All language subtitles for Perry Mason s01e35 Lazy Lover.eng

Why did Bertie
have to park his car there?

Because he's inconsiderate
and selfish.

Hello, hello, hello.

Ah. What a welcome sight.

May I assume that a share
of this pale restorative is for me?

Naturally. You didn't think Mother was
going to swill all of it, did you, Bertie?

Well, of course not,
my dear Patricia.

Though I will admit your mother
is a woman of infinite capacity.

Mmm.

Though not necessarily for martinis,
you understand.

You're droll, Bertie, very droll.

Oh, Lucille, do you suppose
cook could hold up dinner a bit?

I kept Bob Fleetwood working so late
I asked him to join us.

lf, uh...

If it won't cause an upheaval,
you understand.

- Of course not.
- Thank you.

By the way, Bertie,

your car is blocking the driveway
pretty badly.

I had to clip the hedge to miss it.

I know.
I thought I was going out again.

I'll-- I'll move it presently.

Well, it could be pretty dangerous

for somebody
who doesn't know the drive.

All right, my dear, all right.

Call off the dogs.
I'll move my car right now.

[ENGINE STARTS]

Lucille! Pat!

Lucille!

What happened? Who is it?

- It's Bob.
- Bob Fleetwood?

- That's right.
- Here, put him over here.

- What--? What's wrong?
BERTIE: I don't know.

I found him lying in the--
In the driveway, by the hedge.

Oh, no.
No, you couldn't have hit anyone.

Is he hurt badly?

I think he's dead.

Anything interesting
this bleak Monday morning?

This little item on top
might bring you a ray of sunshine.

Just this bare-naked cheque?

Just that bare-naked 2,500 clams.

Della, when it's over 1,000,
you don't refer to them as clams,

they become dollars.

Lucille Faxon-Allred,
911 El Paseo Drive, Los Angeles.

- Now, that's what really puzzles me.
- What?

Well, there's a wire here
from the same woman

that came just a little bit ago,
only this is from Mountain View.

Let me see it.

"Please accept cheque
for $2,500

as a retainer to represent my daughter,
Patricia Faxon,

or myself if the need should arise.

Lucille Faxon-Allred."

- Isn't she married to Bertrand Allred?
- Yes, the mining man.

He's a pretty slick operator,
I understand.

- Here.
- What do you want me to do with it?

Well, it's drawn on our bank.
Just deposit it to my special account.

Ask the cashier
to give it a good, close look.

You don't know
what she wants you to do.

I don't know if it's her cheque.
We can give her back the money

if it turns out to be something
I don't wanna handle.

Oh, and before you go,

see if you can get her
on the telephone.

Information, I'd like Bertrand Allred,
911 El Paseo Drive.

[PHONE RINGS]

- Hello?
DELLA: Mrs. Allred, please.

- She's not at home. Who's calling?
- Mr. Perry Mason, the attorney.

Can you tell me
when she will be home?

Well, is it anything important?
Can I take a message?

Just have her call Mr. Mason,
please.

Yes, well, all--
All right, I-- I'll tell her.

What about Mrs. Allred's cheque?

Good as gold.
I wish we had a dozen of them.

In fact, I gather it didn't even
make a dent in her account.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Yes, Gertie?

Hold on, just a minute.
Mr. Bertrand Allred is here.

Send him in, please, Gertie.

He didn't waste any time
getting here.

Good morning, Mr. Allred.
Come in, won't you?

I'm delighted to meet you.

I've heard a great deal about you,
of course.

- Who hasn't? Thank you.
- Please sit down.

Oh, and Miss Street,
my confidential secretary.

- Delighted.
- How do you do?

Are you representing my wife,
Mr. Mason?

Why do you ask?

I shall be quite frank with you,
Mr. Mason.

But if you don't already know this,
I hope you will regard it as confidential.

My wife has run away
with Bob Fleetwood, my secretary.

Actually, "secretary" is a misnomer.
He really was my right hand.

- When was this?
- Night before last.

Saturday night, to be exact.
It really stunned me, Mr. Mason.

What is it exactly you are here
to see me about, Mr. Allred?

If Lucille wants a divorce,

heaven knows
I shan't stand in her way,

much as I would regret it.

But if you could just persuade her
to come back

and to go about it a little less
sensationally, you know--

You're concerned
only about the newspapers?

Well, to tell the truth, I need Bob.

Now, I'm dissolving a partnership
with a man named Jerome,

and actually, Bob is much closer
to many of the details

than either Jerome or myself.

And all you want me to do,

if I should happen to be in touch
with them,

is urge them to come back.

I'll cooperate with them
in any way they wish.

Very well.

If the opportunity arises,

I'll be glad to pass along
your message, Mr. Allred.

You have been most generous
with your time.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

Della, see if Paul Drake
can come in.

I wanna find
this Lucille Faxon-Allred.

You're going to represent her when
you don't even know what she wants?

I don't know what she wants, Della,

but any woman married
to Bertrand Allred can use some help.

I'm so glad you could come,
Mr. Mason.

- Did you hear from my mother?
- Yes, I heard from her.

Mr. Mason...

Well, you see, Mr. Mason,

I thought it was silly
just to retain a lawyer

and not explain anything to him.

So I'm gonna tell you all about it,
and I'll do whatever you say,

even if you think
I should go to the police.

You probably don't realise

that you're a very singular person,
Miss Faxon.

- Go ahead.
- Well...

The night before last, Saturday, I--

I hit a man with my car.

You know we have some high hedges
in front of our place?

- Yes.
- Well, that night, Bertie parked--

- Your father?
- No, no, he's my stepfather.

He parked his car so that it stuck out
in the driveway and--

And I had to swerve
to keep from hitting it.

I don't quite understand.

I was driving pretty fast
and, well, I felt this sort of a--

A thump, and--
And I thought it was the hedge,

and then later,
when Bertie went out to move his car,

well, he found Bob.

- Was he injured badly?
- Yes, we thought he was dead.

And then he came to,

but he didn't know who he was
or anything.

You mean he had amnesia?

Mm-hm. But Bertie was going
to take him to the hospital,

and then he said,
"What if he should die?"

Well, I would be charged
with manslaughter

and maybe even prisoned.

- Go on.
- So--

So Mother and Bertie
took him away someplace,

but I don't know where.

And what did you do?

- I stayed here, but...
- But what?

I don't know, Mr. Mason.

It just doesn't seem right
letting Mother get all involved

just to cover up for me.

And besides,

if Bob does die,
I'm not going to try to hide it.

And if he doesn't,
well, what do we gain?

And the way things are,
I don't exactly trust my stepfather.

What do you mean,
"the way things are"?

Well, Mother's divorcing Bertie
and he's pretty upset about it.

You see, she has quite a fortune,
and it isn't community property.

Has it occurred to you

that you might not have hit Fleetwood
with your car?

But if I didn't,
what happened to him?

Suppose someone slugged Fleetwood
and then left him lying there,

where he would have been
if you had hit him.

Do you think Bertie tried to kill him
and put it on me?

I don't know.

But if he did,
it means he's dangerous,

and the danger could extend
to your mother.

- Well, looks like you ran into the rain.
- Uh-huh.

- What did you run into?
- Pay dirt.

Mrs. Allred is registered
at the Mountain View Motel.

How long will it take us to get there?

About an hour.
Sooner if this rain lets up.

- Oh, hello, Della.
- Hello.

- You sure this is the right unit?
- This is it.

But shouldn't we check at the office
before we go in?

I don't think that will be necessary.

Face powder.

I guess we're a little late, Paul.

They haven't been gone long.
It's still warm in here.

Ice cubes haven't quite melted.

That room has been occupied.

- Fleetwood?
- Probably.

Well, there are only two glasses.

Apparently,
Mr. Allred wasn't with them.

Their daughter told me
the three of them went away together,

and Allred told me his wife
and Fleetwood ran off together.

- Who's telling the truth?
- Good question.

See what you can find out
from the manager.

- I'll wait in the car.
- Okay.

Perry, they left
about 20 minutes ago.

The manager remembers
hearing their car pull out.

And earlier,
Mrs. Allred went to the office

and put through a call
to El Paseo 67729.

When we get back to town,

get your men started looking
for Fleetwood and Mrs. Allred again.

Put a tail on her husband
when you locate him.

Okay.

Mr. Mason, this is my mother.

I'm relieved to see you, Mrs. Allred.

How do you do, Mr. Mason?

Well, I'm a bit confused
at the moment.

According to your husband,
you ran away with Bob Fleetwood.

Why, that's preposterous
to think such a thing.

I see.
Then where is Bob Fleetwood?

I don't know.

MASON: Well, you were with him at
the Mountain View Motel, weren't you?

Yes.

Then what happened?

Well, we were sitting
in the motel room last night,

waiting for my husband to arrive,
having a drink.

Bob seemed perfectly comfortable.

But then he excused himself
and went into his room.

- Through the bathroom?
- Yes.

When he didn't come back
for a long time,

I began to get worried,
so I called to him.

He didn't answer.
I went into his room and he'd gone.

Just walked out through the door,
taken my car and driven away.

Had, uh, Fleetwood
regained his memory?

No. I don't know.

What time did he leave?

What time?
Well, about a quarter to 9.

Mr. Mason,
this whole thing has me so upset, I--

I'm afraid I'm not very clear-headed
in an emergency.

How did you get back here
from the motel?

I brought her.

Mother called me here earlier,

when Bertie didn't show up
at the motel.

- Had he been there?
- Yes, off and on all weekend.

He was keeping an eye
on Bob Fleetwood.

What time did you arrive
at the Mountain View?

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Why, hello.
This is Lieutenant Tragg of Homicide.

Mrs. Allred. Her daughter.

Are you Mrs. Allred's lawyer, Mason,
or are you just acting as an MC?

I happen to be her attorney,
lieutenant.

When was the last time you saw
Robert Fleetwood, Mrs. Allred?

You're entitled to the reasons
for any questions

before you answer them,
Mrs. Allred.

Very well.

Your car was found at the bottom
of a canyon completely wrecked.

- Fleetwood was in that car and dead.
- Dead?

Well, then he must have...

[LUCILLE SIGHS]

I last saw him about a quarter of 9
last night, lieutenant.

You and your daughter
had better come in to headquarters.

Well, now, wait a minute, Tragg.
There's no justification for that.

Isn't there? The car was in neutral.

Nobody drives down a steep grade
like that.

Somebody stopped the car,
got out, released the brake,

and let the car plunge down the grade
and through the guardrail.

In other words,
Fleetwood was murdered.

Your client
left the Mountain View Motel

with Fleetwood in that car,

and about a half an hour later,
she returned alone and on foot,

at which time
her daughter picked her up.

Now you, uh, still think
there's no justification?

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

I'll, uh, get that.

I'm afraid there's been a mistake,
Mrs. Allred.

- You mean it wasn't my car?
- Yes, it was your car.

The facts remain the same,

but there was a mistake
in identification.

The, uh, dead man wasn't Fleetwood.

- Who was he?
- He was your husband.

- You'd better come along.
- Oh, no.

Mother.

Paul said he's onto something big
and he's staying with it.

In the meantime,
he said that he found out

that Mr. Allred
had received severe blows on the head

before he went over the cliff.

In fact, these could've killed him,
but the police can't be sure yet.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Yes, Gertie?

Oh, good, put him on.

Hello, Paul.

- Perry, I think we found Fleetwood.
- Where?

Up the canyon from Mountain View,

about eight miles east
in a small ranch house.

Is he all right?

He's still got amnesia,
if that's what you mean.

Now, listen.
There's a turnoff on a little sideroad.

A man by the name of Overbrook
has the ranch.

- You'll see a sign.
- Good, Paul.

- We'll see you when we get back.
- Okay, Perry.

When we get back from where?

How would you like to be married
for a couple of hours

to a fairly nice-looking man
about, uh, 40 years old?

[VEHICLE APPROACHES]

[DOG GROWLING, BARKING]

[DOORBELL BUZZES]

Good boy. That's enough, I hear it.

- Mr. Overbrook?
- Yes, ma'am.

Is Robert here? Robert Fleetwood?

- Robert?
- Yes.

It's her husband,
the man that lost his memory.

Oh, sure, come on in.
It's okay, Prince. They're all right.

- How'd you know he was here?
- We've been tracing him bit by bit.

- Is he all right?
- Yes, ma'am.

I reckon he's been sleeping, mostly.
I'll go get him.

Uh, just a moment, Mr. Overbrook.

Chances are,
Mr. Fleetwood won't recognise us.

It's happened before.

Sometimes if we appear suddenly,
he snaps right out of it,

so don't tell him who we are.

Okay, sure.

Well...

You're a fine boy, Prince.

OVERBROOK: They're right in here.
They just wanna talk to you.

Robert.

- Oh, Robert, we were so worried.
- What is this?

- Who is she?
- Oh, Robert.

Don't you remember me?
I'm Mabel, your wife.

You are not.
I never saw her before in my life.

How do you know?

Well, I just feel it.

I know, dear.
That's the way it was last time.

Don't you remember?
Come on, let's go home.

Come on, come on.
Come on, Robert.

In view of certain past accusations,
lieutenant,

I'd like this instance of my cooperation
with the police duly noted.

Remember I turned Fleetwood over
to you.

Oh, uh, would, uh, carved in stone
be satisfactory,

or shall we etch it in bronze?

Whichever is more expensive.

I also think
it would be no more than fair

to tell me
just what Fleetwood told you.

Oh, I think you have that coming
to you.

Well, before we took him
to General Hospital for observation,

Fleetwood said
that he was walking along the hedge

at the Allred place Saturday night,
and something hit him.

And now, while he can remember
everything up to that point,

he can't remember a thing since.

Mm-hm.

That's the way he'd react
if he had true amnesia.

[DOOR OPENS]

Mrs. Allred.

Thanks for bringing my client
up here.

One good turn deserves another.

Lieutenant Tragg still maintains
that you left the motel

with your husband.

Lieutenant Tragg is wrong. I didn't.

And no one could possibly
have seen me in that car.

I wasn't there.

You said Fleetwood left the motel
about a quarter to 9

and Pat picked you up
about a quarter after.

Now, I was there at 9:00.
Where were you?

I told you I wasn't very clear-headed
in an emergency.

When I was left alone at the motel,

the only thing I could think of
was to get away,

to get back home.

I ran down to the road
to try and get a hitchhike.

- That was a rather foolish thing to do.
- Mr. Mason, I was frightened.

- Of what?
- Not "of what." For Pat.

I went through that whole ordeal
with Bob Fleetwood

just to protect her.

She's my daughter, Mr. Mason.

She's the only thing in the world
I care about.

Then what happened

when you went out to the road
to hitchhike?

Well, then I realised
how foolish it was, so I--

I went back to the motel
to try and telephone a taxi.

Before I could do that,
my daughter arrived.

What was your general feeling
about your husband?

Well, a woman naturally likes to feel

that the man she married
is rather special.

At first, anyway.

Then to realise gradually,
day by day,

more clearly, more inescapably,

he's cheap, common, greedy, a liar

and a cheat,
both professionally and personally.

Well, it's a pretty bleak experience,
Mr. Mason.

I can well believe it.

I was going to divorce him,

even though he threatened to make it
the most shameful case ever tried.

I understand
you have a considerable fortune

which wasn't community property.

Do you think he might have
been willing to kill you for it?

He might have.

I didn't kill him, Mr. Mason.

And if I had, it wouldn't be
because I was afraid he might kill me,

if that's what you're getting at.

I wasn't getting at it.
But let's say the district attorney will.

My man at headquarters
picked something up, Perry.

Fleetwood's girlfriend came to see him
at the hospital.

She brought him cigarettes
and a razor.

- Who is she, Paul?
- Her name's Bernice Archer.

She lives in an apartment
out on Laurel.

How long did she stay
at the hospital?

- Mm, about half an hour. Uh-huh.
- Then she went home?

I think we should
call on Miss Archer, Paul.

- Well, you don't need me, do you?
- Yes, I want you to question her.

Just say you're a detective,

but not whether you're police
or private.

Maybe it'll help get information.

[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKER]

[DOORBELL BUZZES]

I'm Paul Drake, a detective.
I'd like to talk to you.

- May I see your credentials, please?
- Surely.

Just a minute, please.

I see. A private detective.

- That's right.
- And this gentleman with you?

My name is Mason. I'm an attorney.

- Oh, you're Perry Mason?
- That's right.

Well, gentlemen,
I don't know what I can do for you,

but if you want to come in
for a few minutes,

I suppose it's all right.

MASON: Excuse me.
PAUL: Mm-hm.

Thank you, Miss Archer.
We just want some information.

So I assume. Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

Now, Miss Archer,

is it too personal a thing to ask
if there's a romantic attachment

between you and Bob Fleetwood?

I'm very fond of him,
and I think it's mutual.

And naturally, you were quite upset
when he called you earlier today.

Oh, but I'm afraid I wasn't, Mr. Mason.
Why should I be upset?

You must have known by the papers

that he'd run away
with another woman,

that her husband
had been murdered.

When he called
and told you he had amnesia

and was in the hospital,
then you weren't upset?

- I don't quite understand.
- It's perfectly simple.

Bob's had brief spells
of amnesia before.

The first thing he told me
was not to worry,

that he wasn't mixed up in anything.

Well, Miss Archer,
you were entirely right

when you said
you wouldn't be able to help us.

Thank you again. Good night.

Good night, Mr. Mason,
and good luck with Mrs. Allred.

- You'll certainly need it, won't you?
- Why?

Well, it won't be easy to get her off,
will it?

- She's obviously guilty.
- But why are you so sure?

Well, who else could it be?

Mr. Allred obviously went out there
secretly in the rented car,

so no one knew he was there
except his wife and Bob.

Bob didn't do it, so she must have.

Well, those are the only people
we know of

who knew where Allred was.

Lots of others might have known.
You, for instance.

Oh, well, you can grasp at straws,
of course.

Good night, Mr. Mason.

- Coming, Paul?
- Mm-hm.

Good night.

What's he doing here?

Well, I was very disappointed
at your loss of memory, Fleetwood,

and, uh, Mason thinks
he can help you.

- I don't think you can.
- Well, I'll be happy to try.

Now, as I understand it,

since last Saturday night
when you were hit on the head,

you couldn't remember a thing
that happened to you

until you talked to Lieutenant Tragg
yesterday.

However,
Monday you made a phone call

from Mountain View
to Westgate 69811.

What of it?
Why shouldn't I call my girl?

You didn't even know
you had a girl then, Fleetwood,

let alone her phone number.

Withholding information in a murder
looks even worse

when you could be the killer yourself.

All right.

All right, I'll tell you.
I'll tell you what a spot I was in.

Bertrand Allred
was about to steal a fortune

from his partner, Stanley Jerome.

How?

Well, they had bought
a mining property.

Allred forged a fake report
of the survey

showing that it was worthless.

Well, on Saturday night,

I stumbled across the true report
showing that it was worth millions.

- You told Allred you found it?
- Yeah, that was my mistake.

Well...

I was so surprised, puzzled,

when I saw it, I blurted out,
"What's this?"

But when I saw his face,
I knew what it was.

He'd started after me. I turned to run.
I didn't get very far.

He must have hit me.
Anyway, I blacked out.

- I think he thought I was dead.
- And the next thing you remembered?

I came to in the living room
with the two women in hysterics,

Pat thinking that she'd killed me
with her car.

I must have been in a state of shock
and I was scared.

Couldn't think of anything else, and so
I came up with the amnesia thing.

MASON: That was when Mrs. Allred
took you to the Mountain View Motel?

That's right.

Mr. Allred stayed with us at the motel
until Sunday night.

Then Monday night,
Allred came back to kill me.

I think he was gonna kill his wife too,
while he was about it.

Anyway, he pulled a gun,

he made his wife
get into the trunk of the car--

- In the trunk?
- I know, but he did.

- He made me drive.
- Go ahead.

Well, as we started
down the mountain road,

we were creeping along,
going downgrade in low gear.

Suddenly I gave it the gun,
and then I slammed the brakes on.

Allred was sitting next to me, sideways.
Threw him off balance.

He slammed him into the dash,
and I grabbed the gun

and conked him with it
before he could get up.

But I don't ever want to go
through anything like that again.

After that
you went to Overbrook's farm.

TRAGG:
Why?

Well, Overbrook
had lost some money too--

Quite a bit of it.
--in a deal with Allred.

He said that if he ever came
on his property, he'd kill him.

Overbrook didn't know me,
so I figured I'd be safe.

Anyway, I drove the car up there,

I pulled it off into a muddy field,
and then I headed for the house.

- Leaving Mrs. Allred in the trunk?
- Oh, no.

No, I was gonna let her out,
but when the car stopped,

she managed to open the trunk.

- How could she do that?
- I don't know. Maybe it wasn't closed.

Anyway, she jumped out
and she took off.

I called to her,
but she kept right on running.

Well, since you were so afraid
of Allred, why--?

That's enough for now.

- I want to ask--
- I said you could hear his story.

I didn't say
you could cross-examine him.

You'll have a chance for that
in court.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Just a friendly word

before you get yourself out on a limb
for Mrs. Allred.

Just before you got here,
I received information

that completely confirms
Fleetwood's story in every detail.

And, um, he has no knowledge
of that information yet.

Are you gonna tell me what it is?

Well, that's, uh, for the district attorney
to say.

And the state will further prove
that a witness found tracks

in the muddy field

which show unmistakably
where the murder car drove in,

where Fleetwood left it
and walked to the house,

where the defendant, Lucille Allred,
jumped from the trunk,

ran out to the road,

and where she then walked back
and got in the car,

where the car turned around
and drove away,

and incidentally, where her lipstick
was discovered lying on the ground.

All these facts, the state will prove
in support of its contention

that Lucille Allred did willfully
and with malice of forethought

drive her husband
to the edge of the mountain cliff,

disengage the gears of the car,

and then send him over that cliff
to his death.

Do you wish to make
an opening statement, Mr. Mason?

Defence will reserve its remarks

for the presentation of its case,
Your Honour.

I call Robert Fleetwood
to the stand, please.

And what happened then,
Mr. Fleetwood,

after you left the Overbrook place

with Perry Mason
and Miss Della Street,

the woman
who claimed to be your wife?

They brought me
to police headquarters.

I think that's all. Cross-examine.

How did it happen
that all your identification

and personal effects
were on Allred's body

when it was found,

and that you had nothing whatever
on your person

when you arrived
at police headquarters?

He took all that stuff off of me
the night he hit me in the head.

- Why?
- I don't know.

You could never tell
what was on Allred's mind.

You didn't put these articles
in his pocket yourself

after you had
knocked him unconscious?

No.

Isn't it true that you could
simply have walked out of the motel

on Mrs. Allred any number of times

between Saturday night
and Monday night?

I don't know, I guess I could.

Wasn't the real reason
you didn't walk out of that motel

the fact that you knew
there were millions

in the true mining report,

and that you thought
there might be an opportunity

for you to kill Bertrand Allred
and then cheat Stanley Jerome

and Mrs. Allred out of their share
of this property?

No.

No further questions.

BURGER:
Lieutenant Tragg, you were present

when a diagram was made
of the Overbrook property,

this diagram which has been enlarged
onto this blackboard?

Yes, I was.

Can you tell us,
of your own personal knowledge,

whether this sketch
includes all the tracks

that were found in that area?

Yes, I can.

We recorded every track, sign
and indentation in the whole area

for a hundred yards around.

- We even put in the dog tracks.
- Thank you, lieutenant.

Mr. Overbrook,
have you had much experience

as a tracker?

Yes, sir.
I was born in big-game country

and I worked as a guide quite a spell,

and I've tracked for the police
a time or two.

I wonder if you'd step down
to the board

and tell us everything you saw
and did

on the morning when you went out
to backtrack Robert Fleetwood.

Oh, yes, sir. All right, sir.

Uh, you see,
this was the next morning

after Mr. Fleetwood
had been to my house.

See, now, this is my house,
and I came out here, and this is--

Oh, Mr. Burger, do you mind
if I just use my hands?

- It's--
- Go ahead.

Well, you see, I came out here,
and I started there, and I picked up--

These are Fleetwood's tracks

as he came from the car
the night before up to the house.

Okay.

And this is where I started
and backtracked him around to here,

where the car had been sitting.

- The car was about there?
- Well, yes, sir, just about right there.

Now, this where it backed up
and turned around

and drove off down the road,
of course.

- Like this?
- Yes, sir.

Now, when I got to this point,

I could see right here

that some woman had jumped down
from the back of the car,

right from the trunk,
and run down to the road, right?

These are her footprints.

And then from here,

she walked back up from the road
and got in the car.

Now, wait a minute.

As an experienced tracker,

it was beyond question clear to you
that the woman jumped from the car,

ran to the road,

and then walked back up
and got in the car again?

Yes, sir. Fellow wouldn't have to be
much of a tracker to tell that,

not in that soft ground.

All right, after you'd found these tracks
and everything,

what did you do next?

Well, I figured the sheriff
ought to know about this, so I--

I walked back up along here--

These are my footprints

as I went back up
to my little farm road.

--and then along here.

And I got a load of scrap lumber,
and I brought it back

and I spread it out along here, so--
And--

So that people could get out there
without messing things up.

Now, let's see. This would have gone
something like this?

Yes. Yes, sir. That's--
That's fine. That's...

All right, what then?

Well, then I went back in my house
and telephoned the sheriff.

Thank you, sir.
You may take your seat.

- Yes, sir.
- In the witness stand, Mr. Overbrook.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Overbrook, in your opinion,

could anyone have gotten
from that car,

to it or away from it,
without leaving tracks?

Heh-heh. Not unless he was a bird.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Cross-examine.

If those are your tracks,
you'd better tell me now.

But they're not mine.

I don't know whose they are,
but I've told you the truth.

Does counsel
wish to cross-examine?

Yes, I beg your pardon, Your Honour.
I do have one question.

Mr. Overbrook,

you say that no one
could get to or from the car

without leaving tracks.

Now, suppose a very light person
in sock feet, say,

making every effort
to conceal his tracks--

Well, do you mean such a person
could find no path to that car

which wouldn't be clearly evident?

Mr. Mason,
the way the ground is around there,

and there's hardly any grass at all,
I'm sorry, it just couldn't be done.

Thank you, Mr. Overbrook.
That's all.

JUDGE: You may step down.
- That's our case, Your Honour.

I move that the court dismiss this case
and free the defendant from custody.

There is certainly no evidence
sufficient to show

that she is in any way connected
with the death of the deceased.

On the contrary, Your Honour.
The evidence here is beyond dispute.

Somebody had to drive the car
out of that field

and back up the highway
and off into the canyon.

An eyewitness's testimony
put the defendant at that car,

and her own footprints
in the muddy field

irrefutably confirm that testimony.

The purpose of this hearing

is only to prove
that a crime has been committed

and to show reasonable grounds

for believing that the defendant
committed that crime.

I've not only proved that,

I've proved that no one else
could've committed it.

Yes, your evidence is ample,
Mr. Burger.

Motion denied.

However,
I see we've reached the noon hour.

Court will adjourn
until 2 this afternoon.

Defendant remanded
to custody of sheriff.

Stand adjourned.

Lunch, Perry?

We'll grab some sandwiches
along the way.

Along what way?

We're going to Overbrook's
to examine those prints

and do a little reconnoitring.

Come on.

Perry.

Why were you so easy
on Fleetwood?

Well, he's lying about Mrs. Allred,
but until I know why,

pushing him could do more harm
than good.

And he couldn't have
driven the car away himself,

because he left just one set
of footprints,

leading from the car to the house.

Now, from here to there,
where the trunk of the car would be,

it's about six feet.

- Coming and going.
- That's right.

Perry, I hate to say this,

but how could Fleetwood be lying
about your client?

After all, he knew nothing
about the tracks coming back

when he said she ran away
from the car.

DELLA:
Maybe they're his girlfriend's.

Bernice Archer came out here.
Now, she could have--

No, no, we checked her thoroughly,
just as the police must have.

She was positively in town
all Monday evening

and all Monday night.

- I tell you, to me it just looks hopeless.
- Maybe not.

Della, start here
and run toward the road.

But the car was here.
There aren't any prints.

I know. Try it anyway.

- Run?
- Run.

Starting here. Come on, now.

Oh. Well?

What Paul said may change
the whole conception of this thing.

We'd better get back to court.

What I said? What did I say?

Your Honour,
I strenuously object to this.

Counsel has had every opportunity
to examine Miss Archer.

For him to recall her now--

Your Honour,
I can now definitely state

that if I'm permitted
this cross-examination,

I can bring out evidence
which will exonerate the defendant

and completely refute
Robert Fleetwood's testimony.

Well, in that case,
the situation becomes quite different.

The Supreme Court has held that
the order of examination of witnesses

is exclusively in the discretion
of the trial court.

It has also held
that the trial court exists

for the purpose of doing justice

and not for enabling lawyers
to practise legal gymnastics

at the expense of the equity.

The court's going along
with Mr. Mason here.

Miss Archer,
take the stand again, please.

Now, Miss Archer, just a few questions
about the night of the murder.

Certainly, Mr. Mason.

You previously testified
you spent the evening with your sister.

Yes.

Did you get any telephone calls
at your sister's house?

Telephone calls?
Not that I remember.

Is the phone number Olive 17723
familiar to you?

Yes, that's my sister's number.

I have a record here
of a long-distance call

put through to you at that number
on Monday, the night of the murder.

Now, I ask you now,

did you speak to Robert Fleetwood
that night?

- I may have.
- Well, did you or did you not?

Yes, I did.

MASON:
Now, Miss Archer,

when you spoke to Mr. Fleetwood
on the phone the night of the murder,

did he tell you he needed your help?

ARCHER: No.
- Did he tell you

he wanted to involve Mrs. Lucille Allred
in a murder already committed

or in process or planned?

No.

Did you drive to the Overbrook place,
Miss Archer,

sometime just before dawn

the morning after your visit
with your sister?

And weren't yours the woman's tracks
found near the car?

No, they were not.

Wasn't this the scheme
Robert Fleetwood evolved

to implicate the defendant,
Mrs. Lucille Allred?

- No.
- No?

Then was it your scheme,
Miss Archer?

That's all.

Your Honour,
now for a point of proof,

I would like to have Mr. Overbrook
return to the witness stand.

Mr. Overbrook, please.

MASON:
Now, Mr. Overbrook,

will you kindly explain
how the tracks of this woman

prove that she ran from the car
to the road

and then walked back to the car
from the road?

Well, they just show it, is all.
You see, they start there at the trunk--

No, no, Mr. Overbrook,
what I mean is this:

How do these tracks prove

that this woman first didn't walk
to the car from the road

and then run from the car
to the road?

Well, I--

Gosh, Mr. Mason, I reckon she could.
I never thought about that.

Only-- Now, wait a minute.

After she got back to the car, or in it,

how'd she get from there around
and into the trunk

without making any sign?

- What if the car wasn't there?
- Huh?

Well, let me illustrate.

Suppose a certain woman
wanted to implicate Mrs. Allred

and protect Robert Fleetwood.

And suppose Fleetwood
and this woman invented the story

about Mrs. Allred being in the trunk.

And early
on the morning after the murder,

this woman took a lipstick
of the same brand Mrs. Allred carries

and went out
to where the car had been sitting

and left that lipstick there
in order to confirm their story.

Now, wouldn't it be quite evident
to this woman when she got there

that if she walked out onto that field,
she would inevitably leave tracks?

Well, sure, unless she was blind.

But suppose
the woman were bright enough

to have walked from here
up to here,

and then, by using a piece of brush
or something to stand on,

she was able to cross this area here
where the car had been,

and then she had run along here
back to the road.

Now, if she had done that,

wouldn't she have left the same tracks
that you discovered?

Well, she sure would.

And come to think of it,

there was a little bush
growing right there

that she could have stepped on
and jumped to that other spot

without leaving any sign,
because it was already messed up

on account of the fact that the car
had been parked right over it.

Then those tracks
could have been made

without anyone having been
in the trunk of the car at all?

Well, yes, sir.
I guess you could be right.

Now, Mr. Overbrook,

is the telephone number Olive 17723
familiar to you?

No, sir, I never even heard the number
till you brought it up here in court.

But Mr. Fleetwood called that number
from your house.

It's a very small house.
You must have heard him.

No, sir.

I see.

He must have made the call
while you were out of the house.

MASON:
Hm.

Now, Mr. Overbrook,
the day we called on you, I, uh--

- I noticed your dog, Prince.
- Yes.

I also noticed, uh, they have, uh,
his tracks here on the sketch.

Well, anywhere I go,
Prince is always with me,

unless I give him a job to do,
like watching the house or something.

I see.

Now, will you explain to this court
how it happens

that there are so many
of Prince's tracks

in this area, where you left the car,

and none at all through here,
where you were going to the car?

Well, to tell you the truth, I--
I don't know.

I guess he was, uh...

I guess he was out chasing a rabbit
or something.

Isn't it a fact that your tracks here

and your tracks over here
were made at two different times,

and that Prince was with you one time
and not the next?

Of course not. That's crazy.

How could it be,
when you can see right there that--?

I'll tell you how it could be.

On the night of the murder,
on Monday night,

when Fleetwood was in bed,
you left Prince to watch him.

And right then,
without taking your dog along,

you backtracked Fleetwood
along here to the car.

Lying in the car, unconscious,
you found Bertrand Allred,

a man you hated,
a man you had threatened to kill.

And you drove that car out of the field
down to the highway,

and then you sent it off
into the canyon.

No, no, I never. I never done it.

And later you suddenly remembered

that while your tracks
went to where the car had been,

your tracks did not return
from the car.

So you got those boards
and laid them out on the field like this.

And then you walked out
on those boards to this point here,

stepped off and walked back
towards the farm road,

making these tracks here
at that time.

And then you went to your house.

Isn't that the truth, Mr. Overbrook?

Isn't that exactly the way
you killed Bertrand Allred?

No, he was already dead.

No, he was dead when I got there.
I just hauled him away.

You can see the spot I was in
if they found him there.

- I was afraid--
- No, that's a lie.

That isn't true, that's a lie.
He wasn't dead.

He was all right.

[COURT MURMURING]

Well, actually,
Paul started me thinking right

when he mentioned
the woman's tracks in reverse,

as coming and going.

Well, I guess I can't complain, Perry.

After all,
you got an innocent woman off

and you handed me the murderer.

- I did?
- Certainly.

Which one?

Why, Overbrook, of course.
Don't you see?

Fleetwood never would have left Allred
if Allred were dead.

He expected Allred to come to
and drive away,

only Overbrook got there first.

What if Allred was hurt worse
than Fleetwood thought

and really was dead?

- Well, in that case, what--?
- On the other hand,

Overbrook could be
honestly mistaken.

He might have thought
Allred was dead when he wasn't,

and the crash could have killed him.

Thank you, Mr. Mason,
you've been a big help.

Heh. Anytime at all, Mr. Burger.

BURGER:
Heh.

All right, who really did kill Allred?

Overbrook.
Burger had it right the first time.

I just couldn't bring myself
to the point of agreeing with him.

It might establish
a dangerous precedent.

[ALL CHUCKLE]

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