All language subtitles for Perry.Mason.125.The.Case.Of.The.Empty.Tin.(Dvdrip)

"Personal. Wanted.

"Information
concerning the daughter

"of a man named Hocksley

"who was a partner in
certain adventures in China

"during the years
1931 through 1956.

"The daughter is
approximately 30 years old."

You must forgive, my dear.

My eyes are not
what they used to be.

Here, let me
read it, Mr. Lowell.

Go ahead, my dear.

"To claim estate in
excess of $2,200,000,

"proof of identity and
evidence of paternity required.

"Contact Elston Carr,

"133 North Remuda Drive,
Los Angeles, California.

"Warning! Impostors
will be prosecuted

"to the full extent of the law."

$2 million.

Hocksley. An unusual name.

How many women
named Hocksley your age

do you think there
are in San Francisco?

Just one, Miss
Hocksley. Just one.

You.

It would not be fair
if we did not try, huh,

Miss Hocksley?

More than $2 million.

Good morning, Becky.
Morning, Mr. Neil.

Any messages for me?

Yes, uh, a Miss
Gladstone phoned at 9:15,

and a Miss Walker
a few minutes later.

At 10:00, some woman called,
but she refused to leave her name.

Ah, me, what did I do to
deserve such popularity?

I often wonder.

Now, don't you worry, Becky.
You're the only one I love.

Now, what else is on the agenda?

Um, a Miss Doris Hocksley
is waiting to see you.

Another Hocksley? Mmm-hmm.

All right. Let's
get it over with.

That's quite a history. What
did your father look like?

I don't remember.

I just have kind of
an impression of him.

I was only a child
the last time I saw him.

What was his given name? Adam.

Your mother's maiden name?

Wickford. Octavia Wickford.

My birth certificate
is in here. I'm 29.

Wedding license, a photostat.

Rent receipts, Denver,

San Francisco.

This is all the evidence
you have, no photographs?

We never had a
photograph of him.

No letters? My mother
used to get letters from him,

but after she died he
didn't write any more.

Oh. I got a package from China.

Peiping. Just a few years ago.

A book and a note.

The note was written
on the back of a picture.

Mr. Neil, did he die in Peiping?

Adam Hocksley died there.

His note sounded
almost like goodbye,

as though he knew
he was going to die.

Something about a partner
double-crossing him, turning Judas.

Was that true?

Miss Hocksley,
where is that picture?

Where did you get
all this information?

These papers, who
supplied them to you?

What do you mean? Nobody.

Why are you talking like this?

I believe you're a fraud.

Oh, you have what looks
like a well-documented

case, very carefully
put together,

but, uh, there are
two things missing,

two pieces of evidence which
would prove beyond a doubt

that you are Adam Hocksley's
daughter. You have neither of them.

If you'll let me talk
to Mr. Carr, he'll...

He'll turn you right over
to the district attorney.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry you made the
trip down here for nothing.

Miss Hocksley.

If you had that
additional evidence,

your claim would be foolproof.

Well, I can't think
what it could be.

Well, I don't know
specifically what it is either,

but I know where the
answer is. My uncle's safe.

So near and yet so far.

Seems a shame, doesn't it?

Mr. Neil... I wonder.

I was just thinking,

a girl like you could probably
find more use for $2 million

than the Havermeyer Foundation.

The Havermeyer Foundation?

Yes. That's where all
my uncle's money goes

in the event he doesn't
locate the right Hocksley girl.

Isn't that a horrible thought?

All that money going to a
cold, heartless foundation.

Almost makes me want to gamble.

How do you feel about gambling?

I don't think I understand.

Are you, uh, familiar with
the game of draw poker?

Yes.

Well, suppose, and
mind you, I say suppose

that the dealer
were friendly to you

and managed to deal
you the winning hand.

Would you feel
inclined to tip him?

Just as a matter of curiosity,

how much would the dealer
think his services were worth?

Half the pot.

Half of $2 million?

Well, without the dealer,
your hand is worthless.

You think it over,
Miss Hocksley.

And if you decide to sit in
the game, you let me know.

Well, that's an interesting
story, Miss Hocksley.

You say he didn't stop you or
correct you as you went along?

No, Mr. Mason, but
I got the impression

he thinks I'm the woman
Mr. Carr is looking for.

Why didn't he let
you talk to Mr. Carr?

He said the answer to
that was in Mr. Carr's safe.

Della, get Elston Carr
on the phone, will you?

Morning, Perry. You left
word you wanted to see me?

Yes. Paul Drake,
this is Doris Hocksley.

How do you do, Miss
Hocksley? Mr. Drake.

'Course, he might have figured
you had these papers duplicated.

Any good photographer
could do that.

Perry, I have Rebecca Gentrie
on the line, Mr. Carr's secretary.

She won't put us through.
All right. I'll talk with her.

Hello, Miss Gentrie?
This is Perry Mason.

Yes, Mr. Mason?

I understand Elston Carr is undertaking
the disposition of Adam Hocksley's estate?

Do you represent a claimant?

Well, no, not at this time.

Hold on, please.

When are you leaving
for San Francisco?

Today, on the
1:30 flight. I have to.

I've already taken
one day off from work.

What? He wants to see me?

All right, Miss Gentrie.

No. Tomorrow will
not be convenient.

Uh, what about this afternoon?

2:30 will be fine.
We have a date.

If I only knew you were going
to represent me, Mr. Mason.

Well, we'll have
to look into it a bit.

Please, I don't know
where else to go.

I just don't know what to do.

Well, we'll see.

I'll be in touch.

Mr. Neil. Miss
Street, Mr. Mason.

It's an honor, Miss
Street. Thank you.

A privilege, Counselor.
How do you do?

Please excuse the extreme
heat, the reason for it is...

Me! I'm the reason for it!

Mr. Carr, this is
Mr... I know who it is!

It's Perry Mason, the
lawyer. Who's she?

Miss Street is my
confidential secretary.

Get her out of here! I
don't want any notes taken.

I don't want any blackmail.

I'll go along with you, Della. It's
getting a little warm in here for me, also.

Mason? Mason!

What claptrap
trickery are you up to?

What are you
afraid of, Mr. Carr?

I understand human nature.

I know what people do to each
other when there's a dollar concerned.

I appreciate the fact that
you have to be careful

in disposing of the
Hocksley estate, but...

That's where you're
wrong, Mason.

Legally, there is
no Hocksley estate.

As far as the law is concerned,
that money belongs to me. All of it.

Adam Hocksley's daughter
isn't entitled to a penny.

I'm simply going to give her
the money as a personal gift.

So, the question of an
executor or administrator

doesn't enter the
picture at all. Not at all.

That way you can avoid all probate
proceedings and inheritance taxes.

We're going to
get along just fine,

as long as we
understand each other.

I'm still not sure
I understand you.

Because I'm
suspicious and cynical?

For 25 years, the three
of us were partners.

Myself, John Lowell, and Adam
Hocksley. The Orient was our home.

We trafficked in guns, in
ammunition, information.

A hundred times we
saved each others' lives.

We had it made, Mason!
A fortune in U.S. banks!

We were ready to call it quits,
when one of us turned Judas.

Which one of you? John Lowell.

Judas Lowell.

He had Adam Hocksley and me
turned over to the Chinese communists.

They trapped us in Peiping
when the war broke out in Korea.

Adam was killed. I was wounded.

Gow Loong saved me. I think...

I think Gow Loong hates
John Lowell as much as I do.

I Search. I look.
I find someday.

I think Mr. Lowell
in States now.

Well, anyway, why I wanted
to see you, Mason, here.

My nephew, Alan Neil, has been
helping me find Adam Hocksley's daughter.

I need someone like
you to do the job right.

Well, take a look at the check.

$10,000. Just a retainer.

Which brings me to the
reason I wanted to see you.

A young woman wants
me to represent her

as a claimant to
the Hocksley estate.

What?

Who's she? Miriam Hocksley?

No, Doris Hocksley.

Yes, I spoke to Doris
Hocksley this morning.

She's just another claimant.

Just another fraud, you mean.

Well, tell her you're
working for me now.

I think what happened in Peiping
corroborated her story, at least in part.

What? She had a
story about Peiping?

Well, she claimed to have received
a package from there, and a note.

What was in the package?

A book, she said, but
she didn't have it with her.

Did she say what
kind of a book? No.

No photograph? No.

But she also claimed the note
said something about a Judas.

She didn't have that either.

But she did have
other documentation.

If it's a question of which,

I think I prefer to
believe Miriam Hocksley.

Miriam Hocksley must
be another claimant?

That's why I need you.
Better work for me immediately.

I'm sorry, I can't.

What? What do
you mean, you can't?

Well, I may represent
Doris Hocksley.

In the event I do, her interests
might conflict with yours.

Could you get me Miriam
Hocksley's address?

After that, my mother remarried.

My father's name
was Adam Hocksley.

He had a biblical turn of
mind. He called me Miriam.

All I know is that he
died when I was a child.

You know, I'm not just frantic

to get my hands on this
Hocksley inheritance,

but if I'm really
entitled to it, I want it.

Well, that's understandable.

May I ask what proof or
documentation you have?

Well, I know that Mr. Carr is looking
for a book and a picture of some sort,

and I remember
something very vaguely

about a book and a
picture of my father's.

So, I telephoned my
housekeeper in Palm Beach,

and she's air-mailing
some books from my home.

I see.

Then there are some birth certificates
and, uh, handwriting specimens.

That's about all, I guess.

Well, I'm impressed.
It's all very effective.

Artless, honest, aboveboard.

But what do you think?

I don't know.

Hello? DELLA: Perry?

Is that you, Della?
Where are you?

Home. Listen, service just got a
phone call from Elston Carr's secretary.

She's frantic and
wants to talk to you.

Shall I give her your
private number? Frantic?

Hysterical. They said she said
something about a shooting.

All right. Give her the number.

Right.

Hello, Miss Gentrie?

Mr. Mason?

Mr. Mason, what shall I do?

I've got him trapped
inside Mr. Carr's study.

Got who trapped?

I don't know.

I just came home,
and I heard a shot.

It came from inside the study.

I locked the door
on him, Mr. Mason.

What shall I do now?

You mean Elston
Carr has been shot?

Yes. I saw him
sprawled on the floor.

There's somebody
else in there with him.

I think he's dead.
What shall I do?

Call the police.

Get a hold of Lieutenant
Tragg, homicide division.

Do you hear me?

Yes.

Yes.

I'll be right over. I'll get
there as soon as I can.

Come out with your
hands over your head!

That's the works?

Here are his personal
effects, Lieutenant.

Yeah, he didn't have much
on him, did he? No, sir.

Well, that's an
old baby, isn't it?

17L,

42R,

13L and 4R.

You know, that shouldn't
be opened except

in the presence of an
inheritance appraiser.

I don't intend to
remove a thing.

You've checked this
dial for fingerprints?

It's been wiped clean.

This mean anything to you?

You mean the number 13? Yeah.

Well, um, what does it mean
to you, Tragg? The combination.

The combination of the
safe is 17 left, 42 right,

13 left, and 4 right.

If anyone had that combination

and Carr surprised that person
while trying to open the safe,

that person could have
been forced to shoot Carr.

Well, if that
surmise is correct,

you need only to turn right
from 13 until you reach 4.

That's right, Perry.

Big safe like that and all
that's in it is an empty tin.

It's not reasonable.

Where did you get this
Bible and this photograph?

I asked you something,
Miss Hocksley.

Shock, Tragg. She
needs medical attention.

She'll get it.

Okay, Sanchez,
take her downtown,

and book her after the
medic looks her over.

Where are the other
members of this household?

The help come in by the day.

Mr. Neil and Gow
Loong and I live here.

Mr. Neil has been out all
evening. I don't know where.

Gow Loong disappeared
just before dinner.

You stayed in?

No. I didn't want
to leave Mr. Carr,

but he insisted I
go to the theater.

To a show I had tickets for.

And, uh, you left him alone?

Yes.

When I returned, I saw
this light on from outside.

It's not unusual, he
often works late in here.

I let myself into the
house and came upstairs,

then I heard the shot.

There was someone
moving around in here.

I couldn't see who it was,

but I could see Mr. Carr's
body on the floor,

and I closed the
door and locked it.

Why? Carr might
have still been alive.

No, no.

From the glimpse I had of
him, I was sure he was dead.

Then I, I called Mr. Mason.

Oh, so, she called you instead of
the police. That's very interesting.

Any idea where
this stuff came from?

Perhaps Doris Hocksley
could have brought them here.

May I see that Bible?

Notice how the
corners are rounded?

Well? Perhaps it, uh...

Fits in this tin.

Hi, Perry.

Morning, Paul. Anything?

A little.

It seems all the action was down
here, not up in San Francisco.

We had our share. Go ahead.

Well, Doris Hocksley is
in trouble, financial trouble.

She has a job that pays
her 60 bucks a week,

out of which she
takes home about $48.

She's a widow,
married name's Jackson.

Also, she has a 6-year-old
daughter in an institution.

What kind of an institution?

One of those places for crippled
children. The kid had polio.

Hopeless? Doris keeps hoping.

Anyway, that costs her $100 a month,
which is about one third of the usual cost.

They have her listed
under extreme hardship.

$100 a month out
of her $48 a week.

How did you find all this?

Records. Doris Hocksley never
checked out of her Los Angeles hotel.

Never went back
to San Francisco.

She said she had some
things that came from there.

Wait a minute. Maybe she did.

There's an old guy
that runs a photo shop

next door to the apartment
building where Doris lives.

Now, he asked the manager
for a key to Doris' apartment.

Said she had called long
distance from Los Angeles

and wanted some
things from her bedroom.

He runs a photo shop?

Yeah. His name's Lowell. Lowell?

Della, bring in your
notes on Doris Hocksley.

Did you talk to this old man?

No. He wasn't there. Didn't come
back all afternoon and all that evening.

Della, Elston Carr said
there were three partners,

himself, Adam
Hocksley, and who else?

"John Lowell." John Lowell.

Well, how are
you feeling, Doris?

All right, now. Thank you. Good.

Would you care to
talk a little while? Yes.

You told Lieutenant Tragg
that Elston Carr telephoned you,

asked you to come to his home.

That no one answered your
ring, but the front door was open.

When you got to the library,

Mr. Carr was dead and
the gun was on the floor.

Do you remember
saying all those things?

Yes.

Did you have that
gun with you? No.

Rebecca Gentrie
said she heard a shot.

Did you fire the gun?

I saw the gun on the
floor. I picked it up.

My hand must have accidentally
touched the trigger. It went off.

All right. I'll accept that.

There's something
I haven't told you

about Alan Neil.

He... He offered me a deal.

What kind of a deal?

For the missing
pieces of evidence,

which he said would
give me a foolproof case.

Half the pot, 50/50.

Did Neil tell you what these
missing pieces of evidence were?

He didn't know specifically.
He said they were in the safe.

Doris, why didn't you
tell me about this deal?

I don't know.

Maybe unconsciously I felt that if
everything else failed, I'd accept it.

Did you? No.

You told Lieutenant Tragg that
when you went to see Mr. Carr

you took the Bible and
a photograph along?

I did. Where did you
get that photograph?

Mr. Lowell brought it down from
San Francisco. I telephoned him.

How long have you known him?

Oh, about four months.

Ever since he opened his photo
shop next door to my apartment house.

Now, that, uh...

That photograph wasn't yours?
Mr. Lowell didn't get it in your apartment?

No,

I told you, I once received a package
from my father, a book and a note.

I kept the book.
It was the Bible.

The note was written on the back
of a photograph. I threw it away.

The photograph Mr. Lowell
brought to you from San Francisco

was identical to the
one you threw away?

The very same picture,
but how could that be?

How could Mr. Lowell...

The corners of the photograph
were rounded like the Bible?

I don't remember.

How could Mr. Lowell bring me a
photograph I'd thrown away years ago?

He's a photographer. He
could have duplicated it.

Well...

In any case, I, uh...

I know how Mr. Burger, our
district attorney, is going to think.

How he's going to
plan the prosecution.

He'll maintain that

you're a fraud.

That you were coached and
documented by John Lowell.

No.

That instead of

Elston Carr calling you,
you undertook to call on him.

Carr was in his
study, you shot him.

Before you could
make your escape,

Rebecca Gentrie
returned from the theater.

Locked you in the library.

It's not true.

How can I prove it?

Well, as your attorney, Doris,

we'll get the answer to that

from the only man alive
who can give us the answer.

Your very good friend,

John Lowell.

One moment, please.

Mr. Lowell?

No, Mr. Mason. Good afternoon.

Where is John
Lowell? He is gone.

Gone? Gone where?

Just gone. I suspect
to travel, to wander.

Tell me, where has your
broken English gone?

Where is the accent I
heard when we last met?

You do not expect an
accent from me, Mr. Mason.

Most people do.

By giving them what they
expect, I save many explanations.

Gow Loong,

did you kill John Lowell?

Mr. Mason, once
I saw an epitaph,

a phrase on stone.

"That this man, who for
many a year found death in life,

"may here find life in death."

I think John Lowell should have
that on his stone when he dies.

Then he is alive?

I came here to kill
him, Mr. Mason.

A man is a complex thing.

He misinterprets so many things
in life because of his viewpoint.

Himself, his ego,
his selfishness.

Well, it is 50,000 years

fighting out of a cave
against 5,000 in society.

So, you misunderstood him?

I thought he
betrayed us for money.

I thought the communists reached a
money figure he could not turn down.

And it wasn't money.
It wasn't money at all.

It was back to the cave.

It must have overwhelmed
him, flooded him, drowned him.

Fear?

"Panic. No thinking,
no breathing,

"just blood in my head.

"They were going
to kill me slowly.

"It was like that
and nothing else.

"They were going to kill me."

The communists.

You see, I hated
him for selling us out,

but it wasn't for money.

He had been captured, and it
was his own life he was bribed with.

His life for ours.

How do you face that kind of
choice when the moment is on you

and breathing stops
and thinking stops?

How do you face
that kind of choice?

I don't know.

I found these scribblings
in the waste basket.

Lowell was trying to explain
to Doris Hocksley, I think.

To tell her not to hate him.
Because all the hate in the world

couldn't equal his
own hate for himself.

He tried to tell
her of the horrors.

The terrors of living these last
years with what he had done.

But he couldn't.

I think he has run away again.

I think he will run away
all the rest of his life.

And

you went through all his papers?

Yes.

Nothing to explain that...

That empty tin box?

No, I'm sorry. Nothing.

Not even positive identification
of Adam Hocksley's daughter.

There are so many
questions in life.

Mmm-hmm.

And it's late in the day
for me to find the answers

to some of the questions
Hamilton Burger's going to ask me.

Zai jian, Gow Loong.

In your capacity as coroner,

would you please tell the court,
Dr. Morton, how the death occurred?

Death was practically
instantaneous.

One .38-caliber bullet
entering the chest,

piercing the left
ventricle of the heart.

The other penetrating the peritoneum
and lodging against the spine.

Fired from how far away?

Oh, very close, 6
to 9 feet, I'd judge.

That's all, thank
you. Your witness.

How many bullets did you
say, Doctor? Two bullets.

Thank you. That's all.

Miss Gentrie, you've described the events
leading up to your arrival at the house

on the night of April 5th.

After hearing the shot,
you ran to the library?

Yes. And what did you do then?

I slammed the door
shut and locked it.

Then you locked the
killer in the library?

Objection!

I'm sorry, I'll
rephrase the question.

You locked someone
in the library,

and that person was thus forced to
remain there until the police arrived?

Yes. Who was the person
that you locked in the library?

Miss Doris Hocksley.

Is she in court at this
moment? Yes, she is.

She's sitting at that
table, next to Mr. Mason.

Thank you. That's all.

Your witness.

Miss Gentrie, when you
returned from the theater,

was the front door of the
house locked or unlocked?

Unlocked.

When you approached the
library, you heard a shot? Yes.

A shot, one shot? Yes.

Thank you. That's all.

Lieutenant, I'm holding
here a .38 automatic.

It's been examined by laboratory
technicians, who have testified

that bullets recovered from the
body of Elston Carr were fired from it.

Yes, sir.

And fingerprints found on it matched
those of Doris Hocksley, the defendant?

That's correct.

Do you recognize this automatic?

Yes, it was in the library lying on
the floor near the body of Mr. Carr.

It was there when you broke in?

Yes, we found Mr. Carr dead,

Miss Doris Hocksley kneeling
on the floor in a state of shock.

Now, I ask you if
you also recognize,

as having been in that
room, this Bible? Yes, sir.

And this photograph? Yes.

And this tin box? Yes, sir.

If it please the court, the State
would like to enter these in evidence

to be marked as Exhibits
Number 4, 5, and 6.

Your witness.

Lieutenant Tragg,
Doctor Morton has testified

that two bullets were
recovered from the body.

How many bullets
were fired from that gun?

Three.

Was the third bullet recovered?

Yes. We found it in the floor.

It was a miss.

That's an opinion, Lieutenant.

Isn't it possible the
defendant came into the library,

saw the dead body, and
picked up the gun wonderingly,

as an innocent person might,
accidentally discharging it

and sending the
bullet into the floor?

Well, that's an opinion, too.

I only ask if it is possible.

Well, possible.

Now, Lieutenant, Exhibit
6, the empty tin box,

came out of a safe? Yes.

What do you believe was the
function of that empty tin box?

Objection, Your Honor.

That calls for a conclusion of
the witness not based on facts.

I would assume that
Mr. Mason would know that.

Objection sustained.

Very well. Let
me put it this way,

in experimenting
with that empty tin box,

you found that the Bible
with rounded corners,

Exhibit 4, fitted into the
box perfectly, did you not?

Yes.

And the photograph
did not fit into it?

No. No, sir.

Did you attach any particular
significance to that fact?

No. None.

Thank you,
Lieutenant. That's all.

If it please the court,

the State intends to call Miss
Miriam Hocksley as our next witness.

However, she seems not to
have understood her instructions.

Miss Hocksley is
not in the courtroom?

She can be brought
here in 45 minutes.

You may step down, Lieutenant.

Then, since it is almost
time for noon recess,

court stands adjourned
until 2:30 this afternoon.

Come on, darling.
We're gonna be late.

Wait a minute, darling.

Are you nervous?

You mean about
testifying this afternoon?

Should I be? No.

But I'd like to ask
you a favor. Of course.

Just watch yourself
on the stand.

Well, what I mean is, uh,

you don't have to
volunteer anything

about what happened the
night of Harry Foster's party.

You mean, uh, some
people might not understand?

You know what I love about you?

I never have to
draw you a diagram.

Miss Hocksley,
you know, of course,

that since Elston Carr's death, a
legal administrator has been appointed

in the matter of
your father's...

Of Adam Hockley's estate?

At any time prior to
Elston Carr's death,

did you have a
discussion with Mr. Mason,

the attorney for
defense in this case?

Yes, I did.

He told me at that time that he might
be representing one of the claimants.

Did he tell you anything
about that claimant?

He told me that she knew
where the key evidence was.

And was that in the safe
in Elston Carr's library?

Objection! Hearsay.

If it please the court, I'm trying to
establish constructive knowledge

on the part of the defendant.

I'll permit the witness
to answer the question.

Should I repeat
the question? No.

He told me that she knew
the evidence was in the safe.

Thank you. Cross-examine.

Miss Hocksley,

was a Bible or a photograph
part of the evidence you presented

in establishing claim
to the Hocksley estate?

No, it wasn't.

Now, you sent to your Florida
home for a book and a photograph.

Was the photograph the same
as this one, marked "Exhibit 5"?

No.

Was the book a Bible
with rounded corners?

No.

Thank you.

Miss Hocksley,

would you please tell us

where you were on the night
Elston Carr was murdered?

I object, Your Honor. That's
improper cross-examination.

Mr. Mason is going into subjects

not covered in my
direct examination.

If it please the court, I'm
trying to establish possible bias

on the part of the witness.

On that ground, I
will allow the question.

Answer the question,
please, Miss Hocksley.

On the night of April 5th, I
was at a party in Beverly Hills,

people by the name of Foster.

Thank you. That's all.

Call Alan Neil to
the stand, please.

In what capacity do you
serve your uncle, Mr. Neil?

Well, I was helping him uncover
the real daughter of Adam Hocksley.

On April 5th, did a pretender...
- I object...

To the district attorney's
choice of words.

Really, Mr. Mason?

I used the word "pretender"
in its classic sense.

As in, pretender to the throne.

Well, since this hearing is not
being conducted under a monarchy,

may I suggest a choice of words

perhaps a little more on
the contemporary side,

just to eliminate
misunderstanding?

I'm inclined to agree with
Mr. Mason. Objection sustained.

On April 5th, did Doris
Hocksley represent herself to you

as the daughter of
Adam Hocksley? Yes.

Did she bring
evidence of that? Yes.

Was it authentic?

It didn't seem so
to me. Why not?

Well, I'd been told by my uncle

that the real daughter would
present a book and a photograph.

And Doris Hocksley did not
present these items? No, sir.

And yet she wanted to
get in to see Mr. Carr?

Yes. I didn't pass
her in, of course.

Part of my job is to
weed out obvious frauds.

I see. Thank you very
much. Your witness.

Mr. Neil.

The book you refer
to was the Bible?

Yes, I think so.

Think so? Don't you know?

No, nobody knew how my uncle

was going to separate the
real daughter from the fakes.

It does have something to do
with that empty tin box, however?

I object, Your Honor. That calls
for a conclusion of the witness.

Sustained. Your Honor,

this case hinges on
this empty tin box.

If we knew the secret
of why it is empty,

and what its function
was supposed to be

in determining
proof of identity,

we would also know the
secret of who killed Elston Carr.

You Honor, it's no secret. The
State knows who killed Elston Carr.

Mr. Mason is just
manufacturing issues.

It seems to me, Mr. Mason, these
matters of speculation are not germane.

Proceed with the
cross-examination, please.

Yes, Your Honor.

Mr. Neil, who else
besides you and Elston Carr

knew the combination
to his safe?

My uncle was the only one
who knew the combination.

Then how did you propose
to supply Doris Hocksley

with the missing
pieces of evidence?

I didn't.

Mr. Neil,

where were you during the
evening Elston Carr was killed?

At a party.

The same party Miriam
Hocksley attended?

Yes.

According to my
information, you left that party

with Miriam Hocksley
at about 11:00,

and didn't return
until after 1:00.

That's correct.

Is it not a fact that
during those two hours

you went back to
your uncle's home,

opened his safe to remove
certain pieces of evidence? No.

And is it not a fact that you were
surprised in the act of opening the safe

by your uncle and
then forced to kill him?

No. No?

Then where did you go
during those two hours?

We went...

Miriam and I got married.

Where? Right here in town.

We got the license a week ago.

Your Honor, this witness
has categorically denied

every one of
Mr. Mason's assumptions.

And since all of his testimony is
subject to proof by investigation,

I see no reason we should not
conclude he's telling the truth.

Your Honor, I agree
with Mr. Burger.

I do believe the witness
is telling the truth.

And based upon that truth, I
should like to try a little experiment.

What kind of an experiment?

There must be something
about this empty tin box

which bears on
proof of identity.

Now, we know that this Bible
fits the empty tin box perfectly.

Now, if Adam Hocksley's
daughter possessed this Bible,

it would go a long way
towards proving her authenticity.

What about the
photograph? That doesn't fit.

May I, your Honor? Your Honor!

If Mr. Mason's crawling
out on a limb, Mr. Burger,

let's give him a
chance to saw it off.

That's State's evidence!

They're the same photograph.

Proof of identity, Your Honor.

I submit that the pieces of
evidence in Elston Carr's safe

were just this empty tin box,

in which the rightful
heir's Bible would fit,

and the photograph found
in the false bottom of the box,

which could be
compared with this one.

And both that Bible
and that photograph

were in the possession
of the defendant.

Gentlemen, this is
quite a new development.

Under the circumstances, I think we owe it
to ourselves to give it due consideration.

Court stands adjourned
till 10:00 tomorrow morning.

Hello? WOMAN: Mr. Mason?

Yes?

Miriam Hocksley. I want
you to know I killed him.

What are you talking about?

My husband, Alan Neil. He was
no good. He was only using me.

He murdered his uncle.

Now, you listen to me, Miriam.

Don't you understand?
He killed his uncle.

I don't want that girl pinned
with something she didn't do.

Now she can go free.

What have you done?

I told you, I killed him. I loved
him, and I'm going to kill myself.

M-Miriam?

Hello? Miriam!

Operator, get me the police.

Well, Neil's dead, shot
through the chest and heart.

Miriam Hocksley has a
40-60 chance to pull through.

One of the peculiar aspects
of this case, Lieutenant.

Hmm? What? Miriam Hocksley.

She was completely honest
right through this whole thing.

She didn't know whether she was
Adam Hocksley's daughter or not.

All she cared
about was Alan Neil.

I still don't understand
why she killed him.

She didn't.

Well, wait a second.

You told me she phoned
you and confessed.

Tragg, you're always
jumping to conclusions.

First you think
my client is guilty,

now you're willing
to concede she isn't.

Then you think Miriam
Hocksley is guilty,

and pretty soon you're going to
concede she isn't guilty, either.

Yeah, I saw that.

How did it happen?

First bullet she fired at
Neil must have gone wild.

He was in bed asleep
when he was killed.

Now, where was Miriam
standing when she fired this shot?

Suppose you draw me a diagram.

I'd be glad to, Lieutenant.

But first, let's pay a little visit
to clear up something for me.

Oh, I think you better
get Burger in on this, too.

Do not understand. It is
very late. What happened?

Another murder. What?

Who? Alan Neil.

Alan?

But...

Why?

How could it be?

Doris Hocksley is still
in custody, isn't she?

Don't ask us. Mr. Mason's
running this show.

I thought you might be
quite upset, Miss Gentrie.

A bride and groom,
practically on their honeymoon.

The bride shoots the bridegroom,
and then turns the gun on herself.

Is that what happened? No.

But it was supposed to look
as though that had happened.

You see, Miss Gentrie,
you made two mistakes.

I resent this, Mr. Mason.

I don't know what
you're trying to do.

No use in acting any longer,
Rebecca. Miriam Hocksley is alive.

That's right. Miriam
Hocksley is alive.

I loved him.

And he said he loved me.

He said it.

He said he loved me.

But he was lying.

He was lying all the time.

Do you understand?

Do you understand?
He said he loved me.

He said he loved me!

Come on, Hamilton,
I'll buy you a drink.

Yeah.

And that's the story. Carr
caught her at the safe.

And to protect the
plot, Rebecca killed him.

It was as simple as that.

Of course, she really ran into
luck when Doris Hocksley walked in.

Just how did her luck run out?

Rebecca was the only one who
had my private phone number.

I told Della to give it to her when
she phoned right after Carr's murder.

When I got the phone
call the other night

and the caller identified herself
as Miriam Hocksley, why...

You knew it was a phony.

When we found that slug embedded
in the wall in back of the picture,

I knew how it got there.

It was the shot I
heard over the phone.

It was, uh, purely
a sound effect

to make you think that Miriam
had turned the gun on herself.

Mmm-hmm.

Well, it just goes to show you,

what some women will do
for a man is just plain murder.