Original subtitles

Barnaby Jones, starring Buddy Ebsen.

Also starring Lee Merriweather.

With guest stars Wayne Rogers, Dan Trevati,

special guest star Stephanie Powers.

Tonight's episode, Echo of a Murder.

works around here except me. Well, Claire, the engine just stalled. I'll

fixed in a minute. And you know how I hate to sit in the sun. You know how bad

it is for my skin.

Well, if you think I'm gonna put up with this, you got another thing coming.

The wife of a man who owns himself a lodge. Well, she don't expect herself to

down on her hands and knees scrubbing no floors.

Never ask you to scrub floors.

It's not demeaning to be a hostess while meals are being served. Well, I should

hope not because my daddy didn't raise me up to be no hired hand.

If he could see me...

The voice of hers.

How it grates on my nerves.

I don't care what you deny.

Not a day goes by you don't go snooping around that redhead.

You and your fancy lodge.

Ain't nothing but a hole in the wilderness.

Ain't nothing to do out here. Ain't nobody out here but a bunch of old

and senile old men.

As a matter of fact, I think I'll just take me the next bus out of here and I

don't need no invitation from you.

Will you sit down in the boat?

Some late mail came in for you, mister.

What the devil is he doing to her?

That's all I know, Sheriff.

The owner of the lodge.

Killing his wife out on the lake.

Of course I saw it.

It's plain murder.

Mr. Jones, thanks for coming up.

I hope you don't think I was taking advantage just because I knew your son.

I'm always glad to hear from Hal's old friends.

He didn't do it, Mr. Jones.

Gil, Mr.

Atkins, it just didn't happen the way people are saying.

Has he been charged yet?

Last night, right after I phoned you. They're calling it a suspicion of

Well, let's start out by your telling me everything exactly as you saw it. Mom,

excuse me.

Lon, I hate to disturb you with all this excitement going on, but my TV isn't

working. Do you think you could fix it?

Yeah, I'll have it taken care of right away. It's those new jacks they put in.

Well, whenever you get the chance.

Now, what did you see, Lon?

Trouble is, I don't know exactly what I saw. I know they were arguing out on the

lake, and then Gil's wife screamed, and everybody's saying Gil hit her with the

oar, but it couldn't have happened like that. I know Gil.

Has he made a statement to the sheriff?

Gil swears he was just trying to keep her from falling out of the boat. And

oar, he was just trying to reach her with it, not hit her.

Gil doesn't swim.

Neither did Claire.

That's Miss Renfrew. She's a guest.

Would you like me to point out where it happened?

They were just to the right of where the sheriff's boat is now.

About 100 yards from here.

Yeah, and at that distance, you can't see everything.

That's what I told Mr. Wright.

We all like Mr.

Atkins, too, Lon, but that wife of his was a... Well... For a woman sleeping

drinking the day away, snappish even at a good morning?

Our sympathies are with Mr. Atkins, but to a point, that is.

Don't misunderstand us, Lon, but anybody who... Carried on the way Mrs. Atkins

did, especially yesterday morning.

Claire went up and barged right into Miss Renford's cabin.

You could hear Claire's voice all over the lake.

What were they arguing about?

Claire thought Gil was paying too much attention to Miss Renford. But Gil's

always looking after the comfort of every guest.

I take it you folks are all going to be appearing as witnesses against Mr.

Atkins? Yes.

With all due respect to Lon's friendship for Mr. Atkins, the whole thing took

place right in front of our very eyes.

Seeing is believing.

You know, ma 'am, I wasn't too old when my grandfather took me to see a young

fellow named Harry Houdini who was appearing in our town.

And at an early age, I learned two things. One,

you can't eat a hot dog and cotton candy at the same time.

And two...

Believing everything you see is nearly as bad as having to see everything you

believe.

Joan?

I'm sure glad you could come.

Mine's talked about you often.

Do they really ski in outfits like that these days?

Yeah, and I don't know where it's going to end.

You, uh, you talk to Lyne?

Mr. Atkins, have you hired yourself a good lawyer?

A fellow named Fred Baumiller. He's a local attorney, but I'm sure he's all

need. After all, it's Lyne's word against that of those guests, most of

at the age where I wouldn't trust their eyesight or their judgment.

My doubt of a friend, an employee, would outweigh impartial witnesses.

But they couldn't have seen me kill my wife.

Mr. Jones, I jumped in the water and I don't swim.

I held onto the side of the boat. I reached out my arm to her. I called her

name. Those witnesses, they'll have to tell you that. They'll have to tell you

that they heard me call her name.

Playing the devil's advocate.

You could have been just a man who suddenly came to his senses and realized

he had killed somebody in front of a bunch of people.

Yes, I suppose it could be taken that way, but it wasn't.

None of what they thought they saw happened.

What really happened?

She stood up in the boat She she'd been drinking that morning and I I was afraid

she was gonna fall over the side just that The guests are saying you pushed

out of the boat She pushed away from me mr. Jones what possible motive could I

have for killing Claire mr. Atkins

If I'm going to be working for you, I've got to have complete honesty.

Now, don't tell me that there is no possible motive when you and your wife

constantly quarreling.

And what about that attractive red -headed guest, Miss Renford?

All right.

I'll admit, I probably was paying too much attention to Sharon Renford.

And it's true.

Claire and I did constantly fight.

Mr. Jones, I...

I probably made one of the biggest mistakes of my life when I married her.

But do I look like the kind of a man who would lose his temper to the point that

I would take an oar and brain my wife in full view of all of those people?

What were you doing out in the boat?

I was trying to show Claire where I thought we should put some small cabins

along the shore, trying to convince her that it would pay off.

The outboard had just stalled on me.

What about the oar?

Have you ever tried to take the end of a heavy oar and pass it to someone in the

water? You hold it out and it falls in.

I swung that oar over my head in hopes that it would fall within her reach.

And the oar didn't hit her?

It fell short by at least a foot.

Lon says you didn't know your wife very long before you married her.

Nine weeks to be exact.

I used to go up to Vegas a lot.

Try to relax.

Forget about the lodge business.

We met up there and one thing led to another and... Mr.

Jones, I didn't know I was marrying an alcoholic.

You wouldn't believe the change in that girl.

Well, it looks to me like your case depends on finding a couple of favorable

witnesses.

I'll inquire around. People have had a chance to sleep on what they saw.

Then you'll take the case?

From what I know up to this point,

Would take a man with an uncontrollable temper to do what they say they saw you

do.

Not to mention a very stupid one, and that doesn't describe you.

Well, times change.

For the better.

Fifty percent.

That's a pretty low rate of recovery.

Well, in my experience, we've had about, oh, a dozen drownings.

Recovered just about half of them. It's the currents.

And over in the center of the lake, the bottom slopes down to subterranean

levels.

Scuba dive almost got swept under a ledge down there one time. We gave up

divers.

I can see why this lodge isn't all that popular.

Yeah, fewer people come up here each year.

I know Mr. Atkins bought it cheap, but folks don't figure him for turning it

around.

The bodies that you recover, where do you generally find them?

Well, after a couple of days, some of them show up over in Funeral Creek.

Folks took the calling at that.

It's a neck of water, horseshoes itself around back of those trees.

Right about here is where she went down, isn't it?

Yeah, we should be just about over it.

Cottage over there, does that belong to the lives?

Large property, runs about a quarter mile passing.

A cedar waxwing.

Well, I'm very flattered.

That's a very good likeness.

I'm Barnaby Jones.

We almost met over some postcards this morning in the lobby.

I did think you'd come to visit me a little sooner, Mr. Jones.

Well, I wanted to talk to the guests who had made depositions first.

See whether they still was positive after a night's sleep.

And were they?

I'm afraid so.

I see you're an ornithologist, Miss Renford.

Oh, no, just a casual interest in birds.

I'm a sort of an amateur one, by accident, to outwit Miss Wilhelm.

Miss Wilhelm?

My seventh grade teacher. She was an absolute bird nut.

I used to collect demerits like you just couldn't imagine, so I tried to get on

the good side of her. I signed up for bird studies in my hobby class.

How very clever of you.

Well, to make a long story short...

I had to help her catalog the entire library file of birds, from Aberdevine

Zebra Finch.

Mr. Jones, I don't think when you decided to come and visit me you wanted

discuss birds.

Well, let's just say that I was curious about where you were about the time of

the boating mishap.

I was right here.

I was photographing a flock of wild geese that were flying over at the time.

I wasn't aware there was anything going on in the cove until I heard Mr. Atkins

calling for Claire.

And then I saw him clinging to the side of the boat.

Hey, that is a beautiful piece of equipment. Do you mind if I look at it?

I'll go right ahead.

Telescopic lens.

Very handy.

So, you caught some wild geese flying over, huh?

Yes, I hope they're in focus.

I didn't hear Claire when she screamed for help.

What? You said that you heard Gil Atkins calling her name.

There'd been quite an argument before that loud enough to be heard all the way

over to the lodge.

You're 50 yards away from where the boat was. It seemed to me that your

attention would have been attracted to the boat from the very beginning.

I heard voices naturally, but I didn't pay them any attention.

That's funny, Miss Renford. I took you for a person who had a very curious

nature.

I was busy photographing the geese, concentrating on them.

Scream, struggle, according to the guests, and here you are with the front

seat.

She was a worthless tramp.

Drunken shrew he married.

Do you think I'd give one iota of evidence against Gil?

Whatever happened, she drove him to it.

You saw it all, didn't you, Miss Renford?

You're not going to drag anything out of me in court.

Gil deserves all the help he can get.

You're under a misconception, Miss Renford.

I'm a private investigator employed to help Gil Adkins.

Oh.

Well, I... I'm not even sure what I saw. I'm not even sure it was in focus.

You triggered the camera?

Yes, I wanted to get a shot of that tramp taking the pratfall.

You filmed the whole thing?

I'm positive it was all an accident.

But I'm not adding to any evidence against Gil by giving anyone that film.

You're positive it was an accident?

Gil Atkins is swearing it was an accident.

Doesn't it occur to you, Miss Renford, that something you have on this film

might prove it was an accident?

Couldn't have killed her knowing all those people were watching. It just

make any sense.

Now there, Miss Renford, I couldn't agree with you more. Not making sense.

Do you think I testified to something I didn't see?

Mrs. Handley, your testimony is not being disputed.

It's simply that your answer sounded like conjecture.

Nothing conjecture about telling exactly what I saw with my own two eyes, is

there?

What delaying a daughter -in -law?

Oh, she'll be here.

If she were going to be too late, she'd have called me. I'll rephrase, Mrs.

Hanley. Is there any question in your mind that the distance to the boat and

fading light distorted what you were seeing?

Frankly, I wish there were some question.

It isn't easy to be accusing someone of murder.

Madam, we are not accusing here.

We are examining the circumstances surrounding the death of one Claire

without prejudice.

This is a hearing.

Nothing more.

Thank you, Mrs. Hanley.

Mr. Lon Stevens, it only looked that way.

All we wish is a direct reply.

Did you see Mrs.

Claire Atkins being pushed or hurled from the boat? It looked that way. It

wasn't... Mr. Stevens, either you saw such an act or you didn't.

I couldn't have, and nobody else could have.

It only looked that way.

Did you see that oar strike Mrs. Atkins over the head? Now listen...

Thank you, Mr. Stevens.

They sure shut him up in a hurry.

He's not telling them anything, except he's your friend.

I'd like to call on Mr. Benjamin Reich.

There's no doubt in my mind she was thrown from the boat.

And the oar was picked up and swung at her head.

Did you see that oar strike her head?

Yes.

Did you see Mrs. Atkins then disappear beneath the water?

I did.

Thank you, Mr. Wright.

Now, Your Honor, I'd like to call Mrs. Ryan.

We got her.

Your Honor, before any more witnesses are called, I'd like to call to the

Mr. Barnaby Jones, who wishes to place into evidence some movie film. What kind

of film?

Pictures of the...

boating mishap your honor filmed in its entirety they couldn't possibly have

taken the film

The oar didn't touch.

I think we can open the blinds now.

Mr. Atkins, you're looking at a damn fool. Oh, don't worry about it.

You've made a lot of people very happy, Barnaby.

Congratulations.

I think congratulations might be due Mr. Atkins.

Right over there.

Maybe the cleverest man I ever met. Thank you.

Don't think a thing about it. No, you're being very nice.

I don't think I'll ever trust my eyes.

We did it. We did it.

I can breathe.

I haven't taken a deep breath in months.

Hey, you know. What?

I like Claire's lips a lot better.

Oh, you do?

Oh,

it feels better.

I've got an idea.

Treating a woman like a piece of dirt. Ain't that the truth?

Got it way clean.

Nobody hurt.

Had $250 ,000 on its way.

$250 ,000?

That's a figure.

I don't believe it.

I went over this in detail with Steve Kelton of Solar Insurance, and that's

you got coming.

Well,

I remember an item in the escrow papers about the lodge insurance remaining in

effect, but I never gave much thought to the policy being anything more than the

usual fire and theft and sufficient liability.

The former owners had a lot of other business interests besides the lodge.

had a partnership clause in the policy which protected them in the event of

of services.

Hmm. Kind of an ugly thought that I'll profit by Claire's death.

Claire became your partner not only in marriage, but in fact when you added her

name to the lodge title, a jointly owned venture in the eyes of the law.

That's right, I remember.

At her insistence, everything I had, bank accounts and so on, became jointly

owned.

Poor Claire, she was such an insecure person.

I just thought I'd pass this information along to you, Mr. Atkins.

Well, I appreciate that.

Incidentally, how'd you come by this information?

Making inquiries?

I make a lot of routine inquiries when I'm on a case.

Of course.

Still stunned.

Mr. Jones, I know you're checking out today, and I know that Lon hired you,

I want you to send me the bill.

All right.

I'm planning on doing a little fishing before we leave.

Fishing? For what?

Anything I can catch, Mr. Atkins.

You notice anything?

Not exactly an authority on wild geese.

You're talking about the geese.

I mean the way the picture jiggles.

I didn't know that my hand would be any steadier trying to follow a gaggle of

geese.

Now what?

Know something strange now?

I don't think so.

You're aiming your camera up at some geese. You hear a noise in the cove. You

point your camera down there.

Why no jiggle?

Go look at the people.

Look at the end of the boat and the edge of the picture.

Taken at 50 yards with a telescopic lens handheld by Miss Renford.

And it doesn't vary a hair.

Miss Cameron was locked in position when she took these pictures.

Oh, she wouldn't have had enough time if she thought Claire was going to fall

and wanted to get a picture of it.

If I were to ask Miss Renford, which I don't intend to, she'd say she used a

tripod, which she forgot to mention.

Well, what do we do now?

Now we go fishing.

You know, here's another letter asking a company discount.

Maybe you should change your mind about turning down discount business.

Why is Jones using boat number seven?

That's the one he said he wanted.

If he talks about staying over, you tell him that we have everything under

reservation from tonight on. Understand?

Yeah.

As to Mr. Jones helping you, you don't want him around?

It's not that, Lon.

It's just that I don't want to be reminded of Claire's accident.

Hope I'm not too far away.

Let me see the fish, Dad.

One more.

That's the biggest fishing bug in the world.

Terrific! I got it.

Well, we've got to get packing.

I hope the weather holds for you. Bye -bye.

I have a question to ask you.

I know you think a lot of Gil.

Oh, we've been to a NAM together, Mr. Jones.

I don't think I could have made it without Gil. I wasn't that much of a

You socialize a lot, working for him? Sure.

I mean, drink in the lounge nights, talk over old times.

You must know his wife pretty well.

Claire?

She wouldn't talk to me from the first day she got here.

She'd just turn away like she hated me.

That's strange.

Oh, no, sir. She treated everybody the same.

Your guest, Miss Renford. Did Gil know her before she came up here?

Why, sure he didn't.

Speaking of Miss Renford.

Better be hunting up a new TV jack for her.

Nice seeing you again, Betty.

Nice seeing you, Bob.

Visit us again, Mr. Jones.

Ball's best time for fishing.

I may see you before then.

Like trying to grab a hold of a greased pig. You think you got them, and you got

a handful of air.

Maybe I should pack up and leave tonight.

Oh, no.

That's not necessary.

We don't want to hurry anything.

You talk to the guests, chat with them, say your goodbyes.

How long do you think we'll have to wait?

Shouldn't be more than a week.

In the meantime, I'll put the lodge on the market. We'll get what we can get.

You stay in Palm Springs.

All right.

What are you doing here?

I promised I'd fix her television set.

You're her.

All of a sudden, he's Mr. Efficiency.

It was just a trick.

That's right.

Just a trick.

Nobody got hurt.

And the insurance company can afford it.

When I get the check, there's something in it for you.

That's what it was? The insurance?

Sure, that's all.

$10 ,000 for you.

Take off, live it up. You're not even involved.

You don't know anything about it? You never did.

And we'll call the $10 ,000 a loan from me to you that you never have to pay

back.

Hey, Lon, wait a minute.

You know me better than anybody, Gil.

Do you think I'd ever cheat or steal?

Listen to me.

I'm in this thing deep, and you're flushing me down the drain.

Gil, I'm all mixed up.

I'll say you're mixed up. You're pretty mixed up in the Kong Delta, too.

I know I owe you, Gil.

Owe me?

I wiped your nose for two years.

They took half a mortar shell out of my hide when I pulled you out of that mud

hole. I know, Gil, I know.

See, I can't go along with you anymore.

What do you mean?

I gotta think, Gil.

Think? You never had anything to think with.

Maybe.

Maybe you're right.

But I know enough to stop when it comes to me doing something bad.

I can't look the other way anymore, Gil. It's not like Saigon.

When you were taking supplies out the back door and selling them to the black

marketeers. You don't know what you're talking about. You couldn't make it

honest.

You never could do anything honest.

Always spoiling things with your cheap... tricks. That's you, Gil. Cheap.

cheap.

What?

What?

What?

What?

Instead of another cup of coffee, what you need is a good night's sleep.

Betty.

Last cup of coffee may just... What?

What? Tell me. Bring it in. Look at the length of the shadow of that oar.

It's just about the same size as the oar.

But the length of the shadow of this fishing rod, it's barely half the length

the rod itself.

I'm sorry, Barnaby. I don't get it.

You took these pictures of me about five o 'clock in the afternoon.

Same time, same place, boat angle the same. Everything is the same except the

shadows are shorter.

I was right.

That film was staged.

You must have done it in the early spring when the lodge was closed and the

was still deserted.

They used the same boat, same engine. They even repainted the boat.

Everything was the same.

The only thing they couldn't control was the seasons.

Roses fade and shadows shift by Ebenezer Elliott.

What teacher was that?

Good old Miss Wilhelm.

So now we know.

And that little old statement I made at the hearing about... Optical illusion

still stands.

All those guests at the lodge who thought they were seeing Claire, what

they actually seeing?

They said she was unsocial, that she drank and slept a day away. But they

her. They heard her arguing with Sharon Renford in that cottage.

Everybody heard Claire, but even Lon says he never knew her because she

avoided him.

Are you saying that Sharon and Claire are the same person?

Well, then, if

that's so, why didn't they make it look like an accident from the very beginning

instead of a murder?

Because a heavily insured Claire.

disappearing into the lake with a smell like fraud.

It had been long investigations, and the coroner might not even have certified

death.

No, our Mr. Atkins took the bold approach.

He had eyewitnesses to an apparent murder, so he forced that hearing judge

examine the probable cause of death, never the question of death.

So Claire, or Sharon, swam underwater

to the shore, getting back to the cottage through the brush and the trees.

That's right.

Hello, Steve Kelton, please.

And you can bet that if I hadn't happened on to that stage film, they

found a way to have some deputy sheriff just happen on it. Hello, Steve.

Barnaby Jones.

How would you like to save a quarter of a million dollars on that? Atkin policy.

That's right.

Hold up payment.

Good morning. Hi.

How did it all go with Lon?

What's Lon? Well, he was happy enough to leave last night.

Why shouldn't he be? He's getting $25 ,000.

Is something else wrong?

I heard from the insurance company.

They're investigating further into Claire's background.

Well, let them investigate.

She has no background.

She has no family. She has nothing.

She appeared from thin air, and she's going to disappear into the same thin

Ah.

But that guy from the company said a very interesting thing.

If they don't recover a body from that lake out there, they're not going to pay

off for seven years.

For seven years?

But... What about all those people that saw Claire drone?

Sudden change in their attitude.

Almost overnight.

Maybe something we overlooked.

Or something Jones saw.

Bill, I... Look, this thing's going to start falling apart around us. Maybe we

ought to... You know,

drop it.

Back out.

It's not that important, really, is it?

It's not as if we're losing anything we ever had.

Hey, you know the clothes that you wore with Claire?

Where are they?

They're out back where you told me to bury them.

I think we should get rid of them. Why don't you go get them?

All right.

You know, Gil, no one would ever find them.

The rock covered them perfectly.

Said go get him.

Why, Gil?

Go, Gil.

Go.

Gil, Ron knows.

Ron knows.

If what you're thinking is for them to find Claire's body in the lake, Ron

knows. Yeah, the secret's buried with him.

Yes, ma 'am.

We have your reservation right here.

Just let us know when you'll be arriving.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Is Lon Stevens around?

No, sir. He's no longer with us.

Could you tell me where I can find him?

He left sometime last night for another job.

You'd have to ask Mr. Atkins for any details.

Where is Mr. Atkins?

I believe he's driving one of our guests into the city.

Would that guest be Miss Sharon Renford?

Yes, sir.

How long ago did they leave?

Oh, I'd say about 30 minutes, sir.

Never mind casting off.

I'm betting she's still alive. You're going to need water in her lungs.

Well, now, that is something I didn't figure. You're having a gun.

But I guess it just proves that you never were quite sure of yourself right

the beginning.

It's all over, Mr. Atkins.

A man as smart as you has got to know that once you start swinging wild,

everything goes downhill.

What did you tell the insurance company?

Among other things, to watch your next move.

You do move fast, Mr. Atkins.

Why aren't the sheriff's men here?

As a professional, I have got to admire the way you put everything together,

especially the play acting by Miss Renford here.

She's quite a gal. And the way you use remote control on the camera.

No third party, cuts down expenses.

You didn't call the sheriff, did you?

You weren't that sure of yourself.

Don't you even want to know where you slipped up?

Just a plain little boulder, part of it.

I can't. I can't.

Help me. I can't. What do you know?

There's one thing you didn't have to fake.

Help me.

He killed Long, you know.

That's what I figured when I called the police.

They've got dogs out around the lodge now.

Nobody was supposed to get hurt.

It generally starts out that way.

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