Original subtitles

Come in, Mr. Stokes.

It, uh, it is Mr. Stokes?

Yes, sir. Merchant Marine.

Sit down if you like.

No, thank you.

I understand you want to see one of the prisoners,

a man by the name of Riley Morgan.

You're not a relative?

Uh, no, sir.

Close friend, perhaps?

Well, I... I ain't even sure I know the guy.

But if... If I could just see him,

uh, well, uh...

Here, sir. Uh.

Maybe you read this.

I-It's an article about this fellow, Riley Morgan.

It says he got life for a murder

he done in L.A. six years ago.

He claimed he had an alibi, but it never held up.

Yes, I remember, it was something about

a witness who couldn't be found.

Or never existed.

Well, Morgan claimed he was a sailor.

Mr. Stokes,

Do you want me to believe that you are that sailor?

Well, sir, it...

It sure reads like something that happened to me

about six years ago.

I... I remember telling my captain

the reason I was late getting back to the ship was

because I helped a guy with a broken ankle.

Mr. Stokes, why have you waited for six years?

Well, because the same day this happened to me,

my ship pulled out of San Pedro.

Do you mean to say that you didn't read anything

about the trial in the newspapers?

Well, the Kendall murder was a sensational case in Los Angeles.

Well, warden, our next port of call was Yokohama,

and I ain't never learned to read Japanese.

After that I worked a Dutch ship

out of Australia for a couple of years.

Sir, when I finally saw that, I...

I couldn't get it out of my head.

Imagine, a guy in for six years

and maybe he's been innocent all that time.

If... If only I can remember what he looked like.

I want Riley Morgan up here right away.

Oh, uh, send several other men for a lineup.

Mr. Stokes, you're gonna have to answer a lot of questions.

Well, Mr. Stokes?

Well, sir...

It's been a long time. I...

I was afraid he might not be the same.

But that's the guy all right.

That one right there.

All right, Morgan.

Step forward.

Sure do have a lot of homework tonight.

Hey, Kendall! Jimmie!

Oh, here's my mom, I gotta go now.

I'll call you tonight. Okay, see you Kendall.

Hi, Mom! Hi, darling.

Sorry I'm late. Oh, that's okay.

Oh, not another note from the commandant.

No, Mom, I don't even know where it came from.

It's for you.

Well, aren't you gonna open it?

Well, we can't park here. I'll read it later.

Hello, general.

Hi, Uncle Roger.

Hello, Roger.

I hope you hadn't forgotten,

this is Black Friday.

Mr. Warren Donner awaits you in the study.

Why don't you handle it, Roger?

You know much more about the business than I do.

It's not quite the same, my dear.

Besides, he has a bundle of papers

requiring your signature. Oh.

He also has some special problems,

entailed from reading the newspapers.

Well, can't you entertain him yourself

for a few minutes? I'd like to freshen up.

Well? Where is she?

Fixing up a bit. She'll be down presently.

Doesn't she know this man, Morgan,

has been exonerated and released?

Poor devil. Imagine spending all that time...

Poor devil!

Roger, don't you realize how this is going

to affect the reputation of our family,

of our company?

When I walked into the board meeting yesterday,

everyone went, "sh!" Just like that.

They'd been gossiping about me...

About me, the vice president.

You can imagine what this has done to my wife.

Yes, I suppose Faye must be rather upset.

And why shouldn't she be?

Finding out after six years that her own brother's murderer

must still be running around loose.

Now there'll be a new investigation.

All right, Warren.

I know how difficult it must be for both you and Faye.

But I do wish you would consider Lorraine.

After all, it was her husband who was murdered.

All four of us benefited by his death.

You, Lorraine, myself, Faye.

Do you know what people are saying already?

"Which one did it?"

"Which one of us really committed that murder?"

Yeah?

Hello? Uh. Who am I talking to, please?

Who're you calling, lady?

I don't know. The letter wasn't signed.

Oh. Mrs. Kendall.

I'm a friend of Riley Morgan.

Yeah, th-that's right, my name's Stokes.

Maybe you read it in the papers.

I think you and I ought to meet.

As soon as you can make it.

Just a minute, please.

I have to go now. Where will you be?

I say, Lorraine.

Your esteemed brother-in-law is getting the wind up.

All right, Roger!

What was that again?

Yes. Yes, I know where it is.

Yeah, I can be there in a half hour.

Yes, yes, all right.

Come in.

My dear, it is considered very bad taste

to discriminate against a minority stockholder,

especially when he's so anxious

to become a majority stockholder.

Would you mind telling Warren Donner

to mind his own business for a change

and stop snooping into mine.

You're it!

You're it!

You're it.

You're it.

You're it.

You're it.

Mrs. Kendall?

Yes.

I'm Stokes.

There's a quiet spot over here

where we can talk.

Sit down, Mrs. Kendall...

I'll tell you right off, Mr. Stokes,

I resent the way you got in touch with me.

Well, now, I...

I'm real sorry I had to go through

the boy to reach you, but...

he was the only lead I had.

Anyway, it's all in a good cause.

Well, if you're talking about Riley Morgan,

I... I'm sorry he spent all those years in prison.

But he's free now.

That's just the point.

He ain't free.

He's got no friends, no relatives, no money.

Can't get a job.

How much do you want?

For myself?

Nothing, not a cent.

But the way I figure,

Morgan took somebody off the hot seat.

And that ought to be worth something.

Where is he, Mr. Stokes?

Where can I find Riley Morgan?

Well, now, that I don't rightly know.

A man just out of prison.

But...

we're in this together, Riley and me.

A word to me is the same as to him.

So you're not even going to tell me where he is

until I agree to pay?

Is that it?

Well, I didn't bring any cash,

and I didn't bring my checkbook.

Lady, if your conscience don't tell you

that Riley Morgan rates some decent, honest...

My conscience is quite clear!

I wish I'd asked your little boy

what you was like.

If he thought... You stay away from Jimmie!

You hear me? Stay away from him!

All right. Go back home.

I... I won't bother you again.

Mr. Stokes,

wait.

I... I know an injustice has been done.

Now, if you'd just tell me

how much help Mr. Morgan needs,

and... And how I can reach him with it...

Mrs. Kendall,

sometimes when a man is put in prison wrong,

the state pays him something.

Say $10,000, maybe.

But Riley,

he's found it don't work that simple.

He ain't collected one cent.

So I guess maybe half that much,

maybe 5000.

That ought to be all anybody'd ever need.

Five thousand.

Well, I'll let you know.

I'll phone you, is that all right?

I knew you was really okay.

Just a little scared, maybe.

But don't you worry,

there's nothing to be scared of.

Did you get it all down on tape?

Yeah. Well, what do you think?

Can you pay me anything?

Stokes, you're a card.

What? What's the matter?

Isn't there anything you could use?

I thought a magazine article

would go big right now.

You wrote so much about the trial six years ago.

You're not interested in a few dollars I can give you,

even if the stuff was usable.

Okay, I can use the publicity too.

The only way I can get the state to pay Morgan anything

is to get some publicity.

Stokes, you didn't fool the lady and you don't fool me.

You worked real hard not to use the word blackmail,

but a rose by any other name still smells the same.

It looks like you're playing six ends against the middle,

and it's not for Bill Worth.

I don't want any part of your racket.

Well, I'll let you know.

I'll phone you, is that all right?

I knew you was really okay.

Just a little scared, maybe,

but don't you worry,

there's nothing to be scared of.

Well, sir? Is it there?

You mean that's all there is?

Well, I thought maybe, somewhere among the things she said.

Well, she didn't say a blasted thing,

neither did he!

Well, I knew what it is you're looking for.

Just what it is you think we might find out?

None of your business.

You just keep after that man.

Write your articles, keep him interested,

find out everything he knows.

What was that all about?

Isn't it obvious?

Lorraine's up to something.

At least, she's a lot more worried than she ought to be.

Hasn't Lorraine always been up to something?

Some day I'll figure her out.

Having a woman like that own our company.

I thought perhaps you'd learned something

about who killed my brother.

Seems to be news copy prepared for publication.

It arrived this morning, special delivery.

There was a note attached

asking me to read the story for inaccuracies.

Well, are there any?

It seems to be just a retelling

of your husband's murder.

Oh, no, it's all distorted!

I mean, the implication

that I benefited so much from Martin's death.

All that innuendo.

I don't recall

the true details of the case very well, Mrs. Kendall.

Well, there had been some trouble

between my husband and Riley Morgan

over a loan that was to have been repaid

by a certain date.

What were the circumstances of the loan?

I, uh... I wasn't very familiar

with my husband's business at that time.

But in any case,

Morgan tried to ask my husband for an extension of time.

He phoned, wanting to see my husband the next Saturday.

But Martin always played golf on Saturdays.

I seem to recall that Mr. Kendall

was killed at a golf course.

In the woods off one of the fairways.

Yes.

Morgan parked his car beyond the woods

and then waited among the trees

until Martin came along.

They quarreled over the money,

so the prosecutor claimed,

and Morgan struck my husband with a golf club.

Wasn't there almost a witness?

My brother, Roger.

Roger thought that Martin had lost his ball in the woods,

so he went in to help him find it.

The murderer had tripped as he ran toward his car,

and that delayed him long enough

so that Roger could see him.

Morgan was arrested two days later, Monday,

in a beach cabin near San Diego.

Yes, I remember.

The case hinged on when,

and of course where, Morgan broke his ankle.

If it happened Friday

it would have been physically impossible

for him to have gone to the golf course on Saturday.

Well, Morgan always insisted

th-that a sailor stopped at the cabin that Saturday morning.

But, uh, he was never found

and nobody ever believed he existed.

Now he does exist and Morgan's story is true.

And someone else must have killed your husband.

Yes, I...

I guess that's right.

I'll have an investigator

try to locate Riley Morgan as quickly as possible.

No doubt he's behind all this.

In the meantime, what was that telephone number?

Stokes' number?

Um.

Adams 1-0799.

What are you going to do?

Make a date to pay him.

It's all right. I'll be there too.

Hello?

Uh, hello, Mr. Stokes?

Say, I was wondering when you were gonna call.

Mr. Stokes, I'd like to talk to you.

Well, this ain't a very good time to arrange things.

Oh, I'm anxious to get it over with too.

Well, suppose we say 10:00 tonight, then.

Same place.

Okay?

Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there.

Sorry, a little romantic problem.

Really?

You're certain it had nothing to do

with what we've been discussing?

Well, of course not.

If you pay me $10,000,

why should I talk to anybody else?

Yes, I suppose so. But see here.

It's clearly understood that both you and Riley Morgan

are to leave town. Leave the country.

You're to go to faraway places and just never come back.

Right?

Mr. McClaine, you're a real Samaritan.

Poor old Morgan,

he'll be thanking you for the rest of his days!

Who was that?

Hey, Riley!

When did you come in?

A minute ago.

You told somebody I'd be thanking him.

Why?

Oh.

The... The desk clerk.

Yeah, he... He made a fix in the bill.

We... We don't owe him so much.

Look, I don't want any charity.

Not from anybody, understand?

Sure, Riley, sure!

Hey, you... You get enough to eat?

Maybe we'll pick up a steak tonight.

I'll bet you didn't get any of those two-inch steaks in prison,

huh, boy?

Well, I know just the place...

I don't even want charity from you, Stokes!

You, uh,

you did me a favor, I'm grateful.

If I'd collected any money from the state,

you'd have got half.

But I didn't.

So now it's all over between us.

You understand?

All over.

Goodbye, Mom. Bye, dear.

Mom almost hit you!

Where's your mother going, Jimmie?

I don't know.

I bet you if you got sideswiped,

you would have had to put a whole new piece on...

What did she say? Nothing!

Oh, except I shouldn't eat so many doughnuts.

I mean about where she was going.

But I just told you.

Is your Uncle Roger here?

I don't know.

But I know he's not in the house.

I had to answer the phone.

Well, who was it?

Mm. Some man called and asked to talk to Mom.

And after he talked to her, she went out.

It's 9:30. A child your age

should be in bed at this hour.

You heard me, young man. March!

Well, it's 10:00.

Where's the historic meeting to take place?

Let's walk over there.

Shouldn't someone call a doctor?

What for? He's dead.

You know, about ten minutes ago,

I heard something that sounded like the backfire of a car.

Could've been a shot. - It could've been.

Why doesn't anybody call the police?

I don't know, think we'd better go and call them.

Perry,

that guy fits our description of Burt Stokes,

and he sure looks dead.

We'd better leave before the police get here.

Agreed. What're you going to do?

Call on my client. She's going to need a lawyer.

Yeah. Very clever of her to retain one in advance.

Well, hurry up, Jimmie!

Please hurry!

Where are we going, anyway?

Remember Martha, darling?

You know, you used to love her cooking so much,

back in the other house.

You mean the house in Santa Barbara?

Yes.

Well, she wants you to stay with her for a few days.

Mother, I've got homework to do.

You don't know how the commandant acts

if a kid just leaves school.

Jimmie, will you please get in the car?

Mother, what's the matter? What's happened?

Nothing. I just want you to stay with Martha for a while.

Yes?

I'd like to see Mrs. Kendall, please.

You're Perry Mason, the lawyer.

I'm Roger McClaine.

My, uh, sister's out someplace, but, come in, come in.

If it's anything important.

A man named Burt Stokes was shot to death a little while ago.

Good heavens.

Well, I'm... I'm certain

my sister doesn't even know such a person.

But isn't it an odd coincidence?

How do you mean?

Well,

Lorraine was unaccounted for

when her husband was killed too.

McCLAINE: Not that I'm telling you anything, of course.

It's just that my sister doesn't go around murdering people.

Is it possible that she's visiting relatives?

She mentioned a Warren Donner and his wife.

Oh, no, no, she can't abide the creatures.

Warren's a necessary evil, that's all.

Every family needs one person that's good at trade,

to manage things.

That's the only reason Lorraine keeps him on.

Keeps him on?

I thought yours was a family business.

Much to Warren's despair, no.

Martin Kendall owned it.

His will mentioned only two people.

Two?

Lorraine and little Jimmie, of course.

Would you care to wait in the study, Mr. Mason?

Mrs. Kendall.

Mr. Mason. What are you doing here?

More to the point, where have you been?

I-I was out of the city.

Mrs. Kendall, you're in very serious trouble.

You don't have much time.

Did you got to the park last night to meet Burt Stokes?

Well, I went early.

But I didn't see him, honestly I didn't.

What happened?

Well,

it was dark there and... And I was frightened.

And then suddenly a man jumped at me and h-he grabbed my purse.

Would you recognize this man if you saw him again?

Oh, no. It all happened too fast.

We struggled, and... And then he...

He slipped on some wet ground and I-I got away.

M... Mr. Mason, I...

I know now I should've called you, but...

I-I just didn't.

McCLAINE: Lorraine!

Where in the name of Tophet have...

Mrs. Kendall, did you kill Burt Stokes?

No.

Lieutenant Tragg. Oh, come in, sir.

What's this, lieutenant, you on a stakeout?

No, Perry. I just heard you were here.

I figured your client would soon be home.

Mrs. Kendall is your client, I suppose?

Well, you certainly didn't give us much time for a conference.

Well, there'll be plenty of time after she's booked for murder.

Which murder?

Take your choice.

It's Stokes' death we're charging you with.

I'm afraid we'll be ready for you

on both murders, counselor.

Uh, Mrs. Kendall,

If you please.

Report on Lorraine McClaine Kendall.

Nothing until the age of 21.

Nothing? Well, not yet.

Anyway, that's when she went to work for Martin Kendall

of Kendall Industries. He was, uh, 47 at the time.

Six months later, she became Mrs. Martin Kendall.

Two years later she became Kendall's wealthy widow.

And she's been living in seclusion since.

Lots of seclusion.

Secretary married to her boss.

No wonder there was a little friction in the family.

Uh, Paul.

Paul, what about Roger McClaine?

Is he really her brother?

Yeah. With the kind of background

an octopus couldn't put his finger on!

Writer, sailor, musician, gigolo, necktie salesman,

and undoubtedly a few, uh,

confidence games thrown in there someplace.

Kind of guy that'd cover completely for his sister.

Particularly if she's got a million dollars.

But.

One thing I think you ought to know is this.

If this character Riley Morgan

hadn't been so handy to take the rap six years ago,

there might have been a classic murder case

against Lorraine herself.

You know,

I wonder if Stokes was murdered

because he, uh, knew about all this.

Well, whatever Stokes knows,

it's certainly possible he discussed it with Morgan.

Paul, I... Uh...

Never mind, I'll get back to work.

We'll find that guy or bust!

I didn't even know he was dead.

You, uh, get out of the habit of reading newspapers.

Mr. Morgan,

you've been living in the same hotel with Mr. Stokes.

Yeah.

Until yesterday.

Until I got fed up with him.

Yeah, that's maybe not a very nice thing to say

about a guy who spoke up and got me out of a cell, but...

Well, he... He had ambitions all the time.

I, um, did hear he tried to have your case publicized.

Perhaps in the hope of getting some money from the state.

Mr. Mason, I don't know what all he did.

But yesterday I heard he was maybe turning to blackmail.

Well, that's all I needed to hear.

I, uh, cleared out fast.

You must've been a little short of money.

I mean, you cleared out without even asking for a cut?

Six years teaches a man things.

The last part of the world I want to be in

is where there's trouble.

Mr. Morgan,

could Stokes have threatened blackmail,

hinting that you knew something

still unrevealed about the Kendall murder?

Look, I don't know any more than has already been told.

But if I did, I wouldn't tell it.

Not now, or tomorrow, or any time there is.

Mrs. Donner?

Mr. Telford? Yes.

Sit down, won't you? Thank you.

You, uh, have some evidence in this park murder?

Well, I... I don't know if it's evidence or not.

It's this letter I got, uh, just yesterday.

From that man Stokes.

My husband thought I should turn it over to someone

here in the District Attorney's office.

Looks like a piece of news copy.

Well, yes it is.

Uh, you'll find a note attached.

"Mrs. Donner, you might like to go over this story

"for discrepancies and comments.

Signed, Burt Stokes."

Why should he send this to you?

It's the story about the murder of my brother,

Martin Kendall.

Well, I'll read it with a great deal of interest.

Well, thank you very much for bringing this in.

You've done a great service, Mrs. Donner.

Oh. It was really my husband's idea.

Here you are, Mr. Telford.

Thank you, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Leeman.

Will you state your occupation, please?

I'm an attorney.

I practice in Berkeley, California.

And were you acquainted with the deceased, Burt Stokes?

Yes, sir. He came to me about two months ago

with certain facts bearing on the Morgan trial.

In brief,

Stokes was able to verify the alibi

claimed by Riley Morgan.

And what action did you take, Mr. Leeman?

Well, I investigated, of course.

We found a corroborating witness,

the captain of Stokes' ship.

So the, uh, prosecuting attorney

who handled the case withheld objection.

I petitioned for a full pardon for Riley Morgan.

And the pardon was granted.

Thank you, that's all.

Now tell us, Mr. Morgan,

was it your idea or Stokes'

that you come together to Los Angeles?

We didn't come together, he followed me.

Did he discuss the subject of money with you?

Only like I just told you,

when he said the state might pay me something.

When did you first realize

that Mr. Stokes might be working behind your back?

That is, using the circumstances

of your release to extort money?

Well, on the afternoon of the same day he was killed.

I, uh, I came back to the hotel and there he was,

taking this bundle of money from a man

he tried to pretend was the hotel clerk.

Would you recognize that man if you saw him again?

Sure.

That's him, sitting right over there.

Mr. Roger McClaine.

He testified against me in my trial six years ago.

Mr. Morgan,

did Stokes obtain some special knowledge from you,

perhaps some unrevealed evidence concerning

who the real murderer of Martin Kendall might have been?

No, sir.

There's nothing I know that I didn't already say in court.

Nothing at all.

How much, Mr. McClaine?

Well, it was actually quite a bit of money.

How much?

Ten thousand dollars.

And why did you pay this sum to Stokes?

Because he asked me for it.

Sort of a contribution to help Mr. Morgan.

You see, I'd always felt sorry for the chap.

Mr. McClaine, isn't it true that on that same day,

your sister, Lorraine Kendall, gave you a check for $10,000,

which you took to the bank and cashed...

Oh, well, about that check, now...

As an unfriendly witness, you will please answer yes or no.

Isn't it true that what you were actually doing

was making a blackmail payment on behalf of your sister,

Lorraine Kendall?

Well, it's true Stokes was a blackmailer.

But I was only trying to protect my sister.

That's all, Mr. McClaine. Thank you.

So I guess maybe

half that much. Maybe 5000.

That ought to be all anybody'd ever need.

LORRAINE: Five thousand.

Well, I'll let you know.

I'll phone you, is that all right?

I knew you was really okay.

Just a little scared, maybe.

But don't you worry,

there's nothing to be scared of.

And that concluded the interview, Mr. Worth?

Yes, sir.

That's all for this witness.

Mr. Worth,

you testified that you first met Stokes a few weeks ago,

when you were obtaining an interview for a newspaper.

Which newspaper was that?

That was a slip of the tongue,

I guess I'm really a freelance.

My name is pretty well-known.

I know your reputation,

but for whom do you work?

Well, I'm under salary to a trade publication,

but all the newspapers still buy my material.

Which trade publication?

The, um,

Kendall Industries Weekly.

Kendall Industries?

Now, who would be in charge of your department, Mr. Worth?

Oh, a number of men in the public relations department.

I ask who.

What particular person would be in charge?

Answer the question, sir.

Mr. Warren Donner.

But I have never once discussed this case with Mr. Worth.

Why would I?

Of course.

Now to return to the night of Stokes' murder,

at exactly what time did you see

Lorraine Kendall leave her house?

Well, it was a little after 9:30,

when she came out of that driveway like a wild torpedo.

I spun my wheels,

pulled to a stop.

Didn't she stop her car to see if you were all right?

No. She stepped on the gas and kept right on going.

Then her son Jimmie said that some man had phoned,

but he didn't know who, or where his mother went,

or anything else.

One moment.

That would seem to be both opinion and hearsay.

Mr. Mason, if you care to object?

This line is not important to our case, your honor.

I'll withdraw my last question,

and stipulate that the answer may be stricken.

It was perfectly plain

when I got that letter with the article inside,

that Mr. Stokes wanted some blackmail.

Well, his note implied that, don't you think?

But you had no intention of paying him?

Of course not!

I don't have a guilty conscience.

I guess he figured if Lorraine would pay him,

lots of other people might.

Mrs. Donner, do you have any personal knowledge

which might corroborate the fact

that Lorraine Kendall did pay Stokes?

Or at least, uh, intended to pay him?

Well...

I was at her house that night too.

Uh, the night of the murder.

Well, I left about 9:00,

a half hour before my husband arrived.

Lorraine seemed terribly upset.

She kept going in and out of the kitchen

for coffee and things like that.

Please just tell the things you saw and heard, Mrs. Donner.

Once when she went out of the room,

I... I looked in her purse.

Well, only because it had fallen on the floor.

It was open!

It was just full of money.

Five thousand dollars.

All new bills.

Thank you, Mrs. Donner.

Your witness.

Mrs. Donner,

when your brother died...

When Martin Kendall was murdered six years ago...

Did you expect to receive any part of his estate?

Well, of course. Wouldn't any sister?

After all, he was only married to Lorraine

for a couple of years.

Did you receive any part of his estate?

No.

When they read his will, I...

Well, I was terribly shocked.

The idea of leaving all that money

to an upstart secretary and an adopted child

that wasn't even his own!

I have no further questions of this witness.

Yes, this murder weapon belonged to Stokes.

He had a proper permit.

You have heard a doctor express the opinion

that there was a struggle over this gun,

and that shots were fired during that struggle.

Did your investigation reveal anything specific

as to who might have been struggling?

Yes.

We obtained several clear footprints.

Are these the plaster impressions...

The moulages... You made of those footprints?

Yes. Yes they are.

Were you able to make any identification from them?

Well, um, this one here

matches the, uh, shoes worn by the deceased.

And these?

Well, those were made by a woman's shoes.

We compared them with the shoes worn by Mrs. Lorraine Kendall

on the night of the murder.

The imprints matched perfectly,

even to a broken place on the heel capping.

Your Honor, I ask that these be labeled

People's Exhibits E and F.

Counselor?

Defense has no objection, Your Honor.

And now, Lieutenant Tragg, I will show you some money.

Brand new bills, in the total amount of $5000.

Have you seen this before?

Yes, these have my markings on them.

Yes, I have.

Where?

In a pocket of the corpse

when I arrived at the scene of the crime.

I ask that this money

be labeled Exhibit G, Your Honor.

We've, um, no objection.

And that concludes my interrogation of this witness.

Your Honor.

In view of certain unexpected developments,

and since it is now 3:30,

I would like to ask the court's indulgence.

Very well, counselor.

We'll postpone your cross-examination.

Court's adjourned until 9:00 Monday morning.

Just a second, son.

I'm in a hurry, mister.

Uh. You're Buddy Staples, aren't you?

Jimmie Kendall's best friend?

No, sir. My name is Ferdinand Glotzhammer IV.

Wait a second, son.

Buddy, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that...

Jimmie Kendall's book?

What of it?

I got a postcard,

he wants me to send him his homework, that's all.

Send it? Where?

It's none of your business.

Look, mister,

Jimmie doesn't even know his mother's being tried for murder.

Buddy,

please believe me.

I'm a friend.

My name's Paul Drake. I'm a private investigator.

Private investigator?

I'm working for Perry Mason.

His mother's lawyer?

That's right.

Here, see for yourself.

I'll show you the postcard, sir.

Thanks, Buddy.

Now, you said he was here.

Yes, he was here.

But now he's gone, don't you understand?

The police know all about it,

there's no trouble.

Where did Jimmie go?

Well, I have a sister who lives in Canada.

I sent him on a plane this morning.

She'll meet him. They're going on an automobile trip.

I just don't know

how you can reach him.

Now, look, we know that Jimmie sent a postcard...

I guess the boy just had things mixed up, that's all.

We are sorry to have troubled you.

Goodbye. Goodbye.

But...

B-But I won't let you talk to him. You can't!

But I have talked to him.

You had no right to do that.

I don't want you for my lawyer!

Jimmie's got nothing to do with this.

I kept him away from the first trial, when he was a baby,

and I want him kept away now!

He's my child. You have no right to interfere!

Mrs. Kendall, I have to interfere.

Now, Jimmie is perfectly safe.

He's at my apartment. Miss Street is with him.

He still doesn't know what's going on here.

But he has been guessing,

and his guesses can be

a great deal more upsetting than the truth.

You can't take him into that courtroom. I won't let you!

At about 9:30 on the night Stokes was murdered,

Jimmie answered the telephone.

A man asked for you.

Now, who was that man?

Mrs. Kendall, your background hasn't been easy to trace.

When you married Martin Kendall,

apparently you already had a little boy

by a former marriage.

And we found no record of that marriage.

It was in Tijuana.

I was only 19.

I didn't know any better.

Was there a divorce at that time?

An annulment.

That was in Tijuana too.

What was the man's name?

I've never told anybody.

Not one soul.

Only Martin.

He knew.

Martin loved me so.

He adopted little Jimmie as his own.

Mrs. Kendall, who was Jimmie's real father?

Riley Morgan.

Oh, Mr. Mason, now do you understand?

Even Riley kept that secret,

for little Jimmie's sake,

all during that first long trial.

It's the only decent thing he ever did in his life.

Shoes, shoes.

Well, of course we can produce the shoes.

Well, why haven't you?

Your Honor, this is supposed to be a cross-examination,

not a heckling.

Oh, I'm confident

the witness can defend himself, Mr. Prosecutor.

But I do think you might

clarify your purpose here, counselor.

Well, we are concerned about the accuracy

of the police investigation, Your Honor.

If I may continue... You may, counselor.

Lieutenant, you stated, did you not,

that the prints found at the scene of the crime

were definitely those of two people struggling?

Yes, sir.

A man and a woman.

How can you be so sure they were struggling?

Well, for instance, here.

A woman wouldn't put pressure down

on the side of the instep like that

unless she were shoving against something violently.

What about the footprints of the man?

Well, this one...

Well, you can see, Your Honor.

Where the man's heel ground sideways.

And here, he staggers almost over onto his ankle.

The prints seem unusually clear, Mr. Mason.

The area was watered shortly before that.

And the soil contains adobe,

ideal for, um, impressions.

What about your identification of the shoes

that made these prints?

Well, Mr. Stokes' shoes,

provided by the coroner,

fitted these imprints perfectly.

And you will notice that

he wore a composition-soled shoe.

Quite distinctive.

Quite.

I see.

Well then, lieutenant,

considering the importance of this testimony,

why haven't you brought all these shoes into court?

Your Honor, this is a preliminary hearing.

It is only necessary to show

that a crime has been committed.

And there is reasonable grounds to believe that

the defendant is connected with the commission of the crime.

If it is made necessary to bring the shoes into evidence now,

then the shoes will be impounded by the court.

And this might preclude additional investigative work

contemplated by the police.

Your Honor, may I have a moment?

Yes, you may.

Excuse me, Mr. Telford.

Mr. Mason, do you, or do you not,

want those shoes brought into court?

I most certainly do want the shoes

brought into court, Your Honor.

And in view of new evidence,

I would also like to ask the court's indulgence

in cross-examining a witness

not cross-examined by defense last Friday.

Mr. Morgan,

when you were tried for the murder of Martin Kendall,

what motive did the state attribute to you?

They, uh, they claimed we quarreled

because I hadn't paid back some money I'd borrowed from him.

Have you ever been married, Mr. Morgan?

That's, uh...

That's not what you'd call a relevant question, is it?

Very well, then, I'll ask you another question, Mr. Morgan.

What was your reaction to, um,

Stokes trying to blackmail everyone?

I told you before, I wanted no part of it.

It made you angry.

Yes, it made me angry.

I'd had enough of police investigations.

Yet, on the very night of Stokes' death,

you tried your own hand at blackmail, did you not?

Blackmail by telephone?

It has been stated in this court

that at 9:30 on that night, a little boy answered a telephone.

The boy didn't recognize the voice of the caller,

a man who wanted to talk to the boy's mother.

But when the defendant testifies, as she will testify...

All right! I made that call.

I wanted to ask Lorraine what she was doing about Stokes.

And among other things,

she told you she was to meet Stokes in Plummer Park at 10:00.

Maybe, I don't really remember.

Then you went to the park to confront Stokes.

To intercept him.

You confronted him in great rage.

When he pulled a gun you decided

to put an end to him once and for all, did you not?

Mr. Mason, I was framed once before.

I'm not gonna be framed again.

You struggled with him and then killed him, isn't that right?

No, that is not right.

And then Lorraine arrived.

That seemed to you a great stroke of providence.

You could implicate her so easily.

Not a word of truth.

What are you trying to do to me?

You tried to block her way, to frighten her in the darkness.

You struggled with her.

You grabbed her purse.

When she fled in panic,

you took took the $5000 from that purse,

and you put it into Stokes' pocket, did you not?

Why don't you ask me about the shoes?

I intend to.

You're not wearing your prison shoes, are you, Mr. Morgan?

The shoes that were issued you

when you were released from prison.

To implicate Lorraine, to make it seem

that she had struggled with Stokes instead of with you,

you exchanged shoes with the man that you'd just killed,

isn't that right, Mr. Morgan?

Aren't these the shoes that you took from your own feet

and hurriedly placed on the feet of a corpse?

You figured it all out, didn't you?

Well, you must have figured that I killed Stokes

for the same rea...

For the same reason I killed Martin Kendall.

He got in the way of my plans.

Blackmailing my sweet little wife.

I got away with the first one.

Maybe I should have quit when I was ahead, huh?

Thank you.

Stokes was butting in, that's why he was killed.

He made up a story,

then bribed the captain of a ship to back him up.

Well, he got Morgan out of prison all right,

but then he got greedy. We all know the rest.

I'd so hoped Jimmie wouldn't have to know all these things.

Morgan did try to keep the secret

as best he could, Mrs. Kendall.

Yes, but for only one reason.

He was thinking of himself, not Jimmie.

Hi, Jimmie.

Jimmie, you shouldn't be here.

Well, golly, I always knew I was adopted, didn't I?

And anyway, what I wanna know now

is how you found out about those shoes, Mr. Mason?

Well, Jimmie,

when we came across Mr. Stokes, something bothered me.

Both of his shoelaces had been broken and retied.

Retied so hurriedly that

one of them was even tied with a granny.

And that seemed a foolish mistake for a sailor to make.

Hey! Instead of a square knot?

That's enough, Jimmie.

You know, Mrs. Kendall,

we might be protecting our children too much these days.

Mom, it's a whole lot better for me to know the truth

than to always be guessing about things.

A square knot.

Hey, why didn't you get that, Mr. Drake?

Aren't you a detective?

Jimmie.

Well, aren't you?