All language subtitles for Perry Mason S05E15 The Case of the Roving River.DVDRip.NonHI.cc.en.CBS

What about tonight?

Can I see you?

Please, Neil, don't
start that again.

I told you on the way up,

it's finished between us.

Because you don't
still care for me?

Or because you're afraid
to stand up to your mother?

Everything all right, Judy?

Oh.

Fine, Uncle Matt.

Neil, drive us to the river.

Yes, Mr. Lambert.

Are you Mr. Farrell?

Yes, Harvey Farrell.

This is my attorney,
Ralph Ordway.

I know Mr. Lambert, of
course, but I don't think

I've met you, Miss, uh...

Judy Bryant.

Bryant. Bryant!

Oh, yes, you own land
around here somewhere.

I happen to own the
land we're standing on,

the land you seem
ready to build on.

Ralph?

Miss Bryant is your neighbor.

Those stakes and
the connecting line

represent the boundary line

between your property
and hers, Mr. Farrell.

The boundary of my
property happens to be

the Rodero River there,
not those stakes there!

I want you get your
men, your equipment

and yourselves off my property.

I have Mr. Farrell's deed of
conveyance to this property,

from the boundary
line to the river.

I'm also familiar with the
trust fund that holds your deed.

Your property goes to that line,

and not to the river.

If anybody's trespassing,

Miss Bryant, why,
I suggest it's you.

Uncle Matt? I tried to
tell you on the telephone,

but you wouldn't listen.

I checked it out at
the courthouse myself.

These men are telling
the truth, I'm afraid.

We could accommodate any
misunderstanding, if you'll just...

It isn't a case of misunderstanding,
it's a case of theft...

You're trying to steal my
property, and I won't let you.

Do you understand?

I won't let you
get away with it.

Unfortunately, your deed is
ambiguous on the key issue.

It doesn't say
whether we're dealing

with a meander line
or a boundary line.

Meander line?

When you survey public
land bordering on a river,

instead of defining each
twist and turn of the river,

the surveyor picks
two prominent points,

or monuments, as they call them,

and marks the course of the
river between those two points

as a straight line,
or a meander line.

David, you've looked
over the documents.

What's the disparity between
the river and the survey line?

Uh, the river is more than
300 feet from the survey line.

Well, there's no
secret about that, Perry.

That 300 feet was mainly marshland
when the river was surveyed.

Well, since that
time, the Rodero River

has dried up a bit and
moved a little, that's all.

The river was my boundary.

Since it's dried up
and moved away,

does that mean
that the new dryland

can be sold, it
doesn't belong to me?

Oh, no, no. You see,

the California
Civil Code provides

that when there is accretion...

The forming of new
land by natural causes...

The new land still belongs to
the original owner of the riverbank.

That's very legal
and complicated.

What do we do?

Della,

prepare the papers
for two suits...

A temporary injunction
to stop construction,

and an action in ejectment
to, uh, recover possession.

Right away, Perry.

David, perhaps you'd like
to hop up to Manzana Valley

and get these suits filed,

then locate Frank Deane.

He's the district forest ranger

and an expert on
repairing accretion.

You can fly back with us today

if, uh, the papers'll
be ready in time.

Mr. Mason, this meander
or express boundary line,

how do you prove which it was?

Well, it's a question of intent.

The success or
failure of your lawsuit

will depend upon the
testimony of the surveyor.

That's why

I asked Mr. Drake to come by.

Miss Bryant,

do you know the name of the
man who made the original survey?

Yes. Amos Bryant.

Amos Bryant?

My stepfather.

Actually, my real
name is Judith Starkey.

Where is your stepfather now?

I don't know.

He deserted us 15 years ago.

I haven't seen or
heard from him since.

Perhaps your mother would
know where to locate him.

You'll have to ask her.

I'll get right on it.

We could make a
settlement and avoid litigation.

Since Farrell bought from
the state certain land...

Land he now believes
to be his own...

And is prepared to
spend considerable money

to develop that
property as a resort area,

he might wish to avoid any
cloud on the title of that land.

No settlement, Mr. Mason.

You see, even before I
found out about Farrell,

I was contacted about my land.

An offer to buy?

Yes.

If I can show clear
title up to the river,

I can sell my land for a
quarter of a million dollars.

♪ ♪

Oh, David, this is Judy's
mother, Chloris Bryant.

David Gideon.

How do you do, Mrs.
Bryant? How do you do?

I'm sure you're angry with
me at the moment, Judy.

I am sorry. I...

I'm afraid I had to be here.

Despite our slight disagreement,

I am the sole executor
for the trust fund

that controls your properties.

You made that quite clear

when you ordered me to
stop seeing Neil Gilbert.

Judy, I did what I
thought was best,

even though you
don't feel that way.

Darling, Neil is a nothing.

I don't like him;
I-I don't trust him.

Didn't you like Amos
Bryant 15 years ago, either,

even though he was the
only father I ever knew?

Judy, please,

get the chip off your shoulder.

After 15 years, you
ought to be willing to admit

that Amos Bryant
was no good, either.

Judy, please, let's
not go on like this.

Mother...

Will you excuse us, please?

David and I have to
see the forest ranger.

Uh, Mr. Deane.

Hey, Seth!

Seth Tyson, come on ashore!

Yeah!

What? I want you to
meet some folks up here.

Miss Bryant, David,
I'd like you to meet

Manzana Valley's one
and only true celebrity,

a real desert rat, Seth Tyson.

Hello. Hello. Howdy.

Seth, uh, there seems
to be some question

about this property here.

I've, uh, been going
over it with Miss Bryant.

Property?

Now, lookee here, young fella,

you done woke me up
with some tomfool nonsense

about worthless real estate?

No, no, no, nothing
like that, Seth.

How long you been
in these parts, Seth?

Oh, 40, 50 years, seems like.

Seth, has...

this Rodero River always
been the same here?

I mean, always in
the same riverbed?

I should say not.

Why...

weren't further than
15, 20 years back,

this here river
was twice as wide.

Clear back as far as them
there stakes back there.

What do we do now, David?

Well, that's up to Paul Drake.

The suits are filed; I think
Mr. Mason can prove accretion.

Now he has to prove intent.

Which means that
Paul has to come up

with the original
surveyor... your stepfather.

Your mother didn't
keep tabs on him,

but she had a pretty good idea

where the detective
might find him.

Yeah, there he
is... Amos Bryant.

Over there at the
table with Paul Drake.

Daddy.

Now, wait a minute,
let me remember.

Susie.

Sure, that's it. Susie.

How are you, baby?

No.

I'll see about rooms
for you and Mr. Bryant.

Oh, Mr. Drake, I...

Eh, don't worry.

I'll leave orders
to have it filled.

And next time you
see your stepdaughter,

her name's Judy, not Susie.

Mr. Bryant, my name's
Ordway, Ralph Ordway.

How are you? Mind
if I buy you a drink?

I'd like to talk to
you for a minute.

Well, sure, sit right
down, sit down.

Waiter?

You called and asked me
to come here alone. Why?

How long have you
been standing there?

A moment or so.

Might've been 15 years.

You're not exactly the stuff

that little girls' dreams
are made of, are you?

These things happen,
Judy, you know that.

I'm just sorry things
turned out the way they did.

Uh, I wanted to talk to
you about your lawsuit

and my testimony.

What about it?

Well, now, don't
get excited, Judy.

That was a meander line I
surveyed, not a boundary.

That land belongs to
you, right up to the river.

It's true, and I can prove it,

even though the field records
were destroyed a year ago.

Well...

it's just that I...

can't go into court and say so.

Why not, if it's the truth?

Well, things have
been pretty rough for me

the past few years.

I'm pretty deeply in
debt to some people

who can make a
lot of trouble for me.

These trials take a lot of time,

and they're written
up in the papers.

They... the people I
owe the money to...

well, they might
be able to find me.

You wouldn't want me to
get in that kind of trouble,

would you?

But I suppose if
your debts were paid,

you'd be able to testify.

Even the truth has
a price, hasn't it?

Well, winning that case

could mean a lot of
money to you, couldn't it?

What are you trying to tell me?

8:00, tomorrow night.

Now, put the money
in a box and wrap it,

so nobody'll know what it is.

Nobody?

Well, there's some people

I wouldn't want to
know about the money...

and you wouldn't
want people to think

that you were paying
me to testify, would you?

You know where that big rock is

down by the bend in the river?

Leave the package
there, and I'll pick it up.

8:00, by the rock

at the bend in the river.

How much must I pay
to liquidate your debts?

Oh, about... $10,000.

Ah, now, don't get upset.

Th-This'll be enough
to straighten me out,

at least for a while.

Oh, yeah.

Whew!

Morning, Miss Bryant.

Mr. Drake. Uncle Matt,

could I see you
alone for a moment?

It's important, please.

All right. Go on
up to the office.

Excuse us, please.

Sure.

Matt...

I need $10,000 in cash,

and I need it right away.

$10,000? But...

Please, Matt, no questions.

Oh, Matt, please?

Judy, you know
what you mean to me.

No, please, I...

I'm not trying to pry.

It's just that I would like
to know if there's anything

I can do to help you.

No, Matt, nobody can help me.

What I'm going to do...

I have to do alone.

Oh, Matt, what is it?

It's your mother's
birthday today.

I'm having a little surprise
party for her down at the inn.

I'd like to have you come.

I'm sorry. I have a date.

All right.

Matt...

I really do have

to be somewhere
else tonight, honestly.

I'll try to join
the party later.

Fine.

Can I borrow a car about 8:00?

I'll have Neil bring
one up to you.

If you want to play golf,
you'd better hurry up.

Coming!

I borrowed some clubs for us.

Well, hi. Hi.

Oh, just a sec.

Okay.

♪ ♪

Isn't Judy having
dinner with us?

She, uh, she may join us later.

Matt, is there something wrong,

something you're not telling me?

No, no, of course not.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

No question about it, Mr. Mason.

It was a homemade
bomb in this box

that killed Amos Bryant.

No accident, that's for sure,

and not much
likelihood a suicide.

Then you're left with
murder, Sheriff Vincent.

Yeah, that's, uh, that's
kind of a specialty of yours

down in Los Angeles,
ain't it, Mason?

But seems like you're
up here on some sort of

a property lawsuit,
ain't that right?

Our chief witness scheduled
in that trial tomorrow

unfortunately happens
to be your murder victim.

They tell me all sorts of
things happen in a murder trial

in the big city...
Things like, oh...

tampering with the evidence,

some smart-alecky lawyer
fussing with the witnesses...

Well, just pulling all
sorts of shenanigans.

Wouldn't want that to
happen up here, Mr. Mason.

No, sir, I wouldn't
like that at all.

Looks like my boys
are all through here.

I... guess I can go.

See you around. Ma'am.

Brr! Can get mighty cold

under that there desert sun.

Yes, sirree.

I, uh... found this
next to the tree.

What do you make of it?

Ah, it's a small
piece of wood shard,

probably from the same box

the sheriff's piece
of wood came from.

The box that held the bomb.

Now, Paul, I'd like
you to search this area.

Anything the sheriff
hasn't picked up, anything

that looks as if it came
from that explosion,

tag it with the time, date,
place and your initials.

Maybe the sheriff had
reason to be worried.

Perry, are we here
on an ejectment action

or on a murder trial?

Della's right, Perry.

The last person in the world

Judy Bryant would kill
would be her stepfather.

After all, his
testimony was worth

a quarter of a
million dollars to her.

Suppose someone starts wondering

whether, in that
ejectment trial,

Amos Bryant had decided
to testify for his stepdaughter

or against her.

I spent a small fortune
having that land resurveyed,

in petitioning the state to
accept the survey findings,

and finally in
purchasing the property.

No, Mr. Mason, I
appreciate your position,

and I certainly want to be fair,

but any delay now would
be prohibitively costly to me.

In obtaining the
restraining injunction,

plaintiff posted a
bond to indemnify you

against such loss.

I'm asking only that there
be no objection tomorrow

to my motion for a
one-week continuance.

One week, Mr. Farrell.

Certainly that can't hurt you.

I don't know.

Come now, Mason.

You're not only
wasting our time,

but you're wasting the
court's time with such a motion.

Isn't the court the
better judge of that?

Your case, such as it was,

rested on the
testimony of one witness,

Amos Bryant.

He's dead.

A week's continuance isn't going

to bring him back to life

No, Mr. Mason,

Ralph's right.

Any delay now would
be financial harassment

your client's bond
couldn't possibly cover.

The answer, I'm
afraid, has to be no.

Seth?

Seth Tyson?

Yeah.

My name's Paul Drake.

I wonder if you'd
join me for a drink.

I'd like to talk to you
for a few minutes.

I understand they've got some
real good lemonade up at the inn.

I'm sorry, son. I got no time.

You see, I'm just about

to take my sporting
constitutional. Your what?

Ain't missed an
afternoon in ten years.

Now, if you feel
you're up to it,

you're welcome to join me.

Look, old sport,
anything you can do...

Stop your jawin',
boy, and come along.

Say, Seth, I understand

you've been around
this valley a long time.

Yep, better than
50 years, I guess.

About, uh...

Say about, uh, oh, 20 years ago,

didn't you help Amos
Bryant survey the river?

Yep.

That's enough practicing.

Right.

Well, come on.
Tee up, young fella.

We ain't got all day.

Uh...

you remember that river survey?

Yep. I remember lots of things.

I remember when Matt Lambert

was just a young
man in these parts.

Same Matt Lambert that
now owns that house on the hill

and the inn and most
of the valley around here.

Biggest developer in
Southern California...

Yes, sir, that's Matt.

Like I said, I knowed him

when he was just out of college.

Yeah, he was a fine boy.

I remember when he went

prospecting for gold
with Pete Starkey.

He was Judy Bryant's
real pa, you know?

Good shot, son.

Now, you take
that Sheriff Vincent.

He used to deliver
milk back then.

Worked for old man
Ordway, Ralph's pa.

Ordway started
farming next to the river.

Ah, no luck at all.

He was a scrawny
kid, that Ward Vincent.

He couldn't hardly
lift them buckets at all.

Well, that broke it, son.

Seth, once and for
all, will you or won't you

testify in court tomorrow
about that river survey?

Is that what you
been hinting at all day?

You should have come right
out and asked me. Well, will you?

Of course, I'd
be glad to testify.

Say, son, you know,
you look all done in.

Come on. I'll buy
you a lemonade.

Well, there's a rapid
fall near the source

as there is in the
Rodero River headwaters

above Manzana Valley.

The river will carry
down large stones,

rocks, even boulders.

You, uh, start out
with what appears to be

a newly formed sand bar of sorts

and end up with a considerable
area of new land in time.

New land which makes it appear

that the river has
changed its course.

You personally examined
both the river and the land,

now the subject of litigation?

Yes, sir.

As an expert, what
conclusion have you come to

concerning that land?

Oh, it was unquestionably
created by accretion;

the gradual addition of

new land on old land

within the past 20 or 30 years.

There ain't no
question of it, no, sirree.

That's no boundary line.

That there line's
a meander line.

And when you made that
survey with Amos Bryant,

the line was indicated
in courses and distances.

How far was it from the river?

It weren't from
the river, mister.

It was plumb on it.

Why, that there river ran a
good 300 feet further east

than it does now.

Thank you, Mr. Tyson.

Your witness, Mr. Ordway.

Your Honor, may I
have a moment, please?

Certainly, Mr. Ordway.

Mr. Ordway, the
court is waiting.

Yes, Your Honor, excuse me.

But we had requested
certain information

from the sheriff's office,

information that would
have considerable bearing

on the unexpected testimony
of the witness Seth Tyson.

If you have that testimony
now, would you please proceed?

Yes, Your Honor.

Amos Bryant made that
survey in March, 1940.

That is right, isn't it, Seth?

Oh, '40, '41, or...

I ain't too good on dates.

You know, years got a habit
of sort of sliding by pretty fast.

Even in a hospital?

What are you getting at?

You were in a hospital
down in Los Angeles,

admitted the last
week in February, 1940.

Now, look here, Ralph...

Not only didn't you
help Amos Bryant,

but you weren't
even in the county.

When that survey was made,

you were getting a
broken hip treated

for six weeks in a hospital.

Counsel will approach the bench.

You, too, Sheriff Vincent.

My court has been badly used

in what appears to be a
flagrant attempt to pervert justice.

I assure the court I
was totally unaware

of the witness' background.

Sheriff, how long have you known
about this hospital confinement?

Well, we just got the report
in not more than an hour ago.

Just after Mr. Ordway
here sent word

asking what we
had on Seth Tyson.

The kind of a man Seth is,

wandering around the
desert by himself... I...

I guess nobody'd ever known
about that six-week stretch

he put in the hospital.

Only now, Judge,
we've got a killing.

So, we started checking
everybody out pretty thorough.

Your Honor,

we need time to review
the facts in this case.

I request a 15-day continuance.

Just a minute, Judge.

Uh, like I said, we've
been doing some checking,

and we've come up
with some evidence,

a good deal of evidence,

including this $10,000 we found,

wrapped up in a scarf
belonging to Miss Judy Bryant.

No. That can't be!

Well, there's that

and a lot of other questions
we'll want some answers to,

so it looks to me like maybe
Mr. Mason here is going

to need a lot more than
a 15-day continuance.

You see, I have a warrant here

for the arrest of
Miss Judy Bryant

for the murder of Amos Bryant.

No.

No! No!

I don't understand it.

Why did Seth perjure
himself for me?

The way Seth tells it, he liked
you, and he wanted to help you.

He helped you all right,

by giving you a
motive for murder.

A motive?

With his testimony,

you no longer needed
Amos Bryant's testimony.

Oh.

You admitted you
borrowed the $10,000

to pay your stepfather's debts.

Instead of the money, Amos
Bryant was left a lethal bomb.

And the $10,000 was found by
the sheriff, wrapped in your scarf

and hidden in the bottom
of your golf bag at the inn.

Mr. Mason, I swear to you

that I put the money in
the box I left by the river.

I did not put it in my golf bag.

You denied me the chance to help

by acting without my knowledge.

Agreeing to give the money to
Amos Bryant was not only clumsy,

it was unnecessary and
stupid. Now, why did you do it?

I don't know.

Everything was going wrong.

I was trying to forget Neil,

but he-he wouldn't be forgotten.

My stepfather
turned out to be...

to be...

Mr. Mason, I thought
I was doing right,

but I was doing wrong.

Judy...

how did you happen to
own that land by the river?

Amos bought it for me.

Sort of a wedding present
when he married my mother.

Your stepfather made the
down payment on that land,

but he never contributed so
much as one other penny toward

its purchase. What?

Your mother paid
for that land herself.

It was his fault,
not your mother's

that he ran out on both of you.

But I guess you never
wanted to believe that.

Judy, you're a young,
attractive, and very nice girl

who's made independence
the prime thing in her life.

If this crazy world of ours
isn't to become unglued,

we'll all have to face
our need for one another.

Don't turn away from help, Judy.

Right now, you
need it very badly.

♪ ♪

Well, that sure doesn't
leave much time for somebody

to come along and substitute
the bomb for the money.

No, it doesn't, does it, Paul?

Wait a minute. That
could only mean, then,

that somebody
substituted the box earlier,

before Judy even
brought it out here.

According to Judy,

from the time she wrapped
the money in that box

until she left it here,

the box was constantly
in her possession.

But that's impossible.

She was playing golf
with me all afternoon.

I know, but think back, David.

When you called for her,
she had the box with her.

She put it in her golf bag.

When you brought her back,
she took the box upstairs

to her room, put it
in her dresser drawer.

Now, until she
delivered the box here,

she never left her room

nor nobody came to her room.

Doesn't that put you right back
where you started, Mr. Mason?

I mean, the substitution had to
be made right here by the river,

regardless of how
little time there was.

The way the lab
men reconstructed it,

that was a real homemade bomb.

Sort of an amateur job
anybody could slap together

after reading up on it.

I see. Now, about
the serial numbers

and the marks on
the money wrapper.

Can you identify them, Sheriff?

Yes. These are off of the
$10,000 we found hidden

in the bottom of the
defendant's golf bag.

Thank you.

Your witness, Counselor.

Sheriff, let me go back
over your testimony

covering this homemade
bomb that killed the decedent.

Now, the bomb was inside

one of the, uh,
Gracious Lady gift boxes.

That's right.

Was the explosive mechanism
of the bomb so constructed

that someone could have
taken the cash out of the gift box

and replaced it with the bomb?

No. No. From what
the lab men found,

the glue and stuff, that bomb...

That bomb was
built right into the box.

Well, like I said.

I was camping out that
night near the reservoir,

and I heard what they said.

Amos Bryant
blackjacked that girl

into persuading him
to agree to pay him

$10,000 if he'd
testify in her favor.

Now, is this before or after
the defendant became aware

that you could testify for her
concerning the river property?

Oh, she talked to
me about the lawsuit

before she met Amos that night.

And despite that fact,

the defendant did
not turn down this,

uh, this request for
the payment of money.

No. She agreed to pay.

Said she'd bring him the money
in cash at 8:00 the next night

and leave it near the big
rock at the bend in the river.

I want to remind
you, Mr. Lambert,

as a hostile witness,

you will answer
either "yes" or "no."

Now, once again,

was that $10,000
you gave Judy Bryant

the same $10,000
found in her golf bag?

Yes.

That was in the morning.

Now, on the afternoon
of the murder,

did you have occasion to
go into the defendant's room

and did you there see her

wrapping one of the
Gracious Lady boxes

in wrapping paper?

What I saw was none of your...

Yes.

And did you see
and can you identify

the person you saw driving
away from the site of the murder

moments before the explosion?

Yes, sir.

It was the defendant,

Miss Judy Bryant.

The night of the murder,
there was a birthday party

for the defendant's
mother, Mrs. Bryant.

Because of our lawsuit,

I felt that my presence
there might be embarrassing.

I, uh, take it you went
out then, Mr. Farrell.

Yes, I decided to
drive out along the river

and take another look
at the site of the resort

I had planned to build.

Such a beautiful, clear night.

And did you go out there?

Yes. I parked across the river
to get a better vantage point,

and I studied the area
through my binoculars.

Now, will you tell the court,
please, what you saw that night

across the river,
through your binoculars?

I saw the defendant,
Miss Bryant,

uh, arrive, place her
package and leave.

I saw the decedent, Amos Bryant,

subsequently
retrieve that package.

I saw the district
ranger arrive,

and I witnessed the explosion.

Counsel for the defense
will no doubt attempt

to create the belief

that after the defendant
left the package,

presumably containing the money,

someone else appeared and
substituted the bomb package

before the decedent arrived.

Now, Mr. Farrell, this
is of vital importance.

I ask you, did you
have that package,

left by the defendant,
in constant observation

until the arrival
of the decedent?

Yes, I did.

Nobody showed up in that area

between the
defendant's departure

and the arrival of the decedent.

The package Amos
Bryant picked up,

the one that exploded
and killed him,

was the identical package
left there by the defendant.

Judy Bryant was
enticed by the possibility

of a quarter of a million
dollar sale of her property.

But one man
could ruin that sale.

A man who would
either lie or tell the truth

only in relation to the amount
of money he was paid to do so.

And Heaven only
knows how large a share

of the quarter million

Amos Bryant would
have ultimately demanded.

It is the contention of the
prosecution, Your Honor,

that in fear of this man,

and in realization
that Seth Tyson

would testify on her behalf,

this woman arranged a secret
meeting with the decedent,

and then did, deliberately
and with premeditation,

prepare and deliver the
bomb that killed Amos Bryant.

Your Honor, we ask that
Judy Bryant be bound over

for trial in superior court

and charged with
murder in the first degree.

It would appear to me

that the prosecution
has satisfactorily

made out a prima facie case.

And I'm inclined to so rule.

Mr. Mason, do
you wish to present

a defense at this time?

Your Honor, with
the court's indulgence,

if I'm given permission to
recall just a few witnesses,

I'm prepared to waive
a formal defense.

No objections, Your Honor.

You may recall your
witnesses, Mr. Mason.

District Ranger
Frank Deane, please.

Mr. Deane,

I previously placed
in your possession,

tagged and identified, two
separate sets of exhibits.

The exhibits on this
tray, is that correct?

Yes, sir.

Now, you had certain tests
made on these exhibits.

Would you please
tell this court where

and by whom these
tests were made?

At the Forest
Products Laboratory,

Forest Service, United States
Department of Agriculture,

Madison, Wisconsin.

The tests were performed by
myself and the laboratory staff.

Your Honor, this material was
discovered by Mr. Paul Drake,

Mr. David Gideon,
Sheriff Vincent and by me.

The prosecutor has
already stipulated

as to its authenticity
and to its source.

May I continue my
questioning before, uh,

entering them as evidence?

Proceed.

Now, Mr. Deane.

This first set of exhibits was,

uh, found at the
scene of the murder.

Would you describe
this material, please?

Uh, remnants of the
wooden partitions placed

in the bomb that
killed Amos Bryant.

They were used to
confine the dynamite

to the middle compartment
and to fix the dry cells in place.

They're southern
pine, rotary cut.

Three-sixteenths
of an inch thick.

Portions of a, uh,
vegetable crate slat.

Anything else
that is distinctive

about these pieces of wood?

Yes, they still contain residue

of excessive amounts
of glue used in,

uh, fastening the partitions
and the battery supports.

All right, Mr. Deane,

let's go now to this
second set of exhibits.

Uh, these from source X.

Have you examined
this piece of wood?

It's a piece of, uh,
vegetable crate slat.

The pieces of wood
in both sets of exhibits

were cut from the same
identical piece of wood

that you handed
me from source X.

And this container of glue,

how does it compare with
the glue found inside the bomb?

The glue inside the bomb
came from this container

given to me from source X.

From your
examinations, Mr. Deane,

would it be safe to
say that the bomb

that killed Amos Bryant
was put together at source X?

I would say so, yes, sir.

Source X, Your Honor,
is a private workshop

belonging to one of the
witnesses in this case.

And I should now like
to recall him to the stand.

Yes, it's my workshop
at the golf course,

but that doesn't mean
that I made the bomb.

Who else had access
to that workshop?

Anyone.

You got in, didn't you?

But is it not a fact that you
keep the workshop locked?

That you've issued
standing orders

that no one is to go into it?

All right, I keep it locked,

and I keep everybody else out.

As golf pro,
that's my privilege.

As a golf pro, Mr. Gilbert,
let me ask you something.

Do, um, golfers
using caddy carts

to hold their bags and clubs

always keep those
carts close by them?

That depends upon the player.

On your course, for instance,

are there fairways
with dogleg turns

where players chip
up to the greens?

Take their putters
only, leaving the carts

on the fairways to be picked
up on the way to the next tee?

It's possible.

So, the carts are
actually unattended

on two or three of the
holes for periods of up to,

uh, ten minutes or more?

Yes, it's possible.

Mr. Gilbert,

how long have you
worked at the inn?

About, uh, three years.

And before that?

I was a touring golf pro

on a professional
tournament circuit.

A highly successful one.

You never did lose your

well-publicized
Gilbert touch, did you?

No. I...

I just gave up the
professional circuit, that's all.

Just gave it up.

And what was your
last tournament?

The Reno Invitational, Calcutta.

In which you were the
prohibitive odds-on favorite.

But you bogeyed the
16th and 17th holes,

then four-putted the
18th for a double-bogey.

Despite the odds and the
fantastic sums of money

bet on you, you
only placed second

in the tournament,
isn't that right?

Yes.

My investigation indicates
the Reno gambling syndicate

lost a fortune on you.

Also that you bet heavily
surreptitiously on yourself.

But how did you
bet, Mr. Gilbert?

How did you bet on yourself?

To win or to lose? What
are you talking about?

I'm talking about how and why

the syndicate forced
you out of competitive golf.

And how and why they reached out

to use you after
you went to work

here in Manzana Valley.

I don't know what you mean.

Oh, I think you do.

I think you know all
about the syndicate.

I think you know
all about its plan

on building a swank and
respectable resort hotel

on the same property
Mr. Farrell purchased.

You were being pressured by
the boys, so you bribed Seth Tyson.

You didn't know about
Tyson's hospital stay,

and Tyson couldn't know a
murder investigation would reveal it.

So, he went along with you

when you bribed him to lie

about having helped
Amos Bryant with his survey.

No. Why should I do that?

To keep Mr. Farrell
from buying the property.

So you could deal
with Judy Bryant.

It was you, Mr. Gilbert, acting
as front man for the syndicate,

it was you who had
someone call Judy Bryant

and make her that quarter
of a million dollar deal.

No, no.

No?

The day before the ejectment
suit on Judy Bryant's property,

you withdrew $5,000
from your bank.

That same day, Seth Tyson
deposited $5,000 in his bank.

Now, do you deny you gave

Seth Tyson that $5,000?

I never attached any
significance to it before,

but now that you ask, yes.

I remember Neil did approach
me about a group of men

who were interested in buying
some choice land in the valley.

I remember being very
angry about who they were.

Those men from Reno.

That's exactly what
I wanted to know.

Now, you, uh, play golf,
don't you, Mr. Lambert?

I do.

On the afternoon of the
day Amos Bryant was killed,

while Judy Bryant was
playing golf with David Gideon,

were you by any chance
on the golf course?

Why... why, yes, I was.

And Mr. Lambert, did you by
any chance know Amos Bryant

before Paul Drake brought
him back to Judy's trial?

Yes, I've known him
for about 20 years.

I met him when he was
making the survey of the river.

Are you in any kind of
financial difficulty, Mr. Lambert?

Trouble?

No, not really. I...

A little overextended, perhaps,
but, uh, nothing very serious.

Then you don't stand
to lose every cent

you've personally tied
up in Manzana Valley?

Uh, no. I... I recently
acquired a half interest

in a group of
mineral land leases,

uh, for land that is
rich in lime deposits.

Now, a large chemical company
is giving us half a million dollars

for the mining privileges.

That's more than
enough to tide me over.

I'm working on closing
the deal right now.

Mr. Lambert, why didn't
you close the deal before?

Was it because you had to
wait until Amos Bryant was dead?

Amos Bryant, alive or dead,

never had the
remotest connection

with me or my business affairs.

I couldn't settle it
because it was simply

impossible before
now, that's all.

Who is Pete
Starkey, Mr. Lambert?

A friend... my best friend.

For years we... we prospected
in this valley in the old days.

Pete Starkey was also
Chloris Bryant's first husband,

the father of Judy Bryant?

Yes.

Mr. Lambert, your half interest
in the mineral land leases,

from whom was it purchased?

Why, from Seth, Seth Tyson.

Sure, I sold Matt a half
interest in the lease I owned.

Glad to.

Why, this here valley'd
be nothing but raw desert

if it weren't for the
likes of Matt Lambert.

How and when did you acquire

this particular mineral
lease, Mr. Tyson?

Part of an old
California Spanish grant.

Picked it up a long
time ago from the estate.

Didn't cost but
peanuts in them days

to latch on to a
99-year lease on land

that was worse than worthless.

Got ahold of this one in, uh...

oh, late April 1939 or '40.

Just after I got out of
that Los Angeles hospital.

You, uh, purchased the lease

because of the lime
deposits in the land?

Nope.

Thought I found me a gold mine.

Only trouble was, didn't have
no gold on it, not an ounce.

As far as them
lime deposits go, I...

I didn't know about them

till just about a
couple of months ago.

You mentioned to my
investigator, Mr. Paul Drake,

that you knew Matt Lambert
when he and Pete Starkey

prospected together
in the good old days.

I gather then,

you also knew Pete Starkey.

Sure, I knew Pete real well.

Yes, as a matter of
fact, in checking back,

I discovered it was you
who found Pete Starkey

in the desert... Found
him dead and buried him.

Exactly when was that?

Yeah, well, let's see now...

Ooh...

Yeah, February 1940.

Poor old Pete must have fallen.

Been dead for days
when I found him.

Just after that, I went
to that hospital in L.A.

You were there from
the last week in February,

after you found and
buried Pete Starkey,

through the first week in April,

after which you found

and purchased the
mineral land lease.

That's right.

Right and, uh, most convenient.

Ms. Chloris Bryant,
would you stand, please?

And would you please
hold up that letter?

Now, that's a letter from
Pete Starkey to his wife,

telling her he'd found

or thought he'd found
a rich gold claim.

And telling her of a surveyor

who helped him mark out
the land he hoped to lease.

That letter is dated March,
1940, a month after you said

you found him dead in
the desert and buried him.

A month after.

Yeah, there must
be some mistake.

You may sit down, Mrs. Bryant.

You killed Starkey,
stole the survey

and then purchased that
lease in your own name.

Now, I checked
deeper into those old

Los Angeles hospital records.

You were admitted
February, 1940,

for a treatment of an old
hip break that had to be reset.

You were discharged

April, 1940, it's true, that's
what the records show.

But it's also true, as
one of the old nurses

and a former resident
at the hospital will testify,

that you were permitted
to leave the hospital

before your hip was put in a
cast for a period of ten days.

Ten days during the
month of March, Mr. Tyson.

Yeah.

For nothing.

For a lease that was worthless.

But later, when the land
turned out to be really valuable,

you had to find Amos Bryant

and somehow settle
with him, is that correct?

Well, I... I arranged
for Farrell to find out

about the meandered
river property.

And I knew that if he bought it,

Judy would... Judy would fight.

And I felt sure that would
bring Amos out in the open.

Only trouble was... how
to settle him for good.

So's he or nobody would have

any reason to get
too curious about me.

And then you saw the
opportunity to settle him for good...

at Judy Bryant's expense.

I heard Amos
blackmailing the girl.

So, I knew how, when and
where she was gonna pay him off.

I watched her from then on.

Now, making that
bomb and changing it

for the box of money
out in the golf course,

that was easy.

But then I had to
make sure that...

everyone would figure
she had a reason...

That she really
would kill the man

who could hand her a
quarter of a million dollars.

I had to fix that and I did.

I let Neil Gilbert bribe me,

so she wouldn't
need Amos to testify.

It almost worked.

Almost.

Yes, sir, I killed once before.

I killed Pete Starkey.

Yes, and I killed Amos Bryant.

The land is unquestionably
yours, Miss Bryant.

This agreement Mr. Mason drew up

not only compensates
you adequately

but also in a very real
sense, makes you my partner.

The property
doesn't belong to me.

It belongs to my mother.

But your mother
wanted the agreement

in both your names, Judy.

Mother, what am I
gonna do with you?