07x21 - The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist

[bunniefuu]

(theme song playing)

Yes. Yes, darling.

I know it's Sunday,

and I know I promised
to take you out for dinner,

but I cannot help myself.

Yes.

Elaine, please understand,

your father is still a stranger
in this country,

a poor stranger who has to work
and work hard for a living.

Business here is bad.

Very bad.

I'm worried.

I try only to help.

You understand?

Yeah.

Yes, Elaine,

I'll try
to finish the paperwork early.

Then perhaps
we still can go out.

Good-bye.

Good-bye, my baby.

(laughs)

(blow landing)

(flames roaring)

(coughing)

(door opening)

(flames roaring)

(phone line buzzing)

Fire Department.
Can I help you?

Box four-seven-seven-five.

Yes, ma'am, we'll take care
of it right away.

That's Sutton and Main.

Confirming phone call.

Loom up-- smoke and fire both--
a warehouse.

's first in.

Engine from Westlake,

respond to box
four-seven-seven-five.

Sutton and Main--
a structure fire.

(sirens blaring)

(flames roaring
and rumbling)

(sirens approaching)

(siren blaring)

Westlake from
Platoon Commander Moorefield.

MAN (over radio):
Platoon Commander from Westlake.

This is a by foot
warehouse, fully involved.

Send out a full
third-alarm assignment.

We'll need more blowers
and an extra squad.

I picked up the call,
saw the loom up a mile away.

We going in for a closer look?

Carey, you're retired, remember?

Yeah.

Look, my driver's spotting
for me

on the other side of the fire.

Monitor the radio, will you?
I'll be right back.

Sure. Sure.

(flames roaring)

Oh, this baby's a beaut!

You get me all the coverage
you can.

Will do, Tommy.

Well, well, if it isn't former
Deputy Fire Chief Carey York.

They told me
you had a ham operator's rig

and were running around town
in your car

picking up Fire Department
shortwave broadcasts.

Still making believe
you're a real fireman?

Get off my back, Towne!

Now, with you on the scene,

it's like old times,
isn't it, Chiefey?

I warn you, Towne...

I, uh... I don't have
to stick around now.

I can predict the outcome

of this fire in advance--
a total loss!

Why you, good-for-nothing...

Carey, Carey, cut it out.
Cut it out.

Oh, let me alone.
I'll k*ll the pipsqueak!

Towne, this is a dangerous fire.
You're in the way.

Oh, didn't your public relations
ever tell you?

The fourth estate
is never in the way.

I'll notify you when we have
a statement for the press.

TOWNE:
Oh, I'll bet.

Platoon Commander
Farrell Moorefield

and the Fire Department presided

as a... as another structure was
converted into a parking lot.

"We did the best we could,”
said the deputy chief, "but..."

You save it.
I've heard that story before.

Carey, you're old enough
to know better.

Farrell, why didn't you
let me hit him?

- Or get hit.
- Him?

(laughing)

Westlake from Platoon Commander.

Send out an A unit.

MAN (over radio):
Platoon Commander from Westlake.

- Roger.
- Arson?

No question of it.

Somebody wanted
to sell this warehouse

to the insurance company.

This warehouse.

I own it, Farrell.

(flames rumbling)

Get help and move the rest

of those parked cars
off the street.

There's more fire equipment
coming in.

Yes, Lieutenant.

Are they sending
homicide lieutenants out

chasing fires now,
or have they, uh, promoted you

to the Fire Department
arson unit?

Still homicide, Tommy.

Before the arsonist
torched this place,

he assaulted the manager.

Man's in pretty bad shape.

Well, what do you know?

Arson and attempted m*rder.

We may get ourselves
one sweet honey of a story here.

(sirens blaring)

(sirens blaring)

It has now been
firmly established

that the burning
of the warehouse was arson,

to which yours truly,
Tommy Towne, adds,

criminally deliberate arson.

Why do I say, "criminal arson?"

Facts, ladies and gentlemen.

Indisputable facts.

Another "Towne in Angel Town"
exclusive.

The Downtown Transfer
& Storage Warehouse

was in serious trouble.

Not only was the company
losing money, but its records--

I am reliably informed--
had been subpoenaed

by the fraud section
of the tax department.

And... and ladies and gentlemen,

the warehouse itself had been
threatened, within the month,

with cancellation
of its fire insurance.

Still more facts.

The automobile in which
the gasoline, the cotton waste,

and the alleged incendiary's
gloves were found-- hold on--

that automobile was registered
in the name of the identical man

who is the sole owner
of the warehouse company.

His name? Former Deputy
Fire Chief Carey York.

Now a question,
ladies and gentlemen.

A question
in the public interest.

After years
with the department,

can a retired fireman
enjoy fires so much

that starting them is
as much fun as putting them out?

Profitable fun?

(glass breaking)

That doesn't
accomplish anything.

Well, maybe getting my hands
around his neck will!

Dad, don't make a fool
of yourself!

Don't go out looking
for any more trouble!

Oh, just turn and run away
like you, huh?

Always turn and run away.

Not qualifying to be a fireman
isn't running away.

You never really wanted it,
never!

My father was a fireman,
a battalion chief.

And I made my mark.

I thought that you would...

Oh, no, no.

You were meant for making
your fancy twisted wire,

hiding from life
in some factory.

Well, I never ran from anything,
and I won't now!

Dad, please!

Please connect me

with Platoon Commander
Farrell Moorefield.

This is very urgent.

♪♪

Your message
finally caught up with me.

I thought it would.

Dorian called you, huh?

Your son was afraid
you might do something stupid.

Which you did.

He was afraid...period.

You'd think after years
it was time to stop

trying to fit a square peg
into a round hole.

Both your sons
are in the department.

Well, neither of them
has acrophobia.

Dorian can't help it
if heights make him sick.

Well, that's not a crime.

Arson is.

(sighs)

Yeah, I saw the telecast...

here at .

Then maybe you wanna go up there
with me, huh?

Battling Carey York,

the year old welterweight.

Oh, that Towne's soft as butter.

Yeah, so are you...
in the head.

as*ault and battery
is also against the law.

Yeah, well, you just watch.

I'll make that Towne
eat his words.

In court.

In an action for slander,
defamation of character.

Not in some stupid, adolescent
brawl in a bar or a street

or wherever
you run him down.

Not in any way to add
more discredit to yourself,

or the department.

Well...

I'm not in a department
anymore, remember?

I'm retired.

You'll stop being a fireman
when you're dead and buried,

and not before.

(chuckles)

What's so funny?

Dead and buried.

You wanna bet where I'm going
they've got plenty of firemen?

We need a refill.

We need something
more than that.

We mess around in court,
we're gonna need a good lawyer.

He's meeting us at headquarters
in the morning.

The best... Perry Mason.

Is this an accurate transcript
of the telecast?

The TV station showed us
the tape.

We had a court stenographer
make that transcript.

We'll need a copy of the film
itself as evidence in court.

I'll arrange for it.

Sounds like you think
we might have a case, Mr. Mason?

Yes, we can plead a good case,

just as they can plead
a good defense.

Defense?

Fair comment
in the public interest.

Fair comment my foot.

Towne lost his house
in a hillside brush fire

six months before I retired.
I was in command at the fire.

He blames you?

We never had
a chance to save it.

Almost gale-force
Santa Ana winds.

One road in,
water pressure down,

even the borate bombers
couldn't get at it.

It was a gone gosling

before we got there.

We did the best we could anyway.

Almost lost a man.

But Towne blamed the department.

Yeah, and me, specially.

There's still the defense
that what he said was true.

- True? -MASON: The truth
of a defamatory statement,

Mr. York, is a complete defense
to an action for slander.

Perry, firemen
have to live together.

They have to learn to know
and trust each other...

know they can depend
on each other for their safety

and their lives.

I worked in the department
for years with Carey York.

I'll stake my life on it.

He never set that fire.

Did you, Mr. York?

Did you set that fire?

No.

Everything Towne said

was a lie.

Al right.

We'll make sure of that.

Then we'll serve Towne
with a demand that he broadcast

a public retraction
of his charge of arson.

(phone rings)

Moorefield.

Thank you.

A charge of arson...

and m*rder.

What are you talking about?

That was the hospital, Carey.

Otto Joseph,
your warehouse manager...

he just died.

But somebody was guilty of
m*rder and arson both,

and if it wasn't Carey York,
then who was it, Mr. Drake?

Find out "why," Gertie,
then you'll find out "who."

Well...

did you get the list of
everything in the warehouse

from York's accountant, Paul?

Yep.
Here's every last item.

You know, if the arson wasn't
aimed at the warehouse,

perhaps it was aimed at
something inside the warehouse.

Check out each item carefully
with the accountant,

then run them down.

That will be a pleasure.

"S. Gwynne, accountant”.

From your tone,
I gather "S"

doesn't stand for Saul,
or Scott, or Stanley?

Sylvia, and she's quite a doll.

That Dorian's a lucky guy.

Dorian York? Carey York's son?

She's his bookkeeper, too,
and she'd love

to take care of Dorian,
as well as his books.

What does he do?

He owns a small factory.
Ekes out a living

manufacturing potentiometers.

Poten...what?

DRAKE:
Potentiometers.

It's a gimmick for figuring
potential differential.

Now I know.

It's a sensitive measuring
device, Gertie,

normally used
as a component of large,

complicated
electronic equipment.

That helps, too.

Have some copies made of these,
would you please, Gertie?

Oh, certainly, Mr. Mason.

Oh, sorry.

Will you kindly explain to me

exactly what
that communication is?

Since I represent Carey York

in the prospective litigation,
it would not be ethical

for us to discuss it, Mr. Towne.

You might ask your own attorney.

I'm asking you, Mason,
you, and I want an answer.

You'll get one
when you're with counsel,

not before.

Well, that's up to me, isn't it?

I don't want one,
and I don't need a lawyer

to answer something
as ridiculous as this.

If that's your decision,
any competent attorney

will warn you that you're
making a serious mistake.

Oh, you lawyers make me sick.

"Demand an immediate
retraction?"

Tell me, counselor,
how do you correct the truth?

Was it the truth?

Oh, come off it. York was all
but caught lighting the match.

You slanderously alleged
he was guilty of arson.

And of m*rder, too,
don't forget that.

And all to collect insurance
and burn his records.

- Now how do you get out of that?
- Paul.

According to Sylvia Gwynne,
Carey York's accountant,

the insurance you say
he wanted to collect...

lapsed a week before the fire.

What?

And as for the burned records,

an authenticated duplicate set

is on file
in Miss Gwynne's office.

Civil Code, Section A:

"If a correction is not
broadcast within three weeks

"after service of demand
the plaintiff may recover

"not only special
but general damages,

and he may also recover
punitive damages.”

Well, how about the gasoline,
and the cotton,

and gloves,
how do you explain them?

I don't.
You explain them.

Yours is the burden of proof.

That they were Carey York's,
that he used them.

And if I don't?

If you neither retract,
nor prove your defense,

Mr. Towne, the jury

will be asked to award damages

totaling one and one half
million dollars.

Mr. Drake, this is Ross Walker.

He owns San Pedro Shipping,

the company that stored
over half the materials

in the warehouse.

Thanks for meeting us here,
Mr. Walker.

I thought we might be able
to identify some of the debris.

I doubt it.
Sylvia said, when she called,

that you wanted to go over
a list of what I had in here?

I didn't know
it was customary for truckers

to store cargo
that was en route?

It isn't. Normally, what wasn't
on the road

would be in my own warehouse,
down in San Pedro.

Business has been good.

Better than good.

I've had to use
the Pedro warehouse

for more office space,

and for overseas shipments

prior to loading.

Mr. Walker carried
his own insurance.

His total loss was covered.

Overseas?

Then you have trucks and ships?

Couple of tired, World w*r ll
scows, hardly a fleet.

Look, Drake, I'm busy.

- Mind if we get with that list?
- Sure.

As a shipper,
I know that you didn't own

any of this merchandise, but I'd
kinda like to find out who did.

Uh, let's start with this
medicinal alcohol.

Chief.

Perry, this is Captain Hillman.

years on these fire boats,
ten years before that

with the arson squad downtown.

He's forgotten
more about incendiaries

than most men know.
Phil, this is Perry Mason.

- Captain Hillman, a pleasure.
- Mr. Mason.

Chief thinks you may be
the man to help me.

Not if you expect me to say
Carey York could be an arsonist.

Anybody fingering him as a torch
ought to have his head examined.

Suggestions have been made
that's what should be done

to York, to look for signs
of pyromania.

Waste of time.
We'd have spotted it years ago.

MASON:
You seem sure.

Mr. Mason,
only a small percentage

of the male population
who can qualify as firemen

for this department ever pass
the rigorous examinations...

physical or mental.

From the rawest recruit
to the oldest timer, like Carey,

every man is subjected
to continuous training,

continuous examination.

You think for a minute, Mason,
that an incipient firebug,

a man with any kind
of a mental twist,

could last for fifty years,

let alone become deputy chief?

You know the facts
about the warehouse fire?

Arson, no question of it.

Can you tell
from the type of fire

how it was started?

What the arsonist
was trying to destroy?

HILLMAN: Much more than books
and papers, that's for sure.

Why do you say that?

Those crates
of medicinal alcohol.

Torch that, and in half a
minute, you have an inferno.

Enough intense heat
to melt most metals.

There was something in that
warehouse, made of metal,

that the arsonist deliberately
wanted to destroy.

That, Mr. Mason,
is my educated guess.

Well, that does it.

One more thing.
This item here marked Coilatron.

What is it?

Some kind of expensive
manufacturing machine.

Latest thing on the market.

It winds coils for a thing
called a potentiometer.

Potentiometer?

Here's a photograph of the...

Coilatron Potentiometer Coil
Winding Machine

that you asked about.

That machine runs about $ , .

It's a continuous, high speed,
extremely precise,

self-correcting winder.

More than pays for itself.

Improved accuracy with better
costs through higher yields.

At least, that's what
my brochure promises,

and what the machine delivers.

Many of these made, Mr. Herbert?

No, the market's pretty limited.

Outside of the iron curtain,
I'd say...

a potential of approximately
machines.

Then it's not exactly
a secret w*apon?

No, Mr. Drake...

but it does represent automated,

high precision
electronics methods.

Industrial know-how can be just
as vital as the latest ICBM.

Did Dorian York have one,
or had he ordered

one of these machines?

Unfortunately, no.

Why "unfortunately?”

Well, you see, with this machine

you stand a pretty good chance
of making a small fortune

in defense subcontracting.

Now the Valley outfit
that bought this machine

had just about squeezed York
out of the western markets

before they ordered the machine.
Now, of course, with it...

But the machine the Valley
company purchased

was destroyed
in the warehouse fire.

Say, that's right.
I forgot.

Then, competitively,
Dorian York's still in business?

Yes. Yes, I-I'd say he's in
business instead of bankruptcy.

Mr. Herbert,
may I have this photo?

Well, if you don't mind,

I'll have one made
and send it to you.

The other man took
the only spare copy I had.

Other man?

HERBERT:
Yes, uh...

Mr. Towne.

Thomas Towne.

- Am I late?
- Couple of minutes yet.

Carey asked me to set up
this portable TV set

right here in the kitchen
just for the three of us,

in case we wanted to talk
after the broadcast.

- Oh, uh, coffee?
- No, thanks.

He, uh, he said on the phone
that this is the last day?

Three weeks exactly
after being served a demand

-for correction.
- Will he?

Risk a million-and-
a-half-dollar lawsuit?

I'm an attorney,
not a soothsayer.

I'd say it depends on what
Towne thinks he found out--

what his attorney
or the station's attorneys

have advised him.

What Towne thinks he found out?

What is there to find out?

Carey said he'd meet us here.
Where is he?

Oh, well, I don't know.
He phoned about an hour ago,

said he was leaving
for here then.

He doesn't live that far away.

Well, it's slow driving if he
comes all the way on Mulholland.

Perry, you were telling me
something about what Towne

-thinks he found...
- He's coming on the air.

Oh.

(music plays)

Ladies and gentlemen,
some time ago on this program

I asked a question,
a question that implied a charge

on my part that former
Deputy Fire Chief Carey York

was a criminal arsonist,
and, as it turned out,

by implication, a m*rder*r.

Subsequently, I was informed
that this broadcast

constituted slanderous
defamation of character,

and the demand was made
that I broadcast a retraction.

I'm happy to take this occasion
to make a correction.

When I said that Carey York
started that fire

to collect insurance
on his warehouse,

and also to destroy
company records, I was wrong.

Very wrong,
ladies and gentlemen.

Carey York criminally,
deliberately started that fire

to save his son's business
from bankruptcy,

and I can prove it.

Filthy, rotten...!

(phone ringing)

My signal.

Platoon commander.

What is it, Farrell?

Car...

missed a turn on Mulholland.

Went over the cliff.

Smashed to bits on the rocks
a hundred feet below.

Rescue squad's there now,
bringing up the body.

Carey York's car.

- (siren wailing in distance)
-(garbled radio transmission)

(siren wailing)

(siren stops)

We...

we just heard him,
saw him on TV.

ANDERSON:
No, you didn't.

What you saw was filmed
early this afternoon,

then played back tonight.

Towne's been dead
for over half an hour.

Strangled to death
before the car

was pushed over the cliff.

Andy...

I'm afraid so, Perry.

(quietly):
Carey...

He's under arrest

for the m*rder of Thomas Towne.

Towne called me, excited.

He told me he'd already filmed
his broadcast for that night

but was hoping to throw it away
and do a live show,

alive show that
might win him an award.

He told me he was on the trail
of something big,

something that might reveal the
identity of the real arsonist.

Did he tell you
who it was he suspected?

No.

He said he had a date
to meet this person at...

one of the lonely spots
up on Mulholland.

I drove him out there

in my car.

Why your car?

That was part of his plan.

I have a shortwave receiver
and transmitter in my car.

I tuned the transmitter to
the fire department frequency,

so that when he
confronted the suspect

everything they said
would be broadcast,

recorded on the tapes
the department makes

of all broadcasts.

We stopped where he told me.

And then?

Well, I went down
the road a stretch and...

hid in some bushes
so that Towne would be alone.

Did the arsonist show up?
Did you see him?

Oh, he showed up, all right.

Behind me in the bushes.

So-and-so conked me.

Knocked me out cold.

You came to in time
to be picked up by the police,

the man you publicly hated
strangled to death in your car

with you less than

a hundred yards away
from where you obviously

must have pushed your car
over the cliff.

Not a very pretty
picture, Carey.

Who, Mr. Mason?

Who torched my warehouse,

k*lled my manager, Otto Joseph?

Who k*lled Towne?

Among other things,
that who was most likely

somebody with a key to
the side door of your warehouse.

Well... Otto and I had
the only two keys,

and that was a special lock.

Did you ever have
a duplicate key made?

- No.
- Did Otto?

I don't think so, no.

Elaine would know,
though, for sure.

Otto Joseph's daughter--

Elaine Joseph.

Yes, Papa had a spare key made.

He asked me
to have it made for him

at the--

how do you call it?-- the...

the locksmith.

A spare key, Miss Joseph.

Now, was that spare key
for your father personally,

or was it for somebody else?

Papa didn't tell me.

So many things
he didn't tell me.

Some sort of...

special trouble
he might have been in...

could that have been part of
the things he didn't tell you?

No, Mr. Mason.

Is what sits on his heart
so heavily for so many years.

And what was that?

Mama.

Mama back in the old country.

Your mother's still alive?

Everything was ready.

He had planned...

for so long to... to escape,

to leave that country which...

no longer was
the country we loved.

Mama, I remember,

always she was so sick.

And that night,
when we were to go,

she was again sick.

You... didn't change your plans,
except that your mother stayed?

Is hard to remember.

Only that she...
(sniffles)

cried.

"For the little one,
there must be hope.”

Papa cried.

I remember that.

And then Mama wasn't there.

You heard from her afterwards?

(softly):
Yes.

And then you didn't hear?

You know!

No.

Only guessing, Miss Joseph.

Well, it's a familiar pattern.

International blackmail.

Papa paid and paid.

Every penny we could save,
we could borrow, we could find.

The-the books, Mr. Mason.

Mr. York's books.

Your father...
tampered with the books?

No, he didn't tamper;
he stole!

So that Mama would...

We... we were both
so desperate, Mr. Mason.

But that Mr. York is a good man.

He's a man
with God's love in his heart.

Mr. Mason, I will do anything

to help Mr. York.

You already have, Miss Joseph.

You've given me information
that could lead to the name

of the person guilty
of the crimes

Carey York will be charged with
in court tomorrow.

(loud buzzing)

Everyone please rise and face
the flag of our country.

Recognizing the principles
for which it stands,

Division Three
of the Municipal Court

of the County of Los Angeles,
State of California,

is now in session.

The Honorable Benjamin Penner,
Judge, presiding.

Be seated and come to order.

The State v. Carey York.

Is counsel
for the State present?

Present, Your Honor.

Counsel for the defense?

Present, Your Honor.

JUDGE:
Section of the Penal Code

provides that before
an information is filed

there must be
a preliminary examination

of the case
against the defendant,

and an order
holding him to answer

made under Section .

Will the defendant rise.

The clerk of the court
will read the complaint

to the defendant and ask him

whether he pleads
guilty or not guilty

to the offense charged therein,

and to a previous conviction or
convictions of crime if charged.

Your Honor,
the Penal Code provides

that a defendant
represented by counsel

may when brought
before the magistrate

waive his right
to an examination

before such magistrate.

The defendant, Carey York,
through counsel,

does so expressly waive.

With a plea of guilty,
Mr. Mason?

No, Your Honor,
without a plea of guilty.

Mr. Burger,
there is nothing in

which prevents
the district attorney

or the magistrate from requiring
the examination be held.

The prosecution
is happy to stipulate

to the waiver of examination,

Your Honor.

It appearing to me
that the offense of m*rder

in the within complaint
mentioned has been committed,

and that there is
sufficient cause to believe

the within-named Carey York
guilty thereof.

I order that he be held
to answer to same.

The record will show
examination waived by request

of the defense.

Defendant is bound over

for trial in Superior Court.

This court is adjourned.

For the love of Pete,
what's going on, Perry?

I expected a real struggle
to get York bound over.

Saving the taxpayers' money;
contribution to the economy.

Sure it is.

Or as a stall to give you time

to pull some kind
of a grandstand stunt.

I warn you, Perry,
if you do...

What are you figuring to do?

"The play's the thing

wherein I'll catch
the conscience of the king."

Uh-huh.
You feeling all right?

King was also a m*rder*r,
Hamilton,

who took the bait
and fell in a trap.

(quietly):
Uh, thanks a lot.

Exactly how far will you go
to help Carey York?

Personally, there's no limit.
Just name it.

And the department?

Perry, Los Angeles has close
to square miles

to cover, to protect.

A third of its brush-covered,
fireman's nightmare.

The rest-- you name it.

Exotic fuels for defense,

every conceivable industry,
a harbor,

every kind of fire hazard
you can think of.

You haven't answered
my question.

Now, look, Perry,

every man in the department
hit the bricks--

house to house--
pleading, explaining,

to get a and a half million
dollar fire bond issue

on the ballot.

It got on.
It got passed.

I know.

You were given a real vote
of confidence,

but my question was...

Confidence that we'll protect
life and property... from fire.

Carey York's one man.

Don't ask me to expose the
entire department to censure.

I don't expect it for myself,

and I won't authorize it
for him.

I wanted carte blanche--
no questions asked--

to use Captain Hillman
and his company.

To do what?

I said, no questions asked.

(chuckles)

He'll be waiting for you.

Thanks.

What is it, Mr. Mason?

Uh, Gertie, run down to see
Eddie Levine at La Brea Studios.

He'll have some stuff
for you to pick up.

Stuff, Mr. Mason?

Pots and pans.

Oh.

Wouldn't it be better to wait
until Della gets back?

Della just phoned.

She'll be staying
with her aunt for a while.

Oh.

Pots and pans.

Rubin, the boiler engineer
at the dairy

who helps me make up
court exhibits...

Excuse me, but what do I get
from him, a recipe?

A special waterproof crate
with built-in gas tanks.

Naturally, so we can cook
in the pots and pans underwater.

(chuckles)
On your way, Gertie.

GERTIE:
Oh.

Mr. Mason, where are you going?

Ooh, to make arrangements
to start a fire...

underwater.

(door closes)

Looking for something?

I don't know why
I agreed to meet you,

or why I agreed
to meet you here.

I do.

The so-called irresistible urge
of the criminal

to return to the scene
of the crime?

Your bookkeeping that bad?

No, but my judgment often is.

You mean,
in not reporting the fact

that Otto Joseph was stealing
from Carey York?

(sighs)

Just hearing it said... out loud
somehow makes me feel better.

You still haven't told me why
you asked me to come here.

Well, I have a feeling
that if you look real hard,

you just might find
a sealed envelope

that somehow, miraculously,

didn't get burned in the fire.

And then?

Then, at exactly : tonight,

not a moment earlier,

you open it
and read what's inside.

Now, couldn't you have just
handed me that envelope

in some nice,
cozy, little cocktail lounge?

But that way, you'd have to lie,
wouldn't you?

Uh, you mind turning around?

Can ll turn around now?

Mr. Mason...

I marked the blueprints.

Thanks, Captain Hillman. Ready?

Mush.

Be careful, Dorian.

This job could be dangerous.

Mush.

Al right.

Everything you need is aboard.

You'll have time
to check it out and test it.

Plans are old.

Spots marked
may not be available,

may not be the best.

You'll have to play that by ear
once you're in position.

If they any need help,

both boats will be close
with plenty of men.

Captain Hillman,

you're sticking your neck
way out, you know that.

Ladder yourself
a tinder-dry frame structure,

straddle a peaked ridge
on a roof,

swing an axe to ventilate a fire

that could burn the roof
out from under you.

Then look up
and see Carey York with you,

helping you, risking not
his neck, but his life,

to help protect yours.

You know, I'd be honored,
very proud to be one of you.

Good luck.

(coughing)

(door opens)

(door closes)

(boat horn sounding)

Mr. Mason, come on in.

Sit down.

Thank you.

I followed your instructions.

Place is empty.

All except for the usual
security guards at the gates.

That's good, Mr. Walker.

Maybe I could decide that
for myself

if you were to tell me
what this is all about.

Mr. Walker,
why does an arsonist set a fire?

Why? To burn down a building.

To get rid of it.

To get rid of what's in it.

Or get rid of something
not in it.

Now, look, Mason,
you didn't get me here

to k*ll an evening
just to answer riddles.

Otto Joseph was forced

to make a duplicate key
to York's warehouse,

forced to turn that key over
to another person.

Well, that doesn't make
any sense, either.

How do you force a man to become
an accomplice to arson?

Simply by threatening to have
his wife k*lled if he doesn't.

I didn't know Otto had a wife.

According to the . . .,
she died years ago.

But the friends of mankind

who run Joseph's country these
days decided to let Otto think

she was still alive.

Why?

To blackmail him,
keep him on the string

just in case
they ever needed him,

as they did.

Needed him? For what?

To smuggle a Coilatron out
of this country.

(laughs)

You know, Mason, for a minute,
you had me going there.

Come on, now.

This Coilatron whatchamacallit
you're talking about

was burned, completely destroyed
in that fire.

A substitute wooden crate

with a dummy metal frame inside
was burned.

That was the reason
for the arson--

to look as if
the Coilatron were destroyed,

to keep anyone from even
suspecting where it was going.

I suppose you know, or think
you know, where that is?

I do know a ship is due

in Los Angeles harbor
within an hour--

a ship that will dock here

at your warehouse.

A ship scheduled to stop

at the free port of Salina Cruz,
where cargo can be trans-shipped

without anyone knowing
or caring where it's going.

Of all the crazy,
senseless malarkey

I've ever heard,
this takes the cake.

(phone ringing)

WALKER:
Yes?

Who is this?

Sylvia Gwynne,
and you heard me right.

Otto left a letter.

I just found it and read it.

Tomorrow noon, $ , cash,

or I turn it over
to the district attorney.

Looking for that ship?

The m*rder*r is, too.

Tommy Towne must have
accidentally stumbled

onto his plans
while investigating that fire.

He had to k*ll Towne
to silence him.

Now, he's hoping,

almost against hope,
nothing will interfere

with his completing
his assignment.

I understand that payment
for success is high,

but for failure,
they close out the account.

Sit there.

Don't move.

They'll never know
what happened.

Outside.

Outside!

I'll be right behind you.

Stop!

That crate--

it's on a dolly--
push it toward the door.

(grunting)

(g*nsh*t)

(grunting)

(coughing)

(coughing)

(coughing)

(sighs)

Don't look so surprised.

It's my day off.

Yeah, I understand, but couldn't
the police have gone

into the warehouse
to search for that machine?

They'd have found it,
and then what?

What would it have proved
about Walker,

about the arson, about
the deaths of Otto and Towne?

No, Walker had
to implicate himself.

Well, it worked, all right.

So-and-so spent the night
confessing

to everything
but the national debt.

Captain Hillman and his men
would be honored

if all of us would join him
for breakfast.

Well, now, hold on.
Before we eat,

Cap Hillman told me something
about pans.

Is that
what he was talking about?

MASON:
Sure.

Pots and pans.

The smoke pot,
and the fire pans.

Harmless smoke,
and controllable fire--

tools of the motion picture
special effects men, Dad.

Brought underwater to openings

in the underside
of the warehouse.

And planted
to simulate the biggest

and smokingest fire
you've ever seen.

(chuckling)

You're really enjoying it,
huh, son?

Biggest thrill of my life, Dad.

Well, then, how about it?

Yes, sir, from now on,
I'm a confirmed skin diver.

What?! A square peg!

That's what you are,
what you'll always be.

A square peg.

I'm hungry. Let's eat.

(theme song playing)