All language subtitles for Perry Mason S04E24 The Case of the Violent Vest.DVDRip.NonHI.cc.en.CBS

Mr. Albright?

Yes. Where's my wife?

She's in the office
here waiting for you.

How much did you lose this time?

Five thousand.

Five.

Oh, Ida, for heaven's sake,

you know I couldn't
possibly raise that much.

Well, I'm afraid
you'll have to, darling.

I've been writing checks
to cover my losses.

As you can
imagine, they've, uh...

all bounced rather briskly.

I'm sorry, there's
no money left.

You'll have to get
out of this by yourself.

You can't be serious.

Why, you'd lose your
precious little office boy's job

if they sent me to prison.

And of course, I'd
have to divorce you.

You know, I think
I'd appreciate that.

I suppose she would too.

Miss, uh... Miss Purity.

Oh, excuse me, "Miss Debutante."

Pride of the Caffrey-Enix
Advertising Agency.

I suppose we all
have our compulsions,

don't we, Herman?

What are you talking about?

I'm in charge of certain
elements of the Miss Debutante

advertising
campaign, so naturally

I've worked with Grace Halley.

Oh, is that what you were
doing on all those trips together?

"Work?" Oh, Ida,
you know very well

that promotional advertising...

"My dearest Grace,

"how can I tell you
my true feelings?

"The true meaning
of these past days,

past weeks, past
months together?"

What are you saying?

You really ought
to be more careful

of what you leave in
your pockets, darling.

What sort of an
answer did she send?

Or didn't you ever get up
the courage to mail that letter?

Well, never mind.

I'm sure when Mr. Caffrey hears
how you've been behaving that...

Well, sir?

We'd appreciate
having that 5000 in cash,

if you don't mind.

I-I don't have that
much right now,

but if you'll wait
a day or two...

Yes, yes, I'll make
good my wife's loss.

Then we'd appreciate your
signing an I.O.U., Mr. Albright.

Payable, oh, by
Friday, shall we say?

No.

No, I believe you have
some of my wife's checks.

When you give me those checks

and when she agrees
to a quiet, decent divorce,

then I'll give you your $5000.

Now, look here, friend...

There.

Didn't I tell you
what a dear he'd be?

Take five, honey.
Something's not right.

Look, I'm in too close to
get the effect of a ski slope.

Give me about two
more feet of snow

and we'll shoot it lower
and from back here.

Oh, Grace.

Mr. Albright.

What are you doing here?

Grace, I've got
to talk to you...

about, uh, well, this evening.

Oh, no, not more work tonight.

I'd made plans.

No, no, no, it has
nothing to do with work.

It's just that I thought,
well, perhaps...

Well, maybe you and I could
go out somewhere this evening,

just the two of us?

Mr. Albright, is
something wrong?

It's my wife. I
told you about her.

She's in debt again.

Grace, I'm going to leave Ida.

Oh, I'm awfully sorry.

No, no, no, don't say that.

It's what I was going to
talk to you about tonight.

Grace, I've wanted to
say this a thousand times.

I even started to write
it in a letter to you.

What?

I just haven't had the
right to say it before,

but now that I'm
free, well, almost...

Well, you must know
how I feel about you.

Now, just a minute.

No, no, don't say anything.

Darling, we can talk tonight.

But I never realized...

Okay, let's try it again.

No, Mr. Albright, please.

You've got to understand.

Grace, Grace, I love you.

I can say it now.
We can face it now.

That's all I want
you to understand.

Until tonight, darling,

I'll phone you
before I pick you up.

Mr. Albright.

I've agreed to talk it over.

Let's just leave it
at that until we meet.

Besides, this is a
very bad connection.

Just a moment,
please. Look... Yes.

I've agreed to all that.

I just can't talk now. Goodbye.

Excuse me, sir?

Yes, Albright, what is it?

I wanted to speak to you about
a personal matter, Mr. Caffrey.

It's a little difficult,
but, you see, Ida has...

Now, if it's about
your wife's gambling,

I told you before, Albright,

I think the woman's sick
and needs a psychiatrist.

It's gone beyond that.

She's got herself
deeply in debt and I...

I've got to raise
$5000 immediately.

That's a lot of money.

I-I know it's not a very
pretty situation, Mr. Caffrey.

And I know it's a terrible
time to approach you

with Mr. Enix in trouble
up in San Francisco.

He's not in
trouble, he's in jail.

If he'd been a little more
careful with his finances

he wouldn't be in this
mess with the Tax Bureau.

But that's beside the point.

Just how serious
is your situation?

Well, I'm afraid
the gambling people

could cause a
good deal of trouble.

I'm sorry, of course, Albright,

but you must realize that there
are times when the wind blows

the flag in the wrong direction.

Then again, I'm... I'm not
certain that this agency could

afford to have anybody else
connected with it in prison.

Five thousand, eh?

Albright, you're
a very important

member of our team here,

but no one is irreplaceable,
you realize that, of course.

Yes, sir.

Even with Larry
Enix on the sidelines

nobody has scored on us.

Then, on the other hand,

the quarterback can
only throw the passes.

He's gotta have somebody
else to catch the ball.

Now, wait a minute.

There just might be something
you could do for me, Albright.

You know, I might be able

to let you have
the money at that.

If so, I'll give you a
call at 7:30 this evening.

How's that?

Oh, thank you, Mr. Caffrey.

Sally, this appears to
be a fairly good contract.

"Our commission
is Miss Debutante

"for one year, you receive
a very healthy salary,

plus all the clothes you
model." Next to a movie contract,

I should think
something like this

would be every girl's dream.

But, uh, can the contract
be broken, Mr. Mason?

On what grounds, Miss Halley?

I don't know, any grounds.

I mean, if anybody wanted to.

Well, as an advertizing symbol

of a cosmetics line
for young ladies,

the only breach contractually
would be something that would

damage or destroy that symbol.

I don't understand.

In other words, if you were,
or if you became something

other than the
beautiful, unmarried,

and uninvolved image they hire.

Mr. Mason, the man in
charge of the campaign...

well, he's interested in me.

Much too interested.

I see.

I feel simply terrible about it,

being so stupid, not realizing,

but I just can't let him
get the wrong idea.

Go on, Miss Halley.

Well, there might
be all sorts of trouble.

In that case, I might want
to break the contract myself

so people wouldn't be hurt.

Could I break it?

No,

but if you became
involved, they could break it.

They could break it if they
could prove you were charged

with, uh, moral turpitude,

you've been married, if you
joined a subversive group,

or committed a criminal act,

but, of course, none of
these things apply to you.

No, no, of course not.

Well, I guess that's
all I wanted to know.

Thank you, Mr. Mason.

Goodbye, Miss Street. Goodbye

Hello? Hello?

Oh, thank heaven it's you.

Yes, I'm listening, sir.

All right, sir. I'll be there.

Right away, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Caffrey.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for what?

Five thousand dollars.

I'm getting the
money for you, Ida.

Every bit of it.

Well, that's wonderful.

You know, Herman, you're
really quite a clever man

when you put your mind to it.

I'll have a check tonight.

That's my part of the bargain,

so you'd better be
thinking about yours, Ida.

You mean you still
think you want a divorce?

Mm-hm.

A quiet one. No
unpleasantness, no scandal.

When you agree
to that in writing

then the money is yours.

Goodnight, Ida.

All right, darling, all right.

But since you're being
so firm about everything,

I think you'd better
bring me 8000.

I'd what?

Oh, Herman, don't
look so surprised.

You know I have
other debts to settle.

You never said one word.

Didn't I tell you
about Las Vegas?

No.

They wrote me a rather nasty
letter this morning, I'm afraid.

Yes, I'll... I'll
need 3000 more.

And while we're on the subject,

there are several bills here
you may not know about.

What are you trying to do to me?

Ida, I can't possibly raise
one penny more than 5000...

Then I can't possibly
divorce you, Herman.

ALBRIGHT: Hello, Grace?

This is Herman Albright.

I'm sorry, it's so noisy, I
can't hear what you're saying.

Where are you?

I'm at the Trinidad Bar.

I just wanted you to know that
I won't be around this evening

to take you out the
way we planned.

Well, I wasn't expecting...

Grace, listen to me.

I will be at your
apartment though,

the first thing in the morning.

The very first thing.

You see, I've been
able to raise the money,

but it wasn't enough,

so I'm just not going
to give my wife any of it.

Do you understand?

No. I mean, why not?

If your wife owes the money.

Grace, I'm not even
going to wait for a divorce.

In Mexico, it's easy for a man

to get rid of his wife,

even if I've changed
my name by then.

Mexico?

Oh, I know I shouldn't be

talking like this
on the telephone,

but I just wanted
you to know that, well,

maybe by this
time tomorrow night

we can be out of town.

Mr. Albright, I can't go
to Mexico or anywhere,

will you please listen to me?

Don't say anything yet, darling.

Until you hear me out.

Oh, we'll be happy together.

You know we will.

I promise.

And remember: the
first thing in the morning.

- Mr. Albright.
- Wait...

Well, that does it.

Buddy, every time I try to
tell him, he won't listen to me.

He just won't believe I
don't care for him that way.

Grace, I've had just about
as much as I can take.

Sneaking in back doors,
looking the other way

every time a roving Romeo

starts reading you
with his X-ray eyes.

Well, you knew this sort
of thing might happen

when you submitted
my picture to the agency.

All right. I made a mistake.

They didn't know about
you and I took a chance,

but I'll tell you something now.

Now I'm sorry I ever heard

of Miss Debutante
and Mr. Albright.

Don't worry about Mr. Albright.

I'll make him understand.

Oh, no, you won't.

I will. You're my wife
and we're married.

And I'm sick and tired of
being a backstairs husband.

Call me an old-fashioned guy,

but I'm going to
set that guy straight

once and for all right now.

Buddy.

Bartender, freshen that, please.

Right.

Do you mind?

What?

Anybody have a
lien on this stool?

No, no, go ahead and lean on it.

I'll bet you've got
a million of those.

No, no.

I'm afraid that one
came out of a bottle.

Point your finger
at that bottle.

Oh, it's rude to point.

Why don't you let
me buy you a drink?

Well, that... That is, if
your escort doesn't mind.

Oh, he's the strong,
silent, absent type.

Why are you staring at me?

Well, I'm trying
to decide whether

you're a man of distinction.

That's the only kind
I let buy me drinks.

Is that a tattersall vest?

Hm?

Why, yes. Yes, as
a matter of fact, it is.

The young lady
will have the same.

You heard the man, Joe.

My name isn't Joe.

Don't be a nonconformist.

All bartenders are named Joe.

You'll have to prove you're
old enough to be served.

Let me see your
driver's license.

You know, there's a very
nice bar just down the street.

Well, they might ask you
the same question there.

I'd like a Gibson, please.

Joy Lebaron,
Oakland, California.

Age: 23.

One Gibson coming up.

Thanks a lot, Joe.

Oh, I'm doing great tonight.

Where'd everybody go?

Which everybody?

Well, the character with
the jazzy vest, for one.

Look, you take
pictures without orders,

what do you expect?

People should wait all night?

I only asked you a question.

So who knows?

Maybe the little brunette
got too expensive.

Anyway, that guy isn't going
to buy any pictures from you,

he pulled out five minutes ago.

Look, I told you, you
can't park here all night.

Will you move it?

Sorry, Mrs. Albright.

We had to get an identification.

If you're all right,
you can go now.

Lieutenant, my I
have another look?

Aren't you positive?

Oh, yes, yes, it's
Herman all right.

Where did he get that coat?
And that vest. What on earth?

That's just the
way he was found.

Don't be ridiculous.

Herman never wore
clothes like that in his life.

You sure about those
clothes, Mrs. Albright?

Lieutenant, we were
married for 11 years,

Herman never wore anything

but Oxford gray
suits and black ties.

And as for that ghastly vest,
he wouldn't be caught dead in...

When was the last
time you saw him?

About 7:30 last night.

Then he changed some time
between 7:30, maybe, 9:30.

And since he owned a wardrobe
which you'd never seen before,

he must have had
a place to keep it.

Yes, I'm... I'm
sure he must have.

Perry, could you step
out just a moment?

Lieutenant Tragg is here.

No, no, he didn't say.

Right, I'll tell him.

He's with a client, but
he said he'd be right out.

Oh, that's very nice of him.

Well, I wish you'd let me know
you were coming, lieutenant.

I have rather a full day.

Maybe I can lighten
your load, Perry.

You have a client
named, uh, Grace Halley?

Now, lieutenant,
this is a law office,

not an information center.

If you have business with
someone named Grace Halley,

I suggest you have your
own facilities for finding her.

You're quite right, Perry.

In fact, I have already found
where the young lady lives,

where she works, and now
I've tracked her over here.

Well, that's a remarkable
piece of tracking.

Oh, I had something
going for me.

There's not too many
beautiful girls on the street

in the middle of an August
heat wave wearing a ski suit.

That, uh, would be
rather conspicuous.

Now, what's that client
of yours in there wearing?

I'll have to take a look.

Oh, and, um, in case
she is wearing a ski suit,

why would you want her?

For questioning.

In connection with the
murder of Herman Albright.

Hm.

Excuse me, lieutenant.

I'm afraid we haven't much time.

The police? They
want to question you.

Now, what time was that
call from Albright last night?

About 10:00. That's when
he said all those things

about running off to Mexico.

Where did he call from?

The Trinidad Bar, he said.

Now, did you leave your
apartment after the phone call?

No, I didn't.

All right, Grace.

Mr. Mason,

if they just want
to question me,

that doesn't mean I'll
be arrested, does it?

Certainly not on the basis
of what you just told me.

But all the same, you'd
better take your cues from me

on what to say.

Would you, uh, care
to join us, lieutenant?

Oh, thanks, Perry.

Oh, and why don't I
just introduce myself?

Go right ahead.

You're not going to leave
him in there alone with her.

Get a hold of Paul.

Tell him I have to know
exactly what evidence the police

have against Grace Halley.

Then he's to go
to the Trinidad Bar

and try to find someone
who saw Albright last night.

If he has anything
important in, oh,

say, an hour or
so, he can reach me

at the Caffrey-Enix
advertising agency.

I suppose Grace is
worried that we might invoke

the morals clause to
cancel her contract?

Is there any danger
of that, Mr. Caffrey?

It's hard to tell yet.

We can absorb a certain
amount of unfavorable publicity,

but the agency does have
a responsibility to the client.

It was a member of the agency

who wanted to get
Grace into trouble.

Well, now, I
wouldn't be too sure

which shoe was
on which foot there.

I've known Herman
Albright a great many years.

Any girl who could inspire a
mash note like he wrote her,

must have used a few
sparks on the old punk.

I take it you've been
talking to Mrs. Albright.

No, Mr. Mason, but
apparently Mrs. Albright

has been talking
to the newspapers.

Did anybody else
know about the $5000

that Albright borrowed from you?

I'd prefer not to discuss any
further details, Mr. Mason.

I understand your San
Francisco partner, Larry Enix,

is in prison now for
evading income taxes?

Well, that's hardly a secret,
but what does that have to do

with my loaning
money to Albright?

I wouldn't know,

unless you could point out
some connection, Mr. Caffrey?

Oh, excuse me.

Yes?

Phone call for you.

You can take it out
there, if you don't mind.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello? This is Mason speaking.

Perry, I'm at the Trinidad Bar

and I think I've got
something for you.

Also, the police dope.
That is, all they'd give me.

Well, here's the rundown, Perry,

and I'm afraid it
doesn't look too good.

All the evidence in the car

points to the fact that
Albright was killed by a woman.

Also, when Mrs. Albright
identified his body,

Albright was wearing some jazzy
clothes she'd never seen before.

And they weren't new clothes.

Apparently, he'd been
wearing them for some time.

I suppose Tragg
would like to prove

he kept them in
Grace's apartment.

You ready for a shock?

One of her neighbors saw
her rush out of her apartment

around midnight carrying
an armload of men's clothing.

She just tossed 'em in
to her car and drove off.

Someday I'm going to get a
client who'll tell me the truth.

I have got one
more goody for you.

A bartender who
remembers seeing Albright

in here last night with a girl.

Grace Halley?

I didn't ask him that.

I thought you'd
better talk to him.

Uh, Walter? Walter
Clemens, Perry Mason.

Uh, please, sit
down, Mr. Clemens.

I'd appreciate
it if you'd tell me

about the girl who was
with Mr. Albright last night.

Oh, yeah.

I been fishing around,
trying to remember.

I think it was, um, "Lebaron."

Joy Lebaron.

How did you get her name?

Off her driver's license.

I thought she was hustling
this guy Albright for drinks,

so I was looking for an
excuse to toss her out.

She was old enough.

They didn't come in together?

I just told you,
she picked him up.

He bought her a
drink, then he left.

Could she have followed him out?

Could be.

Maybe they had a date.

Maybe he ditched
her. Heh. You figure it.

Me, I don't know anything
but what happened in here.

That's all I can tell you.

All right, Walter. Thanks a lot.

Look, Mr. Mason, I'm
not running to the cops,

but if they come around...
You tell them what you told us.

That's fair enough. All right.

Well, I sure hope your client
isn't using a phony name.

No. I'm sure it's
a different girl.

Even so. I've never
heard of a B-girl

shooting a sucker
for buying her a drink.

Maybe Albright had money on him.

At least it was
supposedly given to him

earlier in the evening.

How much?

Five thousand dollars.

That's enough, I'll find her.

Perry.

There's a young lady
waiting to see you.

Her name is Vicky Dolan.

What does she want?

She said to tell you that
she works at the Trinidad Bar.

Oh. That's recommendation
enough, Della, show her in.

Miss Dolan, come in, won't you?

Thank you.

Mr. Mason?

Yes? Won't you sit down?

I understand that you're looking

for the girl who
was with the guy

who got knocked off last night.

Do you know where she is?

No.

But I got something that will
make her a lot easier to find.

What would that be?

A picture.

See, I take lots
of extra pictures,

both in the bar
and in the lounge.

I show them to people,

maybe they buy,
maybe they don't.

But with this one, both the
guy and the girl were gone.

So now it's on sale
to the highest bidder.

What are you asking?

Two hundred dollars.

That's quite a
mark-up, isn't it?

Supply and demand, Mr. Mason.

Walter said you were
plenty eager to find the girl.

You realize, of course,

the police will pay
you nothing for it?

That's why I'm giving
you first crack at it.

Excuse me.

Yes?

Yes, put him on, Della.

Hello?

Yes?

Good work, Paul.

Right, I'll see you there.

I'm afraid you're out
of luck, Miss Dolan.

You mean you don't
want the picture?

If your price had been
a little more reasonable,

you might have sold it to
me, but now I don't need it.

You see, the young
woman has just been found.

Oh, this is the wildest.

I heard L.A. was a wacky town,

but I never thought
it could be this crazy.

I just read about
this in the newspaper.

This your first trip to Los
Angeles, Miss Lebaron?

And the last.

Do you mind telling me just
what happened last night?

Well, he bought me a drink.

Is that a crime?

Not at all,

but shortly afterwards
he was murdered.

Look, it was the first time
I was ever in the Trinidad.

I never laid eyes
on the guy before.

I've got some bad habits,

but shooting strangers
isn't one of them.

Suppose the, uh, stranger
had some money on him.

Say, uh, $5000.

What?

Perry.

Hello, lieutenant.

Well, well, you trying to make
my job easier for me, Perry?

I was afraid you were
going in the wrong direction.

Did you know that Albright
was in the Trinidad Bar

just before he was murdered?

No, no, I didn't.

That is, uh, not until
about 20 minutes ago.

I was just on my
way out of the office.

I gather a certain photographer

by the name of Miss
Dolan came to see you.

Yes, as a matter of fact,

she gave me a
picture of Albright.

Like, uh, any good
citizen would do.

Naturally. And since
I was on my way

to find out what
you were up to, I...

And we've been watching
your activity, I'm afraid.

Well, this is the young
lady Albright was with.

Miss Joy Lebaron.

I located her through a cab
she took later on in the evening.

We, uh, just started to ask
her about Albright's money.

What is all this?

That guy bought me a
drink, that's all. Just one drink.

And he sure never flashed
any roll at me the size of $5000.

Why, of course not,
young lady. We know that.

The $5000 was still in the
form of a cashier's check, Perry,

Mr. Caffrey hadn't
given it to Albright yet.

There. You see?

Of all the nerve.

Just a moment, young lady.

I still should thank you,

having you practically solve
my case for me this way.

Is it solved, lieutenant?

Well, at least I'm
going to ask the D.A.

to make a formal charge
of murder in the first degree

against, uh, Grace Halley. What?

All we needed was
proof that your client

was near the scene
of the murder last night.

That's the picture the
girl tried to sell you, Perry.

Maybe I should've bought it.

Well, as a good citizen,

you'd have turned it
over to me anyway,

wouldn't you, Perry?

Well, that'll be the procedure.

Remember, now, this is
only a preliminary hearing.

Is there anything
you want to ask me

or tell me before I leave?

You mentioned a gun.

Have they found it yet?

No.

No, it was a, uh...

small caliber gun, .25
automatic, probably,

held quite close to the body.

Among other things, the
weapon and the way it was used

would indicate that Albright
was shot by a woman.

Mr. Mason...

And then there's the
matter of two witnesses.

One, a photographer who
took a picture of Albright

and a woman inside
the Trinidad Bar.

Two, a night watchman
who saw a woman

in Albright's car
at about 10:30,

then found Albright dead
in that same car at midnight.

Mr. Mason.

Now, you told me you
never left your apartment, so,

of course, that woman couldn't
be you, could it, Miss Halley?

I lied to you. I know.

I did go to the Trinidad
Bar to see Mr. Albright.

I went to explain to him that
I didn't feel anything for him.

That I wouldn't, that I
couldn't go away with him.

You met Albright inside the bar?

Yes, but he wouldn't talk to me.

He just... He acted
nervous and excited.

He rushed me out,
said he'd talk to me later.

But before he rushed you out,

your picture must
have been taken.

There was a
photographer in the lounge.

What about the night watchman
who saw you in Albright's car?

I saw his car out in
the back, near the alley.

I still wanted to
explain to him,

to talk to him, to
get it over with.

I thought I'd wait in the car
until he came out of the bar.

How long were you there?

About half an hour.

Then I left.

I never saw him again,
but I didn't kill him.

Please, believe me, Mr. Mason.

I believe you, Grace.

Now, let's have the whole story.

Now, we heard the bartender
testify that it was you who,

shall we say,
"approached" Mr. Albright,

rather than vice versa.

Well, really, if anybody
cares who speaks first.

I mean, some men can
waste such an awful lot of time

getting around to
saying anything, that's all.

And me, I was thirsty.

Yes, of course,

but you testified that he
only bought you one drink?

Oh, I never accept
more from a stranger.

Anyway, when I came
out of the ladies' lounge,

just a little while later,
Mr. Albright was gone.

Just disappeared.

Uh-huh? And what
did you do then?

Well, since the
bartender seemed to have

some sort of attitude about me,

I got a taxi and took my
business elsewhere, naturally.

Honestly, the way
some people act in L.A.

Yes, naturally, Miss Lebaron,

now I want you to think
hard for just a moment:

during the 15 or 20 minutes

that you sat with
Mr. Albright at the bar,

did he mention anything
about his personal life?

Well, he did say that he had
an unhappy home life and that...

I am sorry, dear.

He said that he had a
wonderful outside interest

and that she was about my age,

but I can't remember
anything more specific

and he certainly didn't
mention any names.

Mm-hm? Thank you,
Miss Lebaron. That'll be all.

From the increasing number
of late business meetings

and the phone
calls at all hours,

it was quite apparent my
husband had developed

an outside interest.

And from his
statements and actions

did you have any doubt
as to who this interest was?

Well, he admitted he
loved Grace Halley.

I mean, if that letter
wasn't admitting enough:

"My dearest Grace, how can
I tell you my true feelings..."

Mr. Burger.

Uh, please, Mrs.
Albright, not that letter.

That has just been
ruled inadmissible.

Would you tell us now, please,

what happened the
night of the murder?

Yes. About 10:00 that night a
Mr. Buddy Frye came to the house

looking for my husband.

And what reason did he give
for wanting to see your husband?

He claimed my husband
was trying to talk Miss Halley

into leaving for
Mexico with him.

Objection.

This testimony is hearsay.

The witness had no
first hand knowledge

of any such proposed trip.

Sustained.

Very well.

Let's return to Mr. Frye.
Did you know who he was?

I believe he's the photographer

for the Miss Debutante
advertising layouts.

I think that will be all,
Mrs. Albright. Thank you.

Your witness.

Mrs. Albright, did you, uh,

believe this trip
to Mexico story?

Your Honor, Defense
Counsel is cross-examining

on a subject which he
has already objected to

and which has been withdrawn.

He can't have it both ways.

The District Attorney is
quite right, Mr. Mason.

I'll re-phrase my question.

Now, Mrs. Albright, you've
indicated by your testimony

that your marriage
was in some trouble.

Is that correct?

It could hardly be anything else
with Miss Halley in the picture.

Did you ever discuss
divorce with your husband?

I may have considered it, yes.

Naming Miss Halley
as correspondent?

That would have been
justifiable grounds.

Was your husband's life insured?

He had a very small policy,
it was all he could afford.

Yet you imply he
was able to afford

a relationship with Miss Halley?

A lack of money never
stops a man from that.

Mrs. Albright, isn't it true
that your husband was

in financial trouble
to the extent

that he was forced
to borrow money

to pay your gambling debts?

And that failure to pay those
debts might have resulted

in your being charged
with issuing bad checks?

Yes.

Now, Mrs. Albright,
when that young man,

Mr. Frye, discovered your
husband was not at home,

did he leave immediately?

He left the house right away,

but he waited out in his
car in front of the house until,

oh, about midnight,
I guess, maybe later.

Do I understand from
what you've just said

that you were at
home all evening?

Yes.

And you saw Mr. Frye's car

parked in front of your house
from about 10:00 until midnight,

the approximate time
of your husband's death.

That's right.

Can you swear that
he was in the car

during that entire period?

No, I... I merely
assumed he was there.

Does your house
have a back door?

Why, yes.

So Mr. Frye, allegedly
watching your house

from the front and not the back,

could also only assume
that you were at home

from 10:00 until midnight.

Your Honor, I'll object to that.

I'll withdraw the question.

Thank you, Mrs.
Albright. That will be all.

You reside at the Tahitian
Gardens Apartments,

Mrs. Diamond, the same
address as that of the defendant?

Of course it's the same address.

I've lived at the Tahitian for,

oh, gee, I don't
know, let me see, now.

Mrs. Diamond, please,
just answer the question.

Well, what question?

Oh, you mean the defendant.

Yeah, she lives in the apartment
above me. Is that what you mean?

Yes, that's what I
mean. Thank you.

I call your attention
now to August 11th,

that's the morning
after the murder,

and I ask if you saw Miss
Halley at any time during that day?

Well, I'm sure I wouldn't call
the middle of the night day.

Well, that was my fault,

I mean, the early
hours of August 11th,

did you see Miss Halley

then, shortly after midnight
the night of the murder?

Yes, she was coming
out of her apartment

with an armload
of men's clothing.

I couldn't imagine what she
was doing with men's clothing.

After all, she is
Miss Debutante.

Mrs. Diamond, I show you
now a picture of the deceased,

Herman Albright. I ask if
you ever saw him in person.

Sure, lots of times.

Would you be more
specific for the court, please?

When and where did
you see Mr. Albright?

Well, he was always
either coming in or leaving

Miss Halley's apartment.

Really? Thank you, Mrs.
Diamond. That will be all.

Albright was in charge of
the Miss Debutante campaign

for the agency.

He used his position
to pester Grace.

She didn't want to have
anything to do with him.

You observed the two
of them together then?

Yes, lots of times.

And I was there
when he'd phone her.

She did everything she
could to discourage him.

Tell me this, Mr. Frye,

did you consider yourself
a rival of Mr. Albright's

for Miss Halley's affections?

I'm in love with her.

Really.

I call your attention
now to the testimony

of Mrs. Albright
concerning your visit

to the Albright home on
the night of the murder.

I went out there to have
a showdown with him,

but he never came home.

I have no further
questions of this witness.

Mr. Frye, what is your
relationship to Miss Halley?

Grace Halley is my wife.

We... We kept it a secret.

Your marriage would
have been grounds

for cancellation
of her contract?

Yes. We were both
young, unknown,

trying to get ahead
in a tough business.

Maybe lying about
being married was wrong,

but that contract
was important to us.

Kind of opened
a door to success.

So to protect it, you maintained
a separate residence?

I had a little apartment
a few blocks away.

Did you keep any of your
clothes in your wife's apartment?

Yes.

Like I said, nobody knew
about us being married

and she didn't want to
implicate me in anything,

so she got rid of my clothes.

And that's what
her nosey neighbor

saw her carrying away.

Very well.

Now, Mr. Frye, would
you please tell the court

how the decedent was bringing
pressure to bare on your wife

and trying to, uh, get her
to go to Mexico with him?

Specifically the telephone
call he made to her.

Objection, Your Honor.

The court has specifically
ruled out all testimony

baring on that trip to Mexico.

As a matter of
fact, it was ruled out

at the specific request
of Mr. Mason himself.

On the surface, that
may be right, Mr. Burger.

Why are you introducing
this subject now, Mr. Mason?

May it please the court,

we're now concerned with a
very different piece of evidence.

The ruling on hearsay
was quite properly applied

to Mrs. Albright's
attempt to testify

as to what she'd been
told by a third party,

this party having
heard the statement

from the defendant.

But we are now concerned

with the defendant's
direct statements

to the witness on the stand.

Wait just a minute.

Your Honor, the witness
on the stand has just testified

that he's married
to the defendant.

Precisely. And so, of course,

he can't be forced to
testify against his wife.

However, Your Honor,
I am prepared to waive

any objection on her
behalf, therefore I can...

Now, just another
minute, Your Honor.

It seems to me quite obvious
that there's more behind

Mr. Mason's maneuver
than meets the eye.

Counsel has presented the
court with an interesting situation.

What would have
been hearsay evidence

under other circumstances

is now pertinent evidence,
as declarations by defendant

showing her state of mind.

Under the authorities,
such testimony is admissible.

Yes, Your Honor.

If it please the court, I
should like to request

a recess until tomorrow so
that I can study this whole matter.

Perhaps that's not a bad idea.

Court is adjourned
and will reconvene

tomorrow morning at 10.

Perry, do you or don't you

want testimony on the
proposed Mexican trip?

I certainly do.

Then why object to
Hamilton introducing it?

Burger would have used
it only as further evidence

that there had been an affair.

And there he would have left it.

And that's all I could
have cross-examined on.

There would have been no
mention of the telephone call

that Albright made to Grace.

But you got it admitted
anyway? Mm-hm.

By that time I had
established that Albright

couldn't afford such a trip.

So Burger has to put
Caffrey on the stand

to testify that Albright
borrowed that $5000.

And Caffrey on the stand
is what I'm really after.

But, uh, how is
Caffrey involved?

Well, for what it's worth,

Enix was Caffrey's
junior partner,

he ran the San Francisco office,

and he was young
enough and green enough

to be the patsy when the
Internal Revenue Department

spotted some, uh, discrepancies
in the company books.

Was Enix the only one
involved in the tax trouble?

No, that's the funny part of it.

The government charged
both Caffrey and Enix

with falsifying the tax returns.

Enix went to
prison for two years,

and the charges against
Caffrey were dropped.

The rumor is he probably
made a deal to give his partner

a larger share of the agency.

If that's the deal, by the
time Enix gets out of prison,

his half of the agency
may be withered away.

Caffrey may be dissolving
their partnership right now.

You know, Albright could
have known about the deal

and blackmailed
Caffrey for that 5000.

I wonder if Caffrey and Enix
have partnership insurance.

Mm-hm.

If either one dies, it
gives the other the option

and money to buy out
the dead partner's share.

Paul, I have a very
delicate job for you to do.

Okay.

I would like you to
repair a television set.

Emergencies,
emergencies. Always a crisis.

Yeah, pop, ain't it the truth,

but then you know how
folks are about their TV sets.

Look, why don't you go
down and watch your own,

I'll lock the apartment
when I finish,

that is, if the tenant
isn't home by then.

Tenant might not be home.

Hasn't been, you know,
for several days back.

Oh.

But I showed you
the repair order.

Maybe that guy comes in and
out to get things now and then.

Maybe he called for repairs.

What guy is that?

Search me.

Bald-headed man.

Oh, but he's got his own
key, so I guess it's all right.

Anyway, you'll find the
light switch on the wall there.

Thanks a lot.

Tailored by S. Magaloff.

So far as the Mexican
trip is concerned, then,

the only real pressure
you are aware of

was your wife's possible fear

that her contract
as Miss Debutante

would be cancelled?

That's right.

No further questions.

The prosecution
has some questions

on redirect, Your Honor.

Proceed, Mr. Burger.

Mr. Frye, you stated
yesterday that the men's clothing

the defendant was seen
taking out of her apartment

on the night of the murder

belonged to you,
is that correct?

They weren't Albright's,
I can tell you that.

How can you be so
positive, Mr. Frye?

Because he was
never in her apartment.

Never?

We have Mrs. Diamond's
testimony to the contrary.

Well, maybe she made a mistake.

I was there every night.

Every night, Mr. Frye?
From the 7th to the 15th

of the month preceding
the murder, every night then?

Well... Well, I don't
remember every date.

According to these records,

you were shooting a
photographic layout in Palm Springs

during that period.

So you can't be sure, can you,

if the decedent was
seeing your wife,

or when he was visiting her,

or how often he visited her.

I thought not.

The witness is all
yours, Mr. Mason.

I have no questions.

You may step down.

Call your next
witness, Mr. Burger.

I call Walter Caffrey
to the stand, please.

Mr. Caffrey, the
deceased, Herman Albright,

had been employed for a
number of years by your agency,

is that right? Yes.

Was his position
a responsible one?

He was a key man.

And his salary was
commensurate with his services?

It was a very good salary.

The defense has gone
to considerable lengths

to suggest that the deceased
could not have financed

this flight to Mexico we've
been hearing so much about.

Knowing his income,
do you believe that?

Objection, Your Honor.

I'll rephrase the
question, Your Honor.

Mr. Caffrey, of your
own personal knowledge,

did the deceased have
any money in his possession

with which he could
have financed such a trip?

Well, it was
available, yes, sir.

I had already drawn up
a cashier's check for him

in the amount of
$5000, a personal loan.

He was to pick it up in
the morning at the office.

Thank you, Mr. Caffrey. No
more questions. Your witness.

Uh, Mr. Caffrey, do you
have any valid reason

to believe that Herman Albright
planned to use that money

to leave the country?

Certainly not, or I
wouldn't have agreed

to lend him the money.

Then he gave you
a different reason

as to why he needed the money?

He said it was to pay off
some debts incurred by his wife.

Gambling debts?

Yes.

And he was to give
you nothing in return,

such as a note or
collateral to secure the loan?

His word was the
only security I needed.

You weren't influenced
by pressure of any kind?

If you mean blackmail,
Mr. Mason, absolutely not.

Then could the money
you promised him have been

in return for a service
rendered by Mr. Albright?

I don't know what you mean.

Don't you, Mr. Caffrey?

Isn't it true that Albright was
performing a service for you

at the time he was murdered?

No.

Remember, Mr. Caffrey,
you're still under oath.

No, he was not
performing a service for me.

Mr. Caffrey, earlier
this coat and vest

were identified as having
been worn by the decedent

at the time of his death.
Do you remember that?

Yes, I think so.

Now, Mr. Caffrey, does this
coat and vest belong to you?

No. No, of course not.

I ask you to read to the court

the name of the
tailor on the label.

"S. Magaloff."

Now the coat, please.

"S. Magaloff."

Thank you, Mr. Caffrey.

Now I must first warn you
that there are stringent laws

on the subject of perjury.

I'll ask you once more:

Is this coat and vest yours?

No.

Order, please. Order.

That gentleman, Mr. Caffrey,
is Sascha Magaloff,

S. Magaloff.

Now, before I put
him on the stand,

I'll ask you once more:

Is this your coat and vest?

Yes.

Would you please explain

why the decedent was
wearing your clothes

at the time of his murder?

He was going to meet
somebody who had never seen me

and didn't know
what I looked like.

And how was this person
who had never seen you

to actually know it was you?

The tattersall vest.

And with the vest as a
means of identification,

this person met not
you but Herman Albright?

Yes.

And in this meeting, was
there some element of risk?

Of danger? No, no,
I wouldn't say that.

Mr. Caffrey, isn't it true that
what happened that night

to Herman Albright was actually
intended to happen to you?

I don't have to answer these...

Mr. Caffrey, I call your
attention to another person

in this courtroom.
His name is Fenton,

he was formerly employed
by a private detective agency,

but since the day of the murder,

Mr. Fenton has been
sticking quite close to you.

What is he, your
private bodyguard?

Mr. Caffrey, isn't it true
that since Albright's death,

you have been quite terrified

because the wrong
man was murdered?

Yes. Yes. It's true.

And if you were the
intended victim, Mr. Caffrey,

then who could
have killed Albright?

Who but the person who
picked him up in the bar

because of the way he
acted and the things he said

while he was
pretending to be you?

No!

Enix knew he was
being double-crossed

by his partner Caffrey,

but there was nothing he
could do about it in prison.

So he told all his
troubles to Joy Lebaron.

Then the two of them
planned the murder

when she visited Enix in prison.

No, I don't think so.

Enix's idea was to
try and scare Caffrey

so he wouldn't pull anything.

He told his
girlfriend just enough

so she could come down here

and threaten Caffrey
to the eyebrows.

I guess little Joy had some
ideas of her own, though.

With Caffrey dead, Enix would
have ended up with everything.

She claims that
the actual murder

was Albright's fault.

The funny answers he gave her,

the strange way he acted when
he was pretending to be Caffrey.

Anyway, she threatened
him with a gun,

and when he tried to
grab it away from her,

she panicked and that was it.

The strangest thing of all
is that since Joy and Caffrey

were complete strangers,
the police might never

have connected
the two of them if...

If she hadn't killed
the wrong man.

Now, that raises an
interesting question, Mr. Mason.

How did you uncover that?

By working backwards.

Albright had been
murdered by a woman.

The police took certain
evidence and found a suspect.

I had a suspect and dug up

certain missing
evidence against Joy.

But suppose Ida
Albright had done it?

No.

Albright may have seen himself

in all sorts of
romantic situations,

but to Ida he was just a poor
goose about to lay a golden egg.

A $5000 golden egg.