Dial M for Murder Page #9

...settled an account there recently for...

...just over 60.

Yes, I happened to have

quite a bit on me...

...so I settled for cash.

I see. Had you just drawn

this money from your bank?.

Have you been to my bank, inspector?.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I have.

But they wouldn't help me.

Bank statements are always

jealously guarded.

Yes, but I'm rather surprised

you didn't come to me first.

It was only a routine matter after all.

I didn't want

to disturb you.

Where did you get it, sir?.

Is that any of your business?.

If it was stolen money,

yes, sir, it is my business.

-Do you mind if I smoke?.

-Go ahead.

Do you really think

I've been receiving stolen money?.

Until you tell me where you got it,

I shan't know what to think, shall l?.

You see, if you got this money

from someone you didn't know...

...I mean, that might be the very person

we're looking for.

Hello.

-Is this yours?.

-What is it?.

Somebody's latchkey.

It was lying on the floor just here.

No. Mine's here.

No. No, it's not yours.

It may be mine, then.

Yes.

Yes, it is mine.

It must have dropped out of the pocket.

There's a small hole there.

That's the trouble with these latchkeys,

they're all alike.

-Sorry, sir, you were saying?.

-I don't think I was, was l?.

Yes, yes. About that money.

I'd be grateful if you'd tell me

where you got it.

A hundred pounds

is a lot to carry around.

-You said 60 a moment ago.

-Did l?.

Oh, yes. Yes, my sergeant

decided to dig a little deeper...

...before he put in his report.

He said that you also paid

a bill at your tailor's...

...and another for wines and spirits.

I'm sorry he went to that trouble. Had he

come to me, I could have explained it.

I simply won rather a large sum

at dog-racing.

-Over 1 00?.

-Yes. Over 1 00.

It has been done before, you know.

Why didn't you tell me this straightaway?.

I was ashamed of being caught

going to dog-racing...

...when my wife was under

sentence of death.

Yes, I know how it is.

It helps take your mind off things.

Well, that answers

everything, doesn't it?.

I'm sorry to bother you at this time.

Not at all, inspector. Not at all.

There's just one other thing, sir.

Have you a small, blue attach case?.

-You found it already.

-Why, have you lost it?.

Yes. I was going to

report it this afternoon.

-I think I left it in a taxi.

-I see.

We must try and get it back,

mustn't we?.

Where did you pick the taxi up, sir?.

Hyde Park Corner,

about half an hour ago.

-Anything valuable?.

-No. A few books and--

-Any money?.

-Two or three pounds in an envelope.

-Not 200 or 300?.

-No, I'm afraid not.

-Just as well.

-Tell me, inspector...

...how'd you find out

about the attach case?.

The wine shop said you had it

when you paid your bill...

...so my sergeant checked

on your garage and tailor.

They remembered you had it

when you paid them.

Yes, well, I use it instead

of a briefcase, you see.

These taxi men are pretty good

at turning things in.

I hope you'll find it

all right, sir.

Inspector, before you go...

...I think Mr. Wendice

has something to tell you.

Oh, has he?.

And I'd like to show you

something in here, sir.

No wonder you couldn't bear

to sleep in her bedroom.

There must be over 500 here.

Where did you get it?.

I can tell you why he got it.

This money was to

have been paid to Swan...

...after he murdered Mrs. Wendice.

But as you know,

there was an accident...

...so it wasn't necessary

to pay Swan after all.

He couldn't produce this

without questions being asked...

...so he lived on it.

He's been living on it

since the 27th of March.

Well, Mr. Wendice?.

Before you came,

he was trying to persuade me...

...to go to the police with the

most fantastic story you ever heard.

Apparently, I bribed Swan

to murder my wife so that--

Correct me if I go wrong, Mark.

So that I could inherit all her money.

And that isn't all.

You remember Mr. Halliday's letter?.

Well, apparently,

Swan didn't steal it, I did.

And I wrote those

two blackmail notes...

...and I kept Mr. Halliday's letter

and planted it on the body.

-And the stocking--

-Yes, the stocking.

I'd better tell this.

It sounds more like a confession.

I substituted-- Is that the right word?.

Yes, I substituted my wife's

other stocking for the one that--

You do follow me, don't you?.

What else, Mark?.

He told Swan he'd hide his key

somewhere out here...

...probably up on this ledge.

Swan let himself in.

He hid behind the curtains,

then Wendice telephoned.

-That brought her--

-One moment.

If Swan had used Mr. Wendice's key,

it would have been on him when he died.

Besides, how did Mr. Wendice get in

when he returned from the hotel?.

She could have let him in.

He could've taken his key

from Swan's pocket before you got here.

He let himself in with his own key.

That came out in the trial.

-Don't you remember?.

-Come on, Mark. Your move.

Swan could have taken the key

down from here...

...unlocked the door...

...then replaced the key

on the ledge before he came in.

This is all very interesting,

but it isn't getting me any nearer...

...to what I came to find out.

But this is life-and-death.

What else matters?.

What matters to me is where

Mr. Wendice got this money.

That's all I want to know.

Just a moment. Please, sir.

Inspector, wait a minute!

Look at this.

The last check he wrote

was on the 26th of March.

That's the day before this all happened.

He's been living off it since.

-That's his bank's--

-Mr. Halliday.

Sorry.

He hasn't drawn any large sums

from his bank. Nothing over 53.

But look, inspector...

...practically every week,

35, 40, 45, 50.

He could have saved it up.

I could have been planning

all this for years.

-Then where did you get it?.

-Do you really want to know?.

-I warn you. You won't like it, Mark.

-Come on.

All right, you asked for it.

When she called me back

from the party that night...

...I found her kneeling beside Swan's body,

going through his pockets.

She kept saying he had something

of hers, but she couldn't find it.

She was almost hysterical. That's why

I wouldn't let police question her.

In the state she was in, she would have

told every lie under the sun.

The next morning,

she showed me the money...

...just as it is now,

all in 1 notes.

And she said, "If anything happens

to me, don't let them find this."

Well, after she was arrested,

I took the money in that case...

...to Charing Cross Station

and left it in the checkroom.

Whenever I needed money,

I took it out...

...and left it in some other checkroom.

I knew if you had found it,

she wouldn't stand a chance.

You see, she was just about to give it

to him when she killed him instead.

You don't expect anyone

to believe this, do you?.

I have really no idea.

What about it, inspector?.

I must say,

I suspected something like that.

You're not going to check up on this?.

She's being hanged tomorrow.

All this has been out

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