09x09 - The Case of the Wrathful Wraith

[bunniefuu]

DEPUTY DA:
And prove that she k*lled her husband.

Your Honor,
there are other incontrovertible facts.

Twelve witnesses saw this sailboat,
with husband and wife aboard,

leave the starting line at the regatta.

And eight witnesses, six hours later,
boarded this boat adrift in a calm sea

and the only person aboard
was the defendant.

Now, the police have found
the victim's blood on deck.

They found a radio
that hadn't been used to call for help.

And the only defense that we hear
is that Jamison Selff,

an expert yachtsman,
just disappeared over the side.

Your Honor, I ask that Louise Selff
be bound over to Superior Court

to stand trial
on a charge of first-degree m*rder.

[SPECTATORS MURMURING]

Here he comes.

REPORTER: Hey, what's the idea
of tying up this phone?

HARBERSON:
Tell your troubles to your city editor.

There you are, Ted.
Go to it, boy, ha, ha.

Rewrite.

The Deputy DA went after Louise Selff
with both barrels.

Starting with the insurance policy,

she brow-b*at her old man
into taking out six weeks

before she tossed him into the bay.

Then he put on witnesses
that gave a blow-by-blow account

of the argument Selff and his bride had
at the yacht club the night before.

Yeah, any minute now.

And so in the absence
of sufficient evidence,

the charge against the defendant,
Louise Selff, is dismissed.

[GAVEL BANGS]

Court stands adjourned.

Louise, darling, I'm so happy.

- Talk about getting away with m*rder.
- It pays to have a good lawyer.

WOMAN:
Look at her, still putting on an act.

You won, Mr. Mason.
But poor, blind justice took a b*ating.

I hope you sleep well.

My dear,
my doors are always open to you.

[SPECTATORS CHATTERING]

[REPORTERS CHATTERING]

My dear, your husband has spoken
to me from the other side.

I've helped you before,
I can do it again.

[LOUISE BREATHING HEAVILY]

[WAILING]

Mercy Hospital.

[CAR APPROACHING]

- Aah! Rosemary!
- What is it, Louise?

Well, I thought I'd come over
and light the home fires.

Who wants to spend two weeks in a
hospital and home to a cold house?

- Louise, are you all right?
- Of course.

It's just that across the room
in this light I thought I saw Jamison.

But then he would have had
something cruel to say,

or perhaps he wouldn't have spoken
to me at all.

Sometimes he didn't, you know.

Sometimes he didn't speak to me
for weeks.

Rosemary, I want that portrait
of Jamison taken down.

Of course, dear.

I suppose Rosemary has told you

that I've started
going through Jamison's papers,

to help thin things out.

LOUISE: I don't know what I would
have done without the help of you two.

Rosemary has promised
to stay for a while.

I'd like to feel noble about it,

but the fact is
I'm still your indigent friend.

With the mortgage due on the hotel

and everything coming down
around my ears.

Heh, remember, Louise,

the fine ladies we were going to be
when we were in school?

Were Jamison's finances
really in such awful shape?

Pretty muddled, but you don't have to
worry, not with the insurance money.

I took the liberty of having Mason
contact the company.

The money should be in your hands
within a week.

- Here, I'll show you the letter.
LOUISE: What are these?

I stacked them there
to throw them out.

Uh, Rosemary has been a big help.

- These are written to me.
- Louise, don't look at them.

They're just from cranks,
all that nonsense in the newspapers.

"Riches gained by m*rder.

Woman who would k*ll
her own husband for his money.

Murderess."

Thou shall not k*ll.

Louise, you must ignore
those letters.

You feel you still need to establish
some sort of defense,

but the hearing is over.

Only the court hearing, Mr. Mason.
I'm still on trial.

You saw the newspapers.

I can't go on living this way.

You can't let the kind of people
who write crank letters

and scandal sheets imprison you.

Louise, Jamison was the kind of man
who collected enemies.

Any one of them
could have k*lled him.

That's not true. I was the only one
who really knew him.

To everyone else
he was the personification of charm.

Not to me. We had a mutual
disrespect for one another.

Can't you understand
how I feel, Mr. Mason?

I have to clear myself and I can't,
not unless Jamison's k*ller is found.

I understand, Louise.
And of course I'll do everything I can.

And, Della, I'd better get you home.

Look at that rain. That's what I get
for believing the weatherman.

Your lovely dress, you'll ruin it.

Heh, let me get you a raincoat.

Jamison always kept
an old slicker right in the closet.

There's no raincoat here.

Jamison's raincoat, it's gone!

- I'll go upstairs and get--
- But I'm positive it was there.

Did one of the servants borrow it?

ROSEMARY:
Ah, no, of course not, Louise.

Don't you remember?
You let them all go before I came.

- It doesn't matter.
- But it does matter.

I saw it there and now it's gone!

Uh, don't worry about it.
We'll run for the car. Good night.

Really, Louise, it doesn't matter.

[DOOR BANGS]

Rosemary. Rosemary!

[WHIMPERING]

- Louise!
- The door!

- Somebody slammed the door!
- Calm down. It's all right, Louise.

I'm here. What happened?

What's the matter? What happened?

- Louise, what happened?
- Somebody slammed the door.

Oh, no, dear.
It was just the wind, that's all.

Now be calm.

[WIND WHISTLING]

Are you better?

What are you doing up at this hour?
It's after .

I couldn't sleep.

I decided I wanted to come down.

- There was something I wanted to do.
- In the middle of the night?

The time doesn't make any difference.

Rosemary,
do you remember the time

that we were going
over the inventory of those things,

just before they took me to jail?

Well, I ran across
the diamond cufflinks,

the ones I gave Jamison
just before we were married.

I remember them. They're beautiful.

I got to thinking.

I want Ralph to have them.

He admired them so
and he's been so decent.

- Louise, can't this wait till morning?
- I thought I'd wrap them.

I can't sleep
and it just gives me something to do.

- Louise, uh--
- I remember shopping for these.

Gone.

Just like Jamison's raincoat,
they're gone!

You've been upset, dear.
You might have mislaid them.

Mislaid them? They were there!

There's some explanation, dear.
Your memory's playing tricks on you.

There's nothing wrong
with my memory.

Someone's doing this to me.

Louise?

MASON: I realize that Mrs. Selff
has been through an ordeal.

And being a sensitive woman,
has suffered more than most.

But I never had the impression
that she was unbalanced.

But she's been acting so strangely.
Why, she's refused to leave her room.

I didn't know what to do.
So I called Ralph and--

And when she wouldn't talk to me,
I called you.

These things that are missing,
uh, thank you,

do you think
she's capable of hiding them?

I don't know.

Louise has always lived
such a protected life.

She seems to think we're in
some sort of a plot against her,

the usual paranoiac delusion.

You're the only person
she really trusts.

And this newspaper didn't help any.
I took it up to her without unfolding it.

It's enough to send anyone off.

BALFOUR: Can't you do something
to stop that man, that Harberson?

- Yes, he has got to be stopped.
LOUISE: I don't want him stopped.

MASON:
Louise.

I thought I saw you arrive,
Mr. Mason.

Now, I've decided
to go see Ms. Saint Sutton.

Oh, Louise.

Louise, I can understand
this compulsion you have

to absolve yourself.

But what you're proposing
makes no sense at all.

If I don't go,

- they'll say I'm afraid.
- They'll say?

Who are they?

A scandal sheet reporter?
A publicity-seeking fraud?

I use to see her, you know.

I can't tell you why anymore than
I could explain it to Jamison.

Except that...

Well, she was easy to talk to.

I told her things,

she sipped tea and listened.

It was quiet there.

Her whole house
smelled of fresh bread.

I was surprised
she'd even talk to me.

Jamison made
all sorts of trouble for her.

Louise, do you trust me?

Then you can't trust them.
Now, don't do this.

You need a change, a trip, perhaps.

We can go to my hotel.

It's closed for the season, but you
always loved the woods and the lake.

- No, that's where I met Jamison.
- Louise,

don't go to see Willa Saint Sutton.

Don't give that reporter a chance
to keep this persecution going.

You're being stupid, Louise.
I hate to say this,

but you're proposing to make yourself
into a sideshow, a freak!

I haven't slept in so long.

Not really slept.

I didn't get anywhere
with Harberson's managing editor.

"When the public stops wanting it,
I'll stop giving it to them."

- That was the sum and substance.
- That's what I expected.

And my check on Harberson
spells it out.

He's always been with the fringe
papers, never made the grade.

But he was aboard the boat
that found the Selff yacht adrift

and consequently
lucked into a big story.

Now, when the decent papers won't
touch it, he's riding it for all it's worth.

- Did, uh, Della get in touch with you?
- No.

She called twice.
She seemed upset about something.

- She left this number.
- Thanks, Clay.

She was going to drop off some
papers for Louise Selff's signature.

Paul, do you have some change?

If I know Della,
she's probably run out of gas

for the third time this month
and had to walk in the rain to a phone.

That girl can remember the details
of a brief four years old,

but she can't remember
that cars run on gasoline.

[LINE BUZZING]

Busy.

Well, here's the, uh, detail
on Willa Saint Sutton.

She was a vaudeville hoofer
as Wilma Waters,

played the borscht circuit
as a mentalist,

wrote a lovelorn column
for a New Jersey weekly

and made the papers
a few years ago

when she tried to open
a nudist camp in North Carolina.

Well, there are no surprises.

[LINE RINGS]

- Della?
- Perry, I'm at Louise's home.

She's just left with Rosemary.

I tried to get them to wait
until I could reach you, but--

I thought she'd given up the idea.

I don't know whose idea it was, but
I didn't get any help from Rosemary.

She just said that if it would make
Louise feel any better,

there was no harm in it.

Do you know
where Willa Saint Sutton lives?

Good, Paul and I will meet you there.

Mrs. Selff?

Everything is prepared.

- Won't you at least wait for Perry?
- Get a sh*t of us going in.

There will be no pictures.

Only Mrs. Selff will enter.

Just hold your horses, sister.
You promised me I could come in.

I promised you could be present.
I didn't say where.

Sit down, Mr. Harberson,
and be quiet.

Or I'll have you tossed out
on your rear!

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Pardon me, lady. My car
seems to have stalled out there.

- Any chance I could use the phone?
- I guess it's all right.

- It's in the back. In the kitchen.
- Thank you.

[CAR DOOR CLOSES]

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

- Where's Louise?
- She's in there with Ms. Saint Sutton.

- I didn't think it would hurt.
- I'm taking her out.

Look, you sounded off to my boss this
morning and I let you get away with it.

If you think you can bust in here
and give orders, you're nuts.

My paper doesn't take kindly
to the press being pushed around.

If you represent the press
then we're all in danger.

- You got the integrity of a jackal.
- That's slander!

Print it. Now step aside.

Quiet. Now, keep your voices down.

The spirits are very close tonight.
They've been waiting for us, waiting.

[LOUISE SCREAMING]

What is it, Louise?

- What's wrong?
- Jamison's here. I saw him.

And Willa went out
and that's when I heard his voice.

Oh, I'm sorry, Louise,
I'm so sorry I let you come.

He talked to me. He talked to me.

You spoiled it. All of you.

Louise, you must understand
what has happened.

You saw your dead husband's
picture.

I know, I know. But I heard him.

I heard his voice telling me--

MASON: No, not his voice.
It may have sounded like it.

No. It was Jamison's voice.
Cold, biting, Jamison's voice.

Perry.

- That door leads to where?
- To the kitchen.

But nobody has been there.

- Come on, Louise.
- I heard him. I heard him.

Louise, you just imagined
it was his voice.

He told me to look in the desk.
"It's in the bottom drawer.

There is a letter and an envelope.

Do what it says.

It will repay you for all the misery
I've caused you."

Jamison said it, he did!

[SIGHING]

It's addressed to you.
Is that your husband's handwriting?

Yes. Yes, it is!

Perry, what's going on?
You think Jamison Selff's alive?

That or someone wants
Louise to believe he is.

Then you do believe the letter
was written by Jamison Selff?

BALFOUR:
Yes, it's unquestionably his writing.

Do you know the agreement
it refers to,

the one Mrs. Selff
was to get from the bank?

Jamison was involved in some sort of
experimental project with these people,

the Arcott Laboratories.

Of course, then, he was
always mixed up in things like this.

The letter mentioned
a sum of $ , to be paid

by the th of the month
for a fifty-fifty interest in the process.

Yes, and Louise is determined
to pay it.

That would be in just six days.
Should she pay it?

I don't know.
She's under no legal obligation.

And who knows
what this scheme is?

Well, until I've had a chance to check
on the Arcott company,

I certainly can't advise her.

You know, Mr. Mason,
it's a strange irony.

Jamison treated her like a child.

He was brutal to her
when he was alive.

And now I see the same tyranny
from the grave.

How long has it taken you to develop
this laser process, Mr. Arcott?

Nearly six years, working
on other things at the same time.

Now...

Now, if you'll keep a close eye
on these blocks,

I think you'll get a surprise.

The blocks, Mr. Drake,
now watch closely.

[ENERGY CRACKLING]

The fusion is absolute.

I think you can see
the commercial implications.

For the construction business alone
it's tremendous,

but can it be made
commercially feasible?

Well, naturally there are a few steps
to work out from the lab to production.

And you were counting
on Jamison Selff

for the money to do that?

We made a deal. Yes.

BALFOUR:
I believe you're sincere, Mr. Arcott.

But I think you are rather naive
about some of the problems.

I'm sick and tired
of being patronized.

Despite your urbane manner
and your overly polite concern,

what you're saying is,

"You mean well, kid, but I'm not gonna
let you take Mrs. Selff for a ride.”

No one's appointed me mediator,

but the way you gentlemen
have been attacking one another

won't solve one thing.

What is your capital position
if you don't get money from Louise?

What bank is gonna carry
your paper?

Why haven't you made
a market survey?

You know more than I do
about everything,

you ought to answer
your own questions.

If you wanna make a joke

out of a $ , investment,
that's your business.

Mrs. Selff, I came here because
Mr. Mason called and asked me to.

I wish I hadn't.
Now, it comes to this,

if you wanna take up the option
it's okay by me,

and if you want to listen to Balfour,
that's okay by me too.

- You were rude, Ralph, really.
- You can do as you like, Louise.

But it seems to me you can't afford
to take such a risk.

Any scheme of this sort
is a risk, of course.

The process appears to have
a good chance if given time.

"Given time."
That's what I told you, Louise.

I guess I'd better not do it,
Mr. Mason.

I'm really not in a position
to make such a large investment.

As Ralph says,
it might be too long a wait for a return.

- Well, at least we have a decision.
- After two hours.

- I think I'll call it a night.
- Let me see you out.

- Oh, good night. Good night, Louise.
LOUISE: Thanks again.

[PHONE RINGS]

Why don't you come up to my place
for a nightcap?

Thanks,
but I have a friend waiting out front.

- Well, you're both invited.
LOUISE: Jamison!

[GASPS]

MAN [OVER PHONE]:
Louise? Louise?

[LINE DISCONNECTS]

Whoever it was hung up.

Perry, this is one nightcap
I'd just as soon skip.

At this hour I like my drinks served
by a barmaid with long eyelashes.

Sorry. No barmaid.

Ralph Balfour's invitation
was for drinks only.

[THUDDING INSIDE]

Balfour? Balfour?

Can't see a thing.
The blinds are drawn.

[PANTING]

Housebreaker.
I walked right into him.

Where's your phone?
I'll call the police.

In the bedroom.

It's lucky you came along.
Your banging on the door scared him.

He went out the back.

- Can you identify him?
- Ugh, no.

I couldn't see him in the dark.
He swung on me with a flashlight.

Obviously was looking for something.
There's no money there.

- What do you keep in the desk?
- Oh, papers, letters.

It's gone.

The letter I got from Louise.

The one she found
in Jamison's desk.

MAN [WHISPERING]:
Louise. Louise.

Louise. Listen to me, Louise.

I want you to give Arcott the money.

[SCREAMING]

Louise! What is it? What happened?

[PANTING]

- He att*cked me.
- Who att*cked you?

I don't know. It was in the dark.
I couldn't see.

There's nobody there. What's this?

Jamison's raincoat.

The one that disappeared.

Louise was raving,

insisting she wanted to make
the deal with Arcott

as soon as it could be arranged.

If the doctor hadn't calmed her, I don't
know what she might have done.

Mrs. Selff has suffered
a very severe shock.

It, uh, may have been self-induced,
I don't know.

We'll be able to tell by her response
to a day of forced rest.

Tomorrow she may be perfectly fine.

There's, uh, some sort of business
that she's anxious to transact,

or I'd keep her quiet longer.

Then you don't believe
there's any derangement?

No. No, I don't.

Just keep her quiet as possible,
I don't think you'll have any trouble.

- And keep her under sedation.
- I'll go on up.

- And thank you, doctor.
- Thank you. Goodbye.

And don't worry,
I'll take good care of Louise.

LOUISE:
What are you doing?

Where's the g*n, Louise?

I don't know.

Come on now, dear.
Tell me where it is.

I know you've always kept it
in the drawer.

I'm not going to tell you.

Louise, dear, it's dangerous
to have a g*n around.

- Especially when--
- When I'm crazy?

I need the g*n, Rosemary.
I need it to protect myself.

From whom, dear?

From Jamison.

- Jamison's dead, Louise.
- No, I heard him.

I thought for a moment
I saw him out there.

He's here, Rosemary. He's here.

- You need some fresh air.
- No.

[ROSEMARY SIGHS]

All right, dear.
Now you try and get some rest.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

No. No.
This is Rosemary Welch, Mr. Arcott.

No, I'm sorry, she's asleep now.

Does she realize
tomorrow is the deadline?

I haven't heard from Mason.

Well, Mr. Mason is due here
later this evening.

I'm sure he'll be in touch with you.

[LINE DISCONNECTS]

[RINGS]

Hello?

Oh, I've been trying to call you,
but your line was busy.

Arcott? Is he still...?

Well, how is she?

I left her just a few minutes ago.

She insisted she'd seen
Jamison down in the garden.

I know, I know.

It must be the effect of the dr*gs,
but she's so insistent it upsets me.

Yes, I told her Mr. Mason
is on his way over,

that seemed to quiet her.

All right. Thanks for calling, Rosemary.
Good night.

[FOOTSTEPS RETREATING]

Louise, I want--

[SCREAMS]

[g*nsh*t]

[g*nsh*t]

[LOUISE SCREAMS]

Jamison Selff.

Naturally, the district attorney
presumes your guilt

and treats you as if you were guilty.

But you know you're not.

But I don't know. I saw him.

I had the g*n in my hand.

And that the only thing
I can remember

is Rosemary leaning over me,
holding my head in her lap.

Now, listen to me, Louise,
and listen carefully.

Immediately after
your husband's death

you told me without hesitation

that you did not fire that g*n
before you fainted.

I thought it was that way then.

You knew it was. You were positive.

He's dead.

Jamison's really dead.

Did you see anyone else
on the balcony?

Could anyone else have gotten
to the balcony

through one of the other bedrooms?

Apparently,
that's how your husband got there.

Louise, you must fight back.

You understand what I'm saying?

Yes, I understand.

But to go through it all again,

I don't think I can do it.

Of course you can, Louise.

[WHIMPERS]

You have to.

Yes, sir.

According to the lab report,
the b*llet was fired at very close range.

BURGER:
When you arrived at the scene,

did you speak to Mrs. Selff?

I questioned her, naturally.

And how would you describe her
mental condition at that time?

Objection, Your Honor.

- The witness is not a psychiatrist.
- Objection sustained.

I'll rephrase the question.

When you questioned Mrs. Selff
were her answers cogent and direct?

No, sir.
She was extremely agitated.

Apparently in shock.

Mr. Balfour,
it's already been established

that the decedent, Jamison Selff,
took out a $ , insurance policy

on his life less than six months ago.

- You were, of course, aware of this?
- Yes.

In your capacity
as financial advisor to Mr. Selff,

- did you recommend this purchase?
- No, I did not.

Mr. Selff's financial status
was precarious.

I felt he could not afford
the premium.

Did he give you any reason
for disregarding your advice?

There were other considerations.
There was more than money involved.

BURGER: Really, Mr. Balfour?
What else was involved?

Well, uh, personalities.
When a man is married...

Oh.

Did Mrs. Louise Selff, the defendant,
uh, enter into this decision?

I don't think Mrs. Selff's concern
about the insurance

was in any way unusual.

Ha, possibly not.
My question to you, sir,

is of your own knowledge,
did Mrs. Louise Selff

exert any pressure on her husband
to buy this insurance policy?

BALFOUR:
There was no question of pressure.

You're objecting to the word.
Would "persuasion” do better?

Did she persuade her husband
to buy the insurance?

Persuade? Jamison?

She wouldn't dare.
She was afraid of him.

BURGER: Then what consideration
led him to buy the policy?

Jamison told me that Louise gave him
the money from her personal savings.

I see.

Then Mrs. Jamison Selff actually paid
for that life insurance policy

which named her as beneficiary.

No more questions, Mr. Balfour.

We need some good news, Paul.

Well, this news depends
on the point of view.

I finally caught up
with our missing witness.

- The, uh, little man who ran away?
- Hmm, thank you.

His name's Ed Allison

and right now he's in Hamilton Burger's
office answering questions.

CLAY:
Right this way, please.

- Mr. Harberson?
- That's right.

- I'm the, uh, one who phoned.
- Sit down.

- Just coffee.
- Coffee.

Look, there's that reporter.

That woman, Paul,
I wanna know who she is.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Yes, I'm an investigator
with Interwealth Insurance,

- assigned to the Selff case.
- The Selff case?

When did your company decide
to investigate the Selff case?

When the claim was filed.

Uh, you see, with a policy this new
and this big and no corpus delicti,

it, uh, was practically a*t*matic.

And you were assigned, were you not,
to keep an eye on Mrs. Louise Selff?

That's right. Yes.
She was the beneficiary.

If there was fraud
and if her husband was still alive

he'd be showing up
sooner or later to get his share.

In, uh, this business you get to the
point where you recognize a pattern.

BURGER:
And you were confident, then,

that Mrs. Selff was indeed
working with her husband in this?

That was the assumption, yes,
and we did pretty well with it.

- Except she decided to k*ll him.
- Objection, Your Honor.

The last remark will be stricken
from the record.

BURGER:
Take the witness, Mr. Mason.

According to your testimony,
Mr. Allison,

you have been assigned to the Selff
case for two months and two days.

- Is that correct?
- Mm-hm. Yes.

MASON:
In the space of all that time

have you uncovered one scrap
of conclusive evidence to prove

that Jamison and Louise Selff
had worked together

on a plan to defraud
your company?

Well, uh, there certainly was a plan
to defraud, wasn't there?

And who else had anything to gain?

I'll ask the questions, Mr. Allison.

I'd appreciate your answering them.

Now once again, have you any
evidence to implicate Mrs. Selff?

I, uh...

No, I haven't.

Now, Mr. Allison, did you
at any time observe Mrs. Selff

in the commission of
any act or deed

to indicate that she did, in fact,
know that her husband was alive?

No, I haven't.
But that doesn't mean anything now,

I've seen cases
where you would never suspect fraud--

That's enough, Mr. Allison.

MRS. STALLMAN:
Sure, that's him, Jamison Selff,

but when he stayed at my house
he had a mustache

and his hair needed cutting.

And he only called himself James,
that's all.

- Never gave nobody no last name.
- I see.

Now, how long did
Mr. Selff rent a room

at your establishment,
Mrs. Stallman?

Uh, five weeks.
In and out, but he paid his rent.

Well, what do you mean
"in and out"?

Well, I mean he didn't keep
no regular working hours

and he didn't make any friends
around the place.

- He had no friends at all?
- No.

But every so often
he'd phone somebody.

MASON: Did you ever overhear
any of these phone conversations?

Yes, sir. Is this where you
want me to tell about,

you know,
what I told you in your office?

MASON: Missus--
- About the time

he saw me and hung up?

Just tell us, please, in your own words
what you overheard.

Uh, yes, sir.

Well, I walked in on him
and he was on the phone

and he was saying, "Louise. Louise."

Soft like that, you know.

Then he saw me and he hung up.

Thank you, Mrs. Stallman.
Cross examine.

Mrs. Stallman,
we haven't had an opportunity

of discussing your testimony before,

but I can see
that you're a very perceptive woman

with an excellent memory,
so I'm sure you can be most helpful.

Now, you told us the decedent
didn't give you a last name.

Did he ever offer any reason
for this?

Well, he went into
some big song and dance

about how he didn't know
what his last name was.

Said he figured he had
some kind of amnesia.

- Did he tell that to, uh, other tenants?
- Yeah.

He didn't say much to anyone.

But, uh, when he did, that's what
he talked about, his amnesia.

She was scared sick of her husband,
I can tell you that.

This was, of course, prior to her
husband's disappearance?

That's right.

First time she came she wanted me
to help her find some pearls she'd lost.

She was desperate, said he'd be
furious if he found out they were lost.

Well, they turned up
just like I said they would.

And then later she told me that
he'd used them as security on a loan,

without telling her.

Did you ever meet the decedent,
Mr. Jamison Selff?

Uh-huh.

He came busting into my place
one day, called me all kinds of names

slapped her, right in the face.

And then he told her she was a--
Let me see.

"A childish idiot,"
that's what he called her.

Miss Welch,
did the defendant actually say to you

that she felt that she had been visited
by the ghost of her dead husband?

Will you answer the question, please,
Miss Welch?

Well, yes.

She did say she had seen him,

but she'd been wakened
from a sound sleep.

You mean she was
simply recounting a dream?

No. No, it wasn't that exactly.

She felt he had come back.

Oh, but you don't understand.

So many strange things
had been happening.

Objects disappearing,
the letter from Jamison,

his voice on the telephone,
the séance.

But weren't you a witness
to these incidents?

Yes. Yes, I was.

And did you yourself ever feel that
these were ghostly manifestations?

ROSEMARY:
No, of course not.

But that doesn't mean
there was anything wrong.

Miss Welch, are you trying to say

it's possible for a normal mind
to believe in ghosts?

[LOUISE WHIMPERING]

Your Honor.

Your Honor, could we possibly have
a brief recess?

And could we ask defense counsel
to join us in your chambers?

JUDGE: Mr. Mason,
will you approach the bench?

Your Honor, I'm not enjoying
torturing that woman out there.

I'm convinced
that the defendant in this case

did indeed m*rder her husband,
but I'm not an ogre.

And I think the ends of justice
could be better served in another way.

How?

I'm convinced that
she was not mentally responsible

at the time of the act.

You're suggesting
she was unbalanced. Heh.

You're a fine prosecutor, Hamilton,

but I question your credentials
as a psychiatrist.

JUDGE:
What about the case you presented?

That she and her husband conspired
to defraud the insurance company,

and that she k*lled him
to avoid sharing the money?

All right, but let's suppose
that Jamison Selff forced her

to take part in that scheme,

and that her mind gave way
under the strain.

What are you proposing?

I'm proposing that you bind her
over to Superior Court.

I will then accept a plea of
not guilty by reason of insanity

and we'll stipulate that Louise Selff
be confined for treatment

to a proper institution.

It seems worth considering, Perry.

Your client does seem to be
at the breaking point.

That may be, but it's a long way
from being psychotic.

No, Your Honor, I'm not interested in
a deal, no matter how well-intended.

Why, Perry? Why not?

Because I reject
all your assumptions,

that Louise was in on the fraud,

that she k*lled her husband,
and that she's mentally incompetent.

I hope you can substantiate all that,
Perry,

choosing to subject your client
to further strain...

I would rather subject her
to the stress of this hearing

than to confinement
in a mental institution.

You make an excellent cup of coffee,
Your Honor.

Mr. Balfour,
as Jamison Selff's financial advisor,

what was your attitude
towards the option deal

he made with Arcott?

I'm not against speculative deals,
per se,

if you can afford to lose the money
if things don't work out.

Then you regarded Arcott's process
as speculative?

BALFOUR: Of course.
On paper it looked promising,

but until it was developed
and tested and proved...

But Jamison Selff didn't have money
with which to speculate.

He was facing bankruptcy.
His credit was gone.

He stood to lose everything,
including the Arcott deal,

unless he came up with the money
before the option deadline.

Then that could have given Jamison
Selff a motive for dying, couldn't it?

With the insurance settlement,
the option could be exercised.

Not if he were dead.

Then later he would be able to come
back to life, pretend amnesia,

repay the insurance company out
of his profits from the Arcott process.

- If any.
- Of course.

But apparently Jamison Selff
had enough faith

that there would be profits
to risk everything.

Now, we can see
how Jamison Selff expected to gain

by exercising his option.

Was there anyone, Mr. Balfour,

who would benefit
by its not being exercised.

Glenn Arcott.

I don't like what you're suggesting,
Mr. Mason.

MASON: But you've admitted
you feel the option deal

you made with Jamison Selff
was a bad one?

Now, yes. But I didn't feel
that way the time I made it.

I was even grateful.
I needed development money badly.

What made you change
your attitude?

Well, my process has
almost proved out.

We'll soon be ready to go
into full-scale production.

- Is that general knowledge?
- Well, no.

I've, uh, kept the results
a secret so far.

...Well, I promised Mr. Selff.

MASON: You feel you could make
a more favorable financial deal today

- than you could have then?
- Heh, I not only feel it.

I've had a better offer
from another source.

MASON: But your option
with Jamison Selff, that's an obstacle.

Look, Mason, I don't know
how you do business,

but when I make an agreement,
I stick to it.

I don't have to like it,
but I keep my word.

That's fine, Mr. Arcott.

And I presume you've notified
this other source

that you can't accept the offer?

Garen Industries?
I haven't given them a definite refusal.

I don't know
what the outcome will be.

Garen Industries?

So they offered you
considerably more

then you were to receive from Jamison
Selff if his option is not exercised?

How could they know
you were so near success,

if, as you say,
you kept it a secret?

All I know is that I didn't tell them.
I kept my word.

Look, I'm no businessman.
I'm an engineer, a scientist.

I do my work and I try to be honest.

So get off my back,
I'm not on trial here.

I'm sure you try to be honest,
Mr. Arcott, but don't be angry.

I've seen the consequence
when you become angry.

Cross-examine, Mr. Burger?

Just a few brief questions,
Mr. Arcott.

After the death of Jamison Selff,

did you still feel that
that option agreement was valid?

Yes.
By the terms, it could be reassigned.

But was that option one that could be
exercised by just anyone?

Or was it possible only for
Jamison Selff's legal heir?

- His widow?
- Only by his widow.

- No one else.
- That's all.

JUDGE:
Witness may stand down.

Since Mr. Arcott's testimony
has not been corroborated,

the defense recalls Mr. Balfour.

Mr. Ralph Balfour,
take the stand.

I remind you, Mr. Balfour
that you're still under oath.

Mr. Arcott claims
he kept the development

of his process a secret, Mr. Balfour.

- Is that true?
- No. I was informed.

- By whom? Mr. Arcott?
- Not directly. By Mr. Selff.

- And whom did you tell?
- No one.

- Uh, that's the truth.
- Mr. Balfour,

you kept the secret so well that
you didn't even inform Louise Selff.

That is true, Mr. Mason.

I thought it would be a mistake
for Louise to speculate.

But if Louise Selff had known that
the Arcott process had proved out,

or if she had been in on the insurance
fraud with her husband,

she'd have gone through
with the deal.

And Jamison Selff could have stayed
dead as he planned.

But he couldn't do that
because his partner in the fraud,

the person who helped him
leave the boat,

the person who was supposed
to advise Louise

to pay for the option,

was instead doing everything possible
to prevent her from paying.

Now, when he realized
the double cross

Jamison Selff returned
and fought with you.

Fought with you
the night I came to your home.

That man was an intruder.
I couldn't see who it was!

Oh, but you could.

When we arrived
we could see the lights inside,

but you told us they were off,

and that you hadn't recognized
your assailant.

When he couldn't force you
to keep your part of the agreement

it left Jamison only one chance,

to try and communicate with his wife
from beyond the grave.

And there was only one way
ultimately for you to stop him.

- Jamison Selff had to die again.
- Give me a chance to explain.

- Let me give you the facts!
MASON: Facts?

Facts, Mr. Balfour?

It's a fact that you made
the counter offer to Mr. Arcott.

It's a fact that you set up the dummy
corporation, Garen Industries.

It's a fact that you decided that it was
the only way you could have it all.

Jamison Selff was a man
without conscience!

An opportunist. A double dealer.

He was ruthless! A liar and a cheat!

And so was his m*rder*r,
Mr. Balfour.

So were you.

- I'll never make the checkroom.
- Heh, I don't know why.

I managed to carry them
three blocks, Clay.

Rosemary, Louise and I
have just been shopping

and Louise told me about
these great bargains--

- All this stuff, bargains?
- Was a fabulous saving.

A half-price sale,
shoes, stockings, dress, robes.

Believe me, I saved a fortune.

I'll bet you only spent $
to save that fortune.

Séances, missing jewelry, mystery
phone calls, a dead man that talks,

all that I understand.

But women, heh, heh,
they're beyond understanding.

- Clay, you're misogynist.
- Misogynist? Mm-mm.

Della, you're gonna have to stop
using that kind of language.

- Oh, Clay is a woman-hater.
- Ah.

- On the other hand--
- I am exactly the opposite.

I'm not thinking about you, Paul.
I'm thinking about Perry.

And, believe me,
you were just wonderful to Louise.

All that time,
interest and understanding.

I don't know what she's angling for
but you might as well let her have it.

MASON:
Della, tell me,

what would you have done
if you had a client

whose husband d*ed twice?