was not wearing lipstick.

And since Carver Clement
was kissed on the forehead

by someone who
was wearing lipstick,

the question is most pertinent.

Objection overruled.

Proceed, Mr. Mason.

Uh, Mr. Harlan...

can you identify
this photograph?

I believe it's a copy
of state exhibit G,

which I just identified
for Mr. Burger.

You're right, it is.

Now, what made you believe

it was a copy of
state exhibit G?

Uh, the lip lines,
the wrinkles, uh,

they're quite distinctive marks.

As distinctive as fingerprints?

Yes.

Distinctive enough for
a positive identification?

Yes, sir.

BURGER: I object, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Overruled.

I think Mr. Mason's
line of questioning

is entirely proper.

Proceed.

MASON: Thank you, Your Honor.

Mr. Harlan,

did you attempt to
match this lip imprint

with one of the
defendant, Fay Allison?

Uh, no. No, I did not.

Why not?

Your Honor, I must
take exception to this.

The state is proving
beyond a doubt

that Fay Allison
m*rder*d Carver Clement.

It certainly is not
necessary to prove also

that she kissed
him on the forehead.

Perhaps the state is not
anxious for it to be proven

that some person
other than Fay Allison

may have been with Carver
Clement when he d*ed.

Your Honor, I
would like to submit

the lip imprint of Fay
Allison as defense exhibit A

and ask that Mr. Harlan
be instructed to examine it.

BURGER: I object, Your Honor.

On what grounds?

Do you doubt the
authenticity of this imprint,

or do you intend to impeach

your own witness's
reliability as an expert?

On the grounds
that it's irrelevant!

May I proceed, Your Honor?

Yes, objection overruled.
You may proceed.

Mr. Harlan, would
you compare this

with the imprint
in the photograph?

Are they identical?

No, they're not.

MASON: Then the lip prints on
the forehead of Carver Clement

were not those of Fay Allison?

According to my comparison,
I would have to say no.

No further questions.

( dramatic theme playing)

You did a good job
in that last round.

Yeah, but I need a Sunday
punch, and I haven't got one.

Couldn't reach Drake, huh?

I left a message for him.

I got it. I located Jerome Hill.

The name's legitimate.

Did he leave town after
subletting to Shirley Tanner?

Not after or since.
He's right here.

Give you enough?

Maybe. If I can run one bluff.

I'll need some of
my charge slips.

Department store,
jeweler, furriers.

Where do you keep them?

In the personal file.
Want me to get them?

No, no, I'll get
them. Eat for me.

See you in court.

( suspenseful theme playing)

And you swear that you never
saw the defendant, Fay Allison,

wearing this robe?

That's right.

Even though you
heard the testimony

that it bears her cleaning mark?

Yes.

She knows it's my
robe, Mr. Mason.

She doesn't have to lie for me.

I know.

BURGER: Now, Miss Bonsal,

on the evenings
that Miss Allison

wasn't seeing her
fiancé Dane Grover,

did she ever leave the
apartment on other dates?

Well, no, not on dates.

She might go to a
movie or something.

Or something.

Your witness.

Eh, Miss Bonsal,

you and Fay Allison not only
share the same apartment,

you work together.

Is that not right?

Yes.

Same type of work?
The, uh, same salary?

Yes.

What salary?

Seventy-five a week.

MASON: Barely enough to make
ends meet by sharing expenses?

ANITA: Just about.

Did Miss Allison
buy a new trousseau

for her coming marriage
to Dane Grover?

No.

Do you know why not?

Well, because she
couldn't afford it, I guess.

Objection, Your Honor.

The defendant's financial
condition has no bearing

on the matter before this court.

Sustained.

Very well, Your Honor.

I will show the pertinence
in a different way.

Now, Miss Bonsal,
you have stated

that you did not
know Carver Clement.

Is that not right? That's right.

Then you wouldn't be
familiar with his signature?

Of course not.

Not even his signature
on these charge accounts?

A mink stole with the
initials A.B. on the lining,

a platinum cigarette
case with the same initials,

a diamond wristwatch...
Do you own such items?

Well, I bought them myself.

MASON: With an
income of $75 per week?

Miss Bonsal, is it not a fact

that you had been romantically
involved with Carver Clement?

That after his death,
you put barbiturates

in Fay Allison's
cup of hot chocolate,

then substituted her
clothing for your own

in Clement's apartment?

And then returned
to your own suite

and took a mild dose
of barbiturates yourself?

And is it not a fact

that your reason
for these actions

was that you also
wanted Dane Grover?

No!

I didn't k*ll Carver! I didn't!

(crowd murmuring)

Don't touch me!

Anybody comes
near me, I'll jump.

It's true. I did go
back to his room.

But he was dead
when I got there.

I didn't k*ll him! I didn't!

Order.

Order.

Your Honor, I move a mistrial.

There needn't be a
mistrial, Your Honor.

Fay Allison can be
cleared right here and now,

and so can Anita Bonsal,

unless the state
wishes to try her

for the attempted
m*rder of Miss Allison.

JUDGE: On what grounds are
you asking for a mistrial, counselor?

BURGER: On the
grounds that this...

This piece of melodrama
that we've just witnessed

is solely for the purpose
of confusing the issues

and is entirely the invention
of the counsel for defense.

JUDGE: Mr. Mason?

My actions, Your Honor,

have been entirely in
the interest of justice.

Now, the court
has heard testimony

that Mr. Ralston and Miss Payson

were admitted to the
Mandrake Arms by buzzer

after ringing the bell to
Carver Clement's apartment.

I have tried to establish

that the person who
answered their ring

must have done so shortly
before my secretary and I

entered the Clement
apartment with a key.

Now, at that time, both
Fay Allison and Anita Bonsal

were in a drugged sleep.

Now, someone in the Clement
apartment pressed that buzzer.

An innocent person
pressing that buzzer

would have waited for
whoever rang to appear.

Only a guilty person
would have left so hurriedly.

Well, why would a guilty person
have answered the ring at all?

It would only mean
bringing the crime to light

that much sooner.

Clement had been dead for hours.

Why would the
k*ller hang around?

The k*ller didn't hang around.

Are you trying
to tell this court

that the k*ller came back?

Why?

Sheer panic.

The fear that some evidence
might have been left behind.

All right. Let's
hear the rest of it.

Your Honor,

may I question one of
the witnesses informally?

If it's not for the record.

It needn't be.

Miss Tanner, you
sublet your apartment

from a Jerome Hill?

Yes. He was leaving town.

Would you look
around this courtroom

and see if he's present?

Mmph! Give me that!

Now, calm down.
Hold on to her, Tragg.

Order! Order! Mr. Mason.

I must warn you against
any further irregularities

of this nature.

I'm sorry, Your Honor,

but the need was dictated
by the circumstance.

I ask only that
Mr. George Harlan,

the police
laboratory technician,

compare these lip prints
of Miss Shirley Tanner

with those found upon the
forehead of Carver Clement.

Don't bother.

( dramatic theme playing)

If there's anything
you want to know,

just ask me.

Why did you k*ll him?

I loved him.

He promised to get a
divorce and marry me,

but he got tired of
me and walked out.

I found that he had moved
to the Mandrake Arms

and was using the same
name that he used at my place.

Philip Walsh.

I-I sublet the apartment
across the hall,

so I could watch him.

And then I found out about her.

Anita Bonsal?

I made up my mind to k*ll him.

When she left,
I-I rang the bell.

He was sitting
there having a drink.

When he put the glass
down to go get his jacket,

I fixed that drink
but couldn't...

H-he came back.

He gave me a nasty grin...
and then finished the drink.

And you ran.

I was frightened.

His key was on...

On the end table, so I took it.

I was gonna come back later

to make sure that
there wasn't any letters

or anything of mine.

And it was you who answered
Ralston's ring from the lobby.

(sobbing): Yes.

When I found out what
Anita Bonsal had done...

I thought I was safe.

That completes my
case, Your Honor.

The charge against
Fay Allison is dismissed.

The court orders that Shirley
Tanner and Anita Bonsal

be taken into custody

and proper complaints
be lodged against each.

(gavel bangs)

Court is adjourned.

( dramatic theme playing)

Mr. Mason, I don't
know how... Don't try.

One thing I still
don't get, Mr. Mason.

How did you know
about the Tanner woman?

She paid Jerome
Hill a $500 bonus

to sublet apartment 704

when the other
apartments in the building

were available
at the normal rate.

Now get going, you two.

Yes, you get on, or
you'll miss your plane.

Mm.

Goodbye, dears.

Goodbye.

Bye-bye. Take care.

(door closes)

You're a little
smeared, Mr. Mason.

( dramatic theme playing)

( noirish jazz theme playing)