Original subtitles

You scared the devil out of me, Moose.

Nobody ever got the devil out of you. You're all devil.

Since when does our sheriff patrol in his own car and in civilian clothes?

You haven't changed, have you, Elaine?

You always did know the best way to win an argument:

never be on the defensive.

What do you want, Moose?

Are you gonna psychoanalyze me, talk about old times or put me in jail?

Arrest Dick Bayler's wife?

No.

No, I'm no brighter than I was when we were in high school, Elaine,

but I'm not stupid either.

Will you get out of the way?

Wait a minute.

You're too smart to be fooling around with this two-bit musician.

Why don't you just turn around?

There's nothing at the end of this road but trouble for you.

You don't know what trouble is.

Do you wanna keep that badge?

Then keep your dirty ideas in your dirty mind.

It's beautiful.

I'm gonna call it "Concerto for Cynthia."

Don, darling, I thought it was for Mrs. Bayler.

Oh. She's my patron.

You're my girl.

Do you know what?

What?

Maybe, just maybe, I'm in love with you.

Get your things and get out.

I don't take orders from you.

I'll leave when Don tells me to and not before.

Look, you've got no right to come ba...

No right?

This is my cottage, my wine, my candles, and you're on my time.

This place you own, not me.

Oh, you do have some pride.

That's a surprise. Good.

Your girlfriend can pack your things. You're getting out of here tonight.

But first, you're coming with me.

We have an appointment at Scarlet Point.

Wait a minute. What's got you screaming at high C?

What have I done?

What's changed all of a sudden?

Come on. Now!

Don't go, Don. You don't need her.

With your talent, you don't need anyone else.

Something's wrong. I better find out what it is.

Start packing my things.

Don, you don't know who you're to meet or why or what set her off.

- Don't go. - Darling, do as I tell you.

Please.

Get in.

- Tell me what this is about. - Why don't you tell me

about the lies you made up to regale your beatnik friends at Natasha's?

Elaine, I swear I've never said a word.

You swear. You liar.

Put this money in this envelope.

And read this.

"Your husband will learn of monkey business with Hobart

unless you leave 10,000 Wednesday night

in barricade pipe stanchion Scarlet Point.

Fink about this and you are dead."

Have you gone to the sheriff?

Moose?

And give him something to show to my husband?

Nobody's gonna know about this but us.

I know who's pulled this extortion.

Nobody holds me up and gets away with it.

Elaine, that guy could be here.

Waiting.

Let's leave the money and beat it.

I thought people were awake at dawn up here in the backcountry.

Bayler's estate is the biggest one on the lake.

Why don't you admit it, Paul?

California's most brilliant private detective is lost.

California's most brilliant attorney isn't much help.

No wonder we can't find anyone. They're all here.

No parking here.

We're from out of town, officer. We're looking for the Bayler Estate.

You up here to see Mr. Bayler?

- Yes, I'm his attorney. - Well, he's up with the sheriff.

Come on, I'll take you in.

Oh, come on now, honey.

I don't wanna give you a hard time,

but I picked up Hobart right after I heard the shots.

- Is my son awake? - You saw them leave the cottage.

She made him go with her.

All right, if she made him go with her, then he didn't wanna go, right?

And they argued, right?

Well, she busted in on us.

- She was jealous. - No.

In fact, she told me to pack Don's things.

Well, then I thought she was throwing him out.

That made him mad.

I know what phonies like you are made of, Hobart.

No-talent bums

who trade on a pretty face and a good line to take the gullible,

who figure world owes them something

because they can daub a brush or sing a song or play a piano.

- Why did you kill her? - I didn't kill her!

And I don't have to answer your questions, Mr. Bayler.

You'll answer.

When I get through with you, you'll answer.

Don couldn't have fired that pistol.

I tried to teach him to shoot

and he can't hit a 6-foot target from 10 feet away.

- How did you know it was a pistol? - Well, it sounded like a pistol.

So from a quarter mile away, you heard the shots.

Somebody tried to blackmail her,

saying there was something between her and me. Well, there wasn't.

And she was gonna leave the money at the Point

and try to find out who did it.

So I put the money in a pipe stanchion and that's when I heard the shots.

You liar. The sheriff didn't find any money there.

Now, listen, I'm warning you, honey, this guy is not worth protecting.

You're just getting yourself in deeper and deeper.

Now, suppose we make a deal.

You give me the straight dope

and you can go right back to Natasha's and be there in time for work.

I've told you what I know.

It's just not what you wanna hear.

- What's his girlfriend doing here? - You are gonna have to hold up

until Mr. Bayler comes out.

Now, keep it quiet or I'll make you wait outside the building.

I think you're...

- Perry Mason? - Bayler's attorney.

- Did you fly up? - DA know you're here?

Maybe Bayler called Mason

to assist the DA in prosecuting the killer.

He killed her.

Unless there's something we can do, the business can wait.

No, I want you to stay, Perry.

Life goes on.

I'll sign the contracts you brought up.

You're a hometown kid, Cynthia.

And you're not gonna let us down.

You're not gonna let a crumb bum like this

get away with killing a fine lady like Mrs. Bayler.

He didn't do it.

Okay. You can go.

Mr. Bayler, I'm terribly sorry about your wife.

But Don didn't kill her.

You speak when you're spoken to.

Don't talk to her like that, Bayler.

It burns you up, doesn't it?

Because there's at least one human being in town

that won't start singing when you give the downbeat.

You watch what you say.

All right, get him out of here.

Here they come now.

- Did you confess, Hobart? - How about it, sheriff?

What's Mason doing in there?

Don't you see what's happening?

He's an outsider.

They're gonna make a scapegoat out of him.

He has rights.

He does have rights, doesn't he?

The girl is right, Dick.

Her friend was being physically abused.

He didn't have benefit of counsel.

Her friend?

That's put with Victorian quaintness.

Their relationship has nothing to do with it.

It has everything to do with it.

Elaine kept cash, I don't know how much, in her room.

There's not a dollar there now.

I figure she went down there to pay them off.

A variation of the badger game?

Exactly.

She probably used the money to bait them.

And when she threatened to put him in jail, that phony musician killed her.

My son.

I told you I wanted to see Howard as soon as he got up.

Yes, sir, but he was not in his room.

- Get him. - Yes, sir.

Your father wishes to see you, Mr. Bayler.

Mr. Bayler.

Mark, when you mister me, you're mad.

Now, what did I do?

Your father doesn't know it, but you weren't home at all last night,

and it's not the first time.

Well, as long as he doesn't know it.

That idiotic target shooting, I owe that to Cynthia Perkins too.

She probably can't write her own name legibly,

but she won a national pistol match

and became Scarlet Center's celebrity for a week.

Elaine told her to stay away from him.

I didn't know we had company.

Son, this is Perry Mason and Paul Drake.

- My son, Howard. - How do you do?

Let's go inside, son. I have to tell you something.

I, uh, think we better go.

Oh, wait.

We'll get down to business soon as Ed Kesko gets in from Sacramento.

We'd like to check in at the hotel anyway, Dick.

My secretary is due with the papers we'll need.

I'm sure you and your son could use the privacy right now.

What is it?

It's about your mother, son.

What did she do? Leave you?

What happened?

- Is she dead? - I'm sorry, Howard.

I guess you didn't know my stepmother very well, Mr. Mason.

I had gotten used to the idea that, one way or another,

she wasn't gonna be around here much longer.

Howard.

But, uh... Well, uh, I'll tell you, Cynthia, a murder case takes a lot of time.

Charlie, please, I've been to three different lawyers

and they all say the same thing.

Not much of a compliment to me coming here

after you run out of lawyers.

Charlie, is everybody in this town afraid of Bayler?

Of course not.

But, uh, Cynthia, what you really need is a good criminal lawyer.

The best one in California is in town right now, Perry Mason.

Maybe if you could raise the money, uh...

Mason, Drake, how the devil are you?

Glad you're here. Your boss is coming apart at the seams.

Maybe you can calm him down. I tried, but without success.

Well, I can feel for him.

He tries to play the tough operator.

But the truth is, he loved Elaine and needed her,

even though she did give him a hard time.

Perry. Come on back in here. I wanna talk to you.

Ed, you too.

Well, come on.

Well, I guess at a time like this, you just gotta make allowances.

I'll be right back.

I just talked to that Cynthia Perkins.

She had the gall to call you here.

I'll give it to you straight, Perry. You're not to see her.

I told the girl in the sheriff's office in your presence

that I wouldn't consider defending Hobart.

I'm here for a brief vacation and a few hours of business.

As soon as you've signed contracts,

Paul and I will be moving up the coast to fish.

But, Dick,

I don't like being ordered around any more than you do.

Now, come on, fellas, there's no sense in this kind of arguing.

Shut up.

That girl has been turned down by one lawyer after another,

and now she's trying to reach you.

No reason why I shouldn't do that.

I pay you a $10,000 retainer each and every year,

and that's reason enough.

Not reason enough for me.

You have an obligation to me as my attorney.

Yes, I do.

But it's not going to conflict with my obligation

as an officer of the court, as a citizen and as a human being.

You listen to me.

No, you listen to me for a change.

There's a mob psychology building up here.

I saw it in the streets this morning.

I saw it in the sheriff's office.

I see it here in the newspaper you own.

Headlines read by every potential juror in this town.

It couldn't be more obvious. He's convicted before he's tried.

He killed Elaine.

If you help him in any way, you'll pay for it.

You understand?

Yes, Dick.

I understand.

That's more like it.

You know, what I've always liked about you, Perry,

you're tough, but you're practical.

To, uh, ahem... To justice.

Your retainer will be returned in full in the mail tomorrow morning.

Now, wait a minute.

What's wrong?

We just drank to justice.

The truth of the matter is,

she's not as blind as she looks.

If he tries to defend that coffeehouse bum in my town...

This may be hard to believe, Dick,

but there's a few people around that you can't buy.

How would you know?

I pay you to open doors in Sacramento,

not to open your mouth around me.

Howard, your radio.

I didn't dare hope you'd defend Don, Mr. Mason.

Let me make myself clearly understood, Cynthia.

I haven't said I'd defend him.

As I told you, when you got off the train this afternoon,

by tomorrow at this time,

Paul and I will be at the other end of two fishing lines.

Of course you will.

Cynthia and Hobart...

- What's his first name? - Don.

Cynthia and Don are gonna tell me everything that happened

the night of murder. You take down every word.

Then with Paul, we'll go over the transcript,

and then we...

I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

Oh, that's all right, sheriff.

I suppose everyone has to wait an hour and 20 minutes.

I take it you're Hobart's lawyer, Mr. Mason.

Well, I'm only consulting with him.

Come on, it's 15 minutes before he eats,

so you'll have to make it short.

That won't be enough time.

Well, that's okay by me if he wants to miss chow.

I'm overwhelmed by your cooperative attitude, sheriff.

Sorry, ladies, nobody else sees the prisoner.

No, it's important that I get Miss Perkins and Mr. Hobart together.

Sure, you'd like to get them together so he'll lie and she'll swear to it.

No dice. Just you. Those are my orders.

Who gives you your orders, sheriff?

You wanna see the guy or don't you?

Now, before you say anything, Mr. Hobart,

I want you to know I'm not gonna be your lawyer.

So don't tell me anything you want kept confidential.

Just tell me what you've told the police and what you are going to tell them.

I gotta get a lawyer.

I'll try to get you one.

Now, you were saying that you and Cynthia were alone.

Right. That's when Elaine came in there

and started screaming like Lucia.

Had she been angry with you before?

Not that mad.

I mean, uh...

Well, to tell the truth, Mr. Mason, she'd been bugging me lately

because I hadn't been turning out the symphony.

Yeah, see, she set me up at the cottage,

gave me food, money, you know, patron of the arts.

It was darned decent of her, but, uh...

But she expected you to be her lover.

Oh, no, no.

Elaine Bayler was quite a woman, Mr. Mason,

but, uh, she didn't cheat, at least not with me.

No, it was just that...

Well, she expected me to sit down and write music

as if all I had to do were to turn on a faucet and let it pour.

I had to live.

It's not easy to play jazz piano all night at Natasha's

and to write your symphony all day.

What happened when you left the cottage?

Uh, Elaine showed me the note.

Describe the note as you remember it.

Well, uh, it was made up of letters cut out of newspapers.

Said she'd be killed if she told about it

and to leave $10,000 in the barricade pipe at Scarlet Point

or they'd tell her husband she'd been carrying out with me.

- She had the money with her? - Yes. Yeah.

She gave me an envelope to put it in and told me to stick it in the pipe.

- And you did. - Uh-huh.

Did you hear or see anything unusual during that time?

A car went by, I think, on the main road.

Yeah, I heard it.

And then after I put the money in the pipe, I heard the two shots.

But if she were right there,

why didn't you see who fired the shots or hear them run away?

She wasn't right there. She backed the car around

to hide it in the bushes, so it wouldn't be seen.

She wanted to wait there and see who took the money.

That's why she picked me up, to be a witness.

What did you do when you heard the shots?

Well, I ran down the road toward the car.

And that's when the sheriff grabbed me.

Was he in his car?

No, he was standing over Elaine.

And he put his fist in my mouth before I could say a word.

Mr. Mason, I've told them everything I've told you,

but they've got their minds made up. They're gonna kill me.

- Did they find the gun? - I don't know.

Don, do you have a gun?

No.

Well, uh, there are a few guns in the case at the cottage.

Belong to Mr. Bayler, I guess.

Mr. Mason, I wouldn't know a .22 target pistol from a shotgun.

I hate guns.

And I'll be back to see you tomorrow.

Try to get some sleep.

- Uh, sheriff. - Sleep? Ha.

With this hanging over me?

Oh, Mr. Mason, I forgot to tell you. Ed Kesko came by to see me.

- Why? - I don't know.

I've talked to him a few times at Natasha's, but...

Did he ask you any questions?

No, just talked.

Oh, he did ask about the money, how much money there was.

All right. Good night.

Now, sheriff, I suggest you feed Mr. Hobart.

That's a joke. I told you he was gonna miss chow.

If he does, I'll hit you with a court order,

petition for a change of venue,

and advise the press that you're abusing your prisoner.

And if you think that's a joke, try me.

I wouldn't do that if I were you.

This is snake country, friend.

You ought to be wearing boots if you're gonna tromp around in this brush.

You're right. Thanks.

- My name's Aaron. - Paul Drake.

You're working on the Bayler murder?

Yeah. Aaron, uh, you know this area?

Pretty well.

Well, if you could spare about an hour of your time

and maybe show me around and answer a few questions,

it's worth $20.

Doesn't hardly seem right.

All right, 25.

Put your money away.

You fellas used to living in the city got a set against a man doing a favor

for a stranger.

And what do you figure that means?

Well...

These tracks are deep.

They were made by a heavy car, I'd guess the Bayler car.

Now, these tires are smaller, lighter impression,

and they go up to the dead end.

Now, it's my guess that after the heavy car went up toward the Point,

the lighter car that had gone to the dead end backed out here.

This fresh gash in the tree and the blue paint

would indicate that whoever backed out

was in a hurry and drove a blue car.

That's pretty good, Mr. Drake. Pretty darned good.

Thirty feet.

That tell you anything, Mr. Drake?

No, not yet.

But that broken branch would indicate

that a car with a high antenna for transmitting was here.

That's smart.

Good figuring.

Not really. I knew the sheriff was here last night.

Now, from those tracks in the road,

the position of Mrs. Bayler's car and those bullet holes,

the shots must have been fired from someplace over there.

Sheriff.

Sheriff, this is Paul Drake.

What do you want, Drake?

Just some information.

If you want information, read the papers.

Sheriff, I'd like to cooperate with you.

Anything I don't need any more of, it's cooperation.

Now, clear out.

Aaron, see he gets back to the road, will you?

That sheriff is gonna die young.

He stays mad.

I bet those shots were fired from over there.

I'd like to know if they turned up the money or the blackmail note yet.

I have learned a few things from you today, Mr. Drake,

so I'm gonna tell you some back.

They haven't found the money yet and I'm not sure they ever will find it.

They did find the note, though, in the car.

Don Hobart told the truth about that anyway.

And right over there is where the shots were fired.

How do you know that?

Well, for one thing, I picked up these two .22 cartridges over there.

Well, I'll be.

Do you know if the gun's turned up?

Not yet.

Aaron, Lady Luck smiled on me when I found you.

It's nice to meet one person in this town who's on our side.

Now, those are the first two mistakes you've made today, Mr. Drake.

You didn't find me, I found you.

And I'm not on your side.

Now, I'm Moose Dalton's lab technician,

fingerprint expert and ballistics man.

But the truth never hurt anybody.

And I'm willing to wait until after the trial

to put Don Hobart in a gas chamber.

Now, here is the pipe where Hobart put the money.

Here's where the shots were fired.

Here's where Mrs. Bayler's car was parked

and here's where the sheriff's car was parked.

Now, I walked back through the woods on this side to the dead end road

where the little blue car turned in

after the Bayler car had gone up to the Point.

Someone had been there before me.

And as the matted track was erratic, it must have been at night.

Good job, Paul. Darned good job.

I'm impressed.

Even though I must say, I'm still laughing

about your encounter with Mr. Aaron Chambers.

Yeah, well, I'm not.

Even though I'll admit, I was only the second best detective out there today.

You're positive they haven't found the weapon.

Well, they hadn't when I got back, and it was almost dark by then.

That could be bad. Very bad.

- Why? - Well, it can't hurt Hobart.

He was picked up at the scene and he didn't have the gun.

So whoever killed Elaine Bayler must have carried it off.

Well...

Let's go. PAUL: Where to?

Why, to find the gun.

There's supposed to be a gun case in here.

I just hope there's no gun missing from it.

Because if there is, your client could have taken it.

That won't be necessary, Mr. Drake.

- Aaron. - I heard a car coming,

thought I'd wait and see who'd be visiting here this time of night.

- Well, my name is... - Oh, I know you, Mr. Mason.

Been reading about you for years.

Now, that pretty lady there, I don't know her.

- Miss Street, this is Mister... - Chambers.

I think you were interested in that gun case, Mr. Mason.

Well, they're all here.

At least we know if Hobart did fire the shots,

he didn't use a gun he had access to.

Would seem that way, wouldn't it?

Of course, this isn't the only place he could've gotten a gun.

You play beautifully.

I'm amazed at your touch.

Do you have any other talents, Aaron, like, uh, maybe skydiving?

Nope. Tried it once and didn't like it.

Well, thanks for everything, Mr. Chambers. I enjoyed meeting you.

Well, my pleasure.

Well, see you folks around.

Good night, Aaron.

Good night.

All right, you can come out now. They're gone.

You were telling me why you came out here, Mr. Kesko.

Perry, what is the matter with you?

You haven't said one word since we left Mr. Chambers.

I'm baffled, that's all.

Yeah, Chambers has the same effect on me.

No, it's not Chambers that's bothering me.

That .22 target pistol has been fired recently.

But Don Hobart couldn't have put it back in the case

if indeed it is the murder weapon.

But that's great.

You subpoena the gun, and if it is the murder weapon,

you can prove that Don couldn't possibly have returned it.

No, Della, that's too simple, too convenient.

- Paul? - I'll be with you in a minute.

Perry.

Oh, come right in. Here's a good table.

There.

Isn't Cynthia working tonight?

Oh, she'll be out.

She's got a little problem. She's cooling him off back in her room.

Well,

you can see this is no place for a guy with a headache tonight.

See, it's tourist weekend, this is.

If they're gonna have something to talk about all winter,

then we've gotta put on a show for them,

you know, like make them feel Bohemian.

This is the show?

You don't think Abe over there is an artist, do you?

He drives a laundry truck during the week.

And these kids, they hardly ever dance like this.

And most of the time we put on, like, folk singing

with a small combo, of course.

And until the police wise up and let Don Hobart go,

we're out a piano player.

I can recommend one.

Do you know Aaron Chambers?

Oh, sure. He came in here a few times with Elaine Bayler.

He used to sit in with the combo, plays trumpet.

Elaine Bayler come in often?

No, not lately.

She used to.

Until her old man, Dick Bayler, put the nix on it.

Said if I didn't keep her out of here, he'd close me up.

What was bothering him?

Oh, Don Hobart, I suppose.

But Bayler was all wrong.

Hobart's not a bad kid.

I never had any trouble with him.

Believe me, if he killed Elaine Bayler, then I'm a ballerina.

And besides, Cynthia had a thing for him,

if you know what I mean.

Hey, Ed, baby.

Good evening.

I'm sorry we haven't been able to get together, Perry.

But anything that's between you and Dick Bayler is...

Well, it doesn't mean that we've got a feud.

Of course not, Ed. Sit down.

No, thanks, I'm just gonna have a snort and get right back.

- Nice to see you. - Oh, Ed,

I understand you were asking my client about the money that's missing.

Well, yes, I did talk to him.

Dick wanted me to check.

But there's no problem about that now. The money has been found.

- Where? - At Scarlet Point.

The sheriff was out there wandering around alone and he found it.

How much money was there?

I think Moose said it was $2,000.

You think this is a madhouse, huh?

I wouldn't trade places with Ed Kesko for all the money.

He works for a madman in a madhouse.

Every day of his life.

And now, it must be even worse.

You know why?

Because he introduced Elaine Bayler to Don Hobart.

Pardon me.

Hey, listen, you take it easy.

I don't get it. What does Bayler want?

His tinhorn police decide they can't kill me

and get away with it, so they pick up Cynthia.

I'll talk to Cynthia, Don, but you better realize one thing.

There's nothing tinhorn about this Police Department.

Give them credit for that.

Well, why does Bayler have it in for us?

I can't believe they're acting on Bayler's orders.

He may have influence to bend the law, but he can't break it.

Then why can't I talk to her?

She's just a kid. She's scared to death.

How could she help but be.

I sat in that cell and all I could think of was a movie I once saw.

The cyanide pellets dropping.

All right, Mr. Mason, you can see her now.

Paul, I'll meet you and Don back at the hotel.

They're letting you out.

You belong in here.

You dragged Cynthia out to your place.

You had her snowed as bad as you fooled Elaine.

You...

Howard.

Come in here. Now.

I swear I'm telling you the truth.

Why didn't you tell me the truth about following Don and Elaine Bayler

to Scarlet Point,

the truth about finding the gun and putting it back in the cottage,

and the truth about helping yourself to part of the money?

I didn't touch the money.

They can't say I did.

They can't say I killed that woman.

No?

Can they say you lied to them about your whereabouts?

Can they say you left tire tracks down there,

that your car scraped the tree,

that Elaine Bayler warned you to stay away from her stepson?

That the defendant purchased .22 caliber bullets

the day prior to the murder.

The blackmail note was written on her stationery.

That she threatened the decedent.

And driven by motives of jealousy, greed and revenge,

Cynthia Perkins killed Elaine Bayler.

This is not the Scarlet Center Community Theater.

There will be no applause from the spectators

or there will be no spectators.

Do you wish to make an opening statement, Mr. Mason?

- No, Your Honor. - All right, Mr. Woodmire,

call your first witness.

Yes, sir, I can identify those exhibits.

Those are the defendant's shoes.

Soil and heel imprint were traced to the area

where the shots were fired at Scarlet Point.

And this.

That target pistol was a murder weapon.

It had traces of face powder and lint on it,

which matched the same two items found in the defendant's pocketbook.

Your Honor, if the sole purpose of the district attorney

is to show that the defendant was at Scarlet Point

on the night in question,

and that she did remove that weapon from that place, defense will stipulate.

The spectators will be advised that any reaction to the proceedings here

is a prerogative of this court.

The bailiff is advised that he will remove any spectators

who challenge that prerogative.

It was about two weeks before Elaine...

Well, Elaine went down to the target range

my son has on our place.

Miss Perkins, the defendant, was there with him.

I heard some shouting, so I went down there.

I hate to put you through this, Mr. Bayler,

but what did you see and hear?

Elaine ordered her to get off the place.

When she refused to leave, Elaine called her some name,

and told her to stay away from my son.

Well, the girl picked up one of the target pistols.

She waved it at Elaine and she said:

"One day you'll talk that way to the wrong person

- and you'll get yours." - Cross-examine.

Now, Mr. Bayler,

you said the decedent called the defendant some name.

- What name? - Well, it's not the kind of thing

you say in court.

But it is the kind of thing you say in front of your son

and his invited guest.

Objection.

I don't know what you're objecting to, Mr. Woodmire.

The conclusion is logical.

Objection overruled.

Did your wife, in your presence,

ever have an argument with anyone else?

- Your Honor... - Before the district attorney objects,

I'll remind him that he opened the door in a previous examination.

- Well, Mr. Bayler? - I don't recall.

Well, Cynthia said she wanted to leave Scarlet Center.

She said...

She said she couldn't stand it any longer.

Did she say why she wouldn't leave?

She said because it'd look funny if she did.

And what day was this?

The afternoon after the, uh, murder.

Take the witness, Mr. Mason.

Howard,

where were you on the night of your stepmother's death?

Most of the time at home.

- All night? - No, sir.

- Did you sleep there? - No, sir.

Where were you?

At Natasha's.

All night?

I rode around a while.

Did you, uh, go near Scarlet Point?

No, sir.

Well, I went by the cottage

because I knew Cynthia was there with Don Hobart.

But I didn't go in.

Did you see anyone else on the road?

Anyone who could identify you and set the time?

Well, I parked.

I sat there a while. I don't know how long.

I saw the sheriff came by a couple of times.

He wasn't in his patrol car.

- He was alone? - Yes, sir.

Did you see anyone else?

Yes. Ed Kesko.

Uh, he was coming away from the Point.

Well, I tried to talk to the defendant about Mr. Bayler's son,

but she wouldn't discuss it.

She said it's a free country

and I'll see her dead before I'll let her tell me what to do.

Your witness, Mr. Mason.

Mr. Kesko, do you concur with Howard Bayler's testimony

that he saw you in the vicinity of the cottage near Scarlet Point

on the night of decedent's death?

Well, yes, I did drive by. I was going to Natasha's place.

Do you wanna tell the court about your arrival at the Bayler home

on the morning after Mrs. Bayler was shot?

Well, I didn't say that I had been in town.

Uh, Mr. Bayler had been trying to reach me in Sacramento

and he was upset already.

And I, uh...

So I just didn't correct the impression that I had been in Sacramento.

But I didn't say that I had been there.

What do you do for Mr. Bayler in Sacramento?

I'm a registered lobbyist for his interests.

You fix things for him in Sacramento and elsewhere?

Objection.

Mr. Mason, it is hardly a virtue for a lawyer

to drive thumbtacks with a sledgehammer.

- Objection sustained. - Yes, Your Honor.

I have no further questions for the witness at this time.

But I reserve the right to recall him if it should be necessary.

Well, when I talked to Elaine, the decedent,

I could see she was real upset and in a hurry to get to the cottage.

- Objection. - Sustained.

Well, let me put it this way.

What did you do after she drove off toward the cottage?

Well, I cruised the road a few times past the cottage.

I was concerned about her.

Uh, first time by, her car was there.

Second time, it was gone.

So I went on to Scarlet Point.

That's, uh, when I heard the shots.

I ran toward the sounds and I saw what had happened.

I knew I couldn't help Elaine, so I went back to my car to radio in.

And I ran into Don Hobart.

I'm going to anticipate the defense here, sheriff.

Did you see the defendant in the area?

No, sir.

It wasn't until the next day that we started smelling something fishy.

Aaron Chambers walked the area with a private detective

and they came across some tire tracks and a bruised tree.

That tied in with the heel prints that we found

near the expanded cartridges.

So we started looking for the car.

And meanwhile, we investigated the purchasers of .22 bullets.

That led us to the defendant.

Her car checked, the shoes found in her closet checked,

and the note which we found crumpled on the floor of the car

matched with her stationery.

Sheriff,

I show you this envelope, state's exhibit two.

Can you identify it?

Yes.

That's the envelope containing $2,000 which I found at the scene.

It was on a rock outcropping covered by a slab of granite

about 10 feet from the place we found the expanded cartridges

and the heel prints of the defendant.

You may cross-examine, Mr. Mason.

You made a mistake when you arrested Mr. Donald Hobart,

- didn't you, sheriff? - I never said I was perfect.

Sometimes you make a mistake and you correct it.

But when you find a suspect on the scene of a murder...

The point is, Sheriff Dalton,

if you made a mistake one time, obviously caused only by your zeal

and without regard to any other influence,

you could have made a mistake again, right?

- Objection. JUDGE: I got the point, Mr. Mason.

Objection is sustained.

Let me ask you about finding the $10,000 in the package.

Two thousand.

But I thought that when the blackmail note was read,

it said 10,000.

Well, we figure that Mrs. Bayler only put 2,000 in

since her purpose was to bait the blackmailer,

not to pay her off.

Then you do not believe that, originally, there was $10,000 in the envelope

and that someone removed part of it.

It's speculation, but that's our judgment.

Now, as I understand it,

you just happened to be going by Scarlet Point,

you just happened to look under a slab on a rock,

and there it was, the $2,000.

Two thousand dollars that all your deputies

were unable to find after two days of searching, is that correct?

I don't know what you're getting at but that's right.

If the court please,

I wish to request a two-hour recess

for the purpose of preparing a demonstration vital to my case.

I've been on the bench for 12 years,

and this is the longest preliminary hearing I can recall.

But since we're setting records, I'll go along with you.

This court stands adjourned until 2:00 this afternoon.

All right, Paul, saw it off.

Next thing you know, Moose Dalton will have me booked

- for destroying county property. - You'll have to take that chance.

Ha. We'll have to take that chance.

I ask you once more, sheriff,

has this envelope been tampered with since it came into your possession?

I put it right in the car and took it back to my office,

where I counted the money in the presence of witnesses

who signed on the face of it there.

I put the money back inside the envelope,

sealed it and put it into the safe.

Sheriff Dalton, I take your word, of course.

But since the envelope was found outside,

it might have been damp.

And since it must have been put there hurriedly,

it might have had mud on it.

Now, did you take the envelope you found,

and once you got to your office, transfer it to another envelope?

No. I told you, no.

Did you count the money when you found it?

Well, I looked inside, I saw it was money.

But I didn't count it till I got back to my office.

Your Honor, I'd like to recall Donald Hobart for cross-examination.

You may stand down, Moose.

Mr. Donald Hobart, come forward.

Mr. Hobart, you are still under oath.

You may proceed, Mr. Mason.

Now, Don, is this the same envelope the decedent gave you?

The same one she told you to place in this pipe stanchion?

Yes, sir, I'd say this is the envelope.

Will you show the court what you did with the envelope

in following Elaine Bayler's instructions?

- I put it in there. - Now, would you do it again, please?

Your Honor, I'd like to recall Sheriff Dalton to the stand.

He was just up there a minute ago.

I will have order here.

You're still under oath, Moose.

What is your belief as to how the envelope got from this stanchion

to where you tell us you found it?

Well, Aaron Chambers and I walked the ground.

And we figure that what happened was,

the defendant was waiting there for the payoff.

And she saw the money put in this stanchion.

So in the time that it took the big car to back up,

the defendant went back down the road

and shot the decedent as she had threatened.

Now, when she heard me coming, she put the gun in her purse

and waited for Donald Hobart to be picked up.

Then she went back to the stanchion, took out the package,

but by that time, I had the spotlights on.

And so not taking any chances,

she hid the envelope to be picked up later

and beat it.

She didn't wanna get caught with the money,

but she didn't mind getting caught with the murder weapon.

Now, let's see if that theory holds up.

Will you take the envelope out of the stanchion, please?

So much for your theory, sheriff.

What do you think of this theory?

That Elaine Bayler was killed by someone

who knew she would go to Scarlet Point,

that she was killed because she knew who her blackmailer was

before the shots were fired.

And the blackmailer knew he'd been discovered.

That the killer had access to the stationery used

for the extortion note.

That the killer knew the defendant had purchased .22 cartridges.

That the killer had access to the murder weapon.

But, Sheriff Dalton, the killer,

as killers always do, made a mistake.

He described the murder weapon before it was found.

He killed her not only because she was throwing him out,

not only because he could no longer trade on nonexistent talent,

he killed her because Elaine Bayler was aware of his duplicity.

"When I get through with you, they're gonna put you under the jail."

That's what she said.

"You're gonna wish you were dead."

She told me.

Was she right, Mr. Hobart?

My favorite. Royal coachman, real rainbow-killer.

You can fool around with itty-bitty trout all you want.

I go for the big ones. Now, I can just feel it.

There's a great, big, beautiful, 6- or 8-pound, large-mouthed bass

just lying out there in those weeds

waiting to pounce on my favorite spoon. They can't resist it.

Well, I'm all packed.

As soon as your train leaves, Paul and I will be out on the lake.

Did you have any trouble with your ticket?

No, no, I just didn't buy it.

I'm going to be riding back with you.

Now, wait a minute. You don't like fishing. You said so.

It's not that we don't want you with us, but you're gonna have to cut bait,

- and I just can't... - And I thought we decided that I...

Now, just a minute, if you'll let me explain.

I was just about to buy the ticket when I heard something,

- and I had to come right back here. - Something important?

The fishing season ended.

Yesterday.