Original subtitles

Mrs. Forrest, is that you?

Hello, Joe. Did Tony Claus...

Yeah, Tony just called me.

I guess he's out getting your house opened up.

And your car's still in storage, too.

Say, we've sure been having

some weather around here.

I'll meet you over at the garage, then.

Sure thing. Say, it sure is nice to see you back.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Lucille.

Good evening, Kevin.

How was Europe?

I mean, I didn't know you... Welcome home

is what I'm trying to say.

You sound like you never expected to see me again.

Well, I certainly hoped I would, but after a whole year away...

Look, how long are you going to stay?

I'm going to Los Angeles just for the night, but...

Oh, I'll be in town for quite a while, I imagine.

Wonderful. That's just wonderful.

You know, a whole lot of your friends are going to be

awfully glad that you're back again.

Why don't we have dinner some night, or...

Don't miss the train, Kevin. Goodnight.

I guess you own this garage now, don't you, Mrs. Forrest?

Really, I haven't the slightest idea.

Is there gas?

Now wait a minute, now. I got your battery hooked up,

but haven't had a chance to check the tires yet.

It's all right, Joe. Just open the doors, please.

You know, they've been working on your road out there.

Washed out from the storm I started to tell you about.

You can get through all right.

Say, did you hear about Myrna Dekker being married now?

And Mr. Lawrence, he's gonna run for mayor.

Say, he was a friend of Dick's too, wasn't he?

Oh, there's sorts of things been happening.

I'm not interested in the local gossip, Joe.

I didn't come back here to...

Sure, but why did you come back, Mrs. Forrest?

I mean, so unexpected?

Gosh, anybody who can afford to live in Europe...

Who told you to ask me that?

Nobody.

I'm just glad to see you back, that's all.

I mean, everybody is gonna be. It's just like Tony says,

he wished he had time to get ready with a proper welcome.

♪♪

♪♪

Who is it?

Lucille.

Walter.

Why didn't you bark or rattle your pills or something?

Well, for gosh sake, I'm sorry,

but I couldn't believe it was you.

I just making a delivery at the Dover ranch.

Got in the car, I heard a blowout down here.

Stop making excuses and roll up your sleeves.

Oh, boy. Same old Lucille.

Same old diplomat.

You're looking great. Just great, believe me.

The lug wrench is under the chains, there.

All right.

All right, I'll save you.

I'll bet you've been having fun, haven't you, Lucille?

If anybody deserves to have fun in life, it's you.

Night clubs...

I have sciatica, got a new bridge,

and my hair has to be dyed every two weeks now.

Well...

then what am I being a Boy Scout for?

I'm sorry, Walter, but...

I know how I look.

And I haven't really...

Oh, I just lost my head there for a minute.

Anyway, what's the richest widow in town doing

waiting on a spare tire?

As executor of your husband's estate,

I say let the hired hands do the labor.

Tony Claus can pick up your heap in the morning.

Come along, old woman.

I'm taking you home in style.

Thank you, Walter.

I'm glad you came by.

I wish I'd tried harder to see you after the funeral,

but I knew how you felt.

Couldn't blame you for wanting to slip away

as soon as possible.

I don't think I felt very much, Walter.

Jed was 82 years old.

His death was a blessing to him, really.

Yes, I know,

but coming so soon after Dick...

You know what I mean.

I know how long it took me to get over it after Mary...

Anyway, nice to see you again,

and to know that you're all right.

As soon as word gets around that you're here,

there'll be one party after another.

I was always all right, Walter.

Hmm?

I said, I was always all right.

Oh, I didn't mean anything more

than just when a person gets upset.

That's what I finally realized.

It wasn't me, it was this town.

It was even you.

Now, Lucy...

Do you know why I've come back?

I'm going to do what the law

wouldn't never do for me.

I don't I quite understand, Mrs. Forrest.

On the phone you said you wanted to talk to me about a will,

but from the date of this copy,

I would assume the will's already gone through probate.

Yes, it has. They appointed...

a friend of my husband's to be executor and trustee,

if that's necessary, but he says that

everything is in my control, now.

The bulk of your husband's property

went into a life estate for you?

Except for some charity, and Tony Claus, the handyman,

was taken care of, naturally.

Then what sort of advice do you want of me?

Mr. Mason...

I married Jed Forrest only ten years ago.

It was a marriage of convenience,

friendship for both of us, I guess.

You see, I was his housekeeper.

I had two children to support.

My daughter, who's married now, in Chicago,

and Richard.

Your son is the younger?

No.

What I wanted to make clear to you...

I'm not greedy about money.

I've had to work hard all my life

and I can do it again.

But if your husband had no other family,

if no one contested this will, I don't understand.

I haven't been in Europe

like I've told most people.

I've been in Chicago, working,

trying to save enough money

so that I wouldn't even have to touch one penny of the estate.

My daughter hasn't been well either,

and there have been so many bills.

Tell me more about your son, Mrs. Forrest.

Dick... died two years ago...

when he was 23.

What I want to know from you is on page three.

Can they take Jed's estate away from me

if I do something that the will says I'm not supposed to?

You mean there are...

"conditions subsequent" in here?

Yes, yes, that's the phrase that the lawyers used.

There's one in there.

Jed didn't want to hurt me, he...

wanted to help me forget.

He didn't understand.

He couldn't believe that anybody in Forrest Junction

would be a murderer.

A what?

The trustee has the power to terminate your estate

if you should initiate further investigation

into your son's death?

I don't care.

I don't care what they do to me.

Mrs. Forrest, I strongly doubt

that a clause so contrary to public policy

would hold up in court.

But why do you think that someone...

I don't think, Mr. Mason, I know.

Dick went out on a hunting trip

with some of his local friends.

They found him that evening, dead.

They called it an accident,

but I know that one of those men

killed him with Dick's own gun.

I know that's true,

and now you're going to prove it for me!

Well?

Am I gonna win the Guggenheim award?

Well, you print some pretty good recipes.

Good story on the county fair. Nice weather report.

I told you there was nothing in there, didn't I?

I told you I was just looking.

Dick Forrest was a nice kid.

He couldn't have killed himself,

and there's no one around here

who would want to kill him.

What gave you that idea?

I didn't say anything about killing.

Well... my secretary thinks

you're with some insurance company,

looking for an escape clause.

Something about some policy they forgot.

Just a routine check, that's all.

Took his stepfather's name, didn't he?

"Dick Forrest."

Yup, and they liked each other, too.

No trouble anywhere.

And Kevin Lawrence was an old buddy from way back.

Mr. Lawrence was out there with a gun, too, that day, wasn't he?

And this Tony Claus...

No, uh, no, he wasn't there.

He just drove Dick out to our camp that morning.

That's all.

Our camp?

That's right, you were there, too, weren't you?

No, Mr. Drake, I was not.

I was on my way in town, looking for a doctor.

Kevin's cooking, I guess.

When the boys had left to go hunting that morning,

the old ulcers were acting up,

and they scare me when they bleed.

Oh.

So that's it.

That evening, when Dick didn't return,

Kevin phoned for help, and the whole town went looking.

They found him where he'd been crawling through a fence

with the safety off, I guess.

I see.

But you already know that, don't you?

Huh?

Mr. Drake, yesterday, someone made an inquiry

at the coroner's office, and they found

that the county sheriff's records

had been thoroughly checked.

Now, I don't know what your company thinks

it's trying to find... Don't ask me!

I just work for a living, and do what I'm told.

By whom? Lucille Forrest?

It was she who put you up to this, wasn't it?

- It was she who told you to start... - Mr. Day.

I'm sorry to disappoint you,

but I've never even met Mrs. Forrest.

But if it bothers you, my hanging around

and padding the expense account...

No. Sit there and read all the recipes you want.

I don't care.

I just thought there might be a story in what you are doing,

and I'd like to write something besides the weather.

There was a girl there, too, wasn't there?

What?

She was waiting in camp for the boys to get back.

Girl named Mirna Dekker.

Yes.

Yes... Mirna was there.

Tony?

Hi, Mirna.

Well, hi, stranger darling.

You looking for Mrs. Forrest?

Well, I thought I better come calling some time.

She's been home a week, I guess, and Kevin says

it's just awful I haven't come over, only...

Tony, how is she?

She's all right, I guess. Why?

Well, you know what I mean.

Not very often.

Look, why don't you just go ring the bell?

She won't bite you.

Tony, why are you mad at me?

Now, who says I'm mad?

Look, I got a sick heifer and three horses that I...

Even Kevin says it's just awful we never see you anymore.

I thought newlyweds were supposed to be left alone.

Well, not forever.

Besides, Kevin doesn't like to dance very much,

and I've just never known an older man

who can dance like you can.

Oh, you know what I learned the other day?

You know, in the regular Watusi,

when you twist to move your hips, you also...

Mirna, when are you gonna grow up?

Oh, you are mad.

I knew it.

Just like she's going to be, because she always thought

I was going to marry poor Dick.

When anybody in town could have told her

it was really Ralph Day you were in love with.

Oh, him.

That was just poetry.

Well, you know what Ralph was like.

He could never stop reading it to me.

Besides, a nightclub and a restaurant

make a lot more money than a broken-down country newspaper.

Do you want me to slap you?

Maybe I would,

if it weren't quite so flattering

to think that...

You can just get that happy little memory

right out of your mind.

Now quit pestering me, will you?

Tony Claus, if I didn't know you better, I'd...

Mirna!

I'm so glad to see you.

Don't you look lovely!

Hello, Lucille.

Ah, marriage agrees with you.

You are happy, aren't you, darling?

I wanted to come sooner, but...

well, I just didn't know how to...

Now, now, I understand.

Every time I get near this place,

I remember how I used to call you mother, and...

- The past is the past, Mirna. - Is it?

Of course. The only way that we forget unpleasant things

is by doing something about them.

Kevin said he saw you the other night

at the railroad station.

No. I must have been a fright, but I'm much better now.

It was so sweet of you to come, dear,

but could you wait until early this evening?

Oh, I should have telephoned.

No. No, it's just I'm expecting a visitor any minute. A...

very important visitor,

so if you and Kevin would be free later for cocktails?

Oh, yes, we'd love it.

I'm having a few other old friends in.

Nothing fancy.

And if this man doesn't take too long,

I just might get around to a birthday cake.

A what?

Yes, it's Richard's birthday, you know.

Oh, my.

What a pretty little car.

Oh, yes. Yes, I just love it.

Mm.

I need something like that to have some fun in.

I just may buy one. Who knows.

Oh, Lucille, you are happy again, aren't you?

Well, of course, darling.

About 5:30 then.

Okay. Make way for the gentleman caller.

It's nothing like that.

Now, don't try to fool me, Mother.

What?

Well, I know what makes a woman pick roses.

Bye-bye.

Nothing, Mrs. Forrest.

Absolutely nothing.

But-but I don't understand.

Mr. Mason said that you wouldn't even get in touch with me

until there was something to report.

It's been four days.

Well, just let me explain.

Perry himself will be up later this evening

to explain the legal aspects, but...

Explain? What is there to explain?

That you haven't found out one single new thing

about my son's death?

That you've just been reading lies?

Listening to lies?

Mrs. Forrest, this is too small a town

for an investigation like ours to remain secret.

Already, there's been talk,

and some of the people involved don't appreciate the talk.

Well, isn't that just too bad.

Kevin Lawrence, for instance, is running for mayor.

And if this old gossip starts up again...

So that's it.

You're afraid of slander.

Well, you just tell Mr. Mason

that I'll pay for 100 lawsuits if necessary.

You just bring me proof of murder, Mr. Drake,

and I'll take care of Forrest Junction.

I'm afraid it's not that simple.

I found that the police

and the coroner's investigations was very thorough.

It may take a week to turn up even a shred of an error.

Well... I'll give you a lead, then.

Ralph Day was the murderer.

What?!

He owns the newspaper. You've met him.

Wait a minute.

Mr. Day wasn't even there.

Don't argue with me, please!

Now, I know how you must feel.

You think I'm crazy, don't you?

Of course not.

You've discovered that no one ever thought

that Richard was killed except me.

And you've known mothers before, perhaps,

who just couldn't face...

Now, try to be patient.

Get out of here, Mr. Drake!

All I want you to do is understand.

To think, I've wasted four days.

How I could have thought anybody would have ever

helped me do what I have to do...

Mrs. Forrest... Get out! Get out! Get out!

And happy birthday.

Oh! You scared me.

I'm sorry. I was looking for Mr. Day...

or actually someone I thought might be with him.

Not here. But you can help me look for a bottle, if you like.

Bottle?

About so big... for medicine.

Do you know Ralph used to take it out on dates with me?

Ugh.

You're Mrs. Day?

No. No, I'm Mirna Lawrence.

- Perry Mason. - Hi.

Oh, Ralph's over with Kevin now at our nightclub.

Well, it's really like a roadhouse, but, uh...

Say, do you smell smoke?

Yes, I do.

I noticed it when I opened the door.

You'd think I was a teenage lackey or something.

Can you imagine a man who would send his wife just to...?

Stale smoke, that's all.

Somebody's been burning newspapers

in that sink over there.

Eureka. We are saved!

Sweet little ulcer juice. Ralph just forgot it.

He's always pooping somebody's party.

Though, actually, I think he just came out tonight

to borrow money from Kevin.

Well, I better close up now.

Certainly.

If you'd like to see our place, Mr. Mason,

you can follow me.

Ralph's just got a little tummy-ache,

so I'm sure he'd like to see you.

Well, no, thanks, it was really a man named Drake

I thought might be...

Forrest Junction Journal.

Oh, I'm sorry. There's no one here but the sports editor,

if you'd like to speak to him.

Kevin!

What are you doing checking up on me again?

Look, I know why you sent me on this silly little errand.

And I was not dancing too close with the salesman.

He was only showing me...!

Bully!

Hey, you know what?

They just took Ralph Day to the hospital.

If you're looking for the nurse, she should be back in a minute.

- Your name's Drake, isn't it? - Yeah.

- I'm Tony Claus. - Oh, sure.

Mr. Forrest heard about Ralph Day being sick.

She asked me to check on him.

Doctor?

I'm Paul Drake.

I have an appointment with Mr. Day later on this evening.

- Oh, yes. Hello, Tony. - Hi.

I'm sorry to say Ralph is dead.

Holy mother...

We just couldn't stop the bleeding.

His ulcers again?

Three of us worked for an hour,

but none of the coagulants... I don't know.

Autopsy?

Yes, I did ask for an autopsy, Mr. Mason.

I asked for it first thing this morning.

I didn't realize you were related to Mr. Day.

No, I'm not.

I mean, I couldn't ask for one officially.

But I checked up. They're doing it, all right.

The doctors are curious, too.

So I gather.

But Mr. Lawrence, why are you concerned?

Ralph Day had dinner here in my restaurant last night.

Do you think I want people going around saying

I feed my customers ground glass or something?

No, obviously not.

But why did you ask to see me this morning?

Well, thanks for coming by, by the way.

It's, uh... it's about Lucille Forrest.

I heard you were in town. I know you're her lawyer.

What about Mrs. Forrest?

Look, tell her to keep quiet.

You mean, keep quiet about the death of her son?

Look, Mr. Mason, I like Lucille, no matter how she acts.

I feel sorry for her.

May I ask why?

Not just because of her tragedies, everybody has them,

but she's a little bit off on this one subject, you know?

You don't believe her son was murdered?

No, of course not. Nobody does.

But that wouldn't make any difference if she goes around

telling anybody else what she told me yesterday afternoon.

What did she say?

Well, it was questions more than telling,

but I got the idea right away.

She thinks that Ralph Day murdered Dick.

And now if there is something funny about Ralph Day's death?

You see what I mean?

Just tell her to keep her mouth shut...

for her own sake.

Yes, I think I understand you, Mr. Lawrence.

Though, of course, as you say,

Ralph Day did eat his dinner here last night.

That's right.

And you know what he had for dinner mostly?

Mushrooms, nice, mild mushrooms.

And do you know where they came from?

Tony Claus.

Look, Mr. Drake,

I been growing these things for 25 years.

I know my business.

And you picked some of these last night

to give to Kevin Lawrence?

That's right. I picked 'em right out of...

- What's the matter? - Well, nothing. I just...

I didn't realize I'd picked so many, is all.

Yeah, you see, Kevin came down, found me at the barn,

said that he and his wife and some others were up at the house

having a hello drink with Mrs. Forrest.

He said that Ralph Day was coming over

to his place for dinner,

and they'd been talking over a new recipe for mush...

You don't mind if I take a couple?

Well, you go ahead, but all you got to do is

ask Kevin's cook if they're toadstools or something.

I guess that's what you're thinking.

Take it easy.

All we're trying to do is stop a rumor before it starts.

Lucille made a few cracks at me, too, I'm afraid.

I tried to get her off that kick of hers,

about her son, I mean.

I don't know. Maybe she does know something.

Mr. Claus, do you ever hear of the Fresno Livestock Auction?

Oh, yeah. I buy a lot of stuff for the ranch up there,

machinery and all. Why?

Well, Perry noticed a piece of newspaper,

an item in it about the auction caught his eye,

but the date was partly burned, and I thought maybe you'd know

what time of year it takes place.

Well, it's in the fall.

About four weeks ago.

The year wasn't burned.

The paper was two years old.

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

But I can help you, though. All you got to do is...

Mean something to you?

I was just thinking.

If it's the local paper you're talking about,

that's a weekly. You could check.

As I remember, the auction two years ago ended

the day before Dick died.

I don't know, Mr. Mason.

I... I can't remember.

You told Paul Drake, Mrs. Forrest.

You also said something to Kevin Lawrence and Tony Claus.

Maybe I've said all sorts of things I shouldn't say...

to all sorts of people.

And now men tramping all around the house.

Mrs. Forrest, the autopsy on Ralph Day

has undoubtedly been finished for hours.

But the coroner's office will not issue a statement.

And I know they've been rushing all sorts of samples

to laboratories in Los Angeles.

They left here to go to dinner together.

You know that, don't you?

Ralph and Kevin and his wife, little Mirna.

Who else was here, Mrs. Forrest?

What?

Oh, yes. The ones I said and Walter Coffee, of course.

He's an old, old friend.

That's the druggist?

But he was once a deputy, wasn't he?

In charge of the local sheriff's office?

Yes, that's right.

And he was the person in charge

of investigating your son's death?

Yes. He wouldn't believe me either

Did you serve refreshments last night?

Just cocktails and...

Ralph had a little sherry, I believe.

And what did you talk about?

Mr. Mason, I didn't go around accusing,

if that's what you mean.

To Kevin, yes, I said something to Kevin privately, but...

Then why did you have those particular people together?

Don't you understand?

Nothing is straight anymore.

Ralph is dead now.

Ralph killed my son,

and Ralph is dead now, and I cried all night long.

Did I do it?

I didn't mean for Ralph to be dead like this.

Maybe I didn't really want anyone else to die.

Mrs. Forrest, uh, excuse me.

It's all right, Ben. Mr. Mason, this is...

We've already met. Is there word yet, Sergeant?

Well, no go on the mushrooms we stole from Tony's cellar,

if that's what you mean,

but would you tell me about this, Mrs. Forrest?

Now you'll all really say I'm crazy, won't you?

It's a country sort of remedy.

It does help sometime.

You see, Mr. Mason, I have sciatica.

I made Walter get that for me. I'd read about it in a magazine.

What is it?

Sounds silly even to say it.

It's rattlesnake venom.

What?!

Yeah, I was kind of surprised, too,

when I found it in the icebox, but not anymore.

You see, the laboratories say this is the stuff

that killed Ralph Day;

made him bleed to death.

Oh, no...

No...

No... No, no.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Forrest,

but the same man who brought the coroner's report

also brought a warrant for your arrest.

Mr. Drake, I told the sheriff's office

- we'd only be here about an hour. - I know.

I appreciate your using your influence to get me in.

No, no, anything to help Lucille,

but you don't sound like you found very much.

If you're going to telephone Mr. Mason before they go into court.

That's the trouble. I found too much.

For instance, that burned piece of newspaper

that Perry noticed there.

I figured it was an issue that might have been torn out

of the files and destroyed so I wouldn't see something.

But the issue's in the files where it belongs,

and there isn't one single item in it that even relates

to Dick Forrest or anything we're looking for.

Well, I guess Ralph could have printed

a special paper easy enough.

Maybe the one in the files there.

No, I thought of that.

The library loaned me their copy, same date.

It's the real issue, all right, word for word.

So what was the burned one? Just a spare?

Listen, Drake, there's a whole stack

of old newspapers out there.

Maybe he used it to wrap something in

or to burn something in.

Yes, but the coincidence!

A paper from the day before Dick's death.

I'll tell you a worse coincidence.

They've got Lucille in Los Angeles by now.

In about an hour, some prosecutor's going to be saying

that she murdered Ralph Day.

All right, I'll go.

What are you so itchy about, Mr. Coffee?

I just want to be sure you get your report

to Mason before, that's all.

Because I've got a message for him, too.

Like what? If you haven't got any more answers than I have.

Tell him to lay off all this ancient history about Richard.

Forget about what happened two years ago.

If he brings it up in court, he'll be sorry.

The venom of the snake is a hemolytic poison

which destroys the red blood cells.

It also contains an antifibrin component

which prevents the blood from clotting,

thus the hemorrhaging couldn't be stopped.

And how did you say this venom entered the bloodstream, Doctor?

Through breaks, lesions in the digestive tract.

In this particular case, duodenal ulcers;

a bleeding stomach.

Now, most people, of course,

could swallow the stuff without any ill effect.

But in Ralph Day's case, after drinking that sherry...

Doctor, would you tell me one other thing?

Would you, as a physician, ever prescribe rattlesnake venom

to alleviate the pain of sciatica?

No, I really don't think so.

But it is true that nonspecific proteins will give some relief

from that sort of pain.

And rattlesnake venom does contain nonspecific proteins,

so it's understandable how

that sort of folk remedy could originate.

Doctor, could you tell us, by any chance,

what rattlesnake venom tastes like?

It has no taste.

It's both tasteless and odorless.

And what does it look like?

It's a clear, golden sort of color.

Could you give us an example, Doctor?

I'd say about the same color as dry sherry wine.

My question, Doctor, was simply if rattlesnake venom is

the only poisonous substance that causes

the fatal results you've described if ingested.

There might be others.

Isn't phallin also a hemolytic poison

which attacks the red blood cells,

destroys them and causes extensive internal hemorrhaging?

Yes.

And isn't phallin a substance

present in certain poisonous mushrooms?

- Yes, it is. - Thank you, Doctor.

Just one more question, Doctor, or possibly two.

Would you mind telling us what you did yesterday?

I spent the day with two biologists from UCLA,

also a police toxicologist.

We checked on types of mushrooms in the area.

And what were the results, briefly, of your day's work?

Well, none of us believe that the particular

poisonous mushroom, the one containing phallin, that is,

can be found anywhere in the area of Forrest Junction.

Really? That'll be all, Doctor.

That's right. I stopped off to the grocery store that morning

and pick up an order for Mrs. Forrest.

Thank you, Mr. Claus.

And now would you tell us, please,

what was in that box of groceries?

Well, I don't know. I just picked up the box

and took it on home and dumped it in the kitchen for her.

I didn't pay any attention.

Why don't you stop evading me, Mr. Claus,

at least until you find out what questions I'm gonna ask you?

In that box of groceries, were there any bottles?

Yes. There was one bottle of scotch, one bottle of bourbon,

another of dry sherry.

Thank you, Mr. Claus.

Well, we arrived about 5:00, I guess.

Mirna and I, that is.

Walter was there. He was already there talking to Lucille.

And Ralph came in about 15 minutes later, I guess.

Now, did anyone else come in while you were there?

No, that's all there was. Just the five of us.

Now, you said that you were drinking cocktails.

Do you remember exactly what each of you had to drink?

I had a couple of bourbon highballs,

Walter the same, I guess,

and Lucille was sipping some scotch, I believe.

And what about your wife?

Um, she asked for a Sloe Gin Fizz.

Really?

All right, that brings us to the deceased, Ralph Day.

Now, what did he drink?

Ralph always kidded himself

that a little sherry wouldn't hurt him,

so he had, mm, two small wine glasses of it, I guess.

Very well. Now, Mr. Lawrence, will you tell us this?

Who mixed and served all of those drinks?

Lucille Forrest.

She made all the drinks and served all of them.

That'll be all, sir, thank you.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Lawrence, you state

that no one was in the house except the five of you.

That's right.

Could you possibly be sure?

Didn't you go out to the barn to see Tony Claus

to get some mushrooms?

Now wait a second, Mr. Mason,

I didn't go out to get those mushrooms

until we'd all said our good-byes to Lucille.

Mirna drove Ralph back to our place,

and that's when I went out to get the mushrooms,

after the party was all over.

And why did Ralph Day want to have dinner

at your place that night?

Oh, yes, yes. He, uh, he asked to borrow some money, $800.

There were some bills on the newspaper...

Did you lend it to him?

No. Ralph was always worried.

He was always asking to borrow, sweating his taxes.

Mr. Lawrence, my investigators tell me that Mr. Day

somehow managed to pay is bills, keep his head just above water.

In spite of the fact that a small-town newspaper is

notoriously risky business,

and that he had almost no money in the bank.

Well, that's true, but Ralph was worried all the time.

He had ulcers.

Perhaps someone helped him pay his bills?

What?

Is it possible my investigators

might find that you really have loaned money to Ralph Day?

Perhaps given it to him

- or paid it for... - Now, wait a second, Mr. Mason.

That's not true.

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

Neither do I know what you're talking about, Mr. Mason.

Your Honor, this is the most improper,

- irrelevant... - Strike that last question and answer.

Mr. Mason,

unless you rephrase what it is you're driving at...

I'll go on to something else, Your Honor.

Mr. Lawrence, you made a casual reference earlier,

to having briefly met the defendant

in a railroad station more than a week ago.

Right after she got back to town.

Yes, that's right. I was on my way to Los Angeles.

I had a business meeting there early the next morning.

But after your return the next day,

we find that you turned in a stolen car report

to the sheriff's office. Now, will you explain that?

Well, when I drive to the station,

I always just leave my car in the street behind the garage,

uh, with the keys in it.

Then the garage man, Joe...

That's Joe sitting over there...

Always parks it inside when there's a space for it.

Before closing time.

That night, he found the car two blocks away.

Then the car was returned to you?

There was no damage, nothing wrong?

No, but, uh...

Then why did you report it as a stolen car?

I don't quite understand.

That has nothing to do with this, Mr. Mason.

Recently there's been a lot of vandalism

by the youngsters in our town.

Joyriding in other people's cars.

Well, I just hoped I'd be able

to scare some of the kids, that's all.

I'm running for office in this town on the platform...

Why on earth create an issue out of it?

I'm trying to understand you, Mr. Lawrence.

And why on earth ask

all these ridiculous questions, Mr. Mason?

I'm trying to understand you.

You could object in a better manner, Mr. Burger,

but I'll sustain you, regardless.

Mr. Mason.

I'll withdraw the question, Your Honor.

That's all.

I have one more question, Your Honor,

under redirect, if I may.

Mr. Lawrence, returning for a moment to the subject

of those drinks you had that night at the defendant's.

Was there any incident, an accident, perhaps,

that happened during that part of the evening

which you have not told us about?

Uh, yes, there was.

Ralph was very nervous that night.

He dropped his glass, his empty glass.

Lucille thought nothing of it.

She tidied up quickly,

but the glass broke on the floor.

Now referring to these bits of glass, Sergeant,

which we've introduced in evidence

as people's exhibit three,

what sort of testing did you have them subject it to?

Oh, chemical analysis, fingerprint.

And with what results?

We found the fingerprints of the decedent, Ralph Day,

and those of the defendant, Mrs. Forrest.

Sergeant, did your analysis

of the sherry wine reveal anything else?

Yes, it contained definite traces of rattlesnake venom.

Don't give up hope, everybody.

I think I've got something.

Hold it, Paul, he's adding.

And it makes no sense.

Nobody in that town in the past two years

has become suddenly richer or suddenly poorer.

Well, then I've got to complicate it even more for you.

I just got a report from San Francisco,

and Ralph Day, the man who was always trying

to borrow money from people,

had $10,000 in a savings and loan company up there.

Why, the miser.

Here's some more of that real estate dope.

But, Perry, this stuff doesn't change the fact

that nobody had a reason

for killing Ralph Day except Lucille.

And even if her motive was imaginary,

Burger seems to be making it stick.

So what good you do think you...

All right, Paul, what we need now is a plow.

Plow? Good idea. What are we digging for?

Nothing. I just want you to buy one for me.

But I've already admitted to the prosecutor

that I was the one that supplied Lucille

with the rattlesnake venom.

I put her in touch with a herpetologist,

a fellow who has a snake farm, that's all.

Then I picked it up for her.

That's the day after she came back to town here.

Was that the first time

she'd used this unusual remedy for sciatic pain?

No, the first time was about a year and a half ago.

She thought that it helped her.

So I got her to check with a doctor.

So other people knew about it, then?

Mr. Mason, I'm sure that Lucille's friends

knew all about that rattlesnake venom.

Now, two years ago,

you were connected with the sheriff's office,

is that right?

Yeah, a man in a small town,

he's got to wear several hats.

And two years ago you were personally in charge

of the investigation into the death of Richard Forrest?

Yes.

But since we're not here to look into ancient...

The prosecutor has already opened the door

to this "ancient history", Mr. Coffee,

by suggesting that the defendant might have looked upon Ralph Day

as the murderer of her son.

Well, maybe so,

but I'll be blamed if I can see...

Why are you so afraid of going through that door?

Is it because you don't believe Richard was murdered?

No, I don't. I never did.

There wasn't one piece of evidence,

not a single person with a motive.

Motive?

Of course, no one hated Richard Forrest.

And from your personal knowledge,

do you know of one person in Forrest Junction

with a motive for murdering Ralph Day?

No, I don't.

That's what makes it so blame disgusting for...

But suppose I showed you a motive?

- Suppose I... - Your Honor, this really...

May it please the court,

defense is prepared to introduce evidence that Ralph Day,

who tried to borrow money on the night of his death,

has at least $10,000 in one out-of-town bank account.

I think I'd like to hear what else

you have to ask this witness, Mr. Mason.

Go on please.

Perhaps he has more money that we don't know of yet.

Would that surprise you, Mr. Coffee?

Well, just the $10,000 surprises me.

I know the newspaper didn't make much,

and I'm sure that Ralph didn't inherit or anything.

And then, he's tried to borrow from me several times.

As a matter of fact... Why?

Can you think why a man

would insistently want his friends

to think he didn't have money?

You bet I can. To keep it secret.

To keep something secret.

Something wrong, obviously.

Like the fact that he was a blackmailer, Mr. Coffee?

Your Honor, I really must insist...

I'm sorry, Mr. Mason, you'll simply have

to confine yourself to proper questioning.

Very well, Your Honor.

From your official investigation of the death of Richard Forrest,

Mr. Coffee, can you swear that Richard was not murdered?

No.

No, I can't.

Now you said Ralph Day tried to borrow money from you.

When was that?

Well, the last time was right at Lucille's party.

That's what I started to say.

I asked Ralph what for,

and he said he might have to sell the newspaper.

Can you remember his exact words?

I'd just stood up,

because Mirna'd come with a refill,

and then I went to the couch by Ralph.

Now, wait a minute.

Who brought you a refill?

Who brought you a drink?

Mirna, Mirna Lawrence.

Yes, I fixed him a drink, but just Walter.

Really, I don't know why Kevin didn't remember

when he was up here.

So Lucille Forrest wasn't

the only person who mixed drinks,

who went to the kitchen?

Well, I only went out that once.

Furthermore, I would like to point out

there's nothing so unusual about a Sloe Gin Fizz.

It's what I always used to drink there,

and Lucille still had all the stuff you put in it,

only she left out a little gin.

Well, I didn't want to say anything.

And then Walter, he waved his glass at me

as I was easing into the kitchen, sort of...

All right, Mrs. Lawrence, all right.

But now let me go back two years.

The day of the death of Richard Forrest,

you waited for the men to return to their hunting camp,

- isn't that right? - Yes.

I drove up in the morning,

but Kevin said he had to get a deer.

So I waited, that's all.

Did you see or talk to Dick Forrest

before he went hunting?

Well, not much.

What do you mean?

Dick wouldn't talk to me, that's all.

He was sort of pale and grim looking.

There was no personal trouble between you? No lovers' quarrel?

What?

Of course not.

As a matter of fact, the reason I drove up there

was to explain to Kevin

why I'd been out with someone else the night before.

Who?

Him.

His name is Joseph Sullivan,

and he's a wonderful dancer.

Mr. Mason.

Yes, Your Honor.

I'll return to the present case,

to the murder of Ralph Day.

Oh, I think that's a very good idea, too,

because I want to state very clearly that I did not

pour any rattlesnake poison into anybody's drink.

But hasn't it occurred to you, Mrs. Lawrence,

that whoever was responsible for Ralph's death

didn't even need to be

within a quarter mile of that kitchen or that party?

What?

It's occurred to you, hasn't it, Mr. Claus?

The police testified there wasn't any venom

in the sherry bottle.

Won't we find that you bought another bottle?

Wouldn't it have been quite easy

to put venom in one sherry bottle,

put it in the icebox, then later that evening,

replace it with the first uncontaminated bottle?

No, I didn't do that. I...

Mr. Claus, you've been on that ranch

for nearly 25 years now, haven't you?

Yes, old Jed Forrest was almost like a father to me.

He let you run things.

When he became older,

even do his buying and selling for him,

even after a housekeeper

- and her children moved... - I've done a good job.

And he rewarded you generously by remembering you in his will.

How much did he leave you?

- Wasn't it $50,000 dollars? - That's right.

Where's the $50,000 now, Mr. Claus?

I bought some real estate up north.

I'm in quite a lot of real estate.

Yes, I find that's quite true.

It puzzled me for a while

until we checked on dates of purchase.

So far, we can't find one piece of land

which you've bought after you inherited that money.

Now, where did you get the money before that?

I'm not going to answer any more questions. I'm not...

Was it at places like the Fresno auction?

What?

We have only telephoned answers

from farm equipment salesmen,

but I warn you, Mr. Claus, some of these men

are quite willing to admit they used to give you kickbacks.

Full price to Mr. Forrest on the record,

cash into your pocket.

That's got nothing to do with Ralph Day.

It had a great deal to do with Richard Forrest, didn't it?

What happened, did he find you out?

Accuse you of cheating his father?

I won't answer.

You dropped him off at the hunting camp that morning.

He was upset.

A short time later, Ralph Day left the camp to drive home.

Did Ralph see you along the road, see your car,

- see what you were doing? - All right!

All right, I killed Dick!

He was trying to get his father to run me off the place.

I a lot more right there

than him or his mother.

I asked you about Ralph Day, Mr. Claus.

Oh, yeah, good old Ralph.

He saw me.

For two years, I've been paying him off,

one way or another.

My inheritance, every penny of it.

And then when Lucille got back to the ranch,

he said to me, "You're still running things.

You could start stealing from the ranch again."

He wanted another $50,000.

Do you know he even printed up a phony edition

of that paper of his with a phony story in it?

He said he was gonna let you guys find it

if I didn't come through.

That's why I had to kill him.

Like I had to kill Dick.

Like I had to kill the both of them!

How on earth did you guess, Mr. Mason?

Ms. Forrest, if you didn't kill Ralph,

and no one else had had recent difficulty with him,

then his death must have been triggered

by your return to Forrest Junction.

I still don't understand.

Well, what else happened at the same time?

The estate went back to Mrs. Forrest.

And you've admitted you didn't even

pay attention to how much you own.

So, you triggered Ralph's greed,

he triggered Tony's anger.

Q.E.D.

You know, Tony's now admitted

that he even tried to kill you.

Tried to smash you up in your car

before you even got home from the railroad station.

Poor Tony.

We were the interlopers.

He thought the ranch really belonged to him,

- didn't he? - Now, don't get

to feeling sorry for the killer.

Feel sorry for me,

who's been so stupid all this time.

Not to realize that a woman's intuition

- is worth... - Walter, stop it.

I almost wish that I hadn't been so right

about what happened to Richard.

It scares me when think...

Now, don't think you're right all the time.

Come along, old woman, we got to go.

Now, wait a minute, both of you.

We thought you might enjoy

having dinner with us before you...

I'm sorry, Mr. Mason,

we have a date with a specialist.

You don't think I'm going to enjoy a girl

until she's nicer to her sciatica?