06x17 - The Case of the Libelous Locket

[bunniefuu]

Unlike the ancient legal code of Hammurabi,

our laws are not forever chiseled out
on -ton stone tablets,

as some lawyers seem to think.

Law is like language--
changing, growing, maturing.

When you become lawyers,
remember this.

Remember it's not just a dead something
that you read and interpret.

It's a living something that you yourselves
shape and mold.

Well, as usual, I've lectured so long,
there's only time for a question or two.

Mr. Carson?

Professor Lindley,
you give the main credit

for the maturing of the law
to jurists and professors.

What about the trial lawyers?

Someone once said if you could
cross a parrot with a jackass,

you'd have the perfect trial lawyer.

[laughter]

The parrot to remember
the rules of court procedure,

- the jackass to bray them out.
- [laughter]

Seriously, they're extremely useful people.

They're the artisans
of our profession, I'd say.

The plumbers, the carpenters,
the repair men.

But don't tell them I said that.

Well, I'll see you all Friday night.

Janice.

I was thinking about you this evening.

First law class you've missed
in over six months.

My most faithful student and--

What is it?

Professor Lindley, will you help me?

Of course.

I want you to go with me to the police.

To the police?

Why, Janice?

I just k*lled someone.

A man I used to used to--

used to...

I'm sorry I haven't any brandy,
but this should help.

I'm all right now, Professor.

You better drink some anyway.

Now what's this all about?

Who is this man you say you--

k*lled.

His name is Rayo Perez.

A dance instructor I was
involved with for a while.

I've been trying to break off with him,

and tonight I went to his apartment
for a final showdown.

It was final, all right.

He wouldn't let me go.

He tried to keep me there.

He hit me, actually hit me,

so I hit him with the fireplace poker.

And then?

Someone began pounding at the front door,
so I ran out the back way and came here.

Perhaps he was just stunned.

Please, Professor,
please take me to the police now.

Janice, a few more minutes' delay
won't make any difference,

and if you're wrong,
perhaps we can avoid a nasty scandal.

Will you come with me to his apartment first?

But I know he's dead.

Janice, let's make sure.

You've said everything, Janice,

except how you happened
to meet a man like Perez.

All right.

Why not?

I've always been
the ugly duckling of the family.

No social graces, no clothes sense,
a natural born wallflower

You know how awkward I am,
talking in class

I never thought you were awkward.

Shy, perhaps,
but how does that lead to Perez?

Through Maureen, my stepmother,

who decided to make the swan
out of the ugly duckling.

An intelligent swan, incidentally,

because one of the things she did was
to get me to enroll in your law courses.

And another, she sent me
to the Vivian Cosgrave Dance Studio,

where Rayo was an instructor.

You can guess the rest.

How long were you mixed up with Perez?

Not long.

I quickly realized all he wanted
from me was my money

It's over here.

Odd neighborhood for an apartment.

Rayo owns-- I mean owned part
of this building, or so he said.

The apartment stairs
are back of that doorway.

Is this the door
the person was pounding on?

Yes.

Whoever it was, I suppose,
heard us fighting.

We knocked over a lamp,

and Rayo in falling knocked over
the coffee table.

Rayo was lying here,
by the overturned coffee table.

And the poker was here where I--
I dropped it.

I was here, and it happened.
It did happen.

I still can't understand it.
The place was a shambles.

Janice, what happened
is what I've been saying.

Perez recovered consciousness
after you left and tidied up a bit.

As simple as that.

Do you really believe that?

What else could I believe?

Well, you could believe

that I'm a psychotic spinster
making a desperate bid for attention.

[chuckling]
Not a chance.

Besides, if you'd wanted attention from me,
a smile would have done the job.

Now, if you have any more trouble
with Perez, let me know.

I will.

Oh. Professor.

Yes.

Thanks for being even nicer than I thought.

## [dance]

How's that, amiga? The jackpot, no?

Mucho gold now
from the so-rich Norland family.

Caviar, tequila, and new costumes

for the soon-to-be celebrated dance team
of Perez and Cosgrave.

Cosgrave and Perez, if we ever
become a dance team, which I doubt.

How can you doubt after the so heroic--

and painful sacrifice
I just made for our future?

I thought you said
your head was barely grazed.

Ha! You should be barely grazed
by an iron poker sometime, chiquita.

But I'm not complaining.

What's a headache to $ , ?

Ah, such presence of mind to pose
for my photograph while unconscious.

Ah, don't you admire that?

Yes, I'd admire that if I really
believed she had $ , .

Oh, she has more, much more.

But a careful review of her finances
convinces me

that is a sum she can get hold of
quickly and easily.

How do you plan on getting hold of it
quickly and easily?

Through the expenditure
of exactly cents.

- cents?
- Mm-hmm.

Postage for a small envelope

and the remainder
for a telephone call or two.

That's cheap enough, no?

Hmm. Sounds a little too cheap.

I'll explain.

Into the envelope goes a copy--

[Lindley]
Hello. Anybody here?

- Who's that?
- I don't know, but you take this.

Come on. Start dancing.

Come on. , , , , .

- , , , , .
- I beg your pardon

, -- Can you come back
tomorrow night, please?

This is my last lesson tonight.

I'm not here for lessons.

, -- Well, you're interrupting one.

, , , , . That's it.

You just keep working on that same
basic step, and I'll be right back.

Well? What do you want?

I'm looking for Mr. Rayo Perez.

Don't tell me. Your wife is one of Rayo's
too-satisfied customers.

No. Nothing like that.
I merely want a word or two with him.

You're out of luck.
He never showed up tonight.

Did something happen to him?

With Rayo, it always happens
to the other person.

He's trouble in capital letters.

- Will he be here tomorrow?
- If I don't fire him first.

You're Vivian Cosgrave, then?

Yes, that's right.

When you see him,
would you give him this

and tell him I'm very anxious
to get in touch with him?

After I tell him a thing or two.

Not the law, I hope.

No. A professor from the university.

Arrive Tulsa at : .

Lunch with the directors
of the Petroleum Club at : .

: , my people at the refinery.

Dinner with Seth Grundy
and the imperial crowd at .

My people again at next morning,

and then the : plane back,
arriving : p.m.

Darwin, sometimes I wonder if your father
wasn't a Prussian general

married to a Swiss timepiece.

I'm sorry, Maureen, dear.

Forty years of regulating peoples' lives
has formed a habit difficult to break.

But I have been doing better lately,
though, haven't I?

Much, much better, darling.

And, besides,
I really don't care much any more,

now that I know that under
that granite exterior

lies a very kind and generous human being.

The fact that the human being exists at all
is entirely due to you.

I must go.

- Good morning.
- Well, Janice.

I was afraid I wasn't
going to get to say goodbye to you.

You-- You're eleven minutes late
for breakfast.

Darwin.

Merely an observation, darling,
not a reprimand.

Bye, Janice.

Bye, Father.

You meeting me tomorrow?

International Airport, : p.m.

And I won't say one word
if you're an hour late.

Bye, darling.

Bye.

And that's the father
I've been terrified of most of my life.

I was terrified, too, once.

Remember?

There's some mail for you.

I'll pour you some coffee.

I thought we might go shopping today,
if you don't have too much studying to do.

I haven't.

I saw the handsomest wool suit
at Purcell's today.

It's the yummiest shade of blue,

and it just cried out
for somebody with your coloring.

I called them, and they have it in your size,
so I thought we might--

What's the matter, Janice?

[phone rings]
Are you ill?

May I get you something?

No. It's just a dizzy spell.

Some coffee will help.

Telephone, Miss Janice.

Yes?

You thought
he had cleaned up and left, didn't you?

But you're still on the hook, Miss Norland.

He did leave, to go to a doctor,

but he d*ed on the way.

Oh, no.

But why hasn't it been reported?

And what am I to do?

Yes, I can

Hold on a minute.
I'd like to use another phone.

Do you mind, Maureen?
It's rather personal.

I don't mind at all.

[knock on door]

Come in.

Professor, there's a woman here
who wants to speak to you--

a Mrs. Norland.

Mrs. Norland?

I hope I'm not interrupting something.

No, not at all.

I had to talk to you.

It's about Janice.

She's in some kind of trouble, isn't she?

- She told you?
- No.

But two very strange things
happened this morning.

This morning?

In her mail was an envelope
containing a photograph.

What the photograph was, I don't know.

But whatever it was scared her half to death.

And on top of that came a phone call--

something about--
about the photograph, I'm sure.

But also something about going back somewhere
last night

to check on something that wasn't reported.

Could it be something
that wasn't reported to the police?

What did Janice say?

I don't want to play the role
of the meddling stepmother,

so I decided to let you tell me.

You were with her last night, weren't you?

Yes, I was with her last night.

And I think I do know something about this.

But I'm not personally involved with her,
if that's what you're thinking.

I was in hopes you were.

Me?

Why do you think I pushed Janice
into studying law with you?

Tell me, this trouble,

does it involve a man
by the name of Rayo Perez?

He's a dance instructor
that Janice used to bring to the house.

I'm not sure I can talk to you about this.

Why not?

Janice came to me last night for help--
legal help.

I'm not sure I can repeat
what she told me in confidence

without her permission.

I'm not sure I want her to know
that I came to you.

I was hoping we--

or at least you-- could help her.

It's blackmail, isn't it?

If it is, it's water much too deep and muddy
for a law professor.

Then you won't help?

Of course I'll help.

I'm very fond of Janice,

and I owe you more than I can say.

I'll help, but I'll need help, too.

Professor, I'm afraid you've been behind
those ivy-covered walls too long.

I've never run into anything
quite like this before.

Any detective can tell you
that this is one of the oldest

and most easily broken up routines
in the book--

[phone buzzes]
the fake injury racket.

Yes?

Professor Lindley,
it's Mr. Mason from the hospital.

Thank you.

Mr. Mason, if I'd known you were ill,
I wouldn't have told your secretary

I'm happy you did,

if only as proof that the parrot-jackass
part of the legal profession has its uses.

I hear lots of things, Professor.

No, no, I enjoyed your description.

Now about this blackmail thing.

Well, I realize I shouldn't have got
so upset about it.

Yes, I quite agree with you. I'll do that.

Many thanks.

Mr. Mason says I should turn Perez
over to you.

It's easy.

All I have to do is check up on his past,
which I guarantee is shady,

and use what I find as a lever
to get him to lay off.

Can you do this without any notoriety
for Janice Norland?

Mm-hmm.

I suppose I should
get in touch with her first

to authorize my retaining you.

Professor, I'm not trying to push this,
but waiting could be disastrous.

I realize that.

All right, Mr. Drake.

You go ahead. Good hunting.

Well, Mr. Dias, it looks like it's set
to rain all night, huh?

Who knows, Señor Hawes?

Who knows and who cares?

Oh!

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

[Maureen]
Janice, are you awake?

Professor Lindley
would like to speak with you.

Janice?

When she wakes, would you have her
call me at Mr. Mason's office, Mrs. Norland?

Oh, by the way,
did she get the note I left last night

telling her what Mr. Drake was doing?

Oh, I see.

[door opens, closes]

When she came home.

Mr. Drake?
Yes, he just this minute came in.

Yes, I'll let you know.

Janice came home at : last night,
read my note, and went straight to bed.

It's odd she didn't call me. I suppose
she thought there wasn't any reason to.

How did you make out, Mr. Drake?

It was easy.

Perez has two convictions on his record,
both for shake-down attempts.

Here's a copy of his mug-sh*t.

This is the man I saw in the dance studio.

Miss Cosgrave was pretending
to give him a lesson.

Which means she's probably
up to her neck in this.

One thing, though, Professor,

if you saw Perez after Miss Norland
told you about having a fight with him,

she can't have given him
much of a belt with that poker.

- You haven't talked with him, then?
- No, but just as good as.

I dropped a warning word
at each of his favorite haunts,

and this morning I assigned
a couple of men to run him down.

[intercom buzzes]

Yes, Gertie?

- It's for you, Paul.
- Hmm.

Yeah?

You've located Perez?

Good work, Connors.
What did I tell you?

Oh.

No.

No, I'll take over from here. Thanks.

They found Perez about an hour ago
in his apartment.

According to the police,
he was k*lled with a poker.

That's where he was lying,
and here's where the poker was.

I never realized that visits to m*rder scenes

were part of a law school curriculum,
Professor.

Could it be that you have something more
than an academic interest in this?

Well, I can't force you to answer,

and I don't know as I mind
conducting a guided tour.

Andy, before we get started,
who found the body?

Fellow who runs the tobacco shop downstairs,

one Pedro Dias.

Claims to be a cousin of Perez.

Do you know how long
Perez had been dead?

Eight to ten hours, according
to a quick guess by the coroner's man.

We'll know better after the autopsy.

You're sure he said eight to ten hours?

You know something
that would suggest different, Professor?

No, no.

You don't sound too certain.

Well, let's take the tour.

First, the furniture, which makes it
look like Perez put up a fight

before he was k*lled.

Next... this gadget

What's that for?

I'll show you.

About as neat a one-man blackmail
operation as ever I've bumped into.

Focused through this peephole

and operated by a five-second delay
shutter mechanism,

like the kind you put on cameras
so you could focus, click,

and still get out in front in time
to take your own picture.

What was the purpose of all this?

Think we should tell the professor
the facts of life, Paul?

Suppose you want to take a picture
of a certain lady

in, well, let's say
a compromising situation.

You reach under the coffee table,

pretending to put out
a cigarette or something,

and flick the hidden switch,
which in turn activates this one,

giving you five seconds to get
into that compromising situation.

Very handy set-up, because it
doesn't require a second party

to operate the camera
or to split the proceeds.

That's about all for now,

pending lab tests of the poker
and the fingerprint returns

What do you make of those, Professor?

Blood?

Hmm.

About the right shade of red,
but it hasn't matted the way blood would.

I'll run some tests on it later, though.

Could they be footprints?

Red and feet apart.

Not unless they were left
by a Martian feet tall.

Janice?

May I come in?

Aren't you even coming down
for lunch, dear?

Perhaps you'd like something sent up.

Don't bother.

What about Professor Lindley's
telephone call?

He said it was very important.

Very important. To whom?

What do you mean by that, Janice?

[sigh]

Nothing, I guess.

What's this?

Just something I decided to get rid of.

Fire purifies, don't you agree, Maureen?

I don't know
what you're talking about, Janice.

Has something happened,
something new that's upset you?

Oh, please, leave me alone, won't you?

Janice-- Janice, dear--

Leave me alone.

Mr. Dias?

Sí.

I understand you're the one
who found Perez.

Sí.

How did you happen to be
up in his apartment this morning?

Not very friendly with strangers, Dias isn't.

And he's not very friendly about
extending credit to his neighbors.

I was wondering if one of you gentlemen
might spare a cigarette, please.

- Sure.
- Oh, my brand.

Thank you very much.

As for our taciturn amigo there,
he visited Perez quite often,

being his cousin and joint owner
of the building here and all that.

And were you a frequent visitor,
too, Mister?

Hawes. Sidney Hawes.

Oh, no.

I was never invited upstairs,
as I told the police.

- You spoke to them, then?
- Oh, yes.

Mostly about a lady who called on Perez
around : last night.

Dark-haired, well-dressed,

not pretty, but classy,
nice-looking, you know?

She was the same lady who called on him
the previous night with a--

a gentleman who looks very much
like you, sir.

You're positive it was the same lady?

Oh, yes, yes.
I got a good look at her both times,

and so did Dias.

Does either of you know who the lady is?

Well, now, we don't travel
in the social set, sir. [chuckling]

I'd know this lady if I ever saw her again,
you can bet on that.

Well, thanks a lot.

It's okay, gentlemen. Any time.

Professor,
I'd say your client's in big trouble.

- Hadn't you better talk to her?
- Yes, I had.

And in the meantime, I'll try and shake
something beside a rumba

out of a certain lady dance teacher.

Now. Come on. Let's try it again.
Come on.

I think I'll wait till tomorrow, Vivian,
until after I consult a chiropractor.

All right. Anything you say, Pops.

Oh.

- You Vivian Cosgrave?
- Yeah, that's right.

I got one of your ads
with the coupon for a free lesson.

Here I am, ready to go.

Mister, we are booked days in advance.

You can't expect to just pop up and--

Wait a minute.

A guy with your looks, I'm sure,
has had free dancing lessons all his life.

- So what's the pitch?
- Rayo Perez.

Oh, I am sick of Rayo Perez.

He's still your partner, isn't he,
in a shake-down racket?

b*at it, Mister.

If I do, I'll take you along
to police headquarters.

Have you checked with the law on that?

What do you mean?

Two of them were here
no more than ten minutes ago,

and nobody said anything
about taking anybody anywhere.

Didn't they tell you
that Rayo had implicated you?

Oh, come off it. Who are you trying to kid?

Look, Rayo is dead.

But I'll tell you exactly
what I told the police.

I don't know anything about his racket.

I don't know who k*lled him. I didn't.

I didn't have any reason to.

But if you're looking for someone who did,

why don't you look up a rich dame
named Janice Norland?

I can't understand this change
in your attitude, Janice.

Two nights ago you wanted my help.

I don't need any help now.
[phone rings]

You do if you were
in Perez' apartment last night.

What is it?

Why are you acting like this?

Were you there last night?

Excuse me.
I have some things I must do.

Miss Janice, the phone
for Professor Lindley.

Hello.

Yeah.

The police?

For what?

All right. Yes, keep on.

That was Drake.

Vivian Cosgrave has given your name
to the police as a possible suspect.

They'll be around here to talk to you.

Janice.

I want you to tell me everything
that happened yesterday,

starting with the photograph you received.

You know about that?

Oh, yes. From Maureen, of course.

What was the photograph of?

Of me, standing over Rayo and the poker.

And the phone call, what was that about?

An elderly voice told me

that a copy of that photograph
would be sent to the police

unless I paid $ , .

Was it explained how you could be expected
to pay when Rayo was still alive then?

But I was told that Rayo was dead.

That this person, man or woman,
whoever it was,

had come into the apartment,

had found Rayo just coming to
from the blow that I'd struck him.

Together they cleaned the apartment,

and then, because Rayo's head got worse,

they started for the doctor in Rayo's car.

And on the way, he d*ed.

What happened then?

Rayo and his car were driven
into the ocean near Malibu

so that the police would think
it was an accident,

provided they never saw the photograph.

And you believed all that?

No, not really.

But I decided to put an end
to the mess I was in--

[doorbell rings]
...to pay the money anyway.

And you did?

I was told to bring it to Rayo's apartment
between and last night.

The photograph, too, so it could be
destroyed with the copy.

Well, when I got there, I let myself in.

The only person waiting for me was Rayo.

I-- I mean Rayo's body.

Why didn't you call me or the police?

I was frightened.

I just got in the car and came home
and went to-- Maureen.

There's a Lieutenant Anderson
here to see you, Janice,

along with some other people.

Will you tell them she's indisposed?

I'm afraid that won't do, Professor.

Well, how about it?

- Sí.
- Yeah, that's her, all right.

All right. Thanks.

Miss Norland, I'm going to have to take you
down to police headquarters.

[Lindley]
Just a minute, Lieutenant.

- On what charge?
- Suspicion of m*rder.

Based on the fact that those two men
thought they saw her last night?

Oh, I have more, quite a bit more.

Enough, in fact, to justify a charge
of first degree m*rder.

You see, before coming in here,
we took a look at Miss Norland's car,

and in the glove compartment we found, uh...

some money and a photograph.

Isn't often we get a picture of a crime
actually being committed.

Hi, beautiful.

Hi, Paul.

Who's been drinking all the coffee?

Professor Lindley.

Poor man spent the night
boning up on Rules of Evidence,

California Criminal Jurisprudence,
and heaven knows what all.

Where is he now?

He decided to talk to Janice again
before going into court.

She hasn't been exactly cooperative,
you know.

It too bad Perry can't be here.

Burger is going to make mincemeat
out of Janice's story

that the photograph was taken
the night before the m*rder.

You don't think it was?

[phone buzzes]

Yes, Gertie?

Have her come in.

Mrs. Norland.

Professor Lindley's already left?

Yes, he has.

Will you be seeing him in court,
Miss Street?

That's right. Is there something
I can tell him for you?

Yes, please.

Something I've been
tormenting myself with for days,

wondering whether it would
help Janice or not.

You see,
I'm the one Perez was blackmailing.

You?

And I'm the one
who hit him with the fireplace poker

the night before he was m*rder*d.

Maureen says that Janice
somehow discovered

she was having trouble with Perez,

so, instead of going to class that night,

Janice followed Maureen
to Perez' apartment.

She heard the fighting inside and ran in

to find Mrs. Norland gone and Perez
presumably dead on the floor.

So she made up that cock-and-bull story
about Perez blackmailing her.

Why would she do that?

To protect Maureen.

It seems that when Perez
was visiting the Norland home,

he managed to lift a locket
belonging to Mrs. Norland.

A locket?

A gift from a man Mrs. Norland
was secretly involved with a year ago

in Lower California in a town
called Puerto Verde.

With an inscription or something inside

which would mean the end of her marriage
if her husband ever saw it.

And now Mrs. Norland
wants to testify to all this?

She said that's up to you to decide.

Professor, whatever you do decide,

there's one angle here
that has to be investigated.

What's that?

Well, Mrs. Norland won't say
who the man with her in Puerto Verde was,

but it's something we should find out,
shouldn't we?

Well, after all, he might have k*lled Perez
to protect himself.

Now you're reaching, Mr. Drake.

You don't want me to go after him?

No. No, I don't.

Doctor, the autopsy determined
that the deceased d*ed

as a result of a blow
to the base of his skull?

- Is that correct?
- Correct.

Did the autopsy reveal anything
as to the nature of the m*rder w*apon?

Yes, it was a rodlike metallic object
about the thickness of my little finger.

A fireplace poker, perhaps?

Objection, Your Honor.

The District Attorney is leading the witness.

I'll be most happy to withdraw
the question, Professor,

and rephrase it.

Doctor, in your long experience
as a coroner's physician,

have you ever encountered wounds

similar to the one suffered
by the deceased in this case?

Yes, three or four times.

And on each occasion, what caused it?

A blow from a fireplace poker.

Thank you, Doctor.

Your turn, Professor.

What?

Uh, no questions.

I show you now this fireplace poker,
Lieutenant.

Will you identify it for us?

I can. This is my mark there.

It's the poker found lying beside the body.

If it please the court,

the state would like this poker
entered in evidence

and marked for the people Exhibit .

Very well. So ordered, Mr. Burger.

Now, Lieutenant, referring back
to People's Exhibit ,

this camera, which you found
attached to a peephole

in the decedent's living room,

aside from that,
was there anything unusual about it?

Yes. A remote control attachment
with a switch

under the coffee table in the living room,

which in turn activated a five-second
delay switch on the shutter.

Thus enabling Perez to record events
in his living room surreptitiously

and without the help
of an accomplice, is that right?

Yes.

Lieutenant, could this device
be activated by accident?

For instance, the coffee table
overturning, for example?

Yes, quite easily.

Didn't you express to me earlier the belief

that the falling body of the deceased
did, in fact, overturn that coffee table?

I did.

And if the camera had
been loaded at that time,

it would have photographed the scene
five seconds later, wouldn't it?

That's right.

Perhaps even catching the k*ller
still standing over the dead body.

Objection, Your Honor.

The question calls for an answer based
on the completely unproven hypothesis

that the camera was loaded.

Do you intend to tie this in later,
Mr. Burger?

I intend to tie it in right now, Your Honor.

Then the witness may answer.

Yes, it could have
caught the k*ller that way.

And in fact did, didn't it, Lieutenant?

I am, of course,
referring to this photograph,

which you found where, Lieutenant?

In the glove compartment
of the defendant's car.

And would you tell us, please,
what that photograph shows?

The defendant standing over Perez' body.

In fact, then, Lieutenant,

you don't know if this photograph
was made on the night of the m*rder

or the night before
or a week or a month before?

Let's just say that I know,
but I can't prove it right now.

Very well. Let's just say that.

Now, Lieutenant, in your description
of what you found in Perez' apartment,

you omitted something, didn't you?

You mean that trail
of red splotches on the rug?

Were you able to determine what they were
or how they were made?

The lab tests showed they were a cheap
aniline dye of some sort.

As to how they were made red
and feet apart, I have no idea.

You expressed an opinion on the morning
of the body's discovery, Lieutenant.

What was that opinion?

Look, I was-- I was only kidding.

Would you answer the question, please?

Well, I said I said
if they were footprints...

they were made
by a Martian feet tall.

[laughter]

A Martian feet tall.

That's all, Lieutenant.

Don't tell me you're planning to call

a surprise extra-terrestrial witness,
Professor?

I might just do that, Mr. Burger.

Yes, we made laboratory tests

of the blood and the hair
adhering to the poker.

The blood was AB,
the same type as that of the deceased.

What about the hair?

It corresponded exactly
in color, length, texture,

and other characteristics with hair samples

taken from the deceased's head
adjacent to the fatal wound.

...finally managed to develop one
latent print on the poker's handle.

Were you able to identify it?

Yes, as that of the defendant,
Janice Norland.

And this particular key, Sergeant,

that you found in the defendant's purse
when she was brought in,

did you find out what it fits?

Yes, sir. The lock on the front door
of the Rayo Perez apartment.

Sí. She come to my cousin's
apartment that night.

By that night, you mean
the night of the m*rder, Mr. Dias?

Sí.

Sure, it was raining, but I saw her
as plain as I see you now.

She went up to the apartment
just about the time they say Perez d*ed.

It was : , or a minute or two after.

Well, all I know is Rayo kept boasting
about Janice Norland.

He kept saying no matter how hard
she struggled, that he had her hooked.

Well, I thought he was talking
about marriage.

I didn't know anything
about his blackmail racket.

Yes, I did lend Perez money
on two different occasions.

A hundred dollars one time
and , I think it was, the second.

Did you do this because you thought he was
threatening your daughter, Mr. Norland?

If I'd thought he was doing that,
I'd have broken his neck.

No, it was to get rid of him.

I thought if he owed me money, he'd stop
coming to the house, stop seeing Janice.

And finally, Mrs. Norland, did you
have any reason to suspect

that Rayo Perez was blackmailing
your stepdaughter?

No.

She never discussed it with you,
she never asked you for help?

No.

Thank you very much, Mrs. Norland.
That'll be all.

Your witness, Professor.

I have no questions, Mrs. Norland.

Nacho, el señor.

This is the owner of the hotel,
Señor Juan Perez.

Buenas tardes, señor.

Perez?
- Sí, Señor.

I can offer you a choice
of a bungalow or a room.

By any chance, are you related
to a Rayo Perez in Los Angeles?

Rayo?

We are distant cousins,
a fact I'm not proud of.

I suppose you want the same information
I give to the señor last week

who also knew Rayo.

The señor last week?

Sí. Señor Norland.

He wished the name
of a man who stayed here

who was such a close friend
of Señor Norland's beautiful wife.

Is that not what you come to find?

I've already found more than I expected,
but yes, that's what I came to find.

The man who was here
at the same time with Mrs. Norland,

his name was...

Edward Lindley.

Edward Lindley?

It's an awkward spot to be in, Paul.

If you tell Burger,
you'll be selling out Professor Lindley,

and if you don't, you may be
selling out Janice Norland.

Perry...

what do you think I ought to do?

My advice is to go to Lindley and tell him.

After his failure
to cross-examine Mrs. Norland?

I'm quite certain he didn't cross-examine her

for the simple reason that he couldn't
see how it would help Janice.

Now, are you certain that the man asking
questions in Puerto Verde was Mr. Norland?

- Yes, I am.
- Then there's nothing else to do.

You have to tell Lindley.

Well, Professor, it's up to you now.

Your Honor,
the defense has come into possession

of certain new facts pertinent to this case.

With the court's permission, we would like
to recall one of the prosecution witnesses.

Very well, Mr. Lindley.

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

You say that Rayo Perez had been
blackmailing you, Mrs. Norland?

Yes, over a locket he'd taken
from my dressing room table.

And on the night before he was k*lled,
you went to see him about this locket?

To give him some money for it.

After I'd given him the money,
he refused to give the locket back,

so I tried to get it back.

We struggled, he knocked me down,

and then I did a dreadful thing.

I hit him with the fireplace poker,

took the money, and ran.

This locket, Mrs. Norland,
where did it come from originally?

It was given to me by a man
I met in Puerto Verde,

and inside was a photograph
of the two of us together.

Will you tell the court exactly
what happened in Puerto Verde?

I went there a little over a year ago

to try to think out some problems
I was having with Mr. Norland.

Our relationship at that time,
though I loved him dearly,

was more of autocratic schoolteacher
and backward pupil

than husband and wife.

And at the same hotel...

there was a man
in even deeper trouble than I was.

His wife had d*ed, and he'd gone to pieces,

well on his way to becoming a derelict.

And so?

In Puerto Verde, I made another friend--

the village priest.

And together we tried to help him.

And succeeded?

Yes. I think so.

And somehow, in helping him,
I was able to help myself.

I found the strength to come home
and resolve own my problem,

which turned out not to be a problem at all.

Did your relationship with this man
ever go beyond the point you've told us?

Do you mean were we ever
romantically involved?

Oh, no.

I was in love with my husband...

and he with the memory of his wife.

That would have been a betrayal
on both our parts.

Now one last question, Mrs. Norland.

Who was the man?

Must I answer that?

Well, he was--

was you...

Edward Lindley.

Thank you, Mrs. Norland.

Mr. Burger?

Your Honor, could the Prosecution
have a few moments

to evaluate this rather astonishing
testimony?

Yes, of course, Mr. Burger.

[whispering]

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

You see, I found the photo that had been
in the locket in Rayo's apartment

after he was dead,

and I thought that you and Maureen
were responsible.

Janice, why did you lie to me
about hitting Rayo

- that first night when you came to me?
- To protect Father.

Maureen k*lling Perez,
as I thought she had that night,

to conceal what he was
blackmailing her about,

all that coming out
would have completely destroyed Father.

And you thought she would simply keep
quiet and let you take the blame?

I hoped I could persuade her,
for Father's sake.

After all, I could plead self-defense.

Then we couldn't find a body, could we?

Unfortunately, one was found later.

Janice, did you k*ll Rayo Perez
that second night?

No.

All right.

- Mr. Drake.
- Yes?

I want you to get me a pan of water
and a pair of second-hand shoes.

All right. What size?

Big enough to fit a Martian feet tall.

A Martian feet tall.

That's right.

Twice, in a veiled way,
Perez mentioned the locket,

hinting there was something in it
I might find worth paying for to see.

I knew Maureen had brought it back
from Puerto Verde, so I flew there.

And found out about your wife and me?

Yes.

And I concluded that Perez
was probably working on her, too.

So you went to see him that night he d*ed?

I happen to know you were in Los Angeles
then, Mr. Norland, not in Tulsa.

I went to his apartment about : , I think,

and tried to force him to give me the locket.

Overturning some of the furniture
in the process?

Yes, quite a bit of it.

He finally convinced me
he didn't have the locket there,

so I gave him until morning to get it
and left.

Did you notice a trail
of reddish splotches on the white rug,

- each about feet apart?
- No.

No, there was nothing on the rug.

One more question, Mr. Norland.

Before you left, did you k*ll Rayo Perez?

I only wish I had.

Then my wife and daughter
wouldn't be in all this mess.

Lieutenant, I want you to examine
this photograph

of Miss Norland standing over Perez again.

Are Perez' body
and the overturned coffee table

in the exact positions you found them?

No, not quite.

Perez' head is turned to the other side,

and the coffee table
is closer to the couch.

How do you account for that,

if that really is actually a photograph taken
just five seconds after Perez was k*lled?

The k*ller must have moved
both the body and the coffee table

while searching for something.

But if that is the m*rder scene,
where are the red splotches on the rug?

They must have been put in later.

Isn't it more likely that photograph
was taken earlier, Lieutenant?

The night Perez was struck down
by Mrs. Norland

and then discovered by Janice Norland?

We know Miss Norland was
in his apartment the night he did die,

so what difference does it make?

Quite a bit.

If the camera switch was operated
by the coffee table being overturned,

then the delayed action shutter would
snap the picture just five seconds later.

That's not nearly enough delay
for Janice Norland to enter the apartment,

cross from the door,
and stand over the body.

That photograph was taken
by someone else, Lieutenant,

someone who was Perez' accomplice.

Wait a minute!
If you're talking about me, you're wrong!

I was never in Rayo's apartment
either night.

Miss Cosgrave, take your place.

Otherwise, I'll have you removed
from the courtroom.

Your Honor, mention has been made
to a Martian feet tall.

I believe I can explain, and in so doing
uncover Perez' accomplice and k*ller,

if the court will allow
an experiment with Mr. Drake.

Go right ahead, Mr. Lindley.

The streets and sidewalks
were soaking wet with rain that night.

Mr. Drake.

The k*ller came into the apartment
the back way

and into the camera room.

From there, in order to tiptoe
up on Perez noiselessly,

he removed off his wet shoes.

But when he was tiptoeing,
he unwittingly left a trail.

One of his shoes was so worn

that the cheap maroon sock on that foot
had become soaking wet.

Thus when he removed the shoes,
that one wet sock left a red splotch

every time it came into contact
with the white rug.

Intervals of approximately feet,

since the other sock, being dry,
left no trace.

The strange Martian tracks
we've been talking about.

Mr. Hawes,
would you please come forward?

Mr. Hawes, if I gave you a kitchen match,
how would you strike it?

A match?

Oh, uh--

All right.

But Perez had it coming to him.

Him always promising,
always promising.

He never paid me one cent
for all those pictures I copied for him,

not even the one I snapped
of the girl standing over him.

When I sneaked up there that night
and heard a big man like Mr. Norland

making all that fuss about that locket,
fighting him for it,

I figured that locket was worth a fortune,
and I was entitled to it.

When Mr. Norland left
and Perez went to take it out

from the couch
where he'd hidden the thing,

I took it away from him.

Y-You want a laugh?

Look at it.

Look at that.

A cheap, crummy hunk of junk

you could buy for a buck
in any Mexican store in town.

[Mason] Perez stole that locket
from the Norland house, is that right?

And, being from Puerto Verde originally,

Perez recognized the church
in the locket photo

and did some checking.

I'm surprised he didn't also try to squeeze
money out of Professor Lindley.

I imagine he thought a law professor
was hardly worth bothering with, Mr. Mason.

Well, he had enough going for him anyway--

Mr. Norland, Mrs. Norland,
and eventually Janice.

You mean he thought he had.

Professor, do you still believe
the perfect trial lawyer

is a cross between a parrot and a jackass?

No, Mr. Mason. I now believe
the perfect trial lawyer

needs the eye of an eagle,
the heart of a lion and a lot of help.

My sentiments exactly.