Original subtitles

so so

You refuse, then?

Yes, I do.

And I'll tell you why, Mr. Dawnford.

I don't like you.

That makes us even, then.

Because I don't like you.

But you'd like my money, eh? Your filthy, stinking money.

You want it just the same as the others. But I'll tell you this.

If you try to run away with my niece, I'll make her a ward of court.

And if you succeed in marrying her, I'll make a new will and she won't get a

penny. Is that clear?

How long are you going to live, Mr. Lane?

I'll keep you waiting quite a few years.

What I'd like to know is, where do you think you'll go when you die?

Billy!

Show this man out.

Yes, sir. And don't listen to the doors or I'll fire you.

How do you stand him?

He's my bread and butter, sir.

He may be your bread and butter, but he's the one man in this world I'd

cheerfully murder.

Wouldn't we all, sir?

I mean it.

I'd do it.

I nearly did it this morning. He sat there sneering at me.

Darling, we must be more patient, that's all.

I've heard that before.

Sooner or later, he'll get used to the idea we're going to marry.

I'm sorry, Mary. You picked the wrong man. I'm not the patient sort.

Well, let's talk about it later, Jerry.

You're supposed to go around being nice to these people.

Oh, the waiter will do that.

Here, I'll have one of those. Mary?

Not yet.

Serve them as fast as you can, will you? If they get really sloshed, perhaps

someone will buy something.

Of course they'll buy something.

Hello, Mary. Hello, Mike. Going well, I think?

Anyone bought anything yet? Someone will have to, or I can't pay the drinks bill.

Go and talk to old Crowther. He's nibbling.

Good idea of mine. I hope. Why pay the earth to a gallery when you can do it

yourself? So long as they buy.

A lot of rich men here.

And I've got a marvelous one coming.

Jordan Worth.

Who's he?

Big businessman.

Stacks of money.

Mad about this kind of stuff.

Oh, good. Here he is coming in now.

Excuse me, Mary.

This chap coming in now. He's very wealthy. I want to fill him up with

champagne as fast as I can. Okay?

Okay, sir.

Hello, Mr. Worth. So glad you're... Come, my dear Hennessy. And where is

this artist of yours?

Thank you.

Jerry,

I want you to meet Mr. Worth. Mr. Worth, this is the artist.

Delighted to meet you. How do you do?

Perhaps you'd like to go around with Mr. Worth? And explain your pictures, of

course. How splendid.

Mary, this is Mr. Jordan Worth.

Miss Mary Lane.

Hurry up with that.

I'm just coming, sir.

What are you doing here, then?

Laughing.

Why?

Because I just made me fortune.

That's why.

Look at that. Look at that.

There's plenty more where that came from.

Your truck.

Just happy good night office

I come along and I saw this bloke kind of laying on the ground.

So, of course, I thought he was drunk.

So I went up to him and I said, Oi, mate, perhaps I could help him.

You thought perhaps you could rob him?

I never touched a penny, did I? Go on, you counted, did I?

What did you?

Fifty quid on him. Never touched a penny.

All right.

You were scared when you found out he was dead.

Oh, search me if you don't believe me.

Go on, search me.

Have you got his statement? Yes, sir. Well, I don't want him anymore.

All right, come on then.

Come on, you. Ooh, fix the copper, eh? Come on. Look, don't talk. Ooh, who am I

to fix the copper?

What else have we got?

Mr. Horace Tickler.

That name would be funny any other time.

Mr. Tickler hired himself out as a waiter.

Didn't make much of a living out of it.

Not enough to account for the 50 quid. Record of petty crime, all very small

stuff. He might have stolen it then.

Last regular job a couple of years ago.

Men's servant for Harvey Lane.

Harvey Lane?

Yes. The big money lender, the millionaire.

Come in.

Well, what do you want?

Mr. Jordan Worth is here, sir.

What does he want?

To borrow money, I suppose, sir.

I've told him already he won't get any from me.

Shall I give him that message, sir?

No, I'll tell him myself.

And I'll tell him my opinion, too. He's a fraud.

Yes, sir.

I'll send him in, then, sir.

When did he arrive?

Just a few minutes ago, sir.

I didn't hear the bell.

Well, I was outside doing the window, sir, just as he come along.

All right.

Well, don't stand there. Send him in. Send him in.

Mr. Lane will see you now, sir. Come in, Worth.

Ah, my dear Mr. Lane. Sit down.

I must tell you, I had the pleasure of meeting your niece last night.

If you think you can ingratiate yourself by speaking about my niece, you're a

fool. And she's a fool, too.

I suppose I might have recognized him. I just didn't, that's all. I don't look at

waiters very much.

Well, in fact, you had seen Tickle a bit. when he worked for your uncle?

I may have done. I don't remember.

He was there several months.

I go to my uncle's house as little as possible, sometimes not for several

months. I see.

I hardly know Binnie even, although he's been there for two years.

Do you know why Tickler left your uncle?

You can ask my uncle that.

Yes, I expect I will.

Look, we've had your police here all day. We've told them everything.

I rang that agency. They sent Tickler around to do the drinks. That's all

there is to it. I was intrigued by the connection.

With my uncle?

Tickler used to work for him, and you're his niece.

And I'm his enemy number one.

Coincidence. The agency didn't have to send Tickler.

Well, I wondered if there was more to it than coincidence.

Not in sending him, but in what happened afterwards.

I told you, I didn't even recognize him.

Yes, yes, you did.

I see you sold this one.

Yes. It's the only one that was sold.

It was bought by a rich idiot called Jordan Worth.

Yes, he's one of your guests I haven't been able to get hold of yet.

Hello. Oh, hello, Mike.

Ask Mike.

He's a friend of Worth's.

Friend? Yes. Why, my dear?

Jerry, you invited me for a drink.

Oh, yes, well, we'll have one as soon as our visitor's gone.

Mike, this is Superintendent Meredith, Mike Hennessy. Oh, yes. Well, what's

this got to do with Worth?

Is he suspected of murdering the waiter?

Well, you know about this, then.

I read the evening papers.

Tickler was found with 50 pounds in his pocket.

I was wondering if any of your guests were missing that amount.

Not worth.

I talked to him this morning. He'd have told me if he had.

These rich men, if they drop six months down a drain, they start screaming blue

murder. But the superintendent's theory is that it's all somehow connected with

my uncle.

Well, I can't help you on that one.

I've never even met the old man.

And from what I hear of him, I hope I never do.

Come in.

Mr. Hardwick's here, sir.

Hardwick? Who's he?

Well, the bank manager, sir.

Hardwick?

That's not his name.

No, the new bank manager, sir. You remember they wrote and told you, and

you said you wanted to see him.

Oh, yes, yes, yes. Well, send him in.

Would you come in, Mr. Hardwick, please?

Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. Lane. Sit down.

You got the account?

Yes, indeed.

If you'd like to look at it.

No, just tell me what the balance is.

112,760 and a few shillings. And your whole stock?

To the value of 732,000 pounds.

Well, I want to tell you hard, Victor.

Open that door and see if that fellow's listening.

No one there?

Good. I could have told you that I'd balanced myself, carry the figures in my

head, a well-trained memory.

But that doesn't stop me worrying about being robbed, even by a bank manager.

That's not very polite, Mr Lane.

I'm not trying to be polite.

I was once robbed by a man called Tickler.

Vinnie can answer it.

I don't want us to be disturbed.

Mr Harvey Lane's house.

Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid Mr. Lane is engaged at the moment.

No, sir, I daren't. It's more than my job's worth.

I value my job.

If you'd ask him to call me when he's free.

Superintendent Meredith.

Yes, goodbye.

Oh, hello.

What's your name?

Vinnie. Right, goodbye.

Don't disturb him. He's engaged at the moment.

Oh, what's on the agenda?

Who's this constable who wants to see me?

Quickly, sir.

Quickly. Well?

I have a confession to make, sir.

No?

About Horace Tickler.

What do you mean, you killed him?

Well, I didn't realize, sir.

That is, I didn't realize who he was.

But I... Well, I think I talked to him shortly before his death, sir.

Leave the doors open.

Billy, don't bother to see him out. He's only the bank manager.

Excuse me, sir.

If you want my opinion, he's either a fool or a scoundrel.

Yes, sir.

Well, what about the phone call?

Scotland Yard, sir. Superintendent Meredith.

Scotland Yard? What about?

We didn't say, sir.

They asked, would you ring him?

I will not. I don't want the police here until I'm ready to invite them.

And if he rings again, sir?

Tell him to go to hell.

Yes, sir.

Well, go on, man. It's lunchtime. Get my lunch.

You are a blithering idiot.

Yes, sir. I know I am, sir. You're a...

Answer that.

How long have you been a policeman?

How long?

Not very long, sir.

Not very long.

Well, I'll tell you something.

I'm sorry, Mr. Lane. He's... You haven't yet started to be a policeman.

36 hours and you don't even tell your own sergeant.

I'm sorry, sir. I didn't think so. Didn't think.

I suppose you can remember the address.

The address, sir?

Where you saw Tickler.

Oh, yes, sir.

I can remember that. Right, come on.

Can you go and see Mr. Lane at 3.30, sir?

Yes, sir.

Here, sir.

No one at home.

Excuse me, sir.

What do you think you ought to, sir? Why?

I'll enter without a warrant.

Quickly, I'm not blaming you for failing to report.

Thank you, sir.

But if there's ever been an inquiry about this, you told me you had every

reason to believe there was a murderer upstairs.

What, sir?

So we're both in it.

My words were better than yours.

So you'd better do what you're best at, keeping things to yourself.

What are we looking for, sir?

What would you like to find?

A gun.

Oh, that'd be nice.

Oh, what's this?

A wig.

Two wigs.

Two grey wigs.

Well, that's nice, too.

Funny thing, no bed.

He uses it as a dressing room, whoever he is.

Do you think he's got something to do with Tickler, sir?

I don't know.

Ah, well.

Find out who owns this place.

Yes, sir. How?

Don't bother. I'll get Sergeant Anson to find out. You get back on the beat

quickly.

Oh, by the way, next time you meet someone who's going to be murdered, just

let me know, will you?

Yes, sir.

Your lunch, sir?

Didn't I tell that grocer not to send any more of these ancient eggs?

Yes, sir, you did, sir.

Well, he's still doing it.

Go to another shop.

Yes, sir.

I'll arrange it.

The balcony, sir? It's a lovely day. Yes, take me out there.

There's a man coming at half past three.

If I'm asleep, you can wake me.

Who would that be, sir?

A man, a man, a visitor, an important one.

You'll see.

Yes, sir?

Good afternoon. I'm Meredith.

Mr. Lane's expecting me.

Oh, won't you come in, sir? Thank you.

You're Binnie?

That's right, sir. We spoke on the phone this morning.

Oh, you're from Scotland Yard, sir?

From the Sears.

The dream of my life to be a detective, sir.

Overworked and underpaid, but we'll talk about it afterwards, eh?

I'll just go and see if he's awake, sir, if you wouldn't mind waiting a moment.

Shots from the garden, do you think?

All I can tell you, it was certainly more than ten feet.

Could be this garden, or one of the others.

Or from the road at the back, from a parked car, for instance.

Yeah, it could be anything.

You're a great help, aren't you?

Maybe I'll be able to tell you more when we've had a go at the body.

Right. I'll wait for that.

Well, thanks, Doc. Seeing you.

What have you got?

Promissory notes, legal documents.

Well, bundle them up and we'll go through them at the yard.

Hello, what's that?

Oh, a safe key. I found it in the old man's pocket.

Painted silver.

What did he want to do that for?

Perhaps he liked the colour.

Do you know about this, Benny?

Oh, it's the key of the safe, sir. Mr. Lane always carried it on him. Well, why

is it painted silver?

Well, it always has been, sir.

Well, people don't usually paint key of silver. Why?

You didn't know Mr. Lane, sir. I could never ask him why, anything.

Well, um... Appointments book.

I see I'm not in it.

Well, I think your coming was rather a secret, sir.

No.

This morning, Mr. Hardwick, who's he?

A bank manager, sir.

Ah, yes.

Yesterday, Mr. Jordan Worth.

Jordan Worth.

He's a businessman, sir. Always trying to borrow money.

But not succeeding.

Well, the last time he came, Sir Mr. Lane swore he wouldn't give him any.

What did Mr. Jordan Worth say to that?

I don't know, sir.

When he came out, he wasn't very pleased.

Yeah, just what I thought.

I've been right all along, and the further we go, the righter I am, as

always.

It's all connected.

It all goes back to the party at Dawnford Studio.

Tickler was there and was murdered afterwards.

Jordan Worth was there.

And I'd better fight a heart who was there, too.

Let's see what I tell you.

On the morning of the party, a visit for Mr. Jerry Dawnford.

Well, think what you like.

It's all the same to me.

Go on, jump to conclusions.

I don't care.

Calm down, Mr. Dawnford, will you, and try to help me?

Why should I help you?

I'm investigating a murder.

Well, I say jolly good luck to the murderer.

I hope he gets away with it.

Mr. Dawnford, on the morning of your party, you went to visit Mr. Lane. What

about?

He went to ask my uncle to agree to our marriage for the umpteenth time.

What did Mr. Lane say to that?

He refused, as always.

Do you mind telling me why?

He didn't like Jerry, that's all.

Well, any special reason?

Why, do you think I'm so likable?

My uncle thought that anyone who ever came near me was a fortune hunter.

Anyone, including Mr. Dornford?

Of course.

Mr. Dornford, on your last visit to Mr. Lane, I believe there was a shouting

match.

Vinnie told you, did he? Yes, yes. Was there any reason for shouting?

Lane told me that if I married his niece, he'd cut her out of his will.

Well, that bothered you, did it?

You didn't want to marry her without her money.

All right, I'll tell you something. Jenny.

Look at her.

Ugliest sin, isn't she?

Why else should I want to marry her except for her money? Obviously.

Can we stick to the facts?

Where were you this afternoon?

Equally obviously, I killed the old skinflint before he could change his

will.

Did you?

No.

But I'd have enjoyed doing it.

Where were you this afternoon, say, between 2.15 and 3.30?

Um, I was driving around in my car.

Where?

Nowhere.

Oh.

All right, then.

Somewhere, then. I don't know.

Whenever I get stuck on a piece of work, I get in my car and drive around.

I don't know where I'm going. I'm thinking.

Did you stop anywhere?

Not as far as I know.

You weren't with him, Miss Lane? No. Miss Lane, your uncle left you all this

money in his will.

Well, I suppose so.

About how much, did you say?

Well, I don't know, but I imagine it's quite a lot.

Well, we'll soon find out, won't we?

Good morning, sir.

You're bright and early.

Early, but not bright.

Any good figures?

If I had been, I wouldn't have joined the force.

It seems Harvey Lane was a public benefactor.

He lent out big sums of money at big rates of interest.

Always got it back, plus that little bit extra.

With one exception.

What was that?

A series of loans over the past year covered with promissory notes and stuff.

An amount of, you know, about 100,000 pounds.

100,000 to one man.

Guess who?

No idea.

Mr. Jordan Worth.

I thought Billy said... Yeah, Billy said, Lane said, but he got it all mixed

up.

Lane was financing Worth in a very big way.

Do you know why?

Yeah. Mr. Hardwick is here, sir. No shaming, will you?

And try and get us a cup of tea.

Yes, sir.

By my special request, the second of Harvey Lane's visitors.

The bank manager, Mr. Hardwick.

Mr. Hardwick, sir.

Well, come in, Mr. Hardwick.

Good morning.

Now, that tea.

I'm Superintendent Meredith. This is Sergeant Anson. Good morning.

Sit down, won't you? Thank you.

I'm sorry to drag you into this. Oh, not at all.

When a moneylender gets killed, it may have something to do with money.

Yes. Well, I brought what you asked for. Oh, the cheques. Thanks.

Of course, last month it had been returned to Mr. Lane. I imagine he

destroyed them.

And this month's?

Small domestic bills, the butcher, the baker, and so on. All except... Except

the cheque for 20,000 pounds to Jordan Worth.

Yes.

Dated six days ago.

And the following day, it was paid into Mr. Worth's account at his bank in

Birmingham.

Typewritten. His checks always wear. Except for the signature, of course.

That's genuine.

Oh, yes. No doubt about that.

There's something written on the back.

Oh?

Yes, something... Something written in pencil.

It's been penciled in and then rubbed out again.

Oh.

I can't make it out. Neither can I. You have a go, Ansel, will you?

A lot of money was paid to Jordanworth over the last year.

Yes. I've been meaning to call on Mr. Lane and have a word with him about it.

You've been... His cash balance has been getting very low.

Low for him, that is.

Down to ten or twelve thousand.

You've been meaning to call.

Yes.

But you did call yesterday morning.

No. I've never called on him.

Mr. Hardwick, I know you're a very busy man, but I want you to meet someone.

Oh, no, sir.

Definitely not, sir. No resemblance at all.

In what way no resemblance?

Well, the Mr. Hardwick who came here, sir, was taller, fair, with a moustache,

and if you don't mind my saying so, sir, a fresher sort of complexion.

Anson, I want you to go out and bring two people back to my office.

Jordan Worth, who's got all that money, and the other Mr Hardwick.

Yes?

Good afternoon.

Could I see Mr Hennessy, please?

Do you have an appointment?

No. I'm sorry, you have to have an appointment.

Detective Sergeant Anson, Scotland Yard.

I hope I don't need an appointment.

There's a detective sergeant here.

Send him in.

Would you come in, please?

Well, Sergeant, what can I do for you?

Or should I ask, what have I done?

In connection with the deaths of Horace Tickler and Harvey Lane, sir.

Oh, yes.

I'm trying to contact two people who may be able to help us with our inquiries.

And I think you know one of them.

Do sit down, Sergeant.

Thank you.

Cigar? No, thanks.

I know one of them.

Yes, sir. Mr.

Jordan Worth.

Oh, yes, I know him.

Friend of yours?

In a way.

You took him to Mr. Dauntford's party, sir? Yes.

Known him long?

Quite some time, I suppose.

Off and on.

Where can I find him?

He lives in Birmingham, doesn't he?

Does he?

Have you known him over a year, sir?

Yes, I think so.

Where would you send him a Christmas card?

You know, it's an extraordinary thing.

This business of mine... Well, it's all sorts of businesses, really.

contact man, fixer-upper, personal manager, anything like that.

I know thousands of people, and they just had to tell other people about me.

Well, this chap Worth turned up one day from the Midlands, asked me if I'd take

him around.

Pots of money, you know, cultural interests and so forth.

And every so often, he'd turn up again.

And then we'd show me what his job was, where he got his money from, and we'd...

You keen on that sort of thing?

Tell you the truth, sir, I, um... I hate it.

I wonder if you'd mind telling the superintendent that story.

Let's start all over again, shall we?

Let's make it the truth this time.

I should like to consult my lawyer.

You want me to believe that you don't know where Jordan Worth is.

It's true.

And you also want me to believe that all you ever did was take him round to art

galleries. That's true as well.

The way you're going on, you'll need more than one lawyer.

We've traced three bank accounts in the name of Jordan Worth. One in London, one

in Birmingham, one in Bristol.

All these accounts had most of the money drawn out of them these last few days.

Not by Jordan Worth himself, but by Barrett Chek.

You haven't been out of town the last few days, have you, Mr. Hennessy?

I'm only guessing.

Well, I'm right. I can prove it.

Yes, it was me.

Thank you.

But it's all I ever did for him.

Lodging checks or cashing checks.

Why did he need you to do that?

I never asked him.

So he paid you. How much did he pay you?

A hundred pounds each time.

In cash, tax-free. Very nice.

Nice work.

Now, let's get down to it again.

Where can I find Mr. Worth? I honestly don't know.

Honestly?

I never had an address for him. He just used to come to the office.

The banks hadn't either. Only an accommodation is left.

Isn't that a coincidence now?

Come on, where can we find him?

I've told you the truth.

And I haven't broken any law.

Mr. Hennessy, I'll give you a few hours to think this over.

But I told you... Just in case there's something else you can remember.

And take my advice, don't try to leave London.

Because if you do, I'll get you for something.

Even if it's only income tax.

Yes? Miss Lane in here, sir. I'll show him, will you?

Now, sir? Yes, I'll finish with Mr. Hennessy.

For the time being, answer.

This way.

Oh, hello, Mike.

Hello, Mary.

Miss Lane, I don't know whether this has anything to do with your uncle's death.

Well, at the moment, I don't know anything about anything.

But there's a man called Jordan Worth.

I've met him.

At the party? Yes.

Could you describe him for me?

I can, as he knows him better.

Well, Hennessy's not very good at describing.

Benny's met him several times, but Benny's a bit of a fool. Now, you, well,

you're a smart girl.

Am I?

What did you notice particularly about him?

Well... His hair.

His hair?

I couldn't swear to it. They do these things so well these days.

But I think it was a wig.

Would you like another cup?

Got

any

tea? Yes, sir. I'll have some sent in.

Thank you.

Sergeant Anson.

You were inquiring about this house in the Meuse.

Yes, sir. I should have the answer this afternoon. I don't bother. It's too

late.

Well, now I can tell you all about Mr. Jordan Worth.

Mr. Jordan Worth does not exist.

So we can forget about it, can't we?

Selene.

You're hiding something from me. What are you hiding?

Nothing.

I'll find out sooner or later. Why not tell me now?

Look, I've told you I've only met Jordan Worth that once.

I don't know if it's anything to do with Jordan Worth.

All I know is there's something in the middle of all this, some central fact

which will explain the whole thing. I haven't the faintest idea what it is.

But I think you can help me put my finger on it.

If you don't know what to ask, I don't know what to answer.

All right.

Your tea, sir. Thank you.

One call while you were out. I asked him if he'd speak to Sergeant Anson, but he

didn't want to. Said it wasn't important.

Yes. See Miss Lane out, will you?

Thank you, Miss Lane. Goodbye.

Oh,

cold.

I need hardly tell you that that telephone message came from Mr. Jordan

Worth. He doesn't exist.

Well, where do we go from there?

We've got three things, sir.

That sounds a lot.

Firstly, the experts have deciphered the writing on the back of that check.

Have they now?

It appears to be Harvey Lane's handwriting, and it reads, Don't send

any more Chinese.

Chinese, eh?

There could be another word after Chinese, but they can't make out what it

is. Oh, yeah, that's very interesting.

Well, let's get to the next point.

Second thing we've got is the key.

It's the key.

Harvey Lane had paid it sooner.

Well, what do we make of that?

At the moment, nothing.

At the moment, nothing. Right.

Well, what's the third thing?

The third thing we've got is Mike Hennessy.

Ah.

Now, we might be able to enjoy ourselves there.

He's already in a bad state of nerves.

If we let him sweat for a bit, that'll make him even worse.

Then we'll ring him up and tell him we're going around to see him this

evening.

Then we'll ring up again.

and put the time back or forward half an hour.

Psychological warfare.

And when we do finally go along, we'll take someone with us.

Who? Well, the amateur detective.

Vinnie.

Hello, Vinnie. Good evening, sir.

Surprised to see us?

Well, yes, sir.

Now, you've always wanted to be a detective.

Yes, sir. We thought you'd give you a taste of what it's really like.

You mean I can help, sir?

Not sure.

Perhaps you can.

You ready for a trip?

Rather, sir. Where are we going?

I want to see if you can help us identify a bank manager.

Mr. Hennessy.

Stepped out for a moment.

Oh, stepped out for good.

Anselm!

There's a man outside on the beach. Bring him in here. Then get on the

blower to the yard.

Yes, sir.

Don't touch anything, Benny, will you?

No, sir. Come here.

Who is he?

Mr. Hardwick, sir.

Yeah, that's right. I'm Mr.

Hennessy Hardwick.

And all because of psychological warfare.

Sir? No, nothing. I should have got here sooner, that's all.

Who knew I was coming here? I didn't tell you?

No, sir.

Mary Lane.

She might have guessed.

Man on the beat, sir. I'll call the yard from out here.

Oh, not again.

Yes, sir.

It's me, sir.

You know, you've got another murder on your hands.

Have you seen anybody sitting on the doorsteps?

Who is he, sir?

A man called Mike Hennessy.

That's very extraordinary, sir.

Oh, is it? Why?

Well, sir, about an hour or so ago, a man came up to me. He was looking for

Mr. Hennessey's office.

Well, he had the address, so naturally I directed him. What was he like?

He was very dark, so I didn't really see him well.

But he gave me his name, sir.

Something like, uh... Gordon... Gordon Worth.

Quigley.

Have you ever heard the expression, if looks could kill?

Yes, sir.

Anything new?

No.

Well, if there's nothing else... Yes, you'd better get off home then.

You know, when we do finally find out, it's going to be something dead simple.

Something that's been staring us in the face all the time.

Yes, sir, I'm sure.

Good night, then.

Good night, sir.

Oh, do you want the cinder light on?

Well, I'm working in the dark. I might as well make a virtue of it.

Good night, sir. Bye.

Johnson! Yes?

Where do they keep the bulbs here?

No, don't put the light on. Shut the door.

Come and look at this.

It's luminous.

Staring us in the face.

Luminous.

Who is it?

Superintendent Meredith.

Oh, look, go away. It's the middle of the night.

Let me in, Mr. Dalton, please.

Well, what do you want?

I want to talk to your wife.

Alone, if you don't mind.

How did you know?

Checking the registry offices.

Not difficult.

No, I suppose not.

Married the day after the party.

Yes. That was really a celebration.

It was meant to be.

Look, if you think Jerry didn't want to tell my uncle, you're wrong. It was I

who insisted.

With what result?

With... Oh.

The solicitors rang me up.

My uncle left everything to me, with the exception of a few hundred pounds for

the faithful Benny.

You knew your uncle pretty well, Miss Lane.

I beg your pardon, Mrs. Dornford.

Not recently.

Well, in the old days.

Yes, when I was a schoolgirl.

People don't change much, you know.

I used to stay there sometimes during the holidays.

You knew him well enough.

What was he like in his relationship with the tradesmen?

He carried on a sort of running war with them.

Good.

Nothing he ever sent was what he wanted.

It was never up to standard, the right brand or the right quality. He

complained all the time.

He was always ringing them up or writing them rude messages.

I had to deliver them sometimes.

I didn't enjoy that.

Well, in other words, he was a cantankerous old devil.

He certainly was.

Always suspicious.

Of everything and everybody.

He was convinced the whole world was one big conspiracy to swindle him out of his

money. Well, he wasn't far off in that, in a way.

I beg your pardon, I didn't mean to.

What else do you want to ask me?

Just one more question, quite a simple one.

How did he like his eggs?

You've woken me up in the middle of the night to find out if it was... Try and

think, Mrs. Dornford. Do your best.

How do you like his eggs? Fresh?

Yes. New-laid?

Yes, he always said he couldn't eat them unless they were really new-laid.

Thank you. You've given me just what I want.

I'm only sorry I didn't ask you the question sooner.

Thank you. Good night.

Good morning, sir.

Good morning.

You've been here all night?

Here, there, and everywhere.

Doing what?

Working it out.

But to me to say you've finished it... Oh, shut up.

I'm on the last paragraph.

Can I see it?

I think I'll give you a lovely surprise.

Yes, but when?

Let's see.

Yeah. I'm going home for ten hours' sleep.

Half an hour there, half an hour back.

Give it a bit of margin.

Let's say 8 o'clock.

8 o'clock at Hennessy's office.

Give my compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Dawnford and ask them to come along.

Anyone else? How about Binnie?

Ah, yes, yes.

Good old Benny.

Let's have him along.

And how about our friend Mr. Jordan Worth? I think you'll find Mr. Jordan

Worth will turn up at his own accord.

Well, I'm off, then.

On second thought, you'd better read it.

There's a hundred blanks for details I haven't found out yet.

Get them filled in, will you? That'll take you a little. Eight o'clock.

I have found out one thing, though.

The missing word is eggs.

How did you get my number?

Sergeant Anson, sir.

He said if it was really important... Well, yes, sir, I fancy it might be.

I don't know what you think of me, sir, but I've been doing a bit of detecting.

Well, it isn't something I can tell you, sir.

It's something you ought to see for yourself.

What did he say?

If I must, I'll pick you up on my way in, 7.45.

Be outside your house.

What's this thing you want to show me?

Well, it's something I noticed while you were talking to that young policeman.

Well, in Hennessy's office?

Yes, sir.

You've got the key, sir?

Well, I warn you, it better be good.

In here, sir.

Well, sir, I bumped into Sergeant Anson in the grocers today, sir.

Oh, did you now?

Yes, sir. I wondered what he was doing there.

Well, if you want to know, he was inquiring about Chinese eggs.

Yes, sir.

I thought perhaps that was it.

Well, what do you want to show me, Binnie?

Well, I... Come in.

Oh, are we interrupting you?

Not at all, not at all. Just in time.

Good evening, Mr. Dornford.

What's the idea?

Well, I thought you ought to hear what Binnie's got to tell me.

You don't mind, do you, Benny?

Well, don't keep them waiting for the good news.

What news?

The news that you're a murderer, Mr. Jordan Worth.

I'm not Mr. Worth, sir.

Aren't you?

That's what I thought.

Until I discovered one simple fact that explains the whole business.

The fact that Harvey Lane was going blind.

He was a suspicious old devil and didn't want anybody to know.

That's why he had a luminous safe key.

If he dropped it or put it down somewhere, he could still see where it

was. But someone knew about his blindness.

Come in.

Who but his faithful servant.

You got those cheques typed out?

Yes, sir. Now give them to me.

A window cleaner, one pound ten.

The last time I'll pay for that.

You should always do them yourself.

I do sometimes, sir.

Electricity, twenty-eight pounds, three shillings and fourpence.

I don't need electricity.

We cook with it, sir.

The gross, sir, 24 pounds, 8 shillings and 11.

Now, you tell this fellow that he's a swindler.

I pay for new-laid eggs and I want them new-laid.

Wait, I'll tell him myself.

Don't send any more Chinese eggs.

Now, direct his attention to that. Yes, sir. I will, sir. You're not tough

enough with them, Binnie.

I told you before, you're useless.

Wait till you read my will and you'll see what I think of you. I can tell you

it's not very much. Thank you, sir.

You didn't care, did you, Vinnie?

You've got in your hand a cheque for 20,000 pounds.

Made up to Jordan Worth.

There had to be a Jordan Worth.

A man with a bank account.

So you practice turning yourself into someone completely different.

Different face, different voice.

My dear fellow, how lovely to meet you.

Hello, Mr. Worth. So glad you could come. My dear Hennessy. And where is

this artist of yours?

After a time, you got so confident. You wanted to prove you just couldn't be

recognized. Jerry, I want you to meet Mr. Worth. Mr. Worth, this is the

artist. Delighted to meet you. How do you do?

Perhaps you'd like to go around with Mr. Worth and explain your pictures? Of

course. How splendid.

Oh, Mary, this is Mr. Jordan Worth.

Miss Mary Lane. How do you do?

How do you do? Will you excuse us now?

Dawnford Mary Lane didn't recognize you, but someone did.

Your old colleague, Horace Tickler.

And this one's in my impressionist paper.

Yes, so I see.

Champagne, sir. Oh, how splendid.

Jane, can you come here a minute?

Will you excuse me a moment? Certainly.

May I see you afterwards, Vinnie?

Tickler's fortune was made, but he didn't expect the final payoff.

Well, sir, I can't possibly be.

He used to come and see Mr. Lane.

I showed him in.

Well, I'll tell you how you did it.

Mr. Jordan Worth is here, sir.

When did he arrive?

A few minutes ago, sir.

I didn't hear the bell.

Well, I was outside doing the window, sir, just as he come along.

All right.

Well, don't stand there. Send him in. Send him in.

Mr. Lane will see you now, sir, if you... Come in, Worth.

My dear Mr. Lane. Sit down.

I must tell you, I had the pleasure of meeting your niece last night.

Harvey Lane couldn't tell because he couldn't see you.

But something aroused his suspicions.

Perhaps your friend Hennessy wasn't quite up to it when he posed as the bank

manager.

Anyway, Lane was going to talk to the police, so he had to be stopped.

Enjoy your lunch, sir.

Didn't I tell that grocer not to send any more of these ancient eggs?

Yes, sir, you did, sir. Well, he's still doing it.

Go to another shop. Yes, sir.

I'll arrange it.

The balcony, sir? It's a lovely day.

Yes, take me out there.

There's a man coming at half-past three.

If I'm asleep, you can wake me.

Who would that be, sir?

A man, a man, a visitor, an important one.

You'll see.

Excuse me, sir. I want to get something.

Can't you get it afterwards?

Vinnie, what are you doing?

Sorry to have kept you waiting, sir.

Well, come on, then.

Yes, sir. Come in.

Lane wasn't shot on the balcony.

He was shot in his study by you.

And you pushed a dead man out onto the balcony.

When your accomplice started to crack, you disguised yourself as Jordan Worth

for the last time.

And killed Mike Hennessy here in this room.

Now you see why I asked you all those questions.

Yes, I do.

Well, Benny, you've always wanted to be a detective.

What do you think of the job I've done?

Very good, sir.

Let's go then.

In a moment, sir.

Unless, of course, there's really something you want to show me.

No, sir.

Right. Accept this.

Billy!

It's all written down, you know.

The whole story.

In my desk at the yard, there's nothing you can do.

Except kill you.

Except kill four more people.

Why? Come on, Billy, hand it over. Get back.

All of you. Billy, be sensible.

You don't understand.

I'm going to kill you.

Because I want to.

Benny! You first.

Sorry I wasn't a bit more prompt, sir.

Saw a light on up here and thought I'd better investigate.

I stumbled in the outside office and dropped me a truncheon.

Well, you keep on dropping it, son.

We'll make a policeman yet.