All language subtitles for Perry Mason S06E02 The Case of the Capricious Corpse.DVDRip.NonHI.en.CBS

♪♪

Remember, Timmy, eye on
the ball all the way up to the plate.

Get ready now. Okay,
now slug it. Slug it!

Come on, Timmy,
let's try again, huh?

No. I'll never learn... never.

Timmy, you remember
my telling you

I played on the foundation's
ten-and-under all-stars when I was a kid?

Yes.

Look...

The same series of
operations you're having.

You mean you played
all-stars with braces?

No, but even before they took them off, I
was just about the best hitter around here.

Gee, give me that bat.

- That's the boy. Come on.
- That's right, Timmy. Come on.

- Let's go!
- Okay, kids.

Come on, let's get going now.

- Miss Proctor.
- Oh hi, Mr. Gage.

- My uncle would like to see you.
- See me?

As soon as possible,
or so I was informed.

Thank you.

Like to join us?

Me, George Gage, playing
games with children?

Don't be ridiculous.

Oh, he's waiting.

What does he want? Why
does he want to see me?

I don't know, Joaney.
You'd better go right in.

Claudia, is he worse?

Mr. Gage.

Joane, how do you feel...

about Ernest Demming?

Well, since he's Claudia's
husband and my brother-in-law,

I suppose I shouldn't
say, but I don't like him.

Then can trust you
to do what I want.

Joane, my lawyer...

Perry Mason...

call him.

Tell him to have a new
will for my signature...

tonight...

cutting off...

Ernest Demming completely.

You mean it's all to go to
your nephew George Gage?

No. To Claudia.

My life work, the foundation...

Claudia's and mine...

And he must never
be able to destroy it

as he and my nephew George

are plotting to do.

Plotting?

I have the proof here...

A copy of an agreement

between my nephew

and Demming

to split everything

no matter who inherits.

Call my lawyer...

Perry Mason.

Tell him hurry.

Ernest Demming, please.

I'll get it.

Hello?

A change in what?

That's very interesting.

Yes, you're right. I
had better come out.

It's time for your
medicine, Mr. Gage.

Mr. Gage.

Mr. Gage!

At last. I've been looking
all over for you, Joaney.

What's going on? Dr. Omstead's
here and the maid says there's a lawyer.

Mr. Gage went into a coma.

- Oh, Nick.
- Oh.

Nick, I'm afraid it means
the end of the foundation.

But how?

Even if Mr. Gage does die, Ernest
Demming will carry on. He always has.

No no, that's just it.

Ernest isn't going to carry on.

He made an agreement to divide
the estate with George Gage.

- George Gage?
- Yeah.

Who told you that?

Old Mr. Gage.

He showed me a
copy of the agreement

- just before he went into the coma.
- Oh.

Heart's slightly weaker,
but otherwise no change.

As for his regaining
consciousness, Mr. Mason,

I'd say the prognosis
was unfavorable.

But there is a
chance, Dr. Omstead?

Yes, but he hasn't much time...

A few hours at the most.

I see.

Well, thank you.
Coming, Claudia?

No, I think I'll
stay for a while.

Mr. Mason, how is he?

Not good, Joane.

Dr. Omstead doesn't think
he'll ever regain consciousness.

Oh no.

Mr. Mason, I'm Ernest Demming's
assistant, Nicholas Blake.

What can be done about this new
will Joane's been telling me about?

Nothing without Mr. Gage.

You mean Ernest Demming
can inherit everything

- even though Mr. Gage doesn't want him to?
- I'm afraid so.

And wreck the foundation?

Yes, by simply refusing to support
it once he gains control of the estate.

What is this with Ernest?

I thought he'd been a faithful
worker for the foundation for years.

I don't know.

He's changed a lot
since his first heart attack.

He just doesn't have any interest
in the foundation or the children

or Claudia or...

Well, he's found
other interests...

Women.

Look, Mr. Mason, why can't you tear
up the old will? Wouldn't that fix him?

Even if I could do
that, which I can't,

it would only divert everything
to George Gage as next of kin.

Where it would go for more high living
on the Riviera and another five wives.

I guess the only solution is for some
philanthropic soul to up and plug Ernest.

Even that wouldn't help,

because if Ernest predeceases
Mr. Gage, it again would all go to George.

Do you mean that Claudia, as
Ernest's wife, wouldn't inherit?

At the time Mr. Gage's
present will was drawn up,

he had complete faith in Ernest.

Claudia's name
wasn't even mentioned.

The only way she could inherit would
be if Ernest would inherit and then die.

You have the new will, Joane?

Oh, yes.

You understand that Mr. Gage's
signature must be witnessed

by at least two people
not mentioned in the will?

- Mm-hmm.
- All right then. I'll be going.

Thank you,
Mr. Mason. Good night.

Good night.

There must be something we
can do, Joaney. There must be.

Well, my suggestion
would be to go to bed

since anything else
would be quite futile.

Oh, by the way, Mr. Blake, the high
living wasn't confined just to the Riviera.

Oh, no no, there was
Paris, Rome, London,

and quite a number
of other places.

That and Demming
versus 3,000 kids.

I know how you feel, Nick.

No, you don't, Joaney,
not by a long shot.

Not how it feels to be
taken in off the street,

off an ash-heap you were
using as a playground,

given milk, clean
clothes, braces,

operations, hope.

Above all, Joaney, hope.

That's why I came back to
the foundation after I grew up...

To try to help give
other kids hope too.

Know what I'm
going to do, Joaney?

I'm going to have it out
with Ernest Demming.

He isn't here, Nick.

Now Claudia told me that he's
still at that hotel in Beverly Hills

where he stays
when he's in town.

Well, he must have
changed plans, then.

His car's outside, and I
saw a light in the library.

Now Nick, wait.

Mr. Demming,
you may think that...

Mr. Demming?

He's dead.

"Dr. Omstead." Nick,
it's his heart medicine.

Well, apparently it didn't work.

Do you realize what this means?

Yes.

George Gage is first
in line to inherit now.

Poor Claudia.

Poor Mr. Gage...

All the work they've done,
their dreams for the foundation...

Mr. Blake? Is that
you in there, Mr. Blake?

What is it, Timmy?

The bus back to the city...
They're holding it for you.

Timmy, I can't leave just
now. Tell the driver to go ahead.

But you said you'd ride
with us, tell us a story.

I know. Next time, and
that's a promise, Timmy.

- Go ahead. Come on, beat it.
- Good night, Mr. Blake.

Good night, Timmy.

Joaney...

will you do something for Timmy
and me and the foundation?

Of course.

Go to bed and don't say a
word about this to anybody.

But Dick, the... I
don't understand.

You're not supposed to. Just go.

- But...
- Please, Joaney. Please.

- Excuse me?
- Yes, miss?

I'd like to see Mr. Ernest
Demming, please; Joane Proctor.

Bungalow 5, please.

Mr. Demming? A
Miss Proctor to see you.

Fine.

I'll have a boy
show you the way.

Uh, that... that
was Mr. Demming?

Yes.

It's quite all right. I know
where the bungalows are.

Thank you.

- Joane.
- Oh.

I didn't mean to startle you.

Oh, hello, Mrs. Omstead.

Oh, that's quite all right. I've
been dropping things all morning.

What in the world are
you doing in Beverly Hills?

I brought in some papers
in for my brother-in-law.

Ernest is here in the hotel?

I would have thought he'd
be at Mr. Gage's bedside.

How is Mr. Gage, by the way?

Well, your husband says
there hasn't been much change.

As a doctor's wife,

I should know if that's
good or bad, but I don't.

Are you free for lunch, Joane?

Well, I... I don't know.

If you have a chance, join
me in the Camelia room.

All right. Goodbye,
Mrs. Omstead.

Mr. Demming?

Door's unlocked. Come in.

Who is it?

It... it's me. Joane.

- Oh, am I glad to see you.
- Oh, Nick.

That's Ernest's robe.

Nick, why did you have me
ask for Ernest at the desk?

What's this all about? Why didn't
they find the body found this morning?

Nick, wasn't he really dead?

He's dead, all right.

And his body's in the
lake by the estate gates.

In the lake?

You put it there? But
why? Why did you do that?

I didn't know what
else to do, Joaney.

I thought Mr. Gage would die
during the night, and when he didn't...

Wait a minute, Joaney.

Let's take it from the top and
then maybe it'll make sense, okay?

All right, look, when I
got you out of the library,

all I had in mind was to hide
Ernest until after Mr. Gage died,

which I thought would
happen any minute.

Don't you see?

If I could have convinced people
that Ernest died later than Mr. Gage,

the estate would go to
him and then to Claudia.

Only Mr. Gage didn't die.

I know. That was
the rub, Joaney.

I took Ernest's body outside
so nobody would see it.

I wrapped it in some canvas and
then put it in the back of his car.

And then I waited and waited
until about 4:00 in the morning

when I realized the
plan wasn't going to work.

Well, then... then
I got another...

Another not-so-pretty idea.

I tied some sash
weights on the canvas

and I dropped the
body in the lake.

Then I drove back
here in his car.

Who is it?

Room service for your
breakfast things, Mr. Demming.

Just a minute.

- Let him in.
- Nick, you signed Ernest's name.

Naturally.

It's over there.

- Oh, here's the check.
- Thank you, ma'am.

Nick? Why Ernest's name?

Well, that's my 4:00 idea.

If Mr. Gage dies today, and I can
keep Ernest alive until after that,

- Claudia will still inherit.
- Alive? How could you keep him alive?

You know, Joaney... fake
telephone calls, room-service orders,

signatures on
food-and-drink checks,

you asking for him at
the desk... A dozen ways.

But the people he told Claudia
that he was staying in town to meet?

What about them?

Here are the people.

I thought so.

All right, Nick. Now...

if Mr. Gage should...
Well, if he should die today,

how are you going to make it
seem that Ernest died afterwards?

That's the crux of my
idea. It's foolproof...

I think.

- You'd better answer.
- What'll I say?

Joaney, that depends on
whether you're with me or not.

Now so far you're in the
clear. The blame's all mine.

One word and I'm
done for. But remember,

so are Claudia and
Timmy and the foundation.

Hello?

I just got here, Claudia.

Ernest?

Why... why, he went
out with some people.

He didn't say when he'd be back.

Do you want me
to take a message?

When did you first discover
he was missing, Mr. Gage?

Early this morning. I suppose
I should have called you then,

but I thought someone in the
house might have an explanation.

How much would you say the
missing... What'd you say it was?

A samurai warrior... Samurai
being the Japanese term

for a certain class of nobles.

And if you were going to ask me
what the departed warrior's worth,

Mrs. Demming can
tell you better than I.

Claudia, this is
Detective Boykins.

How do you do? As for the
samurai's worth, all I can tell you

is that Mr. Carleton Gage was
once offered $8,000 for the pair.

Have you any idea as to the
how or why of this, Mrs. Demming?

No. It seems both mysterious
and senseless to me.

Senseless or not, I'd
better try to earn my pay.

Mr. Gage, you say the
servants are quartered in back?

Thank you. I'll find my way out.

And what's the latest bulletin
on my esteemed uncle?

There's still no change.

And still no new
will in your favor.

Odds are there won't
be, but if it does happen,

I'm sure you and I can
work things out all right.

Through an agreement like
the one Ernest made with you...

To divide the estate,
no matter who inherits?

- No, thank you.
- Where did you hear about Ernest and me?

I just put some things together.

There's really no use in
your waiting, Mr. Gage.

Ernest said if he
wasn't back by 5:00,

he's not going to come
back until after dinner.

Back from where, Miss Proctor?

Where?

Well, um, I really
don't know where he is.

Don't know or won't say?

Only four wives, not five
as your boyfriend says,

but enough to have taught me to know when
a woman is trying to conceal something.

Has something
happened to Ernest?

What makes you think
anything's happened to him?

Either that or he's
deliberately trying to avoid me.

And he has no reason to do that.

He wouldn't avoid you, Mr. Gage.

He... he just...

He just doesn't know you're
looking for him, that's all.

A small voice in here tells me
that the lady doth protest too much,

but I'll ignore it provided you see
that Ernest gets in touch with me.

I will.

"Something fishy here," the small
voice mutters... "something odd."

- Mr. Gage?
- Hmm?

- That's the door out.
- Oh, yes yes, so it is. yes.

Always had a poor
sense of direction.

A poor sense of
direction, Miss Proctor,

but a keen sense of smell.

- Shh.
- Nick, I can't go on with this.

I can't.

I'm scared.

I'm beginning to feel
like a criminal. I can't.

Oh, I know, I know, honey.

I thought if we could just
hold out a little while longer...

But it's going on!
It goes on and on.

Nick, what if the police...

Hello?

Yes, Claudia.

When did it happen?

I see.

Yes, we'll be out there
as soon as we can.

Mr. Gage just died...

without ever regaining
consciousness.

Very sorry, miss,
but place is closed.

I need some help.
It's my brother-in-law.

He just slumped over a
minute ago. I think it's his heart.

You wish a doctor?

Could you get me some water first? I'm
gonna try and get his medicine down him.

Hurry, please.

Do you have a phone here?

No... no telephone.

Look, miss... look.

No... Ernest!

Inheriting at 5:20
and dying at 7:15.

Ernest Demming had probably the shortest
career of any millionaire in history.

The one I feel sorry
for is Joane Proctor,

having to stand there helplessly and
watch her brother-in-law go over the cliff.

Have they recovered
his body yet?

Not according to this paper.

Paul, that samurai
armor I told you about...

The armor that was missing
from the Gage house?

I checked with the police.
They haven't found a thing yet.

Perry, why are you so
interested in the samurai?

It seems such a
curious thing to steal...

A pointless kind of theft...

And happening while there
was this trouble with the will.

Well, maybe it's
none of my business,

especially since
everything appears to have

worked out according
to Mr. Gage's wishes.

Yes, Gertie?

Joane Proctor?

She here?

Have her come in, please.

Miss Proctor.

- Mr. Mason, I need your help.
- Help? Why, Joane?

It's the police... The way
they've been questioning me

as if they thought that I was
responsible for Ernest's death.

Now sit down. Sit down. Relax.

I'm sorry. It's just
that I'm so tired.

All right, suppose you tell
us what you told the police.

This is Mr. Paul Drake.
He's associated with us.

Miss Proctor.

Well, to start at the beginning,

Nick and I were in
Ernest's bungalow

when Claudia called and
told us about Mr. Gage.

Was Ernest there?

No. But he arrived later,

about 6:30.

We told him about Mr. Gage

and then we all started
out for Palos Verdes.

The papers say you and
Ernest were alone in the car.

We were.

Ernest didn't feel well.

He was dizzy and short of
breath, so I said I'd drive for him.

Where was Nicholas Blake?

He had a very
important stop to make

at the Gage Foundation
home in Santa Monica,

so I let him have
my convertible.

I see. And then?

It happened...

just after we turned off
101 onto the ocean road

to the Gage estate.

Suddenly Ernest moaned and said,

"Joaney, my heart"...

and toppled over.

I swung off the road
to a vegetable stand.

There was a man there.

He was closing up for the night
and I asked him for some water

so I could give Ernest
one of his heart pills.

Then I followed the
man to the stand,

thinking if he had a telephone,

one of us could call a doctor.

He saw it first... the car.

It was rolling down the
hill towards the ocean.

And it went over the cliff.

Had you set the brake?

Yes, I did put it on before I
followed the man to the stand.

Did this man see you do that?

I'm not sure.

That's the part the police
kept going over and over.

Well, even if in your excitement

you didn't set the brake properly,
his death was still an accident.

Then I don't have anything
to worry about, do I?

Not as long as
you're telling the truth.

I am.

Joane, if the police become
too bothersome, just call me.

I will.

And thank you.

- Thank you. Goodbye.
- Goodbye.

Paul, would you
like to go surf fishing?

Surf fishing?

In back of a vegetable stand

run by... Ito Kumagi.

You don't think she
was telling the truth?

Let's just say I'd like to
know what the police are doing

and Mr. Kumagi's
answer to one question.

- About the hand brake?
- About a some armor...

Samurai armor.

Nick.

I was beginning to wonder if we'd got
our signals crossed. Honey, sit down.

- Do you want a drink?
- No, thank you.

- Nick, your hand.
- It's just a couple of bruised knuckles.

- Getting out of the car?
- Yeah, what a scramble that was.

I had to wait until it was in those
bushes and by then it was really rolling

and only about 50
feet from the cliff.

Oh, Nick, I thought
you'd gone over with it too.

I died a thousand
deaths until you called.

Everybody thought it
was because of Ernest.

So much the better. How'd
it go with Perry Mason?

All right, I guess.

He bought your story? And
didn't find any holes in it?

Oh, that's a relief.

Joaney, I know it
hasn't been easy for you

bearing the brunt of
all this, but it's over.

The happy ending
Mr. Gage wanted...

The foundation safe,
Claudia inheriting.

I hope you're right.

I am, darling. You'll see.

Nick, what do we do now?

Do? Why, nothing.
That's the beauty of this.

There's nothing more
to be done. It's done.

A samurai warrior?
You must be joking.

They no longer
exist, even in Japan.

I was referring to a dummy
samurai, Mr. Kumagi.

- A dummy?
- You know, the kind they have in museums.

Now could the bent-over passenger in
the car have possibly been such a figure?

Samurai little person like me.

This man very large
person, like you.

Well, so much for the
great samurai theory.

Oh, one more thing...

Did you notice whether or not the
girl set the emergency brake in the car?

Police ask that too.

Yes, I saw her reach in, pull on

before she came away from car.

Maybe not pull
quite hard enough.

Yeah, maybe. Well,
thanks very much.

Well well, the top brass of the
police department on an outing.

Lieutenant Tragg,
Lieutenant Anderson.

Well, Paul, hello.

Business or a seaside stroll?

Business, I guess.

Perry Mason business?

Lieutenant, just because I
do an occasional job for Perry

doesn't mean
he's my only client.

About 50 to 1 he is, I'll bet, when
there's a possibility of murder involved.

Murder. Here?

Any luck, Jenkins?

No. I increased the search pattern
to at least 100 feet out... nothing.

You haven't found Demming yet?

- No, and we're not likely to.
- How come?

One of the car doors was open and we
figure the body's been washed out to sea.

Here, Lieutenant, last time down

I found this wedged in the
seat on the passenger's side.

Thank you.

"Gerber's Pharmacy,
Palos Verdes.

Dr. Guy Omstead.

One or two when
indicated. For: E. Demming."

Most likely the heart pills
Miss Proctor told us about.

You'd better put it
with the other things.

What's all this?

What the divers
have brought up so far.

Hat with Demming's name in it,

briefcase with
his initials on it,

and what's probably
one of his shoes.

Andy, I don't see anything
here that smells of murder.

Well, it's not what's here.

It's something the diver discovered
when he first swam into the car.

Oh? What was that?

The emergency brake wasn't
on as Miss Proctor said it was,

and the car was in gear as
Miss Proctor said it wasn't.

Which makes us wonder a
little, Paul, about her story.

Quite frankly, I can't tell
you anything about this bottle.

It was supplied by the
druggist, as were the tablets.

But this is your
prescription, Dr. Omstead.

It would appear
so from the label.

"One or two when indicated."

What does indicated
mean, Doctor?

You'd know, Lieutenant,
if you had angina pectoris.

Excuse me.

I'm sorry, Guy. I didn't
know you were with a patient.

Well, hardly a patient, Olive.

This is Lieutenant Anderson
from Homicide; my wife.

The Lieutenant's been asking
some questions about Ernest.

Ernest?

Then his... His death
wasn't accidental?

Let's just say there are some
things we're curious about.

One, Doctor, is would Ernest
Demming's collapse in the car

be the more or less the
natural result of a heart attack?

Of a very severe one, yes.

I see. Now Doctor,
these tablets...

nitroglycerin?

No. In Mr. Demming's case
nitroglycerin proved ineffective,

so I prescribed Demerol.

By the way, have you
checked those with the druggist?

Why do you ask that?

They don't look quite like
the ones Ernest was taking.

They aren't.

In what way are they
different, Lieutenant?

Our crime lab is trying to
answer that now, Mrs. Omstead.

One final thing, Doctor...

Who did you give
this prescription to?

To Ernest Demming,
of course. Why?

It was presented at the
drug store by a woman.

Whoa!

Grubby little creatures.

Didn't you ever go on a picnic
when you were a little boy, Mr. Gage?

Yes. Usually in the Palm
Room at the Waldorf Astoria.

- Could I have a word with you?
- Certainly.

I could have gone
to Claudia about this,

but... except that she in turn
might have gone to the police.

The police?

Yes, because I'm embarking, you might
say, on a kind of second-hand blackmail.

You see, I saw you
and young Mr. Blake

leaving the hotel
yesterday evening.

And without Ernest, not with
him as you told the police.

But he... well, he was with us.

Your car was in front.

Demming's car was parked in
the rear of Ernest's bungalow.

A simple matter to
whisk his body out,

place it on the floorboards
without anyone seeing.

Mr. Gage, are you intimating...

I haven't quite finished yet.

Then you drove off in Ernest's
car and young Blake in your car.

And at some secluded place
near Mr. Kumagi's vegetable stand,

you met, you moved the
body into the front seat,

and you staged your accident.

Now whether you did or did not
kill Ernest is of little interest to me.

But what is of interest

is that he either died or was
killed before Carleton Gage died

and so could not inherit.

Now my terms, to be
relayed to Claudia...

A life annuity of
$100,00 a year,

to be paid in Switzerland,
or her sister goes to prison.

No!

- How nice to see you, Mr. Mason.
- Mr. Gage, Joane.

- Were you looking for me?
- And Miss Proctor.

Oh, well then I'll go up to the house if I
can get through all the bedlam out here.

Will I see you later?

Yes.

Joane, some things have
come up that make it essential

I get completely truthful
answers from you.

First, did you or did you not
put on that emergency brake?

I did put it on, Mr. Mason.

- At the same time leaving the car in gear?
- No, I didn't leave it in gear.

- Then how did it get in gear?
- I don't know.

Joane, did you kill
Ernest Demming?

That's exactly the question I was
going to ask the young lady, Mr. Mason.

Well, Miss Proctor, did you?

Don't answer that, Joane,
until we've talked further.

But I must. I've got
to answer it right now.

I didn't kill Ernest. I didn't!

Well, that's odd, Miss Proctor,

because I have a
first-degree-murder warrant

charging that you did kill him.

I didn't.

Joane, this is far enough.

I'm going to confess everything and
have them take the body out of the lake.

No, Nick.

We can confess
later if we have to.

And maybe we won't.

Mr. Mason say that he
doubts if they have enough

to bind me over for
trial without the body.

So wait, Nick.

Joane, the state is subpoenaing some
of the hotel employees as witnesses.

Now did something happen there
that might have a bearing on all this?

At the hotel?

- What could have happened there?
- I'm asking you.

Well, nothing
happened... nothing.

Superficially, You Honor, this might
seem like a spur-of-the-moment crime,

like a woman's sudden
impulse to get rid of her stricken

and unconscious brother-in-law
in order to save her sister

from the pain of being
deserted for another woman

and to insure her sister's
monetary well-being.

But the State will
go deeper than that.

The state intends to prove
that the crime of murder

had already been committed

before that car was allowed
deliberately to plunge into the Pacific

and that this crime
was the culmination

of a cold-blooded,
shrewdly-calculated murder plot

on the part of the
defendant Joane Proctor.

You say your late husband never
threatened to leave you, Mrs. Demming?

No, he didn't.

Didn't he say to
you, and I quote,

"If it weren't for what old man
Gage might do to that will of his,

- I'd leave you like a shot?"
- He said that, but he didn't mean it.

If he didn't mean it, why did
you tell your sister about it?

I didn't.

I didn't tell her.

They were talking at the foot of the
stairs by those spooky Japanese figures.

And you heard?

Mrs. Demming tell her sister that
Ernest... I mean Mr. Demming...

Was in love with another woman.

Did she say who this
other woman was?

She said she didn't know,

but all that kept Mr. Demming from
leaving her was Mr. Gage being alive.

Did she say anything about what
might happen after Mr. Gage died?

She said she felt certain
Mr. Demming, having inherited,

would leave her then.

And did the defendant make
any comment in regard to this?

She said that if Mr. Demming left
her sister after all their years together,

he deserved to be electrocuted.

You may cross
examine, Mr. Mason.

Do you hear this, Miss King?

No, I don't. Why?

You have the most remarkable pair
of ears I've encountered in a long time,

with the ability to hear
a private conversation

between Mrs. Demming
and her husband,

and then one between
Mrs. Demming and her sister.

No doubt you also heard of the woman
with whom Ernest Demming was infatuated?

Why, I didn't.

Wasn't that because you
were that woman, Miss King?

Before you answer, I should warn
you that a number of canceled checks

made out to you were
found among his effects.

That was for keeping him up
on what went on at the house.

Then you informed him of
Mr. Gage's decision to change his will?

Yes, but I never got the money
for that. Before he could pay me...

she killed him.

Mr. Kumagi, I'd like to return
to a part of your testimony

only sketchily touched
upon by the state.

Now what were Miss
Proctor's exact movements

in connection with
the emergency brake?

Well, after she get out,

she reach in car
through open door

and pull it on, like so.

You actually saw her do this?

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Kumagi.

What is your
official title, sir,

at the San Fernando plant where
this car in question was assembled?

Chief engineer.

And as chief engineer, can you tell
us if there were any changes made

in the emergency braking
system the year the car was made?

Yes, there was one change

which we've incorporated
in this year's model too.

- I'll show you, if I may.
- Would you, please?

We'll have to imagine
that the engine is running,

- because it only happens then.
- What only happens then?

When the car is
in gear, any gear,

the emergency brake
automatically comes off.

I see.

Then it would be
possible for the defendant,

having bent over and pulled
on the emergency brake,

to straighten up
and still release it?

Yes, by simply brushing against
the gear lever hard enough

to put the car in gear.

Thank you, sir.

You say those tablets are not
the ones that you put in this bottle

when filling Dr. Omstead's
prescription for the deceased?

No. They're smaller and
gray-white rather than cream-white.

Would you please look
around this courtroom, sir,

and tell us if you see the person who
actually picked up this prescription?

Yes, that's her... The
young lady over there...

The defendant.

I'd completely forgotten.

He needed his
prescription refilled one day

and I... I took it to
the druggist for him.

What did your chemical analysis of these
tablets in the police laboratory reveal?

Each of the five tablets
we examined contained...

- Demerol?
- No. Benzedrine.

No, Mr. Burger, I certainly
did not prescribe Benzedrine.

That's a rather
dangerous stimulant.

Taken in conjunction with a
severe or even mild heart attack,

it would have a most
deleterious effect.

Would it react like
cyanide on a normal heart?

Not as drastic as
that, but in a way, yes.

Now let me show you
these Demerol tablets

which have just been entered
in evidence and identified

as being identical to those
made up for Mr. Ernest Demming.

Do you recognize those?

Yes, sir. They look like the ones
I found stuck down in the couch

in Mr. Demming's bungalow

when I cleaned it the
morning after his death.

Well, did you see anyone in
the bungalow the day before?

Anyone besides
Mr. Demming, that is?

Yes, sir. Her.

I saw her go in that
day shortly before noon.

With Carleton Gage dead, Demming would
obviously have left his $40-a-day bungalow

and return to Palos Verdes. Now
why didn't Demming check out?

I don't understand.

Oh, I think you do, Nicholas.

I think you know that the
reason he didn't check out

was because he
wasn't really there.

Mr. Mason, what
are you talking about?

Paul?

No one at the hotel actually
saw Ernest Demming that day.

There was someone on the phone
saying he was Ernest Demming,

someone telling people calling
him that Demming had gone out

and was expected back soon;

and someone forging Ernest
Demming's name to food-and-drink checks.

Nicholas, what were you
and Joane trying to cover up?

Demming's prior death in order to
protect Claudia and the foundation?

You know, we can
get a handwriting expert

to prove you were the one who
forged those room-service checks.

There was no forgery, Mr. Mason.

I... I just wrote his name,

never thinking
anybody'd bother to check.

Joane and I found him here
in the library the night before.

It was a heart attack,
or so we thought.

And, well...

that's when I had my...

My brainstorm.

Brainstorm is right.

Although I suspect it's as
much yours as his, Perry.

Some new phase of that
razzle-dazzle technique of yours?

If you feel that way, Hamilton, why
did you bother to come out here?

Oh, I wouldn't have missed
this for anything in the world,

even if it did mean
getting up at daybreak.

They've stopped.

Of course, they'll
never find anything.

I happen to believe the body's
out there where he says it is.

You know, in a way
I hope you're right.

What I want to hear is you
explaining how a dead body

got from inside an automobile
30 feet under the Pacific

into a private lake
in Palos Verdes.

Levitation?

Or did the corpse swim, Perry?

Mr. Burger! The
body, Mr. Burger...

The diver's found it.

Well, I'll be.

Wouldn't it be better, Mrs.
Demming, if you went up to the house?

No, I want to stay.

Fine. Lieutenant, cut it open.

It's the samurai warrior!

I assure you, Your Honor, the
state is in no way responsible

for the lurid stories
in the newspapers.

Were you, Mr. Mason?

No, Your Honor. I've
talked to no reporters.

In any event, Your Honor,
the state is now fully prepared

to prove that Ernest
Demming did not die

when the defendant and her
young friend claimed he did.

Ernest Demming, as a
matter of fact, was alive

and at his hotel
all the next day.

And it was that night
that he was murdered,

just as the state has
contended all along.

Yes, I heard it quite clearly.

She... Joane... Asked
for Ernest Demming.

The hotel desk clerk called him,

then told her Mr. Demming
wanted to see her in his bungalow.

What's more,
when I spoke to her,

she said that she'd come
to town at Ernest's request

to bring some papers to him.

I'm absolutely sure.

I saw Ernest Demming coming into
the hotel; I talked to him for a while

and then he went
on to his bungalow.

And this was on the evening prior to the
one in which his car went over the cliff?

Yes, and then a little
later that evening,

I saw him drive off in
a car with Miss Proctor.

That's not true!

It's all right,
Joane. It's all right.

You may
cross-examine, counselor.

Mr. Gage, I don't
understand this.

Do you realize that by testifying
that you saw Ernest Demming alive

after the death
of Carleton Gage,

you are destroying any chance
of inheriting the Gage estate?

You wouldn't have me
lie, would you, Mr. Mason?

No, but I'm quite
certain you are doing so.

Excuse me, counselor,
for interrupting,

but something's come up
that I think you'll want to know.

Your Honor, the police have just
reported that the body of Ernest Demming

has been recovered,
not from any lake,

but from the Pacific
Ocean, at a spot not far

from where his car made
its supposedly fatal plunge.

I'm sure at this time the
defense will be more than willing

to agree to a temporary adjournment
while autopsy may be performed on the body.

Yes, of course. Mr. Mason?

Your Honor, I'm in the
midst of a cross-examination.

And now the body's been found, these
questions are more important than ever.

Very well. You may proceed.

Mr. Gage, you had an
agreement with Ernest Demming

to divide the estate with
him if and when he inherited.

I beg your pardon?

And failing to make a similar
agreement with his wife Claudia,

did you not then attempt to force
an agreement through her sister?

Did you not then
threaten to tell the police

that Ernest Demming was not in the
car with Joane when she left the hotel,

but that he was, in
fact, already dead?

- She told you about that?
- Yes, she did.

And regretting the agreement

and wanting to inherit
the entire estate yourself,

- you then killed Ernest Hemming?
- But I didn't want to inherit.

You didn't want to inherit?

Would you, Mr. Mason, if
you had promised four ex-wives

slightly over 150% of the
estate in the event you got it?

What you were working for,
then, was an under-the-table deal

with either Ernest
or Claudia Demming?

Yes.

Then why did you kill Ernest
Demming when you had such a deal?

But I didn't kill him.

I submit you did.

I further submit that when you
saw Nicholas Blake moving the body,

- you took the samurai warrior from its...
- Hold it, Mr. Mason.

I don't know anything about that
samurai. But I do know someone who does.

At least she jumps a foot
every time it's mentioned.

Little Miss Snoop over
there. Ask her. Ask Miss King.

But I didn't know there was any
connection. I mean, well, he took it...

Dr. Omstead. I'm sorry,
Doctor, I just have to tell.

Yes. Yes, I saw him take it.

You watched Nicholas Blake
carry the body from of the library,

wrap it in canvas and place
it in the back of the car?

Yes.

Why didn't you inform the police
instead of substituting the samurai armor

and later disposing of
Demming's body in the ocean?

Well, I... I didn't know what
Blake intended to do with the body.

I wanted to make sure, if I
could, that it vanished for good.

Why did you want that, Doctor?

So there'd be no autopsy.

Because an autopsy would have shown that
you had switched Demming's heart tablets

and thus caused his death?

Yes.

Why did you want him dead?

Would this woman's glove found
in Ernest Demming's hotel bungalow

have something to
do with it, Doctor?

Recognize it?

No. No, I don't.

It's no use, Guy. You can't protect
me any longer. I'm not worth it.

They know the
glove belongs to me.

He didn't switch
the tablets. I did.

Ernest said he was going back to
Claudia to make sure he got the money.

That's all he ever
thought of was the money.

He said he never
wanted to see me again.

He told me we were through.

Don't you see, Guy? He just never
cared about what happened to me.

He didn't care!

Children: Timmy,
hit it! Come on!

Perry, this bothers me...

How did Dr. Omstead know it was
his wife who switched the tablets?

She broke down and told him what
she'd done when he came home that night

from seeing Mr. Gage.

Why didn't he warn Demming?

Well, he tried to. He
hurried back to the house,

but by then Demming was dead
and already being moved by Nicholas.

And his thought then was
to try to protect his wife.

By the way, what do you suppose
will happen to Nicholas and Joane?

Probation, most likely,
since their motives were good,

even though their actions
were more than slightly illegal.