All language subtitles for Perry Mason S08E04 The Case of the Sleepy Slayer.DVDRip.NonHI.en.CBS

♪♪

Mr. Gordon...

Well, don't stand there
mumbling. Speak up.

What do you want?

It's time for your medication.

I don't want it.

I'm sorry, Mr. Gordon,

but Doctor Lambert
insists you must have it.

Addlepated jackass!

My orders are to give
you this medication.

No.

Please, Mr. Gordon.

No, no, - no, no, no!

Mr. Gordon!

Didn't you hear me? I said...

Mr. Gordon.

The third time it's happened.

Tonight I thought
he was really going.

He's too full of hate.
Even death despises him.

You'd, uh... better
increase the heparin

I ordered to one
c.c. every night.

Yes, Doctor Lambert.

I'll look in on Rachel
before I leave.

Now you call me if you need me.

Good night, Doctor.

Good night, Miss Clover.

It's all right, Sadie.

- He's gonna be all right.
- Oh.

Where's Miss Gordon?

She's in her room.

Doctor Lambert...

could you help her, please.

She's, she's so
nervous and upset. I...

just can't stand to see
what's happening to her.

You're playing hopscotch

with one foot over
the precipice, Rachel.

Ease off before you
yourself have a stroke.

How's Uncle Abner?

He'll live.

Wouldn't you know.

You were hoping I'd
say this was the end?

That upsets you, doesn't it?

Makes you sick.

Tell me, Doctor,

how old do you think I look?

You want me to say
40 or 45, I suppose.

In a month I'll be 35.

15 years of my life.

Like someone in jail.

Looking after him,
waiting for him to die.

There's never been a
lock on the front door.

Oh, sure. Walk out.

Let him cut me off, his
own flesh and blood.

His only flesh and blood.

But staying here, you've
become nothing but raw nerves

and twisted emotions.

How much is it worth to
be a sick, empty creature

drained of every drop of
the joy of life. How much?

One million dollars,
Doctor. My legacy.

Abner had a mild stroke,
the third one this month.

He could live on like this
for years, Rachel, for years.

No, not for years.

I won't let him.

I'll kill him first.

♪♪

Who is it?

What's going on?

It's just me, Bruce. Never mind

Rachel? You all right?

Yes. I just dropped
something, that's all.

It's all right, Bruce.

Well, there's no question of it.

Footprints in the flower bed.

Marks around the lock.

Well, somebody tried
to break in here all right.

Whoever it was, uh,

do you think he'll try again?

Sort of depends on
how badly he wants

what he thinks he didn't get.

Now, this is the, uh,
Abner Gordon home...

and you're Charles
Norman, the butler, right?

Butler, gardener, chauffeur.

And my wife, Sadie,
is the housekeeper.

Who else lives in?

Well, aside from Mr. Gordon,

there's his niece,
Miss Rachel Gordon,

and a Mr. Bruce Jay...

a kind of a secretary,

and Mr. Gordon's nurse,
Miss Phyllis Clover.

Hmm. I see.

Do you have a gun?

A gun?

Good heavens, no.

Who runs the place?
This Miss Gordon?

If she's in, I'd like to
have a talk with her.

Certainly. Go right ahead.

I cannot go on feeling sorry
for you, and shut my eyes

to what you're doing.

I am not blind.

I am not stupid,

and this account
book speaks for itself.

Harlan, please
understand, I need your help.

You can shake that thought
right out of your mind, Rachel.

As your uncle's accountant,
I will not be put in the middle.

Absolutely not.

Excuse me, Miss Gordon.

About the marks on the
side door this morning,

the police officer would
like to speak to you.

Some other time.
Tell him I'll call him.

He's right here, waiting to...

I said not now. Get out.

Certainly, ma'am.

Harlan, you've known
me such a long time.

It isn't as if I'd actually
stolen the money.

Oh, isn't it?

Or perhaps your dictionary
has a different moral evaluation

for embezzlement.

Mine tends to define
it in the same terms

as the California Code.

The penal code.

I, uh, I'm sorry, Rachel.

What for?

For snooping on me? For
calling Abner's accountant

and telling him I was
stealing from my uncle?

I... He found the
discrepancy himself.

Look, if it's the
last thing I do,

I'm going to have you thrown
out of this house for good.

Please, Rachel.

Phyllis, did Mr. Farrell
leave by the front door

or the side door?

I just passed him
going up the stairs.

He said he had
to see Mr. Gordon.

No, no, I'm all right.

I thought you were having
trouble breathing again.

No, no, it's just
Rachel... and this house.

You really think,
if you stay on,

it'll make things easier
for her? For Mr. Gordon?

Let's put it another way...

if I go, will it make
things harder for them?

I don't think anybody, or
anything, will help Rachel.

But it's different for you now,
darling. You're well again.

You've got your
life ahead of you.

Our life.

Today is Thursday.

By Monday, by 5:00 in
the afternoon of Monday,

you will make full
restitution of every last dollar

you've drained out of my
funds for that no good parasite

you're supporting.

No!

Didn't think I knew

about your little
boyfriend, did you?

Please, Uncle Abner...
By 5:00 Monday.

Do I have to tell you
what the alternative is?

Sounds like an
unhappy household.

But tell me, Mr. Jay,

how are you affected
by actions Abner Gordon

may take against his niece?

Well, it's a matter
of some money.

You see, I put
myself through college

working in a chemical
plant Abner Gordon owned.

There was an accident,

some defective old
equipment in the factory.

I ended up, more dead
than alive, in the hospital.

My, uh, my lungs.

You filed a law suit?

No. There was some sort
of mix up with his insurance.

Abner Gordon would
have been personally liable.

And you agreed not to sue him?

Well, sort of.

I mean, he was very kind.

He paid my bills.

He brought me to his home,
as sort of a librarian/secretary,

to recuperate.

And I've been there ever
since, working for him.

You received no compensation
at all for your injuries?

He promised me that
any time I decided to leave

to go out on my own,
he'd give me $50,000.

And now, you've
decided to leave?

Well, uh... there's
a, there's a girl,

and a business, a
bookstore I'm interested in.

But Mr. Mason,

I haven't spoken
to Mr. Gordon yet,

and the way things are,
maybe I shouldn't right now but...

Oh, yes, I think you
should, and soon.

In fact, you have a
right to the money.

I just don't want to cause
any trouble at a time like this.

Well, I'll be able to handle
it for you, without trouble.

Unless, of course, Mr. Gordon
has changed his mind.

As you describe it, that
money is essentially a gift.

And an offer of a gift,
lacking legal consideration,

is revocable at a
moment's notice.

Oh, I don't think he'd
back down on his promise.

Is there something
in writing about this?

Well, I know the $50,000
is provided for in his will.

Good.

That may be all we
need to assure payment.

Thank you, Mr. Mason.
I guess I've...

well, I've been a little worried
about his changing his will.

Is there an indication
that he plans to do so?

Well, he's always
threatened his niece, Rachel,

that if she ever left
him, or got married,

he'd cut her off.

He had another
will drawn years ago.

He's always waved it
in her face as a warning.

Threatens to substitute
it for the actual legal will.

Under these circumstances,
the validity of the second will

may be seriously questioned.

Does it disinherit his niece?

It disinherits everybody.

It leaves every cent
he has to charity.

Ah, Rachel, baby.

Did you bring the money?

You did bring the money?

Yes, Tracey... Ah,
don't worry, honey.

Just add it to the
rest I owe you.

And it won't be long now.

He can't hang on forever.

And then, well, maybe...

Tracey, I shouldn't give
you any more money.

I mean, the money
I've already given you,

I've got to have it
back, every cent of it.

You what?

But you know I haven't got it.

Tracey, I can't
give you any more.

I stole that money for you.

He's going to send me to jail.

Unless I return every
cent by Monday afternoon,

he's going to use the new will.

Tracey, what can I do?

Tell me, what?!

Tracey!

Start praying.

What?

Pray your uncle dies
before Monday afternoon.

No.

They can't prosecute you

for stealing from
yourself, can they?

Tracey.

Lock up when you leave.

Shall we stop at police
headquarters or will you call?

What?

The attempted housebreaking.

The police officer was
insistent that he speak to you.

Uh, no. You take the car home.

I have some errands to do.

But it's no trouble.

I said, drive the car home.

I'll take a cab.

Oh, Miss Rachel,
you're not well.

And I don't mind driving
anywhere you want to go.

I'm certain you'll
like this pistol.

It's a truly fine handgun.

And I think you'll see for
yourself the amazing advances

in recent years,
particularly in relation

to velocity and kinetic energy.

Well, now, let's see.

We have a name,
address, phone number,

height, weight,
complete description

and the serial
number of the gun.

Yes, it's all complete,
except for your signature.

You realize, of course, Miss
Gordon, that the police provide

for a three-day delay
before we're permitted

to deliver any
gun to a customer.

It's just a formality.

A matter of record
for the police,

really out of our
control, you know.

I'm sorry, I've changed my mind.

Ma'am, I'll need your
name and address.

Just for the record.

Is it really necessary
that there be a record?

♪♪

♪♪

Sadie?

That coffee ready yet?

No, not yet.

Be careful, that
handle is loose.

I know the handle's loose.

It's been loose for days,

and you've been
promising to fix it for days.

Uh, the coffee's not
ready yet, Miss Rachel.

Miss Gordon, you
asked us to see you here.

I realize that you're
very upset, and I'm sorry,

but you've kept us waiting
for over half an hour now,

and it's time for me to give
your uncle his medication.

And we mustn't disappoint
the great god Abner, must we?

By all means, let
nothing interfere

with his creature comforts.

Let him take us all for granted.

Yes, walk all over
us, but smile and say,

"Thank you, dear,
dear Abner, thank you."

Miss Rachel...

For once, he's got to
realize that we count, too,

that we're people.

Rachel, you're not feeling well.

Tomorrow, I want you all
to leave this house at noon.

What?

And stay away
until Sunday at noon.

But that's impossible.

Now, listen to me.

I'll give him his medication.

I'll see that he's
fed, taken care of,

given whatever he has to have.

But nothing more.

He's got to find out that
he can't crack the whip

just for the fun of
watching us dance.

Rachel, that's
absolutely the most...

I'm not asking for
opinions or comments,

I'm giving an order!

Tomorrow, Saturday at noon

until Sunday noon, I want
to be left alone with him.

And don't you dare tell
him anything about this.

Now, please leave me alone.

How is she?

Well, that poor woman
is about as close

to a complete breakdown
as I've ever seen.

Mr. Gordon ready for bed?

Yes.

And, uh, I didn't tell
him about the accident.

I figured there was no
sense in upsetting him.

Don't. Just give him the
heparin and get him to sleep.

Get some sleep yourself.

Oh, is there anything
more I can do for Rachel?

Well, I sedated
her pretty heavily.

No choice.

Between hysteria, shock
and her begging for relief.

No, no, she'll be all right.

She'll probably sleep
the clock around.

♪♪

♪♪

Mr. Mason.

I hope you didn't have
to wait too long, sir.

I took Phyllis... Miss
Clover the nurse...

Back to her own apartment.

The police had
finished questioning her.

You've been reading law, Bruce?

What? Oh, no, no.

Those belong to Mr. Gordon.

He was a graduate attorney,
but he never practiced.

He took over his
father's business

after he passed the bar.

Mr. Gordon handles...

That is, he used to
handle his own legal affairs.

He never retained an attorney.

I just didn't know who
else to call but you.

Actually, I was hoping,

possibly, you might
represent Miss Rachel Gordon.

Did she ask you to call me?

No.

They haven't let
any of us talk to her.

I... I suppose
she's under arrest.

That seems logical.

The policeman who told
me to wait here for you said

that she fired three
times at point-blank range

into Abner Gordon's
head and chest.

It's... it's like a...
like a bad dream.

Only, in a dream, you
keep reassuring yourself

that you're going to wake up.

Bruce, I'm sorry, but I
can't represent Miss Gordon.

She's a fine person, Mr. Mason.

Or was.

You've got to understand the
pressure she's lived under here.

I can't represent her because
I'm already representing you.

But this is murder;
it has nothing

to do with her uncle's will.

Yes, it does.

If convicted, she's
precluded by law

from inheriting under his will.

Oh.

Well, I didn't... I
didn't know that.

I represent you, and you are
involved with the decedent.

There would be a
conflict of interest.

I'm sorry.

Well, at least until she
can retain somebody else.

Would you speak to her?

Tell her what her rights are?

Where is she?

Upstairs in her room.

I think Dr. Lambert's with her.

She wanted us to leave
at noon on Saturday...

That's today... and not
come back till Sunday at noon,

so that, so that she
could be alone with him.

You're sure, Mr. Norman, there's
never been a gun in the house?

Well, I-I couldn't swear to it.

There's never been a
gun in this house, never.

But, Lieutenant, isn't it
possible that when Miss Rachel

called that sergeant, he advised
her to go out and buy a gun,

because of the burglar?

He never had a chance to
advise her about anything.

She never called.

Well, that'll be all for now.

I'll be speaking to
both of you later.

Excuse me.

Sergeant Brice told me
you were here, Perry.

Andy.

I suppose you'd like to
speak with your client.

Bruce Jay is my client, Andy.

He thought I might be of
some temporary assistance

to Miss Gordon until she
retains her own counsel.

She's under heavy
sedation, unconscious.

I don't think she'll be
doing any talking for a while.

Oh, Doctor.

I'm afraid you
can't go with her.

Well, that's
nonsense; she's ill.

She's been through
a terrible experience.

I know.

I saw Abner Gordon's body.

Lieutenant Anderson, she
will need medical attention

when she comes to.

She'll get it, in the prison ward
of County General Hospital.

Perry, I've just had
word from Mr. Burger.

It'll take an okay from
the district attorney's office

to see Rachel Gordon,
for anybody to see her,

including her attorney.

Excuse me.

How long do you go on
tormenting a decent human being?

Pushing her further
and further into a corner

with no hope of escape?

I knew she was on the verge,
but I just didn't think she...

Unless it was said as a part
of a privileged communication

between doctor and patient,

you'll have to repeat
it in court, you know.

Repeat what?

The admission you
nearly made just now.

Don't be upset.

You weren't the only
one in whose presence

Rachel threatened
to kill Abner Gordon.

I don't know what hell is
like, but it can't be much worse

than the life that
Abner restricted her to.

You're saying

the shooting was
no drug-inspired

irresistible impulse, but
calculated and premeditated?

You're not putting the words

of a possible courtroom
defense in my mind,

are you, with this, uh,
"irresistible impulse?"

No, Doctor.

I wouldn't do that even if I
were Ms. Gordon's attorney.

Oh.

I'm just curious.

Primarily about the effect
of the injection you gave her

for the burn last night.

Oh, it relieves
pain and anxiety.

How the anxiety, for example?

By removing the
inhibitory processes

in the frontal lobe of
the brain of the patient.

Oh, I thought so.

Rather like turning
off a red light?

If a patient were under
tremendous tension,

if she were fighting a
compulsion to do something,

the drug would remove
her natural reluctance?

Would actually encourage her

to do what she was
possibly only planning to do?

If, if, if!

Hello.

She was literally unconscious
when she pulled that trigger.

As far as I'm concerned,
there isn't one shred of proof

that she ever gave
a single thought

to actually killing Abner.

You can say that,

despite her repeated
threats against his life?

Either one of you men Mr. Mason?

Yes.

Phone call. Somebody
named Drake.

Excuse me, Doctor.

Yes, Paul?

Perry, that dame was
sure out to kill somebody.

And Andy's been working
real fast on this one.

They found a shopkeeper to whom
she paid 200 bucks for the gun,

and his promise not to
report her to the police.

Of course I didn't report
her to the police... then.

Why should I?

Rachel misappropriated
a few thousand dollars.

Well, what's that... The
crime of the century?

Hardly.

Oh, I know Abner threatened her

with the police and
with that other will,

but after all, he'd been
waving that other will

in her face for 15 years.

Do you ever stop to
think, the last thing,

the very last thing in the world

Abner Gordon wanted
was not to have her around?

Do you ever think of it?

Look, Mr. Farrell, all I
really want to know is

what did Rachel Gordon
do with the $5,000 she stole?

Gambling? The horses?

Oh, come now, Mr. Drake.

Really? Rachel and race horses?

Well, I never knew the lady.

- Well, I did!
- Know her man, too?

Yes, and...

You're sure you just
work for an attorney?

You're not a lawyer yourself?

Honest Injun.

- What did you say his name was?
- I didn't.

Is there any reason
why you can't?

No, I... I guess it's all right.

Walcott. Tracey Walcott.

So, like you say,
I'm... I'm unconcerned.

So what?

Not even a sympathetic shrug?

After all, she stole
five grand for you.

A loan. Strictly
a business loan.

She'll get every cent back.

Before or after?

Before or after what?

They strap her in the
gas chamber for murder.

You know, she's still
at General Hospital.

And if you asked real nice,

they might let
you in to see her.

Sorry. Got a date.

So soon?

Can the new one afford you?

Look, shamus, if you're
digging to get my goat,

you're wasting your time.

No, as a matter of
fact, I have got a date

with a young lady who's,
uh, got quite a bit of money,

and she might promote
me in a business of my own.

Mm-hmm.

Say, killing old man Gordon...

Was that Rachel's
idea, or yours?

You're a wise guy, aren't you?!

Well, you chew on this!

If you and that shyster
you work for think

you can drag me into this,
you got another thing coming.

I'll sing. Oh, how I'll sing

on the witness stand,
and it won't be a lie, either.

I'll swear that for
the last month,

that's all Rachel
could-could talk about,

think about, dream about...

Exactly how she was
going to kill her uncle!

Now, do you get the picture?

Yeah, I get it.

Oh!

You clumsy... Now
what am I gonna do?

Tracey boy, you
smell real pretty.

You might just get yourself
a whole platoon of promoters.

Is this a true copy of the will?

The original is locked in a
safety deposit box at the bank.

But Phyllis and I thought...

well... well, maybe
you could help us.

If that will is filed,

doesn't the probate court
a-appoint an administrator

or something to take
care of everything?

Well, you see, the trouble is,

that Harlan Farrell,
the accountant,

simply refuses to
become involved.

And Bruce doesn't know
what to do, Mr. Mason.

There are bills to be paid,
decisions to be made, and...

And a million and one things

that Bruce just doesn't
have the authority to do.

Bruce, who knows the
provisions of this will?

Who knows?

I suppose everybody knows.

By everybody, you mean
those who are named in the will?

Well, I don't...

The will provides for you to
receive $50,000, for instance.

You obviously knew that.

Tell me, do Charles
and Sadie Norman know

they're to inherit $50,000?

Harlan Farrell, that
he's to get $25,000?

Dr. Lambert, also $25,000?

Well, I suppose so.

Mr. Gordon never made
a secret of his favors.

Quite the contrary.

He was always talking about
them, threatening with them.

The balance goes
to Rachel Gordon.

Do you know what
that balance might be?

Yes, I do. One and
a half million dollars.

I'm sorry to bust in like this,
but I thought you'd like to know

that Rachel Gordon was just
released from General Hospital.

She was what?!

But Paul, why would...?

I don't know the story yet.

Mr. Mason, that's impossible!

We were just there
less than an hour ago,

and they wouldn't even
let us talk to Rachel!

Wait a minute, honey.

You mean she's
been released on bail?

No, that's also impossible.

There's no bail on
a murder charge.

Is that my call, Gertie?

Hi, Joe. What did you find out?

He didn't die from the bullets?

What?

Abner Gordon was stone cold dead

three hours before Rachel
pumped those shots into him.

Dead? But how?!

Murdered, that's how.

Mr. Bruce Jay?

I have a warrant
here for your arrest

on a charge of
criminal homicide.

It was obvious the
victim was dead

at least three hours
prior to the shooting.

How were you able to
determine that, Doctor?

Postmortem lividity,
temperature, rigor mortis.

And what was the actual
cause of Abner Gordon's death?

Coronary insufficiency,

as a result of a
criminal human agency.

Essentially the
inability of the heart

to sustain the pressure
of continued function.

Doctor, isn't coronary
insufficiency a term applicable

to death from natural causes,

as well as to death
caused by criminal action?

Yes.

Well, then, would you
please explain to this court

what the medical
examiner's office found

to make this particular
coronary insufficiency

a matter of criminal homicide?

Decedent was in his seventies
and suffered a prolonged state

of arteriosclerosis,
hardening of the arteries.

He had a history of
prior coronary difficulties,

a series of mild strokes
which incapacitated him.

At the time of his death,

as part of his daily
medical regimen,

he was being administered

one cubic centimeter
of heparin every night.

And what is heparin?

An anti-coagulant
to prevent clotting,

thus reducing the possibility
of additional strokes.

Thank you, Doctor.

Would you go on, please?

In addition to a
minute examination

of the victim's body,

we analyzed the
bottle of heparin

from which an injection
was given to the victim

less than two hours
before his death.

Was there anything unusual

about the bottle
of heparin, Doctor?

Well, heparin is colorless,
remains colorless.

The medication in the bottle

was unmistakably
turning brownish in color.

It was quite obvious
that something had either

been added to the heparin,
or that it had been replaced.

And what did your
analysis of the contents

of that bottle reveal?

It contained half heparin,
and half adrenaline.

And this mixture of half
heparin, half adrenaline

had been injected into
the decedent that night

in place of his usual
injection of heparin?

The postmortem
indicated that, yes.

Well, what would be the result

of the injection
of such a mixture?

Adrenaline is useful,
but a very powerful drug.

It's given in extremely
small dosages.

One half cubic centimeter,

which must have been
the amount injected,

would constitute a
fantastically massive dose,

even for a young,
healthy person.

And for the decedent,

considering his
age and his health?

It literally and actually
caused Abner Gordon's heart

to beat itself to death.

Oh, Bruce, uh, the
defendant, told me

about a week before
Mr. Gordon's death

that he planned to
leave his, uh... his job.

He mentioned the
payment of money

which he claimed Mr. Gordon
had promised him...

$50,000.

Did you speak with the decedent
about this particular $50,000?

Yes, and he became very excited.

He said something
about, uh... uh, about...

Go on, Mr. Farrell.

Well, about, uh...

about rats leaving
a sinking ship.

Really?

Did he indicate he would refuse

to give Mr. Jay the $50,000?

Well, no, not entirely.

He said Bruce would have
to wait until after he, uh,

Mr. Gordon, was dead,

- to collect the money.
- In other words,

he said the defendant
could only collect that money

through inheritance?

Through the will

that we've already
introduced here in evidence?

That is correct.

Now, as to the second will

that we've also
introduced in evidence,

the will that Abner Gordon
threatened to substitute

if his niece failed to make
restitution of certain funds...

Did that second will provide
$50,000 for Bruce Jay?

No, in that case, every cent
would have gone to charity.

I see. Now,

did the defendant
give you any reason

for his plan to leave his
position with Mr. Gordon?

Yes. To marry Phyllis Clover.

And did you intend

to continue your nursing
career after your marriage?

No, Bruce was going
to open a bookstore.

Oh, yes, with money
he hoped to inherit.

With the money that Abner
Gordon owed him and promised

to pay.

Miss Clover, on the day
of Abner Gordon's death,

an order was phoned
into the pharmacist

for a renewal of the
heparin prescription.

Did you phone that order
in yourself, personally?

No. I asked
someone else to do it.

Not, by any chance,
the defendant Bruce Jay?

Well, there were some things

he needed to order
from the pharmacist, too.

Now, Miss Clover, you
heard the pharmacist testify

that he personally
refilled that prescription,

and that the bottle,

when he wrapped it
with the rest of the order,

contained only heparin.

During that night, you
did use the new bottle

that had just
arrived, didn't you?

Yes.

And when you gave
Abner Gordon his injection

of what you believed
to be heparin,

what color was the
medication in the bottle?

It had no color.

It was just as colorless then

as it was when you
unwrapped the package

from the pharmacist,
is that right?

Yes, it... Well, I...

You did unwrap the
package yourself, didn't you?

Didn't you?!

No.

The package was
open when I got it.

Well, I took the package
from the druggist's man

when he delivered
it to the house.

And did you open it?

No, sir.

Did you give it to the nurse?

No, no, I didn't.

What did you do with it?

Well, uh, Mr. Jay...
the defendant...

Uh, was in the hall and,
uh, he took the package.

Did he give you any reason
why he wanted the package?

Uh, something about some item
of his own that he was expecting.

And what did Mr. Jay
then do with the package?

Well, he, uh, took it into his
room and closed the door.

Well, Mr. Jay called
me into his room

and he gave me the
package... The open package...

And he asked me to
take it up to Miss Clover.

She was waiting for
Mr. Gordon's medicine.

Dr. Lambert, would
you explain for us,

in layman's terms if possible,

your opinion of how a dose
of adrenaline would react

on a man in Abner
Gordon's condition?

It would be as if somebody
had taken a small transistor radio

that was designed to run on
a one-cell flashlight battery,

and hooked it up to a 50
million-volt power generator.

Very well put, Doctor.

Now, tell me, Abner Gordon
was not your only patient

in this household, was he?

No, I took care of just about
everybody in the house.

Including the defendant

- Bruce Jay?
- Yes.

Well, will you please
describe to the court

the defendant's
medical condition?

A chronic inflammation
of the lung tissues.

He'd aspirated an
unusual amount of chemical

and metallic particles
in an industrial accident.

And what effect did this
accident have on him?

Well, that amount of material
in the lung tissue produced

a chronic bronchitis, the first
stages of pulmonary emphysema.

He has, then, on occasion,
difficulty breathing,

very much as someone would have

who was suffering
from severe asthma?

Exactly the same symptoms.

And you prescribed
exactly the same treatment...

The same treatment you
would have prescribed

for an asthmatic?

Well, broadly speaking, yes.

In addition to the
long-term treatment,

the emergency treatment
is essentially the same.

By emergency treatment,
Doctor, you mean something

to help the patient quickly
to be able to breathe?

Yes.

A nebulizer it's called.

Something like this, Doctor?

This nebulizer belongs
to the defendant Bruce Jay

and was, I assume,
prescribed by you.

What drug does
this contain, Doctor?

Adrenaline.

For the love of Mike, Perry,

we've been here for
more than two hours.

How long are we going to wait?

All night if we have to.

What's the matter...
Lose your curiosity?

After you sat there in court all
day without opening your mouth

and then go running off
in the middle of the night

to play cops and robbers?

No, I haven't lost my curiosity.

But... you suppose
Paul Drake is wrong?

I doubt it.

This character is a creature
of habit in more ways than one.

That's just the trouble.

So am I, and one of my habits
happens to be sleeping at night.

Now, if he doesn't show up
here pretty soon, I'm just...

I'm sorry.

I...

Hey, look out,
the cops, the cops!

I'll take that book.

Let's have a look.

Tracey Boy, you
just got yourself

that platoon of promoters.

Yeah, I've been
on the stuff, uh...

over a year now.

When you first
met Rachel Gordon,

when you began to keep company,

was she aware that you
were a narcotics addict?

No, not right away.

And when she discovered it?

She sent me to a
private clinic to kick it.

Among the drugs they used,

nalorphine was given
as part of your cure?

Yeah, they even gave
me some to take home.

This nalorphine
afterwards was like,

was like mainlining with
talcum powder... nothing.

Just, uh, just the once,
the once I used it, that's all.

The attempted cure
was of short duration?

I found better ways
to spend her money.

Did Rachel Gordon then
sever her relationship with you?

No.

We were both hooked...
each in our own way.

She used my habit
to keep me in line.

I was chained to her,
to her pocketbook,

to the lousy money she kept
doling out to me for the stuff.

And sometimes she would not

or could not pay.

Yeah.

Sometimes it was,
was bad, real bad.

The time, for example,

two nights before
Abner Gordon's death,

when you tried to break into
the house through the side door?

Oh, you, you don't
know what it's like.

That, that fire inside of you.

Well, you'd do anything,
you'd lie, you'd steal, you'd...

Kill?

No.

No, not that.

Don't try to pin that one on me.

You admitted to Paul Drake,

the subject was
discussed between you.

- Maybe I did, but...
- Such a simple answer...

Kill Uncle Abner and inherit
a million and a half dollars.

Now, now, now,
I-look, look, mister.

Her... she tried to make a
clay pigeon out of the old man...

Her, not, not me.

And think of the
junk you could buy

for a million and
a half dollars.

No, no, you don't know
what you're talking about.

Wednesday night
you were desperate.

You tried to break
into the house.

You tried to break into
the house to see her,

unsuccessfully.

Thursday night Abner
Gordon had a stroke, and again

you didn't see her.

Then on Friday,

Friday she told you
there'd be no more money.

No, no, that's a, that's a lie.

You didn't know where to turn.

Your body was starved for
the poison you'd been feeding it.

You were desperate.

No, that's not true.

So again on Friday you
returned to the house.

Stop it, stop it!

She phoned me...
I swear she did.

She left dough for
me in my apartment,

under the pillow...
A hundred bucks.

She called me at midnight
to tell me where she'd left it.

I found the dough and I
went out to get me a fix!

Honest.

It's the truth.

You got to believe me.

I was nowhere near
the house that night.

Honest, it's the truth.

I was nowhere near
the house that night.

The law reads that
there can be no homicide

unless a living human
being is the victim.

Of course, while the defendant
is not guilty of homicide

if his victim is not living,

he may be guilty of an
attempt to commit murder

or of an aggravated assault.

Tell me, have criminal
charges been filed against you

for firing three shots into
the dead body of your uncle?

Not that I'm aware of, no.

Not even charges for attempted
murder or aggravated assault?

I don't think so.

But you did want to kill him?

Yes.

I'm sorry, but we must
have a clear picture

of your performance,
Miss Gordon.

Now, your plan was to
kill your uncle the next day

while you were alone with him

and claim it was the act of
some unknown housebreaker.

Is that the proper setting?

Yes.

Your desire was to kill
him, your intent was murder,

so you went into his
room and shot him.

But he was already dead.

You didn't know that, however.

No, I didn't know that.

It's obvious to me that even
if the gun were unloaded,

it's still assault to
threaten someone with it.

Not if there's no
present ability.

Please, can't you...?

Yes, present ability.

Present ability.

To convict a person,

to convict a person of
assault, it is not only necessary

to show that he
intended to inflict injury

but also that he
had present ability

to inflict such injury.

Of course, that's a legal
term one wouldn't know

unless he happened to read law,

and it is the law in California.

I admit I tried to kill him.

It was a terrible thing to do.

What more do you want me to say?

The burn on your arm... I
assume it's healing well?

Uh, yeah, yes, it's fine.

You know, that required
considerable courage.

Courage?

Deliberately burning yourself.

What?

Poor Rachel Gordon.

Everyone felt so sorry for you.

But that's what you
wanted, wasn't it?

No.

To be pitied, to be
accepted as sick, neurotic,

on the verge of a breakdown,

with a relentless drive

to kill the man responsible
for your condition.

You're out of your mind.

You knew the
coffeepot was broken.

That's why you picked it
up, jerked the handle loose,

and deliberately
scalded yourself.

No, I didn't.

Yes, Rachel, yes,

because it was necessary that
you have an undeniable reason

to force Dr. Lambert to give you

a pain-relieving opiate.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Necessary for everyone to think

you were drugged,
sedated, sound asleep.

But I was drugged.

Oh, yes, but with two drugs.

After Dr. Lambert
gave you his injection,

you then took a
shot of your own,

isn't that right... A
shot of nalorphine?

The nalorphine you found in
your boyfriend's apartment?

No, stop it.

And nalorphine counteracts
the opiate, doesn't it, cancels it?

I ne... I never heard
of such a thing.

And I never heard of such
a deliberately evil plan.

You knew if your uncle
ever died, you'd be blamed,

and so, to divert all suspicion,

you killed him
not once but twice.

That's a lie.

You not only fired bullets
into your uncle's dead body,

you put Bruce Jay's adrenaline
into the bottle of heparin

and created the
mixture that killed him.

But I was asleep, I tell you.

Ask Dr. Lambert.

At 11:00 he put me to sleep.

He drugged me to sleep.

Then, how were you able to
phone Tracey Walcott at midnight

and tell him to look
under the pillow

for the money you had left him?

How?

No further questions.

You know, Paul, I missed the
clue on the 12:00 call entirely,

but then I looked it
up and there it was,

right in the Tracey
Walcott testimony.

Oh, I caught that one, but,
Perry, what gave you the idea

that Rachel was
checking into the law?

Well, if you see
a crooked picture,

you straighten it, don't you?

Huh?

Same with a book
you find upside-down.

There was one in their library.

When I straightened it,

I noticed it was one
of the penal codes

and there was no dust on it.

So someone there might
have been reading it,

but, Perry, what if it
was a maid's negligence

or an accident or...?

Della, you know what
Justice Holmes said

in reference to negligence?

It also applies to clues.

- He said...
- "Even a dog

distinguishes between being
stumbled over and being kicked."