Original subtitles

This is Harry Brett.

Good afternoon.

What's up, then? Look, do you mind getting out? We'd like to take a look

inside the van.

Okay.

Where are you going?

Oh, I'm going back to Westdown.

I've just been delivering some stuff to Langham's.

Langham's, the Draper's, quite near High Street. That's right.

Say, what is this?

What's your name?

Well, Armitage. Ben Armitage.

Look, uh...

What's this all about, then? A man's been shot near Richmond Park, and

someone's reported seeing a van like this in the vicinity.

Really? Do you work for the West End Laundry?

Yeah, and Charrington's, the dry cleaners. Well, same firm.

I've been with them for eight years.

Let's see your license and your insurance certificate.

Are you sure you wouldn't like another cup of tea? Yes, I'm positive.

Well, please do try and relax, Miss Viner, if it's only until Harry gets

here. Well, you said he'd be here in 20 minutes.

Isha 62390.

This is Inspector Milton. I'd like to speak to Harry Brent, please.

He's not here just now, but I'm expecting him in a moment.

Oh, wait a minute. I think he's just arrived.

This is for you.

Inspector Milton.

Alan! Carol, please.

Hello? I don't know what's going on here.

Have they rung off?

I don't think so.

Whose number is it? I don't know. It's one Harry Brent left.

A woman answered the phone.

Inspector Milton.

Yes. This is Harry Brent.

Good afternoon, Mr. Brent. I've got a message here on my desk asking me to

ring you.

Yes, that's right, Inspector.

I'd like to see you sometime this evening, if possible.

Well, what do you want to see me about, Carol?

Would 8 o'clock be convenient at your flat? I know the address.

All right, Mr. Brent.

8 o'clock. Oh, and Inspector, would you be kind enough to phone Chief

Superintendent Stenton at Scotland Yard any time before 6.30?

Stenton?

Yes, he's expecting a call from you. I'll see you at 8 o'clock, Mr. Milton.

Why do you want to see Alan?

And why ask him to phone Scotland Yard?

Are you connected with the police?

Carol, have you heard of TI-5?

TI-5? No.

Well, it's a government agency.

I work for it, so does Miss Dawson and Mark Rayner.

Please sit down, Carol.

I want to tell you about Tom Fielding.

I'd like the inspector to hear this.

Some time ago, Tom Fielding told the Department of Advanced Aviation that he

was working on a new radar device, a revolutionary improvement on anything we

have at the present time.

The department investigated his claim, discovered that Fielding was, in fact,

onto something very big, and asked him to continue his work under their

supervision. Now, Tom refused to do this. He insisted on working alone.

I can believe that.

Well, this presented one or two difficulties.

One or two people had heard of the invention, and they tried,

unsuccessfully, of course, to do a deal with Fielding.

About three months ago, the old boy received a communication from a Mr. X

that's brief and to the point.

It said that if Tom wasn't prepared to do business with him, he'd be murdered.

Unfortunately, he didn't take the warning seriously.

Ah, but we did.

Because although we didn't know the identity of Mr. X, we did know the

ruthless international setup that was behind him.

We knew that ultimately, if they couldn't get the invention, it would be

in their interest to see that no one else got it.

I spent hours with Tom trying to persuade him to leave Market Weldon and

to work at a government hideout.

He refused, flatly. He refused to even consider the idea.

So I'm afraid we had no alternative but to try and watch him night and day.

But it was an impossible task.

You can't protect a man 24 hours of the day unless he's really prepared to

cooperate with you.

And Tom Fielding wasn't. What about the girl who shot him, Barbara Smith? Was

she working for them?

Her real name was Worthing. Barbara Worthing.

She was a New Zealander. She came to this country via the continent about

four months ago.

According to an agent of ours, she was a drug addict.

When X was told to kill Tom Fielding, he made up his mind to throw suspicion on

Harry. So he arranged for a man called Filey to get friendly with Barbara

Worthing and introduce himself to her as Harry Brent.

Filey's a killer.

A ruthless character who will do anything for money.

God knows why women always seem to fall for him. Well, you know what happened.

She went to Market Weldon, visited the cemetery there because Firely, Harry

Brent, had asked her to, and then... Surely she didn't shoot Fielding just

because Firely told her to.

Remember, she was a drug addict.

She desperately needed heroin, and Firely had promised to get it for her.

She'd do anything.

And you?

I know what you're thinking, Carol. Do you, Harry? You're wondering whether I

got friendly with you simply because you worked for Fielding.

Well, the answer's yes.

Tom recommended my firm to you because I told him to. Because I told him it would

probably be to his advantage as well as mine if I got to know you.

Well, at least you're honest, if nothing else.

Yes.

But it's unfortunate there's something I overlooked.

I fell in love, Carol.

Did you fall in love with me, Harry?

I don't blame you for suspecting me.

Mr. X did a first-class job so far as casting suspicion onto Harry Brent was

concerned. The theatre ticket alone must have convinced you I knew the girl.

Well, I was a bit shaken when you had a ticket for the same show the very next

seat.

I realise, of course, that the ticket could have been planted when your wallet

was stolen, but tell me about Jacqueline Dawson.

Why did she give me that message on the cigarette packet?

We wanted you to go to Kingsdown Mansions and find out about Mrs. Tolley.

Why are you interested in Mrs. Tolley?

That's a good question.

She worked with Mr. X, and she'd been tailing me. She'd been tailing me for

some time.

One night, fielding soy in a coffee bar, I was with him. He spotted her just as

she left. But she told me about that meeting.

She told you her version of it.

That's why we sent you to Richmond.

We thought it was about time you knew a little more about her.

And realized, of course, she was going to be murdered.

I went to Kingsdown Mansions the night it happened.

I caught a glimpse of the murderer.

But unfortunately, it was pretty dark, and I didn't recognize him. But he

thinks I did.

That's why I had to get Carol out of the way, even to the extent of making people

think she'd committed suicide.

I knew Mr. X would try and get back at me, if only through Carol. Well, why did

you go to Kingsdale Mansions? I was curious about Reg Briar, the caretaker.

I had a hunch he was mixed up in this business, so I searched his flat. Oh,

incidentally, I was right.

He's a friend of Filey's.

Tell me some more about this Mr. X. There's nothing more I can tell you.

We've beaten the international group behind him as far as feeling is

concerned.

We collected all the data we wanted 24 hours before the poor old boy was shot.

But we still don't know who Mr. X is.

Does he know that you got what you wanted? No, he thinks we haven't. And

we've encouraged him to think that way.

So they've come out in the open? Yes.

That was the idea of the pen that had misfired, I'm afraid.

After the murder, one of our chaps pretended he wanted to get hold of

Fielding's pen.

He came down to Market Weldon and made a few discreet inquiries about it. He was

inferring, of course, that the pen contained something of importance

relating to Tom's work.

Well, Mr. X wasn't taking any chances.

Within a matter of hours, Tolly had contacted Mrs. Green about it. Well,

what was the idea? What did you think would happen?

We thought that Tolly would hand the pen over to Mr. X.

That's why Jacqueline and Mark Rayner were watching his stall that morning.

Look, I must go. I promised I'd drop in on Eric on my way back to town. Eric?

Does he know Carol's Adisha? No, he doesn't.

And we don't want him to know.

We don't want anyone to know, not at the moment at any rate.

All right, if that's the way you want it.

Good night, Inspector.

Good night.

Give Carol my love.

I will, Mr. Milton.

I will indeed.

I've been looking all over the place for you. I phoned your flat, but there was

no reply. Well, I do eat occasionally, you know.

What is it? What's happened?

It's Harry Brent. He's dead.

He's been murdered.

Dead? Are you sure?

I've seen him.

I've just come from the doctor.

But he was with me an hour ago. He was going to see Eric and go up to town.

Yes, it was Eric that found him. As far as I can gather, when Harry got to the

farm, Eric was out.

As a matter of fact... Now, look, wait a minute. Start at the beginning.

What happened? How was he killed?

He was knifed.

Eric found him in the barn, the one nearest the house.

There was another man there, a man called Filey. He was dead, too. He'd

been shot.

But what happened, Roy? What the hell happened?

Well, I think Brent and Filey went for each other.

Filey was shot, and then at the last moment... Go on.

Well, it's just a theory. It's just my opinion. Well?

Well, at the very last moment, suddenly, someone else, a third person, appeared

on the scene.

Yes.

Yes, that makes sense.

You see, Eric was expecting Harry.

Then he had a phone call from Tolly, and he had to go into Market Weldon.

Well, when he got back to the farm, he saw Harry's Jaguar in the yard.

He knew Harry couldn't be in the house because it was shut up. The

housekeeper's away for a couple of days.

So he took a look round and went into the barn.

My God, you can imagine how he felt.

All right, Roy, I'll see you back at the farm. Well, come on, that's all. Pick

your car up late. Now, when I've seen Eric, I'm going over to Isha. Isha? Yes,

Carol's there.

Somebody's got to tell her about Harry Brent.

Carol, I'm sorry I can't be more help.

It would be very sweet, Alan, coming over immediately like this.

I do appreciate it.

But why did Eric go into the village when he had an appointment to see Harry?

If he'd stayed at the house, this would never have happened. Yes, it would,

Carol. This man was determined to kill Harry. If not tonight, then some other

time.

How is Eric? I imagine he's very upset. Yes, of course he is. He actually found

out. And the other man found out.

I... I told him you were all right. I'd take you back there later.

Thank you, Alan.

Carol, I am sorry about Harry.

I know... Oh, I don't know what to say.

There's nothing you can say.

There's nothing anyone can say.

I think I'd like a drink, Alan.

Yes, yes.

Don't you think someone ought to tell Miss Dawson and Mark Raynor about

tonight? Yes, I phoned the theatre. I left a message.

I also spoke to one of our people, Superintendent Stenton. He works with

the DI5 men.

Look, Carol, I know this is not the time to talk about this, but... Well, this

case is going to be taken out of my hands. There's no doubt about that.

It'll probably happen pretty quickly.

But I've got a hunch, Carol.

It is just a hunch. Go on, Alan.

Well, I think I know who killed Harry.

I think if they'd just give me a bit of time, and if you help me, Carol, I think

I can nail the bastard.

How can I help you, Alan?

I'll tell you.

Thank you, Dad.

Hello, Mr. Talley.

Morning, Inspector.

That's a funny thing. I've just been reading about you.

And I say, my God, what happened last night at Viner's place? Well, it's all

there, isn't it? I can't tell you any more than those boys.

It's a funny thing.

I saw it at Viner. I was with him until... Yes, I know.

That's what I wanted to see you about. I understand you phoned him last night,

asked him to meet you. No, he phoned me.

He phoned you?

Yeah, that's right. He'd been trying to get some plants for me, and he phoned to

say he'd got them.

Well, we started talking about the deal and, well, to cut a long story short, we

began haggling over the price, so I invited him down to my place for a

drink. What time was this?

Oh, about half past eight, I think.

You mean it was half past eight when he arrived?

No, that's when he phoned me. He got to the cottage about nine o'clock.

How long did he stay?

About an hour, I'd say.

That's a bit longer.

Well, surely to God you don't think Viner had anything to do with this

business.

Well, I don't know, Mr. Tully.

Well, I'm very glad you don't think so.

Right now, you're a very important person as far as he's concerned.

Me, important?

Well, why do you say that?

Well, according to the medical report, Harry Brent was murdered about 9.30.

Well, if you're telling the truth... Of course I'm telling the truth.

That lets Mr. Viner out.

Oh, so what did he get in it? You mean I'm his alibi? That's right, Mr. Tully,

you're his alibi.

And he's yours, of course.

Miss Viner's office?

Oh, Carol, this is Eric.

Oh, hello, Eric.

Carol, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I thought I'd better let you know that

Olive won't be back tonight. Her brother's taken a turn for the worse.

Oh, dear, I am sorry. All right, Eric, thank you for letting me know.

Oh, Eric, I'd like to ask your advice about something, if you can spare a

moment. Yes, of course.

Well, I was going through Mr. Fielding's papers this morning, and I came across a

key. The key was to a deed box.

Well, Mr. Fielding showed me the box some months ago, and perhaps I oughtn't

to tell you this.

What is it, Carol?

Well, I found an envelope.

It's marked urgent and addressed to someone called Foster at the Department

of Advanced Aviation.

Advanced Aviation?

Yes. Well, what do you think I ought to do, Eric? Post it to the department or

hand it over to the police?

Well, hand the envelope over to the police, Carol. You can't go wrong if you

do that. Give Alan a ring and tell him all about it.

Yes, I think perhaps you're right. I'll do that.

Well, thank you, Eric. See you later.

Carol, I'm late. I'm sorry. I've just got back from town.

You've missed the performance. I've just this minute put the phone down.

How'd it go?

I think it was all right. I hope so. I tried to sound convincing. I'm sure you

were.

Anyway, we'll soon know whether my hunch was correct.

There's your envelope.

Well, this certainly looks important.

How did you get on with the superintendent?

Not too bad.

He tore me off a strip. Then he said he'd hold his horses for 24 hours at any

rate. Jacqueline Dawson was there and another man from DI5.

It was lucky for me, really. They supported my... This is it. I told them

not to put any other calls through.

OK, Carol, go ahead.

Miss Viner's office.

Carol, this is Eric again. I'm sorry to disturb you.

Oh, hello, Eric. Is anything the matter?

No, no. It's just that I've had a phone call from Alan. He wants to see me and

he's calling round here about half past one.

I thought if you came home for lunch, you could bring that envelope along with

you and give it to him then.

Yes, that's a very good idea, Eric.

Don't worry about the bus, Carol. Pick up a cab.

Yes, I'll do that. Well, you'll have to excuse me now, Eric. We're terribly busy

at the moment.

Yes, of course. Try not to be late, Carol. I'll do my best. Goodbye, Eric.

It worked.

Hello, Carol.

Where's Alan?

Hasn't he arrived yet? No, I'm afraid he's not coming. I had a phone call

about ten minutes ago. He's had to go up to town on important business.

Oh, I see.

He said he'd get in touch with me tomorrow morning.

Is that the letter you mentioned?

Yes.

I'd better put it in the safe, Carol.

Yes, I think you'd better, Eric.

Here it is.

Thank you, Mr. Varner.

I congratulate you. I really couldn't have done better myself.

You've got what you wanted.

Now get the hell out of here.

If you insist.

But I'll be in touch.

Thank God I've got the right number. Are you phoning Alan? Yes, he's in the phone

box up the hill.

Hello? Hello, Alan.

Eric, what happened? It's okay, he's just leaving.

Well, Tolly killed his wife because she was getting out of hand and talking too

much. Also, she had too many boyfriends.

Well, Tolly didn't mind about that, but it became a dangerous situation when he

got involved with the big stuff, like the Fielding affair.

Yes. Yes, I can understand that.

But I still don't understand what happened the night Harry Brent was

killed. Well, Eric was having an affair with Mrs. Tolly.

Tolly knew about it and started to blackmail him.

Now, on Thursday night, Tolly phoned Eric and asked him to go down to the

cottage. Well, Eric went, of course, but Tolly wasn't there.

He was back at the farm, waiting for Harry.

Eric was frightened, very frightened.

He decided to tell me about his affair with Mrs. Tolley.

Well, I took a gamble and laid a trap. We got Tolley up to the farmhouse.

And we let him overhear a phone conversation between Eric and Carol.

Well, you know the rest.

He got Eric to ring back and get the letter.

Yes. Yes.

When did you first suspect Tolley?

When did you first realize he was Mr. X?

Well, I began to get suspicious when he came here and said he'd changed his mind

and was going to tell the truth. I knew that wasn't the real reason. It was just

an excuse.

And later on, when Jason escaped... You realise you were right.

It was Tolly who planted the gun.

And that was the reason why he came here.

Tolly was worried about Jason.

He knew damn well there was always a chance he might talk. And if that

happened... Excuse me, sir. You asked me to let you know when Miss Viner was

leaving. Yes.

Has the superintendent finished with her? Yes, sir. She signed the statement.

Everything's in order and she's just about to leave. Right.

I'll be back in five minutes.

Come.

Oh, hello, Alan. I didn't want to disturb you. I thought perhaps you were

busy.

Was the statement all right? Yes, of course. I'm sorry we had to drag you

down here, but the superintendent insisted.

Are you going back to the office? Yes.

Well, I'll run you down.

No, I'd just as soon walk. All right, then I'll walk with you. No, Alan,

please. I'd rather be alone.

If that's what you want, Carol.

I'll phone you one day next week.

Yes, do that.

Please do that, Alan.