All language subtitles for Ellery Queen s01e17 Judas Tree.eng

The man in this portrait is dead.

Who killed him?

Was it his bereaved widow?

Welcome to the hour
of disenchantment, Mr. Queen.

The family doctor?

He had about four months to live.

The business partner?

Well, that rules me out because
I was in Albany at the time.

The mysterious priest?

Inspector, I am not going to reveal
to you what passed between us.

The Oriental visitor?

Which leads you to suspect that
a Chinese committed the crime?

Or was it someone else?

Match wits with Ellery Queen

and see if you can guess
who done it.

Ellery?

Oh, good morning, Dad.

Dare I ask what you're doing?

Yeah, fixing the sink.
It's been dripping.

It's been dripping for three years.

Really?

I just thought it
just needed a washer.

You know, I tried that,

but after I fixed it,
it dripped worse than ever.

Is that so?

Well, imagine that.

While you're remodeling,
I think I'll have a cup of coffee.

I think I'll make a cup of coffee.

On second thought,
maybe I won't have any coffee.

Huh?

Oh, hey, I'm sorry, Dad.
I forgot to make it.

That's all right. I'll fill it
from the tap in the bathroom.

How long before you give up
and call in a plumber?

Huh?
Oh, don't worry, Dad.

I know exactly what I'm doing.

[Door bell ringing]
Mm-hmm, yeah, right.

Morning, Inspector.

Velie, what are you doing here?

I'm sorry, Inspector. I know it's
early, but it's Brooklyn Heights.

Well, Brooklyn Heights
will just have to wait

until after I've had my coffee.

- It's murder.
- Murder?

Murder?

Ellery, fix the sink.

That's the report, sir,
and they need you right away.

Dad, the sink can wait.

Ellery, as much as I'd like your help,

I don't intend to come home
and find that kitchen

looking like a used
plumbing outlet.

Now, you took it apart.
You put it back together again.

But...

As near as I can figure, Inspector,

I got six different sets
of fingerprints in there.

My, my, my, this is my lucky day.

Usually we got no prints.
Today we get six.

Yeah, well, one of them
probably belongs to the victim.

I'll roll them for comparison as soon
as we get the body to the morgue.

That leaves us five.
Good work, Buford.

Check the rest of those prints for
identification as soon as possible.

Yes, sir.

Excuse me, Inspector.

How long do me and my helper
got to hang around here?

I'm sorry, Mr. Mercadonte.

You can't go to work until my men
finish checking out the property.

Well, you want me to call him,
Inspector?

Who?

The Maestro.

We don't need Ellery.
We've got six prints.

Besides, my son the plumber
will probably have his hands full

the rest of the day.

- I wouldn't count on it, Inspector.
- Huh?

[Car horn honking]

Hey, Dad?

[Screeching tires]

[Crashing]

Ohh.

I'm sorry.

I didn't realize
I was driving so fast.

That's okay.

It looks like you got
the worst of it than me.

This is my son, Ellery.
This is Mr. Mercadonte.

He discovered the body.

You put that sink back together?

Yes, the sink is back together.

Mr. Mercadonte,
you discovered the body?

Yeah, well, me and my helper,
you know?

It was 8:00.

We're coming up
the driveway here.

We looked over. We see him
hanging from that structure.

You know, I don't think I've ever run
across a death by hanging before.

You still haven't.

Huh?

He was stabbed.

Yeah, well, even I could tell that.

There he was, hanging there, these
flowers on his head, you know?

Looked so peaceful,
God rest his soul.

Flowers?

That's right, Maestro, flowers
from that bush over there.

Hey, don't call a cercis a bush.

It's a tree.
It's a redbud tree.

Sure is one strange cop.

Hiya, Doc.

Hey, Ellery, good morning.

Hi.

Was he really dead
before he was hanged?

Let's take another look.

Aah.

Yeah. No discoloration
around his neck.

Let's see, his name was
George Sherman, age 34, height 6'1",

weight 200 pounds.

I got all this off
his driver's license.

He died of a single stab wound
in the stomach.

That's all I've been able to find.

I'll be able to tell you more
after the autopsy.

Time of death was between
9:00 and 11:00 last evening.

- Death instantaneous?
- No, it's... it's not likely.

Looks like he was stabbed
in the study,

dragged out here, and the first...

You spot something?

We just loosened that noose
to get him down.

We didn't want to hurt
the evidence up there.

Doc, where are the flowers?

You mean the ones he had
around his head?

Yeah.

They're in the house.

- Thanks, Doc.
- My pleasure.

You did, eh?

Fine, Judson.

Oh, that's good work.

Hi, Ellery.

Hi, Dad.

No, no, I'll be here another hour.

Yeah, that's right.

They located the wife.
She's on her way, Ellery.

Ellery?

Dad, is this where he died?

Near as we can figure

from the bloodstains
on the rug and the chair,

and from the scuff marks,
looks like he was dragged out

through the front door.

- Any fingerprints?
- Six different sets.

Six?

The photographer's all through,
Inspector.

The prints should be on your desk
this afternoon.

Thanks, Velie.

Dad, what about the murder weapon?

- Velie?
- Yes, sir?

- They find the knife yet?
- Still looking, Inspector.

What is it?

Hand-painted porcelain.

Looks like 13th-century Mandarin.

Oh! This stuff has been dusted,
hasn't it?

- Fine time to ask.
- I know. Sorry.

That's interesting.

Wow. What a collection.

Dad, how about these daggers?

Clean as a whistle, all of them.

Strange.

That's...

...very, very strange.

Huh? What is?

I don't know.

But it seems as though we might be
looking for a left-handed killer.

What? How do you know?

Look at the picture, Dad.

George Sherman, épée in hand,
his right hand.

Look at these cups.

What about them?

Well, these five cups
are all dusty on the inside.

But this one has been wiped
clean and dry.

It seems that whoever visited
George Sherman last night,

presumably his killer,
cleaned up the studio.

Oh, Dad, I would suggest that you give
a Benzedrine test to those daggers.

For blood traces?

Well, if the killer wiped a cup,
he could wipe a dagger.

How do you know

that George Sherman
didn't clean the cup and put it back?

Because he was right-handed,

and being right-handed, he would
have replaced it on this side.

Now, if he was left-handed, it would
have been the opposite way around.

He would have replaced it
on this side.

But since we know that Sherman
was right-handed,

there's a strong possibility
that his killer was left-handed.

I wouldn't exactly
call that hard evidence.

Yeah, that's what you need,
all right, hard evidence.

Inspector Queen?

Yeah.

Middle Atlantic Insurance Company.

That's your name?

No, Albert Russo,
insurance investigator.

You can call me Al.

I'm Ellery Queen.
You sure got here in a big hurry.

Well, for a half a million bucks,
I'm a regular Glenn Cunningham.

George Sherman is insured
by your company?

You know it.

11 months ago, our company
issued two insurance policies,

quarter-million dollars apiece.

Who gets it?

Paulette Sherman, his widow,
and Gunther Starr, his partner.

That makes them prime suspects,
in my book.

Okay, Mr. Russo, you'll be notified if
anything turns up that concerns you.

Ah. Oh.

Okay, Inspector, okay.

You work your way,
and I'll work my way.

I'm used to getting the runaround
from you guys.

That's why I'm always so happy
when I come up with the answer first.

- Inspector Queen?
- Mrs. Sherman?

Yes, I'm Paulette Sherman.
This is Dr. Anthony Bender.

How do you do?

I'm Inspector Queen.
This is my son, Ellery.

Good-bye, Mr. Russo.

I think an apology is due,
or at least an explanation,

not just to me, but to the doctor.

Paulette, it's quite all right.

Nonsense.
Now, you were his doctor.

You should have been
the first one notified.

After all, he had been treating
my husband for the last few months.

For what?

His illness, of course.

Mrs. Sherman, I'm sorry to say this,
but your husband was murdered.

Mrs. Sherman, you said
your husband had been very ill?

Terminally ill, Mr. Queen.

A lymphatic condition.
He had about four months to live,

a year at the most.

Thank you, dear.

I was resigned to his eventual death,
but something like this I...

Who knew about his condition?

Well, George didn't want anyone
to know, not even Gunther.

Mrs. Sherman,
would that be Gunther Starr?

Yes, he was my husband's
business partner.

Starr and Sherman Construction,

they're building apartment houses
in Kew Gardens.

The office is in Manhattan,
on West 44th Street.

Well, surely you don't suspect
Gunther.

He and George got along famously.

At the moment, dear lady,
I suspect no one,

and I suspect everyone.

- Velie?
- Yes, sir?

Excuse me.

Paulette, do you remember
the Oriental?

What Oriental?

I have no idea,
but he was here last week.

Who was here?

A man, Inspector.

Chinese, Japanese, I'm not sure.

George got into an argument
with him. It was right here.

The door was closed.
I didn't hear all the details.

I saw him yesterday afternoon.

He drove up as I was leaving.

Do you think you could describe
this man to a police artist?

I don't see why not.
I could try.

Good. Of course,
it may not mean anything.

Or it might mean a great deal.

My husband was in the Orient
during the war.

In the military?

No, he sold arms
and munitions to the Chinese.

I suppose you...
you could call him a war profiteer.

Something happened to him
over there.

I don't know what.

But he would cry out in his sleep.
He... He wouldn't talk about it,

but I knew.

- Inspector.
- Yes, of course.

Thank you, Mrs. Sherman.

I'll expect you both at police
headquarters as soon as possible

to meet the artist.

Certainly.

One more thing, Mrs. Sherman.

Do you have an apartment
in the city?

No.

Then you stayed in town
with friends last night?

Inspector, I don't feel
it's any of your business.

Dr. Bender and I
went to the theater.

Then we had a late supper
at the Stork.

- Afterwards...
- Paulette.

Afterwards, I spent the night
at his townhouse.

Dad, you're just being old-fashioned.

Old-fashioned?
The woman's husband's dying.

She's off playing house
with young Dr. Kildare.

She explained that her husband
encouraged the relationship.

I can't believe that.

You ever see "Dark Victory"?

What's that, another one
of your soap operas?

- A Bette Davis movie.
- Must have missed it.

Any messages, Grace?

Yeah, Sergeant Buford left
some fingerprints on your desk.

Grace, did you make
those phone calls?

Yeah, five phone calls,
five plumbers, four nos.

Oh, one guy said he might...
might be able to make it

a week from Sunday.

Ellery!

Yeah?

- Keep trying.
- Yeah, I will.

Six sets of prints, son.
Buford identified three of them.

The victim, his wife,
and Dr. Anthony Bender.

Now, there's no identification
on the others,

but he's checking the usual records.

Ah. Well,
don't get your hopes up, Dad.

If the killers wore gloves,
these prints won't mean anything.

And if they didn't?
What do you mean, killers?

Oh, at least two, maybe more.

Sherman weighed 200 pounds.

He was strung up to a 9-foot beam.

That's 200 pounds of dead weight.

Well, he could have tied the end
of the rope around the victim's neck,

thrown the other end of the beam,
and hoisted him up.

No, Dad, then the beam
would have been bruised.

I looked. It wasn't.

There had to be two.

Would you excuse me, Dad?
I have to talk to Grace again.

Again?
What are you two up to?

My birthday isn't until December.

Oh, I know, Yeah, I know.
Yeah, yes.

It's something else.

Okay, well...

Well, can you tell me when he'll be
back from his Caribbean cruise?

Oh, no.

No, I'm afraid this thing
can't wait that long.

- Thank you.
- Inspector Queen?

No, sir, that's my dad.

Somebody looking for me?

Louis Marshall, Inspector,
attorney-at-law.

I represent Gunther Starr.

I understand you've been trying
to locate him.

That's right.

Well, Mr. Starr and I have just
returned from Albany by train.

He expresses regret,

but he won't be able
to meet with you today.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Oh, he won't, eh?

I'm sorry I was so long.

I was in Albany until 7:45
this morning,

when Lou and I caught the train.

I suppose someone called you to tell
you that your partner was dead?

No, as a matter of fact,
I found out about Georgie when I...

I called the office
from the construction site.

And it's, uh... ex-partner.

Meaning you own the entire firm
now that he's dead.

Meaning nothing of the kind, friend.

Eight days ago, George sold Mr. Starr
his interest in the company.

He wanted it fast and in cash.

I used to think Georgie
was a really smart apple.

But at half-a-million bucks,
he really sold out cheap.

Maybe...

Maybe because he knew
he was going to die?

Die?

Your partner had
a terminal illness, Mr. Starr.

Now, don't tell me
you didn't know that.

N-No, he never said a word about it.

Wait a minute.
That's why he was seeing a priest.

Priest? What priest?

Lou, you talked to the guy.

Oh, Father Devlin, a missionary, he
was here in the city to raise funds.

Excuse me.
Terrence Devlin?

You know him, son?

Well, by reputation, yeah.
He left the States in the early '30s

to start a mission
in the mountains near Chienshui.

Where is that?

China, Dad.

China.

No. Oh, I'm sorry, Inspector.

I don't...

I just can't help you with this man.
I'm sorry.

Can I offer you, gentlemen,
something...

coffee, wine,
something stronger perhaps?

No, not... not for me.
Thank you, Father.

No.

You know, you look a little pale
to me, Mr. Queen.

You've been sitting
at your typewriter too long.

You don't...
You don't play handball, do you?

Handb... No, no, I don't. No.
I play a little basketball.

Basketball! Yes, I should
have guessed that, yeah.

Inspector, are you sure that...?

I'm more interested in the identity
of this gentleman.

Yes, I know that.

And since I have
recently arrived from China,

that makes me the resident expert
on Chinese aliens.

That and the fact that you were both
acquainted with George Sherman.

Yes, now, that is a coincidence.

It sounds to me like the ingredients
to one of your novels, Mr. Queen.

A missionary priest,
a mysterious Oriental.

I've read them all.
I've read every one of your books.

Someday we must have a long talk.

Father, we had a very difficult time
finding you.

The archdiocese didn't even know
you were in the city.

Well, I'm not exactly hiding,
but I do have to be politic.

The local charities become
very unhappy with me

when I come into a city like this
and siphon off

some of the available funds,
you understand.

Funds?

Funds from George Sherman,
for example?

Yes, that's a very good example,
Mr. Queen.

Ellery... may I call you Ellery?

- Please do.
- Thank you, Thank you.

Look, Father,

George Sherman's attorney
said he wasn't even a Catholic.

To tell you the truth,
he wasn't anything, gentlemen.

But when you see a man
careening straight to the hereafter

on a runaway train,
you just don't toss him off

because he has the wrong
color ticket, now, do you?

You make the hereafter
sound like a pretty warm place.

Sherman, he...

He got a lot off his chest with me.

And I...
I think it might have helped.

He made a confession?

Well...

Yes and no.
It wasn't a...

not a formal confession,
you understand.

Why don't you fill us in?

I...

I don't think I could do that.

Father, he was hanging with a garland
of flowering buds on his head,

buds from the cercis tree,

which, as you know, is another
name for the Judas tree,

the universal symbol of betrayal.

No, I...

I'm sorry.

Formal or not,
it was a private thing, Inspector.

It was... It was very private.

Father, you're impeding
an official investigation.

George Sherman was murdered.

Inspector, I am not going to reveal
to you what passed between us.

Now, I know you have
your trust to keep.

But I have mine.

Where is that fizz?

I don't...

Dad, look.

I don't know why I ate those
green peppers and sausages.

I won't sleep a wink tonight.

And why did I let you
talk me into eating out?

You don't like the way
I wash the dirty dishes.

And look.

Would you put your greasy tools
in the toolbox?

I'm sorry.

My stomach's beginning to feel
as if I'd swallowed a lump of coal.

Where, oh, where, oh, where?

Excuse me.

Well, finally.

Now, what was that about an alibi?

Huh?

Oh, Paulette and Tony's alibis
hold up,

as do Gunther Starr's
and Louis Marshall's.

They were in Albany,

had dinner with a state senator
between 7:00, almost 10:30.

I verified their alibi
with the senator's secretary.

Scratch Al Russo's prime suspects.

Hmm?

If you ask me, it's beginning

to look more and more
like our missing Oriental.

What?

Why do you say that?

One of the knives in that breakfront
was used to kill Sherman.

The murderer or murderers
cleaned it up and put it back,

just like your teacup.

And speaking of tea, what I want
is a nice cold glass of water.

Dad, you're not gonna like... Ohh.

Velie circulated that artist's sketch
all over Chinatown.

Nobody seems to know him.

Hot water from a cold tap?
Ellery!

Ellery!

Dad, there was no pen
in Sherman's pocket.

- What about the sink?
- Never mind about that.

Look at my hand.

What about the sink?

The greasy wrench...

you see the grime spots
on my hand here between the fingers.

It's from using this wrench,
trying to fix that sink.

The word "trying"
will get no argument from me.

Dad, come on.
There's something we got to find out.

Huh?

This is breaking and entering.
You know that?

Dad, you're a police officer.

Oh, for the moment.

Now, what's all this
about a dying clue?

I want you to sit down at the desk.

Why?

I want you to write something for me.

What?

Dad, please.

Write something?

Pen, paper.

What is this,
my last will and testament?

I want you to write,
"The person who killed me is..."

Yeah?

I want you to write that.

"The person who killed me is..."

Who?

I don't know.

Let me see your hand.

You see that, Dad?
The pen leaks.

George Sherman had ink stains
on his fingers, his right hand.

He was sitting at this desk,
and he was writing something.

The name of his killer.

Killers, maybe.

If I could only figure out...

[Movement outside room]

- Ellery.
- Shh.

Ellery...

- I don't have a gun.
- It's all right.

Let's find out who it is
and what he wants.

All right, hold it right there,
my friend.

Now, you wait just a second!

Wait!

Ohh!

- Ohh, I'm gonna get...
- It's too late. He's gone.

I'll put out an alarm.

This is Inspector Queen,
New York Police.

Give me the 58th precinct,
and hurry!

Ow.

One set of stubs
representing five checks.

And somebody
wanted this badly enough

to risk getting arrested for it.

Will you sit still?

Five stubs, five checks.

Right on the top
is your missing Oriental.

A check in the amount of $250,000
made out to a Mr. Stephen Yang.

Well, now at least we've got
a name to go with the face.

Now, this is strange.
This is very strange.

Two checks made out
to Father Devlin,

one made out to him personally,
and it was voided,

the second one made out to
the Chinese Christian Relief Mission.

I wonder why he did that.

How much?

$250,000 each.

Sounds like a man trying to buy
his way through the pearly gates.

What are the other two checks
on that stub?

$5,000 to Louis Marshall,
the firm's attorney.

The last one is for $1,200,
payable to the gardener.

$1,200 for pulling weeds?

[Door bell ringing]

Here, rub that on.

Evening, Inspector.
I hear the report on the police band.

I figured you'd be up.
How's the Maestro?

I'm not sure. Why don't you feel his
pulse and see if he's still with us?

Maestro, how you feeling?

Huh?
Oh, hi, Velie.

How you feeling?

What?
I'm feeling fine, just fine, thanks.

Well, they got a match on two more
sets of those fingerprints.

What is it, Dad?

One's the housekeeper,

and the other is a Captain Thomas
G. Wharton, U.S. Marine Corps.

Who's this Captain Wharton?

No idea, Inspector,

but the Navy Department is
sending us a copy of his 201 file.

We should have it in the morning.

Leaving one set of prints
unaccounted for.

Who is probably our Oriental friend,
Mr. Stephen Yang.

Queen.

Oh, Mr. Russo, how are you?

Oh, not so good, thanks.

I hear George Sherman
was dying from a terminal illness.

Oh? Where'd you hear that?

I also hear that he's probably had
the condition for a couple of years.

Possibly.

Interesting, considering
the hanky-panky that's been going on

between the bereaved widow
and the doctor with the...

hotsy-totsy bedside manner.

- Well, I don't know.
- Don't get nervous, Queen.

I want to do a little business,
a trade...

what I know for what you know,

and all it costs you is a copy
of that coroner's report.

Oh, I can't promise that.

But if I think you have something,
I'll ask my dad if he'll help out.

No, no, not good enough.

- I'm sorry.
- Okay. Okay.

11 months ago, George Sherman
was issued two insurance policies,

quarter-million dollars apiece.

Yes, one naming Paulette Sherman,
the other naming Gunther Starr.

But what you didn't know is, is that
the doctor that gave George Sherman

a clean bill of health was none other
than Dr. Tony Bender.

I'll see about that coroner's report
for you.

You're okay, pal.

"I understand you're looking for me.
Please follow the black limousine

now parked behind you."

[Car engine starts]

Thank you for coming, Mr. Queen.

Well, you gave me very little choice,
Mr. Yang.

That's an excellent landscape.

And so is the portrait that you
painted of George Sherman

that hangs over his fireplace,
the fencing pose.

I didn't sign that.

Oh.

Sir, your style is unmistakable.

I painted that several years ago,

during happier days
with George Sherman.

Days that became unhappy?

Since your police
are searching for me,

I must presume I'm a suspect
in his murder.

I will pretend no remorse,
Mr. Queen.

He deserved to die.

I was a leader of a guerilla band
near the China/Burma border,

fighting the last pockets
of Japanese resistance.

Sherman was selling us arms
at quite a nice profit to himself.

We planned a raid on a power station.
He knew about it.

Somehow the Japanese captured him,
and he betrayed us.

The raid failed.

42 good men were killed,

and we all knew
who was responsible.

Well, why didn't you kill him then?

Your question presupposes
that I killed him now.

I almost did.

I found out Sherman's whereabouts

and went to his house
to confront him.

I expected to find the robust
adventurer of that portrait.

Instead, I found a pitiful,
frightened man.

He did not deny his actions, hardly.
He even begged my forgiveness.

In the amount of $250,000?

He begged me to take it.

He said that he had very little time,

that he wanted to make amends
with the families of the dead.

I decided to let him live with his
crime rather than to end his misery.

Mr. Yang, he was killed
with an Oriental knife.

Which leads you to suspect that
a Chinese committed the crime.

How quaint, Mr. Queen.

Sir, there were other people
on the raid that had motives...

wives, children?

- Dozens.
- Yeah.

But there can be only
one Chinese suspect... me.

I see, am I free to go now?
May I get out of here?

Of course.
Can you find your way back?

Yes, I'm... I'm going to try.
Thank you.

Oh, Mr. Yang,

have you ever seen
this man before?

No, I'm sorry.
Do you think he's the killer?

Uh...

He's one of the suspects.

You showed him my picture?

Careful, Dad.
You'll smudge the prints.

What prints?

Well, there's still one set
of prints unidentified.

You think they belong to Mr. Yang?
Perhaps they do.

- Now we'll find out for sure.
- Good thinking, son.

Oh, Grace, will you call
Sergeant Velie for me?

Yes, sir.

And this just arrived for you,
special delivery.

Navy Department?

Captain Wharton's file.

Well, well, well, well,
well, well, well.

Well, w... What?

Oh, nothing much, just that the...

Navy was kind enough to send along
a picture of the Captain.

So, you knew all along that I wasn't
a real priest, Mr. Queen?

Oh, boy.
What... What gave me away?

Well, you tried to steal the stubs
from the checkbook.

So, he was the one?

- That's right, Dad.
- I thought it was Yang.

May I explain to your father,
Mr. Queen?

Sure.

Okay.

You see, Inspector, out of guilt
for the China incident,

Sherman made out a check
for $250,000,

made payable
to Father Terrence Devlin.

Since I'm obviously
not Father Devlin,

I couldn't endorse the check
without committing forgery,

so I asked him to tear it up.

He did.

I asked him
to make out another check

to the Chinese Christian
Relief Mission.

That I could endorse
with a rubber stamp.

What about the real Father Devlin?

He died.

Three months ago, pneumonia.

We needed funds,
but the Mission was Father Devlin.

I mean, who was going to give
donations to a nobody?

So, we decided to keep his death
a secret.

And since no one on the East Coast

had seen Devlin
since he was 24 years old,

you thought you'd get away
with the masquerade, huh?

Yeah.

I didn't do a half-bad job,
either, did I?

No, you didn't.

Now, if you'll accompany me to
headquarters to make a statement...

Okay.

But just so that you understand,

every dime I collected, Inspector,
and I mean every dime,

has gone to that mission.

We'll check that out, too.
Coming, son?

No, you go ahead, Dad.

Okay?

Yeah, congratulations.
You're getting the hang of it.

Yeah.

Dr. Bender's office said
I'd find him here.

Yeah, he's over in the library.

Thank you, Mr. Mercadonte.

Welcome to the hour
of disenchantment, Mr. Queen.

May I offer you a drink
while I still can?

No, no. Thank you.

Actually, I wanted to talk
to Dr. Bender, but...

if I've come at a bad time...

Bad?

Well, I might as well let you in

on my late husband's
macabre little joke.

Mr. Marshall tells me
that I have been left penniless.

My husband sold his business
and gave away the proceeds.

He's given this house away
to some silly orphanage.

There's no cash left, no stock.

Paulette, you still have
the insurance money.

Thank God.

Oh, yes, about that...

Dr. Bender,
may I speak to you privately?

Mrs. Sherman and I
don't have any secrets.

All right.

You've known each other
a little less than a year?

That is correct.

In fact, didn't you meet Mrs. Sherman
after you'd examined her husband

for the two insurance policies?

Where did you get the information
that I was the doctor on the case?

Oh, I examined the coroner's report.

George Sherman's lymphatic condition
was in an advanced state.

And what is that supposed to mean?

Well, I just wonder
why you didn't spot it 11 months ago,

when these policies were issued.

Because I wasn't looking for it.

Look, Mr. Queen, there's no
deception. There's no collusion.

It's just that I didn't know the man
prior to that time.

Mr. Queen,
your behavior's inexcusable.

I think it's time for you to leave.

Of course, I'm... I'm sorry.

It... It's just that...

You see, it's a question
that has to be asked,

if not by me, then by the police.

Oh, Mr. Mercadonte,

about a week ago, Mr. Sherman
gave you a check for $1,200?

Right.

What was that for?

Look after the yard... what else?

Well, isn't that a little steep,
I mean, even for a place like this?

Well, Dave and me, we make $100
a month, so he paid us in advance.

A year in advance?
Did he say why?

I don't know.

I guess he just wanted
to make sure that we...

took good care of his place
in case he went away.

Listen, if somebody's
gonna pay me a year in advance,

I don't ask no questions,
I just take the money.

- Thank you.
- Okay, see you.

Okay, what you're doing?
Come on.

Well, that's it.

Of course.
That's got to be it.

Now I know who killed
George Sherman...

the one person with something
to gain from it.

You're probably way ahead of me.
You've got all the clues.

The ink stains on George's hand,
the alibis, motive.

Put them all together,
and what have you got?

Well, Dr. Tony Bender,

the not-so-grieving widow,
Paulette Sherman?

Oh, and don't forget Stephen Yang
or the phony Father Devlin.

Or maybe it was somebody else,

maybe somebody
you haven't even considered.

Let's find out.

Dad, we'll be out of here by 9:00.

Well, I hope so. Graziano's fighting
LaMotta at 10:00 in the Garden.

I managed to get us
two ringside seats.

10:00 tonight?

Well, if we're out of here by 9:00,
we'll be okay.

- Inspector?
- Yeah?

Oh, thanks for showing up, Mr. Yang.

Inspector Queen,
I'm sure I had very little choice.

Inspector, that's the man.
That's the man I saw.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Son?

Thanks, Dad.

As you've probably gathered,
we're here tonight

to identify the killer
of George Sherman.

Killers, Ellery.

To continue,
as you all probably know by now,

George Sherman was dying
of an acute lymphatic ailment.

He had a few months to live,
maybe even as much as a year.

- Is that not right, Doctor?
- Yes, that's right.

On the day he was killed,

only two people in this room
knew about that illness...

his doctor and his wife.

Now, it's not likely that either one
of them would risk a murder charge

to kill a man who had such a short
time to live as it was.

Besides which,

their activities at the time
of the murder can be accounted for

by at least a dozen witnesses.

Now, that leaves four suspects

who were unaware of Sherman's
terminal illness

Well, that rules me out
because I was in Albany at the time,

and a state senator
will testify to that.

- Isn't that right, counselor?
- That's right.

Gunther, you had a motive,
$250,000 worth of insurance.

You could have hired someone.

And you could have done
the same thing.

Isn't that a possibility, Mr. Queen?

That is a possibility, Mr. Starr.

Yes, that is a possibility,

but, Mrs. Sherman, I'm afraid
you're wrong about the motive.

You see, the insurance policy
was a survival policy,

naming each partner in the event
of the death of the other.

But since Mr. Starr had
already bought out your husband

before he was dead,

that policy was automatically void.

Investigator Russo
didn't know about that sale.

That's why he suspected you.

He does now, Dad.
I talked to him about an hour ago.

And he was kind enough
to provide me

with copies of the insurance policy.

Well, I certainly had nothing to gain
from George's death.

Well, sir, there's a little matter
of $5,000 paid to you.

It was on the check stub.

Well, that was
for services rendered...

sale of the business, his will.

And to buy your silence,
swearing you to secrecy

so that his wife would not know
about his divesting his holdings

and selling this house.

But you were also in Albany.

It's been established that
that's good enough an alibi.

- So, that brings us to Father Devlin.
- The priest?

You got to be kidding, Queen.

I'm not accusing a priest, Mr. Starr.

In the first place,
this gentleman had no motive.

The check for $250,000
had already been cashed,

and the funds were safely
on their way to China.

Well, that leaves just one suspect,
Mr. Yang.

Yeah.

So, that's why I was summoned here,
to be accused of a murder?

Well, you must admit, Mr. Yang,

that the evidence certainly
does point your way.

The hanging of George Sherman with
a crown of buds from a Judas tree

most clearly indicates
your motive, betrayal.

The fact that the murder weapon
was a Chinese ceremonial dagger,

the fact that you were here in
his house the day he was killed...

But I did not kill him.

No, you didn't,

but somebody went to an awful lot of
trouble to make it look like you did.

- Ellery.
- Sir?

You've eliminated all the suspects
in the room.

No, Dad.

The people who hanged
George Sherman are in this room.

That's ridiculous.
This is another riddle!

No, no, no, no, no, no, it's not.

If you give me a moment,
I think I can explain.

Oh, good.
I want to hear this.

11 months ago,
George Sherman returned home.

He applied for insurance to protect
both his wife and his business.

Dr. Bender gave
the physical examination

and found George Sherman
physically fit.

But I think, Dr. Bender,
you also discovered his illness,

something that he might
have known about, as well.

I further think
that he gave you a bribe

to falsify those insurance reports.

- And that's a lie, Mr. Queen.
- Is it?

Yes, it is.

Shortly afterwards, you became
very good friends with the Shermans.

As a matter of fact,

you became an exceptionally
close friend of Mrs. Sherman.

We told you, George knew about
our relationship. He understood.

Yes, well, we only have your word
for that, Mrs. Sherman.

George was dying.

He wanted to make restitution
to those he had wronged.

I think that he also wanted
to revenge himself...

on a faithless friend
and an even more faithless wife.

Now, knowing he was dying, he
divested himself of all his assets,

swore Mr. Marshall to secrecy
so that you couldn't interfere.

Now, here's what I think happened.

On the afternoon
of the day he died,

he told you and Tony
what he had done.

That night, after your supper
at the Stork,

you returned to the house
to try to reason with him.

You found him dead.

And unless I'm mistaken,

there was a note on the desk
in which he named his killer.

Now, we know Sherman had written
something because of the leaky pen

and the ink stains on his fingers.

For reasons of your own, you
decided to get rid of the evidence.

You destroyed the note,

cleaned off the knife,
washed and dried the teacup,

except, being left-handed,

you placed it on the left side
of the cabinet, not the right.

You dragged his body out the door
to the stretcher,

adding the most brilliant
stroke of all,

the flowers from the Judas tree
to incriminate Mr. Yang.

Mrs. Sherman was probably waiting
with the rope.

She helped you hoist the body up.

Fascinating, Mr. Queen, fascinating.

But even granting you
that your theory is correct,

I don't think it's a crime
to hang a dead man.

So, all you've done is to clear
Paulette and me of murder.

Now, let me get this straight.

You're saying that these two
did not kill George Sherman?

That's right.

But you promised
to identify the killer.

Yes, sir.

I am, I am.

The killer is in this room...

there on the wall.

What?

No, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
You're going to fast for me.

You mean George Sherman
killed himself?

Dad, it was the only way

he could strike back at his wife
and Dr. Bender.

All he had was

a quarter-million-dollar insurance
policy, with the usual exclusions.

The policy was void
if the insured took his own life.

I can almost imagine
George Sherman

writing a suicide note to that effect
as he had his last cup of tea, alone.

So we end up with nothing, after all.

Oh, you have each other.

And an appointment with the judge
for tampering with evidence

and defrauding
an insurance company.

- Velie?
- Yes, sir?

Take them in.

That's great work, Queen.

If I ever get into trouble,
I'm gonna call you.

- I assume we may go now.
- Sure.

- You, too, Mr. Yang.
- Thank you, Inspector Queen.

Mr. Queen, it's been
most illuminating.

And now...

- Father...
- Oh, I understand, Inspector.

I have some things
to answer for myself.

- Dad, don't you think...?
- Quiet, Ellery.

I checked your bank, Captain.
You were leveling with us.

You did send the money
to the mission.

So, I have a suggestion for you.

Why don't you find the first plane
leaving for China tomorrow morning

and get on it?

Thank you.

Thanks.

Good luck.

Yeah.

Well, that's good, Ellery.
I think we can make the Garden.

Who do you like?

I think Graziano's
gonna murder the bum.

Well, Dad, about that,
I'm afraid I can't make it.

I have to be at the house tonight.

What for?

I found a plumber.

Oh, wonderful.

But, you see, the plumber can only
come tonight at 10:00.

Tonight?
Oh, that's too bad.

Well, maybe I can get him
to come another time.

No, Ellery, I don't think you can.

Aw, Dad.

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