Perry Mason (1957–1966): Season 1, Episode 28 - The Case of the Daring Decoy - full transcript

Daniel P. Conway is fighting for control of Cal Texas Oil with Warner Griffith. Conway returns to his private office to find Rose Calvert in his office. He confronts her about her activity but she only admits to straightening his office. Amelia Armitage, unknown to Conway appears pleading with him to work harder to keep control of the company to preserve the stockholder's investment. Later, after Rose calls Griffith to tell him she has the papers he wants, Conway receives a call telling him to go to a phone booth to wait for a call for further help. There he receives a call to go to room 709 at another building. There he finds Rose dead and a gun from his company's accounting office which he removes. After contacting Perry, Perry goes to see Griffith's wife who admits contacting Conway but missed him at the phone booth. She gives Perry a picture of Rose her husband took who may be the murder victim. Tragg picks up Conway who is identified by the elevator operator who has a unique way of identifying people by their shoes which Perry can't refute.

Oh, Mr. Conway.

What are you doing
in here? Well, I...

Where's Miss Eastman?

She just stepped
out for a minute.

So did I, but you stepped in.

What are you after in here?

Nothing.

Nothing, Mr. Conway, honestly.

Miss Eastman, why would Miss
Calvert be in my private office?

Well, I just came in to
straighten out your desk for you.

Well, there wasn't
anything to do outside,



so I thought while you
were out of your office,

I'd just straighten
out your desk for you.

How long has Miss Calvert
been employed by us?

A year. Almost a year.

What department
before this? Accounting.

No contact with Warner Griffith?

Warner who?

Miss Calvert wouldn't have had
anything to do with Mr. Griffith,

but perhaps we'd better
send her back to Accounting.

Then perhaps we'd better.

Hello, Warner?

Warner, it's me, Rose.

I've got them, Warner,
the papers you wanted.

All right. I'll wait for you.



Period, paragraph.

We'll be able to take care of the
new order of business in Texas

as soon as the annual stockholders'
meeting is out of the way.

That is, providing that
I'm re-elected, of course.

Miss Eastman.

I've turned my files
in this desk inside out.

Now, there's no doubt that Rose
Calvert has managed to steal

the confidential
Texas documents.

These are of great importance.

Who are you?

How did you get in
here? What do you want?

Amelia Armitage. The
outer door was open.

To speak to you.
Well, it's after hours.

Well, I realize that, but
unfortunately this can't wait.

What are you doing to protect
yourself and the company

against Warner Griffith?

What do you know
about Warner Griffith?

Well, I know that
you and Mr. Griffith

are fighting for
control of Cal-Texas.

Go on, madam.

Therefore, Mr. Conway,

shouldn't you be doing something
to combat Mr. Griffith's activities?

Something about getting
yourself re-elected?

There are 3,419
stockholders, including myself.

Most of them own a few shares

and they're dependent on
the dividends they're paid.

Griffith would bleed them white.

And you help them.

Tell them your side.
Don't lose touch with them.

Good night, Mr. Conway.

Wait a minute, madam.

Uh, Mrs... Uh, miss.

Miss.

I'm not married, Mr. Conway.

Information, I'd like the night
number of Cal-Texas Explorations.

It's on Wilshire.

Providing this meets with the
approval of the board of directors.

Period, paragraph.

(RINGING) Also regarding the...

Conway speaking.

WOMAN: Mr. Conway,
I have information

which can be a
tremendous help to you

in your fight for
control of Cal-Texas.

Oh, really?

I've got a list of the proxies

Warner Griffith has
already obtained

and the names of the
stockholders who gave them to him.

Would it help you?
Well, of course it would.

Who is this speaking, please?

I'm sorry. I can't
give you my name.

Do you know you're
being followed?

Why, no. You are, and I
believe your phone is tapped.

That's why I've got
to take precautions.

All right, what do you suggest?

There are six phone booths in the
Empire Drug at Welton and La Brea.

Go to the one
farthest from the door.

At exactly 8:15,
that phone will ring.

Well, this is real
cloak-and-dagger.

If nothing has gone wrong,

that call at exactly 8:15
will direct you to me.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello? WOMAN: Mr. Conway?

Speaking.

Meet me at the Hotel
Red Fern, room 709.

When? Now.

Well, now, just a minute. Do you
want to lose everything to Griffith?

I'll be there in 10 minutes.

Seven, please.

(DOORBELL BUZZING)

Hello?

Anybody in here?

You walked down from
the seventh floor, huh?

Seventh floor, miss.

CONWAY: So my first thought was to
get in touch with our corporation counsel.

I finally found Mr. Varnell at
the Bar Association dinner.

Rather a stroke of
luck that you were sitting

at the same table
with me, eh, Mason?

I must tell you again how much
Mr. Conway appreciates this.

Smith and Wesson .38,

Serial number C
for Charlie, 48809.

Well, what do you think?

I think it wasn't very bright of
Mr. Conway to remove the gun.

I told you I wasn't
thinking clearly.

When I recognized it as
belonging to the company,

I... Well, I guess I panicked.

Now, how well did you
know this Rose Calvert?

Look, I didn't kill the girl.

I... I wasn't there more than
two or three minutes at the most.

Now was there, uh...

Was there anyone in your office

when you received
this first phone call?

No.

Did you, uh, see anyone at
the drugstore who knew you?

So there is actually no
proof of those phone calls?

Whether you believe it or not,
Mr. Mason, a woman called me.

Well, I'm not making this up.

Did you recognize her voice?

Well, it sounded familiar.

I... I think I've
heard it before.

Where?

Was it Rose Calvert's voice?

I don't think so.

What about that woman who walked
into your office earlier this evening?

Do you recall her name?

Wait a minute.

Now I know why that
voice sounded familiar.

It was Mrs. Griffith.

Warner's wife? Well,
that's impossible.

Maybe so, Varnell,

but it's the first thing
that's made sense.

If Conway is being
framed by Griffith,

Griffith would have to use
someone he could trust.

Della, get hold of Paul Drake.

See if he can locate
Warner Griffith.

Have Paul turn this, uh,
gun over to the police.

Really, Mason,
is that advisable?

Well, it's evidence. The
police are entitled to it.

Well, you do what
you feel is best.

Well, I think, under
the circumstances,

we'd better get Mr. Conway
out of circulation for a while.

Someplace he can
stay out of sight.

How about one of those
motels on Tracy Boulevard?

Good.

Mr. Conway, you're to use your own
car and register under your own name.

In the meantime, I want
to talk with Mrs. Griffith.

Mason, I'm afraid
it'll be impossible

for Mr. Conway to do as you ask.

If he disappears now, he
may lose control of Cal-Texas.

If he doesn't, he
may lose his life.

You can't imagine
how flattered I was

to get a call from
you, Mr. Mason.

I've always been
an admirer of yours.

Well, thank you.

I know I must apologize for intruding
so late in the evening, Mrs. Griffith.

Not at all. I'm flattered.

Now, what can I do for you?

You might start by telling me why
you phoned my client, Dan Conway,

earlier this evening
and led him into a trap.

I did no such thing.
What gave you that idea?

Now, Mrs. Griffith, we're
reasonably intelligent people.

You used a telephone.
Calls can be traced.

But I didn't use this...

I walked into it, didn't I?

Then you admit it?

What else can I do?

Isn't it fortunate there
were no witnesses?

Do you intend to deny you made
those phone calls to Conway?

Of course.

All right.

Now, just for my
own information,

why did you send him to room
709 of the Red Fern Hotel?

Why did I do what?

This is no joking
matter, Mrs. Griffith.

A woman has been murdered.

Who?

The police haven't
identified her yet.

What has all that to do with me?

It has to do with your
instructions to Conway.

I didn't have a chance to
give him any instructions.

He was supposed to
be at the Empire Drug

at exactly 8:15 to get my call

and he wasn't there.

He was there. He took a call.

Not mine.

Someone pretending to be you?

I thought his office
phone was tapped.

Why would you
want to help Conway?

Wouldn't that be against
your husband's best interests?

My husband's interests are
no longer mine, Mr. Mason.

Where is Mr. Griffith?

I haven't the slightest idea.

Did you see him today? No.

And the next time I
see him, it'll be in court.

Take a look at that.

One of his hobbies
is photography.

I won't comment on the others.

I found three poses like that

in an undeveloped roll
of film in his camera.

Fascinates you, too, huh?

When Warner left Cal-Texas,

he employed this girl
for some part-time work,

that proxy thing.

What's her name?
Rose Calvert, Mrs.

Uh, but she's separated
from her husband.

Where does she do
this part-time work?

At your husband's office?

I don't know. But
if you're interested,

she lives at the Sorrento
Arms, apartment 319.

Thank you.

Now, about those
proxies for Dan Conway.

Well, I can't give them
to him now. Why not?

Well, if there's been a
murder, as you say... There has.

Well, I can't afford to
have anything come out

that would jeopardize my
position with my husband.

I'm gonna light up
enough fireworks in court.

May I?

I promise not to show
it to your husband.

I don't know what
you see in her.

She's the kind that'll run
to fat in another 10 years.

I don't think she'll
have that problem now.

Good night. Good night.

(DOORBELL RINGING)

Mr. Calvert?

What do you want? Who are you?

Name's Mason.
I'd like to talk to you.

At this time of night?

Who'd you say you
are? Perry Mason.

It's very important,
Mr. Calvert.

Oh, yeah.

Now I place you.

You're a lawyer.

If you're here
about Rose... I am.

Well, I'm not gonna
give her a divorce.

I told her that.

Oh, she'll come to her
senses pretty quickly. She, uh...

She has a good
thing here with me.

See, this house is all paid for.

Not a cent of mortgage on it.

Oh, sure, she still likes to
have some fun and she's young,

but I figure it's better to have
your house paid for than to...

When did she leave
you, Mr. Calvert?

It'll be seven
months, February 9th.

I may have bad news for you.

Bad news?

I'm trying to identify a woman

who was murdered several
hours ago in Los Angeles.

Murdered?

It may have been your wife.

Murdered? Rose?

No, you're wrong.

Perhaps I am.

I located you from a return
address written on a letter

sticking out of Mrs. Calvert's
mailbox at the Sorrento Arms.

Is it your wife?

Yes.

Was she, uh... She doing
some modeling in LA?

Is that why she's
dressed like this?

Possibly.

I shouldn't have
let her leave me.

I figured

if she got all that making
fun out of her system, you see,

then she'd still
be here with me.

Murdered.

This house is all paid for.
Not a cent of mortgage on it.

I... I told her just before
she left. I said, "Rose, this...

"This is security for you,
for the rest of your life."

(DOOR OPENING)

Oh, I didn't expect you
back from Ellendale so soon.

Traffic was light.

May I have some
coffee? I could use a cup.

I made a gallon. Trouble?

Mmm-hmm. Conway?

Tragg has an all points
bulletin out for his arrest.

Where did you leave Conway?

Glade Motel, unit 22.

By the way, Paul says
Tragg's raising you-know-what.

He wants to know
where you got the gun.

Where's Paul
now? In your office.

He has a friend with
him. A Mr. Warner Griffith.

Shall I get my pad?

Oh, no, you don't.
You've done enough today.

Straight home.

Who's going to do your dishes?

You will, tomorrow.
Have a good night.

Good night.

(DOOR CLOSING)

Hi, Perry.

Mr. Griffith, Mr. Mason.

This is a great
pleasure, Mr. Mason.

I understand you've been
looking for me. Yes, I have.

I hope I won't seem
presumptuous if I ask why.

Haven't you read the
sunrise edition of the paper?

I assume you're referring
to the murder in room 709.

I'm referring to the
murder of Rose Calvert.

Now, you must have
recognized her picture.

Why didn't you go to the police?

Well, I just saw the
headlines as I got to my club.

Mr. Drake was waiting for me.

I thought I was being very
cooperative in coming here.

Did you know Rose Calvert while you were
associated with the Cal-Texas Company?

Why, of course.

Who paid for room 709
at the Hotel Red Fern?

Why did Rose Calvert
register under an alias?

Why did she, Mason?

I have a theory.

Be my guest.

A theory that you
might be the murderer.

Oh, really?

A theory that you
used Rose Calvert

as your contact
in Conway's office.

That she finally
delivered the goods.

That your relationship with Rose

was a great deal more intimate

than that of employer-employee.

That your wife
found out about it

and threatened
you with a divorce.

That you realized,
at that moment,

that Rose Calvert was
no longer useful to you,

but was actually a liability.

What time was Miss
Calvert murdered, Counselor?

Paul?

The coroner established it
between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Now, isn't that a shame?

Your beautiful theory
right out the window.

My plane reservations.

I've been in Phoenix, Arizona
since early yesterday morning.

Just got back about 1:00.

How could I have
killed her from Phoenix?

Unless I stuck pins
in a voodoo doll.

Now did she die that way, Mason?

(INTERCOM BUZZING)

Yeah? MAN: Mr. Burger,

Lieutenant Tragg and
Mr. Mason are on their way in.

Good.

Sit down, Mason.

Thank you.

And thank you for
sending Lieutenant Tragg

to issue a personal invitation.

I just wanted to
make sure you got it.

I'm going to ask you
some questions, Mason.

I want some straight answers.

Where's Daniel Conway?

As a matter of
fact, I don't know.

I haven't spoken
with him this morning.

Next question? The gun.

It checks out as the murder
weapon. How did you get it?

That information is
confidential for the time being.

Uh-huh.

Well, you're right
in form, Mason.

Misusing the basic safeguards of
the law to suit your own purposes.

I turned the gun over
to Lieutenant Tragg

as soon as I learned it was
a possible murder weapon.

And withheld the
identity of the decedent.

I didn't know her
identity, not positively.

Would you have me
speculate on a matter like that?

I'd have you smelling
brimstone through a nail hole

if it was up to me.

And that may be just
closer than you think,

because this time,

Lieutenant Tragg and I figured
the way you'd figure, Mason.

You wouldn't send
your client out of town.

That would be
resorting to flight.

And you wouldn't try to
hide him here under an alias.

That would be secreting.

No, the way you'd figure it,

the best way to
conceal your client

would be to have him
register at a middle-class motel

using his right name
and driving his own car.

Lieutenant.

Believe me, Perry.

We've looked high and low
and we just can't find this girl.

You've got to find her, Paul.

She didn't barge
into Conway's office

on the night of the
murder just by chance.

Well, stranger things
have happened.

Well, how would she
know Conway was there?

It was after hours. Everyone
else in the building...

(INTERCOM BUZZING)

Yes?

DELLA: Sorry to bother you,

but there's a Miss Amelia
Armitage here to see you.

Armitage?

She's a stockholder
in Cal-Texas.

Oh, tell her to see Mr. Varnell.

He's their company's attorney.

We've our own headaches.

Maybe she can solve them.

She claims she's the one who
talked to Conway in his office that night.

Now, do you still want
her to see Varnell?

Bring her right in, Della.

You, uh, want me to shove off?

No, no, you stay. Get
a chair, will you, Paul?

Sure.

MASON: Come in, please.

Mr. Mason, I really
appreciate this.

I know how busy you are.

Miss Armitage, Mr. Drake.

How do you do,
Mr. Drake? How do you do?

Sit down, won't you? Thank you.

I understand you go
to trial on Thursday.

Yes, we do.

How are Mr. Conway's chances?

Excellent.

I'm so glad.

He impressed me as being a
very bright and intelligent man.

He is.

Now, I understand you were in Mr. Conway's
office on the night of the murder.

That's right.

What time was this?

Well, it was around 7:00.

And just as I was leaving
the office, the telephone rang.

Perhaps it was wrong of me,

but I... I did a little
eavesdropping.

I heard Mr. Conway make that
appointment to go to the drugstore.

Go on.

Well, it sounded so intriguing,

I followed him there.

Now, I saw him
enter a phone booth

and I believe it was the
second one from the end.

After a few seconds,
the phone rang.

What time was that?

Around 8:10.

Miss Armitage,

would you be willing to
tell that story on the stand?

Well, of course.

I've already told Mr. Burger,
the district attorney.

Have you? What did he say?

Well, he suggested that
I come and talk to you.

I see.

Thank you.

Thank you very
much for coming by.

What's wrong?

You read about those
phone calls in the papers.

I did not!

Do you realize if you'd
told that story on the stand,

you'd be guilty of perjury?

I know that
Mr. Conway is innocent.

MASON: How?

Well, I... I just
know it, that's all.

I'm afraid our courts don't recognize
womanly intuition as evidence.

Thank you again, Miss Armitage.

I'm sorry I wasted
your time, Mr. Mason.

I'll see you out.

No, please, don't bother.

(DOOR CLOSING)

She was only trying to help.

That kind of help could put
Conway in the gas chamber.

What made you
suspect she was lying?

Mmm, her story about the
phone calls wasn't quite correct.

Then when she said
Burger sent her over here...

Well, I learned long ago

to look Mr. Burger's gift
horses right in the mouth.

Check on that girl, Paul. Sure.

I'm going over to see Conway.

And we will prove that the
defendant, Daniel Conway,

did willfully murder Rose Calvert
on the night of January 20th.

That he went to her hotel room
with just that thought in mind.

After you've heard the evidence,

ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,

the State will ask you for a
verdict of murder in the first degree.

Then the morgue attendant
asked me if I recognized the body.

It was Rose, my wife.

When did you first learn
of Mrs. Calvert's death?

Well, a man came to
see me around midnight.

He had a picture of Rose and...

I don't know where he got it.

He said that she was murdered.

I... I couldn't believe it, so I got
in touch with the sheriff's office.

And you told the sheriff that this
midnight visitor had showed you a picture,

which you identified
as your wife?

Yes, sir, and I
wanted to find out

whether it was true
that she was murdered.

Because that's what your midnight
visitor had told you? Yes, sir.

That's all.

I have no questions
of this witness,

but I will stipulate I
was the midnight visitor

referred to by the prosecution.

You may step down, Mr. Calvert.

We, uh, received an anonymous
tip and were checking it out.

We found the body in room
709 of the Hotel Red Fern

at about 8:40 on the
evening of January 20th.

Did you find any
fingerprints in the room?

Just one set.

A right hand on the desk chair.

Could you identify those prints?

Yes, we did.

They belonged to Daniel
Conway, the defendant.

Lieutenant, since there was only one
set of prints found in the whole room

and since the defendant
has the customary two hands,

couldn't we assume that
he made every possible effort

to remove all evidence
of his visit to room 709?

I object, Your Honor,

as calling for a conclusion
from the witness.

Sustained.

Later that same
night, Lieutenant,

did you receive a
package containing

a Smith and Wesson
.38 caliber revolver?

I did.

Is this the gun in question?

Yes, it is.

Perhaps the jury would
care to examine the exhibit.

You heard Mr. Fred
Calvert testify

that verification of the
identity of the deceased

was made by Mr. Mason at about
12:00. TRAGG: Yes. Yes, I did.

When did you receive
news of that verification?

About 7:00 the
following morning.

I presume you received it
from Mr. Mason. No, I did not.

I got it from Mr. Fred Calvert.

Your Honor, I object to this
whole line of questioning.

It's immaterial, irrelevant
and certainly incompetent.

Mr. Burger, if you
are insinuating

that Mr. Mason withheld
information from the police,

that is another matter than
the one we are concerned with

and I uphold
Mr. Mason's objection.

I have no further
questions for this witness.

Lieutenant Tragg,

a rather pointed implication
has just been made

concerning my
behavior in this case.

An implication that I've
been guilty of misconduct.

Now, I think we ought to
clarify that issue, don't you?

Yes, I do.

Now, when you first
spoke to Mr. Calvert,

what exactly did he say?

Well, he told me that you
showed him a picture of his wife.

Did he tell you at that time
that I knew it was his wife? No.

Of course not, because
I had no way of knowing

at that time that the
deceased was Rose Calvert

or that she was the
wife of Fred Calvert.

I thought if she were,

her husband would probably
go to the morgue and identify her,

which apparently is
just exactly what he did.

If you want me to say that you did what
any cooperative citizen would have done...

Well, didn't I, Lieutenant?

What did you say,
Lieutenant? Yes.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Miss Jordan, you're employed as an
elevator operator at the Hotel Red Fern?

Yes, sir.

And you have
identified Daniel Conway

as having visited that hotel

on the evening of January 20th?

Yes, sir.

I remember I was
reading a book at the time.

I left him off on
the seventh floor.

What time of day was this?

Around 8:30.

Thank you.

Miss Jordan, you say
you were reading a book

when you took the
defendant to the seventh floor?

That's right.

What was the name of this book?

You Could Die Laughing.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Was it, uh... Was
it interesting?

Very. I couldn't put it down.

Well, if you couldn't
put the book down,

how could you possibly have
recognized the defendant's face?

Thank you, Miss
Jordan. That's all.

Your Honor, I have a
question on redirect.

Miss Jordan,

you didn't say
that you recognized

the defendant by
his face, did you?

No, sir.

How did you recognize him?

By his feet.

(ALL LAUGHING)

By his feet?

Yes, sir.

You see, I sit all day
at the elevator controls,

and I read when I'm not too busy,
which I'm never too busy, anyway,

so mostly I see shoes and feet.

So it's kind of a
hobby. I study them.

Have you any documentation
for this unusual ability?

Well, not outside of the tests
they made of me at Stanford.

What were the
findings of these tests?

They called me
phenomenal, a quirk of nature.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Of course, there was the
write-up of me in Time Week,

when all those professors
from the University of Chicago

came to the hotel and...
That's all, Miss Jordan. I think...

Of course, it was
real easy with him

because I dropped
him on the seventh floor

and a little while later,

I pick him up
on the sixth floor.

And I said to him,

"You walked down
a flight, didn't you?"

That's all, Miss Jordan.
Thank you very much.

JUDGE: You may step down.

I call Warner Griffith.

Mr. Griffith,

you were a member
of the board of directors

of the Cal-Texas
Explorations, is that so?

Until about four months ago.

And you had certain
policy disagreements

with the president and chairman
of the board, Mr. Daniel Conway?

That is correct. I see.

Now, Mr. Griffith,

did you employ the
deceased, Rose Calvert,

as a part-time secretary
after you left Cal-Texas?

That's right.

What kind of work was
this, Mr. Griffith, confidential?

Extremely.

Having to do with
lists of proxies

you were gathering for
the upcoming meeting?

Yes, sir, but that wasn't
the most important work.

There was something a
great deal more valuable.

A great deal.

And what was that?

A white paper

having to do with
certain investigations

I'd been making of
Conway's recent field trips

and other information
Rose Calvert supplied me.

Would you tell us
about this information

and these investigations,
please, Mr. Griffith?

Objection, Your Honor.

In addition to the question being
incompetent, immaterial and irrelevant,

it also calls for
hearsay testimony.

It seems to me, Mr. Mason,

that this goes to the
question of motivation.

And I will therefore allow
it. Your objection overruled.

Go ahead, Mr. Griffith.

The white paper
concerned evidence

that Conway was turning
over to our competitors

information of oil leases,

which Cal-Texas has spent
thousands of dollars to compile.

Let me state the
proposition, Mr. Griffith.

It would be a matter of vital
importance to Daniel Conway

to know how much
proof you had against him,

to know how much information

Rose Calvert had taken
from his office, wouldn't it?

GRIFFITH: Yes. Your Honor...

Mrs. Calvert kept this white
paper hidden at her place of work,

room 709 of the
Hotel Red Fern? Yes.

So anybody looking for it
would have to tear the place apart

in order to find it,
wouldn't he? Yes.

Objection.

Your Honor, I've tried to be
patient during this interrogation,

but the district attorney has
consistently been leading the witness,

calling for opinions.

You're quite right, Mr. Mason.

You will refrain from this
type of questioning, Mr. Burger.

But, Your Honor,

we've already proven that the
white paper represented a threat

to one man and to only
one man, Daniel Conway,

and that only Daniel Conway knew
that Rose Calvert had stolen it from him.

That's right. She
could have ruined him.

That's why he killed her.

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

(DOORBELL BUZZING)

Hello. I thought you
were going to come alone.

I brought Mavis along
for a little experiment.

What kind of an experiment?

You heard her
testify in court today

that she could identify
people by their feet or shoes.

Yes, I heard it.

That's what I'd
like her to test.

Not here, you're not.

Why not, Mrs. Griffith?

Because I don't want her
messing around in my closet.

We'll either do this here
tonight or in court tomorrow.

Now, it's up to you.

All right, go ahead.

Where are your shoes?

Here.

That's them.

These are the ones she
wore the day of the murder?

Hey, what is this?

Yeah, she got out
on the seventh floor.

She's got a good, sturdy step.

She doesn't wobble
like most women.

Seventh floor?
What seventh floor?

It won't do, Mrs. Griffith.

You were at the Hotel Red
Fern on the night of the murder.

What's more, you were in room
709 and you searched room 709.

Well?

How can she remember
that it was that pair?

Why did you go to the hotel?

I...

To have it out
with Rose Calvert.

I wasn't going to let her take
my husband without a fight.

Even if the fight
came to murder?

No, no, I found her dead.

I didn't kill her
and that's the truth.

Is it?

I went up there so
angry at Warner,

I wouldn't have cared if
he'd been skewered alive.

I hated him.

And then I saw her dead.

And I thought Warner
did it. What can I do?

One second I hated him

and the next I
had to protect him.

Somehow I had to make sure
the police didn't think of him.

So you telephoned Daniel Conway?

Yes.

You telephoned him both times.

You tricked him into
going to the hotel. Yes.

But first you turned the room
upside down looking for evidence

that might link your
husband with the murder.

Did you find some? No.

No, of course not.

Warner Griffith wouldn't be so
careless as to leave evidence around.

Then you wiped the
room clean of fingerprints

and then you telephoned the police so
they might find Conway with the body.

Now, do you still say you hate
your husband, Mrs. Griffith?

But it wasn't Warner, Mr. Mason.

He was in Phoenix, he said.

I know.

I know that's what he said.

Come on, Mavis.

(SOBBING)

Perry, there's no doubt
Griffith was in Phoenix.

No doubt? None. My operative
checked. He was there, all right.

But your hunch was right, too.

Time in Phoenix unaccounted for?

Uh-huh. About 6:00 to 11:00
the evening of the murder.

Check on that 6:00 to
11:00, will you, Paul?

Okay.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

BAILIFF: All rise, please.

This court is now in session.

Mr. Griffith,

your white paper states

that company
information was delivered

into the hands of
competitors by Daniel Conway.

That's correct.

And did this information have to do
with certain fine buying opportunities?

You bet it did.

Then wouldn't it have
been good business practice

for Cal-Texas to have made
arrangements with a few smaller companies

in order to buy these lands
and leases for Cal-Texas?

And wasn't that in truth exactly
what Daniel Conway was doing?

If Conway was
manipulating things like that,

it wasn't apparent to me.

It's rather an obvious
business maneuver, isn't it?

As a man who aspires to
be president of Cal-Texas,

it should be obvious
to you, shouldn't it?

Well, there are
wheels within wheels.

Indeed there are.

Several thousand
people are involved

in these Cal-Texas
findings and explorations.

To, uh, satisfy your
own personal ambitions,

you've caused them to sacrifice,
in part, some of their security.

For, with this smear of Conway,

the market value of their
stock has depreciated.

Now, that's true,
isn't it, Mr. Griffith?

Well, I...

Well, is it, Mr. Griffith?

Your Honor, this is unfair.

This is putting me in a
most embarrassing position.

It seems to me, you've
placed yourself in this position.

Answer counsel's question.

Yes.

Then, actually, this white
paper was just a cheap trick

to discredit Daniel Conway

and could not possibly have been
a motive for Rose Calvert's murder.

Now, if there was one
thing in that white paper

besides what I've mentioned,

tell the jury and tell them now.

Your Honor, I object.

This question has already
been asked and answered.

I think counsel is entitled to a
direct statement from the witness,

but we don't have to belabor
the point, do we, Mr. Mason?

It needed stating, Your
Honor. I'm satisfied.

Now, Mr. Griffith,

you were aware that a gun had been
purchased by the Accounting department

while you were still with
the Cal-Texas Company?

Yes.

And Rose Calvert worked in
the Accounting department?

Yes.

Have you seen that gun recently?

I don't mean in court yesterday.

Yes.

Was that gun in the
possession of Rose Calvert?

Yes.

She had taken it from
the Cal-Texas office.

Now, did she keep it in room
709 of the Red Fern Hotel?

I don't know. Did she give
it to you to hold for her?

No.

But you did have access to it?

Yes, I... I guess so.

Rose Calvert was
an attractive woman.

Was there anything between you,
other than a business relationship?

Your Honor, I object.
Mr. Griffith is not on trial.

Your Honor, I contend
this is within the scope

of cross-examination.

I'm going to sustain
this objection.

Very well.

Mr. Griffith,

did you see Rose Calvert
on the day she was murdered?

I was in Phoenix, Arizona.

There are five hours unaccounted
for on your day in Phoenix.

From 6:00 to 11:00.

You had time to
hire a private plane,

fly here,

return to Phoenix in time to catch a
scheduled flight back to Los Angeles.

Well, that's ridiculous.
I did no such thing.

Do you deny seeing
Rose Calvert or visiting her

on the day she was murdered?

The closest I
came to visiting her

was when I had to return from
Phoenix early in the morning.

I went to Rose's apartment
house, the Sorrento Arms.

She was supposed
to wait up for me,

but she wasn't there.

Did you take a letter from her
mailbox at the Sorrento Arms?

No.

Mr. Griffith, there's
been testimony

that a letter was
sent to Rose Calvert

and that it was in her mailbox
on the day she was murdered,

and that letter seems
to have disappeared.

Now remembering
you're still under oath,

I ask you once again,

did you examine that mailbox

and did you remove
such a letter?

I did not.

I... I can't say

that I acted like a
gentleman in this thing,

but I didn't remove any letter.

And I didn't kill her.

Your Honor, if I may
recall a previous witness,

I believe I can prove
someone is lying.

Your Honor, I don't see why we
must have any more irregularity

in the conduct of this trial.

Mr. Mason has gone
far afield already.

What witness, Mr. Mason?

Fred Calvert.

I see no reason why
he can't be recalled.

Fred Calvert will
please come forward.

You may step down, Mr. Griffith.

Thank you.

JUDGE: The witness
needn't be sworn in again.

He's still under oath.

Mr. Calvert,

when I went to visit you on
the night of Rose's murder,

I told you I'd gotten your
address from your wife's mailbox.

Do you remember that?

No. No, I don't.

You don't remember that?

Well, there were so
many things happening,

so many things.

But it was just about midnight
when I got to your house, wasn't it?

Midnight? Yes.

And when I left,
what did you do?

Well, I went to the
sheriff in Ellendale

and we drove to LA and
I identified my wife, Rose.

That was about 7:00 in
the morning, wasn't it?

Yes.

About 7:00.

But that's almost seven hours.

I drove from Los Angeles to
your house in just about an hour.

Why did it take
you all that time?

Well, it did, you know.

Was there something
else you had to do

before you went to see
the sheriff in Ellendale?

No.

What was in that
letter, Mr. Calvert?

Did you threaten your wife

because she had fallen in
love with Warner Griffith?

No.

But there was something in that letter
that would direct suspicion toward you

so that you had to drive to
Los Angeles, pick up the letter

and then drive
back to Ellendale.

That's what took
so long, didn't it? No.

You did a lot of traveling
on the day of the murder.

All right, you won't
leave me alone. I did it.

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

What did you do, Mr. Calvert?

I did go and get that letter,

but not for what you said.

It was because I
wanted that deed back.

What deed?

To my house.

I sent it to her

because I thought that if I gave her
my house, she'd come back to me.

But when she died...

Well, why should her
relatives get my house?

Why did you keep denying that
you went after that letter, Mr. Calvert?

Well...

It's against the law,

tampering with the
mails, you know.

And besides, it was
my letter to begin with.

Why should I want to kill her?

I wanted her back. I loved her.

But she wasn't coming back.

You found that out
when you went to the

Hotel Red Fern, room
709, earlier that night.

About 7:45, to be
exact, wasn't it?

No.

Maybe you didn't
intend killing her.

Maybe you just
wanted to plead with her.

No, no.

But she wasn't going
to come back to you.

She got angry with you. Did
she threaten you with that gun?

What gun?

The gun she kept in her
hotel room, the murder weapon.

No.

You keep saying no,
just as you did previously,

but you don't mean it now any more
than you meant it before, do you?

Your Honor, I protest.

You took that gun away from her.

You suddenly got angry with her.

After all, you'd given her your
house, your mortgage-free house,

everything she
could want in life.

Now maybe the gun
went off just by accident.

Just by accident?

No.

Your Honor, this is pure conjecture
on the part of the defense counsel.

Just a moment, Mr. Burger.

Your Honor, I ask
the court's indulgence.

What for, Mr. Mason?

I'd like the witness to step down
to clarify a point of identification.

All right. Step
down, Mr. Calvert.

Would you stand here in
front of the jury, please?

Uh, Miss Mavis Jordan, please.

Miss Jordan is the elevator
operator at the Hotel Red Fern.

I'd like her to look at your
shoes, if you don't mind.

I loved my wife.

Honest, I did, Mr. Mason.

Just a moment, Miss Jordan.

I don't think we'll
need your identification.

I thought she'd come to her
senses and come back to me.

She wouldn't.

She was willing to
give up everything,

even the house.

Then you went to that hotel
room and you killed her?

Yes.

Just the way you
said it, Mr. Mason.

It was exactly the way you said.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(PIANO PLAYING) You
know, it was a funny thing.

What's that, Perry?

Oh, Calvert standing
in front of the jury,

Mavis staring at his shoes.

Yes, I wondered. Why didn't
you let her finish her identification?

He couldn't. Well, why?

She couldn't. Calvert was
wearing a different pair of shoes.

Well, I'm glad there's
a happy ending.

Hello. Well, hello there.

I know I should
apologize for intruding,

but I... I just wanted
to say congratulations.

Oh, thank you very much,

but I still have the annual
stockholders' meeting ahead of me.

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

Uh, you don't have to worry about
that stockholders' meeting, Mr. Conway.

Well, why not,
miss, uh... Armitage.

Amelia Armitage.

Wait a... Are you from
Running Springs, Texas?

That's right. Well,
then your family owns...

37% of the controlling
shares of Cal-Texas.

Well, it looks like you
have it made, young fella.

I think we'd better be going.

Good luck,
Mr. Conway. Thank you.

Uh, good night, Miss Armitage.

Good night.

He's about 33, isn't he?

That's a good age for
her, don't you think?

What are you up
to now, Miss Fix-it?

Well, I just thought since they
were both so interested in Cal-Texas,

it would be a good
time for a merger.

Oh, come on.