All language subtitles for perry_mason_s06e09_weary_watchdog

Of course, I realize your familiarity
with Oriental burial or grave figures.

The small sculptures, mostly of animals,
entombed with dead Oriental nobility as

symbolic representations of the dead
men's needs for enjoyable lives in the

world. But this one is rather unusual.

Phil Rubin, in his book on Oriental art,
comments on the more than five

centuries it guarded the crypt of its
dead master.

I like to think of it as not only
faithful, but weary.

Yes, definitely. A most weary watchdog.

It looks evil to me.

Perhaps I can show you something else,
Mrs. Holmes?

No. I'll take it.

Fine. Fine.

If you'll just sign here.

Fixie, I... I told you not to come here.

Busy, Miss Tong?

Oh, we haven't got what this customer
wants.

Would you see that the Kamakura watchdog
is wrapped and properly crated for Mrs.

Holmes? Right away, Mr. Franklin.

Della, please.

The drive -in on Vista Haven Road in ten
minutes.

All right.

Mrs. Brent?

$25 ,000?

You must be joking.

Where would I get $25 ,000 to lend you?

There's almost that much in my mother's
estate, but I can't touch it for at

least a year. But, Janet, that... Della,
you're my only hope.

You're my only friend.

I must have the money. I must have it
now. I must.

No whys, no wherefores.

Just $25 ,000.

Like that.

Please.

You'll get every penny of it back. Look.

Why don't you come back to the office?

Talk to Perry. I know he can help you.

No. No, I can't.

What is it, Janet? What's wrong?

Della, you will never know how desperate
I am at this moment.

There's only one of two things that I
can use. That $25 ,000 or a gun.

Please, Della.

Janet.

Janet.

Done.

Something special tonight, Della.

Two Hong Kong dinners, please.

Two specials. No, no. Two Hong Kong
dinners.

But I heard you say two specials.

Mr.

Mason, Miss Street.

Your distinguished presence fills my
establishment with honor.

High flattery and delicious food.

And from the Honorable C .C. himself,
merely an apology for my awkward son,

so successfully learning his father's
business.

May I present my son, Dean Chang.

When the head is filled with thoughts of
love, the ears are sometimes closed.

I'll put in the order. Two Hong Kong
dinners.

I wouldn't worry, C .C.

He's young enough that he can afford a
few mistakes.

Oh, there is hope then, Mr. Mason.

For if a fool persists in his folly, he
may become wise.

Enjoy your dinner.

Well, can I help?

How far would you go for a friend?

How long is forever?

I need $25 ,000.

Need what?

No questions asked.

$25 ,000.

Like that.

$25 ,000, exactly.

This money's yours to give, I assume.

Or have you added larceny to
indiscretion?

The forged hotel registration and the
photographs you staged, please.

Made quite a story in some peephole
expose rag.

Wife of pillar of L .A. society in
drunken spree. What an easy mark.

A bartender with a loaded drink, a
friend with a loaded camera. I think

actually proud of what you've done. You
poor, lonely, neglected wife.

Tell me, Janet.

Aside from his stamps, is Blue Blood
Alton really interested

in anything?

They're not in there.

The photo negatives and the original
registration are not in there.

You made a bargain.

You promised. I promised to cooperate
for certain considerations.

25 ,000 of them.

You have the money.

I know I can't bleed any more money out
of you, but there are other

considerations.

Your husband's company, for instance.

I want part of it. Just 50 % ownership
of Brent's Oriental Imports?

A silent half -interest in a business
that I already wholly and openly

How do you expect me... No, no, no false
modesty. I'm sure you can be

persuasive. If not, well, just describe
to Alton what his social

register friends will see if those
pictures are published.

Fabulous, Janet.

Simply fabulous.

You ought to wear clothes like that more
often.

Look good on you.

So does the yoke on an ox.

I never complimented a lady ox before.

Or kissed one either.

Go wash your mouth off.

How many times has he kissed you?

Put his filthy hands on you.

You don't know what you're saying.

I was so smart.

Sneaking in here wearing a busboy
outfit.

It's real smart, wasn't it? Please.

I saw you kiss him.

You don't understand.

Dirty. You make yourself dirty.

You make this dirty.

I was worried about having new things
here for the showing, but Galen of

Commodore Holmes managed to deliver them
with time to spare.

You really must look at them closely,
darling, when you can. They're

I know, I've looked.

I wish calories were as expensive.

You hear that? Calories.

Oh, that's fabulous, Janet. Don't you
think fabulous?

Alton, would you please stop using that
expression?

Excuse me.

Oh, Franklin.

Has Mrs. Brandt spoken to you yet, sir,
about me?

No, I don't believe she has.

If it's all right, Mr. Brandt, a little
later tonight, perhaps, the three of us

can talk for a few minutes.

That's strange.

You asked to talk to her, and she simply
disappeared.

Well, I'm sure he'll be all right a
little later, Edward. Fine.

Thanks. You'll excuse me?

Oh, Franklin, one moment.

Commodore? I meant to ask you this
earlier. My insurance man was at my

this morning.

Some question about liability coverage.

He noticed the pieces. Another bought at
your place yesterday.

I showed it to him.

Lucky thing I did.

It seems he's also a qualified art
appraiser.

Well, come now, Gil.

Don't tell me Edward overcharged your
charming wife.

She was charged $10 ,000 for something
the appraiser said wasn't worth $50.

an error on the appraiser's part,
Commodore.

Do you mind if I ask, this $10 ,000
piece worth only $50, what in the world

could it be?

A watchdog, Miss Street.

A weary watchdog.

Killing yourself won't solve anything.

Just make the scandal that much juicier.

I didn't buy the gun for me.

Kill me?

Then run?

Still haven't solved anything.

I don't intend to kill.

Only to force you to give me the
registration and the pictures. And the

Then run.

They're in my desk.

At the store.

We'll drive there pick up the bags.
We'll go out the back way

Look

Janet

There's been an all -point bulletin on
this car for the past hour.

Sorry, Mrs. Brandt. You're wanted on a
charge of murder.

Do I have your driver's license?

Better get out.

I'm afraid you've made a mistake.

My name isn't Mrs. Brandt. It's Street.

Della Street.

Well, here she is, Perry, and you can
have her.

After involuntarily spending several
hours in these inelegant surroundings, I

expected you to be gracious, if not
apologetic.

Della, would you like it better if I
booked you and kept you here for aiding

fugitive to escape?

You'd first have to prove that Della
knew that a felony had been committed,

she was aware that Mrs. Brent had
committed said felony.

And that she aided her with the intent
that Mrs. Brent avoid arrest, trial, and

conviction for the commission of said
felony.

And how could we possibly prove that?

After all, Miss Street got into the car
by mistake, thinking it was her own.

Mrs. Brent's luggage just happened to be
in the back of the car and her key in

the ignition.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Especially since your own car is at the
garage for repairs and you took a cab to

the Brent house. Oh,

I have a message for you, for both of
you, from the district attorney. He

says... If and when Janet Brent is
caught and convicted, you, Miss Street,

be tried as an accessory to murder.

Now, what do you have to say to that?

I'm hungry.

That's feminine logic.

Cafeteria upstairs?

It's just a little after midnight.

Couldn't we go to the Honorable Cece's
Mandarin House?

Thank you.

We'll just have some tea, please. We'll
order later.

You don't really think I'm hungry, do
you?

No, Della.

I assume that you've made a date to meet
Janet Burns someplace.

And I assume that that someplace is
here.

Perry, this girl is really attractive. I
know that, Della.

Just let me say this.

If I see her, if you introduce me to
her,

All right, I'll talk with her.

But then I have to turn her over to the
police.

I'm an officer of the court and she's a
fugitive. I just have no choice.

So think it over carefully.

Mr.

Mason. What is it, Dean? My father.

He's been arrested.

He's in jail.

C .C.'s in jail?

I've been looking for you all over.

He asked me to come and get you and take
you to the jail right away.

Please, Mr. Mason, now.

All right, Dean, I'll be right with you.

Harry, what... I'll meet you back at the
office after you've decided about Mrs.

Brent.

You know, Perry, maybe we should set up
an office for you down here.

You all right?

Only a weed blooms well in prison air.

This so contrite sunflower greets you
with infinite relief, Mr. Mason.

Andy, I understood the charge against
Mr. Chang had to do with grand theft.

Why, is he mixed up with the Homicide
Department?

Fair question, Counselor.

He isn't involved in the Franklin
murder, is he? Oh, no, no.

The Most Honorable C .C. wasn't even
near the Brent House at the time of the

murder. He was busy running through two
red lights, speeding and driving

recklessly, all to avoid pursuit by a
traffic officer.

After traffic picked him up driving
around about a half an hour later, they

a routine check of his car.

And found?

Something reported earlier this evening
as having been stolen from the home of a

Commodore Galen Holmes.

Of course, Mr. Chang denied any
knowledge of the stolen item. On the

Counselor. He freely admitted stealing
it.

Don't ask me why he sent for you. It'll
take a miracle, not a lawyer, to get him

out of this.

C .C.? Legends say, when Moses throw
wand into Red Sea, No miracle. Waters

divide to leave dry ground.

But when first man believe in miracle
and jump into Red Sea, then miracle

happens. Waters open to make dry
passage.

You talking about this writ releasing
you from custody? Is that your miracle?

Si, miracle.

That writ is returnable and so are you.
If you stay free, it'll only be on bail

pending trial for grand theft.

Andy, just what is he specifically
charged with stealing?

No, the answer to that is also the
answer to my interest in him.

That, Mr. Mason, is an exact make to the
so -called weary watchdog Janet Brent

used to kill Edward Franklin.

Della, get a hold of Paul. Tell him
we're back.

Sit down, Mr. Chang. Dean.

Hello, Paul?

Yes, we're back.

Right. He's waiting for one more call.
He should be down in about five minutes.

All right, stick around, Della. Take
notes.

Now, Mr. Chang, you admitted to the
police to being a burglar.

Would you mind telling me why you broke
into the home's residence to steal the

statuette of the watchdog?

Like the watchdog, separated from its
rightful home, I am in all things

But if I am unworthy expatriate, not so
the watchdog.

Statue belongs to China, to people of
China, to history of China.

What were you going to do with the weary
watchdog?

Return it to Taiwan.

I suspect they'd have more need of
financial aid than historic artifacts.

He who gives penny to poor man receive
one blessing.

He who give heart to poor man receive
five blessings.

All you're likely to receive is five
years in the state penitentiary. No.

Mr. Mason, I... Mr.

Paul Drake, Mr. Chang, and Son Dean.

Hi.

I asked Mr. Drake to do a little
investigating for me. All right, Paul.

C .C. Chang.

Two traffic citations in 25 years.

Both for driving too slowly.

Dean Chang.

License revoked for multiple citations.

Now on court probation for speeding and
reckless driving.

If caught operating a vehicle, would
undoubtedly go to jail.

Admit it, Mr. Chang.

It was your son who ran those red
lights, not you.

I have already admitted to police I am
guilty.

It is my wish to plead guilty at trial.

There's more than a traffic citation
involved.

There's a charge of grand theft.

Even a guilty man needs good counsel.

Not so, Mr. Mason?

If that's your decision, that's how your
attorney will have to represent you.

My attorney? Not you, Mr. Mason?

Not me, Mr. Chang.

But why?

Just because he confessed?

No.

My secretary, Miss Street, is in serious
trouble.

That statuette in your car is...

Tied in with a murder case and with
someone I may be forced to represent.

Charge of conflict of interest might
jeopardize that potential client and,

through her, my secretary.

I'm sure you'll have no trouble in
retaining good counsel.

Come.

Two coffee cups, Della? Where is she?

The law library.

Page 27 of the penal code, section 189,
murder of the first to second degree.

Mr. Mason.

Yes, Mrs. Brent.

There's also section 32, accessories,
which covers legally the position into

which you put Della Street.

And section 33, punishment of
accessories.

Would you care to refresh your memory?

Now, if there's something you'd like to
say to me, Mrs. Brent, I suggest you do

it before we call the police.

I think this belongs to you, Mr. Mason.

$25 ,000. I thought you gave the money
to... Did Edward Franklin have the money

on him, Mrs. Brent?

No.

I stole it from his desk at the store,
along with the blackmail evidence which

I'd burned.

Mrs. Brent.

It seems that there are two figures of
the weary watchdog.

Now, the one in your room, from where
did it come?

Well, I liked the original when it came
into the store and Alton had a copy made

for me.

When you asked Della to help you, did
you tell her that you'd used that figure

to strike Edward Franklin?

I simply asked her to drive me to the
store and drop me off. Oh, she knew that

I'd been in some kind of trouble.

I told her that...

I needed time, and she agreed to drive
around for a few hours and meet me at

restaurant. Knowing that you'd killed a
man, you deliberately involved your best

friend. That isn't so.

I didn't know that he was dead until I
heard it on the radio in the restaurant.

What did you expect?

You clouded him three times on the head
with a tired little mutt.

Did you say three times?

Yeah. It was three times, wasn't it?

I know.

No.

It was once.

Just once.

Mr. Mason, do you think that it's
possible that I... Possible?

Yes.

Likely, I'm afraid not.

Mrs. Brent, you're under arrest for
murder.

Della, we thought she'd come looking for
you.

Mr. Berger sent another message along.

This is official.

Don't leave town, Miss Street.

As my wife and I approached, I clearly
overheard Mr. Franklin say...

Later tonight, perhaps, the three of us
can talk for a few minutes.

Then Mr. Franklin turned to Mrs. Brent
and asked her, You don't mind, Mrs.

Brent? And what happened then,
Commodore?

Well, there was a moment of rather tense
silence.

Then Mrs. Brent turned and walked away
without a word.

I think that'll be all, sir. Thank you.

Mr. Mason?

Commodore Holmes, after Mrs. Brent left,
did you speak to the decedent? Yes.

I mentioned to Mr. Franklin that my
insurance man had, quite by

examined the art object which Franklin
had sold to my wife for $10 ,000, and he

appraised its value at no more than $50.

Mr. Franklin assured me that the
appraiser was in error, and that he

properly authenticate the true value of
the art object.

And what was this art object?

The original, Mr. Mason. The Kamakura
burial statuette, which I believe is

called the weary watchdog.

Mrs. Brent came down out of her bedroom
on the second floor.

She seemed agitated.

Well, the fact that she was still
wearing an evening gown and carrying two

suitcases puzzled me.

It made me curious.

Her bedroom door was open.

I looked in, saw Mr. Franklin on the
floor, and ran to help him.

He was dead.

Mrs. Holmes, you testified that the
defendant seemed agitated.

Did you reach that conclusion alone?

No. Another guest and I were leaving the
upstairs powder room at the time.

This other guest ran to Mrs. Brent, all
but supported her when Mrs. Brent

appeared ready to collapse.

They went down the back stairs together.

And who was this other guest?

Miss Duller Street.

When Janet Brent returned the $25 ,000
that she had previously borrowed from

you, Miss Street, did she say where she
got the money?

Your Honor, I object to the question on
the ground that it calls for the

disclosure of a privileged
communication.

Privilege? What privilege, Mr. Mason?

Relationship between attorney and
client.

Mr. Mason, the evidence clearly proves
that at the time of this particular

communication, Janet Brandt was not your
client.

Furthermore, the privilege you refer to
does not extend to a third party.

If that third party is acting not as an
attorney's secretary, but as a friend to

a fugitive from justice.

Objection overruled.

Proceed, Mr. Berger.

Miss Street, did Janet Brent tell you
where she got that money?

Yes. She said she repossessed it from Ed
Franklin's desk at the store.

She also repossessed some incriminating
photos in a hotel register which she

burned. Is that correct?

Yes. Miss Street.

Did Janet Brent admit to you that she
struck Edward Franklin?

Not right first, but later on, yes.

Ah, the defendant left her home and was
arrested at Perry Mason's office later

that night, is that correct?

Yes. Meanwhile, you were apprehended by
the police driving Janet Brent's car and

with Janet Brent's bags in that car.

Yes. Were you driving the defendant's
car at the request of the defendant?

Your Honor, I object.

Well, it's obvious, Your Honor, that
Della Street's drive that night was

a ruse to help Janet Brent escape.

Conduct itself is an implied admission
of guilt when a person not only flees

from the scene of a crime, but then
attempts to avoid arrest and custody.

that conduct was precisely the conduct
of the defendant, Janet Brent.

Ed Franklin deliberately drugged me.

And then forged the hotel registration
and staged those compromising pictures

that he could blackmail me and my
husband.

But you had gone out with him alone.

Yes, Mr. Mason, I had.

Now, on the night of the charity party,
Mrs. Brent, the night Edward Franklin

was killed, would you please tell this
jury what really happened that night?

When Ed Franklin asked to speak to my
husband and me...

Well, it was the end of the road.

It was the end of everything that
mattered to me.

I ran upstairs.

I took the gun out of the drawer, the
gun that I had bought, when he came in.

I pointed the gun at him, and he picked
up the bags, and then

suddenly he turned and hit me with one
of the bags. I turned and grabbed the

watchdog statuette.

And then I... I turned... Edward
Franklin was struck

three times.

One blow on the forehead, two on the
back of the skull.

The first blow stunned him. The last two
killed him.

How many times did you strike Edward
Franklin?

Once, Mr. Mason.

I swear it. Just once.

I hit Ed Franklin only once.

Brought us some sandwiches and coffee.

Well, if this is a private wake, I'm
sorry I interrupted.

You know, we haven't lost the case yet.
The jury's still out.

You sound like you expect a guilty
verdict.

I'm afraid it's very possible.

Janet didn't kill that man.

She didn't. Of course she didn't.

She, uh, wasn't there.

She had no motive. And she didn't hit
him.

All right, so she hit him.

Any decent girl would have reacted
exactly the same way she did.

Trixie Tong didn't.

Trixie. The girl who works at the store?

Yep.

Oh.

Was there something between Franklin and
Miss Tom?

Well, I'm not sure.

But I heard Trixie and young Chang
arguing on the way out of court earlier.

She said something about Chang's having
no business getting angry when he saw

Franklin make a pass out of that night
at the Brent House.

The Brent House?

You sure that's what she said?

Sure, I'm sure. It was right behind
them.

What is it, Barry?

Mr. James Wong.

I asked you to find out if he still kept
his apartment here in Chinatown.

Do you think maybe that... Jury coming
in, Andy?

No, not yet.

Maybe I'm talking out of school.

I don't imagine it makes much
difference.

I'm sorry, Mr. Berger's pretty sure
about that verdict.

He's asked to have a warrant issued for
the arrest of Dulles Street as an

accessory to murder.

Thank you.

I'm deeply upset about Mr. Chang's trial
in the morning, Mr. Mason.

Particularly so since you're not
representing him. He's a wonderful man.

Generous. Good to a fault.

You've known the Changs for a long time,
haven't you, Mr. Wong?

Yes.

Since the older Chang married his late
wife.

Dean is a stepson, you know.

Her boy by an earlier marriage.

Dean and his father somehow...

Never gotten along.

Dean's been interested in a girl, a Miss
Tong. Do you know her? Not directly. I

never met her.

Young Dean spoke to me about her, oh,
two years ago, I think.

Just before I left town on an extended
trip.

Seems the girl and her mother were
turning heaven and earth to bring her

to this country from China.

Dean knew I was stopping off in
Washington.

Asked me to see what I could find out.

Do for the girl.

It turned out from my inquiries that the
father had been dead for some time.

I remember wondering how to break the
unfortunate news to Dean when I ran into

Cece himself in Washington.

The older Chang promised he would tell
his son when we returned to Los Angeles.

I don't think I've seen either of them
since.

Mr. Wong, you said that Mr. Chang and
his stepson have never gotten along.

A particular problem?

Basically, I'd say the chief trouble is
the fact that they, two of them, are

about a century apart.

The boy has been badly confused.

As for Mr. Chang, well, I think there's
nothing he wouldn't do for that boy.

Including going to jail, Mr. Wong?

Really? In a few hours now, in superior
court.

C .C. Chang will stand with his
attorney, face the judge, and plead

charge of grand theft.

Yes, Mr. Mason. A good many years ago,
Trixie and I came to this country and

my... My husband was unable to join us
then, but hoped to shortly.

He... He never has.

Not yet.

Let me understand this, Mrs. Tong.

Your husband hasn't come to this country
because... Because he doesn't now want

to? No, Mr. Mason.

Because he's... He's behind the bamboo
curtain.

Behind? A human ox yoked to a plow. I'm
sorry, Mrs. Tom.

I know. You didn't know.

Nobody does.

Except the people like us. With fathers,
husbands, mothers, brothers and

sisters. All of them like human cattle.

All of them tortured.

Barely kept alive as long as they can
bleed us.

Bleed you?

Extortion, Mr. Mason.

A private extortion racket.

Carried on in this country by someone in
league with an official from one of the

provinces of China.

Blood money.

Yes, every week.

Every week we pay to keep them alive.

Oh, they make sure we pay. They show us
pictures. Would you like to see a

picture of my husband with his yoke?

With his bleeding back, pulling a plow?

No, mother, no.

This extortion, are you paying it now?

No. Not for weeks now.

Not since the collector died.

But there'll be somebody new to collect.

To whom were you paying the money?

We were paying it to Edward Franklin.

Perry, I don't understand it.

Amicus curiae. How can you possibly be a
friend of the court at the same time

you're representing a client?

Can't. You've got the wrong courtroom,
Paul. Well, then what's this amicus

curiae brief for?

C .C. Chang's case.

Perry, the Brent jury could be coming in
at any minute. How can you possibly be

in two places at once?

We can try anything, Paul.

Once.

Mr. Chang, you have received a true copy
of the information filed against you.

How do you plead to the charge?

Excuse this interruption, Your Honor,
but it's vitally important that I be

heard. I request permission of the court
to appear as amicus curiae in the

matter now pending, limiting my
appearance strictly to the present

before the court. Please come forward,
Mr. Mason.

Well, you are, of course, familiar to
the court.

Now, may I ask what purpose you hope to
serve by participating in this case as

amicus curiae?

With Your Honor's permission, it is my
intent to present a motion to dismiss

proceedings against the defendant.

Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Just
a second, Mr. Alton.

Dismissed on what grounds, Counselor?
Corpus juris secundum. A motion to

may be made by an amicus curiae for want
of jurisdiction.

Flynn v. Crote's Texas Civil Appeals,
293 Southwestern Reporter 625.

Your Honor, Mr. Mason, prior to this
matter, acted as attorney for the

in civil matters.

He refused to represent the defendant in
this action.

But now he appears as amicus curiae.

I appear as a friend of the court in the
interest of justice and not as an

attorney for either the people on the
one hand or the defendant on the other.

The defendant is charged with grand
theft in that he stole an art object

allegedly valued at $10 ,000.

As this brief in support of my motion
indicates, Your Honor, the owner of the

art object in question at a trial in
another court testified under oath...

that the object had been appraised the
day of its theft for no more than $50.

Now, that's ridiculous. We recovered the
weary watchdog from his car. We know

what it's worth. He's charged with grand
theft, Mr. Alvin.

Under Title VIII, Chapter V, Section 487
of the Penal Code, the property stolen

must have a value exceeding $200.

Your Honor, the same appraiser that
valued that watchdog at $50 subsequently

admitted that it was most likely an
error.

and his appraisal of the watchdog
recovered from the defendant's car,

defendant, in pretrial deposition,
admitted he stole, that appraisal places

value at $10 ,000.

Mr. Mason?

With the court's permission, Your Honor,
I think we can prove the value of the

watchdog and the validity of the
information against the defendant

testimony of the appraiser.

This would require the calling of
witnesses before the court rules on my

Your Honor, I object. I stride against
the objective. One moment, Mr. Alvin.

Now, what objection or complaint can
there be if the court grants a hearing

an amicus curiae when no action on the
part of the amicus curiae can possibly

affect the legal rights of either party
to the action?

Well, none, of course.

Your Honor, the prosecution in no way
questions the judgment of the court, nor

are we anything but confident that the
utter irrelevancy of the evidence to be

adduced will render completely absurd
Mr. Mason's motion for dismissal.

We withdraw the objection, Your Honor.

Very well.

So you may call your first witness, Mr.
Mason. May I request that Alton Brent be

summoned here to testify?

He who does not bellow the truth when he
knows the truth makes himself the

accomplice of liars and forgers.

Yes, there were two weary watchdogs.

The Kamakura, of course, a most fabulous
work of art, and an inexpensive copy

that I had made. My wife kept the copy
in her room. You're sure, Mr. Brent,

the copy wasn't somehow, inadvertently,
of course, sold and delivered to Mrs.

Holmes? Positive.

It's child's play for an expert to tell
the difference between the real and the

copy. I personally put the real weary
watchdog in the store vault, and it was

from the vault that Mr. Franklin took it
to show to Mrs. Holmes.

I consider myself an expert on oriental
art. Yes, Mr. Mason.

I am presently serving as consultant in
that capacity to the Greater

Metropolitan Museum.

And despite the appraiser's claim to
your husband at your house, you testify

that the authentic watchdog was
purchased by you and then delivered to

Beyond the faintest shadow of a doubt,
Mr. Mason.

Mrs. Holmes.

Who is Madame Tsutsen?

Who is Madame Tsutsen?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Mrs. Holmes, you've always been proud of
your Chinese ancestry.

I, too, would be proud if it were mine.

Even if the dignity and the wisdom that
is the real China were only partly mine,

I would deem it a distinction.

Madame Tsutsen, your mother, is she
still alive?

In China?

Yes.

Alive, but a prisoner.

Isn't that why you were afraid to
acknowledge him?

Yes. And to keep her alive.

For years you allowed the late Edward
Franklin to extort money from you.

As he had from so many others.

Yes, yes.

How, Mrs. Holmes?

By selling your relatively worthless art
objects for large sums of money? Such

as the watchdog?

Was that part of the continuing
extortion?

Or was the watchdog that was stolen from
your house the authentic one?

No.

No, it was the copy.

Thank you, Mrs. Holmes.

With the court's permission, I would
like to recall Alton Brent to the stand.

Mr. Brent, I believe you said it would
be child's play to tell the authentic

watchdog from a copy.

Now, as proprietor of a highly
successful oriental import business,

make you an expert, the answer to what
I'm about to ask you should be the same

child's play.

Now, look at these two carvings, Mr.
Brent.

Fabulous. Most fabulous.

Both are Chinese.

One is from the Chu dynasty.

The other, from the Han dynasty, was
carved 1 ,300 years after the Chu

Both beautiful, both distinctive.

Both easily identified by a Chinese art
expert.

Now, Mr. Brent, which is which?

Well, I... I

don't

know. As a matter of fact, you know next
to nothing about your own business,

isn't that so?

Franklin ran it for me.

Were you associated with Franklin and
his extortion?

No, no, I swear.

But you did know your business was a
front for other activities?

Yes, I knew.

It wasn't Franklin, but you did have an
accomplice.

An accomplice who took care of those
other activities.

That's right. Even before it was
mentioned the night of the charity party

your home, you knew of the appraisal on
the copy of the watchdog.

Now, how did you know?

My...

Your accomplice called me earlier.

He told me not to worry.

He said that Zanetta had called Franklin
and Franklin told him, but

he wasn't upset.

He said he'd take care of it. Your
accomplice did take care of it, didn't

He stole the copy of the watchdog,
brought it to your house, and exchanged

for the authentic one in your wife's
bedroom. Isn't that what happened?

Yes. Yes, yes.

Now, who did the actual exchanging?

Was it you?

Were you almost caught in the act?

Was it you who heard the fight between
your wife and Franklin, you who then

picked up the watchdog she had dropped
and used it to murder Franklin, who was

unconscious on the floor?

No, no, not me.

No, Mr. Brent.

It wasn't you.

It was your accomplice.

C .C. Chang.

Well, how could that have been?

At the very moment of the murder, the
Honorable Chang was running through two

red lights pursued by the police.

At least so, he has confessed.

If Mr. Chang is your accomplice, then he
is also the extortionist.

The man in league with the crooked
Chinese official.

Dean, is it possible that the man who
knew Trixie Tong's father was dead knew

two years ago that he was dead? Is it
possible that he could be the same man

broke her heart and bled her of every
cent she earned?

No. No.

He wasn't driving the car.

I was.

I ran those red lights.

Will you excuse this intrusion, Your
Honor? This is a matter of some urgency.

Mr. Mason, if you don't mind, the jury
has returned and the court is waiting

you, sir.

And this court is waiting for you, Mr.
Chang.

What superior man seeks is in himself.

What the small man seeks in others.

Yes, Franklin, work for me.

Become greedy, too ambitious.

Try to take my place, my money.

I kill him gladly.

Yes, you're right, Mr. Mason.

Weary watchdog I take from Commodore's
house.

Only copy.

The amicus curiae motion is granted.

Case dismissed.

Bailiff, arrest Mr. Chang on the charge
of murder.

You said they were waiting?

Let's go, Hamilton.

Well, Della, young Dean was afraid he'd
go to jail if he admitted he'd driven

his father's car that night. And when
Chang came home from Brents with a real

weary watchdog after he'd killed
Franklin, he used his own car for the

time that night to take the statue back
to the Commodore's place and was

arrested by a traffic officer for what
Dean had done.

And I always thought he was such a nice
man.

Protecting his son.

His stepson. There never was any feeling
between them.

Chang wasn't concerned in protecting
Dean, only in giving himself an alibi.

Harry, they told me I'd find you here.

Well, thanks for rushing that dismissal
through.

That's perfectly all right.

Della, the court is released, Mrs.
Grant. You can pick her up on the way

Thanks again, Hamilton. We appreciate
it.

I thought you might appreciate this.

What is it?

After the jury had been dismissed, the
foreman gave me that.

It's the verdict they never had a chance
to deliver.

Well, there are some things I'd just as
soon not know.

Perry, one thing I'd like to know.

What in the world made you suspect Chang
to begin with?

Oh, the weary watchdog.

He told me he took it to protect China's
historical art resources.

Well, what's wrong with that?

Well, the Kamakura weary watchdog grave
figure isn't Chinese, Andy. It comes

from Japan.