Original subtitles

Thank you.

Tell him it's a scientific phenomenon.

Real boss.

Blink your eyes and the square becomes a circle.

Blink your eyes? Who's even seen him in six weeks?

Hey, Dave, I used to think you had no mama and no papa.

Sure, he had no home. See, he lived in a tree.

And never, never gave a party. And never, never invited anyone to his

First night back in town with mother and pow, a blast. A party in his own patio.

You're for real going to meet your mother and your father at the same time?

Nothing else, boss. You are en route to my house at this very minute to meet my,

uh, perhaps conservative, but nevertheless sterling parents.

I reject all perks.

Is there anything you don't reject, Michael?

Huh.

Yes, sir?

All right, you apes. No apes, sir.

Now remember, my father is not only a medical doctor, he is also a professor.

you might wind up in one of his classes.

One of his special classes?

Hey, where is that?

What does that crack mean?

Forget it, man.

Two other professors.

Just shut up for a minute, will you? Don't you tell me to shut up!

I hoped, oh, how I had hoped that things would be different, but are they? No.

No! Susan, for the love of... Will you for once in your life try to be

Rational? How dare you? Look, I am not omniscient. That's right, Greg the

Professor. Don't, don't, don't answer me. Just lecture at me.

Susan, I only tried to tell you that I did not know you were coming home today.

I could not clear my schedule based on facts I did not know and could not

anticipate.

Did not know and could not care less.

That is not true, Susan. Don't you call me a liar.

Well, then stop talking to me.

Susan,

no.

Susan.

Like I said, parents.

No, I don't want them on stone already.

Silence, Joe.

Something else.

We've got to figure out something for you to do.

No, Joe, not with them.

Forget it. Please, Joe.

Greetings, Michael.

Hello, Joe.

Look, the drift, old buddy, we've got a small jug and a big problem.

I'm never going home again.

They think that having kids automatically makes them somebody.

Never again.

Never again. I'll tell my mother where I am, but I won't tell her.

Mothers.

They need us anguished.

Brown paper bag full of anguish.

My father?

Him?

He wouldn't care.

He has no right to get away with it.

Don't cry.

Get away with what?

Anguish, man.

They need it.

Yeah, I guess so.

Hey, I got like an idea, David.

You come on with me.

We'll crank up this giant anguish machine.

Hey, that's a good idea.

Dr. Pelham, your son, has been kidnapped.

If you want to see him alive, come all by yourself

to the abandoned crater by the old

pier.

Come all by yourself.

Yes.

Is anybody here?

Yes, someone's here.

Who are you?

Where's my son?

I don't want to talk to you.

David's father's the one that needs talking to.

Oh, shut up and bring him here to me now, do you hear me?

I told you that I'm the man with the message.

First you get the message, and then your husband gets the message.

If I think the anguish is enough.

I'll talk to David.

Where is he? You better tell me right now.

Oh, are you a real tiger?

That's why David isn't coming home.

What are you talking about? Of course he's coming home.

He doesn't want to come home.

Because his home is where the arena is.

Wall -to -wall battles.

I want my son! Give me my son! Call the police!

Greg, if there's anything I can do to help... Oh, it's just another chapter in

the same old story.

You know, I'm a physician as well as a teacher.

I prescribe for other people. I tell them what's wrong. I tell them what to

Why can't I tell myself?

I just don't know.

Susan, she and the boy came home today.

I wasn't expecting them.

It was almost the wrong time.

Well, there's something that I had to explain to her.

I started talking.

And that's the same old pattern.

I love her.

I love her very much.

But when we start, I don't know.

John Lentzer.

Yes?

Yes, he's here with me now.

Oh, all right.

Yes, I'll tell him.

That was the switchboard at the university.

They've been trying to track you down. Some sort of urgent message.

You're to call Operator 11.

Here, you can use this if you like.

No, I'll take it inside the house.

Operator 11. Thank you.

Good night, John.

Thanks for the lift. Good night, Greg.

Dr. Paul.

Greg? Perry Mason. I've been trying to reach you.

What's this about a kidnapping?

A kidnapping?

I just got home, Perry. What are you talking about?

A message from my answering service.

Susan called. She was hysterical. Something about David being kidnapped.

Oh, dear God.

I don't know whether she called the police or not, so you'd better do it,

fast. Be sure to tell them kidnapping is involved.

Then you stand by, Greg.

I'm in the valley, so it'll take me some time to get there. Look, Perry.

Now... Susan and I just had a terrible, angry fight.

Now, maybe this is her idea of revenge.

I can't believe that David has actually been kidnapped.

No matter what you believe, call the police.

I'll be there as soon as possible.

What happened? Where's David?

Oh, Greg, I've killed a man.

Look, get your breath.

Where's David? What happened to him? Tell me.

They've kidnapped him.

That old freighter at the pier.

On the pier, the man's dead.

So you can start at the beginning.

The doorbell rang, and there was this note under the door.

It said... I know, I read the note.

What happened at the pier?

The man, he said... The man said...

David wasn't coming home.

That he had a message for you.

And I... I killed him and he's lying beside that freighter.

Did he say where David was?

Just that he was all right, but that he wasn't coming home.

And I... I hit him with my handbag and he fell.

And he's dead.

Susan, did anyone see you at any time? No, there was... There's no one there

him. All right, now listen.

Go inside the house quickly.

Now, you've been home all evening. You didn't go down to the pier at all. Do

understand? Even to Perry Mason, you have not left the house this evening.

But, Greg... He fell.

It was an accident. You said he did.

What about David? I'll find David.

Come on, get inside now. Perry Mason's on his way over.

I'll find David.

Did the man say anything about a ransom?

No.

Just wall -to -wall battles.

Did you bring my handbag?

It must have been some kind of a nut.

Your handbag.

I let it go.

It fell.

It was lying there beside him.

Susan, if they find that and him, they'll stop looking for David.

This is all you know. This is all you tell anybody.

You went down to that ship.

A man jumped out of the dark, grabbed your handbag and ran.

You didn't see him. It was dark. He just grabbed your bag and ran.

Please, Susan, don't you understand? You didn't kill him. He fell.

So you must not get mixed up in this.

Susan, please, please, just say what I told you.

Any news?

Nothing, Perry.

Not since the note.

Note?

I wasn't here when this came.

Susan went down to the pier by herself.

When she was on the deck of an old freighter, a man jumped out of the dark

grabbed her handbag and ran.

Since then, nothing.

No words, no calls, just nothing.

What have you heard from the police?

Well, I haven't. Things happen so fast. You still haven't called the police?

Better get your coat, sir.

All

right,

we've got roadblocks set up. The FBI's been notified and the apartment's full

a squad of off -duty men to fan out and comb the entire area here.

Good, Andy.

I'm sure Dr. and Mrs. Pelham appreciate everything you people are doing.

I know how difficult this must be for both of you.

Ordinarily, I'd tell you to go home and wait there, but... Well, somebody else

called us and... We've, uh... We found a body.

No.

Oh, no.

No, no, no. It's not your son.

Clothes, description... The diver is sure it's not David.

Now, as to the person who left the note at your house... Did either of you

manage to get a glimpse of him?

Dr. Pelham wasn't at home when the note was delivered.

Mrs. Pelham came here alone.

He came here? When?

At 11 .30.

He was aboard the freighter when some hoodlum snatched her purse and ran.

They've got her, Lieutenant.

All right, Sergeant.

Perhaps it's the man who snatched your handbag and ran.

Would you mind seeing if you could identify the body?

I couldn't identify anyone. I didn't see him. He just... He jumped out of the

dark. I never saw him.

It's named Joe Velvet, Lieutenant.

Come on now, have a little coffee.

Here.

Have a sip.

That's enough.

What'd you do, find me lying on the street?

You were passed out on the dock.

On a dock?

Oh, boy, how'd I get there?

Well, since you were the one who was drunk, suppose you tell me.

Uh, didn't I see you someplace earlier tonight?

No, we've never met.

My name is Sandy Lukens.

Oh, yes.

You're my father's secretary.

You haven't answered me.

Why I was drunk?

Why you were there, at the pier.

Oh, the pier.

Let's see.

Michael took me someplace to a

boat.

Oh, I don't know. I can't remember.

Try.

Try to remember. It's important.

What were you doing there?

Wait a second. What is all this?

I had a couple of drinks and all of a sudden I wind up in your apartment with

you asking me questions like a broken record.

I don't know how I got on a pier. How did you get there?

I don't even know how I got here.

That's John Lantrip.

He's a friend of your father's.

I'm sorry, John.

I just didn't know who else to call.

I'm not much good at handling drunks, Sandy.

Not even when they're my friends.

He's not drunk now.

I'm afraid he's in some sort of trouble.

One of your boyfriends in trouble?

It's not a boyfriend.

It's David Pelham.

David Pelham?

Sandy, they're combing the city for that kid.

It's all over the radio, TV, even the late papers.

David Pelham's supposed to be kidnapped.

Kidnapped?

All right, son, I'll let you get to bed in just a minute. Only a few more

questions. Now, tell me, did you or did this boy Michael drive to the pier?

I think Michael drove.

Oh, I don't know.

The way I feel right now, I don't see how I could have driven.

I gather you and this Michael were friends.

Tell me, what's his full name and where does he live?

Well, he's got his own apartment down by the beach.

And he owns his own car. He's got a lot of money.

And his full name?

Michael Da Vinci.

Is it possible his name was not Michael Da Vinci, that it was Joe Velvet?

Lieutenant!

It's obvious that there's no kidnapping here.

Some kind of a childish mix -up.

David's home, safe and sound.

It is late.

Why don't we just call it a night and forget the whole business?

I wish we could, Doctor, but the police department doesn't have the citizens'

right of just forgetting something it doesn't like.

Well, all right, then. The citizens of my family are tired.

It's past midnight.

Would it be asking too much that you do whatever you have to do about this

kidnapping tomorrow?

All right.

We'll call it a night and pick up the pieces in the morning.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Well, I've done my good deed for the day, so I'll go along with the

I'm glad everything turned out all right. I'll see you in the morning,

Good night, John. Thanks for everything.

Right.

Mom, Dad, I... David, you were standing outside the window with your friends

earlier, weren't you?

Well, I think instead of owing an explanation, you'll do one.

Get some sleep.

We'll talk about it tomorrow.

Mom?

You're all right, son. That's the only thing that matters.

Good night, Dad. Good night.

Good night, Mr. Mason.

Good night, David.

Well, would someone care to tell the truth for a change?

Oh, thank heaven, yes.

Perry, the boy that I... Susan.

Susan, go to bed.

Yes, by all means, go to bed.

Say nothing to me. If you did, I might be able to help you.

And we would want that, would we?

Perry, you knew David's story long before the police did. In fact, you had

of your detectives out checking up on it, way ahead of the police.

So don't accuse us of holding out on you. Susan, you were involved in

more serious than person action, weren't you?

Perry, Susan is going to bed. She's not going to talk to you nor anyone else

anymore. Neither am I. All right.

But mull this over if you have trouble going to sleep.

One can be sympathetic toward a mother taking action against a man who

her son and might be threatening his life.

Even if the action she takes is labeled manslaughter.

Good night.

Greg, why didn't you let me talk to him?

I will. I will at the right time.

Find anything yet, Paul?

Mary, you woke Ella so she could wake me so I could wake half a dozen other

people. I tell you, that is no way to win friends and influence people.

Michael Da Vinci, what did you find out? In the first place, his real name is

Michael Manning. As in Mary, remember?

Mary Manning, motion picture star?

Former star.

Oh, she's still up there and still a pretty big time, but she's kind on the

skids. Michael's her son?

Only child.

Though by which one of the five husbands she's had and discarded, I don't know

and couldn't find out in so short a time.

I'm not even sure her mama knows herself.

More cares, perhaps.

What about the bar?

Number one troublemaker. And you're quite right, nobody ever has cared.

Police record?

Mm -hmm.

And Andy will soon be on this, too.

Paul, I'd like to find Michael before the police do, if possible.

You want me to wake number seven, Mary Manning? Think she'll be the lucky

number? I hope so.

All right. Where do I get in touch with you? Call Dylan.

I'll phone him and let him know where I'll be.

On your way.

I said he was not home.

I heard you, Miss Manning.

The three times you just said it. I only asked when you saw him last.

Days, weeks, months.

I don't know.

I care less.

Are you sure you haven't seen him or heard from him tonight?

I don't know what kind of trouble the monster's in for a change.

But whatever it is, this is the last place he'd come.

And I'm the last person in the world he'd come to.

But you must know where... Look!

Why don't you be a nice man and get out of here?

Miss Manning.

Ow!

Well, if you do hear from him, that is before the police pick him up in a

dragnet. What?

Call Perry Mason, the attorney.

He's in the phone book.

He's asleep, Miss Manning.

In that spare room over the garage. Nobody will find him there.

And the doctor's on his way.

He just hurt.

Hurt.

And in trouble.

But he came home.

Oh, my God.

He scared me to death.

I heard something that worried me.

I just came to check and see if your records were safe.

What was this thing that you heard that worried you so much you got up in the

middle of the night and came over here?

Who did you hear it from?

Joe Velvet?

You know him.

Not as well as you do, Sandy.

He's been threatening me and blackmailing me with information that

given him.

That isn't true.

Certain things of mine were not in this safe last night when I checked.

But right now, somehow, just before dawn, they're back in place.

You could have opened this safe, taken the material out, given it to this Joe

Velvet to copy, and right now put it back.

Oh, Barry, I don't understand. You don't? Well, I do.

The key word appears to be blackmail.

You heard.

Yes, some, but I figured out the rest.

Well, what you don't know... What I know or don't know doesn't concern me.

What is it that you and your wife know?

Susan, no, Mason, listen to me.

I've been... Listen to what? More stories about purse snatching?

Do I have to fight to help you?

Perry... What did I say at your house? Manslaughter?

The police use a different kind of arithmetic. They add a body and

the answer comes up murder.

That was what you were going to say, wasn't it, Mr. Mason?

Lieutenant... That man's death was an accident.

Susan didn't... I swear to you, she couldn't know about Joe Velvet. She

couldn't, I swear to you.

I agree with you. She couldn't. Well, then you're not going to arrest Susan.

We never planned to, Dr. Pelham.

The warrant we have is for your arrest.

Sure, you can call it a kidnapping.

Well, you took David Pelham down to the freighter, you wrote the note, she

delivered it to the Pelham house.

And I hightailed it back to the freighter.

Now, did the defendant, Dr. Pelham, come down to the freighter as you had

demanded in your note?

No, his wife came.

I see. What happened when she arrived?

Well, we got to arguing and she hit me with her purse and it went sailing off

the ship onto the pier.

And what happened to you?

Well, I followed it head first under the pier, and then I passed out.

Now, do you remember what happened when you came to again?

Yeah, Joe Velvet was there.

He was madder than a wet hen.

Kept yelling at me, why was I trying to queer his pitch?

Well, Joe gets mad. You don't double park.

So I got David and my stuff and got out of there in a hurry. Did you understand

what he meant by queering his pitch?

Blackmailing Doc Pelham.

Blackmailing him for what? Do you know of your own knowledge?

No, that was the first time I ever heard of it.

Right then, when he was yelling at me, saying I'd keep him from getting this

bundle of money from the doc.

Yes, but did you know the basis for this blackmail?

I guess it was the doc and some woman, I think.

Why did you think that?

Well, I know I saw him once meeting somebody in a motel in Santa Barbara.

Who was the woman you saw?

Dr. Pelham meeting in Santa Barbara.

Look, why do you have to ask me all these questions? I already answered

everything in your office.

Michael, you have to tell it to the court. Now, just once more, who was that

woman?

Mary Manning.

Mary Manning, the motion picture actress?

Are you sure you recognize her?

That's easy.

She's my mother.

And how did Joe Velvet know about this?

I told him once.

Thank you, Michael.

That'll be all.

Mr. Mason?

Michael, why did you want Joe Velvet to blackmail Dr.

Pellet? I never wanted to blackmail a doc, never.

And your mother?

Look, I just stepped through saying it. I never knew anything about that

blackmail until that night.

Michael, do you hate your mother?

Hate?

We're good friends.

Two or three times a year, we even say hello to each other.

That is when she isn't getting married or divorced. Why did you tell Joe Velvet

about your mother?

Joe?

Well, he was asking about his wife.

Maybe I said some things about my mother.

Well, Joe says, why not buy him a bag full of anguish?

You said something about Joe's wife.

She used to be Joe's wife. They're divorced.

Joe just asked me about it. Why you?

Well, he knew that I was running along with David.

David Pelham?

Look, Joe's former wife, she's the doctor's secretary.

Sally Lucas.

I saw a letter where Dr. Pelham had laid it on the desk.

And I caught a glimpse of the name.

Joe Velvet.

Then the doctor came back.

I knew what kind of a no -good bum Joe was.

I learned that the hard way.

So you looked up your former husband again?

Yes. To find out why he was writing to Dr. Pelham.

Did you find out why?

Only enough to realize that he'd gotten some money from Dr. Pelham and was

expecting to get a lot more from the doctor.

It frightened me.

What the doctor would think if he'd known I'd been married to Joe.

What could he think that would frighten you?

Beside the doctor, I was the only one who knew the combination to the office

safe. Where he kept all his confidential records.

In other words, you were afraid Dr. Pelham would think that you were the

of the blackmail information.

That night that the doctor saw me at the safe, I wasn't taking anything out or

putting anything back in.

I was just checking.

But earlier that night, you did see your former husband, didn't you?

Yes.

He said he was worried about that kid Michael and the doctor's son.

You mean you went with him when he followed those two boys down to the

freighter? Yes.

He went in my car.

I stayed in the car.

Michael was trying to carry David away from the freighter.

He saw me and panicked, I guess.

Anyway, he dropped David and ran.

Then Joe told me to get the kid home.

And he walked away from me.

And was gone.

And did you take the boy home?

I sobered him up first, and then I called a friend of Dr. Pelham's to take

home.

It was quite a load off all our minds seeing that boy safely at home with his

parents. Of course. Now, Mr. Lanford, you work with the defendant, Dr. Pelham,

at the university, do you?

No, no, not at all, other than that we're both on the university faculty.

You see, he's an M .D. and a professor of medicine.

I teach biochemistry.

We've been sharing a lab, that's all.

He has his own examining room there, but we have to share laboratories.

But you say you were with him at the lab on the night of the murder.

That's right. He came in for an hour or so, and then I drove him home.

Did Dr. Pelham seem his normal self?

Well, if you were to ask me about chemical reactions, I could give you an

opinion, but I'm sorry, I'm no judge of behavioristic normalcy.

Well, did he say anything? Anything at all?

To indicate verbally that he was not his normal self?

Well, he seemed disturbed about a disagreement he'd had with his wife. He

her very much, but such misunderstandings bothered him.

Then you would say he was upset?

Yes, upset.

Thank you, sir.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Lanthrop, this lab you shared with the doctor...

Were you aware he was conducting research on enzymes?

Yes, a new approach in a treatment for extreme alcoholism, I believe. Did it

have potential monetary value?

Well, hardly a magic elixir in a bottle, no.

No, a new area of research, a treatment to be used under careful medical

supervision from what great hope.

Was the research advanced enough for testing on humans?

I don't know.

But I think I heard Greg say something about using the treatment with the

university's blessings on some of the outpatients in the university's free

clinic. Has the doctor been working hard at this research?

Oh, he certainly has.

Nights, weekends, every hour of the day or night, he wasn't forced to give

elsewhere. You're not married, are you, Mr. Lanthorpe?

I'm in research, too.

With that kind of schedule?

No, no. No, it's not for people who'd want to see much of their families.

Thank you, Mr. Lanthorpe.

No further questions at this time.

I call Captain Horatio Jones to the stand, please.

Got the upper balcony around my place fixed up like a quarter deck.

Just because they retired you, no reason to let the barnacles grow.

Captain Jones, is your house located near the beach, near the pier where the

freighter is tied up?

To be close to, my house would be afloat. And do you have equipment on

quarter deck?

Fully equipped and ship -shaped, aye, sir.

Telegraphed to my engine room.

That's my kitchen for when I get hungry.

Oh, speaking tubes, glasses, everything I need.

Now, when you say glasses, Captain Jones, you're referring to these

Aye, sir.

See the engraved brass plate on the side there?

Gift. given me by the crew of my last command.

And do you regularly use these binoculars from your balcony, Captain?

Whenever I get the chance, keep a sharp eye on the horizon.

And also on the pier, Captain?

Don't exactly keep a watch on the pier, no.

Yes, but on the night Joe Velvet was killed, you did look at the pier through

these glasses, didn't you, Captain Jones?

Yes, uh...

Saw a commotion going on down there, and just as I turned my glasses on the

pier, I was just in time to see the man who was killed rolled off the pier into

the water.

And did you then see, and were you subsequently able to identify the person

rolled Joe Velvet's body off that pier into the ocean?

Yes, sir.

Absolutely.

That fellow there, the defendant, Gregory Pelham.

Why couldn't the old coot have used those spy glasses of his five minutes

earlier and we'd know who killed Joe Belder? Oh, we know.

We do?

Well, let's say we think we know, but proving it is another matter.

Oh, the old coot.

He did see something earlier through those glasses.

No, Paul, not the old one. The young one. Here it is, Gary. And I checked the

university. He does use one of these when he's examining the students for

research.

Good job. Thank you.

What gives? Are you going in for medicine now?

No, but you are. Here, put it on.

Young Dr.

Drake, I do declare.

This bolt, People's Exhibit 11, was identified by the medical examiner as

probable murder weapon. Did you examine this bolt for fingerprints, Lieutenant

Anderson? Yes, we found fingerprints of the entire inner surface of the right

thumb, the arc.

The first two joints, but not the end of the forefinger.

And a good deal of the palm of the right hand.

And were you able to identify these prints? The prints were those of the

defendant, Dr. Pelham.

That'll be all, Lieutenant.

Brought you down, Mr. Mason?

Were there any other fingerprints on this boat?

Yes, but they were on the threaded portion of the boat and couldn't be

identified.

Were the defendant's fingerprints completely around the bolt as though

the bolt in his hand?

That would be impossible to determine.

All prints were destroyed on that portion of the bolt, which later came

contact with the surface of the pier. Is it possible, Lieutenant Anderson, the

defendant's prints were never on the underside?

The bolt was on the pier, as it is now on the witness stand.

You said that the underside in contact with the pier had no prints.

Well, that's right. They were wiped off when the bolt rested on the pier. Or

they were never there at all.

Because the bolt was already on the pier when the defendant inadvertently rested

his hand on top of the bolt as he knelt to examine the already dead Joe Velvet.

Now, that is possible, isn't it, Lieutenant?

Well... Isn't it, Lieutenant?

Yes, it's possible.

Lieutenant, did you ever locate Mrs. Pelham's purse on the pier?

Not on the pier, in the water, where it was probably thrown after Joe Velvet had

rifled its contents.

How do you know Velvet did that?

Among other things we found on Velvet's prison, there were the items of jewelry

Mrs. Pelham had brought along to ransom her son.

Now, Lieutenant, you said, among other things.

Other things you found on the decedent.

What were these other things?

Some papers in his pocket.

They were soaked, but we managed to dry them out, put them together, and read

them. These other pieces of paper, they were notes of some sort, made with a

soft pencil. We couldn't reconstruct the writing sufficiently to read it.

But the letter was typed on heavy bond, and we had no trouble with that. Would

you read the body of the letter to the court, please?

Here's $1 ,000, part of the money you asked for. I'll need time to get the

Please do nothing. Take no action until I get back to you. To whom was this

letter addressed?

To the decedent, Joe Velvet. And by whom was it signed, sir?

By the defendant, Dr. Gregory Pelham.

I therefore move, Your Honor, that the defendant, Dr. Gregory Pelham, be bound

over for trial in Superior Court on a charge of murder.

Mr. Mason?

Before I rule on the motion, do you intend to present a defense?

I do, Your Honor.

I call Mary Manning to the stand.

Truth, Mr. Mason?

Simple truth is, I'm an alcoholic.

Mary, no, you don't have to. Please take your seat, Doctor.

Mr. Mason?

All right, Mary, you may continue.

I said I wasn't drunk.

Somebody's sick.

Somebody desperately in need of help. I had destroyed everything that I'd ever

had in my life.

The only thing I had left was Michael.

My son.

But I couldn't ask for his love.

Not until I'd earned his respect.

Did you have, as inferred by the prosecution, Dr.

Pelham's love?

His help.

His arm to lean on, his shoulder to pry on.

Yes, we met in Santa Barbara, I know, but that was only so he could treat me

without the whole world knowing about it. You were a kind of special patient?

One of them.

Then there were others?

Quite a few, I believe.

People in the news.

Famous or near famous.

I assume the doctor kept records of your reactions, your progress.

Oh, yes, very careful records.

This was an experimental program.

Everything was kept in a small notebook he carried. He told me that there were

no other copies, and he kept this notebook securely locked in his office

Do you know personally why Dr. Pelham was being blackmailed by Joe Velvet?

Apparently, Velvet had gotten hold of the names of the doctor's private

patients.

Unless he was paid $10 ,000, he was going to make our names public.

How do you know this?

Well, Dr. Pelham showed me Velvet's original blackmail letter.

Did he ask for money to pay Velvet?

On the contrary, he insisted he'd pay Velvet nothing.

He wasn't breaking any laws.

He wanted the police to handle Velvet.

But you heard testimony indicating Dr. Pelham did pay $1 ,000.

Apparently, there were other patients.

that he contacted that were... that were terrified.

Like them.

I pleaded for Dr. Pelham just to... to stole Velvet.

But that's all Dr. Pelham said he would do. Keep Velvet quiet until we were all

properly notified and... and well... prepared.

That thousand dollars was his own money. He spent it just for

us.

Thank you, Miss Manning.

Cross -examine.

Miss Manning, of your own knowledge, was the university aware of the

defendant's extracurricular clinic?

No, I don't think anybody else knew.

But that was only because of the need to protect the people involved.

He wasn't breaking any rules.

But he was treating prominent people.

And some of them were surely, shall we say, well -to -do?

Yes, I suppose so. And if the treatment were successful, some of those patients,

including yourself, were sufficiently well -to -do to express their gratitude

a substantial and meaningful way. Isn't that so? Dr.

Pelham is a man of integrity of principle.

He would never, never personally profit from the miseries of others.

Nor permit somebody else, Joe Velvet, to profit from that misery.

Even if he was forced in a fit of rage to kill him in order to prevent it.

Objection, Your Honor.

He didn't, he didn't, he didn't.

I knew the truth.

The fact that he was treating his patients on the outside, yes.

You read more than your ex -husband's signature on that letter you saw on the

doctor's desk.

You read enough to know that blackmail was a threat to reveal the well -known

identities of these special patients.

I guessed what it was about.

But I didn't know who the patients were, what their names were. No.

How could I know? The names were in the notebook. The notebook was in the safe.

You admitted that you and Dr. Pelham alone had access to that safe, didn't

I knew the combination, yes.

And you didn't use it to open the safe, remove the notebook, and let your former

husband copy the names?

No.

No, you've got to believe me.

That night, the night he saw me at the safe, that was the only time, I swear,

the only time that I opened the safe and Dr. Pelham wasn't with me.

Yes, I saw Sandy open the safe a few times.

Always with Dr. Pelham present?

No. It's a lie!

I gather that you saw this at times when you were working.

Yes, from the lab.

I can see above the partitions into the office.

The floor safe is against the wall, facing the lab.

Actually, when somebody opens the safe, I see them facing me as they bend over

to work the dial. So, as a matter of fact, though you see them facing you,

can't testify that you actually see them open the safe?

No, no, I can't.

Mr. Lanthrop, the question of the safe being open may well be the key to this

entire matter.

I'm sure you won't mind cooperating with me in a demonstration for the court to

show how you were able to see what was going on.

No, no, not at all.

Thank you.

Mr. Drake, turn the dial, please.

Something like that?

Yes, exactly.

You work with microscopes.

Tell me, generically...

Microscopes function very much like... Like binoculars.

Isn't that so?

More or less.

Would you take these binoculars, please?

Now, would you hold them to your eyes?

And keep your eyes fixed on Mr. Drake.

Now, Mr. Lansford.

With Mr. Drake wearing what Dr. Pelham must have worn many times while he

the safe, read the numbers.

The combination of the safe as it is reflected right here.

I needed the money. I needed it so badly.

Accidentally, I saw Greg's notebook. I guessed what he was doing.

I got the combination just like he showed.

I copied the entries and put the notebook back after I gave the copy to

He promised to divide the money with me.

But I didn't want to hurt anybody, never.

But you did hurt someone.

When you killed Joe Velvet.

The night I drove Greg home, there were two calls to my car.

The second was from Velvet telling what had happened at the pier.

He was sure Greg had come right down there. He was going to confront Greg and

demand $50 ,000, not just 10.

When I drove over there, I met Velvet near the freighter.

Greg had intimated something about the police. I was afraid.

conceded without it to call the whole thing off. But he, he... Well, we

and I picked up the boat, and I... Oh, God, help me.

Are we or are we not going into that party?

Della, when was the last time you went to a nightclub, drank champagne, and

danced till dawn?

That, your boss, is a memory so far back in time.

I can't even drag it back to look at and enjoy in retrospect.

All right, then.

Let's create some new memories.