WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:19.000 The Columbia Network takes pleasure in bringing you Suspense. 00:19.000 --> 00:21.000 Suspense. 00:21.000 --> 00:24.000 Stories from the world's great literature of pure excitement. 00:24.000 --> 00:30.000 A new series frankly dedicated to your horrification and entertainment. 00:30.000 --> 00:36.000 Week by week from the pick of new material, from the pages of best-selling novels, 00:36.000 --> 00:41.000 from the theater of Broadway in London, the sound stages of Hollywood, 00:41.000 --> 00:46.000 will parade the most remarkable figures ever known. 00:46.000 --> 01:02.000 CBS gives you Suspense. 01:02.000 --> 01:08.000 Tonight's presentation is one of the finest of the contemporary stories of mystery and terror. 01:08.000 --> 01:26.000 John Dixon Carr's famous novel, The Burning Court. 01:26.000 --> 01:31.000 Ah, a glass of sherry by the fireside of a beautiful suburban home. 01:31.000 --> 01:33.000 What could be more comforting? 01:33.000 --> 01:36.000 You're an admirable host, Mr. Depard. 01:36.000 --> 01:40.000 And it's really a shame our first meeting is under such a cloud. 01:40.000 --> 01:48.000 It's also a shame I have so little time to tell you which one of your guests here 01:48.000 --> 01:57.000 murdered your uncle last week. 01:57.000 --> 02:00.000 Now let's see now. I believe we're all here. 02:00.000 --> 02:03.000 Your wife, your friend Mr. Stevens, Captain Brennan. 02:03.000 --> 02:07.000 Yes, and incidentally yourself. Just who did you say you were? 02:07.000 --> 02:11.000 Well, no wonder you've had so much difficulty with the case, Captain. 02:11.000 --> 02:16.000 My name is Cross, Gordain Cross, the writer. 02:16.000 --> 02:19.000 As a matter of fact, it's because of my just completed book, 02:19.000 --> 02:23.000 Poisoning Throughout the Ages, that I happen to be here now. 02:23.000 --> 02:27.000 And Ted Stevens there happens to be a member of the firm which publishes my work. 02:27.000 --> 02:31.000 I'd never seen him until tonight, but I've been told what happened. 02:31.000 --> 02:36.000 This afternoon he began reading my manuscript for the first time on the train, 02:36.000 --> 02:42.000 the commuter's train, which every afternoon deposits him safely and soundly here in Crispin. 02:42.000 --> 02:46.000 I imagine he was halfway home by the time he finished the first chapter. 02:46.000 --> 02:52.000 Then he turned a page. Attached to the following leaf was a picture. 02:52.000 --> 02:59.000 And looking at it, the young man stiffened suddenly and all but cried out his shock. 02:59.000 --> 03:05.000 It was a picture of a young woman. And under it had been printed, 03:05.000 --> 03:12.000 famous poisoner Marie Dobre, 1676. 03:12.000 --> 03:17.000 Ted Stevens was looking at a picture of his own wife. 03:17.000 --> 03:22.000 Imagine, imagine his 25 year old wife in 17th century costume. 03:22.000 --> 03:27.000 The face, the features, even the wistfulness of expression were identical. 03:27.000 --> 03:31.000 Even the name Dobre was his wife's maiden name. 03:31.000 --> 03:33.000 But no, no, no, that was ridiculous. 03:33.000 --> 03:38.000 This woman in the picture was, well, one of his wife's ancestors. 03:38.000 --> 03:41.000 And the picture was of a young woman. 03:41.000 --> 03:47.000 No, no, no, that was ridiculous. This woman in the picture was, well, one of his wife's ancestors. 03:47.000 --> 03:51.000 Yes, that was it, that was it. Simply an amazing family resemblance. 03:51.000 --> 03:55.000 Marie would be waiting for him at the station and he'd have to tell her about it. 03:55.000 --> 03:59.000 He wondered why, however, she'd never told him about. 03:59.000 --> 04:04.000 Oh, well, but you don't discuss such an ancestor, do you? 04:04.000 --> 04:08.000 Ted Stevens glanced down at the chapter to which the picture had been attached. 04:08.000 --> 04:13.000 It was entitled, The Affair of the Non-Dead Woman. 04:20.000 --> 04:22.000 Hello, Ted. 04:22.000 --> 04:24.000 Stevens was almost jolted from his seat. 04:24.000 --> 04:28.000 It was Dr. Weldon, professor of English at the college, an old friend of his. 04:28.000 --> 04:32.000 Quickly he thrust the picture beneath the manuscript and moved over. 04:32.000 --> 04:34.000 Hi, hi. Didn't see you, Doc. 04:34.000 --> 04:36.000 Oh, here, have a seat. 04:36.000 --> 04:40.000 Oh, I thought maybe you were giving me the, what do they call it, the brush off? 04:40.000 --> 04:42.000 Oh, no, I... 04:42.000 --> 04:46.000 Say, as a matter of fact, Doc, you're the one man I do want to see. 04:46.000 --> 04:48.000 Yeah? Very flattering. 04:48.000 --> 04:52.000 Remember those discussions we used to have about murders? 04:52.000 --> 04:54.000 Better than Bridge any time. 04:54.000 --> 04:58.000 Well, I got the idea that you'd made sort of a hobby out of the old cases, the historical ones. 04:58.000 --> 05:01.000 Well, I've studied quite a number of them, yes. 05:01.000 --> 05:05.000 Ever hear of a woman named Marie Dobre? 05:05.000 --> 05:07.000 Marie Dobre? 05:07.000 --> 05:09.000 Marie Dobre. 05:09.000 --> 05:13.000 Oh, yes, that was her maiden name, of course. 05:13.000 --> 05:19.000 One of the finest specialists in arsenic poisoning you could ever hope to find. 05:19.000 --> 05:23.000 Oh, we're almost at our station, Ted. Let's get to the door. 05:23.000 --> 05:26.000 Yes, a real charmer Marie was. 05:26.000 --> 05:32.000 Must have dispoiled to half a hundred husbands, lovers, suitors, and just plain friends before she was caught. 05:32.000 --> 05:34.000 What happened to her, Doc? 05:34.000 --> 05:37.000 She was beheaded and burned. 05:37.000 --> 05:39.000 Crispin! 05:48.000 --> 05:51.000 Oh, absurd, laughable. 05:51.000 --> 05:56.000 Ted Stevens kept saying this to himself, and yet what he knew was a foolish dread 05:56.000 --> 06:01.000 followed him straight through the small suburban station and clung to him as he reached the street. 06:01.000 --> 06:08.000 And there in the roadster was Marie, leaning toward him a little to hold the door open and smiling at him. 06:08.000 --> 06:11.000 Oh, Ted, what on earth are you staring at? 06:11.000 --> 06:14.000 That street light shining on your hair, I like that. 06:14.000 --> 06:18.000 Oh, you're tight. Come on, get in the car. 06:18.000 --> 06:28.000 Then, like a wisp of smoke, it was gone, the whole ridiculous fear, the delusion. 06:37.000 --> 06:43.000 When at home, Marie brought the cocktails into the living room, the logs were burning brightly in the fireplace, 06:43.000 --> 06:49.000 throwing a soft, dancing glow upon a room that was darkening with dusk. 06:49.000 --> 06:50.000 To you, Marie. 06:50.000 --> 06:53.000 And to you, dear. 06:53.000 --> 06:58.000 As Stevens placed his glass down, he noticed the manuscript of my book. 06:58.000 --> 07:02.000 It was there on the table, right where he placed it when he first came in. 07:02.000 --> 07:05.000 Deliberately, he turned from it. 07:05.000 --> 07:09.000 And then turned back. The manuscript had been moved. 07:09.000 --> 07:13.000 Only an inch or so, but it had been moved. 07:13.000 --> 07:18.000 Keeping his back to his wife, he trumped through that early chapter and discovered, 07:18.000 --> 07:24.000 just as he knew he would, that the photograph was gone. 07:28.000 --> 07:31.000 For a long moment, he thought of what to do. 07:31.000 --> 07:34.000 Then slowly, he turned around. 07:34.000 --> 07:37.000 This book by Cross I brought home. 07:37.000 --> 07:39.000 Yes? 07:39.000 --> 07:41.000 There was a story of Poisoner in it. 07:41.000 --> 07:44.000 Rather funny. Her name happens to be the same as yours. 07:44.000 --> 07:46.000 Oh, your maiden name, that is. 07:46.000 --> 07:48.000 Oh, that is odd, isn't it? 07:48.000 --> 07:51.000 Darling, was she a relative of yours? 07:51.000 --> 07:54.000 Why, Ted, you're serious. 07:54.000 --> 07:57.000 In a way, yes. Oh, I don't mean it. It's really important. 07:57.000 --> 08:01.000 It's just that, well, when you run across a person who's a dead ringer for your own wife 08:01.000 --> 08:04.000 and who lived 300 years ago and was a top-flight Poisoner, 08:04.000 --> 08:07.000 well, you like to hear about it, that's all. 08:07.000 --> 08:09.000 What on earth are you talking about? 08:09.000 --> 08:12.000 Darling, be honest with me. 08:12.000 --> 08:14.000 Didn't you look at this manuscript when I was out of the room? 08:14.000 --> 08:15.000 No. 08:15.000 --> 08:18.000 You didn't take out a picture of a Poisoner named Marie de Bray? 08:18.000 --> 08:20.000 I most certainly did not. 08:20.000 --> 08:25.000 Oh, Ted, what is this all about? What are you getting at? 08:25.000 --> 08:26.000 Oh, just this. 08:26.000 --> 08:30.000 Somebody took that picture out of that manuscript since I've been home. 08:30.000 --> 08:32.000 Now, who's that? 08:32.000 --> 08:34.000 Well, I'll take a look. 08:34.000 --> 08:36.000 But I don't feel like... 08:36.000 --> 08:38.000 Why, it's Mark Sipar. 08:38.000 --> 08:40.000 Mark? Ted, wait a second. 08:40.000 --> 08:41.000 Yes? 08:41.000 --> 08:46.000 Ted, whatever it is he wants, promise you won't do it. 08:46.000 --> 08:47.000 Promise I won't do it? 08:47.000 --> 08:51.000 I mean, promise you won't get yourself involved. 08:51.000 --> 08:54.000 Please, Ted, don't go out tonight. 08:54.000 --> 08:56.000 See, what in the world is... 08:56.000 --> 09:00.000 Well, anyway, we can't let him stay outside. 09:00.000 --> 09:02.000 Mark, how are you? Come on in. 09:02.000 --> 09:05.000 Thanks, Ted. Just thinking about giving you a call later. 09:05.000 --> 09:06.000 Oh, let me have your hat. 09:06.000 --> 09:08.000 Oh, thanks. I... 09:08.000 --> 09:12.000 Marie, I hope you'll excuse me for popping in like this, but, well... 09:12.000 --> 09:14.000 I wanted to talk to Ted. It's rather important. 09:14.000 --> 09:15.000 Oh, I don't mind at all. 09:15.000 --> 09:18.000 Come on, Mark, we'll step into the library. Oh, you mind, dear? 09:18.000 --> 09:20.000 Of course not, Ted. I'll be making the sandwiches for her. 09:20.000 --> 09:22.000 Oh, grab that chair in the corner, Mark. 09:22.000 --> 09:24.000 Well, let's hear it. 09:24.000 --> 09:26.000 What's the trouble, Ted? 09:26.000 --> 09:28.000 My Uncle Miles was murdered. 09:28.000 --> 09:29.000 Murdered? 09:29.000 --> 09:32.000 Oh, the talk hasn't reached you yet, but it's already started. 09:32.000 --> 09:37.000 Nothing definite, of course, just that there was something wrong about Uncle Miles' death. 09:37.000 --> 09:38.000 But I don't... 09:38.000 --> 09:41.000 Mark, are you sure of this? You know he was murdered? 09:41.000 --> 09:43.000 I don't know. Of course I don't. 09:43.000 --> 09:46.000 I just don't see how it could be any other way. 09:46.000 --> 09:49.000 Uncle Miles, you know, had been sick for quite a while, 09:49.000 --> 09:53.000 but last Saturday he seemed so much better that Miss Corbett, that was his nurse, 09:53.000 --> 09:56.000 decided to take the day off, and, oh, you know all this. 09:56.000 --> 09:58.000 You and Marie were over that afternoon. 09:58.000 --> 10:02.000 Anyway, Lucy and I went to the club that night, to that masquerade party, 10:02.000 --> 10:05.000 and we left the old boy completely alone. 10:05.000 --> 10:08.000 I've cursed myself a thousand times since. 10:08.000 --> 10:11.000 But what about your housekeeper, Mrs. uh, what's her name, Henderson? 10:11.000 --> 10:12.000 Wasn't she around? 10:12.000 --> 10:15.000 Sure. In that little house out in back. 10:15.000 --> 10:19.000 We told her to look in now and then, but well, that wasn't good enough. 10:19.000 --> 10:23.000 It was after midnight when Lucy and I got back. 10:23.000 --> 10:25.000 Uncle Miles was dying. 10:25.000 --> 10:29.000 Ted, it looked exactly like one of his regular attacks, 10:29.000 --> 10:33.000 but then later, after he was gone, 10:33.000 --> 10:36.000 I happened to glance under the chest of drawers in his room. 10:36.000 --> 10:41.000 There was a small silver cup under there, almost drained, 10:41.000 --> 10:43.000 and Uncle Miles' cat. 10:43.000 --> 10:48.000 The cat was still warm, but quite dead. 10:48.000 --> 10:49.000 Oh. 10:49.000 --> 10:53.000 I managed to get the cat out of the house and buried without anyone seeing me. 10:53.000 --> 10:56.000 The next day, I had the contents of the cup analyzed. 10:56.000 --> 10:58.000 It was poison? 10:58.000 --> 11:01.000 Yes. Arsenic. 11:02.000 --> 11:05.000 Well, what do you want me to do? 11:05.000 --> 11:06.000 Help me open the crypt. 11:06.000 --> 11:07.000 What? 11:07.000 --> 11:09.000 I want to have a private autopsy performed. 11:09.000 --> 11:12.000 Help me get Uncle Miles' body out of that vault. 11:12.000 --> 11:16.000 Oh, I know it's a tough job. The thing is sealed solid, but we can do it. 11:16.000 --> 11:17.000 You mean without the police knowing about it? 11:17.000 --> 11:19.000 Without anybody knowing about it. 11:19.000 --> 11:21.000 Mrs. Henderson's visiting her sister, 11:21.000 --> 11:23.000 and I managed to send Lucy over to the club. 11:23.000 --> 11:26.000 You must be crazy. You're playing with dynamite, Mark. 11:26.000 --> 11:28.000 This is something you've got to tell the police now. 11:28.000 --> 11:29.000 I can't take that chance. 11:29.000 --> 11:31.000 But they'll have to know sometime. You're only delaying the... 11:31.000 --> 11:33.000 I've got to know first, I tell you. 11:33.000 --> 11:35.000 You don't understand, Ted. 11:35.000 --> 11:38.000 There was somebody in Uncle Miles' room that night 11:38.000 --> 11:41.000 handing him something in a silver cup. 11:41.000 --> 11:44.000 Mrs. Henderson was on the porch by the window. She saw her. 11:44.000 --> 11:45.000 She saw her? 11:45.000 --> 11:49.000 Ted. She thinks it was my wife. 11:49.000 --> 11:51.000 Oh, Lucy. 11:51.000 --> 11:53.000 It doesn't mean anything to Mrs. Henderson yet, 11:53.000 --> 11:56.000 because she doesn't suspect anything, but, well... 11:56.000 --> 11:59.000 Ted, you've got to see why I've got to be sure. 11:59.000 --> 12:02.000 Why I've got to know how Uncle Miles died. 12:02.000 --> 12:04.000 Because it wasn't Lucy, Ted. I know it wasn't. 12:04.000 --> 12:06.000 Of course not, Mark. She had an alibi. 12:06.000 --> 12:08.000 Well, she was with you at the club, wasn't she? 12:08.000 --> 12:11.000 Yes. Except for half an hour. 12:11.000 --> 12:12.000 I see. 12:12.000 --> 12:14.000 You will help me, won't you, Ted? 12:14.000 --> 12:15.000 When do we start? 12:15.000 --> 12:16.000 As soon as you can make it. 12:16.000 --> 12:19.000 As soon as you can make it? Okay. Come on, now. I'll get your head. 12:19.000 --> 12:22.000 You twine on a head, and I'll come over as soon as I can see Marie. 12:22.000 --> 12:24.000 You're not going to tell her about this? 12:24.000 --> 12:26.000 Of course not. I'll think of something. Don't you worry about it. 12:26.000 --> 12:29.000 No, thanks, Ted. Thanks a lot. 12:29.000 --> 12:31.000 Uh, Marie? 12:31.000 --> 12:32.000 I'm coming. 12:32.000 --> 12:35.000 Uh, darling, Mark asked me to, uh... 12:35.000 --> 12:36.000 I know, Ted. Here. 12:36.000 --> 12:39.000 You'd better take these sandwiches with you. You'll be hungry. 12:39.000 --> 12:42.000 But... you knew I was going out? 12:42.000 --> 12:44.000 Yes, I knew. 12:44.000 --> 12:45.000 You listened to us? 12:45.000 --> 12:49.000 I couldn't help it, Ted. I had no idea what Mark's visit was about. 12:49.000 --> 12:51.000 They talk about his uncle's death. 12:51.000 --> 12:54.000 There's a lot of gossip about it in the village. 12:54.000 --> 12:58.000 That's why I tried to tell you why I didn't want you to get mixed up in it. 12:58.000 --> 13:01.000 But it's too late now, isn't it? I mean, you're going. 13:01.000 --> 13:04.000 I can tell by the way you look. 13:04.000 --> 13:07.000 Ted, wait a second. 13:07.000 --> 13:10.000 There's just one thing I want to tell you before you leave. 13:10.000 --> 13:13.000 And that is that no matter what happens, 13:13.000 --> 13:16.000 no matter what you find or think or believe, 13:16.000 --> 13:18.000 I'll love you. 13:18.000 --> 13:21.000 You'll remember that, won't you? 13:21.000 --> 13:23.000 I'll remember you. 13:23.000 --> 13:25.000 Said so, Marie. 13:32.000 --> 13:36.000 By the light of a dim kerosene lantern, Mark and Ted Stevens 13:36.000 --> 13:41.000 pounded their way through the thick shelf of rock that covered the depar's ancestral tomb. 13:41.000 --> 13:46.000 Pried open the great slab of stone which lay across the subterranean door 13:46.000 --> 13:51.000 and then at last descended to the dank ink black chamber. 13:51.000 --> 13:53.000 They found the coffin. 13:53.000 --> 13:58.000 They dragged it from its crypt and placed it on the cold stone floor. 13:58.000 --> 14:02.000 They unclamped the lid and opened it. 14:02.000 --> 14:04.000 Mark! 14:04.000 --> 14:06.000 It's empty. 14:06.000 --> 14:07.000 That's impossible. 14:07.000 --> 14:09.000 It can't be, but it is Mark. 14:09.000 --> 14:11.000 You know what this means? 14:11.000 --> 14:14.000 That body wasn't in this coffin when it was placed here. 14:14.000 --> 14:15.000 I'll swear it was, Ted. 14:15.000 --> 14:18.000 From the time that coffin was closed on Uncle Miles, somebody, 14:18.000 --> 14:22.000 the undertaker or Lucy or me, somebody was with it until it was buried. 14:22.000 --> 14:24.000 And the crypt was sealed right after. 14:24.000 --> 14:25.000 Then somebody beat us to it. 14:25.000 --> 14:27.000 Somebody's broken in here ahead of us. 14:27.000 --> 14:28.000 Broken in? 14:28.000 --> 14:31.000 Listen, Ted, Lucy and I have hardly left the house since the funeral. 14:31.000 --> 14:34.000 Do you think anybody could break in here, 14:34.000 --> 14:36.000 smash through that stone and cement without our seeing them 14:36.000 --> 14:38.000 or without our hearing them? 14:38.000 --> 14:39.000 Well... 14:39.000 --> 14:41.000 Well? 14:41.000 --> 14:44.000 Well, you might as well come on out then. 14:44.000 --> 14:46.000 Who is that? 14:46.000 --> 14:49.000 Me, Mr. DePauw. Up here. 14:49.000 --> 14:51.000 My name's Captain Brennan. 14:51.000 --> 14:53.000 I'm from the office of the Commissioner of Police. 14:53.000 --> 14:56.000 I'd like to talk to you if you don't mind, Mr. DePauw. 14:56.000 --> 14:59.000 Here, follow my flashlight up. 14:59.000 --> 15:02.000 But I don't understand. 15:02.000 --> 15:03.000 How did you... 15:03.000 --> 15:05.000 How did you know about this? 15:05.000 --> 15:06.000 By listening mainly. 15:06.000 --> 15:08.000 Do you mind if we go up to your house, Mr. DePauw? 15:08.000 --> 15:11.000 Why, no. Not at all. 15:11.000 --> 15:12.000 Oh, thank you. 15:12.000 --> 15:13.000 Oh, Freddie. 15:13.000 --> 15:15.000 Look here, Captain. 15:15.000 --> 15:18.000 Freddie, this is Mr. DePauw, Lieutenant Gray. 15:18.000 --> 15:19.000 Glad to know you, Mr. DePauw. 15:19.000 --> 15:21.000 And Mr. Ted Stevens, isn't it? 15:21.000 --> 15:23.000 Well, how did you... 15:23.000 --> 15:24.000 How did you know my name? 15:24.000 --> 15:25.000 Very simple. 15:25.000 --> 15:27.000 I got the names of everybody who was here at the day 15:27.000 --> 15:28.000 the old man died. 15:28.000 --> 15:31.000 You and your wife were included. 15:31.000 --> 15:32.000 Oh, here we are. 15:32.000 --> 15:33.000 But I don't... 15:33.000 --> 15:35.000 Captain, who gave you those names? 15:35.000 --> 15:37.000 Why, your housekeeper, of course. 15:37.000 --> 15:38.000 Mrs. Henderson. 15:38.000 --> 15:42.000 You didn't think Mrs. Henderson saw the dead cat, did you, Mr. DePauw? 15:42.000 --> 15:43.000 But she did. 15:43.000 --> 15:45.000 She also saw you bury it. 15:45.000 --> 15:50.000 And we've been interested in the case ever since. 15:50.000 --> 15:55.000 Well, nice place you have here, Mr. DePauw. 15:55.000 --> 15:57.000 Now, let's see. 15:57.000 --> 15:59.000 According to Mrs. Henderson, your wife was wearing 15:59.000 --> 16:02.000 some kind of a masquerade costume that night. 16:02.000 --> 16:03.000 What kind of a thing was it? 16:03.000 --> 16:05.000 Well, it was a... 16:05.000 --> 16:06.000 There, you can see it. 16:06.000 --> 16:09.000 It was copied from the dress in that old painting over there. 16:09.000 --> 16:11.000 Oh, yes. 16:11.000 --> 16:12.000 Funny. 16:12.000 --> 16:14.000 Where's the woman's face? 16:14.000 --> 16:17.000 It's always been that way, long as I can remember. 16:17.000 --> 16:19.000 Somebody must have thrown acid on it or something. 16:19.000 --> 16:21.000 Can't blame them much. 16:21.000 --> 16:22.000 She was a poisoner. 16:22.000 --> 16:23.000 A poisoner? 16:23.000 --> 16:24.000 Yes. 16:24.000 --> 16:26.000 The story goes that one of my ancestors was responsible 16:26.000 --> 16:28.000 for her execution. 16:28.000 --> 16:30.000 Marie Dobre, her name was. 16:30.000 --> 16:31.000 Oh, yes. 16:31.000 --> 16:32.000 I've read about her. 16:32.000 --> 16:34.000 Learned all her poison tricks from one of her lovers, 16:34.000 --> 16:36.000 guy by the name of Gordance Accra. 16:36.000 --> 16:37.000 Gordance Accra? 16:37.000 --> 16:38.000 Oh, yes, Mr. Stevens. 16:38.000 --> 16:40.000 We cops read now and then. 16:40.000 --> 16:43.000 Did you say Gordance Accra? 16:43.000 --> 16:44.000 That's French. 16:44.000 --> 16:46.000 We call it cross. 16:46.000 --> 16:50.000 Absolutely no limit to a cop's education, is there? 16:50.000 --> 16:54.000 But to get back to your wife, Mr. DePauw, 16:54.000 --> 16:57.000 she was dressed like the famous Marie. 16:57.000 --> 16:59.000 Now, when Mrs. Henderson looked through that window... 16:59.000 --> 17:00.000 Just a minute, Captain. 17:00.000 --> 17:03.000 Mrs. Henderson can't prove she saw a thing, and you know it. 17:03.000 --> 17:04.000 What do you mean? 17:04.000 --> 17:05.000 I mean you haven't any right to insinuate 17:05.000 --> 17:07.000 that my wife was in that room. 17:07.000 --> 17:08.000 Well, who's insinuating? 17:08.000 --> 17:10.000 I'm trying to say that Mrs. Henderson, 17:10.000 --> 17:11.000 after thinking it over, 17:11.000 --> 17:14.000 realized that she was tricked by the costume. 17:14.000 --> 17:16.000 The woman she saw in the funny clothes 17:16.000 --> 17:18.000 handing the cup of poison to your uncle 17:18.000 --> 17:19.000 wasn't your wife at all. 17:19.000 --> 17:20.000 What? 17:20.000 --> 17:24.000 Because your wife is an unusually tall young woman. 17:24.000 --> 17:29.000 And the one Mrs. Henderson saw was fully half a head shorter. 17:29.000 --> 17:33.000 More on the order, let's say, of Mr. Stevens' wife. 17:33.000 --> 17:34.000 My wife? 17:34.000 --> 17:36.000 Captain, this is absolutely ridiculous. 17:36.000 --> 17:38.000 Well, I don't know. 17:38.000 --> 17:39.000 Why, what's the matter, Mr. Stevens? 17:39.000 --> 17:41.000 You're trembling like a leaf. 17:41.000 --> 17:45.000 Tell me now, just for fun, 17:45.000 --> 17:47.000 where was Mrs. Stevens that night? 17:47.000 --> 17:49.000 She was home with me. 17:49.000 --> 17:50.000 The whole evening? 17:50.000 --> 17:51.000 Certainly. 17:51.000 --> 17:53.000 She retired early? 17:53.000 --> 17:54.000 Yes, we both did. 17:54.000 --> 17:57.000 You, I suppose, were sound asleep by midnight. 17:57.000 --> 17:58.000 Yes, I was. 17:58.000 --> 18:00.000 Then how do you know where your wife was? 18:00.000 --> 18:02.000 Look, Mr. Stevens, she had to have a costume 18:02.000 --> 18:04.000 that would match Mrs. DePauw's. 18:04.000 --> 18:05.000 How did she manage that? 18:05.000 --> 18:06.000 Where did she get it? 18:06.000 --> 18:07.000 Well, she never had one. 18:07.000 --> 18:08.000 She never had a dress like that. 18:08.000 --> 18:09.000 And what about her motive? 18:09.000 --> 18:10.000 Why did she poison him? 18:10.000 --> 18:11.000 I don't know. 18:11.000 --> 18:12.000 Then for money, certainly. 18:12.000 --> 18:13.000 Then what was it, hate? 18:13.000 --> 18:14.000 Did she hate Miles DePauw? 18:14.000 --> 18:15.000 Yes, yes, she did. 18:15.000 --> 18:16.000 No! 18:16.000 --> 18:18.000 Oh, I don't know. 18:18.000 --> 18:19.000 I don't know, I tell you. 18:19.000 --> 18:20.000 Brown? 18:20.000 --> 18:21.000 Yes, Freddy? 18:21.000 --> 18:24.000 I phoned and got hold of Mrs. DePauw and the nurse, all right. 18:24.000 --> 18:27.000 That Mrs. Stevens, I couldn't reach her. 18:27.000 --> 18:29.000 A phone won't answer. 18:29.000 --> 18:31.000 OK, hello, Victor. 18:31.000 --> 18:33.000 I'm going home. 18:33.000 --> 18:34.000 Stevens, come back here. 18:34.000 --> 18:36.000 I'm going to get my wife. 18:36.000 --> 18:38.000 I'll be a stop in front of her. 18:38.000 --> 18:39.000 Ah, let her go. 18:49.000 --> 18:50.000 Marie! 18:50.000 --> 18:52.000 Marie, where are you? 18:52.000 --> 18:53.000 It's Ted! 18:53.000 --> 18:55.000 Marie, what have you done? 18:55.000 --> 18:57.000 Maria! 18:57.000 --> 18:58.000 Oh. 18:58.000 --> 18:59.000 Oh, good evening. 18:59.000 --> 19:01.000 Ah, who are you? 19:01.000 --> 19:02.000 I? 19:02.000 --> 19:03.000 My name is Cross. 19:03.000 --> 19:04.000 Go down, Cross. 19:04.000 --> 19:05.000 Cross? 19:05.000 --> 19:06.000 Where's my wife? 19:06.000 --> 19:07.000 What have you done to her? 19:07.000 --> 19:09.000 You fiend, what have you done to my wife? 19:09.000 --> 19:10.000 Why, nothing at all, young man. 19:10.000 --> 19:11.000 Here, here, here, sit down. 19:11.000 --> 19:12.000 You're lying! 19:12.000 --> 19:13.000 Something's happened to her. 19:13.000 --> 19:14.000 The police just phoned. 19:14.000 --> 19:15.000 There wasn't an answer. 19:15.000 --> 19:16.000 Why are you here? 19:16.000 --> 19:18.000 Why am I here? 19:18.000 --> 19:23.000 Well, because your wife, reading my chapter on the dubrés, realized I knew more about 19:23.000 --> 19:28.000 the family than even she did, because she found my phone number on the front cover of the 19:28.000 --> 19:32.000 manuscript, and because I know an exceptional case when I hear one. 19:32.000 --> 19:33.000 Does that answer your question? 19:33.000 --> 19:35.000 No, and you know it doesn't. 19:35.000 --> 19:37.000 Can't you see I've got to... 19:37.000 --> 19:39.000 I've got to know whether... 19:39.000 --> 19:40.000 Yeah, I see. 19:40.000 --> 19:46.000 Whether your wife is that Marie dubré, who was burnt, burnt by order of the High Tribunal 19:46.000 --> 19:52.000 for all poison cases, the burning court of France, witchcraft, black magic, the world 19:52.000 --> 19:53.000 across the threshold. 19:53.000 --> 19:58.000 You're quite sure, no doubt, also, that I'm Gordain Sancroix, who first wooed her. 19:58.000 --> 20:00.000 No, no, my boy. 20:00.000 --> 20:04.000 No, my real name happens to be, of all things, Tom Simpson. 20:04.000 --> 20:09.000 Most unsuitable for a distinguished writing career, Anne Marie dubré is no more your 20:09.000 --> 20:12.000 wife's real name than mine is Gordain Cross. 20:12.000 --> 20:13.000 What? 20:13.000 --> 20:18.000 Your esteemed wife was an adopted child, Mr. Stevens, adopted by people in Canada named 20:18.000 --> 20:22.000 dubré, remote members of the real family of poisoners. 20:22.000 --> 20:25.000 I can't believe it. 20:25.000 --> 20:28.000 Why... why didn't she tell me? 20:28.000 --> 20:29.000 Why? 20:29.000 --> 20:33.000 Because until I told her half an hour ago, she didn't know it herself. 20:33.000 --> 20:37.000 You see, in the course of my research on the family, I found out about it. 20:37.000 --> 20:41.000 And in the course of talking with your wife, I found out something else. 20:41.000 --> 20:48.000 How, for years, she was haunted by the fear that she might be a poisoner by inheritance, 20:48.000 --> 20:49.000 by blood. 20:49.000 --> 20:52.000 And you can see, can't you, why she never talked about it? 20:52.000 --> 20:54.000 Her past to you? 20:54.000 --> 20:55.000 Yes, yes. 20:55.000 --> 21:00.000 And yet, Mr. Stevens, you had all but made her forget that past, you. 21:00.000 --> 21:04.000 And that's why she was willing to lie, to steal a picture, do anything, in order to 21:04.000 --> 21:05.000 hold you to her. 21:05.000 --> 21:08.000 Yes, yes, I see that now. 21:08.000 --> 21:12.000 You know, young man, I... I rather think she loves you. 21:12.000 --> 21:17.000 But as you will see, though, I... she comes only when I call her. 21:17.000 --> 21:19.000 Mrs. Stevens? 21:19.000 --> 21:20.000 You mean she's... 21:20.000 --> 21:21.000 Yes, Mr. Claus. 21:21.000 --> 21:22.000 Marie, it's you. 21:22.000 --> 21:23.000 You're all right? 21:23.000 --> 21:26.000 Oh, yes, dear, we're both all right now, and nothing can change it ever. 21:26.000 --> 21:27.000 Marie, listen. 21:27.000 --> 21:29.000 Don't say Marie, dear. 21:29.000 --> 21:30.000 Say Maggie. 21:30.000 --> 21:31.000 Maggie? 21:31.000 --> 21:32.000 Oh, that's my name, my real name. 21:32.000 --> 21:33.000 Maggie McTavish. 21:33.000 --> 21:35.000 And it's a lovely name, dear. 21:35.000 --> 21:36.000 The most beautiful, gorgeous... 21:36.000 --> 21:37.000 Darling, darling, please. 21:37.000 --> 21:38.000 You don't understand. 21:38.000 --> 21:41.000 The police, they think you had something to do with Miles' death. 21:41.000 --> 21:42.000 They think I did? 21:42.000 --> 21:47.000 So, now, Mr. Stevens, before we go back to the depots, don't you think you'd better tell 21:47.000 --> 21:49.000 me everything that's been said and done up to date? 21:49.000 --> 21:54.000 Having just saved your wife's soul from the burning court, now I'll rest her body from 21:54.000 --> 21:55.000 the electric chair. 21:55.000 --> 22:05.000 Ah, yes, Mr. Departure, truly excellent sherry. 22:05.000 --> 22:07.000 Don't you think so, Miss Corbett? 22:07.000 --> 22:10.000 Yes, yes, it's very nice. 22:10.000 --> 22:14.000 Well, that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I happened to be here. 22:14.000 --> 22:20.000 So, let us consider first that supernatural hocus pocus in the crypt, that body that walked 22:20.000 --> 22:24.000 out of the sealed tomb, that body that never was in the tomb. 22:24.000 --> 22:26.000 Never was in the tomb? 22:26.000 --> 22:30.000 No, Mr. Departure, the murderer knew that very soon Mrs. Henderson's story would bring 22:30.000 --> 22:32.000 about an investigation. 22:32.000 --> 22:35.000 He had to get rid of the well-known Corpus Delecti. 22:35.000 --> 22:38.000 Yes, but who could have kept the body out of the tomb? 22:38.000 --> 22:39.000 Who, Mr. Departure? 22:39.000 --> 22:41.000 Why, you, sir. 22:41.000 --> 22:42.000 What? 22:42.000 --> 22:44.000 I don't understand. 22:44.000 --> 22:46.000 Well, it's very simple. 22:46.000 --> 22:47.000 You had the opportunity. 22:47.000 --> 22:51.000 I believe you said yourself you were alone with the body before the burial, and you had 22:51.000 --> 22:56.000 the strength, I dare say, you carried it down to the furnace, where it's now probably 22:56.000 --> 22:58.000 nothing but ashes. 22:58.000 --> 22:59.000 Ridiculous. 22:59.000 --> 23:03.000 Why would he spend an hour smashing into a crypt for a body he knew wasn't there? 23:03.000 --> 23:04.000 Why, Captain? 23:04.000 --> 23:08.000 To impress Mr. Stevens, his witness, and also apparently you. 23:08.000 --> 23:10.000 Oh, that's perfectly fantastic. 23:10.000 --> 23:11.000 Fantastic? 23:11.000 --> 23:14.000 Oh, no, Lucy, just comic. 23:14.000 --> 23:18.000 And I suppose, Mr. Cross, that I also put on a woman's masquerade costume, went into 23:18.000 --> 23:21.000 my uncle's room and handed him a nice cup of arsenic. 23:21.000 --> 23:24.000 No, no, no, that had to be done by a woman. 23:24.000 --> 23:27.000 Your accomplice, as matter of fact. 23:27.000 --> 23:31.000 Oh, now come, come, come, you mustn't all look at Mrs. Depard because Mark Depard's 23:31.000 --> 23:37.000 one noble act was his frantic effort to prevent his wife from being charged with the crime, 23:37.000 --> 23:41.000 a crime which he and Nurse Myra Corbett committed. 23:41.000 --> 23:42.000 Myra Corbett. 23:42.000 --> 23:43.000 Why, you... 23:43.000 --> 23:46.000 Yes, sir, yes, Mr. Stevens, this quiet little lady beside me. 23:46.000 --> 23:48.000 Why would I do such a thing? 23:48.000 --> 23:52.000 Money, Miss Corbett, a cutout of Mark Depard's inheritance, payments for services rendered. 23:52.000 --> 23:53.000 That's an absolute lie, Cross. 23:53.000 --> 23:56.000 You see, ladies and gentlemen, Captain Brennan never bothered to check Miss Corbett's 23:56.000 --> 23:58.000 whereabouts on the night of the murder. 23:58.000 --> 24:00.000 Why even think of the nurse? 24:00.000 --> 24:02.000 She was the custodian of the old man's health. 24:02.000 --> 24:03.000 Oh, you're crazy, you're crazy, Captain. 24:03.000 --> 24:09.000 And yet who but a nurse could so naturally offer the old man a cup, a cup he was sure contained medicine. 24:09.000 --> 24:11.000 You're making it up, the whole thing, you're just making it up. 24:11.000 --> 24:16.000 And who but Miss Corbett living right here in this house would know what kind of masquerade dress she must copy, 24:16.000 --> 24:21.000 would know when Mrs. Henderson would pass the window that night, pass and see her and accept her. 24:21.000 --> 24:23.000 She hoped for Lucy Depard. 24:23.000 --> 24:25.000 No, that's not true. 24:25.000 --> 24:30.000 Oh, yes, Miss Corbett, yes, Miss Corbett, that dress was the touch that wrecked you. 24:30.000 --> 24:33.000 That was your own idea, wasn't it, not Mark's. 24:33.000 --> 24:36.000 You weren't content with a mere murderer's share of the profits. 24:36.000 --> 24:39.000 You wanted a wife's share, half of the whole estate. 24:39.000 --> 24:42.000 You wanted Lucy Depard convicted and out of the way for good. 24:44.000 --> 24:51.000 Well, I give you a toast, Miss Corbett, with Mr. Depard's excellent sherry. 24:51.000 --> 24:56.000 To a particularly ruthless poisoner. 24:56.000 --> 25:03.000 And yet, you know, on the whole, I'm rather partial to female poisoners. 25:03.000 --> 25:06.000 Why, only tonight I... 25:14.000 --> 25:16.000 Here, let me get some water. 25:16.000 --> 25:19.000 Mr. Cook, what's the matter, Brennan? 25:19.000 --> 25:21.000 This man's dead. 25:21.000 --> 25:26.000 And from cyanide, if I know anything, cyanide from that glass of sherry. 25:26.000 --> 25:29.000 Cyanide that a nurse could get quite easily. 25:29.000 --> 25:32.000 That glass was right beside you, Miss Corbett, and nobody else was near it. 25:32.000 --> 25:35.000 Too bad he didn't drink it as soon as you hoped. 25:35.000 --> 25:37.000 A second ago, we had nobody to use against you. 25:37.000 --> 25:40.000 But we have now, Miss Corbett, we have now. 25:40.000 --> 25:56.000 And I arrest you for the murder of Godanne Cross. 25:56.000 --> 25:59.000 How close to five months ago that the prominent author was murdered. 25:59.000 --> 26:02.000 And tonight, Myra Corbett pays with her life for that crime. 26:02.000 --> 26:04.000 The former nurse, at first protesting her innocence... 26:04.000 --> 26:05.000 Oh, dear. 26:05.000 --> 26:07.000 Yes, I'm in here, dear. 26:07.000 --> 26:10.000 Oh, I thought you might... 26:10.000 --> 26:12.000 What did you cut it off for? 26:12.000 --> 26:13.000 What do you mean? 26:13.000 --> 26:14.000 The radio. 26:14.000 --> 26:18.000 Oh, oh, yeah, well, I thought you wanted to talk. 26:18.000 --> 26:22.000 Poor Ted, don't you think I know you better than that? 26:22.000 --> 26:23.000 What was on the radio? 26:23.000 --> 26:25.000 Well, there wasn't any... 26:25.000 --> 26:28.000 Okay, it was about Myra Corbett. 26:28.000 --> 26:30.000 She goes to the chair tonight. 26:30.000 --> 26:32.000 I didn't think you wanted to be reminded. 26:32.000 --> 26:34.000 I don't, really. 26:34.000 --> 26:38.000 But making such an effort to hide it only keeps it alive, doesn't it? 26:38.000 --> 26:39.000 All right, darling. 26:39.000 --> 26:41.000 Know what I came in to ask? 26:41.000 --> 26:43.000 If you wanted a cocktail before dinner. 26:43.000 --> 26:44.000 The largest one you've got. 26:44.000 --> 26:46.000 Fine, I'll get off the ice cube. 26:46.000 --> 26:47.000 I know. 26:47.000 --> 26:48.000 If I'll fix up the fire. 26:48.000 --> 26:50.000 Okay, Marie, a deal. 26:50.000 --> 26:52.000 Where are some papers to start in? 26:52.000 --> 26:54.000 Right there by the bookcase. 26:54.000 --> 26:57.000 And the name's not Marie, it's Maggie. 26:57.000 --> 27:15.000 Because, darling, Marie is dead and gone forever. 27:15.000 --> 27:19.000 Oh, no, Marie, we're never dead. 27:19.000 --> 27:21.000 Neither of us. 27:21.000 --> 27:24.000 It was your hand that touched that glass. 27:24.000 --> 27:26.000 I know that now. 27:26.000 --> 27:28.000 And I could return the favor. 27:28.000 --> 27:34.000 But instead, I shall ask that you dispatch your husband. 27:34.000 --> 27:39.000 This one, like all the others, now. 27:39.000 --> 27:43.000 Just a little bit of poison in the drink. 27:43.000 --> 27:48.000 Marie, any kind of a drink. 27:48.000 --> 27:50.000 What kind, Ted? 27:50.000 --> 27:51.000 Hmm? 27:51.000 --> 27:54.000 What kind of a cocktail shall we have? 27:54.000 --> 27:58.000 Oh, any kind, darling. 27:58.000 --> 28:19.000 Any kind at all. 28:19.000 --> 28:23.000 You've just heard the burning court from John Dixon Carr's famous novel, 28:23.000 --> 28:29.000 the first in Columbia's new series of outstanding classics and chills by world-famous authors. 28:29.000 --> 28:32.000 Tonight's play, ladies and gentlemen, has one rather special significance 28:32.000 --> 28:34.000 we think you'd like to know about. 28:34.000 --> 28:41.000 As you perhaps have heard, every fine comedian is said to cherish a secret desire to do an abrupt about face. 28:41.000 --> 28:43.000 He pines for the part of a blackguard. 28:43.000 --> 28:47.000 Well, tonight you witnessed the fulfillment of one such desire. 28:47.000 --> 28:51.000 The role of that literary and quite infamous diehard Gordon Cross 28:51.000 --> 28:56.000 was portrayed by none other than Hollywood's expert provoker of laughs, Charlie Ruggles, 28:56.000 --> 29:00.000 here in New York for the world premiere of his latest screen success, Friendly Enemies. 29:00.000 --> 29:05.000 The role of Marie, well, that was enacted by a young lady who long ago won national acclaim 29:05.000 --> 29:09.000 as one of Broadway's most accomplished dramatic actresses, Miss Julie Hayden. 29:09.000 --> 29:13.000 Thank you, Charlie Ruggles and Miss Julie Hayden, for your splendid performances. 29:13.000 --> 29:18.000 The play tonight has all plays in this series, whilst produced and directed by Charles Vande, 29:18.000 --> 29:21.000 written by Harold Metford and scored by Bernard Herrmann. 29:21.000 --> 29:27.000 Next week we bring you an intensely exciting and moving drama, The Life of Nellie James. 29:27.000 --> 29:56.000 This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.