All language subtitles for Perry Mason S04E17 The Case of the Wintry Wife.DVDRip.NonHI.cc.en.CBS

It's pretty fantastic,
Mr. Randall.

This underwater
sounding equipment

could revolutionize
maritime navigation.

Is Nautronics interested?

Yes, definitely.

If the field tests work out,

you've got yourself
the deal you asked for.

Thanks, Mr. Johnson. Thanks.

Believe me, Nautronics
will never be sorry.

Heh. You have your lawyer
draw up an agreement

the way we outlined it.

And you call me at Nautronics.

We'll set up the field tests
just as soon as you're ready.

Good night, Mr. Randall.
Good night, Mr. Johnson.

And thanks. Thanks again.

Right.

Hello.

Walter, she's getting angry.

They've started
dinner without you.

You'd better get home.

Phyllis, they're
going to buy it.

They're going to buy it!

It's everything we
ever dreamed of.

Oh, Walter.

Oh, Walter,

I don't know whether
to laugh or cry.

Phyllis?

Laura's calling. Please hurry.

Phyllis?

Well?

Did you speak to my husband?

Mr. Randall is leaving
now, he's coming home.

Shall we wait for dessert?

No. We'll finish without him.

Walter, you're
over two hours late.

You knew Roger and Amelia
were coming to dinner tonight.

And Bruce. I'm sorry.

Excuse me, all of you.

Laura, if you're finished

I want to talk to you alone.

I'm sure that anything
you have to say

can be said right here
in front of everyone.

Don't get up, please.

I wanted to tell you that
I agreed to a deal tonight

to sell my sounding device.

Well, congratulat...

Did you buy it, Bruce?

Wish I had.

No, old friend Walter here
saw a fit to turn down my bid.

I'd like to talk
with you, Roger.

Phyllis, would you drive
Amelia home, please?

But Roger and I have
tickets for theater tonight.

Goodnight, Amelia.

Uh, you better run
along. I-I'll see you there.

Bruce, would you
like my secretary

to drop you off somewhere?

No, thanks.

I have my car.

Good night,
everybody. Good night.

Good night. Good night.

Well, I'm sure you don't just
want my congratulations, Walter.

Laura, we've both
been through enough

to understand the situation.

Must be very a
nice thought to you,

that of being financially
on your own finally.

Ah, you know the money
isn't the important thing.

Acceptance in my own field,

that's what I've
been working for.

Laura, it's no go.

We haven't had a
marriage for ten years.

We both know that.

Laura, I want my freedom too.

A divorce?

Yes.

Very well, Walter.

You may have your divorce.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Over my dead body
he'll get a divorce.

Roger!

Uh, yes. Yes, Laura.

That invention
of Walter's, that...

That device of his.

I want it destroyed.

Do you understand?
I want it destroyed.

Let's see. Preliminary
tests are completed,

one final acceptance series
on the sounding device,

then the Nautronics
Corporation takes over

complete ownership and title.

That's right,
Mr. Mason, for $250,000.

All right, Mr. Randall,

I'll have the
contracts drawn up.

Thanks, Mr. Mason.

Miss Street.

Oh.

There's, uh, just
one other thing.

I'm making arrangements
to obtain a divorce.

You know my wife, I believe.

I met her only once.

She's an invalid, isn't she?

That's an impression that
Laura does her best to create.

Ten years ago, on our honeymoon,

she almost froze to
death in a blizzard.

She isn't ill, then?

She has a slight
circulatory trouble,

but nothing serious beyond
being a little cold all the time.

Just cold.

Perpetually cold.

Well, anyway I'd appreciate
your expediting this matter.

That's all I really
meant to say anyway.

The sooner everything
is cleared away,

the safer I'll feel.

Oh. It's you.

Roger, Laura's in the house.

Laura's come here?

The invalid can get around
pretty well when she wants to.

And right now my dear
sister wants to talk to you.

Roger, what is going on?

Nothing is going on.
Tell her I'll be right there.

You didn't go to the
office this morning.

Instead you go out and buy
a collection of crazy things.

Amelia, it's got
nothing to do with you.

Roger, I'm no fool. Shut up!

Please tell me. Will
you get out of here?

Tell her I'll be right there.

Please. Please, Amelia.

Bruce? Bruce, this is Roger.

Listen to me.

Couldn't you possibly get
that money back to me?

But Laura won't wait.

Listen. Bruce, listen.

She's putting pressure on me.

Bruce, w-wait a minute...

Really, Roger. You
know he couldn't help you.

Laura, I... I can't do this.

Suppose someone
is in the building.

You can't?

Well, then I suppose that
you're prepared to go to jail.

Oh. Come now, Roger.

No one's ever going to find out

about that little
contraption of yours.

Wrap it up for me.

I have to pre-set the timing.

Eight-thirty.

I want it set to
explode at exactly 8:30.

Yes, Laura.

Eight-thirty.

Are you warm
enough, Mrs. Randall?

I'm never warm enough.

Never mind about
the sleeping pills.

I'll take one later.

You told me the
doctor ordered you

to take it right away.
You might forget.

It's a tablet, I can
put it in the milk.

All right. By the way,

while you were at the
drugstore Mr. Randall called.

That, uh, package.

It has some important
parts that he needs tonight.

He wanted to know if you'll
take it down to the warehouse.

Oh, I can't leave you.

Oh, don't be silly, I'll
be perfectly all right.

I'll go.

But not until you
finish that milk.

The druggist said
you'd be sound asleep

in 20 or 30 minutes.

That way I won't have to
worry about you while I'm out.

Oh. Finish it up.

You'd better hurry, Phyllis.

My husband must
be waiting for you.

Is there anything else I
can do for you tonight?

Shall I pull out the quilt?

No, just adjust the heater
as you go out, please.

Oh, yes, this
letter to my broker.

You can, uh, just
catch the last mail

if you put it in the post office
on your way to the warehouse.

Of course.

Good night, Mrs. Randall.

Good night, Phyllis.

The druggist said
you'd be sound asleep

in 20 or 30 minutes.

Walter?

Walter?

Walter?

Come on, Perry, let's go.
It's late and I'm starving.

Mm-hm.

Well, that should do it.

They're signed and ready.

See that Walter Randall
gets his copies in the morning.

And then...

Mr. Mason.

Mr. Mason.

You actually think

the person who struck
you was Laura Randall?

I only caught a glimpse
but it must have been her.

I don't see know how
it could be, but it was.

You said a policeman
helped you outside?

That's right.

The whole room seemed on fire.

I remember there was
some sort of an explosion

where I put down the package.

And then there
was the policeman.

The next thing I knew
I... I was sitting in the alley.

Where did the policeman go?

Back into the building, I guess.

I heard him shouting for
anyone who still might be there.

And then there were the sirens.

Why did you come
to me, Miss Hudson?

I didn't know where Walter was.

I remembered that
you were his lawyer.

Walter said you'd be
working on his contract tonight.

I took a chance that you
might just still be here.

Maybe someone like you
could tell me what to do.

Mr. Mason, please help me.

All right.

I'd like you to spend
the night with Miss Street.

Paul, first take the girls
to the Randall house,

pick up some things
for Miss Hudson,

and then straight to Della's.

All right, Perry.

I want to look that
warehouse over.

I'll meet you all
at Della's later.

I don't need anything.

Please, let's get
away from here.

Well.

Good evening, Paul.

Della.

And Miss, um...?

Uh, Phyllis Hudson, lieutenant.

We've come to get
some of her things.

She's going to spend
the night with me.

Oh?

Well, I want Miss Phyllis Hudson

for some questioning tonight.

I'd like to take her
downtown with me.

Lieutenant, what's
going on here?

What are you talking about?

Mrs. Laura Randall was
drugged with sleeping pills

so she wouldn't wake up.

Then, uh, somebody
turned on the gas heater

without bothering to
light it, unfortunately,

and killed her.

Miss Hudson?

No, Mason, no bail
for Phyllis Hudson.

Then you've booked her.

She's being booked
right now, Perry.

I understand the fire department
found pieces of a clock radio

on the debris at the
Randall warehouse.

But we didn't find any real
evidence of a time bomb.

Really, Mason, I don't
see how you can hold

onto the untenable position
your client's putting you in.

The, uh, autopsy report

clearly shows there
was secobarbital

in the victim's
body for some time.

Definitely prior to the time
she's supposed to have

knocked out your
client in the warehouse.

Miss Hudson admitted
she gave Laura Randall

a sleeping pill
before leaving her.

Did you know it was
the Hudson girl herself

who bought those
pills just last evening?

Using an old prescription
of Laura Randall's

that hadn't been
refilled for over a year.

I suppose you gentlemen

have a motive to
go along with all this?

The best.

Phyllis Hudson was in love
with Laura Randall's husband.

If you're gonna be wrong,
why not be consistently wrong?

Why not also arrest
Walter Randall?

It's occurred to us.
We're, uh, looking for him.

Chamberlain, you're building
a case only on conjecture.

What about the evidence
of two witnesses?

Witnesses?

Putting Phyllis Hudson
at the scene of the crime.

A Mr. Bruce Sheridan
and a Miss Judith Baldwin

just driving up.

Both clearly saw Phyllis Hudson
run out of the Randall house

45 minutes after the
fire in the warehouse.

Last night you said

you came directly
from the fire to my office.

Why?

I was afraid that
you wouldn't help me.

I didn't know what to say.

Where did you go when that
policeman left you in the alley?

To my car.

And then I drove
directly to the house.

To find Laura Randall?

No, to find Walter.

I hoped that he just might
be there, but he wasn't.

You were also upset and angry.

You believed Laura
Randall had tried to kill you.

So you went in to confront her.

All right. I guess I did,

but the house was so quiet.

When I finally went
upstairs, I smelled gas.

I opened the door to her room
and she was lying there dead.

I was so scared
by then I just ran.

And that's when I
came to you, Mr. Mason.

There's a warrant
out for Walter's arrest.

As your accomplice in
the murder of his wife.

Oh, no!

Walter's disappeared.
Where is he?

I don't know.

Are you sure?

Mr. Mason, I have
told you the truth.

That's all there is. I
don't know anymore.

Here. Pass these out.

Check all the industrial
and institutional chemists.

I want to know if any
of the seven people

whose pictures are
in these envelopes

bought a quantity
of red phosphorus

within the past month.

Red phosphorus like
they use on matches?

And in fire bombs.

Add a transistorized clock radio

and you not only have a
fire bomb, but a time bomb.

As I understand
it, Miss Baldwin,

you were with Bruce Sheridan

when Laura Randall's
body was discovered.

You mean when we saw Phyllis
Hudson running out of the house?

Yes. You were
with him all evening?

We went to dinner together
straight from the office.

Then we spent some
time together, yes.

We went for a ride,

out Mulholland Drive
for an hour or so.

And parked on Mulholland Drive?

Yes, Mr. Mason.

It was a nice night and we
listened to Bruce's car radio.

Now, if there's nothing
else I can tell you,

you'll find
Mr. Sheridan in the lab.

Thank you.

Of course, there must
be a dozen companies

making similar radio-controlled
garage door openers.

But ours is transistorized.

I make and sell it for less
than one-fourth the price

of the cheapest
model in the field.

You know, I'm surprised
Walter went to Nautronics

instead of coming to you
with his sounding device.

You were old friends,
weren't you you?

My company badly
overextended itself.

A defense contract that
was pulled away from us.

We've been on the verge
of bankruptcy for months.

Still pulling ourselves
out of the hole.

Then you couldn't have
paid him for his invention?

No.

Nor given him any assurance
that we'd be able to manufacture

or market it in the next year.

I hate to say it, Mr. Mason,

but Walter was right
in going to Nautronics.

Hm.

You could have worked together.

We still might.

I haven't spoken to
Walter, but it's possible

his model was
destroyed in that fire.

That would set him back a
good six months to a year.

By that time, my company
might be in better shape.

What do you really know about
his invention, Mr. Sheridan?

Is it valuable?

Well, it hasn't gone
through final field testing,

but if it does it'll
be worth a fortune.

Pity you couldn't share it.

Big pity.

Well, Wagner?

Finally found it.

This salesman identified
one of the pictures

as the person he sold the
powdered red phosphorus to

the day before yesterday.

Good. Which one?
This is the one.

Yes.

I bought the phosphorous.

And you made a firebomb? Yes.

For whom did you make it?

Laura Randall.

She forced me to.

She threatened to turn
me over to the police.

For what?

Phillips handled
his sister-in-law's

business affairs.

And from what I can
smell out, none too well.

What was it, Phillips,
embezzlement?

A forged check.

Something came up.

Something big. I had a
chance to make a killing.

Look, I didn't take that
bomb to the warehouse,

I don't know who did.

I had nothing to do
with Laura's death.

I wouldn't kill her!

All right, Tragg, book him.

Forgery, grand theft
larceny, suspicion of arson.

That ought to be enough
to hold him for a while.

What about Mason's client?

The Hudson girl.

The only question in my mind is

whether the murder was
plotted and carried out

by her and Walter
Randall or just by her alone.

Now that your men
have located Randall,

we ought to know the
answer to that pretty quick.

You must be mistaken.

Walter Randall's been
on this boat with us,

24 hours a day, for
the past two days.

Doing what?

Just completing the field
tests on his sounding device.

It's even better than we hoped.

Nautronics will be in
production inside a month.

I thought his device was
burned in the workshop fire.

Fire?

What are you
gentlemen talking about?

Randall must have had the
device taken out of the workshop

and put on board here
the afternoon of the fire.

A fact which Phyllis Hudson
obviously didn't know.

How soon will you
have Randall up?

He should be coming up now.

Kill Laura?

The whole thing is incredible.

Phyllis wouldn't hurt
anybody, much less kill.

No, no, no. It's impossible.

You were in San
Diego last month?

Yes, I went to see the
Navy about my new device.

They couldn't do anything
about it at the time.

You wrote a letter to Phyllis
Hudson from San Diego.

Is this a copy of that letter?

Yes.

Where did you find it?

In your wife's desk, locked
up with her private papers.

"Nautronics is our last hope.

"If they say no, I have no
choice but to stay with Laura.

"As long as Laura's
alive, there's no hope

of a life together
for us, Phyllis dear."

I guess that's enough.

Well, Randall, you
may have an alibi,

but we've got Phyllis
Hudson nailed.

No! She couldn't!

She not only could,
but I'm prepared

to prove it in court.

She's the only person
who could've killed her.

Death was caused by asphyxia

induced by the inhalation
of carbon monoxide

present in illuminating gas.

Death was extremely rapid.

The heater in decedent's
room was capable

of creating a
concentration of gas

in excess of 10,000 parts
per 1 million parts of air.

Now, uh, doctor, did
your autopsy reveal

anything else of significance?

The body of Laura Randall
showed the presence of secobarbital,

which depressed
the nervous system,

lowered resistance and
hastened the onset of death.

I would say that death
occurred somewhere

between 9 and
10:00 in the evening.

Mr. Sheridan and I
stopped to visit Mrs. Randall.

We'd just pulled up when we saw

Phyllis Hudson run
out of the side door,

get into a car and drive away.

Now, what time was
that, Miss Baldwin?

Oh, about a quarter after...

Twenty after 9.

Mm-hm.

Now, what happened then?

We went up to the
front door, it was locked.

We tried to get
in, but we couldn't.

The lights were on, but no
one answered when we rang.

Well, what did you do then?

Bruce...

Uh, Mr. Sheridan,
and I drove over

to Mr. Roger Phillips' house,

got a key from Mrs. Phillips,

then drove back to
the Randall's house.

Now, what time was it then?

Oh, just about 10:00.

I see. Please go on.

When we went inside, we
smelled the gas immediately.

Laura was in bed.

We opened the
windows to clear the room

and then we waited
for it to air out.

Now, who telephoned
for the police?

I did.

Mr. Sheridan sent me to the
gas station two blocks away.

He said I shouldn't touch
anything in the house.

Thank you. You may cross.

Now, Miss Baldwin,

prior to your arriving at
decedent's house at 9:20,

where were you?

With Mr. Sheridan.

We were spending
the evening together.

You spent every minute with him

until you both
discovered the body?

Yes.

Every single minute,
without exception.

Thank you, that's all.

She was dead, all right.

The first thing I did
was to throw open

the window in her
room and turn off the gas

without touching
the control knob.

Then I sent Judy to the service
station to phone the police.

When you first arrived
at the Randall house,

it was about 20 minutes after 9

and when you finally got inside
the house, it was about 10:00.

Are those time elements correct?

Yes.

Thank you. Cross-examine.

Mr. Sheridan, You said you
parked outside the Randall house

and just sat there
for a few minutes?

Yes. We were listening
to a news broadcast,

waiting for it to finish.

You saw Phyllis Hudson
run out the side door?

Yes.

Now, during that
time, one, two, five,

even ten people could
have come and gone

through the back door and you
wouldn't have been any wiser.

Isn't that so?

I'm afraid not, Mr. Mason.

Why not?

We could also see the back
door from where I was parked.

We were across the
street. It's a corner lot.

But while you
were gone for a key,

someone could have
entered or left the house

without your acknowledge,
wouldn't you say?

Yes. I suppose so.

Naturally.

Thank you, Mr. Sheridan.

Now, Lieutenant
Tragg, you testified

that the defendant purchased
the bottle of sleeping pills,

that her fingerprints were on
that bottle and on the glass,

and also on the
heater knob itself.

That's right.

Were there any other
prints on that heater knob?

Only Miss Hudson's.
Clear and unsmudged.

Thank you, lieutenant.

Cross-examine.

Since Phyllis Hudson was
Laura Randall's secretary,

almost a nurse to
her, would you say

that finding her fingerprints
on that bottle was unusual?

No.

Is it your expert
opinion then, lieutenant,

that because Laura Randall's
death was caused by escaping gas

someone turned that heater off,

then on, by using
that control knob?

That's right.

Now if the central gas
supply was interrupted,

from the gas main on
the street, for instance,

that could have
caused the gas to go off,

then on,

without the use of the
control knob, could it not?

Yes, it could.

An interruption like that
would put out the pilot lights

on all the gas
appliances in the house.

And in this case?

No, sir.

They were all on.

Thank you. No further questions.

Well, Laura had found
and stolen a letter

from Phyllis Hudson's room.

She told me about it.

She said she knew

that her husband and
Phyllis were in love.

Now, Mr. Phillips, I believe

that you stated
your sister-in-law,

the, uh, murder
victim in this case,

was a very possessive woman.

Yes. And very jealous.

Now, would you
please relate to the court

what took place in
the Randall house

on the afternoon preceding
the day of the murder?

Well, as I was
entering the study,

uh, Phyllis Hudson
came out of Laura's room.

She was crying, s-she
was almost hysterical.

I, uh... I tried to
calm the girl down.

Laura could be a nasty tyrant.

Uh, Phyllis...

Phyllis was very upset.

She called Laura an evil
woman, she said the world

and everybody in it
would be better off

with Laura Randall dead.

An evil woman. Better off dead.

Your witness.

Mr. Phillips, you
participated in arson

because your sister-in-law
had been blackmailing you?

Yes, I did.

You had forged her
name to a check?

Yes.

For an investment
that collapsed?

Yes.

Now, according
to your testimony,

you telephoned
Mr. Bruce Sheridan

on the day of the
murder in the hopes

of getting some
of that money back.

When that failed you
committed a second crime

to cover up the first?

Yes. I told all that to
the district attorney.

Why not a third crime
to cover up the first two?

Why not murder?

The murder of Laura Randall?

No, no, no! I didn't kill her!

No further questions.

It was about 9:35 or 40 when
Bruce came and got the key

and went back to Laura's house.

I was worried.

So I called there, but of
course no one answered.

Where was your husband
during all this time?

He was in the garage,
in his workshop.

Did he leave the
premises anytime

between 9 and 10:00?

He didn't leave that
evening or that night.

Thank you, that's all.

Mr. Mason.

Mrs. Phillips, were
you afraid of your sister?

Yes, I think I was.

She was a wicked woman.

Every life she
touched, she destroyed.

Just as she was
destroying Walter,

Phyllis.

And your husband?

And my husband.

Perhaps you were afraid
of Laura not for yourself,

but for your husband.

You wanted to protect him.

Yes. That's true.

I knew that she and
Roger were deeply involved

in something bad.

That's why I
hired the detective.

You hired a detective?

Thank you, that's all.

Well, now just a moment.
The witness stated...

Your Honor, I have a
question on redirect.

Mrs. Phillips, who was
this detective you hired?

He was a private detective.

His name is Ben Penner.

May it please the court,

I'll call this Ben Penner
to the stand right now.

Mrs. Phillips wanted the Randall
house kept under surveillance.

Uh, a check made on
who came and went,

particularly her husband.

Were you on duty the
night of the murder?

Yes, sir, I was.

And did you keep a record of
who came and went on that night?

I did.

Mr. Penner, would you please
read that record to the court

starting, let's
say, at, uh, 8:00?

Well, let's see.

"8:10, Phyllis Hudson left
the house, carrying a package.

"8:12, Mrs. Randall
left the house, hurriedly.

And no activity until 8:44,
when Mrs. Randall came back."

Was there anything unusual about
Mrs. Randall when she returned?

Again, she was in a hurry.

She also staggered slightly,

as though drunk or, uh,

under the influence of drugs.

That's all.

Please continue.

"9:13, Phyllis Hudson
returned, pretty messed up."

Mm?

Disheveled, I mean.

"At 9:17 Mr. Sheridan
and his girlfriend drove up,

"parked across the street.

"9:20, Phyllis Hudson
ran out, drove away.

"Two minutes later,
Sheridan and his girl left."

They never got inside the house.

Then nobody else until 9:57.

"Sheridan and his girlfriend
came back with a key,

let themselves
in. Ten o'clock..."

Never mind
continuing, Mr. Penner.

I just wanna get
one thing straight.

Now, all the time you
were watching this house,

could anybody have entered
or left it without your noticing?

No, sir. They couldn't.

Then from the time that
Laura Randall returned at 8:44,

until almost 10:00,

when Bruce Sheridan
unlocked that door

and let himself inside,
was there anyone...

Now, anyone at all, Mr. Penner,

with the exception
of Phyllis Hudson,

who went in or
out of that house?

No, sir. Just her.
Just the defendant.

Thank you, Mr. Penner.
Thank you very much.

Cross-examine. No questions.

Your Honor, the state
contends it has established

a prima facie case

and moves that the defendant
be bound over for trial.

I object, Your Honor.

Defense has been given no
opportunity to present a case

challenging the
credulity or accuracy

of the prosecution's evidence.

State's motion is premature
and move it not be granted.

The hour is late, gentlemen.

Both motions will be
taken under advisement.

This court is now adjourned.

We'll reconvene at
9:00 tomorrow morning.

Here they are: Rust flakes
and stripped threading.

Both fresh and recent.

Not another single,
blessed thing.

I'm sorry, Perry.

Sorry? For what?

This is exactly what I
hoped you would find.

It is? Mm-hm.

Paul, I'd like you to
charter a helicopter.

A helicopter?

Where are we going?

I'll fill you in on that later.

We'll need it for tomorrow.

Perry, we're in court tomorrow.

Yes, I know.

Now, normally,
in the presentation

of a prima facie case,

the court, in a
preliminary hearing,

will not weigh evidence
or resolve conflicts

in the evidence, but will merely

bind the defendant
over for trial.

However, in the
interests of justice,

the court feels that
the present case

merits the fullest possible
presentation of evidence.

A motion to bind at this
time is therefore denied.

Now, Mr. Chamberlain,
have you any other witnesses?

Yes, Your Honor.
Mr. Walter Randall.

Call Walter Randall
to the stand, please.

Mr. Walter Randall,
take the stand.

Of course we spent a
good deal of time together.

Everyone knew that.

Mr. Randall, the court has
ruled you a hostile witness.

So please, just answer
the questions "yes" or "no."

Are you and Phyllis
Hudson in love?

I can only speak for myself.

Yes, I am in love with her.

Now, Mr. Randall, did you
and Phyllis Hudson ever discuss

the possibility of doing
away with your wife?

Of course not.

And yet you admit writing
that letter from San Diego?

I'll put it this
way, Mr. Randall:

Did you and Phyllis
Hudson ever discuss the fact

that your problems
would be solved

if Laura were out of the way?

Yes. That's only natural.

And there were two problems,
weren't there, Mr. Randall?

The means to supporting
a possible second wife,

plus the fact that you were

still married to
your first wife.

And then suddenly it seemed

that both of your problems
were going to be solved.

Your wife promised
to give you a divorce.

And you were about
to sell your invention.

Yes, that's correct.

Now, Mr. Randall, did
you ever say anything,

make a call, leave a
note, do anything at all

that would make it
possible for Phyllis Hudson

to know you had removed
your underwater device

from the warehouse and
taken it to sea for testing?

No.

Then when Phyllis Hudson
was in that burning warehouse,

neither you, nor the Nautronics
people had said or done

anything that would
alter her obvious belief

that the invention, your
invention that meant

so much to both of you
was been destroyed?

No.

Destroyed by the woman
who had just tried to kill her.

The woman who stood between
her and the man that she loved

and wanted to marry?

You can make anything sound bad.

And twist a good, kind
person to a monster,

if you use the right word.

I withdraw the
question. Your witness.

Why would your wife
have wanted to destroy

your underwater
device, Mr. Randall?

I don't know.

To hold me, perhaps.

And you didn't want that?

I wanted my freedom more
than anything else in the world.

Enough to kill for it?

Enough to kill for it.

Without getting into
the very complex nature

of your underwater
navigational device, Mr. Randall,

could you tell us if among
its other components

it contains a radio transmitter?

Well, a secondary
function of the device

does involve a
small transmitter, yes.

Is the purpose
of that transmitter

to assist in remote control?

Such as, oh, let us say,
the remote control use

to change channels on
a home television set?

They're scarcely
analogous, Mr. Mason.

Except, of course, they both do

and can use radio
to activate a motor.

You send a
signal, it's received,

it starts a motor going?

That's right.

You could also, for instance,
install a motorized valve

in a gas pipe, could you not?

Motorized valve in a gas pipe?

So that from a distance
it would be possible

to send a radio signal that
could turn the gas in that pipe

on or off?

I don't know.

Perhaps you could do that.

With the court's indulgence,
I would like to present

a demonstration that
may help the witness

answer more positively.

Mm-hm. Uh, Mr. Chamberlain?

I object most
strenuously, Your Honor.

I fell Mr. Mason is
trying to turn this hearing

into a public circus.

Uh, objection is overruled.

Now, the court is interested
in a further development

of this line of inquiry.

You may proceed with your
demonstration, Mr. Mason.

Here is an
old-fashioned gas heater,

exactly like the one in
Laura Randall's bedroom.

This is a standard gas hose,

which connects the
gas source to the heater.

Here is a valve,
which would turn on

or shut off the gas to the hose.

Here is a
radio-controlled motor.

Mr. Bailiff, will you
light the heater, please?

Now, Mr. Randall,

what was the
approximate distance

from the boat you were on
on the night of the murder

to your house in town?

In a straight line, that is.

Oh, about, uh, 35 miles.

Mason calling.

Can you hear me, Mr. Drake?

Repeat, can you hear me, Paul?

Come in.

Hello. This is Paul Drake.

I read you loud and clear.

Will you tell us where
you are, please?

I'm with pilot Nate Tiger.

We're in a helicopter
flying at 5,000 feet,

approximately 40 miles
from the courthouse.

We're ready when you are, Perry.

May I direct the court's
attention to the gas heater?

All right, Paul, I'm
starting the countdown.

Ten,

nine,

eight,

seven, six,

five, four,

three, two,

one.

Now.

First the valve is turned off.

Then the flame dies.

Then the unlit gas
is back on again.

Please.

All right, Paul, thank you.

Mr. Randall, you saw
the demonstration.

Is your sounding device
capable of broadcasting a signal

which would do the same thing?

No!

Would never have occurred to
me to adapt something like that.

No! And I didn't kill Laura.

And I haven't slaved
ten years to develop

a highly complex electronic
navigational device

just as a gimmick
to kill people!

You're wrong, absolutely wrong!

Your Honor, if I may
be permitted to interrupt

my cross-examination
of this witness,

I should like to
recall a witness.

Another electronics
expert who should be able

to clear up the question
of the technical adaptability

of a device of this kind to the
modus operandi of the crime.

Mr. Chamberlain?

No objection, Your Honor.

The witness may
step down for now.

Call your witness, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Bruce Sheridan.

Mr. Bruce Sheridan to the stand.

Yes, I'm reasonably familiar
with Walter's sounding device.

You are aware of the
type and frequency of signal

required to activate
a motorized valve

in the gas pipe in
the Randall home?

I think so, yes.

And such a valve could
be quite simple, quite small?

That's right.

It would have been no
problem then for Walter Randall

to have killed his wife
literally by remote control?

No problem.

Would you say anyone
familiar with basic electronics

could have done it?

Well, now, I'm not sure.

Could you have killed Laura
Randall in such a manner?

I beg your pardon, sir.

Mr. Sheridan,

we've heard about
a bad investment

made by Roger Phillips
with a forged check.

In whose company was
that bad investment made?

Mine. You know
that. It's no secret.

And your company
was all but bankrupt

by the withdrawal
of a defense contract.

Roger invested money
with me and lost it.

That's got nothing to
do with Laura's death.

It was Laura's money,

illegally given to you,
irresponsibly lost by you.

Perhaps Laura wasn't
threatening only Roger.

Perhaps she was threatening you,

threatening to take over
your company, throw you out.

I resent that. It's
complete nonsense.

The things were
starting to pick up,

there would have
been plenty of money.

You were able to manage
Roger, but not Laura.

Wasn't it then you
decided to kill her?

Wasn't it then you got
into the Randall home,

and installed a motorized
valve on that gas pipe?

I certainly did not!

Somebody did, Mr. Sheridan.

If not you, who
could have done it?

Uh...

What about Roger? Sure.

Sure, he... He made the bomb.

He could have installed
that motorized valve.

Or even Amelia.

Or Walter. Yes, Walter.

Walter Randall lived in the
house, he could have put it in.

You just proved that he could
have sent that radio signal.

Yes, he could
have, Mr. Sheridan.

Except for one thing.

Mr. Johnson, will
you please stand?

This gentleman, Mr. Sheridan,
is from the Nautronics company.

He is prepared to take the stand

and testify that the
self-contained batteries

in the underwater device
were being recharged

without interruption from
7:00 in the night of the murder

until past midnight.

And without power in
that underwater device,

it was physically
impossible for Walter Randall

to have transmitted
any radio signal.

All right, all right,

so he didn't send
the radio signal.

Can you prove that he didn't
install that motorized valve?

Can you prove that
any of them didn't do it?

The question, Mr. Sheridan,

is not who installed the valve,

but who removed it.

I have here in these
envelopes, Your Honor,

physical evidence I am prepared
to introduce and authenticate.

Flakes of rust, newly scrapped.

Stripped threading from
a galvanized iron pipe.

A single gas pipe
leaving the main line

in the Randall basement
and going directly

to the bedroom of Laura Randall.

A gas pipe I can prove was
just recently tampered with.

You can authenticate this?

Yes, Your Honor.

Somebody recently worked on
this gas pipe in the Randall home,

and my investigator has learned

that there hasn't been an
authorized plumber out there

for more than a year.

Now, as I recall,
the police testimony

made no mention of anything
unusual about the gas pipes.

Exactly.

The police reported
finding nothing unusual

and the police in this city
are both efficient and thorough.

Therefore, whoever
installed that valve

must have also
had time to remove it

and before the police got there.

Walter Randall couldn't
have done that, Mr. Sheridan.

He was aboard a boat, remember?

That still doesn't
prove that I did it.

Mr. Sheridan, why did
you park outside the house?

Why were you so anxious
to be the first to enter

and discover the body?

Why did you invent a pretext
to send Judy Baldwin out

to call the police?

So you and only you
could remove the valve

you had installed
to kill Laura Randall.

Yes.

I killed her.

I had to.

She poisoned everybody's
life she touched.

Destroyed them.

She was going to destroy me.

Take away everything I had,

everything I'd ever worked for.

Funny, isn't it?

Roger, Amelia,

Walter, Phyllis, me.

Any one of us had
reason to kill her.

But I guess the
others couldn't do it.

All right, I'll tell him.

Right. Bye.

Perry say we go
ahead without him,

he'd be a few minutes late.

You know, I still
don't understand

how Mr. Mason got on to the
whole idea of how it was done.

Well, the idea of a murder
gadget or a deadly device,

was just one faint
possibility originally.

But then when the prosecution
proved that no one else

came in or out of the house,

Perry just had to assume
that maybe they were right.

In which case, the killer just
had to be Bruce Sheridan.

Also he had a
two-way radio in his car.

Yes, his girlfriend said
he was tuning in a radio,

remember?

They were up on Mulholland,
where transmission is good.

And at the time he sent the
signal that killed your wife,

his girlfriend was
sitting right beside him

with not the faintest
idea of what he was up to.

He figured she'd be a pretty
good alibi for him, of course.

That's right. It's
all pretty obvious.

Well, anyway, it's all
pretty obvious now.