Bill, don't go in there. Get back, Jerry. Bill, please. And you too, Pam. Both of you, get back. Whoever it is that's in here, kill once and they can kill again. Mr. and Mrs. North, starring Barbara Britton and Richard Denning. Listen as Pam and Jerry solve the mystery, Two Deaths for a Hero. There is no silence like the silence of a hospital at night. And here now, a woman waits in the chill gloom of the corridor, feeling the stillness grow colder, darker. Doctor? How is he, Doctor? Will he? Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Papers, papers, all late papers. Maxwell Packer dies. Maxwell Packer dies. Nation borns Maxwell Packer. Get your papers. All right, Johnny, give me a time, huh? Okay, Mr. Sears. Say, what do you think of old Maxwell Packer dying? Yeah, I heard, I heard. Maxwell Packer, yeah. How about that? Yeah, how about that? Yeah, how about that? And as the body of Dr. Maxwell Packer was laid to rest on his palatial estate this morning, this nation and the entire free world mourn the loss of the man whose almost legendary life as philanthropist, scientist, and explorer... Okay, Ralph, you will. ...defeat him to all who... Oh, you see what I mean, Jerry? The man is a legend. And a book that tells the real story of Maxwell Packer will have everything. Romance, adventure... Okay, Ralph, I'm convinced. Charity, mystery... That's the hitch right there. What hitch? The mystery. The way Packer always kept his personal life separated from his life as a public figure. Oh, for Pete's sake, Jerry, you know me better than that. How many books have I ever published? Four, five. And you still think I can't get past the gate at a Packer estate? Look, after chasing dictators, foreign ministers, and generals all over three continents, I can... Hi, Holly. Ready for lunch? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were busy. Oh, come on in, Pam. Your secretary was out. You know Ralph Sears, don't you? Hi, Mrs. North. Nice to see you again. Mr. Sears, of course. I didn't recognize you. No, Pam, darling, you never say that to a best-selling author. No, especially not me. I'm the sensitive type. Delicate instrument. Yeah, Ralph Sears, the demure meat cleaver. Hey, that's pretty good. Can I use it someplace? See what I mean, Pam? Ralph here has been trying to convince me that he can cleave through the secret life of Dr. Packer. Maxwell Packer? Oh, gollies, that would make a wonderful book. He certainly was a great man. There you see it, Jerry. Packer's death is no subhead in the obituary, Paige. It's a national tragedy. Who wouldn't want to know what makes a man like that tick? Well, there hasn't been any biography of him, has there? No, that's the trouble. No one has ever been able to get close enough to him or his family. I doubt if Mrs. Packer would be very receptive to the idea. Well, one way to find out. Think she'll see you, Ralph? She's practically been a recluse since Packer became ill. I'm having tea with her tomorrow afternoon at the Packer estate. Hey, hey, hey, what's that? Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I thought I had the food of myself. Did I get you very wet? No, it's all right. I guess I got off course. All these bridal paths, fountains, gardens. You must measure this estate in light years. Oh, now I know. You must be Ralph Sears. Mother's expecting you. Are you Dr. Packer's son? Yes, I am. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Ralph Sears, Mother's expecting you. You're Dr. Packer's daughter, right? Well, call me Karen. It's better for my disposition. Help me out of this glorified bird bag, will you? All right. Here we go. Hey, if you'll pass me that towel. Oh, yeah. Here you are. Oh, chilly. You'll find Mother in the West Garden through the gate next to that pot-bellied cupid over there. I'm in no hurry. I know, Mr. Sears, but she is. Oh, you going to join us? As soon as I dry off a bit. I wouldn't miss this Donnybrook for anything. No, Mr. Sears, I'm sorry. My husband has always considered his personal life to be a private affair. No, Mrs. Packer, your husband was a public figure. He was a national hero. The people of this country and other countries worshiped him, and they deserve to know more about a man like Dr. Packer. After all, they're the ones who established him as a man of influence and wealth and then... Power. That's the word you want, isn't it, Mr. Sears? Karen. Sorry, Mother. My husband's reputation, Mr. Sears, was not established by anyone but himself. His story is told in his work. My husband built his own monuments, Mr. Sears. The Packer Institute of Scientific Research, the fellowships and scholarships he established. He's given his worshippers, as you call them, the benefit of his vast service to mankind. He's given them the various romantic thrills in his expeditions to the Arctic and Tibet and... What Mother is saying, Mr. Sears, is no. The gates to this estate are closed to curiosity seekers and snooping newspaper men. You were permitted to enter because of your reputation as an author. That's the second time you've used that word, permit. If you consider yourself a newspaper man, you can consider the gates closed to you too. Goodbye, Mr. Sears. Well, that's that. Oh, Mr. Sears. Yeah? Why don't you write a book about some other famous man, like, say, Benedict Arnold? The Ralph, you've, you, you had another book you've been wanting to do. The one about those primitive tribes in Kurdistan that are... No, no, Jerry, that can wait. After all, Ralph, you've got to understand that her husband's been gone less than a week. She's bound to be emotionally upset. No, Pam, it's more than that. Something more than sentiment in her attitude, and I'll dig it out. You watch. Oh, pass me the saw, would you, Pam? Oh, I wish you'd forget it for now, Ralph. Let it rest for a while. Maybe later... Oh, sure, later. Later some other clock will get the same idea and start digging. Anyway, I've broken ground already. Oh, what do you mean? I've got a date with Karen tomorrow night. What? Yeah. I'm calling for her at that wind tunnel known as the Packer Mansion. I thought the gates to the place were closed to you. And so did I. Evidently, Karen intends to open the gates. Oh, as soon as I get comfortable. Forget that, will you, darling? Oh, all right. Hello. Hello. North? Jerry North? Speaking. Let me talk to Jerry North. This is Jerry North. Who's this? This is Ed Bigley, North. You don't know me, do you? Ed Bigley? No, I don't recall. Nobody knows old Ed Bigley. You know Karen, don't you? Karen, old man Packer's daughter? Oh, yes. That's my wife. Your wife? Yeah, Karen's my wife. You know. Listen, North, are you really going to publish that book Sears wants to write? Well, Ralph and I have discussed it. Who is it, Jerry? You look worried. You're going to get yourself in a jam, kid, you and Sears. The old lady's real sword, Sears, but snoop around and everything. And when that dame gets sore, look out. And listen, North, you can bet that if you publish what Sears writes, you'll never let it get put on sale. Okay, Bigley, tell your mother-in-law there's a law that has something to do with freedom of the press. Oh, species, species, species. Now listen, North, that dame has a lot of loot, North, and she's strong, too. She could put your rights smack out of the publishing business. Now look, Bigley, I'm not... I mean it, North, I mean it. Now that dame, she is tough and she is strong, North, and she's got more power than you or anybody thinks she has. So play it smart, North. Don't make her use it. Jerry, I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I don't like anything about it. Oh, Pam, I know, but Ralph Sears is a big boy now. I can't tell him to keep away from the Packer family. But Jerry, that man Bigley and Mrs. Packer, there's something evil about all this. I'm afraid for you and for Ralph, and well, I'm just plain afraid. Oh, now, honey, the Packer family may be important, but they're not that important. I don't care how important they are. You're important to me, and I don't want anything to happen. All right, look, I'll call Ralph in the morning and talk to him about it. Maybe I'll be able to take the edge off that meat cleaver. I'm afraid Mrs. Packer's the meat cleaver here. Oh, for Pete's sake. Hello. Hey, Jerry, this is Ralph. Oh, hi, Ralph. Now, listen, listen, I just took Karen home. I spent the whole evening talking to her and taking notes, and Jerry, I've got a story here that'll be... Look, I'll be over there in ten minutes. No, you won't. We're going to sleep. Oh, all right, all right. I'll wait till tomorrow, but I don't like it. Now, Jerry, you'll be able to sell the rights to this one to the dailies for a pre-publication run and then come out with a book that'll clean up. What time will you be at your office? Let's meet for lunch. For lunch? What'll I do until look? Oh, all right. I'll tell you what'll bring Karen along. I'll pick her up on the way. I'll meet you at the Argonquin at noon. Sometimes I wish I hadn't married. All my wife does is nag, nag, nag. What happened now? She keeps telling me I should get SGLI insurance night and day, day and night. SGLI, SGLI. Then you haven't signed up for SGLI? Right. You don't have security and protection for your family? Uh, right. And you're not buying the lowest cost insurance found anywhere? Right. And you aren't taking advantage of SGLI's new rate, which is 15% lower since July 1st? Right. You know what you are? What? Wrong. What time do you have, Pam? 12.30. Funny Ralph isn't here yet. Yeah, after all that eagerness. Well, look, there's Bill Wigand. Bill Wigand? Hit? Well... Bill! Oh, Bill! Hi, Pam. Jerry. Your, uh, office told me you'd be here. Hi, Bill. How have you been? Sit down, Bill. Join us. We're having lunch with Ralph Sears. No, I'm very much afraid you're not. We're not? We certainly are. He's a bit late, but... Sears won't be here, Pam. He was found at the Maxwell Packer Estate about an hour ago. Found? Yeah, found. Shot in the back. Dead. Golly, this house is like a wind tunnel, isn't it? The family's in here. Well, Lieutenant Wigand, we were beginning to think you deserted the force. Had to step by for the ballistics report. Oh, uh, Mr. and Mrs. North, this is Mrs. Bigley. Karen Bigley. How do you do? And this is Mrs. Packer. I suppose, Mr. North, that you've told Lieutenant Wigand all about my son-in-law's phone call. I wasn't aware that you knew about it, Mrs. Packer. I knew about it. I knew all about it. Evidently, Ralph Sears knew something you didn't want him to know, Mrs. Packer. What are you trying to do, Lieutenant? Establish a motive for the killing? Mother was with me when it happened. As far as I can see, the motive has been established. Sears was killed to keep him quiet. Now, just what are you people hiding? What are you afraid of? We're not afraid of anything, Lieutenant, including you. If we do have secrets, we're entitled to protect them. My husband's reputation is worth protecting. Look, Mrs. Packer, a man's been murdered, killed, shot in the back. Now, is that the kind of protection your husband... I happen to love my husband, Lieutenant. I love him as much now as I did when he was alive. If a muckraking, mudslinging ghoul like Ralph Sears wants to rob his grave and ruin his name... How, Mrs. Packer? How could Sears ruin your husband's name? Mother, stop it. Mrs. Packer, is this your revolver? Yes, it is. Now, according to the report I received, the bullet that killed Sears came from this gun. Did you know that? No. No, I didn't. Mother was with me when it happened. We were at the pool. The angle of the bullet as it entered the body points directly to your bedroom window, Mrs. Packer. Mother was with me, Lieutenant, with me. Karen. I'm sorry, Mrs. Packer, but I'll have to hold you on suspicion of murder. Mother, don't let them do this. Now, if you folks will wait here a moment, I'll escort Mrs. Packer out to the car. Mother was with me, with me. I'm terribly sorry about all this, Karen... Mrs. Bigley. Forget it. Some of my best friends are murderers. Really? Forget it, I said. Look, Mrs. Bigley, I suppose you... Will you stop this Mrs. Bigley business? Call me Karen. All right, Karen. I suppose you knew your husband phoned me last night. I didn't until Mother told me about it. Well, how did your Mother know and why? Haven't you people heard? Mothers know everything. My Mother knew that Ralph Sears knew too much, and Ed was right. She would go to any lengths to stop him from writing about it. She loved my father in spite of... In spite of what, Karen? What difference does it make? She didn't kill Ralph. She didn't. She didn't. She didn't. In here, Mrs. Bigley. Sure, Lieutenant, sure. What's the matter, honey? You upset about all this, honey? Don't let all this upset you, Karen. It'll be okay. You wait and see, it'll be okay. Mr. Bigley, I have a few questions. Ralph Sears was standing in the patio of the summer house when he was shot. Poor Sears. Poor old Sears. Your wife was at the pool. And Mother was with me. That was about 10 to 11 this morning, Mr. Bigley. Where were you at that time? Me? I was in the bar right down the hall there in the good old bar. Would you prove that if you had to? Look at him. Does he have to... Poor Sears. You know, he's a great little guy, that Searsie. Last night, him and me and Karen, well, we just talked and talked and talked. Ed. Kind of a fellow guy could talk to that Searsie. Ever been married to the daughter of a national hero, Lieutenant? No, afraid not. You, Mr. North? No. You know, a fellow marries the daughter of Maxwell Packer. And you know who he ends up being? Mr. Karen Packer. That's who. Ed, for heaven's sake. Oh, but Searsie, he understood things like that. A fellow guy could talk to. First fellow to be interested in anything I had to say since I became Mr. Karen Packer. Ed, shut up. Just what did you talk about, Ed? You and Sears. Where are we talking about it? You don't have to say anything. You don't have to answer. I shut up. Do you hear? Shut up! There's no doubt about it. Karen's right. None of them has to say a word without a lawyer. From the looks of things, Ed Bigley said too many words, especially to Ralph Sears. Then Bigley seems to be the only one who doesn't care if a family skeleton is aired. What about Karen? She made the date with Sears against her mother's wishes. She must have had a reason. Well, the way I figure it, she may have done that to appease him, just to keep him happy and maybe throw him off the track. And then maybe her husband talked too much. Why would you like to know what Ralph knew? It must have been big, the way he talked to me on the phone. Jerry! Didn't Ralph take notes? Of course he did. He told you he took a whole slew of notes on what he found out. That's right. He did. Where's he live, Jerry? I mean, where did he live? In the village. He had a little apartment just off Washington Square. Hey, take it easy, Bill. Well, tell me which house it is when we get there. Oh, these old apartments. They're always six stories up or down in the cellar. Yeah. Now here we are. 3C over there. Hey, wait a minute. What's the matter, Bill? Look. I don't see anything. Under the door. There's a light in there. Well, after all, it is nighttime and... Yes, dear, but Ralph left here in the daytime. What are you going to do, Bill? I'm not sure yet. You two stay back out of the doorway. Look, Bill, we stay back, I said. Get away from the doorway. If there's someone in there, it's probably because of those notes. Now stand over there, both of you. And whoever it is, if they can kill once, they can kill again. Oh, be careful, Bill. Be careful. Look out, Bill. Nobody's here. Come on in. Oh, thank heaven. I wonder why the light's on, Bill. I doubt if Ralph left it on. Nobody's here now, but someone's been here, all right. Look, it's desk drawers. Gee, they've been rifled, all right. Yeah, and look here. Fragments of paper in his typewriter. As if someone tore the paper out of the machine in a hurry. But who, Bill? Who? I don't know. Think about it, though. Who knew that Sears had these notes? Mrs. Packer? But she's in police custody. She couldn't have been here. Maybe Carano or her husband, Ed. Maybe. Let's find out. Oh, hi, honey. Drink? No. Don't you ever stop. Karen, honey, your husband is cold sober. Well, that's a switch. That's the kind of a guy I am, honey. Drunk every day, and when I have something big to celebrate, I go out and get roaring sober. Come on, have one. What are you celebrating this time? Our future. You know, sometimes I think my father was right. You are out of your mind. Listen, your father's dead. Forget him. It's not that easy. It's easy enough for me. I had to stay drunk to forget him while he was alive. But he's gone now, and that hatchet-faced mother of yours just about gone, too. Ed. Well, isn't she? I've got her for killing Sears, haven't I? She was with me when it happened, Ed, with me. Oh, they'll think you're protecting her. You've got a gun. The bullet came from her bedroom. And after what I told Sears about your old man, she had a motive for the murder. A good motive. What are you talking about? Karen, honey, wake up. Everybody knows how your mother fell about your old man. He was a god. She'd do anything to protect his name. When the cops find the notes Sears took, that's it, the motive. She's as good as convicted. And if they don't find those notes? No, they'll find them. Where are you going? Getting my purse. Are these the notes you need? Where'd you get them? Where'd you get those? From Sears' apartment. What the devil did you do that for? Because I'm the sweet, wholesome type who doesn't want her mother convicted of a murder she didn't commit. You idiot, you stupid fool. With her out of the way, who gets all this? Who gets all the dough and all this estate with its green, green grass and pot-bellied statues and swimming pools and all the money and... My father was wrong about a lot of things, but he was certainly right about you. Your father's dead now. Dead and buried. Just like the thousands, the millions of people he helped kill with the chemicals he sold them during the war. He's dead and the world's going home for the man he really was. A fraud, a traitor, a murderer. I suppose you're so much better. What do you call someone who kills a man in cold blood? Shut up. Kills a man so he can inherit the fortune of a traitor and then frame someone else for the crime. What do you call someone like that, Ed? I call him smart. I call him real smart. Come here. Keep your hands off me. You stay away from me. Smart, I call him. Playing the lush all these years, waiting around, being stepped on, then setting all this up. Oh, that's smart, Karen. You should be proud of me. Don't you touch me. Come here. Let me go. Let go. Karen, come back here. Karen. Karen, come back. Come back here. Okay, honey, you asked for it. No! Hold it, Big Lee. No, you don't. Get his gun, Jerry. I got it. He won't be bothering us. Is Karen all right? Yeah, Pam's with her. Just a flesh wound. You were a better shot than Big Lee. Yeah, guys like Big Lee make good targets. Feeling better, Karen? Much better, Mrs. Noah, thank you. And you? Oh, no, I'm fine, thanks. Mrs. Noah. Mm-hmm? The newspapers, are they being pretty rough on my father? He was a traitor, Karen. You can't protect him forever. No, I guess not. You and your mother knew about him and his dealings, didn't you? Certainly your mother knew. Well, not till after the war when it was all over. Well, then why did you have to go to the war? Ever been in love, Mrs. North? I still am. Come in. Hi, Karen. How are you feeling? Fine now, Mr. Noah, thank you. Jerry, you fool, you idiot, you goof. What? Walking around out there in the rain without a hat or coat, you'll catch cold in any what I mean, Mrs. North. Love, protection. Gesundheit, my love. music
