Anatomy of a Murder Page #12

Will that back up Laura Manion's story?

I don't want to get at you.

I don't want to hurt you.

I appreciate your affection for your father.

But, as a lawyer, I've had to learn

that people aren't just good or just bad.

People are many things.

I kind of have a feeling

that Barney Quill was many things.

I don't wanna hear it.

Please, hear me out.

I believe that Barney told Al Paquette...

...what happened that night.

He told him to go to this window

and wait for Manion.

Barney stayed behind the bar,

next to a gun rack.

Just waiting.

Manion came in and fired

the minute he got inside that door...

...and the first shot

went through Barney's heart.

Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to try and persuade Al

to come to court as a defence witness...

...and tell them exactly

what Barney told him that night:

That he'd raped

and assaulted Mrs. Manion.

Al wouldn't conceal a thing like that.

Why wouldn't he tell it if it were true?

I don't know.

But I know this:

Everybody loves something or someone.

Me, I love fishing

and an old guy by the name of Parnell.

Manion loves his freedom,

he'd like to have a little more of it.

Barney loved you, maybe so does Al.

I wouldn't blame him.

But he doesn't want to hurt you.

He doesn't want you to know the truth:

That Barney could be dangerous and brutal.

If you just ask Al...

If you just ask him straight out...

Mr. Biegler knows

that Barney was my father.

He thinks you know something

about the night my father was killed.

Something you won't tell.

Lawyer, I told you once, I'll tell you again:

No questions, no answers.

Wait, Al.

Did my father rape Mrs. Manion?

Barney wouldn't hurt a woman.

Is there any reason

you wouldn't tell me the truth about that?

What reason?

Anything else, Mr. Biegler?

I'm gonna leave a pass

for you and Al at the trial.

You might like to watch

Lt. Manion get convicted.

You gonna talk about

Mary being Barney's kid?

No, I'm not gonna spread it around, Al.

Thank you for the beer.

- Good night.

- 'Night.

All right, now let's get at this rosary thing.

It's been testified

that your wife swore to you on a rosary...

...that she'd been raped by Barney Quill.

Now, did you ask your wife

to swear on a rosary?

My wife was hysterical

and she wasn't making much sense.

I thought if I asked her to take an oath

on a rosary it might serve to calm her.

Make her think more clearly.

Did the rosary help?

She was able to tell me, in detail,

what had happened.

All right, go on from there.

Now, what did you do then?

I had her lie on the bed

and I got some cold cloths for her head.

I gave her a drink of brandy.

After a while, she became calm

and seemed to go to sleep.

Then I went to the closet,

I got my gun and I loaded it.

- Was it in your mind to kill Barney Quill?

- No.

Then why did you go to the closet

and get your gun and load it?

I knew I had to go to his place,

I thought I'd need it.

Why?

I knew Mr. Quill kept guns behind the bar.

I was afraid he might shoot me.

Might shoot you if you did what?

What were you going to do?

I'm not sure.

I remember having some idea

of finding him...

...and holding him while I called the police.

Well, that Mr. What's- his-name...

Mr. Lemon at the tourist court

was a deputy sheriff.

Why didn't you get him to go with you?

Maybe because he always seemed to be

just the old caretaker of the park.

Maybe I wasn't thinking about anything

too clearly, except finding Barney Quill.

Why didn't you call the state police

before you went to the bar?

I don't know.

I was in sort of a daze.

It was a horrible thing to see

what had been done to my wife.

You say you were in a sort of a daze.

When you got to the bar,

did you see that the bar was crowded?

I didn't see anyone at the bar

except Barney Quill.

He was the only person I saw.

What was he doing?

I think he was just standing there

behind the bar.

Did he make a threatening move

to get a gun?

I don't know.

He may have, I don't know.

You say you went there to find him,

to hold him for the police?

Why did you shoot him?

I don't remember shooting him.

When you left the bar, do you remember

Alphonse Paquette coming up to you...

...saying,

"You'd better not run away from this"...

...and your reply,

"Do you want some, too, buster?"

Remember that?

I seem to have a vague recollection

of someone speaking to me...

...but I don't remember what I said

or what was said to me.

When did you realize you'd shot Quill?

I was getting a drink of water.

I remember my throat was so dry it hurt.

When I put the glass down, I saw the gun

on the kitchen sink beside the tap.

I noticed the gun was empty.

I'd like you to show the court and jury...

...just how you knew this gun was empty.

This gadget here, when it sticks up,

you know the last round's been fired.

On the night of the shooting,

did you love your wife?

Yes, sir.

Do you still love her?

Very much.

The witness is yours, Mr. Dancer.

How many men have you killed?

Now, wait a minute!

A man's war record,

in Lt. Manion's case a great record...

...shouldn't be used against him.

I'm as patriotic as the next man...

...but the simple truth is war can condition

a man to killing other men.

I just want to know how conditioned...

...the lieutenant may be to the use

of firearms on other human beings.

I don't like the question...

...but I don't see how I can exclude it.

Let him answer.

I know I killed at least four men in Korea.

Three with a hand grenade

and one with my service automatic.

I may have killed others.

A soldier doesn't always know.

In these acts of killing,

did you ever have a lapse of memory...

...like when you killed Barney Quill?

- No, sir.

- Ever have a memory lapse during battle?

- No, sir.

Were you ever submitted

to a constant barrage...

...in a sweat for many hours,

constantly under attack?

Many times.

Ever treated for shellshock

or war neurosis?

No, sir.

Did you ever experience

any unusual mental state during the war?

- I remember having one great urge.

- What was that?

To get the hell out and go home.

You would do well to consider

the seriousness of the situation you are in.

Sorry, Your Honour.

I sympathise with the lieutenant.

I expect he has the same feeling

about getting out of jail.

The point is that during your service there

was never a record of mental disturbance.

- You were always completely sane?

- Yes, sir, that's right.

No more questions.

No redirect, Your Honour.

Step down, please. Call your next witness.

We call Laura Manion to the stand.

- Up these stairs to the right.

- Thanks.

How long after you told your husband

what happened did he leave the trailer?

I don't know exactly.

Everything was kind of fuzzy.

I was faint and I lay down on the bed,

he sat beside me.

I vaguely remember

his getting up and going out.

I remember wondering if he was going

for a doctor, and then he came back in.

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