07x13 - The Case of the Wednesday Woman

[bunniefuu]

(theme song playing)

Cabbie?

Oh, uh, pardon me, sir.
I'm waiting on the lady.

If she's in there visiting
one of the prisoners,

she's gonna be in there
for an hour or more.

Plenty of time to drive me
to town

and come back for her.

My Wednesday woman?

Are you kidding, Mac?

Wednesday woman?

Why, sure,
that's what I call her.

Regular as clockwork, every
Wednesday, for a year now.

She comes to visit her husband.

I'm afraid I still
don't understand.

About a month ago,
it might have been different.

But if she isn't out here, ready
to go back in five minutes,

I'll drive you to town
for nothing.

Wednesday, Stewart.
You got a visitor, your wife.

I don't want to see her.

GUARD:
Come on, man, have a heart.

What are you trying
to do to that woman?

Used to be you couldn't
wait to see her.

Now every week
for a month, she...

(exhales)

Uh, pardon me, ma'am,
would you mind sharing

a cab to town
with this gentleman?

I'd, uh, hate to miss
the train to Los Angeles.

(sighs):
All right.

MAN:
Is there something I can do?

He wouldn't see you again,
Mrs. Stewart?

Forgive me, I'm afraid your
cabbie boasted a little

of his celebrity passenger.

His Wednesday woman?

Even those who like us can be
cruel without meaning to be.

A name like that
is a sort of a catchphrase.

"Wednesday woman
visits m*rder*r husband.”

That's a lie.
It's all lies.

He didn't k*ll the man?

I've said it so many times.

No, he did not k*ll.

He fought with the man,
he struck him, that's all.

Yes, but ...
- The man had a bad heart.

He died half an hour later
of a heart attack

brought on by the blow.

Involuntary manslaughter.

Oh, yes, I think
I remember that now.

The man your husband struck
was a jeweler, wasn't he?

Your husband accused the man
of having stolen something.

A diamond, wasn't it?

The Jakarta Diamond.

You seem to remember
a great deal, Mr...?

Jack Mallory, Mrs. Stewart.

Thought it was
a sensational case.

Real headline stuff.

Half million diamond stolen,
manslaughter,

your husband in prison.

The diamond the dead man took
has never been found, has it?

You're trying to tell me
something, aren't you?

Am I?

Or am I just a stranger
passing the time of day,

trying to be,
well, kind, perhaps?

Kind, Mr. Mallory?

I think so.

Sometimes a stranger
can be a friend.

Now, wouldn't you consider it
really friendly

if I gave you, or your husband,

$ ,
for the Jakarta Diamond?

But the police never
connected your husband

with the theft of that diamond.

No, the charge was
involuntary manslaughter.

Phillip admitted
accusing Mr. Reed

of stealing the diamond
and striking Mr. Reed.

Mrs. Stewart,

does your husband
know where that diamond is?

Mr. Mason, my husband
is not a thief.

He was chief designer
and foreman

of Webber and Reed Workshop.

He also had a key to the safe
where the diamond was kept.

If he'd wanted to steal it,
he could've done it at any time.

Phillip will be released from
jail next week, on parole.

I wouldn't want him
to go back to prison

for all the diamonds
in the world.

Mrs. Stewart, frankly,
I don't understand

what it is you want me to do.

Mr. Mason,

I know that a man
on parole must have a job

and, also, that he
can't leave the state.

I happen to know
of an opportunity

of a very good job
for Phillip,

but it's back east,

and I thought that
if you and Mr. Drake

could prove that
by staying here,

Phillip would only
get in trouble,

that you, Mr. Mason,
could get permission

for him to work
out of the state,

and that you could
also, yourself,

arrange for the eastern job
to be offered to him.

You think this obviously planned
meeting between you and Mallory

was only the first step in what
could be a serious involvement

over that missing diamond?

The Jakarta Diamond is worth
half a million dollars.

People will go to any lengths
for that kind of money.

Of course, you've talked this
over with your husband?

Well, no, I haven't.

You see, my husband has refused
to see me for the last month.

Refused to see you?

(sighs) Phillip and I
were strangers,

we hardly knew each other.

Even though we worked together
in the same place

for a great many years,

we'd only been married a month
when this awful thing happened.

How very awful for you,
Mrs. Stewart.

I suppose we did
get to know one another,

to find out about one another,

up there at the prison
every Wednesday.

Phillip was just beginning
to open up when,

about a month ago,
I don't know why,

he just refused
to see me anymore.

That's why
you'd rather that

I made the arrangements
about the job?

- Yes, please, Mr. Mason.
-(knocking on door)

Hi, Miss Stewart.

Well, Paul?

Acme Casualty was the insurance
carrier stuck with paying out

half a million dollars on the
missing Jakarta Diamond.

And Mr. Mallory?

Was Acme Casualty's
chief investigator

for the western region.

Was, Paul?

DRAKE: Yes, was.

Brother Mallory, for want
of a better expression,

is now what is known
as a freelance investigator.

He quit Acme Casualty
a week ago.

Webber and Reed.

No, Mr. Webber isn't in.

Yes, I certainly will.
Mm-hmm.

Well, Mr. Mallory, you've
certainly been a stranger.

But always faithful
to you, Joyce.

When you're not being faithful
to someone else?

Give a girl a kind word
and the next thing you know,

you're being sued
for breach of promise.

Is, um, Webber in?

He's downstairs in the shop.

With the elegant Helen?

With Ormesby.

Mrs. Reed is in the showroom
with a couple of clients.

You know, she's become quite
active since Mr. Reed died

and she took over
as Mr. Webber's partner.

She was quite active
long before that.

Mr. Mallory.

Ormesby, will you
stop worshipping

that piece
and get on with it?

There's a bonded messenger

waiting to take it
to the customer.

(phone rings)

Hello? Yes, Joyce.

Mallory?

Joyce, have him wait
in your office, will you?

I'll be right up.

Bring that up as soon
as you're through with it.

Well, hello, Mr. Webber.

You were asked to wait outside.

You have no business here.

But I am here on business.

We are no longer
insured by Acme.

No one likes to take a tumble
for half a million dollars.

That's a lot of money.

WEBBER: I assure you, I would
rather have the Jakarta.

MALLORY: I thought you would.

That's why I'm here.

Thomas, tell Mallory
we're not interested.

-(door closes)
- Hello, Mrs. Reed.

What makes you think
Webber and Reed

would be interested
in stolen merchandise?

Oh, the same reason that made
Webber and Reed hire an ex-con

to manage the business.

What are you talking about?

You mean you don't know,
Mrs. Reed?

Explain it to her, Webber.

Explain how Phillip Stewart
was paroled

because Webber and Reed
guaranteed him

he could have his job back.

His job back?

Helen, please.

I'll, uh, be around if
anyone wants to talk to me.

And then after dinner,
we could take in a movie.

Not again tonight, Lester,
I have a headache.

Joyce, are you sure
you won't be...

Well, hello, Ormesby.

Well, now, that could make a
woman say "yes" in a hurry.

That's probably the only kind
of a woman you would know.

Joyce, I'll get you something
for your headache,

soon as I give this
to Mr. Webber.

He k*lled my husband,
k*lled him.

And you bring him back
to do what?

To take his place?

Since I'm buying out your
husband's interest

in the business,
I don't see

where it's any concern of yours.

I suppose you'll be changing
the name to Webber and Stewart.

WEBBER:
I only gave the man a job.

But if you must know, Webber and
Stewart would make more sense

than Reed and Bankruptcy was
making before your husband died.

Or weren't you aware
that that diamond

was only the last installment
in the story of a thief?

(gasps)

Thank you, Rosie.

Another day, another dollar.

Yep. Si, senor.

Pretty soon, a millionaire.

Gracias, mi abogado.

Sorry, Paul.

You were talking about
what you dug up.

Well, nothing you can take
into court,

but enough to be sure
that Reed was the thief.

Go on.

That's about it.
Oh, a rumble here and there

about the diamond
being smuggled into Hong Kong,

and about some mysterious woman
seen delivering a small package

to some sailor in San Pedro.

Paul, that sounds like the plot

of a -year-old
late, late movie.

I'm not paid
to write 'em, beautiful.

Just report the facts, ma'am.

Any reason why Reed
would risk getting caught

and going to prison

trying to steal
a diamond like that?

Well, maybe because of his past,

he didn't have much of a future.

Ulcers or heart trouble?

Reed was no slouch,
he had 'em both.

Also, a secluded,
little apartment

his wife didn't know about.

The eternal triangle.

Who was the custodian

of the spare pipe and slippers?

Probably the same woman seen
delivering a small package

to a sailor in San Pedro.

The same mysterious,
unidentified woman

seen leaving the apartment
minutes before Phillip Stewart

arrived and hung
the fatal KO on Reed's chin.

Paul, are you telling us,

in this roundabout way,

that Phillip Stewart
just found out about this woman

and that's why he hasn't spoken
to his wife in the last month?

Figure it out yourself.

Katherine Stewart
and this unidentified woman

who left
Reed's second apartment,

any reason why they should be
one and the same?

She was Reed's secretary
for ten years

before she married Stewart.

According to office scuttlebutt,

maybe more than his secretary.

Taxi, mister?

Oh, Phillip, please.

Won't you even look at me?

Why? Why?

Does it matter?

Yes. I love you.

Phillip.

What is it?
What happened?

There must be some reason
for this.

What do you want?
What are you trying to do?

♪♪

This thing's sure been in here
a long time, hasn't it?

You were paid your
interest in advance.

Look, if there's
anything wrong...

Keep your shirt on, buster.

I didn't say there
was anything wrong.

There's ten bucks due.

Have you got something
I could wrap that in?

- Well, just newspaper.
- Okay, come on.

(bell jingles)

MAN:
First class to Rio de Janeiro?

Did you say two weeks?

Make it in ten days.

Mmm. Well, I'll have
to confirm that.

Uh, your name, please?

John Smith.

Your phone number, Mr. Smith?

I'll call you.

You can have something nicer,
if you take it by the month.

No, two weeks will be
more than enough, thank you.

(door closes)

(music box playing melody)

Mr. Stewart!
How are you?

It's good to see you.

One of these days you're
gonna get on the elevator,

you won't know whether you're
going up or down, Ormesby.

That tray is an open invitation
to get yourself k*lled.

Oh, it wouldn't be
worth it, I'm afraid.

Mr. Stewart, I heard that
you were gonna take a vacation

in the Far East or someplace
before you came back...

Uh, I...

I forgot you're on parole,
so you can't...

Mr. Stewart!

Welcome home.
It's good to see you.

Well, thank you, Joyce.

Are Mr. Webber and Mrs. Reed in?

I'll just put
this on Mr. Webber's desk.

- He's expecting you.
- Joyce...

I'll be waiting for you
downstairs, after we close.

Well...

there was a time when
you called Ormesby a creep.

You wouldn't give him
the right time of day.

A lot happens in a year.

Where I've been...

I wouldn't know.

Let me double check
your new address.

Vista Haven Road,

apartment... ?

How did you know my address?

Why...

somebody must have mentioned it.

Everything looks the same.

Except for one thing.

STEWART:
The safe.

Mr. Webber had it moved
into his office.

They'll let me
march in the parade,

but they won't let me
carry the flag.

Everything else
is exactly as you left it.

Well, sorry, Phil,

I guess I hoped we could
just pick up the pieces.

As if nothing had happened?

No, I'm not fool enough

to think that what happened
didn't leave scars.

Why am I here, Mr. Webber?

To do a job of work,

and do it well,
as I know you can.

- Don't you believe that?
- No.

(chuckles)

Well, then why did I hire you?

Suppose you tell me that.

Six months before Reed was...

before he died,

the South Bay Museum offered you
a half a million dollars

for the Jakarta Diamond.

That's right.
I turned it down.

One week before he died,

Katherine and I
couldn't go on our...

You canceled my vacation.

Something important,
something only I could do.

You certified the sale
of the Jakarta

to the museum
for half a million dollars.

Yes. And within a week
after I had checked it out,

it had been sold
and placed in storage with us,

it was stolen from my safe.

Well, Phil,
what are you trying to say,

that... that all this adds up?

That Reed or I
couldn't collect insurance

stealing our own property,
but the property of the museum

is another matter?

That says it.

Well, it asks and it accuses.

(chuckles)
Did Reed and I use you

to carry out a criminal fraud
against the insurance company?

(laughs):
Oh, why, it's ridiculous, Phil.

Ridiculous nonsense.

Let's say no more about it, huh?

Let's just forget it, huh?
No more questions.

Of course, your, uh,
your working here

is a condition
of your parole, hmm?

Now, uh, let's act as if
you never left here at all.

Good luck, Phil.

(door closes)

(exhales)

I don't like that kind of hello.

I didn't hit you,
if that's what you mean.

I found you lying on the floor.

I got a feeling
you're Jack Mallory.

That's right.

You missed Stewart.

He, uh, started work
this morning, Mr. Drake.

You're representing
Acme Casualty, aren't you?

Oh, you know better than that,
don't you, Mr. Drake?

(exhales)
All right.

If you do find
the little bauble,

how much will Acme
pay you to get it back?

$ , , $ , .

They save , grand.

And again, it's worth
a lot more than the half million

-in insurance, isn't it?
- Much more.

So, why buy it
and sell it back to Acme

when you can make more
fencing it yourself?

Especially when I know all
the big-time western fencers?

Well, you know, you're very good
at simple arithmetic, Mr. Drake.

Not bad at geography, either.

Private eye do-it-yourself kit,

how to pump a suspect
for information.

Well, if I could find out,
you must have.

Very true. Now, we are talking
about Hong Kong, aren't we?

The Jakarta's
probably been chopped up

into half a dozen
smaller stones by now.

Hate to think we were both
wasting our time here.

Matter of fact,
I just might be able

to save you and Mr. Mason
some digging.

Reed was in trouble,

bad financial trouble.

He did steal the diamond.

And gave it to a girlfriend
for delivery in Hong Kong

by way of a sailor in San Pedro.

You do get around, Mr. Drake.

There's only one trouble.

The package that was delivered
in Hong Kong was empty.

(door opens)

(door closes)

No, Mr. Mason, I don't know
anything about that diamond.

Actually, I knew little
or nothing

about the business
until my husband died.

Mrs. Reed, my only purpose in
talking to you was, hopefully,

to avoid trouble for Phil
Stewart before it developed.

I'll cause no trouble
for Phillip Stewart.

In two weeks,
I'll be in the south of France.

You are selling out, then?

They're drawing up
the papers now.

The end of Webber and Reed.

A long and successful
partnership.

You're playing
cat and mouse with me.

Or didn't you know
my late husband

all but bankrupted the company?

He was a sick man, Mrs. Reed.

He was a stupid, selfish,

scheming and very evil man.

Trying to disprove
his own disability

by living two lives at once.

Including two women, Mrs. Reed?

Yes.

Who besides you?

Her marriage was a sham.

It was a cover-up
for what was going on

between her and my husband.

Katherine Stewart?

Is it so hard to believe

Katherine Stewart
was my husband's girlfriend?

A sham?

My marriage
to Phillip Stewart a sham?

That's what she said.

Why, Phillip and I...
I guess we've never had a chance

to make our marriage
real or a sham.

The way she means it,
Mrs. Reed, no.

Took a long time happening,

but our marriage
was for real, Mr. Mason.

All those years the two of you
working for Mr. Reed,

why did you wait so long
to get married?

I don't know, Miss Street.

Sometimes the only way
you can say what you feel

is... by not talking.

It takes so long to happen.

Then there never had been
anything between you and Reed?

Only what grows between a man
and his secretary in ten years.

A kind of sadness for the hell
that a man can make for himself.

Yeah, Reed was pretty good
at digging holes,

for himself and everybody else.

He had help.

She made him dig those holes.

- His wife?
- More, more, always more.

She spent money faster than
he could dream of making it.

She pushed him, she nagged him.

She reached inside
and clawed that man to death.

He was drowning,

just reaching out
for somebody to cling to.

You?

No, Mr. Mason.

I was never more to him,
ever, than a good friend.

And you were just doing him
a friendly favor

when you took that package
to the sailor in San Pedro?

What are you talking about?

The day Reed died,
you did go to his apartment?

Well...

yes, he-he called me.

Well, I'd just been married
to Phillip for just a few days,

and... perhaps it was silly,
maybe even wrong,

but I was afraid Phillip
wouldn't understand.

So I didn't say
anything about it.

I just went to see Mr. Reed.

It wasn't su1c1de
Reed was talking about?

No, he said he was going away.

He was gonna leave the business,
he was gonna leave his wife.

He was gonna go away
that very day.

That was all, he just
wanted to say good-bye to me.

You left just
as Phillip was arriving.

- He must have seen you.
- What?

A woman was seen
leaving Reed's apartment

just before
your husband got there.

But that's impossible.

I was there in the morning.

It was late at night
when Phillip went there.

You're sure of that?

You're telling me the truth,
you did not

go back there that night?

No, I'm sure.

Phillip.

Mr. Mason, I've never said
anything about this,

and he's never asked me...

Do you think this is why
Phillip won't see me?

Mrs. Stewart,

I think now we can
not only clear the air

between you and your husband,

but answer a lot
of other questions, too.

: tomorrow morning,

meet me
in your husband's office.

♪♪

I got the information
on that San Francisco account.

I'd like to talk
to you about it, Ormesby.

Uh, well, I'll be
in the workshop.

I'll be down in a few minutes.
Wait for me.

Sure, sure.

Please wait, Phillip.

Joyce doesn't know I'm here.

I, I came in through
the hallway door.

That's right.

You used to have the keys
to the office.

Did you also have the key
to his apartment?

The key to...

The door was open,
I just walked in here.

The door is still open.

Are you gonna spend
the rest of your life

letting a lie eat you up inside?

Katherine, I k*lled a man.

I have to live with that,
and it isn't easy.

A little over a month ago,
I discovered

I loved a woman

who had only used me
to help a married man

she had planned
to run away with.

Living with that won't be easy,

so don't play
any more games with me.

My shoulders aren't strong
enough to carry any more.

I did go to his apartment
that day,

in the morning,
to say good-bye to him.

He was going away
with another woman.

Another woman?

Another woman?

Al ever felt for David Reed
was pity.

Pity and disgust.

It was never,
never anything more than that.

Joyce, have you seen Mallory
here in the office?

Why, he, he...

It was lie, a dirty, filthy lie.

What?

Why, you liar!

(both grunting)

What's going on?
What's gotten into you?

I'll k*ll you.
I swear, I'll k*ll you.

Play it cool, will ya, Phil?
Play it cool!

Phillip, stop it.

Wait here.

I'll be right back,
just wait here.

Please, Mr. Mason,
you will help Phillip.

Before we make any decision,

let's go over
one or two points again.

Now, Mallory visited you
in prison.

It was his idea to make it
appear that you had the diamond.

He planned every move
I was to make.

He rehearsed me in them.

He pawned the music box,

he planted
the jeweler's box inside it.

He told me
when to go in and get it,

to be sure that Mr. Webber
would be lunching

across the street in his club.

The apartment?

The ticket to South America?

All part of his plans.

Throw enough
lighted matches around,

somebody's bound to catch fire.

He was using you to get the real
thief to tip his hand.

You may as well know
Acme Casualty

was aware
of Mallory's activities.

At least that he was trying
to recover the diamond.

And they'll testify
that Phillip and Mallory

were working together?

DRAKE:
No, I'm afraid not.

They knew that Mallory
was doing something,

but not what the something was.

Quitting was his idea,

they just played along
with him blind.

Now you att*cked
Mallory in the hallway.

Why?

Because he lied to me.
I only went along with him...

Because he thought I'd helped
Mr. Reed steal the diamond.

No, Katherine.

And because he thought
David Reed and I...

Katherine!
Look, forget it, Mr. Mason.

I-I don't want to go into it.

Just write it up
to the Stewart jinx.

- Jinx?
- Well, it looks that way.

Look, I got mad,
I took a poke at Dave Reed,

I left him standing,
holding his jaw.

Half an hour later,
he was dead.

I wrestle with Mallory,
leave him in an elevator,

a minute later, he's dead.

Stewart,

when you entered
the elevator with Mallory...

...did you go right down?

No, he flicked
the emergency stop switch.

We talked for a couple minutes.

About what?

Well, he admitted he'd lied
to me about Katherine

to get me involved.

But he said he knew
for sure who took the Jakarta,

that he knew
exactly what had happened.

He was gonna wrap up
the whole case

inside of an hour.

Then he switched back
the emergency stop?

Yes.

We were stopped
at about the tenth floor.

He continued on down.

I went back upstairs
to Katherine...

in my office.

We were there when Mr. Mason
came in with the police.

Only one trouble
with that story.

Trouble, Mr. Drake?

I have it on good authority
that the District Attorney

can prove that you and Mallory
were the only two people

inside that elevator from
the th floor to the lobby.

Where I found him,
shot to death...

with your g*n.

Lieutenant, I show you this g*n,

established
as the defendant's property,

and already proven ballistically
to have been the m*rder w*apon.

Can you tell us
from what distance

this g*n was fired
at the decedent?

Just a few feet.

As close as this?

Uh, closer.

Uh, there.

About three feet,
judging from the powder burns

on the victim's clothes.

Now it's been established,
Lieutenant,

that the defendant
and the decedent

entered the elevator
on the th floor,

and that the defendant
left it on the tenth.

Could anyone else
have entered that elevator

during its descent to the lobby?

No, sir, we checked it out
tenant by tenant,

and with everybody else
we could find

who had been in the building.

Nobody else could have been
in that elevator,

nobody saw it stop
on the way down.

No, sir, it was just
the defendant

and the decedent.

Unless somebody else floated in.

BURGER: Floated in?

Would you explain that,
please, Lieutenant?

The elevator floor
has been freshly waxed

and we were able to lift
two sets of footprints.

BURGER:
There were no other footprints?

- ANDERSON: None.
- BURGER: Were you able

to identify
those two sets of footprints?

ANDERSON:
Yes, sir.

Lab tests proved that they
matched exactly the shoes

the defendant
and the decedent were wearing.

BURGER:
Thank you very much, Lieutenant.

Your witness.

Uh, Lieutenant, was the g*n
checked for fingerprints?

Yes, it was, but fingerprints
are always difficult

to identify or lift from g*ns.

No, we were unable to raise any
identifiable prints on the g*n.

What about elevator buttons?

Again, too smudged
for identification.

No further questions.

I have some questions
on re-direct, Your Honor.

Lieutenant, that elevator

operates automatically,
doesn't it?

Yes, it does.

If someone were to push
the button in the lobby,

for example,
the elevator would come down.

That's exactly what did happen.

Were you able
to identify the person

who pushed the button
in the lobby?

Uh, yes, sir.
It was the defense attorney,

Mr. Perry Mason.

BURGER: Now, Mr. Elwell,
in your capacity as janitor

of the jeweler's building...

Uh, sanitary
maintenance engineer.

Oh, of course, excuse me.

In your official capacity,
on the day in question,

were you performing
your engineering duties

on the th floor?

Yes, sir, that's the day I, uh,
I always do the th floor.

And what day do you
do the elevators?

Well, the elevators
are waxed every day.

You see, they, uh,

well, they got too much foot
traffic for a once a week job.

I see.

And had that elevator
already been waxed that day?

Well, I finished waxing
that elevator floor

just before it happened.

The m*rder, that is.

And you saw the defendant
at the time?

ELWELL:
Yeah.

When he came out
of Webber and Reed's

with this man.

You're now referring
to the decedent,

Mr. Mallory?

Yes, sir.
The man who was k*lled.

And just before
they got into the elevator,

Mr. Stewart was, uh,
was fighting with him

and yelling at him.

BURGER: Do you recall
what Mr. Stewart said to him?

Oh, yes, sir, I-l sure do.

I remember those kind of things.

Uh, Mr. Stewart yelled, uh,
"It's a lie.

It's a dirty, filthy lie.”

"Liar," Mr. Stewart yelled out.

The two of them
started to fight.

Mr. Stewart was trying
to choke Mr. Mallory.

He pushed him away,

Mr. Mallory did,

and Mr. Stewart, he said...

BURGER:
What did Mr. Stewart say?

He said...

He said, "I'll k*ll you.

I swear I'll k*ll you."”

Your Honor, the prosecution
has presented proof

of the felonious k*lling
of Jack Mallory,

a k*lling clearly perpetrated
with malice of forethought.

We have additionally
presented proof

not only that
the defendant possessed

the requisite motive
and opportunity,

but that he was, in fact,

the one and only person
physically capable

of committing
this particular homicide.

We move that Phillip Stewart
be bound over for trial

in Superior Court on a charge
of m*rder in the first degree.

(woman sobbing)

Took me an hour
to trace you here.

Almost that long to convince

your friend, the janitor,
to let me speak with you.

I'm sorry.

May I ask...

why you came here?

Well, uh,
before he was arrested,

Phillip was working on
a very important design,

something the company
had to get out rather quickly.

He thought as long
as he was in jail,

well, he asked me to bring
this sketch pad to him,

so he could finish it.

At nights sometimes, when
Phillip used to work late alone,

I'd stand in the doorway and...

watch him.

He never knew I was here.

I love him so much.

I wanted to see you
to ask about somebody else

who works in this shop.

Ormesby and Joyce Hadley.

What about them?

They see a great deal
of each other.

Was it always that way?

Not with Joyce.

Ormesby's been
mooning around her

for as long as I can remember,

following her around
like a little stray puppy.

Even waiting at night across
the street from her house,

just hoping
to catch a glimpse of her.

Looks like the puppy's
been adopted.

(sniffles)

Maybe she feels sorry for him.

No more?

My mother would've called
Joyce Hadley

a scheming little baggage
in love with a dollar sign.

Your mother was perceptive.

Tell me, Katherine,

was Ormesby with Joyce
when you went

into Phillip's office to wait
for him that morning?

I don't know.

I went into his office
through the hallway door.

But isn't that door
usually kept locked?

Well, it wasn't that morning.

Thank you, Katherine.

I hoped that's
what you would answer.

Mr. Mason, tomorrow when you
put on Phillip's defense,

will you be able to prove
that he didn't k*ll Mallory?

Not directly.

It will take
the court's permission

to explore the area
and to impeach my own witnesses.

But I may be able to prove

that the person who k*lled
Jack Mallory

could be the same person

who k*lled David Reed
a year ago.

But Phillip was responsible
for Mr. Reed's death.

I said k*lled, Katherine.

Now, Reed used medication

for his bad heart.

Did he carry it with him?

Always.

He had some in his desk
and every room in the house.

He was afraid to move
without it.

A year ago,

when he was found dead,

there was no medication
on his person,

none anywhere in that apartment.

Yes, Mrs. Reed and I
had all but concluded

my buyout of her husband's
interest in the company.

Had the papers been signed?

No, we were to do that
the morning Mallory was k*lled.

Where were you and Mrs. Reed
to meet, Mr. Webber?

Downstairs, in the company
attorney's office.

We were to meet about : .

Would you tell the court,
please, Mr. Webber,

why you made Phillip Stewart's
parole possible

by agreeing to rehire him?

To salvage my business.

To keep from going broke,
quite candidly.

Dave was an expert salesman;
he was a top promoter.

Phil Stewart
ran the manufacturing

and did most of the designing.

Then when Dave got sick,

ran our business literally
into the ground and died,

well, it meant give up the
business and take a beating

or get Phil Stewart
and try to rebuild it.

Calling your attention
to the morning of the homicide,

were you in your office
when the defendant

and the decedent
entered the elevator?

No, I'd gone down
to the tenth floor

to check an order with Ormesby

in the workshop.

Did you check that order?

Why, uh, no.

Ormesby wasn't in the workshop.

No.

I know I wasn't there,

but I was there.

You, um, you weren't,

but you were, Mr. Ormesby?

I mean,
I wasn't in the workroom.

Upstairs in the offices,
perhaps?

Oh, I might have been.

Then you saw Stewart and Mallory
go into the elevator?

No, I-l wasn't upstairs.

Downstairs then,
in the coffee shop, Mr. Ormesby?

That's right,
in the coffee shop.

"Course the waiter behind
the counter will confirm that?

Well, no, I wasn't
in the coffee shop either.

I was just out of the workroom,

somewhere in the building.

I don't...
I don't know where, exactly.

Big building, lots of people.

You must've run into somebody
along the way.

Nobody I know.

Nobody I could...
who would identify me,

who would testify.

Only because they're strangers?

That's right.

But you remember their faces?

Yes.

You're sure?

I'm sure.

Mr. Rosie Dell,
would you stand please?

Now, Rosie Dell is a cabdriver,
Mr. Ormesby.

Do you remember his face?

I'm not sure.

You're not sure?

Suppose I were to tell you
he recognized

your picture in the paper.

Suppose I were to tell you

that he claims you were
a passenger in his cab

a year ago.

A year?

It was night.

He drove you
from a certain house

you were watching
to David Reed's apartment.

- No.
- And from there,

you had him follow a woman
all the way down to San Pedro.

No, that's a lie.

I didn't take a cab,
I drove my own...

Now that, uh,
woman you followed, Mr. Ormesby,

that woman was Joyce Hadley?

ORMESBY:
Yes.

Joyce Hadley.

I agreed to meet Dave Reed
in Hong Kong,

where he was going to collect
for the diamond.

He said with all that money,

we could live like kings
the rest of our lives.

That night a year ago,

just before
Phillip Stewart arrived,

before Reed died,

you were the woman
seen leaving the apartment?

Yes.

You took the wrapped package
Reed gave you,

delivered it to a sailor
in San Pedro

for smuggling to Hong Kong?

Yes.

MASON: And all for nothing.

With Reed's death,
you didn't know

where the diamond was
or who had it.

You couldn't collect.

Oh, I collected all right.

For a whole year, I collected.

From him, from Ormesby.

MASON: He'd followed you,
guessed what you were doing,

and with that knowledge,
the worm turned.

Worm.

He is a creepy,

disgusting,

filthy, rotten worm.

He's the one who searched
Mr. Stewart's apartment,

looking for the diamond.

The one who knocked out
Mr. Drake.

For a year, he threatened me,

threatened to tell.

He-he...

(sobbing)

Mallory had found out too much.

He had to be silenced,

had to be k*lled.

What?

Stewart's g*n
had already been taken

out of his desk that morning.

After Stewart and Mallory
got into the elevator,

the person with the g*n ran down
the stairs to the ninth floor.

The elevator
was still stopped above

with Stewart
and Mallory arguing.

The person holding the g*n with
a handkerchief or with gloves

pressed the elevator button
on the ninth floor.

- The m*rder*r was lucky.
- What are you talking about?

Stewart got out of the elevator
on the tenth floor.

Not only would Mallory
be alone in the elevator,

but the ninth floor hall
was completely deserted.

The elevator came down,
stopped on the ninth floor,

the doors opened.

- No, no! -Mallory was shot
at point-blank range.

The g*n was thrown in,

and the elevator
went down to the lobby

with a dead man
and the g*n in it.

I didn't.

I didn't, I swear, I didn't!

(crying)

Mr. Webber's appointment
to meet you

at the company attorney's office
was for : .

I see by this memo, Mrs. Reed,

that you arrived there shortly
after : .

I had to approve the contract
before Mr. Webber signed it.

MASON: That means, Mrs. Reed,

that you must've arrived
when the elevator,

with Mallory in it,

reached the ninth floor
from above.

When those elevator doors opened
and Mallory was shot to death.

A few moments after that,
I believe.

In time to see Mallory's
m*rder*r go to the stairs

to return to the th floor?

REED:
Yes.

Who was it you saw, Mrs. Reed?

Joyce Hadley.

No, she's lying!

It wasn't me, it wasn't.

It wasn't!

-(gallery murmuring)
- Silence, please.

Bailiff, see to it that woman
does not interrupt again.

You may continue, Mr. Mason.

Yes, Your Honor.

Now, why haven't you said
anything about this before?

I saw no reason why I should.

Not even to prevent an innocent
man from conviction for m*rder?

I wouldn't lift a finger
to help Phillip Stewart.

Why not?

He k*lled my husband.

No, he didn't, Mrs. Reed.

You k*lled your husband.

I think you're
out of your mind.

This is a subpoena duces tecum.

When signed, it orders you to go
to the Sherman Oaks Bank,

open the safe-deposit box
you rented

the day after your husband died

using your maiden name,

and bring the contents of
that safe-deposit box to court.

Now, shall I ask the judge
to sign it, Mrs. Reed?

And shall I have a police
officer accompany you

to the bank and back
with the contents of that box?

The Jakarta Diamond is there,
in the safe-deposit box.

MASON: You found out
about your husband's theft,

and plans to run away
with Joyce.

Yes, I'd found
his little love nest.

I had a key made
to the back door.

That morning,
I found the package.

I unwrapped it,
took the diamond out,

then rewrapped the package.

It was almost funny.

I went across the street

and stood out of sight,
and watched his girlfriend leave

to deliver an empty package
to San Pedro.

I saw Ormesby follow her,

and I saw
Phillip Stewart arrive.

MASON: And after
Phillip Stewart left,

you went back
into the apartment.

And after your husband suffered
that fatal heart attack,

it was easy, easy, wasn't it,

to take the medicine
away from him.

To k*ll him?

As easy as it was to take
Stewart's g*n from his desk

a year later,
go to the ninth floor,

and sh**t and k*ll Mallory.

Mallory called.

He ordered me to meet him
in Dave's office.

Ordered me!

He'd found out.

I had the g*n in my purse,

but I had to get him alone
someplace to use it.

I told him to meet me in front

of my lawyer's office
on the ninth floor.

I used the back stairs
so nobody would see me.

Seemed forever
with that elevator not moving.

Then it came down, down, down,

and the doors opened.

He saw me and he saw the g*n,
and ...

I don't know,
I-I still don't understand

exactly what did happen
in the elevator.

Let me demonstrate,
Mrs. Stewart.

Now,

you and Mallory were
in the elevator.

He'd already pressed
the ninth floor button.

He reached out
and snapped the emergency stop

while you talked.

You finished.

He let you out
on the tenth floor.

You stepped out.

That's right.

Now, I pressed the button
in the lobby.

The elevator would automatically
descend to the lobby

after any other stops it made.

When it stopped on the ninth
floor and the doors opened,

Helen Reed was waiting.

Wearing gloves, she took the g*n
out of her purse

and fired.

(theme song playing)