Mr. and Mrs. North starring Joseph Curtin and Alice Fawkes. In the solemn atmosphere of a New York courtroom, far from the comfortable life of Pam and Jerry North, another drama from life is reaching its climax. The defendant will rise. A handsome, well-dressed man fighting hard to conceal his nervousness, leaves his chair and faces the judge. It is the sentence of this court that you, Charles Wyatt, having been convicted of fraud, be confined to the state penitentiary for a term of not less than five and not more than ten years. Yes, one drama is over. But as Gordon Ross, Charles Wyatt's attorney, gets to his feet, another drama is just commencing. Your Honor, I petition that my client be admitted to bail pending an appeal of his conviction. If there's no objection from the state, petition is granted. Thank you, Your Honor. Court is adjourned. Five to ten years. Now, listen, Charles, everything's going to be all right. I seem to have heard that one before. We're not through yet, Charles. We'll win on the appeal, I'm sure of it. You were sure I'd never be caught in my first place. Now, keep your voice down, Charles. Someone will hear you. You're absolutely right someone will hear me. If my conviction isn't reversed on the appeal, and that someone will be the district attorney, Gordon, he'll hear how you were in this just as deep as I was. We can't talk here, Charles. Come up to my hotel. I can't come now. Being my wife and a half hour at the Circle Lounge. Well, that's only a few blocks from the King, William. I'm in room 251, make it about 730. I'll be there. And meanwhile, Gordon, remember what I said. If I go to prison, I'm taking you with me. I'm sorry, dear, but I absolutely have to see this man Hobbs tonight. He's an important writer and... Oh, can't you see him tomorrow, Jerry? Well, he's leaving town first thing in the morning. What about our theater tickets, darling? We've been looking forward to seeing... Now, don't get excited, dear. We can still go to the play. How? We've got it all figured out. We'll leave home a little early. I'll stop and talk to Hobbs. Then we'll go out to the theater. Well, where do you have to meet Mr. Hobbs? At his hotel, the King, William. It'll work out just right. If you say so, dear, all right. But I have a strange feeling that this evening is getting off on the wrong foot. Pardon me another drink, Charles. Look, Helen... Another drink, please. Very well. Another martini for Mrs. Wyatt, George. Yes, sir. Oh, don't look so disapproving. You won't be buying me martinis or anything else much longer. That's about all my going to prison means to me. Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to go. I'm sorry, but I'm going to go. I'm sorry, but I'm going to go. That's about all my going to prison means to you, isn't it, Helen? It isn't my fault that you got yourself in this stupid jam. Why do you think I listened to Gordon Ross? Why do you think I went along with his plan to fleece a bunch of poor dopes? Because you were never satisfied with what we had. You always had them more and more and more. I've heard enough. Perhaps, Helen. But you haven't heard the big news yet. What are you talking about? Everything we have is going to go. Go? Satisfy the stockholders of the Wyatt Investment Company. The house, the car, your jewelry. Yes, even most of your clothes. What about my martini, Mrs. Wyatt? I don't want it. Drink it, Helen. You look like you need it. Well, Charles, where does this leave me? It leaves you with absolutely nothing, Helen. Let's get out of here. All right. Do it at Gordon's Hotel in a few minutes, anyway. You want me to drive you there? No, thanks. I'll walk. You better enjoy the fresh air while I still can. Very funny. Your sense of humor is... What's the matter? We seem to have company again. Look over there. Grimes. Wait here, Helen. Good evening, Mr. Wyatt. Just exactly what's the idea, Grimes? The idea, Mr. Wyatt, of what? Of following me around. This has been going on for weeks. Does it bother you to have me follow you around, Mr. Wyatt? Yes. Good, good. It kind of bothered me when the Wyatt Investment Company robbed me of every cent I had in the world. Now, see, here you... My wife is sick, Mr. Wyatt, real sick. She needs medicine, doctors, nurses. But they cost money. And I haven't got any money because... I'm warning you, Grimes, leave me alone. If my wife dies, Mr. Wyatt, her blood will be on your hands. Shut up. You'll be a murderer. That's what you'll be. You old fool. I ought to... You shouldn't have hit me, Mr. Wyatt. What's going on? I... I lost my temper for a moment. Aren't things bad enough without getting involved in a street brawl? Come on. All right. You shouldn't have done that, Mr. Wyatt. What time is it, darling? Just 7.30. That only gives us an hour to get to the theater. Now, don't worry, dear. I'll take only a few minutes with Hobbs, and we'll go. Oh, here we are. Down this way. Down that way? Mm-hmm. Jerry, there's room 251 right across the hall. But Hobbs isn't in room 251. Oh, that's what the desk clerk said. Oh, no, I distinctly heard him say 215. Oh, this is selfish. It certainly is. While we're standing here arguing, we could try both the rooms. Then let's do it. 251 first. All right, but I know Hobbs isn't 215. No one there. Knock again, dear. But, Pam, Hobbs is expecting me, so if it were his room, he'd be in there. Oh, the door isn't closed tight. Now, listen, I'm positive that Hobbs is in room two. Pam, what are you doing? I know I'm right, Jerry. I'm just going to push open the door, I'll crack and peek. Now, stop that. I'm telling you, this isn't Hobbs' room. Jerry! What's the matter? There's a man in there, lying on the floor. Look. Come on. Oh, Jerry. Is he... With this knife in his back? Yes, dear. He's dead. Jerry, is this the writer you were coming to see? Hobbs? No. We better call the police. I'll try to get the wagon, then call the hotel manager. Jerry, did you hear that? Yes. It sounded like someone locked that door over there. This must be a suite of rooms. And that's the connecting door. Let's try it. Surely someone in there. The door's locked. Come on. Where are you going? Out in the hall and try the other door to that room. But, Pam... Come on, Tom. All right, but I think we should call Bill instead. Locked two. Let's quit this running around and... Jerry, if there's someone in there... If there's someone in there, we'll let the police deal with them. Now, let's get back in the other room and call Bill. Right. Oh, I had a feeling something would happen so that we wouldn't... Jerry, look. What? The connecting door's open now. There was someone in there. But not now. And there isn't anyone in here, either. Hmm? Look at the floor, dear. The body! It's gone! But, Jerry, I don't understand what you're doing. Look, there was someone in that other room who picked up the body. Yes, I know. And the only possible way they could get out without being seen is down these back stairs to the alley. Well, this is the ground floor. And that must be the door to the alley. Do you see anyone? Look. A car. Come on. It's pulling away. Hey, you, stop! Stop! Oh, it's gone. One, five, four, three, six, three, one, five, four, three, six, three. What are you doing, Jerry? The license number of that car. It's one, five, four, three, six... Shut it! Stop! There's the car! Holy smoke! Oh. Well, the driver in that car was in a big hurry. Oh, he almost hit you. Jerry, do you suppose that car could have been following the first one? I don't know. But let's get back in the hotel and call the police. This is getting to be too much for me. Could I give you a lift back to town, Mr. Ross? Oh. Who are you? My name is Grimes. Grimes? Fred Grimes. Oh, yes. Charles told me about you. You're the man who... I left my car running right over there. It's pretty old. It isn't anything like the one you just pushed into the bay, but... Mighty lonely spot. You'd never get a taxi. What are you doing here? I was at your hotel. I saw what you put in that car. Why did you kill him, Mr. Ross? I didn't kill him. No need to get excited, Mr. Ross. A knife in the back wasn't any more than Charles Wyatt deserved. And the bottom of the bay is as good a grave as any for his kind. What do you want, Grimes? Suppose we talk about that on the way back to town. It's kind of chilly out here. All right, let's go. Here we are. Get in, Mr. Ross. You know, Mr. Ross, I lost nearly $10,000 in Mr. Wyatt's company. I never thought I'd see a dime of it again, but now... You think you're going to get $10,000 out of me, Grimes? You're as crazy as Wyatt told me you were. Murder's a mighty serious crime, Mr. Ross. But I didn't kill Wyatt. You think the police would believe that if I tell them what I saw? Of course you don't. All right, Grimes, how much will it take to keep quiet? I told you I lost nearly $10,000. I haven't got that kind of money. I'll give you $5,000, not a penny more. $5,000? Just take it or leave it, Grimes. I mean it. All right, Mr. Ross, I'll take it. And that's all you'll ever get, you understand? I'm warning you, Grimes, you'll push me too far. What's so funny? I was just thinking, you're the second man who's warned me tonight. Mr. Wyatt was the first, and look where he is. Wigan speaking. Will you check that license number? Okay, give me the registration. What time is it now, Jerry? Right, nearly 9.30. The play's been on an hour. For heaven's sake, Pam, forget the play. I haven't even had a chance to go down the hall and talk to Hobbs. Yeah, I got it. Thanks. Well, we know who that car was registered to. Who, Bill? A man named Charles Wyatt. Who's he? Well, this is who he is, right here on the front page of tonight's paper. Investment broker gets five to ten years for fraud. Are you sure this is the same Charles Wyatt, though? Positive. This suite belongs to his attorney, Gordon Ross. I wonder if it was Gordon Ross' body we saw. Well, it could have been, I suppose, but that's not... No, it wasn't, Bill. How do you know, Jerry? Here's a picture of Charles Wyatt on the second page. Oh, let's see. Jerry's right, Bill. This is the man whose body we saw. You sure? No question about it. Well, at least we know who was killed, even if we don't know who killed him. Come along. Where, Bill? I'm going over to Charles Wyatt's home, and I want you two with me. Hello? Hello, Helen. This is Gordon. Is Charles there? Charles? No. Isn't he with you? He left my hotel some time ago. He said he's going home to Pack. Pack? What are you talking about? Oh, I thought you knew. Charles told me he's clearing out, jumping his bail and running away rather than go to prison. What kind of a story are you trying to hand me, Gordon? What do you mean? Charles isn't the kind of man who'd run away, and you know it. You think I'm lying? Yes. Why, why should I? I don't know, but I... there's someone at the door. I'll call you back. Are you at the hotel? No, I'd better call you. Well? Are you Mrs. Wyatt, Mrs. Charles Wyatt? Yes. Lieutenant Wigan, homicide. Homicide? I want to talk to you. Come on, Pam, Jerry. Have a good day. Thank you. I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Mrs. Wyatt. Your husband is dead. Dead? Oh, no. No. I'm sorry, but... What happened to him? Where is he? Mr. and Mrs. Northear saw him in a room at the King William Hotel. But a moment later, someone carried his body out. So that's it. What do you mean, Mrs. Wyatt? Gordon Ross, Charles' lawyer, just called. He tried to tell me that Charles had run away. Where was Ross calling from? I don't know. His office, maybe. It's in the Colfax building. Well, I'm going to get down there right away. I want to have a chat with Mr. Gordon Ross. Do you want us to come too, Bill? No, no, that won't be necessary. Then I want to get back to the King William and see Hobbs, Pam. Come on. I'll be back after I've seen Ross, Mrs. Wyatt. All right, Lieutenant. I'll wait for you. Gordon Ross, that... Hello? Mrs. Wyatt? Who is this? Fred Grimes. What do you want? Maybe I just called to offer my condolences. How do you know about Charles? But on the other hand, maybe I called to talk business. Business? Insurance business. Your husband must have carried quite a lot of insurance, Mrs. Wyatt. What's that to you? A lot of insurance you'll never collect unless his body is recovered. Do you know where Charles is? That depends on whether he had enough insurance to make it worthwhile. Would you consider $75,000 worthwhile? Suppose you come here and talk to me about that, Mrs. Wyatt. My address is in the phone book. You can't come tonight. You'd better, Mrs. Wyatt. When a man gets my age, his memory sort of goes back on him. By morning, I might have forgotten where your husband is. Want me to run you back to the King William, Jerry? No, thanks, Bill. That'll take you out of your way. We'll catch a taxi. Okay. Bye. Come on, dear. I think we'll stand a better chance of catching a cab over. Wait. Quick. Jerry, what's there? Look in here. What in the world? Look who just passed. Jerry, that's Mrs. Wyatt. Right. But she told Bill she'd wait for him. Yes, and I'm rather interested in what made her change her mind. Let's see if we can find out where she's going. Come on. All right, all right. Coming. Well, Mrs. Wyatt, you... Mr. Ross. Hello, Grimes. What? What do you want? You weren't expecting me, were you? Well, I... No, you thought I was Mrs. Wyatt. You were. Let go of me. Let go. What's Mrs. Wyatt coming here for? Answer me. Nothing. Nothing. You're lying. You're going to tell her where Wyatt is. No. When I warned you not to try to push me too far, Grimes, I meant that to include not trying to double-cross me. What are you going to do with that gun? I'm going to save myself $5,000. No. No. You're old enough to die without missing anything, Grimes. Don't kill me. Please. Please don't kill me. Please, Mr. Ross. You've got to listen to me. I'll listen to you once tonight, Grimes. That's enough for one evening, for the rest of my life, in fact. But you... That'll be Helen Wyatt. Open the door and let her in. No. No, I... Open it. Go on. Hello, Mr. Grimes. Hello, Helen. Hello, Gordon. Close the door, Grimes. Lock it. What's he doing here, Mr. Grimes? Look, Mrs. Wyatt, I... Lock the door, Grimes. The police are looking for you, Gordon. The police? Why, they're looking for me. They want you for Charles' murder. You're not going to kill me, are you? I'm not going to kill you. They want you for Charles' murder. Charles' murder? Is Charles dead? My house, sir. Old, rough the act, Gordon. He was killed in your room, and a man his wife named North saw the body. Well, if they saw Charles' body, then where is it? You see, Helen, it's difficult to prove murder without producing a victim. Especially when the alleged victim had every reason to disappear on his own volition. But Grimes knows where Charles' body is. Do you, Grimes? I, uh... I, uh... Obviously, he hasn't the slightest idea what you're talking about, Helen. You seem to have persuaded him quite effectively with that revolver you have in your hand. Well, I have an argument, too, Gordon. It's right here, in my pocket. Put down that gun, Helen, or I'll... You'll what, Gordon? Kill me? Well, before you try it, you want to be very sure that I don't take you with me. This is the top floor, Pam. Mrs. Wyatt must be up here. It's the only place she could be. Well, there's only one door up here, Jerry. Then that's it. Now, listen, Helen. Charles! Charles, do the listening, Gordon. Yes, Mrs. Wyatt. Is there a doorbell? No. Then knock. We've got to find out. I don't hear anything, do you? No, I haven't heard a... Come back here, Gordon. Come back! Jerry! It was a gunshot. Try the door! It's locked. Open up! Open up in there! Someone's unlocking the door. Mrs. Wyatt! Jerry, look! Over by the window! He was trying to get away. I shot him. Who is it? Gordon Ross. And who are you? My name's Grimes. Fred Grimes. Ross, are you all right? Yes. Yes, just my shoulder. We'd better go to the doctor. And the police, too, Mr. North. Gordon Ross murdered my husband. That's not true. It is. You were afraid Charles would tell how you were implicated in the investment company fraud. They killed him. No! And then you got rid of his body so it would look like Charles ran away. I was the one who carried Charles out of the hotel, yes, but I didn't kill him. He was dead when I came into my room. Then why didn't you call the police? I... I was afraid that my partner in fraud would come out. What did you do with Wyatt's body? He dumped it in the bay. How do you know Mr. Grimes? I saw him. I was at the hotel. I saw him put the body in Wyatt's car. I followed him out to an old fishing dock on Staten Island. He pushed the car off the end of the dock. You'd better try to get in touch with Wagon, Pam. All right, Jerry. Now, wait! What was Grimes doing at the hotel tonight? Have you thought of that? He hated Charles. He's been hounding him for weeks. He could have killed him. I could have, but I didn't. After I saw him and Mrs. Wyatt outside the Circle Lounge, I followed him when he walked over to the King William Hotel, and that's the last I saw of him. Wait a minute. You say Charles Wyatt walked from the Circle Lounge to the King William Grimes? Yes. And where'd you go, Mrs. Wyatt? I came straight home. Well, if you came straight home and your husband walked to the hotel, how did Gordon Ross get hold of your husband's car? I took Charles' car keys and went out looking for it. The car was parked outside the hotel. But how did it get there? That's what I want to know. Oh, I see what you mean, Jerry. If Charles Wyatt walked to the hotel, then someone else must have driven the car and left it there. And logically, who would that have been? You, Mrs. Wyatt. If you're trying to say that I killed Charles, you're crazy. I had no reason to kill him. How about his insurance? Well, Mrs. Wyatt... No. No, I didn't kill Charles. Then how do you explain your car being at the hotel? I... I don't know. What? Oh, Jerry. Come back here. She's trying to get out the window. I'm going to... All right, I've got to... Let me go. I don't want to live anymore. I just want to die. Come away from there. There. Put the window down. Why did you stop me? What's left for me? I'm going to lose everything, my house, my jewelry. So you did kill your husband for his insurance. I had to, don't you understand? I had to. My whole life was going to be ruined. Charles' insurance was all that was left. That was my only chance. So I followed Charles to Gordon's room and... I had to do it. Why did you leave the car at the hotel? When I left the hotel, I couldn't find my keys. I must have dropped them somewhere. I didn't dare go back until I took a taxi home. Shall I call Bill now, Jerry? Yes, Pam. You can call him. What? I see. Yes, I understand. Jerry, Jerry, I... Goodbye, of all the stupid... What's the matter, dear? The room clerk at the King William Hotel thought I was asking for a Mr. Cobb's room when we were there. And Hobbs isn't even registered. Oh, never mind that now. I just looked at our theater tickets and guess what? What? They're for tomorrow night. Huh? Look at the date on them. January 31st. But this is the 31st. Oh, no, darling, it's the 30th. So we can see the play tomorrow night. Well, that explains it. Explains what, dear? Why Hobbs isn't registered at the King William. His letter said he'd be in town the evening of the 31st. Oh, Jerry. You mean you have to see him tomorrow night? Yes. But don't worry, we can leave home early, stopped by the King William. Hey, what are you doing, dear? I'm calling the theater to reserve another ticket. Another ticket? Who for? For Mr. Hobbs, dear. I'm not going to take a chance of missing that play tomorrow night. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. Thank you. Thank you.
