Original subtitles

Funny how the dirt about one small area in a big city can become a national

pastime.

Psychiatrists have a couple of $10 words for it.

Emotionally disenfranchised.

You know, if you're dead in the romance department, the stuff in that book is

more important than eating or sleeping.

It's a runaway bestseller. You read it yet?

You don't read it. You, uh, you wade through it.

With hip boots.

Harris covered the who, what, when, and where as if he didn't trust anybody's

imagination. Wonder how Harris got his information.

Well, ask Weaver. Dave lives in Cliffside Heights, Mr. Harris' well

community of sinners.

What about it, Dave? How did he dig up the stuff?

With a muckrake.

Hey, gentlemen.

Nicky, Wolder. Who is it? Dave?

Mr. Harris.

Is there any truth to the rumor that Mundy's trial has been canceled?

Are you settling out of court? How much is McCann, your publisher, paying off?

This is Harry Mason, who's representing the Cliffside Heights residents.

Is it true he caught McCann with his defenses down by charging invasion of

privacy instead of slander?

Gentlemen, gentlemen, I have a statement to read.

There are copies for everyone.

Look out, Mr. Arthur.

Open your big mouth and you'll be adding yourself as a defendant.

And liable to invasion of privacy.

Well, Mr. Weaver.

Still chasing scoops for that shopping news throwaway you work for? We service

our readers.

We didn't put the people of Cliffside Heights in a glass house and saw the

privilege of peeking inside at 4 .50 a copy.

Gentlemen, my statement.

Upon my arrival in Los Angeles, I was shocked, shocked, gentlemen, to hear of

rumors of a possible out -of -court settlement.

Regardless of any statements by Mr. Mason or my publisher, Albert McCann,

is a categorical denial of such rumors. There is not and there will not be any

settlement. This issue gentlemen will be resolved Monday morning in court.

What is it, Margaret?

He's going to court.

You're afraid he'll tell about the children?

No.

No, he mustn't, George.

I've got to stop him.

I've got to stop him.

Mr.

Mason, I know I'm not one of your clients in the invasion of privacy suit.

I'm not your client at all.

But please, Mr. Mason, please.

Don't let this happen.

Harris has no authority whatsoever to say whether he will or will not let the

case go to court, Mrs. Layton.

This action concerns the way a book is being advertised. It has nothing to do

with its contents.

You see, it's the publisher we're suing.

And the publisher has agreed to a settlement.

You're sure?

Unless someone has changed the law while I wasn't looking, I'm reasonably sure.

Well, maybe this publisher, Mr. McCann.

Maybe he's changed his mind.

His attorney's out of town for a few days.

But before he left, we reached complete agreement on the settlement and jointly

approved the necessary documents.

There shouldn't be any trouble.

I'll call and let you know what happens.

Mr. Mason, I'll do anything.

Anything in the world rather than let this man go into court and talk.

Whether or not it has any bearing on the case, he's spiteful enough to get up

and tell the world that I was married to him and my children must not know this

evil, despicable man as their father.

But you saw it yourself in the papers.

He said he was going into court.

All right, I know you... Look, I'll call you back.

Hello, Grace.

Hello, Mr. Harris.

Call the utilities, will you, and have them resume service at my house. I

haven't lived in the place for a year, so you'll have to contact the gas.

Phone, electricity people.

And I want some stuff from Collins' office supply.

Here's the list.

Take care of it, will you?

Oh, and tell Collins that I must have it today.

Hello, Albert.

You were supposed to be here yesterday.

Oh, we don't get a trial until Monday. Where are those papers you wanted me to

sign?

How's the book selling?

Good, but not for much longer.

I believe that document is self -explanatory.

I, Richard Harris, hereby state that as part of a fraudulent sales campaign,

I willfully and maliciously permitted the public to believe the dishonored was

based on true.

I further affirm that the events depicted in the said book are entirely

that the characters do not and were not intended to... You expect me to sign

this? We were prepared for any libel action.

But Mason has caught us all by surprise with an invasion of privacy suit.

I've decided we're settling this matter out of court.

New dust jackets without the true story blurb, waiver ads in all the major

metropolitan newspapers.

It isn't essential, but has an indication of good intent.

Your signature on that statement and its subsequent publication will help

terminate all legal action.

That would kill any possible sales of the book. You must be out of your mind.

Withdraw the advertising, that book would have about as much appeal as the

of a pencil bender.

That's only part of the settlement.

On advice of counsel, I've also agreed to pay $100 ,000 into the Cliffside

Heights Community Service Fund.

Look, McCann.

So a few sacred cows got their horns chopped off inside a squealing.

You've beaten a dozen of these lawsuits.

Why settle?

Why? That's the way it has to be.

I'll have another statement made up for your signature.

I don't need it, but I'd appreciate your signing it. Forget it. I'm not signing

a thing.

And maybe you shouldn't either.

Maybe you've forgotten what I didn't write in that book.

Harris.

Hi.

Mr. Mason is here to see you. Have him come in.

Those sacred cows you mentioned.

Mason is representing them. That's one of the reasons for settling this out of

court.

Mr.

Mason? Mr. Harris.

and Arthur seems a bit disgruntled.

He isn't overjoyed. And you?

Mason, I agreed to settle.

And settle I will.

Margaret!

Margaret!

Dave! Dave Weaver, what brings you... Dave, your face, you've been hurt.

Inside, now out. The picture's complete.

I came to talk to you about Richard Harris and the trial Monday.

There isn't going to be a trial.

Mr. Mason's secretary called me an hour ago. There'll be a settlement.

Mr. McCann hasn't changed his mind. Harris hasn't changed his mind either.

He gave me this ten minutes ago to emphasize his decision.

But I understand Mr. McCann said... Only the devil knows what kind of a club

Harris is holding over him. I tell you, this thing is going to go to court.

And I'm going to dig up every rotten fact I can about rotten Richard Harris

splash it across the front pages.

If he thinks he's hurt other people, wait till I get finished with him.

And my children and the hundreds of other innocent people. Will you hurt

too? Margaret, what difference does it make?

Today or Monday?

When he takes that stand, he's going to cut everybody's throat anyway.

I won't let him and I won't let you.

Wait. Please wait.

Margaret, help me expose him for what he is.

Look, we were friends here in New York.

Trust me, please.

Let me say those are Harris' children, not Leighton's. Let me shame Harris by

exposing how he treated them and you ten years ago.

Give me a couple of hours.

One hour.

Give me the time to stop him.

I beg you, please.

My deadline before they lock up the addition is an hour from now. Margaret,

can't... Please.

All right.

Richard, this is important.

The children are going to be hurt because they're your daughters, because

name was once Harris.

Now your idiot neighbors in the Heights are acting as if I invented sin.

Well, I didn't.

No. But you compiled it page after page.

A horrible monument to broken homes and ruined reputations. Margaret, your sense

of timing was always opportune.

By Monday, the world may end for me, and you stand here spouting your five -and

-dime philosophy. You have no one but yourself to blame.

Everything you ever touched, you destroyed.

But I won't let you destroy the children. I won't.

Even if I have to kill you.

All right, Collins, this isn't a peep show.

Put the stuff down here and get out.

All right, take it easy.

I've made a special trip to deliver this material. I wanted to talk to you.

About your account with Collins Office Supply, that is.

I thought we had an understanding about that.

I, uh... I, uh, excuse me. Just wanted to make sure our understanding was still

in effect.

I'll see you later.

Richard, are you going to... Oh, I've had enough.

What do you want me to do? Let your publisher settle. Don't force him to go

court. Sure. Kill a million dollar advertising campaign.

Watch the sale of the books fall off to nothing. No thanks.

That would hurt my pride of authorship.

But your children, aren't they? Mine, Margaret, mine.

Then why isn't their name Harris?

When you divorced me, married Leighton, moved back to the Heights here from New

York, why did you change their name to Leighton without my consent?

Knowing yourself, you have the gall to ask me that.

Or haven't you read that?

that you call a book. Oh, yes, again. That pride of authorship. You keep

away at it.

Harris, you know I like my name.

And since it's theirs, why shouldn't the two kids?

Richard.

This purse.

There's $5 ,000 in it. So?

The settlement.

I know it may cost you money because of the loss of book sales.

Perhaps a lot more than $5 ,000.

You are so right, darling. So very right.

It's all I have.

All I could get a hold of. But I swear to you, I'll get more.

Somewhere, somehow.

$5 ,000 in place of the public appearances?

The lectures?

The royalties on a million copies that won't sell?

Oh, you have to be joking.

But there's no guarantee.

Oh, but there is, Margaret.

I made myself a guarantee.

The key to a Pandora's box, full of calumnies and cash.

Don't you care about your children? No, not now, not before, and not ever.

So you just turn yourself around and get out of here. Oh, Richard, please,

please, I beg you, Richard. I said get out of here.

It's true.

Dave Weaver was right.

Richard Harris not only intends to force this case into court, he intends to

destroy everybody he can reach.

Please, Mr. Mason, represent me.

Help me.

McCann won't answer?

His secretary insists he just stepped out for a moment. And Mr.

McCann's attorney still hasn't returned from his out -of -town trip.

Mrs. Layton, I explained before, the decision was and is McCann's alone.

And I assure you, both he and his attorney appear to be very anxious to

Could it be this key that Richard was talking about? What Dave Weaver said,

he has some sort of club over McCann.

Mrs. Layton, this is Paul Drake, an investigator who works very closely with

How do you do, Mr. Layton? Paul, Mrs. Layton has to pick up a purse and some

money. I'd like you to go with her.

All right.

If there has been coercion, Mrs. Layton, we'll get to the bottom of it.

Yes, Grace. What is it?

A phone call for you, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Paul Drake.

Thank you.

Yes, Paul?

Harry, I'm at the Harris house with Mrs. Layton.

When we got here, the police were here.

Harris?

He's been murdered.

Your client is here.

Which one?

This one.

What took you so long to get my release?

The district attorney had some peculiar ideas about removing evidence from the

scene of the crime. He was quite disturbed about your refusal to

Uh -huh.

Well, my cooperation would have made you a guest in this institution.

Berger wanted me to admit that you knew the gun was in Mrs. Layton's purse when

you sent us to retrieve it. He did mention something about a felony, but

weren't booked.

No, just questioned, along with Mrs. Layton.

I hope she didn't say too much.

Well, they don't need much with what they've got.

First, the coroner's estimated time of death coincides with the time Mrs.

was there.

Second, homicide has a witness, Harry Collins. He owns Collins' office supply,

who was present when Mrs. Layton threatened Harris. And third, ballistics

proved that the bullet which killed Harris was fired from the gun found in

Layton's purse.

What about Mrs. Layton's gloves?

Did the lab find anything on them?

I'm afraid so. Mr. Mason.

I didn't have anything to do with his death, Mr. Mason.

Very well.

All right.

Now let's begin with what you neglected to tell me when you were in my office.

That you threatened to kill Richard Harris.

That you had a gun in your purse.

I... I don't know how it got into my purse. I didn't put it there. But you

fire it.

Yes. Where did you get the gun?

I saw it in the center drawer.

Richard opened it to get a lighter.

I don't remember picking it up.

Suddenly, it was in my hand.

Before I could raise it, he grabbed my wrist.

The gun fired.

The bullet went into the desk and through all the drawers.

How did you know that the bullet penetrated that far?

The police officer opened all the desk drawers while I was still in the room.

In the bottom drawer, the papers weren't there anymore. I could see the bullet

hole right through to the hole in the floor.

Exactly what do you mean by papers?

A pile of papers.

Pretty thick.

Four or five hundred pages.

Bound inside a cover.

The bullet couldn't penetrate four or five hundred pages of paper after it had

just gone through a desk.

Mrs. Layton, try to remember.

This pile of papers that was bound together, could it have been a

Yes. Yes.

Now that you mention it, that's exactly what it did look like.

A manuscript.

It may be in one of the other drawers.

Or have you already been through those?

I happen to be Harris' publisher.

But not his executor.

The police thought that what I was looking for might be important.

They asked me to go through his desk.

So, now that we've determined my status, perhaps you'd care to clarify your own.

Just what brings you here, Mr. Mason?

Apparently nothing, judging from that empty drawer and your disappointment.

For the record, as attorney for the defendant, I have a court order giving

the right to inspect the premises.

Just what is it you think I came here to get? The thing that changed your mind

about settling the lawsuit?

Harris's manuscript?

The sequel to his book?

Sequel to his book?

Harris never wrote one.

If he did, I wouldn't have touched it with a ten -foot pole.

Why not?

You are his publisher, aren't you? And the defendant in a lawsuit.

It's in connection with that suit that I'm here.

I was looking for the document you kept asking whether Harris had signed.

Mr. McCann.

Just when did you give Harris that document?

It was given to him yesterday, about three o 'clock, after I saw you.

And if that question is another insinuation, I like it even less than

Well, if nothing else, he's certainly consistent in his dislikes.

Well, between murder and theft, you didn't give him much choice.

How deeply did you dig into McCann's financial background before he agreed to

settle? Just skimmed the surface.

Remember, you called it off after he accepted your terms.

Well, I've changed my mind.

Dig in deeper.

All right. I'll get right on it. What about the manuscript?

Find it?

I'd like to see Mr. Collins, please.

He's busy at the moment, but if you care to wait... Great. Let go of me.

You're getting upset about something that hasn't happened yet. And if it

Harris wasn't writing fiction.

There's something I can do, Miss Kingman? Mr. Mason, I... No.

I presume Miss Kingman was referring to Harris' manuscript.

What she was referring to is none of your business.

Mr. Collins, I'm Mrs. Layton's attorney.

That manuscript does happen to be my business.

Come in.

Miss Kingman was speaking of a personal matter. It had nothing to do with any

Harris manuscript or whatever it is you were speaking of.

A manuscript with a cover large enough to contain several hundred pages.

A cover which I assume came from here.

Well, that won't be difficult to determine.

Miss Morland, run the tapes on the Harris account, will you? And see if you

find any purchase of our Expando manuscript cover.

That's the largest size we carry.

What colors do they come in?

Only one, black.

But I don't recall any such purchase.

And I used to supply everything that Harris used, including his typewriter

the furnishings for his study.

There's some $3 ,100 due on it yet.

But you still delivered his last order personally.

Oh, yes, I was hoping to get something on account if I spoke to him.

That stuff won't be worth a fraction of its value when it's reclaimed,

especially a desk with bullet holes in it.

I found it, Mr. Collins. Two of those manuscript covers were delivered to Mr.

Harris. Why weren't they listed on his account?

Well, maybe they were bought some time ago. At least they were picked up and

paid for by Miss Norma Weaver.

Weaver?

Any relationship to the reporter, Dave Weaver?

His sister.

She used to be Harris' secretary.

But I don't think you'll be able to get any information out of her.

So you finally got around to Norma.

I understand she was once Harris' secretary.

I'd like to talk to her.

Talk to her?

About what?

The possible existence of a sequel to Harris' book.

There was a manuscript that disappeared from his desk after he was murdered.

Your sister might be able to tell me if there's a second copy.

Harris's destructive talent wasn't confined to his writing, Mr. Mason.

Norma was walking home from her job at Harris's place one night, taking her

usual shortcut through the park.

Somebody deliberately drove off the road and ran her down.

I guess she never saw who hit her.

There's more to the story, isn't there?

Yes.

The accident didn't kill her.

But it took the life of her unborn child.

Had she known?

About the child?

The doctor told her.

Two days earlier.

And she had time to have shared the news with someone.

Did she identify the father?

Harris?

No. Not before the attempt on her life and not since.

Those gloves were worn by the defendant on the night of the murder.

And when they were subjected to a laboratory examination, Lieutenant, did

reveal anything significant?

Well, the right -hand glove had traces of gun oil on it.

and there were also specks of gunpowder on the same glove.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Now I ask you to examine this gun for purposes of identification.

Yes, it has my mark on it. It's the gun which killed Richard Harris.

How did you determine that?

Well, two shots had been fired from it.

One through a desk and into the floor, the other into the decedent.

Ballistics tests established the fact that both bullets had been fired from

same gun.

This gun.

I see.

Now, Lieutenant, on the night of the murder, you personally took the

into custody.

Would you please tell the court where and under what circumstances this took

place? It was in the decedent's study.

She had left her purse there earlier and had come back to retrieve it.

Very well.

I now ask you to identify this purse. Does it belong to the defendant?

It does.

And did you have a chance to examine it before the defendant returned?

I did.

It contained the murder weapon.

plus $5 ,000 in cash.

You say that the decedent had angrily torn up the disclaimer prepared for his

signature by your attorney and Mr. Mason.

Yes. And after Mr. Mason left, I had Grace, my secretary, Miss Kingman, type

another copy of the disclaimer.

And what did you do then, sir?

Miss Kingman told me that Harris had asked her to have his utilities turned

at the house he still owned.

I called to tell Harris I wanted his signature.

But the phone service hadn't been connected yet.

That document wasn't vital, but I thought it was important.

So I sent Miss Kingman out to Harris' house to get a signature on it.

Mr. Harris was angry and upset even before I handed him the document and

him Mr. McCann insisted he sign it.

And when he had read it?

Well, I couldn't repeat some of the things he shouted.

Well, omitting for a moment the abusive language he may have used, Miss Kingman.

Would you tell the court, please, the substance of what the decedent said?

Well, he had a thick manuscript on the top of his desk, and he kept pounding on

it and pointing to it while he talked.

He... Just a minute, Miss Kingman.

As secretary to a publisher, you are familiar with the appearance of an

unpublished manuscript?

Oh, yes, sir.

That's what this was.

He told me so himself, Mr. Harris.

Did he tell you what kind of a manuscript it was, or the subject matter

Yes. He said it was a sequel he'd written to The Dishonored, a book he'd

published with his own money if he had to, a sequel in which he used real names

and made no pretense about the fact that it was a true story.

Now, Miss Kingman, let's go back to what Mr. Harris said to you when you asked

him to sign that disclaimer.

Well, I can't use his exact words, but he made it very clear that when people

found out about the sequel and what was in it, There'd be no lawsuit and no

settlement. And was he specific?

Did he indicate what people would be named in that sequel?

He indicated Mr.

McCann would forget any ideas he had about a settlement when he found out

the book had to say.

And did he name anybody else who would be included in that book?

Yes. His former wife.

The defendant, Mrs. Layton.

Yes.

He was furious about her.

About the fact that she had changed his children's name without his permission.

He... Well, he screamed that with what was in that book, Mrs. Layton would be

sorry, very sorry about what she had done.

That he would... would fix her and those brats of his once and for all.

Thank you, Miss Kingman.

Cross -examine, Mr. Mason.

Miss Kingman, did you tell your employer, Mr. McCann, what Richard

to you?

Yes, I did.

Did you tell anyone else?

Well... I did see and overhear part of a meeting, Miss Kingman. Remember?

I... I may have mentioned something about the sequel to Mr. Collins.

When was it Miss Kingman first told you about Richard Harris' sequel, Mr.

Collins? Well, she had called my place earlier to place an order, some

stationary supplies that Mr. Harris needed. The order wasn't quite clear.

So I called back myself later to confirm the order. It was then, I believe, that

she first mentioned something to me about this sequel.

Now, you delivered this order personally to Mr. Harris' house, is that correct?

Yes, sir. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him about his overdue bill.

And did you get that chance?

No, sir.

When I arrived there, Mr. Harris was in the middle of a fight with the

defendant, Mrs. Layton.

Well, tell us about that.

Well, they...

They were really hammering away at each other.

I don't remember what it was he said to her just at that minute, but I sure

remember what she answered him. And what was it that she answered him, Mr.

Collins?

I won't let you destroy the children. I won't. Not if I have to kill you.

Now, Mr. Tabor, as a serviceman with the Cliffside Heights Water and Power

Company,

You received a call on the day of the murder to restore water and electrical

service to the home of Mr. Richard Harris?

If you don't mind my saying so, it was closer to that night.

Oh, you remember that well.

This memo from your company only indicates that you were the one called.

remember very well.

I got the call at 5 .15. Now, that's just minutes before I go off duty.

It was a church meeting I was to attend that night, and I remember I was annoyed

at how inconsiderate some people can be of the rights of others.

It's selfish, unsocial, immoral, if you ask me.

Mr. Tabor, please, let's just stick to the facts.

Now, what happened when you arrived at the Richard Harris house?

Well, I went to the front door so I could get in to check before I turned

anything on. The front door was wide open.

I just assumed nobody was home and the door had been left open for me.

So you went in?

Yes, sir, I did.

I started through the house, and I was almost past the study. I suppose that's

what they call it.

When I noticed something inside, and I stopped.

What did you notice, sir?

It was a woman.

Stiff.

She was leaning forward, her hands flat on a desk.

As she was looking down, over the desk to the floor, something on the other

of the desk.

She never moved, not once, not an inch.

It's almost as though she were hypnotized.

At first, I couldn't figure out why.

Then I saw what it was she was looking at on the floor.

What was she looking at, Mr. Taylor?

The body of a man.

I could see his legs sticking out past the end of the desk.

Well, I turned, I left the house, I found a phone, I called into the office.

They told me to go back, that they'd immediately notify the police.

And when you returned to the Harris house, what did you find?

The woman was gone.

Now, this woman, Mr. Tabor, whom you saw in Mr. Harris's study, the woman you

saw looking down on a dead body on the floor, is that woman here in this court

today?

Yes, sir, she most certainly is.

Would you point her out for us, please?

That's the woman, Mrs. Layton, the defendant.

He must be lying.

That water and power company man, he must be lying.

Why should he lie?

He isn't remotely connected to you or anyone else in this case. Well, then he

isn't lying.

He's just, he's mistaken.

Mr. Mason, when I left that house, Richard Harris was alive.

He was standing up.

All right, let's get to something else.

Now, the gun you fired, you just picked it up out of the drawer and pulled the

trigger. Nothing more.

Yes, that's, that's right.

Paul.

Show me how you picked it up, how you fired it.

It's empty, Mrs. Leighton.

Nothing happens, Lucas.

It takes this action, Mrs. Leighton, to shove a cartridge into the chamber and

cock the hammer.

Well, I...

I just pull the trigger. On a gun exactly like this Luger?

Well, I'm not sure.

No.

No, now that I think about it, I don't think that the gun I took from the desk

was like that at all.

Was the gun like this one?

Yes, that's it.

That's exactly the gun I took from the desk and fired.

Mr. Tabor, voir dire is a Latin French term referring to the qualifying

questions we ask prospective jurors. It means to speak the truth.

Now, would you mind if, as part of my cross -examination, I asked you some of

those questions?

Not at all.

Do you believe in capital punishment?

I most certainly do. The guilty must be made to pay.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Always?

Morality cannot be a sometimes thing. The public has a right to be protected.

Do you know what post facto means?

After the fact.

Very good.

Tell me, Mr. Tabor, if you were biased, fanatically righteous, let us assume,

would you permit that prejudice to affect your objectivity, your ability to

and tell the truth? Why, not at all.

Knowing what you'd like to believe, you...

Wouldn't remember things you didn't see? I saw what I saw.

And by the way, how is your vision?

Farsighted? Nearsighted?

Colorblind? My vision was and is perfect.

It wasn't too dark?

There was nothing to impair your view? Nothing between you and the woman you

that night?

I saw her clearly.

The desk wasn't in the way?

The desk was on the other side of the woman.

Now, from where you stood, you saw the woman, the desk directly behind her, and

the body directly behind the desk, all pretty much in a straight line?

Exactly. Had you ever seen Mrs. Layton before that night?

No. Then your identification of her two days after the murder was based on the

good look you had at her face the night of the murder.

Of course.

Now, if she was leaning on the desk, both hands flat on it as you testified,

she was looking down at the body, her back was toward you.

How did you see her face?

Why? Since you didn't go into the room, I gather she turned her head.

Permission? you to see her face.

Yes, that must be it. Did she turn because you'd made a noise?

No, I don't... Perhaps she was looking for something.

Something on the desk, turning her head from side to side. Yes, that's it. I

remember now. I remember specifically now.

Do you also remember specifically the testimony you gave yesterday?

as late as I had just seen Richard Harris, that we had a fight and he hit

I also told her that Harris made no bones about his intention of going into

court and slitting everybody's throats, including hers and her children.

What happened then, Mr. Weaver?

She cried, pleaded with me, and asked me not to print a story to give her at

least an hour.

An hour to do what?

An hour in which to stop him.

Thank you, Mr. Weaver.

Just a minute. I didn't mean to insinuate... I said that will be all,

Weaver. Thank you.

Just examine, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Weaver, were you in World War II?

Yes.

European theater or the Pacific?

D -Day, on through Europe to Germany.

You kept any souvenirs in Germany? Any you registered with the army before you

brought them home?

I'm sorry, I didn't hear your answer.

I didn't answer.

Because you don't remember or because you don't want to answer?

I registered and brought home a souvenir.

An automatic pistol.

A Luger automatic, wasn't it? Yes.

It isn't registered elsewhere.

Bandit was never part of your registration with the Army, but do you

the serial number on your Luger?

I'm not sure.

The number on the murder weapon, a Luger, is 834...

How did it get into the Harris house?

I... I don't know. Mr. Weaver, did your sister take this gun into the Harris

house?

Was your sister and not Mrs. Layton the woman Mr. Tabor saw standing and looking

down at the dead body of Richard Harris?

Yes, yes, yes. She was there.

But she didn't take that gun in there with her. That gun's been missing for

a year.

How do you know?

The day after she was run down, I looked at my desk.

Discovered my gun was gone.

There was a note there from Norma, my sister.

A private note to me.

A goodbye note.

Goodbye, Mr. Weaver?

What did the note say?

It said, a woman in love sometimes does stupid things.

I've been hurt badly by a man without a conscience.

I took your gun and I've written a letter.

He knows about it.

Knows it tells the whole truth.

If I decide to use the gun, I'll mail the letter to you.

I'm frightened, Dave.

Pray for me.

The letter she referred to.

Did she mail it? Was it ever found?

No.

Whoever ran her down knew about the letter.

He came back after he hit her.

He took the letter from her purse and must have taken the gun so there

be any awkward questions.

You see, he figured she was dead.

An accident victim.

You're just guessing now, Mr. Weaver, particularly about the gun.

Well, the letter was gone, wasn't it?

I never received it in the mail.

Harris must have taken the gun when he took the letter. He had it in his house.

He was killed with it.

While the power company man was calling in to the police, you found your sister,

took her out of the house.

Yes.

I don't know what buried instinct always brought her over there back to that

house.

I'd found her there two or three times before.

Did you see another gun there?

Another gun?

No. Did Richard Harris have another gun?

What makes you think I know?

Don't you?

After your call last night, Mr. Mason, I went back to the store and checked our

records. Mr. Harris did purchase a gun from us, a .38 revolver. That was about

two years ago.

Thank you, Mr. Collins. I appreciate your cooperation.

Quite all right.

May I ask you, sir, to satisfy my own curiosity?

Is it usual for a stationary supply establishment to sell guns?

No, I wouldn't say usual.

I like guns. I happen to be quite an expert with them.

Selling is sort of an excuse to have a big collection of my own.

Now, you say you're an expert.

I wonder, Mr. Collins, would you help me in a demonstration for the court?

Of course.

Your Honor, at my request, the desk from the home of the decedent is outside.

May I have it brought into court?

The bullet fired into the surface of this desk should travel in a straight

trajectory through the three drawers and into the floor.

But it is evident that the bullet holes are not aligned.

According to the police, this is because the bottom drawer was partly open.

Now, Paul, line up the bullet hole in the bottom drawer.

Mr.

Collins.

Assuming the bottom drawer was not open but was closed, is it conceivable that a

single bullet fired into the top of the desk made the holes in all three of

these desk drawers?

No.

I'd say it was impossible for a single bullet to have changed angles in the

short distance it had to go from the top of the desk to the floor.

That's just the point, Mr. Collins.

I believe the bottom drawer was closed and that the bullet Mrs. Layton fired

not reach the floor because it was stopped by Harris's manuscript.

Now, wait a minute.

If what Castle says is true, how did the bullet hole get into the bottom drawer?

I submit the murderer put it there with the Luger after he killed Harris with

it. Paul, replace the top and bottom drawers, will you please?

After removing the manuscript, the murderer took out the second drawer and

a bullet through the bottom drawer and into the floor.

He then replaced the second drawer, confiscated the gun Mrs. Layton had

and put the Luger into her purse. When the police found the Luger and the two

bullets fired from it, they had no reason to suspect that a third bullet

been fired, a bullet that vanished with the manuscript.

The sequel manuscript for which you killed Richard Harris.

You don't know what you're talking about.

The covers, the two black manuscript covers.

Norma Weaver bought them?

That's right.

She often came to buy supplies?

Yes, often, but that was a long time ago. Those were the only times you saw

What are you talking about?

The same thing Richard Harris talked about in blackmailing you for those

supplies. No.

The very same thing Harris wrote about in that sequel manuscript.

No, that's a lie. Is it?

Grace Kingman saw the manuscript. Suppose I put her back on the stand.

she testifies she also read it.

Read about you and Norma Weaver. She couldn't. Every page in that manuscript

blank, empty. There was nothing in that manuscript except a spent bullet.

Harris never... Harris never what, Mr. Collins?

Never committed to paper the fact that it was you and not Richard Harris Norma

Weaver was in love with?

I never... I told her that you were

married?

That you had no intention of divorcing your wife?

Well, Norma cried.

She called me from Harris' place.

Told me she had written the whole story in a letter. A letter she was going to

mail that night. Well, I was frightened. Don't you understand? I had to do it.

Just as you had to kill Harris to prevent him from exposing your attempted

murder of Norma Weaver.

He was no good. He deserved to die.

Did Mrs. Layton deserve to die?

What?

Allowing her to be convicted.

Wouldn't that have made her your third attempted murder victim?

For the first time, Mr. Mason, the doctors say there's hope for Norma.

Knowing exactly what happened, they can use the truth as a clinical tool to get

through to her.

Well, at least this whole mess did some good.

What about your girls, Mrs. Layton?

I guess I underestimated them.

Children are stronger and more resilient than we imagined.

This hasn't been pleasant, but this nightmare has made my husband, my

and me closer than we ever were before.

We're very glad of that, Mrs. Layton.

He was guilty of every sin in the book, all right.

Everything but the one crime I hated him for most, my sister.

How do you figure that?

Things are seldom what they seem, Dave.

Hey, I know how that one ends.

Things are seldom what they seem.

Skim milk masquerades as cream.

How's that?

You're right Perry.

Things are seldom what they seem.