Hawaii Five-O (1968) s11e04 Episode Script
The Case Against Philip Christie
Now, if he was gonna seal that room, lock the door, make it look like suicide, why wouldn't he put the gun in his wife's hand? He made a mistake, and that's how killers get caught.
Mr.
Christie, a question.
Did you kill your wife? I did not kill my wife.
PHILIP: Eleven of those jurors could find me innocent and he could foul it all up for me.
Why don't you disqualify yourself? We'll get an alternate juror in here and get our verdict.
That's what I'm afraid of, Minnie.
Keep it under three ten-thousandths, Ben.
Plus or minus how much? Nah, no pluses.
The whole ball game's right here.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Dorn Electronics.
Oh, hi, Penny.
Ben, would you shut that off just for a minute, please? - Okay.
- What time? Hey, okay.
Penny, I'm finishing up.
We'll-- Well, the, uh, so-called guest of honor is still here working-- - You are working, aren't you? - You bet.
He says he's working.
Penny? Well, Penny, don't be angry, we're-- Penny? Penny.
- It sounds like Penny is upset.
- Yeah.
it's getting to be a habit.
Anyway, she says everybody's at the party.
So, uh, we better get cracking.
Hey, Phil, do me a favor, would you? I'm running late closing the books.
- Would you pick Shirley up for me? - Sure.
Great.
She's at her dad's, and, uh, I'll be a half-hour behind at the most.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
- Let's do it, Ben.
- Yeah.
Coming.
- See you at the party.
- Okay.
Why didn't Howard call for me? Oh, he had some last-minute business.
Heh.
We're not even married and he's staying late at the office.
Which reminds me Have you been as attentive to Penny as you should? Oh, yeah.
Sure.
[CHATTERING.]
Yeah, ha, ha.
- Hi.
PHILIP: how you doing, Steve? [MAN 1 & WOMAN 1 CHUCKLING.]
SHIRLEY: Hello.
how are you? MAN 2: Hi.
Glad you could make it.
how you doing? WOMAN 2: Good.
- See you later.
MAN 2: Okay.
SHIRLEY: Nice to see you all.
MAN 3: You too.
- Hi, Dad.
- Hello, love.
how are you? Gin and tonic, right? Hello, Mr.
Van Dorn.
Hey, Ben, how's it going? - It's okay.
- Um, quitting a little early? Who's minding the store with all my employees here? Howard's still at the office.
Grinding away, as usual.
I gotta go find Penny.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Hi.
I'm sorry, honey.
I had to finish up.
You always have to finish up, Philip.
It's a very important project.
Howard's still working.
Come on.
Don't be angry because I'm a little late.
I'm not angry with you because you're late.
- Well, what's the problem? - Don't play innocent with me.
I spotted that man you hired to follow me.
- What? - Checking and spying on me.
You know, I knew you were jealous, Philip, but having me followed is something else.
Wait a minute.
I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
PENNY: I'll tell you what I'm talking about.
Your ugly suspicions.
I can't take them any more, or you.
Philip, I want a divorce.
PHILIP: You're the one with the ugly suspicions, not me.
Now, I remember "Till death do us part," that is, if you don't.
And that's the way it's gonna be.
[GRUNTS.]
[CROWD MURMURING.]
What happened? [SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Penny.
Penny, come on.
Will you let me in? Damn it.
Penny, I wanna talk to you.
Now come on, let me in.
[CHATTERING AND LAUGHING.]
[gunshots.]
[SHIRLEY GASPS.]
Penny? Penny, are you okay? Penny! - It's Penny, she's in there.
JARVIS: Let's bust it in- Oh, my God.
Penny? Penny.
SERGEANT: Recognize it, Mr.
Christie? Yes.
it's mine.
You were up here alone with your wife? No.
She was locked in here, and I was out in the hall.
[SCOFFS.]
Damn it, sergeant, I know it sounds crazy.
I went down the hall to get her on the extension phone.
When I heard the shots, I ran back here.
- And the door was still locked? - Yes.
- Mr.
Jarvis? - That's right.
The door was locked.
Phil and I broke it in.
There was nobody in here? Nobody except my wife on the floor.
What you're saying is, your wife, with the door, the only method of entry and exit locked, shot herself dead, walked over to the closet, put your gun in your jacket, then came back here, and laid down on the floor.
Well, somebody must have been in here with her and got out while I was down the hall.
I don't know- And locked the door from the inside? Well, what about the balcony? With a house full of guests sitting directly below? Mr.
Christie, I think I'd better read you your rights.
Oh, you can forget this, Steve.
Forget it? You're exempt.
Some clerk made an error, that's all.
I'm not exempt unless I request it.
Isn't that the way it works, governor? Right.
I'll make a telephone call.
Now, about that Marcus case Excuse me, governor.
- Isn't it a citizen's duty? - Sure.
- But you're a special case.
- Oh? Am I? Why? They'll never accept you, Steve.
You're a police officer.
Now, let me save you a lot of time and trouble, and get you out of this.
I think I'll go down there anyway.
Now don't be stubborn, Steve.
You'll only be wasting your time.
Mr.
Stephen McGarrett.
- Mr.
Stephen McGarrett? - Yes, sir.
Would you be able to make a decision as to the guilt or innocence of the accused solely upon the evidence presented in this court? I mean, regardless of your police affiliation? Oh, I think so, sir.
You know Mr.
Keith, the deputy district attorney? No.
How about the accused, Mr.
Philip Christie? - Or defense counsel, Mr.
Springer? - No, Your Honor.
Now is there any reason why you should not serve as a juror on this case, Mr.
McGarrett? I can't think of any, Your Honor.
The People may question.
- Good morning, Mr.
McGarrett.
McGARRETT: Good morning.
I have only one question.
A peculiarity of this case involves the distinction between two kinds of evidence.
I refer to direct evidence and circumstantial evidence.
You understand, sir, that in the eyes of the law one is as valid and damning as the other? Yes.
I understand that point.
In this case, no one knows how the murderer got out of the murder room since all exits were locked and bolted from the inside.
No one knows, that is, except the murderer himself since the murderer did escape.
The People must prove circumstantially therefore, that defendant, a mechanical genius, an inventor, and-- Object, Your Honor.
The district attorney is not supposed to be making an opening address.
Sustained.
Pass for cause, Your Honor.
JUDGE: Now the defense may question.
Two-to-one the defense throws him out for cause.
If you need money that badly, why don't you just ask me for a loan? Mr.
McGarrett, I would ask two questions.
Can and will you accept testimony by a witness who is not a police officer with the same credibility as you would a member of the police force? Oh, I think so.
I don't think a man's occupation has anything to do with his integrity.
And, Mr.
McGarrett, are you objective enough to accept the law which presumes the innocence of the accused unless and until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt and with moral certainty? Are you that objective, Mr.
McGarrett? Without question.
That means, Mr.
McGarrett, that you have no prejudice in your mind, no subjective leaning toward a presumption of guilt just because the defendant has been arrested, - processed and brought here to trial.
- None whatsoever.
Thank you, Mr.
McGarrett.
Pass for cause, Your Honor.
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE.]
What now? The peremptories, I think.
The challenges.
Where they bounce Steve.
The first peremptory is with the defense.
Ten-to-one? Your Honor, the defense accepts the jury as constituted.
The People accept the jury, Your Honor.
Mr.
McGarrett, would you please have a chair? The jury is now properly impaneled.
[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY.]
That's his first mistake, leaving McGarrett on the jury.
[BELL TOLLING.]
PHILIP: The man is a cop.
He's a cop.
How could you want him on the jury? He's a special kind of cop.
- Don't you want me to be acquitted? - Philip.
Eleven of those jurors could find me innocent and he could foul it all up for me.
We're not that strong, Philip.
I am innocent.
All the more reason for McGarrett being on the jury.
He's got an impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity.
On top of that, he's intelligent and perceptive.
Our case needs somebody like that on that jury.
Well, you could be wrong about him.
Sure, we all make mistakes.
A lot of people think you made one.
Two shots.
The first one shattered the aorta.
The second one penetrated the left ventricle of the heart.
Death was instantaneous.
SERGEANT: The bullets were fired from a .
38-caliber revolver.
Yes, sir.
That's the weapon.
It's registered to the defendant, Philip Christie.
What was the condition of the room? Well, the body of the deceased was on the floor.
The door, which was the only exit from the room, was broken in, and the lock ripped out of its studs.
DA: What kind of lock, sergeant? SERGEANT: A dead-bolt lock.
DA: But how could that be, sergeant? How could the murderer draw that dead bolt from inside the bedroom and then get out into the hall? I don't know, sir.
It would take a genius to figure that out.
I was the first one up the stairs.
Phil was pounding on the door.
It was locked so we broke it open.
By then, everyone else was up there.
When you broke the door down, what did you see? JARVIS: Well, Penny, on the floor.
DA: And what else? - Nothing else.
The room was empty.
I want to make this very clear, Mr.
Jarvis.
Philip Christie, the defendant, was already upstairs when you got there? At the bedroom door? Yes.
Your witness.
Mr.
Jarvis, did you know Mrs.
Christie - before she married the defendant? - Yes.
- Did you know her well? - Yes.
Well enough to ask her to marry me.
Are you--? I should-- I should say, were you in love with Mrs.
Christie on the day she died? I'm still in love with her.
I am Vincent Van Dorn, president of Dorn Electronics.
I hired Philip Christie to head my experimental laboratory.
His background includes postgraduate courses at MIT in Mechanical Engineering and Theoretical Physics.
So solving a puzzle, like locking an inside dead bolt from outside the door, would be a relatively simple task-- Objection, Your Honor.
Calling for a conclusion.
Sustained.
Now, if the district attorney does not object to interrupting his examination of this witness, I think it's a good time to break for lunch.
No objection, Your Honor.
McGARRETT: Since you picked up the check, I hope you don't put it on your expense account.
[ALL CHUCKLE.]
I appreciate your interest in this case, gentlemen, but who's minding the store? We're on top of everything, Steve.
H.
P.
D.
closed in on that smuggling ring we were worried about.
The thing we're puzzling out is the sealed-room thing.
How the murderer could get out.
Well, now, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
You know I'm not supposed to discuss this case with anyone.
Sure, we know.
We weren't gonna discuss it, Steve.
Of course not.
We were just going to say it was kind of an intriguing puzzle.
Something we might look into on our own.
No way.
No way.
Not with me on the jury.
Five-0 business only.
Routine business only.
- Huh? Clear? - Like crystal.
- Sure is.
- Okay.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? BEN: I do.
Mr.
Wahili, prior to Mr.
Christie coming to work for Dorn Electronics, you were head of research experimental, were you not? Yes, sir.
You heard Mr.
Van Dorn testify as to Mr.
Christie's technical expertise.
Do you agree that the defendant is an electronic genius? Oh, yes.
At Mr.
Van Dorn's request, I examined Philip Christie's resume.
His knowledge and background in the electronic field is outstanding.
Working close to him, Mr.
Wahili, were you aware of phone calls the defendant received from his wife? - Yes, sir.
- Arguments? Fights over the phone? BEN: Well, a wife has a right to-- DA: Just answer the questions, please.
- Very well.
As a matter of fact, you were present at the party when Philip Christie had a violent argument with his wife.
How do you define "violent," sir? Intense, heated, loud, bitter, vehement, furious.
- Well, then the argument was violent.
- Thank you, Mr.
Wahili.
I'm controller for Dorn Electronics.
Philip and I are in different departments, but we're friends socially.
Well, that is Shirley and I, with Phil and Penny.
I mean, when Penny was You were present at the party on the 28th? Well, I wasn't there when they had their argument.
Uh, I got there just as everybody was heading up the stairs.
I followed, but I really didn't know what was going on until Phil and Jarvis broke the door in and we found Penny on the floor.
And that's all I know, really.
You were a personal friend of the deceased? Yes.
DA: You were in the house when the argument took place? SHIRLEY: Yes.
Did deceased accuse the defendant of spying on her, of hiring someone to follow her? Did she accuse the defendant of being jealous? I wasn't paying too much attention.
I was talking to my father.
Did she demand a divorce? Did you hear her tell him she wanted a divorce, Miss Van Dorn? - What was the defendant`s reply? - Phil didn't want a divorce.
- He loved her.
He-- - He got angry.
He raised his voice.
His exact words were, "I remember 'Till death do us part) If you don't, that's the way it's going to be.
" isn't that what he said, Miss Van Dorn? Yes, that's what he said.
But he said that out of love and hurt I only hope that when I get married, my husband can say things like that to me, and that he'll love me enough to be jealous.
No more questions.
DA: What is your occupation, Mr.
Villipeg? I'm a licensed private investigator.
Please tell the court what occurred about one week before decedent's murder.
I was hired by telephone to follow Mrs.
Penelope Christie, to find out if she was seeing someone, romantically.
Who hired you? A man? A woman? I couldn't even tell that.
The voice was unidentifiable DA: how did you make your reports? I got a phone call every day at 6:00.
What was the result of your investigation, Mr.
Villipeg? Well, I thought once or twice that she might be on her way to meeting someone.
But both times she gave me the slip-- I lost her.
[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY.]
- Counselor? - Thanks for coming, gentlemen.
What I have to say may be a little unorthodox, but I thought since H.
P.
D.
's all finished with it, Five-0 could do some investigating.
Well, it's a little bit unusual as Steve McGarrett is sitting on the jury.
However, what'd you have in mind? That private detective.
Who hired him? Why? Was Penny seeing someone? Did that person have a motive to kill her? Kind of late in the day for that kind of investigation, isn't it? Maybe I should have started after him sooner, not relied on his affidavit.
But I'm convinced, I know my client is innocent.
Give me something, anything I can work on, and I'll ram it into the evidence, even after the jury's out.
Well, that's routine for Five-0.
Right, Danny? I hope Steve sees it that way when he finds out.
Thanks.
CLERK: Philip Christie to the stand.
Mr.
Christie, please tell the court what happened on that day when you followed your wife upstairs.
She, uh, was terribly upset.
When she locked herself in the bedroom and wouldn't answer me, I went down to the hall and tried to reach her on the extension phone.
And then? She didn't answer that either.
And then I heard the shots.
What did you do? I ran back to the bedroom and started pounding on the door.
- It was still locked? PHILIP: Yes.
Then everybody from downstairs came up and we broke the door down.
SPRINGER: And found your wife dead and the room empty? Yes.
Mr.
Christie, that is the truth? The entire truth, as you know it? - Yes, it is.
- Thank you, Mr.
Christie.
Your witness.
Mr.
Christie, you were down the hall, - you say, when you heard the shots? - Yes.
- At the extension phone.
- Yes, in the alcove.
That's practically within sight of the bedroom door.
Yes.
You wouldn't procrastinate after hearing two gunshots, would you? - No.
- No, of course not.
Then suppose we follow your story, Mr.
Christie.
Suppose there was somebody else in that bedroom who shot your wife.
He or she would've had to hide your revolver in your jacket in the closet, get out of the bedroom, lock the dead bolt from the outside, and disappear somewhere out of your sight, Mr.
Christie.
Where? - I don't know.
DA: Nowhere, Mr.
Christie.
Because what really happened was that when you followed your wife upstairs, the bedroom door was not locked.
And when you shot your wife, you took your gun and in desperate panic hid it in your jacket, hoping you'd be able to dispose of it later, and locked yourself out in the hallway as the guests arrived from downstairs.
No telephone, no hallway, just you and your wife and your gun and your dead bolt! Objection.
Counsel's not only badgering the witness, he's drawing his own conclusion from his own accusation.
Objection sustained.
Will the clerk please strike that statement from the record? Very well.
You killed her, didn't you, Mr.
Christie? I object, Your Honor.
Another conclusion.
Sustained.
Now, would the district attorney please ask a question? All right.
Mr.
Christie, a question.
- Did you kill your wife? - No.
I did not kill my wife.
The jury will now retire for deliberation, mindful of the law pertaining to this case as I have instructed you.
That you are to reach a decision only upon the evidence presented here.
And that if a reasonable doubt of guilt exists, then you must find the defendant innocent.
However, if there be no reasonable doubt of guilt and you feel there is a moral certainty that he is guilty, then you must find the defendant guilty.
All rise.
Well, first of all, I wanna thank Mr.
McGarrett for graciously declining the nomination for foreman's job.
Not that it matters too much because this deliberation may not last long enough for the county to pay for our supper.
But just to get an idea how everybody thinks, let's vote.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Well, it looks like we have a rugged individualist amongst us.
Now, who has the slightest doubt that that character killed his wife? I do.
Well, Mr.
McGarrett, Why don't you? - Because I have reasonable doubts.
- Like what? This whole case is based on circumstantial evidence.
It's because the DA can't figure out how Christie locked the door from outside the room- That's right.
The DA isn't an electronic genius like the defendant.
That's the whole point.
Who is? Are you flying by the seat of your pants, Mr.
McGarrett? Or do you really have something to back up your reasonable doubts? I think one of the key points in this mystery is who hired the private detective to follow, uh, Penny Christie, and why.
Well, the DA laid that one on Christie.
McGARRETT: And another thing.
Why did Philip Christie, if he was the murderer, hide the revolver in his own clothes closet? - Why not? McGARRETT: Why not? Because it's dumb, stupid, and he's not a stupid man.
Now, if he was gonna seal that room, lock the door, make it look like suicide, why wouldn't he put the gun in his wife's hand and really make it look like suicide? His head wasn't all together.
He made a mistake, and that's how killers get caught.
You've been reading too many detective novels, Minnie.
How did the killer get out of that room? The balcony, maybe.
With all those people sitting downstairs? He'd have to be invisible.
And another thing, what kind of a dead-bolt lock was that anyway? I, uh I'd like to see state's Exhibit Number 7, please.
If I knew who hired me, I'd tell you.
Somebody paid you.
With cash in an envelope.
Mailed to me.
Look, you guys, I'm on a tail.
What about the voice on the telephone? Was it a man or a woman? It sounded like somebody with, uh, a handkerchief over the mouthpiece.
Why the secrecy? Any idea? Hell, if it was the husband, he didn't want it to get back to her.
One thing about jealous people: They hate to admit it.
Your personal opinion, Mr.
Villipeg, off the record.
Was she seeing anyone? In my book, it's 2-to-1 she was.
Hey.
There she comes.
I gotta catch up with her.
Who? My wife.
- What a yo-yo.
- Ha, ha.
Yeah.
Anybody agree with our law officer here, put up your hand.
Hm? Still 11 to one against you, McGarrett.
You're all alone.
Okay, so I'm alone.
We may have to spend an awful lot of time here, ladies and gentlemen, until I can convince you that that man may be innocent.
Now, may I reiterate, how did the murderer get out of that room with a dead-bolt lock thrown from the inside? Can anyone answer that question? No? Then how can you convict him? [CHATTERING.]
MAN: What you're butting your head against, McGarrett, is the solid fact that Christie was there on the scene and he was the only one with a motive.
You mean, the obvious one with the motive.
Not necessarily the only one.
McGarrett, you're not going anywhere.
No facts, no theories, nothing but obstinacy.
You know, I knew a lady once as obstinate as you.
She died a virgin.
[LAUGHS.]
McGARRETT: Good for her.
They're very rare these days.
Let me ask you something, Minnie.
Why do you think that Christie's wife picked a time like that party to get so vehement? Why right then in front of all her guests did she demand a divorce? Well, one time's as good as another to pick a fight.
No, I don't think so.
Something might've been brewing, though.
Something to do with a private detective following her, for instance.
Something to do with her guilt feelings, maybe.
[SCOFFS.]
Oh, if that isn't turning it around for a man's cockeyed View of things Now, why wouldn't a wife get uptight with a husband who's jealous, who puts a tail on her, and who always stays away from home? Well, there's another way of looking at it.
What's that? Remember that private investigator testified that Penny Christie was able to lose him? When he had her under surveillance.
Lose him twice to be exact.
- Well? - Why would she do that unless she was meeting someone she didn't wanna be seen with? Did you ever think of that, Minnie? Uh, may I have some more coffee, please? - Quite a place.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Sorry we missed Shirley, Mr.
Van Dorn.
Oh, she and Howard just went for an early dinner.
You're welcome to wait for her if you like.
- Thank you.
- Sit down.
Sit down.
Uh, what did you wanna talk to my daughter about? We just wanted a woman's opinion on the, uh, private detective.
I don't understand.
A woman could possibly look at ii from only one point of view.
That her husband hired the detective because he suspects her.
And a man? A man who discovers he's being followed has some options.
He might think, uh, "My wife's onto me.
" "My mistress' husband suspects me.
" "My mistress thinks I'm cheating on her with someone else.
" There are all kinds of possibilities.
You're serious.
But we think there's still another way a woman could look at it.
That maybe it isn't her husband who's having her followed, but someone who wants to find out who she's having an affair with.
Possible, Mr.
Van Dorn? Oh, yes, of course.
Possible.
Do you think Philip Christie hired that private detective? No, he isn't that kind of man.
Not from what I know about him.
Then you don't believe he killed his wife either, do you? No.
But the district attorney does and the police department does and my guess is, so will the jury.
Will you look around you, McGarrett? It is still 11 to one, guilty.
Nobody has changed their mind.
You have not come up with one shred of a reasonable doubt.
Motive, McGarrett.
Opportunity, McGarrett.
Who else could have killed that lady? Now, you look, we've all got homes and businesses.
I know we're all getting fat on 20 bucks a day and 20 cents a mile, but the work is getting a little monotonous.
Oh, I know it's frustrating.
For all of us.
For me too, Minnie.
Because there are avenues I wish had been explored, clues I wish were followed, even questions I wish had been asked on the witness stand.
Look, McGarrett, why don't you disqualify yourself? Get yourself excused.
We'll get an alternate juror in here and get our verdict.
That's what I'm afraid of, Minnie.
Ladies and gentlemen, uh, may I make a suggestion? I have some clues.
I haven't been able to put them together yet, but I'd like to ask one more favor.
What favor? What favor? A man's freedom, his future, his life are at stake here.
Let's all go to Philip Christie's home, the scene of the crime.
But what for? Well, who knows, we may learn something.
- And if we don't learn something? - I'll make it unanimous, Minnie.
Carol, get that bailiff.
[SIGHS.]
MINNIE: Is that the bedroom? - Yeah.
He'd have to have wings to get out of there.
And you're right, McGarrett.
He'd have to be invisible.
- Thanks for the advice, Minnie.
- You're welcome.
MINNIE: You see something? That back door.
- That important? - It could be, Minnie.
Bailiff, where's the phone they referred to? - It's down the hall, sir.
- Thank you.
If he was in here on the phone and heard the shots, how long would it take him to pop his head out and look down the hall and see somebody coming out of that bedroom? - Not long, Minnie.
- Mm.
We've been assuming the murderer was a man.
- You think it was Philip Christie.
- I do.
Well, Minnie, I think it could be someone else.
- A woman, Mr.
McGarrett? - Why not? When Penny Christie ran up, maybe there was a woman already here.
Combing her hair or putting on lipstick.
Well, I've done that a lot of times at parties.
Using the hostess' bedroom.
How many times have you done it to kill someone? Suppose it was a woman wanting to find out if Penny Christie was having an affair with her man.
Benjamin Wahili's wife, for instance, or Howard Roman's fiancée, Shirley Van Dorn.
Ah, then the woman, not getting any results from the detective, comes up here snooping around for evidence, finds Christie's gun and shoots the woman who's taking her man.
That's very good, Minnie.
Oh, wait.
Then the woman locks herself in here and disappears through the walls.
Or it could have been a man, the lover himself, who slipped away from the party and came up here.
- To powder his nose? McGARRETT: No, Minnie.
No.
To destroy evidence.
A gift he might've given her, or letters he had written because he wanted to end the affair.
But she told him she was going to get a divorce from Philip Christie anyway, and she didn't care if the whole world knew about their affair.
Just who would this man be, Mr.
McGarrett? Ah That's the question, isn't it? Still sending up smoke screens, McGarrett.
How did the murderer get out of this room if it wasn't Christie? That is the question.
McGARRETT: I've got a pretty good idea how.
But I'm not positive who.
You have an idea who? Well, I have an idea who it couldn't be.
It couldn't be anyone who was downstairs when the shots were fired.
Had to be up here to commit the murder, didn't he? Okay, let's have an elimination.
- Who was downstairs? - All right.
Wasn't it Mr.
Jarvis who led the way up here, found Philip Christie outside that locked door - and helped him break it in? - That's right.
That eliminates him.
And Shirley Van Dorn testified she was downstairs when Mr.
and Mrs.
Christie had their argument, and Mrs.
Christie ran upstairs.
Shirley was talking to her father, wasn't she? That eliminates her and her father.
I'd say that.
Benjamin Wahili mixed a drink for Shirley, didn't he? So he was downstairs too.
And Howard Roman wasn't even here.
So that eliminates everybody.
Everybody except Christie.
Now, come on, McGarrett, if you have an idea how somebody got out of this room without a gadget or an electronic invention, would you tell us now? Okay.
Watch.
- Bailiff? - All through here? No.
Are the witnesses downstairs with the judge? Yes, sir.
They all are.
Would you tell the judge that I'd like his permission to re-create the circumstances that led up to the murder? Yes, sir.
Oh, McGarrett.
Here we go again.
JUDGE: Since you think this is absolutely necessary, let's get on with it.
Now, how do you plan to stage it, Mr.
McGarrett? Well, I would like everyone to do just what they were doing before the shots were fired, which prompted them to run upstairs.
Uh, some of the jurors can act as guests, here and in the living room.
Mr.
Roman, since you had not arrived yet, I wonder if you'd be kind enough to assist me and the judge.
Certainly.
Anything I can do.
BAILIFF: Mr.
McGarrett.
- Yes? This is the murder weapon, sir.
- You put blanks in it as I suggested? BAILIFF: Yes, sir.
What are you gonna do with that, McGarrett? I'm not gonna fire it.
I promise you that.
Mr.
Roman, Your Honor, may I speak to you a moment? Well, perhaps we'd better take our positions.
- Mr.
Christie? PHILIP: Yeah? I'm your wife.
I'm having an argument with you.
By the way, was this the approximate place where she stood? Yes.
And everybody was watching.
And then she ran up those stairs.
At about this pace? It was a little faster.
- My wife was in there.
- Okay, then what happened? - I called to her.
- Well, go ahead and call.
Do everything exactly as you did it that day.
Penny? Come on, Penny.
Let me in, will you? Damn it, Penny, I wanna talk to you.
Then I went down the hall to the phone.
Okay, go ahead.
[gunshots.]
PHILIP: Penny.
- It's Penny.
She's in there.
JARVIS: Let's break it in- What is this rigmarole, McGarrett? You weren't supposed to fire that revolver.
I didn't fire it, Minnie.
I was playing the victim, Mrs.
Christie.
But I wasn't alone in here.
Mr.
Roman fired the shot.
How could he? He just came in.
Your Honor, would you mind coming in now, please? No, he didn't just come in.
He was in here all the time.
But I was here too, upon Mr.
McGarrett's request.
I saw him fire the shots and then step behind the door until it broke open.
Then he slipped in among you.
Heh.
And nobody noticed.
I don't believe it- He couldn't.
Well, no one is looking for anybody to be behind that door.
Everybody was looking where Mr.
Christie was looking, at his wife's body lying on the floor.
[SIGHS.]
All right, McGarrett.
If Mr.
Roman was playing the part of the killer, who is the real killer? Who, McGarrett? Well, as we reasoned it out, Minnie, it couldn't be anyone downstairs at the time of the killing.
It had to be someone up here.
Someone, perhaps, looking for evidence of his affair with Mrs.
Christie, when she burst in on him- Mr.
Roman, would you mind stepping forward, please? Now, when Philip Christie left the factory that night, didn't you leave immediately after him and come straight here? Didn't you use the back staircase? And didn't Penny Christie find you in this room, and threaten to tell the world about the affair she was having with you? And threaten to break up your forthcoming marriage to the boss's daughter? Aren't you the murderer, Mr.
Roman? Just as we staged it here? Very well, I'll take that gun now.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how do you find? Your Honor, we the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
The defendant is herewith discharged.
And thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
[GAVEL BANGS.]
CLERK: Dismissed.
[CHATTERING.]
Nice job, Minnie.
Uh, McGarrett? - Would you like to have lunch? - I never eat lunch, Minnie.
You married, McGarrett? No.
No lady would ever have me.
Heh.
No, it wouldn't work.
You're too stubborn for me.
Probably.
But thanks for the thought anyway, Minnie.
You're welcome.
You're a lovely lady, Minnie.
I wish I had met you 10 years ago.
Well, we would've had the same problems then.
Probably, but we could have had a hell of a lot of fun solving them.
[CHUCKLES.]
Nice way to celebrate the end of jury duty.
It sure is.
Now that the case is over and you can talk about it, - will you answer a question, Steve? - If I can, Danno.
Go ahead.
How did you get Howard Roman to play the part? It was kind of a dangerous suggestion, wasn't it? Yeah, I guess so.
But how could he refuse with the judge being right there? Besides, he was the only one who had a perfect alibi.
Any more questions? Just one.
Do you ever sail this thing? [ALL LAUGH.]
I'll have you know this boat is not a thing.
It's a lady so treat it with respect.
All right, avast.
Avast.
Go on ashore, you lubbers.
Mr.
Christie, a question.
Did you kill your wife? I did not kill my wife.
PHILIP: Eleven of those jurors could find me innocent and he could foul it all up for me.
Why don't you disqualify yourself? We'll get an alternate juror in here and get our verdict.
That's what I'm afraid of, Minnie.
Keep it under three ten-thousandths, Ben.
Plus or minus how much? Nah, no pluses.
The whole ball game's right here.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Dorn Electronics.
Oh, hi, Penny.
Ben, would you shut that off just for a minute, please? - Okay.
- What time? Hey, okay.
Penny, I'm finishing up.
We'll-- Well, the, uh, so-called guest of honor is still here working-- - You are working, aren't you? - You bet.
He says he's working.
Penny? Well, Penny, don't be angry, we're-- Penny? Penny.
- It sounds like Penny is upset.
- Yeah.
it's getting to be a habit.
Anyway, she says everybody's at the party.
So, uh, we better get cracking.
Hey, Phil, do me a favor, would you? I'm running late closing the books.
- Would you pick Shirley up for me? - Sure.
Great.
She's at her dad's, and, uh, I'll be a half-hour behind at the most.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
- Let's do it, Ben.
- Yeah.
Coming.
- See you at the party.
- Okay.
Why didn't Howard call for me? Oh, he had some last-minute business.
Heh.
We're not even married and he's staying late at the office.
Which reminds me Have you been as attentive to Penny as you should? Oh, yeah.
Sure.
[CHATTERING.]
Yeah, ha, ha.
- Hi.
PHILIP: how you doing, Steve? [MAN 1 & WOMAN 1 CHUCKLING.]
SHIRLEY: Hello.
how are you? MAN 2: Hi.
Glad you could make it.
how you doing? WOMAN 2: Good.
- See you later.
MAN 2: Okay.
SHIRLEY: Nice to see you all.
MAN 3: You too.
- Hi, Dad.
- Hello, love.
how are you? Gin and tonic, right? Hello, Mr.
Van Dorn.
Hey, Ben, how's it going? - It's okay.
- Um, quitting a little early? Who's minding the store with all my employees here? Howard's still at the office.
Grinding away, as usual.
I gotta go find Penny.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Hi.
I'm sorry, honey.
I had to finish up.
You always have to finish up, Philip.
It's a very important project.
Howard's still working.
Come on.
Don't be angry because I'm a little late.
I'm not angry with you because you're late.
- Well, what's the problem? - Don't play innocent with me.
I spotted that man you hired to follow me.
- What? - Checking and spying on me.
You know, I knew you were jealous, Philip, but having me followed is something else.
Wait a minute.
I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
PENNY: I'll tell you what I'm talking about.
Your ugly suspicions.
I can't take them any more, or you.
Philip, I want a divorce.
PHILIP: You're the one with the ugly suspicions, not me.
Now, I remember "Till death do us part," that is, if you don't.
And that's the way it's gonna be.
[GRUNTS.]
[CROWD MURMURING.]
What happened? [SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Penny.
Penny, come on.
Will you let me in? Damn it.
Penny, I wanna talk to you.
Now come on, let me in.
[CHATTERING AND LAUGHING.]
[gunshots.]
[SHIRLEY GASPS.]
Penny? Penny, are you okay? Penny! - It's Penny, she's in there.
JARVIS: Let's bust it in- Oh, my God.
Penny? Penny.
SERGEANT: Recognize it, Mr.
Christie? Yes.
it's mine.
You were up here alone with your wife? No.
She was locked in here, and I was out in the hall.
[SCOFFS.]
Damn it, sergeant, I know it sounds crazy.
I went down the hall to get her on the extension phone.
When I heard the shots, I ran back here.
- And the door was still locked? - Yes.
- Mr.
Jarvis? - That's right.
The door was locked.
Phil and I broke it in.
There was nobody in here? Nobody except my wife on the floor.
What you're saying is, your wife, with the door, the only method of entry and exit locked, shot herself dead, walked over to the closet, put your gun in your jacket, then came back here, and laid down on the floor.
Well, somebody must have been in here with her and got out while I was down the hall.
I don't know- And locked the door from the inside? Well, what about the balcony? With a house full of guests sitting directly below? Mr.
Christie, I think I'd better read you your rights.
Oh, you can forget this, Steve.
Forget it? You're exempt.
Some clerk made an error, that's all.
I'm not exempt unless I request it.
Isn't that the way it works, governor? Right.
I'll make a telephone call.
Now, about that Marcus case Excuse me, governor.
- Isn't it a citizen's duty? - Sure.
- But you're a special case.
- Oh? Am I? Why? They'll never accept you, Steve.
You're a police officer.
Now, let me save you a lot of time and trouble, and get you out of this.
I think I'll go down there anyway.
Now don't be stubborn, Steve.
You'll only be wasting your time.
Mr.
Stephen McGarrett.
- Mr.
Stephen McGarrett? - Yes, sir.
Would you be able to make a decision as to the guilt or innocence of the accused solely upon the evidence presented in this court? I mean, regardless of your police affiliation? Oh, I think so, sir.
You know Mr.
Keith, the deputy district attorney? No.
How about the accused, Mr.
Philip Christie? - Or defense counsel, Mr.
Springer? - No, Your Honor.
Now is there any reason why you should not serve as a juror on this case, Mr.
McGarrett? I can't think of any, Your Honor.
The People may question.
- Good morning, Mr.
McGarrett.
McGARRETT: Good morning.
I have only one question.
A peculiarity of this case involves the distinction between two kinds of evidence.
I refer to direct evidence and circumstantial evidence.
You understand, sir, that in the eyes of the law one is as valid and damning as the other? Yes.
I understand that point.
In this case, no one knows how the murderer got out of the murder room since all exits were locked and bolted from the inside.
No one knows, that is, except the murderer himself since the murderer did escape.
The People must prove circumstantially therefore, that defendant, a mechanical genius, an inventor, and-- Object, Your Honor.
The district attorney is not supposed to be making an opening address.
Sustained.
Pass for cause, Your Honor.
JUDGE: Now the defense may question.
Two-to-one the defense throws him out for cause.
If you need money that badly, why don't you just ask me for a loan? Mr.
McGarrett, I would ask two questions.
Can and will you accept testimony by a witness who is not a police officer with the same credibility as you would a member of the police force? Oh, I think so.
I don't think a man's occupation has anything to do with his integrity.
And, Mr.
McGarrett, are you objective enough to accept the law which presumes the innocence of the accused unless and until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt and with moral certainty? Are you that objective, Mr.
McGarrett? Without question.
That means, Mr.
McGarrett, that you have no prejudice in your mind, no subjective leaning toward a presumption of guilt just because the defendant has been arrested, - processed and brought here to trial.
- None whatsoever.
Thank you, Mr.
McGarrett.
Pass for cause, Your Honor.
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE.]
What now? The peremptories, I think.
The challenges.
Where they bounce Steve.
The first peremptory is with the defense.
Ten-to-one? Your Honor, the defense accepts the jury as constituted.
The People accept the jury, Your Honor.
Mr.
McGarrett, would you please have a chair? The jury is now properly impaneled.
[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY.]
That's his first mistake, leaving McGarrett on the jury.
[BELL TOLLING.]
PHILIP: The man is a cop.
He's a cop.
How could you want him on the jury? He's a special kind of cop.
- Don't you want me to be acquitted? - Philip.
Eleven of those jurors could find me innocent and he could foul it all up for me.
We're not that strong, Philip.
I am innocent.
All the more reason for McGarrett being on the jury.
He's got an impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity.
On top of that, he's intelligent and perceptive.
Our case needs somebody like that on that jury.
Well, you could be wrong about him.
Sure, we all make mistakes.
A lot of people think you made one.
Two shots.
The first one shattered the aorta.
The second one penetrated the left ventricle of the heart.
Death was instantaneous.
SERGEANT: The bullets were fired from a .
38-caliber revolver.
Yes, sir.
That's the weapon.
It's registered to the defendant, Philip Christie.
What was the condition of the room? Well, the body of the deceased was on the floor.
The door, which was the only exit from the room, was broken in, and the lock ripped out of its studs.
DA: What kind of lock, sergeant? SERGEANT: A dead-bolt lock.
DA: But how could that be, sergeant? How could the murderer draw that dead bolt from inside the bedroom and then get out into the hall? I don't know, sir.
It would take a genius to figure that out.
I was the first one up the stairs.
Phil was pounding on the door.
It was locked so we broke it open.
By then, everyone else was up there.
When you broke the door down, what did you see? JARVIS: Well, Penny, on the floor.
DA: And what else? - Nothing else.
The room was empty.
I want to make this very clear, Mr.
Jarvis.
Philip Christie, the defendant, was already upstairs when you got there? At the bedroom door? Yes.
Your witness.
Mr.
Jarvis, did you know Mrs.
Christie - before she married the defendant? - Yes.
- Did you know her well? - Yes.
Well enough to ask her to marry me.
Are you--? I should-- I should say, were you in love with Mrs.
Christie on the day she died? I'm still in love with her.
I am Vincent Van Dorn, president of Dorn Electronics.
I hired Philip Christie to head my experimental laboratory.
His background includes postgraduate courses at MIT in Mechanical Engineering and Theoretical Physics.
So solving a puzzle, like locking an inside dead bolt from outside the door, would be a relatively simple task-- Objection, Your Honor.
Calling for a conclusion.
Sustained.
Now, if the district attorney does not object to interrupting his examination of this witness, I think it's a good time to break for lunch.
No objection, Your Honor.
McGARRETT: Since you picked up the check, I hope you don't put it on your expense account.
[ALL CHUCKLE.]
I appreciate your interest in this case, gentlemen, but who's minding the store? We're on top of everything, Steve.
H.
P.
D.
closed in on that smuggling ring we were worried about.
The thing we're puzzling out is the sealed-room thing.
How the murderer could get out.
Well, now, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
You know I'm not supposed to discuss this case with anyone.
Sure, we know.
We weren't gonna discuss it, Steve.
Of course not.
We were just going to say it was kind of an intriguing puzzle.
Something we might look into on our own.
No way.
No way.
Not with me on the jury.
Five-0 business only.
Routine business only.
- Huh? Clear? - Like crystal.
- Sure is.
- Okay.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? BEN: I do.
Mr.
Wahili, prior to Mr.
Christie coming to work for Dorn Electronics, you were head of research experimental, were you not? Yes, sir.
You heard Mr.
Van Dorn testify as to Mr.
Christie's technical expertise.
Do you agree that the defendant is an electronic genius? Oh, yes.
At Mr.
Van Dorn's request, I examined Philip Christie's resume.
His knowledge and background in the electronic field is outstanding.
Working close to him, Mr.
Wahili, were you aware of phone calls the defendant received from his wife? - Yes, sir.
- Arguments? Fights over the phone? BEN: Well, a wife has a right to-- DA: Just answer the questions, please.
- Very well.
As a matter of fact, you were present at the party when Philip Christie had a violent argument with his wife.
How do you define "violent," sir? Intense, heated, loud, bitter, vehement, furious.
- Well, then the argument was violent.
- Thank you, Mr.
Wahili.
I'm controller for Dorn Electronics.
Philip and I are in different departments, but we're friends socially.
Well, that is Shirley and I, with Phil and Penny.
I mean, when Penny was You were present at the party on the 28th? Well, I wasn't there when they had their argument.
Uh, I got there just as everybody was heading up the stairs.
I followed, but I really didn't know what was going on until Phil and Jarvis broke the door in and we found Penny on the floor.
And that's all I know, really.
You were a personal friend of the deceased? Yes.
DA: You were in the house when the argument took place? SHIRLEY: Yes.
Did deceased accuse the defendant of spying on her, of hiring someone to follow her? Did she accuse the defendant of being jealous? I wasn't paying too much attention.
I was talking to my father.
Did she demand a divorce? Did you hear her tell him she wanted a divorce, Miss Van Dorn? - What was the defendant`s reply? - Phil didn't want a divorce.
- He loved her.
He-- - He got angry.
He raised his voice.
His exact words were, "I remember 'Till death do us part) If you don't, that's the way it's going to be.
" isn't that what he said, Miss Van Dorn? Yes, that's what he said.
But he said that out of love and hurt I only hope that when I get married, my husband can say things like that to me, and that he'll love me enough to be jealous.
No more questions.
DA: What is your occupation, Mr.
Villipeg? I'm a licensed private investigator.
Please tell the court what occurred about one week before decedent's murder.
I was hired by telephone to follow Mrs.
Penelope Christie, to find out if she was seeing someone, romantically.
Who hired you? A man? A woman? I couldn't even tell that.
The voice was unidentifiable DA: how did you make your reports? I got a phone call every day at 6:00.
What was the result of your investigation, Mr.
Villipeg? Well, I thought once or twice that she might be on her way to meeting someone.
But both times she gave me the slip-- I lost her.
[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY.]
- Counselor? - Thanks for coming, gentlemen.
What I have to say may be a little unorthodox, but I thought since H.
P.
D.
's all finished with it, Five-0 could do some investigating.
Well, it's a little bit unusual as Steve McGarrett is sitting on the jury.
However, what'd you have in mind? That private detective.
Who hired him? Why? Was Penny seeing someone? Did that person have a motive to kill her? Kind of late in the day for that kind of investigation, isn't it? Maybe I should have started after him sooner, not relied on his affidavit.
But I'm convinced, I know my client is innocent.
Give me something, anything I can work on, and I'll ram it into the evidence, even after the jury's out.
Well, that's routine for Five-0.
Right, Danny? I hope Steve sees it that way when he finds out.
Thanks.
CLERK: Philip Christie to the stand.
Mr.
Christie, please tell the court what happened on that day when you followed your wife upstairs.
She, uh, was terribly upset.
When she locked herself in the bedroom and wouldn't answer me, I went down to the hall and tried to reach her on the extension phone.
And then? She didn't answer that either.
And then I heard the shots.
What did you do? I ran back to the bedroom and started pounding on the door.
- It was still locked? PHILIP: Yes.
Then everybody from downstairs came up and we broke the door down.
SPRINGER: And found your wife dead and the room empty? Yes.
Mr.
Christie, that is the truth? The entire truth, as you know it? - Yes, it is.
- Thank you, Mr.
Christie.
Your witness.
Mr.
Christie, you were down the hall, - you say, when you heard the shots? - Yes.
- At the extension phone.
- Yes, in the alcove.
That's practically within sight of the bedroom door.
Yes.
You wouldn't procrastinate after hearing two gunshots, would you? - No.
- No, of course not.
Then suppose we follow your story, Mr.
Christie.
Suppose there was somebody else in that bedroom who shot your wife.
He or she would've had to hide your revolver in your jacket in the closet, get out of the bedroom, lock the dead bolt from the outside, and disappear somewhere out of your sight, Mr.
Christie.
Where? - I don't know.
DA: Nowhere, Mr.
Christie.
Because what really happened was that when you followed your wife upstairs, the bedroom door was not locked.
And when you shot your wife, you took your gun and in desperate panic hid it in your jacket, hoping you'd be able to dispose of it later, and locked yourself out in the hallway as the guests arrived from downstairs.
No telephone, no hallway, just you and your wife and your gun and your dead bolt! Objection.
Counsel's not only badgering the witness, he's drawing his own conclusion from his own accusation.
Objection sustained.
Will the clerk please strike that statement from the record? Very well.
You killed her, didn't you, Mr.
Christie? I object, Your Honor.
Another conclusion.
Sustained.
Now, would the district attorney please ask a question? All right.
Mr.
Christie, a question.
- Did you kill your wife? - No.
I did not kill my wife.
The jury will now retire for deliberation, mindful of the law pertaining to this case as I have instructed you.
That you are to reach a decision only upon the evidence presented here.
And that if a reasonable doubt of guilt exists, then you must find the defendant innocent.
However, if there be no reasonable doubt of guilt and you feel there is a moral certainty that he is guilty, then you must find the defendant guilty.
All rise.
Well, first of all, I wanna thank Mr.
McGarrett for graciously declining the nomination for foreman's job.
Not that it matters too much because this deliberation may not last long enough for the county to pay for our supper.
But just to get an idea how everybody thinks, let's vote.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Guilty.
Well, it looks like we have a rugged individualist amongst us.
Now, who has the slightest doubt that that character killed his wife? I do.
Well, Mr.
McGarrett, Why don't you? - Because I have reasonable doubts.
- Like what? This whole case is based on circumstantial evidence.
It's because the DA can't figure out how Christie locked the door from outside the room- That's right.
The DA isn't an electronic genius like the defendant.
That's the whole point.
Who is? Are you flying by the seat of your pants, Mr.
McGarrett? Or do you really have something to back up your reasonable doubts? I think one of the key points in this mystery is who hired the private detective to follow, uh, Penny Christie, and why.
Well, the DA laid that one on Christie.
McGARRETT: And another thing.
Why did Philip Christie, if he was the murderer, hide the revolver in his own clothes closet? - Why not? McGARRETT: Why not? Because it's dumb, stupid, and he's not a stupid man.
Now, if he was gonna seal that room, lock the door, make it look like suicide, why wouldn't he put the gun in his wife's hand and really make it look like suicide? His head wasn't all together.
He made a mistake, and that's how killers get caught.
You've been reading too many detective novels, Minnie.
How did the killer get out of that room? The balcony, maybe.
With all those people sitting downstairs? He'd have to be invisible.
And another thing, what kind of a dead-bolt lock was that anyway? I, uh I'd like to see state's Exhibit Number 7, please.
If I knew who hired me, I'd tell you.
Somebody paid you.
With cash in an envelope.
Mailed to me.
Look, you guys, I'm on a tail.
What about the voice on the telephone? Was it a man or a woman? It sounded like somebody with, uh, a handkerchief over the mouthpiece.
Why the secrecy? Any idea? Hell, if it was the husband, he didn't want it to get back to her.
One thing about jealous people: They hate to admit it.
Your personal opinion, Mr.
Villipeg, off the record.
Was she seeing anyone? In my book, it's 2-to-1 she was.
Hey.
There she comes.
I gotta catch up with her.
Who? My wife.
- What a yo-yo.
- Ha, ha.
Yeah.
Anybody agree with our law officer here, put up your hand.
Hm? Still 11 to one against you, McGarrett.
You're all alone.
Okay, so I'm alone.
We may have to spend an awful lot of time here, ladies and gentlemen, until I can convince you that that man may be innocent.
Now, may I reiterate, how did the murderer get out of that room with a dead-bolt lock thrown from the inside? Can anyone answer that question? No? Then how can you convict him? [CHATTERING.]
MAN: What you're butting your head against, McGarrett, is the solid fact that Christie was there on the scene and he was the only one with a motive.
You mean, the obvious one with the motive.
Not necessarily the only one.
McGarrett, you're not going anywhere.
No facts, no theories, nothing but obstinacy.
You know, I knew a lady once as obstinate as you.
She died a virgin.
[LAUGHS.]
McGARRETT: Good for her.
They're very rare these days.
Let me ask you something, Minnie.
Why do you think that Christie's wife picked a time like that party to get so vehement? Why right then in front of all her guests did she demand a divorce? Well, one time's as good as another to pick a fight.
No, I don't think so.
Something might've been brewing, though.
Something to do with a private detective following her, for instance.
Something to do with her guilt feelings, maybe.
[SCOFFS.]
Oh, if that isn't turning it around for a man's cockeyed View of things Now, why wouldn't a wife get uptight with a husband who's jealous, who puts a tail on her, and who always stays away from home? Well, there's another way of looking at it.
What's that? Remember that private investigator testified that Penny Christie was able to lose him? When he had her under surveillance.
Lose him twice to be exact.
- Well? - Why would she do that unless she was meeting someone she didn't wanna be seen with? Did you ever think of that, Minnie? Uh, may I have some more coffee, please? - Quite a place.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Sorry we missed Shirley, Mr.
Van Dorn.
Oh, she and Howard just went for an early dinner.
You're welcome to wait for her if you like.
- Thank you.
- Sit down.
Sit down.
Uh, what did you wanna talk to my daughter about? We just wanted a woman's opinion on the, uh, private detective.
I don't understand.
A woman could possibly look at ii from only one point of view.
That her husband hired the detective because he suspects her.
And a man? A man who discovers he's being followed has some options.
He might think, uh, "My wife's onto me.
" "My mistress' husband suspects me.
" "My mistress thinks I'm cheating on her with someone else.
" There are all kinds of possibilities.
You're serious.
But we think there's still another way a woman could look at it.
That maybe it isn't her husband who's having her followed, but someone who wants to find out who she's having an affair with.
Possible, Mr.
Van Dorn? Oh, yes, of course.
Possible.
Do you think Philip Christie hired that private detective? No, he isn't that kind of man.
Not from what I know about him.
Then you don't believe he killed his wife either, do you? No.
But the district attorney does and the police department does and my guess is, so will the jury.
Will you look around you, McGarrett? It is still 11 to one, guilty.
Nobody has changed their mind.
You have not come up with one shred of a reasonable doubt.
Motive, McGarrett.
Opportunity, McGarrett.
Who else could have killed that lady? Now, you look, we've all got homes and businesses.
I know we're all getting fat on 20 bucks a day and 20 cents a mile, but the work is getting a little monotonous.
Oh, I know it's frustrating.
For all of us.
For me too, Minnie.
Because there are avenues I wish had been explored, clues I wish were followed, even questions I wish had been asked on the witness stand.
Look, McGarrett, why don't you disqualify yourself? Get yourself excused.
We'll get an alternate juror in here and get our verdict.
That's what I'm afraid of, Minnie.
Ladies and gentlemen, uh, may I make a suggestion? I have some clues.
I haven't been able to put them together yet, but I'd like to ask one more favor.
What favor? What favor? A man's freedom, his future, his life are at stake here.
Let's all go to Philip Christie's home, the scene of the crime.
But what for? Well, who knows, we may learn something.
- And if we don't learn something? - I'll make it unanimous, Minnie.
Carol, get that bailiff.
[SIGHS.]
MINNIE: Is that the bedroom? - Yeah.
He'd have to have wings to get out of there.
And you're right, McGarrett.
He'd have to be invisible.
- Thanks for the advice, Minnie.
- You're welcome.
MINNIE: You see something? That back door.
- That important? - It could be, Minnie.
Bailiff, where's the phone they referred to? - It's down the hall, sir.
- Thank you.
If he was in here on the phone and heard the shots, how long would it take him to pop his head out and look down the hall and see somebody coming out of that bedroom? - Not long, Minnie.
- Mm.
We've been assuming the murderer was a man.
- You think it was Philip Christie.
- I do.
Well, Minnie, I think it could be someone else.
- A woman, Mr.
McGarrett? - Why not? When Penny Christie ran up, maybe there was a woman already here.
Combing her hair or putting on lipstick.
Well, I've done that a lot of times at parties.
Using the hostess' bedroom.
How many times have you done it to kill someone? Suppose it was a woman wanting to find out if Penny Christie was having an affair with her man.
Benjamin Wahili's wife, for instance, or Howard Roman's fiancée, Shirley Van Dorn.
Ah, then the woman, not getting any results from the detective, comes up here snooping around for evidence, finds Christie's gun and shoots the woman who's taking her man.
That's very good, Minnie.
Oh, wait.
Then the woman locks herself in here and disappears through the walls.
Or it could have been a man, the lover himself, who slipped away from the party and came up here.
- To powder his nose? McGARRETT: No, Minnie.
No.
To destroy evidence.
A gift he might've given her, or letters he had written because he wanted to end the affair.
But she told him she was going to get a divorce from Philip Christie anyway, and she didn't care if the whole world knew about their affair.
Just who would this man be, Mr.
McGarrett? Ah That's the question, isn't it? Still sending up smoke screens, McGarrett.
How did the murderer get out of this room if it wasn't Christie? That is the question.
McGARRETT: I've got a pretty good idea how.
But I'm not positive who.
You have an idea who? Well, I have an idea who it couldn't be.
It couldn't be anyone who was downstairs when the shots were fired.
Had to be up here to commit the murder, didn't he? Okay, let's have an elimination.
- Who was downstairs? - All right.
Wasn't it Mr.
Jarvis who led the way up here, found Philip Christie outside that locked door - and helped him break it in? - That's right.
That eliminates him.
And Shirley Van Dorn testified she was downstairs when Mr.
and Mrs.
Christie had their argument, and Mrs.
Christie ran upstairs.
Shirley was talking to her father, wasn't she? That eliminates her and her father.
I'd say that.
Benjamin Wahili mixed a drink for Shirley, didn't he? So he was downstairs too.
And Howard Roman wasn't even here.
So that eliminates everybody.
Everybody except Christie.
Now, come on, McGarrett, if you have an idea how somebody got out of this room without a gadget or an electronic invention, would you tell us now? Okay.
Watch.
- Bailiff? - All through here? No.
Are the witnesses downstairs with the judge? Yes, sir.
They all are.
Would you tell the judge that I'd like his permission to re-create the circumstances that led up to the murder? Yes, sir.
Oh, McGarrett.
Here we go again.
JUDGE: Since you think this is absolutely necessary, let's get on with it.
Now, how do you plan to stage it, Mr.
McGarrett? Well, I would like everyone to do just what they were doing before the shots were fired, which prompted them to run upstairs.
Uh, some of the jurors can act as guests, here and in the living room.
Mr.
Roman, since you had not arrived yet, I wonder if you'd be kind enough to assist me and the judge.
Certainly.
Anything I can do.
BAILIFF: Mr.
McGarrett.
- Yes? This is the murder weapon, sir.
- You put blanks in it as I suggested? BAILIFF: Yes, sir.
What are you gonna do with that, McGarrett? I'm not gonna fire it.
I promise you that.
Mr.
Roman, Your Honor, may I speak to you a moment? Well, perhaps we'd better take our positions.
- Mr.
Christie? PHILIP: Yeah? I'm your wife.
I'm having an argument with you.
By the way, was this the approximate place where she stood? Yes.
And everybody was watching.
And then she ran up those stairs.
At about this pace? It was a little faster.
- My wife was in there.
- Okay, then what happened? - I called to her.
- Well, go ahead and call.
Do everything exactly as you did it that day.
Penny? Come on, Penny.
Let me in, will you? Damn it, Penny, I wanna talk to you.
Then I went down the hall to the phone.
Okay, go ahead.
[gunshots.]
PHILIP: Penny.
- It's Penny.
She's in there.
JARVIS: Let's break it in- What is this rigmarole, McGarrett? You weren't supposed to fire that revolver.
I didn't fire it, Minnie.
I was playing the victim, Mrs.
Christie.
But I wasn't alone in here.
Mr.
Roman fired the shot.
How could he? He just came in.
Your Honor, would you mind coming in now, please? No, he didn't just come in.
He was in here all the time.
But I was here too, upon Mr.
McGarrett's request.
I saw him fire the shots and then step behind the door until it broke open.
Then he slipped in among you.
Heh.
And nobody noticed.
I don't believe it- He couldn't.
Well, no one is looking for anybody to be behind that door.
Everybody was looking where Mr.
Christie was looking, at his wife's body lying on the floor.
[SIGHS.]
All right, McGarrett.
If Mr.
Roman was playing the part of the killer, who is the real killer? Who, McGarrett? Well, as we reasoned it out, Minnie, it couldn't be anyone downstairs at the time of the killing.
It had to be someone up here.
Someone, perhaps, looking for evidence of his affair with Mrs.
Christie, when she burst in on him- Mr.
Roman, would you mind stepping forward, please? Now, when Philip Christie left the factory that night, didn't you leave immediately after him and come straight here? Didn't you use the back staircase? And didn't Penny Christie find you in this room, and threaten to tell the world about the affair she was having with you? And threaten to break up your forthcoming marriage to the boss's daughter? Aren't you the murderer, Mr.
Roman? Just as we staged it here? Very well, I'll take that gun now.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how do you find? Your Honor, we the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
The defendant is herewith discharged.
And thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
[GAVEL BANGS.]
CLERK: Dismissed.
[CHATTERING.]
Nice job, Minnie.
Uh, McGarrett? - Would you like to have lunch? - I never eat lunch, Minnie.
You married, McGarrett? No.
No lady would ever have me.
Heh.
No, it wouldn't work.
You're too stubborn for me.
Probably.
But thanks for the thought anyway, Minnie.
You're welcome.
You're a lovely lady, Minnie.
I wish I had met you 10 years ago.
Well, we would've had the same problems then.
Probably, but we could have had a hell of a lot of fun solving them.
[CHUCKLES.]
Nice way to celebrate the end of jury duty.
It sure is.
Now that the case is over and you can talk about it, - will you answer a question, Steve? - If I can, Danno.
Go ahead.
How did you get Howard Roman to play the part? It was kind of a dangerous suggestion, wasn't it? Yeah, I guess so.
But how could he refuse with the judge being right there? Besides, he was the only one who had a perfect alibi.
Any more questions? Just one.
Do you ever sail this thing? [ALL LAUGH.]
I'll have you know this boat is not a thing.
It's a lady so treat it with respect.
All right, avast.
Avast.
Go on ashore, you lubbers.