Perry Mason (1957) s05e26 Episode Script
The Case of the Borrowed Baby
Itheme.]
[Della sighs.]
Why the sigh? l thought the dinner was excellent.
lt isn't the dinner.
- l'm merely letting out my breath.
- Your breath? l've been holding it ever since we sat down.
Do you realize that this is the first meal we've had in weeks that hasn't been interrupted by a frantic phone call from someone the omice or a worried client? l almost wish l'd specialized in something a little less strenuous than criminal law.
[laughs.]
You know you don't mean that.
No, but l do wish we didn't have to finish that brief tonight.
l was hoping you'd forgotten.
And if l had? Like a good, dutiful secretary, l would have reminded you maybe.
Anyway, we haven't more than a couple of hours' work.
And then Waiter, may we have the check, please? This'll just about clear om my desk.
Won't it, Della? Except for that article you promised the Quarterly Law Review.
Oh, that's not due for a month yet.
You know, these lulls are too rare not to take advantage of them.
Suppose tomorrow you begin a small bonus vacation, say about week.
- [faint rattling.]
- Perry.
There's someone in here.
Do you hear that? - [rattling continues.]
- Yes.
- [baby coos.]
- Oh, my goodness.
[rattles.]
[Drake.]
This is the darnedest thing l ever heard of.
Della, are you sure all the doors were locked when you went to dinner? Yes, l just checked again, and all the doors are still locked.
And yet here inside and perfectly at home on my desk - Leander.
- Leander? These notes were pinned to his blanket.
''My name is Leander.
'' - [Leander coos.]
- ''Please, please don't let anybody, not even the police, take me away.
'' That's odd, to say the least.
This one's even odder.
''E-V-M 13 - W 19 - C-O-R-N S 2T.
'' We'd better get this to a cryptographer.
That's his formula, Paul.
Oh.
We have to find this baby's parents fast.
OtheM/ise l'll have to turn him over to whoever you turn babies over to.
You can't do that, Perry.
That's just what the note asked you not to do.
Della, how can l take care of a baby that size? [Della.]
l can.
l told you l'm living at Helen Leslie's house while she and her family are in Europe.
They should have everything there that l need.
[Drake.]
Hey, look.
He's laughing.
Of course he is.
He knows you'll do the right thing, Perry.
What is the right thing? Legally l'm entitled to take whatever measures l deem necessary to protect a client's interest, but who's my client? Leander, of course.
Unfortunately, Leander's a minor.
ln fact, he's just about the most minor minor l've encountered.
Well, not much to go on here.
l can have these checked for latent fingerprints, but that's about it.
Here, would this medal help, Paul? Regulation St.
Christopher's.
What's this? [Mason.]
An electric automobile.
[machine whirring.]
What's that noise? Mrs.
Cosgrove.
Mrs.
Cosgrove? Oh, Mr.
Drake, l didn't realize anybody was here.
l'll do this later.
No-No, would you come in a minute, please, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Good evening, Mr.
Mason, Miss Street.
How long have you been working on this floor tonight? Why, an hour or so, l'd say.
Started with Crespo & Company, as l always do, and then came here.
Well, now, what's this? - [Leander cooing.]
- Oh-h-ho.
Would you look at the little darlin', smiling like a tiny angel? Surely never knew you were married, Miss Street.
Oh l l'm not.
She's yours, Mr.
Mason? Well, no.
No, and just to keep the record straight, this ''she'' happens to be a he.
- Oh? - Uh not mine, either.
Holly, did you loan your passkey to anyone tonight? Oh, no, that's strictly forbidden.
ls there something wrong? Did you see any strangers in the hallway? l saw no one, but l did hear footsteps about half an hour ago a woman's, from the heel clicks, and in a great hurry.
Running down the stairs, they were.
Well, thank you very much.
Not at all.
This is quite a mystery.
You can say that again.
What now, Perry? All right, Della, the baby's yours at least until we see what develops tomorrow.
[Della chuckles.]
Here, Paul, take the baby, will you, please? - Who, me? - Yes.
B-But l'm liable to drop him.
Oh.
l have to get the keys.
Yes.
Uh, Della, here, you better hold him.
Paul, a fine father you'll make.
l don't understand any of this.
Nor do l.
But it's the baby, all right.
lt's the same basket, no doubt of that.
But is it the right baby? That's what we have to find out.
l realize you can't remember all the incoming calls, Gertie, but was there an unusual one, possibly from a woman late this afternoon? And you told her? l see.
Yes, that's exactly what l wanted.
Thanks.
Gertie was at the switchboard at 5:3O when this woman called asking where l could be reached tonight.
Did Gertie say you'd be working tonight? Did the woman give her name? No, but at least part of the mystery is solved.
She wasn't just leaving the baby in an empty omice.
Uh, Paul, let me take a look at that again, will you, please? Here.
Hold out your hand.
- Too hot? - Too hot for what? For the baby, stupid.
Why don't you ask him? Paul, do you happen to know any antique car fanciers? Yeah, one man named Amos Berry.
Why? Let's pay a call on Mr.
Berry that is, if Della can get along without us.
Certainly we can get along.
Can't we, Leander? You sure you don't want me to call the Nurses' Registry? Who needs help with one small baby? All right.
We'll be back in the morning.
Good night, Mother.
[chuckles.]
Night.
Tell me, Leander where's your mommy? Come in.
Hi, Ginny.
What are you doing here, Lester? l'm just paying a friendly visit.
You don't seem very happy to see me.
How did you find me? Oh, l always keep track of the people l'm fond of.
l'm very fond of you, Ginny in spite of the mistake you made.
Mistake? Sure.
Not cutting me in on this in the beginning.
l told you a long time ago l'd find you a kid.
lt was my idea, remember? Where is the kid? Bedroom? There's no baby here.
Oh, huh.
[laughs.]
What is this? For your pet poodle? Come on, Ginny.
Let's cut out the games and get down to business.
lf by business, you mean blackmail, Lester, you've got the wrong person.
Blackmail? Ginny, heavens, no.
l mean a partnership, and that won't be hay, Ginny, because l've got some angles that you never even thought of.
You've got this all wrong, Lester.
The only thing l want is to be left alone.
Alone.
Sure, alone with a suitcase full of money.
Now, Ginny, l'm in this.
Whether you like it of not, l'm in this all the way.
What are you doing? l'm going to call the police if you don't get out of here.
Oh, all right, the police.
We'll both tell them some very fascinating things.
Want me to dial it for you? What is it, O for operator? [Ginny gasps.]
Let go.
- Sure.
- Let go.
And get shot? l don't think so.
l'll take this.
Now, be nice, Ginny.
Be nice! Here, here, what's all this? Who are you? Wh None of your business.
l'll show you whose business.
Let go of her, you little pipsqueak, or l'll poke this clear through you.
Ginny, please tell her how much you want me to stay.
Get out.
Get out of here.
Only, we're still partners, Ginny.
Remember that still partners.
Scum.
Should we report him? No.
No, he's not important.
Did everything go all right, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Oh, yes, exactly as we planned safe and sound in Mr.
Mason's hands.
How can l ever thank you? Time enough for that after you do whatever it is you have to do.
Yes.
l better get started.
l'll, uh, be back sometime tomorrow.
Good luck, dear.
Mrs.
Cosgrove, he wasn't crying or anything? He was having the time of his young life.
[Drake.]
Mr.
Berry? Mr.
Berry? [Berry.]
No need to shout.
l can hear as well as l ever did.
Besides, the place is closed this time of night.
Oh, it's you, Mr.
Drake.
Rust.
Ain't been greased in 30, 40 years.
Miracle she'd run at all.
Ought to be a Humane Society for old cars, same as for dogs and cats.
Mr.
Berry, l'd like you to meet Mr.
Mason.
- How's that? - Mr.
Mason.
Wants to buy a car, eh? Well, come back in the morning.
You can have your pick, Mr.
Basin.
Stanleys, Packards, Franklins Uh, Mason, Mr.
Berry, not Basin.
Needn't shout.
l can hear you.
Actually, Mr.
Berry, all we want is some information.
How's that? Can you tell us the name of the electric brougham on this St.
Christopher medal? Real old timer.
Detroit Electric? Land's sake, l believe it is.
A genuine rarity, Mr.
Jason.
A Kerrick Electrocar.
What do you mean, Mr.
Berry, ''a genuine rarity''? Only six of 'em ever made.
Traction millionaire in Chicago.
Used to build 'em for a hobby back in '15, '16 You must have heard of him Leander Kerrick.
[Drake.]
Leander? ls Mr.
Kerrick still alive? No.
His widow is, though.
Lives in a big place they bought in Beverly Hills when he retired.
She's got one of these.
Tried to buy it from her, but she wouldn't sell.
Said she was still using it.
[phone rings.]
Berry's Antique Cars.
Who? A Mr.
Raisin? - You know, that has to be for me.
- [chuckling.]
Uh, thanks.
Hello.
l keep hearing sounds outside.
l think someone's trying to get in the house.
All right, Della.
We'll be right over.
Come on, Paul.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Berry.
Not at all, not at all.
Raisin? Funny name for a fellow to have.
[Drake knocks.]
- Who is it? - [Drake.]
It's us, Della.
Thank goodness you're here.
You all right? Just scared half out of my wits.
That's all.
More noises? Yes, outside the kitchen door and then back outside the bedroom again.
Of course, it could be just my imagination or the wind, a wild animal or some - He got in.
- [Drake.]
And how.
Perry, it's been jimmied.
Never mind the window.
Didn't the baby even cry out Della? - Paul, call the police.
- What for? What for? Della, kidnapping comes under [Leander cooing.]
[Della.]
Leander's all right.
Didn't l tell you l could take care of him? Snug little place, isn't it? Paul, look over there.
[Drake.]
Ah, looks like the one on the medal.
Yeah, just like l remembered tiller instead of a wheel, and look at that vase of flowers.
You men there, what are you doing? lt was our understanding that this was the property of Mrs.
Leander Kerrick.
l'm Mrs.
Kerrick's cousin.
Oh, yes, Mr.
Jarvis Baker.
You are also her business manager, aren't you? But just who are you? My name's Mason.
l'm an attorney.
Now, her secretary refused me an appointment, but perhaps you can arrange for me to see Mrs.
Kerrick.
See her? About what? Her grandson.
Follow me.
Wouldn't you say this story of yours was rather incredible, Mr.
Mason? A baby mysteriously locked in your omice with only a note saying his name was Leander? Yes, quite incredible, but the baby also had something else with him a St.
Christopher medal.
Dolly, are you all right? That belonged to my husband, Mr.
Mason, and then to my son Lawrence.
We wondered why it wasn't among his emects after his death.
And now, miraculously, it turns up around a foundling's neck.
You seem quite hostile to both the baby and to me, Mr.
Baker.
Why? - Because l don't - Perhaps l can explain.
- Lenora.
- Yes, Mrs.
Kerrick.
Will you bring in our other caller, please? This is what did you say your name was, young man? Menke, ma'am, Lester Menke.
l have an idea they're already acquainted, Dolly, with each other and with Virginia Talbot, too.
l'm afraid l don't follow you, Mr.
Baker.
Mrs.
Kerrick does.
Would you repeat the omer you just made me, for Mr.
Mason's benefit? Well, it it wasn't an omer.
l merely asked the lady what she'd give if l could prove that Lawrence Kerrick had a baby son and if l could find him and the mother for her.
Only you seem to have already found the baby, Mr.
Mason.
You've got Ginny's baby? l have a baby.
Who is Virginia Talbot, Mrs.
Kerrick? Lenora knows more about her than l do.
l've seen her, at least.
She was a nurse at the rest home where Lawrence died and where Mr.
Menke claims he was employed.
You can check with Dr.
Hogathy, Paul Hogathy.
He's the head man out there, Oak Hill Sanitarium, near Riverside.
And you do know where Virginia Talbot can be found? Mr.
Mason, l think this little drama has progressed far enough.
Drama? ''Plot'' may be a better word, a plot to foist a spurious baby on a excuse me, Dolly, but l must say it on an extremely vulnerable old lady.
Perhaps you're an innocent party to all this, perhaps not.
ln any event, l suggest you disassociate yourself as soon as possible.
Thank you for your suggestion, Mr.
Baker but l've no intention of withdrawing until l'm completely satisfied as to the identity of this baby l've been entrusted with.
Good day, Mrs.
Kerrick.
May l have the medal, please? Thank you.
Excuse me.
Now, as for you, Menke l'm going.
You'll be hearing from me.
Jarvis, Mr.
Mason is a well known lawyer.
Wouldn't it have been better to have cooperated with him? Perhaps the baby really is Lawrence's.
You must never allow yourself to think that, Mrs.
Kerrick, because it can't be.
We explained that, Dolly.
Yes, l suppose you have.
Mr.
Mason? l have an idea.
How about you and me making a deal? You got the baby, and l got the mother.
The baby is actually Lawrence Kerrick's, then? What dimerence does it make as long as they think it is? You just leave that to me.
What l'm likely to leave to you, Mr.
Menke, is a chance to appear before the Grand Jury and testify under oath as to what you know or do not know about the baby.
Paul, l'd like you to take my car and follow that man.
His name is Menke.
l want all l know friends, background, record, if any.
Right, the whole works.
[door closes.]
- Mrs.
Kerrick? - Yes.
Come in, won't you? Mr.
Mason said you might be paying us a visit.
A painted hussy blonde, brassy, and hard as nails.
- l beg your pardon? - That's how l pictured you.
lnstead, you're a lady.
Thank you.
l hope so.
Would you like to see the baby? [giggles.]
- [Leander cooing.]
- Come on, honey.
Oh, goodness, goodness.
What do you have? Lookie here.
Turn around here, hon.
lsn't he adorable? Yes, quite adorable.
Does Does he resemble your son? How can you do a cruel thing like this to a defenseless Mrs.
Kerrick, what are you talking about? l'm l'm just Mr.
Mason's secretary.
Didn't he tell you? No, he simply gave me this and said if l wanted to see the baby that had been wearing it, l'd find him here, but it makes no dimerence.
lt's still a cruel thing to do, to try to trap me this way, but l l won't be trapped.
You tell Mr.
Mason that l never want to see or hear of this baby again.
Never.
Poor little fellow.
lt looks like nobody wants you except me.
Oh, l-l'm sorry.
l, um l thought Florence was here alone, Dr.
Hogathy.
Well, she was, until l trapped her a couple of minutes ago.
Ginny, you're looking very well indeed.
Thank you.
As a matter of fact, so well, l begin to have hopes that you will come back here to work with us again.
Well, l l haven't made any plans yet, Doctor.
Well, keep us in mind.
Now, if you ladies will excuse me, l have some work to attend to.
What is it, Ginny? Oh, Florence, l'm in trouble, even worse trouble than before.
The baby? Yes, l went to Yuma last night, and this morning l called on the doctor you said helped when Leander was born.
Dr.
Barrington.
Only, Florence, Dr.
Barrington's dead.
That's too bad, but why did you want to see him, Ginny? To help me prove that Leander is really mine.
He is mine, isn't he? What a funny thing to ask.
You know how l was when well, when he was born, only half conscious after the fall l'd taken.
Iflorence.]
Ginny, you're being ridiculous.
Of course Leander is yours.
l know because l was there.
But But why, after all this time, do you have to prove it, l mean, if you're putting him up for adoption? That was the idea, before he was born, but now, after these months, l l can't let him go.
l just can't, and l won't let anybody take him away, either.
Someone's trying to take him? Somebody's following me, watching the bungalow court in Hollywood where l'm staying, and the other night a woman came, and she said if I didn't have Leander adopted immediately, she'd have the police take him because he wasn't really my baby.
- Who was that woman? - l don't know, but that's why l've just got to prove, some way, he's mine.
Oh, if only we'd registered the birth.
Oh, but Ginny, that was part of what you wanted.
That's why l told Dr.
Barrington your regular doctor was going to take over.
He'd leave the registering to him.
lt looks like l'm your only chance, doesn't it? l'm the only one who really knows.
[Ginny.]
But J can't have you lose your license.
l should've gone straight to Mr.
Mason anyway.
Mr.
Mason? Don't worry.
l won't mention you, no matter what happens.
He's a lawyer, Florence.
He's the one who'II just have to investigate everything.
That's all l can do now.
- Paul, Ginny says - Never mind, l heard.
We'll talk about it later, all right? Please.
All right, Paul.
Hello, l'd like to speak to Mr.
Jarvis Baker, please.
First, Leander checked footprints at every hospital in town, no identification.
Second, Lester Menke l tailed him to his boarding house and then had one of my operatives take over.
- He's still there, as far as l know.
- Police record? None in L.
A.
but we're getting a report fiom New York, where Menke used to live, and the man l sent out to the sanitarium found that Menke did work there up to several months ago.
He was a lone wolf and not well liked.
What else did your man find there, Paul? Well, for one thing, Lawrence Kerrick was there.
He was a semi-invalid, subject to blackout spells as a result of head injuries received in a plane crash a couple of years ago.
He died of an embolism resulting from the injuries.
What about Virginia Talbot? One kind of interesting rumor that she and Kerrick were married just before he died.
- Married.
- Somewhere in Nevada.
- We'll try to check it in the morning.
- [phone rings.]
Hello.
Oh, just one minute.
Paul.
Thanks.
Hello? Yeah.
He did? Where? [chuckles.]
Thanks.
That's the man l have tailing Menke, says Menke's visiting a Hollywood bungalow rented by guess who.
- Virginia Talbot? - Mm-hmm.
Perry, Leander wishes you luck.
[knocking.]
Miss Talbot? Lester Menke.
Must have just happened.
l can still smell gunpowder.
[Man.]
You.
You.
Stop, or l'll shoot.
All right, Miss Talbot, Iet's just see what did happen in there, and remember And furthermore, Your Honor the State will prove that the defendant and the deceased, Lester Menke, were partners in a cold-blooded plot to try to foist om a borrowed baby on a wealthy and socially prominent woman on the pretense that the baby was actually the omspring of her late son, that the fatal shooting resulted from a quarrel over the division of the contemplated spoils of this plot, and on the basis of this evidence, Your Honor the State will move that the defendant, Virginia Talbot, be bound over for trial for the murder of Lester Menke.
Sergeant Brice, l show you this revolver, already entered in evidence and identified ballistically as the murder weapon.
l ask if you recognize it.
Yes, it's the revolver l found in the defendant's handbag after l reached the scene.
[Burger.]
What did the defendant say about this discovery of yours? Nothing.
She was cautioned by Mr.
Mason, who was present, not to say anything.
[Burger.]
Cautioned by Mr.
Mason, really? Did you further investigate this revolver? l checked to see if it was licensed, and it wasn't.
Then l found the store where it had been purchased.
Well, according to my firearms register, l sold that revolver on April Tth.
Just four days before it was used to kill Lester Menke? - Is that correct? - Yes, l guess that's right, sir.
Now, would you look around this courtroom and tell us who the person was who came into your store on April Tth and purchased this revolver from you? [Clerk.]
That's the one back there, the elderly lady sitting on the aisle.
Sure, l got the gun for her, l mean, people watching her day and night, trying to get in, and a strange woman coming and threatening to take her baby away.
Now, with regard to this baby that she claimed was hers, did you do anything? Well, l l suggested the baby be put in a safe place until she got certain things straightened out, so l took the baby to Mr.
Mason's omice.
[Burger.]
Mr.
Mason? Why Mr.
Mason? l've been his cleaning woman for eight years, and l know what a fine man he is and how he's always ready to help people in trouble.
[chuckles.]
Well, this seems to disprove the old theory about no man being a hero to his cleaning woman.
But now on this same night, when you left the baby on Mr.
Mason's doorstep, so to speak, did you have any contact with the deceased, Lester Menke? Yes, when l got back to Miss Talbot's bungalow, l found her struggling with him, and believe you me, l got him out of there fast.
But didn't he say anything to you before he left? Yes, but What did he say, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Must l answer that, Your Honor? l'm afraid you must, Mrs.
Cosgrove.
Well, he said something to Ginny to the emect that they were still partners and she'd better not forget it.
[Burger.]
Thank you, Mrs.
Cosgrove.
l believe your description of the defendant's actions, when you went to her bungalow to investigate what you thought might have been a gunshot, was that she ran out the back door like a scared rabbit? Oh, that's right.
A scared rabbit.
l also believe you said that after you heard the noise, you got out your shotgun and began a search for shells for it.
Yeah, my wife, she found them in a kitchen cabinet.
[Mason.]
How long did all this take? [Manager.]
Oh, three, four minutes, l guess.
[Mason.]
Or five or six? Tell me, how long did it then take you to reach Virginia Talbot's bungalow? Oh, well, two or three minutes.
Making it anywhere from six to nine minutes after the shot when you got there, and yet you say Virginia Talbot came running out like a scared rabbit? That's how she looked to me.
Didn't it strike you as strange that someone would spend six to nine minutes with a corpse and then run like a scared rabbit? Now, Miss Wood, what happened on the date to which l have drawn your attention, that is, February 23rd of last year? Ginny and Lawrence Kerrick eloped.
Eloped? How do you know that? Because l drove them to a Justice of the Peace, just over the Nevada line.
[Burger.]
Did you consider that one of your obligations as head nurse of the Sanitarium, to facilitate marriages between patients and nurses? l considered it an obligation to a friend.
You may cross-examine.
By your use of the word ''elope,'' Miss Wood, do you mean to convey that no one but you knew of the marriage, at least for a time? Yes.
Are you sure you told no one else about it? Well, l l did tell one person the next day Paul, l mean Dr.
Hogathy.
Well, l was shocked.
l'd known, of course, that they were friends, but l had no idea it would come to marriage.
What did you do when you learned about the marriage? l immediately informed Mr.
Jarvis Baker.
Why Mr.
Baker? Because, as the court-appointed conservator of Lawrence Kerrick's estate, he had placed him in my care.
l did the only thing possible.
l had the marriage annulled as quickly as possible, on the obvious grounds that Lawrence was of unsound mind.
How did you get Miss Talbot to accept this? l pointed out to her that l was Lawrence's conservator a fact she claimed she hadn't known, and as such, was in a position to prosecute her for taking advantage of an incompetent person.
Well, we went out to see Lawrence, to talk to him.
He was having one of his blackout spells and failed to recognize her.
Well, that did it.
She signed the necessary papers without further protest.
l know l've done the worst thing possible, Mr.
Mason, picking up the gun from the floor and running, instead of calling the police, but l thought l should find you first.
Your biggest mistake, Ginny, was not coming to see me a long time ago.
A long time ago.
Mr.
Mason, l l really did think l wanted to put my baby out for adoption.
l had been so upset and and unhappy that spur-of-the-moment marriage and annulment, poor Lawrence dying, and then, when well, all l wanted was was to forget everything, to never have to tell or explain to my folks or anybody about any of it.
And then you saw your baby.
After l decided to keep him, l still hoped that that l'd never have to tell that Leander was was illegitimate.
He's not illegitimate, Ginny.
What l have to prove is that he's actually yours.
But l told you that doctor in Yuma is dead and we l mean, l deliberately didn't register the birth.
Which is it, Ginny l or we? Please, Mr.
Mason, all this can't have anything to do with Lester Menke's death.
lt just can't.
Paul, l want you to fly to Yuma.
Check on Dr.
Barrington yourself.
He may have mentioned the birth to someone.
All right.
Also check around Ginny's cottage.
She says it was isolated, may have seen another man or woman there.
Will do.
Well, look who's here.
Oh, my darling.
Oh, my precious, precious darling.
Mr.
Baker when did you first tell Mrs# Leander Kerrick about her son's marriage and its subsequent annulment? Not until a short time ago.
Why this wait? Mrs.
Kerrick is an elderly person.
l didn't want her upset.
l wanted to protect her, just as l was protecting Lawrence.
Or perhaps protecting yourself? l l don't understand.
Oh, l think you do.
lf Lawrence died unmarried and without issue, you'd be next in line to inherit the Kerrick fortune, wouldn't you? Are you intimating that l forced the annulment of his marriage to benefit myself? You seem to have been unusually quick, as well as secretive, about a matter that normally takes weeks or even months.
Well, l happen to have a lot of good friends in Nevada.
Anyway, what dimerence does it make, as long as Miss Talbot agreed to the annulment? When did you first tell Mrs.
Kerrick that the defendant claimed to have a baby? l didn't.
She learned about the baby, just as l did, from Lenora Graves.
You are Mrs.
Leander Kerrick's secretary, l believe, Miss Graves? Yes.
Would you tell us, please, what your connection was with the deceased, with the defendant, and with the baby purported to be hers? Well, l got a call from a man named Menke, wanting to see Mrs.
Kerrick about locating Lawrence's baby son and also the mother, Virginia Talbot.
l told Mrs.
Kerrick of this, and she decided to see him.
Then l told Mr.
Baker.
[Burger.]
And what did you do then? There were two things l thought l'd better check on myself the time the annulment degree was entered in Nevada 2:35 p.
m.
, February 29th and the time of Lawrence's death What was the purpose of this? Well, l thought if we could prove that even if there was such a baby as Mr.
Menke claimed, it was certainly illegitimate, the marriage having been annulled before Lawrence Kerrick died.
And on the basis of this idea, what did you do next? l located Miss Talbot and told her she'd lose her baby if she persisted in trying to foist it om on Mrs.
Kerrick as her grandson.
[Burger.]
And what was her reaction to this? She told me to leave.
That's the last time l saw her until some time later, of course, after she was arrested for murder.
He went back to sleep.
You must have really stretched out your cross-examination, Perry.
Hamilton was sure he'd finish up by mid-afternoon.
Well, he wasn't, which gives us some hope.
- [knock on door.]
- It must be Paul.
What's the good word, Paul? Disaster on all fronts, both here and Yuma.
- That bad? - Take here, first.
Nothing, absolutely nothing on Paul Hogathy and Florence Wood, except that he's a refugee doctor from Hungary and they're in love.
We did manage to get a partial line on Lester Menke two convictions in the East for operating a black-market baby adoption racket.
That's a disaster? lt is when you hear the Yuma part.
Menke was seen several times hanging around Ginny's cottage there.
Which could make it seem as if he and Ginny were really partners.
Mm-hm.
l found a friend who had done some investigating there a couple of weeks ago.
Wouldn't tell me anything except that he was hired by Jarvis Baker.
l half expected that.
Now, here comes the shocker.
lt wasn't easy to check because, of course, Dr.
Barrington is now dead, but where do you suppose the doctor was on the day Ginny says her baby was born? ln Mazatlan, Mexico, fishing.
- Wonderful.
- Wonderful? But, Perry, that proves Ginny was lying.
Look, suppose she and Menke borrowed some Paul, do you have a portable ultra-violet lamp at your omice? Yeah.
Good, let's put it to work, along with this.
- And what's that? - Why, it's a subpoena.
Now, Dr.
Hogathy, l would like you to Please, Mr.
Mason, not ''Doctor'' in this country.
Only in my native Hungary.
- You're not certified in California? - Not yet.
l don't practice at the Sanitarium.
l only manage it.
Then certainly you'll recognize this ledger? [Hogathy.]
Why, yes.
lt is the Sanitarium's vital statistic ledger, the one you subpoenaed last night.
Would you kindly read this item under February 29th? [Hogathy.]
''Lawrence Kerrick, 32.
''Cause of death cerebral embolism.
Time of death 3:15 p.
m.
'' Now, would you read the time again, please, under ultra-violet light? [Hogathy.]
Why, it has been altered.
Originally it was 2:15 instead of 3:15.
[Mason.]
Thank you.
Which means, Your Honor that Lawrence Kerrick died exactly 20 minutes before his marriage to Virginia Talbot was annulled in Nevada at 2:35 p.
m.
that same day.
Now, did you alter this record, Mr.
Hogathy? No.
l would have no reason to do that.
All right! Yes, l did it, but l had to protect the family.
Mr.
Baker has always been so nice to me, and l l just couldn't bear to see him Iose his inheritance.
But how did you think that changing the record would amect that? Well, it would make her baby if she really had one, which l doubt illegitimate.
Miss Graves, the law expressly states that any issue of marriage, even though it be later annulled, is legitimate.
So you see, it really made no dimerence when Lawrence Kerrick died.
Did anyone else know of your having altered the record? No, but afteM/ards, l tried to tell that man Lester Menke about the times, to show him that if Virginia Talbot had a baby, it would do her no good, but he just laughed at me.
And so you caught him in Virginia Talbot's bungalow later that night and killed him so he couldn't laugh again? No.
No, l didn't kill anybody.
l swear.
And l swear l knew nothing of what Lenora had done, nothing.
Mr.
Baker did you or anyone in your employ ever try to enter a house occupied by Miss Della Street? Uh, well, you see What were you looking for, a certain St.
Christopher medal, perhaps? Well, l admit l was watching what happened to the baby that night.
And do you also admit to suppressing information, which an investigator of yours had found in Yuma? No.
There wasn't anything to suppress.
All that man found was the name of someone who visited Miss Talbot several times down there.
- Who was that, Miss Florence Wood? - Yes.
l would have come foM/ard if l'd thought it would help prove that Ginny didn't kill Menke, but it wouldn't.
All it would do would be to get me in trouble.
Miss Wood, when Ginny asked you the name of the doctor in Yuma, why did you conveniently select one who had died shortly after the time of the baby's birth? But it was Dr.
Barrington.
On the day the baby was born, Dr.
Barrington was in Mazatlan, Mexico, fishing.
No.
No, l was with Ginny myself.
l was the one who delivered the baby, Mr.
Mason.
l drove Florence to Yuma so she could be with Ginny the last couple of weeks before the baby was born.
You knew about the expected birth? Well, Ginny did not know.
l did.
l dropped Florence om, and as l was turning the car around, she came running out of the cottage.
She had found Ginny unconscious by the stone fireplace.
- A fall? - Yes.
l rushed in, and as Ginny began to recover consciousness, the baby started to come prematurely.
l felt there was danger, and certainly no time to reach a doctor with the necessary qualifications.
Fortunately, l had some sanitarium supplies in the car drugs, instruments.
Of course, for me to do all this was completely irregular, even illegal.
Now l can never practice here in the United States.
Who else besides Florence Wood knew about this? How about Lester Menke? Did he know? Yes.
Somehow Lester had traced Ginny to Yuma and had been watching her cottage.
How much had you paid him to keep quiet up to the time of his death? $6,OOO, all l had in the world.
And when he wanted more, you had no alternative but to kill him.
No, Mr.
Mason, l didn't kill him.
l submit you did.
l submit you followed him to Virginia Talbot's bungalow, where you fought with him over possession of the revolver he'd taken from her, and then you No.
No, that's all wrong.
l killed him.
l l was waiting for Ginny when he came.
l told him he'd have to leave Paul Dr.
Hogathy alone, or l'd report him to the police, but he wouldn't listen.
He wouldn't believe me, so l went to the phone.
He took out a revolver Ginny's and came after me, and we we struggled, and and the gun went om, and l ran out the back way and kept running until now.
l believe this belongs to you, Virginia.
Oh, you're quite right, Paul.
Menke was working every possible angle Mrs.
Kerrick, for finding Leander, Jarvis Baker and Lenora Graves in hopes they might pay him for not finding Leander, and Hogathy for keeping quiet about him.
What do you suppose will happen to Hogathy? l imagine, under the circumstances, the Board of Medical Examiners will deal quite leniently with him.
What about Florence? Didn't l tell you, Ginny? She's my newest client.
Mr.
Mason, how can l ever thank you for all you've done? [Mrs.
Kerrick.]
Plenty of time for that later.
The thing to do now is to get Leander safely home.
Come on, Virginia.
Come on.
Goodbye, and thank you.
Well, l'd sure hate to be Jarvis Baker when Mrs.
Kerrick gets through with him.
Oh, l'm sure she realizes he was only doing what he thought best for her.
Della, why all the tears? Everything turned out pretty well.
Wouldn't you cry, too, if you lost the only baby you ever had? [whimpers.]
Subtitled By J.
R.
Media Services, Inc.
Burbank, CA
[Della sighs.]
Why the sigh? l thought the dinner was excellent.
lt isn't the dinner.
- l'm merely letting out my breath.
- Your breath? l've been holding it ever since we sat down.
Do you realize that this is the first meal we've had in weeks that hasn't been interrupted by a frantic phone call from someone the omice or a worried client? l almost wish l'd specialized in something a little less strenuous than criminal law.
[laughs.]
You know you don't mean that.
No, but l do wish we didn't have to finish that brief tonight.
l was hoping you'd forgotten.
And if l had? Like a good, dutiful secretary, l would have reminded you maybe.
Anyway, we haven't more than a couple of hours' work.
And then Waiter, may we have the check, please? This'll just about clear om my desk.
Won't it, Della? Except for that article you promised the Quarterly Law Review.
Oh, that's not due for a month yet.
You know, these lulls are too rare not to take advantage of them.
Suppose tomorrow you begin a small bonus vacation, say about week.
- [faint rattling.]
- Perry.
There's someone in here.
Do you hear that? - [rattling continues.]
- Yes.
- [baby coos.]
- Oh, my goodness.
[rattles.]
[Drake.]
This is the darnedest thing l ever heard of.
Della, are you sure all the doors were locked when you went to dinner? Yes, l just checked again, and all the doors are still locked.
And yet here inside and perfectly at home on my desk - Leander.
- Leander? These notes were pinned to his blanket.
''My name is Leander.
'' - [Leander coos.]
- ''Please, please don't let anybody, not even the police, take me away.
'' That's odd, to say the least.
This one's even odder.
''E-V-M 13 - W 19 - C-O-R-N S 2T.
'' We'd better get this to a cryptographer.
That's his formula, Paul.
Oh.
We have to find this baby's parents fast.
OtheM/ise l'll have to turn him over to whoever you turn babies over to.
You can't do that, Perry.
That's just what the note asked you not to do.
Della, how can l take care of a baby that size? [Della.]
l can.
l told you l'm living at Helen Leslie's house while she and her family are in Europe.
They should have everything there that l need.
[Drake.]
Hey, look.
He's laughing.
Of course he is.
He knows you'll do the right thing, Perry.
What is the right thing? Legally l'm entitled to take whatever measures l deem necessary to protect a client's interest, but who's my client? Leander, of course.
Unfortunately, Leander's a minor.
ln fact, he's just about the most minor minor l've encountered.
Well, not much to go on here.
l can have these checked for latent fingerprints, but that's about it.
Here, would this medal help, Paul? Regulation St.
Christopher's.
What's this? [Mason.]
An electric automobile.
[machine whirring.]
What's that noise? Mrs.
Cosgrove.
Mrs.
Cosgrove? Oh, Mr.
Drake, l didn't realize anybody was here.
l'll do this later.
No-No, would you come in a minute, please, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Good evening, Mr.
Mason, Miss Street.
How long have you been working on this floor tonight? Why, an hour or so, l'd say.
Started with Crespo & Company, as l always do, and then came here.
Well, now, what's this? - [Leander cooing.]
- Oh-h-ho.
Would you look at the little darlin', smiling like a tiny angel? Surely never knew you were married, Miss Street.
Oh l l'm not.
She's yours, Mr.
Mason? Well, no.
No, and just to keep the record straight, this ''she'' happens to be a he.
- Oh? - Uh not mine, either.
Holly, did you loan your passkey to anyone tonight? Oh, no, that's strictly forbidden.
ls there something wrong? Did you see any strangers in the hallway? l saw no one, but l did hear footsteps about half an hour ago a woman's, from the heel clicks, and in a great hurry.
Running down the stairs, they were.
Well, thank you very much.
Not at all.
This is quite a mystery.
You can say that again.
What now, Perry? All right, Della, the baby's yours at least until we see what develops tomorrow.
[Della chuckles.]
Here, Paul, take the baby, will you, please? - Who, me? - Yes.
B-But l'm liable to drop him.
Oh.
l have to get the keys.
Yes.
Uh, Della, here, you better hold him.
Paul, a fine father you'll make.
l don't understand any of this.
Nor do l.
But it's the baby, all right.
lt's the same basket, no doubt of that.
But is it the right baby? That's what we have to find out.
l realize you can't remember all the incoming calls, Gertie, but was there an unusual one, possibly from a woman late this afternoon? And you told her? l see.
Yes, that's exactly what l wanted.
Thanks.
Gertie was at the switchboard at 5:3O when this woman called asking where l could be reached tonight.
Did Gertie say you'd be working tonight? Did the woman give her name? No, but at least part of the mystery is solved.
She wasn't just leaving the baby in an empty omice.
Uh, Paul, let me take a look at that again, will you, please? Here.
Hold out your hand.
- Too hot? - Too hot for what? For the baby, stupid.
Why don't you ask him? Paul, do you happen to know any antique car fanciers? Yeah, one man named Amos Berry.
Why? Let's pay a call on Mr.
Berry that is, if Della can get along without us.
Certainly we can get along.
Can't we, Leander? You sure you don't want me to call the Nurses' Registry? Who needs help with one small baby? All right.
We'll be back in the morning.
Good night, Mother.
[chuckles.]
Night.
Tell me, Leander where's your mommy? Come in.
Hi, Ginny.
What are you doing here, Lester? l'm just paying a friendly visit.
You don't seem very happy to see me.
How did you find me? Oh, l always keep track of the people l'm fond of.
l'm very fond of you, Ginny in spite of the mistake you made.
Mistake? Sure.
Not cutting me in on this in the beginning.
l told you a long time ago l'd find you a kid.
lt was my idea, remember? Where is the kid? Bedroom? There's no baby here.
Oh, huh.
[laughs.]
What is this? For your pet poodle? Come on, Ginny.
Let's cut out the games and get down to business.
lf by business, you mean blackmail, Lester, you've got the wrong person.
Blackmail? Ginny, heavens, no.
l mean a partnership, and that won't be hay, Ginny, because l've got some angles that you never even thought of.
You've got this all wrong, Lester.
The only thing l want is to be left alone.
Alone.
Sure, alone with a suitcase full of money.
Now, Ginny, l'm in this.
Whether you like it of not, l'm in this all the way.
What are you doing? l'm going to call the police if you don't get out of here.
Oh, all right, the police.
We'll both tell them some very fascinating things.
Want me to dial it for you? What is it, O for operator? [Ginny gasps.]
Let go.
- Sure.
- Let go.
And get shot? l don't think so.
l'll take this.
Now, be nice, Ginny.
Be nice! Here, here, what's all this? Who are you? Wh None of your business.
l'll show you whose business.
Let go of her, you little pipsqueak, or l'll poke this clear through you.
Ginny, please tell her how much you want me to stay.
Get out.
Get out of here.
Only, we're still partners, Ginny.
Remember that still partners.
Scum.
Should we report him? No.
No, he's not important.
Did everything go all right, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Oh, yes, exactly as we planned safe and sound in Mr.
Mason's hands.
How can l ever thank you? Time enough for that after you do whatever it is you have to do.
Yes.
l better get started.
l'll, uh, be back sometime tomorrow.
Good luck, dear.
Mrs.
Cosgrove, he wasn't crying or anything? He was having the time of his young life.
[Drake.]
Mr.
Berry? Mr.
Berry? [Berry.]
No need to shout.
l can hear as well as l ever did.
Besides, the place is closed this time of night.
Oh, it's you, Mr.
Drake.
Rust.
Ain't been greased in 30, 40 years.
Miracle she'd run at all.
Ought to be a Humane Society for old cars, same as for dogs and cats.
Mr.
Berry, l'd like you to meet Mr.
Mason.
- How's that? - Mr.
Mason.
Wants to buy a car, eh? Well, come back in the morning.
You can have your pick, Mr.
Basin.
Stanleys, Packards, Franklins Uh, Mason, Mr.
Berry, not Basin.
Needn't shout.
l can hear you.
Actually, Mr.
Berry, all we want is some information.
How's that? Can you tell us the name of the electric brougham on this St.
Christopher medal? Real old timer.
Detroit Electric? Land's sake, l believe it is.
A genuine rarity, Mr.
Jason.
A Kerrick Electrocar.
What do you mean, Mr.
Berry, ''a genuine rarity''? Only six of 'em ever made.
Traction millionaire in Chicago.
Used to build 'em for a hobby back in '15, '16 You must have heard of him Leander Kerrick.
[Drake.]
Leander? ls Mr.
Kerrick still alive? No.
His widow is, though.
Lives in a big place they bought in Beverly Hills when he retired.
She's got one of these.
Tried to buy it from her, but she wouldn't sell.
Said she was still using it.
[phone rings.]
Berry's Antique Cars.
Who? A Mr.
Raisin? - You know, that has to be for me.
- [chuckling.]
Uh, thanks.
Hello.
l keep hearing sounds outside.
l think someone's trying to get in the house.
All right, Della.
We'll be right over.
Come on, Paul.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Berry.
Not at all, not at all.
Raisin? Funny name for a fellow to have.
[Drake knocks.]
- Who is it? - [Drake.]
It's us, Della.
Thank goodness you're here.
You all right? Just scared half out of my wits.
That's all.
More noises? Yes, outside the kitchen door and then back outside the bedroom again.
Of course, it could be just my imagination or the wind, a wild animal or some - He got in.
- [Drake.]
And how.
Perry, it's been jimmied.
Never mind the window.
Didn't the baby even cry out Della? - Paul, call the police.
- What for? What for? Della, kidnapping comes under [Leander cooing.]
[Della.]
Leander's all right.
Didn't l tell you l could take care of him? Snug little place, isn't it? Paul, look over there.
[Drake.]
Ah, looks like the one on the medal.
Yeah, just like l remembered tiller instead of a wheel, and look at that vase of flowers.
You men there, what are you doing? lt was our understanding that this was the property of Mrs.
Leander Kerrick.
l'm Mrs.
Kerrick's cousin.
Oh, yes, Mr.
Jarvis Baker.
You are also her business manager, aren't you? But just who are you? My name's Mason.
l'm an attorney.
Now, her secretary refused me an appointment, but perhaps you can arrange for me to see Mrs.
Kerrick.
See her? About what? Her grandson.
Follow me.
Wouldn't you say this story of yours was rather incredible, Mr.
Mason? A baby mysteriously locked in your omice with only a note saying his name was Leander? Yes, quite incredible, but the baby also had something else with him a St.
Christopher medal.
Dolly, are you all right? That belonged to my husband, Mr.
Mason, and then to my son Lawrence.
We wondered why it wasn't among his emects after his death.
And now, miraculously, it turns up around a foundling's neck.
You seem quite hostile to both the baby and to me, Mr.
Baker.
Why? - Because l don't - Perhaps l can explain.
- Lenora.
- Yes, Mrs.
Kerrick.
Will you bring in our other caller, please? This is what did you say your name was, young man? Menke, ma'am, Lester Menke.
l have an idea they're already acquainted, Dolly, with each other and with Virginia Talbot, too.
l'm afraid l don't follow you, Mr.
Baker.
Mrs.
Kerrick does.
Would you repeat the omer you just made me, for Mr.
Mason's benefit? Well, it it wasn't an omer.
l merely asked the lady what she'd give if l could prove that Lawrence Kerrick had a baby son and if l could find him and the mother for her.
Only you seem to have already found the baby, Mr.
Mason.
You've got Ginny's baby? l have a baby.
Who is Virginia Talbot, Mrs.
Kerrick? Lenora knows more about her than l do.
l've seen her, at least.
She was a nurse at the rest home where Lawrence died and where Mr.
Menke claims he was employed.
You can check with Dr.
Hogathy, Paul Hogathy.
He's the head man out there, Oak Hill Sanitarium, near Riverside.
And you do know where Virginia Talbot can be found? Mr.
Mason, l think this little drama has progressed far enough.
Drama? ''Plot'' may be a better word, a plot to foist a spurious baby on a excuse me, Dolly, but l must say it on an extremely vulnerable old lady.
Perhaps you're an innocent party to all this, perhaps not.
ln any event, l suggest you disassociate yourself as soon as possible.
Thank you for your suggestion, Mr.
Baker but l've no intention of withdrawing until l'm completely satisfied as to the identity of this baby l've been entrusted with.
Good day, Mrs.
Kerrick.
May l have the medal, please? Thank you.
Excuse me.
Now, as for you, Menke l'm going.
You'll be hearing from me.
Jarvis, Mr.
Mason is a well known lawyer.
Wouldn't it have been better to have cooperated with him? Perhaps the baby really is Lawrence's.
You must never allow yourself to think that, Mrs.
Kerrick, because it can't be.
We explained that, Dolly.
Yes, l suppose you have.
Mr.
Mason? l have an idea.
How about you and me making a deal? You got the baby, and l got the mother.
The baby is actually Lawrence Kerrick's, then? What dimerence does it make as long as they think it is? You just leave that to me.
What l'm likely to leave to you, Mr.
Menke, is a chance to appear before the Grand Jury and testify under oath as to what you know or do not know about the baby.
Paul, l'd like you to take my car and follow that man.
His name is Menke.
l want all l know friends, background, record, if any.
Right, the whole works.
[door closes.]
- Mrs.
Kerrick? - Yes.
Come in, won't you? Mr.
Mason said you might be paying us a visit.
A painted hussy blonde, brassy, and hard as nails.
- l beg your pardon? - That's how l pictured you.
lnstead, you're a lady.
Thank you.
l hope so.
Would you like to see the baby? [giggles.]
- [Leander cooing.]
- Come on, honey.
Oh, goodness, goodness.
What do you have? Lookie here.
Turn around here, hon.
lsn't he adorable? Yes, quite adorable.
Does Does he resemble your son? How can you do a cruel thing like this to a defenseless Mrs.
Kerrick, what are you talking about? l'm l'm just Mr.
Mason's secretary.
Didn't he tell you? No, he simply gave me this and said if l wanted to see the baby that had been wearing it, l'd find him here, but it makes no dimerence.
lt's still a cruel thing to do, to try to trap me this way, but l l won't be trapped.
You tell Mr.
Mason that l never want to see or hear of this baby again.
Never.
Poor little fellow.
lt looks like nobody wants you except me.
Oh, l-l'm sorry.
l, um l thought Florence was here alone, Dr.
Hogathy.
Well, she was, until l trapped her a couple of minutes ago.
Ginny, you're looking very well indeed.
Thank you.
As a matter of fact, so well, l begin to have hopes that you will come back here to work with us again.
Well, l l haven't made any plans yet, Doctor.
Well, keep us in mind.
Now, if you ladies will excuse me, l have some work to attend to.
What is it, Ginny? Oh, Florence, l'm in trouble, even worse trouble than before.
The baby? Yes, l went to Yuma last night, and this morning l called on the doctor you said helped when Leander was born.
Dr.
Barrington.
Only, Florence, Dr.
Barrington's dead.
That's too bad, but why did you want to see him, Ginny? To help me prove that Leander is really mine.
He is mine, isn't he? What a funny thing to ask.
You know how l was when well, when he was born, only half conscious after the fall l'd taken.
Iflorence.]
Ginny, you're being ridiculous.
Of course Leander is yours.
l know because l was there.
But But why, after all this time, do you have to prove it, l mean, if you're putting him up for adoption? That was the idea, before he was born, but now, after these months, l l can't let him go.
l just can't, and l won't let anybody take him away, either.
Someone's trying to take him? Somebody's following me, watching the bungalow court in Hollywood where l'm staying, and the other night a woman came, and she said if I didn't have Leander adopted immediately, she'd have the police take him because he wasn't really my baby.
- Who was that woman? - l don't know, but that's why l've just got to prove, some way, he's mine.
Oh, if only we'd registered the birth.
Oh, but Ginny, that was part of what you wanted.
That's why l told Dr.
Barrington your regular doctor was going to take over.
He'd leave the registering to him.
lt looks like l'm your only chance, doesn't it? l'm the only one who really knows.
[Ginny.]
But J can't have you lose your license.
l should've gone straight to Mr.
Mason anyway.
Mr.
Mason? Don't worry.
l won't mention you, no matter what happens.
He's a lawyer, Florence.
He's the one who'II just have to investigate everything.
That's all l can do now.
- Paul, Ginny says - Never mind, l heard.
We'll talk about it later, all right? Please.
All right, Paul.
Hello, l'd like to speak to Mr.
Jarvis Baker, please.
First, Leander checked footprints at every hospital in town, no identification.
Second, Lester Menke l tailed him to his boarding house and then had one of my operatives take over.
- He's still there, as far as l know.
- Police record? None in L.
A.
but we're getting a report fiom New York, where Menke used to live, and the man l sent out to the sanitarium found that Menke did work there up to several months ago.
He was a lone wolf and not well liked.
What else did your man find there, Paul? Well, for one thing, Lawrence Kerrick was there.
He was a semi-invalid, subject to blackout spells as a result of head injuries received in a plane crash a couple of years ago.
He died of an embolism resulting from the injuries.
What about Virginia Talbot? One kind of interesting rumor that she and Kerrick were married just before he died.
- Married.
- Somewhere in Nevada.
- We'll try to check it in the morning.
- [phone rings.]
Hello.
Oh, just one minute.
Paul.
Thanks.
Hello? Yeah.
He did? Where? [chuckles.]
Thanks.
That's the man l have tailing Menke, says Menke's visiting a Hollywood bungalow rented by guess who.
- Virginia Talbot? - Mm-hmm.
Perry, Leander wishes you luck.
[knocking.]
Miss Talbot? Lester Menke.
Must have just happened.
l can still smell gunpowder.
[Man.]
You.
You.
Stop, or l'll shoot.
All right, Miss Talbot, Iet's just see what did happen in there, and remember And furthermore, Your Honor the State will prove that the defendant and the deceased, Lester Menke, were partners in a cold-blooded plot to try to foist om a borrowed baby on a wealthy and socially prominent woman on the pretense that the baby was actually the omspring of her late son, that the fatal shooting resulted from a quarrel over the division of the contemplated spoils of this plot, and on the basis of this evidence, Your Honor the State will move that the defendant, Virginia Talbot, be bound over for trial for the murder of Lester Menke.
Sergeant Brice, l show you this revolver, already entered in evidence and identified ballistically as the murder weapon.
l ask if you recognize it.
Yes, it's the revolver l found in the defendant's handbag after l reached the scene.
[Burger.]
What did the defendant say about this discovery of yours? Nothing.
She was cautioned by Mr.
Mason, who was present, not to say anything.
[Burger.]
Cautioned by Mr.
Mason, really? Did you further investigate this revolver? l checked to see if it was licensed, and it wasn't.
Then l found the store where it had been purchased.
Well, according to my firearms register, l sold that revolver on April Tth.
Just four days before it was used to kill Lester Menke? - Is that correct? - Yes, l guess that's right, sir.
Now, would you look around this courtroom and tell us who the person was who came into your store on April Tth and purchased this revolver from you? [Clerk.]
That's the one back there, the elderly lady sitting on the aisle.
Sure, l got the gun for her, l mean, people watching her day and night, trying to get in, and a strange woman coming and threatening to take her baby away.
Now, with regard to this baby that she claimed was hers, did you do anything? Well, l l suggested the baby be put in a safe place until she got certain things straightened out, so l took the baby to Mr.
Mason's omice.
[Burger.]
Mr.
Mason? Why Mr.
Mason? l've been his cleaning woman for eight years, and l know what a fine man he is and how he's always ready to help people in trouble.
[chuckles.]
Well, this seems to disprove the old theory about no man being a hero to his cleaning woman.
But now on this same night, when you left the baby on Mr.
Mason's doorstep, so to speak, did you have any contact with the deceased, Lester Menke? Yes, when l got back to Miss Talbot's bungalow, l found her struggling with him, and believe you me, l got him out of there fast.
But didn't he say anything to you before he left? Yes, but What did he say, Mrs.
Cosgrove? Must l answer that, Your Honor? l'm afraid you must, Mrs.
Cosgrove.
Well, he said something to Ginny to the emect that they were still partners and she'd better not forget it.
[Burger.]
Thank you, Mrs.
Cosgrove.
l believe your description of the defendant's actions, when you went to her bungalow to investigate what you thought might have been a gunshot, was that she ran out the back door like a scared rabbit? Oh, that's right.
A scared rabbit.
l also believe you said that after you heard the noise, you got out your shotgun and began a search for shells for it.
Yeah, my wife, she found them in a kitchen cabinet.
[Mason.]
How long did all this take? [Manager.]
Oh, three, four minutes, l guess.
[Mason.]
Or five or six? Tell me, how long did it then take you to reach Virginia Talbot's bungalow? Oh, well, two or three minutes.
Making it anywhere from six to nine minutes after the shot when you got there, and yet you say Virginia Talbot came running out like a scared rabbit? That's how she looked to me.
Didn't it strike you as strange that someone would spend six to nine minutes with a corpse and then run like a scared rabbit? Now, Miss Wood, what happened on the date to which l have drawn your attention, that is, February 23rd of last year? Ginny and Lawrence Kerrick eloped.
Eloped? How do you know that? Because l drove them to a Justice of the Peace, just over the Nevada line.
[Burger.]
Did you consider that one of your obligations as head nurse of the Sanitarium, to facilitate marriages between patients and nurses? l considered it an obligation to a friend.
You may cross-examine.
By your use of the word ''elope,'' Miss Wood, do you mean to convey that no one but you knew of the marriage, at least for a time? Yes.
Are you sure you told no one else about it? Well, l l did tell one person the next day Paul, l mean Dr.
Hogathy.
Well, l was shocked.
l'd known, of course, that they were friends, but l had no idea it would come to marriage.
What did you do when you learned about the marriage? l immediately informed Mr.
Jarvis Baker.
Why Mr.
Baker? Because, as the court-appointed conservator of Lawrence Kerrick's estate, he had placed him in my care.
l did the only thing possible.
l had the marriage annulled as quickly as possible, on the obvious grounds that Lawrence was of unsound mind.
How did you get Miss Talbot to accept this? l pointed out to her that l was Lawrence's conservator a fact she claimed she hadn't known, and as such, was in a position to prosecute her for taking advantage of an incompetent person.
Well, we went out to see Lawrence, to talk to him.
He was having one of his blackout spells and failed to recognize her.
Well, that did it.
She signed the necessary papers without further protest.
l know l've done the worst thing possible, Mr.
Mason, picking up the gun from the floor and running, instead of calling the police, but l thought l should find you first.
Your biggest mistake, Ginny, was not coming to see me a long time ago.
A long time ago.
Mr.
Mason, l l really did think l wanted to put my baby out for adoption.
l had been so upset and and unhappy that spur-of-the-moment marriage and annulment, poor Lawrence dying, and then, when well, all l wanted was was to forget everything, to never have to tell or explain to my folks or anybody about any of it.
And then you saw your baby.
After l decided to keep him, l still hoped that that l'd never have to tell that Leander was was illegitimate.
He's not illegitimate, Ginny.
What l have to prove is that he's actually yours.
But l told you that doctor in Yuma is dead and we l mean, l deliberately didn't register the birth.
Which is it, Ginny l or we? Please, Mr.
Mason, all this can't have anything to do with Lester Menke's death.
lt just can't.
Paul, l want you to fly to Yuma.
Check on Dr.
Barrington yourself.
He may have mentioned the birth to someone.
All right.
Also check around Ginny's cottage.
She says it was isolated, may have seen another man or woman there.
Will do.
Well, look who's here.
Oh, my darling.
Oh, my precious, precious darling.
Mr.
Baker when did you first tell Mrs# Leander Kerrick about her son's marriage and its subsequent annulment? Not until a short time ago.
Why this wait? Mrs.
Kerrick is an elderly person.
l didn't want her upset.
l wanted to protect her, just as l was protecting Lawrence.
Or perhaps protecting yourself? l l don't understand.
Oh, l think you do.
lf Lawrence died unmarried and without issue, you'd be next in line to inherit the Kerrick fortune, wouldn't you? Are you intimating that l forced the annulment of his marriage to benefit myself? You seem to have been unusually quick, as well as secretive, about a matter that normally takes weeks or even months.
Well, l happen to have a lot of good friends in Nevada.
Anyway, what dimerence does it make, as long as Miss Talbot agreed to the annulment? When did you first tell Mrs.
Kerrick that the defendant claimed to have a baby? l didn't.
She learned about the baby, just as l did, from Lenora Graves.
You are Mrs.
Leander Kerrick's secretary, l believe, Miss Graves? Yes.
Would you tell us, please, what your connection was with the deceased, with the defendant, and with the baby purported to be hers? Well, l got a call from a man named Menke, wanting to see Mrs.
Kerrick about locating Lawrence's baby son and also the mother, Virginia Talbot.
l told Mrs.
Kerrick of this, and she decided to see him.
Then l told Mr.
Baker.
[Burger.]
And what did you do then? There were two things l thought l'd better check on myself the time the annulment degree was entered in Nevada 2:35 p.
m.
, February 29th and the time of Lawrence's death What was the purpose of this? Well, l thought if we could prove that even if there was such a baby as Mr.
Menke claimed, it was certainly illegitimate, the marriage having been annulled before Lawrence Kerrick died.
And on the basis of this idea, what did you do next? l located Miss Talbot and told her she'd lose her baby if she persisted in trying to foist it om on Mrs.
Kerrick as her grandson.
[Burger.]
And what was her reaction to this? She told me to leave.
That's the last time l saw her until some time later, of course, after she was arrested for murder.
He went back to sleep.
You must have really stretched out your cross-examination, Perry.
Hamilton was sure he'd finish up by mid-afternoon.
Well, he wasn't, which gives us some hope.
- [knock on door.]
- It must be Paul.
What's the good word, Paul? Disaster on all fronts, both here and Yuma.
- That bad? - Take here, first.
Nothing, absolutely nothing on Paul Hogathy and Florence Wood, except that he's a refugee doctor from Hungary and they're in love.
We did manage to get a partial line on Lester Menke two convictions in the East for operating a black-market baby adoption racket.
That's a disaster? lt is when you hear the Yuma part.
Menke was seen several times hanging around Ginny's cottage there.
Which could make it seem as if he and Ginny were really partners.
Mm-hm.
l found a friend who had done some investigating there a couple of weeks ago.
Wouldn't tell me anything except that he was hired by Jarvis Baker.
l half expected that.
Now, here comes the shocker.
lt wasn't easy to check because, of course, Dr.
Barrington is now dead, but where do you suppose the doctor was on the day Ginny says her baby was born? ln Mazatlan, Mexico, fishing.
- Wonderful.
- Wonderful? But, Perry, that proves Ginny was lying.
Look, suppose she and Menke borrowed some Paul, do you have a portable ultra-violet lamp at your omice? Yeah.
Good, let's put it to work, along with this.
- And what's that? - Why, it's a subpoena.
Now, Dr.
Hogathy, l would like you to Please, Mr.
Mason, not ''Doctor'' in this country.
Only in my native Hungary.
- You're not certified in California? - Not yet.
l don't practice at the Sanitarium.
l only manage it.
Then certainly you'll recognize this ledger? [Hogathy.]
Why, yes.
lt is the Sanitarium's vital statistic ledger, the one you subpoenaed last night.
Would you kindly read this item under February 29th? [Hogathy.]
''Lawrence Kerrick, 32.
''Cause of death cerebral embolism.
Time of death 3:15 p.
m.
'' Now, would you read the time again, please, under ultra-violet light? [Hogathy.]
Why, it has been altered.
Originally it was 2:15 instead of 3:15.
[Mason.]
Thank you.
Which means, Your Honor that Lawrence Kerrick died exactly 20 minutes before his marriage to Virginia Talbot was annulled in Nevada at 2:35 p.
m.
that same day.
Now, did you alter this record, Mr.
Hogathy? No.
l would have no reason to do that.
All right! Yes, l did it, but l had to protect the family.
Mr.
Baker has always been so nice to me, and l l just couldn't bear to see him Iose his inheritance.
But how did you think that changing the record would amect that? Well, it would make her baby if she really had one, which l doubt illegitimate.
Miss Graves, the law expressly states that any issue of marriage, even though it be later annulled, is legitimate.
So you see, it really made no dimerence when Lawrence Kerrick died.
Did anyone else know of your having altered the record? No, but afteM/ards, l tried to tell that man Lester Menke about the times, to show him that if Virginia Talbot had a baby, it would do her no good, but he just laughed at me.
And so you caught him in Virginia Talbot's bungalow later that night and killed him so he couldn't laugh again? No.
No, l didn't kill anybody.
l swear.
And l swear l knew nothing of what Lenora had done, nothing.
Mr.
Baker did you or anyone in your employ ever try to enter a house occupied by Miss Della Street? Uh, well, you see What were you looking for, a certain St.
Christopher medal, perhaps? Well, l admit l was watching what happened to the baby that night.
And do you also admit to suppressing information, which an investigator of yours had found in Yuma? No.
There wasn't anything to suppress.
All that man found was the name of someone who visited Miss Talbot several times down there.
- Who was that, Miss Florence Wood? - Yes.
l would have come foM/ard if l'd thought it would help prove that Ginny didn't kill Menke, but it wouldn't.
All it would do would be to get me in trouble.
Miss Wood, when Ginny asked you the name of the doctor in Yuma, why did you conveniently select one who had died shortly after the time of the baby's birth? But it was Dr.
Barrington.
On the day the baby was born, Dr.
Barrington was in Mazatlan, Mexico, fishing.
No.
No, l was with Ginny myself.
l was the one who delivered the baby, Mr.
Mason.
l drove Florence to Yuma so she could be with Ginny the last couple of weeks before the baby was born.
You knew about the expected birth? Well, Ginny did not know.
l did.
l dropped Florence om, and as l was turning the car around, she came running out of the cottage.
She had found Ginny unconscious by the stone fireplace.
- A fall? - Yes.
l rushed in, and as Ginny began to recover consciousness, the baby started to come prematurely.
l felt there was danger, and certainly no time to reach a doctor with the necessary qualifications.
Fortunately, l had some sanitarium supplies in the car drugs, instruments.
Of course, for me to do all this was completely irregular, even illegal.
Now l can never practice here in the United States.
Who else besides Florence Wood knew about this? How about Lester Menke? Did he know? Yes.
Somehow Lester had traced Ginny to Yuma and had been watching her cottage.
How much had you paid him to keep quiet up to the time of his death? $6,OOO, all l had in the world.
And when he wanted more, you had no alternative but to kill him.
No, Mr.
Mason, l didn't kill him.
l submit you did.
l submit you followed him to Virginia Talbot's bungalow, where you fought with him over possession of the revolver he'd taken from her, and then you No.
No, that's all wrong.
l killed him.
l l was waiting for Ginny when he came.
l told him he'd have to leave Paul Dr.
Hogathy alone, or l'd report him to the police, but he wouldn't listen.
He wouldn't believe me, so l went to the phone.
He took out a revolver Ginny's and came after me, and we we struggled, and and the gun went om, and l ran out the back way and kept running until now.
l believe this belongs to you, Virginia.
Oh, you're quite right, Paul.
Menke was working every possible angle Mrs.
Kerrick, for finding Leander, Jarvis Baker and Lenora Graves in hopes they might pay him for not finding Leander, and Hogathy for keeping quiet about him.
What do you suppose will happen to Hogathy? l imagine, under the circumstances, the Board of Medical Examiners will deal quite leniently with him.
What about Florence? Didn't l tell you, Ginny? She's my newest client.
Mr.
Mason, how can l ever thank you for all you've done? [Mrs.
Kerrick.]
Plenty of time for that later.
The thing to do now is to get Leander safely home.
Come on, Virginia.
Come on.
Goodbye, and thank you.
Well, l'd sure hate to be Jarvis Baker when Mrs.
Kerrick gets through with him.
Oh, l'm sure she realizes he was only doing what he thought best for her.
Della, why all the tears? Everything turned out pretty well.
Wouldn't you cry, too, if you lost the only baby you ever had? [whimpers.]
Subtitled By J.
R.
Media Services, Inc.
Burbank, CA