- 2 months ago
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00:00It is Inspector Craven.
00:21I'm sorry to bust in on your breakfast, Wolf, but I need a favor.
00:25I am not having breakfast. I had that in my room.
00:29I'm having a cup of hot chocolate, would you care for something?
00:32No, no, no.
00:33Fritz, a cup of coffee for the inspector. Please sit down.
00:37Wolf, we had a hit and run about a block away from here, about 10 o'clock last night.
00:41Two things were found on the body that might help if we found the answers.
00:45What things?
00:46There were two pieces of paper.
00:47One he had in his hand just had your name and address on it.
00:50Indeed?
00:51Looks like he was on his way to see you, you know, when somebody hit him.
00:54Well, he didn't have an appointment.
00:56I mean, our calendar's clear.
00:58Who was he?
00:58I don't know that yet.
00:59I mean, he didn't have an idea or a wallet.
01:01If he did, somebody lifted it.
01:03I thought maybe you could tag him from a morgue shop.
01:06Please, Mr. Goodwin's stomach is considerably stronger than mine, especially this early in the morning.
01:13Not one of our regular customers.
01:15You said there were two pieces of paper, sir.
01:18Yeah, there's a list of names.
01:24Blake Ritchie, Dorman Seville, Carling Stanholt, Luke Benjamin, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
01:32What about them, sir?
01:33We checked every name on that list.
01:35Telephone directories, auto registrations, driver's license, military records, fingerprints on fire with the FBI, even property tax rules.
01:43We went through every borough in the city and nobody on that list exists in the city.
01:47I was hoping you could tell me something.
01:50Sorry, Mr. Kramer, they mean nothing to me.
01:52Excuse me, Inspector.
01:53Yeah, what?
01:54There's an ME case two blocks away.
01:55The precinct would like you to cover it.
01:57All right, I'll be right there.
01:59No, no, keep the list.
02:01And, you know, if you come up with anything, I'd appreciate a call.
02:04And thanks for the call.
02:07You're welcome, sir.
02:08Archie, do you know the mathematical probability of finding a list of names that does not contain the name of one living person?
02:26Incalculable.
02:28Oh, then let Kramer worry about it.
02:30We don't even have a client.
02:32The victim would have been our client, Archie, had he reached our door.
02:36He deserves a little of our time.
02:38He paid a high enough price for it.
02:47I don't believe it.
02:49Not clear.
02:52My sister wouldn't have taken her own life.
02:56Look, I'm really sorry, Miss Wellman, but according to the medical examiner, it appears to have been a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol.
03:05She never took sleeping pills.
03:08And she didn't drink.
03:14Apparently she did last night.
03:16You're wrong.
03:17I don't care what your medical examiner said.
03:19If Claire's dead, somebody killed her.
03:23But not according to the evidence, Miss Wellman.
03:26And that's what we have to go on.
03:28I'm sorry.
03:29I'm sorry.
03:30Evidence.
03:36It's so easy, isn't it, Inspector?
03:38You find an empty bottle of pills, which I know she never took, and some liquor, which I know she never drank.
03:47And that's all you need.
03:49But what about the way she laughed, or danced, or enjoyed life?
03:57Well, isn't that evidence, too?
03:59Isn't that evidence, too?
04:08Yeah.
04:12Archie!
04:13This young lady is here to see Mr. Wolfe.
04:19Thanks, Fritz. I'll handle it.
04:24Hello.
04:25My name's Jean Wellman.
04:28Come in, Miss Wellman.
04:31Mr. Wolfe's not available right now.
04:33I'm his associate, Archie Goodwill.
04:36Can I help you?
04:38I want to hire Mr. Wolfe.
04:41To do what?
04:43My, uh, my sister, Claire, was found dead in her apartment this morning.
04:57The police insist she committed suicide.
05:01I'm sure she didn't.
05:03Why?
05:05Because I think she was murdered.
05:08And I think I know the name of the man who killed her.
05:12Blake Ritchie.
05:13Now, am I to understand, Miss Wellman, that you actually know a person named Blake Ritchie?
05:20And that you believe he's responsible for the death of your sister?
05:23Yes.
05:24Do you know where he is?
05:26No.
05:27And why do you believe he killed your sister?
05:29Claire was a reader for a publishing house, Wainwright Press.
05:33About a month ago, she read the manuscript of a novel written by Blake Ritchie and liked it.
05:37One of Wainwright's top actors turned it down, but Claire believed in it, and she worked on it with the author.
05:44I spoke to Claire the day before the police found her.
05:47She told me Blake Ritchie had phoned her, and that he was coming to her apartment that night to work with her on the novel.
05:53Have you told this to the police?
05:55They only believe the medical evidence.
05:57Will you help me, Mr. Wolfe?
05:59I must know how Claire died.
06:01I have very little money, but I'll pay you what I can.
06:05We shall worry about that later, Miss Wellman, if at all.
06:08Our concern at the moment is finding the elusive Mr. Ritchie.
06:12We'll pick up on it later, Sergeant.
06:22You told me on the phone, Wolfe has something I could use.
06:25You remember Claire Wellman?
06:26Pills and booze. Why?
06:28She worked for a publishing house, right?
06:30If that's what it says in the file.
06:32Okay, see if this is in the file.
06:34A month ago, she read, and Wainwright Press turned down a novel written by a man named Blake Ritchie.
06:39That's in the list I showed Wolfe.
06:41That's right.
06:42So what's the tie-in?
06:43Well, if we knew the name of the hit-and-run victim, we might have one.
06:46We just got that from a fingerprint check.
06:48He's a lawyer, Leonard Dart.
06:50Wall Street firm, O'Malley, Phelps, Corrigan, and Briggs.
06:52Big wheels.
06:53Did you show them the list?
06:55I took it downtown myself.
06:56Didn't mean a thing.
06:57Dart had been with them since law school.
06:59Did their pre-trial briefs.
07:01Goodman, for you holding on on me,
07:03what else does Wolfe have that isn't in the file?
07:06Claire Wellman's sister for a client.
07:08A non-paying client.
07:10That makes two.
07:15Thanks.
07:22Jane, I want you to think carefully.
07:25Did you ever hear Claire mention a man named Leonard Dart?
07:27No, I don't think so.
07:32He was a lawyer.
07:33Now, it could be important.
07:35Try to remember.
07:35I'm sorry.
07:40Why do you ask?
07:42The night your sister died, a car ran down Mr. Dart in a crosswalk.
07:47When the police got there, they found two items on him.
07:50Wolfe's name and address in his hand,
07:53and a list of names tucked away inside his coat pocket.
07:55One of the names on that list was Blake Ritchie.
08:02I don't understand.
08:04The police ran a full-scale check.
08:07Now, Blake Ritchie is the only name on that list
08:09that seems to be a real live human being.
08:11All we know is that Leonard Dart and your sister
08:15apparently knew the same man.
08:19And they're both dead.
08:27Look, I want you to go back over the Blake Ritchie thing.
08:31Now, first of all,
08:32if your sister liked his manuscript so well
08:35and made a pitch for it,
08:36why was it turned out?
08:38Claire said it was the first thing it ever written.
08:40It needed revisions.
08:42She tell him that?
08:44Mm-hmm.
08:44And the note she sent back with the manuscript.
08:49Then what?
08:50I told you.
08:51She offered to help him revise it.
08:54And did they always work at her apartment?
08:58No.
08:58Most of the time, I think at his.
09:01She once gave me a phone number
09:03where she could be reached if I needed her.
09:05Do you still have it?
09:07Yes, I think so.
09:08At home, it's on my memo pad.
09:10Maybe we're about to meet our mystery man.
09:19Check, please.
09:20Check, please.
09:34Is there a double lock on your door?
09:36No.
09:36Get out!
09:43TV Land.
09:44Dependable television around the club.
09:50Mommy, son?
09:52March.
09:57Thanks, Saul.
09:58Is everything okay at the house?
10:00You hit the whole shebang where he did.
10:02Theodore, you came down from the plant room.
10:04Wolf thought you were a goner.
10:05Have you seen the girl?
10:07Yeah, the doc is in with her now.
10:10Oh, Archie, have you got a doctor?
10:12Calling Dr. Hunter?
10:14I promised Wolf I'd give a medical report.
10:16Yeah, well, tell him he's stuck with me
10:17until the next time I quit, huh?
10:19Yeah.
10:19Doctor, how is Miss Wellman?
10:25Are you the man that was with her?
10:26Yeah.
10:26She'll be fine.
10:28I've given her a study,
10:29and she's pretty groggy.
10:31I'd wait till in the morning before seeing her.
10:33Thanks.
10:33Thanks.
10:35All right.
10:38I told him you'd live.
10:40He wants you back at the office.
10:41Okay.
10:42Look, Saul,
10:44I want you to stay here.
10:45As long as Jean Wellman's in there,
10:47nobody goes in and nobody goes out
10:48unless they belong.
10:49No problem.
10:50No problem.
10:51Great.
10:51One booby trap a night's enough.
11:06Yes, it seems the more we learn about Blake, Richie,
11:09the safer Miss Wellman will be.
11:11You think he booby-trapped her door
11:13because of that number?
11:14Well, I instructed Saul to search
11:16what was left of the apartment, yes.
11:18Well, the number was on a memo pad.
11:22It did not survive the explosion, Archie.
11:25In any case, I doubt that the phone number
11:27was the motive.
11:28He had Millie to break into Miss Wellman's apartment
11:30and remove it if the phone number
11:31was his primary target.
11:33Obviously not.
11:34What he wished to remove apparently
11:35was Miss Wellman herself.
11:37Why?
11:38Because she represents a danger to him.
11:40knowledge, Archie.
11:46Knowledge is always dangerous,
11:48conscious or unconscious.
11:50You mean she knows something
11:51she doesn't know she knows?
11:53Precisely.
11:54I would suggest that when Miss Wellman
11:56leaves the hospital,
11:57you persuade her for her own safety
11:58to move in here.
12:00The room next to yours
12:01would be safest, I believe.
12:02anything to help solve the case.
12:09I can only tell you
12:11what I've told the police,
12:12Mr. Goodwin.
12:13We hardly ever read first novels
12:15or unsolicited manuscripts,
12:17but because Claire Wellman
12:18recommended the Blake Ritchie
12:20submission so highly,
12:21I did glance at it.
12:23Was it as good as she said?
12:25I'm afraid not.
12:26I only read ten pages.
12:28And rejected it?
12:30Mr. Goodwin,
12:31I've rejected a manuscript
12:32based on ten sentences.
12:35Do you happen to remember
12:36the title?
12:37I believe it was called
12:38Put Not Your Trust.
12:41Would you forgive me?
12:42I have a very full day.
12:44Yes.
12:47Reading ten sentences
12:48at a time
12:49can be tiring.
12:51Thanks anyway.
12:56Thank you, Archie.
13:26But I can stay in a hotel.
13:28It'd be a lot safer
13:29in one of our guest rooms.
13:31Safer?
13:32We never know
13:33what room service
13:34might send up in a hotel.
13:37Listen,
13:38I barged into
13:39Wainwright Press this morning.
13:41Editor with a Radcliffe accent
13:42gave me the title
13:43to Blake Ritchie's novel.
13:45Put Not Your Trust.
13:47Put Not Your Trust?
13:49That light of views?
13:50That's the manuscript
13:51I saw in Claire's place.
13:53It had a gray cover
13:56and Blake Ritchie's name on it.
13:59Did Claire ever tell you
14:01what the book was about?
14:03A law firm.
14:04Well, not the plot.
14:07But it was about people
14:08who all worked
14:09for this big
14:09New York law firm.
14:12Law firm.
14:13Does that help?
14:15It helps a lot.
14:17Once we get you settled in,
14:18I think I've got a date
14:19with O'Malley, Phelps,
14:20Corrigan, and Briggs.
14:22It's where Leonard Dart worked.
14:27Good morning.
14:29I'm from Nero Wolfe's office.
14:31I'd like to speak to someone
14:32about Mr. Leonard Dart.
14:35Mr. Dart is no longer with us.
14:37I know he isn't.
14:38It's the secretary
14:39that I'd like to see.
14:41Oh, that would be
14:41Elizabeth Marsh.
14:43Liz,
14:43this chairman wants to talk to you
14:45about Mr. Dart.
14:46Are you another policeman?
14:50Well, not exactly,
14:51Miss Marsh.
14:51I am a private detective.
14:53My name's Archie Goodwin.
14:55I'd rather not talk
14:57about Mr. Dart anymore.
14:59Do anymore.
15:00Not even about his murder?
15:04Murder?
15:05Mr. Dart's death
15:06wasn't an accident,
15:07Miss Marsh.
15:10There's an empty office
15:12over here.
15:16Mr. Briggs,
15:28may I speak to you
15:29for a moment?
15:42What is it?
15:43There's a Mr. Goodwin here.
15:46He's a private detective.
15:48He's talking to
15:49Elizabeth Marsh.
15:50What did he want?
15:51He said it was about
15:52Leonard Dart's
15:53murder.
15:57You mean
15:58vehicular homicide,
15:59Miss Johnson?
16:00No, Mr. Phelps.
16:01He said murder.
16:03I thought you
16:04hadn't known, sir.
16:06Particularly since
16:07Elizabeth took
16:07Mr. Dart's death
16:08so.
16:08Personally.
16:09Personally.
16:12That's very
16:13thoughtful of you,
16:13Miss Johnson.
16:26Please, Miss Marsh,
16:28think carefully.
16:30Was there anything
16:31worrying, Mr. Dart?
16:32Anything you thought
16:33unusual?
16:33Yes, there was,
16:36now that you mention it.
16:38What?
16:40Well,
16:41for months
16:42he'd been
16:42working late.
16:44I mean,
16:45Leonard,
16:47Mr. Dart,
16:48was strictly
16:49a nine-to-five
16:50person.
16:51It had to be
16:52something special
16:53to keep him
16:53after office hours.
16:55I'd say goodnight
16:56and often
16:58he didn't
16:59seem to hear me.
17:00Did you ever
17:01ask him
17:01what he was
17:02working on?
17:04Once.
17:05And?
17:07He, uh,
17:08looked at me
17:09and smiled
17:10and said,
17:11uh,
17:13Elizabeth,
17:14put not
17:15your trust
17:15in princes.
17:18Mr. Goodwin?
17:19Yes.
17:20I'm afraid
17:21I'll have to
17:21ask you to leave.
17:23I'm sorry,
17:23Mr. Briggs.
17:24He said
17:26that he had
17:27some information
17:28about Mr. Dart.
17:29It's all right,
17:29Elizabeth,
17:30I know it's not
17:30your fault,
17:31but in the future
17:31please consult
17:32with me
17:33before you, uh,
17:34talk to any
17:34unofficial visitors.
17:37Yes, sir.
17:38I'm investigating
17:39a murder,
17:39Mr. Briggs.
17:40We've already
17:41talked to the police
17:42and we prefer
17:42not to deal
17:43with private detectives.
17:46Whether you like
17:47it or not,
17:48Mr. Briggs,
17:48you're going
17:49to have to deal
17:49with a private
17:50detective named
17:51Nero Wolf.
17:54Mr. Goodwin?
18:16Yes.
18:18Briggs bounced
18:18you off the premises.
18:20I'll bounce back.
18:22That's the stuff.
18:23been a little, uh,
18:24pushy around.
18:26I'm Ryan O'Malley.
18:28That O'Malley?
18:30Retired.
18:31Six months.
18:33What got Briggs
18:34so sore at you?
18:36Slight case
18:36of murder.
18:39Leonard Dart?
18:41Did you know him,
18:42Mr. O'Malley?
18:43Know him?
18:44I hired him.
18:46I think
18:49perhaps we should
18:49discuss the matter
18:50over lunch,
18:51don't you?
18:51Thanks.
18:52I hate to eat alone.
18:58And Nero Wolf
18:59is convinced
19:00that Leonard's
19:01death was no accident?
19:03I'm convinced too.
19:05Look,
19:05you questioned
19:06Liz Marsh.
19:07Why?
19:09You think the killer
19:10might be a member
19:12of our law firm?
19:13Someone killed him.
19:14I'm just running down
19:15stuff the cops
19:16might have missed.
19:17Look, Goodwin,
19:18I founded that firm.
19:19I was a damn good
19:20trial lawyer
19:21in my time
19:22before I hung up
19:23my spikes.
19:24I made O'Malley
19:25Phelps,
19:25Corrigan,
19:26and Briggs
19:26what it is today.
19:27The best legal team
19:29on the street.
19:31I'm on the sidelines
19:32now,
19:33but I don't want
19:34to see that reputation
19:35etarnished.
19:36I can understand that.
19:37if Leonard was murdered,
19:43I want the matter
19:44investigated.
19:45If the killer
19:46is a member
19:46of my firm,
19:48I want him found,
19:51prosecuted,
19:52punished.
19:54But I want to know
19:54who he is.
19:56And I want to know
19:56it before the police do.
20:00Give Mr. Wolf a call
20:01and see if he's interested.
20:02I'm willing to pay
20:05any reasonable fee.
20:08You just made my job
20:09a little easier.
20:10Thanks for lunch.
20:22Thank you, Prince.
20:24Is Jean okay?
20:26She's upstairs.
20:27The young woman
20:29seems to think
20:30well of you, Archie.
20:32As apparently do
20:34an increasing number
20:35of young women.
20:36That's because I'm shy.
20:38The ladies like that.
20:39Of course,
20:40most of them
20:40get married to someone else
20:41and move out to Scarsdale.
20:44You're quite sure
20:45about what Elizabeth Marsh
20:46said.
20:47Well, she was the only
20:48one in that office
20:48who seemed shook up
20:49about Leonard Dart's death.
20:52The rest of them?
20:53Well, they're lawyers.
20:54Or they work for lawyers.
20:55Which says it all.
20:56All right.
21:09Now, let us review
21:10what we have.
21:13Mr. Kramer
21:14shows us a list
21:15taken from the body
21:16of a dead lawyer
21:17named Leonard Dart.
21:19One of the names
21:19on that list
21:20is Blake Ritchie.
21:23Claire Wellman
21:23is found dead
21:24as dismissively suicide.
21:25but her sister
21:26informs us
21:27that the last person
21:28in contact with her
21:29was a fledgling novelist,
21:32Blake Ritchie.
21:33Now, even Mr. Kramer
21:34would have seen the connection
21:35and made the assumption
21:36that Blake Ritchie
21:37was the perpetrator
21:38of both crimes.
21:40But now,
21:41they learn from Miss Marsh
21:43that Mr. Dart
21:44kept peculiar office hours,
21:47was preoccupied
21:48with some secret endeavor.
21:50and on one occasion
21:51even quoted to her
21:52the title of
21:53Blake Ritchie's novel.
21:57Archie,
21:58I believe Mr. Dart's
22:00after-hour office
22:01activities were literary.
22:04He was writing a novel
22:05called
22:06Put Not Your Trust.
22:08Even the police
22:09would find that intriguing
22:10and possibly lead them
22:12to the conclusion
22:13that Blake Ritchie
22:14and Leonard Dart
22:14were one and the same person.
22:17You mean Dart used
22:18Blake Ritchie
22:19as a pen name?
22:20Precisely.
22:21However,
22:22going on that assumption,
22:23Blake Ritchie
22:23could hardly have killed
22:24Leonard Dart.
22:26And if not Dart,
22:27then not Miss Wellman.
22:29Now,
22:29we must look elsewhere
22:30for our killer.
22:32Elsewhere
22:32is where I've been looking.
22:33Oh,
22:35by the way,
22:35do we take on
22:36Ryan O'Malley
22:37as a client?
22:38We already have
22:39two clients,
22:39Archie.
22:41But I think
22:42we can squeeze in
22:43Mr. O'Malley.
22:44It'll be nice
22:45to have one client
22:46who can pay a fee.
22:48I'll go see
22:49how Gene's doing.
22:50Yes.
22:52Excuse me,
22:53please.
22:54Archie!
23:02Thank you, Fritz.
23:03Yes.
23:06I'm Philip Corrigan.
23:07Of O'Malley,
23:08Phelps,
23:08Corrigan and Briggs?
23:09That's right.
23:11What can I do
23:11for you,
23:12Mr. Corrigan?
23:13Two things.
23:14You can let me in
23:15and you can tell me
23:16what Ryan O'Malley
23:17said to you at lunch.
23:18Mr. Corrigan,
23:19what Mr. O'Malley
23:20said or did not say
23:21to my associate at lunch
23:23is privileged information.
23:24As a lawyer,
23:25you should know that.
23:26Look here,
23:27Mr. Wolfe.
23:27If you're conducting
23:28an investigation of our firm,
23:30my partners and I
23:30have the right
23:31to set the record straight.
23:32Ryan O'Malley's name
23:33is on the door
23:34but he doesn't speak
23:35for the firm anymore.
23:36Fair enough.
23:37If you and your partners
23:38wish to discuss
23:39the matter more fully,
23:40you will come here
23:41to dinner.
23:44Dinner?
23:46All of us?
23:47Tomorrow, sir.
23:47Promptly at seven.
23:51Come, Mr. Corrigan.
23:52You ring my doorbell.
23:53You demand an entrance.
23:54I extend an invitation
23:55and now you hesitate.
23:59We'll be here.
23:59Satisfactory.
24:01Good day, sir.
24:17Okay, one of us knows
24:18what he's doing.
24:19The only problem is
24:20who tells Fritz
24:21we're going to have
24:22six for dinner?
24:25Who?
24:25Good day, sir.
24:26Good day, sir.
24:27Good day, sir.
24:28Good day, sir.
24:28Good day, sir.
24:29Good day, sir.
24:30Good day, sir.
24:30Good day, sir.
24:30Good day, sir.
24:31Good day, sir.
24:31Good day, sir.
24:31Good day, sir.
24:32Good day, sir.
24:32Good day, sir.
24:32Good day, sir.
24:33Good day, sir.
24:34Good day, sir.
24:34Good day, sir.
24:35Good day, sir.
24:35Good day, sir.
24:36Good day, sir.
24:36Good day, sir.
24:37Good day, sir.
24:38Good day, sir.
24:39Good day, sir.
24:40Good day, sir.
24:41Good day, sir.
24:42Good day, sir.
24:43Good day, sir.
24:44Good day, sir.
24:45Good day, sir.
24:46Oh, my God.
25:16An excellent dinner, Mr. Wolfe.
25:21Thank you, Mr. Belts.
25:23I think you will find the port excellent as well.
25:25Can we get down to business now, Wolfe?
25:27To begin with, let's make it clear
25:29that this is a confidential conversation.
25:31Yes, Mr. Corrigan, but not privileged.
25:34I am not your client.
25:35I'm going to put my cards right on the table.
25:38Frankly, our firm is in a highly vulnerable position.
25:43We've had about as much scandal as we can absorb.
25:46Scandal.
25:48One of the estates represented by our firm
25:50has had two million dollars embezzled from it.
25:54Dammit, George, that's not true.
25:56Nobody ever proved embezzlement.
25:58He's right, Mr. Wolfe.
26:00Negligence, that's all.
26:01All right, all right, negligence.
26:03But still, there was two million dollars missing
26:05from an estate that our firm handled.
26:09Now, we avoided the scandal.
26:10We avoided the scandal.
26:12We made up the shortage.
26:14We replaced the cash.
26:16But you can understand what this business with Dart
26:18would do to our firm if ever hits the newspapers.
26:21Especially a murder.
26:23Two murders, Mr. Corrigan.
26:26And an unsuccessful attempt at a third.
26:29What the devil are you talking about?
26:30Not only was Leonard Dart murdered,
26:32there was a woman named Claire Wellman.
26:36Do we have a Claire Wellman on the staff?
26:39Don't be a bloody fool.
26:40He's not talking about one of our typists.
26:42Who was she, Mr. Wolfe?
26:44A manuscript reader for Wainwright Press.
26:47Furthermore, we believe both Miss Wellman and Mr. Dart
26:49were murdered because they had knowledge of a book.
26:52A novel to be precise, entitled
26:54Put Not Your Trust.
26:57The author used a pen name, Blake Ritchie.
27:00We believe the author's real name was Leonard Dart.
27:03Leonard wrote a novel?
27:06About what?
27:07A subject he knew well, sir.
27:09A prestigious New York law firm.
27:12It is not inconceivable that the scandal you avoided
27:15will play a prominent part in Mr. Dart's novel.
27:18Do you have a copy of the manuscript?
27:21Buy it from him, George.
27:22Make him an offer.
27:23We can deduct it as a legitimate business expense.
27:26I think it's a ten-cent bluff.
27:28I think the great Nero Wolfe doesn't know a thing more
27:30about that manuscript than we do.
27:32Come on, George.
27:33I've had enough.
27:33Let's go.
27:34Just a minute.
27:35This isn't going to amount to anything,
27:37so just take it easy, will you?
27:39Nero Wolfe's residence?
27:43That's Inspector Kramer.
27:45Yes, Mr. Kramer.
27:48What?
27:49What?
27:51Thank you, sir.
27:53Three murders, gentlemen.
27:59We are now faced with three murders.
28:04What the devil do you mean?
28:06Who's been killed?
28:07The police just found Elizabeth Marsh
28:09strangled in the computer room of your officers.
28:12I realize you're investigating a murder, Inspector.
28:34I don't want the reputation of this firm hurt more than it already has been.
28:38Well, you're just going to have to take what comes, Mr. O'Malley.
28:41You can't suspect any of my partners.
28:44They were all at dinner at Nero Wolfe.
28:45Mr. Goodwin will corroborate that.
28:47That's right.
28:48Dinner was at seven, and they were all present.
28:50Well, unfortunately, gentlemen,
28:52the coroner has fixed Miss Marsh's death at about six.
28:55Now, Goodwin, would you please tell me
28:56about how long would it take to get from here to Wolfe's place?
28:59Well, it depends.
29:00Half an hour if the traffic's okay.
29:02Which means that all of them had the time to kill Miss Marsh
29:04and still get there in time for Wolfe's dinner.
29:07You're wrong, Inspector.
29:08I'll vouch for my partners.
29:09And let me warn you.
29:10A false arrest, and you'll have a lawsuit on your hands.
29:13We're going to try to solve this case, Mr. O'Malley.
29:16Anything else, we can take it up with the D.A.
29:18It seems to me the problem
29:27is not who murdered Elizabeth Marsh, but why.
29:30No, Archie, the problem is where.
29:34Okay.
29:35I slept too late,
29:36and the last thing that functions in the morning is my head.
29:41All right.
29:42Miss Marsh was found by the police in the computer room,
29:44is that correct?
29:45Correct.
29:46Now,
29:48is a man
29:49cunning enough to run down Leonard Dart,
29:51adroit enough
29:52to arrange Miss Wilman's suicide.
29:56Is such a man
29:57clumsy enough
29:58to seize a girl in his own business office
30:00and strangle her?
30:01It was after office hours.
30:03Anyone might have wandered in, Archie,
30:05a janitor, a security guard.
30:07No.
30:09Now, whoever killed Elizabeth Marsh
30:10had to seize the first opportunity
30:12that offered itself,
30:13no matter what the risk.
30:14I still can't figure out
30:16what she was doing in the computer room.
30:17Yesterday was Friday.
30:20You'd think she'd have been anxious
30:21to get away for the weekend.
30:23All the other help beat it
30:24the minute the clock struck five.
30:25Exactly.
30:27But Miss Marsh stayed.
30:29Why?
30:30Well, until we learn the answer,
30:32we must keep searching for the manuscript,
30:34don't you?
30:35What are the first drafts,
30:36the revised chapters, huh?
30:38The discarded pages
30:39of Put Not Your Trust?
30:41Gone.
30:42Dart's apartment was clean.
30:43So was his desk at the office.
30:45Probably shredded or burned,
30:47I'd say.
30:47Now, the killer probably got the only copy
30:50when he killed Claire Wellman.
30:51Precisely.
30:54And the answer we are looking for
30:55is in that book.
30:57And I would suggest
30:58that the secret of its location,
31:00if the book exists,
31:02still lies somewhere
31:03in Jean Wellman's memory.
31:08Jean,
31:08I want you to think about Claire
31:11as though she were alive
31:12and in this room talking to you.
31:16You know, Wolf thinks
31:17that the answer is in your memory.
31:19that's the only chance
31:21we've got left.
31:24You go through with it.
31:46All right.
31:46You've come to see Claire.
31:51She's in the bedroom.
31:53Maybe getting dressed.
31:55Is she getting dressed, Jean?
31:58Yes.
32:00What kind of a dress?
32:04A red dress?
32:06You're alone in the living room
32:08waiting for her.
32:10You're going out to dinner.
32:12You look over at the desk.
32:17There's something on the desk
32:19you've never seen before.
32:21A manuscript.
32:23In a gray cover.
32:24You remember?
32:27You walk over to the desk.
32:29Pick up the manuscript.
32:46I read the title.
32:48What is it?
32:51Put not your trust.
32:54In the author's name?
32:55Blake Ritchie.
33:00You flip it open.
33:03Start to read at random.
33:06Then what?
33:11Claire comes out of the bedroom.
33:15She's wearing the red dress.
33:17She says.
33:21What did she say, Jean?
33:25She said.
33:27Be careful, Jean.
33:29That's the only copy.
33:33What did you say?
33:34I said.
33:39Didn't he make others?
33:44Yeah.
33:47Now what did Claire say to that?
33:49Think, Jean.
33:54She said.
33:57Well, I suppose so.
33:58He said he could get as many copies as he wants.
34:08As many copies as he wanted,
34:09any time he wanted them.
34:11That's what her sister told her.
34:13Oh, do you know about computers, Archie?
34:15They operate on memory banks.
34:16Is that not so?
34:17They hold banks of them sometimes.
34:19And a word processor?
34:21Well, they're word banks.
34:23I mean, you punch in the right code
34:25and the computer types out
34:26whatever's stored in the memory bank.
34:28They go at a rate of about 600 words a minute.
34:31And one could therefore reproduce,
34:33say, an entire novel
34:34given the proper command.
34:35You could retrieve the information
34:36from the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
34:39with a computer chip
34:40the size of your fingernail.
34:41Now perhaps, Archie,
34:42that is where Leonard Dodd
34:43stored his novel.
34:46Satisfactory.
34:49Yeah, but we still need the code.
34:51Have we got it?
34:52Certainly Leonard Dodd had it.
34:53Possibly he told it to Miss Marsh
34:55or she guessed
34:57and was trying to retrieve the novel
34:58after you told her
34:59that Dodd had been murdered.
35:01So the killer saw her
35:03in the computer room,
35:05felt threatened,
35:06and he killed her.
35:07Precisely.
35:10Well, that still doesn't give us the code.
35:12But we do have an essential part
35:14of any book, do we not?
35:17Yeah, the title.
35:19Put not your trust
35:20in princes,
35:23Miss Marsh added.
35:26Shakespeare?
35:27Not all quotations come
35:28from the immortal bar, Archie.
35:30On the second shelf of the bookcase,
35:32right-hand corner
35:33next to Caesar's commentaries,
35:34you will find a copy
35:35of the King James Version
35:36of the Bible,
35:37if you please.
35:43There.
35:44Proverbs, Proverbs,
35:46Psalms.
35:50Ah, here we are.
35:52Put not your trust
35:54in princes,
35:56nor in the son of man
35:57in whom there is
35:59no help.
36:03Where does that leave us?
36:05For the answer,
36:06I believe.
36:16Put not your trust
36:24got nothing.
36:25The machine just sneered at us
36:26and typed back
36:27zero document.
36:29I should have known.
36:30Dart would not have made
36:31the code that simple.
36:32What do we try now?
36:36The title is
36:37from the 146th Psalm.
36:40Try
36:40146p,
36:43Archie.
36:43Try 146p.
36:55Ah, 146p,
36:56nothing.
36:57Yeah, let me see.
36:59It's the third verse
37:00of the 146th Psalm.
37:03The lawyer dot
37:04would have been
37:04a stickler for precision.
37:05Try 146p,
37:08three.
37:09Try 146p again
37:11and stick a three
37:12on the end.
37:13Three?
37:14It's what he said.
37:14It's what he said.
37:15It's what he said.
37:43Thank you for coming, gentlemen.
38:05Since you have been touched
38:06by a series of tragedies
38:08in the past month,
38:09I thought it only fair
38:11that all of you
38:11should be permitted
38:12to hear what I have to say.
38:14First of all,
38:16the death of Claire Wilman.
38:18An apparent suicide,
38:20but in fact,
38:21a cruel, deliberate murder.
38:23All murders are,
38:24aren't they?
38:26Not all, Mr. Briggs.
38:28Killers vary.
38:30Ours was a man
38:31of overwhelming vanity.
38:32An embezzler first,
38:33a murderer later.
38:35I told you there's nothing
38:36to prove embezzlement.
38:38There is something,
38:38Mr. Corrigan.
38:39It was the motive
38:40for all the crimes
38:41that followed.
38:45When our killer learned
38:46that Leonard Dart
38:47had stumbled upon
38:48the proof of his guilt,
38:49he became alarmed.
38:50But what appalled him
38:51was the consequent discovery
38:53that Dart had detailed
38:55his theft of the two million dollars
38:56in a novel.
39:00It was imperative, therefore,
39:02that he get his hands
39:03on Mr. Dart's manuscript.
39:05He presumed there would be
39:06only one copy.
39:07He broke into
39:08Mr. Dart's apartment,
39:09searched for it,
39:10and destroyed
39:10the one manuscript
39:11he'd found.
39:13It was that burglary
39:14that drove Mr. Dart
39:15to attempt to see me.
39:16He was, as you know,
39:17killed on his way
39:18to my house.
39:20And what about
39:21the list of names?
39:22Invented by Mr. Dart
39:23for the characters
39:24in his book
39:25to protect himself
39:26against libels.
39:26He was, after all,
39:29a lawyer first.
39:30I'd like to see
39:31that manuscript.
39:32That might be fatal,
39:34Mr. Corrigan.
39:35Claire Wellman read it,
39:36it killed her.
39:38Miss Marsh tried to find it,
39:40it killed her too.
39:42Ah.
39:43Thank you, Archie.
39:48Here, gentlemen,
39:49we have a copy
39:50of the first and last novel
39:52by Blake Ritchie.
39:53It is the product
39:54of an electronic marvel
39:55housed in a rear office
39:56at O'Malley, Phelps,
39:58Briggs, and Corrigan.
39:59But not your trust.
40:02An apt title.
40:05Mr. Dart was correct
40:06about the princess
40:07who ran the law firm
40:08for which he worked.
40:10Shall I read it aloud,
40:11gentlemen?
40:12It will tell us
40:12conclusively
40:13who our embezzler is
40:14and our murderer.
40:15Don't you agree,
40:19Mr. O'Malley?
40:21I wouldn't read it aloud, Wolf.
40:23It's a lousy book anyway.
40:25How do you know that, Ryan?
40:27Because except for the author
40:28himself and Miss Claire Wellman,
40:29both of them dead,
40:31Mr. O'Malley is the only person
40:33who has read the book.
40:35When did you know?
40:37I suspected, Mr. O'Malley,
40:38the day you hired us.
40:41Ryan!
40:42Sit down, George.
40:44You're not in court?
40:48This is one felony
40:49we can't cover up.
40:51Not even for the sake
40:52of the good old firm.
40:58Can you wait just one moment,
41:00Inspector?
41:00I'd like to sum up
41:02for the jury.
41:10Gentlemen,
41:11I was a man
41:12of extraordinary talent
41:14and not without ambition.
41:18But, of course,
41:18we are all flawed.
41:21My flaw was
41:22an inordinate need
41:23for money.
41:25Two million,
41:26to be exact.
41:27It was a shock
41:28to my partners
41:29to find out
41:29how I had acquired it.
41:32A shock of righteous men.
41:35Meaning those
41:36who haven't been caught yet
41:37with their hands
41:38in the till.
41:40But, uh,
41:42they're very loyal
41:43at the firm.
41:44They didn't blow
41:44the whistle on me.
41:48They retired me.
41:52Retired Ryan O'Malley.
41:54I founded their firm.
41:57And they retired me.
41:59Of course.
42:00They all moved up.
42:02Better positions,
42:03bigger money.
42:05And I was out
42:06in the cold.
42:09The best trial lawyer
42:11in the state.
42:12Let's go,
42:13Mr. O'Malley.
42:14I haven't finished
42:14my summation.
42:15I'm afraid
42:16you have,
42:17Mr. O'Malley.
42:17The three of you
42:36conspired to condone
42:38a crime
42:39by covering it up.
42:41I believe the next time
42:42you see the inside
42:42of a courtroom,
42:43it will be from
42:44the defendant's table.
42:48It is well known
42:49that I leave my house
42:50to venture outside
42:52with great reluctance.
42:54For your trial,
42:55I shall be happy
42:55to make an exception.
42:57Goodbye, gentlemen.
43:14Some novels,
43:21Archie,
43:21write their own endings.
43:24Do they not?
43:32Careful, Theodore.
43:34Don't even breathe.
43:34If I were being
43:36more careful,
43:37I'd be unconscious.
43:40Whether you sometimes,
43:41Theodore,
43:42it is difficult to tell.
43:44Not at all.
43:58Here's our Jane.
44:01Jane's leaving.
44:02She wants to pay her bill.
44:03Well, you will receive
44:05it in due course,
44:06Miss Wellman.
44:07I would like you to charge
44:08me your usual fee,
44:09Mr. Wolf.
44:09My usual fee,
44:10I'm afraid,
44:11would bankrupt you.
44:12We will charge you
44:13my unusual fee.
44:14I hired you.
44:16You were kind enough
44:17to say yes
44:17when I couldn't pay.
44:19Now I can
44:19and I'd like to.
44:20Have you come
44:21into an inheritance,
44:22Miss Wellman?
44:23Wainwright Press,
44:24because of all the publicity,
44:26has decided
44:26that Put Not Your Trust
44:27can be a bestseller.
44:29They're going to publish it
44:30and a part of the royalties
44:32will go to Claire's estate.
44:33And therefore to you.
44:35Very well.
44:36My bill will be adjusted
44:37to the sales charts
44:38of Mr. Dart's novel.
44:40Thank you for everything,
44:41Mr. Wolf.
44:44For Claire, too.
44:47I am glad.
44:49I could help.
44:50Goodbye.
44:51Goodbye.
44:51Goodbye.
44:51Theodore, I shall,
45:00I grudgingly admit,
45:02miss that young woman's
45:03presence in this house.
45:06Not for long.
45:07I just invited her
45:08to dinner.
45:09Oh?
45:10Is that all right?
45:11Most.
45:12Sutter's factory.
45:13Hooray!
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