09x13 - The Case of the Baffling Bug

[bunniefuu]

Thank you, doctor. Names, please?

- Horace Lehigh.
- Dr. Nina Revelli.

Dr. Maseo Tachikawa.

Thank you. Will each of you step
in front of the fluoroscope, please?

Keep checking, please.

Everyone checked off but, uh,
Lowell Rupert, Dr. Scranton.

He'll be along.

Oh, excuse me.

May I examine your earrings,
Dr. Revelli?

Do you expect to find a transmitter?

A tape recorder?

I don't expect to find anything,
doctor.

- Ah, thank you very much.
- Thank you.

I still don't approve of bringing in
all this paraphernalia.

Security of the plant is supposed to be
my responsibility.

No reflection on you at all, Lowell.

It's just that this meeting was so vital
we wanted to bring in

the additional help
of an independent agency.

Our missing member, Lowell Rupert.

This is Mr. Drake
of the Drake Detective Agency.

- How do you do?
- I've heard of you.

Uh, excuse me.

Doctor, may I see
your cigarette lighter, please?

Thank you, Dr. Tachikawa.

All right, everybody in the car.

Mr. Drake, are you certain
the room will be secure?

Dr. Scranton,
I've reserved three rooms.

My men just checked them
to be sure

there are no listening devices
in any of them.

Now, I won't make up my mind

which of the rooms we'll use
till we're on our way.

You can be perfectly sure
the room will be secure.

All right.

SCRANTON: You all know
the importance of the work

in which we've been involved
for the past year.

We've put more than a million dollars
into research

on your various segments
in this project.

Now, this meeting represents
the culmination of our efforts.

For the first time,

we're going to pool the data
you individually prepared.

So if you've been inconvenienced,
I'm sorry.

But I'm sure you understand
we cannot risk a security leak.

SCRANTON: If details
of what we're about to discuss

should ever get out of this room,

it could cost the company millions.

SCRANTON:
That is our process.

Every detail. Our ideas.

Our research breakthroughs,
our production techniques.

They have stolen them all.

You're certain of that?

Mr. Mason,
organized industrial espionage

is big business today.

Now, as director
of Personnel and Security,

I'm positive we have been taken.

From the very start of this project,
we have taken every precaution.

All of our people worked separately.

None of them knew how
their individual assignments dovetailed

into the total desalinization process.

RUPERT:
Until that day in the motel room.

And that's why I asked you to
recommend the best security agency,

so that that meeting
could be absolutely secure.

Without consulting me, I might add.

We accepted
your recommendations.

We contracted
with the Drake Detective Agency.

And our process was stolen
right from under his nose.

But was it stolen?

You can take my word for that.

And now, Mr. Mason, I want you
to file suit immediately

against Coleridge Associates
for $ million.

And in the meantime,
have them enjoined.

I can't do that, Dr. Scranton.

Mr. Mason, I can't believe
that you're afraid of exposing

the inefficiency
of the Drake Agency.

Not at all.
Paul Drake is more than capable.

I'm satisfied that if he said
that that room was secure,

it was secure.

But you have no proof,
and without it, no case.

What about that?

There are too many precedents,

too many incidents where researchers
working independently arrived

at the same goal
almost simultaneously.

In this case, that's impossible.

You may be right,

but to go into court,
we'd have to establish

how the intelligence was taken
from that room.

Then we'd have to prove

it was made accessible
to your competitor.

Dr. Scranton, given time,
I can prove just that.

Mr. Mason, don't you feel
a certain obligation to us at all?

After all, if we hadn't taken
your recommendations--

All right, Dr. Scranton.

I'll at least determine whether or not
you have a case.

And I assume you'll use
the Drake organization?

Perry, don't worry about my feelings.

If that information was stolen
because I slipped up,

I wanna know how
so it can't happen again.

Paul, wouldn't it be
almost impossible

to be absolutely sure
a room was clean?

Perry, I fluoroscoped
everyone present.

I'm the only one who knew
where we were going to be.

The room couldn't been bugged
in advance.

If Dr. Scranton is right,
and his process was stolen,

that would leave only one possibility.

The people in the room.

Unfortunately, you can't fluoroscope
their minds.

Well, my job was to assure
physical security on that one day,

not to investigate the participants.

Who were the participants?

After you called this morning,
I had a list drawn up,

along with some extracts
from their personnel records.

Well, I suppose you noticed this?

Yeah, I did. Dr. Todd Meade,

formerly employed
by Coleridge Associates,

the outfit Dr. Scranton claims
stole his new process.

And more than that,

while he was working
at the Coleridge plant,

Dr. Meade apparently
had a thing going

with Rhonda Coleridge herself.

The lady tycoon
who owns the company?

If secrecy was so vital,

why would Tryon Industries employ
such an obvious security risk?

- Hello, Todd.
- Nina.

Such a tragedy. I'm so sorry.

Yup. All our work.

Months of it.

A year.

No, not ours, yours.

Without your work,
our efforts would have gone to nothing.

Your studies were just as important.

No. Any researcher who knows
what he's doing could do what I did.

- You--
- Nina, it doesn't matter now anyhow.

Coleridge has it, the whole thing.

And we're holding the bag.

Todd, let us have lunch together.

Uh...

No, I'm sorry, uh, Nina.
I have to go out.

Then may I have a rain check?

- Sure.
- Tomorrow?

Tomorrow.

Ciao.

PAUL:
Oh, Dr. Meade, just a moment, please.

Dr. Meade, this is Perry Mason.

He's representing the company
in a possible suit

involving the theft
of the Tryon process.

And you saw on my record
that I'd been employed by Coleridge,

which automatically makes
me guilty.

Not at all.

No, in a case such as this,
the first step

is to try to eliminate the probable.

Then we start to work
to find a solution in the improbable.

And in this instance,
I'm obviously the probable.

Wouldn't you say so?

Uh, I appreciate being given
the benefit of the doubt,

and I promise I'll talk to you later.

But right now, there's something I--

Something very pressing.

You'll have to excuse me.

[SOFT MUSIC
PLAYING ON PIANO]

I don't care why you called me,
whatever the reason.

It was such a pleasant surprise
after all this time.

I told you on the phone
the spot you've put me in.

Look, I don't know
how you managed to get hold

of the Tryon process,

but they think they have the answer.

Well, they haven't actually
accused you, have they?

They don't have to.

Thank you.

Rhonda,
how did you get our process?

What do you want? A teary-eyed
confession that would give Scranton

the evidence he'd like to have
to win a $ million lawsuit?

Then you did steal it?

RHONDA:
Steal is a nasty word, Todd.

I stole nothing.

I don't think Scranton would like
to use that word either

in certain of his transactions.

We're not talking about Scranton.
We're talking about you.

Oh, Todd, do us both a favor, quit.

Come back to me,

as director of research.

That's why I insisted
that you come and meet me,

to tell you
that the company wants you back.

They need you.

I need you.

Rhonda, it took me too long
to get off your payroll.

Being with you away from the office,
that was one thing.

But the rest of the time,
I couldn't take it.

But you only work eight hours.

That leaves when I'm tolerable.

It's impossible.

If I were to go back with you,
they'd be sure I stole the process.

What kind of a man
are you anyway, Todd?

Living in a private world of your own

where all the characters are good
and kind and honest?

Well, I'm not.

I'm living in a world
where just to get by

you have to be rougher and tougher
and smarter.

Okay, Rhonda.

Okay.

You're tougher and rougher
than I am.

Goodbye.

So you see, Mr. Mason,

there's a certain amount
of musical chairs

being played among companies
in our industry,

especially where really key people
are concerned.

And because of the way
scientific specialties

- come into demand from year to year.
- That's right.

And because there are so few
good people available,

the competition to hire them
gets pretty stiff.

We've just met one of your scientists,
Dr., um...

Dr. Todd Meade.

Yes,
I talked him into coming with us.

It, uh, was quite a coup
getting a man like that

away from Coleridge, believe me.

And there's no conflict of interest
or mixed loyalties?

RUPERT: If you knew Meade,
you'd know how impossible that is.

He, uh, has almost a fetish
for integrity.

That's true. You know,
I can't recall Todd

ever dropping a single word
about his work at Coleridge.

RUPERT:
And I'm sure it works both ways.

He wouldn't say a word to anyone
over there about our work here.

Do not tell me it was not you.
I know it was.

SCRANTON:
Dr. Revelli, what's wrong?

- Here is what is wrong.
PAUL: May I?

I find it behind the screen
in the ceiling of my laboratory.

PAUL:
I've seen these before.

Miniature self-contained TV camera
and transmitter.

Japanese manufacture.

NINA:
He was in my laboratory yesterday.

He could not say
what he was doing there.

Now I know why.
He is looking over my shoulder.

I was just in your lab
to borrow a few slides.

You don't have to make
a federal case out of that, Nina.

To you it is not Nina.

It is Dr. Revelli.

Dr. Scranton,
I will not tolerate such things.

I will go back to my home, to Milan,

where I can work in peace.

You're not suggesting
that I knew anything about this,

or that I would authorize
such a thing?

I will not be spied on.

If anyone attempts it again, ever,

he will have much regret.

[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]

Milan.

Paul, you know where one
of the two biggest markets

in industrial secrets operates?

Mm-hm, Italy.

- And the other one is--
- Japan.

MANAGER:
Thank you very much.

Please come again.

Oh, Dr. Tachikawa.

[BOTH SPEAK IN JAPANESE]

[IN ENGLISH]
Have you any word from them?

- On the property?
- Yes.

It is available for , .

Offer .

Is, uh, everything arranged?

Everything.

So we meet again after all,
Dr. Tachikawa.

I'm glad.

This does not mean
I accept the proposition.

Only that I will listen.

But you did come to this country
specifically to work on the process.

And now that my company owns it,

what's the point of you
staying where you are?

It is true.

The process must be
of immense, uh, benefit to my country.

And to the man who might get
the rights to market it there.

Something more, honorable sir?

No, nothing, thank you.

TACHIKAWA [OVER EARPIECE]:
You must realize, Miss Coleridge,

my position is a delicate one.

Well, Passion Flower,
what's with our friend, Tachikawa?

Every night,
he flies with a different bird.

Well, I hate to give up pleasure
for business,

but I guess I gotta go check
tonight's bird.

MASON:
You're full of surprises, Paul.

This case is taking on
more cloak-and-dagger aspects

than a palace revolution.

Have you shown this
to Dr. Scranton?

No, you're the first to see it.

And you might ask Dr. Scranton
to explain this.

Horace Lehigh's
employment record.

MASON:
What about these references?

Most of the companies had no record
of his having been employed.

A couple said he'd been with them
a month or so and then left.

A man as cautious as Rupert,

you'd think he would have investigated
these references before hiring Lehigh.

My dad always said that Mal Scranton
was the world's worst scientist,

but best promoter.

You must be getting old
or you'd grab my deal.

You're offering me a deal
for my own process.

Let's not argue
about whose process it is.

We'll divide the market,
pool our resources.

There'll be plenty for both of us.

Why are you suddenly
being so generous with me?

It couldn't be that you've been unable
to steal all the data you need

and failing in your effort to recruit
members of my research staff.

Malcolm, I've known you
since you used to fight with my dad,

before there was a Tryon Industries.

So don't make the mistake of playing
the wronged innocent with me.

- Now you listen to me, Rhonda--
- I came here to work out

an arrangement with you.

But if you don't agree,
if you're intent upon legal action,

you'd better be very sure
of your ground.

Or I'll slap you with a countersuit
that will ruin you.

[PHONE RINGS]

Yes?

It's Lehigh, Dr. Scranton.
I've found our thief.

You have? Excellent.
Uh, are you coming up here?

I think we should talk here first.

There are a few things
that you should see

before I turn this report over
to the board of directors.

All right, now, you stay there.

I have a phone call to make.
I'll be right down.

Get me Perry Mason's office.

Oh.

[SCRANTON CHUCKLES]

You're through, Rhonda.

Before this night's over,
my attorney and I

will have you and your company
on the wrong end

of $ -million lawsuit.

I'll notify security
you're on your way out.

- Goodbye, Miss Coleridge.

[INTERCOM BUZZES]

Mr. Mason?

Yes, Dr. Scranton?

You mean the case is solved?

So instead of my going over
to your office,

why don't you get over here
as quickly as possible?

I'll meet you down at the lab.
I'll leave word at the gate.

Very well, we'll be right there.

Fine. Fine.

We're to meet Dr. Scranton
in Todd Meade's laboratory.

He says someone there will tell us
who stole the Tryon process.

Who is someone?

Well, he wouldn't say over the phone.

These days, Dr. Scranton
is very security conscious.

Mr. Drake and Mr. Mason
to see Mr. Scranton.

SCRANTON:
The lab's down this way, Mr. Mason.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

- Guard. Guard. Call the police.
- What is it, Mr. Mason?

MASON: The police know about your
relationship with Rhonda Coleridge.

They know you were with her
the day before the m*rder,

they know
about the stolen process,

they know Lehigh called
Dr. Scranton from your lab

and promised to reveal the thief.

They know your prints
are on the heavy pipe

used as the m*rder w*apon.
They also know--

You know, you sound
just like that Lieutenant Drumm.

You want a confession too?

I sweated out three hours
in his office last night.

Heh, he spent minutes advising me
of my rights

and two hours and minutes
ignoring them.

I don't believe that.

Steve is tough, but he's fair.

And he's no fool.

He gave you a chance
to call a lawyer.

When I went in there,
I didn't think I needed one.

And when I came out, I was--

I was charged with m*rder.

Mr. Mason, I...

I called you because...

Well, to be frank,

because you're the only attorney
I could think of by name.

I don't even know if I can afford you.

If I take your case,

it will be because I believe
you're innocent.

With the position I'm in,

expecting anyone to come up
with an adequate defense

strikes me as an exercise in futility.

Perhaps it is, doctor,

if you did m*rder Horace Lehigh.

Did you?

No. No, I did not.

I left the library,

I placed a phone call to my folks,
got no answer,

went to my lab,

and I found him there dead.

That's it.

Then that's our starting point,

toward finding a defense.

Now, let's put that keen
scientific brain to work

on your own personal equation.

What equation?

Well, we know the positive elements
on the prosecution side.

Now we have to solve the equation
for the unknown elements on yours.

For example?

Unknown number one:

Who, in your experience,
had reason to want Lehigh dead?

Mr. Mason, I don't know.

Actually, I hardly knew the man.

Then going on
to unknown number two:

Lehigh was hit on the head
then either fell

or was pushed into the t*nk of water
in your laboratory.

Now, why your laboratory?

What was he doing there?

Why should he call Dr. Scranton
from your laboratory

and tell him he'd found the thief?

I've been going over and over
the same question.

There's nothing in my lab,

just my equipment, working files
and references.

No secrets.

And no answers.

There must be
another element here.

Something missing.

Something we've overlooked.

Something we've failed to notice.

Good morning.

May I see Lieutenant--?

Remember me, Mr. Mason?
Dr. Revelli?

Why, yes.
The dining room at the plant.

It is terrible. It is absolutely terrible
what they're doing to him.

Todd is no assassin.
The police, they--

DRUMM:
Hello, Perry.

MASON:
Good morning, Steve.

Just a few questions, Perry,

for the record,
about the discovery of the body.

Well, up until that point
I can help you, Steve,

but as of this morning,
I became Todd Meade's attorney.

- Everything he told me is--
- Confidential.

Mm-hm.

Did your client tell you what Lehigh
was doing for the company?

No.

Well, it might be a good idea
if you'd ask him.

It's getting so
that I'm afraid to speak

or make a move anywhere.

My home, my office.

I even worry
about talking in my sleep.

I swear, it's becoming a phobia.

Dr. Scranton, would you tell me

what Horace Lehigh was doing
for your company?

Oh, well, I haven't revealed this
to anyone except the police.

Horace Lehigh was not
a regular employee.

As a matter of fact,
that wasn't even his real name.

He was an industrial
intelligence agent

hired by the board of directors
at the beginning of this project.

A sort of, uh, counterspy.

SCRANTON: Well, that's
a dramatic way of putting it.

But I suppose that's what
you could call him.

That would give us our motive,
wouldn't it?

If Lehigh had solved the case,

found out who stole your new process,
and the thief knew that,

then the only way to silence Lehigh
was to k*ll him.

When Lehigh called me
the night of the m*rder,

just before I spoke to you,

he sounded urgent, excited.

That was because he had discovered
who the thief was.

But he was afraid to reveal the name
over the telephone.

Did anyone else know
of that phone call?

Rhonda Coleridge.

[CHUCKLES]

Any number of people
could have learned of that call.

Remember, privacy is one thing
we can't take for granted.

Perry,
I don't mind retracing my steps,

conducting a search
all over again,

but it would help to have some idea
what you're searching for.

All right, officer, you can log them in.
Mr. Mason, Mr. Drake.

Thanks, Steve, we'll be seeing you.

Perry, may I have an answer
from you?

That's what we're searching for, Steve,
an answer.

Steve, I wanna know why Lehigh
asked Dr. Scranton

to meet him here
in Todd Meade's laboratory.

Why not a dozen more
convenient places?

- Dr. Scranton's office, for instance?
- Oh, well, there's one obvious answer.

Your client stole the process.

Lehigh found proof of it
here in the lab,

and that's why Meade k*lled him.

But of course that, uh, theory
is too simple for you, huh?

[THUD]

Oh, I'm sorry.

We didn't mean to startle you.

Oh, that's all right. I was just--

I wanted to get my records in order
before Mr. Rupert checked them.

Records?

I'm the librarian.

Three of our files were signed out
to Dr. Meade.

They're overdue, and since he--

Well, since he can't return them...

- Secret material?
BESS: Oh, no.

Just copies
of the original Tryon patents

that Dr. Meade was using
for some basic data

on membrane structure.

That is A- and A- were...

Is something wrong?

BESS:
Well, it's just...

Those two don't seem to be here
and they ought to be.

Why?

Mr. Rupert has a very strict rule.

Any company data can't be
taken anywhere else

without first checking it back in.

Not even to another office?

No.

I'll have to report this
to Mr. Rupert right away.

Well, I think I'll have a talk
with Mr. Rupert myself.

- Thanks, Perry.
- For what?

I don't know for sure, yet.

Paul, see if you can get another copy
of those patent files from Rupert.

You have an idea?

Well, only that they're supposed
to be here

and they're not here.

Your Honor, the case
before this court today differs

from the usual crime of v*olence

in that this is actually
an episode in a w*r,

the cold w*r of industrial espionage.

The state intends to take cognizance
of that fact.

- Any luck, Paul?
- None.

Even Rupert couldn't locate copies
of those patents,

not even in the original
incorporation papers.

BURGER:
--cloak and dagger...

- Have you tried the patent office?
- Yep.

And Rupert wired the patent office
in Washington for copies.

BURGER:
The state will prove quite simply

that the defendant, Dr. Todd Meade,

a scientist, was, in addition,
a professional industrial spy.

He was caught stealing
research data

by the deceased, Horace Lehigh,
who was a professional counterspy.

The state intends to prove
that Dr. Meade k*lled

to prevent the disclosure
of his own theft

and was caught virtually in the act
by a whole group of witnesses

including his own attorney,

the counsel for the defense.

I was in my laboratory

just across the hall
when I heard someone outside.

I'd seen Mr. Rupert
go down the hall earlier,

and I wanted to talk to him.

So I opened my door.

That was when I heard Dr. Scranton

tell the guard to call for the police.

Then you were present
when the dead body and the defendant

were discovered in his laboratory.

TACHIKAWA:
That is correct.

Doctor, was Horace Lehigh
a friend of yours?

I knew him as one knows
a colleague.

BURGER: Did you ever discuss
your work with him?

It was against our rules
to discuss our individual efforts, sir,

even with one another.

BURGER: Well, were you aware
that Horace Lehigh was a counterspy?

I did not know what work he did.

Now, just a second, doctor,
didn't you tell me earlier in my office

that you suspected him
of being unduly concerned

with the work assignments
of certain of your colleagues?

You misunderstood me, sir.

I told you that one day
in the dining room,

Dr. Revelli had accused him
of spying on her.

"Looking over my shoulder,”
I believe she said.

Thank you, doctor. Your witness.

Dr. Tachikawa, I've been interested
to learn that in your country,

industrial spying
is a respectable profession.

That is, uh, regrettably true.

Doctor, will you tell us
about your rendezvous

with Miss Rhonda Coleridge
in a private room

of the Sashimi Gardens
two nights before the m*rder?

BURGER:
I'll object to that, Your Honor.

Even if any such meeting
actually took place,

it's certainly irrelevant
and immaterial.

MASON: Your Honor, since
the district attorney has maintained

that the defendant's
previous relationship

with Miss Coleridge is germane,

it is also germane that someone else
with equal opportunity for spying

was enjoying a present relationship
with Miss Coleridge.

Hmm, objection's overruled.

Yes, I did meet Miss Coleridge.

She offered me a position.

MASON:
Now, in previous testimony,

you told the district attorney you spent
the afternoon prior to the m*rder

away from the plant
closing a real estate deal.

Would you mind telling us
the amount paid

for the parcel you purchased
in Hollywood Hills?

I do not remember the exact price.

Well, perhaps, uh,
I can help you there.

Wasn't it in excess of $ , ?

There is something wrong?

I'm not allowed to buy
what I can pay for?

Of course you're allowed, doctor.

But your employment record
at Tryon shows

that you receive a yearly salary
of $ , .

It would seem you've been
extremely frugal if you're able to--

I'm not dependent on my salary.

I hold five
extremely valuable patents, sir.

I left a much more lucrative position
in Japan to come here.

But why?

TACHIKAWA:
The process for converting seawater

is of tremendous significance
to my country.

I came here
at Dr. Scranton's invitation.

It is important to me
to be a part of the project.

I will not be accused.

Doctor, no one is accusing you.

No further questions.

Were you alone in your office,
Dr. Scranton,

when the phone call came
from the decedent?

No, Rhonda Coleridge was with me.

BURGER:
Rhonda Coleridge?

- The former employer of the accused?
SCRANTON: Yes, sir.

BURGER:
Did the decedent, Horace Lehigh,

tell you why,
of all possible meeting places,

- he chose Dr. Meade's laboratory?
- No, sir.

BURGER: Regarding this phone call
from the deceased,

is it correct that you told
absolutely no one about it?

No, except for Mr. Mason,
the defense counsel.

I phoned him immediately
and asked him

to meet me
at Dr. Meade's laboratory.

That's how Mr. Mason and Mr. Drake
happened to be with me

when we discovered the body.

And at that precise moment,
where was the defendant?

SCRANTON:
He was standing by the t*nk.

And what was in that t*nk, doctor?

Mr. Lehigh's body.

I have no more questions
of this witness.

Thank you, Dr. Scranton.

No questions for now.

At this point in time,
it seems obvious to me

that we're not going to complete
this hearing today.

Therefore,
this court will stand adjourned

until : tomorrow morning.

Todd, I'll talk to you later.

Paul.

Paul, beside Rhonda Coleridge,
who knew about that phone call

and could have reached the lab
before we did?

Perry, I've gone over Scranton's
office inch by inch.

There just couldn't possibly be
a bug in there or on his phone.

Besides, I've installed the most
powerful anti-bug generator made,

and he's had it turned on constantly.
So how--?

That's it, Paul. How.

- Hi. I thought you might--
- Might need you?

Well, there are letters to correct,
a brief to get out.

In fact, there's more for you to do
than you can imagine.

[MOUTHING]
Your office is bugged.

Did you have any trouble
getting Lehigh's car, Paul?

None whatever.

She let us have it as soon
as I explained why we wanted it.

- Do you know where it is now?
- Seventh Street garage.

We went over it
from one end to the other. Nothing.

Yes, I know.

DELLA:
Tell me something, will you, Perry?

If somebody planted a bug
in your office

and Paul found it,
why leave it there?

PAUL:
Uh, Paul Drake. How's it coming?

Good. Look, call Perry's office
in exactly minutes.

And remember, nobody
but nobody goes near that car

till I give the word, okay?

- We're all set.
- Fine.

DELLA: Wait a minute.
You didn't answer my question.

You found a hidden mike
in your office,

and you leave it there. Why?

Oh, just a vague idea
we might make use of it.

Here's your script, Paul.

There's yours, Della.

Remember,
when we get back to the office,

don't say one word that isn't written
on those pages.

DELLA:
"Phone rings, Della Answers."

[PHONE RINGS]

"Mr. Mason's office. Who?

Paul Drake? Yes, he's here.
Just a moment, please.”

Paul Drake.

"You did? Where is it?

Uh, just a minute, I'll write that down.

They've located Lehigh's car.

No, don't go in. None of you.

I'll handle it personally.”

"That's a break.”

"If a copy of Lehigh's report,

with the record of his investigation
is in the car..."

PAUL: "Well, we've searched
his office, his files, his home.

We know from Scranton
there was a report,

- so, uh, where else could it be?"
- "Where is the car?"

"Seventh Street garage. Fourth level.

License number GD .
We better get going."

"I can't yet.

Della, what time do we expect
that call from New York City?"

"Oh, uh, not for a half hour yet."

- "A half hour?"
- "Oh, relax, Paul.

No one knows about the car
but us."

You're accusing me of stealing.

You'll answer for these allegations
in civil court.

Sit still, Miss Coleridge.
I'm not through with you.

I'm gonna ask the question again.
I'd like an answer.

Did you discover the desalinization
process in your own laboratories,

or did you purchase the process
from another party?

Your Honor,
Mr. Mason is attacking this witness.

He's proceeding without
any possible proper foundation.

Your Honor, the district attorney
opened the door

in previous examination.

As for attacking the witness,

I'm only attacking the kind of thinking
she represents.

For it is this thinking
that is at the root of this tragedy.

If it weren't for the philosophy

that honesty, ideals and integrity
do not matter,

there would be no market
for stolen secrets.

This court will not tolerate
these personal exchanges.

Mr. Mason, you will confine yourself
to proper questioning

without commentary
on the witness's ethics.

Mr. Burger,
your objection is overruled.

Miss Coleridge,
you will respond to the question.

Yes, I purchased the process.

It was offered to me by an independent
research organization and I bought it.

And I violated no law.

MASON: Do you know where that
independent research organization

obtained the information?

I didn't check the pedigree.

Miss Coleridge, you recognize this?

I'm afraid I don't.

It's called a thumbnail,

a tiny self-contained mike
and an FM transmitter.

In common parlance, a bug.

Do you recognize this?

A tie-clasp microphone.

This? A spike microphone.

You have never seen any
of these tools of the industrial spy?

No.

MASON:
Miss Coleridge,

you apparently do not know

how the industrial spy
steals his secrets.

Can you tell us from your own
experience how he markets them?

- Objection.
MASON: I'll withdraw the question.

Miss Coleridge, what was the purpose
of your meeting with Dr. Tachikawa?

I offered him a position.

MASON: Working on the process
you now own which is,

shall we say,
similar to the Tryon process?

Yes.

Did you attempt to recruit any other
members of the Tryon research team?

Mr. Mason, you're being very naive
about this.

Anyone in our business will tell you
every company tries to do just that.

MASON:
Did you attempt to recruit

any other Tryon personnel?

Yes. Todd Meade, the defendant.

MASON: Anyone else?
RHONDA: Dr. Revelli.

MASON:
How about Horace Lehigh?

He's the only member of the team
you haven't mentioned.

- No, I didn't talk to him.
MASON: Why not?

Because I'd never heard
of him before.

There was no reason to think
he could make a contribution.

MASON: Miss Coleridge,
did you see Horace Lehigh

on the night he was m*rder*d?

No, not then or any other time.

No further questions.

The witness may stand down.

Your Honor, as has been established
in previous testimony,

someone stole the secret process
developed by Tryon Industries

and was later unmasked
by Horace Lehigh,

an undercover counterspy.

But how could the thief have known
Lehigh had discovered him?

The person who planted
the listening device in my office

was the only one who could have
known of the phone call

to me from Dr. Scranton.

The only one who could have hurried
to Dr. Meade's laboratory

ahead of us
to silence Horace Lehigh.

Your Honor, I'd like your permission

to have the light dimmed
so we can project some film.

Any objection, Mr. Burger?

Your Honor, I realize that Mr. Mason
has gone to infinite pains

to present this little
dramatic interlude for us.

Although I doubt that it serves
any useful purpose,

I would hate to deprive
defense counsel of an opportunity

to get a headline
in this evening's papers.

I have no objection, Your Honor.

The district attorney's generosity
is exceeded only by his wit.

I assure the court
this will prove of value.

We turned that listening device
in my office

against the person who planted it,
and the results are on that film.

Bailiff, will you draw the blinds?

MASON: When the bug
was discovered in my office,

we concealed the fact
that it had been found.

Then we planted information
on which the party

who had planted the bug might act.

We announced the whereabouts
of the decedent's car

to our unknown listener,

implying that there might be
incriminating evidence in that car.

Mr. Drake had previously arranged it
so that anyone entering the car

would take his own picture
by infrared light.

And you were successful?

Yes, Your Honor.

It was I who took the information.

I sold it through friends at home
in Italy

so it could never be traced to me.

The sale was legal there.

My country does not issue patents
on manufacturing processes.

And how much did you receive
in payment?

The Italian organization paid me
$ , .

And you arranged
to have the bug planted in my office?

NINA: I never dreamed
an American company

would buy the information.

When the inquiry began,

I was afraid to stay, afraid to leave.

I had to know what progress
you were making.

MASON: How did you get
the information out of that motel room?

Mr. Drake made absolutely sure
that the room was debugged

and the participants
had no monitoring devices.

All except Dr. Scranton himself.

He did not undergo
the fluoroscopic examination.

So I--

I managed to place
a tiny thumbnail microphone

in the cuff of his trousers.

Dr. Revelli, since you were party
to all that went on in my office,

is it not true that you heard
the conversation

in which Dr. Scranton advised me

that Lehigh had learned
the identity of the thief?

That he would disclose
that information

in the defendant's laboratory?

Your Honor,

the witness is a comparative stranger
in our country.

She's unfamiliar with our laws.
I think she's entitled to know

the possible consequences
of her answer.

Mr. Mason is trying to get her
to admit to a m*rder.

No!

That I took the process, I confess.

And I did know of the telephone call.

But when I go quick
to the laboratory,

he is already dead.

Mr. Mason, I believe that, uh,
Mr. Burger's comments are justified.

Your Honor,
the district attorney is mistaken.

I have no intention of accusing
the witness of m*rder.

If Dr. Revelli had k*lled Lehigh

and obtained the written report
he was carrying,

she would no longer have been
concerned about being exposed.

That's true.

But when I heard over the microphone
in your office

that his car had been discovered,

I had to find out
whether the report was in it.

But it wasn't.

Because someone else
had gotten to Lehigh first

and k*lled him,
and then taken that report.

But for an entirely different reason.

BURGER:
Who else had a reason, Mr. Mason?

The witness has already admitted
that she stole the process.

Your Honor,
may I recall Mr. Lowell Rupert?

Mr. Rupert, will you return
to the stand, please?

- Any later word from Washington?
- Nothing.

Perry, I'm convinced there is no
record of any such patents.

Yes, Paul, I'm convinced too.

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

Mr. Rupert, these missing files,

A- and A- that were
checked out to Dr. Meade,

they were of great importance
to you?

No, not actually.

Then why did you make such a point
of getting them back?

Why was your librarian so worried?

No special point, Mr. Mason.
Just normal security procedure.

Mr. Rupert, what was in those files?

Well, outlines
of the basic processes

and patents on which
the company was founded.

And yet the patent office
in Washington

has no record
of any such processes.

Apparently,
they were never registered.

- Why, Mr. Rupert?
- I don't know.

Only Dr. Scranton can tell you.

Mr. Mason, I don't recall the contents
of those files,

but perhaps our librarian
could give you that information.

Dr. Scranton,
did you find the decedent

a capable man at his job?

Thorough, dependable?

Oh, yes. He was quite competent.

So thorough, so competent,
that you did not object

when he placed that television camera
in Dr. Revelli's laboratory?

Well, I told him to spare no one.

He was concerned about Dr. Revelli.

And he had a free hand
to do just as he pleased.

Did he investigate the defendant
just as thoroughly?

SCRANTON:
Well, I assume he did.

MASON: Did he ever report
any suspicions to you

- in regard to the defendant?
SCRANTON: No.

Did he run a check
on Lowell Rupert?

SCRANTON: I suppose so,
but I couldn't be sure of that.

Well, let me put it this way.

Did you see in the report
the decedent prepared

for the company board of directors
any information--?

But, Mr. Mason,
I never did see the report.

Mr. Lehigh told me he had it with him
when he called me.

But as you know,
it was never found.

Do I understand that you did not have
a day-to-day knowledge

of the information accumulated
for that report?

That's right.

MASON: Then it must have been
quite a surprise to you

when you talked to Lehigh about it.

But I never talked to Lehigh
about it, Mr. Mason.

He was dead when we arrived
at the laboratory.

I mean, the first time
you went to the lab, doctor.

Before Mr. Drake and I arrived.

But I didn't.

MASON:
I think you did, Dr. Scranton.

I think you found out
how thorough Lehigh had been.

I think you found out that your
counterspy had even investigated you.

Mr. Mason, we know who the spy is.
What are you trying--?

I think the decedent showed you
what he'd found

in files A- and A- .

And I think he was ready to report
to the board of directors

that the very patents you had used
to raise financing for Tryon

were not yours to pledge.

No, they weren't.

But Tryon was mine.

I built it from scratch.
He had no reason to tear it down.

I didn't ask much of him.

No, not much.

Only that he compromised his integrity
as you'd compromised yours

when you founded your company
on an out-and-out fraud.

He didn't understand.

He wouldn't listen. He was rigid.

Everything was black and white.

And when he refused the money
I offered him,

I picked up the pipe to thr*aten him.

I didn't intend...

I hit him. I hit him.

I did, I did, I hit him. I hit him.

DELLA: This is delicious.
What is it, Dr. Tachikawa?

Della, please.

That is one thing an Occidental
never asks in an Oriental restaurant.

Right. It's considered
a flagrant invasion of privacy.

- Don't listen to them, Miss Street.
- You know, this is the first time

in weeks I've been able
to joke about invasion of privacy.

MASON: Well, I'm afraid
it's nothing to joke about.

Consider what it would
ultimately mean.

No privacy in police investigation,
no privacy in the judge's chambers,

not even in the jury room.

Well, we're coming up
with some pretty good weapons.

High-powered anti-bug generators,
sensitive detectors,

telephone scramblers.

Not so, Mr. Drake.

The science will always be
one step ahead.

There must be some way.

There is, Della.

One sure way.

But it's pretty far out.

Just plain, old-fashioned
personal integrity.

You're right, Mr. Mason.
That is pretty far out.

Well, maybe it would be easier
if we all lived in, um, cocoons.

Della, there's one thing
you will always find inside a cocoon.

A bug.

[ALL CHUCKLE]