Original subtitles

How was that?

That was very good, Button.

Now it's time for your milk.

Oh, Mrs. Smithers, please, can't I do it again?

Oh, I suppose so, but just up and down the driveway,

not beyond the walk, remember.

I won't. I promise.

I'll bring your milk out here.

Button?

Look who's come to see you, honey.

- See me? - Mm-hmm.

Isn't she beautiful?

Yes, she is.

The beautifullest doll I ever seen.

What's her name?

Amanda McGillicuddy.

Amanda McGillicuddy?

Uh-huh, and she would like to know if you would like

- to come riding with her? - She would?

Mm-hmm. She wants to know if you're the kind

of little girl that she'd like

- to belong to. - Oh, I am.

I know I am.

Then let's go.

Hadn't I better tell Mommy?

Oh, we'll tell her that later, darling.

Well, okay.

Button?

Button, where are you?

Button!

Oh, Mrs. Blake!

Mrs. Blake?

Mrs. Blake!

The people in that car,

they've taken Button!

Operator, I want the police.

Quickly.

♪♪

There she is, that sloop moored out there

in the harbor; Blue Nymph by name.

You can bet your bottom dollar

I wouldn't be standing here if she were mine.

Where would you be?

Tahiti.

Paul, are you a good oarsman?

We're going out there?

Why not?

In that?

Of course.

Oh, no.

Oh, yes.

Any luck?

Mr. Mason!

Are you all right, Button?

Of course, but how'd you find me?

Mr. Drake found you.

He's an expert at finding people.

Especially little girls and dolls.

You mean like Dick Tracy?

Sort of.

Golly, but how'd you find me if you've never seen me?

Your picture was in the morning paper, Button.

I saw it.

Your mother's very worried about you.

But I told her I was fine.

You talked to her?

Twice. There's telephones in these boats.

Mind if I ask you fellas a question?

You got permission to talk to Miss Blake?

I didn't know permission was needed.

My boss don't like for strange people to talk with her.

So, I got to ask you to come below.

Sorry, but we're kind of partial to fresh air.

Maybe you don't understand.

Real polite, I ask you to come below.

Real polite, no thanks.

Somehow, I'm beginning not to like you.

Too bad.

Cully, what's going on up there?

You better come, Mr. Rome.

To what do I owe this honor, gentlemen?

We've come to take Button home.

Oh, really?

May I ask who "we" are?

My name is Mason,

co-trustee and attorney for Button's estate.

And this stalwart fellow?

Paul Drake, private detective associated with Mr. Mason.

Do you want to go with them, Button?

Oh, Mr. Rome, must I?

I'd say that was up to you, Button.

Oh, Mr. Mason, please, can't I stay longer?

I'm having so much fun.

You see, the young lady likes it here.

So what now?

A real live policeman?

We'll see, Mr. Rome.

We'll see.

Good-bye, Button.

Bye, Mr. Mason.

Perry, we're not leaving her.

Yes, Paul, we are.

You sure that ain't a little pack of dynamite

you're fooling around with, Mr. Rome?

I don't quite see why it makes any difference to you.

Big difference on account, if it blows,

I don't ever get my back wages.

$1,200, Mr. Rome.

Real polite I've been asking for it.

But I begin not to feel so polite.

Your eyesight's bad, Cully.

That isn't dynamite.

That's a little package of $1,000 bills.

Hold on to that phone.

Keep your eyes open.

All right.

Yes?

I have an appointment with Mr. Blake.

My name is Mason.

Uh, Mr. and Mrs. Gray are in there with them,

and he'd like you to join them.

Thank you.

Mason, you're just in time.

Dirk was about to throw us out of his office,

so you take over.

Take over what, Mr. Gray?

The delightful little game we've been playing

with Dirk, Mr. Mason.

It's called Button, Button, who's got Button?

Well, that's very funny.

Lois, Mr. Mason, has a great sense of humor

especially when it comes to something

that's none of her business.

I happen to be Button's cousin, darling.

Well, I happen to be her father, darling.

I gathered over the phone, Mr. Mason, that you,

like they do, believe I have her hidden away somewhere.

Hidden isn't the word for it now, Mr. Blake.

I just spoke to her.

Where?

Aboard the Blue Nymph.

Have the police found her?

No, a private detective.

The police have been called off.

And that detective's fee, of course,

was footed by Janice, huh?

Your wife knows nothing about this.

Well, then why are you butting in?

I'm "butting in," as you term it,

for your daughter's sake.

In one way or another, I'm calling a rapid halt

to the way she's been dragged back and forth

between you and her mother as if she were a doll

instead of a flesh-and-blood little girl.

Bravo, Mr. Mason.

Bravo nothing. Look, I'm flesh and blood, too.

That's why Judge Norris said

I could have Button two days a week

until the final divorce hearing.

But two days weren't enough for you, is that it?

Well, no, look, Janice brought all this on.

I mean, for the last three weeks in a row,

she refused to let Button come to me.

So, this week, with Miss Sutherland's help,

I-I took her, that's all.

Did you consult your lawyer first?

Yeah, what do I need a lawyer for?

I know my rights.

Your rights, Mr. Blake, don't include

taking the law into your own hands.

Are you trying to scare me?

I don't care whether you're scared or not

as long as Button is returned to her mother

this afternoon.

All right, what if she isn't?

I'll be forced to call Judge Norris,

tell what I've found,

and suggest that a bench warrant be issued for your arrest.

Mrs. Gray, Mr. Gray.

We'll run Button back home to Janice if you want, Dirk.

Well, I haven't decided what I want.

Oh, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Mason, is Dirk...

I mean, is Mr. Blake in trouble?

Well, he could be.

I know we shouldn't have taken Button,

but her mother's not fit to have her.

She's not fit at all.

She drinks, she goes out with men and...

Oh, Mr. Mason?

Something I just thought of.

Roger's yacht brokerage business is flourishing,

and we just bought a big house in Rolling Hills.

Well, that's splendid.

No, what I'm getting at is that, well,

we'd be more than happy to take care of Button

until, well, until the smoke of battle clears.

That would be Judge Norris' decision.

Oh, I see.

Are you sure it's Button

you would be so happy to take care of, Mrs. Gray?

Or is the four million dollars

she inherited from her grandfather?

I'd forgotten what a witch you are, Naomi.

Remind me,

and next Christmas I'll send you a brand-new broom.

Stop it, Vince.

Stop it or I'm gonna call Miss Smithers.

Save your breath, darling.

I give up.

What was the idea of that?

Just testing.

Weren't you listening last week?

Yes, I heard you when you said no more dates,

but I couldn't believe you,

remembering all our good times together.

Starlit nights on the Blue Nymph.

Candlelit suppers ashore.

Dancing till dawn.

The mountain cabin in the pines.

The wharf front bungalow at La Playa.

Don't tell me you've forgotten, Janice?

What are you up to?

Up to, darling?

Mrs. Blake,

Mrs. Blake, I'm sorry to interrupt,

but they just pulled into the driveway.

Oh, thank you, Miss Smithers.

I was never in any mountain cabin or waterfront bungalow

with you and you know it.

What if I could prove you were?

So that's it.

A touch of blackmail.

For how much, Vince?

I was thinking more in terms of matrimony.

Matrimony?

I'm not much of a catch, I realize.

A mortgaged yacht, a few tattered odds and ends

of a dissipated inheritance, but we could

make a go of it, you and I and Button,

whom you'd have custody of.

Provided nothing were said in court

about cabins and bungalows.

But you can't be serious?

Oh, I am.

And to prove I have your interests at heart,

I'll take you to Button if you like.

I'm in here, darling.

Mommy.

Oh, hello, sweetheart.

Are you all right, sweetheart?

Of course.

Mr. Rome?

Hello, Button.

I wanted to wait and say good-bye,

but Daddy said we had to hurry.

Is Daddy still out there?

He's already left, Mrs. Blake.

And I suggest you do the same, Vince.

Right now.

Even money you don't clear the board, Pancho.

You got a bet, chiquita.

All right, everybody, stand aside.

This is a big money deal.

Ready, aim... fire!

- He got 'em! Got 'em all! - No, he didn't.

- Oh, no. - There's still one, Shorty.

- Oh, come on, Pancho. - Come on, pay up, Pancho.

Give me the money. That's my money there.

- Come on. - Ah.

She's lucky. Lucky eight ball.

Give me a beer.

Hello. La Playa Motel and Bar.

Just a minute.

Hey, boss... Vince Rome.

Ah, Rome, Rome.

Yeah, what can I do for you?

Well, uh, sure, I know about the bungalow on the wharf.

I ought to. I own it.

What are you, out of your mind? What?

Of course, you and Mrs. Blake have been here

three or four times, but never in any bungalow.

I'm afraid you're not listening, Pancho.

She and I rented your bungalow

on the 15th and the 23rd of last month,

and I want you to arrange for suitable witnesses,

and also to make sure that the entries

already in your guest register for those nights

are kept available.

Now I know you are loco.

Why do I got to do a thing like that

to a nice lady like Mrs. Blake?

Watches.

Watches?

Yes, Pancho... Swiss watches.

And German cameras and gold coins from Chile.

Or, uh, was it Peru?

Peru.

Cully says it was Peru.

Yes, he's here.

I thought you'd see the light.

Uh, suppose we get together tomorrow

and talk over the details, hmm?

Good.

Tomorrow, Cully, I want you to drive up

to my mountain cabin and leave some things there.

You sure you want me to do this, Mr. Rome?

Yes, I'm sure I want you to do this.

Now, clear out.

Soda or over the rocks?

Over the rocks.

Hmm.

I should have remembered.

How much did you hear out there, Lois?

Enough, with what Janice told me,

to get a pretty good idea of what you're doing.

And what am I doing?

Trying to fix it so that Janice either has to marry you

or lose Button.

Partly right.

No marriage, though.

That angle is out, unfortunately.

Well, then, why the rest?

What good will it do you, Vince, to blacken Janice's reputation

so that she loses the custody fight?

Money is good, isn't it?

Money from Janice?

From whoever makes the best offer.

And it should be a good one with $4 million involved.

Nothing's involved as far as you're concerned.

Why not?

Because I'm not going to let you go through with it.

For Button's sake, if for no other reason.

How do you plan to stop me?

If I have to, I'm going to go to the police.

And tell them what, Lois?

That you were the woman who spent the 15th

and the 23rd with me at the La Playa?

And the 27th in my mountain cabin?

I wonder how Roger would like that.

I realize now, Your Honor,

I was wrong taking Button the way I did.

"Taking." The word is "kidnapping."

Well, you did what you could to make it kidnapping.

- I did? - Well, why didn't you

notify the police that I let Button call you

to show you she was all right?

Why should I do you any favors?

Mrs. Blake... And Mr. Blake, too...

I must caution you

to confine yourselves to addressing this court.

Mr. Blake, exactly why did you take your daughter?

Why?

Because you told me I could have her two days a week

and she wouldn't let her go.

Why wouldn't you let her go, Mrs. Blake?

To save her life... that's why.

To save her life?

Now, that-that's not quite exactly

what, uh, Mrs. Blake means, Your Honor.

- She... - I prefer to hear what she means

from her, if you don't mind.

All right, go ahead, Mrs. Blake.

Well, maybe not literally

save her life, but... but close enough.

Every time he took her, she came back sick.

She had bruises and scabs on her knees

and elbows, and itches and rashes

and colds from being allowed

to run wild around that awful bay.

I simply had to put a stop to it.

Mr. Blake?

Well, Your Honor, if my wife means by "run wild"

that I allowed her to play with other children

wading through the salt water

and building sand castles and swimming

and fishing and playing with the other children

out in the open air, sir, then I plead guilty.

There's open air around my house, too, Your Honor.

But it's on the inside that's what's wrong, Your Honor.

I mean, uh, ballet lessons and dancing lessons,

ballroom dancing, etiquette lessons,

language lessons, yogi lessons, for all I know.

But no playing, no.

Just regimentation... That's all...

By some remote-control mother that likes to spend

all her time living it up at night,

too busy to realize that if anyone's killing her daughter,

it's she herself.

I had those same lessons when I was a child.

And you revolted by marrying me.

Oh, a mistake you can be sure I won't make again.

That will do.

Now, it is apparent that you both have ideas

about raising children that are not easily reconciled.

The point is, Your Honor,

that Button is not an ordinary little girl.

Someday, she will have $4 million.

And I say hang the $4 million.

What I want is an ordinary little girl.

Uh, just a moment.

Uh, Mr. Mason?

Are you appearing, uh, representing Mr. Blake?

Oh, no, Your Honor.

I'm here on behalf of Miss Button Blake.

Well, it's about time, in my opinion,

that somebody appeared on her behalf.

Uh, Mr. Mason, would you mind

going into my chambers for a minute?

And, uh, you, too, Miss Blake.

Thank you.

A ten-minute recess.

And as co-trustee, with the Pacific National Bank,

of Button's estate, I feel a definite responsibility.

Mm-hmm.

Have you a solution, Perry, for her present problem?

Well, it's a mistake to allow Button

to be shuttled back and forth

while her parents are presently

in their somewhat heated frame of mind.

Yes, suppose I could douse them

with a couple of days in jail for contempt of court.

After all, that's what this hearing is about.

Yes, I know.

Still, I don't think that would cool them off.

Button, how would you like to live

with Mr. Mason for a while, hmm?

Your Honor, I plead no experience with children.

I'm a bachelor.

Oh, gosh, I'd forgotten.

Hmm.

Well, who would you like to live with?

Well, I'd like Mommy and Daddy to live together again

so I can live with them.

I'm afraid that's a little beyond

the power of this court to arrange.

Button, which one would you rather live with?

You mean Mommy or Daddy?

Well, I have more fun with Daddy, but...

I love Mommy very much.

Do I have to choose?

No.

I have an alternative.

Not a foster home.

Yes.

Uh, one of which I think you'd approve.

Well, Button, should we go back into court?

All right.

All rise.

Be seated, please.

Will, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Blake

please approach the bench?

Now, you realize, of course,

that you could be fined or even jailed

for violating the court's order

regarding your daughter's custody.

However, what I have decided to do...

I hope will have a more salutary effect.

It is ordered that,

pending the final disposition of the divorce proceedings,

the custody of the child, Button Blake,

will be given to Mr. and Mrs. Roger Gray.

All that's required, Mr. Gray,

is to mail a copy of your expenditures

to the bank each week and you will be promptly paid.

We're not worried about the money, Mr. Mason.

Mommy.

Darling, you've already said good-bye.

Do I have to go?

I'm afraid so, darling.

Dirk, I thought you were supposed to speak to Mr. Mason.

Oh, that's right.

Mr. Mason.

I, uh... I told you yesterday I wouldn't need a lawyer.

Looks now like I was wrong.

You're not asking me to represent you.

Well, I thought possibly you could recommend someone.

Yes, of course I can.

Distressing, wasn't it, the turn events took?

But, gentlemen, there's a silver lining

in every cloud, no matter how dark.

What do you mean, Mr. Rome?

Uh, Dirk is getting a bigger dividend

from that check he gave me than he expected.

The goods, I believe the word is, on Janice...

Dates, names, places and witnesses.

You'll win in a breeze, counselor.

I'm not Mr. Blake's attorney.

Oh, too bad.

I'll meet you this evening on the Blue Nymph.

Couple things we'd better discuss.

Good-bye, Mr. Mason.

You gave Rome money to get the goods on Janice, Mr. Blake?

In regard to lawyers,

I can't think of one I'd recommend to you.

And certainly not one to whom I'd recommend you.

If you really must know who the person

involved with Janice is, allow me to present him.

Yours truly.

You?

Yes.

Equipped with witnesses,

entries in the La Playa Motel register.

All sorts of proof.

You must be kidding.

Don't tell me you're still

carrying the torch for her, old boy.

No, I'm not.

But I know Janice would never

involve herself in anything like this

with you or with anybody for that matter.

Is it that you're afraid I won't be believed in court?

You're not going to court.

Well, then why did you give me that check?

You know why, Vince.

I wanted a list of the nightclubs and the parties

that Janice had been to in the last couple of months.

I gave you something better than that.

Something that assures

your custody of Button and her estate.

Isn't that what you want?

What I want is you out of this.

You can keep the money if you want to,

but you stay away from me,

and you stay away from Janice, you understand?

Old chap, you don't quite seem to grasp...

the various implications of this check of yours,

which I have had the foresight not to cash.

What if I appeared in court with it,

testified it was part payment from you

for framing Janice?

What would your chances of getting Button be then?

So it'll either be Janice being framed or me... is that it?

How much did she offer you for that?

Oh, I'm giving you first shot.

Oh, thanks.

Well, you have some figure in mind?

Well, I think $10,000 a year out of Button's

more than ample living expenses would be sufficient.

You can put me down as a tutor.

Or a... a companion.

Maybe $10,000 could be managed.

Uh, there is one question I'd like to ask you, though.

- What's that? - Well, uh...

what are you going to do without this?

My guess is you should have cashed it.

Wait.

The check, if you don't mind.

Not a chance.

I'll shoot!

You're not that stupid.

There's a longer article in this edition,

but nothing new.

Oh, uh, yes, one thing.

He was shot with a .25 caliber pistol,

according to the police.

Any suspects named?

No. Paul do you suppose this has anything to do

with Button Blake and her parents' divorce?

Perry must suppose so or he wouldn't have asked

for a continuance of the Edwards case,

and Button's father must suppose so or he wouldn't be parked

out there in the outer office.

Good morning.

- Hi, Perry. - Morning.

Della, would you have Mr. Blake come in, please?

Lieutenant Anderson's handling this, Paul.

He said he'd brief you on the Blue Nymph

if you could be there in a half hour or so.

I'm practically there now.

Gertie, will you send Mr. Blake in, please?

Thank you.

I'm a little surprised

you'd see me, Mr. Mason, after yesterday.

On the phone, Mr. Blake, you said that you had

an altercation with Vince Rome last night.

An altercation on the Blue Nymph

in which a .25 caliber pistol was fired.

That's right.

But you neglected to say whether or not you killed him.

I didn't.

- Do you know who did? - No.

What was the altercation about?

Well, it was just, uh... mostly over this.

An uncashed check for $500 made out to Vince Rome

and signed by Dirk Blake.

The check you thought I'd given Vince to smear Janice.

It wasn't for that purpose?

Well, no, not to smear her.

You see, she's been going out a lot,

living it up since we were separated.

She, she's been going to a lot of parties and the nightclubs

and everything with Vince Rome

and a crowd that he runs around with,

so I thought if he could just check up on her for me,

get a list of the places and the dates.

Then I could prove in court

that she wasn't doing a good job raising Button.

And by doing so gain custody of your daughter.

Well, no, no, I-I didn't want custody.

I think that the little girl belongs with her mother.

But I wanted to see to it

that Janice was made to be a proper mother.

It appears I misjudged you, Mr. Blake.

Now tell me... exactly what happened last night.

Lieutenant Anderson will be with you in a minute.

Thanks, Sarge.

You were thinking of buying, Drake?

Who'd want a yacht with a scratched deck?

Care to join me in the master's cabin?

The body was lying right here,

and by his right hand a .25 caliber pistol.

Any possibility of suicide?

Not unless he was a contortionist.

The slug caught him squarely in the back of the head.

What time, Andy?

Tentative estimate is somewhere between 10:00 and 11:00,

but we'll know better after the autopsy.

Nobody heard anything?

As far as we know, he was alone on the boat,

except for the guy who shot him.

There's a deckhand, Cully Barstow,

but he says he was on shore till around 2:00.

This Barstow, did he find the body?

No. Claims he went into his sack and slept until the person

who did find the body woke him.

Who was that?

A yacht broker by the name of Roger Gray.

It seems a simple enough question:

were you or were you not on the Blue Nymph last night?

Oh, darling, you sound like a prosecuting attorney.

What would I be doing on Vince Rome's yacht?

It isn't just the yacht.

In the past six months, there's also been the La Playa

also the mountain cabin.

Are you accusing me...?!

Save the dramatics, Lois.

I've known about you two for a long time now.

What I haven't known is... what to do.

I see.

What makes you suspect that I was with Vince last night?

When I found his body this morning, I found this, too.

One of your new pearl earrings.

So it is.

Did you kill him, Lois?

No.

But what about you, Roger?

Did you finally decide what to do?

Did you kill him?

Gosh!

And-And Button told you this on the telephone?

Yes, less than 20 minutes ago!

Well, she doesn't exactly understand what she heard,

but Dirk, she's badly frightened.

It's incredible.

Lois is obviously unfit to have her.

And what is one of them actually killed Vince?!

Oh, we've got to get her out of there.

All right, but how come the "we"?

Since when have you been counting me in on anything?

Well, you're, you're Button's father.

So you finally remembered that, huh?

Finally. I fought with my father and lost an inheritance.

I fought with you, I lost a husband.

And then yesterday in court when they took Button away,

I realized I was losing her her father.

I surrendered.

No more fighting, Dirk.

No more fighting ever.

You, you really mean that?

With all my heart.

All right, let's go get Button.

- Dirk Blake? - Yes.

Lieutenant Anderson, Homicide.

I have a warrant here charging you

with the first-degree murder of Vince Rome.

As to motive, Your Honor,

the State will show that the deceased had in his possession

documentary evidence of a plot conceived

by the defendant to discredit his own wife

and thus to obtain custody of their daughter...

and her $4 million estate.

And it was to prevent this documentary proof

from ever reaching the light of day that murder was done.

You say you found this scrap of paper in the main cabin

of the Blue Nymph?

Yes, sir, on the deck

about eight feet from the deceased's body.

Would you describe it to the court, please?

It's a piece torn from the end of a check

with a portion of the account number on it.

What did you do with this fragment of a check, Lieutenant?

Well, I went to the Federal Reserve and found that four

of the numbers show the bank

to be Pacific National. So I went there.

And what did you find at the Pacific National Bank?

Well, that the remaining numbers proved the account

to be that of the defendant Dirk Blake.

Now do you recognize this, Lieutenant?

Yes, it's a bank check with the end torn from it

which I took from the defendant when I searched him.

A check made out to Vince Rome in the amount of $500

and signed by Dirk Blake?

Yes, sir.

Did you attempt to match that torn check

and the fragment?

Yes, sir. They fit exactly.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Now I show you this document. I ask if you recognize it.

Yes. I found this in a drawer

in the main cabin of the Blue Nymph;

a carbon copy of a agreement it appears to be,

although it's unsigned.

Would you read it to the court, please?

"In addition to $500 already paid, I agree at a later date

"to pay the further sum of $10,000 to Vince Rome

"for acting as my agent and arranging for Janice Blake

to permanently lose custody of her daughter Button Blake."

And now in your capacity as typewriter expert

for the police crime laboratory,

did you examine this carbon copy?

Yes, and determined it had been made by model 503

electric Cummins typewriter.

Did you then examine a typewriter

of that make and model?

Yes, I accompanied Lieutenant Anderson to an office

where there was such a machine

and compared samples of its typing with the carbon.

And what did you find?

I found from a microscopic comparison of the spacing slant

and alignment of the letters on the carbon and the samples

that the carbon had been typed on that machine.

And where was this machine located?

In the office of the defendant.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Morado, you testified, I believe, that the night before

Vince Rome died, he asked you on the telephone

to arrange it so witnesses and your motel register

would prove that on the 15th and on the 23rd

of the previous month he was with Janice Blake in your

- wharf-front bungalow. - Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Why the wharf-front bungalow on those particular dates?

Only he knew that.

Was it because he was

actually there on those dates with someone else?

Is that correct, Mr. Morado?

He wasn't there with nobody.

Speak up, please.

He wasn't there with nobody!

How is it then that you were willing to say that he was?

Look, he's a friend of mine.

Speak up, Mr. Morado.

He was a friend of mine! I was doing him a favor!

That's all.

I went out to the Blue Nymph about 7:00 that morning.

I had a Mexican charter for Vince.

He often took fishing parties

into lower California, and I wanted

to be sure to catch him.

And what did you find on board the Blue Nymph?

Vince... Mr. Rome... lying dead on the cabin deck.

I went forward, woke up the deckhand,

Cully Barstow, and we called the police.

Now you say you talked

to the deceased that night at 10:30.

Yeah, 10:30 on account that was when I told Mr. Rome

that I was going ashore.

I called in the cabin and said, "Mr. Rome,

I'm going ashore."

And Mr. Rome said, "Okay, Cully." I went ashore.

Was there anyone with him in the cabin at that time?

I could hardly say.

He just stuck his head out... Mr. Rome did...

When he said, "Okay, Cully." I went ashore.

And now from your years of experience

as a coroner's physician, Dr. Wyler,

would you please estimate for us the time of death?

Yes. Almost certainly between 10:00 and 11:00

the previous evening.

And Doctor, in view of the testimony

of the previous witness Cully Barstow,

the deckhand of the Blue Nymph,

would you be willing to amend that "almost certainly"

to between "10:30 and 11:00"?

Mr. Burger, I've given my medical opinion,

and on that I stand.

The Blue Nymph was anchored

at approximately this point in the harbor?

Yes, sir.

Opposite and approximately 50 feet

from the revolving light on the jetty?

Yes, sir.

Very well, Mr. Sommers, would you resume the stand, please?

And will you please tell the court

what you saw on the night of the murder?

Well, like always, around low tide,

I went out to check my lobster traps.

And you went out by way of the jetty?

Right. Otherwise I would have had to cross private property.

Now, what time was it when you reached the jetty?

Well, let's see, low tide's around... - 00.

It was flooding and pretty strong when I got there

to the traps, so it must have been 10:30

or quarter to 11:00.

And what did you see from that jetty?

When I got to the light,

I thought I heard this noise on the Blue Nymph...

A firecracker, like...

And I looked out there,

and saw these two guys in the cabin, wrestling.

Now, how could you see inside the cabin?

Well, the jetty light lit it up every time it came around,

and the next time it came around,

there was just one guy standing there,

holding a pistol and looking down.

About the fifth time around,

he came out, he got into a boat and he rowed away.

And of course you reported this to the police?

Well... not until I heard about Mr. Rome the next day.

See, uh... I wasn't really sure what had happened,

then or later on...

and I knew it meant trouble for me because...

Well, it's out of season for trapping lobsters.

All right, Mr. Sommers, I understand.

Now, sir, I want you to look around this courtroom

and identify for us, if you can,

the man armed with a pistol

you saw rowing away from the Blue Nymph.

Oh, yeah, that's easy,

'cause I know him from around the bay.

It's Mr. Blake there.

Thank you, sir.

That'll be all.

Mr. Sommers...

you said that you didn't make an immediate report to the police

because you weren't sure what happened then or later on.

Well, what did happen later on?

Well... uh, when I came back, in about an hour,

I guess it was about an hour and...

I-I thought I heard this sound on the, uh,

on the Blue Nymph...a splash.

Could you see what caused this splash?

Well, fish, I guess,

but I looked out there and I saw these two guys

standing on the, on the deck and...

neither one of 'em looked like they heard anything,

so I just went on home.

Sorry I'm late, Perry, but I've got a few things

that might be useful in court tomorrow.

One is a photostat of a kind of interesting check.

That is very interesting.

And the rumors about Mrs. Gray and Vince Rome?

Well, I haven't been able to nail them down yet.

But I did get the registration slips

from the wharf-front bungalow.

15th and 23rd of last month.

"Mr. and Mrs. John Smith."

It's Rome's handwriting,

but you'll need an expert to prove it.

Mr. Mason...

I heard you were here.

Mr. Mason, you've got to get him off!

He didn't kill Vince Rome.

I know that.

I know it!

How do you know, Miss Sutherland?

I just do.

Dirk... Mr. Blake... Is a fine, decent man.

Please, please do everything you can.

Of course.

Do you know something that might help us?

I? Why, what could I know?

I just want him cleared!

That's all! Cleared!

What brought that on?

I have no idea.

Well, back to business.

Do you want me to get ahold of a handwriting expert?

I'd rather have a tide table, Paul.

Tide table?

Yes. And a scuba diver.

Have them both on the Blue Nymph at sunrise tomorrow.

Great.

Paul told me about the scratches on deck,

but it didn't suggest anything until Sommers mentioned

the splash he thought he'd heard.

And if it wasn't a fish,

you think whatever it was, was shoved off here?

Yes.

And since low water was at 9:47 that night,

and our lobster poacher heard whatever it was he heard

at least an hour later, the tide was coming in.

So?

That would float the Blue Nymph to almost its present position,

bow forward, and as far back from the harbor entrance

as its anchor chain will reach.

Here's our diver.

Packing case just about where you told me to look, Mr. Mason.

Too big to bring up,

so I pried off the lid, brought these up instead.

Swiss watches.

Then, Mr. Sommers, the Blue Nymph was in this position

when you came back along the jetty and heard the splash.

It had to be, 'cause the water was flooding in strong

for about an hour.

That is, if, uh, low tide's at 9:47, like the book says.

What was its position when you heard the men

struggling inside the cabin?

Well, uh, it was kind of like, like this.

Otherwise, the jetty light wouldn't have shown

through the hatch, into the cabin.

Mr. Barstow, what would've been the Blue Nymph's position

when the tide ceased ebbing at 9:47 that night?

Uh...

Like so.

Show the court what obviously happened

when the tide reversed.

Well, uh...

slack water lasts about ten minutes.

Making it 9:57.

Yeah.

Then the tide would start to come in,

swinging the boat around... here, like so.

The 180-degree swing takes how long?

20 minutes at the most.

10:17.

Which means the Blue Nymph could've been in position

for the jetty light to shine into the cabin,

allowing Mr. Sommers to see the defendant

struggle with Vince Rome and then leave

only between 9:57 and 10:17.

Yet you testified, Mr. Barstow,

that you spoke to Vince Rome,

saw him alive at 10:30 that night,

approximately 20 minutes later.

Yeah.

That's right, Mr. Mason.

That's the truth.

Therefore, Dirk Blake could not have killed Vince Rome.

Your Honor, before asking dismissal

of the charge against the defendant,

I would like Mr. Barstow to return to the stand.

Granted.

Will you take the stand again, Mr. Barstow?

Thank you, Mr. Sommers.

Now, Mr. Barstow, you told the police, I believe,

that Pancho Morado rode you back to the Blue Nymph that night,

and you talked together on deck for a time,

but heard no splash.

Yeah, that's the truth.

Is it? Or is this nearer the truth?

Instead of rowing back with Morado and going to bed,

as you said...

you both looked in the main cabin

and saw Vince Rome's body.

Yeah, we looked in.

And fearing the police would come and search the boat,

the two of you then shoved

a large packing case over the side.

Now what was in this case?

Yeah, that's right...

Swiss watches, smuggled in from Mexico.

You, Morado, and Vince Rome

were in this smuggling together?

No.

Just Pancho and me.

But Mr. Rome found out about it.

And that's how he was able to force Morado's help

in involving Mrs. Blake with him.

Yeah, that's how.

Your Honor, I would now like to call Pancho Morado to the stand.

"Mr. and Mrs. John Smith..."

so read your motel registration cards

for the night of the 15th and the 23rd, Mr. Morado.

They were actually signed by Vince Rome, were they not?

Yeah-yeah, yeah.

Who was the woman with him on those nights?

Who was she, Mr. Morado?

Mrs. Gray.

Your Honor, this is a photostat of a $500 check

cashed by Vince Rome,

the $500 paid him, as stated in the carbon agreement.

The check is signed by the person who instigated

the plot to discredit Janice Blake.

And who killed to recover the incriminating original agreement

for $10,000 more.

Therefore...

with your permission, I call...

Well, Mr. Mason?

I was going to call the person who also had access

to the typewriter which typed that agreement...

Miss Naomi Sutherland.

She left, Mr. Mason... Three or four minutes ago.

Miss Smithers.

Where's Button, Mrs. Blake?

Isn't she here?

No, Miss Sutherland called for her about half an hour ago.

- Miss Sutherland? - Miss Sutherland? -Yes, she said

you were meeting for lunch at the Westland Park.

Oh, no.

In the car... hurry.

Come on, Mr. Duck, come on, I got popcorn for you.

All right, Button, that's enough.

Let's, let's go look at the cars like I promised you.

Here in the park?

No, not in the park.

The place where I've told you, across from the park.

It's a lovely place, darling, it's, it's high, high up.

All right.

Let's go.

Stop!

Perry, look!

♪♪

I'm scared, Miss Sutherland.

Please, can't we go now?

Not yet.

Oh, darling, not yet.

No, don't!

Don't!

Take her, Miss Street, before I do something terrible!

Terrible, terrible!

Good evening, folks, welcome to the La Playa Motel and Bar.

Hi, Perry, how come you had us meet you here?

Oh, somebody's treating us to dinner.

Well, good.

Did you see Naomi Sutherland?

No, I talked to the psychiatrist,

and her problem is as we thought,

an obsession that she should be

Blake's wife and Button's mother.

Which she did her level best to make come true.

Including the murder of Vince Rome

when he threatened to expose her

unless she paid him the money she promised.

The psychiatrist said

she completely lost control after that.

Poor thing.

Why didn't Anderson arrest her in court?

My fault.

He was out taking a phone call and I should have noticed.

Well, all's well that ends well.

Say, how do you suppose the Blakes will end up?

If you turn around, Paul, you'll see.

Good evening, folks.

Welcome to the La Playa Motel and Bar.

Thank you.

Mr. Mason, Mr. Mason.

Hi, Button.

Oh, thank... Thank you for everything.

Hello, Miss Street.

- Hello. - Hello.

Hey, our Button's taking us to dinner.