Original subtitles

( noirish jazz theme playing )

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.

( sighs )

( phone rings )

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.

WOMAN: Phyllis?

PHYLLIS: Laura's calling. Please hurry.

LAURA: Phyllis?

( suspenseful theme playing )

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.

( suspenseful theme playing )

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.

( car engine starts outside )

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.

( tense theme playing )

Very well, Walter.

You may have your divorce.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Over my dead body he'll get a divorce.

( ominous theme playing )

Roger!

Uh, yes. Yes, Laura.

That invention of Walter's, that--

That device of his.

I want it destroyed.

( dramatic theme playing )

Do you understand? I want it destroyed.

( dramatic theme playing )

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.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( door opens )

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.

( line ringing )

Bruce? Bruce, this is Roger.

Listen to me.

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

( Bruce speaking indistinctly )

But Laura won't wait.

Listen. Bruce, listen.

She's putting pressure on me.

Bruce, w-wait a minute--

( line hangs up )

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

( sighs )

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.

( ominous theme playing )

Yes, Laura.

Eight-thirty.

( ominous theme playing )

( door opens and closes )

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.

( sighs )

( ominous theme playing )

Good night, Mrs. Randall.

( door opens )

Good night, Phyllis.

( door closes )

( suspenseful theme playing )

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

Mm-hm.

Well, that should do it.

( sighs )

They're signed and ready.

See that Walter Randall gets his copies in the morning.

And then--

( dramatic theme playing )

Mr. Mason.

Mr. Mason.

( gasps )

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.

(police radio chattering)

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.

( dramatic theme playing )

Miss Hudson?

( dramatic theme playing )

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.

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.

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.

( dramatic theme playing )

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?

CHAMBERLAIN: 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.

( dramatic theme playing )

Now, uh, doctor, did your autopsy reveal

anything else of significance?

DOCTOR: 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.

CHAMBERLAIN: Now, what time was it then?

JUDY: 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.

CHAMBERLAIN: 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.

MASON: And your husband?

And my husband.

MASON: 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?

( man clears throat )

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.

CHAMBERLAIN: 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.

( courtroom murmuring )

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.

CHAMBERLAIN: 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?

PENNER: 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.

( dramatic theme playing )

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.

( dramatic theme playing )

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.

JUDGE: Call Walter Randall to the stand, please.

CLERK: 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.

CHAMBERLAIN: 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?

MASON ( over radio ): 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.

( switch clicks )

Then the flame dies.

( switch clicks )

Then the unlit gas is back on again.

Please. ( gas hissing )

All right, Paul, thank you.

( switch clicks )

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.

CLERK: 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?

SHERIDAN: 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.

( sighs )

Yes.

I killed her.

( dramatic theme playing )

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.

DELLA: 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.

( dramatic theme playing )

( noirish jazz theme playing )

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