06x24 - The Case of the Elusive Element

[bunniefuu]

Come on, come on.
What are you worrying about?

Nobody will find out,
and nobody will know.

The contract's in the bag,
I guarantee you.

If anybody's got trouble, it's me.

This partnership thing is like trying
to ride a dying horse.

I need that money.

You, my friend, owe me $ , .

I never guarantee who would get the contract.

I only said our report would fix it
so that Universal wouldn't.

Well, now you're talking sense.

Suppose I meet you at-- Yes, Terri.

Universal Aviation, Mr. Pearce.

What?

Right outside and mad.

Wait till I buzz and then send him in.

Did you hear that?

Well, we knew we'd have to face
some of the music,

but he can't know,
and it won't make any difference.

Just stay on the line. I'll get back to you.

[buzzer sounds]

- Mr. Pearce--
- Sit down.

- Oh, but, Mr. Pearce--
- Sit down, Lloyd, and listen.

Universal Aviation is company with net assets
of more than a million dollars.

On behalf of the board of directors
and stockholders, I run that company.

You, Lloyd, may know the right time of day.

More than that, I wouldn't swear to.

Mr. Pearce, I protest.

Sit down.

You're a fast-talking promoter

who latched on to a bright young scientist

and formed a two-bit
independent reliability testing outfit.

Whatever that is.

Why, I don't know.

But my engineering department
saw fit to employ your company

to test some designs for the DIMOS project.

A project with a total potential value
in excess of one half a billion dollars.

Less than a day before the bid is due,
we discover by some strange fluke

that our bid is going to be so high,

we haven't a chance to win that contract.

Mr. Pearce, that's the way things happen.
The fortunes of w*r.

I'm terribly sorry
that you lost that contract.

But I haven't lost it.

Well, you just said--

I asked for and was given a one week's extension in which
to submit our bid.

But that means--

An investigation, Mr. Lloyd.

Mr. Pearce, are you accusing me?

Yes, I am.

If one of my departments
is found to be at fault,

I'll fire the whole kit and caboodle of them.

But if, as I'm led to believe,
it's this outfit of yours--

Look out.

Now, start that genius partner of yours
double-checking the report he wrote.

He may have to explain it in court.

Universal's held up their bid
and gotten an extension.

How do I know why?
It could be anything.

Some fluke, Pearce said.

Maybe somebody smelled
something in the report.

If they question too closely
and double-check,

you and I may go to jail.

Don't give me that, friend.
If I go to jail, you're going with me.

Over here, Mr. Lloyd. I'm almost finished.

All right, thank you, Joe.

That'll be $ . , sir.

Personal check for $ . Cash it.

May I see your driver's license, please?

Everything all right, Mr. Lloyd?

You're looking a little peaked.

I feel it.

Don't think I've ever seen you
buy a bottle before.

What are you gonna do,
drown the trouble?

- Why not?
- Here you are.

Thank you.

Station , cash back King--

.

Brown .

That's right.

Yeah, sure, I'll hold on.

Sir, would you be good enough

to fill out this credit application
for me, please?

What for?

Oh, just routine for our records.
Your name and your address.

- You stalling me?
- Excuse me?

Who are you talking to?

Look, Telecredit is just a routine--

Oh, forget it.

That's him, Officer!

That's the guy with the phony license
and the bad check-- him!

Terrific, isn't it?

You spot a phony license
or a bad check in five seconds.

Yeah.

Can I help you with your problem,
Mr. Lloyd?

Thanks, Joe. You already have.

[ring]

Miss Clover.

Oh, yes. Yes, Mr. Garrett,
I'll tell him right away.

And that's how it works.

Well, that's wonderful.

- Excuse me, Mr. Lloyd.
- Yes, Terri.

Mr. Garrett would like to see you in his office.
I think he has his lawyer with him.

He said it was important.

Of course. Well, thank you, Mr. Fordney.

Thanks for your time and trouble.
I'll be seeing you soon.

- Thank you, Mr. Lloyd.
- Right.

What's electronic check approval?
And who is Mr. Fordney?

Oh, he's a fellow I met at the club.
He's selling something.

I guess, I'll see Dwight.

Austin, after you see him,

will I still be working here?

Everybody's wondering, huh?

Well, we haven't been
setting the world on fire.

Our boy Dwight is a walking brain.
Real smart, sure.

But he's not the only one around here
who can figure things out.

Don't ever sell Austin Lloyd short.

[buzzer rings]

Hello, Dwight.

Well.

Our private little w*r seems to be turning
into a public exposition.

I'm sorry, Austin.

You gave him no choice, Mr. Lloyd.

Oh, Mason. I know you called,

but you'll have to understand
the press of business.

Dodging is the word.

You deliberately avoided my calls.

Assume the offensive,
it's a good legal tactic.

Well, even the reinforcements are here.

Mr. Baker of Baker Avionics.

Mr. Ned Chase,
his chief reliability engineer.

I don't know how this concerns you gentlemen,
but welcome to the battle.

Austin, I-- I've been offered
a vice presidency at Baker Avionics.

Genius recognized. Genius rewarded.

Good for you, Dwight.

Look, I want out, Austin.

I'll dissolve our partnership.

You want to dissolve my marriage, too.

Accusations like that are one reason
your partnership needs dissolution.

A Solomon come to render judgment.

Tell me, Mason,
do you know all the answers?

Let's say enough of them
to recognize lack of equity.

Dwight's contribution
to this joint venture of yours

has become increasingly disproportionate.

Bitter antagonism is grounds for dissolution
of a partnership by the courts.

Oh, now we're gonna wave
subpoenas at one another.

The company has assets.

Dwight agrees they're yours to keep.

[Lloyd]
Oh, fine. Just enough money in the bank

to meet the payroll
and the current bills, period.

Dwight Garrett isn't the only
reliability engineer in the field.

No? Well, one even half as good
wouldn't dream of associating with me

unless I could offer him a substantial bonus.

The kind of money I don't have,
Dwight doesn't have,

and the company doesn't have.

Oh, come off it, Austin.

There must be somebody
you can associate with.

Tell me, Mr. Myron Baker, with just
a somebody, not a Dwight Garrett,

would your company use us?

Well, I-- I don't handle
that end of the business.

Isn't that beautifully evasive?

Mr. Ned Chase,
as Mr. Baker's chief reliability engineer,

and under those circumstances,
would you use us?

No.

Well, look, Perry, maybe I--

No, Dwight.

You made him your partner
out of misguided sympathy.

Don't repeat the mistake.

All right, Mr. Lloyd,

in regard to the dissolution of partnership

and as a matter of record,
I'd like your answer.

As a matter of record,
you'll have it in hours.

Oh, Dwight, minds like yours
sometimes frighten me.

You punch magic holes
into a piece of cardboard,

and you feed it into a computer,

and out comes an answer telling you
how to fly to the stars.

I wish life's problems
were as easily solved as that.

Dwight, I'm Austin's wife.

I'm not a chattel. You can't trade him
half a partnership for me.

Oh, we both made a mistake.

You when you married him
and me when I made him my partner.

He's no good, Bonnie.

Look, I know he's been lying and cheating
and stealing from the company.

Well, then you should have asked him
to leave a long time ago.

Just as I know he's been lying and cheating

and he's stolen every chance
for happiness you'll ever have.

Have I ever led you to believe
that I thought

you and I were anything
but just good friends?

I'm letting him go.

You, Bonnie. You let him go.

My kind of partnership is different.

I'm in my for life.

You love Austin?

Look at me.

Can't lie can you?

Oh, Bonnie.

I love you.

Deny-- Deny you love me.

Dwight.

Oh, Dwight.

[buzzer sounds]

Dwight, we're both grown men.
Can't we talk our troubles out?

There's nothing we can say
that's gonna change the facts.

The partnership has to end.

Well, I thought a lot about it,
and I think I know way out for both us.

If Aerospace Reliability was something
more than just an empty name,

a new contract,

time and money enough
to get somebody in here in your place.

What kind of a contract?

Well, there's a Mexican company,
a top Latin American outfit in electronics.

They're expanding.

They're looking for a United States company
to do their reliability and test design work.

You think you can land the contract?

Well, if you'll meet their top man
and look over the specs on the project, yes.

And, uh, if I do?

I'll sign any papers that Mason prepares.

When and where do I see this man?

Well, I'm expecting a telephone call
at my house at : .

You go home and pack a bag,
say, for a two-day trip.

Come over to my house after : ,
and I'll make all arrangements.

Where do I go to see him?

Mexico, Acapulco.

All right.

I'll go home and pack.

To Mexico?

That's right, honey. Just think of this.

Just the two of us, one week in Acapulco.

All things are looking up, Bonnie.
Money's coming in.

It'll be a second honeymoon.

A second chance to prove to you,
that I can be a good husband.

That I love you.

To leave today--
Well, I don't have any clothes.

We'll get them when you get there.

Anything you want,
another trousseau.

Don't say no, honey.
Please, I beg of you.

Oh, Austin, I--

I don't know. I just--

Things will change, honey.
You won't be sorry.

Do you have the airplane tickets?

Oh, that reminds me.
I'm gonna be tied up right to flight time.

But, honey, you can run
some errands for me, huh?

Go to the Beverly Hills airline office
and pick up the tickets.

Pay with this check for both of them.
One way.

One way?

We're coming back by boat.

Our own boat. Two weeks
of easy sailing up the coast to L.A.

You're going to buy a boat?

A fantastic buy. $ , for a thing
of beauty worth three times that.

The owner's in trouble, he needs cash.

$ , . Go and cash this at the bank.

Get $ bills.
He insists on being paid that way.

We'll need the rest for expenses
up the coast.

Oh, that's--
that's so much money to carry.

Oh, put in your purse and forget it.

Oh, one more thing.
A radio receiver for the boat.

I ordered one at Hillman's.
Will you pick it up for me?

Where will I meet you?

At the airport. I'll pick up my ticket
if I'm late and you've already boarded.

This is happening so fast, I--

Not fast enough if you don't get
to the bank before it closes.

See you in a couple of hours.

Uh--

Thank you.

Yes, we can cash this company check
for you, Mrs. Lloyd.

Just a matter of confirming
your identification, that's all.

Oh, here's my driver's license.

Thank you.
Here, you can be endorsing it.

All right.

Station .

Zebra, .

Brown .

That's a company check for $ .

Your tickets are $ .

There'll be cash back to you,
so I have to get clearance, but that's all.

Take just a minute.

Uh, Station .

Cash back. Zebra, --

.

Brown, .

Mr. Rodriguez will be waiting for you
when you land.

Now, these papers are for him,

some confidential material
on financing he wanted.

What about my ticket?

You can pick it up at the airport.

Rodriguez will have your hotel accommodations all set.

You'll be thoroughly briefed
when you get there.

Well, I guess that's it.

I hope I can swing it for you.

Oh, Dwight, before you go,
will you get me that glass of water

and bottle of pills
from the table there, please?

Thank you.

Will you be all right?

Oh, don't worry.
I've had these ulcer att*cks before.

Bonnie will be back from shopping soon.

I'll give her your regards.

[coughs]

Operator, this is an emergency.
Get me the police fast.

This is Austin Lloyd.

Vista Haven.

Send the ambulance fast.

He poisoned me.

Dwight Garrett poisoned me.

Station .

Uh, cash back.

Zebra, .

Uh, Brown.

I'm in such a hurry. Couldn't I just--

It's a regular routine.

Uh, yes.

That was Brown .

Aerospace Reliability Associates.

[Woman]
Station ,

stand by for Code .

Yes. Yes, I'm standing by. I'll wait.

Um, look, I'll pay you in cash.
I'm-- I'm already late.

Um, just one moment, ma'am. I'll--

This is Sergeant Parnell, Special Agent.

[sighs]
No.

I'm sorry.

Madam?

[Woman over intercom]
Flight now arriving at Gate .

Thank you.

Passengers for Flight ,
please board immediately at Gate .

Bonnie.

Dwight, what are you doing here?

I'm going to Acapulco, but--

One-way tickets? What the--

Dwight Garrett?
Lieutenant Anderson, Los Angeles Police.

Are you Mrs. Austin Lloyd?

Well, yes I am. What's wrong?

I'll have to ask both of you
to come downtown with me.

Well, if it's about this money,
don't ask me, ask Austin Lloyd.

Well, that's impossible, Mr. Garrett.

Austin Lloyd has been m*rder*d.

Austin called the police
and said I tried to poison him?

He identified you specifically by name.

And then the police called your office.

They were told you were
on your way flying to Mexico.

Andy-- Lieutenant Anderson
just happened to be at the airport.

When the squad car boys
found Lloyd's body,

the police radioed Andy,
and he picked you up.

Well, this Mr. Anderson,
he was looking for me, too.

Well, what's amazing.

The way the bunco squad picked you up
is almost as if they knew in advance

exactly where to find you and the fact
you'd have all that money on you.

It's more than amazing, Paul.

It's as though it had been carefully planned.

However, regardless of how or why,

the fact remains you're both being held
on suspicion of m*rder.

Well, all right, me.

Maybe they think they have some sort
of a case against me, but why Bonnie?

, in cash in her purse. His wife.

, in cash in an envelope
in your pocket.

His partner.

Plus reservations for two

and a flight out of the country.

Your computer mind should
be able to add that up.

To one answer for both of you,
premeditated m*rder.

[Mason]
Well, how do I plead you?

Guilty or not guilty.

[sobs]

Dwight?

He was smarter and a lot more devious
than I ever suspected,

but he won't get away with it, Perry.

Who won't get away with what?

Austin. He planned all this.
Every step of the way.

The money, the trip to Mexico,

tying Bonnie and me together.

[Mason]
And his death?

[Garrett]
He planned that, too.

Don't you see? He deliberately had me
hand him the poison he took to k*ll himself,

and then he called the police.

All right.

I'll have Paul start checking out your stories.

But there's one thing
I think you ought to know.

According to the preliminary autopsy report,
Austin Lloyd was strangled to death.

I still don't see the point
of comparing these, Mason.

I have experts working on this report.

But now the district attorney's
asking about it, too.

But Dwight Garrett said there was
some sort of mix-up on the report.

Mix-up? Ha.

Well, I just want every answer
I can get, that's all.

Now, exactly what is the DIMOS project,
Mr. Pearce?

Delta Interplanetary Manned Orbiting Satellite.

A -year-long range space project.

See, look here, Mason. This is my copy
of the DIMOS report, all right.

But are you sure
this is Garrett's own file copy?

Well, he gave me the combination
to his safe.

Miss Clover was right here with me
when I removed it a few moments ago. Why?

They're not the same.

Look, I-- I think this one small paragraph
here is different.

Same reference paragraph on three pages.

Summary, the detail,
and the conclusion sections.

[Mason]
Does those paragraphs effect the amount

of your recommended bid?

Well, that's for the experts to say.

I'm willing to bet that those paragraphs
would keep us from getting that contract.

Wonder how those pages
could've been substituted.

Who typed this report, Miss Clover?

Mr. Mason,
absolutely no one was permitted

to so much as touch
those final reliability reports

except Mr. Garrett himself.

He even did the typing?

Right here in this office
on his own typewriter.

I noticed technical symbols there.
Did he also put those in?

Oh, yes, sir.

He had a special printing element for that.

See the symbols are on it.

Mr. Mason,

these three substitute pages were typed

on the same machine
as the original pages. Look.

On both, the n's are chipped.

Miss Clover,

would you type a few lines for me
on Mr. Garrett's machine?

Certainly.

Now, there it is.

No doubt of it, the "n".

Well?

[Mason]
Well, what?

You've sure got your answer, all right.

So have I.

Dwight Garrett originally worked out
those DIMOS reliability factors properly.

His copy of the report proves that.

This typewriter also proves
that it was the same Dwight Garrett

who added those three substitute pages.

He deliberately altered those factors.

I'm sorry, Mr. Drake,
but I have it right here on this memo.

The man who called in for the two reservations,
side by side, on the flight to Acapulco

identified himself as-- As Dwight Garrett.

A lot of nerve she had, I'll tell you that.

In the middle of getting her check approved,
she ups and vamooses out of here,

leaving me with the radio all wrapped up.

I know. But the man who phone earlier
and ordered the radio.

That was the woman's husband, wasn't it?
Mr. Austin Lloyd?

Oh, no. The guy who called me
was named Garrett--- Dwight Garrett.

[sighs]

Money, whatever it takes,
you just name it, Perry.

We'll do anything we can
to help Dwight Garrett.

You've heard both reports.
What do you think, Myron?

Oh, doesn't matter much what I think.

I'm not an engineer,
just an administrator.

That report could be Greek for all I know.

Ned?

I just can't believe it.

Can't believe that it was done
or that Dwight Garrett did it?

Both.

Universal Aviation was almost fooled
into basing their bid on it.

Almost.

But the substitution was not good enough.

Is that why you can't believe
that Dwight was responsible for it?

I'd be willing to swear
he had nothing to do with it.

Why not?

Dwight Garrett, as an engineer,
a mathematician,

as a scientist, he's tops in his field.

In a class by himself.

Oh, maybe his socks don't always match,
but that brain of his--

He's done work for you?

On six different projects.

And each report was a thing of beauty,
not a single error.

Dwight just doesn't make mistakes.

Not even deliberately?

What could he possible hope to gain?

According to the district attorney,
he's partner's wife for one thing.

By altering a report?

By profiting by the altering of that report
as Baker Avionics did to profit.

But not Dwight?

Yes, Dwight.

What?

Baker Avionics needed
Dwight Garrett's brain desperately.

He agreed to accept the job of vice-president
in charge of planning.

As a bonus, the deal
included , shares of Baker stock.

[Mason]
Worth about $ a share now.

Yes.

If your company instead of Universal
received the DIMOS contract,

how much would that Baker stock be worth?

Five times its present value.
At least $ a share.

Well, that's ridiculous.

I never even considered what that stock
would or wouldn't be worth to me.

The district attorney will claim otherwise.

But let's get back to those checks.

Well, I told you.

Austin called me to make sure
I'd leave the house

in time to get to the bank before it closed.

I'm trying to remember
from the notes I took.

Was it then he told you the name
of the man who would meet you,

the man who wanted to sell you his boat?

Yes. Rudolpho Aragon.

There was no Rudolpho Aragon.
There was no boat for sale.

- And?
- You guessed it.

No Rodriguez to meet you

and no Mexican electronics company
to confer with.

The checks that Bonnie cashed,
did you sign them?

Well, I suppose so.

You don't know?

Sometimes Miss Clover handed me
a stack papers and checks to sign,

and sometimes Austin
gave me checks to sign.

They took both our signatures.
I usually just signed them.

The checks that Bonnie cashed,
Austin Lloyd did not sign.

Well, that's impossible.

Austin Lloyd signature
on those checks was a forgery.

You mean my signature was valid,
and his was forged.

Oh, come on, that doesn't make sense.

Yes, it does if you consider
the district attorney.

I suppose he'll try to pin that on me, too.

Don't you understand?

Forging those checks will be added proof
that you altered the report,

the basis for your alleged motive.

He'll do more than try.

An altered report that could bring you

a personal profit
of a quarter of a million dollars.

Death was the result of asphyxia

brought on, unquestionably,
by manual strangulation.

With the victim dazed,
as decedent was in this case,

from the ingestion
of a massive dose of barbiturates,

the m*rder*r must have pressed against
the victim's larynx until he was dead.

A massive dose of barbiturates, Doctor.

Was the dose large enough to have caused death if no
strangulation had occurred?

I would say so, yes.

Now, let's suppose, then,

that the m*rder*r discovered his victim
attempting to call for help

and tried to subdue him physically.

What effect would such a struggle
have had on the victim?

If the m*rder*r's arm
was across the victim's throat,

it would cut off the oxygen.

The retention of carbon dioxide
in the respiratory system would,

strangely enough,
act as a powerful stimulant.

[Burger]
And m*rder*r would have
had to use still more force?

[Surgeon]
That's right.

[Burger]
And causing him to strangle the victim

he had intended to k*ll
with the overdose of dr*gs.

Thank you, Doctor. That'll be all.

Cross-examine.

This ingestion of barbiturates
to which you referred, Doctor.

Was it any one particular barbiturate?

Yes. Barbital.

Barbital is a slow-acting barbiturate causing
in what is known as toxic dosage,

dizziness, headache, nausea, ataxia, inarticulate speech,

mental confusion, and finally coma.

A fatal coma, doctor?

Generally, where there is death,
it occurs in from two to seven days.

Obviously, much can happen in that time.

Obviously. Thank you, Doctor.

No further questions.

I have no re-direct, Your Honor.

Then witness is excused.

[Burger]
I call Roscoe Pearce to the stand, please.

Yes, I warned Austin Lloyd

that I was having that report
carefully double-checked.

I told him that if sabotage was determined,
I'd personally file charges.

[Burger] Did you see Dwight Garrett
in his office that day?

[Pearce]
No, not in the office,

but I did see him the next night
in a restaurant.

Alone, sir?

No he was-- He was with Mrs. Lloyd.

[Burger]
The co-defendants were together.

Was Mr. Lloyd there?

No.

Nobody asked or suggested

that Dwight Garrett
alter that report on DIMOS, nobody!

I didn't suggest anybody had, Mr. Baker.

Now as to that working agreement
between Dwight Garrett and your company .

Though later committed to paper,
at the time it was agreed to,

it consisted essentially
of an oral agreement

between you and Mr. Garrett,
bound by a handshake,

- right?
- That's right.

And it was arrived, that of course,
while he was still working on that DIMOS--

No, Mr. Burger.
Not while he was still working on the report.

It was a day, maybe two days afterwards.

[Burger] But surely the terms
you ultimately shook hands on

must at least been discussed

while he was working on the report?

That's possible. I'm not sure.

[Burger]
Well, then let's move on to something

you can be sure about, Mr. Baker.

Now, assuming that your company received
that DIMOS contract,

would you estimate for the court
what the , shares of stock

Dwight Garrett was to have receive
would have been worth

at the end six months?

About a quarter of a million dollars.

Yes. Mr. Lloyd, the decedent,
asked Dwight, Mr. Garrett,

if was Mr. Garrett's intention
to dissolve their partnership.

[Burger]
And what did the co-defendant answer?

[Chase]
Yes.

[Burger]
What happened then, Mr. Chase?

Well, then the decedent, Mr. Lloyd,
asked Dwight another question.

And what was that other question?

Whether Dwight was also trying
to break up Lloyd's marriage.

Miss Clover, who had keys
to Dwight Garrett's office?

Only Mr. Garrett himself.
That was part of the security arrangements.

What about the safe in Mr. Garrett's office?

The same thing.
Only Mr. Garrett himself could open it.

And, now, referring to the typewriter
in Mr. Garrett's office,

did anyone other than Mr. Garrett
ever use that machine?

No, sir.

In his office once,
I started to type something on it.

He shouted at me.

He told me he never have and never would
allow anyone else to touch that machine.

[Burger] About a week
before Austin Lloyd was m*rder*d,

did you inadvertently witness to an altercation
in which Austin Lloyd was involved?

Oh, yes.

I was in my office,

and the door to his must have
accidentally been left open.

Anyway, Mrs. Lloyd was in there with him.

They got into an argument--

a pretty nasty one
from the tone of their voices.

Anyway, Mrs. Lloyd finally said
to her husband,

"I just don't love you.
I don't even respect you."

[Burger]
And what did the decedent answer to that?

[Terri]
Well, he got pretty upset.

He shouted at her, "Sure.
But I bet you respect Dwight Garrett

and love him, too!"

Well, just at that moment,

Mr. Garrett himself came in the room.
He was on his way to see Mr. Lloyd.

That was just when Mrs. Lloyd
was answering her husband?

Yes. She said,

"I do respect Dwight Garrett,
as a matter of fact.

"And what's more, I never thought about it before, but
maybe you're right.

Maybe I love him, too!"

Well, there we were, the two of us,

Mr. Garrett and me, seeing and hearing everything
through that open door.

Just when Mr. Lloyd
reached across the desk

and slapped his wife
hard across the face.

The electronic computer
has already recorded on it

information from every
driver's license in the state.

Now, where a license is used
to cash a check,

electronic check approval can establish

whether a check is good or bad
before it is cashed.

An especially built computer can generate
an electronic answer in just four seconds.

So it was your company
that notified the police about Mrs. Lloyd?

Oh, yes. For a $ , check is cashed

and immediately after two more had call
for cash back over the purchase price,

bells start ringing, so to speak.

And our security department
lost no time in notifying the police.

What a frame-up.

Lloyd deliberately sent his wife out
with a batch of phony checks,

each one made out
to a place using your system,

and each one with cash back.

Especially knowing
that one of them was for an airline ticket

which would tell the police she was going
to be at the airport at a particular time.

He wanted her stopped and arrested.

Mm-hmm. Also Dwight,
both of them loaded with money.

The secret lovers waiting for a phony report
to earn themselves a fortune,

robbing the company,
poisoning the husband,

making it look
like accidental death or su1c1de,

and then taking off together.

That sounds like a pretty grim picture to me,

unless you can prove
that it was Austin Lloyd

and not Dwight Garrett
who forged the checks.

Oh, Mr. Mason can prove that.

Can't you, Perry?

Maybe I can, Della.

It's a long sh*t, but maybe I can.

"I am a little world
made cunningly of elements."

I gather you've found
a cunning element?

An elusive element.

Now, Lieutenant, setting aside for a moment
the matter of fingerprints,

of airline seats, of hotel reservations,

I show you this exhibit...

which is an authenticated blow-up
of two checks--

the first, the top one,

is the check for $ , which was
cashed on the day of the m*rder

by Mrs. Bonnie Lloyd, the co-defendant.

The second check,
the bottom one,

is a routine business check
of Aerospace Reliability Associates.

Now, Lieutenant, can you tell this court

if the signatures
on these two checks are genuine?

Objection, Your Honor. The question
calls for the opinion of a witness

who has not been qualified to testify
as an expert on handwriting.

If it please the court, I'm trying
to establish a prima-facie case.

I realize that for a trial or before a jury,

it might be necessary to produce
a handwriting expert,

but I think for our purposes

this witness is perfectly competent
to answer those questions.

Two lives are at stake, Mr. Burger.

I'm in no hurry to short-cut the fullest
measure of justice for their protection.

Neither am I, Mr. Mason,
and I resent your implication that I am.

If the district attorney assures this court

that Lieutenant Anderson
is a competent expert

in the whole field of homicide investigation,

we will stipulate for the purposes
of this hearing only,

and subject to cross-examination,

that such are his qualifications.

I so assure the court.

So stipulated.
Objection withdrawn.

Well, Lieutenant?

On the routine business check,
both signatures are genuine.

The $ , check
has Dwight Garret's authentic signature,

but the name of Austin Lloyd is forged.

I see. Now, Lieutenant, did you also
examine the other two checks

that Bonnie Lloyd tried to cash that day?

Yes, sir. Austin Lloyd's name
is also forged on them.

Still referring to the three checks
that Bonnie Lloyd had,

was there anything else distinctive
about them?

Yes, sir. They're different
from the routine business checks

Miss Clover always typed on her typewriter.

That's this typewriter.

Yes, sir, Miss Clover's typewriter.

The routine business checks,
like this lower check in the blow-up

were typed on Miss Clover's typewriter?

Yes, sir.

Now what about the other checks--

the upper check in the blow-up

and the two checks
that Bonnie Lloyd had?

They were typed
on Dwight Garrett's machine.

That's this machine?

Yes, sir.

Now you're sure, Lieutenant?

This is Dwight Garrett's machine?

Yes, sir.

And now what are
the specific differences

between checks typed
on Dwight Garrett's typewriter

and checks typed on Terri Clover's
typewriter?

There are many areas
of identifiable difference

between the two typewriters,

but notice in particular

the chipped letter "n"
on Dwight Garrett's machine.

It's this typewriter, this check,
the letter "n".

All right, Lieutenant, now let's move along
to this second exhibit.

This side is a blow-up of a page
from the so-called DIMOS report.

This page was taken from the personal
file copy in the safe of Dwight Garrett.

This side is a blow-up of the same page
from the same report,

only this one was taken from the copy
which went to Universal Aeronautics.

These two pages are supposed
to be identical, but they are not.

Now, Lieutenant, what can you tell us
about these two pages?

Both the original page
and the substituted page

were typed on the same typewriter.

Again, notice particularly
the chipped n's.

That's Dwight Garrett's machine.

Dwight Garrett's typewriter.

So, Lieutenant, we can say
that the substitute page of the DIMOS report

and the three forged checks
were all typed on a typewriter

to which only one person had access.

Yes, sir-- the defendant Dwight Garrett.

Thank you very much, Lieutenant.

You may cross-examine, Mr. Mason.

Lieutenant Anderson,
in all your homicide experience,

have you ever encountered a case

where the drug Barbital
was used to k*ll a person?

No, I don't remember any.

Were there any other barbiturates
in the house?

Why, yes, almost a full bottle of Seconal.

You heard the autopsy surgeon testify

Barbital in fatal doses
takes from two to seven days.

How fast does a lethal dose of Seconal
work, do you know?

Oh, about a half an hour.

Assuming Dwight Garrett
wanted to k*ll Austin Lloyd,

with bottles of both Barbital
and Seconal available,

which would he have used?

Now wait a minute, Your Honor.

I object to that as calling for a conclusion
and an opinion of the witness.

As I understand the laws of evidence,

an expert may be asked
to interpret facts and express opinions

for the enlightenment of the court.

May I remind you, Mr. Mason,
this witness is a police officer?

He's not qualified as an expert
toxicologist or psychologist.

And may I remind you, Mr. Burger,
that by your own stipulation,

he has been qualified to this court

as an expert in the field-- the entire field--
of homicide investigation?

- Now wait a minute--
- Gentlemen.

I agree the question calls for a conclusion.

Inasmuch as this man
has been called as an expert,

I'd like to hear his answer.

- But, Your Honor--
- Just be seated, Mr. Burger.

All right, Lieutenant, answer the question.

Assuming Dwight Garrett
knew the difference,

no, it wouldn't make sense for him
to use Barbital instead of Seconal.

All right.
Now let's reverse the coin.

Assuming Austin Lloyd wanted
to make believe he was being poisoned

and was deliberately trying
to entrap Dwight Garrett

knew he could take the drug

and right after that call the police
to play it safe,

which drug would Austin Lloyd
have tricked Garrett into giving him?

The Barbital.

If the police were late,
or for some reason he couldn't get help,

he'd still have plenty of time.

With the Seconal, with such a massive dose, he couldn't
be sure.

If it's possible that Austin Lloyd
was responsible for the poisoning,

why would he have set up
so elaborate a scheme?

I don't know, unless, for some reason,
he wanted to frame Dwight Garrett.

Suppose Lloyd was in trouble

and wanted to make it appear
that it was his partner

who was responsible for the trouble.

Couldn't this have been part
of such an attempt?

Oh, sure,

but if you're trying to say it was Austin Lloyd who altered
that report, you're out of line.

That had to be Garrett.

Only he could have used that typewriter.

And whoever forged the report
forged those checks?

That's right.

Suppose I prove to you, Lieutenant,
that is not right but is wrong.

Now, this according to your testimony,
and not this,

was the typewriter used
for regular business checks?

No, no, it's the other way around.

Then this and not this
was used for the forged documents?

No, Mr. Mason, you've reversed it again.

Oh? This, then, and not this?

This what?

Don't you know?

But, Mr. Mason, you--

I didn't testify, you did.

Don't you really know which is which?

Your Honor, I object!

Mr. Mason is making a farce of judicial procedure, and he
knows better than that.

The question has been asked,
and this witness answered it.

Now what else in the name of justice
can Mr. Mason possibly want?

Only to be sure, absolutely sure,

that our procedure is
in the name of justice, Mr. Burger.

And what, Mr. Mason, you name it, please,
can we do to make you sure, sir?

Permit Lieutenant Anderson to type a few samples from
each typewriter for comparison.

By all means. Here, Mr. Mason,
play your little games.

Lieutenant, would you be
good enough, please,

to type a few lines
on Mr. Garrett's typewriter?

Something wrong, Lieutenant?

I don't understand it.

The "n," it isn't chipped.

Try the other machine.
Try Miss Clover's typewriter.

The "n" is chipped on this machine.

These machines were carefully checked out
before they were brought into court.

It's obvious they've been tampered with.

Of course they have.
I tampered with them.

While you conveniently diverted
the court's attention,

I exchanged the elements
in the typewriter, like this.

Watch.

Now they're right.

Mr. Mason, what's the purpose of all this?

It wasn't necessary, Your Honor,

to use the defendant's typewriter
in or out of his office.

The element, not the typewriter,
has the chipped "n".

With the defendant's attention diverted,
as the court's just was,

anyone could have exchanged elements

and have used the marked element
in any similar typewriter.

Tell me, Lieutenant, who else,
beside Mr. Garrett,

had regular access to that office
and that typewriter?

Well, the dead man, of course, and--

and Terri Clover.

I did not forge those checks.

What about the substitute pages
in the reliability report?

No, I never did any reports.

Not ever, at any time or place?

Why, I--

Where did you work before you came
to Aerospace Reliability Associates?

I worked for... Myron Baker.

See, I'm not a technical man, an engineer.

I just run a company.

- For profit?
- Naturally.

But your company lost money
the last two years.

Well, it's this space age.
See, things change fast.

You need new ideas, new people.

That's why I contracted with Dwight Garrett.

These numbers with the "c" and the "b,"
they refer to types of material?

I believe so.

And each material type is found
in specifications sent by the government?

Yes.

Had there been a recent project,

one where your company and not Universal had received
a "C" Spec amendment?

Yes, I believe there was.

Whoever forged the substitution pages
in the report was not aware

that the "C" Spec which he chose
in a desperate hurry

was one that Universal didn't have

and one that Aerospace Reliability
didn't have.

That forger could be only one person.

All right, all right!

I gave the wrong Spec to Austin.

He did the actual forging, not me.

Just as he forged the checks,
changing his own signature

after using the element
from Garrett's typewriter.

Why did you conspire with Austin
to alter that report?

I knew Mr. Baker was going to replace me.

I couldn't let that happen.

I thought everything would be all right
if I got the company the DIMOS project.

But Universal wasn't fooled.

Austin was in trouble. He threatened you.

Yes.

I went along with the idea
to frame Dwight and Austin's wife,

make it look like Dwight had altered
the report, stolen from the company,

and was running away with Austin's wife.

You gave him the , , then what?

Did you hide in the next room?

Did you hear him send Dwight away?

Did you see him take the pills?
Did you hear him call the police?

I knew I'd never be safe...

never have one moment free from fear.

It was all arranged, all ready for you,

including someone to take the blame.

He was getting... weak... and dizzy.

And I just leaned over him...

and put my arm against his throat,

and pushed and pushed and pushed

and pushed...

Austin Lloyd was desperate.

He needed time,
a chance to get out from under.

He faced prison all by himself.

Your partnership was on the rocks.

He knew how you felt about his wife.

He also knew that without your slide rule
and your drafting board,

you were a classic example
of the absent-minded professor.

Oh, come on, not that bad.

Oh, the check for Mr. Mason,
I assume you've given it to him?

Oh.

Mr. Mason, I don't know
how we can ever really thank you.

I do. A nice fat fee for representing us.

You deserve it, and I can afford it.

Here you are, Miss Street.

And I don't think you'll have to telephone
the electronic check-approval company.

I'm afraid that isn't so.

What's the matter?

You forgot to sign it.