08x25 - The Case of the Deadly Debt

[bunniefuu]

(theme song playing)

-♪♪
-(bell clanging)

You just set your own pace,
Mr. Talbert.

We've got all the time
in the world.

Speak for yourself, young lady.

You know I'm years old?

No! Why, I would have guessed
a good ten years younger.

Uh, now, you wait
until I phone my boy.

He'll be here in no time,

and we'll drop you
anyplace you want to go.

- Maybe I'd better phone
my friends. -All right.

-♪♪
-(phone rings)

Hi-Hat Club.

Yeah.

Just a minute.

Carl, telephone.

This is Carl Talbert.
Who is this?

Dad!

Where are you calling from?

U-Union Station.
Here in Los Angeles.

Can you pick me up?

Oh, we're going over some
new arrangements for tonight.

I, uh...
Hey, is something wrong?

I mean, I just left Mom at
my apartment a little while ago,

and she didn't say anything
about you coming into town.

She didn't say anything
because I didn't call her.

No, she didn't know
I was coming.

Uh...

Dad?

Hey, are you okay?

(over phone):
Dad, what's wrong?

Dad, what's wrong?

Don't move, Mr. Talbert.

Just take it easy.

Here, I'll-I'll loosen your tie.

(panting):
I'll-I'll be all right.

I'll be all right.

Don't just stand there,
go get some help!

I'll see if there's
a doctor around.

Miss?

A policeman, a detective,
would like to talk to you

-inside my office.
- Police?

Well, what have the police
got to do with an old man

dying of a heart att*ck?

Beats me. Ask him.

Your name is
Kitty Delaney, that right?

Yeah.

You were with that man
when he d*ed?

(laughs): Well, don't make it
sound like a crime.

No one else tried to help him.

I met him on the train.
He was old...

You told the stationmaster
that there was someone else

near the phone booth.

Yeah, just some man;
I sent him for help.

That the first time
you'd seen him?

Who knows?
Look, w-wouldn't it be nice

if somebody called
Mr. Talbert's family?

I'll need a description
of the man.

He was on the phone to his son
when it happened.

He's probably going
out of his mind right now.

Ed Talbert had two sons.

Well... we're very hardboiled
about other people's troubles,

aren't we?

No, Miss Delaney.

I'm the son he didn't phone.

It was only last Sunday
I spoke to your father.

I told him we were all coming
out to see him in Barstow,

to arrange for the selling
of the business and the house,

and to bring him...

-(crying): bring him...
- Mom, please...

(sighs)
It...

it's wasn't right,
you in your own place,

me here with Carl...

and Daddy...

alone there.

Don't you have
to go back to work, Danny?

Not if you
don't want me to, Mom.

I can stay.

No.

No, I'm all right.

Carl wanted to stay,

but I made him drop me off
and go to work.

Oh, Carl promised...
he'd drive over later.

- Drive? -When Carl went
to work for Mr. Parker,

he gave him one
of his own cars to use.

Wasn't that nice of Mr. Parker?

Wait a minute, Mom,
you mean Carl...

I told you he'd change.

Everything's going
to be all right now.

And when Daddy...

You're busy, Danny...

and I...
I'd like to be alone now.

I don't want you
to be alone, Mom.

It's only for a little while.

You do what you have to do, son.

Good night, Danny.

♪♪

(song ends)

(mellow jazz playing)

- All right, now, talk.
- About what?

Don't get cute with me, Carl--
what kind of trouble are you in?

- What is this, huh? -And
don't play innocent, either.

You wouldn't have sent for Pop
unless you were

-up to your ears in trouble.
- Sent for Pop?

- You're out to lunch.
- Talk!

Now, look, you're
not making an arrest.

You're even beginning to sound

like one of Louie Parker's
two-bit punks.

Is he part of your trouble?

I'm a piano player
with my own combo.

I was hired to play music here,
not to sit in judgment

on Louis Parker's morals.

Sure. Just turn
the other way, huh?

But it won't work.
Less than two weeks ago

you were a run-of-the-mill
piano player working for scale

in a cheap joint!

Now... now you're big-time.
(chuckles)

Got yourself
a fancy monkey suit,

you drive a big-sh*t
gangster's car...

That has nothing to do with Pop.

No. Except a sick old man
got rid of his nurse

and took a trip
he knew could k*ll him.

A trip so urgent,
he couldn't call,

he couldn't even wait
a couple of days

until we came up to see him!

And what happens
when he gets here?

You. He calls you.

All he said was that
he was at the station,

could I come pick him up.

Look, Danny, I feel

just as bad
about it as you do...

but don't you start
pointing the finger at me

for something I didn't do.

You're lying.

It's got to me
that's lying, huh?

Why? Now, show me something,
show me one piece of proof

-that says that he came
to see me. -Proof?

I'll give you proof.

$ , .

What do you mean?

He took it out of the bank
before he left.

He had it in his pocket, every
cent he had in the world. Why?

- I don't know why.
- What did he come running

-to bail you out of?!
- MAN: Carl.

Phone call for you, at the bar.

Thanks.

Now, you can
believe it or not...

but I didn't know
Dad was coming

and I wasn't
in any kind of trouble.

Yeah, like the last time, before
Mom came down to stay with you?

You swore you weren't
in any trouble then, either.

So I was scared then,
so I lied.

And now?

Go fly a kite, will you?

This is Carl Talbert.

Who?

Mr. Radom--
sure I've heard of you.

Well, maybe I want
to buy you a drink.

Or maybe I want to talk business
about your music.

Let's just say
it's in your best interest

to get over here right away.

I'll be waiting.

All right, sir. Where?

Right away, sir.

Hey, Eddie.

This place, Louie Parker
just runs it, right?

(chuckles)
A little more than runs it, kid.

Yeah, but it's owned by a man
named Radom, Steve Radom.

Yeah. This and a dozen
other spots across the country.

One of Mr. Radom's enterprises,
you might say.

Hey, that was him, Radom,
on the phone, wasn't it?

Yeah, he just called me.

Maybe it's about playing
in some of his other places.

Look, tell the other guys I'll
be back just as soon as I can.

(vehicle approaching)

- Hi, Mr. Judd.
- Hi.

(starts engine)

(mellow jazz playing)

♪♪

You look upset, Charlie--
is something wrong?

I just heard
Steve Radom's in town.

(laughs)
Don't make it sound

like the world's
coming to an end.

You sit there so calm,
just grinning.

It doesn't bother you
he's in town?

Steve's one of the boys.

And that piano player you hired,
he's one of your boys--

but Eddie the waiter
just told me

Radom called the kid.

He just left to go see Radom.

Well, good.

Louie... what's going on here?

Relax, Charlie, relax.

I knew more than two weeks ago
Steve Radom was coming to town.

Steve!

Well, for heaven's sakes,
what are you doing here?

I didn't have reservations.

They're getting a bungalow
ready for me.

Well, it's good to see you.

Steve, I've been so worried.

You know, ever since I heard.

(phone rings)

Excuse me.

Yes?

Oh, yes, yes, I'll tell him.

Well, of course it's all right;
he's my brother, isn't he?

They've got a bungalow
ready for you-- number seven.

And he said there's a man
waiting to see you.

Steve, there isn't going
to be any trouble, is there?

Stella, how many winters you
been coming to the coast, huh?

Five or six, I don't know.

You got somebody here,
some guy you like?

Just friends.

Nothing serious.

You should've got married.

Somebody to... look out
for you after I'm gone.

There's a little business matter

I got to get settled,

then I'm going back east.

- Steve.
- That's all.

As far as you know,
I'm still in that clinic...

back east, huh?

(door closes)

(gasps)
Who is it?

It's all right, Mom.
It's all right.

Oh, what is it, Danny?

- What's wrong?
- Oh, nothing, nothing.

I-I just don't want you
staying here at Carl's.

- Come on over to my place.
- Carl-- he's in trouble?

No, no, no.
Now, just come with me now.

I won't leave.

What happens to one of us
happens to all of us.

If Carl's in trouble,
it's my trouble, you hear?

-I stay!
- No, Mom, you...

Mom, I don't want
to argue with you now, only...

things are a little
messed up in there.

Don't let it bother you. I...

I was looking for something
that Carl... borrowed from me.

All the man
would say on the phone

was that it had
to do about business.

I thought he meant my business.

Maybe bookings in a string of
night spots around the country.

I was way off base--
but way off.

What did he want
to talk about, Carl?

Well, that was
the funny thing, Mr. Mason.

Just as soon as I walked in,

he looked at me...
sort of strange,

and then he kept
right on looking at me

as though there were
something wrong with me.

But he did indicate
why he'd called?

He started to talk
about a promissory note,

about the fact that my father
owed him $ , .

I could see the note--

-it was in a folder.
- Was it from your father?

CARL: I suppose so-- I didn't
look at it that carefully.

He said I could check it
with my father.

And when I told him that...

that my dad had d*ed...

he said, "Forget it, kid,
forget all about it,"

and then he rushed me off
and right out of the bungalow.

Well, then what's troubling you?

Mr. Mason...

the man's name was...

Radom.

Steve Radom.

The gangster?

Yeah, that's partly what
scared me about the whole thing.

My father ran a hardware store
in Barstow.

Before that,
he was an orange grower.

Now, his entire life he
never went more than miles

from that smudge pot.

I know that my father never had
anything to do with Steve Radom.

You said "partly,” Carl--
what else bothers you?

Well, you've never met
my older brother Danny.

He's a sergeant with the
Los Angeles Police Department.

Did you try to see him? Did
you discuss all this with him?

I-I just can't talk to him.

We... we don't
get along very well.

Is he on duty now?

Yeah, yeah.

(phone dialing)

I'm afraid I
can't help you, Della.

I don't know where
Sergeant Talbert is.

You better let me
speak to Perry.

Perry... what do you
want with Talbert?

Do I have to clear it
with you, Andy?

No, sorry, I'm in a bad mood.

Talbert quit his job.

Why?

Who knows?

Danny's a nice guy
and a good detective,

and right now we need every man.

Was Danny working
on something specific?

Yeah, part of a special detail

investigating Louie Parker's
local operations

and how they tie in
with the national crime picture

and a big-time hood
named Steve Radom.

Right.

Your brother resigned
from the police department.

I-I don't believe it.

Danny was born to be a cop.

Why, he wouldn't quit...

Unless?

I-I wouldn't know, Mr. Mason,

I wouldn't know
what would make him do it.

Now do you get the picture?

Now do you see why
I was so calm last night,

why I was grinning?

Louie, you're playing with fire.

Sure. But how can you avoid it
when the house is burning?

So now you go do
your part of the job, lawyer.

I can't thr*aten a man
like Steve Radom.

Just do as you're told.

Look, copper,
this is private property.

You ain't got no right in here.

I want to talk to you.

You ain't got no right
to talk to me or touch me.

If you got a warrant,
I'll come downtown with you.

If you haven't got
a warrant, b*at it, cop!

I'm not a cop anymore, Louie.

Al right...

so, I told you
I was with your father.

I told you this guy
who was on the train

was outside the phone booth
and I sent him for help...

but I never said I knew the guy.

Why should I? He was
just another guy on the train.

The name Steve Radom
means nothing to you?

Should it?

When you got on that train,

you were one week out of
the California Women's Prison.

With a diploma, Sergeant.

I'm a sweet girl graduate.

That means I don't owe you
or anybody else the time of day.

Doesn't it? I found out
you were serving time

for shaking down
a -year-old doctor.

(laughs)
Well... if you think

I had designs on your old man...

I asked about Steve Radom.

Your father was sick.

He needed help.

Nobody else made a move,
and-and there I was.

That's all there was to it.

Now, if you don't mind,

I'm going upstairs
to change for a date.

The man at the phone booth,
the man on the train,

was it Steve Radom?

Radom is just a name
I see in the papers.

I wouldn't know him
if he got up and sang.

You recognize him?

What was Steve Radom
doing on that train?

Following your father.

This is Steve Radom, Mr. Mason.

I got a message here you called.

Yes, I did, Mr. Radom.

It concerns a claim
against the estate

of the late Edward Talbert.

Now, look, I told the kid
to skip it,

to forget all about it.

Well, sure, if you insist.

You know where I am?

All right, come on over.

♪♪

If you've got business
with the Talbert family, Radom,

I'm the one you better talk to.

You're Danny, aren't you?

Come in.

- Excuse me.
- Yes, sir?

Where will I find
bungalow seven?

- It's the...
-(two g*nshots)

Why, that's, uh...

Get the hotel manager.

Tell him to call the police.

(crickets chirping softly)

I found the dead man's sister,
a woman named Stella Radom.

Has a room in the hotel.

I told her to stay there until
you came up to talk to her.

Good.

It's getting
a little late, Andy.

All right, Perry,
tomorrow'll be soon enough

to get a formal
statement from you.

You can go.

Thank you.

May I come in, Miss Radom?

If you're a reporter,
I've got nothing to say.

I'm a lawyer,
my name is Mason,

and I had an appointment
with your brother tonight.

Everything's happened so fast,

...I can't begin
to know what to do.

(sniffles)
This, uh... this appointment,

what was it about?

A debt.

Oh?

- How much?
-$ , .

Is that all?

He must have been
a very wealthy man.

Did he have any, uh,
relatives other than you?

I'm Steve's
only living relative.

When I entered the bungalow,

seconds after
the sh*ts were fired,

the smell of perfume

was quite noticeable.

He was my brother.

I--I was in and out of there
half a dozen times.

The m*rder occurred
a few minutes after : .

- Now, where were you
at that time? -Right here!

Then you have an alibi.

Obviously, you weren't alone.

Look, if it's $ , ,
you'll get paid off

when the estate is settled!

Oh, you misunderstood me,
Miss Radom.

The money was owed
to your brother.

Now that I've briefed you on the
questions the police will ask,

perhaps you can think
of some better answers.

Della, you should have
gone home hours ago.

There's somebody
waiting to see you.

- Who?
- Mr. Talbert.

Formerly Danny Talbert
of the Los Angeles Police.

- Bring him in, would you,
please? -Mm-hmm.

Mr. Talbert?

Come in, please.

Mr. Mason, you, uh...

you helped my brother
out of a jam once.

I, uh... I know your reputation.

I, uh, I think I need your help.

Well, let's say that
I know you need help.

What?

I saw you running away
from Steve Radom's bungalow.

Here, sit down, won't you?

Now, so that I know
exactly where we stand,

will you explain
why an ex-policeman

would run away from the scene
of a homicide?

Oh, I... I heard
somebody leaving

by the back door
of the bungalow.

I... I chased whoever it was
to the parking lot,

and then halfway across town
by car till I lost him.

Would you be able
to identify the other car?

Yeah. It was a... black sedan,

four doors, late model.

There was mud or something
on the license plates,

but I... I caught
the numbers one--

no, no, four-one-zero.

MASON:
Now, when you heard

somebody leaving
by the back door,

you were inside the bungalow?

- Yes.
- Why?

For the same reason
my brother came to see you:

a $ , debt.

Your brother told you
he was here?

No, no. I, uh...
I called my mother earlier.

Danny...

did you k*ll Steve Radom?

No.

Al right.

What happened
when you saw Radom?

Well, I...

I started
to rough him up, but...

he didn't fight back.

He just seemed to...
fold when I grabbed him.

...I didn't expect it,
and I lost my balance,

stumbled, fell over a chair,

whacked my head
against the side

-of a piece of furniture.
- Go on.

Well, I...

I felt sick, dizzy.
I was bleeding,

so I went in the bathroom
to wash the blood off my head.

I must have started
to pass out, or...

maybe I passed out,
I don't know which.

Then I heard the sh*ts,
chased whoever ran out the back.

Now, why didn't you return

and tell Lieutenant Anderson
what had happened?

Well, I started to, but...

just after I lost
the car I was chasing,

I realized I didn't have
my service revolver.

I lost it.

I figured that...
when I grabbed Radom

and we tumbled over that chair,
the g*n must have

fallen out of the holster. I...

I didn't even notice it.

Eh, Mr. Mason, ...
(sighs)

I couldn't see myself
telling that story to Andy.

Well, I can certainly
understand that.

Now, is that...

all that happened
in the bungalow?

Yes. Everything.

I don't think I believe you.

Della, get hold of Paul.

On the train,
did you at any time

see Steve Radom talking
to old Mr. Talbert?

Uh... I don't think so.

Well, I talked to the conductor.

He said that Mr. Talbert
had gotten sick earlier,

just after he boarded the train.

Oh. Oh, yes.

I was sitting next
to Mr. Talbert at the time.

When he got sick, the conductor
found an empty compartment,

and we took Mr. Talbert there so
he could stretch out and rest.

And I sat with him
so he wouldn't be alone, and...

when he fell asleep
I went to the bar,

where I figured things
might be a little, uh...

you know, a little livelier.

While you were with Mr. Talbert,

was it possible that Steve Radom
was in the same car?

That Mr. Talbert might have
seen him or talked to him?

I-I wish I could help you,
but I just... don't know.

-I don't think so.
- What about the heart att*ck

that k*lled Mr. Talbert
in the phone booth?

Was he talking to Radom then?

No. Not talking to him, but...

but this Radom was standing
just outside the phone booth

as if he were waiting
to make a phone call.

Mr. Talbert might have seen him.

How about a drink, Counselor?

No, thank you--
but I will settle for a smoke.

Uh... nothing
but cigars, I'm afraid.

Steve Radom
was m*rder*d last night.

You say that as if it had
some special significance.

(chuckles quietly)

On a fishing expedition,
Counselor?

You, uh, dig for worms
before you fish.

Now, look here, Mason...

You're right in that what I said

might have had some
special significance for you.

- What? -You're a friend
of his sister, aren't you?

Where'd you get that idea?

Well, I talked with her
just after

you left her suite
in the hotel last night.

Oh, come off it, she
didn't tell you I was there.

I don't smoke cigars;
I just collect the bands.

Stella Radom will have to
reveal it sooner or later, Judd.

You're the only alibi she has.

Or is she your alibi?

- Why, you...
- Charlie!

Mr. Mason... you didn't
come here to convince me

that real good lawyers
are choosy

about picking
their clients, huh?

Mr. Parker...

you were a business associate
of the late Mr. Radom.

You figure maybe his partners
had him knocked off?

Couple of b*ll*ts can be faster

than an action to rescind
a contract in a court of equity.

- No.
- No? No what?

They aren't faster,
or you didn't do it?

Didn't have to. Mind you, not
that any of the boys had a beef

against Steve, no, sir.

Just didn't make sense
to k*ll him.

Why not?

'Cause he was dying anyway.

Louie.

Relax, Charlie,
they'll find out soon enough.

Now, Mr. Mason,
why k*ll a dying man?

Steve came from
that clinic back east.

One month,
that's all they gave him.

Why would he have come here
to Los Angeles

if he was that ill?

Because his sister
was here. Why not?

You wouldn't expect a guy
to kick off

without saying good-bye
to his sister, would you?

How about that drink now, Mason?

You look like you need it.

♪♪

DRAKE: Della told me
you were on your way here.

I figured you'd
want to know right away

that Steve Radom took
the train to Los Angeles,

but he stopped off in Barstow
to see old man Talbert.

So there was
an actual connection

between Danny's father
and Radom.

DRAKE:
I'm afraid Danny's father

wasn't the only one
with a connection.

Danny's kid brother, Carl.

It looks like Carl Talbert's
a narcotics pusher,

maybe even a delivery man
using Louie Parker's car.

Anyway, the cops figure
it just isn't coincidence

that during the past two weeks
Carl's been on the spot

during the time the stuff's been
passed down the line.

Me?

Narcotics?

You're out of your mind.

You remember now, don't you...

remember telling me that you
were afraid they might be trying

to bring some sort of pressure
against your brother?

And you remember telling me
some things had happened

you couldn't understand...

things such as
your apartment key

being missing
from your key case?

What would that have
to do with narcotics?

What other reason would he have
had for stealing your key,

waiting until
the apartment was empty,

then coming in and searching it?

Carl...

What is this, Mr. Mason?

What are you trying to do to us?

I'm not trying to do
anything to you.

But somebody is doing something
to your brother.

Danny's been arrested and
charged with criminal homicide.

Now, when the defendant's
father, Mr. Edward Talbert,

suffered his fatal heart att*ck
in the phone booth

in Union Station, was there
anyone, to your knowledge,

close to that phone booth?

Yes. Steve Radom.

The decedent.

BURGER: Now, before Mr. Talbert
went into the phone booth,

did he, by any chance, tell you

who he intended to phone?

Yes.

He said he was
going to call his son.

Dad just gasped.
Stopped talking.

Then the phone was hung up.

And what did you do?

I tried to call
the Union Station back,

but I couldn't find anybody
that knew what happened.

So I called my brother, Danny.

BURGER: You're referring
to the defendant in this case?

CARL:
Yeah.

They told me he was
in a police car

somewhere in the downtown
Los Angeles area.

So I asked them to call him,

and have him check on
what had happened.

CARL:
I left shortly after that,

for the hospital where
they'd taken my father.

BURGER: Now, somewhat
later the same day,

while you were working,

did you receive a phone call
at your place of employment

from the decedent, Steve Radom?

CARL:
Yeah.

BURGER: Would you please tell
this court about that phone call

and about what happened
after you received it?

CARL:
Well... Mr. Radom owns...

Mr. Radom owned this place
where I worked.

And he said it was very
important that I come over

and see him right away.

When I saw him, he showed me
a promissory note--

from my father to him--
for $ , .

$ , ?

Steve used to lose more than
that in one day at the races.

But Miss Radom, I understand
that your brother was...

in the terminal stages
of a serious illness,

and you were, after all,
his only living relative.

Perhaps he came out here
to see you.

The only dough
I had come from Steve.

He knew I liked to travel,

and I used to
make trips for him.

No. If... if he
just wanted to see me,

he would've sent for me.

He wouldn't have
made the trip here.

And besides, he...
he kept talking about

this special business he had.

Yes, but I don't understand,
Miss Radom.

Your brother was in a business

where he was used to dealing in
millions of dollars.

And yet he was apparently
sufficiently concerned

with a $ , loan

to come here, to an area
he didn't like,

at a time he was
desperately ill.

It wasn't how much that was
owed, it was who owed it.

Is that an assumption
you're making,

or do you happen to
know that as a fact?

He made it clear enough.

Oh, he wouldn't tell me
why he was interested,

but he made it clear
he was interested.

But not in the fact that Edward
Talbert owed him $ , ?

In the fact that
Sergeant Danny Talbert

of the Los Angeles Police

was the son of the man
who owed him the money.

BURGER: And he didn't
tell you why, Miss Radom?

He didn't have to.

I found out why
from Charlie Judd.

BURGER:
Oh.

Well, then, will you
please tell us

exactly what Mr. Judd told you?

That Danny Talbert
was one of the cops

trying to send Steve and his
business friends to prison.

Miss Radom is mistaken--

absolutely mistaken.

I made no such statement to her.

Really?

Are you sure of that, Mr. Judd?

JUDD:
Of course I'm sure.

Neither Steve Radom
nor Louie Parker

or any of their
business associates

have done or caused to be done

anything they could
be sent to prison for.

BURGER: Is that a disclaimer as
to their activities, Counselor?

Or is it, by any chance,
a disclaimer as to

your knowledge of and therefore
complicity in their activities?

The question is
an invasion of the privilege

between an attorney
and his clients,

and is outside the scope
of these hearings.

BURGER: Well, that certainly
remains to be seen, Mr. Judd.

However, let me
ask you this question:

If you didn't tell Stella Radom,

as she just testified here,

that the defendant was one of
the policemen working on

a project that would send
her brother Steve to prison...

what then, in fact,
did you tell her?

Merely that Sergeant Talbert was
part of a special police group

checking into so-called
national crime activities.

In addition to my duties with
the Homicide Division

of the Los Angeles Police,
I was also assigned

as one of the supervising
officers of the special detail

to which Sergeant Talbert
was assigned.

I see.

Now, Lieutenant Anderson, would
you tell the court, please...

on the same day
Steve Radom was m*rder*d--

that would be the day after

Steve Radom arrived
in Los Angeles--

did Sergeant Talbert,
the defendant, come to you,

in your capacity as supervising
officer of this special detail?

ANDERSON:
Yes, he did.

He came to tell me that he
was not only removing himself

from the special detail,
but that he had just submitted

his resignation from
the police force itself.

BURGER: Did he give any
particular reason?

ANDERSON: He mentioned something
about the death of his father.

Did he also mention,
by any chance,

a promissory note
in the amount of $ ,

owed by his father
to one of the men

he was investigating?

There was no mention
of any such debt.

BURGER: Lieutenant Anderson,
would you tell us this, please:

Was the narcotics problem
in any way related to

or part of this investigation?

Yes, an important part.

But it wasn't being done
by Sergeant Talbert's group.

It was a concurrent probe by a
joint police and federal squad.

And had this concurrent probe--

operating outside the area

of Sergeant Talbert's
own investigation--

uncovered any information,
to your knowledge?

Yes.

There was identification of
one of the narcotics pushers.

The defendant's younger
brother... Carl Talbert.

I told you, in my office,
I didn't believe your story

of what happened between you
and Radom in that bungalow.

I told you the truth.

Yes, but not the whole truth.

DANNY:
Lay off, will you?

If there's something else,
that's my business!

Grabbing Radom, falling,
hitting your head...

yes, it could have happened.

And you could have been unaware
that you dropped your g*n.

But only if what
made you grab Radom

was an unexpected
emotional shock

that stunned you as much as
the blow to your head.

Now, will you tell me what
that emotional shock was?

I've got nothing
else to tell you.

Come in.

Danny.

Are you all right, son?

Fine, Mom. Fine, Mom.

What are you doing here?

All right, Paul.

We've had a small army
digging into Radom's past.

We were lucky.

An Eastern operative came up
with something important.

First, a photostat
of a marriage license,

proving that Steve Radom
was married over years ago.

Second, a photostat
of a divorce decree.

Radom was arrested
and sent to jail

a few months
after he was married.

MASON:
Mrs. Talbert,

the woman who married and
divorced Steve Radom was you.

When your husband
left Barstow to come here,

he not only took all his money
from the bank;

he emptied the contents
of a safe-deposit box.

Now, you and Danny
haven't had the chance

to get together and talk.

I know you don't want
to hurt Danny.

I know he doesn't want
to hurt you.

That's probably why
you've both been silent.

But at this point,
only the truth can help Danny.

What was Ed Talbert
carrying with him

from that safe-deposit box?

Radom told me he'd get it
and show it to me if I insisted.

Birth certificate
naming Steve Radom as my father.

WOMAN:
An invalid like me,

unable to get around by myself,

you're sort of a bird in a cage,
if you know what I mean.

More or less stuck wherever
it is they set you down.

So it's nice if the cage
has a good view.

I like bungalow six.

I can look out front and watch
people coming and going.

On the night Steve Radom
was k*lled, Mrs. Johnson,

were you, by any chance,

enjoying the view
from bungalow number six?

Yes.

From where you were sitting,

you could see the entrance
to bungalow number seven,

the one occupied that night
by Steve Radom.

Is that right?

That's right.

Would you tell
this court, please,

what you saw that night
as you were looking

out of your window onto the walk

and the entrance
to bungalow number seven?

I saw a man come up the walk

and knock on the door
of bungalow seven.

BURGER: If that man
is in this court today,

and if you can identify him,
Mrs. Johnson,

would you do so for us, please?

That man-- the defendant.

BURGER: Now, what else
did you observe that night

from the window
of bungalow number six?

I saw a man I subsequently
discovered to be Mr. Radom

open the door
and let the defendant in.

Then I heard loud voices.

BURGER:
Just loud?

MRS. JOHNSON:
Possibly angry, as well as loud.

At least that was my immediate
impression at the time.

I caught a momentary glimpse
of the two men--

the defendant and Mr. Radom--

as they were
struggling together.

It was a short time after
that I heard the two g*nshots.

Did you see the defense counsel,
Mr. Perry Mason,

when he arrived
at bungalow number seven

and went in and found
the slain body of Steve Radom?

Yes, I saw Mr. Mason.

Now, Mrs. Johnson,
during all that time,

you had bungalow seven
and its entrance

in full and unobstructed view.

Is that right?

Yes.

BURGER:
From the moment the defendant,

Daniel Talbert, entered

through the brief period

when you heard loud
and possibly angry voices,

followed as it was
by the brief glimpse you had

of the defendant
and the decedent fighting,

actually struggling
with each other,

a glimpse which was, in turn,
followed by the sound

you heard of two sh*ts fired
inside that bungalow,

through all that time,
from the entrance

of the defendant to the entrance
of Mr. Perry Mason,

did anyone else go in or out
of bungalow number seven?

No.

Your Honor,
the prosecution moves

that the defendant,
Daniel Talbert,

be bound over for trial
in superior court

on a charge
of criminal homicide.

Mr. Mason?

Your Honor?

Before I take action
on the motion,

is it your intention
to present a defense

at this preliminary hearing?

It is, Your Honor.

And defense calls
as its first witness

Louie Parker.

Mr. Parker, do you own
the night club you operate?

That's my business.

Well, since it's germane
to this hearing,

it's also the court's business.

Look, I'm here
because I was subpoenaed.

That doesn't mean
I have to answer your questions.

Your Honor?

The witness
will answer the question.

Let me anticipate your request,
Mr. Mason.

The court will rule
the witness hostile,

and you may cross-examine him.

MASON:
Thank you, Your Honor.

Do you own the night club?

With some partners, yeah.

And the other businesses
you have?

Like I said, I got partners.

Was Steve Radom one of them?

Yeah.

What's the corporate name
of this partnership?

Amusements Diversified.

Does Amusements Diversified
own property

on which your company's
more than

night clubs across the country
operate?

Most of it, yeah.

Including the Los Angeles
night club?

I... I'm not sure.

I, uh, have here

a true copy of the recorded deed
on that property.

Now, please read from the deed

the name of the owner
of the property.

Steve Radom.

Did, uh, Steve Radom
leave a will?

Look, in our business,
we don

Who inherits his property?

Including that
Los Angeles property.

His sister, Stella.

Would it prove embarrassing
for Amusements Diversified

to have somebody other than one
of its members holding title?

We got a contract with Stella.

Charlie Judd drew it up.

She turned the property
over to us for plenty of dough.

Suppose Steve Radom turned that
property over to someone else,

someone less sympathetic to
your operation than his sister.

Well, there's no recorded deed
except this one, is there?

So he didn't.

It wouldn't have been
recorded as a sale

if it were to be conveyed

as part of his estate
to his heir at law.

Like I said, we got a contract
with his sister.

Is she his heir?

I told you,
she's the only living relative.

MASON:
What about his son?

His... what?

His son.

You knew he had a son,
didn't you?

You're crazy.

I doubt that.

I also doubt
that you're telling the truth.

Look, I knew Steve Radom
since he was a kid.

He was never married,
never had no kid.

This is a true copy

of Steve Radom's
marriage certificate.

Mr. Parker,
would you read the name

of the first of the two
subscribing witnesses?

I..

MASON:
Read it, please.

Louie Parker.

You were present at his wedding.

You knew he went to prison
a few months later.

You knew he was divorced
by his pregnant wife.

Yeah.

MASON:
All right, Mr. Parker, tell us--

when Radom discovered
his illness was terminal,

what happened?

- Why, nothing.
- Nothing?

Nothing happened.

Not even after you found out
that Radom was making inquiries

about conveying
certain properties

that were used
by Amusements Diversified

but were personally owned
by Radom?

We offered him a fortune,
but he was stubborn like a mule.

None of the other partners

could figure out why,
could they?

But it made sense to you.

You knew he had a son.

You knew he might want
to arrange

for his son to benefit
from that property.

For years, nothing.

He never gives it a thought.

But now...
now he's going to die.

Now... now it's important.

Now all he talks about
is his kid, his son!

MASON:
Radom knew he had a son,

a son he thought
was somewhere in Barstow.

Yeah, he knew.

But you knew the son
was in Los Angeles.

I never said that.

A good but inexperienced
musician.

Uh, why did you hire
Carl Talbert?

LOUIE:
Well, I...

MASON: Was it because
you had recognized

Mrs. Talbert in Los Angeles?

Recognized her as the girl
you once knew as Mrs. Radom?

Did you learn
that she was staying

with a young man, a musician?

And did you assume
that that young musician

was Steve Radom's son?

Look, you got to understand.

If somebody got his hands
on Steve Radom's property

and started asking questions,

it would open up the biggest
can of peas you ever saw.

Now, the hiring of Carl--

you were going to use the boy
in an effort

to prevent Radom from
touching those properties--

by framing his son
on a narcotics charge.

I thought I had
a fool-proof scheme--

sending the boy
on errands in the car

and setting up deliveries
of the stuff

in the same places
at the same time.

You made sure Radom knew

by sending Charles Judd over
to tell him.

Then, later,
while Judd was upstairs

in the hotel
with Radom's sister, Stella,

you went into Radom's bungalow
to deliver the ultimatum.

I warned him.

Either he turned the property
over to his sister or to us,

or we'd ride his kid right
into the pen on a greased rail.

MASON:
But it wasn't Carl the musician;

it was Danny the policeman
who was his son.

He laughed at me.

He just stood there
laughing at me!

MASON:
Just then, Danny came along.

Now, did you hide
in the back room?

When Danny hurt his head,

accidentally dropped his g*n
and went into the bathroom,

did you pick up that g*n
and use it to k*ll Steve Radom?

No! No!

And did you take
from Radom's pocket

Danny's birth certificate?

Look, you got it all wrong,
so help me.

I wasn't even in there
when Danny came.

Danny chased somebody out of
the bungalow to the parking lot,

and was in time to follow a car
that was pulling out--

a car we later identified
as yours.

LOUIE:
All right, so it was my car,

but that's because
Charlie and me,

we had a drink before we left.

And you didn't take that
birth certificate from Radom?

How could I take it?
It wasn't even there yet!

Somebody was going to bring it
to him, sell it to him.

Who, Mr. Parker? Who could have
sold him that document?

Who might have had it?

Well, Ed Talbert had it,
of course.

After his fatal heart att*ck,

the document had disappeared
from his pocket.

Who else besides Radom
had been on that train,

had been alone with Talbert?

In fact, with him
when he was ill and asleep?

Who else but Kitty Delaney?

Did you steal it, Kitty?

Did you recognize Radom
and realize

how much that birth certificate
might be worth?

So I stole the piece of paper.

So what?

I asked Mr. Radom
for five grand.

He offered me , bucks
and a...

and a good job in one
of his night spots.

I-I accepted.

- That's all.
- Did you?

Or did you realize that
Louie Parker and his partners

might pay you millions
for that certificate?

You're out of your mind.

Millions-- but only if
they could destroy it.

And only if Radom
never had a chance

to dispose of his property
to his son.

In other words,
only if Steve Radom were dead.

No.

You were in
the back room hiding

when Danny came
to the bungalow.

You came out when Danny went

to wash off
his bleeding forehead.

You saw Radom helpless,
groggy and hurt,

and you saw the g*n.

And you picked up the g*n

and converted
a $ , piece of paper

into what you thought
was a million dollars--

by k*lling him.

I went away
where he wouldn't find me,

and a few years later,
I married Ed Talbert.

He knew whose son Danny was,

but he raised him as his own.

He was a good man.

Would you tell us about
the loan now, Mrs. Talbert?

Five years ago, I was very sick.

Ed lost his orange grove.

Can you understand
how desperate he was

to swallow his pride,
to get in touch with a man

he had every reason to hate
and beg for money?

He insisted it be a loan,

and he would have repaid
every cent of it except...

Except that he had to bail me
out of trouble.

(sighs)

It was for his family.

He would have done the same
for you, Danny.

I pushed Radom around a little.

He gave it to me
right between the eyes.

You know what he said to me?

He said, "Who do you think
you're talking to?

I'm your father, copper.”

Well, he had it all worked out.

I was young, tough,
and I had plenty of experience.

He was dying.

I was his son and heir.

You know, he...
he honestly couldn't understand

why I wouldn't touch
his dirty money.

Me, his gangster's kid.

That's not true, Danny.

It's not true.

Pa brought you up.

He loved you
just as much as he did me.

It isn't going to change
the fact you and I got to start

looking for jobs
for ourselves, Carl.

MASON:
Danny...

I received a call
from Lieutenant Anderson.

He asked me if I'd represent you
before the Police Board.

Police Board?

MASON: I said I'd be delighted
to represent you in a petition

Andy feels would meet
with very prompt

and very favorable action.

Like I always say--
once a cop, always a cop.

(theme song playing)