All language subtitles for Perry Mason S04E15 The Case of the Fickle Fortune.DVDRip.NonHI.cc.en.CBS

Yes?

I'm Mrs. Hollister.

I see.

Well, if you read
the notice here...

I was poor Augusta
Bowdoin's housekeeper

before she passed on.

Are you able to find
everything all right?

Oh, yes. I'll manage
all right, thank you.

Well, I know you people
are making an inventory.

And I was wondering about a
vase I was always very fond of.

Everything here will be
taken to the county warehouse

as soon as I finish
my investigation.

Well, yes, of course, but I...

That's where everything
goes in a case like this,

where somebody dies
and there's no will, no heirs.

Well, I thought I
could be of some help.

No, thank you, Mrs.
Hollister. I'm sorry.

Well, then...

Hi.

Hi, honey.

Ralph, watch the eggs.

Honey, just wait till
you see what I found.

I was just starting to inventory
that old Bowdoin house

when out popped more money
than you ever saw in your life. Heh.

Money?

Hey, Charley.

Charley, how would
you like to see $153,000,

all tucked into
one little envelope?

Oh, Ralph.

What did you do,
Ralphie, rob a bank?

Now wait a minute. It isn't
my money, you understand.

As a matter of fact, it isn't
really spending money.

Well, then, what on earth is it?

What do you mean,
it isn't really money?

Remember those old
greenbacks, darling?

Currency the government
called in years ago.

I guess big amounts like
this wouldn't be honored now

except under special
circumstances,

but I wanted you to see it

before I had to hand
it over to the county.

Ralph, you know

you're not supposed
to bring things home.

You could get in trouble.

Oh, darling, what they
don't know down at the office

doesn't hurt them. Heh.

I just wanted to show
you what it looks like...

Well?

It's gone.

It can't be.

I-I put it in there myself,

and I only stopped
at the grocery store.

A hundred and fifty
thousand dollars.

Oh, Ralph. You fool.

Well, well, would
you look at that.

Benjamin Franklin.

Liberty dressed as Columbia.

Look how much bigger these are

than the bills we have nowadays.

Heh. Yeah.

Of course, I nearly
got the scare of my life

when I hear they're only good
under special circumstances.

Well, there were
circumstances under which

even the Continentals were
good during the Revolution.

And I suppose that Robert E. Lee

didn't mind taking his
salary in Confederate money.

Mr. Farrell, that... That's
just kidding, ain't it?

I mean, greenbacks
are still real dough.

Technically, I suppose so.

But, uh, what was your purpose

in bringing all of this
to me, Mr. Nickels?

Oh, just call me Charley.

See, I remembered how you said

if I ran across
anything really valuable,

how'd you'd be interested
in hearing about it.

And it seemed to
me that $153,000...

Well, I was referring
to objects of art.

Being in the export business,

I have a large market
open in that field.

But, uh... Heh. Old
money hardly qualifies.

And where did you
find this, anyway?

Well, I-I'm walking past
the grocery store last night,

and I see my cousin's car.

He's the one that
works at the county.

Yes, well, never mind, Charley.
Maybe I'd just as soon not know.

There'd be all
sorts of risk attached

in getting this amount
of money exchanged.

But wouldn't it be worth it?

I mean,

even if we sold off for 70
or 80 cents on the dollar.

Or if you gave me half?

You mean you'll do it?

How?

How, Mr. Farrell?

Hello, there.

Hello, Lloyd.

Norma, it's wonderful
seeing you again.

Won't you sit down?

I've been right at the
same telephone number.

Of course, I haven't
been just sitting,

waiting there
all the time, but...

I know, Norma.

I know how long it's been.

One year.

Uh, two Gibsons, please.

Yes, sir.

One with a double onion.

Surely, sir.

That you remembered.

I remember a lot more than that.

You, uh, still work
for the county?

Yes. Why?

Oh, I don't know.

Something reminded me of it.

Uh, a rather unusual
business opportunity

I happened to run into.

It happened to remind you of me?

No. Just something I
thought I'd ask about, that's all.

It doesn't matter.

How is your mother?

It seems to me the last
time we saw each other

was when you just
happened to want to meet

some people I worked for.

I thought perhaps when
the phone rang this time...

Norma.

I wanted to see you.

I called you because
I can call you now.

Because I have the right to.

Because I finally
got my divorce.

I'm sorry, Lloyd.

What was the question
you wanted to ask?

Well, I just wondered
whether it was difficult

to get a name off the
county rolls, that's all.

The name of a pensioner.

What sort of name did you want?

Someone very old.
Someone who's going to die.

Now, where shall we have dinner?

I know a beautiful
new steak place.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

Mm?

Did you see this
thing about the old man

who died the other day?

See who, dear?

The one who was
supposed to have been poor,

only he left $148,000.

Don't I have enough trouble

that you have to
read me every story...?

But Ralph, the money
he left was in old bills.

Greenbacks.

"It was revealed today
that Josiah Ames, aged 83,

"who passed away last night
at the Sunnydale Rest Home,

was by no means a pauper."

"A routine search of
the old man's effects

"disclosed $148,000
in very old currency

"commonly known as greenbacks,

"a type of money which
has long since been recalled

"by the United States Treasury.

"A handwritten will bequeathed
the out-of-date fortune

to Albert G. Keller, a
longtime resident of this city."

And, what was the
amount of old currency

you found in that house?

It totaled $153,000.

Just 5,000 more than the
amount mentioned here.

Yes.

It's quite a difference,
of course, uh,

so it could be
just a coincidence.

But you don't really think
it is coincidence, do you?

Well, neither do I.

The trouble is,

most anybody could have
gotten that envelope out of my car.

I only stopped at the
grocery store and...

And I locked it.

Mr. Duncan, I take it
you haven't yet reported

either the discovery or loss
of the currency to anyone.

No, Mr. Mason.
That's why I'm here.

I kept intending to
report it all along.

O-only now, I've
got to do something.

You are aware of the fact
that when old currency is found

as part of an estate,

it, uh, automatically
becomes redeemable.

Yes, that's what I mean.

The money goes
through probate court,

and then the Treasury
Department redeems the old bills

with new currency
to pay the heirs.

Now, if this is part of
the money you found,

someone has played
a very neat trick.

They fixed it so you
can't prove your story,

can't even prove the
money's the same.

But I've got to.

I've got to tell the truth,
even if I lose my job.

I'll do whatever you advise,
Mr. Mason. Only, please help me.

Della.

Call Paul?

A little bundle of clothes,

and a few books,

and an old footlocker.

That's all Mr. Ames owned.

Why, when we found
that he had written a will,

we all just laughed at the
idea of his even needing one.

Then the old gentleman
never mentioned his money?

This is a charity
place, Mr. Drake.

Miss Hamilton, who actually
found the greenbacks?

I did.

Clear in the bottom
of his footlocker.

First there was an old
sweater, then a newspaper,

then several big
pictures of his wife.

She's been dead a long time,

He told me once...

Uh, did you count
the money yourself?

Well, there were four
of us there besides me.

We all counted.

It was $148,000.

Didn't you know?

Miss Hamilton, was
there anything unusual

about Mr. Ames' death?

Did he die, uh, unexpectedly?

This is a terminal
rest home, Mr. Drake.

I first met Mr. Ames when he
came out here from Kansas.

Salina, Kansas, I believe.

That would be
about 15 years ago.

Only, why do you ask, Mr. Mason?

Are you representing
a relative of his?

No, Mr. Keller, not a relative.

Yes, I always understood
he didn't have any.

Well, I certainly don't
have any secrets.

Ames opened a little repair
shop over on 8th Street.

I used to drop in and
help him with his books,

what little there was of them.

Sometimes we played chess.

Did Mr. Ames ever mention to
you that he had made out a will?

One in your favor?

No.

Oh, he did say several
times that he was grateful

that I dropped in on him,

and that someday he'd prove it.

Didn't you take him seriously?

Heh. Would you have, Mr. Mason,
under those circumstances?

I knew he meant
well, that's all.

He certainly never
gave me any indication

that he had any money.

Now, see here, Mason.

You perhaps have gathered

that I have quite a successful
accounting business here.

That does not mean, however,
that I'm not going to accept,

and thoroughly enjoy,
this windfall inheritance.

So if your client is planning
to contest Mr. Ames' will...

No, Mr. Keller.

No, I don't think my
client will contest the will.

Thank you.

You've been very helpful.

But if Paul said there's
nothing wrong at the rest home

where the old gentleman died,

and if you had nothing but
a friendly chat with his heir...

Well, at least Mr. Keller's
story sounded convincing.

There has to be something
fraudulent somewhere.

Why? Facts indicate that these
just aren't the same greenbacks

your client was worried about.

Right at the present time,

according to the
best authorities,

there are still a great
number of greenbacks

that have never been
turned in for redemption.

In fact, more than a third
of a billion dollars worth.

A third of a billion dollars?

In old currency,

just lying around
one place or the other,

waiting to be picked up.

Well, then the whole thing

really could have
been a coincidence.

Poor Mr. Duncan.

Hello? Yes, this is Mr. Duncan.

What?

Whose house? Yes, but...

Hey. Hey, wait a
minute. Wait a minute.

Don't hang up. Who is this?

Who...?

Hello. May I speak
to Mr. Mason, please?

No, I'm sorry, Mr. Mason
has left for the day.

No, Miss Street has gone also.

But if you tell me what it is, I
can locate Mr. Mason for you.

This is Ralph Duncan.
Tell him I just got a call.

Somebody claims that a
man named Lloyd Farrell

knows all about the money.

Tell him I'm going there now.

Uh, could you
speak a little slower?

Uh, hello?

Mr. Duncan?

Here, wait a minute, you.

We had a complaint.

You just come out of this house?

There's a man in there.

He's been murdered.

Get all the prints
you can, sergeant.

Uh, the murder weapon was a
sharp instrument of some kind.

Yes, sir.

Oh, that the ambulance?

Never mind. I'll get it.

Well, the counselor.

Oh, good evening, lieutenant.

Correction. Unit 3, come in.

I suppose you're going to
tell me you have a client here.

You're always very
perceptive, lieutenant.

What's going on?

Well, I'm surprised you
had to ask that, Perry.

Usually you know before I do.

Mr. Mason.

Hello, Mr. Duncan.

It's all right, officer.

Well, I guess this answers

the obvious
question, doesn't it?

I might have known you wouldn't
be lawyer to a corpse, Perry.

Oh, lieutenant.

Well, that's an exotic
thing to be killed by.

It was under the body.
There's, uh, something else.

Okay. Excuse me Perry.

Oh.

You'll vouch for the
continued presence

of Mr. Duncan here, of course?

Now, why should
that be necessary?

Mr. Duncan has done nothing
wrong here that I know of.

Well, don't get all worked up.

I'll need him downtown
for a statement, that's all.

After all, he was only found
here at the scene of the murder.

It's that man, Farrell.

He was dead when I came here.

I got your message.

You said someone,
uh, called you about him.

Who was it, do you know?

No. Just a woman's voice.

She gave me Farrell's name,

said to ask him what
happened to the greenbacks,

and then hung up.

How did you know Farrell,

know who he was?

I met him once,
about a year ago.

He wanted to talk
about the possibility

of buying some
of the art objects

that I've run across
in my investigations.

Art objects like
that unusual knife?

No. I never saw it before.

How did you happen to
meet? Was it just by chance?

It was having lunch, I think.

Charley introduced us.

Charley?

My cousin, Charley Nickels.

He's been staying with
us for some time now.

What do you you
have there, lieutenant?

Something you're
not interested in, Perry.

Money.

Some, uh, very big
and very old money.

I guess these greenbacks
might be what, uh, someone

was searching for in there.

Uh, wouldn't you think so?

I don't know. How
many are there?

Five thousand dollars worth.

That mean anything to you?

Correction. Unit 3, come in.

Well, never mind.

Uh, now, if you'll
excuse us, counselor.

Oh, I got your
message, Mr. Mason.

Hello, Mr. Nickels.

I appreciate your coming in.

Well, anything I can
do to help old Ralph.

Uh, that goes without saying.

Sit down, won't you?

I understand you
knew Lloyd Farrell.

Well, I only met him a
couple of times, that's all.

One of those times
was at a luncheon.

Ralph Duncan was there also.

Tell me, was having
lunch together your idea?

What? No, no.

Me, I'm only a middleman.

What do you mean, middleman?

Mr. Mason, I want
to help all I can,

so I've been trying to remember.

But see, at this lunch, I was
just doing a favor, that's all.

A girl who works
down at Ralph's office

thought it'd be a good
idea for him to meet Farrell.

It was her idea, not mine.

Who is the girl?

Uh, her name's Norma Brooks.

Old friend of yours?

No. No, not at all.

In fact, I only talked
to her sometimes

when I picked up
my cousin at work.

Mr. Nickels,

why did this girl want Farrell
and Duncan to meet, do you know?

She thought they'd have
things in common, I-I guess.

What kind of things?

I don't know.

Heh. Come to think of it,

I don't know what
Mr. Farrell's business was.

Import and export.

And from what I can find out,
he was doing very well at it.

There is, however, a rumor
to the effect that Farrell

may have been dabbling
in a profitable sideline.

Disposing stolen goods?

Mm. How'd you know?

I didn't.

But if it's true, it would
account for a few enemies

who might have wished him dead.

Check.

What about his
friends? Intimate friends?

Well, if you mean the
ladies, Farrell had his share.

Here, I got a list.

Norma Brooks on it?

Perry, why do I go to all
the trouble of digging...?

Heh-heh. Paul,
you're doing fine.

Now, I'd like you to go
to the Bowdoin house.

Better take your
camera with you.

Okay. What's the idea?

I'd like you to check
that old currency

right straight through.

Where and how it was hidden,
where and how it was found,

where and how it was
stolen from Duncan's car.

There's a link there, somewhere.

On second thought,
I'll meet you out there.

Say, in about an
hour and a half.

All right.

It just might be here.

This is Mr. Duncan's
caseload file.

Bates, Benson,

Bowdoin.

Here it is.

The estate of Augusta Bowdoin.

I'm surprised.

I thought this one had
already gone to probate.

It should have by now.

Has, um, someone else
been assigned to this case?

Besides Mr. Duncan? Mm-hm.

No, I'm sure not.

Then no one has
been out there since?

That's right.

I suppose that's the key
to the Bowdoin house?

Shall I ask the
supervisor if it's all right

for you to look
at this material?

Shall we, um...?
Shall we talk in there?

I was hoping to
avoid any red tape,

and I thought perhaps
you could tell me

if there were any money
mentioned in there.

Money? I don't think so.

Mr. Mason,

they haven't actually accused
Mr. Duncan of anything,

have they?

The newspaper said he
was just being questioned.

I thought if we looked
into that particular estate,

we might find answers
to some questions

and forestall any further
embarrassment to Mr. Duncan,

that's all.

I... I wondered why I was...

I wondered why you asked for me.

Well, you are his secretary.

Oh, no.

Ralph... Ralph didn't
have a regular secretary.

I work in lots of
other departments.

How long had you
known Lloyd Farrell?

What?

Yes, I knew Lloyd.

We were rather good
friends at one time in fact.

Why did you ask Charley
Nickels to bring them together?

Lloyd and Ralph?

Lloyd asked me to arrange it.

For what purpose, Miss Brooks?

He wanted to find out
how he could bid on...

On the unclaimed effects
from some of the estates.

Did it occur to you
that Lloyd Farrell

might have wanted to
transact some illegal business

with Duncan?

That wasn't it at all.

Who told you that?

Now, you said that
you and Lloyd Farrell

were good friends at one time.

Please, Mr. Mason.

It's very personal.

His death came as a
great shock to you, didn't it?

Lloyd Farrell wasn't
always very nice.

I knew that.

But I'd never known
anyone like him.

I couldn't help myself.

Regardless of what he was like,

do you honestly think
that Ralph Duncan

could have murdered him?

Oh, no.

You know...

if no one else has
been there at the house,

I'd like to take a look at it.

Would it help Mr. Duncan?

Hi, Perry. All set.

Paul Drake. Miss Brooks.

How do you do, Miss
Brooks? How do you do?

Now I think we can verify

what Duncan found
in there, all right.

And one thing: In
checking the case files,

Miss Brooks said that some
woman by the name of Hollister

called their office
several times

asking about greenbacks.

Some busybody housekeeper.

Ah, Perry, there's
also a busy woman

named Della Street who called.

Excuse us.

Just in case you're trying to
tie the whole thing together

and trace the same
money all the way through.

The message?

Della got the handwriting
report on Mr. Ames' will.

They compared it with some
letters the old man had written.

And it's the real thing.
No forgery there at all.

Hence, no fraud.

Now, you still wanna go
chasing some phony clue?

Personally, I think
your client's lying...

Ralph Duncan told me
the truth. I'm sure of it.

Now let's go. All right.

It's perfectly
all right to go in.

I'm sure there's nothing
of any value in here.

Well, hello, Perry.

You looking for something?

Never mind, sergeant.

Just talk to that young
lady outside there, if you will.

Uh, come in. Come in.

I, uh, think I've
found the place

where that, uh, money came from.

That $5,000 in
greenbacks, you remember?

Never underestimate
the efficiency of the law.

Heh. Your client probably looted

quite a number of
places like this, Perry.

He did the stealing and
Farrell did the fencing.

It's all simple enough.

I wouldn't be too sure. Oh, no?

Well, here.

Just, uh, look what else
Duncan took from this place.

I, uh, found the box
in a drawer here.

That, um, fancy knife.

The murder weapon, remember?

Wouldn't you say it fits?

Fits well enough to,
uh, charge Duncan

with murder in the first degree?

The wound was inflicted in
the lower-left thoracic cavity

between the
fourth and fifth ribs.

The blade barely managed
to penetrate the left ventricle.

And the time of death, doctor?

Between 6:00 and
6:30 in the evening.

Thank you, doctor. Counselor?

No questions.

Mrs. Hollister,

some time after
Mrs. Bowdoin's death,

you visited her house.

Would you tell us why?

Well, on the day she died,

I'd found an old bill under
Mrs. Bowdoin's desk.

Uh, an old greenback,
they're called.

And I figured that if there was

a lot of money
hidden around there,

somebody might steal it.

And when Mr. Duncan refused
you admission to the house,

did you then make any
attempt to find out whether or not

he had reported or turned in
any hidden money to his office?

Object, Your Honor.

Other than the
conjectures of this witness,

there's been no tangible
evidence before this court

that any money's
existed in that house.

The prosecution certainly
intends to prove, Your Honor,

that there was a lot more
money in the Bowdoin house

than that single bill that
Mrs. Hollister found there.

We will connect the money with
the decedent, in order to prove

that it was a violent
argument over the disposal

of just that money,

which was in fact the
motive for this murder.

Subject to that condition,
I'll overrule the objection.

The witness may
answer the question.

Well, when I tried to reach
Mr. Duncan at his office,

he'd never call back.

And then, when I tried to talk

to anybody else in the
office about the money,

they'd just say
there wasn't any.

Thank you, Mrs.
Hollister. That'll be all.

Cross-examine.

Now, Mrs. Hollister,
you seem to have been

both persistent and curious
about that money. Why?

Well, I don't see anything
wrong with that, do you?

I mean, after all,
money is money.

But you inferred
that you'd called

the public administrator's
office a great many times.

Now, how many telephone
inquiries did you actually make?

Hmm. Let's see. Once
was a Tuesday afternoon.

Then...

Well, I'm sure I called
Mr. Duncan once after that.

So in reality you tried
to reach him only twice.

All right.

Now, a moment ago you
identified this knife for Mr. Burger,

as having been a possession
of Mrs. Bowdoin's, as something

you'd seen in the course
of your housekeeping there.

That's right.

You see, the old lady had
lots of things around like that.

Her husband, her dead
husband was in the Army once,

and he was a colonel and
they were in the Philippines,

and, you know...

Mrs. Hollister,

exactly when did you last see
this knife in the Bowdoin house?

Um...

I guess it was when I was
dusting those old cases.

Maybe about a year ago.

Now, you certainly
cannot swear that this knife

has been in that house
during the last year, can you?

Mmm. No, I...

No further questions.

Where was this
package of old currency

in the amount of $5,000 found?

In the safe in
Mr. Farrell's desk.

Well, now, sergeant,

you testified that an envelope
from the Excel Travel Agency

was also found in that safe.

Was this air-flight ticket
enclosed in that envelope?

It was. A single ticket
for a flight to Tokyo,

made out to Lloyd Farrell.

A single ticket for
a flight to Tokyo.

And was that flight scheduled
for the day after the murder?

Yes, sir. It was.

Thank you, sergeant.

If it please the court,

I should like this
package of money,

and this air-flight ticket
accepted in evidence

and marked for the
people, Exhibits D and E.

Mr. Mason?

Defense has no objection

to either the money
or the flight ticket

being introduced in
evidence, Your Honor.

Very well, counselor,
you may cross-examine.

I have no questions
of the witness.

Albert Keller to
the stand, please.

So your firm handled the
auditing and tax records

for Mr. Farrell for almost
five years, is that correct?

That is correct.

Well, then why did you
suddenly terminate your services

during last January?

I became convinced
that Farrell was engaged

in selling stolen goods.

Really? What made
you think such a thing?

There were just too many
items which he had for sale

that didn't appear
in his records.

And he didn't supply any data

to indicate the
original purchase.

I see.

I show you now this
antique music box,

already identified
by the police officers

as having been found
in the murder room.

I ask you if this
is one of the items

to which you have referenced?

Farrell said he paid
$300 for that music box.

The check for it was
made out to cash.

When I asked him
who the seller was,

he told me it was
none of my business.

Thank you, Mr. Keller.
That'll be all. Your witness.

I note in Mr. Farrell's records

occasional mention of
payment for your services.

You received $250 a year
from Mr. Farrell, is that correct?

It was my general retainer, yes.

Isn't that rather a low payment

for the work you
did on his accounts?

Well, his wasn't exactly what
you'd call a large business.

But you prepared tax
returns for Mr. Farrell last year

on a declared
income of $200,000.

Now, do you call that a
small business, Mr. Keller?

My fees are flexible, of course.

Apparently so.

Now, you may have
heard testimony here

regarding certain old currency.

Isn't it true that you
recently inherited

quite a fortune
in such currency?

I did.

From a dear friend.

Well, don't you
think it a coincidence

that you inherited the
same sort of currency

as that found not
far from the body

of your more recent
friend, Mr. Farrell?

I object, Your Honor.

That's a completely
improper question.

We are not concerned
with what the witness thinks.

Sustained.

No further questions.

I must warn you for the
last time, Mr. Nickels.

By your continued
reluctance to testify,

you are being considered
a hostile witness

and consequently, the prosecutor
may ask leading questions.

You will answer to
the best of your ability

under pain of contempt of court.

Yes, sir, but I already said
I'm like a family chauffeur.

I pick Ralph up at
the office lots of nights.

Yes, but did you pick him
up on the night of the murder?

Well, sure.

Did Duncan come running
out of his office building

at about five minutes
after 6 p.m. on that night?

Yes, sir.

Did he tell you to drive
him as fast as you could

to the Farrell house?

That's right.

And did your cousin
give you any reason

for wanting to go there?

H-he said it was, uh,
something about some money.

He was gonna get it back.

And after driving
him to Farrell's house,

and watching him enter,

did you then wait for
him to come out again?

No, no, I didn't wait.

You didn't wait? Why not?

'Cause he told me
to go, that's why.

Hmph. He didn't want
me to stick around.

You mean he didn't
want you to wait for him

while he was in the
decedent's house?

That's what I said, isn't it?

Yeah. You certainly
did. Your witness.

He said Helen
had dinner waiting,

so I told him to go
and tell her I'd be late.

Didn't want him hanging
around getting involved.

No questions.

Miss Norma Brooks to the stand.

Miss Brooks, in typing
Mr. Duncan's reports,

did you see anything
whatsoever to indicate

that he found any money
in the Bowdoin house?

No. No, he didn't say
anything about any money.

I show you this music box.
I ask you if you recognize it.

No, I don't believe so.

About a year ago, Miss Brooks,

your office conducted
an inventory

of the estate of
one David Mannox.

Do you remember that?

The name sounds familiar.

And shortly thereafter,
the police were notified

by a neighbor that
a valuable music box

had apparently disappeared
from the Mannox home

during the period
of the inventory.

Do you remember that?

Oh, yes, I... I...

I remember some discussion
about that in the office.

Now, Miss Brooks,
the valuable music box

that disappeared from
the home of David Mannox

was readily identifiable
because it had a plate

engraved with the family name
"Mannox", located on the bottom.

And this box,

which was found in
Lloyd Farrell's home

by the police after his murder,

this music box also has
a plate on the bottom,

engraved with the
name of "Mannox".

Miss Brooks, who in your office

conducted the inventory
of the Mannox estate?

It was Mr. Duncan.

Thank you, Miss Brooks.

Thank you very
much. Your witness.

Mr. Mason it's almost 5:00.

If you have no objection to
postponing cross-examination...

No objection, Your Honor.

Court will recess until
9:30 tomorrow morning.

Perry, I've got some more

on Farrell's flight
ticket to Tokyo.

So do I. Something else came
up in the testimony this afternoon.

We'll talk about it
while we're driving.

We're going someplace?

Sunnydale Rest Home.

Della, we'll meet
you back at the office.

All right, Perry.

Then, outside of his pension,

Mr. Ames had no
other source of income?

He certainly didn't report
any on his monthly affidavits.

Here, let me show you.

You see, in order to stay here,

a patient must sign these
statements of eligibility

to qualify for his
checks from the county.

Any luck?

Nope. Nobody here
recognizes any of the people.

Miss Hamilton,

have you ever been
someone's last hope?

Oh, what for?

Here are photographs
of six different people.

Have you ever seen
any one of them before?

This one.

Are you absolutely
positive, Miss Hamilton?

This person came to see Mr. Ames

at least twice that
I can remember.

I can look it up for
you on my daily reports.

Miss Brooks,

does your work give
you access to the records

of county pensioners who are
placed in terminal rest homes?

Well, yes, sometimes.

You ever have occasion
to personally contact

any of these elderly people?

No, of course not.

The monthly forms they sign
are sent through the mails.

Always?

I have here the sworn statement
of a nurse, Ann Hamilton,

that on two different occasions

you went to the
Sunnydale Rest Home

to visit an elderly pensioner
named Josiah Ames.

The date of your first visit
was on September 21st.

Is that when you placed
$148,000 in old currency

in Mr. Ames footlocker?

I object to that, Your Honor.

There's been no
possible groundwork laid

for such a question.

It's irrelevant and immaterial.

Overruled.

Answer the question, witness.

Yes, I put the money there.

A week later, you went
back to the rest home

and prevailed upon a
very old and tired Mr. Ames

to write a holographic will.

Just a few simple words,

leaving all his earthly
belongings to one Albert Keller.

How did you get
Mr. Ames to do that?

Did you convince the old man
the will was also county procedure?

All right...

I did it.

Lloyd said there'd
be so much money.

We'd go away together.

I loved him so much.

Enough to have killed him

when you learned he was
going away without you?

He wasn't.

Miss Brooks, didn't you
hear it stated in this court

that the travel agency
sent Lloyd Farrell

a single airplane ticket?

I don't care.

I didn't kill him.

How did Farrell come into
possession of that old money?

Were you the one
who obtained it for him?

No!

Ask him.

Ask Charley Nickels.

Well, I saw my
cousin's car parked there

in the grocery store lot.

You had a spare key to that car?

Yeah. I let myself in.

I was gonna wait for Ralph
and go home with him.

And when you discovered
that old currency

in his attaché case?

Mm. It looked like a
million dollars worth.

I grabbed the manila envelope
and hid it under my jacket.

I walked home fast
and beat Ralph there.

Then you later took
the money to Farrell.

Now, why to him?

Oh, I don't know. I...

I'd heard about him, I guess.

Hadn't you had business
dealings with Farrell before?

Such as selling him an
expensive music box you'd stolen

from another estate your
cousin once investigated?

No.

What about this
knife, Mr. Nickels?

Didn't you steal this knife
from the Bowdoin estate

and sell it to the decedent?

Okay. Okay.

I-I-I took the music
box and the knife.

But I didn't know
Ralph would be blamed.

When you took the
money to Farrell,

did he tell you how he
intended disposing of it?

No, he didn't.

When was it you found out,
then, that a will had been arranged,

that an heir was gonna
get all that money?

But I didn't find
out. I didn't...

I didn't know
anything about heirs.

If it please the court,

Mr. Mason is not
only out of order

in pursuing the details
of this lesser crime,

it seems to me he is doing
his own client a disservice.

He's just introduced
testimony here

to prove that it
was Duncan indeed

who took the money
from the Bowdoin home.

And he's raised the monetary
value of the motivation

which surely drove this
defendant to commit the murder,

from $5,000 all the
way to $153,000.

The prosecution is most
grateful to Mr. Mason

for this assistance.

But I think this
line of interrogation

has gone quite far enough.

I am touched, Your Honor,

by Mr. Burger's
solicitude for my client.

But he has actually
brought out the best reason

for allowing me to
pursue this matter

at least one step further.

I would like, with the
court's permission,

to recall Mr. Albert Keller.

Again I'll ask you, Mr. Keller,

why were you chosen to
inherit that money? Why?

Oh, I don't have to answer that.

On grounds of
self-incrimination in a murder?

I didn't kill Farrell.

All right, I'll rephrase
my previous question.

What was to be your
share of the inheritance?

None of it.

I didn't want any part
of that rotten money.

Farrell was going
to get it all back,

as soon as it was made
good in probate court.

Then why did you allow
your name to be used

in turning bad
currency into good?

It's all gonna come
out now, anyway.

I... I wrote a couple of checks
once on Farrell's account,

and altered the balance.

Only he found out about it,
and kept a photostated record.

For years he held
it over my head.

On the night of the murder,

was that what you
were searching for

in Mr. Farrell's house?

Was that to be your payment
for helping him this time?

He'd promised he'd let me
have it before he went to Japan.

But once more he refused,
so you killed him for it?

No!

Didn't you kill him

and then ransack
the house, Mr. Keller?

No, listen to me. Farrell was
already dead when I got there.

The door was still open.
The... The lights were on.

The... Tobacco was burning in
an ashtray beside the telephone.

By the telephone?
What time was that?

I don't know, a
little after 6:00.

That was the only reason

I searched for the
evidence against me

so the police wouldn't find it.

Only I... It wasn't in his desk.

And I couldn't
get into the safe.

And then I heard a
car drive up outside,

so I ran out the back way.

Did you see the person
in that car, Mr. Keller?

Yes. I saw a man
walking toward the house.

I wanted to tell before, but...

if all this came
out, my reputation...

Who did you see
walking toward the house,

after you'd seen
Mr. Farrell's dead body?

It was him. The defendant.

All right, counselor.

Uh, Your Honor,

before I move for dismissal of
the charges against my client,

there one a matter this
witness might well clarify.

Please continue, Mr. Mason.

The burning tobacco you
just mentioned, Mr. Keller,

was it the sort that might
have been tapped from a pipe?

No.

No, uh, it was... It was, uh,

from stubbing out a cigarette.

Just a few shreds.

And the cigarette
itself wasn't there?

No.

Now, we have heard
here that fingerprints

had been removed
from the murder weapon

and perhaps the telephone.

But why would a murderer
remove the stub of a burnt cigarette?

Unless perhaps there was
something incriminating on it?

An unusual brand name, perhaps?

Or lipstick?

Hasn't it occurred
to you, Mr. Keller,

that the person who
was there just before you

might have been a woman?

I... I can't recall whether
there was anything else.

Like, uh, perfume?

Uh, let me think.

I wasn't there.

I didn't do it, I told you!

I didn't kill him! I didn't!

Order. Order.

Bailiff.

Your Honor, it
would seem unlikely

that the woman who must
have used that telephone

on the night of the
murder to call the defendant

a few moments after 6,

was someone Mr. Duncan
knew personally,

or he surely would have
recognized her voice.

And yet that murderess
must have known him.

Must have been watching
him, in fact, and for some time.

Who else would have
realized that a jeweled knife

from the Bowdoin estate
would point to Ralph Duncan,

just as that old
currency pointed to him?

Who else would have
frantically called Duncan

to come to the scene of a murder

that she herself
had just committed,

come and be
caught for her crime?

That money was mine.

I found it first.

I worked hard for Mrs. Bowdoin,

and then she went and died,

and they come along
and took it all away.

Oh, yes, I know
what they did, all right.

I saw it all.

First that man there
and then that little man

who stole it out of his car.

And then that awful Mr. Farrell.

He said he wouldn't
give me any of it.

He only laughed at me.

He said terrible things.

He said he'd have me arrested.

And when I
screamed at him, he...

He slapped me!

Oh, I wish I'd never
seen a greenback

in all this dirty life.

So she followed that
package of money

from Duncan to
Charley to Farrell.

And finally, she went to
Farrell and demanded her share.

You wonder how she had
the nerve to do a thing like that.

Heh. Oh, Mrs. Hollister
had the nerve, all right,

or rather the gall.

She practically made a living
by hiring out as a housekeeper

to old people and
robbing 'em blind.

According to Mrs.
Hollister, she had no idea

how much money
was really involved.

And Mr. Farrell, apparently,
had no idea how little

Mrs. Hollister would
have taken for her share.

The irony of it is that
$500 out of all that money

would have saved
his life and hers.

Well, what happens
to all that money now?

Uh, w-who will get it?

Well, since there are no heirs,

all that money
goes to the state.

And as a conscientious taxpayer,

I guess I should
be glad about that.

As a salaried public
employee, I am glad.

We're all glad, Hamilton.