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Now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A.

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Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world.

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Roma Wines presents Suspense.

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Tonight, Roma Wines bring you the David O. Sulznik star, Mr. Joseph Cotton,

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in Crime Without Passion by Ben Hecht.

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A Suspense play produced, edited, and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear.

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Suspense, Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines.

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That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines.

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Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live.

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To your happiness and entertaining guests.

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To your enjoyment of everyday meals.

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Yes, right now, a glass full would be very pleasant.

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As Roma Wines bring you Joseph Cotton in a remarkable tale of...

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Suspense.

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She had phoned me to come over to her apartment. She wanted a showdown.

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Well, I wanted a showdown too, and so I went over to her apartment.

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And after all the time I've given you, why everybody thinks we're engaged to be married,

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now you're trying to give me the go-by just like that.

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The girls in this show, what a laugh they'll hand me.

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Who do you think you are anyway?

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Now, now, calm and watch your temper.

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To think, to think I've been such a fool.

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Earl Wilson and Winster, well, just everybody won't think give me the rash in their column.

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And the rest of the bunch around the El Bravo.

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When they get through with me, I'll probably lose my lead in the bird of paradise.

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The nerve, treating me as if I was a nobody.

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What do you get like that, taking up a girl's time?

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She was a dancer at the El Bravo club.

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She was number one on the line in the bird of paradise number in the floor show.

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That was where I first noticed her.

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I looked at her now with complete detachment.

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I wondered what I had ever seen in this redheaded illiterate creature with her childish face and muscular legs.

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How could I have ever considered her charming or desirable?

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Probably for you.

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More likely it's Eddie White calling you that dean of collegiate heroes.

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Oh, yeah?

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For me, by any mischance, just say I'm not here.

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Hello? Hello?

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No, he's not here. I don't know where he is. He's not here.

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Your office. Always making me lie for you.

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And as for that crack about Eddie White, you don't fool me, not for a minute.

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Don't just stand there and say, mm-hmm, in that smutting way.

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You know very well I haven't been seeing Eddie White. You're just using that for an excuse, aren't you?

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Well, I...

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Well, I know, aren't you?

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You know all the answers.

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Sure I know the answers to that. You're just saying that because you're trying to get rid of me.

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Trying to put me on the escalator, that's what.

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Well, have it your own way.

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Have it your own way? Why, you...

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Now cut that out.

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You think that because you're a lawyer you can get away with this? I'll show you.

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Hey, look out.

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You're a photograph and it's swell expensive frame. I'll show you what I think of that too.

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You're not going to make a sucker out of me, you stupid...

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No, no, no. No, not my Derby.

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Your Derby. Why, I'll smash your face.

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Stay away from me now. Don't come near me. Oh, that hurt.

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I need to have it out.

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Why, you...

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Why, you little vixen. How...

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I hate you. I loathe you.

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I hate all of your...

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Don't you try to strike me. Don't you dare.

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Lou.

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Put down the candlestick, Lou.

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Put it down, Lou.

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Don't. Don't.

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I was suddenly aware of a large brass candlestick in my hand.

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And on the floor lay calm and brown.

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I leaned over her.

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Her skull cracked and blood was running from it.

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Her eyes were closed. I listened.

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No heartbeat.

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I was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that...

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I had committed a murder.

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I don't think there's a lawyer in New York with more thorough experience

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in the handling of criminal cases. No.

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I knew all the angles.

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I knew the pitfalls of the defense in such a case as this.

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I knew the psychology of the prosecution.

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I had unexpectedly and inadvertently been cast in the role of a criminal.

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Through my mind rushed all the prejudices and difficulties of such a case.

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And in less than a minute, I had put myself on trial on a plea of self-defense,

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reviewed the evidence, and found myself guilty.

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It's a curious thing.

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No doubt the public at large, the laymen, would expect that some unpublicized

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and secret professional legal maneuver would be used by the great Lou Hendricks

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in the present predicament.

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It would seem to the reader of crime fiction and the listener to radio mystery drama

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that some less hackneyed word than alibi would be the key word to my puzzle.

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I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen.

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I should dearly love to shake some diabolically ingenious trick out of my lawyer's sleeve.

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But such would be a waste of time.

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An alibi was what I needed.

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I needed to establish simply and conclusively that I was not there

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at the time of Carmen Brown's murder.

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Time was the important element.

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Yes, I must begin at once to establish that alibi.

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For suspense, Roma wines are bringing you Joseph Cotton

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in Crime Without Passion by Ben Hecht.

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Roma wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.

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Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma wines.

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For suspense, Roma wines are bringing you Joseph Cotton

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in Crime Without Passion by Ben Hecht.

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Roma wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.

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Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma wines.

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Do you know the principal difference between American and European hospitality?

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Well, here's how famed Elsa Maxwell, authority on entertaining, sees it.

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Says Miss Maxwell, American hospitality is distinguished by its informality.

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Good friends in America don't need an invitation.

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They just drop in and take potluck.

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That's why millions of American families always keep Roma California sherry on hand.

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Roma sherry is ideal for entertaining.

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A delicious wine, mellow, fragrant, and medium sweet with tempting nut-like taste.

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Glorious Roma sherry is so easy to serve, so good with a simple snack any time of day.

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And Roma sherry is popular with men and women alike,

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preferred by millions as the perfect first call for dinner.

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Yes, you can serve Roma sherry proudly, for Roma wine is America's first choice.

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Yet, Roma costs no more than ordinary wines.

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So for better, easier entertaining, get Roma sherry tomorrow.

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That's R-O-M-A, Roma wines.

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Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine.

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And now, Roma wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage Joseph Cotton,

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who as New York's famous criminal lawyer Lou Hendricks,

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in Crime Without Passion, resumes a narrative well calculated to keep you in...

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Suspense.

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I leaned over and glanced at the watch on common thrift.

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The dialed glass was broken, the watch had stopped.

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The hands pointed to two minutes of four.

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The clock on the desk had just struck four.

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The telephone. I let it ring. Had to.

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Of course, the phone made it impossible to establish an alibi by setting the time forward.

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Other phone calls might come in before five o'clock.

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Someone, perhaps a maid, might even come to the apartment in person.

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Through my mind rushed the courtroom scene in which my case would be tried.

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The prosecuting attorney wouldn't miss that.

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At three-fifty, Carmen Brown was alive.

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As witnessed the fact that she answered a phone call,

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which came through the switchboard to her apartment at that time.

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At two minutes after four, just twelve minutes later,

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a phone call came through that same switchboard which she failed to answer.

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Why, gentlemen of the jury?

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No. What I needed was an alibi for the hour preceding four o'clock.

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The time at which her watch had stopped.

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I must provide not only an alibi for myself, but also fortify it with evidence.

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Tending to prove that someone other than myself had done the deed.

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But how?

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Fingerprints? They told a graphic story.

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A story that would reveal that Carmen had been in a rage demanding something of the killer.

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This would point directly to me since I was known to have been her admirer

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and steady caller at her apartment.

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But if I could make it appear as though the assailant was demanding something of her,

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he was in a jealous rage.

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It smashed the articles including the frame-framed photograph of Lou Hendrix.

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And it concluded with the killing of Carmen.

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I wiped the fingerprints carefully from the articles in question with my soap handkerchief.

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Again, I imagined myself on trial in the courtroom.

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This time with my defense counsel addressing the jury.

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Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

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Carmen Brown had undoubtedly been attacked by some other shooter

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who was obviously jealous of the defendant, Lou Hendrix.

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As witness, the destroyed photograph of the latter.

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You will also note her assailant was crafty enough to remove all fingerprints.

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So far it was good.

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I had set the scene. I was ready to leave the apartment.

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But wait, I just remembered.

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A gun was in Carmen's desk only a few freaks from where she now lay.

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They would wonder why she hadn't defended herself with it.

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The prosecuting attorney wouldn't miss that.

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Oh no, he had pointed an accusing finger at me.

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And yet Carmen Brown did not reach for this weapon

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with which she could have defended herself.

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Why? Was it because the assailant was someone familiar with her?

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Someone against whom she had no thought of harming herself?

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Or perhaps because the assailant was familiar with the premises

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and knew where the gun was and prevented her from reaching it.

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I took the gun and slipped it into my coat pocket.

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I would dispose of it later.

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I took every precaution to make sure that no one saw me as I left the building.

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My trained legal mind warned me against a surprise witness

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which in so many court cases was dramatically brought forth by the prosecutor to confound the guilty.

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I remembered grimly how some of my best cases had tumbled by the appearance in court

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of some aimless, stray human, someone who happened to have seen the defendant

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during his pre-supposed alibi.

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The prosecutor would have a gleam in his eye questioning such a witness in the courtroom.

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And you say you saw the defendant Lou Hendricks leaving the apartment building

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shortly after the time of the murder?

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This must not happen.

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I had my plan pretty well in mind by now.

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I took a back short cut to Broadway, the Palace Theater.

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With an off hour, there was not a long line waiting.

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I bought my ticket and went quickly in.

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Seats without waiting. Seats in the third aisle to your right, please.

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The moment I was seated, I got up again.

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I returned to the lobby up the other side of the aisle and went directly to the lost and found desk.

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Is there something I can do for you, sir?

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I wish to report the loss of a pair of gloves.

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Do you have any idea where they were lost?

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Somewhere in the theater I had them when I came in.

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Not usually to look careless, but the picture was so engrossing,

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I was completely carried away with it.

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Apparently I failed to carry away my gloves.

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Gloves, I imagine they'll be turned in, sir?

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Oh, I'm sure they'll be found.

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If you'll just make a record of it.

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Lou Hendrix is the name with an X.

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Hendrix, huh? H-E-N-D-R-I-X, huh?

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That's an unusual spelling.

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Well, all right there, Mr. Hendrix.

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If you'll just fill out this blank with your name and address and the time.

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Oh, yes, yes, to be sure, the time.

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Let's see, what is the time?

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It's exactly 20 minutes after four.

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I'll record that on the blank for you.

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Oh, could it be that late?

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I haven't had no idea of the time.

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Quite a long picture.

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Yes, the picture was a little longer than most.

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I hope you enjoyed it, sir.

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Oh, yes, yes, indeed, I enjoyed it very much.

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It was well worth sitting through.

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Well, thank you very much.

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I had established an alibi for having spent the time

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between 2.30 and 4.20 in the movie theater.

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This was a period of two hours,

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and this was now recorded in black and white at the lost and found desk.

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I'd taken care that this should be a movie that I had already seen

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so I'd be able to recite the plot of question.

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The main body of my alibi had been a cheese.

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I now went directly from the movie to my next court of call,

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Sardi's Restaurant, where I'm well known.

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How are you, Mr. Hendrix? Your usual same?

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Yes, Henry.

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Sin the headline?

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No, no, I just came from a movie.

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Oh, by the way, what is the exact time?

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I've got to make a telephone call.

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It's just 4.30, Mr. Hendrix.

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4.30? I think I'll make my telephone call while you make me a chicken sandwich.

241
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,000
Okay, the booth is just there, you know.

242
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000
Hendrix, Brown, Walsh, and Healy.

243
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,000
Mr. Healy, please. This is Mr. Hendrix.

244
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,000
Oh, certainly, Mr. Hendrix. One moment.

245
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,000
Hello?

246
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000
Hello, Tom. This is Hendrix.

247
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,000
I've been trying to locate you all afternoon.

248
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,000
Oh, what for?

249
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,000
Several things came up that needed your attention.

250
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000
Oh, it's not so hard to locate. Where did you try?

251
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000
I tried everywhere I could think of. Even Carmen Brown's apartment.

252
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,000
Yeah? Did you talk to her?

253
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,000
Sure. I was trying to find out if she knew where you were.

254
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,000
What time was that?

255
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,000
Oh, about 3.50.

256
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,000
How did she seem when you asked if I were there?

257
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,000
Well, I don't know. Why?

258
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:36,000
Well, try and think. I'd like to know.

259
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,000
Well, come to think of it, she struck me as a little curt or upset about something.

260
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,000
Upset, eh?

261
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,000
Listen, I don't want you to call me at that number anymore, understand?

262
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,000
Well, sure, if you say so.

263
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000
I'm all washed up at that telephone number.

264
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000
Understand what I mean?

265
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,000
In the future, that number is out. Any other calls?

266
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,000
No.

267
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,000
Okay.

268
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,000
Again, my mind reverted to the courtroom scene in which I imagined my case being tried.

269
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,000
But this time, I had my case well in hand.

270
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,000
The thought of facing the prosecuting attorney did not disturb me.

271
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:17,000
The thought of that little bout between the two attorneys even amused me.

272
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,000
So, Mr. Hendricks told you that you needn't try to reach him at Ms. Brown's apartment anymore, eh?

273
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:28,000
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, when the defendant made this statement to his trusted friend and law partner,

274
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,000
he had undoubtedly good reason to believe there was another man in Carmen Brown's life.

275
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000
I had forged another link in the chain of evidence pointing to my innocence.

276
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,000
Everything was working out in favor of a perfect alibi for my defense.

277
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,000
Everything was going fine. I was beginning to enjoy the case very much.

278
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:58,000
Now that the tension was relieved, I began to look upon my case as a sort of a game.

279
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:03,000
I began to get a kick out of it, and I conceived the idea of building up another witness.

280
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:08,000
Eddie White was the only one of Carmen's previous and was whom I knew,

281
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000
and I considered for a moment involving him in the case.

282
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000
He was Carmen's previous suitor just before I entered the picture.

283
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:21,000
He was known to be a hot-headed young gentleman given to nocturnal fisticuffs in public places,

284
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,000
but I finally dismissed this idea.

285
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,000
This witness I decided would be Miss Moore, who was also a dancer at the El Bravo Club.

286
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000
She was Carmen's closest friend and confidant.

287
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000
I telephoned Miss Moore and requested her to join me at the restaurant. She came right over.

288
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:48,000
You see before you, Miss Moore, a man suffering from the perfidy of one whom he has loved and trusted.

289
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,000
Would you mind saying that again in plain English?

290
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,000
Well, to put it more simply, I think Carmen has been two-timing me.

291
00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:02,000
Miss Moore, I am consumed with jealousy. I must know the truth, and you are the only one who can tell me.

292
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,000
I don't get you, Mr. Hendricks.

293
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,000
Miss Moore, I'm going out of my mind with a brooding and uncertainty of this thing.

294
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,000
Oh, that's terrible, Mr. Hendricks.

295
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,000
My law practice is suffering. I'll wind up by losing all my money.

296
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,000
Oh, you mustn't do that, Mr. Hendricks. You know something?

297
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
No. What is it?

298
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,000
Oh, honest, Mr. Hendricks, I wouldn't tell this to another soul.

299
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,000
You know Carmen's my best girlfriend.

300
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,000
Oh, yes.

301
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,000
But you're such a swell guy. Well, I think you should know.

302
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,000
But to tell you the truth, I don't think Carmen appreciates you. That's what.

303
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:45,000
Miss Moore, if there is another man someone Carmen really loves, I'd force myself to step aside. It's her happiness.

304
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:52,000
Oh, well, I ain't saying she has. I just say Carmen has got an awful swell head since she got the lead in the Bird of Paradise number.

305
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:58,000
She thinks she's some punkin'. And I'm only saying I don't think she appreciates a high-class gentleman like you.

306
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,000
Thank you, Miss Moore. Have you seen Carmen today?

307
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000
No, I haven't. Have you seen her?

308
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:08,000
No, I don't trust myself with fear. Goodness knows what I would do feeling this way.

309
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,000
Oh, Mr. Hendricks, you're all worked up, and I don't blame you.

310
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:18,000
Say, I have to leave you. I hate to leave, but I gotta go. It's getting late, and the dinner show goes on before long, you know.

311
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000
Tell Carmen I'll be over to the El Bravo tonight and give her a last chance to prove herself.

312
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:27,000
Oh, I'll sure give her your message, Mr. Hendricks. I sure will.

313
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:33,000
I knew Carmen had not been receiving attention from another man, but if I could get Miss Moore to testify in court,

314
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:41,000
I could use her to convince the jury that I was jealous of Carmen, but that I loved her and wanted her alive, not dead.

315
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000
This would make my case airtight.

316
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000
I then made another telephone call. This was the Commons' apartment.

317
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,000
Hello?

318
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Hello, is Miss Carmen Brown in?

319
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,000
I'll ring her apartment.

320
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,000
I'm sorry, she doesn't answer.

321
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,000
Well, this is Mr. Hendricks calling. Hadn't she been in at all? I've been trying to get her all day.

322
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000
She hasn't come in while I've been here, Mr. Hendricks.

323
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,000
How long is that?

324
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,000
About three hours.

325
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000
Thank you. I'm coming over there. Tell her if she comes in, will you?

326
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:27,000
This would strengthen my apparent effort to contact Carmen. It was a bold stroke, this, to go back to her house.

327
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,000
I approached the switchboard operator.

328
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000
Good afternoon, Mr. Hendricks.

329
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,000
Oh, has Miss Brown come in since I called on the phone?

330
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,000
I haven't seen her. I'll ring her apartment again.

331
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000
She still doesn't answer.

332
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,000
Well, please give her this note when she comes back.

333
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,000
All right, Mr. Hendricks. I'll see that she gets it.

334
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,000
I handed her the note. It read,

335
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:55,000
Darling, don't torture me anymore. Give me a chance to believe you.

336
00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,000
I'm willing to forget what I heard or thought I heard over the phone, as ever, Lou.

337
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,000
This, too, would throw suspicion on another suitor.

338
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:11,000
Not only had I established an alibi for myself, but also I had succeeded in pointing a finger at a suspected rival.

339
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:19,000
I saw myself looking winningly at the jury while my defense counsel continued to address them.

340
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,000
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

341
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:29,000
if the defendant Lou Hendricks had known Carmen Brown being dead in her apartment,

342
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000
would he have written such a note?

343
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,000
The testimony reveals, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

344
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:42,000
that the defendant strongly suspected that Carmen Brown was receiving, uh, attentions from a suitor.

345
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,000
But, but he did not know that this very afternoon,

346
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,000
this creature had entered her apartment, struck her down, and killed her,

347
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:59,000
while the defendant was still trying to seek her out and forgive her.

348
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,000
My alibi was now complete.

349
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:06,000
I had every angle worked out. I summed up my case. It was perfect.

350
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:12,000
From my superior legal knowledge, my vast experience, I had built a perfect case for myself.

351
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000
I was very pleased. My case was ready.

352
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,000
I had an excellent dinner, really excellent.

353
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,000
I then put in another phone call to Carmen's apartment.

354
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,000
I was ready to hear the news of the finding of the body.

355
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:30,000
At the news of the crime, I would rush right over and act my part of the thoroughly grief-stricken suitor.

356
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:35,000
This would be the finishing touch, our final flourish, if it were.

357
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000
Miss Brown does not answer.

358
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,000
Crime had evidently still not been discovered.

359
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,000
I decided the best course would be to go to the El Bravo Club.

360
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:49,000
I was well known there. I would order coffee and dessert and wait there until Carmen's absence was noticed

361
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000
and her murder discovered.

362
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000
Good evening, Mr. Hendricks. Please wait there.

363
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,000
Oh, good evening, George. Hello there. How are you?

364
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000
Hello, Lenore. Hi, Kay.

365
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,000
Hello.

366
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,000
David, oh, Ludd.

367
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,000
So I sent you away with my son because you think I'm going to sit around here.

368
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,000
Blond, blond, can't you think of anything but blond?

369
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,000
Oh, honey, come on, let's go home.

370
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,000
Oh, no, dear children, no, I can't trust you.

371
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Oh, the famous criminal lawyer Lou Hendricks.

372
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,000
Our ex-college hero Eddie White. Product of the higher education.

373
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000
Looking him over, I see.

374
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,000
Yeah, why have I sit here?

375
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,000
This is the entertainer's table. I have no monopoly on it.

376
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000
Then I'll sit down.

377
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,000
By the way, Hendricks, I didn't know you were such a movie fan.

378
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000
Just what do you mean?

379
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,000
Saw you going into the Palace Theater this afternoon.

380
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,000
You did? Just what time was that?

381
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,000
What time? Oh, a little after four, I should say.

382
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,000
You're crazy.

383
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,000
You think you saw me going to the Palace after four?

384
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,000
Well, I came out at 4.20 after seeing the whole show.

385
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:53,000
I don't care what you say. I saw you going in at a quarter after four, to be exact.

386
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,000
I was going to say hello, but you weren't looking my way.

387
00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:00,000
Had you liked the picture, ought to be in your line, all about one of those crooked legal sharks.

388
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:06,000
And you say you saw the defendant Lou Hendricks going into the theater at a quarter after four?

389
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000
Yes, sir, I did.

390
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,000
The surprise witness that I had been so carefully guarding against.

391
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Here he was, sitting opposite me and the person of all people, Andy White.

392
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,000
In a flash, I could see all the evidence I had planted turning against me.

393
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,000
The prosecution would take it apart piece by piece.

394
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,000
The all too obvious false mechanism of my alibi.

395
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,000
There wasn't an alibi. I had no case.

396
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:45,000
Andy White's simple statement of the time, 4.15, revealed all of my subsequent actions as those of a thoroughly guilty man.

397
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,000
Look, White, it must have been somebody else you saw.

398
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,000
Listen, don't tell me I saw you looking around, buying your chicken and ducking in.

399
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,000
I know it was a quarter after four because I had a date outside.

400
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,000
And don't get excited it wasn't with Carmen.

401
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,000
That's a lie.

402
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,000
What's that?

403
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:02,000
I said you're lying, you didn't see me.

404
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000
Oh, that's what you said, is it?

405
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,000
Listen, I never liked you and I don't take that kind of talk off a guy I got no use for.

406
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:07,000
Get that!

407
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,000
You're a liar.

408
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,000
You're not only a liar, but a numbskull, a perennial dropkicker.

409
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,000
Once a dropkicker, always a dropkicker.

410
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,000
Oh, you little shyster!

411
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,000
Take your hands off my collar.

412
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,000
Let me go.

413
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,000
Take your hands off me.

414
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,000
You're calling me a liar, huh?

415
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,000
You little shyster!

416
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,000
You're no good little...

417
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000
Somehow, I don't know how or when, I had taken the gun out of my pocket.

418
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000
Carmen's gun, the gun I was going to dispose of.

419
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,000
I was holding it in my hand, and it exploded.

420
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,000
No one heard the shot through the blair of the orchestra.

421
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000
A new number of the floor show was starting.

422
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,000
Everyone's attention was focused on the dance floor.

423
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,000
The chorus girls were coming out for the Bird of Paradise number.

424
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,000
Everything was a little blurred, a little hazy.

425
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000
I looked at the girls as they came forward.

426
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,000
Leading the chorus, I saw...

427
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,000
I saw Carmen Brown.

428
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,000
She was dancing.

429
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000
This... this could not be.

430
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,000
I... I grew sick.

431
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,000
I shut my eyes.

432
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,000
And I opened them again.

433
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,000
There was no hallucination.

434
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,000
It was Carmen.

435
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,000
Under her ear, at the back of her head, I saw strips of quirt plaster.

436
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,000
Now I knew then what had happened.

437
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,000
I left her apartment without taking a second look at her.

438
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Evidently, the blow had merely knocked her out.

439
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,000
She must have regained consciousness and called for a doctor.

440
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,000
But as simple as that, she was alive now.

441
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000
And dancing.

442
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,000
Lou Hendrix.

443
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,000
The shining legal intelligence.

444
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:51,000
I had built a perfect alibi to exonerate myself of a murder which had never occurred.

445
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000
While across the table, slumped in a chair opposite me,

446
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,000
was the body of a man for whose murder I had no defense.

447
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,000
Every step of my carefully built alibi, my perfect case,

448
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,000
would help to convict me of the killing of Betty White.

449
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,000
This time I had no alibi.

450
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,000
This time there was no possible defense.

451
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:18,000
This time when the judge asked the foreman if they had reached a decision,

452
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,000
there could be only one reply.

453
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,000
Yes, your honor, we have.

454
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:43,000
We find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.

455
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,000
Suspended.

456
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000
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457
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000
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458
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,000
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459
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,000
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460
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:06,000
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461
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462
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463
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464
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465
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466
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,000
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467
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,000
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468
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469
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470
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471
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472
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473
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474
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,000
So insist on Roma, R-O-M-A, Roma Wines.

475
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,000
Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world.

476
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,000
This is Joseph Cotton.

477
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:15,000
I've always been particularly fond of crime without passion and it's been a great pleasure indeed

478
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,000
to appear in it tonight for you on Suspense.

479
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:26,000
Next Thursday, I know you'll want to hear a very young actor whom we've all admired for a very great number of years.

480
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,000
It's Jackie Cooper grown up in just out of Uncle Sam's Navy.

481
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:36,000
He'll appear on Suspense in a role quite different from anything you've ever associated with him.

482
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,000
Joseph Cotton will soon be seen in the David O. Selznick Technicolor Production,

483
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,000
Dual in the Sun.

484
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:48,000
Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you Jackie Cooper as star of Suspense,

485
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,000
radio's outstanding theater of thrill.

486
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:58,000
Produced by William Spear for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California.

487
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:27,000
Music

488
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:34,000
Suspense is broadcast from coast to coast and to our men and women of the armed forces overseas by short ways

489
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:39,000
and through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

490
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,000
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

491
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:58,000
Music