07x20 - The Case of the Frightened Fisherman

[bunniefuu]

(theme song playing)

♪♪

The tongs, if you
don't mind, Mr. James?

Tongs coming right up.

Thank you.

Ah.

Control .

Check sample three...

inserted in oven at...
(exhales)

: p.m.

You got that, Gretchen?

Yes, Father.

Well, this will
be the last today.

Three months of control runs...

sample checks...

counter checks.

Aren't you about willing
to admit that formula

and process are A-okay,
Dr. Lang?

That I admitted long ago,
Mr. James,

but before production begins,
I've got to create

a foolproof system
of safeguards.

And that is why
I came in with you--

because I believed
we thought alike about this.

Father, where's
your sense of humor?

Randolph was only joking.

Well, I'm afraid
that where antibiotics

and human lives are concerned,
I have no sense of humor.

-I apologize, Mr. James.
- And I apologize, too, Dr. Lang.

GRETCHEN:
May I ask you something?

Those evenings on the beach
when you were fishing

and talking chemistry together,

is it still
Dr. Lang and Mr. James?

(chuckles)
You'll have to ask a fish

for the answer to that,
Gretchen.

(phone rings)

Yes?

On his way down?

But no one is allowed.

I see.

Hudson Bradshaw,
insisting on seeing you.

Should I tell him
that you're not here?

No, he wouldn't believe you.

But maybe you'd better
put those papers away,

since they're what
he's really after.

Come in, Hudson.

You're just in time
to witness a test

of our new
pocket-size atom b*mb.

Atom b*mb?

(chuckles):
Oh, oh, I see, that's a joke.

Very funny.

Dr. Lang. Miss Lang.

Well, Randolph,
didn't you get my message?

- Yes.
- You're not interested, then,

in a new and better offer?

Hudson, how many times
have I told you?

Neither the Lang-James
Laboratories

nor the new antibiotic
is for sale,

not to Consolidation dr*gs,
not to anybody.

We're going into production
on our own.

We'll finance your production.

Thanks, but our treasurer,
Marion Devlin,

is arranging for that now
in New York.

Oh, Randolph, I thought
we were such good friends.

Helen and Natalie together
all the time,

beach picnic weekends.

JAMES: Hudson,
wasn't it you who told me

when I left Consolidation

to never try to mix
friendship with business?

Yes. And I hope
you remember I said that

when we file suit against you.

Suit?

(laughs): Against me?
Charging me with what?

With having pirated the idea
for your antibiotic

while in the employee
of Consolidation dr*gs.

But that's absurd!

The idea was mine,
and I can prove that!

Maybe you can, Dr. Lang,

but the suit will undoubtedly
tie up production

until after your
stockholders meeting next month.

JAMES:
And what then?

What happens
at the stockholders meeting?

A pocket-size atom b*mb
of my own!

Which, when it goes off,

will blow Lang-James
Laboratories into oblivion.

(glass shatters)

♪♪

I want an answer, Andy.

The ring and bracelet,
did you or didn't you take them?

What is this, the third degree?

Call it anything you like,

but if you don't answer,
I'll get the police.

I mean that, Andy;
don't think I don't!

Okay. Okay,
so I took those things.

So what?

So this!

(laughs)

Ah, Natalie,
you're way off base.

That stuff isn't gone,

just pawned.

- Pawned?
- Yeah.

Yeah, for the $ I needed

to keep my wagon
from being repossessed.

The $ you said
you couldn't raise.

-(laughs)
-(fake laugh)

What's suddenly so funny?

What do you think
that ring's worth?

How would I know?

At least $ , .

And the bracelet
three times that.

And all you asked for was $ .

grand?

Are you telling the truth?

Or was this just another
one of your pipe dreams,

like our surfing trip to Hawaii?

Hawaii's no pipe dream, darling.

You'll see.

Andy, about those pawn tickets,
where are they?

My place.

(vehicle approaching)

Is it Randolph?

No, it's a stranger.

NATALIE: Andy, it's my
husband's attorney, Perry Mason.

You didn't call him
about that jewelry?

Of course not, darling.

Those pawn tickets,
I'll want them tomorrow.

Sure.

(chuckles):
Sure.

(doorbell rings)

Mr. Mason, how nice.

- Come in.
- Thank you, Natalie.

This is a surprise.

Didn't Randolph tell you
I was coming?

Randolph? I thought
he was still at the laboratory.

No, he was to meet me here
to talk with you.

About our not getting along?

About the laboratory.

By any chance, are you selling
your stock to Hudson Bradshaw?

What gave you that idea?

This afternoon Bradshaw
told Randolph something,

and I thought perhaps you'd said
something to Helen Bradshaw.

All right, yes, I'm selling--

for exactly what I put up
to help start the laboratory.

What will that do
to Randolph and to Dr. Lang?

They'll be kept on, I suppose.

Kept on? Three years
of constant research

about to pay off,

and they're
just to be "kept on"?

Don't you think they deserve
better than that, Natalie?

About to pay off? For months
I've been hearing that,

and I'm sick to death of it!

Just as I'm sick to death
of cutting corners and living

like a squatter in this...
this termite-ridden shanty

through the charity
of Marion Devlin.

And just as I'm sick
of sitting alone nights

while Randolph surf-fishes
with Dr. Lang.

Or performs

chemistry experiments
with Gretchen Lang.

You can imagine what kind
of chemistry's involved.

Natalie, you know
there's no truth in that.

I wonder.

No... no, I don't wonder...

not really...
because I don't care.

Mr. Mason, every cent I
inherited went into that stock,

money I got
long before I was married.

So why shouldn't
I get it back if I can?

Use it to go to Hawaii
or someplace

where I might like
to do a little living.

You've been doing a little
living right here, Natalie--

but we won't go into that.

What will we go into?

At : , right about now, I'm
supposed to call Marion Devlin

-at our New York sales office.
- So?

He's trying to arrange financing

so we can go into production
with our new antibiotic.

If he succeeds,
and we do go into production,

your stock'll be worth
two or three times

what Bradshaw's offered you.

Two or three times?

- Yes!
- Why didn't you tell me this?

We haven't exactly been
communicating lately.

Remember?

Is it true, Mr. Mason?

Bradshaw's sudden interest would
certainly indicate that it is.

-(phone rings) -That
might be Marion calling me.

Hello?

Yes, she's here.

Sure. It's Helen Bradshaw--
she says you told her

you were coming over
for a drink.

Oh, in about a half hour.

Helen, she says
in about half an hour.

Me?

No, thanks.

Natalie, if Marion
has our financing,

will you string along with us

until after
the stockholders meeting?

Then whatever you want--
Hawaii, anything.

How can I be sure you and Marion

aren't up
to some sort of a trick?

- Do you think Mr. Mason is?
- No.

Hello?

I'd like to sp...

Marion?

Randolph.
What's the news?

Really?

Oh, that's wonderful!

Look, will you give the details
to Perry Mason?

Something's come up here
I want him to straighten out.

I'll put him on.

Mason, Mr. Devlin.

I gather things are progressing.

I see. All signed and sealed.

Now, let me ask you something.

In your opinion
as treasurer of Lang-James,

is the loan sufficient

to finance
all your production needs?

Very good.

All right, now, here's Randolph.

Marion, when's
your plane getting in?

Oh, it's a little
too complicated.

I'll fill you in when
I see you tomorrow morning.

And at the same time
pin a medal on you.

Have a good trip, Marion.

Natalie...

do you still suspect a trick?

No.

And for that,
I'm grateful to the both of you.

- Grateful?
- Yes.

Because up to now
I thought I was lucky

just to be getting
my money back.

JAMES:
You'll keep your stock, then?

- NATALIE: That depends.
- On what?

On Hudson Bradshaw, and
how high he's willing to bid.

Bye-bye.
I've got to change now.

Hi, Mr. James.

Hello, Andy.
How's the surfing?

Strictly from nothing.

Waves even a ho-daddy
wouldn't bother with.

- You meeting Dr. Lang?
- Yes.

He's down there
by the guy with the dog

-over by the big rocks.
- Thanks.

The number's for
a mobile telephone, operator.

Yes, that's right,
Hudson Bradshaw.

Thank you.

(phone buzzes)

Yes?

Natalie, what is it?

What about your stock?

I knew you wouldn't want to talk
business in front of... Helen,

so I thought I'd
better tell you now.

The price has gone up.

$ , , Hudson.

That's the new quotation.

$ , ?!

Are you out of your mind?

Now, look, Natalie,
we made a deal,

and I'm holding you to it.

$ , and not one penny more!

And if you think
for one minute that ...

(click)

You didn't tell me
you were buying Mrs. James out.

Maybe I'm not.

Maybe I know a better way
of dealing with her.

That's quite a cute little game
you're playing, Natalie.

- Marion!
- Yes.

Your charitable landlord,
Marion Devlin, in person.

But-but Randolph just talked
to you in New York.

Ah, yes, so he did.

But how?

How?

Perhaps someday
I'll tell you.

But right now, I, uh...
I don't want to waste any time.

Before you run off for
your nightly drink with Helen,

there are some things
for us to talk over.

(waves crashing)

Cannot let her do this
to us, Randolph!

After all, she is your wife!

I'm afraid she doesn't think
of it quite that way.

But how should we think of it?

The result of years
of-of calculations,

of tests and experiments.

An antibiotic

that reaches viruses never
before touched by chemistry.

A dream come true,

taken by Hudson, Bradshaw
and Consolidation dr*gs,

to be cheapened, exploited,
commercialized,

all on account of her!

This must not happen!

Maybe I can figure out
something, Hans.

A woman like this should never
be allowed to exist.

Aren't you getting in
a little deep, darling?

Hudson is a rather dangerous man
to cross,

as I should know,

having crossed him off and on
myself for the past years.

You're still doing it, Helen,
so it can't be fatal.

Hmm.

One more for the road?

I really shouldn't.

I've had three, or is it four?

And I ought to be home now.

Two minutes for this,

and you can walk home
in another ten.

Besides, I'll bet
your beloved husband

is still out there fishing

by his favorite rocks.

I never understood
this night fishing.

What do they catch?

Who knows... or cares.

When do you expect Hudson home?

I don't.

He said
he had a business engagement.

Diamonds, new black dress,
hair-do...

just to spend the evening alone?

Or could it be that Marion
Devlin is back from New York?

He's flying back tomorrow.

Is that so?

What a lovely clip!

I couldn't persuade you
to let me borrow it

for the Beach Club luncheon
tomorrow?

Of course,
if you need it tonight...

I'll take good care of it.

I'm sure you will, darling.

See you tomorrow?

Of course.

(waves crashing)

Good evening, Miss.

Good evening.

(engine revving)

(screaming)

(waves crashing)

- Good night.
- Good night.

(garbled radio transmission)

May I see your driver's license,
please?

Oh, sure.

What's up?

(garbled radio transmission)

(waves crashing)

This your station wagon,
Mr. James?

Yes.

Have you driven it
in the last half hour or so?

Well, n-no. I-I've been fishing
since around : .

Did you know your left
front fender was crumpled?

Left front fender?

MAN :
When did that happen?

Now... now, just a minute.

What's this all about?

Hit-and-run over in the colony
about minutes ago.

' , ' station wagon,
according to a witness.

Mine's a ' .

Yes, Mr. James,
so it is.

Nearly three hours now,
Lieutenant.

It's time you either
charged him, or let him go home.

Couple of more things,
Mr. Mason, then we'll decide.

Mr. James, we've been doing our
best to check up on your story.

Lieutenant, it isn't a story.

It's the truth!

The man you claim

you were fishing with
at first, Dr. Hans Lang--

still not at home.

And no answer at the
laboratory number you gave us.

And, uh, the fisherman
with the dog--

no trace of him.

And finally, the man whose car

you say crumpled your fender
a couple of days ago--

J.J. Dexter-- appears to be
somewhere in Lower California.

Perry, it's like a nightmare!

Well, what about the woman
I'm supposed to have run down--

hasn't she told you anything?

She's still unconscious
and still unidentified.

Being on foot,
she must live in the vicinity.

Yes, and quite well-to-do,
apparently,

from the diamond clip
she was wearing.

Sooner or later,
she'll be reported missing.

But I doubt, Mr. James,

if she saw very much,
being hit from behind.

What about the station wagon,
Lieutenant?

Oh, blood, you mean,
bits of cloth, fabric imprints?

Mm.

GIBSON: We're a small-town
police force, Mr. Mason.

Evidence like that
will have to wait

till the L.A. crime lab people
have a look at it.

(knocking)

Mrs. Pennyworth's here,
Lieutenant.

Oh, have her come in.

MASON:
Now, wait a minute.

If she's the witness,

I can't permit
a confrontation like this.

JAMES:
No, no. Perry,

it's all right.

She won't identify me.
Let her in.

You told us, Mrs. Pennyworth,

you caught a glimpse of the man
driving the station wagon.

Yes. Yes, he was wearing
an old hat.

That's him!

That's the man there!

Natalie, where in the world
have you been?

I telephoned...

Gretchen.

Well, thank goodness
somebody's finally turned up.

What's been going on?

Why were the police at my house,
asking for Father?

Oh, it was just a crazy mix-up
over a hit-and-run accident.

- Involving him?
- JAMES: No. Me.

It seems
that the hit-and-run car

was a station wagon
just like mine.

But I'm in the clear,
thanks to Mr. Mason.

Miss Lang, where is your father?

I suppose at the laboratory.

Half the time,
when he's working,

he won't answer the phone.

And Natalie?

GRETCHEN:
I don't know.

The door was ajar,
so I just came in.

I suppose I shouldn't have, but
I was getting a little frantic.

Maybe Natalie's still
with Helen Bradshaw.

(phone ringing)

Hello?

Oh, hello, Randolph.

Natalie?

She left here hours ago.

No, she walked.

Well, I wouldn't worry
about her.

She's been out later than this
before, hasn't she?

No bother.
I was still up.

Good night.

Who was that?

Randolph James.

It seems that Natalie is again
amongst the missing.

Let's hope
this time it's permanent.

Why, Hudson...

what a thing to say.

Not there, I take it.

No.

But Perry, I've been thinking.

(waves crashing)

You know that diamond clip
they said the woman was wearing?

Well, Natalie sure doesn't own
anything like that.

Only...

maybe...

Yes?

The woman hit-and-run victim
from the Bay Shores colony?

Come in.

Dead?

About five minutes ago.

Never regained consciousness.

Do you know her?

MASON:
Yes, we know her.

The police will have to be told.

Phone's over there.

Operator, get me the Bay Shores
police headquarters, please.

Lieutenant Gibson, please.

Lieutenant, this is Perry Mason.

I'm at the hospital.

Yes, I know.

I also know her identity.

Mrs. Randolph James.

That's right, his wife.

Yes, I can bring him in, but...

♪♪

(rifling through papers)

Gertie, I wouldn't exactly say

it was one
of your boss's better nights.

First, Perry's pointed out
as a hit-and-run driver,

then his client runs out on him.

But Della said that your men
are looking for Randolph James,

and Mr. Drake, I know when you
men are looking for anybody...

Gertie, you gals
better pin your hopes

on the L.A. police department.

They've got a detail
from homicide working on it.

But why would he want
to run away in the first place?

MASON:
What makes you think

he ran away?

Maybe James has some wild idea

of clearing himself
by playing detective.

Thanks, Gertie.

Didn't you tell him I was
a world-renowned detective?

(Mason chuckles)

That is so, isn't it?

Well?

Well, it's a little early
for results.

There's nothing reported yet
on the people you named--

Dr. Lang, daughter Gretchen,
and the Hudson Bradshaws,

and nothing from the man
checking the jewelry stores

with the description you gave me

of the diamond clip
Mrs. James was wearing,

but Dexter, the man James says

crumpled the station wagon's
left front fender

three or four days back?

We reached him by phone
at a motel in Ensenada.

He confirms the story and says
he'll testify if we need him.

That's good, provided
the crime lab doesn't find

anything else on the car.

Well, they haven't yet,
according to my contact.

But Perry, isn't it possible
another car was involved?

There are a lot of them around
like James's.

(phone buzzes)

Yes, Gertie?

Oh, put him through.

It's him.

Randolph, where
in the name of...

Now wait a minute,
let me take care of that.

I've already assigned
investigators.

You can give us a description

of the fisherman with the dog,
can't you?

Now just come back here and...

Randolph, wait...

Hello?

He's still determined to play
do-it-yourself detective?

Yes, but I'm going to stop him.

How are you gonna find him?

Simple. I'll just
go fishing for him.

Ah, Mr. Devlin.

Have you heard about Mr. James?

Yes, minutes ago,
at the airport.

Well, the test records
seem to be all complete

except for one page of data
on run .

I have it here.

Oh. Danke schon.

Dr. Lang? What's all this
in the papers?

Natalie dead,
Randolph a fugitive.

I'm afraid it's all true,
Mr. Devlin.

Natalie is dead

and already the police have
been here twice this morning

looking for Randolph.

Well, that's...
that's incredible.

GRETCHEN: Last night,
Randolph came here.

The safe was open, and while
he was checking to see

what was taken,
he was knocked unconscious.

The formula's gone?

No, that's the incredible part!

Nothing is gone.

I gather then, uh,
you've seen Randolph.

Well, what does he say
about Natalie?

He doesn't know
who ran her down.

In that case, why doesn't he
give himself up?

When-When Mrs. James was k*lled,

Randolph was fishing,

and near him was
another fisherman with a dog.

Someone he doesn't know,

but he believes that this man
can prove

that he never left
the beach until much later.

So he is trying to find him.

A fisherman with a dog.

He shouldn't be
too hard to find...

should he?

(waves crashing)

Hi.

How they biting tonight?

Say, uh...

Say, you haven't happened
to notice

a-a guy with a dog who, uh...

Perry, what are you doing here?

I'm here to accompany you
to police headquarters.

No. I'm not giving myself up.
Not yet.

Don't you realize
that in this state

flight is evidence of guilt,
and that by running away,

you've jeopardized your case?

Not to mention
your personal danger.

The police won't hesitate
to sh**t

if they think it necessary.

I can't help that, Perry!

If I can't prove I didn't leave
the beach, I'm dead anyway.

- Dead?
- Yes,

because it was my station wagon
that k*lled Natalie.

That hasn't been determined yet,
as far as I know.

It will be.

You see,
I lied about that fender.

We've talked to the man you said
backed into it,

and he corroborates your story.

Yes, yes, yes, but I had it
fixed the next day.

How about Natalie
being run down?

Did you lie about that, too?

No.

I didn't k*ll her, Perry.
I swear I didn't,

but don't you see?

I can't give myself up.

I can't admit I knew it was
my station wagon that k*lled her

without first trying to find
the one thing that can clear me:

that man with the dog who...

Perry. Perry, look!

PERRY: Oh, good evening.

Howdy!

Tell me, you think the fishing
will be as good tonight

as it was last night?

Well, I hope so.

Were you here last night?

JAMES: No, but I was.

Remember? Over by the rocks?

MAN: Don't anyone move, please.

Lieutenant Anderson,
Los Angeles police.

Hello, Perry.

Lieutenant.

Randolph James?

I have a warrant here,
Mr. James,

charging you
with first-degree m*rder.

...and now,
as to motive, Your Honor,

the State will show that
in order to keep

this new antibiotic developed
by the Lang-James Laboratory,

a low-cost, broad-spectrum
antibiotic whose monetary value

could run into literally
millions of dollars,

in order to keep that,

indeed, in order to keep
the laboratory at all,

it was necessary
for the defendant to get hold

of his wife's controlling
stock interest,

even if so doing meant
the deliberate, calculated,

cold-blooded commission
of a m*rder.

We exchanged good-evenings
as we passed.

Oh, you knew Mrs. James?

No.

The family I cooked for were

the only people I knew
in The Colony.

I see. Go on with your account,
Mrs. Pennyworth.

Well, it wasn't a moment or two
later that I heard

the banshee noise of tires.

I-I turned and, uh, screamed,

but it was too late.

It was too late.

BURGER: But you did see
the deceased struck down,

and you did see the vehicle
that struck her?

Yes, it was a station wagon like
one my husband used to have.

That's how I was able
to describe it to the police.

And you also saw the driver
of that station wagon?

A man wearing an old felt hat

pulled down
over part of his face.

BURGER: Is this man
in this courtroom now?

Well, Mrs. Pennyworth?

Oh, no. I was wrong once,

and I'm not taking any chances
of being wrong again.

If he's here, I can't say so.

Well, at least she didn't
identify you again, Mr. Mason.

That's all.

JUDGE: Mr. Mason?

No questions.

And did you personally supervise
the laboratory tests

on the station wagon,
Lieutenant Anderson?

Yes, sir.

And what did these tests reveal?

Hmm, very little at first

because the front of the station
wagon had been washed off.

BURGER: Washed off?

You mean evidence may have been
obliterated or removed?

Yes, sir, but we finally
did find something.

Impacted in a crack
in the chrome trim was

a fragment of material,
which further tests proved

was torn from the clothing

the deceased was wearing
when she was k*lled.

It was about : ,
maybe a little after,

when he drove up
by the sea wall.

BURGER: And did you notice
anything unusual

about his appearance,
Mr. Witcoe?

(chuckling): No.

He had his fishing gear
just like always

and that old felt hat he wore.

An old felt hat like...
this one, Mr. Witcoe?

Yeah. Just like that.

Now, referring to
his station wagon.

Did you notice
anything unusual about that?

Any indications
of a recent accident, perhaps?

You mean like a crumpled
front fender?

No, they were both okay... then.

Thank you.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Is it true, Mr. Witcoe, that on,
uh, numerous occasions,

you boasted to other surfers
that you were friendly,

more than friendly, in fact,
with Natalie James?

I might have.

MASON: And that you were
going to Hawaii with her?

WITCOE: Could be.

MASON: And that you got
money from her?

WITCOE (laughing): Yeah, yeah,
a lousy $ bucks

to hang onto my wagon.

MASON: That's funny.

A rumor I heard put the figure

closer to, uh,
$ , , Mr. Witcoe.

One-hundred-sixty dollars.
That's all I got.

That's all!

Then where did the other figure
come from? Out of thin air?

Twenty thousand dollars
would be well worth k*lling for,

wouldn't it, Mr. Witcoe?

Sure, sure, sure, maybe,
but no... I didn't.

You left the beach
and the defendant

at least a half hour
before Mrs. James's death?

Yes, unfortunately,

for if I had stayed,
I could prove

that Mr. James never left
the beach.

MASON: On leaving, did you say
something to the effect

that such a woman,
meaning Mrs. James,

should not be allowed to exist?

Yes.

And afterwards, did you,
by any chance,

take steps to see to it
that she ceased to exist?

Mr. Mason,
my life has been devoted

to saving lives,
not taking them.

After leaving the beach,

I walked around The Colony
for hours

trying to think of a way
our new antibiotic

and our laboratory could be
saved from Hudson Bradshaw.

You're not able
to tell us, then,

whether the defendant did
or did not leave the beach

about the time
Mrs. James was k*lled?

Well, like I said,

I was too busy fishing
to pay any mind to him.

He could have left and come back
or not left, for all I know.

Thank you, sir. Mr. Mason?

You enjoy surf fishing,
I take it,

being out, uh,
two evenings in succession?

Oh, I go all the time.

What is your favorite surf fish?

My favorite?

Oh, I'd say, uh, bonita.

MASON: Not yellowtail?

FISHERMAN: Yeah, that's
a good one, too.

MASON: And what is
your favorite bait: mullet?

FISHERMAN: Yeah, mullet.

Your Honor, this hardly seems
the time or place

for two old anglers to be
exchanging fishing information.

No further questions.

Hi, Perry.

Paul, it doesn't make sense.

What doesn't?

The front of that station wagon
being washed off.

What are you talking about?

Well, we believe someone took
Randolph's station wagon

and k*lled Natalie
in a deliberate attempt

to incriminate him, right?
- Right.

Why would that someone
then turn around

and just as deliberately
try to un-incriminate him,

if that's the word?

You figure it out.

Look, the office said you had
a couple of jobs need doing.

First, put one of your
operatives on young Witcoe.

So then you think there's some
truth in that $ , rumor?

Yes, from the way he reacted.

But second and most pressing,
Paul, I want you to find

a place, or places,
near the Bay Shores Colony,

that sells blood worms.

Blood worms!?

The favorite bait
of surf fishermen.

Ask about a fisherman,

a regular customer
who owns a German Shepherd,

and then find the man
and bring him into court.

But you've already got the
fisherman with the dog in court!

No, Paul.

We have somebody who thinks

bonita and yellowtail are
surf fish,

and of course we know
they're not.

...and then it was
approximately five minutes

from the time she was
run down, Mrs. Bradshaw,

that Natalie James left
your house to walk home?

Yes.

Did she, while she was with you,

voice any apprehensions
about her personal safety?

Apprehensions?

She was about as far
from being apprehensive

as anybody could be.

With her stock suddenly worth
more than she thought it was

and various people
wanting it so badly.

BURGER: Did she tell you who
these various people were?

BRADSHAW: Yes.

My husband and hers.

BURGER: Hers being
the defendant Randolph James?

Yes, of course.

He was the only husband she had.

Mm-hmm, of course.

Your witness.

I believe
the decedent was wearing

a valuable diamond clip at the
time of her death, Mr. Burger.

Now, since the State still has
that clip in its possession,

I would...

By all means, Mr. Mason,
be my guest.

Introduce it if you care to.

Thank you.

Now, do you recognize
this clip, Mrs. Bradshaw?

Yes, it's mine.

I loaned it
to Natalie that night.

MASON:
Were you in the habit

of lending Mrs. James
valuable jewelry?

No, but she said she wanted it

for an especially dressy
luncheon, so I let her take it.

I see.

And now, Mrs. Bradshaw,
I believe,

in your statement to the police,
you said,

four or five minutes
before Mrs. James left,

you looked at the beach
through the telescope

in your living room and saw
Randolph James there fishing.

Yes, I hoped that it would clear
him, but they said it didn't.

Could it have been less
than four or five minutes

before Mrs. James left
that you saw him?

I'd like to say so, Mr. Mason...
but I can't.

Mr. Bradshaw, if the Lang-James
antibiotic is only

of dubious value,
as you stated a moment ago,

why were you then so enraged

when Natalie James called
on your mobile phone

and told you the price
of her stock had gone up?

So you've been talking
to Miss Lang.

I was enraged
because we'd already made

a deal for the stock.

MASON:
Why didn't you simply tell her

you weren't interested
at the new price?

All right,
I wanted the antibiotic,

but how would k*lling Natalie
James help me get hold of it?

You knew Randolph James
usually left the ignition key

in his station wagon

when he went fishing,
didn't you?

HUDSON:
Yes.

MASON:
And that he usually remained

on the beach
for two or three hours?

HUDSON:
Yes.

Wouldn't employing the station
wagon to k*ll Mrs. James,

thus bringing about
Randolph James' conviction,

have helped you get hold
of the antibiotic, Mr. Bradshaw?

A convicted m*rder*r
can't inherit.

So couldn't you then
have purchased

the controlling stock
from Mrs. James' estate?

(chuckles)

Mr. Mason, I suppose I am
pretty ruthless businesswise,

but I'd never do a thing
like that in a thousand years.

Oh, uh, by the way,

why was Gretchen Lang
with you in your car?

I was trying to... well,
reassure her

that if I should get control
of the Lang-James Laboratories,

there'd be no change
in her father's position there.

You disagree, then, Mr. Devlin,
with Hudson Bradshaw's statement

that the antibiotic
is of dubious value?

I do most emphatically.

It has a potential
in the millions,

as proven by the ease with which
I raised the production money

in New York on the day
of Mrs. James' death.

Thank you.

Your Honor, may I have
a moment or two?

JUDGE:
Very well, Mr. Mason.

Perry, I found
the real fisherman.

He was on the beach
that night, but...

But what, Paul?

Mr. Converse.

Mr. Drake hasn't come in yet.

May I take the message?

I see, and you'll keep on trying
to find him.

Yes, I'll tell him.

Hmm.

Who was that, Gertie?

Well, the man
Mr. Drake had assigned

to run down some fake fisherman?

Is that it?

Only he seems
to have run out, he says.

- Oh, he'll be found
sooner or later. -(knocking)

Perry, I have got news.

Take a look at these.

Pawn tickets young Witcoe tried
to throw away on the beach.

One is for a $ , ring, the
other is for a $ , bracelet,

both taken from Natalie James.

What's his explanation?

That he used them to raise $
to get his station wagon fixed,

and is he scared.

He's so scared, he unburdened
himself of quite a bombshell.

What's that?

Near the beach

not half an hour before
Natalie James was run down,

Witcoe says he saw
Marion Devlin.

That's impossible.

Devlin was in New York.

I talked to him there myself.

Or did I?

Witcoe is either mistaken or
he's lying to save his own skin.

I was in New York that night,

and if you'd checked
with Allied Airlines

before accepting
his cock-and-bull story,

you'd have found that I arrived
at Inglewood on Flight

at exactly :
the next morning.

We did check with the airline,
and a Marion Devlin did arrive.

DEVLIN:
Well, then?

MASON: Mr. Devlin,
your New York receptionist--

she's on a vacation
in Hawaii, isn't she?

Yes... but what's that got
to do with anything?

I suggest she was
the Marion Devlin on Flight

en route to Hawaii.

Mr. Devlin...

I arranged with the court to
have an extra phone put in here.

Now, I'd like you to dial
your New York office.

JUDGE:
Go ahead, Mr. Devlin.

The area code number is
in case you've forgotten.

(phone rings)

MASON (echoing):
Hello.

Well, speak up, Mr. Devlin.

Ask me how things are
in New York.

Of course, I had
to have someone put

on your New York switchboard
to manage that.

But you did the same thing,
didn't you?

A bribed receptionist,
two switchboard keys open

simultaneously
on the switchboard--

that's all it took, wasn't it?

When did you arrange it,
Mr. Devlin,

when you made that long-distance
call from your home here

when you called New York
just a few minutes

before Randolph James made
his : call?

Yes, I- really was
in Bay Shores that night,

but not for the reason
you think.

The formula for the new
antibiotic was worth millions.

I wanted a copy of it
so I could deal myself in

regardless of what happened
with Bradshaw.

Then, it was you
who opened the laboratory safe?

I'd just photographed
the formula

and was putting it back
when Randolph came in.

I hit him and ran,
and that's all.

All, you mean, except
for k*lling Natalie James?

DEVLIN:
Oh, no, no, I didn't k*ll her,

but I can tell you who did,

tell you who I saw hosing off
the station wagon

that night by the sea wall...

Dr. Hans Lang.

While I was walking around
after leaving the beach,

I heard what I thought
was an accident.

At the scene, Mrs. James--
dead, I believed--

and a woman describing to
the police an old station wagon

driven by a man
wearing a felt hat,

uh, partially hiding his face.

And this man, you decided,
was Randolph James?

HANS: No, not until I reached
the beach and saw

his old station wagon,
fender crumpled

and on the side
a body-sized area

where the dust
has been swept off.

And so you washed off
all the remaining dust

in an effort to conceal this?

I was wrong twice--

first believing him guilty
and then trying to save him--

but it seemed to me then
an even greater wrong

that a man like him should die
on account of such a woman.

I am ready to atone, Mr. Mason,
in any way the law sees fit.

Perhaps you can clarify
something else.

On the next day, Dr. Lang,
were you the person

who telephoned the fisherman
who was on the beach that night,

and did you thr*aten
to sh**t his dog

if he ever fished again
at Bay Shores?

And the person who telephoned
this threat to k*ll your dog--

would you recognize his or
her voice if you heard it again?

Yes.

MASON: Have you heard
this voice any time today?

CONVERSE: Yes,
the voice belongs to the person

who calls himself Marion Devlin.

MASON:
Devlin.

Well, in that case

would you please take the stand
again, Mrs. Bradshaw?

How is it you didn't go out
to see what had happened--

a screech of tires,
a woman screaming,

an impact of car and body only
a short distance from your house

and only moments
after Natalie James had left?

I didn't hear anything.

I went out right after Natalie.

Out where and with whom?

Shall I tell you with whom,
Mrs. Bradshaw,

and wasn't the where
the Whispering Sands Inn?

All right, supposing that I did
have dinner with Marion Devlin,

is that so wrong?

MASON: And how many dinners
have you had with him-- , ?

Enough to give Natalie James
adequate grounds for blackmail?

Blackmail?

Do you recognize these,
Mrs. Bradshaw?

Your diamond ring,
your diamond bracelet.

Both were,
as was your diamond clip,

in Natalie James' possession.

I lent them to her.

Oh, no, you didn't.

You testified you weren't

in the habit
of lending her jewelry.

Do you recognize this,
Mrs. Bradshaw?

An old hat of your husband's,
but in the crown,

strands of your hair, left there

when you forced it down
over your head

to make it appear a man
was driving the station wagon

when you k*lled Natalie James.

No, how could I have used
the station wagon?

You took it before she arrived.

You'd hidden it near the house,
so all you had to do

was return it
after running her down.

Tell us about it.

Tell us how Devlin
then tried to help you

by frightening away
the fisherman

he thought might give
Randolph James an alibi.

Natalie was insatiable.

Night after night
she'd come down to my house.

She-She'd sit there drinking.

She asked for more and more.

All the rest of my life

she would have gone on
blackmailing me.

I had to k*ll her...

and I would have gotten
away with it

if it hadn't been
for your meddling!

For months I've known

that fisherman with the dog
was blind.

I knew he was blind,
I knew he was blind!

Hi, Perry.

Ah, Paul.

Don't tell me I'm not even going
to get one day off.

Fish away.

I just thought
you'd like to know

that Burger called the office
and said he'd recommended

a suspended sentence
for Dr. Lang

so he can carry on his work,

but now that he's got
that fake fisherman in custody,

he's gonna throw
the book at him.

Seems the guy is a distant
cousin of Marion Devlin's

with a record as long
as that line of yours.

Good.

Perry, tell me something.

What first gave you the idea
the guy was a fake?

Oh, when he testified
he was too busy fishing

to pay any attention
to Randolph James.

Good fisherman
always keeps his eye

on the other fishermen
around him.

All right,
so I'm not a fisherman.

So why?

To make sure
they're not catching

any bigger fish than he is.

Ask a stupid question...

(theme song playing)