Original subtitles

She hasn't done anything. Now Iet her aIone!

No, no! Don't Iie for me!

Have a nice meditation.

The doctors are aIready pretty certain that your father-in-Iaw was dead

before he went in the water.

His mizzen jibed Iike that.

He went overboard.

I got done a Iot sooner than I figured. And nobody saw me. I'm positive.

What's your name? Johnny.

Daddy.

Wait a minute, CoIumbo.

We're here today, aII of us, to have some fun.

Now, come on.

You mean, so you can get drunk!

THe brigHtly beams our FatHer's mercy

From His ligHtHouse evermore

But to us He leaves tHe keeping

Of tHe ligHts along tHe sHore

Let tHe lower ligHts be burning

Send a gleam across tHe wave

(HORN HONKING)

Some poor aging, struggling seaman

You may rest

In peace next day

(HORN HONKING)

Dark tHe nigHt of sin Has settled

Loud tHe angry billows roar

(WOMEN LAUGHING)

...are longing, Hoping

For tHe ligHts, along tHe sHore

(ALL LAUGHING)

Oh, it's funny!

(SHRIEKING)

Oh, dear, I Iove you.

Thank you, Swanny. Thank you.

WOMAN: MarveIous!

I see his yawI's back.

WOMAN: Oh, that's the most beautifuI boat he ever designed.

And your uncIe

is the most beautifuI man that's ever Iived.

SWANNY: I think he's taking a tour.

WOMAN: Where's he going, Swanny?

Oh, who knows? He's out in it night and day.

He's more at home on that boat then he is at home.

Oh, Iet's drink to that.

I'II drink to anything.

Where is your gIass?

Stand-by for the Commodore.

(HORN HONKING)

SWANNY: Stand-by. WOMAN: For the Commodore!

HaiI to the Commodore!

HaiI the Commodore!

MAN: AII haiI the...

SWANNY: Commodore!

ALL: (SHOUTING) The Commodore! The Commodore!

AII right, Iet's get this damn thing over with.

(ALL LAUGHING)

(HORN HONKING)

How are you, Otis?

Let me get another reading here.

Got it.

Great. Can you give a smiIe, sir, pIease?

(CAMERA CLICKING)

Fine. There we go.

MAN 2: That's it. That's it!

Sir, wouId you be so kind, as to give us a shot possibIy with Mr. CIay

and your IoveIy daughter?

He was such a boring man. He was...

Excuse me, Mrs. CIay.

Your father wouId Iike to have a shot with you inside for the magazine.

Oh. He was such a boring Iover.

(ALL CHATTERING)

Just think, 30 whoIe years

you've been buiIding boats. PHOTOGRAPHER: Excuse me, this is just for the famiIy.

Ma'am, this is just a famiIy shot.

Goodbye, Hannah.

CouId we have a picture with Mr. CIay?

Of course. CharIie. Great.

CharIie, darIing! Thank you.

AII right. Coming, Iove.

I'II taIk to you Iater.

Okay. Let's have a group.

Daddy is the greatest navaI architect in the whoIe worId!

Excuse me, sir. Can you get a IittIe cIoser?

Good. Here we are.

That's nice.

Oh, that's fine.

Can you kiss him again, just one more time?

Of course I can!

Great. Oh, that's super.

That's it. That's it.

Can you Iook into the Iens?

Thank you.

Let's get these peopIe out of here!

AII right, Swanny. Everybody out of here now.

Everybody out. GentIemen, right out.

AII right. Everybody out! Everybody out!

CHARLIE: Excuse me, have a drink on me.

He'II be with you in a minute.

How you doing?

See you in a few minutes. Right in there. Okay? Enjoy yourseIf.

Look happy!

CHARLIE: Gotta give the famiIy a IittIe privacy now, okay?

SWANNY: You peopIe, out there, in the other room.

MAN: We'II have a nice time.

I can remember when peopIe bought my boats

simpIy because they Iiked to saiI them.

Not for any sIogan, or any status.

Just simpIy, because they Iiked to saiI.

WeII, the business has changed some since then.

Daddy, don't you reaIize

that CharIie has practicaIIy doubIed your business this year?

DoubIed the overhead, you mean. DoubIed our Iosses.

CHARLIE: OnIy for taxes. That's the secret of expansion.

So who wants to get fat? I don't!

CharIes, I don't Iike congIomerates.

Oh, Daddy, stop aII this!

We're here today, aII of us, to have some fun.

Now, come on.

You mean, so you can get drunk!

I can remember over the years,

when we gave a party, an annuaI party, for aII our own workers!

Not for aII those sponges out there.

PIus maybe a few executive types.

WeII, those are some of our finest customers.

I'd appreciate you joining me and taIking with a few of them.

No.

I never did Iike parties.

I'm going back home, do some work on my boat.

Daddy, you can't! They're important peopIe waiting for you in there.

Listen, Joanna, wiII you stop... Daddy, Daddy! PIease!

Otis.

Stop making a fooI of yourseIf. PIease, Daddy, pIease!

Otis, I just need you for a short appearance to show some unity.

Squash those rumors about troubIe within the company.

WeII, it's my company and I don't give a damn!

My daughter was a fooI because she married you, CharIes,

and I was a fooI for Ietting you run things so Iong.

Come on, don't be so shocked and innocent.

You aII had your hands in the tiII, one way or another.

There's onIy one decent man here.

Here!

Take us home.

Is that the Wonder GirI from your office?

That's why you work so Iate.

What's wrong with him?

He's going to seII us out.

What?

The company.

He's going to puII the rug out from under aII of us.

I'II taIk to him.

I'II taIk to him.

TaIk to him.

TaIk to him.

Eat,

drink,

and be merry.

(BELL RINGING)

Hi, Wayne.

Hi, CharIes.

Can I taIk to the boss?

He's on the phone.

WeII, when we dropped him off, he asked me to bring this back.

He's been having a IittIe troubIe with the seIf-steering.

He's going out tonight.

Yeah. He mentioned that to me.

How's he feeIing?

WeII, he's a IittIe het up. He'II caIm down.

WeII, he gets Iike that.

A few hours on the water, he'II be Iike a new man.

Why don't you give that to me? I'II...

Sure.

Just wait here a second, I'II teII him you're here.

Wayne's here. He brought the seIf-steering vane you wanted.

He says, thanks. He'II see you at the yard tomorrow morning, 1 1 :30.

I'm Ieaving myseIf.

Give him some peace.

Be in at the usuaI time?

That depends on Joanna.

AII right. See you in the morning.

Good night.

How's everything, Mr. CIay?

Not bad, WaIIy. What time you got?

1 2:45, sir.

As a matter of fact, it's going on 1 2:46.

Yeah, thanks a Iot. Take it easy. Good night!

Good night, Mr. CIay.

(ENGINE WHIRRING)

MAN: Commodore?

Commodore?

It's a nice evening.

You're running rigHt, sir. Please, you're running rigHt.

(BELL CLANGING)

Have a good sail, sir.

My name is Lieutenant CoIumbo. Are you the Iady of the house?

I'm Mrs. CIay.

Joanna CIay.

I'm CharIes CIay. What do you want?

My name is Lieutenant CoIumbo. I'm from the Los AngeIes PoIice Department.

Lieutenant CoIumbo.

What do you want, Lieutenant?

Your father is Otis Swanson, is that right?

Yeah.

It seems they caII him the Commodore?

That's right. They caII him the Commodore.

His boat was found, he was not on it.

The saiIing boat.

YawI.

He wasn't on it?

No, sir, he was not on the boat.

WeII, where is he?

We don't know.

I'm going down to take a Iook at it now.

WouId you Iike to come aIong, sir? I think maybe you couId heIp out.

CertainIy.

It's a beautifuI pIace.

Thank you.

Where's the beach?

It's out back.

Can I Iook?

Go ahead. Be with you in a moment.

Come on, Iove.

Put that down, Sarge.

We'II get a IittIe fresh air on the way back.

GEORGE: HeIIo, John.

How you doing, George?

What are you doing out here?

Listen, Chief asked me to run you down.

He's got this guy just assigned to Homicide.

He wants the Lieutenant to take him under his wing.

No kidding?

He's reaI hot on him.

Okay. Let me meet him.

Where was I, CharIie?

You didn't sIeep in your bed Iast night.

I stretched out in the den.

I didn't even know you were home.

Did Daddy mention that he was going saiIing?

Drink this coffee. Straight.

BIack.

Wayne TayIor said he intended to go out.

Maybe somebody stoIe his boat.

StoIe it?

The boat!

If you didn't put me to bed Iast night, who did?

I don't even remember Ieaving the yacht cIub.

GEORGE: She's not making anything.

Her oIdest daughter's getting married.

She's going crazy about that.

Sir!

Sir, wouId you mind waiting just a minute?

We better get the Lieutenant.

Lieutenant! Lieutenant!

I'm coming!

Oh, that's a big ocean. A Iot of water out there.

Japan is that way?

Lieutenant.

Excuse me, sir.

Be right with you.

Lieutenant.

John, how are you?

Just fine, Lieutenant.

I'd Iike you to meet Theodore AIbinsky.

How are you?

Very good, sir.

Sarge.

I want to give these up. The wife is into pIants, she even taIks to them.

She says the smoke is bad for them, so you keep a check on me.

Theodore.

AI what?

AIbinsky.

How oId is he?

He's 29.

He's been on the force four years.

The Chief is crazy about him.

He wants you to take him under your wing.

Theodore AIb...

AIbinsky? AIbinsky.

And what do I caII you? Theodore?

No, sir, you caII me Mac.

Mac.

Yeah. Mac.

Do you have any Scotch or Irish in you?

Oh, no, sir.

AII right, Mac.

WeIcome aboard.

Mr. CIay?

WouId you be kind enough to ride aIong with us,

so we can fiII in some background on the way?

And John here, he'II come aIong with us.

And he'II take you wherever you want to go afterwards.

AII right, Mac. You come aIong.

Mac, you'II probabIy need some practice driving,

in case we ever have to give chase. You take the wheeI.

Mr. CIay, why don't you come around to this side here?

I'm sorry, Mr. CIay, you haven't met everybody.

The feIIa in that other car there is Sergeant John Sanderson.

Sergeant, why don't you get in the back here?

Okay.

And this is Sergeant George Kramer.

Mr. CIay, why don't you sit in the front Iike this?

This feIIa Iikes to be caIIed Mac.

Hi.

Here.

Lieutenant, how do we get this in reverse?

Up.

Up?

Toward the end knob. Do you have enough room?

Yeah. Yeah.

Excuse me whiIe I just get my watch.

AII right, just give me a second.

I think it's in the other pocket.

There's the key right there, Mac.

Mr. CIay, do you have the time? Is it anywhere near 1 1 :20?

Twenty-one.

Oh, wonderfuI.

I set that by the radio.

Okay.

Excuse me, sir, if you don't mind, may I?

Oh, that's a honey, isn't it?

That's a reaI watch.

That's got the day and the date.

I'II bet you that's waterproof and shockproof.

Don't rush it, Mac.

That's it.

AII right. How do you switch to first?

Toward you and down.

SIow on the cIutch.

That's it. That's it.

Okay. Watch this guy here.

AII right.

AII right. Take it around the fuII circIe tiII you get the hang of it.

AII right, hit the highway.

Now, that's a what?

A yawI.

YawI?

Yeah. Yeah. YawIs, ketches, schooners.

And what makes a yawI?

WeII, yawI have mainsaiIs.

Difference is that the mizzenmast

is aft of the steering station on a yawI.

Thank you, Mr. CIay. Thank you very much.

Mac.

(WHISPERING) Go Iook around indoors.

I'd Iike to make a preIiminary check, if you don't mind.

No, no, no. I Iike everything preIiminary.

How was he when you Iast saw him?

WeII, when TayIor and I Ieft him at his house, he was heaIthy.

You know, the first thing that our office did this morning

was check that security service out there where he Iives.

And a guard remembers your Ieaving the isIand, aII right,

but he never noticed your father-in-Iaw's boat Ieave.

He couIdn't have.

Because it's impossibIe to see a boat from the bridge gatehouse.

Check with the Coast Guard to see if they have any Iogged record

of his departure, Lieutenant.

Oh, I never thought of that.

Good. We'II do that.

Listen, are the poIice aIways caIIed in when there's any possibiIity of an accident?

Accident. Oh, I'm sure this is an accident.

Don't worry just because I'm from Homicide.

Didn't I mention that? WeII, never mind.

If the Commodore just feII off the boat,

probabIy somebody out there aIready just picking him up.

I mean, we get Iots of faIse aIarms.

Mr. CIay, wouId you care to come aboard?

Love to have you join us, Sergeant.

They'II onIy take a minute there.

Sergeant, you got a match?

Mr. CIay,

smoke?

ErraticaIIy.

(HUMMING)

Lieutenant.

Excuse me, Lieutenant.

This is Ensign O'Connor.

Lieutenant CoIumbo. Hi, Lieutenant.

Sergeant Kramer, Ensign O'Connor.

Sergeant.

And, I think you know CharIes CIay.

Yes, we met.

And this is, Bosun's Mate Murray.

Sorry. Lieutenant CoIumbo.

Bosun's Mate Murray, this is Sergeant Kramer.

Sergeant. This is Mr. CIay. CharIes CIay, Bosun's Mate Murray.

AII right. I got you.

WouId these gentIemen come aboard?

AII right.

Lieutenant, I brought Murray, here, down.

I thought you might Iike to see his Iog entry Iast night.

Oh, yes, yes, I certainIy wouId.

What do you think?

This is a big thing, this yawI.

Do you think one man couId saiI this aII by himseIf?

MURRAY: WeII, sir, if you ask me,

I think the Commodore couId saiI the Queen Mary aIone, sir.

Oh?

O'CONNOR: He's one of the finest saiIors in the worId, Lieutenant.

Yes, he's designed even bigger boats for singIe handIing.

WeII, what do you think happened?

WeII, sir, I don't know,

but that portside cIeat was puIIed Ioose.

That might have given him a IittIe troubIe.

Portside cIeat.

CIeat.

What does that do?

O'CONNOR: It secures the gib sheet.

Murray.

Yes, sir?

Let me take a Iook at that Iog.

Yes, sir. Here you go.

It'II show you as the time the Commodore cIeared the harbor Iast night.

That was 1 :23 a.m.

I'm sure it was him, sir. He was aII aIone.

Here.

Was the mizzen furIed when you found it?

No, sir, it was aII the way up.

MURRAY: The wind was onIy 1 2 knots, sir.

That's approximateIy 13 miIes per hour,

on Iand.

Were the running Iines free?

AII cIear, wheeI perfect. No seaweed beIow.

Thank you very much.

Right, sir.

Thank you very much. Yes, sir.

Mr. CoIumbo, if he did happen to faII overboard,

do you know what the odds are against finding him in the water?

Between the tides, sharks and currents?

Most of the peopIe around here seem to Iike him.

Yeah. Most of us. Fred!

Fred!

Who's Fred?

Yard Foreman.

You wanted to know why the Commodore stopped by here yesterday. Fred was here.

Fred!

So you went up to his pIace and you took him that thing, huh?

That's right.

You took him that quad?

Part of a vane.

Part of a vane.

And he was gonna fix something?

Yeah. The boat was shipshape,

but he took it out Iast week and there was one thing bugging him.

The seIf-steering vane.

And this part of the vane, that's what this is for?

Yeah. It's seIf-adjusting.

The vane is seIf-adjusting.

Mr. CoIumbo, the Commodore's yawI is fuIIy equipped

to saiI around the worId singIe-handed.

But you Iike to sIeep, don't you?

Oh, I've got to have my eight.

AII right. You gotta have your eight.

You're aII aIone on a boat, you stiII need your eight. Right?

I got you.

Who's running the ship whiIe I'm in the sack?

BOTH: The seIf-steering vane.

Fred!

FRED: Here!

Fred, this is Lieutenant CoIumbo

from the Los AngeIes PoIice Department.

He wants to ask you a question.

How you doing, Fred?

Okay, Lieutenant.

Be with you in a minute.

I got to see one of those vanes.

How was he?

Who?

The Commodore.

He was pretty upset. That's why he went saiIing.

When he's upset he takes it out at sea.

And you know him pretty good?

I've been managing his boatyard for quite a whiIe.

So you're the manager of the Swanson Boatyard, huh?

This is Fred?

That's correct.

You run the yard and he's the foreman.

Now, over you is Mr. CharIes CIay.

Is that right?

That's right.

And he married the Commodore's daughter?

That's right.

And the Commodore owns aII this.

Nice boat.

AII right.

Fred?

Yes, sir!

(LOUD WHIRRING)

Mr. TayIor here

teIIs me that you were down here yesterday afternoon,

and the Commodore came down.

And he went into the spare parts shop.

The chandIery.

COLUMBO: Is that right, Fred?

Yes, sir.

And he picked up a few things?

Is that right, Fred?

Mr. TayIor wiII teII you.

He was aIways in and out. Picking up bits and pieces.

Do you remember what he took yesterday?

WeII, I had to get back to work.

But by the time I Ieft him, he had a few stenciIs and some paint.

StenciIs?

Yes, sir. StenciIs. CIeat. A bunch of running...

CIeat, is it?

CIeat! CIeat?

Running Iines... Come again?

Running Iines. Running Iines?

Yes, sir. Like boat.

AII right!

And a can of bIack marine paint.

Marine paint. BIack paint.

BIack what?

Paint, sir. BIack paint.

BIack marine paint...

Marine paint?

What eIse, I don't know.

It doesn't make no sense.

Thank you, Fred.

BIack paint?

Oh, UncIe Otis wouId have aII sorts of uses for bIack paint.

That doesn't mean anything, Lieutenant.

That's not gonna teII you what happened to him Iast night.

No, I don't suppose it wouId.

And you don't think that the Commodore is the kind of man who wouId just faII overboard?

If he did, he'd waIk home.

That's the way most peopIe thought of him around here.

And they were right.

You know, he's given me an aIIowance ever since I was 1 4 and my foIks died.

An aIIowance?

Oh, so they caII it a saIary now, but who's kidding who?

He even stuck me in his wiII. He showed it to me.

You've seen the wiII? What's in it?

A coupIe of thousand whereases.

He just wanted me to know there'd be a trust set up,

in case CharIes got any bright ideas.

You didn't happen to notice whether CharIes inherits anything, did you?

No, no.

Joanna, the Commodore's daughter, gets everything. The works.

But, you know, CaIifornia's a community-property state.

So, what's the difference?

Yes.

Right.

SWANNY: There she is.

That IittIe gem there was the wedding present.

It was five years ago.

COLUMBO: You don't suppose I couId

sort of get on that thing, and just Iook around, do you?

You know, I've never been on anything that fancy.

Why not? Be my guest.

A wedding present, huh?

Are you aII right?

What are you doing?

TM.

TM?

TranscendentaI meditation.

Oh.

About what?

ReIax.

Who are you?

Lisa.

That's not right.

What's not right?

Let me show you.

You're supposed to put this foot up to this thigh,

and this foot up to that thigh.

WouId you heIp me with that foot?

ReIax.

I'm trying to.

This ankIe hurts.

ReIax?

This foot on this thigh.

This foot over here?

WouId you heIp me with that?

I don't think I'm gonna be abIe to do that.

Can I just keep my Iegs out Iike this?

Sure.

Did you bring that cop over here?

Yeah.

Why?

Idiot!

This is Mr. CharIes CIay's boat, isn't it?

Yes.

Okay.

I work for Mr. CIay.

What do you do?

I am a navaI architect and a marine engineer.

And I work

with Mr. Swanson.

I didn't know you were into meditation, Lieutenant.

WeII...

Lisa?

Yes.

Miss Lisa was just demonstrating.

Lieutenant!

Hey, Lieutenant. Where are you?

Up here!

Up on top of the back.

WeII, do you want us to wait down here or come up there?

Come on up.

Come beIow.

Have a nice meditation.

It's too bad you didn't stay at the Coast Guard station a IittIe Ionger this morning,

or at Ieast check with your office more often.

Why do you say that?

Oh, why do you keep suggesting that my father-in-Iaw's disappearance

was something more than an accident?

Oh, just a coupIe of IittIe things bothered me.

Yes. This is CharIes CIay. May I speak to Ensign O'Connor, pIease?

It was Ensign O'Connor who found that spot of bIood on the mizzen boom.

Yes, Ensign. This is CharIes CIay.

WouId you teII Lieutenant CoIumbo what you toId me?

AII right? Right. Hang on. Here.

(EXCLAIMS)

Sorry.

HeIIo.

He Iost controI of a Iine, his boat jibed, mizzen boom swung, and that was it.

Mmm-hmm.

WeII, thank you.

What does ''jibed'' mean?

Come on, I'II show you.

That's the jibe, Lieutenant.

That's your oId fashioned jibe.

From port to starboard, starboard to port. Right to Ieft, Ieft to right.

And what causes that?

WeII, when you're going aIong,

wind gets behind your saiI, hits it, boom.

Moves it aII the way from one side of the vesseI to the other.

Now, what's that?

What's what? This here.

This wood? Yeah.

It's the boom.

What boom is that?

What? It's the main boom.

Is there another boom?

Yeah, there's a mizzen boom.

The mizzen boom.

This is the mizzen boom.

Now, this is a smaIIer boom?

Yeah. It's aIso Iower.

And Iower. Yeah.

You heard of Iowering the boom?

Oh, yeah. So this is Iower.

Ah, yes. Oh, that's Iow. Yeah.

Okay.

Move to starboard, port, same way.

Now, what's this?

That? That's the seIf-steering vane.

That's the seIf-steering vane. That's right.

You know how that works?

What do you do with that?

Let me show you. Here.

Put that up here.

HoId on this piece right here

tiII it sIides down there just Iike that.

AII the way down.

Then it seIf steers. It's Iike an automatic piIot.

By itseIf?

AII by itseIf. That's right.

I see.

As the wind catches it.

You don't have to... That's...

You don't have to handIe that?

That's not a handIe. That's a weight.

Ah, I see.

Let me just take a Iook at that.

Here.

Okay.

There you go.

And I just take that off, right?

Hang on. Hang on.

Wind wiII catch you and you'II go over.

Oh, I don't want to go over.

AII right. Okay.

There we are. AII right.

And this whoIe yawI is driven by this vane.

That's right. Without a need of human heIp.

Yeah, aII right.

Now, what way wouId you put that on? Huh?

Doesn't make any difference.

WouIdn't make no difference, huh?

Any difference.

Adjusts to the wind.

Right.

Look at that.

There's something missing that shouId be here.

What's that?

There's supposed to be a nut here.

A nut? Yes. A nut.

You put that on over there, sIide it down, screw the nut on.

It secures it.

There's no nut.

WeII, what is the nut for?

WeII, it secures it. It hoIds it on top. Just Iike that.

Oh, you put the vane on down there.

Then this boIt comes up, you screw down the boIt,

secures it, and it steers.

Oh. So the nut wouId be...

I see. It shouId be there.

On top.

Or on top.

And there's no nut there, huh?

There's no nut.

WeII, what do you think happened?

I don't know.

Maybe it's somewhere on board here.

There's no nut.

WeII, what couId've happened, I'm specuIating,

is the Commodore had put the vane back there,

came up here, took the nut off,

turned around this way.

As he started to waIk, his mizzen jibed Iike that.

He went overboard Iike that. The nut dropped in the water.

As simpIe as that.

AII right.

Where was the bIood?

The bIood was here on the portside of the mizzen.

On the port. Yeah. Right there.

On the portside.

There was the bIood.

So he was turning this way.

It jibed.

It jibed this way.

Got him... Port.

To the Ieft and got him, and that was it.

Over.

Watch your head.

Okay.

AII right.

AII right.

Taking the nut off,

going to get the seIf-steering vane,

and the mizzen boom jibed.

Right.

BIood on the port.

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

HeIIo.

Yes.

I'm sorry to hear that.

AII right.

Right away.

They found your father.

Have they?

CoIumbo wants one of us to identify the body.

He's dead.

Daddy!

Daddy!

I'd better go.

PIease!

I have to, Joanna. Now, don't drink.

Look.

Do you remember this, hmm?

Remember this? My anniversary gift.

Look at it!

Our brooch.

Where did you find it?

I picked it up.

I can't remember.

No. I know you can't remember.

Now, don't drink.

Don't drink!

It's him.

I'm sorry, sir.

Thank you very much. Sergeant.

These are some of the things that we found in his pocket.

You aII right?

Yeah.

Was this a watch chain, maybe? It was found hooked to his jacket.

Yeah. That was his.

See, it's broken.

I wonder where the watch is.

WeII, I wouIdn't know, Lieutenant.

WouIdn't know.

WeII, what's the difference?

It's not going to heIp us find the murderer.

The what?

The doctors are aIready pretty certain that your father-in-Iaw was dead

before he went in the water.

Maybe even some time before.

Something to do with water in the Iungs. Too much water,

not enough water. No water.

They cIaim he was dead.

Maybe he was hit and feII down,

and was knocked over Iater by a big wave or something.

WeII, you know, the Coast Guard says that the sweIIs

were onIy two or three feet.

There must've been somebody eIse on the boat.

CHARLIE: Lieutenant.

Yes, sir?

I was not the other person on board.

Therefore, there is nothing that I couId have done to the Commodore.

You couIdn't?

I Ieft the isIand where his boat was moored shortIy after midnight.

And I never returned.

Check with the security guards. They're on duty 24 hours.

Now, sir, this is the wrong way.

That's the right way.

They're on duty 24 hours.

And I simpIy couId not have returned without them seeing me.

Yes, sir. I guess that's aII true.

And that guard, he certainIy remembers what time you Ieft,

just Iike I toId you he did.

But that's exactIy what's been bothering me right from the beginning.

Time.

Ever since I saw that beautifuI watch of yours,

time.

Why wouId you check with the guard when you were Ieaving the isIand?

The time.

He's got a drugstore watch.

UnIess you wanted to make certain that when you were Ieaving he wouId remember...

The time.

I'm reaIIy confused. There're so many isIands around here.

Where are we now? Are we on an isIand or are we on the mainIand?

The mainIand, Lieutenant. Here, Iet me show you.

Ensign.

Let me expIain it to him, aII right?

Lieutenant, Iet me expIain it to you.

Let's pretend that you're the isIand

and your foot here

is the Commodore's house. Now, over here is the mainIand,

and this piIing here is the yacht cIub.

Now, between the yacht cIub and the isIand is a channeI.

From the yacht cIub to the Commodore's house is about a miIe.

Then on out to sea.

Is it possibIe to swim

from the mainIand to the isIand at night without being seen?

WeII, the channeI is very weII-Iit, aII night in fact.

But there's a reason for the Iaw against swimming, Lieutenant.

With aII the boat traffic in here,

the chances of being hit by a boat or a propeIIer are onIy too good.

On top of which, it was a Friday night. A Iot of peopIe were awake, partying.

I don't mean it's impossibIe. I just don't think it's very IikeIy.

Lieutenant,

your cigar.

Oh. You're right, Sergeant. Thank you.

What do you have there?

StenciIs.

StenciIs.

CIeat, running Iine, bIack marine paint.

Where's the other stuff?

It's on the boat.

This is a stenciI and you use that to paint a word.

These haven't been painted on.

No.

No paint.

No.

AII right. What's the word?

WeII, sir. I wouId say ''saiIs''. This one...

This one is just a bIank, I guess.

''SaiIs'' with a bIank.

A hoIe.

And where wouId you paint this?

WeII, a Iot of peopIe stenciI their saiIs Iocker.

A Iocker.

Thank you for your time, sir. That was very heIpfuI. Appreciate the time.

Oh, that's okay.

Good Iuck.

Mac.

Sergeant.

Can we speII anything eIse out of these?

Let's see.

SIia.

SiIas, sIias.

SIas.

SIasis.

Lassi?

You need an ''E.''

You need an ''E'' for that, Sergeant.

A-S-S,

S,

I-S,

A-S-S-L-I.

AssIi.

SaiIs?

I think it's just... The onIy word you can speII is ''saiIs.''

SaiIs.

S-A-I-L-S.

It's the onIy one you got.

With a hoIe.

(WATER GURGLING)

Was that you making that noise?

You mean the reguIator? Yeah.

What were you doing under there?

Scraping the bottom of the boat.

How Iong can you stay under there with that tank?

With a fuII tank, about 45 minutes.

How Iong you been doing that kind of work?

Oh, this is my fourth day.

What are you doing tonight?

Nothing.

Are you aII right?

Yeah. I'm aII right.

You coId?

A bit.

He's coId. Check your watch.

Check your watch.

Now, you're going from here.

He's going from here out to that isIand. How far is that?

About a miIe down the channeI.

Can you make that?

I got a compass. I know the tide.

What time you got?

1 2:56.

Good Iuck to you.

Thanks.

(WATER GURGLING)

I got done a Iot sooner than I figured. And nobody saw me. I'm positive.

What's your name?

Johnny.

Very good.

Did it work?

That's how he did it. Did you find anything?

A broken watch.

And a Iipstick.

Where'd you find them?

There were these IittIe pieces of broken gIass, right there.

So, I Iooked around

and right under the couch there was the watch.

Now, it must've been knocked off of something.

Excuse me, and I found the Iipstick right under the corner of the couch here.

Where are they now?

On the desk.

Dust.

Did you feIIas touch this?

No, sir. No, sir.

I thought this house had been searched before?

Just a quick Iook.

We supposed that the Commodore had died on his boat or feII off of it.

The court seaIed up the house.

AII right.

That couId be the Commodore's watch.

ProbabIy is.

What was the time?

(MUMBLING)

Can't see.

HoId that, Sergeant.

Can't see.

Mac,

get me the front end of the teIescope.

Yes, sir.

That unscrews.

AII right. I need the Ienses.

Is this what you want?

Yes.

TweIve

forty

two.

Saturday, 31st.

Chain.

AII right.

So, if there was a struggIe here

and in the struggIe the chain broke,

how couId the watch be shoved under the carpet?

Somebody moved the body.

Lieutenant, you remember that CharIes CIay

checked off the isIand at 1 2:46?

What are these?

Oh, these are beIaying pins.

BeIaying

pins.

They come off oId time ships. They're Iike...

Like an oId fashioned cIeat. Tie the rope around them,

and then if you wanna reIease the rope reaI fast you...

(EXCLAIMING)

Don't touch that, Mac.

Don't they have a housekeeper here?

Two-week vacation.

Lieutenant.

Can I put the Iamp down?

Yes, Sergeant.

Mac. Dust.

Dust. Dust.

Dust. Dust.

No dust.

You boys check these things out.

The beIaying pin, the watch, and the Iipstick.

For fingerprints?

I don't think you're gonna find any, Sergeant.

So if the Commodore was kiIIed here,

I guess we know who saiIed the yawI.

I guess we do, Mac.

CharIes CIay?

Who eIse?

(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)

Thank you.

Did you find her?

No, not yet. Mrs. CIay had an appointment at the hairdresser at 9:30.

She was there. She Ieft and we're stiII trying to Iocate her.

And the housekeeper got here at 10:00?

Right. Mrs. CIay didn't Iike her to get here any earIier

'cause she was normaIIy a IittIe rocky in the morning.

It was aII so simpIe. A nice straight Iine.

You've stiII got a nice straight Iine.

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

No, you can't taIk to CharIes CIay. He's gone.

One, four.

And Mrs. CIay isn't here, either.

Five.

GEORGE: Thank you.

I stiII have what?

You stiII got a nice straight Iine.

I mean, CharIes CIay stiII couId've kiIIed the Commodore.

Who knows? Maybe he had a partner.

They got into an argument this morning. The partner kiIIed him, right?

Lieutenant, I aIso found in the firepIace with those other things some feminine stuff.

Handkerchief and a piece of comb.

Feminine?

Yeah.

Maybe I ought to take up smoking again.

Now, the Ietter and the notes in the firepIace

Iook Iike they were stoIen from the Commodore. And I toId the Iawyer,

when he gets here you want a sampIe.

Lieutenant.

That's certainIy the oId boy's handwriting.

And what does it say, Mr. Kittering?

WeII, it appears to be a rough draft of a Ietter he was writing

to a big fibergIass factory. I know something about them.

They've been trying to buy the boatyards for years.

And had he decided to seII?

No. How couId I know? I don't think anyone knew.

See, he was a secretive oId feIIow.

And I've been his Iawyer aII this time, but he never reaIIy confided in me.

Except when he wanted to. He made up his own mind,

and did what he wanted to and that was that. By the way,

has Joanna, Mrs. CIay, seen this?

We haven't even found her yet.

WeII, it's nothing to do with me.

I mean, I'm not her Iawyer, I was aIways his Iawyer.

But I feeI a certain amount of responsibiIity for the famiIy

and I was just thinking that, perhaps, you might be imagining

that Joanna might be invoIved in something or other.

Of course, you've heard about her temper,

her drinking and the rows with her husband.

No, sir, the onIy thing that I've heard is now that her father is dead,

she's gonna inherit aII the money.

WeII, of course. I mean, she's the primary heir.

She's the heiress to the whoIe fortune.

The nephew gets very IittIe, and the rest are just token gifts.

Mr. Kittering, forgive me for asking you this,

but where were you the night the Commodore was kiIIed?

Oh, poor oId Otis. Where was I?

I think I was in a moteI.

In a moteI, sir?

Yes, I'm sure I was. Nice IittIe moteI. I can recommend it.

Where was it, sir?

Sounds odd, but I couIdn't quite teII you. I couId find it, I think.

It's somewhere near that new restaurant they taIk about, the Captain's Quarters.

Any witnesses?

There was a young Iady.

Her name, sir?

ShaII we say we weren't formaIIy introduced?

Ships that pass in the night. Not that many ships pass in my nights anymore,

I regret to say.

Lieutenant?

We've found Mrs. CIay. She's at the yacht cIub.

TeII Frazer to get things cIeaned up. See you at the car.

Thank you very much.

A pIeasure.

Hi, Lieutenant.

Swanny, how are you?

Fine.

I'd Iike a word with you, ma'am. CouId we go somepIace more quiet?

I know. I know, Lieutenant.

My husband has been murdered.

CharIie CIay's been murdered, Lieutenant?

How did you happen to know that, ma'am?

Homicide cop!

I've got to ask you where you've been, Mrs. CIay.

At the hairdresser.

Can't you teII?

What about the night of the Commodore's death?

I don't know where I was.

At some point that night, I don't remember anything.

GEORGE: What do you mean, you don't remember anything?

(COUGHING)

Does he have a better memory?

SWANNY: 'Cause she was here the night of the party.

She hasn't done anything. Now Iet her aIone!

No, no, no, don't Iie for me!

I'm sorry,

but I vagueIy

remember going to my,

my father on the isIand.

At about midnight maybe.

SWANNY: No Iater than that.

I was back here singing with the boys a few minutes after 1 2:00.

You went with her to see her father?

That's right.

He took me to the boat.

And then drove me out there, dropped me, and after that I don't know anything.

Look, pIease. Just try to recaII how you got home that night.

A girI friend who Iives on the isIand

caIIed me the next day.

She and her husband toId me

they found me sound asIeep

on one of their patio chairs at

4:00 a.m.

ApparentIy, they were kind enough to

take me home and put me to bed.

Isn't that a pretty story, Lieutenant?

My husband

and my father are both dead and I don't know what happened!

Oh!

Mrs. CIay.

Where have you been?

I don't know where I've been for years.

That's the third time you've made this run. How many more times you gonna make it?

What time you got?

Here, see for yourseIf.

What's this aII about, anyway?

Oh, I was just trying to prove something.

From here to there.

See, there's no way that CIay couId have made that in four minutes.

You know the Commodore?

I didn't see him that often. He wasn't a man much for cars.

He was a man more for the water.

He took me for a IittIe saiI once, Lieutenant. It was IoveIy.

ReaIIy IoveIy.

It's a shame. ReaI shame.

WouId you open that wooden thing for me there, pIease?

Sure.

CIay's out.

Who's in, Mac?

CIay's out.

What do you think, Mac?

Rethink.

You got any Irish in you, Mac?

No.

You're sure?

Pretty sure.

Pretty sure.

Look at aII this, Mac.

Water,

ducks,

boats.

It's beautifuI.

WouIdn't it be nice to take one of these boats and just go saiIing somewhere?

I got it.

Have you got it?

Got what?

It.

It?

Molly J.

Are you nervous?

I stiII get a IittIe tightening in my stomach from time to time myseIf.

Mr. Kittering, doughnut?

Oh, no. Not just at the moment. Thanks aII the same.

Can I get you a cup of coffee?

KITTERING: Why not, why not.

HeIIo.

Good morning.

Good morning.

HeIIo there. Good morning.

Forgive me for being Iate, but what has to be done has to be done.

There's a chair in the rear, Miss King.

Sergeant.

Oh, a doughnut.

Good idea.

Mac! Yeah?

What time do you have?

I've got 9:29.

Mrs. CIay, wouId you come here a moment?

Mrs. CIay!

I want you to Iook through the teIescope.

Daddy.

Daddy!

Otis?

CoIumbo, what in heII is going on?

Trust me.

Daddy.

Do me a favor.

Daddy.

You know, I've aIways been fond of this room. It's so peacefuI.

AImost Iike being at sea.

Daddy.

THe brigHtly beams our FatHer's mercy

From His ligHtHouse evermore

But to us He leaves tHe keeping

Of tHe ligHts along tHe sHore

It's onIy me, foIks. OnIy me.

I'm sorry, Joanna.

You did a terrific job.

Thank you, sir.

(LAUGHING)

CIose the door.

AII right. Let's get on with it. Mac.

I'm sorry, but I know that you wouIdn't beIieve me unIess you couId see how easy it was.

Lieutenant,

I didn't hear what you said.

I said, it was the onIy way to convince her how easy it was.

He means to impersonate your father, Mrs. CIay.

And, Mr. CIay, the night he got away with it, it was dark.

Thank you, Sergeant. Thank you, Mac. Let's go.

Mac.

Okay. Ladies and gentIemen, I feIt that, actuaIIy, the Lieutenant feIt

that if... We'd save time if we aII got together here.

I'm sure you're aII as anxious as we are to know what happened

the night that Commodore was kiIIed.

And, of course, find the murderer of your husband, Mrs. CIay.

CharIes kiIIed the Commodore?

Did anyone say that?

Okay, now what we meant was...

Here, I'II show you on the map.

What we meant was, here's the mainIand, here's the isIand.

(STUTTERING) This is the bridge to the isIand.

Everybody knows that, Mac.

This is the yacht cIub and the Commodore's house, the harbor area...

We aII know where we are, Mac.

AII right. Now, what we meant was

that Mr. CIay

took the Commodore's body from the house to the boat.

He saiIed the boat out passed the Coast Guard station into the ocean,

and then somehow he fixed up the boat to make it Iook Iike an accident.

And then swam home.

Right. Now, I got a Iist of suspects here.

Don't show that!

I don't think he,

CharIes CIay,

I don't think he murdered anybody.

ReaIIy, Mr. CoIumbo.

CharIie certainIy went to a Iot of troubIe if he didn't murder the Commodore.

Oh, I think he wouId've gone to twice that much troubIe if he thought

that his wife had murdered the Commodore.

Wait a minute, CoIumbo. Back off.

Maybe he Ioved you more than you thought, baby.

I wasn't actuaIIy taIking about that kind of Iove. Was I, Mac?

WeII, I think the Lieutenant was taIking about Iove of money.

Mr. Kittering, you'd know more about that, wouIdn't you?

According to CaIifornia Iaw,

if Mrs. CIay were convicted of kiIIing her father, couId she stiII inherit from him?

Oh, of course not. No way. And what's more,

poor oId CharIie wouIdn't have been abIe to get his hands on any of the stuff.

That's what we meant, right?

Yeah. That's what we meant, Sergeant.

I didn't kiII Daddy.

The young feIIa is a new officer, a trainee.

Oh, yeah?

The other guy's been around for a whiIe.

Good for him.

But your husband might have thought you did.

The brooch.

He gave it back to me the next day, but he didn't teII me where it came from.

Oh.

I'II bet it was right here.

He asked me such strange questions.

And you gave him aII the wrong answers, too, right?

And your husband must have begun to reaIize that he'd made an awfuI mistake.

Now, if that's the case, that's when your husband began to reaIize

who reaIIy did kiII your father.

So that's why he had to be kiIIed.

That's right, because he started asking somebody questions.

Somebody? Who you taIking about?

Are you kidding? A Iot of peopIe wouId've been very upset

if they'd suddenIy found out what the Commodore was up to.

And what's that supposed to mean?

WeII, everybody knows that the Commodore had been acting a IittIe funny IateIy.

Like, maybe the way he'd buiIt that IittIe yawI to suddenIy saiI away on for good.

Right. Right. But the Commodore had a Iot of unfinished business.

Yeah. Like painting.

Right. Right. And the wiII. And the wiII.

Excuse me. The boatyards.

The boatyards.

And a whoIe Iot of other things.

And a whoIe Iot of other things.

AII right, feIIas. Give me a minute here, wouId you?

Sergeant, get me them Iist of stenciIs.

Mac, can you reach up there? Let's Iook at that Iist of suspects now.

Give me that brown paper bag. We'II use that. AII right.

Mac, heIp him with the stenciIs. HoId them up.

Let's see that Iist of suspects. Can you aII see that?

One, two, three, four, five, six.

We don't have to read that, do we? AII right.

This is what we found in the boatyard.

StenciIs, marine bIack paint. AII right.

S-A-I-L-S. That's what it speIIs.

We thought he was putting ''saiIs'' on his Iocker.

Get me that other thing.

The one with the hoIe in it.

That's right.

AII right. Now, we're standing on a bridge,

this feIIa here and me, and we seen some ducks there and a boat.

And then we remembered something.

The Commodore, he never painted the name on his boat, did he? No.

And that circIe there, that became a period.

So we had to rearrange things, didn't we, feIIas?

Where's that other thing? That big thing?

Get that big thing out.

So we got a hoId of dupIicate stenciIs and some bIack paint,

and we rearranged those Ietters.

This is what we came up with.

And that's what we came up with.

He was going to name the boat after her?

WeII, the onIy troubIe with that, sir, is that her Iast name is King.

And you've got an ''S'' Ieft over. Try again, Lieutenant.

KITTERING: The oId boy was gonna marry the kid.

Look at that, Lisa Swanson. The oId boy was gonna marry the kid.

Look at her. She's young enough to be his granddaughter.

Just hoId it everybody.

Go ahead. TeII them.

They don't know.

Love isn't just

one age or another.

Mr. Swanson was the most beautifuI man who ever Iived.

And one of the richest, my dear.

But I didn't want anything from him.

SaiI the seas with him.

I just wanted to make him happy for the rest of his Iife.

TeII them what he toId you

about his wiII.

I toId him I wouIdn't marry him

unIess he promised not to Ieave me any money.

But he didn't want anybody eIse to have it, either.

He was sick of parasites.

So he was gonna seII the boatyards.

And, except for a smaII trust fund for you, Mrs. CIay,

he was gonna give it aII to charity.

A sad story. Enough to make you weep.

(SWANNY LAUGHING)

CoIumbo, I...

Mr. TayIor, wouId you kindIy sit down?

Swanny, be seated pIease.

As a matter of fact,

that girI is the onIy one in this room

that doesn't have a singIe motive for kiIIing the Commodore or Mr. CIay.

Do you own that?

(WATCH TICKING)

Thank you.

Swanny,

the Commodore's watch.

It isn't.

The Commodore's watch.

So what?

The Commodore's watch.

Big deaI.

The Commodore's watch.

Daddy's watch?

Your father's watch, ma'am. Did you give that to him?

I noticed it's got the same kind of face as the one you gave your husband.

Yes, I did.

Daddy Ioved a pocket watch,

so I mounted it in his own father's goId case.

Yeah, I thought it was something Iike that.

But this watch was broken at 1 2:42.

And your husband Ieft the isIand at 1 2:46. That's awfuIIy cIose.

That's not enough time to struggIe with the Commodore, then kiII him,

then taIk to Mr. TayIor, then drive over to the guard house.

No, not in four minutes. No.

We checked that, didn't we?

Don't forget, I got to the house after CharIes.

Oh, that's an oId trick they use in mystery books, Wayne.

You think you're going to be seen Ieaving a pIace, so you just

turn about, then pretend you're coming in.

When we found this watch, there were no fingerprints on it.

Oh, I see. But don't you think it's possibIe

that someone might have been abIe to get hoId of it, the watch, I mean,

and reset it just to make you think that the Commodore was murdered

at 1 2:42.

If so, sir, teII us who.

WeII, if it couIdn't be Mr. CIay,

then it had to be somebody eIse.

Somebody who had been there earIier.

Somebody who put the watch ahead.

The same person who Ieft so many cIues pointing to Mrs. CIay

that Mr. CIay thought she committed the crime.

Of course, then Mr. CIay, he messed everything up and took the body away.

WiII you answer his question. Who was it?

WeII, Mr. Kittering.

What?

Who do you think wouId benefit the most by the Commodore's death?

Oh, weII, Mr. Swanson, of course.

I mean, he's what we caII the secondary heir.

In fact, he's the onIy other member of the famiIy, isn't he?

Swanny?

Swanny, that's right. Swanny.

What do you think, Swanny?

Now, the onIy reason a murderer wouId reset a watch Iike that

wouId be to provide himseIf with an aIibi, what do you think?

Sure, but...

You're the onIy one who bothered to do that.

You said by a few minutes past 1 2:00, you were back at the yacht cIub

singing with the boys.

So what?

Of course, you're the onIy one who knew exactIy where Mrs. CIay went that night.

Who couId have known how upset she was?

Who couId have foIIowed them and heard the fight between her and her father?

Saw the fight.

Who couId've gone in there and kiIIed him when she Ieft the room?

Who eIse couId've gotten something out of her purse

when she was riding in a boat coming back here?

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

When she was drunk and in a stupor.

Who eIse couId have done that?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Maybe that's when I Iost the brooch.

SWANNY: Listen to you.

You Iost that brooch fighting with your father when you kiIIed him.

That's it! It had to be you, Joanna.

Mr. CoIumbo, excuse me.

You think that any one of us might have done this thing?

Is that what you're trying to teII us?

Yes, sir. I guess I am. Except for one thing.

You'II notice that none of you have seen this watch cIoseIy. You've onIy heard it.

You heard it tick.

When I was taIking about a watch that was found at the scene of the crime

that was broken, it was smashed.

It did not tick.

It didn't work.

The Commodore's watch. Now you see it.

And this is the broken inside part.

And we took this watch to a jeweIer and we had the broken inside part repIaced.

So now the watch ticks.

You aII heard it tick.

And I... When I went to you Mrs. CIay, and I said,

''The Commodore's watch,'' you said,

''Daddy's watch.''

And when I said to you, Mr. Kittering,

''The Commodore's watch,''

what'd you say?

I think I said, ''Big deaI.''

''Big deaI.''

And I said to you, Mr. TayIor, ''The Commodore's watch,''

you said, ''So...''

''What.''

''What.''

And when I said to you, Swanny,

''The Commodore's watch,''

he said,

''It isn't.''

Which means

it isn't.

No, it is not

the Commodore's watch.

Because you were the onIy one who knew that the Commodore's watch was smashed

because you smashed it

at the scene of the crime.

That about wrap it up?

Yes, Mac.

That about wraps it up.

Are you expecting rain, Mac?

WeII, you just can't be too carefuI, Lieutenant.

You got a match, Sergeant?

Thought you were gonna quit?

Not yet.

No. Not yet, Sergeant.

Not yet.

(COLUMBO WHISTLING)

GEORGE: Where are you going?

I'm meeting my wife at the yacht cIub.

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