Original subtitles

I've already paid you $25,000 for these.

Oh, no, Houston,

you've been paying me for goodwill.

Now's your chance to pay me for them.

For keeps.

Twenty thousand dollars.

I haven't got that kind of money.

Well, I didn't expect you to have it on hand.

Shall we say, uh, tomorrow afternoon

when the banks close?

I don't have it.

You've squeezed me dry

these last nine months, Byrd.

There's got to be an end somewhere.

And this one looks like a dead end.

What's the district attorney's old saying?

"Live a long time and learn a lesson."

You don't think I'd leave myself so vulnerable,

do you, Houston?

You're a killer.

There's a set of duplicates which will automatically go

to the district attorney's office if I turn up dead.

So you were going to double-cross me anyway.

Oh, no,

a successful blackmailer likes to give his victims hope.

This 20,000 will be the end of it.

I'm leaving for South America Friday.

I'll never come back.

Byrd, I'm not lying.

I haven't got the money.

But I'll give you 20 percent more

in the Fair Chance, my oil well.

It's due in any day now.

It'll triple, quadruple in value.

What percentage of that wildcat has already been promised?

Two hundred, 300 percent?

Houston, I want $20,000 in cash.

Or the district attorney winds up with action pictures

of a murderer at work.

Well, frankly, Madelyn,

it hurts to come to you like this,

but I know we're good friends.

Oh, we're much more than friends, aren't we, Charles?

Even though you haven't been around lately.

Of course, darling.

But you haven't been lonely, I hear.

Mm, what do you hear?

About Lucky Sterling?

Strictly for laughs.

Nobody laughs at Lucky Sterling.

He's a vicious man, Madelyn.

Oh, is that what kept you away?

Now how much money do you need?

Twenty thousand dollars.

Oh, Chuck, you can't mean it.

It's for new equipment for the drilling operation.

Everything runs high, Madelyn.

I'm sorry, darling,

but I've already bought a piece

of your oil well.

Oh, incidentally, you promised me the certificates weeks ago.

Where are they?

You know I haven't been able to form a corporation yet, Madelyn.

As soon as I do I'll issue the stock.

You already have 10 percent coming.

This will make it 30 percent.

Well, I'm all tied up financially, Chuck.

Why don't you ask Lucky Sterling?

Would he be interested?

He's interested in all kinds of things...

Even some of the things you're interested in.

Later, sweetheart.

You got a lot of nerve, Houston,

barging in here like this and asking

for a handout of $20,000.

It's no handout, Lucky.

It's a legitimate business loan.

Legitimate? Is that supposed to interest me?

You'll get it all back in 60 days.

Al right. What is it? A dame?

Business.

For my drilling operation.

Well.

Been a long time sinking that well, haven't you?

It takes time, Lucky.

Time and patience.

Ask my partner.

Floyd Gordon's been wildcatting all his life.

Gordon swears we've got

a great big gusher on our hands.

I know.

He wants another $5,000 in chips.

Thank you.

How do you know?

Last week I took a drive out to the well.

I had a talk with this Gordon.

What for, Lucky?

A friend of mine's got dough in that enterprise

and I don't like to see a friend of mine hung out

on a phony line to dry.

But you did talk to Gordon.

Yes. I talked to him.

That's why I'm willing to take a flyer with you, Charlie.

Just one thing, though.

What's your connection with Madelyn?

She's a friend.

An old friend.

That's fine.

Keep it on a friendship basis

and that will be just fine.

You see, I, uh...

I'm interested in the lady myself,

and I wouldn't want anybody to feel

that they were crowding anybody.

Do we agree, partner?

Partner?

This is for 50 percent, right?

Fifty percent? I had in mind 20 percent.

Fifty.

All right.

Then we're partners in everything.

Everything but Madelyn.

Right?

Right.

Joe.

Well, Charlie, right on time.

You got it?

For they who await no gifts from chance

have conquered fate.

What?

An old nursery rhyme my dear father taught me.

Well, it's all here.

I must say it's the most profitable game hunting

I ever did.

And now it's finished.

Sure. You carried out your part of the bargain,

Twenty thousand dollars.

I'm thinking of your part of the bargain.

That I'm seeing the last of you.

You are.

And that this is all of the photos and negatives.

That's right. It is.

And when I burn them, nothing is left.

Nothing.

You've got it all now, Charlie.

That's all there is.

There isn't any more.

And I managed to save a copy

just for you, Miss Wallace.

When did you get into town?

This morning.

I got a room at a hotel and came right here.

May I have the 10,000, please?

I haven't got it.

I don't understand.

When I phoned you in Santa Rosa,

I told you that I wouldn't give up the pictures

unless you gave me the money.

But I'm going to try to get it.

Here in L.A.?

Well, it may take me a little time.

Can you give me until...?

Until Friday, the day after tomorrow.

But I can't get it by then.

Oh, Mr. Byrd, can't I appeal to you

to turn these pictures over to the police?

It's bad enough doing some of the things

I have to do for money.

Now, how do you expect me to do it for nothing?

Please understand that if you mention to anyone

that I can prove your sister was killed by Charles Houston,

I'll destroy the evidence

then deny it and you'll never get any proof.

I understand.

You're a stranger. You have no friends, no relatives here.

Where are you planning to get the 10,000?

From Charles Houston.

That photo was taken a year ago in Santa Rosa,

just after Charles Houston married my sister, Evelyn.

Are you sure your, uh, brother-in-law came

to Los Angeles, Miss Wallace?

Oh, yes, we corresponded after he left Santa Rosa, after...

After my sister died.

Charles has an office here.

She was killed just three months after they were married.

Evelyn was out driving by herself

when her car plunged off a curve just outside of town.

How soon after the accident did your brother-in-law

leave Santa Rosa?

Almost immediately.

He said that he felt like a stranger there without Evelyn.

Then he was a newcomer to the community?

Yes, Evelyn married him just a month after he came there.

Oh, he's quite charming, very persuasive.

What's his line of work?

Charles is a promoter.

Oil, mostly.

Evelyn and I invested $50,000 in an oil well

he was going to drill somewhere near Los Angeles.

Go on, Miss Wallace.

Well, we bought 50 percent of Charles' interest.

When the corporation was formed,

we were supposed to get stock certificates.

And no corporation was formed?

No.

He... He said something about incorporating himself.

He insisted it had to be that way

because of legal red tape...

Something to do with, uh, Corporate Securities Act.

He said he didn't want his hand forced on incorporating

before the well came in.

Do you have a contract? A letter of intent?

No.

Charles was one of the family, so we trusted him.

I think a visit to the district attorney's office

would do you some good, Miss Wallace.

No. Uh...

Mr. Mason, I... I have trouble at home.

I need money desperately.

I know that the right thing is to...

To bring Charles to some sort of accounting.

But I want to get my money.

As much of it as I can get.

I take it you haven't spoken to him?

No, I haven't been able to reach him at his office.

I even wrote to Mr. Gordon,

his... His field manager and got no answer.

Then I phoned Mr. Gordon at the field

and he said he didn't know where Charles was.

All right, Miss Wallace.

We'll look into it for you.

We have your address.

Thank you, Mr. Mason.

Miss Street.

Fifty thousand dollars, one of the family.

Well, most people think the stories they read in newspapers

can never happen to them.

Della, see if Paul can step in.

Mm-hm.

So, at 3,000 we hit a layer of gumbo,

then five feet of sand and water below that,

then more gumbo

and then a layer of Miocene sand.

The richest core of oil sand I ever dredged up.

I've been in oil all my life.

Brought in a few wells too.

Oh, nothing that would ever put me on easy street.

But the Fair Chance,

I've been waiting for it,

dreamed about it, eating it, sleeping it.

It's my big one.

I can feel it in here.

You talk my language, Gordon.

We're both hunch players.

Right, partner?

Partner?

Then he gave you the 5,000 we need

for the rigging and equipment?

No. That was something else.

Yeah, but what did he mean, "partner"?

Forget it, Floyd. That's just his way of talking.

Charlie.

What's up?

What do you mean?

You been getting a lot of calls lately,

like you can't be reached in L.A.

From whom?

Well, there was a Miss Madelyn Terry,

a Miss Wallace.

Paula Wallace? Yeah.

Isn't she your sister-in-law?

Didn't she give you the money that started us in business?

Yeah.

Who else called?

Well, there was a private detective

by the name of Paul Drake

and a lawyer named Mason.

I gotta get back to town.

So, what do they all want, Charlie?

You in financial trouble?

Don't worry about me.

Yeah, but I do worry about you.

We're partners in this oil well.

I wouldn't like to think that you were doing anything wrong.

Wrong? Like what?

Well, getting yourself into a mess and...

She's blowing, Charlie.

She's blowing.

It's a blowout.

The shutoff valve is gone.

It's the valves!

You got the new valves!

It's the valve. Get a new valve.

Hurry up with that new valve!

Get those block and tackles clear!

See that those block and tackles are...

Soon as that valve's in place,

shut her off!

As soon as that valve's in place, shut her off.

Look at her blow.

Look at her blow.

Look at that big beautiful sweetheart.

We're rich, Charlie.

We're dirty, filthy, oily rich.

Miss Wallace, if you own a piece of that,

I'd hold onto it. I sure wouldn't sell it out.

They don't call me lucky for nothing, partner.

We've got to talk to Charles.

Charles. Mr. Houston.

Funny.

Almost seems as if the last thing on earth he wanted

was for that gusher to come in.

For a man whose rainbow had just touched a pot of gold,

he was the sickest-looking guy I have ever seen.

He drove right off?

Like a man with a mission.

He didn't even recognize Miss Wallace

when she called to him.

Yeah... Oh, well, will you please have her call

Mr. Perry Mason when she comes in?

Thank you.

Didn't you leave Miss Wallace at the hotel, Paul?

Sure I did.

I'll need her signature.

Mm-hm.

If that well is as rich as Paul thinks,

she can be a very wealthy young woman.

All things being equal.

Della, I'd... I'd like her here early.

I left a message at her hotel, but...

I'll call again in the morning before I come to work.

I can't imagine where she could have gone.

She said she was gonna stay in her room.

Mr. Byrd?

Charles, are you here?

Hello? Oh...

Charles.

Let me out of here!

Why did you lock me in?

Oh, it's horrible. It's horrible.

He's dead up there. Dead?

There's a man, he's dead up there.

Okay, lady, let's go and see who's dead up there.

Come on.

And the... And the door was slammed shut and locked,

and the... The lights went out...

They just went out and I was... I was left alone

in the room with the dead man.

Locked, lady?

Lights out, miss?

But they were out.

Well, part of your story's right, anyway.

There's a dead body here.

You better call Homicide.

Why did you kill him, miss?

After Mr. Drake dropped me at my hotel,

I had dinner and then I went to my room.

Then I received the phone call

and I went to the Monterey Arms, Room 303.

What time was that phone call?

It was ten minutes to 10.

What time did you reach Roger Byrd's room?

A little after 10.

All right, tell me about the call.

Well, the man on the phone said his name was Roger Byrd.

Now, that's what I don't understand.

Lieutenant Tragg said that Roger Byrd denied calling me.

Do you know this Roger Byrd?

No.

Then why would he call you?

Well, he said he was calling for Charles Houston,

that Charles wanted to see me

in Mr. Byrd's hotel room.

Would you recognize this voice if you heard it again?

I don't know.

While you were in Roger Byrd's room,

did you touch anything?

Well, the phone and...

And the briefcase.

What briefcase?

It was Charles'. It was on the desk.

What about the gun?

I... I... I don't know.

I didn't really look.

Why did you want to kill him, Miss Wallace?

I didn't kill him.

The police have a pretty good case against you.

Do you have any idea what they'll figure was your motive?

No.

Something in the past? Something while your sister was married?

No.

All right, Miss Wallace.

As far as the police,

the district attorney's office

and the reporters are concerned

just tell them the story as you know it.

You have nothing to hide.

Right, Miss Wallace?

Right, Mr. Mason.

Perry.

What's up, Paul?

Well, mostly bits and pieces.

One thing: The police got the call

to go to the Monterey Arms apartment at 9:52 last night.

Call from whom?

Somebody by the name of Anonymous.

What else?

Well, apparently the room had been thoroughly searched.

What about the murder weapon?

Revolver, .32 caliber.

One shot fired.

Registered? Uh-huh.

Registered to Evelyn Wallace Houston, Santa Rosa, California,

just one year ago.

That's Paula Wallace's sister.

You better check into it, Paul.

The relationship, the courtship,

accident.

Everything that happened in Santa Rosa.

And, uh, check on this fellow Gordon out at the oil well.

Oh, I've already phoned him.

Better make it a visit.

Did you find out how Houston got into Byrd's room?

Well, Homicide thinks that the door was unlocked,

just the way it was found.

No, I think there must be a connection

between Byrd and Houston.

Well, hello, lieutenant.

Paul. Lieutenant.

Perry.

Anything I can do to help?

Why, yes, thank you, lieutenant.

You can help.

See, you can turn it

and it'll stay turned halfway.

Then you can't open it from the other side.

Thank you, sergeant.

Tragg.

Not at all.

Go ahead, sergeant.

Uh, Mr. Byrd...

Uh, how well did you know Charles Houston?

Oh, fairly well.

Did you know him in Santa Rosa?

Where? Santa Rosa.

Oh, no, sir. I knew Charles right here in L.A.

Do you know Paula Wallace?

No.

And I didn't telephone her either.

Well, why would someone use your name?

I don't know.

Truthfully, Mr. Mason,

I don't think she ever received a telephone call.

I think she simply followed Charles right here

to the hotel room.

He must have had an appointment with you then.

No. No, not last night.

What was your relationship with, uh, Houston?

Well, I'm a stockholder in the Fair Chance.

Or I will be when the corporation is formed.

I had a personal contract with Houston.

How much of Charles Houston did you own?

Ten percent.

Ha! Only yesterday he asked me if I wanted to buy some more

and I refused.

I even tried to sell what I had.

Was there anything stolen, Mr. Byrd?

No.

Was there anything in your possession

a thief might have been after?

I can't think of anything, Mr. Mason.

Thank you, Mr. Byrd.

There was an original investment of $50,000

which was eaten up pretty fast.

Land leases, equipment, three cash withdrawals.

Cash withdrawals?

Yeah. One about eight months ago.

Uh...

January the 20th, $10,000,

another March 6th, 7,500.

Another April the 15th, 7,500.

Drawn to whose order? Cash.

Charlie Houston must have used the money for something.

For what? I don't know.

It had nothing to do with me.

My deal with Houston was a 50-50 split down the middle.

His job was to get up the financing,

mine to produce the well.

Now, what he gave away on his end really doesn't affect me.

It would if he gave away more than he owned.

How?

By selling more than 100 percent

of the oil well. Oh.

That would leave you on the outside along with him.

What was Lucky Sterling doing up here yesterday

when the well blew in?

Yeah.

Maybe that's what Sterling meant

when he called Charlie "partner."

Did he say how much of a partner?

No.

Well, Paula Wallace owns 50 percent.

Now, don't tell me you haven't thought of this before, Gordon.

I got my work to think about.

And don't tell me you haven't been to an attorney

to find out where you stand?

You're not that naive.

Now, you mentioned a phone call

from a man named Byrd and a Miss Terry.

Madelyn Terry.

It was pretty close to 7:00, after the gusher, when Charles...

Mr. Houston came in.

I'd never seen a man with the spirit gone out

of him like that.

He seemed empty...

Just drained out.

As though he'd lost his last friend on earth.

What did he want from you, Miss Terry?

Money.

Why would he have needed money?

Yesterday afternoon he watched that gusher come in.

Yeah. So he did.

So did you, Mr. Sterling.

That's right.

What were you doing out there?

I've got a stake going.

And why have you come to me?

I want to hire you.

What for?

I want my share of that oil well.

I bought into that proposition fair and square.

And that's the way I want to be treated.

I'm afraid I can't help you, Mr. Sterling.

Why not?

Conflict of interests.

I see.

Well, then, Mr. Mason, I'll just have to protect myself.

The bank told me that yesterday my check was cashed

by a Mr. Houston.

You've got a claim on this well.

Well, so have I.

Twenty thousand dollars' worth.

Come on.

Good day, counselor.

Twenty thousand dollars.

And Charles Houston went to Roger Byrd's room.

And that's the room where a search was made.

This was, uh, checked out by Ballistics as the murder weapon.

It was purchased in Santa Rosa, California

and is registered to, uh, Evelyn Wallace Houston.

Lieutenant, would you now tell this court please

who Evelyn Wallace Houston was?

She was the sister of the defendant.

Thank you, lieutenant. Cross-examine.

Lieutenant, isn't it also true

that Evelyn Wallace Houston was decedent's wife?

Yes, sir.

And that it is possible

that he brought the gun to Los Angeles?

Possible, yes.

How long had the Houstons been married?

A few months, I believe.

And then Mrs. Houston met with a fatal accident in Santa Rosa.

I see.

Did the murder room bear evidence of a search?

Yes, sir.

Was anything found to be missing?

No.

Thank you, lieutenant. That will be all.

I call Mr. Floyd Gordon, please.

Now, Mr. Gordon, would you please tell us what you know

about the defendant, Paula Wallace?

Well, nothing outside of a phone call she made

asking for Houston and that letter.

And to what letter are you referring, sir?

One that was found among Houston's papers

when they were brought out from his office in town.

I see. I show you now this letter

and ask if you can identify it for us.

Yes, sir.

It's addressed to me but it was sent

to Houston's office in town.

Thank you. If it will please the court,

I should like this letter entered

as an exhibit for the people.

And I should like one paragraph

from the letter read into the record.

Your Honor, I object to any part of this letter

being introduced in evidence.

On what basis, Mr. Mason?

On the basis that no proper foundation has been laid.

Your Honor, for purposes of expediting

this preliminary hearing,

the prosecution felt that a slightly more informal...

Not this informal.

The defense is not gonna relinquish any of its rights.

This is a typewritten letter.

Typed on any given typewriter

is as distinctive and identifiable as handwriting.

I'd like both the type and the signature attested by experts.

Your Honor...

Defense is within its rights, Mr. Burger.

Very well, Mr. Mason. No further questions.

Your witness.

Now, Mr. Gordon,

have you recently engaged an attorney?

Uh, yes.

Now, didn't he tell you to count on nothing

but a fraction of what you expected

to get out of the oil well?

Well, he said I was in a better position

than some of the others.

And anyway, he said Houston really held the title

in trust for all the people he had defrauded.

That we'd all get something,

no matter how little.

Thank you, Mr. Gordon. That will be all.

I got out of the elevator

and went down the hall to my room.

Just as I reached the door,

I realized there was somebody inside the room.

And what did you do then, Mr. Byrd?

I put my key in the lock and turned it

so that it couldn't be opened from inside the room.

Then I went to the payphone and called the police.

And while you were phoning, what did you do?

I kept my eye on my door.

What did you see?

Nothing. Nobody went in, nobody came out.

Is there any other way out of your room, Mr. Byrd?

Well, the window and the fire escape.

And where does the fire escape lead?

To the street.

And we've previously heard testimony that,

in response to a phone call

to police headquarters at 9:52, prowl car officers

were able to intercept the defendant in her flight

from that fire escape

and that they subsequently returned her to the third floor.

Is that correct? Yes, sir.

Now, Mr. Byrd,

what time was it when you locked

this someone in your room?

A little before 10:00.

And how you could you be certain that the someone was there?

Well, I heard a shot.

You heard shot?

Yes, sir. A revolver shot

right inside the door.

Thank you, Mr. Byrd.

Your witness.

What about that shot, Miss Wallace?

No, Mr. Mason it isn't true. He's lying.

Mr. Mason?

Do you wish to cross-examine this witness?

I most certainly do, Your Honor.

Now, you say you, uh, locked your door

after you heard a shot inside.

That's right.

Isn't it true that you pulled a fuse

turning out all the lights?

Yes.

Where is the fuse box located?

In the janitor's closet at the end of the hall.

And you, uh, kept your eye

on your door all the while?

Yes.

Then you, uh, made that anonymous telephone call

to the police? Yes.

And you told them a murder had been committed?

No.

I told them just what I told you here,

that I had heard the shot.

But you didn't tell them about locking the door.

No. Or about turning off the lights.

No. Or who you were.

No. Why not?

Why the secrecy?

I wanted to keep out of it.

Keep out of what?

Whatever happened in there.

Yet, when the police came up there with Miss Wallace,

the, uh, door was unlocked, the lights were turned on.

Now, how do you explain that? I did it.

After I locked the door I listened

and heard the person inside open the window

and go down the fire escape.

Naturally, I was curious to see what had happened inside.

But you already knew what had happened.

When did you call Miss Wallace

and tell her to come to the room?

I didn't. Mr. Houston wanted to see her?

I didn't call her. When could I have done that?

Earlier.

Fifteen minutes earlier, when you either killed Houston

or found him dead in your room.

No. It's not true. I didn't.

Mr. Byrd,

what is your occupation?

I'm a freelance photographer.

Is it a lucrative occupation?

I'm a man of very simple tastes.

I have no one to support but myself.

I have here a record of your monetary transactions

at a bank one block away from where you live.

What about it?

You made a deposit in the amount

of $10,000 on January 21st

of this year.

That's quite a deposit for a freelance photographer

of simple tastes.

I think that's my personal business.

Then on March 10th you deposited $7,500.

And on April 16th $7,500 more.

Are my figures and dates correct, Mr. Byrd?

I guess so. I don't know.

And all from photography, Mr. Byrd?

By a strange coincidence, the deceased,

Charles Houston, withdrew three identical amounts

from a Fair Chance account

the day before each of your deposits.

Now, perhaps you were selling your pictures to Mr. Houston.

What do you want with me?

On August 5th,

the day Charles Houston was murdered,

he cashed a check for $20,000.

All right. On that same day I deposited $20,000.

Blackmail, Mr. Byrd?

As you say, I was selling something to Houston.

The next morning,

the morning after the murder,

you withdrew $45,000 in cash from you account, did you not?

I withdrew my money, yes.

The someone who searched your apartment,

was he looking for that $45,000?

No. No?

What was he looking for?

It wasn't a he. It was a she.

It was Miss Wallace.

How would Miss Wallace have known about the money?

She wasn't looking for the money.

She was looking for my prints, my films...

The ones I blackmailed Houston with.

Of Charles Houston murdering her sister.

That's what she wanted. I told her about them.

I called her in Santa Rosa.

Told her to get up $10,000 if she wanted the evidence

to send her sister's murderer to the gas chamber.

That's why she came here in the first place.

That's why she wanted her money back.

That's why she went to you, Mr. Mason, in the first place.

But she couldn't get her money back.

And she couldn't get the prints without it.

So she killed him.

Because it was the only thing left she could do.

Yes, I lied.

I...

I didn't tell you the truth in your office

because Roger Byrd threatened

to destroy the film

and deny what he told me.

That was after the murder?

Yes. But then, you see,

it would really seem as if I had a reason to kill him.

I didn't want you to think that.

Then Byrd was lying about the shot?

Yes.

Why?

I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know.

All right.

Mm...

I have one small errand to do before court reconvenes.

I'll see you then.

Good afternoon, Miss Terry.

Why, hello, Mr. Mason.

May I join you?

Of course.

I really dropped by to see Mr. Sterling.

Oh, he's in his office on the phone.

I noticed you in court this morning.

Yes.

I take it your interest in the case

would be in connection with Charles Houston.

Well, yes, I did know him.

How well did you know him, Miss Terry?

Mr. Mason, that's a personal matter.

Were you in love with him?

No!

Didn't you, uh, lend him money

at various times?

No.

Didn't you put up $10,000 for his oil well,

figuring that money would be thrown away?

Mr. Mason, I don't have to submit

to this kind of inquisition.

You're prying into my private affairs...

What have you got to hide, baby?

The counselor's only trying to get information.

Why not give him the answers?

That's right, Miss Terry.

If you have nothing to hide your answers might

be very helpful to my client.

Why should I help her?

If she killed Charles, let her pay for it!

Were you in love with Houston, baby?

After telling me that he was just an old chum

you felt sorry for.

What happened after he came to see you that night?

Did you give him the money he wanted?

You mean before you got there? No.

I mean after he left and I left.

Did you meet him somewhere?

I wish I had.

Where were you? I couldn't reach you.

I came right here, Mr. Lucky Sterling,

But you weren't around.

You didn't come around till quite late.

Where were you?

Well...

put on quite a show for you, counselor.

Where were you, Mr. Sterling?

Did you, uh, make a telephone call to Miss Wallace?

No, counselor. I did not.

Where were you, Miss Terry?

When?

At about 9:30 or a quarter of 10.

That was just before I left my apartment, Mr. Mason.

I was taking a bath.

No, no one can corroborate it.

I will see you later this afternoon.

Fine.

You may be seated.

Mr. Mason,

recess was called while you were cross-examining

Mr. Roger Byrd.

You may continue.

Mr. Roger Byrd,

please take the stand.

Mr. Byrd, on the evening of the murder,

what time did you leave your room for dinner?

About 7:30.

And what time did you return?

I told you that already.

About 10:00.

Now, isn't it true that after you had dined,

you stopped at the National Travel Service?

Well, yes. I... I did. I...

I was changing a reservation.

A flight reservation to Rio de Janeiro?

Changed from the day following the murder

to the 8th of September.

Is that correct?

Yes, I, uh... I thought of taking a vacation.

Just a simple vacation?

And you bought $55,000 worth of travel checks,

did you not?

Yes.

You withdrew $45,000

from your bank account

and you added $10,000 to it.

Where did you get that extra $10,000, Mr. Byrd?

Blackmail again? No.

Did you get it from Charles Houston?

No. No. He was...

He was already dead, Mr. Byrd?

No.

I don't know.

Now, isn't it true that when you called Miss Wallace

and told her that Houston had her shares of stock,

that she could pick them up in your room,

Houston was already dead?

No.

No, he wasn't dead?

No, I didn't call her.

Then isn't it true that when you called the police

you knew that Houston was lying dead in your room?

No.

Your Honor, Mr. Mason

is needlessly browbeating this witness.

The district attorney's office

is already preparing to indict Mr. Byrd,

for his self-confessed blackmail,

and to consider possible charges of perjury against him.

But Roger Byrd is not here on trial

for the murder of Charles Houston

and I object to Mr. Mason's attempts

to prove him guilty of it.

Your point is well taken, Mr. Burger,

but I believe Mr. Mason's questions are entirely pertinent

to the matter at hand.

I am therefore going to allow him to continue.

Objection overruled.

I'll repeat the question, Mr. Byrd.

Didn't you know that Houston

was dead before you called the police?

No.

Now, isn't it true that Charles Houston,

facing ruin after the well came in,

went to your room to get back $20,000

he had given you earlier?

No. No, he didn't?

No, I don't know.

No more questions.

If it please the court,

the prosecution is now prepared to lay

a proper foundation for the reading of the letter

from the defendant to Mr. Floyd Gordon.

I call Professor Ralph Scobie.

Your Honor,

in the interest of expediting this examination,

the defense withdraws its objection

to the reading of the letter.

Very well, Your Honor.

I call Mr. Floyd Gordon.

"And I must have either the shares or the money back.

"Charles Houston has ignored my calls and letters

"and now I turn to you in desperation.

"I will stop at nothing

"to get at least some part

"of what rightfully belongs to me.

Yours hopefully, Paula Wallace"

Thank you very much, Mr. Gordon.

If it please the court, I should like this letter marked

in evidence.

No objection.

Your witness.

Mr. Gordon, it must have been a shock for you

to discover your that partner

had sold your participation in the Fair Chance

along with his own.

Yes.

Well, what did he say when you confronted him with it?

When did I confront him, Mr. Mason?

On the night of the murder. When?

On the night of the murder at about 9:30

in Mr. Byrd's room.

Oh, no, I didn't.

If I wanted to see Charlie Houston,

why would I go to Mr. Byrd's room?

Let me put it this way, Mr. Gordon.

Mr. Byrd mentioned trying at one time

to sell his interest in the oil well.

It was refused.

Weren't you the one he was trying to sell it to?

Oh.

And didn't you go to Mr. Byrd's room

and try and buy that share

before he found out the gusher had come in?

Uh, yes.

At about 9:30 on the night of the murder?

Yes.

And didn't you see Charles Houston

in Mr. Byrd's room at that time?

What?

No, I didn't see Charlie Houston.

But you did buy the ten shares from Roger Byrd?

No. I didn't see him either.

Didn't you give him $10,000 in cash?

No.

That's all, Mr. Gordon.

Your Honor, since the evidence now hinges on that $10,000,

I would like to recall Mr. Roger Byrd.

Mr. Burger?

Your Honor, the prosecution would also like to know

where Mr. Byrd got the extra $10,000.

No objection.

You may step down, Mr. Gordon.

Mr. Byrd, will you take the stand?

You are still under oath, Mr. Byrd.

Now, Mr. Byrd,

you withdrew $45,000 from your bank account

the morning after the murder

and you bought $55,000 worth

of travel checks, did you not?

All right, yes.

Where did you get that extra $10,000?

From Mr. Gordon?

No.

Are you trying to shield someone, Mr. Byrd?

Is that the reason you lied

about hearing that shot

when Miss Wallace was in the room?

No, I...

All right, I... I did lie about that.

And it was you called her on the telephone

and induced her to come to your room?

Yes.

And that was after Charles Houston was murdered?

Yes.

Then you waited for Miss Wallace to arrive.

Then you locked the door

and then you called the police.

And if the police hadn't arrived

while Miss Wallace was on the fire escape,

you would have testified that you saw her enter the room,

would you not?

Yes.

Who were you trying to protect

by incriminating Miss Wallace?

No one.

There must have been someone.

And it must have been for good and substantial reasons.

The $10,000, Mr. Byrd?

Now, there's only one person in this case

or connected with it

who would have ready access

to that kind of cash

at that time of night.

Now, who was it you saw coming out

of your room right after you heard that shot?

Sterling. Lucky Sterling.

Yeah, me,

Lucky Sterling.

I killed him.

Well, not because he made a chump out of me

with that oil share deal.

This you've got to expect if you mix

into the other fellow's racket.

No. This was crazy.

You spotted it, counselor.

I was jealous.

Me.

Jealous over that kind of woman.

Well, Byrd went to the trouble of implicating Paula

because he thought he saw in Sterling,

another source of blackmail.

And the business with the lights?

That was to confuse and frighten Paula.

By the way, what's gonna happen with the oil well?

Well, a receiver has been appointed

to clear up the whole situation.

And so far, they've found Houston sold

over 180 percent of the well.

Which means that somebody's gonna have to take a beating.

Everybody will to some extent.

But an equitable arrangement will be made.

It will, huh?

Uh, forgive my asking,

but what happened with Charles Houston

after the gusher came in?

Well, the way I see it,

he realized disaster had come in with the well.

All he wanted to do was to gather as much money

as he could together and disappear.

So he went to Madelyn first.

And then to Byrd. And that's what he was searching for.

He hoped that Byrd had the $20,000

in cash hidden in the room.

Right.

Something else, Paul?

Um, what do you think of this Gordon, Perry?

A good man?

Oh, I think so.

Say, what's behind all this?

Oh, I was just being careful.

I had a talk with Gordon after court.

I was, uh, thinking of doing a little investing.

Well, well.

Mr. Paul Drake, oil baron.

You know, I'm thinking of a large investment, too, Della.

How about a big steak dinner?